Should this fic be M rated yet? It's more of a T for dxd let's be honest

but who cares anyway

my glorious shitposts shall plague the front page, har har! ( ͡ʘ ͜ʖ ͡ʘ)

note: not yet betaed cause my 3 betas are planning to unionize against me. pls help. jeff bezos pls show me ur way to treat ur workers like animals
new note: Good news. Chapter has been beta-read. Terms are agreed, and no union has been made. Life is good.

Refugees

[Chapter V]

||Salvages||

Hyoudou Issei, aged 20, never thought he would get a whole fucking house at that age. Complete with the essential furniture!

Well. He never thought he'd bump into a careless Fallen Angel and discover the entire existence of the supernatural world all because he left his water bottle in the class either. Not that he ever thought he would bump into a literal Devil who was severely wounded during the middle of a heavy rain.

He seemed to bump into many weird things as of late. Maybe he should start believing a bit more so he wouldn't just stumble into even stranger things. Things like three small dogs with white fur who were actually one collective Demon in disguise. But that shouldn't be possible.

Then again. He got a house. For free. It came out of nowhere.

Well. Not exactly nowhere. The house had been pulled out of the Grigori's budget and had been written off as business expense for the sake of lowering their income tax. How did it jump from an apartment to a two story unassuming Japanese house you might ask? That would be Azazel's self-declared genius idea.

It was first seen as stupid. Moronic. Absolutely unnecessary. But the former Governor General of the Grigori was known to use his tongue to make the stupid sound genuinely marvelling. Instead of waiting for the boy to prove himself capable of taking care of one depressed Devil and keeping her Demonic secrets from leaking into society and possibly cause very viral bad news, Azazel jumped several steps and got him a house instead.

But his actual reason wasn't exactly that simple. Not that Issei would know at this point in time.

All he knew and cared was that they were given a house, Raynare would be staying there for safety measures, as would Roygun Belphegor for the exact same reason as well as providing medical support and knowledge, and he was getting paid for it. More than his part-time job would earn.

Unfortunately, all the payment must enter Roygun's pockets first. But if Issei played his cards right, then no pockets were truly out of reach. Unluckily for him, he didn't know many card games.

Suffice to say the sudden development took him like a storm. Except the storm wasn't all bad and he didn't really mind being wet.

"Oh my god. Yes." Was Raynare's first impression upon seeing her bedroom located on the ground floor with a nearby bathroom, taking a slot out of possible four. There were two other bedrooms on the upper floor, and Issei wasn't sure if he liked the fact this house had six prebuilt bedrooms in total. With one master bedroom-taken by Roygun to no one's surprise-and five guest bedrooms. Two of which were meant to be children's bedrooms but clearly had been repurposed.

Issei was standing behind her, curious. He thought there would be another Devil already in the room. Or even a God just casually laying around on the bed.

No? No God yet, fortunately. It was just a normal bedroom. With a bed, AC unit, a studying desk, a dresser and a small shelf on the creamy white wallpaper. A window that gave view to the backyard, if Raynare ever felt the sudden need to take a shortcut or to make herself look stupid by forgetting neighbors exist and spreading her wings again.

Either way, Raynare tossed her suitcase over to her new bed and leapt onto it like the child she was.

"Hey I kinda don't like this narrator?" She muttered with a spiteful tone, looking directly at a corner.

"What? Oh fuck, are you schizo now? Did you hit your head on the way here? Quick, how many fingers am I holding up."

Raynare looked miffed. Mostly confused. "How does that have anything to do with being schizophrenic— you know what? I don't care."

"Wrong answer."

"Don't care." She smugly dismissed. "There's warm baths and showers here. Room is comfy. The walls are thick enough to mute your ramblings. There's nothing you can say that can ruin my mood."

Issei raised one eyebrow smoothly, wickedly. A unique useless talent not many possess. "Wanna bet?"

"...No."

"Too bad I'm evil. I take hollow victories." He sneered, and Raynare paled in horror just from mere expectations. "Checked for roaches yet? Oh, and what about spiders? Or the crawlies? Ooooh, heard they like to go out more in the summer don't they… imagine one creeping up your toes… crawling up your legs..."

Raynare shuddered. She really should have known better. "Fuck you and your entire bloodline."

