Hi guys! It's been way too long since I have updated this story and I really have no excuses this time round. I just fell out of this fandom and haven't really been interested in it but I decided to get back to it because its really unfair to those who actually read this. Really sorry for the long wait but here is an update!-Kurohami

(Lost track of the reviews sorry)

Disclaimer: I do not own High School DxD

"Talking"

'Thoughts'

[Sacred Gear]

{Special Effects}

Chapter 6: More truths and new meetings

Kiba jumped back in fear, the overwhelming aura of the angels sparked terror in him. His control of his body was lost as he dropped to his knees, chills running down his spine as dreaded memories flooded his mind like a never-ending wave, his fingers trembling as he desperately grabbed the armrest of the couch for support, an evidence that he was still in the familiar Occult Research Room and not just living in a dream he couldn't escape from. After all, living was just what he had wished for when escaped from that horrifying place. Rias could have been nothing but an illusion. Maybe he was already dead.

"Hey, Kiba calm down." A familiar voice seemed to lessen his blurry vision as he recovered from his panic attack.

"Yuuto-Kun! Let's play!" The unclear image of a brown-haired boy called out to him as he ran down the hill to get his attention, not before getting stopped by an old man. His face was epitome of freedom as a carefree smile graced his features with playful eyes seemed to shout out that he was a ball of dun as he bounded down the steps, a small frown taking over when the old man had gotten a hold of him. Who was he? What was his name again?

"Kiba!" Kiba immediately snapped back to reality, the face of that boy replaced with a hardened and steely face of Hyodou Issei, who had an uncanny resemblance to the mysterious boy in his flashback even though they had two completely different expressions, the boy had a variety of emotions but Issei's expressions seemed to have buried in a hole somewhere.

"Hey, are you okay?" Issei seemed worried as he ran a hand down his short locks as he sighed unconsciously. Kiba gave him a slight smile as he stood up, the high-class angel observing their actions with a patient smile although his eyes held a slight look of worry as he witnessed Kiba having trouble getting back on his feet.

Thinking that it was about the right time to speak up, Michael moved in closer and entered the clubroom, eyes fixated on the blond and brown-haired boys as he took a seat on the couch, a dull-looking suit fitting on his body as he got rid of the extravagant clothes he had to wear while having his wings out. "I've heard of you, Yuuto kiba." He spoke as he gave a genuine smile to the blond-haired teen who stared at him

Kiba failed to hold back a sarcastic scoff,"As the sole survivor of the The Holy Sword Project?" His eyes held a deadly gleam,a challenge to see if the angel dared to say anymore.

The angel, who seemed unaffected by the heavy tension in the room had already turned his attention Issei,"Actually, I dropped by because I needed to talk to you Issei-kun." Issei looked at him, willing him to go on as Michael pursed his lips. "in private."

Seemingly getting his meaning, Issei stood up, excusing himself as he turned to Kiba,"Is it okay if you take care of Asia? She's been overworking, god knows how long that crazy priest made her use her magic." Kiba nodded his head in understanding, curious about the conversation those two were going to have but he decided that if Sirzechs-sama had entrusted Issei with the job of protecting his beloved sister, it would only be necessary to trust him too.

Walking out of the club room, they made their way to the side of the old schoolhouse as Michael cast a magic spell that enveloped them in a circle, probably to keep their conversation to themselves in case there were eavesdroppers.

"So, what else did you need to talk to be about other than that crazy priest?" Issei raised an eyebrow as he leaned onto the furnished walls of the building, a thin line on his face as he braced himself for some kind of horrible news but he was only greeted with a sheepish smile from the archangel.

"About that, it seems that he had taken off much before the angels I sent could get to him although the traces he left behind definitely will allow us to find him, sooner or later." He let out a small chuckle as Issei grimaced at the thought of that priest running around.

"Don't worry, he will be punished for his sins." Michael confirmed as he patted Issei's shoulder as the brown haired teen tensed underneath his touch.

"Moreover, I've heard of the frequent attacks on the body." Worry laced in his voice, Michael held out a bottle containing a blue-colored liquid,"I'be retrieved this from the fountain of Healing, it may not do much but it will take away some of the pain you are suffering from."

