I'm back! Exams are over and studying like a man possessed really paid off, seriously I got a 90 for one of my subjects which has a notoriously high fail rate. In any case, I took a week off to recover and now I'm ready to go.
So, moving on, I have a really solid system for my writing over the next 3 months. Every night before I go to bed I sit down and type for 30 minutes. I seem to be able to crack out anywhere between 400-1000 words each day so, given this rate or so I should be able to have a new chapter up every 10 days or so, which means I should be able to crack out two updates for all of my stories before Uni starts up again. This is the minimum though and if I ever sit down for a little longer, say an hour a day, I can produce double that.

I'm just going to put it out there, you guys are competing with Omega Ruby and a new PS4 so if you want me to dedicate more of time to writing; favourite, follow and review, it really is that simple. Just one quick thing, all writers on this site are writing for all of you so if you want them to keep writing or write more, encouraging them will help a lot.

Ok, now one thing that has been rolling around in my head recently is Xenovia and what I should do with her. Initially, I was just going to have her be a devil but looking back on the way I have set things up and after thinking it over I have decided that Xenovia could quite easily not become a devil and stay and exorcist or even join a different faction *hint* *hint*. So currently I am torn and it is the reason for the short chapter because I want to know what you guys think of the idea. I am already writing the next chapter (see details about new writing system above) so a quick response would be helpful.

Also, would you mind letting me know if you want shorter, more frequent chapters, or slower updates with longer chapters?

With that out of the way, enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer – I don't own anything from the High School DxD anime/manga/light novel all I own are my original characters and plot twists.

'Talking'

"Thinking"

'Ddraig talking and Sacred Gear sounds'

"Ddraig thinking"

*expression*

Flashback

Chapter 11 – Secrets

"Where… am I?" Questioned Issei in thought as he floated in a black abyss.

For some reason Issei's whole body was tingling, not in an excited sense, rather, tingling in the same way a person's arm would feel in the morning if they had unluckily slept on it. Issei tried to raise his arm, only to realise his sense of proprioception was gone and he couldn't even tell which way he had just raised his arm.

'Ddraig?' Asked Issei in a hazy manner, not even sure if he had just thought or spoken.

Issei strained his ears as he heard a strange humming sound in response. Suddenly, Issei felt a sharp jab of pain in his left eye. Issei clutched his face in pain and moaned in agony before slowly falling asleep.

-line break-

Issei's unconscious body was gone. The strange person, a girl it seemed, had taken Issei away.

'Who was that?' Asked Raynare out loud.

The silver haired figure quickly disappeared and reappeared behind the exhausted Kokabiel and chopped him on the right side of his neck before responding.

'That was a creature beyond any one of us here.' The white winged man said.

'How do you know that, who was that? Besides, who are you anyway and how do you know Azazel?' Asked Raynare, bombarding the figure with questions.

'Well, before I tell you that, the last of us should be here in a moment.' Said the figure, before Xenovia burst from the tree line and glared balefully at everyone there.

'Thanks for the help!' She spat out sarcastically.

Kiba, at the very least, looked slightly apologetic since she had helped him fight Freed, but the rest, not so much and those that did react merely shrugged.

'Now that we are all here, would you mind explaining what you know?' Asked Rias coolly.

'Not quite, I can sense there is another group of devils nearby and one of your own is trying to heal someone desperately, I believe it would be prudent to assess the situation first.' Said the silver haired man, before beginning to fly away again.

One by one everyone started to follow after, causing Xenovia to fume.

'Aw come on then, but don't wriggle.' Said Raynare, as she flew behind Xenovia and picked her up, before flying away.

Xenovia sighed in exhaustion.

'Thank you.' Xenovia said genuinely.

'Well, until we know what just happened, I suppose some comradery is necessary.' Said Raynare nonchalantly.

'Just know this doesn't mean I trust you.' Replied Xenovia flatly.

'And I don't trust you either, but, push comes to shove, I'd rather know you are on my side if a big battle is coming up, rather than thinking you might be an enemy.' Retorted Raynare uncaringly, as she flew through the air.

