The Time of Isolation Hath Come

XI

"I'm sorry, you want me here for this?"

Of all the things he would have heard from Leona, this would have been the furthest from them. Yet it was only surprise that laced his words, there was no concern nor worry within them.

"Mmmmh." A nod of the head from the brunette, confirming that he had heard what she was saying, and that there was no mistake. "Of all the people, I think that the two of you would definitely get along pretty well. I mean, my charisma takes me so far and at the end of the day, he's not expecting to make friends with me. I'm just some hired help."

The way she phrased that wrangled him.

Romani frowned and stopped walking, Leona paused a few steps ahead and turned to face him. With a roll of the eyes and a playful chuckle, she waved her hand a couple times before responding to his unspoken words.

"Yes, I realise that I'm not just the hired help, but it's certainly easier to think of me as such, isn't it? I'm not the one whose going to be dealing with him in a more personal manner, am I?"

Even if she did say that, it still felt wrong of him to think of it in those terms.

"Alright, but I thought the idea was to keep me away from all of this? Isn't that what you spoke about with the others?"

Leona gave a shrug, not even reacting to the revelation that he knew she had made the request of the pair.

"To be honest, I've figured that clause was going up in smoke the minute that you started making friends with Issei and and the other Devils. So long as they avoid dragging you into things, then that's fine…but this is different because I'm the one bringing you into it."

She turned, raised a thumb and pointed to herself, wearing that some confident smirk that just screamed as though everything was under control. It was rather comforting how that smile still brought the same reaction every time he saw it, he supposed.

A blanket of confidence just wrapped around him with the idea he could leave all the complicated stuff to her.

"I've got enough experience to know when things are safe or not and, to be honest, with the personal assurance of a certain Lucifer, I'm a bit more willing to involve you with this than I would be at other times…"

A beat, then she continued onwards.

"Also there's a good chance that Sirzechs has already gone to his sister and told her that it was time to break the seal officially. So they'll be no going back now and with most Sacred Gears, it's all dependent upon the will of the person in question."

Most of that was going over his head, save for the latter part. A tilt of the neck and he raised a brow before it all clicked into place. "Oh, so he just needs some confidence then?"

"Yep, it's actually that simple." With a beaming grin, she snapped her fingers and pointed towards him. "Though I'm sure you'd know all about confidence being easier in practice than in principle, right? The goal is basically just letting him get enough esteem so that he's not going to snap and loosen his Sacred Gear on people at random…which I've gathered is the source of his problems."

That sounded more like she was just throwing him at a problem like some sort of wrench. Perhaps his thoughts showed on his face or she just knew him that well, as she exhaled and brought her hand up, nursing her brows and wetting her lips.

"Yes, it doesn't quite sound all that great if you look into it, but you'd run into him eventually and decide to do this all on your own. Just think of this as me skipping step one and going all the way to step three?"

Romani's hands anchored themselves on his hips, he rolled his jaw from side to side and pursed his features. A few moments went by, his mind focused on the words he had heard before giving a slow nod of the head. That much was certainly true when it came to students or prospective students, he wasn't really prepared to leave them alone to their own devices if it meant they would run into problems.

And if recent events had proven anything, it was that he was a meddler.

Sometimes for worse, rather than better.

"Okay…I'll meet him…You're doing something to help him anyway, right? And if he is going to be working with Asia, then I guess I should at least stop by and see what he's like, right?"

Leona angled her head and raised a brow, for whatever reason he could see amusement flash through her features. As if he had told some sort of remarkably witty joke, except he was without the punchline.

He matched the mirth with bewilderment and scrunched up his features, with a low chuckle and a shake of the head, Leona turned and walked on ahead, leaving him utterly lost as to what had been so amusing.

Resigned to the fact he probably wasn't going to get an answer, he followed after her and picked up the pace a little. The fact he was being led around in the school he had worked out for a while by someone who barely visited was something he was marginally embarrassed by, but it was lessened when he remembered who this was and where he was going.

Issei watched whatever this was with a blank expression.

It looked less like training and more akin to some act of bullying, something he had experience with, and therefore he was slowly feeling obligated to step in on behalf of the newest addition to the peerage.

Well, the newest addition that he had been introduced to, because they were actually older than himself.

Reaching up, he scratched at the underside of his chin and gave a light sniff as the sound of Gasper's shrill terrified voice grated at his ears, the pale boy sprinted past him, stumbling over his own feet as Xenovia raced towards him, never quite closing the gap but always being within a hairs breadth - likely on purpose - while brandishing shinai like a club.

Perhaps that was why he felt a great swell of empathy for the younger guy.

He had been on the receiving end of that treatment more times that he could count and plenty more times than most people would ever be comfortable with admitting.

A breath escaped him, dropping his shoulders he moved up his hand to nurse at his brows before glancing to the right. Kiba stood with his arms folded and a rather indifferent expression, as if what he was watching was somehow nothing out of the ordinary.

Then he recalled the training the guy went through and suddenly it made sense.

Even still he felt obligated to ask, because it was clear Gasper had been through nothing like him and the fact they had had to drag the boy out of his cardboard box to even get to the garden behind the club house should have really spoken volumes for how successful the training was going to be.

"I don't think this is working and I feel like scum for just standing here."

Though Issei hadn't meant for it to come out quite phrased like that, those were his honest thoughts on the matter.

Especially since he was certain that he could hear the pale kid start to cry while Xenovia chased him down.

Kiba barely even twitched, rather the guy looked as still as a statue, for a moment Issei wasn't sure if he had even been heard in the first place. Yet when he went to speak again, the blonde moved, his lips twitched and his brows furrowed in slight evidence of displeasure, but whether that was aimed at the treatment or at Gasper, Issei couldn't figure.

"It certainly isn't working." Kiba replied slowly, then raised his hand up and snapped his fingers.

