DxD: Crown of the Personage

Realisation

Irina Shidou was many things.

A good student, a good artist, a good chorister and a person with a good heart.

But even someone like her was bad at something, a certain thing.

That was making friends.

She looked around her and saw all the kids giggling and talking to one another. It was a happy sight, until she looked close to her.

Other than her desk, people flocked to every other one.

She didn't understand why. 

She was the only one without someone to talk to. 

She was confused, she was sad and she was scared. 

She didn't know what to do. 

When she joined the school, her father asked her to make a lot of friends. And she tried, she tried talking but after exchanging a few sentences with her, the kids never bothered to speak with her again. 

She gripped the edge of her skirt and barely kept the tears from leaking out. 

"You know."

She jerked as she heard a voice from behind her.

"If you want to talk, you just have to ask."

It was a boy.

A boy that she recognized. 

"If you want their attention, you have to go and talk."

She did not know why the boy was telling her this, she already knew all that and this made her even sadder. 

"Whoa whoa!" The boy nearly fell from his seat as he saw her cry. "Don't cry! I am sorry!"

She didn't realise that her tears started rolling down.

"They…" Her grip on her skirt tightened. "Stop talking to me after I talk to them."

Hearing this, the boy turned his head in confusion.

"They do?"

He asked. 

The girl nodded, unable to form words in her mouth.

The boy scratched his head, ruffling his brown locks in the process. 

Irina noticed that his hair was very soft, they bounced each time he put his hand over his head. 

She knew the boy, of course she knew him.

He was Issei Hyoudou, the boy that was always at the top of the class. He was someone that no matter how hard she tried, she could never outperform in exams.

And he was someone who was just like her. 

Alone.

She did not know why he never had any friends, because unlike her, he never bothered talking to anyone.

"Err…" He seemed flustered. "What is your name?"

He asked, surprising her.

She couldn't answer for a while.

"Hello?" 

He asked again, and this time she answered.

"I-Irina." She said. "Irina Shidou."

The boy smiled. "Irina, as in peace." He nodded. "That is a good name."

This little comment surprised her.