Hey Everyone! Quick prechapter note i promise. Thank you all for reading up to this point and since my last chapter seemed to get such positive reception i'll try to make them all bigger and beefier like that. Second and finally, this chapter will conclude season 1. If you haven't finished season 1 or gotten started on season 2 i would stop and finish those first. Anyways thanks and have fun!

DxD and any other characters herein are property of their respective creators (Issei: HEY!) all rights reserved. i only made Kumonji.

The birds were chirping, the sun was bright, and the breeze felt cool on his face. There wasn't even a scratch on him, no aches or tenderness from what surely should have put him in some kind of cast. Venturing to open his eyes, our hero finds himself under the shade of a cherry tree in full blossom, surrounded by tall soft grass dancing in waves as the summer breeze splashes over and over the rolling hills. Kumonji sits up with a groan, anticipating his head to hurt or the vertigo to nauseate him once more. But.. nothing.

"Sleeping Beauty finally awake I see." With a start the young man finds the familiar dark skinned gentleman in the white suit standing, or leaning, at the trunk of the cherry tree. Almost as if it sensed his touch one by one the blossoms fell and scattered through the wind, causing blinding sunlight to filter through the bare branches.

"Where.. are we?" In truth this place was oddly familiar, like a lost memory being renewed through repetition. These hills were very foreign, but he knew that he'd seen this view before.

"We, or more precisely you, are in purgatory." Waiting for a response, the man in the suit only got a blank look of confusion. "Some refer to it as Elysium, or as we in the business joke, the Eternal Waiting Room. That sense of deja vu you're getting is because this is where we found you. You ought to know by now, right? The visions you get in your head?"

"How do you know about the visions?"

"Because I know the truth. As will you."

"What truth?" This was starting to get frustrating. This guy had all the answers but he just wanted to dangle them in front of him to watch him leap only to pull away at the last second. "Tell me so I can get back to my friends. Take me back to the real world."

"Funny. You call this," he claims, holding up a small book before tossing it into Kumonji's lap "the real world." The redhead glares at the man for a moment, snatching the book up and examining the cover. The face staring back at him sends his mind reeling. He opens it up and studies the first page, then the second, the third forth and fifth. It was his life, everything he knew and loved from the last few months. And he wasn't in it.

"What is this?" The young man shook the book in his face, now standing and aggressively posturing toward the man who had all the answers. "This is everything that happened to Issei and I and all of our friends, and I'm not in a single one of these pages. Why am I not in any of these goddamn pages?! This is my damn life too!"

"No, this was never your story." Kumonji flinched backward a step. Somehow that had hurt more than he expected. "You were actually a normal kid living a normal life that didn't involve devils or angels or sacred gears or aliens. You just read about them." One by one, manga after manga was slapped against the grass and dirt at his feet. Sekirei, Fullmetal Alchemist, Deathnote, several shounen.. As each one piled up he began to piece together memories of plotlines and characters, some that he had met and interacted with just recently. They were all just characters, figments... Were they in on it too? "No, they're blissfully unaware that the rest of their lives are just ink on paper. Just like you were moments ago. Before you were there or here, you were a high school graduate, prime of your life and ready to go to college. The very first night of your adult life fresh out of school and only just 18, you attended your first ever party. You, your best friend and at the time your girlfriend were all drinking heavily and were headed home. Your best friend walked home, you two drove."

At that very moment Kumonji's reccuring nightmare kicked in, only this time it played out from beginning to end. The car swerved around a left hand bend, then skidded as the road turned a hard right. The brakes locked up, the car went sideways, and the two inside screamed in panic as the car rolled into the side of the hill. Into a tree. Into a CHERRY tree.

"...This is..?" Kumonji leaned himself against the tree, clutching his chest and gasping for air.

"You made it halfway to the hospital before you died of internal bleeding. Your girlfriend had no idea. She was in a coma for months." The use of past tense didn't escape either one of them. In truth, one was too afraid to ask, and the other debated whether the answer would put him at ease. "Read into my words what you will, but the fact was that we had to do something with you. Your last action in life was rather selfish and stupid, could have killed another driver. Still, you were a good enough kid. Since we had no idea what to do we put you here to wait. The higher ups decided that you needed a test of character, so we put you in a world you wouldn't remember to judge your actions and determine your fate." By now, this was getting too heavy for Kumonji to handle. He was on his knees, shaking and sweating as every memory from his old life filled back into his head. It was like a part of him long sleeping had finally awakened, but one of these truths was just a long hallucination. He knew who he was.. didn't he? "However, nobody could have foreseen that your affinity for these things would cause the worlds to converge. Your existence alone is forcing plots to join and stories to collide, even clash. Truth be told this test is far more interesting than-"

"Is this some kind of sick game? Is that what my life is to you? I don't even know you people, you tell me this story and expect me to believe it? That I've been living a lie all my life? Fuck you! My fate isn't just some rat in a maze for you to bet on. I don't want to be part of your damn game anymore. The test is over. Just send me back to be with my friends! My real friends at Kuoh Academy!"

