Kiba Yuuto had just returned to the Gremory main residence from his last day of training. When he came into the house, he was greeted by his comrades, who just finished with their training as well. The knight could tell that his friends had improved exponentially since the last time he saw them, judging from their appearance especially Xenovia. The others also commented on his tattered jersey, showing how hard he had trained for the past 20 days. As the others from Occult Research Club continued to converse with each other about their training days, Yuuto decided to look around outside, considering they were still one person short.
It was when Issei and Saitama had just returned after their training at the Forbidden Forest. When the two arrived at the front of castle's gate, Yuuto was the one who found them first.
"Hey, Ise-kun, Saitama-san." Yuuto greeted the father and son duo as he took a good look at the latter two's appearance.
Saitama did not seem much different than any other day, however Issei was the one that caught Yuuto's attention. With his training attire reduced into only a pair of sweat-pants and his top replaced by something akin to animal's fur, the pawn looked like someone who had been living in a wild for years. There were even few bandages applied on his face.
Yuuto had seen Issei's muscular body during their training camp to fight the Phenex, but when the knight caught a glimpse of Issei's body under the latter's make-shift clothes, the pawn's muscle had become even more refined than before. Yuuto found himself swallowed a lump at the glimpse of Issei's abs.
"…'Sup, Kiba." Issei returned the greeting, Saitama himself only nodded in return. However, Issei inclined his head a bit when he found Yuuto was still gluing his sight on his body. "Um…. Hello? Kiba? Are you there?" The pawn waved his hand in front of the knight's face.
Yuuto immediately snapped back to reality and he blinked few times. "O-oh… Sorry for spacing out. It's just… You've gotten a good body."
Issei unconsciously took a step back with his eyebrows furrowing uncomfortably. "Um…. Thanks?"
Saitama who watched the interaction narrowed his eyes a bit at the handsome knight and he leaned in to whisper at his son's ear. "This kid is kind of creepy…" The hero was hushed away by the said son.
"And speaking of… You don't seem to have changed at all." Issei asked Yuuto to liven up the mood.
"Well, because I have the body-type that has difficulty in putting on more muscle. I'm rather jealous of you."
Before Issei could have replied, another figure came out. "Oh. Ise, Kiba, and Saitama-dono."
Issei and Saitama turned to look at an individual who was covered in bandages from head to toe. There were few blue strands coming out from the head, and the person's appearance was completely ragged.
""Err…. Who are you?"" With the same expression, father and son asked at the same time.
"It's Xenovia. How cruel of you two…. Forgetting me like that…" the girl actually sounded a bit insulted in her tone.
Issei and Saitama blinked at the name and they soon recognized after they caught the sight of the blue strands sticking out from between the bandages. "Oh… Ooh! Xenovia! Sorry, sorry. It's just… You know, the mummy get-up and all." Issei reasoned as his hand was gesturing about Xenovia's appearance.
"How rude… I have no intention of being preserved forever, you know?"
"Well, that's not what I…" Then Issei closed his eyes and he finally chose not to care anymore. "You know what? Never mind that. You two looked much stronger than before." Issei found himself could perceive the two knights' more refined aura and flow of magic power.
"Good work, you two." Saitama said with a nod. Yuuto and Xenovia smiled proudly in return.
"Ise-san! And father, too!"
"Asia!" Issei addressed the former nun who came out next.
Dressed in her nun outfit, Asia immediately threw herself to Issei's body, which the pawn caught her in an embrace out of reflex.
"I'm so glad that you're alright…." Asia muttered multiple drops of tears leaked from her eyes. "What happened to you? What with these clothes?" Asia ran her hand through Issei's make-shift clothes from the forest's beast skin.
"Yeah… Come to think of it, are those from….?" Yuuto asked with some idea in mind.
"Yeah, the forest happened. It got chilly during the couple of nights, so I decided to loot some skin from the animals I hunted down." Issei pulled on his top to emphasize. "I tell you, though. It's really hard to skin them with just your bare hands. Ddraig was adamant not to have Boosted Gear being used as a make-shift peeler."
"….Ah…" Yuuto nodded while Xenovia only stared with apprehensive look.
"Oh, now everyone from the group has returned." Rias finally came into view as she stepped out.
"Buchou! Long time no see!"
"…'Sup, Rias-chan."
Rias nodded briefly at Saitama and she also gulped when she set her eyes on Issei's body. Despite covered in Issei's new clothing, the girl could catch few glimpses of Issei's more refined muscles and abs.
"Ise, you…. You've become more robust than before…." Rias approached her pawn and she slid her hand inside Issei's clothes, getting the feeling of his muscles.
"….Buchou?" Issei started to become flustered as his master's hands were feeling him up.
Few moments passed, until finally Saitama broke it off. "Um, Rias-chan? You know that we're here and watching, right?"
Rias finally snapped back and she looked around to find that Saitama, flustered and teary-eyed Asia, and amused Yuuto plus Xenovia were watching her leaning her head and hands against Issei's chest.
Rias then quickly stepped away from Issei and cleared her throat to recompose herself. "Uhm… Sorry. Let's come in. Once you've taken a shower and change attire, we'll meet to report the outcome of our training." Rias said with a flustered face and hurried back inside.
As the group followed behind, Saitama approached beside Rias and whispered to her ear. "It's okay, you know. You'll get more chances to get a feel of my son."
Saitama's whisper was audible enough for everyone to hear. Rias' blush deepened, and Issei only sighed with an embarrassed, awkward face. Asia only whimpered while Yuuto and Xenovia only chuckled in amusement.
In Issei's room (the boy was not sure why his room, but he chose not to think much about it), everyone plus Azazel were sharing about what they had been doing for the past 20 days. Issei found that his comrades had their training much less rough than his. Even Xenovia and Yuuto were provided Gremory's private mountain cottage and villa during their training in the open field.
Issei, now clad in new set of clothes, was a tad jealous of everyone had it easy. Not only he had to fend for himself for the entire training, he still thought that being trained by his father was the last thing he wanted.
"So, Ise…" now it was Issei's turn to share. "How did your training go?"
Issei's eyes darted around, wondering where he should start. "Well… In a nutshell, this baldy here is a horrible mentor." Issei jerked his thumb at his father, resulting some others to snort.
"Hey."
Ignoring his father's retort, Issei carried on. "And the life-style in that forest didn't make things easier. Sometimes I couldn't sleep at night because he snored so loud that it attracted more monsters, he always over-cooked my hard-earned meal almost to the point it's no longer edible, and the fact that he really sucks on giving first aid! I've already lost count how many times he ended up making my wounds even worse."
"Well, first of all…" Saitama tried to save his own face. "…Okay, I'm sorry about the snoring. But secondly, it was only one time. Lastly, I told you that I'm totally new about tending wounds."
"Still, I thought you were gonna tear my arm off my body when your tried to fix my dislocated joint. That one really hurt! And the conclusion that you almost got me killed on many occasions while I'm trying my damn hardest to survive!"
"Hey, that's why I've been there to keep you alive!"
"Okay, then what about one night when I got us a good sleeping spot to avoid monsters, and you just had the audacity to scream something out-loud about someone throwing their boogers at you in your sleep?!"
"For your information, it was a terrible nightmare!"
"Nothing compared with our survival-of-the-fittest lifestyle!"
"Grow up, you cry-baby. It's all for the sake of your training."
"And ditching me in the nest full of those creepy crawlers was for the sake of my training too?"
There was a pause. "…..Yes!"
Issei grumbled then a gleam appeared on his eyes. "Well, at least I know there's one thing where I'm better than you." Then Issei clapped around with a mocking expression on his face.
Realizing what his son meant, Saitama narrowed his eyes. "Guh… That's a low-blow, kid…"
"You may say so, but it's still the fact that I outclassed you nine times out of ten on that night." Issei's smirk widened.
"You're being a sore-loser, you know that?"
"And you've been such a massive ass."
The father and son kept glaring at one another while everyone else had become intrigued at the spectacle.
"Um…" Rias chided in, snapping the father and son to look at her and everyone else, whom all were sporting curious and amused looks. "We missed a lot of things, didn't we?"
"No, no. Nothing."
"Nah, you didn't miss anything."
Issei and Saitama replied and shook their heads in unison. Rias and everyone smiled at the sight. They could tell that the two had become somewhat more acquainted with each other. Even Azazel could tell that Issei had improved a lot from the sheer aura leaking out from his body alone.
"If you say so. Alright, the meeting ends here. Tomorrow is the party. You're all dismissed for today." Azazel announced as he stood up. "By the way, Saitama. Since you're already here and all, what about joining the party as well? It's sudden, but I can talk to Sirzechs to reserve one more spot if you want."
