Chapter 2: Fitting In
After an eventful-ish day yesterday with school, the strange girl from the bridge, and my dreams, I still proceeded with the day like usual. Today is Saturday, and there is no school, so I decided that maybe it's time to make the most of it and go into town.
"All right, I'm going to head out, mom." I shouted.
"Where are you going?" My mother asked.
"Well, I thought that it would be a great idea if I went into town and did something."
"Well, okay, make sure that you have your phone with you and don't do anything stupid. I need to head back to the office, so don't stay out to late."
"All right, mom, I love you. I'll see you later." I said this as I headed out.
"I love you, too, son. Be safe." She said back.
I should probably do a little shopping; I could really use some new clothes. I should also try to visit the mall to see what's up. Actually, a map would be really useful now. It's not like Kyoto; I mean, it's a sizable city but not as sizable as Kyoto, so getting around the city won't be a huge problem. At least the streets are not that crowded, that's for sure.
"All right, let's see what we get here." I looked around my surroundings for anything that caught my eye.
I actually don't know where to start. This is the first time that I have gone out since I moved here. I never had any reason to, but I sure as hell am not going to keep myself isolated in the house.
"Well, look who it is." I turned around to see a very well-known acquaintance that I met at school yesterday.
"Kiba, hey, how's it going?" I greeted.
"Just doing a little shopping. What are you up to?" Kiba asked.
"Well, I thought about going out and about since there is no school, and I'm trying to figure out what I can do." I said.
"You can tag along with me; I'm meeting up with a friend. Care to join me?" He offered.
"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea." I said, "So, what are we going to be doing?"
"Remember how I told you that the Occult Research Club is inactive?" He reminded me.
"Yeah." I remembered.
"Well, we decided to bring it back up and running. There is an old building right along the western side of the school, and we thought that we could use that for the club."
"Okay, so what are you going to do with it?"
"Just the basics, like buying cleaning supplies so we can clean up the place and get ahold of some decorations for the beauty looks."
"So who is going to run the club?" I asked.
"Rias Gremory, the girl with the crimson hair from yesterday." He answered.
I began to have an image flash of the girl with the crimson hair, and once again, my heart stopped for a second. "She is leading the club?"
"Yeah, along with her best friend Akeno. She is the other one from yesterday as well." He explained.
As Kiba and I were having conversations, we arrived at the mall and saw another well-known acquaintance from yesterday.
"Issei, this is..." I interrupted Kiba.
"Koneko?" It was Koneko that we were meeting up with. What are the odds of that?
"Oh, you guys have met?"
"Yeah, she helped me out on my way around to school."
"What's up, Issei? What are you doing here?" Koneko asked.
"I wanted to go out and about, and Kiba thought that it would be a good idea to tag along to help you guys out with the club." I explained.
"Well, three is always better than two. So, what are we doing first?" She asked.
"The Student Council gave us a hefty fund to set things up, so that it will be enough for the club, so any suggestions?" Kiba asked.
"Well, it can't be a research club without any books, so we can start there." I suggested.
"Very ideal, and what else?" Kiba asked for more suggestions.
"We can buy some lamps, plants, and some chandeliers to make the atmosphere a little bit settling." Koneko suggested
"We can also get it furnished with sofas and a coffee table, and since Rias will be running it, she sure could use a desk for paperwork." I made an addition to the list of suggestions.
"That is a good idea. Although it might take a while to arrange delivery, we might need to talk to someone who handles local shipping."
"Or we can find a furniture store nearby the school, so that local shipment would not be that bad or pricey." I suggest.
"It's a good idea." Koneko comments.
A couple of minutes later, we made ourselves a list of things to get for the Occult Research Club to get up and running. We walked all over the mall to get the stuff that we had on our list to cross off. Some of the items took a while to find because we had been going back and forth from one place to another. I may be helping them with their club and whatnot, but I was actually having fun hanging out with these guys, even if it was just a club thing. It's been awhile since I actually hung out with anyone. Like I said, I never had friends growing up. I only have that one childhood friend, but like I said before, she could be anywhere in the world.
