It was the beginning of summer vacation as Issei was stirred from his sleep. His groggy mind wondered what woke him up and he began to look around at what it could be. To one side of him was Rias and Asia, sleeping soundly. Asia, who would usually sleep on top of him seemed to have slipped off and was now using Rias as a body pillow. On the other side of him was Mash and Nero. Mash was sleeping peacefully, which brought a smile to his face. Meanwhile Nero was spread out on the bed sleeping lazily. Issei was thankful the bed was large enough for that. Now that he had confirmed everyone who was supposed to be on the bed, he wondered what woke him up. His answer came as something under his blanket began to creep up towards his face. He currently couldn't move without waking the others, so he decided to wait and see what it was. A moment later Akeno appeared from under the blanket, wearing a thin, almost see-through yukata. She smiled mischievously as she greeted him. "Ufufu. Good morning, Issei-kun," she said seductively.
"Good morning, Akeno. What brings you to my room so early in the morning, and on top of me no less?" asked Issei with a wry smile, trying to play it cool, but having an idea of why she was here.
Akeno began clinging to Issei and Issei was able to feel her body through her yukata. He did his best to control himself since he knew that if the others woke up now there would be chaos. Akeno didn't seem to care however as she slowly and seductively made her way closer to Issei's face. She planted a kiss on his neck then moved her face closer to his while circling her finger on his chest. "So, this is the feeling of a man. It's much more different than I imagined. So much more rugged and sturdy, or is that because it's Issei-kun? No doubt it's from all your training, right?" she said, seemingly avoiding the question. She then started to whisper in his ear. "Hey, Issei-kun. How does my body feel?"
"It feels amazing, without a doubt. I'd be lying if I said I didn't imagine what it would feel like back before I went missing, and feeling it now definitely blows my imagination out of the water," he said with a smirk.
Akeno let out a chuckle at Issei's words. "Well, I'm glad I exceeded Issei-kun's expectations. Hey, we should feel more of each other's bodies, don't you think?" She lifted herself up, letting her hair that was usually in a ponytail but was now unbound, fall, covering her and Issei's faces. "We might be caught seeing as how they're all sleeping right next to us, but that just makes things more exciting, doesn't it?"
Issei remained quiet. While a part of him agreed with her, he had been in enough chaotic situations to know that this kind of situation could actually get him killed if he's not careful. As he was having this mental dilemma, Akeno was bringing her face closer to his when she was interrupted by a voice next to them. "And what exactly do you think you're doing, Akeno?" asked Rias with a displeased look.
Issei felt a chill run down his spine as he turned to see Rias glaring at them. Akeno also turned to face her with her usual smile on her face. "Ara ara, I just thought I would spend some time with my lovely Issei-kun in the morning."
"Your Issei-kun? Last I checked you weren't his master or one of his girlfriends," chided Rias with a slightly confident smirk.
"Maybe not, but I am his senpai, and it's not too late to become another one of his women. After all, I doubt there's another man like Issei-kun out there. Hey Issei, don't you want me as one of your women?" she asked innocently, while teasing Rias.
"Of course I do," said Issei without hesitation. Both Rias and Akeno stared at him for a moment, being caught off guard by him actually stepping in between their usual scuffle.
Akeno's expression soon changed to a smile as her eyes showed she was actually happy with being accepted, though they turned mischievous again as she looked at Rias. "Ara ara, seems like Issei-kun is fine with it so all that's left is to take your #1 spot. Or maybe I should say #2 spot," she teased.
Rias was clearly displeased with Akeno's words but there was someone else who was also upset about it. "I would appreciate it if you didn't do that Akeno," said Issei with an unamused look. Again, Rias and Akeno looked at him in surprise. "I don't do rankings with my women. I love them all equally. No one is above the others, and I don't want any of you fighting over a "certain spot". The last thing I want is for all of our relationships to break down because of it."
The girls saw that he was serious about that, although they also knew in their heads that Issei did have a favorite, which was Mash. Whether he noticed it or not was a different story, but they at least knew that Issei didn't want them fighting amongst themselves. After a moment of silence Akeno straightened herself out. "You don't have to worry about that Issei-kun, we were just joking around. I'm sorry if we worried you. I'm also sorry Rias. That joke might have been a little far."
