Interlude - This is My Life Now

Rias looked at the four people sitting in her club room and took a long sip of tea before setting the porcelain cup on the table and looking at the two who had just finished explaining themselves. One of them was frankly the source of the situation while the other simply made things even more chaotic with his 'help'.

Ise, she felt was completely unrepentant since his actions were all to protect the adorable nun and boys were always eager to go rescue a damsel in distress. While the girl wasn't really a member of the Fallen faction, taking her and depriving them of her sacred gear might upset some members of Grigori. Still as her gear was not exceptional powerful or vital it was a small issue, especially if she agreed to what Rias' proposition.

On the other hand, Taka even with his stunted learning was savvy enough to have some knowledge of what his actions might cause. Honestly! Even if Raynare had agreed, making a fallen the familiar of a devil was just asking for a light spear to the chest. She did not think the peerage itself was in danger but they could not be there for Aotaka at every moment.

He had already been attacked once on a whim, what would happened if there was a concentrated effort against him? How would he survive? Did he not realize that many Kings would have abandoned a pawn rather than risk the direct attention of Grigori? She would not of course since even if he was a troublemaker he was still a member of her family.

Even if he was still obviously hiding something form her.

There was no reason to risk himself by doing this from what she knew which meant that he wanted something from her. Apparently the reason was to know more about God's system but did he really think that a single low ranking fallen could give him significant information? The sacred gear ritual was interesting but she had no interest in it and Aotaka wasn't the power hungry type so she had to question why? And so she did.

Aotaka looked at her bluish green eyes and calmly closed his eyes trying to hide the uncertainty in them and decided to tell her the truth.

He looked at the three who came in with him to explain themselves and felt that this wasn't something they needed to hear. Issei and Asia since they were good people and Raynare cause she might try to use this against him.

"Can you guys just wait outside for a moment?" He asked, which made the trio curious but Raynare would obey and Ise and Asia were a bit worried but trusted that he knew what he was doing and when they left Yume was left with the expect look of Rias and the rest of her peerage. Aotaka knew that his reason to learn more about god's system might not fly but he had two other reasons one that was false but reasonable and another that was…painfully true.

"I wasn't really comfortable talking about this with them listening, Ise and Asia are my friends and they have a…overly positive impression of me"

"Well you did save their life" Kiba stated starting to feel a bit uncomfortable listening to something that Taka didn't want the people closest to him to hear.

"Well yeah they have a bit of a bias." Taka relied with a grin which faded as he continued "The problem is that despite impressions, it's really not accurate."

"How so?" Rias questioned wondering exactly what was it that Aotaka felt he didn't deserve.

"I admit I was able to do a lot of cool things this past week I got to beat some fallen and come up with a plan to save Asia but I wasn't joking when I said I was weak. That circle could have failed if I had gotten my calculations wrong and my wins were just a combination of having a decent plan and arrogant or distracted opponents."

"You still show above average ability for a pawn Aotaka so I don't see the problem." Rias questioned.

"Above average for a pawn..." Taka murmured for a moment with a strange look before asking "If I'm above average now Bucho…what are you guys? What will Ise be when he actually learning how to use that game-breaker of his?"

This caused Rias and her peerage to look at themselves with a sense of…questioning before a quiet realization and once Taka saw that he continued.

"You probably don't realize it but to me everyone here is a monster; Bucho, you and Akeno have enough power to get past any plan I've got, Kiba's got a sacred gear and speed that exceeds mine and I know that Koneko is hiding something. Ise and Asia see me as someone strong but I'm not, I've been training for years and I got paralyzed in my first fight and would have died earlier today if Ise didn't buy me some time...and yet they still see me as the guy with answers."

Rias looked at him for a moment before asking "So the reason you made Raynare your familiar is because you think she can…be a substitute for your lack of strength?"

Taka's lack of raw power is something that he had grasped from when he was just a human and while this reason was acceptable it wasn't true, at least not in a personal sense.

