2,422Chapter 2: The Calm Before the Storm
The school day was now at its end once again much to Issei's relief as he made his way out of class. Tiamat seemed just as bored as he was and let out an over exaggerated sigh, "Damn, I thought that was never going to end. I can't believe people actually do this school stuff every day in this world."
Issei glanced over at her and shrugged, "Yeah, it's pretty lame. Half of the things they teach here are irrelevant to me."
"Glad I'm not the only one who thinks so," Tiamat said with a grin.
Vali shook her head at the two of them, "No knowledge is a waste, no matter how insignificant or boring it may seem. There are things I remember learning from my youth that ended up saving my life later on. You just never know with some things. You should learn to value all knowledge…because all knowledge is power."
Tiamat deadpanned at her, "Nice speech, Vali, but do you really think us learning about Japanese history is a worthwhile endeavor? I know enough about them…I don't care about whatever deity or shrine that lame teacher was droning on about. She lost me whenever she stopped talking about Orochi. Why can't that teacher talk about me and how awesome I was terrorizing Eurasia and Mesopotamia? Ah Babylon…now those were the good days…"
"I'm sure they were. I imagine having all that ancient knowledge probably makes life around here seem dull in comparison," Issei nodded in understanding.
"Hmph, it could be worse. You're at least entertaining enough around here," she said with a shrug.
"I'm not here to entertain you, your majesty. I already told you I'm not your servant or lackey…" Issei stated strongly.
The dragon woman turned towards him with a serious stare. She didn't say anything for a moment as the two briefly locked gazes. Issei took this moment to admire her beauty. Her pale blue hair and tan complexion were certainly an exotic feature that he liked. She was slightly shorter than him, but taller than Vali and most other people around. Her eyes were the most unique thing about her however. They had a slight reptilian look to them with barely noticeable slits and a golden green color that had a bluish ring around the pupils.
After a moment Issei realized he was staring and spoke up, "What?"
"You're not afraid of me…I find that both intriguing and confusing. Most dragons look away if I stare at them like that. Hehehe I admire your bravery," she said approvingly.
"Oh…" Issei said not really sure how to reply.
'What the hell was she doing, Ddraig?' Issei asked mentally.
'That look she just gave you was a territorial stare. Your staring back at her is a sign of you expressing dominance and having no fear. Had you looked away it would have been a sign of subservience to her. Now she's going to think you're more powerful than you're pretending to be…that or assume you're trying to impress her. Both of which are bad…especially the latter.' Ddraig explained.
"Say, Issei, why do you even go here? What's the point of going to school in this world?" Tiamat asked as the three walked down the hallway. Luckily their conversation was quiet enough to not be heard, but they were still noticeable as their presence drew another crowd of onlookers.
"That's a good point. You look like you're from here…is there any reason you chose Kuoh to live in? I mean your house looked kind of mediocre for what I'd expect a dragon to live in. Do you live with anyone?" Vali asked curiously as her sapphire gaze lingered on Issei for a moment.
"Kuoh is where my family lives," was all Issei could really think to say.
"Your family? Hmm…so are you only half dragon then?" Vali wondered.
'Shit why did I say that without thinking…damn it, I might as well just play along with this. They're bound to learn about my parents and childhood sooner or later anyways.' Issei thought to himself.
"Half? He doesn't even smell human to me…and he never said he was. He's a special flame dragon, right Issei?" Tiamat said doubtfully before glancing at the delinquent.
"Yes and no…" he sighed.
"Hah…is that what you meant you said you were unique?" Tiamat chuckled, "you're just embarrassed you're a half-breed? Hahahahaha."
Issei gave her a sharp glare and said nothing as he looked away.
"Hey now, don't get all offended…you're still a dragon," Tiamat said punching him in the arm.
Much to his surprise it was way harder than he was expecting, but thankfully he didn't show any reaction to the hit. His stoicism was duly noticed by Tiamat as she grinned at his painless expression.
'She's testing you…' Ddraig said with a horrified voice.
'For what?' Issei asked. Unfortunately, Ddraig never responded much to his annoyance.
Vali pat the brown-haired teenager on the back as they continued walking, "Don't listen to Tiamat, there's nothing wrong with being a half breed, Issei…"
"Yeah…" was all he said in response as he looked forward again.
"Look, we don't hold it against you for not telling us the truth about it. Half-breeds are hated everywhere. Trust me if anyone would understand, it's me," Vali said seriously.
"I'm done talking about this," Issei said bluntly with a cold expression.
Vali nodded her head empathetically at his demeanor before Tiamat let out another chuckle of amusement, "I don't think any less of you for it Issei. So, cheer up already, will ya? At least you're not a half-devil like Vali."
The silver haired girl sent a fierce glare at Tiamat, "What was that?!"
"Huh? What?" Tiamat pretended to be oblivious with a mischievous smile.
Vali shook her head, "Don't make me fuck you up, Tia…"
"Hey woah…easy there Ms. Lucifer. Miss me with the attitude will ya? Jeez I thought you could take a joke by now,' Tiamat responded quickly.
'Well my cover story isn't holding quite as expected, but at least now I don't have to worry about them coming around the house or finding out about my parents,' Issei thought somewhat relieved.
As they walked outside and made their way to the parking lot, Vali checked the time and looked serious, "Oh shit…we're late, Tiamat."
"Late for what? Oh…that meeting with the Brigade," she said remembering halfway through her sentence.
"Sorry, Issei, but we don't have time to ride with you today," Vali explained as the three walked up to their motorcycles.
"You don't have to explain yourselves to me, I don't really care what you do," Issei said carelessly.
Vali simply rolled her eyes at his statement, "You're lucky we have somewhere to be or I'd beat your ass in a race today, tough guy. I guess we'll see you around."
"Take care," Issei waved as Vali revved up and started to drive off.
Tiamat punched him in the arm again as she rode by. He had no idea why as the dragon lady stuck her tongue out at him before taking off after Vali.
After they left Issei let out a heavy sigh of relief, 'Well that was…close. I hope they don't stay here for the rest of my high school life. Those girls are a hassle to deal with and I've only known them a few days.'
Issei chose not to think any more on the matter as he got on his bike and began to drive home. He only made it about a block or so before he decided to go eat something.
Pulling into a nearby restaurant, he parked up front and quickly walked inside. The workers and customers of the establishment immediately froze up as he walked in. Issei was used to this reaction as most people assumed he was a gangster there to cause trouble or extort someone.
The delinquent teen walked up to the counter and watched surprised as the entire line let him pass to the front. 'Jeez…do I scare people that badly?' he thought somewhat amused as he walked up and ordered his food.