Issei took the bottle from him gratefully and the the circle degenerated as Michael stepped away and bid Issei farewell, vanishing in a second as the blinding light made Issei flinch for a moment. Just enough for him to miss a small red bird fly past the window.

"Issei! Are you okay?" A body flung itself onto Issei as he turned around, stuffing the gift into his back-pocket as his hands found the waist of the body before realizing it was Rias as she buried he face into hsi chest, a small blush making its way to his face at the close proximity.

"I felt the ominous presence but I just shook it off. I didn't know a high-class angel would actually try to attack my territory!" She continued to blabber about something like making sure those "damm angels" didn't overstep their boundaries again. Issei let a small smile creep up on his face as he smoothed the loose ends of Rias's hair, "Its fine Buchou, I knew that person."

Rias jumped away from his grasp as she looked at him in shock, "What?"

He merely shrugged,"It was Michael-sama, I contacted him on the matter of that priest called Freed and made sure that Asia was really a possible candidate to be a bishop suitable to be in your peerage."

A dark aura immediately enveloped Rias and Issei questioned himself if he had said anything wrong as Rias had a full-blown blush on her face, "Then I didn't need to be so worried!" She glared at Issei before she stormed off to the club room, leaving Issei to shake his head in exasperation before trailing behind her.

The other members had also returned and it seemed that Akeno had wasted no time in preparing tea for the fellow members of the club as Rias took a look at Asia who was still in deep slumber, a look of concern on her face as she brushed away the strands of blond hair that covered her face.

"So, how did you get to know the current leader of the angels?" Rias asked as she made her way to her desk, her eyes burning hole in Issei as the others all smiled awkwardly at how serious Rias was.

"Isn't that a little straightforward, Buchou?" Issei teased with the cold humor he seemed to have naturally.

"Spit it out, Hyodou." Rias shot back as her eyes dared Issei to talk back to her.

Issei let out a sigh of defeat as he found a spot on the couch, taking a cup of tea and sending his thanks to Akeno for brewing the tea as he faced Rias again," Well, he hired me for a job to search for his sister since Gabriel-sama seemed to have gotten lost somewhere, more like no one had seen her for the whole day." A faint smile on his lips as he remembered the incident," Maybe I'm a hero for sis-cons." He teased yet again as Rias looked away, averting her gaze away from his.

"Gabriel-sama, your brother is very worried for you, please come out!" Issei tried his best to sound as gentle as possible as he gained stares from the angels around him, his dark attire standing out from the sea of white. He stalked through the endless path that led to a small garden as his eyes widened at the woman that stood in front of him. Her back faced him as she was dancing to a peaceful melody. Her graceful form was a sight to admire as her body moved to the music."Gabriel-sama? Your brother is looking for you, he seems to be very worried." Snapping out of the trance, the woman bestowed him with a ever-so beautiful smile as she walked up to him," I apologize, please lead me to him."

A fond grin on his face as he remembered the look of relief on Michael face as he saw his sister had been the highlight of that job," Are you thinking of her? The most beautiful woman in Heaven?" Rias asked him as he turned his attention back to her.

"She was a woman of beauty and grace when I first met her, she is definitely someone worthy of respect." He replied as Rias smiled at the gentleness of his voice, it was like a different side of Issei, someone that was more emotionally-inclined to feel and act like most do, instead of the empty shell he usually lived in.

"Buchou, I know I'm not the most expressive person but I would like you to know that I do take this job of protecting you seriously so please forgive me if I am harsh sometimes but please understand I put everything into the job given to me." He spoke up suddenly as if reading her thoughts but this was all interrupted when he flicked his wrist, a knife flying out of the sleeve as it missed Rias by a centimeter.

"What do you think you're doi-" Kiba was cut off when Rias gasped as she saw the knife had caught something as it flew onto the wall. An orange-red feather lodged onto the blade as the animal that was coated in those feathers had probably made a narrow escape.

"It seems somebody was really eavesdropping on our conversation, though I can't confirm the aim." Issei stated as he rested his arm on Rias's shoulder, removing the knife from the wall and applying some magic on it as the hole on the wallpaper slowly went back to its original look as if a knife had not just ripped it apart.

