Forgotten but not Gone

(Kekkai Sensen OST: On my Own by Ai Ninomiya)

I can't help but feel like I've forgotten something.

Issei let out a loud yawn before he slung his bag over his shoulder. It had been a long weekend of fighting. They had just finished all the fighting with the Fallen Angel Kokabiel. Things had calmed down considerably since then, he and his club now walking to school like any other day. Almost as if they didn't just save the entire town from being destroyed. Heck, later this day, he was planning an outing with Asia, Kiba, Koneko and even the other two of the pervert trio. Things really were going back to the same routine.

So why does it feel like something important is missing?

"Issei, are you listening?" The brunette blinked before turning to his master, Rias raising a brow in slight concern. "You seem quite distracted."

"A-ah, yeah. Sorry about that. Guess I'm still kinda tired from that battle." Issei sheepishly chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.

"Ara ara, perhaps you need some more rest." Akeno suggested with a giggle, though her eyes trailed to the side. "Though I do feel like we're forgetting something important..."

"Same." Koneko spoke up, causing the others to blink. Her expression wasn't as blank, a slightly thoughtful if not sad look replacing it.

"Is it everyone that feels that way?" Rias questioned, glancing around at her peerage. Rias hadn't said it, but she felt the same as the rest.

"It does feel a bit strange. Like we're missing someone..." Kiba hummed, holding his chin in thought.

"B-but we didn't lose anyone during the fight, right? We even have Xenovia with us..." Asia spoke, though her words came out meek, as if she were nearly on the verge of crying. Issei peered around at his friends, seeing that they were suddenly becoming contemplative, almost bordering on morose. Wanting to get their spirits back up, Issei laughed and waved his hand dismissively.

"Come on, everyone. I'm sure it's nothing!" Issei suggested with a shrug before slinging his bag back over his shoulder. "Let's just get to school and worry about it later-" He continued as he walked forward, paying little attention to where he was going as he ran into a larger individual, dropping his bag and nearly falling back before clumsily catching himself. "A-ah! Sorry! I wasn't paying attention!" Issei apologized.

"Ah, it's cool. I wasn't paying too much attention, either." Issei paused as he saw who it was. It was the school's most popular boy, second only to Kiba, Josuke Higashikata. There was no mistaking the strange hairdo and large girth, the teen easily taller than the majority if not all of the students at school. Realizing who it was, though, Issei immediately narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, its you. I take back my apology." Issei snapped in annoyance and crossing his arms. "I'm sure a pretty boy like you doesn't care much, anyway."

"What did I do wrong?" Josuke blinked at the complete 180 the brunette pulled in a split second.

"You steal all the girls attention at school! You and Kiba over here." Issei spat in jealousy, getting in Josuke's face as he jerked a thumb back at an awkwardly waving Yuuto.

Josuke held his hands up in surrender, a brow raised in disbelief before looking past Issei at the crowd behind him. "I mean... you say that, but don't you hang out with the most popular girls of the school?" Issei felt himself tense at the accusation, feeling a bead of sweat on the back of his head. In that brief moment, though, a sudden wave of nostalgia hit them both. Their demeanor's fell for a moment and the two stared at one another like they had a great sense of familiarity between them.

"Why, yes he does." Rias suddenly spoke, suddenly pulling Issei back and giving him a closed eye stare as she radiated with annoyance. "As if our attention isn't quite enough for him. Right, Issei?"

"U-uh..." Issei gulped, realizing his error in judgement. Akeno only giggled, walking past the rest of the peerage and bowing in apology.

"Please excuse our friend's rather harsh words. He can be quite eccentric when it comes to girls." Akeno explained, though to her surprise, Josuke bowed back.

"No, that's alright. I hope I didn't cause you guys any trouble." He dismissed, offering the group a kind smile. The more time he stood by them, the more familiar he felt with this group. Josuke couldn't quite explain it, but he felt like he was talking to old friends.

"Oi~, Josuke! There you are!" A scratchy voice called out, causing the tall teen to turn to the side to see resident punk of the school Okuyasu Nijimura approaching with the much shorter Koichi Hirose at his side. "Come on, baby face! Let's get goin' to school!" He then glanced to the side to see the Occult Research club, his mouth going slightly agape as he let out a surprised grunt. "O-oi, you bastard! Chattin' up hot chicks this early in the mornin'?!"

"Okuyasu, not so loudly. It's rude to say that to them..." Koichi sighed, patting the dumb teen on the shoulder.

