Double Date (½)

[Early Morning — Occult Research Club]

{Akeno Himejima}

I still cannot believe that things are moving so well. It is often a sign that something will go astray soon, but for now… everything seems perfect.

"Akeno, we have to move soon."

I agreed with Rias. No matter how favorable the events were, if we didn't go now and keep an eye out, both Reo and Hyoudou could be harmed.

"I still cannot believe he managed to convince both the Fallens to gather together." Rias had a massive smile on her face. "And you gave Reo the pendant, right?"

"I did." I made sure to give him the highest-grade pendant. The moment he tore that, it would teleport us to him.

We were going to keep an eye on them, but we couldn't be anywhere close to them, or the Fallens would notice us. So, the pendant served as a mechanism to shorten the distance between us when needed.

Kiba and Koneko were out patrolling the area, making sure there were no other Fallens hidden anywhere.

And it was only Rias and I who had to make our move now.

"I am amazed at how we never paid attention to Reo before." I was being honest. Until we figured out his magic, he was invisible to us. And now look, in just this little time, he has become a key player in this Fallen situation.

And he is also growing popular in school.

It's amusing, to say the least.

"When people become stronger and improve themselves, they gain new confidence. And maybe that is why he is being this active." Rias said, and it made quite a lot of sense. "Now I hope he doesn't get carried away. He has been taking a lot of risks."

That is true.

"Anyhow, let's move. We need to figure out their base situation. Once the Fallens reveal their plan, we will strike immediately."

"Alright."

And now, it was a waiting game.

…

…

[Late Afternoon — Amusement Park, Kuoh]

{Raynare}

"T-Thank you for coming with me, Maya!" 

The perverted little boy yelled, obviously staring at Kalawarner's chest.

Ugh, disgusting filth.

"I should be the one thanking you, Issei." Kalawarner was holding her act pretty well. "I thought you would be embarrassed coming on this date. Considering guys like to date girls their age, and I… I am quite old."

"Old?" The boy fell so obviously into her trap. "You are not old, Maya! You are far more beautiful than any girl in my class. No, in my school!" 

Kalawarner placed her hand softly over her lips, a fake-shy expression that he bought into far too easily.

And after staring at her chest for a while, he finally looked at me.

Amused and amazed.

And trust me, even with him staring at Kalawarner's chest for so long, he ogled me too.

If it were somewhere else, I would have ripped his eyes out.

"I didn't know Maya was bringing her friend over," he said, looking around and seeing me alone. "And it looks like my friend and his girlfriend aren't here yet."

I gave him a smile, amazed at his lack of intellect. 

"We have known each other for years, Issei." Kalawarner said the truth, well, somewhat the truth. "And well, it wasn't exactly that I invited her here."

"Oh?" The boy looked at me confused. "Then—"

And as he was about to ask, the person I had been waiting for arrived.

"I mean, it's you who asked me to bring my date too, remember?"

Reo Takeda. 

The boy who was my target came pretty neatly dressed.

He wore nice, clean shoes, black pants, a thin white hoodie, and a green jacket over it. 

It was pretty decent, acceptable to me, which was the stark opposite of this Issei guy.

"Reo?"

Issei Hyoudou wore the same dress I saw him wearing after school when we were spying. He either wore the same outfit that he always wears, or he has multiple of the same outfit.

Worst of all was his gelled hair that he tried to make look good, but it did nothing to help. Instead, it made him look like a greased-up boy.

Kalawarner said nothing, but I could see that she was embarrassed to have to take the kid out on a date dressed the way he did.

At least, I didn't have to be embarrassed.

"I brought my date as you asked, Issei." He smiled, walking right next to me. "Meet Yuuma Amano, my date."

"That —That is your date?" He looked shocked, amusing me.

I wonder what's going on between the two of them.

"Mhm," Reo's eyebrows stretched a little. "Yes, she is my date."

I didn't catch it at first, but then I realized it might have sounded rude the way the boy referred to me.

It genuinely would have made any girl happy, even girls that were not interested in him.

He softly placed his hand over my waist, not groping nor probing —just enough to not make me feel left out in front of them.

