Ghost - Thanks. I didn't want to make the Devils seem like the good guys all the time. They are devils so they should do something resembling devils lol.
Piemaster981 - Yes the rage scene will definitely happen, but it'll happen later on as Issei explores his Sacred Gear.
Guest - Nope. Ryusei will only have the one tattoo he has now. I'm planning to give the other tattoo to an OC, but I'll explain at the end of the chapter so read till the end if you want to know. And yes, Rias will still be in Issei's harem.
R3hmix - Thanks for the support :)
Ghous - Thanks and I hope you like how I handle my Genji OC later on.
Maniacmissle - Thanks for the love man, I hope you keep reading :)
6Issei slept, oddly, well that night. He thought he would be up all night with nightmares from what he saw. From seeing Ryusei tortured and beaten up, to his mixed up feelings about Rias and what she did. He honestly didn't know what to do. Ryusei has been gone all night, ever since they came back from Hell and he went off with Dulio. Issei felt he could trust Dulio for some reason. They hardly know each other, but he had helped Ryusei and Asia seemed to trust him for the mere fact that he was an Angel.
"Are you sure we should be doing this?" Asia asked, still unsure if this was the right thing to do.
The two stood outside the door of Ryusei's bedroom. The little slip of paper that Dulio had given Issei to transport him to Hell, the talisman. Dulio had said this was how Ryusei had been going out at night, so there was bound to be some of them in his room.
"I just wanna see what he has to hide," Issei gulped, before turning the knob and walking inside.
It was the same room he had remembered. It was large, but it definitely wasn't small. His bed was in the corner of the room with a night stand next to it, with pictures and a lamb as well as some books Ryusei had been reading. His desk was set underneath the window, perfect sunlight for when he was doing work. It also gave him something to stand on when he went in and out through the window. His closet was closed, but there were jeans and shirts sticking out from his drawers.
"It looks…" Asia said. "so normal. I half expected it to be filled with posters or at least something."
She was right. Ryusei had been home for four days now, and he would've been bound to at least seen some new things that he would've hung up on the wall, but there was nothing.
Issei closed his eyes. He cleared his mind. He was living in the supernatural world now, nothing was at it seems. He needed to see past the normal side of things, and see through the veil.
Suddenly, the room felt bigger. Hung up above the night stand, was a bow and a quiver side by side. On his desk, the laptop wasn't a laptop anymore. Instead it was a three monitored computer with a small, leather bound book sitting at the center of the desk. On the opposite wall from the bow and quiver were about three dart boards, all had darts and kunai knives hitting the bulls eye.
"Well, this definitely isn't normal," Issei and Asia walked inside.
Asia was drawn to the bow, as she lifted it from the stand. She almost dropped it. "It's a lot heavier than I thought it would be. How does he hold it like it's nothing?"
Issei looked at the leather bound book on the desk. He looked inside to see nothing but lists of names. Some of them were already crossed off. Amadeus Griffin, Vincent Greta. However there was one name that was circled, instead of crossed out. Gato Yumiya. Issei had heard his brother mention that name before, but he still didn't know who that was.
He began to flip through the book. Nothing but dozen and dozens of names, until he reached the back page. On the back cover, was a picture of three people. One was Ryusei. Issei smiled when he saw it. It was Ryusei when he was 11 or 12 years old. An innocent, brown haired boy with a confused look. There also another boy with him. A taller, handsome boy with long black hair, ruffling his hair. The two were close to the camera. And one more person. There was a girl. She was a beautiful, blonde girl with green eyes. She seemed to be the one holding the camera and taking a picture with the two. Issei began to wonder more and more of what truly happened on that island. This picture didn't tell much, but it seemed a lot happier than how Ryusei described his life on the island.
Lifting the picture, Issei saw a quote, circled with red pen multiple times. Never see the world as it is. Dare to see it for what it could be.
Issei wanted to know more. He wished he could understand more of what this book meant, but he set it down. It was wrong to invade his privacy any further. "Asia, we should-"
"Look," Asia pulled out a trunk from underneath the bed. It was a leafy green trunk, the one that he had brought back from the island. Come to mention it, Issei doesn't really know what was in here.
