Chapter 8:

Chapter 8:

Peace finally returned to Hyd Household.

The Devil that plagued Asia had been apprehended, shamed, and stripped of all he owned - plus the shit had also been beaten out of him live in front of every Devil in the Underworld, a feat Issei was proud of. Issei resumed his training with his friends, trying to compensate for his slacking, and Asia was safe from harm, at last.

Rias was still adamant about recruiting him and turning him into a Devil, but Issei could keep her at bay as he kept rejecting her.

All was well until one Sunday night.

When Issei and his mother were lazing in the living room, enjoying late snacks with random shows on television entertaining them in their rest before facing the new Monday.

The neighborhood was safe; Freed Sellzen was no longer in Kuoh, not a single homicide report ever since. With Diodora (former) Astaroth thrown into jail, Asia had become a new member of the family, in a practical sense.

It was the day she first took Rover out for a walk, a routine usually done by either Issei and Haruka. However, considering how Rover had grown fond of Asia in such a relatively short time, Issei and Haruka saw no harm allowing Asia the chance to bond with the family dog.

Too bad their relaxing night ended with their optimistic expectations shattering with Rover's sudden disappearance.

They were staring at the teary-eyed Asia. She was clad in a hoodie over a pink T-shirt and light-green shorts. Dirt and dirty water had smeared her clothes, implying the difficulty of her escapade in finding the missing dog.

"I-I-I'm so sorry!" She sobbed and bowed deeply from where she stood. "I-I only looked away for a second and he suddenly ran away to a dark alley-way! I should've held the leash tighter!"

"Whoa, whoa, relax Asia. It's okay." Issei stood up and walked over her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder in a comforting manner and guided her to the couch. "Shh Shh. Are you injured?"

"N-no, I'm fine" Asia replied as she sat on the couch while kept sobbing. "...I just don't know what else to do."

Hearing this made him remember his first time walking the dog. That time Rover broke into a supermarket, raided the meat section, and stole a chunk of prime beef worth of ten thousand yen.

"Don't worry, Asia. We've been there before. I remember the first time I walked my husband's dog as well. Trust me, I know how it feels." Haruka also joined in consoling Asia.

Issei remembered the story as well. His mom told him that he ate a Chimera-looking monster in an alleyway just when it tried to attack them - he honestly thought it was awesome.

"You heard her." Issei nodded while smiling knowingly at his mother. "So, let's start over, shall we? You're walking with Rover and he suddenly just ran into an alleyway when you're not looking." Issei recounted the past, which Asia confirmed with a nod. "Okay, that's, um Actually enough for us to know what to do. Mom?"

Haruka was already heading to the kitchen and she began to rummage through the fridge and the pantry. Soon she returned with a bag of frozen meat and a few bags of dog food.

"Do you need help?"

"I'll manage. You and Asia need to stay here in case Rover comes home on his own." Issei replied as he took the frozen meat labeled 'in case the dog is missing.'

"You do realize that Rover could be anywhere now, right? And you plan to find him alone?" Haruka asked with a skeptical tone.

"Who said I'm doing it alone?" Issei retorted with a smirk.

oXo

"You know, when I received a summoning from you, I wasn't expecting this."

Tsubasa Yura stood with an unamused expression on her face. She folded her arms together while tapping her foot on the ground.

"...And why the hell do I have to come too?"

Saji Genshirou also stood next to Tsubasa, wearing an expression that screamed his desire to go home.

"Sorry." Issei said with an apologetic smile. "But you two are the only ones I know who can handle Rover."

"Ha! 'Can handle Rover' he said." Saji retorted. "In case you've forgotten, the spot where your dog bit me still aches whenever I go to bed!"

Issei tried to suppress a snicker but failed.

"I heard that!" Saji scowled at the dog owner's snort.

"S-S-Sorry, sorry." Issei apologized while trying to steady his breath. "But seriously, I really need every help I can get. The longer Rover stays out there, the more likely I don't have to say it. You know what happens if he's loose, right?"

Tsubasa and Saji did not answer. They could already imagine what Rover could do in a populated area, like a bomb waiting to explode at the worst time, Rias and her peerage being a prime example of the consequence of angering the puppy.

"Alright, you got me, but you really owe me for this, Hyd," Saji spoke.

"You're a handful, but I guess we're friends, after all." Tsubasa nodded with a small smile.

"Thanks, I'll make it up to you guys later. Promise," Issei smiled in gratitude.

"Sure, although" Tsubasa then tilted her head to look past Issei's head. "Are you sure you want to bring them along?"

Behind Issei were several girls of formerly Diodora's peerage; Mary Sapphire, Catherine Lazuli, and Amanda Jade.

