(Flashback, several years ago, unknown location)
We found our bald hero was standing in front of a corpse of a giant reptilian-like monster. Apparently, Saitama found out from rumours that this monster had been terrorizing the local populace, so as a hero, he decided to exterminate it along the way of his journey. Of course having such over-whelming power, Saitama defeated the monster with a single punch.
"Just like old times…." Thought Saitama as he stared at the dead monster in front of him. A large fist mark adorning the monster's face, making its head's size like being reduced by half, presumably from Saitama's hit. "Speaking of old times, I wonder how the others are doing back there? Genos… Master Bang… King…. Everyone…" Saitama thought then he looked up at the blue sky, reminiscing his comrades he left behind back in his original world.
However, such matters are trivial now. Now, with him having something truly worth protecting, as the picture of his family appeared in his mind, Saitama decided that his only choice is only to move forward, besides, he believed in his comrades, it's not like they are being push-overs. Thinking that there was nothing he needs to do anymore, Saitama prepared himself to leave the area.
"Wait", a voice stopped him on his track. Turning his head towards the voice's source, Saitama saw a young man with short black hair. He wears a combination of Japanese school uniform and ancient Chinese attire. The said man also holding a spear on his shoulder and was also accompanied by two other males behind him, one was a young man with black hair and spectacles and wearing a combination of Japanese school uniform and mage-style robe over the uniform. The other male is a short, young boy with an expressionless face.
"How can I help you?" asked Saitama with impassive face. He clenched his fist slightly as he asked the stranger before him. While Saitama sensed that the men before him are genuine human, the former could not shake the bad, or rather, the weird feeling that came from the spear the man held. Saitama does not believe that the spear can do any fatality to him, but his intuition told him to be careful around it.
"How did you do that?" asked the man with an incredulous expression. "I heard that the monster before you was at least on par with a high-class dragon! And you just killed it with a single punch! What kind of sacred gear or power do you have? Or are you perhaps a Longinus user?" asked the man pointing at the carcass that had just disintegrated completely. "Or rather, are you even human?"
"Wow, wow… Ask questions one by one, kid…. And…. I assume that you're here to take care of this thing too?" asked Saitama pointing his thumb at the spot where the carcass used to be. "Are these guys heroes or something? Are there still some humans who want to be a hero, just like my old world?" thought Saitama to himself.
"You could say that. We also want to learn that creature a bit. It could be a good resource for this little guy here", said the spearman gesturing the quiet boy behind him.
"Well, sorry for making you go all the way here for nothing… I guess I'll take my leave now…" said Saitama quickly turning on his heels and walking away with a hand waving above his head.
"I'm done yet", at this word Saitama stopped on his track and turned his head towards the strangers once again.
"I don't care you stole our kills or whatever. What you showed me earlier has picked my interest. What do you say about joining us?" asked the spearman with a smirk.
"Quite charisma he has there…" "Well… I don't even know you folks…" asked Saitama rubbing his head.
"Oh my, where are my manners?" said the spearman snorting while he held his head. Then he gestured his hand at his companions behind him, "Let me introduce you my men first. The boy is Leonardo, and the guy with glasses is Georg, the descendant of Johann Georg Faust. And as for me…" said the spearman as he put his hand on his waist and his spear on his shoulder, "I'm Cao Cao, the descendant of the original Cao Cao from Romance of Three Kingdoms, and I'd like you to join our group, The Hero Faction, that is…"
(End of Flashback, what happened afterwards were a story for another time)
X
It was the day of Hyoudou Issei's first date ever and the man was all suited up for the sake of creating memories. As he waited for Amano Yuuma at the promised spot, he sighed as he remembered the chaos that happened when he ended up introducing his first girlfriend to Matsuda and Motohama. The two were all going the mixtures awe and jealousy as they thought that Yuuma was either part of Issei's non-existent 'harem' or another addition of the 'harem'. Fortunately, it did not take Issei long to convince Yuuma that all the harem fiasco was a total misunderstanding. He took a look at his watch, seeing that he still had some time before the date, he let out a breath as he stared at the sky. Truth to be told, Issei was pretty nervous on this whole dating thing, especially with him knowing that his first date is a non-human, a fallen angel to boot. He had considered to ditch the date first, but considering all spring-time of youth that he, and in addition, his mother always brought up, he decided to test his fate about involving supernatural in his so-called spring-time of youth.
"Please take one!" a voice snapped him out of his reverie. Issei looked at the voice's direction and his eyes were met with a girl dressed in a bat-like costume. The said girl was handing him a small pamphlet with a picture of complex magic circle.
As Issei looked at the pamphlet, his brain recognised something. "Isn't this…", thought Issei as he looked again at the spot where the supposed bat-girl was no longer there. But before he could have decided what to do with the pamphlet, a familiar voice called out to him, "Issei-kun!"
Issei immediately put the pamphlet into his pants pocket out of reflex, and he turned his head to see his girlfriend ran to him. "Sorry I'm late, did you wait long?" asked Yuuma as she panted lightly from running.
