Chapter 25

The wooden floors of the Ayatsuji Dojo gleamed faintly as Ayase finished sweeping the last corner. The quiet hum of the afternoon settled around her, which was calm and steady. Something that had been familiar for her. She wiped her hands on her hakama, checked her phone one last time, and headed toward the living quarters.

Her father was sitting upright, though the fatigue in his posture was obvious.

"Tou-sama," Ayase said softly, sliding the door open. "We will be having visitors."Full novel: High School DxD: A Fighting Chance — read the rest free on N​o⁠v​e⁠l​C⁠o​d⁠e​x⁠.​o⁠r​g⁠

Kaito raised an eyebrow. "Your peerage members?"

"Only one," she replied. "The other two are from the Gremory peerage, according to Saji-san."

"Hm. I wonder what for." Kaito tapped his chin.

"I don't know either. Saji-san only said he wanted to meet about a proposition."

Kaito exhaled, leaning back slightly. "Well, I'll give you your privacy. I think I will go take a rest. I must say while the medicine that the Sitri clan has provided is exceptional, it still makes me feel weary."

Ayase frowned. "I will contact Kaichou-sama if that is a side effect of the medicine."

"Well, it's certainly something that my body will have to get used to," he said with a tired smile. "I just don't want it to get too used to the medicine, otherwise it may become ineffective."

"I understand. Ah…" she paused, eyes narrowing slightly, "I can sense them coming."

"Then I'll leave you to it," Kaito said, retreating to his room.

Ayase walked out towards the front entrance of the dojo. Before any knuckles could reach the wood, she slid the door open. Genshirou blinked in shock and Takeshi was a bit surprised by her opening the door. Koneko, unsurprisingly, remained expressionless because she could sense that Ayase was already coming to answer the door.

"Greetings, Saji-san, Muzai-san, and Toujou-san," Ayase said with a polite bow.

"Hey, Ayatsuji-senpai," Genshirou replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry to intrude on you during the weekend, but we have something that we'd like to ask you."

"Sure," Ayase nodded and stepped aside. "Come in. We can talk in the dojo. My father is resting."

"Great, thanks," Genshirou said, following her inside.

Takeshi glanced around. "Nice place. You train here?"

"All my life," Ayase answered. "We had some difficulties, but the Sitri clan helped us."

Takeshi clicked his tongue. "Pity you rely on weapons, though."

Ayase gave him a flat look. "Don't you use one as well? I mean your Sacred Gear could be considered a weapon."

Ddraig's voice echoed faintly from Takeshi's gauntlet. "She has a point there."

Takeshi sighed. "I guess you're right… but it's a gauntlet, so it's more like armor than an actual weapon."

"If you say so," Ayase replied, kneeling once they reached the dojo's center. "So, what is it you'd like to ask me?"

Genshirou cleared his throat. "Well… you remember how Kaichou said that we wouldn't get involved with the exorcists and let them be?"

"Yes?" Ayase raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess, you're going to do something that is going to get you involved."

Genshirou wilted. "Well, I, um… Muzai, you're up."

Takeshi crossed his arms confidently. "What Saji is trying to say is: yes. Yes, we are."

Ayase stared at them. "And how exactly are you going to get involved?"

Takeshi inhaled dramatically. "We want to go after the Excalibur fragments."

There was a moment of silence as the three waited for their senpai to go ballistic on them. But Ayase didn't shout or scold them. She simply sat there and stared at them as she once again raised her eyebrow.

"…Okay. And do what?" She asked.

Takeshi leaned forward. "Look from our meeting with the exorcists, they noted that they didn't want the fragments to be used by the fallen angels. So they got two options, retrieve them or destroy them. We figured we can go after one and Kiba can destroy it…"

"So he can achieve his revenge," Ayase said calmly.

"Exactly!" Takeshi clapped his hands, glad that she understood the premise.

"Does your president know of your plans?" Ayase asked him, curious about whether Rias was plotting something.

"Not even a little," Takeshi admitted.

Genshirou sighed. "He hasn't even told Asia. You'd think with how much she hangs off him, she'd be able to read his mind."

"That's true," Ayase chuckled. "Though Tomoe told me you had a slight crush on her as well."

"Hey, she's cute," Genshirou protested. "Sue me. Besides, I've got Momo and she's awesome. Plus, she's got a nice rack."

Takeshi snickered at Genshirou's additional statement.

"Perverts," Koneko muttered.

"Sorry about that, Koneko-chan," Takeshi said quickly.

"Yeah, my bad," Genshirou added.

"Yes," Ayase smiled faintly. "Momo is quite pretty. I'm glad she found love. It's something many girls dream of."

"Even you, senpai?" Genshirou asked.

"Of course. I am a teenage girl." Ayase tilted her head.

She began to wonder how he viewed her, since from his statement, he clearly didn't see her as just a teenage girl.

Takeshi leaned forward. "So, you think you can help our prince charming?"

Ayase blinked. "I thought you were the dark prince."

"I was talking about Kiba!" Takeshi retorted.

"Well… it does sound interesting," Ayase admitted. "But there's a small problem."

"What's that?" Genshirou asked.

"The exorcists may get the wrong idea and may think that we are seeking the fragments for ourselves." Ayase explained.

"True," Takeshi said. "Which is why we need to speak with them about assisting them with their mission, we help them get the fragments back, they give us one, Kiba destroys it and we move on."

"Sounds simple enough," Ayase said. "But do you know where to find them?"

Genshirou smirked. "Yeah. I have an idea."

"You do?" Takeshi snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah, that's right... Hyoudou."

Ayase tilted her head. "Hyoudou-san? What does he have to do with it?"

"Well, since you met with them, the brunette is his childhood friend," Takeshi explained. "So Saji thinks they're likely staying with him."

"That makes sense," Ayase said. "He did speak with Kaichou about meeting them."

"That's what I said!" Genshirou said triumphantly.

"So the question is," Takeshi asked, "are you in, Ayatsuji-senpai?"

Ayase folded her hands neatly. "Well, you've already told me your plan, and I do think that I may be needed. Remember these are swords that we are dealing with and as a swordswoman, I would be beneficial to your cause."

"My thoughts exactly," Genshirou said. "Which is why I asked you. I know that we train here, but I still haven't gotten a weapon, although I do have an idea for one."

Takeshi raised an eyebrow. "You do?"

"Oh?" Ayase asked. "What is it?"

"It's tough to explain."Genshirou sighed. "I even asked Mitsurugi-san about it, but since I used the concept of video games, he told me to ask Hyoudou about it."

Takeshi blinked. "I didn't know that Hyoudou's a gamer?"

"Lots of things we don't know about him, remember?" Genshirou said. "That perversion clouded things about him."

"True." Takeshi nodded in agreement.

Koneko spoke up. "We need to call Yuuto-senpai."

"Right," Takeshi said, pulling out his phone.

Ayase sighed. "You know that we're going to get in trouble if we are caught, right?"

"The thought crossed my mind," Genshirou admitted. "I don't know how we're going to do it, since I would need to ask Momo or Ruruko to look after Kaho and Gengo."

"You can bring them here," a voice said.

All three turned as Kaito stepped into the dojo.

"Otou-sama!" Ayase stood. "You should be resting."

"I know," he said, waving her concern away. "But I overheard your friend's predicament. If needed, I can invite Heishirou and Setsuka over. I'm sure Setsuka wouldn't mind watching them."

"Heishirou?" Genshirou repeated.

"He doesn't usually go by his first name," Kaito explained. "Perhaps, you devils know him by his surname, Mitsurugi."

"Oh! Hyoudou's master!" Genshirou said. "Wait, I met Setsuka earlier today. She needed my sister's measurements for her kimono."

"She does fine work," Kaito said proudly. "She also does business with prominent figures in Japan, who are willing to spend high end money for a kimono from her."

"She said she worked with devils before," Genshirou added.

"She has," Kaito confirmed. "She uses excellent material."

Genshirou grimaced. "She wasn't happy about the ones she gave Himejima-senpai and Hyoudou. They got messed up."

"She likely wouldn't have done so for Hyoudou-san," Kaito said. "Since he doesn't know of the supernatural. However, she will likely enhance the kimono of this Himejima-senpai of yours."

Takeshi nodded. "Oh, you mean the kimono she wore in our Rating Game against Riser."

"Yeah," Genshirou said with a shrug.

Takeshi leaned back on his hands. "You think she could make one for Rias and Asia? I know Rias is a Japanophile, so I know that she would love one."

Kaito chuckled. "She doesn't discriminate. Business is business."

"I can ask," Genshirou said. "She's still making one for Ayatsuji-senpai."

Kaito nodded. "She's likely enhancing it with defensive spells. It is a battle kimono, after all."

"Got it." Genshirou turned to Takeshi. "But also, Muzai... if I can't ask her, you're better off asking Hyoudou."

Takeshi blinked. "What?"

"He works for her. And the kimono Himejima-senpai wore? He helped design it."

Koneko's ears twitched. "Senpai did that?"

"No way," Takeshi muttered, slipping his phone back into his pocket.

Genshirou continued, "Yeah. I went to the shop with Momo. When Ayatsuji-senpai and I had lunch with him, he talked to me about this shop that provides artwork. Some are anime pieces, traditional pieces, all kinds of stuff."

Koneko nodded. "Senpai got Akeno-senpai a piece of art from there."

"Oh yeah," Takeshi said. "I said I'd get Rias something from there too."

Genshirou smirked. "Which means you're going to have to talk to Hyoudou."

Takeshi groaned. "Yeah, yeah… I guess you're right."

Ayase tilted her head. "He's not that bad."

"Yeah," Genshirou agreed. "Just talk about something other than breasts. Those two friends of his only enabled the perversion."

Koneko crossed her arms. "And then some."

Takeshi sighed. "I'm not sure he'd talk to me. I mean… I was worse than you were."

"Oh yeah," Genshirou said dryly. "The fake alpha male bullshit. Can't argue with that. But he didn't ask for anything from me when he offered to give his Dragon Ball volumes to my brother. The dude was just happy to help out and he had every right to ask me for something."

Ayase smiled faintly. "It also helped that you apologized."

"That too," Genshirou admitted. "But I'm not fully sure he accepted the apology."

Ayase shook her head. "If his perversion didn't stop him from being put down, I doubt what you did would stop him."

Takeshi rubbed his neck. "Yeah, well… when I called him out after losing the dodgeball game, I think that says otherwise."

Koneko's expression softened. "He was… hurt."

Genshirou blinked. "You can sense that?"

Koneko nodded. "Uh huh."

Takeshi turned to Ayase. "Speaking of sensing things, you could sense us at the door, Ayatsuji-senpai, how's that possible?"

Kaito answered before she could. "Ah, I can answer that. Well, before she was reincarnated, I trained her, so Ayase knows how to use ki."

Ayase raised her hand modestly. "Not on a mastery level, just enough to sense presences, it's how I can tell that Hyoudou-san unlocked his own."

Takeshi whistled. "Dang. Ki must be powerful."

"If you can use it properly," Koneko added.

"Indeed," Kaito said. "So I assume that you have your plans all mapped out."

Ayase gave him a look. "It sounds to me that you heard more than just my peerage member's conflict."

Kaito laughed. "I suppose I did."

Takeshi stood. "Well, Kiba said that he would meet us at Hyoudou's. Apparently, he'd also like to talk to him."

Ayase nodded. "I won't say a word to Kaichou about this, however, if we reach an agreement with the exorcists. We would need to postpone training for that day, so that the peerage doesn't get suspicious about us missing."

"Good call," Genshirou said. 'Thank goodness, Ayatsuji-senpai is so cool about this.'

"As I said," Kaito added, "whenever this happens, you can bring your siblings here."

"Will do." Genshirou nodded in thanks.

Ayase rose gracefully. "Then we should make our way to Hyoudou-san's place."

"Yeah," Genshirou said. "And thanks, Ayatsuji-senpai."

"Seriously," Takeshi added. "Thank you." Koneko nodded in agreement.

Ayase smiled. "Saji-san, we're peerage members. You can call me Ayase."

Genshirou brightened. "Cool! Then call me Genshirou."

"Understood." Ayase smiled.

Takeshi grinned. "You can call me Takeshi too. Since we're working together."

"Koneko," the white-haired girl added simply.

Ayase nodded. "I'll try my best."

"Stay safe," Kaito said as the teenagers bowed and left the dojo.

Once their presence faded from his senses, Kaito pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

"Hello?" a woman's voice answered.

"Ah, Setsuka-san. How are you?" Kaito asked.

"Quite a surprise to hear from you, Kaito-san. Did you need to speak with my husband?" Setsuka responded in kind.

"Actually, both of you, if you have time." Kaito answered.

"About?" Setsuka replied with an edge to her tone.

"It's about Kokabiel."

A deeper voice cut in. "Speak, Kaito."

"Heishirou-san," Kaito greeted. "It seems members of both peerages plan to cooperate with the exorcists to go after Kokabiel and the fragments."

"Do you know when?" Mitsurugi asked.

"No. I'll know after my daughter returns." Kaito answered the ronin.

Mitsurugi hummed. "Something tells me they'll accept. At least one of them will."

"How are you sure?" Kaito asked.

"Because I told one of them that they would need help, but it's good that they are taking the fight to him. It's something that I would do, I think it's time for this farce to end." Mitsurugi answered.

Kaito frowned. "What farce?"

"This ridiculous cold war between the three Biblical factions," Mitsurugi said. "Think about it, devils, the Church, and Fallen Angels working together for a cause… it's long overdue."

"Indeed," Setsuka added. "Plus us humans."

Since she responded, Kaito could tell that they had put him on speaker.

"You're right," Kaito said. "Which is why I'm inviting you two here. One of my daughter's peerage members needs someone to watch his siblings. I hope you don't mind, Setsuka."

"Ah, you must be talking about Genshirou Saji." Setsuka said, "I met his little sister this morning. Such a nice girl."

"However," Mitsurugi said, "there is a factor that we must consider."

"Your student?" Kaito guessed.

"Correct. If he gets wind of this plan, he will want to join as a means to avenge his loss and help his friend." Mitsurugi said.

Unknown to his wife and the samurai, he was calculating a plan of his own. After he saw the troubled look in Issei's eyes, he knew something happened last night. Whatever happened, Mitsurugi was going to make his student snap and either Issei would cower in fear or use it as fuel for Freed to meet his end.

"That is what the plan was about," Kaito said. "It was to help one of their own."

"The Gremory knight," Setsuka added. "He has a bad history with the Excalibur fragments. He was once part of the Church's abandoned Holy Sword project."

"I wouldn't say it was abandoned," Mitsurugi corrected.

"Ah, yes," Setsuka murmured. "I nearly forgot, Irina is not a natural Holy Sword user. So they must have taken the research and provided alternative means to create new holy sword users."

"Irina?" Kaito asked.

"She's the boy's childhood friend," Mitsurugi explained. "She's with the Church."

"She's currently out on a date with him," Setsuka added. "We gave them a rest day."

"I see," Kaito said. "Well, when they initiate their plan, I'll let you know."

"I'll inform Saiga," Mitsurugi said. "He has an informant in Kokabiel's ranks. It's how they are able to keep some track of his movements. If they go through with this, it will take away the element of surprise or…"

"Or?" Kaito prompted.

"It will cause Kokabiel to panic and accelerate his plans," Setsuka finished.

"I assume you're hoping for the latter?" Kaito asked.

"Yes," Mitsurugi said. "The knight wants the sword. The boy wants the priest."

"And you want Kokabiel." Kaito finished.

"Indeed." Mitsurugi nodded. "Although I am waiting to hear about what reinforcements that he is seeking."

Kaito hesitated. "Do you think your boy will win?"

Mitsurugi folded his arms, voice low and steady. "There's always a price to be paid. Another thing to consider is the possibility of someone getting hurt. If the priest attacks the wrong person… the boy will snap. And when he does, he'll come to me for a sword."

Setsuka blinked. "I thought he wasn't ready for one?"

Kaito's eyes widened. "You're going to give him a sword?"

"Of course," Mitsurugi replied without hesitation. "And I know exactly which one."

Setsuka chuckled softly. "Ah… I know which one you mean."

Kaito frowned. "Which one? I know that you have crafted weapons with attributes that are capable of taking on supernatural beings."

Mitsurugi's lips curved into a nostalgic smile. "The one that made me become Heishirou 'Hino' Mitsurugi."

Kaito's eyes widened and then he laughed. "That one? But that blade is nothing."

"Exactly," Mitsurugi said. "Yet it suited my style."

Kaito exhaled. "You're going to teach him the same lesson that blade taught you."

"It appears so," Setsuka said. "But the boy already has an understanding of what a weapon is but just through a different definition."

"And that is?" Kaito asked.

Setsuka folded her hands. "While my husband sees the strength of a weapon as nothing more than a decorative element… Ise was taught that a weapon is an extension of himself. So he must master his body in order…"

"To master the weapon," Kaito finished. "But nevertheless, a warrior's true strength…"

"Is found within himself," Mitsurugi concluded.

Kaito nodded slowly. "You're guiding him down your path."

"He wants to surpass me," Mitsurugi said. "I've trained him in my style, and my wife has helped him harness a mental capacity for ki to an extent."

"So when you say he might snap…" Kaito began.

Mitsurugi's eyes sharpened. "He'll unleash his rage, his bloodlust and wrath. He'll lose focus. But once he learns to compartmentalize it… well." A faint grin tugged at his lips. "He'll have help. And the priest will suffer."

"You've foreseen it?" Kaito asked.

Setsuka shook her head. "We cannot say for sure. But we believe they can come out on top."

"I see…" Kaito murmured. "Well, I'll let you know when Ayase returns."

"We'll be waiting," Mitsurugi said. "Take care, old friend."

"You as well," Kaito replied. "Both of you."

"Thank you," Setsuka added warmly.

Kaito ended the call and let out a long, weary sigh. As he walked back toward his room, he thought to himself.

'I hope you kids know what you're doing.'

When Genshirou, Takeshi, and Koneko left the cafe to go to the Ayatsuji Dojo to meet up with Ayase. The MMA club had just finished their movie and were exiting the theater. Issei could not feel his right arm and it was not because of injury. The reason was because Irina had crushed it during the movie. To his surprise, Renka had also held his left hand, since she was seated on the other side of him.

'Why… why are both sides occupied…? Is this heaven? Or hell? No, wait, focus, Issei. Focus.' Had been his thoughts during the movie.

It did make him feel weird and would admit that there were times where he considered wrapping his arm around Irina like he had seen in movies. Instead, he went with simply caressing her hand, when she tensed up at seeing the Xenomorphs or face huggers. He also noticed at times, Xenovia would tense up, but not as much as Irina. Now the gang was saying their goodbyes as they were splitting up to go in other directions.

Mizunuma and Hikari were going to grab a late lunch elsewhere, which Issei did consider joining them. As if knowing what he was thinking, he saw Chisato shaking her head no at him and then giving a nod to Irina, who was still on Issei's arm, but talking with Raichi and Xenovia. He kept his mouth shut so he wouldn't anger the older girl and turned to say bye to his senpai. Miu, Renka, and Kenichi noted that they were heading back home and he was surprised that Miu gave him a hug.

'Senpai is lucky to feel these oppai every day…' Issei nearly died on the spot when Miu's chest pressed against him.

He restrained himself from pulling out a perverted face as the busty blonde and bluenette said goodbye, since Renka gave him a hug, too. The only difference was that Renka was making sure that he could feel her body. It also enhanced her cleavage with her breasts pressed up against him.

"Good luck," she whispered into his ear.

"H-Huh?" Issei blinked as she pulled away with a smirk.

"I think I'll go with them," Raichi said.

"Alright," Issei replied, doing their handshake. "See ya!"

"Bye! Have fun, Irina!" Raichi called.

"Thanks! See you later!" Irina waved.

Ukita and the others said their goodbyes.

"Don't forget to invite me to a raid if you see one," Issei said.

"No worries," Ukita replied. "Mizunuma gave us your trainer code. You'll get some friend requests."

"Yeah, man." Ikki grinned. "And you can come rock climbing again."

"Only if she's still here," Issei said, nudging Irina.

"Thanks for inviting me," Irina said sweetly.

"No worries," Kaname smiled. "We'll have to do it again sometime. If you're ever in the area, hit us up."

"Oh yeah!" Kisara added.

Irina nodded. "Will do."

Issei turned to Xenovia. "So, Xen, how was your first movie?"

"It was suspenseful," she admitted. "And thank you for warning me about using the bathroom beforehand. I cannot say that I would like to face one of those aliens." She shivered.

"They're called xenomorphs," Issei said. "But hey, when we get back, you can play the game and see how you handle it."

"Um… sure. It may be good to test it. I've never played a video game before."

Irina facepalmed internally. 'Is Xenovia nervous? I can't blame her, why did you have to like sci-fi stuff as well, Ise-kun.'

"I got you covered, my training sister," Issei said.

"Alright," Xenovia nodded.

"It better not be an eroge game, Ise-kun." Irina warned.

"It's not," Issei said flatly. "Remember I told you that I sold all of my perverted stuff, and you've literally been in my room, you've seen all of my games, were any of them perverted?"

"…No," Irina admitted, cheeks pink.

Their senpais laughed.

"Anyway," Issei said, "Ikki-senpai, can you make sure Xen gets home safe?"

"We can do that," Ikki said, fist-bumping him.

"Xen, here." Issei handed her a key. "This is a copy of the house key. Text us when you get back, okay?"

"I can do that. Thank you," she said, taking it.

Issei thought about hugging her but decided they weren't quite at that level yet. Irina detached herself from Issei and hugged Xenovia instead, before she left with Ikki and Kaname.

"Stay safe." Irina told her.

"You too," Xenovia said. "Just get it out of your system and we can end this."

Irina nodded. "I understand."

Kisara ruffled Issei's hair with another noogie. "See you later, kiddo."

Kaname and Ukita patted him on the back, before they turned and left with Ikki and Xenovia with Kisara following along. Chisato came up to him and fixed his hair before giving him a pat on the head.

"Remember what we taught you." She told him, but ensured that Irina didn't hear her.

As Issei looked over her shoulder to see a few of the Walkyries giving him a thumbs up. When he looked back at Chisato, he could see that she was smiling and he smiled back.

"Right." He nodded.

"Good luck," she said. "And sorry we couldn't meet you properly." She extended a hand to Irina.

"It's alright," Irina said, shaking it.

With a nod, Chisato turned and walked back to her group, who continued to give him words of encouragement as they left. From what Issei could see, they didn't seem to be leaving to go home, so it was likely they were going to do some more shopping. Issei waved goodbye to them, they were a nice group of girls that Issei was grateful to meet, he hoped he could remain in contact with them, when he had enough money to overhaul his wardrobe.

"So," he said, turning to Irina with a smile, "it's just you and me."

"Us against the world," she replied, smiling back.

"You good? With food, I mean?" he asked. She had eaten a lot during the movie.

Not only did she share the large popcorn and pizza with Xenovia, she also ate some of his own and the other hotdog.

"Yeah, I'm good." Irina nodded.

"Well… before we get some late lunch, you think we can go to the temple? I know you're all about the Church, but that place isn't safe."

Irina crossed her arms, giving him a pointed look. "Says the boy who's planning to go after a rogue priest."

"So I can keep him from hurting you." Issei said it plainly.

The words hit Irina harder than she expected. Her breath caught.

"Wh… what?" She breathed out.

"I don't want him to hurt you," Issei continued, voice firm. "Any of you. None of my friends should get hurt if I can do something about it. I won't allow it."

He shook his head, jaw tight. Irina could tell, this wasn't bravado. This was fear. The same fear she sensed lingering from his nightmare.

She conceded. "…It's fine. We can go to the temple. Then we can get something to eat."

"And then," Issei said, brightening a little, "we can finish it off at the park."

"In our spot," Irina added. "If it's still there."

"I hope so. I haven't been there in a long time."

"Really?" She raised an eyebrow.

"After you left… it just didn't feel the same anymore. So I went elsewhere. Though I kinda regret that decision a little bit."

"Why's that?" She asked.

"I'll tell you later." He extended his hand toward her. "Now come on, the temple awaits!"

Irina smiled, placing her hand in his. "Indeed it does."

Hand in hand, they walked out of the mall.

As they left the mall, they were spotted by some of the Walkyries, who were watching from afar. They did not intend to follow the childhood friends, but from what they could see, Issei was off to a good start. However, they noticed that his eyes wandered to various shops, they exchanged knowing looks as it gave them an idea.

Azazel had finished fishing with Gorou and Mototsugu, and they had been discussing the upcoming summer break. They also discussed the upcoming Parents' Day, which did make Azazel's eyes light up. As he knew that with the Maous being aware of his presence, he had the opportunity to embarrass Yuuma and in front of her new peers. Of course, it would be to his delight and to her horror.

He did make note of Gorou's plans about the possibility of sending his son to England and he knew that he could assist, thus it would ruin Yuuma's chances and also piss her off. It would put her views into perspective of whether she actually liked Gorou's son or was just looking for a "booty call" as the kids say these days. Regardless, it was going to be a win-win for Azazel as he smirked.

He now had to attend to other business as he sat down on his couch with a drink in hand. The other occupant was annoyed waiting for him, but Azazel didn't mind as he was used to it. So Azazel just relaxed as his guest began to grind his teeth.

"You call me here and then ignore me?" the young man snapped.

Azazel took a slow sip. "Patience, Vali."

"Tch. I thought you needed something about Kokabiel. If not, I'm leaving." Vali grunted in annoyance.

"It does involve him," Azazel said. "But it pertains to something else. Something Shemhazai and I have been investigating."

Vali narrowed his eyes. "Which is?"

"The Khaos Brigade. I believe one of my former colleagues started it."

"And what does that have to do with me?" Vali raised an eyebrow with intrigue.

"I need you to infiltrate it." Azazel spoke firmly.

Vali blinked. "…Infiltrate it?"