I honestly don't recall learning about him having exes. So, it is impressive to see him being courteous enough without prior romantic experience.

"I-I see." The boy, Issei, was left surprised at the introduction.

"What about you?" And Reo continued putting pressure on the boy. "Are you not going to introduce your date to me?"

"O-Oh, of course I am!" He quickly turned to look at Kalawarner, who could barely hide her disinterest and embarrassment. "She is Maya Tanaka, my date and the girl you accused me of stalking!"

He accused him of what?

I almost burst out into laughter. I could totally see this boy acting like a little stalker.

We had enough information about him, and we knew enough about him being a pervert.

So, it wouldn't be completely out of line for him.

"Stalker?" Kalawarner, or well, Maya, finally decided to help out the boy. "N-No. He did nothing of that sort. Instead, it was me who came to him to confess."

Reo raised an eyebrow, and I could understand why.

"Amusing to think that you found Issei to be your type."

"Reo!" The boy got angry. "Not cool, man!"

"Just curious, Issei." Reo said, "Anyhow, how did you first meet or find Issei? And what drew you towards him?"

Tough question. Honestly, there wasn't much to like about the little pervert other than him being entertaining to watch.

If I was asked this about the boy, I would have had to stay silent.

Thankfully, Kalawarner knew such questions might arise, given the personality of the boy. So, she came prepared.

"He is kind," she said, immediately making the boy look at her with puppy eyes. "I saw him helping the poor few on the streets, feeding the cats that had no home, and helping out the old people who needed assistance. I have seen him often doing such things as I pass by these places quite often." She gave out a smile. "His kindness and the smile he always kept while helping others attracted me to him."

"That's…" Reo and even I were amazed. "That's a really good answer."

"Aww… Maya." The boy had his eyes wet with tears of happiness. 

I thought of asking him what made him agree to come on this date with Maya. But I believe I already know the answer.

"Well, congratulations to you, Issei." Reo gave a bright smile. "You found yourself a very pretty and sweet lady."

"I told you!" Issei seemed proud. "And—"

He turned to me, and I believe he wanted to say something else, but for some reason, he couldn't.

"I didn't expect you to have a pretty girlfriend too." He said those words with a stoic face, but something told me that he was disappointed.

Honestly, it was quite fun. Seeing boys banter and throwing underhanded comments without making it explicit.

Entertaining, to say the least.

In a way, I was willing to enjoy this a little more now.

I still wanted to know about their Sacred Gear, and possibly take it for myself.

If we can extract them.

But even if we cannot, and we will have to end up killing them, I cannot deny that this is quite fun.

Maybe it wasn't a bad idea to come here on this double date.

"So, ladies," Reo took charge. "Where would you like to go first?"

"The rollercoaster? The Ferris wheel?" He moved to point at the other rides. "Maybe a scary ride? Or maybe a more cute and fun ride?" 

He looked at the two of us.

"We can even go to the haunted house if you want?" He gave out a smile. "Or if you haven't eaten anything yet and are hungry, we can explore the stalls we have here too."

We did have a lot of options. It was kind of difficult to pick, to be fair.

Neither I nor Kalawarner came prepared for this. So, this was rather difficult.

"What do you suggest?" Kalawarner asked, making her date a little jealous as she didn't ask him.

"Hmm… Let's see." Reo looked around. "We can go on a ride, but rides are best enjoyed when you go through them one after another, till your stomach gets upset and you feel like throwing up."

That… was a bit more extreme than I expected.

"And after the many rides, you will certainly be hungry." He said, "And it isn't really a good idea to ride these on a full stomach. So…"

He pointed at the haunted house, "Rides then food, but before that, let's do a little walk of courage."

The haunted house.

Well…

"We can do that." Kalawarner nodded, and I gave him a smile. It did seem interesting, and I do wonder what humans have there to scare others.

However, Issei didn't seem too confident.

"O-Okay…"

However, no one paid much interest to him, and we all decided to visit the haunted house.

Everyone deserved to have fun, even if they were to die just a few hours later.

Right?

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