"It's fine, I just got here", said Issei with a smile. "Wow, as much as cliché as it seems, I'm very happy for some reasons", a first date truly is memorable. "Shall we go, then?" asked Issei as he offered his hand, which Yuuma took gladly.
The date itself went really normal if Issei had to say so himself. He had zero experience in dating someone, so he decided to just go with a classic one; lunch at nearby café (probably with a cake or pastry), hitting arcades for some fun, and visits on various shops for gifts and souvenirs. Overall, a perfectly normal date, Issei himself also ended up buying a bracelet as souvenir for Yuuma. Later at the sunset, the two of them were arriving at the fountain of the local park. Yuuma turned around as she faced Issei.
"Say, Issei-kun… To commemorate our date today, I'd like to ask you something. Do you mind hearing my selfishness?" asked Yuuma as she stared right at Issei's eyes, her face slightly blushed.
"Alright, here goes nothing…" "Sure thing, Yuuma-chan. What is it?" asked Issei as he smiled in anticipation.
"Will you die for me?"
"Shit" "Uh… Come again?"
"Will you DIE for me?" asked Yuuma again as she emphasized the 'die' part, then her appearance changed as she suddenly grew a pair of black wings behind her back and her casual outfit transformed into a black leather suit with a chain that usually seen in BDSM porn flick.
Issei was ready to attack at the moment's notice, but his eyes ended up gluing at the new appearance of his girlfriend. "Okay… Now I understand why fallen angels are experts in seducing humans….", thought Issei as he swallowed a lump, his face felt a bit hot from the sexy display in front of him.
[Focus, partner…] warned Ddraig in his mind.
"Oh, right, right", thought Issei as he shook his head to regain his focus. He then focused more on the fallen angel's gaze rather than her revealing outfit.
"Fufufu… You don't seem so surprised…" asked Yuuma sneering at Issei, her expression became colder and more mature than her previous appearance.
"Well… Actually I am surprised…", replied Issei as his gaze slowly reverted to Yuuma's breast, but he quickly averted his gaze back to her face. "Anyway, back to your wish earlier. Why do you want me to die?"
"It's not like I have a grudge toward you, but you have a potential that could doom us all. So we have decided to dispose of you before you could become a real threat…", said Yuuma as a spear of light in purplish pink appeared on her hand.
"Hmm… Is this what people call an irony? If you stayed cute and harmless for the rest of the time, I may never, ever be a threat for y'all in the first place… I was honestly starting to like you for real during our date..." replied Issei with a hint of disappointment, "I even bothered to buy you a souvenir!"
"Hmph, yes, that date was fun. It really bored me to death…" replied Yuuma back in sarcasm. "Well anyway, I still have to kill you…" Raynare said lifting up her spear.
[Get ready, partner] Ddraig warned again in his mind.
"Yeah, but I want to measure something first… Besides, I don't want to show up all of my cards so soon yet", replied Issei mentally as he hardened his stance.
As Yuuma threw her spear, Issei managed to dodge as he quickly moved forward and lower his body to avoid the spear to hit him. Yuuma's eyes widened as she found Issei already near her between seconds. Her trained reflex thanks to her experience in past battles helped her to barely avoid Issei's punch in a nick of time. However, as Issei's left punch met the air, Yuuma could sense that there was a small shockwave went pass her head. Issei's fist also managed to graze the fallen angel's cheek, drawing a little blood.
"Wow! Now I understand why dad made me do all those training!" thought Issei in surprise when he saw what his punch could do. Sure he missed his target, but he sure could feel the power of his own punch had produced.
"Wha…! Is this a punch of a mere human!?" thought Yuuma in panic as her instinct shouting her to gain distance. She quickly flapped her wings and she flew high enough to gain a safe distance from Issei's arm-length. She touched her stinging cheek and she found there was a little blood. "You dare scarring me, a fallen angel….! You, a mere human!" As she growled in rage, Yuuma quickly summoned two more spears in her hands and throwing the spears again toward the boy. Issei only ran sideways to avoid the spears' trajectory.
"It's gonna be a bit tough if she's high up there… I guess we have to do this, Ddraig…" thought Issei formulating a plan.
[I'm always ready whenever you are, partner]
"Alright! Then let's…"
"KYAAAAAAH!"
Right before Issei could have summoned the boosted gear, a scream echoed, stopping him from his action. When Issei turned his head towards the source of the scream, he saw a girl with blonde hair styled in twin short side ponytails, her attire, strangely enough, consisted Gothic Lolita attires. "What is that!? A fight? I gotta call for help!" screamed the girl in panicked tone.
Issei's eyes widened at the appearance of the pass-byer. "What the…!? At a time like this!?" Issei quickly turned his gaze towards his fallen angel opponent who had a smirk on her face. "Crap!" Without thinking any further, Issei quickly lounge into the front of the blonde girl and he quickly turned with his back facing the said girl.