Issei cackled in his glory, closing the door shut behind him. Raynare had other things to do and he had ran out of torture ideas for now. The air of the house was that of a house, and by that it meant it didn't smell like anything. Not musty, not fresh, just sorta there, like a side character of a badly written fanfic. But should he see someone start to spread scented candles here and there, then he would not hesitate to tip one over and claim it's the candle's fault for litting things on fire just to ban its existence.

Moving on with the day, with Grayfia currently tidying her own room and Raynare very positively lazing around, he should be unpacking his stuff. There weren't many boxes. At least unlike Raynare, he didn't require the service of a car to deliver all his stuff some time during noon, which wouldn't arrive until several hours.

Just like Raynare's, his bedroom had all the same things within it, except the windows were facing the front porch instead. Just because he didn't have anything supernatural to hide. Not that it meant he didn't have anything to hide from the public eyes.

Not out of fear or shame, but rather out of simple courtesy. He would gladly welcome any weary traveler to gaze upon his prized collection.

Speaking of which, he should unbox those things later on once he got himself a bookshelf. There was a desk, but he wouldn't want to mix his college books with his porn collections because that'd mess up his organization. What if he took out the wrong book? Who the hell could get horny over arithmetics problems?

Issei also left his door open as well as the windows, preferring to let the air in since it was a breezy sunny day. Zero chance of rain mainly for plot reasons. With summer already peeking from around the corner like a thief in the night, the air had begun warming up. He had heard many complaints like most people do, for humankind were flawed ungrateful cretins that could never be satisfied with what they have.

Hyoudou Issei, though he much preferred the cold over the heat, wouldn't mind a little bit of warm weather as long as it wasn't blisteringly hot. More to that, summer meant summer vacation, and summer vacation meant staying inside all day long and likely going out on a trip with his idiot friends for a day or two, or even a week if he remembered the plan they made during spring. Much fun to be had. Yay. As long as a sudden hurricane didn't ruin their plan.

Then again, perhaps it would be best to delay it a couple of days or even weeks. There's a Devil in his house and he shouldn't exactly leave her.

Speaking of which—

"Excuse me." A steely voice following several knocks on his open door took his attention from his college books. Issei glanced behind him to see Grayfia standing by the door. "Mr… Hyoudou."

"Uh… Right. Please don't call me a Mr, or sir. I'm really, really not that old. Mentally, I do feel twice as old though."

"Of course, my apologies" She nodded. "Is there… anything I can help with?"

The Devil had recovered for the most part. She had -much cleaner- bandages wrapped around her waist still underneath her clothes, but other than that, she looked as healthy as a young woman would.

Now with her maid getup ditched and replaced with a pair of casual clothes given by Roygun-which was a beige button down shirt with long black skirt-she looked much less conspicuous. Although it didn't help much in blending her with the crowd given the rare color of her hair and her overall dignified glacial air and captivating pair of breas— eyes, it was much better than having her walking around with a full French maid outfit.

Though he could always claim she was a cosplayer. Or she was just a worker of a maid cafe who was on break. That reminded him to try out that new maid cafe sometime with his fellow degenerate friends so he could cringe himself to death and torture the living out of his friends.

That said, Issei didn't need to be a certified psychiatrist to know she offered her help out of courtesy. She asked to help to put her mind off of certain dislikable things. Memories she'd rather not dwell upon all day long.

"Sure." He said, smiling a bit. He didn't have much to unpack but a pair of hands would be appreciated. Sooner he took care of his belongings, the sooner he could laze around.

Grayfia dipped her head in a nod, slowly kneeling to sit with her legs tucked and leaning on one side. A casual sitting posture for women he'd seen often in Japan, actually. At least in those movies his mother practically forced him to watch during his junior highschool days as there was only one tv in his house.

As she began to unpack another box, one filled with his clothes, the Devil's fragrance entered his nose, and his mind started to wander around. How women always smelled nicer than men would always be a mystery to him. They could use the same soap, same shampoo, same amount of perfume, and their scent would always trample their male counterpart.

Then again he might just be biased to attractive women and because all of his male friends had no qualms in showering once a day like the absolute neanderthals they were. If their true name was Grog or Dunggo he wouldn't be the least shocked.