"I'm sure it would be possible for you because of your heritage," Azazel said. "But you may have some backlash due to being part human."

"As if that doesn't surprise me." Vali scoffed.

"So," Azazel continued, "That means I'll need you to do something for me."

"And that is?" Vali asked.

"I'm putting myself on the line here. But if we manage to arrange a meeting with the other factions… I need you to betray me."

Vali stared. "…Would that be wise? I mean Sirzechs would likely be there and he is stronger than you, from what I hear."

"Ah, ah, ah," Azazel wagged a finger. "Focus on your rival. Sirzechs will be respectful to honor the rivalry between the Two Heavenly Dragons."

Albion's voice echoed faintly. "We can also use Kokabiel as a means to test them."

"Do whatever you want," Azazel said. "But I should warn you that Mitsurugi will be in play. I can only hope that he doesn't kill Kokabiel, part of the reason why Tobio will be there. In addition, you must capture the rogue priests, I'm sure the church will appreciate that."

"Can I use one as a bargaining chip?" Vali asked his father figure.

"Maybe the psychopathic one, but what are you using one for?" Azazel took another sip of his drink.

"For the Khaos Brigade," Vali answered. "I don't think the alliance will be full strength right away, there will be conflicts."

Azazel nodded. "You have a point, considering that the church does not like the devils as they are their mortal enemies, in addition, Raynare had told me about a deal that she made with a devil. Does the name Diodora Astaroth ring a bell to you?"

"Not really." Vali shrugged.

"Well, he is related to the Maou Beezlebub, but he has a fetish for women of the church. From one of her old reports, Raynare made the deal that she would give him the Gremory's bishop, while she took the sacred gear." Azazel informed him, he knew that Yuuma had forgotten the devil's name and thus he looked into the possible devils that may want a nun. "However, she never got to it thanks to your rival. As a result, I made her join a peerage for her troubles. Her cohorts are considered to be MIA or killed in the scuffle."

"Yeah, whatever. Why should I care about Diodora?" Vali asked.

"It wouldn't surprise me for him to betray his own kind to get what he wants, in addition to possible descendants of the old Maou, who would likely want to reclaim their throne in the Underworld." Azazel said.

Vali scoffed. "Huh, so that's why you want me to infiltrate? You want me to use my heritage to get all chummy with the Old Maou faction? Tch, I have no interest in seeking the throne."

"I expected as much," Azazel said. "You're much different than your predecessors."

Vali's expression darkened. "And I never want to be. Not after…"

"Yeah," Azazel said quietly. "I know."

Vali looked away. "I can't believe you're doing all this for the sake of… peace."

Azazel grinned. "I thought you'd like it."

"It would be a boring world." Vali said.

"That's not true, you can still fight opponents, if you want... it just won't instigate a war. At least I hope it doesn't, regardless, it's only boring if you make it boring, you could pick up a new hobby." Azazel pointed out.

Vali stared. "…What?"

"Well, think of it this way," Azazel said, "one of my fishing buddies, they have a son, who nearly tracked you by the way…"

"Not me." Vali denied. "Raynare."

"She likes to be called Yuuma, I think it has something to do with the son," Azazel shrugged. "But anyways, he used to be interested in breasts... probably still is but dumbed it down a bit."

"And what does that have to do with me?" Vali looked at Azazel in confusion.

"Well, it's as I said his interests were big breasts, but he had other interests that he has been exploring." Azazel noted. "You could find something new other than fighting that may pique your interest."

Vali scoffed. "Hn. As if."

"Aw, Lavinia wouldn't be pleased to hear that." Azazel teased.

"She has nothing to do with me!" Vali snapped, cheeks faintly pink.

Azazel smirked. "Ah, you're right, she has interest in Tobio, unless you say something about it, but you also have someone from your childhood that was interested in you."

"That wouldn't work out, she's part of the clans, in addition, she's their heiress. They don't believe in Christianity, they only care about Shintoism." Vali told him.

"I suppose," Azazel nodded. "But regardless, you still could do so much in a peaceful world."

"Whatever you say, I'll go let my team know of the plan, but I'll need something to get into the Khaos Brigade." Vali crossed his arms.

Azazel frowned and handed something over to Vali. "I picked up this transport seal off a stray devil, likely one of their grunts."

Vali's eyes slightly widened, since Azazel wasn't one to get in on the action, unless he had to. It also meant that the Khaos Brigade had taken some interest in Kuoh. They either were targeting the heiresses or were looking to recruit Kokabiel.

Vali took the transport seal. "Thanks, I'll be seeing you around, Azazel." He vanished in a magic circle.

Azazel merely gave a wave before relaxing in his chair, just enjoying the moment.

Azazel exhaled as he stretched. "Ah… I can relax a little bit before I gotta get dinner." He downed his drink and let out a deep sigh, before placing his glass on the table and crossing his arms behind his head.

The walk to the temple was kind of awkward, Issei was silent and he feared that his hand would get clammy, since he and Irina were still holding hands. Irina said nothing and just waited for him to say something. She could tell that while he may be there physically, his mind was elsewhere.

'This isn't like that night… The night I heard him sing…' She sighed softly.

"Um," Issei finally said, "the headphones look nice on you."

"Thanks." Irina nodded at the compliment.

"They look better on you than they did on me."

"Oh?" Irina teased. "Well, I think I can make anything look better than they did on you."

"Probably," Issei chuckled. "I mean… you're better looking than me. You're really pretty."

Irina looked at him in surprise. "Really? I mean… I felt underdressed. Some of those girls, while still casual, looked way better than me."

Issei shook his head. "That just shows how good you look. Even if you're dressed casually."

Her cheeks warmed. "Thanks…"

She felt her heart skip because she knew that despite all of the other beauties that were present, she was still able to catch his eye.

"Um…" Issei nodded ahead. "We're here."

The long stone stairway leading up to the temple stretched before them like a challenge.

Irina whistled. "That's a lot of stairs." She flashed him a playful grin. "Wanna race?"

"You'd lose." Issei frowned.

"Oh? Or are you afraid to sweat in that outfit?"

"I'm not afraid," Issei countered. "But you should worry. I mean you're wearing a light color. People would see your sweat stains. Plus I don't want you to get your shirt sweaty."

Irina blinked. "Why not? It's just a T‑shirt."

"Yeah, but it shows off who you are." Issei told her.

Irina raised an eyebrow. "…How so?"

"Well," Issei said, rubbing the back of his neck, "Yellow is a bright color, which matches your bright personality. That's why I chose it as an accessory color on the headband that I had made for you with baa-chan's help. Hey, speaking of which we should call her and…"

A voice cut through the air. "Oh ho ho~ what's this? The Perverted Beast got himself a girl."

Issei's face dropped. "What do you want, Kiryuu?"

Aika sauntered over, smirking. "Nothing. Just surprised to see you with someone. Looks like that apology actually worked. Though I don't recognize this chick. You gonna give her a piece of that salami up there? Get freaky in the temple?"

"I wouldn't do that!" Issei retorted at her perverted claims.

"Hey now, don't get sassy with me." Aika leaned in toward Irina. "She's pretty cute. Where'd you meet her? She doesn't look like she goes to Kuoh."

"That's because she doesn't," Issei muttered.

"Oh? Well, introduce me to her. Actually, you know what, I'll…"

"This is Kiryuu Aika," Issei said quickly. "One of the other perverts at our school. But she doesn't get as much crap as I did."

"And you're in for something good with what this guy is packing," Aika added shamelessly.

Irina blinked. "Um… okay?" She clearly didn't understand the innuendo.

Aika's eyes flicked to the rosary around Irina's neck. "Ohhh, you're one of those girls. I hear girls like you are freaky. Maybe that's why Hyoudou wants you."

"That's not true at all, Kiryuu!" Issei snapped, fists clenching.

"Hey, we all gotta let our freak nature fly. You got a girl that piques your interest, nothing wrong with that. Unless you haven't told her, have you?"

"I did," Issei growled.

"Oh? So she knows and she's still with you? Dang, girl!" Aika gasped dramatically.

"She's not like that…" Issei began to say, taking a step towards Aika.

"Hyoudou-san? Shidou-san?" Another voice interrupted the tension. "And... Kiryuu-san?"

They turned to see Tsubasa and Tomoe approaching.

"Hi, Meguri-san, Yura-san," Issei greeted.

"What's going on here?" Tsubasa asked.

Aika grinned. "Oh, Hyoudou was telling me how he told this chick all about his perversions and considering that you said her name, I'm surprised that you two know her."

Tomoe nodded. "Yeah, she came by the student council earlier this week."

"I see," Aika said. "Well, they're about to get their freak on in the temple."

"Can you for once not say anything perverted!? For fuck's sake!" Issei stormed up the stairs, needing to leave, otherwise he might get physical.

"Temper, temper." Aika snickered as she turned towards Irina. "He's been like that, I used to tease him and his other friends about what they did. He'll get over it, so you don't have to fret too much about him."

Irina's expression hardened. "I'm afraid I can't do that."

Aika blinked. "Huh?"

"You said he told me about his perversions and what he did at school. You're referring to the peeping, correct?" Irina asked.

"Uh… yeah?" Aika raised an eyebrow. 'Just who is this chick?'

"Well, I knew about his perversions, and he noted how he regrets going down that path. You also say his friends, well, considering that I was with him and his friends, I don't recall any perverse conversation happening." Irina recounted her day so far.

"You met Matsuda and Motohama?" Aika was surprised. "I'm amazed they weren't drooling over those tits of yours."

"No, I never met those two," Irina shook her head. "I meant his friends from his club."

"Yeah," Tsubasa said. "He's part of the MMA club."

"That's right," Tomoe added.

Aika snapped her fingers. "Ah, yeah, when he made that apology. He had Shirahama-senpai's girlfriend vouch for him."

Irina clasped her hands in prayer. "You should apologize, there's more to him than just his perversions. He's still trying to be true to himself, while trying to redeem himself by our saviour, the Lord, Amen!"

Tsubasa and Tomoe visibly cringed.

"Yeah… what she said," Tsubasa muttered, rubbing her forehead.

"Meh. He'll get over it." Aika rolled her eyes. "He always does."

Tomoe shook her head. "That might've been the old Hyoudou-san. This one is different. He does take things to heart."

"And I wasn't asking," Irina added firmly. "You should apologize like he has apologized for his peeping and is trying to rectify that, it doesn't mean you should continue to insult him." She turned and hurried after Issei.

Tsubasa watched her go and sighed. "It's no surprise that she would have his back."

Aika raised an eyebrow. "You know her connection to Hyoudou?"

Tomoe nodded. "She's his childhood friend."

"Uh huh," Tsubasa added. "And if anyone knows Hyoudou-san, it would be her."

Aika grinned. "Damn. A possible childhood romance, huh? How interesting…"

"Don't play your games like you do with Argento-san," Tsubasa warned.

"What do you mean?" Aika was surprised by this reaction.

Tomoe sighed. "Well, from what we have seen, if you insult any one of his friends or tease them in a way that embarrasses them, Hyoudou-san will strike back."

"And I don't think he cares if you're a girl or boy," Tsubasa added. "With how his fist was shaking, I'm surprised that he didn't clock you out."

Aika's eyes widened. "Hyoudou would do that?"

"I'm pretty sure he would," Tomoe said. Tsubasa nodded.

They were quite aware of the violent tendencies that this Issei had, compared to how he used to react and just rolled over. From Sona's warning, they could say that the students that jeered at him may have been lucky if Issei snapped, unleashing his wrath.

Aika gulped. "…Damn. I better watch my teasing around him."

"That'd be smart," Tsubasa said. "Anyway, we're heading off. Later, Kiryuu-san."

"Bye!" Tomoe waved as they left.

Aika waved goodbye to them and turned back to look at the childhood friends, seeing that Irina caught up to Issei. She completely missed the student council members taking a picture of the two. From their angle, they could see that Irina was smiling, so she was enjoying her time with her childhood friend.

Issei slowed when he heard footsteps behind him. "Sorry about that," he muttered.

"It's fine," Irina said gently. "I mean nothing she said was anything new than what you told me already."

"But it's not a good look," Issei said. "I don't want that to be your lasting memory of me… like last time."

Irina shook her head. "I didn't think of you like that." Then, softly, she switched to Italian, "Potresti essere stato un pervertito, ma eri il mio amico pervertito e per me va bene così." (You may have been a pervert, but you were my perverted friend, and that's fine with me.)

Issei stiffened and felt his heart drop a little and the moment lingered between them.

Issei let out a small, awkward laugh. "Yeah… just a pervert." He recognized the word easily, thanks to all the English lessons that Yu-Mi, Irina, and Xenovia had drilled into him.

Irina's eyes widened. "I didn't mean it like that! Sorry. What I meant was… I was fine with it. You were my perverted friend, and I didn't care back then."

Issei snorted. "Probably why you hid the fact you were a girl. Knowing me, I would've asked when you'd grow oppai."

Irina giggled. "Haha, you probably would've. And I would've told you I wasn't sure, since I was only five and…" She switched to Italian again, cheeks burning, "Potresti aver chiesto di sentirli e probabilmente te l'avrei lasciato fare." (You might have asked to feel them, and I probably would have let you.)

Issei blinked. "What was that?"

"Nothing!" Irina squeaked.

"You seem flustered. Are you tired?" Issei asked.

"Huh?" Irina was confused by the question, but then realized that her blush was still present.

"From trying to catch up to me." Issei grimaced. "Oh no! I'm off to a bad start. I shouldn't have walked off like that."

"It's fine, I…" Irina tried to say, but Issei wasn't having it.

"No, it's not." He shook his head. "Irina… what guy abandons their date?" He sighed. "Um… would you like me to carry you? You know at least you can catch your breath."

Irina blinked. "We still have a long way to go. I don't think…"

"Irina," Issei said gently, lifting his bandaged arm, "I carried you for blocks when I took you from the school to where I was attacked."

"Oh… right." Irina couldn't argue with his logic, he had the capability to do so.

"And I did it when we were kids too." He crouched down. "So hop on. I don't mind."

Irina hesitated for only a moment. "Okay." She climbed onto his back, and he rose, carrying her up the stairs. "Thanks," she murmured.

"I should be thanking you." Issei smiled.

"For what?" Irina turned to him.

"I guess for having my back with Kiryuu." He answered.

Irina smiled softly. "Like I said, anything she said was nothing new from what you've already told me and don't forget what I said, friends always help each other." Then, in Italian again, "Certo, non mi sarebbe dispiaciuto se avessi deciso di darci una possibilità per vedere se possiamo essere più che amici d'infanzia." (Of course, I wouldn't have minded if you decided to give us a chance to see if we can be more than childhood friends.)

Issei groaned. "I really need a translator to know what you're saying."

Irina just laughed. "By the way," she asked, "is she always like that?"

"Kiryuu? Yeah, kind of. She reminds me of this anime character." Issei told her.

"Which one?" Irina asked

"Kajo Ayame. She's from this anime that I watched called Shimoneta." Issei answered.

"Oh? How so?" Irina was intrigued by this new anime.

"Well," Issei sighed. "She tells dirty jokes. The full title of the anime is called Shimoneta: A Boring World Where the Concept of Dirty Jokes Doesn't Exist."

"Really? Maybe we can watch…" Irina tried to say.

"Absolutely not!" Issei shut that down quickly.

"Why not?" Irina pouted.

"I don't want to expose you to that stuff. The jokes are pretty perverted." Issei informed her.

Secretly, he wouldn't have minded if Irina acted perverted, but only of her own choice and preferably in a private setting. He was pretty sure that is what couples do and not let things out like he was doing about proclaiming to be harem king.

"Is that so? Then could you give me a summary of it, while keeping it clean?" Irina's curiosity was showing itself and Issei knew that she wasn't going to let this go.

"I can do that," Issei sighed. "Well, the main character did an entrance exam to be with this girl that he likes. The reason that he liked her is because she was the only one that didn't ostracize him for being the son of a terrorist."

Irina blinked. "A terrorist?"

"Yeah," Issei nodded. "In that world, Japan is at the top of public morality, thus there was no pornography nor could you say any dirty jokes. You probably might like it, since it's virtuous and true."

Irina tilted her head. "I might like the anime or the world?"

"The world," he answered. "Since I think the Church would teach you something similar about how pornography is sinful."

"That's true." Irina remembered her lessons that the Church had preached about.

Back then, Irina didn't really understand it because she had heard a different story and that was due to Issei's grandfather, when she had met him, when she was young.

"Anyway, the main character's father was sent to prison, since he was spreading dirty material, kind of like the old man." Issei said, nonchalantly as a memory came to him in a flash.

"Old man?" Irina wondered if he was talking about his grandfather.

"Someone that I had met after you left and… huh?" He was sensing someone as he reached the top of the stairs. "Akeno-senpai?"

Akeno stood there in her shrine maiden outfit, smiling. "Ara~ ara~. What brings you here, Issei-kun?"

"We're here to pray. If that's alright." Issei answered his senior.

Akeno tilted her head. "Are you sure? You do realize that your friend is a Christian, right? Wouldn't it be better to go to the church?" Her eyes slid toward Irina, who stared right back.

"I know," Issei said. "But that place isn't safe and I have no intention in leaving my friend in some place that isn't safe."

"Oh? What makes it unsafe? Are you afraid of ghosts, Issei-kun?" Akeno teased.

"No. It's not ghosts." Issei answered, not caring for her teasing. "It's the bloodlust."

Akeno's smile faltered, Irina tensed up slightly. Since she was on his back, Issei noticed and gave a slight squeeze on her leg to assure his friend that he was there for her.

"Bloodlust?" Irina echoed.

"Uh huh," Issei nodded. "And when I had to deal with that Freed guy, he was reeking of that same bloodlust. I couldn't just leave you there alone and have to face him by yourself."

Irina frowned. "You should have a little more faith in me, Ise-kun."

"Irina," Issei said, turning to face her, they were so close their noses nearly touched. "If that guy could beat me and Kiba, I know Kiba is better at wielding a sword than me. If we could lose, you would lose, too. I don't want you to face him alone because I fear what can happen. I don't want to live with the possibility of something happening to you, when I could have done something. I can't do that."

Akeno shivered. 'Such conviction…'

Irina's heart pounded and she felt like she couldn't breathe, but she also couldn't look away from him.

"I… I didn't know you felt that way," she whispered. 'From that, I think I can figure out what that nightmare was about. Freed killed us and Ise-kun had to witness that. He saw my… death.'

"Now you do." He crouched so she could get off his back. "I couldn't live with myself if something happened to my friends."

"Oh. Right. Yeah. Friends." She looked away quickly.

Issei noticed her tone. 'She sounded a bit disappointed, did I say something wrong?'

Akeno raised an eyebrow. 'That was almost a confession, but at the same time... it wasn't. He kind of friend zoned her, I wonder why, though. Could it be that self-loathing about his perverted ways? Is that what is preventing you from pursuing something? If so, then were your words to me a lie, Issei-kun?'

"So," Issei said, "could we use the prayer room?"

"Of course," Akeno said. "You know the way."

"Thanks." He took Irina's hand and led her inside.

Irina glanced around. "So you've been here before."

"Uh huh. I also house-sit for Akeno-senpai." Issei answered her.

"Hey, isn't this your headband? Or a copy of it." she asked, spotting it near the altar.

"I figured that I would leave something behind, since it was thanks to a place like this that I was born, you know." He looked around the place.

Irina nodded. "I heard about that. Mama told me about the miscarriages your family had."

"I'm guessing kaa-san probably told her, when we played together, though with me talking about big breasts among other things, I'm surprised that she didn't consider me a bad influence on you." Issei remembered how his mother had that thought about Matsuda and Motohama, so it made him wonder why his surrogate aunt was okay with him being around her daughter.

Irina giggled. "She knew that I didn't really care what you talked about and I enjoyed spending my time with you, plus…" She switched to Italian again, "Ha detto che un giorno ti saresti assunto la responsabilità di me, spero che tu sia disposto a farlo." (She said that one day you would take responsibility for me. I hope you're willing to do so.)

Issei sighed. "Yeah, I have no idea what you said."

A phone buzzed and Irina realized it was her own, so she checked it.

"Oh, Xenovia said she made it back." Irina told him.

"That took a while." He responded, but he was still glad that the girl made it back safely.

Unknown to him, it was explained in the text message that Xenovia had checked around and found nothing out of place. She was telling Irina on how Shigure's presence wasn't felt, it was as if she was never there. Even though Kenichi had told them that Shigure was watching over the house. Irina omitted that part as she didn't need Issei asking the woman why she was watching his house.

Irina nodded. "She wanted to be thorough and make sure everything was in place."

"That's good." Issei smiled. "Well… you want to do a prayer? It'll be like the times that we went to mass."

Irina blinked. "But you're not very religious."

Issei rubbed the back of his neck. "Not really. But I've been taking your advice… and so far, good things have been happening. So I figure it's best to keep it up."

Irina smiled softly and knelt at the altar. "Alright."

Issei knelt beside her, not caring that it was different from traditional Japanese prayer as they both began to pray. The quiet of the shrine wrapped around them like a warm blanket. The faint scent of incense lingered in the air, and the soft rustle of leaves outside blended with the distant hum of cicadas.

Irina was praying that Issei did not get involved with what could happen, but she did pray for survival for herself and her partner. At the same time, she was hoping to see him again one day after all of this was done. Meanwhile, Issei was also praying for her safety, along with Xenovia's, he was also praying for Yuuto to overcome his revenge and that he would be able to help out the blonde.

Their prayers were being heard, however, someone that neither of them would be expecting was also hearing them. The being that was hearing their prayers was surprised to listen to them.

A being who belonged to this shrine, yet listened with interest. 'Hmm… a follower of the Biblical God praying in a Shinto temple. How interesting. The boy has been here several times… praying for redemption, or for others. The student of my father's samurai. Perhaps I should speak with Michael about this girl. She seems like a potential prospect. However, the boy seems to be on a different path crafted by his master.'

When the two had finished praying, they stood up and gave a bow to the altar and Issei left some yen before exiting, where Akeno was waiting for them.

"Are you finished?" she asked.

"Yes," Issei said, bowing. "Thank you very much, Akeno-senpai."

"You're quite welcome, Issei-kun." Her smile softened. "You can come by anytime that you like."

"Uh… thanks." Issei nodded at the offer.

Irina watched Akeno's expression carefully. 'I guess this is one of those moments that I am glad that Ise-kun can be quite dense.' She had seen Akeno's flirtatious glances, but Issei paid no attention to it.

If he did, he never reacted to them either and she knew that Issei could be quite reactive, so it was likely the former that he didn't acknowledge the possible advances. At the same time, she did have a little worry because she felt inferior to a beauty like Akeno, considering that they were both Japanese girls. Akeno seemed to have it all, compared to Irina, but she had to remember that this was her time with Issei, not Akeno's.

"Come on, Irina," Issei said, offering his hand. "Let's get something to eat."

"Right." She took his hand, smiling. "Have a good day."

"Thank you," Akeno replied but as the childhood friends walked away, she wondered, 'So… is that the type of girl that he likes?'

Issei and Irina headed towards the stairs that lead back down from the temple, still holding hands, when Issei stopped.

"You good?" Issei asked.

Irina nodded. "Yeah. It felt… different. Praying somewhere other than the church."

"Oh yeah, it must have felt different for you," Issei realized. "I've gotten used to it, it's just calming, you know?"

"I can understand that. But… do you believe in Shintoism?" Irina asked.

Issei shrugged. "Honestly? I don't know what to believe in. But if someone's looking out for me… then I thank them for giving me a second chance at a lot of things."

They continued their descent down the long staircase.

"Such as?" Irina asked.

"Well… they allowed Kenichi-senpai to come into my life and help work towards bettering myself and inspiring me to remember how I wanted to be like Goku and train in martial arts. They helped me meet Mitsurugi-shisou and Setsuka-obasan, who have also guided me. They helped me meet new friends and…" He looked towards her. "Be able to see old ones again."

Irina gasped softly as she stared back at him, but in doing so, she missed a step and slipped.

"Ah!" Irina panicked but Issei caught her before she could fall and injure herself on the stone steps.

"That was close." Issei said, looking down at the steps, fearing what bodily harm could have happened to her, if he didn't react in time.

"Y-Yeah…" Irina nodded.

"Want me to carry you? So you don't slip again?" Issei asked.

"If you slip, then we both fall." Irina informed him.

"I told you, I've gone up and down these steps for quite some time, I even use them to train on my cardio, I'll be fine." Issei laughed.

Irina sighed. "…Alright then."

He crouched, and she climbed onto his back again.

"But," she said, "that means that you have to tell me about that anime that you were speaking about."

"Only if you tell me why you were angry with me this morning." Issei countered.

Irina sighed. "Well… I can't really fault you."

"What did I do?" Issei asked.

"You… groped my breast." Irina answered.

Issei paused mid-step. "…What?"

Irina cleared her throat and relaxed against his back. "I was trying to wake you up, so we could go rock climbing, since you were asleep on the floor. You got annoyed and pushed me away, but you pushed me away by my breasts. I kind of thought it was your perversion trying to get a feel, which made me feel embarrassed, but as I watched you and you looked confused as to why I was mad, I realized that you weren't really at fault. If I had looked closely at you, I could have seen that you were still half asleep and you didn't really know what you were doing."

Issei's shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry, Irina. I didn't mean to."

"Push me away or grope my breast?" Irina asked with a small smirk.

"Grope your breast!" Issei retorted as he continued walking down the stairs. "I still would have pushed you away, I faintly remember usually doing that to you, when we were kids. You were quite energetic, you were more of a morning person than I was."

Irina giggled. "Considering how early you wake up for training, I'd say that the roles have been reversed."

"Well, you were quite energetic this morning." Issei informed her.

"Well, yeah…" She slipped into Italian again, "Avrei potuto trascorrere del tempo con te, perché non avrei dovuto esserne felice?" (I was getting time to spend time with you, why wouldn't I be happy?)

Issei sighed. "Definitely need a translator." Making Irina laugh.

