"Okay, let's take a break." Xenovia and Asia stopped running and took a rest on the ground after Issei said the word. The boy then proceeded to hand the girls their drinks. "Good work, you two. You're doing better than last time."
"It's getting easier for getting in sync." Xenovia boasted as she chugged the bottle of water, then she handed it to Asia. "Asia here is working hard as well."
"Thank you, Xenovia-san." Asia replied, but Issei caught that she was kind of out of it.
Few minutes later, Issei spoke up. "Well, I guess that's enough break for now. Xenovia, can you go and check on Irina?"
Xenovia blinked, feeling something was up but she complied nonetheless. "Yeah, sure."
"And Asia, can you come with me? I need your help with something." Issei turned to the blonde.
"Huh…? Err… Okay." The said blonde replied.
The two walked away, and once Issei and Asia were secluded enough, the former then looked into the latter in the eye. "So, Asia… Can you tell me what's wrong?"
Asia then looked downwards as her mood worsened. The girl was glad that Issei was paying attention to her, but at the same time, she did not want to bother the boy with her own problems.
"Asia."
The girl looked up and saw Issei was looking at her with concerned look. "You know you can trust me. I know you're worrying about something…." Issei then closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again. "But… I won't force you to talk if you don't want to. I just want you to know you are always more than welcome to share your problems. We are family, after all." Issei said as he caressed Asia's cheek.
At the boy's gentle administration, Asia could not help but to lean her head towards Issei's hand as she smiled and enjoyed the warmth of the boy's touch. "Thank you, Ise-san…. It's just…. I don't regret saving that person back then." Issei widened his eyes at the answer, as he remembered Asia's back-story. "Even if that was the reason for my banishment from the church, I never regret saving him."
Issei then looked sadly at Asia. "Say, Asia… What would you do… If you're allowed to get your old life back?"
Asia then looked up towards Issei's face once again with her eyes widened in shock. However, after staring at the boy for few seconds, Asia's expression softened as her lips formed into a smile. "I won't go back." Asia said it without hesitation. "I like this place. I also like Kuou Academy and the Occult Research Club. I also like Buchou-san, Akeno-san, Sensei, Kiba-san, Xenovia-san, Koneko-chan, Gasper-kun, Irina-san, and Kiryuu-san. I also love …Ise-san and Ise-san's parents. The new life I started in this city is something very important, and something I greatly love which makes it so wonderful."
Issei could not help but smile at her reply; that was so like her. Of course someone as sweet and kind as Asia would never turn away from anyone in need, even if doing so would make her life easier to live. Even if she knew that her life would change forever, that she would be banished from her home, Asia Argento had healed the devil that day, and she regretted nothing.
"Ise-san…. Can I stay by your side from now on?" Asia then asked sincerely.
Issei only pulled her into a hug, buried her head in his chest as he caressed her hair fondly. "Yeah…. Of course you can." Asia only buried her face deeper into the boy's chest happily. The moment lasted for few seconds until a voice was heard.
*Sniff
Issei and Asia broke away to find Irina and Xenovia were watching them. The former had tears in her eyes as she was clutching a handkerchief while the latter was crossing her arms over her chest with amused look in her eyes.
"This is so beautiful, isn't it right, Xenovia? This is the kind of relationship that is blessed by the Lord and Michael-sama!" Irina said as she wiped her tears away with the cloth.
"Amen." Xenovia replied while nodding approvingly.
Issei and Asia were flustered at the comment, then the former quickly recovered. "Okay, now that everyone's up… Let's resume our training, shall we?"
"And I have decided!" ignoring Issei's say, Irina then proclaimed once again. "I'm going to make my own club!"
Everyone else raised their eyebrows at Irina's declaration. "You are?" Issei asked.
"Yes! The club's name is 'Shidou Irina's Salvation of Love Club'! The description is simple! We will help those in need without receiving anything in return! Aaaah, I will be spreading my love to the sinful pagans for the Lord and Michael-sama since I hold strong belief in our teachings!"
Upon Irina's explanation, the others remained silent for a minute, trying to take in the information. Issei was the first one to react, "Well, do your best…. And actually, how many people are there in your club? Rather, has Sona-kaichou approved this?"
"Um… For now, it's just me." Irina replied.
"You know that you have to join at least one club during your study here, right?" Issei pressed on.
"Ah, you don't have to worry about that. For the time being I'll be put in the care of Occult Research Club. But once I've convinced Sona-kaichou, the club will be glorious! And of course I'll help out Occult Research Club when the occasion arise!" Irina boasted again.
"Oh….!" Asia and Xenovia only clapped at Irina's speech while clapping their hands.
Issei only sighed as he put the conversation to an end. "Alright, alright. Let's go, you three. We have a sports festival coming soon, remember?"
oXo
"Alright, that should be all of them." Issei dusted his hands off as he put down a basket of balls in gym storage room. Asia and Xenovia were also present to help around for cleaning up after school.
SLAM!
However, Issei suddenly heard the storage room's door being shut. "What the…" And he turned around to see Xenovia with her back against the said door.
"What's wrong, Xenovia-san?" Asia asked with puzzled expression.
"Asia…." Xenovia said with serious tone. "I heard that girls around our age start to flirt with others during this period."
"F-f-flirt?!"
Asia asked hesitantly, while Issei only furrowed his eyebrows as his instinct did not like where the conversation was heading.
"Err… And your point is…?"
Without really answering Issei's question, Xenovia kept saying what was in her mind. "It means you get your breast played around with by a boy."
"R-r-really? Having my breasts played by…" Asia trailed off as she glanced at Issei, then her face blushed when their eyes met.
"Wait, wait, wait! Xenovia, what are you-!"
"Issei, be quiet for a bit. Let me finish with Asia first, then I'll talk to you." Xenovia cut Issei's words off. "Just prepare yourself as things gonna get intense here."
"Seriously, what the fuck is the deal with her?!" In his mind, Issei was screaming at Xenovia's lack of tact and common sense.
