It was Sunday morning as Issei woke up later than usual to a dull sting beneath his bandages. He mentally grumbled to himself, more frustrated with himself that he got injured.
"Nggh…" He winced.
He was moving slowly so he wouldn't tug at the stitches along his ribs and brow. The skin itched faintly, an annoying reminder of yesterday's battle but he knew the relief would come once he changed the bandages.
He dressed carefully, avoiding sudden movements, then knelt beside his bed. With hands pressed together, he whispered a quiet prayer as it was something he'd begun doing again thanks to his friend's old words echoing in his mind. He was adamant in going to work, he knew that his job wasn’t strenuous to affect his stitches. At least he would be getting paid, which was another plus and it didn't want his injury to impact his income.
He headed down for breakfast to find his mother already there. To his surprise, his mother wasn't alone as Miki sat at the table with Saori Shirahama, both enjoying morning tea.
"Morning, kaa‑san. Hello, Shirahama‑san." He greeted the two women.
"Good morning, Ise." Miki replied.
"Hello, Issei." Saori waved. "And please, just call me Saori."
"Um… okay." Issei raised an eyebrow.
Saori's eyes drifted to the bandage wrapped around his head.
"How are you feeling?" She asked.
"Bummed. I didn't get to fight Raichi."
Both women sweatdropped.
'So he really did want to fight…' Both women thought as they couldn't believe that he was willing to fight, regardless of his injuries.
Miki hid a sigh behind her teacup. 'A soldier keeps fighting no matter what… I guess that's true for my son too. I suppose this is what Saiga-san was referring to.'
"I see, so heading off to work?" Saori asked as Issei got ready.
"Yeah. But I should be back in the late afternoon. By the way, where’s tou-san?" Issei said.
"Oh, he went with Mototsugu-san to go fishing earlier and so Saori and I were just talking." Miki answered.
"Kenichi and the others would be coming to check in on you. I can let them know when to come, if you let your mother know when you’re coming home." Saori told him.
"I will." He said as he ate quickly and carefully, but quickly.
"Try not to overdo it." Miki scolded him.
"I won't." Issei grumbled. "That's why I'm walking instead of taking my bike."
"You won't be late?" Saori asked.
"No, I planned this after I got the stitches, I’ll give it a few days before I decide to use my bike again."
"And remember, no training!" Miki warned her son.
"I don't have my bokken, so don't worry. I'll see you later, kaa‑san. Bye, Saori-san." He waved.
"Bye, Ise!" Miki waved to her son.
"Have a good day, Issei." Saori gave her goodbyes to the boy as the door closed behind him.
the women went back to their discussion, which was about an opening at Gorou and Mototsugu’s company. It would be similar to what Miki was doing. They thought it would be interesting for Saori to consider applying as Saori was alone, while her husband was at work and the kids were at school. Miki thought it would be fun for the wives to be able to work with their husbands. They also joked about how their husbands went with the same approach of sending multiple letters to them, when they were young, until they gave in and agreed to date them.
They found how much similarities that they had in common, even making plans to visit each other more often once Miki started work. Miki hoped that Saori would apply for the position and then they could hang out some more. Saori was already considering the idea as she felt the need to keep an eye out for her husband.
Meanwhile Issei enjoyed the cool morning breeze as he walked toward Shishi‑Oh. However, his mind wasn't calm as he still pondered about how he could have done better. Despite winning his fight against Taichi, he still felt like he lost. He replayed the fight with Taichi over and over in his mind.
'I could've dodged left instead of right. If I'd angled my chokehold differently, he wouldn't have hit my without weapons, I should've been better.' He sighed.
It was then that he remembered that he never checked in with Yuuto about his competition. He pulled out his phone and sent a text to the blonde prince.
Issei: Hey, Kiba, how did your competition go?
He didn’t expect a text so quickly, so he pocketed the phone and continued to enjoy the brisk wind on his face. Occasionally, while walking, he started throwing light punches into the air as he was testing his range, testing the pain. Whenever a twinge shot through his ribs, he would immediately pull back. Elize's warning echoed in his mind about the stitches.
Some people might have looked at him weirdly, but he was doing what he could to train. While that was going on, he felt his phone vibrate. He pulled it out of his pocket to see that he got a reply from Yuuto.
Yuuto: It went well.
Issei: Ah, so Gremory‑senpai doesn't have to marry that guy, huh?
Yuuto: No, she doesn't.
Issei: Guess Muzai‑san can date her freely. I'm guessing he was the MVP of your competition.
He figured that it had to have been Takeshi that did the most as he knew that the 'dark prince' was the most athletic one of the ORC and the muscle. He already assumed that the competition had to have been something physical, since fighting was involved. However, it was Yuuto's reply that left him in shock.
Yuuto: Actually, it was Akeno, in my opinion. Takeshi got eliminated near the end.
Issei: Akeno-senpai did say she could fight, but she told me that it was not traditional fighting. So may I ask you how she fought?
Despite how he felt about his senior, he was enamored about her fighting capabilities. This was how Mitsurugi's influence was taking hold on Issei because he was seeing people less for their looks and more on what they could do in the field. Issei didn't think that Akeno had the muscle tone like Renka, but she proved him wrong. He was already contemplating on whether he could spar with Akeno, when his injuries healed.
Yuuto: Again, you’re going to have to ask her that yourself.
Issei: I guess. Anyway, I'm heading to work.
Yuuto: You're working? With your injuries?
Issei: Yeah. Wait, how did you know that I was injured?
Yuuto: Akeno and I watched the tournament. Surprisingly, so did Rias and Takeshi.
Issei knew that Yuuto had wished him luck, but he didn't expect them to actually watch the tournament. It made him stop walking as he sent a one-word reply.
Issei: Oh.
Yuuto: You don’t seem thrilled about two of the great Onee-samas watching you.
There was a laughing emoji at the end of Yuuto's message. He thought it was funny on Issei's reaction to knowing that Rias and Akeno had watched the tournament. He simply wanted to tease the brunette as any friend would do. Of course, with the work that Issei had been putting in on working himself. Rather than a giddy response, Issei was not gushing about the prospect of either one of them fawning over him and responded with indifference.
Issei: I don’t really care. Maybe at the beginning of this school year, but things have changed since then.
It was this reply that Yuuto knew that Issei was still working on reforming himself from the pervert that everybody knew. He was making progress, thanks to the new circle around him.
Yuuto: I understand. Oh, Akeno and I were wondering if we could stop by sometime this week.
Issei: Stop by? My workplace?
Yuuto: No, your house, but not today. Maybe sometime during the week.
This stumped Issei because why would the 'prince' of Kuoh Academy and the second ranked girl want to stop by at his place? He wasn't in their social circle, so they had no reason to come visit him. It was now making him skeptical because since they were popular and wondered if they would do something that would cause him to make a fool of himself.
Issei: Oh, well, I don’t know. I guess, but it likely depends on what I can do. I don’t think they are going to let me train with my stitches and I don’t want to be at my club if I can’t train. I’ll get back to you on that.
Yuuto: Alright.
Issei: Also are you guys going to be in school tomorrow?
Yuuto: Yes. Why?
Issei: So I can do one last sweep for Akeno-senpai. She had asked me to house sit for her, while you were away.
Yuuto: I see. Okay, I'll let her know. Try not to strain yourself.
Of course, Yuuto knew that Issei was house-sitting because Akeno had told him this, when they were preparing for the rating game. He had to respect that Issei was taking the job seriously. Of course, he would as the brunette was diligent about his responsibilities more than he was earlier in the year.
Issei: I won’t and if I do... well, pain is part of the game.
Yuuto: If I may ask, did you not notice that you were cut?
Issei: Not really, I’ve taken hits from my senpais, while training and I guess the adrenaline helped. All I knew is that I wanted to beat down that guy and defend the honor of my friends. He reminded me of who I once was... actually, his lackey reminded me more of who I was. The last dude that I fought, he was Motohama’s cousin.
Yuuto: Really?
Issei: Yeah, and it made sense, I do know that my mom will be speaking with Motohama’s mother to get into contact with his parents. We could press for aggravated assault, but honestly... I could’ve done better.
Yuuto: You think so?
Issei: Uh huh, I keep replaying the fight in my head. I could have dodged a different way, which even if he didn’t use weapons, I still wouldn’t have been hit. Same with how I had him in a chokehold, he wouldn’t have been able to hit me in the ribs.
Yuuto: I see.
Issei wouldn't know it, but Yuuto was impressed with how Issei was assessing the mistakes in his fight. The brunette was certainly proving that he had gotten smarter. It seemed that as his perversion was limited, the other stats of Issei were going up. It definitely proved that his flaw had been limiting from progressing in who he wanted to be.
Issei: Anyways, I just arrived at my workplace, so later.
Yuuto: Talk to you later, Hyoudou-kun.
Issei put away his phone as he opened the door to the Shishi-Oh, he didn't see anyone in the store. He then stopped and tried to see if he could sense Setsuka or Mitsurugi's presence. After all, one of them had to be here, since the store was open, so he knew that someone had to be here. However, he forgot that Setsuka had informed him that someone can hide their presence.
That is exactly what happened as Setsuka snuck up on Issei, since he closed his eyes.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
"Setsuka‑obasan!" He nearly jumped out of his skin.
She laughed. "You know you don't need to close your eyes, right?"
"Sorry, it just helps me focus."
"You'll have to learn to sense on the fly." Setsuka told him.
"Oh."
She stepped forward and hugged him gently. "Congratulations. And… not a bad scar." Moving his bang that hid where his cut would be near his left eyebrow.
"It's going to scar?"
"Well, yeah. What were you expecting?" She chuckled.
"I don't know… I've never been cut before. Well, cut like this."
"Well, you got your first experience. There'll be more."
"I'll just have to get better."
"That's what training is for."
"Yeah, well... I can’t really train with the stitches on my right side, and I got the new gi ripped up, I’m sorry. I know how hard you worked on it for me." He bowed deeply.
Setsuka flicked his forehead. "Don’t worry about it, besides you can bring it here to get it stitched up. You didn’t know that you would be dealing with blades in a hand fighting tournament."
"I guess that's true. Wait, are there materials that can help with that?"
"Yeah. It's called armor, silly."
"No, I mean like, well... there’s this action movie that I’ve seen, I watched it without my parents, but it’s called John Wick. He had business suits that were like bulletproof."
Setsuka raised a brow. "So you're thinking of something like Kevlar ot iron‑cloth?"
"Yeah."
She hummed thoughtfully, eyes narrowing with interest as if she knew something he didn't.
"Hmm… that is intriguing." Setsuka pondered out loud.
She was making mental notes to implement enchantments on the clothing that people could use for battle. She knew that her enchantments could help mitigate some magic attacks as well. So she knew that what Issei was talking about was a possibility, but her husband was his master and thus it was his responsibility to teach his student about the oncoming dangers that Issei may face. However, she knew how Mitsurugi acts and it was not likely that he would tell Issei and just let the boy adapt on his own, in order to survive.
"Well, I'm gonna go check in."
"And don't strain yourself. Know your limits." Setsuka began to lecture him like his mother.
"Aren’t you the one that told me that the biggest risk is taking no risk?" Issei raised an eyebrow. "I have to risk this in being able to train, but I understand. I will need to know when to stop otherwise, I’ll do more harm than good."
"Which leads into the other lesson that I told you. The importance of being present."
"Yeah, being present and spending time with your friends and family when they are around."
"Exactly. You wouldn't want to spend that time stuck in a hospital bed."
"No…" His shoulders slumped.
"So don't overdo it today." Her tone sharpened.
"Yes, ma'am." He hurried to the front counter.
Setsuka chuckled softly as she went to the back room, while Issei would be working in the front.
Since it was Sunday, there wasn’t going to be much activity going around. He didn’t need a lunch break, since it would be half a day for him anyways, so he wouldn't strain himself either. Several customers came and some of them were from the kendo club, who looked a little nervous.
Issei greeted them politely anyway. "Welcome. Let me know if you need help finding anything."
Of course, they refused, but eventually caved, they had to reluctantly ask him for some shinai that wasn’t out on display yet. Issei informed them that he would check in the back without complaint and found what they were looking for. The girls thanked him, albeit awkardly and stiffly, as they were uncertain of him.
They had heard of what went down, but when it came out that he was innocent, they wondered if he transferred.
They whispered among themselves before approaching him again.
"Um… Hyoudou‑san?" One of the girls asked.
"Yes?" He answered, while he continued stocking shinai.
"Did you… transfer schools?"
