A/N: Sorry about how long this took. I wasn't in the muse, so I got back in it. That was hard. Thank you to all of you followers, favoriters, and reviewers! It really helps me out!

Chapter 6: The Recollection of a Violent Night

"So, let me get this straight," Issei was asking Yuuto, after Rias had left to go to school the day after he woke, along with Akeno. "I was in a coma for three and a half days, sat up repeatedly and screamed, and you couldn't wake me up?" They were both sitting on a couch in the common area, and Issei was sitting about six inches away from Yuuto.

"Yep, that's right. We had to pour water down your throat so you wouldn't get dehydrated."

"Ok, but I don't feel hungry now, so how is that possible if I didn't get any food?"

"Your demonic life force fed you, in a sense, so you should eat enough for the next few days to make sure it gets replenished," Yuuto told Issei, smiling.

Yuuto's always smiling, it seems like. Why? Is he generally a happy person? But he's an orphan, like me, so how could he be happy, if he has a past like that? Issei decided to ask about it, even though he wondered if it would be considered impolite.

"Why are you always smiling?"

"I'm not always smiling," Yuuto denied, but Issei shook his head.

"You do, at least around me."

"Well, then it's you, isn't it?" Yuuto said, still smiling, and Issei wondered what he meant, then put it out of his mind.

"What... was I screaming? When I was in the coma, I mean," Issei asked, and Yuuto's face fell.

"Things like 'I'm not good enough', 'I need to be loyal', and 'I shouldn't be with others than my family'. It was... frightening. What do you remember?" The last part was said gently, but it felt like a sword thrust to Issei's mind, so he glanced down and replied,

"I don't remember anything from when I was in the coma, just... pain."

"That would fit," Yuuto said. "Considering that you were screaming as if you were burning alive."

"Yeah, I only remember screaming when I woke up," Issei lied, still looking down.

I can't tell him about what I saw, since he wouldn't understand.

"Do you feel good enough to go to school tomorrow, Issei?"

"Sure, I guess," Issei responded, and Yuuto smiled, then asked,

"Well, would you like some food? I mean, the food I made for the other day is gone, but I can easily make some new things."

"Sure, that'd be great, Yuuto," Issei responded, looking up, now a smile on his face too. "That'd be really nice." Yuuto's smile grew wider, and he got off the couch and went to the kitchen, leaving Issei with his thoughts.

###

After Issei had eaten, he lay down on his bed with Yuuto sitting on a chair next to it. Yuuto was telling Issei a story about a time when he, Rias, and Akeno got trapped in a church that belonged to the angels, and was very jovial, always making cracks at his companions, like, "If Akeno and Rias could move as fast as I could, we'd have been out of there in a flash", "If Akeno could've seen two feet in front of her face in the dark, like Rias and I can, we wouldn't have been caught by that angel patrol", and similar things.

Suddenly, near the end of the story, Issei felt the tears start in his eye, and winced, hating the fact that he had to cry. He tried to stifle the tears so that Yuuto wouldn't be bothered, but Yuuto noticed, and his face took on an expression of extreme sadness.

"Issei, what can I do to help you?" Yuuto asked as Issei broke down in tears, and curled in a ball, arms around his legs, face in his knees. Issei managed to choke out,

"Give... me a hug," and Yuuto obliged, his strong arms holding Issei tight while tears fell like rain off Issei's face, Issei's sobs like thunder, his shudders like lightning. "Why do the storms have to always fall over me?"

"That doesn't matter," Yuuto said, and hugged Issei tighter. "What matters is that I'll always be there to weather the storm with you."

"Really?" Issei said in between sobs. "You'll... really be there?"

"Of course," Yuuto replied, and took off his indoor slippers to get on the bed with Issei. "I'll be there for you, always. No matter what, I'll always support you, Issei."

###

"Issei, you need to get up, because you said you would go to school today! Yuuto told me!" a female voice called, and Issei heard his door open, then footsteps close to his bed. "Issei, you need to - what the hell?" Issei opened his eyes and saw Rias standing next to the bed, and then flicked his eyes over to where he felt a warmth, and then saw that the warmth was Yuuto.

"What? It's too early to be yelling, Rias," Yuuto said groggily, then Issei saw him open his eyes. "Wait, what? Issei, what're you doing in my bed?"

"This is my bed, Yuuto," Issei replied. "I think."

"Did a development happen while I wasn't here?" Rias demanded, and Issei hastily shook his head.

"I think we just fell asleep when I was crying, since I was tired, and Yuuto probably was too," Issei said.

"My, what do we have here? Who was the seme and who was the uke?" Akeno said, and Issei heard the footsteps, then blushed as he processed the words.

"We didn't do it!" Issei said forcefully.

"Well, that's good to hear, since that means I can still be the one to take Issei's virginity," Akeno said, and Issei could hear the sadistic smile in her voice. He sank under the covers, blushing furiously.

"Akeno, don't even start," Yuuto told Akeno, but Akeno snarked back,

"My, but I've already started, so how can I not start?"

"Both of you, cut it out," Rias said, and then spoke to Issei. "You need to get ready, Issei, so get up and get dressed. We got your clothes from your house, and brought them here."

