Chapter 14: New Directive
"Natsuki-chan!" Noboru cried out from his seat, reaching out to her even though he couldn't reach her. "We missed you sooo much!"
"Quit babbling, you baby!" Natsuki growled out, snarling at him. To that, Noboru merely shivered and shook his own body, almost revelling in the scathing looks that Natsuki sent him.
Issei hummed at Noboru's expressions. "I see why we get along so well… Am I fated to only be close with perverts?"
"Oi, don't call me a pervert, you damn perv!"
"No, you definitely are a pervert, fatass," Kenta spoke up as he was wont to whenever Noboru spoke.
"The hell did you say, lanky bastard?!"
Meanwhile, Natsuki grinned widely at the sight of the two boys bickering. "Boy, I sure did miss you lot."
"Don't mind them, Natsuki," Fumihiro Sasaki told her with a gentle pat on her shoulder, wearing a smile that contrasted greatly with his scarred face and Issei's image of him. "You know how they are."
"I sure do!" she said, flashing her fang with her smile. "They're fun to handle as always!"
"Look, y'all, shouldn't ya be quieter in a place like this?" said a girl with light brown hair and an American accent that Issei had yet to meet.
"Hmph! Of course, you should keep it down!" said a girl with white hair that was spiked up over her head like cat ears. "We are entertaining guests, after all!"
Issei looked around and noted that the few people left in the store had been sending dirty glances at the two bickering boys. As the two noted as such as well, they frowned and sat back down on their seats.
"Good! You're all good to listen now!" Natsuki barked as soon as she got her silence. "Come with me. This is not a place to talk about this kind of stuff."
As the rest of the group stood up to follow her, Issei spared a moment to look for Asia.
"Huh?" he asked himself when he discovered her missing from her seat. Her cup – catcake was finished, but she was missing. "Where is she?"
"Who?" Kenta said, walking up to him.
"Asia! I came here with her!"
"Wait, Argento-san was here?! Why didn't you tell me?!"
Issei blinked at the sudden comment from the brown-haired boy, then was taken aback by the ping of his phone in his pocket. Pulling it out, he noted a new message.
Asia: Sorry I left! Buchou called me!
Asia: I'll see you back home!
Asia: Have fun with the others!
Issei took a breath of relief as soon as he read those messages. Replying with a confirmation, Issei pocketed his phone again.
"Don't worry, she's fine," he reassured Kenta. "She had some club matters to attend to, that's all."
"Still, why didn't you tell me she was here?" Kenta sighed. "I could've talked to her some more."
Before Issei could comment, Natsuki's cry reached them. "Are you two coming or what?!"
"Coming!" Kenta called out, then nudging Issei to follow him.
Being assuaged of his fears over Asia's safety, Issei followed the small group. Natsuki led them into the kitchen, then guided them past the machines and the ovens to reach another room. She swung open the doors to reveal a meeting room within. Upon observation, Issei noted that it had a rather simple layout with a large table in the centre surrounded by chairs. On the opposite wall rested a whiteboard and markers along with a wheeled empty bulletin board by its side.
"I told Mom that we'd be using this room today," she said. "Make yourselves comfy. I'll be inviting the whole party here, after all."
As the group made their way into the room, Issei watched Natsuki as she pulled something out of her pocket. It was something enclosed in glass, something that looked vaguely like a rock.
"What's that?" Issei asked the person next to him, who turned out to be Fumihiro Sasaki.
Sasaki frowned at the sudden question. Just before Issei made to ask someone else, he responded. "It's a runestone. Something that another Stand User we know created."
"Runestone? Can it cast magic or something?"
"No, it's just that a certain Stand left its scratch on it, and now it's a gate."
Confused by his words, Issei opted to simply look at what she was doing.
Natsuki quickly inspected the so-called runestone. She lifted one of the planes of glass over it then held the rock within outwards. Looking into it, Issei noted a single scratch etched onto the rock. Natsuki then pulled out her phone and typed something into it.
As soon as she pocketed her phone, the space in front of the runestone shifted. Issei watched in bewilderment as a purple haze began to emit from it, forming a circle over it. The centre of the circle rippled as something emerged from within it.
"Yo, everyone!" a girl with jet-black hair cut to her shoulders and wearing an eyepatch while highlighting her lone blue eye with a peace sign emerged from the purple vortex. "Sachiko Kamiya's in the house!"
"Keep it down, Kamiya," another person emerged from the portal, a boy with short-cropped ginger hair, buzzed on the side. "We're just entering, no need to turn things into a festival already."
Side by side, two girls exited the portal. Twins as far as Issei could see. Both had grey hair and eyes. The first had her hair cut into a pixie style while wearing an eye-shaped earring on her right ear. The second had her hair longer, and her earring was of a treble note and it was on her left ear.
"Don't be such a downer, Reiko!" the former said cheerfully. "The world's a stage, after all! I, Takumi Chinen-chan and my dear sister Souta-chan are here too!"
"Just how many times are you going to say that in a day, sis?" the latter said, groaning into her palm as she pressed the bridge of her nose. "Can't we just wait for everyone to reach here?"
"Ooh, that's okay!" said the next person to emerge from the portal. A girl with coral pink hair tied by a red bow with an ever-present smile on her face, accompanied by bright blue eyes. "Hey, everyone! Oh? Who's the new guy?"
"Wait, new guy?" said yet another girl from the portal with long brown hair reaching her back and emerald eyes. "Have you all been recruiting without me?"
"I say that's a good thing, really," another boy emerged from the portal to say. One with dark brown hair that was grown out to cover his ears and amber eyes. "We could use as much help as we could get."