Still stunned from the sudden action, Rias only nodded her head,"Issei, you really are on task, huh?"

Issei grinned,"Of course, you are my master after all and it is my duty to protect you." He knelt down and took Rias's hand," My pledge to you that I will always have your back and that my loyalty stays with you."

For once, a look of sincerity of both faces as Rias looked a little flustered that Issei had done that in front of the whole peerage but nonetheless, was touched by his genuine words.

xx

"Tsk. What the hell, that brat managed to realize that I was eavesdropping on them." A man with blond hair sat, annoyed at how his familiar was almost killed.

"When I heard Rias had been seen with another young man, I thought she had been cheating on me but it seems to be its just a new peerage member of hers, I shouldn't even have been worried!" He laughed to himself as he made himself comfortable on the couch.

Another girl who had the same blonde locks as him tied into twin tails with large, drill-like curls, looked bored as she sipped from her tea,"Rias-san hasn't even married you yet, how would her being with another man be considered cheating?"

The man laughed as he readjusted his position,"She can't call off the engagement for long, we will get married."

Standing up as he brushed off imaginary dust from his coat, he gave the blond girl a small wave,"And with you completing my hare-. I mean peerage, she can't possibly try to break off the engagement with a proposal to have a rating game."

Eyes gleaming with a mischievous glint, he walked out of the room, leaving the blond girl to sigh at his departure.

xx

Asia's eyes fluttered open as her face scrunched up in confusion at her unfamiliar surroundings.

"Issei-san!" The nun screamed as the priest made a move to hurt her brown-haired friend.

Shooting up fom the sofa, her sight was greeted with the face of a red-haired,"Ara, have you finally woken up?"

Asia's face turned red as she realized that there was a head resting on her lap, none other than the brown-haired boy she had first thought of when she woke up. "A-Ah yes! I am Asia Argento, please take care of me!"

"Ara, she's a cute one, isn't she?" A black-haired girl that Asia had never seen before giggled and Asia couldn't help but stare because of how beautiful she was. Seriously, where were all these pretty women coming out from?

The red-haired lady giggled at her friend's word as she gently patted Asia's head,"How do you feel? You must really have over-used your magic for you to sleep for so long." Asia looked down as she remembered Freed's sick grin as he forced her to put up a barrier so devils wouldn't venture in the area as he relaxed in the church, not giving her a single moment of rest.

Suddenly, Issei stirred from his sleep, shaking his head to wake himself as he looked up and found Asia staring down at him, giving him a huge smile as he still looked a little tired from his small nap.

"Asia! You're awake!" He seemed to snap out from his drowsiness as he sat up, immediately putting his hand on her cheek before he pinched her. Hard.

"Issei-san! Ow!" Asia pouted as he gave her a small smile,"This is my master, Rias Gremory, and her peerage." He introduced as he pointed to Rias, the black-haired girl and the others Asia didn't notice were in the room before: a blond-haired teen and a white-haired girl.

Rias welcomed her as the others gave a short introduction as the black-haired girl which Asia learnt that her name was Akeno poured her tea and the boy was called Kiba and the white-haired girl named Koneko.

"Issei here couldn't bear to leave you to that crazy priest so he decided to save you but I would like you to know we aren't kind humans or something like that." Rias explained but Asia cut her off,"I know. You're devils right? Freed-san called Issei-san that when he came."

Rias seemed taken aback at how calm the girl was,"Well, I would like to ask if you would be keen to join my peerage? Your ability is something special and I will treat you as a family member, my younger sister?" Rias joked as Asia listened intently.

Asia gave Rias a bright smile,"I will always be willing to repay the help I was given, I am more than honored to be of your assistance!" She answered as she got up from the couch, bowing as Rias returned her smile.

Rias went over to her study table, retrieving the evil piece she had gotten ready for Asia,"Then I, Rias Gremory, will make you, Asia Argento, a bishop of the peerage of the Gremory family."

As the evil piece entered Asia, there was a moment of searing heat as Asia winced, trying to get used to the feeling before it subsided, causing her to heave sigh of relief,"Thank you, Buchou-san!"