Upon getting his meal and sitting down to eat, Issei began to wonder about how he was going to deal with his current situation. He certainly wasn't afraid of the situation, but he was dreading on how to inevitably handle with the storm of turmoil that would arise once all the devils at Kuoh Academy found out who and what he was.
Vali and Tiamat would also be problems. Issei couldn't help but wonder if he was going to have to kill everyone at the school at some point. Deep in his thoughts as he ate his meal, Issei barely noticed someone approach him at his table.
"Umm…excuse me, are you Hyoudou-san?" a nervous voice spoke.
Issei snapped out of his inner reflections as he noticed a girl wearing his school's uniform. He cocked his head at her confused. She had shoulder length blue hair, blue eyes, and a slightly androgynous looking face.
It only took him a few seconds to smell a devil scent on her which caused him to immediately scowl, "What?"
"I apologize for bothering you outside of school like this, but I was just eating in here when I saw you walk in and was wondering if I could eat with you?" she said somewhat fearfully. She was holding a plate of her own food with a bowl on it.
The fact that she was even brave enough to ask him something like that was rather remarkable in his opinion. He was almost surprised she would even try considering how confrontational Issei was with Sona Sitri one of the devil princesses in the school.
"Why? Did the president put you up to this? What does she want?" Issei asked with serious eyes.
"Yes, but I didn't expect to see you today. I was going to talk to you at school tomorrow, but since you're here it's…I just thought maybe I could talk to you now. We didn't want to upset you or make you…can I please sit down?" the girl couldn't really find the words to express her thoughts as she looked around desperately.
"Just sit down…people are staring," Issei said somewhat annoyed.
He immediately sent death glares to several gawking onlookers causing them all to immediately turn around or look away.
The girl sat down eagerly and placed her food in front of her on the table. There was pure silence for a moment as she ate a bit of her food. She snuck a glance up at Issei after a few moments and blushed heavily. She was surprised however when she noticed he wasn't even paying attention to her. She nervously fiddled with her food as she waited patiently for Issei to say something.
Issei was lost in his thoughts again as he passively ate the rest of his meal.
"Is that poor girl dating that punk kid? How unfortunate," Issei heard an older woman say from across the room. He immediately snapped from his daze again and looked at the girl in front of him.
'Shit…this does look like a date, doesn't it? I thought she would have said her piece by now…why isn't she talking? She's been sitting here for like a minute.' Issei wondered
"Are you just going to sit there and say nothing? If you have something to say girl, just say it already," Issei said shaking his head at her.
Finally, after he broke the ice for her, she looked up and spoke, "Sona asked me to give you a message…she wants to meet with you and talk about something important."
"It took you that long to tell me that? Why did you need to sit here and eat with me then?" Issei immediately questioned her.
She looked away embarrassed, "I just…"
"Listen, you can tell that stuck up princess to come ask me herself. Why would she send you to deliver some useless message to me? Was she too afraid to ask me in person?" Issei said with some hostility.
"N-no, I asked her if I could go instead," the girl said shyly.
Issei crossed his arms and stared at her, "Do you have a deathwish or something? Why would you want to talk to me willingly?"
"I was really curious about you," the girl finally found her spine as she began to speak normally.
"Is that right?" he said looking at her intensely.
"You took Saji down with ease…I just wanted to ask you how?" the girl replied.
The dragon shook his head, "I squeezed his wrist and threw him on the ground…so what?"
"You know what I'm talking about, Hyoudou-san. I'm sure you know this by now, but Saji's not human…how did you do that to him? What are you?" the girl asked.
"Look, lady…I don't have time to sit here and play 20 questions with you. So, unless you're here to confess your undying love to me or something, then there's really nothing else to be said here. Tell the president that I don't deal with this political roundabout bullshit. She can come talk to me in person if she's got something to say to me. If that's all you can leave now," Issei said strongly as he looked away.
A brief moment of silence passed before he turned back and saw the girl blushing heavily, "Who says things like that? You want me to confess undying love to you?"
"Is that why you're still here? This should be good…" he couldn't help but chuckle causing the girl to blush with embarrassment.
"No of course not! I just wanted to make sure you knew that Sona will probably try to talk to you sometime soon," the girl tried to cover her shame as she stood up and began to leave.
"No confession huh? Too bad. You got a name, babe?" Issei asked causing her to turn around with crimson cheeks.
"Tsubasa Yura…I'm a third year," she said before immediately running out of the restaurant.
'I wasn't expecting her to fall apart like that. Girls take it so literally when I make those kinds of jokes,' Issei thought amused.
He could hear the inhabitants of the restaurant gossiping about what just happened, but chose to ignore it as he left.
'So, she's one of the Sitri devils and my senpai too? Not a half bad looking girl even for a devil. She was respectful at least. I wonder what I would say if a girl actually did confess to me? She certainly was a bit flustered…' Issei thought as he got on his motorcycle and drove home. After about fifteen minutes of weaving through traffic he was there.
As he pulled up into his driveway, he was surprised to see another girl sitting on his doorstep. 'Damn, another one? Why won't these people leave me alone?' Issei sighed as he walked up.
The girl perked up upon noticing him, "Are you Issei Hyoudou?"
"Yeah…and you better have a damn good reason for loitering around my house," he threatened.
"O-oh, I'm so sorry…it's just I can never catch you anywhere else, and I found out from a friend that this is where you lived," she tried to explain.
"Are you some kind of stalker then? What do you want with me?" Issei questioned her motives immediately.
"Well…it's kind of an unusual situation. I was going to try and lie to you originally, but I changed my mind today. You seem like a strong person who respects the truth and an upfront offer, so I'll make my intentions clear. My allies and I know you're not a normal human. Judging by the way the devils react in your presence, it's fairly obvious that they're scared of you. We also know that you're not a member of any devil peerage, yet you can operate freely within their territory," she explained.
Issei looked at her for a moment taking in her appearance. This girl had long black hair, purplish colored eyes and was deceptively cute despite what his instincts told him. After noticing her school uniform, Issei quickly realized that she was a fallen angel as her particular school was in their territory.
"So, you want me to join you instead, fallen angel?" Issei asked bluntly.
The fallen angel seemed shocked that Issei was immediately able to figure out what she was, but continued speaking carefully, "Actually…we would like you to work with us in secret. You're under no obligation to serve us should you accept, but we would greatly value your help if you were to keep an eye on the happenings around Kuoh Academy."
Issei thought for a moment, "Why can't you just do it yourself? You seriously don't have any good spies?"
"We do…but the devils have reinforced heavy security lately after that dragon started attending there. Our boss recently found out that the Chaos Karma Dragon Tiamat was going to your school, and he wants to know why. He sent us to find out but wants us to avoid provoking the devils at all costs. Seeing as how that dragon is always in devil territory we can't really risk espionage without drawing their attention and starting an altercation. This might be presumptuous to ask, but would you be willing to do it for us?" the girl requested slowly.
"Maybe…but what is it you expect to find out?" Issei played along with the idea.
"We honestly don't know. It could be anything. Please, if you do this for us we would owe you big time," the girl said sincerely.
"I'll spare you the trouble angel, Tiamat is here looking for a dragon…looking for me," Issei gave her an honest answer.
She gawked at him surprised, "Really?!"
"Yeah…she doesn't give a shit about whatever political standoff you got going on right now. She tried to recruit me into her little posse. I said no and now she's just hanging around trying to change my mind I guess," Issei shrugged.
"I…didn't expect you to just tell us right away…well I guess that takes care of that," she said slowly.
"It sure does…you mind leaving now?" Issei asked.
The dark-haired girl flinched for a moment as her head turned to the side. It looked like something spooked her judging by her surprised and fearful reaction. The fallen angel quickly turned back to him, "Wait…is it okay if I stay for a bit?"
"What? At my house?" Issei gawked at her.
"I mean I know that sounds…umm, it's just I sense I a high-class devil in this neighborhood. If I leave they'll capture me or kill me," the black-haired beauty said concerned.
"You can't just teleport away?" Issei said confused.
The girl shook her head, "Not without them knowing I was here…I didn't expect one to come snooping around this time of day. This has to stay a secret. Lord Azazel's orders."
Issei honed his senses for a moment and detected a familiar smell, 'It's that red haired girl's scent. She's not nearby just yet, but she's definitely coming. I can stay discreet, but this girl is toast if that Gremory chick catches her. Screw it…I'll let her stay.'
Before the girl could even react, Issei quickly grabbed her and went inside. Issei then immediately channeled red energy over his hands and pinned the girl on the ground. She yelped as he spread a red cloak of magic around her body.
Not even a moment later, he hid her on the ground behind his couch and covered her mouth. She looked up at him shocked as Issei was now on top of her. He raised a finger to his lip before standing up and quickly sitting down on the couch in front of the window.
It seemed to be just in time too as he could now sense the red-haired girl watching him from outside the window. He pretended not to notice her as he turned on the TV and started watching Drag So-Ball Z.
This must have clearly bored the devil girl because she left a few minutes later much to his relief. Once he was sure she was gone, Issei spoke up, "You can get up now angel girl,"
The dark haired fallen angel stood up relieved and immediately let out a breath she had been holding in.
"Damn…you really saved my ass from that little red devil bitch. It would have been bad if she caught me out here. If the devils found out that we were snooping in their territory it would lead to conflict…and then Lord Azazel would probably punish us if we survived," the angel said as she collapsed on the couch next to him.
"That Gremory girl doesn't look that tough," was all Issei said as he kept watching his favorite show.
"They say call her the Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess…she's supposedly related to one of the four Satans," the fallen angel explained.
"I guess it's good she didn't find you then," the dragon delinquent replied with a grin.
"How did you do that? Did you conceal my power from her?" the angel asked confused, "because she should have been able to detect me at that range. She definitely would have had I tried to teleport away."
"You're lucky I appreciate your honesty, or I would have let her catch you out here. Good behavior deserves a reward…that's the only reason I helped you," Issei said looking at her intensely.
The fallen angel looked at him curiously, "Do you conceal your own power from the devils? Is that how you're able to freely operate in their territory?"
"Pretty much…" Issei replied as he turned his head back to the TV.
"You're a dragon then? Why is a dragon in this town, and why would Tiamat want you to join her?" the girl asked inquisitively.
Issei glanced over at her again, "You ask a lot of questions fallen angel. You're lucky I told you as much as I did. You already know more than enough about me."
"I'm guessing the devils don't know you're a dragon then? They would have tried recruiting you into their foul dens if that was the case. Just out of curiosity, why haven't you aligned with them?" the dark-haired girl asked with anxious eyes.
"Because devils are always causing drama and they're way too obsessed with status and titles. I see how they treat each other and I don't have any interest in all that political nonsense. If I worked for them, they would talk like this: 'Oh, lesser pawn, I detest your abhorrent attitude and rebellious disposition! Don't you know that my family is rich and I'm a high-class devil? I'm so important, rich, and powerful…did I mention how important I was and powerful? Oh, you couldn't even begin to grasp the majesty of my position. Uhhhhhh I'm so special!'" Issei imitated a posh, effeminate voice with an over-exaggerated moan at the end causing Raynare to laugh hysterically.
"Hahaha! You're pretty funny…I kind of expected you to be way more serious. Kalawarner said you're really mean and serious all the time," the angel laughed.
Issei cocked his head at her, "Kalawarner? She one of your friends?"
"More or less…she's part of my team. She's the one who watched you the most out of all of us," the angel explained.
"So that's what that bird smell was," Issei said aloud as he recalled detecting a strange scent the past few days. He wasn't used to dealing with fallen angels, so he wasn't entirely familiar with their smell yet.
"My name's Raynare, by the way," the young woman said with a soft smile.
"Jeez and I thought Kalawarner was a weird name. Your name's Raynare?" Issei laughed at her.
She looked at him embarrassed, "What? It's not weird! It's an angel name!"
"Tell me you don't go around Japan telling people that your name is Raynare. That would be rather funny," Issei chuckled.
"Well, I do have an undercover name here…Yuuma," she said slowly with a bit of shame.
"That's a cute name. It kind of matches you," Issei laughed.
"It does? Wait…you think I'm cute?" she asked surprised.
"If I didn't know you were a fallen angel, I'd say so," Issei replied.
She frowned at him, "So me being a fallen angel makes me less attractive in your eyes?"
"Yes," Issei answered bluntly.
Raynare seemed a bit sad from his comment as she looked away, "Hmph…yeah that's nothing new I suppose. Everyone hates my kind…even dragons apparently."
"If I hated you, then you would be dead right now," Issei shook his head.
The fallen angel's self-esteem plummeted as she looked down, "Well for what it's worth, I think you're cute…dragon half-breed or not."
'They must have seen my parents recently if she assumes I'm a half-breed,' Issei deduced mentally.
Issei chose not to acknowledge her comment about finding him cute much to the fallen angel's disappointment.
Raynare looked at him for a moment before smiling, "Well…I guess it's safe to leave now, but I feel like I still owe you."
"Don't sweat it, Raynare. Just tell your people not to bother me," he replied distracted.
She looked away for a moment before speaking again, "You mind if I stay for a bit longer?"
"What are you scared of the big bad devils out there?" the dragon delinquent made fun of her.
Raynare looked at him pridefully, "Of course not! I just don't feel like going back to base yet."
"Yeah, I wouldn't want to sleep in a church either," Issei joked causing her eyes to shoot open.
"You know where our base is?!" she said shocked.
"I mean where else could it be? That church is on your side of town and it's the only place I know where angels would bother putting up barriers," Issei deduced.
"Fair point…" she said trailing off. Raynare had no idea how to continue the conversation as Issei was now fully interested in Drag So-Ball Z.
Raynare stood up awkwardly and stared at him waiting for his answer on whether or not she could stay.
Finally, after a moment, Issei glanced over at her again, "Fine you can stay. Jeez…I can't believe you're so worried."
"I'm not worried...I...just don't feel like leaving yet. You know in case she comes back around," Raynare trailed off.
"Uhuh...whatever you say. You mind sitting down then if you're staying?" Issei said trying to look past her.
"What is this show you're watching?" Raynare asked confused as she sat back down and got more comfortable on the couch.
"Drag So-Ball Z…it's a badass anime about these martial artists with super powers that get stronger and fight aliens," Issei explained.
"It looks kind of interesting I suppose…" Raynare said half-heartedly.
"You don't have to watch it…but I got nothing better to do right now," Issei shrugged as he focused back on the TV. In truth he wanted to go see Red, but he couldn't tonight with all recent supernatural traffic around his home.
Several minutes passed before Raynare stealthily scooted closer to Issei on the couch. She spoke up after a few minutes of watching it with confusion, "So what's happening right now in this show? What are those golden balls?"
"They're trying to get the Drag So-Balls so they can summon the dragon and make a wish," Issei explained.
"Huh…a dragon that grants a wish?" she said curiously.
Issei nodded, "Well if anything could give someone a wish it's definitely a dragon."
Raynare said nothing else as she slowly began to gain interest in the anime.
Several hours later
Issei and Raynare continued watching the show for hours despite Raynare's initial reservations. Issei found it almost amusing how into the plot she was starting to get.
Raynare shook her head in annoyance, "I can't believe these dumbass people keep wasting wishes on bringing their friends back to life. Why waste a wish on saving some half-ass friends that don't do anything relevant?"
"Yeah, I've always wondered that too…but the moral behind their actions is more along the lines of earning one's power and being selfless I guess. It's hard to really know what you would actually do in that situation. Wishing for a friend to come back is noble at least," Issei noted.
"Too bad those Drag So-Balls aren't real…I'd love to have a wish," she said slowly.
"What would you wish for?" Issei asked curiously as he glanced over at Raynare.
"Probably more power or invulnerability…I'm kind of weak for a fallen angel to be honest," she answered shamefully.
Issei sighed, "Yeah…but power is useless unless it has a purpose. Why would you want more power?"
"Powerful people have more status and relevance in this world…they don't have to worry about being afraid or answering to someone else. It seems almost liberating," she said distantly.
"It can be…but power without purpose won't really fill any voids in your life. The people at the very top are probably just bored," Issei replied.
Raynare frowned, "What would you wish for, Issei?"
'What is it with people just casually addressing me by name these days? Uhh…' Issei sighed.
He shook his head, "I don't know honestly…it's never really crossed my mind."
"You wouldn't wish for more power? There's nothing you would want?" she asked curiously.
"Nah…I wouldn't want to be more powerful unless I earned it myself. As for what I want? Well I can pretty much get anything I want if I worked at it, so why bother wishing for it?" he replied with a grin.
Raynare looked at him seriously for a moment, "I have a question, Issei…how strong are you? You don't really seem concerned about anything from what I can tell. You're not afraid of some Satan or Archangel coming after you or getting sealed in a sacred gear or something? You're not afraid of that Dragon King?"
"Not really, no." he answered.
"You must be really strong then…I envy you," she said distantly.
Issei shook his head, "You don't have to be super strong to not be afraid of something. Everything is a mindset, Raynare. You're limiting your own potential by placing these restrictions and labels on everything. Real power is willpower…you should remember that."
"GOKU HAS BECOME THE LEGENDARY SUPER SAIYAN! WILL IT BE ENOUGH TO STOP FRIEZA?! FIND OUT NEXT TIME ON DRAG SO-BALL Z!" the television announced super loud before the end credits song started playing.
"I can't believe I've been watching this weird show for hours…but I really want to know how it ends now," Raynare said shaking her head as she looked at the clock on the wall.
"Yeah, it's pretty addicting after a while." Issei said nodding as the next episode was coming on.
"I'll watch one more…but I should probably leave soon," Raynare said as she leaned back again.
The next day
Issei awoke the next day with a soft almost feathery feeling around him. 'Man…when did these pillows get so feathery? So soft…did mom and dad buy me new pillows?'
He brushed his hand through the feathery pillows before his hand ended up feeling something else…flesh.
'What the? Is this…skin?' he thought concerned.
His eyes shot open as he alertly surveyed his surroundings. To his sheer disbelief, Raynare was curled against him with her wings wrapped over them both. They were both on the couch and had apparently fallen asleep after marathoning Drag So-Ball Z all night.
The sleeping Raynare held onto him tighter as he shuffled upright. Her wings were fully out, and she looked slightly more curvaceous than he remembered. Her wings were incredibly soft and rather pleasant to the touch much to his surprise. He had always wondered what angel wings actually felt like.
Issei ran his hand over them feeling the feathery wings again. This caused the sleeping Raynare to moan in her sleep as she nuzzled her face against his chest.
After his initial grogginess wore off, Issei quickly shook the angel's shoulder, "Hey, Raynare, wake up!"
"Hmmm ughhh…what?" she said groggily as she opened her eyes.
"Oh…morning Issei? Did I fall asleep over here?" the fallen angel said surprised.
"What are you still doing here? What are you doing sleeping on me?" he asked seriously.
"Sorry…I guess I must have passed out last night," she apologized immediately as she sat up and uncurled herself from him.
He looked at the time, 'I guess I did too, or this would never have happened. 6:00 A.M…I wonder when we fell asleep?'
"Well…thanks for letting me spend the night. Sorry for passing out on you," Raynare said as she retracted her black wings and got off the couch. There was no doubt about it now. She definitely looked a bit older than the other day.
It wasn't drastic or anything, but her bust and height were larger than he remembered.
"What?! A Magical Girl?! You won't stop me you little witch!" Issei heard a voice from the TV. It was still on, but it was playing some weird magical girl anime much to Issei's disinterest.
"Milky-hime! Save us!" a character on the anime shouted.
"Sparkle Shine, your command is mine!" a preteen magical girl shouted as she blasted some colorful magic at the ridiculously stereotypical villain.
"Is this a good show too, Issei?" Raynare asked as she turned to glance at the TV.
He shook his head, "Hell no…it's a magical girl show," he said standing up and grabbing his remote.
'I'm glad that out of all mythologies, that magical girls aren't actually a thing. I mean there's witches and what not, but nothing this girly. Let me catch a magical girl trying to come into to my town,' Issei thought to himself.
Raynare chuckled as she rubbed her head, "I had a dream about that stupid show we were watching last night."
"If it was so stupid then why did you stay all night and watch it with me?" Issei countered.
The fallen angel looked away embarrassed, "It was entertaining I guess. I haven't really done anything like this before."
"Which part? Watching anime all night or cocooning a guy on his couch with your wings?" Issei asked.
Raynare blushed at his question, "Both…anyway, thanks for the hospitality, Issei. I should probably go. You have school, today right?"
"Yeah, unfortunately…" he said drearily.
Before either one of them could say another word, Issei heard a loud knock on his front door.
"Who the hell is knocking on my door this early in the morning?" he said annoyed as he walked over and opened it.
Outside he saw a buxom woman with long blue hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a ridiculously short maroon skirt and a matching coat with a deep V-cut.
'What is it with me seeing blue-haired girls lately?' Issei thought as his gaze lingered on the buxom woman for a moment.
Issei looked over her briefly before speaking, "Nice outfit…did you get lost on your way to Soapland? Or is it my birthday?"
The woman gawked at him disbelievingly, "What?!"
"I mean hey, if you got a nice body, you might as well show it off I guess. How can I help, fallen angel?" Issei asked her as soon as the bird like smell filled his notrils.
The woman glared daggers at him, "Our companion came by here last night with an offer for you. She hasn't returned yet. Did you kill her? What was your answer?"
Before Issei could respond Raynare immediately ran to the front door, "Kalawarner?! What are you doing here?!"
"Raynare?! You're still here? Why didn't you report back? Dohnaseek and I thought you were dead," the blue-haired woman said seriously.
Raynare shook her head, "That Gremory bitch was snooping around here last night…I ended up hiding here with him."
"Really? That's…unusual. What was his answer?" Kalawarner asked as she looked at Issei intensely.
Several of Issei's neighbors noticed the sexy woman standing at his door. With his enhanced hearing he could hear one speak, "Is that the Hyoudou family's son with a prostitute? Those poor people…how do they deal with that shameful son of theirs?"
"Come inside…you stick out like a sore thumb around here," Issei said motioning for Kalawarner to come into his house.
The buxom blue-haired woman strutted in as Issei closed the door behind her.
She crossed her arms and eyed him seriously, "So…you let Raynare hide out here? I take it that means you're willing to help us?"
"I already told Raynare why Tiamat is here. She's after a dragon…after me. You two can go tell Azazel all about that. Tell him not to bother me while you're at it," Issei replied.
"Huh? You're a dragon then? I thought you were a human with a sacred gear," Kalawarner said curiously as she took a step closer.
"He's half-dragon," Raynare clarified.
"May I?" Kalawarner asked as she held up her hand.
Issei had no idea what she was asking permission for, but he quickly found out as the woman traced a finger around his arm.
A glow of holy magic briefly enveloped it before Issei's much stronger red draconic magic overpowered it and fizzled out.
"Hmm…a powerful one too," she remarked with fascination, "it's a wonder the devils haven't tried recruiting you yet. How are you able to freely move about in Gremory's territory without consequence?" Kalawarner asked.
"He can conceal power. He did it last night to me when that Gremory bitch came looking for me," Raynare explained.
Kalawarner looked over at Raynare again, "Lord Azazel will find this fascinating."
"I don't doubt that," Raynare agreed, "he's way stronger than I thought he was too."
"So, what did you two do all night then?" Kalawarner asked as she noticed one of Raynare's feathers was sticking out of Issei's shirt.
"Slept," Issei replied with a smartass answer.
"With each other apparently…" Kalawarner chuckled as she reached for the feather sticking out of Issei's shirt.
Raynare immediately blushed shamefully, "It's not what you think, Kalawarner…we just fell asleep watching this stupid show of his."
"Alright well, I have to get ready for school, so why don't you two see yourselves out. You got everything you needed from me," Issei said as he put his arms up and started lightly pushing them both towards the door.
"W-wait! I never properly repaid you for the help," Raynare protested as Issei easily pushed them towards the exit.
"Don't worry about it," he said as he opened the door for them to leave.
Raynare stood at the doorway for a moment before looking up at Issei, "Is it alright if I come back again sometime?"
"For what?" he asked.
"I just had a good time last night…" she replied.
Issei sighed, "I'll think about it."
"Thanks!" she said enthusiastically before briefly nuzzling her head on his shoulder and leaving.
Kalawarner gave him a curious look, "The Fallen Angels owe you for the intel. I'll make sure Azazel knows that you're trying to avoid trouble around here. I'm sure he'll respect your request. He's a good leader."
"That's good to know," Issei said curtly.
"Is it alright if we contact you again? You would only ever have to deal with Raynare or myself most likely. Maybe Dohnaseek or Mittelt too. The fallen angels will of course respect your autonomy, but you've proven yourself to be a valuable ally to us," Kalawarner said hopefully.
The brunette shrugged, "So long as you keep me out of the politics then I guess that's fine."
"We'll be in touch," the blue-haired angel said with a seductive grin before walking out of the house.
After they were gone, Issei went to take a shower. He mentally cursed himself as he thought over what he just agreed to, 'I can already tell this is going to escalate into something way more than they're saying it is.'
"Don't stress over it too much partner. Sooner or later you're going to have to reveal yourself anyway. I only hope it's AFTER Tiamat gets bored of this place and leaves. She has a short attention span, so hopefully it won't be too much longer," Ddraig replied.
Kuoh Academy
Issei pulled into school at his usual parking area and was surprised by the absence of Tiamat and Vali's motorcycles.
'That's weird…I wonder why they're not here yet? I'm already late,' he thought confused.
As he entered the school and made his way to his class, he could detect quite a few devils spying on him from various angles and vantage points.
'Devils watching me? Five…six? I wonder whose servants they are?' Issei thought as he pressed on towards his classroom.
Upon walking inside, his teacher immediately turned towards him annoyed, "Hyoudou-san, you're late again! Try to make it to class on time please!"
"Sure thing," he said half-heartedly as he sat down and immediately zoned out.
Vali and Tiamat were both absent today much to his concern. It's not that he missed their company necessarily, but the fact that they were gone gave him a weird feeling like something was wrong.
"Issei Hyoudou please report to the Student Council Room immediately." An announcement sounded over the school broadcast.
He snapped out of his daze when he heard the announcement, 'Must be the president wanting to talk to me.'
Without a word, he left his classroom and quickly made his way to the Student Council Room where he was met with none other than Sona Sitri.
The dark-haired devil princess adjusted her glassed briefly as Issei walked into the room, "Ah, Hyoudou-san, thank you for coming. I apologize for calling you out of class, but I wanted to talk to you in private and I can never seem to catch up to you after school."
"Why are the lights off in here?" Issei asked as he looked around the dark room. His senses told him that they were completely alone and that this room was soundproof.
Sona held up her hand, "Please have a seat, and make yourself comfortable."
Issei did as requested and sat down across from her. He crossed his arms and immediately put his feet up on her desk a moment later.
Sona chose to ignore his rude behavior and started speaking, "I'm sure you're probably wondering why I called you here."
"Yeah, your little blue haired friend said you would be contacting me soon," Issei replied.
"Blue haired friend?" Sona tilted her head uncertainly.
"Yeah the tall girl…kinda tomboyish. Blue hair, blue eyes…apparently one of yours," Issei clarified.
"You mean Tsubasa? She approached you? When was this?" Sona asked confused.
Issei cocked his head at her, "Yesterday after school. I thought you knew that. She said you sent her to tell me that you had something important to discuss."
"I never authorized her to approach you. In fact, I told all the members of my peerage to stay out of your way after you hurt Saji," Sona said surprised.
"Well I guess you'll have to ask her about that. Regardless, what do you want?" Issei got to the point.
"I'm sure you're well aware of this by now, but I am not human," Sona began.
"Shocker…" Issei said sarcastically.
Sona ignored his sarcasm and continued, "I am a high-class devil of the Sitri family and its heir. I and every member of my peerage are devils. We mostly consist of the school council and a few odd individuals around the school. The Occult Research Club is part of the Gremory peerage headed by Rias Gremory. You've no doubt seen her around school. She is the popular girl with the long red hair."
"Get to the point," Issei sighed in annoyance.
"Very well…I would like to ask you before anything else…what is your relationship with those new girls in this school?" Sona asked.
"Tiamat and Vali? I don't know, friends I guess? I barely know them so I'm not really sure if they're even that," he said doubtfully.
"Tiamat's presence here has caused a great deal of strife politically as of late. Lord Sirzechs is concerned and rightfully so," Sona continued.
"Cool I guess…what does that have to do with me?" he wondered.
"Listen, Hyoudou-san…I don't know what you are, and I've been very lenient in letting you do what you want around this school, but if I am to continue allowing you to stay here, then I feel I at least deserve a bit of trust on your part," Sona explained calmly and respectfully.
"Fine…" Issei agreed, "I suppose that's reasonable."
"I've thought over the situation many times and even discussed it with Rias. We believe that Tiamat came to this school looking for you. So far, you're the only one we've seen her speaking with other than that girl she came here with. I don't know what they want with you, but seeing as how Tiamat follows you around, I'm assuming you're a dragon. Am I correct?" Sona asked.
"Brains and beauty…good job detective," Issei said with a chuckle.
"Beauty? Are you implying that you find me attractive?" Sona asked stoically.
"What do you think? You're the genius here," Issei laughed.
Sona looked away somewhat surprised, "Anyway, I wanted to ask you, are you intending to finish high school at Kuoh Academy?"
"Of course, preferably without any trouble," he replied.
"That's good to know. Do you know anything about why Tiamat is here? What does she want with you?" Sona asked.
"She and Vali are here recruiting for something is all I know. I told them I wasn't interested and now we're just school friends I guess,' Issei shrugged.
"Do you have any allies?" Sona asked him curiously.
Issei shook his head, "Not really. I never needed any."
"Then I would like to make you an offer…would you be willing to-" Sona wasn't able to finish her sentence before Issei interrupted her.
"No thanks…I mean don't get me wrong. For a spoiled little devil princess, you aren't half bad, but I'm not interested in being anyone's servant," Issei stated strongly.
Sona sighed, "Well…that makes things more complicated. If I can't protect you, then you're fair game."
"Fair game? For who?" he asked.
"Lord Sirzechs is worried about the situation here and decided to send someone to keep an eye on the school until Tiamat leaves. I have no idea who it is or when they'll be here. So, it would benefit you to stay out of trouble for a while," Sona explained.
"Thanks for the warning," he replied as he stood up.
"Before you go, can I ask you a question?" Sona requested.
"Alright…what?" he said as he looked down at her.
Sona looked at him somewhat confused, "Is there a reason you're so opposed to joining my peerage other than not wanting to take orders? Do you have some inherit bias against devils?"
"What's the point? I'm half dragon and human. What do I gain joining your side or any side?" He countered.
"Power…influence…allies to name a few reasons. Eventually someone is going to target you if you're not careful. Without a political backing, you won't have any support," she responded sharply.
"I'll take my chances," was all Issei said before making his way to the exit.
He glanced back at her before opening the door, "By the way…tell that Gremory girl to stay away from my house."
Sona's eyes widened surprised before Issei closed the door and left.
After his little talk with Sona he decided to return to class despite not wanting to. The rest of the day progressed rather boringly, but at least nobody was bothering him.
End of the Day
Issei let out a sigh of relief upon walking out of the school. He was getting so sick and tired of sitting around all day in classrooms.
'Today would be an awesome day to go see Red. The big guy is probably wondering where I've been lately,' Issei thought to himself as he got on his motorcycle and drove off.
With eager exhilaration, he drove as fast as he could back home. Unfortunately, he caught some bad traffic about two thirds of the way there.
A bunch of cars and other vehicles were backed up much to his anger. He growled angrily as he aggressively revved up his motorcycle, "Move it!"
Looking over towards the sidewalk, he could see a lot of people wearing cosplays walking in the direction where traffic was jammed. His eye twitched for a moment, 'Is there a convention going on or something? Seriously what the fuck is this?!'
Several seconds passed as he began to boil in anger, 'I…HATE…TRAFFIC!'
Without even a shred of concern for the consequences he immediately fired up his bike and drove onto the sidewalk bypassing the countless immobile cars in traffic.
