Chapter 4:

The next morning, Issei felt better than he had the previous few days. When he came downstairs, his parents seemed starstruck by his behaviour. "Son, have you been ok? You seem down in the dumps lately. How are things going with that Rias?" was the first thing his mum asked when he sat down at the table. Issei, not knowing what to say, just mumbles out "Uh not great, mum..." The uproar in questions from his parents nearly made him tell the truth, but he kept his lips shut as he dragged his bag and the untouched pamphlets to school.

Shido woke up no different from the previous days: somehow more tired than the next. The endless nightmares and intrusive thoughts never left him in his sleep. His aunt and uncle would ask repeatedly if he was ok, sometimes casually and sometimes bluntly. No matter what, he'd just say "Yeah." Today was no different.

That morning when Issei arrived at the gates of Kuou, he noticed Shido ahead with his head down. Feeling a mild high, he began walking over to him somewhat excitedly, but before he got into his eye view, he felt someone else kick him in the rear.
"Ow! What the hell?" he shouted while turning around in annoyance. He was met with the girls from the kendo club giving him death glares and high went straight to a low.

"H-hey ladies. Little early for club activities eh?" Issei stammered out.
"Listen here mutt, we have something to explain to you," Murayama said seriously, ignoring the statement. At that, a girl with short pink hair named Katase got into Issei's face. "We heard you join the occult research club, so here's a little warning from us" she states with thin eyes and the cracking of her knuckles. "Try anything funny with Kiba, and we'll cut off your manhood and feed it back to you" she finished with a demented smile.

Issei was trapped in a four-way corner, but as luck would have it, he heard Shido call out "Issei you good there?"
"Ugh, this doesn't concern you, home-wrecker!" Murayama says looking disgusted.
"Oh hi, Murayama! You're not still mad about that 'thing' are you?" Shido remarks with a wicked grin.
"What?! That's not the point!" she stammered. "Just why are you even defending this pig anyway?!"
"Good question. Yet why' you attacking him before he's even got the chance to stare at your pancake tits?" Shido answers with a shrug.

At that, an angered Katase grabbed Shido by the collar and remarks "You know we can kick your scrawny little ass too, right?", to which Shido asks bewildered "Uhh I highly doubt you would be that stupid", making Issei bite his lip in worry. Katase gets more annoyed and states even harsher "Doesn't anything phase you? Or do you understand anything with that bullshit music in your ears?", to which Shido answers "Sorry what?! Can't hear you! What you saying?!" Issei was bracing himself for a fistfight, which thankfully never happened as he saw Kiba walk over in confusion.

"Hey girls! What are you up to today?" he asked in a polite tone. The girl's tone and mannerisms flipped and Murayama and Katase step aside from Issei and Shido.
"Oh, hi Kiba. We were just making sure these dogs knew their place~" Murayama said in a cutesy voice.
'Jesus, these girls are freaking insane. Then again, every girl gets freaky when it comes to Kiba' Issei said to himself.
Kiba chuckled before replying "Oh girls, you worry too much. I promise you me, Issei and Shido are very well acquainted."
Issei looked over at Shido and saw his head tilted to the side. He doesn't see him blushing as Kiba walks closer to him. "Ladies you have nothing to worry about. These two are completely harmless" Kiba states while placing his right arm over Issei's shoulder, making Issei feel oddly safe. This results in the girls giving him the stink eye before leaving.

"Hey, uh, thanks man," he said graciously. Kiba smiled at Issei.
"No problem man. We gotta stick together after all" he replied before looking at Shido. "Hey Shido, you good there?"
Shido snapped out of his trance and waved his hand around while saying "Yeah of course. Why wouldn't I be, hehe..."
"You sure? You have a mild blush about you" Kiba asks innocently.
"What?! Nah Nah, you're seeing things, blondie!" Shido stammers out while going redder.
"Well ok, if you say so. See you two later then" Kiba answers with a smile before leaving, the others waving him off.

Issei walked up to Shido and asked "Hey, you good?"
"Of course man. It ain't the first time she tried scaring me" he replied.
"Yeah, true. But that's the first time I've seen you blush since like what, 10?" Issei remarks with interest.
"I think your seeing red from all that blood leaving your body" Shido quips back before walking off in a hurry. Issei rolls his eyes and begins making his way to class.

As Shido walked into school, trying to hide the red that formed on his face, he feels his right shoulder collide with someone else's. "Oh fuck, I'm sorry" he mutters out while turning to see who it was. He feels himself on the verge of exploding as he sees it's Akeno, looking mildly frazzled. "Oh don't worry, it's ok," she says before she realises who it was. "Oh good morning Shido. It's nice seeing you again. I'd hope I didn't scare you the last time we met~" she adds with a warm smile.