Saitama gave the offer a thoughtful. After thinking for a while, Saitama closed his eyes. "Nah, I'm good. I guess I'm gonna go home tomorrow after a night's rest. Can't keep Haruka waiting for me, after all."
Everyone accepted and understood Saitama's reasoning as they proceeded to go their own way.
"Um…!"
When Saitama was about to go to his own room, a voice suddenly stopped him on his tracks, causing him to turn his head around at the source of the said voice. The source was a petite girl with white hair and hazel eyes.
"Err… Koneko-chan, right? What is it?" Saitama asked.
The rest also stopped on their tracks to see the exchange between the girl and the man.
Koneko fidgeted nervously for a minute before she spoke again. "Um… It's… About the other day…" Then Koneko bowed her head down. "Thank you very much for helping me."
Rias, Akeno and Issei smiled as they realized what Koneko was implying, while the others simply found the scene kind of touching.
Saitama only blinked before his mouth opened ever so slightly in recognition of what the girl meant. While Koneko was still bowing her head, she suddenly felt something gentle and warmth was placed on top of her hand. The girl swore it felt like someone's hand. The hand was hard, strong, yet so warm as it hit the spot, causing the girl to purr a little in bliss.
When the warmth ceased, Koneko lifted his head up and saw Saitama was already leaving. The man simply walked away while waving his hand off. "Just take better care of yourself."
Then Saitama vanished at the same time the door of his room slammed shut.
Koneko stared at the door where Saitama just left for a minute before she placed her hand on her head, on the spot that Saitama patted her. A smile came to her face, as the girl was somewhat reminded at the warmth of her deceased parents, which she had almost forgotten.
oXo
It was bedtime.
Our favourite Sekiryuutei found himself lying down on the bed with Xenovia and Asia by both of his side. Originally, they had been placed into their own separate rooms, but later the two girls came knocking on Issei's door, saying that they felt uncomfortable sleeping in such a luxurious bedroom. Issei seemed to understand their nervousness and thanks to him used to sleep with both Rias and Asia on his bed, Issei and Asia were able to sleep just fine while Xenovia being the only one awake as she stared at the ceiling.
'Hmm…. I can't sleep… Even we're just sleeping, having a man makes me nervous somehow…' Xenovia muttered in her mind. Then she glanced at sleeping form of Issei and Asia. 'I heard those two have been sleeping on the same bed…. How nice…'
"….Uuugh…"
"…Ng?" Xenovia blinked when she heard Issei was mumbling something. "…Ise?"
"Gh…. Don't mess with me, you damn baldy….."
Xenovia blinked again at Issei's words. Issei himself started to move around a little on the bed.
"Stupid old man….." Issei continued mumbling in his sleep as his expression somewhat troubled.
Asia who was nudged thanks to Issei's movement finally woke up. "…Munya…?" Asia yawned cutely as she rubbed her sleepiness away from her eyes. "….Ise-san…?"
"No…. Don't give me that shit…."
Now, Asia blinked again at Issei who was still talking with his eyes closed. Then she turned to look at Xenovia, who was watching in amusement. "Um…. Xenovia-san? Is Ise-san…?"
Xenovia snorted. "Yeah, I think Ise here is dreaming about Saitama-dono."
"Heee…. The hell you doin'….?"
Asia heard Issei sleep-talked again and she giggled. "…Fufufu… It's kind of cute of him. Right, Xenovia-san?"
"I guess so… It's kind of rare to see this side of Ise." Xenovia smiled in return.
"Then I'll show you I can be a hero better than you, you stupid caped baldy….. Strong enough to protect everyone around me… My friends…. Nyem, nyem… Kicking your ass….."
Despite being unconscious, Issei's last statement caused Asia and Xenovia to widen their eyes. A few seconds later, both of their expression turned into fond smiles.
Asia then ran her hand on Issei's head. "Yes, I'm sure you'll be a great hero in future, Ise-san…"
"I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, huh?" Xenovia commented while she rested her head on her palm.
The moments passed by with Xenovia and Asia looked fondly at sleeping Issei, with the second kept stroking the latter's head fondly. "….Huh…? What do ya mean looking I get that outfit…? That stupid…." Until Issei started mumbling again. "Huh….? The mirror…..?"
Few seconds later, Issei's eyes suddenly shot wide open and immediately woke up with a cry. "GAAH! I'M BAAAALD!"
"Kyah!"
"What the-!?"
Asia and Xenovia were startled at Issei's sudden outburst. The boy himself then blinked, before it took only few seconds for him to realize that he had been dreaming. The pawn then ran his hand through his hair and let out a small sigh. "….Ah, a dream."
"Ise-san…?"
Issei turned to see Asia and Xenovia were giving him worried looks. "Uh… So sorry about that, girls. It's just… It was a terrible nightmare!"
[KUHAHAHAHAHA! Even in your dreams you never ceased to amuse me, partner! HAHAHAHAHA!] Ddraig did not bother to contain his amusement as a roaring laughter came out from Issei's left hand.
"Shut up, Ddraig!"
Asia and Xenovia glanced at each other before the latter asked again. "…What happened?"
"I was like…. An E.T." Issei replied and released another sigh of relief. "But thank goodness it was all just a dream…"
Then the door of Issei's room burst open, revealing Rias, Akeno, Koneko and Yuuto in their respective sleepwear. "Are you okay, Ise? I heard a scream."
Issei blinked at his friends' arrival and quickly got up again to explain the situation. "Um, really sorry about this. I just had a bad dream, that's all. You guys can go back to sleep. I'm gonna be fine."
Before Rias could have asked more, Saitama appeared from behind the teenagers. "….(Yawn)….What happened? I heard a noise." Saitama asked lazily while he was still rubbing his eyes.
Issei then grimaced at the sight of his father, which in turn, reminded him of his 'nightmare'. "Oh, for the love of…! No, nothing's wrong! Much appreciated, but your face is the last thing I need to see tonight! Go back to your room, pops!" Issei then proceeded to bring Saitama back to his room.
Saitama then blinked at his son suddenly pushing him around. "Hey, what the shit!?"
As he kept ushering Saitama out of his room, Issei turned one last time to his friends. "It's okay, everyone. I got it from here. Sorry again about the noise. Goodnight!" Then Issei dragged Saitama away until they disappeared at the corner.
Everyone from the Occult Research Club only stared at the direction where the father and son had disappeared into and would turned to Asia and Xenovia who were still on Issei's bed.
"….What just happened?" Rias asked as she pointed at the direction. Asia and Xenovia only shrugged in return, barely knew anything.
It was the evening of the next day and Issei was preparing himself for the party sponsored by the Satan himself. Saitama had gone away that noon to catch the train leaving for the human world, but before he left, the man made time to buy Issei a set of black suit along with red tie, saying that it was a gift.
Currently, the boy was alone in the parlor waiting for his friends. He had on an armband with the Gremory symbol inscribed on it, so the boy would be allowed to enter the party.
"Hyoudou?"
The silence was broken by a familiar voice and Issei turned his head to see Saji Genshirou approaching him. The member of Student Council was wearing the summer uniform of Kuoh Academy.
"Saji? Why are you here?"
"Ah, Kaichou will be going to the meeting place along with Rias-senpai and I followed her here. Kaichou went to meet with Rias-senpai and after that, I inevitably ended up wandering aimlessly around the mansion, until I arrived here."
"Hmm…. I see." Issei nodded as Saji took a seat beside him.
"The game will be taking place very soon now." Saji spoke with serious expression.
"Yeah." Issei took in Saji's words.
"I've trained. And guess what?" A grin appeared on Saji's face. "I was trained by a dragon king! Isn't that cool?"
Issei blinked and he turned to Saji. "Dragon king? Are you talking about old man Tannin?"
"….You know Tannin-san? And 'old man'…?" Saji asked, not expecting Issei to know the former dragon king so casually.
Issei shrugged. "Well…. He offered himself to send me to my training venue. Anyway, how's your training with him?"
Saji slumped as he let out a sigh. "Well… Simply put, there were many times when I thought I was gonna die. Tannin-san kept chasing me around while spewing giant fireballs at me every day."
"Wow, seems you had it tough." Issei commented.
"And speaking of, how did your training go? Who was in charge of training you?"
There was a pause before Issei replied with a sigh. "….My old man."
Saji blinked before confirming. "…Your dad?" Issei nodded.
"Okay…. How did it go?"
Issei leaned back and stared at the space. "I couldn't put a scratch on him… Even when I was using my Scale Mail."
Saji looked at Issei with widened eyes filled with disbelief. "Seriously? Okay, I've been meaning to ask this… Is your dad really a human?"
"Strangely enough, yes." Issei shrugged. Then his expression turned to that of anger. "And what got on my nerves was that he was going easy on me for the entire training!"
