The Time of Isolation Hath Come
IX
The day went much smoother than he had anticipated.
But, as was expected, there was soon the mutterings from across the room from the excited cheers of a certain brunette.
Issei had really been working without actually realising it and before he'd even paid much attention, it was sitting in front of him. Handed clay and told to make whatever they wanted, he'd been at a loss for a few moments.
His hands, however, had not been at such a loss.
Before him stood a perfect rendition of Buchou, he was truly impressed with how well it had actually turned out. He'd only really been working off his own imagination of how she would have looked - it was a good imagination - and then just let his movements run wild.
And then the final product was there.
Though, the lack of clothes was something he had not doubted was going to earn him a few glares.
What he really hadn't been expected was for Mrs Archaman to cross the length of the room and then lean over his desk.
Delicately as she could, she took it by the base and brought it up, giving the statue a once over with a rather discerning gaze. A low and thoughtful hum escaped her before her head tilted to the side. Then her pupils seemingly lit up for a moment, a smile formed on her lips and she lowered the statue back down onto the desk and dropped her hands onto her hips.
A moment later, she was peering down at him with what looked like being impressed.
"Now that…is a fine statue."
He blinked, looked back at it, then returned his sight to the woman.
"Wait, seriously?"
She raised a brow at him, almost dubiously.
"You don't think so?"
"W-well, I do." He admitted with a light chuckle, scratching the back of his neck. "But I just wasn't expecting that…"
"I concur with Leo, Hyoudou-kun."
A deep reverberating tone, he twisted and looked up as Lainur-Sensei stood near the front of his desk, hands folded behind his back and gazing down at the clay statue. "Though I cannot make a comment as to the source of the inspiration and shall leave such matters to those who can, I will say that I am rather surprised by this talent."
Issei perked up a little.
"That being said."
The tone of the teacher shifted, his eyes darted down towards the statue and his lips turned thin.
"...I would advise against making such statues of your fellow students. It is quite inappropriate for school, you understand?"
He nodded his head up and down, falling silent.
With that done, the teacher glanced once more to the small statue of Buchou and shook his head from side to side, pacing away from him and moving to examine the progress of the other students.
Mrs Archaman let out a small huff and folded her arms.
"Art is art." She declared under her breath, shooting a small look towards him and giving another smile and a raised thumb. "That's a talent there. Keep doing what you're doing."
And then she was away, pacing back to the end of the room where the other parents were. It was actually where they were supposed to remain…and now she was speaking with his parents and gesturing towards himself and Asia.
They were making introductions.
Somehow that felt a bit more embarrassing than making a naked statue of Buchou.
And he wasn't even really embarrassed about the statue, just about how good it was.
Was he always this good at sculpting?
Damn, he needed to buy some clay.
This was way cheaper than buying models of VN characters, and he could put them in whatever poses he liked that way.
A quick glance left and right, he immediately noticed that he was receiving stares from some of the others in his class. Very few of them were actually positive, with the exception of Matusda and Motohama who were looking on with awe. Then again, he could not blame them and felt much the same way as he gazed down at his own creation.
And then suddenly he was getting swamped with people wanting to take the statue off him, both in exchange for a trade or in exchange for money. He was rather baffled with the latter of the two, staring at the girl from the Kendo club in shock as she offered to give him a full seven thousand yen for the statue.
All of it was in the name of protecting Buchou's body from his depraved desires.
Though Issei could see jealousy, it was hard to believe that was her only aim when he saw the same little hint of desire in her eyes that he could see in the eyes of Motohama and Matusda as they proposed similar deals.
Leaning back into his chair, he grimaced a little.
Evidently things escalated.
And when they did that, they escalated very quickly.
A prod on the back, he briefly turned and glanced over his shoulder as Asia leaned forwards, the girl glanced at the statue and then towards him before speaking. Her voice was just loud enough to reach his ears.
"Issei-san, would I be able to have a model as well?" She muttered, shuffling a little before speaking further. "W-with clothes, I mean."
"Absolutely."
He replied without even a moment of hesitation.
The reward came almost instantly, the blonde gave him a dazzling smile that was almost painful to look at. Really, Asia was much too cute to exist or be this nice to him, but here she was. He would never think to give her something lewd or cultured. Mostly because he was certain that if he did something like that, he would get some very displeased look from Roman-sensei.
…Or Mrs Archaman would catch him.
And he wasn't sure which of the two would be worse for him.
A twitch of his ears and suddenly, above the sound of the students clambering for his model, he could hear his own parents excited mutters to one another, with the inclusion of Mrs Archaman thrown into the mix as well.
"I thought all he had was perversion, but perhaps he could be a talented artist one day." His father sounded so excited about that, probably more than he had heard in a while.
"I know." His mother came in next, equally cheerful. "I didn't know he was so talented."
And then, surprisingly, came Mrs Archaman.
"Perversion? Nonsense, every artist needs to have an appreciation for the physical form to be considered worthwhile. Besides, you can definitely feel the passion in the model, he was definitely sculpting with a deep appreciation for the source."
Issei was a bit shocked to hear her speak such words of wisdom.
…Was she, perhaps, aware of the natural love of breasts?
No, surely not…unless?
