Chapter 9: Can't A Single Date Go Right?

It was the brink of dawn on a Tuesday evening when a screeching sound made itself known in the room filled with posters of questionably posed women and shelves upon shelves of hentai. Groaning out loud at the sound of the bane of his existence, Issei Hyoudou finally shut off his alarm, once again missing his Limited-Edition Anime Trope-Emulating Alarm Clock. He fumbled around in his bed as he adjusted himself up to a seat, but as he rested his left hand to the side, he found it obstructed by a soft, pillow-like being with an unusually hard tip in the centre of his palm.

'Why does this feel so familiar?'

Still groggy from sleep, Issei tried to squeeze the pillow, wondering what it could be.

"Mnah…"

The extremely feminine moan that would have come out of a porn video jolted all sleep out of him.

Once again, Issei yanked the sheets off his bed and ran to the opposite end of the room to cover his erection, while Rias Gremory sat up from the bed and yawned with a wide stretch, exposing how her hefty breasts naturally curved into the dip of her armpits. Yet again, Issei found his head growing warmer and warmer until something trickled down his nostril.

"Good Morning, Issei-kun," she muttered, still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Once again, she completely ignored her state of undress and stood up from the bed, sending her boobs into a rollercoaster, drawing Issei's eyes hypnotically. "I hope that this will not become a regular event."

"W-W-Wait, what are you doing here again?!" Issei yelled out, finally finding his voice underneath all the horny.

"Ah, Issei-kun, do you not remember?" she quipped. "Well, this time the scar is on your back, so you can't quite see it."

"Scar?" Issei echoed. Saying the word, however, triggered the events of the previous day. "Wait… Asia!"

Rias hummed. "A-si-a? Do you mean Ay-she-a, the continent? Although, I don't know why you'd be talking about continents now."

"Wha – No, no! I know what I said. Asia, the girl with the blonde hair last night. What happened to her?"

"… You know, I was expecting a thank you for saving your life a second time, not this."

"Wait, come on, please! This is important!"

"… sigh, very well. The female nun's name is Asia, then?"

"Yes. Asia Argento."

"And how do you know her?"

"We… well, we met the day after… you know."

Rias winced for a moment, looking to the side in regret.

"Hyoudou-san, I believe I should say this now," she spoke up after her pause, but still didn't look at him. "I'm sorry. Maybe you won't find that enough for the sin I committed against you, but I really don't want any bad blood between us. And for now, a vocal apology is all I can offer."

That apology broke his thought process on Asia. Issei grimaced as well; he remembered how he'd stormed out of the ORC the previous day. He certainly felt bad about it then. He understood how Rias seemed desperate about something. It must have been something related to that which made her commit such a sin. Despite that, though, Issei could not ignore her utter disregard for humanity itself. He'd occasionally heard of how Gods were all-powerful beings and many people worshipped them for they feared the consequences if they didn't. Issei couldn't help but wonder if any member of the Supernatural actually cared for humanity. One thing was for certain, however. Rias certainly didn't pay much heed to the race, unlike her Peerage, who all must have once been human. At least Kiba for certain; he was a Sacred Gear Wielder, after all.

However, for that moment, he knew what Rias had done for him. She may have been the one to lead him to his near death, but she saved him regardless. Another incident that couldn't have been instigated by her resulted in another chance for her to save his life. That was why he'd decided to bury the hatchet for then.

"Well, you did save my life today, right?" Issei replied, making Rias look at him in confusion.

"Yes, I certainly did…" she muttered in response.

"In that case, I apologise for what happened yesterday. Maybe you can disregard the first time you saved my life because you caused that, but what happened yesterday was not instigated by you to my knowledge. So, you saved my life, genuinely. That's why I'm sorry for what I did and said yesterday. Also… I forgive you for what you did."

Issei bowed low before Rias, to her shock. Gaping at him for a while, Rias soon shut her mouth and cast her gaze away.

"… Don't forgive me yet."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I don't want forgiveness from you like this," she replied, surprising Issei. "You're just telling me that because you're obligated to from my saving you. You don't truly mean those words, don't you?"

Issei paused to think about what Rias was saying. His words were genuine to his brief impression, but did he actually want to apologise?

'No, I don't.'

The event was still far too fresh in Issei's memory. Watching Yuuma grow wings and become Raynare was a regular walking nightmare for him. To know that those nightmares came from Rias's negligence made him hate her for it. Sure, she'd saved his life to compensate, but in his heart of hearts, he still blamed her.

"No, I don't," he echoed his thoughts.

Rias grimly nodded. "In that case, I'll wait for those words. You don't need to feel obligated to drop the issue due to the favour I did for you. However, could I seek your eventual forgiveness as your payment for last night?"

"… I promise I will forgive you at some point."

"Thank you, Issei-kun. In that case, can we start getting along for now? Maybe I haven't received your forgiveness yet, but that doesn't mean there should be bad blood between us, don't you think?"

