A/N: Yeah been a while. I'll talk more about it in the post AN. I did make this chapter a little longer than usual though.

Chapter 10

Serafall was actually working hard for once. The abduction of Seekavaira Agares was a serious issue and the only clue that they had managed to unearth after the initial investigation was one of her fingers being delivered via courier directly to her family's estate. It was a disturbing development; an act of violence that hadn't been seen since the Great War. Was Kokabiel up to his old tricks again? It was entirely possible, Kokabiel's blood lust was well documented but so were his methods. It would be too easy to frame the Fallen Angel of this crime and direct the Devil's attention away from the real culprit.

Sera sighed and rubbed her temples tiredly. It had been some time since she'd had to work overtime; not even the case with Diodora had been this serious, especially since the matter had been handled so easily.

Just as she contemplated making another cup of coffee a magical circle appeared on her desk and she heard her dear So-Tan's voice,

"Serafall, I need to tell you something but you have to promise not to over react."

Serafall hummed in thought, "Well okay. It's always nice to hear from my baby sister."

"The White Dragon Emperor is fighting Issei at our school but-"

Once she heard that, Serafall promptly forgot her promise not to over react and teleported to Kuoh Academy before Sona could finish talking.

Sera didn't know what to expect, would the town be in ruin as armoured figures clashed in the sky? Perhaps they had lost control and were rampaging in Juggernaut Drive? Her imagination began to race but when she got to Kuoh she was treated to the sight of Issei calmly having a fist fight with another boy with Tiamat watching on the sidelines.

Serafall looked around and saw that she wasn't the only spectator. Rias and her Peerage were a given but Sera spied Issei's grandpa and Kuroka as well. Off to the side, a blonde girl was trying to remain unnoticed behind a tree but couldn't evade Sera's senses though the girl seemed innocent enough so Sera ignored her. Azazel himself was also present but wasn't doing anything threatening, merely watching the fight while eating popcorn? It did look good; she should ask Sona to get her some.

Wait! Sona, where was she? Before Sera could work herself into a panic Sona herself ran over,

"Sister, you promised not to over react!"

Sera pouted, "It's not my fault. Have you seen the results of past clashes between those two rival dragons? Barren wastelands devoid of all life, you really think I wasn't going to over react when I heard they were fighting?"

Sona masked her emotions while pushing her glasses up her nose, "Well I can't say I haven't but if it was truly serious, Tiamat would've interrupted. She was all set to smite the White Dragon Emperor down in order to keep the peace but changed her mind when she heard what he had to say.

"Apparently this isn't the fated clash of the Heavenly Dragons, just him coming to see his rival and have a friendly spar; to get a feel for things. Tiamat seemed to like that but warned them both to keep it level, no Sacred Gears or she would step in."

Serafall sighed in relief, "Well okay, that sounds alright. Might as well stick around to watch, should be fun. Got any popcorn?"

Sona shook her head and Sera pouted again before watching the fight.

Even though it was supposed to be a friendly spar, Sera could see that the White Dragon Emperor was getting more and more frustrated. What was his name again? Mali? Vael? Wait it was Vali! Serafall still didn't know the extent of Issei's powers but Vali just couldn't land a hit.

Vali let out an angered shout and attacked without hesitation, a flurry of strikes coming out with serious intent but Issei just weaved out of the way stepping back in a wide circle leading Vali away. As Vali slowed briefly to catch his breath, Issei placed a hand on Vali's chest and simply pushed Vali away.

Serafall chuckled, that had to be annoying; pushed away like a bothersome kid. Sure enough, Sera could see Vali's face get red with anger as he cried out,

"Enough of this!"

Divine Dividing sprouted from his back, Vali readied himself to attack and then several things happened at once. Tiamat let out an annoyed huff and prepared to jump in, Azazel dropped his bowl of popcorn and tensed, Serafall moved protectively in front of Sona and Garp merely laughed.

For his part, Issei blurred out of sight before appearing above Vali and delivered a vicious kick that sent Vali sprawling. Issei growled out angrily,

"What's wrong? Is your word so easily broken? You said this would be a normal fight, no Sacred Gears but when it gets too much for you to handle you lose it? And you were talking all that good shit at the start, going on and on about how I lack pride because I don't want to fight you to the death."