"There are few things as beautiful as the body of a person and all you need is the right temperament to bring it out."
She continued onwards, falling into her own speech.
"And what he needs to do is nurture this skill…but that's just my own bias as an artist speaking."
He'd never really had people believe in him like this before…
…He should make nude statues more often!
"How elusive."
"Not really."
Romani answered with a wave of the hand, leaning back and shrugging his shoulders. "Mostly one of those things that people just accept happening…though some of the members are a little odd and some of the students do talk about the lack of activities they put on."
Both Sirzechs and Zeoticus glanced at one another, a frown was shared between them, there was something in the look which was similar enough to a hidden message being shared. The latter scratched at his bearded chin for a moment or two, then gave out a low hum.
"How sad, I would have thought Rias would use this as an opportunity to show off all her knowledge…then again, she always did have a little habit of making those jokes."
Letting out a lamenting sigh, the man shook his head from side to side.
"A pity, I would have hoped that my Ria-tan would have some clubs that were the envy of the school, but I'm happy to hear she's so popular. So often she says so little, I'm left to find these things out second hand."
Sirzechs gave a wry smile. "She is much the same with me as well. But she seems happy in the school so I cannot complain much…what of you, Romani? How has your daughter been faring in school? I feel obliged to ask."
Romani dry heaved. "She's not-nevermind. Asia is fine, she's got a few friends…I hope at least."
He paused, then frowned.
"...She doesn't actually talk all that much about school with me, mostly it's the ORC that she speaks about…is that worrying? Should I be concerned about that? She doesn't ask me for help in regards to her work…does that mean she's smart? Or…maybe she goes to Leona, which makes sense but-"
A hand found itself on his shoulder, the pressure cut his words short and he glanced down at the limb, then followed it to the owner.
Zeoticus was looking back at him with an understanding smile. "You do yourself few favours with this, your concerns are nothing new to a recent parent. Independent as your daughter might be at the moment, there is always room for help. When she needs it, she shall come to you…or you need to go to her. The key is knowing when the right moment is."
"...And when is the right moment?"
For some reason, that brought a chuckle not just from the red haired man, but also from the other parents around them who might have been overhearing their conversation. Romani felt a little bit embarrassed at this point, shyly glancing around and feeling as though he had just asked a rather silly question.
"That's the secret of having a teenage daughter." Zeoticus remarked with a shake of the head, folding his arms. "It is never the right moment."
That wasn't very helpful.
He felt his shoulders drop, turning his head towards the class and sweeping his eyes over the students, lingering them on the back of Akeno's head as she continued to work. Folding his arms and exhaling.
There was a feeling of being stared at, he glanced to the side and noted that Sirzechs was giving him an odd expression, though it quickly shifted into one of understanding. The man stepped closer and dropped his voice into a low whisper.
"You are worried."
"She's quite mature for her age." Romani answered. "Just…sometimes I think these kids need to know they have someone looking out for them. I can't do a lot for them as I am, but just so they know there is someone they can rely on or has their back…even if it's just me being a cheerleader for them or telling them a good job."
"It is sometimes the smallest actions that have the biggest impacts." Sirzechs replied. "...You are a concerned soul."
"I think someone would say overbearing or worrywart." He muttered. "A mountain out of a molehill as well."
A shrug from the devil.
"To each their own. There are far worse traits you could show than concern. Rather…I believe such behaviour is expected for one in your occupation."
Not really, he thought.
Most just expected him to slap a plaster on someone and call it a day, even then, he wasn't sure if he had shown this sort of treatment to other students. Then again, they didn't frequent his office as much as the Devils did. Sometimes it felt as though he was really under utilised when about the school.
Sirzechs paused, then moved his hand to his pocket and pulled out a phone, looking down at the screen before letting out a small huff of amusement.
"As expected of her." It was a low voice, so quiet even Romani was surprised that he heard it.
But heard it he did.
And suddenly he was left with a sense of unease and trepidation, spying the side of the man's expression for a few moments. He wouldn't call himself a sharp individual, but given that every instinct of his mind was currently singing the opening theme of Miracle Girl Levi-tan, he was certain that there was only one person that Sirzechs was referring to.
Shuffling closer, he kept his eyes on the class even as he directed his words to the Devils.
"That's Levi-tan, isn't it?"
A soft snort of amusement from the Devil. "Is that a fan's intuition?"
"...Something like that."
Sirzechs glanced at him with a wry smile, then nodded his head. "Yes, it is. Informing me that within moments she is going to be entering the man building."
Another buzz of the phone pulled the attention of the Devil to the screen.
With a raised brow, the amusement of the Devil rose.
"She is also expressing her disappointment that I did not tell her about parents day."
Romani hummed and nodded his head up and down.
He hoped that she didn't send him a strongly worded message either, especially because he didn't tell her anything. A phantom shudder travelled up the base of his spine all the way to the top. The notion that she would hate him or be disappointed he had concealed this from her as well, was almost a thought too terrible to contemplate.
Slipping the phone back to where he had pulled it from, the Devil glanced down at him with a look in his eyes that Romani couldn't quite place. Then, with all the seriousness he could muster, he spoke down to the nurse in a comforting tone.