There were Chinese kanji engraved along the lid, in the corner. He didn't know what it meant, but it didn't matter as Asia opened the trunk. Inside was a cloth. Removing it, Issei was surprised to see a bunch of herbs and medicine. Vials and jars of some strange smelling stuff. There was also a dagger. It took it almost the entire length of the trunk, but Issei unsheathed the blade from a snow white cover. The handle was metallic. The blade itself was clean, too clean for a blade like this. On the base of the blade was the same engraving as the one on the lid.
"Oh Ryu," Issei put the blade back in the trunk. "What happened to you on that island?"
…
Lian-Yu, Five Years Ago
"Ryu," Kaito said, breaking the silence of the cave. They've been sitting there for what seemed like eternity, waiting for Jin to return with food. The two were seated by the back wall, sitting on the ground and leaning on each other for support. "There's something I haven't told you, something about myself."
"What is it?" Ryusei asked.
He thought that Kaito wasn't going to reply, seeing as he was silent. However he sighed. "I'm not who you think I am. I'm not this wonderful person that you see me as. I'm not someone anyone should look up to."
"What do you mean?" Ryusei lifted his head and stared at the boy. For the past few days, Ryusei had been looking to Kaito not only for guidance, but as an older brother. He had charisma, leadership, and he knew how to calm people in situations. It was strange, Ryusei thought. How could someone so young know so much about wild life?
"I had a brother, an older brother," Kaito said, hiding his eyes. "You see he and my dad, had this big argument. He was always dad's favorite, the one who dad could always count on to do things around the house. But then dad had another kid, and he demanded that my brothers and I bow down to this new child. He was my father, so I gladly did as he told me. But my brother, he had other ideas. He said that we shouldn't be bowing down to this new child because we were better. We were there first, and they should be bowing down to us."
"What are you talking about?" Ryusei asked.
Kaito snickered. "I guess you're too young to understand. Just know that I have been around for a long time. I was there when that first fish took the very first step on land. I was there when humanity built the Tower of Babel, I beheld all 38 feet of it. I was there when my brothers broke apart our family. My brother, Lucifer, was kicked out of our home because he didn't necessarily like his new siblings. My other brother, Micheal, stood by our father. There was this big fight, but eventually Lucifer lost. And I feel that somewhere in my heart, I should have been there to help him."
"Your brother's name," Ryusei was confused. "was Lucifer? Like the Devil?"
Kaito laughed. "I guess that's one of his names, yes. My brother was Lucifer, one of the first Angels of Heaven. And my name isn't Kaito, I'm sorry to have lied to you Ryu."
"But…" Ryusei's mind seemed too clouded for him to do any logical thinking. "Does that mean you're an Angel?"
"Are you surprised?"
Ryusei examined Kaito. "No. You remind me of my brother. If anyone is to be an Angel, it would be him. It makes sense that you are an Angel." Ryusei leaned back on Kaito's shoulder. "But what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in Heaven?"
Kaito leaned his head back on the wall. He sighed. "I guess you can say I left home. You see in order to make sure that my father's newest children were safe, my brother Micheal, had to kill Lucifer."
"So, he's dead?"
"In my heart," Kaito said. "I hope not. Despite what trouble he got himself in, my brother is someone of a pure heart. He loved my father, and my brothers, and even me. But my family didn't feel the same, or at least we had no choice but to fight him. In order to protect our newest brothers and sisters on Earth, we had to slay one of our own."
Ryusei didn't really understand it. The herbs must be messing him, because he could hardly think correctly. He had been repeating Pi in his head to keep himself from going mad, but it was getting harder and harder. Honestly, he felt like this whole conversation was like a dream.
"Wait a minute," Ryusei said. "If Kaito isn't your real name…then what is it?"
Kaito's lips tugged into a smile. "It's-"
A figure walked in through the vines covering the cave's entrance. The figure removed his hood to reveal Jin's face. He carried with him a few birds, some caught in traps and a few shot with arrows.
"Sorry I took so long," Jin started the fire. "The herbs have a side affect of messing with your mind, making you see hallucinations. How are you two feeling?"
