With Rias leading, Issei silently followed her, his eyes curiously wandering as she led him to a ghosted corridor, "By the way, what did you say your name was...?"
Rias gave him a look over her shoulder, as she led him to a secluded place, "It's Rias. Rias Gremory. What about yours?"
"Gremory, huh. European?" Issei ignored her question and closed the gap, opting to walk side-by-side.
She gives a small nod, to which Issei compliments her, "You've got a nice accent going for you."
"Thanks," She took a sharp left turn and stopped, pushing him against the old, web-covered walls of the old school building as her tone shifted from a friendly neighbour to a honeyed poison, "Now why don't you quit dodging and tell me who you are?"
"*Cough *Cough." The sudden change in tempo caught Issei off guard. He rapidly blinked and tried to adjust to his current predicament: his back pressed against the wall, and the whom he considered to be a 'Rose' moments ago, blocking all his escape routes, "...What the fuck?"
Although Issei acted shocked, he wasn't completely against his current position. After all, only a fool would think of running away when a peerless beauty is pinning him in a vacant hallway, and was judging him with those cold turquoise eyes, "Hehe..."
...Oops, I slipped.
"Why are you laughing?" Rias asked, leaning towards him.
"Pfft, I am not!" Issei broke eye contact with her and averted his gaze, trying to suppress the burst of giggle down his throat.
"You clearly are." She deadpanned.
"I am not!"
"Yes, you are!"
"Yes, I am," Issei laughed, raising his arms in surrender. "But can you really blame me?"
He waved his arms around, vaguely pointing at their surrounding, "I mean, look around yourself, and tell me how does this look: A stunning girl drags a boy from his class on his first day at new school, pins the poor helpless boy in the deafening silence of these empty halls, and stares at him like she's looking to discover all his secrets..." He smirked widely at her, his eyebrows wiggling playfully with insinuation.
...
...
...
...A crimson dust colored Rias' cheeks, and she quickly pulled away from him, opting to stare at the crack on the wall she suddenly found quite interesting.
That action elicited a panicked gasp from Issei. He tried to convince her, "Wait, I don't mind. In fact, I lov-..."
A sharp glare from Rias quickly silenced him. She leaned against the handrails and crossed her arms under her bountiful bosoms, and coughed awkwardly, the single act creating enough gravitational pull for Issesi's eyes to wander momentarily, "Let's act that never happened..."
"Nuh-uh," But Issei easily refused her, "Why do I give away this fantastic, and dream-like encounter on my first day at Kuoh- these are like, as my father says, golden memories that will forever stay."
"Please..." Rias requested in earnest.
"Nope."
"Forget it..." Rias sighed, straightening her back, "So...Are you ready to tell me who you really are?"
"Ehh..." Issei scratched his chin in confusion, before he straightened himself like a disciplined soldier, "Greetings, Rias Gremory. Myself Issei Hyoudou: A Homo Sapiens of the 'Homo' genus, and Hominidae family...uhh, Is that enough?"
...
"...I am asking you for the last time," Rias rubbed her temple, and let out an exasperated sigh, her patience thinning, "Would you stop running circles around the topic?"
Issei shuddered as a minuscule amount of her demonic energy leaked out from the Redhead's voluptuous form. "I was joking..." He said placatingly, trying to calm the massive ball of destruction, "Why don't you ask questions, and I'd try to answer them to the best of my capacity?"
"Well, for starters," Rias lowered her arm and jabbed her index finger into his chest, grunted, "Why don't you explain the origins of your dragonic scent?"
"Since when did devils start to have such a strong sense of smell?" Issei raised a brow, looking around, "Or is it one of your 'peerage' members telling?"
Knowing that she wouldn't respond, he continued, "Just so we're clear, you're the overseer of this territory, correct?"
"Finally done with the mindless chatter." This time, it was Rias's time to raise her eyebrows. "As for your question, what if I am not the overseer?"
"In that case, I'd knock you out, wipe your memories, slip out of her, and follow through with beautiful Rose's request: It never happened." He shrugged.
Rias's lips twitched. He was underestimating her.
She opened her mouth to retort to him, to tell him that she was a high-class devil, and not some pushover. But at the last moment, she swallowed her words. She had a feeling he was fishing for a reaction from her to derail the conversation once again. She wouldn't let him lead this convo anymore: "Yes, I am one of the overseers."
"Well, Miss Overseer, do I have the option of declining?" He asked once again, barely containing his laugh as Rias balled her fist, and looked ready to throw hands. He could almost hear her mind shouting, 'Son of a bitch!!!'.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled, uncurling her fingers. She did so a few more times until she was sure she'd bear to look at the smug bastard's face, until she answered sweetly, "No, Little Issei, you have no obligation to reveal any information. You can keep your secrets and turn on your heels until you're out of my territory, and I wouldn't ask anything."
'So, if I have to stay, I'd have to reveal some of my hand,' He thought, quickly adopting a casual posture, "Well, to answer your question: I've got a draconic type sacred gear."
'No shit sherlock.' "Which one?" She pressed.
