Re/SET

Life 3 × CH 8

Maoyu stood in the yard, staring at the sky.

Silver eyes reflected in the moonlight.

She raised her hand, trying to cover its face from the distance.

It was still too full.

In his bedroom, Issei sat up in his bed, fully dressed.

He picked up his clock that read 10:25 pm.

"Only one more hour before the Rating Game starts." He said to himself.

His mind drifted back to their last meeting during training.

'The House of Phoenix has no respect for us. Let's give him a taste of how strong the House of Gremory truly is...'

'They will receive no mercy from us.'

He could hear Rias' voice as clear as day.

He looked at his hand and clenched his fist.

"I've been training for this like my life depended on it." He said to himself. "There's no way in hell I'll let them win."

He suddenly heard a knock on his door.

"Huh?" He looked at the door.

"Issei, are you there?" Asia said from the other side. "Do you mind if I come in?"

"No, please do." Issei replied.

The door opened and Asia stepped inside.

"Wow..." Issei immediately noticed her old dress. "Uh....I haven't seen you wear that in a while."

"I thought my habit might make me feel for confident." Asia said. "Rias said she was okay with it as long as I felt comfortable. So, I just wanted to know what you thought?"

"I think you look pretty incredible, actually." He said without hesitation. "But then I've always liked you in that outfit."

Asia touched her heart and looked at him with tender eyes.

"You're sweet." She smiled. "I'd like to stay here with you, do you mind?"

"No." Issei answered. "Not at all."

Asia walked over to sit beside Issei on his bed.

She held onto his arm and rest her head on his shoulder.

Issei looked at girl who wasn't meeting his gaze.

"What's wrong?" He asked her.

"Oh, nothing." She held on a little tighter. "I'm just a little bit nervous about the battle."

"Still....as long as I have you here next to me, I know everything will be fine."

Issei looked slightly surprised before smiling softly.

"Yeah..." he said.

"Is it alright with you, Issei?" Asia asked him. "If I just stay here like this for a while?"

"Are you kidding?" He replied. "I think it's perfect."

Asia looked up into his eyes.

She suddenly smiled with a small blush in her cheeks.

Looking into those innocent green eyes, Issei smiled back.

After their little moment, they sat together in content silence.

Issei's eventually drifted outside.

He noticed Maoyu had been standing out there for over an hour now, staring at the sky.