Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD or its characters. It belong to Ichiei Ishibumi

Chapter 7: The Aftermath.

[Riser-sama's [King] retires. Rias Gremory-sama is the winner.]

Issei sighed, bringing his arms down to his side. He stared at where Riser once stood.

"Issei." Behind him, he heard Rias breathe out his name. He turned and smiled at his Master.

"Buchou-"

They were interrupted by the light that covered their figures. When it faded, they were in a rather large room, where the maid, Grayfia, was waiting along with two red-haired men that bore a certain resemblance to Rias.

"RIA-CHANNN! THAT WAS SO SCARYYYYYYY! YOU HAD ME SO WORRIED YOU KNOW! I NEARLY CRIED WHEN YOUR KNIGHT WAS ATTACKEDDDD!" With a sob, the older-looking of the two redheads launched himself at Rias, latching onto her with his two hands.

"O-otou-sama!?" She began to squirm and when she saw Issei's perplexed face, she struggled even harder, face beginning to gain a reddish hue. "Please let me go!"

After a few more minutes of struggling(Rias) and crying(Her father), the two of them finally separated, giving a chance for the more mature of the two to talk to Rias.

"Ria-tan! You managed to become a proper woman! I'm so happy for you!"

Okay, maybe not.

"Onii-sama! Please stop, you're embarrassing me!"

"Rias, to think that you wold be embarrassed to be hugged by me even though you used to yell 'Onii-sama, Onii-sama' when you were young! Is this what finding a man does to you!?" The newly revealed brother, which was Sirzechs Lucifer, if Issei was correct, was now crying as he held on to his little sister.

Grayfia, the only one who was remotely calm in the room dragged the protesting Sirzechs by his ear.

"Grayia! Stop, it hurts!" It looked like even one of the four Satans was helpless in the face of his wife.

'Is this really one of the most powerful men in the underworld?' Issei thought. He honestly expected something more... fire and brimstone and cries of the damned to be honest. It really does seem that most of his preconceptions about devils(and what he was taught about them) were wrong.

"You two, please stop with that. It's undignified"

The two instantly snapped their mouth shut.

"Ahh right. Rias, I think that you would want to see your peerage members, am I right?" Sirzechs said, now getting back on track.

Rias, looking at Issei from the corner of her eye, nodded quickly, desperate to get out of that embarrassing moment.

However when Grayfia opened the door, a shout began to echo from the hallway.

"ONIIIIII-SAMAAAAAAAA!" A red blur began to rapidly approach them and, once the doorway was cleared, jumped up and tackled Issei, nearly bringing him down to the ground.

"Ooof!" Issei grunted, trying to adjust the hold he had on the short figure he held in his hand. Once he managed to blink out the spots in his vision, he looked down to find a happy face beaming up to him.

He was a short boy, with short red hair, and eyes of the same color. He was wearing a white button up shirt with black, vertical lines running up it's length with a dark grey blazer over it. And topping all of those was a long black overcoat, with a high collar and a red ribbon tying it up.

"M-Milicas!?"

Yes he recognized this kid. He met him back when he was travelling years ago.

Issei calling his name seemed to make the kid happy, if the widening of his grin was any indication.

"Oni-sama, you remembered." Milicas rubbed his head on Issei's stomach.

"Milicas, you know this person?" Grayfia asked, surprise apparent in her voice. She was alternately looking from Milicas to the still-disoriented Issei.

"Yeah, this is onii-sama." The innocent voice was said with such a straight face that inexplicably Issei felt the need to facepalm.

Issei coughed into his fist awkwardly. "Actually it's Issei."

"Hmm?"

"My name is Issei. Hyoudou Issei. But enough about me. Milicas, you never told me that you were a Gremory!"

"Really? I didn't?"

Sirzechs, who seemed to take this development in stride, laughed out loud.

"Really Milicas? I should be disappointed in you. To think that my son would forget to properly introduce himself!"

"Oh, that's right! Hello Onii-sama, I'm Milicas Gremory. Please take care of me!" With a soft, noble grace, he bowed at Issei, who felt like a clumsy gorilla in the little boy's presence, bowed back, Japanese customs making itself known.

"S-same here."

"Milicas, can you introduce us to your... 'Onii-sama?'"

The kid nodded and turned to Issei.