"Yeah." The second girl nodded. "We heard you were innocent. We saw your apology. But you didn't show up afterward. Even Suzuki‑san was looking to apologize to you, but you never showed up…"
"So we thought you transferred." The first girl finished.
Issei sighed. "Well, I’m sorry to inform you, but no, I have not transferred schools. I simply went home believing that I was suspended, however, my mother informed me that I had an excused absence, which I needed. It helped me get away from all the BS that goes down in school. I’m betting that you were told by Matsuda and Motohama that I did."
"Yeah… but Motohama got suspended." The second girl said.
"So I heard, but it doesn't matter. He has family issues to attend to, so I guess it will just leave Matsuda to deal with." Issei shrugged.
"We also saw your apology." The first girl said. "You are right, we don’t have to forgive you, but... eventually, we’ll get over it if you really have changed."
"That's fine." Issei waved his hand and continued his work.
"Did you get into trouble or something?" The second girl asked as she pointed at his bandage.
"No." Keeping his response short and simple, but it also told him that they didn't watch the tournament. "Whenever you're ready, you can come to the counter. Thank you."
He gave them a nod and swiftly turned on his heel to go back to the counter and began to look at catalogs filled with Setsuka's designs.
He didn't pay attention to see if they were looking at him. He was more intrigued by what Setsuka could teach him. He was locked in, until he felt a presence coming towards him and looked up to see the two kendo girls walking up.
"Will that be all for you today?" He asked as he began to check them out.
"Y‑Yeah…" The first girl nodded.
She was a little nervous, but then again, she wasn't used to this version of Issei, but not only him, but rather any guy.
"What's that?" The second girl asked, while pointing at the catalog.
"It’s a catalog of my boss’ designs." Issei answered. "Maybe she’ll let me help her make one."
"You can sew?" The first girl asked with intrigue.
"Yes. Yes, I can." He responded, while he continued to scan their items.
The second girl began to speak up. "We thought..."
"That I'm a talentless, perverted loser?" He didn't sound offended but just matter‑of‑fact. "You’re not the only one. My perversion just overshadowed everything else about me. See this headband tied around my wrist?"
He lifted his wrist and the girls nodded.
"It was one of the first things that I actually made. It looked a lot more plain than this, my grandmother taught me how to sew, when I was really young. I can never forget the pain of pricking my fingers on the needle so many times." He laughed softly as he began to fondly remember how many times he cursed the needle for "attacking" him back then.
The girls were just surprised to hear him speak so fondly about something that wasn't about being harem king or breasts.
"After that, I made another one with the help of my grandmother, and gave it to my friend, Shidou, who moved away. Setsuka-oba…," He then corrected himself. "I mean, Setsuka-sensei. She helped upgrade my headband to what it is now with tribal and kanji designs in the red coloring. I get to help her out with some of these, too, so I was looking through these designs to see what she came up with."
The girls were stunned, but couldn't help but wonder who this guy was, but they knew one thing about Issei was that he doesn't lie. It was so weird to see this genuine happiness around him. A happiness that wasn't linked to anything perverted.
"Anyway, paying separately or together?" Issei asked, when he finished scanning the first girl's items.
"S‑Separately." The first girl answered, coming out of her shock.
"Okay." Issei nodded and told her the amount of yen that she would have to pay.
"This pink one looks nice." The second girl said as she looked through the designs in the catalog.
"You think so?" He handed back change to the first girl. "You notice how the pink fades into a lighter shade on the edges? I think it’s pretty cool. Setsuka-sensei has a knack for that stuff, you know the gradients. I hope I can be on her level and my grandmother’s level someday."
"Which one did you help with?" The first girl asked, intrigued that Issei was developing somewhat of a fashion sense.
However, it wasn't Issei that answered the question because Setsuka had been listening in, when she noticed that the girls didn't leave yet.
"That gray and green one with the gold trim." Setsuka spoke out, making all three teenagers jump from her sudden appearance.
"Obasan!" Issei cried out, calling her by her familial title rather than her professional one.
The girls stared. 'She's his aunt? Really? Must've married into the family…'
"Don't forget the other customer, Ise." Setsuka reminded the boy of his job responsibilities.
"Oh, right." He turned back to scan the second girl's items.
"So you designed these with his help?" The first girl asked Setsuka.
"Yes." Setsuka nodded. "This is our latest."
Setsuka flipped the pages of the catalog to show a deep purple kimono that faded to white and had wave and snowflake designs in a light blue color that almost camouflaged in the white.
"Wow… it's beautiful." The second girl said, admiring the design of the kimono.
"This one looks like the opposite." The first girl pointed at a yellow one that faded to orange with flame designs on the trim of it.
"You would be correct, it was Ise, who thought of making something of the opposite element, which is how this purple one came to be." Setsuka told the girls.
The girls looked at Issei again. Not with fear. Not with disgust. But with something closer to curiosity. It was thanks to his video game mind that Issei even considered the elements.
"I really hope to see these in reality." The first girl said as she turned back to Setsuka.
"Well, it's easier now with Ise working the store." Setsuka said. "I can focus on constructing them. I had to stockpile a lot before opening this place with my husband. Every kimono in this store was made by me."
"That must've cost a fortune…" The second girl spoke in awe of needing to buy the materials to make all of these kimonos.
She accepted her change from Issei, who excused himself to help a new customer entering the shop.
"You have no idea." Setsuka chuckled.
"Just a heads up about your employee..." The second girl began to speak, while making a subtle glance at Setsuka's cleavage.
"If you’re going to talk about his perversion and how he used to peep on you, then I will stop you right there." Setsuka interrupted, catching the girl's gaze.
Both girls froze and allowed Setsuka to continue to speak.
"I'm aware of his past transgressions. He's a teenage boy, perversion is common. But his former so‑called friends were the real problem. Did you know he never thought about peeping until he met those two?"
The girls shook their heads.
"I thought so. Once he broke free from them, that perverted shell started cracking. Now you can see the other parts of him, interests that were buried under his love for big breasts."
Both girls instinctively glanced at Setsuka's chest… then at their own.
"Don't worry. You're still young. They'll grow in time." Setsuka waved her hand dismissively, seeing how they were comparing her chest to their own.
The comment made them turn bright read as they knew that they had been caught looking at her chest and comparing it to their own chests.
"S‑Sorry." The first girl apologized.
"We didn't mean to look." The second girl said.
"It happens." Setsuka said, amused. "But it also shows that you have some perverted tendencies, see? Ise is not the only one. He was just too vocal about it, but times have changed."
"How so?" The first girl asked.
"Well… I'm sure you have seen that video of him getting beaten up, yes?" The girls nodded. "To put it bluntly, if Ise ever encounters those guys again, they'll lose. And this time, he has backup."
"Huh. Now that you mention it, I've seen him get dropped off at school by someone." The second girl said as she remembered Issei getting out of someone's vehicle.
"Oh, that's Takeda‑san. I think he’s been doing it since almost the start of the school year." The first girl told her companion, also showing Setsuka that she's much more observant than she lets on.
"But how does he know someone like that…?" The second girl asked.
It was no surprise as Ikki was one of the more popular third year male students.
"Haha, you'll have to ask him yourself." Setsuka laughed.
"Maybe another time. We have to go." The first kendo girl bowed to Setsuka.
"But thanks for letting us see your designs." The second girl said.
"You're welcome." Setsuka waved them goodbye as they proceeded to leave the store.
As they walked out, Issei overheard them, while he assisted with an old man.
"I didn’t know that he had some fashion sense..." The first girl had said, showing her curiosity.
"I know, right?" The second girl said, also in shock about the new aspects to this new version of the Perverted Beast that was coming to light.
However, it was unknown to the second girl and Issei, but the first girl spared a subtle glance in Issei's direction and began to wonder.
'Maybe I should talk to him some more and see if he is as genuine as that lady claims him to be.'
She did not realize that Setsuka had seen her subtle glance and it made the woman's eyes narrow.
'She definitely is more aware than her friend, however, it seems that she also has her ki awakened. Hmm, just who is that girl? There's something that's familiar about her.' Setsuka thought, looking at this kendo girl.
For Issei, he sighed softly as his focus turned back to the customer that he was helping away from the girls' conversation. Their conversation was not enough to hurt him, but just enough to remind him how people still saw him. He shook it off and continued helping customers.
The hours rolled on by as it became routine for him to help out some customers. Many asked if he was alright because of his head bandage, and he told them that he was. He had another encounter with another kendo girl, who thanked him for his apology, pretty much the same thing as the other two.
He nodded, but his mind was elsewhere. He was reliving his fights in his head, just critiquing what he could have done better and analyzing every mistake.
"Oi! Ise, time's up!" Setsuka called out.
"Already?" Issei asked surprised that his work shift was over.
"Yep! Good job today." She patted him on the shoulder.
"Obasan, do you know when Mitsurugi‑shishou will be back?" He asked, already looking for ways to speak with his master about training, despite his injuries.
"Not sure, but I'll let you know."
"Okay. Oh, and sorry for calling you by that title in front of others. You just surprised me and..."
"Hahaha, don't worry about it." Setsuka laughed, knowing teenage girl gossip, she was sure that one of those girls would speak about Issei's "aunt" to their friends. "But you should find something to do to pass the time while you heal."
"Got it." Issei nodded.
"And don't forget your breathing exercises. I saw you shaking with anger in that tournament. Don’t let it cloud your mind because when it does, it could be your loss. Remember it's your weapon, not your opponent's."
"I understand. Hey, do you think I can..."
"No, you cannot work every day." Setsuka interrupted, already knowing what he would ask. "You need to rest your body once in a while. But I know you can be stubborn… How about Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday? If you want extra shifts."
She knew that nothing would really happen on Fridays, so he could keep his mind busy.
In addition, he could also sew something himself in his downtime, but she knew that she could get his mind focused off training for a little bit.
"Thank you so much!" He checked out and returned to her. "Alright, I'm done. See you Tuesday."
"That you will." She reciprocated his hug.
"See you later, obasan."
"Take care of yourself, Ise. Don't push yourself too hard. Sometimes you need to step back and assess..."
"The situation, not continue recklessly in life. I know, I know." Issei finished her statement as she had been lecturing on this throughout the past week.
He rolled his eyes, making her laugh.
"Very good. Now go, enjoy the remainder of your weekend." She ordered as she pointed at the door and waved him goodbye.
Issei reciprocated the wave as he exited the Shishi-Oh.
Issei decided to head toward the arts and supply shop. He needed something to keep his hands busy and something to keep his mind off from training. He figured he could buy some clay, believing that would do the trick. He remembered making that statue at Akisame's clinic and how it kept him calm, despite his soreness from his spar with Ukita.
As he entered the arts and supply shop , he was surprised to see Saori there, and wondered if her family had left his house, while he was at work. He had completely forgotten that she had said the others would be coming over.
"Oh, hey, Saori‑san." Issei greeted Kenichi's mother.
"Hmm?" Saori turned to see who called out to her. "Oh, hello, Issei. What are you doing here? Are you finished with work?"
"Yeah, I came to get some clay or rather a lot of it. It’ll help keep me busy while I recover."
"I see. Well, I can help you bring it home. I came here to get some crayons for Honoka."
"Really? Thank you so much." He bowed.
"Go ahead and pick what you need. I'll meet you at the checkout."
"Works for me." Issei nodded.
As he walked to the aisle that he was looking for, what he wanted was air dry clay. The options that were given to him were white, a rustic brown that they called terra cotta. However, he was looking for something similar to what he found in Akisame's lobby, that stone type color.
Looking through his options, he pulled out his phone to do research on what was provided as the "best" one. He eventually settled for the brand that surprisingly had the options for the white clay and terra cotta options sold out, at least in the size that he wanted. He felt like it was a sign, since it was the stone color that he was looking for and it was a good brand.
Even better, it wasn't so expensive as a 2.2 pound of clay was about 1,470 yen or $10. He was thankful that he had a job, so he had a little money to use up. Considering that he may be on the shelf for about a week, he got seven of them. In addition, he also got some tools that would allow him to add more detail to the sculptures that he would like to make.
He remembered that he had to use his nails to add in details to the Buddha statue that he made in Akisame's lobby. He was glad the soak in the bath helped wash away the clay remnants under his nails. He had gathered all that he had and went to the checkout and saw Saori was already paying for the crayons for Honoka.
She stood off to the side to wait for him and she was surprised by how much clay he got. She waited for him to pay for his things and they were out the door.
"That's quite the amount of clay." Saori noted.
"Elize‑sensei said I shouldn't do anything strenuous for about a week…" He told her. "And I don't think Kenichi‑senpai will let me train if he asks her tomorrow."