We were at the mall for almost five hours, and we kept getting sidetracked a lot because there were a lot of places that we kept window shopping. Well, mostly window shopping, I finally got some clothes that I can wear casually. Koneko was looking at a bunch of sweets and some cat-related things. She must have a cat at home that she adores.
"What's your cat's name?" I asked.
"What?" Koneko looks at me with confusion.
"You've been buying some cat things, so I would have assumed that you have a cat, right?" I assumed.
"Oh, yes, her name is Shiro." Koneko answered.
"I like cats. It would be nice to have a furry companion, so that the house wouldn't feel too lonely while my mother is working late."
"Have you ever tried getting one?" She suggested.
"I haven't gone around it. I don't know my mom's input on having a little feline running around the house." I explained.
"Well, they are mostly quieter than their canine counterparts." Koneko said.
"Well, hey, don't get me wrong. I mean, dogs are really nice to have around as well." I commented.
"I'm mostly a cat person." She stated.
"Well, that was a lot to do." Kiba commented after the day we spent going around the mall to get the things that we needed.
"We kept on getting sidetracked, man." I elbowed his arm a little.
"What can you say? This mall is filled with the buyer's temptation." Kiba stated.
"Ain't that the truth?" I agreed.
"Are you guys hungry? The mall is about to close, and there is a cafe place that is a couple of clicks from here." Koneko suggested.
"I could really go for a bite." I agreed.
"Yeah, I could eat as well." Kiba agrees as well.
We exited the mall and began to walk to the cafe that Koneko suggested. The sun was setting, but it's still not that late, which means that I still have a decent amount of time before I head home. Actually, I hope the day goes slowly. I'm having so much fun with Kiba and Koneko today. I spent the afternoon and early evening at the mall going shopping and getting sidetracked with my new friends. I was really having a lot of fun. And now we are going out to eat, which is fine because it would save me from doing more dishes and I don't have to cook.
A couple of hours passed, and we got filled up with dinner, and Koneko ate a lot of food. I mean, she ordered three appetizers along with her main meal and a couple of little cakes. She has one hell of a metabolism, because once we exited the cafe, she was eating a bag of chips.
"Well, I better get going, guys." I said.
"All right, thanks for helping us out today and spending time with us." Kiba thanked.
"Yeah, we had a lot of fun. We should do this again sometimes." Koneko suggested.
"I'll take you up for that offer. See you guys later." I said as I waved good-bye to my departing friends.
I begin to walk back home, and all I can think about is how this whole day went. I really had a lot of fun today, and I can't stop thinking about it.
"I had fun today, dad." I said as I was looking up at the stars in the night sky, "I wish that you were still here so I can tell you all about it."
"Then you can tell him when you join him." I heard a very familiar voice that was right in front of me.
"What the hell?" I looked to see that the voice came from no other than, "Yuuma?"
"So, you decided to hang out with those new friends of yours rather than accept my offer on the bridge." She taunts as she suddenly floats in the air and begins to change her appearance to some kind of weird black, BDSM-themed attire with black wings coming out of her back. "How so heart-crushing."
"What the fuck?" I cursed as fear started to grow in me.
"I guess I procrastinated long enough." She said this as she spawned a light-yellow, glowing spear rod from her right hand. "TIME TO DIE!"
"RUN, ISSEI!" I heard a very familiar, deep voice boom in my mind.
"Huh? Mgelika?" I guessed at the time of this critical moment.
"DAMMIT, I SAID MOVE YOUR ASS! GO!" He commanded.
Without hesitation, I started to dash as if tomorrow wasn't going to exist. I don't know where, but all I know is that going home was not an option. This crazy black-winged chick was chasing me as she rained down her rods at me as I dodged every one of them.
"What the fuck is going on?!" I thought, I literally have no idea what to do. It's not everyday that some winged maniac wants to chase you all over the block to kill you.
