Pasts best forgotten(fanfiction.net)

Life 5-1 Chapter 14: The Calm

"Issei! Which one suits me better?" Rias asked as she held up two blouses, one white and the other red.

The two of them were currently in the mall of Kuoh Town, at the female section of the clothes department.

After the visit of the two swordsmen, Rias had apparently remembered that she was still angry(?) at him and Akeno. However, both at the house and the clubroom, he sometimes caught her looking at him from the corner of her eye and quickly turning away when he caught her gaze.

Issei, feeling a little bit awkward, had tried to mend fences between them and had asked her to go with him to the mall the next day.

After a few seconds of what he assumed was stunned silence, Rias had eagerly agreed, looking at him with surprised eyes.

Issei smiled as he remembered the memory of her practically glowing as they went home.

"Issei!" Rias said impatiently, startling him from his thoughts. "What do you think?"

"Huh?" Issei blinked.

"Were you even listening? I'm asking if the white one or the red one suits me better." Rias said patiently, as if talking to a child.

"Um." Issei scratched the back his head in embarrassment. "I don't know?"

"Issei." Rias pouted stamping her foot childishly. It was kind of cute actually. "Pick one."

"Um, maybe it'll help if I know what it looks like on you?" Issei suggested.

Rias' expression brightened. "Really? Then let's go the the changing station! I want to go and try it out now!"

She turned and marched off to the changing stations, dragging Issei behind her by his hand.

She went in behind the curtain and poked her head out. "You better wait here or else..." She trailed off, winking at him playfully, before going in, head and all.

Issei looked around, seeing all the glares aimed at him, most of them coming from men. All of them seemed to send resentful looks at him, whether they were alone or with someone.

Issei ignored them and leaned against a nearby wall, using the time to think.

Why exactly was Rias acting like this? She seemed completely different from the regal princess that she usually was. It seems that the Rias right now was acting like a normal girl rather than a High-Class devil.

It wasn't that it was bad, quite the opposite in fact. It was cute, charming and strangely refreshing, seeing the princess act her age.

Issei blinked as a thought crossed his mind.

How old was Rias? For that matter, how old was any of his fellow peerage members?

Ddraig himself told him that devils lived for centuries, some even for millennia.

It wouldn't be much of a stretch to assume that most of them were older than him.

"Issei, how do I look?"

He turned around and felt all of his thoughts screech to as top as the curtains slid open, revealing Rias in her new outfit.