"How -"

"We're devils, we can open simple human locks, Issei," Rias said, cutting him off.

"Oh," Issei replied. "That makes sense."

"Everyone except Issei, get out of here so he can get ready," Rias ordered. "He'd feel

even more embarrassed if we stayed."

"I'll just teleport back," Akeno said, and a magic circle flashed, and she was gone.

"Show-off," Yuuto muttered, and proceeded to get up and walk out the door, Rias being

the last and shutting the door. Issei got up, rubbing his eyes, and got read for school.

###

Issei walked next to Yuuto, behind Rias, who was next to Akeno into Kuoh Academy, and he heard whispers that he couldn't quite understand.

Probably either about my existence with this group or my being back. I'm guessing the first, considering no one knew me, but who knows? Maybe someone suddenly developed a liking to my shitty personality! Issei thought the last part sarcastically, then noticed his face was contorting in a weird way, and relaxed it. Am I that bitter? he wondered, but put the thoughts out of his mind and just kept walking through the chilly air of his life mentally and physically.

Eventually Rias and Akeno went to their class, and Issei and Yuuto went to their class that, apparently, they shared. Issei sat down at his desk, closing his eyes and just letting the incomprehensible whispers of his classmates wash over him like water, not affecting him at all, as if he were stone.

Except water can bring sand into the ocean, and carve rock, if there's enough of it, Issei thought. He hated when he came up with metaphors that were too accurate. And there certainly is a lot of it.

Issei caught Yuuto's eye, who was giving him a reassuring smile.

That's right. I have people who care about me, even if these people don't. Issei kept running that thought through his mind, making himself smile to Yuuto every once in a while.

###

Issei was packing up when Yuuto came over and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"You ready for club?" Yuuto asked, and Issei was sure he heard a gasp somewhere in the background, but he ignored it, nodding. "Good."

"What exactly do we, well, do in the ORC?" Issei asked Yuuto, and Yuuto responded by saying,

"We research the occult in a club, pretty much," then gave Issei a wink that Issei interpreted to mean, "I'll tell you later".

Issei and Yuuto walked out of the new school building and over near the old schoolhouse, the chilly air biting at Issei's cheeks.

"Wait, this is where your club is?" Issei asked, bewildered. "How'd you get this place?"

"Well, we have connections, and this way no one has a reason to come over here, except those in the ORC and the student council," Yuuto replied.

"I, I see," Issei said, nodding while thinking, What kind of connections? And why would the student council want to come here? To make sure we're using the budget appropriately? They walked in the building, and Issei was relieved to feel the heat of a fire in the room. He also saw two figures sitting in chairs near the fire, with two other chair vacant.

"Hey, Rias, Akeno," Yuuto greeted. "I brought Issei, so what do you want to do?"

"Well, we received a mission from my brother," Rias said. "Sirzechs wants us to take out a rogue fallen angel that's been harassing devils. In other words..."

"The guy that killed Issei," Yuuto said, grim determination evident in his voice. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go."

"Well, we need to see if Issei can control his eyes," Rias stated, standing up and turning to Yuuto. "From what I've heard from my brother, no one in history has ever had both the Dark Eye and the Eye of Light in their possession."

"So, that means what?" Issei questioned, curious.

"That means that, for all intents and purposes, you're considered a 'Danger Class Two' entity, which means that your abilities are unknown, which, in turn, means that you're technically not allowed on sensitive mission until you've been examined by the head of the household," Rias explained, looking right at Issei. "So I need to examine your eyes with magic, and get a sense of what they do."

"Um, will it hurt?" Issei asked cautiously.

"My, who can say?" Akeno asked facetiously, standing up. "All I know is that if it does, it'll be great to watch!"

"You're terrible, Akeno," Yuuto said smoothly. "One might think you wanted to hurt another member of your mistress's peerage."

"Knock it off, both of you! You've been like bickering children ever since we saved Issei!" Rias turned to Issei. "No, it shouldn't. You ready?"

"Um... yes?" Issei half-asked, half-answered.

"Good." Rias breathed in deeply, and Issei felt a strange feeling in his eyes for a second, and it was gone in the next. Issei looked at Rias, whose eyes were staring wide open at Issei. "You might be able... to have the power of a top class fallen angel, a Satan, or God, if you train enough. Your left eye creates anything, positive or negative, but your right eye uncreates, making things non-existent. Essentially, with enough practice, you're unstoppable."

"What?" Issei said, not sure of the correct response to that. "I can be what?"

"You could become Satan," Rias stated, her face calm again. "Or God, or the top class fallen angel - since you can create and uncreate anything, you could change what you are, anything is possible."

"My, so Issei could become more powerful than all three leaders, is what you're saying?" Akeno asked, smiling. "Isn't that nice, Issei?"

"No! No, I don't want to be powerful! I don't want to lead! Just, no!"

"But you could be so much better than you are now, Issei, don't you want that?" Akeno asked, her face intense.

"No! No! I don't want to be powerful, not at all!" Issei ran over to a chair and curled up in it, trying to make their words not affect him.

I don't need to be powerful, not at all! I just want to be... to be... Issei couldn't find the right word, and he kept running the thoughts in his head, making sure that he knew he didn't want to be powerful. I don't need it, everything's fine the way it is!