"I've see you've not only fallen from Heaven, Raynare." Issei called out as he peered into a cage that had been concealed by a rather strong dose of illusion magic. The cage in question was small; it was large enough to fit a person of average stature if they were sitting cross-legged with a straight back but was not large enough for a person to lay on their back with an outstretched body or if they were standing. The metallic bars of the cage were thicker than Issei's forearm and shone brightly in the artificial light of the large room, magic sealing seals placed all over the hard metal. It was designed to be hard to break into.

Raynare glanced up at Issei and stared at him, her head buried in between the two knees that she held to her chest.

Pain. Pain and regret were the two emotions that were present in her dead eyes. Her violet orbs were dull and lifeless and lacked the warmth that Issei had seen earlier on in the day. Issei shoved a tightly clenched hand into a pocket and grimaced. "What's that supposed to mean?" The Fallen Angel quietly asked, her voice as equally empty and dull as her voice was.

Issei felt conflicted as he stared down at the supernatural being. What he was doing here offering Raynare his silent pity, he did not know. He had been asked by Rias to assist her in defeating Kokabiel and that was all. Issei didn't even care about Raynare in the slightest, nor did he care about Rias and her Peerage. In fact, Issei did not know why he had helped Rias.

Sure, Issei would have an increased reputation with the Devils of this town and the Grigori if Azazel was accepting of what had happened, but the whole matter was dull and uninteresting to him. There was no immediate gain or benefit from defeating Kokabiel.

Issei scratched his cheek in confusion as his mind needed a second to process his thoughts, "I don't know what I was trying to say, either. Anyway, it's about time I set you free." Issei poked the cage and watched as the bars instantly shattered, the magical seals offering very little resistance in the way of an omnipotent being's power.

"Just leave me here." Issei watched as Raynare's head lolled around on the base of her neck as her quiet voice escaped her lips. Dejected, alone and afraid; three key features that were somewhat identifiable through the Fallen Angel's actions.

"Why?" Issei asked as he crouched down to meet Raynare's lifeless eyes with his own.

"Because I'm worthless." Issei snorted at Raynare's sudden remark and grabbed her cool wrist with his hand. Issei's eyes scanned the entirety of her milky arm as he gently traced his index finger down the appendage, noting the smooth texture and comfortable cold it offered. Issei's eyes meet Raynare's once more as he clasped both of his hands over her own.

"Useless? Why do you believe that?" Issei's voice was barely a whisper.

Raynare responded in an instant.

"Because I have no value." Two hands fell to Issei's side as he silently pushed himself to his feet, his eyes never leaving Raynare's. "I don't think, feel or exist on my own terms." Knees were pulled tighter to a chest as a head rested in between them. "My whole life, I've never done anything by myself. I've always been controlled by someone or something." Raynare lifted her head as tears flowed down her cheeks, her raw emotions a mere contrast to her dead eyes and empty expression. "I've never known what it's like to be free."

Issei quietly released a shaky breath of stale air he hadn't realised he was holding, a nausea inducing knot forming in his stomach. Twisting and turning, wrenching at his insides as he unconsciously fell back one step with his arms wrapped around his abdomen.

Despite his omnipotence and range of experiences, Issei couldn't hold back the shiver that chilled him to his core as he fell to his knees, his eyes wide.

He hadn't expected this when he arrived in this universe. He hadn't expected his sudden insanity. He hadn't expected his sudden urge to torture someone in his insanity. He hadn't expected the pity he felt for Raynare. He didn't expect his conflict with Kokabiel.

He hadn't expected this.

The emotionally broken Fallen Angel that couldn't help herself in her greatest time of need. The way the Fallen Angel stared up at him with her dead eyes and empty expression. The way the Fallen Angel wanted to end her life.

A cold sweat ran down Issei's back as he began to crawl towards Raynare.

Although he had wanted to change the future, he did not consider the consequences he would face when making such a foolish decision. He should have let this universe run its course without interfering as he usually does. But now that he has achieved a part of what he desires, he is facing the results of his actions, the one thing that he did not think of when selfishly thinking of himself.

"Raynare, I…I'm sorry…" Issei muttered as he held a hand out in the air, his fingertips lightly brushing against Raynare's cheek as she flinched under his gentle touch. "This is all my fault…" A small smile slipped onto the Fallen Angel's face as Issei slowly wrapped his arms around her, holding her head against his chest.

"What are you sorry for? You've done nothing wrong."

