Chapter 2 – I Was Waiting For You

He dreamed of a beautiful angel, with silky black hair, long feathered wings, and deep purple eyes.

And when his face grew wet and tears began to run down his cheeks, he did not move. He could not think of anything, but to lay there, frozen. How could she be real? All his life, no girl had ever given him the time of the day. If he was lucky, they looked at him in distaste, as if they had seen an insect. But normally, they didn't even take notice of him. No, he was more like air, stinky, unpleasant air that caused them to wrinkle their noses in disgust, but quickly forgotten and ignored.

If she was the product of his dreams, then he would want to dream forever. No other girl could compare. All the girls he had seen in real life – they wouldn't let him walk within arm's reach of him. They insulted him behind his back and to his face all the same. The few girls who were willing to engage in polite conversation … soon, they too were swept into treating him the same way, after receiving warnings from their friends about his 'true nature'.

Even his 2D girls were a pale shade in comparison to his beautiful angel. No, they could never touch him and embrace him the same way. She sat on his lap, creamy thighs sandwiching his waist. He curled up, bringing the blanket up to cover his head as vivid memories of his dream continued to assault him. Even when he closed his eyes, he could only think of her. Of playing with her long, silky hair, or gazing into her deep, purple eyes. All these years, had he been wasting his life? All those adult-only visual novels and eroge … what had been the point? Countless hours spent debating who was the best 'waifu' with Motohama and Matsuda. But he knew the truth now. It was meaningless. There was no debate. In front of his angel, these other girls paled in comparison. There was only one girl he could ever love. A girl who was as beautiful as an angel, worth more than all the others put together. Even if she wasn't real … he had found the one.

He touched his cheek, remembering where she had kissed him.

The minutes ticked away, and eventually Issei's mother walked into his room to see why he hadn't come downstairs.

He lay there listless, as if in a daze.

After no small amount of effort, she dragged him out, forcing him to change and eat breakfast. All of his motions were robotic, as if he were on auto-pilot, following routine to perform the same actions he had always performed before.

And then he walked to school, the same way he had yesterday, and the day before, and so on, until he reached the school gates, where the president of the student council, Souna Shitori, gave him a disapproving look, scolding him for being late. It was of little concern to him, and he instead looked her over. She had short, black hair that failed to reach her shoulders. Long, silky black hair. A petite chest and a slim, pixie build. Soft but full, they pressed against his chest. And her expression, strict and unyielding. Her beautiful smile.

In every way, he couldn't help but compare her … and find her lacking. It was ironic. A day ago, he would have happily extolled the sexiness of her strict demeanor, the way her short hair and glasses framed her face, or the intensity of her sharp eyes as she scolded him. Now … he walked by, ignoring her, leaving Sona to watch his back in surprise. Normally, the pervert would stare at her body and mentally undress her. But today … maybe he was feeling unwell? She would have to check in on that later in the day, as the well-being of all students were her responsibility.

And then it occurred to her. Maybe Rias had finally pulled off her plan today. Yes, it made sense. If Issei was a newly reincarnated devil, he would be feeling confused and lost. Her childhood friend was always bad at following up, and he likely hadn't received an explanation yet. On top of that, the bright morning sun was going to be hell for Issei, who would still be weak to sunlight and yet to develop any resistance. Yes, she nodded to herself. All was right in the world again.

He continued towards the classroom, tracing the same steps he always walked, before a bald, energetic boy strode up and pulled him into a headlock with a grin. And then Matsuda faltered, staring at Issei in surprise. There was no reaction. Normally they'd start the morning off talking about the latest eroge releases, or arguing about which girls were the hottest, or so on and so forth. But today, Issei's eyes were glazed over, as if he were half dead. Or maybe he'd been jerking off too much last night, and hadn't gotten much sleep. Matsuda nodded, having found an explanation, and he continued debating with Motohama, letting Issei slump over his desk to get some much rest after what was no doubt an intense marathon session.

The day passed slowly, and he continued to live. No, he was more like a zombie, going through the motions, a living corpse that had yet to expire. What purpose was there in life? He had finally found something greater, and it was beyond him, in a place he could never reach. Everything he had done before was meaningless, a complete waste of time. And he thought about a certain light novel he had read, where a boy had been trapped in a virtual world, and for a moment he wished that he, too, could be trapped with her, for an eternity.

Maybe he could sleep forever and dream of her. To slip into a coma and return to her embrace. But wasn't she an angel? He looked out the window and a thought occurred to his mind – it would be so quick and easy, if he were to just end it now. And if he were to go to Heaven, wouldn't he find her waiting? But what if he was wrong? No, he couldn't risk it.

