Issei was currently walking through the halls of Kuoh Academy as he was lost in thought. It had been a bit of time since he and the others came back from the Underworld and school had started again. Diodora's attempt to woo Asia was still bothering him and ever since he had been sending various gifts and letters to her, making her uncomfortable and annoying the hell out of Issei. Jalter has been making sure to burn all the gifts as soon as she sees them. Despite finally properly sleeping with Asia he couldn't help the sense of unease Diodora was giving him. Asia has also been clingier with Issei after their night together and has been firmly rejecting anything from Diodora, even handing some things to Jalter to burn. She was trying to alleviate his anxiety any way she could, which he appreciated. Still, it bothered him, and he walked through the halls lost in thought. He felt like something else was wrong about Diodora, but he couldn't place it. But before Issei could think about it more, he felt his instincts tell him to dodge, which he did. A fist sail past him, aimed where his head used to be, but soon after another hand grabbed his shirt collar and slammed him against the wall. Issei took a second to recognize what was going on and saw that the two people that suddenly attacked him seemed to be seniors from the grade above him. Both looked incredibly pissed as their hatred was clearly aimed at him. Issei didn't remember offending any of the students before vacation or when he came back so he was lost as to what was happening. There were other students in the hall as well, watching what was going on with confused interest. After a tense moment Issei decided to fish for an answer. "Something bothering you, Senpai?"
"What did you do to Rias-san and Akeno-san?!" said the first senior angrily.
The students began to whisper among themselves as Issei showed confusion. "I don't know what you're talking about. You're going to have to be more specific."
"You did something to them! You must have! There's no way they would have rejected us otherwise!" said the other senior.
Ah, so these two confessed to Rias and Akeno and got rejected, so now they're taking it out on me. Jeez, what the hell is going on? First Asia now Rias. Is everyone trying to take my women?! Issei thought, annoyed about the growing number of bugs buzzing around him. "I see. I get it. You're just mad you guys got rejected and want to vent your frustration. Although I don't know why you think it's my fault."
"Who else could it be?! When I asked out Rias-san, she said she was already seeing someone!"
The students began to murmur amongst themselves, expressing disbelief and curiosity about Rias dating someone. "Yeah, because her family has her in an arranged marriage," explained Issei.
This caused more murmurs as the students learned Rias was apparently engaged by her family. This caused the first senior's face to turn uglier. The second senior decided to try his luck. "Then what about Akeno-san?! Why did she say she was interested in someone else?!"
Issei looked at him like he was a moron. "Akeno-san can like other people you know. She has her own will. Why the hell are you two convinced it's me?"
"Because it's already a well-known fact in the school that you're collecting women for your harem! You're also in the same club as them! A club that almost nobody can get into!"
Ah, so they're jealous of me as well. It's starting to make more sense, Issei thought. "While the first part is true, it sounds bad when you say it like that. Why do you assume it's me and not Kiba?"
"Because Kiba has been with them longer and Akeno-san has never responded like that before!"
Issei clicked his tongue, seeing they weren't completely braindead. This seemed to set off the first senior that was holding him and he prepared to punch Issei in the face. But before he could his arm was grabbed, and he was thrown into the other senior. The first senior let go of Issei and the two seniors stumbled a bit. Issei fixed his shirt and looked at his savior. "What took you so long Kiba?" he asked sarcastically.
Kiba gave Issei his usual cool smile. "Sorry I was late. Guess I still need to work on my speed," he said with a chuckle.
"Yuuto, you-!" the first senior said.
"My apologies, Kenzo-senpai. Minoru-senpai. But I can't let you hurt my friend. Not to mention Rias-Buchou would be very upset if her club member was hurt."
Oh, so that's their names, thought Issei.
Kenzo gritted his teeth and pointed angrily at Issei. "He's corrupted Rias-san and Akeno-san! There's no other explanation for why they rejected us!"
Minoru backed up his friend. "There's no way Kouh's infamous pervert didn't have a hand in this! He probably blackmailed his way into the club to corrupt the girls in it!"