"There is no time to explain; just keep running, you fool." Mgelika ordered.
I don't know where to go. I just need to lose this psycho, but there is nowhere to hide or run to. I'm going to be running around for a while, but eventually I will get tired out, and she will catch on to me. I'm so fucked.
"No where to hide, boy!" The winged 'Yuuma' taunted.
"Fuck off!" I cursed.
"Now, that's not how to treat a lady." She jokes.
I went down to a large, connected slum-like alley and started to turn to every corner in hopes of losing her. As I was turning right and left in a randomly selected, fast-paced pattern, I stumbled upon a small, old, abandoned complex and jumped inside through an opened window.
"Fuck... Fuck... Fuck." I whispered as I was catching my breath.
"Come out, wherever you are. I can smell the blood flow from underneath your human skin." She said it with such bloodlust.
I kept silent by putting my hands on my mouth to prevent any sounds, as I was still struggling to catch my breath.
"If you come out, then I'll let you pick your death with three options of my choosing." She laughs with such evil. Her voice sounds a little faded, which means that there is a decent amount of distance between me and her.
"What is she?" I asked myself.
"She is what you call a fallen angel." Mgelika answered out of the blue.
"A fallen angel? How is that possible? Wait, Mgelika?! Is that you?" A lot of questions run through my head.
"Nice to see you, too, Guru's boy." Mgelika greeted.
"I thought that you were only in my dreams. Is this real?" I silently freaked out.
"Easy, son. Just breathe." He tries to comfort me.
"It's easy for you to say." I argued.
"Like I said, I thought Juzo or Guru would have explained this to you." He countered.
"Explained what?! Are you going to tell me that monsters exist as well?!" I freaked.
"I told you that I would get the chance to explain to you."
"Yeah, right, like when I'm dead? In case you forgot, we are being hunted by a fallen angel."
"That's also the confusing part."
"No shit! All of this is confusing as fuck."
"No, I mean, what is a fallen angel doing here in this territory? Why would a fallen angel be here attacking during the temporarily ceasefire armistice?"
"What are you talking about? What do you mean by territory? And what ceasefire armistice?"
"There is a lot of explaining to do, my boy."
All of this was giving me a headache. A voice in my head, a fallen angel hunting me down like some kind of big game hunt, territories, and ceasefire armistice. This was too much for the human brain.
"Oh, I'm so grounded when I get home." I commented
"Is that really what you are worrying about right now as a fallen angel is out there playing cat-and-mouse?" Mgelika argues.
"Well, excuse me for trying to not address the elephant in the room for a little bit. Oh, my mom is going to kill me."
"Then let me put you out of your misery." Yuuma appeared and cornered me, leaving me nowhere to run.
"Shit." I cursed.
"I had fun playing this game, but just like any other game, it will always end." Yuuma spawns a spear. "I'm sorry, but the fact is, you are far too great a risk to us. I will have no choice but to dispose of you. If you're looking for someone to blame, why not blame him? He gave you the sacred gear."
Realizing that there was no way out of this, I closed my eyes and started to slowly accept my fate. She has wings and will catch up to me, but I'm tired after all the running and cornered with no exit strategy. This is it, and it looks like I'll be seeing my father real soon.
"Leave him alone, Raynare!" I opened my eyes to see Kiba and Koneko right in front of me in a fighting stance.
"Kiba, Koneko? What are you doing here? She's fucking unhinged!" I declared.
"My, my, look what the cat brought in?" Yuuma, or now 'Raynare' commented.
"I'm sorry, but you aren't allowed here, so you better pack it up and get out of here." Kiba demanded.
"This doesn't concern you, 'Devils,' so I suggest you stay out of my way." Raynare threatened.
"Unfortunately, you are on our territory and have to abide by the rules of the armistice." Koneko stated
"So, like I said, you must leave!" Kiba ordered.
"Screw the armistice! Azazel was so mindless to agree to such a disgrace!" Raynare yells as she pulls out a spear.
