Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool DxD I only own my OC

The long gray clouds blanketed the heavens, concealing them from the eyes of the denizens of Kuoh Town. Their mingling bodies took no notice to the chilled air in which one could see their own breath, several people looking to escape the status of the weather and return to their warm houses with their warm fireplaces. One individual however, disregarded this as he moved through the crowds.

A boy with bright forest green eyes and dark colored hair. A single streak of white differentiating itself from the rest of his raven colored locks. The boy was incredibly young, to the point where he looked around five to six years old, his clothes were stained and worn, no doubt for prolonged days on the roads. His eyes were dark and empty as he moved through the busy streets. Steps never faltering as he moved forward, eyes locked on an invisible destination. Raven locks swaying in the winter breeze as he ignored the chill and the falling snow.

Adults and teens glanced his way several times, some of contempt, some of pity. He ignored them, they didn't matter, all that mattered was that he kept moving forward. The image of a woman with bright golden hair and the same colored eyes appearing in his mind, a gentle smile covering her face.

"Move forward." The woman said, "Move forward and never stop, never hesitate or look back, there will be too many things you'll regret if you do."

His eyes narrowed in determination even as his legs began to shake from strain of walking without food or water for several days. Food, at the mention of that word more memories surfaced, memories where he was never hungry, memories where he had a soft place to sleep. Memories where he was happy. And yet, he was also lonely, which was why he took comfort and solace in heroes, heroes with spirits stronger than iron, with flames more powerful than the sun, with resolve that could never break or falter. He desired to be like those heroes, like those that fought for what they believed in, for what they dreamed about. And yet, all of that crashed down to an end.

He remembered a girl, small and young running across the road with a wide smile and open arms, oblivious to the approaching truck. Instinct flared to life inside him as he charged, the memories after that were foggy, he remembered pain, unimaginable amounts of pain. He also remembered the vague sense of floating, as if he were suspended in water, yet he could breathe. He couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't feel anything except the shallow beat of his heart.

Then he opened his eyes to a woman with bright green eyes, smiling down at him.

It had been jarring, knowing that he'd been reborn. Confusion ruled the forefronts of his mind for several months. His mother had managed to teach him small amounts of Japanese and he'd been happy with her, she was kind, gentle and she always smiled despite their poor situation as they never had a lot of money. His father had abandoned them and he could tell that there was something behind her smile, a deep sorrow that bothered her greatly. There was something else too, fear maybe? He never identified it before the pounding at the door in their house one time. She screamed at him to hide, to run and never stop moving forward.

He ran and hid, his room under the bed the only place he could think of. He heard yelling, a smacking sound, a strange smell. When the sounds faded and footsteps indicated leaving, he left his hiding spot and went to his mother, disgust ran through him when he did.

The sight had been almost been indescribable. The most apparent item was the large slash wound that ran across the length of her jugular. Anger shot through him as he took in the status of his mother's clothing and the various bruises that decorated her exposed body.

His mother had been killed, and her killer had raped her.

He quickly spun around, grabbed a small backpack, and shoved it with several days' worth of food and clothes. When he walked back into the family room, he closed the empty dead eyes of his mother and walked out, never looking back at the house.

That had been several weeks ago and he was running out of food, in hindsight it was foolish to bring only a backpack when it came to storing travel items. Then again, they never had much in the first place. His mother had to work three shifts just to afford the house they slept in. That didn't even cover food and clothes. The descent into winter truly bothered him somewhat, not the cold, he had grown used to that. The falling snow at nighttime had reminded him of his mother.

"Do you see it? The snow as it falls from the sky, my mother once told me that the snow comes from the stars of the night sky, she said that when the snow is gone, it returns to the sky in a new star." He remembered it; after all, he was named after that.

His legs shook again and he frowned, hunger and cold gnawed at his body and his stomach growled. Moving out of the busy crowd he moved to an empty alleyway, sitting down and unpacking several crackers from his backpack alongside a thick blanket.

The snow fell harder as he chewed on the pseudo-meal, he shivered, the blanket doing little to ward off the coming blizzard. He needed warmth, and soon, if he didn't find any, he wouldn't survive through the night. But he couldn't die, not yet, not until he found her killer and made him pay.

His eyes hardened as he thought of him. That man, the one who'd killed his mom. That was his reason for leaving the house, he'd find his mother's killer and avenge her death. That man would die, just as she had. No, that was too merciful, his death would be slow and painful, he'd make it so he would feel every second of pain his mother felt as if it were a year's worth. His grip tightened on the blanket to the point where it would rip if he applied any more pressure. He was taken from his dark thoughts by a melodic voice that sounded very familiar.

"Ara? What's a little boy such as yourself doing out in such weather?" The boy looked up to see a woman with amber eyes and black hair tied into a high ponytail. She was currently wearing attire that one would commonly see on a miko with a white kosode top and red colored hakama. She was currently wearing a gentle smile that eerily reminded him of his mother. "And with such a frightening expression on your face… Why don't you come with me and warm up?"