"It's the Boosted Gear." He said, crossing his arms before him defensively.
"...Pardon?"
"The Boosted Gear."
"...The What?"
"Boosted- you know what, let me just show you."
A flash of red and gold flared from his arm as the familiar Red and green gauntlet flicked into existence. Rias's wide eyes flickered down to his left wrist, where the longinus perched, her face colored in disbelief.
...
....
....
"Y-You..."
Almost mechanically, Rias lifted her gaze to meet his eyes. The brown pair of smugness twinkled with clear arrogance as he waved his gauntleted arm in front of her. The shining scales glistening under the dim light with a hypnotic allure.
"Yup! I am the wielder of the Double D," He proclaimed proudly. And to support his statement, a deep rumble erupted from the Gear itself.
[BOOST]
Rias's transfixed eyes regained some lustre upon hearing the deep, mechanical voice. Still, she felt like she was dreaming. Just today, she was cursing whatever cosmic forces had decided to ruin her day; Now, standing before the boosted gear's wielder, she felt she was the luckiest girl in the universe.
'If I were you, I'd definitely take my chances.' She recalled Sona's advice this morning and felt her breath hitch for a moment.
She started at Issei- the Red Dragon Emperor- flaunting his gear on her face, and felt a pang of disappointment creep in, '...But why does it have to be this annoying jerk?'
"Hello, Hello~ Earth to Rose, Earth to Rose~"
"My name's Rias-Not Rose!" Rias snapped, suddenly irked by his annoying and childish tendencies.
"Bah, R for Rias, R for Rose- same thing." He unsummoned the Boosted gear, and the gauntlet disappeared in motes of light at its master's command. "So," He shoved his free hand in his pockets and lifted his chin, "Anything else you wanna ask, Miss Overseer. Or can I be on my way?"
"I..." Rias pinched her nose, her lack of sleep making it difficult for her to think fast. Truthfully, she had a lot to ask him. She wanted to get to know him; his likes, dislikes, goals, ambitions, and everything in between, if she had to increase her chances of convincing him to help with her problem.
She knew she was thinking selfishly, she knew she was thinking of using him at their first meeting- Lucifer knows she felt disgusted with herself, knowing that even now her mind was referring to him as the Red Dragon Emperor and not Issei, but she had no other choice!
...or so she told herself.
Finally, when she couldn't come up with something new, she decided to get the bare minimum that'd keep Sona satisfied: "Just tell me what you think of the devils, why did you come to Kuoh town, and what connections you used to keep your documents hidden from us?"
"Hmm," He closed his eyes, and thought for a moment, "First: I... don't think of devils. I mean, they're just there, like the youkai, dragons, fallen angels, etc. To me, they're just there, like everyone else. As for the second, well, my dad got transferred to this town, so I just... tagged along- Wait, don't give me the weird look, I'm being serious."
"...You still live with your parents?"
"My parents are very over-protective," He shrugged. He started to weave a convincing false story as if it were the most natural thing for him, "And I never felt the need to move out, since half the time I used to stay over at my friend's house. Although that might be a little difficult now that I've moved to a different city."
"..And the third question?"
"Idk."
"Hmm?"
"I don't know. I just told my friend I had to move to Kuoh, and he arranged all the paperwork for me."
"Wait, you're telling me your friend arranged for your files to be hidden from everyone, even from us- the overseers?" Rias asked, baffled.
"Yep, that sounds like him." He snickered, "Dumbass' plans couldn't even keep me hidden for a day."
"Who is it?"
"Can't tell you that."
...
A moment of tense silence formed between them. "Fine," Until she begrudgingly backs off, "Keep your secrets."
"I told you everything you wanted to know..."
"No, you didn't. But that'll do for now," She turned around and prepared to leave, pushing down on the question she very desperately wished to ask. "Today's meeting was just to assess your character and to determine whether you're a threat or not."
"Today's? Meeting?" Issei tilted his head, "You make it sound like this interrogation is gonna be a daily thing."
"Interrogation? I'd call it a date," Rias laughed over her shoulder, "The poor, helpless boy with the stunning beauty, all alone- Don't tell me you don't like the set-up."
"Well, that's kinda hard to refuse, if you'd put it like that..."
__________________________________
__________________________
___________________
Hello~ People!
Would you have a moment to talk about our lord and....Nvm, how was the chapter?
Did you like Rias' character till now- Yes? Why?
No- Well, don't worry, a character has to have flaws to be able to go through character development. Issei also got quite a lot of them.
Also, I never understood people's lack of reaction to the Longinuses. These artifacts are like walking nukes for humanity...to not only resist the supernatural, but also to fight as equals at the highest levels in case need arises.
People acting like it's just some device really bothers me.
By the way, if you're one of those who are disappointed with Boosted Gear being the chosen Longinus- All I can say is, Issei won't be a brawler. He'd lean heavily into the mage class, rather than the boxing class...If you're still disappointed, then I'd like to say, I have future plans for Issei growing alone-no sacred gear- but that'd come later down the line....So take it as you will.
Ta-ta~