BEEP BEEP BEEP

BEEP BEEP BEEP

BEEP BEEP BE-

"Really gotta change that alarm to something less annoying," Shiki said, groaning as he turned off his alarm clock. Fighting the temptation to close his eyes and go back to sleep for five more minutes, knowing "five more minutes" would wind up being an extra hour and that he'd be late to school for it, he threw the covers off and let the chilly morning air wake him up a bit. Rolling out of bed and onto his feet, he tiredly stretched, enjoying the popping of his stiff joints.

"What day is it?" he wondered aloud, looking towards the calendar pinned to his wall. April 7th, a Saturday. "Working today," he said, trying to remember his schedule for the day. 8:30 AM to 3 PM, classes at Kuoh Academy. 3:30 PM to 6:30 PM, working his part-time job at the Black Dog restaurant. From 7 PM on he was free.

It was actually his last day working as his boss, a man that he only knew as "Azazel", had informed him the restaurant was going to be undergoing renovations soon and closing down for the time being. Something about having a bar built on the second floor. He hadn't been paying much attention at the time due to Azazel having handed him his severance paycheck early, with enough zeroes on the end that it left him more than a little dazed.

Shiki turned his gaze from the calendar to his alarm clock. 6:35 AM, enough time to take a shower, brush his teeth, eat breakfast, walk to school, get there with time to spare and chat with his friends. If he got there early enough maybe he'd be able to stop them from trying to peek on the Kendo club. That last thought made him laugh. He could get there before Matsuda and Motohama both, warn the Kendo club, board up any and all areas they used to peek on them and those two would still find a way to pull it off. Their determination, if nothing else, was to be admired.

"Shiki, are you up? It's time for school!" a feminine voice called out to him from downstairs.

"Yes, kaa-san!"

He stepped into the bathroom attached to his bedroom and shut the door behind him. Stripping off his pajamas, he gave himself a quick once over in the full-length mirror attached to the back of the door.

Wavy, unkempt black hair fell to his shoulders, a menace to any comb or brush that tried to tame it, bangs long enough cover his forehead with a fringe that came down just above the bridge of his nose. He was thankful he preferred the whole messy hair look, the one time he tried to get it under control had been a disaster. Mouth set in a small smirk as he looked himself over, liking what his dark brown eyes saw. He wasn't overly vain, or at least he didn't hope so, but he did take a bit of pride in his body and the work he put into it to keep it looking the way it did. His build wasn't incredibly muscular for his size, an above-average 182.9 cm (approximately 6 feet), more wiry than excessively bulky. No scars anywhere to mar his pale white skin. Average-sized hands and feet, fingernails and toenails neatly cut. He looked, in his personal and totally one hundred percent unbiased opinion, good.

A quick shower and brushing later and he rushed downstairs, eager to enjoy his mother's cooking. He sped to his seat, to his father's displeasure. "Don't run in the house," he said sternly, not looking up from his newspaper.

"Sorry, tou-san." Shiki apologized automatically, this exchange just another one of their daily morning rituals. His father, Shirayuki Tatsuya, was a strict man. Not totally inflexible but still rather rigid in his views. It came from his history as a well-respected, hard-working, former Police Sergeant of Kuoh Town's police force before he had retired. At times it felt like the only person that could change his mind on a matter was his wife, Shiki's mother, Shirayuki Asuka.

"Oh relax, dear. He just smelled my cooking and couldn't help himself. Isn't that right?" Shiki's mother said jokingly as she came up behind him, placing his and his father's breakfast on the table. A traditional Western breakfast of scrambled eggs, crisp bacon and a piece of toast. Shiki gave a quick nod and dug in eagerly after saying a small thanks, making his mother laugh. His father just sighed and set down the paper before following his son's example, albeit at a slower pace.

"Murayama's boobs are huge!"

"82-70-81."

"Katase has such great legs!"

"78.5-65-79."

Shiki sighed as he watched his two friends ogle the Kendo team changing into their school uniforms through a peephole. How they avoided outright expulsion considering this and some of the things they outright said, loudly at that, could easily be considered sexual harassment was anyone's guess. After their first year at Kuoh Academy, he had given up trying to figure it out, just accepting it as some weird blessing that the two didn't get kicked out of school.

"Oi, you wanna take a look at this, Shiki? It's some great stuff!" Matsuda called out to him, not moving away from his bent over position with his face glued to the wall, Motohama alongside him.

