Issei's alarm went off, stirring him from his sleep. He tried to move his arm but found that something was holding it down. He groggily looked to his side to see what was holding his arm down only to see Mash there, asleep naked next him using his arm as a pillow. Issei immediately became awake at seeing her state, briefly wondering why she wasn't wearing anything. Then last night's events came rushing back to him.
I-I did it! I finally lost my virginity! Issei could barely contain his happiness, tears of happiness streamed down his face.
He felt like a new man and was thinking about what to do next. Next to him Mash stirred and he realized the alarm was still going off. With his free hand he turned off the alarm. He turned to look at Mash again and saw her resting peacefully on his arm. Her face looked so calm and happy. A small smile made its way to his face as he used his hand to brush some of her hair out of her face. He resolved himself again to do whatever it takes to protect her. Mash began to stir and slowly opened her eyes. She tiredly looked up at Issei who was smiling at her.
"Good morning Mashu. Did you sleep well?" He asked.
Mash sat up from her position and rubbed her eyes. "Yes, thank you for asking." She said tiredly.
She looked at Issei some more before she realized not only were they in the same bed but they were both naked. Her face went red and she hurriedly tried to figure out what was happening. Just like Issei, eventually the memories of the night before came back to her and she calmed down somewhat. She shyly looked at Issei. "How are you?" She said trying to make things less awkward.
Issei chuckled a bit. "I'm fine. More than that actually. I don't think I've ever felt this good in my entire life before." Issei was being completely honest and that made Mash blush more but smile happily. The moment was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Issei. Are you up? You need to get ready for school." Issei's mom said through the door before opening it and walking in. She stopped in front of the entrance when she saw her son and his girlfriend in bed together, clearly refreshed after doing the deed.
"G-Gorou! Issei's done it! He's finally done it!" Issei's mother yelled to her husband as she ran out of the room.
"Really! Does that mean we're finally going to have grandchildren?! It seems our time has finally come Miki!" Issei's father was also yelling in happiness.
Meanwhile Issei and Mash's faces were blushing like crazy from the pair's antics. "I'm sorry about them. Despite how much they love me, they didn't have much faith I would ever get with a girl due to my… preferences and personality around it." Issei said exasperated.
After he said that Mash recalled when Issei regained his memories he told her, Dr. Roman, and Da Vinci about who he was and what his life was like before he came to Chaldea, including his perverseness and how unashamed he was. Normally stuff like that would disgust Mash, it's the reason why she always gave a cold stare to Blackbeard whenever he started talking about his hobbies. But she couldn't bring herself to act that way towards her Senpai. They had simply been through too much together.
"It's f-fine. They were only worried about their son's future." She said with determined eyes.
"Y-yeah, well anyways we should get ready. I'll lead you to school so you know where to go."
As the two got ready for the day they checked in with Da Vinci about today's schedule. The Hyoudou couple were playfully teasing the two about their intimate night together while Issei's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. After having breakfast the two of them headed out. Issei, Mash, and Fou, who was on Mash's shoulder, were heading to Kuoh Academy walking closely together.
"So what are you going to do to pass the time?" Issei asked inquisitively.
"I'll probably walk around town and get more accustomed to it before meeting back up with you." Mash said thoughtfully.
"Sounds good, but be careful. That fallen is still around and she may have more allies, so keep your guard up." Issei warned.
"I will Senpai, don't worry."
As the two got closer to the school, students also on their way to school, noticed them. Almost all of them had looks of surprise on their faces. There were whispers of "No way! Is that what I think it is?!" "There's a girl actually hanging out with that pervert!" "I-Is that the girl who sent the love letter to Hyoudou the other day!" "Wait! So it wasn't a prank!" "Who would be crazy or desperate enough to wanna go out with Hyoudou!" "He must have done something to her! There's no way Hyoudou would actually attract a girl that cute." Just as usual, gossip spread like wildfire and got progressively more extreme and disturbing.
Issei scowled in annoyance at the other students' comments while Mash looked at him worriedly. She tried to think of what to do to make him feel better but before she knew it they were at the school gates. All the students were staring at the pair, like they were looking at some mythical animal. Issei turned to her. "We're here. So I will meet back up with you after class is over for the meeting. Enjoy yourself today." He did his best to not look perturbed.
"All right I will see you later Senpai." He was about to leave when Mash stopped him. "Oh Senpai, you forgot something." Issei turned around confused but was suddenly met with a kiss on the lips from Mash. Everyone there was stunned at the girl's action. Issei just absentmindedly put his fingers on his lips as he stared back at Mash. Mash gave Issei a beaming smile. "Have a good day, Senpai." And she walked off.
Issei stood there dazed for a bit before he finally came to his senses and understood something once again. I'm the luckiest person ever.
Naturally, the scene at the front gate led to a storm of questions and accusations from the other students. At the forefront of it all were his two friends, who were crying about the unfairness of it all.
"HOW! HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO DO IT?!" Matsuda wailed at him.
"DON'T TELL ME THAT LOVE LETTER TURNED OUT TO BE REAL!" Motohama cried.
""TELL US HOW YOU DID IT!"" They said to Issei simultaneously, while shaking him back and forth.
Issei was exasperated, not only from the students' interrogation of him all day but from his friends over reaction. Part of him wanted to tease them and rub it in their faces, but nothing came to mind that wouldn't simply be a straight insult. So he decided to be honest instead.
"There really isn't anything I can tell you to help. I just got really lucky with the girl in question." He said, smiling wryly. Depending on how you looked at it he got incredibly unlucky since the letter was a bait to try and kill him, but things worked out in the end. The perverted duo didn't buy it.
"C'mon man tell us your secret! If whatever you did worked on her it can work on other girls too!" Motohama begged.
"Yeah man, c'mon and share the wealth!" Matsuda asked.
The class gave the three a cold glare at their conversation. "Like anyone would want to date them." "I'm still convinced Hyoudou did something to that girl to make her do that." "Those two, seriously. Could they sink any lower?" Comments like that were being tossed around.
"Shut up! Nobody asked you!" Matsuda yelled at the peanut gallery. Issei would normally be annoyed by the class's gossip but he was too happy about Mash to care about anything at the moment.
"Man, you seem happy." Kiryuu came up to Issei's desk and talked to him.
"Can you blame me? I've never felt this good in my entire life."
"Well no, not really. So much for not having enough free time."
"Well, there were, extenuating circumstances. I'll tell you about it later." Issei whispered the last part to her.
Kiryuu gave him a nod and a perverted smile. "By the way. Good job on losing your virginity." Kiryuu casually said.