Issei couldn't help but roll his eyes at the two seniors' act. It had been a while since he was openly despised like this at school and experiencing it again after so long, he had to pat his past self on the back for enduring so much. The crowd had grown more around them as the other students watched events unfold. There were some who were fans of Rias and Akeno who agreed with the seniors, more because they wanted to protect their idols rather than because they actually agreed. But most of the others thought the seniors were being completely unreasonable and saw that they were only venting because they got rejected. As the pair were about to get heated up again a commanding voice cut through the noise. "Oh? Is that what you think?" said the voice clearly displeased. Everyone looked over to the source of the voice with the students moving out of the way, revealing Rias and Akeno. Rias was glaring at Kenzo and Minoru while Akeno kept her usual cool and aloof smile. Issei looked behind them and saw the other girls and Gasper also with them, even Murayama and Kiryuu. Kiryuu shot him a thumbs up, indicating that she went to get them when this mess started. Issei smirked and nodded. Rias and Akeno walked in front of Kiba and Issei while staring down Kenzo and Minoru. "What do you two think you're doing to my adorable junior?"
"Rias-san. You're being deceived by this guy, right? There's no reason for you to reject me if he didn't have something on you," said Kenzo.
"That's right! Akeno-san, it's the same for you, right? This guy must have done something to you for you to reject me, right?" asked Minoru.
"Ara ara, seems our classmates think too highly of themselves, don't you think Rias?" asked Akeno.
Rias' face still looked displeased. "What nonsense are you talking about? Issei hasn't done anything to us. He has been nothing but helpful and an important member of our club. Stop throwing a tantrum just because you got rejected. What are you, a child?" said Rias harshly.
The two seniors flinched at Rias' comment but didn't back down. "He's deceiving you! He's trying to create a harem and already has several girls! It's obvious that he plans to take you too!" said Kenzo.
Rias looked back at Issei who met her gaze. She seemed hesitant in wanting to say something and after a moment Issei sighed. "Say whatever you want," he said.
As if given the signal she had always been waiting for, Rias' eyes became determined. She looked back at the two with a serious expression. "He had no such plans. I asked to be with him myself."
As Rias said this the surroundings became dead quiet. The surrounding students stared at Rias with their mouths agape. Kenzo and Minoru stared at her in disbelief. Issei couldn't help but smile as he walked next to Rias, grabbing her waist and pulling her closer, causing her to blush. "Well, I wanted to keep it a secret so as not to affect Rias' reputation, but at this point I'm more annoyed with all these bugs flying around my women," said Issei, with a serious expression.
The surroundings finally became noisy as the students began to talk and yell in disbelief. "No way! Rias-senpai is dating Hyoudou?!" "This can't be real, right?!" "Noooooo! Onee-sama, don't go with that beast! He'll corrupt you!" "So he did have his sights set on the Two Great Onee-samas!" More and more people started getting heated up and creating their own explanations and scenarios to try and make sense of this.
"That's enough!" yelled Rias, getting everyone to quiet down immediately. "I'll say it clearly here. Issei didn't force me to do anything. I asked to be with him. He even rejected me initially. But I managed to convince him to let me be a part of his harem. I'm actually his second woman after Mashu." Rias glared at the crowd. "I will not tolerate you creating rumors about my boyfriend and fiancé."
"Fiancé!" yelled the crowd.
"I did say Rias was engaged by her parents earlier, didn't I? I just never specified who she was engaged to," said Issei with a mischievous smirk.
Kenzo glared at him with hatred but before he could say anything Akeno walked up to Issei's other side. "Ara ara, how mean of you, Issei-kun. Misleading the poor boys like that. You sure know how to talk around problems don't you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," said Issei, not meeting her gaze.
"A-Akeno-san, don't tell me you also–" spoke Minoru, not wanting to finish his sentence.
Akeno looked at him, then a mirthful smile appeared on her face as she leaned into Issei's other side causing him to look at her in surprise. "No, I'm not one of his women. But I don't think it would be all that bad to be a mistress, wouldn't you agree Issei?" Rias pouted at Akeno while Issei had a pleasantly surprised look on his face. Akeno then looked at him as if ignoring all the surroundings. "Issei, you still owe me that favor, right?"
"Yes, I do."
Everyone was curious as to what favor Issei apparently owed Akeno. But they didn't have time to think about it when Akeno said her next words. "Then, I want you to officially make me one of your women."
"""Whaaaaaaaaaaat?!""" yelled all the students watching this incredible yet ridiculous scene. Minoru looked like his whole world shattered at Akeno confessing to Issei.