"You… don't seem to like him very much."
Issei snorted. "Hmph, try to spend a week with him. You'll find his ever-present poker face is getting on your nerves."
Another silence fell between the two until Issei decided to break it off. "You know what, enough about training. Tell me, does Sona-kaichou really want to build a school?"
The two boys began talking about their dreams. Saji passionately showed his determination to always be there for his master, despite his lewd goal to impregnate Sona he once declared on the other day. Issei's view on Saji had become better as a smile crept up on his face.
"You know what, Saji? I think you're gonna make a wonderful teacher."
"R-really?" Saji asked with hopeful tone.
"You bet. And you have my full support on this." Issei raised up his right fist.
Knowing the gesture, Saji held up his left fist and the boys fist-bumped. "Thanks, Hyoudou… But that doesn't mean that I'm gonna go easy on you on the game later!"
Issei gave a challenging grin. "Never dream of it. Give me all you got and I'm sure as hell I won't hold back either."
The two boys then laughed at each other before Saji took a note of Issei's get-up. "That's a nice suit you have there. Where did you get it?"
"Oh, this? My old man bought it for me before he left today."
"Heh… That's nice of him. I only have this uniform for myself." Saji tugged his uniform. "You… thanked him, didn't you? I thought you don't like him and all…"
"Of course I…. thanked him…" Issei found himself swallowing a lump before continuing. "Besides, it'd be a waste if I don't wear it, right?"
"Sorry for the wait, Ise. Oh, Saji-kun came as well."
A female voice was heard, causing the two boys to turned their heads towards the source. They found the girls from ORC and Sona Sitri, clad in beautiful dress. They had put on make up and their hair had been done up nicely.
Issei and Saji were silent for a while, staring dumbly at the girls. Both men had their faces flushed at the sight. Fortunately, Saji was the one who snapped back to reality and quickly tapped Issei's shoulder.
"Hyoudou! Oi, Hyoudou!"
Issei blinked as he also returned from the trance. "Huh, wha-?" Issei looked stupefied. "What is it?"
Saji gestured at the girls again and Issei realized that his friends had arrived. "Ise? Are you okay?" Rias tilted her head while looking at him worriedly.
"Oh, sorry…" Issei shook his head out of the gutter. "It's just… You all look very beautiful tonight." The boy said sheepishly. "Kaichou." Issei made time to give a greeting nod towards Sona, who also nodded back in return.
The girls immediately blushed deeply at the compliment. However….
"Gasper, why are you wearing a dress?" Issei asked in calm tone at the male who was wearing woman's clothing.
"B-because it looks so cute. I want to wear a dress too…." The dhampir nervously replied.
Issei could only sigh at this. Then, here was the massive sound of something flying in the garden along with a soft tremor in the ground. Soon, a butler came and informed them. "Tannin-sama and his family have arrived."
Issei raised his eyebrows. "Tannin? What's he doing here?"
"Oh, I forgot to tell you." Saji said beside Issei. "Tannin-san offered to escort Kaichou's peerage to the party. He also agreed on giving a ride for you guys too! Isn't he amazing?"
Issei blinked at the news. He looked at his master, whom said that she had been informed beforehand by Sona. "Wow, that's amazing, indeed." Issei smiled as he thought that riding a dragon to a party sounded rather stylish.
When everyone went out to the garden, Tannin and ten other dragons around his size had been waiting for them. On the back of those dragons, the rest of Sona Sitri's peerage were sitting on stand by. "I came just as promised, Saji Genshirou." The Blaze Meteor Dragon looked at the Sitri pawn before he turned to Issei. "And it's good to see you again, Hyoudou Issei."
"Yeah, it's good to see you again, old man."
"Hey, Hyoudou! Show proper respect! You're talking to a dragon king, you know!" Saji whispered furiously.
Apparently, Tannin's ear was sharp enough to catch Saji's scolding. "Hahaha, it is fine. You also don't need to be all formal towards me, Saji Genshirou…" The dragon simply laughed it off.
Then the dragon addressed the others. "While you all ride on my back, I'll place a special barrier around you. With that, your hair and clothes won't get ruined by the wind, since those things are important to women."
"Thank you, Tannin-sama. We'll be relying on you until we get to the meeting place. Are you sure it's fine with people of Gremory coming along as well?" Sona asked politely.
"It's fine, milady Sona. Both you and milady Rias are really beautiful tonight. And please leave that matter to me." Tannin replied after complimenting the girls' looks.
oXo
While the dragons were flying in the sky towards the party venue, with Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri's peerage were riding on their backs, Issei was sitting on Tannin's head, courtesy the dragon himself wanted to have another talk with the Red Dragon Emperor. Here he was, mesmerized by the view of the scenery from the sky as he enjoyed the wind flowing to his face.
[For me to see this scenery from on top of a dragon, it's an experience that can't be described.] Ddraig commented rather bitterly.
"Hahahaha, that is an interesting experience, Ddraig. However, there are only three mighty dragons that are still active left, including myself. No, since I was reborn as a devil, the only real ones remaining are Ophis and Tiamat. The rest have either been sealed or have retired. Yu-Long and Midgardsormr never come out onto the surface anymore. You, Albion, Fafnir and Vritra have been sealed into Sacred Gears. —In all ages, strong dragons have been suppressed. Strong dragons are a fearful existence, after all." Tannin replied with a hint of loneliness in his tone.
"Now that you mention it… Old man, why did you become a devil?" Issei brought up the question.
"One reason is that in this era where there aren't any big battles anymore, I thought that I would get to fight various guys if I participated in the Rating Games. There's another reason."
"Another reason?"
"There is a special fruit that grows for a specific race of dragons to eat. The fruit is called Dragon Apple. However, the ones that grew in the human world have become extinct because of sudden environmental changes. Now, the fruit only grows in the Underworld, but dragons are hated here. They're detested by both devils and fallen angels. So I made a deal with the devils. I became a devil and serve them, then in return I will be given a territory where dragon apples grows once I exceeded high-class."
"I see… So those dragons who were in need of those fruits went to your place?"
"Yes. Thanks to that, they avoided becoming extinct. I also performed research on how to artificially grow the dragon apple in my territory successfully. It's a special fruit, so the research takes time. Still, if it lets there be a future for the dragon race, it's better to continue."
Issei came to admire Tannin for his effort for the sake of other dragons. No wonder Tannin was titled as a dragon king. "You're really a nice dragon, old man."
"Gahahahaha! To be praised by the Red Dragon Emperor, such a rare chance! Actually, you're the second person told me that. The first person being your father."
"…Really? Him?"
"Yes. Ever since Saitama was given permission to visit the underworld, he would sometimes come over to my territory for sightseeing. Even now he would give me an extra hand to take care of my dragon apple garden."
"…I see." Issei found himself smiling. "Guess that's just what my pops would do."
"Speaking of, I heard that Saitama was in charge for training you. How did it go?"
Issei's smile turned into a small frown. "Uh… I'd rather not to talk about it…"
Tannin snorted and the snort turned into another laugh. "Gahahahaha! From that answer alone I can tell he has done a number on you!" Tannin then stopped laughing. "In any case, I can see that you've become much stronger than the last time we met. But be careful, Hyoudou Issei. The wielder of Vritra over there has also shown impressive spurt of growth and has received several power-ups from Azazel as well."
[….I see…] Ddraig mused, as if he caught on something. [I sensed that Vritra's presence within that kid has become stronger than ever. So that kid had been given more of Vritra's Sacred Gears, huh?]
"Wait, what are you talking about? And did I just hear that there is more than one Sacred Gear that contains Vritra?" Issei asked.
[Ah, right. I haven't explained to you about this. Actually, when Vritra was defeated in battle by a certain god, his soul was split and sealed into multiple Sacred Gears. I'm not sure how many they are, but Vritra's consciousness will become stronger when more of his Sacred Gears are gathered. You should heed Tannin's words and look out for that kid, partner… It won't be long until he can master the power of Prison Dragon]
Issei took in the information and he turned behind to look at Saji who was conversing with the girls from student council. When Issei focused again, he really could see that there was black aura leaking out from Saji's body. And it only made the Red Dragon Emperor smirked eagerly.
The flight went on until the dragons finally arrived at the meeting place.
At the edge of the Gremory territory, there was a high-class, high rise hotel reserved by the Satan. Issei was amazed by the sheer mountainous size as the boy was looking at it from the top of Tannin's head. The dragons landed to drop their passengers on the open field that seemed to be a sports field. After exchanging gratitude, the dragons left the young devils as there was a separate place that accommodated devils with larger size like Tannin. Gremory group and Sitri group then split up and took a different pick-up due to another quick appointment. When the Gremory group was being escorted inside their own limousine, Rias picked up a comb from her purse to tidy Issei's hair up. It appeared that Issei's hair had become disheveled, due to Issei's sitting spot on Tannin's head was not covered by barrier against wind current.