"How're you holding up?" Issei asked to shift his attention to her. He could prattle about his best friends' disgruntling habits any other day. "Feel any better?"

The maid nodded lightly. "Yes. Thank you for asking."

"Physically and mentally?" Issei asked straight. Skipping the bullshit and shot straight at the core. The more pinpointed question had Grayfia stunned for a bit, as she had stopped placing his shirt neatly over the floor.

She paused, thinking before asking back. "I mean no offense by this, I am simply curious." Issei gave her a nod that screamed 'Fire away!'. Then she continued, "I fail to understand why you feel the need to be concerned about my well being. We're hardly acquaintances."

Yikes. Issei thought. He was expecting an answer like 'no', to be honest. Not another question.

But he could and should answer nonetheless. It wasn't a difficult question for him. "Well. That's because I don't feel the need. I just want to."

"Why?"

"Because you're miserable." He answered just as straight, once again stunning her into a silent stare. "You've lost everything. You're shutting yourself out from outside help. I'm not blaming you, just to be clear. Just wanted you to know you're not entirely alone in this, even though it might feel like it. There's me and Raynare. We'll be here if you need something. Me and my entire stock of drinks courtesy of the Great and Generous Azazel." Praise be his name.

"...That doesn't answer my question. Although if it is by pity you offer those things, then I can't accept it."

"No it's not 'pity'. I don't ask you these questions because I feel bad for you. That's just rude. You can slap me if that's the case. But not too hard. Else I'll lose my head. Literally." He mumbled the last few sentences, but loud enough for Grayfia to hear without straining and managed to put the tiniest of smiles out of the corner of her lips.

"I asked those personal things and I will keep on doing so until you're at least alright, because I'm a nosey little bastard and because I want to."

Compassion, in other words. Grayfia stared at him. A mix of shock and confusion and a strange feeling she never experienced before. Amazement, perhaps was the word to describe it. Compassion was not something Hell was exactly known best for. Its rarity almost convinced her it was just another nice idea that could not exist in that place. At least until she came to serve the Gremory.

A direct hit to her walls nonetheless.

Grayfia lowered her silver eyes, resting them atop the pile of the neatly folded clothes. Most of it was red in color. She averted her eyes back to his as to not remember their hair and their family crest.

"Then why do you want to?"

He took a huff. "Because I'm a selfish prick." He said without shame, surprising her once again. "Selfish and simple. The best quality of a man you could ever hope for. I just want others around me to feel, at the very least, close to alright. They don't need to be okay because let's be real here; nobody's ever okay. We be livin' in a society and such. And by making others feel slightly better, it makes me feel better. Selfish, amirite?"

She drew herself closer to him, intrigued by his words. "How so?"

"I dunno. I don't want to feel like shit. Feeling like shit makes me feel shittier. I don't want people I know to feel like shit. Earth is pretty fucked up with wars, corruption, mass murders, diseases, global warming, dying animals, people dying like animals, people getting depressed all over the world because they overthink these things. Feeling powerless because these are the things only the filthy rich big bosses of the world can change."

He kept his eyes on hers. Not once breaking eye contact. "We're not as fucked up as Hell, but we'd be ignorant if we claim the Earth isn't a messed up place. So I had to make myself feel better about myself some other way. And so far, by bettering my small little corner of the world, I can tell to myself I'm not wasting my life doing jack shit. Like it or not, you're part of that little corner now, and you can't run away because then I'll have detachment issues."

"Why don't you worry about your own future?"

"More worried about your future, to be honest. I don't care about myself that much. Contradictory to my earlier statement, I know. I can be selfish and selfless at the same time, okay?"

A frown had been cast upon her face during the middle of his explanation. At the end, a small smile took its place.

"You remind me of my Masters. My… former, Masters." She muttered. "Sirzechs Gremory… rather, his entire family is an oddity, the same way you are."

"Gee thanks. Glad to know you see me as a weirdo."

Grayfia appeared appalled. "Th-that's— I don't mean to—"

"I know, I know. Chill out. I joke around pretty much 24/7. Being sassy helps me deal with living. Go on. Don't let me stop you."

Grayfia let her smile resettle slowly, and gazed down on the clothes in the cardboard box, staring at yet another red shirt.