Xenovia on the other hand, was still explaining her idea to Asia. "Listen here, Asia. There is a girl in our class who has her breasts played with every day by her boyfriend. I researched quite a lot." Asia's face became redder at Xenovia's words. "And thus, don't you think it's a good time for us to also experience it?" Xenovia tried to convince Asia even more by grabbing her shoulders.
As Asia was flustered even more, Issei's brain began to formulate a plan to get out of this predicament. With Xenovia's outrageous idea about flirting, and him being the only male in the room, this kind of situation would definitely lead to some incident that would plummet his reputation to the drain even more. The door was not locked, and if anyone by any chance walked in when Xenovia and Asia were attempting to 'flirt' with him, Issei would be ensnared into another nasty rumour.
"Asia, we're friends, aren't we?" Xenovia asked.
"…Yes." Asia nodded.
"Then let's flirt together. It's not that scary when we do it together."
Issei's instinct started to go on high alert when Xenovia and Asia turned to him, with the latter taking off her whole top, revealing her assets.
"Damn it! Come on, Ise! You gotta do something! Say something! Anything!" Issei began to sweat bullets as he finally held out his hand. "Alright! STOP THERE FOR A SEC!"
Thankfully, Xenovia and Asia stopped on their tracks as they only stared quizzically at Issei, who cleared his throat. "So… Xenovia, do you know what you're asking?"
"Of course I know." Xenovia simply replied and she turned to Asia. "Come on, Asia. You should take off those too." Xenovia pointed at Asia's clothes.
"No, no, no, no. Xenovia, listen to me first." Issei shook his head. "I want you to know that what you've researched is not what flirting really means."
Those words caught the girls' attention. "…Is it?" Xenovia asked while being a bit skeptical. Asia only blinked and tilted her head in puzzlement.
"Well, you see… Um, flirting is….. Err… not simply having your breast being played around by guys." Issei began his lecture. "While it does involve some foreplay with breasts… Kind of… Flirting is….. basically some kind of pre-ritual before marriage…. Or, um… baby-making, in order to deepen the relationship between a man and woman…. I think." Issei muttered the last line.
"Hoo…." The girls started to forget about flirting with him and currently listening to him with interest.
Issei's face might be calm and confident, but inside he was really nervous as hell. Even he did not know how he came up with those words, given his lack of experience with other girls. That night with Rias might be close to what people called as 'flirting', but Issei believed it was all his instinct taking over.
[…Wow. Do you even know what you're saying?] Ddraig was rather amused at his host's lecture.
"Shut up, just shut up! I'm thinking here!" Issei scolded the dragon inside him as his mind began to work hard again.
Issei shook his head again before continuing to speak. "Anyway, what I want to say is…. Flirting is something rather sacred that isn't supposed to be done in a place like this. And…Err…" Issei searched for more words again. "I… think Asia is not ready to… flirt, yet. If you want it to be enjoyable, all participants must… Yeah! All participants must be ready both body and mind!" Issei hoped his earnest that Xenovia would believe his bluff.
"Well…. I guess Asia's not really ready for it, but I am more than ready." Xenovia said. "You're a young healthy man. Sure you have some interest in woman's body, no? You're free to do with mine however you wish." Xenovia said by emphasizing her breasts.
"Well, that's the thing. All of this are so sudden and… I need a lot of time to make sure of my own feelings… To make sure that there absolutely won't be any problems afterwards…." While saying those words, Issei felt slightly embarrassed to sound like a virgin little boy in front of a seductress. "You know what? Once I reach high-class, I'll flirt with you as much as you want. How does that sound?"
"Eeeh?!" Asia was flustered and surprised at the boy's sudden blunt proposal.
Xenovia however, did not seem to be convinced as she stared at Issei. "No, that would take too long. Can't you do that sooner? Like in a week or two?"
Issei's eyes began to twitch from frustration. "Okay, how about this. If I'm not mistaken, based on how many contracts we've made so far, it shouldn't be long until we have to attend our promotion test for middle-class. Once we reach middle-class, then we can flirt. Thoughts?"
Xenovia contemplated Issei's proposal again for a minute. "…Fine. But I don't want just to flirt by then. I want to, along with Asia, to begin making babies with you."
"Eeeeeeeh?!" Asia's brain could not take anymore as steam began to appear from her head.
Seeing Xenovia's expression that would take no objection, Issei could only nod. "…Fine by me."
Xenovia then nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Well, I guess we should go meet the others now. Let's go, Asia." Xenovia opened the door, then walked along with the dazed Asia.
"….Okay…" Asia only replied in her dazed state.
Once the girls were out of sight, Issei dropped to his knees and slumped on his fours. "Well, now that'd been taken care of…. What the fuck did I just say?!"
[No shit… Way to go, partner. You just dug your own bloody grave.]
Issei was too frustrated to even make a proper retort as he only whimpered in return.
"…What are you doing here?" Issei asked with deadpanned expression at the last person he wanted to see after the trouble he got from Xenovia. The boy was sitting on one of the couches of the old clubroom with Koneko on his lap, along with everyone else from Occult Research Club after school. In front of them was a large monitor screen like television.
Saitama, clad in white T-shirt and black sweat-pants was standing beside Azazel. "I, err… was invited to tag along." The man replied while glancing at the fallen angel governor. All seats were apparently preoccupied with the others, so Saitama would have to do by standing.
"Well, we're here to watch the video recording that has the matches of the young devils. His so-called disciple was also recorded, so I think it would be fair if I show him along with you. It's fine, isn't it? The school-hour is already over, after all." Azazel simply replied. "Anyway, let's just focus on the main show, okay? This is the video of your rivals so watch carefully."
Everyone then complied as they focused their attention at the screen as the recording was being played. "Okay, the first match is… Sairaorg Bael vs Zephyrdol Glasya-Labolas."
As everyone watched, the match between the representative of the Bael Household and Glasya-Labolas Household could only be said as one-sided slaughter, and rather anti-climactic in the end.
