AN: Konnichiwa, Readers-sans! (Suffixes totally become plural like that. Believe it.)

First order of business, thank you to the first guest review I have gotten! Judging by your review you probably aren't reading this, but thanks for taking the time!

And just a note that I probably won't be putting out a chapter next Monday due to it being Christmas and being in another state. So it might be two weeks until the next chapter, or I might put it up when I get back later in the week, it depends on how things go. There will also probably be a Christmas omake included in that one because that's how these things work, right?

Not a ton to get into before starting this chapter except my apology that it's so long, (assuming that's a problem?) and another reminder that yes this is AU. Also that I am very very evil. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own DxD and am not 100% sure I'd want to keep it even if I did.

Edit: And derpty-derp, I forgot to mention that I changed my username. The new one is mostly because it now matches what I use on other sites, so it's easier to remember, and also because it's way cooler than the previous one. Apologies for any confusion this may have caused though. I don't see it changing again though, so hopefully this will be the one I'm known by when I'm fanfic-famous!

Yeah, gonna go laugh myself to sleep now.

The next morning I woke up in a much more peaceful manner, some heavy-duty black curtains blocking the window and ensuring I had a peaceful morning. Breathing out a sigh of relief, I sat up and got out of bed. I had been half afraid that the sun would magically burn through the drapes and still find a way to inflict cancer upon my sleeping body.

Luckily, technology had won out over nature once again! Take that, accursed forces of nature! Then I realized I was yelling at a window and shut up.

When I stepped out of my room, I wasn't surprised to see a thick morass of fishing line blocking the hallway. It traced from corner to wall to wall to everywhere else in a messy zig-zag that even a professional spy from the movies would be hard-pressed to make it through.

I was just impressed that the twins had actually taken the time to set this all up last night. Kudos to them for having a good three hours of free time, I guess.

I had just begun prying a piece of clear tape from one of the walls when I paused, getting an idea. Why dismantle the thing when I can take the fun way?

I came back from my room a few seconds later with a wicked grin on my face and a pair of sharp scissors. And they said I wouldn't ever use them. Well who's cutting things now!

After making my way through the jungle of wire like a boulder after an overqualified archaeologist, I ended up in the living room overlooking what was either a tent or a giant lump of pillows. Luckily for me, I knew the truth. It was both.

After last night I had brought Kioko back home and did finally introduce her to my family. Sadly, the twins took to her like fire to something insanely flammable and almost instantly dragged her off to either scheme with her, or interrogate her for information.

One or the other, it was honestly up in the air with the twins. Mom seemed almost wary of Kioko the entire time, while dad read a book and gazed over everything out of the corner of his eye. You know, the dad thing.

Before I was hustled off to bed, I'd been able to hear the girls plans for a sleepover kind of event, complete with a tent and coverings to make sure that "Our twisted-" "-puberty-ridden-" "-big bro doesn't see anything." I'm not sure if they thought I would do it intentionally or if they were trying to protect me from any accidents. Either way their precautions seemed a tad extreme.

It seemed like I was awake before anyone else that day, even though I'd woken up at the same time as usual. A quick look at the kitchen clock told me that it was just after seven, leaving about forty-five minutes before it was time for me and the twins to leave. They were probably still asleep though, since I assumed they had kept talking until late last night. That's what girls do at sleepovers, right?

Figuring I'd better wake them up so that they could at least get ready on time, I walked across the living room floor, carefully placing my feet in the spaces between spare blankets and empty snack wrappers. When I was next to the tent, which was covered in a series of overlapping blankets and a few large pillows, I gingerly knocked on the top of it, where the poles intersected.

It didn't make much noise, but the vibration shook the tent and caused a faint rustling sound. Hopefully that would be enough to wake them up. I didn't hear any response after a minute, so I tried knocking again. This time I heard a muffled response from inside.

"Oh no, it's a monster." "What shall we do." "Save us, lady." "You're our only hope."

After a few bland lines that read like they'd come from a movie voiced by the text-to-speech lady, the door was unzipped and Kioko was pushed out, the door closing back up behind her faster than I was aware a zipper could move.

I found myself completely dumbstruck as I saw Kioko, bleary-eyed and long blonde hair uncharacteristically messy. She'd slept in her clothes since she didn't have anything else on her when I brought her to the house, yet the rumpled t-shirt and jeans somehow looked even better on her than they had pressed and clean the day before.

After a moment of simply standing outside the tent bleary-eyed, Kioko cocked her head to the side before turning and trying to find the zipper to the door. After a short while of fumbling around, she gave up and just flopped down onto the nearest cusion, immediately trying to pull as much warmth and softness from it and the surrounding pillows as possible. That… must be the most adorable thing I have ever seen in my life.

