Issei watched the fallen angel dig a deep furrow into the ground with her body as she fell with all the velocity of a missile. That didn't hold his attention too long though as the screams that tore out Minako's throat rattled the priorities of his attention.

He ran towards her, worriedly screaming her name. The complete opposite to what she had commanded him to do while he stood transfixed with fear. His feet scrambled over the terrain uneven with all the explosions tossed about, and he practically fell to Minako's side as he took her in his arms. She was still screaming, and folding into herself. The pain so great that even with her exhibited superhuman constitution, she could not help but utterly break down.

She was flailing in her agony, deathgrip on the makeshift weapon long relinquished in her struggles against a phantom foe she could not beat away. Issei felt her hands hit his chest, but they had none of the hammer like impact he expected them to have, not after what he'd seen. With every passing moment it felt like he was cradling a struggling child in his arms than a growing young woman. It frightened him more than he thought it would, more than dying, more than being rejected by Yuuma when he convinced himself the fallen angel was his soulmate.

This was terrifying to him on a whole new level because Minako Arisato had been the invincible wall in his life. She always stood in his and his compatriots' way, the consistent mountain they had to overcome in order to achieve their goals. He didn't hate her for it, no. Rather, he had been secretly relishing the challenge. Secret even to himself. Losing her was losing a daily part of his life. It was at this moment where Issei realized exactly how important Minako was to him.

Issei determinedly grabbed the one hand flailing about and held it strongly in his. "Arisato! Arisato!" She did not respond and continued to thrash about. He squeezed her hand and pressed it palm flat against her abdomen's cauterized wound. "Minako!"

Her screams began to wane, Minako's glassy gaze began to focus and she blinked a few times before she successfully fought off the pain and stuttered out a single word. "Issei...kun?"

The young man smiled in relief. Gladness gave a soft edge to his lips as he nodded, "Yeah, it's me Arisato."

"That's... great... I'm- glad." she continued to force out through stabs of pain evident on her laboured expression. It quickly took on the look of sternness though and she had enough energy to scold, "Why didn't you-guh- run away?"

Issei held her hand tightly, "I couldn't leve you like this." Then he gave a wry smile before continuing, "besides, I was so scared I couldn't move."

That got a laugh out of Minako. The pleasant sound prompting Issei to give a chuckle of his own. That moment was cut short by Minako's giggles turning into a coughing fit with blood leaping off her tongue.

"Arisato!", Issei shouted in alarm. "Stay with me!"

The arm connected to the roasted shoulder reached up shakily and gripped Issei's sleeve with a shaky grip. "Don't... worry...", Minako reassured him in a shaky rasp. "I'm okay."

Issei wanted to say that she wasn't, that her shoulder was burnt through and she had a hole in her stomach the size of his fist. But he didn't say those, instead he just nodded, "Yeah. You're okay."

Minako nodded, "Good." She bit back a scream as every fiber of her being protested her action of getting up. She stood on wobbly feet, a testament to her willpower as the totality ofher wounds would have killed a man three time over. In the end, reality won over willpower and the injured girl tipped over. Warm arms caught her as she leaned into the solid body that saved her from the fall She breathed heavily and turned to her savior with half-focused eyes and a shaky smile, "You should get out of here. I have to finish this."

"Finish?", Issei grunted as he held her steady, "But Yuuma's already-"

Crumbling dirt and crunching grass sounded meters away from the two. The pair's eyes snapping towards the crash site of the fallen angel who was now recovering from the intense impact.

"This is ridiculous.", Issei breathed.

This wasn't fair at all. Minako looked like she'd been tossed through the grinder, coming out less than worst for wear. Raynare on the other hand had no visible wounds. Not even a bruise on the forehead which should have been caved in from the strength of the hit it took, with a lamp post no less! The only thing indicative of anything bad ever happening to the fallen angel was the torn top and harsh breathing which was more telling of a mad rush through the woods instead of combat capable of landscaping a small prairie.

Issei caught Minako's eye and told her firmly, "We have to get out of here."

The girl shook her head, "We won't be fast enough." She smiled sweetly, reaching up with her one good hand in an attempt at comfort, "I'll slow her down while you get away okay?"

"You're hurt.", Issei simply pointed out.

Minako gave a small laugh, "Didn't you see? I'm a lot tougher than I look."

"I'm looking right now and all I see is you badly hurt!", Issei finally let loose in frustration. "Why can't you care about yourself for a minute instead of me? This whole time, the reason you couldn't fight back correctly, the reason you're hurt like this, and the reason you want to stay behind. It's all me isn't it? You don't want me to get hurt. You care even if I don't deserve it! I was horrible to you not even an hour ago and here you are trying to give your life for me." A lone tear dropped down the corner of Issei's right eye. "Stop it with these shonen hero one liners and heroic sacrifices. I should be the only shonen hero around here! I should be the one with the awesome powers, saving damsels and turning them into part of my harem! I should be the one saying cheesy one liners and striking cool poses. I should be the one to sacrifice their life." Issei bowed his head in powerless despair, "I- I still have to make things up to you."

