This was a bitch to write. There were so many times I did something then erased it and did it oover. I feel that, now, I have direction and that this was good for pushing other characters development outside of Issei.

So do enjoy

"Hello again!"

Pyrrha had opened the door with a big smile. She was dressed in her silk red pajamas, her hair had been let down, and her face was wiped of the makeup she usually wore. On the other side of the door, Team RWBY had crowded around the entrance. They were also in their sleepwear and each had a pillow and blanket in hand.

It was the night before the Forever Fall trip and Ruby had suggested a slumber party. Initially, Weiss had been against it in favor of getting a decent night's rest for the trip tomorrow. Her team had other plans.

"Hey, Pyrrha! You guys ready for an awesome night?" Ruby asked giddy.

Pyrrha moved to the side and allowed the team inside. "Just about."

The four girls made their way in just as the bathroom door opened and a shirtless Issei stepped out. There was a brief pause as Team RWBY looked at him. He looked back at them. Then their eyes lowered to his chest. Then his eyes lowered to his chest.

There was no denying the varying levels of red as the four looked at Issei clad only in his pajama bottoms. His training had paid dividends and his body had changed drastically from the scrawny guy back in Kuoh. His chest was more pronounced and his abs were on full display. And as the eyes drifted lower, they noticed the hem of his bottoms were loose and that the brunette did not wear underwear to bed. So they were graced with a show of his v-line disappearing underneath.

"Momma likey," Yang finally spoke up with a smirk.

"Yang!" Ruby shouted, her face starting to match Pyrrha's hair. She covered her eyes with her hands but that didn't help as she spread her fingers to look between once more. Why did she have this funny feeling about her best leader-friend!?

"Issei, your shirt," Pyrrha stated as she moved past their sister team. There were some small specks of red that looked wiped underneath her nose but no one had noticed.

He shrugged. "I know. Just feeling an odd kind of deja vu. It's weird being on the receiving end. All of you are perverts."

[That's rich coming from you. I've seen your memories.]

'Yeah, well, I've changed for the better.'

[Weren't you the one who stared at both the blonde and your partner's breasts? And openly admitted to your love for them?]

'...I plead the fifth.'

[Mhmm.]

"What!?" Ruby gasped, breaking the duo's conversation, actually looking hurt. He almost took back his remark. Almost. She was his best friend but she was still pervy because he saw where those silver eyes went.

Weiss was the next to speak. "I most certainly am not a pervert!"

Issei blinked. "You know, I'd probably believe you the most if it wasn't for your hand."

The heiress looked down and, to her horror, her hand was in fact raised as if to reach out. It even was claw formed, like a predator trying to grab its prey. Said prey being the brunette's abs, of course.

She grabbed the offending appendage with the other and forced it back down to her side. "It is nothing! Do you understand? Nothing!"

"Whatever you say, princess." He shrugged as he answered before turning to Ren. "Do you have that massage oil ready, Ren?"

The man in question raised his hands that were already lathered in the substance. Issei moved to the bed and sat on the side as his fellow bro began the application to his back and shoulders. Nora continued to pull out the remaining board games and Pyrrha set out the snacks and drinks, as if everything was normal.

This only furthered the already severely red faces of Team RWBY. It didn't help their confusion either with how nonchalantly the two redheads took the...position...their male partners were in. Issei even released a groan of satisfaction as Ren continued to dig deeper into the knots in Issei's traps.

"W-W-What is happening!?" Ruby stuttered out.

"Hm? What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked as she placed down a platter of chips.

"I think she means Issei and Ren's...activity," Blake clarified.

Issei opened one eye to look at them. "He's helping me recover after a long day of training. We always do this after a long day."

Weiss and Ruby continued to try and form words but failed miserably. Blake seemed eager to continue watching them with calculating eyes, for reasons he couldn't discern. And Yang, she seemed to be the only one who wasn't questioning it and settled for watching them.

Issei repeated his earlier thought. "Perverts."

