A Place to Call Home

by Luciendar

When a messed up home life leads Issei to a new life, what direction will that take him? How will Issei adapt to his new life, and how will that affect his old one? Finally when his heart, mind, and body start being pulled in too many different directions how will Issei learn to cope? Rated T for now, may change.

11. Chapter 11

A/N: So a lot happened in the last chapter and this one promises to be no different. I'm not really sure how the chapters got so long either. Honestly, I just go in wanting to get to a certain point and write until I get there. Sometimes that's 3k words but recently it's been closer to 10k.

Now you know that things aren't exactly sunshine and rainbows with Raynare. Did anyone see any of that coming? All of my reviews thus far would indicate not. Be prepared for things to come to a climax for her in this chapter. You will also be truly introduced to the female under the cloak, remember, it's not Asia. I can't give many hints, however. As soon as my Raynare arc here end then hers will start. The only thing I will tell you is her arc will take us down to hell to face some old families. That and she is VERY OOC. So with all that said, let the story begin.

Chapter 11: What One Truly Wants

I can't say I like the first thing I smelled being blood as I came to the doors. I wasn't surprised, but I was still a little cross. I mean, after all the hard work I put into cleaning this place up, this is what I have to show for it. An eerie chill hung in the night sky and I knew I had no time to lose. That's why I only hesitated for a moment when I saw Kiba leaning beside the door.

"Why are you here alone?" I asked expecting the whole Gremory gang.

He just tossed me his princely smile, "I had a feeling things weren't going to wait for us to be ready so I've been hanging nearby for the whole week. Lo and behold they started early. Rias is organizing the rest but it might be another half hour before she gets here."

I raised my fist and smiled at my friend, "I'm glad your here. No one else I'd rather have me back."

"Same," he replied with a fist bump.

We headed for the door. Seeing one of the two doors hanging off the henges twisted my stomach. I can see a lot of working cleaning and fixing things up in my future. Pushing the other door open I was met with an odd sight. Lying unconscious, and possibly dead, on the floor was the office call girl of a fallen angel that I'd met at the park earlier, Kalawarner I believe. Why do I believe she's dead, well that probably has something to do with the hole in her stomach and the fact that she's lying in a pool of her own blood, but hey I'm no doctor.

Something had impaled the woman through the stomach. Worse still, now a man with dull gray hair was straddling her and groping her chest. I can feel that he's just a normal human but still, are all members of the fallen angel faction scum? I can't say I feel any remorse for her death but my 'white knight complex' still has an issue with this. After learning Raynare's past I couldn't help but wonder what this woman's might have been.

"Ya know Kiba," I announced to get the mans attention, "Some guys really need to learn to keep there hands to themselves."

Kiba chuckled a bit, "Yes, well, we can't all be angels now can we?"

"Oh ho ho," the man clapped joyfully, "Look what we have here. A limp dick angel and a shitty devil. I was told the angel might be here soon but now I have two dates. I can't believe I get to kill an angel and devil side by side. You guys are really making me hot right now."

Neither I, nor Kiba, could keep the disgust off of our face. That being said I couldn't waste time with this loser. Given the size of the wound, I know he couldn't have caused it. It was probably done with a light spear, which meant Raynare probably turned traitor, no surprise there.

"Kiba, can I leave this guy to you? I hate this but I need to get downstairs fast," I didn't want to make the request but I knew Kiba could handle this guy.

"Leave him to me. I'll teach him some manners," Kiba replied with his usual smile.

"I don't know how you know about the stairs but you aren't going anywhere. Not until I've had my fun with you choir boy. Now be good and let me shoot you," the fallen priest shouted in his giddy tone.

With all of my wings out I emanated light forward to blind the priest and hopefully not hurt Kiba. Kiba still had to cover his eyes a bit but now the priest was firing blindly. I dashed at him grabbed the gun. I used the butt of it to smack him in the face and send him skidding across the floor before destroying the gun.

As I raced to the stairs I could only hope my friend was going to be okay.

WITH KIBA

Kiba watched as the priest slowly rose and was going to charge after his friend. In a burst of speed, he appeared before the fallen priest, sword in hand. The man was able to backflip away from the slash, but it had only been meant as a warning.