He wanted to protect his friends and while Raynare could help that wasn't a real factor. He would protect them regardless; if he ran out of power, he would just use his fists if those broke, he still had his legs and after that well…he didn't really need those brain cells regardless of Dohnaseek's advice. He was the one to make the oath and he had no interest in depending on Raynare to fulfill it, she may be his familiar but he wouldn't have her spend her life protecting the people she had wronged despite the delicious irony.

"Aotaka…" Rias began "I do see your reasoning but your actions are not just putting yourself at risk, this might also place Ise and Asia at risk of attack from Fallen in retaliation…" She saw that this brought an involuntary grimace from the mage and was surprised that he had missed something like that.

'I didn't really consider that they would attack Ise since he's a Longinus user and they don't know how well he could use it so I hoped they wouldn't risk it…but just in case Asia can't live at my house like we planned and I've got to make Ise at least a credible enough threat that attacking my friends would be more dangerous than just getting me'

After he considered the possible threat and how to solve it, he came out of his musing and told them what he planned to do to prevent that particular threat.

Rias nodded "That might work…I could help spread the information that Ise is the red dragon emperor and all of the three factions know what they can do and while I wasn't planning on training Ise in combat just yet, it's a good plan but are you sure that you want to risk it all for the power that an average fallen can give you?"

Yume eased off his glasses and considered what he was going to say more than his weakness, more than his heritage, this trait of his bothered him the most and he didn't want those who saw him as something better to see it.

"Raynare may be average but the fact remains that not only did she survive that trap I left for her but she was also able to take me down before I knew what was happening despite being wounded. She's arrogant and sucks at close combat but I can't underestimate her, I got lucky 2 times…I'm not betting on a third"

This review of the fallen's skills didn't really seem to convince them and Yume didn't really think it would which meant it was time to tell them.

"But that isn't really the reason…at least not the main one 'That drew their attention of course' Raynare survived my trap but she was the only one…2 fallen and 10 humans died thanks to my ingenious little trap. That what Raynare filled me in on…which is 12 more than I thought I would ever kill"

This made them wince and the part that Taka hated was that those deaths weren't the point he was trying to make.

Gremory said softly "Ao…Taka-kun I'm sorry but as a devil, people like Fallen and Stray Exorcists are a threat. You shouldn't be ashamed for ending those who would take your life without hesitation."

Rias looked at Taka who was looking at the glasses he was holding in his hand, his inky black hair obscuring the azure orbs and she hoped she had gotten through to him. Then he raised his head and looked at her and the high-class devil had to hold back a flinch at the glacier like expression on his face.

"I know that and I won't lose sleep over their death…at least I hope so but the problem…the reason I want them to leave is the simple fact that that those 12 lost lives could have very easily been 13 and I wouldn't have even known."

They looked at him with confused expressions excluding Koneko whose apathetic gaze changed into one of pained realization.

"If Asia wasn't with Freed…" She murmured and everyone heard, comprehension dawning on them as Taka looked at the clever cat with a bitter smile.

"Then she likely would have come with everyone else" Aotaka finished "Looks like you win Toujou-sama but sorry I don't have a prize to give…I'll see if I can bring some sweets tomorrow."

Looking at him with a soft gaze as she couldn't imagine what he must be feeling knowing that he could have killed someone who was so kind and what worse having that person look at him as one of her saviors when he so easily been a slayer.

"I could have killed her, burned her with ease… sure Ise wouldn't have awaken his Gift ability but I had enough power to lay something that could kill most of them. Maybe not the fallen...but Asia didn't have any physical training, she likely would have been the first to die in the fire." He said in a dull voice as he closed his eyes and tried to avoid horrible images from coming into his mind.

"So Raynare is…redemption for you?" Akeno asked and everyone there felt some small bit of sick humor at the idea of a Devil looking for redemption in a Fallen. It was a cosmic joke good enough to make God laugh himself to death.