The massage was short and eventually the brunette had a shirt on and the slumber party officially began. They had started light with some idle chatter and some snacking but it wasn't long before they broke out one of the first games. That didn't stop the few questions Team RWBY had wanted to discuss from earlier now that their minds had settled.

"Pyrrha, I have to know, how are you unaffected by this?" Weiss asked as a game of cards had started. "Nora, I can understand, but you?"

"Unaffected by what?" She asked back.

"By what!?" She repeated in disbelief. "T-The thing with the abs, and the massage oil...and the abs!"

"You said abs twice," Ruby stated, placing a card down in the center.

"I know what I said!" Weiss snapped back.

The spartan played a card next and shrugged helplessly. "It was...difficult at first but, eventually, I grew used to it."

"Pyrrha, you have a little something..." Issei took a napkin and wiped her face, cleaning the last of the blood from earlier. "And here I thought you didn't want to drink soda."

The spartan blushed, realizing just what it was he had cleaned off. "Ah...yes...the soda."

"So, is all of this a common occurrence?" Blake asked, looking up from the notepad she had rushed back to her team's room to grab earlier.

"Oh yeah," Nora continued, picking up a card from the deck. "All the massage oil, touching, shirtless, man meat happens everyday."

Blake continued to furiously scribble while drool leaked down Yang's chin. Ruby looked ready to blow up from the steam building between her ears and Weiss...it was hard for Weiss.

"We're actually very close as a team," Issei clarified, knowing what his teammate was doing. She smiled back at him innocently. "From day one we already had a good bond and, with a lot of recent events, have only grown closer."

"That's so cool!" Ruby exclaimed with stars in her eyes. "Team RWBY, we need to spend more time bonding together!"

Her partner groaned. "Ruby, any more of your 'bonding' ideas and I'll freeze you where you stand."

"I concur. If Yang gets any more ideas of getting close and I'll scream," Blake added.

"Staying on that matter," Yang spoke up, ignoring her partner's woes. "Pyrrha, why are you so close to Issei?"

The duo looked at each other. True to her words, the two were shoulder to shoulder. Hell, their thighs were touching and Pyrrha's head was leaning against Issei's. Neither had really noticed and, by extension, had also failed to notice the other's hand. In fact, they looked almost like a couple with how close they were in proximity. All Pyrrha would have to do was drape a leg over Issei's to drive the point home.

"She's always by my side, Yang," Issei replied in her stead. Pyrrha nodded as well, albeit with a smile and blush. The rest of the group took note of it, having discovered a time ago about the girl's affection towards him.

Yang's brows had furrowed but it went unnoticed as a smirk soon replaced it. "Is that right? But Issei, what about when I was at your side?"

Now this made the entire game pause. Ren was mid draw but had stilled before he added the card to his hand. Everyone else had turned to the Sekiryuutei to see what Yang implied.

Issei, too, had been frozen into place by the question. He knew what she meant. It wasn't like it was that long ago that she had made the declaration to him. And, like he had been initially, it was now his friends that were all trying to figure out what the blonde girl had meant.

"Issei?" Pyrrha lifted her head to turn to him.

He sighed. It was better to be honest.

"She offered to help me with my anger," he answered. "She understands the source of it and wants to help me get a better grasp of it. And I'd like to do it before I harm someone else. Or a lot worse."

It went unsaid but the group understood what he meant. Yang saw the look on everyone's face and regretted bringing up the topic. But it was watching the two teammates interact that gave her a bad feeling in the pit of her gut. Not bad as in bad-bad but bad as in...it was hard to explain as the feeling was foreign to her. Bad as in...oh! Bad as in if someone had taken the last bottle of her favorite shampoo!

It was a bad reference but it was the best she could do to explain it. It was a new feeling and one she didn't like. So when she opened her mouth it was, in a weird and messed up way, an attempt to one-up Pyrrha.

However...