"Of course, you would say such a thing, darling!" said the coral-haired girl as she abruptly hugged the brown-haired boy, making him smile and cover her with an arm. Issei watched everyone heartily smile at the two of them, seemingly knowing of their open relationship.
"I-Is everyone here?" another person who Issei hoped was the last walked out of the portal. Yet another girl with admittedly large boobs and long, smooth purple hair that reached her legs. Towering over most of everyone that was in the room, she watched them all with her similarly purple eyes and an unsure expression. "A-And what's this about a new person?"
"Oh, right!" the brunette girl exclaimed with a pointed finger. "What's your name, newbie?"
Issei kept looking at the purple-haired girl until someone nudged him on the side. "O-oh, you meant me?" he said, slightly unnerved by the group.
"Of course," the purple-haired girl said with a frown, palming the portal behind her. Surprisingly, the portal shrank into a dwarf-like creepy figure with long claws which was probably her Stand.
"O-Oh, umm…" Issei gulped as he regarded every new person standing there. "I'm Issei Hyoudou. Nice to meet you all, whoever you are!"
"Ooh, what about your Stand?" said the black-haired girl with the eyepatch.
"I-It's Beetles."
The brunette softly giggled. "Well then, Hyoudou-san," the girl said. "We all, including Natsuki, were the Literature Club of Alliance High School back when it still existed."
Issei gulped as soon as he heard that. "So… what does that have to do with anything?"
"Well, it was us who actually introduced Stands into Alliance," the brown-haired boy said. "Me, more specifically. It still feels weird to say that, after everything that happened, though."
"Can't we just say it was Wallace?" the coral-haired girl by his side echoed after him.
"Not really. I mean, I kinda gave birth to him, didn't I?"
Issei grimaced at that mention. "Wait… did you two…"
"Oi, shut up!" the boy said, pointing at Issei while still holding a reddened coral-haired girl. "I didn't actually give birth to someone! He was my second personality and the God within us split us apart into different entities!"
"That… that makes even less sense! And… wait, God within you?"
"Very long story and I don't have the time to get into it now. You said your name is Issei Hyoudou, right? Well, I'm Mark Caulfield."
"… an American?"
"Half-Jap, Half-States, really. But feel free to call me MC. That's what everyone calls me. In the Speedwagon Foundation, I'm called The Traveller."
"Ooh, ooh!" the coral girl by his side called out. "Can I go next?"
"Of course, you can, Sayori."
"Hi, I am – wait, you just gave him my name! Meanie!"
MC chuckled while Sayori playfully slammed her fists onto his shoulder. "Don't worry, Sayori, I left enough for you to say after that."
"Oh, right!" Sayori pulled away from him immediately and then looked at Issei, flashing him a smile. "Hi, there! I'm Sayori Yamashita, and I'm The Revitaliser!"
"I-I'll go next, then," the purple-haired girl said, gulping softly before she faced Issei. "I-I-I'm Yuri Yamamoto. I… err… my designation is… The Witch."
Yuri almost shrivelled under Issei's trained gaze and went back into the cover of the rest of the group as soon as she was done. "Well, that leaves me in the original club members," said the brunette, flashing him a possibly award-winning smile. "I'm Monika Takeyama, the President of our club. I'm The Influencer."
"Alright, onto the new members, then!" said the black-haired girl with the eyepatch. "You already know by name, I'd be sad if you didn't! Sachiko Kamiya, The Canon!"
The twin with the eye-shaped earring made to speak, but the one with the treble-shaped earring covered her mouth. "I'll introduce us before she bores you with her stage words," the girl said. "She's Takumi Chinen, I'm Souta Chinen. She's The Lights and I'm The Sound."
That left only the ginger-haired boy behind. "That's me, then. Reiko Haku, future scientist and inventor. As said by my designation too: The Inventor."
"I, uhh…" Issei hummed. "Sorry, there are just so many people here. Don't expect me to remember your names so quickly."
"So honest," Monika said, nodding in approval. "I like you already."
"Okay, um… what do you all mean by those designations of yours?"
MC chuckled. "Don't worry, those are just terms given to us as agents of the Speedwagon Foundation. To keep us away from those who don't know about Stands, we've all been given such designations for privacy. It's a bit silly, but it's still effective."
"Uhh, okay. So, you're all Stand Users?"
"Of course!" Sachiko was the one to respond, gingerly rubbing the base of her nose. "We are the ones chosen by the lords within the Speedwagon Foundation for this quest!"
"Excuse Sachiko, would you?" Natsuki remarked, frowning at her. "She's never gotten out of her chuunibyou phase and her Stand does not help her with it at all."
"Ha! Say that in our next fight, Nats!"
"Huuh?! You wanna go, now?!"
Issei gulped as the two poised themselves for a fight. From Natsuki's body emerged a white robotic-looking Stand that seemed way too strong for someone like her and Sachiko summoned a… book?
CLAP! CLAP!
The budding fight was broken apart by the brunette, Monika, who easily walked in between them. "I think that's enough fighting for now, yes? You two can have your little contest later."
As the two girls sighed and withdrew their Stands, Issei decided to withdraw from the conversation for a moment to think again about what they'd mentioned. Moreso about the company they mentioned they were working under.
"The Speedwagon Foundation…" Issei recognised the name. It was the company where his brother worked. He always told him that he was a chemical engineer, but Issei knew that he was hiding his Stand from him. Was he doing something more than simply mixing chemicals? More importantly, should he ask them about it?
"Okay, everyone!" Monika caught everyone's attention with a lone finger in the air. "It's time to talk about why we're here!"