"Good." Saori nodded, glad that her son would limit Issei from injuring himself. "You shouldn't overdo it."
"But how can I be a strong warrior if I don't train and face strong opponents?" Issei asked her.
"You need rest too, you know." Saori scolded before she sighed. "Honestly, you and Kenichi are so alike… but in different ways."
"Huh?" Issei looked at her in confusion.
They walked toward the car.
"Well, when Kenichi started training, he was willing to quit, if given the chance for rest from training. However, he still wanted to be strong to protect Miu." She told him. "You, on the other hand, want to train and fight even when you're injured. But the reason is the same, you want to protect your friends."
Her tone softened, then sharpened again.
"Even when injured, you still wanted that fight against Raichi. It is admirable, but you need to rein yourself in. Otherwise you can get severely injured or worse, Issei." Saori said in her motherly tone.
Issei pouted like a scolded child, but he knew she was right. It was likely his mother would tell him the same things. All he could do was just sigh and nod his head.
He replied back. "Yeah… alright. I got it, I’ll find other ways to train but know my limits."
He thought of Setsuka's lesson of learning to sense presence without closing his eyes.
They got into the car.
Suddenly, Issei remembered something.
"Saori‑san, could you stop by the temple?" He asked her. "There’s something that I need to do, real quick."
"Oh, sure." Saori nodded.
The ride was relatively quiet. Saori didn't push him to speak either as she knew this version of Issei wasn't the type to talk unless he wanted to. Issei just continued to look out the window, lost in his thoughts.
When they reached the temple, she whistled as saw the long flight of steps that led to the temple.
"We're here. Are you sure you can make it up there?" Saori looked at him quizzically.
"Yeah." Issei nodded. "I've been coming here every other day to help someone out."
"I guess that explains your stamina."
"Actually, it was my training that helped me climb those stairs… and running from the kendo girls." He blushed, remembering those times.
"I see." She nodded. "Well, I’ll wait here. How long do you think you’ll be?"
"About ten minutes." He answered and then included. "Not counting the minutes that it takes to get up those stairs."
"Then you better hurry. We don’t want to be late."
"Late?" Issei didn't know that an event was happening today.
"For the barbecue. Did you forget that I told you the others were coming over?"
"Ah, right. Sorry." He blushed because he did forget that.
"Of course, you did." She chuckled. "That's fine. Now go on."
Her smile reminded him of his mother. He gave a nod and quickly left and went up the stairs as fast as he could. He was thankful for the bandages as they compacted his wounds.
It took him a few minutes to jog up the stairs. He reached Akeno's shrine residence, unlocked the door with the hidden key she'd told him about through a note, and stepped inside.
He looked around, the artwork that he had gotten for her was still down, so he figured that she didn't ask Yuuto or Takeshi to help her yet. He didn't think that she would ask him, but yet she trusts him inside her home, so he could never be certain.
He would have just done it, but he didn't know where she would want to hang it up. As he checked around, he began to dust the place and do one last wipe down.
Even at his most perverted, he was never allowed to be lazy. His mother always made sure that he did his chores and cleaned his room. Since he was true to his schedule of checking the place, he was able to clean it up in the 10 minutes that he told Saori.
"All done here." He told himself as he finished up.
As he was preparing to leave, his eyes drifted to the framed picture of Akeno's mother.
She was beautiful and graceful. That was to be expected of shrine maidens, at least that is what Issei figured. Akeno's resemblance was unmistakable.
'Her father must've been lucky… I wonder how they met. And… is he gone too? Is Akeno an orphan?'
He shook the thoughts away.
With everything done, he checked around one last time before giving a nod and hiding the keys once again after he locked up the place. He went to give another quick prayer and the other headband that he left was still there. He headed back down the stairs to find Saori on her phone, so he knocked on the window first.
Because he didn't want to scare her by just jumping into the car, especially since she was not paying attention. He saw her jump a little because she clearly wasn't expecting it as she nearly dropped her phone.
"Sorry, I just wanted to warn you without just jumping in as you could have struck at me." Issei apologized as he explained his actions to her.
"It’s fine. Thanks for the warning. If you just jumped in, I might have pepper sprayed you." Saori informed him.
"I expected as much." He was getting flashbacks to his peeping days.
"Are you all good?" She asked.
"Yeah." He nodded.
There was something in his eyes that Saori picked up, she wasn't sure what, but she could tell Issei had something planned. Not surprising as she has seen the same look in Kenichi's eyes before. She had a feeling that Miki would pick up on it as well, it's just that motherly intuition can be quite powerful.
She headed towards the Hyoudou house as Issei began to think of how he would train. It didn't matter of his injuries, he was going to find a way, someway, somehow, he was going to get to where he needed to be.
After another quiet ride, they arrived at the Hyoudou residence, where Issei got out and thanked her for the ride.
"Thank you, Saori‑san."
"Of course. And Issei… if you ever need to talk to someone and your mother isn't available, you can talk to me."
"Um… okay." He wondered why she mentioned his mother specifically, but he deduced it was because they were friends.
They each gathered their things from the car and Issei used his house keys to open the door.
"I'm home!" He called out as he took off his shoes.
He found his parents and Mototsugu in the living room talking about something, but it looked like his father and Mototsugu were getting up.
"Hey, sport." Gorou greeted his son. "I gotta check the grill."
"Good to see you again." Mototsugu shook Issei's hand.
"Ah, right," Issei said as he remembered meeting Kenichi's father. "I'm going to head up to put this away."
Turning to head upstairs to go to his room.
"Ah, your friends are..." Miki tried to tell her son, but he was already gone. "…here."
"Oh dear, I forgot to give him Honoka's crayons." Saori sighed as she held up her bag.
"Hmm, I wonder if he noticed the other cars in the street?" Miki pondered out loud.
"I don't think so." Saori shook her head. "He had that look in his eyes."
"Oh, dear... he may be thinking of finding ways to train without harming himself even more." Miki sighed as she rubbed her temple.
"So he does have a stubborn streak after all." Saori joked.
"Yep. He gets it from his mother!" Gorou laughed.
"Oh, really?" Miki whispered.
Gorou was unaware that Miki's aura darkened.
"Your kid too, haha!" Mototsugu laughed. "My kids also get it from their mother."
"Is that so?" Saori began cracking her knuckles.
The husbands remained blissfully unaware of the danger.
Meanwhile Issei headed to his room, still thinking about how he could maintain his training and get better, despite being injured. As he got closer, his instincts pricked up as he sensed something or someone in his room.
However, just before he could confront the intruder, he heard something fall to the ground and his senpai called out his sister's name.
"Honoka!"
He opened the door and was surprised by the amount of people in the room.
He saw the angry look on his senpai's face, so clearly he was mad with Honoka about something. He breathed a sigh of relief because he thought something happened to Honoka. Looking at the model that was on the floor, it was one of his first ones, the Wing Gundam Zero.
It looked like the accessories snapped off, but it was plastic, no harm done as he could snap them back on. However, he knew they may not stay tight because of how old the model was. Though, it was still significant to him because it was one of his first ones.
From what Issei could see, Kenichi was seated in his desk chair with Miu on his lap. Renka was lounging on his bed, next to the wall, while Ikki and a short haired brunette with a scar on her left cheek sat at the foot of the bed.
Ukita was seated at the corner of the bed, while Kisara was lounging next to Renka. The two seemed like cats to him, which he remembered that Kisara likes cats, while Renka's hair sometimes reminded him of a cat.
In another chair was a silver-longed hair man and seated on the ground in front of him was a muscular, heavy set man with sideburns. He saw Tanimoto leaning against his desk. However, sitting cross legged on his nightstand was a black haired guy with pointy ears. From what he could see Raichi and Mizunuma were not there.
However, his focus was on the little girl who was looking guilty about one of his Gundam models that was broken on the floor.
Issei exhaled in relief. "Whoo… thank goodness. I thought something happened to Honoka."
Everyone turned toward him.
"Hey, man!" Ikki greeted, giving a wave to his kohai.
"I'm really sorry about your figure, Ise. Honoka can be careless sometimes." Kenichi apologized.
"I'm sorry…" Honoka said as she held the broken Gundam and its snapped‑off pieces with trembling hands.
"It's fine." Issei answered and smiled gently. "At least you're not hurt."
"You're not mad?" Miu asked.
"About you guys invading my room? Yeah, a little. But I think that's because my mom actually got to meet you." He shrugged. "As for the figure? Not so much. The accessories clip on." This chapter was copied from novelping(.)com without permission.
He demonstrated by snapping one of the wings back into place.
"See? All good."
"Really? You're not mad?" Honoka asked because she knew that Kenichi would get mad with her when she messed with his stuff.
"Nah. Although this does have symbolic value since it was my first one, but…" He gestured to the shelves filled with models. "I've expanded the collection. It's fine."
He patted her head, making her relax and handed the Gundam back to her.
"But... who are all of you?" Issei asked as he pointed at the unknown people that he didn't meet at the club.
"Well..." Kenichi began to answer.
A blur appeared in front of Issei.
"I thought you'd never ask, mini‑Kenichi!"
On instinct, Issei grabbed Haruo by the neck with his left hand, slightly choking him, but keeping him in place. He could not use his typical escape techniques as Issei had grabbed him by the neck, not by his clothes, which would have let him slip by.
For Haruo, he was having flashbacks to when Shigure would catch him and Issei's expression was looking eerily similar to hers.
"Whoa, Issei! It's just Niijima! He means no harm!" Kenichi said.
He and Miu had jumped up to grab Issei’s arm.
Even to them, they thought they saw a flash of Shigure as well as Issei blinked and looked at them.
"Huh?"
"You're grabbing Niijima. Full name is Niijima Haruo. He's… someone we know." Kenichi spoke again, sighing as he could see that Issei was back to himself.
"Oh. Sorry." Issei said.
He released Haruo, who staggered back and straightened his clothes with wounded pride.
Kisara, Ukita, and Ikki snickered as Haruo usually got on their nerves, so seeing Issei put him in his place was nice.
It also showed that his training with Ikki, Shigure, and Kisara was showing as he had quick reflexes to grab Haruo.
"Tch!" Haruo scoffed. "Anyway, I am your new commander and..."
"No thanks." Issei held up his hand to stop Haruo from speaking.
"Huh?" Haruo was not comprehending Issei's rejection.
"My surname may mean 'soldier,' but you're not my commander. So… no thanks."
He walked past him, Honoka following with the repaired Gundam.
"Thanks." Issei nodded to Honoka as she placed the Gundam gently on the desk.
Honoka wiped her eyes, feeling a sense of relief that he wasn't mad with her. She felt a sense of familiarity with Issei because of how similar he could be to Kenichi. Issei did not realize that this was the start of him gaining a sibling, something that he always wanted.
"Anyway, this is Hibiki, Chiaki, and Kaname." Kenichi introduced each person as they raised their hands in response.
"Kaname?" Issei said as he looked at the short haired brunette, she had a deeper tan than his own.
"Do you know me?" Kaname asked.
Issei nodded. "You're Ikki‑senpai's girlfriend. He said I'd meet you at the tournament, but, uh…" He pointed at his head bandage.
"Haha, he's talked about you too. Nice to meet you." Kaname laughed.
She stood to shake his hand.
His gaze dropped down, but not to her chest, but actually to her stomach. She was confused, when she saw him look down and she knew that he was a pervert, but this was so blatant.
Kaname blinked. 'Is he seriously staring at my...'
However, she saw him start to tap his fist against his stomach and realized that he wasn't looking at her chest, but her abs, which were defined.
"You're looking at my abs?" Kaname asked with a tilt of her head.
"What's your ab workout?" Issei asked, turning his gaze up to her face.
She burst out laughing at the question.
"Did I say something wrong?" Issei was now the one confused.
"No, no." Kaname waved her hand. "I just heard you were a pervert, so I thought you were staring at my chest."
"Oh, sorry." He looked down, embarrassed.
"It's fine. I can write the workout down for you. But why do you want it?"
"So I can get abs of steel that can't be cut by knives."
He lifted his shirt, revealing the bandages on his ribs. It did make all of them laugh, which confused Issei, but it still showed them that he had that childish wonder still in him. It was another side of him that is usually shown when he takes interest in something.
He was confused by their laughter, of course, what he said was possible if he had to have mastery of his ki to use as an armor on his skin. It was something that they had seen the masters do and to bypass it, one must have a stronger sense of ki or when the muscle is relaxed.
"Is it something I said?" Issei asked as he looked around at his seniors.
"No, no." Kenichi shook his head. "We're just thrilled that you have a sense of humor, but how are you feeling?"