"Issei, you're my partner. I may not understand how you feel or where the anger comes from but I want to help you and be there for you. No matter what, if you're in trouble, I want to protect you just as you would me if the roles were reversed."

"Pyrrha..."

"You're my partner and my best friend. When I see you happy, it makes me happy. When I see you upset, it makes me upset. You don't have to hide anything from me. I want you to trust in me the way I trust in you." Her hand covered his and she smiled warmly. He smiled back. "We're in this together. To the end."

"Right, to the end. Thanks, Pyrrha."

Yang felt that foreign feeling again at the bottom of her gut. She hated it.

-XOXOXOXOX-

It was a beautiful day for an outing at Forever Fall.

The weather was finally starting to reach that perfect level of warmth and cool as autumn was just around the corner.

As the bullhead set down, the students filed out with their supplies in hand. Glynda was just behind them and, as she exited, the bullhead lifted off once more leaving the teacher and her students to the red forest.

Everyone looked around, taking in the sights. There were so many trees, each covered in a deep red that reminded Issei of his Boosted Gear. The leaves seemed almost endless, covering each branch in a thick coat and leaving a blanket of red on the ground below.

"Yes, students, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful," Glynda spoke up. "But we are not here to sightsee. Professor Peach has asked you to collect the sap of these trees from deep within the forest. I am here to ensure none of you die while doing so."

Issei walked alongside his partner, feeling her nudge against him playfully. He did the same in return, earning a giggle from the redhead. Their eyes met and, once again, the two found themselves staring at one another. It was something that was becoming so often that many had stopped commenting on it and left the two to their soul searching.

Well...except for Nora.

"You two should just kiss already."

That snapped the two out of it as Issei shot to the other redhead of the team. "Nora!" A heavy blush covered his face and, if he looked over, he would have seen the same on Pyrrha's.

"Oh come on, you two are basically holding hands at this point."

"Hand holding!? Lewd!" Issei shouted.

His team blinked at him. "What?"

"Nothing!" He quickly backpedaled. "Anyways, Pyrrha and I aren't like that, Nora."

The ginger turned her gaze to the spartan. She was fidgeting in place, the blush on her face heavy as she failed to meet anyone's gaze. It was almost comical how she was just out of eye sight and Issei was too dense to notice. "Riiiight. So, after all that happened last night, if she was to confess this love for you?"

"Nora!" Now it was Pyrrha's turn to shout at her.

"I'd say-" Issei froze mid answer. Pyrrha was soon to follow and then Ren. Nora cocked her head to the side.

"What?"

"Is there anything else you'd like to add to the instructions, Ms. Valkyrie?" Glynda asked, arms folded and crop in hand.

"Oh poop..."

-XOXOXOXOX-

Team HVNL was hard at work filling jars of the famous sap of Forever Fall. Issei was kneeling in front of the tree, collecting the thick red liquid, with Pyrrha close at his side, another jar that was already filled, in hand.

With Ren's warning before the trip, the world traveler had thought ahead and had brought a smaller jar for Nora, which would keep her distracted long enough for them to fill the others. Luckily, she was taking her time and would still have some left over even when they got back to Beacon.

It turned out that through such measures, Nora had taken the time to play in the leaves. With the light sugar boost, she began to play in the leaves and spin around, twirling in the breeze. It was moments that reminded the team that underneath all that energy and child-like excitement was a beautiful woman.

Issei handed Pyrrha the second jar, which meant that both of them were now done. He gave her a quick smile before moving over to his fellow man. Ren was also finishing up his second jar but had kept an eye on his partner at the same time as she continued to dance around. There was a rare smile on his face as he watched her leap in the air with a bright smile on her face.

"You've got that look in your eye," Issei said with a smug tone. He leaned against the tree and folded his arms.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Ren replied, screwing the top on the last jar of the team.

Issei chuckled, "is that so?"

"That is so."

"Mmm, then I shall quote Nora to retort that. 'You two should just kiss already'."