Reflexively biting back the irresistible urge to "d'awwwww" in the face of Kioko's sheer cuteness, I tiptoed over to her prone form, and leaned over the lump. Listening closely, I could hear faint snores coming from the pile.

After a moment I pulled an abandoned couch cushion onto the stripped couch and settled down to take in the peaceful atmosphere. I still couldn't wipe the large smile off my face that seemed to grow even larger each time I looked at Kioko's sleeping lump of blankets. That certainly was a series of events I wouldn't mind waking up to every morning.

Then I mentally slapped myself at the thought. Yeah it was adorable and I just wanted to pamper her for all eternity, but we were still just teenagers. Things like that could wait for a few more years.

Didn't stop the goofy smile on my face as I couldn't help but think forward to those future years though. Until a stray beam of sunlight through a far window hit my hand at least, and the immediate burning sensation reminded me that things weren't the same now.

The hollow feeling in my chest came back and my hand instantly rose to touch the area above my heart. I was a devil now, a denizen of evil and the underworld. Not to mention what I'd done the night before. Did I still deserve someone like Kioko in my life?

I quickly lowered my hand back down and put a smile on my face as I heard a door open in the hallway, mom exiting her and dad's room with a confused frown on her face from the destroyed spiderweb of fishing line still in the hallway. It turned into a smile though as she saw me and stepped into the kitchen to begin cooking. She paused to cast an eye at the tent in the middle of the adjoining room, then cemented her face into a look of determination, clenching a fist in front of her.

I knew exactly what that expression meant. She was going to try extra hard in her "Mother's Duty" this morning. My smile grew ever so slightly fixed as the pans began to come out of cupboards.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

An hour later we were in school, slightly wet eggs safely ensconced in our stomachs. The toast had been too burnt to consume, even though the toaster should have prevented that from happening. I've learned not to question it.

During breakfast and while walking to school, Kioko seemed normal, joking and talking like usual. She made no mention of anything supernatural or what had happened last night, but I didn't know if that was a good thing or not.

If she's not talking about it, does that mean that she's avoiding the subject and still has things she hasn't worked through? Or does it mean that she's moved past it and just doesn't see any need to dwell?

Whichever it was, I couldn't really do anything unless I knew what she was thinking, so I didn't act any differently either. I knew it was just avoiding the subject, but what else could I do? If she wanted to talk about it I would, but trying to dig into it when I didn't know what she was thinking could only make it worse.

And so we split up for classes, having not really said anything of value. I actually kinda missed the conversation from last night. It was tense and scary, but we'd honestly bared our hearts to each other and said what we meant. The usual small talk just seemed so much… less compared to that.

So it was with a strange sense of loss that I sat down at my desk and pulled out a notebook. I didn't have many friends in school, so it wasn't like I had anyone to seek out and talk to before class started. Honestly that was probably my fault, but I just had a hard time getting along with people in this school.

Maybe it was because it used to be an all-girls school, but the girls seemed to almost look down on the boys, or at least were scared of them. Probably at least part of that was due to the perverted trio's efforts, leaving the rest of the girls wondering if we boys would turn into drooling idiots at a moments notice.

On the boy's side, most of their conversations were about the "Great Ladies" or other conversations about the girls. Maybe it was because I already had a girlfriend, but I just couldn't deal with those kinds of topics very well.

No, even before I became friends with Kioko, it just seemed… flat, trite. Like there wasn't really anything to the discussion. They were talking about girls since that was almost what they were expected to do. And I just wanted my interactions to be more meaningful than that.

I cast away my gloominess with a final sigh as the teacher entered, trying to get ready for the day with a slightly better attitude. As others made their way to their own seats in preparation for homeroom to start, it felt like it would be another day of lectures and accursed irrational numbers. Then I felt a light tap on my shoulder and turned to see what was needed.

Ashida, seated directly behind me, leaned forward and whispered quietly. "I saw you and your girlfriend come to school together this morning. Did you two… do it?" He wriggled his pinkie in what was probably some kind of lewd gesture to accompany his words.

Even if I had, which I definitely hadn't, how was it his business? There was literally no reason that anybody would need to know that. Instead of answering him, I just turned back around to the front and payed attention to the teacher, who was preparing to speak, hoping that would put a stop to the topic.

It didn't. Within ten minutes I realized that his casual comment had been overheard by the people around us and my response had been completely misconstrued. The girls seated around me seemed to edge away, giving me suspicious looks, as if I was dirty or as if I would taint them with my presence. Meanwhile the few boys seemed to subtly spread it throughout the room, as if they were boasting of my 'accomplishment.'

