Chapter 1 - Illegal Racing
Hyoudou Issei woke up early as usual.
School would start in an hour, giving him enough time to take a shower and eat. He did just that, taking about 30 minutes, 6 minutes for the shower and the rest to prepare food. He was very tired yesterday, so he didn't have time to prepare a breakfast for the other day.
He still had about 30 minutes left, so there was no need to rush.
He didn't live too far from school.
He ate quietly.
As he ate, several memories hit him.
"It's really lonely..." He muttered as he slowly looked at his empty house, containing only him.
He looked at a small wooden table in the living room that was visible from the kitchen. On this table was a small portrait with a picture on it. A boy who appeared to be 10 years old. On the left side was his mother while on the right side was his father. Everyone had a smile on their face. A time that was really happy, but unfortunately it was over.
A sigh escaped Issei's lips.
Finishing his meal, he washed his plate, brushed his teeth, and picked up his bag. He prepared to leave, straightening his clothes. He had about 15 minutes to get to school. After he finished getting ready he went to the door, not before taking one last look at a small part of his house.
On the wall near the stairs leading to his room were several drawings or pictures of cars. Issei had been passionate about cars since he was a child. He watched many cool car races on TV. However, his love for cars would become his own undoing.
[You should stop thinking about it all the time, partner. You were a kid, it's impossible to predict the future]
The voice said in his head.
Issei let out a sigh. 'I know, but I can't help but feel some guilt about it, Ddraig.' He mentally replied.
Ddraig, the dragon that lived in his soul.
Ddraig is one of the Two Heavenly Dragons and the arch-rival of Albion . He is called Red Dragon known as Welsh Dragon, Y Ddraig Goch, Red Dragon Emperor and Red Dragon Emperor of Domination, who resides within Longinus, Boosted Gear, wielded by Issei Hyoudou.
Issei awakened his Boosted Gear when he 12 years old due to an accident. After that, Ddraig appeared in his dreams. He learned all about the factions of Angels, Fallen Angels and Devils. Basically everything he thought was myth is real. Even the Gods are real.
Of course, knowing this when he was only 12 years old was something very shocking. After that, Issei started training hidden from everyone's sight. One of the main reasons was because he was the bearer of the Boosted Gear. According to Ddraig, Issei would be a magnet for bringing trouble and strong people onto him. The biggest of these being Albion.
Albion is the second Celestial Dragon. He is called the White Dragon, also known as the Vanishing Dragon, Albion Gwiber, White Dragon Emperor and White Dragon Emperor of Supremacy. He is currently residing inside a Longinus, as is Ddraig. The name of the Longinus is Divine Dividing.
Issei considered himself a bit lucky that no one had gone after him these past 5 years. Well, considering all the shit that happened to him, maybe God is being merciful? Oh wait, God is dead. Maybe we should change the word God to Angels. Yeah, Angels would be fine.
[Feeling guilt over something that was not in your control is totally meaningless.] Ddraig said. '[Besides, you'd better be careful from now on, extra careful.]'
Issei narrowed his eyes as he left his house and started walking towards the school.
'What do you mean?' Issei asked.
[Do you really think that we will continue as we are for much longer? I don't know why it's taking so long, but it's certain that things will start to get problematic soon. Those devils that reside in your school are already watching you.] Ddraig explained.
Issei had a serious look on his face when he heard Ddraig's explanation. Devils. The Devils that reside in his school. Ddraig was talking about Rias Gremory and the Student Council President, Sona Sitri. According to Ddraig, both of them were Devils, and probably all the members of their clubs as well.
Issei always found it strange that they were so much hotter than normal girls. However, the fact that they were Devils did not stop Issei from fantasizing about them whenever he had the chance. According to Ddraig, Issei was technically a Dragon. And Dragons attract powerful beings, as well as women. This meant that his dream of being the Harem King was possible. And he would make it happen.
[You're making a lewd face, partner]. Ddraig warned him.
Issei came back to reality when Ddraig spoke to him. He looked to the side and saw some girls looking at him with disgust. This didn't affect him; after all, he was getting the same looks from the girls in his school.
He cleared his mind of these thoughts and ignored the way the women were looking at him. As he walked, he mentally talked to Ddraig.
'Do you think they already know that I am Sekiryuutei?'
[Unlikely.] Ddraig replied. [If they were already aware of you, then they would have already approached you asking for an explanation of what you are doing in their territory. They would also try to bring you over to their side, after all the possessors of Longinus are quite wanted, especially Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing. But I wouldn't find it strange should they suspect you of possessing a Dragon-type Sacred Gear].