Vali groaned and sat up but didn't answer, looking sullenly up at Issei who continued,

"Well then where's your pride huh? You seemed so sure of your victory and yet couldn't land a hit. I can sense your power; you have deep magical reserves but you didn't use it. Devil magic isn't a part of Albion so you could've used that, it would've made the fight more even."

Vali looked to the side, "It's not that simple. I dislike using power that isn't Albion's. I take great pride in being the White Dragon Emperor and I assumed you were similar yet you used a power clearly not related to Ddraig in anyway. Do you doubt the power of dragons?"

Issei tsked, "Ddraig is my friend and I am proud to be his host but that doesn't mean that I won't use every advantage I have. It's not a lack of pride that made me use my Haki, it was common sense. You think it would've been fair to fight a normal human while being part Devil?"

Vali got to his feet, "Whatever, it seems we won't agree on this matter. I shall take my leave, next time we meet, one of us will die Red Dragon Emperor."

Issei rolled his eyes, "And there is more proof that you lack pride. Why on Earth would you care about continuing this silly feud? I asked Ddraig and he said he can't even remember why their fight started anymore. I understand that you take pride in being the White One but where is your pride in yourself? What do you want to do? Is settling a millennia old rivalry really the sum of your ambition?

"No, I refuse to let my destiny be decided for me; the only one who decides when I die is me!"

A shocked silence filled the school yard before Garp's laughter filled it,

"You tell him Ise! You've inherited the Will, I'm so proud of you!"

Azazel took this as his moment to step forward, "I apologise to everybody here for the ruckus Vali caused. He was grounded at the Grigori and I guess he took exception to that. I shall discipline him properly."

He cast a curious look at Issei, "I would like to talk with you in the future though. I'm something of a scientist and this 'Haki' fascinates me. Would you mind?"

Issei shrugged, "I don't mind, I've not tried to keep it a secret but nobody asked. Just do it on the weekend, I do have school."

At Issei's words Rias, Sona and Raynare all slapped their foreheads in exasperation. It would've been that easy? Well it was obvious Issei wasn't ever going to be a politician.

Azazel blinked before laughing, "Well there you go. All right then, I'll swing by this weekend for a chat and I'll leave Vali at the Grigori. After breaking my trust like this, I'll have to keep a closer eye on him. Ciao!"

Azazel and Vali left in a magical flash and Serafall walked over to Tiamat, "Why did you let this happen? You were supposed to prevent things like this from happening."

Tiamat looked supremely unconcerned, "They both gave their word to keep things contained and it would be better to get this done now where I can see them rather than turn Vali away, causing Vali to return at a later time and fighting unsupervised. Besides, I was curious to see how it would go, both of them have large amounts of power already with the potential to grow even further."

Serafall had to admit grudgingly that Tiamat had a point before another crossed her mind. A sly smile crossed her face as she said, "Grow further? Tia were you feeling thirsty?"

Tiamat blinked completely missing the innuendo, "Well it is a little warm. I suppose I have worked up a bit of thirst."

Serafall giggled, "Really? Looking to slake that here? How daring of you."

"What?"

"I generally like my drinks aged past a certain date but I guess freshly squeezed is just as refreshing. Yes, I think I could agree with you on this." Serafall ended that sentence while glancing at Issei.

At that point Tiamat caught on to what Serafall was trying to say, "How typical, I'm not going to entertain you with a response. Don't you have work to do?"

Serafall hung her head in defeat, "Yeah I guess now all the excitement is over I have to go back."

She skipped over to Issei giving him a quick hug, "Nice work there Issei, would you mind if I came over on the weekend to? I have lots of questions for you!"

Issei shrugged, "Sure I don't mind. Besides, I'd rather see your pretty face than Azazel's."

Issei ruffled Serafall's hair before walking over to Kuroka and Garp. For her part, Serafall wasn't used to being the one teased and her face had gotten a little red. One look at Sona and Serafall quickly left for her office, she really didn't want to give her sister any more ammo to use against her.

xXx

Jeanne knew better than to think that she had escaped the notice of the more powerful players who had watched Issei's fight but seeing as nobody had confronted her, Jeanne took it in stride. At least with the fight over the only people present who could defeat her would be the Dragon King, Issei and probably his grandpa. Kuroka was a wild card but the Devil heiresses weren't worth her interest.