Rias put an arm around Asia,"Now, I'll just borrow you for the day since I have to explain to you about the different aspects of being a devil and some other stuff, alright?" Asia nodded eagerly as Rias led her to the study desk before she looked up,"Thank you for the help today, you'll can leave now."

As the others left, Issei stood at the entrance of the Research Club, rigid as he stared afar, his stance poised and ready to battle at any moment.

"Issei, you're free to go too."

"But Buc-"

"issei." Rias ended the bicker with a raise of an eyebrow and Issei groaned as he left without another word, bidding them farewell for the day.

However, Asia had stopped Issei in his tracks when she called out to him,"Issei-san. Thank you!"

Issei smiled as he heard the words,"No problem, Asia."

xx

"Why did you take so long to get home, doofus." Raynare flopped down onto the sofa as Issei tied an apron around his uniform,"Well, be grateful I'm even cooking you dinner at 10pm."

Raynare rolled her eyes at how petty the teen was,"What were you caught up in anyway?" She questioned as she flipped through the channel, the news of a dead man being found in an apartment catching her attention.

"This crazy guy called Freed Sellzen was making use of a girl called Asia Argento and I thought it would be best to teach him a lesson." Issei said as he flipped an omelette, confused at the sudden silence and lack of response from Raynare.

"She was the one who we wanted to take, she was recently banished from the church she was raised up in for healing a devil and being labelled as a witch, was sent to this church to repent for her sins or something like that. Her Sacred Gear is really something..." Raynare trailed off as she sighed, they really had been rash when they planned to kill the girl for her power, it was fortunate that the plan had been called off when she was defeated by Issei.

A plate of omelette rice was pushed in front of her face as Issei rubbed her head gently,"Don't beat yourself about it, everyone makes mistakes and at the very least, you didn't carry out that plan." He remarked as he looked at the television, his mind in a total different place.

"You are a useless prince if you can't even carry out a simple job." The old man reprimanded as Issei shook his head wildly, "Don't hit me! Please!"

"Then kill them!" The old man's patience was wearing thin at how the prince was such a coward, refusing to kill the survivors they had found in the village, they were wasting their resources anyway, it was better to kill them.

"B-But they did nothing wrong." The boy stammered as he tried to reason his way out of this but the old man had enough.

"If you don't want another beating then do it!" The old man hollered as Issei dropped to his knees, clutching his ears as a knife was placed on the space beside him.

He picked it up, trembling as the chains of the trapped innocents rattled violently, they were as scared as the boy, just that their roles were different, one as the killer and the others as the killed.

"I-I I'm sorry" Were the last words they heard as Issei plunged the knife into their vital areas, screams and shouts of pain filled the room as he made sure they were dead.

When he was done with his job, he had been painted red, his tears mixing with the blood of others as he wept not only for himself, but for the ones he had killed, the many innocent people being killed and everything else, maybe even because the world was round.

[Hey, what are you thinking about?]

'About why I can't use you, piece of shit.' Issei rolled his eyes at the unwelcomed guest.

[Dang, what's with your bad temper?]

'I was thinking about what a coward I was back then, alright?"

[You shouldn't dwell in the past.]

Ddraig seemed to had enough of the conversation as he didn't speak up anymore and Issei was left with silence yet again.

It was already quite late so Issei checked that Raynare had fallen asleep before making his way to the bathroom, he took out a piece of talisman from his body and was immediately struck with immense pain, bringing him to fall on the floor as he slowly took out the bottle he received from Micheal and downed it in a gulp. The pain was lessened but he was still unable to get up, he sighed as he lay on the foor,'Time to bear with this for another hour

xx

Beep!* *Beep!*

Issei groaned at the annoying ringtone of his phone and reached out to blindly grab for it.

Flipping open the old phone, he answered it while grumbling incoherent words as the amused voice of his master filled his ears,"Ara, did I interrupt your beauty sleep?"

"What do you want?" He asked impatiently as he flipped to the other side of the bed.

"Ara after promising me you would protect me, what i I had been kidnapped right now?" The woman teased from the other end.