"...My old Masters would ensure everyone else's needs were met before theirs. During a siege, Devils could last days without food. But the siege lasted for months. When starvation began to linger, they ordered for the soldiers to be served the first rations. After their own children, of course. Then their people. Then their house servants. By the time the rations reached their dining table, it would be just several loaves of bread and slabs of meat from our own horses. All of the housemaids and butlers tried to give them their food, but they would always refuse."

She raised her eyes. "'You have served us during our time of plenty. Let us at least repay you in our time of need.'. Lord Gremory himself said that in the pantry. It was… stupid, I told him. They were the ones who could carry on their legacy, not their servants. But he replied by stating how grateful he was to have us as his servants. During my first years, I learned there weren't many nobles in servitude. Instead, there were plenty of lowborn orphans serving as the housekeepers. Widows who've lost their husband and son in battle. Devils who had lost their place. But it never mattered who we were. We knew if there was anyone for us to serve until our death, it would be them. We didn't deserve any kindness and yet they gave us everything."

"I would..." Grayfia choked, and blinked away the tears. "I would gladly exchange my life for them. Any of them. I've never done anything to deserve being treated with such kindness. I was Lucifer's dog who butchered their own. I never expected their forgiveness, but they granted it without any demand. I am a sworn servant who has failed to protect my Masters' life. Failed to rescue anyone who deserved a better fate than to be buried in the ruins of their ancestral home. I shouldn't have been the one to be rescued and be sent to this world. Any single one of my Masters deserved to be in this place far more than I do. But yet here I am, alive, while their legacy has been reduced into memories."

A single drop of tear fell on the red shirt underneath, slowly deepening its color as it spread. Her first tears had fallen and she didn't know how to stop them.

"I didn't deserve their kindness." She sobbed painfully. "By no means do I deserve yours."

"Then earn it." He placed a hand on her shaking shoulder, squeezing it gently to get her to look at him. She did so reluctantly. Perhaps out of a sense of courtesy again, but that didn't matter to him as long as she was looking at him. "Earn this. For them. I'm no psychic, but I'm sure your Master didn't save your life so you can torture yourself on another world."

A tearing sob punched her throat, and Grayfia finally allowed herself to surrender to the pain she had stubbornly ignored. She sobbed as hard as she could, each tear shed contained regret and sorrow. Regret that she couldn't serve them better, and sorrow for lives forever lost.

Moments like this, Issei tried to imagine what his father would have done, and did just so. He slowly scooted over to her side, and firstly sat next to her. If she moved away, then he would leave her alone without a word. But she didn't. Grayfia stayed, even leaning closer to him, and so he pulled her into his chest. A hug he had been wanting to give the first time he noticed she was starting to cry.

"I'm sorry for your loss." He whispered. Not much else he could do. But Grayfia gave in, yielding into his chest, crying the rest of her tears, and accepted the fact that she was sad and couldn't handle it on her own.

He said nothing else. He didn't ask if she was going to be okay. He didn't ask if she wanted anything else. He was young but wise enough to know solutions should be best reserved for a calmer time. He kept quiet and still as Grayfia dampened his shirt. No caressing whatsoever. Because if he was in her place, then he'd prefer it that way.

For her, his silence was more than enough. His presence and empathy alone was enough to know he listened. In a world where people wanted to be listened to more than they wanted to listen, his silence was priceless.

Break

"You were crying weren't you."

"No I wasn't."

Leave it to the Fallen Angel Raynare to tell a lie when the evidence of truth was right in front her eyes. Except her puffy eyes were the evidence here. And leave it to Issei to be the one annoying jerk who pointed it out. Why? Because they're friends, and friends liked to jerk each other around. No, not exclusively in that way you pervert.

Not all the time at least.

"Aww… you big soft hearted you."

"You're making me regret not killing you that day."

"Do it anyway. No balls."

"I'm a girl." She hissed.

"We can't jump into something without concrete proof. When's the last time you checked?"

A couch cushion was thrown. Issei cast dodge! It missed its designated target and hit a wall, sliding down to the sofa. Issei was dealt zero damage while Raynare had taken severe mental damage.

"I swear I'm going to kill you one of these days."

"Yeah right." Issei laughed, then dropped his laughter and put on a face as serious as a homicide detective in a black and white film. "Please don't."

