Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool DxD nor Magic the Gathering, otherwise I would have been rich by now. I do this for fun, cause I love Highschool DxD and also cause I have certain obsession with some otherworldly creatures from the MTG Multiverse, ask my Golgari Ramp Deck and my Jeskai deck (WIP).

To my reviewers:

Richard Fern the Dragonmaster: Thanks for the feedback man.

KisaragiKei: I'm glad you are enjoying the story, and yes I agree. While I don't dislike Rias, I find her way of recruiting Issei pretty terrible. Plus I think she's too naïve.

Chapter III

Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind.

The Hyodou residence was really quiet in the afternoon, both parents had gone out to celebrate Issei's first date, and possibly, his first girlfriend. Poor Ise was mortified when he realized how little faith their parents had in their son. In their eyes, Takeshi, who had pretty much the look of a slow, stoic delinquent, had more chances of going out with someone. Of course their parents already knew, that Takeshi tried going out with a few girls in the past, yet all the girls he dated were not interesting enough for him.

Issei did hate his brother's fortune, and did blame it on his unusual look. But when he stated that he preferred women with a more mature mindset, and that he didn't feel ready. He could not help have even more respect for the man that was training him in the mystical arts, and in not dying easily. Both even got several tips from his perverted father, when it became dating older women; and a frying pan in the head from the Hyodou matriarch.

The only one remaining was one Takeshi Hyodou, who was in his room, listening different sorts of music, while laying down on his bed, and watching the sun set through the window.

'It does remind me of those times, as much as I remmber' Takeshi thought as he hummed the melody of the Hungarian Dance. 'Now that I think about it, all those event that lead me here are extremely confusing… what was I doing before? What was my purpose? What am I doing now?' he wondered.

"Is this the beginning of what people call an existential crisis?" he wondered to himself aloud, the music of the background being the only answer he would get at the time. "Well I guess I have time to figure… things have been boring even after Issei decided to train on his own… it's not like I let him die, people doesn't die after losing a limb most of the time… and I did fix him up…" he started to talk to himself with an annoyed tone.

Before he was able to get into deeper thoughts, his short musing was interrupted by the sound of the phone. He ignored it the first time, as well as the second. It was probably one of those telemarketers his mother complained about, but when it started ringing again. He decided to get up, answer and get over with it.

"Sorry we are not interested in whatever…"

"This is the President of the Student Council of Kuoh Academy, Shitori Souna" a soft voice on the other side of the line interrupted him. "Is this the Hyodou residence?"

"Yes... This is Hyodou Takeshi speaking"

"Hyodou-san, are any of your parents at home?"

"No, is something the matter?"

"It's concerning your brother…" he heard her sigh deeply "I'm afraid your brother was killed an hour ago"

"How?" The lack of emotion on the answer surprised Souna, according to the files, both brothers while not related by blood were quite close. And as such she expected a more emotional response. Still she had a duty to do, and later reprimand Rias for her poor planning.

"He died in a car accident, I'm sorry for…"

"Really? As far as I knew Issei still needs one more year to have his driver's license"

"He was hit by a car, I'm sorry if…"

"And the culprit? Was he apprehended?"

"It seems that the driver ran away, I'm really…"

"Is this a joke?"

"I'm afraid…"

"Look Shitori-san" the edge and malice in his voice surprised Sona, and instilled a sense of dread deep within her. "If this the idea of a joke… it's a very bad one, I know my brother is fine, he called me thirty minutes ago… so I know he is fine, unless you were planning something against him out of spite…"

Souna wanted to answer, to refute the accusations, but this time it was one of those few situations in which she had couldn't respond. Normally all those situations involved her older sister and were out of embarrassment. But now it was dread, even though she was far away from the Hyodou residence, her instincts were screaming at her to run.

Both Rias and herself had an interest on both brothers since they entered school, while both heiresses new that Issei was a potential sacred gear holder, and maybe something more; and thus had a dispute to see who was going to recruit the boy. One that Rias won, especially since she was able to convince Souna; that Issei could help her with her current situation, plus, he found the boy cute.