"You probably know by now that we won't be here for long," MC said after her. "To be frank, we all just wanted to catch up for a bit, that's why we're all here."
"Look, MC," Reiko, the ginger-haired boy, said. "Let's just tell them about their mission."
"Wait, mission?!" Sasaki roared upon hearing that word. "You're going to put us out there again?!"
MC bit his lip. "I already told you, didn't I? If you chose to remain with your Stand, you have to take part in this."
"Wait, you can choose?!" Issei noticed. "I thought that Stands were irreversible?"
MC winced but softly nodded. "That is actually true. Stands aren't normally able to be taken away. But we have something that can remove a Stand User's abilities."
"Then why hasn't anyone here used it?"
"Issei, brother, please stop," the one to speak to him, surprisingly, was Noboru. Devoid of his carefree tone, he spoke to him. "This… thing," he cast a suspicious glance at MC, who only frowned, "changes our very history. It will be as if we never had a Stand in the first place."
"And what's wrong with that?"
"You know about our incident, yes?" Noboru was talking about the incident that pinned Class 2-E to their social outcast. The time they had faced Stand Users for the first time. "If we change our pasts, then that would mean that we wouldn't be able to contribute to that event. Even a single hand off-deck back then would have been catastrophic for everyone else."
Issei did not see it, but Kenta Itawari looked away in shame.
"We got here because we worked together," Noboru concluded. "That means that we cannot lose our Stands."
"But that doesn't mean that you need to keep yours, Issei Hyoudou," MC added. "If you wish to delete your Stand, just let me know. I'll help you."
Issei took a moment to regard Noboru's and MC's words. If this thing was able to change history so that he never had a Stand, just how much would change? Would Asia still be alive? Would Raynare? How would he have fared with the Devils? Would he have actually died that day Yuuma betrayed him? Would Aniki have actually cared about him if he didn't have his abilities?
"No, I'll keep it," Issei replied, finally feeling how chained he was to his abilities.
MC sighed in relief. "That's good, then. I don't like using that thing. It reminds me of bad times."
"Look can we get to it, already?" Souta, the twin with the treble-earring said. "We're already running pretty low on sleep here."
"Alright, alright, I'll get started," MC waved her off. "Now, can everyone look at the board?"
Issei looked to find that the board was already studded with several images marked together. He could've sworn that the board was blank when he entered first.
"Wondering how that got there?" MC nearly bragged to Issei. "I travelled."
Watching everyone laugh at him, Issei winced at how little sense MC made. He truly felt like a fish out of water among them.
"Now, let's get started," MC appeared beside the board so quickly that it was as if he teleported there.
"Oi, stop using your abilities!" Sasaki yelled over Issei's shoulders, even though he was smiling. "Don't bully the new guy!"
MC shook his head with a grin. "Sorry, sorry. Blame Sayori if you want."
"Hey! Meanie!"
Shaking his head, he turned back to the group. "Okay, but in all seriousness, we need to get started with this."
To start off, MC pointed to a picture that looked like a patch of dirt dug out from within a forest.
"That's the grave of Isaac Marker, the User of Stressed Out. The Alchemist was the one to put him down, but he gave us quite a bit of trouble for a while. As you can see, someone had found his body and dug him out. This grave robbery had completely escaped our sights. It seems that whoever had done this had done a remarkably good job."
"Or they could have been Stand Users," Aia frowned.
"Yes, there is always that chance. Unfortunately, we have no way to check." MC pointed back at the next photo. "What we do know is that the tracker we implanted in the body was last marked here, in Kuoh, before it was destroyed."
MC pointed to a satellite view of Kuoh with a red circle outlining a certain region. "That was the region that we could track to. As far as we know, the body is somewhere in this area. It could even mean that this is in surrounding areas as well. The worst-case scenario, however, is that these people threw us off by discarding the tracker here.
"We then took a record of all the flights that had connected Kuoh and the city where the grave came from in this period. We took note of all the flyers and formulated a list." MC pointed at the final photo, which was less a photo and more an Excel print of a list of names and addresses. "We've found addresses for as many as we could, but there is still quite a bit left. We've attached their photos in a separate document, however.
"Here's the mission. The first is to find where the body landed and secure it for return. The longer that body remains in enemy hands, the more uncertain we will be of what damage they're doing with it.
"Secondly, we need to trace the party that brought the body to Kuoh in the first place. That starts with these names. Knocking on doors, interrogation, anything fairly legal and moral is fine as long as we find these robbers. Also, feel free to use your Stands, but keep damage to a minimum.
"We're giving you two months to try to find out about this. It is rather long, but if you don't return any results in the first week, we will try expanding our search. As we said, Kuoh is our only lead, but it isn't a guaranteed one."
Issei looked at the first image of the missing grave with mild trepidation. "Are… are we sure that this could turn into an issue? I mean, it's just a dead body, isn't it?"
"Hyoouuudou," Sakuna replied to him in his typical drawn-out voice. "You can't expect whaaat certain Stands can do. They defy all reasoning, you knooooow?"
Issei bit his lip and looked back at the grave robbery incident. 'Would the Devils be able to help us here?'
"Yes, there's also the matter of your third task," MC continued, catching everyone's attention. "This is a more extended assignment, however. There is no time limit, although it is recommended to finish it quickly.
"The task is to train Issei Hyoudou as a Stand User so that he would be able to help you."
"Huh? What?" Issei remarked upon hearing him singled out. "Why?"
"You don't have enough experience as a Stand User, Issei," MC said, ignoring last-name-convention just like Natsuki had. "Also, do you know everyone's Stand abilities?"
"… No?"