"Buchou… You don't need to, I can comb my hair just fine." The pawn tried to refuse his master politely.
"Stay put, Ise. It's also my job as a king to make sure my servants are presentable." Rias insisted as she just finished doing her pawn's hair.
Letting out a sigh, Issei then asked. "Then, Buchou… What about Azazel-sensei?"
"It seems that he will head here after joining up with Onii-sama and the others on another route, since they're really close friends, after all…"
"I see…"
Then Rias put on serious look. "Listen, Ise. You probably didn't know since you were sitting on top of Tannin-sama's head, but earlier, I declared a war on Sona. I told her that we'll defeat her for the sake of our dream."
Issei only blinked at the information as Rias carried on. "She aims to create a school – a Rating Game School. For the sake of building that, Sona studied the school system of the human world while living as a student there. The schools of the human world, which anyone can enter, are important for her, after all."
Taking in the information, Issei then smiled. "I see… Actually, Saji also told me earlier that he would become a teacher in that school. And his eyes were saying that he won't back down no matter what."
With the face of determination, Rias concluded. "Even so, we will win. We have our own dreams and goals as well."
Issei nodded as he understood well. Going half-heartedly would only insult the dreams of others, especially if those others were your friends and rival.
The group's limousine soon arrived at the hotel, then the youngsters were welcomed by numerous employees. The group entered the lobby, checked-in, and twent to the elevator.
"The party will be held on the top floor, Ise. If you're called out to by any people from distinguished families, make sure to greet them properly, okay?" Rias began her final briefing.
"As you command, milady." Issei bowed slightly before asking another question. "But tonight's party was hosted by devil kings for young devils, right?"
"That is the official stance. In truth, people won't get very excited even once we enter the room. This is an annual custom. If anything, it's more like a gathering for the members of all the distinguished families to meet. We, the next family heads, are just extras, while it's really a party for our fathers to enjoy themselves. In reality, they've made reservations at the nearby facilities until the fourth or fifth after-parties. Proof of that is that they arrived at the meeting place separately from us. They probably gathered together before the young people arrived and may have already finished their alcohol." Rias grumbled with displeased expression.
Akeno and Yuuto also had bitter smiles on their faces. Issei only scoffed in understanding.
[I guess I remember why I wasn't that fond of devils in the beginning…] Ddraig muttered in Issei's mind.
When the group finally arrived at the party hall, every attendant's eyes were directed at Rias Gremory. Breaths of admiration came out as everyone greeted the red head.
"Princess Rias. You've become more and more beautiful…"
"Sirzechs-sama must also be proud."
Praises were exchanged while the group kept walking among the party crowds. Gasper was sticking on Issei's back like a life-line. "Uuu, there's so many people…"
Despite the whimper, Issei noticed that the dhampir had improved. He still felt nervous, but he no longer chose to run away nor having his Sacred Gear going haywire, and the pawn inwardly proud of the said improvement.
"Ise, we're making our rounds of greetings."
Issei snapped his head at Rias' instruction and blinked once. Of course, someone with Rias's stature would only be natural to follow the etiquette of the social gathering like this. Issei smiled lightly and nodded, "Understood, milady." And the Occult Research Club split up while the king and her pawn went around the hall to greet the other high-class devils.
oXo
Issei was now sitting on one of the chairs prepared in a corner of the floor along with Asia and Gasper after the pawn had finished greeting around the guests with his master. The boy was not particularly tired, but he found that he needed to accompany the two of rather shy bishops in a place where there was a lot of people going around.
As his eyes scanned around the party, Issei spotted his master and her queen, conversing with some female devils. He scanned around again and saw Yuuto was being surrounded by many of his female fans.
Occasionally, there were male devils that greeted the cute Asia. Not that Issei could not understand, but Issei found that most of those devils were throwing somewhat lecherous looks at the girl. Fortunately, a glare was enough to fend off the hyenas trying to hit on her.
Xenovia then came over them with a massive quantity of dishes of extravagant foods placed on her hands. "Ise, Asia, Gasper… I've gotten some food. Dig in."
The three mentioned then accepted the food gratefully. "Thanks. Sorry about this, Xenovia…"
"No, it's nothing. This amount is inexpensive. Look, it's better for Asia to have a drink too." Xenovia waved off Issei's apology as she handed a glass of juice to Asia.
"Thank you very much, Xenovia-san…Since it's my first time doing this kind of thing, I was nervous and my throat got dry", the said bishop took the glass and drank from it.
As the group was enjoying their food, Issei caught someone was staring and approaching him. Issei then recognized the person when they were close enough.
"I-it's been a while, Red Dragon Emperor." The person greeting Issei was a young girl in a fancy dress with her blonde hair tied into twintails with large, drill-like curls and blue ribbons keeping them in place.
"Hi, err…. Ravel-san, correct?" Issei asked.
"Yes, I'm Ravel Phenex. It appears you still remember me." Ravel gave a curtsy bow.
"Well, of course I do. Your face is hard to forget." Issei's answer caused Ravel's face to flush slightly. "Anyway, how are you? How's your brother doing?"
Ravel replied with a sigh. "…He has been in low spirit ever since his defeat by your hands. Well, since he had always relied on his talent and got cocky because of it, his battle with you should have been a good lesson for him."
Issei blinked at how harsh Ravel just dissed her own brother. "Wow, truly no mercy from you. You were also part of your brother's group, right?"
"About that, I've currently finished trading, and I've now become my mother's servant. My mother traded away an unused piece she had in exchange for me and said that she would trade me again when I found someone whose family I want to become part of. I'm essentially a free Bishop now, since my mother doesn't participate in the games."
Issei tilted his head at the new term. "…Trading?"
"I guess a low-class like you won't know much about Rating Game just yet. According to the rules, it's possible to exchange pieces between Kings, on the condition that they're the same kind of piece."
Issei took in the information. "So there's a rule that allows such thing…" However, from another point of view, seeing that servants and peerage members could be 'traded', as if they were objects made Issei inwardly grimaced.
"B-by the way, Red Dragon Emperor…"
Issei looked back at Ravel, who seemed a bit nervous. "Um, Ravel-san… You can stop with the Red Dragon Emperor. There's no need to call me so formally. After all, we are around the same age and everyone calls me 'Ise', so you can also do that as well."
"I-Is it really okay for me to call you by your name!?" Ravel stuttered with a somewhat happier expression. Before Issei could have answered, Ravel quickly cleared her throat and regained her composure. "…T-Then, I'll oblige and call you 'Ise-sama' without reservation."
"Uh… Please, you don't have to use honorifics-"
However, Issei was quickly interrupted again. "No, this is important!"
Issei was taken aback at how serious Ravel was taking things. In a way, the young girl kind of resembled Xenovia and Issei had to hold down amused chuckles.
"Ravel-sama, one of master's friends is looking for you." A woman with a half-faced mask came and spoke to Ravel.
"I understand." Ravel nodded at the woman, before he returned to Issei one more time. "Ise-sama, the next time we meet, would you like to have some tea with me? A-A-A-And if it's okay with you, would you like to have a homemade cake p-p-prepared by me?"
However, before Issei could have responded with anything, Ravel suddenly gave another curtsy bow and quickly left. 'Is she… inviting me or what? I haven't said anything and she suddenly bolted away.' Issei thought as he blinked incredulously at Ravel's behaviour.
[You still have a long way about learning women's hearts, partner] Ddraig commented.
"Hey, Hyoudou Issei." Issei then turned to look at the masked woman who came earlier. "Remember me?"
Issei blinked again at the woman. He stared and he was embarrassed that he somewhat could not recall the woman.
[You met her at the Rating Game with Phenex. You bashed her face and broke her mask in the process] Fortunately for Issei, his dragon immediately fed him with information.
"Err… Right! You're from Riser Phenex's peerage… Um…. Clarabella, correct?"
Inside Issei's mind, Ddraig face-palmed at his host's poor memory. Thankfully, the woman before him did not seem to be too offended at Issei's mistake. "…My name is Isabella. And yes, I'm a Rook of Riser Phenex-sama."
"Oh… Sorry." Issei rubbed his head with a sheepish look. "Well, Isabella-san. Are you here as Ravel's escort?"
"Well, something like that. Because that girl has things that she can't grasp as a child, like our master Raiser-sama…" Isabella shrugged. "And ever since that Rating Game, Ravel has only talked about you. She seems to be very impressed by your power."
"Is that so? If anything, the last time I saw her in that game, I probably did something wrong to her."
Isabella was amused at Issei's response. "…No, it's the opposite. Well, it's fine. You'll understand eventually."
"Okay…?" Issei said uncertainly. "Anyway, can you tell her that I'd love to taste her cake sometimes."
"Really? Well, thank you for that." Isabella giggled. "Ravel will be happy to hear that. Now then, please excuse me. Enjoy the rest of the party." Isabella waved her hand and walked away.
"…Ise-senpai, you surprisingly have a lot of devil friends…" Gasper commented from Issei's side, while giving a look of admiration.
"Well, I don't know if 'friends' is a correct word, but… Meh. I guess I do know some people." Issei ceased the thought as music began to play and everyone began to dance with their respective partner.
While he watched people dancing across the hall, Issei caught Asia beside him was mesmerized by the sight of people holding hands and moved across the floor. It seemed to be the first time for the girl to be at dancing event. Then with a smile, Issei stood up and he outstretched his hand towards Asia, who looked between the boy and the hand in confusion.
"I-Ise-san…?"
"Would you like to dance, Asia?" Issei asked with gentle tone. The boy believed it would be a waste for the girl to miss her first dance.
Asia then blushed and looked nervous. "B-but I don't know how to…."
"It's alright." Issei still gave his hand. "I'll guide you." Issei reassured. The music at the moment was not particularly that quick-paced. With the lesson Venelana had given him, the boy had quite confidence.
Asia looked straight into Issei's eyes. After a minute, her lips curled into a smile and she slowly grasped Issei's hand. "T-then, I'll be in your care, Ise-san…"
Issei nodded and the two walked towards the dancing floor. Placing a hand on Asia's waist and his other hand grasping Asia's right gently, Issei waited for Asia to ready herself as the girl placed her free hand on Issei's shoulder. After a nod, they waited for a moment until they got a right rhythm to move and then they steadily took steps across the floor.
The music was normal-paced, Issei and Asia's movement was not that different than everyone else, thus nobody took attention at the two new devils, safe for those who were more familiar with them. Everyone from Occult Research Club was a bit surprised to see Issei was leading Asia on the dance floor. The girls; Rias, Akeno and Xenovia felt slightly jealous at the sight.
Issei and Asia stopped moving at the same time the music had ceased playing. With a bit short breath, Asia took a long one before she returned her gaze at Issei, whom seemed was not tired at all. "Thank you for the dance, Ise-san. It's really fun." Asia said with beaming smile.
"Anytime, Asia. I'm glad you like it." Issei returned the courtesy.
Rias wanted to ask Issei for a dance, however, she was beaten to the punch by her own queen. Rias found herself gaping at Akeno who quickly strode over and cling on Issei's arm, saying that she was amazed at Issei's dance and wanted to have a round as well.
Then, when everyone was prepared for the next session, Rias was approached by Yuuto instead. "I don't know Ise-kun already knew how to lead a woman into a dance." The knight chuckled in amusement before he turned to her master. "Would you honour me a dance, buchou?"
Yuuto had been in Rias' group for a long time. They were comrades in arms and Rias had acknowledged Yuuto to be a perfect gentleman. As much as she would prefer to dance with Issei, in a social event like this, who was she to refuse her own Knight?
Thus, while dancing with her knight, Rias could only steal some jealous glances silently at Issei and Akeno who danced across the hall with their bodies pressed against each other. From her expression alone Rias could tell that her Queen was using every possible opportunity she got to fulfil her own 'desires'.
What infuriated Rias more was every time the session ended, Rias kept got herself beaten to the punch by the other girls, from Xenovia, Koneko, Ravel, even some from Sona's peerage. She had to hold down the urge to wail as she could only watch Issei leading the girls on the dance floor.
"Thanks for the dance, Ise-kun." One of Sona's peerage, Tsubasa Yura, smiled and she walked away back to her own group after she thanked Issei to be her dance partner. The boy let out a breath, due to the slight fatigue from all the dancing with the girls from his own group and several from Sona Sitri's group.
When Issei turned around to retreat from the dance floor, the boy spotted her master was glaring and pouting at him. Issei sweat-dropped, realizing that he had not danced with his master while he had done so with the others. When their eyes made a contact, Rias huffed and averted her gaze away in irritation.
Issei had to think fast how to placate his master's temper. Seeing that the orchestra was preparing for another song, Issei then found one way to cheer Rias up.
Rias noticed her pawn approaching at the corner of her eyes, but she was still pouting and refused to look at him. Issei gave a sheepish smile before he stretched out his hand. "Would you honour me one last dance, milady?"
The said lady glanced at Issei and his hand. After contemplating for a minute, Rias decided to get the only chance she had, before she took his hand with a smile. However, soon she realized that the music this time was quite quick-paced, and she was not sure if Issei could dance with her with such rhythm. "Um, Ise… Are you sure you want to have another dance? You must be tired after dancing with the others…"
"Buchou." Issei simply smiled and gave her a confident look, making Rias flushed slightly. "Please have more faith in your servant."
Rias was silenced for few seconds before she smiled and nodded, then she let herself to be led by Issei to the middle of the hall. When the music began and Rias stepped in with Issei, all eyes were attracted at the beautiful young woman with red hair in dress, dancing in the middle of the hall.
Every step, every turn, were done perfectly with gracefulness as Rias and Issei spun across the dancing floor. At this point, everyone else had stopped their own dancing, mesmerize at how well-done the young couple follow the rhythm of the music with their body movement. It was breath-taking when Rias bravely took quick steps and lunged, only to be caught and lifted high in the air by Issei. The boy kept stepping along with the music while lifting his master's body above him, and he lowered his arms to keep Rias' body close to him as he took another spin. Like flowing water, Rias then let her body sprawled to the ground, only to be pulled back again soon after by Issei, who lifted her up again in the air for the finishing pose.
Meanwhile, when Koneko was watching the performance, she suddenly caught something at the corner of her eye. A black cat was peeping from outside one of the windows and threw a mischievous look at the white haired girl when it knew it was being watched. Then, as the cat vanished, Koneko's face went pale and she looked around before she gave one last stare at Issei and Rias. While everyone's attention was still on the dance, she silently walked away until she got out from the ballroom.
The music ended at the same time Issei took another fluid spin and the two stopped with their hand outstretched, while their body remained close to each other perfectly. The room then filled with cheer as the audience, other attendants of the party were praising and clapping at Issei and Rias' performance. The said two were sweating a bit from the dance, but both of them had satisfied expression on their faces.
As the two made their ways to retreat from the dance floors, Rias and Issei were approached by their friends, with Azazel and Rias's mother in tow.
"Ise-san! Buchou-san! That was amazing!" Asia said with glittering eyes.
"Fufufu…. I never thought Ise-kun could dance like that." Akeno said while placing her hand on her flushed cheek.
"Well done, Ise-san. It seems you still remember my lesson. And the lifting up my daughter was done perfectly." Venelana complimented with a satisified tone.
"Hahaha… Thank you, everyone. That was nerve-wrecking for me, actually. It's the first time I had to dance in front of lots of people." Issei said sheepishly.
"Hahaha, stop being modest, Ise." Azazel commented. "You must be parched from all those dancing. Here, have some." Azazel handed out a glass of what it seemed to be water.
"Oh, thanks, sensei." Issei took it without thinking since he was indeed thirsty. When Issei downed the glass, he felt the drink tasted rather funny, but he finished all nonetheless.
"Azazel, Ise-san is still a minor to drink something like that." Venelana chastised Azazel when the woman recognized the drink Issei just took in.
Azazel only laughed it off. "Bah, relax! This is a party, you're never too young to drink! Right, Ise?"
"….Yeah, I guess so…. Hic~!" Issei replied with a hiccup, as his face was heavily flushed. "This drink…. I like it. Hic~! Can I have another?" Issei rose his now empty glass.
'Oh, dear…'
The others sweat-dropped at Issei's unexpected change of attitude through one glass of liquor. Issei gave a goofy smile as he scanned around him. "Huh…? Hic~! There seemed to be a lot more people….. And why is the room moving so much?" Issei wobbly turned around. "And…Why is there four… Hic~! No, six buchou…?" Issei asked as he looked at Rias and Venelana.
"Ise, are you alright?" Rias said worriedly as she supported Issei's wavering posture.
"Uh… Yeah, I'm fine… Hic~! Just feeling so funny right now…" Suddenly, Issei lost balance and he ended up burying his face into Rias' cleavage, surprising everyone. "Mmmhh….. Buchou's breast…." Issei muttered. "Did it always feel this good…? Hic~!"
"Wha-! Ise, no! Not in a place like this!" Rias panickedly tried to push Issei away, but at the same time also worried over his well - being.
"Awawawa, Ise-san! You can't harass buchou-san like this!" Asia said as her face was beet red, trying to separate Issei from Rias.