"Yeah, like I said; I need all the help I can get." Issei shrugged before addressing the other girls. "Sorry again for dragging you three out here. Are you sure you want to come along?"

Truth to be told, Issei thought it was a good opportunity for him to mobilize his newly acquired peerage and bond with them, but unfortunately, when Issei briefed them their mission suffice to say some of the girls were terrified when he told them his dog can grow to the size of an elephant and shoot exploding spheres of death. The testimony from Catherine and Zama did not really help the case either.

Hence, Issei found the Queen, the Rook and the Knight were the only volunteers, while the rest rejecting his request.

"Please, mast Mister Issei. I deeply apologize that the rest of us are indisposed at the moment. While all of us agreed to follow you There are some of us who did because they favored the alternative even less." Mary replied with a slightly bitter tone.

"Still, thank you." Issei nodded, which the three returned in kind. "Moving on, I'll say this again. When you see him, just let us know. Do not engage him no matter what. Rover hasn't known any of you so he might get antsy."

"Unless you bring him treats." Tsubasa interjected with a snicker.

"Yes, unless you bring him treats." Issei rolled his eyes. "You girls got it so far?"

[Understood.]

The three women replied in affirmative and Issei proceeded to address everyone.

"Good, we'll split into teams of two. Mary, with me." Issei nodded at the Queen. "Catherine with Amanda, and Tsubasa with Saji." Issei then looked through the bag he had carried with him and handed a bag of dog treats and a small whistle to the latter pair. "Use these to lure Rover, then keep him busy until I arrive."

Saji took the bag, looking at the words 'in case the dog is missing' with curiosity, while Tsubasa took the whistle and eyed it with interest.

"...Funny bag," Saji replied with a humorous scoff. "Actually, can't you call someone from Rias' peerage? I don't think we can cover the entire town."

"Well, for one, I don't know their number," Issei replied while holding out a finger, followed by another one. "...And two, looking back at their past experience with my dog, I don't think they're willing to deal with him anytime soon."

Saji and Tsubasa regarded Issei's reply for a second until they remembered Rias' peerage's run-in with their resident monster dog. "...Fair enough." The former replied with a shrug.

"Yeah. Any more questions?" Issei asked, and when nobody spoke, he nodded. "Okay, we'll head over to where Asia saw Rover last, then we'll split up there. Stay safe and we can finish by tonight! Now, let's go!"

Turned out Asia had lost Rover near the edge of the suburbs, so there was a chance that Rover had made its way towards the town.

Currently, Tsubasa and Saji were trekking through the shopping district, where most of the shops had closed for the day and only a little to no people loitering around. The boy was blowing out the dog whistle, while the girl was dangling a piece of bone-shaped biscuit between her fingers, while holding the treat-bag as well.

"Rover! Buddy! Can you hear me? I got something for ya!" Tsubasa shouted around the place.

Saji was reluctant to call out for the monster dog, but he still blew the whistle every now and then.

"I don't think he's nearby, Tsubasa. Otherwise we would've known." Saji scanned the still-intact street, spotting several stray dogs and cats attracted at the ultrasonic sound from the whistle. The dogs and cats were salivating at the meat in Tsubasa's hand. Some of them were even giving Tsubasa googly eyes as if begging for the treats.

"Ack" Tsubasa was torn between shooing the strays away or feeding them right here and now Why must they be so good at being cute?

"...Are you giving in?" Saji asked, knowing Tsubasa's struggle against the cuteness.

"No" Tsubasa did not sound convincing to Saji.

"Really?" Saji asked, snorting at her with a very big grin.

"Shut it, Saji." Tsubasa turned around and left. If she stayed longer, then she might lose to those combined googly eyes.

"Alright, if you say so." Saji snickered as he followed her, leaving the cats and dogs sad.

Fortunately, a few minutes of walking later, they ran into a familiar face; Reya Kusaka was standing in front of a closed antique store. "Saji? Tsubasa? What are you two doing here?"

"Same goes for you, Reya. Are you running a contract, too?" Tsubasa replied as she and Saji approached the Bishop.

"I just finished a job from my regular client and was about to head back. Now, on with you two; what are you doing?" Reya asked back after answering.

Tsubasa shrugged, "Well, I guess you can say we are also doing a contract From Ise."

That caused Reya's expression to shift in amusement. "Oh? From Hyoudou-kun? Saji too?" She glanced at the Pawn.

"Yeah, remember about the guy owning a dog? He basically asked us to help him find the lost said dog."

