A/N: *L's Theme plays aggressively*

The rest of the week was fairly uneventful for Issei...is what Issei would have preferred to be the case, though, unfortunately, it wasn't. Friday afternoon after school, Michael returned to his residence with more...less than fortunate news.

{Flashback}

Ding Dong

"Issei, are you expecting anyone?" Miki called to her son, walking to the door.

"No!" Issei yelled back.

The Hyoudou matriarch opened the door to reveal Michael standing there with a look of tension. "Hello, Mrs. Hyoudou. May I see Issei? It's rather urgent."

"Of course, Michael. And please, I keep telling you to call me Miki. We've known each other for years now."

"Of course, my apologies," he nodded, entering the house. "He's upstairs I presume?"

"In his room, yes," she nodded. "Knock first."

Unfortunately for Michael, that last part didn't quite register for him as he quickly headed upstairs and opened his door. "Issei, this is an-what are you doing?"

"Uh, nothing!" Issei quickly hid the materials that covered his desk. "What are you doing here? Also, why didn't you think to tell me that devils owned this territory! That's kind of important for maintaining peace!"

"I knew I forgot some-don't change the subject!" Michael shook his head. "Move."

"No, wait!" Issei protested but was shoved over by the hurried Michael to reveal his desk...which was covered in every document, book, passage, and article ever written about Gabriel. "I...uh...I can explain!"

"Is father alright with this?" he asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Er...he's asleep…"

"Of course he is. I don't really have time to deal with your obsession with my sister nor do I have time to yell at you for going to see her without telling me. Put all of this away and wake up father, this is important."

"Right!" Issei nodded, quickly recognizing his serious tone. Issei put away all his definitely not yandere-esque research and shook Yahweh up. Well, mentally shook him awake. More accurately permanently scarred him forever. 'Uncle Yahweh, quick! Someone is trying to do lewd things to Gabriel!'

"THEY'RE TRYING TO DO WHAT?" Yahweh roared from within Issei. "GET READY, ISSEI. WE'RE GOING BEYOND BALANCE-...Why are we in your room?"

"Sorry, Michael said it was an emergency and I knew nothing could get you in a serious mood quicker than her safety."

"That was cold, brat... Don't do that again…"

"Alright, you two, stop arguing and listen up," Michael insisted. "Two more Excalibur fragments were reported missing; Nightmare and Transparency. We also have more concrete information-"

"THIS. THIS RIGHT HERE IS WHY I SAID GIVE THE SWORD TO EXORCISTS!" Issei shouted. "Alright, continue...sorry…"

"As I was saying...we have more concrete information on who took them as well. It was a Fallen Angel, though we don't know which one exactly. What we do know is that he's heading here with them. To Kuoh."

"Ok...ok...calm down, Issei… Archangel Michael did not just tell you that a Fallen Angel is coming to your town with three stolen fragments of Excalibur to possibly create everlasting damage to the entire world…"

"Actually-"

"I'M AWARE!" he yelled. "Ok...I need to think about this rationally. Start from the beginning. What is it...EXACTLY...that led you to the conclusion that, not only was it a Fallen Angel in all three incidents, but that they're coming here with them?"

"Well, first off there were multiple eyewitnesses in the latest theft of Transparency," Michael started.

"Oh, the irony!" Yahweh chuckled.

"This is really not the time…" Issei groaned.

"So that confirms it as a Fallen Angel."

"Just one?" Issei asked, getting a nod in response. "Alright, and we don't know exactly who it was, but I think I can narrow it down. Give me a minute."

"Well, I suppose I was wrong. Looks like there really was a reason for keeping that old thing," Yahweh mused.

"What exactly is he looking for?" Michael asked.

"Just an old list of all high-ranking members of the Angels and the Fallen Angels."

"Where did he…"

"I showed him some of my stuff," Yahweh shrugged. "What, don't look at me-er-him like that. Of course I kept records. I was God, after all."

"And you never thought to tell me about that? Wait, is that thing even up-to-date?"