"No, it's fine, Akeno. I know you just like to rile me up and didn't mean anything by it. I should have better self-control when it comes to that." She turned to look at Issei. "Don't be upset Issei, we do stuff like this all the time. We know neither of us mean anything by it at the end of the day," she said trying to assuage his worries.
"I see… Well, as long as things don't get too heated then it's fine. The last thing I want is to be the reason you both broke off your friendship, although maybe that's a bit narcissistic of me."
The two girls shared a smile and hugged him comfortingly. "You don't have to worry Issei. We know you're doing what you can to make us happy," said Rias.
"Since you're so determined to make this work, your effort does shine through to us," said Akeno.
Issei had a grateful smile when they said that, and as they were having their moment it was eventually interrupted. "Sooo, how long are we supposed to pretend to be asleep?" asked a voice from the side. The three looked to the side and saw that Mash and Nero were awake. Issei checked his other side and saw that Asia was up too.
The three had embarrassed looks on with Issei asking, "How long were you all awake for?"
"At some point in the middle of Rias and Akeno arguing," said Mash. "It's kinda hard to sleep with people talking angrily right next to you."
Both girls blushed as they looked away. "Sorry…" they both said.
Issei couldn't help but chuckle at the situation but was glad things had simmered down. After that morning's chaos the group went downstairs and had breakfast with the others. As they were enjoying their food Rias seemed to remember something and turned to Issei. "I just remembered, it should be fine to have our club meeting here tomorrow, right?"
"Not that I'm opposed, but why here?" asked Issei.
"The club building is getting cleaned this week so I thought it should be fine to have it here."
Issei went into thought but came up with a better idea. "Well, that should be fine but can I make another suggestion?" Rias as well as the others tilted their heads in curiosity. "How about we have our meeting in the new Chaldea building. Da Vinci told me that it had been finished a few days ago and that they have been busy moving into their new space. Thanks to help from the other factions, things have progressed smoothly, and a lot of the facilities have been finished way ahead of schedule, so it should be fine to have our meeting there as well as look at our new base of operations for Kuoh."
Rias had a smile on her face as she nodded. "I see. In that case let's have it there. I can't wait to see how everything turned out, as well as what we can use to help us in the future." The others nodded in agreement as they anticipated their visit to new Chaldea.
The next day, Issei and the girls were waiting outside the gates to Chaldea Industries. They were currently waiting for Kiba and Gasper to meet up with them and all this time waiting gave Issei some time to consider something as he shot some people a text. After some time, Kiba and Gasper arrived. Rias nodded and turned towards the gate. "Alright, since everybody's here we should head in now."
"Hold up Rias. Not everyone is here yet," said Issei, getting confused looks in response.
They all waited a few more minutes and the people he was referring to arrived. "Sorry we're late!" said Kiryuu as she rushed to the group, with Murayama not far behind.
"You should really give us more of a heads up about important things like this. I was ready to relax and do nothing today when I got your message," complained Murayama.
Rias realized what Issei was doing. "I see. I guess it is important for them to see inside their new workplace. Although you could have told us about it."
"Sorry, it didn't occur to me until we started waiting for Kiba and Gasper to get here. Speaking of which…" Issei turned to the two other guys. "You guys should move in with us as well," he said nonchalantly.
This statement caught everyone off guard and Kiryuu couldn't help but smile slyly. "Wow Issei, I didn't think you swung that way."
Issei made an annoyed and embarrassed face. "You know it's not like that! It's just inconvenient to have most of the club in one place and then have these guys left out. It's just a matter of convenience," said Issei with a huff.
Everyone smiled for various reasons, whether it was from the joke or Issei trying to be thoughtful in his own way. "You sure we won't be in the way?" asked Kiba, implying he might be intruding on Issei's and the girls' space.
"We got more than enough room, and besides, my Servants are already claiming rooms at my place anyway so it's not as private a place as you think it is. It would also be good in an emergency if something happened that we were all there at the same time. Of course, it's up to you," said Issei.
The two looked at each other before nodding. "Well then if it's fine with you then I guess we'll do that," said Kiba.
