Chapter 19

The girl stared back at Issei, her violet eyes widening just a little and then, to his utter confusion, a faint blush dusted her cheeks.

'Huh? Why is she turning red? Did I do something?' Issei thought.

Before he could make sense of it, she shook her head sharply, slapped both cheeks with a soft smack, inhaled deeply, and faced him again with renewed determination.Full novel: High School DxD: A Fighting Chance — read the rest free on N​o⁠v​e⁠l​C⁠o​d⁠e​x⁠.​o⁠r​g⁠

Issei blinked at the shift in her face. She looked back at Issei, who looked confused by her actions, while she was puzzled by his. It was mutual chaos for both, but for different reasons.

"Huh? Don't you remember? It's me." She pointed at herself with a hopeful smile.

Issei felt something in his chest twist. Whatever defense Issei had, he was stumped, he didn't know what to do as he could see the girl had this look in her eye that was soft and pleading. It was as if she was telling him to remember something precious, to remember her. It made him feel bad that he didn't as he dropped out of his stance and just felt sad and confused, he wanted to remember her, but couldn't.

"I… I'm sorry." Issei apologized for letting her down.

"Now, now, Ise. I can't believe you forgot." Saori interjected, the mischief was present in her eyes, which was unfortunately missed by Issei.

"I said I'm sorry, I just..." Issei tried to apologize again.

"This is your bride-to-be." Saori simply said with a wave of her hand.

That statement alone caused the room to freeze as several eyes widened and Issei felt like his soul left his body.

"WHAT!?" Issei exclaimed as he came to his senses.

Behind him, his mother struggled not to burst into laughter. He turned toward Saori in disbelief, completely missing the girl's reaction. The way her eyes widened in delight, the way her lips parted in gleeful shock.

"You were taking too long." Saori said it like it was the most common thing.

"Taking too long for WHAT!? Finding a girl!? Obasan, I told you... no one in that damn school wants me!" Issei turned to his mother. "Kaa-san, I told you, I would seek a girl in a year and a half. Then I would tell her about that part of my past."

"But she already knows." Miki countered, giving a nod to the girl.

"You told her!?" Issei looked in shock at something that was supposed to be his own secret to say.

"She never had to." Saori told him with a shrug.

"Huh?" Issei was very confused by that statement as it took the wind right out of his sails.

"By the way, you still haven't answered my question." Miki pointed at him. "Why are you wet?"

"That doesn't change the fact that you put me in an arranged marriage! I already saw someone go through that." Issei grumbled.

"Oh, really? And what happened?" Saori asked with interest.

"They got out of it. They didn't like the guy. He reminded me of a playboy… a womanizer… and a bit of me." His head lowered. "I don't want to put her through that."

"Maybe you two can sit down and..." Miki tried to reason with her son.

"No, we don't." He bowed deeply to the girl. "I'm sorry. I don't remember you. And that would affect our relationship. Believe me, if I could remember someone as beautiful as you, I would. I would've liked to do this more traditionally."

Saori and Miki both covered their mouths, shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter. Of course, Miki had expected this kind of reaction from her son.

"Alright, I think we should end this charade." Miki sighed.

Saori nodded. "Agreed."

"What do you mean?" Issei looked between his mother and surrogate aunt.

"She's not actually your bride-to-be." Miki informed him.

That made said girl's shoulder slump in disappointment, but she did hope that Issei would accept her.

"Then why did..." Issei was trying to understand what was going on.

"It was a joke." Saori told him. "But look how guilty you feel, at least we know that you may not beat your potential spouse."

"I may have been a pervert, but I'd never do that!" He turned to the girl again. "But I did attack you. I thought my kaa-san was in danger, after..."

"Aniki?" A small voice came from the entryway. "What's going on?"

"Honoka?" Saori raised her eyebrow at her daughter's appearance.

"Okaa-san, you're still here." Honoka tilted her head at her mother.

"Yes, but how did you get here?" Saori crossed her arms.

"Through Apachai." Honoka answered. "Aniki met us in the park, but Apachai dropped Aniki in the fountain."

"Ah. That explains why he's wet. And he got some on you, dear." Miki nodded at the explanation and turned to the girl.

"It's fine. It's just a little water." Irina waved her hand.

"Honoka, is Apachai-sensei still outside?" Issei asked.

"No, he left." Honoka shook her head. "He said it was okay to go inside. Oh, who are they?" She turned her attention to the girls that were on the couch.

"I was trying to figure that out myself." Issei told the girl, both surrogate siblings were confused by the identities of the girls.

"Well…" Miki began to say again.

"You get to meet Ise's future bride." Saori smiled mischievously.

Issei realized that his 'aunt' was going to milk this until he either got with this girl or until she said something because Saori clearly wasn't going to listen to him.

Issei's eye twitched. "I thought we..."

"Which one?" Honoka looked between the two. "They're both pretty. But Aniki should be able to pull one, since Onii-chan could."

At the comment, the "scary-eyed" girl made her face softened as she was surprised to be called pretty by the girl. Both girls did blush at the praise from the young girl.

"Why, the brunette one." Saori gestured to the girl with twin tails.

"Really?" Honoka glanced at the brunette… then at both girls' chests. "I guess it really doesn't matter which one you choose, Aniki."

Issei turned to his little sister figure. "What's that supposed to mean!? And she's not my bride! Obasan was teasing you!"

"Nonsense. She even got you cheesecake." Saori retorted.

"What?" That stupefied Issei. 'How did she know I like cheesecake…?'

"Eh!? Why would you do that, kaa-san?" Honoka looked at her mother in annoyance for trying to prank her.

Saori smirked. "I did the same thing to Ise."

"But Aniki isn't looking for a girl right now, right?" Honoka turned to Issei for confirmation.

"Not for a while. Not with my past." Issei shook his head and crossed his arms.

"Here's a towel, Ise." Miki handed him a towel to dry himself.

"Thanks, kaa-san. But seriously, who is she?" He stared at the girl again and she stared right back.

Her defiance in wanting him to remember her was quite a surprise to Issei, almost like she was challenging him. It actually made him intrigued, and he did wish that he could get to know her, there was familiarity that he couldn't place. While the blue-haired girl just looked between the two childhood friends.

"It's this child." Miki handed him a photo, it was the same one framed on his desk. "Shidou Irina-chan. She looked like a boy back then, but now she's a proper lady. Even I was shocked, especially when I was speaking to Mizuki-san."

"What?" He looked at the photo. Then at the girl. Then back to the photo. "No. No, no, no."

"Shidou?" Honoka blinked at the name. "Aniki, didn't you say your childhood friend had that name?"

"Yeah, but Shidou is a boy, he lived in the neighborhood when I was just five. We played with each other, practically everyday, but this is a boy in this picture, we… we… we…" Issei froze as Irina shifted her wrist and his eyes widened. "Where did you get that?"

"Long time no see, Ise-kun." Irina's smile was gentle, nostalgic. "Did you mistake me for a boy? It can't be helped since I was a troublemaker just like the boys, just like you. It was you and me against the world, remember? You gave this to me on the day that I left. It seems like we both have changed in the time we didn't see each other."

"Yeah… looks that way." His expression darkened slightly.

"I don't mean anything negative, really. You can't tell what can happen in a reunion."

"Yeah." Issei slowly nodded. "They really can."

"Er, Irina and her friend, Xenovia, will be staying with us during their time here, while they handle something for the church." Miki explained.

"Church?" He looked at both girls.

"That's right. We'll try not to impose." Xenovia told Issei.

"Yeah…" His eyes lingered on Irina. 'If she really is Shidou…'

He tapped his thigh three times, the first one was a quick tap, the second one had a pause, and the third one was a quick tap. He watched Irina's reaction, who seemed confused but it seemed that her eyes looked at his hand. Her eyes widened slightly and to his shock, she tapped her thigh once.

His breath caught. 'It really is her…'

It was giving him a little more confirmation as he was slowly believing that she was Shidou.

"So why did you call her by her last name?" Honoka asked.

"I, uh… didn't think she'd introduce herself so formally." Issei facepalmed as he answered.

Irina simply smiled as she knew that by Issei was mistaking her by her surname, which added more to him believing that she was a boy. She did look at his right hand and seeing the bandages there. She knew that she would have to speak with him about that.

"Ise, you should get out of those wet clothes or you'll catch a cold. That's two baths that you need to take in back to back days." Miki scolded.

"Ah, right…" As he looked down at his wet clothes, but then also noticed something. "Um, where's tou-san?"

"He's taking some rest." Miki sighed.

"Ok, but when you and obasan leave to drop her and Honoka-chan off, could you take him with you? I'd rather not have you driving back alone." Issei told his mother, looking out for her safety.

"If anyone should be worried, it's me, mister. You're coming back drenched back to back days, what were you doing this time?" Miki asked.

"Aniki was training." Honoka answered the question.

"What!?" Miki exclaimed as she looked at her son. "Oh, for goodness sake, Ise, you're going to kill yourself, give your body a break. You know what, lounge around in the tub, get a good soak in, I'd offer you a massage, but I don't think I'm as good as you are."

"It's fine." He slipped off his shoes, placing them back near the front door and headed upstairs, towel over his shoulder.

"Honoka‑chan, what training was Ise doing?" Miki asked the middle schooler.

Honoka perked up, swinging her legs lightly as she sat on the couch. "Oh, he was doing Muay Thai with Apachai."

"Oh no…" Saori groaned, rubbing her temples.

"What is it?" Miki asked.

"Well, from what I can remember about what Kenichi has told me is that Apachai had a tendency to give him a strike, albeit accidental, but it would knock him out. It made Kenichi want to quit at times." Saori said, letting Miki know what kind of person Apachai was.

Honoka shook her head. "No, they didn't spar, they practiced side by side, so when Apachai did a move, Aniki would mimic him and Apachai would correct him."

Miki sighed. "But he overworked himself, didn't he?"

"Yep!" Honoka said a little too cheerfully.

This only made the two mothers groan in despair, but for Miki, it was better than Issei being in trouble for peeping.

"What did you do while they trained?" Saori asked her daughter.

"Aniki gave me his phone. Later he said he'd bring me snacks." Honoka answered.

"I'm sure he will." As Saori shot a 'I told you so' look at Miki. "If it were Kenichi, that might not be the case."

"Well, she is the closest thing that Ise will have to getting a sister."

"And it's been fun!" Honoka turned to Irina and Xenovia. "You should've seen the statue he made for me!"

"Maybe we will someday." Irina replied, politely, while Xenovia simply nodded, arms crossed.

Honoka then began to ask questions about where they lived and Irina's connection to Issei. Irina answered truthfully about her time in England and Italy, noting her parents' work. She also spoke about her time with Issei and when Honoka grilled her about Issei's perversion, she was unfazed. She spoke about his fondness of big breasts, but Miki and Saori noted the disappointment in her tone. However, the disappointment wasn't because of Issei's perversion, but rather because he did not check her out like she had anticipated.

Xenovia did not care about what was being said, but she did answer about her time in Italy. She apparently made Honoka's eye sparkle when she noted that she was a swordswoman.

"Really!? Aniki's being trained by Shigure, too!" Honoka informed the two girls.

This did pique Irina and Xenovia's interest in his training, but Miki gave her worries. She had shown them the replay of his tournament, which Honoka cheered, seeing both of her big brothers in action.

Saori explained to them who Kenichi was and Irina noted that he could pass as Issei's brother. Xenovia and Irina were impressed with Kenichi's fighting capabilities. Xenovia was intrigued by Issei's ability, she watched closely on his matches with Makoto and Taichi. Irina would pout when Issei had lost a round, but smiled when he recovered his bearings. She was worried about his injuries and could see why her obasan was worried for him.

Meanwhile, during that time, Issei was lounging in the tub, staring up at the ceiling. It was so relaxing to be here, his eyes felt heavy as did his body, especially his legs, but it came to no surprise to him. He was tired after all, but he needed to speak with those two and maybe confirmation that he was looking for. Hearing the water ripple was so soothing to him, one good thing was that his new chair and headphones had come in. Sadly, he would have to build the chair tomorrow, his body just wasn't up for it today.

'Just another day…' he thought, letting the water ripple around him.

Eventually, he got out and dried himself and stretched his shoulders, wincing as he knew he would be sore. As he went to his room, he pulled his phone out to text Kenichi that he was at home. He had a feeling that if he didn't, Shigure was going to skin him alive.

Issei: Just so you know, I'm home. Your mother's here and I ran into Honoka at the park.

Kenichi: I figured.

Issei: She came home with me, so it's all good.

Kenichi: Was she with anyone?

Issei: Yeah. One of your masters, Apachai.

Kenichi: I see. Thanks for letting me know.

Issei: No problem, but I have some guests to attend to, it seems like my childhood friend is back in town.

Kenichi: Really?

Issei: Yeah. All this time I thought she was a dude. It kind of feels weird.

Kenichi: Haha, I bet it does.

Issei: No, you don't get it like she's beautiful and all, so it's kind of weird that I once bathed with her when we were young and knows of my past.

Kenichi: It can't be that bad.

Issei: Senpai, I go to a school where the majority of the student body hate me for speaking my thoughts and probably theirs as well. None of those girls want me and my childhood friend, who is a GIRL, looks at me with a smile on her face. No girl smiles at the "Perverted Beast", mind you.

Kenichi: I have seen Renka, Kisara, Miu, and Raichi smile at you, Elize-sensei has too.

Issei: Okay, you got me there, but still it doesn't add up.

Kenichi: Well, think of it this way, you can really get your closure about whether she left because of your perversion or not. You would be getting your answer straight from the source.

Issei: You're right, thanks, but I also have some questions of my own, in regards to other things.

Kenichi: Do what you need to. Goodnight.

Issei: Night.

He dressed into his sleepwear of black pajama pants and a red shirt and looked through his desk. He found the crystal that he was looking for and by looking at it, he was sure that Irina was wearing the same one. He wondered how he was going to tell her that her boyfriend died, even if he was an older man. He was also going to ask if her father was alright, sure his mother had said that they were alright, but he wanted confirmation from their daughter.

Grabbing the crystal, he also figured that he should make some tea as well and if there's cheesecake, then even better. He already knew what kind of tea to make and since it was night time, this would be soothing. Of course, his mind did wonder what kind of cheesecake was brought. He would eat whatever leftovers were made from lunch for dinner before he moved onto dessert.

When he exited his room, he noticed that the chatter had diminished greatly and when he got downstairs, there was nobody there. So he decided to heat up the leftover lunch. He figured that maybe Xenovia and Irina left with the mothers, but he heard footsteps upstairs. He knew that it wasn't his father as the footsteps weren't as heavy. As he was eating his dinner, he was disturbed by a rough voice.

"Where did you get this?"

Looking up, Issei nearly choked as Xenovia was wearing her sleepwear which consisted of a white tank top and striped green and blue pajama shorts that went to her midthigh. He had to admit that she put in work on her body, which showed her curves, but also the muscle tone as well. For that, she had his respect, but then he noticed that she was holding the crystal.

"Oh, that is what I wanted to talk to Irina about, I noticed that she wore a similar crystal and was going to tell her that her boyfriend died." Issei answered, but was impressed with this girl's Japanese.

"She doesn't have a boyfriend, but this is a church thing. If I'm correct, that must mean you were involved in something with the priest that wore this." Xenovia told him.

"Not involved, but I saw him get killed, I was following someone else, but then that priest, he came walking out, he was bleeding and then he collapsed." Issei sighed.

Xenovia's eyes sharpened. "Did you see who killed him?"

"Yeah," Issei shuddered. "The bastard came out to finish the job, he stabbed the body with his sword and then…" He swallowed. "He stabbed the priest through his head, the bastard had a sick smile while doing it. I had to puke at seeing it happen."

"Who was it?" Xenovia egged on.

"Another priest. My friend said his name was Freed. He did this to me." He raised his right arm, so she could see the damage that was done as he had yet to bandage it, so she saw the stitches.

Xenovia's expression darkened. "Freed? Freed Sellzen?"

"Yeah, that's the name, white hair and a psycho smile, he was also wearing a priest outfit, is that what you guys do at the Church? Take people out?"

"Yes." Xenovia answered bluntly.

Issei's glare sharpened. "Are you going to take me out too?"

"Why would I do that?" Xenovia asked but slightly surprised by his defensive stance.

"You just said that the Church takes people out, so you must be working with Freed!?" He stood abruptly.

"What?" Xenovia was now stunned by the accusation.

"I'm a loose end, so you're here to take me out, I knew it! I bet Irina isn't even my childhood friend! You killed him! You killed Shidou and his family!" Issei retorted back, not backing down.

"I DID NO SUCH THING!" Her roar shook the room and surprised Issei a little.

The two stared at each other, both could see the fire in each other's eyes begin to dissipate, while they were trying to catch their breaths.

Seeing that the situation escalated, Xenovia forced herself to sit back down. "Freed is a rogue priest. I'm not working with him."

Issei's anger simmered… then slowly faded.

"Then why are you here?" Issei asked as he just looked at this foreign girl.

"Is everything okay?" Irina hurried downstairs, worry on her face as she heard Xenovia's yell.

"I don't know. You tell me." Issei answered as he turned his eyes towards her.

She wore matching purple pajamas, it was simple and undeniably cute. The top was short-sleeved and pants. Even though she showed less skin than Xenovia, Issei's eyes lingered on Irina more. He wouldn't say it out loud, but he would like to cuddle with her, and they could just talk the night away, until they fell asleep.

"He thinks we're working with Freed." Xenovia sighed.

"The one who killed your boyfriend." Issei added on.

Irina pouted, when she heard that. "Mou~! First obasan, now you? I don't have a boyfriend!"

Somewhere in Issei's mind, he felt a sense of relief upon hearing that, but he didn't really understand why. It sort of felt like the universe was cutting him a break, but he wasn't going to push his luck.

"Irina." Xenovia said as she held up the crystal, her expression firm. "He was there. He saw Freed Sellzen kill DeAngelo."

"Oh no!" Irina gasped.

Issei lowered his gaze, finishing the last bite of his meal. "I'm sorry about your loss."

Xenovia didn't soften. "Freed is also the one who attacked your friend, Irina."

Irina gasped again and turned to Issei. "Is that true?" He didn't speak and simply raised his arm, showing the stitches. "No…"

She wanted to reach out to him, but he pulled away, which made her frown as she remembered what Miki said. Her hand froze mid‑air and her heart sank.

'Obasan was right… his walls are up. I'm not going to give up! I'll have to earn my way back in.' Irina thought as she dropped her hand.

"We'd like to ask for your assistance." Xenovia said as she turned back to Issei.

"With what?" Issei asked.

"Do you attend Kuoh Academy?" She asked, hoping that it could make things easier.

"Yeah." Issei nodded. "Why?"

"There's someone there that we'd like to talk to."

"That being?" Issei questioned her.

"Your student council president."

"Kaichou?" Issei blinked.

"So you know who I mean." Xenovia looked him over.

"Yeah, Sona Shitori. She's someone many of the students look up to, they consider her as one of the 'Onee-samas' of the school, I believe she is third place."

Irina and Xenovia exchanged a look, raising an eyebrow, but it confirmed something to them, which was that Issei didn't know about the supernatural. Considering that he said Shitori, not Sitri.

"Who's first and second?" Irina asked.

"That would be Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima."

