Chapter XXXI

[BOOST!]

Issei felt it.

Power thrumming through his body, like a string pulled taut, every single inch of him from the tips of his toes to the roots of his hair felt like they were tingling as a familiar energy coursed through every fiber of his being. Something he'd only felt before when fighting Sun Wukong, but had been too distracted at the time to really focus on.

It was… weird.

Not bad weird.

It was like that time he spent the night before his entrance exam cramming, chugging down some very cheap coffee he'd bought at a convenience store. The energy drinks keeping him from so much as blinking as the world slowly came into focus and his senses sharpened to accommodate.

Even the red gauntlet, with articulated bands, golden ornamentation, and the shining emerald set in its center was taught. Charged. Palpable in its presence.

Issei wasn't really sure if those words really worked, but he assumed that was more down to his own inability to accurately describe the sensation of something so much more than anything but his authorities themselves.

"Alright, Koneko. I'm ready!"

His opponent for today would be the white haired Rook of Rias Gremory, Koneko Toujou!

"I won't hold back."

And that was important because it meant when she attacked him, she did so with a flying knee strike aimed directly at his face.

"Oof!"

It also meant that he barely managed to block in time, his arms doing a little to cushion the blow. Thankfully, the slap of her knee against his arms was loud, but harmless. The sudden jolt was more surprising than painful. Her response, however, was actually a harsh reminder of how far he needed to go.

With her knee pressing against his arms and the forward momentum of her jumping attack pressing her forwards, Koneko rolled with the movement. Grabbing onto Issei's head, the Rook fell forwards, planted her feet on the ground, and then flipped him over her head, slamming him into the gym mats they were standing on top of with a heavy thump!

For his part, Issei was just glad the wind didn't get knocked out of him.

Mostly because he was Campione, but also he spread his arms to help break his fall! That was progress.

"Want to reset, senpai?"

Looking up at the girl, wearing a sport's uniform of shorts, white t-shirt, and gym shoes, he gave a nod.

"Yes please."

She held her hand out and Issei grabbed ahold of it.

Konkeko promptly kicked him in the shoulder, wrapped her legs around his arm, and fell backwards as she hyperextended the limb.

"Kiba didn't call the match." Dragging his arm upwards, she arched her hips and managed to exert pressure on his joint. "This was also awareness training."

"Ow, ow, ow! I give, I give!"

He wasn't really in pain, even if he felt like he should be, but the Campione was just feeling the pressure enough that it was uncomfortable. After the first Boost, he felt like he'd been roughhousing with a younger girl rather than struggling with Koneko's inhuman brute strength. Even if he could tell she was exerting herself, he couldn't feel it.

He did feel something soft though.

And squishy.

[BOOST!]

Using the sudden increase in strength, Issei very quickly rolled away. Refusing to make eye contact with his sparring partner, he simply kept his head bowed, unsure if he should be apologizing. And half anticipated a slap.

"Ah, Elder Brother, you see now this was a trap, yes? She shall demand you marry her for your indiscretion."

Yinghua's words did exactly zero to help the young man.

"I'm not going to demand he marry me. Or hit you, senpai."

"No?" He didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but the kendo team had set certain expectations. "You sure?"

"Yes. This is training."

Bouncing on her heels, standing back at the ready mark, the white haired girl looked the picture of seriousness. When she wasn't glaring bloody murder at the young Chinese boy steeping a pot of tea off to the side of the sparring area, where he was currently sitting with Kiba and Aika. Who, surprisingly enough, had expressed interest in coming to the gym with the rest of the group!

And she was full of questions.

"So, what exactly are they training for? Some type of tournament? Competition?"

Fortunately for Issei, Kiba and the ever trustworthy Yinghua were there to answer her questions. Not that he didn't want to answer them, but rather… even now he kinda didn't understand what this training was for other than to let Koneko use him as a sandbag.

"This isn't about improving his physical condition. Rather, it is about testing the limits of how much it improves under the effects of the sacred gear's effect. The body of a Campione is sturdy but they don't usually have speed and strength that surpasses imagination, it is their resilience that makes them difficult adversaries."