"I am Kiba Yuuto, knight of Lady Rias Gremory, and you shall go no further."

"Oh, what is this shit, Monty Python," the man hissed, "Fine then boy, I am Freed Zelzan, killer of shitty devils like you and the best exorcist alive. Let's see if you know how to use that sword. I wanna carve that pretty face up."

Kiba took off with is enhanced speed. His slashes hammered down on the former exorcist but were all parried. Years of experience had trained the man to fight against speeds that even exceeded his own. Much to Kiba's dismay after only his eighth attack the man disarmed him.

"Now, now what did your mother tell you about running with swords," Freed chortled, "someones bound to get hurt."

Freed leaped, trying to bring his blade down on Kiba's head. Before Freed could even tell what happened Kiba had summoned a new blade and met his blow. The two had a standoff, both trying to force the other down. It seemed that Freed's superior strength would give him the victory, that is until his light blade began to be devoured by Kiba's sword.

Freed pouted at the hilt now only producing a light dagger in his hands, "What the crap did you do to my sexy sword, you shitty devil?"

Kiba grinned at him, "Meet me sacred gear, blade blacksmith, and its special ability is to create whatever sword I can think of. This sword here is a special ability called light eater. It devours all light that it touches. Now Freed, it's time to meet your maker."

Kiba dashed forward to finish him. His slice hit air as Freed jumped away and threw down a flash bomb. When the blast cleared the man was nowhere to be found.

WITH ISSEI

Reaching the basement I was confronted with bodies littering the floor. Considering their clothing I can assume they are all exorcists. Walking through the carnage I began to notice that none of them were dead. Oh, many of them had broken limbs, lacerations, and were unconscious, but they all seemed to be alive. This had to have taken some time. Had she just came in and culled them all she could have been done in a few minutes.

Raynare stood with the girl that he had seen at the park. The girl was chained to the wall but was once more without the collar. Several bruises littered her form, clear signs that she had resisted. All she wore was a small white dress, barely enough to conceal her modesty as her large breasts were barely covered and the dress ended high on her thighs. On closer inspection, it seemed his earlier assumption about her being around his age was correct. Through it all though her hair, that he'd only barely caught a glimpse of before, looked like starlight spilling in front of her face slightly and down her back to her waist.

Raynare looked desperate. She had several cuts and bruises on her skin. It seems like she didn't get away unscathed fighting all of these would be exorcists. Again, it seems she took the hard route, but why? Did she truly not want to kill them?

As I approached her I could hear her muttering to herself, "No, he can't be here yet. More time, I still need more time."

"It's over, Raynare," I called out to her.

When I said her name she looked over at me. It was almost like I had physically reached out and slapped her. The surprise and anguish on her face were hard to handle. Only just now do I realize that I've never called her anything but Yuuma before. If the story I heard is correct, Yuuma is her true name after all.

Recovering quickly she growled at me, "No! It's not over! It can't be, I still need her power."

"Rayn- no Yuuma, I know, I know what happened to you," I told her.

It seemed like those words had been enough. The myriad of emotions that swam across her face were too numerous to count. The final one I caught very clearly though, fury.

Seemingly forgetting all else she began to hurl light spears at me. Poorly aimed light spears at that. Slightly twisting my body a little was all that I needed to avoid the incensed woman's barrage. After seeing how little good it was doing she stopped. Obviously, she'd expended a lot of energy as she was huffing to catch her breath.

Still consumed by rage she flew at me. Slash after slash she came at me. I made the mistake of trying to take one of her blows with just a regular block and the sheer force of it almost broke my arm. While wild and inaccurate, her power was no joke.

When she started to scream at me again was when I noticed her crying, "No! You can't know! I don't want you to know, if I kill you then you won't know!"

Her screams were nonsense, but still, I understood, "I do know Yuuma. I know and I'm sorry."

You'd have thought I spit in her face as she brought her next attack, "Don't you dare feel sorry for me. I will take this girl's power and then no man will ever touch me again. I will have the power to kill gods."

Rounding on her I began my assault, "I can't let you do that. You can't kill her, she hasn't done anything to you."

Even with her rage, my power overwhelmed hers at this point and I broke her light spears, one after another. Slowly she began to lost power. Her spears were breaking much easier and her moves were slowing. In another quick barrage, she was left helpless on the ground.

Her face was a teary sneer, "Well, you've won. The mighty angel has laid low the dirty whore. Are you happy now? Or do you want to rape me too?"

That was when the last thing I expected happened, her anger broke and only sorrow remained, "I guess I owe you that much don't I? Go ahead and have your way with me. I've seen the way you looked at me. In the end, you are just like any other man, but at least you aren't as bad as most. I can still remember how kind you were to me. How you treated me so well, and the way you looked at me. It felt like so long ago, and for only a moment I felt like… But it doesn't matter. If you do have a heart though just kill me and get it over with.

That was it. That's what she really wanted. She needed someone to come along and end her life. After all, she did, she was just trying to protect herself, she didn't want to be the victim anymore. Having lived almost my entire life up till now as a victim I can surely empathize with her to some degree, but I could never understand her pain.

She was in love, and every time I think that I think of Gabriel. Gabriel would never do such a thing to me. I'm sure Yuuma thought the same thing though. She was innocent and naive, just like Gabriel. She trusted him blindly even though he was her enemy. What would I be like if the same thing happened to me? Better than her? Worse? There is no way to know. Perhaps killing her is the only true mercy I can grant her.

When I raised my blade I watched her struggle to her knees. It seemed at the very least she wanted to die with dignity. Even though I was trying to be merciful everything screamed that this was wrong. I couldn't lower my sword.

Her eyes slowly rose and noticed my hesitation, "What are you doing? Kill me. I'm the woman who killed you remember. I.." she choked slightly on her words, "I toyed with your feelings and then killed you, just like they did to me. Now do it, kill me, or I'll go and kill that girl and take her power for myself. Then maybe I'll make a stop by your mom's place."

'No!' the thought screamed in my head as I brought my blade down. I tried to bottle all of my hatred and fury that I had been feeling for her. She got into my head when I was at my lowest, she made me think she loved me, she took my first date, she made me think she loved me, and then she killed me. I may never be able to truly love again. The rage inside of me had finely reached its precipice. My sword moved blindingly down towards her head… until I heard two words.

"Thank you."

My blade vanished a breath away from cleaving her in two and I fell to my knees wrapping her in my arms. For a brief moment, she was obviously to confused at what was going on to even move, but that didn't last long. Yuuma began to thrash in my arms, but she was far to exhausted to even begin to shake me off.

"What are you doing you, idiot? Kill me. Kill me before I..." and that was all the fury she had left before she broke down, "Please, Issei. Since the moment it happened all I've wanted is to die. I have felt that way for so long now. I have had to hurt so many good people and then you came along. The way you looked at me, the feeling I got, and then I killed you. I just can't do it anymore Issei, please. Kill me and go help that girl. She came to the fallen angels for protection. She needs a good guy like you, and I need to be put out with the trash like the whore I am."

What I witnessed from Yuuma in that moment redefined what it means to weep bitterly. Someone who was once so good and pure had been dragged down into the pits of misery. They tried to rob her of all the light and goodness in her, but one thing is very clear to me now. They failed.

"Yuuma, look at me Yuuma," my tone was soft but commanding, "Are you sorry?"

Her red and tear-soaked eyes looked into mine before she returned to weeping into my chest, "Yes. Now please end it for me."

I smiled lightly, clutching her to my chest and sent out a silent prayer for this to work, it was a long shot, "Yuuma, I forgive you."

ABSOLUTION

The moment the words left my mouth the room was bathed in golden light. Yuuma looked at herself and around us as we were bathed in the light. Confusion etched lines on her face. Her ebony wings shot back. It literally appeared as if the black was being peeled off like a mask leaving a white that would make even snow look dirty. The black leather outfit she adorned was replaced with a sleeveless flowing white dress accented in gold. Her eyes even changed from the dull gray they had been to a blue as clear as the spring sky. It was as if she was being reborn.

When the light dissipated she was left there completely healed and looking like a new woman. She looked so jubilant and radiant that she danced around a bit. She then hugged her white wings to her bosom. Her look obviously showed that she thought she'd never see them again. Only after a few moments did she seem to recall I was there.

The fact that this was all my doing seemed to be just dawning on her as she glomped onto me kissing all over my face, "Thank you Issei, thank you so much. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine. I mean, I never thought I'd be an angel again."

I laughed as I fought her off gently, "Calm down, calm down. It was a long shot but I'm glad it worked. You are what you were always meant to be. Now you can go home, where you belong."

As suddenly as her joy had come over her, sorrow fell once more upon her face, "I don't know if I can Issei. As happy as I am to be an angel once more, I don't have a place in heaven. After my betrayal I'd certainly be sentenced to Second Heaven."

This revelation made me shiver a bit. I have been through Second heaven, and while parts of it are beautiful I would never want to spend time there. The angels who are imprisoned there are suffering, there is no way around that. I know the mercy of the Seraphs, but what would happen if I brought Yuuma back to heaven. I wasn't sure.

That's when I had an idea, "Yuuma, I WILL bring you back to heaven. If you no longer have a place to belong amongst the heavenly host then I will create one for you."

She looked confused like she was about to argue with me. I silenced her with a hand and reached out into the air. I had found that I could manifest my cards at will. I wasn't sure what card to use for her, but when the Hearts card appeared in my hand I grinned. Someone who fell for love certainly deserves this card.

Bringing my angel wings and sacred gear wings out I put out a huge aura of power, "Yuuma, redeemed angel of heaven, kneel before me."

She didn't even hesitate to do as she was told and knelt before me beaming a smile, "Yes, Issei."

"I am, Issei Hyoudou, Joker of Heaven. Will you, Yuuma, become my Heart and serve me and by extension heaven? Will you obey heaven's will in all things and commit your existence to protecting the souls in Third Heaven. Will you become part of my deck," she nodded with tear-filled eyes, "Then from this day forward you are the Heart of the Joker of Heaven. You belong in heaven, you belong with me."

Placing the card on her head I watched as it was absorbed into her. A soft glow once more enveloped her and a red heart appeared at the top of her dress directly above her left breast. Truly, she was an angel of heaven once more.

Tears streamed down her face but unfortunately, I could no longer ignore the last party in the room. With Yuuma coming to grips with all that had happened I set upon the girl still chained in the corner of the room. Honestly, I felt like a jerk for just leaving her hanging there, both literally and metaphorically. With a few quick slashes, she was freed and fell into my arms. Her eyes flickered open and I could tell that she was still out of it.

"It's alright, you're safe now," I promised her.

"Are you Issei," the question was so unexpected that I couldn't hide my shock.

"Yes, I am," I affirmed curiously, "How do you know that name?"

"She said you would save me," the girl began to weakly look around, "She brought me here and defended me from the others. She even killed the other fallen angel who was holding me prisoner. The priests all attack us after that but she protected me. Then she looked at me, she looked so sad, and then she knocked me out. Idon't know why she knocked me out but I'm sure I can trust her. She even tried to help me escape before, but I got caught. She said no matter what happened, even if she didn't make it, that I should trust you and I'd be safe. Where is she, is she okay, where is Yuuma?"

"What?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Turning slightly I glanced at Yuuma. She'd never even intended to kill the girl or take her sacred gear. This whole time she had been counting on me to come and deal with all of this. How long had she been planning this? Since she saw me at the church, or maybe even before. She must have known the devil's were watching us back when I was human. Did she kill me knowing that it would lead to me being reborn as an angel, or maybe she thought I'd be a devil? If she knew I was the red dragon emperor then there is no telling how deep this plan goes.

The girl seemed to notice my gaze and followed it to Yuuma, "Yuuma, is that you?"

The girl crawled out of my arms and slowly and slowly towards the newly reborn angel Yuuma who walked to meet the girl, "Yes, it's me. He saved me, he saved us."

Watching the two girls embrace warmed my heart. This is definitely not how I saw this night going. Some fighting, killing some crows and saving the girl, that's the night I had planned. Now I've got a church full of wounded, none of which I had a hand in, and a redeemed angel. What's next?

"Issei," Yuuma called out to me, bringing me out of my daze.

"Yes," here it comes.

"We still need to help her," my Heart pleaded, "She is being hunted by her own family. She's half human and half devil. They wanted her to become a weapon so she fled. Her grandfather killed her parents right in front of her. Just like the fallen angels, they want to take her sacred gear. Show him your wings."

I'd seen a lot of devil wings at this point so to say I was surprised would have been an understatement. They looked more like fallen angel wings than devil wings. No thin leathery appearance, all black feathers.

"How is does being half devil give her wings like that," I asked calmly trying not to make my confusion obvious.

The girl finally spoke up, "My family was the first devil family. My name is Valentine Lucifer, but you can call me Vali."

"Okay, Vali, wow that's crazy. So that makes you a direct descendant of 'thee Lucifer' that's a big deal. Okay, but what's so special about your sacred gear," I couldn't help but ask, because if her enemies were more interested in that then her family blood then it must be powerful.

"Well, I suppose you'd have to find out sooner or later," she sighed, obviously hesitant to tell me until Yuuma put a hand on her shoulder and nodded her head, "I'm am the white dragon emperor wielder of 'Divine Dividing' and supposedly your enemy. I really don't want any part of that though. I hate that I was even born a devil. Please, Issei, I just want to live."

Yuuma knelt before me again, "Please Issei, if you can please help her. She is pure, just like I once was. I don't want to see her fall. Especially now that I'm an angel again, I have to do something."

I placed a hand down on Yuuma and had her rise up to face me, "No, we have to do something."

Lucifer was a fallen angel. I may not know all the details but if she is more like an angel than a devil than maybe this can work. She certainly hates being a devil and I can sense that she has a pure heart. Well, if nothing else, I'm sure heaven would be happy to have the other dragon emperor.

"Vali Lucifer, kneel."

A little less enthusiastically than Yuuma, but she knelt before me. The scars of all of those who had abused her showed as clear to me as day. Unsure a little scared she knelt before me. Trusting me for absolutely no reason she knelt there. Once more I held my hand out and manifested one of my cards. This time the spade appeared. I don't know much about cards, but the one game my friends had taught was called spades, and in it the spades were the strongest suit. Seems fitting for the white dragon emperor and descendant of Lucifer.

"I am, Issei Hyoudou, Joker of Heaven. Will you, Vali, become my Spade and serve me and by extension heaven? Will you obey heaven's will in all things and commit your existence to protecting the souls in Third Heaven. Will you become part of my deck," she nodded with tear-filled eyes, "Then from this day forward you are the Spade of the Joker of Heaven. You will be safe with me from now on. You and my Spade will stay at my side as members of my deck."

I let out a sigh and said another small prayer. The card absorbed into her as I placed it on her head. One way or another she is a member of my deck now. Michael certainly won't complain, after all, we had no idea who these would work on and how. I can't help wonder if they are appearing in a certain order or if there is some larger plan in all of this.

Vali remained on her knees, almost in the fetal position at this point. She seemed to be crying from sheer relief that her running had finally come to an end, but I'm not sure that her hardships are truly over yet. Regardless, I won't ruin this for her now. Yuuma had come up and knelt beside her placing a hand on her back for support. Now was time to see what this ability could really do.

"Valentine Lucifer, descendant of the angel Lucifer. You have rebuked the ways your forefather has set before you and sworn yourself into fealty of the heavens. On my authority as a Joker of heaven, I forgive you," I committed myself entirely to my words but nothing happened.

"Hmm, it seems like your power alone isn't enough partner. How about we do this together?"

"Heh," I chuckled, "You read my mind partner. Boost it up, we'll give this all we got."

BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST

"Valentine Lucifer, descendant of the angel Lucifer. You have rebuked the ways your forefather has set before you and sworn yourself into fealty of the heavens. On my authority as a Joker of heaven, I forgive you," I shouted out.

ABSOLUTION!

I was immediately caught off guard by screaming. Gold energy swirled around Vali, but this time it seemed to be fighting darkness. I was panicked for a moment but the light began to erase the darkness. Her once dark wings began to shine and multiply into two sets. In a shocking turn of events, instead of white, her wings were golden, just like Michael's. When it was finally over she fell, and I only barely caught her before she hit the ground. Unfortunately to do that I had to place myself between her and the ground causing a nasty bump on my head that I'm sure I'll be feeling for a week.