The day passed slowly, and he sat there unmoving, an animated corpse.

The lunch bell finally rang.

o - o - o

"Rias, you know sometimes I really disapprove of your lack of preparation."

"Hm?" replied her childhood friend, stepping out of the shower – had she really installed a shower in the clubhouse? "I don't know what you mean."

Sona sighed. "You can't hide it from me. I know you've had your eye on that Hyoudou boy for a while. But you can't leave him in the dark like this. It's irresponsible. I keep a firm hold of my Peerage, and you should do the same. What if something happens? You know it's difficult to cover things up."

Rias shook her head, letting droplets of water fly from her long, lustrous mane of crimson hair. A few landed on Sona's uniform, causing her to frown.

"Huh? Sona, I haven't recruited him yet."

Her lips pursed in disappointment, and she looked at the redhead with exasperation. "I know you want to keep him as a secret weapon for Riser, but you don't need to keep that from me, Rias. How long have we known each other for?"

Rias pouted childishly, "Sona! It's true, I really haven't recruited him yet. My familiar gave Issei a contract seal last night, but he didn't use it. I had Koneko waiting, but that crow didn't do anything to him. They just talked all night! Maybe she really is interested in him…"

Sona sorted. "You know the Fallen look down on humans, Rias," she spat, "I don't know what her game is, but she's definitely using him. Whether it's his sacred gear, or something else, who knows? You better keep a closer eye on him. I don't want this to get out of hand."

Rias shrugged, causing her voluptuous chest to bounce. Sona's lips thinned in disapproval.

"Don't worry, Sona. I have this all under control."

Sona pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. She still had a lot of other work to do. Running the school took a lot of time, and she also had to draw up training plans for her peerage, keep abreast of Devil politics, watch out for her sister's visits … maybe she should install a shower in the student council room. No, that was definitely against the school rules …

o - o - o

As a long-time member of the Go-Home Club, he would normally walk home with Matsuda and Motohama, talking about what they always did, or even going to one of their houses to stay up late at night and watch beautiful woman do what they did best. But today, he simply wanted to go home, to his cozy, welcoming bed, where the warm embrace of his angel awaited.

He gazed at the clock. Only a few more minutes.

ISSEI HYOUDOU, ISSEI HYOUDOU, PLEASE COME TO THE STUDENT COUNCIL ROOM.

Issei groaned, some girls had probably accused him of something again, and President Shitori would give him a long lecture. He hadn't even done anything today, but there was no way she would believe him – he credibility had been shot a long time ago. And why weren't Matsuda or Motohama being called up either? It seemed like he was always getting blamed. He was used to it, though. He thought of her, the only person who would never blame him …

When he arrived at the student council room, he knocked, and a girl's voice called out, "Please enter."

As he opened the door, it occurred to him that that wasn't the voice of Souna Shitori. Or even that of Tsubaki Shinra, the vice president. He knew their voices well, having heard them scold him every week. And inside the room, there stood a dozen students, arrayed in a half-moon. Souna and Rias Gremory stood in the center, while the student council fanned out to the left, on Souna's side, and a handful of other students stood to the right, on Rias's side – Akeno, Koneko, and Yuuto.

He stared in confusion. What was going on?

Rias stepped forward, arms held out in a welcoming fashion, and declared, "Issei, I want you to be mine!"

And then wings spread out from the behind the three of them, and Rias as well. They were ugly things, long, bat-like sticks, like a dead, withered tree that was rotting from the inside. Nothing like the full wingspan of her soft black feathers. He absently gazed at Rias's lustrous, crimson hair – long, silky black hair – and stood there without responding.

Sona gave a sideways look to her old friend, one that spoke of disappointment and displeasure. And then she sighed, and nodded to the rest of the student council, who unfurled their own bat-like wings.

"We are devils," explained Rias, as if that explained things.

Devils prey on humans, Issei. They were born to sin. They live to corrupt humans, to make them despair, and take everything dear to them, and then some more. At first, they make a small deal, in your moment of weakness. You don't have any other choice, so you agree, and then they come again, and they tempt you over and over, until they have sucked you dry and you have nothing left.

His pupils dilated rapidly, leaving him staggering back towards the door. It was real. Everything was real. Last night hadn't been a dream. He had to get away. He had to escape before they took his soul – that already belonged to her. As he reached the door, he stopped, for there was already someone standing there. Kiba looked at him, shaking his head.

"Issei-"

Impossible! He looked back, and Kiba was no longer standing next to Rias. In the blink of an eye, Kiba had moved behind him, and was now blocking the door. No, they were devils, weren't they? Who knew what foul magic they had cast, perhaps teleporting behind him, or even casting an illusion over his mind. Already they were weaving a web of illusions and deceit, manipulating him like a puppet.