Xenovia's eyes narrowed. 'Of course, devils would use their prowess to be at the top, such greed.'

"Why are they at the top?" Irina tilted her head.

"Who knows? Maybe breast size. Everyone at school's a pervert." He shrugged. "Although Gremory‑senpai doesn't look Japanese, so maybe the foreign appeal."

"Everyone's a pervert?" Xenovia raised an eyebrow at that.

As far as she knew, the only pervert was him and that was only from what Irina had told her, especially after they had faced a stray devil that spoke of small breasts. After that incident, Irina explained about his own fascination and why she had started laughing after that mission.

"Pretty much, but unlike me, they keep it hidden or are afraid to express themselves. Looking at it now, the skirts are criminally short." Issei pondered as he was looking back on the perverse nature of other guys and how they spoke about the girls at school. "I guess I could understand why it was a female school before, but making it co-ed, it's like they want guys to look. But when you're vocal like I was, you are declared a pervert and outcasted, while other guys get to leer in peace. Hell, I have seen some guys take panty shots of girls, but they're not ridiculed like I was. But that's my fault."

"Why's that?" Irina asked, there was some disappointment in her tone at how her childhood friend had expressed himself.

"I chose the wrong people as friends."

He finished washing his dish, then went to the fridge and got out an apple and an orange.

"How so?" Xenovia questioned, she wanted to know more about his past.

"Hmm?" Issei looked at her.

"You said you chose the wrong people as friends."

Issei sliced the fruit with practiced motions. "After Shidou left, I only had my grandfather for a little while longer."

Irina pouted at still being called 'Shidou', while Issei set a pot of water on the stove to boil, placing the chopped fruit into a teapot.

"I didn't really have anyone, I met an old man, who reminded me of my grandfather with his perversion and reignited my own again. It wasn't until middle school that I met the wrong people and they introduced me to peeping on girls. Now, I had my perversions, so of course, I was seduced with the possibility of seeing live breasts. So I followed along, after all, these were the first people that wanted to befriend me or so I thought." Issei continued to speak.

"So what happened?" Irina was also curious about how her childhood friend had gone astray.

His back tensed. "I found my freedom. But the damage was already done."

"Well, what..." Irina began to ask.

"I'd rather not remember that day. Okay?" Issei turned down her question, albeit it might have been a little harsh.

Irina lowered her head. Whatever those people did, she didn't like them already, his walls were up, so she decided to change the subject.

She changed the subject gently. "So… what are you making?"

"Tea." Issei answered bluntly.

So blunt, that Irina had deadpanned because how he answered reminded her of Xenovia and her own way of giving blunt answers. Xenovia, for her part, for a split second felt like Issei understood her in how she had to deal with Irina.

"What kind?" Irina asked further.

"Apple cinnamon tea." Issei answered.

"Can we not get distracted?" Xenovia groaned.

The front door opened and his parents entered.

"Ise, how are you, dear?" Miki asked, when she entered the kitchen/dining area.

"Hey, sport. Your mother tells me you've been training again." Gorou raised an eyebrow at his son.

"Hai! I can't stop. Senpai did the same to get where he's at." Issei answered.

Miki sighed. "Ah yes, your obasan mentioned that."

"Which one?" Issei looked at his mother in curiosity.

"Hmm?" Miki tilted her head.

"You mothers seem to be close‑knit. So which one? Her mother..." He pointed at Irina. "Or senpai's mother?"

"You know which one!" Miki retorted, seeing the smirk on her son's face, realizing that he only asked the question to annoy her.

"Don't rile her up, son." Gorou sighed.

"But it's fun." Issei pouted.

Miki raised her hand to smack him. He flinched but he did smile a little. After all, Issei inherited his mother's mischievous nature.

"Come on, dear. Let's leave the kids to talk." Gorou pulled his wife away from their son.

"Oh, that's right." Miki snapped from her anger and turned to her husband. "You're going to the office tomorrow."

"That's right. So I'm heading to bed." Gorou said as he stretched his arms.

"Goodnight, tou‑san." Issei said as he went back to the tea that he was making.

"Goodnight, ojisan." Irina waved.

"I'll see you in a few minutes, dear." Miki told him.

"Alright." Gorou kissed her quickly.

Issei gave a sad smile at his parents' affection, however, Irina also saw his expression. Since she was his friend, he forgot that she could read him like a book. She could tell that he was envious of the affection, but he was happy for his parents at the same time.

Not only that but she also wanted to express her own love for her childhood friend. Unfortunately, she was nervous about how he would react and preferred to speak in a private setting. Xenovia remained indifferent to the affection but she did ponder about Issei's expression. She wondered if it had to do with the family matter or something deeper that she didn't know, but shrugged it off.

"I'll see you when you get home tomorrow, son." Gorou told Issei.

"Yeah, I'll head to the shop after school, I was going to today, but I ran into Honoka-chan instead." Issei told him, but he was also thinking, 'Maybe I can squeeze in a little more hours, too.'

"Just be sure to stay safe, especially with that psycho out there that attacked you." Gorou warned his son.

"If I get to the shop, Mitsurugi‑shishou and Setsuka‑obasan can handle him." Issei was certain, since the two were more capable at handling a sword than he was.

He got out cinnamon sticks and honey, a box of chamomile tea bags, then went to the fridge to get mint and some blackberries and raspberries.

"Alright. I trust your word. But be careful."

"I will, you can count on it and if he comes at me again, this time, I'll be the one that comes out on top." Issei said as he pumped his fist before dealing with the berries, along with the chopped apple and oranges into the kettle.

"I know you will. Your aunt told us to have faith. So we will. Sweet dreams." Gorou said before he headed upstairs.

"Just don't look for a fight all the time." Miki scolded her son.

"Only if the opponent seems worthy enough." Issei answered.

He dropped mint leaves into the kettle, followed by three cinnamon sticks and two chamomile bags. The boiling water hissed softly as he turned off the stove.

"So what were you kids talking about before we walked in?" Miki asked, looking at the two girls that were at the table.

"They want to speak with the student council president at my school."

"Oh? Well, I was planning to go to your aunt's place, since you leave a little after four in the morning."

"To where?" Irina was curious about where he would have to go so early in the morning.

"The gym." Issei told her as he poured the steaming water into the kettle and let it marinate in the fruit, mint, and spices. "Do you want a cup, kaa‑san?"

"Yes, dear."

Issei nodded and continued. "They can come at lunch time, I think kaichou wouldn't be so busy then, I can try to speak with the secretary in the morning to let them know that you are arriving then, if that is okay with you."

He addressed the question to Xenovia, since given her serious nature, he felt like she was the leader of whatever this operation was.

"That's fine. What time is your lunch?" Xenovia asked.

"Around noon."

He poured four cups of tea and handed them out to the three females at the dining table.

"Thank you, dear." Miki accepted her cup.

"Thanks, Ise‑kun." Irina beamed.

"Thank you." Xenovia nodded her thanks.

Issei walked to the fridge and pulled out the cheesecake.

"Cheesecake?" Issei asked them.

"No thank you." Miki waved it off as she took a sip of her tea.

"I'm good as well." Xenovia told him.

"I'll have a slice with you!" Irina said.

Issei blinked and lightly blushed. "Huh? You'll share a slice with me?" Misinterpreting her words.

Irina's face went red at the prospect. "Oh, uh... I mean, well..."

"That's so thoughtful of you, dear, but cut another slice, just to be safe." Miki said, giving a side glance, looking between the two childhood friends.

"Alright." Issei gave a small sigh of relief.

Irina slowly lowered her head onto the table in embarrassment, while Xenovia remained stoic.

Miki smirked knowingly. 'Too soon,' she thought. 'I have to let it brew a little longer.'

"Here you go." Issei handed Irina her slice.

"Thank you…" she mumbled into the table.

"Hey, Ise, maybe you could show them around after they're done speaking with your student council president." Miki suggested.

"I have school, kaa‑san." He deadpanned, taking a bite of cheesecake and sipping his tea.

"Oh, that's right." Miki realized that he would have the second half of school to deal with, so she turned to the girls. "Do you girls think you'll be alright hanging out with a couple of old ladies like myself and Saori-san?"

"If it's okay with you, we'd like to walk around the area." Xenovia responded as she wanted to investigate where Freed could be hiding and gather some information without interference.

"Alright. And if you need anything, you have Ise‑kun's number."

Issei choked on his cheesecake. "Are you serious!? Kaa‑san!? You gave it without my permission!?"

"Oh, I know, why don't you call him so he has yours? That way he won't be surprised when you call tomorrow." She ignored her son entirely.

"Okay!" Irina said, taking out her phone from her pajama pocket.

She dialed immediately and Issei's phone rang. He pulled out his phone and declined the call, saved her contact information, and then another call came in. When he looked up, he saw Xenovia staring at him, phone in hand. He sighed and saved her contact information, too.

"Got it." Issei nodded and set his phone down.

"Wonderful. And thank you for the tea, dear." Miki stood up from the table to go wash her cup.

"No problem, kaa‑san."

"Ahh, this will help me sleep." Miki sighed in content. "Goodnight, girls!"

"Goodnight, obasan!"

"Have a good night." Xenovia said, courteous of her host as Miki went upstairs.

"Well… looks like you have your plans set for tomorrow." Issei said, while eating his cheesecake.

"You're not mad she gave us your number?" Irina asked.

"A little, but I know why she did it," Issei shrugged. "It's most likely because we're childhood friends and hoping we can reconnect. Honestly, if you are the same Shidou, I probably would have asked you for yours, so we could stay in contact before you go, when you're done with whatever it is you're doing for the Church."

Irina's eyes softened. "Of course!"

"Thank you for the tea. It was refreshing." Xenovia relaxed in her chair.

"Would you like another cup?" Issei asked.

"Sure, thanks." Xenovia nodded.

He took her cup and went to refill it.

"Where did you learn to make tea like this?" Irina asked.

"My boss or rather his wife… who is also my boss," Issei answered. "She's the one that helped me update my headband. She could do the same for yours, if you like, I mean yours looks kind of beaten up."

"Really?" Irina looked between the headbands wrapped on their respective wrists. "Sure! That'd be great!"

"If you are still around the school or nearby, I can take you there tomorrow after I am done training for the day." Issei hoped that Apachai's training would enable him to make it to the shop.

"Is it important that you need to head there?" Xenovia asked, hoping that he could show them where he was attacked and start looking for clues there.

"Yeah." Issei nodded as he walked to his briefcase and pulled out a broken wooden hilt, placing it on the table.

"What is this?" Xenovia looked at the hilt.

"It's what's left of the bokken that my master gave me. I didn't have an actual sword when I was attacked by Freed, so I blocked, or at least tried to with this." He gestured to the hilt. "When he slashed at me with his so‑called 'Excalibur.'"

"So that's how you got the cut on your arm…" Irina said as she reached towards his arm.

"Yeah." He moved his arm away without noticing Irina reaching for him. His fingers brushed the small scar on his cheek. "And this one too… plus reopening the one Taichi gave me."

"The one near your eyebrow?" Irina looked towards his bang that was hiding said scar.

"Exactly. But if you want, I can take you to where he attacked me." Issei offered.

"That would be helpful. Thank you." Xenovia sighed, grateful that she didn't need to ask and that they had a possible lead.

Issei nodded and turned to Irina. "Are you done with your plate?"

"Yes, thank you." Irina handed her plate off to him as he went to wash the dishes.

They remained in silence as Xenovia did not want to plan with Issei around and expose him to the supernatural world more than he already was.

After a moment, Issei turned. "Did you want more tea, Shidou?"

Irina blinked. "You can call me Irina, Ise‑kun. We've known each other for so long… I'm pretty sure we're on a first‑name basis."

"Sorry, Shid— I mean… Irina… san?"

"I don't think you need any honorifics," She smiled. "And yes, I wouldn't mind some more tea."

"Alright." He said, while he thought, 'Man, this is going to take some getting used to, but no pressure, right?'

He wiped his hands, took her cup, and refilled it. He brought her cup back and the kettle as well, placing it on a mat in the center of the table.

"If you want anymore, you can pour it from here, so you don't have to walk over to it. If not, just put the kettle in the fridge. I have to finish up on some homework and then I'm heading to bed." Issei informed them. "So for now, this is good night and I'll see you tomorrow, enjoy."

"We understand. And thank you for your hospitality." Xenovia told him.

"It's not mine, it's my parents'. I just don't want to give you a bad impression." Issei scratched the back of his head. "I probably would have if I still hung around the people I thought were my friends… but sometimes, you gotta grow up, ya know?"

"I suppose that's something we can agree on." Xenovia nodded, accepting his explanation.

"Have a good night, Ise‑kun!"

"Thanks. You too… Irina." He still needed to get used to someone calling his name with such cheer in their voice, while also being used to calling her by her actual name.

Her smile bloomed instantly, while Issei packed his briefcase. He did look back at his childhood friend, tracing what he could about her and headed upstairs to do his nightly traditions.

"This is good. We have a lead." Xenovia spoke, when she was sure that Issei was out of earshot.

"Hmm? You mean finding where Freed first showed up?" Irina asked.

"Yes. It seems your friend was of some use after all."

Irina frowned. "Don't say it like that. It makes you sound no better than those devils."

"What do you mean?"

"You make it sound like Ise‑kun is a tool." Irina explained. "What would you have done if he wasn't attacked? Cast him aside?"

Xenovia paused… then bowed her head slightly. "You're right. My condolences."

"I'm not the one you should apologize to." Irina said as she went to drink more of her tea.

Xenovia snorted. "Says the one who miffed on her chance to share his favorite dessert with him."

Irina stiffened slightly before sighing in defeat. "Oh, don't remind me of that!"

"If only you'd spoken up." Xenovia shrugged.

"What do you know about romance?" Irina challenged. "You're all about the Church. Without it, I'm not sure what would happen to you."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that and from what I know is about how you act and how your parents tease you about your crush. And you are faithful, since your love for him hasn't wavered."

Irina flushed but smiled proudly. "Thanks." Enjoying the praise of how she followed her beliefs.

"I honestly expected something different from him… but I won't lie." Xenovia said as she peered down at her chest. "I did catch him checking out my cleavage once."

"You're the one that's putting it out there for him to see!" Irina accused as she pointed at her partner.

"Forgive me. I have no intention of stealing my friend's partner." Xenovia apologized.

"He's not my partner!"

"Not yet. You should be more confident in yourself." Xenovia advised.

She didn't understand why Irina didn't speak with her childhood crush about how she felt. She was sure that Issei would accept Irina's feelings and likely give in to whatever Irina desired.

"I… guess." Irina agreed, but also disappointed in herself.

"I just remembered, didn't your father tell you to give something to him?"

Irina gasped. "Right! I'll go do that before it gets too late."

"I'll leave you to that. I'll inform the Church that we have recovered DeAngelo's crystal and can confirm that he is dead. We may find his body at the site, if no one has been there." Xenovia said as she pulled out her phone to contact their superiors.

"Right." Irina stood up from her seat. "Did you want more tea? I'm done for the night."

"I'm done too." Xenovia answered with a sigh, putting her phone away.

"Okay. I'll put the tea away and meet you upstairs." Irina took the kettle to the fridge.

"Very well." Xenovia brought her cup to the sink… and frowned.

"That's right. You're terrible at chores." Irina snickered, seeing the hesitation in her partner.

"Shut up." Xenovia grumbled in response.

"I'll do it. I'll see you upstairs." Irina assured her, putting her teasing aside.

"Thanks." Xenovia headed towards the stairs, taking the crystal with her.

"That's what friends are for." Irina smiled as she washed both of their cups. "They help each other."

With the cups washed, Irina dried off her hands and turned off the lights downstairs. She also made sure that all the doors and windows were locked, so that no one could enter the house so freely. When she got to their room, she undid her twintails and began to look through her luggage.

"Going to give him what your father gave you?" Xenovia asked from the bed, while plotting their next course of action.

"Yeah. I'll be back in a few minutes." Irina told her as she found the blue gift box and the letter that was given to her by her father.

She left the guest room and headed to where Issei's room was, but stopped as she got close. Seeing his door a bit jarred open, she looked inside to see him writing down something. She figured that it must be that journal that she had seen earlier on his desk, when she was in there earlier in the day.

She was about to knock, when she noticed that his headphones were on. A part of her was hoping that he wasn't listening to anything, but she had seen him put away his phone, likely picking a song to listen to. Her suspicions were confirmed as she began to hear him sing, which was the first time that she had heard him sing something other than the Dragon Ball theme song, when they were young.

She listened quietly as he sang lines, his voice was soft, raw, vulnerable. She was catching fragments, enough to understand the emotion of the lyrics. From what she could gather, he was saying that 'someone left just in time' and was a little perplexed, when he said how he couldn't 'fit in anyone's arms.'

She snuck into the room as he continued to sing and sat on his bed, listening to the loneliness that clung to the lyrics, it made her wonder about how she and her family had left. Furthermore, it wasn't just them leaving Kuoh, but also her leaving him. It made her heart squeeze as she began to move closer to him.

Issei sighed as he leaned back in his chair, he felt a pair of arms wrap around him from behind. He found it comforting and he exhaled softly, believing that it was a dream, a dream that would never come true. However, the voice of the arms wrapped around him snapped him out of his daydream. He could faintly hear it through the headphones, but since nothing was playing, he could hear it better.

"You seem to fit in my arms just fine." Irina said, snapping Issei from whatever dream-like state as he jolted upright, spinning around. "Uh, hey."

"W‑What are you doing here!?" Issei exclaimed, he was very nervous from what Irina could tell.

Irina stood there, cheeks pink, holding the blue gift box behind her back. "Uh… well, I was going to knock, but you had your headphones on, so I didn't think you'd hear me. Then you started singing, and… I just listened. I haven't heard you sing anything other than the Dragon Ball theme or Super Sentai songs since we were kids." She fidgeted, cheeks pink. "So I sat on your bed and listened. Was that song about… not finding romance?"

"What makes you think that? I've also sung the Kamen Rider themes." He said a little too defensively, but then simmered down and scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Also, um… your hair looks nice."

He noticed that Irina's hair was down instead of in twintails and framed her face softly.

She brightened at the compliment. "Thanks. And… well, downstairs, when obasan and ojisan showed affection, you smiled. You were happy for them, but at the same time… sad. Not at them, but at yourself."

"You saw that, huh?"

"I've always been able to read you like a book, Ise‑kun."

"Yeah… I guess you're right, Shidou, I mean, Irina." Issei corrected himself. "You always were."

"So I was right." Irina egged him on.

"Yeah, you were. I was envious. Not just of them… but of others too. You were lucky to have left when you did."

'So he was singing about me?' Irina's expression softened. "A part of me thinks it would've been better if I stayed."

"Why?" Issei asked, but he did secretly agree with her and wanted to know why she said that.

"Because we'd still be friends. We'd still hang out. And maybe…" Irina stopped and began to process her next words.

"Maybe what?"

"Maybe I could've helped you with your perversion. Like the Church helped me." Inwardly, Irina wanted to facepalm, if Xenovia had heard her, she probably would have been scolded again for missing her chance to express to her childhood crush.

Issei snorted lightly. "Makes sense. If you were around, I probably wouldn't have met Matsuda and Motohama. Wouldn't have become the loser I am."

"You're not a loser." Irina tried to reassure him.

