AN: Hey there, just a tiny chapter to somewhat bridge the gap between the first part and whatever I write afterwards. This is canon though, not an omake.

Timewise, this happens a few weeks after the last chapter, and the week before the Excalibur Arc commences.

Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool DxD, and by now have completely messed up the world that Ishibumi created.

The construction had been completed weeks ago, adding yet another towering monument of glass and steel to the ever-growing modernization of Kuoh. It was probably an office building of some kind with some late-night work still being accomplished judging by the orange glow emerging timidly from high windows, too shy to illuminate the night further than a few inches. Lamps turned low and computer screens constituting the world of the office worker.

The street had been repaved, the previously cracked path smooth once again after one too many people complained about uneven footing. The new tarmac was black enough to almost gleam in the day and be nearly invisible at night, with only the feeling of solidity beneath shoes proving that it was there.

The street lamps were still dark, though. The street was rarely used in the nighttime, and excuses could always be made as to how the funding could be put to a better use in the sewers, or a new high rise, or in one of the numerous discreet deals that dotted the political world. And so the street stayed dark, unchanged from months ago, when an electric failure in the system had caused the bulbs to shatter. The stray glass had been removed, and the tall poles cleaned and made ready for new lights and wiring, but for now the street was far darker than it should be.

Shirashiki Kyoko wasn't quite sure why she was here. It was just a late-night coffee run, picking up some caffeinated fuel for her workaholic father. It was just supposed to be a quick trip down the street to the nearby vending machine and back. But somehow she'd gotten turned around in the space of a city block, and was now walking down a dark street that was nowhere close to her family's apartment.

Perhaps it was the wind throwing her off. It seemed to have an almost whispering quality to it as it whistled past buildings and through small gaps, creating a susurrus of faint noises and sounds that sounded almost like voices if she just listened that much harder… before it slipped away, leaving behind fairytale promises in her ears.

So maybe it was the wind, leading her along to places unknown. But that still explain how she had gotten so lost, or why she was standing in the middle of the road to stare at a strange man with ragged clothes and a burning hunger in his blue eyes that threatened to swallow her whole, the can of coffee still warm in her hand.

Baring surprisingly clean-looking teeth that almost gleamed in the darkness, the man shambled forward, nursing a damaged leg as he neared the girl. "So. What brought you here, little missy?" It didn't sound like a question despite the inflection, but Kyoko found herself answering anyway.

"I think it was the wind." Kyoko immediately flushed, snapping her mouth closed and turning away in embarrassment. Why did she say something like that? He was going to think she was weird now, and what if he decided to leave? She didn't know why the thought of a stranger leaving her seemed to fill her stomach with a churning feeling.

The man looked taken aback for a moment, before he flashed a bright grin, inadvertently intensifying Kyoko's blush as he closed the distance between them to a meter. "Well if you say that the wind brought you here, then I'm inclined to believe you, missy." He suddenly stopped with a frown on his face, causing Kyoko to feel a pang in her chest. Was it too weird after all? Had she done something wrong?

Looking around and raking a hand through his hair, causing it to fall in just a way to frame his intense blue eyes, the man lowered his voice and asked, "Did it… say anything to you?"

Kyoko hesitated, trying to think of the right answer, but eventually shook her head. "No, nothing that I could make out clearly." Inwardly, she felt panicked, nervously brushing specks off her red sweater and resisting the urge to fiddle with her hair. Was that what he wanted to hear? What would she do if she had gotten it wrong and the handsome man left?

But the man seemed to regain his cheer at that, bestowing her with another smile that made her heart flutter before beginning to stride towards her as quickly as his injured leg would allow. "Oh, that's good! It means that you're pure! That makes you even better!"

Kyoko turned away to hide the furious blush making it's way across her face and to her ears, trying to pretend she wasn't as affected by the stranger's simple compliment as she actually was. Pure was the last thing that her classmates or family would call her, usually preferring terms like "fiery," "bossy," or "passionate" if they were feeling generous. And she was fine with that. She'd rather be someone that people had to take note of than a plain housewife that people could easily ignore.