The class went dead silent at her words, unable to believe what just came out of her mouth. Issei did his best not to react. He knew that Kiryuu just set up a minefield for him and he had to do his best to not blow himself up. "What makes you think I lost my virginity?" He asked with as straight a face he could muster.
"Simple. Your entire posture and disposition has changed. You don't carry yourself like those two idiots do."
She was always so observant about these things, it was actually scary how good she was at it. "I've been different ever since I came back. I don't understand what you're implying." Part of Issei was genuinely curious about what she was picking out to find these things out.
"All right. Let's do it this way." She said mischievously. "Are you a virgin?"
"..."
Issei couldn't respond. He knew if he said yes he wouldn't be convincing at all, and if he said no then the class would go nuts. Damn you Kiryuu! Issei thought to himself.
Before anyone could say anything the teacher finally walked into the classroom and told everyone to go to their seats. Issei breathed a sigh of relief as classes started, but he knew that today's headaches were only just beginning.
(Meanwhile)
Mash was walking through town, exploring more of the sights and getting used to her new home away from home. She kissed Issei on impulse in order to brighten his mood, but maybe she just made a bigger headache for him by drawing so much attention. She frowned when she remembered how terribly the other students were to him. The rumors escalated to radical degrees just from her standing next to him. It's not fair! He has done so much for everyone without asking for anything in return and they treat him like some criminal! Mash was getting more worked up thinking about it but suddenly she was brought out of her thoughts by a communication coming in from Chaldea.
"Hey Mash. How are things going?" Da Vinci asked cheerfully. Her expression changed when she saw Mash looking down. "Did something happen?"
"I just came from Senpai's school."
"Oh? And how was your first visit to a normal school?"
"Well, I didn't see much. I just went up to the front gate with Senpai. The other students that saw us were so horrible to him. Some of them accused him of doing something to me to force me to be near him." Mash had angry tears in her eyes.
Da Vinci looked surprised, mostly at Mash's attitude but also at what she said. "Well high school can be a dangerous place in a different sense. One's social standing makes or breaks how much fun you'll have. Ritsuka-kun already told us that his reputation at school was low because he was open about his preferences, but by the look on your face it seems more serious than he let on." Mash looked down. She wanted to help but didn't know how.
"Well there isn't anything we can do about it right now. That's something that takes time to fix. On that note, I'm calling you to talk about your condition."
Mash looked up from her brooding to look at Da Vinci.
"While nothing seems to be wrong from my scans on you, we don't know how long you will be able to use your servant abilities. It could be a few hours or it could be permanent. Until I can bring you back for a proper examination there is no way to tell for sure."
Mash was worried about that. If her power failed her at a critical moment Ritsuka could be in danger. This needed to be solved ASAP.
"Be careful out there. You just need to last until the end of the day. Once the transport circle is set up we will be able to properly examine and treat you."
"Understood, I will do my best."
Da Vinci nodded in confirmation and ended the call. Mash continued to wander the town until the appointed time.
As classes came to an end Issei was waiting at his desk for Rias' subordinate to come pick him up. As he was waiting his phone rang. He dug it out of his pocket and answered.
"Hello?"
"How are you holding up Fujimaru-kun?" Asked Da Vinci.
"I'm fine. Why do you ask?"
"Mash told me about what happened this morning. I know you said you didn't have a good reputation but that was just harsh."
Issei made a sour face. "It's not necessarily an excuse but I'm used to it. High school is almost as dramatic as shows portray them to be, except there is no script to follow and no one is guaranteed a happy ending."
"You sound like a soldier who has seen too much on the battlefield."
Issei chuckled. " In a way I am."
Da Vinci chuckled as well.
"Anyways, I'm calling to reconfirm the monitoring of the meeting."
"Yeah, someone should be here to get me soon. Hopefully we'll learn about the state of things in more detail after today."
"I will also have some of your servants on standby in case things go south."
"Hopefully it won't get to that point. Rias-senpai is a more reasonable person than most others."
"If you say so. All right I will return to monitoring duty. Be careful."
With that the call ended. A few minutes later the class began to stir as someone entered the room. The prince of the school Kiba Yuuto walked in and immediately all the girls began squealing and asking to go out with him. Kiba scanned the room until he spotted Issei and began walking towards him. All the girls in the room started making horrified screams telling Kiba to stay away from Issei and that he would corrupt him. Matsuda and Motohama just hissed "Kiba!" as he got closer.
"Hyoudou-kun. Rias-buchou asked me to come pick you up for the meeting."
Issei got up and grabbed his bag. "All right, but we have to stop at the front gate first to pick up my friend." Kiba nodded and they both headed out while the class was in an uproar. As they were approaching the front gate they both noticed a commotion happening out front. Issei tried to focus on what was going on and immediately scowled. A couple of guys were hitting on Mash while she was waiting at the front gate. Issei let out a bit of killing intent before he was noticed by Mash. She immediately left the group of boys and walked right up to Issei and Kiba.
"Sorry for the wait, there wasn't any trouble was there?" Issei asked, trying his best not to be perturbed.
"No Senpai, I didn't have any trouble, people were just talking to me, that's all."
She did her best to try and calm his anger. The surroundings started to become noisy again so Kiba took that as their que to leave. "Now that we retrieved your friend, let's head to the meeting. Follow me please."
Kiba led the pair to the clubroom while the eyes of the other students were trained on them. Once they were out of sight of the other students, Issei told Mash to dawn her servant form. Mash complied and changed to her servant form and continued with Kiba. Eventually they make it to the clubroom. Kiba knocks on the door and Rias from the other side tells them to come in. Kiba opens the door and guides them inside. Issei looked around the room and saw Rias sitting at her desk, Akeno waiting loyally beside her, and Koneko who was munching on sweets. He expected to see them since they were with Rias when they confronted the fallen. Who he wasn't expecting to be there were the Student Council President Sona Shitori and the Vice President Tsubaki Shinra. He knew they were devils but wasn't expecting them to be a part of this meeting. Mash looked more on guard at the unexpected people. Rias and Sona took notice of this.
"My apologies Hyoudou-kun, I should have let you know that I was going to invite Sona beforehand." Rias apologized.
Sona pushed up her glasses and addressed the pair. "Since both Rias and I are the co-rulers of this territory we thought it would be more productive to have both of us talk to you so that we can be as clear as possible." Issei nodded in understanding and both he and Mash took a seat across from Koneko.