It wasn't a loud snap, nor was it particularly powerful. It didn't even feel like magic, yet in the single moment that he did that, Xenovia suddenly stopped running and practically darted towards the pair of them, snapping to attention and slamming the shinai down into the ground, both hands rested atop the pommel.

Issei would admit that he jumped a little at it, yet his eyes were pulled towards Gasper who had yet to realise that his pursuer had actually stopped, still blindly charging forwards in an adrenaline filled terror, whimpering all the while as he made another turn and scrambled forwards.

Only to trip, exhaustion finally catching up with him, and hitting the ground with a wheeze, then Gasper curled up into a ball as if expecting to get hit.

Issei's face soured and he leaned back, turning towards the pair of knights and pointing towards Gasper. He didn't need to say anything else, the muffled whimpering of the vampire did more than enough for him.

"Do either of you know what you're doing?"

Kiba made a face before he glanced at Xenovia.

Issei paid careful attention to the expression this time around and spotted something that threw him for a loop. Genuine confusion at what was happening, the blonde unfolded his arms and rubbed his chin with his left hand, letting out a small noise of puzzlement while speaking in a mutter to himself.

"I don't understand it, this was the same sort of training that my teacher gave me…"

The urge to slap the blonde on the upside of the head and point out that the two weren't even remotely the same was awfully tempting, but he kept himself back. Smacking his lips, Issei dropped his hands down and looked between the two knights, then spoke up.

"I don't think whatever you guys did is going to work for him." Saying it out loud felt like he was making a fool of himself, but he felt as though someone had to take the plunge and say it. There was no reason why it couldn't have been him in the first place. It was what he was used to at least.

"But this was basic stamina training." Xenovia argued rather suddenly, jerking him with the intensity of her words. He leaned back and stared at the mixed haired girl as she puffed out her chest - which he did stare at for a moment - and then continued onwards, pride in her every word. "After all, how can he be motivated to push his body to the absolute limits if he does not experience a true mortal terror?"

Was she being serious?

Issei wanted to pretend she was doing some sort of comedy routine, yet he saw the slightly upturned lip. It was a miniscule thing, but he saw it all the same. There was no faking that type of smile. It wasn't sadistic either, no one could argue that she was doing this to make Gasper miserable to get off on it.

No.

That was the smile of some crazed fitness guru.

Slowly, he raised a hand and then pointed behind him once more, making eye contact with Xenovia as he did so. Ensuring he articulated each word clearly, he spoke to her as if speaking to a child. "He's been in a room for ages. He's scared of the outside world. This isn't helping."

If he was expecting to have some impact, then the next words out of the knight shot down that thought.

"You are mistaken." Xenovia dismissed with a shake of the head. "Once he faces this level of fear, he can learn to expect it and then be ready to face it head on. Compared to the fear of death or mutilation - the agony of watching comrades perish - the terror of stepping into the open world is utterly trivial."

Issei stared, then he blinked.

Then he turned and looked at Kiba, searching for confirmation that he had not been alone when he heard that downright insane rant. Yet when he looked for support, he could see only the slow nod of affirmation from the blonde. As if he understood a single word that had been said and was somehow approving of its contents.

…These two were just insane, weren't they?

Nevermind getting Gasper over the fear of leaving his room, Issei would be surprised if they didn't put the fear of his own peerage into the boy before the end of the day.

Maybe it would be better if he and Asia were the ones to handle this?

Well, Gasper and Asia were both Bishops.

Maybe they could bond over something like that?

He turned to the blonde girl and opened his mouth to get her attention, thus far she had been watching the proceedings with an even greater level of discomfort than himself, but it was likely her nature which wanted her to step in. Asia was a kind soul like that, she was the sort to cradle a butterfly if she had managed to get her hands on one.

He wasn't going to test that theory, though.

The moment he went to call out to her, another panicked shout sent a flinch through his body, his head turned in the direction of Gasper.

Issei quickly found himself blinking in rapid succession and very nearly falling backwards at the sight that greeted him. Once more, the vampire was being chased around but this time there wasn't anything malicious. Rather, it was the boy screaming once more as he scrambled to get away from Koneko of all people.

The white haired girl just slowly stalked after him, her hand outstretched with something clasped between her fingers.

The mystery didn't last long, combined with the screams of 'I don't want to eat that!' and the scent that suddenly invaded his nose. Issei winced and almost clamped his fingers over his nostrils, one of the many problems with Devil senses was that everything smelled a lot stronger than before. As if someone had thrown it directly in his face or stuffed it up his nose.

A rather pungent odour of garlic invaded his senses.

Several seconds later, Issei felt his brows furrow as the pieces slowly clicked into place.

Gasper was a vampire.

Koneko was chasing him with garlic.

Was…was this some sort of practical joke? Was Koneko teasing someone?

What was happening here?

"...He's not in danger, is he?" Issei felt the need to ask, but he would have liked to assume no one was trying to do any permanent damage to the bishop. Yet the myths regarding vampires and garlic were so common that even he knew about them. It was right up there with them not being able to walk in sunlight.

Or stakes through the heart.

But he thought the garlic thing was just nonsense.

…Right?

"Oh no, he is quite safe." Kiba replied, Issei could hear the wave of the hand in his voice. As if the answer had always been obvious and he was just confirming that one plus one did equal two. It felt a little embarrassing

"Just checking."

Issei murmured back as he watched the display for a few more seconds with some sense of morbid fascination, it was the most lively he had actually seen Koneko before and as sympathetic as he was for Gasper, this was a golden chance to see the normally stoic girl actually go out of her way to tease someone.

With an inhale, Issei stepped forwards and waved his hand to flag down the girl, she didn't actually pay him any heed at first, not until he was actually right upon them and was almost run down by the Bishop, his hands flew out to catch the smaller boy by his shoulders and steadied him.

Immediately, he was put off by how light and dainty the vampire was.