"In my defense, I did die, and of course it is! Do you think I had time to keep track of everyone by hand? No, it's connected to my system. Every time one of them disappears from the system, their name is crossed out. Every time an Angel falls, it switches to the Fallen category. From there, they are listed alphabetically by wing count."

"That seems...really convenient," Michael said, still rather surprised.

"Once again, I was God. How do you think I was so good at my job? Magic is a really useful tool, Michael. You should use it more often."

Michael actually looked a bit embarrassed by that, but Issei finally found what he was looking for. "Here it is!"

"So, how exactly is this going to help?"

"Well," Issei began, opening the book to the Fallen Angel section. "I need you to give me every detail possible about the Fallen Angel. Nothing would help more than a wing count, but physical description, personality description, or style of attack could help a little bit."

"Right. He was confirmed to have five pairs of wings, but that's all the report said. It gave no other physical descriptions at all. That's why we're not sure. That could be any of the Cadre," Michael sighed.

"Not necessarily," Issei shook his head, flipping to the five-winged section. "Remember, we have Yahweh here. Now there are ten listed as five-winged Fallen Angels here and too many crossed out than I'd bother to count, though being crossed out, they're assumed to be deceased and thus not suspects. In order alphabetically, the list is Amaros, Baraqiel, Harut, Moloch, Kokabiel, Penemue, Sahariel, Satanael, Shemhazai, and Tamiel. Firstly, Michael, are there any names here you do not recognize?"

"Uh, well, I guess Harut and Moloch?" Michael answered. "I mean, I know them, but they aren't part of the Grigori."

"Good. We can take those away."

"Issei, don't you think you're jumping to conclusions a bit too fast? Wouldn't them not being aligned with the Grigori make them more suspicious?" Yahweh asked.

"No, you're thinking too small. While yes, it is theoretically possible that one of those two stole the pieces of Excalibur of their own volition, we need to think rationally and following a train of logic that would be reasonable. Someone has to go out of their way to steal one Excalibur. They are in high-level seals and relatively well guarded. It's not necessarily the easiest thing in the world to take one and it certainly comes with risk. This person took three of them. Tell me, who is capable of wielding three swords at once? Pretty much no one except that one guy from Naruto. That comes to suggest that there is an ulterior motive than what we initially suspected, which was a thief looking for fame, glory, and/or power."

"I'm following," Michael nodded.

"Good. Now, we know that someone not aligned with the Grigori is unlikely to be accepted by another faction, therefore if it were one of those two, they would be aligned with a terrorist group, because, as we've established, it's exceedingly unlikely that this was done by someone working on their own. That could mean that they are part of a terrorist group, but they tend to move differently. When groups like that make their moves, you either never know about it, or everyone knows about it. Getting seen and leaving evidence like that isn't like a terrorist group that would be strong enough to house a five-winged Fallen Angel with a plan that involved the Excalibur fragments. If a terrorist group was capable of something like this, they'd make a massive show of it so everyone knew it was them, not some tiny hint like this. Now, that leaves us with eight members. All of these are aligned with the Grigori?"

"Yes, they're all part of the Cadre, which is the governing body of the Fallen Angels, sort of like the Four Great Seraphim of Heaven," Michael explained.

"Now, we simply go down the list of who we know is likely or unlikely to be able to pull something like this off. As we know, Azazel is a peace advocate, therefore, it is likely that his second-in-command is as well. No leader chooses a right hand that disagrees with their main goal, they choose one who is either an echo chamber, in the case of a foolish leader, or one who has the same goal with different ways of going about it. Michael, who is second-in-command of the Fallen Angels?"

"Azazel is the Governor-General, seconded by Shemhazai, the Vice Governor-General. After that, it would be Baraqiel I believe."

"So, that leaves us with seven names left; Amaros, Baraqiel, Kokabiel, Penemue, Sahariel, Satanael, and Tamiel. Going down the list, what do you know about Amaros? Either of you, Yahweh or Michael."

