Chapter 2.

I own only my original characters, nothing else. I don't own Ghost Rider.

Ashe awoke to find himself in an unknown room and completely naked. He looked to the right corner of his eye and then saw an equally naked Rias.

He quickly looked away, panicking slightly. He then saw several cups of water on the nearby nightstand, and he quickly began drinking as his skull felt like it was on fire. Once he'd finished, he began to get dressed.

As he did so, he heard yawning and turns to see Rias was waking up and stretching, and then got up, not covering anything up. Ashe once again looked away.

"Good morning, Ashe," Rias said.

"Good morning," he said back, still looking away, which makes Rias giggle.

"What's wrong? Most boys would love to get a glimpse of my body."

"I'm not like most boys."

"Yes, that much is very true. Especially since you are the Rider," she said and his eyes widened and he turned to look back at her in surprise and he saw that she was now in her underwear, putting in her bra. "Would you get this for me, please?"

He slowly walks over and latches the bra for her.

"In case you're wondering... nothing happened last night."

"Hmm... I'm sure the Rider wouldn't even think of doing something like that," he said. "So why were we in bed together, naked?"

"I can't sleep with clothing on and direct skin contact is the best way for me to heal you."

"Huh... okay then. Wait, where's Sofi?!"

"She is perfectly fine," Rias said. "She was an absolute angel to us last night. She's probably downstairs with everyone else. Follow me."

He nodded and they both went downstairs to find them all waiting for them, all ready for the day.

"Daddy!!!," Sofi yelled and ran over to Ashe and he picked her up. "Good morning, Rias!!"

"Good morning, Sofi," she said with a smile.

"Hey, sweetie. Did you have fun?"

"Yeah, they're all my friends now."

"I'm glad. Why don't you go and do some more exploring okay? I need to talk to Rias and others."

"Oh, okay."

"Asia, could you go with her?," Rias asked and she nodded and she got up and took Sofi's hand.

Once they walked out, all eyes were on Ashe.

"...Based off the look of fear in most of your eyes, I'd say you know what I am. Which also means that you're all devils. Am I right?," he asked.

"That's right," Rias answered. "I shall go straight to the point. Why are you here?"

"I'm running from Mephisto."

"...Oh."

"I'm at a loss again. Who's Mephisto?," Issei asked.

"Well, kid who is more than likely a pervert," Ashe began, earning a snicker from Koneko. "Mephistopheles is what humans normally consider to be the devil. He's an incredibly powerful devil who kidnapped the Angel of Justice, Zarathos, and drove him insane."

"And created the Ghost Rider," Akeno finished.

"Quite. So in other words, he's the one who made me and my father like this. Moving on... where am I and who are the rest of you? I know only Rias and Akeno."

"Well, Ashe, you're in the Gremory Household. I would like you to meet my peerage," Rias said. "As you said, you know Akeno, my Queen, then there's Yuuto Kiba, my Knight, Koneko Toujou, my Rook. Issei Hondou makes up all eight of my Pawn pieces."

"Let me guess... Asia is your Bishop," he guessed and she nodded.

"I'm also the Red Dragon Emperor and future Harem King," Issei added.

"...Good for you. Just don't talk about harems and other such things around my daughter. Now where is Grace?"

"Who's Grace?," Akeno asked.

"My bike."

"You named your bike Grace?," Koneko questioned.

"Not me. My grandfather, Barton Blaze, did. That bike is a family heirloom."

"Well, it is out in the garage," Rias informed him. "Kiba, can you show him to it?"

"No need, I'll check on it later. No doubt you've got a lot of questions," Ashe guessed.

"Indeed. First off... why here exactly? Why Kuoh?," Rias asked.

"The Rider needs to feed or else he takes over out of nowhere. Kuoh is infested with Fallen Angels and Stray Devils, as well as human criminals. So... perfect hunting grounds for the Spirit of Vengeance. And... I thought I should get Sofi away from America. Especially after Dad died."

"And you inherited the Rider from him, right?," issei guessed.

"Well... I guess you could say that...," Ashe said and began to tell the story as to how he became the Ghost Rider as the memories flashed through his mind.

Flashback

Ashe was finishing up working on Grace as Sofi slept on an inflatable bed nearby.

Johnny Blaze has just died a week before and they both were taking it badly. Sadly, this did not stop the press from hounding them and so they were hiding from them in the middle of nowhere at their family vacation home. They were both in the garage as they felt closest to Johnny there.

Ashe looked to his left to look at the picture of him, Sofi and his father together, and smiled sadly. He turned to his daughter, sound asleep.

'We can't stay here forever,' he thought to himself.

All of a sudden, the air grew cold, and he began to vaguely hear the sound of streetlights breaking.

He grabbed a wrench and quickly walked outside to see a man in red with devilish cane walking towards.

"...Mephisto," he growled.

"Ashe Blaze...," he said, and pulled down his hood to reveal man looking only a few years older than Ashe, with slightly long red hair with black tips. "I've heard so much about you. Look at you... so much like your father. My condolences, by the way. Oh, and is that Sofi?! She is beautiful!"

