Saitama was bored that day.
In the morning, Saitama did not join his son's daily training so he assumed that the training went on without any major disturbance. Even the breakfast went by uneventfully, while Issei still had not opened up to him. And ever since the class observation day, one could say that his respect towards him had plummeted even more as the boy did not bother to call him 'dad' and simply called him by either his name or simply 'old man' or 'pops'. Not that he minded, but that just showed that Saitama had screwed up big time.
In Rias and Asia's case, the former was no longer angry with Saitama regarding the incident during the class visit, while the latter simply being the sweet girl as usual. After the kids had gone to school, the rest of the morning was spent with his wife who was simply…. Being her self as she jovially made few possible attempts to get her hands inside his pants, and after lunchtime, Haruka had to go to meet with her neighbourhood associates. Saitama was left alone in the living room, watching random shows in television.
"(Sigh)…. What to do, what to do…" Saitama muttered as he stared at the ceiling. He had considered visiting Azazel, but he soon dismissed the idea since he thought that Azazel might be busy for the upcoming conference. He fiddled with his cell-phone to chat with Sirzechs, but it seemed that he was busy as well.
Saitama sighed again from boredom and he finally changed his clothes into a simple T-shirt and loose jeans and decided to take a walk outside. After making sure that he had locked the doors and windows, he left his house and walked towards the more crowded district of the town. As he saw people spending time and doing their own things, Saitama's mind was brought back to the days of his homeland.
"Usually something was bound to happen around this time… Like a monster suddenly appeared out of nowhere and wrecking havoc." Saitama looked around his surroundings. However, nothing much happened. Aside from occasional delinquents scaring off other people to mind their own business, some guys hitting on chicks, everything was quite peaceful in this new world.
Actually, there were couple of monsters lurking around. The example was stray devils that Sirzechs once explained to him. However, since they were only active during night when there were almost no people around, humans were rather ignorant about those monsters' existence. In fact, those other monsters, devils or not, were doing their best not to reveal themselves to public's eyes. Something about maintaining their 'give and take' relationships with humans, at least most of supernatural factions and pantheons believe that non-hostile relationship with humans to be beneficial. Even if there were some rogues blatantly attacking people around and caused chaos, the ones in charge would take immediate measures to make sure that humans and common people would not remember of those rogues.
Overall, it was actually rather boring to him, not that different with the world where he came from. Instead of bluntly letting people know about the existence of these 'monsters', people were kept ignorant of their existence. Well, in exceptions of those who made contracts with the devils, as Sirzechs once explained again, those 'monsters' exist only as far as people's imaginations, stories, and urban legends. Prior his journey leaving his family behind fifteen years ago, Saitama only ran into some of stray devils, which did not pose any challenge at all. Well, there was one time Saitama experienced something akin to 'spirited away', but that is a story for another time.
Looking back, all those heroes business about ranks, association, and factions never mattered to him. In fact, Saitama once thought that he did not want to be that kind of hero when he began his official heroic debut for the first time. All those anti-climactic fights were for the sake of raising one's name and status rather than actually being a HERO. He did have those he could call friends, but that was irrelevant. When he arrived in this world, he found things were far more intriguing. Those monsters and supernatural factions and pantheons were definitely stronger than most of those from his homeland, he even gained a family, a loving wife, people who were actually worth fighting for, and more people who actually acknowledged him for who he is. Saitama wondered, could he finally become a hero he once wanted to be? He sure saw a glimpse of hope in this world. Not that he no longer missed his old friends, but at this point, the only path for him was to keep moving forward.
He walked around again until he found himself standing in front of Kuoh academy. He stared at the school for a minute, and he walked away. However, he suddenly stopped after few steps. He turned to look at the building again, and he looked around to see if there was any people around. Feeling that having fun would not hurt once in a while, Saitama walked around the school's side and he quickly jumped over the school's wall. As he landed on the school ground, Saitama quickly ran towards the trees to avoid from being seen by the groundskeeper and other school's staffs. Then he saw on the sports ground, students were taking their P.E. lesson. "Ah… Those were those days…" Saitama felt nostalgic at the scene as his mind trailed off to the days when he was just a mundane student.
Seeing that going to the main building was not an option, Saitama kept circling the ground inside the trees. Finally, he found another building that looked significantly older and smaller than the main building earlier. Since Saitama did not want to just leave empty-handed, he decided to challenge his luck by exploring the old school building instead. As he stepped inside the building, Saitama took a look of his surroundings. The woods were old, but had been maintained well enough to be usable. It was a two-stories building, and the man decided to explore the whole floors. He strode into the old classrooms, took a seat on one of the desk, and he pretended that he was a high-school student again as he stared at the board in front of him. Truly, going to school and sitting in the classroom like this had brought back quite memories to him.
Saitama then went to the unused staff-room, walked through the now empty room as he recalled the moments when he was summoned by the teachers whenever he got into trouble. He left the staff-room, and he continued his adventure towards the room at the end of the hallway. Unknown to him, it was actually the room of Occult Research Club.
He opened the door and he looked inside the room that was designed in old Victorian-style. He walked towards one huge desk and found few piles of papers that had been written in some language that the man could not understand. He skimmed the writings on the papers before he finally left them alone. Then he spotted few piles of flyers at the corner of the room and some snacks and assortments of sweets served on the table. At first, Saitama thought that the papers were just things that had been left and forgotten, but a fresh sweets and cookies in an old school building?
Now Saitama was sure that someone was still using the particular room in the old building, perhaps for after-school activities? Feeling that he could have few deserts after lunch, Saitama decided took a bite from the snacks. "A little bit is fine, right?" Saitama muttered to himself as he found that the sweets were rather delicious to his taste. In the end, Saitama ended up treating himself almost half of them. He even brewed some tea for him to drink after he found some tea-leaves in the cupboard. Feeling enough, Saitama laid down on one of the couches before he felt that he needed to use the toilet.
Few minutes later after Saitama relieving himself, the man found himself in a tight spot: the stall he used was out of paper.
"Crap…." Saitama stared at the empty roller. Trapped in an old building, he had his pants down, and nobody around to ask for (considering the building felt empty when he came in); even during his younger days as a hero, he never got caught in such predicament. "No… Stay calm, Saitama…" the man thought to himself. "This is a restroom. There are still other stalls besides this one! The probability for those other stalls to run out of toilet paper…. Approaches astronomical figure!" Saitama concluded. "…There most definitely has to be some of it, somewhere!" then Saitama decided to boldly go out from his stall with his pants still down in order to look for additional toilet paper. However, when he opened the door, his eyes blinked when they were met with a pair of pinkish-violet eyes.
"…Eh?"
Lo and behold, in front of Saitama was a figure of a girl around 15-16 years old, she had a platinum blonde hair and clad in Kuoh academy girl uniform. The two remained silent for a second, then Saitama's face went pale as he realized the situation he just got himself into. "W-w-well… You know, t-there's an explanation for this."
Saitama wanted to pull up his pants to cover his modesty, but at the same time, he could not afford to get the crap on his pants as well. When the 'girl's' eyes fell on Saitama's nether region, 'her' face started to gain a healthy shade of red and tears started to well up in 'her' eyes.
"W-wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" Saitama, with now sweating face, tried his darnest to placate the now trembling 'girl'. "I-I'm sorry, but please don't scream! I'm begging you! I'm just looking for more toilet paper because my stall was-!"
After few seconds of trembling as her mind had been overwhelmed, the 'girl' responded Saitama's plea by fainting to the floor. Seeing the fainting child, Saitama only sighed in relief and exasperation, as he finally focused back on wiping clean his dirty ass. "Oh, thank goodness there is some paper over here", Saitama said as he found some spare papers inside the stall next to his previous one.
(Scene Break)
Gasper's mind started to slowly return to the realm of consciousness as he felt that someone was carrying his body and laid him on a soft surface. Recent days had been tough for him.