Kaito scooted himself up. "Better. Thank you."
Jin nodded, and jammed a stick right through one of the birds after snapping its neck. Ryusei ducked away, but Kaito caught him. "It's okay big boy, you wanna eat don't you?"
"I don't like…killing things." Ryusei spoke the truth. He was never one for violence. When he was younger, back before his best friend Irina moved away, they found this bird by the church that her father worked at. Irina wanted to kill it and put it out of its misery. Claiming that, "God will make sure she's happy in Heaven." But Ryusei would rather see her be happy on Earth. So he spent the next few days tending to her broken wing, until she flew away. Long story short…Ryusei was a lover not a fighter.
"I saw your friends," Jin said, catching the attention of both boys. "They were being held in the dungeon, I couldn't get close enough to free them, but even then I don't know if freeing them is a good idea."
"What! How could it not be a good idea?" Kaito protested.
"Think about it, kid," JIn said, roasting three birds on the fire. "We are on an island, with hunters who will eventually find this place. Do you think we can hide out two more?"
"Two?" Ryusei asked. "There were three of them!"
"Who did you see?" Kaito demanded.
"The girl, the pretty one with the blonde hair," Jin said. "She was holding a boy, the one with the shoulder injury. I didn't see the other one."
Kaito balled his fists, hiding his frustration. Ryusei couldn't blame him. He wanted to save them too, but Jin was right. "We're on their territory. We have no idea how to get around this island, let alone fight them."
"Which is why," Jin picked up one of the birds, ready to eat and blew off the steam. "I'll do what I can to prepare you for when we do." He handed the stick to Kaito. "But before any of that, I need to know what an Angel is doing on this island."
…
Heaven wasn't what Ryusei had expected it to be. He always imagined it would be a floating fortress in the sky, where Angels would be flying around. At the very back would be one great building where the big important Angels would reside, and a bunch of other buildings around. But he never expected it to be one massive white house, with a single path leading to it from a large golden gate.
Ryusei had read the Bible before. Mostly it was for fun, because the whole story of it was interesting to him. A being who created the universe and everything in it, only to let the things he creates kill themselves in his name, while he does nothing. That is definitely interesting.
Walking through the gate and along the white stoned path, Ryusei took a moment to take in the environment. According to Dulio, there was more than one Heaven. Currently they were on the Seventh Heaven, where the Seraphs and Archangels live, as well as where the system for the Sacred Gears reside. And as they approached the house, Ryusei was finally at a loss for words.
It was an actual white house. As massive, no maybe bigger then the White House, there was a large botanical garden in the front yard. Birds were chirping, and the fountain spewed out water continuously. The skies were clear, but that was no surprise. They were high up in the cloud. Heaven was literally a floating sanctuary in the sky.
Atop the staircase, talking to two people, was a beautiful blonde haired woman with green eyes. She wore a traditional sister's outfit, fit with a cross around her neck. She looked old enough to be a priest, but not so old. She was in her late twenties, yet had a beauty to her that reminded Ryusei of teenagers. She was talking to a man in a black and white suit, and a woman in a gray suit.
"Station more Angels to protect Excalibur." The girl ordered. "Aeneas, remember to prioritize prayer over anything else. We must answer our prayers and do what we can to protect the mortals."
"Griselda!" Dulio shouted. "Will you take that stick out of your ass and come down? I brought like I promised."
"Dismissed you two," She turned and faced Dulio, before sighing as the two of them walked up the steps. She was of average, but Ryusei couldn't get over how beautiful she looked. "Hyoudou Ryusei, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. My name is Griselda Quarta, Queen of the Lady Gabriel, Archangel and Seraph of Heaven."
"Yeah, long title," Dulio said. "Griselda is also the one who oversees training for the newbies who have just been reincarnated. Meaning…"
Ryusei put it together. "You're going to be training me."
"Don't worry," She said, smiling and turning around to open the doors to the massive mansion. "I don't bite."