"I'm…not really sure how to describe it, I killed those people on a whim. It wasn't because they were going to hurt Asia, I was just so eager to test the power given to me that I didn't really consider anything other than looking back and watching the flames rise. I lost control…perspective and the universe decided to reward me for it by only killing my enemies. I only realized it when I saw Raynare and heard how she lost everyone. Asia and Ise don't seem to make the connection and I hope they won't, but even if the world won't raise a fuss…it's not like I can escape my head."

"As weird as it sounds I want Raynare to live so that I won't ever forget…so that I won't ever lose that kind of perspective ever again...I can't."

When Issei, Asia and Raynare entered the room they were struck by the somber feeling shrouding the room and Ise looked at Taka for an explanation but a small shake of his head dissuaded him and then Taka shifted his head from Issei to Asia.

"Sorry Asia…I just realized that it's probably dangerous for you to be living at my house since some fallen might want to take a shot at the crazy devil who made a fallen his familiar."

This brought a worried look from Asia who didn't want him to be at risk and a fearful one from Raynare who knew that if any of the fallen with 2 or more pairs of wings attacked them both she nor Aotaka would have a hard time even surviving.

"Wi-Will you be alright Taka? Maybe I should stay so that I can heal you if they attack…" Asia said softly her fear of the fallen suppressed by her desire to help people. Seeing this brought back Taka's familiar easy grin and strengthened his resolve.

"Thanks for that Asia" He said lightly ruffling her golden hair with a gentle expression "But that would just put at you at risk for my decisions and I can't have that, still don't worry I'll put time in to improve the house's defenses and set up a circle between there and here so I can get away quickly."

Seeing Asia and Ise still looking at him with worry in their eyes, he wished he could say something anything to reassure them. "I'll be alright, if I run into anything dangerous I'm not going to run into it alone. Trust me, I have no issue with running away with my tail in between my legs if I'm out matched." There a pair of small smiles began worked their way on Asia and Ise's faces and Taka knew his work was done.

"Alright Taka, I guess I can trust that you know what you're doing…just don't do anything I wouldn't do." Ise said with a mock serious face.

"Geez Ise that's horrible advice, I thought you were supposed to be my friend?"

They shared a laugh that released some of the long day's tension before Rias interrupted with a small cough

"I've accepted Aotaka-kun's decision and I hope that it will all work out for the best but if you run into any problems, please remember that your king is always here to help" This drew a respectful nod from Aotaka and some hope to Raynare who feared that she would force him to break the contract and kill her but she might actually get out of this alive

"Now Asia-chan, since you're not living with Aotaka do you have anywhere else to stay? As my two pawns have decided to promote themselves to knights, I don't have any issue with you staying in my territory" At the small shake of the nun's head, Gremory decided it was time to make her offer

"Asia now that you are no longer a member of the church and the fallen, I now wish to offer an invitation to join my peerage, if you accept you would be reincarnated a devil of the Gremory house and I would set up a place for you to live as I've done with the other members of my family."

This invitation surprised Asia and Ise while Taka was wondering what happened that Akeno, Koneko and Kiba's family that Rias had to support them. Is this what she meant by all of them having a story to tell?

Rias watched as Asia considered her offer, as a former member of the church, she still held faith in God which the King suspected might cause her to refuse it out of hand. Rias was encourage by the fact that she looked as if she was seriously considering it, looking at Issei and Aotaka who probably shattered any preconceptions about devils she had with their actions.

"I…would I be able to go to school with Issei and Taka? could I b-be their friend" This statement from the nun made Taka and Ise look at her with a look that clearly said that she was their friend regardless of her decision.

"Asia…the Gremory peerage aren't just friends we are a family and if you join us you will be part of that family as well. That is the Gremory way. That is my way."

Asia's gem-like eyes watered and but there was determination in them and with an unwavering voice she made her decision.

Yume Residence

"Welcome to La Casa Azul, your bedroom is in the door to the right, breakfast is served whenever I feel like it and don't enter that door at the end of the corridor under penalty of extremely painful death…now how do you feel about pizza for dinner."