"He was a big fan of Azazel. Practically worshipped the ground he walked on, more so than me," Yahweh said.

"Perfect. Azazel wants no business in conflict. The Grigori stealing Excalibur would undoubtedly start another great war, so it's reasonable to say Amaros is off the list. Baraqiel."

"He lost his wife and daughter around ten years ago if my memory serves correctly. Since then, he's been distant from what Azazel told me."

"You're in contact with Azazel?" Issei asked. "Why didn't you say that earlier?"

"Not really, no. We do speak occasionally, we are siblings after all, but in regards to our factions, it's rare."

"Idiots…" Issei mumbled. "Alright. Just to clarify before I move on, was it or was it not the Angels that killed Baraqiel's family? Whether by your order or not, is there some possible connection between that incident and the faction of Heaven?"

"None."

"Thank God," Issei sighed, mentally crossing off Baraqiel's name as well. "Kokabiel next."

"Yeah...nothing good to say about that guy. He LOVED war. Always laughing on the battlefield, hungering for stronger opponents. The guy was insane."

"Once again, something you should have said earlier. Ok, as of now, he's our main suspect. Next is Penemue…" The three continued going down the list until all suspects had been exhausted of all information. "So, as of now we have suspicions of Kokabiel and Satanael. Kokabiel has a motive, being that he loves conflict and nothing says conflict like a war, he has the attitude, and he has the ability to get followers. Satanael we simply have no way to clear suspicion of. I think it's obviously Kokabiel."

"That's great and all, but that doesn't necessarily help us solve the issue," Michael pointed out.

"I'm not done yet. Now, we know who did it, we reason out why he did it. This is simply a matter of using logical reasoning and risk vs reward analysis to come up with hypotheses on his reasoning and we pick from those which is the most likely and proceed based on that, so long as it wouldn't negatively impact any of our other theories in case one of those happened to be correct. Now, think. A Fallen Angel Cadre steals three fragments of Excalibur from the church. Why?" Issei closes his eyes and thinks for several minutes. "I think this is lining up nicely. Before I finish that thought though, how do you know Kokabiel, or I suppose I should say 'our suspect,' is going to Kuoh?"

"We were able to track his destination with the swords to Japan. Japan is largely a devil-owned area, so we used every available resource to locate any other Fallen Angels in the region and the only signatures we were able to get were found here."

"That's...surprisingly good deductive reasoning. If he told you or dropped a note we might have to rethink this whole thing, but I'd say I've got a pretty good theory. It's not necessarily a good thing, but I think it's accurate."

"Well? Are you going to tell us or are you going to leave us in suspense while you go to a commercial break like those anime you watch?"

"I'm touched that you paid attention for once," Issei said sarcastically. "But no. Alright. Remember, this is all just conjecture made off probability, logical reasoning, and assumptions made from not necessarily reliable sources."

"That doesn't sound reassuring…" Michael pointed out, sounding relatively worried.

"It doesn't need to. I think you'll agree with me. Anyway, here it is. Kokabiel is a combat-loving warmonger. He wants and craves conflict, right? So, it stands to reason that he and Azazel do not get along. Since Shemhazai is in agreement with Azazel, Kokabiel is now stuck in peace. Since he cannot convince the leadership to go back to war, he'd need to wait for one of the other factions to initiate the conflict. That hasn't happened yet, so now it's up to him to reignite the war. He steals the Excalibur Fragments, powerful weapons revered by the church. What does he want to do with them? He wants it known that the Fallen Angels stole them, so he 'hinted' that it was them by making himself seen. This makes the Angel faction aggressive towards the Fallen Angel faction. It was a member of the Cadre, so us believing that it wasn't done under the leadership's knowledge isn't something we'd necessarily be willing to accept and move on with. It would be different if a low or mid-class Fallen Angel stole one fragment seeking glory, but no. This is a Cadre stealing three. Kokabiel knows we couldn't overlook that, so we'd now be forced into conflict with the Fallen Angels. With that conflict set up, he takes the swords to Kuoh. A known devil territory, thanks for telling me that by the way, and home to Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri. Two pure-blooded heiresses of surviving pillar families. What next? He kills them with the holy swords. Murdering the two devil heiresses in devil territory will enrage the devils, forcing them to retaliate against the Fallen Angels, but not just them, they would also retaliate against us. We failed to protect such powerful weapons, ergo, whether we committed the murders or not, we were indirectly responsible. Holy weapons of that caliber are extremely effective at killing devils. Now the devils and the Angels are angry at the Fallen Angels, the Fallen Angels are forced into combat with the attacking parties, and the Angels are defending themselves against the devils while attacking the Fallen Angels, which reignites the three-way war and frees Kokabiel from punishment, as Azazel will be unable to get rid of one of his strongest warriors in a time of war."

