"So, how was vacation at your grandparents' house?" Irina asked as she and Issei walked through the school's front gate, the two having already waved at their mothers that were leaving before Issei shrugged.

"Eh, it was cool. Gramps and I mostly hung out the most with Dad joining our little adventures a few times when he wasn't busy talking with Mom and Grandma."

"Wait, adventures? You went on adventures without me?"

"Not because I wanted to. I was bored and Gramps wanted to hang out with me so I just said yes. Anyway, how was your vacation? Did you guys go to that church like you said?"

"Ooh~ The Harajuku Church? It was amazing~! There were so many people waiting in line and when we finally got into the building, Dad got recognized by the leader there so we got to see him deliver a sermon! Oh, we also went to this cute shop near the Shibuya crossing and I got this nice Yokai Hunter Keychain."

"Wait, you went to Manganime Central?" Issei asked in shock as he and Irina stopped in front of their class' shoe lockers and took off their shoes to put on their school slippers, Irina giggling as she nodded while turning slightly to show him the keychain on her backpack's front zipper.

"Yep! Oh, right! I got you something too!" Issei blinked as the girl took off her backpack, opened it and reached in before his eyes widened as she pulled out a small rolled-up poster from her backpack.

"Here you go." Issei blinked as he slowly took it from her and discreetly rolled it open, his eyes widening in shock and awe as he was greeted by the grinning form of Satoru from Drag-So-Ball in his Awakened Form while standing in the middle of a starry void.

"I-Is this for me?" He asked while looking at Irina, who giggled and nodded.

"Yep, Dad asked me where I learned about manga and I told him that you gave me the Yokai Hunter manga so he decided to buy it for you. Why? Is…is it not good?"

"No! No, it's great!" Issei quickly added and while Irina blinked at the rather loud shout that came from Issei and the fact that she could feel his voice vibrating through her entire body, she smiled and nodded.

'Should I…? I mean, Gramps did say that I should only tell people I trust and who else can I trust if I can't tell my only friend?'

"Um, Irina, I…I have something to tell you."

"Are you dying?"

"…What?" Issei asked with a confused look, making the girl blink before Issei shook his head as she gave a sheepish giggle.

"Uh, forget I said anything. So, what did you want to tell me?" She asked and Issei blinked as he rolled up the poster and put in his backpack whilst looking around to see if anyone was looking at them.

Instead of speaking, he decided to show her and pointed at the broom standing next to the entrance to the school building, Irina confused as she watched Issei let out a soft yet sharp whistle.

However, her confusion turned to shock as she watched the air in front of Issei twist before something flew past his lips and towards the broom, the girl quickly spinning around just in time to watch the top half of the broom slowly slid & fall onto the floor with a loud smack.

Most of those around them jumped at the loud smack while the others looked confused, Irina turning back to Issei in shock to see the smile on his face.

"…What?"

"So, whenever you whistle, you send out these air blades?" Irina asked as the two walked out of the class after the bell rang for recess, Issei giving an unsure look as he made a so-so gesture.

"Yes, but I can also send out shockwaves if I shout loud enough?"

"So…you're like a banshee?" She asked and Issei blinked as he thought about it and realized that she was kind of right.

"Yeah, I guess I am, but aren't banshees supposed to be only female?"

"That's true. Hmm…you're a manshee then!" Irina spoke with a happy smile as they walked onto the playground, Issei giving his friend a deadpan stare as she looked proud at her new name for him before shaking his head as the two of them walked to the large tree near the edge of the playground.

"Hah, I should have known. Anyway, it doesn't…bother you that I can do this?" Issei asked with a hesitant look and Irina blinked before snorting as she waved her hand dismissively.

"Eh, not really. I already knew you were weird when I first met you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Issei asked with a narrowed stare and Irina giggled as she shrugged.

"What it means. Now come on and give me Yokai Hunter already."

"At this point, I should just give you the manga & ask you to pay for it. Also, you've already finished reading it seven times." Issei said with a smirk as he took out the manga volume from his backpack and handed it over to her, Irina rolling her eyes as she took it & opened it to the page she was last at.

"I haven't read it that much. I've only finished it three times so ha! You lose."

"…Sometimes, your logic continues to make me wonder if there is a chance of you being slow in the head."

"Just because you know how to use words in a fancy way doesn't mean I can't understand you, Issei."

"And what did I say?"

"You called me stupid, stupid." Irina said with a huff and Issei rolled his eyes as he patted the girl on the head.

"I said slow. If I wanted to mean stupid, I would have said you only had two brain cells and both are fighting for third place."

"And if I wanted to call you stupid, I would have called you a poopoo brain." Irina said with a grin, to which Issei simply nodded while reaching into his backpack to pull out both his bento box and the poster she got him.

"Man, it's so awesome~ You sure I can have it?"

"Yes, now shush! Mizuki is finally fighting the Fourth Moon Yokai." Irina said and Issei smirked as he saw how invested the girl was into the manga, putting down his bento box to roll up the poster before quickly raising a hand in front of Irina as he felt danger.