But somehow, a few words from this man had made her feel like being pure was all she wanted in her life, whatever it meant. That she would do whatever she could do be pure. Trying to shove those feelings down deep inside her, Kyoko gave up on hiding her face and turned back to the man with a genuine smile. "Well thank you very… much…"

He was right there, face to face with her, and for the first time, Kyoko could see that his hair was the dark brown color like new wood or old leather, and his blue eyes were bright enough to almost glow, even as his grin made something inside her melt. And his smell, a combination of the sea and fresh ink, made her feel like she was home. She barely noticed how his bad leg was periodically dripping some liquid onto the road or how his clothes were wet and slightly sticky with an unidentifiable substance that smelled faintly like iron.

The can of coffee fell from limp fingers and hit the ground with a clang, rolling slightly before coming to an eventual stop.

All Kyoko could see was blue eyes and white teeth that were steadily getting closer. And she wanted that more than anything, more than being pure. Unconsciously, she found herself leaning in and closing her eyes, apprehension and excitement building in her chest.

"I don't want to ruin the moment, but that guy's about to bite your head off."

Kyoko didn't care, happy to let whoever was interrupting watch what was about to happen, but the stranger felt differently, quickly backing away. Kyoko let out a sigh of disappointment as she felt the warmth of his body retreat, suddenly feeling colder than she had in her entire life. Opening her eyes, she whirled around to give the intruder a piece of her mind. "Can't you see that we were in the middle of something! Why can't you go and-"

She blinked, feeling like she'd somehow just come back to herself as she finally put a name to the face in front of her. "Kioko's boyfriend?" Well he wasn't anymore, not after Kioko mysteriously disappeared the month before. Beside her, she could feel the stranger shifting uncomfortably and her heart gave another pang, this one of guilt. This must be harder for him than it was for her, being interrupted right when they were so close.

A boy with straight black hair and brown eyes stepped out from under the shadow of a wall, just enough for the residual light to illuminate the cold expression on his face. "Seriously, I really don't care either way, but it's a hassle, so I just want to make sure that you know what you're getting into." He was wearing a scarf above a short-sleeved shirt and jeans, despite the warm weather.

So he didn't trust her to make her own decisions? Was he trying to push her away from who she was already with? Kyoko almost growled, stepping protectively in front of the stranger. "Just leave us alone! Go walk into an electric line and die or something! This doesn't-"

"That's enough." The man she was trying to protect spoke up, his voice forceful enough to send chills up Kyoko's spine. She immediately clammed up, stepping to the side and trying to sink into herself. She had disappointed him! She wasn't pure at all, she was tainted and dragging his own pure soul down with her.

The stranger stepped forward, even with his injury still dripping onto the ground, this time moving in front of her in a reflection of their positions a moment ago. He spoke, and for a moment Kyoko thought she could hear the wind again. "I'm not going to hurt her, can't you tell? I'm just an ordinary man out for a late night stroll." Kyoko poked her head around her protector, wanting to see the scene unfold.

Kioko's ex-boyfriend turned his head up to the large building to the right, apparently ignoring the stranger. "You know, I don't know why I came back here," he said out loud, his voice still cold, uncaring. "Regret? Not anymore. Some kind of nostalgia? Not likely. Maybe…" His voice trailed off, leaving the final possibility unsaid. Not that Kyoko cared, she just wanted the jerk to go away so she could be alone with the injured man again.

"Yes, but why did you come here?" The man said, his voice straining slightly as he took a step forward, as if reaching for something that wasn't there.

The dark-haired student slowly turned to look back at her protector before shrugging casually. "Let's call it fate. Luck, Destiny, Wyrd, Inshallah, Qadar, the Moirai, Niyati, Yuanfen, or whatever you will. In the end, it doesn't really matter." He looked up at the building again, his voice growing soft enough that Kyoko could barely make out his words. "God is dead, after all."

"How do you know that!" The stranger hissed, taking a step backwards as he seemed to defensively curl inward. "How did you find out! Who are you!" What was he talking about? Why was he so worried? Kyoko started to feel nervous, apprehension rising up within herself. She wanted to go, to leave the strange boy who was making the stranger so worried, but didn't dare to try and grab his attention and risk disappointing him again.