"I am sure that Serafall will not hold it against you, especially if you use the reason that you were doing what Sona wished for."
Romani stilled, unsure as to what had given him away.
The devil revealed nothing, but now the nurse could see the look for what it was.
A piercing gaze, which had gone right through him.
He slowly turned back to the class and thinned his lips.
The words of the Devil were moderately comforting, but that in itself was something of a conundrum to him.
Especially because, as far as he knew, that was the whole deal with the Devil.
This man was truly living up to his name.
He had expected to be cornered the moment the lesson ended, perhaps because he knew the girl would figure out the reason he had been there in the first place.
In the single instant that the bell rang to signal the end of the lesson, and the parents started to shuffle out into the hallways. Romani met the eyes of Akeno just as he was moving to follow Sirzechs and Zeoticus, the girl levelled him with a stare that not even he could misunderstand.
The silent demand earned her a nod of the head, she deserved that much, he supposed.
He moved out of the room and to the corner, standing by the door and slipping his hands into his pockets.
The Devils turned and noticed he had not followed, them raising a hand, he waved to them and shook his head. "I'll catch up with you, I take it you're going to be heading to Issei's class next, right?"
Sirzechs raised a brow, even Romani was surprised how he assumed something like that, but the man nodded his head up and down. "I am. I will wait for you there, then. It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Zeoticus mirrored the gesture, smiling as he did so. "I'll look for Asia, I'm intrigued, I admit."
"She's a nice girl." Romani replied, because that was all he could say. "You'll probably see Leo there as well."
"Another person I look forward to meeting, until later, Romani."
And with that, the pair departed, moving down the hall and speaking to one another. They had not even asked him for directions as to where they were supposed to go. It occured to Romani only then that the pair had moved around the school as if they had been there a dozen times before him.
Perhaps they had.
Akeno stepped out directly to his left and looked to him immediately, an expression crossed her face that he could not place and made no attempt to.
"So how did you do?"
It was the first thing that slipped out of his mouth.
Akeno replied with a single slow blink, then her gaze went half lidded and flat. "How did I do?"
His head jerked to the classroom in reflex, trying for a smile. Though he could feel the nerves in his lips twitching even as he tried, certain that his efforts looked more embarrassing than reassuring.
"...I believe I did as well as I normally did."
"...That's good."
"...Romani?"
"Hmm?"
"...Why are you here?"
Her tone was even, but there was something laced in her words. A tension within them that reminded him of stepping through the woods in the middle of the night without a torch. As if the wrong step would send him flat onto his face.
Romani kept silent for a moment, his eyes briefly turned to the floor and studied his shoes.
His eyes came up and met the gaze of Akeno, giving her a softer smile and shrugging his shoulders. He answered as honestly as he could. "Just wanted to make sure you were alright. I didn't really check up on you all in lessons, I took advantage of the day…"
She regarded him silently for a few moments, then closed her eyes. "Is that so?"
"...Just supporting everyone in the best way that I can."
Her eyes opened, he was unsure as to what she was thinking. With no words coming from her, the silence lasted for a length of time that became awkward. Then she gave another faint smile and moved past him.
"Of course." She moved past him, her next words came out as a mere whisper. "Because you're incorrigible like that."
Romani did not reply to her, instead he kept himself quiet.
Yeah.
He was.
And he wasn't going to apologise for it either.
"It's perfectly natural for all of those with a creative flair to have no control over their imagination."
Leona waved a hand as she spoke with the parents in front of her, a smile on her lips as a dozen pieces of the puzzle fell into place.
Really, it seemed as though today was just one for surprises.
"Really?" Miki Hyoudou - whom was the mother of the teenager they were discussing - looked at her with something akin to surprise and trepidation. Not to mention a small degree of hope in her voice. "So…our son really is an artist then?"
Leona nodded her head. "Quite a talented one, if that display was any indication. An active imagination aside, he just needs the right outlet for all of it an sculpting appears to be it. Though I will say, before you get any ideas, forcing him into it is going to curb all of that sort of thing."
She held up a hand, frown already on her lips.
"You cannot force the creation of a masterpiece, it must be birthed from within the mind of the artist. Only when Issei can see the art he wants to bring into the world can he truly be allowed to shine."
A beat.
Then she simplified it. "Basically, it's just easier to let him go at his own pace and pursue the sorts of things he wants to make. Which, from the looks of things, is going to be the bodies of those he has strong feelings towards."
With a shrug, her hands dropped to her hips, an amused smirk crossed her face.
"But really, that's perfectly natural."
The parents exchanged a glance between one another, silently conversing through their eyes. When both turned back, they nodded their head and their postures relaxed. Rather, it seemed as though there was a weight which had been lifted off their shoulders.
"From the way you talk, I assume you're an artist as well?" Gorou - the father - ventured.
Leona felt a wry smile come across her lips. "Well…I have been known to dabble here and there, yes. But it's more of a hobby that I've gotten good enough to benefit off. Though I will say that…actually, no. You don't need me to tell you to encourage your son with something like this, do you?"
"Oh, not at all." Miki replied with a laugh, "I've never seen him perform this well or…"
She trailed off, her eyes glanced to the side for a split second and her smile dimmed.