"Now then, since we're all settled, let's get this meeting underway." Sona began. "You know me as Sona Shitori but in actuality I am-"
"Let me guess. Your last name is actually Sitri?" Issei cut her off.
The devil's faces were full of surprise, Sona's especially. "H-how did you know?"
"It wasn't that hard. Once I knew you and Rias-senpai were devils and that Rias had the same last name as one of the 72 pillars, it wasn't hard to figure out you were using an alias." Issei said casually. "On that note I have two things to say about that. First, verrry creative with the name Sona-senpai." Issei said, his voice loaded with sarcasm. "Second, that name is just waiting for a degenerate to make fun of it. Just think about it." Sona wasn't happy with Issei's criticism, but when she thought about it, what he pointed out was very apparent.
"So you are aware of the 72 pillars?" Rias jumped in.
"Yes. Although most of my info comes from what I read in the Ars Goetia."
"The book of demonology. I didn't realize you were so well read." Said Sona.
"Well yeah. I made sure to do my homework once I became aware of the supernatural." Issei closed his eyes as he recalled what he read. "Gremory is a strong Duke of Hell who governs 26 legions of Demons. He tells all things past, present, and future about hidden treasures and procures the love of women, young and old, but especially maidens. He is depicted as a beautiful woman with the crown of a Duchess tied around his waist and riding a camel."
Tsubaki spoke for the first time, with interest. "Do you know the Sitri as well?" The queen didn't notice her king's silencing look.
Issei sat in thought trying to remember what he read again. "If I recall…. Sitri is a Great Prince of Hell, reigning over sixty legions of Demons. He causes men to love women and vice versa, and can cause people to bear themselves naked if desired. He is depicted with the face of a leopard and the wings of a griffin."
Everybody turned to see Sona, whose normally composed face was now incredibly flustered. Akeno was the first to say something. "Ara ara Kaichou, I didn't know your family had such a skill. Are you secretly a sadist that likes to make people expose themselves?" She said playfully.
"We're getting off track." Sona said, trying to change the subject. "So if you knew about us why didn't you approach us as we are the rulers of this territory?"
Issei made a slightly unpleasant face. "First, as far as I was aware this was a "human" town run by humans so I didn't see any need to approach someone who could potentially be an enemy." The devils didn't miss the subtle accusation in Issei's words. "Second, well it's more personal but, let's just say my last interaction with someone who shared a name with the demon god pillars nearly cost me my life."
The devils made complicated faces. So he's had an encounter with a pillar family before. And by the sound of it, it wasn't good. Rias and Sona both thought this. They could understand not being trusting of devils let alone those of pillar families.
"I'm sorry, but could you elaborate? As far as I know no pillar families have mentioned interacting with a human from our territory." Sona asked.
"Sorry, but I'm not sure I trust you enough to tell you that."
Sona looked sour at that.
"Putting that aside, I want to know what exactly makes this town "your" territory?" Issei's eyes narrowed.
Rias sat up and responded. "It isn't something official in the way you're thinking. As I'm sure you know, humanity at large does not know of the existence of the supernatural. So we don't own this location in the sense of a nation ruling the people. However the devils have purchased and developed a lot of this town, this school included. The territory claim is to try and keep other factions like the fallen angels out."
So much for that. Issei thought. "I see." He relaxed a bit.
It seems that if we're going to have a productive meeting we need to ease his worries about us first. Thought Rias. She turned to Issei's companion who had been silently watching and listening the entire time. "I'm sorry but we got interrupted at the beginning. I know Hyoudou-kun knows us but you don't, so why don't we do this properly. I am Rias Gremory and these are my servants, Akeno Himejima, Kiba Yuuto, and Koneko Toujou." The others nodded to Mash.
"And I, as you know by now, am Sona Sitri and this is my queen Tsubaki Shinra." Tsubaki did the same as the others.
Mash bowed her head. "It's nice to meet you all. I am Mash Kyrielight, Master's servant."
Akeno made a small smile. "Ufufu. Don't you mean girlfriend? The rumors about you spreading around school have been quite interesting." Akeno teased.
Both Issei and Mash's face turned to a small blush. Although a moment later Mash's face turned serious. "What kind of rumors?" Issei was surprised by Mash's expression.
Akeno tilted her head in thought. "Well, a lot of them aren't good to say the least, but we know it's all just baseless claims from jealous boys and over imaginative girls."
Mash seemed to frown at that. Issei, seeing her down, patted her back and gave her a grateful smile. "It can't be helped Mashu. Like I said before, even though I've changed, it doesn't erase the damaged reputation I had before."
Sona pushed her glasses up yet again. "Well, at least you seemed to have gained some awareness after your disappearance. I can't tell you how many complaints I get from the girls of the school about you and your friends' antics. Although nowadays I know that the complaints are mostly about your friends even though your name gets thrown in most of the time."
Issei let out an exasperated sigh, knowing all too well what the Kaichou was talking about. "I'm sorry Kaichou, both for before and for my friends' antics now." He said tiredly.
"As far as I'm concerned, you've learned your lesson so it's water under the bridge. Do try to reign your friends in though."
"That's impossible." He said with a straight face, surprising Sona. "Those two are hopelessly desperate, and as you're aware it has gotten me into more trouble than I could hope to prevent. Being their friend for so long I can honestly say that you would have a better chance of killing them than making them change their ways." There was an awkward silence in the room before Issei spoke up again. "All right I think that's enough small talk. Let's get down to business."
Sona straightened herself up and continued from where they left off. "So the reason you didn't approach us is because you didn't know if we could be trusted or not?" To Issei's nod of confirmation she continued. "Well be rest assured that as long as you don't present a threat to this town or the people in it we won't act against you."
Issei had a confused look on his face. He didn't expect to be accused of harming the town, but when he thought about it, it made sense from an outsider's perspective. "Then I guess we don't have any problems." He said nonchalantly.
"If you don't mind Hyoudou-kun, we would like to know what happened to you when you disappeared and if we are going to have to be on the lookout for other people disappearing too." Rias inquired.
Issei leaned back in his seat. "Sorry but that is classified information. As to your second inquiry, no, you won't have to worry about other people disappearing. What happened to me was an accident born of chance."
The pair of kings looked discerningly at the boy, unhappy that he wasn't willing to tell them anything. Although his wording caught their attention. Unlike before when he implied something more personal he went out of his way to say that what happened was classified information. It didn't feel like he was playing himself up just to sound cool, but that he was working for someone in which to keep their identity secret.
"We aren't going to have a productive conversation if you're unwilling to share information Hyoudou-kun." Sona stated.
