Hi guys. Prior to starting the chapter, I want to let you know that I am likely going to change the story up from how I said I would have it. I've decided that this story should be about Issei's internal conflict and brokenness. If you guys want to drop the story, I don't blame you. With that said, please enjoy!

BOLD - Issei Speaking

Chapter 7 - Real and Fake

Issei was walking home from school. A casual stroll without a care in the world. Little had changed for him. He wasn't viewed as a monster and people would talk to him but the guys still didn't like him due to his popularity with the girls.

Issei was completely jacked, so it was only natural that girls were always following around, sending pictures of him on Snapchat. Even though the girls liked him, he never had any bonds. There were only 2 people Issei had bonds with. His 2 parents. Not his biological ones of course, but his adopted ones.

The sky was orange and the sun rode the horizon. The road was desolate. Issei was on his way home from school. He walked with a depressed look on his face through the zigzag alleyways in Kuoh.

Little did he know, he was being trailed, not by one, but 2 people. A black-haired purple-eyed well-bosomed beauty followed him, quickly trailing him after he turned a corner. The other one was Rias Gremory's Rook, a white-haired small girl with cat eyes. She jumped from rooftop to rooftop watching Issei. Both girls were wondering the source of Issei's expression, so they followed him. They were also good at controlling their presence, so Issei wouldn't notice.

Issei began strolling down a bridge that reigned over bleak waters. He halted and leaned forward onto the glistening corroded copper railings.

"Why? Why can't I be normal? Why is it that there isn't anyone I can trust? Why? I've put up with this for years and years, even going through changing damned schools. Not one person. Fuck. I'll give it another week. If nothing changes, I'll hang myself," Issei muttered under his breath into the surrounding silence.

Little to Issei's knowledge, the 2 supernatural beings could hear him loud and clear, standing at opposite sides of the bridge.

The cat-girl's face wore a surprised look. The seemingly human man that had stopped her and tried to erase her memory was this far gone? This didn't sit well with her. But, she didn't intervene. She would tell Rias, in hopes she would try to do something about it.

Surprisingly, the black-haired girl's expression was in abhorrence. Her eyes widened, she covered her mouth, she fell on her knees and couldn't wipe away the tears she was harboring. The feeling she got from Issei's anecdote was… familiar. 'This is the boy I'm meant to assassinate? No! I can't do it! That pain… that cry… I just can't. Not after that.'

After crying on the floor for about a minute, she managed to wipe the tears away and got up. She walked towards the depressed Issei who seemed like he could jump off the bridge at any moment. Issei's instincts were telling him someone was there, which resulted in a wince and a shiver down his spine, praying nobody heard what he said. He slowly turned towards the presence he had sensed.

She was absolutely beautiful. Long, black hair. Purple eyes. A big chest. She was up there with the cutest girls Issei had ever seen.

"I… heard what you said back there. I've been following you around for some time now. I've seen what you've been going through. I want you to know… I've been through the same thing. W-will you go- out with me?" The assassin asked, still holding back those withdrawn tears. She put a fake smile on, but she really wanted to bawl her eyes out. This was genuine. From her heart.

Issei, on the other hand, was blood-red. A girl just asked him out! That notion was absurd to him. And it wasn't just some girl. It was the prettiest, cutest, and the loveliest girl he could have met.

As the black-haired girl began to get worried at Issei's delayed response, she chuckled at his blushing face. Seconds after, a tear fell. Issei turned away and began shivering. "No." Issei stammered. He began to break into a complete nervous breakdown and rigidly cried, "I've been abandoned once before, and it made me like this. I can't go through that again. I'm sorry, but there are plenty of better guys than me that you could find." The black-haired beauty was at a loss for words. Tears began to well up into her eyes as well.

"I… I- i-'' The black-haired girl stuttered. She couldn't tell him the truth. She loved him. She watched Issei walk by for about 2 weeks, always with that same look on his face. It tore her apart.

Issei then began to walk away, towards Koneko who disappeared from Issei's sightline to tell Rias what had happened.