By the time the bell had rung and homeroom was ending, I was ready to either run out of the room or stand up and berate my classmates for their stupidity. Yeah I was hurt that they had decided to judge me on one piece of faulty information, but it was mostly just a mixture of anger and pity. Is this how they lived their lives? Either trying to vicariously live through someone else or avoid them because of a rumour?

I certainly hoped that this school wasn't the standard example of students around the country, or else Japan was doomed.

Sadly, I couldn't do either option as the first class of the day of the day was starting. Math, meaning I had to focus my full attention on what the teacher was saying and hope that they would forgive my awful homework scores if I looked sincere enough. The whole thing would probably blow over by lunch when I could actually explain, anyway.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

I think my faith in humanity just died. As soon as the bell signifying lunch rang, people starting moving, scooting chairs, vaulting desks, opening doors, people went every direction as if their only mission in life was to spread the new information. Okay, maybe that was exaggerating it somewhat, but I had the paranoid feeling that every person leaving the room was another person who would be spreading the new rumour.

I stood up abruptly from my seat, raising my voice in an attempt to get people's attention. "Excuse me! Not that it is any of your business, but to prevent any harmful rumors being spread, I have not done… it with my girlfriend!" Urgh, if I can't even say the word, how can people actually expect me to perform the action!

Any stray thoughts that rose up from that train of thought were immediately squashed, chopped to pieces, and burned.

As I really should have expected, my little shameful declaration did absolutely nothing. A few boys who passed by me gave me exaggerated winks while patting my back, while the girls seemed to back even farther away, huddling together in small groups across the room and casting wide-eyed looks in my direction.

Soon I was abandoned in the center of the classroom, the boys having left and the girls all huddled on the other side of the room. Dejected, all I could do was slump down in my seat, completely defeated. By the time lunch was over, the entire school would know that me and Kioko had done unspeakably filthy things that would make medieval geisha blush, whether or not it was true.

Slumping down and letting my forehead meet the fake wood surface of my desk with a soft thump, I let out a hopeless sigh. There really wasn't anything else I could do. I'd tried to reduce the rumor but it hadn't seemed to have done a thing.

I hate this school.

Kioko was gonna kill me.

On the plus side, maybe she would forget about the whole "died-last-night" thing in her anger. Silver lining, right? I'd find out after school, since I had to do something else during lunch break. Now where was the faculty office again?

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

Since her first words after hearing my explanation were "Well at least it's better than what actually happened last night," she didn't forget. At least she hadn't taken it as badly I had expected.

When I asked why she didn't seem upset, she shrugged and explained that it didn't really hurt us and since it was already so widespread there wasn't anything that could be done. "Besides," she said, a malicious smirk on her face, "this way everyone will know better than to try and steal you away from me."

All I could do at that was laugh nervously. It wasn't like there was anybody who would have tried anyway. There wasn't any girls besides Kioko and maybe the Occult club that I was even on friendly terms with, much less any kind of budding romance.

We were on our way to the old school building for the usual meetup with Rias' peerage, but we had taken the time to sit beneath a tree and share any leftover lunch with each other, something that was somewhat of a tradition. Due to the unique nature of the breakfast we'd eaten for breakfast, neither of us had eaten much lunch, leaving plenty of leftovers.

Normally this would be a slightly more exciting process, each person trying to outdo the other with whatever lunch they had created or bought that day, but since both lunches were the same today, pre-cooked rice with vegetables, there's wasn't much of a point.

That didn't stop Kioko from still dumping half of her rice into my lunchbox and proceeding to steal half of my own with a crooked grin on her face.

We were quiet as we both ate, just enjoying the cool air and calming sounds of the leaves rustling in the wind. It was cloudy today, so I didn't have to worry about acting like a vampire either.

In the chaos that the last few days had been, starting from my death and ending with the new rumors floating around school, it was incredibly relaxing to just sit under a tree and enjoy the time together, without having to worry about murder or whatever worries might lie in the future. Indeed, everyone should periodically take time to-

"Ahem."

Unwillingly, I opened my eyes to see who it was that decided to stand in the way of mine and Kioko's relaxing time. My eyes lazily tracked upwards past a girl's school uniform until they settled on light black hair and glasses that did absolutely nothing to hide the disapproving expression in her eyes. The student council president, Souna Shitori.

I sat up as I cleared my throat, self-consciously straightening my back in order to look more polite and alert. I had met her a few times before, either at school activities or by actually being called to the student council's office, usually for not turning in homework. I wasn't actually sure if she went to classes at all since she always seemed to be in her office no matter when I was sent.

