Before we begin…
"Talking."
'Thinking.'
"Flashback quotes. Text from paper & signs. Intercom."
When we last left off, Issei was resurrected by Dainichi Otsutsuki, leaving him with a healed stab wound with no scar, a black diamond mark on his right hand's palm, and tons of questions about what is going on and the supernatural in general. How will Issei's day go after being brought back to life by a God? Find out now.
Issei was currently walking his way towards school after having finished his breakfast a few minutes ago.
While his studies for today's Biology test were on his mind so he can do well, some thoughts about last night manage to slip in his head as well. In fact, it was yesterday that made the brown-haired boy a little nervous about coming back to school.
But nonetheless, Issei continued to put last night's events in the back burner, as he'll have plenty of time to think about it once he finishes his Biology test.
As he finally made it to the school, Issei took a quiet, but deep breath, ready to get through the day. When he went through the gates, he got the greetings he would expect from some girls and a rare few boys who aren't jealous of his popularity with the former gender. Naturally, he greeted them back and continued walking until he reached the doors that lead to the entrance of Kuoh Academy.
When he entered the school building, all looked normal. Issei saw that some students were walking to their own classes, talking with one another, and overall, having a good time. This made sense to Issei, as the talk his father had with the school board was private, and wouldn't be announced to the school because, well, Issei hasn't died.
Issei breathes another thankful sigh while brushing some strands of his hair and continued moving forward.
"Well… Today's another day. Uh!"
As he took his fifth step, Issei suddenly felt a shivering sensation that traveled down his right arm to his hand that made him pause with wide eyes. He lifts his arm up towards himself and sees that it was slightly shaking. Why it was, he didn't know.
While he kept looking at his arm, his eyes trace upwards towards his palm, where the black four-point diamond resides, and saw that his hand was surprisingly shaking a bit more vigorously than his arm.
As the shaking of his arm kept going, Issei then looked forward as if his instincts told him to while gripping onto his wrist. After he did, he darts his eyes around his surroundings with this odd feeling developing within him.
He didn't know why, but it felt to him as if his body, or more specifically his arm, was telling him to tread carefully. It was as if he was being warned that someone that isn't normal is in this school.
'What is this feeling?' Issei questions as his grip on his right arm's wrist tightens. 'Why do I feel as if I need to keep my guard up?'
"Issei-kun? Are you alright?"
"HAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"
Issei jumped when he heard a gentle female voice speak to him. With rapid breaths, he looks to see a busty third-year girl with blue eyes and long brown hair arranged in multiple drill-like curls, appearing to be a little worried for him after he yelped when she got his attention.
Issei recognized this girl as Kiyome Abe. He mostly knew her as the captain of the Kuoh Academy's Tennis Club. He got a glimpse of her playing a few matches of the game with some students, but never fully invested in it since he was never really into sports. But other than that, the two are on friendly terms, and would sometimes converse once in a while due to how busy she is as a captain.
"S-Sorry, Abe-senpai," he says while scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "I was just… caught up in my own thoughts so much that I stopped moving."
"Are you sure?" Kiyome asks before taking a step closer to him with her arms behind her back. "You looked a little pale earlier."
Issei shifts his eyes away from Kiyome while tapping his foot nervously.
"Let's just say that… yesterday was a rough day."
Kiyome gasps with a hand over her chest.
"Oh gosh! I hope it wasn't anything terrible!"
"No! No! Nothing like you're thinking," Issei assures her with his hands in front of himself, not realizing that he's exposing his black mark to her. "I was just studying very hard for a test I have today to the point where I almost gave myself a headache, and I'm a little nervous about how I'll perform when that time comes… Which is after homeroom…"
Kiyome makes hums in understanding while nodding her head.
"I see." She then offers Issei a smile while stepping a little closer to him. "But I wouldn't think about the worst too much since it may dampen your confidence, but knowing you, I'm sure you'll do swell. So think positive."
Issei laughs sheepishly with closed eyes, thankful for his senpai's kind words.
"I appreciate your encouragement, Abe-senpai."
Kiyome giggles while placing a hand on his shoulder, catching him off guard.
"Silly Issei-kun, didn't I tell you to call me by my first name~?"
Issei blushed at the cutesy voice Kiyome used while she was leaning her face closer to Issei's own, making him lean his head away from her.
"S-Sorry. We've rarely talked since you're so busy with tennis. And with how busy I am myself, I keep forgetting."
"Ufufu, it's okay," Kiyome says before her smile widens, taking in how cute she found her kouhai when he had a bashful face. "I'll forgive you if you answer one question for me."
"And… that is..?"
"Are you thinking about joining a club?"
Issei did a double-take at Kiyome's question. He honestly expected her to request something to do with himself, like letting her pinch his cheeks for however long she would want to do it, because he knows that Kiyome, like most girls in school, finds his face to be the most adorable thing they've seen. Heck, Kiyome straight-up called him and his face cute when they first got acquainted.
"Um… No, it never crossed my mind. Why?"
Even though he asked, he's got a pretty good idea why she quizzed him on the subject.
"Well, since you're wondering, I've had a talk with some of my friends who are also in the Tennis Club with me." Before continuing, Kiyome booped Issei on the nose, earning a light gasp from him. "And they've asked me to see if I could get you to join our club~"
'Why am I not surprised?' Issei wonders mentally with a deadpan before answering. "Sorry, I'm flattered by the offer, but since I'm not that much of a sports guy, I have to decline."
"Aw~, won't you at least consider?" Kiyome asks with soft eyes before grabbing onto Issei's right hand with both of hers, making his eyes turn white at the soft touch. "I'll teach you everything I know to help you become a great player."
Issei's blush turns a darker red when Kiyome stroked his hand with her fingers. Her smile grows as she gently opens its fingers, revealing the black diamond for her to see as she traces a circle on the palm with her pointer finger.
"U-U-Um… I really don't know… I mean, I'm also very busy with other stuff, so how could I find time to join any club?"
Kiyome giggled and gave Issei's hand one more brush before releasing it. She then looks back at Issei with a blush on her cheeks.
"It's alright, Issei-kun. I won't force you to do what you don't want to do."
Issei sighs a breath of relief, being very thankful for Kiyome's understanding.
Brushing her bangs, Kiyome turns around to walk to her own destination while her head still faced Issei.
"But if you change your mind, do let me know. I'll always welcome you with open arms~"
Kiyome then winks at Issei before walking away. As she was, Issei's cheeks flushed when he saw that her hips were swaying side to side as she moved. Shaking his head from any perverted thoughts, Issei turned around with his serious face on and began to march his way to his classroom.
"Oh! One more thing!"
"Hmm?"
Issei turned his head around to see Kiyome looking at him again with a smile.
"I like your tattoo."
"H-Huh?"