In another rare moment, Ren blushed ever so slightly. "I think that is a bit too sudden."

"You two are childhood friends and do just about everything together. I had one too, you know."

"Really?"

"I did and you two are much closer than we were. There were a lot of things I wanted to say to her but didn't get the chance to," Issei looked at the two females of his team. Pyrrha had joined Nora and both looked stunning as the red leaves fluttered around them. There was a smile on his lips but Ren could see that was as far as it reached. For a second, he could have sworn his leader was close to tears. "I see a lot of my friend in Nora. She was always so optimistic and bubbly. There were times where she was a bit eccentric but, overall, she was someone I wouldn't trade for the world and was happy to know."

"Issei, I'm-"

"Don't," he said firmly. "She wouldn't want me to cry over her. She always used to make fun of me because I was such a crybaby. Besides, now I have you guys. And I won't let anything happen to any of you."

Ren couldn't help but smile. "Issei, thank you."

"You better say the same thing when I'm your best man."

"W-What?"

Issei smirked. "Man, and Nora said it was hard to get you flustered. Maybe I'm a natural."

Ren said nothing but the glare was more than satisfactory. He couldn't make jokes only at Pyrrha, after all. And besides, she offered him her boobs to help with his outbursts. So he would hold off on them for some time.

"Boys are weird," Pyrrha said, shaking her head as she walked over to them.

Nevermind. Time really flies when you're having fun.

"I could say the same about you," Issei retorted with a smile. "Weren't you the one who got upset over some naughty words?"

"When will you let that go!?"

"Never!" Issei replied as he started to run off, Pyrrha charging after him.

Just before the chase truly began the trio heard a loud crash and stopped immediately. All of them spun on their heels and saw Nora clutching the back of her head. She was covered from head to shoulder in Forever Fall sap and several shards of glass were around and on her.

"Bleh, what the..."

Nora's attempts at trying to wipe off the sticky substance was cut short as a swarm of rapier wasps appeared around her. The swarm crowded her and began to sting, causing Nora to screech and flail in an attempt to ward them off.

Issei was on her immediately, moving even faster than Ren, as he grabbed the girl's wrist and pulled her into his arms. His wings expanded in a burst, throwing the wasps away just long enough for him to cover both of them in a protective cover.

The wasps continued their assault even as Ren and Pyrrha tried to dispatch them. Several stung Issei in the wing's membrane, eliciting a grunt of pain, but he kept a tight hold on the energetic ball of a teammate.

Eventually, most of the swarm was dealt with and the remaining numbers fled. Issei slowly unfurled his wings and noticed a very familiar face watching from above them. What followed was a chilling silence.

Nora fell limp in his arms and he turned back to her immediately. Her face began to turn blue and each breath became more of a struggle to take as her hands began to claw in the air and against her throat.

"She's allergic!" Ren shouted.

Issei's heart skipped and he shoved her into his partner's arms. "Pyrrha, get her to Professor Goodwitch! Ren, you go with her and call for the emergency dispatch!"

The spartan moved with speeds that neither of them had seen before, tearing across the floor, leaves being thrown about with each step. She was a blur that was gone within seconds and, just as Ren was about to give chase, he turned back to Issei.

"What about you?"

[Boost!]

Issei expanded his wings and, without a verbal order, the Sacred Gear appeared. His eyes flashed green and, with a low and dangerously calm tone, answered.

"I'm finishing this."

-XOXOXOXOX-

Team CRDL had made a lot of enemies in their short time at Beacon. Whether it was the faunus, because the team considered all of the race animals, or other people in general, because they picked on them because they were weak, the list was long and extended past the first years. It was through this bullying, pranking, and overall abuse, that Team CRDL had become infamous for their deeds.

No one really reprimanded them. Goodbitch, as they called her, merely gave detention and the other teachers seemed to turn a blind eye. Few dared to challenge them, for reasons unknown, and those that did only gave them light punishments or a stern talking to. Port and Oobleck were prime examples of that. So the consequences were worth the results of their shenanigans.