"Erm, what can I do to help you, Shitori-kaichou?" Please don't let this be about the rumor, please don't let this be about the rumor, please don't-

"I have heard some rather concerning rumors concerning you, Kai-san, and I would like to hear your side of the story before resolving any punishment."

Nervously glancing to my right for Kioko's help, I was faced with her peaceful sleeping face, her hair lightly blowing in the wind. I couldn't disturb her when she looked like that, so I stood up and brushed any stray leaves off of myself before heading just a few trees over at the president's request.

Pushing her glasses up onto her nose, Souna wasted absolutely no time. "I have had no fewer than ten girls in various states of distress coming to inform me that you have consummated your relationship with your girlfriend, Horikawa Kioko. While it is certainly not a crime, pre-marital sexual relationships are against the rules of our school. Depending on the authenticity of these reports, you may be suspended."

I only managed to resist the urge to bury my face in my hands because I was afraid Souna would take the action as a sign of guilt. Really? Ten girls worried enough about a rumor that wasn't even true that they were in "distress" at all, no matter the state? What is wrong with this school!

"Those rumors are completely baseless and false, Shitori-kaichou," I spoke as evenly as I could. "It is true that Horikawa-san spent the night at my house, but only because I had brought her to meet my family and by the time they were finished talking it was too late for her to go home that night. She obtained permission from her family to spend the night and did so in a separate room from me, accompanied by my sisters."

I laid out the facts as simply as I could, hoping that she'd believe me, a known troublemaker, over the pleas of ten other students.

Yeah I was doomed.

Casting a last helpless look at Kioko's sleeping figure, I barely caught the sight of an eye closing and her mouth momentarily twitching upwards in a smirk before smoothing out again. The traitor! I would have my revenge and it would be-!

Actually no scratch that I don't dare try and retaliate. She would tear me apart in a prank war of any kind, and petty vengeance wouldn't end well either.

Souna called my attention back to her, using a finger to push up her glasses. They were already firmly ensconced on her face though, so I wasn't sure what the point of the gesture was. "It is true that none of the students had any proof of misconduct, but you could have prepared a story beforehand."

I had to restrain the urge to roll my eyes as her steely eyes snapped back to me. "Is there a member of your family that I can contact to check your story? Someone who I can be sure isn't intimidated." Was I really that untrustworthy, lady? And why not do something like this on the fifty-odd accounts of criminal acts done by actual perverts? Except Issei. He's fine.

Quickly bringing out my simple phone, I fumbled it slightly in my haste, worried that she would call the cops if I took too long. Then I speed-dialed the store and passed Souna the phone. Backing away a few steps to give her some privacy, I shot a glare at Kioko still lying motionless.

Although I had barely lifted my foot to go and give her some words about loyalty, a sharp "Kai-san" rang out behind me. I flinched and slowly turned to see Souna giving me the worst glare that I had ever seen from her, eyes clearly pointing at me, then shooting intently to the ground.

I immediately plopped down, uncaring of whatever leaves or small sticks may have been beneath me. When faced with that kind of glare, you have two choices. Obey, or receive capital punishment. I wasn't sure what it was, but it was sure to be quick and permanent.

Temporarily appeased, Souna returned to her phone call, talking in a quiet enough tone that I couldn't tell what was happening in the conversation. She would believe my parents, right? It's not like she would continue to suspect me even after their testimony? Right?

My social life was doomed, wasn't it. I was going to be broke and homeless my entire life, and all because of my treacherous girlfriend!

Of course thoughts like that can only last so long, and by the time that she was done with the call a few minutes later, I was bored and playing with bits of grass I had casually plucked from the lawn.

As soon as I heard the click from the phone closing, I quickly brushed the grass off my fingers and uniform pants, not wanting to know what would happen if she found me "destroying school property."

Souna handed me the phone back, and I noted with a sense of relief that the disapproving look in her eye had receded somewhat. Now she saw me as a servant instead of an insect. Progress! "According to your mother's testimony, you were telling the truth. You have my apology for the mistake." Even though you're saying that, your face says something different, you know? In the end I ended up sketching a quick bow of thanks while she never bent.

As I straightened up and turned to leave, she called me again. Turning to see what it was this time, Souna said "You were innocent this time, but if I ever discover that you used your new abilities to intimidate or coerce your family or girlfriend into any actions, I will kill you myself."

Flabbergasted I couldn't help but stare for a moment. When I had recovered my senses somewhat, she had already started to walk away. "Wait a sec-"

Before I could even finish though, somebody else had intercepted her. Kioko had finally stopped pretending to be asleep, and was standing with a smile in front of the president, looking down the few inches between their heights. I forgive you for everything, Kioko!

