Chapter 2: Back from Zero
He woke up with a gasp of pain.
"What was that? What was that? What was that? What was that?" he muttered, paranoid by what he saw.
"Those events…never happened!" he let out, terrified.
"But...why? It felt as if I experienced them with my own body..."
"Why did it feel, that as if I experience them firsthand?"
"And that boy..."
"That boy…suffered" he said, remembering the boy that he saw. He felt pity for the boy and immense anger for the one who caused it.
"Suffered to the point of breaking down…"
"Blood..."
"Screams of anguish"
"Screams of the damned…"
He let out, gritting his teeth in frustration.
"Love me! Love me! Love me! Love me! Love me! Love me! Love me! Love me"
"Who was that person? Who was that voice and what does she want from me?" he asked.
"I will never love…whoever that person is…" he said once again with resolve laced on his tone, remembering what happened earlier.
"It made that boy suffer…I can't just offer my affection for a creature, that made a person's life hell"
"No matter what…"
"The only thing I was wondering is that…who is that boy? Why did I feel like I met him before?" he was confused, his mind in a disarray due to many thoughts being processed.
He was to immerse on his own thoughts that he failed to notice a crucial detail. Once he realized, he blinked, once, twice, thrice confused where he was in.
His eyes widening as wide as plates his teeth being grinded.
"How am I still alive?"
"I know already died…"
He was at a room, where anime posters littered the wall, magazines stacked at a desk to his left. The room was messy, it looked as if a storm just came by. However, for the Brown-haired boy…
He turned his head left and right. That sensation he knew all too well It was a burning sensation, he felt it, limbs going numb, and mind seemingly stopped, he experienced all of that and yet he was...alive sitting in a bed.
"How…" he let out as he realized something while widening his brown eyes. He finally noticed where he was in.
"This room…" he said, frantically turning his head at every direction.
"Was the state it was before the renovation…" he said.
"Was everything a nightmare? a dream?"
"No that can't be right…that sensation, that pain…was unmistakable"
"I know already died I knew that fact!"
"I already died shamelessly..."
"I broke that promise I made"
He repeated and again despaired. Tears welled up, now threatening to fall down the mattress. He was enraged and frustrated.
"I know the sensation to well too mistake that..."
"How am I still alive?! Huh!?"
"As far as I remember no sacred gear is capable to reviving a soul, and there is no way Asia was able to save me because the injury should have killed me…"
"Even so, I don't deserve to live...after what happened...after that failure..."
"Live...cherish your life...love it..."
He grits his teeth in frustration, gripping a pillow as tight as he could.
"Live my life…and cherish it? How can I even cherish it? How? Whoever you are, tell me! How can I ever live in satisfaction, in luxury?" he screamed, enraged, warm tears flowing in his face.
"Everything here is a mere illusion!"
"There is no way…"
"Illusion! Illusion! I knew it! I fucking knew it!" he let out, resisting the truth of the situation.
"I should have been in a big room with an oversized bed or the ORC, but I was back here, what my room is before"
"An illusion indeed…"
"If it was, they could easily dispel it right Ddraig?" he asked the entity sealed in his arm only to receive silence.
"Ddraig?"
"..."
"Ddraig?"
"..."
"Don't fuck with me Ddraig! Answer me! Fucking answer me damn it!"
"Damn it Damn it Damn it Damn it!"
"..."
He felt broken enraged. He remembered the time they spent together, the time that they helped each other and befriended each other.
"Fucking bullshit!"
"Bullshit!"
"Bullshit!"
"Stop screaming nonesense!" shouted a grumpy voice he recognized to be his father's muffled through the door with him ignoring that exclamation.
"You might wake up the neighbors! Quiet down!" shouted a feminine voice.
"Illusion...If this was an Illusion, they would have broken it by now...Ddraig isn't answering..."
He remembered those times. The sacrifices he made to make everything right, the effort he made.
"Could everything be just a dream? no that can't be right…"
"I know those are not mere dreams!"
"They can't be!"
"Those events happening can't be a dream!"
"The effort"
The brown-haired boy can now be seen, with his boosted gear summoned, fist clenched and cocked back.
"Take this Riser!" he screamed, his fist making contact.
"The sweat"
"Gragh!" he let out, absorbing a jewel from the Divine Dividing, earning a shocked expression from his opponent.
"The blood that I shed"
*Huff* *Huff* he panted; soot covered the entirety of his being. Blood trickled from his face.
"I can't just accept that it was not true…"
"Don't you dare confuse yourself Issei" he convinced himself, slapping his face. After that gesture, he steeled himself. Standing up, he took a clearer look to the room he was in.
