"You are not being fair Lucia!" A pouting Irina said to a well-dressed foreigner in a pair of sunglasses. The pair were at the local train station, the older woman smugly smiling at the younger teen with a suitcase at her side. Lucia was going to be staying in Kuoh for the foreseeable future, and with how she and Issei left each other as well as the state of their relationship when they did, it all left a bad taste in Irina's mouth. She had been jealous of their relationship but got over it once they had gotten older, forgetting how close the two were as she got older. She had only remembered hours prior.
"Them be the rules, kiddo." Lucia said, petting the younger girl's hair. "I am not giving him up to anyone." She spoke remembering the sparring match the two would have just had minutes ago. Shortly after meeting for the first time in six years, Irina had challenged Lucia to a duel of sorts for her holy sword and the chance to officially court Issei without interference. "But I will admit you have gotten really strong..." She said moving her hand from the girl's head to her chin, gently raising her head so that she could look Irina in the eye. "With your hair and build I am thinking Gilgamesh, then again you are very pretty and big so..." Her eyes fell onto the girl's chest before rebounding back to the eyes. "How do you feel about cats?..."
Irina was mentally done with the situation. Ever since she was a kid she had to put up with Lucia acting on her whims, whatever the other woman wanted she found a way to get, unless it was an adult or Issei Lucia did not much care what the other person wanted, she was a free-spirited tomboy at the best of times and a tyrant at her worst. At first, she would fight Lucia over every little thing but as time went on the fighting became less frequent and she decided that it was a hassle and to just go along with whatever Lucia wanted. This was one of those times when the only solace the girl had was in itself, her biggest headache. Issei wasn't hers alone, and Irina knew what she saw when she met Issei again two weeks ago. She was afraid to ask about Akeno from him, but since he had no intention of breaking their promise after what he saw, she was willing to share. "I'm a dog person."
"Interesting, I can work with that." Lucia said letting go of Irina's face. "You know that I mean nothing by this right?" She questioned the still upset teen.
"I know." Irina replied. 'You never do.' she thought after her reply, again she would have to submit to the older woman's will. The teen will be sometime in the future cosplaying with her companion, a deal that she had mistakenly taken after Lucia added to the stakes of their sparring match. Now that she knew that the holy sword she was looking for was in safe hands she was thanking her lucky stars that she did not have to go to France any time soon, that she could focus on the more pressing matter in the location of the remaining fallen and finding Freed, as per her deal with her king Sona. "So why are you here? You never told me that."
"Do you really want to know?"
"Obviously, no contact for over six years and you just show up out of the blue. Who wouldn't want to know Lucia?" Irina sounded annoyed at the question. She did not know what was happening with Lucia, but a long-dead cousin of Issei's, especially one he was close with had the recipe of hurting him, not that what she saw of their futures had done enough damage as is. Irina made a decision and that future will no longer be a reality, no matter the cost. "Some of us mourn your death, and some of us weren't allowed to."
Lucia took some time to offer the girl some measured looks under her sunglasses before frowning at what she saw. "Is this about Issei?" She asked calmly.
"What do you think? He does not remember two years of his own life and all of the memories that he had with you are gone. His childhood, the people he had met because of you, all of that torn to pieces because you couldn't give him a proper goodbye." The younger of the two had the appearance of disgust on her face. "So answer the question, Lucia, what are you doing here?"
The older woman looked at Irina with up-turned eyes, the teenager hit a sore spot for her and if it wasn't for the fact that Irina was close with her family they would be having a very different conversation right now. She wouldn't be able to answer though, as soon as her mouth opened to speak Irina was covered in static, her form flickering from the world. Before she could process what was happening Irina had grabbed her and the world around them was covered in ice. 'What?' Was her first thought while she examined her surroundings.
"I was in the middle of something Raynelle, that was very rude."
"Don't blame me, our beloved Issei wanted to talk with you. Apparently, it's very important." Raynare said as she pointed behind her to the boy.