"Now," she said, "how about that anime?"

"You mean Shimoneta? Well, as I said, pretty much anything naughty was banned, but the technology was pretty awesome." Issei answered.

"How so?" Irina was curious, since she knew that Issei had an interest towards technological things as well.

"Well, they would have these collars and bracelets that keep track of what you do. It's pretty cool, since they act like phones and computers, showing you an interactive holographic screen of things like a laptop. You can't say dirty words because the collars would pick up on it and you'd be arrested. The wristbands also track hand movements, so you can't even draw anything naughty." Issei said in this mesmerized tone.

Irina chuckled. "Sounds like a place you wouldn't like."

"I probably wouldn't," Issei shrugged. "But considering you would be strapped with them, when you're children, I'd have you around to even care about them."

Irina blushed. "Maybe… So about the characters, you said how one was like your classmate?"

"Yeah. Ayame's better looking than Kiryuu." He answered, but he thought privately, 'She even has a bigger chest than Kiryuu… Actually, Yuuma reminds me of her too. And Yuuma definitely has a bigger chest than Ayame.'

Irina narrowed her eyes. "So is she your dream girl or something?"

"I can't really say, I watch a lot of anime, so like any otaku, I got a list of waifus. Considering her personality, you'd be surprised, she may say dirty jokes, but she is kind of innocent." Issei told her.

"Really?" Irina asked, but had some relief that she still had a chance.

"Uh huh," Issei nodded. "The main character actually likes another girl, he liked her for how pure she is and how she strived for justice. He admired her, hence why he wanted to go to her school. It's kind of funny now that I think about it, he knew her from childhood and she didn't really remember it."

Irina smiled. "Kind of like you and me."

"Yeah… you're right." Issei realized that connection as he continued on, "he also criticized his father because he hated being ostracized because he was the son of a "terrorist". However, upon meeting Ayame and somehow getting forced into her revolution of being able to spread dirty jokes, I believe he ended up liking her."

"And what about the first girl?" Irina frowned, saddened that childhood romance didn't work out and was afraid of sharing that same fate.

"Well… you don't mind if I spoil it for you?" Issei asked.

"You kind of already did," Irina giggled. "When you said how the main character ended up liking the other girl, plus you said that you didn't want me to see the anime, so go ahead."

"Alright," Issei sighed. "Well, the first girl, her name is Anna, ended up having a stalker, which was revealed to be some random students. He helped save her, but in the process, he fell on her and ended up kissing her. As a result, she ended up falling for him."

"What do you mean?" Irina asked as she thought about her own first kiss, which was with the oblivious boy that was carrying her.

"She was confusing lust for love," Issei frowned. "Which I gotta appreciate the guy for not taking advantage of her. However, I felt like he could have at least tried to teach her about love and help her differentiate the difference, so he could really determine if she really had feelings for him."

"I see." Irina nodded as she already knew her feelings for her childhood friend. "Any other anime I should avoid?"

"Uh huh," Issei nodded. "Now that I think about it, since I criticized you about your outfit, there's this one called Masou Gakuen HxH. While they have armor, they're still battling in something similar to swimwear, so they're much worse than you."

"Swimwear and armor? Not a lot of defense in an outfit like that."

"Nope. It's not." He sniffled, trying to stop a nosebleed as he remembered the nudity and various ecchi moments of the show. He had wished that he had the power of Eros to formulate his harem then, "Oh, I just realized that we've been walking for a while now."

"I don't mind." She knew they'd already reached the bottom of the stairs and were wandering down the road.

"Hmm… I think we're between Shishi-Oh and the mall. Anywhere you want to go? You talked about a place with udon." Issei reminded her.

"Just keep walking and I'll let you know when I see something that I like." She rested her head on his shoulder, aiming to milk as much time with him as possible.

"Yes ma'am," Issei chuckled, continuing down the quiet street.

Issei adjusted his grip slightly as he continued walking. He was grateful for his muscle mass because Irina was pretty light and he found it quite easy to hold her for so long. He could tell that he was slightly sweating, but not too bad that it would be noticeable to others.

When Irina rested her head gently against his shoulder, warmth bloomed in his chest. His prayer echoed in his mind and his nightmare followed right behind it.

'I don't want to let a moment like this be taken away from me… I can't let guys like Freed win.' He tightened his hold just a little.

Back at the Hyoudou residence, Xenovia lay sprawled across the couch, arms stretched out, eyes half‑closed. It was strange to her because she felt… relaxed. She never knew that she could have fun and do something for herself, something outside the Church, something that wasn't training or missions. She wouldn't mind coming back to Japan and doing this all again, but now that she was alone, her mind returned to business.

She would need to talk with Issei about his drive, and how he was able to unlock his ki. She wondered about the pros of using ki. Maybe it would help her utilize the other weapon that she kept sealed away. She was a little nervous about the game that Issei had mentioned which involved Xenomorphs. She normally didn't get spooked, but those things just made Xenovia feel a little uneasy and a shiver ran down her spine.

She could only beat the thing from long range if she ever came across one as she remembered that it had acidic blood. She wasn't sure if she had any range attacks as she and Irina never actually used the standard light guns that exorcists had. After seeing the xenomorphs, she may consider it and she wouldn't be surprised if Irina considered it as well. She remembered clutching Irina's hand in the theater when the creature appeared on screen, lurking in the dark, using the shadows to conceal itself, the suspense actually made Xenovia gulp.

Due to her nervousness, Xenovia was slightly on edge, so when she heard a knock on the door, she didn't like what she was feeling. She could feel the demonic presence on the other side of the door. Her hand immediately went to Excalibur Destruction, drawing it as she approached the door cautiously, until she heard a voice on the other side of the door.

"Hey, Hyoudou, you there?"

Xenovia blinked. 'Hyoudou? He must be talking about Issei, but what do they want with him?'

Some of the presences were familiar to her, but there was one that wasn't and she felt that this wouldn't be a friendly visit. She opened the door and chaos erupted instantly.

"Hell… whoa!" Genshirou stumbled backward as Ayase yanked him by the collar, summoning her Sacred Gear in a flash of light.

Ayase's Hizume pressed against Xenovia's neck and Xenovia's Excalibur Destruction was near Ayase's neck. Both women glared, neither flinching. In the background, Yuuto also had a sword drawn.

"What do you want?" Xenovia asked coldly.

Takeshi raised both hands. "We came to talk!"

"Is Hyoudou here?" Genshirou asked.

"If he was," Xenovia replied, "I wouldn't have my blade out."

The devils nodded in agreement as it was a fair point since Issei did not fully know about the supernatural. All he knew was a snippet that was told to him by Kyōichi, when he went looking for information about Freed.

"Is your partner here?" Takeshi asked.

"She's out on a date with Issei." Xenovia answered.

The devils stood in shock at that revelation.

'Not bad, dude.' Takeshi and Genshirou both thought, giving Issei mental props on being able to secure a date.

Ayase kept her face neutral and didn't let her emotions show as she kept her blade at Xenovia's neck. Koneko actually blinked in surprise that Issei was able to get a date. She didn't show it, but she was impressed because she could see that he was reforming himself and hadn't done anything perverted since his humiliation of being posted online. Xenovia kept her blade at Ayase's neck and they realized that they needed to defuse the situation as Yuuto seemed ready to strike.

"Yo, Ayatsuji-senpai, you might want to put the blade away." Takeshi told his senior.

"He's right, Ayase-senpai." Genshirou placed a hand on her shoulder.

Ayase shifted her eyes to Genshirou to see him nod as she turned back to Xenovia and deactivated her sacred gear. When she did so, Xenovia waited a few moments but kept her blade at Ayase's neck.

"Please, we just want to talk." Genshirou pleaded.

"About?" Xenovia questioned.

"Your mission." Takeshi answered.

Xenovia glared. "Last I checked, you said that you wouldn't interfere."

Yuuto scowled, "They might have, but I didn't."

"Kiba," Takeshi hissed as the knight stepped forward, eyes narrowed. "Cool it!"

"Don't tell me what to do," Yuuto growled.

Genshirou snapped, "Shut up and listen, pretty boy! We're doing this for you and if Hyoudou were here, he would be doing the same because he wants to help you, someone who he wants to be friends with."

Yuuto stiffened as he didn't expect Genshirou to snap at him and also realized that he had a point. His thoughts were interrupted as he felt a small tug at his sleeve.

"Kiba-senpai," Koneko said quietly.

Yuuto exhaled. "…Alright." He put away the sword that he had drawn.

Xenovia's eyes went to each one of them, and she did wonder why Issei would want to be friends with them, then again, he also said that he wanted to be friends with her as well.

"May we come in?" Takeshi asked.

"Depends," Xenovia replied.

"Seriously," Genshirou said, "we only want to talk and make a compromise. Look, right now, we have the same enemy and frankly, I don't want my siblings to possibly die if you fail."

Xenovia's eyes narrowed at the statement as he was insinuating that they would fail, when she and Irina had the power of Mitsurugi behind them. However, she remembered Mitsurugi's words to Issei about having support. She was beginning to think that he wasn't just talking only to Issei.

She took a deep breath and slowly moved her blade away from Ayase's neck and held it at her side. She looked over at each devil once more, who was waiting to see what her next move would be.

"Let's hear this compromise that you want to talk about," Xenovia said.

She knew that after this, she would be speaking with Kenichi and Raichi to know of Kokabiel's movements.

She moved to the side and allowed the devils to enter as each one passed. Their demonic presence made her shiver, but she endured it. She would hear what they have to say and then report her findings. She would also need Irina here, so that they may get both of their inputs and she didn't know how long she was going to have to keep them occupied. She gave a silent prayer that the childhood sweethearts would be heading home soon.

Steam drifted lazily above the open hot springs at Ryōzanpaku as Raichi lounged in the water, arms spread along the edge. Across from her, Renka sat perfectly still, eyes closed, expression calm. Raichi was trying to figure out what Renka was playing at. She already knew that she didn't have to worry about Kensei because he wouldn't peep at his daughter. She just watched Renka, while she relaxed.

"How long are you going to stare at me?" Renka asked, never opening her eyes.

"Until you tell me what you whispered to Ise before we left." Raichi answered.

Renka opened one eye. "Oh, that? I didn't say much."

Raichi leaned forward. "So what did you say?"

Renka sighed. "I told him good luck."

Raichi blinked. "Really? Why would you do that?"

Renka looked up at the sky. "A part of me doesn't know, but… there's nothing that I can do now, it's as you said he'll fall for her."

Raichi splashed water lightly. "That's not necessarily true. Remember Issei has a complex about him. He doesn't feel like any girl would want him because of what he has done. Irina will need to make the first move, if she has any chance."

"You think so?" Renka asked.

"Well, duh," Raichi rolled her eyes. "I know my bestie more than any of you girls. Hell, Yuuma lusts for him, too."

Renka blinked. "Yuuma… lusts for him?"

"Oh yeah," Raichi nodded. "Not sure if you know of this chick, Aika Kiryuu? She's perverted, but apparently is capable of seeing how big a guy is down there. Apparently, Issei has quite the package himself, which is kind of funny that as a pervert, he never did any dick measuring contests nor flaunted about it." Find the original chapter at NovelPing.

Renka sputtered. "W‑What!? How would she even… Wait, you've seen it?"

Raichi waved a hand. "Yeah, Yuuma peeped on him and has a picture on her phone."

"What!?" Renka exclaimed, then she sighed, "Well, I can't really deny that she's not wrong."

"Huh?" Raichi was in disbelief of what Renka just said.

"Well, I had a spar with Ise and he did a takedown on me, though I was able to kick him off and when I moved my foot… I felt it." Renka explained as she covered her face to hide her blush.

Luckily for her, she also had the excuse of the steam from the hot springs and could say that she had been in the springs for too long.

Raichi smirked. "Oh man, I thought my suspicions would be true."

"What suspicions?" Renka looked at her waringly.

Raichi grinned mischievously. "That you two were fucking, you would take him out and use him as a human dildo as a means to satisfy yourself because he reminded you of Kenichi."

Renka froze. "W‑What!? Why would you think that!?"

Raichi shrugged. "Because you know he likes big breasts and girl, with those sweater puppies. I thought you would be draining those balls of his as a reward and he gets to glaze those melons."

Renka deadpanned. "Please don't tell me that perversion is rubbing off on you?"

Raichi laughed. "You know I was perverted before I even met Ise. I tease Kisara about her breast size all the time and I've groped you and Miu before. Hell, I'm literally fondling your breasts right now and you haven't done anything about it."

It was then that Renka looked down and could see that Raichi was indeed juggling her breasts.

"Oh." Renka realized that Raichi had gotten close to her, while they were talking.

Renka had to give credit to Raichi's assassin skills because she was one of the few that could get close to Renka undetected.

"They're definitely big like Miu's and that Gremory chick, a little bigger than Yuuma's, although you're all smaller than Akeno, who's probably the final boss and it seems that she has her own interest in Ise, too." Raichi deduced, while she still fondled Renka's chest. "Of course, I don't know if it's romantic or not, but there's a level of interest there."

Renka groaned. "Just great and she has the biggest pair." Not feeling the need to contend with someone like Akeno.

"Hey, now, Ise likes more than breasts, amongst all of you girls, you and Yuuma probably have the best asses." Raichi assured her.

"Raichi, I'm beginning to question your sexuality." Renka deadpanned.

Raichi laughed. "Don't get me wrong, I like guys, and if you recall, I liked Kenichi, too, like other girls did and if Kenichi was accepting of a harem, you don't think some girl-on-girl action wouldn't happen in the bedroom."

Renka groaned. "Ugh, I guess you're right and knock it off!" She tried kicking Raichi away from fondling her chest as Raichi dodged.

"You should have seen your face." Raichi laughed.

Renka covered her chest. "And besides, Ise is following Kenichi, so I don't think a harem is in play, one girl is going to win his heart like Miu did for Kenichi."

"Meh," Raichi shrugged. "I mean from my talks with Irina, she knew of the harem thing because of his grandfather, who also thought Irina was a boy back then. A part of her is accepting of giving him that harem. However, you are right. A harem is something perverted and since Ise is trying to rectify that part of himself, he may not want one."

"Exactly." Renka nodded as Raichi knew where she was coming from.

Raichi tapped her chin. "Maybe before she goes, you should talk with her. Irina, I mean."

Renka blinked. "Why?"

"What do you mean why?" Raichi splashed water at Renka. "You like him and it's your fault anyways, if you hadn't been trying to tease Miu and Kenichi, you probably would have been with Ise by now and if not with him, certainly closer to him than you are now."

Renka sputtered. "I don't…"

"Don't deny it. You know I'm right." Raichi cut in and then her voice softened. "I don't know why you keep denying yourself of a potential happiness. Is it because of your dream?"

Renka looked down. "You mean… the one where I wanted to open up a store in China with Kenichi?"

"Yep, that's the one." Raichi pointed out. "And funny enough, I think that dream actually lines up with Irina's."

"What's her dream?" Renka asked, looking back up at Raichi.

"Ah ah ah~ you'll have to ask her yourself." Raichi wagged a finger. "Anyway, quit hurting yourself, Renka, it won't do you any good and it certainly wouldn't do Ise any good, when one of his friends is hurting."

"You're impossible." Renka sighed. "But I guess you're right, if I may ask, why does Yuuma like him or lust for him?"

Raichi leaned back. "Well, she was deceived by Takeshi, but that's kind of her own fault, she was in devil territory without warning. She was doing things for her own faction and she was doing it her way. Apparently, Takeshi was able to suppress his pieces, so she could not detect that he was a devil."

"Probably had something to do with their creator." Renka pointed out.

"Probably, but they figured out what she was doing," Raichi noted. "So they got the help of the Sitri peerage. She wanted to strip Asia of her sacred gear, but didn't get the chance. She felt betrayed by Takeshi. Not only him but also Azazel, since after he was notified, likely by one of the Maous, she took a plea deal of sorts."

"Which was to join one of the peerages." Renka understood what Yuuma had to do, in order to prevent herself from being eliminated.

Raichi nodded. "Yep."

"And with Ise?" Renka questioned, wondering how the hybrid took her own interest in the perverted brunette.

Raichi smiled. "He was upfront with her, he told her that he was a pervert and true to his name, he was just honest. I didn't know that she liked that in a guy, but she also kept the name, 'Yuuma'."

Renka raised an eyebrow. "Yuuma's not her name?"

Raichi shook her head. "It's actually Raynare, but she prefers Yuuma as Ise seemed to like it better."

"Interesting, but I'm also curious because you act perverted…" Renka began to say, until Raichi interrupted with a deadpan expression.

Raichi pointed at her. "So do you. It's in your blood."

"Ugh," Renka groaned again, leaning her head back. "Don't remind me of who my father is, but anyways… in addition to that perversion, you're also energetic like Irina and if Ise likes a girl like that, then why doesn't he go for you?"

"Because I don't see him like that," Raichi laughed. "Hell, Irina used to wear her hair like I do in twintails, but she feared that Ise may see me in her and not her for herself. Frankly, I don't think he would care about hairstyle and Ise wouldn't want anyone to change for him, similar to him, just be true to yourself. That's the kind of woman that he's looking for, I believe."

"I see…" Renka nodded in acknowledgement of this new information.

Raichi stood up, stretching. "Well, time to get out. We've been in here long enough."

"You're right," Renka rose as well. "You also gave me a lot to think about."

Raichi tilted her head. "Like what?"

Renka hesitated. "…I was starting to think I wasn't capable of finding love." A single tear slipped down her cheek.

It would have been hard to detect it because of the water dripping from her body, but Raichi's heightened sight could see the tear and Renka's eyes well up.

Raichi's expression softened. "You and Ise have that same issue. Only for him, it's because of how everyone views him. He understands that he is to blame for the reputation that he built, hence why he is trying to reform himself. It's why I said that the girl would have to make the first move. I'll tell you that Yuuma had been forceful by insinuating dirty jokes, but she has dialed back on that."

"Alright, I'll try to talk with Irina," Renka nodded with conviction. "Likely after this whole Kokabiel thing, today was kind of meant to be a stress free day."

"Yeah, and knowing Ise, whatever he feels for Irina," Raichi sighed. "She's his friend, he's going to worry about her and likely get involved."

They grabbed their towels to dry off and began to head out of the hot springs.

"Uh huh, you're his bestie as you say, so look out for him, if he does find himself on that battlefield."

Raichi gave a thumbs‑up. "You got it!"

They laughed, just as the door slid open and Miu, Kaname, Kisara, and the Walkyries stepped in.

"Oh! You two done?" Miu said.

"Yeah," Raichi nodded. "I need to see if that cadre has anything, remember he is looking for reinforcements. Luckily for us, I can stay with Yuuma for the time being, that way, Freed doesn't try to sexually assault one of us. So it would give us time to prepare to move out."

"Well, I was talking with my father, he was informed by Mitsurugi that the devils are going to try and reach a compromise with the exorcists." Miu informed them.

Renka threw her towel onto her shoulder. "They're being impatient."

Kisara crossed her arms as steam drifted around her. "Should we really be surprised? Raichi's classmate has beef with the Excalibur fragments."

Raichi groaned. "Then they're probably planning a pre‑emptive strike. They're gonna take the fight straight to us."

Renka sighed. "Good thing we got the relaxation out of the way."

"I need to check if Yuuma knows anything. It's not like Sona Sitri to go against her word." Raichi said, her towel also over her shoulder.

It was clear that the Chinese women weren't ashamed or insecure about their nudity in front of the other girls.

Kaname, already untying her towel, chimed in, "Then maybe it's the Gremory peerage."

The other girls began undressing to enter the hot springs.

"Then we should contact Xenovia and Irina, so we know who they're talking with and then you can talk with Yuuma and see what she knows." Renka suggested.

Raichi held up a finger. "Hang on, let's see if Ise is home, if he is, then they are both being contacted, if not, then we should see if he is meeting with anyone, thus we can know if the devils are talking to Irina or Xenovia, since they are separate."

She quickly headed to where her clothing was in the changing room and pulled out her phone and typed quickly.

Raichi: Hey, are you home or are you meeting with anyone?

A moment later, a reply came back from Issei.

Issei: No, still just me and Irina.

"He says it's just him and Irina." Raichi called out to the others.

Miu nodded. "So they are meeting with Xenovia then."

"Hmm, Xenovia is level headed, so she'll be fine," Kisara dipped her foot in the water. "But I wonder how you girls prepared Ise for today."

"We ran a simulated date. He was decent enough." Chisato answered as she got into the water.

"Yeah, not too bad, but he still needs work." Reo told them.

Shizuru giggled, which made her chest shake slightly. "He's likely going to be a little nervous, though."

The other Walkyries also had a laugh at that, based on their assessment of Issei and how he had to endure the preparation of his first date on short notice.

He wasn't that nervous as Shizuru thought. No, right now, he was stunned at what he was watching. Specifically, stunned by the sight of his childhood friend eating like she hadn't eaten in years. They had found a restaurant, or rather Irina did, following the scent like a bloodhound as she smelled something good. They did get some stares from bypassers about the two teenagers. He did see a student council member, he believed her name was Reya Kusaka, who was another person that he was aware liked Yuuto.

She was gracious enough to say hi, although she did look at him with this look that was a cross of disbelief and confusion. He shouldn't have been surprised, considering that he had a girl on his back.

Now, he was staring at Irina in amazement as she ate the food that she had ordered with sparkling eyes. When she was finished, Irina just let out a satisfied sigh and drank her mango smoothie.

Issei just looked on. 'Where does it all go? Is that how her chest got bigger? From eating this much? I mean, isn't that what happened with Orihime in Bleach?' He tilted his head, baffled.

Irina stretched. "Ahh~ the taste of food from my homeland."

"I'll say…" Issei muttered, already mourning his wallet. 'At least I got paid and they say that the road to a man's heart is through his stomach. I guess that applies to women, too. Ah, thank you, kaa-san for teaching me how to cook.'

Irina beamed. "Thanks for the meal, Ise-kun! Treat me again next time as well!"

'Next time? Wait… so I can take her out again?' He blinked, dazed, until he noticed a bit of sauce on her lip. "Here," he said, leaning forward with a napkin. "You've got a little something."

He gently wiped the corner of her mouth.

Irina froze, cheeks pink. "Th‑Thanks…"

"Yeah." Issei nodded, not realizing the closeness that they shared.

She took another sip of her drink. "Now that I've eaten… Do you remember your promise?"

Issei blinked. "I feel like I've promised you a lot of things."

'That's true,' Irina giggled. "I guess this one wasn't a promise, more of a deal."

"Ah, you mean the one where you answer my questions and I answer yours?" Issei raised an eyebrow.

"Bingo!" Irina snapped her fingers.

"Okay," Issei nodded and took a sip of his drink. "Well, you already answered my question, which was why you were mad at me this morning, so what's yours?"

Irina's expression softened. "What was it that you were dreaming about that had you shaken up in the middle of the night?"

Whatever joy that Issei had before, it had vanished as his smile turned to a frown and he clenched his jaw. Irina was slightly worried that he wasn't going to tell her anything and regretted asking, believing that she ruined the date. However, to her surprise, he took a deep breath and just looked back at her with sadness and a darkness in his eyes.

"I saw you dead." He answered, low enough for her to hear. "Both you and Xen, you were killed by Freed."

The statement made Irina gasp, but Issei continued on with his answer as his voice slightly trembled and his eyes welled up, but he blinked away those tears before Irina could notice.

"Not only that, he killed everyone else when they were at their peak." He exhaled.

"At their peak?" Irina wondered what he meant by that.

Issei nodded. "They had all achieved their dreams, I was so happy to see it all and then I heard Freed's voice and saw your dead bodies. In a blink of an eye, he took it all away, and then… and then… I saw my former friends, Matsuda and Motohama, they…" He swallowed hard. "They had raped Raichi, it seemed like they joined forces with Freed. They mocked me about being a virgin and I should have stuck with them, then maybe I would have gotten laid."

Her eyes slightly widened as from her view, she could see that he was beginning to shake with anger as he reminisced about his nightmare. It also reaffirmed her own suspicions of what could have happened if she had stayed in Kuoh. She could have prevented so many things and diverted him from the debaucherous path that he had been on. She did have a feeling that they likely would have met Kenichi and his group, whenever they had moved to Kuoh.

She sighed as she could see him blink away the tears as he was frustrated with himself. He was shaking his head as he began tapping his foot. She could see that his hands were shaking and his breathing was uneven, but not loud enough to cause a commotion. She reached across the table and grabbed his hand, it snapped him back to reality.

"Ise‑kun… that's why you train so much, isn't it?" Irina asked him.

"I can't afford to fail this time." He answered.

"But it's not your fight." Irina told him.

"That's where you're wrong." Issei turned his hand and gripped hers.

Irina was shocked by his action. "What do you mean?"

"What are you to me, Irina?" He asked her.

"Well, I'm your childhood friend and…" Irina began to answer, but he interrupted her.

"And I made you a promise, didn't I? That I would always have your back," His grip tightened and Irina rubbed his in return. "Not only that, he attacked Kiba. This is more than about what he did to my right arm and don't think I don't know about your mission. You're after his sword, aren't you?"

Irina slowly nodded, she couldn't hide much from him. Frankly, they could hide nothing from each other and knew what he was going to say next.

"I can't let you get hurt, Irina. Not again." Issei said. "Earlier you said something about responsibility. As my friend… and date. You're my responsibility."

Irina's breath caught that she couldn't swallow. There was no hesitation in his voice. There was also no doubt nor fear. Just his conviction to her because she feared that he was going to die. They had just reunited and they could be torn apart again because of this fight and she didn't like it, but what could she do?

There was no turning back, Issei was going to get himself involved one way or another. She already knew about Raichi's involvement, so that was another layer, even if Issei didn't know. She knew how stubborn Issei could be, so she had no idea how to respond. Lucky for her, her thought process was interrupted by their waiter with the bill.

"Your bill?" The waiter said.

Issei didn't break eye contact as he handed over his bank card, "Thank you."