Shiki ran a hand through his hair in both amusement and exasperation. His two best friends since elementary school and even to this day he just couldn't understand how they got like this. In middle school, Matsuda had been a full-on school sports star, always either in the school gym working out or taking part in the games himself. Motohama had been in the Photography club, putting his ridiculously great eyesight to use by creating the perfect scenes for his pictures. The summer break after they graduated from and all three got admitted into Kuoh Academy, which had become co-ed at that time, it was like their hormonal switch got flipped.

Shiki had been on a trip with his family and when he came back Matsuda was proclaiming himself a lolicon and Motohama had somehow acquired the ability to deduce a girl's three sizes just from a glance. For a while, he thought it was the two of them playing a joke on him but it eventually became painfully obvious that over the small time period where he was gone they just changed entirely. Talks they had that used to be about video games and anime became more centered around girls than anything else and scenes like the one he was witnessing became the norm. That's not to say he himself wasn't interested in girls, he definitely was, but those two took it to another level.

Still, despite all that, he stuck by them. Regardless of the fact that they had become the most perverse of perverts he couldn't just up and leave them. They were his best friends after all, stuck by him through thick and thin. Hell, they had been the ones to reach out to him when he had no friends at all in elementary school after the one girl he used to play with moved away with her family. The least he could do was put up with their hobbies and do his best to keep them out of too much trouble.

"No, Matsuda, I'm fine. You might want to keep your voices down though, otherwise they'll hear you."

"Yeah, keep your voice down, dumbass!"

"Who are you calling a dumbass, dumbass?!"

He heard the girls in the changing room scream about overhearing something from outside and decided it was time to make an exit. No point in letting all three of their reputations take a hit when he could avoid it, but it wasn't as if Matsuda and Motohama had good reputations to begin with. Though to be fair his own rep wasn't the greatest anyway, mostly due to the company he kept, but he at least managed to narrowly avoid being labeled a pervert by the entire student body.

Picking his bag off the ground he calmly walked away from the scene without a glance back, even when he heard the anguished cries of Motohama and Matsuda as the girls of the Kendo club laid into the two with their bamboo swords. Just because they were his friends didn't mean he was going to bail them out all of the time.

Besides, things were funnier this way.

"You left us behind, you bastard! Those practice swords still hurt ya know!" Matsuda yelled as he and Matsuda nursed their wounds, the three of them relaxing near the old school building.

"Yeah, what the hell was up with that? I thought the three of us were a team!" Motohama said in agreement.

Shiki chuckled. "It's just your own bad luck that you got caught. I told you to keep quiet for a reason, idiots."

"You traitorous prince-type bastard, abandoning your comrades so heartlessly!"

Shiki gave Matsuda a light whack over the head for that. "Don't attach dumb labels like "prince-type" to me, stupid! I'm about as far away from that as I can be without directly being like you two." he said, agitated.

"Pfft, not a prince, he says, as girls confess to him-"

"That happened literally once at the beginning of last year and she got scared off after one day as soon as she found out my best friends are the "Perverted Duo"!"

"Whatever, it still happened and that makes you a prince," Matsuda said with finality. Shiki sighed. They were impossible to argue with sometimes, the both of them. Still, he wouldn't trade it, or them, for the world.

"That doesn't even make sense. Tell you what, next time I'll..." Shiki's sentence trailed off as he noticed someone watching the three of them from one of the windows of the old school building. Gorgeous crimson red hair framing a beautifully regal face with two incredible blue eyes. For a brief moment, her gaze fell on him, blue eyes meeting brown, and it felt like he had forgotten to breathe. It was only when she retreated back inside that he realized his heart was beating incredibly fast. He barely registered that Motohama was saying something.

"Rias Gremory, 99-58-90. President of the Occult Research Club for three years. People say her family is from Northern Europe. One of the two Great Ladies of Kuoh Academy, along with Himejima Akeno," Motohama smirked as he observed the expression on his Shiki's face, who had yet to take his eyes off the window, "and way out of your league, my friend. Good taste though, she's a definite 10."

Shiki blushed slightly before turning on Motohama. "Shut up, dumbass. I don't have a thing for Rias-senpai."

"Who said anything about "having a thing" for her?" Matsuda asked smugly.