Issei practiced a way to hide his energy as much as he could, but it still wasn't enough.
Well, it was to be expected that the bearers of the two Heavenly Dragons would be wanted. That brought a theory to Issei.
'Do you think the Albion bearer is in either faction?' he asked.
Ddraig was silent for a few seconds before speaking.
[Maybe. That's not a rare situation or anything, so I wouldn't be surprised by that.]
After they finished talking, Issei tightened his stride to his school.
Three young people were running as if their lives depended on it. To the people who knew them, this was just another normal day in Kuoh.
"Come back here, you damn perverts!"
"You won't get away!"
"Get them!"
Several girls shouted as they ran after the boys who had just been caught spying on the girls' locker room. Again. The boys just ran as fast as they could while talking among themselves.
"What's wrong with us wanting to see some boobs!?" Issei yelled at them.
"Yeah, what's the problem!?" Their friends agreed with them shouting.
In response, the girls got angrier and ran faster after them. The boys were startled. The girls had wooden swords in their hands, making it clear that if they caught the three boys, they would suffer greatly. Knowing this, they just ran faster.
"What's wrong with these crazy girls!" Motohama shouted.
"If they catch us, we're toast!" Matsuda shouted.
"Just shut up and run!" Issei shouted his two friends.
Issei was not looking to take a beating today (even if it had almost no effect on him). He also has some business to take care of tonight.
So...
Issei grabbed the arm of his two friends, surprising them both in the process. And then he moved forward, running faster than he had ever run before, surprising the girls. It didn't take long for them to lose sight of the boys. They just complained and vowed to deal with it later.
.Issei was with his friends while they were surprised.
"Holy shit bro, that was cool! Did you see the girls' faces?"
"Yeah, how long has it been since you could run like that!? You weren't holding back before, right?"
"Of course not, I just used all the energy I was building up. I'm exhausted," said Issei. However, he didn't look tired at all. Matsuda and Motohama didn't talk about it.
"You're okay, right?" Matsuda asked.
"Ah, ah, yes. I'm fine, don't worry."
"In that case, you'll be even better off! I'm inviting you two to come to my house to watch a very interesting DVD," said Motohama as he adjusted his glasses.
"Oh, what DVD is it?" Matsuda asked.
"Sorry guys, I'll be busy tonight," Issei replied quickly.
Matsuda and Motohama turned to Issei.
"Oh really? You're not having money problems, right? I can help a little, although it's not much." Motohama said, knowing the situation Issei was in.
"Yes, I can help a little too," Matsuda agreed.
Issei showed a small smile on his face. He shook his head slowly.
"No need to worry, it's nothing like that. I'm not having money problems, it's just a visit I intend to make to my mother in the hospital," he lied.
Matsuda and Motohama softened their gazes. Any perverted conversations stopped. They said goodbye to Issei soon after, wishing him good luck.
Issei sighed a little.
It was already close to school-leaving time.
He looked ahead and started walking with his hands in his pockets.
[Partner...]
'I know.'
A short distance away, there was someone watching Issei from a window.
...
...
Rias Gremory was watching Hyoudou Issei leave with his hands in his pockets.
He is someone who caught not only her attention, but also Sona's.
Hyoudou Issei was someone known throughout the academy as the leader of the Perverted Trio. But only those who looked closely would know more about him. According to Koneko, Hyoudou Issei smelled like a Dragon. Some time ago, Rias asked Sona to investigate Hyoudou Issei.
And what they found out shocked them.
Issei had lived alone since he was 14 years old. When he was 12 years old, he and his parents were in a car accident. The accident ended up killing his father and leaving his mother in a coma for an indefinite period of time. Issei's grandfather took care of him until he was 14, but he eventually died. After that, Issei has been living alone until now.
A tragic story indeed.
However, that was not the strange part.
In order to keep Issei's mother alive, he had to pay an absurd amount of money every month. And when Rias and Sona looked at the payment files of the hospital where Issei's mother was, they were confused. Although there were some delays, all the bills were paid by Issei.
His house was also quite expensive.
According to their research, Issei did not work anywhere.
So this left a doubt in everyone's mind.
Where was he getting the money from to pay his mother's hospital bills along with the other things?
This question was in her mind the whole time. Even if she tried to send a Familiar to try to spy on Issei, she always lost him.