"Ne, ne Onii-sama. This is my father, Sirzechs, and this is my mother, Grayfia!"

Issei's eyebrows rose and he turned towards the maid. "Mother?" Then what he said struck him. "Wait, Sirzechs. Sirzechs Lucifer, one of the four Maous of the Underworld?"

"Yeah!" Issei stared at the beaming child, innocence practically sparkling off from him.

"Okay, sure. The kid that I know is apparently not only the nephew of my new master, but also apparently the child of Lucifer. Why not?" Issei sighed. In hindsight, he really should have connected the dots. The clues were right in front of him after all. With the distinctive crimson-red hair that he had only seen on Rias so far, along with the family resemblance the two bore. It was didn't help that Sirzechs looked a lot like a more boyish Rias.

Sirzechs laughed out loud again. "I like you Issei-kun. You're quite different from the other devils who would use this opportunity to suck up to me." He grinned.

Issei returned the smile. "I found that speaking to higher beings casually is surprising enough that they would hold off on trying to kill you just to wonder what the hell just happened."

"I think we're getting out of track. We're going to the hospital to see the others, remember?" Rias interjected, reminding them of the purpose of their visit.

"Ah, right." Issei said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"I'll show him the way!" The enthusiastic Milicas smiled, taking Issei's hand in his as he began to escort him through the unfamiliar hallways and to the hospital, where Rias' peerage was in for medical attention.

"Milicas, you can go play with your... 'onii-sama' later. Right now, you have a lot more things to do" Grayfia asked, inspecting Issei as she did so. Yes, she was getting more and more curious about this enigmatic teen in front of her everytime they seem to meet it seems. Grayfia wanted nothing more than to interrogate Issei about how he knew her son, but this was neither the time or place for that. She grabbed her pouting son who was obviously distressed, but acquiesced to her request nonetheless

"Ah, okay. Bye!" With a quick hug, Milicas went with Grayfia who went out the door to deal with something.

During their exchange, Rias was looking at them with a slight twinge of envy.

"Hehehe." Sirzech's chuckled snapped her out of her thoughts. With red cheeks, she turned to her brother and saw him staring at her with amusement evident in his fine(girly) features.

"I don't believe it. My little sister, falling for someone so hard and so quickly. Ahhh, youth."

"I-it's not like that at all Onii-sama! I-it's just, well, he helped me out of a tight spot and I owe him! That's All!"

"Ohoh! Is this what the Japanese would call 'Tsundere?' I never knew that my little sister could be this cute!"

"Onii-sama!" Rias stomped her feet at her brother before recognizing that he was just screwing with her. With an annoyed huff, she turned on her heel and followed Issei towards the hospital.

With an amused glance between the two of them, Sirzechs followed his father who decided to go to meet the head of the Phenex Clan in order to smooth down ties between the two families.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Issei stepped inside the room, just a little behind Rias.

The room was rather large, big enough to contain 10 hospital beds, five on each side, and still have enough space for at least a dozen other people to walk comfortably.

Occupying four of the beds there, was Rias' peerage members.

Kiba and Koneko were the ones resting on the left side of the room, with Koneko being the one closer to the door. On the other side was Akeno and Asia, with the [Queen] laying down on the bed further away from them.

When Rias entered the room, with Issei not far behind, still holding Milicas' hand, all of them immediately sat up.

""""Buchou!""""

All of them shouted, relief showing in their faces as they took in their Master's appearance. When all of them moved to stand up, Rias gestured at them to stop.

"Please don't. You, all of you got hurt for my sake. It's only right- no, all of you deserve a rest." Her words calmed them down, all of them relaxing back into their beds.

Kiba was the first to speak up. "Buchou what happened? I only woke up a little while ago. I didn't know what happened after..." He clenched his fist, angry at himself for letting his guard down.

Asia looked at her hands, laying on her lap, face shadowed and eyes downcast. "Yes Buchou. Even though you told me to stand beside you, I was still taken out of the game. Because of that, I left Buchou and Issei-san alone. I feel that I didn't do anything at all in the game."

Rias smiled and stepped forward to hug her.

"!" Asia's face was filled with surprise

"No you weren't. You, all of you have helped me more than you could ever know. Even now, knowing that all of you is here and willing to fight for me, that's one of the greatest feelings in the world."