"Oh no, it's fine" Shido quickly states before trying to leave.
"Aww, why are you so eager to leave? Am I making you feel uncomfortable?~" she asks, squinting her eyes.
"Nah, of course not!" Shido begins explaining, shying away in embarrassment and avoiding the shocked gazes of the crowd. "I'm just in a rush that's all, heh."

"Well ok. But please be sure to visit us more often" Akeno exclaims cheerfully "Unlike some people, we don't care who you are." Shido chuckles and makes his way to class, not looking back at the grinning Akeno who thought 'My, him pretending to act innocently is so cute~"

As Issei enters his class, he saw Matsuda and Motohama talking really close to each other. Issei walks over and asks "Hey what are you guys talking about?" Both turned their heads and gave him a slightly disgusted look. "Uhh, what's up guys?" he says confused. He then notices that every girl in the class was giving him the same look. Issei ignored it when he sat down, but then he heard Motohama whisper "I think it's working" to Matsuda.

Annoyed, Issei asks "Ok guys, what the hell did you do?"
"Oh nothing," Matsuda says coyly "We may have started a rumour about you..."
"A rumour? About what?!" Issei asks in confusion.
"That you and Kiba were tots dating" Motohama replies nonchalantly.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Issei shouts, bringing everyone's attention. "Hey cool your jets, Issei! It's not that bad-" Matsuda begins stating, which made Issei grab him by the collar and exclaim "Oh yeah, it's not like every girl in the school wants in his pants or anything!" Motohama then butts in and adds "Well that's what you get for joining the babe club without us! Now you get to be the guy that stole the school's sexy blonde boy", making Issei release Matsuda. His eyes blink forcefully as he holds his hand up in confirmation before stating "Wait, you did that because I joined the occult research club without you guys?"

Both Matsuda and Motohama looked at each other and replied "Uh pretty much so." Issei was flabbergasted, so much so he shouted even louder "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU TWO?!", making the others shrink into their pants. "I've stuck by you idiots since forever and now all wanna do you to me now is use me as a scapegoat for your bullshit!" At this point, Issei was so loud, that Shido could hear him clear as glass from next door and through the noise pollution of his music. He silently muffled to himself "I guess Issei finally lost his marbles..."

Matsuda and Motohama hung their heads in shame, which made Issei hesitate long enough for the teacher to come in, forcing him to sit down. All throughout the day, Issei avoided Matsuda and Motohama like the plague and kept his gaze away from everyone who was snickering amongst themselves as he walked passed. When lunch came, he grabbed his stuff and walked to the club as fast as he could. When he entered, Rias sat at her desk with Kiba on one of the couches. Rias saw the angered look on Issei's face and asked curiously "What's the matter, Issei?" Issei answered dismissively "It's nothing, president. Just a rough morning." Kiba then questions bluntly "Does it have to do with a dumb rumour going around?", making Issei sigh and groan out "Yep. I nearly killed Matsuda and Motohama in class."

Kiba chuckled lightly to himself and add "Well silly things like that won't matter in the long run. People will forget in due time."
"I hope you're right, dude" Issei replies while sitting on the couch opposite his.
"I also heard another fallen angel attacked you yesterday and you fought her off," Kiba says looking intrigued. "How did it go?"
"Heh, well there she was, standing there, going 'omg you should be dead blah blah blah'" Issei says with intensity, moving his hands around as he did so. "Next thing I know, I threw my fist at her and BOOM! I shot her clothes off and she went flying!"

Kiba sighed with an awkward smile and asks "And how did you do this?"
"Oh, this red thing formed on my hand" Issei replied while pointing to his left cuff.
"Speaking of which," Rias remarks. "Can I see your sacred gear, Issei?"

Issei, feeling a rush of excitement, turns his head to Rias, his left arm out and declared "Check this shit out!", concentrating on trying to activate his gear. After a minute of nothing happening, he comments "Goddammit, why isn't it working?" Rias adds "Well maybe try concentrating on protecting something in particular" At that, Issei looked over Rias and his eyes looked at her breast. He made a dopey smile as images of her naked flashed before him, not long before his hand flash red and summoned the cuff.

Kiba looked in amazement and says "I must say, that's impressive Issei."
"Heh, I know. I'm just that badass," he says smugly, making Kiba rolls his eyes.
"Your gear is quite a sight, I'll give it that" Rias comments, looking at Issei in intrigue.
"Hey, what is a sacred gear in the first place?" Issei asks, looking at the red scales and green orb. Realising his ignorance, Rias sits up straight and answers "Well in our world, devils and angels can use a wide range of weapons and abilities. Sacred gears are some of the oldest and rarest weapons in the known universe. Each can grate a person with power that no other can ever come close to providing."