"That's fair, so let's do this. We'll take turns sharing something we know with each other, and go from there." Issei proposed.
"That's fair." Said Rias. "Why don't we start with what you know about the supernatural, then we can fill in the blanks from there."
Issei nodded. "Well I know that you guys had a three way war with the Angels and Fallen Angels and that the original Maoh have died. I also know that you all aren't as bad as most scriptures portray you, despite my hesitancy towards you."
Rias nodded and began. "After the war Devil kind was devastated. Normal population growth was no longer a feasible option. Thankfully one of the current Maoh, Adjuka Beelzebub came up with a solution." She took out a crimson chess piece from her desk and set it on the table. "He had created the Evil Piece System, which allowed devils to reincarnate other beings into devils as well. This would simultaneously increase the devil population while giving high class devils a powerful subordinate."
Issei had a serious look on his face. "And the people who are reincarnated are okay with this?"
"I understand your worry Hyoudou-kun and I won't lie and say no one abuses this system, but neither Rias or myself would ever forcefully reincarnate someone, as there are benefits as well as risks to it." To Issei's inclination, Sona continued. "Beings who are resurrected will gain a benefit based on what piece is used as well as an extended lifespan, and if the reincarnated devil becomes strong enough they may go and start their own peerages. With that said if someone unruly were to become a devil and go rogue then that would be problematic. Devils who go rogue become strays and stray devils tend to become more monstrous in both nature and appearance. This is because their master is no longer able to monitor and control their power."
"Oh, so that's what I've been fighting for these past months." Issei seemed to realize something while hitting his palm with his fist. The devils were momentarily stunned at what he said but Rias seemed to understand what he meant.
"Wait! You were the one getting rid of the strays that were popping up in our territory the past few months!"
Sona seemed to be just as surprised. "So that was your doing! We thought that the strays escaped when they figured out we were on to their trail!"
Issei had a small smile on his face but before he could say anything Mash interrupted. "Master, you were fighting by yourself?" Mash's voice was filled with concern.
"Yeah I was. It was necessary for me to become stronger, so I went out and trained myself. Running into the strays was happenstance, but proved to be a great "boost" to my abilities." Mash chuckled at the pun Issei said while the others looked bewildered. This revelation had them reevaluate Issei's abilities. Now Rias wanted him in her peerage even more now. "I've relied on all of you for so long, I didn't want to just sit back when we reunited. Besides, I needed to make sure I survived long enough to meet you all again." Issei said to Mash with a smile.
While the two were having a moment Sona cleared her throat to get back on track. "In any case, this clears up some mysteries we've had for the past few months."
"In any case, Hyoudou-kun, I promise you the only time I would ever revive someone without their permission is if they were dead or dying and it was the only way to save them."
Issei stared at Rias a moment, then nodded. "All right, I'll trust you on this, but if I see someone doing such a thing against their will I will take matters into my own hands. Got it?" Both Rias and Sona nodded.
"All right, our turn. Why don't you tell us something about what happened to you?"
Issei gave Rias a sour look but thought about what he could say. "As I said it's classified."
"Surely there is something you can tell us that won't put your organization at risk."
"I didn't say anything about an organization."
"You didn't have to. Your wording for that as compared to before told us all we needed to know." Sona said.
Issei had a troubled look. I messed up. He thought to himself. Trying to think of something to talk about. He finally came up with something since it was going to be a part of a favor he was going to ask them at the end. "Alright, since you've told me about devil servants it should be fair for me to tell you about my servants." He said with a smile. Mash had a look of surprise on her face, not expecting her Master to speak about something so vital.
Rias smiled. "Yes, that's fine. I have been wondering about her ever since you made her appear against the fallen."
"Also, did you say servants, plural?" Asked Sona.
"I did. Mash is my main servant but I have many others whom I can call upon." Issei took a moment then began his explanation. "I don't know the specifics of how the summoning works but essentially the summoning spell I use allows me to summon beings of great power who have left their mark on the world."
"By mark, do you mean that they are famous?" Asked Sona.
"Yes, but that is not the whole of it. While most servants are famous beings from history there are exceptions, like Mashu next to me." Issei lifted his hand gesturing to Mash. "Mashu is a Demi-Servant. Basically she is a human who was granted power by a heroic spirit who merged with her soul."
The devils in the room were astonished and were now looking at Mash with great interest.
"I know you said you don't know the specifics but do you know how to summon someone in particular?" Asked Rias.
Issei folded his arms and tilted his head. "Well I'm only aware of two methods of summoning. The way I use, unfortunately gives me no control over who I summon unless it is someone I've summoned before. The other method can summon a specific servant, but requires a catalyst that is in some way connected to that servant. The detail I'm missing, for your information, is the construction of the magic circle that is necessary for summoning the servant with all the things it needs to maintain its existence."
The kings nodded in understanding and were grateful for the info.
"Now then before it gets too late we should move to the main topic." Issei said, trying to move things forward. "Why did the fallen attack me?"
Rias readjusted herself and answered. "She said something about a Sacred Gear. Do you know what she was referring to?"
Issei was silent, debating if he should say anything about his Gear. He decided he should. "Yes I am aware. During my time away my Gear awakened. I don't see what that has to do with anything. As far as I was aware, Sacred Gears are common enough where going out your way to kill someone with one wouldn't be necessary, right?"
Sona eyed Hyoudou. "That depends on what Sacred Gear you have." She gave a look implying her question.
"Sorry, but again I'm not sure I'm ready to trust you with that information. While we agreed not to be hostile to each other I would rather keep my cards to myself. If you want to know then prove I can trust you." He said uncaringly.
"What would we have to do?" Rias asked.
"It isn't something that's going to be given just by doing one thing. Trust is built over time." The redhead looked somewhat down. "If you want to start, how about we talk about how to deal with the fallen first."
Rias perked up at this. "Then, how about you become a member of my peerage?"
"No." Issei said flatly.
Rias slightly pouted. "Why not? It's not like there is nothing in it for you. Not only would you get the strength of whatever piece I use on you as well as an extended lifespan but it would also help with your dream."
"My dream?" Issei was completely lost.
"Don't you still want to be a Harem King?"
Issei was silent for a while, his expression was blank. Rias thought that she got him with that, showing a small smile. Mash seemed like she wanted to protest. Suddenly there was a powerful aura emanating from Issei.
"I just got attacked by someone who preyed on my desires. And you try to bribe me using the same method?" His voice was low but conveyed how unhappy he was.