"Then you should learn. Everyone, you should all take turns 'battling' Issei if you can. If your Stand isn't a combat type, just tell him of your abilities. Issei should be able to know everyone's abilities to best aid his own capabilities in an actual battle."
Issei hung his head low in shame but was forced to accept MC's perspective. If he remained ignorant about his class for so long, he would remain a liability.
"Right, so… from tomorrow onwards, I'm facing off against everyone one by one?" Issei asked.
"Yes. I and the others won't be here; we're not supposed to be in Japan, after all. But you can still be trained by the others in your class, your future partners."
Issei looked down for a moment, then grinned. Looking up at MC, he called out a small ball of Beetles over his palm. "Bring it on, then!"
"Glad to see you're enthusiastic!" MC softly clapped. "That should be all for our debrief. Everyone, just make sure to follow these rules, alright?"
Sakuna bobbed his head. "Yep. We can do that, big man."
Issei sighed, finally feeling the odd weight in the room quell ever so slightly. He suddenly felt a buzz in his pant pocket. Alarmed by it, he pulled out his phone and checked his new text message.
Raynare: The house is done! Feel free to come back soon!
Issei smiled, wondering just how upgraded his house was going to become. If supernatural beings were renovating his place, then he could probably count on them being rather efficient with their work. He just hoped that Aniki wouldn't get too startled by it. He'd have to let him know about everything, then.
"Hey, bro," Noboru nudged him. Looking up, Issei noticed that everyone had gotten up from their seats and were talking with the Speedwagon Foundation members. "Want me to introduce you to the others?"
"… No, but thanks," Issei said, pocketing his phone with a smile. "I'm actually supposed to go back home now. I'm already way too late to pick up my daily schedule."
Noboru shook his head. "That's no problem, my man! Oh, and good luck tomorrow! Some of us have some seriously messed up Stands, so you'd better watch out!"
"R-Right, yeah…"
It didn't take long for Issei to finish up his goodbyes to the others that he knew. He even managed to bid MC and the others bye as well before he turned to leave. As he opened the door to leave, he felt his back seize up a little from the constant sitting, so he stretched his arms up as he walked up to loosen his torso.
MC, who was smiling as he talked to his old friends, just so happened to glance at him as he left. While Issei stretched, MC watched his shirt's collar drop low and reveal something on his left shoulder.
As the door closed, MC froze. He only saw it for a moment, but he couldn't deny its presence. He wouldn't dare to. He almost brought out Day One to check once more, but then Sayori rested a hand on him.
"MC? What's going on?"
"Sayori… that… he's…" MC heaved his words. Sayori gingerly pressed a hand to his chest, summoning Take Me to Church to softly wrap him up and give him her energy.
Feeling Sayori's ropes pull out the excess energy within him, MC was finally able to relax and breathe more slowly.
"MC. What did you see?" Sayori asked, knowing that her boyfriend would not panic in such a way if it wasn't serious.
"That boy… Issei Hyoudou…" he started, still panting. "I think I saw a star on his shoulder."
"Huh?!" Sayori yelped, immediately understanding his fear. "Can you Rollback and check?"
MC looked down at the watch on his hand and frowned. "No… I'm certain it's been more than 12 seconds. Shit."
Sayori's expression quickly fell. "After JoJo…"
MC softly pulled Sayori in and kissed her forehead, making her flinch. "Don't worry, Sayori. We don't need my Stand to figure this out anyway." He looked back to the door from which Issei left. "We will definitely confirm whether Issei Hyoudou is a hidden Joestar or not."
Taking the turn to reach his house, Issei balked at what he saw.
In the place of his humble home, what stood atop his address was a small mansion. A whole new story was added to the house, giving it three floors instead of two. The paint before the renovation was acceptable, but now it appeared as if the house was glowing with how fresh and clean the beige paint job was. Issei could even see balconies affixed to the ends of the rooms, and boy were there rooms. Even from the outside, Issei could tell that the capacity of the entire house had drastically increased. He would bet that 10 people could easily stay there. Finally, he could also notice a fence around the roof of the house.
"Oh, man…" Issei said, feeling a mix of awe and fear as he walked up to his new house. "How the hell am I going to clean this place?"
"You don't need to," Raynare said, creeping up behind him. "I'll take care of it."
Issei jumped in shock at the sudden voice, his heart leaping to his throat. Upon seeing that it was Raynare who was still wearing her maid dress, Issei let out a sigh of relief, while the girl giggled at his reaction.
"Raynare, seriously," Issei huffed, glaring at her. "What the hell did you turn my house into?"
Raynare smirked evilly. "Let's just say that I wanted to test my abilities. I won." She gently pumped her fist, her smirk quickly turning innocent as she did so.
Issei shook his head and chuckled to then look back at his new monstrosity of a home. "Aniki's gonna kill me…"
"You don't need to worry about that!" Raynare said. "When he returns, we can give him a few hypnotic suggestions to convince him that this is for the better!"
"Wait, hypnotic suggestions?! You can do that?!"
"Of course! It's one of the vital spells tested before we interact with humans in any way. Almost every supernatural being knows it."
"That's not cool! You can literally manipulate people as you see fit?!"
Raynare shook her head. "See, Issei… to us, humans are fleeting creatures. You can hardly see humans passing the age of 80 while we have lived for millennia. When you are old enough, you start seeing such temporary beings as mere insects."
"But that's humanity you're talking about! We're not like insects in how we're conscious and intelligent!"
"You only feel bad about it because it is your race. I don't expect you to properly understand right now, if ever, so I suggest we simply drop this discussion. I can deal with your brother when he returns."