At this Raynare who was standing in the entrance of Taka's house looked at him with a nervous expression but Yume just waved for her to enter and she complied.

"So how is this going to work…"Raynare asked with a bit of evident trepidation in her voice.

Aotaka didn't answer the question immediately, instead he opted to walk to his house phone and order a 2 person pizza all the while having a contemplating look on his face. The fallen just looked at him warily not just because he was devil but because of what she…

"Alright you know that I want to know more about heaven's system and how you guys manipulate it, I know you're a low ranker so we'll just start off with the details of the ritual that makes the cross downstairs steal sacred gears."

Raynare complied explaining the symbol that needed to be place on the original sacred gear holder and the one who would be receiving it. She keep shooting Taka glances as she explained that as sacred gears were bonded to humans from birth removing them would as far as she knew always result in death. Yume had an impassive face at this having worked it out and while it was disappointing that he couldn't just get a sacred gear of his own the ritual did give him…ideas

"Taking a sacred gear kills because the person can't handle it leaving but what if it wasn't the entire gear? No…taking it piecemeal would probably just destroy it or make the ritual fail. Still the process is interesting, I wonder what I could do if I could just learn the specifics how it works?"

Raynare watched as the mage's musings degraded in short phrases that included the words 'they'll call me mad', 'politics' and 'potentially blasphemous'. All of which made her increasing wary of her new master and his erratic behavior but she made her choice all she could hope was to survive what was coming.

Then after the pizza came and they sat down at his dining table to nom on some greasy cheap pizza which Taka did with gusto. He had exerted a lot of energy today and while Asia and Ise could heal his wounds and replenish his stores of energy they couldn't do a thing about the strain of pushing himself like that. So he just enjoyed the addicting taste of fast food which he tried to avoid since with no supervision it was just too easy to make it a bad habit. Still now that he was a devil did he even need to worry about health problems? What was the lifespan of the average devil anyway now that the factions weren't in a state of warfare?

He noticed that Raynare was constantly glancing at him and he had to suppress the urge to ask her to stop. He was a devil and even if she was now his familiar it wouldn't mean she would safe from him, in fact unless he actually tried to kill her only his conscience limited how he would treat her. All in all she had good reason to be frightened even if he was just an average devil and not…whatever the hell he was

"Are you sure that you've never heard about human-angel hybrids? Even as just a rumor or something." He asked the fallen who was chewing a piece of pizza. After drinking a glass of soda to clear her throat she replied.

"Never but…I'm just a low ranking fallen, even when I was an angel, I was just a grunt born to fill the numbers like the devils did with that evil piece system. Maybe one of the high rankers like those with 3 or maybe 4 pairs of wings would know for certain but I don't see why something like that would be hidden." They stayed silent for moment as Taka wondered not for the first time what the hell was going on? And what was he?

His dad didn't seem to care about religion either Christianity or Shinto, but he did have stories from them and other mythologies in his library. They were just the tales designed to teach people lessons and as the son like reading as much as his father, Taka learnt quite a bit about the details of the different religions even if he felt no special connection to them.

If his father was from the church or one of the other factions, he certainly didn't act like it paying no more or less attention to the Christian stories than any other mythology. In fact his books while set in a world of angels and devils, focused more on ordinary human characters and didn't share much resemblance to how the actual factions were represented.

All in all Taka wished that he had some hints as to his mother and his nature but nothing his dad said before his death stuck out.

'Come on dad you had to know I would find out mom was an angel eventually. Why didn't you leave information in your will, a series of clues hidden in your final novel, hell at this point I would settle for a mysterious stranger that leaves vague advice before eventually revealing themselves as mom in disguise.'

Raynare looked at the pawn with a controlled expression trying to interrupt her currently thinking master and draw his attention. This may seem a bit much as Taka wasn't really the type of person to be cruel to someone in his power and Raynare could see that much but that didn't easy her worries.