Shiki realized too late his slip-up and abruptly stood up and walked off back to the school building, blood rushing to his cheeks as he fought the urge to knock his two friend's heads together while they ribbed him over his reaction.

"That's the last of the furniture, boss. You sure you're gonna be alright moving the rest of all this?" Shiki asked as he set down the last chair of the restaurant. Two hours of hard work moving pretty much anything that wasn't nailed down into a huge storage container, to be taken to a facility and kept there until the renovations were done with.

"Kid, it's fine. I'll handle the rest." Azazel said, running a hand through his golden bangs. "I'm surprised you even came in today. What, no girlfriend to spend the day with instead?" he teased.

"Haha, very funny," Shiki said sarcastically. "I came in because, despite you making jokes like that, you weren't the worst person I've ever worked for. Figure I might as well come down and help you pack everything up. Wouldn't want you throwing out your back trying to lift something, old man." he joked. Before Azazel could make a comment on the "old man" crack, Shiki spoke again. "So where's Ikuse-san at?" he inquired about his now former coworker.

"Tobio? I've got him running a few errands. Just a few last minute things I needed to be done."

Shiki hummed in acknowledgment of the answer as he looked around the restaurant. Stripped down and laid bare, it looked so different compared to when it was bustling with people. He'd miss this job. "You better hire me back when you've got this place up and running again."

Azazel laughed. "Sure. Might have to keep you working the restaurant till you're old enough to handle the bar though," he said with a smirk before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a wad of bills and offering them to the raven-haired boy. "Here." Shiki looked at his hand with wide eyes.

"Boss, you already paid me my severance."

"Consider this a bonus then. Just take it."

Shiki did as he was told and took it from Azazel's hand. "T-This feels like a lot of money, man. Are you sure this is alright?" he asked, unsure if it was okay to be taking such a huge amount.

Azazel chuckled. "Kid, money's for spending and you were one of my most valuable employees. Take it." Shiki just nodded and put the bills in his pants pocket. "Get yourself a girlfriend and spend some of it on showing her a good time. Who knows, you might get laid before your high school days are entirely wasted."

"You know, now that you're not my boss I feel comfortable saying that you're a real dick sometimes."

"Come on, there's gotta be one girl you're into at that school of yours. Kuoh Academy's full of future beauties."

"Okay, first off, that sounds weird coming from a guy that could be old enough to be some of their fathers. Secondly, I'm not even going to ask how you know that. Finally, even if there was someone I'm interested, they..." he stopped and tried to think of a way to properly phrase it without admitting too much. "We just run in different circles. It wouldn't happen." Shiki took out his phone to check the time. 6:00 PM, earlier than usual but there wasn't anything left to do. "Anyway, looks like you've got everything handled here so I'm gonna head home."

"Sure." Azazel extended his hand. "Was good seeing you one last time before closing shop, kid. Take care of yourself."

Shiki grasped the outstretched hand in a firm handshake. "Yeah, you too. I had a lot of fun working here. Later, boss." Letting go of the older man's hand, he walked out.

Azazel sighed as he watched the teen go. "I hope for your sake you get stronger, Shiki. I can only keep Vali from trying to find his "rival" for so long."

Shiki was walking home with a huge smile on his face. Azazel had given him 100k yen exactly, more than what could constitute a "bonus" for a restaurant waiter but he wouldn't be complaining anytime soon. The only thoughts in his head were on what he'd spend it on.

"Probably shouldn't tell kaa-san or tou-san. They'll just make me put it in the bank and save it." Shiki mumbled as he tried to figure out what he'd do with the unexpected cash. Something fun, but what exactly evaded him.

'Get yourself a girlfriend and spend some of it on showing her a good time.'

Azazel's words ran through his mind as he crossed the overpass on his walk home. He scoffed, "Yeah right. If only it was that easy."

"U-Um, excuse me. Shirayuki-kun?" Shiki turned around to look at the person addressing him.

He was met with the sight of a stunning girl, almost breathtaking with the setting sun behind her. Jet black hair long enough to reach her waist, wide and innocent violet eyes, a hint of a blush on her cheeks, mouth set in a bright smile. A dark red jacket over a white undershirt with a bow and a green skirt. The chest area of her jacket, in particular, stretching to accommodate her more than generous assets.

