Some time later, the final bell rang, and Issei stood up. He shrugged off the two of them and left his seat, "Go die in a ditch, you two."
"Hey, Issei! Come on, dude-!"
He ignored them. On his way, Kiba joined him, looking apologetic ever since he returned from recess, "Sorry, Issei. I forgot to warn you about those two…"
Sigh
"Warn me, huh?" Issei mumbled.
"Eww, quick, get away. The creepy-eyed perv's coming!"
"Pfft…*cough* *Cough*…" Issei choked on his spit. An equal part of him found it hilarious due to its sheer absurdity, while the other- the one that held the leftover self-respect- shivered in shame, dying with every disgusted stare directed, and every backstep taken as he moved through the wide corridor.
"Yeah," Well, at least it gave him a clear path, if nothing else, "you really should've warned me."
He tilted his head, "By the way, who are those two again? They didn't seem to be from around here."
"Those two?" Kiba rubbed his chin, "They're new students just like you. Joined last week."
"Awfully confident for new students, aren't they?" Issei hummed, "Can I ask you something, Kiba?"
"Sure."
"Have you run check-ups on them? I mean, you had my file before my arrival, even."
Kiba looked him straight in the eye, "Well, I am not sure about all the details, but your case is different, isn't it?"
Issei only smiled. Getting his confirmation, he continued, "As for those two…Yes, we did check on their background. They don't seem to know anything about the supernatural side of the world."
"I hope so. I'd rather live a boring life than a messy one. Not that boring seems possible now…" He said the last part, glancing at the mixed variety of looks being thrown his way.
After that, they walked together in silence. Only the occasional anguished whispers of Kiba's admirers lamenting the fact that their prince was sharing company with the new pervert remained on their walk down the stairs.
Once they reached down, Kiba stopped, "Okay, then. See you tomorrow, Issei."
"Duties?"
"Yeah, got some club duties." Casually, Kiba extended an invite, "Wanna come with me?"
Issei stopped to think for a moment. Ideally, he should accept it. It would be a good opportunity to lay the groundwork, meet this other princess who oversees this region, and all that jazz. Unfortunately, Issei really didn't wanna do that at the moment.
He had all the time in the world to make acquaintances. What he needed right then was not the hour-long play pretense, but a warm bed and at least three hours of sleep.
"Hey, isn't that the one? The transfer student they're all talking about?"
"Uh-huh, Uh-huh, the one they dubbed as 'Golden doors that lead to copper soul'"
…Yeah, he really needed that sleep. Otherwise, he was going to crash out.
"Let's keep that for some other time." Issei grinned.
Kiba frowned and gave the two girls a disapproving stare, "…I understand."
"See you tomorrow then, pretty boy." Issei shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away.
* * *
On his way home, Issei came across a strange scene. As he took a turn, he found two fallen angels chatting very casually with each other. One was a tall, buxom, blue-haired woman in a maroon miniskirt, and the other was a blonde with twin tails and a black-and-white frilly dress.
Looking at the two of them from afar, Issei suddenly remembered the other reason Azazel wanted to send him. "Oh, right…there's also the short fuse's tomfoolery going on in this town here."
"Ughhh…" he groaned. He really didn't wanna do it. Not at the moment; not ever. Those two didn't look particularly impressive, but who knows whether they were just dumb, leaking all that energy, or if they were a bait for some super-strong predator hiding behind the wall they leaned against.
Fighting was always a risk after all. It was a pain in the ass. Should he just walk away? Issei entertained that thought longer than necessary.
However, this was also an opportunity. They were pretty weak. And there being only two made for easy picking. So, if it were the former scenario and the two were really just dumb instead of some dangerous monster's bait, he could clear a few of the runts and get some information from them.
And there was another fact that Issei was super annoyed. "Heh…" His hands suddenly itched. These could be the perfect punching ba-
Issei coughed. He reasoned, 'These traitors had betrayed Gregory. He had to hand them back or swoosh them, either today or tomorrow. Better do it today than leave it for later, right?'
Of course, the first choice is always dialogue. So, Issei decided to negotiate with words first. If they give up with words, it'd be for the best. Fighting was for losers, anyway.