'Why? Why do I love him?' the black-haired girl thought. 'It's because he's the same as me. He was abandoned by the people he cared about. So young and already experiencing that loss. I… need to protect him. I don't care if it means ripping out these fallen angel wings of mine, I will protect him.' The fallen angel thought to herself. Of course she didn't know he could go toe to toe with the strongest existence in history, but she loved him anyway.

Issei walked for a couple of blocks, and decided to take a magic circle home, as his apathy for walking grew. He just wanted to bawl his eyes out in his bed, with no disturbances.

When Issei formed a magic circle, the girl, just for a second felt Issei's presence. It wasn't draconic, as his draconic presence shows only when he uses his light abilities. 'Wait! He knows magic!? I was suppressing my presence, but… That doesn't matter, he clearly needs someone.'

A Couple Days Pass

Issei, after that day, was not the same. Pictures of that girl rang in his head at every moment.

Issei's parents, as nice as they seemed, didn't really care about Issei. They knew he was depressed, but they didn't do anything. Not a word of reassurance. He thought it was because they didn't know, but in reality, it would be silly to be under that notion.

Issei had tied a noose, and left it under his bed, for whenever he wanted. Things were looking really bad.

Issei is at school. It's lunchtime. He can see the yard with all of the kids playing volleyball. He was by himself. Alone. Nothing has changed. No matter where he went. No matter who he became. No matter what he did. He would remain the same. Nobody would ever care about him.

'What if I went out with a bang? Storming the underworld and destroying everything would be a fun way to go out.' Issei thought. He built up a sense of dark humor, but this was no joke. He wanted to just throw his life away and get back at those who did this to him.

Issei was sitting in his usual spot, under a tree outside the old school building. He heard a creaking sound above him and looked up. He was confronted by a crimson-haired, blue-eyed, well-bosomed beauty. He was in awe. His jaw dropped and his eyes dilated.

She gave him a distrustful yet warm look as if she was looking at a loyal servant or family member. She then shut the window and reclused back into the room.

All Issei could think was 'man, was she pretty.

Little did he know, Issei was being watched. Not by Rias or anyone from her peerage, but by the black haired girl. She didn't even go to his school, yet she watched him anyway. She didn't know why. She wasn't watching because of her job to kill him or anything. 'Why do I feel this way?' The girl thought. When she would try to come to an answer, only one word popped into her mind.

"Protect." She felt it was her duty to protect Issei. Obviously, she thought he was some human who was taught magic, not a being capable of going toe to toe with the strongest existence in history.

Issei, as his week of depression prior to release, began to close, he was confronted by the black-haired girl.

Issei had no bonds or connections. He had no feeling in his heart. The only feeling that he felt was sadness. Constant. All-day-everyday. He just wanted to end it all.

"Issei. I know how you feel. It's hard to open up to anyone. It's because of your past. I… have been through the same loss. Those you once trusted with your life discarded it as if it meant nothing, just an inconvenience. I… just feel like it's my job to protect you" the girl stated, as Issei walked by, over the desolate bridge. Tears were practically streaming off of Issei's face. Nobody had ever understood him so well. He wanted to apologize, but whenever he tried to turn around, he remembered Tannin reading the letter aloud.

This whole time, Issei thought it was some sort of prank. Some sort of ploy to get him to reveal himself, or worse, to hurt him even more.

"Issei, if you hurt yourself, I'll never forgive you!" She yelled as she closed her tearful eyes with her body fully tensed. Her arms were stretched out, and she cried with genuine concern. She had every intention of doing everything in her power to make Issei stop. She wanted him to be happy. That's all. If Issei wasn't going to stop now, she was going to reveal her true identity.

Issei broke down. His mind couldn't handle it. Issei's eyes went white and he fell to the ground. As Issei's chin ate the concrete, the girl ran up to him shouting "Issei! Are you alright? Stay with me! Issei!" Issei's ears rang as he lost consciousness.