"Remember…an illusion stops the distribution of time in one place"
remembering what someone thought to him, he took his phone and viewed for time and date; however, he widened his eyes in shock by what met him.
"August 13, 2009"
"What?" he let out shocked. It was exactly 2 days with his date with Yuma Amano or Raynere. His hands were trembling in frustration. He can't forget about that 'lovely' day.
"What the hell" he let out as he dropped his phone to the ground.
"No…this can't be happening…"
"No"
"No no no no no no"
He was shivering from anger.
"If it was an illusion, it would have been broken by now…" he muttered.
"But, how? If this is true, then everything is just a dream?"
"Butchou being a devil is mere fantasy? Supernatural is a fantasy?" he asked quietly.
"Everything I did for them…"
"Was for nothing?"
"No that can't be right, it felt to real…if the gods did this…. Fuck them" he cursed the ones above.
"Fuck them!"
"Fuck them!"
"Issei! It's time for school and don't forget your lunch!" shouted a feminine voice that he recognized that was his mothers. He heard that exclamation, but he did not respond.
"Yea…right if everything was just a dream, then I can rest peacefully" he convinced himself, trying his best to be cheerful.
"Meeting the girls will never happen"
"Becoming a devil will never happen, they are not true anyways"
"I can do whatever I want…do whatever I wanted…"
"Watching anime with my friends…"
"Playing games…"
"I could do everything!"
"The burden…will not be placed in my shoulders!"
"No more pain…no more training…just do whatever I wanted"
He tried to adapt a tough exterior, in contrast to his interior, a shattered soul in a body of a teenager, but he felt tears welling up in his eyes.
"I will stay by your side forever!"
He was conflicted, he was broken. His welled-up tears now flowing in his face, dripping to the floor below.
"Fuck it…I can't accept that fact…"
"Because I love them…I loved them…"
"That's why I-I can't just accept this…"
"I can't be able too"
"I can't just accept that those are all fantasy, everything that happened, the hell I went through…"
"That's why…" he let out as he wiped his tears.
"I will find out the truth myself" he said with resolve, opening the door and descending the stairs.
"The truth as to what really happened…"
"If everything was just a dream…"
-DxD-
Issei Hyoudou was now approaching the school, donning the Kuoh Academy uniform and a red shirt underneath. He has a serious expression, plastered in his face.
"Oh…" he let out, noticing that he was already in front of the gate.
"Hyoudou!
"Hyoudou!"
Hearing this, he turned his face towards the source. One was a bald boy donning the Kuoh Academy uniform. The other is a boy with black hair and equipped himself with glasses.
The girls hearing that name, felt disgusted as they made way to not contact the pervert known as Hyoudou.
"What is it?" he asked with monotonous voice, comparable to that of a white-haired girl.
"You know… a new series just released! Wanna check it out?" asked the bald boy enthusiastically.
"No…I have no time, sorry" he apologized, moving away from the 2 shocked perverts. The girls were now giving him suspicious glares.
.
.
.
He was now moving through the corridors he was passing by door by door, until he met the girl, he knew all too well.
"Koneko…" he muttered, encountering the white-haired girl.
"Pervert" she said, walking away in fast pace. In turn, he let out a bitter chuckle.
"Always like that huh?" he muttered as he headed to his classroom.
"Koneko exists…same attitude as always…"
He opened the door, the class going quiet, all of them staring at him with the same suspicious looks he received.
"The self-proclaimed Harem king is here!" a girl with brown hair let out, obviously teasing the girl.
The boy having no time to joke around…glared at the girl with his emotionless eyes.
"Shut…the fuck up" he let out with a monotonous tone of voice, hiding his enraged interior. The girl and the class then felt shivers run down their spines.
"I have no time for such fucking nonsense…you fucking understand?!" he let out, his voice, laced with anger.
"A-alright" the girl stuttered.
"Right…" the boy let out in return as he headed to his chair.
"What happened to Hyoudou?"
"Yeah"
"The perverseness is gone"
"Where is the old Issei?"
He can hear them exchanging gossips; however, he paid no mind. His mind wandering in his head, millions of thought continually being processed in his head.
"Koneko exists…"
"If she exists…then it would only make sense that they exist to…right?"
"But there is a possibility, that I would be considered "crazy" if I called them devils…so I need to be careful"
He thought, tapping his fingers in his desk. His eyes, moving left and right, observing everything in every direction.
"Good morning class" greeted the teacher, opening the door to the room.