Issei nodded with a smile and turned to address Kiryuu and Murayama, but before he could Kiryuu spoke first. "You're not planning on inviting us to live with you too, are you?" she asked mischievously, getting Murayama to blush heavily.
Issei was annoyed again but then showed a mischievous smile of his own. "Careful. You're giving me ideas," he said with a smirk. His response threw Kiryuu off and caused her to blush with Murayama blushing even heavier than before. Issei turned around, satisfied with the results, but when he was about to head to the gate, he saw the looks of the others. "What?" he asked the group.
"Nothing," they all said while looking away, causing Issei to be more confused.
Despite that the group entered through the gateway and were now standing in front of two connected buildings. To Issei and Mash, the building looked identical to Chaldea in the other world except cut in half and connected by bridges. The left side had a sign that had a Chaldea Industries logo on it, while the other side had a giant T.V. screen with a Chaldea Production logo over it. There were Chaldea staff walking the grounds still trying to get everything ready while also being helped by Servants who were in casual clothes to blend in. As the group walked closer to the building, they saw someone waving them over. Issei and Mash smiled when they saw who it was. "Hey Sieg. Wasn't expecting to run into you out here," said Issei.
"Hello Master. Da Vinci asked me to be out here to greet you and lead you inside. Is this everyone in your group?" asked Sieg.
"Yeah, this is everyone. Oh right! Everyone, let me introduce you to Sieg. His situation is complicated, but he's a Master and a Servant, but he just operates as my Servant," explained Issei. Sieg also showed his hand which had the markings of a Command Seal on it except it was a teal green color instead of red like Issei's.
"Wait, so it's possible for Masters to become Servants?" asked Kiryuu.
"Well, yes, there are a few ways for it to happen, but that is a long conversation that won't make sense if you don't know how it works, so maybe we should shelve it for later," said Issei as he followed Sieg inside followed by Mash. The others took that as their cue to follow them as well as they entered the building.
When they entered, they all began looking around as they followed Sieg. The ORC could see the familiar look of the original Chaldea here while Kiryuu and Murayama were amazed by how sophisticated the building looked. As they walked through the halls they passed by staff and Servants who greeted them as they walked. Eventually they made it to the Command Room, and as they entered, they were surprised to see who was standing there. "Greetings everyone. I'm glad you were able to visit so soon after we opened up shop," said a pleased Da Vinci.
"Da Vinci-san?! I thought you were supposed to stay at Chaldea in our world?!" exclaimed Mash, surprised.
Issei was also surprised, but when he focused on Da Vinci he realized something which caused him to chuckle lightly. "Nice prank Da Vinci. I'm guessing you two came up with this together?"
The others were confused about what Issei was talking about, but a moment later Mash understood. "You're not Chaldea's Da Vinci, you're Senpai's Da Vinci!"
The others were still confused, but Da Vinci laughed, seeing that she had been found out. "Couldn't get it past you, could I Master? That's right, me and my other self thought it would be a good idea to have ourselves in both places to keep things running smoothly. Since we're essentially the same person, it made sense to trust me with all the information needed to run Chaldea, even in another world."
"I see…" said Issei as he understood what they were thinking.
The others were still a bit lost, so Rias spoke up. "Uhm, Issei. I'm a bit lost. Isn't this the same Da Vinci-chan from before?"
"Ah, no, it isn't. I'm sure I've mentioned to you before that it's possible to summon multiple of the same Servant, and in this case that Servant is Da Vinci. The one you met in Chaldea was summoned by them. The one standing in front of us was summoned by me."
"In other words, I'm Master's personal Da Vinci-chan," she said while posing suggestively.
Issei just put a hand on his head as if to fight a headache, while the others seemed to finally understand what was going on. "I see! So by having your Da Vinci here in this Chaldea and the other Da Vinci in the other Chaldea, operations can run as if nothing is going on," said Rias, now getting the full picture.
"That's right. Not only that, but the staff from Chaldea that are here were members that were originally going to be let go because of the higher ups' decision. They couldn't argue against it, but they didn't just want to walk away either, so this situation came at the perfect time," explained Da Vinci.
"Let go? Why would they do that?" asked Asia.
"To cover up loose ends and use people as scapegoats," said Akeno with a grim look.