'How can you trust those devils anyway, you are a fallen angel, aren't you?' Asked Xenovia curiously, as there was nothing else for her to do as the fallen angel carried her to their destination.

'Hmm, well, I don't really trust them, I trust… Issei.' Said Raynare trailing of thoughtfully.

'I don't understand, what is so special about him?' Asked Xenovia in confusion.

Raynare flapped her wings absentmindedly for a while as she pondered the question. Xenovia arched her neck up slightly and studied the expression on Raynare's face.

'What's wrong?' Asked Xenovia.

'Well… you see, Issei has a strange ability, it is not because of his dragon essence, although that does play a factor. You see, Issei, while relatively normal in some respects, is unique in others. I mean, his drive is remarkable, if he sets his mind to something it is almost impossible to stop him, even if it brings him into personal harm.' Explained Raynare.

'I don't understand, there are many selfless people in the church, how does Issei differ from them?' Questioned Xenovia.

'Well, the thing is, Issei isn't normally like that, he is easy-going, fun, enjoys playful banter, is a closest pervert and open sadomasochist, shrewd and also stupid at times. I guess that doesn't make much sense, does it? Hmm, I guess… Issei is not special because of any one trait, rather, somehow, all of his traits, good, bad, quirky and downright strange, somehow all mesh together in him and balance to create who he is. Honestly, I think the best way to describe him would be a fruit salad. There are the things everyone likes, the things people expect, a few pleasant surprises and a few odd additions. There are also things you don't like normally, but somehow, as a part of the greater mix they somehow fit, seem right in a way. I guess if you really want to know, you need to spend time with Issei, it will be something that is apparent to you after spending at least a couple hours with him in his daily routine.' Raynare said, before going silent.

"Hmm this Issei character seems like an interesting person, given what Irina has told me about him and with what this fallen seems to think, along with the fact that he managed to fight on equal ground with Kokabiel, then maybe I should keep a close eye on him… for the church of course." Thought Xenovia, as she too went silent and the pair wordlessly flew through the sky.

-line break-

'Ugh, my head.' Said Issei, back against the ground, as he groaned and grabbed the sides of his head, pressing his fingers against his temples.

'Well partner, nice to see you are conscious once again.' Boomed Ddraig's voice.

'Ddraig, where am I?' Asked Issei curiously.

'I can't say where, however I can say with whom.' Replied Ddraig.

'Huh?' Asked Issei in confusion before removing his hands from his head and sitting up cross-legged.

There in front of Issei stood a figure Issei had not seen for many years. A young girl with hip-length long black hair and grey eyes. A figure in possession of ears with pointed tips. A purple headband of soft material resting atop her head and an odd white and purple dress which covered her lithe body in a strange manner, being open from the diaphragm up.

'Ophis… is that you?' Asked Issei in shock.

'Yes.' Ophis replied monotonously, as she stood in front of Issei with a stony expression on her face.

'What happened, where am I?' Asked Issei curiously.

'My place.' Said Ophis, raising her left hand slowly and gesturing behind her.

The room they were currently in was barren, with only a small purple blanket in the centre of the room, and no chairs or tables, with only a single window in the roof of the building, allowing light to come in, but still leaving an ample amount of shadows in the room, strangely enough, there were no doors at all.

'What am I doing here?' Asked Issei.

'You were hurt. I brought you here.' Said Ophis flatly.

'Hurt how?' Asked a surprised Issei.

'Left eye… torn out.' Explained Ophis.

'Left eye?' Questioned Issei as he felt that his left eye was still in his skull.

Issei closed his eyes and put a hand along his left eyelid, feeling with absolute certainty, an eyeball. Moving his hand around, he felt a small rough patch of skin near the junction between his left eye and nose as well as just past the upper left corner of his left eye.

'Ear damaged but healed.' Added Ophis, after watching Issei explore his face.

Issei moved his hand over to his left ear and felt it was as normal, but the top of it felt slightly harder than he remembered.