"Hmm…. So Ise is weak against alcohol…" Xenovia said observantly. Yuuto only chuckled at the spectacle while Gasper could not tell what he should do.
Akeno was giggling in amusement, as well as Azazel and Venelana.
"Right, right, sorry…" Issei wobbly got up from his master's breast, only to trip again and Asia was the one to catch him.
"I-I-I-Ise-san!?" Asia squeaked at the proximity between her and the boy.
"Hic~! Sorry, Asia…." Issei tried to regain his bearing, however, his arm snaked around and he pulled the heavily blushing blonde closer to him. "Mmhmm… Are you always this cute… always this nice to hug? Hic~!" Issei said as he instinctively rubbed his cheek on Asia's head, who was literally fuming red by now.
"Ise, you're drunk! Onii-sama was going to start his speech and you need to watch your behaviour!"
"Ehh!? No! I ain't drunk~!" Issei waved his arms around childishly. "Sure this drink makes me funny inside but I'm surely ain't drunk! Hic~!"
"Ise-san… I advise you keep your act together." Venelana decided to take action.
"Huh? Rias…? How could you move so fast…?" Issei blinked at the woman.
The mentioning of Rias' name from Issei's mouth all of sudden garnered another look from his friends, especially Rias who flushed again at her crush calling out her name in such a way. Venelana on the other hand, seemed amused at Issei addressing her daughter by name.
'Ise is somewhat bolder in this state…' was pretty much what everyone thought at the moment.
"Ise, that's my mother! Get a hold of your senses!" Rias chastised, trying to fight down the blush creeping up on her face.
"Hmm…? Where's Koneko-chan?" Issei, despite being drunk, was the first one to notice that the rook of the group was not around. The others noticed as well.
"Eh? That's strange. I actually saw Koneko-chan, just now. Where could she be?" Gasper wondered.
"Perhaps she's looking for more refreshments?" Xenovia voiced her guess.
"In any case, it's going to take time to find her in this huge place with many people around, and the speech by Satan was going to start. We need to find Koneko before the speech." Rias instructed. "Let's split up and find her. Ise, you stay here and stay out of trouble, do you understand?"
"Yeah… Yeah, I'll do that… Hic~!" Issei replied. The boy was still drunk.
Rias sighed. At least he was willing to listen. "Asia, can you stay here and look after him?" The King turned to her Bishop.
"Yes, please leave him to me."
Azazel then turned around. "Well, I guess it's fine with Ise for now. I need to go find other leaders as well." The fallen then walked away with a wave of his hand.
Venelana sighed at Azazel's attitude, but chose to let it go. "Rias, I have to return to your father's side. Ise-san, be a good boy and listen to Rias, okay?"
"Yeah, got it… Hic~!"
As everyone left to find Koneko, Asia remained by Issei's side at the corner near the window, as she made sure that the boy would not cause any scene. As Issei simply stared with unfocused look at the outside the window, Asia then left him out of her sight for a moment to scan around the room, hoping to find the white haired girl. Sighing with no result, Asia turned her head again to find that Issei had already vanished from his previous spot.
"Ise-san, let's find a se-…. Ise-san?" Asia then frantically looked around the room, not knowing where the boy could have possibly wandering to.
At the same time, one of the staff found that their liquor stock was one bottle short.
Meanwhile, Tannin suddenly looked up as he sensed something in the air.
"What's this? Two foreign signatures…. Intruders? And quite strong ones…." Then his senses picked up something else.
"Another presence... And his aura is incredibly… I see, if he's around then it should be fine…. But I will take a look later."
In the forest surrounding the hotel, Koneko was walking alone until she stopped at a small clearing. The girl then turned her head back and forth, as if looking for something.
"It's been a while, hasn't it?"
Suddenly, a voice was heard and Koneko snapped her head towards the source. Up on a tree branch, a young woman wearing a scantily black kimono and cat ears on her head was seen sitting on it. Koneko widened her eyes in recognition of the woman.
"You…"
"Hello, Shirone. It's me, your sister. Good work on spotting my familiar, nya."
"Kuroka-nee-sama… What is this about?" Koneko asked with a hint of anger in her voice.
"Come on… Don't make such a scary face, nya. I heard that there's a big party being held by the devils, so I'm little interested to have a look, nya." Kuroka said with a wink while waving her hand like a cat. "I don't really plan to do anything here… Not with someone like that around, nya." The last sentence was directed to someone else as Kuroka stared at one tree. "Right, Saitama-chin?"
At the mention of the name, Koneko turned around to see Saitama came out from the shadow. "S-Saitama-san?!" Koneko did not expect Saitama of all people to appear. "Why are you here? I thought you've already left for the human world?"
"My train schedule got delayed, that's why." Saitama replied. "And you're here too, right? Bikou."
As if on cue, another figure in ancient Chinese armour appeared under the tree where Kuroka was seated. "Hahahaha, how did you know I was here too?"
"I was here just to kill some time and sightseeing while waiting for my train to re-schedule, and I saw you two were loitering around the place. Then I suddenly saw Koneko-chan wandering alone. Mind telling me what's going on?"
"Just as she said. There was a stand-by order came out in the underworld. And since we're off-duty, Kuroka here wanted to visit the devil's party. I'm here just to tag along and keeping her out of trouble." Bikou replied nonchalantly.
"Don't worry, Saitama-chin~. It's not a terrorist attack or anything like that, nya." Kuroka waved her hand again, before she set her eyes on Koneko. "I'm leaving soon, but now that Shirone is here, I want to take her with me, nya."
The white haired girl flinched at her sister's look and instinctively took a step back.
"You know that I won't just let you go kidnapping people around, don't you?" Saitama asked. His stance looked relaxed, but both intruders could tell that the man could take them down anytime at the moment's notice.
Kuroka knew that she did not stand a chance against Saitama, but she remained strong as her expression hardened in determination. "Not even you can make me change my mind, Saitama-chin." Her speech was kind of playful, but her expression was serious with her aura started to leak from her body. "The only place where Shirone won't be harmed is by my side…"
"….Nee-sama?" Koneko was taken aback by her sister's words. The girl wondered why her sister talked as if she wanted to protect her from something. She believed that day, her sister went insane and drunken with power of Senjutsu, killing her former master in a fit of rampage, escaped from the underworld and left her to take the punishment herself. So why… after leaving her like that, her sister suddenly said something about not wanting her to get hurt?
"That's a bit rude to pry into other family's business, isn't it, Saitama-chin?" Kuroka shot back.
Saitama went silent for a second before replying. "…I guess you have a point. It's not really for me to decide things here." Then Saitama turned to Koneko. "It's yours to decide things here, Koneko-chan."
The girl in question blinked at Saitama's statement. "So? What do you want to do? Go with your sister or stay behind with your friends?"
Koneko contemplated about her choice. She did not want to go, but what if her sister retaliated by targeting her friends? She knew the most about the power of her sister. Kuroka had taken two bishop pieces to be reincarnated, and with her lineage, it made Kuroka as one powerful bishop in the underworld. Even now, her strength was already on par with an ultimate-class devil.
Koneko then turned to Saitama. Despite his looks, Koneko could tell that Saitama is powerful, probably even more than her sister, or perhaps anyone else in the matter. The girl wished Saitama would have stopped her from leaving, but the man's statement about the decision being in her hands made her thinking again. What did she want in the end?
"Ah, there you are, Koneko-chan!"
A new voice was heard, and everyone's head turned to see Issei was walking wobbly with a bottle in his hand. The boy took a sip from the bottle and made his way with flushed face.
"Ise?"
"Ise-senpai?"
"Hic~! Koneko-chan, everyone's been looking for you…." Then Issei caught the sight of his father. "Ah, dad! What are ya doin' here…? Hic~!"
Saitama furrowed his eyebrows slightly at his son's state, the flushed face, the hiccups, the bottle in his hand, and the strong scent from his breath…
"Ise, are you drunk?"
"No, I ain't drunk! I'm just tipsy from all the dancing… Hic~!"
Kuroka who had been watching the spectacle between father and son whispered to Bikou. "Say, is this boy the same one who repelled Vali-chin?"
"…I think so." The monkey youkai himself was half amused, half confused.
"Then that means you're drunk. C'mon, go back to the hotel and the others, kid." Saitama persuaded his son.
"No! You don't tell me what I do in my life, hic~!" Issei ranted. "You're the one who is supposed to go back, you drunkard!"
"…No, you're the drunkard here."
Kuroka could not just watch anymore. "Excuse me, nya. I'm here to take my little baby sister with me if you don't mind."
"Huh…?" Issei turned his hazy gaze to Kuroka. "Oh, hic~! Good evening, young lady… And, err…." Issei narrowed his eyes at Bikou. "Do I know you people?"
