Issei’s Childhood Friend

Akeno and Irina went silent as they digested Kisuke's words. The fact that their original body was already gone gave them a very complicated feeling, however, they knew that they were only saved because of Kisuke.

Bowing her head, Akeno thanked him, "Before anything else, I'd like to express my gratitude. I don't know how I can ever repay you."

Irina also did the same, "Thank you very much for saving our lives."

Kisuke smiled and replied, "It's fine. Don't worry about it. You two did take care of my place and also took care of Ophis. On top of that, you only got into that situation because you wanted to save Ophis. That alone is enough for me to save your lives without asking anything."

Akeno and Irina were still conflicted but Kisuke carried on, "Now then, the issue regarding your bodies, as you might have noticed, you received a bit of power up and that's obviously because of Ophis' and Great Red's powers. Finally, the one separating those powers, Samael's 'curse'."

"The black outline that you saw in your offensive magic was Ophis' 'Blessing' while the red aura that bolsters your defenses was Great Red's 'Flesh'. Considering that, you're not just a Devil, Fallen Angel, Angel nor Human, but also partly a Dragon."

"Now then, here's my question for both of you. Would you like to remain in these bodies? I can easily recreate your former bodies, and with the Evil Piece and Brave Saint Card, you should be able to return to your 'normal' lives and post.

"And although you can remain in this body, you should know that even though you've gained power, it's technically not yours to begin with, and you would have a hard time controlling it. On top of that, I can only promise stabilization and I don't know what the future holds for you. I'm giving you an option here, but I won't withhold the fact that the safest choice you have is to return to your normal bodies."

Hence, everyone became silent. For the next ten minutes, Kisuke watched their expression change multiple times. Although he didn't know what kind of complicated thoughts were going through their heads, he got the gist of it and felt glad that they didn't just instantly jump in for power.

Kisuke then stood up and said, "Alright, I'll work on those normal bodies now. But since I'm busy with my other stuff, I might take a while."

Akeno and Irina were startled, "W-what? But we haven't even given you an answer."

"You've thought long enough. If you're still hesitating, then this isn't it for you nor you should push through this as only regret will follow." replied Kisuke as he started walking away, "Besides, I guess it's better this way since I won't be staying here for long."

"Wait! What do you mean, Kisuke? Are you going again somewhere?" asked Irina with a concerned expression.

Kisuke stopped walking and turned his head to them, "Yeah... As you might have noticed, I'm the only one here. Due to some complicated matters, I can't return with the girls. I'm only here to check on mom and set some other things."

Akeno and Irina finally recalled the other missing people that were supposed to be with him, "Y-yeah... Where are they? How's Koneko? What about Sona-kaichou?" asked Akeno.

"They're fine, though Koneko, Sona and Aika are unconscious right now due to them overexerting themselves," While saying this, Kisuke was making a gentle smile, "Now that I think about it, I left them without properly saying goodbye. I guess I should speed things up so that I can return sooner. Sorry, but I have to go. I still need to do a lot of things. And by the way, after I'm done setting everything up, we'll return to the surface. Your friends are worried about you."

Shocked, Akeno and Irina could only stare at his distant figure as more thoughts flashed through their minds. However, one thing was very clear in their heads and thought, 'He can smile like that?'

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Inside the Hyoudou Residence, many people were waiting in the living room after Azazel received a message from Kisuke that he was going to bring Akeno and Irina back.

In addition to everyone from the Occult Research Club, Student Council and Vali's team, Serafall, Grayfia, Azazel, Barakiel and Dulio were waiting for their arrival.

After Serafall told Sirzechs, Ajuka, Falbium, Michael and Azazel about Akeno and Irina's situation, they decided not to tell anyone else what was going on. Aside from Barakiel, Grayfia, and Dulio, nobody else knew what Kisuke did to the girls. After all, he did something unbelievable, something that was currently impossible to achieve even with their combined efforts.

Although Sirzechs and Ajuka were very interested, they couldn't come as they'd look very suspicious if most of the big wigs went to a single location.

While waiting for their arrival, Xenovia couldn't help but be nervous about the real situation of her best friend.

Seeing this, Azazel comforted her, "Relax, will ya? Serafall already confirmed that they're safe. Though they met with an accident, they're fine now."

Tapping her legs, Xenovia replied, "I know... But after hearing that her Brave Saint Card returned without her and it only meant one thing, I'd already lost my hope. Now that news of her saying that she's fine, I can't calm down until I can actually see her."

"I know how you're feeling, but you're not alone. Look." Azazel then pointed towards Rias and the rest of the Student Council who seemed to be thinking deeply about something.

Xenovia sighed and calmed herself a bit after Asia gave her a cup of tea.

"Who's this Kisuke Urahara anyway? I only knew him through the reports and the crimes he apparently committed." implored Rossweisse.

Azazel rubbed his chin before giving an answer, "He's Issei's childhood friend. At first, we thought he was just a simple Sacred Gear wielder, until he single handedly defeated the transformed Kokabiel. We also thought that he was a human, but apparently not. Although he uses the general type of magic mostly, it seems he's also capable of using an unknown system of magic which he also taught to a few individuals who aren't here now."

"In short, he's a very mysterious guy that's capable of causing great trouble."

As Azazel finished his words with a sigh, a series of claps suddenly resounded in the mostly quiet room, "My~, if you praise me that much, I'll get embarrassed."

Everyone shivered at the sudden casual voice as they turned to its source. There, they saw Kisuke sitting on the couch beside Issei with a cup of tea in his hand and a grin on his face.

"Kisuke!" Issei shouted at him.

"As loud as ever, I see." Kisuke patted his shoulder and also used that chance to give him a quick inspection, 'It went differently than I thought, huh?'

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Editors:

28th00: Helping Phis-chama gets a free "Get out of Death" card. This actually seems consistent with canon. The upgrades though! THE UPGRADES! GAAAAH!

Staz Irvine