'Draconic traits dominate over human.' Said Ophis, answering Issei's unasked question.

'Indeed partner, you should be glad you have the heart of a dragon, it will make sure that whenever you suffer a particularly damaging wound it will heal and become even stronger than it was originally.' Added Ddraig.

'Hello Ddraig.' Said Ophis softly.

'A pleasure to be in your presence once again, Ophis.' Said Ddraig respectfully, from Issei's left hand.

'So Ddraig, what happened to my eye?' Asked Issei in confusion.

'Kokabiel blasted it right out of your skull.' Ddraig grumbled in annoyance.

'How did that happen?' Asked Issei in shock.

'You and Kokabiel both launched devastating attacks and his broke through yours because it was more concentrated.' Explained Ddraig.

'Why can't I remember any of this?' Asked Issei after a pause.

'Juggernaut Drive.' Said Ophis.

'No, I didn't… did I?' Asked Issei shamefully, looking down.

'Your childhood friend was hurt.' Said Ddraig.

Issei frowned for a moment, before grasping his head slightly, while letting out a slightly anguished cry, before he suddenly shouted abruptly.

'That's right, Irina took a lot of damage, I need to find her now and make sure she is alright!' Cried a panicked Issei.

'Ok now, recovering.' Said Ophis simply, calming Issei somewhat.

'Well, that's a relief… wait, you said my eye was destroyed Ddraig, how come I still have a left eye then?' Asked Issei curiously.

'Help from me.' Said Ophis, looking up at Issei with a mostly blank expression with only a small upwards tugging at the sides of her mouth.

'Ophis? How?' Asked Issei in awe.

Ophis waved her hands and a small amount of water suddenly appeared before Issei, floating in the air forming a reflective surface. Issei looked at the water and noticed while one of his eyes was still brown, the other, his left, was now grey, just like Ophis' eye. The eye was also slightly abnormal in that the pupil was slightly elongated, being oval in shape, it wouldn't be noticeable at a glance, but if one stared closely enough and focused on the eye it was apparent that it was not like his other eye. It was foreign, abnormal.

'What is this?' Asked Issei, after the water dropped to the floor and disappeared.

'Special gift from a friend.' Said Ophis, with a barely noticeable smile.

'Indeed you are quite lucky Issei, Ophis' eye imbues you with even more draconic energy, not to mention, thanks to Ophis' immensely powerfully life force, you are no longer suffering from the after effects of Juggernaut Drive and you could even use it again with no ill consequence, however, don't think that means you can just pull out Juggernaut Drive all the time. While your body can now handle experiencing it a few more times, it will still destroy your life force after a few more uses, this isn't even to mention the immense mental toll it places on you, even now you won't realise just how your mind was affected by the usage of it. Truly, the old Issei is dead, along with your left eye. You are now a changed man, even if you don't realise it yet.' Lectured Ddraig, making sure Issei knew just how deleterious his recent actions were to his body and mind.

Issei sighed heavily, before sitting back down cross-legged.

'Ok, I understand. Thanks for the info Ddraig. Also thank you Ophis, you don't know how much this means to me, how can I ever repay you?' Said Issei gratefully.

'Issei doesn't need to repay me, Issei already gave me his payment nine years ago.' Said Ophis, with a fond undertone.

-line break-

Flashback

-line break-

A sullen eight-year-old Issei wandered around the park absentmindedly. It had been three days since the fateful encounter that evening and Issei was only now starting to realise how lonely he was without Irina.

"Man, this is really unfair. Why did my only friend have to leave? I know I won't forget her, ever, but I'm really sad without any friends." Thought Issei with a sad frown.