The reason was simple, making a familiar of a creature with a fully sentient mind was normally only done by powerful magicians who understood the process much better than Taka did, as a result the ritual had an effect that Taka didn't consider at that time.

It wasn't something as convenient such as a way for Raynare to break the conditions but it was useful in it's own way. When a familiar is made of a non-thinking creature the familiar bond usually makes the creature more effective by allowing the creature to feel their master's emotions with exceptional clarity.

And when Raynare was made into a familiar, while the ritual was more stringent that normal bindings, as a result of Aotaka's inexpert handling Raynare received the emotional connection to her master that Magicians usually don't bother using with sentient creatures.

As a result the familiar bond would all the fallen to feel her master's emotions with clarity and Raynare was a fair hand with manipulation. In fact this could turn out very bad for Taka as his emotions were now on full display to her regardless of how well he could physically hide them.

So why was Raynare so nervous despite this piece of 'good' fortune? Simple. The ritual made her feel Yume's emotions with perfect clarity which meant that ever since the ritual was completed and she realized what was happening she learnt exactly what he felt every time he looked at her. She expected to be feeling several things from the young mage; fear, arrogance, hate, and even lust despite what he had said when he made the offer.

But if these emotions existed they were overshadowed completely by one other as soon as he saw her.

Hatred

Raynare expected negative feelings, she had almost killed him and his friends on two separate occasions so hate for what she had done was only natural but this was something else. Whenever he took the time to address her, she could sense just for a moment an instance of pure instinctive hate that he showed no sign of physically but which became apparently through their link.

This was like nothing she had ever seen or felt before. It wasn't something born out her actions against his friends or even that she was a member of a race that were the enemies of his. No this was a hate born out of seeing something that wasn't supposed to exist. That went against his very perception of the world and it frightened her.

She hated devils as she had fought them for years and saw them as her eternal enemies but this kind of impersonal hate frightened her. It was as if every time he saw her he had to stop and remember than no he wasn't supposed to kill her for existing. Was this his angelic blood doing this?

She didn't know but she had fought against fallen before becoming one herself and knew that this wasn't something Angels felt, if they did then any Angel that faced a fallen would fallen themselves. But this hybrid can't fall, he lived life like humans always do full of small sins every day, but it didn't change his wings from that pristine white or his holy power from that pure light. She knew that much from the attack of light and fire that he struck her with that unlike fallen his power was as untainted as any angels and she hated him for it.

How dare he be born unable to fall, a gift even Michael the first hand of god did not have. She fell because she had chosen to follow Azazel over obeying Him and while she didn't regret it nothing could stop the hole that all fallen feel after being cast out. In Raynare's opinion that was what really separated them from those who didn't fall, they had to indulge in the things that made them fall to fill that loss that all of them felt. Azazel studied god's system and the sacred gears, Dohnaseek sought endless battle and she wanted to serve Azazel-sama to the best of her ability and gain his love

This human didn't feel anything for Him. the most important people in his life were the two sacred gear wielders and what he felt for them was different than what she had felt for Him. He cherished her former targets but it wasn't in the subservient manner that angels and faithful humans did, it was much more simple and effortless like everything in human life.

How could she not hate him for having all the advantages of angels without their greatest fears though she didn't understand why she had never heard of them before? Was he some kind of glitch in God's system? A one in a billion chance that even He couldn't account for?

"Yo musing is my thing get your own" Aotaka interrupted, watching with a sense of amusement as she flinched and realized that he was done thinking and had been looking at her all this time.

'How? Did I really not notice him even with this link? How do I cope with this? I can't manipulate him like I did with Ise and he'll probably just kill me after he learns everything I know.'

Or would he? That order he gave her pretty much gave her an out in life threatening situations but that fact was that he was a better fighter than she was, in terms of raw power they weren't too different but she knew from their past battles that she was outmatched.