If he hadn't been told they were a boy, he would have been utterly convinced that Gasper was a girl.

Then again, Gasper was also wearing the uniform of the girls, so Issei felt as though he wouldn't be alone.

The Bishop stiffened in his grasp but didn't attempt to immediately break away, Issei spared the boy a short look before bringing his head up and looking towards Koneko, she was stood not that far away from him with the garlic still in her hand, eyes locked onto the vampire and then rose up to meet his own gaze.

Issei offered a small smile. "Maybe we should let him catch his breath we try anything else? He's not done all that much exercise and-whoah!"

He very nearly fell forwards, the figure he had been holding in place vanished as if they had never been there at all. It was jarring, Gasper was just there one second and gone the next. Issei caught himself at the last moment and stared down at the spot where the vampire had been with wide eyes, then snapped his head up and whipped it around, trying to find where the teenager could have run away too.

That time stopping was something else.

It was just…so sudden.

The only other thing he had to compare it to was the super exorcist that one time when she beat Kiba's ass into the ground.

Except that was raw speed.

Turning his head about, he saw the others were also now scanning for where he might have run away off too.

"Impressive." Xenovia commented aloud, not looking all that worried. "Even after facing clear exhaustion, he could still utilise his Sacred Gear and make an escape from us. Perhaps his stamina is more impressive than I first thought."

She moved her hand up to cup her chin, a thoughtful look flashed over her face. He could imagine her considering a dozen new training schemes and torture techniques. It was written over her face, in that tiny smile she wore and that slow but consistent nod of the head she was giving.

Now he felt more anxious on behalf of Gasper.

"Xenovia-san, I don't think that it's nice to push someone so hard." Asia spoke up, drawing eyes to her. The blonde put on a saddened frown. "Gasper-san looks like he's very nervous and I think if he is pushed too hard, then he won't want to come out again which would be very sad."

The words had a visible effect, Xenovia wilted and turned away from the Bishop, her eyes lowering to the ground and her lower lip rolling inwards.

Yeah, that was about what he would have expected as a reaction from her.

"Alright, we can talk about all this later." Issei waved his hand and turned back to looking for any direction the vampire could have gone in. "We should probably find Gasper, I don't want to tell Buchou that the second he was let out we scared him back into hiding, or something like that."

And he could practically feel the way that news would have flown over with Roman-sensei if the guy found out about it.

He knew the man wouldn't approve and it wasn't like he couldn't understand either.

This was the sort of thing you worked into slowly.

Though he had no idea how long time had been frozen for, so he didn't know how much of a head start Gasper had on them. He assumed it wouldn't be too much, but without an idea of where to go, he wouldn't-

He felt a small tug on his arm, he turned to see Asia pulling on his sleeve and then pointing towards something off to the left. Following her line of sight, he felt his features drop as he spotted what she was pointing out to him.

It was a cardboard box neatly tucked away in the bushes.

And he was sure it hadn't been there before.

With an exhausted sigh, he paced towards it and dropped down, staring at it for a couple of seconds before tapping his knuckles across the front of it. For a few seconds, he heard nothing. He was sure that everyone was now staring with rapt attention and waiting for what was going to happen next.

Issei didn't think anything was going to happen next.

"You're in the box, aren't you?"

More silence.

Then, from within the box, a muffled whisper.

"No."

He could hear the cringe in the words of the vampire, who clearly understood what he was saying was stupid.

Closing his eyes, he moved his left hand up and nursed his brows between his fingers, rolling back and forth and fighting the urge to sigh then and there. He knew the box hadn't been brought out, which meant Gasper had gone back to grab the box and bring it all the way back here just to climb inside of it.

Placing both hands either side of the box lid, Issei gently lifted and exposed a fraction of it to the world. Just enough that he could lean forwards and peer through the faint opening and see inside. Cramped as it was, he spotted Gasper immediately and found himself staring back into deep red eyes.

Neither one of them said anything, but he knew his face was making all the conversation.

From the way Gasper leaned backwards and then shuffled around inside the box, rolling around in a similar manner to a cat, it was clear there was no need for words.

"Alright, we're not going to chase you around with sticks or garlic anymore." Issei assured the boy, offering the best smile he could muster. "We're going to be doing something different."

"Oh? You have an idea, Issei-kun?"

Turning his head over his shoulder, he looked to Kiba and noticed how unusually intrigued the blonde was now. There was a clear anticipation in the eyes of the knight, as if by the mere words alone, Issei had utterly captured his attention. It was a little jarring and slightly perturbing the way he had gone from apathetic to on the edge of his seat.

Koneko, meanwhile, narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion. "No peaking."

Issei flushed and sputtered. "I-I wasn't going to suggest that!"

And it was the truth, despite the look that Koneko was currently giving him.

Though it wouldn't be a lie if his first thought when he heard about time stopping hadn't been to use it for some…investigative purposes.

He noticed the look of disgust and quickly whipped his head back around, wiping the expression off his face and coughing into his fist. "Y-yeah! W-we're going to be doing…uhm…something…uhhh…"

Now Gasper was just staring at him as if he was a puzzle that didn't fit together.

"Sport!"

Issei blurted out, dropping the box lid down and shooting to his feet, turning around and giving a toothy smile, hands planted on his hips. "We're doing something related to sport! You know…that's good for exercise, right?"

"Sport." Xenovia gave a flat response, gazing at him before her brows furrowed and she nodded her head up and down. "Yes, perhaps that is a good starting place for one who has not been honing their body…I propose dodgeball."

He could imagine why.

But it wasn't a bad idea.

Issei raised his hand. "Can we even use the sports hall?"

Kiba pinched his chin. "We would be able to ask the student council for permission. I assume that Sitri-Kaichou and the Tsubaki-san would also have been called away for the same meeting as Buchou and Akeno. But I can see no reason why they would deny us the request to make temporary use for sport."