[Wait! Partner, she's…!]
"Huh?" Right when Issei heard Ddraig's voice that sounds like a warning, suddenly his body was struck with a great deal of pain at his back and stomach. When Issei turned his head downward, he saw a spear, shining in pink colour, burst out from his abdomen. Issei's eyes widened at he eyed the spear, and he cocked his head to look at his behind. His eyes saw the goth-loli girl who put a posture of a person who just threw something, with a smirk and cold eyes adorning her face. "Fuck…!" cursed Issei in his mind as he gritted his teeth and coughed up blood. But soon afterwards, he felt two other spears, which he indicated as Yuuma's, lounge right into his chest areas, resulting him coughing up more of his blood. The spears that pierced through his body dissipate few seconds later, and as soon as they disappeared, blood gushing out from his wounds, dying the ground in red. Feeling pain on his body and loosing blood in fast-rate, Issei fell with his face down on the road.
"Ahahaha….! You sure are naïve, Issei-kun… Leaving your back open for a stranger, hence you lost your guard up…" sneered Yuuma in a mocking tone. The blonde girl who back-stabbed Issei quickly approaching her side. Yuuma looked at her ally with grateful eyes. "Never thought your back-up plan will come in handy, Mittelt…"
The girl who was identified as Mittelt simply shrugged with a smug smile. "You're welcome. Now let's…" her sentence was cut off with coughing sounds. The two fallen angels looked at Issei who was in coughing fit as he laid on his own blood. "Looks like you missed his heart", commented Mittelt.
"I guess he was just lucky. No matter, with that kind of wound and blood-loss, it will only take minutes until he wasted away. Come on, let's get outta here", said Yuuma as she prepared to take off.
"Wait! (cough) (cough)…" a low voice stopping Yuuma on her tracks. Both fallen look at Issei who turned his face enough to lock eyes with the former. "Yuuma, can you answer my one question?" asked Issei with a ragged tone.
Yuuma remained silent for a few seconds and she replied, "Fine, make it quick. We don't have all night here…" (cough!) (cough!) "… And your lungs have been filled with blood for sometime now…" continued Yuuma as she heard Issei's coughing again.
"(pant) (pant) Are you… breaking up with me, now….?" Asked Issei, receiving a strange look from the two fallen angels who were as if hearing a really stupid question.
"Wha…! That's what you want to know? Not who I really am, or something more about my reason, or at least what's with this girl doing here?" asked Yuuma with incredulous tone as she pointed her thumb at Mittelt beside her, who only nodded in agreement.
"Just answer the question!" retorted Issei with a more desperate tone.
Yuuma only let out a small sigh, "Yes… It's over between us, now…. Thanks for everything, dumbass!" said Yuuma as she quickly take off to the sky, followed by Mittelt. "Sheesh, what a weirdo…" was all the comment from the blonde haired girl at Issei's last words.
After the fallen angels had flew far enough, Issei's body started to move and the man tried to get on his feet once again. However, as soon as blood gushing out from his wounds, his body fell on fours again as Issei puked another lump of blood. "Goddammit! It fucking hurts!" cursed Issei as he struggled. The man aware that he had to do something soon or he will die from blood-loss. Issei steadied his body as he took a sitting position and leaned his body on the edge of the fountain. He reached to his cell-phone inside one of his pockets and he flipped it open. Issei hoped that he could survive the bleeding long enough until the help can come. However, much to his dismay, his cell-phone's screen showing that its battery had just ran out, then the screen died out. Issei closed his cell-phone as he let it drop on the floor, he let out a sigh as he jerked his head upward in frustration. "Why the fuck did I forget to re-charge my damn phone…!?" cursed Issei again in his mind. "I'm so sorry about this, Ddraig…. It's not even been 10 years ever since you're awakened…." Issei apologized to the dragon inside him.
[Don't worry about it, partner… Some of my past hosts had lived even shorter life than you did…. Besides, it was really fun spending time with you, compared with the other hosts….] replied Ddraig accepting Issei's apology.
Issei looked at the evening sky as he contemplating about his current situation. "Man… Am I gonna just die in a place like this? There are still so many things I want to do…" thought Issei as a flash of his life appeared in his mind. "Matsuda… Motohama… I guess I'll never see your harem… If you guys ever managed to make one…" thought Issei as the face of his two perverted friends appeared. "I haven't even started on looking for you, you damn old man…" the picture of his father flashed before him. "And mom…." The face of his mother appeared. "What would happen to her if I died here? She already had it hard enough when dad left…" thought Issei as he imagining her mother's crying face. "Like hell I will die like this!" screamed Issei in his mind as he clenched his fist. "At least I need to drag his sorry ass back home to take care after her when I ever died! I gotta survive, I gotta live!" screamed Issei with determination as he tried to move his body again.