Oh shit! I stepped on a landmine! Rias cursed herself for how reckless she was and her smile disappeared. She let her desperation for trying to find solutions to get out of her engagement cloud her judgment.
"I-I'm sorry Hyoudou-kun. That was thoughtless of me." She hurriedly said.
Issei continued to glare at her for a bit before he took a deep breath. "The answer is no. As you already figured out I'm working for someone already so becoming a devil would just complicate my allegiances. That aside, there is another reason I can't become your servant."
Rias looked despondent but curious. "And why is that?"
"Because I have my pride as a Master. I have recruited many beings under me and they have been with me through so much. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say I owe them my life many times over. What would it say about me if the person they chose to follow and believe in became subservient to another. In a way, it is like undermining their trust in me. It tells them that they put their faith in someone who is unsure in their own decisions. That is not something I want them to believe." He paused and with power behind his eyes looked Rias directly in her eyes. "My life is no longer mine to throw away. There are too many others counting on me."
Rias and Sona stared at Issei in amazement. They never expected something like this from him. It expressed more eloquently than anything how much his time away affected him, and how much it matters to him. They would be lying if they said that they didn't gain more respect for him, both being masters themselves.
Rias had recollected herself and addressed Issei once again. "I'm sorry again Hyoudou-kun, that was thoughtless of me. I shouldn't be using your plight to try and gain a new piece."
"Especially since you went through the effort to try and be the good guy about never gaining servants against their will." Mash chided.
Rias looked ashamed, while Issei looked surprised at how Mash just acted. She was normally a calm person but ever since they reunited she has been more impulsive and emotional when it came to him. Mash was radiating a quiet anger until Fou appeared on her shoulder and started rubbing up against her face. That had seemed to calm her down. Nice job Fou!
"What creature is that?" Asked Sona.
"This is Fou. He has also been with us throughout our journeys. As for what he is… We don't actually know." Issei said sheepishly. The devils were now looking at the unknown creature with great interest. Fou, uncaring of the attention he was getting, flew off Mash's shoulder and landed on Issei's.
"Is he your Familiar?" Sona asked.
"No. He doesn't belong to anyone, he just lives at my organization." Issei tilted his head. "Although if I remember correctly he used to be Merlin's Familiar."
The devils' jaws dropped at the revelation. "Merlin as in the Mage that served King Arthur Merlin!?"
"Y-yeah, that's the one." Issei said awkwardly. "After he was trapped in Avalon he released Fou so that he wouldn't have to be trapped with him."
Rias looked at Issei with a serious look. "Avalon is a real place?"
"Yes it's a real place. Many of my servants can vouch for that."
Sona stared at Issei a bit longer before speaking. "We really need to stop going on these tangents. We should finish discussing the fallen and how to deal with her and any associates she may have." Everyone readjusted themselves and got back on track.
"I don't need any protection. I have my servants as well as my own abilities for that. What I want to discuss is locating them and putting a stop to them. Walking around with a big target on my back isn't exactly what I call an enjoyable time."
"We will do our best to gather information and will share it with you when we come across it. We would like you to do the same as well." Said Rias.
"Even if you are the target, things that happen in this town are of concern to us as well so if you come across something we would like to be informed as well." Said Sona.
"I will do so unless what is happening is time sensitive." Issei agreed.
Rias nodded. "Is there anything else that we need to discuss?"
"Well, I actually have a request since you are in charge of the school." The devils looked at him with curiosity. "I would like Mashu to enroll in the school and be part of my class." Mash had a surprised look on her face. She wasn't expecting her Master to make that request.
Sona leaned forward. "That can be arranged but we're going to need your information Ms. Kyrielight."
"That would be problematic." Issei said awkwardly. The devils were confused so he elaborated. "Mashu technically comes from the future." The devils had stunned looks on their faces. "Mashu was born in the year 2000, and she is currently 16. Seeing how it is 2008 using her actual birth date would be, problematic."
Rias was still contemplating that Mash was from the future but managed to get out a question. "She's from the future?"
Issei gave a tired look. "It's complicated and could be a whole 'nother conversation by itself. Besides, it shouldn't be that surprising considering I summon beings from the past, getting one from the future every now and then shouldn't be that much of a stretch." They could only accept what he said since they don't know how his summoning works.
Sona regained her equilibrium. "Well in that case it will take a bit to create some documents for her. Give us a day to make the necessary arrangements and we should have her in school the day after tomorrow."
Issei had a bright smile on his face. "Thank you Kaichou. I really appreciate it." He turned to Mash. "Now you get to experience a normal school life, just like you wanted."
"You remembered." Mash said with happiness in her voice.
"Of course I did. There were so many things you said you wanted to experience that you never got to, so I'm going to help you." He said determined.
The two were having another moment (this seems to be happening a lot) when Rias cleared her throat. "Anything else?"
"Oh right, I will be having my servants roaming the town both to investigate and protect the town. A bunch of them are probably gonna want to blow off some steam too so letting them have some fun in town shouldn't be too bad."
Both Rias and Sona nodded in agreement. "As long as they don't cause trouble it should be fine."
Issei had a troubled look on his face. "I will tell them but… I apologize beforehand if something happens. Some of my servants have… eccentric personalities." He seemed to remember something else. "One last thing, does this mean your bat is gonna stop following me?"
Rias seemed surprised. "You knew about my Familiar?"
"I did. It's been following me since my return and it was there when I was attacked which is why I didn't fight back properly, and since you arrived not long after, it wasn't hard to figure out that it was watching me for you."
At this point Rias had gotten tired of being surprised. "I really underestimated you. If I had done things wrong you probably would have become an enemy." She said self deprecating, which surprised her peerage. "Yes, now that we've interacted and you are aware of us I will stop having it follow you."
"Thank you." Issei smiled. "Well I believe we have covered everything, so I think we're done here. Oh! Right, we should exchange contact info so we can connect with each other whenever it is necessary." They agreed and exchanged contacts. "Now that that's done I will see you all tomorrow. Have a good night."
Issei and Mash got up and left the clubroom. After some time the devils let out a sigh of relief and began to go over the meeting.
"Well, I would say that was successful but not as fruitful as we intended." Said Sona.
"Yeah. While we have a better understanding of his abilities we don't know much about what happened or who he is working for." Rias summarized.
"He has definitely become smarter than how he was before, and his power is nothing to scoff at either." Akeno added, a noticeable blush on her face.
"At the very least we know he is stronger than us, but the scope of that is still unknown. We also know he has access to his Sacred Gear but we don't know what it is yet as well as unknown servants of various abilities. We should probably try to figure that out on our own." Sona suggested.