"No, you'll do no such thing," Issei affirmed. "Not only because this is my brother we're talking about, but I'm also pretty sure that it may not end well for you. Aniki's most definitely a Stand User, after all."
Raynare blinked in surprise. "Him too? How do you know?"
"He had some idea of what I'd be going into, which was probably why he made me train so much. Other than other little things like him not sending me to a school with Stand Users, the company he works for is also a place that manages Stand Users."
"There's a whole company for your kind?!" Raynare was taken aback. "You're not the only one?!"
"Of course not! Everyone in my class is a Stand User as well. It doesn't end there either."
"… I see," Raynare grimaced. "That makes a lot more sense than I'd like to admit. I still can't believe we've never noticed this entire school of magic until now."
"School of magic?"
"From what you've said and from what I'd seen yesterday, Stands can be simplified to a unique form of magic. A way of extending your very being and/or soul into power is the very definition of magic, after all. Stands just take on a physical shape and have some rather unusual properties compared to traditional magic, what with its invisibility and its nigh-invulnerable energy. Not to mention that you can only gain one unique ability instead of being able to learn other spells."
"…"
"… What?"
"I never took you for the studious type."
"I do and learn whatever I can for Azazel-sama; this is more his field of expertise." Raynare huffed and hung her head low. "It truly is a shame that I cannot get him to investigate Stands as a whole."
Issei nodded, smiling at her. "Thank you for keeping it from him, again."
"I told you, didn't I? I owe you for it," she said, smiling back at him. Clapping his shoulder, she continued. "Now, how about we enter your new house and check it out?"
"Well, sure. I haven't said it yet, but you've done a wonderful job with the place."
"Thanks! I aim to please Azazel-sama, after all."
"You don't think about anyone other than that guy, huh?"
"Nope!"
Chuckling, Issei finally walked past the wider gate and took a moment to observe the different front lawn before finally entering the house.
"Issei!" Asia called out, apparently being within the house the whole time. "This place is so different now! May the Lord bless those that – ow!"
Faltering at her sudden pained cry, Issei went to check on her. "Asia, are you alright?"
"I-It's fine… I just can't talk about the Lord as a – ow!"
"She means," Raynare interrupted, "that she can't worship the Bible God or even respectfully call his name as she is now a Devil."
Issei looked back at Asia, worried for her. "Will you be okay with that, Asia?"
"I-I'll be fine!" she reassured them. "But Raynare did a wonderful job with the house! Did you see the roof, Issei?!"
"The roof? You added a roof?!"
"Now, now, don't spoil it for him, Asia," Raynare reprimanded. "Let's do this step by step."
He was then guided throughout the new house. Before the front entry was a straight hallway heading to a living room outfitted with an array of sofas, a central table and a large TV, something their family never really bought before. Connected to the living room dotted with random plants and artwork was a glass wall with a sliding door to enter the kitchen.
The kitchen was significantly larger than Issei would imagine being able to use. Series of stovetops lined out within a section of the countertop, while the rest was still available for work. Dishwashers, microwaves, and ovens were all expected in a kitchen. However, in his new one, there were two of each. An island was at the centre of the room with more shelf space within. He could even see some other appliances he'd never even dreamed of having, such as a Stand Mixer and a whole bunch of other nicknacks.
The next room was a dining room with an extremely long table, one that could house about 20 people at once. Candelabras lit up the hallway as if it were a traditional English mansion. The room was properly lined and plates were already laid out for the three of them.
"Raynare…" Issei muttered. "Isn't this a bit excessive? Are we actually going to use all this? And I can't imagine how much it would cost to maintain all this…"
"Oh please, I am certain that you will need it soon enough. Also, don't worry about the maintenance. I've already claimed your spot as your maid. I guarantee you that I can do a fair job."
"W-What about costs? Taxes for the size of the house, electricity and water costs… who's going to handle all that?"
"Azazel-sama already offered quite a generous stipend to your local government. Enough to get them to ignore those extra charges for a while. If they do return, we can just ask Azazel-sama to pay for us again!"
"Wait, so we're mooching off him?! How will that work in the long run?!"
"Please, don't sweat the small stuff, Issei!" Raynare waved him off. "Now, let's go to the upper levels!"
As Raynare raced back to the main hall, Issei sighed and cast a glance at Asia, who was looking at the entire house excitedly. Seeing her smile put one on his own face as well. True, coming to a different house was new and exciting, but it felt too different from what he was used to. He was certainly feeling the backlash from the changes. However… if Asia was happy with the changes, then he'd try and get used to his new home.
He still feared letting Aniki know, however.
Following Raynare up to the second floor, he was quickly introduced to the several series of bedrooms lining the floor, followed by some of the largest bathrooms he'd ever seen. He was also delighted to see that Aniki's room was left untouched, although it was made bigger.
When they entered his room, however, Issei noticed that it was much larger than any of the other rooms. It was clear to see how she treated him differently from the others. That being said, there was another glaring feature that popped up in his eyes.
"Raynare?"
"Yes, Issei?"
"Why is my bed a king-size now?"
"Oh, don't sweat the small things, Issei! Everyone of high status has a king-size bed where I'm from!"
"I-I'm not high status, though…"
"Doesn't matter! I also suspect you'd need the space for… activities."
"I have absolutely no idea what you're implying here, but don't tempt me into something I would readily do. Let's move on."
And then they went to the third floor.
Raynare claimed to love that floor the most. She said that it contained most of the features of their new house. The very first door she opened was the gym room, something that Issei was actually delighted to see. Outfitted with a series of traditional gym equipment and weights, his new in-house gym had everything he'd need for training. Moreover, it even has spaces for some of the more exotic equipment that Aniki brought back, such as his rapid tennis ball feeder being given its own zone with a rear and collecting net attached. Vowing to explore it further, he stepped out to inspect the rest of the house.