Letting the others talk, he focused on what that actually meant. Because feeling so much energy inside of him was, well, weird. There was a sort of sluggishness in his body. Not that he was moving slowly, per se, but there was almost a catch or hitch in each muscle. Standing up felt like he was almost moving through thick air. And his head actually started to hurt a bit.

'Like I've been staring at a screen for too long.'

Now that he had the opportunity to actually pay attention to things, he was able to really notice that it was really kinda strange.

"I'm using that word too much, but I wonder…."

The others turned to look at him, clearly interested in what he had to say.

"Ah, never mind." Issei rubbed the back of his head. "It's kind of dumb."

"Elder Brother should speak freely. Wisdom comes from many places."

"Well, uh, don't say I didn't warn you… but, you know, what if my boosts are a bit like Super Saiyan 2 was for Goku?"

The reactions were varied.

Yinghua looked confused. Kiba looked a bit amused! Koneko just looked disappointed. Aika, however, looked thoughtful.

"Huh. So you're saying your body just isn't used to being that strong?"

It must have been the same for the Monkey King he fought. He had a power that let him become much stronger and break out of the massive chunk of marble he threw at him despite being paralyzed and poisoned. It let him fight right up till the end too.

So if it was possible for something like that to exist, then the basics had to be the same for the Boosted Gear, right?

"I don't really get tired, and I can take a punch, well, a lot of punches. But Kiba said Campione don't get stuff like super strength naturally so maybe what is getting boosted are 'muscles' I can't exercise?"

Like when he had class with Amakasu, nothing he did seemed to tire him out or push his body.

Aika seemed to pick up on where he was going.

"So, because the Boosts make you stronger, they are pushing your body artificially. And since you aren't used to that, you start tiring out and hurting?"

Issei nodded with a smile, shooting the bespectacled girl a thumbs up.

"That's a terrible analogy though. You should have used the Kaioken."

Before promptly faceplanting.

"Really? Does that really matter?"

"Yes, if you're gonna use something as a reference you should use the most accurate one. Are you even a Dragon Ball fan, or just one of those tourists who don't read the manga and just watch the fights?"

He resembled that remark!

"What about you, huh? Since when are you a fan?"

"Issei, it's a story with shirtless, muscled men. Of course I'm a fan, just not for the same reason anyone else might be."

And like that, he wasn't invested in the conversation anymore. So instead he turned to the ever reliable Yinghua, who had been up until that point trading rude gestures with Koneko. Really, he thought the guy was more mature than that but maybe tugging on pigtails was something guys his age were prone to doing.

"You've been around my… Big Sister for a while, right? Did she ever mention anything about that?"

The young martial artist turned to him with a thoughtful frown.

"Unfortunately this Lu Yinghua wasn't born at the time where the Master obtained her Divine Might of Vajrapani. Though the family records indicate that the Sect Leader underwent arduous training when young. Perhaps her case is that her body was already suited for the vast increase of strength that the Authority provided and thus no period of acclimation was needed?"

So she was such a musclehead she preemptively did the training she didn't know she'd have to do.

Why wasn't he surprised?

"Gah. So that's the answer? Basic training?"

"It often is." Kiba admitted. "Still, I think Koneko is ready for round two. Are you?"

"Yeah!" Pumping his fist, running over to the taped line on the blue gym mat they were fighting on, he took a moment to stretch. "This feels weird, but as a Campione I've gotta be ready to look after the city at a moment's notice, right?"

The blonde swordsman nodded.

"Indeed. So… begin!"

Mid stretch, he squeaked as Koneko simply bounded forwards, arcing a single kick up and at his face. This time, however, something a bit odd happened. He dodged it. Or, rather, despite being notably slower than his opponent, who was much slower than the Knight of Gremory overseeing the match, he could just… stand up in time.

"Woah!"

"Good job."

His opponent's congratulations came with a straight jab to his stomach, bending him over, followed up with a powerful uppercut to the jaw. That, yes, sent him stumbling back, but didn't even hurt!

