Still of the Night

Everyone now had a huge problem on their hands. Yuuma Amano was gone. She ran off when Issei and Rias were fighting, and Rias told the truth. She said that not only was Yuuma at one time Raynare, but that she had killed her beloved Issei as well.

The moon was bright as the girl walked alone in the empty street. She had nowhere to go now. Yuuma was lost.

The one she feared most for no reason other than instinct had just told her that she was this person called Raynare. She still had no clue who this 'Raynare' was or how she couldn't remember her.

Yuuma kept walking. All she had was her sleepwear on. She wore no shoes or socks, so her bare feet were cold on the ground. She walked for about an hour until she found herself standing in front of a large house.

Back at Azazel's house. Hours earlier

Issei and Rias were panicking. It felt like what would happen if Elizabeth had heard them fighting and run off. He didn't know why, but he felt responsible for her and what happens. Azazel had left her in their care and now she was missing.

Rias turned to face him. "This is all your fault."

"My fault?"

"You were so against telling her the truth and protecting her. You made it seem like it's a bad thing she knows." Rias shot back.

Issei quickly realized how she was talking. She only got like this when it was her time of the month and didn't want to make it worse. "Ok, fine. It's my fault. Now can we please go find her?"

"No, she's Azazel's problem. We're going home." She attempted to pull him, but he stood his ground.

"You can go home. I'm going after Yuuma." Issei checked his pockets for his keys and pushed past Rias.

In a fit of rage, Rias chased him into the hallway. "If you go after her, you're sleeping alone tonight."

"Oh please, like you're the only one that sleeps with me."

Silence.

Issei stepped on a fragile subject between them. Rias was still never comfortable sharing him, even though it had been 5 years. He knew that there was an unspoken understanding between them. He could be with all the other girls, but Rias had to remain his top girl. He also knew that Rias was very jealous about the way Akeno, Asia, and Xenovia would act towards him from the start.

Minutes of the loudest silence went past before Issei made a move. "Rias, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." He backed down the steps and went to embrace his wife, but she stepped back with tears in her eyes.

"No, you're right. You have plenty of other girls. You don't need me." Rias conjured a magic circle, but before she could activate it, a hand grabbed hers.

"I will always need you Rias. I will always love you. You're my top girl. The one I love above all the others." He was able to get her out of the circle and into his arms. "I'm so sorry I snapped like that. It was rude and uncalled for. Not to mention I knew it was a soft spot and I still hit it." Rias began to cry as her husband held her. They walked back into Yuuma's room and sat on the bed.

After a few more minutes, they were okay.

"I'm sorry Issei. I, you should go after her." Rias wiped a tear.

"No."

"Huh? I thou-" She was cut off when Issei kissed her.

"I'm not going without you. If you don't want to go, then we don't go. I have faith that Yuuma can find her way back." He rubbed her back to get her to calm all the way down. Finally, she stopped hiccupping and the tears stopped. "I'm sorry Rias."

"No, let's go find her."

"You sure?"

"It's my fault she ran, not yours. If I hadn't yelled so much and basically told her she killed you, she wouldn't have run." Rias held her husband a bit longer.

Both of them were surprised when Issei's phone rang. It was Koneko.

"What's up Kitten?"

"You're never going to believe who just knocked on the door."

Issei's house

Koneko stood at the door with her phone in her hand and her other hand balled into a fist. She was ready to kill the person who stood in front of her at the door. That just happened to be the same person that Issei and Rias were about to go out and look for. Yuuma Amano.

"Kitten?" Issei's voice came from over the phone.

"You remember Raynare right?"

"Oh."

"She's standing right in fro-"

Issei stopped her. "Let me guess, sleep clothes, no shoes, and she looks like Yuuma Amano and not Raynare."

"How did you…?"

"I'll be right there." Issei hung up and teleported him and Rias back home. They came out of the circle in the living room to see Ellie and Ewan sitting with Akeno and Irina while Le Fay and Ravel were sitting on the other couch. He found Koneko still staring at Yuuma. "Koneko, stand down."

"What?! It's…" She hushed her voice. "Raynare."

Issie just sighed as he realized he was going to have to explain this whole situation. "I'll explain everything later. For now, can you just get her something to drink. Please."

Koneko pouted. She was not happy about this. Raynare was the one that had killed the man she had come to love. "Fine. You're lucky I love you." She huffed and led Yuuma to the kitchen.

It was getting late, so it was time to put the kids to bed. Irina and Akeno began rounding up the little ones starting with Shuri and Ewan. Ellie kept trying to run. That is, till her mother got after her.

"Elizabeth Hyoudou. It's bedtime little miss." Rias chased her daughter up the stairs while the little girl giggled.

"You can't catch me Mommy." Ellie ran up the stairs following her aunts and her siblings. "Aunt Ako help. Mommy's chasing me."

Akeno turned and smiled. "Well, if you want her to stop, you might better do what she says." The baby Fallen Angel in her arms cooed and reached out for her half-sister. "See, Shuri wants you to come to bed too."

"Otay!" Ellie loved her little sister Shuri. She loved her little brother too, but Ewan wasn't a very social baby and liked to stay close to Kuroka. Ellie and Shuri were always ready to be held and played with.