He would have thought they'd ask the teachers or something.

…Maybe Roman-sensei was actually onto something when he kept describing the student council as gangsters, given the way they seemed to literally run everything of importance in the school.

"In that case, we'll go grab someone from the student council-"

"What's this about us?"

As if spawned in by words alone, the voice of Saji echoed from around the corner of the building. Issei turned his head and spotted his fellow pawn quickly, he stepped around the corner with a raised brow, clearly having just arrived. He leaned forwards and looked around, expression focused as he searched for something.

"Hey, Saji." Issei greeted with a nod. "Good timing. We were just about to come and look for you…or anyone from the council, but you'll do."

Saji eyed him. "I'll do? That's very encouraging…Anyway, I came around because I heard you guys had a shut in that was just let out or something. Wanted to come around and say hello to them but…uh…did I miss them or something?"

Issei wordlessly pointed at the box.

His fellow pawn glanced down at the box and then straightened, his expression blank as he stared at the cardboard, then brought his eyes back up to meet Issei's.

All Issei could do was shrug. "It's a work in progress."

"Uh-huh." Letting out a low murmur, the blonde advanced forwards with his eyes lingering on the box before coming up a short distance away from them and folding his arms. Eyes turned back on Issei before sweeping around to the others. "So what do you need the student council for? Nothing troublesome, I hope. I promised Kaichou that everything would be just as she left it."

Issei shook his head. "Nah, we just need access to the sports hall for about…an hour?"

He looked for support, or confirmation, both Kiba and Xenovia nodded along with his words and he spoke again with more confidence.

"Yeah, an hour. We're going to do a quick game of dodgeball for training. Need to get Gasper in shape and it's a relatively tame way of going about it."

Saji blinked, then hummed and slowly nodded his head. "I suppose that could be doable, as long as you have some sort of supervision during that time to make sure that nothing goes wrong."

Gesturing to himself, the council member continued. "I can sit in on it and make sure nothing gets broken or wrecked."

Issei made a face, the fact he kept bringing up stuff getting messed up was starting to give him the impression that they were getting painted in a very unflattering light. "Hey, what is that supposed to mean? We can be careful, you know?"

Incredulity coloured the face of the Devil. "Yeah, sure. It's just that you guys have a habit of getting in trouble or some weird stuff happens around you. I'm not going to let whatever brand of oddness you have cause trouble for Kaichou."

Brand of oddness?

"Hey, we're no weirder than you."

No sooner had he said that, than another voice called out.

"Hey, Issei-kun? Did something weird happen just now to you guys, or was it just me?"

Saji gave him a pointed look before turning towards the voice, Issei followed as Roman-sensei rounded the corner on the other side of the building. Opposite the one Saji had approached from, the nurse stepped forwards and cast a hesitant look towards them before spying around and, once again, looking for something or someone.

"You've not even described it yet, Roman." The exasperated, yet still amused, words of Leona Archaman came next, the brunette rounded the corner right behind him and then stopped. She looked over the assembled group with a raised eyebrow before she spoke with a smile. "Seems like everyone is showing up for some reason or another, perhaps we should be expecting others to drop out of the sky now?"

Issei looked up at the sky.

Nothing happened.

He let out an internal sigh of relief before lowering his head and returning it to the nurse and his wife. "So how come you're here, Roman-sensei?"

Romani stepped forwards and scratched the side of his chin, it was a familiar gesture but there was something else about the way the nurse was acting. He looked almost jumpy, eyes darting around rapidly, his posture was tight that he looked moments away from breaking into a sprint.

"I heard you had someone else in your group so I wanted to meet them…" Romani replied, though it was distant as he looked around more, even glancing over his shoulder and pacing forwards, when he turned back around he was wearing a nervous frown.

Issei recalled the first question.

"Are you alright? Is this because of that weird thing?"

A jolt and then a nod of the head, Romani turned and looked at him with furrowed brows. "Does that mean you didn't feel it either?"

"Feel what?"

Romani looked at him for a couple of seconds, then just shook his head. "Nevermind, probably me just imagining things then."

That answer felt wrong, and the face of Romani was still uneasy, anxious even. As if he was expecting something terrible to happen any second. It made Issei furrow his brows in growing alarm, he glanced past him and met the eyes of Mrs Archaman, yet she didn't look as if she knew what he was talking about either.

"Are you alr-"

"So!" Romani sprung to life, with a rather loud voice he called out and clapped his hands together. "I heard there was a new person, or you're meeting a new person, and I was just stopping by to see what he was like."

It was such an obvious deflection that even Issei could see it.

He opened his mouth again, yet the face the nurse was shooting at him - the clear pleading in the eyes to just drop the subject - gave him pause long enough for someone else to catch onto the question and answer it.

"The already existing Bishop, yes." Xenovia provided the dutiful answer. "We have been instructed by our King to provide training for him and ensure he is more comfortable with his abilities. I regret to report that our success has been…limited, thus far."

Issei caught her dejected expression as her eyes lowered down, a look of frustration on her face for a brief time, then it faded and her gaze turned stoic once more.

Romani made a face at the words. "I don't think there is anything to feel bad about if you're trying your best. Some people just aren't all that used to the spotlight or physical activity. I wasn't exactly an olympic athlete at school and…" he paused, then looked around. "His name is Gasper, right?"

"Yes, Roman." Asia stepped towards him and looked over the nurse with a bit of worry etched on her features. "He's a bit nervous, but if you're here then I'm sure we might be able to coax him out. Issei-san and the others were going to head over to play some dodgeball with him!"

The girl gave a dazzling smile.

Romani proved no less affected by it than Issei, turning his head away and moving his hand up to rub at his nape. "Well, that sounds nice enough to get to know him. So is he currently having a rest at the moment? You said training, is that what you were all doing before we showed up?"