"No, we shouldn't. If we go snooping and he finds out we will lose what little trust we were able to gain from him. Even though it's disadvantageous for us we have to leave him be until he is ready to talk to us." Stated Rias.
Sona frowned. "I don't like it but you're right. Still we need to keep an eye on him, as well as his servants that will be coming into town."
"I'll watch him. I need to make up for my mistake with him, and besides it is more or less well known he has a crush on me, plus he didn't deny wanting a harem." Everyone realized when Rias pointed it out and what she was driving at.
"So you still plan on recruiting him into your peerage, despite what he said?"
"Yes. Even though I understand his points and even respect him for his dedication to being a Master, having him on my side is not only too good to pass up for the long term, having that power to fight against Riser would be a great boon."
"I see. Well that is up to you, but don't let desperation get the better of you again or you might permanently lose your chance." Rias had a somewhat downcast look on her face when Sona told her that. "In any case, I should head to my office to begin the process of making documents for Ms. Kyrielight, since doing them favors will help get us on their good side. I will see you all tomorrow." Sona nodded to Rias and Tsubaki bowed as they left the room.
Akeno looked to Rias and asked what was on everyone's mind. "So, what are you going to do?"
Issei and Mash were walking back home mulling over the information they received from the meeting. They were holding off talking about it until they got home so that they could discuss it with Da Vinci and Issei's parents. They walked in silence for a while before Mash wrapped herself around Issei's arm.
"Thank you again Senpai. For giving me this chance." Mash said happily.
"It's no problem Mashu. Like I said, I wanted to give you the chance to experience all the things you missed out on and want to experience." Issei gave a slightly sad look while looking forward. "Although if you want to have a normal school experience then you should probably avoid hanging out with me."
"I refuse!" She said sternly. Issei was shaken a bit by her statement. "You're the one I care about Senpai! It doesn't matter what the other kids say, I will stay with you! You're my boyfriend." Mash was passionate about what she was saying, but lost steam at the end due to embarrassment.
Issei gave her a gentle smile then looked forward again. "Hey. When it's just the two of us, you can call me Ritsuka." Mash had a surprised look on her face and was blushing intensely. "Although now that I say that it just occurs to me that you're going to have to call me Issei while we're in school."
When he said that it had just occurred to Mash as well. She had never called him that even after he regained his memory, so this was going to be her first time. She thought she might be able to get away with calling him Senpai but it wouldn't make sense for someone who is in the same grade.
"I will do my best… R-Ritsuka." She stumbled when she tried to call him by name.
Issei found it adorable and chuckled, a warm feeling filling him. "Let's hurry back home."
When the pair got back home they immediately gathered the residents and contacted Da Vinci to discuss future plans.
"Everything seemed to have gone very smoothly." Da Vinci praised. "You did a great job of giving information without really giving information."
"Yes well, they were the ones who were appealing to me. It was clear they wanted something from me, especially Gremory-senpai."
"It seemed like she was desperate to get you as her piece." Commented Mash.
"Right and it almost cost her. I don't think I've ever seen you so mad before Fujimaru-kun."
Issei's parents were concerned about their son being made upset. "What did they do to upset you?" Issei's mom asked.
"They tried to use my desires to recruit me, despite the fact that we had that meeting because that fallen used my desires to try and assassinate me." His unpleasant feeling was returning just thinking about it.
The parents nodded their heads in understanding. They would be upset too if someone tried to use their desires against them too.
"In any case, we now have a ceasefire with the devils as well as a cooperation pact for the defense of this town. Having the servants able to roam the town will make things easier on us too. On the topic of servants…" Da Vinci gave a happy smile to Issei. "Your speech to the devils about being a Master was really touching. The servants that were watching seemed to have gained a greater respect for you, and I didn't think some of them could care about you more."
Issei had an embarrassed look on his face. He had forgotten that they were being watched half the time during the meeting. "Yeah well, I meant what I said. Even if it was accidental, I take my responsibility as a Master seriously." Issei stated seriously.
"And we are thankful for that. It isn't exactly an enviable position considering what the circumstances were." Da Vinci had a somewhat sad look on her face.
"It's fine. Even if I knew what was gonna happen beforehand I would do it all again. So don't worry about it."
"You really know how to cheer someone up Fujimaru-kun. Well, enough with the depressing stuff. Let's talk about what's next." Da Vinci readjusted herself. "The transport circle has been finished for transporting servants and materials currently, which means we can now go to and from Chaldea and your house. It will take some more time for us to adjust it so you can return to Chaldea as well. In the meantime I need Mash to come back immediately for an examination. We need to confirm her condition since it was the first time she was summoned like a normal servant. In the meantime we will have some other servants come over and watch over your safety. The ones you requested are all ready to go, as well as some others who really wish to see you."
Issei's parents shifted awkwardly in their seats. "Are we gonna have enough room for all of them?" Issei's father asked.
Da Vinci laughed and comforted the parents. "There is no need to worry. The servants can transform into magic particles and stay in that form when they're not active. They can't be seen normally and don't affect anything around them so it shouldn't be a problem." The parents had a relieved look on their faces. "On that note Martha, Raikou, Boudica, and Jeanne really want to see you again." Da Vinci made a wry smile. "It seems like their motherly and sisterly instincts kicked back in once we were able to contact you. Aren't you lucky."
Issei had an embarrassed look on his face while his parents also had wry smiles. "Ara, am I going to have more children and sister in laws?" Issei's mother teased.
"You did always say you were going to get a harem someday, seems you were doing well while you were away." His father teased.
"I didn't have that kind of intention while I was there! I lost my memory, remember!" Issei vehemently defended himself.
"Yet you didn't deny wanting a harem when he said it. You didn't deny it when the devils brought it up either." Da Vinci decided to stir the pot more.
Issei was silent. He couldn't talk his way out of this one so he just shut up. Mash wanted to comfort him but she had conflicted feelings about her Senpai's desires.
"Well in any case everything should be set up for now. We will try to keep up our support for you as long as possible."
Issei had a sad look on his face. "Right. This is only going to last as long as you're in command." He looked despondent.
The parents were confused. "Why wouldn't Da Vinci-chan be in charge?" Issei's mom asked.
"I am only in charge because the previous two Directors died and I had the highest rank in Chaldea after them. Since the previous crisis has passed the Mage's Association has to investigate the incident as well as choose what is going to happen to Chaldea now that we are technically leaderless."
"I know that it's just politics but it is absurd that the people whose lives we saved think we are some kind of danger."
