—<6 AM, Hyoudou Residence>—
Splash!
"Hah~"
Drip~
Issei's hands stayed on his face as water dripped down his jawline.
As he removed his hands, he let out a shaky breath and stared at his reflection in the mirror in front of him.
He closed his eyes and grabbed a towel beside the sink.
Without wasting any time, he aggressively scrubbed his face and his hair, not stopping until his skin turned a light shade of pink.
He rapidly blinked at himself, the drowsiness in his eyes slowly fading away.
Putting the towel down, he slapped his cheeks.
"ALRIGHT!"
Issei rushed out of his bathroom and jumped down the stairs.
His knees popped as he landed.
Before the impact had fully settled, he pushed off the floor and shot toward his kitchen door!
BAM!
He tossed the door open, making it hit the stopper.
His mom looked at him with wide eyes.
"WHAT in the ever-living hell?!"
Issei ran up to her side and slid to a stop.
He reached around her and opened the pantry, taking out four slices of bread.
With his bread now in hand, Issei turned to leave, but then turned back around, giving his mother a hug from the side and a quick kiss on the cheek.
He turned to the door and ran as if his life depended on it. "See you later!"
His mother, Miki Hyoudou, blinked, completely frozen in place. "What—young man, where are you going?!"
"School!" Issei's voice rang out from the entrance.
A confused look crossed her face.
"At six in the morning? Since when?" she muttered.
Miki took a step towards the entrance of the kitchen.
BAM!
…only to hear the sound of the front door closing.
Miki stared at the front door in confusion.
'What's… up with him today?'
*****
Issei stood in front of a horribly abandoned-looking house.
He stared at the card in his hand, which was made of pure steel.
Then back at the house.
He scratched his head.
'Is this the right place…?'
What the hell is going on here?
He laughed. "Yeah, right, there's no way."
He flipped the card over.
"He must have given me the wrong address, right?"
"Mhm." Issei's eyes narrowed at the card as if trying to pry open its secrets.
But nothing happened, so he just shoved it back into his pocket.
He stood there staring at the house as a chill rolled up his spine.
He brought his right hand up to his mouth and wolfed down the last remaining piece of bread he had.
The overgrown grass in front of the house waved in the wind as he shivered at the breeze.
Issei sighed, 'Well, I already came all the way here.' He took a step towards the house, 'So I might as well check it out.'
As he got to the porch of the house, a worried expression made its way onto his face, "Man, this place looks worse up close…"
He looked around the door for a doorbell but…
Found none.
So he raised his hand and brought it down to knock.
Only for the door…
To slowly creak open on its own!
ゴゴ
ゴゴゴ
"HUH?!" Issei's eyes widened.
As it fully opened, wind hit his face.
What he saw on the other side…!
Was a stupendously well-kept red rug.
And a staircase… with ominous mist leading all the way to the top of the steps!
Issei walked in, taking a look around; his eyes sparkled. "Man! This place is fancy!"
He walked up to one of the walls, which was lined with all types of drinks, mostly juice…
Issei raised a brow, "But…" he reached out, grabbing a bottle filled with a dark brown substance. "The hell is a Hennessy?"
Issei put his hand on the top of the bottle and was about to start pulling on the cork, but he stopped…
Tap!
Something cold pressed on his temple.
"Oi."
Issei felt a shiver go down his spine.
Slowly, he moved his eyes only to see the barrel of a gun.
And the brown-haired man holding it looked pissed!
"Who the hell do you think you are?"
Issei shrank back in fear, then put his hands up, "Thi—this is a misunderstanding, please don't shoot!"
POP!
Issei shut his eyes by instinct, trembling as a popping sound went off.
'So this…. This is how I die…'
.
.
.
Gulp!
Gulp!
Issei slowly opened one eye, only to blink in utter confusion as he saw the brown-haired man down a bottle.
'When did he?' Issei looked at his hand, the bottle he was holding, it was gone!
The man dug his gun into Issei's temple and sighed as he finished the whole bottle, "Alright, cut the bullshit mate, and stop acting like a wimpy kid. A nobody wouldn't be able to go past my bounded field like they're a ghost on pure accident…"
His eyes began shining a bright gold, "So I'll ask this once and only once."
"Who. Are. You?"
Issei gulped, "m–my name is Issei Hyoudou. I'm 15, turning 16 in April. I'm an ordinary middle school student. I live in the western district of Kouh town, the one close to the department store. I don't smoke or drink, and make sure to be in bed every day by eleven thirty at night. My social security N—"
"By the name of Sister Mary shut up, kid." The man sighed, "I was asking for name and reason for being here, let me guess, first time being held at gunpoint, huh?"
Issei just let out a dry chuckle, nodded, and brought a hand down into his pocket. "A guy by the name of Gasper sent me, said to come here."
Issei slowly took out a steel card, making sure the man could see his movements.