Thinking so, he shouted to draw their attention, "Hey, you two."
They turned. The blonde girl stepped forward, smiling as she winked secretly to the other one, "Heya to you too, little boy. Do you need something? Are you lo-"
"You two are fallen, aren't you?" Issei cut her off. The girl immediately straightened, "I'll give you a chance to raise your arms and surrender. Or everything that happens afterward will be your own responsibility."
As Issei said, he scanned where they stood. The position of the utility pole beside them, the dried piece of dry leaf that had fallen from the garden tree, the small bird colony perched on the wires up top, etc., just in case.
Across from him, Mittelt heard his warning and sneered. She raised her hand, and four sharp spears of light formed around her, "I don't know how you saw through our disguise, but you shouldn't have opened your mouth!"
"I tried," He shrugged. Kalawarna crossed her arms at the back and ordered Mittelt to kill him, "Hurry up, Mittelt. We have other matters to attend."
Mittelt waved her arm, and the spears flew through the air.
Issei ignored all the light spears pointing at his head and slid the bag off his back, letting it fall an arm's length away from him. As the bag hit the floor, the red gauntlet appeared on his left arm, and he disappeared.
[BOOST] [BOOST] [BOOST]
The distance between him and his backpack stretched to twice the original, and then more. Issei was pushed across the street. In the next instant, he was standing before Mittelt, his knee bent and aiming for her gut.
"What!?" Mittelt didn't notice what happened, and neither did her partner.
[BOOST]
Issei smiled sweetly as his knee dug into her abdomen, "Should've listened."
Mittelt's petite body folded; it buckled under the momentum and flew back. Her back hit the wall, and she spat blood.
Issei twisted his body and tried to land the next kick to Kalawarna, who stood a few feet away. But Kalawarna noticed Mittelt flying and haphazardly unfurled her Crow wings.
The wing flapped loudly as she took to the sky, barely moving away from the trajectory of his kick. She watched as it flew past her, hitting the ground where she stood, cracking the concrete with its impact.
"Aw, shucks…And here I thought I could land a combo."
Kalawarna's eyes widened tremendously. "How the hell…" Her eyes landed on the scaly gauntlet covering Issei's left hand. At its center, a large green orb remained fixed, reflecting Kalawarna's horrified expression, "N-No…way…"
"W…What are…you…?" Mittelt shakily stood up, a fresh trail of blood flowing down the corner of her lips. Her wings, smaller than Kalawarna's, unfurled around her and began to conjure even more light spears overhead.
Issei ignored her and jumped up. [BOOST].
In a single leap, he was right beside her. Kalawarna swiped her hand at him, holding a light sword she had immediately conjured when she saw Mittelt tossed away.
Issei caught it with his bare hand, a thin layer of fire forming almost instantly to protect his palm from getting burned.
And just as he was about to kick her down, she dispersed the sword and raised her arms, "Wait, wait…I give up. Don't hurt me!!"
"Too late." He kicked her down, and using the reaction to push himself out of the path of the volley of light spears that Mittelt sent his way.
As the spears harmlessly grazed past him, he used their distance from him to appear before the blonde and deliver another kick to her temple. "Wait, wait, wait…!!!"
With that done, Issei took a long, deep breath. "Phew…that was cathartic."
He stared at the two fallen lying side by side, "Okay, you two. Lie there, and answer a few of my questions, alright."
Kalawarna raised her head to look at him. She wasn't nearly as hurt as the other. "If we answer your questions, would you let us go?"
"Sure. If you answer my questions, I won't keep you."
Issei could tell she didn't believe him, and neither did the blonde. But they wisely kept their silence on the matter. He picked up his backpack and used the blonde girl's frills to clean the dust off his bag.
When it was done, Issei nodded, letting the gauntlet disperse in motes of gold. He raised an index finger, "First, do you work for Kokabiel? And if so, how many of you are currently working under him here in this town?"
…
They didn't answer immediately. They looked at each other and debated whether to answer or not. Eventually, they gave up. "…Yes. Aside from us, there are two other Fallen angels. The rest are all excommunicated priests."
He raised two fingers, "Second, what is your purpose of coming to this devil's lair?"