"You know, sometimes I think you're secretly a genius and just act dumb all the time," Michael chuckled. "I can get behind your theory in full. What you might not have known is that Sirzechs Lucifer is Rias Gremory's brother and is known for being...overprotective...of her. Serafall Leviathan is Sona Sitri's sister and is even more protective. Them dying would set those two on a rampage that would leave this world in ruin."

"Two of the four Demon Lords are siscons…?" Issei deadpanned. "You have got to be kidding me…"

"No…" Michael shook his head.

"I disappear for a few thousand years and this whole world falls apart…" Yahweh grumbled.

"Now comes the next question. What do we do about this?" Issei asked. "Can't you-"

"No, Issei. Fighting Kokabiel is just as dangerous. A Seraphim fighting a Cadre on devil territory is just as likely if not more likely to start a war. This is an extremely delicate situation. I'll go back and run your theory by Lord Raguel and the rest of the Seraphim and get back to you by Sunday."

"You'd better hurry. I have a bad feeling about all this."

"Thank you so much for all your help."

"Just don't forget," Issei said before he left. "Once this is all over, I'm making myself known to Heaven."

"I understand," Michael nodded, before teleporting out.

"What kind of a mess have we gotten into now…" Issei groaned.

{Flashback End}

It was now Saturday afternoon and Issei was preparing to leave for his date with Yuuma.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Yahweh questioned.

'Absolutely. Besides, even if I wasn't sure, it's too late now. Me not showing up would just give her more of a reason to hurt me. The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting, -'

"Sun Tzu, The Art of War. I know. You really are obsessed with that guy."

'You're the one who told me to study great leaders. He's my personal favorite.'

"The master of all things war is the favorite leader of peace-loving Issei Hyoudou?"

'I'm aware of the irony…' Issei finished dressing and prepared to set off.

"Off to your date, honey?" Miki asked him.

"Yep," he nodded.

"Ok, just be careful, ok? And make absolutely sure you stay safe and come back home. Call us when you're on your way back and don't be too late! Make sure you use protection if the two of you-"

"MOM!" Issei shouted, blushing. "I'll be fine! Please stop!"

"I might need to get a calculator for all these sin points you're racking up...running out of room in here…"

'You be quiet!'

"Make sure she's a keeper Issei! Don't start on those grandchildren too soon, got it?" Gorou added, ruffling his son's hair. "Now go make your dad proud and spread the family name!"

"You are both so inappropriate…" Issei groaned. "I'm leaving now. Goodbye."

"Bye, Issei~!" they both waved as he left.

"Ah, young love," Miki sighed.

{Line Break}

Issei and Yuuma planned to meet downtown near the shopping area for their date and Issei had just arrived at the corner. 'Good, right on time,' Issei thought to himself.

He stood there for a few minutes just casually waiting for her arrival when someone carrying fliers came up to him. She was a fairly tall woman with a bat-like outfit and lots of makeup. "Make your wish come true!" she said, handing him a flier.

Issei inspected the flier, which held a magic circle and the text 'Make a contract with a devil and make your wish come true!' On the back was a series of instructions on how to use the contract, the accepted payments, and some rules and regulations for the wishes, such as no wishing for sexual favors, harming innocents, etc.