"Take this!"

So, off balance, figuring his enemy was about to follow through, Issei simply threw a sloppy, powerful right kick.

"Oof!"

Grunting as she grabbed his leg, the very loud smacking noise was almost surprising in its intensity.

"Are you ok!?"

Worried at the fact he might have hurt the small girl, Issei froze after his strike connected.

"Yes."

She planted her feet, grabbed Issei's calf with both hands, and then began spinning him around and around and around.

But, instead of throwing him, when his second leg lost contact with the mat, she grabbed that too. And then yanked him upwards, grabbed his ankles, and slammed him face down onto the mats.

Hard enough the gym floor under them cracked.

"What the Hell! Are they ok?"

"Ah, I see this viper is actually a python."

"I'm glad Akeno left me spell scrolls to fix this kind of thing…."

While the peanut gallery focused on Issei getting his butt whooped, he, gracefully, rolled out of the hole his face had made in the floor.

"Senpai."

She was squatting by him once again.

"Yes, Koneko?"

"Year head makes a good club."

"Thank you… I think?"

She just extended her hand.

"Ah, please don't throw me."

This time the stoic girl's facade broke just a little, the corner of her mouth twitching in amusement. And instead of showing off once more, she simply leaned over and patted the Campione's very sore noggin.

Did any of that hurt? No.

Was he still blushing? Absolutely.

[BOOST!]

Reaching up, he grabbed her arm and pulled the Rook down. Holding her tight, he wasn't really surprised she tried to toss him off.

Far more surprising was the fact that his grip wasn't broken!

Oh, she certainly nearly slipped out. But with his arms wrapped around her waist, Koneko couldn't just pry his arms away. So she tried flipping them. And when she did, the pair ended up easily half a dozen meters in the air, the ground under them cracked and splintered, and fell back to the ground with Issei's hold still secure on the squirming brawler.

He did, however, pull her above him.

That way he hit first and the pair bounced, rolled, and ended up next to the stands.

"My, my. Who knew Issei was into his… underclasswomen."

"Oi! Aika! It's not like that!"

"You say that. But I also don't see you letting go poor little Koneko~"

Reaching into a skirt pocket, glasses wearing witch pulled out a cellphone!

"Kiba, Yinghua, do something!"

Whining as Koneko continued trying to get free, now resorting to pressure points, joint strikes and just plain headbutting him with the back of her head, he just held on until she got tired.

Issei might not want to punch her hard enough to actually win, but he could still manage to at least claim victory in one match!

"Alright, alright. Issei, you win."

"Nuh uh! Kiba's gotta say it, not you Aika!"

That got him a chuckle.

"Indeed. Well done, Issei, you won a match."

Koneko, finally giving up, slumped in his arms, almost like Yoru when she wanted attention but wanted to act like she didn't. In fact, for some reason he half expected the white haired girl to start purring.

"Please let go, senpai."

"Most certainly!"

"You're lucky we're friends." Aika, who had taken her phone back out, just winked at him.

Yeah, yeah.

'Lucky' was a word for that, alright.

"Still, at least we now have an idea of how Issei's physical abilities improve with the Sacred Gear. Koneko is by far the strongest fighter we have. And as a Rook she is supposed to be very strong and resilient. The fact that it only took thirty seconds to overcome a trained rook's raw strength is… shocking."

Issei scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed at the compliment. Now if only it had come from a cute girl. And, well, he didn't want to be a jerk and say he didn't even need it to win.

They remembered how that first spar went.

And it wasn't like Issei felt like actually fighting with the Occult Research Club. They were nice to him, told him plenty of things he kinda needed to know, and let him come by to unwind or when he wanted to train or practice. He considered them friends, and there was no way he'd fight them the same way he fought Wukong or Luo Hao!

"One more."

The campione blinked, surprised.

"You sure?" Because as he was right now he felt it would be pretty unfair to fight her, even in a spar.

He just didn't feel like he could lose.