But he knew the truth. It was too late for them to ensnare him with words alone.

He looked at Sona, stammering, "Wh-why am I here?"

Sona frowned, giving another look to Rias, but she did not reply.

Instead, Rias continued, "That girl you saw yesterday was a fallen angel. Once angels serving God, they have been cast down to the underworld due to their wicked nature. They're trying to manipulate humans and destroy us devils."

That was a lie.

Like parasites, they cannot exist without humans, and yet their very existence is antithetical to humanity. If you ever meet one, don't listen to them. All they do is lie. They tell you the things you want to hear, until you sign over your lifespan, your humanity, and even your soul. And then they throw you away like trash, because that is all you are after giving everything away.

"You don't believe me?" pouted Rias, dimples adorning her round cheeks, "she told everyone her name was 'Amano Yuuma', didn't she? Well, she's a Fallen Angel. Her real name … it's Raynare."

Gazardiel. That was my name. The Angel of Dawn. I was the harbinger of sunrise. And then … I fell into darkness and lost my purpose.

She had told him her real name. Her story of how she came to be, of how she had lost her way, and had wandered, until she had ended up in Japan.

I decided to leave for Japan. They called it the land of the rising sun. I chose the name Raynare, to move on. Maybe I thought I could find myself there again.

He gave a mental sneer, thankful that he could read between the lines and avoid being entangled by her words. In another time, in another place, perhaps he would have walked to his doom with a stupid grin on his face, dazzled by her cute smile, voluptuous figure, and lustrous crimson hair. He would have willingly thrown away everything for her, sacrificed a limb like it was nothing simply to make her happy. But he knew the truth now, and she was ugly to him.

"You have a certain artifact in your body," explained Rias. "A Sacred Gear. It's a rare gift that certain humans are born with. Some of the greatest men in history possessed one. And now you do too. If you join us, we can teach you how to harness that power."

He shook his head, "I don't want any power. I…I just want to live a normal, happy life."

Rias smiled, approaching him. He noticed that her collar was unbuttoned, and he could see the swell of her breasts.

"I heard that you like cute girls, Issei," she flirted, "as a Devil, you might get a servant for yourself someday! Servants who will do anything you want … who will obey your orders."

A day ago, he would have been tempted by that offer. A Harem King, with sexy women at his beck and call. But now, he only had eyes for one.

He shook his head. "No, I only like 2D!" he proclaimed, stunning Rias into silence.

At this point, Sona stepped forward. "That's enough, Rias. You're too forward. As the student council president, I can't let this go forward, or I would be shirking my responsibilities."

She cleared her throat, causing everybody but Rias and her three to retract their wings. Sona then sat down, and folded her hands, resting them on her lap. It was a very professional, practiced look. To Issei, though, it looked like a monster playing at being a human. Adopting human habits, human mannerisms, human customs, but never truly being human. There was a certain supernatural grace to her actions, a sense of wrongness that she didn't quite conform to human limitations. It was too precise, too flawless, too well-practiced.

"You have other options, Issei Hyoudou. If you're interested in joining us Devils, I would be willing to consider offering you a place at the Student Council, with my peerage. After a trial period, of course. But I think you should take some to think it over. It's a big decision."

"Sona!" cried Rias, before being silenced with a look.

He smiled gratefully – as fake as them – and thanked her before leaving the room.

"He's mine, Sona! You can't just take him," protested Rias.

Sona rolled her eyes. "Yes, he's a pervert. But you can't just bait him with girls and expect him to sign up. He doesn't know about our world, Rias. You have to take it slow and ease them into it. You catch more flies with honey, but not if the flies drown in the honey. Have you never recruited someone before, Rias?

Annoyed at the condescending tone, Rias flinched at that last question. It was true that she had found her other peerage members. All of them had been in desperate straits, fleeing some life-threatening situation or devastating crisis. Still … she didn't need to be so harsh, right? At least, not in front of her peerage.

The two did not continue the discussion, but continued to look out the window and watch Issei Hyoudou walk away.

o - o - o

His heartbeat was still beating rapidly, hands clammy, cold sweat on his forehead. He was going to go home, take a nice long shower, and figure out what to do from there. And maybe he could find her, because she seemed to know everything. She had promised to look after him, to guide him and teach him.

But how was he going to find her?

"Issei!" somebody called out – a rare occurrence – and he looked up at the school gate, eyes widening in shock.

"Issei," she called out again, in that sweet tone that left his heart pounding and knees weak.

"I was waiting for you."