Issei looked towards where Kiyome's finger was pointing. As he did, his irises contract when he realized that she was talking about the mark on his palm.
He shot his head back up to Kiyome only to see that she already left. He blinks twice at the spot she was once at before sighing to himself.
'Dammit… Why was I worried when she talked about that mark? I mean, she only complimented it.' He then deadpans. 'Besides, what's so suspicious about a common shape for a tattoo?'
Shaking his head, Issei continued his walk towards his class. While he was, he then notices something and lifts his right hand's palm back up towards himself. Not to look at the tattoo, but at his hand in general.
'The strange feeling from earlier is gone,' Issei thought as his stare never left his hand. A while ago, before Kiyome started talking to him, his arm was shaking as if it was trying to warn him about something. But now, it feels fine, as if his arm went back to normal. 'Just what is going on with me today?'
He would question it further, but he still has his test to prepare for. And with that in mind, Issei continued to tread forward, wanting to get it over with.
But unbeknownst to the young man, he was being watched by a familiar white-haired loli, who's considered as Kuoh Academy's mascot by most of her fans. She kept her stare on him until he was no longer in sight and began to walk back to her own class while thinking about the events that she and her group have learned about last night.
After homeroom finished, Issei's Biology class has finally begun. And as everyone got settled, their teacher came in and peered at his students.
"Alright class, I will be handing out your tests. I hope you all have come prepared."
Some students moaned in frustration, while some were ready to get the test done.
Issei was the most prepared, and as soon as his copy of the test was given, he puts his name on where to add it and got to work without hesitation.
During the test, Issei tapped into the memory banks of his studies and answered the questions the best he could. With question after question, he thought as hard as he could as he selected what he believes were the right answers based on his study sessions.
As he was working, Issei answered two more questions before seeing that he has just reached the bottom of his paper. There were no more questions to be answered beyond this point.
Issei rose a brow. He didn't think that he'd already been on the final question of the test in two minutes.
Under the assumption that he might have skipped a few, Issei quietly checked on the rest of his questions without causing any disruptions to his classmates. As he was, is eyes nearly bulge from his sockets when he looked his paper up and down.
Every single question that was on the test is already answered and ready to be turned in when the time comes for it.
'Wait, what?! How did I finish this so fast? I thought for sure I took my time and went slow with every question.'
Gently putting his pencil down without showing his shock to his teacher, Issei looked over his test with just his eyes to check on his answers. He made sure to be very thorough with his double-checking.
And much to his surprise, all of the questions answered on his sheet were correct. Or at least they look and felt right to him since he's going off with the memories of what he's studied at home.
He kept double-checking every single question over and over again, and with every reread, his mind still believes that he chose the correct answers.
'Unbelievable… I never finish any assignment this quick… It felt like I took my time, and yet it was done in nearly a blink of an eye…' Issei's eyes slowly go towards his right hand without flipping his palm towards himself. And without squinting them, they solely focus on the black mark. 'Could this phenomenon relate to back when I saved Mom from falling and the feeling in my arm? I don't get it.'
Issei is now trying his very best to remain calm. Since he apparently finished his test early, his mind, without him even realizing it, went back to what happened to him last night. From the Yuuma girl turning into a Fallen Angel and stabbing him, to a God who calls himself Dainichi Otsutsuki bringing him back after explaining everything to him.
And all of those thoughts are keeping Issei's eyes on the black tattoo that appeared on his palm as soon as he awoken from his supposed death. It kept him wondering if there's still more to it because of its sudden appearance. And now that it's confirmed to him that the supernatural exists, how will he carry on with his life?
All through the testing time, Issei continued to stare at his mark in deep thought until the teacher announced that time was up and that the students need to turn in their tests, snapping Issei out of his trance. Breathing through his nose, he followed his students to do just that and sits back down on his desk.
After adjusting himself in his seat, Issei lifts his right palm back to him so he can peer at his mark again until he receives more instructions from his teacher.
One more class and a lunch break later, Issei was now in his gym uniform as his gym class has now begun outside, behind the school. While waiting for the gym teacher's instructions for starting, he was staring at his diamond mark with narrowed eyes and a frown.
It was the only thing Issei would ever do after taking care of other school-related things. And with Reya not available to eat lunch with during lunch break, assuming that it's because of her duties at the Student Council, yesterday's events was all he could think about, as well as his tattoo that came after.
He continued to ponder and puzzle about what will be next for him. He also didn't forget about what he pulled off at the kitchen before he had to go to school. He was still in disbelief that he would be as fast as he was back there to save his mother from falling over.
And he sure as heck didn't forget about his right arm shivering back when he entered the school building. In fact, the spasm, accompanied by the odd feeling he felt too, came back to him for a minute during lunch after he finished eating his meal. After that minute passed, his arm and senses were back to normal.
'I wonder how many times I'll get these weird feelings?' Issei wondered with a sigh before hearing a whistle, making him shoot his face from his marked palm to his gym teacher, who's blonde and strong for her feminine build.
"Alright, listen up! Today, y'all will be starting off running some laps, so get moving, on the double!"
[Yes, ma'am!]
The students got to their starting spots began to jog.
Issei began to run too. As he was, he focused his mind on keeping a decent pace with his classmates, once again putting his thoughts about yesterday in the back burner, not wanting them to slow him down.
But unbeknownst to the boy, his speed began to slowly pick up. With every three seconds that pass, Issei ran faster and faster. He didn't even seem to look like he was about to run low on stamina with how fast he's going.
The other students didn't notice how quick Issei was going until he ran past a few of them. And once they got a look at him, their eyes widened as they saw the rare-to-be-seen serious expression on the brown-haired man's face as he picked up his pace.
Issei didn't pay attention to the reactions of the students he ran past. He was more focused on jogging, even though in actuality, he was sprinting with no trouble.
'Whoa…' Issei thought to himself as his face slowly turned to bewilderment. 'Everything feels so… clear…'
As he kept running, Issei continued to feel calmer and more focused as he continued running, resulting in him getting in front of everyone except for one student who was equally as fast as him.
'Hot damn!' the coach exclaimed mentally as her shocked eyes were on Issei. 'The kid would usually be in fourth or fifth of the students in lap running. He must've worked hard at home to improve this much.'
The gym teacher continued to watch Issei with an impressed expression as the students continued running for ten more laps. After seeing that they've done just that, she blew her whistle, signaling them to stop.
While most of the students halted normally, when Issei heard the whistle, he snapped out of his concentration and was about to trip over his own. It took him five seconds to regain his balance. Once he did, he began breathing a little because of how much he's running.
"Hey, man, that was a great run," a male student said to him as he jogged towards him. "You were flying ahead of most of us back there too. You must've trained hard."
"Eh?" Issei gained a confused expression. "I didn't think I was going that fast."