The gentleman just stands there, watching as reality crumbles around the young man. The schism between the psyches has been filled, and yet this is his reaction. "Very well," he states with a sigh. "Your fate from here on out is your own to control. We won't intervene anymore. But realize now, that you can never come back to us. Live this new life of yours to the fullest. Or don't. It's up to you."

Kumonji turns to face him, but he's gone. In his stead is just the breeze, dancing over green waves of grass and budding cherry blossoms on the trees. He opens the manga for High School DxD once again, flipping over to the chapter where the rating game should be. He's still not in it, and when he finds the page that signals the start of the game, he turns the page to find the rest of the book is blank.

The redhead cracked his eyes open wearily. 'Yup, I'm awake.' He couldn't even open up all the way, his eyes felt tired and hurt from the bright light. His throat felt like he had swallowed, or chugged gasoline. Every joint and muscle was stiff and ached. His head was pounding against his soft warm.. 'Wait, I know that feeling.'

"A..ke..no?" He hoped with all his heart it was her. He tried opening his eyes again, and little by little the painful light grew less painful, revealing Akeno was fast asleep with his head in her lap. She seemed to be napping peacefully so he decided he might just let her rest.

"She stayed with you all night, you know." Teiya? His little sister looked like she was relieved to see him. 'Who are you and what have you done with my sister?' Kumonji thought to himself. "Akeno was so worried when you didn't wake up the first day. Of course, getting blown up twice during the rating game wasn't a good idea to begin with."

"Couldn't help it. There was a sexy damsel in distress and I couldn't leave her with Captain Cop-a-feel. At least tell me we won?"

"Actually after you went down it was a brutal beatdown. Yubelluna used Phoenix tears to heal herself to full health, and without you to keep her at bay Akeno didn't stand a chance. Kiba and Koneko tried a combo attack but barely left a mark on her. After that she took out Asia and left Issei to fight Riser until he nearly blacked out. In the end it was Rias and Issei versus Yubelluna and Riser, and Riser almost killed Issei just to get him to stop standing up again. If it wasn't for Rias surrendering, Issei might not be here today. As it is, he's still unconscious."