"Or what."

"Or… I'll be reincarnated to a Devil by a super hot Devil and start bullying you once again with superpowers that can make Superman look like a baby in strange blue tighties that doesn't know how to wear underwear properly."

Raynare paused at that. "You don't need superpowers for that."

"I know right?" Issei delved into the topic change as naturally as he breathed. "What's up with his getup? You think the person who came up with him has some underwear fetish or something?"

Raynare shrugged. "How am I supposed to know."

"I mean you're into some weird shit. Figured it takes one to know one."

"DIE."

Another pillow attack! It hit him square in his face! Issei was dealt 1 stupid damage.

To assert his strength, Issei didn't flinch as he let the cushion fall off his face and into his lap. Unharmed from the Fallen Angel's vicious attack. He might have been hit, but he wasn't the one blushing himself to death from embarrassment.

"Y'see, here, dear Raynare…" Raynare visibly flinched at his usage of 'dear'. And Issei fully intended it to make her disgusted, so he had won another battle. Again. "Being one truly devoid of shame, no insults can harm me more than a kick to the balls would. Which I would highly suggest against doing, because by god, don't ruin me family jewels. Well… they're small enough targets to not be hit by your crappy aim anyway."

Raynare cackled into a laughter that sent her reeling and covered her face. She sounded like she was weeping.

"Laughing at someone's insecurities. Typical." Issei scoffed snidely, pouring gasoline into the fire as the Fallen Angel couldn't contain herself, nearly laughing her tears out due to his unexpected comment.

As far as the day went, it had been a relatively slow Sunday. And it was much appreciated compared to the hecticness of their two past days filled with wet clothes and yet zero sex. Not that they would get any in other different days, nor was it worth mentioning because it was a well-known fact between these two virgins.

Grayfia was fast asleep. She exhausted herself after draining her tears. She wasn't meant to stay up either given her previous injuries, so the fact she was able to sleep during the day meant Roygun wouldn't be scolding any of them.

"But I gotta hand it to you, Hyoudou." Raynare said, restarting the conversation as she finally calmed herself down. "You did good back there."

"I know. Sometimes my awesomeness goes beyond my comprehension."

"Alright. I'm taking that back."

"Wait, that's illegal."

"Observe."

Issei clutched his chest, wincing in fake pain. "Argh—! No! Anything but dangerously low self-confidence!"

Raynare gave out a few chuckles, shaking her head. It was hard to believe someone this gnomic could say those gentle words. But really, she shouldn't be surprised. He had done the same to her, after all. Minus the hugging and all the sobbing. She wasn't Grayfia, and she wasn't a big fan of physical contact. Ironic, considering her Fallen Angel origin. But he was there. And that was what really counted.

"But seriously though." Raynare said, allowing herself to give him a smile. Might be a bit forced just so he could feel a bit better, but it's the thought that counts. "I knew if there's anyone who could do it, it'd be you."

"What you mean? Do what."

"You knew what to do."

"Pft. No I didn't."

"Liar."

"I lie when it benefits me, but this ain't it." He said with a straight face. "All I did… was follow my heart."

It took exactly three seconds of silent blank staring before the two erupted into laughter.

"You're way too good at this." Raynare said between her coughs, desperate for air no thanks to him. "It's disgusting how good that was. Oh my god I feel so filthy—"

"That's the difference between you and me. I have the confidence to turn cheesy lines into comedy. Kneel before your superior, ye shit! Kneel!"

Raynare did not kneel.

"Alright. For real this time, Hyoudou. I'm being genuine here and you keep interrupting my genuine moments."

"Not my fault I'm hilarious."

"You're right. It's my fault for finding your stupid to be funny." Raynare scoffed, grinning the last bit of laughter away. "...But really. I'm glad that you're here. Anyone else and she might've kept everything to herself like I did. I can tell you it's not an easy thing to do, being that stubborn."

"Yeah. Thanks." Issei nodded. He picked his moments wisely. This was not the time to joke, because then that'd turn him into an asshole who couldn't read the mood. "Just doing what I can."

"How did you do it though?" Raynare asked. "If you say that 'follow your heart' line again, then I won't guarantee your safety."