The waiter took the card and left to go run it at the machine as the two childhood friends stared at each other. They remained that way, even when the waiter came back and handed Issei his card back.

"Thank you and please come again." The waiter gave them a small bow.

"Will do." Issei broke eye contact to take his card back and then turned back to Irina. "Shall we?" he asked.

Irina nodded as the two had gotten up from their table, giving a bow to their waiter for his service.

"Did you mean that?" Irina asked.

"Mean what?" Issei asked her as they were leaving.

"That you would come here again…" Irina tried to say, but Issei cut her off.

"We will come here again," Issei corrected. "Remember? You said that I could treat you to another meal again."

"You know that means another date, right?" Irina smiled.

Issei blushed as he knew that she was right. "I guess you're right. But first, I can't screw up on this one," making her chuckle. "Maybe when it's all said and done?" He asked.

Irina nodded. "Yeah." She just hoped that the Church didn't cause her return earlier than requested.

"So what's next?" Issei turned to her.

Irina thought for a second, before she spoke. "Let's go to our spot and then go home."

"Lead the way." Issei told her, making her smile as she tightened his hand, and began to lead him towards the park.

Issei didn't know if he was in trouble, since Irina didn't say anything during their walk to the park. When they arrived at the entrance, he had a sense of nostalgia. There was so much from his time as a child here, it wasn't just with Irina, but he also met someone else who he had thought was precious to him.

Irina tugged his hand, bringing him out his thoughts. "Come on. Have I jogged your memory?"

"By taking me here? Yeah, a little." Issei nodded as he looked around.

"Well, it's time for you to remember properly, Ise-kun." She smiled.

"Remember what?" Issei asked.

"Really? Ise-kun," Irina chuckled. "I have mentioned most of our childhood, so now it's time for you to remember it. So you lead us to our secret spot, just like you used to do all those years ago."

"All those years…" Issei muttered, thinking back. 'Five years old… moms chatting… running off… big tree… bench…'

It made his head hurt trying to remember from way back then, he remembered when their mothers brought them here. They would immediately run off as he heard their mothers not to run so far away.

'What direction did we go in?' Issei tried to process his memories from his childhood.

They had gone to a corner that was off to the side, there was a pretty big tree that he knew had a bench. It was where Issei and Irina would make their plans about what they would do. Of course, they made sure that they were still near their mothers, so they called for them, when it was time to go. However, there was another direction that Issei began to take. He shook his head as he knew that direction wasn't where he wanted to go.

"Well?" Irina asked, she was clearly enjoying this.

"Don't rush me." He grumbled, making Irina giggle. "Now let's see…"

Since he was still holding Irina's hand, he took her along towards what he could remember. He was right about the big tree, but the problem was that almost every corner of the park had a big tree. Even worse, the one that he was in front of did not have a bench, just really big bushes.

"Ah man… I could've sworn…" Issei mumbled.

From afar, park visitors watched a confused teenage boy dragging around a girl who looked very much like his girlfriend.

They only assumed this because Irina showed no resistance and they could only look on with mild confusion. She did not give any sign that she was in trouble and whenever someone looked at them, Irina would offer polite smiles to anyone who glanced their way. Her calm expression reassured onlookers that she was in no danger. There were some couples that were from Kuoh Academy that were out and about. But with his hair grown out, it was shaggier and wilder, reminiscent of his master, it was a little hard to tell that he was Issei.

For the next ten minutes, Issei dragged Irina around the park, but he could not tell which one was their spot. In addition, Irina couldn't either, since each spot they went to was the same as the last with the same bushes. However, she did know that Issei had gone in the right direction the first time. It seemed that Issei could understand her thoughts as she did as he brought her back to the first spot.

"Ugh… I swear it was here." He scratched his head, frustrated. "I'm sorry, Irina."

Irina shook her head gently. "You did go the right way. I know that but… everything looks the same now. The trees, the bushes… it's hard to tell. I'm not even sure."

Issei frowned, scanning the area. "Hmm… wait a minute. There's space behind this tree."

Irina blinked. "Wait, we'd have to go through the bushes."

"Don't tell me you're afraid of some plants?" He flashed a mischievous grin.

A grin that pulled Irina straight back into childhood to the boy who always dragged her into trouble, who always smiled before doing something reckless.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of having some fun?" The words came back to her, remembering how he teased, despite her being the one that pranked him.

When she had been unsure of Issei's mischief and troublemaking ways, something that he had inherited from his mother. It was how she realized that he understood her as they were the 'weird' kids, the troublemakers, and nobody came in between them, until her father's job intervened.

Irina smiled back. "I'm just worried about you messing up your outfit."

Issei laughed. "I'm not worried. Come on."

He glanced around, making sure the coast was clear and then pushed into the bushes. Irina stood there, watching him disappear into the greenery.

"Irina," his voice called from inside, "if you don't get in here, I'll come out and drag you in myself."

She rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright…" She pushed through the bushes and gasped softly. "Huh… so there was space behind here."

Issei nodded proudly. "A little cramped, since we're grown up now, but look," He pointed at a bench. "I guess they decided to just move the bench and it got hidden behind all of these bushes."

Irina eyed the old wooden bench skeptically. "How do you know it's the same one?"

"I don't," he admitted. "But… something about it feels right."

He walked over and pressed a hand to the backrest.

"Are you sure it's safe?" Irina asked.

"Probably not." He shrugged and sat down.

CREEEAAAK.

"Yeah, maybe not safe," he said casually. "Have a seat."

Irina stared at him. "You just said it's not safe."

Issei gasped dramatically. "Shidou! Where is your sense of danger? What has the Church done to you? Before you were doing pranks on me and now… you've changed."

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," she huffed, sitting beside him.

CREEEEEAK.

Irina clasped her hands. "Oh, Heavenly Father, I pray unto you that you provide the bench the strength to hold us together, amen!"

Issei chuckled. "Guess the prayer was needed."

Irina giggled then her expression softened. "Did you mean what you said?"

"Huh?" Issei looked at her.

"In the restaurant… you said that I was your responsibility." Her heart thumped. 'Did he also remember what mama told him?'

Issei didn't hesitate. "Yes."

The shade hid her blush, but not the warmth in her chest.

"But…" Irina tried to say that he could die.

"I don't care," he cut in. "Well… yeah, I do care. About you. But I'm sticking to what I said." He turned to her fully and the bench creaked with his movements. "You're my friend, it's you and I against the world. So yes as my partner in crime, you are my responsibility, I'm supposed to have your back because that's what friends do, remember?"

Irina swallowed as she knew what she said and she shouldn't have been surprised that Issei would take it to heart.

"They help each other, you said so yourself. You had my back against Kiryuu," he continued. "I'm going to have your back as well, which makes me wonder about something."

Irina blinked. "What's that?"

"What's your dream?" Issei asked.

"My… dream?" Irina repeated, trying to understand what he was saying.

"Yeah." Issei nodded. "What do you want?"

Irina fidgeted. "Well… in the Church…"

"I don't care what the Church wants." His voice was firm. "I care about what you want. So? What's your dream?" He emphasized.

She hesitated and then quietly answered. "Well… Since my mother has a restaurant… I kind of pondered about starting a bakery."

Issei nodded thoughtfully. "That might be a little tough for you."

Irina deflated. "How so?" But she was a little relieved that he didn't laugh at her.

"Didn't you say you dropped school for the Church? I would say that it may be tough," He reminded her, but then he shrugged. "But then again, there are some business owners that started their own businesses without a degree. So it's possible, but still tough."

"Yeah…" She perked up a little at his analysis.

"But it doesn't matter." He said, interrupting her thoughts.

She blinked. "It doesn't?" She was completely perplexed by his casual response.

"Nope." He smiled at her. "Degree or no degree, it doesn't matter because I'm going to be there to make sure that your dreams come to fruition, whatever it takes."

Irina's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yeah," His smile was still present on his face. "I told you about my nightmare. If I had the power to make my friends' dreams come true, I would do it. However, in order to do that, I have to beat Freed. That way you can complete your mission safely and go home and Kiba can destroy Freed's sword and avenge his lost friends. Although he may have lost those friends, I could be his friend… I think."

Irina frowned. "Do you really doubt yourself that you can't be someone's friend?" She could feel his insecurities resurfacing.

"I told you about my reputation, remember?" Issei raised an eyebrow. "I mean the dude is the prince of the school. Hell, even though Takeshi can act like a dick at times, I don't think he's a bad person and I wouldn't mind being his friend, too."

"You want to be friends with him?" Irina had some concern about Issei befriending the devils.

"I'm pretty sure most guys want to be those guys and most girls want to be with them." Issei answered.

Irina questioned, "So you want to be them?"

Issei shook his head. "No. I want to be me. Because if I wasn't me… I wouldn't be here with you."

Irina's heart skipped. "Be with me?" she whispered. "You seem so sure about sending me away…"

"Safely. I want you to get home safely," he corrected. "And honestly? I don't want you to go just yet."

"Why not?" Irina wanted to know what his heart was thinking.

"Are you serious? You're my best friend... my first best friend. Having you around has been awesome, although you do get me teased by the others."

Irina tilted her head. "How do I get you teased?"

"You were making me lunch, which is a little weird, unless… oh!" His eyes widened. "You were practicing for your future husband!"

Irina blushed. "W‑What!?" While it was true, she was trying to show her affection towards him and if she played her cards, then it could be his role.

"But if you're going to run a bakery, I'm not sure if you will have the time. Considering how business people are usually busy." Issei said, ignoring her flustered expression.

Irina puffed her cheeks. "Yeah, that's right! Just like how you made out with your pillow, for when you got a girlfriend." Then, in Italian, under her breath. "Non mi sarebbe importato se me lo avessi chiesto." (I wouldn't have minded if you asked me.)

Issei's body tensed up. "Wait a minute, did you tell the others that!?"

Irina winced. "Uh… sorry."

"Oh." Issei facepalmed. "I will never hear the end of it."

"I'm sorry…" she whispered, shoulders drooping.

"Hey, what's done is done, don't fret about it," He saw her still sad expression and nudged her shoulder gently. "It's alright, you don't have to be sad about it."

Irina looked up. "You're not mad?"

Issei didn't hesitate with a chuckle. "When have I ever been mad with you? You played pranks on me, but even those never made me mad at you. I did worry when I made you sad with my own pranks in retaliation and then you would get me back, but I got to see you smile, so I was okay with it because it was worth it. You were worth it." He smiled to assure her.

Irina's jaw dropped as she didn't know how to respond to that, so Issei kept talking.

"I'm sure," Issei continued, "that when you told the others about… the pillow thing… it wasn't meant to humiliate me. You were probably speaking fondly about it because you cherished our time together and I… didn't."

Irina nodded. "In which you said that you were going to tell me about that."

"Yeah." He exhaled. "You're right, after you were gone, it kind of sucked. I had no friends again. Or at least, there was no one like you, there wasn't another Shidou, er… Irina. Someone who I knew had my back, go have sleepovers with, and do all the fun stuff that we used to." He slumped his shoulders. "I had asked about where you were going, but it seems that your parents never told mine of what new address you would have. I guess the connection fizzled out until recently, when I mentioned you to them after the incident that I showed you."

"The one where you saw how those two, I believe that girl that you mentioned, Kiryuu, right?" Irina asked.

"That's her name." Issei nodded.

"Your former friends' names were called Matsuda and Motohama, how did you meet them anyway?" Irina asked him.

"Middle school," Issei answered. "But it brings me back to after you left because I had met an occhan (old man) at the park that did picture shows."

"Picture shows?" Irina leaned in with interest.

"Yeah," he nodded. "And frankly, that also piqued my interest in art a little because the pictures that he made were quite detailed, however, he spoke about one of my interests."

Irina raised a brow. "Let me guess. Big breasts."

"Yeah. Oppai was his thing." Issei chuckled. "It was my fascination as well, which you already know. So upon meeting this occhan, there were times where he had some viewers and other times, it was just me. Looking back on it, I think the other kids' parents knew what was happening and kept their children away, while I was stubborn and kept going back."

Irina laughed softly. "We were both stubborn."

"Yeah, we were," He remembered how he and Irina would get scolded by their mothers for how dirty they got, when playing. "But the guy would tell stories about oppai, so I got hooked and all of my other interests kind of went out the window. I still liked anime, thank goodness for that, and had an interest in computers."

"Oh that's right," Irina said. "You did mention how you were setting up your workplace and building up a PC. If I may ask, why the interest in computers?"

"Easy, we live in one of the most technological places on this planet, of course," Issei chuckled. "I'm going to want to obtain some knowledge in working with technology, so I could one day get a job, but like I said, it got sidelined and what hurt is that I lost my grandfather, so I think I also used this occhan as a means to appease that. Since he was a pervert like my grandfather, I felt that he was precious to me, until one day… I saw him being taken away by a policeman."

Irina's eyes softened and continued to listen.

"I didn't understand why as a kid," Issei said quietly. "He didn't do anything wrong, he was telling me stories that were harmless to me."

"You didn't see him after that?" She asked, she could understand that he was trying to fill the emptiness in his heart.

"No." He shook his head. "And I was back to square one again, I lost three people in a span of what… Two years? You left when I was six, my grandfather died months after you left, and then that old man that I met when I was seven, all swept from me."

He smirked, but Irina could see that there was sadness in his eyes and she could feel that he was hiding something.

"I had nobody, until I met those two and to me, like the old man, they were perverted, but they were things that I couldn't be." He sighed. "Motohama was pretty smart, so I'm not surprised that he would've gotten into Kuoh Academy. I was driven by my silly perversion and was able to get in. As for Matsuda, he was a jock, he excelled at sports in middle school and you know how the jock gets the girl. It made me jealous that I wasn't so persistent about joining martial arts back then, so I could be somewhat like Goku."

Irina giggled. "Somewhat like Goku?"

"Hey, I'm not a Saiyan. I'm only human." He held up his hands in defense.

It only made her laugh a little louder. "I suppose you're right."

"But like I said these guys had tropes that they beat me in and it sucked," Issei continued, "So I knew that I had to surpass them in something, so why not in perversion, since it bonded us together, thus I began preaching about being harem king, just like my grandfather."

Irina's eyes widened as when he said this, it was then that everything Mitsurugi had mentioned about Issei made sense. Issei had an inferiority complex, a deep one, and she was beginning to realize that this hindered him. It was this self doubt that is why Issei could never progress, but by using Xenovia and herself as a means to build something, Issei progressed in his training like Mitsurugi had hoped for.

"I see," Irina whispered. "And what about now?"

"What about now?" Issei asked.

"Are oppai… still your thing that you see in a woman?" She asked him.

Issei shook his head. "Nah, if you mean by size, I think girls are more stingy on that than guys are, since it doesn't matter if your oppai is big or small, oppai is oppai." He laughed. "Heck, there were some anime that I have watched where the girl didn't have much, but she was still someone that I could only hope to meet one day."

Irina smiled faintly. "So what do you look for in a woman now?" she asked.

'Well…" Issei leaned back. "Someone that is honest with themselves, I guess, plus personality. Right now, I would say that looks are a plus, but these days, people are just superficial and care about looks first, wouldn't you agree?"

"I guess, but I'm not one of those." Irina replied as she thought, 'After all, you weren't the most handsome boy that I've met, but I still fell for you.'

"Are you sure? I mean have you seen the way girls in my school act around Kiba and Takeshi?" He laughed. "I wouldn't be surprised if you gossiped with the other girls about them."

"That's not true!" Irina exclaimed.

"Huh?" Issei was surprised by her outburst.

Irina blurted in Italian, "Starei con te, quindi non avrei bisogno di spettegolare su un altro ragazzo!" (I'd be with you, so there would be no need for me to gossip about another boy!)

She understood that he was referring to if she had stayed in Kuoh, but she didn't see it that way. As she believed that Issei would have seen her as a girl and possibly had fallen for her, while they grew up. Since she also did take some fault for never correcting him either about her gender back then.

Issei blinked. "Okay, okay, sorry! I didn't mean to upset you." Misinterpreting her frustration as he still had no idea what she said. "Anyways, like I told you about them, I wasn't just jealous of them for their looks, but now, it's more about their skill."

"Their skills?" She was curious about what he meant by that.

"Yeah, Kiba can fight with a sword, it's pretty awesome. He and I worked together against that Freed guy. Though I feel like I was holding him back, if I was stronger, he wouldn't have had to worry about me and neither would Shigure-nee, so she wouldn't have had to come in and save our butts." He sighed. "As for Takeshi, I heard through the gossiping that he was a kickboxer, I mean you sparred with him, which I misinterpreted in that situation and frankly, I think that's pretty awesome. Both of those guys, I probably wouldn't mind sparring with them myself. Because that way, I can get stronger and then I can keep my friends safe and see them achieve their dreams." He looked up at the sky, smiling as a tear slid down his cheek.

Irina whispered, "I think I understand your drive." Reaching over and wiping his tear streak, surprising him. "I also want to be better, too."

"That's… good." He was still in shock from her rubbing his cheek.

"In your story," she said softly, "You mentioned losing three people in a span of two years. I saw that you were sad about something that related to that, what was it?"

Issei chuckled. "You're really trying to deep dive into my thoughts, aren't you?"

"I have to." Irina affirmed him.

"Why?" Issei didn't understand what she meant by that.

"So I can make you happy." Irina declared, which threw off Issei completely.

Issei froze. "W-What?" Before she could answer, Irina's phone vibrated. She checked it and frowned. "What is it?" he asked.

"It seems… that there are guests at your house." Irina said.

Issei groaned. "Ugh. I guess we better get going." He figured that it was someone that Xenovia knew, since if it was his parents, they would have texted him.

Since it was Xenovia that messaged Irina, it meant that she had to return, thus they had to cut their date short.

"Right." She sighed as he got up from the bench and stepped out of the bushes. "Oh! Just a minute!" Irina stayed behind for a moment.

When she was sure that he was not looking, she transformed Excalibur Mimic from the ribbon around her left bicep to a pocket knife. She began to etch several things into the tree, moving the bench to make space. When she was done, she transformed Excalibur Mimic back into the ribbon, just as she heard Issei coming crashing back through the bushes.

"Irina, what are you… doing?" He looked from her to the tree as she was facing it.

She stepped aside slightly. "Now it's our spot," she said softly. "Forever marked."

Issei stared at the carving on the tree. "'I... I'?" He blinked and then laughed softly. "It's not like you to cause property damage, guess my partner in crime is still in there."

Irina smiled, brushing her fingers over the carved initials. "She has always been here. It's our names together, since this is our spot, now we'll never forget our secret area, even if they remember to take away this bench. Our mark will always be here and if they try to scratch it out, we'll still know that it was our mark that was there."

"So we'll never forget," Issei murmured.

Irina nodded. "Right. Because it's us…"

"Against the world," he finished.

They both laughed and when they did, some sunlight of the setting sun slipped through the leaves and into the area, illuminating Irina's face. It made her hair glow and her twinkled in wonder and joy. For all the breasts that Issei had fantasized about, this moment threw all of that out as he snapped a mental image because Irina looked almost unreal to him. It took Issei's breath away and his mouth started moving before he could stop it.

"She's like an angel… Wow… I wish I could kiss her." He said as part of the glow around her hair looked like a halo.

Irina's body shut down. "H‑Huh!?"

Issei began to sweat a little. "What? Huh?"

"You… you said something," she stammered out, cheeks burning.

"I did? Oh yeah! I did. Right. Uh… I finished your sentence! Yeah. That's it. Us against the world." He laughed nervously, mentally screaming. 'Shit! Please tell me I didn't say that out loud!'

Irina sighed softly, switching to Italian under her breath. "Non devi essere disonesto con me, Ise‑kun. Puoi baciarmi quando vuoi… dopotutto, ti ho baciato per primo." (You don't have to be dishonest with me, Ise‑kun. You can kiss me whenever you want… after all, I did kiss you first.)

For some odd reason, Issei felt warm by what she said, even if he didn't know how to respond to it. She knew that she said his name, but with how she said it, he knew that she wasn't demeaning him. She was being sincere as if opening her heart and letting him in and something was telling him that he needed to respond in kind.

She smiled brightly. "Hey, let's take a picture of it quickly. We should get going."

"R‑Right." Issei nodded as he stepped towards her.

They leaned together, taking a few selfies with the carved initials behind them. Issei never realized, but Irina was shifting her body as if she was hiding something. He was too focused on what he had said, but still smiled for the camera because this was their moment, their time.

'She definitely knows something… and damn it! Why did I lie? That's not who I am. Karma's gonna bite me in the ass.' He thought to himself.

With their pictures done, Issei guided Irina out of the bushes. However, if he had looked back, he would have something else carved in the tree. The other carving that Irina had made, while he had been outside earlier waiting for her. On the tree, hidden by the bench, the other carving said, "Ise ♥ Irina - Partners in Crime".

As they walked to the entrance of the park, Irina realized that Issei didn't answer her question about his sadness. It made her feel sad that she wouldn't know, but with Xenovia's message, she would have to store it for later. However, her curiosity did pique her interest about something, so she had one more question to ask.

"Hey, Ise‑kun?" She said, getting his attention.

"Yeah?" He turned to her.

"Today… Did I make you happy?" She asked.

Issei blinked before sighing. "I think I should be asking you that question."

"You did," she said softly. "I enjoyed today."

"Same here. So… to answer your question. Yeah, you did make me happy. You always did and it's why I would never want you to change." He answered.

"That's good to hear," Irina smiled, warmth blooming in her chest. She squeezed his hand and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Hey, Ise‑kun?"

"Yeah?" He swallowed, blushing heavily from her head on his shoulder.

"Since we have time… show me how you play this Pokémon Go." She told him.

The statement made all of Issei's tension go out the window as he exhaled. He actually had been thinking about this when Kaname had brought up that girls were taught by the guys. It seemed that Irina had been thinking the same and Issei didn't mind that she was interested in following his nerdy, otaku path.

Issei laughed. "Of course."

He pulled out his phone, remembering Chisato's advice to include Irina's thoughts, her opinions, and her interests.

During their walk, Irina got to learn some more things about Issei, such as his affection for Honoka. Some things that she liked, some she didn't, for example, she liked that he was looking up to Kenichi. She didn't like that he was also inspired by Genshirou Saji, a devil, but even she had to admire how he worked hard for his siblings. It made Issei want to be better for his surrogate sibling, since Honoka was the closest thing that he had to a little sibling. He noted how he didn't want her to be affected by his perversion. Another reason for him to put it to the side, affirming his desire to be better, not for himself, but for the people he cared about.

He also began to teach her how to play Pokémon Go and let her play it on his phone, teaching her how to catch Pokémon. Since it was also a show that they used to watch as kids and now they could play it. She learned that he liked Dragon type Pokémon, which she wasn't surprised about, given how his favorite Super Sentai had dragon based powers. Issei found it a little surprising that she liked Fairy and Flying type Pokémon.

He didn't notice the symbolism of how Fairy types were a weakness to Dragon type Pokémon. Irina, Kenichi, his friends and family were a weakness to Issei, but they were also his strength. Losing them terrified him more than anything and if anything happened to them, he would lose it completely. It's why he feared the possibility of Freed getting his hands on them as his nightmare and he had already seen what the psycho priest could do.

"Irina," he asked, "did you like rock climbing this morning?"

"Yeah. It was fun. But I'll have to be faster next time."

"Next time?" Issei raised an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah. I mean I like spending time with you. I always have."

Issei blinked. "But… I mean you'll be gone after you're done here. You know with your mission and all."

Irina looked up at him. "Wouldn't you come visit once in a while?"

"Of course I would! Are you kidding? I got my friend back. Even if I disappointed you." He sighed.

"With your perversion or what you have done?" She asked.

"Both, but… yeah." He nodded.

Irina squeezed his hand. "Well, look at who you surround yourself with then and who you are with now."

'Shishou said something like that.' Issei paused. "I guess you're right."

"I usually am, when it comes to you," Irina said, lightly punching his shoulder.

"I know, I know," he laughed.

"And in regards to the next time," she continued, "you were the one that said you would be by my side to see my dreams come true, after all, I am your responsibility, so that means you'll have to visit at some point."

"You're right and I will." Issei told her. "When I get the money, I'll take the first plane to England and come find you."

Irina's eyes softened. "You promise?"

"I promise." He squeezed her hand to affirm it.

"I'll hold you to that," she said. "And all your other promises."

"Which I will try to remember," he said. "and I hope that you're there to help me jog my memory. I just hope that your boyfriend doesn't mind you hanging around me too much, I wouldn't want to impede on that."

Irina frowned, muttering in Italian, "Sai che potresti almeno darci una possibilità." (You know you could at least give us a chance.)

She didn't understand why he thought that she had a boyfriend, forgetting that he had complimented her on her looks earlier. So to Issei, he felt that a pretty girl like Irina would have a boyfriend, but she had been holding onto her childhood crush for him. Considering that he made a promise to her mother, she was anticipating for him to hold onto, which he somewhat confirmed by declaring her as his responsibility.

Issei bowed immediately. "I'm sorry!"

He figured that whenever she spoke in another language, she was disappointed with him. Unlike last time, when she smiled, this time, he had seen her frown.

"It's fine," she said, cheeks pink.

"No, it's not. I disappointed you again. I don't know what you said, but I can see it in your eyes. Could you tell me how to make it better?" He pleaded with her.

"Make it… better?" Irina was confused by what he meant by that.

"Well… make you feel better after I said what I said you frowned." He explained. "And I wanted to talk about going adventuring with you, you know more than just rock climbing, you know."

Irina blinked. "No, I don't know." She wanted him to explain this further.

"Oh. Um… well…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I was hoping that we could travel together, you know take our troublemaking ways worldwide, go exploring, like hiking and camping. I've never been outside of Japan, but even back when we were young, I kind of wanted to see the world with you."

Irina's heart fluttered. "Why's that?"