The boy prepared to refuse her before he hesitated, other than the fact that this woman resembled his mother, she seemed… Familiar. As if he had seen her before, not in this life, but perhaps in his previous one. Maybe it was the outfit; his other self was greatly obsessed with Japanese culture, despite being an American.

He frowned in thought before looking up and nodding, what did he have to lose? If the woman had any ulterior motives, he could flee from her residence easily enough. Said woman's smile seemed to deepen as she offered a hand to his shivering frame.

"What's your name?" She asked, the boy opened his mouth, and closed it before looking down. His mother had taken their father's name, and he loathed using the name of the man that abandoned them. He looked back up and responded simply,

"Yukiyo."

The woman raised an eyebrow and frowned in confusion, but that melted away to a smile as she nodded.

"My name is Himejima Shuri. It's nice to meet you, Yukiyo-kun."

-XXXX-

Any pretense of mistrust faded as the woman introduced herself, Himejima Shuri, as in Himejima Akeno's mother. The story had never given her much mind, but Akeno had described her as a kind shrine priestess, and yet, this woman was an even bigger sadist than Akeno. Who was quite possibly one of the biggest sadists he had ever seen.

Yukiyo frowned in thought at the realization of being reborn into the world of DxD. This was one dangerous world behind all of the enormous breasts and Siscon Satans. Between the Devils, Angels and Fallen, each had some form of existence that possessed world-altering powers. Behind the smiles, the Siscons, the Mahou Shoujou, and the Fanatics. Existed cold war veterans. That didn't even compare to the ultimate existences in the forms of Gods and Dragons, not to mention the divine pair, Ophis and Great Red. Beyond them, Trihexa.

His grip on Shuri's hand tightened as these thoughts came to him, he would have to become strong, learn what strength he could and surpass all of the obstacles in his way, to move forward, to find her killer, to avenge what he cared about.

This was his vow, his resolve, his dying will. He would become strong. He would become strong enough to crush anything in his way. He wouldn't be a leaf, a petal blowing in the wind, a speck of snow falling into the ground. No, he would become an avalanche, burying anything that came in between him and what he desired in devastating ice and snow.

Yukiyo's thoughts were interrupted however, by the timely growling of his stomach. His face burned in embarrassment as Shuri laughed softly at his expense. He looked up at the woman who had invited him in, she tilted her head and smiled, a kind and inviting smile that showed no malicious intent. It was almost as if she was saying, "Come home" with no words at all.

Yukiyo looked away promptly with a scowl and slight blush. This only embarrassed him as Shuri laughed softly once again. He looked back up at her when she had looked forward, the thought of this woman being a sadist at all was hard to believe. She was so… warm. Not to mention kind enough to bring in a random boy from the streets on the verge of freezing to death.

He scowled at the thought of her approaching death; this woman had saved him. It would be a cold day in hell (the irony in that statement dawned on him) before he let her die. He'd work to protect Shuri, to protect what she cared about.

"Ah, we're here."

He looked up to see a large shrine at the top of a hill. His hand remained in Shuri's as they ascended the steps. It stayed in her's as she opened the door and remained even as she stumbled from a violet missile that collided with her midsection.

"Kaa-chan!"

Yukiyo glanced over to the small girl with black hair that reached her waist and violet colored eyes. She was wearing a miko's attire that was similar to her mother's, but it was dark purple as opposed to her mother's combination of white and red. At the moment, a bright smile covered her face as she reached her hands towards the sky.

"Up! Up!"

Shuri laughed softly as she let go of his hand and wrapped her arms around her daughter. She groaned from false exertion.

"My, my, Akeno-chan, you're getting very big for someone your age." She said and Akeno pouted.

"Mouuu… Tou-chan is always so lazy! He never wants to teach me how to use magic!" She said while waving her arms. It was then that Akeno took notice of the black haired boy with green eyes that was standing next to her mother.

Yukiyo on the other hand, was trying to compare the Himejima Akeno in Shuri's arms to the Himejima Akeno that he'd seen in the anime. She seemed so… innocent compared to the seductive sereness of the other Akeno. Could this Akeno be like her future self if Shuri was still alive? No, she still would've been the major sadist that she turned out to be.

Still, to see Akeno smiling so widely without restraint… It was a jarring feeling to say the least.

"Kaa-chan, who's this dirty boy?"

"Now now, Akeno-chan, be nice to our guests." Shuri scolded which made Akeno slouch and turn back to Yukiyo.

"I'm sorry."

Yukiyo didn't say anything, merely nodding while still comparing the Akeno now to the future Akeno. In… other aspects than personality.

Meanwhile, Shuri smiled gently at her daughter and set her down in front of Yukiyo, "Akeno-chan, this is Yukiyo-kun, why don't you two introduce yourselves?"

Akeno smiled wide and nodded before turning to the boy in ratty clothes. "Hi! I'm Himejima Akeno, nice to meat you!"