"Ready." Putting up her hands, the underclasswoman threw a few practice jabs, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Clearly she didn't feel the same way, yellow eyes following Issei's movements as he threw up a basic guard the way Yinghua taught him to.

He wasn't a martial artist by any stretch of the imagination, but even Issei knew how important it was to guard.

So when his junior charged in with a fist ready to clock him into next week, Issei returned the favor by throwing a punch of his own. Only for his vision to warp as the world accelerated around him, and the feeling of his gauntlet hitting the target barely registering in his mind.

In the second that followed, Koneko went flying through the air… and the wall of the gym with a startled gasp… all the while Issei looked down at his outstretched hand.

He didn't expect that.

"I… I… I… I didn't mean to…."

Yinghua and Kiba rushed to the collapsed section of wall.

"Holy shit, Koneko! Are you okay?" Putting the camera away, Aika ran up to the side of the gym, or, rather, the hole left behind in the shape of a school girl. There was a brief pause and the faint sound of plaster and concrete shifting around before a hand shot out of the rubble with a thumbs up.

"Senpai-" The girl's voice came out a little muffled, before rubble was shifted. "His hand is also a good club."

Sitting there, grinning like a loon, the white haired girl looked elated, even as she held the scraps of her top together. Yinghua, surprisingly, tugged off his jacket and handed it to the Rook, while Kiba just shook his head.

Issei himself let out a sigh of relief, before freezing in surprise and confusion.

There was blood on his face.

Not his hands, thank Pandora, but running down his nose and the corner of his mouth. The familiar metallic tang confirming that, yes, he very much might have overdone it this time.

"Ah… this isn't good."

"Huh?" Aika rushed over. "Holy crap, your eyes are bleeding!"

"Huh?"

Responding with as much eloquence, and as much confusion, as Aika had, he blinked, realizing there was a stinging sensation in his eyes. Something Issei hadn't felt since his fight with Wukong. And before that, something he hadn't felt since the fight with Dusa-chan and her sisters.

Mild pain.

"I-I guess they are? How did that happen?"

"Perhaps it is the power of the dragon, Elder Brother?" Yinghua calmly walked over, frowning ever so slightly, and placed his ear against Issei's chest. "Your heart is beating irregularly."

[BURST!]

Sagging, almost falling over, he was caught by the martial artist and Aika as the accumulated power instantly left him.

And the sensation of such strength disappearing was even more intense than each doubling. He was sluggish and weak, Issei's limbs felt heavy, his eyes had grown muddled, and everything else was less. Only now that it was gone did the young man realize his hearing and his smell and his taste and even the feeling of the air on his skin had been sharper, more intense!

He was… lesser. And cold.

"I'm ok. Just need a moment."

Waving the others off, and managing an apology bow to Koneko, the Campione muttered something about going to the nurse's office. And while he would normally be interested in the cute little kitten that popped out of a scroll Kiba had pulled out, he mostly ignored how they were already repairing the damage of the fight like it had never even happened at all.

[You just need to clear your head, partner. It's always like this. Eventually it won't be so disorienting.]

Ddraig, woken from his nap, rumbled out a few words before slipping back into sleep.

Leaving Issei to find his way on his own.

"You know, I don't think they meant it literally when they say you should hit on women to see if they are interested."

Issei groaned at the bad joke, shooting an annoyed glare at the twin tailed girl.

"Can you not? I already said it was an accident."

Aika, the ever present cat to the campione's canary, didn't seem deterred. Rather, the girl seemed to be amused by the whole thing, having offered to walk him to the infirmary after he admitted he didn't know where it was.

Don't blame him, he'd only been there once and he had way more on his mind!

"Right, pounding her through a wall was an accident."

Issei groaned in misery. Somewhere out there he just knew some god or another was laughing at him.

"Look, all I'm saying is that you hammered her. Just absolutely bent her over backwards, took her to pound town, slammed her as hard as you could, wrecked that-"

"Um, excuse me?"

Both teenagers turned to look at the strange girl who had suddenly approached the two.

"Yes? Who are you?" Issei was a bit surprised, but returned the greeting. "How can we help you?"