"Good morning, Shitori-kaichou. While it is amusing to see my boyfriend react like a scared mouse in front of a tiger, I request that you retract your unfair remarks about him. They were a direct attack on his character and I wouldn't want you to leave with the wrong opinion about him."

Souna stared back easily, not at all intimidated by the difference in height. "So you were awake after all. I was prepared to erase your memory if needed, but it seems that you are already aware that Kai Kado is a devil." Please don't say such scary things so casually, president!

"Does that mean that he revealed his abilities to you? Perhaps the rumors of last night were closer to the truth than his mother is aware." She still mistrusted me that much? It did push me to wonder though, just what had happened in the past that made Souna so wary of men? Maybe she didn't have any brothers growing up? I didn't have any myself, and I'd turned out just fine, though.

Kioko had stopped smiling now, and was instead frowning at the president. "I was there when he was revived, Shitori-kaichou." Technically true, even if it was only the second time. "He has made no untoward movements towards me, and has instead stated at multiple times that he will wait until I feel that I am ready, no matter when that happens." While it's true, would you mind please not telling other people that!

Uncaring of my pleading face gazing directly at her, she continued. "Furthermore, I have seen him risk his own life to save other people, something that you could probably never consider him doing with the mental picture you have of him. Additionally, when 'healed' by Gremory-san and Himejima-san, upon waking he took steps to escape the situation. Since you are a devil and a king of your own peerage, I am sure that you know what such healing entails."

I was both proud of Kioko and embarrassed at her playing up my own deeds, but I couldn't help the smile on my face as she defended me. Sure it was supposed to be me protecting her, but this isn't a bad feeling either- wait, did she just say she was a devil? I got that she knew about the supernatural world, but she was a devil herself?

Souna still hadn't moved at all, still facing Kioko head-on. I couldn't see her face, so I didn't know what expression she was making, but she was silent for a short time before responding. "…I must confess that I do, and am surprised by his reaction to that situation. Of course I have no proof that your claims are factual. I will trust that you were previously aware of his nature, instead of having it revealed to you, though. If it is indeed as you say, then I will owe Kai-san an apology."

Again, she mentions an apology but makes no sign of giving one, this one even at a later date. Before when I had met her she seemed curt and abrupt, but fair. Was it the nature of the crime this time that gave her such a different attitude, or was she harder on devils, holding them to a higher standard because she was one herself?

After Kioko did not give a response, Souna merely gave a short brief nod and stepped around her to continue back to the school, never looking back.

Kioko clicked her tongue with a dissatisfied look as I stepped forward to join her. "I don't get why she's so popular with the people of the school if that's how she treats them, judging them unfairly."

I was upset as well, but there wasn't much point to starting a feud with the de facto head of the school. "Yeah, I get what you mean. Hopefully it's all over now though. Come on, let's get our bentos and head to the clubroom. We're already late as it is."

Indeed, by the time we had arrived at the room, most of the rest of the peerage had already left. The only two remaining were Akeno and Rias, the former humming a soft tune as she cleaned the clubroom, the latter perusing some important looking documents.

"Hi, Rias!" I called out a greeting that was mimicked by Kioko just behind me. "Everyone else already out on jobs?"

Her eyes flicked up to me as Akeno went to the mini-kitchen area in an adjacent room to prepare some tea. "Ah, yes. You're a little later than I was expecting. Anything happen?"

I wasn't completely sure if she was prying, suspicious, or merely curious, but I figured that it wouldn't hurt to tell her about Souna. A quick glance at Kioko and she nodded, so I went ahead with it. "Yeah, Shitori-senpai pulled me aside for a bit, asking about the rumors."

Rias straightened up and took on a more serious expression. "Rumors? What rumors would she need to pull you aside for?"

I guess they hadn't reached her yet, maybe since she was almost a separate existence from the rest of the school in their eyes. I took a seat on the couch and gave my thanks to Akeno as she passed me a cup of steaming brew before I started the story.

After explaining the circumstances of both the rumor and the meeting with the student council president, Rias had her head in her hands massaging her temples. "That does seem rather extreme for Sona, but I can understand why those rumors would concern her so much."

She looked up to meet my eyes. "Sona has a lot of stress as head of the school, practically running everything by herself. Additionally, she has many concerns about devils misusing their power. A tale of you taking advantage of someone using your powers would certainly rise her hackles. I shall have some words with her and try to explain what happened."

I set my empty cup down on the table and braced my hands on my knees to stand up. "Well then, hopefully you can help out with that. I believe the first step of being a servant is passing out contracts, right? Mailboxes and such?"