'There has got to be something in this town's water that makes those that huge.' he thought idly, eyes falling to the young woman's breasts before he snapped them back up to her face. He didn't need the trouble that came along with being caught staring, even if her chest was enormous. He did note that he hadn't seen this girl's uniform before but wrote it off as her being from a school he was unacquainted with.

"Hello. Do I know you?" He replied politely.

"No, you don't. My name is Amano Yuuma." Evening daze. That was a nice name. "Um, I was wondering, are you seeing anyone at the moment?" the girl finished a bit loudly, looking embarrassed.

"Not currently, no," he replied, earning another smile from the girl.

"I'm glad then!"

'Okay, that's kind of rude to say. Kinda messed up to ask a guy if he's got a girl and then say you're happy when he says no. And judging by the way it looks like she's trying to stop herself from panicking I think she just heard it the same way I did.'

"Wait, that's not what I mean! C-can I please try that again?" Yuuma asked him, making him smile and give her a nod. This girl was really cute. "Thanks." She took a breath to calm herself and began again. "S-Since you're not seeing anyone at the moment, I was wondering if you might be interested in going out with me?"

Shiki stood there stunned. Was this really happening? What were the chances of him lamenting his lack of a love life and then suddenly a girl appearing as if out of nowhere to ask him out? "I, uh..." he began before his mind flashed back to earlier that day and a glimpse of red hair. He had his sights set on someone already, didn't he? So shouldn't he refuse? It's wrong to date a person if you have feelings for someone else but is it still wrong when that person likely doesn't even know you exist?

'... and way out of your league, my friend.'

'It's not going to happen, Shirayuki. You live in two different worlds, who are you kidding? Were you really going to turn down a date with a girl because of some hopeless crush you have? What are you going to do, just never date anyone ever? Wake up already, idiot!'

"Sure, I'd love to. Is tomorrow okay? Around 2 PM?" Shiki asked, smiling. It was only fair he give this girl a chance. Who knows, maybe it would go well. She certainly seemed sweet enough, and the bold way she approached him to ask him out was pretty endearing. Either way, this was an opportunity to move on and he'd be a fool to let it pass him by.

Yuuma nodded enthusiastically. "That sounds great! The sooner, the better. We'll meet here tomorrow then?"

"Sure."

"Alright. See you tomorrow then!" Yuuma skipped away in the opposite direction. "I'm looking forward to our date!" She called out as she left, leaving Shiki alone on the overpass.

"I've got a date." He paused as the realization sunk in. "Holy shit, I've got a date. I have to tell somebody about this." He pulled out his phone, flipped it open and began to scroll through his contacts list. Mother, Father, Motohama, Matsuda, Aika. Literally nobody he could share this with.

His mother would likely react by screaming, then gushing over her "baby boy" and his first date, before trying to give him advice on how to be a "proper gentleman". His father would just tell him should be focusing on his studies instead of chasing after girls with that same disapproving look of his that he always seemed to have. Motohama and Matsuda? Both would either say he was lying and try to call him on it or they'd simultaneously curse him out for getting a date while they were both still single and had no prospects on the horizon of that changing. Aika then? God no. She'd just ask what his chances were of him having sex on the first date before recommending him positions.

"Wow. My social life sucks," he said as he flipped his phone shut. "Doesn't matter, I've got a date." He resumed his walk home before stopping once more.

"Wait a minute. Where do I even take her?!"

Shiki sighed as he looked at his phone's clock again. 2:10 PM.

'Would you calm the hell down? So she's a little late, that doesn't mean you got stood up. Just relax. She's not going to like you if you're a neurotic mess.'

He looked himself over again. He didn't really have any "date clothes" and, given how this little rendezvous had been set up to be so soon after their first meeting, he hadn't had the opportunity to buy any either. With little option left he had decided to just work with whatever looked good in his closet. Navy blue blazer over a plain white t-shirt, a pair of black denim jeans and black dress shoes. Too similar to his school uniform than he'd care to admit but then again the uniform did look good.

In a way, he was thankful that she was a bit late. It gave him more time to figure out where exactly he would take her. He had spent all night looking up good places to take a date in Kuoh Town and came up with scant few, and the ideas he did have didn't seem interesting even to him. Was dinner and a movie overdone? Probably. He wished he knew a bit more about Yuuma to at least be able to gauge her likes and dislikes well enough. In the end, he hadn't figured out what to do other than playing it by ear, something he was sure would bite him in the ass.

