55 Side Quest

"So how's it going guys?" Issei asked as he stepped into the training grounds of the Occult Research Club.

"Issei!" Asia waved at him, but then she dodged a kick from Koneko.

"Don't get distracted, Asia. If you do in a real battle you'll die." Koneko scolded her. Asia nodded and raised her hands to defend herself.

" Let's keep going! " Asia replied determinedly and continued sparring with Koneko. Issei smiled proudly at the two. Koneko had decided to not hide her cat ears and tail anymore and Asia came out of her shell a little and requested Koneko to teach her how to defend herself even more.

Issei then looked at Akeno who was focusing on the yellow lightning crackling around her hands. The lightning looked so mesmerizing but so dangerous too.

"What are you doing, Akeno?" Issei asked her. Akeno looked at him and smiled.

"I'm trying to figure out how to create an electrical armor around me. I'm making progress, see? " Akeno showed Issei her hands that had electrical aura crackling around her.

"When I fully master every part of this technique, I'll then focus on evolving it to the next level. " Akeno explained.

"This technique is also enhancing my physical and mental attributes. I can think faster while using this technique. " Akeno added. Issei was impressed.

" Nice job Akeno. " Issei complimented her by patting her head. Akeno giggled. Rias who was watching from the side, pouted cutely. Issei chuckled and walked away, leaving Akeno to continue her training.

"Rias. What are you doing?" Issei asked her. Rias pointed at the small crimson sword in her right hand.

"I'm creating a Sword Of Destruction. This sword can disintegrate anything it cuts or touches. It can also do this." Rias entered a stance and swung her sword diagonally, sending out a crescent shaped crimson blade that had black outlines from her sword.

The sword sliced the ground open and disintegrated everything under it, creating a massive fission.

"And I'm also working on this." Rias made the Sword Of Destruction disappear. She them created a small crimson cube on her palm. The cube was fired out of her hand and landed on the ground.

*FWWWOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!!!*

Suddenly, a small rectangular pillar appeared from the ground out of nowhere. It then disappeared without a trace, leaving a perfectly cut square hole on the ground.

Rias looked at Issei's surprised face and giggled. "That was only a quarter of its true size." Rias revealed, shocking Issei even more.

"Damn! Where did you even get that idea from? " Issei asked.

" Bleach. " Rias answered simply.

"Oh..... Well, where's Kiba? I can't find him anywhere." Issei asked her while looking around him. Suddenly, Kiba appeared floating out from the ground, surprising Issei even more. Kiba smiled at him while holding his sword, The Intangible.

"Did you just phase through the ground just now?!" Issei asked him, not believing his eyes. Kiba nodded.

"This is the second and better version of The Intangible. I am now able to phase through the ground and travel to wherever I want." Kiba replied while spinning his blade around him. Issei sighed.

" Damn. Apparently I'm not training hard enough. Do you have any more cool wacky swords other than The Intangible?" Issei asked. Kiba nodded and summoned another sword.

" This is called the Healing Sword. It heals people when I cut them. But who I deem enemies somehow steal it, they die immediately." Kiba explained. He then summoned another sword.

" This sword took me 2 months to be able to summon it. It is called the Clone Sword. I am able to create clones of myself that are able to use Sword Birth, and wield their own swords that they want to wield." Kiba explained. Issei was definitely impressed.

" Is there more?" Issei asked. Kiba shook his head.

"Unfortunately, they're still in creation." Kiba replied.

" That's really unfortunate. What are you doing right now? " Issei switched topics. Kiba looked at Rias.

" I'm teaching Buchou how to wield a sword. She's a natural." Kiba complimented. Rias blushed, feeling embarrassed.

" Ah! Don't say that!, I'm just following what you say. " Rias denied. Kiba chuckled.

" You followed my instructions and did them perfectly. If that isn't talented, I don't know what is. " Kiba replied. Issei laughed and kissed Rias on the cheek.

" Have fun and don't overwork yourself, Rias. I'm going now, Koneko is calling me. " Issei waved at Rias and Kiba to which they both waved back. Issei used Soru and appeared beside Koneko who was waiting for him while crossing her arms.

"Alright, I'm gonna keep it short. I'm learning a new Senjutsu technique and I want you to watch over me while I do it. " Koneko explained. Issei nodded.

" Of course, let's do this. " Issei replied. Koneko nodded and stood far away from him. Issei looked at her twitching cat ears and smiled.

"Those ears are so cute. " Issei whispered, but to his horror, Koneko heard it as she blushed deeply.

"R-really?" Koneko asked. Issei nodded repeatedly.

"W-well. Thank you I guess. Ahem!!" Koneko cleared her throat to get them back to business. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in and out.

Suddenly, a bright white aura wrapped around her body. Her golden cat eyes glowed brightly. Koneko was using Touki.

Touki is, in essence the external manifestation of one's life-force, in other words their Ki, which would be wrapped around them as an aura.

Using this, a person achieves heightened offense, defense, and speed. It also had the added effect of damaging others from the slightest touch, and defending a user from a wide arrange of attacks, while knocking their foes back too.

"Woah...." Issei whispered as Koneko smiled at him.

"It's called Touki and it's a technique that allows me to increase my physical capabilities while using it." Koneko explained.

"Damn. This shit got me interested in learning Senjutsu now." Issei muttered. Koneko frowned.

" And go insane while learning it? I'm not letting you do that, Issei." Koneko replied. Issei chuckled. Even after all this time of practicing Senjutsu by herself, Koneko still remains cautious about using Senjutsu.

'I guess it's good to be cautious. But still, I'm very interested in learning Senjutsu. I wonder what kind of techniques I can create with it?' Issei wondered. He looked at Koneko who entered a fighting stance.

"I want you to spar with me, Issei. I want to test it out. " Koneko explained. Issei nodded and entered his own fighting stance.

" Let's fight, Koneko-chan. "

.

.

"I still have so much to learn." Koneko whispered as she was being carried bridal style by Issei back into the Occult Research Club building.

"Keep improving slowly every day, and you might be one of the best Senjutsu users in the world one day." Issei encouraged.

" Yeah, but I'm still pretty scared about using Senjutsu. I get that it's my own powers and I should embrace it. But I always get reminded about what happened to my sister when I think about it. " Koneko muttered. Issei nodded.

" What would you do when you encounter your sister again? " Issei asked.

" I want answers from her about why she went mad and killed her King at the time." Koneko replied decisively. Issei nodded.

" That's probably the most logical answer you could've given." Issei muttered. Koneko sighed and leaned into her.

" I need to be ready for meeting her again. But I don't know when. " Koneko grumbled.

" Just go with the flow I guess. Life is full of surprises." Issei advised. Koneko hummed. She then looked at him.

" Did Rias tell you we're going to be competing in a Rating Game in two days? " Koneko asked. Issei was surprised.

" No she didn't. Who are your opponents?" Issei asked. Koneko shrugged.

" With some peerage that's from a branch family of the Astaroth Clan. They don't have any notable skills but we're prepared for whatever they got." Koneko explained determinedly. Issei smirked.

" You better be, Koneko-chan. If you lose then I'll never stop teasing you about it." Issei teased. Koneko huffed and looked away.

"Whatever idiot.....

To be continued....