"Well there is nothing we can do about it. They have assets attached to Chaldea, since Olga died they make the rules in terms of what happens to it."
Issei couldn't really accept it still after everything they went through. Then he hit upon an idea. "But those rules only really apply to your world. It would be different if you could become self-sustaining in a place where they have no jurisdiction." He said with a slightly mischievous look.
Da Vinci had a look of surprise but quickly got a mischievous smile of her own seeing where Issei was driving at. "We would have to play it properly but what you say is true. I think we should get a handle on your own situation first before we make any big moves but well, maybe we can get support from one of the factions in your world." Everyone had a confident smile on their face. "Not only would we be able to act more freely but we would be in a world with real magic, something that mages all over the world have been working themselves to the bone to get their hands on."
"I guess that means I'm going to have to work to get on the devils' good side if I'm going to help everyone." Issei said with determination.
"All right, everything has been covered so we should begin the transferring process. Mash will come back to Chaldea and the servants will be transferred to your location."
Everyone nodded in agreement and began doing their jobs. Mash had left for the night and the servants got transferred and introduced themselves to Issei's parents. Martha, Boudica, Raikou, and Jeanne hit it off with the pair and Jack was loved immediately by his mom. After that everyone got settled for the night.
(Back in Chaldea)
"Everything seems fine for now but we still don't know the status of your condition." Da Vinci said. "It should be fine for you to fight while you're with Ritsuka in his town but we are going to have you refrain from going into any Singularities for the time being."
"Why can't I go?" Mash seemed upset about not being able to travel with her Senpai.
"Because we can't immediately retrieve you if something happens in a Singularity. At least at his home you can come and go to Chaldea whenever it becomes necessary."
"... I see…" Mash understood but didn't want to accept it.
"It's fine, it's not like you can't help still. I will have you help monitor Ritsuka as to make sure he is stable during his missions." It wasn't the best solution but it was better than doing nothing. "All right, time to do some last check ups and then you can go back home to your lover." Da Vinci teased. Mash's face went into an intense blush as Da Vinci chuckled.
(At Kuoh Academy)
Issei was getting ready to leave for the day when he was stopped by Sona. "Hyoudou-kun, I have set up your request. Here, take these with you and deliver them to Ms. Kyrielight, she is set to start tomorrow."
"Thank you Kaichou. I will make sure to let her know. She will be very happy, she never went to school before and she's always wanted to experience it."
"You mentioned that before. How was she educated?"
"I guess you could call it homeschooling, but well she didn't really need to learn anything about the world besides history and things that she was interested in. So in a way she is really smart in the topics she knows but is average in every other subject."
"I see. Well I'm sure she will become a good student. She definitely seems diligent enough. Well I have to get back to my duties. Have a good evening."
"Same to you Kaichou."
Issei left and started heading home. On his way back someone called out to him.
"Hey Issei!" Called out Kiryuu. Issei turned around and saw the female pervert running to him. "What was all that with the Kaichou earlier?"
Apparently she saw Issei's talk earlier and wanted to know what was going on. "Right, I suppose you are due for an update. A lot has happened in the past few days and it's a bit much to explain here. Follow me and we'll talk at my place."
Kiryuu had a mischievous smile on her face. "My, how bold of you to bring an innocent girl like me to your house. I hope you weren't planning on anything to happen." She teased.
Issei decided to tease her back. "Only if you want it to." He said playfully. "I'm sure it would be a wild experience for both of us." He gave her a mischievous look of his own but it went away when he saw something he wasn't expecting. Kiryuu was blushing like crazy. Apparently while she was good at teasing others she was weak when she herself was teased. Issei was surprised to see this side of her who usually was more composed.
They walked in awkward silence for a bit before Kiryuu spoke again. "So am I going to meet the girl you managed to hook up with?"
Issei gave her a side glance. "Maybe if she comes back from her checkup soon."
Kiryuu gave him a concerned look. "Is she ok?"
"It's nothing serious. Mashu has a special constitution so she needs to be examined in order to make sure nothing is wrong. It's the same as an annual checkup, she just needs it more often." Issei comforted.
"So her name is Mashu huh?" Kiryuu said, this being the first time she heard her name.
Before they knew it they were at Issei's home. Issei opened the door and Kiryuu followed him in. "Kaa-san, Tou-san, I'm home and I brought Kiryuu over!" Issei yelled to his parents.
There was stirring in the house as the parents came to greet them followed by Raikou. "Welcome back Issei. It's nice to see you again, Kiryuu-chan." Issei's mom greeted them.
"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Hyoudou it's nice to see you again." She looked at the woman behind them. "I'm sorry Miss but who are you? Oh! I'm Aika Kiryuu by the way." She asked politely.
The woman looked at Issei and he gave a nod in affirmation. "Ara ara, I am Master's servant. My name is Minamoto no Raikou but you may call me Raikou." She introduced herself with a bow.
Kiryuu had her eyes wide open at who she was talking to. "Raikou as in the famous one from Japanese mythology!? That Raikou!?" She couldn't hide her shock.
Issei chuckled. "Yeah, like I said there is a lot to catch you up on." They moved into the living room and Issei explained what happened over the past few days, from the love letter to the meeting with the devils. Kiryuu took all this in and was trying to decide what to talk about first.
"So what are you going to do now? You have essentially been given free reign in the town and you have a super powered army at your beck and call that I don't think even the military could stop."
"What do you take me for? It's not like I'm going to take over the world. If anything I plan on strengthening the defenses of this town as well as dealing with the current unwanted visitors."
"Right, the Fallen Angels." She had a sad look on her face. "I'm sorry you had to go through that Hyoudou."
"It's fine. It's not like you were the one who caused it. In the end it all worked out for the better."
"Still, I don't know whether or not you are incredibly lucky or incredibly unlucky."
"Yeah I'm beginning to wonder about that myself." Issei had a self-deprecating smile on. He then looked to the others in the room. "Has Mashu come back yet?"
"Not yet, but it shouldn't be long before she returns." Answered Raikou.
Issei looked a little disappointed but was brought out of it by Kiryuu who had a question he was quite used to. "Excuse me, but I thought Raikou was a man not a woman."
Issei had a wry smile on his face. "The place I was summoned to was a parallel earth with a slightly different history. All the myths and legends are the same, even to the point where those figures are portrayed as the same genders they are in ours. But as I've learned from summoning them, a lot of them were either misrepresented or were hiding their gender for the sake of accomplishing their goals."