"Fine. By the way, where are Raichi and Mizunuma‑senpai?"
"Tou‑san wanted to talk to Raichi about something." Miu answered, remembering her father going to speak with the pink haired Chinese girl.
"And Mizunuma's with Hikari." Ikki answered in regards to the spectacle wearing karate user.
"Oh, senpai's going steady. That's nice." Issei nodded and began to fantasize of a romance of his own one day.
"Aniki, who's that?" Honoka asked as she pointed at a picture on his desk that featured two kids and a man standing next to them.
"Oh, that's Shidou. And that's my ojisan." Issei answered as he pointed at each person in the picture. "My mom found the picture for me in our album."
"We saw." Kisara smirked.
"Who knew that cute little toddler would grow up to be a pervert and then… this." Renka said as she gestured at his current physique.
Issei would have blushed because it seemed that she was appreciative of who he was becoming. However, he keyed on the word "toddler" and it made him wonder what exactly did his mother show them.
"Toddler picture?" Issei asked.
"You were running around naked in the bathroom." Miu answered with a small smile.
Issei's face was drained of color, now that he knew what picture that his mother had shown them and the guys snickered.
"Besides that... Again, way to use judo in your fights, man!" Ukita congratulated him.
"Yeah, you kicked Taichi's ass big time!" Ikki said as he stood up to give Issei a light punch on the shoulder.
"Uh, thanks." Issei said as he slightly rubbed his shoulder.
He set his bag of clay on the desk.
"May I ask… who won the tournament?" Issei asked the others.
"Kenichi did. But on a technicality." Tanimoto grunted in annoyance.
Issei looked at Kenichi, who twiddled his fingers nervously and looked away with a chuckle. Issei made note that he had to see that fight as it was likely between Tanimoto and Kenichi.
"How did the rest of you do?" Issei asked.
"They all made the top ten!" Honoka exclaimed before her curiosity turned to the bag. "And what's this?" She peeked into his clay bag.
"Honoka..." Kenichi was prepared to reprimand his sister again.
"It's fine." Issei assured his senpai.
"You sure?" Kenichi raised an eyebrow. "I mean she can be annoying."
"Little siblings are like that. I know I would've been." Issei answered as he gave a small, sad laugh.
Renka's expression softened. "You’re thinking about your potential older siblings that you lost, aren’t you?"
"Yeah… wait—" Issei froze.
He began to process Renka's words and then looked at all of them. The only ones who weren't tense were Chiaki, Tanimoto, Hibiki, Haruo, and Honoka.
"How did you..."
"Lost siblings?" Hibiki asked as he looked at the other MMA club members and then back to Issei.
"Sorry. We forgot to tell you." Kenichi answered for the others. "Shigure told us about your parents' miscarriages when you were in Akisame's office."
"Oh…" Issei sighed as he ran a hand through his hair.
"She also told us what you thought of us." Miu added in.
"Which, by the way, we kinda think of you the same. Bringing you under our wing and all." Ikki told him
"Uh‑huh. And…" Miu gave a small bow. "Thanks for not badmouthing me like I did with you."
"I kinda wanted a little brother, and you fit the bill when we're training." Kisara ruffled his hair again. "Ikki told me I'd like you and he was right, kiddo."
"Quit ruffling my hair, Kisara‑senpai." Issei said as he tried to fix his hair.
"Ah, ah, ah." Kisara wagged her finger in his face. "That's Kisara‑nee to you, kiddo. Come on, say it!"
"Um… Kisara‑nee?"
He barely finished before she caught him in a headlock and gave him a noogie.
"That's more like it!" Kisara chuckled as she held him in her grip.
Everyone burst into laughter.
"Ah, my hair…" Issei groaned.
"I got you." Renka said as she pulled him out of Kisara's grasp and sat him in his desk chair and gently fixed his hair. "Think of it as thanks for having our backs against Taichi."
"What are his injuries?" Issei asked.
"Fractured jaw and an orbital fracture is the word that I'm hearing." Tanimoto answered.
"That's only a couple of the injuries that we know of." Kenichi informed Issei.
"You really messed him up." The heavy-set man on the ground spoke before introducing himself. "Oh, by the way, I'm Yūma Chiaki."
"He was 'Thor' in our gang." Kisara told Issei, so he could have an understanding, since they had talked about their former gang.
"Oh, nice to meet you." Issei nodded after Kisara's explanation. "Um… what's your specialty?"
"You mean my martial art style? It’s sumo." Chiaki said. "And seeing as how you like to collect robots, I’m a collector myself."
"Of Gundam?" Issei's eyes lit up, thinking that he met a fellow mecha nut like himself.
"No." Chiaki chuckled, shaking his head. "I collect akabeko and kiriko."
"You like to collect cow‑shaped toys and glasswork?" Issei pondered, but there was a hint of curiosity. "Huh. That's interesting."
"Most people laugh at that." Chiaki said as he looked at Issei.
"I'm not really judgmental." Issei waved him off. "I've been judged enough myself, so what right do I have to judge someone else's interests?" He paused. "Actually, hang on."
Issei spun his chair and forgot Renka was behind him. He bumped her, instinctively grabbing her waist to prevent from falling.
"Ah, sorry, senpai." Issei apologized.
"It's fine." A faint blush colored Renka's cheeks.
Inwardly, Issei was bashing himself in the head because he realized that could have been a scenario to pull the girl that he likes into her lap. For once, he could have acted cool but completely blew it. The moment quickly subsided, since he had also missed her blush and he focused on what he originally intended.
"Hey, Honoka‑chan, do you like cows?" Issei asked the middle schooler.
"Hmm…" Honoka pondered before she answered. "I don't mind them. But I like dogs more."
Issei gave her a nod. "Okay." He opened a pack of clay.
"Hmm, interesting data…" Haruo said as he scribbled notes about his new "recruit".
"What are you doing?" Ukita asked.
"I wanted to make something." Issei answered as he looked at the block of clay. "Oh, shoot, I don't have a knife."
"Allow me." Tanimoto said as he chopped the clay cleanly in half with a sharp hand strike.
"Whoa." Issei looked on in awe. "Thanks! I’m going to have to ask you how you did that. But first, I need to mold this before the air dries it completely."
He began his first mold, they were curious about what he was making, they saw that it had horns. When he finished, they could see it was a bull, he then began to use the tools to detail the horns, facial features, and muscles of the animal.
When finished, he began to work on the other half of clay, from what they could see, it was some sort of dog. He detailed out the fur with his tools and let them harden to the air. They were amazed by how fast he worked as they watched him for about 45 minutes, while he worked in silence.
"There we go. Now you can add this to your collection, Chiaki‑san." Issei handed over the bull to the sumo wrestler.
"Ah, thank you." Chiaki said as he accepted the bull sculpture with both hands.
"Marvelous! A master sculptor!" Haruo exclaimed as he jotted down more notes. "You should have people pay for your work. What other skills do you have?"
Kenichi and those that had seen the Buddha sculpture were not so surprised by his skill, but to see it in action was something else.
"I don't see the need to make people pay for something that makes them happy." Issei said to him before he turned to Honoka. "Here you go, Honoka‑chan."
He handed her the dog sculpture.
"Really?" Honoka tilted her head as she accepted the sculpture. "After I broke your action figure?"
"I told you that it's fine. Kenichi‑senpai's lucky to have you. I wish I had a little sister like you… so I could help you be better than I was." Issei sighed. "Or better yet, be better, so you don't have to see what a screw up that I would become."
"Well, you can be my honorary big brother! Like Tanimoto!" Honoka smiled at the blonde, who just grunted. "He teaches me Chinese martial arts. And I learned some moves watching my brother train. And kaa‑san taught me stuff too!"
"Kaa‑san?" Kenichi questioned.
"Yep!" Honoka nodded. "I'm gonna show her my new art piece. Thanks again, Aniki!"
She ran out of the room, calling for her mother.
"Maybe she'll hang around here more." Tanimoto sighed, feeling at ease.
"She sees you as a big brother too." Issei noted.
"Yeah…" Tanimoto nodded. "I also understand the feeling, I lost my little sister. I kind of see her as one."
Issei lowered his gaze. "I'm sorry to hear that. Yours is more painful than mine. If you lost her, it means you had to be alive to experience it. I wasn't, so I never knew the pain my parents felt losing not one, but two children. It was a miracle I was even born."
He exhaled. "They named me 'Issei' so I'd live an honest life… and I let them down. My grandfather was extremely perverted, he was the one that started me on my path. I'll never forget seeing my baa‑chan chase him around while he told me and Shidou stories. He passed down the dream of being harem king to me. And after Shidou left, I felt lost… I met this old man in the park that spoke about breasts, which reignited my fascination with them again."
He laughed weakly. " It made me lose interest in a lot of other things that I liked, such as the robots and spaceships. I did like martial arts because I had a fascination for Dragon Ball. I even look up to Goku, wanting to be like him. I kind of failed there, too."
He looked around the room. "It’s why I hope to be half as good as the rest of these guys, so they can rely on me, if need be, and know that they can trust me."
It was no surprise that the majority of his senpai already knew of this, thanks to Akisame and Shigure.
"It's surprising you can open up to strangers like us." Tanimoto told him, seeing this brunette just speak about himself only after one day of meeting each other.
"Ra‑ra‑raaa! Such an exquisite tale and now he is on the path of redemption!" Hibiki sang.
"Ah, yeah, Hibiki was the one you were gushing about. He was 'Siegfried' and Tanimoto was 'Hermit'." Kisara informed Issei, so he could put faces to names.
"Oh, wow, and what about him?" Issei pointed at Haruo.
"I am their general!" Haruo proclaimed. "General of the Shinpaku Alliance!"
"Shinpaku?" Issei tilted his head in confusion and looked at his seniors for answers.
Haruo began to speak. "It's..."
Kenichi slapped a hand over his mouth. "You don't want to know." He deadpanned.
"Ahem!" Honoka cleared her throat from the doorway, getting everyone's attention. "Food's ready! The parents told me to come get you guys!"
"Ah, that’s right. It’s a barbecue." Issei remembered the reason why they were gathered at his house. "Oh, and Miu‑senpai!"
He rummaged through a notepad.
"Yes?" Miu asked before she left the room with the others.
"Here's the recipe that you asked for." Handing over a piece of paper. "You said that I should give this to you after the tournament, so here you go."
"Thank you!" Miu gave a bow, accepting the piece of paper from him.
"Alright! Let’s get some real food, rather than food talked about on the paper!" Ikki proclaimed as the others cheered on and filed out of his room.
Issei was about to leave, until he was stopped by Renka. She held him back by a gentle hold on his shoulders and let the others go through, thus leaving them alone in the room.
"Renka‑senpai?" He was a little surprised by her actions.
"You know… sooner or later, I won't be able to train you." She said with a sigh.
"I'm aware." Issei nodded, wondering where this was going.
"I can see why Kenichi wanted different fighting styles. You're going the same route."
"Really?" Issei blinked.
"Uh‑huh." She nodded as she ran her fingers through his hair. "And believe me when I say this, but we do trust you. You showed that by keeping your promise in the tournament and showing that you can change your ways."
She left the room, leaving him to ponder. Issei watched her go, her words echoing in his mind.
'Rely on me… they trust me?' Issei began to think.
He felt his sleeve getting tugged, interrupting his thoughts and turned to find Honoka there.
"Yes?" He asked, wondering if she needed something else.
"I’m pretty sure everyone included you, too, you know." Honoka said as she had come back to get him, since in her eyes, he was taking too long.
"Oh… right." Issei scratched the back of his head.
"Also you think you can make what you gave 'Big Boobs' for me?" Honoka asked.
'Big Boobs? Oh, wait, she means Miu-senpai. Really, that's what she calls her?' Issei thought before he answered. "We have a barbecue, but sure. Honey chipotle steak has a different variance of seasoning than the steak would for grilling. I hope tou‑san didn't use all the meat but I'll check."
"Alright!" Honoka exclaimed as she sprinted out of the room, heading downstairs.
Issei followed and when he got downstairs, he found the two mothers serving up the food to everyone. From what he could see, the food was grilled fish and meat. It was likely the haul from his father and Kenichi's father this morning, while he was at work. Just looking at it, this was the most people that he had seen in their modest house.
All the warm voices and smiles. It was the family he never expected but somehow found. Of course, he would believe that his grandmother was missing, along with Shidou and their family because they were close to his. If they were here, then the scene would actually be complete to him.
Issei greeted the mothers as he slipped into the kitchen area to check on if there was enough meat to make another steak bowl for Honoka. Luckily, there was and he exhaled in relief and began gathering ingredients. He wanted something different for himself and Raichi, so he would have to look through his notes.
