Ok, I know it has been a while, but life was very busy. To make a long story short, PS4, Uni and watching Fairy Tail and Death Note and reading through a massive back log of fanfiction chapters (I'm talking about hundreds of updates here) pretty much took the past 6 months or so of my life. That being said, I have been writing and have amassed about 30K words spread out over a bunch of my stories and a few new ones I will put up soon.
I was holding off on updating until I had a few more chapters done for each of my stories, but my house got broken into yesterday and the first thing I thought of after "Oh crap my Uni work on my computer" was "Oh crap my 30K+ words of fanfiction on my computer".
Believe me, having that taken would have absolutely killed my motivation, as I've spent much of the miniscule spare time I have during Uni to write a little each week. For this reason, I've decided that it is better to update what I have for now, lest I lose it and crawl into a hole of annoyance and self-loathing for not posting this stuff earlier.
Enjoy :)
SSJ3 Kyuubi Gohan.
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 14 – Desires of the Heart
The next two days at school proved to be rather enjoyable for Issei. The school had settled into an odd limbo as they tried to figure out if Issei was a breast man or if Issei-Kiba was still alive. Motohama and Matsuda were strongly pushing to keep rumours of Issei-Kiba alive, which honestly amused Issei at this point, since he knew they were losing ground, and many were realising that Issei and Kiba interacted very minimally.
Rias was keeping her distance from Issei; for one thing, not appearing naked in his bed, but also being much more passive at any club meetings when Issei was there. Akeno was acting just like she had previously, although Issei could see she would occasionally throw a questioning look in Rias' direction every now and then.
Xenovia continued to, for lack of a better term, stalk Issei, which he enjoyed thoroughly, sometimes vanishing and appearing behind Xenovia just to mess with her. It also enabled him to learn that in the wake of learning what she had about God; she was now confused about her loyalties. Issei told her the same thing he told Irina before Kokabiel attacked her, which, if anything, seemed to engender more trust between the two. Xenovia also proved to be one hell of a stamina freak, after Issei offered to help her train a bit to pass the time until Irina was healed, and they returned the Excaliburs to the Vatican.
Things were a little frosty between him and Raynare, who was a little upset that he had never revealed that he was familiar with Azazel to her, but she didn't stay mad long.
Xuelan and Karlamine spent a lot of their time with Ravel, the three, able to get along quite well, having been acquaintances for an extended period of time.
Azazel kept to himself now, remaining out of sight of both Rias and Issei, as he made preparations for the upcoming meeting.
Eventually though, the day Irina would be healed enough to return to Kuoh arrived and Issei was getting very anxious, considering that his friend was in a devil stronghold, with devils, who knew she was an exorcist.
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"Finally! I've been getting really annoyed waiting for today!" Fumed Issei internally.
'Calm down partner, your friend will be fine, the devils wouldn't try anything now.' Said Ddraig reassuringly.
"Yeah, I guess you're right, but the sooner she is out of there the better." Replied Issei.
Issei was anxious to say the least, recently it seemed that tension between him and Rias and Sona was getting heavy. Sona was suspicious of his motives and actions, rightly so too, and Rias was becoming disillusioned with Issei and realising the truth of her one-sided infatuation with him, thus allowing her to perceive his actions more rationally. Nevertheless, Issei was not worried for himself, while they didn't trust him, at the very least, he had never done anything to make them suspicious and had in fact helped them on occasion.
Issei trudged towards the old school building, mentally preparing himself for how he needed to make things appear. He had his goal and he needed to stick to it. As Issei prepared to enter the meeting room, he briefly sensed that only Rias, Sona, their respective queens, and Xenovia were there with one other person.
Issei slowly opened the door and walked inside before a large projectile launched into him, knocking him to the ground.
'Issei! Issei are you alright? I heard what happened to you and I got so worried.' Irina wailed from atop Issei, as she hugged him closely, pressing her face into his shoulder.
Strangely, Issei found that he enjoyed Irina fussing over him, it was different when they were kids, but now, Irina just made him feel different inside at times. He couldn't pin down the exact emotion he felt, but it didn't matter in the long run, all Issei knew was that Irina was special to him and always would be.