"...Well, he's never looked quite so pleased at something such as this before. Something that isn't related to those videogames he's always playing or those magazines he's trying to hide. I thought it was just typical teenage boy shenanigans for a while but now to think he was a budding artist…I'm ashamed I didn't notice all of it sooner."
With a shake of the head, she waved off the concerns of the woman. "All artists - the really good ones - have their own little amusing quirks. Your son just happens to have a keen eye for the feminine form and a rather vocal appreciation of it. But if an artist doesn't love what they're making portraits or models of, then what is the point of being one in the first place?"
It seemed rather ludicrous to her.
But she was certainly looking forward to seeing what else the boy might whip up if he had the time or the resources. Especially given that he made something as good as that in the span of a single hour. Much beyond his peers, but it was all to do with the topic. If he had been told to make something, she was certain it wouldn't have been nearly as impressive.
"I could not agree more."
A voice cut through the hall, the trio of adults turned to the speaker.
Leona raised a brow, leaning on one side. "Oh? Something of an art admirer, are you?"
"It merely sounded like common sense, to me." The smooth voice of Sirzechs Lucifer echoed through the halls, approaching the trio. "After all, why should someone not enjoy their work? And if you do not enjoy your hobbies, for what reason would you devote your free time to them?"
"Hmmm." With a hum, she nodded her head up and down.
Something else tickled with her eyes as she regarded the Devil.
It sounded as though he spoke from experience, but that was an easy tell. As he said, it was common sense for someone to enjoy their hobbies.
"For that matter, I am finally pleased to make your true acquaintance, Leona Archaman."
The Devil extended a hand towards her.
"We did not get much of a chance to speak the previous times we met, to my great regret."
Leona hummed, then reached out and took the hand into her own. "Mine as well. I was never able to slip you a business card."
Silence followed during the handshake.
Then the corners of the Lucifer's lips pulled upwards into a smirk. "Then I shall look forward to seeing one now."
He pulled his hand away, only to pause and glance down at it, his fingers twisted over and revealed what was now there which had not been before. The mirth in his eyes only burned brighter as he stared down at the small card now held in his hands, pulling open his blazer pocket and slipping it inside.
"Oh, do you two know one another?"
And like that, Sirzechs turned his eyes towards the other two parents. "Ah, I must apologise for that. My name is Sirzechs, a pleasure to meet the both of you."
Gorou reached out with is own hand. "A pleasure to meet you as well. Hyoudou Gorou."
"Hyoudou…?" Sirzechs faked thought rather convincingly as he took the outstretched hand before putting on quite an exaggerated show of sudden comprehension. "Ah. As in Hyoudou Issei? In that case, I am rather happy to finally make your acquaintance after hearing so much about your son."
"...Oh?"
"Indeed. Rias has spoken very highly of her new club member." Sirzechs glanced between the two of them. "She likes to make small boasts every now and again about how well she is doing with accepting members. She's quite proud of Issei, calling him a rather diligent member and someone she is proud to have as a member of her club. Having heard so much, how could I possibly stay away for long?"
"...Rias Gremory?" Miki spoke next, blinking twice before raising her brows. "That is…oh. I had no idea…you look rather young to be her father."
Mirth pulled across the features of the Devil "As her older brother, I would hope so."
"No, her father would be me."
Leona turned her eyes to the second Devil who approached, having been conveniently silent until what seemed to be the right moment. As expected, every Devil wanted to make a perfectly timed entrance for the sake of drama.
She could empathise.
Lord Zeoticus Gremory, current head of the family clan, stepped forwards and past the brother and to the parents.
"And it seems my son has already opted to do all the speaking for me." A playful look was aimed for the Lucifer, who only smiled and kept himself silent. "But no matter, I will not parrot his words and will instead express my gratitude for your son. Recently my daughter was going through a rather…tough period and they truly came through for her. Your son included. He's a fine young man."
"...Goodness me…" Gorou looked as though he was being put through the emotional ringer, having received blow after blow in regards to the current school life of their son. "He's…no, I'm glad to hear that. Truly, I am. Please, I should be thanking your daughter as well, these last few weeks I've rarely seen him so excited about school…from how he was describing it, I thought he might have been daydreaming in class."
With a face of absolute sincerity, Zeoticus nodded his head. "Understandable. Anyone with an ounce of sense would be thrilled to be so close to my daughter."
Leona rolled her lips inwards and folded her arms.
"And do not think that you have escaped my gratitude, Mrs Archaman."
Just as quickly, the man turned his sights on her.
"You and your husband both. I spoke with him earlier, as a matter of fact."
On the outside, she smiled.
On the inside, she cringed.
"Oh?"
"Merely about how Rias was getting on at school." Said Zeoticus. "He was quite open with his praise of her. And of her club members. I'm relieved that someone such as him is there for them. As for yourself, the club is rather thankful for all the effort you have put in for them and I myself was impressed with the items you donated to them. I understand they might have commissioned you for another piece?"
"You pick up things fairly quickly."
Even as she said that, there wasn't an ounce of surprise in her voice.
Leona knew that trying to keep a project such as this hidden would be next to impossible, at least from her clients own family. Though when it came to the wider world and the Devils, she understood that they would hear nothing. When it came to advantages like this, the Devils really did keep things close to the chest.