The people on the sidewalk all gasped and screamed as he shot by them with deadly speed and aggression. His riding skills were masterful as he threaded the needle through the crowds of people on the sidewalk.
When he finally reached the main intersection where the convention was taking place he popped a wheelie and revved his bike as loud as possible causing flames to erupt from his exhaust. His arrival scared nearly everyone around him as he pulled right up to the front of the convention building and stopped to find out what it was.
'Kuoh Anime Convention…huh? When did this town start having these? And why the hell is the traffic this bad?' Issei thought curiously as he began to calm down.
"Hey, are you going to the convention?!" a cute voice asked causing Issei to turn his head towards its source.
A girl with black pigtails and dark violet eyes ran across the street and was now was standing next to him. She was beaming with enthusiasm as if she was having an amazing day.
"I would have asked you for a ride if I knew you were coming here!" The girl said cheerfully, "I saw you ride by on the sidewalk! That was so cool!"
Issei immediately glared at her when he noticed she was wearing a magical girl cosplay. He revved his bike up at her hoping to scare the girl away, but much to his surprise she seemed unfazed.
"I'm not here for the convention, I'm trying to get home, but thanks to this stupid traffic I can't," he said annoyed.
'Not unless I just want to fly out of here and leave my bike. Or risk being seen carrying it,' he mentally added.
"Well that's a bummer...but if you're stuck here, why don't you just go to the convention?!" the girl suggested eagerly.
Issei glared at her, "I don't have a ticket, and I sure as hell won't be waiting in any lines."
"Well I'm here alone. My sister didn't want to come with me so I have an extra ticket. You want to go with me? You look like you're a lot of fun" she said as she generously held up a VIP ticket to the convention for him.
He stared at her for a moment. This girl was gorgeous despite being a magical girl wannabe, but something about her looked familiar to him. She also reeked of some weird smelling perfume much to his displeasure.
"I kind of have somewhere to be…" he said as he looked for an opening in traffic.
A huge crowd of people were watching him and this girl interact much to his discomfort. Issei detested people staring at him like this.
"Pleaaassse!" She pleaded.
'Ughhh…it doesn't look like traffic is going to clear up until all these damn cosplayers get to the convention anyway. Plus, that is a VIP ticket it looks like. Aw screw it…I guess the Dimensional Gap can wait a few more hours,' Issei contemplated.
With heavy reluctance, Issei got off his motorcycle and sighed, "I'll hang out for a little bit…only until the traffic clears though."
"Yay!" the girl cheered with excitement as she waved her cosplay wand around, "Sparkle Shine, your command is mine!"
Issei immediately felt embarrassed as dozens of people in the crowd cheered and were taking pictures of her and him by default. Thankfully, most of them seemed too afraid to get closer due to her proximity to the delinquent biker.
Issei rolled his eyes at her as she handed him her spare VIP ticket. The moment he had it, he immediately started walking away from her and made his way to the front of the line.
Hordes of jealous onlookers watched with disbelief as the asshole who just showed up on a motorcycle was now skipping the line to go straight into the convention.
"Hey, wait for me!" the pigtail magic girl called out to Issei as she chased behind him.
The males in the crowd seemed to be burning with even more envy at the sight of Issei not only skipping the line, but also having the sexiest cosplayer there following him around.
"Who the fuck is that pretty boy douche? Who does he think he is? Why is that beautiful magical girl following a punk like that?" Issei heard one angry guy mutter.
"Milky-hime, can we have a picture!" an otaku man cried out anxiously.
"You look so amazing!" another shouted.
The girl kindly waved to the onlookers and briefly posed before following behind Issei. As the two of them passed inside, they quickly noticed that the convention was packed.
The pigtail girl's eyes lit up with excitement as she pointed at something, "Look, look! They have Milky Spiral Seven figurines. C'mon let's go look at them!"
Before Issei could protest, the overly excited girl grabbed his hand and drug him over towards a section on the convention floor that seemed to be selling things that matched the anime she was cosplaying.
Everyone within a two-hundred-meter radius was staring at them as if they were celebrities. Issei was starting to feel somewhat awkward as random people kept walking up and asking for pictures of the girl.
'I should ditch this chick, and go see the Drag So-Ball Z section…' Issei thought as he slipped into the background of the ravenous crowd that were now swarming the girl for pictures.
About fifteen minutes passed before Issei found stuff that was more up his alley. He looked over the new area for a moment, 'I should have plenty of money, but I don't feel like hauling a ton of stuff back home. Huh…that banner would look really good in the garage next to my toolbox.'
"There you are!" a loud and excited voice announced as Issei felt someone jump on his back.
"What the!?" he said confused before realizing it was the black pigtail girl again.
"Why'd you leave me?! I was so sad when I couldn't find you," she said in a cutesy dramatic way.
The crowd of desperate fanboys and fangirls that were following her immediately froze up when Issei turned around.
"Is that her boyfriend?! I'm so jealous!" some overly animated man cried out.
"Milky-hime, can we take a picture?!"
"Milky-hime!" people kept calling out to the girl.
Issei was now pissed off that these people wouldn't go away and growled, "Back off right now!"
The surrounding area went deathly silent as the crowd of people chasing after the girl on Issei's back were now scared.
Issei cracked his fists and took a deep breath, "Get lost! She's taken enough god damn pictures for you! The only way she's posing for another picture is if you go through me!"
Nobody dared to tempt Issei's fury as the crowd scattered like roaches in all directions. Despite her kind disposition towards the fans in general, the pigtail girl seemed somewhat relieved that Issei had sent them away.
"Are you going to get off me or what?" Issei asked as he turned his head back and looked at the girl still on his back.
She beamed and shook her head, "No! I don't want to lose you again in here! Especially if you're going to protect me!"
"Why are you still hanging out with me anyway?" he asked her confused.
"Becauuuuuuse I think you're cool!" she said as she held onto him even tighter.
"The feeling is not mutual," he said shaking his head.
"AWWW you're so mean!" she said with over-exaggeration.
'Man, that perfume she's wearing is overpowering this close,' Issei thought distracted.
"OOOOh, is that Drag So-Ball Z? We should go check that out!" she pointed to a nearby stand.
Issei looked back at her surprised, "You like Drag So-Ball Z?"
"Who doesn't?" she countered beaming with excitement.
'Well…maybe she's not as bad as I originally thought,' Issei noted as the two of them went over to check out more merchandise.
Before he knew it, the two of them were having a blast going around and buying random things they didn't need. After about an hour of that, the girl insisted that they go to a few panels, and before Issei realized where the time went, he ended up spending the rest of the day there.