'Hmm...I'll have to ask Rias about this…' Issei thought to himself as he put the flier in his pocket.

"Issei!" called a feminine voice running up to him. "Issei! I'm here!"

"There you are, Yuuma! I was beginning to think you didn't want to see me," he teased.

"Of course I did!" she blushed slightly. "You haven't been waiting too long, have you?"

"Not long at all, just a few minutes," he replied, holding out his hand. "What are you waiting for? Let's go!"

"Ok!" she smiled, taking his hand and laughing as he pulled her along with him. "Where are we going?"

"Well, what better first date than going shopping? You get to get a bunch of stuff, I get to pay for it for some reason, and we can talk," Issei grinned, pulling her so she was next to him and keeping pace. "Where do you want to go first?"

"Oh, I really don't know...um...how about over there?" she suggested, gesturing to a clothing store.

"Sounds good to me!" Issei smiled and held her hand as the two walked towards the store.

The two chatted amicably while they walked over and, as it turned out, Yuuma was quite the fan of fashion. Her eyes lit up the whole time she was picking out clothes while Issei chuckled at her excitement. She put on a mini-fashion show for him, with Issei pretending to be the paparazzi and snapping photos with an imaginary camera while she posed in various outfits. Yuuma tried to insist she pay for everything, but while she was changing into her normal clothes from her final outfit, which she decided she wasn't a fan of, Issei quickly ran over towards the cashier with the 'keep' pile and purchased the stuff.

"Issei!" Yuuma whined when she finally caught up with him just as he was finishing up buying all the clothes. "I told you I was going to pay for everything!"

"Did you? I don't remember you saying that," Issei said, pretending to be confused.

"I'm serious! I wanted to buy those!" she complained, but her smile gave her away.

"I suppose you can pay for them," Issei mused, thanking the cashier and walking out with the bag. "Or, we could go get something to eat while I try to change the subject."

"As long as you let me-"

"Of course, I'll have to buy lunch too," Issei reasoned. "It's only natural, after all. I'm just a lowly peasant attempting to court such a lovely angel!"

'There's no way he could know…' Yuuma thought, panicking slightly. 'Why would he go with me if he knew? It has to be a coincidence...all a coincidence… I just have to finish him off and then I'll be safe from him…'

"I think you're going too far with the hints. She's second guessing herself," Yahweh noted.

'Yeah, you're probably right,' Issei admitted. "Well, come on. You picked the store, so do you want to pick the restaurant or should I?"

"Huh? Oh, right! Well, I picked first so I guess you can pick next," Yuuma replied.

"Alright, let's go!" he grinned and grabbed her hand again.

They spent the rest of the day having fun at various stores and other entertainment areas. Yuuma even teased Issei by offering to go into a lingerie shop which temporarily broke his brain, much to her amusement. By the end of the day, Yuuma requested to go to the park, which Issei was all too happy to oblige. Issei had enjoyed his time immensely with Yuuma, loving every second he spent with the girl and, much to her chagrin, Yuuma loved it too.

'I can do this, I can do this, I can do this,' Yuuma told herself repeatedly, mentally preparing for what she knew she had to do.

"Hey, Yuuma?" Issei said, "Can you do something for me?"

'I can do-wait, that's my line!' Yuuma thought. "What is it, Issei?"

"Sit down and close your eyes," he told her, patting the edge of the fountain that was in the middle of the park. She looked at him hesitantly for a moment before doing as he asked. Issei reached into his pocket and pulled out a box with a necklace he'd gotten while Yuuma had gone to the restroom. He covered it up by saying he forgot something in a different store and that he'd meet up with her later, but was actually buying her a gift. It was a silver-chain necklace with a center ornament that was a small heart with two angel wings coming off of it. As soon as Issei saw it, he knew that Yuuma needed to have it. "Alright, open!"

"What did-" she gasped as she looked and saw the necklace that he held in his hand. "Issei…"

"Can I put it on you?" She didn't reply, just nodded still in shock at the gift. "There. It looks beautiful, Yuuma."