Even now, with their prank against the ginger bimbo of HVNL, they expected nothing less than a mad leader and another save by Goodbitch.

They had no idea how wrong they truly were. What had come next had gone far beyond what they believed to be capable of someone they considered the lowest of their class.

It was supposed to be a lesson to him not to mess with them when they got serious. The plan was to finally put some fear in the guy and make him bow like the rest of them. To show that if he didn't stop trying to White Knight everyone, they would go for those closest to him. The result was not that. It didn't last the second the plan met the enemy.

Russel was the first to fall. His scream from being lifted was cut short as he was slammed into the ground, on his neck and shoulders, with such impact that his aura broke instantly.

The next was Dove who was tossed through a tree. The collapsing trunk fell on top of him but, luckily, his aura was higher than Russel's and held. However, he had fallen unconscious from the sheer force alone.

Unluckily, Sky had been dumb enough to attack while the force of nature's back was turned.

Despite his cowardly nature, he charged with a cry. It was fearful and horrified but his feet kept moving despite it. Not only had his halberd been broken in half but with a call from the gauntlet, and a kick to the stomach, the last defense Cardin had was tossed behind him like a tumbleweed.

The leader of CRDL had made a mistake looking behind him. He turned back just as a blur grabbed him and slammed him against the nearest tree.

What stared at him was a power beyond what he thought imaginable for a student. The eyes that glowed green would haunt him for years. He had stared into the eyes of what was a myth to him. What was a myth to many who didn't believe in the fairy tales told from when he was a child.

And. Issei. Was. Pissed.

[Dragon Booster: Second Liberation!]

The ground rumbled before a torrent of green flames bursted from the ground, surrounding the two in a cyclone. Cardin's eyes widened to dinner plates as he frantically looked around, seeing just what his actions had caused.

The flames roared only but a moment before they died down and the tree and grass surrounding them had been burned to black.

"I told you..."

Cardin shot back to those eyes. Those bright green eyes.

Issei lifted his right fist and a green glow erupted from it. The lights burst to reveal another red gauntlet, similar to the first, covering his other hand now.

"I told you what would happen!"

There was a punch and Cardin's head was rocked to the side. His aura held but the sheer power behind it had caused it to flicker.

"You didn't want to listen!"

Issei sent another solid punch, a thunderous impact that made the larger boy's head rock back against the trunk, the bark cracking as it splintered from the force behind the blow.

"You went for Nora! My Nora!"

Issei hit him again and his aura flickered longer, growing dangerously close to being empty. He grabbed the gauntlet and tried to get himself free. The hand didn't budge.

"Attacking me is one thing. That would have, at least, made me respect you. Not by much but by some margin." His grip tightened. "But you attacked my friend. My family!"

He tightened his hold again and Cardin's aura flickered one last time before it shattered into several light particles. Issei wound one once more.

"I've lost too many as it is..."

There was a sickening crunch as Issei buried his fist into the larger boy's nose. It was wet and blood splattered on both of their faces. Only, Cardin was the only one screaming.

Issei dropped him and kneeled down where the boy whimpered. It was easy to tell that the fellow leader had never known pain. True physical pain. His hands hovered over the broken cartilage, almost afraid to touch it.

"I can kill you," Issei stated, far too low and far too calm from his prior shouting. He took a deep breath before exhaling through his nostrils. Neither noticed the smoke that billowed out. "Nora might not make it and that will be because of you."

There was an eerie calm about Issei. As if the anger had evaporated despite the earlier expressions he made. His eyes had also lost the traces of his earlier flame and seemed to only continue to glow blank.

(Kill him...)

"It would be easier to just kill you..."

Cardin tried to get the words out, his hands raised in a futile attempt to defend himself. "Please…" He wheezed.

Please, don't kill me.