Reya blinked a couple of times, "...You mean the dog that's been said to have destroyed a factory complex, as well as nearly killed Koneko-chan?"

Tsubasa and Saji shared a brief glance before the former replied with a sigh. "Yes, the very same."

"That. Sounds bad, doesn't it?" Reya commented with a worried look.

"No shit, it's bad." Saji retorted, receiving a surprised look from Reya, before apologizing for the small outburst. "Sorry, I honestly am kind of freaking out at finding the thing. I don't want to get eaten."

Tsubasa patted his back, knowing his suffering. "Can't say I blame you," Tsubasa replied.

"Do you need my help?" Reya then offered.

"...Are you sure? What about your job?" Tsubasa asked. There was a very high chance that Reya might get hurt or worse, if she goofed.

"I'm done for tonight, so it's fine." Reya winked. "I need to contact the President, though. Perhaps she can help as well."

"Yeah, you do that." Tsubasa nodded. "But seriously. Are you sure you want to help?"

"Well, if both you and Saji are willing to go this far, then I guess it's important, no?" Reya gave a knowing look.

"That's kind of an understatement, but Yeah. Thanks, Reya." Saji nodded.

oXo

"Rover~!"

Issei shouted as he dangled a piece of raw meat between his fingers. Behind him, Mary just blew the dog whistle which attracted some of the local strays. So far, the only thing they had found was Rover's discarded leash - the dog had probably found it constricting and decided to tear it off altogether.

That also meant they were on the right track in finding it.

"Rover, buddy? If you're around, look what I got!" Issei shouted again as he wiggled the meat he held. "Your favorite! Fresh and juicy, just the way you like it!"

Next to him, Mary asked, "Mr. Issei, are you sure this is going to work? If I'm allowed to be honest, this feels like a, and I quote, wild goose chase."

"Not that I don't understand you, but this is the only thing we can do for now." Issei turned to Mary - she was giving him the stoic stare, but he could feel the silent criticism behind her eyes. "...I know what you're thinking, but I have experience trying to find him."

"Hm... Forgive my disrespect, but do you have a viable method of finding your dog?" She asked.

"Hang around the butcher shop or deli stores until Rover shows up. We're holding this just in case hoping he gets hungry enough to follow the scent. The meat is also seasoned with the most aromatic spices Kuoh can sell for that as well."

Mary did notice that the meat had a stronger smell to it than normal.

"...Right." Mary nodded, unconvinced. However, before she could have spoken more, Issei's cell-phone rang.

"Hello?" Issei answered the call and heard a familiar voice coming through.

[Good evening, Mr. Hyoudou.]

"President Sona?" Issei glanced at his phone for a moment, registering the number on the screen in his mind. "Wait, how'd you get my number?"

They made their way to Gasper's room soon enough and found the door had been forcefully opened.

"Oh no" Rias cupped her mouth as tears started to fall down her eyes. The thing had broken through. The same beast that nearly wiped her and her peerage out was now in the same room as little Gasper. The rest of the peerage shared the same thought and despair

Until they heard giggling inside. They blinked, then shared glances at one another, before they steadily approached the room and took a peek.

Inside the room was Gasper cuddling with the black creature, who was huffing and pleasantly nudging its face against Gasper's cheek.

"Stop it, that tickles!" Gasper laughed as his hands rubbed around the beast's neck, eliciting more happy responses from the creature.

Rias and her peerage could only watch with their jaws hanging.

Their Bishop was playing with it.

Yuuto blinked as his neck slowly craned to Rias.

Akeno also veered her sight to Rias.

Koneko looked at Rias as well, all sharing the same thought in a manner of speaking.

How in the hell did their cowardly dhampir manage to tame the dog that had tried to kill them with explosive death before? In a sense, it was bizarrely unfair.

However, Rias' internal turmoil was interrupted by Akeno's elbow on her side. She was snapped out of her musing and was met with the looks from her servants, which prompted her to do something, anything.

Looking at her timid Bishop still playing with the monster, Rias then walked away to make a phone-call.

When her call was answered, her face cracked into a very stiff smile. "Hello, Ise?"

Her only way out was to contact the dog owner. She had an idea of the intent behind her peerage's collective gazes and she did not want to answer them.

oXo

Issei was leading Mary, Amanda and Catherine running towards Kuoh Academy, after the former had received a phone-call from one Rias Gremory.

Issei was carrying the special smelly meat in hand as he ran to the ORC club building. He saw the state of his front door, making him grimaced as he entered. He caught sight of the kitchen, seeing how the open fridge was raided. Definitely Rover's work when he gets hungry.

He ran upstairs and down the hall with the others until they saw Rias and her friends in the distance. Issei slowed down, letting out a small huff as he walked towards them.