Rias smiled and said "Yes, nothing too difficult." She directed her next statement at Kioko. "It does usually take two to three hours, so you may go on ahead without waiting for Kai-san."

Kioko seemed to bristle slightly at being given permission like that, but I gave her a reassuring look. "Yeah, it's fine, Kioko. I don't want to keep you waiting around for no reason. And it's just handing out contracts so there's no danger."

"Yeah, that's what you said last time," she replied, rolling her eyes. "Just don't forget. If you run into another stray devil or whatever, then you have a bunch of contracts to summon Rias with you, so don't hold back."

"Agreed, I would much rather protect you than do paperwork," Rias interjected.

All I could do was hang my head with a sigh. "Yeah, got it." I wished that I didn't need to be told to call for help if I ran into an enemy, but the fact was that I was just a squishy human and I needed protection. I might not have a sacred gear, but I was still gonna get stronger so I didn't need to be sheltered anymore.

After a moment, Kioko swept me up in a surprise hug that lasted longer than usual. Was this a side effect of almost losing me? If so, then maybe it wasn't that bad after all. I gently hugged her back, and when she finally released me I found myself missing her body heat.

The Kioko left the clubroom without a word, casting one last look at me before she left. I'd be fine, but I should probably see if I could do something for her soon to make up for all this.

Once the door was closed I turned to my master and was met by her grinning face and a large stack of red contract leaflets on her desk, at least two hundred.

"I have to pass out all of these?" I said, trying to figure out how I could hold all of them without dropping any. Suddenly Akeno was there next to me, holding out a cloth carrier bag with a "fufu" and a hand over her mouth.

I rolled my eyes but accepted it, quickly scooping the pamphlets into the sack without caring that the stack disintegrated in the bag. Placing down the bag for a moment, I searched for something in my pocket. "Hold on a sec, Rias." I pulled out and unfolded a piece of paper that I pushed onto the desk towards her. At the top it read in large letters "Club Enrollment Form."

"You just need to sign this and I'm a member of the club." I looked away awkwardly, recalling just a few days ago when I had made it clear that I wasn't part of the club and would stay away from it if I could.

With a teasing smile, Rias signed the paper with a flourish before placing it into a drawer of her desk. "I'll take it out and look at it if I need some positive encouragement," she promised with a wink.

"Ha ha, very funny," I mumbled as I picked up the bag filled with red paper and slung it over my shoulder. Making my way across the room, I paused with my hand on the doorknob, shooting a confident grin over my shoulder. "Be back soon, Buchou."

Then I ducked out of the room, hearing an "Ara ara~" behind me as I immediately vowed to never use the term again. It just felt odd using it to refer to Rias, when I had been calling her by name for a while. Sure it started as a kind of disrespect, but it seemed a bit late to change now.

Well, I had a job to do for now, passing out the flyers. Actually made me wonder how many people in the city at least knew about devils, and how many had accepted and used a contract. Wasn't much of a "secret world" after all, if half the city knew about it. Maybe they did something to remove the devils from their memories afterwards? I mused on it as I set out across the city, occasionally offering flyers to people passing by.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

I felt like I was dead when I dragged myself back into the old school building five hours later, but with an empty satchel. Doors slammed in my face, rude teens, guard dogs, people; it had been an awful afternoon and evening. My legs felt sore enough that you could probably use them to make pudding.

I almost cried when I reached the stairs leading to the second floor.

It had seemed like the empty feeling in my chest got worse the closer to midnight it got, something I'd suspected if it tied into my twice-devil nature, but really only had verified tonight. I still had a few hours until midnight, so hopefully I could fall asleep then and wouldn't have to worry about clawing open my chest in discomfort.

I managed to make it up the stairs and dragged myself to the door to the clubroom. The rest would probably be back now, or even gone back home, but Rias should still be around so I could still report at least. Actually, did her and Akeno sleep here? Come to think of it, I didn't know anything about Kiba or Koneko's home situation either. Did they all just stay here?

With three girls and one boy? I pitied the poor knight if that was the case. Nobody deserved that, and I was lucky to have dad as the final barrier between me and three other females.

I was considering the idea of almost every other person in the peerage being an orphan and possibly homeless as I pushed open the door to the main club area slash lounge. I was just in time to see a bright flash of red light and the figures of the rest of the peerage vanishing.

Blinking my eyes to clear the spots from my vision, I could see a red magic circle fading into nothingness on the club floor. I was stunned for a moment. They'd left without me? Wherever they'd gone, it was so important that they couldn't wait? And more importantly, I'd missed seeing magic?!