Issei knew what the other leader wanted to say. He took a moment to pause, taking in the state of his opponent. He saw a boy who had bullied and belittled many, many people and harmed just as many. He saw the boy who had attacked his family and possibly caused permanent harm to someone he had come to care for deeply. He saw a boy who had held no remorse in any of his actions and only had now found that his life was in the hands of another. He saw the boy who had tried to kill his friend.

Issei's eyes hardened. The voices in his head continued to repeat their earlier words. Power continued to surge through him like a raging storm.

Cardin Winchester was a bigot. He was a racist. A savage. An ass. And the worst kind of scum there was. There was no place in this world for a lowlife such as himself.

He needed to die.

"I had promised to protect my family. To keep them safe from people like you. To stop people like you from taking them from me again!"

"P-P-Please, I'm sorry," Cardin sputtered out. "I-I didn't...

"You weren't sorry when you threw that jar. And you not meaning to does not excuse you from the actions you did," Issei said, ominously. "I gave you one last chance. You don't get another."

"I'll stop! I'm sorry!" Cardin cried.

There were footsteps behind Issei before a weight fell onto his back. Soft mounds were pressed into him as arms latched around his neck and a chin fell over his shoulder.

"Issei!"

"P-Pyrrha?" Issei replied as he stumbled forward. His eyes flickered from green back to brown before returning to green.

"Issei, stop! Please!" Pyrrha pleaded, squeezing him tighter.

The rage was still bubbling and his focus returned to Cardin. "Pyrrha, let me go! He needs to die!"

The spartan shook her head and tightened her hold on him. "I won't let go! Not when you are about to make a big mistake! You told me you didn't want this anger to control you anymore! That you didn't want to kill!"

"But-"

"No!" She cut him off. "This isn't right, Issei! Killing him will only make things worse!"

Issei could feel his eyes watering and he didn't stop the first few tears from falling. With every word she said, he could feel the rage evaporating. And with every bit of anger that left, slow realization came to dawn on him of what he was about to do.

"But...Nora..."

"Is fine. She'll be okay," she reassured. "We got her to the evac and she's going to make it."

"But..."

[Issei!] Another voice screamed in his ear.

'Ddraig?'

[Finally! What happened to you!?]

'I-I...'

[You nearly lost yourself to the Boosted Gear's power! I called out to you but you couldn't hear me!]

"W-What?" The shock made Issei speak aloud and Pyrrha, unaware of the dragon, continued on.

"You're my partner. My kind, caring partner. This isn't you and killing him isn't the answer."

[She's right, partner. This is not you and this is not the path to become who you want to be.]

"I...I...I've lost too many people. I can't... I can't..."

"Please, Issei, stop this..."

[You need to control this anger, hatchling.]

"I want them back..." He muttered, his voice choked. "It should have been me. I should've been there to help them..."

"It's okay, Issei," Pyrrha continued to soothe. "I'm here."

The tears were now flowing freely as Issei fell to his knees, Pyrrha falling on top of him. She never let go as he began to wail into her chest. There was a mix of sobbing and shouting and he held to her tightly. She didn't move from him, or wince under his strong grip, and simply stroked the back of his head and silently listened to his cries.

It wasn't long after that Glynda finally arrived to the scene and, to be fair, it was a lot more tame than what she had expected. Issei's outburst in the cafeteria and his words to Cardin had stuck to her just as much as his choice of words to her. Never had she expected him to go through with his threats. Then again, she had never expected Cardin's consistent escapes of punishment to culminate in him assaulting Nora. Now, she realized the severity of her disregard.

She surveyed the consequences of her brush off. Taking in Cardin's state, she saw the marks of the boy's gauntlet that pierced his neck. She also took note of the varying unconscious forms of Cardin's team. The broken weapon and slumped form of Sky. The prone and still Russel. And the pinned down Dove.

Then she turned to the spartan girl and dragon boy. Pyrrha had calmed him down and held him in her lap. The way he clung to her, desperately, was proof enough that she had been the one to subdue him before Cardin's injuries could have become fatal. The question now was why?