Following the gym room was another set of showers. The next thing was something that Issei had never expected to see. A Sauna and Steam room for post-workout relief and in case anyone among them wanted to take care of their skin further. It was something that Issei never anticipated seeing in his own home, and considering how he'd never used them before, he felt they would be wasted on him. Although Asia did vow to use them sometime just to try them out.
The next member of the house was something that Raynare labelled the piece de resistance. Moving into the hallway to open another wooden door, she revealed a changing room.
"Hm? What's this?"
"Just wait…"
She moved into the changing room and revealed another door past it. Moving past the wall opposite to it, she finally unfurled a curtain to reveal the steaming bath within.
"… Are you fucking serious?"
"Of course! Azazel-sama loved these, I was certain you'd too!"
What was presented to him was a bonafide hot spring. Even though it was indoors, it genuinely looked like the real thing. The dark paint on the walls with white dots specking the ceiling made it seem like they were under the night sky. The room seemed to be well-ventilated since it wasn't getting clogged with steam. Finally, the hot springs themselves seemed to be well heated and the rocks surrounding the water looked natural enough.
"A reasonable number of magic spells lets us keep this clean for longer while maintaining the minerals and heat within it," Raynare explained. "They're one of the biggest advantages to magic as Azazel-sama would put it."
"What is this?" Asia asked, bobbing her head all around the room.
"They're called hot springs," Issei explained. "I've not been to many of these places, though. I'm not really comfortable watching random old guys sitting next to me while I bathe."
"Huh?" Asia retorted. "Why would that happen?"
"They tend to be public baths. Although, people use them more for relaxing after a long day. And seriously, why is this not on the ground floor?"
"Well… I wanted everything of interest to be on this floor," Raynare cheekily explained. "Don't worry about that, though. I've magically reinforced the floors. Not even that thing you call 'atomic bomb' would destroy your house now!"
"…"
"… Okay, maybe it would, but this house is still durable!"
"Fine, I'll take your word for that. I'm guessing you saved the best for the last?"
"Oh, I'm going sequentially! I've got the roof left!"
The trio eagerly left the hot spring room and moved up to the next floor. Issei immediately noted the fresh breeze accompanying their presence. Looking past the fence as the door opened, Issei stood still at the sight of the setting sun on the horizon.
"This is the roof," Raynare said. "I've included a bunch of cooking equipment here, as well as small farming zones. We have a landing pad as well."
"Wait, landing pad?"
"Yes. I was surprised to see that you didn't have one."
"… We're not expecting helicopters to land on my roof, are we?"
"… Oh right. You're human," Raynare stated as if it hurt her to say it. "No, helipads are meant for helicopters. The landing zone I added was for flying beings to land or take off. It has proper cloaking around it to keep anyone outside the house's premises from noticing."
Looking around, Issei noticed what Raynare was talking about. A small set of steps led up to a large circle jutted off the main floor. On the sides of the pedestal was a series of runes that flickered every now and then.
"So…" Issei muttered. "Anyone who wants to fly to my house can land here? And can leave by taking off from here too?"
"It's the most secure spot for it, yes. It's a feature seen in nearly every house connected to the supernatural."
Issei huffed out. Looking around the rest of the roof, he noticed a series of beach chairs laid out along with barbecue grills, smokers and even what looked to be a wok station. On the other side, he noticed the small greenhouse that Raynare was talking about as well."
"Raynare…" Issei started. "You've mentioned that you'll be able to take care of all of this, right? I'm only going to help with what I'm familiar with."
"I won't need it," she said, pumping her fist. "Azazel-sama is already paying me for this. I will never let him down!"
"Speaking of… why is Azazel so willing to help me out? He's literally taking control of all of this. I can't even imagine how much he'd spend on this."
"It's all a paltry sum to him, really. I'm fairly certain that my monthly salary for the maintenance of this place and for being their liaison in Kuoh is greater than the overall cost of the renovation of this house combined with the monthly expenses that he will be sponsoring."
"… Still, why is he doing it?"
"He told me that he would rather appease the Red Dragon Emperor than simply ignore him. A dragon values their horde more than anything, so he thought to treat you, both as a gift and an apology for our past actions, by doing all this."
"… Well, tell him I'm grateful. And that it's all a bit excessive, however."
"I will convey your message as you put it."
"Ah, Raynare, there was something Buchou asked me to tell you!" Asia said from behind them. "F-First, this house is beautiful, thank you for making it!"
Raynare smiled. "Thank you, Asia. I'm glad you liked it."
"G-Good! Ah, t-that's not what Buchou said, though! That's from me!"
"Heh, I figured. What did she say, however?"
"She said that she's expecting you to meet her tomorrow to conduct your duties as liaison."
Raynare nodded, all humour in her face quickly being replaced by a professional expression. "Understood. Did she mention which time?"
"Um… no. Sorry, I forgot to ask…"
Raynare smiled again and shook her head, moving to her to pat her shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Asia. If they didn't mention it, that means that they're open to meeting anytime I'm free. Can you tell them that I'll be there before their school hours tomorrow?"
"O-Of course!" Asia looked up to Raynare and nodded. "I'll tell her!"
Issei took a moment to smile at the sight of them together, then turned to look at the sunset once more. The sky was already growing darker with the sun barely peeking out of the horizon they could see past the houses. Issei gulped, knowing that he'd have to get used to his new normal.
As night fell, Issei found himself trying out his new bed. He tossed and turned on it, getting used to the astronomical levels of softness that it had reached. Without question, his once humble home was now a mansion, and certain elements of his home definitely did represent it.