Kiryuu could only take his word for it, not that she was complaining. "Well at least you get work with people who have a good body. It must be heaven for you." She teased.
Issei wanted to respond but Raikou spoke first. "Ara ara, I hold great love for Master. He has worked diligently to help others and has asked for nothing in return, so I will devote myself to him until his final days." She said unashamedly. Issei had an intense blush on his face while Kiryuu had a shit eating grin on hers.
"Uhm… Am I interrupting something?" A voice came from the living room doorway.
When everyone looked over they saw Mash standing there. Issei got up, positively beaming and went over to her. "You're back. How did it go?"
"Everything seems fine for now but I need to check in every now and then to make sure I stay stable."
"As long as you're ok that's fine with me." They smiled at each other for a while.
"Get a room you two." Kiryuu commented. The two snapped out of it and had embarrassed looks on their faces. Kiryuu got up from her seat and walked over to them, giving Mash a once over. Mash looked confused and slightly uncomfortable from her gaze but shortly after Kiryuu held out her hand and introduced herself. "Hello. My name is Aika Kiryuu. I'm Issei's classmate."
Mash took her hand and shook it. "I'm Mash Kyrielight. I'm Senpai's girlfriend."
"Don't you mean servant." She said teasingly.
Mash had a surprised look on her face and turned to Issei who gave her an affirming nod. "It's fine she knows about what happened to me." He told her.
Kiryuu realized her joke caused her to be concerned instead of lighten up so she corrected herself. "Sorry, I was just teasing you, I didn't mean to alarm you."
Mash seemed to calm down after that. She then had a question for her. "What are you to Senpai?"
Kiryuu had a befuddled look on her face, not expecting the question. Mash was staring at her with a serious look. Her first instinct was to make a joke but she held back and answered honestly. "I'm his friend. One of three, and the best of them if I may brag." She said while puffing out her chest.
Issei chuckled and commented. "Not exactly a hard thing to do when your only competition are two idiots."
"Hey, you're the one who is friends with said idiots."
"Touché."
While the two were exchanging "witty" banter everyone else in the room was looking at them with smiles on their faces. Mash seemed to have come to an understanding and relaxed. It was then that Issei remembered something.
"Oh right, before I forget. Mashu, I have your school uniform and the materials you'll need for the classes." He handed over the things that Kaichou gave him to Mash.
"Is that what you were talking to Sona-Kaichou about?" Kiryuu asked.
"Yeah. It was about enrolling Mashu into our school. Starting tomorrow she will be a part of our class."
Kiryuu had a smile on her face. "I can't wait to see everyone's reaction when they find out she's your girlfriend."
Issei had a cold sweat going down his face. He was happy that Mash would be in school with him but that meant that the rumors are gonna fly across the whole school. Not to mention the two idiots are gonna hound him about getting with girls more than before. Mash had a concerned look on her face at seeing Issei's reaction.
"Maybe this was a bad idea." She said somewhat dejectedly.
Issei immediately recomposed himself and looked straight at Mash. "No. It's fine. Like you said before, what they say doesn't matter. As long as I have those who do understand then it's all worth it." He said with conviction that not even he knew where it came from.
"Well, let's leave that for tomorrow. Dinner is almost ready." Issei's mom interrupted.
Issei looked at her and had a small smile. "Sounds good. We should eat before going out tonight."
"Oh… You're still going out at night?" Issei's mom said with a bit of sadness in her voice.
Issei had a sad smile on his face. He didn't like worrying her but this was still necessary for him to do. "Yes Kaa-san, I still have to train and get stronger. Just because I got my reliable companions back doesn't mean I can sit back and leave it all to them. At least I won't be going out on my own now, so there is no need to worry as much." He did his best to comfort her.
Mash was looking between the two in concern but then spoke to Issei's mom. "Don't worry Kaa-san, I will make sure to keep Senpai safe." She said with determination.
Issei's mom was surprised by her statement but was happy both for her words and for being called Kaa-san. "I'm thankful Mashu. Please take care of my troublesome son while he is out there."
Mash gave a thumbs up. "You can leave it to me."
After that they all went to have dinner. Kiryuu stayed for dinner as well before leaving. Mash moved her stuff into her room and she and Issei went out for the night.
While they were out on the town Mash had a question. "Senpai, why are we doing this at night?"
"Mostly out of habit. When I was being spied on by the devils this was the only time they weren't watching me. But that's no longer an issue so it's mostly out of habit." He paused a bit before he continued. "The other reason is because, like what was mentioned in the meeting yesterday, I would occasionally run into trouble at night from strays and other creatures of the night. Supernatural creatures tend to be more active at night and they make for good training."
Mash had a concerned look on her face remembering that Issei had been fighting by himself for months trying to get stronger. Putting himself in harm's way in order to, in his eyes, walk beside her and the other servants.
"Oh that's right I haven't introduced you to him yet!" Issei seemed to say out of the blue. Mash looked at him confused while he created a magic circle. From the magic circle a bright light shone and from that light a large wolf appeared, surprising Mash. "Mashu, this is Roman, my direwolf." He knelt down and started scratching him behind his ears which he clearly enjoyed since his tail was wagging.
Mash looked at the two. "You named him after the doctor?" She had a sad smile on her face.
"Yeah. It just seemed right at the time." He also had a sad smile.
"I'm sure he would be flattered."
"I'm sure he would comment something like "So you think I'm like a dog huh?" or something like that." He said with a wry smile.
The two shared a laugh, then Issei stood up. "Ok time to do some training, let's go you two."
"Understood!" "Rowr!" Both Mash and Roman gave him an affirmative and went on into the night.
Ok, so I was really proud of this chapter when I wrote it because I felt it was more like real conversation rather than just an info dump or simply something that progresses the plot. Also Issei won't be a servant in this series but I have ideas for how he will integrate himself into certain plot points where he wouldn't be there otherwise. Also last time I made a comment about power scaling the fate characters to the DxD ones and after reading one of the comments I realized something I didn't think of before. The DxD world would be more rich with Mana which means the servants would be even stronger than in their own original universe meaning it might take even longer for the DxD characters to catch up. But since Issei won't be a devil that means he misses out on the benefits he got with that, which for those of you who knows what happens later on will realize that this means big changes to some of his power set later on. I won't spoil what but I hope you look forward to it. P.S. For those of you asking for lemon scenes, I'm not confident in my ability to write a scene although I have considered it. If I do write scenes for it I will make those scenes in a separate story because I don't want to get distracted from the main story by putting it in the middle somewhere. Just know that I imply it happens and I will leave it up to your imaginations. ; )