"Because it didn't matter to me as long as I had my best friend by my side, which was you. Even in this small town of Kuoh, it always felt like an adventure because you were there." He told her. "Obviously, when we were climbing today, it kind of came to me about what if we were in the wild, just exploring the world."

Irina smiled. "Well, it seems that you advanced in the best friend department, since you and Raichi have a secret handshake."

"We can make one too!" Issei blurted out with no hesitation.

"I know. We'll think of something." She looked at him as if searching his soul. "Tell me… is that your dream? Exploring the world?"

"Kind of," Issei said. "There's still so much that I'd like to learn, more to this world than just breasts, you know. It's kind of why I would like a job where I could travel and take what I've learned and put it into something. However, if I were to have a family, I would drop that, so I could spend more time with them. If I can't do that, then I will try to get them to travel with me, so we could always be together."

Irina folded her hands behind her back, leaning in with a teasing smile.

"Before you can get the family," she said lightly, "you have to get the wife."

"No, I have to get a girlfriend first," Issei snorted. "Yeah, I probably would reduce the traveling to be with her, I've looked up how there are some girls that feel alone and wound up cheating on their spouse, when they are away. It actually goes both ways, I'm not going to ignore the double standard. There are some guys that would cheat, when they are away from their spouse as well."

Irina nodded at his understanding, but noticed his expression had darkened. She wasn't sure but it felt there was something akin to a dark flame in his eyes. He took her silence as his cue to continue speaking.

"It's another reason why I fear my perversion now that I look at it. If I were to have a girlfriend, who is aware of my past, she would believe that I may ogle other girls, while away and due to my perversion, I could be naive and slip up." He informed her.

He remembered what Chisato had said about there being women that would use their bodies to get what they wanted. With his perversion, he would definitely be one of those people and possibly be scammed.

Irina nodded softly. "And wound up cheating on her." Her voice cut through his thoughts.

"Yeah, and that's something that I would not want to do." He shook his head firmly.

Even with his former harem aspirations, he would not want to cheat on those girls and remembered what he had told Renka earlier in the year.

"So you wouldn't consider a long‑distance relationship?" she asked.

"I don't… know." He sighed and leaned his head towards her. "I mean I would like to be with her, physically. It's something that made me jealous of my parents."

Irina shifted her head back onto his shoulder. "How so?" She still continued to play on his phone, but she remained listening to him.

"Well, think about it, when tou-san and ojisan come back from work, they get to come back to kaa-san and obasan. I kind of get that feeling, since I get to come back to…" He stopped himself as his eyes widened as he realized what he was about to say.

"Come back to what?" Irina blinked. 'There must be someone that he was thinking of.'

"Huh? I'm sorry, I… " Before he could dig himself deeper, the Dragon Ball theme blasted from his phone as they both turned to the screen and they could see that he had a call. "Hang on a minute."

'Who do you come back to, Ise‑kun?' Her eyes narrowed slightly as she handed the phone over to him.

"Thanks." Issei said, using his free hand to grab and answer his phone. "H‑Hello?"

A familiar elderly voice responded. "Hello, dear, how are you? It's been a while since I heard from you."

Issei brightened instantly. "Baa-chan! It's good to hear from you. Sorry, it's been a minute."

Hotaru chuckled. "I'll say. What have you been up to?"

"Um, not much, training as usual, but guess what, since I have you here... there's someone that I'd like you to talk to." He put the phone on speaker, since there was nobody around them. "Go on, say hi."

"Hi? To who?" Hotaru was confused.

Irina cleared her throat. "Um… hey, baa‑chan. It's Irina."

Hotaru gasped. "Irina? You mean Shidou Irina!?"

"The one and only." Irina answered.

"Oh, bless my soul! You came back! I'm so happy! When did you move back?" Hotaru rejoiced as she asked the girl.

Irina winced. "I'm sorry, baa-chan, but we didn't. I only came back for something to do with the Church."

"Oh, that's too bad, so I guess you're stopping in Kuoh and then moving around Japan?" Hotaru questioned, but both teens could hear the disappointment in her tone.

"No, what I'm doing in Kuoh pertains to the Church and then when I'm done here, I'll be going back to the Vatican for my next assignment." Irina answered her surrogate grandmother figure.

"The Vatican? Isn't that in Italy? I thought you had moved to England, did you move again?" Hotaru was confused.

"No, I still live in England, mama has a restaurant there, she makes Japanese cuisine. Lately, I have been in Italy, but I do get to go home at times and see my parents. It's just for the past three years, I have been in Italy." Irina explained to the grandmother.

"Oh? I'm sure that you have learned the language then." Hotaru figured that she had enough time to learn Italian.

Hotaru's question also turned the gears in Issei's head as he began to realize that must be the language that Irina switches to from time to time. He wasn't sure what she had been saying and thus he didn't remember all of the phrases that she had said. Otherwise, he would have asked Xenovia what Irina had been saying, since he knew that she was Italian.

"That's right. I've also been teaching Ise‑kun on how to get better with his English." Irina said.

Hotaru hummed. "Is that what you two were doing before I interrupted?"

"Well, no…" Issei spoke up and then looked at Irina, wondering if they should say anything.

"We're on a date. We're just heading home." Irina answered and Issei's jaw dropped so hard it nearly hit the pavement.

"Well, it's about damn time!" Hotaru proclaimed. "Oh my, I'm sorry to have interrupted, I just wanted to speak with my grandson. I had no idea that you had come back, I was just worried about Ise, since we haven't spoken much since I had been informed that he was attacked."

Irina nodded in understanding. "Yeah, he's doing fine, he's back at it training and pushing himself."

"Good. Keep him in line, Irina‑chan. Can I trust you with that?" Hotaru said, making Issei look at the phone in bewilderment.

'Keep me in line? She does realize that Irina is the same girl that I caused chaos with, right? Nothing could stop our troublemaking ways.' Issei thought.

Irina giggled. "I don't think I can. You know how stubborn both of us are, baa‑chan."

Issei stared at her, heart thumping. 'See? She gets it. Kami, I love that smile… it's part of why coming home feels good again.'

Hotaru sighed fondly. "You two were such troublemakers… Ise, dear, are you still there?"

"Yes, baa‑chan." Issei answered his grandmother.

"Be sure to give Irina my number, dear," Hotaru instructed. "I'd also like to speak with your parents as well, Irina-chan. It's been so long since I've heard from them, so give my number to them when you get home."

"Yes, baa‑chan," they said in unison, before they both laughed.

Hotaru laughed as well. "Well, I'll leave you kids to it, sorry for interrupting your date, I love you both. If you do have time, Irina-chan, you're more than welcome to come visit."

"I will. You can even meet my partner." Irina beamed.

"Oh? I didn't know you had a boyfriend." Hotaru was confused.

Irina blushed. "No, baa‑chan. And I wouldn't be out with Ise‑kun if I had one. Well, unless…" Her eyes flickered toward Issei, but he didn't notice.

However, Hotaru knew the tone in Irina's voice and knew that the childhood crush was still present. She knew what Irina was implying, but she also knew that her grandson could be rather dense. It seemed to also be another trait that was inherited by the Hyoudou males, not just the perversion.

Hotaru chuckled. "Ah, that is true, there are some boys that would be jealous of their girlfriends being friends with other guys, the same applies to girls having boyfriends being friends with other girls."

Irina nodded. "I understand. Even Ise‑kun has a girl best friend…"

"Self‑proclaimed," Issei interrupted. "But she rescinded the spot back to Irina, since she was first."

"Whatever you say," Hotaru teased. "Anyway, you two have fun. Bye!"

"Bye, baa‑chan!" Her surrogate grandchildren replied back.

When she hung up, Hotaru smiled to herself, glad that the two could reunite once again. To top it off, her grandson and his childhood friend were on a date. She would have to speak with Irina about it later, since she knew that Issei wouldn't say anything as he would be too embarrassed. Back in Kuoh, after speaking with Hotaru, Issei and Irina continued their walk home.

"It was nice talking to baa‑chan again," Irina said.

"Yeah. Here, let me give you her number now, so I don't forget later." He figured that he could exchange the contact, since his mother had done the same to him, when Irina arrived.

"Okay!" Irina pulled out her phone to get the number, which Issei sent the contact tag to her. "And got it!"

When they reached the doorsteps, Issei's instincts kicked in as a chill ran down his spine. There was some bloodlust that he detected, but it wasn't like Freed's. Unbeknownst to him, Irina could also feel the devils that were inside as well. She was a little nervous for Xenovia and wondering what they wanted.

Irina's heart tightened. 'Xenovia… please be okay.'

"Well," Issei said quietly, "I guess we're here."

"Yeah." Irina nodded.

"So… I guess I'll see you around." He said, which stumped Irina.

Irina blinked. "Huh?"

"At practice," he added, taking another step to turn and head back.

"But Ise‑kun…" She started, wanting to facepalm.

He turned. "Yeah?"

"You live here." Irina covered her mouth to hide her laughing.

Issei stopped and his jaw dropped as he looked at the house.

Then he facepalmed so hard it echoed. "Uh, right."

He had been so wrapped up in this concept of being a date and usually the guy would walk the girl home like the movies and shows that he had seen throughout the years. He had been so focused that he forgot that she was living with him for the time being, while she was here.

Irina let out her laugh, which was bright and warm and Issei just looked at her in content. Irina tilted her head, watching him closely.

"Guess you were looking forward to going back to something," she said, hoping to coax out whatever he almost revealed.

"Not this time." Issei shook his head. 'Because they're already with me.'

Issei walked up and got out his keys and opened the door to find an awkward sight in his living room, where a tense standoff was happening. Xenovia sat on one side of the room, legs crossed, arms folded beneath her chest, glaring daggers at the devils. Her expression softened just a little, upon seeing who entered. Genshirou, Takeshi, Koneko, and Ayase looked at who entered, but Yuuto kept his glare, sharp enough to cut steel, on Xenovia.

Issei instinctively stepped in front of Irina, eyes flicking between both sides. He didn't know why but with how Xenovia was sitting along with her stoic stare just made her look striking, kind of like a warrior queen in his eyes. Of course, he had learned the possibility of what her name meant, when he had asked Yu-Mi.

Genshirou cleared his throat. "Um… hey?"

Issei ignored him. "You alright, Xen?"

"Yes," she answered. "I'm good."

"May I ask why you guys are here?" Issei's eyes narrowed at Yuuto, who he figured was the source of the bloodlust he'd sensed.

Ayase bowed slightly. "Sorry, Hyoudou‑san. We needed to speak with the Church representatives about a private matter."

"Private?" Issei crossed his arms. "I'm guessing this had to do with your meetings that you had with them earlier in the week."

Takeshi nodded. "That's right. So you…" He stopped himself as he realized that he can't really insult Issei in his own house, he wasn't that disrespectful.

He could also hear Ddraig telling him to be cautious, but this could also be good practice for when they had to face the "white one".

Issei's eyes sharpened. "I can what, Muzai‑san?"

Takeshi looked away. "Nothing. We can go…"

"No." Issei cut him off. "It seems that Xenovia invited you in, so you might as well stay and handle your meeting. It wouldn't do well for Irina to also keep walking, since we just got back."

Xenovia tensed up. 'Is he… disappointed in me?'

She had dropped her head and uncrossed her arms in embarrassment as she noticed that he didn't even say her nickname like before. It made her a little worried about Issei possibly kicking them out for her blunder. The devils tensed, unsure what Issei would do next, but Issei simply just sighed as he slumped his shoulders and dropped to his knees.

"My cheesecake…" Issei looked on in horror.

Everyone was stumped by his reaction. Koneko paused mid‑bite, holding the last piece of cheesecake on a plate.

Xenovia's eyes widened and she began to panic. "I'm sorry! I was trying to be a good host and didn't know what to give them, so…"

"Oh…" Issei slumped forward, defeated.

Irina crouched beside him, rubbing his back. "We can get you more cheesecake." Issei groaned miserably in response.

The devils were just surprised, even Yuuto snapped out of his glare for a brief moment as before they were expecting a fight. Fortunately, all that fight left Issei as he saw that he lost his cheesecake. It was something to make note of that Issei liked cheesecake, they actually learned something new about the so-called pervert. They just watched Irina comfort her friend about his lost cheesecake and he eventually shook his head, after a moment, he sighed and stood.

"I'm going upstairs to do my homework." He slipped off his shoes. "If you need anything, let me know."

Takeshi nodded. "Thanks."

"I wasn't talking to you." Issei pointed at Irina. "I was talking to her."

Takeshi blinked. "Oh. Right."

"And her." Issei pointed at Xenovia. "So try not to cause any problems because if you have a problem with them, you have a problem with me."

Ddraig rumbled in Takeshi's mind. "Told you."

Takeshi grimaced. 'Yeah, I know. I got a taste of it after sparring with his childhood friend.'

Ddraig hummed. "His ki has grown stronger."

Takeshi glanced at Koneko, who was watching Issei intently. 'Uh huh. It seems Koneko‑chan noticed too.'

Yuuto finally spoke. "Wait a minute, I also want to speak with you about something as well, Hyoudou-kun."

"Now?" Issei asked from the stairs.

"After we're done here." Yuuto responded.

"Sure. You know where my room is. Later." Issei continued to head upstairs.

Irina moved to stand beside Xenovia.

Ayase bowed. "Have a good day, Hyoudou‑san."

Genshirou waved awkwardly. "See you, Hyoudou."

"Yeah, yeah," Issei muttered, waving back.

When he disappeared upstairs, Xenovia exhaled.

"Did you get what you wanted?" she asked Irina.

"For the most part," Irina said. "But I learned some things."

"Don't let it distract you. Now that it's over, we can get back to focus on our mission." Xenovia reminded her.

"Ise‑kun knows about it," Irina admitted. "He told me."

Xenovia stiffened. "What?"

"Yeah, as far as he knows, we're after Freed or rather, Excalibur. He is not aware of Kokabiel." Irina informed her.

"I see…" Xenovia murmured.

The devils exchanged glances as they listened to the conversation between the exorcists, while sending glances at the stairs where Issei had gone.

Irina turned to them. "So what is this about?"

Xenovia answered, "They have a proposition for us."

"And that is?" Irina raised an eyebrow.

Genshirou stepped forward. "We want to help you. Not just for your sake, but also ours as well."

Takeshi nodded. "And hopefully appease our colleague." He gestured to Yuuto, who sat rigidly, fists clenched.

Irina frowned. "Could you please explain?"

Takeshi folded his arms. "You two came to this country to retrieve the Excalibur fragments, right?"

Xenovia nodded. "That's right. We already told you that before."

Both of the exorcists didn't seem like they were giving them hostile intent but it was for different reasons. For Xenovia, it was remembering Mitsurugi's words to Issei about needing help. For Irina, she was looking at Genshirou and remembered the little girl that was with him this morning and Issei's words of this devil's work with supporting his family and how it inspired Issei.

Takeshi continued, "We want to help you destroy the Excalibur fragments."

Xenovia and Irina looked surprised at what was just said and they turned to look at each other as if processing what they had just heard. Ayase, Yuuto, and Koneko remained stoic, while both pawns swallowed nervously and waited for their decision. The devils were a bit worried about them rejecting the offer, which might turn into a battle between angels, fallen angels and devils.

The start of it being in a home of someone who didn't even know the full truth, until he would be informed by his master. Of course, the devils had no idea how unorthodox Mitsurugi was by allowing Issei to get himself involved in such situations where he could be killed. The devils grimaced, while Yuuto clenched his fists to continue in holding his anger when Xenovia opened her mouth.

Xenovia finally said. "Yeah, maybe it's okay leaving one sword to you guys. If you can destroy it, that is. But make sure that your identities aren't revealed. We also don't want our high-ups and enemies to think that we are connected to you guys."

The response made most of the devils' jaws drop because they didn't expect that she would give them permission like that.

Genshirou sputtered. "Is it alright? Are you serious? For real?"

Irina frowned. "Hey, Xenovia, are you sure? They're still devils, you know." Subtly raising her own objection to the idea.

Xenovia nodded. "Irina, to tell you the truth, it would really be tough to retrieve the three Excalibur fragments and to battle Kokabiel with only the two of us."

"I know that, but…" Irina wanted to argue.

"The minimum objectives we have to achieve are destroying the three Excaliburs or take them back. If our Excaliburs are going to be stolen as well then we should break them before it happens. Even if we use the last resort, there's only a 30 percent chance that we will succeed in our mission and return home safely." Xenovia reminded Irina of the full scale of their mission.

Irina bit her lip. "That was before…" She stopped herself as she couldn't reveal the identity of the MMA club. "Even so, we thought that the success rate was high enough to come to this country prepared to put our life on the line."

Xenovia nodded. "Yeah. The high-ups also told us to continue with our mission as well and dispatched us to this country. It's almost self-sacrifice."

Irina whispered, "And isn't that what we, the followers, desire for?"

Xenovia shook her head. "I changed my mind. My beliefs are flexible. So I can act in the best way."

Irina groaned. "You! I have been thinking about it for a long time, but your faith is a bit weird!"

"It may be," Xenovia admitted. "I won't deny it. However, today was fun, but I think that it's our duty to accomplish our mission and return safely. I'm going to live and continue fighting for God. Am I wrong?"

"You're not wrong. But…" Irina continued to protest.

"That's why we won't ask for help from the devils. Instead we ask for help from a dragon. The high-ups didn't tell us not to borrow the strength of a dragon." Xenovia looked at the two peerage pawns. "I never thought that I would meet Sekiryuutei in a distant country like this. Even if you turned into a devil, I see that the dragon power within you is still present. If it's like the legend says, then you can increase your power to that of a Satan, correct? If you gain a power to that of a Satan, then you can break the Excaliburs without a sweat. I also think that it was God's doing that we had this meeting."

Irina threw her hands up. "Yeah, they didn't tell us not to borrow the power of a dragon but you are just saying nonsense! Your belief is certainly weird!"

Xenovia shrugged. "Weird is fine with me. But, Irina, you had fun today, too, right? Your childhood friend, he may not get involved if we add more to our numbers."

"A part of me wants to wish that is true." Irina's eyes drifted toward the stairs. 'Sorry, Xenovia, but we could have an army and Ise-kun would still find a way to get involved.'

Takeshi smirked. 'Would you look at that, there is someone for you, Hyoudou. Oh! Wait! If it's okay then I can increase my power to that of a Satan and then transfer my power that I boosted to the max to Kiba, so he can be equal to or surpass Excalibur, right?'

Ddraig's voice rumbled within Takeshi's mind. "The possibility is high, but remember you still have a limit and if need be, we can use what we discussed before as a last resort."

Takeshi exhaled slowly. 'Right… the exchange for more power. We'll need that for the cadre.'

"Precisely and we don't know how long that power boost would last." Ddraig reminded his partner.

Takeshi nodded, then addressed the exorcists. "Okay. The negotiation is a success. I will lend you guys my dragon's power." He turned to Yuuto. "Kiba, does that work with you?"

Yuuto's eyes narrowed. "While I understand the situation, I feel unsatisfied when the wielders of the Excaliburs are giving me the permission to destroy it."

Xenovia frowned. "That's a rough way to speak. If you were a stray devil, I would have cut you down without any time to spare. Of course, not here, I don't want to anger Issei more than I already have."

Everyone blinked in confusion at her words, even Yuuto's anger faltered a little bit. They couldn't help but wonder what the bluenette had done to the brunette that was upstairs.

Genshirou raised both hands. "Hey, hey, let's not fight before the cooperation strategy. I want this to be over soon, so my siblings can be safe."

Irina looked at Yuuto. "So you do hold a grudge regarding the Holy Sword project, against the Church and the Excaliburs."

"Obviously." Yuuto's voice was cold, eyes sharp with hatred.

Irina didn't flinch. "But thanks to that project, the research on holy sword users showed results. That's why it created people like Xenovia and I who can synchronize with the holy swords, well, more or less me, but still…"

Yuuto's glare intensified. "Do you think it's a forgiving act to kill all the test subjects because the project was thought to be a failure?"

His hatred directed at her spiked. The hatred towards her, however, gave an alert to Issei, who felt it as he opened his door and yelled to them from above.

"What's going on down there!?" Issei shouted.

Everyone froze, even Yuuto as he remembered Issei's words to him about messing with his friends.

Irina panicked. "W‑We're fine, Ise‑kun! No need to come down!"

They all remained still, while Koneko could sense his ki, it was still active. She also looked towards Irina, trying to decipher their connection. The silence was killing them as they didn't know if Issei would listen to Irina's advice. Luckily for them, Koneko felt Issei's ki die down as she gave a small sigh of relief as he responded.

His presence faded. "Alright," Issei called back, and they heard his door close.

Hearing that sound, made everyone exhale in relief. While Issei may be nosy and could have tried listening in, but they didn't know that Issei also correlated eavesdropping to peeping. So he wasn't going to eavesdrop on their conversation.

Takeshi wiped his forehead. "Thank goodness for his girlfriend."

The statement earned nods of agreement, while Irina didn't know how to respond and blushed.

Xenovia cleared her throat, returning to the topic. "That incident also became one of the worst cases among us and people felt disgusted about it. The person in charge of that project at that time was said to have a problem with his belief. So he was charged with heresy. Now he's one of those people on the fallen angels side."

Yuuto's eyes widened. "On the fallen angel's side? What's the name of that person?"

Genshirou answered, "Do you mean Valper Galilei? The man who is called the "Genocide Archbishop"?"

Xenovia's eyes sharpened. "How do you know that name?"

Genshirou gestured between himself and Ayase. "One of our own, she's infiltrated the enemy's side, I heard her say that name to our mistress."

Takeshi crossed his arms. "Valper. So that's the name of Kiba's enemy."

Yuuto nodded slowly. "So if I go after the fallen angels, then can I reach him." He turned to Genshirou. "Do you…"

"Sorry," Genshirou cut in. "But no, I have no idea where she is and if I try to ask, her cover may be blown and all of this could go to shit."

Yuuto sighed. "Then it looks like I have to share information as well. The other day I was attacked by a person who had the Excalibur. At that time, he killed a priest. The one who was killed is probably from your organization."

Xenovia nodded. "We know." That surprised the devils, of course, they didn't know the extent of the attack.

Yuuto chuckled bitterly. "Of course you do. Because he was there with me."

Takeshi stiffened. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, who attacked you, Kiba?"

"The name of that person is Freed Sellzen. Does this name sound familiar?" Yuuto asked him.

Takeshi's eyes widened. "Freed! That shit priest! I remember him very well. He's the crazy priest from the previous incident!"

Ayase frowned. "You said 'he' was there with you. Are you referring to Hyoudou‑san?"

"That's right." Yuuto nodded.

Takeshi's jaw dropped. "Wait, is that why his arm is…"

Yuuto nodded. "I wasn't fast enough and Hyoudou-kun only had a bokken, it gave little defense and Freed cut his arm, it's quite a lengthy gash and I knew that we had to retreat."

He kept the appearance of Shigure to himself, but something told him that Issei already told the exorcists, so they must be aware of the MMA club.

Xenovia added, "Yes, Issei took us to the site where you were attacked after our spar with you."

Takeshi exhaled. "So that's what he meant when he said that he was taking you to that place."

Xenovia continued, "Freed Sellzen. Former exorcist of the Vatican. The genius who became an exorcist at the age of 13. He had lots of big achievements because he kept on eliminating Devils and mystical beasts."

Irina's expression darkened. "But he overdid it. He even killed his allies. Freed never had any beliefs towards our God from the start. The only thing he had was fighting instinct and killing intent towards monsters. And an abnormal obsession for battles. It was a matter of time that he'd be charged for heresy."

Takeshi nodded. "So you guys also have had problems with him, too. I understand that feeling."

Xenovia's voice dropped, filled with hatred. "Is that so? Freed used the Excalibur he stole to kill our fellow followers. For us to pay the price because the disposal group couldn't take care of him at that time." Her eyes flicked toward the staircase. 'I'm not sure but I feel like I can understand a little of how Irina feels, but is he my friend? I cannot say. I do know after this, I will have to face the music. I did upset him after all.'

Ayase sighed. 'This Freed sure is hated by lots of people.'

Genshirou clapped his hands. "Anyways, let's move onto the cooperation strategy."

Xenovia took out a pen and used it to write on a memo pad and handed the paper over to Ayase, since for some reason, Xenovia felt like she was the most competent among the devils before her.

"If something happens, call this number." Xenovia said.

Takeshi nodded. "Thanks. Then we should also…"

"That won't be necessary," Xenovia cut in. "I can assume that you are connected to our host."

Takeshi shook his head. "I'm not and neither is Koneko‑chan."

Genshirou waved. "Relax, we have her contact information. If anything comes up, we can let Hyoudou know that we need to speak with them and try to get a meeting again."

Xenovia nodded. "Then that's it then. I thank you for your time, but if you will excuse me, I need to speak with our host…"

Yuuto stood abruptly. "Hold that thought, I got something that I want to say to him first."

Irina stepped forward. "I don't think…"

Xenovia placed a hand on her shoulder. "Make it quick."

Yuuto didn't acknowledge her as he headed upstairs.

Genshirou raised his hand. "Oh! Can I go next? I wanted to ask him something."

Takeshi raised an eyebrow. "About what?"

Genshirou grinned. "I got this idea, which I asked your dad, Ayase-senpai and Hyoudou's master. It's about a weapon, but I need a more video game-like mind."

"Ah, I got you," Takeshi nodded in understanding. "Video games aren't really my thing, so I guess we can wait a little bit, which by the way, I got to ask you something." He pointed at Irina.

"What?" Irina asked him.

"Well, you're the first girl that went out with our school's resident pervert, or at least that I know of. How was it?" Takeshi asked, curious about the date.

Considering how they entered the house, he was sure that Issei didn't mess things up between them.

'On a surface level,' Ayase frowned. "He's more than that, you know."

"Damn, yeah, that's my bad." Takeshi said. "And it's bad to insult someone in their own home, so how was it?"

The devils leaned in, curious about what his childhood friend would say about the date.