As soon as he voiced his mind, a faint glow appeared from his pocket where Issei put the pamphlet from the bat-girl earlier. Then suddenly a red magic circle shone in front of him. "What the…!" said Issei as he covered his eyes from the flash. After closing his blinded eyes, Issei opened his eyes again to see a figure of a woman standing before him.
Blinking his eyes for a moment, Issei let out a sigh after he learned about the woman before him. "Damn… I'm starting to hallucinate from blood-loss…" thought Issei as he looked again at Kuoh's most popular girl, Rias Gremory. Thinking that this might be his final moments, Issei decided that he might as well to play along with the 'hallucination' before him. "Good evening, Gremory-senpai… What are you doing here at this hour?" asked Issei as he put a strained smile.
Hearing the dying man's greeting despite the situation, Rias raised her eyebrows. "Still able to talk casually like that after suffering such terrible wounds… I don't know if you are tough or foolish…" commented the girl with an amused smile. "Nevertheless, your reaction amused me. Anyway, I have come here in responding to your summoning. I ask of you, what do you wish for?"
Hearing such words, Issei chuckled lightly. "Wow, I really have lost too much blood… In that case…" Issei looked up at Rias again. "I wish you to embrace me and heal me with lots of your love, please…" said Issei still with his strained smile.
At Issei's request, Rias only giggled in respond. "Very well, if that is what you wished for…" said Rias taking a step forward towards Issei. "However, it won't be for free. As in exchange, you will live your life for me, Hyoudou Issei…" those were last words Issei heard before everything went dark around him.
X
"Where am I…?" thought Issei as he found himself in a dark space. His eyelids still felt heavy.
A blurry image of a man appeared in Issei's mind as the boy barely holding on his consciousness. "Who's that…?"
There are also flashes of blurry images of wasteland, trees, sky that strangely enough looks purple, "What are those…?"
Then suddenly a blinding light shone into him. Issei snapped open his eyes and the first thing he met was a familiar ceiling which was the ceiling of his own bedroom. Feeling the ray of the sun hitting his face Issei rubbed his sleepy eyes as he got up and moved his neck around to relieve himself. Never in his life Issei felt this sloppy in the morning. Hell, he felt his head like he was just hit by a truck!
[Partner…? Partner! You're awake!] a familiar voice was heard in his head.
"Ah… Good morning, Ddraig….", replied Issei mentally as he rubbed his aching forehead. "Damn… what the hell happened last night? I remembered I was dying in the park, then Rias Gremory appeared before me saying that she will grant my wish, and…" asked Issei mentally as he trailed on his body. "Why the hell am I nude?" asked Issei after realizing that he was clad in his birthday suit. Not only that, Issei also realised that the wounds he received from the fallen angels had all disappeared without leaving any marks.
[Uhm… About that… First of all, please don't get freaked out when you turned your head to your left] replied Ddraig in awkward tone.
"What do you mean? What's on my leeeeeeeft…" Issei's thought was cut off as his eyes widened when they were laid upon a red-crimson hair. The boy swallowed a lump as he recognised that Rias Gremory was sleeping right next to him with her naked glory presented for the world to see. Issei had a clear sight on her thigh, her waist and most noticeable are… her breasts.
A moment of silence as Issei's eyes remained glue on the naked, sleeping Rias Gremory until Ddraig broke the silence. [Umm… Partner?]
"Thank you very much!" exclaimed Issei as he clenched his fist in victory.
[?]
"No, no. That came out wrong. Hey, Ddraig! What the fuck is going on!?" asked Issei after he shook his head.
[Ah, yes. You see, about that…]
"Mmm…." A mumbling voice came out from the sleeping girl as she stirred in her sleep.
[On the second thought, maybe it would be the best if she's the one to explain] replied Ddraig changing his mind.
The red haired girl finally woke up soon after, as she rubbed her eyes, she yawned slightly as she stretched her body, showing all her assets for Issei to see. As Rias took a look on Issei, the former noticed that the latter's face was literally fuming in red shade. The latter also showed sweating bullets.
Seeing that he must said something, Issei gathered his courage as he looked the other way. "Uh… Good morning, Gremory-senpai…" greeted Issei with nervous tone.
"Fu fu fu, good morning, Hyoudou Issei-kun. Oh, may I call you Ise?" replied Rias with a smile.
Issei looked at Rias again when he heard Rias' approach regarding his name, then he quickly looked away again as soon he got a good look on Rias' nipples. "Uh… Ah… yeah, sure, go ahead", replied Issei as he desperately tried to push down his excited little Issei. "Um… Senpai? Can you at least put something on to cover yourself?" asked Issei as he repeatedly almost stole a glance on Rias' body.
"Hm? You're free to look if you want to…" replied Rias without any hint of embarrassment.