The teenager —Kai Kado, that was his name— just tilted his head, not even looking at the upset man. "Ho, so I was right after all? And to think it was simply a guess. Or fatalism, or experience, or a multitude of things." He chuckled, mirthlessly. "Perhaps I am simply much smarter than I give myself credit for. In the end, it doesn't really matter."

"Heretic!" the stranger screamed, his voice scratching at the sudden volume as he took a step forward, then another, until he was running, still screaming, towards Kai Kado. And leaving Kyoko all alone, shivering at the sudden cold she felt and hoping that the stranger hurt or killed the teenager, whatever got him out of the way so that the stranger would come back again.

Kado sighed with the blank expression still on his face, tilting his head to the left and reaching up to pull down the scarf, exposing his neck. Kyoko almost gasped as she saw what was hidden beneath the sheltering cloth. A long scar, pale white against the skin and stretching as far as she could see, from one side of his neck to the other. How had he gotten something like that? And how did he survive it? However he had, she couldn't help but hope that it wouldn't work this time, allowing the stranger to finish him off without issue.

The strange man was barreling towards Kado at high speeds now, reaching out with one perfectly manicured hand to grab, to tear, to rip, whatever it took. In the instant before he impacted with the strange dark-haired teenager, Kyoko saw Kado's left hand reach up towards his neck, light from a distant window reflecting off something in the darkness.

Then black erupted from between the two figures, a fountain of darkness far deeper than any moonless night. A black so perfect that Kyoko could see every color from red to blue to yellowgreengraywhitepurplepinkorange-

Then the stranger screamed, a high-pitched sound that seemed to echo off walls and the air itself, folding into itself and bouncing in every direction until it seemed like the wind was screaming with him, the whispering becoming shouting before it suddenly tapered off into a whine that just… stopped.

Kyoko blinked, realizing that she had been staring into the darkness for far too long and refocusing on the larger picture. The black, the perfect black, had shaped itself into a giant claw with fingers the size of a school bus that shrunk down into points sharp enough to pierce through a dragon's scales. The other end of the darkness was a thin slice of black that expanded into the cruel deformity of geometrical shapes and sharp angles.

And the five points of the claw were all sunk into the left side of the stranger's chest.

Kyoko felt her breath abandon her in an instant, evaporating from her lungs as her legs collapsed and deposited her onto the rough road beneath. She didn't even notice the stinging pain from her knees, her entire focus on the impaled corpse of her… what was he to her?

He was a stranger.

A friend.

An… obsession?

A lover?

A protector?

Her everything.

He was…

Something lurched deep within Kyoko's gut and she leaned over, vitriol rushing up her throat and splashing out of her mouth and onto the road. What… what had happened! She… she had almost- And he had almost- She threw up again, eyes wide in shock as her body began to shudder uncontrollably.

A wet thump sounded in the distance, barely even registering to Kyoko's ears. She… He… the wind… At this point her stomach was periodically heaving upwards, but there was nothing left, just the lurching pain and bone-deep horror of what had barely happened.

There was a slight clang from nearby before someone crouched down at the corner of Kyoko's vision, blue jeans invading her personal space. "Come on, breathe. I don't want to be blamed for two deaths."

For some reason, a demented giggle bubbled free from Kyoko's clenched throat, spilling out uncontrollably and splashing down down down onto the ground, flowing out and collecting on the road like red red red seeping into the cracks and holes of Kyoko, filling her up until she was drowning, drowning in the red red red-

A heavy palm hit Kyoko's back, breaking her out of the deep-seated fugue and closing her airway for a moment before expanding as Kyoko took in the first breath of air in what felt like hours, cold air filling her lungs as the fog that had been enshrouding her mind slowly began to clear, dissipating with each sequential breath.

"There you go! See! You're fine!" Kado's voice sounded cheery, but still had the undercurrent of carelessness, a casual tone that belied the recent events. Ignoring the blackblackblack that had-

Kyoko could feel her chest beginning to seize up again and dragged her attention away, focusing on the feel of the rough tarmac beneath her bare knees and her schoolmate chattering in the background as she forced herself to inhale again. "-I'm not a child, I can take care of myself! But she sends someone to check on me each day, and keeps coming by for 'counseling lessons,' like those will help me. Doesn't she have better things to do?"