Before Ryusei could walk in, Dulio grabbed his hand. "Before you meet Lady Gabriel, I must warn you." Dulio's voice and face were dead serious. Ryusei gulped. He had never seen Dulio like this before. Even when he rescued him from Sirzechs from the Underworld, he was calm and easy going, taking it as nothing more than a joke. Now, he was serious and somewhat…frightened?
"W…What?"
"Do not let her looks fool you." He said. "Lady Gabriel is one of the Archangels for a reason. Her combat skills are frightening enough, but…you'll see. Let's go in."
Walking through the mansion was like walking through a company office. There were many Angels walking around, but what surprised Ryusei the most were the Angels themselves. Most of them were young, around his age. The youngest were around 10 or 11, and the oldest around were about mid twenties. "Are all of them Angels?"
"Not exactly," Dulio said, with a grim look.
"You see the real Angels, the full blooded ones, have an angelic form that even we cannot see." Griselda explained, walking up another flight of stairs. "Angels like Lord Micheal, Lady Gabriel, Lord Raphael, and Lord Uriel, those who were specifically created by God himself, they cannot be seen by anyone who isn't of Heaven. There was once a psychic, who dared to witness an Angel in their true form. Her eyes were burned from her head."
Ryusei gulped. "I guess I expected Angels to be, all halos and white wings."
"I suppose they were, once," Dulio commented. "Ever since Lucifer's fall, things have been different. The war that Lucifer began escalated into an all out war against the three factions. Many people died, angels, fallen angels, and devils alike. Lucifer was killed, but so was God."
"G-God is…dead?" Ryusei didn't know why he was so shocked. He had never been one to believe in a creator, but hearing an Angel say that God is dead. That's not something you hear everyday.
Griselda sighed. "I'm afraid so. Ever since then, when the Accords were signed, Lord Micheal and the pure-blooded Angel have been hard at work trying to rebuild the work. They reactivated the Sacred Gear system, and even created the Brave Saint system, to reincarnate humans of their choosing to become Angels, to fill in the ranks of the Angels lost in the war."
"Angels can't…you know, make babies," Dulio seemed to have trouble making that analogy. "So the had to rely on you, the humans, for soldiers and followers. Same goes for the Devils."
Ryusei was beginning to understand. The fall of Lucifer was something he knew about. He had read the Bible many times on separate occasions, and the Fall of Lucifer was clear in his head. The Angel whom God adored the most, betrayed his family and rebelled when asked to love the humans. That started a big war against Lucifer and his demons, and the Angels of Heaven.
"Wait a minute, that still doesn't explain why there are so many kids here."
"You see, many of the pure-blood Angels are still injured from the war." Griselda explained. "We expected casualties, but never on this scale. In order for them to heal, they needed to possess the bodies of hosts, or vessels. These children are orphans of the church, abandoned by their parents. They chose to help us, and we've been letting them."
Dulio balled his fist. "It's still wrong."
"Yes, I agree," Griselda said. "But this is what must be done."
Ryusei had no idea the situation in Heaven was so serious. But still, this many pure-blooded Angels were a lot. Reincarnated Angels were one thing, but these were the original Angels of Heaven, the ones who fought during the war. This wasn't some game.
"Here we are." Griselda opened a double door at the top of the staircase, after trekking through hallways and living rooms. Inside were a few people. Behind a large, mahogany desk, was a handsome man with pale blonde hair and sad blue eyes. He had a halo on his head, and wore gold and red armor, much like the ones Sirzechs wore. In front of the desk were two people. The first was a man, African American, with a faded haircut and gray eyes, wearing a black and white suit. He looked like a warrior, even glared at Ryusei like one. The other was a beautiful woman with golden blonde hair and blue eyes. She wore a tight red dress, hugging her body in all the right places. She smirked as the three of them walked in.
"Ah, Dulio, welcome back." The man behind the desk smiled. "This is our new friend, I presume?"
"Yes, Lord Micheal." So this was Micheal. Ryusei had to give it to him, he definitely resembled an Angel. "This is Hyoudou Ryusei. I thought it would be best if he talked to you, answer any questions he might have."
"Yes, thank you Dulio." Micheal smiled gently.
The African American man stood up and buttoned his suit. "Well," His voice was low. "I suppose we shall resume this conversation. I return to my Garrison until then. Good-bye brother, sister." The man disappeared with the sound of wings.