The fight between servants of each respective kings lasted for several hours, with the result where all of Zephyrdol's servants were defeated by Sairaorg's. The bad-boy looking devil then proceeded to provoke and challenged Sairaorg to fight one-on-one, and the result was the one that widened everyone's eyes, sans Saitama and Azazel.
Zephyrdol immediately set up so many magic seals in front of him to prepare his offensive spell, while Sairaorg suddenly moved in blinding speed and threw a straight-punch right at Zephyrdol's abdomen. The punch did not only shattered all of Zephyrdol's magic seals, but also made the devil coughed out a mouthful of blood and his body was sent hurling towards the corner of the stage.
Once Zephyrdol's body hit the wall, the said half of the entire wall was destroyed from the sheer force and the devil was retired from the game due to being unconscious.
One punch. It only took one punch for Sairaorg to defeat Zephyrdol as the former simply raised up his fist in victory.
"Sairaorg Bael…." Yuuto muttered the name of the victor of the match with wary look in his eyes.
"Saitama-san…" Rias turned to the bald man. "Just what kind of things did you teach him? I did expect him to win, but… Not like that."
"Mm… Not much, actually. I only gave him some basic training regiment, and he picked up the rest of things by himself. Sairaorg is independent learning type, after all." Saitama shrugged. Then, a thought cross on his mind and he turned to his son. "Say, Ise…"
"What?" The boy gave a little scowl.
"When you're doing that training regiment I gave you for the last 7 years… How did you do those training, exactly?"
Issei blinked and narrowed his eyes slightly, searching for any particular reason why his father suddenly asked that question. But he chose to indulge his father's question for the time being. "Well… I was just doing it regularly."
Saitama blinked this time. "Regularly…? I mean, did you get involved in anything? Accidents? Fights?"
Everyone began to get curious at what Saitama was insinuating. "Well, aside from occasional fights with local bad kids, the neighbourhood is relatively a peaceful, crime-free place. Those older bullies were not that tough anymore after I started to grow some muscles."
"Hmm….." Saitama seemed to be in thought for a second before looked up again. "How did it feel when you trained your body? Did you find them so hard that you want to die or something?"
"It was hard during the first few weeks, of course." Issei narrowed his eyes even further out of curiosity. "But I got used to it soon enough."
"And your diet?" Saitama pressed on. "Did you… indulge in any snacks or sweets? Were you using AC in your room?"
"Well, mom did bake some cookies and cakes from time to time… I can't just let them go to waste…. Actually, why are you asking me these?" Issei asked back.
"No, it's nothing, really." Saitama shook his head. "Just curious about my son, that's all." Saitama turned back to the screen. "Hmm… I guess he had it too easy."
Issei frowned at the gesture while everyone else was still curious of what Saitama was trying to get. Azazel only shrugged in the end as he made his comment known. "Well, as you can see there… That Glasya-Labolas kid is not a push-over either. Out of the young devils, he's only second after Sairaorg in terms of raw power. That shows just how much of a beast Sairaorg is."
"Rias, you and your cousin there have too many one on one battles even though you guys are the 'King'. Like the match you had with Sona Sitri, you know that you almost lost to her, right? But then again, I guess those who carry Bael's bloodline are hot-blooded."
Rias only looked down in embarrassment as she recalled her close fight with Sona. If it were not for Asia's assist, Rias' group would have lost in that match due to their King was taken down.
"Sensei…" Issei asked to Azazel. "You say that the bad-boy devil wannabe was only second after Sairaorg in terms of raw power, does that mean there's some kind of ranking system around?"
Azazel only replied by showing a holographic graph in the air. They were graphs that provided the information of all six young devils participating in the Rating Game. Each graph has the category of Power, Technique, Support, Wizard and quality as King; and each data varied from person to person.
"According to the Game Committee, Bael is ranked first, Agares is ranked second, Gremory is ranked third, Astaroth is ranked fourth, Sitri is ranked fifth, and Glasya-Labolas is ranked sixth. It's the comparison of average rank of their strengths, including the King and their servants. Though each of them turned the result around after having a match." Akeno informed as she provided some tea for everyone.
"Just for comparison…" Issei asked again. "How strong is Sairaorg-san compared to Riser Phenex?"
"I won't know unless both of them fight against each other, but from that display of power we saw just now, I believe that Sairaorg is stronger. After all, he is known as The Strongest Young Devil." Rias replied to her pawn.
"And by the way, the match just now? Sairaorg was still holding back in that attack." Azazel added his two cents, causing everyone especially Issei to be more wary of the said Strongest Young Devil.
Issei however, inwardly kind of excited at the prospect of fighting Sairaorg. "So if Sairaorg-san was still holding back in that match… I wonder how strong he is when he goes all out. He's using Bael clan's Power of Destruction, right?"
Azazel shook his head. "On the contrary, Sairaorg is the first pure devil from the House of Bael who didn't have any talents. He also couldn't inherit one of the traits passed down from the House of Bael, the power of destruction. The ones who strongly inherited the power of destruction are his cousins, the Gremory siblings."
"And he still managed to gain title of the strongest among the youth?"
"He gained his current strength through methods that devils in general wouldn't normally do. Thus he surpassed the geniuses through sheer hard work." Azazel then motioned to Saitama. "Intense physical training, tutelage from this guy here and his determination after going through muddy and bloody path due to his lack of brilliant environment that other devils have, had put Sairaorg on a whole different level."
"Oh, and just for reminder. If you won against Diodora in the upcoming next, you'll be pitted against Sairaorg."
"…Damn." Issei said mildly.
"But what about our match with Zephyrdol?" Rias asked.
"That kid? I highly doubt it." Azazel scoffed. "People with his attitude usually have their bodies and spirits being crushed after that kind of defeat. I bet he won't be able to fight anymore once he wakes up. Just see." Azazel gave a confident smirk. "Moving on, we're gonna watch the video of the Astaroth against the Agares."
However, suddenly a flash of magic circle appeared in the room, alerting everyone. "…Astaroth." Akeno muttered as she recognized the crest symbol on the magic circle.
