AN: It's been a hot minute, but here it is. A fat chapter. Hope you enjoy. Glad most people are liking this iteration of Issei. We hope that he's still within the range of Issei still.

Xerzo LotCN: Look, I think a lot of things will be answered if you wait a tad bit. No worries. Aika being a fujoishi is a bit of comedy with being faithful as well. Will it be a big part of the story? Not at all.

Barakozu1488: Glad everything is A-Ok with the transition with Issei and all the introductions. You'll get some of what you asked in this chapter.

Oh, also, as we're going for a long fic, there will be other relationships displayed as otherwise, it'd be very strange. We also just wanna give some love to some chads in DxD. If you can't handle that, my apologies, but that's how it is.

Discord: [discord . gg / yARsw4UtaC]

Please give lots of reviews for us! I read them all and appreciate the praises and constructive criticism!

"What sick fantasy are you putting me in now? It better be one that puts me in a good light," Issei said. One might be asking why Issei would say such words. Well, the answer is quite simple.

When Issei walked into class and greeted Aika with a smile, Aika immediately burst out with a nose bleed.

Issei deduced that since Aika suffers from the condition known as Super Pervert, it was a very large probability that her thoughts therefore, wouldn't be the most pure… and it would most likely have a lot to do with him. 'I wish I could say I'm flattered, but something tells me that I wouldn't like this fantasy of hers that she's definitely thinking of,' Issei thought.

Aika sniffled as Issei clotted her nosebleed with a handkerchief. "Anks Isei," she said, her words slurring a little with her nose being tended to, "No 'ick 'antasies ere!"

Issei simply replied, "Liar," before retracting his handkerchief and folding it up to clean later. "I'll allow you your fantasies for now, but if I come across any evidence of it around, I'll make sure to dispose of it."

'Crap. He knows!' Aika thought as she saw the evil smirk on Issei's face.

Coughing to regain his usual composure, Issei switched to a normal smile as he said, "Anyway, I can also eradicate those fantasies in another way," Issei said, pumping himself up a little bit.

"Oho? And how would you do that, pray tell?" Aika said, amused by his enthusiasm.

"You know, I could just take a certain brunette out for some coffee one of these days. Certainly that'd do the job."

Aika put a finger to her chin. "I don't know… Brunettes don't like being used I hear. You should know being one. If it is genuine then I think you'll find that the fantasies are much stronger than you think."

"Damn it," Issei said, scratching the back of his head, "You're right on both accounts."

Aika's face turned mischievous as she said, "Of course I am! Aren't I always?"

'An opening!' Issei thought as he prepared his comeback. "Eh, you have a 50/50 ratio on that."

"What?" Aika said, her surprise feigned, "I didn't think I was as low as your 20/80 ratio!"

With mock annoyance, Issei blurted, "Oi, all I talk about is working out, how can I be wrong that much to gain those proportions?"

Before Aika could reply, the teacher interrupted her by saying, "Alright, alright. Everyone settle down. Class is about to begin."

Issei tried to make his way to his seat, but a hand was on his ear. He allowed the hand to guide his head downward. "You may talk about working out, but trying to deflect your obvious popularity isn't that truthful to reality."

His ear was released and so Issei swiftly retreated to his seat. Thankfully, Issei held in his embarrassment as he faced forward in his chair, intent on paying attention to the lecture.

(-)

After a few hours of various attention-grabbing classes flew by, it was lunch time. Issei, naturally, had to get some lunch from the cafeteria, but before he did that, he decided to drop by the student council. He didn't have any work at the docks today, so why not help out around the school? It was something that he liked doing and it gives him a chance to be in the company of some of Kuoh's most beautiful.

As Issei walked towards the Student Council's room, he heard some voices from beyond the door. 'Hmm, well, I don't want to be rude,' Issei thought as he knocked on the door.

The voices stopped, leaving some silence before Issei heard the recognizable voice of Souna Shitori say, "Enter."