Everyone of them smiled at their president, relieved that they could finally relax after such a tense and stressful battle.

That was until Kiba spoke up, remembering something that happened in the battlefield.

"Hey Issei-kun that girl, Ravel, seemed to know you."

Surprised, everyone turned to stare at Issei.

"Did it seem that way?" He responded in the straightest face he could muster.

"Yes, and back then, at the clubroom, she even called you 'Haruka.' What was she talking about?" Akeno continued with a smile, but she couldn't hide the curiosity in her voice.

"By the way Koneko-chan, this was your first time using senjutsu in a fight right? How did it go? You aren't experiencing any side effects are you? I would feel guilty if my junior got hurt because I taught them something wrong." Issei tried, rather unsubtly, to change the subject.

The nekomata, sitting up on the bed, narrowed her eyes at her senpai. "Suspicious..."

"Urk."

"Yes Issei-san. I... I would want to know too!" Asia said, holding up her fists to her chin.

"I admit, I'm rather curious too." Rias said, holding her chin with her right hand as she stared at her now fidgeting [Pawn].

Issei now in the middle of the room and being stared at by all the occupants inside it, tried to explain without giving much of anything away.

"Uhhh..." Before he could get anywhere else, they heard the door slamming open behind them.

"AHA! There you are! It's about time you explained yourself to me!"

"Ojou-sama, I don't think this is a wise move!"

'Ah shit'

Issei wearily turned around, resigned to the fact that there was no way he could get out of this. Still, there was a small smile tugging on his lips as he faced the girl behind.

The girl, with blonde hair tied into twin drills and wearing her signature filly pink dress, was almost exactly like the one he met two years ago.

"Hello Little Bird."

"Urk." Ravel, who was scowling at Issei, fingers pointed at him, seemed to lose control of herself, and turned a startling shade of red.

"Ojou-sama?" The girl who was with her was the one that Issei knocked out, her fellow bishop if he recalled correctly. It seems that any injuries that she may have gotten from the hit was gone and/or healed if her stance, straight and unburdened, was any indication.

Ravel shook her head, then once again raised her hand to point at Issei.

"Explain! You, right now!"

'What?'

"Ojou-sama?"

"?" It seemed that everyone in the room was surprised and turned to the source of it all, still standing there, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

"Um, well, uhhh, hell, how do I explain this?" Issei muttered under his breath. "It's complicated?" He tried, but was met with the deadpan stares of everyone in the room.

"Okay, right. Well first of all, I guess I should mention that you aren't really the first devils I've ever met."

"We kinda got that when you first went in the clubroom." Rias said.

"Um, yeah. Well two years ago, don't ask why, but I was here in the underworld. That's when I met her there. Stuff happened, I met her, the end." He nodded towards the Phenex.

"So?" Everyone unconsciously leaned in, wanting to hear about what happened.

This was one the first times that Issei would say anything about... anything about his life from before they met him, so Rias and the others were understandably curious.

Ravel's companion, Mihae, was interested for a whole other reason. She wanted to know how someone seemed to know her fellow Bishop, enough to call her 'Little Bird' at that!

"Well, it's not really an entertaining story."

Stare

"I can tell it later."

Stare

"Sigh. You aren't going to let this go, are you?" Issei said, already sure of their answer, but hoping against hope that they might miraculously change their minds.

"No!" An chorus of negatives greeted him. Apparently, his past was mysterious enough that they seemed to forget the fact that not an hour ago, two Bishops of the King they just beat for the right of Rias' freedom was in the room together with them.

"Fine." He sighed and told them his story, getting lost in his memories.


()()()()()()()()(2 years ago)()()()()()()()()()()()()


A boy walked through the cobbled streets of the town, looking through the windows of shops to see their sales.

The Underworld was… different from what he had expected. For one thing, he had never thought that the Underworld had things like food stands and jewelry shops. He also never expected Television Sets to be sold here. He sure as hell didn't expect the aforementioned TVs to show what looked like Magical Girl shows. All in all, the Underworld surpassed all expectations he had and was more like the human world than anything else.

But he shouldn't be fully relaxed. He was in the Underworld, no doubt about that. For one thing, the people above most certainly didn't have devil wings and tails sprouting out of them.

Still, the boy could admit that he rather... peaceful. Yes, he felt more relaxed here in the presence of devils, here in the capital of the Underworld than he ever was back at that place.