"Yes, I am!" He stopped, inhaled deeply. "I'm trying to get myself back together, I wasted three years with those goons, all because I wanted friends and I chose the wrong kind. You know before I met them, the thought of peeping on girls never crossed my mind. I mean that's what we have the internet for, right?"

"Er… right." She didn't really comprehend what he was saying, but chose to agree nonetheless.

"But my quest for friends made me fall down that path of debauchery. As a result, I'm one of the most infamous perverts at my school. They call me the Perverted Beast and claim me to be the leader of the perverted trio… but actually, it should be the perverted quartet."

"Quartet?" That confused Irina.

"Yeah, there's a girl that is also perverted, but she doesn't get the same flak as I nor Matsuda and Motohama." Issei answered.

"That doesn't make sense." Irina tried to process how the girl got a pass.

"Oh, but it's true, guy is perverted, he gets ostracized and bullied, unless he's good looking. A girl acts perverted and people will laugh it off and believe it's okay."

"I didn't know that." Irina was a little surprised at the double standard.

"But it's the truth, I get called "Shit-sei" or something just as derogative, I get beaten up, usually because Matsuda and Motohama sacrifice me to get beaten up. But I stupidly went back to them because no one else wanted to be my friend and they were the first to accept me after you had left."

Irina's eyes softened with guilt. "You always were loyal to your friends. That's why we were inseparable as kids. We both wanted a friend… and we found one in each other."

"I'm surprised you remembered our thigh‑tap code. I was banking on it to confirm you were the same Shidou."

"I never forgot." Irina smiled. "It's how we planned our stuff, so our parents wouldn't catch on to what we were scheming."

"Yeah…" Issei nodded as they both began to remember how their friendship started and how they became thick as thieves, never separating from one another, until the day that she had to leave.

"So what happened? I mean you're not with those guys anymore. Saori‑san said her son helped you."

"When nobody else would." Issei whispered.

"Hmm?" She didn't catch what he said.

"I said when nobody else would as I told you, people thought I was the leader of the perverted trio, I wasn't. I was the lapdog because of my selfish need to want friends, I got myself caught up in the wrong crowd with my perversions. They would say jump and I would ask 'how high?', but in this case, it was 'let's go peep' and I would stupidly agree. I'll have you know that I don't really often get to look, but how they described what they saw only made the desire grow. It was a stupid decision and I was wrong, but when I heard that whoever they were peeping on had boyfriends, I had to bail."

"Why?" That confused Irina and wondered what his reasons were.

"I may be a pervert, but I have some standards, I wouldn't peep on another man's woman. I may ogle them and be envious of the woman that they are with. Contrary to what people believe about my perversion, it may be over the top, but I have standards of not going after someone else's girlfriend or crush." He was reminiscing about how he would have liked to see Renka like that, but knowing that she wanted to be with Kenichi. "However, my so-called friends decided to seek out said boyfriends and tell them that I was peeping on their girlfriends. They found me and beat me up and you know what my "friends" did?"

Irina's eyes widened. "They didn't…"

"They did. The boyfriends found me and beat me up. And you know what my 'friends' did?"

"What?" She could hear the sneer, when he said "friends".

"They recorded it and posted it online for everyone to see." He pulled out his phone and went to the video to show her.

Irina gasped as she watched her friend get beaten up by several guys, she also heard the snickering behind the camera that made her stomach turn. She looked back at Issei and was met with a look of indifference. If she had been there, he wouldn't have been in that situation; that was something she was certain about.

"Didn't you report them?" She asked with a frown.

"Would it matter?" He countered.

"Yes!" She was disappointed in how her friend was acting.

"No, it wouldn't, no one cares about the resident pervert, he can get beaten up, stomped on, spat on, insulted and demeaned, so people can get their rocks off. That's literally how the story goes, if it was a girl, they wouldn't care and people may even simp to her. Look at the difference between you and me, I'm not handsome, but you're beautiful. You probably have guys in England using you as fap material. Getting involved with me, people would think you're a slut or something, they try to bang you or succeed in seducing you and using that to rub in my face."

"People can't be that cruel…" She tried to reason, but it seemed that Issei had a counter for her argument.

"Yes, they are, Irina, or did you forget that I saw a man kill another man because they thought it was fun. The same shit could happen to me because people would think it was fun, frankly, the only people that might care are my parents and grandmother, but would anyone else? The answer is no."

"I would."

The answer stifled Issei a little before he answered. "Maybe, but then someone would tell you some shit about me and then you wouldn't."

"But I knew of your perversion and we still remained friends." Now it was her turn to counter whatever argument he had.

Issei hesitated. "Speaking of which… Now that you have said that, I'd like to know, did you leave because of me and my perversion? I'd understand if you did."

"No," Irina shook her head. "If it was up to me, I would have stayed here, as I told you, I would have helped you curb your perversion. That's what friends do, they help each other, not abandon them because of a personality flaw. You're probably not the only guy that has a fascination for big breasts."

"But I was the most vocal about it." Issei frowned.

"Perhaps, but friends help each other, clearly those two guys were not your friends and this Kenichi guy is, since he came and helped you, right?" She asked, her voice was comforting to Issei.

"Yeah, when no one else would, he took me to the nurse's office, who also knew of my reputation, yeah, it is that bad. She and I went along and covered any peeping holes, which I guess Matsuda and Motohama are mad about, but I don't care anymore about what they want." Issei felt his eyes begin to get wet, but he blinked those tears away. "I decided to join Kenichi-senpai's club and work on myself. It's been months, but I'm still just the local pervert. It doesn't matter how many good deeds that I do, my past will always follow me. I could get rich tomorrow, but I'm still the pervert. I could get a girlfriend, don't be surprised if she cheats on me because I am just the pervert. They probably would think that I would like that. I wouldn't, I don't know what person likes to see their significant other with someone else or that they are clueless to know that they are being cheated on. But then again, they always say that the husband or boyfriend is the last to know."

Irina remained frowning. "Why do you think all that would happen?" She didn't like seeing her friend like this, but there was a plus side, which was his 'walls' being down.

"I just told you, because I'm the local pervert that nobody cares about, that harem king dream that was bestowed unto me by my grandfather and father after him, it's meaningless." There was a small growl at the end of his tone.

"Really?" She was surprised.

The few times that she had met Juzo, she knew how Issei was hooked onto whatever his grandfather said. So to hear him speak dismissively of the dream passed down to him was a shock to her.

"Uh huh, it's not even my own dream, which my master helped me realize. I wanted to honor ojii-san, since it was his dream. Do you remember all his talks about harems?"

"Yeah, and then obaa-chan would go after him, smacking him upside the head." Irina laughed.

"Yeah, so I stuck myself to a fruitless pipedream and tried to figure out what I wanted. I talked with senpai about his dreams, he wants to be an award winning writer. I told him how maybe he could write a story about me, how he helped me grow out of that perverted shell. I also took a little inspiration from Goku and also my master's dreams. I told him that in his story, he can write how a pervert, his protege, grew to be one of the strongest warriors." Issei pumped his fist.

"It sounds pretty interesting." She was remembering the days of how they talked about being heroes like the Super Sentai and Kamen Riders that they used to watch.

It's why she also had a sense of justice, being an exorcist for the church and also wanting to be able to help Issei stray from the path of debauchery that his grandfather set him on.

"I thought so too, I'm weak, have no talent, not good looking nor perfect or some omnipotent being. I'm just your average teenager, albeit perverted, but through hard work and determination, I could only hope my efforts pay off. Similar to how Goku is busting his ass off with training, I want to do the same thing. But don't get me wrong, I have my moments where I would think like Majin Vegeta, but I keep those thoughts to myself."

"Wasn't he a bad guy?" Irina only knew this because she had looked up Dragon Ball characters, having a feeling that Issei would still watch the show in her absence.

"Yes and no. But I guess you've been out of touch with your church training and all." Issei was slightly surprised that she knew of the character.

"Yeah, haven't really got time to watch anime." She smiled as Issei chuckled as she was glad to bring back some joy from the internal despair that Issei was feeling.

"I bet, since I've been training, I haven't got much time," Issei smiled. "But I do when I can, been trying to get into ZOIDs still, since I got these two raptors. I also stopped playing games late at night, it's too bad. I had met someone, their username was Gaspy314, they seemed cool. I feel like I abandoned them, maybe I'll get on sometime."

"You always did have a knack for robots and spaceships." Irina sighed, somewhat glad that there were still parts of Issei that haven't changed.

"I think only you would know that…" Glad that there was someone that understood him without having to explain himself. "And maybe the others that I have let in."

"Yeah. Obasan said you have trust issues. At least now I know why." Irina nodded, pleased with herself.

She had succeeded in getting Issei to trust her for a second time and in mere hours, compared to the others at the MMA club.

Issei exhaled softly. "Thanks for listening. But… why are you here? I don't think you answered the first time I asked you."

Irina blinked, then brightened. "Oh! Right. Papa told me to give this to you." She handed him the letter and blue gift box.

"Ojisan?" He questioned as he accepted the letter and gift box. "Thanks."

He flipped the envelope over and his eyes widened.

"Aren't you going to open it?" Irina tried to see what was on the envelope.

"Not with you here." Issei sighed.

He turned the envelope around and showed it to her. Irina's jaw dropped as on the back, in her father's handwriting:

"Do Not Open with Irina Around."

"Mou~! He doesn't need to know I saw that!" Irina pouted.

After all, the two had secrets that they never shared with their parents. She wanted this to be another one between them, so she could also know what her father was saying behind her back.

"Sorry, Irina." He gently placed a hand on her shoulder and guided her toward the door.

"Come on, we never kept secrets from each other!" Irina tried to persuade him once again, which almost worked, but Issei steeled himself.

"This one's between me and your father." He said firmly, knowing that what his surrogate uncle had to say must be important and he would uphold that honor.

"Ugh, fine." She relented. "But what about your package? Ojisan said that you got a new chair."

"Oh. Yeah." Looking over at the package that was in the corner of his room. "That thing took chunks out of my allowance, paychecks… and porno money."

Irina blinked. "Porno… money?"

"Yeah." Issei nodded, embarrassed, speaking on that matter with his childhood friend. "I sold everything that was adult material that I had, or at least kaa-san did it for me, while I was at school. My parents felt that I should spoil myself for my hard work and so we kind of went all out a bit. I wound up buying three headphones and the chair."

"You mean those white ones?" She asked, looking at the ones that hung around his neck.

"Yeah."

"Can I try them?"

"You really need to get some rest, we got early days tomorrow and..." Issei tried to persuade her to go to sleep.

Inwardly, he was thinking of how he had a girl in his room and he was telling her to get out, something that his past self wouldn't have done. He almost chuckled at the irony, but he forgot how persistent Irina could be.

"Please? It'll be quick." Irina asked, pressing herself into Issei, something she normally did when they were kids to get him to falter.

True to its form, it worked once again as now Issei was the one that relented, blushing from feeling Irina's body against his own.

Issei sighed. "Alright, alright." Separating himself from her and hoping that his blush would die down.

He took off the headphones from around his neck and handed them to her, which she slipped on around her own neck.

"How do they look?" She asked.

"They look nice on you. They suit you." He couldn't help but realize that white worked for her, glancing over at the headband that was on her wrist.

Her smile bloomed like a flower. "Thank you. So what brand did you get for your chair?"

"Uh… Secret Labs. It seems like a lot of content creators have this type of chair." He remembered seeing multiple creators on YouTube videos with them. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.

"Really? Maybe we could build it together, it'll be like old times…" Irina tried to reason, possibly sneaking some time in for them to catch up.

"Uh, don't worry about it, I can handle this." He interrupted

Her smile faltered. 'His walls are back up again. I thought he let me in.'

"Besides you got your church thing, you don't want to stay tied to me, Irina." Issei tried to explain, when he saw her frown.

"We're childhood friends, best friends even, Ise‑kun. This is a chance for us to reconnect." She challenged him right back.

"I think you've got a new best friend now." Issei pointed out. "I'm still trying to find mine."

If Raichi heard him say those words, she likely would have smacked him upside the head for two different reasons.

"You mean Xenovia? We met in Italy when I was fourteen. I was sent to the church there."

"That's around when I met Matsuda and Motohama. You did a better job than me." He said, but he was happy that she did have someone like Xenovia by her side.

"I chose you too, didn't I?" Irina countered, remembering how they met and how he understood her and she understood him.

Issei looked away. "Maybe, but how long will that last, eventually, I'll phase out of your life, too. As we grow up, being your childhood friend won't be enough to keep me in your life."

Irina's breath caught. "You… don't mean that, do you?"

Issei forced a smile. "Come on. We got an early day tomorrow."

It was fake. She knew it instantly. She was even aware that he didn't answer her question either.

'No, no, not like this, please.' She looked down to the ground. "Ise…"

"Yeah?" Issei looked at her waringly.

"If there's one thing I can ask… please don't shut me out." She pleaded.

Issei hesitated. "I can't promise that…" He began to say, but he was sure that she was frowning and added on, "But I'll try."

"Thank you." She stepped forward for a hug but Issei extended a hand for a handshake, which made her frown. "Really?"

"Sorry, but..."

She didn't let him finish. Taking advantage of his moment of distraction, she wrapped her arms around him, catching him off guard. His body tensed up, here was this girl that he only met hours ago, hugging him.

"Remember? It's us against the world. We made that pledge to each other." She was reminding him.

It felt childish to Issei and he wondered how she could have held on to something like that. At the same time, it was reminding him that there was never a bleak day that he spent with her. Despite the harshness that he had received at the dodgeball game and the insults that rained down on him, the attack by Freed that came hours later. The presence of Irina, being able to have this talk with her, almost washed away that bad day.

"…I guess." He relaxed, letting out a heavy sigh.

"You know for someone who says that 'they'll try', you're not doing a good job." Her tone of voice, while scolding, was also nostalgic to Issei, remembering how she did the same thing when they were young, when their plans went awry.

It caused him to involuntary chuckle, which Irina knew that he was bringing down his 'walls' again for her.

"I'm sorry, but yeah." He said.

"Nuh-uh" She shook her head. "Say it." She tightened her hold, her stubbornness kicking in.

"Okay, okay, ow! My body's still sore..." He winced. "Us against the world."

"You can hug back too, you know." Again, scolding him halfheartedly.

"Right…" He awkwardly patted her back, then slowly returned the embrace. "Sorry."

"Much better." Her voice softened.

"Hey… your dad's okay, right?" Issei asked after several moments of silence.

"Yeah." She pulled back to look at him quizzically. "He's fine."

"Good. That's… a relief." He relaxed fully for the first time that night.

"Well… have a good night, Ise‑kun." Giving him another pat on the back. 'I wonder if that was what the letter was about. Otherwise, why else would he wonder how papa was doing? I guess I'll have to ask about it later.'

"You too." He chuckled and smiled.

She stepped back, reluctantly, from the embrace and she saw it. It made Irina feel better as for the first time in the night, she got to see him smile, well, at least towards her. Not a fake smile that he had on before, not a sad one, but a genuine smile. This smile was meant for her, as they let go of each other. Her heart fluttered as she left the room, closing the door gently behind her.

"I thought you said a few minutes." Xenovia questioned when Irina entered the room.

"Sorry, but it's been a while since he and I have talked." Irina sighed, she was satisfied with her first talk with her childhood friend.

Of course, there was still more for them to speak about, since it had been years. They still had more to learn about each other and how their lives had changed, since they last saw each other. Irina could agree with Issei that her life, albeit more dangerous, did turn out better than his own because of the paths they went down. She began to give a silent prayer to Kenichi for coming to the aid of her childhood friend and 'saving' him, when she was not here to be able to.

"What's that around your neck?" Xenovia asked, snapping Irina out of her thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, shoot." Irina looked down and she still had Issei's headphones.

"You can hand them off tomorrow, we got business to attend to." Xenovia told her.

Xenovia had to roll her eyes as this proved her point about Issei giving into Irina's desires as she had a feeling that Irina pressured her childhood friend into handing over his headphones.

"Right. Good night, Xenovia." She set the headphones on the nightstand. "Try not to knock me off."

"Hmph. I could tell you the same thing, good night." Xenovia rolled her eyes as she placed a pillow wall down the middle of the queen‑sized bed that the Hyoudous had bought to help house the two girls.

The pillow wall was placed to try and keep the two girls from knocking the other off the bed as both had weird sleeping habits. Sleeping habits that caused either one of them to roll around the bed, when they had to share lodging. It usually resulted in either one of them or both waking up on the floor the next day.

Issei was already aware of Irina's sleeping habits as one day, he had woken up with a black eye one time or on the floor a few times. Of course, he had found a way to prevent this happening by hugging Irina, when they shared a bed as children.

Meanwhile, in his room, Issei finally realized that he was missing something.

"…She left with my headphones." He sighed. "I don't want to disturb her nor Xenovia, they got things to do."

He was still processing the hug that they shared, it was different from the hugs that he had gotten from the other girls in his club. He had fantasized about his hugs with Renka, since she was his crush. Irina's hug gave him a similar desire, unknown to him, Irina wanted to be there, in his arms. He wasn't realizing it now, but his childhood friend had only begun asserting herself in his heart. A place that she felt she should have belonged in for years.

Issei sat at his desk, the blue gift box and sealed envelope resting before him, since Irina was not here. He began to open up the letter, but he had a sense of dread of what could have been written to him.

"I wonder what Touji‑ojisan has to say… He's probably disappointed in who I became." He mumbled.

With another sigh, he then noticed a small note scribbled in the corner of the envelope:

"Open the gift first."

"…Well, alright." He opened the blue box.

To his surprise, inside was a sleek bottle of cologne and engraved on the cap, in elegant lettering:

Hyoudou Issei

He blinked. 'A gift like this… from Touji‑ojisan?'

He was flabbergasted and swallowed, then opened the letter and began to read was his surrogate uncle had to say.

Hey there, Harem King—

I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I know from your parents that isn't your dream anymore.

How are you doing? I know about the incident that happened. Yes, it's bad that you got bullied, but I hear that on the bright side, you made some new friends and began to grow up. I don't know if you have spoken to Irina about it, but remember she's your friend, too, so don't be afraid to let her in.

Speaking of which, that cologne might do the trick if you still want to be harem king, again, kidding, but at least it might help you woo a girl. You might even woo in Irina and if you do, you have my permission.

Don't forget how your aunt and I said you might be responsible for her one day.

Anyway, I also hear that you took up some swordsmanship, I kind of wished that I trained you when you were younger. I have seen you looking at the sword that we kept around, when we lived in Kuoh. Maybe if you are able to come visit during one of your breaks, I can see what you can do.

I also hear that you are cooking, your auntie is very pleased about that, maybe you can help her out in the kitchen.

However… I'd also like to apologize to you.

Issei paused. "…Apologize? For what?" He kept reading.

You may not know this, but it is my fault that we had to move away and you and Irina could not grow up together. I also missed out on watching you grow as well because of my incompetence. Maybe things could have been different, you two troublemakers taking on the world together, from pre-school to middle school or junior high as they call it here, and then high school, maybe even college.

Although, you would have to realize that Irina was a girl, when puberty hit. I hope you are not mad about that, heck sometimes, she acted so much like a tomboy, I would start to call her "son", can you believe that?

But regardless, keep taking care of yourself and keep up your ambitions. I do wish that I could have been there to see you grow out of your perverted phase, we all have them as teenagers, so no, don't think it's just you.