She then points at Issei's hand and exclaims "Your gear there is a Dragon's hand. They come from the very same creatures of legend and range dramatically in powers." Issei marvelled at the orb, his mind racing with potential abilities. "But of course, all power comes at a cost" Rias remarks with a shrug "Which is why starting next Monday, I'm going to get that body of yours into peak condition!"

At first, Issei's head fell to the floor, thinking 'Dammit. If PE wasn't enough already...' But then his head raises as the idea of Rias working out with him controls his imagination. 'Then again I get to see Rias in a sports bra and a pair of booty shorts!' he added while drooling. "Heh, not to interrupt your fantasy over there, but you still have flyers to hand out" Rias comments, snapping Issei back into reality.

"Oh yeah..." Issei mumbles out.
"Hey tell me, why were you distracted yesterday?" Rias asks randomly.
"Oh that! So I met this girl right" Issei began explaining "And we got talking and it turns out she was looking for the old church outside of town and-" Rias gets up from her table and says exacerbated "Did you go in there?" Issei is taken about and replies "What? No, I didn't. Something about that situation was off. And looking at that building made me feel sick."

"Well, I'm not surprised. That's the Devil's instinct for yeah" Kiba comments casually.
"Issei, promise me on your life that you will never approach that church" Rias commands.
"Yeah I got that, but-" Issei began before Rias cut him off. "I'm sorry, but if that girl you met has anything to do with that church, then she's more trouble than it's worth."

That afternoon Issei was in town trying to hand out pamphlets. He was more focused on trying to be more persuasive than yesterday, but like yesterday, no one even looked at him. 'Well, shit! No one's coming up to me cuz I haven't got a pair of boobs or a cute outfit!' he groans to himself. He sits down for a moment, contemplating his life decisions up until that point. He then hears a sarcastic voice ask "Why the long face, sex pest?" Issei looks up from his seat to see Shido smirking at him, making him answer tiredly "Oh hey..."

"You look like shit. What are you doing?" Shido questions, looking at the pamphlets in curiosity.
"I'm stupidly promoting our club's services" Issei grumbles out loud.
"Ha! Lemme guess, no one's taken an interest because you ain't a gorgeous woman?" Shido snickers.
"Put a sock in it! I'm still pissed about this morning" Issei remarks annoyed.

Shido sits down next to him and comments "Yep, I heard your couple's quarrel from next door. What did the idiots do?" Issei rolls his eyes and says "They spread a dumb rumour me and Kiba were together!", making Shido snort and add "Oh yeah, cuz you're totally in his league!" Issei elbowed him and replies irritated "Like I'm interested in guys in the first place!" "Yeah I know, Sir boob cultist. I was playing" Shido remarks with his own elbow jab. At that, his phone buzzed and he sees was a message from Mae.

"You have Bitchy Lady's phone number?" Issei comments.
"Not by choice" Shido begins "Ugh, she wants me to meet her at the gym right now."
"Heh, more push-ups?" Issei replies smugly.
"God I hope not. Well good luck with your task, shit for brains" Shido remarks while getting up. "You too, fuck face" Issei remarks back as Shido walks off, him quickly flipping Issei off as he went out of view. Issei then picks himself off the seat and assumes walking around aimlessly like a headless chicken.

Shido walks and sees Mae waiting impatiently outside of the gym, this time wearing yoga pants and carrying a duffle bag. "About time. I was starting to think you were dead" she comments with a hand wave. "Well, I nearly was yesterday. A fricking fallen angel tried busting my balls before-" Shido begins before Mae interrupts with a "Woah Woah, excuse me?" with a look of shock. Shido shrugs and remarks "Yeah after we parted ways, another one of those fucks tried attacking me and Issei yesterday."

Mae squints her eyes and asks "Exactly what was that monkey doing with you?"
"Hey hey, cool your jets" Shido answers hastily "We were just walking home."
"Hmph. And how did you fight that thing off?" Mae questions.
"Oh, Issei pulled out this red thing on his hand and sent that bitch flying" Shido remarks casually.

Mae's eyes bludge at this. 'That pervert can already activate his sacred gear?!' she shouts to herself. Then doing her best calm face, she places a hand on Shido's shoulder and says with a forced casualness "How's about we do some proper angel training today?" Shido looks at her confused and comments "Uhh ok-" before being dragged into the gym forcefully by Mae.