It was something that she had seen before in some of her comrades who had an instinct for battle that surpassed the average fallen, for some like Dohnaseek it was due to numerous past battles but for Yume he was trained but inexperienced in battle. Yet he had a feel for violence that made her uncertain of victory even if he didn't have allies to call on that outmatched her completely.

She had traded a certain doom for an uncertain one and did know if it was the right choice, she had abandoned her people of their enemy and a master who she couldn't predict or manipulate

Taka after taking both their plates and washing them decided to deal with how Raynare would fit in his life.

"So first things first, I think we both know that I can't trust you enough to just leave you here. Who knows what kind of mischief you would get up to." He said with a small smile which Raynare could sense held genuine amusement.

'That just makes it even weirder. Does he not think that I'm a threat? Or does he just find some twisted humour in everything?'

"So what do you want me to do? I am your loyal familiar after all" She asked with a bit of sarcasm as a test to gauge just how their relationship was. Taka did not look or feel the slightest bit offended so she took that as a good sign.

The question was also mostly genuine as from what she knew familiars usually take care of their master's chores which was not something she had much experience in. He had probably already guessed that so he would probably want her to write down what she already knew about god's system which would be a pain.

"I've talked about this a bit with Bucho and came up with something for you to do during the day. So get your uniform pressed and pack your bag cause you've got school tomorrow." He revealed with an enormous smile.

"What! I'm centuries old what the hell could school teach me?" The fallen asked incredulously.

Taka didn't immediately answer her simply shaking his head in a oh so disappointed manner.

"Poor poor Raynare, let your much more cunning master enlighten you. I can let you stay here, not just because you're a danger but because what do you think your former allies will do once they realize that you are staying in a house with no real magical defenses hmm?"

This question was rewarded with a rapidly paling Raynare as she considered just what they would do to her if she was found alone and undefended but if she went to school then.

With a dry voice she asked "So…by going to school with those other devils I'll be more protected right?"

"Well kinda, you see Rias and the peerage don't really care about your survival so the only protection that you'll get from them will only be circumstantial." Seeing the confused look he elaborated "While the peerage won't defend you, they also won't allow other fallen to just invade their territory. As a devil's familiar you're allowed in the Gremory-Sitri territory, the other fallen however aren't, but that's as much protection as you're going to get."

She looked a bit reassured as most fallen wouldn't risk a direct attack on the territory of such powerful devils.

"So what will we be doing when there isn't school" she asked.

"I already spend time at the occult club after school and during weekdays so I'm planning on setting up a permanent teleportation circle between here and there. That way if anyone attacks here, I can get out quickly."

"What about me" She asked only to regret it as he gave her a shrug and look that seemed so cold and she could help but shiver at the impassive expression. She was a fool to put her fate in a devil once things went bad he wouldn't hesitate to leave to di….why were his lips twitching?

She then sensed a growing sense of amusement from their link and realized that he was screwing with her. As Taka's grin became pronounced as he realized from Raynare's annoyed huff and crossed arms that she figured it out he decided to just tell her.

"I'm not surprised you don't know but it's pretty easy for a master to summon their familiar to their side, as long as I can get somewhere safe you'll be alright"

"Now Rias gave me some stuff to fill out that I'll email to Sona tonight so that she can set things up, I've already decided that you'll be in my class so that me and Kiba can keep an eye on you just so fill out this form and let me know when you're done."

Aotaka wondered just what the hell he was going to do to protect his home. Even with his increased power he wasn't capable of putting some kind of barrier over his home, hell he didn't think even Rias could pull of something like that and have it block any serious attack. So he needed to be more subtle which meant things that would rather than defend would deflect, there were certain spells that would conceal his home such as illusions which some of his new allies might know of.

'Well since everyone who was with Raynare died, there isn't really any one to tell Grigori that she betrayed them. I'm not going to be banding it about but it will spread, I've probably just a month or 2 before they find out through spies or just gossip. Still I should have enough time to hide this place from any querying eyes maybe Sona can help after she finishes tearing me a new one for all this trouble I'm giving her' he thought with a chuckle before noting that Raynare was handing him the filled out sheet.