Issei complied and walked in, unintentionally tensing up as he approached the desk of the Student Council President. A quick glance around showed that only Souna, Tsubaki, and some guy he didn't know were present in the room. 'Hmm, the others must be out for some reason,' Issei said as he cleared his throat. Usually, he'd see everyone working in this room at this time. "Hello Shitori-senpai, Shinra-senpai," Issei took one look at the guy, trying to remember his name, "Genshitsi-san?"

"It's Genshirou! Saji Genshirou! How did you somehow put 'shit' in my name? Also, did you just unintentionally insult Shitori-Kaichou!" Saji yelled.

"Ah yes, Genshirou-san. Now I remember," Issei said, snapping his finger in confirmation of that fact, ignoring Saji's other comment. "Anyway, I just wanted to offer any help that I could provide after school today. It just so happens that I'm off work today."

"That's very thoughtful of you Hyoudou-kun," Souna said, taking a small sigh at Saji's lack of composure, "Yes, it just so happens that we should have some heavy lifting for you to do. Clubs are taking stock of the items they need, so you'll be assisting Meguri-san in visiting each club."

Issei gave a smile as he replied, "A shame that I won't be working with either of you two, but hopefully, I'll be just as useful working with Meguri-senpai."

"Grrrrr," Issei could lightly hear coming from this Saji guy as Saji gritted his teeth at him. For some reason, his agitation just made him want to step forward and put him in his place. 'Yes, squabble all you want, little boy. You should pipe down before the adults if you want to stay in one piece.' Issei's face was comprised of a growing smirk as his body almost took a step forward before-

Souna smacked Saji discreetly as she said, "Yes, that is very unfortunate, however, your help with Meguri-san will be greatly appreciated. I thank you for regularly assisting us around the school." Souna's eyes narrowed at Issei in interest.

Issei shook his head as he regained his senses. 'That was weird.' Issei nodded and turned to leave, saying, "Like I always tell you guys, there's no need to thank me. I'm just trying to be a good underclassman."

"I thought it was on threat of your mother finding out that you didn't help a pretty girl in need?" Tsubaki said.

Issei stopped and answered her. "Well of course! That goes without saying." Hearing some of that other guy's teeth gritting again, Issei casually walked out of the room, snickering a little.

After the doors closed behind him, Issei unintentionally let out a breath of relief. 'What was up with that room? It felt as if there was an invisible pressure enveloping the room. Hmmm, must've been nerves,' he thought as he tried to steadily walk to the cafeteria with some haste.

Something was up, but he didn't want to miss lunch over it!

(-)

Classes were over and Issei, surprisingly, wasn't mentally exhausted. Gradually, his studies improved over the course of his studying, so it isn't an exaggeration for Issei nowadays to be labeled a good student. In fact, with how much he helped around the school, it's likely the teachers would call him an excellent student for his out of class assistance. His help did often come into conflict with some possible plans he could have though…

"So, do you want to hit the arcade together for a few hours?" Aika asked, obviously worn down from the hard day of endless lectures and labs.

"Maybe another day," Issei said, a hand scratching the back of his head, "I'm helping out the Student Council today and I have no idea how long that'll take."

Aika smirked. "You're always helping them out, huh. Must be because they're filled with cute girls!"

Issei returned her smirk. "I won't deny that their beauty isn't a benefit to helping them out, but I'd argue hanging out with a cute girl like you would be more enjoyable. Rather, it's because I'm trying to discipline myself."

Aika stumbled backwards a step as she revealed her face to be red from embarrassment. "Well aren't you a casanova? Hopefully, you won't discipline yourself too much. My read on you was that you're the type to blaze your own path."

Issei grinned. "Your read is right then. I don't intend to be disciplined in a way that serves others rather in a way that helps myself become a better person. So, I am serving my own interests."

Aika's face morphed into a slight frown. "I don't know if that makes a whole lot of sense. Just call me if you want to hang out today, ok?"