"Good grief," The woman rubbed the perfect skin on her forehead. "Why must he be so dramatic? Raphael has always been one for the dramatic flare, but I can't believe he would actually wear a suit. Can you believe him?"
"Our brother is free to do as he pleases. You mustn't judge him so easily Gabriel." Micheal walked out from behind his desk, sitting down on one of the couches facing a coffee table, center room.
So this was Gabriel. This was what Dulio meant. Her looks were dazzling, she almost captured his heart at first glance, but Ryusei maintained his composure. "Please, sit, Ryusei-Kun. I'm sure you have a lot of questions."
"Actually, just one," Ryusei sat down. It was one he was afraid to ask. He didn't want to ask Dulio, because he would only give him the same answer as before.
Micheal closed his eyes and grinned. "You do not think you're worthy."
Ryuse balled his fist. "You must know what happened on Lian-Yu, what I had to do, what I did. Why would you want someone like me?"
It was Gabriel who answered. She turned and crossed her legs, smiling at Ryusei. "Like our father, my dear brother here believes that it isn't about what you do, that defines who you are. It is who you are, as a person, and now as an Angel."
"She is correct," Micheal said. "Ryusei-Kun, you are right that I know what happened on Lian-Yu. What you went through, it isn't something anyone should ever go through, but you came out of it a better person that when you washed up on its shores. I want to give you a chance, to right the wrongs the people of your city have made. I want you to liberate the city of Kuoh from those who oppress it."
"But why?"
Micheal got up and walked behind his desk. He looked out his window, out into the cloudless sky. "I suppose, you remind me of my brother, Lucifer."
"Now that you mention it," Gabriel examined Ryusei. "He does have Luci's good looks. I'm surprised he isn't hooking up with every-"
"Sister, please," Micheal smiled. "To the point, I failed my brother. I let his heart be clouded with turmoil and chaos, letting him begin a war that devastated everyone. I want to right my wrongs, just as you are doing. I know it may be selfish, but I feel like if I can set you down the right path, that I can begin to forgive myself for what happened to Lucifer."
Ryusei smiled. And here he thought that he was the chosen, but he was only a conduit for forgiveness. But it didn't matter. Ryusei stood up, and held out his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Micheal."
…
Dulio never got tired of watching the Reincarnation Spell. It was quick, yet enjoyable to watch. The card was thrown at Hyoudou Ryusei, surrounding him in brilliant light. To his surprise, Lord Micheal chose the rank of Ace for Ryusei. So he was a vanguard, interesting.
After the Spell took affect, and Ryusei was reincarnated, Dulio and Griselda escorted him to an arena. They were mostly abandoned now, but in ancient times they were used for sparring matches and held competitions every few weeks. Now they were deserted and left empty, ever since Lucifer's fall. It's been hundreds of years, yet the scars left by Lucifer were still fresh.
While Griselda waited in the arena stage, setting up target dummies for Ryusei to shoot, Dulio was in the armory with him. Heaven's Vault had a collection of weapons gathered across time, everything from bows collected from ancient Rome to modern machine guns.
Ryusei however, was drawn to a bow collected from ancient, Sengoku Japan. It was a long hunter's bow, yet the handle was separate from the bow. Wrapped around the base of the bow wings, were Japanese samurai wrappings. It doubled as a bow, as its main function, but also a close range blunt edge weapon if ever needed.
"That belonged to one Hatori Hanzo," Dulio remembered. "An archer and assassin who struck fear into the hearts of rivaling clans. Good choice."
"So, being an Angel, it doesn't feel any different." Ryusei said. "It feels the same."
"It'll take some time for the effects to kick in." Dulio explained. "The worst part is the wings. When they sprout, you'll know."
Ryusei grapped a quiver full of trick arrows, and strapped it on. He wore his regular clothes, yet with a quiver strapped to his back and a heavy duty bow in his hand. "Looking good. Ready?"
"Ready." Dulio snapped his fingers, and they were in the arena.