It was only when the convention was closing for the day did he actually realize the time. Upon walking outside and seeing the nighttime sky, Issei shook his head disbelievingly, "I can't believe I spent the whole afternoon here."
"That WAS SO FUUUUUN!" the girl emphasized each word louder and louder as she latched onto his arm while they were walking out.
"Yeah…I actually had a good time…surprisingly," Issei said almost not believing his own words.
'Did I seriously just hang out with some weirdo otaku magical girl all afternoon? This has been the weird week ever...' Issei thought to himself.
"I never get to do that many things at conventions because everyone always just wants to take pictures of me. Going with you was a great idea! You scared everyone away with your mean, grumpy face!" she giggled.
"Well…thanks for the ticket, Milky-hime. This was a somewhat pleasant surprise," Issei said more sincerely that he expected to.
"Oh! I never told you my name, did I?" the girl asked shocked as she placed a hand on her chin.
"Come to think of it…I was so excited all day I never bothered asking your name either," the girl said as she looked at him anxiously.
"Issei Hyoudou…don't bother remembering it. We'll probably never see each other again," he replied skeptically.
"But what if I want to see you again?!" she asked childishly.
Issei simply laughed at her antics. By this point he was almost used to her energetic innocence.
"I'm Serafall!" she said smiling at his reaction.
He looked at her curiously, "No surname?"
"You and I are on a first name basis! Call me Serafall and I'll call you Issei-chan, K?!" she chirped.
"Okay…nice meeting you then, Serafall," Issei waved as he headed to his motorcycle.
Issei was amazed it didn't get towed and shook his head, 'Damn I'm lucky.'
As he mounted his souvenir bags and got on his motorcycle, he looked up and saw Serafall standing right next to him. She shuffled around for a moment and was staring at him.
"Issei-chan…can I go for a ride on your bike? Pleeease!" she said hopefully.
"Don't you have to go home or something?" he asked confused.
"Yeah…but maybe you could give me a ride!?" she asked with a suggestive smile.
Issei sighed, "I'm going to lose all my street cred if people see some otaku magic girl riding with me."
The girl gave him the most moe look she could muster as she locked her fingers, "Issei-chan…don't make me beg you!"
"Alright fine…get on," he said. Half a second a later the energetic Serafall was on his backseat. She tied her bags on the back of the bike and immediately wrapped her arms around Issei's waist.
"C'mon, let's go fast!" she said happily.
"Are you sure you can handle it? This thing is the fastest motorcycle in the world…custom built," Issei replied.
"GO GO GO!" she cheered causing Issei to take that as a yes.
Deciding to test the limits of this girls resolve, he started to drive recklessly and dangerously at high speed through the city.
'I'll take her over the bridge…' Issei chuckled to himself as he came up to a large bridge with arches over it.
He drove off the road and onto the arch before climbing high on the beam above the bridge. Once he got higher, he popped a wheelie. He half expected this girl to freak out or scream, but surprisingly she seemed overjoyed at his daredevil stunt.
"Still think I can't handle it?" Serafall asked as she spread her arms out and enjoyed the view from the bridge arch.
"We're about to find out…" Issei grinned as he pressed a switch in front of him causing a jettison of flames to spew out of the exhaust. Serafall immediately grabbed his waist again as the bike shot forward even faster.
Issei drove as fast as possible until reaching the top of the bridge arch before launching off the side.
His motorcycle flew a considerable distance through the air before landing on top of a parking garage nearby. Serafall let out a shriek of joy the entire way, "WOOOOOOOHHHOOOOO!"
Upon landing, and slowing down, he glanced back to check on her. She looked like she was super happy and wasn't afraid at all. Issei was genuinely impressed by her resolve and laughed, "You're the first girl I've ever taken on that stunt. I'm shocked you didn't scream or cry."
"Are you kidding me?! That was amazing! You're amazing!" She said smiling.
'I never thought I'd meet a nice human girl who liked Drag So-Ball Z and going on daredevil motorcycle rides. She's a fucking gem. If she wasn't a magical girl she'd totally be my type,' Issei thought as he stared at her.
"So, where do you live, Serafall? I should probably take you back now. It's getting late," Issei said shaking off his distraction.
"Oh, I live at this little house with some nice people hosting my stay. It's close to Kuoh Academy. Down third street," she replied.
Issei nodded before driving down the parking garage and making his way towards the location specified. As they pulled up to a red light, Issei glanced back at her for a moment, "Serafall is kind of a strange name? Are you an international or something?"
"Something like that. My sister lives here, so I came to take care of her for a while," Serafall explained.
"That's good of you I guess," Issei replied as the light turned green.
After driving for a bit longer, he finally reached her street. She pointed at a massive house, "There, that little house is where I stay!"
Issei stared at it, 'Little house? This is where all the rich people in this town live. Actually isn't this devil territory? That's unfortunate for her. Hopefully they don't do anything to her while she's here.'
Upon dropping Serafall off, Issei was surprised when she hugged him, "Today was really fun Issei-chan! We need to hang out again real soon okay?!"
"Sure thing…" he said as he locked a brief gaze with her. She smiled as she hugged him, "Oh by the way, do you have a cell phone? I want your email."
"Uhh, yeah. Here," Issei took his phone out. His was red and hers was pink unsurprisingly.
After they exchanged emails Serafall picked up her bags and stood there for a moment uncertainly.
"We can do this, again right?" she asked hopefully.
"I'd be down for that," Issei nodded approvingly.
"Sparkle shine, your command is mine! See you around Issei-chan!" she cheered before said dragon drove away.
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Alright kids, there's chapter 2 for you. I hope you enjoyed it.
A lot of crazy stuff happened this chapter. I introduced some characters that you guys probably weren't expecting to see as well. I know it seems a bit Slice of Life right now, but the action is going to ramp up soon now that more and more people are finding out that Issei is a dragon.
I like to focus on characterization whenever I can, so forgive me if it gets a bit boring in these early chapters. I made a lot of fun references in this chapter. Props to you if you noticed any or all of them.
In case you might have missed a few, I'll talk about some of them here. Soapland is a slang term for the red-light district in Japan. Issei was essentially telling Kalawarner she dressed like a hooker in that scene. Drag So-Ball is a parody of Dragonball that is referenced in the canon of Highschool DXD. It's pretty obscure in the show, so I won't be surprised if a lot of people didn't get that scene.
So, I'm sure a lot of you weren't expecting Serafall to show up. Before anyone asks, no she doesn't know who Issei is yet. She literally just got there. Issei has taken a liking to her though. How will he feel when he learns she's a Satan? That's the spicy drama you people crave…
Stay tuned if you want more…and thanks for reading.