Issei shook his head as he smiled. 'I don't even know myself if I'm making sense. All I know is what is.' "Will do. I hope that you won't regret giving me the opportunity to see your cute face again."

Aika giggled perversely as a smirk returned to her face. "I don't think I'll ever regret inviting those abs." With those words she gave her goodbyes as she scurried out of the classroom.

Issei sighed. This was a nice everyday conversation that he would have with Aika. The girl was a piece of work, but a lot of fun to be around. Unlike Motohama and Matsuda who revolved around their perversion, Aika would usually just have it as a conversation piece. It never surrounded all her activities which Issei greatly appreciated.

'Damn… if she actually tried to get a boyfriend though, she'd succeed easily.' Issei wasn't kidding when he called her cute. Even among Kuoh Academy's cast of beautiful girls, Aika was up there. 'I guess I should make my move on her one of these days then,' Issei thought as he gathered his belongings and headed for the Student Council room.

That pressure from earlier hadn't been forgotten. Issei could only wonder if his senses would feel the same as the last time he entered the room.

'I guess I can only hope it doesn't interfere with my help,' Issei shrugged at the thought.

Before he came upon the doors of the room, he already felt a tenseness in the air that wasn't present before. It was exactly like last time, except amplified tenfold. 'Seriously, what is going on with me?'

Issei opened the door to find all the student council members and more.

"Hoh, Gremory-san. I didn't expect you to be here." 'It seems that all of the Occult Research club were present within the room. Interesting.'

"Ah, I had some business with Souna, so I had to clear some things with her. It's nice to see you again, Hyoudou-kun, however, it seems that my business is down now."

"It was nice to see you too. If you are ever in need of some help, I'd be glad to give you my assistance."

"Hmm? Are you trying to get out of the work I assigned you, Hyoudou-kun?" Souna interrupted.

"No way! I offered after all. I was just offering my services to Gremory-san." Issei turned his head to Rias to see her reaction only to see her frozen in place. "Gremory-san?"

Rias stopped starring as she shook out of her frozen self. "I'll keep the offer in mind, Hyoudou-kun. I just hope that this isn't some silly prank. Our last conversation seems to make me antsy around you."

Souna looked on, curious to what exactly Rias was referring to while Issei laughed at that comment. "No pranks this time. I swear," Issei said light heartedly.

"Alright then," Rias smiled, "If that's all, I'll be off." With that statement, her entourage, the Occult Research Club followed behind her out the door.

"Would it be too intrusive to ask what sort of prank you played on Rias?" Souna smiled lightly.

Issei smirked as he cracked up at the thought. "Not at all. I'll tell you all the details… after I go through all the clubs with Meguri-senpai."

"M-Me?" Tomoe stuttered.

"Right," coughing, Souna regained her strict persona, "It will be your job, Meguri-san, to meet with each club in the school and take note of the expenses of each club to see if their requests are permissible. If their budget is within target, Hyoudou-kun will carry out the club materials from the storage room of materials that we already have in stock. If their requests are beyond what we have at the moment, we'll receive their requests at a later time."

"Alright, sounds like a plan," Issei said. Addressing Tomoe, Issei said, "I'll be in your care, Meguri-senpai."

The usually energetic girl seemed to stiffen up unnaturally as she stuttered out, "A-ah. I-I'll be in your care as well!"

'That insane pressure seems to have died down a lot. I'm glad it's not making me freak out like it did last time,' Issei thought.

What Issei didn't know was that to the perceptive eye of Sona Sitri, Issei Hyoudou was way more than just what he appears.

As Issei and Tomoe left to attend to their assigned work, each devil let out a breath of relief.

"What was up with that guy? Is he a super powerful devil that you haven't introduced me to yet?" Saji asked, directing his question to anyone in the room.

Tsubaki fidgeted her glasses. "Not quite, Genshirou-san. All of last year, in fact, this aura of his wasn't present at all. It is to our understanding that he's still human."