Passing the reception and the various curious looks of others, Mae forced Shido into an empty elevator. 'Woah Woah! Mae, what's gotten' into yeah?!" Shido asks mildly panicked as the doors close. "Well I'd thought we'd speed up your training that's all," she says dismissively, watching as the floor number reach 3. As the door opens into the ghostly room, she shoves Shido into the room and commands "Ok, brat! It's time to activate your sacred gear!"

Shido stares at her with an empty expression, making Mae facepalm in understanding. "You don't know what I'm going on about, do you?" she blurts out, to which Shido nods expectedly. Mae sighs while throwing her bag aside and adds "Well all you need to know is that the reason you're even here in the first place is that you were gifted a sacred gear" while flexing. That triggers a memory in Shido that replays that night with Yuuma.

My oh my. Another sacred gear holder...

"Oh God..." was all Shido could muster as the memory stopped. "Yep. Now that your devil friend has activated his, I'd think it would be appropriate if you could do the same" Mae finished while sitting down. Shido moves to her and states "Well how the fuck do I do that?!", to which Mae says "Well there are many ways it could happen" with a coy smile and shrug.

"Ok like what?" Shido asks impatiently.
"Try simply concentrating on activating it first" Mae replies. Shido thinks for a moment before spreading his legs out and clenching his fists together.
"What are you doing?" Mae comments in confusion.
"Doing the thing you told me to do" Shido pushes out in forced breaths.
"Well, it looks like you're about to drop a load on the floor" Mae states in bemusement.

Shido returns to a neutral stance and retorts loudly "Well I don't know what my gear even looks like! How the hell can I activate it if I don't even know what it is?!" This was met with Mae getting up and performing a swift kick to Shido's legs. This lifted him up in the air and flat on the floor. "What the hell?!" he shouted in confusion, trying to get up. Mae then punched him in the chest, sending him sliding into the wall behind him.

'Maybe a bit of self-defence might trigger something' she thought while standing in dominance over Shido. Feeling dazed, Shido lifted himself against the wall and mutters "Have you lost it, you crazy bitch?!" That last word distorted Mae's eyes into pure anger, making her shout "Excuse me, brat!?" before walking in a storm towards him.

Fearing for a worse beat down, Shido sees time move in slow motion as he tries moving. A quiet voice then mutters in his ear "Think of him. You couldn't protect him." Making him even more confused, Shido begins turning his head around aimlessly trying to locate the voice. But he stops when then the night Issei was attacked by Dohnaseek replays in his eyes. He relives his own cowardness and his inactiveness, seeing the spear jab Issei repeated endlessly. It brings him to the boiling point, making him hold his right hand out in defiance as Mae began throwing a punch.

Mae, instead of feeling the wall next to Shido as she punched, felt something clear and much harder. She stares in wonder as a wall of light surrounded Shido in an instant, giving off an iridescent glow. "Heh, well-done kid. You've just unlocked your gear" Mae says with a pant.

"Wait, so you can summon force fields?" Issei asks, rice dropping from his mouth to the grassy floor below him. "Mhm, after Mae tried decking my face in" Shido answers nonchalantly while sipping his can of coffee. Issei spat his lunch out and exclaims "What?!", to which Shido shrugs and says "Yeah I know. Who knew the fear of getting punched would work so well in triggering it."

"Well not to make this a competition," Issei say with a grin "but I think mine is better." Shido laughs and replies "What? Your 'Dragon's Hand' that isn't even a full hand." Issei punches his shoulder and states loudly "Oh shut up! Mine can actually blast clothes off the bodies of women!", making Shido roll his eyes and retort "Well, of course, a pervert like you gets something like that." Issei waves him off while asking "So what's the thing called", to which Shido states with a dopey smile "Ophanim's Wings." Issei arcs his eyebrow at the name and remarks "What the hell is an 'Ophanim'?", making Shido chuckle nervously before saying "Uhh I don't know..."

Issei rolls his eyes before getting up, bento in his hand. "Well, I'm heading off. See ya, turd face" he says, making Shido reply with a smirk "You too, hairless ape." As Issei stepped through the walls of bushes that surrounded them, Shido looks up at the sky to see blots of clouds moving along the stream. 'Huh. Since when was the last time me an' him just hung out at lunch?' he ponders.

Rias gave Issei an expected look as he enters. He returns with eyes of disappointment. "You still couldn't get any fillers out?" she comments, to which Issei answers with "Yep. I suck at this..." This makes Rias tilt her head in confusion and say "Well it's clearly something you're not cut out for, so don't be so harsh on yourself." Issei sighs as he sits down on the couch right of her, rubbing his head while stating "So, is there anything I can do?"

Before Rias could answer, a ringing from her desk pierced the room. She picks it up and talks quietly but firmly to the person on the other end, making Issei arch his ears in childish curiosity. After she ends it, she groans slightly and looks over to a confused Issei and states "Well it looks like your chance to shine is here." Surprised, he asks "What is it?"