Da Vinci had a sad look on her face. "That's right, unfortunately. Despite saving humanity we had to break a lot of rules to do so. On top of that our organization is all about power struggles, so if there's even a possibility of someone stronger appearing that they can't control they will do whatever it takes to make them a non-issue. Basically, they're just covering their own asses," said Da Vinci with a hint of disgust.
The ORC was familiar with these kinds of situations since similar things happened in the Underworld as well as other factions, but this was all new to Kiryuu and Murayama. Kiryuu was at least somewhat familiar with the concept from anime, but Murayama couldn't believe people could be so heartless. "What the hell? How can anyone be so foolish? They turn their backs on the person who saved their lives so easily?" said Murayama angrily. The other girls of the ORC were also showing their unhappiness with the situation as well.
Issei just shook his head uncaringly. "It's to be expected from a group like that. When an organization is built by elitists who think they're better than everyone else it's only to be expected." Issei looked down solemnly. "Besides, it's not like I saved the world for their sakes," he said quietly.
The members of the ORC could hear him with their enhanced hearing and were curious as to what he meant but decided to leave it for now. Da Vinci decided to continue the conversation. "Well anyways, we got off track, but back to the reason you're all here, welcome to Chaldea Industries. We are currently operating at about 67% since the more complicated machines can't be recreated so easily and quickly. So no summoning Servants or Rayshifting from here yet. But we got the training facilities up and running, not to mention all the normal necessities for everyday living, plus dorms. We even made a special room just for you Master," she said with a smile.
Issei pointed at himself, surprised and confused. When Da Vinci nodded Issei felt suspicious again. "What kind of room is it?"
"No need to be so skeptical, Master. It's just a special dorm for you since you could be considered a V.I.P. in this world, so it only makes sense that you have the best accommodations," said Da Vinci.
"I guess that makes sense," said Issei, not completely sure if that was the whole story.
"In any case, while Chaldea Industries is still under construction, Chaldea Productions is completed and is currently being run by Miss Crane. If you're curious, you should head over there at some point and check things out," said Da Vinci with a smile.
"Thanks, we will," said Issei. He and the others left the Command Room and began to explore the new Chaldea. As they were walking around the group ran into some unusual looking, people? creatures?, the ORC, Kiryuu, and Murayama weren't sure what they were looking at. They were small, badly drawn, cartoonish looking things that looked similar to a certain Servant they saw at the meeting. Issei saw them and greeted them. "Hello Mini Nobbus."
"Nobu nobu," responded the small beings while raising a hand in greeting.
"Issei-san, what are these cute little guys?" asked Asia.
"These are Mini Nobbus. As the name implies, they are small versions of Nobunaga-san. They are mysterious beings that are still a bit of a mystery to us, but they help us out usually so we're glad to have them," explained Mash.
"So, are they Servants?" asked Kiba.
"No, they just… exist," said Issei in an unsure manner.
The others weren't sure what to make of this, but since Issei and Mash didn't seem bothered, they figured it was fine. As they were talking, one of the Nobbu came up with a tray that had some cups of tea on it, which Issei and Mash took. "Thank you," said Mash with Issei also nodding in thanks.
"Nobu nobu!" said the Nobbu and left with the others.
"Well… That was strange," said Kiryuu.
"Yeah, you get used to it." Issei laughed to himself before turning to face the group. "You're gonna hear me say that a lot. There is a lot to get used to."
The group nodded in understanding and left to explore the facility as well as the new studio, which was already creating productions for idols, movies, and other forms of entertainment. Once the group had finished exploring, they went to the last place they hadn't seen yet, which was Issei's personal quarters. They arrived at the door, and it had a hand scanner. Issei put his hand on it and after a quick scan the door unlocked. He entered followed by the others and they saw a rather spacious and comfortable-looking room. It was basically a one-room apartment with its own kitchen, bed (king sized), sitting room area, and other accommodations. There was a door to the side of the room that most likely led to the bathroom. Needless to say, it was rather luxurious and was clearly made for more than one person. "This was definitely more than I expected, but I know why they decided to go so over the top with this room," said Issei.