[Partner, this place is rather nice don't you think?]

The boy hummed in response, busy taking in all the sights of the city. He stopped to inspect a toy in the window of a shop. It was a cute green plushy with a tentacle beard. If only he had enough money to buy it!

With a sigh, he withdrew from the window to go to the outskirts of town, where he was told he could find the artifact that he was looking for.

He was just near the edge of town, where buildings met the forest, when he heard a cry.

"HELP!"

Okay, he wasn't really a hardcore horror movie fan, but that just reeks of suspicion. Seriously, here he was, in the middle of the Underworld, right at the outskirts of town where no one would see, hearing a cry for help. That just screamed 'THIS IS A TRAP!.'

"Help!"

What's more, it was such a cliché move! If they were going to do something like this, at least they could have put some thought into it!

And another thing-

[You are aware that you aren't convincing anyone with that?]

"Shut up."

[It's entertaining to see you do this when you know that your'e gonna save her in the end.]

Still, he knew that Ddraig was right. There was just no way that his recently-formed conscience was just going to let a cry for help go ignored, trap or not. With a huff directed at the quietly chuckling dragon inside of him, Issei ran towards the source of the scream, which was slowly getting further and further away.

He found them at a clearing just a few hundred meters inside the forest.

A girl, looking no older than 12, he could never be too sure about devils, was being dragged by three people with cowls covering their heads and masks covering the lower part of their faces, to a cart where he could see similarly bound people, at least three others, were knocked out. One in particular stood out, with his differently colored clothes and a sword slung on his back.

The girl, blonde and dressed in an elaborate pink dress, was obviously terrified. Either that or she was a magnificent actor, but Issei was more willing to bet on the first.

The boy narrowed his eyes, staring at the three men holding her, feeling a sense of familiarity within him.

"HE-" One of her captors, finally fed up with her screaming, clamped his hand over her face.

"Shut up girl. Dammit boys, why do we even have to do this? I hate kidnappings."

One of them, the tallest guy in the clearing, said. "I don't care what you think. Devils are expensive up there you know. You'd be surprised at how many people are willing to cough up some cash for one. And this ain't an ordinary devil too. She's a Phenex this one. She's worth a lot more than an ordinary devil, if you don't know."

"Really? Do you think that they'd give us money for our work?" One of them butted in.

The boy silently stalked towards his target, using everything that was taught to him to his advantage.

He reached out and carefully pulled the knife from the waist of his mark.

"Hello."

Immediately, the one in front of him, the tall one, turned on his heel with surprising swiftness for a man his size and brought his arm to strike at the boy's temple in what should have been a debilitating blow.

The boy simply sidestepped, neatly dodging the hand as he grabbed it. With a tug, he sent the much bigger man stumbling towards him, and, using the knife he stole from him, knocked him unconscious with a strike to his temple with the hilt of the blade. The man flopped down on the ground, knocked out cold.

The boy narrowed his eyes. 'Faster than I would have expected from someone like him.'

The shorter one seemed to take offense to the fact that he just knocked out his friend like that, if his screams were any indication.

With a cry, this one dashed toward him, dagger in hand and a curse on his lips, the promise of death in his eyes as-

The boy simply sidestepped his charge, and when they were side-by-side, raised his arm to catch the attacker in the throat. In the same motion, he raised his foot and kicked him in the back of the leg.

The body flipped in the air before gravity and momentum did it's job and slammed the poor guy's skull straight into the pavement below for a battle between head and stone. His head never stood a chance.

Once he confirmed that they were still alive, the boy turned toward the last one in the clearing.

He was obviously the leader, judging from the way that he held himself. He had propped the terrified girl on a nearby tree as he watched the boy take care of his two subordinates.

The boy narrowed his eyes, observing the last one for any sign of him harming the girl, but he just raised his arms to show that he meant no harm, but the boy continued his observation, making sure that the one in front of him truly did mean her no harm.

"You move quick for a young one, and strong too."

The boy, not in the mood for banter, spoke up. "What are your intentions toward the girl there?"