And if you come visit, I look forward to seeing how well you can perform with a sword, but until then, take care.

Love,

Uncle Touji

A tear slid down Issei's cheek before he realized it and then another and another.

"…Touji‑ojisan…" He sobbed.

Finally breaking down and crying in the comfort of his room as he felt that his perversion had also disappointed his uncle and aunt. He felt like a wreck as he felt like it was all crashing down on him, the people that he let down and it made him feel more of a failure than he had felt before. He knew that if Matsuda or Motohama saw him, they'd call him a bitch for letting his emotions out, but he didn't care what they thought. They were not as important in his life as his surrogate uncle and aunt were to him.

Just because Touji and Mizuki weren't here physically didn't mean that they wouldn't have heard about his antics. After all, his mother did say that she had spoken to his aunt, so he was glad that they got back in contact with each other. He thought about what his "uncle" had said about visiting. He figured that if he was able to, he may want to ask Irina or his father to teach him English, so he didn't make a fool of himself and say the wrong thing to the wrong person.

Maybe… maybe he wasn't as alone as he thought. He placed the letter and cologne on his desk, sniffling softly.

"This bottle looks expensive… I hope he didn't spend too much." He frowned, he didn't want his 'uncle' spending too much money on him.

Especially considering that Touji never mentioned in the letter about how much the cologne cost.

He brought his journal back out and added in the entry of how he was grateful for his "uncle", he also added Irina and went back to his previous entries, where he named her 'Shidou' and added her name. With that task completed, he got up and went to bed to prepare for the next day.

Issei woke up at his usual 4 in the morning, stretched out his muscles, groaning at the soreness that he felt and got out of bed. As he headed to the bathroom, he stopped for a minute and remembered last night.

"Right… female guests." He mumbled to himself.

So when he was near the door, he knocked softly. He didn't want to get called a pervert in his own home, it was bad enough in the outside world. He stood outside for a few minutes listening for any sound, but he heard none

"…It's dark out. If someone was inside, the lights would be on." He smacked his forehead.

He opened the door, turned on the lights and began to brush his teeth and wash his face. When he finished, he went back to his room to check his phone and instead of a message from Kisara, it was from Ikki.

Ikki: Yo, I hope you don't mind me filling in, Kisara said you shouldn't overdo it on legs.

'How am I supposed to get better if I just sit and relax?' Issei thought, but he checked the message and lightly snorted.

He snorted because he knew that Kisara didn't say that, she was his tough, older sister and would have made him do legs all week long if she could. He figured that someone figured out about their training session and called her out on it. Of course, he was still grateful that Ikki would step in to help him, so it meant that Ikki was Kisara's accomplice in secretly training him.

He figured that with boxing, he could try out his Muay Thai a little bit. He got himself ready as he knew that with Ikki, he could come back and quickly shower, since Ikki had his first period off. He changed into his gym gear and headed downstairs, figuring that Ikki could help bandage up his right arm before he did any sparring. When he got downstairs, he heard some grunting coming from his backyard. He wondered what that was about, since he didn't want to disturb anyone else, he went to check out the noise.

"Huh?" He peeked outside.

Approaching the door to the backyard, he noticed the light was on and he was about to turn it off, but stopped. In the backyard was Xenovia, in her sleepwear still and shoes, swinging a hefty longsword. He was impressed by her muscle tone and being able to swing such a sword. He began to watch her body movements and see if he could learn something. Her movements were powerful, precise, and unrelenting. Her muscles flexed with each swing.

Issei watched, mesmerized, similar when he watched Shigure, when she took pride in showing off to him.

'Mitsurugi‑shishou said I needed to put more power in my swings… Shigure‑nee taught me how to increase my speed… maybe…' He began to study Xenovia's form, not in a lecherous way like he would have done before.

He studied her hips to see how she put her force into her swings. He wondered if he needed a heftier bokken or something. He began to start mimicking Xenovia's movements, watching her closely. The only thing he didn't do was mimic her grunts, since he didn't have the heavy weapon in his hands.

He noticed how different his hip movement was and was glad that he did dancing lessons with Raichi. It wasn't just his kicking ability and flexibility that has improved. He continued on until his phone began to vibrate, signaling that someone was calling him.

"Hello?" Issei answered.

"What are you doing, man? I texted you that I was here." Ikki's voice came through from the other side.

"Sorry, I was... oh, shit!" Issei gulped nervously.

"What?" Ikki asked.

"I, uh... got surprised. That's all, I'll be out in a minute."

The reason he was surprised is because when he turned back towards Xenovia, she was staring directly at him. He knew that he had been caught, but at least to his credit, she wasn't looking at him in disgust.

He began to panic a little as she started walking towards him as he gulped nervously. Her eyes never faltered from his as she came closer to the door to enter the house. Her steps were firm and her posture was intimidating. He kept his eyes on her face and tried not to look at her bust, which slightly jiggled with each step that she took. It was then that Issei realized that she may not be wearing a bra. He also tried not to notice the slight sway in her hips, he couldn't deny that she put in work on her body. Her body frame was thicker than Irina's, which he deduced that it had to do with the heavy sword along with her toned legs and that Irina was more built for speed.

He had to admit that Xenovia looked like a warrior goddess who could break him in half. Of course, he also felt like Yu-Mi mentioned something of that name or something similar, when she had been teaching him history.

"What were you doing?" Xenovia asked as she stepped inside the house.

"I—I was watching you train. And mimicking you." Issei blushed in embarrassment, he felt like he had been peeping.

Well, he was in a way but not for any perverted reasons, only as a means to better himself for his own training.

"Mimicking me? Why?" Xenovia questioned, eyes slightly narrowed.

"Well, um," Issei began to explain. "You seem to have the power to drive your swings and I was trying to replicate it and wondering if I could do that by watching you."

"That's right." Xenovia nodded at his explanation. "You had that broken wooden sword."

"It's called a bokken here in Japan, which for a foreigner, you speak it well." Issei was impressed by her capability to speak Japanese.

"I stay with the Shidou, since Irina is my partner, so they taught me the language. However, I am still learning the writing."

"Ah, katakana. You'll get used to it eventually." Issei waved his hand dismissively.

Xenovia narrowed her eyes. "Are you a spy?"

"What!?" Surprised with how she reverted back to business so quickly.

She pointed her sword at his neck. "You were on the phone and you were spying on me."

"Spy? For who? I already told you that I was trying to learn from you, that's all and I was on the phone with my ride, who is probably getting impatient." Issei panicked as he held his hands up to show that he wasn't any threat to her.

"Ride?" Xenovia raised an eyebrow.

"To the gym! I said that last night! Anyway, I'll be back in two or three hours to shower before school..." His phone buzzed again, interrupting him. "I gotta go. See you later… maybe."

He gathered his stuff, not caring about her sword pointed at him and dashed out of the house to get into Ikki's car, who got on his case.

"What took you so long?" Ikki asked, seeing Issei get in the car in such a rush.

"Well, I, uh… got distracted." Issei said quickly, while buckling up.

"Distracted by... whoa." He stared at the front door.

Issei followed his gaze and there, standing at the front door was Xenovia as she watched the both of them.

"Uh, Ikki-senpai, I think you should drive." Issei spoke in a fearful tone.

"Well, I can see why you were distracted, so you like them blue, huh?" Ikki wiggled his eyebrows at his junior. "So those pair of legs were around you last night, huh?"

"No! She's my childhood friend's friend and partner!" Issei retorted.

"Oh? So you're two‑timing your buddy by hitting on his girl?" Ikki continued to tease as he put the car in reverse.

"No! Shidou is a girl, she formally introduced herself to me, but she only got out her surname and I was too excited about obtaining a friend." Issei explained. "She acted so much like a boy, you couldn't tell that she was a girl, since we were so young. Even at that young age, you cannot tell with the difference in the pitch of voice. Her actual name is Shidou Irina"

Ikki's eyes widened, but Issei was too focused on Xenovia and her stare to even notice the reaction. However, Xenovia did and that made her curious about who this Ikki was and trying to figure out what Issei had said.

"You don't say…" Ikki said before reverting back to his teasing. "Well, she sure knows how to pick her friends, maybe she can hook you up. She doesn't look like she's from here, you did say that you wouldn't mind a girl that's not from here. I mean think about it, she is pretty hot."

Issei groaned. "But scary as fuck. Senpai, please just drive…"

Even as Ikki pulled away from the curb, Issei's eyes stayed locked on Xenovia's. Her eyes were cold, piercing, and unblinking until the house finally disappeared from view.

"So, you ready to get back into boxing?" Ikki asked.

"Actually… I want to try something." Issei flexed his right hand, feeling the pain threshold of his injury. "You got someone I can spar with?"

"Whoa. Already looking for a fight?"

"I need it." Issei said, simply staring ahead.

He knew that he could make a fist and his hand didn't hurt as much, plus he would have gloves on, so that would cushion the impact of fist.

Ikki chuckled. "Calm down, alright. I'll get someone."

Issei was back in soldier mode, the switch that flipped whenever he needed to push himself. It had been some time since he had looked for someone to spar with Issei. Remembering how it started, Issei was usually getting his butt kicked, but through that experience, he started to win those fights, especially under Ikki's tutelage.

They got to the gym, where they greeted Hikari, since she usually worked the mornings. She was a bit worried, when she saw Issei heading to the boxing area of the gym.

"Is that… wise?" Hikari asked Ikki.

"Don't worry. He's testing his pain tolerance." Ikki waved her off, he was going to let Issei do his thing.

"That doesn't answer my question." Hikari raised an eyebrow.

She was going to have to speak with Mizunuma about this, if things went south. After all, it was thanks to her that Kisara couldn't be here today. She had told Mizunuma about the training session with Kisara, thus Kisara found alternative means for her 'little brother' to continue training in her absence.

"A soldier can take the pain." Ikki told her as Hikari stared, confused, while Ikki taped up Issei's hands and bandaged his arm. "Yo, Shinji!"

A short‑haired teen walked over, cracking his neck. "What's going on, Ikki?"

"Take a round with Ise. Put on some headgear." Ikki told him.

"Come on, man. I don't need that." Shinji laughed.

"You'll need it against him. Don't get cocky. He hasn't had the best couple days." Ikki warned.

"Heh. We'll see."

Ikki returned to Issei. "Take it easy on him, okay?"

"Uh‑huh." Issei nodded as he slipped in his mouthguard, tightened his gloves, grimacing a little from the throbbing of his right arm, but it was passable and stepped into the ring.

Shinji bounced lightly on his feet, waiting in a standard boxing stance.

Issei got into the Tang Guard Muay stance, however, instead of his left side being forward, he put his right side forward instead. He knew that he could not use his legs and knees as this was a boxing sparring match. He also could not use any elbow strikes, so he was extremely limited in using Muay Thai.

Shinji was hopping from foot to foot as the signal for the match to start, while Issei was stationary. Ikki signaled for the bell and Shinji advanced forward towards Issei. Issei simply remained his ground, but he was thinking, calculating his move. Initially, he thought about possibly kicking the guy, but that was against the rules. As for Shinji, he believed Issei's left side was his open side based on his stance.

As a result, Shinji feigned an attack towards Issei's right side, so Issei would go to block, thus opening his left side even more. However, Issei predicted this as he saw Shinji's eyes drift towards his left side.

'He's aiming left.' Issei thought.

So when he saw Shinji going for his right side, he was a bit surprised. So Issei stepped forward and struck with his right side, just as Shinji was pulling back to attack Issei's left side.

"Hngh!" Shinji grunted.

Pain shot up Issei's arm, making Issei grimace as the blow to Shinji's body had caused a throbbing to his wound on his arm, but he knew that he couldn't stop. He couldn't show this weakness for Shinji to take advantage of.

Shinji took the blow as it stunned him slightly, but instead of following through his left, Issei reloaded with his right. Shinji groaned from the pain, staggered but recovered fast and pushed off Issei and landed two punches to Issei's head. Issei's vision shook as his head got whipped to his left and then right, which Issei shook off and focused back on Shinji.

Shinji pressed forward, but Issei met him head-on as they both started to land body blows, but Issei would wince every time he landed a hit with his right. Shinji saw that opening and wailed multiple blows into Issei's right side, attacking relentlessly. Ikki watched as his student began to take a beating and his eyes narrowed. For Issei, he began to remember his beatdown at the hands of those boyfriends. The beatdown that he couldn't fight back from, the helplessness and humiliation that he felt. He was snapped out of his thoughts as Shinji landed a blow to his head that made him stumble backwards.

Shinji smirked at Ikki and tapped his head. "Told ya. Didn't need it."

However, that was his mistake as Issei had gotten better with his recovery time, after all, he constantly took beatings from Mitsurugi, Shigure, Renka, Setsuka, and Ikki, when they trained. Ikki's eyes flickered to Issei's form and then back to Shinji, giving a smirk of his own. Shinji caught onto it, so when he turned back to Issei, he was met with an uppercut, which stunned him.

Issei followed up with multiple punches to the ribs and stomach area, making Shinji keel over. He sent two right crosses to Shinji's head and finished him with a left hook. It caused Shinji to lose his mouthguard and Shinji dropped to his knees on the mat.

No one else might have felt it, but Ikki did, Issei had brought forth a small amount of ki. Thank goodness that Issei did not use a full blown ki shot, otherwise, it could have been worse. Shinji was crumpled on the mat and tried to crawl to the ropes. Ikki entered the ring to stop Issei, who was advancing towards the downed Shinji.

"That's enough. You won this battle." Ikki stepped in front of Issei, holding his hands up to show that he meant no harm.

"No. Not yet. Maybe against him… but not the battle I'm preparing for." Issei stared at Shinji's downed form, not caring about the pain in his right arm that was aching all over.

Ikki exhaled. "Yeah, I can see that. Go hit the bag. I'll get you some ice. You're probably going to need it."

"Yeah, maybe." Issei nodded. "I've been taking enough ass kickings to know."

He climbed out of the ring, wincing, and began stretching before moving to the heavy bag. He was checking his pain tolerance and getting the aching on his right arm to subside, before he got to work on kicking and punching the bag.

Hikari approached Ikki with ice. "So what happened?"

"He won, he was looking for a fight and he won, it just wasn't the fight that he was looking for." Ikki told her as he accepted the ice. "Thanks."

"That attack must've messed with his psyche." Hikari mused.

"Well, I mean, considering he was a pervert, he did get beat down multiple times for his peeping and then he got beat down by those guys, which was the turning tide for him. The attack that happened two days ago, he's going to want his getback." Ikki told her.

"Revenge isn't always good." Hikari shook her head.

"Somehow, it's that… but not it at the same time." Ikki tried to explain.

"Huh, you don't say..."

BAM

"Damn it." Ikki grunted as he and Hikari raced over, knowing that Issei must have done something.

When they got there, they were surprised to see Issei looking at the bag in shock at what he had done. There was an indent on the bag, where Issei had just kicked as his leg was stretched slightly higher, almost at the level of Ikki's head. He was in such a shock that he didn't realize that he was balancing on one leg.

"Was that your leg!?" Hikari looked between the bag and Issei's leg.

"You almost got the leg strength of Kisara." Ikki whistled.

He had to get his phone to take a picture to send to Kisara, he knew that she would be mad about missing out on this moment.

Hikari raised an eyebrow. "Isn't she usually the proud one?"

"Oh yeah. She wanted to give him a break. I think she wanted to just snuggle a few more hours." He gave a wink to Issei to signal that wasn't the case. "Anyway, Ise, here's your ice." He handed Issei the ice. "Finish up and we'll head back."

"Yeah… sure. And thanks." Issei nodded, still in shock.

Ikki and Hikari returned to the desk.

"So far, so good." Ikki smirked.

"You guys worry about him a lot." Hikari nodded. "I think I can see why."

"Oh yeah." Ikki chuckled. "He's the little brother of the group. Gotta look out for each other." While thinking, 'We gotta keep him on a better path than the current one that he was on.'

"Like a family." Hikari realized.

"Bingo." Giving her a thumbs up and went back to the boxing area to check up on Shinji.

Hikari gave a nod as she could see how close Ikki was with his peers and what Mizunuma was talking about. Eventually, the workout had come to an end as Ikki waved goodbye to Hikari, Issei did as well, but she could see that his mind was a bit absent. The drive back to Issei's house was a little quiet.

Ikki broke the silence. "Nice kick, by the way."

The only reason that he had been able to do what he did was he translated Xenovia's hip movement for her sword swings into his kicks. He wondered if Kisara did similar mechanics with her own hips to draw out her own power.

He mentally facepalmed. 'I need to pay more attention next time she trains me… It probably would help with my reload speed on my kicks and adjust my hips accordingly.'

"Alright. Make it quick." Ikki said as they pulled onto the street next to his house.

"Right." Issei stepped out of the car and headed towards the front door.

"Morning, Ise-kun!" A voice called out, when he entered the house that it almost spooked him.

Looking over, he saw that it was Irina and then remembered that she was here for the time being. He was so focused on his kick that he forgot about her and that she existed for a moment, but also noted her hair was still down and not in her twin tails.

"Uh… hey." He greeted back in return. 'It's going to be a while before I get used to that. But oddly enough, I don't mind it.'

"Don't forget, you need to speak with your student body president." Miki's voice called out from the kitchen.

"Right. I'll text you when I do." Issei answered as he began to head for the stairs.

"You mean you'll text Irina‑chan, so we can drop her and Xenovia off at lunchtime." Miki told him, since it was one of the girls that he was supposed to inform.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll text both of you." He bolted upstairs like a startled cat.

Irina watched him disappear around the corner. "He seems to be in a good mood."

"Maybe because you're here." Miki teased.

Irina blinked. "You think so? I mean… we talked last night…"

"Did you now?" Miki was intrigued about what was said last night.

"It's not like that! He just showed me how he got beaten up… and how Kenichi-san saved him from going down the wrong path. If he hadn't, then I would have done so and led Ise‑kun down the path of righteousness! Amen!"

Miki chuckled. "I'm sure you would, now could you help me set the table for breakfast?"

She believed Irina's word of potentially converting Issei, it would be a tall task, but the stubbornness of both of them would cause them to compete, which would result in Issei losing.

"Of course!" Irina said.

Miki hid a knowing smile as Issei had always lost every "battle" against Irina since childhood and that streak wasn't ending anytime soon.

Meanwhile, Issei had gotten to his room and stripped off his shirt and grabbed his towel. He raced towards the bathroom, but he sensed danger or at least something because coming out of the bathroom was Xenovia, wearing a towel.

Issei barely stopped himself, as he skidded almost to a stop. Unfortunately, he still wound up knocking into her a little bit as she sensed him coming, thus she braced for impact. The collision between the two wasn't too bad, but it loosened her towel, causing Issei to see her bare breasts. It stumped Issei for a couple of seconds as his brain blue screened, then he dropped into a bow so fast he nearly headbutted the floor.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" He prayed she didn't notice the tiny trickle of blood from his nose.

Xenovia calmly readjusted her towel to cover her breasts. "It's… fine."

She understood that it was an accident, which could have been worse if Issei fully collided with her. He likely would have knocked her over and her towel as well, which would have allowed him to see everything.

"Why were you running to the bathroom?" Xenovia asked, when she was sure that her towel was secured.

"Huh? Oh, well, I gotta be quick, so my ride can get me to school." Issei explained with his head still bowed.

"I see."