"What? No way! From what you explained to me devils are way stronger than normal humans and yet I almost crapped my pants when he tried approaching me earlier!"

Sona, who was sitting at her desk contemplating the current situation, suddenly spoke up, interrupting Saji's complaints. "It is evident to me that Hyoudou-kun possesses a similar yet stronger sacred gear to you, Genshirou-san. That is, a dragon-type sacred gear. His fit form as well probably makes him a good host for whatever he has, amplifying the effects of the aura he's emitting."

"Why hasn't any of his classmates been affected by it," Saji said, inwardly complaining about Issei being stronger.

"Humans without supernatural awareness just don't have the senses to detect the aura. Only subconscious actions are taken usually for humans to avoid that kind of potential threat," Tsubaki spoke up, turning to Sona with a smirk cropping up on her face. "It is curious that Sona has come to the same conclusions that I have though. It suggests some intense thinking on your part about a certain tall, dark, and cute underclassman."

Sona stiffened up a bit, turning her head away from Tsubaki's teasing face. "I-it's not anything of what y-you've been insinuating. Hyoudou-kun has been a potential peerage member for Rias as well as myself for some time. It's only natural to analyze him to this extent."

"Mmhm, I'm sure," Tsubaki's smirk stays solid on her face.

Saji looks on with some annoyance. 'Maybe I'm not picking up on something Shinra-senpai said, but now I'm angry at Hyoudou for some reason. Maybe Sona will recognize me as a man if I can outdo him in my work!' With increased motivation out of spite, Saji Genshirou would finish his Student Council work with haste.

(-)

"Phew, the chess club had surprisingly a lot of work for us, huh. You'd think shogi would be a better focus for a club in Japan, but I guess this school has a strange fixation on chess."

Tomoe Meguri was not prepared for that astute observation from Issei. "W-what makes you say that, Hyoudou-kun?"

Issei put his arms in a relaxed position to the back of his head as he thought about Tomoe's question. "Nothing much, actually. There were just a lot of chess materials in the storage room and I see a chess set in the student council room sometimes. I was expecting more shogi fans, I guess."

Tomoe let out a sigh at the explanation. 'Good, we're in the clear. He's just being observant.' Clearing her throat, Tomoe said, "I believe that was the last club to check. Most of the clubs don't have anything to replace just yet as they're encouraged to keep their equipment in good condition."

"Right? It's only the reckless clubs or the major physical intensive ones that needed a replacement in equipment… and the chess club for some reason."

Tomoe let out a laugh at Issei's fixation on picking on the chess club. "You shouldn't be that surprised. Sona-kaichou gets very intense whenever she faces someone in chess. It's like she has something to prove."

"Really?" Issei asked, surprised by the information, "Shitori-senpai strikes me as a cool, calm, collected girl."

Tomoe put a finger to her chin. "She is, but when it comes to chess, she gets super intense for some reason. I assume it has something to do with all chess players," she laughed.

"That's hilarious actually. I might actually have to challenge her then!"

"I want to be there when you challenge her then!" Tomoe said, intent on seeing her king's reaction.

"It's a promise!" Issei said, showing a thumbs up.

"Thank yoooou!" Tomoe said. Looking at her forms, she said, "You're actually free to go by the way. Since we already checked all the classes, all your work is done. I'll just report our progress to Sona-kaichou!"

"Give her my regards then. I'll help you guys out some other time then. Later! It was nice working with you, Meguri-san!" With those words, Issei walked in the opposite direction towards the stairs.

Tomoe let out a shiver now that he was out of sight. "What a terrifying underclassman. He seems like a nice guy though, so I think it'll be alright! I'll just report what I felt to Sona-kaichou!" she said, bubbly skipping to the Student Council room.

(-)

Issei let out a yawn as he stretched out his back. 'It seems that despite my success in working out, mornings are still going to be a little tough to wake up to.' Issei was still adjusting to the bright sky when he thought he saw a cute nun across the street. 'Wait what?'

