A.N (4/23/12): 'aight, someone moved away from my house so the wi-fi was down for a while, considering they paid for it. That's why the long wait happened, but not to worry, updates shall be up at their normal date on the 16th of every month from now on! And while I wasn't able to update, I was able to write out the next couple of chapters, making myself half-way through 11. If I'm every at least five ahead, I may change updates to weekly ones, rather than monthly. Though I hardly ever do that, mainly for review response and story corrections.

Alright then, I've begun to draw the diagrams and charts and such as to how Issei could get together with so-and-so, or how he could get asked but decline so-and-so, or how so-and-so and so-and-so could ask him together or whatever. So because I've already planned out the possible scenes, I'm actually rather indifferent as to who he gets together with, though I already know a few I will want him with, mainly due to my writing of the final chapter already, revising when necessary. Thus, I won't even give a list of people that can be chosen, only those that cannot be.

One group of people that cannot be chosen is the members of Sona's peerage, minus herself of course.

Another group includes the members of Riser's peerage, minus Ravel.

Anybody in the canon that's already married or something (i.e. Sizerch Lucifer and his wife. Grayfia-san is off-limits)

Excepting those, there aren't really any girls that can't get with Issei. If while going along I decide for one reason or another a girl cannot end up with him, I'll point it out, though there will be no gay/les in this story. I don't have anything against it really, but it won't happen in my story.

I don't own Highschool Dxd

Secluded Dragons

Rias Gremory sat in the old school building that was her club, the occult club, which was actually a group of devils, her peerage, in secret. She was practically a princess, the daughter of one of the remaining 72 pillars of the devil world, and was treated as such, spoiled beyond imagine, and when her older brother became a new Maou, she only got spoiled more.

She hated it.

While she hid her true feelings behind her cool emotions and kind ways, she hated the way everything went. She wasn't allowed to do what she wished a lot of the time in hell, and so had come to the human world, if only to try and feel normal. But it didn't work. People still treated her like royalty at school, males lusting after her, females all treating her with upmost respect. Nobody but her closest friend, even within her peerage, Akeno, knew of her internal conflicts.

Of course, she wasn't ungrateful.

On the contrary, she enjoyed how much her family loved her, and how much attention they gave her, she knew there were families where the parents and relatives didn't give a damn about the child. But this spoiling also led to her pain and fury.

She was to be married to the biggest dick she had ever met. Riser Phenex.

-Flashback one hour-

Rias smiled as she woke up from her nice bed, fully nude. She calmly got up and walked to the bathroom, expending some magic to simply summon her clothing on. She washed up and walked out of her little room in the club quarters, and hummed a little tune as she went over to the hidden kitchen and made some breakfast for herself. She had no worries of being late, and she was up two hours before school would even start, not requiring much sleep due to her being a full-blooded devil.

She finished her self made breakfast-no magic- and placed it out before walking over to the table and eating, taking her sweet time. What would she do today? Perhaps hang out with Akeno for a bit, watching as she eradicated a legion of training dummies? Perhaps she would tease her little rook, Koneko, and attempt to get her to open up a little? Or maybe she would indulge herself in Kiba's manners, and make him do exercises? Perhaps Gasper could use a little time out of the lonely basement? Or perhaps her newest pawn, Issei could use some attention-

Rias shook her head violently, her crimson hair falling back perfectly, and she sighed. It wouldn't do well for her to think any thoughts about the boy, they would just infuriate her. She hated it, after all, when she lost a member of her peerage, to death or not. She blamed her families tendencies for that, but still felt pain that Issei saw her as a threat, though she wasn't exactly friendly to him.

She allowed herself to think a little more into why she had been so cold to him in the brief time that he had been in her peerage. It was probably because she hadn't really trusted Issei at first, believing his sudden appearance to be too coincidental especially considering that she was being pestered by Riser to marry him. A pawn, one that required 12 pieces, a few special ones no less, was surely strong enough to help her take out Riser, should it ever come to it. But she realized, in retrospect, that she had been far too cold to him, and that was probably why he didn't like her. She knew the other members of her peerage had been surprised by her actions, and that some of them, such as Koneko, had actually liked the polite boy, whether for his politeness or otherwise. Yet now, due to her own mistakes, he was no longer with the group, and no doubt hated them.

Rias sighed once more as she suddenly felt a bit of magic probe into the defenses around her club room, as a summoning circle appeared, fires erupting in the living room. She narrowed her eyes, knowing who the person would no doubt be, and as if to prove her point, the fires died, revealing her own fiancé, the very man she detested with a passion.

He was wearing his regular blazer and pants, his sleeves rolled up a bit, features rather severe. His eyes were at that crooked angle they always took when she locked eyes with him, and a certain warm cruelness existed inside of them.

"Wife!" he shouted openly, trying to cope a feel. Rias grabbed the offending hand as it came and slowly, as if to warn him of what he had been trying to do, channeled her destructive powers, making his hand disintegrate before becoming aflame and regenerating.

"Tch," Riser said, retracting his hand from his attempt. Rias narrowed her eyes.

"What is it that you want, Riser?" she spat, and Riser sneered.

"Why, is that any way to talk to your husband, Rias?" he asked, emphasizing the word 'husband' to her distaste. Rias scoffed.

"Don't call me that, we aren't married yet. Now tell me what you are here for, or I'll summon my brother," Rias warned, stealthily preparing some magic in case she needed to summon her brother. Riser sneered again.

"Your brother? Don't make me laugh, you're always hiding behind him, its time you showed me some respect," Riser said, and his hand darted out again, Rias being forced to dance away a little, nearly tripping over her own sofa.

"I'm warning you, Riser," Rias said, preparing as much magic as she could into her hands. She wouldn't run this time-no, she would fight.

"Learn your place, woman!" Riser commanded, slapping her in the face, sending her sprawling. The surprise attack caught her off guard, and she rubbed her face, feeling the magic-enhanced blow bruise.

Riser began to reach down towards his black pants when a sudden spike of anger and malice was directed at him, and he turned around to see an enraged woman with silver hair in a maids outfit, sparks nearly flying from her.

"Phenex-san. I strongly suggest you back away from Rias-sama, before you are destroyed," Grayfia said, and Riser had the gall to laugh in her face.