She looked down at it as Issei sat next to her and looked out at the night sky. 'I can do this, I can do this...I can...I can't do this! I can't do this!'

"Yuuma," Issei said softly, pulling her into his arms. "You don't even realize, do you? You're crying."

'I'm...crying…?' she thought in shock, as she reached to touch her face. Sure enough, tears were running down her cheeks, soaking her face.

"Yuuma, what happened to you?" he asked softly as she buried herself into his chest and sobbed. "You don't have to hide from me, you know. I've known the whole time. You're a Fallen Angel. Yuuma is your old name from before you fell, isn't it?"

She pulled back in a mixture of shock and fear. 'How could he…?'

"Shh, it'll be ok, Yuuma," he insisted, pulling her back towards him. "I know that, whatever it is you're trying to convince yourself you can do, that you don't want to. You brought me here tonight to kill me, didn't you?"

Yuuma's heart stopped for a second. She was terrified. "Issei, she's scared. Poor thing is frightened beyond her wits," Yahweh spoke sadly.

"I'm not going anywhere and I'm NOT going to hurt you," Issei spoke confidently. "NO ONE is going to hurt MY Yuuma."

She blushed fiercely but calmed down slightly as she continued to cry. "You sound like a dragon…" Yahweh deadpanned.

"Could you tell me what happened, Yuuma? There's a lot I know and I get the feeling that you want no part of it. I'm really worried for you, but I can't help you if you won't talk to me, ok?" he spoke quietly, stroking her back as he did so. "Do you think you can tell me?"

"Yes…" Yuuma sniffed as she sat back up. "It's...all true...I was told to kill you...I used to be an angel, but, a long time ago, I...I fell... I always admired Azazel as an Angel... So, when he and the rest of the Grigori fell I didn't really know what to do. I wanted to go with him, but I didn't want to fall. I wanted to stay in Heaven with everyone else. One day, I went to visit him and...another fallen tried to take me...to capture me and use me as a toy...so...I killed him. His lover came in and found me over him covered in blood and I panicked and killed her too...afraid of what she would do...it was a needless kill for nothing other than my fear...so I fell... Azazel took me in after I told him that I chose to fall to follow him and I never told anyone about what I did…"

"Yuuma," he whispered, grabbing her in an even tighter hug. "I'm so sorry... I wish you never had to talk about that again…"

"Before you ask, I couldn't forgive her. Not because her actions weren't forgivable, but because to return an angel to grace is a long process initiated by the fallen one. The war started before she got the chance, if she would've taken it anyway. Yuuma is a victim of fear and circumstance. I may not have your detective brain, but I'd be willing to bet that Kokabiel or whoever the mastermind is is blackmailing her with information about her killing those two and she's too afraid of what others will think if they find out. Besides, any Cadre member could kill her easily, high-class or not."

'I know...It's idealistic to expect such a thing...but I'm different than you. I will be idealistic because Yuuma DESERVES forgiveness and I WILL give it to her. No matter what it takes.'

"Yuuma? Do you trust me?"

"What?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Do you trust me?" he repeated, taking one of her hands in his. "I can help you. I just need you to trust me."

"I…" she hesitated. She hadn't trusted anyone in all this time, but by now, what did she have to lose? If he was lying to her, she'd be killed. If she went back to Kokabiel, she'd be killed there too. She was beyond lost. She was-

"Yuuma. There's always time before you've fallen too far."

"I do…" she said softly. "I do trust you…"

"Heavenly Crown," he spoke in a regal tone, releasing his five pairs of shimmering golden wings and his blinding crown that replaced his usual halo, filling the park with holy light as he reinforced the barrier he'd activated while she had her eyes closed.

"What?! What are you doing?" she started to panic but was instantly calmed when Issei pressed his forehead against hers.