He hesitated. "Oh, and… I wanted to thank you."

"For what?" Xenovia asked as she crossed her arms, not really caring that she was in a towel.

"Watching your movements earlier this morning and how you draw out your power in your hips, I tried it today and it worked. I got more power in my kick, which allowed me to hit one like my senpai or rather big sis." He looked up and then away, remembering she was still in a towel. "Oh, um, I should have done this when you were dressed."

"Why? I'm proud of my body. Did you know, I have never gotten scarred before?" Xenovia was confused by his reaction.

"Really? That's awesome, you're more durable than me. I've gotten riddled with bruises every time." He turned towards her and then away again.

"I can see that." She pointed at the marks from his sparring match with Shinji. "But you should probably take your shower."

"Right! Sorry again!" He darted inside the bathroom and shut the door.

Xenovia raised an eyebrow at his twitchiness, but shrugged it off as she headed to her shared room. For someone who was a pervert, she could see that he had a bit of innocence still.

'He really wouldn't know what to do with a girl,' she thought as she almost laughed. 'But then again, Irina and I wouldn't know what to do with a guy either. If we did, those two would have done something last night and Irina was right, I don't know anything about romance.'

She was surprised that he also didn't leer at her breasts, considering how he was supposed to have a fascination for big breasts. She knew that she could use that to her advantage in the future now that she thought about it. However, as a warrior of the church, blackmail was not something that she would lean towards, unless necessary.

Issei quickly took his shower, spraying himself with cold water. He was hoping to get the thought of Xenovia's breasts out of his head and prevent an erection. It's another reason that he was glad that he had gotten used to taking cold showers in the morning. Feeling refreshed, he got out of the shower and was about to race out of the bathroom, but stopped. He didn't want to run into Xenovia again or Irina and put them in an awkward position, so he slowly opened the door.

With no one around, he raced towards his bedroom and quickly sent Ikki a text that he was getting dressed. When he was done, he headed downstairs to quickly eat breakfast. When he got downstairs, he noted that Xenovia was not down yet, so he figured that she was still getting dressed. As he began rushing to eat his breakfast.

Irina immediately scolded him. "You need to slow down, Ise-kun, otherwise you'll choke." He was slightly surprised that she was the one scolding him and not his mother.

"Sorry…" He obeyed instantly.

Miki raised an eyebrow. "Hmm, normally it takes me a couple of tries before you listen to me."

"She's friendlier than you, kaa‑san." Issei retorted back.

"Well, that's just rude, maybe she should stay here to keep you under control." Miki countered.

"You know she can't do that," He did begin to wonder if it was possible, but he knew that she had a life in another country. "But ojisan sent me a letter about visiting, maybe we can take a family trip sometime, I'm sure you'd like to see obasan again."

"That'd be nice! We could show you around!" Irina gave her input.

"You might be busy with church things like you are now, so I think it depends on everyone's schedule." Issei told her.

"I guess you're right," Irina nodded but then brightened. "Oh! Before I forget, I packed you a bento."

Issei blinked. "Huh?" Looking at her as if she was cross eyed.

"She means lunch, dear." Miki told him.

"I know what a bento is for, kaa-san," Issei deadpanned. "I'm just trying to figure out the why part."

"Oh, well, I figured that I could do something nice for you," Irina scratched her cheek as she blushed. "Since you are helping us get this meeting, if you can."

"Uh, right," Issei nodded. "Um, thanks."

He headed over to grab the bento that she made, for some reason, he wanted to try it right away.

When he looked up, he saw his mother give him a wink, an indication that she had helped Irina with this. He went to the fridge to heat up two other containers, so he could give them to Raichi and maybe someone else. Irina did frown a bit at seeing him pick another bento box.

"Thank you, Irina." He gave his childhood friend a bow. "I'll give you my thoughts on it, just need to heat this up for Raichi and someone else, since I don't have to worry about lunch."

Irina relaxed as initially, she thought that he was choosing something else over what she had made with her "aunt's" help.

"O‑Oh. Sure. No problem." Irina looked away.

Issei slung his bag over his shoulder. "Alright, I'll see you later."

Irina tilted her head. "Wait! Don't I get a hug?"

"Huh?"

"We're seeing each other off, so as friends, we should hug each other to say goodbye." Irina explained like it was the most normal thing.

"Uh… I guess that makes sense." Issei nodded at the explanation.

Miki was snickering at how dense her son could be as she watched the two childhood friends hug. Issei didn't make it awkward, considering that he had already hugged her good night last night. At least this time, the hug felt warm, familiar, and natural, it reminded him of the day she left all those years ago. However, in the hug, he made eye contact with Xenovia, who was coming down the stairs and his breath hitched and he froze. Irina felt him tense and instinctively hugged him tighter. Xenovia just looked at the hug with indifference, while Issei buried his face into Irina's shoulder to hide his blush. Of course, Irina did not mind and merely smiled, believing that Issei fully warmed up to her.

"Like I said, I'll contact you later about what she says." He directed the statement towards Xenovia as he pulled away from the hug with Irina.

Xenovia nodded as he gathered his things and hurried outside to Ikki's car.

"Bye!" Irina followed after him and waved from the front door.

Issei nervously waved back and as he got into Ikki's car, who was smirking at him.

"So who's that? Let me guess... your childhood friend? Or is she your childhood friend's friend?" Ikki teased again.

"No, no… that's my childhood friend. Irina Shidou." He sighed, sinking into the seat.

"She seems to like you." Ikki noted, glancing over to get a face to the name, so he could report later.

"Aren't friends supposed to like each other?" Issei asked. "I mean, I like you. Unless you're not my friend."

"That's not what I meant. She looked energetic seeing you off. Can't you imagine coming home to that?" Ikki pointed at Irina, still waving enthusiastically as the car backed out. 'Honestly, it feels like you got married overnight, little bro.'

Issei looked away, blushing. "Well… I wouldn't mind. But she's busy with church stuff. Oh, and can you drop me at the front? I need to go to the student council office."

"Sure. Why?" Ikki asked.

However, he knew the answer. After the conversation from Hibiki and Issei saying that the two girls were on church business, pretty much confirmed what he needed.

"Irina and Xenovia said they need to talk to them." Issei explained.

"Maybe they're transferring?" Ikki shrugged, he didn't want Issei getting suspicious.

Issei shook his head. "I don't think so."

"Just saying, man."

"Yeah, yeah."

Ikki paused… then smirked. "Also… wasn't she wearing your headphones?"

That made Issei's eyes widen as he looked down at his neck to see that he was wearing the black pair, which meant Irina still had the white ones.

"Ah, damn it." Issei groaned.

Ikki burst out laughing as Issei sulked the rest of the ride. If anything, Ikki was already processing on getting the childhood friends together before Irina left. If Irina was praying on a way to express her feelings to Issei, Ikki and the rest of the club were likely going to be the answer to those prayers.

Eventually, they got to the front of the school and Issei thanked Ikki for the ride as he rushed to see Sona. Meanwhile, Ikki went to the back entrance where he usually sees the others. As he had to inform them of what he knew as the exorcists that they were looking for were with Issei as they knew had some form of ties to the church.

Issei raced towards the student council office and to his luck, he found Genshirou about to enter.

"Hey, Saji! Got a second?" Issei called out.

"Uh… sure?" Genshirou was confused by Issei calling out to him.

"Is Kaichou available?" Issei asked and then explained. "I need to speak with her and see if her schedule is open."

"For what?" Genshirou got a little defensive.

"Well, I have some guests that wanted to speak with her, so I am hoping that she could talk with them at lunch."

Genshirou raised an eyebrow. "Guests…?"

"Yeah, two girls, they're here for something about their church."

Genshirou's eyes widened. "Give me a moment." He rushed inside the student council room.

"Uh… okay?" Issei was surprised at Genshirou's speed of entering the office.

In the office, Genshirou rushed straight to Sona's desk, calling for her to get her attention.

"Kaichou! They're here, the exorcists! They want to speak with you!"

"Right now?" Sona's eyes widened.

"No, but they want to speak with you at lunch, at least that is what Hyoudou says." Genshirou informed her.

The entire council stiffened, when they heard that.

"So he does have ties to the Church." Sona pondered.

"They probably would like permission to roam in the territory without conflict." Tsubaki surmised to her mistress.

Sona nodded. "We were informed about this, but at least we know that they are here and didn't cause any problems upon arrival, send Hyoudou in, so we can see what he says."

"Very well." Genshirou nodded and returned to see Issei still standing there. "Kaichou will see you."

"Thanks." He followed in behind Genshirou.

He felt all the eyes staring at him, but he awkwardly waved at Ayase, since she seemed friendly enough to him and she waved back politely.

"Hyoudou-san." Sona addressed him. "You wanted a meeting with me at lunch?"

"Uh, no, not me personally," Issei pointed at himself. "I have this friend, she and her friend wanted to see you or were meaning to speak with you. They had been with my parents all of yesterday, when they arrived."

"Your friend. How close is she to you?"

"She's… like a family friend." He answered, but then clarified. "Actually, she's my childhood friend."

"She?" Genshirou looked at him quizzically, since he had remembered Issei saying that his childhood friend was a guy.

"Yeah, it surprised me, too, when we met last night for the first time. I couldn't tell the difference when we were young, she was such a tomboy and when she introduced herself, she did it formally, you know surname first and first name last. I didn't think she would do that, since we were kids, but her parents raised her better than mine did me." Issei laughed nervously, while scratching the back of his head. "So I always thought her name was Shidou."

"So when would they like to meet? I hear that lunch time seems to be the most suitable." Sona said, bringing the topic back on track.

"Yeah," Issei nodded. "Uh, if that is alright with you, I know it would be intruding on your own lunch, but I guess it seemed important, at least that's what scary one made it sound like."

"The… scary one?" Sona questioned, wondering who she may be dealing with from the church.

"I mean she is attractive, not really Japanese," Issei shrugged. "I believe she's European, kind of like Gremory-senpai, Argento-san, and Kiba. But her face is like emotionless, she gives off this blank stare or glares. But she is a beast, I saw this morning, training with a heavy longsword. It gave me some insight on how to use my hips to apply more power to my kicks, when I was training this morning."

"Hyoudou-san…" Sona rubbed her temple, wondering if Issei was reverting back to his perversion. "You're getting a bit off topic."

"Oh, right, sorry," He bowed. "But is it okay with you to meet them during lunch time? I told them that if I got your approval, my kaa-san would drop them off and I would bring them to you."

"I will allow the meeting," She nodded. "Thank you for informing me."

"Alright! Thank you, Kaichou!" He gave a quick bow and pulled out his phone to text his mother and Irina of the news.

"And Hyoudou-san." Sona called again to get his attention.

"Yes?" He turned back to the student council president.

"A pass for your troubles." She informed him as she handed him a note. "You're late for your first period."

"Ah, shi..." Issei corrected himself to not curse in front of Sona. "Er, shoot. Thank you, Kaichou!" He took the hall pass before giving another bow and hurried out of the office.

When he was gone, Sona began to voice her thoughts on the matter.

"It seems that Hyoudou-san is still unaware of the supernatural."

"It appears that way." Tsubaki said.

"Well, we shall see what happens at lunch and after that, we will have them meet with Rias." Sona stood up from her desk as she needed to prepare for this meeting and would need to excuse herself from classes.

Meanwhile, with Issei, he had to face palm himself while he was glad that he brought his jacket. The problem was that it was now entering the summer season, so other guys had ditched their jackets. He didn't have his arm bandaged and people would see the stitches on his forearm and he didn't want that.

He decided that he would head to Elize's office after he dropped off Irina and Xenovia at the student council office. Elize could then bandage up his arm, but he may have to leave his hand exposed, since people have already likely seen the cut on the top of his hand. If he were to bandage it up, he was sure that they would get suspicious.

To his surprise, he had gotten a text from Raichi that she was there for today, so he felt some relief that he had someone to hang out with. He knew that Raichi would know that he was attacked as one of the others would have told her. He also received confirmation from Irina about when they would be there, so he could meet them at the front gate of the school. Feeling some relief, he just let the day carry on, but he felt someone was watching him. He didn't look much into it, but Asia's gaze was on him as she watched him quietly, pondering about his injuries.

With the bell for lunch ringing, Issei stretched as he got up with all of his stuff, something that he had been keeping track of. He didn't want Matsuda nor Motohama messing with it. Well, he only saw Matsuda, since Motohama was still suspended until the end of this week. He headed towards Raichi's classroom and saw her talking with the student council members.

"Uh… I didn't know you guys knew each other." Issei said as he walked up to them.

"What's up, bestie!" Raichi greeted. "Of course, I had to talk with them, remember I've been gone for a bit."

"That's right," Genshirou nodded at Raichi's answer. "So she was explaining to us of her absences."

"Uh, okay, sure, at least I can see that you're here." Issei accepted the explanation and wasn't going to push it any further.

"Well, duh, I had to see my bestie," Raichi gave Issei a light punch to his left shoulder and teased. "Who seems to have missed me."

"Well… my first best friend came back, so maybe not too much." Issei shrugged.

"Really? Your childhood friend came back, I have to meet them, maybe I can see what he's like, huh?" Her eyes sparkled mischievously.

Issei remembered her teasing about best friends hooking up. "Uh… I'm not sure you swing that way." He blushed as he scratched the back of his head.

Raichi blinked. "Huh?"

While she knew that her targets were female, thanks to Freed. She had yet to learn that 'Shidou' was a female.

"Maybe you should walk with him and he can show you." Genshirou suggested.

"That's right, I need to get Irina and Xenovia, thanks for the reminder!" He hurried off for the front gate.

"Wait up!" Raichi chased after him.

Issei rushed to the front gate and looked around for his family's car, but it wasn't around.

"…Huh? Did I get here too late?" He mumbled to himself.

Raichi arrived beside him, barely out of breath. He scanned the front gate, anxiety creeping in.

"Well, you seem to be in a hurry. What's the hold‑up?" Raichi asked.

"Eh, Raichi?" He was surprised by her presence.

"Yeah, Raichi. You see your bestie after so long and then ditch them right after? Not cool, man." Raichi shook her head.

"Sorry, I ju..." Issei began to speak, but was interrupted by a honk.

HOOONK

As they both turned to see his mother and Kenichi's mother from what they could see from the windshield. They could see that Saori was the one driving as they had taken the Shirahama's car instead.

"Hey, Ise," Miki greeted as she rolled down her window. "You showed up on time, as expected, that job of yours has made you punctual. And who might you be?"

"That's Raichi, remember?" Saori answered.

"Nice to meet you, Hyoudou‑san." Raichi greeted the two mothers. "And nice to see you again, Saori‑san."

"If you're calling her by her first name, then please call me Miki." Miki suggested.

"If that's alright with you, then okay." Raichi nodded.

"Such a nice girl. I'm glad you've made better friends, Ise." Miki said to her son.

"Actually, I'm his best friend," Raichi corrected as she briefly glanced towards the backseat. "We're in the same club and the only ones in the same grade of the club."

There was a scream of "What!?" from the backseat as the door opened up and Irina stepped out. However, she was now dressed in her exorcist outfit and a white robe over it. It made Issei choke up as his eyes roamed her body really quick and he stiffened. He prayed, practically begged that no nosebleed appeared, so he quickly checked to make sure. He gave a silent prayer in thanks for not finding any.

In doing so, he missed the smirks on the mothers' faces as they knew what Issei was doing. Irina simply tilted her head in confusion about his expression and why he checked his nose as nothing was wrong with it.

"Irina… why are you dressed like that?" Issei asked, still looking her over.

"Hmm? This is the outfit provided to us by the church." Irina answered.

"That's right." Xenovia stepped out from the other side of the vehicle also in her exorcist uniform.

She was wearing the same black tight outfit, but Issei noticed that there were differences between the outfits. Xenovia's outfit seemed to show off more of her thighs, which was understandable as Issei felt it was her better feature. Meanwhile, Irina's outfit did not have sleeves, but it did cover more of her thighs.

"The church gave you those outfits?" Issei raised an eyebrow.

"Yes." Xenovia nodded.

"And they call me the pervert." He deadpanned.

"Well, girls, we'll leave you in Ise's care. You have my number if you need us." Miki informed the girls.

"Of course, obasan. Thank you." Irina said as she closed the door that was on her side.

"Let us know if you need anything." Saori called out to them.

"We will. You have our gratitude." Xenovia gave them a bow.

"See you later." Miki and Saori waved goodbye as Saori drove the car away and from what Issei could see, they were likely heading to the mall.

The teenagers waved goodbye, but Raichi knew that these were her targets and who she had been looking for. However, she didn't want to blow her cover of knowing about the supernatural, so she chose to tease Issei instead and catch the two exorcists off guard.

"Come on, Ise. You gonna introduce me to the hotties?" She elbowed him in the ribs.

"Uh, this is my childhood friend, Shidou Irina… and her friend, Xenovia." Issei answered.

"Oh? This is the childhood friend? Wow." Raichi looked over at Irina.

"And you're his… best friend." Irina responded as she looked over Raichi, assessing her.

"Yep! But looks like you're right, Ise. I don't swing that way." Raichi shrugged.

"Huh?" Irina looked over at Issei for clarification.

"Because I thought you were a guy, Raichi, here, thought you were a guy and she joked about what it would be like if my guy best friend, ie, who I thought was you and she, the girl best friend, would hook up and start dating." Issei explained to her.

"Oh." Irina nodded, but also sighed.

"Can we get moving?" Xenovia asked.

'Business as usual, kind of wish that I had her in my corner. She definitely would have kept me in line on my perversion.' Issei sighed. "Right. Follow me. At least there shouldn't be any students around to see you like… that."

"What's wrong with it? You didn't seem to mind looking at Irina." Xenovia questioned.

"I, er... well..." He blushed, along with Irina, but she secretly smiled and Raichi snickered at his embarrassment.

"Lead the way, Ise‑kun." Irina assured him.

"R‑Right, sure. This way." He began to direct towards the student council office.

While they were walking, Irina trailed back to Raichi's pace as Xenovia followed behind Issei.

"So… you two aren't dating?" Irina whispered.

"Nope. Sorry to disappoint you." Raichi whispered back.

"Oh, no, I'm not disappointed, I just..."

"Maybe you can check out the town after school." Raichi suggested.

She already had a feeling that Irina was jealous of her from the moment she had screamed "What!?" and could tell that Irina had a crush on Issei. Of course, Raichi knew that Irina shouldn't tip toe around Issei because of his inferiority complex and density. She would need to be direct and maybe that could give Issei a confidence booster.

"Good idea." Irina nodded. "Also… I see you wear your hair in twin tails."

"And you don't?" Raichi looked at the girl as her hair was down, not in her usual twin tails.

"Well…" Irina began to explain.

"Ah. I get it." Raichi smiled knowingly. "So what ethnicity is your friend?"

"Oh, she's Italian." Irina answered.

"Hmm. Like Asia Argento." Raichi said as she watched both exorcists, gauging their reactions to the name.

"Er, what about you?" Irina asked.

"Chinese." Raichi answered. "Both Ise and I train in different styles of Chinese martial arts."

"Ah, I remember seeing you in the tournament replay obasan showed us." Irina remembered the pink hair combatant.

Of course, having pink hair wasn't exactly common, so it was easy to not forget her.

"I remember as well, your style of fighting was similar, yet different, but you were much more fluid in your movements than he was." Xenovia entered the conversation as she stared at the back of Issei's head.

