The morning sun felt a little too bright as I walked the path toward Kuoh Academy. The air was cool, almost pleasant, but that didn't help much with the heavy stares drilling into my back from every direction.
Whispers echoed like a storm around me.
"Why is someone like him..."
"Why is someone vulgar like *him* walking beside Rias-oneesama?"
There were a few shrieks—some students, male and female alike, looked like they were seconds away from collapsing. One guy actually did. Just straight-up fainted. I didn't even touch Rias. We weren't holding hands or anything.
She was just walking next to me, as calmly and gracefully as ever.
And that was enough to shake the whole damn school.
I kept walking, trying to focus on the ground. It wasn't easy. Because, next to me, was *her*—Rias Gremory. The school's idol. The unreachable goddess. Every guy's fantasy. Every girl's envy.
And me? I used to be a loud, perverted loser. The kind of guy people looked at and immediately assumed was hiding something weird in his locker.
So, yeah. I understood the disbelief. The tension in the air was practically its own atmosphere.
We walked past the school gate, and I could feel the gazes of teachers and even a few upperclassmen burning into the back of my head. I didn't dare make eye contact with anyone.
Once we reached the main school building, Rias turned to me, her expression as calm as always.
"I'll send someone to get you. Let's meet again later."
She said it with a smile that felt too soft, too perfect for this kind of chaos. I nodded silently. I think she meant Kiba.
Not entirely sure though—my memories still weren't as solid as they should be. The past and present blended sometimes, but I kept walking, heading toward the classroom.
And, just as expected, the moment I opened the door, the noise stopped.
Dead silence.
Every single person in the room turned to look at me like I had grown a second head.
Can't blame them. They probably all saw me walking side by side with the Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess. A guy like me, next to someone like her? To them, it must've looked like a glitch in the system.
I stepped inside, trying to keep my pace steady.
Then—*BANG!*
Pain exploded at the back of my skull. I staggered forward slightly, turning my head with a scowl.
Behind me stood Matsuda, shaking with rage. Beside him was Motohama, pushing his glasses up with an intense glare.
"Give me an explanation!" Matsuda shouted, his voice full of betrayal and confusion. "How!? How could you!?"
I rubbed my head, still aching from the surprise attack. "What the hell, man?"
"Don't play dumb!" he shouted again. "Until yesterday, we were the 'Unpopular Alliance!' Brothers in the land of zero romance!"
Motohama spoke next, more composed, but no less intense. "Ise, first of all, explain it to us. What happened after we split yesterday?"
His glasses gleamed ominously as he narrowed his eyes. It felt like an interrogation.
I blinked, then grinned.
Time to mess with them.
"You guys," I said, putting a hand on each of their shoulders, "have you ever seen real tits before?"
The effect was instantaneous.
Both of them trembled. Not out of anger, not entirely out of envy—but out of *fear*. Like I had just revealed a forbidden truth. Like they were standing at the edge of a dark, sacred temple, and I was the heretic who had walked in and touched the idol.
Matsuda staggered back, pale as a sheet. Motohama's hand froze mid-glasses-adjustment.
"You're joking..." Motohama whispered.
"Ise, tell me you're joking..." Matsuda pleaded, but it was too late. My silence told them all they needed to know.
Chaos broke loose after that.
Lunch was spent trying to escape their follow-up questions. Both of them trailed after me like two debt collectors, desperate for every last detail.
I gave them vague answers, half-truths, and a few embellished lines for fun. I told them I couldn't share everything because it was "too sacred." That just made it worse.
Throughout the day, the gossip spread faster than a fire in dry grass. I became the number one subject of every whisper, every sidelong glance.
And Rias?
She didn't say much the entire day. I only saw her once again during a break between periods. She waved at me across the hallway, surrounded by a crowd of mesmerized students who parted like the Red Sea at her presence.
Classes passed by slowly. Math dragged on. Science made even less sense than usual. My brain wandered, thinking about the new life I had been thrown into.
Because I wasn't just Issei anymore. I *was*, and I *wasn't*. My soul carried memories not originally from this world, and while some pieces were missing, the sense of detachment never fully left.
Still, I played my role. The idiot pervert. The reborn devil. The confused teenager stuck in the middle of something way bigger than himself
Eventually, the final bell rang.
Students began to pack up, laughing and chatting like normal. I was still sitting at my desk, lost in thought, when the classroom door slid open.
The noise in the room dulled instantly.
In the doorway stood a tall boy with golden hair and a prince-like aura. He was too perfect. The girls in the classroom gasped softly.
Yuuto Kiba.
The school's shining knight. The sword prince. The guy whose fan club probably had a waiting list.
"Hyoudou," Kiba said politely. "Rias-senpai asked me to escort you."
I stood up. The classroom buzzed with questions and barely-contained squeals.
Kiba just smiled, like he always did. Calm, confident, collected.
"You ready?" he asked.
"Yeah. Let's go."
I followed him out, ignoring the thirty sets of eyes burning holes into my back.
As we walked through the halls, Kiba glanced over at me.
"You've really stirred things up, huh?"
"You think so?"
He chuckled.
"You might've just become more popular than me today."
"Doubt it. You're still Prince Charming. I'm just the guy who broke the school's illusion."
Kiba shrugged, but his smile never faded.
"That's exactly why you're interesting to them."
I wasn't sure how to take that.
~~~
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