Irina crossed her arms. "I don't think that is any of your business, thank you." She sighed, picking up the empty cheesecake plate. "We're going to have to get some more cheesecake."

Meanwhile, upstairs, Yuuto knocked on Issei's bedroom door as he already knew where it was.

"Who is it?" Issei called.

"It's me. I want to talk." Yuuto answered.

A moment later, the door opened.

Issei stood there, expression neutral. "Yes?"

Yuuto looked him in the eyes. "Tell me, Hyoudou‑kun… why were you there that night?"

Issei blinked. "That night? Oh, you mean when we got attacked by that bastard."

"That's right." Yuuto nodded.

Issei leaned against the doorframe. "Well, I said that I wanted to be friends, even if you said some pretty shitty stuff to me. However, you were right, I couldn't protect myself from all of the jeers. I mean we don't belong to the same group, but you did help me out before as well."

Yuuto frowned. "How so?"

Issei lifted his bandaged forearm, the white cloth catching the faint light of his room.

"You told me that I couldn't protect everyone and you're right," Issei's voice was quiet, but firm. "But I have to try to protect those that are close to me. Even if it means getting another one of these…" Issei lifted his bandaged forearm, the white cloth catching the faint light of his room. "It would be worth it."

Yuuto's eyes narrowed. "You think so? Even for those two downstairs?"

"One's my childhood friend," Issei replied without hesitation. "I told you that I would look after my friends and yeah, Xen may be stingy, but she's good with a sword. I want to beat her one day and beat you, so I can get stronger for my friends' dreams."

Yuuto scoffed lightly. "You can't get stronger if you're dead."

"Then I'll try not to die." Issei chuckled bitterly and shrugged, as if it were obvious. "But I thought I would give you a hand this time, after all, I still want to be your friend. I don't know your full story, but your revenge, when you achieve it. Just know that while your old friends may be gone, you got one right here that has your back." He pointed at himself.

Yuuto stared at him for a long moment and then nodded. "…I'll keep that in mind. Thanks."

"Anytime." Issei nodded in return.

With that, Yuuto headed back downstairs, he didn't care whether Issei got involved or not. But he did feel a sense of ease that he and Issei could take down Freed, if Issei had an actual weapon this time around. Genshirou made his way up the stairs and also knocked on the door that he had seen Yuuto come from. Issei opened the door and was surprised to find Genshirou on the other side of his door.

"Saji? What are you doing here?" Issei asked the blonde.

Genshirou rubbed the back of his neck. "I had a question for you about something."

"And that is?" Issei wanted him to get on with his questioning.

"You play video games, right?" Genshirou asked.

"I haven't in a while, but yeah." Issei nodded.

Genshirou brightened. "Well, I've been thinking of a weapon, it's like a sword, right?"

"Uh huh?" Issei was confused, since he already seemed to know the weapon.

"But something that keeps opponents at a distance." Genshirou continued.

"Like a swordspear?" Issei offered.

Genshirou blinked. "A what?"

"It's a weapon that I know from a game or two, but they're made from the same people. Have you ever played Dark Souls or Elden Ring?" Issei asked him.

Genshirou nodded. "I heard of those games."

"They got some pretty unique weapon designs," Issei told the Sitri pawn. "If I could make weapons, it'd definitely be something from a video game. Some weapons are pretty powerful and if I'm honest, I definitely could use one against that bastard, but I can't be picky."

"What do you mean?" Genshirou asked.

Issei sighed. "I mean I was born to perverted parents, it's where my perversion came from. While I may not like it, since it was something that ruined my social life, but then again, I look at what you do. You may have siblings, but you don't have parents, so you had to grow up fast for them. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade my parents for anything, but something had to give, which was the result of me not being able to have siblings. I kind of wish that I did have siblings, so I could learn from them or teach them like you teach your siblings."

Genshirou softened. "Hey, man. It's all good."

"You're a better man than me, Saji." Issei said, which got to Genshirou.

"Nah, dude, I had my own perversions, too, but don't sell yourself short." Genshirou grinned. "Anyway, thanks for the suggestion, I'll look it up when I get home. You said it was called a swordspear, right?"

"Yeah, but be conscious of the weight of the blade, since you're going to have a long hilt." Issei informed him.

He remembered having to deal with that as he stocked bokken and shinai at the Shishi-Oh, understanding the weight distribution of the blade from the hilt.

"Will do, man, I'll see you around." Genshirou waved as he headed back downstairs.

"Uh, sure, later." Issei waved back and closed the door and returned to his desk. "Sorry about that, Yu‑Mi‑nee."

Yu‑Mi smiled from his phone screen, indicating that he was on a video call with his surrogate older sister. "You've become popular."

"No, I'm not, so with this problem…" Issei began to say.

Yu-Mi interrupted, "Oh, come on, you have to tell me about your date, how did it go?"

"No, no," Issei shook his head. "We're not doing this. I called you to help me with my homework."

"Is that all I'm good for?" she teased. "Come on, Ise... you can talk to me about other things besides making sure that your school work is okay. You've gotten smarter as the months rolled by."

Yu‑Mi leaned closer on her end. "How so?"

"Well, I'm not sure, but I said how I wanted to kiss her. I thought I was thinking it in my head, but I might have said it out loud." Issei explained to her.

"Oh, she definitely heard you and don't think she didn't." Yu-Mi informed him.

Issei winced. "Yeah, but I don't know why I felt that way, I mean she's my friend, I'm not supposed to feel that way, am I?"

Yu‑Mi's voice softened. "Hmm, I guess you're having feelings for her. Tell me how does she make you feel?"

Issei looked down at his hands. "Well, it feels like when I was young, I was always happy to see her, even though I thought she was a guy." He laughed weakly. "It's the same feeling but this time, at least I know she's going to be going again, unlike last time where it completely took me off guard and I don't want her to go." His voice trembled. "I want her here with me like I thought she would be when we were kids. She's also here to deal with the guy that attacked me and cut my arm, so I'm worried for her safety. I feel like if I'm not there, something bad will happen, so I prayed for her safety when we went to the shrine earlier today. When we're watching anime together, I don't ever want to let her go, a part of me wishes that I could wake up with her next to me like my kaa-san and tou-san do or even you and Elize-nee."

Yu‑Mi was expecting more, so she asked. "But?"

"But I know anything that I want is never meant to be," Issei whispered. "She's going to leave again. My senpai are going to graduate and leave as well, I only hope that I can see them all achieve their dreams. Maybe I should get used to it, I mean everyone always leaves me."

Yu‑Mi's expression softened with sisterly warmth. "It seems like you have abandonment issues, I guess it started with her, then you have mentioned that old man, now you have your former perverted friends, even though you feel like you have brought new people into your circle, you still have that inkling feeling that they will leave, well, then Ise," She leaned closer to the camera. "I want you to look at me. I am your big sister, we're family now. I'm not going to abandon you, do you understand me? Wherever you are, whether it's to call me about homework or just want to talk, I will be there, okay?"

"Okay." Issei nodded.

"Good, now let's finish up this homework, I know there's more for you to tell me about how today has gone." She smiled, she was going to get the details about his first date out of him.

Issei groaned. "Ugh, well, all I can say is that I'll be saving up again for that new processor."

Yu‑Mi laughed. "Oh, I can't wait to hear the reason why."

Meanwhile, downstairs, the devils had given their goodbyes to the exorcists, who were doing the dishes. Well, it was more of Irina doing the dishes and instructing Xenovia, who had gotten a little better with her house cleaning. Now they were heading back to their respective homes, but Yuuto couldn't help but ask them a question.

"Why did you guys do that?" He asked.

Takeshi looked at him in confusion. "Do what?"

"Ask to help them… To help me?" Yuuto said.

Takeshi grinned. "Come on, man, we're clubmates, the princes of the school, we gotta look out for each other."

Genshirou nodded. "Frankly, I just know that if they run amok, that only puts my siblings in danger and I can't allow that. I want them to live peacefully, they've already been through enough, well, Kaho-chan has, Gengo was too young to even remember our parents or some of our relatives that took care of us."

Ayase added, "My clubmate came to ask me for assistance, so of course, I was going to help and also we are on the same side. We'd all like a peace of mind and taking out that sword will give you yours, so I don't see the problem, especially now they have agreed to allow us to destroy one of the fragments."

Yuuto looked away. "If I act by myself, then I would cause trouble for Buchou. That's also the reason, right?"

"That, too," Takeshi pointed out. "Rias would get sad if you were to go around on a rampage. I mean when I made this plan, I knew that it would cause trouble for her as well. However, if I got the right pieces, then maybe we can succeed but me disobeying her, I know that I can make it up to her and it's better than you becoming a stray devil, right?"

Yuuto didn't say anything, but his silence wasn't rejection and he was somewhat satisfied with their reasons at least for now. They were all quiet as they could tell that Yuuto was quite hard to deal with in this state. While they continued walking, Yuuto did feel a tug at his pant leg as he looked down.

Koneko looked up at him, golden eyes trembling. "Yuuto‑senpai, I would get lonely… if senpai disappeared."

It surprised a lot of them for her to show emotion, since Koneko rarely showed emotion. She was also quiet during the negotiations, but she had been hoping that the exorcists would agree. So to see this sudden change, her quiet plea hit all of them like a punch to the chest.

"I will help you," she whispered. "That's why please don't go."

Thanks to Koneko-chan's appeal, it gave a surge to all of them, making their heartbeats go up a bit. They all had the same feeling, they definitely can't betray their group. Knowing how their kohai was feeling, they couldn't turn back now, even Ayase understood that, their secret mission would need to be kept hidden from their mistresses. They looked from Koneko to Yuuto, who seemed troubled, but then put on his normal face and laughed.

"Hahaha. I give up. If Koneko-chan says that to me, then I can't do reckless things." He straightened. "Okay. I will work with you. I know who my true enemy is. But since we are doing this, we are definitely going to defeat the Excalibur."

Takeshi pumped a fist. "Alright! Now we got the group to destroy the Excalibur! Let's find that bastard and destroy the stolen Excalibur!"

"Right!" Genshirou and Ayase echoed, high‑fiving, while Koneko smiled just a little.

Ayase slowed her steps, her expression softening. "However, while we heard your story from your mistress, Kiba-san, could we hear it from you? Sorry if it brings up bad memories, I'd just like to hear it from the source."

Genshirou nodded. "She's right. Hearing it from you matters."

Takeshi frowned. "Hey, we don't have to…"

"It's fine, Takeshi‑kun." Yuuto's voice was calm, but heavy. "We still have a ways to go before we reach our homes, so let's talk a bit."

The group fell silent as Yuuto began to talk about his past and how Project Holy Sword was planned secretly by the Catholic Church. The tests were done to make lots of people who could possibly use holy swords more effectively taking place in an institute. There were boys and girls who had talents at using swords and a possessor of Sacred Gear. Day after day, they were going through inhuman experiments. They were being experimented on and had their rights of freedom taken away.

They weren't treated as humans and their lives were ignored but they had a dream of being able to live on. They were forced to believe that they were loved by God, and they were just waiting for "that day" to come. They believed that they would become special beings and that they could become people who could wield holy swords. However, the results showed that they were disposable, they couldn't use the holy-swords.

Yuuto's voice trembled, not with fear, but with memory. "Everyone died, or rather they were killed. Killed by those who serve God. There was no one to save us. All because we couldn't use those damned holy swords. The others… they were… they were put under poisonous gas while they were still alive. They used poisonous gas on us while saying that damned word "amen". We vomited blood, falling to the floor, writhing in pain and yet, we were seeking help from God."

The others listened to him silently as he told his story, they were able to visualize it, since he was speaking from experience. It made them all stiffen a little bit as how something like this could have happened to them. For Genshirou, it was making him wonder how people could do this and wondered if Sona had not gotten to him, would his siblings be subjugated to this imprisonment? Yuuto talked about how he managed to escape from the laboratory, but the poisonous gas had already infected him. There were certain people that succeeded, but for the test subjects who had lower abilities than average were all disposed of because they weren't needed. Yuuto spoke of how he met Rias who came to observe Italy and spotted him as he was dying, thus giving him another chance at life.

Yuuto went on. "I want to accomplish my comrades' regrets. I don't want their deaths to be in vain. I need to keep on living in their place, and I have to prove that I am stronger than Excalibur."

Takeshi could understand that as he felt the same, living in place of his parents that were taken from him. He just didn't have the chance to avenge them, since a stray devil killed the robbers that invaded his former home. He knew that Asia also had a sad past, however, his fellow "prince" had been going through a life that was so hard to imagine. It was hard to imagine the pain that Yuuto went through as he always seemed to have a smile on his face. He could understand why Yuuto wouldn't believe in God after all that he endured something unimaginable.

It then made him remember the jeering that Issei went through in the dodgeball tournament. The humiliation that he had to go through. It wasn't necessarily a sad past like theirs, not the same kind of suffering but Takeshi remembered that Issei probably had the same weight of loneliness as Yuuto in that regard. While Yuuto had a smile, Issei's shield was his perversion, but now, Issei didn't have that shield anymore. He also remembered the guilt in Issei's eyes, but it was because he had learned from his mistake and understood that he would be ostracized.

Takeshi looked down, fists clenched. 'We all carry something,' Takeshi realized. 'To live for revenge, I was once like that, but I didn't get that chance and used my fame to be a dick to others. Rias said that she made him her servant so he could use his talents on something besides defeating holy swords, she said something similar to me and I've been enjoying my new life.'

"Damn, man, that's harsh," Genshirou sniffled. "Now I don't have a talent for swords like you, but it does make me wonder of the possibility of someone from the Church getting me and my siblings. It makes me wonder if we could have wound up in that situation. Would we be like those two at Hyoudou's or… or…"

His voice shook as his body began to shake in worry of the possibility of what could have happened, seeing how his siblings could have been killed.

Ayase immediately placed a hand on his shoulder, rubbing gently. She could see the tears well up in Genshirou's eyes and turned to the others.

"Kiba‑san," she said softly, "It must have been horrible and painful what you went through. Not even when I thought I would lose my father and home compares to what you went through. It makes me wonder if there even is a god or hope in this world. Right now I feel so much sympathy for you and I understand why you hold a grudge against those people from the Church and Excalibur."

Takeshi nodded. "Yeah, and to tell you the truth, I thought we were similar because you were a good looking guy and so was I," He gave a humorless laugh. "But our pains were different. I never got a chance to avenge my parents, but you have yours and I will help you get your vengeance. I don't care what punishment that I receive from Rias, when she finds out. However, we will destroy Excalibur and you also need to live on. But when it's all said and done, don't you ever betray Rias who saved you!"

Genshirou wiped his eyes. "Ha, I didn't like either one of you because you were good looking guys. Okay, I think you should know about me if we are working together!" He took a deep breath. "My dream, at one point, was to… make Kaichou pregnant and marry her!"

Takeshi coughed. "Damn, straight to the point."

"But," Genshirou continued, "You know… making a girl pregnant and marrying her is hard for an unpopular guy like me. Thanks to Hyoudou, I kind of would like to do that with Momo. She's been there for me since I first joined, but I was too focused on Kaichou to notice."

Takeshi smirked. "Dang, so you're giving up on Kaichou, huh?"

"Hey, man, if she likes me, she likes me," Genshirou shrugged. "And right now, Momo and Ruruko like me, so my focus is on them."

"Damn, you finally noticed?" Takeshi crossed his arms.

Genshirou waved him off. "As I said, Hyoudou helped out, haha, hey, Ayatsuji-senpai, do you remember how he imitated Momo?"

Ayase chuckled. "Yes, you're right, it was quite funny. I wonder what other impressions he can do."

Takeshi blinked. "He does impressions?"

Yuuto nodded. "And he can sculpt."

Takeshi whistled. "Akeno-senpai said that he made one of you and he also made you see how Momo and Ruruko liked you, but I don't see how he doesn't realize that some girls like him."

Genshirou sighed. "Isn't it obvious? You should know, after all, you reignited those jeers after the dodgeball game."

"Hey, man, I was just…" Takeshi began to protest.

"Upset? Yeah, I know, but you could have done it differently. We could have done things differently." Genshirou rubbed his face. "He was right about my perverseness, while I was so focused on Kaichou, I'll admit I did want to touch her breasts. Do you understand how hard that dream is, to touch the high-class devils' oppai? To touch the oppai of your master?"

Takeshi groaned. "Saji. You can touch it. You can touch the high class devils' oppai. You can touch your master's oppai! I actually groped Rias' oppai with this hand."

Yuuto chuckled nervously. "I don't think that is something to brag about out loud."

"Oh, shoot, you're right." Takeshi stopped to realize and he inwardly laughed, 'Oh, man, I was sounding like the old Hyoudou. The irony.'

Genshirou laughed. "That's fine, I've touched Momo's breast, so it's all good, no need to make it a competition."

Takeshi thumped his chest with his fist. "Yeah, but we're not useless pawns, and we're going to show it! We're going to fight for our mistresses, even if what we're doing is against their wishes. We're going to help Kiba avenge his fallen comrades and we're going to defeat Freed! And after that, we will continue to protect our girlfriends from harm and keep growing stronger!"

"Hell yeah!" Genshirou cheered.

Takeshi turned. "Come on, Kiba. Get in on this."

Yuuto smirked. "You know, for someone you don't like... you kind of sound like Hyoudou-kun."

Ayase nodded. "He's right."

'Shit, of course, he'd figured it out. Best to play dumb.' Takeshi blinked. "Eh? What do you mean? Koneko‑chan, what's he talking about?"

Koneko stared at him blankly. "After what you said about Buchou's breasts, you are the worst, Takeshi-senpai."

"Oh, damn it," Takeshi winced. "I knew I shouldn't have said anything, guess I was getting a bit cocky. Sorry, guys."

Yuuto shook his head. "It's fine."

Koneko added, "Yeah, first time offense."

Ayase tilted her head. "Have you always been like this, Muzai‑san?"

"Been like what?" Takeshi asked her.

"Cocky, it's what you apologized for." Ayase answered him.

Takeshi stopped walking and his expression softened, turning almost nostalgic. "…Yeah. I guess I have."

Ayase folded her arms, her expression firm but not unkind. "It's not a good look, Muzai‑san. Something like that might come back to haunt you."

Takeshi exhaled sharply, jaw tightening. "Yeah… you're probably right."

Koneko tugged lightly at his sleeve. "We'll be there for you too, senpai."

Takeshi smiled at that. "Thanks, Koneko-chan and thank you all for joining me on this crusade and forming the 'Excalibur destroying squad'."

"You're welcome, senpai," Koneko replied.

Ayase nodded. "We're happy to help."

"Whoa," Genshirou muttered, staring at his phone.

Takeshi leaned over. "What is it?"

"Kusaka‑san sent a picture to our group chat." He turned the screen toward them. "Looks like Hyoudou and that girl are pretty close."

The photo showed Issei carrying Irina on his back, both of them smiling.

Takeshi whistled. "Ooh, damn. I was kind of rooting for Akeno‑senpai."

Genshirou shrugged. "Not unless Yuuma gets to him first."

Takeshi tilted his head. "My ex?"

Yuuto shook his head. "She's not really your ex and we did kind of deceive her, so we could figure out what she was doing in Buchou's territory."

"True," Takeshi admitted. "I never called her my girlfriend either, although I do wish that I could go public with Rias. Not here, but I mean…"

"You will," Genshirou said, holding out a fist. "I'm sure of it, man."

He understood that he was referring to social status in the Underworld because Rias was a high class devil. However, despite his power, Takeshi was still considered a low class devil, so he would have to rank up.

Takeshi bumped Genshirou's fist. "Thanks."

Yuuto stretched his arms. "Well, it's been a long day, let's go home and get some rest, and remember we have to keep it under wraps from Buchou and Kaichou."

"That's right," Takeshi agreed. He turned to Genshirou. "Think we can throw the blue‑haired chick into the mix?"

Genshirou shook his head. "Wasn't getting romantic vibes, but they probably would have each other's backs. Hyoudou may be perverted, but he would have someone's back if they needed it."

"One of the reasons why Rias is looking to reincarnate him." Takeshi said.

"Still?" Genshirou looked at him in surprise.

Frankly, he was kind of hoping that Rias had given up, so they could use Issei's firepower to their own peerage. However, he should have known that Rias was persistent and he has heard Sona speak about Rias' spoiled nature in getting what she wants.

"Oh yeah, so who do you think Hyoudou will get with?" Takeshi asked as the two began to head in one direction.

Genshirou smirked. "Well, the girl on his back is his childhood friend, I'll place my money on her."

"Over your own teammate? Yuuma may not like that," Takeshi chuckled.

The others shook their heads at the two pawns' banter.

Yuuto turned to Ayase. "Will you be alright?"

Ayase smiled confidently. "Yes, I should be fine, so don't worry about me. After all, you shouldn't underestimate a fellow knight."

"I suppose you're right." Yuuto chuckled. "Thank you for helping."

Ayase gave a nod before she jumped up onto a roof and gracefully landed, before she turned around, gave a wave and took off into the night. Yuuto and Koneko waved goodbye to the Sitri knight before Koneko said something that surprised Yuuto.

"Kiba‑senpai is also the worst," Koneko said suddenly.

Yuuto blinked. "How so?"

"You were looking at Ayatsuji‑senpai's butt." Koneko told him, letting him know that she had been watching his eyes.

Yuuto coughed. "Ah, sorry, how rude of me, I was merely surprised by her jumping capability, I guess whoever trained her is quite exceptional."

Koneko considered this, then nodded. "I suppose."

They continued walking after the two pawns that were further up ahead.

However, Yuuto's thoughts darkened. 'However, I know Issei-kun will somehow get involved, and if he does, will those of the MMA club intervene? I haven't spoken to them about their secret of knowing the supernatural, but if I do, then the others may get suspicious. I guess I'll have to speak with them, when all of this is said and done.'

Koneko glanced at him. 'Hmm, there's been a change in senpai's aura, it's as if he's hiding something, but what?' Sensing a slight change in Yuuto's aura, while he began thinking about the MMA club.

Issei had finally gotten Yu-Mi to stop pestering him about how his date today went and he was nearing the end of his homework. At some point, Elize had said hi and also tried to get the details out of him about his date. Luckily, Yu‑Mi dragged her away before she could interrogate him further, but he still felt that the two women were not going to let this go and they would try to speak to Irina about it. He stopped to hear his door shut again and was surprised to see Xenovia standing there.

"Um, hey. What's up?" He then wanted to smack himself in the face. 'Damn it, I looked at her legs again!'

Xenovia said nothing as she stood there, arms folded, expression unreadable.

Yu‑Mi's voice came from the phone. "Hmm? Ise, who are you talking to?"

"Huh? Oh, it's Xenovia. She's Irina's partner." Issei answered.

Elize chimed in. "Put her on the phone! Let us see her!"

"She's not some display that you put out, she's a human being!" He turned to Xenovia. "Um… do you want to say hi?"

Xenovia blinked. "Huh? To whom?"

"They're my big sisters," Issei explained. "They kind of helped me to respect women a little better than I had done previously, they're pretty chill. I want to make them proud one day."

Since he was facing Xenovia, he didn't see Elize and Yu-Mi proudly smiling on his phone screen.

Xenovia's eyes softened. "Really?"

"Yeah, remember I'm sure Irina's told you how I was a pervert, well... I guess I still am, most teenage boys are…" Issei said, but he was interrupted.

"Yep," Yu‑Mi interjected.

"True that," Elize added.

"Oi!" Issei snapped.

Xenovia tilted her head. "She also talked about how you kissed a pillow to practice your kissing."

Issei's tan turned pale and he could hear Yu‑Mi and Elize snickering.

"Yeah, she also told the club that," he sighed. "But now these two know. Come and say hi, if you want. They have already met Irina."

"Um, okay." Xenovia stepped closer and peered at the screen. "Hello. Nice to meet you."

Elize grinned. "Ooh, another odd haired one, nice to meet you, my name is Elize."

"She's foreign like us." Yu‑Mi waved. "Hello, Xenovia, my name is Yu-Mi."

"You're foreign?" Xenovia asked. "Where are you from?"

"Germany," Elize said proudly. "My full name is Elize Schmitz."

"And I'm Korean," Yu‑Mi added. "My full name is Yu-Mi Kim, what about you?"

"I'm from Italy," Xenovia replied. "You two speak Japanese very well."

"We've been here a while," Yu‑Mi said. "You speak it well yourself."

"I learned from Irina and her family," Xenovia explained. "I have been living with them for the past year. My guardian felt that it would be good for me to stay close to my partner."

Elize blinked. "Guardian? You mean parent or are you adopted?"

"I'm adopted." Xenovia answered.

Both women softened as they looked at the girl, while they processed the information.

"Oh…" Elize didn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry about your parents," Yu‑Mi said gently.

"It's fine," Xenovia replied. "I was too young to even know them and I was raised in a church facility where my guardian adopted me, she also works for the Church."

Yu‑Mi tilted her head. "When you say church and you're from Italy, is it the Vatican?"

"Yes," Xenovia answered. "Although there are multiple churches in Italy."

Yu‑Mi nodded. "I just guessed the biggest one before I started dwindling down the choices."

Xenovia gave a small smile to that answer.

Elize leaned forward. "So did you need Ise for something?"

Xenovia straightened her posture, then bowed her head slightly.

"Oh, that's right." She turned fully toward Issei. "I came to apologize to you and if you must, you may kick me out, but at least let Irina stay."

Issei blinked. "Huh?"

"I disappointed you," she continued stiffly. "You sounded like it before you came upstairs. I knew it was directed at me and…"

Issei shrugged. "Yeah, I was disappointed that you didn't tell me that you invited some people over. Besides, why would I kick a friend out?"

Now it was Xenovia's turn to look confused. "Friend? But we're not friends."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Issei scratched the back of his head. "I guess I overstepped…"

"Wait!" Xenovia held her hand up. "I mean, well, it doesn't feel like we're friends, when we train, it doesn't feel like it."