Then from the circle, a familiar young man with a smile on his face appeared and he sent his greeting. "How are you doing, everyone? It is I, Diodora Astaroth. I have come to see Asia."
oXo
Currently, Diodora and Rias were seated across each other at the centre of the clubroom with Azazel present as an advisor. After providing some green tea, Akeno then joined everyone else at the corner of the room.
"Rias-san, I'll get to the point. I would like to trade Bishops." Diodora did not beat around the bush.
"Iyaaaan! I-is he talking about me!?" Gasper squealed in fear as everybody knew the prospect of 'trading'.
Issei sighed while Saitama only rolled his eyes, and the former lightly slapped Gasper's head. "Of course not."
"The servant I am seeking from Rias-san is… Your Bishop, Asia Argento." Diodora continued as he took a glance at the girl in question.
The moment her name was stated, Asia grabbed Issei's head for comfort, and the boy responded in kind by giving a reassuring squeeze.
"And the one I will be arranging is…"
Before Diodora could have made his own offer, Rias interrupted him. "Diodora-san… I'm sorry. I thought that I should say it before you show me that catalogue of your servants, so let me say it before hand. I have no intention to have a trade. It's not that your Bishop doesn't match up with mine, but I just simply don't want to lose Asia… She is my important servant devil."
Diodora's squinted eyes slightly opened as he took in Rias' refusal, then he asked with some steel in his voice. "Is it because of her ability? Or is it because of her charm as an individual?"
"Both. I think of her as my little sister."
"Buchou-san…" Asia whispered and her eyes got teary as she was touched by Rias' statement.
Diodora remained silent with his smile for a moment, then he stood up. "I understand. I will withdraw for today, but I will not give up." Then he walked towards Asia, who stepped back from nervousness. Then Diodora kneeled down as he grasped Asia's hand. "Asia… I still love you. Destiny has brought us together, and it will not bring us apart. Even if the whole world rejects us, I shall overcome them, only for you." Then he brought Asia's hand to kiss it.
Issei immediately grabbed Diodora's shoulder, stopping the latter to place his lips on Asia's back-hand. "Sorry, but… I believe you've troubled her enough." Issei calmly rebuked with strained smile.
Diodora only mildly glared at Issei while maintaining his smile. "Can you let go of me? I feel a bit disgusted to be touched by a filthy dragon."
SLAP!
Diodora's cheek was reddening due to Asia just slapped him. Even Issei did not expect the girl would do something like that. Saitama however, did not bother to hide his amusement as he whistled.
"Please do not say that to Ise-san!" Asia said with vehemence in her voice as she glared at Diodora.
However, the young man remained smiling to the point of being rather creepy. "I see. I understand…. Then how about this. In the next match, I will defeat Hyoudou Issei the Red Dragon Emperor. Then I would like you, Asia, to answer my love….." then he turned to look straight at Issei. "Red Dragon Emperor… I will have fun crushing you in our next match."
"Bring it on…" Issei simply replied as he cracked his index finger with his thumb.
Then, Azazel's phone rang, and after Azazel answered the call, he turned to Rias and Diodora. "Well, what do you know… Rias, Diodora. Your game will be held in five days."
Thus, Diodora's visit ended after the announcement.
It was at night when Issei was walking down the streets of the neighbourhood. He just finished a contract with another client, but since it was the last job for the night, Issei wanted to take a scenic route back to the academy. Besides, there was a vending machine that sold one of his favourite drinks in the area.
He took a sip from the drink he purchased, and then he noticed someone was approaching him. When Issei looked at the source of the presence, a young man in rough clothes appeared.
"It's been a while, Red Dragon Emperor."
Issei only stared at the man for few seconds before he narrowed his eyes. "…Have we met?"
The supposed to be stranger's eyes twitched in irritation but he calmed himself quickly as he let out a breath. "Okay, I guess you're too drunk back then. It's me, Bikou. You fought me and Kuroka back in the Underworld."
"Hmm… Oh! Oh! Vali's group!" Issei's brain finally clicked. "So, yeah… Um… What are you doing?" Issei ended up awkwardly.
"I'm just accompanying him." Bikou looked back, and a familiar face emerged.
"Vali…" Issei said with even tone. The Strongest White Dragon Emperor made his appearance in white shirt instead of his usual garment.
"It has been… 2 months, hasn't it, Hyoudou Issei?" Vali greeted.
"I guess…" Issei looked between Bikou and Vali. "I… take that you guys are not here to pick a fight? You're not here to pick a fight, right?"
"Nope, but I think Kuroka will surely pick one when she meets you again." Bikou replied while snickering.
"Speaking of Kuroka-san…" Issei looked away as he rubbed the back of his neck. "…How's she doing?" The boy actually felt bad after he had learned of what he did to her.
"Pissed and wants to kill you… I think."
"As much as I'd like to fight you again, Hyoudou Issei… I didn't come here for that. I just wanted to talk." Vali interjected.
Issei narrowed his eyes at Vali. "….About what?"
"About your next Rating Game. I heard you will fight against the House of Astaroth."
"And your point is…?"
"You should be careful."
"…What do you mean?"
Vali shrugged. "You saw that video recording of his match, right? His match against the heiress from House of Archduke Agares."
At Vali's answer, Issei recalled about the match he saw from the video. The match was kind of like the one between Sairaorg Bael and Zephyrdol Glasya-Labolas, in Diodora's favour. The young man from Astaroth was practically overwhelming the entire opposing force. Despite the efforts from Seekvaira Agares and her servants, Diodora Astaroth displayed an abnormal power as the King himself fought the entire enemy peerage, while his servants only acted as support.
However, many things did not add up in that video. Firstly, Diodora display of power did not match Azazel's data. Secondly, during the first-half of the match, Seekvaira was in fact, had the advantage until Diodora suddenly gained a massive power-boost and began to dominate the game. The said power-boost was just unnatural. It might be one thing if Diodora was just holding back during the first-half, but even so, his power just way exceeded everyone's expectation. Diodora himself was pretty strong in terms of demonic power in his peers, but even Rias and the others thought that Diodora was not supposed to be that strong, despite being the younger brother of the current Beelzebub.