"Oh my! Are you ok?" Hand flying to her mouth, the girl, who wore a different uniform from Kuoh, seemed surprised at seeing Issei's injuries.

"Huh? This, yeah, no worries, just a little… accident."

"If you say so." Suddenly blushing, the girl seemed shy, shooting a glance at Aika. "Well, I suppose if you're ok… I am Yuuma! And I just wanted to say that I've always admired you!"

Rushing to get her words out, the cute girl, and Issei really did think she was cute, seemed to have put her heart into this confession. She was shorter than he was, but tall for a girl, with hair almost as silky as Akeno's. And, well, she had a good bit of plot going on. In other words, this was the sort of girl Issei would have died to have confessed to him just a few months ago.

"Ah, thank you, I'm flattered." But this wasn't a few months ago. In fact, just a few weeks ago he had gotten a very similar proposal from an actual goddess, which ended up with him being ambushed and chased all over the city. Maybe he was looking too much into this, but if his luck was anything to go by, the Campione wasn't willing to risk any dates.

For her sake, if not his.

"You see, I'm already taking Aika out this weekend. And it wouldn't be fair to lead two girls on."

"What are you-"

He elbowed his classmate in the ribs, hoping Yuuma hadn't noticed.

"We're going to the arcade, remember?"

"Oh, yeah." Suddenly far more casual, the brown haired girl wrapped her arms around his. "I'm sorry, Yuuma, but you were brave for confessing. Issei really is a catch. And he has a great big ol-"

Manifesting a bit of marble dust in Aika's great big ol' yapper, he tried to force a smile.

"I'm sorry. Thank you, again, it really is flattering. But I'm afraid I can't accept this."

Head bent, unwilling to look him in the eyes, Yuuma gave the pair a sharp nod and rushed off, but not before giving the other girl a not very pleased glare. Leaving him to sigh in frustration and feel like an absolute tool.

"Hey. Don't be like that." Once the girl was finally gone, Aika tightened her grip on the arm. "So… you wanna go out this weekend?"

"Yeah. If you promise it won't end with a death match."

"What about a love match - no. Wait. Sorry. Yes, Issei. I can't predict the future." Standing on her tiptoes, Aika pressed her lips to the corner of Issei's mouth. "But I do want to go out with you. Pick me up at six Friday night."

Well, it was a not-date. Hopefully the technicality would hold out. And he had to pretend like his cheeks weren't on fire from the peck.
In the end, the way to the infirmary was fairly short. Enough so that Issei made sure to note the turns just in case he needed to go back there again. The room was also blissfully empty, which meant he wouldn't have to explain all the blood on his face to a school nurse… or why he was at school way past class time.

That would have been awkward.

"Don't you feel weird?"

Issei looked up from the first aid kit he'd pulled from a drawer, confused at the sudden question.

"Weird how?"

"I mean, well, everything! This time last year you were just a normal guy, right? Wanting to study and get into the school of your dreams. Maybe get enough money for a new game. But here you're now, a magical super warrior that's in charge of fighting weird fake gods. Yet you don't really seem all that bothered. And then there are government secret agents and actual Devils attending the same school plus… whatever else is going on with the country."

Ah, so that's what she meant.

Stopping for a moment to think, he opted for the most direct and blunt answer he could give.

"I still don't know how to react. Some days I feel like people are walking around on eggshells, or don't know how to act around me. I think the other god slayers really scare them and I get why now. But it still feels…."

"Unfair?"

He nodded.

"Yeah. I'm not really annoyed since nobody has really done anything to mess around with my life here. So I don't see a point in making a big deal? They'll get used to me, or they won't, but I'm not gonna be any different just because they'd like it that way."

He got into Kuoh and he'd be staying there.

He was gonna have the school life he wanted. He was gonna be around the prettiest girls because he wanted to. And if Issei was lucky, he would actually make good on his dream now that he knew it was possible and not get ambushed in the middle of a date by another angry goddess.

Because he earned this.