"Well, it turns out Koneko was doubled booked and needs someone to cover her" Rias explains, leaning slightly on her chair.
"Wait a minute. So you're saying..." Issei stammers out.
"Mhm. Not that we have options in the first place" Rias exclaims.
"Oh shit, this is my chance!" Issei shouts, nearly jumping off the couch. "Rias, I promise you that I will do such a good job, that by the end of the night, they won't even need Koneko anymore!"

"Sheesh, don't be such a drama queen" Rias chuckles out with an endeared smile. "But I admire your determination." Issei blushes a little at the compliment, replying "Hehe thanks president" before sitting down again. After that, the doors open to the sight of Akeno walking in. "Oh hello there, Issei," she says in her usual bubbly manner, making Issei smile widely as he stumbles out with "Oh hi there..."

"Good news Akeno. Issei is covering for Koneko tonight" Rias exclaims casually.
"Oh really? Your first client already? Aww, that's amazing" Akeno states while standing next to Rias. Issei feels his face going even redder, not helping was him peeking at Akeno's chest. "I must ask, but how do you plan on getting there?" Akeno then asks with a cheeky smile.

Issei feels his confidence collapse as he pushes the pedals to the entrance of a series of flats. Its yellow side stared pitifully at him as he got off. 'Of course, I'm the only devil that can't teleport over there all cool and shit!' he groans as he begins climbing the stairs.

"Before you can make a contract with them, you first need to make a pact with them and to do that you need to satisfy their desires. Do that enough and you'll climb the ranks in no time" Rias stated to him before he left. This thought repeated endlessly in his head as he approached a door marked 2-1. At that, Issei then knocked firmly on it while stating loudly "Yo, you summoned the devil?" After a moment, the door opened to a late-30s man with long, dishevelled black hair and glasses with a suspicious gaze.

"Hey, uhh are you Morisawa?" Issei asks awkwardly.
"And who are you to know, kid?" the man asks sharply.
"Well you sent a request to us devil and-" Issei begins before he gets cut off with a blunt "And I asked for Koneko" from Morisawa.
"Sorry man, but she's busy" Issei replied with a forced smile.
"And what? Am I supposed to take your word? You didn't even appear in my room on this pamphlet!" Morisawa shouts while holding it out.
"Well sorry! I can't do that yet" Issei says while trying his best not to lose it.

"Whatever, just go away" Morisawa then says while slamming the door shut. Stunned for a moment, Issei begins knocking repeatedly while saying "Cmon man! This is my first time! Can't you cut me a break?!" After a moment of consideration, listening to neighbouring dogs bark and the sound, Morisawa opens the door and gestures for Issei to come in. Walking past the door, his eyes drop to the sight of hundreds upon hundreds of manga, DVDs, VHS and figurines. He sits down at a table as Morisawa brings him tea, both sharing confused looks.

"So devil, what tricks can you do?" Morisawa states.
"Uhhh not much. What does Koneko normally do?" Issei replies while sipping his tea.
"Hmph. Well, she would play the role of fine young princess that saves me of course!" Morisawa declares, making Issei spit his drink.
"What the hell! Like I'm doing that!" Issei shouted with tea drooling out his mouth.

"Then what CAN you do?" Morisawa said with a curious look. Issei, not sure what to say, looked around at the endless rows and one catches his interest. "So you're a fan of Drag so-Ball, eh?" he comments inquisitively. "of course. I own all that shit on VHS!" Morisawa states with vigour. "Oh, big deal! I have the special editions on blu-ray with expanded features!" Issei claps back, to which Morisawa chuckles and adds "Well I caught it with my friend when it first aired. You children won't get that." As he said this, he grabbed a stack of tapes and slammed them on the table in front of Issei.

"So kid, wanna debate with me?" Morisawa asks with a wicked grin.
"Oh, you bet, old man!" Issei replies with the same smile.

Shido fell flat on his face in exhaustion, the rubber mat teasing his mouth. "Come on! You were beating your best there!" he hears Mae shout to him. "Come on, Mae. Can't we call it a day?" Shido asks deliriously, to which he feels a foot lightly kick his side as Mae states aggressively "Only when you're done, lazy ass!"

Shido rose from his premature grave and remarked in a sarcastic tone "You're going to kill me long before I have the chance to fall", to which Mae replies dryly "That would be preferred", making him giggle awkwardly. As Shido wiped the blanket of sweat off his body, Mae stiffen up with intense studious, like she was listening to someone talk from a great distance. With her hand instinctively pressed on her temple, she began muttering under her breath with each breathless word. After a moment, her head jerks towards Shido, making him jump.