"Oh. I see." So it was his fault that everyone got taken out or badly hurt. As if the wakeup call from whoever that guy in the suit was wasn't bad enough they lost the rating game, everyone got hurt and Rias surrendered. 'All because of me..' Teiya could read his face, but nothing she said would make it better and she knew it. Instead, she just walked in and gave his hand a firm squeeze with a nod. When Akeno stirred, she decided that was the time to leave the two to talk.

~~~Akeno's Perspective~~~

She heard a couple voices talking but couldn't make out what they were saying. She had been up all night trying a healing spell to at least get him to wake up and wore herself out. Sometime in the night she had caught Teiya slipping a blanket around her shoulders and creeping out the door back down the hall to her own room. She was grateful, having a little sister to look up to you must be nice she decided. Finding the strength to wake herself she once again found that Teiya had managed to slip in and out without her noticing, but this time as she looked down she saw Kumonji blankly staring into the distance. "You're awake!"

~~Normal perspective~~

The redhead looked up and smiled at her, then realized that she had been hurt too because he hadn't been strong enough. He gave her a concerned look, scanning her face and what of her arms was visible for any signs of injury or hurt. "I'm sorry Akeno, I did a stupid thing trying to buy you time in the shape I was in. I should have known better than to fight someone above my league. I wasn't even a useful sacrifice."

The Queen was shocked, but took a breath and smiled, cradling his cheek in her palm. "It's not your fault. At least I was able to put up a good fight thanks to you. But yes, it was reckless and a little stupid to say the least." He laughed a little, then groaned. Being blown up twice really did suck, and he made sure that he voiced his opinion using as few letter words as possible. Having rested, she held her hands down to heal him again, but he grabbed her by the wrists to stop her. "Please, take care of yourself first. God knows I can't- GAH DAMMIT!" That stupid rule of not using The Words was going to kill him someday. Even when used in vain, the G word, the J word, and variants like "Fucking Christ that hurts!" sent him into a comic spiral of swearing followed by pain followed by more swearing. Akeno giggling into her hand got him to stop, lamenting the second migraine slightly less if it made her feel better. But what if the guy in the suit was right? If Akeno, no, if all of them were just playing a part then why would they even care about him? "..Akeno. Why do you even like me? I'm not as strong as Koneko, not as fast as Kiba, my magic is worth crap, and even the Pervert Prince managed to accomplish more than me. Standing up to Riser? That takes major balls. I just flunked out like a loser."

"That's not-"

"It is and you know it!" he snapped. Why was he so angry? She was only trying to help him, right? "I'm sorry, I just-"

SLAP!

That smack sent him reeling, that really stung!

'...that really stung. I'm feeling pain. I'm feeling a lot of things.. If I feel, then why the Hell would this world be any less real than any other? I'm here, alive. I think, I feel, and most importantly someone cares about me. I guess I have a lot to live for.'

He reached up and touched his cheek where her red handprint was, indelible on his face for now. "..I'm sorry, please. Forgive my stupid mistake." He reached up and brushed the tear away from her cheek with a smile. If she was really willing to go this far for him, he would have to do no less than the same for her, and he planned to try and go above and beyond. "I think.. I'm-"

At that moment, Lady Grafia appeared, calling their attention to the foot of the bed. In her hand was two formal invitations for Rias and Riser's wedding in 2 days. Again, she kept her explanation rather brief, a fact that caused Kumonji to believe she had been trained that way when dealing with the affairs of the Great Devil Lucifer and any such important events. He looked down at the flyer and noticed that the back was a summoning circle that would call the guests when the time came. "Akeno, may I be your plus one for this wedding?"

"Why yes, I think I'd like that." The two of them hugged and spent the rest of the evening cuddled together. Not a conventional first date, being blown up in the middle of a combat sport, but hey it brought them together right? He decided his past lives, real or fake, didn't matter as long as this would be in his future. Akeno had a similar feeling, but for now was just content to savor this moment.

On the day of the wedding the circles had activated. Akeno insisted that they meet up at her place and go together, to which Kumonji gratefully accepted and planned ahead. Or so he thought. He was all decked out, Silver suit, silver pants, shoes and even a ring on his middle finger. In this outfit the color came from his red button up under the silver jacket and vest, complete with matching red tie and pocket kerchief. He was almost out the door when Erisu and Teiya had gently (read:forcefully) reminded him of the matching silver fadora to wear to pick up his girlfriend. Actually, now that they thought about it Erisu never asked where Kumonji was going looking all dressed up, and that freaked both of her children out a bit. 'No time to worry about that, I need to meet up with Akeno like 5 minutes ago' he thought to himself. Grabbing his guitar and taking a rather scenic route to a park that nobody goes to on Sundays, Kumonji tried using his wind magic the same way as that day with Phaes. To his surprise the guitar levitated, and when he stepped on it stayed in the air. Before anyone could catch his little magic act he kicked off and pulled the neck of the guitar up, surfing his way up to the clouds and around a minute before finding the shrine where Akeno lived. To be honest he considered "losing" the hat, but then he would get guilt tripped or punished somehow so he begrudgingly kept it on him. 'I look like freaking Solf Kimbley.. well, minus the sash over my shoulders but still.' Touching down and setting the Flying V down next to the door he knocks and opens the door.