"I came as soon as you called. What happened? Did Rover hurt anyone?" Issei asked quickly as he held the meat in hand.

"Thankfully, no." Rias replied, albeit her face was not amused at the sight of Issei holding a slab of meat. "But can you please do something about. That?"

Issei blinked at Rias gesturing inside the room, he then held his hand up at the girls behind him, silently telling them to wait, before he made his way into the room.

Lo and behold, Rover was sleeping with a girl resting her head on top of its grown frame with a peaceful expression. If Issei were to be honest, he found the scene adorable.

"Um Who's that?" He asked the others while pointing at the girl sleeping on Rover's body. "Looks like Rover made a friend."

Rias and the others pursed their lips at the mention of 'friend.' Yeah, Issei could tell what they were feeling inside regarding their first meeting with Rover and the bizarre unfairness of it all.

"That, Ise, is Gasper Vladi - my Bishop." She replied cryptically before she narrowed her gaze at Issei. "Now, would you get that thing off him?"

Issei blinked at the small detail. "...Him?"

Issei scanned the girl from her pale-haired head to her school shoes. No matter how Issei looked at it, that person was a girl, unless God was screwing with him.

"Yes. My Bishop is a boy." Rias confirmed Issei's suspicion.

"...Hah?" Issei dropped his jaw as he looked at Rias, pointing a finger at the fake girl. "H-Him? Are you serious?"

"Yes. Yes I am." Rias nodded without emotion.

"I uh" Issei scratched his head as he turned back to the 'boy.'

He remembered hearing something about effeminate males from Matsuda and Motoyama, something about the trope of 'traps' and such, but Issei never considered that he would actually meet one in real life. What the hell?

In any case, Issei shook his head off those thoughts and made his way to the sleeping duo. His footsteps seemed to alert Rover, as the black dog perked up and turned to see its master crouching before them.

"You're really a handful, you know that? You're going to apologize to Asia later." Issei remarked with a small smile.

Happy to see its friend, Rover got up and barked, waking Gasper up in the process. "Munya" Gasper yawned cutely as he rubbed the sleepiness off his eyes. "What's wrong?"

When his eyes finally registered the man crouching in front of him, he was immediately wide awake and yelped in fear, while scrambling to hide behind Rover's frame.

"Yiiiiiiii! S-Save me!" Gasper squealed, shivering behind Rover.

"Whoa, whoa, relax. I'm not gonna hurt you." Issei leaned back while holding his hands up in peace. "I'm just here to pick up my buddy here. See?"

"H-huh?" Gasper blinked his teary eyes and saw Rover slowly shrunk back and walked to the man's side. "D-doggy?"

Rover barked in reply as it sat next to Issei, before it nudged its head against Issei's frame, much to his amusement.

"His name is Rover. Mine is Issei. May I know yours?" Issei asked with a friendly smile.

Gasper was still spooked, but considering his new friend belonged to the stranger before him, Gasper felt a small reassurance. "G-Gasper" He meekly introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you, Gasper." Issei nodded and offered his hand.

Gasper jumped slightly at the offered limb, before he glanced between the hand and its owner. He then let out a tiny hum while slowly grasping Issei's hand in a gentle shake.

"Thanks for taking care of my dog. He is quite a handful whenever he runs away." Issei gestured to Rover who was trying to tear the slab of meat from Issei's grip with sneaky tugs.

Before Gasper could have commented, Rias came to view with her expression filled with worry. "Gasper!"

"Prez!" Gasper quickly leapt up to his feet and came into his master's embrace.

"I'm so glad you're alright" Rias cooed as she caressed her Bishop's crown. "You've done well on holding out."

"Well, it was very scary, but" Gasper trailed as he turned to smile at Rover. "Mr. Rover isn't so scary in the end."

Rias and the rest regarded Rover with conflicted looks after they heard Gasper deemed the beast who nearly killed them as 'not so scary.' They don't know if they should attribute it to plain luck or Gasper's courage as a whole.

Nevertheless, Rias could not help but smile at Gasper's development; monster dog or not, it was up-lifting to see the anthrophobic Bishop to make another friend after a long time.

"E-eh?! So Mr. Rover cannot stay?" Gasper weakly asked.

"Sorry, man. But Y'know, he's my dog and all." Issei smiled apologetically while shrugging in return.

"B-But" Gasper whimpered as his eyes quivered. Issei was starting to question whether the person in front of him was a guy or a girl inside a guy's body. He looked at his side, seeing Rover giving him the six pleading eyes. It appeared Rover had been making new friends with strangers so quickly - first with Asia and now with Gasper, so this could be a good opportunity to get Rover to open up with others.