"What!" said Issei mentally as he snapped his head back at Rias' face, which did not show any sign of embarrassment. "What the hell is wrong with this woman!? Is she a nudist or something!?" Issei then tried to re-compose himself. "Well… Even if you said so…" replied Issei retorting…
"Ise?" a new voice came out from the door. Issei quickly recognise that it was his mother's voice calling from outside the room. In reflex, Issei's left hand quickly covered Rias' mouth, resulting the girl to raised her eyebrows in surprise, but the girl relaxed a bit when she saw Issei's right finger on his lips, suggesting her not to say anything. "Ise? Is that you? I thought you were training outside?" asked the voice.
"Yes, mom!" replied Issei shouting as he glanced over at Rias and he slowly let go his left hand from the girl's mouth, believing that the girl will keep quiet. "I guessed I overslept. Sorry, but can you wait downstairs? I'm coming in a minute", said Issei trying to convince his mother to go away.
It was silent at first. "Okay, then", replied to voice. "Don't take it too long otherwise you're going to be late for school!"
"Got it!" replied Issei as he listened the retreating footsteps of his mother. He let out a sigh as he returned his attention back to Rias. "Sorry", said Issei bowing in apology for suddenly covering Rias' mouth. "I don't want mom to see us. Not like this…" said Issei gesturing their situation. A man and a woman naked on the same bed could lead to disastrous assumptions.
"It's alright, Ise. I understand" replied Rias. "Now, let's not make your mother waiting, shall we?" said Rias as she got out of the bed and walked to reach her uniform that was folded neatly on the table. Issei only nodded as he quickly got out from the bed as well to dress up.
(scene break)
Hyoudou Haruka truly wondered what was going on in the morning. Firstly, she found her son, Hyoudou Issei skipped his morning exercise, which was very new to her. Secondly, she found her son came into the dining room accompanied by a beautiful foreigner with red-crimson hair. And thirdly, strangely, Haruka could not remember several events from yesterday. As the breakfast went on with awkward silence, Haruka took a glance on the red haired beauty, who was eating elegantly, then she stared at her son, who also had a confused look. Her eyes were saying, 'what the hell is going on'. Understanding the look from her mother, Issei only shrugged a little and sending a look that said, 'beats me'.
"Thank you for the meal", two Hyoudous looked at Rias who had finished her breakfast. "That was delicious, Mrs. Hyoudou", said Rias with a smile.
Haruka flinched slightly at the beauty before her, "Oh, um… I'm glad you like it, um…"
"Rias, Rias Gremory, ma'am. It's a pleasure to meet you", said Rias giving a court nod.
Deciding to get to the point, Haruka put on a strained smile and asked, "Um… Rias-san, what is your relationship with my son?"
"We are just a senior and junior in our school, that's all", replied Rias without hesitation.
"I see…" Haruka then glared at her son with a suspicious look, only to be replied by her son frantically shook his head. Issei was also as confused as his mother.
After sending their goodbyes, Issei and Rias walked side by side towards school. After a moment of silent, Rias was the one who took the initiative to start a conversation. "I would have mistaken your mother for your elder sister if it's not for her mentioning you as her son", said Rias smiling.
"Ah… Yeah, I got that a lot from everyone…" replied Issei with a sweat-drop. Then another silence fell between them.
Feeling that he deserves some answers now, Issei straightened up a bit and he took a glance at the girl beside him. "Um… Senpai, about last night…. Did we…?" asked Issei with another sweat dropped on his temple.
Rias looked at Issei who had a blushing face, then giggled, knowing what he meant. "We only slept next to each other for entire night, Ise… Nothing more"
Hearing the answer, Issei slumped his shoulder both in relief and disappointment. "And as for the naked part…?" Issei trailed as he glanced again at Rias.
"Let's say that it's a procedure to heal you from yesterday. And speaking of, does your body still hurt anywhere?" replied Rias as she asked the man.
Issei's eyes widened then he rubbed his previously wounded area with his hand. He forgot to give it more thought in the morning since he was more panicked at the fact that he was sleeping naked together with Rias.
"Assuming that was a work of….magic" thought Issei then he replied, "I feel fine, now. Thanks to you, I guess?"
Rias only smiled in content as she replied, "You're welcome. I'm glad that it worked properly…"
Before Issei could have asked for anything more suddenly he heard few outbursts.
"Wha-WHY!? Why is Rias onee-sama walking with him!"
"Wait, isn't that Hyouduo? Don't tell me…!"
"NOOO! Onee-sama is already part of his harem!"
Issei immediately looked around as he found himself and Rias already went pass the school gate. And all students, boys and girls, have screamed in outburst when they saw him walking side by side with school's number one beauty.
"Oh, shit…."
"Well, I'll see you after school, Ise. And I also will send someone to pick you up", said Rias as she ignored everyone's outburst and took her leave.
"Ah… Yeah, sure" was all Issei said as he was more concerned about how he will face his classmates after everything that happened.
X
"Ise! What's the meaning of this!?" were the first words that came to Issei once the school had ended. Right after the teacher left the classroom, Issei was stormed by his two perverted friends, Matsuda and Motohama.