"Her?" The leader indicated, nodding towards the silent girl. "I'm going to sell her of course. Do you know how much devils are worth nowadays? Especially considering that she's a Phenex, you could make a lot of money from someone like that." He paused and looked at the boy appraisingly. "It's stupid to ask, and I'm pretty sure that I already know the answer, but would you be willing to partner up with me? We could make a lot of gold, you and I. You have skills that may be useful for me, and I have talents that may be of use to you."

He responded immediately. "No. What I'm going to do is, I'm going to beat you up, free that girl behind you, and be on my merry way."

[Holy shit, that's cheesy]

'Fuck off Ddraig. I'm busy here.'

"Is that so? Well, a shame. Then that means I just have to take you out then." Without any further preamble, he attacked, drawing his sword, hoping to finish the boy off before he could react.

Too bad he underestimated just how skilled he really was.

The boy stepped under the blow, bringing up his own knife to aim at the shoulder blades of his enemy. The two of them exchanged blows, knife against sword, neither of them giving an inch. It wasn't until the boy found a slight opening in his opponent's defenses, a strike of the sword a little too low and made a small overextension, that he moved to stab the much taller man in his shoulder. Unfortunately for him, his opponent was much more skilled than he had expected

His opponent dodged, the knife just barely managing to graze him, and used the opening to bring his sword around to strike at his back.

The boy, sensing danger, followed what his instincts were telling him and rolled forward, sharp steel passing over his head as it whistled through the air.

The boy's feet skidded on the ground forming two small trenches from where he landed. Without any further thought, he launched himself at the man in front of him.

"Wow, you're even better than I could expect." He said calmly, not seeming to mind that the young boy in front of him that barely reached his chest looked as though he was having little trouble holding back his sword with only the small knife in his hand. He pushed against the boy's knife and jumped, landing a few feet away from him.

"I guess it's my pride as a warrior making me do this. My name is Jon, pleased to make your acquaintance." The now named Jon bowed down, sounding so sincere that the boy actually looked taken aback, more so when he looked at him expectantly.

"So?"

"...So?" The boy looked confused, putting down his arms as he looked at his opponent.

"Your name. Aren't you going to tell me your name? It's in bad taste for one to not state his name when his opponent has done so you know."

The boy's eyes grew distant as he stared at somewhere that only he could see. After a few moments of silence, he finally spoke to the cross-eyed Jon.

"Haruka. Call me Haruka." He said slowly.

"I see. Well met, fellow warrior." Jon said before readying himself for another fight.

Haruka nodded, bringing up the dagger in his hand and rushed forwards, once again ready for steel to meet steel.

The two clashed in the middle of the clearing, and slowly all thought began to fade, leaving only instincts in their wake.

Clash!

Tang!

Again and again, their weapons met each other in sparks of steel. Again and again, they parted, neither

It was during a small skirmish, a battle of force where the two was pushing against each other, face to face, that Jon noticed something in his opponents eyes.

He was smiling.

His reflection showed not a smirk of derision, nor a sneer of arrogance, not even a calm mask of indifference, but a grin of satisfaction. He was honest-to-gods enjoying this fight.

He started. When did he last do that? When did he last fight, not for money or because he received his orders, but because he genuinely enjoyed fighting?

It was enough for him to lose control for only but a second, his grip slackening slightly in his surprise.

It was enough.

Haruka tore through his defenses, using the smaller knife in his hand to push the sword's tip down into the ground then kicked at Jon's chest, sending him into his knees in the dirt.

He stepped forward, shielding the sword from Jon's sight with his body. Haruka raised his arm and pointed at him with the knife.

"Yield?"

He simply said it out of courtesy, not really expecting him to take him up on his offer, so he was understandably shocked when Jon chuckled, pulling down his mask and hood as he did so.

"Yield."

He was a man with vaguely European features curly brown hair that reached his shoulders. His fine features were marred by a scar running down from his right eye down to his right cheek. His grey eyes, so dark that they bordered on black, were staring at him appraisingly.

"You are a very unique person, Haruka. Yes, very special indeed." He stood up, not minding the knife still pointed at him, and against all common sense, turned his back on it.

"What? You're leaving." Haruka asked, suspicious of his intents.

"Yes. Yes I am."

"Bu-but what about her?" He indicated at the still bound girl, who was watching their fight with wide eyes.

"Her? Well, you did say that you were going to free her yes? Then do that."

"Just like that? You expect me to let you go just like that?"