Blinking twice, he saw that the nun wasn't a delusion of his. There was a cute nun across the street from him. She looked like she was very confused about where she was. Her looks were definitely foreign, which made sense given the circumstances.

Issei checked his watch, seeing that he was going to have to rush to make it to school on time. He immediately threw that plan out the window when he saw the nun who looked like she could use the help. 'Skipping school to help out a cute girl, huh. Seems like a good trade.'

Issei crossed the street and walked up to the girl. "Hello, miss. Would you happen to need some assistance?"

Her face morphed from surprise to excitement in a few seconds. "Ciao, mi chiamo Asia Argento. Saprei per caso dov'è la chiesa locale?"

'Huh, sounds like Italian. I could only grasp some of that. I'm guessing she needs to find a certain place? Well, at least I can maybe introduce myself.' Pointing to myself, Issei clearly stated, "Issei Hyoudou," keeping in mind that family names come in second for Western cultures. He pointed to her afterwards and enunciated what he was reasonably sure was her name, "Asia Argento?"

Her face showed that she connected the dots to figuring out that I was introducing myself. "Sì!"

Quickly trying to find out a way to bypass the language barrier, Issei's thought process was interrupted by a distinct sound.

"Mmmmmmm"

"You're hungry, huh." Issei said. Asia's face erupted into a massive blush.

"N-non è quello che pensi!" Asia said, incredibly embarrassed by her stomach's noise.

Laughing at her embarrassment, Issei took her by her hand and said, "C'mon, I'll take you for some food."

Issei led her gently as he said, "You may not understand me, but don't worry, I'll take care of you."

A murmur of Italian that Issei had no idea what it meant was said in return. Issei made sure to not be too rough as he guided her to a local ramen shop.

The owner of the shop pointed him out and said, "Hey, shouldn't you be in school right now?"

Issei lazily pointed with his head back at the owner and said, "Mr. Koshikawa, you can lay off the jokes. I'm skipping school for a good cause."

"Oh really? Are you going to take her on a tour of your fishy job?" The stern expression quickly changed to a good-natured smile.

Issei couldn't help but retort, "As if! She seems to not know Japanese all that well, so I'm just going to try and get her to where she needs to go. She just so happened to be hungry though, so I thought I should bring some business to this empty place!"

"Bwahaha," Mr. Koshikawa laughed, "Shut up. I'm getting more than enough business to get by. Today you just so happened to walk by when no one was here."

"I'm sure. I'll comfort you by ordering some food."

"Then, get a food ticket and I'll serve you up!"

Bemused by his words, Issei led Asia, who was wide-eyeing the shop, to a machine in the front of the shop. Issei inserted some money into a specific category of ramen and two receipts came out. Issei readily handed the two receipts to Mr. Koshikawa, asking, "Any reason why you don't have any staff here?"

Mr. Koshikawa received the two slips of paper and said, "I sent them away because business was slow today, so I wasn't going to hold them here hostage."

"Ah, what a nice boss," Issei said dryly, "Anyway, go make us some food, old man." Asia looked over worried with the tone Issei was giving off, but Mr. Koshikawa took that in stride.

"You're really putting on a front to entertain me, huh. Well, it's working haha!" It was only a few minutes of waiting before the two bowls of ramen were out in front of the only two customers.

"Thank you for the food," Issei said before getting a good grasp of the noodles and digging in. He side-eyed Asia's actions. Asia seemed very nervous as she prayed, saying grace before she ate. Asia tried to pick up the chopsticks, imitating Issei, but she was fumbling her fingers with the sticks.

'I guess I should've made sure she could eat before digging in myself.' Issei put his hand over Asia's and inserted the chop sticks in her hand as he puppeted the correct movements.

"Grazie mille!" Asia said, happily as she tried to eat ramen sloppily.