"Are you just gonna diss me because of this morning?" Issei frowned, feeling that her comment was a jab at him. "I said I was sorry."

"What happened this morning?" Irina looked between her partner and her childhood friend.

"He saw my breasts." Xenovia answered nonchalantly.

"What!?" Irina exclaimed.

"It was an accident, I was rushing to go shower, and she just came out of the bathroom, I barely stopped myself from fully colliding into her. I didn't mean to see her breasts, but when we collided, it was enough to loosen her towel, causing it to drop a bit. It was never supposed to happen" Issei began to explain to Irina.

Raichi covered her mouth, trying not to burst out laughing. From her point of view, it looked like Issei had been caught cheating on his girlfriend and needed to explain how it was a misunderstanding and accident and that he had no intention of cheating on her.

"Anyway, we're here." Issei said after he finished his explanation and knocked on the student council door.

Irina saw his expression, it was solemn and honest, true to his namesake. She also knew that Issei would never lie to her either.

She sighed. "I believe you." She also rubbed his shoulder for further assurance.

The door to the student council opened and Genshirou appeared to greet them.

"Oh, good, you're here, kaichou has been expecting you and what the…?" He stared at their outfits and looked at Issei, wondering if this was some perverted joke.

"Yeah, I know, it surprised me, too." Issei sighed. "Can you make sure they get out without anyone else seeing them like that?"

He was a little worried about how other students would perceive the two exorcists based on their outfits.

"Uh… yeah. I'll let the girls know." Genshirou nodded.

"Thanks." Issei respectfully gave the Sitri pawn a bow.

"Thank you, Issei." Xenovia placed a hand on his shoulder. "Come, Irina."

"Okay." Irina nodded.

"I'll see you after school." Issei called out to them.

And with that, he stepped back, letting the exorcists enter the lion's den.

"Okay..." Irina began to say, until she watched Issei turn to leave and puffed her cheeks. "Aren't you forgetting something, Ise‑kun?"

"Huh?" Issei tilted his head.

"Did you already forget what I said this morning?" Irina sighed.

Issei blinked. Her voice echoed in his head: "We're seeing each other off, so as friends, we should hug each other to say goodbye."

"Oh… that." Issei blushed. "Do we have to do that here?"

"We're seeing each other off." She opened her arms.

Issei sighed in defeat and stepped into the hug. Genshirou realized that she had to be the childhood friend of Issei. At first, he was jealous, but it was only for a split second because he remembered that he had Momo, who was more exotic to him with her white hair.

"Much better," she mumbled softly.

"What?" Issei asked.

"Nothing. So... after school." Irina affirmed.

"After school. I'll take you to the spot." He confirmed to her as he released her from the hug.

"Alright! And enjoy the bento!" Irina called to her childhood friend.

"I will. See you later." He waved.

She waved back and followed Xenovia into the student council, while Genshirou gave Issei a thumbs up, which confused him. He shook his head and began heading to Elize's office.

Of course, the interaction between the childhood friends wasn't lost on Raichi, who followed Issei to the nurse's office.

"Sooo… what was that about?" She wiggled her eyebrows like a gremlin.

"Nothing. Just friends saying goodbye." Issei answered.

"Oh? And what was that about a bento?" She egged on.

"She made a bento for me." He answered again like it was the most common thing.

"Aww, that's so sweet. You should take her out sometime." Raichi tried to coax her friend to make a move and bolster his confidence about himself.

"She's busy with her church thing, I don't want to get in the way of that." Issei shook his head.

"But would you like to?" Raichi asked.

"Do what?" Issei looked at her in confusion.

"Take her out!" Raichi exasperated. "If you need dating advice, the Walkyries of the Shinpaku Alliance can help you out."

"I'm not getting involved with that."

"Oh, but you will. Haruo can be quite convincing." Raichi said as she began her little skip.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"In time, you'll see. So... the nurse's office?" Raichi skipped ahead.

"Yeah. How'd you..."

"Your hand isn't bandaged." Raichi stopped skipping and pointed at his hand. "So I can deduce that your arm isn't and unlike most of the guys, you haven't ditched your jacket. Deduction, my dear Watson."

"No argument here." Issei grumbled at how observant she was.

She laughed as they reached Elize's office and Issei knocked.

"Seriously, kiddo!" Elize's voice called from inside, which made Issei deadpan as he walked in. "I tell you all the time, you can just waltz right in!"

"And walk in on you two doing something inappropriate? No thanks." Issei pointed at the two women.

"And what would you deem inappropriate, Ise?" Yu-Mi questioned him.

"Well, I mean…" Issei blushed as he began to explain. "I would be intruding on your private time with each other."

"Don't you do that enough when you eat lunch with us?" Elize chuckled. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.

He sighed. "I guess you're right about that."

"Hi! I'm Raichi. His second best friend." Raichi introduced herself.

"Second? You're demoting yourself?" Issei crossed his arms.

"I told you that when your childhood friend came back, I would drop in the standings, since they came first." Raichi reminded him.

"Shidou came back?" Yu-Mi asked, surprised that they weren't informed of his childhood friend returning.

"Her name isn't exactly Shidou. That's her surname."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, her? Did I hear that right? Your childhood friend was a girl?" Elize began to laugh hysterically. "Hahahaha! Oh, man, she fooled me too!"

"I'll say," Yu-Mi nodded in agreement. "When you showed us the picture of you two, I assumed that she would grow up to look similar to Kiba-san, since she did look like a feminine boy."

"Well, he does call Kiba 'pretty boy.' I can see why now. You have to bring her around sometime for us to meet her." Elize told him.

"She's currently meeting with the student council about something." Raichi said dismissively, missing when the two women's eyes slightly narrowed.

"It's for her church, but could you bandage my arm, Elize-nee? I forgot to handle it this morning, you can leave the hand open. I don't want people to get suspicious and know the full extent of my injuries." Issei asked for her assistance.

"Yeah, sure, no problem, kiddo. You know the drill." Elize snapped her fingers as Issei sat on one of the beds and removed his jacket.

"So what's she like? Your friend, I mean." Yu-Mi asked, interested in who had first befriended Issei.

"She's a looker and pretty upbeat." Raichi answered in his stead.

"Raichi…" Issei groaned as he held his arm out for Elize to bandage it.

While he was glaring at Raichi, he didn't notice Elize was looking at the stitches. Elize frowned at the work, it could be better and luckily, his training didn't do anything to botch them.

"Hey, it's the truth." Raichi shrugged, before turning back to Yu-Mi. "I even told him to take her out before she goes."

"That sounds like a nice idea." Yu-Mi nodded, she felt like it could boost Issei's morale.

"She even made him a bento." Raichi added on.

"Ho ho~" Elize looked at him with a gleam in her eye. "Sounds like you've got a wife in training."

Raichi and Yu‑Mi burst into laughter.

"If you'd like, we can take you ring shopping, from what we're told, she's quite attractive and an upbeat person." Yu-Mi offered as she teased the boy.

"Not to mention she knows of your perversion." Elize said, which made Yu-Mi remember something that she had talked about with Issei.

"By the way, did you ask her why she left?" Yu-Mi asked, not in a teasing manner.

Issei exhaled. "Hmm, she said that if it was up to her, she would have stayed and tried to help me because that's what friends do. I also received a letter from her dad, my ojisan. He said that he wished to have been here as well but couldn't because of his incompetence. I guess the Church wasn't doing so well here, so it forced them to relocate."

Yu-Mi sighed. "That's a relief, at least you got some closure about it."

"Yeah…" Issei nodded, remembering the letter again.

"And done." Elize announced, upon finishing wrapping up Issei's arm.

"Thanks, Elize‑nee."

"Now let's see what she made you!" Raichi said, interested in what said childhood friend prepared.

"That's right, what did Issei's new wife make for him?" Elize smirked.

"She's not my wife, not my girlfriend, she's just a friend, my childhood friend." Issei tried to reason with his two surrogate sisters.

Yu-Mi tapped her chin. "You know I bet if we ask her, she could give embarrassing stories about you. Things that you two probably keep a secret from your parents."

A shiver ran down Issei's spine and at that exact moment, in the student council office, Irina sneezed.

"Are you alright?" Xenovia looked over at her partner.

"Yes, sorry." Irina apologized, which Sona accepted.

Sona folded her hands. "We will stay out of your way, but I implore you that you should come back and speak with Rias Gremory about your mission."

"I hope she is as considerate as you are, after all, you are both sisters of a Maou." Xenovia responded.

"Perhaps, but she is more prideful than I, so I would watch your tone with how you speak with her." Sona warned, she could see that Xenovia was trying to provoke them, but she wasn't going to take the bait.

"As long as there is no issue." Xenovia nodded, pleased with Sona's etiquette.

"However, there is some information that I would like to speak about in the meeting." Sona informed them.

"Such as?" Irina questioned.

"One of my own is undercover with the enemy, we wanted to know how the Church was involved, but since you have confirmed our suspicions. I will be aiming to pull them out." Sona told them as she didn't want Yuuma getting caught in the crossfire with the exorcists.

"It's good to know that you are not working with the enemy, but forgive me if I cannot trust your word." Xenovia said.

"I understand." Sona was figuring out how she could contact Yuuma and pull her out.

"This concludes our meeting, we shall return to speak with the other devil." Xenovia informed her as she didn't think that had enough time to meet with Rias now.

"Out of respect to your host, please allow one of my own to escort you without being seen." Sona offered.

"You mean Ise‑kun?" Irina asked.

"Yes. He made it clear he didn't want others seeing you…" Sona eyed their outfits under their robes. "Like that."

Irina narrowed her eyes. "Do you have other reasons for that?" She felt that they had ulterior motives for her childhood friend.

"No." Sona responded.

A lie delivered with perfect composure. She wanted Issei in her peerage, and her members were already warming to the idea.

"I hope so." Irina said.

"Let's go, Irina." Xenovia stood up from her seat.

"Momo, please escort them." Sona gestured to her bishop.

"Hai, Kaichou!" Momo stepped forward.

"You better inform him that we are leaving, Irina." Xenovia told her partner.

"Oh, right." Irina nodded.

She quickly typed a message to Issei as she followed Xenovia and Momo out of the student council office.

Back in Elize's office, the three females who had gotten their lunch from Issei, which was his traditional honey chipotle steak bowl. They wanted to see what Issei had gotten from his childhood friend. Of course, the lunch was helped by his mother as well.

"Well? Open it up." Raichi popped a piece of steak into her mouth, gesturing dramatically to the black and red box in front of him.

"It's even in your favorite colors." Yu-Mi pointed out.

"She even got a cheesecake for me…" Issei said, remembering how Irina went out of her way to get his favorite dessert, when it should have been him doing that.

"These hits just keep coming." Elize clapped her hands, laughing.

Issei simply grumbled as he opened up the bento box and he didn't like the stares that he was getting as he looked at his lunch. From what he could see, there was fried shrimp, sushi, extra pieces of crab, some rice with beef, and some salad. Issei could tell that his mother had definitely helped Irina make this bento for him but Irina's touch was unmistakable.

"Oh yeah, we're taking you ring shopping." Elize said in a serious tone with no teasing.

"Definitely." Yu-Mi nodded in agreement.

They wished that they had met the two when they were children because they would have ensured that Issei realized that someone had a crush on him. Of course, if he had met the other two, he would have bragged to them. However, if he had their guidance, he wouldn't have even met Matsuda or Motohama nor be as egotistical either.

"She'll be off back to England and find some English dude, when she's done here, so don't get your hopes up." Issei responded dismissively, but to the three females, they knew the interest was there.

"So? That means you've got time, right?" Raichi said as she began plotting ways to somehow get the childhood friends together.

She could already tell that Irina was the type of girl that Issei needed for his self-esteem.

"I'm not focused on that." He took a piece of sushi.

"Then what are you focused on?" Elize asked, but she knew the answer from the look in his eyes as he stared out the window.

"Getting back my loss." He answered.

"Don't tell me that you're going to go after the guy that did that to you?" Yu-Mi questioned, pointing at his bandaged right arm.

"No. I feel like I'll just encounter him and this time, I'll be ready." His phone buzzed and saw that it was a text from Irina. "Irina says she's leaving now."

"Bring her here." Elize wanted to meet the girl before she left.

"No. Let her do her thing." Issei denied her request.

He continued eating and he could tell the sushi and fried shrimp were from his mother, but he knew that Irina helped out. It was good and he got lost in his own world, completely forgetting about the others in the room. He just kept eating and he felt satisfied, when he opened his eyes, he received smirks.

"What?" He asked, seeing their faces.

"You really enjoyed that lunch." Raichi pointed out, emphasizing on how much he liked the lunch.

"Oh, you better tell her how that lunch made you feel." Elize smirked.

"What do you mean?" He slightly blushed.

Elize leaned forward, mimicking him. "Mmm, so good… I can just taste the love you put into this bento… nom nom…"

Issei's face ignited, while Raichi nearly fell off her chair laughing.

"Be nice. This is new to him." Yu-Mi scolded them, patting Issei on the shoulder.

"What's new?" Issei asked, wondering what she was implying.

"A girl liking you." Yu-Mi said as she stared at him.

"She doesn't like me like that." Issei denied. "We're just friends, childhood friends and friends help each other."

"Whatever you say." Elize sighed.

She already knew that Issei's insecurities were clouding his judgment and funny enough, he was being a little hypocritical. If only she was aware of what he had told Genshirou regarding Momo.

"Anyway, you two better head back, lunch is nearly over." Yu-Mi told the two students, changing the subject.

"Right." Issei nodded. "Thanks for the chat."

"And thank you for the prospect of us knowing that you might not be alone for long." Yu-Mi told him.

"Uh-huh" Issei waved his hand. "A year and a half."

"Whatever you say." She chuckled.

"Elize‑nee is becoming a bad influence on you." He hugged Yu‑Mi after he cleaned up his bento. "You're now saying the same thing."

"Hey, you'll understand it someday." Elize interjected.

"Yeah, sure. Anyways, thanks for the fix up." Issei gave her a small bow.

"Don't I get a hug?" She asked.

"No." Issei shook his head. "You teased me too much today."

"So did Yu‑Mi!" Elize pouted.

"Not as much as you." He countered.

"Tsk. Shut up." She pulled him into a hug anyway and ruffled his hair. "Be good."

"I will." He escaped her grasp. "See you later."

"Bye!" Raichi said and she gave the two women a wave.

The two teens left the office.

When they were sure that they were out of earshot, Elize made her thoughts known.

"I want to meet this girl." She said, direct and to the point.

"That makes two of us, but it'll be on Ise's time," Yu-Mi reminded her partner, so she didn't rush the boy. "I'll see you at home" She kissed Elize's cheek and left the office to handle her own classes.

"Will do." Elize nodded, while she began plotting scenarios in her head to get Issei over his hump.

Meanwhile, Issei grimaced as Raichi teased him about his bento that was given to him and his possible romance. However, Issei was able to shrug it off and was a little thankful that his classroom was before hers. He gave his goodbyes and went to sit in his seat, until something hit him in the head.

THWACK

"Ow!" He looked to see that it was an eraser that hit him in the head.

When he turned to see who possibly threw it at him, he saw Matsuda smirking at him and he frowned with a sigh.

It was annoying that Matsuda couldn't see that he was trying to move on with his life. However, it seemed that he was going to be bullied, since the two could not peep anymore. With peeping off the table, Matsuda needed a new outlet for his frustration. And who better than the "Perverted Beast" no one cared about? Issei also bet that Matsuda and Motohama would use the beatings as a means to elevate themselves in social standing. After all, they were already spreading false rumors about him to continue to bring him down.

He was thankful that his sensei entered the classroom, so Matsuda could not continue to bug him without the risk of detention or worse. At least he knew that the second half of classes would fly by, so he looked out the window. He still checked his peripherals and noted the regular glares, usually from the girls, especially from Murayama and Katase. He saw a smirk from the resident female pervert, Aika Kiryuu, and a look of concern from Asia, which he didn't understand.

When that bell for classes rang, he packed his stuff and began heading to the dojo. He was sure that he would run into Raichi on the way or she would catch up to him. As he was walking, he saw that he had received another message from Irina.

Irina: We're heading back to your school. We have a meeting with Rias Gremory and her club.

Issei: Alright. Be safe. I usually get an uneasy feeling around them. Same with the student council. But the council isn't as bad, I think.

Irina: Maybe you're the one that should stay safe.

Issei: I'm not the one with a rogue priest.

Irina: We can handle him.

Issei: I hope so. Anyways, I have my own club to attend to, maybe your meeting will be done when I finish club activities or if you're still around, I can show you where the attack took place.

Irina: Sounds like a plan!

With that last text message, he put his phone away, only to get poked in the shoulder. It snapped him out of his thoughts as he flinched. He turned in the direction of where he felt the poke to see that Raichi had caught up with him and was walking by his side with a smug grin.

"Welcome back to reality, you seemed so engrossed with your phone."

"Sorry. I was making plans with Irina." Issei told her.

"Ooh. A date, perhaps?" Raichi wiggled her eyebrows.

"No." Issei shook his head. "She has a meeting with Gremory‑senpai and her club. Don't know why. Didn't really feel the need to ask."

"Mhm. Sure." Raichi rolled her eyes.

Before Issei could defend himself, Ikki called out to them.

"Hey, our kohai have arrived."

When Issei looked at all of them, most of them had matching smirks on their faces, the exceptions being Renka, Kenichi, and Miu, who looked more amused than predatory.

"Hey, you two. We missed you at lunch." Kenichi greeted them.

"I hung out with Ise in Elize‑sensei's office. Got a couple of surprises along the way." Raichi answered as she shot Issei with a mischievous side‑eye.

"Oh ho ho. He told you about them?" Ikki asked her.

"Even better, I saw them. His mom and your mom dropped them off, Kenichi." Raichi said, while giving him a subtle nod.

"Really? Well, I shouldn't be surprised. Our moms have gotten close. Them and someone named Mizuki." Kenichi said, picking up on what Raichi implied.

"That would be my obasan…" Issei slumped.

"Your aunt?" Kenichi raised an eyebrow.

"That's how close our families were, mine and Irina's," Issei sighed. "And I guess now yours, too."

"It sounds like you're becoming an extended family." Miu smiled.

Issei shrugged. "I guess."

"So which one do you want?" Ukita smirked.

"Huh?" Issei blinked.

"You want the cheery brunette or the scary bluenette?" Ikki smirked until he, Ukita, and Mizunuma snickered.

"Which scary bluenette?" Issei frowned.

"Huh? What do you..." Ikki began to question his junior, until he saw Issei give a nod behind his shoulder.

"Ahem." Renka cleared her throat as she was glaring at the boxer.

Ikki froze. "Eeh, uh... Renka. Forgot you were there."

"Uh‑huh." She deadpanned.

"Oh? So Renka's a factor too, eh?" Kisara joined in on the teasing.

"Well, he did say scary bluenette. And right now Renka fits the bill." Mizunuma pointed out before ducking behind Ukita as Renka's glare snapped toward him.

"If I had to choose, it'd be the one that I'm sure is least likely to kill me." Issei answered.

"So the cheery brunette." Ikki gave him a thumbs up.

"I didn't say that."

"The scary bluenette?" Ikki blinked.