Bikou snorted. "…Well, you're knocked out that time, after all. The name's Bikou, and the woman here is Kuroka. Nice to meet ya!"
"Hmm…. Hic~!" Issei rubbed his eyes. "Is it just me, but why are you kind of like… a monkey…? Hic~!"
"Hahaha! You sure need to keep your act together, Sekiryuutei! Don't worry, it's not just you. I'm a monkey youkai, after all!" Bikou simply laughed at Issei' drunken comment.
"Ho… I see…. Hic~! Sorry, but I highly doubt any of us here have any dumplings to share or any time to accompany you travelling to India…" then he turned back to Kuroka. "The young lady over there, Kuroka-san… Hic~! I hear you want to pick up someone… your little sister…? Hic~! Do you have a name or her picture by any chance…? Hic~!"
"That little sister's name is Shirone, and she's right over there, nya~." Kuroka smirked as she pointed at Koneko.
"Ise-senpai, you're not in any condition to fight! Please, get away from here with Saitama-san!" the said white haired girl warned the pawn.
Issei only blinked at Koneko before he limped towards the girl and he put his hand on her head. "Kuroka-san… I think you got the wrong girl here."
The statement garnered looks from both sisters. "Hic~! Look, I don't know this Shirone, but this girl here is Toujou Koneko, the servant Rook of Rias Gremory, and also a dear friend of mine. Unless you can give me the right picture of your little sister, I suggest you look somewhere else and good luck with your search. Hic~!"
Kuroka's eyes narrowed at Issei's words. "No no, I think you don't understand, Sekiryuutei-chin. That girl IS Shirone.. My fellow nekoshou and my little sister, nya."
Issei only sighed. "Hic~! Seriously, Kuroka-san... I think you're drunk." This comment caused Saitama and Koneko to frown a bit at the boy, Bikou to snort and Kuroka's eyes to twitch. "Koneko-chan may be a nekoshou, but she ain't Shirone. And besides, if you still want to take her with you… Hic~!" Then Issei looked at Koneko. "Her expression is saying anything but willing." The two nekoshou widened their eyes as Issei took another sip of his drink.
PRANG!
Suddenly, the bottle in Issei's hand shattered, shocking Issei a little as he watched the glass remains in his hand. He then turned to see Kuroka had her finger stretched at him. Her expression was anything but playful at that point. The woman then snarled. "Let me tell you that I'm the only one who can teach her to master her power, her lineage. So get out of my way, Sekiryuutei-chin."
The air around Kuroka shifted as the woman released her aura. Issei who was about to respond was stopped when Koneko suddenly walked forward. "Kuroka nee-sama. I'll go with you, so please overlook these two people."
Koneko's words caused Issei and Saitama to widen their eyes slightly. Kuroka's expression softened as her lips turned to a smile. "Now, that's a good girl, nya. Come here, Shirone~"
Suddenly, Koneko stopped as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked back and found Issei was halting her, his eyes were obscured by his bangs. "Ise-senpai, please let me-!" Koneko's next word was interrupted when Issei suddenly pulled her into embrace. The girl's face was flustered from being hugged from behind. "I-Ise-senpai?!"
"Sorry, but I can't let you go now. Rias will be upset if you're gone." Issei whispered as he rested his head on Koneko's head.
Koneko grabbed on the arms enveloping her as she tried to break free. "No…. It's no good…" Koneko reasoned. "I understand best my sister's power… Her power is on par with an ultimate-class devil. Even with you and Saitama-san… I don't think you can capture my sister…"
Issei's arms remained wrapping Koneko's petite body. "…Really? Then, if you really want to go, why don't you push me away already? I know you're strong enough to do that."
Tears began to fill Koneko's eyes as her lips tightened into a thin line. After trembling for few seconds, Koneko finally opened her mouth. "This power…. My nekomata power…. I don't need power like that… I don't want a power that brings misfortune to other people…"
"Stop being naïve, Shirone. You can't-!"
"Shut up, you."
Kuroka's words were cut off by Issei. "I don't exactly know what happened between you two but can't you see, Kuroka? Whatever you did had left a wound on her heart for a long time. I was a bit surprised that she showed so little emotion when we first met. We may haven't talked much, but at one point I promised that I will show her many fun things in life…" Issei paused as a smile crept up to his face. "Just like Rias promised that she will be there for me, I also have promised that I'll always be there for her. I… No, all of us, Rias Gremory's peerage will do anything for our friends in need!"
Just like a broken dam, tears finally flowed freely from Koneko's eyes as Issei asked again. "So, Koneko-chan? Will you put your faith in your friends or will you leave with that so-called your sister?"
Koneko wiped her tears and she gazed upon Kuroka with resolved look. "No… I don't want to go. I am Toujou Koneko. Kuroka-neesama, I don't want to go with you! I want to stay with Ise-senpai, Rias-buchou and my friends! To live!"
Issei smiled at Koneko's final answer, even Saitama gave a nod. Kuroka on the other hand, silently clicked her tongue in annoyance. "You know what? You're actually annoying enough even if you're not drunk." Kuroka said as she released her power and formed a large-scale barrier. Issei, Saitama and Koneko immediately felt something was enveloping the area. The bald man did not really have a perception on magic, but he could tell that something invisible was erected to keep them in place. "And now it has come to this, I guess I just have to kill you, nya."
Bikou prepared himself for battle, but he realized that Saitama was also in scene. The man's presence alone was enough reason for the intruders to be wary. Koneko was about to fight as well, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her from moving. The girl looked up and saw Issei was giving her a smile, while his face was still flustered, showing that the alcohol had not left his system just yet.
"Stay back, Koneko-chan… Hic~! I got this." Then the boy pointed his finger at his father. "And you too, I don't need yer help, baldy! Hic~! You stay back and look after Koneko-chan! BOOSTED GEAR!"
[DRAGON BOOSTER!]
[Partner, it's not that I think you won't survive, but your power is in flux, and… Ugh, never mind. You're no longer listening anyway]
Saitama only blinked at his son, then he let out a small sigh and moved beside Koneko. The two intruders finally saw a chance to at least get away alive if they were to fight Issei alone. Koneko still looked worried and she turned to Saitama. "Saitama-san, are you sure you won't help Ise-senpai?"
Saitama only replied with a pat on her head. "Don't worry and just stay back, Koneko-chan. That kid is pretty strong, you know?" Saitama said as he kept his eyes on the battle.
"Man, it finally comes to this way, huh?" Bikou said as he twirled his staff and pointed it at Issei.
"You actually can beat us if you let your father help, y'know? That petty arrogance can cost you dearly, nya." Kuroka spoke as she and Bikou were facing Issei. The boy on the other hand only hiccupped and taunted them with his right hand.
"Heh, looks interesting. Let's see what he's got, the current Sekiryuutei!" Bikou said as he took the first strike. "Extend, Nyoi-bo!"
As the staff extended with the tip making its way towards Issei, the boy simply tilted his head and moved in swift motion, sneaking through his way towards the two while Bikou's staff simply passed Issei's body by a hair's breadth. The youkai did not expect Issei to be so nimble despite his drunken state and the two immediately split up to avoid becoming a target within Issei's attack range.
As the two of his opponents split up, Issei chose to chase after the monkey first. The two soon got caught in a close combat, with Bikou using his staff and Issei using his red gauntlet. Sounds of Boosted Gear and Ruyi Jingu Bang could be heard as the two tried to outclass each other in flurry of strikes, parries, and dodges. The two were on par until Bikou managed to see an opening and landed the first strike. Bikou's staff managed to hit Issei's side, but if the boy felt anything, he sure did not show it. The staff remained on Issei's side for a fraction of second, but that was all Issei needed for launching a counter attack.
[Boost!]
The sound echoed from the Boosted Gear at the same time Issei quickly trapped Bikou's staff with his right arm. Bikou was a bit surprised, after all, he was not holding back in that strike, yet the boy before him could take his hit head-on. The monkey youkai was too late to react as Issei immediately grabbed his shoulder with his gauntlet to keep him from moving away. And Bikou felt the air was being forced out from his body as Issei planted his knee on his stomach.
"Guhah!?" Bikou coughed out as Issei kicked the youkai's abdomen few times, before he proceeded to head-butt Bikou's face and finish off with a round-house kick, launching the youkai towards the nearby tree. Another of Bikou's blunder was that his Riyu Jingu Bang had been wrenched out of his grasp in a moment of weakness, and the said staff was still in Issei's grip.
What made Bikou surprised was that Issei was lifting his staff. While its name was only taken after its original, Bikou's Riyu Jingu Bang still possess a weight of several tons, making not any creature, even a devil could lift it so easily without proper training. However, Bikou saw that Issei was using only his right arm to throw the staff hurling towards him like a javelin. When the staff hit, the staff was only few inches from Bikou's head, striking and destroying the tree behind Bikou instead.
