Ever since Ophis sent me and Ddraig back in time, I've been getting short headaches. The only explanation I could come up with was that it was a rebound effect and I just left it at that.
Irina and I arrived at the park and played for more than ten minutes before she excused herself to drink water. I leaned against the swing set as I waited for her and jumped when I heard the swing suddenly squeak as it moved. When I turned to look at it, my eyes widened and I couldn't believe who was sitting on the swing.
"Hello, Issei," said a familiar, monotone voice.
"O-Ophis?!" I shouted surprised.
So? What did you guys think?
Before I just completely butcher it, I would like some help with the honorifics for the known characters. If I put the wrong honorific for like it should be Issei-san instead of Issei-kun and vice versa, please feel free to let me know!
"O-Ophis…?" I said in shock. Said dragon god continued to swing on the swing set as if it was completely normal for her to be there.
"Happy to see you again, Issei. It seems the spell did work," said Ophis in her usual monotone voice. "Sorry about sending you back an extra year. The spell wasn't stable enough."
"It's alright, I'm just glad it worked at all," I said, relieved to see the little dragon god.
"How is your connection with Ddraig? Because of the fact that you hadn't connected with him until later on, I was worried you might not be able to communicate with him," said Ophis, curiously.
[I'm here, Ophis. Issei came back with all his memories, as well as my own, intact] said Ddraig, reassuringly. Ophis nodded and continued to swing back and forth.
"W-Well, not that it bothers me or anything, but what exactly are you doing here, Ophis?" I asked, curiously. Ophis stopped her swinging and looked at me with a puzzled expression.
"Obviously I came to explain the effects of the time-traveling spell," said Ophis as if it obvious. "One of the rebound effects is going to manifest as headaches for you."
Headaches? Ah! So that's why I've been getting so many of them.
"Ise-kunnnn!" called a familiar voice. I spun around and saw Irina in the distance, using her hands as a megaphone so I could hear her better.
"Ophis, do you want to come back with me to say hi to Irina?" I asked, curiously. Ophis responded with a simple 'No' and Irina called out to him again. "Ophis, you know where my house is right? We should meet up there."
"I do, however, Issei, something terrible has happened to your home," said Ophis, seriously but still in her monotone voice. "Someone has replaced it with a shabby little two story house. I suspect Great Red did it. We should dispose of him immediately."
I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the dragon god's notion and sighed. I muttered out a 'Just go' and waited towards Irina who was shouting at me to hurry up. After I reached her, Irina eyed me, quizzically.
"Issei-kun, who was that girl?" asked Irina, suspiciously. I jumped back, surprised by the angry expression on Irina's face and laughed awkwardly.
"S-She's just a friend. She visited my a few days ago," I said in defense. Irina eyed me and then squinted.
"What day?" she asked causing me to sweat a bit.
"U-Uh…today is Monday? Right? So…um…last…Wednesday?" I said, nervously, not wanting to incur the wrath of the little redhead. Irina thought for a moment and sighed.
"Last Wednesday, huh? I was out of town that day," said Irina in defeat. I smiled, happy I had pulled off my lie until Irina frowned and her eyes became glassy. "Issei-kun is going to replace me with that Gothic Lolita skank?"
Skank? Did Irina just call Ophis a skank? Uwah! She's really depressed now!
"Um…um…I-Irina, I'm not replacing you with her. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about her before," I said, trying to make Irina feel better. I remember someone once told me that I should consider the girl's feelings so I thought I'd try to make Irina feel better. Irina sniffled and muttered out a 'You should have' and I patted her head in reassurance. "Today's our last day together, let's not let this ruin it."
"Yeah," said Irina in her usual happy voice as she knew I was right.
Irina and I as well as both our mothers walked back to Irina's house and I helped her pack up the rest of her stuff and take it down to the moving truck. Irina's parents were both ready in their car and were giving Issei and Irina a moment to say their final goodbyes.
"So…" I said, unsure of what to say in this goodbye. Irina smiled at me, happy we were able to have a nice last day together. "Hey Irina, stand still for a minute…"
Irina's face contorted in confusion but she did as she was told and I quickly leaned in to give her a kiss on her cheek. When I pulled away, Irina's eyes were wide and a bright blush streaked across her face.
"I-I-Issei-k-kun?" stuttered Irina, shocked by my sudden action. I smiled at her and grabbed her hand.
"That was a goodbye present so you won't forget me before we meet again," I said, happily. Irina merely stared at me before she was broken from her trance by her parents calling her. I released her and she ran to the car and waved to me from the window before they drove off to the airport to catch their flight to England.
I walked into my room a little while after Irina left and looked around. Ophis was nowhere to be found and I sighed.
She must have gotten lost.
I hopped onto my bed, not in the mood to search for the petit dragon god at the moment, and heard a distinct 'Oomph' form underneath my bed. My eyebrow creased in confusion and I leaned over the side of my bed to peek underneath. There I found Ophis, rubbing her stomach, tenderly. She looked over at me and wore a satisfied smile.