"Hey Shido, I think we should give your little trick a try" she then says blankly.
"You're not gonna punch me again?" Shido replies in quiet horror.
"Nope. We've got to take care of a stray devil" Mae remarks with snark.
"Uhh what-" Shido muttered as Mae summoned a gold light below them.

"Wait, wait! What are you doing?!" he screams, to which Mae states dryly "Going off to kill this pest duh." Shido watched as the quiet light of the gym warped into the claustrophobic darkness of a hallway. Shido turned around in confusion and before he could open his mouth, Mae cupped it with her hands and muttered "Shush it unless you want us to die in five seconds!"

Issei left Morisawa's place feeling like he earned nothing. Walking with his bike on his side through aisles of houses and pathways, he laments 'Dammit. Even after having a dissection of Drag-on ball's story, that guy still didn't make a pack with me. I'm officially the most useless devil in the world.'

He then hears his phone vibrate in his pocket and he scowls in dread. He answers to hear a serious Rias tell him "Issei, are you done for tonight?", making him answer with a meek "Uhh yeah, why-" At that, Rias arrived in red from an adjacent dimly lit pathway, making Issei spring back in response. "Rias! What's the problem?" he gasped quietly. Without saying a word, Rias grabbed Issei by the arm, pulling him into the circle. Issei felt flabbergasted by how quick and silent she was, but then he felt his stomach do somersaults as he saw the street around him turn into an open field boarded with trees.

"Whoa, where are we?!" he shouts, to which he hears Kiba shush him. Issei turns and was faced with the sulking face of a building, which made his mouth dry. He then noticed Kiba, Koneko and Akeno standing near the building's mouth, standing like metal statues with still faces. "Well, I think it better to explain now than over the phone" Rias begins saying.

"Listen Issei" she continued, him looking at her with intrigue. "We're here to deal with a stray devil."
Those last words sparked a memory in Issei. But when I heard the news of a stray in the area...
"Wait I think I've heard about those," he remarks slowly.
"Not surprised," Kiba remarks casually with an icy stare "A wandering devil could be seen as a stray by something as blood thirsting as a fallen angel."

That last bit sent a shiver down Issei as Rias continued. "Listen up. A stray is a devil who betrays their master for their own wants and desires" she begins "Right now, we're here to kill one." Issei's eyes bulged in shock. "Don't look so stunned" she exclaims "This one is quite deadly, having murdered and eaten at least three people we know of."

Issei stared in horror. Though he had the idea this would eventually happen, to see it standing in front of him in the form of a decayed and forgotten warehouse was too much to take. He stumbled back, the pressure of the situation crushing his back. Seeing this, Kiba came over to him and place a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, you'll be fine. We don't expect you to kill, but to play support" he said with a solemn smile. Issei didn't know how to react to Kiba. He had such distaste for this boy all his time at school, yet to have support given by him gave him a blend of guilt and appreciation.

"Ok you ladies, we need to hurry up" Koneko remarks blankly, breaking the feeling of ease within Issei. She then walked over to the rusted doors that marked the entrance, and Issei sees in awe how effortlessly she kicked them down. 'Jesus, remind me to never get kicked in the nuts by her' he comments. When all were in the warehouse, a metallic taste landed on Issei's mouth and nose. "Heh, looks like our friend has enjoyed her last victim," Akeno says with a chuckle, making Issei gag in the realisation of the taste.

Walking around the concrete and glass structure gave Issei the feeling of being exposed with being unable to cover up. With every sound of wind blowing through a cracked window and chains moving, he'd jump a little, making Koneko roll her eyes as the group travelled in the complex. They then heard a shuffling sound come from another hallway. Rias at the front stopped them with her arms before forming them into a fist. She shouts out "Come out Visor!", echoing across the building. She then heard another voice call out, but to everyone's surprise, it was Shido's.

"Wait!" he said before something smothered him. Rias lights a red circle, illuminating a shadow just behind a doorway. Rias' face morphs with annoyance at the sight of Mae and Shido crouching on the floor, the former covering the latter with a hand. "Shido?! What the hell are you doing here?" Issei blurts outs, to which Mae answers spitefully "None of your business, Ape!" Rias facepalms and asks expectedly "Did you get sent here to take care of a stray devil?", to which Shido manages to say "Yes!" after a struggle.

As if on cue, a woman's voice echoed out "Oh, lady Gremory! Have you and your pieces come to play~?", followed by distant laughter. Rias and Mae stood straight and focused, Issei and Shido froze in terror, and everyone else looked around, waiting for something to attack. After a moment, Koneko turned to a sound coming from her right, across a large docking back, the back covered in a thick layer of darkness. She faced it in a defensive position, with Rias saying while turning around "As much as I want to sit back and chat, I'm busy right now, you two."