"Well, you're not going easy on me," Issei said with a small laugh. "And I don't expect you to, I want to be able to surpass you. You're better than me at using a sword, so yeah, that ticks me off. You have the talent and capability in wielding a sword, more than I do and yeah, it sucks, but by surpassing you, I also want you to be proud of me, so I keep pushing myself."

Xenovia's eyes widened a fraction. "I see."

"And did you also forget?" Issei added. "I said that I hoped that we could be friends."

"Well, yeah, I guess you're right." She nodded. "Your reasoning explains your ferocity as well, but if you do surpass me, I will let you know that I aim to surpass you."

"Alright!" Issei pumped his fist. "And I'll just surpass you again and again until I can surpass shishou and then keep climbing the ranks!"

"Very well." Xenovia nodded. "So to clarify, you're not kicking me out."

"Nope." Issei shook his head.

"Thank you." She exhaled. "Which brings me to the next thing that I wanted to talk to you about."

"And that is?" Issei asked.

"I'd prefer it if it was done privately." Xenovia said as her eyes turned to his phone.

"Huh? Oh." Issei realized what she was looking at and turned slowly toward his phone. Yu‑Mi and Elize were staring from the screen like hawks. "Okay, Yu‑Mi‑nee, Elize‑nee," he sighed. "I have to go."

"What!? We were getting to the good part!" Elize protested.

Yu‑Mi waved her off. "It's fine, Ise. She asked to speak with you privately, so we will respect her wishes. It was nice to meet you, Xenovia."

"Thank you. You as well… Kim‑san?" Xenovia said, but very convincingly.

"You can call me Yu‑Mi," Yu-Mi smiled.

"Okay." Xenovia nodded.

Elize leaned in. "Ooh, ooh, I got a question, are you actually a blunette or perhaps you're a fellow greenette like myself."

"I'm a bluenette," Xenovia replied. "I dyed my hair as a means of fashion."

Issei's eyes sparkled. "Oh? So that's Italian fashion? Ooh, can you do mine?"

"Um… Why?" Xenovia looked at him in confusion.

"Well, I'm trying to change myself up, so why not get some Italian inspiration? As Irina said, friends help each other and I thought that we established that we're friends. We are friends now, right?" Issei reiterated.

Xenovia hesitated. "…I suppose so."

Elize grinned. "When you dye his hair, we intend to see what it looks like, see ya later, Xenovia! We'll leave you two to talk!"

"Thank you. Have a good day." Xenovia bowed to the phone screen.

"Bye!" Issei waved.

Yu-Mi waved back. "Bye, Ise."

"Later, otouto," Elize chimed before the video call ended.

Issei turned back to Xenovia. "Okay, so what's this thing that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Well, it's about your ki." Xenovia answered him.

"My ki?" Issei raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yes. How did you unlock it?" She asked.

"Huh, well, shishou and Setsuka-sensei said that it had to do with my anger and…"

BZZT.

Issei looked at his phone and his soul left his body. "Oh no…"

"What is it?" Xenovia asked.

"They were biding their time…" Issei groaned into his hand. "She has effectively taken my social life."

"Who?" Xenovia raised an eyebrow.

"Who do you think?" He showed her the screen.

On it was the MMA club group chat, which showed picture messages of each of the members. The girls were either kissing a stuffed animal sweetly, while the guys looked to be full blown making out with pillows. The guys were also asking him to critique him on their form.

Xenovia tilted her head. "Is that… bad?"

"Pretty much," Issei sighed. "They'll never let me live this down. But even so, I still love that girl, so if my social suffering gets to see her smile, then it's worth it!"

Xenovia's eyebrow twitched. 'So the feeling is mutual, something must have happened, but they could have progressed if Irina wasn't speaking Italian and let him know how she felt.' A vein bulged on her forehead in irritation towards her partner, who was downstairs cleaning up the house.

Issei continued, unaware of her irritation. "So as I was saying, I was just utilizing my anger, but I was also focusing on my dream of seeing others achieve their dreams, you know. If I didn't reform, I probably would have used something lewd like breasts as my power, you know."

Xenovia chuckled. "Irina did say that you talked about big breasts, so it shouldn't be a surprise to me."

"It's good to see you smile, Xen," Issei said warmly.

"Huh?" She realized what happened. "Um… Thanks."

"If I may ask, what is your dream?" Issei asked her as he never got a chance to do so before.

"My… dream?" Xenovia looked away. "Well, um, I don't know, I usually just focused on the Church and…"

"No, no, no," Issei cut in. "I would say who cares what the Church wants, you should be asking yourself, what do you want? Of course, you're here for a mission for the Church, but aren't you fighting for your life?"

"Well… yes." She nodded, a little confused by the question.

"So use that as motivation, now because you're doing whatever for the Church, be selfish a little and do something for yourself. Heck, I'll fight for you, too." Issei told her.

"Why's that?" Xenovia crossed her arms.

"It's as I told Irina, you're my friend, thus you're my responsibility." Issei informed her.

Xenovia inhaled sharply. "If that's the case, you're my responsibility as well, which is why I can't have you participate in this fight."

Before she knew it, Issei was in her face, which slightly surprised her as he was in her space. She also could see the flicker of that dark flame in his eyes like Irina had seen earlier.

"You don't get to decide that," Issei said firmly. "If I find Freed, I'll tell you. I know that I will need back up, but I will kick his ass, Kiba will destroy his sword and avenge his friends and you and Irina can go home safely, and hopefully, there will be no more guys like Freed and thus you can live out your dreams. I only wish that I have the power to see those dreams of my friends come true."

"Very well." Xenovia said quietly and lowered her gaze. 'I guess I will have to be discreet along with Irina, while we work with the devils, and I can't believe that we're doing this. However, Mitsurugi said that we would need help and if we want to survive, we will need their help. If we want him to be safe, we will need their help.'

"So anything else?" Issei asked, but he never moved from his spot.

"Hmm, oh, yes," She cleared her throat. "Um, Kisara had said that you give massages, uh, could you do my legs? I don't want to be stiff for tomorrow, when training begins again."

That seemed to snap Issei back as the flame behind his eyes dissipated and he leaned back from her personal space.

"Oh, um, sure, that won't be a problem, but let's grab some leftovers for dinner. My parents are going to be spending the evening at Kenichi-senpai's place. Kaa-san messaged me earlier, so we can just heat up some leftovers for dinner. You can let Irina know and I can set up the game for you." He answered.

"Game?" Xenovia had forgotten that he offered her a chance to play a video game.

"Yeah, Alien Isolation. Oh man, this is going to be so much fun." Issei said, already fiddling with his gaming console and laptop.

"Um, right." Xenovia went to leave the room and head back downstairs to inform Irina of what she was told.

Irina relaxed on the couch, seeing her partner come down the stairs. "Hey."

"Hey," Xenovia replied.

"What's going on?" Irina asked.

"Well, he said that his mother messaged him that we should eat the leftovers for dinner as they are spending time with Kenichi's parents." Xenovia informed her partner.

"Okay, I'll go get started on dishing them out." Irina got up from the couch and headed to the fridge.

"He also said that we can eat in his room, so we can play the game that we talked about at the movie theater." Xenovia said.

"Got it." Irina nodded as she took out the food and plates.

Xenovia paused. "…He also said that you might have taken his social life."

Irina blinked, then slowly smiled and paused mid‑scoop. "What do you mean?"

Xenovia crossed her arms. "Well, his peers sent him images of them kissing pillows and stuffed animals, asking him if they were doing it right."

Irina's entire face went crimson. "Oh no…" She groaned. "I know I told him that I told them, but I didn't think that they would make fun of him and I guess he now hates me. If he didn't before, he certainly does now."

Xenovia shook her head. "Actually, I think it's the opposite."

Irina stared at her partner. "Opposite?" She resumed dishing food, though her hands trembled slightly.

"He said that he still loves that girl," Xenovia said plainly. "Considering that it was you that told them about it. I can only guess that he was referring to you."

Irina nearly dropped the fork that she was using. "He… loves me? Like… as a friend? Or… maybe…"

"I don't know," Xenovia replied bluntly. "Maybe if you weren't a coward and told him how you felt. Honestly, what gave you the idea to say how you felt in another language, especially since he doesn't know Italian."

Irina puffed her cheeks. "Um, well, it was this anime called Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian, but unlike Ise-kun, that character actually knew what she was saying, but she didn't know that he knew."

Xenovia groaned. "Ugh, now you're going to get distracted and spiral about how you don't know if he likes you or not, seriously, what happened?"

Irina fidgeted. "Well… I think he may like me."

"And what makes you so sure?" Xenovia narrowed her eyes at Irina.

Irina whispered, "Well, he said that he wanted to kiss me."

Xenovia stopped and then slowly dragged her hand down her face. "And you didn't do anything about it?"

"S‑sorry…" Irina scratched the back of her head.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," Xenovia muttered. "From what I've seen, the feeling is mutual."

Irina's blush deepened. "Maybe…"

"Well, what's done is done," Xenovia sighed. "We shall finish off the day and then prepare for a new tomorrow."

Irina nodded. "And the devils?"

"We'll use them to our benefit," Xenovia said matter‑of‑factly. "We can continue to train, while they're out looking for Freed. If something comes up, they'll let us know and we'll let Kenichi and Mitsurugi know, confront Freed, Valper, and Kokabiel, and pray that we make it home safe. It's what he wants."

Irina's expression softened. "I know. He told me about his nightmare. I don't want it to happen."

"Then we make sure it doesn't," Xenovia said firmly. "For his sake and ours."

"Right." Irina nodded in agreement.

They continued to lay out their plan, while the food was getting ready as they prepared themselves. They did discuss how the game would be like that and how it would be similar to the movie.

When they got to the room, it seemed like Issei had set everything up.

"Hey, let me get that for you," Issei said, coming over and taking one of the plates that Irina was holding. "Thanks."

Irina smiled. "So what's going on?"

"Well," Issei grinned, "I said that I had the game, and I told you that I would see how you do, so you up for it, Xen?"

"I might as well," Xenovia replied. "But after this, I'd like that massage."

Irina perked up. "Where?"

"My legs." Xenovia answered.

"Ooh. Then may I get one for my back and shoulders, Ise‑kun?" Irina asked him.

'Now I'm their masseuse, too?' Issei blinked. "Uh, sure, I guess." He set his food down. "It can be done after we eat, here's the controller, Xen, I'll guide you."

"Okay." Xenovia held the controller awkwardly until Issei gently adjusted her grip to hold onto it properly.

"This is a joystick, it's going to help you move around," he explained. "And depending on the button, you'll use that to interact with objects."

"Alright," she nodded, settling into his new chair. Irina sat in his old one.

Issei knelt between them, food in hand. "Alright, we're going to start at the save point where it's just before you encounter the alien."

Irina stiffened. "What!?"

Xenovia swallowed. "How do I fight it?"

"That's the thing," Issei said with a mischievous grin. "You don't. You're going to have to duck and weave and remain hidden. You'll see there are locker spots that will allow you to hide, but you're going to have to be very quiet. Are you ready?"

"…Sure," Xenovia said, though her voice wavered.

As Issei had said, it was a save that was before the first interaction with the xenomorph. Irina slightly jumped as it made its appearance and Issei had to tell her that there was nothing that Xenovia could do in a cutscene. Both exorcists were slightly nervous of the creature as the cutscene had ended.

When gameplay resumed, Xenovia asked, "Where do I go?"

"You have to follow it," Issei said. "It's going where you want to go, but you need to listen, you saw where it came out from, right?"

"Uh huh," Xenovia nodded. "The vents."

"Exactly, it's going to be hiding there or walking around the place," Issei explained to her. "So you'll have to listen for the sounds, such as its hissing and its movement in the vents."

Irina shuddered. "Oh, I don't like this."

"You're not supposed to," Issei chuckled.

Xenovia crept forward. "Okay, so I'll follow along here…"

"There's a locker, get into it." Issei instructed.

"Huh?" Xenovia was confused.

Unfortunately, she was too late as her character got killed by the alien's tail blade. It surprised the exorcists, since the death was quick and very unexpected.

Xenovia scowled. "Tch." little annoyed for not reacting sooner.

She immediately restarted from her save point and continued again, dealing with the alien cutscene again.

"Locker," Issei repeated.

This time, Xenovia reacted, even pressing the right button, which allowed her to get into the locker. Both she and Irina gave a sigh of relief, knowing that they accomplished the task. However, when they did, Issei covered Xenovia's mouth and raised a finger to his lips. This confused both exorcists and before Irina could ask anything, Issei turned to her with his finger still to his lips.

A low hiss echoed from the speakers, indicating that the xenomorph was nearby. Only when the alien crawled into a vent did Issei release Xenovia.

"It went into a vent, alright, you can get out now, but be cautious." Issei told her.

Xenovia nodded, "Okay."

She pressed the button that allowed her player to exit the locker. The tension grew with every step. She continued to follow Issei's guidance, but both her and Irina felt the suspense, due to the presence of the alien. Xenovia felt good that she was advancing through the level. However, her heartbeat was accelerating fast because she never knew where the alien would pop up from. Issei already showed her how to use the tracker to know where the alien was and would frequently use it.

"You need to use it sparingly," Issei said and Xenovia nodded.

Irina leaned in. "Why not use it all the time?"

"Because the alien can hear it, too." Issei answered her.

Irina tensed up at the thought. "Really?"

"Ye… Xen, go under the desk!" Issei instructed the girl when he saw something on screen.

Xenovia followed his instructions and froze in suspense.

Irina spoke, "It doesn't look very sa…" A screech tore through the speakers.

Both were surprised as the alien found Xenovia's hiding spot and rushed towards her character. They watched as the alien's mouth opened up and the second mouth killed the character. Issei began snickering as the two looked at him, still trying to figure out what happened.

Irina glared. "What's so funny, Ise‑kun?"

"You wanted the real experience, right?" Issei smirked at them.

"Real… experience?" Xenovia asked.

"That's right, you see the AI in this game is pretty awesome, considering how it's been around for years." Issei began to tell them.

"AI?" It was clear that Xenovia was not so familiar with technology.

"It's what the alien is, it's like you're immersed into the game. You see if you're hiding and you speak out here, the mic picks it up and the alien will hear you in the game." Issei explained to them.

Irina's eyes widened. "So that's why you shushed us earlier."

"Uh‑huh. The mic picked up your voice, Irina." Issei told her. "While Xenovia was hiding."

"I'm sorry, Xenovia…" Irina put her head down, seeing that she was the reason that her friend got killed in the game.

"It's fine," Xenovia sighed. "Do you want to try, Irina?"

Irina shook her head vigorously. "No thanks."

Issei smiled as he had learned that Irina didn't like horror stuff, but she was only willing to withstand it for his sake. He would have found it ironic if he knew about the monsters that she had faced working for the Church.

"You can watch me play while you eat," Issei said. "Xen, your food's getting cold."

"Alright." She handed him the controller. "Do you want to sit?"

Issei shook his head, allowing her to be comfortable while she ate her food. As her host, it was his responsibility to make sure that she was comfortable in her environment.

Issei grinned. "Man, it's been a while. But the movie refreshed my memory."

The room was dim except for the glow of the monitor and the bedside lamp. Irina and Xenovia sat on either side of Issei, both leaning forward, both holding their breath as he guided his character through the dark corridors of Alien Isolation. Neither dared to speak as one wrong sound and the alien would hear them through the mic.

While they were watching him, his bedroom door opened as that is how Miki found them. She peeked in and was surprised. Her eyes widened at the sight, her son kneeling between two girls, all three intensely focused on the screen. She was curious about whatever made the girls seem intrigued.

"Um… we're back." Miki announced her presence. "How was your day?"

Issei, eyes glued to the screen, "Hey, kaa‑san. It was fine."

"I see that you've eaten dinner." Miki took notice of the plates in front of them.

"That's right, obasan. We had the leftovers like you said." Irina answered.

Miki stepped inside, curious. "What are you three doing?"

"He's showing us a game that relates to the movie that we saw," Xenovia answered. "He was showing me how to play, since I've never played a video game before."

Miki smiled. "Well, try not to hog it all, Ise."

"I won't. I'm just advancing before handing it back to Xen." Issei answered. "Irina doesn't want to play because it kind of scares her."

Irina puffed her cheeks. "Hey! That alien is not something to be messed with!"

"Well, you're not only dealing with just the xenomorph. There's other people and androids to deal with and also," Issei paused the game, turned, and deadpanned. "Just like childhood secrets are not something to be messed with."

He held up his phone to show her the MMA club group chat full of pillow‑kissing photos.

Irina paled. "Uh… I'm sorry…"

'If I had known you were a girl, I would have asked to practice with you all those years ago.' Issei sighed, then gently rubbed her shoulder. "It's fine. Just don't be sad, alright?"

"Alright…" Irina nodded, shifting her seat to lean her head onto his shoulder.

Miki barely contained her snicker, taking out her phone to get a quick picture before they knew what happened.

"Why don't I take those plates for you?" Miki suggested.

"Thanks, kaa‑san. We'll bring Xen's down later." He handed over his and Irina's plates to his mother.

"Have fun!" Miki cheered as she left the room.

"Thanks, oba/kaa‑san." Issei and Irina answered her like they usually had done all those years ago.

"Thank you, Hyoudou‑san." Xenovia nodded in thanks to the woman for her hospitality.

Miki left, smiling knowingly. She already planned to send that photo to the other mothers. Answers could wait until morning.

Issei unpaused the game and resumed guiding the girls through the mission. The two exorcists leaned in, tense but fascinated.

Far from Kuoh, from Japan or any country, deep in the realm of the dead, a different drama unfolded. Kokabiel slipped through the shadows of the Underworld, heading into a new sector that was away from Grigori, away from the devils that roamed the place. Of course, he did have interest in facing their leader, but he was not a fool to face the Devil King on his home turf.

Kokabiel believed that he was able to bypass Hades' security measurements as he began to look for something. Unbeknown to him is that he was already being watched by the one who resides. However, the god of death didn't do anything and was merely intrigued by what the cadre planned.

From a throne of cold stone, Hades watched through a floating scrying screen. Hades has the appearance of a tall skeleton dressed in attire worn by high priests, giving off a creepy aura. Despite having no eyes, his eye sockets can glow to give the appearance of eyes.

Beside him stood Erebus, the primordial god of darkness. Erebus is a handsome young man appearing in his mid-twenties with black hair. He was wearing a black cloak and his body gave out a dark aura. If he were to be in battle, he would be shown to be wearing a light-black armor, instead.

"Are you going to do something, Lord Hades?" Erebus asked.

"Why should I do anything, Erebus?" Hades asked, "While I despise his kind. I don't mind that he is making the work easier for us to kill off those bats."

"He's trespassing in your territory!" Erebus argued.

Hades nodded. "He's certainly here for a reason."

On the screen, Kokabiel raised a hand toward a massive three‑headed dog.

"He's hypnotizing Cerberus!" Erebus glared.

"Hmm, he must be planning something and may try to pin it on us, but what?" Hades mused, his bony fingers clacking with intrigue.

"What should we do?" Erebus asked, creating a blade from the darkness.

"Nothing, after all," Hades waved his hand dismissively. "It's the Biblical factions that are always fighting. I could trace his magic back to a place called Kuoh, it's in Japan. From what I've gathered, it is governed by the sisters of the Maou Leviathan and Maou Lucifer."

"You think he's planning to start his Holy War again, but how? He would only be targeting the devils, not the Church and Heaven." Erebus said.

Hades smirked. "Unless he has taken something from the Church, and the question is what is of value that the Church would want back? Perhaps some holy swords."

He knew this, thanks to the soul of the priest that Freed had killed and seen his recent memories. He had been able to see DeAngelo's fight with the psychotic priest and heard Freed speak about Kokabiel. It's how he could decipher what the cadre's intentions were, so he did not mind them killing each other and ridding themselves from the world.

"Hmm, I wonder what he stole, but he's stealing from us." Erebus noted to his leader.

"No worries," Hades said dismissively. "Those are cheap clones of Cerberus, they're harmless. Those devils could handle them anyways. As I said they are cheap clones, the cadre is doing us a service by getting rid of them for us."

"I suppose you're right, so what will you do, Lord Hades?" Erebus asked.

"Well, we have this recording, let's hold onto it for safekeeping." Hades told his subordinate. "Whatever Kokabiel does, should he fail and he will, all he will do is either cause the Biblical factions to convene with each other or they continue their war. I already know that Azazel isn't one for war."

"Then Kokabiel is working on his own agenda." Erebus snorted in annoyance.

"Indeed," Hades nodded. "Because of his arrogance, the Shinto faction will believe that we have aligned ourselves with the fallen angels to attack on their land and Zeus would be displeased. With this recording, they will see that we have nothing to do with his stupidity. We did not allow this theft, of course…"

"Unless you did allow it. That would explain why he was able to get past Tartarus. I'm guessing that this would push Zeus to initiate a war against one of them for Kokabiel's thievery?" Erebus deduced.

"Indeed." Hades nodded. "But even so, I don't think Zeus is willing to wage war with Amaterasu. Remember, Kokabiel is planning to attack an area in Japan." Hades reminded him. "Let the Shinto faction expend their resources on this fool."

"What about that weapon? That sword? The one that Ares is looking for," Erebus asked. "You think that its influence had something to do with Kokabiel's mindset?"

"Doubt it," Hades said. "If it was, the devils would have been affected by its influence as well. Of course, imagine how the original Lucifer would have felt if he had known about that blade. Yahweh was smart to have its existence erased from history and he foolishly left his children, the angels, blind about it. Only several gods know about them, which gives us the advantage for when the time is right."

"Very well." Erebus nodded and turned back to the screen. "I am surprised that he cannot detect their power levels."

Hades laughed. "One's arrogance is usually one's downfall, since he believes that he is superior to the dog. He also believes that he could sneak in here without me knowing the first time."

"Yes," Erebus nodded. "Nyx was able to determine that and use the night as a cover to watch him. If not for her, then perhaps he would have succeeded and we may not have known where his entry point is."

"I told you," Hades spoke with authority. "I allowed his stupidity. He never would have succeeded in entering without my permission. Let him play his stupid games."

"Do you think that he may go to the Nordic faction for assistance?" Erebus asked.

Hades humphed. "Doubtful, like us gods who have our pride, the devils and fallen angels are the same." Hades turned to Erebus. "Why do you think I tried cloning the original Cerebus? I wanted it to contend with Fenrir. Unfortunately, my experimentations have failed and released those abominations into several places, such as the Familiar Forest. Kokabiel had more luck going there."

"Perhaps, but he was likely to be smited by the Dragon King, Tiamat." Erebus informed Hades. "She is the one that had been killing the clones that were abandoned there."

"A dragon is doing what it must to defend its territory and make the job easier. She handled those clones and no one came to question us." Hades smirked. "All is well that ends well."

"How can you be sure?" Erebus asked.

"If I was wrong," Hade explained. "Regarding their pride, there wouldn't have been a devil civil war. There wouldn't be angels falling from grace because they find themselves to be superior to another race. As for us, if we didn't have our pride, we would have stopped looking for Soul Edge and we would have stopped with these experiments."

"You're right," Erebus bowed. "Forgive me for my insolence, Lord Hades."

Hades waved a hand. "It's alright for now, but let's not intervene as it could cause interference with our own plans."

"You mean with the Khaos Brigade and seeking Soul Edge?" Erebus asked.

Hades nodded. "They are also a factor, we may benefit from helping them. However, we run the risk of getting caught. It will put a stranglehold on our plans as much as I would like to remove the current leaders, the Longinus users are an issue, along with whoever is in possession of that damned blade. Both of them."

"Will you do something about them?" Erebus asked.

"Not for now." Hades glared at the screen.

"Understood." Erebus nodded.

They decided to let Kokabiel dig his own grave and let Zeus be aware that they had nothing to do with what happens next, in case one of the leaders accuses them.

After the girls had split time playing Alien Isolation and they felt relieved that they could go back to something positive. The jump scares of the game rattled them, especially Irina, who at one point, dropped the controller. It did however make Issei laugh, when they died in the game and seeing their frustration. He also changed the save point to where the player got the flamethrower in the game.

He noticed the change in their playing style as Xenovia was a little more aggressive in using the flamethrower, thinking she could kill the xenomorph.

"Don't do that. The AI of the xenomorph adapts. If you waste fuel, it'll know." Issei had warned her.

He was proven correct as the xenomorph didn't run off like it had done before and killed the player, which infuriated Xenovia.

Irina was more conservative and she would be gripping the controller like a lifeline. After all, it did take quite some convincing for her to even play the game. She did not like the xenomorph at all in the movie, so dealing with it in the game was not helpful. She was very cautious, remaining tense, moving around like a terrified mouse but Issei was helping her progress throughout the game. She died less times in the game because of how she played and was just glad that she didn't have to continue playing.

After that, Issei had set up the laptop on his bed and moved the bed from his wall, so he could move from side to side. Normally, he realized that he would have been giddy about feeling up a girl, but since his turnaround, he found the massages to be simple tasks. He let Irina begin to get to start the second season of Shokugeki no Soma, while he began to work on Xenovia's legs, which seemed easy since she was wearing shorts. However, he needed to be cautious because he had no oil to help out with the friction of skin.

Issei pressed into her calf.

"Ah!" Xenovia winced, making Issei let go.

"Sorry. I'll try to be gentle." Issei told her, 'I'm guessing before she came here, she didn't understand the benefits of stretching.'

"It's fine. I can take it." She said through gritted teeth.

"It wouldn't be beneficial if you're still in pain," Issei deadpanned. "But I could feel a knot there, so I will have to press into it."

Xenovia nodded through clenched teeth. "Alright."

He was actually thankful that he had to massage Renka before as she was the only one that was comparable to Xenovia's legs. Thanks to that experience, he knew that he could handle the tension that he felt in Xenovia.

"Don't forget me as well, Ise‑kun." Irina reminded him.

"Yeah, I know." Issei replied.

He swallowed nervously because while massaging Xenovia was easy. However, after the day that he had with Irina, massaging her was going to feel different.