I was going to have some serious words with Rias when she came back. Unless she was in a bad mood or something, in which case I would respectfully get out of dodge.

Still annoyed about getting left behind, and feeling the suspicion that I had been left behind on purpose, I took out my frustration by sitting in Rias' comfy chair behind the desk, the kind that had leather padding and spun around on wheels. The kind that every office executive seemed to have just so they could lord it over all the other employees that they had a bigger paycheck than them.

No, I wasn't bitter, why do you ask?

Spinning in the chair, it was barely thirty seconds later when I saw a bright flash of red light reflect off the wall in front of me. That probably signified the peerage returning, assuming they all came back the same way they had left. I spun around to face the room, hands steepled menacingly in front of me. "I am disappointed in you- Is he alright?"

I jumped out of the soft chair and vaulted over the desk, scattering paperwork as I ran to Issei's side. My increased senses could smell blood and easily spot the growing red spot on his leg where a small circle of his pant leg had been burned away. What had happened?

Rias was already starting to yell orders, telling people to go get bandages, water, and something that sounded like unicorn root. Ignoring the fact that apparently unicorns existed as well as angels and devils, all I could do was stand there looking at the scene.

I felt helpless, just alternating staring between the cauterized wound on Issei's leg and the pained grimace on his face, tears running down his cheeks. I didn't know first aid, magical healing, potions, or even where they stored their first aid materials in the clubhouse!

I took a few steps back from the scene as Akeno and Kiba arrived with the materials they'd been sent to get and Rias quickly began applying them, keeping my eyes fixed on Issei. That's where they must have gone, to rescue him from whatever was attacking him. No wonder they didn't take you. They simply didn't have enough time to wait, or Issei might have been killed.

And because I was too weak. I suddenly wanted to punch something, a wall, the desk, Kiba, anything! I just gripped my hands into tight fists as I continued to watch, almost wishing that my palms were bleeding if it would relieve the aching in my chest. Koneko arrived with a strange plant that looked like miniature corn that was immediately applied to the wound, relaxing Issei's pained face instantly, although he was still crying.

Suddenly I couldn't stand to be in the room any longer, the shouted orders filling the air and pounding into my head, the walls closing in, my chest pulsing with pain, and the knowledge that I couldn't do a thing crushing me.

So I ran. I ran across the room, practically kicked the door open and proceeded to basically fall down the stairs, my still-sore legs buckling on the first step down. Picking myself up at the bottom, slightly bruised, I started running again. Soon I was pumping my legs in the cool night air, my gaze affixed on the ground at my feet and biting my tongue so hard it bled, just to keep the stinging tears from escaping my eyes.

I didn't know if I was sad or angry, really. Seeing Issei like that hurt. That somebody had tried to kill him and I couldn't do a thing. I didn't know if I was sad at his pain, upset at his attacker, or just mad at myself for being so helpless. I just ran and hoped that I would pass out at some point so I wouldn't have to deal with it anymore.

My enhanced legs finally gave out in a park somewhere in Kuoh and I collapsed onto a grassy area. I rolled over onto my back and used my hands to grab fistfuls of the grass, as if to anchor myself to the ground. I stared up at the night sky, glittering with stars and refused to cry.

I don't know why, really, but I refused to cry. It wasn't for any real reason, just pure stubbornness. I wouldn't cry. Didn't stop the heat from gathering at the corners of my eyes or the blood from welling up in my mouth though.

Maybe I was too used to getting lucky, managing to protect people. I knew there were people that I couldn't or didn't help. So why did it hurt so much that Issei had been hurt? Was it just because he'd helped me the night before?

Or was it because I'd finally failed?

That there was finally someone I'd decided to protect that I couldn't help? I couldn't do a thing afterwards, or a thing during whatever fight Issei had been a part of.

I suddenly realized, all at once, that I was absolutely weak. Rias could one-shot almost anything, Akeno had magic, and even Koneko could hit harder than a truck. Kiba had swords, enough said.

But me? I was basically human. Useless in sunlight, barely stronger than my dad, and just handing out flyers made me barely able to stand.

My thoughts seemed to be a constant loop of how I couldn't protect them, how I was weak. I tried to take in a shaky breath but just got a load of blood in my throat.

Rolling onto my hands and knees I coughed heavily, red staining large patches of grass as I took in gasps of air. Idiot Kado, getting so wrapped up in self-pity that you can't breathe? Way to be a hero, man.

I stood up and scrubbed at my eyes with my sleeve, already feeling the cuts in my tongue beginning to heal. Yeah, so I wasn't strong. In fact, I was downright weak. But I wasn't going to let my friends be hurt again. I was going to do whatever I could to get stronger and protect them.