"Are you kidding me? She couldn't hurt a fly," he said, ignoring the way his midsection was destroyed, before flames gathered and he reformed.

"Whoever said I was referring to Rias-sama? You offended both my husband's younger sister and my husband himself. If someone were to destroy you, it would be me," Grayfia threatened, a light flashing in her eyes. Riser gulped, before bowing.

"Of course. I was merely challenging Rias to a Rating game in a week from now. After all, my elders grow weary of waiting, and they want the marriage to happen as soon as possible. Should I lose, I will eliminate the wedding contract. Should she lose, the marriage will occur directly after the rating game. Is that acceptable?" Riser asked, and Rias growled uncharacteristically.

"I haven't got a pawn, last I checked," she said sarcastically, and Riser pretended to just realize that.

"Oh? Yes, I forgot: due to your actions against the Heavenly Duo dragon, he left you, didn't he? It doesn't matter to me, however, and so I expect you to be ready. Scratch a week, actually, I've waited long enough. Three days will be all you get. Until then, I suppose, wife!" Riser said, leaving right after. Rias nearly collapsed in sadness, but Grayfia stopped her, helping her up.

"Rias-sama…" she said, her face downcast. Rias raised an eyebrow, and Grayfia continued, "I'm afraid you must go through with this. We owe the Phenex a new favor; apparently, a stray monster nearly ambushed Riser's sister, and we took the blame, considering it was on our property. They requested your immediate marriage for the favor. You've got three days, and with or without a pawn…"

-Flashback end-

Rias sighed one last time as she realized that she should probably get ready to greet her peerage and break the news to them. Maou knew how they would take it.

She looked outside at the steadily rising sun, wishing it were all different.

1st person POV

I was floating in space. Everything around me was darkness, and yet, for some reason, I didn't feel any fear whatsoever, I simply… existed. Eventually, I heard some noises, and I began drifting faster.

A huge white light appeared in front of me, so bright that I shielded my own face with my claws. Wait… claws?

I looked at myself to see my body transformed into that of a dragon, not simple armor. My leathery skin had a red and white hue to it, and I noticed that my spine trailed to a sleek tail, riddled with sharp spikes. I once again looked at the bright white light, to be startled by two other lights that appeared, one white, though not as white as the first, and one a deep, crimson red. The two second colors clashed a while, bright light being thrown off of them before eventually, the whitest light stopped them, and the three were conjoined, simply hovering for a while.

A blue light suddenly appeared, hovering over the red and white lights, hiding them from view. The white light suddenly dispersed the blue light, however, lifting it and revealing the other two once again.

Next, a light that was somehow disgusting pierced into the brightest white light, and the other two lights began to move again, no longer being detained. But before they could get too rowdy, the fourth light dispersed, and the three were in harmony once again.

I simply watched in fascination as the lights all flickered and disappeared at once, before I saw a large chess board, the pawn being as tall as myself. I felt myself moving towards it, and another chessboard appear, before suddenly, I was the pawns, taking up half of the pawns from one and a full eight from the other. Eventually, I felt myself leaving the eight pawns, and only partially existed in the four remaining. I carried on.

I saw countless chess boards appear and disappear, before a sudden flash emitted from one piece I didn't identify, bursting with the light and force of a supernova. I awoke in cold sweat.

My eyes shot wide open as I tried to remember what had happened, my heart racing. I felt warmth on my nearly bare skin, but ignored it, storing the information to access later.

I had had a nightmare, that was for sure. Yet somehow, the nightmare had felt so real it was almost as if I had been there for real, and had experienced it firsthand. With a sigh, I allowed myself to calm down completely, looking down to see what was so warm.

Asia, wearing nothing but a white nightgown was sleeping on my left side, clutching my arm like I was a body pillow, using my shoulder as a pillow for her head. I felt a sharp redness in my face, before calming myself down. It was just Asia, and I had agreed to let her stay in my bed for a while, knowing that she was still scared from the treatment the fallen angels given her. She deserved to have someone to comfort her, no matter how awkward they felt.

On the other hand, Gabriel was clutching my right arm, my hand being in a rather… personal… area of hers. I flushed a bright red, and it took much longer to calm myself down, and not accidentally wake up the two of them. Gabriel was wearing a white nightgown as well, and it looked as if Asia had borrowed it from Gabriel, it being a little big on her. She had no business sleeping in the same bed as me!

"Gabriel!" I whispered to her, trying to get her to wake up. To my surprise, she immediately woke up, and took no effort to move at all. I tried to nod my head towards the door, to imply that she should leave, but she simply closed her eyes and snuggled closer.

"What are you doing in my bed!?" I whispered again, moving my right arm a little to budge her. Unfortunately, my arm accidentally bumped against something soft, and I flushed red again, hoping she didn't think it was intentional. Of course, I had no such luck.

"Oh? Are you finally giving into your desires, Issei-kun?" Gabriel asked me, and I thought I saw the tip of her wing that was still active flash black, but it must've just been a trick of the light. I was about to answer when she moved, putting her leg over my other side, where Asia was, and got up, her knees digging into the bed on either side of my hips. She was in a rather… precarious area.

"Ga-Gabriel?" I asked, sweating buckets. She smiled a lustful smile, and I saw her active wings flash an even darker black, and tried to get her to get off. She pinned me down however, putting her two hands over my arms, being careful to not wake up Asia. I gulped as her face was less than a few centimeters from mine, before she kept lowering herself, a certain lower-body part of her brushing against the male equivalent.

"Good-morning~" she whispered to me, before I felt her lips on mine, a tongue darting in against my notice. She didn't stop there though, oh no. She practically devoured my mouth, sucking on my tongue that was left hesitantly in my mouth, and when she finally stopped, a long strand of saliva connected us, my mind completely blank at that point. She grinned at me, thinking that it was a sign to continue, before I felt Asia stir, and a small 'eep' escape her mouth at seeing a blond-haired angel sucking my face.

"M-Ms. Angel! Please stop!" Asia protested, actually pushing Gabriel off of me gently. I groaned a thanks, before getting up, thanking whoever was up there for me remembering to wear my pants to bed.

