Issei's Christmas Miracle (A DXD Fanfiction)
Chapter 1 (The Feelings of Betrayal)
Scene (Kuoh Academy)
In the old school of the Kuoh campus, we pan into a large and Victorian style room. Standing in front of a large desk was Issei Hyoudou, (who had a concerned look on his face). Behind this large desk, sitting in a large chair was Rias Gremory, with her loyal best friend and Queen, Akeno Himejima, standing next to her. Akeno had a slight grin as her King, Rias had a frown along with a very stern look. Speaking out loud, the redheaded woman continues where she left off, this makes Issei shutter once more. "So, would you protect Asia? Akeno, here? Asia, Xenovia, Koneko…?" Issei nodded and replied. "Yes, of course I would!" This made Rias's frown turn into a scowl. "Issei, what am I to you?" Remembering his ex-girlfriends words before she proceeded to kill the teen, Issei thinks of five words that continue to repeat themselves inside of his head. Interestingly enough, Issei can also hear a voice in the background though it was too far away to understand, so the teen shrugged it off and replied to his King with the first thoughts that came to mind. "Well, President is President."
Rias immediately stood from her chair as Akeno put a hand on her King's shoulder. Screaming from the top of her voice, Rias spoke out. "Baka!" Rias then made it a point to attempt to rush out of the room as she wanted to cry. Before she is able to reach the door, she takes the time to hear the other peerage members reprimand Issei. This goes on for a few minutes. Deciding that she could no longer be in the room, Rias began to turn the door handle, only to hear a loud scream coming from…Issei? Turning around, Rias was able to see all of her peerage, in different states of shock. Meanwhile, Issei had both of his hands on his head while his eyes were closed. He looked to be in pain as he was gritting his teeth. Rias was about to rush over, as were the rest of the peerage, that was until Issei opened his eyes. To everyone's surprise, Issei's normal and warm brown eyes were now slit-like with a glowing green color. "Stay back!" To add even more distress to the situation, the pawn's voice was much deeper than usual, it carried the same weight and intensity in which a full grown dragon would produce. As each member was frozen and stood where they were, Issei started to turn his head and look at every person in the room for a moment before moving to the next one. Lastly, Issei focused on Rias, who had a look of utter fear.
No, she wasn't afraid of Issei, she was afraid of their future. "I…I…UGH! I will NOT DIE for YOU!" Gripping his head once again, Issei made a b-line pass the peerage and Rias, through the door and down the stairs. A small clank could be heard as Issei made his exit. Akeno was keen on this fact and looked toward the floor, near the front door, only to spot a shiny thing. Rias, meanwhile, was mumbling, "Issei…Issei…", as she stood in her own version of petrification. Kneeling down, Akeno picked up what looked to be a ring. As she wipes away a tear from her face, the Queen studies the ring as the rest of the group continue their stunned silence. "President, Rias, uhm, I think you should see this." Akeno now began to start weeping as she handed this ring to a still shocked Rias. A gold band with a large and green jewel, Rias did the best she could to read the inner-side of the band. "You are my Life, Rias Gremory". As her eyes widened, Rias immediately ran toward the window while extending her devil wings. "What have I done? I must fix this, I need to fix this!" Looking around while squinting her eyes, the rest of the peerage, (including a confused Ravel Phenex), gather closer to Rias, also looking for Issei. "Where is he? He didn't use a circle did he?" Akeno claps her hands, gaining everyone's attention. "He said, "I will not die for you." Didn't he say that back at the church, when fighting Raynare?" Koneko's eyes widen as she remembers tailing Issei, on the original date with the fallen angel, the same one who killed the teen in the first place. Koneko then shouts out, "Raynare!" Everyone turns to Koneko, including an agitated Rias, (who is gripping Issei's ring as her wings flicker around in anger).
"It makes sense, boss. He never got over what that bitch did to him!" Koneko then closes her eyes to prevent a tear from escaping. Rias gets hit with another ton of bricks as she begins to release some of her destructive energy. After a moment, Rias shouts. "I knew I should have insisted on Issei killing her! At least then, he would have some closure! It's all her fault!" Kiba was the next to speak as he shook his head. "No, it's our fault. Only now, do we realize how much Issei cared about us, helping each of us with our own issues, but… We are bad friends, family, teammates…. We never took the time to find out how Issei was feeling. I know I never did. And it kills me to say that." Kiba then takes a step back and looks toward the ground. Rias looked at each member of her peerage, seeing the hurt in each member. Retracting her devil wings, Rias then produced a reassuring smile. "He just needs his space. He probably just went back home, we will see him there when we return." Akeno tilts her head. "Yeah, tell you what, I am going to head back to the house, that way, there will be someone to relay that information, assuming you want to perform an all out search, President?" Rias nodded. "Yes, it would bring some peace of mind, knowing that my pawn isn't getting himself into trouble due to my stupid, very stupid, actions." Kiba interrupts. "President, as I said, we are all at fault here, well, except you, Ravel-sama." The said blond girl points at herself. She is wearing a Kuoh Academy uniform and her hair is sorted into twin drills. Her large blue eyes dilate as she replies to Kiba. "Are you sure? I mean, this all started happening after my mother called, so…" Koneko replied this time. "We are the assholes that created this whole thing. You did nothing wrong so please, don't worry." Ravel blushed and nodded. Rias then spoke up. "Right then, so, where would someone like Issei head off too?"