"Alright, alright. How about this? Instead of Rover staying, you can visit Rover whenever you want." Issei stated his conditions.

"E-Eh?" Gasper blinked a little, his eyes still watery.

"What? I can't bring him out every morning or afternoon. And Rias kind of has some bad blood with Rover, so" Issei glanced at Rias behind Gasper. She wore the same eyes-closed-smiling mask to hide her irritation.

"Ehhh" Gasper looked at Rover, seeing the monster dog giving the boy his version of the puppy dog eyes. "So I have to go outside?"

"Well, yeah. Is there something wrong?" Issei replied.

"I" Gasper gulped. Issei watched as Gasper closed his eyes. His body was kind of trembling a little, quivering on his feet. Issei wondered what was going on through his head.

"I-I'll think about it." Eventually, Gasper opened his eyes and nodded. Rias widened her eyes upon hearing Gasper's response. "But can Can Mr. Rover comes over to play sometimes?"

Issei blinked at the request, but did not see any harm in the end. "Yeah, sure. Why not. Want to exchange numbers, then?"

"O-okay" Gasper nodded as he took out his cell-phone.

Rias was watching with disbelief after she threw a quick glance at the rest of her peerage behind her, who were equally as shocked as her. She expected Gasper to go into another panic at the prospect of going outside. But for him to actually consider instead of refusing outright?

This is a cause for celebration.

"Welp, I'll see you later, Gasper."

Issei's voice snapped Rias out of her happy thoughts as the man and his dog walked towards the door where she and her peerage were.

"Sorry again about the mess, Rias-senpai. I'll pay all the damages." Issei smiled apologetically.

Rias sighed with a small smile in reply. "You don't have to, Ise. In fact, I'd like to thank you."

Issei blinked. "...What for?"

"Come with me, I'll walk you out." Rias beckoned and turned briefly to her servants. "Akeno, Yuuto, Koneko, can you accompany Gasper until I return?"

The servants obeyed, and Rias were walking with Issei and Rover - with Mary, Amanda and Catherine following behind them, through the halls of the old school building.

"To tell you the truth. Gasper has issues about going outside and socializing with people. I was surprised to find him making quick friends with your dog." She gave a narrowed look at Rover.

Issei looked back at the room where he left before replying. "Huh. He's shy, I admit, but I thought he could talk with me and Rover just fine."

The boy-girl did not look like a hardcore introvert to him.

"Exactly. For that, I owe you one." Rias smiled.

"No, you don't." Issei replied. "As far as I recall, Rover nearly killed you and ransacked your kitchen. So I say I only have one more debt to repay." He gave a knowing smile.

Rias giggled into her hand in amusement. "Fufufu Fair enough. I'll make the whole thing about Gasper as a make-up for the incident at the old factory."

"Deal."

Overall, Issei and his peerage bid Rias a goodnight and the boy opted to walk the girls back to their apartment.

"You really don't need to bother with us, sir." Mary retorted, albeit she had a small smile of gratitude on her lips.

"Nah, it's fine, really." Issei waved off. "Rover and I've dragged you all into this mess in the first place. Let me do this much."

"Compared to what Diodora had put us through, this is a blessing." Amanda quipped with Catherine nodding in agreement.

"Well, glad that you enjoyed it, then. Should I try having you to walk Rover sometime in the future?" Issei asked with a playful grin, accompanied with Rover's bark.

The three girls' faces paled, colors leaving their cheeks.

"Um Maybe once we are more accustomed with our new life-style." It was Catherine who replied.

"Hahaha! Relax, I'm kidding. You don't have to if you don't want to." Issei replied jovially, receiving relieved sighs from the girls.

A few minutes of walking later, Mary suddenly blinked. "Um, Mr. Issei. Forgive me to sound presumptuous, but aren't we forgetting something?"

Her question garnered questioning looks from the others, even Rover.

oXo

In the middle of the night, two individuals were walking through the secluded street within the town.

"Seriously, how hard is it to find a black dog with six red eyes!?" Saji roared as he nearly broke the dog whistle in his grasp. "Piss off, you mongrels! We're not here for you!" He even snapped at the strays that had been following him and the treats in Tsubasa's hands.

"Ise, you so owe me one for this" Tsubasa grumbled as she lazily still held the dog treats in her hands.

Here's a breather before we enter the Phoenix Arc. Speaking of which, the first and second act of canon vol.2 adaptation are now available in my (P) atreon, the link is on my profile. The first act is available for free-viewing, while the third act is in the making. See y'all later, folks!