"Aw… does little Asia-chan like Issei-kun?" Gabriel asked, her eyes still glazed over. I was about to defend Asia when she cut me off.

"Yes! I mean no! I mean…. yes…? A-anyways, please go away Ms. Angel, won't you get in trouble for doing that stuff to Onii-chan?" Asia asked, and I felt a bead of sweat drop down my head. Yes, normally Gabriel would get in trouble, but due to her being allowed to do the things she was doing…

"Ara ara…! You are certainly right, little Asia. In any case, I suppose I'll go and prepare breakfast with Raynare-chan now, bye-bye!" Gabriel finished, leaving the room. I sighed, and was about to go back to sleep when Asia came over and asked me with the most adorable face ever.

"Onii-chan… do… do you like her?" she asked. I groaned, wishing something, anything would stop me from having to answer her question. To my genuine surprise, something did happen.

The door creaked open and I saw from my supine position Raynare, wearing the maid outfit that Gabriel insisted she wear. She flushed in anger, before saying, "Imouto, Ise-sama. We should leave for school in around thirty minutes to avoid being late. As was corrected per your request, Ise-sama, Imouto is now in our year, seeing how the European school system isn't the same time as ours. Please help me, Imouto, prepare breakfast. Ise-sama, please be ready to eat in fifteen minutes," she finalized, and despite how she no doubt felt, she finished with a smirk.

"Oh, and please avoid such actions in the future, Ise-sama. You are all rather loud to my Fallen Angel ears, especially in the early morning," she said. Asia gave another cute little 'eep!' before following Raynare out the door, bringing the clothes she would need with her. I sighed once, before getting up, putting on my clothes after a nice good shower.

Thirty minutes later, we all left the house, Gabriel smiling to us as we left, promising that she, being the 'good' chaperone that she was, had assigned some guards for when were gone, and that she had duties in heaven to take care of. I stopped Asia from asking her, and we all began to walk, Raynare and Asia on either side of me. Oh wait.

"Raynare… what did you say your name was?"I asked, tilting my head towards her as we walked. She was now in the school uniform, and her more… feminine features were slightly suppressed, making her look like any regular student that could fade into the crowd.

"Amano Yuuma. Just go with it, please?" she asked me, and I nodded, respecting her decision. We continued walking, and despite us only knowing each other for a day total, I felt a comfortable silence surround us. Soon however, Asia began to ask Raynare a bit about schools, and I listened in as well, considering how she had probably gone to more school time than I had.

"So Onee-san, what can you tell me about school life?" Asia asked, and Raynare put a finger to her lips, making a small 'hmm' sound.

"Well for one, if you are popular, school can be really, really easy. If people don't like you though, it can be hard. So what would be really important to focus on is to make sure people like you, and that you have as many friends as possible," Raynare said, and I tripped a bit, just barely catching myself in time. They faced me, Asia concerned, Raynare amused.

"Raynare! You know that's not true! Even I know that your life in High School won't be too bad as long as you aren't mean to everyone you know!" I retorted, and she shrugged. We were getting closer to the school.

"In which case, why don't you tell her something about high school, Ise-sama?" she asked me. I thought for a moment.

"There's a lot of kids at the school, and the school we're going to was all-girls before, so there aren't many males. Unfortunately, a lot of the guys that entered all just went to the school because of the high number of girls, hoping to get a girlfriend. So because of this, many of the males are perverted," I said, finishing my conclusion proudly. Raynare raised an eyebrow at me.

"How would you know? If I remember correctly, you only went for one day before you had to leave," Raynare asked me. I nodded.

"Yes, but even in that one day, I could already tell that there were perverts in that school. Two males in particular, one with glasses and the other with a rather bald and shiny head proclaimed themselves to be 'super perverts', and even went on, the glasses one describing his ability to read cup sizes, and the bald one claiming himself to be a lolicon. They were really boisterous about it, I couldn't help but overhear, really," I explained, and Raynare nodded, Asia looking a little lost.

"Let me make it simple, Asia. Try to stay with me and Raynare when you're at school, and less weird people will try bug you. I'm still a bit of a newbie to the school, but I'm a boy, so the perverts won't head towards me. And I'm pretty sure Raynare can protect herself from a couple 'a perverts," I explained again, and Asia nodded, clutching my arm like a small child. This is how we all were when we went to school, and when we finally arrived, plenty of people of both genders were staring at us. I suppose my sudden appearance at school, then my disappearance for a few days had cause a few people to be curious.

"Okay then, let's go to our classes. Thank goodness Sona sent me your schedules, and we share all our classes," I said, breathing a sigh of relief. At approximately three a.m., the door-bell had rung, and I had gone to the door to open it and see one of the girls from before. She claimed to be Sona's vice president, and handed me Asia and Raynare's schedules, before teleporting away.

"Wow…" I heard Asia gasp. She was busy looking all around, startled by the number of people at the school. I remembered from our talk the prior night that she had only gone to religious schools before, where there were far less people.

Raynare chuckled, and a few girls that I had met the first day came over, trying to introduce themselves. I introduced Asia and Raynare, Raynare as Amano Yuuma instead, and the five began to chat, Asia looking a bit shy and Raynare natural. She seemed to be trying to uphold a shyer personality, most likely so she wouldn't attract too much attention.

I sighed, turning my head. They seemed to be getting along, which was nice. What Raynare said still bugged me. It wasn't that important to make friends in high school after all, was it? I believed that I would survive perfectly fine without friends, though admittedly Raynare and Asia were already starting to grow on me. I was shaken out of my musings however, when the bell rang, and I dropped my things in shock, my bag opening and all my things falling out.

"Agh," I groaned, and Asia and Raynare both bent down, beginning to help me with it. Strangely enough, we looked up as soon as we finished, and in the short minute, everyone had disappeared. Strange, I didn't think they'd gone to their classes so quickly before.

Suddenly, my senses screamed for me to get back, and I did so, thinking on instinct. I threw my bag over my shoulder, and put my hands out to the sides, palms facing backward where Asia and Raynare were standing. With a simple thought, I used devils magic to gently push them back about five lengths, making sure to use Wizardry to make the ground cushion their fall easily. I then, in the quarter of a second, brought my hands back forward, and I shouted, "ARC!" as loud as I could, my dragon friend opening a portal for me, and bringing my sword for me just in time for me to block a hard blow that likely would've sent me flying.