After years and days of comfortable solitude, his safe-heaven had suddenly been broken open by his master, who told him that he needed to start dealing with the outside world, that terrified him to no end. While strangers also terrified him, at least the new members of the club were not bad person, despite one of them was mercilessly swinging a large holy sword at him as a form of training. However, this day, when he was enjoying his solitude again in his safe-heaven, he suddenly felt a presence in the clubroom, and a human to add. He felt scared at first, choosing to stay hidden until the intruder had done whatever business he had and go away. But after few minutes, he finally felt that he had to use the restroom. While he did not like the idea of leaving his room, he really had to go, and since the presence was no longer in the clubroom, Gasper assumed that the person had left, and he could quickly just go to finish his business and returned back to his safe-heaven. However, just when he had finished with his business and was about to return, the stall in front of him suddenly got open and a bald man appeared, with his parts were revealed for the world to see, causing his brain to go haywire.
And now, in the clubroom, when Gasper finally came to, that familiar bald man was peering over him. "Oh, you're awake." And Gasper snapped.
"EEEEEEEKK!" the dhampir's eyes glowed with power as he let out a terrified yelp and he quickly jumped behind the sofa to hide himself. The man would be frozen and Gasper would have enough time to run away, or that was what supposed to happen normally.
"Whoa, whoa! I'm sorry, okay?" the man simply took a step back with his arms held up.
Gasper blinked at the sight. He knew that his Forbidden Balor View was activated and the man was definitely exposed to his eyes, yet instead of being frozen, the man kept moving as if the time around him remained moving accordingly. Having seen lot of people got frozen by his time-stopping ability for the most of his life, Gasper could not help but feel intrigued. "Y-…You can move…?" he asked timidly from behind the couch.
Saitama only raised his eyebrows, confused of the question. "Well… Of course I can move. Why do you ask?" the man asked as he did not feel any difference. Well, he saw the child's eyes were glowing unnaturally but that was all. "Look, I'm sorry for trespassing and scaring you. I'll just take my leave now, okay? You didn't see anyone coming here, got it?"
Now the bald man had completely and miraculously grabbed Gasper's interest. For all his life, most people aside from Gremory clan had been scorning him because of his Sacred Gear. People from his past had left him as soon as they learned that he had been freezing them accidentally in a fit of panic, yet the man before him did not stop moving after being exposed to his power. Gasper now wanted to know him better, to know him more, he did not want to loose someone who might be able to stay as his friend.
Just when Saitama had turned around and about to leave, Gasper shot from the couch he was lying on. "Wait!" When Saitama turned to look back to him, Gasper fiddled his fingers. He wanted to know more about the man who could withstand his power, someone who might be able to remain his friend if he ever became one, but his fear of outside world kept him from speaking clearly. "U-u-um…. I-I… Please… W-what I mean is…" Gasper's eyes were darting left and right as he tried to find the coherent words. Finally, he simply broke down into tears as he apologizing. "Fueeee! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
Saitama was blanched at the sudden break down. He was shocked for a second before he immediately kneeled down to the crying 'girl' while unsure of what to do. "Hey, hey, come on now… " Saitama tried to calm her(?) down. "I'm the one who should apologize, y'know?" Saitama awkwardly patted 'her' head.
It took a good one hour for Gasper to finally cease his crying and the two of them to clear up everything that had transpired. Saitama was relieved that Gasper, who surprisingly for him was a boy cross-dressing as a girl, was willing not to rat him out. As they took seats in the clubroom (Gasper in his cardboard box), Saitama and Gasper found themselves to be comfortable enough as they conversed with each other.
"Wait… Saitama…. Saitama-san?" Gasper recognised the name when they introduced themselves to each other. "So it's really you?"
"Nice to finally meet you, Gya-chan." Saitama simply replied. "Though I'm a bit surprised that you have a hobby like this." Saitama implied at Gasper's outfit.
"Uuuu…. I'm sorry…" Gasper whined again. Saitama himself could not help but smile.
"You shouldn't apologize too much, you know." Saitama said, receiving a look from Gasper. "Anyway, aren't you supposed to be in class? What are you doing alone here?"
At the question, Gasper only looked down, with his feared and ashamed expression. "Well, I guess you don't have to answer." Then Saitama looked around again before he started up another topic. "Well… Anyway, I'm bored. Say Gya-chan…." Saitama addressed the shut-in again. "The game that you gave me advice before… Do you have it?"
Gasper only blinked at Saitama's question, after contemplating for few minutes, Gasper decided to try to make another friend, a friend that would probably not be harmed by his powers. "Well…. I only have the previous instalment… Would you like to play, Saitama-san?"
X
When everyone from Occult Research Club entered their clubroom, they realized that someone had trespassed. Rias noticed that the paperwork on her desk had signs that someone had touched them as their positions had somewhat changed.
Much to Akeno's bewilderment, that someone also used up the tea-leaves she had been keeping for special occasions, and now she had to replenish those rather costly tea-leaves. Not to mention, when she checked the tea-pot that the intruder used to serve the tea, the drink was brewed rather poorly much to her taste.
Koneko, being completely territorial when it comes to her snacks, was agitated when she found that the intruder had eaten quite a portion of her sweets that she had kept for the club activity. Nobody touches her snack, unless she had given the permission to do so.
At first everyone thought it was Gasper, and while they were happy that Gasper wanted to step out from his room, they found it unlikely for him to thoughtlessly brew Akeno's special tea-leaves, and most of all, to eat Koneko's snack without the girl's permission. Nonetheless, the team decided to at least check on the cross-dressing boy.
Here they were, standing at the doorstep of Gasper's chamber, looking at the unfolding events in front of them. And each of them showed their respective reactions. Rias could not believe, after many years of her attempt to make her bishop to open up to her more, someone else had done it before her.
Akeno was a bit peeved, though she did not show it, that the bald man had the audacity to use her special tea-leaves without her permission, and she was contemplating whether to sue him or not.
Koneko was rather angry, but when she found out that it was undoubtedly Saitama who ate her snacks, she contemplated her options again. Ever since the man made his appearance, Koneko's instinct labelled him as simply 'dangerous' in more ways than one and for various reasons. If possible, Koneko would prefer to stay away from him as much as she could.
Yuuto was impressed. He had no idea what Saitama did, but whatever it was, it sure made Gasper to come out from his former shell. Seeing the bishop having so much fun without any hint of fear like that was a great improvement.
Xenovia's respect and admiration towards Saitama had increased even more. Indeed, being a mentor of someone else was not her forte, but she saw Saitama had managed to conquer another vampire once again. "I expect no less from Saitama-dono!" Xenovia thought with absolute certainty as she nodded in approval.
Asia, being a sweet girl she is, simply smiled in joy as she saw Gasper and Saitama was getting along so well. While Issei could only twitched his eyes as his brain could not really make out of the situation.
When Saitama and Gasper finally stopped cheering upon their game completion, the two finally noticed that the rest of Occult Research Club was standing and watching them. While they were Gasper's friends, the odd looks they gave made Gasper yelped in fear and quickly hid behind Saitama's body. Only then Saitama remembered that he actually just trespassed private property. Looking at the gazes pointed at him, Saitama tried his best to explain. "Hey there, kids… Well, you see…" But no right words came to his mind. Thus, Saitama started with most obvious statement when he did something wrong. "I'm sorry", he said with his head bowed. "I just wanted to hang out and I ran into Gya-chan here."
The others blinked at the apology, then it was Rias who first replied. "Actually, why don't we sit down first in the clubroom? Then we can figure out where to start." The girl said rubbing her temple.
(Scene Break)
Everyone was sitting in the clubroom, with Saitama sitting on one couch, surrounded by everyone else on their respective seats, sans Gasper who chose to remain in his cardboard box on the floor beside Saitama. It appeared that the shut-in had become quite comfortable by the man's side. In addition, while Gasper still wanted to remain in his box, he was willing to open the lid, letting him to directly face the others without any cover.