"Well… I… don't know." He muttered. "Can't exactly put it to words either. Sorta an instinct, y'know. I did think about what my father would've done, but that's when I was deciding if it's fine to give her a hug or not. Not everyone wants to be touched when they're sad."

"Yeah." Raynare was that kind of someone. "So what you're saying is… you came up with those words yourself?"

He paused for a moment. "Well I did read some from the internet, but I'll take all credit."

Raynare sighed. She should've known. Either way, it was all over and done. "Well I guess you did say it to her… Guess it's fair for you to take all of them."

"You can help her too, you know. You didn't have to do what I did."

Raynare raised her brows. Was she that obvious? "What do you mean?"

"Well I mean you both came from the same place. Not the exact latitude or longitude but that doesn't matter. You and her both have lost something."

Another sigh. This one was much more melancholic. "Everyone has lost something, Ise."

"True, but not everyone has lost everything and had to start from scratch." He told her without missing a beat, staring right into her eyes, conveying the sincerity of his statement. "Give yourself some credit dude. You're the toughest girl I know. Not that I know many girls."

At times like this did Raynare wish to see him make an idiotic face or say something smart. Because at moments like this did it get tougher for her to not fall for this human boy full of surprises.

But she couldn't allow herself. Not now. Not while she was still traumatized from losing.

"I'm not gonna assume you've moved on or you're immune to the bad memories, but you got better. That takes something right. Well. I sure hope you got better." He muttered, making a face. "You can be an example for her. Y'know. Some kind of inspirator. Hell, you probably don't have to do anything and she'll learn from you either way."

Raynare chuckled softly. If only he realized how sickeningly sweet he could be without noticing. "Nah. We're different. She's of noble blood. I was a street urchin."

"And?"

"And what?"

"That doesn't make you lose points in the things you lost. Important things are subjective to people. I don't care if I lose an episode of a Korean drama but there's some middle-aged lady out there that's tearing her hair off." He paused for a few seconds, staring elsewhere, realized what he just said, and looked back at her. "Not the best metaphor I can come up with but you get the idea."

"You're annoying, but you're even more annoying when you're right."

"It's in my blood to be annoying. Probably got dropped when I was a baby and hit my head on something." Issei said proudly, twisting a smirk. "You can ask my mother. She'll tell you how annoying I was and am. Might even come up with an entire journal listing the amount of time I grayed a strand of her hair."

Hmm. Parents. Raynare wondered what it was like to have one.

"I'm glad you are who you are now."

That took Issei by surprise. He stared at her, before making a grin. "Oooh. How heartfelt. That one came from the heart, right?"

'Of course it did, silly.' "Nope. I said it just to see what stupid face you're gonna make. All this talk makes me hungry." She bemoaned, putting the serious conversation to a full stop as she threw her head back against the sofa's shoulder-rest. "Do we have anything in the fridge yet?"

Issei reverted back to his snark-mode. "Well unless it's a magical self-replenishing fridge, then all we have for lunch is air and ice cubes. Not the most fulfilling meal, sadly. Unless you can turn ice cubes into bread."

"I'm not Jesus you idiot." Raynare smirked. She didn't want this to change. All these silly jokes; she had found they were the most comfortable.

"...Yeah. I guess Jesus wouldn't collect as much porn as I do."

Nevermind. All that reserved feelings she had for him? Gone. Reduced to atoms. Wiped away from the face of the earth, never to resurface again.

But that'd be an obvious lie, and Raynare exceptionally sucked at lying.

"Oh goddammit. I knew I should've let you go alone! Damn you Azazel… Damn you Lint!"

"Hello~! Anybody home? Wait… this is my home by practicality..."

Salvation came at the sound of the opening front door. They both turned around in their seats to bear witness as Roygun Belphegor emerged from the outside world, carrying several large circular containers that were black in color stacked on top one another. And in no way could either Issei or Raynare not recognize the traditional food container.

Their bellows of help had not been unheard. The cavalry had cometh. And she brought fat plates of sushi.

"Marry me."

"No. Me."

"Oh my, I never knew I'd have suitors here on Earth as if it was Hell." The Devil woman chuckled. But really, she was not the focus of the two hungry landsharks encircling her as she made her way to the dining table. "Geeze, did you not have anything to eat before I came here? I know I'm your 'legal guardian'," she air-quoted as she placed the black plates, "but you didn't need my permission to order something."