I clutched my sword with narrowed eyes as I looked past it to see Koneko from before, looking equally surprised. This shock only lasted a second, however, before she began to overpower me, my physical strength still terrible. I gritted my teeth, using Wizardry again to make the harder tendons in her arm and legs contract another way, making her push herself back instead of push forward at me. She had a look of shock on her face as her body unwillingly flipped back, and I tried it again only to find that I couldn't, since she was moving again.

"What are you doing here, dragon!?" I heard Koneko ask, but she didn't give me a chance to answer, physically lifting a nearby bench and flinging it at me with incredible strength. My eyes widened at her strength, and I quickly channeled Ddrag's power into the sword Gabriel gave me, easily slashing the bench clean in half. Just as I was about to fire a stream of fire in retaliation, however, I was forced to duck, lest have my head swiped off entirely.

In a flash, Yuuto Kiba appeared as well, slashing even more times at me, forcing me to retreat at his insane speed. With narrowed eyes, I utilized even more Wizardry, making my body weight lessen a bit, or more, the pull on it from gravity, and in the same instant, I added air pressure onto Kiba, making him slow down to a more manageable speed.

Our blades connected twice, before he slowed down enough that I managed to connect a solid kick to his stomach. He was sent flying back, and I finally had had enough, as I noticed Koneko had taken my momentary distraction to lift a nearby fountain out of the ground.

"Boosted Gear! Divine Dividing!" I shouted at the two, stabbing my sword into the ground as I did so. I punched outward once with each arm, and I felt my sleeves ripping as the two took shape, my own uniform being ripped in the back as well as my wings grew.

Boosted Gear had undergone another change; and now, it looked a bit like it did the first time, only there were even longer spikes that were poking out of it, and it extended a little further up my body, nearly reaching my bicep.

Divine Dividing had gone through a change as well, though it had another appearance entirely. It now reached to my elbow, and was more thickly layered, and unlike prior instances, it now felt like my hand entirely, not like an armor over my hand. The wings that came with it were much larger now, and I saw out of the corner of m eye little white waves coming off of it, and somehow, I knew that the wings were physical now, still made of energy but now more an extension of myself. With an experimental flap, waves of air came off of myself, and my hair was blown by it to my annoyance.

What was most shocking however, were my jewels. (A.N. *cough cough* HAHAHA)

The former time I had summoned Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing, I had only had a total of four gems glowing, two green on Boosted Gear, two blue on Divine Dividing. Now, however, three were gleaming on either of my gauntlets, and even more they all had a glowing insignia on the center. What bothered me later, when I had a better chance to look at them however, was the fact that the old insignia's that were placed on Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing were now switched around, and I noticed that they both had a little more of each other's tint, Boosted Gear a lighter red, Divine Dividing having the slightest trace of pink.

"Stop it right now, you two. You know me, I was with you on the same team a while ago, so why are you attacking me?" I asked them, muttering a 'boost' under my breath. The red and white aura around me grew, but they didn't seem to notice.

"We're fighting you because you deliberately left the peerage, and apparently, are working with the Angels. That cannot be forgiven, so I apologize, Issei-san, but you must die," Kiba said, smiling at me creepily afterwards as well. I 'boosted' again after his little speech, and noticed that Koneko hadn't said a word, except the little sentence from earlier.

"I don't see why we need to fight, however, not much will be gained and it isn't as if I'm targeting you guys," I protested, 'boosting' again.

"I'm sorry, Issei-san but as I said, it will only be a matter of time before you do target us. You won't live to see that day, I'm afraid," Kiba smiled again, and I boosted. I noted that Raynare and Asia were still watching, and remembered how I had shouted at Raynare to not interfere earlier. It was curious, however; why didn't Kiba and Koneko attack them as well? Surely they knew that I would defend them? I boosted again.

"Okay then, though I warn you, Kiba-san, Koneko-san," I began, boosting again, "I'm much stronger than before, even though it's hardly been a week." One last boost brought me up to seven, meaning that my powers were all now multiplied by seven, from strength to speed to endurance to magic. Wait…. Magic!

"I'm terribly sorry for this," I apologized to Kiba and Koneko, surprising them. I shouted a primal, "Let's go, Boosted Gear!" raising Boosted Gear high above my head, taking my sword out of the ground with Divine Dividing. I quickly ran around them, feeling a bit of strain on my magic supplies when I kept the air pressure incredibly high on the two, rendering them immobile. I then threw my sword and as I thought, it bounced off of Koneko's skin entirely, leaving her open for an attack as she stepped back from the force. Kiba, however, noted this and tried to get in the way of whatever I might throw at her. Just as I planned.

"Freeze!" I commanded, my hands separate and in a claw-shape. His eyes widened as he summoned a sword, trying to stop the chilling snow, but it only bought him a split second before he froze entirely, his expression turning to one of shock as his frozen sculpture was complete. Koneko had recovered at this point, and had tried to help him in some way, not knowing how. I breathed a bit, letting myself focus all the air pressure directly on Koneko, making her sink into the ground a little, barely able to keep standing.

I rushed at her while she struggled against the powers I was using, and I summoned a fireball again, flinging it at her. As I expected, she managed to block it with her arms, though it put her off-balance again, and I capitalized on this, grabbing her left arm with Boosted Gear, and her right arm with Divine Dividing.

Before she had a chance to pull anything, I quickly twisted her wrists forward and to her sides, making her hands useless. Next, I let her fall to the ground onto her knees, and I quickly made her kneel on her knees, her hands still immobile. She began to struggle, however, and so I used Divine Dividing.

"Divide!" I commanded, and a white trail of energy left her body, entering mine. With this renewed strength and her loss of, I used an elbow to keep her stuck in her groveling position, grabbing at my backpack and taking off a small amount of fabric. A few verbal commands later, and some excess use of both Devils magic and Wizardry, the fabric expanded exponentially, and I used it to tie her legs together by the ankle, and tie her hands together by the wrists, finishing off by making a small gag. She looked really mad, and tried to break out of it, but my air pressure spell was still active, and as I had used Devils and Wizardry magic together to make the material, she wouldn't be destroying it any time soon. With a sigh, I stood up and admired my handiwork.