Issei briefly chewed on his lip, fighting down his growing tension. "I… am not really happy about it, but okay. I won't forgive you yet, but we can still get along. Hopefully, that can speed things along."

Rias smiled at him, pleased with his response. "Thank you, Issei-kun."

Finally, Rias bent down to pick up her clothes that were plopped onto the ground. Suddenly noticing Rias's naked form once more, Issei jolted his head away, opting to give her the privacy she neglected so often. During that time, Issei walked to his own closet and pulled out his own set of clothes. It seemed that Rias's treatment demanded maximum skin contact, so he was stripped naked as much as her. The only difference was that he was rather embarrassed about a girl as hot as Rias Gremory seeing his little guy.

In a few moments, both of them were decent and had descended from the bedroom. Rias was sitting by the dining table while Issei was working in the kitchen, having said that he would make breakfast for both of them. Thankfully, the groceries he'd bought the previous day were sitting on his table, having been set there by Rias. She'd also confirmed that she brought his bike back too.

"So," Issei began while measuring out the rice and water for his dish. "Can you tell me what happened yesterday? To Asia?"

"Of course," Rias replied with a nod. "The person you met yesterday was a Stray Exorcist named Freed Sellzen. However, for most Stray Exorcists, he is a rather intense one. I've never seen that much sudden bloodlust in another one in his profession, after all. Also, he has quite a tongue on him. As for the nun, I'm sorry to say that we were unable to bring her with us. She should be fine, though. If that exorcist hadn't killed her yet, that means that she would still be kept alive by him."

Issei frowned as he started washing his rice, deciding to veer away from the topic of Asia before he would break himself with worry. "You understood him? You speak Italian?"

"Ah, no, I don't. Well, not really. Devils have an ability that helps us understand and speak in every human language known."

Issei momentarily paused while pouring water into the rice cooker. "… There's an ability like that?"

"Yes, there is."

"Wow," Issei shook his head. "If anything was going to convince me to become a Devil, that would have been it."

"Really? Language would have made you join my Peerage?"

"Hey, do you have any idea how valuable an ability like that is? We could travel to any place and speak with the locality as much as we want without fear of seclusion. The first time I met Asia, we had to talk with hand signs because she didn't know Japanese or even English. Actually… are you even speaking Japanese now?"

Rias smirked teasingly. "Now, that's for you to decide, isn't it?"

Issei chuckled at her response as he finally turned on the rice cooker. "Fine then. Keep your secrets." He went to the bag he'd gotten and pulled out a few packets, after which he reached into his pantry. "Say, since I can't become a Devil, can I still get that ability somehow?"

"Well, there is a charm for it that only Devils can cast," Rias explained, soon wearing another smirk. "But… it will cost you."

"Another contractual IOU, huh?" Issei murmured, then turned back with another smirk. "Lunch, then?"

Rias groaned out loud. "Are we back on that topic again?! Really?"

"Come on, you don't want to disappoint your Peerage, don't you?"

Rias hissed at him, looking away with a cute pout on her face. Issei chuckled at her expression while he set two pans on the heat: one non-stick and one cast iron. In the former, he added a few drops of oil to coat the bottom and set out a box and a small jar next to it, alongside regular pantry spices. Rias watched as he set out sheets of nori on the countertop as well.

"Rice and nori… Onigiri?"

"Good eye. But that's not all."

Issei put out a package wrapped in parchment paper next to the cast iron. Unfurling it, he revealed a fresh salmon steak. Grabbing a knife, he gently cut up the salmon into moderately large cubes. Soon after that, he opened the packet on the other end of the table, revealing some string seaweed.

"Now, where were we… oh yeah, will you give me the ability to speak in any language for lunch?"

Rias pulled her eyes away from Issei's kitchen work. "Well, the charm is rather cheap to us, so despite the bad deal, feel free. Let me know when you want it."

"Good. Now, it's a shame, but I'll have to skip my morning run for making all this food. I'm just glad I had the foresight to add more rice to the cooker."

Issei tossed some liquids into the non-stick pan: soy sauce, mirin, etc. That was simmered until thickened after which the seaweed was thrown in, for which Issei tossed the mix together ad then set it out onto another plate. He topped the dish with sesame seeds.

"Component 1, done. So, what should you do for the charm?"

"I'll just form a magic circle. You can stand atop it and once I activate it, the ability will be yours."

"Will you need time to form the circle?"

Rias chuckled softly. "I can form those circles with a thought."

"Nice." Issei walked to the other end of the kitchen, where he pushed a switch. Suddenly, something roared out loud in the room.

"Don't worry. That's just the overhead hood being turned on."

Issei walked back to the stove and adjusted the hood to its maximum value. He then wet his hand and threw a single drop of water into the cast iron pan that was still dry. To Rias's surprise, the water steamed away the moment it touched the surface.