It wasn't her who had moved first to find and stop Issei. It was his partner who raced off for him and it was his partner who found him and stopped him.

Glynda had been slow. Glynda had hesitated. Two things she told herself she would never be again.

Was it due to her growing failure as his guardian? Was there some hidden meaning behind why she continued to keep an arms length from Issei? Her continued hesitation towards him seemed to be pushing him down this dark path. She had seen the signs and ignored them. Why?

His reaction at initiation. His continued frustration towards Ozpin that he thought he was concealing. The situation in the cafeteria. And now, the actions from his confrontation with Cardin.

It was lucky that the boy had his partner. It surprised her at how she had opened him up and allowed her in. And it was a surprise how she had not paused in her steps to stop him.

Their eyes met and the Mistralian girl smiled softly, sadly, as she continued to stroke her partner's head. Lovingly. Even now, she worried for him.

Issei still clung to her as she had to him. His eyes were shut and the soft rise and fall of his chest revealed he had fallen asleep. Pyrrha had trusted her partner to let go and to leave himself to her. He had. She had also held up the promise she made to both herself and Ren when he passed by her to get to Nora.

"Stop him." Was all he had said.

She knew. She knew immediately and raced to him. She knew that anguish all too well.

-XOXOXOXOX-

Issei's eyes fluttered open as he slowly rose from bed. The first thing that the Sekiryuutei did was lean over the side of the hospital bed's railing and violently dry heave. Never had he felt so drained in his life. His arms shook, trying to hold his weight as he leaned over to empty an empty stomach. After it passed, and it ended in failure, did he finally fall back into his bed, groaning miserably.

"Fuck me."

Slowly, he dragged himself up into a sitting position. His throat felt dry and raw and his head was swimming. He clutched it from the piercing pain that shot through.

[Whoa, kid, don't move so fast,] chided Ddraig.

"What happened?" Issei groaned, not caring about speaking out loud.

"I'd say a lot, Mr. Hyoudou," Ozpin answered. Issei didn't seem surprised as he turned to meet the Headmaster next to the door. "Because of you, an entire first year team has been put on medical leave."

"Good." Issei laid back into the pillow and closed his eyes. "I wanted to do much worse. Pyrrha is the only reason they aren't on permanent leave."

"What would that have accomplished, Mr. Hyoudou?"

Issei opened an eye to glare at him. "It would have rid you of bad Huntsmen-in-training. No one here would have missed them."

"That is-"

"Spare me the bullshit, Ozpin," Issei growled out. "No matter what you say, Team CRDL is due to your mistake. The teachers don't reprimand them, a decision I know is of your doing because I've seen them punish others. They made the mistake of finally pushing me over the edge and I took things into my hands. The question is why did you, the Headmaster of this academy, continuously let them go?"

Ozpin was silent for a moment. So long that Issei turned his head to look at him fully.

"You don't understand-."

"Understand what!?" Issei snapped. "It's easy to understand that what Cardin does is wrong! And the fact that you continuously do nothing about it is what makes him do what he did!"

Ozpin released a heavy sigh. "His father is on the council."

"The hell is that supposed to mean!?" Issei shouted. His head throbbed and he fell back into the bed once more with a grunt. "That's a shit excuse, Ozpin. You're on the council with him. You're the Headmaster of the best Huntsman academy. Your job is to train protectors, not bullies. Who gives a damn who's who's daddy. What matters is protecting the people."

"Do you not think I know that?" Ozpin asked, stress finally leaking through his mask. His glasses slid down the bridge of his nose and his nostrils flared showing the first signs that not everything was in control.