Issei however was not paying the two of them any mind both his and Mittelt's gazes were on the young woman with Irina. Something about her reminded him of someone, not that he would have met this person personally but there was something there. Mittelt however knew exactly who this person was and stiffened. She looked at Raynare whose mood suffered a low at the sight of the woman, both angels stood defensively in front of Issei with Raynare casting aside her sling.
This was a great offense to Lucia who walked past Irina who had been standing in between her and the fallen. Not saying a word both she and Issei stared at each other in the ice-covered train station. Irina, seeing the pending confrontation from a mile away, held out her arms in front of her as if grasping at something, a subtle twist in the air was felt by all and the nape of the two angels appeared in her fingers as both were slammed face first to the ground by Irina.
Lucia did not give the action any mind as she looked into the boy's eyes, and not a moment later she was in his bubble. Issei stood firm at the appearance of this stranger while his companions had been pinned down. The action confused the two angels but their fears were somewhat alleviated with Irina whispering down to them. "Don't fight, she is not here to hurt Issei." Irina Spoke as the two stopped struggling underneath her.
Recognizing what Irina did, Issei offered a sign of resistance towards Lucia, he didn't have to wait long to find out what the 185 cm woman wanted with him. 'Qinglong, restore his memories of me.' Lucia sent the silent command to the dragon god in her head.
'Are you sure, princess?'
'No... But those are the eyes of a warrior, and with...' She looked over to Irina who was currently whispering at the fallen, blood dripping from her mouth. 'Whatever may come from it I am willing to pay whatever cost that will come up, it's my fault that he had forgotten in the first place.'
'An interesting way to spend your final wish, but I understand. You were always the one for a challenge. Well Azure Dragon, daughter of man, and newly crowned kin of my blood, so you wished it so will it be found true.'
Lucia took Issei into an embrace and the world around them went dark. At first, there was nothing but after a few moments, Issei's eyes went wide.
(...)
Issei blinked and was on a train, he looked around and he saw ads from six years ago with a frown. He did not know what was happening but it seemed that he was experiencing one of the other Issei's memories again. "What is going on?" He questioned himself looking down at a smaller body.
"I would explain, but… I am guessing that you are just as confused as I am, Me." Issei remembered that voice. Wide-eyed at the very vision of the woman that he had seen in the dreams that he was having as of late. The olive-skinned woman crossed her legs sitting next to him on the train. "Things are going to get more interesting from here, don't you think." The woman spoke with a look of frustration.
"Wait, you're?"
"Yep, I was fully prepared to let you take care of everything from here. I didn't think that Lucy would have erased Hyoudou Issei's and in extension my memories from that time." She spoke candidly as she stared off into the distance. "I am sorry that you got dragged into all of this." She finished looking at Issei's child-like form.
Issei thought over this entire situation over feeling an odd sense of guilt over it, he had this reality's version of himself pegged all wrong. In the truest sense, he had to bite back his criticisms. "We are really fucked up, aren't we?"
Putting her hands behind her head and leaning back on the seat of the cart she softly chuckled. "That is an underestimation of the truth, I finally get what my father was on about when he punished me… for Sam's crime. When he said that I would understand in time why he was letting me take the blame, that I… that we were in our right to hate him after that day." She stopped realizing something. "Don't you worry about your feelings for Sam even if we were in our original bodies no matter what we called each other it doesn't matter you are free to explore that as you see fit, she has continued to pursue you regardless."
"That is so weird dude, and extremely fucked." Issei relaxed into his chair.
"I don't want to hear that from you." She countered, fully aware of what he had been up to until now. Issei and her are way too similar for words to explain. "Speaking of... What are you going to do about Lucia?" As she says that an image of Lucia speaking with a pink-haired girl appeared next to them with muted voices.
Issei looked at the then-teen with a frown on his face at the feelings surfacing, at the time shared in his memories. "I don't know... What do you think I should do?" He looked back at the tanned woman.
"You have wished for this path, I have no control over what you want. So do as you please with this life, it is yours after all." The woman sighed looking up at the roof of a car. The scene before them transitioned to that of a car traveling down a highway. "You know perfectly well what she wants, and I can't be that for her, but you can. So as a passenger on your journey do what you think is right." She finishes.