"You stay away from her!! Now what do you want from me?"

"Ah, straight to business. I've always liked that about your family. Put down that wrench and we'll talk."

"Ha... I don't think so," he said and not a second later, the wrench began to rust away in his hand. "What the-?"

"Pretty neat, huh?," a pale man in tattered clothing said, flying down to the ground with pale wings. "Name's Blackout, kid."

"Quiet now. The child is asleep," Mephisto said, and he nodded.

"I don't care what either of you has to say. You killed my grandfather, and cursed my father. Get out of here!!"

He storms over to punch Mephisto, but a sudden gust of wind pushed him back and he landed near a puddle, which then held him in place and the rocks around him pulled him up to his knees. Then three new devils appeared, one in a black and light red outfit and long wavy hair, another in a brown trench coat and was completely soaked, and the other had cracks in his face like rocks and wore a grey long coat, all of them had devil wings as well.

"Allow me to introduce my Pawns, Abigor, Wallow and Gressil. Blackout is my Knight. And the one behind you, is my Queen as well as my son, Blackheart."

He turned to look behind him as best he could and a man seemingly covered by shadows and had glowing red eyes, and wore an all black suit, grabbed his face and held him in place.

"Come now," Blackheart said. "You don't want anything to happen to your sweet little daughter, do you?"

A look of fear grew in his eyes and he quickly stopped struggling.

"...What do you want from me?," Ashe asked.

"Your father's contract is still in place," Mephisto said as he walked over and Blackheart pulled him to his feet. "His blood... is still on it. Your blood is his. You must take his place. But always know that we'll be watching."

He pressed finger to Ashe's heart as Blackheart let go and backed away. Ashe's eyes immediately began to glow like embers.

"Forget about friends... forget about family... forget about love. Like your father before you... you're mine, Ashe Blaze."

He touched him again, and he fell to his knees in slight pain. When he looked up again, he saw that they were all gone. Ashe picked himself up and got his bike and himself ready quietly and gently woke his daughter up.

"Mmm... Daddy? What's wrong?," she asked.

"Sweetie, we gotta go," he said.

"Where?"

"...I'm not sure. Wherever the road takes us I guess. We just can't stay here anymore."

She nodded and they finished packing and they got into Grace and began driving off, leaving the last piece of their old life behind.

Present Day

"That was all a year ago," Ashe said, finishing his story. "We've been on the run ever since."

"...I'm sorry, Ashe," Rias said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You did not ask for any of this. But, if you'd like, you can stay with us if you wish. I don't mind at all."

"Well... that interview was technically the only way I was gonna be able to keep that house, so... I suppose I could. But I don't want Sofi to ever know about the Rider."

Everyone nodded, understanding his reasons for not telling his daughter, just as she returned with Asia.

"Hey, sweetie," he said, picking her up. "My interview didn't go well so... Rias said that we could stay here with her and her friends."

"Really?!!," she yelled, looking at Rias, who nodded. "Yay!!! Wait, what about our stuff?"

"You can go and get whatever you need. I'll give you a key to the Household," Rias said. "I'd have someone go and get your things for you but sadly, we must get going. It's a school day."

"That's fine," Ashe assured her. "Thank you, Rias. For everything."

"You're welcome. Welcome to my family. By the way, how did your father die? Just curious."

"...Cancer."

She slowly nodded and they all left for school.

"Come on, if we're gonna be staying here, we'll need to get our stuff from our old house," Ashe said and he began walking to the garage to find that his bike was there.

They got on and quickly sped over to their house, passing many police cars along the way.

"What's going on, Daddy?," Sofi asked.

"...I don't know. But those tracks we passed lead to our house. Someone must've been hiding here. Let's get our stuff before someone sees us."

She nodded and they quickly walked inside and grabbed their stuff, including the picture of them with Johnny. And as quickly as they arrived, they left before anyone noticed.

"Let's stay in the mansion for a while. Just to be safe," Ashe said and Sofi nodded.

They decided to walk around the mansion, figure out where everything was and learn their way around. Sofi pulled her father down to the other side to show him her room, which was almost as large as his own.

"I can't believe this is all mine now!!," Sofi exclaimed happily and Ashe just smiled at this, but he knew he needed to tell her.

"Listen, Sofi," he said, getting on one knee and she looked at him. "I'm telling you this now because you may hear some strange things around this place. Rias, Akeno and the others... they're all devils."

"They don't look like devils."

"Ha... no they don't. Humans have too wild of an imagination sometimes. Now these devils seem to be alright for now, but I want you to be careful, okay?"

She nodded and they continued to walk around.

After making themselves something for lunch, Sofi fell asleep sometime later and Ashe took her to bed. Afterwards, he took a look around himself and got himself associated with where everything was in the place, or at least where the rooms were and whose room was who's.