Issei stared at Akeno for a bit. During their time together, Akeno has brought this up more than once, but it always felt like she was teasing him or Rias when she did it and then it would be left unanswered. But now she was directly asking him, using the favor he owed her to take her question seriously. But it wasn't much of a decision for him. He got attached to Akeno and didn't want people to take her away or make her sad. He grabbed her waist, the same as Rias, and instead of answering her he kissed her. If it was possible for everybody's mouths to drop lower, they were doing it. Akeno looked surprised at first but reciprocated a moment later. It was as if time stopped for everyone as the two made out, but eventually they broke the kiss. "How's that for an answer?" asked Issei with a smile.
Akeno was blushing but her expression showed she was incredibly happy. "That's probably the best one you could have given me," she said in an almost girlish tone.
Issei smiled at her but found his head pulled to the other side, meeting Rias' pouting gaze. "You better give me as good as you gave her," she said seriously and kissed him passionately too.
At this point there were some students that had curled up on the ground and looked like they were seriously contemplating their lives. Kenzo and Minoru had ugly expressions on their faces, looking ready to pounce on Issei. But before they could do anything the others who had been standing to the side stood between them and Issei, Rias, and Akeno. They all glared at them with Asia and Mash standing closely behind Issei. Issei broke the kiss with Rias and looked at the two seniors almost contemptibly. "Well, that's how it is. Rias and Akeno are mine, so there's no chance for you. Sorry, but even if I wasn't here, it wasn't gonna work out for you."
Kenzo and Minoru took a step forward, seemingly ignoring the ORC members in front of them but they were stopped. "That's enough!" said a commanding voice. Everyone looked to the side and saw Sona and the student council. "Anyone who doesn't leave now will face disciplinary action," said Sona. The students quickly dispersed leaving only the ORC, Kiryuu, Murayama, Kenzo, and Minoru. The two seniors were still glaring at Issei while Issei seemed to not care about their looks and was looking at Sona. Sona and the student council walked up to them and Sona glared at Kenzo and Minoru. "Is there a problem?" she asked rhetorically, clearly implying for them to leave.
The two gave Issei one last look before trudging off. Issei watched them go and sighed in exasperation. "That was so dramatic for no reason. I didn't think there was anyone in school who was brave enough to confess to you two," said Issei.
"It still happens sometimes from other boys in our grade, but we've always turned them down," said Akeno.
"The fact they came to vent on you makes me so upset. I know you wanted to keep our relationship secret, but at this point–"
"I know Rias. But I think it's fine like this too. It seems like fate is just throwing problems at me and telling me to stop being so passive. First it was Asia, then you and Akeno. It feels like everything is pushing me to pay attention to my dream," said Issei.
Rias let out a small chuckle. "You have been pushing yourself to do your work as well as help us. Maybe this is a sign to loosen up a bit."
Issei smiled at her, but their moment was cut short by Sona clearing her throat. "How long do you plan on making a scene?" she asked, clearly annoyed. The group looked amongst each other and chuckled a bit before dispersing.
It was after school and Rias and Akeno were walking around town, on their way back home from the grocery store. Martha had asked them to go pick up some things they forgot and were chatting. "I'm so happy that Issei finally made me one of his girls," said Akeno cheerfully.
Rias rolled her eyes but smiled. "It could have happened sooner if you didn't tease him so often. The only reason you didn't get a serious answer sooner is because he was debating if you were joking or not."
"Ufufufu, maybe I did get a little carried away, but the way he accepted me… I don't think I could have asked for something better. Such a passionate kiss, not to mention the distraught look on those guys' faces."
"Careful Akeno. Your sadism is showing."
The pair shared a laugh as they walked. After a few moments of comfortable silence Akeno addressed the elephant in the room. "So what do we do about our stalkers?" she asked quietly, her eyes looking to the side but not looking behind her.
The two seniors from earlier were following them ever since they started shopping and the pair knew that but didn't do anything. Rias gave an exasperated sigh as she looked at Akeno. "We should just mess with their memories so that they will leave us alone."
"...Or… we could do something more fun," she said mischievously.
Rias had a sinking feeling. "...What did you have in mind?"
Issei was at the house with the others, currently relaxing alone in his room. He was destressing from today's earlier events and was lying in bed. He was thinking that tonight he was gonna spend it with Akeno, since it was her turn now that she had officially become another of Issei's girls. As he was lost in thought Fuuma appeared and knelt down by the bed. "Master, I have a report," he said somewhat hesitantly.
Issei sat up confused at his tone. "What's wrong Fuuma?"