He felt someone tap him on the shoulder and smiled. 'Finally.' he thought, turning to face the other person. It wasn't Yuuma. He had been approached by a stranger, someone he could only describe as one of the weirder girls he had ever seen.

Short brown hair with two symmetrical tufts on the left and right sides, almost resembling wings, sharp gray eyes with ruby red lipstick. Her outfit was just as weird, a dress having some sort of bat theme or motif to it. Before he could even ask her what she wanted she offered him a flyer, likely an advertisement to wherever she worked. He took it unthinkingly and would have offered a half-hearted thanks in exchange if she hadn't just smiled and walked away immediately after he took it, leaving just as quickly as she suddenly appeared.

Shiki turned the flyer over. "We grant your wish." was written on it with some sort of weird occult circle stamped in the middle. He idly wondered what kind of scam this was before folding the flyer up and sliding it into his back pocket. He'd get rid of it later, when he had the time. With that minor distraction over with he leaned back against the bridge and watched traffic go by. Ten more minutes. He'd wait ten more minutes and if she didn't show then he'd take it as a sign.

Fortunately, he wasn't left waiting much longer as Yuuma came running up, waving to him. "Sorry I kept you waiting, Shiki-kun! Were you here long?" He took note that she had dressed casually as well, just a simple short black dress with a small, light purple jacket over it. He was thankful he hadn't under or overdressed.

"Nope, only recently got here," he lied. Wouldn't do him any good to say he had been waiting and she had already apologized for being late. "Ready for our date?"

Yuuma nodded and linked her arm with his, making him blush as he felt her breast push against his arm.

'Now just don't do anything stupid and maybe you'll be fine.'

The date was going well. The pair spent an hour and a half in a movie theater lightly snacking on popcorn while watching a romance movie. Well, Yuuma watched it. Shiki spent most of it zoning out and sneaking looks at his date. The romance genre as a whole wasn't really his thing but taking a girl to an action movie on the first date when you know nothing about her seemed like a bad idea even to him.

After the movie, they had somehow found themselves in a clothing store, with Yuuma having him try on different shirts and giving her opinions. That kind of made him worried that his own clothing choice had been horrible but he decided to put such thoughts to the side. It was making Yuuma happy, oddly enough, so he'd put up with it. Even bought her a necklace as a gift while they were there. It wasn't that expensive and it looked good on her, a simple silver necklace with a heart pendant hanging from it. Plus he still had his "bonus" from Azazel so he figured he might as well take the man's advice.

He even learned a bit more about the mysterious girl that asked him out as they ate at a fast food joint. She had a large family, a lot of which she didn't keep in touch with, and was currently living with her two sisters and an older brother. She had moved to Kuoh fairly recently with them as well because of a job opportunity. She wasn't on particularly good terms with her father due to something she had done in the past, a subject she was quick to move on from.

In exchange, he told her about himself and growing up in Kuoh. He avoided telling her too much about Motohama and Matsuda, not wanting her to get the wrong impression of him due to their more "vulgar" hobbies, just that he had two friends who were real troublemakers. Not necessarily a lie either.

All in all, it was a good date. They kept each other laughing and smiling. It was probably the most fun Shiki had had in a while. Everything was going perfectly. He felt like he was really connecting to Yuuma. Kind, sweet, beautiful, intelligent, funny, who wouldn't like a girl like that? This was a good experience for him. A date that went well and hopefully she'd let him take her out on another. He'd like that.

However, it looked like the date was coming to an end. The sun was setting and it was getting late.

"This was a really great date, Shiki-kun. I had a lot of fun." Yuuma said, arm linked with his as they stopped in front of a water fountain in a small park. "Could I ask you for one small favor before it ends?" she asked, looking up at him brightly.

"Sure, what is it?"

Yuuma unlinked their arms and stood in front of him. She leaned in and Shiki's brain began to go into overdrive. Was she asking for a kiss? Should he lean in too? But what if that wasn't what her intention was and he's completely misreading the situation? So he should just let her make the first move, right? But didn't girls like it when guys made the first move? As he was running through a hundred different scenarios Yuuma stood on her toes, body pressing against his, and whispered something in his ear that made his heart stop.

"Would you die for me?"

At first, he didn't feel the pain, only the feeling of something warm and wet trickling down his stomach and legs. It took a few moments but when the pain hit and he looked down if he could have screamed he would have.