"I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry for ruining your life, for being here, for killing Kokabiel, for existing, for…for…" Issei grimaced as he felt something form in his heart, his words struggling to leave his mouth. It was the first time he had felt such a thing in a long time. It wasn't happiness, anger nor was it love…it was pure sadness. Despite his one regret and lack of emotional familiarity with his companions, he felt a cold feeling in his chest that could only be described as sadness.

Raynare wrapped her arms around Issei's torso as her cheeks became stained with her tears, "I should be the one thanking you." She whispered as she closed her eyes, the beating of Issei's heart resonating in her mind as she silently smiled.


Issei gulped as he stared at two gloriously giant mounds that comfortably sat opposite him.

"Oh, what the hell am I doing?" He muttered to himself as he rolled over, resisting his masculine urges in favour of retaining what little dignity he thought he had. The naked body of what could be considered a beautiful girl was hard to resist, after all, so holding back his perverse thoughts and actions consumed all of his willpower.

Not too much time had passed before he had rolled over once more, staring at Raynare's two mounds without a shred of dignity remaining, "I have now stooped to the level of my perverted counterparts and there is nothing wrong with it…not yet, at least…" Issei repeated those words in his mind as he slowly breathed, owlishly staring at the twin peaks of the two mounds without any regrets.

"Even if I'm caught doing this, I have no regrets."

Issei was broken out of his stupor by the quiet vibrations of his phone on his desk, an almost silent alarm crying out in an attempt to disturb the sleep of anyone who was near it. Unfortunately, Issei was quick to turn it off as he jumped out of bed, switching the alarm off with the singular swipe of a finger, effectively ruining the mood of the non-sentient object.

It wasn't as if the alarm would have woken Issei up on any other day. No, he'd continue to sleep, oblivious as to what's happening in the world around him as he buried himself in blankets and pillows that almost suffocate him.

But it wasn't himself that Issei was worried about. It was Raynare.

A couple of days had passed since the Kokabiel incident. Diplomatic meetings between Devils and Fallen Angels regularly take place at Kuoh Academy to sort out the specifics of the incident and how it had come to be, Kokabiel's planned insurgence being the main topic of discussion.

Luckily for Issei, no one had broken through his window in the middle of the night and had killed him in his sleep. The same could be said for Raynare, however, she was more concerned about encountering an old companion or associate that would try to take her away from Issei and the new life she was building.

Raynare's new life involved lazing around all day doing nothing, cuddling Issei whenever she had the chance to and sleeping with a teenage boy naked. Absolutely butt naked. No underwear, no shyness, no messing around. Raynare shamelessly slept with a teenage boy that she hadn't known for more than a week absolutely naked. Raynare didn't have a problem with it. None at all. Issei did at first, but those idiotic feelings slowly dispersed as his hidden Hyoudou perversion surfaced after a millennia of rest.

How could he not be fine with it? He'd be stupidly weird if he did have a problem with it in the end. Not that he cared about what others thought of him. If he wanted to be stupidly weird, he'd be stupidly weird. If he didn't want to suffocate in two glorious mounds of soft flesh during his sleep, he didn't want to suffocate.

For some strange reason, Issei couldn't shake off the feeling that no one would understand his dilemma if he told them about it. Fortunately for Issei, his parents didn't understand his dilemma because they didn't know about it in the first place. While his mother and father knew that Raynare, known to them as Yuuma Amano, was living with them due to some heavy magical influence and a cover up story, they had no idea what the Fallen Angel and Issei did at night. For all they cared, they could be engaging in sexual intercourse and there would be nothing wrong with it.

As long as his parents received their deserved sleep, they were fine with whatever the two did.

However, they did insist that Raynare at least go to school if she was going to do nothing all day.

And that's what Issei was going to achieve today. For the first time in a few days, Issei Hyoudou was going to Kuoh Academy to persuade Sona Sitri, the student council president and heir of the Sitri Devil clan, to allow Raynare to join the school. If the encounter annoyed the hell out of Issei, so be it. This was all for the sake of his own sanity.

Indeed, Issei's sanity was slowly degrading as Raynare clung to him as if he was a life support machine. While Raynare did need some emotional support, she didn't need to drape her arms around Issei at every given chance because she felt insecure and unsafe without his touch. By attending school, Issei was hoping that Raynare would be able to rebuild her confidence and life so she was not as dependent. It was all for Raynare's sake.

Issei quickly reminded himself that he didn't actually care about Raynare. Not yet, at least. The duty of looking after her was shoved onto him by that insufferable red haired Devil, anyway, so he'll be damned if he started to care about the Fallen Angel. The less he saw her, the less attached he'll become, not that he'd become attached to her in the first place.