Ah, right.

"Box." Koneko provided

Romani blinked, then turned towards the speaker and inclined his head. From the way he stared, one could have thought he'd have just heard someone speak to him in a completely foreign language.

It was a somewhat amusing expression, more so when he turned towards Issei with a hopeful one.

"Box." Issei parroted the words of his junior and left it at that.

The confusion returned with greater intensity than before, Issei just barely fought back the ability to laugh at the face of the clearly floundering nurse. It was only the roll of the eyes from Mrs Archaman in the background which told him that she had understood the point they were making.

"Roman." She called out, mirth lacing her words. "What's currently behind Issei?"

"Huh? Behind?" Romani gave a perplexed look and then turned back and glanced over Issei's shoulder. The dazed look remained until it stopped, his eyes caught sight of something and squinted.

Then it shifted into understanding as he clearly spotted the cardboard box behind Issei, nestled into the bushes and having remained unmoved - or so he assumed - during the arrival of several different people.

Romani looked rather put off by the sudden information. "Is there a reason he is in a box?"

"Because everyone is crazy." Issei replied stoically. "And their idea of training is horrifying."

"...Do I want to know and-" Romani started, then he stopped. His eyes had wandered away during the conversation and landed on something. It was something troubling enough for the nurse to widen them and lean backwards, alarm grew across his face as he stared at it.

Turning to look, Issei made a small grunt of understanding.

Romani had spied Xenovia, still armed with her shinai.

"Uh…Xenovia?"

"Yes, Roman-sensei?"

"Why do you have that?"

Xenovia, completely unperturbed, responded with a confident nod of the head and a single word. "Training."

He could feel Romani's eyes turn back onto him, Issei just kept his expression thin as he met the gaze of the nurse and shrugged. "Like I said. It's horrifying."

With a final, and very meaningful, glance towards the box behind them, Issei rolled his jaw before speaking again. "How does that sound, Gasper? Nice friendly game in the sports hall. No one is going to chase you around or make you eat stuff."

"Eat stuff?" Was the murmured words of Romani, sounding slowly disturbed.

The box fidgeted for a moment, then the lid slowly rose as a pair of eyes peaked out of it. "...Really?"

Issei gave his best smile. "Yeah, I'm no good at that sort of thing either."

Gasper looked at him oddly, "You mean eating?"

Sputtering, Issei jerked and then shook his head rapidly. "No! I mean training like that! I'm not all that good!"

He waited for Gaspers response.

But it was not the vampire who replied.

"Take some friendly advice."

The familiar voice had his eyes jerk upwards immediately, his body went stiff as he stared at the darkness of the woods and noticed something instantly. The silhouette shrouded in shadow, casually stepping forwards with a lax posture. The bushes and branches that broke up the form slowly peeled themselves aside.

Light filtered down, the figure was revealed in full.

Issei felt himself go bug eyed, making a half step backwards and reaching behind him, finding the shoulder of Asia and sharply tugging her until she was right behind him, he'd tried to be delicate with her but he was working in overdrive.

From all around, he could feel the others immediately tense.

Grinding steel and faint intakes of breath.

The once pleasant aura turned in a moment.

"Don't let Vali hear you say that."

Either uncaring or oblivious to the danger, the man stepped fully into the light, clad only in the same pale grey kimono he was accustomed to seeing them in. The man with dark hair, golden lick across his fringe, and a wispy beard, folded his arms into his sleeves and wore a paper thin smile.

All while never once tearing his eyes away from Issei's own.

A tightness coiled in his gut, he could not swallow as he understood the weight behind this man now. In a way he hadn't before.

His left hand clenched, the press of cold metal as the crimson gauntlet embraced his arm and he brought it across and in front of him. Not raising it yet, but making it clear he would be ready at a moment's notice.

Or at least, that is how it would appear.

In response to the aggression, the man only raised a single brow and looked around, lazily scanning them in much the same way one would take stock of the weather before going for a walk.

"Quite the little gathering I see." Slowly nodding his head, the man's smile widened a little. "And with so many interesting Sacred Gears but the most curious of all…"

Azazel slowly started to turn his head, it was a painfully slow move and drawn out.

Issei saw the direction his eyes were flickering and the manner in which they were slowly being pulled towards the box.

His heart stopped.

The box where Gasper was still there and barely even a metre from the Fallen.

"Hey!"

Azazel stopped moving and turned his eyes, sparing Issei a side-eye before bringing himself fully around. Wearing that same smug smile on his face which had once seemed so harmless. "Oh? What can I help you with, Red Dragon Emperor? You're a bit more aggressive than the last time we met."

Issei rolled his shoulder. "That tends to happen when you drop in unannounced."

Silence.

Then the lips of the Fallen twitched upwards and he lowered his shoulders, giving a slow but meaningful nod of the head. "Ha! I suppose you'd be right with that. Truth be told, I slipped out just to come here and I'll be gone in a few minutes. Though I refuse to be held responsible. The wielder of Forbidden Balor View is finally let out?"

With dry amusement, the Fallen offered an exaggerated shrug.

"How could I possibly resist the chance to come down and have a look?"

His eyes flickered to the side and narrowed immediately, the look on his expression turned sharp but there was something about it, something that felt almost playful. Like a cat which had found an amusing mouse.

"And especially when I find out that one of my pals got access before me! I wasn't about to let you hold that over my head, Leo!"

"And for that you'd risk starting an incident?" Rather than worried, Mrs Archaman sounded a mixture of exasperated and resigned. "Who am I kidding, of course you would come here and do that."

Azazel sported a wry smile. "Well, not just that."

Slowly, his arms parted and his hands came out from the sleeves, raising up his left and giving a lazy click of the fingers.

"There was another reason I came here."