He didn't understand how people could handle King-sized beds. If he was sleeping alone, he literally had to push himself off to the edge of the bed before he could get up. On top of that, the softness of the bed fought against his control whenever he tried to get up. Sure, the greater room on the bed was certainly useful if he wanted to move around while sleeping, but Issei was a calm and relatively normal sleeper.
Groaning, Issei tossed himself to the edge of the bed and got up. The sheer changes to his house discomforted him. It felt as if he were living in a stranger's house instead.
Wanting to get some fresh air, Issei decided to leave his room. Upon facing the larger hallway, he was forced to turn on his phone flashlight. Cursing that he was doing so in his own home, he made to go down to walk outside.
'Wait, I have a roof now, don't I?'
He turned around and rushed up the two flights of stairs. Certainly, Raynare should have added an elevator into the house. He just didn't mention it because he didn't want to push his house even further off the deep end than it had gone.
Huffing as he finally pushed open the roof door, he heaved in the crisp night air. Looking up, he smiled at the sight of the sky dotted with stars, almost like tiny jewels scattered about a black canvas.
"Issei? What are you doing here?"
Blinking, Issei looked ahead to the source of the voice. Standing past him, just before the landing pad that Raynare had installed, was Asia Argento. "Asia? Why are you here? I'm just getting some air."
"Oh, um…" Asia looked away, blushing under the darkness of the night sky. "I-I'm trying to do something Buchou asked me to do."
"Gremory-san? What did she say?"
"S-She asked me to try flying. A-And I thought… since we have a landing pad now… I should try?"
Issei blinked and then cast another look at the rune-crested landing pad before them. He succinctly stepped to her side. "Shouldn't she be here to teach you that?"
"S-She said that it should come to me as instinct. Something about… Devils inherently knowing their bodies, and that her other members were able to do it well enough."
"Way to add pressure on you…" he cursed Rias for her oversight. "So… are you going to do it?"
"I-I'm just trying to get ready. I've never done this before."
"Yeah, I can imagine." Looking down at the steps leading up to the platform, Issei smiled and placed a foot atop them.
"Issei? Why are you coming?"
"I thought I'd give you some company up there, that's all."
Asia looked up at Issei's back, having not turned back to look at her as he spoke, then smiled under the rising moonlight. Thanking him for the courage, she followed him up the stairs. In seconds, they found themselves atop the surface of the landing pad.
"You know," Issei started. "I've never seen your wings before."
"You haven't?" Asia stepped back, recollecting the day. "Oh, right! I never showed you!"
With a small bout of concentration, two bat wings popped out of Asia's back, almost contrasting with the cute expression she wore. She happily smiled at Issei. "How do I look?"
'She's definitely one who can make the succubus look seem cute.' "Really nice, Asia."
"Mm!" she bobbed her head in her joy, flapping her wings behind her. "Thank you!"
Nodding as well, Issei looked back up at the sky.
"I… should get started, shouldn't I?" Asia spoke behind him, making him hesitate.
"This is your first time, right?"
"Y-Yes, I never had wings before."
"… Of course. I've never flown before either, so I'm sorry I can't really help there. Did Gremory-san tell you anything about what it feels like?"
"She… did mention something about picturing myself as lighter and imaging the wind carrying my wings upwards."
Issei sighed. "She really should have been here to help you. How about this… why don't you hover over the ground for a moment? I'll catch you if you fall."
Asia looked down, hesitating. "I… I don't know if that would be enough."
"… Do you need someone to fly with you?"
"…"
Issei looked at the crestfallen expression on Asia. Looking back down at the pad below him, he thought of a way to help her out.
"Beetles," he realised. "Come Together."
Summoning a swarm of Beetles from his arms and legs, he pressed them all against the extremes of his limbs. He reforged them into planks attached to his palms and feet.
"Okay, let's just hope this works."
"Issei? What are you doing?"
"Something that might blow you away."
Willing his Beetles to get stronger, he pictured them lifting his feet off the ground. Suddenly, he felt his knees loosen, no longer supported by the comfort of the floor.
"Issei!"
His body unconsciously swayed from the supposed lack of balance while in midair. Steeling himself, he used the planks on his hands to push himself back to an upright position. For a moment, Issei found himself caught in a moment of stasis while hovering over the ground.
"…" Asia gaped at the effects of what could only be Issei's Stand in action.
Grinding his teeth together, Issei finally made the decision to tuck his legs into his chest. It didn't look very cool, but the hunched position helped him keep balance much more than he anticipated.
"What are you waiting for?!" Issei yelled down at Asia while squatting in midair. "Join me!"
Asia faltered upon seeing Issei raise himself higher and higher into the air. It was not something that any normal human being could do; Issei did it only because of her. She, one who was naturally able to fly, had forced someone that didn't have wings to fly with whatever means he had. It was almost as if she were catching up with an angel, only to discover that she was the angel all along.
She could not ignore the kind of dedication that the one who saved her put into her growth.
Flapping her wings, Asia set her lips in a line as she focused on what Rias had told her earlier about flight. She pictured herself as weightless; as the wind tugged on the two extensions popping out of her shoulder blades, she felt herself rise with it.
Issei felt his heart grow warmer as Asia slowly rose up into the air to follow him. He watched as Asia kept on rising, soon moving over the level that Issei himself had climbed.
"Go on, Asia!" he yelled at her, making her look down at him and finally recognise her situation. "You can do it!"
The space between her and the ground threatened to break her will, but Issei's words delivered her from herself. Looking down at Issei's face, she felt her own heart growing accustomed to her situation.