"Yes. You made me think about things, things about what matters to a man. Right now, I need to collect my thoughts." He began to walk away.

"What about your sword?"

"Take it. Think of it as a keepsake, a token of our meeting here. I will always remember our battle here. I only hope that you do the same for me." He called out, tossing out his scabbard as he did so, disappeared over the horizon.

Haruka shook his head, turning to the blonde, stopping only to take the sword on the ground and sheathe it, setting it on his belt as he did so. He stepped forward and inspected her, taking off her gag as he did so.

She was a pretty girl that looked to be around 12 or 13, with blonde hair that was dirty, most probably because of her former captors . She was wearing a rugged pink dress that looked like it has seen better days. Her aristocratic features coupled with her bright blue eyes made it fairly obvious that she was royalty, or at least, some type of it at least.

Once he was done making sure that she was okay, he looked closely at the bindings on her hands and feet, a metal cuff that vaguely resembled a gauntlet that completely covered her arms from elbows until her wrists.

His eyes narrowed as he picked up on the engravings on it. A black snake eating it's own tail, encircling a triangle with a sun on it's center. His eyes were drawn to the symbol in the middle. It was familiar to him, and if the Ouroboros was any indication, they seemed to join the Khaos Brigade. That was troubling. His glare seemed to make the girl nervous, because she began to shake unconsciously.

The cuffs themselves were unique. The type of metal used in making it that could suppress the magic of the one contained by it, and judging from the feeling he got from it, it was specifically treated for it's effect to become stronger when used on a devil, probably by a blessing or something similar.

"M-mister, th-thank you for saving me. C-can you take this off me?" She said in a meek voice, holding out her hands.

"Ah, yes. I can. Hold still for a minute." He took his knife and inserted it in the leather straps under it, drawing the sharp edge over the length of the leather..

'It's funny.' he mused. 'All that effort into keeping her harmless, and all it took was a simple knife to undo it all.'

"Can you walk?" he asked, concerned as she saw her rub her feet.

She tried to stand up but fell halfway, only saved from an embarrassing fall because of Haruka.

"N-no."

"I see." He turned around, showing her his back.

"Hop in."

"Eh?"

"I'll carry you. You can't walk right? Then I'll bring you to your home now."

Hesitantly, the girl, a Phenex if the guys earlier were correct, clambered onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"So where are you from anyway? I don't really know where to bring you." Haruka admitted.

"M-my family is staying in the town. They're in a hotel right now." She mumbled against his back.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

They traveled the pathways, attracting a lot of odd looks as they did so. Along the way, they talked, mostly about the girl, who he found out was named Ravel, her family, friends, what her life was like, what the Underworld was like.

After a couple of hours just talking, they finally arrived at a place near the center of the city.

"This is it." She declared, stepping down(reluctantly) from her place on Haruka's back.

"Are you sure Little Bird?" Ravel flushed at the nickname, which she received from her savior when they were walking the paths and she had gotten attached to the bird plushie that she was holding right now.

"Absolutely!" She said, now a little more confident in speaking to a stranger that she just barely knew.

She reached the door and strode over it purposely, somehow looking elegant while dirty and dressed in what at this point could be called rags.

She barely got to the middle of the lobby when she was assaulted by a flash of burgundy.

"RAVEL! Oh thank the fates we found you! Where were you!? You just disappeared! Do you have any idea how worried we were!? Your father's out there looking for you!" Her mother's voice was nearly hysterical as she held her daughter close. Behind her, Ravel could see her three brothers looking hugely relieved as they finally saw their sister.

"Ravel are you alright? What happened to you?" Her brother, Riser, spoke.

Everyone of them stared at her, waiting for her answer.

"Well, when I was walking down the street, I was kidnapped."

"WHAT!" The rage in her family was palpable, the quickly rising temperature along with the gradually materializing flames beginning to worry all of the occupants in the room, some of them leaving through the door hastily.

"TELL ME THEIR NAMES! I SWEAR ON MY NAME, I WILL BURN THEM TO THE GROUND!" Her mother growled, looking positively murderous.

"How did you get out of that?" The only one who was calm enough to ask the obvious answer was her eldest sibling, Ruval, who while looking mad, also had a touch of curiosity in his face.

