Disclaimer: I don't own HSDXD. All rights go to their respective owners.

And here we are with chapter 3 of Khaos Inbound! Nothing much to say, other than I hope everyone is staying safe!

~KI~

Surveillance. What a boring ass job. Long hours of sitting in one spot, surrounded by empty takeout boxes and drinks, watching one area intently with no breaks. Fucking boring. Issei sighed and leaned against the old wooden chair he sat on. He found himself stuck in an empty hotel room, booked for the next two damn months, no contact with anyone from the Brigade, expected to watch this one park across the street because an 'important devil target frequented the area.' He rolled his eyes at that thought. What made him even more pissed off was the fact that they had no idea what the target looked like. All they had said to him was a name, and that 'they would be regularly in the area.'

'Fuckin' bullshit is what it is,' he thought to himself. 'They know my specialty is assassinations, why the hell would they put me on spycam duty?' He took a swig from the bottle of water sitting on a nearby desk, before tossing it roughly onto the floor. He stood up, stretched, before heading towards the door. 'If I don't get any fresh air soon, I'm gonna go insane.' And with that final thought, he opened the door and began to walk towards the park. The city he was in was nice enough, even if he couldn't remember the name of the damn place. But just from watching over the place, he knew that the park he was beginning to walk towards to was the crown jewel of the city. Beautiful stone bridges arched over the numerous streams, all flowing with clear, clean water, a menagerie of water species swimming through them. Pathways surrounded by cherry blossoms, his own personal favourite tree. With his hands in his pockets, he instinctively scanned his surroundings, watching as people passed him by. He still had no idea who he was looking for and he sighed. As he passed through another pathway into the main courtyard, he noticed that there were a row of stone tables with matching chess sets among all of them. He raised an eyebrow at the sight.

'Must be for the public,' he thought to himself. His mind flashed back to his younger, more innocent days, remembering how he would always play chess with his family and friends. He had always loved the game. 'Haven't played since I signed my damn life away, though,' he thought bitterly. Setting his mind to it, he sat down at an empty table, and began to play against himself. 'A good way to pass the time, and I can still do my surveillance work without seeming suspicious.'

And with that, he began to play.

Seconds turned into minutes, and he found himself more and more immersed in his game, smiling slightly whenever he checkmated himself. And as the sun shone brightly above him, a shadow enveloped his chess set.

"You mind if I take a seat?" A feminine voice interrupted his stupor, and he turned to see a girl in a school uniform standing next to his table. She carried a school bag on her shoulder, and violet eyes shone behind her rimmed glasses. She had a small smile on her face, as if she was enjoying the sight of him lost within the game. He nodded in reply, and she removed her bag and sat across from him. "I haven't seen you around here before. You recently move in?"

"I'm just passing by," he replied in response. He scrunched his brow, noticing he had put himself into check once more, and sighed slightly. He moved to reset the pieces and spoke up again. "How about you? You just finish up classes?"

She nodded, stretching her arms above her head. Issei heard multiple cracks come from her vertebrae before she sighed in relief. "A lot of requests have come into the Council, and since the official president is currently missing, it's fallen onto me to sort through every single paper." She placed a hand on the edge of the board, and spun it around, making Issei have the white pieces. She smiled, but Issei could see the competitive gleam in her eyes. "Mind if I join?"

He smirked in response. "Of course, and don't think I don't know what you're doing by making me go first. Smart strategy to make your opponent go first to see what they do." He moved a pawn forward two spaces, and their match began.

"So," she began saying, moving a pawn forward a space in tandem, "You aren't in any uniform I recognize. Just where are you from, stranger?" She watched as he moved his knight forward, and she knew he was thinking of a proper response.

"Somewhere you would not recognize, I'm sure. How about you? What's your backstory, Interim President?" He watched her mull over a response and watched as she moved her bishop. The outside world went silent to them, the two solely focused on the game, and in turn, with each other.

"If you must know," she began with a tone that Issei could just see had a coy smile with it, "I'm from a fairly prominent family, and yet I don't want to just ride out with my family's fortune." Issei respected her just a little more than he did already with that statement. "I want to make a name for myself, and one day, I hope to open an academy that is available to anyone, not just the social elite who can afford paying for their kids to have an upstanding education."

"An admirable goal," he said, watching as her rook took his knight. His pawn swiftly took it, and he folded his hands under his chin, watching her intently. "You'll have my support at that if it matters. Never could afford going to a good school. Found myself taking odd jobs instead of continuing my education."

Her eyes shone with sympathy, before she cleared her throat. "A shame that is. But a blessing at the same time, I must say." Issei's eyebrow rose at that statement, and he quietly moved his bishop forward, placing her queen in a precarious position.

"And what makes it a blessing?" She smiled as his bishop took her queen. "Check." And as he watched her move her pawn into his base, promoting it into a rook, she said a sentence that would stop his heart in it's tracks.

"If it weren't for that, I most likely would not be playing chess with the most interesting individual I've ever met." She moved her promoted pawn and stood up to whisper. "Check. Mate." With a smile on her face, she settled back down.

"Well then," he said quietly, a small blush on his face. "It seems I've been outclassed." His eyes shone with a mischievous glint, and he stared straight into her eyes. "I never would've thought I'd be beaten by pretty woman today when I woke up, but I can't say I'm all too upset." He tilted his head slightly, and grinned at her blush. It wasn't until then that Issei realized something. "I'm so sorry, I just realized I never introduced myself." He chastised himself mentally, before straightening his back.

"Issei Hyoudou, at your service," he said with a small flourish of his hand. "What's your name, Madame President? I imagine it's just as beautiful as you." He finished with a grin. She looked down slightly, a shy smile on her face. She fixed her glasses, before speaking. What she would say would end up stopping his heart again, but for the wrong reason.