Rias sighed as she opened her previously closed-eyes as she came with a decision. "I should've reported you to Sona or the teachers for trespassing the school grounds…" then Rias' glanced at the cupboard and the plate of snacks on the table. "As well as taking our tea-leaves and Koneko's snacks without permission…" then her gaze fell to Gasper, who unconsciously jerked her body closer to Saitama. "But seeing at what you've done to Gasper, I guess I have to let this slide."
Saitama felt relieved while he did not show it on his face. The others were also agreed, albeit kind of begrudgingly. The others also agreed, since they also cared very much about Gasper and happy for the progress the boy had made that day.
"U-um…" suddenly a meek voice was heard. Everyone turned with another surprised gaze that Gasper had shown another progress by daring to speak up. The boy usually chose to remain quiet for most of the time, after all. Gasper flinched at the gazes for a second, and when he turned to see Saitama's small smile, as if encouraging him to go on, Gasper found another courage to speak. "Buchou, please don't blame Saitama-san too much…" Gasper started. "Saitama-san is one of my regulars… He's willing to listen to my story during our past conversations…"
Saitama raised his eyebrows as he felt a tinge of guilt in his heart. As he darted his gazes here and there, he just remembered that he actually barely knew anything about him. As the matter of fact, since the past conversation was done through computer and online chat, Saitama simply skim Gasper's chat, not taking in the boy's story entirely, and only replied with simple 'yes, yes' and 'I understand' or 'I see' answers, and somewhat managed to ask questions that happened to be coherent with the flow of the conversation, thus creating the current bond with the shy dhampir. However, he knew better than ruining the meaning that Gasper tried to imply right now.
"…And this is the first time I have a friend that is not affected by my powers! Please let me meet up with him from here on!" Gasper pleaded while burying his head into his knees as he remained curled in his box.
Seeing their shy junior displayed such courage after years of solitude and hiding from outside world, the rest could not help but smiled. Saitama found himself patting the boy's head and the latter felt himself rather nice from the touch.
"…(Sigh), I guess I really owe you one, Saitama-san…" Rias said after sighing contently. Saitama had always wanted to say something about being called father. Since he actually still had something about having Rias and Asia pitted together with his son. But at this point, the man might as well just let the girl do as she pleases and address the issue later. "Thank you for helping Gasper. I'll talk it out with Sona so you can see him after school period. But I won't make any guarantees." Rias informed. Seeing the effects of the bald man on her bishop, Rias would not mind to bend a rule or two.
"I admit you've done a good job, old man." Issei snorted. "Thanks…" Saitama blinked at the gratitude before he stood up and walked over to pat Issei's head. At the contact, the boy's face flushed and he quickly slapped off his father's hand. "Okay, okay, stop that!"
Everyone laughed at the scene of Issei's flustered face. Then the boy quickly raised up. "Alright, Gya-suke! It's time for another training session, don't you think?"
While being taken aback by his new nickname for a second, Gasper glanced to Saitama first, and the man simply jerked his head forward as if telling Gasper to go for it. Then, the boy's face went slightly more resolute. "Y-yes! I'll do my best! See you later, Saitama-san!" Gasper stood up and he strode out from the clubroom with Issei.
"Break a leg, kid…" Saitama said sending the boys off.
Soon, the others also followed leaving the room to help with the training, leaving Rias, Akeno and Saitama in the clubroom. After being served by a cup of tea by her queen, Rias looked up from her paperwork. "Akeno, why don't you go to supervise their training? I'll catch up soon enough."
"If you say so, buchou." Akeno obeyed and she left the room after giving a quick nod to Saitama, who was still sitting in the clubroom.
(Scene Break)
Meanwhile, Issei, Gasper and the rest of ORC were on their way towards the gym with the dhampir following behind the pawn. "Um… Ise-senpai." Gasper called out to his upper-class man, causing the latter to hum and look at him. "P-Please…. Uh… Please don't be too hard on Saitama-san."
The request raised Issei's eyebrows. "Sorry for not recognizing you at the beginning… You and Saitama-san don't really look alike…" Gasper apologized sheepishly.
Issei only snorted at the apology and comment. "It's fine, Gya-suke… I got that a lot." Issei ruffled Gasper's hair friendly and turned his gaze to the front again. "Well, how do you feel now?"
"B-Better", was what Gasper said in return. "Having someone like Saitama-san who can accept me for what I am… Makes me think that the outside world might not be as bad as I thought…" Gasper said with a smile.
"It'll only get better." Gasper looked up to see Issei was grinning. "Not only that old man, but we will always accept you as part of family! Even if you have bizarre powers, we will help you handling it in one way or another! Just leave it to me, to us!"
Gasper could not help but giggle at the encouragement. "Ise-senpai… Come to think of it, your way of patting me earlier was like Saitama-san…" Gasper held his head. "Your father really is a good person… O-Of course you're all good persons as well!" Gasper addressed the rest of others. Issei in particular, felt his face was flushed slightly.
"Oh? Is that a blush I see, Ise-kun?" Yuuto decided to jump in. "Looking back, isn't it nice to have your head being patted by Saitama-san earlier?"
At the knights' sudden teasing, Issei held down the blood from rising to his face as he snapped his head and sent a glare to the bishounen.
"I'm glad for you, Ise-san."
"Indeed, being patted by Saitama-dono should be a sign of blessing by his own strength and power."
"Ise-senpai finally got a bit closer to Saitama-san…"
Apparently Asia, Xenovia and Koneko also jumped into the conversation with their own remarks. Issei's blush deepened ever so slightly.
[Come on, brat… Just admit that it felt nice… Having a bit father and son moment back there…] Ddraig snickered in Issei's mind.
"W-well… He just caught me off-guard!" Issei retorted. "I-I'm not that happy from a simple contact like that, you hear me?" Issei looked away as he kept focusing to the front. Everyone, even Ddraig ended up giggling and laughing at Issei's antics.
Even Gasper could not help but rather shocked at the sudden development. "Ise-senpai was kind of cute for a second there…" the boy did not dare to say it out loud.
"Tsundere-senpai…"
"Hm? Did you say something, Koneko-chan?"
"No, nothing."
(Scene Break)
While finishing the rest of her work, Rias took a glance from her desk at Saitama who simply looked around at the drawings on the walls, floors and ceilings of the clubroom.
"Um… Saitama-san Shouldn't you join them? Gasper might be more comfortable with you around."
Rias suggested. In actuality, the girl just felt nervous from the man's presence before her and she could not really focus on her work. Saitama only stared at her before he returned to see the intricate drawings.
"Ah, yeah… I'll do that in a second." Saitama replied. Then after few seconds, the man started another talk. "Say, Rias-chan…" the man called and the girl glanced up while she took a sip of her tea. "Are you really that smitten with my son?"
Saitama's sudden question caused Rias to spit-take her tea and almost ruined her paperwork. Luckily, the girl managed to look side-ways so the tea did not spill on the desk. She coughed a bit and quickly shot up with flushed face. "W-w-what are you asking out of the blue!?" Being a girl like a teenage girl, despite the daring move she used to Issei on the other night, Rias still felt awkward when talking about her feelings with another person.
"Well… I mean just look at it." Saitama tried to explain. "I get about Asia-chan, I heard of her story, and I actually kind of like her and totally fine having her to stay in the house. But you actually get out of your way to stay under the same roof as him? That's quite a stretch, you know? Not to mention the stun you pulled on him during the other night."
At the mention of that particular night, Rias' blush deepened. "Can you please forget about that night…?" the girl honestly had no idea what possessed her that time.
"It's alright. Like I said, I completely understand. You kids are in that age, after all." Saitama reasoned, receiving another glare from the redhead. "Well, back to the point. I'm actually wondering about that since I heard from your brother that you had been scouting him since his first year."
At this Rias paused, motioning Saitama to continue. "I get that you probably needed time to evaluate him, but I think it's kind of strange that you only came to him when he got himself gunned-down by a fallen angel? I mean, I'm grateful that you saved him, but can you just call him to your club and asked him right there and then?" Saitama explained his reasoning. What Saitama said next made Rias slightly trembled.