What was interesting though was the fight she had just watched and recorded on her phone. She'd already sent it off to Cao Cao along with the message that Issei would be meeting Azazel and Serafall on the weekend and she was waiting on a response. Jeanne had always been excitable and even now she wanted to run up to Issei and pelt him with questions but the Devils were still around and it wouldn't be smart to advertise her presence like that.

Her phone vibrated in her hands and butterflies filled her stomach as she read the text. Knowing that she needed to speak to Issei but to do so in private she counted on Issei's uncanny ability to sense people's locations and hid in the boy's toilets near his class room.

It was a short five minutes later when Issei walked in and gave her an amused look, "So do you normally hang out in here or what?"

"Har har. I just wanted to tell you that Cao Cao has come to a decision and wants to talk to you. He knows you're talking to Azazel and Serafall on the weekend and he wants to talk before that happens."

Issei rubbed his chin in thought, "Well so long as he doesn't go all 'let's fight so I can gauge your threat level' again that's fine. I'm only a threat to people who threaten me."

Jeanne grinned, "Well can I ask for a fight instead? I've been wanting to see what you can do."

Issei quirked an eyebrow, "Ask me again after the talk with Cao Cao. Tell him we can talk Friday after school."

xXx

Kokabiel knew that his fellow Fallen mostly viewed him with distaste. His love for fighting set him apart from the generally peace loving fools but he was far from some rabid dog. He knew that the more he knew about a target the easier the fight would be, it was a lesson that served him well during the Great War. A fight between opposing sides was half mental as well as physical.

It was why he had developed the whole 'send the family a finger' thing. Oh to be sure, there were far more nuanced and subtle forms of psychological warfare but he had always considered the simple ways to be most effective; it was also generally more fun.

Kokabiel knew that to start a new Great War he needed to do something drastic, kidnapping the Agares girl had made headlines across the Underworld but no one was talking about reigniting the hostilities, not even the girl's own family. He thought that said quite a lot about Devil politics and just how valued familial ties were seen among them but there were always exceptions to any rule.

Sirzechs Lucifer and Serafall Leviathan were his best bet at making the Devils do something rash. He knew that both were infamously siscons but when it came right down to it, Serafall was slightly more rational in the long run. Not by a lot but enough to sway Kokabiel's mind; it would be easier to target only one of the younger sisters and Rias' dead body would break Sirzechs. It guaranteed a path littered with bodies destroyed with the Power of Destruction.

Now all he had to do was set a trap layered within a trap. Separate the sisters and ensure that all eyes were on the Sitri heir while he struck at the Gremory one.

He smirked and he was sorely tempted to find one of those vapid Fallen girls that were oh so desperate for power and recognition to celebrate the beginnings of his master plan but stopped when he remembered that one was at the Academy and the blue haired one was at the Grigori.

'Oh well, there will be plenty of time for celebration once the deed is done.'

xXx

Jeanne was almost ready to walk over to Cao Cao and poke him until he stopped the little staring contest he'd started with Issei and finally explained why this talk was happening. She, like all the others had heard what Issei had said last time, about how the Hero Faction could be so much more than it currently was.

Jeanne wasn't sure how her friends felt about it but she agreed with Issei. Her teachings from the Church were still a major part of herself, she just didn't like its lifestyle. She hadn't needed a reason to help people, what did it matter if she was carrying the Spirit of Joan of Arc? Cao Cao had offered her a place with the Heroes after the Church showed just how forgiving it was after it abandoned her in order to preserve the peace with the vampire clans in Romania.

All Jeanne had wanted to do was free the villages enslaved by those bloodsuckers but the Cardinals had said something about treaties and agreements and left her surrounded before Cao Cao had swept in and saved her.

This had earned him her loyalty and she did believe in showing the strength of humanity but somewhere along the way, the idea that she should save as well as fight had seeped in and the possibility of a new direction for the Heroes had her attention.