"Souna Shitori. A pleasure to make your acquaintance." She said with a smile. It took every ounce of self-control to not widen his eyes in shock.

Souna Shitori.

Sona Sitri.

His target.

~KI~

"Yo! Issei!" Issei turned his head slightly to see Tomoe and Tsubasa walking towards him. Tomoe waved towards him, and he slowed to a stop and turned fully towards the both of them. "How are you today, Issei?" He responded with a soft grunt, his mind ticking away at a fast rate.

'They've always been nice, but what's with the sudden conversation?' He thought to himself. The two girls had always been kind, exchanging pleasantries with him on the few occasions he had run into them, but he could not remember the last time either of them reached out to him, if at all. And there was something about them that seemed different than the few times he was in close proximity with either of them. Something that felt similar to his earlier revelation when he saw the Student Council president staring at him, but not as comforting or familiar. "I'm…alright? Why?"

Tomoe pouted at his hesitation. "Aww, come on Issei! We're just wondering how our resident Prince is doing." She giggled at the blush that erupted onto his face. Tsubasa clicked her tongue and whacked Tomoe on the back of her head.

"That's no way to start a conversation!" Tomoe rubbed her head with a sheepish smile, before Tsubasa spoke again. "The honest answer would be that the both of us realized that no one in class has really gotten to know you properly, and as members of the Student Council, we thought we'd check in and maybe find out more about you." Tomoe nodded along with Tsubasa's explanation, a smile on her face.

'I guess that's an innocent enough explanation, but…' Issei scratched his forehead, before clearing his throat. "What do you mean by calling me a 'Prince', Tomoe?" He was surprised to see her ears redden at his question, and heard a small laugh escape Tsubasa. He raised an eyebrow and turned to Tsubasa fully.

"The gossip mill works fast, don't you know that Issei? I don't think there's a person in this class who hasn't heard about the almost impossible catch you made in the courtyard earlier, and that's all it took for a lot of people to realize just how interesting and…what was the phrase you used, Tomoe? 'Mysterious and mesmerizing?'" Tomoe refused to look at Issei at this point, her blush covering her entire face. Tsubasa continued the explanation, trying very hard not to let the small smile that was on her face turn into a full blown grin. "There's a lot we don't know about you Issei, and many have decided they want to…let's say 'unmask' the undoubtedly interesting man that is you."

'Wow…' Issei didn't know how to respond properly, so he just brushed a few pieces of stray hair out of his face, and began to walk to class. He motioned for Tsubasa and Tomoe to walk with him, wanting to continue speaking. "Well, I'll admit I appreciate people wanting to reach out and get to know me properly, but a lot of people are going to be mighty disappointed when they realize I'm just as boring as I seem." He said this with a shy grin on his face, and let out a sigh.

[You do realize that they aren't human, correct?] He heard Ddraig's voice boom from within his mind.

'Oh, I knew there was something different about them. I just couldn't pinpoint it, and I have no idea how I could tell.' Issei responded back honestly. 'So what are they? I'm going to hazard a guess and think they're connected to the whole religious and mythical creatures actually existing thing you told me about.'

[And you'd be correct in that assumption, partner. Those two are some of the many devils that roam this school, so tread with caution.]

'Devils? Like biblical devils? Fire and brimstone, pitchforks and horns, eternal suffering devils?' He heard Ddraig let out a long sigh at his answer, and he knew that if Ddraig had a physical form, he'd be getting a monumental slap to the back of his head for his tongue-in-cheek response. He would've laughed if it wouldn't have made him look insane.

"Say Issei, why is it that you've never reached out to anyone?" He stumbled a little bit at that question, and looked at Tomoe, who's eyes widened at his reaction. "I-I'm sorry! That was insensitive!" He raised his hand to show he felt no offence from the question, and he leaned against a window frame and looked outside onto the school grounds. He watched as the wind blew through the various trees and bushes that were scattered among the campus.

"I guess it's cause I was waiting for someone else to reach out, all this time." He started. The two girls stood slightly behind him and glanced to each other. Both looked towards him with sympathy, not that he could see. "I was a lonely kid back when I was younger, and whenever I reached out to someone, they'd eventually get bored and…well, they'd leave." He sighed, and a sad smile appeared on his face. "I guess now I was just waiting for someone else to show that they cared enough to try and get to know me. For the longest time, it was just Aika that really tried. I don't know, I must look selfish for doing that…"

A hand gently gripped his shoulder, and his eyes widened. He turned his head around slowly to see Tsubasa and Tomoe smiling at him. "We don't think that's selfish, Issei…" Tsubasa spoke softly. "We're sorry you had to go for so long without anyone else reaching out." At this, Issei fully turned to face the two, and Tsubasa put both her hands on his shoulders. "But Tomoe and I are hoping to change that…if you'd like us around of course."

He felt a tear slowly start to form, and he let out a soft laugh, before giving out the happiest smile he'd given in a long time. Tomoe could hardly contain her excitement at what that that smile meant, and she let out a small squeal of happiness. Tsubasa grinned towards him, and he felt her grip tighten slightly, showing her support.

"Yeah…I'd like that."

And with that, they began walking to class.

~KI~

And there we go! This chapter was a lot about character development and Issei's past, so sorry that there wasn't that much plot development. But we'll get there! I swear.

If you'd like to chat with a couple other authors and I, join the discord! I know many of you have probably seen this link, but I might as well put it down anyways.

discord. gg/ V54pcwA

Obviously, delete the spaces and paste it into discord. Hope to see some of you there, if you aren't already.

Take care everyone!

-Hoodini