"Good morning teacher" all the students let out at the same time, except for him.
"I will need to visit them…Visit the ORC and confirm my suspicions"
"Hyoudou?"
"Hyoudou?"
"I will need to be careful…careful carefu- "he was interrupted by the teacher going to his desk.
"Hyoudou are you alright? You have been staring at nothingness" the teacher let out worried for the safety of his student.
He might be known as one of the perverted trios, however there was a single teacher that cared for his wellbeing.
"Yeah, I am fine teacher…I have a lot of thoughts recently" he technically wasn't lying.
"Cheer up! Classes is gonna start so cheer up!" the teacher said enthusiastically, earning a forced smile from the boy.
"Right…" he responded.
.
.
.
"Alright let's start this class!" the teacher let out when he was at the front of the whole class.
-DxD-
The class has finally ended, with Issei Hyoudou packing up his things. He is still contemplating if he would go to the ORC and confirm or pass, however he was determined to find the truth of what happened to him, if it was all a dream.
"There…" he muttered as he moved out of the classroom. "Remember Issei…careful on what you say…" he reminded himself.
He then walked towards the ORC.
"How will I confront them?" he thought, contemplating.
"Incase if that was only a dream…they would consider me a weirdo…"
"Just focus! And know!"
After a few minutes of walking, he finally arrived in front of the old school building. It looked as if it was worn down.
Arriving, he steeled himself and knocked on the door.
*Knock*
*Knock*
"Enter!" a familiar feminine voice said. He just smiled.
"I see…Butchou exists…which means…all of them does…" he thought opening the door.
It was a European styled room. Fancy paintings littered the wall. Wood of good quality ran through the ceiling. A table can be seen with a fancy looking sofa surrounded it, and there the people he knew all too well was sitting. The sight for him…was nostalgic. After so long…he was finally inside the room where the 'dream' began.
"Hmm…Issei Hyoudou may I ask what you are here for?" asked a girl, curious. She has long crimson hair, aquamarine eyes, with a sizable bust.
He remembered the visage of a crying red haired girl
"Butchou" he thought, his gloomy expression brightening up. However, when he saw the oblivious expression on her face, he frowned inwardly.
"Butchou…does not remember me…"
"They don't remember me at all…so I was right it was all a dream"
"Curse the gods for making me hope! Fuck them!"
"I hate them! Hate them! Hate! Hate!" he thought enraged, clenching his fist to the point that it turned white
"Issei Hyoudou?" the red-haired girl noticing this she his name repeated, shattering his trance.
"What is it B-Rias?" he asked, almost calling the girl what he used to call her.
"You have been staring on nothingness…something wrong?" she asked worriedly. In turn, he forced out a smile.
"Yeah…I am fine Rias Gremory"
"It felt uncomfortable calling her that"
"Well then…settle yourself" she said, with him obeying sitting down at the sofa.
"Hyoudou-kun what are you doing here?" the blonde-haired boy with grayish eyes donning a Kuoh academy uniform, asked the boy oblivious.
"Something wrong that I visit…pretty boy?" he said, rolling his eyes.
"No…it's that you haven't visited any clubs" the blonde responded.
Yes, it was true, all Hyoudou Issei would do was to peek on the Kendo club girls. But this this time…it was all different.
"Is that so?" he asked sartistically, earning a light chuckle.
"Ara ara" a familiar voice let out. She was a girl with raven colored hair, violet eyes. A bust size bigger than Rias'.
"Akeno…" he thought bitterly, remembering a visage of the crying raven haired girl.
"Akeno…can I ask you to prepare tea for our guest?" the red-haired girl said, while browsing papers.
"Ahmm" the raven haired hummed, moving to the kitchen to brew.
"This is fucked up…"
"I can't sense anything from them…"
"I can't sense that presence"
His face contorting, adapting an enraged look.
"God damn it…damn it damn it! Everything was just a dream after all!" he screamed in his mind, angrily.
"They seem to be regular humans…nothing special" he stated mentally.
At that point, he was contemplating to go out of the room.
"But…Butchou did say that they were experts in hiding their real identity" he stated in his mind, gaining a shred of hope.
"I need to confirm it…"
"Rias Gremory" he called out to the girl.
"Hmmm?" she hummed, giving him her attention.
"What do you know about the supernatural?" he asked, earning a shocked expression from everyone who heard it.
"Supernatural you say?" she replied calming down.
"How did this human know about us? In that case…I need to manipulate him, erase every trace…"
"However, my rook stated that she smelled and sensed a presence of a dragon inside him"
"Which means…he will need to have encountered something from the supernatural…or might have awakened his sacred gear" she thought.