Miki noticed him rummaging. "Ise, what are you doing?"
Issei explained, and Saori burst into laughter. Miki blinked at her.
"I guess he got himself a little sister." Saori chuckled, if she knew her daughter, she knew that Honoka was going to take advantage of the situation.
This would mean that Honoka would likely use Issei as means to be spoiled, since Kenichi doesn't often want to.
"I guess so." Miki nodded.
Saori called out to him. "Oh, Issei!"
"Yes?" He stopped from gathering his ingredients.
"Thank you for making that sculpture for Honoka."
"It's no problem. I'm glad she likes it."
"You also don't need to make lunch for her." Saori informed him.
"But I want to. Kaa‑san can give you the recipe if she likes it. She asked me for it, so I accepted. It's not an issue and I need to make my own and Raichi's anyway."
"Well, don't spoil her." Saori chuckled.
"I wouldn't be a good aniki if I didn't." He smiled and returned to cooking.
It was a title that he was proud of, something better than 'Perverted Beast'. He had someone that could possibly look up to him and he wanted to do right by her.
'Yeah, she is going to make him spoil her.' Saori thought as she shot Miki a knowing look.
Miki sighed as she was half amused, half jealous. She would've loved a daughter. But she was fine with Issei and proud of him.
She prayed that when Issei eventually brought a girl home, she would coach the girl. She only prayed that should Issei get a girl that he didn’t have the same problems that she and Gorou did and that their son didn’t have to worry about the miscarriages. She also prayed he wouldn't have to endure that pain or feeling of loss and loneliness.
She knew that he was already ostracized at school for being a pervert, but he remained positive through that perversion. Of course, that was only because he thought he had friends in Matsuda and Motohama. Now that he has broken away from them, she gets to see him grow and not become stagnant, she was also getting him to see him remove that perverted shell and branch himself out.
For now, she simply smiled as she watched her son cook, she was so proud of him for maturing in his life.
The barbecue carried on as the fathers manned the grill, while everyone was seated outside. The mothers would gossip, while the gang began to talk of how the tournament had gone.
Issei learned that Tanimoto was second, Kisara and Renka tied for 4th place, while Mizunuma got 7th place.
He slumped. "Man… I wish I could've seen the fights."
"I recorded everything. Yours too!" Miu assured him.
"Really?" Issei sighed in relief. "Thank you. I want to see where I messed up, other than emotionally."
"You didn't do bad. But we should've known Taichi would pull something dirty and use such tactics." Ikki said.
"Yeah." Ukita nodded. "He tried to break my arm because I threw him when I went against Kisara."
"You fought Kisara‑sen... nee. Kisara‑nee." Issei corrected himself quickly.
Kisara's predatory grin confirmed he'd narrowly avoided death.
"Uh-huh." Ukita said. "Back in our Ragnarok days, leaving the gang meant getting beaten down. Ikki left after talking with Kenichi, so Kisara was ordered to execute the beatdown."
"I was proud of her for joining the Fists." Kaname told Issei.
"You were codenamed too… hmm… were you Freya?" Issei asked as he cross eliminated who he knew was who from what Kisara had told him.
"Yes." Kisara answered. "And before you ask, I specialize in jōjutsu, bujutsu, and sōjutsu. I prefer a staff, but I also use a longsword, katana, and knife."
She figured to get ahead of the curve, remembering how Issei was asking about the martial styles of Chiaki earlier in his room.
"Oh, like Shigure‑nee." Issei nodded in understanding. "Oops. Um, don't tell her I called her that."
His face blushing because he exposed himself on how he viewed his sensei as another figure that he looked up to.
"Your secret's safe with most of us." Kenichi chuckled.
Issei looked at him in confusion. "Most?"
"Somebody blurted about your singing, remember?" Miu cheekily replied as she looked at who was seated next to Issei.
"Hey!" Renka retorted.
"Oh yeah… I forgot." Issei deadpanned with a sigh.
"I won't do it again. Honest." Renka held up her hands to show her compliance.
"I won't either. But I think you'll do it yourself." Ikki said,
"Really?" Issei looked at his senpai.
"You have a childlike wonder about things you're interested in." Miu said.
"Exactly. I am actually still surprised that you’re not fanboying to Hibiki over there about being codenamed 'Siegfried.'" Kisara noted.
"That's right!" Issei exclaimed as his eyes sparkled, turning towards Hibiki. "What was it like being codenamed after the dragonslayer?"
"I am honored to meet a fan." Hibiki whisked his hair dramatically. "But I am not the Siegfried of legend. No opponent I faced was worthy of being called a dragon. It was merely a ranking title."
"Oh…" Issei deflated slightly. "What happened to the others? Odin, Berserker, Loki? Since your gang disbanded."
"Loki or rather Kyōichi runs a detective agency. I'm his employer." Haruo answered the question.
"I’m guessing that is how you get your information, huh?" Issei deduced.
"Of course! In order to rule the world, one must be capable of knowing everything and everyone! It’s how you can know your opponent’s weakness!" Haruo proclaimed.
"I guess that’s how Kenichi-senpai was able to win his fights because he knew about his opponents. Thanks to the intel that you provided." Issei noted as he was thinking of something.
This information would be useful for him against opponents that he could possibly face in the future.
"Exactly!" Haruo exclaimed, happy that Issei understood thanks to him, Kenichi always had an advantage, while Kenichi groaned.
"Yeah, he had data on me and Ukita when we were looking for Kenichi for Kisara." Ikki chuckled as it was Niijima's information that allowed Kenichi time to assess how to beat the two, when he first faced them.
Issei nodded and turned to the others. "Oh! I forgot to ask but Kaname‑san, Hibiki‑san, Chiaki‑san, Tanimoto‑san… I think I only got halves, but what are your dreams and interests?"
"What about me?" Haruo complained, he thought he was pulling Issei towards his side.
"You already said you want to rule the world. So I figured that was your dream." Issei said.
"He’s some sort of demon, since he doesn’t like shrines or churches." Ukita told Issei.
Kaname spoke up. "I'll go first. For me, I'd like to be a nutritionist. I like history and adventure stories, and my interests are swimming, surfing, flower arrangement, tea ceremony, and calligraphy."
"Ohhh! I've never been surfing. Can you take me with you sometime?" Issei lit up. "Shigure‑ne… er, sensei told me to train in water. She said the water resistance would help with the speed of my strikes."
"Ah yeah," Kenichi said. "I remember doing that. Renka invited us to a waterpark, but I still wanted to train. Sakaki‑shishou made me do fifty front kicks in the pool."
"A waterpark?" Issei wondered, but he knew that there wasn't any in Kuoh.
There was an aquarium, but he couldn't exactly just go there and jump into one of their pools to train.
"She wanted a change of scenery." Miu said.
"I actually wanted alone time with Kenichi… but my father put a listening device in one of my bells. I've been paranoid that I have to check them and my clothes for tracking devices." Renka sighed in annoyance.
"Sounds like a protective father." Issei nodded towards her.
"Overprotective is more like it." She slumped beside him.
As a means to comfort her, Issei patted her leg before turning back to Kaname as she had not answered his question.
However, his hand remained there, which she did not mind as she liked the warmth that it gave her. It also didn't look like Issei realized that his hand was still on her leg.
"Sure." Kaname answered Issei's question. "We're going to the beach during break. I can teach you then, if you'd like."
"Alright!" Issei fist pumped into the air, which was to Renka's disappointment, since that was the hand that had been touching her leg.
Again, that childlike wonder came to light, it did prove that Issei had many interests that he wanted to explore. With his perversion moved to the side, he had a range to explore.
Kaname smiled as his enthusiasm was contagious, until she said the next thing. "Also… I don't like mice."
Issei gasped. "You and Shigure‑sensei won't get along if you don't like Tōchūmaru."
"That is true." Kenichi nodded. "Shigure loves that mouse."
"Meh. It is what it is." Kaname shrugged, it wasn't going to change her stance.
"You already know my interests." Chiaki went next. "My dream is to make sumo a world standard. I like kinboshi and dislike kuroboshi, almost like you."
"Ah, a gold star, I do want to make my senpais proud for teaching me what they know and I wouldn't want a failure mark either, so I guess that makes sense. I'm not sure about making sumo the world standard, I mean no style should be a standard, but I understand that you want to make it more known, which is good." Issei sighed. "I probably wouldn't have been as interested in martial arts if I wasn't a fan of Dragon Ball. I was able to learn from most people here and if that is your dream of making sumo more known, then I would like to help with it, if you are willing to teach me." He bowed slightly.
"Haha, of course, whenever you want to learn, just come by to my school and it's not just regular sumo, it's a hybrid variation." Chiaki handed Issei a business card.
"Anything to help me become a strong warrior who can protect my friends and loved ones. Thank you." He nodded to the sumo specialist.
"I suppose that I should go next." Hibiki said. "My dream is to unite the world through music. I have heard you sing. I suppose that we should have a duet."
Issei slowly turned toward Renka.
Renka raised her hands defensively. "I didn't say anything."
"Uh‑huh." Issei just looked at her.
"Let me rephrase that, I didn't say anything to him!" Renka clarified and pointed at Hibiki.
"I believe you." Issei nodded and he turned back to Hibiki. "So what else?"
"I like to compose. I enjoy Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture." Hibiki answered. "And I dislike kappa."
"Ah, the Russian composer." Issei nodded, which made everyone look at him. "What?"
"How did you know that?" Kenichi asked as it was uncommon for Issei to say something that was knowledgeable and didn't involve anime, manga, or training.
If he had any perverted thoughts, they were kept to himself and never said out loud as they had been before.
"Yu‑Mi‑nee likes that type of stuff. She kinda drilled it into my head." Issei chuckled as he remembered his study sessions with the Korean woman.
"Huh. Interesting." Kisara noted, Issei did not realize that Kisara was assessing his other big sister figures.
"Anyway, you could be the next Hiroyuki Sawano, Hibiki‑san." Issei said.
"Who's that?" Ukita asked.
"You’re not an avid anime watcher like me, senpai. He's composed for quite a lot of anime, and while sometimes the animation may not be good, his music can make up for it." Issei answered.
"I thank you for the compliment." Hibiki bowed. "I shall compose my own masterpiece one day."
"I'll gladly listen to it." Issei smiled. "And you, Tanimoto‑san?"
Tanimoto leaned back, arms crossed."I don't really have a dream. But I like othello acting. I don't like cosmos… or doctors."
Issei's eyes narrowed slightly. "I'm guessing that has something to do with your sister, right?"
He wasn't trying to pry but Issei had a habit of being nosy and asking questions that hit close to home. Just like when he'd once asked Akeno about her mother.
Tanimoto gave a small nod. "Yeah, something like that."
Issei nodded back, silently promising not to push further. "So you teach Honoka Chinese kenpo. Did you ever fight with Raichi or Renka‑senpai? Oh! Did you date Renka‑senpai?"
"As if!" Renka immediately reacted to that.
Tanimoto laughed. "No. And I'm not interested. Our masters are brothers, though. If you want to learn the hard forms or think you’re ready for them, maybe we can work something out."
"Ah." Issei nodded and he turned to Renka. "So why didn't you date? You're like disciple siblings or cousins?"
"I don't like pretty boys." Renka pouted as she crossed her arms over her chest.
He could see that there wasn't any blush on her cheeks, something that he could attest to from the anime that he watched.
So he believed her and nodded. "Okay."
Inside, though, he felt a tiny spark of victory.
"What about you, Issei‑san?" Hibiki asked.
Issei paused, thinking. "Hmm, well, my dream is to be a strong warrior or fighter, so I can protect my friends and loved ones, whenever they need me. I do like your dreams of being able to unite the world in a peaceful matter. I'd like to help you with it, if you need me." He looked up to the sky, as if imagining it. "I'd like a world where my friends don't have to fight for their dreams and can live them. I could meet a girl, settle down... of course, I will tell her about my perverted past and if she still loves, she probably will be a freaking godsend angel for putting up with me."
This made several of them chuckle, knowing of his former antics at school before Kenichi had stepped in to give him an alternative path. It allowed to take a breath before he continued to speak.
"Maybe we start a family and I can teach my children what I know, so they can protect themselves because even if there is peace, there will always be someone that would want to disrupt it. I'd like to graduate and work in something with technology, obviously because of robots and spaceships. But I have to be uber smart, working in technology in general, along with helping my hopeful wife with her own dreams as well."