"Wow, wow… Stop putting your boxers in a bunch, you guys…. I just met her on my way here, that's all!" said Issei as he let out a sigh as he looked up again to see his two friends who, thankfully for Issei, managed to calm a bit. "Besides, aren't those the exactly same words you said to me the other day?" asked Issei with a tired gaze.
"Other day? What are you talking about?" asked Motohama.
"They don't remember? Or is it…..?" thought Issei as he wondered that his two friends did not bring up Yuuma at all. "Uh… You guys don't remember? Cute face? Long, black hair?" asked Issei again.
After a few moments, Matsuda and Motohama let out another outburst. "Wha-! Don't tell us…!"
"So you remember?" asked Issei with a hopeful tone.
"Instead of Rias Gremory… Y-you sank your claws on H-Hi-Himejima Akeno, the 'Yamato Nadeshiko' of the school!? What the shit, Ise!?" shouted Matsuda. The rest of the class got themselves perked up as well hearing Issei with Himejima Akeno.
Issei gob-smacked at the accusation. How come these idiots mistook Yuuma for another girl? Oh right, the long black hair part. "Wha-! Not her, you idiot! The other girl! Amano Yuuma-chan! For god's sake, what the hell is wrong with you people!?" asked Issei as he suddenly felt a head-ache, but he ignored it.
"Yuuma-chan? Who is she?" asked Motohama tilting his head. "I-Is she another part of your harem?" asked the glasses guy with worried face.
"Well, that's…." Issei trailed off as he let out another sigh. "You know what? Forget what I said earlier", said Issei as he dropped his head on his desk. "Sorry, guys… Lots of crap happened to me lately. Can you… leave me alone for a while? Please?" asked Issei in begging tone.
Matsuda and Motohama shared glance at each other for a second, then they shrugged and decided to comply. "Fine… We'll talk about this later… But, Ise…" asked Matsuda as he took his leave with Motohama. Issei peeked over from his desk. "There's nothing going on with you and Gremory-senpai, right?"
Issei let out yet another sigh once again as he buried his face on the desk. "No, there's nothing going on…" Issei trailed and he lifted up his head as he remembered to say one last thing. "And for your note, I don't have…!" only to see that his two friends already gone. Issei snorted as he slumped into his desk again. He could clearly hear that his classmates that were still gossiping about him with Rias and Akeno had finally calmed down as well. Issei could feel that the sun shone through the window beside him, and he suddenly felt uncomfortable.
"Ddraig… What's happening to me?" asked Issei in his mind as he looked at his hand under the desk.
[Before I answer that, partner… Are you asking about the events this morning or yourself?]
"The latter. I don't know the details, but… I somehow can tell that there's something different about my body…" replied Issei as he clenched his hand into a fist.
[About that… Simply put, your body is no longer that of a human]
"What?"
"KYAAAH!"
"KIBA-SAMAAA!" a scream, rather like girl's squeals woke Issei up from his desk as their voices echoed through the hallway. Issei stared at the door until a boy appeared. The said boy was around his age, with blonde hair and handsome face. The boy is known as Kiba Yuuto, the most popular guy in the school and also titled as 'The Prince of Kuoh' by the girls. Yuuto peered around the class for a moment, when his eyes met with Issei's, he walked inside the class and stopped by the time he arrived at Issei's desk.
"Are you Hyoudou Issei-san?" asked Yuuto with a smile.
"Er… Yeah. That would be me. Do you need something?" replied Issei as he tried to ignore the strange looks from the rest of the students.
"I came on behalf of Rias Gremory to pick you up. Would you please follow me?"
"Ah…. Sure. Lead the way", replied Issei as he stood up. Then the two boys walked out from the class. While they were on the way to leave the classroom, Issei could hear some of female students gossiping.
"Kiba and Hyoudou? Don't tell me…!"
"Hyoudou's harem also include pretty boys? What a worm!"
"Hyoudou! I won't forgive you if you ever corrupted our prince!"
"But don't you think Kiba and Hyoudou pairing is not that bad? Kyah!"
Issei only let out a huge sigh hearing all the gossips. Oh, he and his big mouth. If only he never spewing off about that harem crap, at least he would not have gotten into so much trouble. "Sorry about them…" said Issei apologizing to Yuuto about the gossips.
"Hahaha… It's fine, I'm already used to it. You'll learn soon enough to just ignore them", said Yuuto chuckling. Issei only replied back with a dry laugh.
They walked quite a distance after they left the school building, after passing mass of trees, they finally arrived at another part of the academy, which Issei knows as the old school building. It was not Issei's first time to the school building, though. Because whenever Matsuda and Motohama managed to escape the women's wrath after their peeping session, Issei usually finds them hanging around, or to be more precise, taking refugee around the old school building. The walk continued on as Yuuto and Issei went inside the building, and few minutes later, they arrived at the two-doors at the end of the hallway on the upper floor of the building.
"Buchou, I've brought him", said Yuuto as he knocked the door and opened it.