It was a spacious, perhaps overly spacious, Roman style Colosseum. In front of were holographic images of Dulio, Griselda, Rias Gremory, and Sirzechs Lucifer. "Oh yeah, that's nice. Use my gorgeous face as a target. Fantastic."
"Well if I can't hit it, Ryusei will." Griselda smirked. "Ready?"
Ryusei pulled an arrow from his quiver and knocked it. "Ready."
"Don't miss." Dulio regretted his words.
The instant he ended his sentence, Ryusei had already let the first shot loose. Before he could even take in what had happen, three of the ten random targets were already down. And then another, and another.
"What the…hell?" Dulio was speechless.
"These arrows," Ryusei said, letting loose another arrow and hitting dead center in the head. "they're a lot lighter than I thought. I'm used to much heavier arrow heads."
In mere seconds, all ten had been taken down. What surprised Dulio, no shocked him, wasn't his accuracy, it was his speed. He had shot three arrows in the time it took him to finish a two word sentence. He had seen Ryusei fight before, but that was against his brother and the Devils, not taking it seriously as he would have against a real opponent. This was something else. Dulio's lips curved into a smile. "Oh I like this kid. This is going to be fun."
…
Micheal watched his new Angel from the top row of the arena. He had known Dulio had been watching the boy, but didn't understood his interest in him, until he found out about the tattoo. Ezreal and Akiva are two very powerful dragons, as powerful as Ddraig or Albion, maybe stronger. By themselves, they were forces of nature, yet together, the possibilities were endless. Micheal's true worries lie in the boy's youth. Will he be able to control two of the three Dragons of the Ice Barriers?
"There you go, worry about other people again." Gabriel appeared before him.
Lately she's been hanging around Heaven a lot longer than before. Normally she would be out, answering prayers and helping those in need, yet now she was much more secluded. As I thought," Micheal thought. Lucifer's death and our father's still affected her.
It wasn't like Micheal didn't care about it, but he had the responsibility to rebuild the world. Micheal needed to do what his father and brother couldn't, he didn't have time to grieve.
"How can I not?" Micheal sighed. "Excalibur is broken, its pieces still scattered around the world. Retrieving the pieces have been hard. And on top of that, the Khaos Brigade-"
"Let Raphael worry about them," Gabriel nudged his shoulder. "Really brother. You have yourself a brave new prospect below. He is a scared child who just went through one of the most traumatic experiences any human can go through, and now he's been thrusted into a world of Angels and God. He must be scared, even if he's not showing it."
Micheal wasn't sure of himself anymore. He still blamed himself for Lucifer, and why shouldn't he? Lucifer was his brother. It was his responsibility to look after him, and then he just…
He lost his train of thought, when Hyoudou Ryusei shouted an incantation. "Ryuuga wagateki wo kurau!" He shot an arrow at the targets, yet the single arrow exploded into a mesmerizing cascade of blue. Dark navy and icy teal collided as two dragons manifested from the arrow, freezing everything in its path until it barrier outside the arena.
Micheal and Gabriel stared at the destruction. The trail that the dragons left, was frozen and destroyed. The single line from Ryusei to the barrier outside, even much of the seats and stands were destroyed, a hole in the arena. Ryusei collapsed, as Dulio and Griselda tended to him.
"Well, that was certainly," Gabriel licked her lips. "Surprising."
"Indeed," Micheal couldn't fathom what just happened. "So this is the power of the Dragons of the Ice Barriers."
"C'mon," Gabriel. "We have a hole to plug up, and explain to the others why two dragons suddenly appeared out of nowhere."
Author's Note - So I want to make Xenovia an Angel in this story. I've never seen it done in any of the fanfics I've seen, which makes sense since she and Irina are devote Christians, so it never made sense why she became a Devil. So if I make her an angel, I'm planning on inserting an OC with the other dragon tattoo as her replacement in Rias's peerage. They'll be the Genji to Ryusei's Hanzo. I'm toying with the idea, but let me know what you guys think. Also, I took ideas from Cassandra Clare's TMI series with the whole Accords thing, so credit goes out to her. Anyways, let me know what you guys think about Xenovia becoming an angel, and thanks for reading everyone :)