But, if Issei was truly honest with himself, he knew that his main reasoning for sending Raynare to school was because he didn't want her to discover his secret stash of secret stuff that mainly consisted of various materials that had been designed for an extracurricular activity, even though he knew that the chances of it already being discovered were high.

He was only a male, supposedly teenage, human, after all, and if the greatest pleasure of a human male was abruptly taken away from him, he'd definitely start a killing spree.


"Issei, kid, I need to see you after class." Issei rose an eyebrow, staring up at his chemistry teacher in disinterest.

"What is it about?"

"You." Issei sighed and slumped over his desk, his hands draping over the edge as his cheek lay on a comfortably cool textbook. It was unusual for Issei to stay back after class. In fact, the only time he had stayed after class was when he was trying to avoid his first contact with Raynare. Unfortunately, that attempt to avoid the Fallen Angel proved to be a waste of time as his teacher had places to be.

So, with his teacher's request in mind, Issei tuned out the remaining segments of his class and the dismissal of his classmates. The lingering groups were ushered out of the room by the teacher, the door was quietly shut and, as the chemistry teacher took her place on the edge of the desk that was in front of Issei's, she crossed her arms under her bust, "So, what's been happening, kid?" Issei glanced up at his teacher and huffed, lifting his head off of his textbook.

"Nothing, actually."

"So you've been away from school for the past few days just because?" Issei nod once and glanced at the nearby window, noting the blue sky. It wasn't as if he had wanted to stay home, although, he didn't mind that he had. And it was all because he was forced to take care of Raynare because she had been broken in various different ways, wasting some precious time that could have been spent on entertaining himself! Oh, how Issei now regretted getting involved with the Fallen Angel. His having to take care of her as if she was a mentally challenged child made him rethink his decision to spare her.

"Yup." Issei simply replied as he placed his head back on his textbook, ignoring his teacher's face palm.

"I know you don't like homework and all of that stuff, but you need to come to school every day to be well educated. Some of the other teachers have a problem with you, mainly the art teacher, but you're a good kid. You just need to put your brain to use." Issei groaned as his chemistry teacher of all people gave him that lecture. Sure, he'll admit that he's often lazy and irresponsible, but he knew that he could pass whatever exam or assignment he was given. Not that anyone knew that, of course. Most of his teachers thought he was a lost cause because he never handed work in on time. No amount of requested interviews did anything because his parents were always working. Issei was, in their eyes, a waste of time.

"I know, I know. I've received that lecture before. You don't have to tell me twice." Issei's chemistry teacher grinned and crossed one leg over the other, continuing to stare down at her student.

"Anyway, what do you think of those creeps that have been wondering around the school? I've been told that they're international business men that are interested in making investments in this hellhole." Issei raised his head once more.

"Wait, seriously? You've been told they're businessmen?" The teacher nod once in response, waiting for Issei to rant on about the subject matter as he sighed. "Miss, no offence to you, but they look nothing like businessmen. Sure, they wear suits, but the majority of them are tall, overly muscular and exude some kind of pressure from their bodies. You'd have to be really stupid to believe the person who told you that."

"So, you're saying they're supernatural beings? Also, don't call me 'Miss' when we're alone. You make me feel like an old woman. Just call me-!" The door slid open as two men entered the classroom.

One had long, crimson hair that reached down to his shoulders and back with blue-green eyes. He was tall but slim and wore a black suit with a red tie; he stepped ahead of the second man whose hair was short and spiky, coloured black with blonde bangs. He too wore a black suit that was accentuated with a black tie.

Issei's rose an eyebrow. "Oh, it's you two." The crimson haired man's eyes sharpened as he grimaced.

"Issei Hyoudou, you are under arrest for the murder of Kokabiel and Raiser Phenex." Issei's teacher stared at the two men dumbfounded before she glanced down at her student's passive expression. No emotions, other than a small grin that revealed that he had expected the two men to find him.

"Issei, you murdered someone!?" Issei stared up at his teacher.

"Correction – I may have murdered one of them."


For the amount of time it took me to release this, the amount of words in this chapter isn't quite worth it, is it? Anyway, what do you think? I know my quality control of my writing is weird. In the previous chapter, my writing was sublime. Now I don't know what it is. Going back and editing it, I feel as if it seems…rushed. I don't know how to explain it.

Should I make Issei's chemistry teacher a real character with a name, appearance and personality instead of being the 'chemistry teacher'? Let me know, 'cos I don't know what to do with her.

Thanks for reading and sticking around. Your patience is appreciated.

Yes, I know Issei sounds like a freaking tsundere, but that's character development for you. Also, the real story starts now.