"It's like, you deliberately let him summoned you if he ever found himself in peril, so he would owe you a huge favour, and you can gain his loyalty… That kind of thing…." Saitama finished with thoughtful look, seemingly missed Rias' trembling. "Well, I wish!" Saitama waved his hand, immediately dismissed his theory like a joke. "There's no way you'd ever pull off something like that." Saitama said with a snort. Rias only remained silent at Saitama's sudden change of mood. "Well, I'll be going to let you finish your work and check on the kids. See ya later!" Saitama walked to the door.
"Oh, another thing." However, before Rias could have a moment of her self, Saitama stopped at the doorstep and addressed her again. "It's actually for the… perhaps other girls as well, but…." Saitama seemed to think of correct words. "Haruka might be more than happy to give you and probably other girls her blessing, but I'm not as lenient as her." Saitama said with his smiling expression rather sharper than usual. "If you girls really want my blessing over Ise, you'd better work hard to earn it." Then Saitama proceeded again to leave. "Well, that's all. See ya!"
When the door was slammed shut, Rias leaned back on her chair. She closed her eyes as she had been reminded of her wrongdoing upon the one she had fallen for, as Saitama's words earlier almost felt like a slap on her face. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves down. "It's okay… Everything will be fine…" Rias told her self in her mind. She might had wronged her pawn, but she was now working hard to make up for it. She kept telling her self in due time, all those things in the past would be simply a mere past. But at the same time, she could not help but worried: what would happen if he were ever to learn about it?
Knowing that being pessimistic was the least thing that could help her, Rias slapped her face with both of her hands to snap out of it and returned to her paperwork.
X
The training with Gasper that day went smoother as Gasper made a significant progress with his Sacred Gear. The dhampir still shy and timid, but at least he showed more confidence when he was talking with his friends from the club. That evening after the training with Gasper had ended, Saitama got a call from his wife to do some more shopping to re-stock their food and Issei coincidentally got a text from his mother to help his father's shopping on his way home. As if noticing about Hyoudou matriarch's intention, Rias and Asia decided to go home first, saying that they wanted help out the mother at home.
At the moment, Issei and Saitama were walking across the shopping district with each of them carrying bundles of shopping bags. "Just so you know, I'm doing this because mom told me to." Issei said out of nowhere.
Saitama only glanced at his son, because it was already the fifth time Issei said those very same words. "Yes, Ise. I got it." he dryly replied.
The shopping had gone quite eventful, apparently. Due to their different life style, with Saitama prefer to buy simply more affordable things, and Issei prefer to match the quality over the price, the two ended up bickering and arguing which brand or product to buy whenever they stopped at a stand and shop. They tried to decide by coin-toss, but when Issei found that Saitama rigged the coin, the two bickered again for couple more minutes before they finally decided through rock-paper-scissors. There were some instances that due to the noise they created from their bickering, they almost got kicked out by the local security guards.
Overall, it was a strange shopping experience for both of father and son as they proceeded. "Is there anything else on the list?" Saitama asked his son.
Issei checked upon the list from the E-mail he got from his mother, after few seconds looking through the screen of his cell-phone, the boy put his gadget back to his pocket. "Nah, that should be all. Let's go back." As father and son kept walking across the townsfolk, suddenly they were met with quite a peculiar sight.
It was a woman with an extremely beautiful face, her hair was blonde and curly, her figure was voluptuous and could be said as the body of the most beautiful woman. The said woman was wearing a white long-sleeved dress that rather resembled to a clerical robe and was looking around with troubled expression. Most people could not look away from such a beauty and started whispering if the woman was a celebrity or perhaps a princess or nobility from a foreign country. The people kept staring, but could not bring themselves to approach the woman due to her strong aura. Even Issei, who was mesmerized by such a sight, noticed something akin to golden dust was coming out from the woman.
If Ddraig were to have a human-shaped mouth, the dragon would have whistled at the spectacle. [Damn… That's some holy aura leaking from her being… Be careful, partner] Ddraig also noticed the woman's aura and warned his host, who simply nodding in acknowledgement.
However, among the crowds there were always some scumbags who would like to try their luck to lay their hands on such a beauty. Two people stepped forward, their get-up was something akin to someone who would occasionally hit on some women here and there and someone who was involved in some shady business. Issei and Saitama blinked as the two people spoke to the troubled beautiful woman in a friendly manner. The woman seemed hesitant at first, but when the two men ushered her to follow her, the woman slowly complied.
Issei and Saitama could tell immediately that the two men's actions and notions were screaming no-good, and the woman was obviously rather naïve for her self to easily trust such shady people. Another thing that Saitama learned upon coming to this new world, that when it comes to deal with normal human stragglers, his fist rarely solved anything. This kind of situation required his wits to do the thing before he resorted to his punch. However, before Saitama could pull anything off, his son had already beaten him to the punch.
Issei quickly approached the two men and the woman and waved his hand. "Ah, there you are, onee-chan!" Issei said with innocent smile as he grabbed the woman's hand. "Geez, that's why I'm telling you not to walk too far on your own when you're first time coming here! Come on, father is waiting for us!" Issei pointed at his father and he then addressed the shocked two men. "Oh, thanks a lot for looking after my cousin here, please excuse us!" Issei quickly walked off with the woman in tow, leaving the two dumbfounded men behind.
The woman was completely confused at the rapid events, her eyes widened as she noticed something from the brown-haired boy coming to her, but she did not resist nonetheless. When they arrived at the dumbfounded Saitama, Issei glared at his father as if trying to relay a message, since they were still within the sight of the two shady people. Fortunately, Saitama quickly caught on as he played along. "Come on, kids! Mom is waiting with dinner!" Saitama gently grabbed the woman's back and they quickly left the scene.
Once they were far enough, they stopped as the woman finally addressed them. "Um… Excuse me?" but Issei cut her off.
"I'm sorry." The boy apologized as he bowed down, resulting the woman to blink. "I know you're confused but we assure you that we don't mean you any harm."
"Yeah. What the hell, kid?" Saitama asked sarcastically. "'Onee-chan'? What were you thinking, seriously?"
"Oh, please…" Issei shot back. "I can tell that you know what's gonna happen if the lady here were to follow those two guys. Just get on with it!"
"U-um…. I don't know what's going on, but…" the woman brought their attention again, and Saitama spoke up.
"Oh, right. Sorry again about earlier." Saitama held up his hand. "I'm Saitama, and this is my son Ise." Saitama gestured to him and his son, who nodded in introduction. "It's just… Trust me, you won't like whatever those two guys were planning on you earlier."
"Well… Then, I guess I should thank you." The woman said as she bowed in gratitude. "Ise…. Saitama…. Sound familiar…. Where did I hear those names from?"
Gabriel thought to herself.
Issei only sighed softly at the woman's naivety. "You shouldn't trust people that easily, um…." Issei realized that he did not know the woman's name.
"Ah, forgive me. Please call me Gabriel, it's a pleasure to meet you." The woman introduced herself.
Issei raised an eyebrow at the name. "Strange…. A beautiful woman with holy aura with the name Gabriel… Seems ring a bell…" but Issei continued on. "Nice to meet you too. By the way, Gabriel-san… You seemed troubled before those guys approached you. May I ask what happened?"
Inside Issei's mind, Ddraig wanted to say something, but he decided to play a little prank by kept quiet in expectations as he snickered silently.
"Yes! Oh, this is terrible… I came to this town for sightseeing with my escort, but we got separated along the way, and I had no idea where to go!" suddenly Gabriel's eyes got teary and her expression turned panic.
"So you're searching for someone… If that's the case, we'll just take you to the police station." Saitama concluded as he walked off. Issei nodded to Gabriel and the two followed in tow.
"Thank God I met with you two gentlemen…" Gabriel said on the way. "I really had no idea what to do back then…" she smiled in such sincerity that it was blinding to look at.