"But..."
"What are you going to do? Sacrifice yourself again so I can have some peace? Be real here Issei. We all have our roles to play. And I was ready for this from the day I was born into this world. After all of what you have done you are just going to give up when the finish line is in sight?" The woman spoke with an intense stare. "You are the only one who knows what this enemy of yours is truly capable of and you are the only one they want to face. So don't you dare."
Before he could answer Issei was tossed about in the car as it crashed. Seeing nothing, not anything at all, and feeling despair enter his mind. He knew what this memory was, what the next moments held for him and he did not want to open his eyes, to feel the other Issei's pain. After everything after starting over again and again, he can not add this world's Issei's regret to it all. "If it's wrong I don't care, I am not letting the world decide what we are, Michael. I don't care if that puts this world against us. As long as I live and breathe I am not going to let this world beat either of us."
He heard the woman's voice in the darkness still talking to him. "You would violate the memory of the woman that you called your sister just for me?"
"I have come to peace with her death, and you know she would do the same if it meant saving the people that she cared for. Be real Michael…" Issei's eyes open to a horrific traffic accident with Lucia crawling to him, one eye missing with Ascalon in hand as he lay on the ground covered with injuries. "I need as much help as I can to protect them all." Getting to him Lucia took the younger boy in her arms cradling him in tears. Issei still couldn't hear what she was saying but she wasn't his concern at the moment. "I am not letting it ever happen again. We are not losing anymore." Issei's eyes turned a pale blue as the woman appeared before him. "We are stronger than that." He finished staring into Lucia's singular eye.
The woman smiled as Lucia's hand cupped Issei's cheek, with him finally able to hear what she was saying. "You need to run Issei, take Izumi and run." Lucia said as Issei's body throbbed. Lucia connected their foreheads with both her eyelids closed. "You are not going to remember this, remember me but…" He could hear Lucia choke up, the second time since he had met her, it appeared that all her tears were reserved for him. "You need to live. You need to find your way home. Don't trust anyone that didn't know that you were with me. And always remember that I love you very much…" Issei's eyes felt heavy, and all he saw was her sad smile as the world went dark again. Issei felt a soft sensation on his lips as he blacked out. "I will always love you, Ise."
(…)
Issei, back in the present, putting a hand to his lips "Lucy?" Issei spoke with a flood of memories coming back. Lucia smiled when he called her by that nickname.
"I'm back… Ise. I missed yo-" She was cut off by Issei bringing her into an embrace.
"You idiot, why?"
Lucia was taken aback by Issei's tears as he hugged her. She was fully expecting him to be angry with her after all that happened, what she had done to him. Her heart broke at the sight. "I wanted to protect you Ise. If I left suddenly you would have come looking for me. You would have stopped at nothing and I could not have that. I could have died that night you know and I had to think about Izumi and you. You two were still kids." She said putting a hand on his head, cooing him.
"But you didn't, you are still alive. Why didn't you come back?" He asked, melting at her touch.
"I wanted to…" She said looking up at the ice-covered ceiling of the station. "There were times that I almost did but…"
"But?"
"I was too scared…" She looked down at the boy who was 10 cm shorter with a frown. "It's been six years Issei, we are far different people than we were."
"Why does that matter?" Issei met her eyes. "No matter what happened I still needed you." His face morphed into that of an angry expression. 'I know that I am being selfish, and this is really fucked up but…' Issei thought, not breaking eye contact. "Do you know what it felt like all of this time? I should be a big brother right now, my dad left before I could really understand that he was gone, my mom had to watch as I sprawled out of control, and you were gone from my life and I was not allowed to remember you. My sacred gear almost got me killed over and over again, I lost friends, and with all of it, you weren't there when I needed you. Lucy…"
"I'm sorry…"
"Don't be." Issei let out a choked breath, hugging her tighter. "I needed my big sister, I still do." Issei finished burying his face into Lucia. He wasn't lying either, he needed her more than she would ever know, her being the third strongest living Pendragon.