"Then you wouldn't sound goddamn happy this early in the morning." Issei countered as he got up from his bed.

Giggling at his response, Rias decided to cut the chase and tell him why she had called,"I'm going to train you on how to use your Sacred Gear, so meet me at the field in 10 mins."

"Buchou what the hel-" He was cut off as she hung up on the call and he smacked himself in the face.

'What is wrong with this woman?'

xx

Issei's grumpy face was a sight to see when he arrived at the destination in his PE attire and Rias who wore a simple pink jumpsuit still looked pretty even if the outfit was hideous if he had to say so himself.

"Come on! Let's start off with 10 laps around the track!" Rias shouted and issei looked at her in bewilderment,"What has this got to do with my Sacred Gear at all?"

"You need stamina to train your Sacred Gear." Rias grinned wickedly as Issei muttered something about devils under his breath as he took off, pacing himself to run the dreaded 4 kilometers.

With the completion of his running, Rias bounded off to get him to do even more physical training, ranging from pull-ups to sit-ups to ridiculous exercises like carrying her up the stairs or pushing her on the swings, which was more to Rias's amusement that his.

"Alright, summon Ddraig out please." Rias asked as she sat in the club room, finally getting serious about the training.

Issei focused on his arm as the image of the red dragon appeared in his mind and the gauntlet started to form on his arm after a small light shone though the club room.

"Can you try calling out anything from the gauntlet?" Rias asked and Issei focused yet again, imaging the red dragon spewing out hot flames onto its enemies as it ploughed through the army of soldiers.

The gauntlet's green gem shone for a moment before it died out again as Rias shook her head in wonder,"I've never seen someone fail so pathetically in that."

Issei shot her a glare as she giggled,"You need to pour in your emotions when you use your sacred gear, it isn't just a tool you use, it chose you for a specific reason and that is because it finds a connection with you."

Issei nodded as he recalled Ddraig talking to him why he chose him as his host, although it mostly was out of pure luck but there were a few things they agreed on: Revenge, justice.

So, he concentrated on the things they had in image changing as he saw the dragon now fighting for a cause and not blindy killing everyone in sight.

[Boost!]

The sudden call spooked him out a little as Rias looked impressed they had made progress with just a single sentence from her.

"Well, I didn't expect you to actually make progress but please, continue." She looked Issei willing him in the eye as he focused on the gauntlet on his arm.

[Boost!]

2 seconds.

[Boost!]

2 seconds

[Boost!]

Issei's eyes widened as he suddenly felt the potential to release something and he readied the gauntlet onto the wall of the club room, willing for the magic power to flow out.

[Dragon Shot!]

The shot of power pushed him back as it landed on the wall, forming a huge hole on it as Issei winced at the destruction.

"That marks the end of our training!" Rias stood up as she clapped her hands together before she cast her magic on the wall, returning it to its original form.

Issei looked stunned at the amount of power he and released in one shot, it couldn't compare to the magic he had learnt but it was definitely something new.

"What the hell..." Issei mumbled as he looked at the gauntlet in awe before he noticed Rias had a sad expression on her face as her fingers traced the pattern on the wallpaper before she spoke up,"Hey Issei, do you know what love is?"

Issei was taken aback by the sudden question but composed himself before answering,"Though I never experienced the romantic kind of love but I think i have gone close to feel the love for family and friends. If romance is anything like that, then your heart feels warm when you think about them and they're always there for you but maybe the romantic kind of love has more complicated feelings like wanting t be near them or enjoying their company even if its just for a little while."

Rias gave him a genuine smile,"I didn't expect you to give such a detailed answer but thank you."

Issei scratched his cheek sheepishly as he looked away, he should really stop embarrassing himself...it wasn't like him to do so.

"Come on, don't stare into space, I have a surprise for you! " Rias pouted as she had lost the attention of Issei.

Issei shook his head, a chuckle making it's way out of his mouth as he followed Rias to her "surprise."

xx

To say he was shocked was an understatement, he was completely blown out of his mind when she had led him back to his home.

However, boxes lined outside his house and a familiar blond haired girl stood beside the apartment, waving excitedly.