'Me? I was worried about you; how do you feel?' Asked Issei softly.
Irina raised her head and looked Issei in the eyes before her eyes widened in surprise.
'Issei what happened to your eye?' Asked Irina as she sat up, allowing Issei to sit up as well, leaving her directly in front of him as she stared into his eyes.
'*sigh* Long story, but what's new right?' Asked Issei jokingly.
'Did you really lose your eye? How did you get this one?' Asked Irina, before leaning in and whispering into his ear so only he would hear her next words.
'Is it a dragon eye?' Irina whispered.
Issei nodded, before softly muttering.
'Yes, but from a different dragon, I made some friends after you left, and this is a gift from one of them.' Issei replied.
Irina nodded before standing up, having understood that what Issei had to say was best said away from prying demonic ears.
Issei also stood up, before bowing to Sona.
'Thank you very much for your assistance, Sona, Irina is well now, and it is all thanks to you and your family.' Said Issei politely.
'Yes, it was the least we can do considering she was hurt during a battle with a common enemy of ours.' Replied Sona without missing a beat.
'Nonetheless, thank you, you could have taken the opportunity to weaken the other faction you oppose, but choose not to, regardless of your motives, I am truly grateful.' Issei said, to which Sona nodded.
'Very well, now that we have taken care of business, the fact still remains that we possess many fragments of Excalibur now. I do believe your mission was to retrieve these, Irina, Xenovia.' Said Rias, as she gestured to a chest filled with pieces of the various Excaliburs.
Irina and Xenovia both nodded in the affirmative.
'Then I do believe you will be leaving soon, no?' Questioned Rias.
'Actually, I will stay here for now. Irina will return the Excalibur fragments to the Vatican, whereas I will remain here, I believe doing so is the right thing to do considering what is to occur here soon and it will be important to ensure this area is safe and secure for the meeting.' Said Xenovia.
'I see, have you checked with your superiors on this?' Questioned Sona.
'Yes, I received a letter yesterday after I wrote to the Vatican about our current situation and was told to trust my judgement.' Answered Xenovia plainly.
'Very well, however, you will need to arrange a place to live.' Said Sona.
'Oh no, I am fine, the church is the place for a follower of Christianity, and I need not stay anywhere else at the present time.' Xenovia said quickly.
'Are you sure, we do have places for people to live temporarily?' Questioned Rias.
'No, I'm sure I will be fine.' Replied Xenovia curtly.
'As for you, Irina, well, I suppose this is redundant, but Issei will look after you until you need to leave, oh and do try to stay out of trouble.' Said Rias.
'No problem.' Said Irina with a cheerful smile.
'Very well, we will be off now.' Said Issei, to which Rias and Sona nodded with their queens merely looking on.
-line break-
'So Irina how are you? Really?' Asked Issei once they were outside.
'I'm fine Issei, really, you worry too much sometimes.' Answered Irina coolly.
'If you say so.' Said Issei smoothly, bringing their conversation to a small lull.
As they continued walking back to Issei's house, Issei noticed Irina was getting a little antsy and starting to fidget a bit.
'Go on.' Prompted Issei with a sigh.
Issei anticipated many possible actions on the part of Irina all the way from, squealing in interest and unabashedly asking him questions about his eye and his dragon friend, to becoming subdued and stammering apologies for his eye. Her actual actions though, surprised Issei, as she gently pecked him on the cheek and softly muttered a small thank you.
'What for?' Asked Issei confused.
Irina blushed slightly and looked at the ground for a moment, as they both stopped walking. Issei turned slightly so he was now looking at Irina's face from the side as she looked away.
'It is just… I mean, uh, you keep protecting me and I really appreciate it.' Said Irina cutely.
'You don't have to thank me for that, you're my best friend, if you ever need me, I will be there for you and nothing on heaven, hell or earth will stop me.' Declared Issei firmly.
Irina's blush intensified ten-fold, to the point that she looked about as red as a fresh tomato.