Issei wandered into the park, bathed in the warm orange glow of the afternoon sun, and looked around. He recalled the games they had played and the fun they had: climbing the benches, chasing each other around other people, playing hide and seek and all the other games they played in the past. Issei sullenly walked over to one of the benches and propped himself up, after struggling to sit on it. The bench was fairly long both in width and length, so that, Issei's tiny legs, were straight, not being long enough yet to sit on the bench in the manner an adult would.
Issei unabashedly stared at everyone in the park, hoping to amuse himself in some way. Sometimes, Issei would see an old man telling stories to the kids, normally Issei wouldn't listen to them, but since Irina left, he sat in on his storytelling time yesterday and found these things the man called "Boobs" fascinating. However, today the man was not in the park and Issei was not too interested in hearing the man talk out of curiosity, it was mostly a way for him to pass the time. Issei saw very few children around today, the area he currently lived in had a rather high average age and children were few in the area. Due to this, Issei knew every child around this area; if not by name, then by appearances at the very least, which was why, when Issei saw a little black haired girl standing off to the side of the park looking around blankly, he knew this was someone new who could possibly become his friend.

Issei pushed himself off the bench with a grunt and walked over to the girl, standing in the shade of a rather large Beech tree.

'Hi, my name is Issei Hyoudou. What's your name?' Asked Issei cheerfully.

The girl, who possessed long black hair and grey eyes stared blankly at him, her expression was so blank Issei wondered if she was sleeping with her eyes open. This notion was disproved when she angled her head down and gazed intently at Issei's left hand for a moment, before looking at his chest, seemingly seeing through him with X-ray vision. Issei waited a bit longer, thinking maybe the girl was shy and didn't want to speak to strangers without examining them first.

'Ophis.' Said the girl, after she finished examining Issei and looked him in the eyes.

'So Ophis, do you want to play with me?' Asked Issei eagerly.

'…play?' Ophis questioned slowly.

'Yeah, like tag or hide and seek or something.' Said Issei, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

'…why?' The grey eyed girl asked.

'Uh, I dunno, I mean you looked lonely, and I thought maybe you would want a friend. I mean, my only friend had to go somewhere far away, so I don't have anyone to play with anymore.' Explained Issei sadly.

'Friend?' Asked Ophis, with a small amount of interest creeping into her otherwise blank expression.

'Yeah, a friend.' Nodded Issei, earning a blank look from Ophis.

'A friend, you know what a friend is, right?' Asked Issei, a little surprised, which only increased when he saw her slightly shake her head from side to side.

'Uh, how can I explain this… a friend is a person you like being around. You might like spending time with them, or playing games with them, but… um I guess it is harder to explain than I thought… I guess you could say a friend is someone who you like more than other people for some reason and also likes you as well for some reason.' Explained Issei slowly with a raised eyebrow, trying to decide if his explanation made sense.

'… no friends.' Said Ophis slowly, in what Issei assumed to be sadness, although really was a simple statement of facts.

'Oh that's so sad… hey, Ophis, if you want, I'll be your friend for today, I don't really have anything else to do and… well, I am a little bored… so it might be nice to make a new friend.' Said Issei shyly.

'Why?' Asked Ophis.

'Why what?' Replied Issei in confusion.

'Why does Issei want to be my friend?' Asked Ophis.

'Uh, not sure, I mean, I would like to be everyone's friend, but I feel that you need a friend more than everyone else.' Issei said with a kind smile.

Ophis stared at Issei's smile for a few seconds before nodding slightly.

'Ok… friend.' Said Ophis.

-line break-

Issei and Ophis spent the next two hours of the day playing hide and seek, after Issei explained the game to Ophis. Ophis proved to be particularly adept at the game, since it took Issei a good fifteen minutes to find her each time, and when he did, she was in highly irregular areas such as in the top branches of a five-metre tree for instance. Issei however, was found almost instantly each time. Mere seconds after Ophis finished counting, she walked directly towards where Issei was hiding, leaving Issei awed.

'Wow Ophis, you were really, really good. I can't believe how good you hide and how quickly you find me. If there was a hide and seek competition, you would win it easily.' Complimented Issei enthusiastically.

Ophis merely stared blankly at Issei, not knowing what to say to the strange praise she had received and settled for merely staring at Issei.

For a while, neither of the two said anything and a somewhat comfortable silence descended on them. As the pair sat, sprawled out on the ground, in the fading rays of the sunset, both felt at peace.