An interesting fact was that he seemed to own a car. His house had a garage. How did he get the money to buy a car with all these problems? He was also not old enough to have a driver's license.
He seemed to know about Supernatural. Should she try to go see for herself?
After some thought, she came to a conclusion.
"Akeno," she called out.
"Yes Buchou?" Akeno went to her side.
"I need to ask a favor of you."
Issei opened the door to his house.
As soon as he opened the door, he saw a letter on the floor.
Carefully, he picked it up and opened it.
He sighed.
It was a letter sent from the hospital, asking for the monthly money.
He had barely arrived home.
[What are you going to do?] Even knowing what he was going to do, Ddraig still asked.
Issei just looked at his sofa. On top of it was a small object. He walked over to the object and picked it up with his left hand. He squeezed the object with his fist and answered Ddraig.
"What I know best."
[You know they will catch you at some point, right?]
Issei just smiled.
"Is the Red Dragon afraid of policemen?"
If Issei were seeing Ddraig now, he would see him roll his eyes. [Please, why would I be afraid of such mortals in silly clothes? Besides, I'm not exactly talking about the policemen. It will be a matter of time before Supernatural beings find you at one of these car races.]
"Well, I'm not exactly afraid of them. You said yourself that my strength should be enough to handle most of them, right?"
[Indeed. With your current strength, you are able to quietly deal with upper-class Devils. Against stronger people you would have to be with Balance Breaker.]
"See, we have no reason to worry."
[I wouldn't be that confident. Most of my hosts have great bad luck.]
"You are a few years too late to say that. Besides, I have no choice. It's the only way for me to make money quickly to pay my mother's hospital bills as well as the house bills."
[You could just rob a bank. Of course we would get a lot more attention if you do that, but you won't do it.]
"Why do you say that?"
[Because you like to run] was Ddraig's immediate response. [Of course you do it to pay the bills for the hospital your mother is in, but it's not just for that. You really enjoy racing in these illegal racing.]
Illegal car racing.
It was something more common than it seemed in Japan.
Various sports cars would compete against each other on the tracks. The tracks could be quiet or dangerous.
Most of the races were on single tracks, but there were also those that had routes on public tracks. This meant that some races could be held on tracks full of people's cars going somewhere or coming back. These particular races were more dangerous because the police always got in the way. Most of them became a story on television.
These races were usually organized by people who liked a good chase. They are also one of the highest paid races for the winner.
And Issei was someone who started racing in these illegal races when he was 14 years old. Before that it was his grandfather who took care of him and paid the bills for the hospital his mother is in. After he died, Issei had to find a way to get money. Most of his relatives were already dead or out of the country. Those who could help would not help. They said it was a useless waste of money. His mother has already been in a coma for five years.
But Issei could not give up his mother that easily.
At the time he was desperate for money. The hospital bill was already 4 months overdue, and the hospital said they would turn off the machines and stop treating Issei's mother if he did not pay everything next month. Desperation led him to a person who introduced him to illegal car racing.
The person loaned Issei a car to race and said that if Issei won, he could keep the car.
Even though he was only 14 years old, Issei already knew how to drive. He learned very early from his father because of his passion for cars. Of course he would have to wait until he was old enough to get his driver's license.
But illegal racing didn't require things like a driver's license.
Issei won that race, and as promised, the person gave Issei the car.
One.
In just one race he earned enough money to be able to pay one month of his mother's hospital bills. At that time the month was less than 15 days away. He asked the person who introduced him to illegal racing for help. He wanted to know when the next race would be held.
He was surprised when he found out that they were happening all over Japan. Not just Japan, they were held all over the world.
Over time, he began to enjoy these races.
"Really..." He agreed.
Issei looked at the time.
The next race would start at 8:00 at night.
He went to the door of his house and opened it. He got out and walked to a large door that was next to his house. A garage.
Without wasting any time, he opened the door. Darkness took over the place.
Issei went to a certain spot on the wall where the light switch was and turned it on.
As soon as the lights were turned on, Issei looked over to a certain place.
A certain car was parked in the middle of the garage.
[I have to admit, if I had a human body, I would also try to enter one of these car races.]
Issei replied with a big smile on his face.
"Well, it's time for a test drive before the race."
I recently re-watched "Need For Speed," so I had this idea in my head. What would happen if several breeds faced each other on a racetrack?
Well, the supernatural struggles will still be in the story. But I will find a way to turn some of them into car races somehow.