Right as Ellie was climbing the last step, Yuuma came around and saw her. Issei happened to be right there as well. And of course, Ellie came bounding down to meet the new face.

Yuuma was shocked when she saw the little girl run up to her. She looked like a perfect blend of Issei and Rias. The toddler had long hair like Rias, and the color matched Issei. Her eyes also matched Rias, while her smile was most definitely his.

"Hi!" Ellie ran up to Yuuma. "Who are you?"

Issei was quick to interrupt them. "Ellie, it's bedtime. Go say goodnight to Aunt Asi and go to bed." He spoke sternly which was a way to let Ellie know that a spanking was coming if she didn't do as told.

"Otay. Night night Daddy. Love you."

"I love you too sweetheart. Now, go with Aunt Ako." Issei kissed her head, and she ran off.

Right as Ellie reached the top step, she heard a voice behind her. "My name is Yuuma."

She turned to look at the black-haired girl at the bottom. "I'm Ellie." A smile lit her face as she then followed her aunts up to bed.

Yuuma just stood staring. "Issei, that was your daughter, right?"

"Uh, yeah. Elizabeth is my daughter with Rias." This got Yuuma's pale cheeks to flush pink.

"Th-That means you 'did it' with the others as well?"

"Not all of them yet, but yes. I have a daughter with Akeno as well. Kuroka and I have a son and Asia is pregnant right now. Although, we don't know what she's having yet." Issei smiled as Yuuma seemed to go in thought.

Eventually, she looked back at him. "Did I hurt you?"

There it was. Of course, this had to happen. Why did Rias have to tell her that she murdered him? "Yuuma, it's best you sit down."

Doing as asked, Yuuma moved to the couch and sat down. Issei sat beside her. "What did I do? Who, who am I?"

He took a deep breath before he started. "Yuuma. Your real name is Raynare. I don't think you had a last name. Raynare was a Fallen Angel working to gain Azazel's favor. She had two missions. The first was to steal Asia's Sacred Gear for herself." He paused as Yuuma's face lit up a second.

"Azazel makes Sacred Gears in the room next to mine." She smiled at the familiar term.

"Yea. Anyway, Raynare's second objective… was to kill me." Pausing again, he studied her face. Finding nothing but a blank stare, he continued. "She succeeded in one of her objectives. Raynare lured me out and killed me."

That did it. Yuuma jumped back from him. She had heard the truth from Rias but hearing it from him hurt a lot more. "NO! I would never hurt you! I love you!"

"I'm sorry Yuuma. It's true. You killed me in the past. However, Rias brought me back as her demon servant and I was able to save Asia and defeat Raynare."

"Wha-What happened to Raynare?"

Issei sighed. "I don't know. Whenever Rias blasted her out the window, she must have held onto the last form she took. That form was you, Yuuma. She tried to trick me one last time into saving her, but it didn't work. Rias took care of it for me and killed the side of you that was Raynare. Now, only Yuuma Amano remains."

That would be a lot for anyone to take in. For Yuuma to learn that she was a Fallen Angel and that she had killed the man she loved was harder than anything. As her mind began to process, her eyes began to tear up. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

This prompted Issei to slide over and hold her. "You've done nothing wrong Yuuma. Raynare is to blame for all of those things. You're not her. You are Yuuma Amano. I don't hate you, nor do I blame you for her actions." As he spoke, he heard his own contradictory statements. Saying he didn't blame her even thought she was technically responsible, just didn't seem right.

"That explains the girl at the door." Yuuma mumbled.

"What was that?"

"The girl that opened the door. She growled at me when she saw me. I was so scared until she called you."

"Koneko has a habit of being protective. She saw Raynare in this form and knew what it was. I think she was just being careful." Issei rubbed his hand down her back as he sat next to her.

"Why didn't the others react as bad?"

"They don't know you. Koneko, Rias, and Kiba were the only ones that saw Raynare's other form. Asia and Akeno were… not present." He left out the fact that Raynare killed Asia too. "The rest never knew of Raynare except from stories of those days."

Yuuma just sat there. She didn't know how to think about all of this. There was part of her that wanted to live with Issei since Azazel had let him watch over her for the weekend. But with the way Koneko and Rias reacted, she was having second thoughts.

"Nervous?" Issei said from her side as if he was reading her mind.

"A little. I know you trust me. Your daughter also seems to like me. I don't know what to do."

The Red Dragon sat in thought. He didn't want Yuuma to be kept up in that cramped basement for her entire life. It was then that an idea struck. "Yuuma, I think I can help you out."

"How?"

"Give me time to talk it over with Rias. Maybe I can arrange for you to live here as a maid of sorts. You could take care of the kids and other household things." He didn't want to make it seem like was the only option. "Of course, that is only one option."

"I love it!" She threw her arms around him. "I could live with it if I lived here for free. This way I can prove I'm not that bad girl Raynare. Oh, thank you Issei!"

Issei just held her. Yuuma was not Raynare and it was time that everyone else found that out for themselves.

I've decided I'm finishing one more arc and then I'm ending this. It's gone on for 60+ chapters, and i feel like you guys are getting bored with it. Honestly, I'm bored with writing it. I know that I didn't get to Koneko, Ravel, or Le Fay for the weddings, but this needs to end and i have no idea how. So, one more story arc and i will find a way to wrap this up.