Yuuma looked panicked so I rubbed her head, "Don't worry, she's okay, just passed out. I had no idea the process would be so traumatic for her. Guess I should've known when it took that much power."

Yuuma then proceeded to lunge at me, creating a small dogpile on the floor, with me on the bottom. Once more she began to kiss my face, thanking me over and over again. Honestly, all I could think about was how glad I am Gabriel isn't here to see this. She certainly has a jealous side.

"Hey Yuuma, I'm real glad that you are happy now, but I kinda might have a girlfriend so could you not kiss me so much," I laughed, but this time it was a bit uncomfortably.

She gave me a somewhat flirtatious look I wasn't expecting from the angel of purity I'd heard so much about, "Oh, well do you or don't you. There is no 'might' have a girlfriend, and if she isn't smart enough to stake her claim on you then I'll do it. Sorry to say but living as a fallen angel for so long has an effect on a girl. I want love Issei, and I know now that you are the one man who could love me with the purity I so deserve."

That was when a new voice cut in across the room, "So I have some new competition do I?"

We turned our head to see the red-headed daughter of Maou Lucifer and Yuuma balked a bit, "So is this the competition you were talking about? Please, this isn't competition, she's more like a pit stop a guy might make on his trip to get where he's going, and honey you just got there. Some devil girl could never give you the pure, honest, and unending love that I can."

Several tick marks could be clearly seen bulging on Rias' forehead, "Oh ho, is that right? Coming from the woman who tried to kill him that's pretty cheap. With friends like that who needs enemies. Oh, and believe you me sweetie, whenever I do let a man make a 'stop' as you so crudely put it, he'd never want to leave again."

The two of them continued their verbal joust as I lay with Vali still on top of me. Honestly, at this point I just want to sleep for a few days. Adding Yuuma to the mix was not what my life needed right now, and if Gabriel finds out…

"Oh, Lord Issei, you can't touch me there...okay maybe just a little," Vali mumbled in her sleep.

I looked over at the two girls fighting, hoping they hadn't heard. No such luck. Both of them eyed me very carefully and I shot my hands out to the side.

"I swear, I didn't touch her, she's just dreaming," I pleaded, "You have got to believe me."

While the two cracked there knuckles they stalked over towards me. One possible girlfriend, and three more girls who like me. How could this get any more complicated? Just then a shiver went down my back. The feeling told me that the one person who I didn't want to know what was going on was very aware, aware and awaiting my return.

...Maybe I should stay in Japan this weekend.

A/N: So how was it? I think some of you saw some of this coming and some of you didn't. So lets recap a bit, shall we? I have finally unveiled two of the cards in Issei's deck. His Heart- Yuuma, and his Spade- Vali. Yes, I went fem Vali. Why did I do that? Well frankly after reading so many fem Vali stories I've just come to like her that way. Plus, even though there won't be a harem, having more girls in his life will cause him all kinds of trouble. Wait until the next chapter to see how that will start. Then we have Yuuma. Yes, once upon a time, she was a divine angel of purity and well… ignorance. That being said, she's a couple thousand years older now and wiser. Plus having spent much of that time with all of these fallen angels had an effect on her personality. Now she's a grand schemer. Did you like how she had all of that planned out? Sure she didn't plan all of it, but still, clever right? Think about it, if Kiba was that close then she would have sensed him, don't ya think? Sure, she's still a sweet loving girl on the inside, but much of her personality is going to be flirtatious, but really that's just a shell to protect herself. There's no reason to ask why when we see where being sweet and kindly got her. Plus, she is still looking for love, and now that love is from Issei. She believes he is the one man who can love her on the level that she can love.

I know some people won't like this but the next chapter isn't really a plot pusher. It's sort of a filler chapter that will flush a lot of things out. Gotta find a place for the girls to live. The girls need to meet the Seraph's, especially Gabriel. (Tee hee) Also, as a girl, we all know there is truly one woman you want to make a good impression on if you want to have a good relationship with a man. Get ready Ms. Hyoudou, the girls are coming.

PS- Yes she's keeping the last name so it'll match her son's. Some of you might not care, but others of you out there might have OCD like me and wonder. So I explained it before you could complain. :P