A rustle in the bushes just behind the Grigori, Issei squinted at that quickly and spotted another shape fighting through it. Compared to the silent entry of Azazel, whoever this was just seemed to be awkwardly fighting their way through the undergrowth. Grunts and snarls of irritation broke the silence as the figure stumbled out and into the open.

It was a woman.

Well, he assumed a Fallen, but he stared.

It was hard not too, she was an absolute stunner who looked pulled right from the covers of some sort of fashion magazine. Even with that cold scowl she wore on her face, the expression of muted disgust as she eyed everyone, flicking back her long dark blue hair over her shoulder and brushing the leaves off the matching maroon coat and pencil skirt.

Issei was openly curious if she was even wearing a bra, given the chest window she was showing off to the world.

Her eyes moved across everyone, then she froze and took a half step backwards in shock.

For a moment, he thought she was looking at him, but he noticed that her gaze was focused on someone behind him.

He turned and then noticed something.

Romani was staring back at her with naked shock, mouth parted and caught between a half turn. It looked as though he'd been about to run away, but caught himself at the last moment.

With a frown, he turned and stared at the woman, then back to Romani, then back at the woman.

He felt the pieces click into place in his mind.

"You." Issei stared at her with a growing sense of anger, and suddenly he figured out who this was. "You're the bitch who beat up Roman-sensei, aren't you?"

Azazel might have said something, but Issei wasn't paying attention, instead he glared with a rising sense of fury. His hand slowly clenched into a fist as he opened his mouth to say something, perhaps something rather uncivilised, but he stopped when a hand dropped onto his shoulder from behind.

The sudden movement made him pause.

He turned and looked at it, staring at the limb for a moment, then watched the owner step past him.

Romani had blanked his expression, and it took Issei a moment to realise that the nurse had now stepped in front of them.

"Why is she here, Azazel?" There was no aggression in the nurse's tone, but all the same there was a firmness in it, a tone of voice he wasn't used to hearing.

For precious few seconds, Azazel said nothing.

Then the smile dropped off his face, his expression turned rueful. "She's here to apologise - profusely, I might add - for any harm she caused to you or anyone else. She has been under a very strict punishment, handled by Penemue, and has come to see the error of her ways."

A brief pause, and Azazel rolled his jaw, as if mulling over what his next words would be.

Then corrected himself. "Or she has come to understand what will happen if she ever steps out of line again."

It was punctuated with barely even a glance in the direction of the woman, yet that was enough for her to stiffen and for the blood to rush away from her face. Leaving her ashen and almost dazed, rapidly she nodded her head up and down before taking a quick step forwards and ducking her head low.

"I-I am here to offer my sincere apologies to the Gremory Family and their associates."

The words sounded strained and agonised, like she was plucking out her own teeth just to open up space for them to escape her.

Issei grimaced and stared down, then stared at the back of the nurse.

Romani did not move, nor make a sound, or even react as she continued.

"I was foolish and stupid. I am here to wholeheartedly thank you for the mercy you showed me in our last encounter and to…"

She trailed off.

Azazel looked down and frowned, and as though she had eyes in the back of her head, the woman abruptly flinched and then hastily blurted out the rest.

"And to offer my life if you have decided that will appease you…"

Further silence.

Then Romani spoke, but not to the woman.

"Azazel."

Issei straightened on instinct.

There was a sharpness in his voice, disapproval and disappointment blended into one, coupled with offence that those words had even been spoken.

The Grigori raised his hand and gave a light wave of it. "I knew you wouldn't take it like that, Roman. You're a caring guy…But I wanted her to hear it said to her again and clearly this time around that the only reason she is still breathing is because you were kind enough to offer her some mercy."

He glared at the woman once more, then snapped his fingers.

Head still hung low, she scampered back and fell into the shadow behind Azazel, who gave her no further attention, his focus now resting entirely on the nurse and giving him a long and scrutinising look.

It didn't last long before a sigh replaced it.

"I wanted you to hear the apology."

"I didn't need one." Romani replied back, sounding rather tired. "I just…don't kill her."

"Forget that!" Finding his voice, Issei snapped back loud and to the point, perhaps the suddenness or the volume, whatever it was, earned a flinch from the Fallen Angel woman and Romani as well, Azazel just glanced at him with a raised brow. "What the hell are you doing here in the first place?!"

Azazel hummed, slotting his arms into the sleeves once more and wearing that same jovial smile he had when he first emerged.

"I believe I've said as much."

"And I doubt Buchou said you could do that without giving us the heads up first."

With a wry chuckle, the man took a single step forwards and inclined his head in a shallow nod. "Well, yes. I did say I snuck over here but I'm not going to start a fight with any of you. We do have peace talks going on, don't you know? Think of this as just a little bit of…co-operation between future allies."

Issei grimaced and opened his mouth-

Something tugged on the back of his shirt, it was a faint pulling sensation, but enough for him to turn and face it. Asia was looking up at him with a pleading expression, the immediate effect being for him to lose any notion of violence and roll his jaw. Closing his eyes, he let out a sharp breath before turning back around.

His arms folded over, "...Kiba?"

With Buchou and Akeno gone, that virtually left Kiba as the defacto responsible individual in charge for this sort of thing.

Kiba was silent for several tense seconds, eyeing up the Grigori pair before he gave a single short nod of the head. "Speak your piece and then begone quickly. Keep in mind that I shall report whatever you have spoken of to my King."

"In that case, I'll make it worth your while." Azazel replied with a light tone, utterly uncaring to the veiled threat shot his way as he took another step forwards, waving his hands in a showman like manner. "Merely that I can already tell that Leo, over there, will be up to something but…Ah…Another of the Virtra Sacred Gears."

Saji jolted "Uhhh, how did-?"

"Don't worry too much about it, Genshirou Saji." Azazel rattled off his full name without even blinking, all while looking nonplussed. "I keep an eye on all Sacred Gear wielders. Given the other Vritra Sacred Gears I know of…yours would be Absorption line."