Raynare then began looking around the house that she would be staying at during her time as a familiar. It was a decent place looking like a normal human dwelling with tasteful furniture and shelves filled with well used novels. There was a living room with a TV and couches for viewing as well as a desktop setup to the side.

'Well if the room he gives me is something like this, as least the living situation will not be a proble-Graaah!'

Her mind felt fire run through it and she instinctively turned towards the source, Yume looking at her sheet with a strange expression. Raynare felt fire-laced anger and an almost incredulous rage that she knew was directed at her from her master, this combined with the resurgence of the instinctive hate that he had for her made one thing clear to her.

'He's going to kill me and I have no idea why'

She struggled to control her expressions as the magician walked towards her with the sheet held in a firm grip and when he faced her, Aotaka took one last look at the paper and asked her in a calm voice that didn't fool her.

"Yuuma?"

"What?" She asked not being able to comprehend his words/

"Your alias as school will not be Yuuma Amano that is the name of the person who deceived my friend and tried to kill him, my friend who just spared your life not two hours ago. Are you trying to insult Ise by sticking with that kind of name Heaven's Evening Daze*? Want to remind him of what you were planning to do to him on that sunset afternoon every time he sees you?"

"N-no" She stuttered feeling the trapped heat turn into a cold anger as Aotaka closed his eyes and let out a breath from his nostrils.

"Well if you can't be sensible enough to choose something smart I'll choose something for you…Ochiru Ame, 'Falling Rain' suits you don't you agree Raynare" He said with a blank expression and received an equally black nod from the still fallen.

"Alright I'll be sending it to Sona and she should have the things you need sent over tomorrow so we're done for today but Raynare remember to think before you do things, if you piss of my friends I'm not going to protect you" He said leaving the Fallen alone in the living room to consider just how badly she had screwed up.

'God this is aggravating, I really shouldn't get that angry even if she needs to watch what she says.' Taka thought grumpily his anger fading as he left the fallen's presence. With a clear mind he realized that even when he thought he had a grip on the mental effect that fallen had on him, a shock could make him slip up and over react. When he saw that stupid alias that she had put down, a fire filled him that didn't just seem metaphorical.

Still it was good that he could get a hold on it and channel that anger into something less dangerous like a spiteful pun. 'This only reaffirms that I need to get a hang on this hate I have, it isn't exactly irrational considering I'm now a devil but…that kind of anger and hate isn't something I'm used to…'

Taka was just a teenager but even he knew that righteous anger and instinctive hatred was a bad combination. He didn't know what he might do if he ever lost control but it wouldn't be good and he wasn't naïve enough to think that it would ok just because Raynare was an enemy. If he lost control he knew he would regret it and he would rather the inconvenience of an inconsiderate fallen for some control over whatever his angelic blood was doing to him

He email the information to Sona on his laptop and wondered just how he was going to deal with what the future had to hold. It had been about a week and he had changed becoming something different from the drifting magus hiding in plain sight. He had friends, obligations and a family, that was his life now and he would protect it because that was what he had chosen to fight for.

TBC

*Heaven's Evening Daze is the literal translation for Raynare's alias and references her identity as well as her plan to kill Ise at sunset. The new alias Falling Rain is just something I came up as a reference to her real name Rayn-are and her falling which I imagine is a sore spot for most fallen

Welcome to a short interlude bridging the first and second novel of Highschool DXD. Next chapter will see be focusing on training as well as the first appearance of Riser and Ravel, for those of you who've asked I've thought up a way to include Ravel in future arcs and I hope you'll enjoy it. This chapter is pretty much for establishing Taka and Raynare's relationship which is one I think will be pretty interesting to see progress. I've got ideas for how Raynare can grow and even thought up a way for her to be important in coming Arcs. Also as an Easter Egg I've included a line from one of my favorite Fanfic as an ending to this chapter so let's see who in the comments can spot it. Review on what you think and what you think I need to improve on.