"He gave me a card with this address on it."
As soon as the name escaped Issei's lips, the man's brow twitched; he retracted his gun and put it in his holster, "Of fucking course, hand it here."
Issei handed the card over to the man.
The man looked at it, 'it's no wonder he was able to get past the bounded field. This card is imbued with Gasper's mana… but why?'
He turned the card around and poured his mana into it, making it shine silver as a blue magic circle appeared on it.
A hologram appeared.
One that looked just like Gasper.
"Top of the morning to you, laddy!" Gasper said, forcing an accent as he took a hit from his smoke pipe… only for a bubble to come out of it.
"Whoa, that's awesome!" Issei said with stars in his eyes, "I didn't know we had this type of technology!"
Gasper snapped his fingers, "We don't, my ignorant friend, this is…" he brought his hands together and parted them, "Magic."
Issei nodded understandingly, "I see. What else can magic do?"
Gasper did not respond and just nodded with a smile. "I know, I know I'm awesome, there's no need to praise me so much."
Issei blinked, "What?"
Crowley cleared his throat, "It's a prerecorded message, kid."
Issei looked right at him. "Oh… wait, then how did he?"
Crowley scratched the back of his head, "You're just that predictable."
"Well enough of that, Crowley, this guy is Issei Hyoudou, I sorta saved him from... well, dying."
Crowley just narrowed his eyes on the hologram, 'Makes sense, Gasper really can't go a single day without getting into some kind of trouble.'
Gasper's eyes widened, "Oh, you're probably wondering how we got here, aren't you? Well, check this out. So one night I was taking a normal walk in the woods and the next thing I know this guy was bullying this girl so—"
Crowley swiped his hand on the hologram, and as if skipping time, the hologram flickered around.
"And so I was like Aw hell na—"
He swiped again.
"Then I told him even if I didn't know her, I can't let this be. It's not part of my nindo, my ninja wa—"
Crowley kept going.
"So that's what happened during the fight, but I sent Issei there for training, trust me, he has some real potential, so as I'm on break tomorrow, which would be today for you… Hopefully. Then you know what to do…" he put on some shades and threw up a peace sign, "So, Gasper out!"
The hologram flickered once more without Crowley touching it,
"P.S. He has a Sacred Gear… One with Lots of potential, trust me on this one.
P.P.S. Tell Saji he's a bum… and um… mhm."
The hologram faded…
Then came right back.
"P.P.P.S…. "
Crowley sighed.
"Nah, that was it, but I gotcha, didn't I?"
The hologram went back into the card, and the magic circle that brought it forth faded.
"Damn, why did I get insulted?" a voice called out from the main entrance.
Both Crowley and Issei turned to the main entrance; a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes came into view…
For some reason, his pants were being held up by three belts. He was also wearing a black hat sideways, with a golden heart inside a golden box on its front.
Crowley pinched the bridge of his nose as he felt a headache coming on, "Hey, Saji."
Saji nodded his head upwards, "Crowley, morning."
Saji squinted as he saw Issei, "Hyoudou? What are you doing here?"
"You know this kid?" Crowley asked.
Saji nodded, "Yeah, we're classmates."
Issei rubbed the back of his neck, "Aha… It's a long story, man, but I should be asking you that."
Saji gave an awkward smile, "Well, that's also a long story."
Crowley sighed.
'It's going to be a long day… isn't it?'
*****
(Occult research club, 2:22 PM)
Rias sighed while she looked at the smirking Gasper sitting right in front of her.
She reached out and placed two stacks full of hundred-dollar bills right on the table between them; her eyes gained a dark look as she hid her glare, 'This bet… was too unfair.'
Gasper reached out and grabbed it, then flashed his pearly whites at the cat sitting right next to him that had shades on.
Shiro smiled right back.
They were eating good tonight, no doubt about it.
Rias sighed, glad that none of the other members were here to see this.
Knock!
Knock!
Rias looked at Gasper, and he looked right back.
Rias got up. 'Everyone should be busy right now …could it be Sona?'
"Were you expecting company?" Gasper said, seeing the confusion on her face.
"No, I wasn't."
She walked up to the door and opened it.
Her eyes slowly widened.
In front of her was a woman with silver hair styled into a ponytail and red eyes. She had on fancy clothes, and on her face… was a cheerful smile.
"... Onne-sama?" Rias said as her brain rebooted.
"Hello Rias, it's good to see you're doing well."
"Same to you… But when did you arrive? "Rias asked, bewildered at the bags Grayfia was carrying.
"Well, we arrived earlier this morning."
"We?" Rias echoed.
As if on cue, a red blur crashed right into Rias's stomach—
"Rias-nee-sama!"
Rias somehow kept herself upright and looked down, "Millicas?"
Millicas looks up to her, "You won't believe the day we had, we went on this giant wheel and—"
As Millicas talked, Gasper was frozen solid.