Takeshi had been a whole different issue. No known signature to them fit him quite right, but it was powerful. Souna let Issei being claimed by Rias on the condition she would claim Takeshi as her own. During the first two months she tried to convince him, either by her own or by sending a member of her peerage inviting him to join the Student Council. He declined several times, and when they became more insistent, they would find themselves either talking alone, or ending in the wrong classroom, each mishap becoming more embarrassing than the previous one.

It was enough to generate caution from both Devil princesses, but the fact that whatever technique he was using was harmless, yet left the message that he was not interested in whatever they could offer. Saying that she got the short end of the stick was quite an understatement right now.

"On Monday, lunch we will have a nice talk, concerning THIS" and with that he hung the phone.

Souna was grateful she had been sitting the whole time, as her legs were shaking. Killing intent basically oozed from the phone, something like that shouldn't be able to happen!

"Kaichou are you…"

"Tsubaki… get me Rias, now!" she demanded, with a voice that left no room for questioning.

If Rias thought that the day couldn't get any worse, she was gravely mistaken; she still was shaken from the loss of her kouhai thanks to her rash actions and poor planning. She even got scolded by Akeno, her own queen! Not that she wasn't wrong, but with her parents constantly pressuring her into marrying that swine that was Riser Phenex, she was getting more desperate.

Then Tsubaki came with a scowl on her face, requesting; no; practically demanding her to go see Souna in that very moment. From what she could gather from the Sitri Queen was, that apparently Issei had not died. Much to her joy, but that didn't explain the expression on her friend's Queen. Was he reincarnated into an Angel? Would he seek vengeance if he found out about her plan? At the mere thought of it, Rias felt her hopes and heart sink at the same time. 'No matter' she thought, preparing herself mentally to whatever lecture Souna was going to give her. 'I caused this… better dealing with this earlier than later. And if he IS alive, I'm going definitely to make it up to him… and hopefully convince him to join me' she smiled a little.

She quietly entered the Student Council's room, with Tsubaki behind her. She found Sone sitting behind her usual desk, with an expression between anger and was it fear? Now she was worried. Souna was known for her calm demeanor even in harsh circumstances.

"Tsubaki, leave us alone… please". She said, and Tsubaki left without saying a word from the room. "Are you sure Hyoudo Issei died on his date today?"

"I'm sure, Koneko reported she saw the moment Issei was killed… apparently taking his attacker down with him. I know Koneko, she would never lie to me" she defended Koneko, and thus herself as well.

"I know how much you care for your servants Rias, but is that true? Is there any way she could have been deceived?"

"No! I mean, it would be real hard to do so, you know what Koneko actually is… her senses are quite sharp… why do you ask? Is it true that Issei-kun is really alive? Isn't that good news?"

Now Souna sighed in exasperation "It seems that your poorly planned scheme to get him into your peerage" Rias flinched. "Didn't work and he is very alive; when I called to his parents" Souna shuddered "who, unfortunately weren't home… I had the… pleasure of speaking with his brother"

"The one you tried to recruit at the beginning of the year? That kept dodging your attempts?" she couldn't resist the opportunity to tease her old friend and rival. She frowned however when the only reaction she got from her was not her usual dismissal, but a scowl.

"Not now… as I was saying, apparently Issei contacted him thirty minutes after the time you told me he was killed, and from the way he expressed himself, he accused me of trying to get his brother killed out of spite" if that very accusation wasn't enough to shock Rias, the anger directed at her from her childhood friend was more than enough.

"Your actions!" Souna was practically seethin in rage "May have cost me the reputation I have been working so hard in this place! You know how he misdirected my peerage every time I tried to get him to join me… didn't the mere thought that those two were aware of their abilities and the Supernatural world even cross through that thick head of yours! Now they both have a reason to seek retribution against us!"

"But you didn't have anything to do!" Rias yelled back "There's no reason"

"Then you will come to the Student Council when he comes" Souna interrupted her "And you will explain everything you did to him"

"I will apologize to Issei-kun and explain everything to him at that moment"

"Not to Issei… Takeshi"

"Why? He's not the one that was in danger!" Rias responded in confusion.

"Rias…" the previous anger that she felt at her was completely gone, her voice gone soft and trembling. "I have the feeling that you may have provoked something that is far from our control… I will explain myself better tomorrow, now I just want to go to rest… but before I leave, I'll tell you this: I'm your friend and as such I can understand your current problem with your family. I want to help you in any way I can, believe me, I do… but this is something you have to deal on your own. Don't worry, no matter what happens I will help you in finding a way to free you from Riser" she offered a faint smile, before getting up from her seat and disappearing via magic circle.