"And you're not wrong." Issei pointed out. "Also, we're broke ass students. We need to save our money for something important. Like games we wanna play for two hours until we get bored of it and never touch it again."

Roygun looked concerned. "My. Are you okay boy? That sounded a little too specific to be a random rant."

"No. Please gib money."

"Mhmhm~ nice try, but no."

Issei huffed. "Adults are so unfair." He crossed his arms, briefly. "The tuna is mine."

"You can have the lame tuna. The salmon roe is mine." Raynare followed quickly.

"Oh no, no, no, dearies… I paid for these delicacies, I get the first pick."

"Hey no fair!" Issei cried out. "What if I massage your shoulders? Must be tiring carrying all those heavy drums and all of that dosh that were supposed to be in my pocket, right?"

"Mhm well~ that would depend on the quality of your service, but I'll keep your offer in mind." Roygun giggled suggestively, blatantly ignoring his last accusation - which wasn't mistaken. "Where's Lucifuge, by the way?"

"Schleeping."

"Don't talk with your mouth full you disgusting caveman." Raynare groaned, shoving a whole sushi into her mouth straight after. "Mmmnn~ they taste even better when free."

"She finally sleeps?" Roygun raised her sleek pink eyebrows. "Huh. I expected to see her glooming alone elsewhere."

"She probably was going to." Raynare said. "If not for this smoothtalker here."

Another surprise. "Oh? What did you say to her?"

Issei swallowed his meal first. It was good. It was nice. His day had become better. "Sorry what?"

"Lucifuge." Roygun asked curiously. "Did you lull her to sleep?"

"Uh… no. I didn't do anything. I swear." Issei paused, dropping his act when his joke fell short. "I didn't do much. You're hyping me up too much Raynare — keep doing it."

Raynare rolled her eyes.

"I didn't do much, honestly. She just sorta… laid it all out. Yeah. That's not suggestive at all."

Roygun understood. Good for her. Amazing for the boy. She had known the Lucifuge since they were miniatures of themselves yet this was the first time she heard her willingly speak to anyone other than her Masters. Maybe Azazel was onto something with the boy.

"Is that so… Well... Way to go there, human."

"Thanks, Devil."

Roygun laughed. He knew how to deliver a deadpanned joke, she'd give him that. No doubt an expertise molded by years of experience.

"Mmmnn… perhaps a just reward for lessening my burdens, then?" She smiled wickedly. Not one Raynare liked to see at the moment as she had sensed a candidate for the heroine spot was about to be usurped. "Does your previous offer still stand, boy?"

"Sure do. I'll stand on you if you want."

"Dear oh dear…" Roygun leaned closer to him, feeling the warmth of his human body. "A tempting proposal."

"Clothes are optional by the way."

"Even better." Her smile widened. His humor certainly helped in lifting her mood, that was for certain.

Then Raynare took the responsibility of becoming the first cockblock of the story. "Whoa there, did I suddenly turn invisible? Cut it out you bunch of perverts."

"That's rich, coming from you." Issei pointed out.

"Everyone is a deviant to a degree. Some are simply… more honest about it." Roygun wisely said as she stripped her white coat off, tossing it onto the couch, revealing her devilish figure hugged nicely by her black sleeveless sweater and her slim-fitting slitted black skirt. Her arms were ample and smooth, and she somehow managed to multiply her charm by simply lifting her hair upwards to tie it to a ponytail.

The two university students paused. Issei stopped to marvel like the boy he was, while Raynare stopped to question her sexuality. Roygun didn't just have a nice body with a charming face to boot - she reinvented the hourglass.

"My." She smiled slyly, knowing exactly what was going on through their minds. "Rather than stripping me with your own eyes, why don't you strip me with your hands instead? I don't bite. I'd prefer it if you do bite, rather."

Issei snapped out of his trance. "Welp. Can't argue with that."

"Alright cut it out." Raynare groaned.

"Hey you were staring too."

"That was the hunger talking! Or staring." She corrected herself.

"Good point. I am pretty damn hungry. Can we eat now? Please? Or do I have to make some human sacrifice first. Will she do?"