"Oh! That's right. When I was in the forest, someone saved me! He came right when I needed him, just like the stories! Come on, I'll introduce you. Haruka!" She turned around, expecting her savior to be right behind her, only to be faced with air.

"Haruka?" She turned as if expecting him to be hiding behind the couch or the plants.

She stepped out the building, her family following behind, all wearing baffled looks on their faces.

"Are you sure that he was here? I mean, couldn't it have been possible that you were just making it up?" Her second brother asked.

"Come now, do you doubt our sister? I for one would like to meet the one who saved Ravel." Ruval asked with a now bemused smile.

"He was! He really was here!" Ravel, now getting frustrated, stomped her feet angrily.

"Well, if he is real, I would like to thank him for saving my only daughter." Her mother cradled Ravel, kissing the top of her head.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

On top of a building, a boy looked on as Ravel was greeted by her family.

He stared as they became angry for her sake, vowing to burn the ones that dare threatened their little princess.

He stared as their interactions become lighthearted, laughing with each other.

He stared as her father cry in relief when he saw his daughter, safe and relatively unharmed.

He stared as the family began to smile with each other, play and comfort one another.

Deep down, in the person that would one day become Issei Hyoudou, he wondered.

'Is this what it's like to have a family?'


()()()()()()()()(Present Day)()()()()()()()()()()()()


"That's it. That's the story of how I met Ravel." Issei sighed, leaning against the wall, closing his eyes. Of course, he edited a lot of what he told them but they got the essentials of it.

A hushed silence greeted his recountment, everyone surprised at his narrative, even Ravel, who was there at the time.

There was only one willing to break the silence.

"I see, so you're the one that rescued my daughter." The voice spoke behind Issei, who nearly jumped in the air.

As it was, he simply started, slamming his toe right at a corner of a bedpost.

'How the hell can so many people sneak up on me like that?'

Swearing, he jumped up and down, clutching his foot as he faced the speaker.

He was a tall man, taller than Issei at least. He was dressed in a formal white dress shirt, a tailored black jacket, and straight black pants. He had the blonde hair which seemed to be common among the Phenex's and rugged features. If Issei looked hard enough, he could pick out the resemblances he bore to both Ravel and Riser.

He was inspecting Issei, and seemed to find what he was looking for, nodding.

"So you were the one that Ravel was talking about these past years huh?"

"O-otou-sama!" She yelled, blushing a curious shade of red.

"It's true isn't it? Last year, you were all 'Haruka this' and 'Haruka that.' Honestly, if I didn't know any better, I would have assumed that you had a crush on him!"

"Otou-sama!" Ravel wailed.

Through it all, everyone was sweatdropping as they stared at the two Phenex's

"Still, you saved my daughter when you had no cause to." The sudden change in mood was surprising to say the least. "You saved her when no else had done so, you brought her back to us, expecting no reward nor recognition. For that, you have my eternal gratitude." His piece said, Lord Phenex, one of the 34 remaining heads of houses in the Underworld, bowed to a slack-jawed Issei.

"O-otou-sama?" Ravel tentatively asked.

'She says a lot of that in the past few minutes.' Issei thought rather randomly, still unsure of what to say to the man in front of him.

Finally, he managed to find the words.

"I don't know about that." Issei began slowly. "I don't care about a reward. When I heard her cry out, I just helped her. I didn't think about rewards or recognition or any of all that. I saw her, helpless and scared and alone. Honestly, when faced with that, what kind of man wouldn't do what I did?" He finished.

The Phenex stood up and stared straight into Issei's eyes who met his gaze unflinchingly.

"You're a good man, Issei Hyoudou was it?"

"Hahahaha, Rayleigh, you seem to like Issei here don't you."

Once again, Issei jumped, hitting his other toe this time.

'Sonofa-'

Hopping in place like a retarded bunny, he spun to see an amused Sirzechs, chuckling at his pain.

"Yes I do. He's an honest and caring man. And strong too, he should be if he beat Riser just like that. Hah! That'll teach that brat something. In fact-" The Phenex Patriarch, Rayleigh, turned to Issei, who was gingerly testing his foot. "Issei, how do you feel about marrying Ravel?"

This time, Issei really did slip, falling down flat on his face.

"WHAT!" Everyone in the room except Sirzechs shouted.

"You can't do that!" Rias shouted, before realizing just who she was talking to, and clamped her hands over her mouth.