"I like to remain aware, even if I don't have the time to spend with my daughter as much as I want to."
His expression changed, turning more sombre.
"...She wants to spend less time at home. I understand she wants independence, but did she really have to go so soon? Surely another hundred years of staying with us would hardly have been a great ask?"
Both Miki and Gorou laughed as if the man had told an amusing joke.
Leona was fully aware that he wasn't joking.
"Still, this is hardly a place for a conversation." Zeoticus changed the direction, and his mood, with those simple words. "Perhaps we should speak somewhere else? I would love to hear more about this Issei Hyoudou who has done so much for my daughter."
"Don't let me keep you." Leona waved her hand, glancing and meeting the eyes of Sirzechs.
As expected, the Devil looked as though he wanted to catch her in a private conversation as well.
"Ah, in that case, I hope to see you later, Leona-san." Miki replied with a short bow of the head towards her. "It was a pleasure to meet you and Asia seems like such a sweet girl, please thank her for being friends with Issei."
"Oh no, I should be thanking him for that." Leona responded, moving off with Sirzechs but not before waving to the pair one final time. "But I hope to see you again as well. It was lovely meeting you two."
Zeoticus led them away, with Leona and Sirzechs remaining behind.
"How curious it is that such a remarkable individual can come from such an ordinary background."
Leona glanced at him for the comment.
Sirzechs continued a moment later. "I do not mean it as an insult, merely an observation…I can see that you are quite put off by my own interaction with your husband."
The Devil was perceptive, who could have guessed?
"I'm not entirely comfortable with him interacting with so many figures in such a short span of time." She replied honestly, folding her arms and shrugging her shoulders. "Don't take it too personally, but I prefer his life to be stress free and he would prefer that as well. Getting trapped into a conversation with someone like yourself…"
A short silence followed, then the man inclined his head in a short nod. "I can understand the reasoning. But I truly did meet with him in nothing more than my capacity as an older brother looking out for his sister. I give my word on that."
"...Alright then."
Any Devil that broke their word was one that no one would ever make contracts with.
Though even as she said that, she was still remaining on the side of caution.
"Still, you must have quite the team to carry all the work while you're up here."
"Quite so, they are formidable." He mused. "I will be sure to pass along your praise of their abilities…That being said, I will broker on the subject my father spoke of. I understand that Rias and Sona will be commissioning you for something regarding a material that is rarely utilised?"
Neither one of them said a thing, but they did not need to.
Both knew what the other was aware of.
"...I might be." Leona gave a vague response. "...Are you curious about it?"
The Devil hummed, walking in step with her. "While I might be intrigued, I will allow it to remain a surprise for now. I know that Rias would be rather upset if she lost the opportunity to make a show of it."
With a low and amused chuckle, the shoulders of the man trembled, then he shook his head. "But that is not quite what I wanted to speak with you about…I have done some further research on your abilities in the past and reviewed your contracts."
"...Oh?"
That was both concerning and intriguing.
It was expected for the Lucifer to have immediately gone looking through everything that she may or may not have created during her career and examining where she stood in the rankings of mages. But she wasn't expecting him to come right out and say it, but with the way the conversation was going, she could immediately guess what it was that he wanted.
She stopped and put on a coy smile. "I see~ And just what is it that has managed to earn your attention? I know I could make you a better cape than the one you wear all those functions."
"Ha." A small laugh escaped the man, he turned to her with a shake of the head. "While that would certainly be appealing, that is not quite what I am after. I understand that some of your works have revolved around bounded fields, and I took the liberty of examining a few of the ones you planted around the perimeter of Kuoh…very impressive work."
Leona did not even bother to hide her prideful smirk, whipping her hair back and over her shoulder. "I know."
In regards to both of the points the Devil had raised.
"I would, if possible, like to hire your services in regards to a special magical item."
Leona paused, then placed her hands on her hips.
"...This is no trivial thing you're asking me." She knew where this topic was going. "You're going to be after some manner of mobile bounded field, aren't you? Which, I assume, you are not going to share the details of until after I have already agreed to build it for you?"
Sirzechs thinned his lips, the smile slipping off his face. "I will not deny that, but that is not because I do not trust you…but let us speak frankly, neither of us completely trusts the other. It is only natural."
He was certainly an upfront one.
"Well, you said it." Leona replied with a shrug. "Could I at least get a hint?"
"That would depend." Sirzechs replied slowly. "How familiar are you with the manipulation of time?"
Alright.
Now she was very intrigued.
Romani stared.
Then blinked.
Then he squinted.
"...Uh…it's very…"
He didn't want to comment on it.
But he had already started.
"...The face is very detailed."
Someone snorted, he turned a rather pleading look towards them, making it clear that was the best comment he was going to be able to provide. An exhale escaped his throat, leaning back and raising a hand to cover his face.
"I'm trying."
"I understand and appreciate that, Roman-sensei." Rias gave a conciliatory pat on the arm twice, then withdrew the limb and returned her focus onto the model of herself. Still held in the hands of Issei.
Romani had virtually stumbled upon the boy showing off his prize and had very nearly tripped over his own two feet in the split second it took him to realise what, exactly, the boy was in the middle of boasting about. Suffice to say he was horribly embarrassed, which only got a bit worse as the conversation had gone on.
Because it turned out Leona had been singing his praises as well.
And that was something he understood completely.
Dragging his hands down his face, he peeled his eyes away from the scandalous design and onto the teenager. Who was looking over it with a rather leery smile, but still giddy about his success. Not surprising, because it was rather impressive. Content of the model aside.
"I cannot say I've ever had a statue made of me before and certainly not one as artistic as this…" Rias continued onwards, cupping her chin and letting out a long and pleasant hum from the back of her throat.
The smile on her lips grew with each passing second.
"W-well, I just thought of you and…" Issei stumbled over his words initially, a faint hint of crimson on his cheeks. The end of the sentence trailed into nothing, but the boy held up the statue to get the point across. "To be honest, I didn't even realise I was doing it until it was done."
"Oh~" Another twinkle of amusement in the eyes of the girl. "I had no idea you had such a talent, Issei. I'm so proud of you…and to think that I was the first one you made? I'm rather pleased about this."
""You are?""
Issei and Romani parroted the same words.
Rias nodded to Issei, then sent Romani an amused expression. "Of course I am. A member of my peerage is able to capture my likeness in such a way, what is there not to be pleased about? Though I do hope you will not leave me all alone. I'd rather have a complete set if that is possible."
A complete set?
Well, that just meant she wanted to have her friends, which was nice enough.
If Issei could do that, then Romani was sure that-
Wait.
Complete set?
His face slowly turned to stone as he lowered his gaze onto the statue and stared at it for what felt like years. Slowly but surely, understanding dawned in his mind. It was one that he found himself rather hoping was wrong.
Shifting his attention onto the teenager, he stared into the side of his head for such a long period of time that eventually Issei gave a faint shudder and turned, immediately meeting the eyes of Romani and flinching ever so slightly.
Unsure as to what sort of expression Romani was wearing, he continued to send the numb look the way of Issei.
Then he spoke the first words that came to mind.
"I hope the others are going to have clothes."
Issei blinked in confusion, then made a rather disgusted face. "Eugh. Yeah, I am not going to carve out Kiba's di-"
"I'm not talking about Kiba."
"Huh?" Confusion swept through the expression of Issei. "Wait, then who are you talking-"
"Fufufu~ To think you had such a side to you, Roman-sensei." Laughter dripped from Rias as the girl covered her mouth with her hand, from the corner of his gaze he could see the mirth glittering through her eyes. "And to think that I could see it before Akeno. She'll be so jealous…Perhaps Sona as well? I got to see the serious side of Roman-sensei before she did."
"Uhhh…what?" Issei remained confused.
Rias eventually decided to elucidate him. "Issei…who is Roman-sensei currently taking care of?"
"Asia? What are-oh." The boy immediately blanked his expression.
His lips rolled inwards.
"Oh."
Yes.
Romani found himself mentally repeating.
Oh.
"I-I mean, yeah!" Issei turned to Romani with a strained smile and eyes that were a touch too wide. "Of course I'm going to do that! Yep! I'll start working on clothes as soon as possible! Definitely don't want all of them to be naked. N-not even Akeno-Senpai…"
The last part of that sentence was delivered with all the strength of a sandcastle made in the desert.
Romani stared at him for a few moments longer, then gave a small hum of affirmation before shifting his focus away from the teenager. He did not give indication that he heard the sigh of relief Issei let out. But he still heard it.
Quite frankly, it was a topic of discussion he never wanted brought up again in his presence.
"Amusing as all of that is…" The eyes of Rias turned on him, her jaw rolled from side to side as she placed her hands on her hips. "...You spoke with my brother and father?"
"Oh, yeah." Romani nodded his head, his lips turned upwards. "They seem alright. You're lucky to have people who care about you as diligently as they do."
For whatever reason, the expression on the face of Rias turned strained. "Yes. Diligence."
Romani raised a brow, then rolled his jaw. "Oh. We didn't talk about anything embarrassing, if that's what you're worried about. They just asked me a couple of questions about what you're like at school and how people see the Occult research club and what my thoughts were on all of you…they asked me how I reacted to you being Devils as well."
Blue eyes lingered on him, then the girl gave a single nod of the head. "As I expected then…they did not try and invite you to anything, did they?"
"...Should I be expecting them to?" He felt a little uneasy at the prospect. He didn't like going to big gathering at all and he was certain that being invited around the house of someone else as influential as Rias family would have sent him into a panic about how to behave. "No, seriously…should I? Because now I'm worried."
"I don't think you have much to worry about." She chuckled, waving her hand.
Only to pause a half second later.
"Then again…I would not put it past them…" It was a low mutter under her breath, one hand cupped against her chin while the other remained at her waist. Silence lingered with the thoughtful expression before it melted away, in its place was a carefree smile. "You will be fine, worry not about it. And I shall be sure to have words with them if they try to invite you over, the last thing I would want is them scaring you away."
"...Thanks." He realised how odd it was that he was thanking her for this, but it was what it was.
"So…I assume you went to check on Akeno?"
She didn't beat around the bush, did she?
"Yeah."
And he wasn't going to deny it either.
Rias expression softened. "That was rather thoughtful of you, Roman-sensei. You should expect her to tease you about it in the future."
He let out a dry snort, folding his arms over his chest. "Yes, well. I can just add that to the list of things…I did sort of come around to check on you as well, but your family had that well in hand."
The answer, clearly not what she was expecting, through her for a loop. Shoulders went straight and she gave a single owlish blink. "Me?"
Romani nodded. "Yeah. With everything that's been happening, I'd still like to see you doing well in all of your studies. You and…well…I know what the student council is like and I can't see Sona letting anything excuse bad grades."
The redhead let out a light giggle. "Yes, that certainly sounds like her."
"Tell me about it." Issei grunted from beside him, Romani saw the boy shake his head from side to side with a perturbed expression. "I was talking with Saji about it and the guy was asking me all these things about revising and studying and then acted like I was the weirdo for not doing it."
Romani raised a brow at him. "...What sort of things?"
"You know, like reading all these books."
Romani waited for an elaboration, or for specifics.
Nothing came.
He gave a single blink and then lowered his eyes down, pulling his lips inwards and responding with an understanding nod of the head.
"Was it anything like this when you went to school, Roman-sensei?"
He gave a wry smile. "Issei-kun…I learned to be a doctor. There's an awful lot of writing and tests involved in that."
A single blink, then the boy made a noise. "Oh yeah…I forgot."
Romani felt like that was somehow a jab against him.
Then flattened his face. "This is because I don't seem the type, isn't it?"
Issei clammed up, but Romani could see it in his face.
Dropping his shoulders, all the nurse could do was lament his image across the school before coming to the swift realisation that it was his own fault.
"And on the topic of you being a doctor, or a nurse, should you really be spoiling Koneko as often?"
His attention was pulled back to Rias with the accusation, he widened his eyes in momentary surprise. Then understanding fell upon his head, something Issei caught as well. As they both shared a glance with one another, then back to Rias. Hoping that she had not quite caught the look.
If she did, she said nothing.
Romani gave a shrug, thinking quickly for an excuse.
"She's been working hard."
It was the first thing that came to mind, and it was true.
"Oh, so you hand out treats for working hard?" With a hum, the redhead looked at him with raised brow and a faint smirk. "So then, when can the rest of the club expect to see the fruits of our labour? I'm certain that they would all appreciate tokens their hard work given form in more tangible ways."
"You guys have expensive coffee!" He blurted back to her, "And…uh…"
Her gaze lingered on him.
He slumped and dropped his argument. "I'll get something for you guys later, but don't tell anyone. Next thing you know, I'm going to turn into some sort of black market sweet peddler across the school…I'm supposed to encourage kids to eat healthily, you know?"
"I most certainly do."
"Exac-"
It took Romani a fraction of a second to realise the words had not come from Rias.
Nor was Rias looking at him anymore, instead her eyes had landed on something just behind him and the growing amusement in those sapphire blue orbs only made the weight in his gut grow heavier and heavier.
His lips rolled inwards and his eyes closed.
A single breath.
He exhaled and turned around, putting on his most disarming smile and opening his eyes.
The piercing look from Tsubaki disarmed him of the disarming smile within the span of half a second.
"...Hey…How are you doing?"
"Quite well." The girl responded, hand moving up and pushing the rim of her glasses up to adjust them. The long haired girl closed in and sent him a raised brow. "I am going to pretend I did not hear those last few sentences and you will not use your authority as a member of staff to smuggle in contraband, yes?"
"Mmmmh."
"Good." Tsubaki, clearly pleased, relented a little. "Now then, Kaichou has given a small leave which excuses you from your typical duties as a nurse. Barring any serious incidents, you will be permitted to wander around the school as a parent, rather than a member of staff."
Romani blinked twice. "Eh?"
Tsubaki raised a brow at him. "You are an official guardian of Asia Argento, are you not? This day is about you reviewing her progress…and I believe your wife is waiting for you to join her. She has been rather…vocal in her support of some habits of those in the school."
She did not look at Issei.
But she had a neat trick of being able to look at someone without really looking at them.
Issei, meanwhile, seemed to smile at the memory.
"I'll have to pass along my thanks to her." Said Rias with a perfectly straight face. "On that point, I assume that Sona is doing quite well…Given that she has somehow managed to avoid the matter of sibling shadow looming over her shoulder?"
Romani did not ignore the note of envy in the voice of the redhead.
Nor did Rias even make an effort to conceal it.
Tsubaki, at least, showed a hint of empathy for a half second before reverting her expression. "Kaichou has her hands full with keeping everything orderly. We have several members of the student council on patrol at the moment to ensure the students are well behaved and to guide groups of parents to the classes where their children reside. It is more for the sake of efficiency that Kaichou neglected to inform Lady Leviathan."
Rias kept her face innocent. "And not because she would have shown up as a magical girl?"
"...No comment."
Issei offered a half shrug. "Yeah, I can understand Kaichou with that. I'd probably keep it a secret from my parents if I was as straight-laced as her, I would avoid telling people about it who might ruin my reputation."
Several heads turned onto the teenager.
He flushed and shrugged. "What? I might be an idiot, but I'm not stupid."
A blink.
"Wait…" Issei furrowed his brows in thought. "Is that how it goes? I'm confused…"
Romani met the eyes of Tsubaki and offered a faint smile. "I hope it's not been too bad for you. Lev was telling me that sometimes it can get a little stressful…"
"I feel a sense of Deja Vu whenever we speak, Archaman-sensei." Tsubaki noted with a wistful tone of voice, a small smile blossomed on her face. "Your worries are quite unfounded. We have been prepared for such events for quite some time, running through several practice drills in tandem with the other teachers. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, there will be no problems."
Romani winced.
Issei did a second later.
Then, surprisingly enough, so did Rias.
Tsubaki was treated to the sight of all three of them making faces as though they had sucked lemons, leaving her visibly bewildered.
"She jinxed it." Issei commented.
"She really did." Romani supported with a nod.
"It's going to happen now." Was the final comment from Rias.
Tsubaki blinked once, then twice. "What? What are you talking about? Do you know-"
She was cut off by a faint buzzing sound, Romani glanced down to his right pocket where a vibration was shooting through his coat. With a raised brow, he reached down and slipped his hand in, quickly retrieving his phone before pulling it out and flipping the lid up.
He tilted his head and glanced at the others. "It's an unknown caller."
Issei frowned. "Probably a scam caller. Happens all the time."
It did?
He could not think of a single instance when that had happened since Leona got him the…phone…
He allowed himself a moment to consider the possibility that his wife had somehow done something to protect him from scam callers before he mentally set the matter aside for a later discussion. Instead he clicked the accept call button and brought the phone to his ear.
Roughly two seconds later, it proved to be a horrible, terrible mistake.
"Ro-chan! You liar!"
He whipped the phone away from his ear as a voice bellowed down from the other end, he stared at the device with rapidly rising shock and alarm. Wide eyes parted from the device and onto the three in front of him. All of whom had gone still and looked between him and the phone several times, clearly all having heard the shout.
Slowly he moved the phone back to his ear.
Once more, it proved to be a mistake.
"Meanie! You knew that So-tan was bringing all the parents round and she didn't tell me! I could have come to school then! Mu-mu-mu!"
Romani did not trust himself to make even a single sound, not even a breath.
He merely removed the phone from his ear and stared off into the distance.
Oh, that was right.
Sirzechs had told him earlier that Serafall was already here.
Wait…how did she get his number?
"Ro-chan!? I know you're there! I can hear you breathing! You've made me so sad that you didn't tell me! Did you forget? I'll forgive you if you said that but-"
The voice cut out a second later.
He wondered why that was.
Then he looked down at his hand and felt the blood drain from his features as he noticed where his thumb was currently residing.
Squarely over the end call button.
"...Was that Lady Leviathan?" Rias noted with a tone torn between dry amusement and surprise.
Romani mutely nodded his head.
Tsubaki made a sputtering sound. "Why does she have your number-? Wait…you hung up on her?"
"I hung up on her…?" Parroting the words, they felt quite empty until the weight of them settled on his shoulders. His head snapped up and he stared at the vice-president with wide eyes, seeing his panicked expression reflected in her lenses. "I hung up on her! I panicked!"
"You panicked!?" Tsubaki coughed. "That is-I need to tell Kaichou right away. It means that Lady Leviathan knows which means she is coming here and-"
"And is clearly quite upset about her dear sister concealing such information from her." Rias chimed in, her voice a bit too sweet.
The smile on her face could not be mistaken for anything other than sadistic amusement, not that Romani would have said it aloud.
Or even noticed, for he was too busy fretting over the fact that Satan somehow had his mobile number and that he had hung up on them. Both of those things happened within the span of a few seconds of one another.
He straightened, coming to a decision.
"I'm going to the nurses office."
Three sets of eyes whipped onto him, all of them understanding just what those words actually meant.
Tsubaki stared at him in shock. "You-you can't go and hide away now."
"This seems like a student council matter and you guys are way more mature than I am." Romani quickly dismissed, hurriedly backing away and wearing a strained smile on his lips. "I have absolute confidence in you all. B-besides, someone could…uh…"
"Someone might get hurt today." Rias jumped in, sending him an amused grin. "And really, it would be a terrible shame if there wasn't a nurse to treat them, wouldn't it?"
"Y-yes!" He clasped onto her excuse like a drowning man would do a lifeline, pointing to her briefly and giving her a thankful nod of the head before twisting about and speed walking away. "Good luck!"
"Archaman-sensei!"
His pace quickened just a bit.
Faster still when students with cameras rushed past him, the chaos of their overlapping voices blotted out the majority of what they were saying, but he understood the odd words here and there which pierced through the mess of jumbled words.
That being 'magical girl' which left very little to the imagination.
Yet even as he walked, he slowly started to stall.
The magical girl meant that Levi-tan had shown up and not the older sister of Sona.
Yeah, that was probably going to be seriously embarrassing for the student council president, especially after all she had done to build up an image. With slumped shoulders, Romani turned and walked back in the direction he saw the mass of students rushing away to.
He doubted he could achieve much, but he still felt the need to try something.
With the way Levi-tan acted, he was sure he could come up with an idea.
Maybe.
Possibly.
…Probably not.