'It looks kinda cute,' Issei thought, 'Maybe I shouldn't take pleasure in seeing her struggle to eat, but eh, she's a cute girl, so whatever she does will be cute."

Issei ate up his meal fast and so watched Asia finish off hers with a burp. Asia went bright red in embarrassment.

"Haha, I'm glad you liked it missy!" Mr. Koshikawa said with a thumbs up.

Asia nodded, her face still red. Issei clapped as he decided that they should probably head to the place that Asia needed to be at. "Alright then, we should probably get going. Thank you for the food Mr. Koshikawa."

"Yeah, yeah. Get out of here now." he said in return.

"Eh, I wanted to hang out with a cute girl like her instead of you anyway," Issei left the shop with those mock-anger words. Issei could hear some laughter from beyond the door.

Tilting his head toward Asia, Issei said, "Now, you had a place you needed to be. Maybe we'll stumble along it, but the best I can do is lead you around." Issei gave Asia his hand of which Asia hesitantly took.

'I think at this point, even though it's quite obvious, it is concerning how accepting she is of my help. You'd think she'd have some suspicion of me… Well, I'm not going to complain. I like having an excuse to hold her hand even if I'm only doing it to lead her.'

Issei guided Asia around town with Asia lagging behind, showing some unfamiliarity with where she is. Issei tried to find where she needed to be, but it was definitely a challenge with the language barrier.

"Ah, Asia, there you are!" a seemingly gentle voice said.

Issei and Asia turned to find a well endowed raven-haired woman standing before them. She seemingly seemed normal, but a feeling was bugging Issei. It was an inkling of instinct, a bit of a volatile presence that was trying to stay hidden.

Issei tried calming himself, but was going to step forward toward the woman and Dominate the presence before him. If there was a semblance of hostile aura in front of him, his very being was calling for him to eradicate it.

Issei tried to step forward, but it was a simple phrase that stopped him. "Va tutto bene, Issei," Asia said, stepping forward, letting go of Issei's hand to stand next to the raven-haired woman. "Si prenderà cura di me."

"That's r-right, I'm going to take care of her, so there's no need to get so aggressive."

The raven haired woman led Asia as they passed Issei. Issei heard the words, "Ci vediamo più tardi, Issei. Grazie per il tempo che abbiamo avuto insieme." from Asia and despite the cheerful nature behind her words, Issei could sense an inherent sadness in them despite the happy delivery.

'What's wrong here? Asia found a person who'll take her where she needs to go and everything seems to have been settled. But. But. Something is off.' Issei turned around to perhaps catch them before they left, but they were out of sight. 'What's exactly wrong here.'

(-)

More than a bit perturbed, Issei nonetheless shrugged off his worry, if only for a moment. It was nearing evening-time, and he still had to hit the gym. With broad strides and a confident stroll, the muscle-bound teen made his way over to the district of Kuoh that he was most familiar with, passing the various storefronts and booths as he jogged over.

When the brunet arrived, it was to a nearly empty gym. Not terribly surprising, as it was quite a bit later than he usually frequented, but as always Issei could spot his closest friend, standing as if he was an island unto himself.

"Hey Sai!" He approached, giving his mentor a wave and a smile that fell all too quickly. Sai noticed almost immediately, setting down the pair of dumbbells that he had been using for lateral raises with a thunderous thud.

"Evening, Ise. It's a bit late, isn't it?" He asked, worry momentarily flashing across his face at his friend's odd tone.

"Could say the same for you," Issei replied rather halfheartedly, dropping his bag into its regular locker and hefting a pair of dumbbells next to the taller man.

"Well, you know me! Late to bed and early to rise makes Sai a strong man, right?" The older of the two shot Issei a small smile. Usually that line would make his friend crack up and call him an old man or something. Today, it barely registered across Issei's face.

"Hey," Sai prodded, seeing Issei absorbed in a set of dumbbell curls that were quite a bit more than his usual weight. They moved as easily as the amount he regularly used, so something must have been up.