"Hey Akeno, sorry I'm la-" There before him in her panties and a half- done black kimono with her white belt around her waist. As she looks up, breasts hanging out, he slowly steps back out with a nosebleed and sheepish grin, closing the door slowly as he tries to keep his cool.

"Ufufufu~ why don't you just come in, you've already seen them once before.." That woman's teasing and evil chuckles would be the death of him he knew. And they both knew he would love every second. The door slid open a crack. "..are.. you serious senpai?"

"Why not? It's not like you don't try to steal glances all the time anyway."

"Yeah.. sorry about that." At that moment Kumonji felt a lot like Issei, though it was true he had so often caught himself mid-fantasy or zoning out while watching her doing various daily tasks. He slid in, hat over his eyes as he turned to face the wall until she was done. "Sorry, didn't mean to be so creepy about it."

"I think it's kind of sweet if you notice the little things. It shows you're really paying attention." That got the both of them blushing a bit. Kumonji was still facing the wall, and Akeno just giggled. 'Still trying to be chivalrous..' Some time later, having dressed, perfumed and allowing Kumonji to help with the orange bow in her hair, the two walked out the front door hand in hand. Today would prove to be rather interesting, and hopefully by the end of it the two would be one step closer together.

The two of them appeared via magic circle, hand in hand. Everyone from the Rating game on Phenex's side were there, as well as several well dressed and high class devils. Kumonji went over to get something to drink for the both of them. "Okay, this isn't so bad. As long as nobody I know can see me in this ridiculous.."

"Nice hat Cherryhead." Sure enough, leave it to Koneko to appear silent and sleek as a cat at just the wrong moment. She looked cute he had to admit, but now he felt caught and a bit embarrassed. "Yeah yeah kitty cat. Just don't tell Kiba or the others would you?"

"Don't tell me what?" And there's Kiba, along with Akeno who decided to meet up with all of them. Taking the hat off so his sharkfin stood up, he leaned over to offer it to Akeno. "Do me a favor and burn this would ya? Or just knock me out, that works too."

"Hey now, I think it works well with your suit." Kiba waved it off. Never one to be impolite. The four of them had a sip of cidre, being that none of them were old enough to drink champagne. The party gets underway, the band in full swing and several couples dancing while most of the heads of houses or kings and friends of Phenex stood about discussing the results and how this wedding will be a grand unison of the two houses among other stuck up pompous things in Kumonji's opinion. 'The fact of the matter is that Rias is only doing this because she was saving Issei's life' every member of the Occult Research Club thought to themselves, an unspoken truth they all acknowledged without saying it aloud. Phenex arrived in grand style, bursting into flame and stepping out in a white dress gown, or overcoat. Seriously what the hell is that thing? Beside him his queen and to her right was.. wait, who was that? Red Hair, and a robe down to the floor..

"Sirzechs, what an honor it is to have the Great Devil Lucifer here to witness this historic day."

"That's Rias' older brother?" Somehow, Kumonji felt like that was exactly- oh right. he'd seen this before.

"Welcome to the Engagement of Riser Phenex, and his bride.. I present: Rias Gremory!" Rias appeared in a white dress fit for a wedding. It pissed everyone in the ORC that Phenex was being such a flaming dickwad about his victory, as was his little sister. 'Well to Hell with it all (literally),' Kumonji thought. It's a party and he's resigned to live it up even if he had to do something about Riser himself. At that moment the band started playing a song he recognized. "Oh man.." And it was at that moment he felt a tug on his sleeve. Looking over he recognized the look on the queen's face. "Care to dance?" Akeno took his hand with and stepped out with him onto the dance floor.

'It had to be this song didn't it?' She started dancing around to the beat, getting him a bit loosened up. He slowly got more comfortable, even daring to smile. This was one of the best things he'd ever done, and for once he didn't care what anyone thought of him as he danced. Anyone, but a single woman.

"Deep in her eyes, I think I see the future. I realize this is my last chance
She took my arm, I don't know how it happened. We took the floor and she said

'Oh don't you dare look back just keep your eyes on me,'
I said 'You're holding back'
She said 'Shut up and dance!
Don't you dare look back just keep your eyes on me,'
I said 'You're holding back'
She said 'Shut up and dance with me.'
This woman is my destiny. She said
'Ooh shut up and dance with me.'
'Ooh shut up and dance with me.'
'Ooh shut up and dance with me.'