'Uh, thank you Issei, really, you are my best friend too and mean so much to me that I don't know how to describe it, or even begin to know how to thank you.' Irina said with a smile.
'You don't have to, no matter what, I will protect you. Even if you don't need it because you become stronger than me someday; I will still protect you with all of my body and soul.' Replied Issei with a smile of his own.
The two childhood friends smiled at each other before continuing their journey home.
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'Ah, Issei my child, your heart is torn, torn between love and hate. I suppose I will try to help you out, after all, you deserve it.' Stated a figure that was currently observing Issei and Irina with a fond smile.
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The days passed swiftly after that for Issei, Irina left to return the Excalibur fragments, Xenovia continued living her new life at Kuoh, as she had nothing to do throughout most of her days, and integrated quickly into the patterns of her fellow students, barring their obsession with Issei-Kiba of course, and instead focused solely on Issei, trying to understand him better.
Rias and Sona seemed to ease up on their scrutiny of Issei, no doubt, because Issei was hardly doing anything that could be considered suspicious.
Akeno had returned to her natural outward demeanour although Issei continued to observe her occasionally, gauging how she seemed to act around Rias now, which was near identical to how she acted previously, with the single exception that she also spent some of her spare time alone, rather than sticking solely with Rias all the time.
Issei's crew all behaved the same, but Raynare would sometimes zone off in thought, whether it was about Azazel or Issei himself, Issei had no idea.
Indeed, the day of the meeting was fast approaching and Issei couldn't help but get slightly apprehensive for what he was going to attempt during it.
-line break-
'Now, you two special powers, White Dragon Emperor, Red Dragon Emperor, what is it you two desire?' Questioned Sirzechs.
'I only want to be able to fight strong opponents, whether this is during peace or not matters little to me, as long as I have someone to fight.' Replied Vali disinterestedly.
'Fair enough, and you Red Dragon Emperor?' Questioned Sirzechs.
Issei stood up and moved to stand near Vali with some space between them.
'I… I seek to bring the dragons back to glory!' Shouted Issei, as a black portal appeared between him and Vali, before Ophis appeared and released her power, bringing many in the room to their knees.
'Issei, what is the meaning of this?' Questioned Azazel cautiously.
'Isn't it obvious? I am going to see to it that dragons reclaim their rightful place in this world and with the aid of the White Dragon Emperor and the Infinite Dragon God herself, Ophis, we will usher in a new age, an age of dragons!' Shouted Issei, before Ophis unleashed a wave of energy, blasting everyone in the room back, before the three dragons each set upon the collective powers in the room, as multiple explosions went off outside. The fight passed by in a blur and before Issei knew it, everyone was downed except for the dragons. The three dragons then left Kuoh by flight, heading up into the sky, before Ophis started to open a portal for them to leave, however, right before doing so, Issei felt a huge spike of magical power appear above the school, which crashed down on it and obliterated everyone inside.
-line break-
'NOOOOO!' Shouted Issei, as he abruptly sat up in his bed, covered in sweat.
Issei gripped his hair with both hands and rested his elbows on his thighs, as he rocked back and forth slightly.
'It was just a dream.' Muttered Issei quietly.
'Was it?' Questioned a gentle voice.
Issei's head quickly snapped up, as he saw a man with blond hair and green eyes who exuded a calming presence.
'Who are you?' Questioned Issei softly.
'I am Michael.' Replied the figure soothingly, as Issei studied the figure.
'You wouldn't happen to be the Archangel Michael, would you?' Questioned Issei curiously.
'That I am.' Replied Michael.
'What was that I saw, a dream?' Asked Issei in confusion.
'That depends on you.' Replied Michael calmly.
'What do you mean?' Asked Issei.
The Archangel smiled sadly, before walking closer to Issei, so he was now directly beside him as he sat up in his bed.
'You see, that is one possible future that can occur based on the decisions you make moving forward.' Explained Michael patiently.
Issei looked up in confusion, which prompted Michael to smile and explain further.
'You see, Issei, I have been watching you and young Irina ever since that incident in your childhood. That incident was a major turning point for the fate of this world. Had it not happened, I can guarantee you would have grown up differently and be a very different person than what you are today.' Continued Michael.