The boy merely nodded again with a curt "Yukiyo." Seemed like he wasn't one for words.

That didn't mean that Akeno wasn't any less excited, she rarely got to leave the shrine and as such, she didn't have many friends. Maybe this boy would be friends with her if she was nice to him! After all, Kaa-chan said that people you're nice to people, they will become your friends eventually.

Their introductions were interrupted as a large muscular, middle aged man walked into the room, wearing what appeared to be ornamental armor on his shoulders and thighs, violet robes beneath that and a cape wrapped around his neck. He was a gruff man with black hair and a scruffy beard, a stern look in his gaze as he moved from whatever room he was in previously, to the entryway. Shuri smiled gently as he entered and Akeno gave a bright smile before launching herself at him in a similar manner that she did with Shuri.

"Tou-chan! Kaa-chan came back and brought a boy with her!"

Thankfully, no one noticed Yukiyo cringe at Akeno's last statement before his face schooled itself in a neutral expression. Her unexpected innocence aside, Yukiyo could tell in an instant that there was something… different about the man in front of them. He instinctively moved in front of Shuri as he felt the man's presence, it was akin to something… Light in nature, yet it carried slight amounts of taint to it. His neutral expression slipped into a scowl as he eyed the Fallen.

"Not human." He said, voice low and raspy from underuse. But the Cadre on the ground noticed it. Who then stood up and revealed stern purple eyes. Akeno stared at him in confusion as her father stood up with a scary look in his eyes.

"Akeno, go to your room."

The girl didn't need to be told twice as she took off at the frightening tone her father had taken. Yukiyo however, refused to be intimidated by the man in front of him.

"What are you doing?" The man asked, tone more inquisitive as opposed to threatening.

"Protect." He said, pointing to Shuri, the man smirked in response before walking forward. Shuri behind him softly laughed again.

"It seems that I've found a knight in shining armor." She said, her tone laced with amusement.

"Indeed." The man said before resting a hand on Yukiyo's greasy hair. "I acknowledge your resolve, little protector."

Yukiyo shook his head, "Not protector, Avenger."

The man's smirk faded to a frown in suspicion, no doubt wondering what would prompt a boy as young as him to call himself an avenger. "In that case… What's your name, little avenger?"

"Yukiyo."

The man's smirk returned, "Snowy night eh? A fine name, I am Baraqiel of the Holy Lighting."

Yukiyo smirked in return at the man who was infamous for his ability to use Holy Lightning. He knew who the man was; he just wanted a grasp at his personality. But from what he could tell, Baraqiel was an honest man who knew what he was doing.

"Well, Yukiyo-kun," Said boy turned to Shuri as she spoke up. "Why don't you go get cleaned up while I lecture my freeloader husband."

Yukiyo nodded and smirked as he noticed Baraqiel's rapidly paling face. This man was hopelessly whipped.

Baraqiel noticed it and sent him a small scowl, 'Cheeky brat.'

-XXXX-

Yukiyo sighed as warm water ran down his small body. The shower gave him the warmth that he so desperately needed. Warm showers had been a luxury that he and his mother couldn't afford as they didn't have enough money to pay for a heater. The only thing they could afford to heat was a fireplace that kept them warm in the winter months. He sighed as his thoughts drifted back to his deceased parent, before he discarded them. He missed her, of course he did. But that didn't mean he had to spend every waking moment regretting not being able to save her. He loved her and he remembered her, that was enough. After all, the important thing wasn't that she died, what was important was that she lived.

But that still didn't mean that her killer wouldn't receive retribution, he wouldn't lie to himself and say that he wanted to stop him so that he wouldn't hurt anyone else. His purpose for hunting that man was for vengeance alone, and that was enough.

He stared down at his hands, and cracked a single finger.

'Mom, I promise, I'll make him pay for what he did.'

AN: Now I'm sure that all of you who have read my work previously are asking yourselves. Why the hell am I starting another story while I already have one up?

That's a simple question to answer; this damn idea won't leave me alone. Dragon Death God will be put on the backburner as I focus on getting this idea out of my head, speaking of which, Chapter 9 is currently in the works for that. If you're a follower of that story, then I only ask for your patience.

Now before people get on my case about this being an OC Issei replacement-fic. Allow me to assure you that it's not. Issei will be present and he will get his screentime, but for now, Yukiyo's going to be taking the stage.

Also, before everyone starts ranting that I "misspelled" Yukiyo's name, let me correct you. Yukiyo's name is spelled as: 雪夜 which is read as 'Yukiyo' when romanized. It also roughly translates to "night of snow." Which was what Baraqiel was referring to when he called Yukiyo "snowy night."

Please leave a Review and tell me what you thought about this chapter, like what you liked and what you think I could improve on. If you like this story than be sure to follow it so that you know when new chapters are going to be released. And if you like it quite a lot then please favorite it, it would mean a lot to know that my readers actually like the story.