"When I asked her about living arrangements, she asked to live with you and I saw no problem in that." Rias smirked as she wiggled her eyebrows playfully.

Issei seemed to have lost his ability to talk as he looked at the blond girl moving inside and a surprised scream following afterwords.

"Woah! You didn't tell me someone was moving in." Raynare commented as Asia looked shocked to see her.

"Hi, I'm Raynare, a fallen angel." She shook Asia's hand and brought her in for a small hug.

Issei smiled at their interaction as he made his way into his house, giving Asia a short introduction to his apartment before inviting Rias in for tea.

"So is Asia going to attend Kuoh Academy too?" Rias nodded as Asia seemed to look forward to going to school.

"I arranged for her to be in the same Academy since my family owns it, it's a waste to not use that advantage, don't you think?" Rias explained as the movers carried the boxes to the respective rooms.

After they had finished their job, Rias handed them the money and seemed to have another "Surprise" for issei as she beckoned him over with her finger as she stood at the doorway.

"Let me guess, you got me a puppy?" Issei gave a bemused grin as he met her at the doorway but when he didn't get a sarcastic response and yelped when Rias pulled him down by his collar and kissed him on the cheek,"Thanks for keeping me company today."

With that, she left after bidding the other two girls farewell and Issei fondly touched the place she kissed.

Though that was the only time he actually showed emotion for the rest of night as he didn't initiate any conversation or gave short replies when Raynare or Asia asked him something.

I can't fall in love. No one will love someone like me. I'm a worthless piece of trash.

He didn't get any sleep that night.

xx

"Please welcome our new transfer student, Asia Argento!"The homeroom teacher invited Asia in as the class started going crazy over how cute she looked.

The males of the class were like wolves as they stared at her, drooling all over the classroom as they whistled loudly, causing Asia to blush at the attention she was getting, causing the commotion to get louder.

The female side of the class had already set their goal to protect Asia from the guys as she looked so innocent that it was a natural instinct to take care of her.

Issei gave her a supportive wave and urged her to introduce herself as she stood at the front of the classroom.

"I'm Asia Argento. I'm staying with Issei-san. Please take care of me!" The class went silent at her introduction as issei's head immediately made contact with the table.

"Hyodou! You bastard!"

"She can't be protected anymore!"

"Why him!"

"How is Hyodou so lucky?"

It turned into a "Lets bully Hyodou Issei" session as everyone started hurling insults at Issei and he sighed as he rested his head on the table.

"P-Please don't bully Issei-san, he's been taking are of me and treating me nicely." Asia reasoned as everyone suddenly turned their focus to Asia as they all coudn't believe how nice she was, some even being as dramatic to cry about how kind she was to live with Issei.

After the slight delay in the lesson, the teacher let Asia sit in front of Issei as she turned back to chat with him,"Issei-san, are you feeling better? You were really quiet after Buchou left yesterday."

"Yeah, I just did a lot of thinking. Sorry about that." Issei apologized as he patted Asia's head, earning some glares from the guys as Asia giggled.

xx

"Class was the worst." Issei complained as he sat on the couch of the Occult research room as Akeno passed him some tea.

"Everyone was calling me a pervert." He groaned as Koneko patted his head in sympathy.

Kiba chuckled,"You were known for being one way before Asia-san entered."

Issei buried his head into his palms as he let out another groan, why did things have to be so complicated in high school, he didn't even choose to live with her.

Rias shook her head as she hugged Issei from behind, smirking at how he immediately tensed up,"You know, as much as I'm an assassin, I;m really not a big fan of physical contact."

"Well then, you better start getting used to it." Rias poked her tongue out before there were knocks on the club room.

"Oh they're already here." Rias stood back up,"Come in!"

The door opened as the student council strolled in, a particular blond boy got Issei's attention as he glared at him when he entered the club room.

"Well then, let's introduce our peerage before we discuss the terms of our meeting." Sona pushed her glasses up as she stared at Rias.

"What terms" issei questioned as he stood between the two girls, an ominous aura between the two of them.

'To settle which of us are able to let our peerage choose our familiars first." Rias answered as the two girls met in another staring contest.

yay I'm done! remember to follow, favorite and comment! :)