Irina jumped as a loud impact echoed in front of her, Issei looking just as surprised as she was while they both watched the soccer ball slowly roll away.

"Hehe~ Sorry, Issei!" Issei simply watched as a boy from his class apologized while jogging over to pick the ball up before frowning slightly as he saw the sly smirk on his friends' faces as the boy picked it up.

"So~ What's with the poster?" The boy asked and Issei frowned as he put it away.

"It's something Irina got for me."

"Cool. Can I see?"

"Nah, it's special." Issei said with a grin as he zipped up his backpack before clipping it close, the boy simply smirking as Issei watched his friends coming closer.

"Come on, man. Let me see."

"He said no. Now, go away." Irina spoke with a frown and Issei frowned as the boy gave her a sneer.

"You be quiet, Christian." Issei didn't know why, but the way the boy had said it irked him in a way he didn't like and the boy blinked as Issei stood up with a frown.

"I don't like how you're talking to my friend, Yamazaki."

"Well, you don't have to, but I still wanna see the poster." Yamazaki spoke with a smug smirk as he snapped his fingers, Issei gritting his teeth as the other boys began to draw near.

Glancing back at Irina, he saw her looking scared now before smirking as he turned back to the group while remembering his grandpa's words.

"Gramps, should I keep my stuff secret?" Issei asked as he had finished his second morning of training, Kojiro looking up with a thoughtful look before nodding.

"Oh, definitely. If people find out what you can do, you can bet your ass the government is going to find out and we won't see you ever again when they come fetch you."

"But…but what if I really need to use them?" Issei asked and Kojiro blinked at that before Issei shook his head as his grandpa simply shrugged.

"Then you use them, but in a way that no one will even notice it happened."

"Okay, I see."

"One last warning, Yamazaki. You don't want to mess with me when I'm angry." Issei warned before shaking his head as the boy simply snorted while the others giggled mockingly at his words.

Well, he did try the peaceful way.

"Fall." Issei commanded and he could already feel the air around him shifting before his eyes widened as Yamazaki fell to his knee whilst coughing up blood & spittle, the young Hyoudou looking at the other boys to see them horrified while slowly walking back.

"H-Hey, w-we never liked him, you know?"

"Go." Issei spoke and he forgot to turn it off as a shockwave radiated from his mouth, the boys sent stumbling back before Issei blinked as they scrambled over each other to get as far away from him as possible.

Looking back down at Yamazaki as he watched the boy still coughing like his lungs were being beat up, Issei slowly turned to the awed yet scared Irina with a sheepish look.

"So…think we're going to get in trouble for this?"

"Yep, got into trouble." Issei muttered as he sat in front of the principal's desk, sinking into his seat with his collar up to hide his face from the stern gaze of the principal as he looked between both Issei and a teary-eyed Yamazaki next to him.

"So…let me get this straight. Issei stole a Drag-So-Ball poster from you and you wanted it back from him without bothering the teachers. So you tried to get it back, but…Issei said 'Fall' and you began to cough up blood? Am I correct in saying that's what happened?"

"Yes, headmaster. Issei is a lying freak, just like everyone knows he is."

"…And you say that is a lie?"

"Yes, sir. Irina bought me the poster and gave it to me in the morning. He must have seen it because he wanted to take it away with his friends, but he then stopped and coughed up blood. I'm guessing he has some kind of disease or something." Issei said with a nod, Yamazaki snorting as the middle-aged man looked between the two of them.

"…Hah, to be honest, I don't know who to believe…so we'll look at the footage."

"Wait, what?" Yamazaki asked in surprise, Issei looking just as surprised and a bit hopeful as the headmaster chuckled and nodded while turning his monitor so the two boys can see what was on it.

"Yep, there have been a recent surge in crime around this area so I had these cameras secretly installed. Naturally, I'll have them moved around again to make sure no one can find them after I've shown you boys. Ah, here it is." The headmaster said as he placed two camera recordings side by side, Yamazaki paling while Issei gave a relieved smile as they watched the recording.

On the left, he could see where Irina was handing him the poster with a happy smile and on the right, he could see where Yamazaki and his friends tried to corner them near the tree right before he collapsed to the floor.

"…So, you said that it was your poster, correct?" The headmaster asked while glancing towards Yamazaki, who was stuttering as he tried to make up an excuse.

"T-T-T-T-T-That's fake. Y-Yeah, he faked them. I told you he co-!"

"Yamazaki, just because I'm headmaster doesn't mean you can do as you please, understand? As my son, you need to be better than those around you. Issei, you're free to leave, but be warned that your parents and Irina's are waiting for you outside."

"…Can I just take his punishment and you let the idiot go?" Issei asked with a pleading look before groaning as the headmaster chuckled and waved him away.

"Unfortunately, not. Now go and as for you, young man, let me first start by saying I am very disappointed in what you did, especially since I know you're already have that poster." Issei smirked smugly as he closed the door behind him before remembering that his parents and Irina's were waiting for him outside.

'Hah, I guess I can't keep them waiting.'

Normally, it would take Issei less than two minutes to get from the top floor that was the headmaster's office to the front entrance, but this time, it took him nearly five as he was dragging his feet.