'What do you mean?' Repeated Issei, finding that Michael's explanation seemed to give him more questions than answers.
'You see Issei, you possessing Ddraig was already going to make you remarkable, that coupled with many of your key traits would ensure that you will change the world. However, the way in which you transform the world can still change. You are special and no matter what you do, many will be affected by your actions, because your power will make it so, what remains to be seen is how. What I showed you is one possible scenario; you could help bring about the end of the three factions and cause dragons to become a dominant race once more. You saw what would happen if you do so.' Stated Michael.
'Yeah, I would help cause the death of all three faction leaders… but I mean if you know this, couldn't you stop it?' Questioned Issei in confusion.
'Ah, but you see, it may not happen for me to need to stop it.' Replied Michael confusing Issei.
'You see, many things may possibly happen that would be disastrous to this world, I can see many people who can bring an end to the world, however, what I see and what happens may not necessarily correlate because of one thing: free will.' Explained Michael.
'So you mean to say that the only thing that stops the world from being destroyed is a person's free will?' Asked Issei seeking clarification.
Michael nodded before speaking.
'Indeed, and it is that free will which may also save the world. It comes down to the simple fact that what any one person does may have a profound effect on all life as we know it, when this person is powerful, the effect's magnitude also increases, do you understand what I am saying?' Asked Michael.
'That I have the power to change the world, for better or for worse in a large way, but so do a select few others as well.' Said Issei firmly.
'That is correct. Issei, let me ask you, what is it that your heart truly desires?' Asked Michael.
'My heart...' Said Issei as he placed his left hand over his heart.
'That is easy, to keep Irina safe, that is what my heart wants and is why I so willingly sacrificed it.' Replied Issei passionately.
'I see, you are aware however, that in that scenario I showed you, Irina died.' Michael stated, causing Issei to reflect on his dream.
'Irina… and not only her, everyone: Raynare, Asia… Akeno, Ravel… Xenovia... so many of my friends died… because of me…' Mumbled Issei with wide eyes.
'Yes, but that doesn't need to be the case.' Said Michael.
'How, how do I prevent that from happening, please tell me?' Pleaded Issei, with tears beginning to form in his eyes.
'You need to let go of your hate. I know it won't be easy, remember, I have been keeping an eye on you and saw all the atrocities you saw in your life, from the attack on you and young Irina all the way to the events of this day, June twenty first, four years ago.' Said Michael.
Issei's eyes suddenly took on a menacing look, which not even Michael's aura would soothe.
'If you know of that day then you know why I can't just let my hate go!' Shouted Issei.
'But you must, or that dream you saw will become a reality.' Said Michael sadly.
Issei looked down at his sheets and clenched at his hair strongly, pulling a few hairs from his scalp in the process.
'How?' Asked Issei in a whisper.
'You can only deal with your hate if you focus on that which is more important to you, you know what it is deep inside you, you need only to realise it.' Said Michael, before he started walking away, as he begun to be enveloped in golden light.
'How can you leave me now without telling me what that is, what if I still end up getting you killed?' Questioned Issei in a panic, as the angel started to disappear.
'That is simple, I trust you will find the truth within yourself and do what is right. Have faith, Issei, you are destined for great things.' Finished Michael before he vanished.
'What is more important than my hate for devils… I need some time to think about this.' Muttered Issei, before slumping back down on his pillow.
Ok now one thing I will say is bear with me for the next two chapters or so. I have the next three chapters done and am almost through with a fourth so I know what will happen. A lot of you have called me out for being a Rias/Devil hater which isn't true. I mean this is a story about DxD, why should I put my own ideologies into it? As I've said before, I like Rias, I just find her boring compared to everyone else in her peerage who have way better pasts and backstories.
What I am doing is showing how Issei reacts to certain things, such as his past, and how these events change him. In the next few chapters, a bit more of his past will be revealed and even more a few chapters after that (around chapter 19 or 20) showing just why he hates devils.
I already anticipate many of you objecting to how Issei will change, but as I said, bear with me, the reasons for his actions will be explained in time.