Chapter 4

Issei's POV-:

After my apparent 'date' with Heiress gremory, I returned to my seat. The homeroom teacher came, asked me to introduce myself to the class, made a stupid and unfunny joke, and began his lecture.

His lecture ended, and the next teacher took his place. This kept repeating until I was barely able to keep my eyes open. It seems I'd forgotten why I never missed attending classes in the past decade.

During this period, nothing note-worthy happened, except for the jealous glares directed at me from the perpetually horny duo. Aside from that, the gum-chewing guy had finally shown mercy on the poor gum and had retired it at some point.

Currently, He was also busy trying to burn a hole through me with his stare.

Bet, He's got a crush on that redhead. 

By the time the final bell rang, I had already packed my bag in advance and was striding towards the exit. In my hurry, I ended up bumping into chubby-cheeks, causing his study supplies to spill out of his arms.

"My bad..." I apologized half-heartedly, feeling a little guilty, but not enough to slow my pace. Back at home, I still had much of the unpacking left to do, and Mom might appreciate some help with setting things up.

He waved his hand offhandedly as he crouched down to retrieve his supply, "Don't mind it." But it seemed his friend was looking for the moment of spark, as he jumped in when he wasn't involved, "What's the hurry, newbie?" He said, grabbing my shoulder firmly, "You just spilled all my friend's things, and didn't even bother to offer to help? C'mon, don't be a cunt."

His grip caused me to stop in my tracks. Yeah, I knew I was being a dick, but I really didn't wanna spend a second longer in this class anymore. I turned to look at him, and watching my reluctant grimace, his smile grew an inch. 

'Oh, god...; I internally groaned, already knowing what this stupid cunt was trying to do. This guy didn't give two shits about offering help- nah. If that were the case, he'd be on the floor, collecting tools by now. But then, who would show a newcomer his place in the hierarchy?

He would rather use this opportunity to vent his misplaced dissatisfaction with me.

"Yeah, you're right. I should've helped..." I sighed, joining chubby cheeks in helping collect his notes. At this point, he'd already recovered most of the articles, so I quickly helped him with the rest and gave a quick bow, "I was in a hurry, I apologize."

"I said already, Don't mind it..." Chubby cheeks waved me off, laughing and patting my shoulder. "Anyways, I am Naoki Takada. You?" He said merrily, offering his hand for a handshake.

I raised a brow at his outstretched hand, then took a quick peek at the rude one, and thought- Well, that's a unique pair. 

The taller guy was grinding his teeth now under the mask of aloofness. Apparently, he was expecting me to refuse his demand, thereby allowing him to escalate the situation. He was taller than I was, and thus must've thought he'd get the size advantage. Ignorant fool...

I took Chubby Che-Takada's hand, nodded, "I am sure you've already know my name. But it's nice to meet you."

"Now, I'd love to get to know the two of you lovely gentlemen better, but I gotta go," I said with a hint of faux regret, "You see, we've just recently moved in, and I've still got lots of unpacking to do."

After bidding them goodbye, and practically bolting out of the scene, lest I end up fighting with the fuckwit itching for a showdown. 

* * *

"I am home." 

As soon as I announced that, Mother-Miki Hyoudou's voice came from the living room, "We're here."

In the living room, Father was lying on the sofa in his casuals, and Mother was arranging the plates. Father noticed my arrival, met my gaze, his lips curling slightly, "Look who's back already." He reached for the remote and turned down the volume of the news program, "How was your first day, little Prince?"

"Holy shit. Will you ever stop calling me with that embarrassing name?" I complained, grimacing in cringe. "I am neither small nor a prince."

"Language, young man." Mom playfully chided from the sidelines. Her face mirrored Dad's teasing little smirk as she added, "No matter how much you grow, you'll always be our little peanut. We'll continue to call you that until..." She left her sentence intentionally unfinished.

"Gods, you're worse." I groaned, covering my face. Despite the privacy of being at home, I couldn't stop flushing red. "And please, wipe that Sly grin off your face. I ain't falling for the same trap twice."

"Aww, what's wrong with asking my cute son to introduce his girlfriends to his us?" She faked sadness.

This was a regular at the Hyoudou Household. My parents were a little too deep into infantilizing me. Perhaps it was because I was their only child, or perhaps it stemmed from the past trauma and was simply their way of coping with the fact that they almost lost me twice.