"Of course you were, dude," his classmate confirmed. "You nearly got first place, even though this wasn't really a race."
"Yeah," a female student added as she walked up to Issei with a smile and pink cheeks. "You've really improved from your first week here. I could almost picture you as The Flash."
Issei's eyes widen as more of his classmates agreed with the two students who complimented him. Most were very amazed by his speed, while a rare few, like the Perverted Duo, grew a little more envious of the boy.
It was only until they mentioned his speed that Issei shifted his eyes downwards in even more perplexity than ever before they went to his right hand's palm.
'It can't be… Did I seriously go as fast as they're claiming?' Issei's right hand clenches into a fist. 'If what they're saying is true, does this relate to how quick I was to stop mom from falling? And should I be needing to breathe a lot after running this much?'
"Oi! We got more things to do, so quit lollygagging and get a move on!"
The students moved along for the next gym activity, leaving Issei to continue musing about his speed while staring at his black mark with a thoughtful look on his face.
The coach noticed his squinting expression and approached him with a cocked brow.
"Hey, kid, let's go. We don't want to waste any more time."
Issei shot his head upwards and quickly turned to his coach, making her eyes slightly broaden at how fast his head went.
"R-Right! Sorry, ma'am."
Meanwhile, Genshiro can be seen with another member of the Student council outside with him named Tsubasa Yura. She is a tall girl with blue, shoulder-length hair with eyes a darker blue. Because of her bishonen face and her overall appearance, most people would see her as a tomboy.
The two second-year students were assigned by their coach a duty of helping class 2-B's gym teacher to prepare for more activities, one of which was setting up the balls for dodge ball.
While they were doing their jobs, Genshiro couldn't help but continue to think about the conversation between his Kaichou and her friend about what happened. And since it was about his friend, Issei, his frown remained plastered on his face as he recalled the gory details the two third-years discussed.
The only thing he was thankful about was that he later learned that Issei was still okay. But even then, his gut was telling him that his friend might have unknowingly got himself involved with the supernatural world.
"Hey, Saji."
Genshiro was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Tsubasa call out to him and looks at her.
"Oh! S-Sorry, Yura-san, got lost in my thoughts for a moment."
"You sure, dude?" Tsubasa asks with a cocked brow. "This wasn't the first time you had that kind of face."
Genshiro blinks a few times at her council partner before shaking his head.
"Yeah. I'm sure." The blonde man stretches before taking a glance at the dodge balls. "Anyway, is that all of them?"
"Should be," Tsubasa said with a nod. "We should head back and notify our coach that it's done."
With a nod back, Genshiro starts to follow Tsubasa after dusting his hands.
Along the way, the two caught sight of Issei. And upon further inspection, Genshiro and Tsubasa saw that Issei was just standing there peering deeply at his right hand's palm.
While Tsubasa kept moving with her eye on Issei, Genshiro stopped and sets his stare on him. Upon further inspection, he saw that Issei's expression was that of confusion and worry, and the frown on his face with his furrowed brows told Saji that something must've happened. What it was, he doesn't know.
"Saji, let's go."
Genshiro turned his head towards his fellow council member and catches up to her. As soon as he kept his pace with her, he took one last look at his friend and softens his eyes towards him, hoping that he's doing okay.
Back with Issei, his narrowed eyes never left his black mark as his thoughts continued to linger on how fast most of his classmates claimed that he was sprinting. The same could be said for those other moments that made him go back to looking at the mysterious tattoo.
""HYOUDOU!""
Issei balls his right hand into a fist to hide his mark when he heard two familiar voices shouting at him. Upon turning his head to the source, his eyes widen to see the Perverted Duo close to him, making him jump back from them.
"Y-Y-You guys again?! Wh-What is it now?"
"You! You were never this fast before!" Motohama yells while pushing his glasses up while pointing a finger at him animatically with white eyes. "You've got another secret in your belt, don't you?!"
"What?! No! I just exercise regularly at home too and not just in gym class! Your accusation is absurd!"
"What kind of routine do you take then?!" Matsuda asks with desperation written on his face. "How many push-ups do you do?! How many sit-ups?! WHAT KIND OF JUICE DO YOU DRINK?!"
Issei gives them a weirded-out stare with contracted irises.
"Okay, this is getting silly. Why the heck are you two becoming so obsessed with my life?!" After a split second, Issei blinks and deadpans to himself after he realizes who he's talking to. "Actually, on second thought, don't answer that. I've already figured it out."
"Please tell us!" Matsuda asks as he gets on his knees with his hands together and a pleading expression, with his glasses-wearing friend following after. "If you do, you'll be greatly rewarded!"
Issei shivered with furrowed brows and white eyes, knowing what they do during their free time thanks to Katase and Murayama.
"I… I don't think I'd want to-"
"But you must!" Motohama snapped with tears streaming like a waterfall. "Perhaps if we follow your routine, then maybe we can obtain the same luck with chicks as you-"
BONK! BONK!
"Will you pervs beat it?!"
"You two never learn, do you?"
Issei's eyes widen when he sees the Perverted Duo suddenly get punched and kicked away from him by two familiar girls who go to his class.
"Katase-san! Murayama-san!"
After dusting their hands while watching the two perverts crash onto the ground in scorpion positions, the girls turn towards Issei and smile kindly to him.
"Sorry about those, two, Issei-kun."
"Yeah, those jerks don't know when to quit."
Issei chuckles with a sweat drop while scratching the back of his head.
"It… It's fine. It's not really that big of a deal, honestly."
"But it is!" Katase exclaims while zipping to his left side and wrapping her arms around his own, catching him off guard. "Those two will take any chance they get to corrupt you into a perverted deviant!"
"She's right," Murayama adds while grabbing hold of his other arm, making Issei's blush turn a darker red. "We can't let them keep harassing you like this. No good will come out of it."
Issei stutters as his eyes shift between the smiling girls.
"H-H-Hey! Wh-Why are you two holding onto me like that?!"
"Because we're about to play dodge ball, and we want you on our team."
"Eh?!"
As Issei heard Katase's explanation, a few more girls started to approach Issei.
"Hold on! We want him on our team!"
"Yeah! Don't hog Issei to yourselves!"
"I want him on my team!"
"No, he should be on mine!"
As the girls continued to argue about whose team Issei should be on, some boys arrived and started giving mixed responses. Some want to be on the team Issei would be in, and some want to be on the team opposing Issei's.
Before more quailing could ensue, and before Issei could faint with all of the attention he was getting, the gym teacher blew her whistle to silence the students.
"Alright, that's enough! I'll be the one assigning teams! Don't even think about complaining if your partners aren't who you want to have!"
And the gym teacher did just that. With two teams having twelve players each, Issei was assigned to one with an even amount of girls boys. One of the girls on his team was Katase, who immediately approached Issei and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Let's win this game together, Issei-kun!"