"Those high-class devils won't listen the words from my mouth, so I thought I can tell you instead."
Before Issei could have replied to Vali, something appeared from the darkness, out of Issei, Bikou and Vali's notice. That something was a big, tall man with his glorious, hulking muscles for the world to see, dressed in gothic-lolita clothes and cat-ears on his head.
It was Mil-tan, one of Issei's regular clients as he walked between the three as he raised up his hand in greeting towards Issei. "Nyo."
"S-'sup…?" Issei returned the gesture with forced smile.
As Mil-tan began to walk away, Vali and Bikou kept staring at the human with looks of disbelief. "…What the fuck was that?" Bikou finally asked.
"Judging from its ears, is he a Nekomata? Even I couldn't sense him until he came closer. Is it Senjutsu?" Vali began to speculate while he was still trying to cope up with what he just saw.
"No, no, no, no. I never knew a Nekomata to be that hideous. That can only be a Troll… right? Some sort of Cat-Troll? Red Dragon Emperor, you know that… guy?" Bikou, still looked troubled, asked to Issei.
"I know, right? Well, that dude is apparently my regular client in my devil job. I still can't even figure out what the hell he is." Issei shrugged.
With the atmosphere somehow lightened up due to Mil-tan's appearance, Vali turned on his heels and started to walk away. "Well, who cares? Let's go back, Bikou."
"What, leaving so soon?" Issei called out.
"I was only nearby, that's all." Vali shrugged.
"And you still bothered to inform me about Diodora... You're actually nicer than you let out, y'know that?" Issei smirked.
Vali snorted in return. "I just wanted to warn my rival. Is that so bad?" Then Vali began to walk away again without waiting for another reply.
"Oh, wait! One more thing." Issei called out, causing Vali and Bikou to look back again.
"Err…. Can you…" Issei sheepishly scratched his cheek. "Can you tell Kuroka-san that I'm really sorry about what happened last time?"
Vali and Bikou blinked and they chuckled as they realized what Issei was talking about. "Not that I mind, but you should tell her yourself by the time you two meet again. Good night, Hyoudou Issei." Then Vali finally left.
Bikou then quickly followed-suit. "See ya, Red Dragon Emperor. Hey, Vali. Let's go to the rumoured noodle-shop on our way~"
Issei blinked at the word Bikou said, then shouted as the two terrorists took their leave. "That noodle-shop doesn't only sell noodles! Try their fried chicken and dumplings, they're pretty good too!"
In return, Bikou only waved his hand in gratitude as the two finally disappeared into the darkness.
[White One sure has a weird host] Ddraig spoke out of the blue as Issei kept staring at the place where Vali and Bikou had vanished.
"Is that so?"
[Well, you're kind of weird as well]
"How rude…."
[But I'm having fun. Your current life style…. And the events that follow… They're really interesting. Especially your father.]
"…What about him?" Issei asked as he took a glance at his left hand.
[During your training in the Underworld… I saw that the strength he'd shown so far doesn't make any sense. It makes me wonder, how much do you have to boost yourself in order to catch up to him? This is the very first time for me to see such a human.]
Issei only snorted with small smile. "Well… Only one way to find out, right?"
oXo
"I see. So that's what Vali told you." Rias said as she got a hold of what happened to Issei in the clubroom. Apparently, everyone else had gone home ahead, leaving Rias, the leader, and Issei, who returned the last to the clubroom, behind.
"To manage to infiltrate this town without us knowing…. They do have two Senjutsu practitioners, after all… I will report this to my brother and Azazel just in case." Rias decided and started to do her thing.
Then, Rias finished finalising her report and returned to Issei. "If by any chance Vali was telling the truth, we will need to be alert about Diodora….. Now, let's go home."
"Yes, buchou."
Later at midnight, Rias was rummaging the kitchen's fridge as she took a glass of cold water.
"Cannot sleep?"
Rias flinched slightly in shock and turned to see Saitama. "S-Saitama-san? What are you doing at this hour?"
"I just want to grab a drink. And you haven't answered my question, y'know." Saitama replied as he took a can of beer from the fridge and took a seat on the kitchen table. "So, mind to share with this old man?"
Rias let out a smile. "Much obliged, Saitama-san… But I'm fine."
"No need to lie, Rias." Saitama said with a hint of seriousness in his tone, as he did not use his usual suffix on Rias' name. "If you can't sleep even with Ise by your side, that means something's going on."
Rias averted her gaze away as Saitama's words hit the mark. "Come on, maybe boring talks with this old man can lull you to sleep." Saitama lightly joked. "Besides, Sirzechs asked me to look after you."
Rias contemplated about what to do for a second before she finally took a seat across of him. She had nothing to lose, and having a conversation like this could sate her curiosity about who, and what kind of man Hyoudou Saitama was.
"So…" Saitama decided to be the first one to talk. "I saw the recording of your match with Serafall's little sister. Congratulations for that."
Rias smiled softly at the gesture. "Thank you. But it was also thanks to everyone's effort as well."
"Yeah, no kidding. If Asia weren't there, you'd have lost from Serafall's little sister." Saitama did not hold back his criticism as he took a sip of his beer. "That really was a close call, y'know that?"
Rias grimaced at that. She remembered her close-match with Sona all over again. Despite her victory, most of the praises and positive reviews fell for Sona Sitri's peerage due to their bold tactic in storming Rias' peerage during the match. In fact, Rias herself received a small critic about her own close-combat capability. The martial-arts moves Sona pulled on her in the last minute had almost become her downfall.
"…Indeed, it was. That was an error from my own part, but it won't happen again." Rias preserved the dignity she had left by acknowledging her own mistake.
As he was listening to Rias, Saitama took another sip to hide his lips that was twitching slightly upwards. The man seemed satisfied enough to see the sign of growth in the Gremory heiress.
"Saitama-san…" Then it was Rias turn to ask questions. "Did you… Really fought my brother and… won?"
Saitama blinked at Rias' slight disbelief gesture before he replied. "…Did Sirzechs finally tell you?"
Rias lightly shook her head. "No, it was Azazel who told me… Then I confronted onii-sama to confirm."
Saitama looked down, staring at the table. "We did fight… But it was more like a friendly match per your brother's request." It was true in a sense of words. "Your brother gave one hell of a fight in that match. I was really surprised at how strong he was." It was also true. During the 'friendly match', Saitama was completely surprised at the strength of Sirzech's Power of Destruction.
"…I see." Rias closed her eyes, then she opened it again, revealing a curious look that saw straight towards Saitama. "Saitama-san…. Who are you?"
"….Just a father who works as a hero for fun."
At Saitama's answer, Rias only gave a small sigh as her lips turned into a wry smile. "A hero for fun… huh..."
"How does it feel to have such power? Azazel stated that you're something like the humanity's strongest." Rias asked again.
Saitama remained silent for few seconds. "…..It's not as good as most people would think of."
"Is that so? As far as I have learned and experienced, many people would've killed to acquire that kind of power of yours." Rias replied sceptically. The mightiest conquers all. That was at least what Rias Gremory's society always believed.
During the devil's civil war, the descendants of the original devil kings were thrown off their pedestals because they were incompetent, and mostly, weak. Their power-level did not deserve the title of the original Satans, as their titles were usurped by the four individuals who governed the current Underworld.
Sirzechs Gremory, Ajuka Astaroth, Serafall Sitri and Falbium Glasya-Labolas. While the latter two were outstanding in their own ways, the former two had reached a new form of 'mutation' that allowed their powers to surpass the original devil kings.
"That's just stupid." Saitama retorted. "Those many people should get themselves a hobby or something."
Rias scowled at Saitama's retort. To be honest, the girl was willing enough do anything necessary to attain more power, power strong enough that she would be free to choose her own destiny, her own dreams, no stupid political/arranged marriage under the prospect of conserving bloodline. Not to mention, she was only seen as 'Sirzechs Lucifer's little sister' and 'the heiress of Gremory Household' instead of just 'Rias'. She was inwardly jealous of Sairaorg's overwhelming strength, Sona's intelligence, Seekvaira's professionalism, and she was even jealous of her own pawn, Hyoudou Issei. All of them possess enough power in their own way to choose their own path.
"You're thinking something dumb, aren't you?" Saitama's question snapped Rias out of her own musings. "Your face is saying 'I want more power' or something like that."
Rias scowled deeper without saying a word. That silence alone was enough for Saitama. Then, the girl spoke, "Is that so wrong? Wanting to be stronger? Not to lose from anyone? To be able to protect my comrades?"
Sometimes, Rias would scold herself for her own powerlessness. The incident with Riser Phenex, she did not solve it by herself. It was thanks to Issei. She also failed to fend off Kokabiel's invasion as Issei came again to save the day. It was Saitama who helped her saving Gasper during the attack on the peace conference at Kuoh Academy, and during her match against Sona… It was her peerage who helped her won the game. And even then, it was Issei who managed to get her servants to get out of their cages, while it should have been Rias' duty to do so.
She was in love, yet envious at Hyoudou Issei at the same time.
"Wanting to be strong enough to protect your friends is good and all." Saitama said as he took another chug. "But being the 'strongest' is another case."
Saitama then paused, put on a thinking expression as if he was looking for the right things to say. "…Let me ask you this, then. Why would you fight for your friends?"
"…I love them." Rias replied as the image of her peerage, and Issei appeared in her mind. "I want to spend time with them forever… At least for as long as possible."
Saitama nodded. "And that's the thing. When you became too strong, one day you'll find yourself standing alone, leaving everyone behind."
"….Eh?" Rias' eyes widened slightly as she took in Saitama's every word, as the man put on a serious, yet a solemn expression.
After all, he spoke from his own experience. It all started from his wish to be an aspiring superhero that could defeat all bad guys and monsters around. And the result was, he chased after his dream too vehemently and became too strong. People ended up scorning him, his friends barely managed to keep up with him and got hurt badly in the process. Genos was ever-faithful as he kept being around him, but in the end Saitama found his cyborg friend to be no longer around. And after ended up making his own family, Issei and Haruka, Saitama would still fear of the day where they would not be able to keep up anymore.
"But…. If I'm too weak… I might end up losing them." Rias reasoned.
"Well, you're not that weak. That I can tell." Saitama replied as Rias blinked at him. "What's wrong about relying on others, anyway?" This time, Saitama was smiling. "Well, I'm not saying that you should quit getting stronger. But just take it slow. The time with your friends is more important than actually getting stronger, right?"
"No need to tell her that I got this strong only in 3 years, though." Saitama thought before continuing. "Everybody got their own case about being strong. Some people have their own limits that they can't surpass, even your brother. Sirzechs in the end is still a devil at core."
"Heh… Look at me, rambling." Saitama snorted. Days with his new family had truly changed him. "My last advice is, have fun and take your time. And I give you my word; hard work betrays none."
Rias was kind of speechless at Saitama's lecture. Slowly, her lips crept up into a smile as she finally gave out a small laugh. "…Thank you, Saitama-san. I feel better now."
"Yeah… Man, that's some depressing stuff." Saitama scoffed. "How are things with Ise?"
Rias looked aside as she gave another sigh. "Ise is…. Still being himself."
"Hmm…. I see. Well, just take your time. That kid is not that dense, y'know? You two only need more time to realize each other's feelings." Saitame commented. "Though you'd better not slacking off too much. Because… Honestly, I think Asia is getting ahead."
"I'm not surprised. The two are inseparable ever since Asia became my Bishop. It's probably a matter of time until they become a couple…. Well, worse comes to worst, I'd just have to share Ise." Rias replied with a shrug.
"…..What?" Saitama stared at the girl. "…Sharing, you mean…. You want Ise to have a harem or something?"
"I don't see why not." Rias replied. "Creating a harem is a common practice among devil society due to our low birth-rate. Even my father has a harem with my mother managing them."
Saitama blinked at the fact. He did hear a rumour or two, but he did not expect for those rumours to be true. "…And you're fine about it?"
Rias giggled. "As much as I'd prefer to have your son for myself… All the girls in my group are already too attached to him; Asia, Akeno, and perhaps Koneko…. I just don't have a heart to take him away from them."
Saitama snorted as he took in the statement. "….Wow, my son is a lucky bastard."
"Strong men like Ise tend to attract many people, especially women." Then Rias smiled teasingly. "Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if you were to gain a harem one day, Saitama-san."
"Me, a harem? No way." Saitama denied immediately. "Not only Haruka would kill me, my hands are already full enough handling her. I don't need another woman, thank you very much."
"Speaking of, how did you and Haruka-san meet and get together?" Rias asked with interest in her eyes.
Saitama finished his whole can of beer and stood up. "That's for another time." He threw the can to the trash bin. "It's already late and I want to go back to sleep. You should go to bed too." Saitama left while yawning.
When Saitama's figure disappeared, Rias let out a breath as she chose to let the topic go for the moment. She recalled Saitama's advice again before she went back to bed.
"I'm sorry for reporting to you by this communication system, Sirzechs. It's about the mysterious death of the heir of the Glaysa-Labolas and the increase of Diodora Astaroth's demonic powers…"
.
.
.
"So it was related like I thought…. The devils still have many troubles even now."
.
.
.
"I still don't have any evidence, but if we were to believe in Vali's warning, then Diodora is… Looks like we need to do that plan which we discussed after all. …Man, I already feel down because of the recent event within my own organisation."
.
.
.
"I heard about it. It seems like one of the leaders of the Grigori got married."
.
.
.
"No shit. I'm probably the only single left around."
.
.
.
"Fufufu. How about you settle down with someone now Azazel? Even Saitama-kun over there had beaten you first in that department."
In the dark room where the conversation being held, a figure's head twitched at the word said.
"Who cares? I'm a man who lives as he wishes. So, about this plan… Saitama, are you willing to go along with it?"
"…I'm Rias Gremory-sama's Pawn, Hyoudou Issei… Hmm… I guess it's okay." Issei said as he practiced speaking in front of a mirror.
Apparently, Rias received a sudden invitation for interview with Underworld's TV station. As all young devils were invited for the interview, so do their peerages.
"Ise, are you ready?" Rias asked as she went inside his room.
"Yeah." Issei replied as he stood up and he walked together with Rias to meet the others.
"You know you don't have to burden yourself that much about Asia." Rias suddenly spoke. When Issei gave her a look, Rias replied with a smile. "You can't fool anyone with that kind of expression. Well, everyone's also worried about Asia, me included. Do you believe it's your fault that Asia was dragged into this side of the world?"
Issei looked down, pushing down the horrible memory when he failed to save Asia from fallen angel Raynare. "…Yes. She did say that she enjoys her current life, and I'm glad that she does. But still…"
"That's enough, Ise." Rias silenced her pawn with a gentle hug. "…Let's make Asia live a happy life from now on, shall we? A happy life together with us."
Issei smiled as his eyes were closed with unshed tears. Few minutes later, the two then proceeded to their destination.
oXo
After they arrived at the studio, Rias and her peerage were directed towards the program hall where they had run across familiar face and his peerage.
"Ah, Sairaorg. So you're here too." Rias greeted her cousin, Sairaorg Bael.
"Yes. We're about to get our interview as well in a different hall. Oh, it's good to see you again, Hyoudou Issei. How is your father doing?"
"Good to see you again too." Issei nodded at the greeting. "And that baldy is pretty much well. He's probably either hanging out with Azazel, or lounging in the house, rummaging TV channels while picking his nose by now."
Meanwhile, Saitama suddenly sneezed again, surprising Azazel beside him as the two were watching television at Hyoudou residence.
"Fufufu… I guess sensei does need some relaxation after hard days of work." Sairaorg nodded. "I'm a bit jealous, to be honest. I heard that your father personally trained you."
"Err… Yeah, he did a good job there." Issei replied as he averted his gaze away.
"Bael-sama, Gremory-sama. You're on in 10 minutes." Said a staff came from down the hall.
"Well, it's time for us to move." Sairaorg then prepared to take his leave. "I'll see you later, Rias."
"You too, Sairaorg."
However, when Sairaorg walked pass Issei, the former placed his hand on the latter's shoulder. "I wish to fight you someday." With a final pat, Sairaorg finally left with his peerage in tow.
As Issei watched them leave, his lips twitched into a small smirk.
oXo
The interview went well. Most of the questions were answered by Rias, as she showed the other visitors a great interview as the heiress of Gremory clan. Currently everyone was undergoing a private interview session and Issei managed to finish first, as he was resting in the waiting room.
Then the door of the room was knocked, and it was opened, revealing a familiar sight of beautiful girl. "Is Ise-sama here?"
Issei immediately recognized the girl. "Oh, Ravel. What brings you here?"
Ravel's face brightened up when her eyes met with Issei's. Then with rather troubled expression, she pushed a basket she was carrying with her. "U-um… This! A cake! My second eldest brother has a television programme in this studio so I came to give you this since I had time!"
Issei took the basket and saw the content to be a chocolate cake. "Wow, did you make this? I can tell it's delicious from the smell alone."
"Y-Yes! Of course! I have confidence when it comes to cake! A-And I promised you that I would make you one!" Ravel replied happily, while her expression was still flustered.
"Hahaha, thank you for that. I tell you what, next time let's have another one with some tea, just like we promised."
"O-of course! Ohohoho! I'll expect you to hold on your own words. Then, I'll take my leave. I need to return to my brother's side." Ravel gave a curtly bow.
"Yeah. I'll see you later, Ravel." Issei replied with his own smile.
"…I will be cheering for you during your next match. Good bye!" Ravel quickly said and dashed away.
"Next match, huh…" Issei thought as he kept staring at the door where Ravel had left.