Everyone nodded in understanding. He wasn't thinking of a childish dream anymore. He was envisioning a life. All of this was thanks to the adults that had come into his life after that beating and course corrected him.
"As for my likes. Well, training is one of them. Eventually I'll find a way to train despite these..." Issei pointed at his head bandage.
"I think that’s where we differ." Kenichi chuckled. "If I was injured, when I started training. I probably would have been happy with getting some rest."
"Rest?" Issei thought of it as something foreign as he had a fear of resting would make him fall behind.
"Yeah, you don’t always have to train, Ise. Sometimes, it’s good to take a little break." Kenichi said.
"Yes. Recover a little and your body can come back stronger." Miu told him.
"She's right." Renka sighed.
"Eh!? So that means you won't train me?" Issei turned towards the Chinese specialist in surprise.
"Not while you're injured." Renka shook her head as Issei pouted. "Don’t you dare give me that sad puppy eyes look."
Issei's eyes widened into the saddest puppy‑dog expression imaginable. "Pwease?"
"No!" Renka retorted, but she was cursing herself.
"Ikki‑senpai?" Issei turned to the boxing specialist.
"I don't think I can help you here." He answered.
"Kisara‑nee?" Issei moved on to his next trainer.
"Well..." Kisara began to say.
"Ahem." Miu coughed.
Kisara froze before she answered. "Sorry, kiddo." She did give him a subtle wink, which would have made Issei cheer, but he refrained.
"Aww…" He slumped dramatically.
"You can always swing by the dojo, if you want." Kenichi told him, thinking that could cheer him up a little.
"No thanks." Issei shook his head. "I would want to train and I don’t think you will let me, unless I get clearance from Elize-nee."
"Nope." Kenichi told him as Issei groaned in dismay.
He slumped again.
Renka sighed as she pulled him to her and placed his head on her shoulder to rest. She shifted into her "comfort" mode, something she rarely showed, but Issei brought it out of her at times.
"Hey now, we got you some posters. Well, they're not really posters but wall art for you." Ikki said.
"Really?" Issei perked up instantly, moving his head from Renka's shoulder.
"Uh‑huh." Renka nodded. "Remember that shop you went to for the artwork for Akeno?"
He nodded. "Yeah?"
"Renka showed us the shop, so we got you a couple of them to hang in your room. I can help you put them up." Kenichi informed him.
"Oh, thanks." At least he had something to look forward to.
"Other than training to be a strong warrior, why else do you like to train?" Chiaki asked, wanting to know more about Issei's reasoning.
Issei didn't hesitate. "Self‑mastery."
"What do you mean?" Ikki asked.
Issei took a breath, eyes sharpening with conviction. "Well, Mitsurugi-shishou told me that in the art of war, the greatest victory is self-mastery. Victory isn't about conquering your enemies, it's about conquering yourself."
Everyone quieted, they were already aware that he had a short fuse, which did cost him. They still allowed him to continue speaking as he confirmed what they thought with his next words.
"I mean I blew it against Makoto and Taichi by putting my anger in the wrong area and allowed it to cloud my mind, thus I lost points. The greatest battles are fought within, where discipline, resilience, and determination reign supreme." He tapped his temple. "I have to train my mind as fiercely as I train my body as true strength stems from mastering both. Shigure‑ne... ahem, sensei told me that to master my weapon, I need to master my body. And to master my body, I need to master my mind."
A few people snickered at the near‑slip of "Shigure‑nee.
"So I have to keep training, since this..." Issei pointed at his bandaged torso. "Is out of commission for now, then this..." He tapped his head. "Needs to get to work."
"I’d say my grandfather would agree with you there." Miu chuckled.
Kenichi nodded in agreement. "Same with my masters."
"Mine too." Ikki nodded, while eating a kabob.
"I already did." Issei said. "Before I fainted from the head wound, mastering the battlefield requires more than tactics and skill. It demands the relentless pursuit of self-mastery. It's why I'd like to spend the time watching the tape that Miu-senpai got of not just my matches, but the others as well. Self-mastery will also help me become a man of strength, which will help me achieve my dream."
"This Mitsurugi seems to have drilled a lot into you. I kind of would like to meet him." Kaname said as she finished her food.
"You probably have. He’s the owner of the Shishi-Oh." Kenichi said.
"Oh, wow... I go there from time to time." Kaname said, slowly understanding that man.
She had never known his name, he simply assisted his customers and went about his way. If not him, then it was Setsuka that helped.
"Really? I never see you." Issei tilted his head in confusion.
"I go during school hours. Wait, you go there too?" Kaname answered of her times, when she came to Kuoh.
She was surprised to hear that this boy also shopped there.
"Issei works there." Miu informed the other weapons specialist of their crew.
"Ah, so Mitsurugi is the black‑haired man. He does look strong." Kaname pondered.
"Oh yeah. I've never landed a hit on him. But he says my strikes are getting stronger and faster. The speed is thanks to Shigure‑sensei. She even taught me reverse‑grip bokken." Issei told her.
"You have good teachers. Keep learning from them." Chiaki wisely spoke, which almost reminded Issei of Mitsurugi himself.
"Indeed." Hibiki said.
"Yes, yes! More reason to join the Shinpaku Alliance. We can find a division for you." Haruo noted, making more notes on his tablet.
"Division?" Issei looked at him, but he was not going to lie, he was impressed that this guy seemed to have a business going for him.
Haruo answered. "Of course, we have a Chinese Affairs division operated by Raichi, you could join her, she's the only member." That made Issei raise an eyebrow, since he thought Renka would be part of that. "We have a music division, which has Chiaki and Hibiki, along with another, which I don't think you have met yet. They're one of the main sources of our income. If your singing is any good, it may elevate us."
"Right… anything else?" Issei asked, he was really wondering just what business Haruo was running.
"We have a fashion division, operated by Shiratori, you haven't met her, and the "valkyries" or "Walkyries" that are under Kaname, who is in charge of the weapons division."
"I don't know why I'd need the fashion division." Issei was genuinely confused by that.
"Well, you said you would want to get married, right?" Miu asked as she continued on with her explanation. "In order to do that, you need to take a girl out on a date, they can help you with that." Miu told him.
"Um… okay." Issei could see what she was getting at.
He understood what she was trying to say, considering that he had never been on a date before. He knew that he would have to dress the part, in addition to acting right, if he wanted any shot of a second date. Perhaps he would have to get in contact with them one day, when he was lucky enough to go out with a girl.
"Don't worry, I'll text you their number." Haruo spoke as if he could understand what Issei was thinking and typing something on his multifunctional PDA.
"But you don't..." Issei began to speak until his phone buzzed. He saw that it was from an unknown number, but from the message's contents, he knew that it was Haruo. "When did you...?"
"Ah, ah, ah, I have my ways. We have an information division, which I told you that I employ Kyōichi for." Haruo reminded Issei about the associate that was once codenamed "Loki".
"Right…" Issei nodded, still in shock that the guy got his number without any effort.
"But you can still grow." Tanimoto interjected.
"I know. You still owe me a fight one day. I also need to learn the hard forms from you, too."
"Hmph. We'll see." Tanimoto gave a slight smile. 'Maybe he could get to Kenichi's level if he puts all that focus into his training. Now I'm curious about who this Mitsurugi is.' He gathered up his plastic plate to throw away. "It's getting late. I'm heading out."
"You're leaving!?" Honoka said as she saw her second "big brother" heading out.
Tanimoto patted her head. "Thank you for having me."
Tanimoto gave a bow to Issei's parents and then left the residence.
The others agreed as they began to head and thank Issei's parents for having them over. Miki and Saori handed out leftover food to the students for them to take, especially the college students.
However, when the mothers left, Issei decided to be reckless and went to strike Miu from behind, but she reacted instantly.
"Hya!" Miu flipped Issei over her shoulder. "Oh no, I'm sorry!"
"What do you think you're doing to my aniki, Blondie!?" Honoka shouted as she saw what Miu had done.
"Yeah! What's the big idea!?" Renka cried out.
The others were worried as Issei was injured, but they were surprised to hear him laughing through the pain.
Now it was their turn to look confused, except Tanimoto, he knew why Issei did what he did.
"Are you okay, Ise?" Kenichi asked.
Miu began to apologize. "I didn't mean to! I just..."
"I knew it." Issei said as he sat up gingerly, wincing.
He was hoping that his stitches on his side didn't get ripped up, otherwise Elize would have his ass on a platter.
"What were you thinking!?" Kisara bonked Issei on the head.
"He wants a fight." Tanimoto explained. "He needs to know how far the gap, just like in the tournament."
"I told you, Miu‑senpai." Issei winced as he rubbed his head. "I want to face you. I can tell you're strong. And I'm going to fight you one day."
"Good grief…" Miu sighed in annoyance as she began to scold him. "You could've gotten hurt than you already are."
"No pain, no gain." Ikki laughed, knowing this as he remembered putting Issei in the boxing ring against others, so he could learn.
Issei had gotten himself rocked many times prior to the tournament before he had gotten the hang of it and could dish out damage of his own. It had been like that, since Ikki decided that Issei had built up enough muscle to his body after the workouts.
"He's right." Kaname nodded in agreement.
Kenichi facepalmed. "I told you that you were on his list, Miu."
"You can't just pick fights, Issei!" Miu continued to scold him.
"I see it as another form of training." Issei checked the stitches on the right side and sighed in relief.
"Try not to die." Ukita told him.
"Yes! I need you for the future of the Shinpaku Alliance!" Haruo exclaimed.
"Whatever." Issei shrugged off this "Shinpaku Alliance", waving it off.
"A strong body is good, but don't overdo it." Chiaki gave his own advice.
"Indeed." Hibiki nodded in agreement.
"By the way…" Issei raised his hand. "What happened to the other Fists? Odin and Berserker?"
"I'll tell you later." Kenichi told him.
"I'll take the girls back to Ryōzanpaku." Ikki told Kenichi.
"Ryōzanpaku?" Issei asked, the name was new to him, but it intrigued him.
"It's where I live." Kenichi answered and then held up his hand, when he saw that Issei was going to ask another question. "I'll explain later."
Issei nodded. "Okay."
Issei continued to give goodbyes, such as handshakes from Chiaki and Hibiki, fist bumps from Ukita and Ikki, a noogie from Kisara, and hugs from Miu and Renka. He did wave goodbye to Tanimoto, who did give Honoka another pat on the head, but Issei could see why he was codenamed as 'Hermit.'
Renka and Miu told Kenichi that they would text him when they got home. Of course, Miu gave Kenichi a kiss, in addition to her hug, while Renka squeezed his arm in between her breasts. However, Issei noticed that Renka wasn't all that into it, but it did get a reaction out of Miu as the two bickered all the way to Ikki's car.
Issei could see his senpai sigh as he would be stuck with two girls bickering all the way home. It did make Issei chuckle that Kenichi had to deal with the complications of a harem anime protagonist. He also noticed how he didn't feel as jealous as he would have been in the beginning of the school year.
Kenichi also felt bad for Ikki, but at least he knew that Kaname would be able to shut the two up, if they angered her enough. Haruo had left with Chiaki and Hibiki and Ukita drove off with Kisara.
With the parents still talking, it just left Issei, Kenichi, and Honoka.
Kenichi clasped his hands. "Alright, let's hang those wall arts up."
"I can help too!" Honoka pumped her fists.
"No, you'll get in the way." Kenichi denied as Honoka pouted.
"Actually, she can help make sure they're aligned straight. She'll be looking at them head‑on." Issei reasoned.
"If you insist…" Kenichi said as he shrugged his shoulders.
They started heading towards the stairs, so they could go to Issei's room—
"Oh, wait! I need to make lunch." Issei stopped and headed towards the kitchen.
"I'll help!" Honoka announced and followed after him.
"Alright. I've got a sous‑chef." Issei laughed as he had always been his mother's sous-chef, when she started teaching him how to cook.
"Doesn't your kaa-san help you?" Kenichi raised an eyebrow in question.
"Nope. I help her." Issei corrected. "I'm her sous‑chef, she's never mine. She's superior to me in the kitchen."
"Can't really argue with that." Kenichi chuckled, remembering Miki's cooking. "I think our moms have that in common."
"Probably why they're friends." Issei noted and he turned his attention back to the counter. "Okay, Honoka‑chan, let's see what we need."
"Okay!" Honoka continued to follow Issei.
Kenichi sat back in the chair, watching the two move to the fridge like a pair of tiny chefs preparing for battle.
"Hmm, so let's see…" As he scanned the contents of the fridge. "We need dijon mustard, spinach, lemon juice, and mozzarella cheese."
Honoka asked. "Didn't you use lime juice in the honey chipotle steak bowl? What's the difference?"