A brief pause, then the Grigori leaned back.

"You figured out how to absorb the power of others yet?"

Saji straightened and took on a heavy frown. "...Yeah."

"Good." Azazel gave a singular pleased nod. "Makes the next part easier…like, for instance, training a certain someone who is too weak to control their Sacred Gear at the moment. Lowering their strength with Absorption line would certainly give them a greater degree of control of such a Sacred Gear."

Issei blinked, then turned towards Saji with raised brows.

This was the first he had actually heard of that sort of thing.

Saji himself looked rather surprised as well, shooting Issei a similar look of surprise.

"Well, that would be a runabout way of doing things."

He turned back on Azazel, catching the moment the Grigori gave a lazy shrug of the shoulders and turned back around. Raising a hand and scratching at the underside of his beard as he moved, the man started to pace away, still speaking over his shoulder as he did so.

"You want a shorter version? The Red Dragon Emperor could donate some blood to our little vampiric friend. That is, after all, what they are supposed to do."

With a wave of the hand, the man walked back into the bushes.

The Fallen Angel woman shot them all a sour looking glare before she took off after Azazel, the pair of them vanished into the undergrowth, leaving only a tense silence in their wake.

Issei kept his eyes on the bushes, waiting to see if anything else was going to happen. Then he slowly straightened himself back into an original posture, his hands dropped onto his hips and he watched with narrowed eyes. Then let out a sharp exhale. "That guy…what does he even think he is playing at?"

But what was more were the words of the Grigori.

Donating his blood? He assumed that was some sort of nicer way of telling Issei to just let Gasper suck his blood.

Though he was a bit unsure of how that would lead to Gasper getting better control over his Sacred Gear…

[What? You don't get it, partner?]

The voice boomed through his head, he winced and glanced down at his left hand, frowning at the faint pulse of green.

"What am I supposed to get?"

"Huh?"

"Sorry, Ddraig's talking to me in my head." Issei quickly explained to the suddenly bewildered audience, feeling a bit awkward that he abruptly started speaking aloud. "He seems to have some clue as to what Azazel meant but-"

"What, having Gasper drink your blood?" He turned on Leona Archaman, the brunette inclined her head and hummed. "He isn't wrong. It would likely speed up the process. Though if you want the why of it, simple answer is that your blood would be pretty good for a vampire of any sort. Vampires can take strength from the types of things they suck blood from and the Sacred Gear wielder of the Red Dragon Emperor is about the best around."

Issei furrowed his brows, then pursed his lips.

"So all I would need to do is let Gasper suck my blood and then he would be fine?"

Mrs Archaman made a face and waved her hand in a 'so-so' gesture. "It's up in the air, but I'm leaning towards a yes. Though the problem would be the intoxication of it. There's a massive gap in difference between your blood and the blood of someone like me or even the average person."

Snapping her fingers, she pointed across towards Saji. "Really, the idea involving him is about the best one forwards, if you want to really get the grips of the thing. Much easier, actually, and doesn't have as much risk."

"Am I being volunteered now or something?" Came the comment from the pawn in question, soon followed by an exasperated sigh. "But then again, I suppose if it is training, it would help me out as well…so I guess it makes sense. If you want some help with it, then sure, I could lend you guys a hand."

Issei turned and nodded. "Appreciate it, really."

Saji just gave a faint grunt and turned his head. "It helps me out as well and I'm sure Kaichou would be encouraging me to practise with my Sacred Gear more than I already am. Besides, I figure she would probably help you."

That aside, he noted that Kiba had been quiet for a bit.

Approaching the knight, he came up beside them and scanned their expression, still set into a stern looking frown. Kiba suddenly blinked, turning and facing Issei, the face changed into one of bemusement. "Is there something the matter, Issei?"

"You tell me." Issei replied with a mutter, jerking his head to the point where Azazel had left. "What do you suppose we do about that?"

Kiba exhaled, raising a hand and rubbing his brow. "Until Buchou returns, there is very little we can do. His intentions appeared to have been…motivated by self-interest. The more proficient Gasper becomes with his Sacred Gear, the more worth examining he is."

That instantly set off red flags with Issei. "So we're just playing to his hand?"

"Our goals coincide." Was the reply he received, but admittedly Kiba looked no less pleased with it. "On the topic of Gasper drinking your blood…Mrs Archaman has supported it as a valid theory, but I would advise leading it for Buchou to think on."

Issei thinned his lips.

Kiba turned to him fully, then reached across and dropped a hand onto his shoulder, Issei stared at the offending limb, then back to Kiba.

The blonde offered a reassuring smile. "Buchou will not force either you or Gasper into anything that you feel uncomfortable with, you have my word on that. I believe that attempting the alternative method is the best path forwards for now, even if the source of this plan is…less than preferred."

Issei's attention was barely upon the words and more on the hand which was still resting on his shoulder.

"Uh-huh…" He stepped back, slipping out of the grip and eyeing the now limp arm. "Right…yeah. Okay, Gasper!"

Issei turned back around and clapped his hands. "We're…"

He trailed off and blinked.

The box was gone.

…And so was Romani.

"...What the heck?"

Gasper let out another panting breath, turning left and right before scurrying forwards and down the halls.

Going outside of his room was a mistake, he should never have agreed to it.

The outside was scary and he just knew it would be a matter of time before he made the same mistake that he always did. But what was worse than that was the other suggestion, the mere thought of it was almost enough to make him gag. Like a burning in the back of his throat begging for a release.

He turned and ducked through the hall, approaching his old room.

Box held in his hands, he waddled forwards and could already see the comfort of the shadows ahead-

"Gasper-kun."

He stopped.

There was a voice echoing from the corridors behind him, his feet rooted themselves to the ground and he fixed his eyes straight ahead. Though his ears strained, the footsteps of the single individual grew closer and closer to him. Wetting his lips, he bit the lower one and could not bring himself to move.