Finally regaining a proper rhythm of breathing, Kyoko lifted her head up, coming face to face with the brown-eyed boy. "Seriously… Shut up, you're giving me a headache." He was a useless human being who hung out with the perverted solo and hassled the great ladies of Kuoh Academy. Why had he stopped to help her? And what had he even done?

Kado raised one eyebrow, the first visual sign of emotion that Kyoko had seen from him so far. "Oh, well I guess I'll just go on my way then, won't I? You seem to be perfectly fine without me, after all." He straightened to his full height and started to turn away, but Kyoko impulsively reached out and snagged his pant leg, feeling a surge of panic at the thought of being alone.

"No, stay!" Looking up into Kado's blank face, she shrunk back down into herself, but didn't let his leg go. "I mean… please, stay." She couldn't keep eye contact, looking away in shame. Here she was, the firebrand of Kuoh Academy, sunk low enough to beg an enemy for human companionship.

Nothing happened for a moment, then a sigh rang out in the silence and Kado kneeled back down. "Yeah, whatever. I'm not evil enough to abandon a girl like that. Just don't expect much out of me." Kyoko didn't, she just… didn't want to be abandoned in the dark with the stranger's corpse.

They stayed there in silence until Kyoko got herself under control, her breathing evening out as the shaking slowly diminished. She was still shaken, and couldn't stand to look at the other end of the street where the stranger's body lay, but she could breathe and she could think.

Once she was sure that she had mastered herself, she looked up at met Kado's dull brown eyes again. "Th… Thank you. You saved me."

Kado shrugged noncommittally, making his way to his feet once more. "I'm pretty sure there isn't a male teenager who wouldn't try to comfort a girl in distress." Kyoko felt the urge to reach for him again, beg him to stay, but reigned it in, pinning her arms close to her body.

It didn't feel right to just let him go though, not after he'd saved her from whatever that thing was. And she wasn't even thinking about the craziness of the night, just trying to pass it off as some kind of dream. So she raised her voice. "Thank you. For saving me, I mean." Kado didn't speak, still walking away, and Kyoko felt a kind of panic rising within her. "I guess… you're not so bad after all. Maybe I was wrong about you." He might be a pervert and a creep, but… he had saved her life, so he couldn't be a bad person. He deserved that at least.

Kado slowed to a stop, pausing for a moment before turning around. His scarf was still loose, hung around his neck like a noose and leaving the scar on the right side of his neck exposed, once again a white line with no trace of erupting darkness. "Don't."

"D-Don't what?" Kyoko asked, drawing her legs in closer to her and struggling to her feet. "Did I do something wrong?" Something

"Don't change your opinion of me because of this. Whether I'm a pervert, a jerk, a womanizer, or whatever else you and your friends call me behind my back has nothing to do with this." Kado turned back to the front and reached up to his neck, tugging the scarf tighter to hide his injury. "Hate me, curse me, blame me, loathe me, ignore me, swear revenge on me, whatever you like. In the end, it doesn't really matter. But you decide what you think of me, don't base it off my actions."

Kado resumed walking without looking back and within moments had rounded a corner and disappeared from Kyoko's sight.

Kyoko, finally standing on her own two feet, stared after where he used to be before blinking and shaking her head. "Idiot," she mumbled softly, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Of course I'm not going to change my mind about you just because of something like this."

It was true, she still hated him. So why did she feel such a strong longing to follow him?

End AN: I had something like this planned for Kyoko since I first created her before the Riser arc, but really just couldn't find a way to fit it into the story without displacing something else or ruining the pacing. But then I had the idea of doing it as a kind of interlude to showcase something that might affect the plot at some point, and also to demonstrate a few of the changes that happened to Kado.

Incidentally, in my mind the creature that Kado killed was a Siren who had fought in the Great War on the Old Devils side, survived but was on the run.

As you can see, Kado is still alive.

As you hopefully also saw, Kioko is not.

The game has changed. And this isn't a game. And this metaphor sucks.

See you next time.