"No, I don't," Issei answered simply. Ozpin's eyes widened and the boy continued. "Maybe you once had but you do not anymore. God said you were a piece in saving this world. He came to talk to you. Not Glynda, not Port, not Oobleck, and not any of my friends. And yet they have taken fighting the Grimm way more proactive than you. Ever since I've gotten here, you've done nothing but sit on your hands and play principal while the Grimm continues to grow and kill more people. You've sat in that tower on your ass and pushed my training onto the teachers who might not even know of the threat. With the little leadership you've given, the teachers seem to be running the school, and have barely gotten by if people like Cardin are who those who cant protect themselves look up to." Issei sighed and buried his head deeper into the pillow. "Whatever trust God had given you, it does not exist anymore to me."

There was a brief silence. One that felt like ages to the old man. He wanted to say something but couldn't. Issei's words, a child's words, made complete and accurate sense. He had done nothing for years but send out Huntsman to live and die, thinking that what they were doing was helping. He had even stopped personally teaching students how to be true Huntsman. And, worst of all, for those who died, he only used it as fuel to continue an endless war. Instead of trying to find a way to stop it.

Issei continued.

"I was sent here to help, Ozpin. In my world, I acted like a bumbling, perverted fool whose only goal was to have a harem. It was because I didn't know of the power I possessed that I was killed and my world was destroyed due to me not playing my part. It is because of the lack of knowledge and secrecy in my world that inevitably led to its destruction." Issei took a very shaky breath, holding back the tears. He cried for the last time. "Do not make the same mistake as those that were in power in my world. And do not make the mistake of undermining me for some false hope of allowing me to still live this naive dream of a kid. It was that naivete that killed me in my past life and left me to rot in that park. That part of who I once was died with the corpse left in my world. So yeah, I'm pretty damn angry. I have a lot to be enraged about."

Issei now turned to Ozpin once more. "My friend, my family, almost died, Ozpin. You sat on your ass and she could have died... I'm not losing anymore family and I'll be damned if anyone else has to. Even if it means I have to kill you to stop those blindly following."

Ozpin stood in shock. Pure, unfiltered shock. Deja vu had struck him square in the jaw and the eyes he saw barring into him were now all too familiar to him. He didn't think there was much left that could surprise him, let alone shock.

[You saw my partner as another of your students and blind pawns. Such arrogance has come back to kick you in the teeth, wizard.] Ddraig spoke, making Ozpin freeze in place. His heart nearly stopped and the blood in his veins had run cold.

"You two are acquainted?" Issei asked, eyes still shut.

[Only through a small introduction just before you awakened.]

"Mmm."

[We are not of your world, boy. What we can do is beyond what you consider possible,] Ddraig chastised. It was like an adult explaining things to a child. Which, in hindsight, it was considering Ddraig's age. [Even now, Issei has already grown stronger than most of your students here and shall continue until not even you can stop him. I would not undermine him again, lest you lose your hope for a better tomorrow.]

Ozpin closed his eyes and sighed. It had truly been a long time since it was he receiving a reprimanding. And it seemed to be one he had desperately needed. Reality was setting in and the fairy tale he wanted to live was falling apart. There was still much to do and the recent signs showed that there was little time to do them. He had been a failure and still was such.

"You're right," he admitted, defeated.

"There was no doubt that he wasn't," Issei stated as he folded his arms.

Ozpin glared but only momentarily. "What more do you want from me?" He genuinely asked.

"I want you to start taking this seriously," Issei answered without hesitation. Ozpin nodded. "I mean it. The semester is just about over. You have one more before I take things into my own hands. Make it count. And, if I'm supposed to trust you. You need to start trusting me."

"I do trust-"

"Not from arms length, Ozpin. I was sent by God to help you. I think I've earned the right to know exactly what or who I'm fighting."

A bead of sweat slid down the side of Ozpin's cheeks. "R-Right..."

Issei nodded. "Good. Which is why I'm telling the truth to Pyrrha."

"Ri-... E-Excuse me?"

Angry Issei is angry about a lot of things.

His grief is practically a spectrum at this point but hopefully he'll eventually find his acceptance. Maybe.

Till then, how bout that new version of Second Liberation. Huh? It sucks? Meh, I thought it was cool.