"Y-Yeah," Issei agrees while stroking one of the locks of hair behind his head.
Murayama, along with some of the girls on the opposing team, had disappointed expressions when they learned that they will be playing against Issei, but some boys, two of whom are the Perverted Duo, were getting excited to play.
The students got to their spots on the field. As soon as the coach saw that they were ready, she blew her whistle signaling the game to begin.
"Aim for the pretty boy!" one of the boys yells on the team that's opposite of Issei's.
Issei heard the shout of one of the opposing boys making an attempt to hit him with a ball.
"Watch out!"
Before Issei could be taken out, a girl on his team managed to catch the ball in her hands while shooting a glare at the opponent who threw it.
"That's an out!"
The boy growled in defeat. As he was moving out of the way of the rest of the game, the girl that saved Issei looked over to him and smiled.
"I got your back, Issei-kun!"
Issei blinked at his teammate twice before nodding in thanks.
But then, he suddenly felt his instincts kick in and quickly dropped on all fours in a push-up position. As he did the students and the coach look to see that he dodged another ball from the enemy team.
Issei looked over to where the ball landed after subconsciously dodging it and kept his gaze on it with broadened eyes.
'Huh?! I didn't even know that another attack was coming!'
"That was a close one!" another teammate of his said after witnessing Issei's action.
"Come on! Get up before someone takes advantage of your position!"
Issei's head snaps back to his teammates and quickly did as he was told. He then sets his eyes forward towards his opponents.
As he did, one of the girls of the opposing team was aiming a ball at one of Issei's teammates, a boy. The boy didn't pay attention since he was focused on the other teammates, but once the corner of his eye noticed the ball hurling at him, he froze in place, expecting to get hit.
PIFF!
The boy flinched at the sound of impact, but his eyes slowly open when he realizes that he didn't get hit.
"What the..? Huh?! Hyoudou?!"
Much to his disbelief, the boy's eyes revealed that it was Issei who caught the ball before it could hit his teammate. Looking at his face, he gasps to see the wide-eyed, iris-contracted stare on the ball he caught.
With that expression remaining, Issei then sets his sights on another opponent, who squeaked at the stare and went to move out of the way. But Issei already threw the ball as soon as he tried to run, smacking him right on the back, forcing the boy to fall onto the ground because of the impact.
Issei's stern glare remained on the opponent until the whistle to signal the two outs brought the brown-haired man back to reality. After gasping, he then looks down towards his torso with a shocked expression.
'There I go again!' Issei thought. 'First with mom, and now in dodge ball! Just how did I get this quick?!' He then slowly lifts his hands towards himself. 'And what I did there… I hope I didn't break his back…' Issei lifts his head up towards the boy he took out of the game and saw he could walk just fine, making him sigh a breath of relief, thankful that his attack wasn't too brutal on the gym classmate.
"Hey." Issei was snapped out of his thoughts when the boy he saved tapped him on the shoulder, prompting him to turn his head to him. "Uh… Thanks for that."
"Y… Yeah. No problem."
After the brief exchange, Issei continued to play the dodge ball game while mentally wondering what else will happen, both in the game and to himself during it.
And whatever happens out there, he's hoping that it won't be anything too crazy, or anything that would make everyone call him a superhuman, even though there are a rare few boys who are already believing that.
With the school day finally over, Issei was now by himself in a hallway of the academy, leaning his back on a wall spending most of his time gazing at the diamond mark on his right hand's palm.
Issei sighs as he kept his eyes on it. Ever since that mark appeared on his hand, his performance in almost everything has increased greatly. He felt more aware of his surroundings, more conscious, and what confused him the most, his body felt stronger and faster.
The dodge ball game from hours ago was what brought the young man to this revelation. Throughout the game, he remembered being able to dodge every single ball that was thrown at him, catch every ball that went for him, and mostly his teammates, and what surprised him greater, how precise his aim and throwing were when he was prompted to be on the offense.
Issei grimaced when he recalled the faces of the male opponents after he took out three more of the enemy players. They looked afraid of him. And who wouldn't after seeing how much pain they were in after getting hit by Issei's strong throws?
His eyes stay locked onto the black mark, now trying to figure out how he got it. With all of that strength and wit he has today, he can't help but think that it's because of that four-point diamond after being revived by Dainichi Otsutsuki, the God who told him about the supernatural before bringing him back from the dead.
"Hyoudou!"
Issei jumped when he heard someone call out to him. Turning his head left, he looked to see Genshiro running up towards him.
"O-Oh! Genshiro, how are you?" After he asked, Issei noticed that his friend's expression was that of bewilderment.
"I'm doing fine," Saji replies before pointing a finger at him. "But dude, I was told that you were incredible today!"
"Eh?" Issei rose a brow at him. "Wh-Whatever do you mean?"
"I've heard about what happened at your gym class from the other students." Issei's eyes widen at Genshiro. "From what I've gathered from them, you were a very fast runner and that you had the greatest dodge ball game your team has ever played!"
"O-Oh!" Issei was a little surprised when he learned that Saji was told about what happened in his gym class. "W-W-Well, I'm just as surprised as anyone, to be honest. When I first woke up today before coming to school, I've learned that my movement was greater than normal when I helped my mom from tripping over. As for the game… I really don't know how I got faster and a little stronger, it just… happened."
Now it was Genshiro's turn to be surprised. And when Issei told him this, he saw that the brown-haired man's face looked confused and frustrated. But he didn't notice his eyes shifting to and from his right hand every few seconds.
'Wait… does this have to do with last night?'
Swallowing a lump, Genshiro walks closer to his friend and places a hand on his shoulder, getting him to look back at him.
"Hey, did something happen, Hyoudou? You know, yesterday."
Issei stiffened for a moment. He remained silent for six more seconds before sighing and turning his eyes towards his right hand, uncertainty written all over his face.
"Genshiro… I don't think you'd believe me even if I told you."
Saji's eyes broaden at Issei. And judging by his expression, he looked very conflicted about telling him what happened. But with what Genshiro has learned weeks ago before befriending Issei, he was betting that what he would tell him would be the truth.
"Hey, I've heard of crazier things, man. Just go ahead and tell me, bud. I'll hear you out."
Issei blinks twice at the kindness his friend was displaying to him. After thinking about it, he takes one more deep breath before setting his stare onto the blonde man.
"Well… You see… Last night, I was-"
"Look everyone, it's the two great Onee-samas!"
As if on cue, Issei and Genshiro turn their heads over to where the male student was pointing his finger as he announced it. Upon eye contact, the students look to see two familiar third-years walking down the stairs, Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima.