"Shh...everything's fine. Just trust me, ok? No matter what, I won't ever hurt you," Issei said, somehow making her feel safer than she'd ever felt before. "Balance Breaker: Chéri tou Theoú."
(Balance Breaker: Hand of God)

An immense holy aura washed over her as Issei shone even brighter than he already was, as his outfit was replaced with one similar to Archangel Michael's. He had gold, armored shoulder plates and holy robes. His shimmering golden wings surrounder her, keeping the two of them in a cocoon of feathers and holy energy. His eyes seemed to glow with soft light, lulling her into a sense of peace and safety. As if, as long as she stayed here, with him, nothing could ever go wrong. Nothing would ever hurt her again.

"Well, this is interesting," God mused.

"I am the Lord thy God, who brought about the rule and righteousness so that the strong should not harm the weak," Issei began to chant as the holy aura started to condense around them. "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. By my name as thy Lord and Holy Father of Heaven, you, Yuuma Amano, are forgiven."

A speechless Yuuma Amano watched as her wings were forced out of her body and the holy aura flooding out from Issei entered her wings, slowly cleansing the black feathers and turning them a feathery, pillowed white. A small white halo began to shine above her head and glowed with holy light. Her plumage began to shimmer in the moonlight as Issei smiled at her. Soon after, though, the power started to overwhelm her. She started to feel dizzy and her body started to ache as if there was a war going on in her soul. Soon after, she collapsed on the ground, her tired body unable to take the foreign sensations any longer.

"Yuuma! Yuuma!" Issei panicked, dropping his Sacred Gear and shaking her, trying to wake her up. "What happened?! Her pulse...it's slowing down! Yahweh! Help me!"

"I told you, Issei. Forgiving an angel isn't that simple. You managed to bypass the system, which is more than a little impressive, but you couldn't fully control it and once you lost control, the system is trying to fight your aura within her body."

"No...no...I can't...I can't do-wait...the deck! I can use the deck!" Issei remembered, reaching into his magic space and pulling out a box filled with 13 extraordinarily powerful playing cards.

"You're not allowed to do that, Issei," Yahweh warned.

"I don't care!" he shot back, pulling out a card. "This is my fault! I was impatient, foolish, overly emotional, and naïve! I know that! Just...just please...let me fix this…"

"Child…" he sighed. "You are all of those things, but above all, you possess the kindest and gentlest soul I have ever seen. All you do is done for the sake of others, all you preach is what you follow, and all you believe you believe is right. Even if I didn't approve of this, I can't stop you, but I do. Go on, Issei. Save the girl. She's earned it."

"Thank you…" he whispered, tears pooling in his eyes. He removed one of the cards and placed it over her chest. "I, Issei Hyoudou, invoke the grace of the Lord, to invite thee among the ranks of Heaven. Join in singing His praises and guard the land in which He made. Become a guardian of Heaven and serve me as my ten; the Ten of Crowns!"

The card began to glow white before sinking into Yuuma's chest and causing her body to glow briefly, a tattoo on the back of her hand appearing briefly, showing the number ten above a shimmering white crown. Her breathing began to return to normal as she slowly but surely opened her eyes and the tattoo vanished from her skin.

"Good job, Issei. I'm proud of you. Today you've learned the lesson many fail to ever learn. A good man makes mistakes. A great man makes mistakes and fixes them. That is something that will never change in the never-ending expanse of time itself," Yahweh praised.

"Issei…?" Yuuma whispered, looking up at Issei who sat next to her prone figure tightly holding her hand. "What...what happened…?"

"What should have happened long ago, Yuuma...what should have happened long ago," he answered, leaning down and kissing her forehead lightly. "Before you fall asleep, who is it that sent you after me?"

"Ko-Kokabiel," she got out as her eyes began to drift closed again.

"I thought as much," he grimaced. "Don't worry, Yuuma. I'll take care of everything. You're safe now. As long as I can do something about it, no one will hurt my Yuuma ever again."

"Issei…" she whispered before succumbing to exhaustion.

"Now," Issei said, lifting her like the delicate angel she was. "Let's get you home."

"Where exactly do you plan on taking her?"

'Where do you think? My place of course.'