"It's meant for all of us, even though it's your room," said Rias. Issei nodded in agreement. With that the others took that as their cue to explore the room. After everyone had a look around, they all convened in the sitting area to hold the meeting Rias had mentioned the day before. "Alright. Now that we're all here and everyone is settled it's time we discussed our schedule for the coming summer." Rias looked around making sure everyone was paying attention. "The others know this, but Asia and Xenovia do not since they are new members of the peerage, but every summer I return to the Underworld with my peerage for a time, meaning that you two will also be coming with me this year."
This took the church duo by surprise. "So, we're going to the Underworld?" asked Asia, reconfirming what Rias said.
"That's right. We'll be returning to my parents' home for the time being. On top of that, this year is special, as there will be the gathering of the future heads of various devil households this year. The leaders of the Underworld want to see the potential of the next generation and as such will be holding various events this year. On that topic…" Rias turned her attention to Issei and Mash. "I wanted to ask if you would be willing to come with us Issei and Mashu?"
The pair had confused looks on their faces. "Why wouldn't we go with you? Do you even have to ask?" said Issei.
Rias showed an embarrassed expression. "Well, you know. You're not members of my peerage, so you're not obligated to go," she said shyly.
Issei grabbed her hand and gave her a comforting smile. "I'm going with you," he said matter-of-factly.
Rias' blush deepened as she nodded her head, but she soon made a more serious expression. "Right, there's one thing though." Issei looked at her curiously. "While my family and people close to our family know about us, general devil society does not. Especially the devil council. If they found out they would try to force some other political marriage on me."
Issei scowled at that. "What? They didn't get the memo the first time? Do they need a personal demonstration, so my point gets across?"
Rias had an expression that looked like she really wanted that to happen but was also worried about what the repercussions could be if it did. "Don't worry Issei. This will only be an issue for a little while. Once you become a more well-known figure in supernatural society it won't matter. After all, if the Sekiryuutei wants something and the devil council acts unreasonably and upsets him, well, they might just find some legendary warriors knocking on their door," she said almost villainously.
Issei shared a smile with her as their expressions became dark, causing the others to back away from them. "They're more of a match than I first thought," said Kiryuu, with Murayama nodding in agreement.
Rias regained her composure and continued. "In any event we're just going to have to show ourselves as really close companions in public settings while we're there."
"I see… Well, it can't be helped. But I don't know if I 'll be able to control myself if someone tries to make a move on you," said Issei half-jokingly. Rias blushed happily at that and relaxed next to him seemingly done with her announcement. Issei decided it was his turn as he looked at Kiryuu and Murayama. "As for you two, since the dorms are finished you can stay here and begin studying to become mages. I know you'll probably have to run it by your families first, and you also have the option to commute if you can't stay here but things should be ready enough for you two to begin your training."
The pair looked excited. "I can't wait! I wanna know just how cool it will be to use the same type of magic that Issei uses," said Kiryuu.
"I wanna learn the fighting style that Issei used when he fought all those monsters," said Murayama, causing Issei to blush in embarrassment, remembering that Murayama had been spying on him for a long time.
"Well, just remember. This won't be all sunshine and rainbows. Some of the things you'll learn will go to dark places. And remember what Shishou said. You may find yourself in a situation where you'll have to kill someone or something. This isn't something to be taken lightly." With Issei's words the mood got more serious, but Kiryuu and Murayama resolved themselves. "If you're fine with that, then I hope to see the results of your hard work when I come back from this summer trip to the Underworld." he said with a smirk. The pair nodded as the meeting ended and everyone spent the rest of the day relaxing at Chaldea.
Volume 5 begins! This volume is where Epic of Remnant begins but as I've mentioned before, Singularities will be covered separately from this story because I don't want to interrupt the flow of this story. So while the Singularities are happening, the story will cover what's happening while Issei and Mash are off preventing extinction. As I've also said previously the first Singularity I'm gonna cover will be Agartha since I have some good ideas for that one so I hope you'll all wait patiently for it (since that seemed to be the group vote). Still not sure if I'm gonna add Kiryuu and Murayama to the harem so I'm just playing with the idea for now. Also to clarify Akeno isn't a part of the harem yet the conversation in the beginning is just the usual teasing. Anyways, that's all I have for now, hope to see the comments and that you enjoy as always. : )