The reactions from the students are about what Issei and Saji expected. Most of the boys kept their stares locked onto them while whispering to each other on how gorgeous they are, with some wishing that it was possible to date them.
Even a few of the girls were infatuated by their beauty. The duo did get some jealous stares from a few of the other third-years, but a few of them stared on with admiration and love.
Genshiro listened to the students' reactions to the "Onee-samas" and chuckled while shaking his head.
"Man, Gremory-senpai and Himejima-senpai are quite popular, wouldn't you say, Hyoudou?"
Issei felt Genshiro nudge his shoulder with his arm and shared a mild laugh with him while scratching the back of his head.
"Y-Yeah. I'm sure there's a reason so many people like them."
After saying that, Issei sets his eyes onto the third-years and watches them get to the bottom of the stairs.
As they did, Issei began to have this feeling in his right arm again, but unlike the first time and previous times, this one was a little more milder.
'There it is again,' Issei thought as he took a quick glance at his arm before looking back at Rias and Akeno. 'And this time, it's kicking in when I keep looking at them. Why is that?'
Just as he mentally questioned that, his heart skipped a beat when he noticed Rias locking eyes with his own despite her head facing forward as she and Akeno were walking across the hallway, which made the girls get a little closer to him and Genshiro. And while she was looking at him, she gave him a quick smile before passing by him.
'What… What was that about..?'
THROB!
"AGH!"
Genshiro zips his head to his friend and the two third-years stopped walking when they hear Issei grunt in pain while grabbing onto his right arm's wrist in reaction to said pain.
When Issei did that, he locked his eyes onto his palm as the shivering feeling in his arm began to grow stronger, causing his eyes to broaden further and his brows to furrow with gritted teeth.
"Hyoudou, what's wrong?!" After asking him in worry, Saji looks at Issei to see that his stare was still on his palm.
Rias and Akeno looked where Issei was looking too, and as they did, the girls managed to see the four-sided diamond mark on it, causing Rias to raise a brow at it.
"I… I'm okay," The two girls hear Issei reply to Saji before putting his right hand behind himself, unknowingly showing his black mark to Rias and Akeno, prompting them to get a clear, closer look at it while still listening in to the boys' conversations. "My… my wrist just cramped up for a moment, but it doesn't hurt anymore."
Genshiro still looked at him with worry. From how he sounded earlier, he was starting to act a little weird. And for some reason, something was telling the blonde boy that it has something to do with the "cramp" in his right arm's wrist.
"A-Anyway," Issei continues, hoping to move on to another topic away from his sudden pain and shivering in his arm. "I've been meaning to ask, Genshiro, how's Reya-san? I never got to see her today. I hope she's well."
"Kusaka-san?" Genshiro pauses for a moment, remembering how his fellow council member acted both last night and today after hearing from his Kaichou about what happened to him. And while he was working, he would sometimes hear Reya whisper his name every minute out of worry for him while working slower than normal, as she too knows what's really going on in the supernatural world.
"She… she's been busier with council work than usual today," Saji answers, wanting to be respectful of Reya's privacy and feelings towards his friend. "But other than that, she's good. She even told me to tell you hello and hopes that you're doing okay."
Issei smiles in gratitude.
"Then when you get back to the council, can you tell her I said hello back and I'm hoping to meet with her again soon?"
Saji noticed how Issei looked a little stressed despite his small smile and softened his eyes towards his friend.
"Damn, was yesterday that rough for you, dude?"
Issei releases a sheepish laugh while scratching his cheek.
"You can say that…" Realizing how deep on the subject he was about to get, Issei slaps his hands onto his cheeks, bewildering Genshiro, Rias, and Akeno. "Oh! I just remembered! I promised my mom that I would go out and buy some food for my cat, Midnight!" the brown-haired man then begins to run off to do just that. "I better get moving! See you later, Genshiro!"
"H-Hey! Hyoudou!"
Genshiro tried to call out to Issei, but he was already gone, slightly shocking him on how fast he ran out of the scene. After looking where he left for a few more seconds, he sighs and starts to walk his own path back to the office of the student council. As he was, he couldn't stop thinking about what happened to Issei.
'Hyoudou… Whatever happened yesterday, I hope you're okay.'
With Genshiro gone, Rias and Akeno kept their eyes on where Issei once was for a moment before looking back at each other.
After heading back home with the cat food he bought like he promised his mother, and having finished the dinner Miki prepared for the family, Issei went inside of his room to get a quick change in clothes. He was now wearing a black hoodie with its sleeves pulled up and a pair of short caches.
After getting everything else he needs, Issei walks out of his room downstairs into the living room and approaches the front door, catching his parents and Midnight's attention.
"Issei, where are you off to?" Issei's mom asks, noticing his new attire.
"I'm… going for an afternoon jog," Issei answers while getting his shoes on.
"Be careful out there son," Gorou instructs with a mix of worry and seriousness. "After what happened to you yesterday..."
Issei understood what his father was talking about and nodded at him with an assuring smile.
"Don't worry, dad. I'll be extra careful today."
Issei then guides his hand towards the door's knob. Once he placed it there, he felt something touch his leg and looked down to see Midnight looking up at him and meowing.
"Hey, don't worry, girl," Issei says kindly, crouching to the cat's level to scratch her cheek. "It's just an afternoon jog. I'll be back soon, I promise."
Midnight didn't look too sure about it. She kept her paw on his leg while Issei began to open the door.
"Well, I'm off."
"Run safely, Issei," Mom says while waving at his son, who waved back before closing the door behind himself.
Once Issei was out of the house, Midnight kept her eyes on the door while releasing a trill that sounded like anguish.
"Aw, it's okay, Midnight," Miki says to the cat while gently petting her head, prompting her to look up at her. "You're not the only one who's worried about Issei."
Midnight then allows Miki to pick her up and carry her in her arms. As she was walking back to the couch to sit with the cat, Miki takes one more look at the door with softened eyes, praying in her mind that her son won't suffer another accident like the one he explained last night.
After walking five feet from his house, Issei tapped his toes on the ground twice while pulling up the sleeves of his hoodie. With another double-check of his pockets, he takes a deep breath and faces forward with narrowed eyes.
"Alright… Here we go."
With his left foot forward, Issei began his jog around his neighborhood. He started slow, paying very close attention to his surroundings as he kept moving.
After two minutes pass, Issei's speed began to slightly increase without him realizing it because of how focused he was. The clear feeling he felt back in gym class even kicked in as well.
While he was focusing, Issei began to experience the same phenomenons as he did back in gym class, but there was something new to add to it.
As he ran, he could hear other people's conversations from afar both in front and behind him. But it wasn't the usual distance of hearing at a long-range, he heard them clearly, all while he kept running.