Issei stood back and watched as the rest of his devil brethren surrounded the shadow with a cult-like fanaticism. At that, a naked woman with long brown hair crept out, torse still obscured in dark. The sight made Shido blush in disbelief and Issei freeze in wonder before he began stammering out "Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!", drool leaving his lips. Koneko signed in annoyance, thinking 'You dumb pervert.'

"Well hello there, Visor" Rias begins coldly. "Done with your late-night snack run?" Visor giggled and replied "What do you think? Say, is that boy your new devil, Gremory? Ha! What a disappointment." At this, Visor stepped closer towards them, the room now illuminated by moonlight. In the light, a body not too dissimilar to a bull appeared, with four strong legs that ended with hooves. Issei stared at the beast, fear taking over him. Shido's eyes were drawn in a mix of awe and horror.

"Oh my gosh! Two angels as well? This night just keeps getting better!" Visor adds while unveiling a long serpent-like tail. As she swung up and down, aiming for Issei, Shido snapped to some kind of sense and managed to get up and push him out. 'God dammit do the shield thingy-' he thought before the tail connected to his chest and sent him flying into a wall with a crunch. Visor grinned ear-to-ear before stating "I'd expected an angel to put up more resistance than that!"

To say Mae's eyes burned with anger would be an understatement, and while trying to fight the urge to snap the devil's neck instantly, she ran over to the now collapsed body of Shido and placed a warm hand on his head."Ugh..." Shido muttered, his vision a spinning ballroom of moonlight. "Oh no, you aren't dying on my watch" Mae replies with restrained fury. At seeing Shido's ragdoll figure, Issei felt anger course into his left hand, causing him to activate his gear.

Visor hesitated for a moment, but let out a chuckle and replied "Silly pawn. Do you think you can challenge me?!"
Issei, confused but determined, goes to charge, but the Koneko jumps above him and lands a kick on the side of the bull's body. He then feels Rias place a hand on his shoulder and says "I hate to say this but she might be right."

"What?!" Issei shouts over the sounds of thrashing concrete and metal.
"Issei, for a devil to be reborn, they are given an evil piece that's best suited for their power," Rias says while presenting him with a red bishop from thin air. Issei's eyes perk up, just as Kiba comes charging at Visor in L-shaped zigzags. "So you mean that-" Issei begins, to which Rias says "Yes. Koneko is my Rook," at which Koneko lands a punch that barely misses Visor's tail, instead cracking the floor like a meteor landing. She continued after Issei was able to blink.

"Rooks are renowned for their strength and being direct with their attacks-", but then Visor swung her tail again, making Issei flinch, though Rias stood defiantly. Visor then let out a roar of pain as its tail was sliced clean off by Kiba, who wielded a sword and cool demeanour. As the lump of serpentine flesh rolled in front of Issei, too stunned to say anything, Rias commented "Kiba is my knight. Fast, agile and murderous with the sword."

'Oh great. Next thing I know, Akeno is gonna come in breathing fire' Issei thinks, to which like on cue, Akeno flies into the air, using magic to change her clothes into that matched a Shinto priestess, the top a pure white, the bottom a passionate red. With a lustful smile, she summons a bolt of lighting from a red circle that paralysed Visor into a smoky mess. "Akeno is my queen. A jack-of-all trait, though very powerful with element magic" Rias says with a proud smile.

"Oops~ I nearly lost myself from her look of pain~" Akeno comments with enjoyment. Issei gulps with a mad blush and thinks 'She's definitely into that really kink shit.' Rias then adds "Oh and watch out for Akeno. She's into S and M", making Issei choke on his thoughts in disbelief. "Rias, you mustn't say such things out loud," Akeno says sweetly while flying towards ", especially to our shy little Issei~"

Issei stammers for a bit and then asks "So what piece am I? Oh please be a Rook!"
Rias answers with a confused look "Ugh I thought you already knew..."

"You're a pawn."
"... A what" Issei replies.

Visor breathes with much labour on the floor. She looks up, her bull torse collapsed in a heap with the end of her tail gone, to see all the devils surrounding her, Rias with a look of disgruntled anger. "You've been a pain, Visor. This is your last chance for a less agonising death," Rias begins while getting close to the creature's pitiable face."You wanna go back to your master and beg for forgiveness?"

Shido regained consciousness with a sudden jolt. Mae look relieved for a moment before she began saying "You reckless idiot! Why did you do that?! First mission and you get smacked into a wall!" Shido, still seeing spirals, muttered "I had to...", to which Mae retorts "A devil's business isn't our own. If the monkey was smart, he would duck." As Shido regained more of his vision, he saw that Mae had some red marks under her eyes.