A spear.

There was a spear in his stomach, impaling him.

Yuuma was stabbing him.

In the back of his mind, he registered that the sensation he had been feeling moments earlier, before the searing pain, was blood dripping down his lower body from the wound to his stomach.

"So sorry about this, Shiki-kun. This really was a fun time." Yuuma yanked out the spear and Shiki dropped to the ground on his knees. He couldn't even raise his hands to his stomach to try and stem the bleeding, the pain was so much that he couldn't move. He was feeling dizzy and his vision was going hazy already as he began to bleed out.

"It's a shame, really. This was just your bad luck. Your existence poses a serious threat to us and our organization. If you have to hold a grudge against anyone in your last moments then God is to blame for placing that Sacred Gear inside of you."

Sacred Gear? Organization? God? What was she even talking about? She had stabbed him and now she was talking about things he couldn't understand. He opened his mouth to try and say something, anything to her, but whatever words he had died on his tongue as he heard the sound of wings unfurl. Huge, black-feathered wings sprouting from Yuuma's back.

"Don't worry though. This," the spear in her hand disappeared as if by magic, before she raised the same hand that wielded the spear she used to stab him to run her finger over the heart pendant on the necklace, "I'll keep as a gift. You did show me a good time, after all. And here I thought it'd be boring." she finished.

She flapped her wings and rose off the ground. "Thanks for the memories, Shiki-kun." With those parting words and one last smile, she was gone, flying off. Shiki watched from his position in shock, horror, and confusion. The last minute of his life still wasn't processable to him.

He collapsed face-forward, stomach pressed against the warm concrete. Rolling over to try and alleviate the pain of his stomach, he gasped when the same agony was felt, only now from his back. Stabbed through the stomach and all the way out through his back. Of course.

He should have been angry, furious even. Yuuma had killed him in cold blood for something he couldn't understand, something that made no sense to him whatsoever. Led him on the entire day, faked everything, just to reach the goal of ending his life. Yet he didn't have it in him to be angry at that moment. To spend any more time thinking about her in his last moments would be a waste. He could only hope that one day, one beautiful day just like this, she'd be happy. Happy and content with her life, wherever she wound up.

And that that happiness of hers would be destroyed right before her eyes, that she would feel all the pain, misery, betrayal and helplessness he felt as he laid in a pool of his own blood, right up until she died.

'I'm dying.'

It was the obvious conclusion to draw but thinking the actual words made the pain so much worse. People always say that your life flashes before your eyes before your death but the only thing that came to his mind was his regrets.

He'd never see Motohama and Matsuda finally get girlfriends who could deal with them being horndogs. He'd never tease Aika when she finally settled down and got herself a decent boyfriend as payback for the year she had spent messing with him. He'd never finally feel like he made his father proud of him for once in his life. Dying like this was going to break his mother's heart, her only son becoming just the victim of a random homicide.

But there was one regret that stuck out most in his mind at that moment, the regret he felt for never telling that one girl his feelings. The girl with crimson red hair that put the luster of his lifeblood to shame. Even if she didn't remember him, even if she would have shot him down, even if she didn't care and had no reaction at all, he wanted to at least tell her. He wasn't sure what to define it as, but it was something. Something that would go unexpressed now, as he laid dying, alone, in a small park not that far from his house.

He had gone on this date to move on from the silly little crush he had and now, in his dying moments, he was thinking about her. Was this some sort of poetic irony?

'If I had to die," he thought, a bitter smile coming to his lips, 'I wouldn't have minded it so much if it was in her arms.'

Dark spots were appearing in his vision, blinding him, but he could hear someone approaching. Maybe he wouldn't die alone after all. His ears just barely picked up what the person, female by the sound of their voice, was saying. He could have sworn he recognized the voice but being so close to death he wasn't even sure if he wasn't just hallucinating in his final moments.

"Well, this is a surprise. For the Fallen Angels to make such an aggressive move, they must be desperate." Fallen Angels? What was she talking about? Is that what killed him? The thought almost made him laugh. Killed by a literal angel. What a joke. Yuuma was definitely no angel, even if she played the part oh so well. "Not to worry, I'll gladly save you. In exchange, please live for me."