With the laptop positioned at the head of the bed, so the two exorcists could lay down and watch the show. Issei didn't trust that he could really do anything without some oil, so he decided to see if he could ask his mother.

When he heard his parents downstairs, he went to go see them, instead of just heading into their room and getting it himself. He just didn't want to be rude and invade their space without permission.

"Hey, kaa‑san?" Issei asked from the staircase.

"Yes?" Miki asked from her seat.

"Do you have any massage oil that I could use? I don't want the skin friction to hurt Xen's legs." He asked.

Miki pondered for a few seconds. "Oh, sure, just head to our bathroom, it should be in the second drawer on the left."

"Thank you." Issei nodded before heading back upstairs.

Now with permission to enter their room and get the oil as needed. It took him a couple of minutes, but he got what was needed. Issei returned to the room with a small bottle in hand.

"Sorry, I wanted to make sure that you would be alright, so I went to get some massage oil." Issei informed them as he entered.

Irina tilted her head. "How does it help?"

"Hold your arm out." He instructed.

Irina obeyed. "Okay."

Issei began to rub her arm a little, which did feel a bit uncomfortable because of the dryness. "The dryness pulls the skin, which is probably making it a little uncomfortable for you, right?" He asked.

"Ah… yeah, that burns a little." Irina said, rubbing the place where he had rubbed.

"Hence what the oil is for, keeps the skin lubricated so that it doesn't pull skin as much nor give you that burn." Issei explained, it was something that he had learned himself.

"Got it." Irina nodded.

Issei glanced at her clothes. "Also… do you have a tank top or something, Irina?"

"Uh‑huh. Why?" She asked

"Could you change into it?" He asked. "It'll make it easier to work on your shoulders."

"Oh, okay." She hurried off to change.

Xenovia watched her go, then looked at Issei. "Did she really need to?"

"Yeah, the shirt fabric could also burn the skin, I guess I'm lucky that you're wearing shorts." He told her.

"I see." Xenovia nodded.

Issei also would have felt uncomfortable going underneath Irina's clothes to give her the massage. He already had a similar experience with Akeno, but she was a little more forward in going topless for her own massage. He was certain that Irina would not be that willing to go as far as Akeno did and he didn't want to make her.

Issei warmed the oil between his palms. "Okay, try to relax, I'm going in the same spot that I tried last time, since I felt a bit of a knot there."

Xenovia inhaled deeply. "Alright." The moment his hands pressed into her thigh, she let out a small, involuntary sound. "Mmm…"

Issei winced internally. 'Right… massages always get reactions like that. Doesn't matter who it is.'

Issei wanted to smack himself as he forgot about the moaning that comes with the massage, whether it's a guy or girl. He slowly pressed into Xenovia's left hamstring, feeling the knot in there. He couldn't help but wonder if he had some knots of his own. He probably didn't feel them as much because of the ice baths that he usually takes.

He continued to work Xenovia's hamstring slowly and he was impressed by how toned her legs were. He knew that this was evidence of her training. Since he trained with her in the mornings and she was tougher to push back than Irina was. He would pull back, easing pressure, whenever he heard Xenovia wince as he didn't want to add more pain.

Irina returned, now in a tank top. "I'm back!"

Issei paused and glanced over to see the tank top. "You can start the episode."

"Okay!" Irina settled onto the bed beside Xenovia and took control of the laptop.

Issei continued to move down Xenovia's leg, working from her thigh to her calf as the first episode of the second season was playing. He knew that he had to concentrate on Xenovia's leg, so he would know what irked her and try to alleviate the pain. Xenovia covered her mouth with the pillow to lower her moans and not disturb the show.

Irina would look over at times, wondering why Xenovia was making those noises and she couldn't help but feel a little jealous. However, whenever she glanced at Issei and could see the indifference on his face, she knew that this wasn't for his pleasure. Eventually, Issei moved over to Xenovia's right leg, after feeling that he could not feel many more knots in her left leg.

He could compare Xenovia's legs to Renka's, in terms of muscle tone, but it did make him wonder how her arms were. Since he had seen her with that broadsword, which he did not know was Excalibur Destruction. The only thing he knew about Excalibur was that Freed possessed it, never knowing that these two girls also wielded fragments.

They watched the cooking competition between Soma and Alice unfold.

"Like I said before, good thing that you only picked her to get into the tournament." Issei said, as the results showed Alice's defeat.

"I know, so I'm going with Soma to win it all." Irina decided, she figured that because he was the main character, it was his to win.

"I'll have to agree, I don't think that Megumi will win against Kurokiba." Xenovia gave her analysis.

"So you're choosing Soma as well?" Issei asked.

"Yes," Xenovia nodded, but she detected something in Issei's tone. "I think Kurokiba will beat Akira, who I believe will win his match up against Hisato. If I'm being honest, Kurokiba kind of reminds me of you, Issei."

"How so?" Issei didn't understand how he could compare to Ryo, who he thought was an awesome character.

"You can be somewhat calm, but as I noted to you earlier... when I thought you hated me. In training, you're fierce, but now that I know the reason, I think I shouldn't hold back either." Xenovia explained.

"I wouldn't like that you are," Issei said, being petty and pressing into a knot to make her wince. "And I'm still sticking with Akira as my pick."

Irina narrowed her eyes. "You know something, don't you?"

Issei smirked. "Maybe." He knew that there would be some sort of three way tie because the anime's opening spoiled that.

He knew that anime openings could give viewers some insights into what happens in an arc for the anime in their openings. Since the opening of one of the OVAs was also the opening for the second season, Issei confirmed his pick. Irina was wary of what he knew and wondered if he watched ahead while they were meeting with the devils.

"Did you watch ahead?" Irina asked him.

"When?" Issei looked at her.

"When we were having our meeting earlier downstairs." Irina answered.

"Nope," Issei shook his head. "I called Yu-Mi-nee and had her help me with my homework and had been on the phone with her since. She and Elize-nee say hi to you, by the way. Besides, I haven't watched anything without you, since you've been here."

"Oh…" She blushed. "I guess I'll take your word for it."

Xenovia tilted her head towards her partner. "How can you?"

"Because Ise‑kun would never lie to me." Irina crossed her arms, underneath her chin to continue watching the episode.

"Is that so?" Xenovia turned to him, time for her to take action. "Then, Issei, how do you feel about Irina?"

Both childhood friends froze, faces flushing.

Issei exhaled slowly. "I'm… still figuring that out." He continued massaging Xenovia's leg. "This whole time, I love having her around, not just now, but even back then. Knowing that I got to see her were some of the best days of my childhood. When she came back for what you need to do for the Church, it's been awesome! I mean I can train with her, she still plays a prank now and again. However, when it's all said and done, she will have to go and it's going to suck."

"Why's that?" Xenovia asked, wanting to go a little further.

"Because I won't have anyone to come back home to," Issei said as Irina gasped softly, but he didn't notice and continued on. "I mean I look forward to hanging out, when we're done with training. It feels like she never left sometimes, you know."

Xenovia nodded. "I understand."

Issei continued his massage. "It's why I fear what could happen to either one of you. You're both tough, it's why I'm jealous of both of your skills. But if something were to happen to either one of you and I could have done something about it, I couldn't fathom looking at myself in the mirror. Sometimes I don't now because I could sometimes see who I was at the beginning of the school year. Perverted but naive, living a pipe dream."

"Mm." Xenovia moaned, both in agreement and reacting to the massage.

Irina stayed silent. 'He answered… he really answered.' As she now knew the answer to the question that she asked him before his grandmother had called.

Xenovia felt a little relieved as she hoped that would give Irina some closure as well. After the second episode, Issei finished with Xenovia's legs and went to wipe his hands.

"So, how do you feel, Xen?" Issei asked.

"Huh?" Xenovia moved her legs experimentally. "Good. Thanks. But…"

"But?" Issei was worried that he missed something.

"I think I have some tightness in my lower back, I guess I never noticed it because my legs felt stiff. However, it's not too bad, you can work on Irina." Xenovia told him.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

Xenovia exhaled and sat up a little, rolling her shoulders. "Yes, I'll be fine."

Issei nodded, then moved to the other side of the bed towards his childhood friend.

"Okay. You good to go, Irina?" Issei asked but got no response. "…Irina?"

Irina had been in a daze as she had clearly been somewhere far away in her thoughts. He tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention.

"Huh? Oh, yeah! I'm good." Irina laughed awkwardly, cheeks pink.

Issei deadpanned. "Were you just daydreaming?"

"Haha… sorry. But honestly, I'm ready." Irina laughed again.

Issei exchanged a look with Xenovia, both raising an eyebrow and they both shrugged. Xenovia handed him the bottle of oil before she went back to her relaxed state.

"Thanks," He told the bluenette and addressed Irina. "Alright. You can start the next episode, we need to see who the winner is between Megumi and Kurokiba."

"Right." Irina nodded and tapped the laptop, before laying back down on her stomach.

Issei warmed the oil between his palms. When he placed his hands on her shoulders, Irina tensed.

"Sorry." He moved his hands from her shoulders.

"No, it's fine." Irina exhaled, allowing herself to relax, though her heart was pounding.

Even though it was a massage, it was still intimate and something that she had fantasized about. However, she had locked those types of thoughts away as she felt that they were 'unholy'. Issei continued to work her shoulders gently, then he began moving towards her neck.

"Ah… this is nice." Irina sighed, her eyes fluttered.

"Try not to fall asleep or you'll miss the episode." He said it casually, unaware she had already closed her eyes.

"Sorry." Irina opened her eyes again and continued to watch the episode. "Um… Ise‑kun?"

"Hm?" He had gone back to working on her shoulders.

"Do I need to lift my shirt, so you can get my back or would it not be an issue?" She asked.

"I'll only do whatever it is that you're comfortable with." Issei told her, continuing her massage.

Irina hesitated. 'This is my chance.' But fear won out as she was too afraid to go through with it, so she just said, "Okay." Choosing to stay as she was.

A soft sound escaped her when he reached her shoulder blades.

"I'm going to travel down your back, is that okay, Irina?" Issei asked her.

"Yeah." She sighed again, but maintained her eyes on the show.

With permission, he worked his way down her back, but he never went underneath the tank top. He remained over the shirt, but he was lightly rubbing, so the fabric did not pinch the skin. He did blush at hearing Irina moan a little and it made him gulp audibly. He focused harder on the anime playing in front of them to deflect from it, but when he did, his hands went down to her side.

Irina's face turned scarlet as she thought that he was trying to grope her up and get a feel of her breasts. To her surprise, Issei immediately moved his hands back up, even though he was not looking. He kind of had a feel of a woman's upper body and he knew exactly where the boundary was. He wasn't about to take any risks crossing it, especially not with her. He's had similar accidental brushes with Renka and while she may not have minded, there's no telling how Irina would react.

He didn't want to ruin anything with Irina and he had accidentally touched her breast in the morning as she told him. However, Issei was intrigued with Takumi and wondered if Xenovia ever tried anything that he made.

To distract himself, he spoke. "Hey, Xen?"

"Yeah?" Xenovia turned her attention to him.

"Since you're from Italy, have you ever tried anything Takumi's made?" He asked.

"Hmm…" Xenovia began to think about what she had tried. "I don't think so. I don't remember much of what I eat."

Irina giggled. "When we met, she offered me a banana." Remembering the memory of when she first met the bluenette.

"It's a good snack." Xenovia defended

"No arguments here." Issei had remembered listening to his mother about eating more fruits and vegetables, when bettering his diet. In addition, he also received talks from Elize about the health benefits of said fruits and vegetables. "Looks like they're holding off Soma vs Takumi."

"Yeah, I guess so." Irina said, but she was too busy enjoying her massage to care.

After the fourth episode, Issei could see that it was getting late as he stretched his arms.

"Okay," He sighed. "I think that's enough for today."

"Oh, come on, just one more episode." Irina pouted.

"I have work tomorrow, you can take the laptop and go watch in your room." Issei tried to explain to his childhood friend.

"But you need to finish my back." Irina countered.

Issei was shocked. "It's still not good?" He never really had anyone have any issues after his massages.

So for Irina to be the first, that kind of frustrated him as he made a promise about not wanting to disappoint her any further than he had already done.

"Um… well…" She didn't want to lie as that went against the Commandments that she had read and her back felt wonderful.

Thankfully for her, Issei was incensed by her satisfaction, thus she didn't realize that she would get her way, regarding her childhood crush.

Issei sighed. "Fine, just let me take the remaining plate, since Xen didn't finish eating, when kaa-san was here."

"Okay." Irina exhaled in relief that she did not need to lie for her own benefit.

"I also need to do Xen's lower back, so give me a minute." Issei moved to grab the plate from the desk and left the room.

When he was gone, Xenovia turned on her partner with a look of annoyance and disappointment.

"You don't need your back done, do you?" She asked.

"Not really," Irina slumped her head onto the pillow. "I just wanted to spend more time with him and kind of panicked. I don't really want this day to end."

"Why's that?" Xenovia's expression softened.

"Well…" Irina looked down at her hands, trailing circles in Issei's pillow. "You heard what he said, before we entered the house, I had asked him about what he looks forward to when comes back home and he didn't answer."

"Until now." Xenovia sighed, turning onto her back and crossed her arms. "Frankly, and I said this earlier, but the feeling is mutual between you two, so I don't see why neither of you will make a move."

"I think I know why. I kind of saw it on our date today." Irina remembered that look in Issei's eye, it wasn't that dark smoldering one, but there was sadness in them.

She definitely knew that with his inferiority complex, he was likely hearing voices in his head mocking him about whatever he accomplished.

"Then what…" Xenovia began to say, but saw movement coming from the door. Issei had returned from downstairs.

"What?" He asked, seeing the eyes in the room turn on him.

"Nothing," Irina shook her head. "Let's get started on the next episode…"

"And last one for tonight." Issei interrupted, reminding her to prevent her from causing them to have a marathon. "However, since you get this episode, I'm doing Xen's lower back first."

"Mou~, that's not fair." Irina pouted.

"Yes, it is," Issei nodded, believing that he was being reasonable. "Otherwise, you two can go to your room with the laptop and I can sleep."

"Or we can sleep here." Irina countered, she had said it without thinking.

Issei turned stiff. "What?" A faint blush crept up his cheeks, before he shook his head to get his bearings again. "You can't sleep here!"

"Why not?" Irina stood up, challenging him.

"For one, the bed is too small for multiple people." He said, keeping his composure.

"Well, um…" She had no counterargument, but luck was on her side as Issei relented.

Issei sighed. "But if you two are comfortable, then go ahead, I'll just sleep on the futon." He shrugged, he didn't want to prolong any argument, so he would let Irina have her way.

"But it's your bed. You should sleep in it." Irina told him.

"No." Issei shook his head and began to explain. "If I moved one of you to the futon, then kaa-san would be on my case. Same thing with my big sisters, well, most of them. I don't think Shigure-nee would really care. It's the gentlemanly thing to do, so you can sleep there if you get too tired to go to your own room. Unless you would like me to carry you back to your room."

"Oh… right. Okay." Irina went to sit back down on the bed.

Issei thought to himself, 'I've longed for a chance to get a girl in my bed, but now I have two and I can't go forward with it. Otherwise, I may get accused of sexual assault. It's already bad enough for my former peeping, I don't need to up the charges.' He sighed and moved behind Xenovia, who had turned back on her stomach. "You ready, Xen?"

"Uh‑huh." Xenovia answered as she relaxed, letting Issei start his work on her lower back and sighed in relief. 'This is nice. Almost a shame that Irina could get this for free any time that she wants, if she just stopped being a coward and was more direct. They both should be.'

On the laptop screen, Soma strategized in preparation for his food war with Subaru Mimasaka, who was a copycat chef.

"That's smart of Soma to use Erina to figure out how to spice up his dish." Issei said, while continuing to work on Xenovia.

The anime played on, while both exorcists agreed with what he said, they couldn't help but exchange a look with each other. Their eyes drifted toward Issei as he worked, his hands steady, his expression focused.

Both girls couldn't help but think the same thing, 'He really did the same thing earlier, using Haruo to gather information about Freed.'

Xenovia shifted slightly. "Issei, could you please go lower?" She asked him.

Issei looked at where she wanted and looked away, while his hands continued moving. The reason why is because going lower meant rubbing her butt and it just felt awkward to him.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yes. Why? It feels sore there." Xenovia tilted her head, but she was still facing the screen.

"But, um…" His hands stopped moving. "It's your butt."

"What!?" Irina turned to see what Issei was implying.

"I'm sure, you helped relieve my legs, and I noticed that I was still sore there," Xenovia pointed behind her towards the lower back/butt region. "So it felt weird that my legs were fine, but not there."

Issei swallowed. "Um… okay." He sighed as he began to steel himself.

"Ise‑kun, you're not serious?" Irina interjected.

She was a little jealous because Issei would be touching her partner a little more intimately, but also towards Xenovia's confidence. Irina knew that she had the chance for Issei to touch her first, but she had chickened out earlier.

"I'm only doing what she asked and it's not my first time doing this." Issei told her.

"Really?" Irina began to wonder who he had touched like that before.

"Uh‑huh." Issei nodded. "Renka-senpai asked me to do so as well. It's also why I asked Xen if she was sure because I don't want to be accused of sexual assault. You're also a witness, but I don't know if you would side with Xen, if she were to…"

"I wouldn't do that." Xenovia informed him. "It would be callous of me, so could you please? If not, I understand."

Issei exhaled slowly. "I can handle it. It's the job requested of me." He began to sweat slightly. 'Just imagine that she's Renka and soldier on, I can do this.'

He moved forward and began to press his hands against her hips and move towards her glutes.

"Ahhh!" Xenovia let out a deep moan and Issei froze mid‑motion. "S‑sorry, it's just… I guess I was really sore."

Issei forced himself to continue, sweating slightly. Irina sat stiffly, unsure what to do. She hadn't expected this to happen tonight. Irina was just thinking of what she could do, she wasn't really prepared for Issei to start rubbing her butt. So for now, she kept quiet and turned back to the show as she heard Xenovia wince and moan every now and then until the end of the episode, which she felt relieved.

Issei moved to Irina's side, but she stopped him with a hand on his wrist. "Wait. You can go underneath my tank top." She told him, blushing.

Issei blushed. "Are you…" He began to ask, but Irina cut in.

"Yes!" She answered with no hesitation as she steeled herself like he had done.

"Okay. I'll use some oil." He nodded and reached over for the bottle. 'If this continues on, I'll be their masseuse like I'm already the club's masseuse. But Irina's worth it.'

He knew that he should've stopped after episode five but realized that he had spent the whole episode on Xenovia, and he felt that was unfair to Irina. He understood that he needed to allocate the same amount of time to Irina. So he told her that she could play the next episode for her own massage.

Irina let out a soft, content sigh as his hands touched her bare skin. She began letting out bigger moans, but calmed herself as Issei massaged underneath the tank top. He worked from her shoulder blades down to her lower back, both hands moving smoothly thanks to the oil.

Irina also realized that she could take advantage of this and have a massage after every training session. The thought made Issei's instincts flare as his previous thought about being the club masseuse came back. She was grateful that Issei had removed the bandages from his right arm, so she could feel both of his hands on her back.

"Takumi has honor in not receiving his blade from Sona." Xenovia observed, after seeing Soma defeat Subaru, avenging not just Takumi, but other students as well.

Issei nodded and began to think of Yuuto and what he planned to do against Freed for the sake of his fallen comrades of the Holy Sword project.

"Yeah…" Irina's voice sounded dreamy, but she was still aware of what was happening in the episode.

"I know the feeling, he didn't beat Mimasaka himself for it, so he doesn't feel like it's his victory. So he'll have to beat Soma for the mezzaluna back." Issei said and both exorcists nodded. "But man… that beef stew looked delicious."

"But you already ate." Xenovia turned towards him in surprise.

She had seen Irina eat, when she was famished and she was beginning to see why these two were childhood friends.

"I know, and…" Issei stopped as he began to feel Irina's breathing. "Um, Irina?"

He sat there, feeling how her breathing had changed. It was slow, deep, and almost peaceful.

Xenovia peeked over. "She fell asleep." She informed him.

"At least she made it to the end of the episode." He sighed, moving his hands from Irina's back.

Xenovia yawned."It seems that way."

"I'll get the futon." Issei told her as he got up from the bed and went to his closet.

"Huh?" Xenovia was confused by what he meant.

"You seem tired yourself, so I'm not going to make you get up and go to your room. So just go to sleep and I'll see ya in the morning." Issei explained as he began to set up the futon beside the desk.

"But…" Xenovia tried to say.

"Save it for tomorrow, Xen." Issei told her as he left to go to the bathroom to wash his hands of the oil.

Xenovia sighed and turned over onto her back, while she waited for him to come back from the bathroom as she had some more questions. She wanted to hear more about his thoughts on Irina, already aware his interest had shifted to his childhood friend.

She hesitated, then spoke quietly. "I just want to know… you like my partner, don't you? Based on your answer earlier." She told him, when he re-entered the room.

Issei had stopped moving to look at the bluenette before he could get into the futon and let out a heavy sigh.

"Honestly, I'm still figuring that out myself, I'm not sure if she told you about my nightmare, but I messed up. I was too weak and she was killed, you were killed, many others got killed." He looked down at his hands. "Before I went to sleep, though, I had been wondering if I was falling for her. I mean today was my first date with a girl, I never expected that it would happen, but it did and I'm happy that it was with someone that knew me. I was nervous about how today would go, but frankly, I do wish that I could spend more time with her." He chuckled weakly. "So I hope I did decent enough, so when she goes back to England or Italy and maybe some guy sweeps her off her feet… I mean look at her, she's pretty. I'll just hope that I set the bar high enough."

Xenovia stared at him, stunned. "You still don't believe in yourself, I'm guessing it's because of what you said about looking in the mirror. So if it makes you feel any better, I will believe in you." Her words made Issei look up at her as she continued. "And if you say that we are friends, then I hope you understand that I do not want you to get hurt and get involved. I don't want any of my friends to get hurt, not even Irina, so I guess we have similar goals, you and I. Talking to you earlier helped me understand that because when this is all said and done, I would like to live and see more of the world outside of the Church."

"Is that your dream, Xen?" Issei asked.

He turned off the light and headed over to the bed to move the laptop back to the desk. The light of the screen was the only thing that illuminated the room, so Issei could still see Xenovia as she spoke.

"Yes." She nodded firmly. "Yes, it is and hopefully, I can teach others what I have learned."

"We have similar dreams." Issei smiled softly. "I told Irina something similar about traveling to learn all that I can, but with her by my side like I had thought about, when we were kids. In addition to being a strong fighter and reliable person, so that my friends and family can depend on me. Of course, thinking about Hibiki's dream of using music, it also has me thinking about doing something similar."

"So finding something to help bring people together, huh?" Xenovia said, relaxing in bed.

"Yeah," Issei nodded. "I will probably speak with Yu-Mi-nee about that, it will help me settle my future and then pay it forward to others."

"I see…" Xenovia sighed.

"Now going back to what you said about your dream." Issei said as he closed the laptop, shrouding the room in darkness as he moved to place it back on his desk. "If that's your dream, then I'll do my best to make it happen. Good night."

"Have a good night, Issei." Xenovia said, crossing her arms behind her head.

"If we're going to be friends, then you should call me, 'Ise'." Issei chuckled.

Xenovia was surprised by the statement as she repeated. "Ise?"

"Uh‑huh. I'm surprised she didn't tell you." Issei said, while getting into the futon.

"Well, I know that people close to you call you that." Xenovia replied as she had remembered when Irina's parents had informed her about the nickname, and knew the distinction between "Issei" and "Ise".

"Oh yeah?" Issei chuckled. "Well, there's a reason for that, it's because she gave me that nickname." He smiled and curled into his futon.

Xenovia stared at him through the darkness, processing that revelation of what he had told her about where he got his nickname from. She waited for a little while, until she could hear the soft snores coming from the futon. When she was sure that he would not hear, she shifted closer to Irina, who was still awake.

Irina may have been able to fool Issei that she was asleep, but she could not fool her partner. After all, Irina had used a similar trick, when they had to share a room at Irina's house before they set up the guest room for Xenovia. Unfortunately, Xenovia seemed to know her tells and she was beginning to understand Issei's.

Xenovia whispered, "Perverted or not… he has a good head on his shoulders."

"Yeah…" Irina sighed. "But I wish he'd give us a chance."

"What do you mean?" Xenovia looked at her.

"The person he was before is holding him back, that person doesn't feel worthy of love, but I can tell that he wants it." Irina explained to her partner.

"So what do you plan to do?" Xenovia asked.

"Someone told me that I needed to do something to make sure that he never will forget me," Irina said and Xenovia could hear the conviction in her voice. "But first, I will focus on our mission. However, I will be there for him, so he can let go of that person that holds him back."

"Whatever happens after this mission…" Xenovia reached over and patted Irina on the shoulder. "I'll support you both."

Irina smiled softly. "Thanks, Xenovia, and considering how you two have similar goals, I will also support you, too."

"Support me?" Xenovia was confused by what she meant.

"In your goals, just like he will," Irina nodded in the direction of the futon. "That's what friends do, they help each other."

"Right. Well… good night." Xenovia closed her eyes again.

"Good night." Irina snuggled into the pillow.

The two exorcists relaxed, letting sleep take them as tomorrow was a new day and with more plans in motion. The battle with Kokabiel and Freed was getting closer and closer. However, like the MMA club, neither girl was sure how to contain the 'wild card' that was Irina's childhood friend.

Unfortunately, for all of them, the one that could contain said 'wild card' was also a wild card in his own right and soon his plans would come to fruition. Ever since, he had set foot into Shishi-Oh, that was the turning point for all of this. As the ronin took on the task of turning this perverted nobody into "somebody". On the battlefield, they will all see a glimpse of his teaching of how he set the path of his student to becoming the warrior that he could be. Along with the chance to become the ultimate soldier that would be revered.