And when he was faced with some obstacles that aren't necessarily dangerous, Issei would jump over them, sidestep, and dodge them all with no problem. It surprised Issei that he was able to do so very quickly because of how fast he was sprinting, but he kept the thoughts to himself to think about later after he's done.
After a couple more hours of running, making it now dark outside, but not too dark to be late, Issei decides to stop so he can catch his breath. At least that's what he thought before discovering that once again, like the jogging session back at gym class, he didn't breathe as hard as he usually would when he ran for such a long period of time.
'Just as I thought…' Issei frowns with furrowed brows while looking down at his own body. 'I'm not feeling as tired as I usually would if I went as fast as I did, and if I ran this long.' the young man then places his right hand on his cheek. 'And what's with those slick moves I pulled off there? There was no way I could have this kind of agility until now. How could I suddenly have such skills while strangely being so full of energy?'
Issei removes his hand off of himself to take another look at the mark on his palm. He kept his stare on the diamond, still under the impression that this was the reason for the sudden changes in his body.
Hey, he met a God that granted him a second chance in life, so at this point, he wouldn't be surprised anymore if it has to do with the mark.
Sighing a breath of confusion, Issei starts to walk his way home, deciding to continue his puzzling there. While he was, the corner of his eye caught a glimpse of a couple holding each other's hands while smiling and laughing. As he walked past them, his eyes broaden a little with a blush to see that the man was lightly groping his girlfriend's butt, earning a pout from her and responding with a stronger pinch back on his own rear.
'Couples are getting more publicly daring these days,' Issei thought while rolling his eyes at the perverted actions of the couple.
But seeing them didn't stop him from thinking about his current relationship with Reya Kusaka. He still had yet to ask her out on a date. The problem is, he's not ready to do it yet, or at least, he doesn't feel ready. If he was going to ask Reya out, he wanted the request to be the best it could be without it feeling awkward for the both of them.
But suddenly, Issei's thoughts about Reya came to an abrupt halt when his right arm began to twitch, making him stop walking. Issei's expression became that of worry, recognizing this feeling in his arm all too well.
'There's that irritating feeling again…' Issei thought as he grabbed hold of his wrist while looking around his surroundings. 'But this time… it's more dreadful…'
Swallowing a lump, Issei treads forward towards home again with the feeling in his arm still going off. He kept looking left and right as he kept getting this nagging thought that he was being watched by someone.
Or worse, hunted.
After taking three more steps, Issei's instincts suddenly went off and snapped his head towards an alleyway between two houses, thinking that someone was there.
But once his eyes lied in that direction, he saw that nobody was really there. It took Issei a moment to process this before sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.
"My mind must be playing with me tonight."
"You can sense my presence, human."
Issei's eyes widen with a "Tch!" when he heard someone talking to him with mild surprise in his voice. Zipping back towards the alleyway, he gasps to see a middle-aged man with short black hair and dark blue eyes wearing a gray trench coat over a white dress shirt, black pants and shoes, and a matching fedora on his head.
"I must say, this is quite the surprise," The man says with a grin while adjusting his hat. "Bumping into someone who's supposed to have been taken care of by her."
Issei didn't know how to respond, but the way that person phrased his sentence made the young man shudder with his right arm shaking harder as if to warn him that he needs to be cautious of him.
"Who… Who are you?"
The man chuckles before widening his smirk.
"Who I am is not important. What is important is your apparent survival against Raynare."
"Wh… Who..?"
Issei didn't quite understand what the stranger was talking about. Before he could ask who exactly this Raynare is, he saw the man frown while slowly walking towards him. And as he was, Issei could see the dangerous and interrogative stare he was given while the man was now frowning.
"Tell me, kid, how exactly did you avoid death?"
With alarm bells going off in his head, Issei turned right around and bolted right out of the area, slightly taking aback the stranger.
Issei kept running and running while shifting his eyes behind himself. It was at a time like this that one should concentrate on running away from danger, and that man in the trench coat was very imposing, from how he laughed and grinned, to how sinister his stare was when he tried to approach him.
Despite getting far away from the stranger, the shivering feeling in his right arm didn't go away, which served as fuel for most of his sprinting.
He kept going for five more minutes until he decided to come to a halt. Again, he only breathed lightly despite how far and fast he ran.
Issei then lifts his right arm up and gently grabs hold of the wrist. As he was stroking it, his eyes worked their way up from the wrist to the mark on his palm.
"It's dying down…" Issei whispers to himself while closing his hand a few times.
After breathing in relief, Issei looks down from his hand to what's in front of him, and what he saw made him gasp.
The young brown-haired man has found himself in a park with the water still going. But this wasn't any old park, it was the exact same park that Issei took Yuuma to on the night where she grew feathered wings and stabbed him with a spear made of light.
The memory made Issei shudder as he placed a hand onto his stomach, still feeling the betrayal of the black-haired girl while still not expecting to be in such a place.
"Whoa… How did I..?" Just as he was musing, Issei suddenly remembered something and quickly darted his eyes towards the spot where he was supposedly slain. Once he did, his eyes widen further to see that there was not a single trace of his blood left. It looked so clean that it looked like the stabbing never happened.
"What?! B-B-But how?! There's no way it would take a single day to clean up so much blood! And why wasn't there a report of an attack on TV?! Surely, someone would have noticed it when they walked by that spot!"
Issei continued to try to wrap his head around how the scene was as clean as it is, as well as how no one made a fuss about the blood that was once there.
But then, the feeling that warned him of potential danger has started ringing in his right arm again. And as if he was told to do so, Issei instinctively looked up and saw something he did not expect to see.
Above him, he could see the exact same man that was in the alleyway. But what shocked Issei the most was how he was up in the sky.
'No… Those wings…' Issei thought with contracted irises of fear as he saw the familiar black appendages on the stranger's back. 'They're… They're just like Amano-san's!'
At this point, Issei began to quake in total dread, with his arm doing the most shivering, as the man used his feathered wings to slowly descend downwards while keeping his eyes on Issei. Once he landed, he softly laughs at the boy while setting his right hand on his side.
"Heh! You're fast, kid." After he said that, a dark blue light appeared in front of his palm. "But not fast enough."
Issei releases a breath of shock when he observed the light at the stranger's hand further. The light kept flashing for a moment before it started forming a familiar weapon, only that it's blue instead of red like Yuuma's, and is differently shaped than hers.
'Him too?!'
After creating the spear in his hand, the man looked back at Issei while adjusting his hat with his other hand, making the brown-haired man take a step back.
"Hmm… There seems to be a decent amount of magic within you, kid," he says while twirling his light spear around. "Perhaps you've used that exact same magic to escape Raynare?"
Issei clicks his tongue at what the stranger was saying, still not understanding what exactly he was talking about.