"Good. That's hot enough," Issei commented.

Bracing himself, Issei pulled out a pair of tongs and grabbed one of the salmon squares with it. With a moment of hesitancy, Issei quickly pressed one side of the salmon to the surface of the screeching hot cast iron, releasing a burst of steam and sears. Just as he pressed it, however, he took it off the pan. Placing it on a nearby plate, he readjusted his grip only to press another naked face onto the pan, flash searing the salmon all over. Once he was done with a whole cube, he placed it onto a tray and immediately put it into the freezer. He quickly followed through with the rest of the salmon squares.

"Isn't salmon normally eaten raw here?" Rias couldn't help but ask. "Why are you cooking it?"

Issei shook his head as he set another one of the seared salmon squares into the freezer. "I'm not cooking it, I'm searing it. Flash searing, to be precise. I'm cooking the edges to let some of the fat render, but it's a very rare cook." The two of them heard a jingle ring out. "That's the rice!"

Issei opened up the rice cooker and loaded up the rice onto another tray, spreading it all out. He set that into the fridge while pulling out the seared salmon squares he'd prepped earlier. In the same cast iron he'd used for the salmon, which had somewhat cooled by then, he'd added rice vinegar, salt and a little sugar. Rias noted that he didn't clean out the pan from when he'd first used it.

"Oh!" she realised. "Is that the vinegar mixture for sushi rice?"

"Spot on again. I'm just subbing the oil in the recipe for the salmon fat."

He let the mixture simmer on low heat for a while as he scraped clean all the residue from the bottom of the pan. Soon enough, he pulled out the rice and added it all to the cast iron with the mixture.

"That's not traditional either," Rias commented.

"I'm just warming it up a little. I always find cold onigiri sad."

He used a spatula to fold the two together, making sure not to break the grains of the rice. He even added spice to the combination as well. In a minute, he took the cast iron out of the heat and let it sit out, the rice still in it.

"Do you mind if I help here?"

"Sure. It'll be fun to do it with someone else."

Rias smiled, glad that Issei was opening up to her more. Walking up to the seat, she cut up the nori as she'd watched Akeno do before. Issei was the one shaping the rice balls while filling them with the seared salmon and the seaweed mix he'd prepped earlier. Handing them to Rias, she added the small strip of nori to the bottom of the triangle and set it on the plate.

"Go ahead. The first serving is always for the guest unless I screwed something up."

Nodding, Rias first finished cutting up the strips of nori and then took the plate Issei gave her. Heading back to the table, she finally took a bite of the onigiri.

"…"

"So, what's the verdict?"

"… Fine. I'll give you the charm for lunch."

"Glad to know you liked it."

The onigiri was unique, really. While traditional onigiri focused on the sanctity of the rice, Issei changed it to focus on the salmon. The rice was soft and had the flavour of the salmon seeped through, almost like a teaser into the eventual star of the dish. The salmon was both juicy and fatty, probably from the flash-searing Issei had done. It seemed that Issei's cooling of the salmon helped it retain its juices, which were released as it was added to the rice, only adding another depth to the salmon flavour. Surprisingly, the seaweed salad offered the rest of the seasoning for the dish as well as a good crunch that complemented the supposedly soft dish very well. There was also a small heat permeating through the dish, which was certainly the spice Issei had added to the rice. While the dish did not tickle Rias's traditional Japanese fancy, it still played with the same tools in such a way it could be called innovative.

After Rias finished eating her portion and Issei downed two of them, he packaged the remaining others and handed them to Rias. "Consider this to be today's payment," he said. "Hope you don't mind having the same meal for lunch."

"No, it's fine. Thank you for it, and as our deal dictated, I'll give you that charm."

With a wave of her hand, a red magic circle appeared over Issei's carpet nearby. Taken aback at the sudden appearance of the circle, Issei furtively glanced at Rias.

"… You're sure I'll be fine?"

"Don't worry. I haven't done this before, but I know the theory."

"That doesn't help me at all!"

Forcing himself to ignore Rias's worrying statement, he gently stepped atop the circle, moving to the circle. Once he reached it, the circle glowed brighter for a moment, until it faded away.

"… What's next?"

"That's it."

"Wait, really?! That was it?!"

"I don't know what you expected, but yes, that was all."

Issei plummeted to his knees, groaning out loud. "All that effort for those onigiri for something like this?"

"You'll find that it can be rather useful, however."

The way Rias had said that jarred him a little. He could hear her voice clearly enough, and he couldn't understand her words. But there was something else. There was some kind of undercurrent to her words, speaking the true meaning of her words to him.

"Try it for yourself," she said, still jarring Issei with her manner of speech. "If you give a mental command to speak in the same language as me, or in any other language, you will get the words."

It didn't take long for Issei to understand what was going on. Rias was speaking in another language, and Issei was interpreting it with the help of that ability he'd gotten from her. So, he followed and gave himself a mental order to speak in the same language as Rias.

"Does… this work?" Issei grimaced as he spoke. He could feel his mouth moving in ways he hadn't intended for it, but it did form audible words, albeit in another language.

"Good work. Just be careful with it. You can only understand human languages with this ability, and some select Supernatural tongues. Also, this charm doesn't give you the ability to read or write in those tongues."

"Wait, really?" Issei retorted, moving back to Japanese. "I can't read anything else with this?"

Rias smirked. "Sona thinks of that as a blessing, really. She already says that this is an unfair cheat for language classes, but you can't pass your classes if you don't learn the script. And don't worry about the vocabulary. If you speak in one language for long enough, you will soon understand the words you speak and will be able to translate without the help of the charm."

"I see. Well then, I guess the trade pays off then."

"No, it certainly doesn't! What I gave you is so much more worth than a couple bento boxes!"

Issei smirked back at her. "Think about your Peerage, Gremory-san…"

"I know, I know. That's what makes this so frustrating… Ah, also, don't call me Gremory. I've resorted to calling you Issei-kun, so please feel free to call me by my name."

Issei widened his eyes. "Really? But… we barely know each other. And, well, you did try to have me dead."

"Could we not start that again, please? It's already shameful enough. But yes, please, just call me Rias. That's one Japanese tradition I couldn't really wrap my head around."

"O-Okay… Rias-san."

Rias smiled at him. "Better. Then, can I expect you for the meeting today evening?"

Issei was about to respond when he heard a distinctive ding from his phone. Signalling Rias to wait for a moment, he picked up the device to check who sent him a text.

It was Asia.

Thankfully, he could understand the English script, and while accents still escaped him, he was able to have his charm speak its meaning for him.

Asia: Are you back there, Issei?

Confused by her wording for a moment, he then calmed himself when he remembered it was probably her first time texting someone. Smiling, he responded, making sure to have his charm translate for him. The only thing he'd miss would be the accents, after all.

Issei: I'm here. Are you okay?

Asia: I am. I'm so sorry for what happened back there. I didn't know you were so close with the Devils.

Issei: Ah, sorry about that, but they actually put themselves into my life. Our bridge is pretty rocky, but I think we're mending it.

Issei: I need to ask, though. What exactly was going on back there? Who was that other guy?

Asia: I hadn't thought he would do such a horrible thing. I'm so sorry, Issei.

Asia: I really am.

Asia: I'm really sorry.

There was a slight pause in her speech, one that Issei placed to her growing depression at seeing the tragedy of the last night.

Issei: It's okay, Asia. I'm fine. The Devils healed me up. And I'm sorry about what happened to that other guy.

Asia took a moment to respond, but he got a response.

Asia: Thank you, Issei. Can we meet today?

Issei: Of course! Where should we meet? Should I pick you up from the church?

Asia: Don't come here.

Issei faltered at the sudden remark from her, but he didn't have to wait for long.

Asia: Sorry. But don't come here, please. I'll meet you somewhere else. How about that park where you got into that fight?

Issei grimaced at the memory. His first Stand Battle against Daichi Bushida, the one Asia was privy to as well.

Issei: Sure, let's meet there. I do owe you an explanation for what happened there as well.

Asia: Did you find it out?

Issei: I did. I'll tell you when we're there. I can't tell you here, or my brother might scold me if he found out.

Asia: Why?

Issei: This is pretty sensitive, and the thing about these messages is that they can be seen by other people very easily. We won't know if someone's reading this with us.

Asia: Why is that a problem? Can't they just join in on the conversation?

Issei: Asia, the world is a lot harsher than you'd seen. These people just want to listen to us and see what secrets we have so that they can use them against us.

Asia: That sounds scary.

Issei: It is, but most people don't think of it. But for this, I should tell you myself.

Asia: Okay. Then, can we meet in that park sometime at noon?

Issei: Noon? I have class, though…

Asia: Class? Do you have a teacher coming to your home?

Issei: No, I go to a whole school. Can we make it any other time?

Asia: I'm sorry, Issei, but I can't come any other time. I'm leaving tonight, so I can't meet you later.

Issei: I'll bunk, then!

Asia: Bunk? Why would you sleep?

Issei: I'll skip school. It's just for one day, so it'll be fine. I'll ask someone else for the notes tomorrow.

Asia: Can you do that? I don't want to keep you from anything important.

Issei: It's okay. Skipping school is a lot more normal than you think.

Asia: Then let's meet!

Issei: Okay. I'll see you then!

Issei finally set his phone down and turned to Rias. "You were on that for a while," she commented. "Anything I should know about?"

"It was the girl from yesterday. Say, could you get me absent for a day?"

Rias simply smiled at him. "As long as we get our lunch, it's done. Once again, remember that you owe us."

"Thanks! I'll get you another lunch!"

"Hey!"


As most kids had already gone to school by then, Issei found himself all alone by the playground he'd unexpectedly brought Asia to. Checking his phone, he confirmed that it was noon, the time they agreed at.

"Issei!"

Issei's expression immediately brightened upon hearing the familiar voice. Asia was running up to him, wearing her traditional nun dress as she'd done the last time. "Asia!" Issei called out, waving to her in excitement.

"Issei! You're here!" she said, immediately triggering Issei's new spell the moment she spoke in Italian. "Oh, sorry, you don't understand -"

"Being friends with Devils do have some benefits, you know."

Asia faltered upon hearing the perfect Italian that came out of Issei's mouth. "What… did you learn it somehow? Did one of the Devils teach you?"

"No. They have a charm that translates languages, so they gave it to me in exchange for something else in the future."

"… Are you sure that was a good idea? I mean… they are…"

"Don't worry, Asia. They are Devils, yes, but they're a lot more civil than you'd think. In fact, they've been saying that they don't follow the same trickeries their ancestors did."

"… Okay. If you think they're good, then I trust you, Issei."

"That trust came a bit quick, didn't it?"

Asia softly chuckled. "This is only the third time we're meeting, right? I forgot about that…"

"Yeah, it is. About that… I think we both owe each other an explanation."

Asia pursed her lip in worry, looking away from them at the slides in the park. "… I didn't know Father Sellzen would do such a thing. I thought he was simply eccentric, but… I just… I'm sorry. I don't know what's going on anymore. I… I thought I knew them all. I thought that every Father and Sister would be a good person, but… but last night…"

When tears started to form in Asia's eyes, Issei gently placed a hand on her shoulder to placate her. Asia gratefully smiled back at him, pushing past the tears from her eyes.

"It's okay! I mean, I will be fine. I'll… I'll be fine, yes, I will."

"Asia. If… If you need another place to stay, just let me know. I'm sure I can find someplace in my room to let you live with me, although I don't know how my neighbours would take you coming in. I can even ask someone else to keep you."

"I-It's okay. I'm… leaving today, remember?"

"B-But you shouldn't go with people you don't like! If you really want to, just let me know. Even a single word will be enough, and I'll help you."

Asia smiled and looked away, misty-eyed. "Um, what happened that day? When we first met, and you fought with that boy and girl?"

Issei knew that she was changing the topic. It was too blatant, after all. However, he held himself back, saying that she probably wasn't ready to take a step away yet. Instead, he focused on the question she'd just asked. "I'm not forgetting the previous conversation, but I'll tell you. Asia, have you ever heard of a Stand?"

Asia tilted her head. "No, I can't say I have. Isn't that an English word?"

"Yes, but that's not what I mean. Stands are… well…" Issei faltered because he realised that would be the first time he'd speak about Stands to someone who didn't know of them already. In fact, if he assumed correctly, Asia's ability was actually a Sacred Gear rather than a Stand, which also meant that she was tied to the Supernatural world. Was it really a good idea to tell her, after everything he'd done to keep the worlds apart?

"… Stands are manifestations of a person's fighting spirit." Issei relented. Asia had already seen them in action. She knew that there was more to Issei than met the eye. So, he carried out his explanation. "They take physical forms even though they're made of energy. That guy's ability turned into some humanoid being, that girl had plants, and I have insects. One thing about them is that only fellow Stand Users can see them, which was why you couldn't see them."

"I… don't have this Stand?"

"No, and you should be thankful for that. Stand Users are apparently fated to fight each other at some point, meaning that their lives are filled with hardships. You shouldn't get yourself into that mess."

"Hardships? How?"

"That boy that attacked me that day is my new classmate. Every person in my class is a Stand User, and they'd all been in an incident last year. It took the lives of two of their members and forced some of them to kill people."

Asia gasped out loud at the remark.

"… They're okay now, but they're not being accepted by others in the school. Everyone calls them murderers. They just don't understand that they had to do what they did."

Asia gently bit her lip. "I… I don't know what to say about that. Oh Lord, please bless their souls, amen."

Issei watched as she finished her small ritual. He was glad that she was taking it somewhat well, and that she wasn't accusing them as everyone else in Kuoh Academy had.

"I'm trying to keep them away from Supernatural matters, you know?"

Asia quirked her brow. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, they don't know about Devils. They don't know about our Sacred Gears either. I've kept them in the dark on all of it, and I've not told the Devils about Stand Users either."

"The Devils don't know?"

"Surprisingly, no. They don't know about Stands as a whole. But for me, that's a blessing. The less I can put on their plates, the better."

Asia smiled at Issei for a moment. "You're a good person, Issei. I'll keep your secret for you as well."

Issei blinked in surprise at the sudden compliment. "Where did that come from?"

"You are keeping them apart to keep them safe. You're helping them live their lives easier. That's something the Lord would love to see, I'm certain of it."

"I've not really thought about the Bible Lord all that much, but I'm pretty sure He frowns on me for associating with Devils."

Asia looked away, a sudden guilty expression on her features. "I… guess so," she mumbled. "Issei! Um, can we keep looking around? I've never been to a country like this, so… please?"

Issei's heart melted upon seeing Asia's pleading expression, coupled with her puppy dog eyes. "S-Sure," he accepted, not being given much choice. "Let's head out, yeah? How about I take you to the mall?"

"… Mall?" Asia echoed, walking by Issei's side.

"Do you really not know anything about the real world?!"

"A-Ah, that's not it! It's just… I had my duties ever since I was young. I… was busy with the church."

"… That sounds like they're overworking you, Asia. You need to rest, you know? Head out sometime, make a couple friends and hang out with them."

Asia's expression fell quickly. "Friends…"

Issei gulped, immediately knowing that he stepped on treacherous ground. As such, he did his best to rectify that situation.

"Well, you do have a friend in me."

Asia's step faltered after that. "W-What? Y-You're a friend?"

"Well, yeah. Maybe our meetings always end poorly, but we're still friends, Asia. That is if you're okay with that?"

Asia gaped at Issei, making him startle upon seeing the tears from her eyes. "I…" Asia rubbed away the flowing tears from her eyes, revealing the smile growing on her face behind her arms. "Yes. I'll be your friend too, Issei!"

Issei smiled at her reaction, even though it helped him understand her a little better. 'Had she never had a friend before? Just what had the church done to her?'

Smiling together, they both continued on their venture.


Their unstated date had as well as Issei had hoped. After taking Asia to the mall, they first went to the arcade, where Issei introduced her to the world of arcade games. He'd never been there too often, however, so he did his best to help her with everything she didn't understand in the arcade. Issei swore that he would never forget the time she kept saying 'sorry' after her hits on the whack-a-mole. He then took her to the food stalls, wanting to refuel. While Issei got a chicken and rice bowl, Asia chose a hamburger because she found the name interesting. Once again, it was funny when she was confused about how the burger was wrapped up. Issei had to unwrap the burger for her, to earn her cute squeal when she finally sunk her teeth into the meal. That was followed by a trip to the clothing stores since Issei thought she could do better than her signature nun's uniform. He was also banking on the fact that Asia had never gone shopping, meaning that she wouldn't stay to buy everything in her line of sight as he'd heard of most girls. While he never imposed any restrictions on her, she ended up buying only one dress: a white sundress adorned with yellow flower prints. Wearing that very dress, the two finally left the mall and went back to the park where they first met.

On the way back, Issei couldn't help but wonder how things had gone so right. He was a high school student outside during school hours with a girl his age, and no policeman stopped them. Maybe it had something to do with how they were speaking Italian?

Speaking of that, Issei came to realise that through speaking the language as if he knew it already, he was actually learning it from scratch. He could soon tell what certain words translated to, as well as how certain verbs were conjugated after experimenting with the language and his charm. It made him wonder if he could fully learn Italian through the charm, to make it so that he wouldn't need it to speak or understand it anymore.

Moreover, he'd learned a lot more about Asia as well. She was a Holy Maiden for the church because of her Sacred Gear, but for some reason she wouldn't expound upon, she was excommunicated. It made Issei wonder what a girl like Asia could have done to earn such a drastic punishment, but he couldn't come up with a conclusion.

"Issei?"

Broken out of his thoughts, he turned to look at Asia, wearing a wide smile from the whole day she had. Looking around, he found that they had already reached their last destination, the park. The oranging sky above them denoted the end of their day together.

"So, you're going back, aren't you?" Issei spoke, knowing they would have to part soon.

Asia's expression turned wistful. "… Yes. I'm going back today."

"I'll miss you, then," Issei mourned.

Asia gaped at him like a fish. "You'll… miss me?"

"Of course! I mean, we're friends, aren't we? I'm obviously gonna miss you!"

Asia's wistful expression returned. "… Thank you for being my first friend, Issei."

"Don't mention it, Asia. But remember what I said earlier. You always have a place in my home."

Asia curtly nodded. "I know. Thank you. But… I need to go."

"By the way," Issei carried on. "Where are you going to go? Since you're no longer with the church, do you have any family or anyone else waiting for you in Italy? Or are you going somewhere else?"

Asia was taken aback by the question as if caught red-handed. "T-That's… Issei, um…"

Issei paused for a while, before speaking up once more. "Asia, I know that you don't want to tell me much about your life. But please, just… let me know this. I need to know if you're going to be okay."

"Issei… that's…"

Asia quickly turned away from him, letting out audible sobs without letting him see. Issei tried to approach her regardless. Just as he touched her shoulder, however, a glowing sound filled their ears. It didn't take long for Issei to notice what was going on; the oranging sky around them was replaced with a hazy purple barrier.

Hearing a sizzle to his left, Issei turned to check – a light spear was approaching him.

Immediately, Issei grabbed Asia and jumped away from the region of impact. However, once the spear landed, it glowed, even more, blowing up before them, carrying Issei and Asia away further from its blast radius.

Issei yelled as the heat of the spear seared through his clothes and blistered his skin. Thankfully, Asia was still fine behind him.

"It seems," a deep voice spoke up. "That Raynare could not handle even a single human."

'Raynare?!'

Issei looked up to the sky and found what he was looking for, but more than he'd expected. Four black-winged figures were hovering above the two of them. The other three he remembered from the files that Akeno had given him. However, none of that mattered to him, not even the fact that the only male Fallen Angel among them had four wings instead of two. No, all that mattered was the one woman among that posse that he knew.

"Raynare," Issei spoke up, once again awakening feelings of affection and hatred he'd thought he'd buried away.

She was wearing a much skimpier dress at that time. A leotard covered the edges of her figure, offering two spikes to guard her nipples. It reminded Issei of female armour in video games, only serving sex appeal and no actual protection.

However, that didn't matter. The Fallen Angels were back. Raynare was back. All the anger Issei had submerged from her betrayal had resurfaced immediately. Mentally, Issei resolved to himself that he would make that girl pay for nearly killing him.

"Beetles!" "BOOST!"

Issei surrounded himself with Beetles once more, including a couple from his eyes to keep every Fallen Angel in check. Alongside that, the Boosted Gear appeared on his left arm, getting ready to make him stronger.

"Issei…" Asia murmured behind him. "Please… don't… not for me…"

"Hey, Dohnaseek?" the midget girl Fallen Angel spoke up. "Why are we all here for a single human and that Twilight Healing girl? I wanted to hang out in that church some more."

'Twilight Healing? They know about Asia?'

"I brought us all here in case someone of greater prestige had taken in the girl," the detective-like man with four wings spoke. "Maybe it's a good idea I brought you along as well. The boy that Raynare so obviously failed to kill is the wielder of the Boosted Gear."

"The Boosted Gear…?" Raynare mumbled incredulously. "He is the Red Dragon?"

"Of course, Raynare," Dohnaseek replied. "You failed to kill the boy that hosts the one that killed your brother. How fitting for a worthless piece of trash like you."

'… killed her brother? What does he –'

Immediately, Issei had to dodge another light spear, despite still holding on to Asia.

"RED DRAGOOON!" Raynare screamed out at him. "I WILL KILL YOU!"

"Oh, she's off."

Issei was forced to toss Asia out of the way as Raynare dove at him, trying to stomp him into the earth. He barely moved out of the way as Raynare zipped into the gap forced between the two of them.

"BOOST!"

Hearing audible confirmation from his Sacred Gear, Issei threw a punch at Raynare, hoping that it would damage her just as it had done to Bushida.

Raynare easily caught the punch, then whipped his back with the edge of her wings. Issei yelped at the sting, only to be pulled back by his fist in the Fallen Angel's. With ease, Issei was tossed to the opposite end of the park. His face scraped on asphalt while tumbling to a stop.

"Shit…" Issei muttered, slamming his hand onto the empty road. "Beetles!"

The Beetles of his Stand went forth at Raynare, unbeknownst to her. They started to chip away on her body as they had done before, but she didn't pay heed. Numerous scars were appearing on her form, but she didn't care. Her eyes were lasered onto Issei's.

Raynare charged ahead, wings pluming behind her. She formed a new volley of light spears and started to pepper Issei with them. Issei scrambled to a stand, and ignoring the scrapes from his rough landing, did his best to light spears.

And then, a wall of spears landed next to the wall where he was about to move.

Emulating how she had nearly killed him before, Raynare boxed him in with her light spears. Issei found that the only open side was his front, where the full force of Raynare's attacks was present. All other directions were blocked off by light spears. Grinning, Raynare charged up another light spear, aiming it at Issei.

"I'm not falling for this shit again! Beetles!"

Calling his Stand back to himself, Issei allowed them to combine into his Sacred Gear, giving it that black tint he'd noticed when he fought Bushida as well as the large red star behind it. With another BOOST!, Issei slammed his Sacred Gear and Stand onto the wall by his side. To his delight, the pair was able to break through the light wall, allowing him to dodge the incoming spear.

However, that wasn't what hurt him. Something was boiling within Issei's body. It was as if he was going to explode at any time. The Beetles that were still in the surroundings began to change, slowly recolouring the white stars on their back to red.

"We… and… ge…"

The voice appeared in his ears, but it was incredibly broken. Issei couldn't make rhyme or reason of the voice in his ears. He didn't know what it was, nor what it was trying to tell him. However, Issei didn't quite care about that.

Moving hurt. The power that the Boosted Gear had given him was coming to capacity. Groaning, Issei forced himself to ignore the feeling of his imminent explosion, instead focusing his all on the enemy before him. Hissing, Issei yelled out and ran up to her, pulling back the Stand and Sacred Gear combined arm to attack her once more with his Boosted strength.

An astray light spear appeared between the two of them, and then exploded, blowing the two of them away from each other.

Issei stumbled onto asphalt once more but forced himself to stand up again. He got up to check on his enemy, but then found something he didn't expect. Dohnaseek, the male Fallen Angel, was gripping Raynare by her hair, making her cry out in agony.

"I don't care about your personal vendetta, girl," he told her. "We've got what we came here for. You served as a wonderful distraction. Know why we keep you with us."

Tossing her onto the ground, Raynare lightly hissed, but she kept her voice low. "Y-Yes, sir…" she softly replied.

"Good. Keep up."

With that, Dohnaseek took to the air, reuniting with the other Fallen Angels. However, in the arms of the busty blue-haired one, Kalawarner if he remembered her name correctly, rested another girl whose white sundress with yellow flowers was being creased under the Fallen Angel's tight grip.

"ASIA!" Issei called out for her.

They did not pay any heed to him, however. Raynare took a moment to cast him another scathing look before she took to the skies as well. Issei yelled out at her, running up to them and sending the now red-starred Beetles up to them. However, they zipped away far too quickly, and Issei was still finding it difficult to move and focus due to the excess energy in his body.

"We are… be… and… we…"

'That voice again!' Issei yelled in his head. 'This is not the time!'

Yelling in fury, Issei slammed his fist onto the asphalt below, crackling the set stone into shards. He still yelled out his frustration as the purple sky faded away, revealing to losing twilight and the arriving bat-winged beings.

"RESET!"

With that, Issei lost all his strength and collapsed onto the ground, unable to move any further. Beetles regained their white stars and returned to Issei's body.

"You truly are a beacon for trouble, aren't you, Issei-kun? You're lucky that I happened to have a contract nearby."

"G-Gremory-san…"

"Didn't I tell you? Rias. Just call me that. Just wait, I'll take you to the clubroom."

Issei was then picked up by the girl and flown in the direction of the school. The whole way there, he couldn't help but wonder how he was going to save Asia from the clutches of the Fallen Angels.


A/N: There we have the next chapter. Issei really can't catch a break. This is the fourth day in a row where he had to fight for his life. Perks of being a Sacred Gear Wielder and a Stand User in one.

Now, for the vote results as of now. We've got 5 votes for tragic, and 6 votes for happy. Very close lead for happy. Thank you for submitting your votes, but the period has not ended yet. I will be applying the vote for the next chapter, so you can still vote until then.

One thing that I've noticed people not understanding is that these endings are not for the whole story. They are only for this arc, which will end in the next chapter. So, this tragic ending and happy ending choice is only for the next chapter. The rest of the story will be tackled when I get to it. Some people have commented that JoJo's typically has tragic endings, but this is not going to be that. Think of it like Part 4, where Josuke's grandad died. Part 4 did have a good ending, but it still had that tragic point of the grandad's passing. That's the kind of situation the tragic ending of this arc will bring about. Otherwise, the happy ending will set up another branch for the rest of the story, where the union of several different groups will give the story a completely different feel in a poetic sense. Sorry, I can't properly explain it without spoiling things.

Note that you can always change your vote it the previous statement changed your mind. Just let me know that you're actually changing it instead of submitting a new one.

For those that want to see both, maybe I can think up of something when MC comes into the story. Day One's history manipulation could reveal different branches if MC somehow messes up his Load Saves. However, nothing concrete is built for that yet.

For the salmon onigiri recipe I wrote out here, I should emphasize that I haven't made that myself nor can I guarantee if it would actually be good. I like watching cooking videos and I channeled my inner Food Wars fan while writing that out. I know that I wouldn't like it myself, I don't like most fish, especially its oil. Atrocious for a person of my ethnicity, but still true. Still, let me know if you think it could be pulled off. I'd love to see what you think of it.

Finally, we're getting deeper into the lore behind Raynare. It'll be capped off in the next chapter, of course. She's a key component to this story, after all, no matter which arc ending the votes yield.

Onto the reviews! I won't be replying to the votes, however, unless there is something I can state.


Firetrail: Well, I can't really accept a middle vote, sorry. Maybe this A/N can help you narrow down your choice.


itspowertime: Thanks you for your kind words. And don't worry about delayed reviews, I'm finishing University this year, so I know the pain. Also, you can rest assured that Daichi Bushida won't be the only one who acts like a Stand User in 2-E. I imagine every person there acts like that inherently, but they are all different characters, so they have different personalities and ways of expressing themselves. They just haven't had enough screen time.


As mentioned before, the votes will be applied for the next chapter, which will be the finisher for this arc. I'll see you next chapter.