"But the possibly of him asking that question because of our faked identity can be high in this regard, that's why I need to play along"
"Ahem" the girl let out, covering her mouth with clenched fist.
"Well…as you know we research about everything about the supernatural…so state what specific subject you want to discuss with me" she stated, eyeing him.
"It's about devils…" he said, earning a shocked glare from everyone who heard them.
"This human…knows about us? No don't make a fast conclusion Rias" she thought to herself.
"Why devils? Why not spirits or anything related to the supernatural?" she asked the boy.
"Well…I have taken a liking to the bible recently and the mysterious disappearances was rumored to be done by a devil of some sorts" he said, lying as he shrugged his shoulders.
"He might not know after all" she thought relieved.
"Well, devils are the exact opposite of angels…and is an enemy of God" she said, resisting the pain that came soon after.
"Ok?" he said, acting oblivious, the girl however seemed to believe
"Does devils eat souls?" he asked, pretending not to know.
The red-haired girl just frowned mentally because they, devils doesn't need to feed on human souls…well they did in the past but now it was different.
"Yes…" she responded, trying to hide her frown.
"So, any weaknesses?"
"Holy water…" the girl responded.
"Hmmhmm" the raven-haired girl hummed, emerging from the kitchen with the tea she brewed.
"Ara ara what happened here Butchou?" she teased, seeing the well-hidden frown.
"Akeno…stop please, Issei Hyoudou here asked about devils, and what they are…" she retorted.
"Hmmm…devils" she said turning her face to the boy, who has a serious expression in his face.
"Ara ara why devils Issei-kun?"
"If you want, I'll become a devil for you" she said teasing the boy.
"No…it's just…"
"Their reactions about the supernatural, was all too familiar."
"And when Butchou said 'God' I saw a slight trembling in her body…" he thought, feeling sorry for the red-haired girl.
"I am sorry Butchou…but that had to be done…"
"Her hesitation…was all too familiar…"
"As if she hated everything related to the church…"
"Which means…"
"Which means…"
"Devils really did exist, not the whole supernatural world I knew, it exists here…"
"But how is it possible? If the supernatural exist and the date now…was 2 months before the Loki incident"
"Issei-kun?"
"Issei-kun?"
The boy's trance like state was shattered.
"Akeno Himejima?" he muttered, seeing the worried face of the girl.
"It's just you have been staring at nothingness…something wrong?" she asked worried for the safety of the boy in front of her.
"I just remembered…that I had to meet with Matsuda and Motohama this night" he said, changing the topic.
"Thank you for telling me about Devils…Rias Gremory, with this knowledge…I can be able to protect my friends!" he said with a faked enthusiastic tone, stood up, pumping his fists in the air.
"Glad to help" the red haired said, chuckling.
"Alright then, I am going out now" he said, opening the door and moving out, gently closing the door.
"Butchou…how will we deal with him?" the blonde-haired boy asked.
"His eyes...the eyes of an individual who experienced death itself"
"Observe him…for now" she responded, narrowing her eyes.
"Hyoudou Issei...just what are you?"
-DxD-
Hyoudou Issei was now approaching his house with serious expression on his face.
"The world of supernatural exists…"
"It really does exist…"
"With that in mind…the only conclusion that I can come up with…"
"Is that I somehow went back in time…"
He thought, gritting his teeth almost grinding them.
"Then…"
The visage of him lying on his own blood can now be seen
"Blame god if you want, since that old bastard is the one that gave you your 'sacred gear'.
"If that's the case, then I will meet her again…" he let out, as he approached his house.
"Then…"
"Then…"
"I can save her…"
"I can still save her…ahaha-hahaha-hahahaha" he let out cheerfully.
"Gods…gods…I take back what I said earlier…"
"Doing this to me was actually the only one thing I wanted…"
"Thank you"
"Thank you"
He was crying tears of joy, realizing something important.
"Knowing what she will do, then I can stop it…preventing her death…will heal my shattered heart"
"This is the chance I have been waiting for…the one I have been longing for all this time…"
"I want to save the girl, that I first loved…"
"I want to make it up to her…I want to prove myself to her…"
"Everything was going my way…everything IS going my way…"
"That's why…I will…"
"Do everything…back from square one, no from zero!"
Chapter End
So, guys...please do point out my mistakes and sorry for the lack of vocabulary...
Let me explain...at first Issei is confused seeing as how he already died, that's why he kept denying over and over until he calmed down and found the truth himself