After he finally walked through the front entrance and out onto the school's front courtyard, he winced as he saw his mother waiting with a not-so-amused look while his father paced around.

Behind them stood the concerned forms of Irina's parents with the aforementioned girl pacing around in front of her parents, all of them looking up and looking relieved to see him walking down the stairs.

However, as his mother rushed towards him, he was surprised by the tight hug that he was enveloped in, looking past her at his dad who smirked as he patted him on the head.

"You okay?" Issei heard his dad asked and simply gave a nod before turning to his mother as she pulled back to show the relieved smile on her face.

"Did anything happen? Did the headmaster say anything?"

"Uh, just that I was free to go because he had video proof to show that I was completely innocent."

"So, no detention?" Issei looked at his dad and nodded before blinking as the man pulled out his phone and pressed a button.

"Everyone, he's okay. There's no need to call the lawyers. False alarm. Keep it in place for another day."

"Did he…?" Issei trailed off while looking to his mother who giggled & nodded.

"Yep, called every lawyer friend he has just in case something happened."

'Overreact to the extreme…yep, just like Grandpa Juuzo.' Issei thought with a giggle before being confused as his mother stood up only to be wrapped up in another tight hug.

However, this one was a bit too tight and he cursed the adults for laughing as he gave Irina a few taps on the shoulder.

"Too! Tight!" He wheezed out before gasping in relief as the girl let go, Irina giving a sheepish giggle as Issei took deep breaths and gave a thumbs-up.

"I'm good. So…you okay?"

"I-I'm fine, but what about you? D-Didn't you want to keep it secret?"

"Eh, it helped me keep my gift so there's nothing wrong with that."

"And what secret is this?"

"Confidetal. Need to know basis only." Irina answered, making everyone blink as they looked at Issei who grinned and nodded.

"What she said. Also, it's confidential, Irina."

"That's what I said."

"…You know what? Sure it is." Issei said with a smirk before finally noticing that Mrs. Shidou was not the only one here to pick up Irina like he was used to.

"Uh, Irina?"

"Yeah?"

"Who's the old guy that looks like he wants to kick me over a building?"

"I am thinking of it."

"Touji, play nice." Mrs. Shidou said with a giggle and a soft tap on the chest and Issei blinked as the man's stern face fell away to reveal a happy smile in his face.

"Hahaha! I kid, my dear boy. I believe we have not formally met. The name's Touji Shidou. Pleased to meet you."

"Uh, Issei Hyoudou, sir. Pleased to meet you" Issei said with a nervous smile as he shook the man's hand, Toji humming and nodding as he stood back upright and looked at Issei's parents.

"He is quite literate for his age."

"Issei loves books."

"Issei adores books." Irina added and Touji looked intrigued as Issei saw his mom giggling at the girl's words.

"That's right, sweetie. I keep forgetting."

"That's not exactly true considering you guys decided to make the guest bedroom into my own library."

"We can always take it back out if you don't like it?"

"I never said that." Issei quickly added, grumbling with a pout as the adults laughed at his panic before glaring at his friend as he saw her giggle.

"What happened to having my back?"

"That's your battle. Fight it on your own."

"Fine, no more Yokai Hunter for you."

"Wait, what?!"

"So, Issei, I'm guessing the gift I got you was good considering you had to fight some people over it, huh?" Touji asked with a smirk and Issei's eyes widened as he grinned and nodded.

"It was. Thank you, Mr. Shidou, for the gift! I love it."

"Eh, Mr. Shidou is too formal for me. Call me uncle Toji."

"U-Uh, okay."

"And I'm auntie Reina, dear."

"Then call us auntie Miki and uncle Gorou, Irina." Miki added, the other couple chuckling as Irina nodded with a happy smile while Gorou frowned.

"Am I really that old that I can be called uncle?"

"You have a kid, buster. You're an old man now."

"Ah, I knew these days were coming, but I didn't come they would come this early. Oh, glory days~ How I'll miss thee~"

"I feel your pain, my friend~" Toji joined in with Gorou's wallowing, the wives sharing amused yet exasperated looks while Irina leaned over to Issei with a giggle.

"Your dad is quite the goofball."

"I could say the same about yours."

"…That is true. So, can I have Yokai Hunter now?"

"…No." Issei said with a shake of his head, smirking as Irina pouted and looked away with a huff.

That was but one of the many times that the two friends protected one another, but it was also the start of their relationship…

And the start of Issei's friendship with Touji Shidou.

A/N: And another quick chapter!

This is a chapter I've just decided to upload because I was bored today so hope you guys enjoy~!

Also, I wasn't even going to go with the whole bullying trope, but I had to babysit my younger cousins today that are in primary school and let's just say that those little shits are the inspiration for that section of the story.

Kids are goddamn ruthless.

Like always, you can go to my Pat-reon-.-com-/-KingCrimsonNova to read ahead on this as well as many other stories & even some that haven't been released out to this site yet. If you want to, you are free to, but if you don't want, all's good as I will still be uploading here. This is just me trying to get some extra cash.

Now, as always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one...

Ba-Bye~!