"Issei-san!?" A scandalized shreik.

"Ara? Is Issei-kun already making a move on someone so quickly?" A confused appearance.

"I'm so happy for you Issei-kun. You're one step closer to achieving your dream." A bemused smile.

"Senpai, you move quickly. As expected of a pervert." A harsh monotone.

On the other hand...

"Ojou-sama!?"

... that's it.

"Married to him!? Well, it's not like I hate it or anything, but it's moving so fast. I'm still not ready yet, and I'm still in Onii-sama's peerage, but maybe..." Ravel was already trailing off in whispers.

Rayleigh looked expectantly at Issei, who was uncomfortable now that he was being stared at like an animal in the zoo.

"Uh, um, ah." As eloquent as usual. "Are you sure that's a smart idea? I mean, her brother just got broken out of an arranged marriage. It's kinda in bad taste if you make his sister enter one not even a day after that." He managed to get out.

Rayleigh smiled knowingly and whispered to him. "That wasn't a no."

Issei coughed. "Well, uh, Ravel is a very beautiful woman, and she's um, well, she uh..." Issei had experienced a day a lot more awkward than this, but hell if it ain't coming close.

Rayleigh patted him on the shoulder. With a glance over at Issei, Ravel and Mihae followed him out of the room.

Issei turned to Sirzechs who had a smug grin on his face. He shook his head before turning to his [King].

"So this was what you meant when you said that you met other devils before?" Rias asked.

Issei scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Uh, yeah."

"I see." Rias nodded, crossing her arms as she did so.

"So Issei-kun, to think that you would be so well connected, that really is surprising." Sirzechs spoke up, shaking his head with a smile.

"Not really. I just saved someone that needed help. Is that really so big a deal?"

He only got a chuckle in response.

Issei got the feeling that this wasn't really over.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

'Yep, I was right.'

"-and that's the situation of my family. So Otou-sama, Okaa-sama, will you please let me stay in this house with Issei." Rias said, bowing low.

Issei sat on the couch in the living room with his parents, all of staring at the scene before them. At his right, Asia was subtly pinching his right thigh.

A bunch of luggage bags were sitting in the corner not far from where they were sitting.

"Of course Rias-san! This Hyoudou House of ours would gladly take you in! Do you see this okaa-sama? First Asia-chan and then Rias-san. To think that Issei would actually find women that are willing to stay with him!"

"That's right. Asia-chan and Rias-san. It seems that I will be having two daughters now." Her mother put her hands to her cheeks.

"Issei! You currently have two women in this house with you." He put his hand on Issei's shoulder, eyes solemn as he gazed into his son's eyes. "Keep this up, and you will accomplish the dreams that I had when I was young. To have my very own harem!"

Issei's eyes widened at his declaration. Overcome with awe, he whispered. "Yes, I will do it. I WILL LIVE YOUR DREAMS FOR YOUUUUUUU!" He held his father's hand in his, passion enveloping him.

"Issei." He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard his master's voice. "I have finally gotten permission to stay here from your parents. Will you please help me with my bags?"

"Yes!"

"After this, I want to take a bath. Would you be willing to wash my back for me?" Rias said those simulating words so casually that it actually took Issei's brain a while to catch up.

"Urk." Yep, still the same ladykiller he always was.

"What! The-then, if you two are having a bath together, the I will also join! Don't leave me out of it!" Asia said with teary eyes, but voice full of conviction.

"BLHRFGHRGTH."

"Asia, so that's how it is huh? Is this a declaration of war?"

"Mouhhhh, I don't want to lose to Buchou!" It seems Asia was getting braver and braver as time goes by.

When Issei began to see sparks emit from them, he only had one thought.

'I was right. My life really is getting livelier.'

Ddraig chuckled.

[That it is partner. That it is.]


A.N.

t(T_Tt) Fuck you projects, I win!

This chapter took longer than I expected, especially that fight scene. Can any of you tell me what you thought about it. Was it lacking? Was it too short? Did it really fit in with the story?

I'd really appreciate it if any of you guys would state your thoughts on it.

But enough about that. This weekend, there will be a convention held, an OTAKU EXPO! I will buy lots of shit there. IF I HAD ANY MONEY!

On another note, can anyone say who wants the main girl in Issei's harem would be?