Looking up to the sky, she shot forwards.
Issei couldn't help but watch Asia as she zipped around the sky, exercising the new muscles carrying her flight, laughing the whole way. He was certain that while Beetles could raise him into the air, it certainly could not let him fly like her.
Sighing, he let his Stand drop him down to the landing pad. Looking back up, he delighted at the sight of that once-chained girl finally flying free in that starry midnight sky.
Meanwhile, with every flap of her wings, Asia kept wearing a smile on her face. Not only for the wonderful feeling of soaring through the sky like a bird but also of the one who'd pushed her so far.
'Issei… thank you.'
A/N: This one was... eh. So, so. I certainly did feel as if the reintroduction of the MCBA characters came out of nowhere and served as a massive info dump, but I'm pulling through regardless. I'm too lazy to change it now, sue me.
If anyone says that the name Isaac Marker is too inspired by Dead Space... you'd be right. Frankly, I thought up of the name myself, but only later realised that it was unconsciously inspired by the new remaster. Who cares, though? I'm not including Dead Space lore into this, so don't worry about it.
MC and the gang showed up to Natsuki's cafe and debriefed them on a mission they were giving them. Sure, I thought of different ways I could approach this arc, but this way ticks off too many boxes for me. It connects to JoJo Part 4, which is the most similar to this series. Also, not only does this tell the group of the threat, but also urges them to start 'fighting' Issei. That's what the next few chapters are going to be about as well. I'm going to present the Stands that I have created over time in several chapters, because dropping it all in a few lines is a massive info dump and will knock most heads out of the loop. I made these Stands; I want them to stick. I want them to be memorable. Simply talking about them is not going to do that for me. So, I will go the extra mile, even though it's more work.
I have this full arc finally planned out. It is honestly relieving to say that, especially since I've suffered before for not properly thinking out my work. Moreover, I have the full story planned out as well. Well, no, not really. But I do have an ending now! I even have the bits and pieces in between that will somehow magically come together over time. It's still a fairly big project, but certainly not as big as Re:Teyvat will turn out to be.
Then, we reach the bit where Issei sees his new home. I have no experience in interior design, so excuse me if it feels a little bland. I've shoved far too many things that I would never wish to see within a house itself. That was more for me, though. I'm sure that some would be impressed with the things I've mentioned, and frankly, I would love a house like this too. I would just feel as if it were too big for me and has too many things I don't need (save for the cooking stuff, I need those). One line I love in "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss is when Kvothe says that a house is like a shoe: if it's too small, it suffocates you, and if it's too big, it feels uncomfortable. Not the exact words, but I'm not pulling out the book to check.
Finally, Asia's first flight. I hold a firm belief that there is no such thing as a damsel in distress. People do need help at times, and those that take the time to save them will immediately be seen as favourable. That is a fact I cannot deny. That being said, a lot of stories make things up like "the Hero saved the Princess and they got married and had five kids - no, just no. Please, stop. That is never true. You wanna be a hero? Don't expect the girls or guys to flash googly eyes at you if you do. They'll just thank you and leave, maybe even hold themselves to a debt to you, but they will see you as a good friend. That's all.
True romance, in my opinion, is a steady growth. Being saved by someone and thinking that you're falling in love is merely suspended bridge syndrome. Love, in my words, is when you can feel as if you can completely trust your partner with a side of you that you cannot see. You may not have worth in yourself, but you can count on your partner to be there no matter what. That's no easy thing to accomplish, though. What I've done with Asia's flight here is actually initiate the romance between Asia and Issei. Asia begins to see that Issei is fully willing to go the mile untravelled just to help her, and in my eyes, that is a much more fulfilling thing to fall for than "Oh, my hero!"
Speaking of romance, I've also been giving something else quite a bit of thought. Raynare's romance. I've said over and over again that I'm not going to pair her with Issei. Now... I'm not so sure. Raynare and Issei would actually work. Azazel is not the type to go for someone like Raynare, really. Raynare is looking for a missing half to commit to her, while Azazel is a roaming spirit. They don't fit together. Issei, on the other hand, is perfect for her. I see now that me previous aversion to their pairing was because of their history and their age differences and a bunch of other excuses. So, yeah, expect those two to end up together. That being said, it will be a slow burn, even slower than the other romances. Expect Raynare to be the very last person Issei would add in his harem. They still need to sort out a lot of baggage, after all.
Review!
Guest: De acuerdo, sé lo que dije sobre odiar DxD, pero eso no significa que odie a aquellos a los que también les gusta la serie. Si te gusta la serie, bien por ti. Todo el mundo tiene sus gustos diferentes, y no me corresponde a mí decir si son superiores a los demás. Como has mencionado, hay quien tampoco disfruta con JoJo's. Eso no significa que la gente a la que le gusta una historia deba odiar a los que odian esa historia. Eso es mezquino y no es algo que yo apoye.
Dicho esto, ya he dejado claro por qué odio DxD. He mencionado cómo el autor no le da suficiente seriedad a su propia historia que en realidad tiene el potencial para ser grande. Por eso critico tanto al autor. Si la historia fuera insulsa, entonces criticaría al autor por elegir una historia así para escribir, pero mi odio hacia él no será tan intenso por esto. Admitiré que decir que insulto a otras historias por hacer un crossover con DxD está mal, pero lo dije por hacer la broma. Si te ofendiste por eso, siento haberte hecho sentir así.
(Traducción realizada con la versión gratuita del traductor Translator)
Okay, I've wasted my whole night with this A/N. I've made some pretty strong opinions of mine known here, and I hope it doesn't backfire. I'll see you next chapter.