"Mae... I'm sorry" he muttered in embarrassment.
"Whatever" she replied bluntly while sitting Shido up "First missions don't always go as they planned."
"Heh, how many do?" Shido remarks with a small smile, to which Mae replies "Less than I wish" with the same smile.

A grunt makes them turn their head to see the defeated devil, who was gasping for words. "Go to hell…" the thing replied. "What a shame…" Rias said as she held out her hand. A spark of red appeared in a chaotic show, it's light burning into Shido's eyes. In an instant, the light made him remember something he had long since pushed back. Something dark and grieving. He began shaking uncontrollably, not helped by the look of terror on Visor's face gave to him.

Without thinking, he stumbles up and does his best to sprint forward, slapping back Mae's pull. Before she could do something, Mae hears a familiar voice repeat in her ear, something she too blocked from her mind.

Such freaks of nature like you should be put down! Like those devils...

She stands by and watches Shido stand between Rias and Visor, arms out in a restless state.
"Shido!" Issei remarks with confusion, his gear now deactivated.
"What are you doing, Angel?" Rias asked in shock.
"Don't… don't kill her…" Shido said while taking deep breaths.
"Shido, while I admire your conviction, that pest abandoned her master and murdered many people. She must die a painful death to suffice~" Akeno said, standing next to Rias.

"I don't care!" Shido shouted. "She's weakened and can't do anything now!"
"Oh look at you being so holy" Koneko remarks with distaste.
"Hey cut the new angel some slack, you goddamn sass machine," Shido says with rising annoyance.
Koneko walks forward to punch him, but Rias raises her arm to stop her. "Look Shido," Kiba begins while poised on the hilt of his sword "that thing there doesn't get to walk away alive for what she's done."

"But look at her" Shido mutters while looking down. He locked eyes with Visor, who was still stained with hatred, though a twinge of confusion was mixed into it. "Maybe she deserves punishment, but not a painful death..." He then feels something take over his mind, a mad light of holy energy that can't be controlled. "Death wouldn't suffice," a distorted voice says, making everyone in the room go cold.

Mae's eyes open wide, Issei's lips dry up, and Rias stands back in a protective manner. Shido then turns fully towards Visor, sprouting his white angel wings from his back in a display of intimidation. Visor begins to wimp, putting her hands together and muttering something that no one heard. "Do not be afraid of me. Fear the afterlife you'll venture til the universe ends" Shido remarks, his eyes a golden hue while placing a hand on Visor's forehead.

Visor screams for a second before her eyes go white. Issei not taking this, runs forward, ignoring Rias's plea. But was flung back as an iridescent barrier of light wrapped Shido and the stray, burning Issei's hands. Everyone then watched in horror as Visor's body erupted in a blaze of sulphur, her screams cutting even Akeno's sadistic face down to a bewildered look of fear. After a minute, Visor was nothing but a clump of ashes that smelt of rotten eggs. Shido, or whoever was in control, now held a glowing dark orb in his palms. He then placed it in his mouth and with a loud Crunch, ate it whole.

"What the hell?!" Issei shouted. The Shido entity looked at him, an empty face that showed no emotion. His eyes then returned to their usual green colour before Shido's actual voice stammers out "Ugh what happened...?" He then nearly vomited from the vile taste in his mouth as he shouts "Holy fuck! What the fuck did I just eat?!" Tension now relieved somewhat, Mae ran towards him and embraced him in a death grip hug. Shido, royally confused and tired, just went along with it.

Rias, sickened with what she just saw, understood perfectly what Shido was. 'And to think I would have had that thing as my second pawn' she says to herself. Issei comes over to Shido, but unable to give him a back pat settles for an awkward "Heh, some power you got there." Shido, smiling now, replies "I don't know what you're talking about. I just wanna get out of this vice grip..."

Mae lets go at that, pretending to act cold as usual and say "Well our job is done. We best get going." She then summons a portal around her and Shido, to which he quickly says "Sorry for intruding on your busin-" before he and Mae were gone.

Koneko sighs, rubbing the temple of her head, and remarks "You two idiots are accidents waiting to happen."
"Oh watch me next, flat chest!" Issei retorts in annoyance, to which Koneko casually kicks him in the nuts. He falls to his knees, clutching his jewels in pain, and mumbles in a whimper "I should just not talk sometimes..." Kiba face palms in defeated grief as Akeno chuckles quietly to herself. Though the devils were relieved that the stray was now dead, knowing that an Ophanim and the Red dragon were friends gave them intense fear never felt before in their lives.