"If I had to choose between the scary bluenettes, then it's Renka-senpai," Issei said, nodding over at said senior. "She's less likely to kill me, but at the same time, I never really sat down with Xenovia and talked to her."

"Looks like we got a name." Mizunuma said, as Kenichi nodded.

"And his childhood friend's name is Irina Shidou, who was formally trying to introduce herself, hence why Ise here thought her name was Shidou." Raichi told them.

"And that she was a guy." Ukita noted.

"Honestly, from that picture on his desk, it'd be hard to tell. We'd need to hear how she sounded back then." Kisara said in Issei's defense.

"Makes sense." Mizunuma nodded in agreement.

"Guess we can't rib him too much for that." Ikki also agreed.

Kenichi sighed. "Well, come on, it's going to be a lax day today."

"What!? But..." Issei prepared to protest.

"It's for your own good, Ise. Trust me." Kenichi stopped his complaints on the spot.

Miu smiled knowingly as she remembered her grandfather had taken Kenichi on that trip to keep him from thinking of martial arts.

"But, but..." Issei still wanted to make his case.

"Trust me. Besides, Shigure has something for you." Kenichi told him, hoping that would distract him from possibly training, but he was wrong.

"Renka‑senpai!" Issei rushed to her, dropped to his knees and hugged her waist. "Please train with me!"

"Oh, my dear kohai…" She stroked his hair. "Don't worry. We'll find something for you to do."

Issei looked up hopefully. "Really?"

"Really." Her smile was gentle but something about it made Issei's spine tingle.

"Uh… maybe I should train with Raichi." Issei released her and began backing away.

"Oh no, no, no." Renka grabbed his ear to keep him close to her. "But don't worry... you'll get to use those hands of yours."

Issei pondered about what she was implying and then groaned as he realized what she meant.

"Oh no." He groaned.

"Oh yes." Renka nodded, knowing that he figured it out. "And I’ve been in need of one for a while. Now come on, let's see what Shigure‑sensei has for you."

She dragged him by the ear as the others laughed.

"You know…" Ikki said as he rolled his shoulders. "I could use one too. My shoulders are stiff. How about you, Ukita?"

"Same." Ukita stretched his muscles. "I'm with you there."

"Then my otouto‑kun can show you how to massage my legs. Unless you want him to do it." Kisara teased.

"He can practice on Mizunuma." Ukita chuckled.

"I don't mind. My legs are sore." Mizunuma rubbed his legs.

"What a wonderful little brother we have." Ikki laughed. "Too bad Chiaki and Hibiki can't get in on this."

"Well, we have the beach trip coming up." Raichi pointed out.

"Ah, what a wonderful little sister reminding us of what we can do with our little brother." Ikki said, patting Raichi on the back.

Issei stared at Raichi in horror. 'You're supposed to be my best friend, no wait, she's the second best friend now. Irina wouldn't subjugate me to becoming everyone's personal masseuse… right? Probably one of the few times that I wish she was here, she could help distract them and maybe protect me, but then again, I'll have to keep her from speaking embarrassing stories about me, it's bad enough that kaa-san does it, but since Shidou is Irina, there are things that she knows.'

As walking into the school's front entrance, Irina sneezed for the second time that day.

"Bless you. Are you alright?" Xenovia asked again, wondering if her partner was coming down with a cold.

"Yeah. I'm sure of it." Irina's voice was a little nasally as she rubbed her nose.

"Are you sure? If you're feeling sick, you could…" Xenovia was about to suggest that she contact Miki to go back to the Hyoudou residence.

She was confident that she could handle the meeting with the devils and ensure that they don't get in their way.

"I'm fine, Xenovia, trust me." Irina reassured her.

"Alright," Xenovia nodded. "But you are getting a bit distracted, Irina."

"How so?" Irina looked at her confused.

"Your thoughts are on your lover." Xenovia answered, while looking straight ahead.

'Is that why I'm sneezing? Is Ise-kun thinking of me?' Irina blushed, but shook her head and retorted. "He's not my lover! He might as well be yours. After all, he saw you naked."

"Only my breasts." Xenovia responded, unphased. "And if you think that, is there something I should know besides his perversion?"

"He doesn't seem to have that, at least not as much. If he did, I could have wooed him by now, but he is into romance, don't tell him that I told you that." Irina pondered.

"Huh?" Xenovia wondered what she was getting at.

"Didn't you hear what obasan was saying?" Irina looked at Xenovia before sighing. "Well, I always knew that he was into romance. We also watched some romance films, you know chick flicks when we were young. Apparently, he still does it as a means to learn how to woo a girl in."

"I don't see how he needs to court anyone, when he has you," Xenovia shook her head in annoyance. "But I fear you are also falling into this so-called romance trope. If you keep losing focus, you will get killed on this mission and you can never be with him, besides he doesn't know about our world, are you sure that you want him to know about that?"

"At some point, yes," Irina nodded. "I mean there would be no secrets between us, it has worked for my parents."

"Do you think that he would be okay with you running off to slay renegade devils and other supernatural beings?" Xenovia questioned.

"I… well…" Irina stuttered.

"You're in two different worlds." Xenovia said.

"At least let me try." Irina pleaded.

"Perhaps you can do it after the mission." Xenovia sighed as they stepped into the ORC building and both immediately sensed the demonic aura. "For now, we have a job to do."

"Right." Irina nodded. 'Thank you, Xenovia.'

She steadied her breathing, bracing herself as she and Xenovia followed the demonic presence deeper into the building.

Back in the dojo, the MMA club gathered around and relaxed, but Issei kneeled in front of Shigure. She also mirrored his posture by kneeling in front of him, but Issei noticed something about her face. She seemed to be tired, her eyes were slightly dull, faint shadows beneath them. At least he thought so as he could see some bags under her eyes. His concern for his big sister made him forget about the slight pain in his ear from Renka's pulling.

"Uh… Shigure‑nee? They said you had something for me?" Issei asked with concern in his tone.

"Hmm?" Her eyes opened a fraction.

"Kenichi‑senpai said you were working on something for me." Issei repeated.

"That's right. Remember, Shigure? The thing you were working on?" Kenichi said, hoping to jog her memory.

"Working…" Shigure said to herself.

She rose silently and drifted toward the storage unit, muttering under her breath.

Tōchūmaru was squeaking on her head as she rummaged for something, Issei quickly averted his gaze from her shapely backside and swaying kunoichi hips. So he turned to look at Renka, who seemed to be taking a cat nap, curled like an actual feline. It made him wonder if she still acted like catlike just to distract Miu or if she was just natural like that. He didn't get to really focus much on it as someone was tapping his shoulder.

Tap.

"Ye—AH! Shigure‑nee!" Issei exclaimed as she had found what she was looking for and due to her kunoichi training, she had appeared behind him without a sound.

"It's been… a while… since I made… something like this."

"What are you talking about?" He asked, looking at the cloth-wrapped bundle that she was holding.

She knelt before him again, placing a cloth‑wrapped bundle between them. "These are… for you. I hope… you like them. From master… to student."

"Arigatou." He bowed deeply, accepting the bundle. '…This feels familiar.'

"Are you… not going to… open it?" Shigure asked, slightly disappointed that she may not get to see his reaction.

"Huh?" Looking up from the bundle that was in his hands.

"You were kind of staring off into space, dude." Raichi told him. "You've been doing that for several minutes."

"Are you feeling okay?" Miu asked.

"Yeah." Issei nodded. "Just… reminded me of when Mitsurugi‑shishou gave me my first bokken. That's all."

"Well, show us what new toys you got?" Ikki urged.

"Right." Issei unwrapped the cloth, he was surprised to find two new bokken laying inside, one was colored black like his former one and the other maintained its natural wooden color. "Whoa…"

He looked up at Shigure, her expression was unreadable as always. Thus he couldn't tell what emotion she was trying to portray.

"Ever since you got attacked, Shigure's been making replacement bokken for you. She hasn't slept since." Kenichi told him.

"What!?" Issei looked at his senior before he turned to Shigure. "Is that true, nee‑san?"

"Yes." She nodded.

He looked back at the bokken and then back at her, he set them down to the side and then went over to hug her.

"You didn't have to do that… but thank you. For looking out for me."

"It's what… big sisters… are supposed… to do. Right?" Shigure tilted her head.

She believed that this was her role, keeping him in check and making sure that he grows properly while learning from his mistakes. It was her duty to have him course corrected, preventing him from straying back to the path of debauchery. She would help him be prepared for what's to come in life.

"Damn straight!" Kisara told her.

"Not just sisters. Brothers too. Like how you protected Honoka from Apachai." Kenichi smirked, knowing that Issei had met his muay thai master and likely got some training in without his say so.

"I didn't know he was your master at the time. I just… didn't want her hurt." Issei looked away.

"Well, I hear you asked him to train you." Kenichi narrowed his eyes, getting to the point that Issei didn't listen to him.

"Yeah. But... huh? What is it, Tōchūmaru?" The mouse tugged at his pant leg, pointing at Shigure.

Issei turned his head to see that Shigure had fallen asleep, still sitting upright, leaning slightly toward him because he had been hugging her.

"Wow… going days without sleep finally caught up to her." Issei looked on with concern, since no one had ever gone out of their way as much as she had.

"Here, let me help you with her." Kenichi said as he gently untangled Shigure from Issei and laid her on a mat.

Unknown to them was that Shigure was content with how Issei had perceived her gift. Thus, she felt that she could rest peacefully, knowing that he liked the bokken that she had made for him.

"Guess we're not training today." Issei sighed. "And honestly… I wouldn't want to. Not after knowing she stayed up making these for me."

"She also made you this harness." Miu said, handing him the harness. "So you don't have to tie the bokken with rope anymore."

"She really went all out…" Issei said as he placed the bokken in the harness.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that. She was going to go further." Raichi said.

"Yeah, she was actually plotting to make you an actual sword, so you can go after the guy that attacked you, but the masters talked her out of it." Kenichi sighed.

"Then she got reprimanded for interfering in your fight." Kisara said with a frown.

"Because masters shouldn't get in their students' fights," Issei said, understanding why Shigure got reprimanded. "But she didn't jump in as my master, she jumped in as my sister. I'm still here because my big sister saved me, not my master. But I understand, it's why I seeked your Muay Thai master. There's something that I noticed in my fights."

"He's becoming a student of the game." Kisara looked on with glee.

"What did you notice?" Renka asked as she cracked one eye open.

"I had moments where I could have used my elbows and knees," Issei explained. "Especially against Taichi and Makoto. Shigure-nee has told me that a weapon is an extension of one's self and to master it, I need to master my body. I can't do that if I'm not utilizing all of my body in my offense."

"That's true." Kenichi nodded, satisfied that Issei was understanding the flaws in his style.

"And it'll help for the next tournament." Issei smiled.

"Yeah, about that…" Kenichi scratched the back of his head.

"The next tournament is for third‑years only. We won't be around." Raichi informed him.

"What?" Issei looked at her and then his senpai. "Why?"

"Because that is when the second‑year students go to Kyoto." Ikki told him.

"But there are some fights that will go down during break, however, they're not your usual stuff." Kenichi said with a frown, remembering when he had been taken to underground fights and who he had met in the process.

He slightly shivered because he knew that he would likely be seeing her again during their break.

"Like what?" Issei asked, curious about possibly using it to gain more experience.

"More for delinquents." Ukita answered.

"Ah, so they may play by no rules and may have weapons on them." Issei caught on, seeing that they would be fighting like Taichi and could be more dangerous.

"Exactly." Mizunuma nodded.

"Have you fought in the underground, senpai?" Issei looked at his seniors.

"Yeah." Kisara crossed her arms. "Most of us have."

"Should've expected that." Issei noted, remembering that most of them used to be delinquents themselves and part of a gang.

"Hang on, why didn't you include Raichi? You only asked your seniors." Miu realized, seeing that Raichi was excluded from the questioning.

"Because she told me that she was an assassin and I believe her. Pretty sure, she would have done something with underground fighting." Issei answered, revealing that he knew her secret as Raichi merely smiled.

"That doesn't scare you?" Miu raised an eyebrow, curious about what else he may know.

"Yeah. I mean she could kill you." Ikki pointed out.

"You're not going to judge her for her actions?" Ukita asked.

"They're right, you know, anyone would be freaking out, knowing that they are in the presence of an assassin." Mizunuma said.

"So?" Issei shrugged.

Kisara, Ikki, Ukita, and Mizunuma all blinked in confusion. "Eh?"

"I've already been judged before, even by you, Ukita-senpai, so I don't see the need to judge her or anyone else that wanted to be my friend." Issei explained to them.

"That's understandable, I also judged you, too, but you never seemed to judge me back, only apparently, wanting to fight me." Miu sighed.

"And surpass you," Issei added on. "I need to surpass you along with Renka-senpai, Kenichi-senpai, Ikki-senpai, Mizunuma-senpai, Kisara-senp—ah… mmph!"

YANK.

Kisara had pulled his hair while Ikki slapped a hand over his mouth.

"I thought we had an understanding, Ise." Kisara said with a predatory gleam in her eye.

"Yeah." Ikki harshly whispered back at Kisara. "Well, you almost signed your death warrant. Or did you forget who's sleeping over there?" He pointed at Shigure.

"So?" Kisara shrugged.

Her reaction made the others sweatdrop as the expressions were eerily similar to Issei's a few moments ago. If one knew his family, they would say that Issei inherited that from his father. However, when seeing Issei and Kisara together, one would believe that Issei's nonchalant attitude was inherited from her. The same could also be said about Ikki and his own nonchalant attitude, when he is sometimes flirting with other girls.

"Considering Shigure heard Issei scream and rushed to him… if she hears him scream again, she'll assume he's in danger." Kenichi explained to the taekwondo specialist.

"Mmm! Mmm!" Issei spoke through the hand covering his mouth.

"Ikki, you should probably remove your hand." Miu instructed as Ikki stopped covering Issei's mouth.

"Thank you." Issei expressed his gratitude for being able to speak again. "I was going to say that I planned on taking Irina and Xenovia there, after they are done meeting with the ORC, since one of their own was killed there. It's weird, I haven't seen any news reports about the body being found."

The others remained silent as unlike Issei, they knew of the supernatural and that the exorcists were speaking with the devils. They would not reveal themselves to the exorcists either, since the devils of the school did not know about them yet. If they were speaking with the devils, Kenichi's side would not interfere, at least until Kokabiel shows himself. Saiga had a feeling that the exorcists may work with the devils, so to keep their identity a secret, they had to sit out for now.

Saiga informed them that none of the masters would join the battle because he had a feeling that Mitsurugi would get involved. The reason for that is because he was sure that Issei would get involved and now that they know who his childhood friend is. They know that he wouldn't want anything bad to happen to his friends, so if something does happen, they may not be able to stop him. It'd be even worse if Freed was involved because it's one thing for Issei to have his getback, it's another to avenge his friends. While it could be a good trait, it's also a dangerous combination.

"Hmm… maybe Raichi can get a hit on that Freed bastard." Issei thought out loud.

"Oh trust me, I'll be on the lookout for him." Raichi told him, making him realize that he spoke out loud.

He was surprised for a little bit, but calmed himself and answered. "Nice. If you see him, let me know. We'll kick his ass."

"You betcha!" She gave him a thumbs up, she was willing to give Issei that chance to take on Freed, but it would have to wait.

"That's nice and all… but you're forgetting something." Renka said, while tapping her finger against the mat.

"Hmm? What?" Issei turned towards her, doing his best not to let his eyes roam her body.

"Oh yeah! Massage time!" Ikki cheered.

"Finally." Ukita began to take his top half of his robe off.

"I'd say we have about an hour to an hour and a half." Mizunuma said, also removing his shirt.

"You know…" Kenichi pondered. "I don't think I've ever tried one of your massages. But I've followed your tips."

"Not you too, senpai…" Issei dreaded.

"You better hurry up, they're getting anxious, but don't worry, I'll make sure that Shigure isn't disturbed." Miu told him with a pat on the back.

Issei knew that Miu always emitted this "big sister" energy, which would have been reassuring to him, but this wasn't those times. However, she did remind him that he did have a big sister present that could save him, of course, neglecting that she needed rest for the troubles he caused.

"Right! Shigure‑nee can help me..." Issei began to say but was cut off as Ikki grabbed him by the collar.

"Nuh uh, you even said it yourself, she needs her rest. Now sit there, while we figure out who goes first." Ikki essentially ordered him.

Issei groaned as he was plopped onto a cushion like a sacrificial lamb. He gave a pleading look to Raichi, maybe hoping that she would have a change of heart and help him. Instead, she only smiled and gave him a negative shake of her head.

"Traitor…" Issei grumbled.

Now he was wishing that Irina was actually here, she may be his only chance and his eyes gleamed of being saved by his childhood friend. It was like she had said "us against the world", it may have been a childish promise, but she seemed to honor it and hoped that she would now. He reached for his phone, only for Raichi to swipe it out of his hands.

"Sorry, lover boy. No reinforcements." She chuckled.

"This is not what a friend would do." Issei hissed back.

"Oh? You'll thank me later." Her eyes sparkled with mischief.

Despite her attitude, if one had to ask if he preferred Raichi to Matsuda and Motohama, he would take Raichi. Not just because she is a cute girl, but he had more fun with her than he did with those two. There were no talks of porn, which he was finding redundant because it was rinse and repeat, some generic scenario and the two people on screen get it on, sometimes more. He was finding more things to talk about with Raichi than he did with them, considering that she showed him how to dance with MMD videos and someone to talk about anime with.

However, for now, Issei accepted his fate. At least Elize had bandaged his arm and applied creams that helped numb the throbbing of the gash there. The constant reminder of his failure, his loss, it would be seared with him, until he beat Freed.

Meanwhile, in the ORC, the members of Gremory peerage, were gathered in the club room. On a sofa, Rias was sitting, along with Xenovia and Irina, who sat across from them. The other members of the group were sitting in the corner of the room listening to their conversation. Ever since the exorcists came to the club room, they couldn't stop but feel on edge. Their instincts as devils were telling them that the exorcists were dangerous. While Rias and Akeno were talking to the exorcists, Irina sneezed again.

"Bless you." Rias said, but she couldn't help but wonder what could have made her sneeze.

"Again?" Xenovia sighed as she looked at Irina. "Maybe you should..."

"I said I'm fine!" Irina retorted, before pouting.

Rias and Akeno exchanged a look, confused but not concerned.

Among the others, the most dangerous was Yuuto as he was glaring at the exorcist grudgingly. If something were to happen, he looked as if he was about to go slashing at them any moment. They were the believers of God that Yuuto hates. Takeshi was next, but it was more because of what the Church had done to Asia. He felt that it was stupid of them to excommunicate her, all because she healed someone, of course, he did not know the full extent of the story. Asia trembled behind Takeshi, who placed a calming hand on her shoulder.

Then Irina began. "Recently the Holy-swords Excaliburs that were kept by the Catholic Church Headquarter Vatican, Protestant Church, and Eastern Orthodox Church were stolen."

Takeshi's thoughts churned. 'Excalibur was stolen, no surprise there, as the church isn't what it used to be. I know that there were different factions within the Christian religion. But how can Excalibur be stolen from Catholic, Protestant and Eastern Orthodox, if it's just one sword?'

"Excalibur itself no longer exists." Rias spoke.

