Hey again. here is the next chapter. Yes I know it's short, but the next chapter which I should have up tonight, is worth waiting I would think. Plus im an asshole so leaving you guys with a cliffhangar is awesome :D

I own nothing.

Issei was still inside the art room even after an hour. He was busy painting now, and it was 1 in the morning. Luckily, It was a sunday so no school. He was painting a picture with his fingers, but this time it wasn't about death... it was what haunted his heart. A shadow formed behind Issei and it took the shape of a dragons head.

"So, are you doing alright?" Erebus asked. "I woke up and detected some issues with you. Wanna talk about it?"

"I will be alright... and I do not wanna talk about it. It is something that haunts only me."

"I see. Well, you have a visitor now, so I shall take my leave." Erebus said, disappearing now so there was no more shadow. The door opened and in walked a large man. It was Sirzechs.

"Its late." He said.

Issei did not say anything but just continued painting.

"Something on your mind?"

Issei did not answer once again. Sirzechs just sighed.

"Well, I am here to tell you something. There is something in the devils world you might be interested. It is basically the devils version of the MMA the humans have. I thought you might be interested in some fighting matches. We want to try and get this popular of course and use it for prestige and such. Would be a great addition to the devils world actually. Would you like to try it?"

Issei smiled weakly and turned his head to him. "That sounds like a good idea to me. When should I start?"

"Any time really."

"How about now? I could use something to hit."

"That is acceptable. Ready to go?" Sirzechs asked, prepping a transport for Issei. "I will send you directly to the arena for a battle. I need to handle some things up here first before I can come down."

"Alright." Issei said, stepping onto the portal. He then poofed.

When Issei was gone, Erebus's head appeared from a hole in the floor.

"I will commence with your plan." Erebus said. Sirzechs nodded and disappeared into another transport circle.

Over in the Hyoudou household, Rias, Akeno and Koneko were dressed in their nightware. They cleaned themselves off shortly after Issei... erupted and were preparing for sleep. They agreed to leave Issei alone as they all noticed that something was wrong with him.

"Do you think he will be alright?" Akeno asked as they were sitting around a table drinking some tea before bed.

"I cannot say for sure." Rias commented, her face a bit saddened. "We were too focused on trying to win over Issei and beat another, that we ignored Isseis troubles."

"... I've noticed for quite some time and I've been trying to get him to open up, but he is stubborn." Koneko said.

"Does anyone else notice how he looks at us?" Akeno asked the other two.

"You mean those frightened eyes? Yea I notice it a lot, but I guess I never understood why... and I still don't. But it just never clicked in my mind that something was wrong with him until what happened in the bath." Rias said.

"... I have noticed his eyes the way he looks at us when we try to get close. I don't even think he knows he looks at us this way..." Koneko said, her cat ears and eyes down.

"We are really insensitive aren't we?" Akeno asked.

"I could have told you that." Said a voice from behind. Appearing from the floor was Erebus's head. "You girls are too engulfed in your little war for Isseis heart, you ignored his heart."

"You knew about the competition?" Rias asked.

"Of course. It is obvious for anyone to see that you girls are fighting for Issei. Issei is just... stupid when it comes to girls and such. He is a bright boy when it comes to education, not so much when it comes to girls." Erebus replied.

The girls didn't even respond, unable to.

"Do you wish to find out the reason why he is so upset? Do you wanna find out what burdens his mind and heart?" Erebus asked.

They all nodded.

"Then step right into this hole. I will show you." Erebus said, removing his head from the hole. The girls fell into the hole, landing on the ground below. It was pitch black yet they could see each other and Erebus. It was really strange.

"So this is The Void you and Issei talk about all the time?" Rias asked looking around. "There is nothing here."

"That is why its called The Void. It is nothingness."

"Must be really boring." Akeno commented.

"Why do you think I have Issei around? For a good luck charm? He entertains me. He makes it worth being awake. I usually end up sleeping most of the time."

A large image began to form in the Nothingness. It was a beating heart. It was red with black markings on it. Like a spider web. It was beating like normal but if you look at the black markings, you can see it was pulsing.

"This is Isseis heart. What I am about to show you is what haunts him. What makes this guy fear." Erebus said. Another picture showed up nearby and it was what Issei was doing at the current time. Everyone watched as Issei was violently beating up on some devil in a ring, completely annihilating him.

They then focused on the heart as the image began to change. What showed was a video of Issei going crazy. It was Issei during the night of the fight and the time before the large fight in the underworld. It was Issei in his ultimate shadow form, a monster of pure rage and despair.

"Does... Issei really fear about going back into this form and rampaging again?" Rias asked.

"Yes. He does. He fears he will lose control and kill you all which is why he vents his anger with fighting. He vents his despair. He doesn't let it get bottled up... but what he doesn't realize is that what is haunting him now completely is going to end up shattering his mind completely. He will be as emotionless as Koneko was until Issei came along."

Everyone frowned a bit, worried for their friend.

"There is more." The image changed again, this time it was the image of Raynare. A video of their date and they could hear it too. They watched as she killed him over and over again. Laughed in his face. Called him boring. They all watched and finally understood why Issei was so distraught. Raynare was haunting him. "Do you realize it now? He does not think of you girls as girls who love him. He sees you as being affectionate with your juniors like the Gremorys are known for. That is all I have to show you."

"... So that is why he fears us... Raynare is harming him even after her death."

"I... understand now. Issei is so strong but he is so weak. He may be able to protect us... but we were unable to protect him. Our wrong doings are still harming our Issei..." Rias said sadly.

"We need to go to him." Akeno said. "We need to fix this."

"I will send you back... but let me know something. What is it you plan on doing afterwards? Do you expect him to choose between you three? Keep this in mind. Good bye." Erebus said, sending them back before they could answer. They would have to figure it out themselves.

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