"Kado?"

I heard a voice from behind me and looked back to see Kioko in blue cotton pajamas and flip-flops, standing behind me with a worried expression on her face. I quickly stepped to the side to hide the patch of red grass with my shadow and put a smile on my face. "Hi, Kioko! What are you doing out so late? I was just enjoying the cool night air for a bit, you know? Feels even better as a devil!"

She took a few steps forward and her right arm started to raise up, halting only a few inches from it's position. "Kado, your… there's blood on your chin."

I hastily wiped my chin and around my mouth with my sleeve, feeling damp spots from where my tears had been absorbed into the cloth. "Really? Wow, I hadn't noticed! Ahaha, guess I must have bit my tongue or something while running. Hope nobody saw that while I was headed here and got worried over nothing." Just keep smiling. It's fine, I'm just an idiot. It's all fine.

"Kado, what's wrong." She sounded serious now, eyes striving to look into mine and I unconsciously averted them, suddenly worried about the stray particles of moisture left in them.

"Oh you know. Work was just kinda hard today. Had to pass out hundreds of flyers. By the time I finished, my legs were so sore I could barely walk!" True, although they seemed to feel better now, clearly evidenced by my standing on them. Devil healing was really great, huh? Who knows, maybe Issei would even be completely healed by tomorrow!

"So you decided to take a night run afterwards?" Kioko might be confused and worried, but she still had that sarcastic streak in her. I couldn't help but let out a short bark of laughter.

Then I couldn't stop laughing for some reason, even though it hurt so much. I doubled over holding my stomach and taking a few steps back as it continued to bubble out of me, burning through my chest.

Then Kioko was there, holding me, her arms wrapped around me and gently lowering me to my knees on the grass. My laughter subsided into a constant stream of choking hiccups instead as she comforted me, telling me that it wasn't my fault and that she'd stay with me. It seemed to rush past my ears, hearing but not comprehending as I smiled, bit my tongue, and fought the tears.

I didn't even know why I was crying or laughing, but I couldn't stop. Or why I was feeling so lost and empty. I had no right to feel that way, not when Issei was the one hurting. I was just the one who had gotten away lucky, who had ran and left behind a friend, who had worried Kioko so much. What reason did I have to be sad or happy?

I fell asleep at some point, Kioko still holding me, and my last memory before that was the sound of her soothing words and my empty chest being drowned out by the park clock striking eleven.

End AN: Couple things that are all pretty important to mention this time. Kado is not insane/whiny all of a sudden. Sona is AU. The school is weird but hopefully in an unrealistic way.

Hopefully before I get caps-locked at for how I wrote Sona, let me say first, this was an accident. And then I decided why not and went with it. She isn't suddenly a horrible person and she isn't having something against Kado. Well kinda, but SPOILERS.

I changed her backstory slightly and that's going to affect things, which affected other things because those butterflies are evil. So she has reasons for how she acted. I don't know if they're good answers or not, but they made sense to me. And lastly on the topic, I don't know if those reasons will be explained. I don't have a spot specifically plotted out for it in the future and it would take some pretty specific things to happen for Sona to spill the beans. So I do hope it will be mentioned at some point, but just putting it out there that it might not.

About Kado's lovely little episode at the end there, no he is not emo/angsty/self-hating. He might have some self-esteem issues as is par the course for a teenager with basically one friend, but it didn't suddenly delve way down into bottomless-pits-of-void level stuff. This is something I had planned since... last chapter, and will be explained at an already-plotted point in the future. Suffice it to say for now that something is going on and Kado hasn't changed that much.

Also I left clues for this along with other plot points because I am evil.

Final thing is about the school. In the DxDverse that I'm aware of, besides the peerages and the perverted trio, the rest of the school is basically just there. Rumours might begin and girls might hate Issei, but basically they're there to make it a high school setting and not much else. I'm not going to suddenly name each student in the school, but they are people and react to things. At the same time, this is DxD, so many of those students are very single-minded. Not to say that everyone is, but Kado's experiences tended to paint people into two groups plus him and kinda just leave it at that.

Also I've never really gone to high school per se, so I didn't want to massively mess things up. I am gonna have to face it at some point though, so this was kinda preliminary to set the groundwork for that at some point.

P.S. I have written something from Kioko's perspective a few chapters down the road, and wow do her and Kado see each other differently. It was honestly pretty shocking to see the differences, and it'll probably affect my writing with how I do them. I didn't quite have enough time to do a full edit on this chapter to match up everything, but I hope to improve their reactions in the future.