"I look forward to you explaining to your parents why you're bringing your unconscious girlfriend back to your house," Yahweh grinned.

'Who's mind is full of lust now, huh?'

It was certainly an...interesting conversation to say the least. Issei got home to a panicking mother from how late he arrived, who panicked even more seeing the unconscious girl in his arms. His father gave him a thumbs up, which embarrassed Issei to no end and got Yahweh laughing uproariously, while his mother grilled him for every detail on exactly what he did to this poor girl. He managed to convince her not to press into Yuuma's personal life story too much, but, after explaining what he did, his mother hit him over the head and then hugged him, saying that even though he was an idiot, that she was extremely proud of him.

{Line Break}

BEEP. BEEP. Ezra 10:4. BEEP. BEEP. Arise, for it is your task, and we are with you; be strong and do it. BEEP BEEP

Yuuma awoke confused. As she opened her eyes, she realized that her surroundings weren't familiar and there was a weird alarm clock that she felt some sort of strange personal hatred for. Quickly destroying it with a light spear, satisfied that at least one issue had been resolved, she set out to figure out where she was and how she had gotten there, as well as why she felt so...different. Come to think of it, why was she in this form? Normally, her Fallen Angel form would come back whenever she was asleep.

Knock knock

A soft knock came on the door outside. "Yuuma? Are you awake? I'm coming in, ok? My eyes are closed," Issei said as he entered his own room with his eyes closed.

"Issei?" she asked, confused. What was he doing here?

"Are you dressed?" he asked.

"Uh...yes…" she blushed. 'We didn't...do anything...did we? Don't tell me Kalawarner rubbed off on me that much…'

"How are you doing?" he asked, sitting beside her and taking her hand in his, rubbing it softly.

"Where am I? And what am I doing here?" she asked him.

"Try to remember. Think about last night," he told her, holding her hand firmly.

Last night...they had their date. It was a lot of fun, she remembered. They spent the whole day out together and Issei paid for everything no matter how she tried to trick him or distract him to let her pay for something. Afterward, she took him to the park near the fountain so she could...kill him... The thought alone made her want to be sick. Then he gave her that necklace…

Issei noticed as she reached absently for her chest as if searching for something.

'I hope I didn't lose it…' she thought. 'What happened...after...that…'

Her eyes widened as she started to remember. He told her he always knew she was a Fallen Angel. That he knew it was her mission to bring him there...and kill him. And he said he didn't care. That she was a good person and that he would protect her. She remembered telling him her story. How she fell from grace in fear and shame. And then...he did...something that she couldn't begin to fathom and her wings grew white and then...nothing.

"I take it you remember now?" Issei asked her, smiling. "Woah! Slow down!"

Yuuma had launched herself at him, burying herself in his embrace as he hugged her protectively, chuckling slightly. "I don't know what you did...or...how you did it...but...thank you."

"Of course, Yuuma," he replied quietly, pulling back slightly. He reached into his pocket and pulled the necklace back out, putting it back around her neck and gently pressing the ornament to her chest. "There. I think you were looking for that, weren't- uh...Yuuma? Did...did you destroy my alarm clock?"

Her face grew to levels of red never before experienced as she tried to apologize. "I-I didn't-I mean, I did but I didn't mean- I swear it was an accident! I'm really sorry, Issei! I really am!"

"You really are an angel!" he exclaimed, picking her up and squeezing her. "FINALLY! I hated that alarm clock so much but I couldn't get rid of it because of a stupid bet! You're the BEST!"

"I-Issei!" she squeaked out. "P-put me down!"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry," he chuckled, setting her back on the bed and scratching his head awkwardly. "I just really hated that clock."

"I'll just make another bet with you so you have to get another one," Yahweh shrugged. "Mark my words, Issei, you will have my alarm clock."

"Who was that?" Yuuma asked.

"There's...a lot to explain," Issei chuckled sheepishly. "And quite a bit I have to apologize for, so, let's go have breakfast so I can feed you before you try to kill me again."