As the song comes to an end, many people cheer for the band, including the two so focused on each other they don't notice Sirzechs looking them over. "What a lovely couple those two would make." the head devil remarks to Grayfia. Before the band can get started on the next song however the doors are kicked wide open by none other than the self proclaimed harem king himself.

"Bout time the perv showed up." Koneko remarked, tossing aside her drink and stepping in to punch out a group of guards on Issei's left.

"Now the fun begins." Kiba added, setting his drink down and summoning his sword. The knight was on Issei's right clearing a path through all of the spears.

"What is the meaning of this? Riser defeated you in fair combat, and a low level like you has no right to interrupt Riser's wedding."

"It's about damn time!" Kumonji tossed his hat into the air and ducked one of the guards storming in. They tripped over him while Akeno covered his back with a streak of lightning. Two more charged in at the two and the rook grabbed them by the neck. "Now Kiss!" Their heads mashed together, knocking them out instantly.

"I invited him." Sirzechs spoke up, bringing the fight to a halt. "I thought this engagement could use a bit more entertainment. Not to mention that rather poor performance by yourself and your peerage."

"But.. I-it's the end result that counts."

"Face it Riser, you were an embarrassment in your latest showing, against an inexperienced team no less. It took no less than yourself to finish off the king in a head to head fight, and instead you lowered yourself to threatening the life of a pawn. The house of Phenex should be ashamed. If not, redeemed."

"Fine, if the Great Devil Lucifer commands it."

"Very good. And if you win, Red Dragon Emperor, what would you have as your prize?"

Issei looked over at Rias, then her brother. "Rias Gremory. Back with all of us where she belongs."

"Interesting. Do you accept Riser?" Riser grumbled but played it cool. "Very well, Riser accepts."

The arena was set, Riser on one end and Issei on the other. Ravel and House Phenex gathered around to watch, and the ORC along with Rias on the otherside cheering on Issei. "C'mon Issei!" "Choke that flaming chicken" "Kick his ass" "You can do it!" "We believe in you Issei!"

10, 9, 8, "This is going to be fun beating you a second time." 7, 6, 5, "Suck it Riser, Rias' virginity belongs to me." 4, 3'He really is a pervert.' they all thought at the same time. 2, 1.. Begin!

"Come on boy, fight me one on one!" Phenex rose on flaming wings, meeting Issei's charge head on. The two clashed, fist to fist exchanging blows and kicks back and forth. Issei got knocked back as Riser floated above him.

"Promotion, to Queen!" The Queen piece superimposed itself over Issei, and from there the fight became more even. The two were on nearly level ground until Riser backed away in the air and charged a pillar of flame directly at his opponent. The rook turned queen avoided and stayed just ahead of the attack, until Riser pulled his attack in favor of two smaller moving attacks that kept him at bay. "That's it.. Time for... OVERBOOSTER!"

Welsh Dragon, Overbooster!Balance Breaker!

Issei became encompassed in his sacred gear, the full Red Dragon Scalemail armor. As soon as he was covered head to toe, Issei powered up and attacked. The Red Dragon flew into the air above Riser, charging and unleashing a two handed dragon shot. Kumonji only grimaced as he tried redirecting it with fire only to have his arm and the side of his face burned off. He regenerated right away, only to catch a knee in the gut and a fist to the face. Riser was clearly overpowered and everyone knew it. Issei had him tossed around and it was going to be over with this last attack.

Time up!

Out of nowhere Issei's Balance Breaker disappeared, leaving him stumbling. Riser took advantage and regenerated yet again. "And now I'm pissed." The fight turned yet again, Riser keeping Issei on his heels or knocked off his feet altogether. Riser menacingly raised a fist engulfed in flames, prepared to drop the killshot. Rias and everyone panicked, this was exactly what happened last time. That is, except the part where Issei doused Phenex in Holy water and sent him screaming for any kind of relief. To make matters worse, Issei punched him in the face with a cross in hand.

"How is that even possible?"

"His arm."

Riser noticed it as well. "You sacrificed your left arm to the dragon didn't you?!" Riser couldn't keep up, regenerating or attacking were his only options and the pain was so intense he could only focus on making the pain go away. Issei took the chance and lay the smack down, sending the once high and mighty Phenex to the fetal position in agony. Issei moved in to deliver the final blow when Ravel stepped in and sheilded her brother. "Enough! Leave my brother alone."

Riser Phenex is defeated. Winner, Red Dragon Emperor Issei Hyoudo!

As Issei rides off on the Griffin, the rest of the ORC watches. Akeno and Kumonji hold hands without even realising it, and Kiba reaches for Koneko's hand. They all look at their respective crushes with a blush and a smile. Things would never be the same for the ORC.

End of Season 1!

Thank's everyone for Reading thus-

"Hey what about me?" Asia asked the camera. She leans in and grasps Issei's arm tight to her chest. Rias gets a little jealous and holds his other arm to her chest. The sparks fly between them, and the rivalry continues.

Yup, life for the ORC has changed forever.

Thanks for reading thus far, You guys are an inspiration and your faves and follows keep me writing. Stay tuned for season 2! Peace and Hair grease!