"Normally, I'd just let her know that you're still around, but since Raynare can act like a spoiled bitch whenever things don't go well," The stranger pauses for a moment to take aim at Issei, who twitched at his action. "I think I'll just go ahead and finish the job so she won't realize that you've somehow survived her wrath."
Issei watches the man chuckle again before reading his arm to throw the spear.
'Oh no! It's just like last night! I'm going to get killed!'
With a teeth-showing grin, the stranger threw his spear at Issei, aiming for his heart to make sure that he stays dead.
But just as he threw it, the man gasps with broadened eyes when he sees something that he didn't expect at all.
Issei dodged his spear of light. And when he did, Issei felt like he just dodged a bullet. When he moved his body out of the way just in the nick of time, it felt to him like he was temporarily trapped in slow motion as he watched the spear of light just fly by him, nearly cutting his skin as he saw just how close it was to piercing him.
After dodging, Issei and the man see the spear hit a nearby tree. It remained impaled there before it vanished into a dark blue light, which faded away afterward.
The man looked towards the tree it hit with bewilderment still in his face before looking back at Issei, who looked right back at him with a panicked expression of his own.
"No way…" the stranger said. "That was my fastest attack!" He then points at Issei. "But I don't get it… Raynare said that it was an easy kill. And when I threw my spear, you avoided it like it's nothing."
"N-Now wait just a minute!" Issei snaps, having finally worked up the nerve to say something to the man. "Wh-Why are you trying to kill me?! Who is this Raynare person you keep talking about?! And why did you say that I was supposed to die by her hands?!"
The stranger rose a brow at Issei.
"Have you forgotten what happened yesterday, kid?"
"What about yesterday?" Issei questions the stranger. "All I know is that I helped a girl named Yuuma Amano-san around my neighborhood before she grew the same pair of wings like yours and…"
Issei pauses when he was about to say the part where she betrays him. As he thought about it further, his eyes slowly got wider and wider as he now realizes the correlation between last night's events and what the stranger was talking about.
"Finally putting the pieces together, huh, kid?" the man chuckles before creating another object out of his blue light, revealing it to take the form of a simple sword. "That's right. That Yuuma girl you're talking about, that's Raynare. Yuuma Amano was just a fake name she used so she wouldn't get noticed by our enemies so she can take you out for having a dangerous Sacred Gear."
Issei remained stunned at the revelation. Just how does this stranger know about what has happened to him last night? Did he know the girl? Or perhaps he was in cahoots with her the whole time?
All of these questions were making Issei shiver more and more, continuing to be unsure what to make of it all.
"Well, not that it matters much," the stranger says devilishly before pointing his light sword at Issei with a dark, wide grin. "You're still a dead man, kid! This time, I'll be more direct!"
The man was about to charge forward in an attempt to decapitate Issei. But before either of them could make a move, the boys jump back when a yellow spear of light lands in between them with the object being a little closer to the stranger than Issei.
As he made eye contact with the light object, Issei's right hand began to shake once more, and he felt his instincts tell him that someone was approaching on his right.
Turning his head there, with the stranger following his stare, Issei's eyes widen when he sees a tall and buxom woman with yellow eyes and long, navy blue hair wearing a maroon top that showed of her breasts and cleavage, a matching colored miniskirt, and black heeled shoes.
Upon looking at her face, Issei saw the sternest expression she's ever seen on a woman. But what shocked her the most was that she had the same black feathered wings as the stranger.
'Oh no…' Issei thought as he watches the blue-haired woman create another lance of yellow light in her right hand. 'Another one?'
Issei stiffens up with contracted irises of fear when her glare lands on him as she got closer and closer. He thought that she was after him too since she possesses the same wings and was walking over towards him.
But as she got close enough, the woman walked past Issei and stops towards the man in the trench coat with her lance aiming towards him.
"You're not touching him, Dohnaseek."
"E… Eh?"
Issei drew a blank at her choice of words. But before he could say anything, the stranger, now known as Dohnaseek, laughs out loud and stands his ground.
"I had a feeling you'd arrive, Kalawarner! But that won't mean I'll step down from doing what needs to be done!"
Kalawarner's expression becomes harsher as Dohnaseek aims his sword to cut her down, only for her to block the attack, starting a battle between the two Fallen Angels.
Issei leaps backwards while he still gripped his wrist. He really expected that woman to have the same cause as Dohnaseek, but for her to protect him instead, he was definitely caught off guard there.
With gritted teeth, Kalawarner strikes at Dohnaseek's light sword before taking a quick glance at Issei.
"Leave this area, Issei Hyoudou!"
Issei does a double-take at the woman's instructions.
"How… How do you know my name?"
"There's no time to explain!" Kalawarner snaps before pushing Dohnaseek away from herself and Issei. "Get the hell out of here, now!"
Issei didn't have to think twice before turning around and sprinting his way towards home. Since he wants to live, he would rather be anywhere else than here.
Dohnaseek saw Issei fleeing and tries to throw his sword at him only to be stopped with a knee in the gut by Kalawarner.
Issei kept running and running until he could no longer see the two feather-winged people fighting each other. Once that was the case he stopped for a moment to look over behind him.
'First, another feather-winged person like Amano-san comes to try and kill me, and now another one, which is a woman, arrived to protect me?'
Issei knew that the supernatural is a real thing after what has happened to him on that dreadful night yesterday, and he recalled the Otsutsuki God telling him that he will have to deal with it, but he never thought that he would be as hunted as this Dohnaseek stranger made it sound like to be.
Shaking his head, Issei continued to make his way home as fast as he can. Nothing else matters now. He can think about it later as soon as he gets home.
But unbeknownst to the boy, a brown-eyed bat with a round body, bird-like legs, and a tail, has watched everything that transpired with Issei. And after seeing it all, including two Fallen Angels fighting, the bat took off to another location.
Issei has finally returned home. After greeting his parents, who welcomed him home, he entered his bedroom with his cat in tow.
After closing the door behind him with Midnight hopping on his bed, Issei sighs deeply and plops right next to the cat with a deep sigh of frustration.
"What the hell…" Issei whispers as he plops himself on his chair. "Just what is going on right now?"
Right after he asked himself this, Issei felt his cat jump right onto his lap, prompting him to look down at her and blink.
After meowing, Midnight brushes her face onto his chest in an attempt to make him feel better. It kinda worked since Issei started to pet her with a small smile, but his mind was still on the Fallen Angels. One that killed him, another that attempted to murder him, and the last one that protected him.
"The God calls those with black feather-wings Fallen Angels," Issei recalls before lifting his right hand up to look at his mark. "But the one with blue hair decided to shield me instead of what Amano-san and that man have tried to do…" Issei sighs, finding the puzzle he has found for himself to be very confusing. "I can't make heads and tails on this," Issei says before looking down at Midnight. "What about you?"
The cat blinks at Issei once before lifting her front paw up and presses it against his cheek.