But the thing was...
He was covered in bright blue energy.
Rias nodded at her cousin with a smile on her face, "Sounds like you had a blast."
Rias looked at Grayfia with a questioning look.
"I had a day off, and Millicas has been asking to come up to the human world for a while now. And well, as we have time, it's worthwhile to take care of unfinished business."
Rias nodded, "Right, well, he's ready."
"I'll hold you to that."
Rias stepped aside, letting Grayfia in.
And their gazes both fell on Gasper, sitting on the sofa, completely frozen in place.
"Gasper…" Rias whispered.
Only for him not to respond, making her heart drop.
'Did the pressure get to him?', Rias thought.
Millicas sat down on the same sofa as Gasper, making the springs on Gasper's side move ever so slightly.
Rias… she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Gasper…
JUST DISSIPATED RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEIR EYES!
Grayfia's eyes narrowed.
Then she felt it…
A magical signature; it was like it just came into existence!
She turned to an open window.
And there he was.
Sitting on the frame of the window, the wind perfectly tugged on his hair as it blew cherry blossoms in.
There was a book in his hand.
The rays of the sun illuminated his eyes, making them look like rubies of the highest grade as he looked at a cherry blossom flower seated directly on the page of his book.
He took a deep breath, closing his eyes, fully taking in the scent of spring in full bloom as one of his legs dangled off the frame, and the rowel of his cowboy boot slowly spun with the slightest movement.
He grabbed a pencil from inside his book, one that had a white cat eraser head.
"A single flower." he opened his eyes, staring off into the distance.
The flower drifted from his book's page, the wind dragging it away.
"Drifts throughout the rising sun."
"May it reach the stars."
His eyes sparkled as he nodded to himself, as if processing a profound truth of the universe.
He closed his book, revealing the title.
"Deep Thoughts With The Deep — VOL #107"
He hopped down from the window and shoved the book into his jacket.
'Not my best work, but not horrible either.'
His eyes became sharp as his gaze fell directly on Grayfia.
And only Grayfia.
Grayfia stared at him with a calm expression on her face.
Rias finally let out a soft sigh of relief, 'Looks like he's taking this seriously.'
"Interstellar salutations, madam," he said as he walked up to Grayfia,
Rias face-palmed. 'Never mind.'
Gasper put a hand on his chest. "My name is Gasper 'Vladi' Joestar."
A drop of sweat rolled down his brow as she stared at him.
It felt like he was being stared down by a lion!
"If you may, will you honor me with the pleasure of learning your name?"
Grayfia just stared at him, her eyes locked onto his.
They had only met for a brief moment before, so it made sense for him not to remember her.
but...
...she was sure of it, what she felt just now, it wasn't magic, let alone a sacred gear.
Grayfia gave a light nod, "My name is Grayfia, a servant of the Gremory household."
She extended a hand.
Millicas just stared, not knowing what was really going on.
Gasper smiled, "A superb name…" he muttered as he took her hand and shook it.
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Grayfia."
'...But if not that, what else could it be?'
*****
I pushed open the door to our workshop, and strings of every color greeted me as I passed by.
I stopped as a repulsive, bright blue glow dared to enter my visage.
A thread was giving off the glow, the one belonging to that Vampire.
Staring at it almost made me want to barf up my lunch.
Originally, it had been a bright red piece; it was one of beauty and radiance, just like the other threads that surrounded it at the beginning.
It was one that I, as its maker, had been proud of.
My sister and I worked diligently to make sure each thread connected to the Red One was perfect.
But now…
The best way to put it, yes, it's an utter disappointment.
A blemish on my perfect record.
In a tapestry of perfection, there is always one thread that doesn't comply; one that should be fixed accordingly, post haste.
Yet even so, my sister's…
I sighed.
No matter how much I cared for my older sisters, just thinking of their inaction makes me wonder how, in the name of chaos, we're even related.
But no matter how much of a disappointment the Vampire is, there is solace in one thing.
My gaze softened as it fell on a string, one glowing a brilliant crimson and emerald.
It was our masterpiece, a fate so carefully woven that multiple pantheons had lent their hands to its creation.
And connected to it were threads mostly red in color, but one was a dim white, but soon it will glow a radiant white, just like all the others of its kind.
And of course, there was the… blue one.
I sincerely hope my sister is right and it does go back to normal.
But for now, just looking at the Red One's thread is enoug—
My heart dropped.
'Am I… seeing things?'
The Red One's thread…
It had a wisp inside it, one colored that of pure blue!
I rubbed my eyes.
And quickly looked once more.
"It's… gone?"
The Red One's thread was back to normal?
"…no." I blurted out.
I looked at every thread connected to his, and there I saw it, my fears made flesh.
Red threads with hints of blue in them, all connected to the Red One.
'What in the name of chaos...
Is going on?'
←–TO BE CONTINUED—