When Issei went pass the door, Issei was met with a Victorian-style room, mostly made of wood and there were many pictures and drawings that intricate magic circles. And Issei recalled that the magic circles were similar with the one that appeared before him when he was dying. He looked around the room and on the table at the middle of the room, Issei spotted a little girl was sitting on one of the couches, the said girl was having a yokan as snack and judging from her appearance, Issei found that her looks were fit the description of the devil stalker that Ddraig gave him when he first encountered Yuuma. Issei then recognise the girl as Toujou Koneko, a first year, and rumours said that she has a reputation among group of guys as 'Kuoh's mascot' due to her petite appearance. When their faces met, Koneko only gave him a brief nod and she returned to eat the snack in front of her. As Issei took another look around the room, he noticed there was a door at the end of the room. The door was heavily sealed with yellow tapes that were written 'keep off'. When Issei wondered what lies beyond the sealed door, Issei noticed a sound of running water came from a door at another corner of the room.
"Water? And that noise… A shower? A shower!? And someone's taking one in school?" thought Issei in wonder. A squeaky sound came out as the sound of the water stopped, signing that the person had finished using the bathroom. Issei finally had just noticed a figure came out from a dark spot of the room as she approached the door with a towel at hand. Issei recognised the figure as Himejima Akeno, one of Kuoh's Two Great Ladies. The door opened, revealing Rias in her uniform with a wet hair. Akeno immediately handed over the towel to Rias.
"Thank you, Akeno", said Rias as she dried her hair. As she finished drying her hair, she took a seat on the chair and the large desk. She clasped her hand together and set her eyes on the newcomer.
"I'm sorry for making you waiting, I didn't get a chance to take shower at your house so I decided to take one here instead. Please take a seat", said Rias as she gestured her hands. Issei only nodded and took a seat in the centre, with everyone else surrounding him.
"I will go straight to the point, Hyoudou Issei. We, Occult Research Club, welcome you…" said Rias looking straight into Issei's eyes, "As devils"
"Huh?" was all Issei said when he heard the devil part. Suddenly, from each person, a pair of bat-like wings came out from their backs, making him tensed.
"I haven't introduced myself properly earlier, have I? My name is Rias Gremory. A high-class devil and also the president of Occult Research Club, it's a pleasure to meet you, Hyoudou Issei-kun", said Rias introducing, followed by everyone.
"My name is Himejima Akeno, a devil. I serve as the vice-president. Let's get along, Ise-kun", said the black haired girl with a pleasant smile.
"My name is Kiba Yuuto, a devil as well. It's nice to meet you, Issei-kun."
"Toujou Koneko, a devil… Nice to meet you"
As he stared at the winged people in front of him, Issei only blinked twice with impassive face.
A moment of silence later until Rias decided to break it, "Um…. Ise?"
Issei snapped from his silence and he shook his head a bit. "Sorry. It's just kind of hard to keep up with all of this", said Issei as he massaged the bridge of his nose. He took a deep breath and focused himself again at the devils before him. "My name is Hyoudou Issei, please take care of me… And…" Issei trailed off, "You said that you guys are devils… and this whole club thingy is just a front, I assume?"
"Indeed. And judging from your respond, I take that you had encountered the supernatural before? I mean even before your encounter with Amano Yuuma", replied Rias.
Issei flinched slightly at the mention of his ex, but he later put on a half-challenging smile as he stared back at the devils. "About that… Let's say that I have one or two surprises under my sleeve…"
At Issei's words, Yuuto and Koneko raised their eyebrows in wonder while Akeno only giggling with a hand covering her mouth. Rias herself only smirked slightly in respond. "I see... Care to share with us?" asked Rias with a hint of challenging look.
"I'd like to let you have it in your imagination. Do you mind with it?"
"I see. That's fine if you don't want to share. But know this, Ise… You're always free to share with us whenever you wish", replied Rias as she leaned back to her chair.
"Thank you. And about you people being devils… How does it have anything to do with me again?" asked Issei as he relaxed his body a bit.
"Because you're also one of us. Take a look at your back", replied Akeno.
Issei jerked his head over his shoulder to see a large, pair of bat wings also protruded on his back. Issei's eyes widened as he took a better look at his right and left wings, then he moved them a bit for a second. "So this is what Ddraig meant earlier…" After a moment of processing the events in his head, Issei sighed then he focused himself again on the current matter.
"Gremory-senpai… I have some questions…" said Issei as he saw Rias raised her eyebrows, hinting him to continue. "First of all, about this morning. You said that what you did back there was a procedure to heal me. Can you elaborate more? Because that situation we were caught in was way too suggestive…", said Issei as he scratched his left cheek.
Rias let out yet another giggle. "Your wound did not close after your transformation had been completed, since you were still alive back when I turned you. So I had to bath you with my magical power and it works better with more skin contact. Do you understand?"