"You have to be the weirdest pervert I have ever seen. How come you get to make all these inspirational speeches and all you think about is boobs?"
Issei laughed awkwardly.

"I can't help it. That's just how I am."

That was when he felt it.

The ground shook, the air shifted, a sudden chill raced down his spine as every inch of the Campione's body suddenly locked in place. And the sensation of excitement, of raw adrenaline pumped through his veins. Stopping in place, forcing himself to breathe slowly, it was all he could do to simply look around, attracting the attention of his classmate.

"Issei, what are you-"

"Something is happening. I can feel it."

"Is this a godslayer thing?" Aika stiffened besides him, suddenly looking around.

"From the gym!"

"Issei, wait, argh!"

Running off, pumping his legs, ignoring the cries of frustration behind him, the boy knew something big was near his friends, he didn't slow down.

No, instead he manifested marble platforms to violently change his direction, meaning he didn't have to slow down around the many corners. And, having to tuck and roll and bounce back up onto his feet at the gym entrance, he smashed through the doors with his shoulders only to stop as he was faced with a scene he wasn't expecting.

Xenovia, the strange blue haired girl that came with Irina to his house, and Kiba were both unconscious at the feet of a strange girl wearing a school uniform and with a sword in hand. A straight dark blade, about half as long as his weapon, with an ornate handle and a bandaged pommel. The weapon radiated a presence that had Issei's hair standing on end.

This person, whoever they were, was dangerous.

"What did you do to them!?"

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

One moment, he was ready to whack the person standing over his friend over the head, in the next she had already moved, the looming feeling of danger in Issei's stomach welled up as a shrill whistle pierced his ears and a blade split the air, his staff, and the sound barrier.

The booming force blew him backwards, unhurt but off balance as the Campione created another weapon and steadied himself into one of the stances the blonde boy taught him. However, in the back of his mind an alarm went off and his eyes widened in recognition.

Similar hair, similar face, maybe she didn't have the same assets, and the eyes were different but Issei could tell exactly who she was.

They had the exact same teasing smile.

"You're... Smith's daughter?"

The girl, who looked about as surprised he came through the doors as he was at her being there, quickly recovered. Blood red eyes gleaming in recognition as she turned to face him.

"Ah, Your Majesty! Good, this saves so much time!"

"Where are the others?" He couldn't help snapping. Yes, it was very rude, but he was upset, the naked sword she was holding in her hands made him want to punch it, and right now one of his friends was laid out at the feet of this girl. He wasn't… bleeding, and he was breathing.

So there was that.

"Oh, I've sent them to collect snacks while I practiced with Your Majesty's retainers. They seemed sorely in need of it!" She answered brightly, unbothered. Issei couldn't help but falter, his sense of danger stuttering at the sheer lack of enmity she projected, in complete contrast with the sense of danger coming off her sword.

That is when there was a loud groan.

And the whole gym shuddered, groaned, and simply… split as the light of the afternoon soon peeked through the wedge which had been carved through the ceiling. No, the cut was so flawlessly perfect that only dust rained on them as the two halves of the building groaned and pressed against one another.

Not that it bothered the dark haired girl as she simply flicked her wrist and the blade she bore dispersed the cloud of dust with a gust of wind before she turned to him with a winning smile. As if what she'd just done was the most natural thing in the world.

"President isn't gonna like this."

In fact, he was sure she would be infuriated. The dark haired girl, however, seemed unphased, if anything she looked rather disappointed as she wiped some leftover dust from her shoulder.

"Ena apologizes, I'll send the bill to the Committee so no worries there. We'll have this fixed in a jiffy!"

Issei didn't know whether to gape in astonishment or pinch his nose to stem the incoming migraine. Not at the strange sword or the conked out and groaning body of his friend on the floor. No, both seemed pretty small in comparison to the girl who had just slashed through the building with a smile on her face.

"So, do you like black or green tea? I think I saw a machine near the kitchen!"

In the end, he opted for gaping, realizing that the secret agent wasn't kidding about her daughter and that maybe, just maybe, Issei might have jinxed himself after all.