Finally Cao Cao cleared his throat and sat forward in his armchair, "It seems you had an interesting encounter with Vali. What did you think about your counterpart?"

Issei shrugged, "He seems like he has a lot to prove. Or he could just be a battle maniac. I will admit I am curious to know his true strength but as I said to Vali, I don't care enough about some ancient feud to kill someone who hasn't wronged me personally."

Cao Cao leaned back in his chair, "Fair enough. Now, let's get right to it shall we? You had some very valid points last time and I spent a good amount of time thinking them over.

"I agree that simply fighting nonstop isn't the way to protect our fellow man. That is why I decided to set up something akin to a safe haven for humans. Somewhere on Earth on neutral territory where Sacred Gear users can live in peace without fear of being poached by the supernatural factions.

"The biggest problem with that though is it would also become a massive target. I would either need to ally the Hero Faction with something truly powerful or risk having everyone who follows me die, either in a massive battle or continual raids by various enemies seeking to bolster their own strength. So what do you think of this?"

Jeanne could scarcely believe her ears. This was perfect! A more noble calling she couldn't foresee. Issei seemed to agree judging by the grin on his face,

"That's an excellent idea Cao Cao! A place for people who are confused and frightened by their new powers appearing out of nowhere, a place where they can get the answers to their questions in peace.

"It's a suggestion I can fully support so long as the ideals remain the same. It would be too easy to turn this place into some kind of training camp, turning people into soldiers to fight the supernatural. Now I realise that what you said about being a target is true and you'll need fighters but it should always be their decision.

"But as I said, I support this idea. I won't join your faction; I have high school to finish and I don't have any ideas about where or how to set this thing up but you can consider me your friend."

Cao Cao smiled and got to his feet holding out his hand, "I'm glad we could work this out Issei."

Issei also stood up and shook Cao Cao's hand, "Like I said, I'm not sure on any of the specifics but maybe your friends do? I'm willing to lend a hand with building or defending this place. Thought of a name yet?"

Cao Cao smirked, "Do you like the sound of Sanctuary? It's something Siegfried mentioned, apparently it is the term used in a video game as the homeland for humans. It was hidden away from the eyes of Angels and Demons, designed to be a place of peace. Obviously that didn't last but I like the idea behind the name."

Issei nodded, "Not bad, what about you guys?"

He had turned to the core members of the Hero Faction getting nods from most of them and excited twitching from Jeanne. Georg stepped forward,

"Cao Cao, if you are serious about this than I can contact the Grey Wizards. Mephisto Pheles is a liberalist with his thoughts and I'm fairly confidant he would support us. I know you dislike Devils but the Grey Wizards are mostly human, or we could contact the Golden Dawn. It's relatively new so it doesn't have the same resources but are entirely human."

The following conversation continued well into the night with everyone making some kind of contribution and before Jeanne knew it, it was midnight and Issei was getting ready to leave. She was all set to demand a spar but he turned and gave her smile,

"Don't worry Jeanne, we can spar another day. I'm looking forward to seeing how good you are."

xXx

Azazel knew quite a lot of things. He knew that Sacred Gears had a higher chance of appearing in descendants of great heroes and generally stayed in the same areas on the planet. He also knew the components of western magic which most Angels didn't bother learning and incorporated into his Downfall Dragon Spear.

He had spent centuries studying a myriad of different subjects and considered himself one of the smarter people alive along with Ajuka Beelzebub.

This was also why he was so initially surprised when he heard Garp was from an alternate reality. It should've been obvious, there wouldn't have been a paper trail for Garp but Azazel had focused on learning more about Issei and ignored the old man much to his personal annoyance.

Serafall didn't seem to care one whit though, she merely laughed before pelting Garp with questions. Nothing pertinent about Haki or how Garp had gotten here, no she was focused almost entirely on what foods they had and why pirates were so popular.

Seizing a break in her questions Azazel jumped in with a question of his own, "Garp, if you don't mind could you give a brief overview of Haki?"

Garp finished off his third bag of rice crackers and said, "Sure, there are three forms. Observation which gives you a sort of sixth sense. Armament with makes attacks more potent and Conqueror's which lets you overpower other people's wills. You have to be born with Conqueror's but anyone can learn to use the other two."