Those were the last words he heard before his vision finally failed him and the world went dark.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

BEEP BEEP BEEP

BEEP BEEP BE-

'No, seriously. Alarm. Change.' Shiki thought as he flicked it off. The movement made him groan in discomfort. His head was killing him something fierce. What did he do yesterday? Yesterday, yesterday, that was the 8th? His date with Yuuma, right. That ended well, didn't it? They went to a movie, he bought her that necklace, they got a bite to eat, and then she… stabbed him? No, that was just some weird dream. But why in the world did he not remember how that date ended?

'Maybe it ended so badly I had to repress the memory of it.' Shiki thought with a small laugh. A laugh that quickly died when he heard someone else's light breathing. Someone else's breathing in his bed. Was that Yuuma in his bed? Did he have sex last night? Did he lose his virginity last night and have no memory of it?! Deciding to just check and figure out what's what he peeled back the covers blocking the other person from view. When he did his heart leaped into his throat.

Rias Gremory.

Rias Gremory was in his bed.

Rias Gremory was in his bed, naked.

'If I've died and gone to Heaven then please don't let them resuscitate me.' Shiki thought, his eyes wide as they ran over every inch of Rias' body.

Breathtaking crimson red hair splayed out on his pillow and bed cover, bangs covering her forehead and side bangs framing her face, with a single strand of hair sticking out from the top of her head. Smooth, snow white skin. A face that was just the right combination of cute and drop-dead gorgeous. Pink, soft-looking lips. Not a single flaw or mark on any part of her body that he could see. Her figure was beyond stunning. A large, incredible set of breasts jutting from her chest with medium-sized light pink areola, and equally pink nipples. A smooth, flat stomach that led to a slim waist and wide hips. Pale thighs he wanted to rest his head on. Legs that seemed to go on forever. He blushed beet red as he realized he could see everything, including the fact that there wasn't a hair on her body aside from her head.

Perfection. It seemed so cheesy to describe someone's body with such a word but to be honest there was no better word in Shiki's mind, which was close to short-circuiting, to describe the young woman sleeping in his bed.

It was only after observing Rias' naked body did he realize that he was naked too. Completely nude, and he knew for a fact that that was not how he went to sleep. Maybe in just a pair of boxers if the summer heat got unbearable but they were in Spring right now. Fairly chilly too, if he was being honest, considering the draft he felt from the open window.

'Why the hell am I thinking about the weather!?' Shiki cried mentally. He had Rias freaking Gremory in his bed and his thoughts wander to the damn weather, what was wrong with him? Maybe the shock of seeing her had killed his brain cells.

"Mm."

Was she waking up!? No, wait, that was good. She would have very important answers to some questions he had, such as why she was naked in his bed, why he was naked in his bed, and what exactly happened last night.

Rias let out another soft moan and sat up, rubbing her eyes. When she finally opened then, shining deep blue, she was greeted by the sight of Shiki sitting up next to her on her left, looking at her with wide eyes. She laughed lightly.

"Good morning, Shirayuki-kun. It's nice to see you again. Have your studies been going well?"

His studies? She actually remembered him?

No, this wasn't the first time Shirayuki Shiki met Rias Gremory or spoken to her. Their first meeting had actually been when he was in his first year at Kuoh Academy and she was in her second.

He had been in the school library, struggling with some of the coursework. High school was a lot harder than he had anticipated and he was already feeling like he was falling behind. As he was cursing his Science homework and Shido-sensei for being such a prick in assigning them so much when someone asked if he wanted help. He had been fully prepared to tell whoever was sticking their nose in his business that no, he not want help, he wanted to be angry. When he whirled around to do just that his words died in his throat.

Shiki wasn't sure what exactly his first words were to Rias Gremory but honestly, he was just glad he didn't ask her to marry him on the spot. Whatever he did say must have been funny as she laughed a bit before sitting down next to Shiki and proceeding to spend the next hour tutoring him.

Poor boy never stood a chance.

That was the extent of their history.

Not a very exciting story but it was a memory he held close to his heart.

Maybe it was a bit childish to have a crush, not that he had a crush of course, on someone who had just shown him some kindness as his senpai but he was pretty sure that if he had fallen for Rias, not that he had fallen for her of course, nobody would be able to blame him for it.

Now they were here, both naked, in his bed, with Rias asking him about his studies. The universe was just funny like that, he supposed.

"G-Good morning, Rias-senpai. My s-schoolwork's going fine."

