Cat Scratch Fever

Chapter 4

"Yikes. What's the farthest you've run before this, again?"

"600...meters..."

"Jeez...you sure you're the kid who scared Sirzechs?"

"Bite...me...!"

"..."

"Ow! Stop!"

"You asked for it."

To the outside observer, it might've looked like Issei was running and talking to himself with a weird red cosplay glove on, but to anyone who was a bit more clued in, it was an even weirder sight- Kuroka, in the form of a black housecat with two tails, was sprawled on top of his head while he tried to build some endurance. Kuroka had assured him nobody would care if he had the Boosted Gear out, and it would be better for his training to keep it summoned anyway, so he did.

Issei Hyoudou, running on a pedestrian street wearing a black and red tracksuit, with a cat riding his head, wearing the Gauntlet of the Welsh Dragon.

A spectacular sight, indeed.

Completely out of steam, Issei slowed to a halt before falling to his knees. Not one to waste time, he skipped the part where he stood back up and went straight to laying on the ground, face first. Luckily for him, he'd reached the city park, and he fell onto grass instead of concrete.

"You're a pussy."

"That's rich, coming from a cat."

"Fine. You're a vagina."

Issei laughed, once again beaten to the punch by Kuroka. "I hate you."

Kuroka, still a cat, yawned in boredom and stretched out on his back.

"After you get back up, we can work on weights. Even juvenile dragons are normally crazy strong...you're kinda lacking, nya."

Issei groaned into the dirt before replying. "You know, people keep calling me dragon this and dragon that, but I'm definitely not a dragon. I had a human mother and a human father."

"Yeah, but you've got the soul of a Dragon. With a little senjutsu magic once you're stronger, we can bring you closer to your...spirit form, per se."

"...You're gonna turn me into a dragon?"

"You're already a dragon, nya. I'm gonna make you feel like one."

"That sounds...permanent."

"Not nearly as much as you'd think, actually. It would happen naturally anyway as you grow into your power, but thanks to yours truly, we can accelerate the process. But, before that, more training."

Another groan.

"Issei? Is that you?"

From inside the park, a woman's voice made itself known. Kuroka's head shot up, half-expecting a devil to have found her. Instead, it was just a scantily-clad fallen angel, and a ridiculously weak one at that. She had her wings hidden, but was wearing a BDSM outfit like it was normal. Standard fallen angel.

Kuroka laid back down, unphased.

Issei raised his face by less than twenty degrees, just enough to see who he was being addressed by.

It was a girl who'd asked him out not two weeks earlier. He'd denied her, but he couldn't really remember why; thought he supposed it was a good thing. He could never have gone out with Kuroka if he'd been dating Yuuma.

"Yuuma? What the hell are you wearing?" Issei asked, not bothering to lift his head, or anything else, any more.

"I, uh...workout clothes?" Yuuma replied, suddenly very self-conscious. She quickly and subtly summoned a plain black t-shirt and athletic shorts, slipping them over her Fallen Angel attire in such a way that wouldn't raise suspicion. "But, that aside, why are you on the ground?"