'Nice.' Commented Ophis, as the sun slowly sunk under the horizon.

The dark purple that lingered in the air reminded Issei once again of Irina.

'Hey, Ophis, if you want, uh, do you want to play with me again tomorrow? I mean, if you aren't busy or anything.' Issei asked shyly.

'Why?' Questioned Ophis, as she stared blankly at the sky.

'Um well, I… uh I mean you don't have to, I just thought if you wanted to, maybe, we could play games with each other. There isn't much to do around here, especially since it is mostly grown-ups and most of the other kids already have friends of their own and I'm a bit nervous about trying to approach them, since I'm the youngest out of all the kids living around here.' Explained Issei with a sad frown.

'Ok… friend.' Said Ophis, which caused Issei to turn his head to face Ophis, who was lying next to him and smile.

'Thanks, friend.' Replied Issei, as his smile turned into a full-blown grin.

-line break-

End flashback

-line break-

'Even so, Ophis, thanks a lot.' Said Issei, breaking Ophis out of the small silence that had engulfed her.

Ophis merely nodded her head, to which Issei smiled.

'So, do you think I can go back now, or is there anything else I need to be wary of?' Asked Issei, as he stood up and stretched his arms over his head.

'Yes, but Ophis had one more thing to tell Issei.' Said Ophis slowly as she nodded.

'Sure what is it Ophis?' Asked Issei calmly.

'Remember the past or slip-up in the future. Trust is earned not given. Know what you are, don't forget who is on your side.' Said Ophis firmly, as she stared directly into Issei's eyes.

'*sigh* I know Ophis, I know… thanks for the reminder.' Said Issei tiredly, earning another nod from Ophis.

-line break-

Issei and Ophis appeared in a miasma of black mist on the outskirts of Issei's town, just outside of the sensory range of all supernatural beings in town, including exceptionally powerful fallen angels, sacred gear holders, and devils alike. It was now dawn and the sun would be rising soon, but as of now, everyone was at home, most in bed still asleep, not yet ready for the new day, while only an eager handful were already up and running.

'Thanks Ophis, I'll see you soon.' Said Issei, as he started to walk in the direction of the path that would get him home quickly.

'Remember… see infinite possibilities not desired dream.' Said Ophis, before a miasma of darkness engulfed her and she disappeared.

'Yeah, I know.' Muttered Issei to himself, before picking up his pace, hoping to arrive home as soon as possible.

As Issei walked along the picturesque route, lined with colourful homes and well-maintained lawns on his way home, he took some time to think to himself as he silently walked in the rising sunlight.

"I will need to reset it seems, I have become too comfortable. This wasn't my goal at all… although, I can't say it is unpleasant. Although, *sigh* I guess I need to focus at the very least a little bit more on my original intentions… but given how deep I've already gotten myself into the thick of things, I hope nothing bad happens, blue balls for instance, if I can't figure out a way to reduce the amount of people being affectionate with me. Why can't I just use the classic ingratiate myself with every faction by taking a woman from each faction? Life… is really cruel sometimes." Thought Issei, as he walked with his hands crossed behind his head, which was slumped slightly.

Issei didn't look up the entire walk, already knowing every route to his house from within Kuoh by heart, with how many times he had travelled each and every road leading to it. The sun was now slightly higher and was warming Issei's legs as he walked.

"Oh well, things could be worse, I think." Said Issei with a mental shrug, uncaring if he had jinxed himself or not.

Finally arriving at his house Issei, quietly scaled the outside of his house, grabbing on to rain gutters, window sills and anything that jutted out of the wall to climb up to his window, a quick look showed his room was in fact empty, after which Issei then quietly opened his window and snuck in, before closing it behind him just as stealthily.

'Finally, home sweet home.' Said Issei, before undressing from his battle worn clothing, which he threw haphazardly into the corner of the room, before climbing into his bed in only a singlet and briefs.

"Why do I feel today is going to suck?" Thought Issei, before dosing off and finally getting some much needed rest.