"I think it's the difference in sourness between limes and lemons. That's what kaa-san told me." Issei told her as he remembered his mom informing him about the differences between the two citrus fruits.
"Got it." She accepted the explanation without question.
"And the most important part, the chicken breast." Issei said as he pulled out four small chicken breasts. "We're doubling the recipe. It normally needs two, so we'll use four."
He set them aside.
"Alright, we need to make the Italian dressing. Since we're doubling it, how good are you with math?" Issei asked Honoka.
"I don't like it." Honoka grunted.
"Probably why you're struggling at home‑rec." Issei deadpanned and was thankful that his mother schooled him on measurements, which helped in his own math homework. "You might be overdoing measurements or not putting enough. For example, we need one tablespoon of dijon mustard. But since we're doubling the recipe, that means…"
"Oh! We need two tablespoons!" Honoka answered.
"That's right." He offered her a high‑five. "Same with the lemon juice."
"Two tablespoons coming up!" Honoka carefully measured the first spoonful. The second spilled slightly. "Oh no!"
"It's fine." Issei reassured her. "it’s just a few drops more, it won't ruin anything. It’s not always going to be perfect the first time."
He repeated the same advice that his mother had given him, when he had also done a similar screw up the first time that he started to help her with dinner.
He went to grab the olive oil and added four teaspoons of it into the bowl for the Italian dressing. To show Honoka that it was alright to not be perfect, he intentionally spilled a little extra more olive oil into the bowl. Honoka giggled as she caught on to what he was doing.
He then went to grab some Italian mixed herbs, along with red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. The spices were one teaspoon for each spice into the bowl.
"Okay, let's mix it up." He stirred until the dressing thickened. "Before you ask, yes, it's supposed to be thicker than normal dressings."
"Got it!" Honoka nodded.
Kenichi gave a sigh of relief as now Honoka could annoy Issei and he had a feeling that Tanimoto wouldn't mind it either. Issei could get him out of babysitting Honoka, unless she comes to the dojo.
His cell phone buzzed to see a text from both Miu and Renka indicating that they got back home. Kenichi took a picture of Issei and Honoka cooking and sent it to the two girls in a group text.
Miu: "Aww, that's adorable."
Renka: "His childlike wonder is probably why he gets along with kids."
"Okay, we better go wash our hands, since we will be handling the chicken next." Issei instructed.
The two washed their hands and Issei went back to the fridge and brought a jar of something red.
"What's that?" Honoka asked.
"Sun‑dried tomatoes. Now we need to cut pockets into the chicken." He told her as he put the jar down and grabbed a knife. "Watch me okay?"
Honoka gave a nod as she watched Issei open up the package and washed the chicken in some vinegar. He set the chicken to the side and opened up the sun dried tomatoes.
"As you know, Honoka-chan, we’re doubling the recipe. So instead of the half a cup of sun-dried tomatoes, we need…" Issei paused for her to answer.
"A full cup!" Honoka answered with glee.
"Good. Also, can you make rice?" Issei asked.
"You betcha!" Honoka said, knowing that it was her specialty in the kitchen, probably one of the few things that she didn't screw up.
"Awesome! The rice is in the pantry over there." Issei told her.
She ran to the pantry while Issei went to get another knife. He grabbed a cutting board and got a full cup of the sun dried tomatoes.
He chopped the tomatoes into strips.
She watched him cut them up into strips and then he went to help her get the pot to make the rice. The rice was simple enough as they cleaned the rice before setting it to the side.
They would let it sit until they got the chicken ready. Issei went back to the chicken and cut the pockets into them and he grabbed a brush.
"Now we lather the chicken with the dressing, even the inside too." He brushed the first two, then handed the brush to Honoka. "Now you do it."
"Oh, um... okay." Her hand trembled, which Issei noticed.
"Relax. It's just brushing. Don’t stress too much about it." Issei said to ease her nervousness.
Honoka gave a nod, swallowing nervously and continued to lather the chicken and the inside like she had seen Issei had done.
Kenichi had to let the two girls know that he agreed that Issei was good with kids, considering how Issei was more patient with Honoka than he would have been. Miu noted that Issei did want siblings, which explains his view on them, which Renka agreed.
With the chicken lathered, Issei brought spinach, sun‑dried tomatoes, and mozzarella.
"The recipe says to stuff as much spinach as you can, but let's stick to a handful each, okay?" Issei told her.
"Okay!" Honoka nodded as she stuffed two chicken breasts.
Issei stuffed the other ones in and they both put the sun dried tomatoes in as well. He then cut eight thick slices of the mozzarella cheese and they topped the pockets of the chicken.
"Alright, we need to seal the chicken up. Let me grab some toothpicks and grab some skillets. We also need to preheat the oven to 350 degrees as well." Issei said as he went to wash his hands again.
He also had Honoka do the same before she started the rice while Issei prepared the pans.
"Good job! Can you help me seal the chicken?" Issei asked.
"Uh‑huh!" Honoka went to assist.
This time, Kenichi had sent a small recording of the two to the group chat, which featured everyone. The replies began to roll in, which those that had been present gave their opinions on the matter.
Ikki: "Little bro has a little sis now."
Ukita: "Agreed."
Kisara: "He spoils her more than Kenichi does."
Kenichi sent a text back as a warning to Kisara and the other responses came in after that.
Kenichi: "Don't toughen her up too much."
Hibiki: "Didn't know he could cook."
Chiaki: "Same."
Haruo: "He should lead the culinary division."
Tanimoto: "Honoka looks happy and having fun. Good."
Issei and Honoka sealed the chicken with the toothpicks and then brought them over to the stove. Issei put 2 teaspoons of oil in each skillet that was on the stove to high heat. The oil began to bubble and heat quickly and Issei placed the chicken in.
"We sear each side for ninety seconds." He said, which Honoka nodded.
She began to count in her head, when it was time, she would tell Issei, who flipped the chicken onto the other side. When he flipped the last one, Honoka began to count again. At some point, the oven beeped to signify that it was preheated.
"Time's up!" Honoka said, when she heard the oven beep.
"Alright. Now we bake for fifteen minutes." Issei said as he moved her back gently and opened the oven.
The heat rushed out of the oven as Issei put the chicken into the oven and closed it. He set the time to 15 minutes and went to check in on the rice to see how long it had left.
"Now let's get the bentos ready." Issei said, seeing that he was having fun with a little sibling as they grabbed the boxes.
"What's with these boxes?" Honoka asked, she noticed that they seemed different than regular bento boxes.
"They're meant to preserve more heat, plus they are microwaveable. My tou-san got them, when kaa-san helped me get into cooking. Since the food we make tastes better when warm." Issei answered.
"That's so cool!" Honoka said, surprised by the innovation of bento boxes.
"Yours is also in one of these, so before you leave, you can heat it up before you go to school tomorrow." Issei told her as he remembered having the same reaction, when Gorou had explained the bento boxes to him.
"Awesome!"
"What's awesome?" Saori asked.
The parents entered the house from the backyard.
"These bento boxes aniki has!" Honoka explained to her mom.
"Oh, those." Miki understood what she was talking about. "They work really well."
"Keeps my lunch warm even after reheating. I'm glad that I got them." Gorou said.
"Oh?" Mototsugu looked on with interest. "I need some of those."
"I can show you where I got them from." Gorou informed his new friend.
"That'd be great." Mototsugu said.
"What are you cooking?" Miki asked as she noticed the oven was on.
"Just some stuffed chicken." Issei answered his mother, knowing that she would know what he was making.
"Ara, you'll have to give me the recipe for that, Miki." Saori giggled as she spoke to his mother.
Miki nodded. "Of course."
"Oh! The rice should be done!" Honoka said as she checked the time.
"Should be." Issei said as he turned off the stove and began scooping rice into the bento boxes.
The oven timer showed ten minutes left on the chicken.
"Well, we should be leaving soon." Saori sighed as she looked at the time.
"We still need to help Issei with the wall art that we got him." Kenichi told his mother.
"Oh, right." Issei facepalmed. "I forgot about that."
"Well, why don't you three handle that…" Miki said as she patted his shoulder. "We'll handle the food. We'll call you when it's done."
"Okay." Issei gave her a bow of thanks.
Then he led Kenichi and Honoka headed upstairs to his room.
Issei noticed the artwork, when they entered his room as they were leaning against the desk and realized that they were hidden by Tanimoto earlier as he had been standing there. He then remembered that he didn't realize that the others' cars were there, when he arrived with Saori.
He noted that he was so focused on other aspects, such as the tournament, his training and injuries that was missing out on things that were right in front of him. Funny enough, it seemed that his senpais had been thinking the same thing.
As he opened the bag of the first wall art literally told him exactly what was going through his head. In bold red text that was made from lights, it told him "Relax. You Are Overthinking" and the background seemed to be some parking garage that was dark.
However, the darkness of the parking garage helped illuminate the text of the artwork.
Issei let out a small laugh. "Renka picked this one, didn't she?" Since she was usually the one telling him to relax every now and then.
"Yep." Kenichi chuckled, confirming Issei's suspicions, as he remembered that Renka looked at the artwork and pretty nodded that Issei needed this reminder.
"Figures. I forgot you guys were coming over. And when I got back with your mom, I didn't even notice your cars. I was too wrapped up in thinking about the tournament. Speaking of which, I never got the tape from Miu‑senpai." Issei sighed.
"I'll have her email it to you." Kenichi pulled out his phone. "What's your email?"
Issei gave his email to Kenichi as he went to get command strips to prepare to hang the poster.
"Where are you going to hang it?" Honoka asked.
"Right here. On the right side of my desk." Issei answered as he pointed at the wall that was behind his desk. "So whenever I am here at my desk, I can look at it and ease up. When I wake up and turn my head, it'll be one of the first things that I see. So I can remind myself that I need to settle back and I'm going to need to do that while I go through this injury phase."
"Not a bad idea." Kenichi nodded at Issei's reasoning for why he wanted to hang the wall art there.
Issei took two of the command strips and velcroed them together and took another pair and velcroed them together as well. He turned the acrylic art around on his bed and took off the adhesive on one side of the command strips.
He stuck the first pair at the top of the backside of the art. He did the same thing with the next pair and stuck to the bottom of the artwork.
"Kenichi‑senpai, help me hold it?" Issei asked as he lifted the artwork.
"Sure." Kenichi took a side of the art as they walked to the wall where Issei wanted to place it.
"Honoka‑chan, you're in charge of making sure it's straight." Issei told the girl, who was watching them.
"You got it!" She answered, giving a thumbs up and moved into position to make sure that the art would be hung up straight and not crooked.
"Okay, time to take off the covering for the adhesive that will stick to the wall." Issei said as he removed it and handed a side of the wall art to Kenichi as they walked to the wall.
Issei had gotten on the desk, while Kenichi stood on the side of the desk as they angled the artwork. Honoka was focused on making sure that she didn't want to mess this up. Honoka squinted, tilting her head, stepping back, stepping forward again.
When she was sure that it was perfectly straight, she gave the thumbs up.
"Okay! Right there!" She told them.
They pressed the artwork to the wall. The two boys took a step back to check and Honoka did a great job in directing them to make sure that they got the angle just right.
"Good job, Honoka‑chan." Issei said in awe that her instructions helped out.
"Thanks!" She smiled, enjoying the praise.
"Not bad, sis." Kenichi said as he patted her back. "Oh, you forgot to take off the protective film that protects the art." He told Issei as he noticed that the blue sheet was still over the artwork.
"I’ll take it off, when I put both of them up." Issei replied back.
He looked at the second artwork and he had to ask. "Who picked this one?"
"That was a collective thought from all of us." Kenichi chuckled. "Since your master is a samurai and he's been giving you advice, which you have been preaching like you did tonight, it just seemed right."
The artwork was an armored samurai that seemed cybernetic, seeing the red armored arm. The blank white mask with the red horn and the small ponytail, which reminded Issei of his own that was constructed by the band that Shigure gave him.
He did wonder what the cybernetic samurai/ninja was looking at. He also liked the kanji branding that sat elegantly at the bottom center of the artwork, he believed it was the branding of the artist, it looked nice.
Issei smiled softly. "Let's get it up. I'm going to have it on the left side."
He followed the same procedure of velcroing the two pairs of command strips and sticking them to top and bottom on the back of the artwork.
"You ready?" Issei asked Kenichi.
Kenichi nodded. "Yeah." Grabbing the other side of the artwork.
Honoka instructed them, but also she was making sure that it was even height with the first artwork. She also had to make sure that it was straight, she kept looking back between the two artworks.