First, after giving two consecutive stillbirths, Mom gave birth to 'Issei'- only to find out that the child made no sound; it didn't cry, it didn't move, it didn't breathe- despite the doctor's repetitive attempts at stimulation. 

It was only when the doctors had lost all hope that the baby miraculously came to life when a body stealer inhabited the corpse. —#1

I don't have the best memories of that day since it occurred more than seventeen years ago, and I had little awareness of my surroundings amidst the confusion and anxiety of the sudden shift in my senses. But I still clearly remember the unmistakable screams of agony of the woman I'd later end up calling my mother.

The second was when my parents got a call from a stranger informing them that their Eight-year-old is critically injured, and is admitted to an Emergency room.

The reason they were told was that a wild Rottweiler mauled him...which was a complete lie they still believe to this day. As for the stranger who helped me, I ended up working for that lazy bum. —#2

It was for that reason that I let them call me whatever they wanted. So long as they were content, it was fine. But still, to be called a peanut at seventeen wasn't something I actively preferred.

"Whatever, I am not gonna argue with you two." I left the hall and began making my way towards my room upstairs.

"Wait, son. Eat a little before you lock yourself in your room." "Issei, at least tell me how your first day went."

"Nope!" I shouted back, midway, "I ain't listening until you lot finally decide to stop annoying me."

The moment I entered my room, I saw a grown ass man sprawled on the messy floor filled with unpacked boxes. He had Short black hair with golden bangs, and an extremely, extremely ugly goatee. 

He stopped chowing on my emergency stash of chips as he saw me enter, and raised his hand in greeting, "Welcome back, little peanut." He said, wearing a cocky little smirk.

...

...

...

My lips twitched. And he shamelessly resumed scarfing down my snacks.

"Bastard, leave my snacks alone!" 

I threw my bag at his face, which he easily deflected. But I was ready. 

[Boost]

The Boosted gear hummed to life as I moved, my fist inching closer to his torso. which he easily twisted his body to catch my fist. I threw another punch to his chin- he caught that too. 

With both my arms jammed, he raised his brows, his smirk consistent, "What's next, champ?"

I took that moment to swipe his feet off the floor, but he sidestepped at the last moment to throw me off balance. 

That was my aim.

With my free arm, I grabbed the nearby unsorted box and smashed it against his side. 

I am sure the impact did little harm to the strongest Fallen, but he did let go of my other arm and jumped back, whistling, "Not bad for a peanut."

"Did a peanut scare you, Boss..." I smirked.

— — —

"Tch..." 

"So," Azazel dawdled, sitting over me. He leisurely ate the rest of my snacks, as he asked, "What was that about?"

"Leave some for me, you cheapskate. You don't even pay me enough to buy new ones." I protested, wriggling under his weight.

I tried to reach for his face in an attempt to pull his goatee, but he easily ignored my weak attempts and got even more comfortable, folding his legs and all. "How is she, the gremory girl?" He asked, mildly interested, "Think you can help her get out of her predicament?"

"Of course, I can. Grilling a phoenix ain't difficult. But that girl...Sheesh," I sighed, foregoing my struggles. 

"Go on. I am curious about your assessment of Sirzechs' sister."

"She is fucking miserable..."

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Info dump:

#1: In this timeline, Issei(the cannon protagonist that you know) was conceived dead, much like his older siblings. It was then that our protagonist(the one you'd be following in this one) took over the body. 

Do note that the protagonist thinks he had possessed a dead corpse of a stillborn, but whether that is objectively true or not is quite unclear....

Not that he regrets or questions his life choices or anything. He has long since come to terms with the fact that he's taken over a heap of organic mass. In fact, throughout the seventeen, almost eighteen years into his new life, he has already accepted himself as 'Issei Hyoudou', and Goro and Miki Hyoudou as his parents. 

#2: This incident happened when he was a stupid little shit, back when he though he was a protagonist of the story(Fun fact: he still does) and that all the mysteries of this world- even those that weren't covered in the novel- were his to be uncovered. 

This was also the accident where he unlocked his sacred gear for the first time.

He almost died, but thankfully, someone interceded at the exact moment. That someone was not Azazel, but someone else. During the recovery phase, Azazel offered Issei tutelage under him if he accepted being a member of Grigory.

Issei rejects, but as fate would have it, he ends up becoming a half-member of Grigory, whatever that means.

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Haaahh....That is all for today.

Bye Bye~