"But what can you do for me now Issei?", she looked at him with sadness and regret. "Fighting will only end up with both of us dying and all this struggle would've been for nothing. I'm already one foot in the grave but you still have all the chances to get away."

His gaze fell over the myriad wounds all over Minako's body. All the exposed skin he would normally salivate over in lust now marred with guilt inducing and nauseating wounds of such horrific kin that he was surprised he hadn't thrown up yet. Issei felt horrible and it showed on his face.

"Look.", Minako plastered on a forced but genuine smile, "I don't hate you. I don't blame you. To me, you are still an irreplaceable friend, that's why I chose to protect you as I fought. The reason I fought, the reason I continued to fight wasn't just to protect you but also your heart. So please, don't make this kind of face now."

…

"I want to protect you."

Minako's brandy tinted eyes widened at the declaration. "Issei-", she breathed his name in surprise.

The young man did not meet her searching gaze, but he spoke. "You asked me what I can do, but the only answer I had was nothing. I can't do anything. So instead I asked myself what I wanted to do and there was only one answer.", he raised his head as if to show her the determination in his eyes, "I want to protect you."

Minako was surprised. She had expected him to say something like that, but not with such intensity; not with such spirited eyes. She watched him for a moment, once more searching. Then she smiled, "Looks like you're resolved to do this." She said this in resignation.

Issei nodded with no hesitation, "I am."

"You're not rushing into it either. You really thought about this.", Minako continued.

"I did."

The clerk looked up at him, her smile not leaving. He was serious and nothing she could say would change his mind. Ofcourse, she could not possibly leave this to him in good conscience. He was a normal person, fighting against something even her superhuman strength could not overcome. But something in Issei's eyes made her believe. There was strength inside him that had not been tapped trying to burst out. Maybe it was just his bravado but for some reason Minako wanted to trust him on this one.

She raised one hand and Issei gave her an odd look before copying her stance. She quickly snapped forward and clapped that raised hand with her own in a high five. "I'm tagging you in.". She stepped past the shocked young man, her words quietly echoing in his ear, "It's your turn this time, shonen hero."

Issei turned to follow her with his eyes but saw her fall unconscious moments after passing the fight to him. He caught her in his arms before she hit the ground and gently laid her down. Despite the sudden sedation by all her wounds, Minako looked peaceful. As if she'd fallen asleep instead of fainting mid-step. With an angry sigh Issei promised this girl, "I got it." He looked up to glare at the recovering fallen angel. "This time, I'll be the hero and save you. No, I'll save us!" Issei got up and stood between his ex-girlfriend and the girl who protected him.

Raynare was pissed. She could not believe that a human could push her this far. No, she refused to believe it! Even though the fallen angel had incurred no wounds in their skirmish thus far, the human had struck her clean twice. That was unthinkable to someone like her who should be worlds above that vermin. She was a fallen angel for cryng out loud while that child was human. "Graaaagh!", she screamed.

The angry fallen grabbed at the ruined front of her shirt and tore the whole thing off cleanly. The uneven draft and the sticky flapping of soil encrusted cloth was annoying her. She kicked the damp ruined rag in her temper and would have proceeded in vaporizing if she wasn't so spent from this damned fight.

As much as Raynare did not want to admit it, she was running low on energy; and she meant dangerously low. The fallen felt that she could probably make only about two or three more energy lances solid enough to throw; and those would be inert save for their natural holy properties. After that she would have to resort to killing with her bare-hands or force herself to make more lances, another one of which would make her faint from the strain.

Raynare screamed, livid in remembering exactly in how dire straights she was placed just because of a human.

She threw a venomous glare to her opponent, hungry for the end of this farce. But instead her eyes beheld that the impudent girl was down. Lying on the ground like a corpse prepared for its burial was the girl. Confusion and a sharp sense of joy crashed into her horrid mood for a second. The mortal was down, but she spotted the only other human standing before her and those emotions battling for dominance fell in line to give amusement enough leeway to plant a sadistic grin on her face.

"Kukukukukukukukuku kahahahahahahahaha!", Raynare tilted her head back with unrestrained laughter. "Finally.", she ranted, "Finally!" She leveled a glare in Minako's direction, "Guess humans still are a frail bunch." The fallen continued to shake in her mirth. "Just goes to show how worthless maggots like you really are. Truly not worth the love given to you by the great Father. Hahahahahahaha!", Raynare spread her arms and wings, "Come now human! Where is your bravado? You talked earlier as if you were my superior but look at you now. Dead."

"She's not dead."

"-!?"