Takeshi blinked. 'Haha, looks like Rias can read what I am thinking. Wouldn't that show the strength of our bond as a couple. Although I don't even know what she's thinking.'

Rias continued smoothly. "I'm sorry, I should have explained this properly to my servant, but I had other matters to attend to, so can we continue this conversation while explaining about Excalibur?"

Irina nodded. "Excalibur broke in the war a long time ago."

Takeshi's eyes widened. 'Huh? Broke? Guess that explains it being stolen from multiple churches.'

Xenovia stood and unwrapped her weapon. "Now it looks like this." A long sword gleamed beneath the cloth. "This is Excalibur."

The presence of the weapon sent chills to the devils in the room as they looked at it. It felt as if every pore on their bodies opened and felt something really cold running through their bodies. The ones that didn't show much of an outside reaction were Rias, Akeno, and Koneko. Yuuto seemed to darken his glare and grit his teeth. Takeshi was sure that he would lash out soon, while he and Asia felt fear from the weapon. Takeshi was in awe of it as it was his first time being approached by a holy sword, but he did sneer a little because of his own vendetta against weapons. Asia was really scared from a single sword and huddled a little more behind Takeshi.

Takeshi felt cold sweat drip down his back. 'Damn, this is dangerous. Even if I'm the Sekiryuutei, I understand that I'm a devil who would die instantly just from its touch! So this holy-sword is the ultimate weapon to kill devils?'

"Yes and no, but there are other things that can kill you, for example, if you sacrifice a part of your body to me, it would be a dragon's arm, thus certain holy items would be ineffective against that arm, however, there is a sword that is a holy sword, but also has dragon slaying capabilities." Ddraig spoke telepathically to him.

'That would be the ultimate weapon against me, then, right?' Takeshi responded back in his mind.

"Again, yes and no, as there are dragon slaying capabilities that are quite effective to other races, an example of this is Samael's blood." Ddraig informed him.

'That doesn't sound good.' Takeshi frowned.

"No, it's not, but keep listening, that blue haired woman is saying something." Ddraig told him.

Xenovia continued. "Excalibur was broken into pieces during the war a long time ago. The fragments were collected and turned into a new form by alchemy. It was made into 7 swords. This is one of them."

"So then this Excalibur wasn't a real one, but a new one that was made afterwards, correct?" Takeshi asked, making sure that he got the gist of it.

After all, if he had to deal with seven of them, he had to be prepared to face them.

"Not quite, but the Excalibur I hold is Excalibur Destruction. It's one of the 7 holy-swords that were created. The Catholic Church is in control of it." Xenovia answered as she wrapped it again.

Looking carefully, they could see that there were spell symbols on the cloth. It still didn't change the fact that it was dangerous. Irina also took out something that looked like a long rope. That rope started to move as if it were alive. The rope then changed its shape right in front of them and turned into a katana.

"Mine is Excalibur Mimic. I can change its shape into anything I want so it's really useful for carrying around. Each Excalibur has its unique ability. This one is in the possession of the Protestant Church." Irina told them.

Takeshi snorted lightly. 'It's also really dangerous to us devils.'

"Irina, there's no reason to tell these devils the ability of Excalibur, is there? Maybe your cold is affecting your thinking." Xenovia scolded her.

"Mou~ Xenovia," Irina pouted. "I told you that I'm fine and even if they are devils, we still have to form a somewhat trustworthy relationship with them in this situation. Also, even if my sword's ability is revealed, I won't fall behind all the devils here."

Her confidence made Akeno's eyes widen slightly.

'The way she spoke, it reminded me of Issei, when he was defending his friends, why is that?' Akeno thought as she looked waringly at the girl.

Takeshi clenched his fist. 'Tch, she's acting a bit cocky that she absolutely would not lose to us because she has that weapon? I'll beat her down with my fists only but for two of the legendary holy-swords to be here! This shit just got serious.'

"You need to change your stance on weapons. What if the white guy is capable of using weapons or better yet, is a better close-range fighter than you, then what?" Ddraig asked him.

'Have faith in me.'

"I will, when you can adapt, you'll need more than your fists." Ddraig said.

'I also have my magic. Besides we'll see, when… wait a second.' Takeshi began to say to his partner, before he could argue, he felt a murderous aura. 'Damn it, Kiba.'

Lo and behold, it was Yuuto, who was still glaring at the Excaliburs and the two women with a scary face that Takeshi had never seen before.

Takeshi's thoughts raced. 'Of course, Kiba holds a grudge against Excalibur. I hadn't even dreamed that I would witness an Excalibur in a place like this. Kiba probably never thought that he would encounter the Excaliburs here. And now it was right here in front of him. He must have been going crazy. But he needs to calm down and not go jumping at them. Rias is talking professionally with the enemy. If he jumps in now, then it would all be in vain! The worst case would be the start of a battle. There's no way that there would be no casualties against the Excaliburs, but if I can save Rias and Asia here, then it's all good. Plus I got Koneko-chan and Akeno to back me up.' He gave a sideways glance to the white haired rook that looked back and gave him a subtle nod.

Rias spoke again, calm and composed. "So what does the stolen Excaliburs have to do with this country located in the east of the World?" Her tone was polite but sharp enough to cut through the tension.

'That's my girl. As expected from our Onee‑sama in this school. Even with Excalibur in front of her, she doesn't flinch. She's holding her ground.' Takeshi chuckled inwardly, pride swelling.

"The Catholic Church was in possession of two Excaliburs including mine. The Protestant Church also had two. Also in the Eastern Orthodox Church there were two as well. The last one went missing in the previous war between God, devils, and fallen-angels. One Excalibur was stolen from each Church. The ones that stole them escaped to Japan, and brought them to this town." Xenovia explained.

"Looks like my territory is full of incidents. So who are the ones that stole the Excaliburs?" Rias sighed. 'Damn, sometimes I feel that Sona and I got more than we bargained for.'

"The ones that stole them were the Grigori." Xenovia answered.

Rias' eyes widened. "The holy-swords were taken by the fallen-angel organization? It's not a matter of mistake. But certainly it would be the fallen-angels when it comes to stealing them. For the devils working at the top, holy-swords does not give them much interest."

"We know the main culprit who stole the Excaliburs. One of the leaders of Grigori, Kokabiel."

A heavy silence fell as Rias began to process the information.

"Which matches our information." Sona announced as she entered the room with Tsubaki, unannounced, composed as ever.

Tsubaki spared a small glance towards Yuuto and she could see that he wasn't paying attention to anything other than those swords that the two exorcists wielded.

"Sona! Kokabiel is one of the leaders of the fallen-angels that survived the previous wars since ancient times. Hmph, I never expected to hear the name of the one that appears in the Bible." Rias smirked as she felt like she could do something worthy, but Sona's cool voice cut through her thoughts.

"I wouldn't act so cocky, Rias." Sona interrupted.

"We sent priests, exorcists, to this town secretly but they kept getting killed. At least we got a name, thanks to Ir..." Xenovia began to say, but Irina cut her off.

"Don't even say it, when you know that's not true!"

"But you want it to be." Xenovia responded with indifference as Irina puffed her cheeks, but Xenovia continued unfazed. "Our request… No. Our order is to not to have any devils intrude in the battle between us and the fallen-angels for the Excaliburs. In other words, we came here to tell you not to interfere with this incident."

Rias' eyes sharpened. "Such manner of speech. Is it restraint? Are you thinking that we might collaborate with those fallen-angels? Perhaps that we might team up with them to do something with Excalibur?" Her eyes changed from blue to red.

"The headquarters think that it might not be impossible."

Rias was quite pissed as there was a chill within her eyes. An enemy came all the way to her territory and then told her not to be involved and not to butt in. They also said whatever they wanted to by saying that they would not forgive them if the devils formed an alliance with the fallen-angels. Rias' pride as a high-class devil wouldn't allow her to keep quiet about it."

Which I already accepted that we would not interfere." Sona said, making the chill in Rias' eyes dissipate as she looked in surprise at what Sona said.

"The higher-ups don't trust devils and fallen-angels. We were informed if the holy-swords are taken away from God's side then the devils would also be happy right?" Xenovia somewhat asked with sarcasm in her tone. "The fallen-angels would also profit from it. For those reasons it won't be weird for them to form an alliance. That's why we are giving you a warning. If you form an alliance with the fallen-angel Kokabiel then we will eliminate you all. Even if you are the little sisters of the Maou, by our boss."

Rias stood, crimson hair swaying. "If you know that I am the sister of a Maou, then it means that you have lots of connections with the higher-ups in the Church. Then I will say it. We will not form an alliance with the fallen-angels. Never. In the name of the Gremory house. I will not do something that would tarnish the name of our Maou!"

"Ufu~" Xenovia laughed. "Hearing that is good enough. I had to warn you just in case that Kokabiel is hiding himself in this town along with the three Excaliburs. If something were to happen I would be the one to be hated by the bunch in the Church headquarters. Well, we won't ask for cooperation. If you were to form an alliance with God's side temporally, then it would affect the balance of the three factions. Especially if it's the little sister of a Maou."

"We are aware, and I did inform you that one of my own is undercover, along with another, who is human." Sona responded.

Rias' expression softened. "You did not inform me of this, Sona." She sighed.

"Because you would retaliate and try to do the same, it's why we have human allies that you have yet to meet." Sona told her fellow heiress.

Rias grimaced, then refocused. "Where is the person the Orthodox Church dispatched?"

"They have that person put on hold for this case. They are planning to protect the last Excalibur if Irina and I fail." Xenovia answered.

"So it's just the two of you? You are going to retrieve the Excaliburs from the leader of the fallen-angel with just the two of you? How reckless. Are you trying to die?" Rias said, her tone laced with amusement.

"Yes." Irina answered with no hesitation, but Xenovia saw a slight tremble in her partner.

"I have the same view as Irina, but if it's possible I don't want to die." Xenovia nodded towards the devils.

"I don't want to die either, Xenovia." Irina spoke again, her hair shadowed her eyes.

"I am aware, Irina." Xenovia sighed. "After all, you have him to consider."

Several eyebrows rose except Sona and Tsubaki, who already knew.

"You came here to Japan prepared to die? The belief in your teaching is extreme like always." Rias somewhat smirked, throwing a jab towards them.

"Don't talk ill of our beliefs, Rias Gremory." Irina immediately snapped towards the Gremory heiress. "Right, Xenovia?"

"That's right." Xenovia nodded. "Also the Church decided that it would be better to eliminate all of the Excaliburs rather than letting them get used by the fallen-angels. Our minimum objective is to get the Excaliburs away from the fallen-angels. To accomplish that, it's okay for us to die. The only way to fight against the Excaliburs are Excaliburs."

'They want to die that badly, we might as well let them, a pity. Well, not really, less of their forces to try and get Asia.' Takeshi thought as his eyes narrowed, making sure that Asia was still near him.

"Is it possible with only the two of you?" Rias asked with a raised eyebrow, she believed that the church was highly underestimating Kokabiel, unless they had a secret weapon of some sort.

"Well, we won't die in vain." Xenovia responded back.

"You seem confident. Do you have a secret weapon?" Rias continued to question.

"Maybe. I will leave it to your imagination." Xenovia once again answered, 'I'll have to see about that energy I felt, when we wandered around town earlier. Unless she plans on reincarnating that being, so I'll keep that to myself.'

After that, the two of them just stared at each other and the conversation stopped. Irina and Xenovia looked at each other and stood up.

"Then we will take our leave now. Let's go, Irina."

"So you won't drink your tea? I can prepare a snack for you." Akeno offered, of course, she was slightly offended that they didn't drink their tea.

"I don't need it." Xenovia waved her hand dismissively before she glanced at Sona. "You were right. She is more prideful."

"Tch." Rias clicked her teeth, knowing that she was talking about her.

"See you." Irina said as she waved with her hand, after all, she was looking forward to the tea that Issei made.

True to what he and his mother said, it really did help her sleep and Xenovia admitted that it did the same for her as well. They didn't try to accept Akeno's offer, and the two of them tried to leave. However, both of them stopped and looked in the same direction at something, or rather someone.

"Hmm, I thought that maybe it was you. Are you the "Witch" Asia Argento? I never expected to meet you in a place like this." Xenovia said, looking at the former nun.

Asia flinched violently as their eyes turned towards her, despite hiding behind Takeshi. Even Koneko scooted near the girl to protect her if need be.

Asia's body shook after she was called a witch. That word was something painful to Asia and her past. Irina seemed like she noticed as well and stared at Asia.

Irina stepped forward, eyes softening. "Are you the rumored witch? The former holy-maiden? You are said to have the power that can also heal devils and fallen angels, right? I heard that you were sent somewhere after getting exiled, but I never thought you became a devil."

"U‑Um… I‑I…" Asia was nervous about what they would do to her, something that Irina sensed.

"It's okay. I won't tell the higher ups what I saw here, so rest assured. People who were around the "Holy-maiden Asia" will also get shocked as well." Irina said, which left Asia perplexed by her words.

"But to become a devil. The one who was called a "Holy-maiden". You fell to the lowest place you could. Do you still believe in our God?" Xenovia spoke, her voice was cold, sharp, and unforgiving.

Asia trembled as Xenovia's glare bore down on her, while Takeshi and Koneko glared back and Yuuto was definitely ready to strike, more for himself than for Asia's sake. If given the opportunity, he would simply kill the two, but there was something about the twin tailed girl that made him slightly hesitate.

And the room grew still as Irina turned to her partner. "Xenovia. There's no way that she, who became a devil, still believes in God."

She sounded baffled, almost offended that her partner would even suggest it.

But Xenovia didn't blink. "No, I can smell the "belief" from her. It might be an abstract way of saying it. But I'm sensitive to these things. There are people who betray the teachings and still have guilt within them because they couldn't forget the teachings. I can feel something similar coming from her."

The room froze as Irina's eyes widened with curiosity as she stared at Asia.

"Is that true? Asia-san, you still believe in God even if you have turned into a devil?"

"I… I just can't put it aside. I believed in it for my whole life…" Asia's voice trembled and her expression was painfully sad. 'Even if you abandoned me, I still want to believe.'

Hearing that was all Xenovia needed as she drew her sword, the cloth falling from it, and pointed it at Asia.

"Is that so? Then you should be cut down by us this instant. If it's now, I can cut you in the name of God. Even if you have sinned, our God will forgive you."

She stepped toward Asia, who stiffened up. It didn't matter what she said as Xenovia was still going to strike her down.

Not caring about the blade pointed in their direction, Takeshi snarled.

"Don't touch her!" He planted himself between Asia and the holy sword, making sure that she was fully shielded, along with Koneko, eyes blazing. "Listen, bitch. If you come near Asia, I'll put you down. You called her a 'Witch,' didn't you?"

"Yes I have. Right now she is a being, at least fit to be called a witch." Xenovia said, not caring about who got in her way.

"Don't fuck around with me! Not even a single person helped her when she needed help! Those who can't understand Asia's kindness are a bunch of idiots! It's also wrong that none of them tried to become her friend!" Takeshi stepped closer to the blade.

Xenovia's expression didn't change. "Do you think the "Holy-maiden" needed friends? What's important is the charity to others. The "Holy-maidens" are finished when they seek friendship and love from others. She could have continued to live with the love from God. So Asia Argento didn't have the right to be a "Holy-maiden" from the beginning."

"What a crock of shit." Takeshi's fists clenched. "So you guys selfishly made her into a "Holy-maiden" and abandoned her because she's different from those who seek her? That's so fucked up! None of you know what she went through! Like seriously, the guy you praise!? What love!? He didn't do jack shit when Asia was in a dangerous situation!"

"God loved her. If nothing happened then it means that she didn't believe in him enough, or her belief was fake." Xenovia responded with the same cold tone.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Takeshi growled.

Irina stepped forward, eyes sharp. "What are you to Asia?"

When Takeshi turned towards Irina, he felt some bloodlust but it wasn't coming from the girl and he slightly hesitated. He wasn't the only one as Yuuto briefly glanced off to the distance and his eyes narrowed before turning back to the two exorcists.

"Family. Friend. Comrade." Takeshi answered. "That's why I will help Asia. I will protect Asia! I'd appreciate it, if you apologize for your witch comment, you're already an enemy in my eyes. But if you try to lay a hand on her, I will retaliate."

Irina seemed surprised as his conviction reminded her of Issei's conviction.

"Ise‑kun…" Her whisper was soft but devils had good hearing.

'She knows Issei? But how?' Akeno thought as her eyes slightly narrowed at the girl.

'Now that I think about it, she has a faint smell of that pervert. Thinking about it, can I really still call him that?' Koneko pondered as she looked between the two exorcists.

Sona's voice cut through the tension. "Rias." She was seeing that the situation may get out of hand.

Xenovia's eyes sharpened. "Is that a declaration to us and all of those in the Church? Something big coming out from a single devil. Gremory. I think you didn't educate him enough?"

"Takeshi, sto..." Rias tried to speak to her pawn and love interest.

But someone else stepped forward.

"That's good timing. I will be your opponent." Yuuto said, carrying his sword, and there was an enormous aura of intent to kill coming out of his body.

"Who are you?" Xenovia slightly tilted her head, something that she got from Irina, who steeled herself for the imminent confrontation.

"I'm your senpai. Though I apparently was a failure." Yuuto smirked at her question, as in that instant, a countless number of demonic swords appeared in the club room.

In the dojo where the MMA club members were lounging around. Issei was kneading his elbow into Ukita's massive shoulders, who was enjoying his massage. Eventually, Issei stopped and looked in the direction of the ORC, but it wasn't just him. The other members did as well, so did Miu, who was now with her gymnastics club in the gymnasium. They sensed the demonic presence of Yuuto unleashing his swords and then they looked at Issei and their eyes slightly widened.

'He can sense it? But then again, Ise is instinctive.' Kenichi's eyes narrowed as he watched his junior.

'Did Apachai inadvertently teach him about ki or something?' Renka thought.

They also didn't realize that Shigure had woken up as she looked in the same direction and then at Issei, who she could see that he was slightly shivering.

Issei shivered. 'This feeling, it's similar to Freed's but different, it's also familiar, could this be Kiba's bloodlust?'

It was then that he remembered what club Yuuto was a part of and knew that Yuuto had hatred towards people of the church and uttered a name.

"Irina." Issei's narrowed, glaring in the direction of the ORC. 'You better not do anything to her, Kiba.'

A faint pulse of ki leaked from him and the others noticed.

'That's what Saiga-sama was talking about, lust becomes wrath, but who are you angry at, Ise?' Kenichi wondered as he tried to decipher who Issei may lash at.

'Hmm, girl's got herself a keeper.' Raichi smirked as she already knew that Irina had her childhood crush on her best friend.

'Seems his friend is in trouble, he's usually like this when his friends are ridiculed or in danger, but this just means the devils may have caused a possible war with the church.' Renka looked between Issei and the direction of the ORC.

Ikki clicked his tongue. 'Shit. Someone's messing with his friend.' He looked towards Kenichi, who was looking at all of them without Issei noticing.

He gave them a nod, which they nodded back as they silently agreed to the plan, which was keeping Issei contained. If he rushed out, then it was likely that he would discover the supernatural world. Renka smirked as she knew just what to do as she began to set her plan into motion. Shigure raised an eyebrow and wondered what Renka was thinking, so she decided to close her eyes again. If Issei was in any danger, she would wake up and dispatch of it, but for now, she'll observe what antics that they come up with.