Kiba then spawns a sword out of nowhere, and Koneko puts on some fighting gloves.
"What the fuck?" I was so confused and shocked to see what was going on.
Then a fight between them begins. Raynare was throwing spears at Kiba and Koneko as they were dodging and deflecting. Kiba was swinging and slashing at the incoming spears with his sword as they were breaking into particles. Koneko was swishing and dodging them with such incredible reflexes.
"I'm going to show you all what happens when fools try to get in my way!" Raynare shouts as she continues to throw spears.
"Issei, get away from here now!" Kiba ordered.
As I was about to flee, I looked back at Kiba and saw him get hit in the shoulder with a spear, which caused him to drop his sword.
"Kiba!" Koneko ran to the wounded Kiba's aid, she put pressure on his wound, and Raynare was standing in front of them with another spear in her hand.
"You should have stayed out of my way, Devils!" Raynare warned.
As I was watching this scenario go down, it started to remind me of a certain moment in my life. glimpse of that day where I witnessed my father's death in front of me by an unknown assailant, and I was just standing there in shock as my father's helpless body died away. Now, I'm watching the same thing happen all over again in a different scenario.
I find myself clenching my left fist, and suddenly the fear of death fades away and anger fills that spot.
Without hesitation and this new determination, I begin to dash at Raynare without a care of what's going to happen to me, and all of a sudden I feel a tingle in my left fist as some sort of black and purple device appears on my left fist. I wasn't going to ponder it because, with such force, my left fist with the unknown device on it collided with Raynare's left cheek and caused her to fly back and hit a brick wall.
I looked back at Kiba and Koneko, who were as shocked as I was, and then I looked back at Raynare, who was getting up from my attack.
"I don't know what is going on, but you leave my fucking friends alone, you crazy bitch!" I warned as I was putting up my newly found weapon on my left hand.
"You will pay for this! This isn't over!" Raynare declared as she flew away.
As I watched Raynare fly away, I turned back to see the status of my friends, who were now looking at me with there weapons ready.
"Who are you?!" Kiba demanded as he pointed his sword at me.
"Whoa, Kiba, it's me, Issei!" I said it with my hands up.
"I find that hard to believe." He counters.
"What are you? A stray?" Koneko asked.
"I don't know what you are talking about, seriously." I answered.
"What's that on your fist?" Kiba made another demand.
"I don't know! Seriously, I don't know what is going on here! I don't know how I got this or why I am being hunted! I am so confused." I freaked out again.
"You seriously have no idea?" Kiba puts away his sword.
"No, I don't know what all of this is all about or how I am involved." I explained.
Kiba and Koneko looked at each other and then looked at me.
"I don't sense anything about him." Koneko said to Kiba.
"He possesses a sacred tool on his left hand, Koneko." Kiba said.
"Well, he's not a devil, nor is he a stray. He's just a human." Koneko added.
"A human is in possession of sacred gear, and no one has noticed this?"
"Well, he did say that he just got here about a week ago."
"But we would have sensed something."
"We all hung out all day today, and we didn't sense anything from him."
"Maybe he's a different case."
"We'll have to be cautious." Koneko said, and Kiba nodded.
"Um, excuse me, so what's going on?" I asked.
"Issei, why don't you come by the Occult Research Club tomorrow and we can get this figured out?" Koneko suggested.
"I, um, look, I don't know what is going on, but I've been having a very eventful day, but I just want to let you guys know that I don't mean any harm, and I'll come by tomorrow in peace if you agree that no harm will come to me." I said.
"We will uphold our end. Just come by in the afternoon so that we will all be present." Kiba said.
"We'll let everyone know."
I have no idea what they mean by everyone. Raynare called them devils, and Raynare is a fallen angel. I don't know what I got myself into, but somehow this involves me and whatever the hell I have within my left hand. It went from being a peaceful day of hanging out with friends to being a game of cat-and-mouse to being a full-on fight. Yeah, this is too much for the human brain.