Issei had watched the spectacle of Raynare taunting the unconscious Minako long enough. "Minako's not dead", the young man repeated.

"Oh?", Raynare paused in mock surprise. "Then I should probably fix that. After all, lying is a sin."

"Shut up! You're not laying a finger on her anymore!", the young man courageously stepped forth. "I won't let you have your way Yuuma."

Pffftt..." Raynare suddenly sounded, "Ahahahahaha!", and laughed. "Do you- Do you even hear yourself talk? That's so lame", Raynare taunted. "I've better heard lines from lesser mortals. You won't let me have my way? Do you honestly think you have the kind of power to back those words up? Or maybe you think the power of love between Yuuma and Issei will conquer all odds?"

Issei's curled fists held even tighter. He knew the task was impossible, he didn't have even a quarter of the strength Minako had but...

I asked myself what I wanted to do and there was only one answer.

But...

I want to protect you.

But-

I'm tagging you in.

But!

It's your turn this time, shonen hero.

Issei faced forward, whatever ignorance and naivety was on his face before. All of that shifted now into one emotion, one thought and one purpose: determination. "But that girl trusted me.", he said more to himself than Raynare, "Even though she knew full well I didn't have any kind of power, she trusted me." He clutched at his heart, wondering why he felt warmth flow from it. Empowering warmth that spread from the core of his very being to the tips of his fingers. "So... I'm going!"

Issei rushed forward fast as his feet could carry him. His throat screaming out his resolve as he took a clumsy swing at the girl he though he would love for the rest of his life. His wild swing missed with a simple side-step from Raynare. She stuck one foot out and easily tripped up the young man.

To his credit, Issei had managed to recover his balance well enough not to fall flat on his face. He turned back only to see the fallen angel's taunting face. She did not attack him with his back turned, showing how little she regarded him as a threat. Raynare even bade him come hither with one finger before dragging it seductively over her pale chest and right to the edge of her bra cup, mockingly taunting him to take a peek.

For some reason that only angered Issei. She was mocking the ease of manipulating him with lust. And for some reason when he thought of that he could only see the figure of Minako laying on the grass, scorched, wounded, dying. All because she was trying to protect him from some otherworldly murderer out for his head. A murderer that made him fall for her just by acting a little cute and rubbing up to him. Even his perverted friends had warned him! Why was he such an idiot?

He charged forward, again in vain and Raynare just smiled, took her sweet time in lowering the bra cup less than a millimeter to scandalous before dancing around Issei's lumbering punch. Clearly the young man wasn't a fighter. This time Issei didn't miss a beat and spun around to throw a wide swing, hoping to catch her somehow.

As many times Issei tries to hit her, he fails each attempt only to end with her dancing around him every single time. Sometimes with a mocking bump, slap, poke or tripping foot. It could not be clearer that she was toying with him.

"You know.", Raynare dodged once more with ease. "You're putting in more effort than I thought you would." the fallen began to laugh gleefully. "Are you really fighting for that girl? To fight so desperately, I can only imagine it's because you're terrified of dying."

The thought never came to Issei. Sure, at first he was afraid, but now there was something far more terrifying stirring in his gut. He knew he couldn't fail because of that feeling. It wasn't death, but something far more terrifying.

Raynare laughed as she had a little more fun with her prey. She dodged Issei's short right straight and pulled him in with one arm. She held him close to her half-naked body and seductively whispered in his ear, "You know. Throwing that kind of punch usually requires you stepping in."

The fallen could see the indignant teen's retort being prepared and she shoved him roughly before he could get it out. That meant sending him flying a good half dozen meters skidding into grass.

"You know, I was planning to kill you real quickly.", Raynare tossed backwild strands of hair hanging before her eyes. "But I've changed my mind.", her smiled turned sickeningly sweet, "I'm going to drag this out as long as I can. After seeing that girl so broken. I feel like playing a little hihihihi!"

Fingers bunched up into a fist, curling into the soil.

"First I'm going to kill you, then I'll tear that girl limb from limb."

The fist shook.

"No, maybe I'll kill her first and make you watch!"

It tore into the toughened soil as if none of it was reinforced by the interlacing network of grass roots.

"Ah! I know the perfect way to end this date.", Raynare clapped her hands. "Why don't I rape that girl in front of you then take off her head? I'll even let you kiss her before you suffer the same fate." She smiled dreamily as she imagined the scene. "Oh, which mouth would you like to kiss though? I'm sure it would be that one right? Hahahaha!"

Issei pushed himself off the soil. That feeling in his stomach that he'd been pushing down since Raynare's question finally surging forth. She asked him if he were afraid to die; he wasn't. He was terrified of something else. He was terrified of being powerless, of being stuck as the guy watching the girl protect him. He was terrified he couldn't protect Minako. And hearing all of Raynare' intentions, he just-

He slammed one angry fist into the ground.

I want power

THUMP

I want to be stronger

THUMP

I want to win

THUMP

I want to protect someone

Issei turned his glare to Raynare.

I want to be the hero!

As if something in the deepest reaches of his soul responded, the warmth from before that empowered him came back. Only this time more intense. It was no longer the gentle heat from before. Now, it felt like a scorching flame. He stood up, but felt no pain. It was hot but not burning. Intense but not painful. It was destructive but creating. Annihilating that calm reasoning that proclaimed the truth of "Hyoudou Issei cannot win against the fallen angel Raynare." and creating an unreasonable confidence that said "I will be the hero!"

Raynare on the other hand could not sense the changing air around the human Issei. She was too busy, fussing over carrying out her plans. "Oh", she thought out loud, "If I'm going to be doing something so fun, I should probably change into something more comfortable." She smiled and let what little clothes she was wearing disappear in a flash of light. She let her nudity linger for a second too long, hoping to elicit some kind of reaction out of the pervert but nothing.

Too bad for him, her body was to die for.

With an audible pop and flashes of purple light, strips of back leather formed themselves into things that could barely qualify as clothes. Wrapping around the fel angel's breasts and crotch in strips so thin she may as well be just wearing a collection of band-aids. The ensemble was made only slightly ominous with the inclusion of chain links that kept them together and spiked pauldrons you'd only see in a post-apocalyptic setting. Raynare took a step forward in newly formed black leather boots, "Now I'm fully prepared to violate that little flower, don't you think?"

Issei still did not show any sign of replying. Heck he showed no sign of comprehending any of the fallen's words or actions save for the gleam in his eyes.

Raynare finally paused, her good mood dissolving into an unsightly glare as she howled to the human, "What the hell is with this silent act? Are you trying to act all cool now? And those sickening eyes- Do you realy think you still stand a chance against me? Face reality!"

"Yeah.", Issei nodded, "I'll face reality." He held up his right hand, burning with an itch to sink it right into the black-winged one's cheek. "I'll face the reality where I become a hero!" grim determination faded into a lop-sided grin as a promise crossed his mind, "A shonen hero!"

"Shonen hero?", Raynare sneered. "Is that so?", she paused in her distaste and smiled. She spread out her arms and wings grandiosely as if to embrace him. "Come at me then! Show me if you can really be a hero! And I will show you exactly where you stand dog! Licking the soles of my boot."

Issei did not honor that with a response. He merely pulled back his right arm and leveled his fist with his head. "Here I come."

Issei rushed forward as did Raynare. As a matter of humor, she thought to let Issei know the pain of being stabbed by a lance of light. Little energy as she had, she believed there was no way he could dodge it. So she drew energy into her hand and formed it into one lance. She let it sail, barely using any strength in the throw. Even if she was lazy in the execution, there was no way a weak human like Issei could dodge her attack.

He defied her expectations completely when his eyes widened a fraction and kicked off one foot in a strafe. The lance didn't even nick the boy's shoe as it glided by the young man's leg in what should have been a pinning impalement. Surprise from such an event caused Raynare to backpedal to a stop. It only served to encourage Issei though and he continued his charge with resolve in every step.

Impossible- Not again! This can't be happening again!

Raynare couldn't believe that Issei had dodged her lance. He couldn't have- No! It was luck, just dumb luck. She was just careless, that's right, careless. In the next second after that lance, she produced her next lance and resolved to properly throw it. She let the energy fly before Issei could take the next step after that dodge. He would not be able to move in mid-air at that speed. Raynare would hit him in the shoulder and it would be her victory. However she did not take into account maneuvering, because Issei crumpled out of the way and fell into a roll on the ground, leaving the lance without a target.

Again! This- GRAAAAAGH!

Images of the earlier fight came back to Raynare. The way Minako stood against her confidently, matching her movements, dodging and deflecting her attacks like they stood still in the face of her perception. It was infuriating, as much as it was terrifying. Did humans really have this potential?

Raynare's mask of confidence broke down into something akin to panic. "No! I won't accept this!", she roared as the steel in Issei's eyes echoed that of which she saw in the girl.

Issei ended the roll in a stand. He didn't know why but a fall like that would have normally hurt him, but he didn't feel it at all this time. All he could feel was the heat, the gathering formless flame in his limbs that propelled him forward. He read on some forums that people during great stress or great pleasure release chemicals in the body that makes them do amazing things. He wondered if he was feeling the same kind of thing? Everything was kind of slowing down and every breath he took felt very meticulous to his mind, perfectly planned and optimized. But his dash forward was anything but clean. He watched the fear grow in the fel angel's eyes and the third lance of light that materialized in her hand. That wouldn't help her.

He was slow, oh so slow compared to what she was used to. But the ferocity in his steps, the memory of that girl dodging her attacks, of meeting a match in a mere human. It inspired dread Raynare never knew existed inside of her. It made her doubt the core truth of her existence. It made her think that maybe she was less than these humans, weaker, less worthy of being loved, useless.

"I'm superior to you damned little humans!", she roared with a snap of her wrist sending the spear flying true.

The thing with being closer to an enemy dependent of ranged combat was not an advantage in terms of getting too close for that ranged weapon to attack. Issei had not known it but his instincts had led him on to the secondary advantage of getting close in with a ranged attacker, and that was the ease of reading the incoming attack. The surging youth did not plan or realize it at all, but everything clicked in his mind as natural as breathing, as seeing, as feeling. The way Raynare raised her hand, the position of her shoulder, the way her arm was swinging. He could easily identify the direction it would go and with his foot firmly planted on the ground, he was in a position to go anywhere but in that spear's path.

The lance flew straight for his abdomen and Raynare could see the young man could dodge neither left nor right because positioning and velocity wise, the spear would still clip him in the flank. Advantage was hers. But once again he defied her expectations. He moved neither left nor right, he jumped! The spear flew at a light descent and Issei used that to his advantage. With the lance aimed right above his groin, jumping with the correct timing would put the lance right between his legs.

Of course things never seem quite to go according to plan. The lance connected and pierced Issei's left thigh. There should have been enough force to run is limb through but the lance was stuck in there, burning his flesh. Force that should have cleanly allowed the spear to enter and exit freely dissipated in mid-air and forced Issei into a spin. Pain coursed through Issei's body like venom, but the heat was still greater. He fought down that horrific agony and let it mix with his anger and anguish in one cry of battle as he crossed the remaining distance between him and Raynare.

"OORRRAAAAAAAA!"

"DON'T GET COCKY!"

Raising her arms up was futile, but rage and indignation had already consumed Raynare. There was very little sense left in her as she prepared a fourth energy spear that should have been clearly beyond her current stores of energy. She watched him extend his right arm in a fist reaching out to punch her. And she raised her own malformed lance to strike him.

A flash of red lights and sparks blinded the fel angel for a fraction of a moment. Then she felt it before she could see it. Red armor braced around the dog's arm. A fully scaled crimson bracer with a green gem encrusted at the back of his palm.

Sacred Gear

Fist slammed into cheek and lance pierced lung as both combatant exchanged attacks. Issei cracked back like a whip, coughing up blood as he did so. But Raynare was not much better off. Defying the laws of physics, a secondary phantom blow exploded against a dazed Raynare's cheek like a delayed reaction that sent her flying through a copse of old hardened trees. The sounds of ancient wooden trunks snapping rumbled like thunder off in the distance. The distance of her flight could be seen from the length of the dust trail kicked up by all the fallen timber.

Issei fell to the ground, coughing up blood. The burning lances of light had dissipated and were no longer plugging up his wounds. Prolonged contact didn't allow for cauterization so he ended up bleeding from two holes the size of ping pong balls on his chest and on his thigh. Whatever high was empowering him back then was gone. Blunted pain which he hadn't noticed until now became as apparent as sticking a hot knife through his eye. But for all that pain, Issei could not scream. He couldn't even breath, what with one piereced lung and all.

He fought for what little air he could get and tried getting up to no avail. Issei cursed in his mind. He just punched Raynare once. That shouldn't have been enough to beat her. At least, that's what should have been his natural way of thinking. The only thing running through his mind in regards to Raynare was that it was all done. He won. And for all his poor academics, Issei was smart enough to not believe that gut instinct at once. But while he was in the air he could see the trail of destruction Raynare made as she cut down tree after tree with her own body. Seeing as she hadn't recovered already and killed him, he assumed she must've been dead or at least incapacitated.

Issei raised his right arm and stared at it. It was red with blood, not with scales. The young man swore he saw red scales on his arms when he hit the fallen angel, but they weren't there now. He closed his eyes and decided to think about it later. Right now he had to get himself and Minako to the hospital.

…

Oh sh-

Issei remembered that he couldn't move. The wounds to his body were bad and with the pain numbing strength from before gone, he was completely out of energy. Thinking on it now, it was amazing for him to have even lifted his arm up for inspection.

Struggling, he turned his head from his place on the ground to catch a glimpse of the fallen Minako. Her body was still covered in all those brutal cuts and burns. He had to get them to the hospital somehow or else they were both dead. All that struggling for nothing.

Crap. If this is the result then what the heck was he fighting for?

Such were Issei's last thoughts as exhaustion kicked in and his world faded to black.

Buried beneath lumber, Raynare lay immobile. She had used too much energy making that last lance and now she was suffering for it with the inability to move. Compared to her adversaries, she had gotten off light. A bruise from the punch she receive in exchange for sticking that lance and nothing more. But still, a defeat is a defeat and for a fallen angel like her, that should have been something to be raving death about.

"So that was it.", she breathed. "That was the sacred gear Azazel had been so worried about. Hahahahaha."

Instead she was laughing happily.

"I knew those sacred gears were amazing but to think a filthy human could transcend the difference in power with them.", the fel angel grinned, "What more of fallen?"

When Issei opened his eyes, the first thing that came out of his mouth was-

"ARISATO!"

Not surprising when you consider the last thing he saw was the still wounded form of his classmate. He looked around and realized that he was no longer in the park. Pain arced through his chest and he grabbed at it in reflex. He was perplexed to feel gauze instead of cotton. Looking down, he realized that he was all bandaged up over his bare chest. Looking around, he also realized that despite the sheer whiteness of the room, this was not heaven at all. It looked like a hospital room, only far too small. Besides, what kind of heaven would it be if all the angels looked like Arisato? Just like the one sleeping at his bedside-

Wait what?

Issei's eyes snapped onto the smaller form of a girl curling up onto his cot from the chair she sat on. The coppery red brown ponytail was telling. There was no mistaking this girl for anyone other than Minako Arisato.

On the surface, she looked no worse than the usual wearing her Kuoh Academy uniform. But underneath her collar, Issei could see bandages. She was still hurt and yet she was tending to him. It touched his heart and his hand automatically moved to pat her on the head in tha-

WHAT THE HELL KIND OF SHOUJO MANGA DEVELOPMENT WAS THIS!?

Pain throbbed in Issei's head as the room spun with vertigo. He grabbed at it in alarm, wondering if he somehow got a head injury because he didn't remember getting clocked there.

"You shouldn't move so much. You've been out for a week and sudden movements will just cause blood to rush to your head. Whatever dizziness you feel now is only natural.", a scruffy old man entered through the only door in the room.

Though Issei described him as scruffy, that was only as far as the stubbled face of the man. The man seemed to be in his mid-thirties, but carried himself with all the importance of a teenager. He was odd but there was still something plenty dignified about him. Perhaps the weird ensemble of a plain kimono worn underneath a lab coat had something to do with it.

The man noticed Issei's studying gaze and smiled easily. "There's no need to be so confused. I'm the proprietor of this clinic you're in."

"So... you're a doctor?", Issei tried.

"Geez... he's your doctor. Be a bit more respectful would you?", another voice drawled into the conversation. It was a young man around Issei's age. Unlike Issei who had dark brown hair in rising spikes, the other teen had sandy blonde hair in a spiky mop.

Brown eyes snapped into attention to the elder man. "Oh, I see. Sorry if I was being rude.", the injured youth bowed, "I'm really thankful for the help."

The man waved it off and smiled, "No problem. Just doing my part to help."

Issei let the doctor check the nearby drip bag and charts while he squinted his eyes, trying to get a fix on the new entrant. The new guy looked very familiar to him. "Do I know you?", the bed-ridden teen questioned his standing counterpart.

The young man was just hanging up his blazer when he fixed Issei with an annoyed glance. "I'm Saji Genshirou. Minako's co-worker at 24/7. I go to Kuoh just like you."

Recognition lit up in Issei's eyes. "You're the guy who hangs around Arisato right? I see you two together a lot of times."

Saji didn't look the least bit happy in being recognized but Issei didn't notice. He nodded stiffly, "That's not hard to believe. I see you being dragged around a lot by Minako-san too."

"Hasn't the whole school?", Issei laughed awkwardly at the embarrassing confession.

It was a fact everyone saw him and the rest of the perverted trio being beaten around by Minako whenever they tried to peek on any of the girls. It was easy to put up bravado when nobody was asking about it. Heck they were even proud of their exploits. But to be confronted, even subtly, was a bit harder to swallow than he thought.

…

School...

"Ah!", Issei suddenly screamed, surprising the doctor who was now holding a stethoscope to the young man's chest, checking for any problems with the punctured lung. He turned to the surprised elder gentleman and asked, "You said that I was here for a week already right?"

The doctor blinked a few times in confusion, "Well... yes. That should be obvious with your injuries."

The panicked youth grabbed at his head. "Crap, oh crap, oh crap, oh crap. I've been missing from school for a week and my parents must be looking for me right no-"

"I told your parents the school had you take a month long study camp with a classmate because your grades were so abysmal. Thankfully, with your records they believed it all too easily.", Saji interjected. "As for the school... we listed you under dengue fever."

"That's life threatening isn't it!?"

"Only if you don't treat it immediately.", the doctor answered. "I came up with it." Then the man engaged into a thoughtful pose, "Though it hasn't happened in Japan for nearly a centu-"

"So I have some kind of exotic disease now?"

Saji suddenly slapped a hand over Issei's loud mouth with a shush. "Quiet. Minako is still sleeping."

Issei nodded in frightened understanding from the glare Saji was giving him. The other young man slipped a blanket over the dozing girl and sighed, "Really. You should be thankful we even helped you make an excuse."

Issei drooped helplessly, "Excuse me if I just wished to not be gawked at like some sort of circus freak due to circumstances out of my control."

"You do well enough with circumstances in your control.", Saji pointed out the vile view of women on Issei due to his perverted reputation.

"Grhk.", Issei flinched back from the truth. Indeed, women saw his existence as the plague, one of the reason he quickly jumped onto the Yuuma bandwagon the second she asked him to be her boyfriend. He turned his gaze over to the sleeping form of Minako. She was the only one to befriend him properly, even knowing what kind of pervert he was before deciding to be his friend. She was really one of a kind, now that he thought about it.

The injured youth's eyes lingered on the girl's peeking bandages. Her wounds must've been worse than hers. It was amazing how she could walk around now before he could when the last time he saw her she was...

He suddenly remembered the moment just before he passed out. "Oh.", Issei exclaimed lightly. Both of them had been so badly injured that neither could move. Minako had actually passed out before he did. Who could have brought them to this clinic?

Issei turned to Saji. Only he could be Issei and Minako's common benefactor. "Thanks for getting us to the hospital Saji.", the injured youth thanked from the bottom of his heart.

The other young man was busy fixing up a vase of flowers. "Don't thank me.", he intoned, back facing Issei. "I wouldn't even have known you two were so badly hurt until she carried you in to the store bleeding all over the place.", sounds of snapping stems cracked in the near silent room. "You should thank her."

The grateful expression on Issei's face suddenly took on one of wonderment and horror. Minako had carried him out of the park and back to the convenience store. And with wounds like hers... he couldn't imagine how bad it must've hurt.

"It was actually amazing to see the two of you still alive.", the doctor suddenly chimed in. He rubbed at the beginnings of a goatee with interest a few intensities short of glee. "Especially that girl.", the doctor pointed his chin over to Minako. "You had a punctured lung and a half-gone femur but amazingly both healed up within the week. Though not completely you can see that you're not drowning without machines being attached to you and your leg doesn't have metal plates screwing your bones into one coherent piece." The doctor paused and jumped a few pages in his charts. "She was no less remarkable herself. Punctured stomach, abdominal muscles and liver. Her spine had shown signs of violent disturbance and severance of a kidney. Punctured shoulder and heavy cuts interspersed through much of her body. Her bleeding wounds had shown signs of cauterization and tearing, likely due to the stress she put on them after getting injured. Not to mention the combined amount of blood lost by you two should've killed over five people already." The doctor shook his head. "I'd be reporting this to the medical community already if the whole thing weren't so preposterous."

He continued to rant on but Issei wasn't listening anymore. He shifted his gaze from Minako to the hand that hit Raynare through a few hundred meters of foliage. He and Minako were miracle cases by the standards of the normal. But this wasn't normal, Issei knew this wasn't normal. Raynare with her wings, claiming to be a fallen angel. Minako pulling out that lamp post easy as picking daisies. And himself punching a woman into the horizon. This wasn't normal, but it wasn't a miracle either. Something was changing, and he had to figure it out.

"Oh yes, before I forget again, this is your hospital bill."

A sheaf of papers was shoved into Issei's hands and he gave the doctor the stink eye for such rough treatment. Once he turned to the bill, his face turned white as the sheets covering him.

Genshirou Saji walked out the Haguro Clinic with a bitter taste in his mouth. He had just come from visiting his friend and her bone-headed companion. His lips drew taut into a tight line.

Issei Hyoudou

Foremost pervert of Kuoh highschool and regular punching bag of his friend Minako Arisato. Why were they so hurt when they appeared at the store? Why were they together? Minako hadn't explained anything and just asked for his help. It was just good luck on their part they knew this one doctor who didn't mind keeping things hush hush, because if Minako didn't want to tell him what happened, Saji doubted she would tell doctors or anyone else.

It also helped that this practitioner was also good. Despite claiming the two injured teens as miracle cases, he had done a pretty amazing job helping them along as well. There wasn't a time when the doctor looked at his wits end, just really focused. Even though he claimed to be strictly a veterinarian.

Still, back to Issei. Saji wasn't happy about the young man's appearance. Especially not in such a dangerous situation. What if the cause of their injuries was Issei himself? Saji didn't want to think about it. Minako had come around a few hours after her operation and spoken to him the day after. The three of them had cut classes and Saji was tasked with making excuses of their absence stick. This meant that Minako and Issei were usually alone in the clinic for practically the whole week. That wouldn't have been a problem normally, but why was Minako sitting vigilantly at Issei's bedside? Why did she look so broken up about that stupid pervert?

Even when he went to visit her, she was curled up against his bed, likely after another sleepless night of watching over the male brunette. It irked Saji for many reasons, but mostly it angered him because he didn't think Issei Hyoudou deserved it. Didn't deserve Minako's attention.

She was sweet, he was crass. She was caring, he lacked tact. She was innocent and he had all the perverseness of a convicted criminal.

Saji didn't know what happened, so he didn't dare speak out. But in his heart he believed that Issei didn't deserve what Minako was showing him. He believed that Issei would only hurt his best friend. And there was no way he would ever let that happen.

At least, after this week, everything would go back to normal. Issei wouldn't be hanging around Minako anymore.

~one week later~

"You've got to be kidding me.", Saji shook his head disbelievingly as he stood at the entrance of the 24/7 branch he worked.

"Hmm?", In front of the sandy blonde was a familiar young man with dark brown spiky hair. He was wearing the 24/7 male uniform and mopping up the floors. "Oh Saji, you're late."

"Wh-... What are you doing here!?", Saji exploded.

"Ah! Saji-kun.", Minako appeared from the back room with a smile and a greeting. "Hm? Oh, I guess you know Issei-kun from school right?"

"We talked a few times during my stay at the clinic too.", Issei explained further. "Don't you remember?"

"Hmmm...", Minako pressed her index fingers to her temples and gently drilled at them like a child would. "I don't really remember. I know talking either to you or Saji, but never you two at the same time."

"Is that so?", Issei rubbed his chin.

That was because Saji had made it a point to avoid Issei, but that's besides the point. "Anyway, why is Issei-san wearing the store uniform?", he asked his fellow clerk.

"So it's that.", Minako paused in her childish action and pressed a finger to her chin. "Well... the doctor from Haguro clinic charged us the bill and I paid mine up. But Issei's bill was pretty big and he didn't want me to pay for him, neither did he want to ask his parents for money. So now he's working here part time to help pay for the bill. Everything works out well doesn't it?"

"No, it doesn't!", Saji practically screamed. His assumptions of Minako being safe and away from this pervert after that week completely shattered. "Why was he stationed here specifically? A two man shift is normal for such a slow traffic branch right?"

Minako gave a sheepish smile, "As it turns out, the higher ups saw Issei was also a Kuoh student like us and thought we'd get along easily. Not to mention this branch is close to the school."

"So it's like that huh?", Saji hung his head in despair.

Oblivious to all the doom and gloom around the blonde, Issei swung one arm over Saji's shoulder and happily announced, "Well, looks like we'll be working together from now on. I'll be counting on you senpai!"

Saji could only groan in disappointment.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: To all those who've read this far, thank you for your patronage. For those who came back to continue reading this fic, thank you for your support. This concludes Issei's introduction arc. Sorry if it was too long for such few events. I think there was a lot more emotion involved in Issei's relationship with Yuuma or Raynare than initially shown during their fake date. At some points it would appear that Yuuma did have feelings for Issei and truth is I would like to think she did. Though those emotions were not of love but more of possessiveness, that Issei is hers. To her he is like a pet, or rather more like a toy. That's why on some level I wanted to show she had some affection for him initially and yet has no problem tormenting him in the last part.

Anyway this was an update a long time coming but there were other random things popping up like Kantai Collection and real life. I've actually started a habit of writing long fics by the arc. That's why the chapters come in groups now rather than one at a time. I don't know why but I think it helps my productivity. Maybe.

For all of you disappointed with the fighting Minako showed, I understand that it might be a deal breaker for you. But I'm the kind of person who always has a plan, and always has a head canon/plot related reason why certain characters don't use their full power. For Minako, she can't. She just plain can't.

In the current meta of my understanding, there is absolutely nothing in the DxD universe that can match up to the Universe. Or at least how the Universe Arcana works in my head. That is one reason why she cannot use her persona. The second reason is that using her persona will cause dire repercussions to her. To those in the know, she lost a lot in her own timeline. This time it might be just worse. Third reason is because her persona ability is sealed by a mechanic that exists inside the persona lore. If you can figure it out then I congratulate you.

Overall, I still plan to have Minako use her persona abilities in their full splendor during her personal arc. But until then, the people will have to be patient. Instead, I'll be focusing on other aspects of her that I believe make her awesome. Like for instance, her naginata yamato nadeshiko-fu. I want her to display the same leadership skills that got SEES through Tartarus as well as her awesome charisma in social settings.

If you're wondering why she has super strength and endurance despite having her persona abilities sealed. All I can say is that it's related to what allowed her into the world of Highschool DxD. It's also the reason why none of the *overpowered* equipments show up.

Anyway, the next arc will also be a character introduction arc. Hope you guys enjoy it. You can probably guess who gets the personal arc treatment next anyway. It will coincide with saving Asia arc.