"Thanks Souna" replied Rias softly before doing the same.

'Is this so hard to believe? Issei couldn't help but sigh at his girlfriend's astonished expression 'I mean… she just told me most of mythological pantheons do exist, so why it is hard to believe there are other planes?'

'People tend to do that when they face the unknown to them Partner'

'Ah… woke up already Ddraig?'

'Indeed Partner… I have to say those travels of yours can be quite exhausting for me at times'

'Yeah… sorry about that… but you know I have to train myself… can't rely on him all the time'

'Indeed partner… but I'll leave you be, your girlfriend seems to be upset at something'

"Ise… Ise!" a pouting Raynare called him back to reality, as the boy in mention seemed to be lost on thoughts, ignoring her questions.

"Sorry Ray-chan, sorry for phasing out"

"Mou! Just for that you will have to take me on another date!" she blushed, while still pouting, causing Issei to blush as well. He had to admit, she looked really cute while pouting. "By the way, you never told me where we are… it is just beautiful!" her eyes were basically glowing as she looked her surroundings. They were in the middle of a meadow, the sun reflecting on the lake's surface. It gave her a sense of inner peace, that not even those strange creatures in the air were enough to break it.

"Oh this place… to be honest, I never bothered to find out its name" Raynare facefaulted while Issei scratched the back of his head, smiling nervously. "I found it by accident, while testing this power I got, never bothered moving outside this meadow. Since the first time I came here was to take a break from my brother's training, collapsed exhausted and after that I just kept coming here after most training sessions with that asshole of a brother" Issei mumbled the last part, so Raynare was barely able to hear it.

"Ise-kun… about your brother, what is he? I doubt he's human"

"He isn't… to be honest I don't know what he is, hell I doubt he knows what he is…" he said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well… I don't know how to say it, but… have you seen those things on his shoulders?"

"Those pointy things?"

"Yup! Those"

"What's with them?"

"Well… you see, there's usually four of them… but sometimes, there's one or two missing, and at that time his personality changes a bit, he gets even more weird… and before you ask me how… trust me, you don't want to know"

"I see… well Ise, I think it's time we should go back" Issei nodded. "Don't forget, this Saturday you will have to take me on a date again… boyfriend" she beamed at him while hugging him. 'I need to ask Azazel-sama about this change of orders… something is not right here'.

And the same as they arrived, they departed.

"Tadaima" Issei announced as he entered home with a satisfied and tired smile. It had been an eventful day for him, but he could not deny he felt happy. His personal life was improving! He could not wait to introduce his girlfriend to Matsuda and Motohama. How envious they would be, he could already see their faces!

"So how was your date otouto"

"Really great! I will introduce her to you this Saturday!" Takeshi was taken aback by Issei's cheerful demeanor. Honestly he expected to see him sulking or complaining about someone trying to attack him. While naïve and somewhat stupid, Issei was by no means weak, he knew that, he saw his progress during his training. They both had to yet to find something that could be a threat for them, aside from each other.

"You know… you should try getting a girlfriend too aniki, staying home all day watching Mexican Telenovelas is not good for you, get a hobby too… the universe is too damn beautiful for you to staying indoors and doing nothing!"

Takeshi gave the equivalent of a smile "I will try otouto, I will try, but know let's go rest. We got school tomorrow and I have the feeling it's going to be a very long day"

"You're right… by the way, where's otou-san and okaa-san?"

"Still celebrating, they will probably return tomorrow…I heard otou-san was going to call in sick"

"Oh… that sounds nice, still, hurts a bit to know how little faith they had in me…"

"Well, your porn stash and those S&M posters you have in your room don't help you at all…" he said in a singsong voice.

"SHUT UP!"

Here's the third chapter of the story. Thank you for your reviews and criticism, it's highly appreciated. With this chapter, it has ended the introduction part of the story, and will start moving onto the main plot. I do apologize for the delay on the update, but this month has been quite eventful.

Again thank you for reading this story, and criticism is always appreciated. I do this for fun and also as a way of improving my English.