'Why? What is this feeling? I've never felt it before. I feel protective, but- Issei- also this feeling -Issei- welling up inside of me. I… I just- Issei- don't know it. All I can think about is Issei! Why?!'

The girl, with the most worried look she had ever lent to anything, picked him up and ran. She ran for miles and miles and miles without stopping, arriving at Kuoh Hospital. She never once thought of killing him, not even once.

'Is this love?'

Issei woke up in front of a fountain. He was standing up, which was weird considering he just passed out. In front of him, was the black-haired girl. She said, in her usual, cute voice, "I love you… and I need you to do one thing for me." "Anything for you," Issei responded. Wait, why did he say that. He just rejected her in order to protect his conscience. Why did he say something as intimate as that?

"Well… then die for me." She hissed, as her voice became more mature. Her school uniform evaporated and black bands covered her breasts, as seemingly metal-plated panties covered her womanhood. She then spread 8 fallen angel wings.

Terror built upon his face as the fallen angel began to laugh. Why was Issei scared? He had the power to defeat her with the flick of a finger. What was causing these feelings? A light spear formulated in the girl's hands. Issei began to run, and run, and run, for what seemed like infinity. He then realized he hadn't moved. He stood still, frozen. He began to call all of his powers of fire, ice, and even light, but none of them responded.

Issei wasn't in control of himself at all. His eyes then dilated as the girl said "That date we had. It made me sick. You're always so damned depressed, why can't you get a fucking grip? You left me no choice." She then thrusted the spear into Issei's abdomen as Issei roared.

Issei's eyes were staunchly open. He shot straight up, as he woke up screaming in a cold sweat. He gasped for breath and looked down at his chest, patting it with his hands to make sure it was still there. He had no clue where he was, as his mind was still fuzzy.

"Nightmare?" The lady to his right asked. She seemed like an old lady, due to her gray hair, wrinkled skin, and tacky glasses. "You've been out for 5 days, and this girl would not leave your side. She said something like 'I need to be with him. I can't stand not being with him. He's my boyfriend'. Love at such a young age should be good for a boy like you. She might even be your angel."

That last word rang in Issei's head, as he recalled his nightmare. He bent over and covered his ears, as he felt his brain was about to explode. The trauma… Being alone… That dream… Nothing made sense to Issei.

The gray-haired lady picked up a landline phone strapped to the wall and dialed the lobby. "Hyodou is clear. He is awake and is seemingly fine. He looks like he has a headache or something, so he'll be here a little longer. If he leaves, he's cleared for exit."

Issei then straightened himself up. His draconic mind couldn't piece it together, but the ringing stopped. The doctor hung the phone up, and said: "leave when you're ready." She walked out and shut the door.

Issei began to stretch, following rising out of the infirmary bed.

A Couple Days Ago - The Abandoned School Building

"Buchou, that man is going to end his own life. Is there anything we can do?" The white-haired mascot asked. "That's not like you Koneko. Worried about other people? Well, I guess he did say he was going to kill himself. I'll see if I can do anything, but ultimately it's up to him" The Crimson Beauty stated.

CHAPTER END

What's up guys! I know I'm going to get a lot of hate about the way I handled Issei, but I think that focusing on him as a person, emphasizes that strength doesn't lead to happiness. I think you can already guess some of the alterations that I decided to make.

Rias and Kuroka will still be a part of the harem, but there is someone that comes first. Raynare. Raynare was abandoned by God, and led down the path of corruption, into a fallen angel. Raynare, a strength-obsessed fallen angel, and a depressed all-powerful dragon. Fitting duo.

This WILL be a harem story, so expect some lemons and everything that comes with it.

As for Issei's character. His not having any friends made the once proud dragon extremely timid. He had nobody to turn to in his times of need, leaving him alone. Raynare is trying to get Issei to be with her because she secretly needs someone who understands her. Once she learns his origins though, I think it will get interesting.

Sorry about this, If you don't like it, feel free to drop the story. Also thanks so much! My first story, 150+ Followers, only 6 chapters! That's crazy to me. Love you guys, and see you in the next chapter.