"Would you be willing to teach some of my people?"

Garp stuck a finger in his ear and wasn't that a little gross; he hadn't washed his hands, and said, "Eh, I can't be bothered. Besides, I have a sneaking suspicion that I will be going back to my world at some point and if that happens than Issei can turn Haki into a family set of techniques. A last gift if you will."

Disappointed but not surprised, Azazel sat back and drank some more of his tea. Serafall took her turn,

"Garp, back at the fight with Vali you said something about inheriting the Will. What did you mean?"

Garp laughed, "Ah that, well in my world there is something called the Will of D. The D is an initial used in someone's name like mine, Monkey D Garp. Will carriers are rare and it's typically generational, my son is Monkey D Dragon and my grandson is Monkey D Luffy.

"There is a lot of debate of what the D stands for. My old friends and rivals Gol D Roger and Whitebeard knew, I'm certain but they didn't tell me. I personally think that it means Death, that we shape our own paths and decide when we die, that we don't fear death. My other grandson, Portgas D Ace, died with a smile on his face which is true for Roger, Jaguar D Saul and Ace's mother Rouge.

"I've heard arguments for Destiny, Danger, Demon and Determined. It's one of my world's biggest mysteries and it seems that Issei inherited my Will just like the rest of my family."

Azazel looked at Issei who clearly hadn't heard this before. The kid was surprised but taking it rather well, it's not every day that you hear a pseudo prophecy from another world. Issei smirked,

"Does this mean I'm now Issei D Hyoudou?"

Garp laughed again, clapping Issei on the back and inadvertently knocking his grandson off the couch, "Sure does Ise. One thing is for sure, where ever a carrier of the Will of D goes, a storm is sure to follow."

Serafall laughed, "That sounds cool and mysterious. I wanna be a D to! Hey Issei, come here and give me a D!"

That made Azazel raise an eyebrow, did she just? Ah yes she did and judging by the smirk on Kuroka's face she'd caught it to. It wasn't the blatant innuendo, a child could see through that, no it was almost certain that Leviathan was at least interested in testing Issei for a ride or two.

Bless his soul, Issei had seemingly only caught the innuendo and given Serafall a deadpanned expression, "I think you might want to re-examine that last sentence Sera. Unless you actually do want to, you have to clear it with Kuroka."

Ah, seems like Issei wasn't as clueless as it seemed. Still this had been a fun day and a lot of questions answered. It would've been nice if Garp had agreed to teach Haki but Azazel hadn't really expected it to happen.

Azazel got to his feet, "Well it's been fun guys. Issei, Garp thank you for having me. Once again I'm sorry for Vali. That boy, well its complicated but at least it was kept at a reasonable level. I got my answers but I think Raynare likes going to school here so if she wants, she can stay. Until next time."

As the magical circle whisked him away, the last thing Azazel saw was Serafall approaching Kuroka with a sly look on her face.

xXx

The club room for the Occult Research Club was filled with people and a tense atmosphere. Rias, Sona, their Peerages along with Tiamat, Serafall and Sirzechs were looking at the box that had just been magically delivered to the front gates of the academy.

Sirzechs sighed, "I know I'm getting repetitive here but I just want to be absolutely certain. The letter stipulates either Rias or Sona along with one companion will use the box to magically teleport to where Seekavaira is being held and drop off the ransom. But the companion can only be someone with little to no magical power. And the exchange has to happen in the next three hours otherwise Seekavaira is killed correct?"

Tiamat nodded, "It's clearly a trap for whoever gets sent. Limiting their companion to someone with little magical power? It has to be a human or particularly weak Devil. Fat lot of good that will do if it comes to a fight."

Serafall frowned, "Is there anyway of fooling this box? Disguise myself as Sona instead?"

Sirzechs ground his teeth, "No, the magical circle in the box is clearly marked with the names Sona Sitri or Rias Gremory. Even if you changed your name it wouldn't work, there is an overall magical limit on the teleportation circle. Only a high class Devil or weaker could use it."

Tiamat looked at them both, "So the only questions left are; which heiress goes and who is the companion?"