"Say, Gabriel…" Saitama said nonchalantly. "What's the person's look like, the escort you're looking for right now?"
Gabriel put up a thinking pose as she kept walking. "Hmm… My escort is a pretty girl with a long chestnut hair in twin-tails. She is such a kind soul and has a devoted heart in doing her task. It's my own unbecoming to lost her when she was doing her best to guide me around the town…" Gabriel finished with rather solemn tone.
Issei and Saitama blinked at the description, putting aside the heart part, the face description sounded familiar to them. They chose not to think too much about it and they kept proceeding towards the nearest police station. When they arrived at their destination, they saw a familiar sight at the front of the office.
"Yes, yes! She is the most beautiful existence, about yay tall, her hair is blonde and curly, and possesses one of the kindest, most pure hearts that surpasses even the purity of the heaven itself! O Lord, please give me strength! If anything were to happen to Gabriel-sama, how will I face Michael-sama later?"
A police officer was talking with a young girl that matched Gabriel's description in clergy robe with black tight body suit underneath. The former was a bit overwhelmed by the latter who was actually whining, crying and praying while speaking, giving the former a hard time in deciphering what the girl was trying to say. Issei and Saitama were the first to recognize the girl, then the boy turned to the beauty behind. "Um, Gabriel-san? Perhaps that is the escort you're looking for?" Issei pointed at the girl known as Shidou Irina, one of Church's exorcists.
"Yes, she is! Thank goodness!" Gabriel beamed and ecstatically ran towards the girl. "Irina-san!"
The said girl turned around and her face lit up in happiness and relief. "Gabriel-sama! Oh, thank goodness you're alright!" the girl said as she suddenly pulled into Gabriel's embrace.
"It was so scaryyyyyy!" Gabriel suddenly bawled like a child. "I thought I've lost you foreveeer! If it's not for those two, I would've… I would've… FUEEEE!" the woman then cried like there was no tomorrow.
"Yes, yes, it's alright now… And the blame is on me, Gabriel-sama!" Irina patting the woman's back, then she noticed about what Gabriel mentioned earlier and she broke off from the hug. "Um, Gabriel-sama? By 'those two' you mean…?"
"Oh, that's right!" Gabriel immediately ceased her crying and she turned to gesture at Issei and Saitama who were standing in front of them. "These two gentlemen, Ise-san and Saitama-san have helped me here!"
Issei simply smiled while Saitama maintained his poker face as they greeted the girl.
"Good to see you again, Irina-chan."
"'Sup?"
"Ise-kun!? Saitama-san!?" Irina was flabbergasted as she turned her gaze around her childhood friend, her crush's father, and her escort priority. "You three met? You two and Gabriel-sama?"
Issei swallowed at the mention of 'Gabriel-sama'. "She really is an upper-echelon from the Church… No, the Heaven itself." The boy got a gist of the woman's identity, but he found himself to be too scared to admit it.
"Irina-san, do you know these two?" Gabriel asked, then after few seconds, her mind suddenly clicked on a memory. "Of course! I remember now!" She shouted as she finally recognized the name. "You are Hyoudou Issei, Irina-san's old friend as well as the Sekiryuutei of this generation and the devil of Gremory clan!" She pointed at Issei before turning to Saitama. "And you are Hyoudou Saitama, the man who rescued Irina-san and Xenovia-san in the past and Ise-san's father!"
Saitama only blinked at the outburst. "Wait, you know me?" Saitama asked Gabriel before he immediately turned to irina. "Irina, who is she anyway?"
Irina straightened up her posture and cleared her throat. "Ise-kun, Saitama-san… Let me introduce you to one of the Four Great Seraph, guardians of the Throne of Heaven, Archangel Michael-sama's younger sister, Gabriel-sama." The woman in question simply nodded with her beautiful smile and her holy aura present for the world to see.
Issei's worry had been confirmed as a sweat rolled down on his temple. "Not just an upper-echelon, she is also a friggin' Archangel!?" Issei then quickly bowed in apology. "Please forgive me for my irreverence earlier, Gabriel-dono…" Whether enemies or allies, it was only right to show a proper respect towards a powerful individual. In his mind, Ddraig was trying not to laugh in amusement.
"It's alright, Ise-san. It's been a while I met such a kind devil like yourself…" Gabriel replied with gentle smile. "I also apologize for troubling you and your father earlier. Once again, thank you very much for your help." Gabriel bowed again in gratitude.
"No, no! You don't have to do that!" then Issei turned to his father. "Hey, old man! Be polite and say something too!"
"….Huh?"
(Scene Break)
After some explanations and apologies from Issei for his irreverence, the four were walking away from the police station since they happened to go the same direction towards their respective homes.
"So you and Irina came here to inspect the location for the conference, huh?" Saitama said in rather casual tone with one of the Four Seraph of Heaven. However, the said Seraphim did not mind his tone. After all, Gabriel felt more comfortable to be treated casually.
The four were now walking together with Saitama besides Gabriel following Issei and Irina ahead of them. The two teens were talking to catch up with each other's lives. Gabriel herself had been very pleasant since they left the police station, acting as if nothing had happened and her cheerful and humble attitude was so infectious that it was rather hard for Saitama and especially Issei to be tense and serious despite the fact that the woman was a legendary figure from the Bible.
"Yes. As one of the leaders who will attend the peace conference, as well as Michael onii-sama's younger sister, I feel that it is my obligation to at least take a look at the venue in advance, just to be safe." Gabriel replied as she kept gazing at the two childhood friends chatting with each other.
"Your son is a good man."
Saitama raised an eyebrow as Gabriel suddenly said out of the blue. "Even if he's a devil?"
Gabriel closed her eyes and shook her head lightly. "It doesn't matter what your son is, a person's character is defined through actions, not appearance. Otherwise, forget about alliance, the meeting between three opposing powers would have never occurred in the first place." Gabriel then set her eyes specifically on Issei. "But still, I can tell that your son has a good heart despite his devil-hood. Truly, the new age is about to come, where angels, fallen angels and devils can finally be allies to each other."
Saitama snorted at the notion, resulting Gabriel to give an odd look. "Sorry, sorry." Saitama gave a quick apology. "It's just…. Back in my old home, the thought of your kind making peace with your arch-nemeses was nothing but a pipe dream."
"But it's going to happen now." Gabriel replied. "Don't you think your son had a hand in this development?"
At the Seraphim's question, Saitama pondered for a while before replying. "Hm… Let's see… He made a contact with a fallen angel, become a member of group of devils, he made friends of someone from the Church as well… Is that what you think?" Saitama asked about his conclusion.
"It's all just speculations in the end… And perhaps you also played a part in this development…" Gabriel wrote her own conclusion. "Anyway, I sensed that you and your son were rather…. Awkward. Is there anything I can help with? Since you helped me earlier and all."
"Nah, don't sweat it." Saitama waved off. "But that you mentioned it… In a nutshell, he hates my guts now." The man sighed.
"Hm… Is that so?" Gabriel sounded to disagree. "Indeed that I saw your relationship with him is still in working, but it's definitely not a hatred that I sensed from your son." Gabriel said with certainty and she turned to see Saitama who was raising his eyebrows. "Trust me in this. As long as you don't give up, everything will be fine." Gabriel finished with a wink.
(With Issei and Irina)
"So… You're still sticking with the Church in the end?" Issei asked to Irina.
"Yeah, I've talked with Michael-sama…" Irina replied. "It's just as you said back there, Ise-kun…. The Lord might be no more, but the things He wished to protect are still here. There are still so many things that are worth fighting for. And I wish to fight by the Heaven's side." Irina said. "Shame, though. I still wish that Xenovia would still remain by Heaven's side… But who am I to dictate her way of life?" the girl finished with a sheepish smile. "Speaking of, how is she?"
"She's doing fine, but she's kind of worried about facing you again." Issei replied. "She fears that you two might end up as enemies in the future."
"Geez, that Xenovia… It's not that I hate her." Irina retorted. "But I'm glad that she is doing well."
When the two took a glance behind them, they saw both Saitama and Gabriel were conversing rather casually. "Seriously, that old man… How can he act so laid-back in front of Gabriel-dono?"
Irina only giggled at Issei's remark. "Fufufu, they're just being themselves, I think. After all, Gabriel-sama is fond to have casual conversation with other people…. Speaking of, how are things with you and Saitama-san? Since the last time he…" Irina slightly grimaced at the memory. "Knocked you out pretty hard. Were you okay there?"
Issei only let out a breath before replying. "It's as you can see now. I'm fine." Issei held up his fist. "Things were… moving on with him."
Irina blinked at Issei's reply before a smile crept up to her face. "I guess so. Seeing that you're shopping together with him means that everything's fine, right?"
The two fell into another comfortable silence for a second before they began to talk casually again.
(Back to Saitama and Gabriel)
"Actually, I also remember your name being mentioned in one of Irina-san and Xenovia-san's reports." Gabriel said. "Now that I see you myself in person, I, and on onii-sama's behalf, are indebted to you for rescuing one of our members…"
"Nah, it's fine…" Saitama simply waved it off. "I just happened to run into them, that's all."
Gabriel simply giggled at Saitama's laid-back attitude before she moved on. "So… I heard that you're working for Azazel."
"Well, kind of…" Saitama shrugged. "Being a hero, I'm doing all sorts of odd jobs, and Azazel happened to be my regular clients. If you folks from the kingdom up-high want my help, just contact me and I'll see what I can do for you."
"A hero, is it? Then I'll consider your kind offer." Gabriel replied sincerely. "Tell me, Saitama-san. Are you going to attend the conference? Considering your involvement with our affairs so far."
"I did get invited by Azazel, but he said that I don't really have to come." Saitama said. "But in the end, I guess I want to see how things are gonna go from here." Saitama replied as he gazed into the distance and Gabriel only nodded.
Finally, the moment arrived that the four had to part ways. Gabriel and Irina had to go to their own lodgings while Saitama and Issei proceeded to their home. When the father and son were now alone, Issei turned to his father. "Hey, Saitama…" Issei asked. "I overheard your conversation with Gabriel-dono earlier. Are you really going to attend the Meeting of Three Factions?"
Saitama rolled his eyes as he thought for a second. "Yeah, I guess I'll go. I'm already involved too deep, after all." Saitama shrugged.
Issei only hummed as the two proceeded to the Hyoudou residence.
X
It was a weekend. There was no school and no club activities, since Rias and Sona wished to focus on preparing the school ground for the upcoming Peace Conference, so the rest of the peerage was allowed to have a day-off. Currently Issei, Saitama and surprisingly Gasper were hanging out in Hyoudou Residence. The dhampir wanted to play more with Saitama, but since the school was having a mass cleaning-up for the Peace Conference, Gasper was very reluctant of going outside of the school. So Saitama volunteered himself to carry Gasper inside the cardboard box all the way from the academy. Asia are going out with Xenovia and the girls from the class, Yuuto said he was to have a meeting with some important figures at Akeno's house together with Rias, thus leaving the three male playing a video game together in the living room, since Haruka had to go for her part-time job.
"Okay, according from the walkthrough guide here, you're supposed to take the right turn at the first crossroad, go left at the second, and go back again at the third…" Gasper explained as he had a laptop on his lap.
Apparently they were playing a horror-fantasy-adventure game where the protagonist had to go through several mind-bending mazes littered with various beasts and monsters.
"Wha-what do you mean go back!? That makes no sense!" Saitama complained as he was holding the controller.
"Shut up! Gya-suke is the man here!" Issei admonished as he watched at the television screen. The boy was rather reluctant to play with his father, but considering Gasper's social life, the boy thought that he could at least just watch. But in the end, it was enjoyable for him.
Most of games in Hyoudou residence belonged to Issei. Since he used to play all alone during Saitama's absence, almost all of his games were single-player ones. Thus they came up with the formation during the game: Saitama who wanted to try to complete the game, Gasper who acted as the back-seat overlord, and Issei simply watched, since the boy had played once before. Then when a hideous-looking monster suddenly popped out of nowhere in the game, all hell broke loose as the boys started to panic and scream in shock.
"NOOOOOOO!"
"AAAHHHH! HOLY SHIT!"
"OMG! RUN FOR IT! RUN FOR IT!"
"NO, NO, FIGHT BACK, FIGHT BACK!"
The boys yelled out different instructions followed by various screaming and panicking since the monster completely caught their guard-off, not to mention the appearance was hideous enough to spook them off.
"FUCK IT, JUST RUN! YOU'RE DYING!"
"EEEEEEEEKK! RUN, RUN, RUN, RUN, RUN, RUN!"
"HOW DO I RUN? HOW DO I RUN!?"
"R2! HOLD R2! HOLD R2 TO RUN!"
"I'M TRYING, I'M TRYING, I'M TRYING! OMG, WHAT'S GOING ON!?"
"Wha- YOU'RE HOLDING L2! I SAID HOLD R2, YOU FUCKER!"
"Wait, stop! You're safe now, you can stop running!"
As their main character was no longer in danger, all the males were breathing heavily while Gasper was hiding behind the couch and only sneaked a peek to see what was going on in the game. After few moments of silence, the males suddenly broke down with laughter.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Indeed, it was very fun for all of them in the end.
(Scene break)
Issei let out a breath as he returned to the living room with a blanket in hand as Saitama and Gasper were taking a nap on the couch from all exhaustion and excitement earlier. As he stared at the sleeping males, he pondered, since when his life had gotten into this point. He was still peeved at his father and had not gotten used to his father around, but he was just having fun with his father and his junior just few hours ago.
[It's fun, isn't it? Having fun with your dad…] Ddraig snickered as he put in his two-cents.
Issei only replied by letting out another sigh, he ruffled his own hair, he laid the blanket over the sleeping bodies and he finally turned off the television.
"Well…. I guess I'll just make myself some drinks…" Issei thought when he heard someone was ringing his doorbell.
"Yes?" He opened the door and he found Akeno, clad in a white blouse and knee-length black skirt, was standing in front of him with her smile present. "Akeno-san?"
"Good afternoon, Ise-kun."
Issei looked around Akeno a bit, as if expecting another person. And as if reading his mind, Akeno filled him in. "Buchou had to attend another preparation for the meeting, I came here to share some persimmons I picked from my house garden. Can I come in?"
Issei blinked at a bag of persimmons in Akeno's hand, then he quickly gave a way. "Oh, I see… Well, come in then! And let me help you with those…" Issei smiled as he volunteered himself to bring in the gift.
As the two entered the room, Akeno spotted Saitama and Gasper who were sleeping soundly in the living room. "Is your mother at home? Where's Asia-chan?" Akeno asked as she took a quick look around.
"Mom is going for her part time work. Asia is hanging out with Xenovia and some other friends. Those two were resting, so…" Issei looked at his father and Gasper. "It's just you and me now. Do you mind if we take these to my room? I'll prepare some tea as well."
As if seeing an opportunity, Akeno smiled as she nodded. "Alright then, if you don't mind. I'll help myself to your room."
"It's the room at the end of the hallway on the second floor. I'll catch up with some drinks."
(Scene break)
"I see… So Kiba got himself a holy sword from Archangel Michael? What's its name again?" Issei asked as he was sitting in front of a small table with a plate of persimmons and few cups of tea on it.
"Holy sword Ascalon, the dragon slayer of Saint George. Michael-sama gave that sword to Yuuto-kun, as a sign of the soon coming alliance between devils and angels. He even modified the holy sword so devils like Yuuto-kun can wield it without any drawbacks."
Unknown to Issei, the Ascalon was originally to be handed to him instead of Yuuto, but after taking few things into consideration, the decision finally went for the knight, but Akeno believed Issei did not need to know about it as she took a sip of her tea. "Mm… while your tea-brewing skill can use some improvement, the tea is not bad. Who taught you to brew tea like this?" Akeno asked in curiosity.
"Thank you." Issei said in response. "Well, you can say that my mom only taught me the basics, I only picked up the rest along the way. I don't do this stuff often, after all…" Then Issei's eyes landed on the plate of fruits. "Oh, and thanks again for the persimmons, Akeno-san. Really appreciated." Issei finished as he took a bite on the fruit.
"Fufufu…. I'm glad that you like it, Ise-kun…" Akeno replied as she blushed slightly.
The two began to talk about casual stuff and they enjoyed every moment of it, and when they fell into a comfortable silence, Akeno suddenly spoke after few moments. "Say, Ise-kun…" the gleam in her eyes changed. "What do you think of Saitama-san… Your father?"
Issei blinked at the sudden question. He looked down as he was contemplating. Then he looked up. "Well, to be honest…. I'm not really sure myself." He replied with sheepish smile, receiving a look from Akeno who did not expect such answer. "I mean, he left me and mom for fifteen years to our own device, then he suddenly appeared from the sky when I have trained myself so hard to look for him, and he knocked me out for three days. I'd say that everything has been rather overwhelming…"
Akeno nodded in understanding and sympathy as Issei went on. "Honestly, my whole life before meeting you guys from the club was rather…. Boring." Issei said as Akeno remained listening intently. "But everything changed when I met with you guys, with Rias-buchou as well…" Issei's smile crept up to his face. "My life suddenly changed to be more… exciting, I think? But the point is, I'm really happy that I've met you guys, and I didn't and won't regret any of it."
What Issei said also made Akeno felt warmth in her heart as she smiled sincerely as well. "But when that guy came…" Saitama came to picture as Issei spoke up again. "I suddenly felt myself wanted to look forward for tomorrow… My drive to surpass him also grew even stronger…" Issei clenched his fist and as if a fire had been lit up in his eyes.
"So…. You're happy about him coming home?" Akeno tried to make a conclusion. What came out in return made Akeno blinked in amusement.
Issei's face suddenly flushed slightly as his gaze darted around. "Um… Kind of… Well, I'm just saying that life has been busier ever since he came home, so… yeah! I-I just want to be stronger so I can put him in his place. I don't think that he even felt the punch I gave him that time…" Issei recalled their first reunion. "Well, there you have it! I-it's not that I particularly care if he's coming home or anything!"
At Issei's reaction, Akeno had to supress herself not to laugh out loud. She giggled for a good minute before she looked up. "You really are fortunate, Ise-kun…" Akeno wiped away the tears in her eyes from the laughing. "And so cute as well…"
"Well, I won't push it too much, though…" Issei retorted. "Akeno-san… Can I ask you a question this time?" Issei took turns to ask the girl something that had been in his mind for sometime.
"Sure, ask away."
"Are you really the daughter of a fallen angel?" Issei hesitantly asked as he knew the question was a sensitive one.
Akeno blinked as her expression went rigid. "…So you knew about it?" Akeno replied as her gaze went down to the floor.
"Well, I only caught the name during the fight with Kokabiel, Ddraig feed me the basic info, then I just put the two and two together until that morning when my old man mentioned it to you." Issei asked as he scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"Yes, that's right…" Akeno confirmed. "I was originally born from the union between a fallen angel leader, Baraqiel and a human woman. My mother was a daughter of a certain shrine of this country. I heard that on a certain day, my mother saved Barakiel who had collapsed from injuries and from the fate of that day, I was born."
Akeno stood up and she took off her blouse enough to reveal her bare shoulders and back. Then a pair of wings was unfurled. However, Issei raised his eyebrows as he saw that while her right wing was that of a devil, her left wing was covered with black feathers.
"These wings of mine… The wings of both devil's and fallen angel's…" Akeno reached out and grabbed her fallen angel wing, her eyes were full of resentment as she gazed at the said wing. "I've always hated these… These dirty wings. I was so happy that I met Rias and became a devil, thinking that I could get rid of them. But instead, I ended up like this…. Being a freak…"
"Stop."
Before Akeno could continue any further in her self-derision, a pair of hands gently clasped both of her wings and her hand that was grabbing it. Akeno looked up and she saw Issei was standing right before her with his expression serious.
"Please stop it, Akeno-san." Issei said with gentle, yet firm tone. "I won't let you keep saying those sad words."
Akeno blinked at her junior with surprised expression. "W-why? It was fallen angels that roped you into this mess. They killed you, they also killed Asia as well…. Don't you hate them? Fallen angels?"
Issei only sighed in return and he pulled Akeno into a hug in order to comfort her. "First of all, that fallen angel didn't kill me. Her attack sure hurt like hell, but I was still pretty much alive when I reincarnated." The boy pointed out and he broke off the hug himself. "And secondly, they are them and you are you, that's all that matters. Even if I do hate fallen angels, why should I hate you? All you've done was being helpful to me during my first days as a devil, how can I hate you for that? You are no one else but Himejima Akeno, one of the most popular girls in the Kuoh Academy. You're Akeno-senpai, the vice president of the Occult Research Club who loves teasing and bullying people, as well as one of women I admire so much. So stop lamenting about yourself and hold your head high!" Issei said with outmost conviction in his eyes before he trailed to her wings. "Besides… These wings of yours, I won't call them ugly. I honestly don't really know if those wings being beautiful and all, but I definitely won't call them dirty or ugly." Then Issei finished with a wide smile. "So have more confidence in yourself, Akeno-san."
The girl fell silent for a second and Issei found his senior's body was shaking. Before Issei could have gone panic of what he had done, Akeno suddenly lunged to him and pushed him hard onto the bed as she buried her face into her chest.
"A-Akeno-san?" when Issei wanted to ask of what happened, Akeno, who was now lying on top of him, looked up and the boy saw the girl was smiling radiantly with tears running down from her eyes.
Akeno crawled up and drew her face closer to Issei's flustered face and she whispered to his ears. "Ise-kun…" Issei was not sure how to reply, but Akeno pulled her face away and stared right into his eyes. "With killing words like that… What choice do I have but to go serious on you?"
Issei blinked several times as he was now lost about what was going on. He meant his words from earlier, but Akeno's vague words were rather confusing for him. "Err… Akeno-san? I'm-…"
"Akeno." The girl immediately cut him off. "Just this once, please call me by my name alone."
"….Akeno…?" Issei responded hesitantly.
"Yes!" the girl cheered triumphantly. "You've said it! Now I can really go all out!" Akeno once again enveloped Issei into another hug while they were still lying on the bed.
"Seriously, the hell is happening?" Issei furiously racked his brain for possible explanations.
"Ise-kun…" Akeno's voice got his attention again. "I won't mind being the third."
Issei blinked again. "…Third?"
"Yes, third position. I will keep pursuing you and spoil you more even with that position." Akeno said with affectionate smile.
"Okay, she really lost me here. What's that about third position? And what happened with the first and second? Ddraig, any ideas of what the fuck is happening?" Issei thought as he simply stared back at Akeno.
[Go figure it out yourself] Ddraig replied dryly. [You dense motherfucker…]
"Oi, what was that!?"
Then, Issei noticed that Akeno's eyes were drawing closer to him as she grabbed his hands firmly. Just when the distance between their faces was getting closer by seconds, the door to Issei's room suddenly flung open, revealing a man with bald head.
"Ah, there you are-!"
Everything seemed to stop when Saitama's eyes made contact with Issei's and Akeno's wide eyes. Seeing the girl was on top of his son, Saitama rubbed his head awkwardly while maintaining his poker face. "Um…. Sorry to interrupt. I don't know you're having a guest." Then Saitama turned to leave. "Well, carry on… Oh, and don't worry, I won't tell anyone especially Rias or Asia-chan about this." Then Saitama turned to Akeno, whose expression was scowling upon seeing him. "I'll talk it out with your dad if he ever finds out about this, so…. Enjoy yourselves." Saitama finished as he proceeded to close the door and peek out his head one last time before leaving. "One more thing, I thought that this thing might happen again, so I've put some condoms under your pillow, have fun you two."
"No, wait!" the extremely flustered Issei cried out as he struggled to break free from Akeno. "It's nothing like that! You're not interrupting anything! Please don't leave us here! I SAID WAIT, DAMMIT!" Issei finally broke free and chased after his father.
Unknown to Issei, Akeno silently clicked her tongue as she was left behind in Issei's bedroom, but soon her scowl was replaced by more determined smile. Then she looked over the pillow, lifted it up and her eyes widened slightly at what she found under the pillow. "Oh my, there really are some of them."
X
The day of the Peace Conference had finally arrived as the sky was filled with armies of angels, fallen angels and devils floating on the school's perimeter. After making sure that Gasper would not be left bored in the clubroom, with Koneko stayed behind to look after him, the rest of Occult Research Club plus Saitama started their trek towards the conference room at the main school building. Issei had informed Rias beforehand about his father, though at first Rias somewhat reluctant about the idea of a human getting involved with Three Factions affair, she could not say anything if one of the leaders had allowed him to join. Besides, Saitama did have an involvement during the feud about Excalibur swords with Kokabiel.
"Um… Saitama-san?" Rias asked with a sweat-drop as she led her peerage across the hall. "Are you really going to wear that outfit?" the girl asked as she stared at Saitama's yellow hero uniform.
Saitama only looked down at his uniform before he simply shrugged. "Well, Azazel told me to wear something I'm most comfortable in while inside a hostile environment, so I chose to wear this."
The rest of the group only sighed at Saitama's reasoning, sans Xenovia who nodded in understanding. "I see…. There's no telling what would happen at the meeting between leaders of three powers. It is indeed important to prepare yourself for anything… As expected of Saitama-dono, you never leave anything to chance!"
Everyone could only give an awkward smile at Xenovia's logic and her over-estimation on Saitama. Issei himself only groaned inwardly as he had already given up to make any comments.
"Say, Kiba." Issei then asked the knight while the group was on their way. "I heard you got yourself a holy sword. Can you show it to me later?"
"Fufufu, I'd be glad to. Perhaps I can use this new sword against you in our next training session?"
Issei only snickered at Yuuto's playful challenge. "Don't get yourself carried away, bub. It won't be that easy even if you have a dragon slayer."
The trip to the conference room went rather on relaxed pace with Issei casually talked and interacted with everyone, along with occasional jabs with his father. When the group finally arrived at the front of the room, Rias knocked the door three times before opening.
"Excuse us."
The door opened and the group let themselves in and they were met with a gorgeous and pompous looking table. There were already people sitting around it, the leaders of the three factions. At the heavy atmosphere from the leaders, everyone sans Saitama tensed, even Asia grabbed the end of Issei's clothes as she felt uneasy. The boy lightly clasped her hand with his in order to ease her.
On the Heaven's side, two figures with each of them possessing twelve wings shining in gold were present. One of them was the Archangel Gabriel clad in her formal robe and attire. The other one was a handsome-looking man with long blonde hair and green eyes, clad in the similar attire with Gabriel. Issei assumed that the man was the Archangel Michael, the current leader of Heaven. Behind the two Archangels was Irina sitting on her designated seat as their guards, the girl waved her hand in greeting when her eyes made contact with Issei, Xenovia and Asia, who also returned the gesture.
On the Grigori's side, Azazel was sitting on his designated chair with his 12 wings unfurled. He raised his hand and smirk in friendly manner towards Issei and the boy only gave him a dry look. Behind the Governor, sitting on a chair was a young man with dark silver hair, the Hakuryuukou Vali, who smirked at the sight of Issei, and his eyes narrowed when he saw Saitama.
On the devil's side, Sirzechs Lucifer and Serafall Leviathan, with Grayfia and Sona Sitri with her peerage stationed behind them. "This is my younger sister and her family, they are the ones who stopped Kokabiel when he attacked this town." The Crimson Satan introduced his little sister, who bowed together with her peerage towards the other VIP guests.
"Wait, hang on a sec." Before the other guests could return the greetings, Serafall suddenly interrupted as her light expression from earlier suddenly turned sour. "What the hell are you doing here?" Serafall pointed at Saitama, who maintained his poker face as he entered the room. "And what is that you're wearing? This is an important meeting!"
Some of the others were inwardly agreed with Serafall, though some of them were also a bit surprised at the usually cheerful and friendly Leviathan's sudden hostility at the man. Saitama himself only stared plainly at Serafall. "Says the one who wore a magical-girl costume during the formal parents observation day. And Azazel was the one to invite me here." The man replied with a huff.
"This is this and that was that!" Serafall shot up from her seat. "And Azazel-chan, what were you thinking bringing that cue ball along?" the Leviathan turned to the fallen angel governor while pointing at Saitama, whose eyes twitched at Serafall's mention of his head.
"I also concede with my sister." Sona also raised from her seat. "I don't mean to be rude. I'm aware of Saitama-san's exploit during Kokabiel's invasion, but put Leviathan-sama's differences with him aside, is it really alright to let him join the meeting of three factions? Saitama-san is technically an outsider."
"Now, now. Calm down, you ladies…" Azazel waved his arm. "You can say that I invited him as an overseer in case of anything happens during the meeting. And as for you Serafall, you should have known better than most people that the dude over there can take on all of us alone if he wants to."
The rest of the guests, minus the leaders and Vali, widened their eyes at Azazel's statement. They turned their eyes on Saitama, who had been claimed to be powerful enough to fight on equal terms with the leaders of Three Powers. Serafall's scowl deepened ever so slightly, but in the end she only let out a huff and returned to her sitting position with her arms folded in annoyance. Sona herself looked doubtful and unbelieving for a second before she returned to her seat as well.
Then, Michael stood up from his seat. "If Azazel has already invited Saitama-kun here, then we shall let him to join the discussion as well." Then the Archangel turned to the bald man. "I heard that you helped my younger sister, as well as Irina and Xenovia in the past. For that, you have my thanks." Michael bowed his head lightly.
"Ah, don't mention it." Saitama simply waved his hand. "And about your sister, it was my son here who made the first move." The man pointed his thumb to his son.
Michael then moved his gaze to Issei and he addressed the boy. "So you are the Sekiryuutei, Hyoudou Issei-kun. Thank you for aiding my younger sister."
"A-ah…. It's my pleasure, Michael-dono." Issei nervously replied.
"So you really came." This time, Gabriel stood up. "It's good to see you again, Ise-san… Saitama-san."
Issei only bowed politely as Saitama replied in a rather too casual manner. "Yeah. Hello again, Gabriel." Saitama's lack of manner once again surprised the guests in the room, while Gabriel simply smiled back before returned to sit with her brother.
"Hoo? I see that you two are already getting so chummy with each other?" Serafall asked with sarcastic tone and a sneer on her face.
"Fufufu, Serafall-san… Saitama-san and I have met and talked during the other day, after all." Gabriel simply replied good-naturedly while Saitama only sent Serafall an odd look.
As if had failed to find her expectation, Serafall only scowled deeper and groaned into her hands. "Good grief… Now there are two of them…"
While the escorts were wondering about the circumstances regarding Serafall, Saitama and Gabriel, those who understood like Sirzechs, Azazel and Michael only silently giggled in amusement.
Few minutes later, Grayfia had showed Rias' peerage their seats, which was next to Sona Sitri's peerage behind the devil kings, and Saitama, who was appointed to be an 'overseer', to one remaining seat around the table facing the other leaders.
After confirming that everyone was accounted for, Sirzechs finally spoke up. "Now that everyone is here. Shall we begin the discussion?"
The Peace Conference between the Heaven, Grigori and Underworld had begun in Kuoh Academy.