"I never agreed to this." Raynare stiffly said. "Take him instead."

"I'll gladly take both. Some time later in the night, perhaps." Roygun coolly said, eyeing the boy, checking for Raynare's reaction. "I am indeed in terrible muscle pain at the moment…" She sighed, her voice an alluring poison. "A promise of a good massage I can't refus—"

She blinked and paused when she realized Issei had strutted away with an entire plate. Raynare had brought smaller plates to pour the sauce in and to place their sushi. The two successfully carried their stolen meal to the coffee table by the interconnected living area like the goblins they were.

"Bastards." Roygun grumbled, smiling and sniggering anyway. Living with these two gremlins might not be so bad. They weren't kids, for one. Just two young adults who sometimes acted like kids for the heck of it. She could get used to their presence faster. Especially since this place was far livelier. She had despised having to come to an empty apartment she forcefully called 'home'. No one to listen to her meager complaints every time she arrived in the hour of the wolf. She could never kid herself into believing that place was ever her home. It was as empty and desolate as her castle in Hell.

Perhaps Azazel was aware of her untold fear of being lonely. Perhaps he knew the reason why she had no trouble sleeping in the office for days, working the extra hours just to know there were at least people there. He could see people better than he let on. That Former Governor had an uncanny ability to judge characters, and he judged that Hyoudou Issei could play a part during this whole turmoil.

Or she might just be overthinking it and Azazel's decision had nothing to do with it.

Either way, this new start could be a welcome change. For her and Grayfia Lucifuge. Two Devils, both adults, desperate to salvage the pieces of their shattered life, who might have to rely on the help of a young man who was prone to snark yet somehow capable of returning a smile on Raynare's face when no therapists could.

Whatever. She didn't care who or how. She wasn't like those stubborn noble Devils who refused available help. Roygun was willing to take any sorts of it as long as she could sleep better. And if Azazel thought having the boy around could make her feel a bit better, then she would give him a fair chance. Everybody deserved at least a chance. She just wished she hadn't squandered hers.

"I'm going to take a shower." She said, half-shouting, fully as a warning. "Don't you rascals eat all of it. Spare some of the spicy mayos for me or I won't ever grant you this luxury meal ever again."

"Yes ma'am. Roger ma'am." Issei shouted.

"Thank you ma'am." Raynare followed with the same flat tone. "You're very generous ma'am."

"Beyond generous ma'am. Your presence is a blessing to us all ma'am." Issei shouted again just as Roygun entered her bedroom and replied with a shout,

"Quit calling me ma'am else I will plow you through the wall!"

"Damn. You're all into some extreme kinks aren't you?"

To be continued...

Alternate title: Shattered but Whole, aka Shattered Butthole

The sappiest part of the entire story has been addressed. And hopefully addressed well enough. You can have your opinions whether or not it was rushed, but you have no power here. I am the author ( ͡ʘ ͜ʖ ͡ʘ)

but srlys just let me know in the review and lay it as kind as possible because i have an ego more fragile than salty fanfic writers who flag critiques as flames because they can't handle the truth

No? What do you mean im calling someone out? Don't be nonsensical. We all know dxd writers are the most mature in this whole site. Isn't that why all of their stories are rated M? Or is it because of the boobas

Well. anyway.

Don't worry about Raynare's feelings. There won't be sappy romance drama in here, that much i can promise you. I'm tired of dramas as I'm sure we all are

I hope you enjoyed this chapter because I enjoyed writing this one so much more than the previous chapters. It might be sappy, but in the end they're just a bunch of people trying to pick up pieces of their life, and Issei is the miraculous super glue capable of mending some things and sticking fingers together. Might not fix it to pristine condition, but better to look at than some pieces scattered on the floor

Sorry i lied about bringing up the Helltaker Cerberus as cameos. There's no scene fit and I don't wanna change anything. BUT. They might still appear in future chapters

SO THE QUESTION LIES… who will be added into the house? If you wanna suggest a character, then give me a reason. Do note that they won't just miraculously appear within the next chapter. I still have a several underdeveloped characters here and I want them to grow on you readers a bit until i add the next one

review or i'll spam review this story myself with my 700 alts that are following this story with 'keep it up, update soon kthxbai nerd'