"It's about Lady Rias and Lady Akeno. It seems they were, kidnapped?" he said, his tone not completely sure.
Normally Issei would have been concerned if he heard they were kidnapped but Fuuma's tone made it clear there was more going on. "Explain…"
"Well, the people who kidnapped them were the two boys who attacked you at school earlier today. They grabbed them by an alley and seemed to have used some sort of sleeping agent to knock them out. One of my ninja's is following them as we speak, as they picked them up and went somewhere. The confusing thing is that the two seemed aware that they were being followed by them and let themselves be kidnapped on purpose."
Issei was quiet after the explanation. He thought about it for a moment and only came to one conclusion. This was Akeno's idea, wasn't it…
"What should we do?"
"Lead me to where they are. I'll deal with those two myself," he said while getting ready.
"As you wish my lord," said Fuuma and he disappeared.
Issei went downstairs and passed by the living room. Mash saw that he was heading out and looked confused. "Senpai, where are you going? We're about to have dinner."
"Sorry. Something came up. Don't wait for me. Probably shouldn't wait for Rias and Akeno either," he said, muttering the last sentence.
Mash's look became confused and concerned but when the two looked each other in the eyes she understood that it was something he had to deal with. "Ok, Senpai. I understand. Please be careful."
"I will. Thanks, Mashu, I'll explain later when I get back." Mash nodded and Issei went out, led by Fuuma.
Rias and Akeno woke up from being knocked out, tied to chairs in the middle of what seemed like an abandoned warehouse. They had been lucid the whole time as their devil biology made them more resistant to normal chemicals than humans, although they were still affected by it. For some reason, Akeno convinced Rias to go along with this plan of getting kidnapped, so that Issei could come in and dramatically save them. She was confident that Issei had a Servant watching them for safety reasons. Despite being somewhat awake, they feigned being unconscious so as to make them feel like they succeeded and to buy some time for Issei to find them. After about an hour of being groggy they felt the effects of the drugs start to wear off, and Akeno and Rias started to stir. They looked around trying to take in their surroundings. They recognized this place as where they fought a stray devil once before. Eventually their gazes landed on the two boys in front of them, wearing hockey masks to try and disguise themselves. Rias and Akeno couldn't help the "really?" looks they were giving the two, which seemed to upset them. "Afternoon ladies. Glad to see you're finally up. Enjoy your beauty sleep?" said Kenzo.
"Might have been better if Issei-kun was here," said Akeno provocatively, getting the two kidnappers to shake a bit with anger.
Then the other one, (Minoru), seemed to smirk as he walked up to Akeno. "Sorry, but your boyfriend won't be coming to save you. You're all ours now," he said, a perverse happiness in his voice. He tried to reach out and grab Akeno's breast, but Akeno flared her aura ever so slightly to zap his hand and get him to flinch away and hold his hand in slight pain. "Ah! What the?!"
"Ara ara, must have been rough when bringing me here. Too much static electricity built up and shocked you. How unfortunate." Rias could tell Akeno was quite upset, despite her usual calm face.
Minoru clicked his tongue as he shook his hand as if to get rid of the pain. Kenzo decided it was his turn to try his luck and moved towards Rias. "My friend is right about what he said earlier. Nobody is coming for you, especially not your boyfriend," he said, circling around back and reaching to grab her breast from behind.
"Still sore about what happened earlier today, Kenzo?" said Rias, causing him to pause his action.
Minoru also stood in stunned silence, causing Akeno to chuckle. "Ufufufufu, did you really think those masks were enough for us to not recognize you, Minoru, Kenzo?"
"Not to mention you both said boyfriend, singular, meaning you knew we were dating the same guy. It's pretty obvious who you were," said Rias.
The pair looked at each other and sighed in irritation. They removed their masks and had unsatisfied looks on their faces. "Well, that's a bit of a mood killer," said Kenzo.
"Maybe not. Now that they know, even if we get in trouble afterward, Issei will still have to live with the fact that we had our way with his women. In the end, we'll have the last laugh," said Minoru, with a disgusting smile on his face.
The pair saw that both Rias and Akeno were shaking with their heads down, assuming they were scared. In reality, the pair were shaking in anger at the pair's outright disgusting plan for them. They were heavily considering stopping this farce and beating the crap out of them themselves. As they were contemplating this Kenzo reached out trying to grab Rias but the sound of something being sliced was heard by Rias and Akeno and soon a piece of metal fell dangerously close to Kenzo, causing him and Minoru to jump in surprise. "What the hell?!"
Minoru looked annoyed. "I told you we should have picked a more stable place! I know we were going for foreboding, but I don't want to get hurt for the sake of aesthetics!"
Rias and Akeno exchanged glances and gave knowing smiles. Their hunches were correct, and Issei's Servants were watching everything from the shadows. Kenzo got fed up and walked in front of Rias. "Enough of this! I was hoping to take this slow and enjoy myself, but I'm fed up with all the distractions!" He reached out to rip Rias' shirt off, with Rias glaring at him and readying to use reinforcement and break out, but soon everything was interrupted for a fourth time as the closed doors to the abandoned warehouse came flying off the hinges as they landed next to both Minoru and Kenzo.
Both stared in shock at the massive doors on the ground before looking at who kicked them down. There Issei stood, a cold emotionless face staring at them, but his eyes showed anger. He walked in very casually as he spoke to Kenzo and Minoru. "So, this was your big plan to get back at me? A pathetic kidnapping attempt? How cliché," said Issei, clearly not impressed.
The two seniors growled in irritation but quickly showed confident and smug smiles. "I don't know how you found us, but it doesn't matter. We're not at school anymore so there's no one here to stop us from beating the crap out of you," said Kenzo.
Minoru seemed to have an idea. "Hey, I just thought of something nice. After we beat the crap out of him, we should take his women in front of him. Give him a front row seat to the show."
Kenzo smiled, seeming to like that idea. Rias and Akeno were glaring at the two more than they ever did at any enemy they faced. They were partially regretting not just dealing with them from the beginning. Issei's expression didn't change. He just continued to stare at them coldly. Kenzo and Minoru began to walk up to him, getting ready to fight. "I've been waiting all day to beat the shit out of you. I hope you got good insurance," said Kenzo.
Issei watched as the two approached. Then he suddenly spoke. "Rias, you can manipulate their memories, right?"
The two stopped in confusion while Rias was stunned for a moment before realizing what he was really asking. "Y-yeah, I can," she said hesitantly.
A cold smirk appeared on Issei's face. "Good," was all he said before he seemingly vanished. The two seniors were confused for a moment before Kenzo was given a devastating gut punch. Kenzo crumpled to the ground, barely able to catch his breath.
Minoru was shocked but moved in to punch Issei. "What the hell did you–" He didn't get to finish that sentence as he caught his punch and started twisting his arm. "Aaarrrgh! Stop! Stop!" cried Minoru.
Issei didn't care. He was contemplating breaking his arm, but without Asia here he didn't want to be bothered. He let go, making Minoru retract his arm as he tried to support it but before he could even glare at him, Issei delivered a devastating punch to his face, breaking his nose. Minoru crumpled, now holding his nose to try and stop the bleeding. Issei grabbed him by the hair and threw him into Kenzo who was only barely recovering from the gut punch. The two crashed to the ground together. Issei began walking towards them and the pair looked at Issei in fear. "What's wrong? Where did all that bravado you had before go? Weren't you going to beat me up? Take my women right in front of me? What happened to all of that?" Issei spoke, unnervingly calm as he approached. Even Rias had a cold chill going down his spine. Akeno, on the other hand, seemed to be getting turned on by this ruthless Issei. "You think that just because you want something that it's owed to you? You're wrong. If you want something you have to work for it, and if you can't get it, that just means you're too weak to accomplish your goals. But all that aside, you made the greatest mistake of all." Issei stopped in front of the two who wanted to scramble back but were petrified by Issei's gaze. "You touched what was mine! And dragons don't tolerate anyone touching their treasures." Issei's aura flared, and he delivered two devastating punches to them, knocking some teeth out of each of them and knocking them unconscious.
At this point Rias and Akeno had been released by Issei's Servants and were hesitantly walking up to Issei. "Issei are you ok?" asked Rias.
Issei turned to look at them, causing Rias to flinch slightly. His expression was neutral. "I'm fine. How about you two?"
"We're fine. The chloroform they used has worn off completely," said Akeno, seemingly normal.
"I see. Let's go back. The others are probably worried. Especially since you were supposed to be getting supplies for Martha." Rias and Akeno seemed to freeze, remembering why they were out in the first place.
"Er… Well, at least I was able to put the groceries in magic storage before my mind became too foggy to concentrate," said Rias. Akeno nodded in agreement. The two used some healing magic on the two and then some memory manipulation magic on the pair before dumping them on a bench in the park and leaving them.
The trio made it back to the Hyoudou household and were currently standing in front of the entrance. They had walked in silence the entire time and Rias and Akeno were worried Issei was upset with them. Once they got home Issei stopped, not moving to open the door, making the pair curious. "You two…" Issei started, making the girls nervous. "We need to talk."
"R-right…" said Rias.
"Ok," said Akeno.
Issei opened the door and the three walked in. As they walked by Mash and the others saw them come in. "Senpai, Rias, Akeno, you're back. Where have you been?" she asked, a bit concerned. She saw that Issei looked to be in a bad mood.
"It's a long story, Mashu. I'll tell you tomorrow. Promise," said Issei. Mash nodded and the three headed upstairs.
The others noticed that Rias and Akeno looked a bit down and were curious. "I wonder what happened?" said Xenovia.
"I've never seen Rias-buchou and Akeno-senpai look so upset," said Koneko.
"I'm sure Issei-san will make them feel better," said Asia reassuringly.
Before they could continue, they saw Rias come back downstairs. "Almost forgot–" Rias created a magic circle and the groceries from earlier appeared. "Sorry we were so late bringing them. I'll make it up to you Martha-san."
"Don't worry, Rias. I'm sure whatever happened was important," said Martha.
Rias nodded and rushed back upstairs. The others looked between each other, still mildly concerned. Rias caught up with Issei and Akeno, who were waiting outside his room. "Sorry for the wait," said Rias.
Issei nodded and opened the door. The three walked in with Rias and Akeno walking ahead of him. Issei closed the door and took a few steps forward before stopping and folding his arms. "So… explain," he said, still with a very neutral expression.
Rias and Akeno looked between each other nervously before Rias spoke. "First, we want to apologize for worrying you."
"This was my idea," said Akeno.
"Yeah, I kinda figured that," said Issei, a bit more exasperated now, and causing Akeno to wilt a bit.
"We noticed them following us when we were out shopping, and we didn't want to lead them home," continued Rias.
"Rias wanted to just mess with their memories and be done with it, but I thought this might be a great opportunity," said Akeno.
"Opportunity?" asked Issei with a raised eyebrow.
"For our darling boyfriend to come rescue his damsels in distress," said Akeno with a blush. Rias didn't meet his gaze, but she had a bit of one too.
"And, "how", exactly did you plan on me finding you?"
"We figured you had Servants guarding us from the shadows," answered Akeno like it was common sense. Issei blushed a bit from embarrassment. He never told them that he had Servants guarding them, but apparently, they knew him well enough that they assumed he did it anyways.
"And we were right. Especially when one of them cut a piece of the building to buy time for you to arrive and prevent them from touching us," said Rias.
Issei rubbed his forehead, clearly fighting a headache. "And after everything that's happened recently, what made you think this was a good idea?"
Akeno blushed in embarrassment. "I… may have gotten caught up in officially being one of your women. So I wanted to try some romantic play…"
"It was poorly timed…" said Rias, unable to hide her own guilt from going along with it.
Issei leveled a look at the two of them causing them both to look away. He then walked up to them and brought them in for a hug, which surprised them. Issei was holding them tightly, not too much to hurt them but enough to get the message across that he wasn't letting them go. The two girls looked at each other confused before their expressions turned soft and they hugged him back. "Even if you two can take care of yourselves. Even if I have someone guarding you. I can't stand the thought of you guys putting yourselves in danger. I know it can't be helped, considering what we're facing right now, and our positions, but that doesn't mean you should put yourself in harms way on purpose." Issei's tone was steady, but he couldn't conceal his worry completely.
The girls hugged him tighter. "You're right, Ise. We're sorry. We know you're under a lot of stress right now and we shouldn't have added to it," said Rias.
"I'm sorry, Issei. I got overzealous and started trying to enact on my fantasies before I even talked to you about it. I won't do it again," said Akeno.
Issei let a small chuckle escape him. "I'm not completely against these kinds of things, Akeno, but we should really talk about it first. Even if they had managed to just grope you, I would have never lived it down." Issei suddenly turned the girls around, so they were standing side-by-side with him in the middle. He reached up with both hands and groped both girls, getting a surprised moan out of them. "After all, these are only mine to touch," he said possessively.
Akeno's expression became lustful as she leaned into Issei while Rias smiled, her eyes showing some heat as well. "Well, we were ready to stop them if they tried. In fact, we did stop them a few times in ways they never suspected," said Rias. "Although I had to admit, they were so disgusting with their desires. To think they had the gaul to complain about you being a pervert when they kept talking about all the depraved things they would do to us."
"I know right. Being a pervert isn't a problem. What has always mattered is intention. Issei has always been so pure with his desires that it's really a shame that others can only look at the surface of Issei's words," said Akeno. She moved her face closer to Issei's so that they were almost kissing. "But it's fine, because that means we get to hoard your love for ourselves," she said seductively.
Issei smiled finally. "I'm grateful for your understanding, and for defending me earlier today, but don't think that makes up for making me worried tonight."
Akeno had a mischievous smile. "Ara ara, whatever shall we do to make it up to you?" she asked playfully.
"I think it goes without saying that the two of you won't be leaving this room tonight," he said while holding them tighter. The two girls showed smiles and didn't argue with him as they headed towards the bed.
The next day at school, Issei was walking with both Akeno and Rias linking arms with him. Asia was pouting behind them while Mash was her usual calm self. Issei and the pair explained what had happened the night before to everyone and while some of them chastised the girls for being reckless, some of the others, namely Xenovia, were thinking they should do something similar, which Issei quickly shut down. Under normal circumstances the girls would probably be fighting over who gets to stand next to Issei and be close with him, but the pair of Rias and Akeno argued that they should walk next to him today, just to reinforce what they said at school yesterday and show everyone that they really are with Issei. Of course, that wasn't the main reason they were doing it, but the others couldn't argue with their logic this time and begrudgingly accepted it this time. As they walked on to school grounds many students were staring at them. Some in disbelief, others in jealousy. At one point they saw Kenzo and Minoru who caught sight of Issei. The minute Issei's gaze landed on them they wilted and fled. Issei couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and ask Rias. "What did you replace their memories with?"
"I made them forget that they kidnapped us, but they fuzzily remember attacking you and getting the crap kicked out of them. Also, we didn't completely heal their injuries. We just made sure there was no permanent damage. They still probably woke up sore," she answered.
Issei couldn't help but smirk seeing those two scurry away like cowards. He wanted to do much worse considering what they said and tried to do, but he would leave it at this for now, as long as they didn't bother him or his girls again. Eventually everybody separated to go to their respective classes and when Issei walked into his he was met with stares from almost everyone. Issei ignored them, expecting this. He was honestly waiting for someone to jump him or start hurling accusations. Once he sat in his seat he noticed two particularly hurt stares at him. It was Matsuda and Motohama who were clearly holding back since they were still trying to mend their friendship with Issei. Issei sighed and spoke to them. "Alright. Let's hear it."
"HOW?!" asked Matsuda, with Motohama nodding his head agreeing with his friend's question.
"Which part are you talking about?"
"ALL OF IT!"
"Well, I can't go into detail about Rias' situation because it's personal to her and it's her story to share, but to summarize what happened, she was having issues with someone she was previously engaged to and came to me for help. We came up with a plan to get her out of it and well, one thing led to another, and we managed to break her previous engagement, and she wanted to be with me. Her parents saw she was interested in me and basically changed the engagement to me instead of the previous guy. As for Akeno, she and Rias have a bit of a competitive relationship and likes to get a rise out of Rias so she would tease me to get to her, but that led to us getting closer and she ended up being really attracted to me. Simply put, they both came to me," said Issei, unable to hide his smirk or the pride in his voice.
The two were looking at him with a mix of jealousy and respect. The pair got on their knees and bowed to him. ""Teach us, oh great master!"" they requested, in an over dramatic fashion.
Issei couldn't help but laugh at this, feeling a bit of nostalgia from the old days. "There isn't anything to really teach. I just did the right thing at the right time. It was really luck that I got as lucky as I did."
"Bullshit…" said a voice from somewhere. Issei and the perverted duo seemed to have heard and tried to find the source. Issei saw one of the female students, (he thinks her name was Emi), seemingly trembling at her desk. She abruptly stood up and pointed at Issei. "This is bullshit! There's no way you didn't do something to Rias-senpai and Akeno-senpai! There's no reason for the Two Great Onee-samas to associate with a beast like you!"