Kiba was still completely frozen only a pace away, and I noticed that the ice I used must be different from normal ice, because despite the sunlight, the ice wasn't melting the slightest bit. With a single thought, I used Wizardry to make the temperature around him lower, making the particles move slowly to make him stay frozen longer. I sighed in relief when the area around him became as chilly as a meat-locker-though I'd never know- and I turned my attention to Koneko.

She was still struggling, and as a testament to her strength and sheer willpower, squirming despite the bondage and gravity being applied on her. I was shocked, honestly; I didn't know that I could take these two that easily. I reasoned it was because I had so many boosts active.

I walked away from the two, going towards Raynare and Asia, who had simply watched the entire thing. Asia had a look of shock on her face, while Raynare seemed pleased and a little appreciative.

"When'd you learn that?" Raynare asked, pointing at the two. I assumed she was talking about the magic.

"Ah, they helped me," I said, lifting my right and left arms and letting the deactivate to prove my point. My wings took a bit of effort to unfold however, and Asia giggled a little at my plight.

"That was really cool, Onii-chan. You look like an Angel, can you fly?" she asked me curiously. I nodded, and to prove my point, crouched, leaping up far above the two and making a few loops to prove my point. When I finally touched back on the ground, Raynare was looking at me in jealousy, while Asia was even more amazed.

"Cool…!" she exclaimed, trying to touch one. I felt a spike of touch as she touched my wing, and stiffened a bit, not realizing they were touchable. I noticed Raynare's jealousy though, and asked her about it.

"Hey, are you okay? What's wrong?" I asked, and I felt a bit of magic leave my body and enter hers, forcing her to tell me what was wrong. Damn. I hadn't meant to do that.

"I miss it when my own wings were that color," she told me, and scowled right after. I grinned apologetically, but nodded, understanding her situation.

We were broken our musings, however, when we heard the sound of clapping. I turned around to see Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri floating above us, wings both out. I raised an eyebrow, before realizing something.

"A-ah! We're late for class you guys! And also, did anyone see all that!? They should've especially with all the magic being used and my flying…!" I exclaimed, asking Sona. She shook her head and nodded to Rias, who was staring at me.

"…Akeno was diverting the mortals attention with magic. They haven't noticed," she said coldly. I raised an eyebrow at her behavior before shrugging, writing it off as her simply not liking me. Gods knew I wasn't fond of her.

"Ah, that's good. Can you please explain why they attacked me then?" I asked, and Sona answered me.

"Gremory-san here apparently didn't get the message about how you were off-limits. This won't be happening again, so don't worry. Now if you would please, release Ms. Toujou and Mr. Yuuto from their restraints?" Sona asked me. I nodded, and walked back to the two, releasing a burst of heat in the form of a heat wave mid-step. It was devils magic I think, as I didn't even really need to think for it. Kiba appeared alert and ready to fight when he was released, but stopped tensing at Rias' signal. I then stopped fueling the devil power on the fabric keeping Koneko subdued, and canceled the gravity. With a sudden burst of energy, she broke her bonds, standing up undignified and brushed herself off a little, scowling at me a little cutely.

"Alright then, now that we're all done fighting, let's act like civilized people," Sona said, shooting a look at Rias, "and discuss a few things over tea in the student council room. Raynare-san, Asia-san, please head towards your classes. We will speak with Issei-san alone."

I gritted my teeth at letting the two go off on their own, and was about to retort when I heard Asia and Raynare protest simultaneously.

"I'm not letting Onii-chan/Ise-sama go alone!" they protested together, and I raised an eyebrow at their symmetry. Rias looked rather subdued compared to usual, and Sona had a contemplative look as she nodded, smirking.

"Fine then. I suppose Issei-san's friends can come as well. Let's go now," Sona said, turning around and walking towards the main building. I exchanged a look with Raynare, and we all began to walk behind the four, as I kept a close eye on them, tossing my sword into a portal Arc created.

We all walked into the school buildings, and I was still on guard as we went up into the student council's meeting room. When we entered however, I wasn't the only one to let out a gasp of shock.

The room looked more appropriate for a royal mansion, a long table in the middle with high-backed chairs going along the sides and the ends. A chandelier floated above us. There was a couch at the side as well, and despite looking so small from the outside-it had the entrance of a classroom- there were separate rooms that split off, probably to bedrooms or something. I saw the small makings of a kitchen as well, and a refrigerator. We all sat at the large table, which compressed when Sona put a hand on it, a wave on magic flowing through it, going along the sides as if it was mechanical.

Somehow, the table turned into a sort of triangle, and I sat on one side, Raynare and Asia sitting on either side of me. To our immediate right of the triangular circle sat Rias, Kiba and Koneko. In the last side, sitting alone was Sona.

"Alright then, let's get down to it. I have decided to call this… meeting… to action because I believe that the two groups Dragons and Devils have some things to sort out. Rias, please go first," Sona said formally, and I listened as Rias began.

"It's not right for a devil to leave his or her masters peerage. I put forth the effort to revive you, and so, I believe that you owe me a life-debt. All I wish is for you to return to my peerage, Issei," Rias said to me, and I felt more than a bit annoyed.

"Did I ever ask for you to revive me? You could've just left me dead, yet you revived me and for what? For the power that was inside of me, that got me killed in the first place. You only wanted me on your peerage for power, and besides, it wasn't by my choice that I stopped being a devil. I had no choice in the matter."

"Yet you can become a devil now," Rias pleaded with me. I shook my head, before turning to Sona.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, suspicious of her motives. She shrugged.

"My sister is a Maou, and it's her responsibility to manage faction relations. I will admit I wanted to try her job for once," Sona shrugged, and I sighed, getting up.

"I hope from now on that you won't send your peerage to forcefully capture me for you to make me apart of your peerage, but I can easily see it happening again. Until then, I suppose, I have classes to go to, even though my attendance is no doubt terrible right now," I said, waving to the four as I left, Raynare and Asia trailing me. I heard a cry of 'stop', and ignored it, walking right out as the three of us went to class.

-After School—

I was on the rooftop as Asia and Raynare both dropped their backpacks, clearly wondering what I had called them up for. The entire day had been relatively uneventful, and we had ate together, sat next to each other in all of our classes, only talked to each other for the most part…

I sighed. We were already a bit close-knit, weren't we? Strange, I normally didn't bond to people like that, but then again, when was the last time I had had a chance like that?

"Alright then, you guys are no doubt wondering why we're up here, right?" I asked, receiving nods of reply. I breathed deeply, bracing myself.

"Well you see, ever since I discovered my powers, and my wings, I've wanted to try something. Given, Asia doesn't have wings, but I still have wanted to see how well they work. Thus, I've decided to fly from here home, instead of walking all the way," I finished, ready for the two to call me weird or something.

Instead, I heard a contemplative hum from Raynare, and I saw Asia nearly bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"I suppose there's no problem with that. My wings are fully functional, after all. But what about you? What if you fall?" Raynare asked me. I smiled.

"There's no issue with that. Ddrag told me that my Wizardry should be strong enough that even if I were to fall, I could simply make the ground softer, to cushion my impact. Or I could even slow myself down. So, since there's no issue with me falling, do you guys want to fly?" I asked. Asia looked a bit lost.

"Er, how am I supposed to fly, Onii-chan…?" she asked.

"Simple, Asia. I'll carry you, or if you want to, Raynare can instead. Actually, it might be better if Raynare were to carry you, at least until I learn to fly better," I said as an after-thought. Raynare nodded, and Asia went over to her uneasily, as the two put their backpacks back on.

"So… shall we go then?" Raynare asked me. I held up a hand.

"I think I'll summon Raijin also. He could probably use a chance to stretch his wings a little," I said, and next to me appeared a portal, and Raijin came out of it, landing on my shoulder.

"(What's up, Issei?)" Raijin asked me. I ignored the little squeal that Asia let out, and told Raijin my plan. He was up for it, saying that he did feel like stretching for once without random little monsters attacking him, as that was what always happened in the monster area.

"O-okay then, let's go!" I said, stepping onto the ledge. To my side, Raynare was holding Asia close, due to my orders. Her school uniform had ripped open for her wings, but I knew I could repair them.

Just like before, the back of my uniform ripped open as I summoned Divine Dividing, Boosted Gear appearing without a summon. Huh, I guess I can't summon them individually.

Earlier in the morning, I had realized it would be bad for my uniform to look so marked up and so I had used some Wizardry to remake my uniform, the ripped part mending itself. It had been relatively easy.

With an unspoken signal, we all leapt from the ledge, as I flapped my wings a few times to make sure I didn't fall. It was really unsteady at first, but I got the hang of it after a few times of nearly spiraling down.

A single thought of mine made the nearby clouds move to hide us from mortal view, and we all simply glided towards my house, nothing out of the ordinary.

I felt the air rush through my hair and hit my face as my clothes all whipped about in the wind. Without a sudden thought, I shouted enthusiastically as I spiraled intentionally, before pulling back up, simply hovering for a while. Raynare shot a grin at me, and Asia shouted something that was lost in the wind. I felt the wind shift a little as Raijin hovered next to me as well, having the equivalent of a grin.

"(Enjoying yourself?)" he asked me, and I nodded earnestly. The two of us continued flying, and after a while Raynare joined us, Asia screaming in pure excitement every time the two pulled up.

-3rd person—

Nearby, sitting in the tennis courts was a single blond student, her long blond hair in multiple drill-like curls. She watched closely at the mist, as if it weren't even there. Unknowingly enough, Issei and the others were all being closely watched, and her eyes focused on one being in particular that was flying in the sky.

"Oh my, is that a dragon?" she asked, grinning as she spotted the tiny creature that was nearly invisible from a distance. She licked her lips a little as she cupped her hands, pulling out little binoculars.

"Hmm… and the three with the little dragon aren't devils either… how interesting…" she said, her eyes trailing between the dragon and the boy it seemed to be following.

"Perhaps he's a dragon tamer? I've heard of them, and they aren't very rare here in Japan… In any case, I'd better get the draggy, before some dragon hunter visits town," she finished, standing up and letting out a long whistle. A creature dropped to her feet, fast as lightning and as silent as the wind.

"Follow them. Tell me everything you can find out about them, then report back. Don't get seen," she said. The creature bowed low, it's slender body and wings folding easily, before it took off, talons trailing.

"A lightning cry dragon, huh…?"

-1st person—

The four of us flew a little longer, before Raynare said her wings were getting a little tired, and I let her go home to rest. She passed Asia to me, and I decided to bring her somewhere, as a treat.

"Hey Asia, cover your eyes will you?" I asked.

"Why?" Asia asked me, but she did as I said, lifting her hands to her eyes, covering them.

"We're going somewhere. I'll tell you when we get there," I said, gliding around. To my surprise, I realized that my claws had long disappeared, perhaps at my own subconscious command. All that remained were my wings, and I flew, flying to the area that my old friend often talked about. My childhood friend.

"We're here," I said, landing on a rooftop gently. I let Asia down, and she uncovered her eyes, letting out a gasp of surprise.

"Woah…" she said, as she looked down. We were standing on the rooftop of a building in the Arcade and gaming area, and so all around, there were countless games and people playing said games, from arcade games to pool tables to pinball, the place had it all. Just like my old friend had described to me.

"Why did you bring me here…?" Asia asked me slowly. I shrugged.

"I figured since neither one of us have ever really gone out to places like this, it would be a fun experience. So here we are, gaming district. Do you want to go play some video games?" I asked, when I really didn't need to. Asia's look of amazement and eagerness was more than enough.

A few games later, we found ourselves in a little café where there were practically no people, considering it was a school day. We both ordered a little snack, and ate as we talked about practically nothing.

"So what's your favorite color?" I asked Asia, trying to make conversation. She scrunched up her eyebrows thinking, before responding.

"Blue! Oh, and I like yellow, to!" she said eagerly. I nodded, smiling before something dawned to me.

"You only like those colors because of Raijin, huh!" I accused playfully, and she blushed, protesting.

"N-no! I like blue and yellow because they are the color's of the sky! Although I like Raijin a lot…" Asia mumbled. I laughed a bit, before putting my hand on her head. I saw a game behind her, and told her to come with me.

"Huh?" she asked me as she walked over, bringing her tea. The game was one of those claw games, where you put in a coin or two, and you control a claw to grab a toy. Considering how Gabriel had been nice enough to give us a lot of money randomly, I had a bit to spare.

"One second, I'm going to get you something…" I said, pulling out a few coins.

"Um, Onii-chan, I'm sorry but I don't really like any of those…" she said to me. I knew she wouldn't, the toys in the claw machine were all really weird for some reason, but I paid it no mind.

"Oh? Don't worry, Asia, I'm sure you'll like one of them," I said, an idea already forming in my head. On my third try, I decided to cheat a little, and made the claw's physical properties better for snatching up a stuffed animal. I spotted one, and grabbed it, the claw grabbing it easily, dropping it in for me.

"Okay now, Asia. Promise me you won't look, okay?" I asked her. She looked hesitant but nodded, covering her eyes again. I grabbed the toy, a creepy-looking clown. Ugh, what kinda store expected customers to want to play their games when these were the prize?

A bit of Wizardry, color changing and calling out Raijin later, I told Asia to open her eyes. She was astonished to see Raijin-the plushie! With quite a bit of manipulation, I had managed to turn the weird-looking toy into a stuffed animal that looked exactly like Raijin! Raijin had been a bit embarrassed, but I bullied him into it, thinking only for Asia at that point.

"Thank-thank you!" Asia said, hugging me. I was a bit caught off guard, but hugged her back, accepting her 'thank you'. We walked out of the café together, smiling. I hadn't had fun like that in ages.

-Later, at home—

When we had gotten back to the house, we were both immediately teased endlessly by Raynare, who had been staying home without us. After a bit of her teasing I stopped getting annoyed, simply letting her tease us as I did my homework. She made us dinner, and we all went to sleep, Gabriel arriving rather late.

What's funny was that the entire time I had been home, I hadn't noticed the guards that she had apparently assigned. I wasn't too concerned about it though. And that's how our first day went.

-Parallel side. Rias POV-

After the meeting and school, I broke the news to my peerage. They were all deeply concerned for me, but I brushed it off, saying that I didn't intend to lose so easily. I also told them that they had a choice of helping me or not, and that if they did, I expected full effort, and that if they didn't, I wouldn't hold it against them.

To my surprise, every one of them said they would help me, even Gasper, who was reluctant to leave the basement but ready to defend me. I felt my heart swell up in pride of my peerage and only real friends, and I felt my mind wander to whether or not Issei would've been so willing as well.

Our training lasted the whole day, Kiba increasing his speed a few fractions of a second, Koneko lifting more weights than usual, Gasper being able to control Forbidden Balor View for three seconds by mid-day, and Akeno increasing her stamina and magic output. I, however, did not advance much, and it became evident by the end of the day that I would be relying on my team. I felt a great pride at the end of the day, however, when I saw the determined look the four of them gave me. They wouldn't let me go without a fight.

And that's how our first day went.

-Issei POV—

We woke up the same ways, Gabriel once again trying to tempt me in the early morning, to be annoyance. It didn't work, of course, and Asia woke up earlier than the day before to stop her from doing anything, politely asking her to leave. Gabriel looked a bit more pleased than before as she left, for some weird reason.

As was the day before, the three of us had breakfast, before walking out to a 'good-bye' from Gabriel as she to left. Just as the day before, Raynare and Asia were at my sides as I walked in the middle, without a care in the world.

I had decided to make some changes to the uniform that I had been given, mainly because I felt it was too… suffocating. The usual school uniform for males was a black blazer with white accents over a white, long-sleeved dress shirt with a black ribbon on the collar, and matching black pants. (Description from wiki/Yuuto_Kiba) I felt that the pants were perfectly fine, but the blazer that they encouraged to be buttoned up at all times? I felt like a bird stuffed into a cage.

So I decided to change it a little here and there. For one, I had used a very small and precise amount of magic to make the sleeves shorter, and only go a little past my elbows, leaving my upper wrist exposed. I also took off the black ribbon on my collar, seeing as it would get in the way of breathing occasionally also.

The collar I only buttoned up to my upper chest, leaving the ones near my neck untouched. Besides that though, my uniform was exactly the same as all the other males of the school, and neither Raynare nor Asia saw any need to really change up their own uniforms.

When we all got to school and began to go through our classes, I was surprised to find out that today was a physical education day. We would be playing tennis, basketball, and all of those sports. I felt uneasy about it, and tried to talk to the teacher, saying that my body wasn't exactly strong enough to handle sports, but I was dully ignored. Hmm, high school wasn't really living up to my expectations…

As soon as we went to the basketball courts, Raynare was asked by a few of the others to play with them. Naturally Asia was dragged along to, and so I awkwardly followed, noting that I was actually physically weaker than most of the class, even if Divine Dividing, Boosted Gear, and my arsenal of magic made up for it.

"Ehm…" I said softly, as the girl that had gotten Raynare began sorting the girls and I into groups. She passed over me without a thought, as if I wasn't even there.

"Hey, you forgot Issei-kun," Raynare spoke up a while later. The girl made an 'oh!' sound before counting me in, and I sent Raynare a grateful glance. She smiled back at me, and we turned back towards the girl.

"Okay then, let's play!" she shouted, and we all split into groups, Raynare and Asia being suspiciously on the opposite team from me, as was the girl that sorted the groups.

The game went slow, and even though I knew the concept of it, I still played terribly. I was tripping over myself, the ball would simply bounce off of me… It was terrible. Within a few minutes, I was already soaked with sweat while all of the others, the girls, were still breathing normally, if a little labored. After getting a concerned look from Raynare and Asia, as well as the teacher, I was excused to go to the weight room instead, and simply work on anaerobic exercises. I was quite frustrated at the time.

"Damnit Ddrag, Albion! How do I make myself more physically strong!? That was pathetic out there!" I spat, nearly punch the wall in my frustration. I felt embarrassed! Hell, Asia was a nun and she was more physically fit than me! It was so…!

[Calm down, partner. I can sense your anger, don't let it lead you] Ddrag told me sagely. I sighed a bit as realization came in.

(Although I am a little curious as to how you are smart enough to think of using the Absolute Zero idea, and yet you can't grasp Basketball…) Albion added, spiking my annoyance up again.

"I do understand it! I really do! It's just…!" I said, not knowing what to continue with. I tried motioning with my hands in desperation, even though I knew they couldn't see it. "I'm frustrated, you guys. I'm so behind everyone else, heck I can get exhausted from too many things if I don't use magic to help… or your guys' power, that to. How far am I to absorbing you guys?" I asked.

[Well… a bit of it at a time…] Ddrag said hesitantly. I sighed.

"Precise percent please."

[14%] he said to me, and I nearly dropped to the ground in despair.

"Damnit… regardless, I need to get more physically stronger, is there any sure-fire way for that?" I asked in desperation.

[I know one…] Ddrag began.

(Go vampric on everyone and absorb their physical strength?) Albion offered. I felt like smacking my face with my palm, but refrained from doing so.

"Go on, Ddrag," I prompted. He sounded hesitant.

[Devils get naturally tougher bodies, so theoretically…] he began. I thought for a moment, piercing it together.

"No, Ddrag. I'm not going to become a devil, period. Any other options?" I asked desperately.

[Besides heavy work and commitment? Not much. There are a few shortcuts, but they're all extremely painful and temporarily debilitating. I'd only take them if you have absolutely no choice whatsoever…] Ddrag told me. I cursed.

"Damn! But there's got to be some way dragon kind trains their bodies, right? I highly doubt you were all born with such huge muscles!" I said. A pause.

(Are you doing this for looks or actual helping in life, or fighting backups?) Albion asked me. I was about to retort a response when I really thought about it. Was I?

"I'm just trying to make myself stronger," I fibbed.

[Well then, we actually were born with huge frames… but there are ways to make you stronger at least ten times faster than how humans work out] Ddrag offered. An idea!?

"Yes?" I asked.

[…training near the element 'dragon soul', or exercising while eating the Dragons Apple.]

"Dragon soul?"

(It's basically as it says, a dragon's soul. But we are such powerful creatures that even our soul-especially our souls-are extremely powerful items useful for crafting weapons that are fatal to dragon kind. For when a dragon is sliced by this sword, the very links holding their own soul to their body begin to dwindle and disappear. Death easily happens to those few dragon kind unlucky enough to be sliced) Albion explained wistfully. I nodded.

"And Dragons Apple?"

[Food for Dragons. Very rare. I've been told that one of the Dragon Kings, Tannin to be specific, actually became a devil so he and our kind could more easily access the fruit.]

"How does Arc get his?" I asked, curious.

[He gets regular shipments] Typical.

"Hmm… so training around Dragon Soul and eating Dragons Apple would help me physically?" I questioned.

(Well… kinda…)

[Theoretically, it should help you. But even now, I can't tell what the dragon-human make-up in your body is. Sorry]

I sighed, "Troublesome. In any case, I suppose I'll go and head back to the others. They must be done with Basketball by now, right?" I turned to the door of the weight room in time to notice a little shadow, that moved with astonishing speed to try and prevent me from noticing it.

"Stop!" I shouted, panicky. It wouldn't do well for some random human to know what had happened, right?

"Shit!" I cursed, as I turned around the corner to see a long hall-way. The person was nearly out of the gym, where they would be untraceable.

"As if I'll let you escape so easily!" I shouted, lifting my arm and aiming at the figure. With an angry shout on my part, a part of the twine I began carrying around with me shot out, shooting towards the figure at bullet speeds. Just as it was about to hit the person, it expanded exponentially, eventually becoming a large net. With a weird sort of squawk, the figure fell to the ground in a lump.

I sprinted forward, ignoring the fact that I wasn't even the slightest bit tired. When I finally got to the figure, I was astonished to see feathers everywhere.

The girl-harpy, as she could only be referred to as such, was sprawled out under my net, bluish-green hair spiky yet messy, although that could've been from the net. She wore a large trench-coat which seemed to cover her wings as they looked compressed. Her eyes were a nice, amber color, yet they wandered endlessly, as if she couldn't focus. Her feet were large talons, and I noticed that her figure was even smaller than my fragile self.

"Who… who are you? Who sent you?" I asked, holding her shoulders through the net. Was someone trying to assassinate me or get info on me? Who was it?

"That's my harpy you're abusing, Hyoudou," a chilly voice sounded, and I turned around to see a girl with drill-like hair glaring down at me, legs crossed as she was sitting in a chair, a long whip wound up and held across her lap.

Holy crap. DAT CLIFFY! Haha, seriously though, do y'all like this chapter? If so, please do the usual, review and all that. Kudos to who guessed the new girl without looking at the website, I kinda' had to guess her personality since I never saw the short that had her.

So basically, a lot of this chapter was fillers, going over the two separate paths of Issei and his two ladies and Rias and her peerage. There was a negotiation at school that Issei sorta botched, and Rias is training her team to help against Raiser.

Also, I had some character-building in there for Issei, to show you all that, despite the fact that he was able to go up against Koneko and Kiba simultaneously, and probably Akeno if she decided to join the mix, his body is still weak. Magicians magic is based on wisdom, the smarter you are, the stronger. Or at least, the more you've learned. Devils magic is more based on will-power, and Issei's will-power is quite strong. So in most battles up to now, they've been rather short and not as physical because of the fact that Issei simply doesn't have the muscle. Hell, when he was fighting Koneko and Kiba, he was lowering his own weight while applying more gravity on K & K, as well as cutting their speed through their tendons and stuff.

So that has been my 'my main character isn't as over-powered-as-he-looks, speech'.

This chapter was 10,035 words of pure story. (I'm stepping it up! :D)

TLE MG

JY DBJ

Oh, and on another note, if anybody is willing, I could use a beta reader, just maybe. In case nobody at my school wishes to help me out, we have plenty of otaku's that read fanfiction, after all… You'd be able to read the next chapter ahead of everyone else, though I guarantee you there will be duties to uphold.

On a last thought I may begin a harry potter fic.