"It's not like that. I just bumped into them." Josuke sighed before shaking his head. He then glanced back at the club, all now gathering closer and standing around him. He hesitated, feeling like he was supposed to be part of this group for whatever reason. The looks in their eyes, even Issei's now, watching him with care. Okuyasu soon approached, about to open his mouth to say something before quieting as he looked upon the club. Josuke could see it in his eyes. A familiar feeling had washed over him as well.

"Guys? What's wrong?" Koichi blinked, watching the exchange obliviously. For a moment no one answered, Josuke forcing his gaze to be pulled away from the club to look at Koichi.

"It's... nothing, I guess." He said, unsure of his own answer. "Let's get going." Josuke slung his bag over his shoulder, Okuyasu nodding slowly in agreement. The purple haired teen spared one last look at the group before him, scratching the back of his head. "I... guess we'll see you at school."

"Of course." Rias answered for her peerage, knowing that their currently shared feelings were silencing them. She glanced to the side for a moment, seeing Koneko and Akeno's mouth drop to an almost sad frown despite their silence. Issei was scratching his head in annoyance, trying to pinpoint the source for himself but to no avail, it seemed. With a slow nod, Josuke departed from them, walking ahead in line with Okuyasu and Koichi.

"Are you guys alright?" Koichi asked in concern, seeing both Okuyasu and Josuke's sullen bordered expressions.

"Hey!" The three turned back to see Issei jogging up. When he stopped, he suddenly found himself in an awkward position, unable to figure out why he gave chase in the first place. He coughed into his hand sheepishly before sighing. "Sorry about acting like a jerk earlier... and..." his next words came without warning.

"I think your hair is pretty cool..."

Issei blinked in shock, suddenly feeling weird that he just complimented a guy's hairstyle. But the following rush of emotions erased any such thoughts.

"J-Josuke-kun! Okuyasu! Wh-why are you guys crying?!" Koichi blurted in shock. Josuke and Okuyasu didn't even notice, but suddenly found that tears were streaming down their cheeks.

"Huh?" The purple haired teen reached up and touched the water pouring from his eyes before biting his bottom lip and gripping his chest. "Wh-what the hell..?"

"O-oi... wh-why am I feelin' sad all of a sudden..?" Okuyasu choked out, sniffling miserably as he tried to wipe his eyes on his sleeve. "I-is this some sorta Stand..?"

"Are you guys... all..." Issei reached out before pausing. Koichi turned back to the brunette, widening his eyes as he saw that he too was crying without warning. His chest restricted with grief, causing him to buckle over and choke on his breath. Behind him, he could hear a faint whimpering, glancing back to see Asia on her knees and fighting a wave of tears. Rias and the rest of her peerage were in no better shape than the blonde, now taking notice of the wave of emotion that hit all of them at once.

"Why..." Josuke muttered, his teeth grinding in frustration as he couldn't figure out the source of this sudden emptiness with him.

"Why do I feel like... I'm missing people I lost?"

Unknown to the Devils or the Stand users, a petite black haired girl watched them with blank eyes, cuddling a stuffed bear close to her bare chest as she hummed. "Guess I lost this bet. You win this time, God." She held up her hand, a light shining in an orb before exploding forth in a blinding wave, enveloping the world and changing it back to the way it was.

That same day in the true timeline, Josuke and Okuyasu met with Issei and the Occult Research club. Just like they always did.

The end

Sorry if the end seemed a bit short. This was actually an ending for the series (though not at this time period) I once considered doing a while back. Josuke was at the end, fighting someone so powerful that many were lost. He made a deal with Ophis to dream the world back to normal, bringing everyone back to life, but in exchange anyone with a Stand or related to such would forget and be forgotten by the Devil community.

Know that I got the idea to write this out after watching an episode from the series Kekkai Sensen (Blood Blockade Battlefront) which hit me right in the feels.

I don't know what spurred such a sad idea, as this was way before I even saw that episode Kekkai Sensen, but I've nixed the idea in favor of... whatever I choose it to be in the future (which will most likely not be this sad) XD So hoped you enjoyed that, decided to get share some feels since I was hit pretty hard by some feels last night XD Don't worry, I have a more positive OVA on the way. I've been spending more time writing some other stuff for fun rather than my main stories since my finals are coming up and I need something that feels less obligatory to work on I suppose, even if they're fun to write as well.