The monkey youkai let out a sweat drop on his temple at the proximity between his own weapon and his own head before he returned his gaze on Issei, who was actually still drunk. Despite the damage done to him, the youkai could not hold down an excited grin. 'Damn… He's really that baldy's kid. He's crazy strong!'
While Issei still looked at Bikou's downed state, he lousily bent his body in a nick of time to avoid a white orb flying towards him. The orb missed and it exploded when it made contact with another tree. When Issei turned towards the source, he saw Kuroka was standing with her hand raised and aimed at him. Behind her was a large purple magic circle that did not look like devil magic he had seen before.
[Boost!]
"Heeh…? Hic~! Is that Youjutsu? Or perhaps Senjutsu…? Hic~!" Issei commented.
"That's a good move for a drunkard, nya." Kuroka replied as she prepared another attack.
"The hell are ya sayin'!? I ain't drunk!" Issei waved his arms childishly before he instinctively evaded another shot. However, the shot's trajectory was not fired from Kuroka's position.
Issei blinked to see that there was many clones of Kuroka facing him with similar aura coating her body. Less experienced people would not be able to tell them apart. "Did your vision get more fuzzy? You shouldn't have walked around while being drunk like that, nya." Kuroka said in slight mocking tone.
Issei's vision was already blurry thanks to alcohol, but having illusion casted on him only made his case worse. "Can you tell the real one? Sekiryuutei-chin?"
[Boost!]
Issei only took a deep breath before he dodged again another shot from one of Kuroka's clones.
[EXPLOSION!]
Issei's power spiked up by folds, and as Kuroka's clones began firing their Senjutsu bullets, Issei simply dodged and countered with his dragon-shot, dispatching the clones easily. Issei's vision was blury from the alcohol, but somehow the boy's attack managed to hit all of intended targets without missing. Kuroka grimaced as her illusions disappeared one by one at fast rate. She kept recreating her clones while Issei kept destroying them one by one.
The shoot-out continued, with Issei simply dodged and countered with his own dragon shot or ran to dispatch the nearest clones. As Issei kept firing his dragon shot towards Kuroka's illusions, one of his shots was bound to hit the real Kuroka at some point. Kuroka immediately put up a barrier to fend herself, however that act alone was enough for Issei to determine his real target even with his blurry vision.
Seeing that Kuroka's cover had been blown, Bikou immediately sprung to action to give Kuroka time to hide herself again, as the monkey youkai engaged in another combat with Issei. Once Kuroka had hid herself among her clones, she began to prepare the next shots, but because she and Bikou rarely cooperated, the woman could not risk her chance of friendly fire. So instead of Senjutsu, Kuroka moved to use Youjutsu by producing poisonous mist.
Bikou had learned some Senjutsu and Youjutsu, so it was not a hard task for him to regulate his own spiritual energy in order to fend off Kuroka's purple mist, and Issei had developed immunity to the poison thanks to Heavenly Dragon's influence. However, Koneko who had not learned much about Senjutsu immediately dropped to her knees as she covered her mouth to prevent herself from inhaling more poison. Saitama on the other hand, remained indifferent, but he snorted when he inhaled some of the poison mist.
"Saitama-san, are you alright?" Koneko asked with rasped voice.
Saitama snorted again before he covered his nose. "I'm fine, but this mist just smells weird."
Koneko was wondering again about the depth of Saitama's strength, but she chose to focus on the fight before her for the time being. While Issei was still engaged in close-quarter combat with Bikou, the latter's more experienced fighting technique managed to outsmart Issei as the youkai used his weapon as a feint and landed a back-handed strike square on Issei's cheek. The hit did deal some damage as blood trickled from the corner of Issei's mouth. However, as if the boy did not feel anything, Issei immediately overpowered Bikou with his own back-handed strike, this time launching the youkai towards a tree again when the fist made contact.
"Ugh… Again?" Bikou groaned out as he had to deal with the pain running in through his head.
Seeing that he was being surrounded by another horde of illusions, Issei decided to bring his left fist to the ground. "Haaaah!"
BLAAR!
The said ground exploded as the fist made contact, destroying the battlefield where Issei and Kuroka were standing on. Kuroka was surprised at the display of strength and her illusions dissipated from the force, splinters of earth and rocks thrown at them. When Kuroka landed on more even ground and was about to move again, Issei was already right in front of her and caught both of her shoulders.
"Well, I guess this is check-mate." Saitama declared from the side-line.
Kuroka went panic for a second when she could not move from Issei's strong grip. She looked up to see Issei was staring right to her eyes. His face still indicated that the boy was still drunk, but his eyes somewhat more focused than before.
"Kuroka-san… After thinking for a moment, I think you're really not lying about being Koneko-chan's sister…" Issei spoke. "But after everything you caused her, don't you think it's too simple and easy of you just to come and take her away Just…" Issei seemed to swallow something first. "If you ever show up, and make Koneko-chan cry again… I…."
"…You damned brat! Let go of-!" Kuroka's eyes narrowed in anger and she suddenly found the boy seemed to catch something in his throat.
"I feel so sick…!" Issei quickly muttered as his face went pale in seconds.
"Wait, what are you-!?"
What Issei did to Kuroka next made Bikou, Koneko, Saitama, and even Ddraig's faces to be drained of all their colours.
At the hotel's front yard, Rias and the others from Occult Research Club, along with Tannin, finally saw Saitama and Koneko, with Issei appeared to be out-cold and carried on Saitama's back.
"Saitama-san? I thought you've left underworld? And what happened to Ise?" Rias was the one to ask, as well as the one to approach the group first.
"Schedule delay happened… And can anyone switch with me carrying this kid? His breath is killing me." Saitama said as he cringed his nose.
The man laid down Issei and Rias quickly took the job on supporting him, but she also cringed her nose at the smell emitting from Issei's mouth. "What in the hell is that smell?"
"He puked after being so piss-drunk. Who's the idiot that gave him liquor in the first place? I want to have a word." Saitama complained.
"Took you long enough to drive out the intruder, Saitama… I was about to take a look before the intruder's presence suddenly vanished. Though, I wonder, how could someone with your strength end up letting those intruders get away?" Tannin asked.
"Err… It was my son who engaged those intruders, while I was asked to keep an eye on Koneko-chan there. As for them getting away…" Saitama and Koneko's face went slightly pale at the memory of how Issei 'handled' the intruder. "Let's say I was too distracted by Ise's method. It's not a pretty sight. Trust me, you don't want to know."
"….Very well, I trust your judgement. Now that the crisis had passed, shall we head back inside? And Saitama and the Rook here can provide us more detail about the intruders," the former dragon king implored.
Everyone agreed as they began making their way back to the hotel. Rias chose to have Saitama to carry Issei in the end, saying that it was father's job to attend to his son.
On the way back, Rias then talked to Koneko.
"You've made us so worried back there, Koneko. And even more when I found you ran into intruders. Are you alright? Did you get hurt anywhere?" Rias asked in concerned tone.
"Yes. I'm okay, Buchou. I'm okay, now." Koneko then set her gaze fondly at Issei's peaceful sleeping face. The boy was mumbling something about his stupid dad in his sleep. "It's all thanks to Ise-senpai." The girl said with a smile and faint blush on her face.
(Meanwhile, Unknown Location)
Vali was seen reading some papers and documents in the living room of his headquarters when he sensed his two compatriots had returned. "Ah… Bikou, Kuroka. What took you so…. What the hell happened to you?!" Vali suddenly widened his eyes at the sight of Kuroka, who was covered by slimy substance from her head, her entire upper body, until her legs. The smell emanated from Kuroka's body also made Vali to cover his nose.
"Nyaa! Your stupid rival happened!" Kuroka shouted angrily as she stomped her way to the inner part of the base.
"And what the hell is with the smell!? Is that… a barf?!"
"Yes, captain obvious! It's a fucking barf! Your stupid rival's barf!" Kuroka yelled. "Grr….! Never once I felt so filthy and violated before…. I'm definitely gonna make him take responsibility for this…! Nyaaa!" With another yell, Kuroka vanished from sight.
Vali only blinked incredulously, his mind could barely make out what just transpired. He then turned to Bikou, who had exasperated expression on his person.
"Poor bastard, that cat. Vali, you'd better be careful now, because I just found that Red Dragon Emperor had become stronger than our last encounter. He took both of us on while being drunk!" Bikou then walked away while waving his hand. "We have no time to slack off, Vali!"
Once he was alone, Vali let out a long sigh. All things aside, the news made Vali's lips twitched upwards slightly. The Strongest White Dragon Emperor truly had no much time to take things easy.
To be Continued…