"Okay… So that answered the naked part. And wow, you really also answered my wish that time!" said Issei as his expression brightened, receiving another giggles from Rias, Akeno and Yuuto while Koneko remained stoic.
"And what's about this transformation and you turning me?" asked Issei getting back to the topic.
"Hmm…. First thing first, I guess I need to teach you a bit about our history… In another realm aside from human, there are three factions….." Rias starting her lecture to Issei as Akeno put a cup of tea in front of the boy.
(scene break)
"And that's how I revived you with evil pieces and… Um, Ise? Are you still there?" asked Rias when her lecture got cut off as the woman looked at Issei whose head was smoking and the boy was rubbing his temples.
"Sorry, time out", asked Issei as he lifted up his hand. He took a deep breath as he finished the tea in front of him in one gulp. "You talked too long, senpai… Can you make it simpler, please? Like making it around 10 words or so? And can I have more tea too, please?"
At Issei's response, everyone in the room only sweat-dropped as Akeno reluctantly refilled Issei's empty cup, not before she sent Issei an amused smile. Rias sighed a bit then she said, "You're dying and I turned you into a devil to save you, and we are now master and servant".
Issei only nodded as he sipped into his tea again. "Okay… I understand that part. And about Yuuma-chan?"
"Yes. Amano Yuuma. You probably have aware that she is a fallen angel and she definitely exists", replied Rias as she showed a picture of Yuuma in front of Issei.
"And about her accomplice? I remembered clearly that there was another fallen angel with her when she attacked me", replied Issei back with serious expression.
"Unfortunately, we don't know anything more about Yuuma and her motives for targeting you, but you don't need to worry anymore. Now that you are part of my peerage, you are also put under my protection. That fallen angel will not hurt you easily this time, since this area is also my family territory."
"I see… Thank you, Gremory-senpai", said Issei as he smiled in content.
"Buchou"
"Eh?"
"As you are now a part of Occult Research Club as well, I'd like you to address me as 'buchou' (president). Is that clear, Ise?"
Issei looked like he was thinking for a while, then he said as he faced Rias, "Then buchou… can I address you as 'ojou-sama' (milady) when we are outside the school grounds?" Issei asked with a straight face.
Everyone raised their eyebrows upon hearing such request from their newest recruit, but Rias only chuckled slightly as she smiled contently. "I guess it's fine. Just remember to address me as 'buchou' when we are within the school ground. Understood?"
"Understood, buchou", replied Issei as he bowed, a content smile also appeared on his face.
"Now, with explanation being done and all…" said Rias as she clapped her hands, the atmosphere suddenly got a lot lighter. "I will assign you to your first task, if you don't mind. I expect many things coming from you, Ise…"
"Sure thing, buchou. So…", Issei stood up as he rubbed his hands together. "Whose poor soul I'm going to feast on tonight?"
X
Several hours had past since Rias had explained to Issei about devil's jobs not involved taking souls anymore, thus the former sent out the latter to hand out pamphlets that serve as the tool to summon a devil. As the night fell, the rest, save for Akeno had left home already, leaving the two great ladies the only ones in the clubroom. Rias was thinking about her newest recruit as she sat on her desk. From the way he handled himself, Rias can tell that Issei may knows more than he showed. The man also showed an impression for being cool-headed person, from the fact that he could still talk casually despite his fatal wounds when he was dying when Rias found him at the park. However, Rias was a bit worried as well on Issei's ability to process information. Of course Issei is not a fool, but the way he asked her to simplify her explanation hinting that Issei might be a type who doesn't listen to people, especially those who talk much. But the most interesting part was how much it took for her to turn him into a devil. Considering the amount of evil pieces Rias had used, she can tell that Issei is very powerful, or at least the boy has a very deep potential and it would definitely help her if she can make him bloom to the fullest.
"Say, Akeno…" said Rias towards her queen who was preparing a tea next to the former.
"Yes, buchou?" replied Akeno as she put a cup of tea in front of Rias.
"What do you think of him? About Ise"
Akeno put on a thinking expression for a while. "Other than how interesting he carried himself earlier, I don't see anything out of ordinary from him. At least not yet…"
"I see… Well anyway, he should be on his way back by now. Akeno, would you mind?"
Akeno did not say anything in respond as she moved her hand and a red magic circle appeared in front of them, turning into a radar that serves for them to locate Issei and other members. After looking at Issei's signature on the radar carefully, Akeno noticed something as she turned immediately towards Rias.
"Buchou, there is a foreign signature closing towards him! Ise-kun might be in danger!"
At Akeno's notice, Rias immediately stood up from her seat, "Do you know where he is?"
"Yes, it's not far from here if we're flying"
"I see. Akeno, I need you to stay here on guard. I'll go alone. Do you understand?" Rias commanded as she walked to the window and opened it.
Akeno would wanted to go with her, but seeing that she could not defy her, Akeno reluctantly complied. "Yes, I understand. Please be careful out there, Rias"
Rias nodded in acknowledgement and she took off into the night sky towards Issei's location.