Issei rose a brow at her as she lightly rubs it a few times before taking her paw off of him. He chuckles shortly after with a small smirk.
"Can't say I blame you."
After a few more moments of reflecting on what just happened, Issei decided to call it a night and get prepared for bed while Midnight hopped onto her usual spot on the bed so she can use his lap as her cushion.
As he tucked himself and his cat in, Issei couldn't help but wonder what will happen next. Will he be attacked again? Will he encounter a supernatural being that isn't a Fallen Angel? What about that blue-haired woman that protected him from her own race?
He didn't know, and right now, he didn't care. All that matters to him is that he gets to live another day.
But how tomorrow and the days after that will go, well, the only way to find out was to wait as time goes by.
On the next day, after another school day has wrapped up, Issei remained seated at his desk while peering deeply into the black diamond mark on his palm.
His mind was still on what happened last night. And he continued to wonder if he'll encounter any more crazy events once heads home.
The Otsutsuki God did say that he would encounter the supernatural, so Issei knows that he may see something different.
But what it is, he is unsure about it. And whether he's prepared for it or not, he'll have to deal with it. This is how the world is now.
His mind then lingered onto himself. During his biology class hours ago, he and his classmates got their tests returned after they were graded. And when he got his, much to his shock, he discovered that he earned a perfect score on his test.
As he expected, he got many shocked reactions from his classmates, and a surprised, but proud response from his biology teacher. And as usual, the Perverted Duo tried to pry him for how he got smarter, with Motohama thinking that he cheated. But thankfully, Katase managed to shut them up so he could move on in slight peace
As he thought about his perfect score on the test, Issei was now questioning if all of those sudden natural enhancements he got also played with his memory banks to be as greatly improved as his senses, agility, speed, and strength.
And once again, it all went back to that mysterious mark on his palm.
"Good evening, everyone."
Upon hearing someone enter the classroom, everyone looks towards the door and has mixed reactions when they see that it's Yuuto Kiba who has entered the room with a kind wave and smile.
The reactions were the most usual. Pretty much all the boys except for Issei glared daggers at the blonde, while most of the girls squealed and waved towards Yuuto.
"Oh my god, Kiba-kun is here~!"
"He's just as gorgeous as ever~!"
"Yeah, he may be handsome, but he'll never be as cute as Issei-kun~"
"Oi! Are you saying that Issei is better than Yuuto-kun?!"
"That's right. Got a problem with that?"
Issei cringed at the sight of the fangirls arguing over who was better, Issei or Yuuto.
'My god… It's like Team Edward vs Team Jacob all over again,' Issei thought before shivering his legs with his irises becoming small dots. 'Why did mom find those movies appealing again?'
Shaking off that memory from a few years ago, Issei looks back over to Yuuto and broadens his eyes a bit to see that he is at his desk looking right at him with his usual friendly smile.
"Oh, Kiba, hello," Issei says. "So… what brings you here?"
Issei watches Yuuto lightly bow his head to him, making the brown-haired boy tilt his head at him.
"Issei, I apologize if this sounds rather sudden, but can you please come with me?"
While Issei cocked a brow at Yuuto, the fangirls of both boys watch on with shocked expressions of their own with both sides wondering where this will go.
"Eh? Why do you want me to go with you? Is there something you need?"
"Actually, it's my Buchou, Rias-senpai, who's requesting your presence at the Occult Research Club. She asked for me to take you there."
With most of the students surprised by this revelation, as was Issei to an extent, he started to think what this is about and gave Yuuto a kind shake of his head.
"Sorry, but I don't think I'll be able to join any clubs."
"Oh no, it has nothing to do with that. Rias-senpai just wishes to speak with you, that's all."
"Speak with me about what?"
Yuuto's smile widens while he closed his eyes.
"You'll find out after I escort you there. Rias-senpai is very insistent that you have a talk with her today."
Issei gave Yuuto a deadpan for about four seconds before sighing.
"Okay, I'll bite. Lead the way, Kiba."
Nodding, Yuuto waits for Issei to gather his belongings. And after standing up from his chair to follow him, his eyebrow twitches when he hears the girls begin to gossip on what's going down between the two.
But thankfully, not only were Katase and Murayama intolerant to this, but when the two boys left, Issei could no longer hear them, sparing him from any more embarrassing things that would come out of the gossipers' mouths.
'Okay, so I just need to follow Kiba to the Occult Research Club. Surely, it won't be too bad, right?'
Unfortunately, for Issei, he would have to put up with more girls as he and Yuuto would walk by them. Like his classmates, the girls they pass by gasp dramatically at the sight of Issei and Yuuto walking together.
There were some girls who just said hello to the boys kindly with both of them waving back, but there were also a few who cooed at Issei and Yuuto being together, making the brown-haired man shiver while he kept staring at the ground.
"Kiba… How much further is your club?"
"Don't worry, Issei," Kiba whispers back as the two boys exit the school. "We're almost there."
Issei rose a brow at him. The Occult Research club was not in the school building itself? Just where could they possibly locate themselves?
"Here we are."
Once they arrived at what Yuuto claims to be their destination, Issei rose his brows at the area of the school that he did not expect him to take him there.
"The old school building?" Issei questions Yuuto before looking back at him. "That's where your club is at?"
"That's right."
"And the school board is okay with that?"
"Yes, that's correct," Yuuto saw an expression on Issei's face that told him that he didn't buy it and laughed while scratching his cheek. "I know, Issei. I was just as surprised as you are when I learned that the club will take place here."
After opening his eyes, Yuuto saw that Issei remained suspicious of him.
"You're not gonna sacrifice me to a demon, are you?"
Yuuto gasps at Issei before putting his hands up in defense.
"No, of course not! I promise that this club is only for the purpose of studying the supernatural, not for summoning demons."
Issei kept his deadpan stare onto Yuuto as he watched him open the door for him.
"Come, this way."
Issei stood still for a moment before nodding and following Yuuto's lead.
As the boys entered the old school building, Issei began to feel his right hand shake a little again. But since it was mild, he was able to ignore it and continue to venture inside while keeping up with Yuuto.
Ever since last night when the Fallen Angel Dohnaseek tried to kill him again, Issei started to take those feelings seriously and be very cautious of what's to come next.
So, with his right hand balled into a fist, he continued onward, hoping to figure out what Rias wants to speak to him about, and that he and the others are safe despite this warning signal he was getting from his shivering hand.
To be continued in the next chapter: "Answers for the supernatural world."
Issei's current harem: Reya, Kuroka, Kalawarner, Tiamat, Akeno, Asia, Rias, Koneko, Irina, Xenovia, Ravel, Serafall, Gabriel, Tsubasa, Tsubaki
Genshiro: Momo and Ruruko
Until next time, folks~!