Then Koneko came inside the room. "I just saw that grilled-chicken's little sister. What was she doing?"
Issei blinked at the nickname before he realized what 'grilled-chicken' meant. "Oh… Ravel was here to give me this." Issei raised his basket of chocolate cake that quickly caught Koneko's attention. "Want to eat it with me, Koneko-chan?"
"Guhaah!" Issei cried as his damaged-armoured body was skidding and toppling across the ground.
In front of him, Saitama was standing impassively with his usual poker face. "Is that all you got, kid?"
Issei groaned as his body was aching all over. Sensing that none of his bones was broken, Issei got back to his feet as he tried to regain his bearing again.
Since the next Rating Game was coming up, Issei requested his father to give him some sort of last-minute sparring session, which the latter reluctantly accepted. Currently, the two were sparring in a valley located at Grand Canyon thanks to Azazel's 'special door'. The rules were simple; dodge attacks that could be dodged, no fooling around, no holding back, and kept fighting until one side could not fight any longer.
And 15 minutes later, Saitama had kicked Issei's ass six ways to Sunday. The former watched as the former struggled to remain strong despite his injuries. Saitama wondered, why he would go out of his way to train his son. He usually could not care less when Genos kept goading him to teach him more, which Saitama always tried to find an excuse to escape, and Genos somehow always fell for his excuse. Perhaps it was a perk of being a father of a son who possessed some great power that could outclass gods and demons alike, and just got involved into a world where everyday might be a struggle for survival.
Saitama was kind of curious if his son, who shared his blood could achieve at least a similar level of strength like his younger days, hence the training regimen when Issei was 10. He purposely reduced the workload because he just did not have a heart to make Issei go bald like him. Thus, Issei ended up… not meeting his expectations.
But that was fine. After all, having an overwhelming power would do no good to his son's life at all. Saitama was fine being the only one around. He had met many people that possessed potential to 'defeat' him, especially that big-ass red dragon he encountered before. In addition of his new family and friends, this world was really worth living in. But ultimately, a small part of him wished that his son could surpass him.
"….Come on, kid. Let's just wrap this up. At this rate, you're gonna end up wrecking yourself by the time of your match." Saitama said with a sigh.
"No…." Issei spat a blood from his mouth as he almost finished regenerating his Scale Mail. "Didn't we agree? Keep fighting until one of us couldn't fight anymore."
Saitama rubbed his head in slight frustration. Accumulated years of travelling and meeting many interesting people had somewhat made Saitama wiser. He learned that there were many factors that could decide the outcome of a battle, as he himself had personally experienced them even prior his arrival to this new world, and by looking at how his son had been fighting, Saitama doubt that things would end well in the long run for Issei.
Saitama needed to think of something in order to get his point across his son, but alas, the man was never been a teacher material to begin with. "…Screw this." Saitama then shouted, "Fine! But seriously, don't you learn anything at all!?"
The shout managed to make Issei halted his intended movement as the boy narrowed his eyes at his father. His father was trying to teach him something? "What are you talking about!?"
"You know what I'm talking about! Look at this!" Saitama waved his hands around. "If you kept fighting this way, you're not gonna be able to even land a scratch on me!"
Issei was about to retort, but was interrupted by Ddraig. [He's right, partner. We need to find a way around him. Attempting to overpower him will take you forever at this rate]
Behind his poker face, Saitama hoped that Issei would actually think of something. Seeing his son's fighting style reminded him a lot of his younger self; basic hand-to-hand combat to overpower the opponent in every aspect, only with Boosted Gear in Issei's case. But looking at his son closing his eyes in contemplation, Saitama nodded in approval as he waited patiently. If Issei managed to come up with something, perhaps Saitama could enjoy observing his son's growth, otherwise, he would just end their spar there and then.
There was actually two ways that could give Issei a real chance of winning. One, was to improve his fighting technique. Saitama still clearly remembered that there was a martial-artist who wanted to be a monster that managed to give him some real fight. Even then, Saitama still had not managed to grasp the concept martial arts. So if by any chance Issei could understand the principal of martial arts, perhaps he could….
"Seems you're having a hard time, Ise."
When the two heard the new voice, Issei turned around to see his master along with her peerage. "O-ojou-sama?" Issei blinked at his friends.
"How mean, Ise-kun…. Having fun by yourself without us." Yuuto said with playful hurt expression on his face.
"You're not the only one who wants to get stronger to protect Asia, you know?" Xenovia said as she brandished her Durandal.
"I…. I'm a man of Rias Gremory's peerage too! I-I won't back down!" Gasper exclaimed despite his nervousness.
"Ise-senpai, Saitama-san." Koneko followed suit as she nodded at the father and son.
"Ufufufu… I hope you don't mind us joining the party…" Akeno said with her signature smile.
And that was the second method; gang up and overwhelm the stronger opponent by sheer numbers. As Saitama had spent most of his lifetime living alone, Saitama came to appreciate the company of his little friends like Genos, King and some people from Hero Association. Even when Saitama thought he would end up being alone again in this new world, Haruka and Issei came to his life, followed by many others.
If Saitama ended up attracting enemies and people that would hate him more than his allies, he was satisfied that Issei ended up attracting many people that would become his friends.
Issei looked over his friends one by one, and the look in their eyes alone spoke volumes. He then turned to Asia, who only nodded with resolute smile on her face. Issei then smiled in return as he turned towards Saitama and addressed his master. "Okay, then…. Orders, milady?"
Rias then took off to the sky, followed by Akeno. "Alright, everyone! Asia and Gasper will be our rear support. Yuuto and Xenovia, you two will be our all-rounder to provide openings. And Issei will be our vanguard with Koneko. Our opponent may be Ise's father, but hold nothing back! The Rating Game with Diodora Astaroth is drawing near!"
"YES!"
With that said, Issei finally finished re-equipping his Scale Mail as he covered his head in his face-plate, and with a war-cry, the young devils charged at Saitama, who was sporting a faint smile.
To be Continued…