Later on, he came across Rias's office. Of course he is respectful and does not disturb anything, but he does briefly glimpse at what was on her desk. Beginnings of a research on the Rider.

"...And just what exactly are you doing in my office?!," a voice asked, causing him to look at the doorway and see that Rias and the others had returned.

"To put it plainly, I was merely exploring the mansion and this was the next room," he answered, walking out to stand next to her. "I touched nothing, if that's what you're concerned about."

"...I thank you for being respectful. Please, don't waltz into my office again without permission."

"Of course. And all you need do is ask me about the Rider, should you wish to know more. Now, I've felt the presence of more than just the Gremory Family when I arrived. Who else is here?"

"Sona Sitri of the Sitri Family. She's school president of Kuoh Academy and King of her own peerage. She and her queen will be coming over momentarily to speak with you."

"You mean interrogate me?," he said as they began to walk back into the living area.

"Merely speak with you," she assured him and he accepted this. "Where is Sofi?"

"Asleep. So... why don't you tell me what your peerage is like?"

"Well... as you know, Akeno is my Queen-."

"I'm sorry for interrupting, but I wasn't specific. What are they like, personality-wise?"

"Ah. Akeno is flirtatious, somewhat sadistic and into some for lack of a better term, kinky things. Issei, well... we both know what he's like. But he's a nice guy once you get to know him and get past his perverted attitude. Kiba is a complete, total gentleman. Asia is a sweetheart and Koneko is..."

"Private?," he guessed.

"That is definitely one way to put it," she said back. "Now I must ask... where is Sofi's mother?"

This caused him to go silent and stand still.

"I am sorry if I brought up bad memories. I had no idea that she-."

"No, it's not that. This isn't sorrow on my face. It's shame."

"Shame?"

"...In all honesty, I have no idea who or where Sofi's mother is. Or if she's even alive," he began explaining as they continued walking. "You see, Sofi was left at mine and my father's doorstep with a note saying that she was my daughter. No name or anything."

"How do you know that she is really is your daughter?," she asked.

"I had a paternity test done and it was a match. Not that it would've mattered. I'd have taken care of her whether she was my daughter or not. I'm not a monster... not most of the time anyway."

Rias stopped and made him look at her.

"Never. You are never a monster."

"I am afraid we'll have to agree to disagree on that," he said, but she was firm on her statement.

"No... you are not a monster," she said and he smiled slightly at this and they continued walking. "So what was your father like?"

"He... he did the best he could to raise me right. And he did. Wisest man I've ever met, but like most of us, he was flawed."

"Sounds like he was a good man."

"He was."

They then headed downstairs to the living area, where everyone else was. They began to talk and got to know each other a bit more. A little while later, Sofi woke up to see that everyone was back, and immediately ran over to Rias, who picked her up.

"Yay, you're back!!," she exclaimed, making everyone smile a little, even Koneko slightly.

They all continued to talk and play, having a great time. Then the sun went down and nighttime came and Ashe noticed how on edge Issei had gotten around him when this happened, and so he wrapped an arm around his shoulders and whispered something to him.

"I can usually change at will," he explained. "Its only at night and when I'm in the presence of evil when the Rider truly takes over."

He slowly nodded, relaxing a bit after hearing this. Ashe released him and sat down next to Rias as she watched Sofi and Asia try to get Koneko to play with her.

"What did you say to him?," she asked.

"Just assuring him that I'm not gonna incinerate him."

"Hm... the mansion is being watched."

"I know. Blackout is watching us, Mephisto's Knight. He's always watching us. Why don't we make it challenging for him, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"How about the next time that you're free, we go out and have some lunch? Just the two of us?," he asked.

"Are you asking me out on a date?," she asked, blushing ever so slightly at the thought.

"If that's how you want to see it as. If not, you can see it as a friend taking you out to eat. A treat, if you will."

"...Very well. Tomorrow is Saturday, so how does that sound?"

"Sounds perfect."

As they talked, a certain raven-haired girl watched them with a smirk.

Later that night, Sofi began to get sleepy, so Ashe picked her up and brought her back to her room.

"Goodnight, sweetie," he said as he placed his daughter in her bed.

"Goodnight, Daddy," Sofi said tiredly. "Can you tell Rias and everybody I said goodnight?"

"Hmhm... I will. I'm glad you love your new friends so much."

She smiled as she fell asleep and Ashe walked away as Rias walks over to him.

"Hello Ashe," she said. "I completely forgot to have a room readied for you so you'll have to sleep in my bed again."

"Very well."

They walked back to her room and Ashe stripped down to his undergarments while Rias obviously stripped down naked as he got into the bed and she then unexpectedly rested her head on his chest.

"Comfortable?," he asked.

"Yes," she replied with a smirk. "You don't mind, right?"

"...I suppose not. Goodnight, Rias, and thank you once again."

"Goodnight and you're welcome," she said before they both fell asleep.

Hope you like this. Don't expect the next chapter soon. I'm gonna be focusing on other stories for now. Whenever the next one is up, see ya later.