Sona stepped forward, "I believe I am better suited for this task. Rias, I mean no disrespect but you are easily manipulated through your emotions. I believe I can keep a calm head during negotiations and I suggest Issei Hyoudou. He has no magical power to speak off and he has Haki, a power that we still don't know how to counter."

It was a mark of the seriousness of the situation that Serafall didn't bother with her siscon tendencies. She had also reached that same conclusion but she didn't like it. Instead she stepped in front of her younger sister,

"Sona, are you sure you want to do this? I know she is your friend but the Agares family are already selecting a new heir. You don't have to go."

Sona kept her face clear of emotion, "I know. The fact is that by going is taking a significant risk but Seek is my friend. She, Rias and I played together as girls and she was the first person to encourage me with my dream. I'd like to think that Seek would be willing to take the same risks were I in her position. Besides," Sona pushed up her glasses and gained a slightly mischievous expression, "Issei has a poor view of Devils through his experience with Kuroka's treatment and the Old Satan Faction. Perhaps if he sees that not all of us are corrupt or power hungry he might be more inclined to join my Peerage."

Serafall sighed, "You're putting too much thought into this. Issei doesn't want to be a Devil plain and simple. Still, I can see that you still want to help your friend so I won't stop you but I am putting a locator spell on you."

Tiamat took that moment to say, "Well that's all well and good but shouldn't we make sure Issei is willing to help us first?"

A quick magical call to Kuroka and ten minutes later Issei appeared with Garp and Kuroka in tow. He was willing to help out but also stressed that it was almost certainly a trap. Kuroka had given them both a senjutsu powered teleportation circle of her own so if they need to get out quick or get back up than they could.

The time finally came when Issei and Sona would need to depart. They stood on either side of the box, a hand resting on top with Issei holding the bag of money. There was a flash and then they were gone.

Serafall had turned, already using her magic to conjure an image of the Earth and the Underworld in an effort to find Sona as quickly as possible so she missed what happened next.

The box had been replaced with a large glass canister filled with water. Water that made every Devil present shiver in fear before the canister exploded, sending its Holy contents in every direction.

Sirzechs reacted quickly, creating walls of magic to contain the water before it hit anyone; teleporting himself and the holy water away.

At the same time Serafall found Sona and grabbed Kuroka, activating the senjutsu circle. She needed to protect Sona and her newly acquired boy toy.

An instant later, with both Satans out of the area, a magical barrier was placed around the academy. One similar to the one used by the Old Satan Faction, preventing teleportation and powered by Ophis.

Garp, Tiamat, Rias and the Peerage members left raced outside only to stop when they caught sight of who they were facing. A bored looking Asian man with serpentine features and a Fallen Angel with five pairs of wings.

Tiamat tensed when she saw the man, "Nidhogger! How? You're dead!"

Nidhogger laughed, "You can thank Rizevim for my appearance. Oh, and I'm only here for you Tiamat. I will make you submit and make you my women."

Kokabiel drifted closer through the air, "I'm here to kill Rias Gremory. Once that's done, the War will begin again although I guess I can take the half breed; I need a new pet."

Garp took a step towards the two, the sound somehow echoing around the area, "Tiamat, can you handle Nidhogger? I'll deal with this piece of filth myself. Kids, stay back and protect yourselves."

Rias crossed her arms, "With all due respect Mr Garp, we should protect you, after all you are huma-"

She was cut off by Garp vanishing from view, punching Kokabiel so hard in the face that the imprint of his fist was left on Kokabiel's cheek, Kokabiel sent flying backwards into the main school building before Garp reappeared in front of Rias and the other students.

"Red, if there is one thing I hate more than anything else, it's a monster who preys on children. Don't get in my way."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N: So yeah, my life has been in a rough patch lately and as a consequence my mental state degraded. It just became a major hassle to do anything productive. I won't go into it but I have been feeling better lately so hopefully more chapters will come out at a higher pace.

What did you think of the latest developments? Yeah the fight at the start with Vali was a little lame but with Tiamat at the school as peacekeeper, Vali would have to go through her first. That's not even mentioning Ophis not wanting Ddraigs current host to die. So I had to make Vali limit himself and by keeping them both from using their Sacred Gears, there's just no chance for Vali to win.

Let me know your thoughts and sorry for the long, long wait.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter