DISCLAIMER: High School DxD belongs to Ichiei Ishibumi and Star Wars belongs to Disney (Unfortunately). The scenario and original characters are mine.

Chapter II

Fated Beginnings

Near Kuoh Town, 2012 A.D. (16ABY)

The training remote twitched to the left, paused, then shot to the right. It paused one more time before letting off a shot at an older Issei Hyōdō. Issei blocked the remote's blast with the lightsaber gifted to him three years ago by Vader. The lightsaber was highly utilitarian, with no extra bits or bobs that Issei had seen on lightsabers used by other Sith and Jedi. The crystal inside the blade had originally been red, like Vader's, until Issei was allowed to craft his own synth-crystal.

The crystal Issei created was unlike anything the former Sith had seen before, and Vader had commented that it fit Hyōdō perfectly. A new kind of blade for the first Force-User of Earth in a long time. The blade's color was a mixture of light blue and green, making the blade look light turquoise. It also produced energy oscillations when first activated and was somewhat thinner than Vader's blade. Vader then remarked that these traits marked it a compressed synth-crystal. When Issei asked what was special about that, he was told that his blade was far more precise and much easier to control than a normal blade was.

The strange thing about Issei's compressed crystal was that it wasn't as thin as Vader had expected. Compressed crystals were considerably thinner, to the point that if one were not careful, the blade could be broken by a powerful enough swing from a normal lightsaber crystal. This was due to a power matrix fluctuation caused by the strike. This could also happen to normal lightsabers with naturally occurring crystals, but it only happened rarely and only if the normal lightsaber was fighting a normal synth-crystal counterpart.

Issei blocked three more shots before getting fed up with the training remote and deflecting one of its blasts back into it. The deflected shot shorted the remote out and it fell to the ground with a clank. Issei deactivated his blade and picked the remote up, intent on giving it back to Vader.

"Finished with another session, are you?" an older voice filtered through a helmet speaker asked.

Issei turned to look and smiled as his eyes fell upon Lieutenant CT-20109-448, or to Issei and the Clone's squadmates, "Hornet". Hornet was almost indistinguishable from the other troopers Vader had brought with him when he wore his Stormtrooper armor, the 501st markings almost identical to the other troopers. Vader had allowed his men to paint their armor with their original colors, and also encouraged customization when applicable. Hornet's personal touch to his own armor had been the inclusion of a stylized hornet on his helmet, shoulders, and forearms. That is what set him apart from the other 501st troopers.

The reason as to why Hornet got his nickname was due to both a funny story and his temperament. During the Clone Wars, Hornet was on a patrol on a jungle world when he thought he heard droids moving in the forest ahead. What he hadn't realized was that it was a local animal. When he surprised said animal, it got spooked and lashed out at its surroundings, knocking into a tree that held a hornet nest. The nest fell, broke apart, and subsequently went into defense mode as the hornets inside swarmed the surrounding area. Hornet sprinted back to his squad mates cursing as he was stung by several hornets.

In regard to his temperament, Hornet was considered a gentle giant until one of his men was threatened. If that happens, he will come down on whatever is doing the threatening like a swarm of hornets defending its home. It just so happened that he included Issei in that list.

"Yes. I think I got through it faster than usual," Issei replied as he clipped his lightsaber to his own belt.

"That's great, but I still think you need to move on from those. A real test would be against a thinking target rather than a programmed one."

"You're right, of course, but master Vader believes I'm not there just yet. He says that I need to better focus on using the Force to sense my opponent's moves."

"Is he worried you're going to get hurt otherwise?"

"I wouldn't be surprised by that. It is a rather large step up from dealing with these training remotes. I've been getting better at it, don't get me wrong, but I'm not at the level Vader is."

"It only takes time, my apprentice," Vader's voice spoke up as he entered the room he had designated for training Issei. Issei immediately bowed his head at his master while Hornet saluted smartly.

"Lord Vader, sir. Apologies for interrupting your apprentice's training."

"No need to apologize, Lieutenant. I understand the need to watch over this one," Vader said wryly as he folded his arms. Issei laughed sheepishly at that before looking down in embarrassment.

"You're never going to let that go are you?"

"No, I will not."

"Great…"

"Now, it is time for us to work on your blade work. You have already picked up on Forms I and V quite well, but you still need to work on Form VI."

Issei nodded as Vader summoned a pair of bamboo swords gathered from a nearby kendo shop. The two Force-Users took their weapons and readied themselves for combat. Hornet stepped back to watch, knowing it was smarter to stand back when the two fought with the swords. Master and apprentice circled each other, daring the other to attack first. Issei narrowed his eyes as he struck first with a powerful strike aimed at Vader's hands.

Vader blocked the strike and countered with a stab at Hyōdō's chest. Issei dodged the strike and attempted to use the former Sith Lord's momentum to get inside Vader's guard. It didn't work as Vader took a hand off his blade and set a small push Issei's way with the Force. The apprentice wasn't expecting that but did not move his sword away from his front. To do that would invite Vader to strike like he had done the first time the pair sparred when Issei was twelve. Issei then rushed forward and struck the former Sith on his left shoulder.

Vader retreated a step as Issei began circling the former Sith again. The apprentice went for another strike, this time at the blade itself in an attempt to knock it out of the way. The master blocked the strike easily and redirected it, causing Issei to stumble forward due to momentum. Vader followed after with a one-handed swing that grazed the apprentice's back and shoulder blade.

As Issei rolled his arm in an attempt to staunch the pain, he heard Vader begin to speak. "Juyo is not simply utilizing emotion in your strikes, my apprentice. It is about opening yourself to the Force to guide your movements. I sense that you have begun to do so, but it is not enough. Let go of your control and do as the Force guides you."

"I'm trying to, master, but you have to realize that it is difficult to just allow yourself to be open like that!"

"And that is where your problem lies, young Hyōdō. You cannot try, you must simply do."

"But how can I do as you say if I don't try to do as you say?"

"It will come to you as it did to so many others, just as it did to me," Vader replied as he advanced toward Issei, raising his blade.

Issei tried to block the sudden staccato blows that Vader employed. He was partially successful until the final blow, which knocked his sword out of his hand and off toward the door. Vader then began to strike directly at Issei, the younger man sidestepping the blows when he could. The fight ended as soon as Vader landed a tenth strike on the apprentice. Issei looked down sadly as Vader lowered the sword. He had lost again.

"I failed again," Issei murmured as he looked down at his feet. That was when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Only through failure do we learn to succeed, my apprentice. Remember that our first spar ended before it could truly begin. For this duel, you managed to land a strike on me. This is the first time that you have managed to do so in all of our duels. Be proud of that, but do not let it go to your head. Now come with me. There is something we must discuss."

Vader handed off his bamboo sword to the approaching Clone Lieutenant as he called the other sword to his open hand. The former Sith handed that blade to the Clone as well before leading Issei to the starship Vader used as his room.

As Vader entered his starship, he recalled the vision he'd had before he and Issei sparred.

He stood before a large building, an unseen observer to the young people walking around nearby. The same young people were entering and exiting the large building, and Vader knew instantly that he was at a place of learning. As he watched, he saw two young women, one with blood-red hair and the other with hair as black as Vader's armor. He knew immediately there was something different about those two as their presence felt similar to the Grigori he'd killed eight years ago. It was similar, yet at the same time, it was highly different. Whereas the Grigori's presence was that of a dim light in the Force, the two before him had a presence that was mired in darkness. What that meant, the former Sith did not know, as it was not the same as that of one who fell to the Dark Side of the Force.

The vision then moved to focus on a younger individual, another girl. This one had white hair and a blank expression, but she seemed to take notice of Vader. She hunched in on herself and shivered slightly before fear began to mar her young face. She too had that similar yet different presence as the two previous women did. After another moment or two, the vision switched once more to a handsome young man with blonde hair. His presence felt similar to Luke's, yet it was again that same dark presence. A dilapidated building soon came into view before bursting into flames, an arrogant-looking older blonde man in burgundy clothing laughed as the building burned. The vision finally landed on a figure with a red gauntlet with a green gem in the center before ending.

Before he'd sought out his apprentice, Vader had Piett search for the building he'd seen in the vision. It was apparently part of a larger private school known as Kuoh Academy. Recently, it changed from an all-female school to a mixed school. Vader grew suspicious when Piett mentioned that this correlated with a student's transfer to the school. The student was named Kiba Yuuto, and when Vader asked for a picture of Kiba, he wasn't surprised to find that it was the same blonde boy he'd seen in the vision. The Force had plans for those girls and Mister Yuuto, Vader just didn't know what yet.

"Master?" Issei asked as they fully entered the Nubian starship.

"I've had a vision, my apprentice. It was of Kuoh Academy. Do you know of it?" Vader asked as he turned to Issei, placing his hands on his belt.

"Yes, master. It's an all-female private school."

"Not anymore. Recently, it has become a mixed-gender school. I wouldn't be suspicious of that change had it not been for the fact that it became mixed-gender just before 'Kiba Yuuto' was set to transfer to the school. This 'Kiba' is one of the individuals I saw in my vision."

"I assume you have a plan for the academy?"

"Yes. You are to attend there and investigate four individuals, one of them being Kiba. The other three are women. One has blood-red hair, another has black hair, and the final one has white hair. You will be able to pick them out of the rest of the student body fairly easily regardless of whether you can see their hair or not, however."

"Oh? How?"

"Simple. Their presence in the Force isn't human. It is not Grigori either, so do not go there with the intention of killing them. Their presence is a dark one, but it is not one associated with one who has fallen to the Dark Side."

"Should I confront them once I have finished the investigation?"

"No. Once you have accomplished your mission, you are to return here. We will confront them together when normal class hours end. I will not endanger the students any more than is absolutely necessary."

"Yes, master. Shall I tell my parents the truth about my mission? They are necessary to begin transferring me over to Kuoh Academy, after all."

"Do not inform them of our true reasons for sending you there. I will do that myself."

"Understood, my master."

"You are dismissed for the rest of the day, my apprentice. Use that time to make whatever preparations you deem necessary for your time at Kuoh Academy."

Issei bowed and replied, "Yes, my master," before turning and walking back out of the starship.

Vader didn't know why, but as the apprentice walked away, the former Sith felt ice run down his back. He wondered, not for the first time, what the Force had in store for the young man he'd taken under his wing.

One Week Later…

Kuoh Academy, Japan, 2012 A.D.

Issei looked up at the main school building, the hood of his hoodie underneath his school's uniform blazer casting a shadow over his eyes. Traditional robe it was not, but it blended in perfectly within Earth standards. An eyebrow quirked upward as he tried to sense Yuuto Kiba and the other girls. After a moment, he could feel them, but it was faint. With how many normal people were here, they were drowning out the four individuals' combined Force presence. With a small sigh, he lowered his hood and walked into the building, looking for the person who would get him his schedule.

"Excuse me, are you lost?" a girl's voice asked, causing Issei to turn toward it.

Before him was a slim young woman with glasses over a pair of violet eyes and black hair done in a short bob cut. Issei was immediately on edge, however, as the woman before him had the same presence as Yuuto and the other three. He kept his features schooled into a carefree expression, however, as he answered her.

"A little. I'm trying to find someone. Her name is Souna Shitori. I was told she'd have my class schedule."

"Ah, you must be Issei Hyōdō then. Welcome to Kuoh Academy. If you'll follow me, I have your schedule in the Student Council room."

"Of course," Issei nodded as Souna turned around, narrowing his eyes slightly as he followed after her. Thankfully, it didn't seem like she could use the Force the same way he could.

The pair walked through the practically empty hallways, Issei scanning the place for any hidden dangers just in case. Years of training under Vader had taught him to expect danger to come from anywhere at any time. Just because he couldn't sense it in the Force didn't mean the danger wasn't there, after all. It was another ten minutes before the pair arrived at the Student Council office.

Souna opened the door and led Issei inside. The only other occupant of the room was a woman with incredibly long black hair, glasses, and light brown eyes. She was sitting at one of the tables, doing paperwork when Issei and Souna entered. She raised one eyebrow at Issei. Issei sensed the same dark presence from her, and he began to wonder just how many students of Kuoh Academy were more than they appeared.

"Tsubaki, where did we put the Hyōdō schedule?" Souna asked as she began looking for said schedule.

Tsubaki glanced at Issei for only a moment before gesturing at a nearby desk. "It should be on your desk, madam president."

"Ah, yes, there it is. Here you are mister Hyōdō. You are in Class 2-B. It's one floor below and second door on your left. Will that be all?"

"Yeah. Thanks for the help!" Issei said faux cheerfully as he left the room. He began walking toward the stairs while looking down at the schedule when he felt another dark presence coming towards him from below.

Issei kept a calm façade as he was passed by one of the three girls Vader had told him about. It was the girl with blood-red hair. She gave him a passing glance as she continued up the steps. As soon as he turned the corner he let out a breath before finding his classroom. The young apprentice had a feeling his mission was only going to get harder from then on.

Rias Gremory opened the Student Council room's door and stepped inside before shutting and locking the door. She then cast a spell to keep her and Sona's conversation quiet.

"What's going on, Sona?" the Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess asked her childhood friend, curiosity in her tone as her fellow Devil heiress motioned her over.

Sona Sitri grimaced as she looked into Rias's eyes. "I just met Kuoh Academy's newest student, Issei Hyōdō. I don't know what it is but something tells me he knew we weren't human."

"What? How is that possible?"

"I don't know. From what info I gathered on him before he came here, he was an above-average student and known to practice kendo at his original school. What I don't understand is the decision to transfer here. He didn't have any issues at his former school, mental or physical, and he didn't have any issues with bullies. I've had Tsubaki look into his background to see if he had experience with our kind before but so far-"

Tsubaki spoke up before Sona could continue. "I think I may know why he suspects we aren't human."

"What is it?"

"Eight years ago, his home was invaded by, quote, 'insane priests with guns and swords' end quote. What's worse is that a pile of black feathers was found at the scene, as well as several bodies."

"A home invasion by a Fallen one? Why are we only hearing about this now?" Rias demanded incredulously. That such a detail was missed by those in the supernatural world was inconceivable.

"From the way it sounds, the police didn't know what to make of it and were busy dealing with the other bodies. They were… slaughtered by one man, they believe."

"One man managed to kill a Fallen and his squad of stray exorcists? I can understand the exorcists but a Fallen as well?"

"Not only that but the wounds on some of the bodies were made by something the police have never seen before. Take a look," Tsubaki said as she handed the police reports she'd been reading as Hyōdō had gotten his schedule earlier.

Both heiresses took a copy and skimmed through the bits Tsubaki mentioned already. They paused, however, at the description of the wounds of two of the priests. One was bisected while another was decapitated. The marks left by the weapon that had ended both men didn't make sense. No weapon they'd ever dealt with or heard of cauterized the wound immediately as it cut.

Rias nodded to herself before looking up at her fellow Devils. "So eight years ago someone saved Hyōdō's life… and he was never cleansed of his memory of the Fallen one. After that, he moved across Kuoh Town so the Fallen wouldn't find him again. Makes perfect sense, the Fallen would have to go through Kuoh Town all over again to find him. We'll need to keep an eye on him, though. I have a feeling we're part of the reason he was transferred here."

"Do you think he knows we're-"

"No, I don't believe so, Tsubaki. I know for sure he doesn't believe we're human, but I get the feeling he also knows we're not Fallen Angels either. For now, we'll do as Rias suggests. We will watch Hyōdō closely," Sona stated as she and Rias handed the police reports back. The Sitri Queen nodded as Rias turned and left the room, contacting Kiba, Akeno, and Koneko as she did.

"Keep tabs on the new transfer. He might know we're not human, and we can't afford the chance that he knows what we are."

Issei found a quiet area, near a shady tree close to a dilapidated building and began to speak into the personal comlink Vader had given him for the mission. It was a Sorosuub Hush-98, one of the few Vader kept aboard his starship. It was the perfect size to be concealable in a pocket, while his lightsaber remained tucked away in the inner pocket of his hoodie. He'd left the blazer open just enough to be able to call his lightsaber to his hand if need be.

"Master, come in, this is Issei. Do you read?"

"Yes. What have you discovered, my apprentice?" Vader asked in answer.

"There are more presences than you initially thought. In total, I sense eleven beings with that dark presence. What's more, seven of them are members of the Student Council. I also learned the names of the three women you saw: Koneko Toujo is the white-haired girl, Rias Gremory is the red-haired one, and Akeno Himejima is the black-haired one. They can't sense me through the Force."

"Good work, young Hyōdō. Continue your investigation. Find out why there are so many of those beings there. Do not wait too long to contact me."

Issei glanced around, making sure no one had seen him talk to Vader before ending the call with a "Yes master". He then pocketed the comlink and started to head back, unaware that one of his targets had been watching him that whole time.

Koneko Toujo watched the transfer student leave before hopping down from the tree she'd been hiding in. She scanned the tree he'd been hiding under, and finding nothing, had assumed the person he was communicating with had used a communication spell. She wracked her memory trying to discern if she'd ever heard the speaker before. Coming up empty, she resolved to let her King know that the transfer was in contact with someone outside the school.

She shook herself as she thought about the speaker. The speaker was nothing but negative emotions. It had nearly made her emotional sensing abilities go into overdrive being that close to the figure, despite the fact it was merely his voice. She had no doubt it was a male speaker, despite the mechanical and synthesized nature of the voice. The deep tone also helped her figure that out. She shivered one more time as she thought about the constant mechanical breathing she could hear from the communication spell before heading back towards the school building to report her findings.

Issei continued his path toward the school before hearing whispers coming from nearby. Suspicious of the noise, the apprentice went to investigate. His eyes narrowed when he came upon the source of the noise.

"And what exactly do you think you two are doing?" Issei asked the pair of male students darkly, folding his arms like his master, his face growing stormy.

"Dude, shut the fuck up will ya? We're trying to enjoy the show!" one of the boys, his head shaved, whisper yelled at the apprentice before letting off a giggle.

Issei then used the Force to throw a stick at the building the pair were looking into. A muffled female voice asked what the noise was, and the pair looked horrified. Before they could even run, however, Issei struck. He used the Force to freeze the pair in place before walking over to them and shoving both against the building's back wall.

"Wha-" the other boy, a brown-haired young man with glasses, asked as he found himself pinned against the wall.

The one with the shaved head tried struggling against Hyōdō's grip but to no avail, as Issei growled, "You aren't going anywhere!"

"Who are you?" a female voice asked from behind Issei, causing him to look back for a second.

"New transfer. Name's Issei Hyōdō. Caught these two acting suspiciously near this part of the wall. A little help keeping them here would be appreciated."

The pink-haired girl he'd been speaking to nodded. "Tansho, Iwa, hold the Perverted Duo down while I talk with the transfer student."

Two girls came forward, dressed in kendo robes, and holding bamboo swords in their off hands. Issei nodded in thanks as he fully turned to the pink-haired girl and the rest of the women who had been in the building. The girl was shorter than he expected.

"I'm Katase Oshima, Captain of the Girls' Kendo Club," the pink-haired girl began before gesturing to a taller, severe-faced girl with brown hair in a twin tail style and holding another bamboo sword, "and this is Murayama Kofuyu, my Vice-Captain. Care to tell me why you were walking over here?"

"Of course. I was familiarizing myself with the campus. I only just got here today. I was walking back to the main part of campus when I heard these two giggling like kids who stole from a cookie jar. I walked over and found them bent over down there. It seemed like they were looking at something through there, and I'm assuming it was all of you?"

"Yes, this is our changing room. Gonna need proof that you did what you said you did though," Murayama pointed out dryly, to which Issei couldn't help but agree.

"Fair enough. Observe my clothing. Notice anything different between me and those two? And if that's not enough, I have a printout map of the school that can further prove my story."

The kendo club members looked him up and down first before glancing at the Perverted Duo. Katase, looking somewhat more convinced than Muramaya, motioned for the map that Issei had. The apprentice handed the map over to the kendo club Captain without hesitation. Katase scanned it quickly before nodding and handing the map back.

"Your story checks out. Thanks for catching these two. They've been the bane of our existence for the past few weeks. You can run along now while we deliver divine punishment upon them!"

Issei quirked an eyebrow as he stepped aside, letting the women unleash their justified fury on the two perverts. Seriously, who in their right mind peeps on women with access to bamboo swords? Issei knew from experience how much they stung when he and Vader sparred. With a small smirk and a shake of his head, he walked away as the women began their assault.

After catching the two perverts, the rest of Hyōdō's first day went by quickly. As he left the school, he was watched by both Akeno and Tsubaki from the second floor. They easily picked him out of the crowd due to his hood. The two Queens were unsure what to make of the young man, not expecting him to do anything regarding the infamous Perverted Duo of Matsuda and Motohama. They'd heard the gossip about his encounter with the two outside the GKC changing hall and now they were unsure what to believe.

From the report Koneko had given earlier, it was clear that he wasn't alone. Another person was aware of the supernatural, and that could only lead to problems. That meant they needed to deal with him before he made another report to his "master". The problem was there wasn't a need to kill him or his boss. That was a last-ditch maneuver, one the Fallen employed often despite that. However, judging from the rumors, he was able to keep both pinned to the changing hall's wall long enough for the GKC to come outside. That had to mean he wasn't simply human. Comparing Issei to Matsuda, one would think Matsuda would be able to beat the Hell out of the transfer student.

That hadn't been the case, otherwise, the Perverted Duo would have escaped their punishment as they usually did. There was some kind of supernatural aspect about him. They just didn't know what it was. This then made the Kings of both Peerages double down on finding out just who Issei Hyōdō was. Kiba had talked with the GKC girls after one of their sessions to find out what they knew while some of the Pawns from Sitri's Peerage kept an eye on the transfer from afar.

"Ugh, I just don't get it! How could he have gotten in here without us getting a hint as to what he is?" Akeno grumbled quietly to her fellow Queen as Hyōdō made it out the front door.

Tsubaki thought quietly for a moment before speaking up. "Maybe we're coming at this from the wrong angle? Maybe he isn't a different race but a Sacred Gear user?"

"Wouldn't we have detected an activation though?"

"Not if it happened eight years ago. It's possible that slipped under the radar too, just like the home invasion itself."

"Bastards…"

"Agreed. To invade one's home… well, I don't need to explain it. Not to you."

"No, you don't."

"Is Koneko going to keep watching him while he goes home?"

"Indeed. We have more pressing matters tonight. A Stray Devil was spotted nearby."

"Do you think you can all handle it with your Rook out for the night?"

"I believe so. Stray Devils are rather easy to deal with."

"You're not wrong. I'll see you tomorrow then, Akeno."

"Goodnight Tsubaki," the Thunder Priestess replied as Tsubaki left.

The Fallen Angel-turned-Devil turned back towards the front door. She sympathized with Hyōdō, being a survivor of a home invasion herself. She was thankful, however, that someone had come to the rescue for him and his family, unlike her father. With a sigh, she turned away and walked to the Occult Research Club building. It seemed like tonight was going to be a long one.

Near Kuoh Town, Japan, 2012 A.D.

VF-6612, originally ST-6612, stood guard within one of the abandoned office spaces of his, the other Imperials, and Vader's home. The building was in a lower-income district of Kuoh Town, and he and his fellow troopers, both Clone and human alike, were tasked with keeping the building free of any scum that dared to enter. He wasn't wearing his armor, as that was far too flashy for this job. Instead, he wore a ratty green jacket, ripped-up jeans, and combat boots. The clothes had been bought from a nearby store by the Imperials that held jobs outside their home and subsequently stressed to give off the "squatter" look.

His E-11 lay on a nearby desk overgrown with vegetation. Beside it, a personal auto turret and a pair of flares lay discarded, as well as a set of electrobinocs. There were cigarette butts surrounding an ashtray, smoke still rising slightly from the most recent one VF-6612 had gone through. He never did like these assignments. They always put him on edge.

VF-6612 had been a Scout Trooper from the 1st Legion, basically an off-shoot of the 501st meant for humans. They usually got assigned to the same missions, seeing action from the Kaminoan Uprising to Endor. He himself had only been recently added to the 1st, being a replacement for an older trooper who'd lost an arm and a leg at Hoth. Miraculously, depending on who one asked, VF-6612 had never fired his rifle. It always seemed as if he arrived too late or left too early when the action began. It irritated him to no end.

He was an elite soldier, a Scout Trooper for Empire's sake! How in the Nine Hells was it possible that he had never managed to fire his weapon at the enemy in all that time? He at least did part of his job, being an excellent scout and spotter for fellow Scout Troopers. Still, the fact he had never once fired his rifle outside of a firing range annoyed him to no end.

VF-6612 huffed before grabbing the electrobinocs and watching the road for Vader's apprentice. The boy usually arrived here on a bike and came down the middle of the street. Not all that smart from a tactical standpoint but that was neither here nor there on this world. Countries like Japan, England, France, etc. didn't have to worry about street firefights like so many of the Scout Trooper's comrades had back in the home galaxy. As if by magic, as soon as the Scout Trooper put the electrobinocs to his eyes, he spotted the apprentice approaching.

"Command, this is VF-6612 at post number one one three eight. The Hyōdō boy is on his way in, over," the Scout Trooper said into a comlink he'd pulled from his pocket.

A gruff voice with an Onderonian accent answered back. "Understood. Lord Vader has extra orders for you, VF-6612, over."

"Send it, over."

"Lord Vader believes the boy is being followed. Force business. Scan the area around the boy and see if you can spot anything, over."

"Rog', wait one, over," the Scout Trooper replied as he began studying the other buildings for any signs of subtle pursuit.

At first glance, VF-6612 saw nothing. The street was quiet aside from the boy's bicycle. He saw no lights or movement to indicate anything was amiss. Shrugging, the Scout Trooper keyed his comm again.

"That is a negative for any signs of pursuit, over."

"Understood. Opening the door for the kid now. Resume overwatch, over."

"Great…", VF-6612 thought as he replied, "Wilco, out."

As the Hyōdō boy entered their home, VF-6612 thought he saw something. It was a flash of white near one of the buildings leading into Kuoh Town proper. A figure appeared with what looked like a chocolate bar, watching the Hyōdō boy enter the building. The Scout Trooper froze before he reached for his comlink, accidentally looking directly into the figure's eyes. He realized it was a small young girl with white hair. As he watched, he saw her stiffen and her face go pale despite the green coloration of the electrobinocs vision. Just as his hand went to activate the comlink, the girl's eyes flashed red, erasing the Scout Trooper's memory of ever seeing her.

VF-6612 blinked as he looked at empty space. He had no idea why he studying that part of his watch section so closely. Shrugging again, he powered off the electrobinocs and went back to keeping an eye out for any trespassers, none the wiser that he'd had his mind wiped by a Devil.

Vader sat alone, meditating, when he felt his apprentice approach. The former Sith opened his eyes and stood up before lowering the ship's ramp. Young Hyōdō bowed his head in greeting to his master before coming inside the ship.

"I believe the beings from Kuoh are onto me, master. Somehow they know I've been sent to watch them. They had their subordinates watching me for most of the day after I met with the Student Council president and vice president."

Vader nodded as he raised the ramp before motioning for Hyōdō to sit with him. "Indeed. You would not be followed by one of them had they not known this to be the case. What I find intriguing, however, is that despite all the chances to kill you on your way back here, they never took it. There must be more at play than I originally thought…"

"I was followed? Should we start moving everyone to one of the backup locations?"

"No. I believe your follower was mainly looking for where I was. I felt her searching for signs of life using something similar to the sensing abilities that the Force gifts us."

"So she most likely knows how many of us there are?" Issei asked, not even questioning how Vader knew the gender of his follower. If he had to guess, though, it was the subtle difference between male and female presences in the Force. Issei wasn't quite there with his sensing abilities yet. Vader, on the other hand, had years of experience with it.

"Not quite. It seems the moment she sensed my presence, she panicked and ran. I felt her fear just before her panic. Something about my presence in the Force frightened her."

"Could it be due to your… past?"

"No," Vader said emphatically, his voice gaining a slight edge.

Vader had told the boy the basics of his past but refused to delve deeper into said past. He would not tell his apprentice just how much of a monster he'd been, hoping to keep the boy from possibly wanting to follow in the footsteps of the man Vader had been during the Emperor's original reign. He couldn't fault the boy's curiousness, though. He'd been like that as well when he was Hyōdō's age, and given time, when Issei was perhaps older and much wiser, the former Sith would fully tell his story.

"Then maybe it's the emotions that surround you?" Issei pondered, a hand to his chin.

"Perhaps but let us put that aside for now. It is time to practice your meditations."

"Yes master. Any particular focus today?"

Vader glanced at Hyōdō for only a moment before answering, closing his eyes under his helmet. "No."

The Stray Devil was dealt with quickly before Koneko appeared, fear etched into her paler-than-normal features. Rias saw the fear and recognized it quickly. It was Koneko's fear of her heritage, but why was it affecting her now?

"President, I f-followed the Hyōdō boy as you asked… I found where his 'master' lives I think but other than that I can't tell you anything else. The emotions that I felt from there… I… I just couldn't stay," Koneko explained quickly as she approached her King.

Rias hugged her Nekomata Rook close as she glanced at Kiba and Akeno. The two were shocked, to say the least. For one singular person to have that amount of negative emotion surrounding them… it was unthinkable. What could have possibly happened to the person in question?

Rias hesitated before she spoke, not wanting to sound callous. "Koneko, is there anything else? Something that could help us pick out the one who did this to you?"

"Y-yes. The Hyōdō boy's master… he's been hurt badly in the past. I realized this after I reported to you earlier, but the man's breathing was mechanical in nature. I don't think he can breathe normally. That kind of breathing… it belongs to burn victims on life support."

"Maybe his master was burned by a member of the supernatural? It would explain his knowledge of us: experience," Kiba supplied as he sheathed his sword.

Akeno shook her head, recalling the police report from the Hyōdō home invasion, as she spoke up. "That doesn't explain who saved Hyōdō from the Fallen all those years ago, unless-"

"Unless his master and the one who saved Hyōdō are one in the same?" Rias finished as she raised an eyebrow and let go of Koneko. The Gremory Rook seemed a little better, but Rias was sure she'd need to do more to help the girl.

Kiba looked down in thought, his next words raising more questions. "That seems to make the most sense. I still don't get how a burn victim on life support would be able to kill four men and a Fallen one without being further hurt himself. Even if he was a supernatural being himself, those wounds would take up the brunt of his focus."

"Yes. I'm beginning to see a pattern regarding Issei Hyōdō; the more we investigate, the more mysteries we find. Akeno, has Sona found out if Hyōdō activated a Sacred Gear?"

"No, president. She hasn't gotten the results of the Sacred Gear test back for Hyōdō."

"Then I don't see what else we can do other than monitor the young man. I'll have my familiar get on that. She can watch Hyōdō far better than we can, what with school and all," Rias replied as she stretched before leading her Peerage out of the run-down factory they'd found the Stray Devil in.

Day Two of Issei's Mission

As Issei walked toward Kuoh Academy, he felt a familiar presence ahead of himself. His eyes narrowed slightly as after a few steps a girl in his old school's uniform stood in front of him, feigned nervousness in her body language. He'd never seen the girl before him once at his old school. Judging from the girl's presence in the Force, he knew why that was the case.

The girl was a Grigori, though her disguise, which he would grudgingly admit would have fooled anyone who couldn't sense the difference between normal humans and the other beings, was flawless. He raised an eyebrow as the girl approached him.

"Y-you're Issei Hyōdō, right? My name is Yuuma Amano. I used to see you outside of class a lot and… will you please go out with me?" the girl, Yuuma, said as convincingly as she could.

"Have to admit, she's good at this," he thought as he said aloud, "Isn't this a little sudden? I barely know you. Perhaps we could get to know each other first?"

"T-that's fair. Maybe after school today we could meet at the Kuoh Park fountain?"

Outside, Issei gave a thoughtful look, but inside, the apprentice was reeling. The vision he'd had all those years ago just before the Grigori attack came flooding back into his memory. He considered, for a moment, using the Force to kill his would-be assassin right here and now. Using the Force to snap the girl's neck would be so simple. It would be so… easy. That was the main issue, though.

Killing the girl without a second thought was a dangerous path to take. It was highly likely that killing her like that would start his descent down the path of the Dark Side, and he was not willing to follow that path. Vader had explicitly told him the dangers of it by citing himself as a reference. Before school ended, he would need to consult with his master and come up with a plan to deal with her. Issei let a smile appear on his face as he answered the girl.

"That sounds great, Yuuma. See you after school?" the apprentice said aloud while simultaneously thinking, "To kill you before you kill me."

Author's Note: The plot begins to unfold... with Raynare poised to strike Issei down at the Kuoh Park fountain as she did originally, what will happen now that Issei knows of her intentions to kill him? Will he be able to save himself or will his fate be the same as his non-Force-Sensitive counterpart? The Gremory and Sitri Heiresses are onto Vader's plan, yet they keep coming up with more questions than answers. What will they do when they finally get those answers? What will they do when they meet the man who came up with the plan in the first place?

So I'm not sure I got Koneko's powers right, but I think I'm close? Let me know if I did it wrong so I can fix it, please. Other than that, you guys might be wondering why Matsuda, Motohama, and Issei aren't friends here. The answer is simple. Issei moved away, and because of that, he never met the pair in junior high. He was also more interested in learning from Vader than women. As such, he abhors perverts, as I'm assuming Vader does as well. Like teacher, like student after all.