The tension in the room immediately shot up at the accusation. Despite their feelings about this situation, most of the students have learned to not mess with Issei after he came back. Especially after Mash joined their class. But clearly Emi's idolization of Rias and Akeno had overridden any restraint she had against Issei. Issei narrowed his eyes at her, but she did not falter with her glare. He sighed before hardening his expression. "And what makes you think you have a right to decide for them?" Issei's tone was cold and firm, making everyone stiffened at it. Even Emi finally faltered at Issei's harshness being directed at her. "Its people like you that are the reason Rias needed help in the first place."
"W-what do you mean?" asked Emi, still glaring at Issei.
"What right do you have to decide who Rias likes? Why does she have to conform to your line of thinking? Why do you think that there are people who aren't worthy of her?" Issei kept his stern expression, but his tone slowly started getting more intense. "Y'know, the reason Rias wanted to break her previous engagement was because it was decided for her. Granted the guy was a complete asshole too, but the main point is that it was decided for her. She initially came to me to use me as a fake boyfriend in order to try and break things off, but during our time together she ended up really falling for me, although it took me a while to figure that out and not assume it was part of the act." The students were listening intently about how Rias and Issei got close and were waiting for what Issei's point was. "Do you guys know why she goes to school here?" Everyone leaned in, intensely curious at why their idol goes to school here. "It's because she wanted to be a normal girl. I know that sounds basic, but remember that she comes from an upper-class family. She had to grow up being seen as an extension of her family back where she's from, instead of her own person. She came here hoping to get away from all that, but it's happened here too, but instead of being seen as a Gremory she is seen as a school idol that's above everyone else. You think you're praising and honoring her, but all you are doing is isolating her from everyone else." The students seemed to go into deep contemplation at Issei's words, with some showing guilty expressions when they understood what they unintentionally did. Issei hardened his gaze at Emi, who at this point lost some of the wind in her sails. "So tell me, what makes you different from all the others who tried to decide things for her?"
Emi didn't have an argument for that and tried to divert it to what she really wanted to ask. "But… why you?"
Issei's expression finally changed from his stern one to a slightly wry one. "Only Rias could answer that. I could sit here and tell you all the things I did for her, but ultimately the decision lied with her. So, you're wasting your breath trying to ask me for an answer I don't really know." Emi sat back in her seat in defeat. She knew that she only did this because she couldn't accept that her idol was with the beast, but he was right and the fact he knew Rias so much better than anyone else proved how much she trusted him. Everyone was thinking about all the changes that have happened over the past few days and how they should move forward. Issei, seeing that he had successfully shut the class up, relaxed back in his seat. He looked over at Asia, Mash, Xenovia, and Kiryuu to see their expressions. Asia seemed to be thinking about something as well, while Mash simply smiled and nodded at him. Xenovia nodded at Issei in approval of his handling of the situation and Kiryuu shot him a thumbs up. As if on cue, the teacher finally showed up and class started.
Later that day, Issei, Mash, and Rias were in the clubroom alone while the others were out doing their jobs. Rias was doing her paperwork while Issei and Mash were going over some data from Chaldea. Issei looked up from his data pad at Rias and decided he should probably mention what happened earlier today. "Hey, Rias."
Rias continued to read her paperwork. "Yes, Ise?"
"I should probably tell you that I had to talk about your situation a bit today to the other students."
"I know," she said, not looking up from her work. Issei was a bit surprised.
"You do?"
"It was inevitable, considering how popular I am here. I'm sure you didn't reveal anything that would get us in trouble."
"N-no, but I might have gotten a little personal when talking about you," he said, a bit embarrassed.
Rias finally looked up and smiled at him. "It's fine. I trust you," she said unhesitantly.
Issei smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks Rias. I'm glad you're understanding. Rias nodded and the group went back to their tasks.
Done early, here is next months chapter! This extra chapter goes back to school and was an idea I had rummaging in my head since the last chapter. it might be a bit of a shift considering the situation of this chapter but I wanted to create some scenarios for the school since it's so rarely used. Also, all names for the students are made up by me because aside from the two kendo girls and Issei's friends, no one else is named, I checked. I'm really curious what you all think of the scenario, as well as Akeno officially joining the harem this chapter. Also, I'm aware that the fate characters have been taking a back seat recently so next chapter I plan on having one with more of their involvement, but I'll keep what it is quiet for now. As always, I look forward to the comments. : )