Despite how much he wanted to.

"...Are you alright?"

The voice asked again, closer than before.

Gasper shook his head.

There was a sigh, the person stepped past them and then fell to a stop, he spied a glance in the corner of his eye. They were there, arms folded over and staring towards the room.

"They mean well, but they can get a little intense at times." There was a strained smile on the face of the man, he turned and glanced down, a flicker of empathy in those eyes before he breathed out. "I can get why you'd want to be away from them for a little bit of a breather."

Gasper wet his lips, then turned around and looked at the space behind them.

The corridors were empty.

It was just the two of them.

"How did…?" It was the question on the tip of his tongue, he had moved when time was frozen. There should have been no one who saw where he was going. So how did this person know?

When he looked back, there was a different look on the man's face.

Pained.

"...Lucky guess." Gasper didn't believe that answer for even a single moment. "...I just figured this is where you would head. Leo gave me the heads up regarding your circumstances and…well…it would make sense you'd come to where you were safe, after all."

Not even that answer felt like the whole truth.

Nurse Romani Archaman.

He scratched at his forehead and stepped forwards, dropping his hands to his hips. "You know they're probably going to come back, don't you?"

"...Yeah." Gasper admitted with a sullen frown, he knew they would be back for him. If the human had been able to find him, then the others wouldn't be far behind. They could well be on their way right now. "I…you could tell them you didn't see me?"

Romani turned and looked down at him, there was a faint smile on his lips. "I could give you some space if you'd like…but running away and staying in your room isn't healthy for you. Even if it feels like the safest option."

Gasper flinched and turned sharply from the nurse.

He knew that.

He knew that, but he would not accept it as the only path.

"I've lasted this long in my room." Muttering back, he looked down at the box and saw the comfort it provided even now. All he needed to do was complete his small journey and then clamber into the box. He could just remain there and complete all the functions of a Devil as he had done so from the very beginning.

"Why do I have to leave now?"

It wasn't fair, it wasn't right.

Why did he have to leave the room? Why did he have to start training?

It was all so much easier for everyone when he was away and in his room.

"Yeah…" Romani muttered in a low voice, it was a whisper but his superior hearing picked up on it. "It never is fair…why me? Why did this have to happen to me? What was so wrong with the way I was living before all of this? What's the point of me having a power that I don't want…?"

Gasper blinked.

Slowly, he turned and looked towards the nurse.

Romani stood there with his hands in his pockets, staring down at the ground.

"I've been asking myself those same questions. Even now it's hard to find and answer. At the moment I just…I just want to do my job."

He turned and looked down at Gasper, but he could see the exhaustion in those eyes. As if the nurse had suddenly aged decades in mere moments, just the way he was standing, it was as though he was going to topple over any second.

"I'm not going to force you to make a decision, Gasper-kun." Romani replied, turning and facing him. "That's up to you. It's always been up to you…but if you have this power, would you ever really be happy with letting yourself be a victim of it?"

A shrug.

"We can't control everything that happens in our lives…goodness knows I've long since lost control of all of it by this point. Though…I'm too old to really get that control back."

There was a strange sadness in that smile.

"Much too old now…I can do my best to make myself a bit more comfortable, but I'll never have that control of my life back now. Not like you though. It's going to be rough going forward and I'll never say it's easy or fun but…but I think that once you reach the end of it, you'll be able to have that control of your life. Or more than enough for you to be a bit happier about all of it."

Slowly, he turned and started to walk back down the corridor.

"If I see anyone, I'll tell them I didn't spot you. They'll believe that-"

"I…" Gasper called after him, stopping the nurse. Though he did not know why he had done so in the first place, there wasn't anything he could think of saying. His lips rolled and he looked down, staring at the box and then closing his eyes tight. "...How…how did you get comfortable?"

"...Cliche as it might sound, I just started trying to use it to help people." Romani admitted, sounding a little abashed. "But Issei-kun and the others, Asia especially, they'll all really come through for you if you let them. I told you, they all mean well and…it's nice to have someone you can rely on with this sort of thing."

He raised a hand and pointed to himself. "I've got a couple of people but…you've got an awful lot more and, really, I'm a little jealous."

Gasper flinched. "...Jealous…of me?"

It sounded vaguely insulting.

Romani just nodded. "You got it young. So you've got all the time in the world to come to terms with it. I got mine in the middle of a disaster…so all I get now is…what could I have done better if I knew? If I could do something?"

Closing his eyes, Romani shook his head. "Just give them a chance. Really, that's all you need to do."

"...Will it really work?"

Disappointingly, all he got was a shrug.

But he did appreciate the honesty.

"I can't say. Maybe it will, maybe it won't." Romani offered a faint smile. "But…I'd like to think that it will work out in the end."

He looked down at his box once more.

Then he slowly lowered it to the ground and stepped around it, turning and facing the nurse once more. "...A chance."

Romani nodded. "A chance."

"...Alright." Gasper forced the words out, ignoring the thunderous beating of his own anxious heart. "A-a chance."

"...Do you want to walk back now or later?"

He allowed himself a blink of surprise. "Eh? Didn't you mean-"

"I'm sure they'll be looking for a while." Romani said, scratching the side of his neck and smiling conspiratorially. "And take it from a master of putting off hard work…Its really easy to do and quite appealing. So we can probably eek out a couple of minutes of rest before they chance upon us. Unless you're really eager-"

"A couple of minutes sounds good." Gasper hastily blurted out, already feeling the tension start to slip away.

It might have been postponing the inevitable, but he felt like those few minutes of peace would be the best he had in a while.

Certainly a welcome break from the morning.

And…Maybe Romani-sensei wasn't so bad.

He certainly felt like he understood but…maybe there was something more about it.

Something he couldn't quite put his finger on.