Scene (Random Street in Kuoh)
A teleportation circle manifests in an alleyway. It is crimson in color and sports the Gremory house symbol within the design. After an intense red flash, none other than Issei Hyoudou was left, standing as his head was looking toward the ground. "I, I, I, will NOT, d, d, die!" After coming to terms with what had just happened, a stunned Issei looks around the area. "This, this, where is this, D, D'draig?" Looking at his arm and waiting for a reply, the brown haired teen realizes that both of his hands are wet. Realizing that this wetness was nothing other than his own tears, Issei shook his arm a few times. "D'draig, D'draig, answer me you lazy dragon!" Realizing that he wasn't going to get an answer, the teen decided to start walking around to get an idea of his surroundings. After some time, Issei came to the conclusion that he has been here before. Yes, he used to ride here on his bike for a contract. It was a repeat contract so the boy knew the area quite well. Interestingly enough, this client was also someone Issei knew rather well. Running toward the apartment complex, the boy hoped that this client still lived at this address as it's been a while since he last visited. "I, I, I don't want to go home. If I go home, they will just make it worse. Yeah, I need to stay away for a while. Why today of all days? I was going to confess, I thought it would make her happy, I thought…" Issei stopped talking to himself once he was at the front door of this quiet apartment.
(Knock Knock Knock). Waiting at the door while continuing to stress about the recent situation, Issei started to lose his patience as the knocking turned into pounding. "Yeah, yeah, chill your shit, I'll be right there, geeze!" This brought almost instant relief to Issei as the voice sounded exactly like the person he was hoping to see. Before the door could open, the confused and heartbroken teen began to break down. Tears and tears, falling from what seemed to be twin waterfalls were now Issei's eyes as he began to crouch down with his hands over his face. Not noticing the door opening, the teen was drawn out of his thoughts after hearing a voice that calmed him down. "Kid, what happened? Are you okay?" Instantly, Issei felt hands on both of his shoulders as he slowly looked up. A worried looking man, wearing a gray yakata, with black hair that sported blond tips was also crouching down with his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Sensei, I, I, I, I need help…" The fallen angel governor, Azazel simply nodded and replied. "Come on, let's get you inside and we can talk. Whatever happened, I will take care of it." Issei is helped up onto his feet as the two walk into the apartment and close the door.
Scene (Issei's Bedroom, Hyoudou Household)
"Issei, ara ara, please come out from wherever you are hiding. I promise, nobody is mad at you! It was all a huge misunderstanding!" As Akeno waited to hear for anything, racing thoughts of a depressed Issei Hyoudou, continued to stress the half-fallen. After a few minutes of hearing nothing, aside from Issei's parents doing their normal activities within the house, Akeno began to worry even more. Producing a communication circle, Akeno relayed her findings, or lack thereof, to Rias and the group. Rias sounded defeated as she replied. "We have looked all over Kuoh, also, I am unable to track Issei's evil pieces for some reason. Even little Ravel is conducting investigations within the underworld, quietly of course. I don't want Oni-sama to find out if he doesn't have to." Akeno nods. "Well, if we don't hear from him by tomorrow morning, I'm sorry Rias, but I will have no other choice but to contact Sirzechs sama about this matter." Silence was all that could be heard as the scene pans away.
Scene (Azazel's Apartment in Kuoh)
"Sit down over here kiddo, I don't have much to offer aside from sake and water, but…" Issei sat down and replied instantly. "Sake." Azazel then scratched the back of his head. "Right…okay sure, sake, give me a sec." After coming back from his kitchen, the fallen angel had a tray in his arms, with two glasses and a few small bottles of sake. "I don't think we've ever been drinking together, kid, well, let's have a few rounds and then you can tell me what happened, sounds good?" Issei simply nodded as he kept looking toward his feet. Issei seemed to pound every single round as Azazel simply poured more. Unknown to Issei, Azazel was not drinking at all. After the fifth round, Azazel stopped pouring and waited. "Well, what happened?" After his coughing fit from the last drink, Issei lifted his head and looked directly at Azazel. The teen's face was flush and mannerism was a bit slurred. "I erm, got this ring you see. Today was going to be the day. (Hiccup) I was going to confess to Gremory." Azazel nodded and smiled. "Did it go according to plan?" Issei shook his head violently. "N, No! It most sss, certainly did not! She told me off, before I could say anything. Then, then, the rest of them, Akeno, Koneko, Kiba, hell, even Gasper, Xenovia and Asia threw in a few punches." Issei then counted on his one hand. "Well, everyone cept, cept, (Hiccup), R, Ravel." Azazel nods again. "Also, also, erm, this is gonna be strange, talking to you, of all people about it. Erm, I haven't said this to anyone." Azazel smiles, "whatever you say in this room, stays in this room…" Issei nodded as he began to weep again. "R, rrrr, Raynare…" Azazel widened his eyes in all seriousness.