Smooth.

Distantly he could hear his mother calling out to him from downstairs, asking if he was awake. Unfortunately, he no longer had the higher brain function to manage to answer her while maintaining a conversation with Rias. It only got worse as he could hear her coming up the stairs to check on him after receiving no response.

His bedroom door began to open.

"Shiki, are you o-"

He jumped out of bed and slammed his shoulder into the door, shutting it before she could peek her head in and see the nude redhead sitting on his bed.

"YES, KAA-SAN, I'M FINE, I'M UP!" Shiki shouted to his mother on the other side of the door. He turned his head back to Rias. "Get dressed quickly, please!" he whispered, scared out of his mind.

"Okay? Well, breakfast is already on the table, just come down whenever you're ready."

Shiki turned back to the door. "You got it, on my way already!"

"Breakfast? That sounds wonderful."

Shiki's head whipped towards Rias in horror so quickly it was amazing he hadn't snapped his own neck. Why? Why did she have to do that? Was she trying to have him killed?!

"Shiki." His mother had that tone of voice. The tone of voice he only heard when he knew he had fucked up so badly, so incredibly, so stupendously that it couldn't be put into words. "Who was that." It was not a question. "Shiki, is there a girl in your room." Again, not a question. Before he could even think up a lie, convincing or otherwise, he heard her walk away. There went any possible hope of sneaking Rias out before his parents discovered her.

He pressed his back against the door and slowly slid down until he sat on the ground. Rias was still looking at him, amused at his antics. He shivered as he sat there, staring ahead listlessly. This ranked highly on his list of awful experiences of his life, which was weird because it started as one of the best. The only thing that topped it currently was the time he got in a fist fight with some girl's boyfriend because Motohama just had to try hitting on her.

No, wait, that wasn't why he was shivering. He looked down. He realized he was still naked. Sitting on the floor. Naked. With Rias looking at him. Who was also still naked.

His hands snapped between his thighs to hide his manhood out of embarrassment as his face began to burn so hot he was sure there was steam coming off of his cheeks. He wanted to die. He was wrong, there was no way this could be Heaven. If it was then it was slowly becoming Hell. He took a deep breath and tried to force his heart to stop trying to hammer its way out of his chest.

"R-Rias-senpai, can you please cover yourself? I can see everything..."

Smooth as sandpaper.

He idly wondered what the chances of the ground opening up to swallow him were. Probably not that high. How unfortunate.

"It's fine. You can look if you want to."

Oh God, his brain really was going to explode at this rate. Did she know what she was doing to him?!

"You were hurt pretty badly last night. It's a good thing I arrived when I did, otherwise, you may not have made it. I healed you with my demonic power. Your stomach should be fine now but please tell me if it hurts anywhere." Hurt pretty badly? Demonic power? What did she mean by any of this? The last thing he remembered was…

Being stabbed. Yuuma. Black wings. Blood, so much blood. A hole in his stomach. Regret. A desire to live. Hearing someone speak to him but being unable to comprehend what was being said. Dying.

He looked at Rias with wide eyes as she slid off his bed and walked towards him. The revelation of what happened last night possibly being real was too much for him. He was too busy trying to come to grips with the fact that he had died. She knelt down next to him until they were face to face. She pressed her palm against his still warm cheek, taking his face into her hand.

"Allow me to properly introduce myself. I, Rias Gremory, am a Devil and your Master. I saved your life, Shirayuki-kun. May I call you Shiki?"

Huh.

Beautiful and crazy.

He could live with that.

Author's Note: Giving this another try, this time with a protagonist's personality and backstory that I feel I can properly write. Hopefully in an entertaining way. Here are the bare essentials: Issei-replacement fic, OC protagonist, canon events that I include in the story are liable to being rearranged as I see fit (as you've probably already noticed), no idea where I'm taking the pairing other than a few ideas I have rolling around in my head. For those wondering, this will not just be a retreading of canon events, there will be original content, I just have to build up to it. These things take time after all.

Oh and as a side note, for those that have difficulty imagining what Shiki looks like, imagine Joker from Persona 5, just a bit taller, hair a bit longer, and dark brown eyes rather than gray. He was the basis of the character design.

Anyway, read and review, tell me what I did wrong, what I did right, what interested you, etc. I promise to stick with this story. Have a nice day.