She was looking at the height, the angle, and the spacing of the two artworks. She was nervous about screwing it up and the two boys could see it as she was biting her lip in concentration.
"Honoka, you need to relax." Kenichi said, sensing her nervousness.
"He's right." Issei said, following his senpai's example. "It’s just like cooking, take a few deep breaths, Honoka-chan."
She nodded as she took a few deep breaths, she closed her eyes and just breathed. She envisioned how the two artworks should be in her mind and kept her composure.
She psyched herself up, nodded and opened her eyes and gave instructions. "Okay. Move it a little left… now up… stop! Perfect!"
Kenichi and Issei did smile as she was concentrating hard to make sure that the artwork looked just as good on the other side of the desk from where the first one was hanging. After several more minutes, she gave them the thumbs up and they stuck the art to the wall.
Honoka looked a little nervous as Issei and Kenichi stepped back to observe the two artworks. They were silent as they looked at them, but eventually, they gave nods. Kenichi went to pat his sister on the back and congratulate her for helping them out.
"Looks great." Kenichi said. "You did an excellent job, Honoka."
"Thanks." Honoka sighed in relief, but then realized that Issei hadn't said anything as she looked at him. "Aniki?"
The Shirahama siblings then heard a sniffle as they looked at each other to realize that the sound didn't come from either of them. They realized that it came from Issei, who was now slightly shaking.
"Ise…? You okay?" Kenichi asked, but only got another small sniffle in response.
Honoka decided to try again. "Ani…"
"Thank you." Issei said as his voice slightly cracked. "Ah, sorry."
He wiped his eyes and sat on the bed.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Kenichi asked again as he looked at his junior with concern.
"Yeah. It's just… before you guys, before Elize‑nee and Yu‑Mi‑nee…" Issei looked at his new pieces of artwork. "No one's ever gotten me a gift. So this means a lot."
Honoka's eyes widened. "You never got a gift? Not even for Christmas?"
"Nothing." Issei shook his head. "Never got a visit from Santa Claus. And I think I know why."
"Because of your perversion?" Kenichi asked, but he knew that was the answer.
Issei nodded. "Because of my perversion."
Kenichi winced. "So all the perverted stuff you bought…"
"That was with my allowance, pretty much everything that I bought was by me, not a gift. I was able to sell it, my pornographic stuff…" Issei gestured around his room. "Otherwise, I would not have Honoka in this room and you and the others would not have been here either, when I came back."
"It was that bad, huh?" Kenichi questioned.
"Yeah." Issei answered, remembering how his room had looked at the start of the school year. "So… the samurai Gundam… and these two artworks… They're the first gifts I've ever received." He wiped his eyes again. "So… thank you."
The room fell quiet. But it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. The kind of silence that comes when someone finally lets themselves be seen. It was one of the few times that Kenichi could see Issei be vulnerable. It was the same with Honoka, this was another layer of Issei that she discovered.
"Despite what you used to buy, I'll say this... your dedication and hard work was real." Kenichi told him. "Now that it is not focused on perverted things, you’re putting that focus into your studies and training."
"Yeah, aniki! Same with your cooking and..." When Honoka mentioned the cooking, she panicked. "Oh no! The chicken!"
"Kaa‑san probably handled it. Don't worry about it." Issei patted her shoulder gently.
"Hibiki was right. You're on a path to redemption." Kenichi smiled and then he laughed. "The only thing that I regret is that I wished that I had your love for training back then."
"Well, you got better as a fighter." Issei reminded his senpai. "II need to get to your level and then surpass it, so I gotta keep going."
"Just be sure to get some rest, though." Kenichi reminded him.
"Kenichi! Honoka! Time to go!" Saori called out from downstairs to her children.
"Looks like that's your cue." Issei stood up from the bed.
"I guess so." Kenichi sighed as the three headed downstairs.
"Ah, Ise, I packed your chicken and rice in the bento boxes." Miki told her son, when she saw him and the Shirahama children come down the stairs.
"Thank you, kaa‑san." Issei felt relief, since he wouldn't have to worry about that.
"Aww, I didn't get to try some." Honoka pouted.
"Don't worry, you have a bento ready." Miki told her to cheer her up.
"Plus the honey chipotle steak and leftover barbecue." Issei said, somewhat relieved that he may not need to cook as much.
"I fear she won't like my cooking anymore if you spoil her, Issei‑kun." Saori chided in amusement.
"Ah, I'm sorry." Issei apologized and bowed.
Saori laughed. "You don't need to be." She waved her hand dismissively.
"We also worked out a carpool. At least until your mother starts working." Gorou informed the children.
"Yeah. I'll come here with Saori, pick up your old man, and we'll head to work." Mototsugu nodded at the arrangement.
"That way, your mother and Saori‑san can use our car if they need to go shopping or something." Gorou clapped his hands, feeling that it would help both families out.
"I can learn some recipes from your mother. She also has a friend she talks to andI'd like to get in touch with them." Saori nodded, liking this arrangement as the mothers could hang out.
"The carpool will flip‑flop." Miki said. "Soo there would be times that I would leave with your father to go to the Shirahamas’ place."
"That makes sense." Kenichi said, but it wouldn't affect him much.
"I can get Apachai to take me to school!" Honoka cheered
"Not sure if he's back yet." Kenichi sighed. "If not, I'll walk you to school, Honoka."
Issei raised his hand. "Who's Apachai?"
"My muay thai master..." Kenichi began to say and then he stopped himself. "Oh no."
He saw the spark in Issei's eyes.
"I want to meet him." This was just what he needed, the prospect of learning a new martial arts style.
"Ise, you need to rest." Kenichi practically ordered Issei.
"I just said I want to meet him." Issei pouted. "Nothing about training… yet."
He mumbled the last part under his breath.
He had all the purposes of getting this guy to train him in muay thai as soon as he got the stitches on his right side out. The stitches near his left eye wouldn't affect him much. He would like to learn a new style and he also knew what he would be doing for the remainder of the night.
"Thank you for having us in your home." Saori said as she hugged Miki, who reciprocated.
"Yes, we hope to do more. I’ll see you next weekend for fishing, Gorou?" Mototsugu asked.
"Sure. Oh, I should invite Azazel. He's a nice guy." Gorou said.
"Azazel!?" Kenichi exclaimed.
Issei raised an eyebrow at Kenichi's reaction. "You know him?"
"Not really. Name sounds familiar…" Kenichi said and sighed, while thinking. 'Maybe Saiga‑san would know something… explains why the masters left, except Shigure. Ugh, Saiga informed us of this, but I didn't think that he would make contact with Issei's father. First, the devils and now the fallen angels, great, what next?'
"The more the merrier!" Mototsugu laughed, intrigued about meeting this man, which only made Kenichi groan.
"Thank you for the food, Miki‑obasan!" Honoka said, when she walked up to Miki.
"It was my pleasure." Miki smiled, she was beaming on the inside because it had been years, since she was last called that title.
Issei had a small smile as he knew that his mother could dote on someone, since he felt like he had wasted that time for her during his perversion phase. Now she would have a surrogate daughter this time, rather than a son like she had with Shidou, at least that is what he thought.
"And thanks for the awesome dog statue, aniki!" Honoka told him.
"Ara ara~" Saori's laugh made a shiver run down Issei's spine.
He didn't want to be reminded of Akeno at this time as he envisioned her face, since he was supposed to start this path of friendship with her.
He just hoped that she didn't get too much backlash for it. It was then that Saori said something that snapped him out of his thoughts.
"If you're ever up for it, you may call me obasan, Issei‑kun." Saori told the boy.
"Same to you, Kenichi‑kun." Miki informed his senpai. "I hope both of our families continue to get along."
"I do too." Mototsugu chuckled.
"Same here." Gorou shook Mototsugu's hand.
"I,uh... I'll think about it." Issei answered, a little frightful as his cheeks reddened.
Miki smiled as this was the same reaction that he had, when Mizuki had suggested the same thing to Issei, when he was younger. She knew that he would come to talk to Saori like that, so she wasn't bothered. It had been awhile, since they have had family friends.
Miki was aware of Kenichi's need to get "how-to" books in the past, which was similar to Issei's perversion. The two mothers could tell how similar their families were, only difference was the addition of Honoka, but it gave Miki another daughter, so it worked out for her.
Issei shook hands with Mototsugu and got a brotherly hug from Kenichi, who shook hands with Gorou. Issei felt like he was hugging his own mother, when he hugged Saori, so he knew why the mothers could bond so easily. Kenichi was thinking the same thing, when he hugged Miki. Honoka got hugs from each of the Hyoudou and a pat on the head, well, a pat from Issei, but his parents gave her hugs.
"We can cook more later, okay?" Issei told the girl, when he did pat her on the head.
Issei helped load up the food into the Shirahama vehicle and he made sure that Honoka got her bento boxes. He even marked them, so she would know which lunch was honey chipotle steak or the sun dried tomato and spinach stuffed chicken.
"Look after this, alright." Issei gave Honoka the Gundam that she had made fall earlier. "Take better care of it than I did."
"Okay." Honoka nodded and surprised him with a hug.
'So this is what it's like.' Issei thought. 'To actually do something meaningful and give something forward. Is this how senpai felt, when he helped me out?'
The Hyoudou waved goodbye as the family left and then went back inside to clean up from the barbecue.
"That was nice." Miki said as she finished packing up the leftover food.
"Yeah." Issei agreed with his mother as he finished cleaning the last dish. "Anyways, I’m going to go check my email and see if I received the tape of the tournament from Miu-senpai and learn from it."
"Alright, sport." Gorou said.
"Have a good evening." Issei told his parents and then gave them each a hug before heading upstairs.
"You, too, dear." Miki called as he made his way to his room.
When they were sure that he had gone into his room and was out of earshot, Miki turned to her husband.
"Saori and I will decorate the guest room while you're at work and Issei's at school." She told him.
"He's going to be in for a surprise when she gets here." Gorou nodded.
"Yeah, it was nice for Mizuki to give the heads up." Miki sighed as she remembered seeing the text that Mizuki had sent her. "This way, she has a place to stay and it's somewhere that she's familiar with. She will be coming with a friend on some church business, I think they were expected to stay at the church."
"The church?" Gorou looked at her credulously. "That place has been abandoned since they left Kuoh."
"Exactly." Miki agreed. "It's probably why Mizuki asked if she could stay here. That place might not be habitable."
"Indeed and she has stayed over multiple times before, so she shouldn't be an issue." Gorou shrugged.
"Oh, I'm going to need to get some female toiletries for her to use, who knows how long she will be here."
"A week or two, maybe. I mean how long would a church thing last?"
"Maybe, but at least it's a good thing we worked out that carpool with Mototsugu-san and Saori-san."
"Hopefully Ise doesn't get too mad with us."
"He likely will." Miki sighed. "I mean his childhood friend is coming back and we have kept it hidden that she is a girl and not the boy that he thought she was."
"Well, you can't blame him for that, but she shouldn't be surprised by his reaction either. When you act like a tomboy, you can get mistaken relatively easily and she kept her hair short."
Miki relaxed in her husband's arms. "Mizuki says Irina feels guilty about that. But when you're kids are having fun..."
"And getting into trouble." Gorou chuckled.
"That's right, you just overlook the minor details." Miki sighed. "Important minor details, I mean it's time like then, he's your son. Seriously, he's bathed with her before, but your father enhanced that love of breasts, that he didn't pay attention to Irina not having anything between her legs."
"Yeah, that's true." Gorou chuckled. "But Ise loved his grandfather, not much we can do about that. After his death, we could have done something, but we became too lenient. However, things have been looking up. Maybe things will look up between those two."
"Well, he still has your denseness, so who knows." Miki laughed, which also made Gorou laugh again. "Come on, let's get to bed. After all, it is the start of a new week."
They turned off the lights downstairs, made sure the doors were locked and headed upstairs. As they passed Issei's room, they heard muffled talking as if he was talking to someone.
"Baa‑chan… I'm okay. Really." They heard Issei's voice through the door.
They realized that he was talking to his grandmother and assuring her that he was alright from his injuries that he sustained. With a smile, they headed to their room to rest.
Elsewhere, a certain Gremory knight was looking forward to tomorrow, but he did not know that this was going to be a new start. But this week would change everything, not just for Yuuto Kiba, but even for the student council.
However, between Issei and Yuuto, it could be a potential falling out, but that falling out could be the buildup. A buildup to the start of their own rivalry through the conflict and perhaps forge a new friendship. Their lives wouldn't be the only ones that change in this week.
Whether it would be for better or worse. Only time would tell.