"What's going on man? Did something happen?" He asked, noting with some small annoyance that Issei barely responded, little more than a grunt.

With a sigh of his own, the older of the two reached out, quick as a snake, plucking the weights from Issei's hands as if they were mere paper-weights. "Talk to me, dude. Something's clearly happened." He spoke with a frank tone, giving his protege a hard stare.

Finally, Issei relented. The brunet let out a great heaving sigh of his own, as if he had expelled all the air from his lungs with that one motion. Sai stood stock still, simply waiting for the answer that he knew his friend would eventually give.

"Listen, Sai. If you had… a friend, let's call it. If you had a friend, and you didn't know them super well or anything like that, but they seemed like a good person. Well, let's say you think your friend is around some other people, and let's say they're not really being good friends to your friend. What should you do? Should you stay out of it and let them handle it on their own? Or should you step in, even if they didn't ask you to? Even if you're not all that close with them?"

The annoyance on Issei's face was as clear as day, second only to the odd look of guilt he had. A bit confused, but wanting to be there for the younger teen, Sai simply clapped Issei on the shoulder, a giant hand dropping down on the brunet with enough force to make most people wince.

"I think," Sai began. "That you already know the answer to that, don't you Ise? That's why you look so guilty, right? You already know what you should do, what a real man would do, don't you?" His tone was even, conversational even, but he looked straight into Issei's eyes as he spoke, staring at the younger man with nothing but conviction.

Issei gulped, jerking his head slightly in a shaky nod. "But…" He exhaled again. "What should I even do? I don't want to come off as too forward, right? That would be weird, and I don't want her to think I'm weird, but I just have… I just really have a bad feeling about this whole thing." He managed to get out.

"Her, huh? That changes things." Sai grinned, though there was an undercurrent of something else to it, something rueful and almost melancholy. "The way I see it, Issei. If it's a friend, you should help them. That's what a good man does. But…" He trailed off, before bringing his other hand down on Issei's other shoulder with a slap that sounded like a gunshot.

"If it's a girl, you owe it to her a hundred times over to help out!" He almost yelled out. "It's time for you to take your training, all your hard work and dedication these last years, and show it to this girl! Show her that you care, and that you want to look out for her! Then, and only then, can you call yourself a true Man!"

Issei jumped in his seat just a little bit, startled at the drastic rise in volume from his already quite boisterous friend. As the teen mulled over Sai's words in his head, he came to the rather simple conclusion that his best friend was, as always, right. In a roundabout way, and with perhaps far more bombast than was strictly necessary, but right nonetheless.

Clenching his fist, Issei bared his teeth into a grin. "You know what, you're right! I'm going to go over there and see what all this weird business is about, and I'm going to talk to her!" He stood abruptly, Sai's arms falling to his sides as the older teen stared sternly at his young charge.

"That's right!" He exclaimed, shooting Issei a thumbs up. "You have to take charge of your destiny! If you care, go do what you need to do!"

The younger teen simply nodded once, offering a noncommittal grunt as he quickly packed his things back into his bag. "Sorry for cutting this session short, man! I'll lift for twice as long tomorrow to make up for this!" He yelled out as he swiftly jogged out, hoisting the bag over his shoulder as he made his exit.

Sai simply grinned, chuckling wryly. "Looks like the dragon is finally coming out, huh…" He whispered to himself. "Guess I'll have to make sure he doesn't do something stupid, the way he's leaking that aura around without even trying to."

(-)

Bushes, Issei would later remark, are terrible hiding places. They're either so dense that it's impossible for a person to conveniently hide themselves in or behind one, or they're so sparse that they offer little in the way of cover.

Of course, Issei's luck being what it was, he had managed to find the perfect bush. Not so thick so as to be impossible to get in and out of, but not so thin that it wouldn't still hide him behind the foliage. What exactly is Issei doing behind a bush? In his words, and likely nobody else's, reconnaissance.

'God, it's a miracle I even remember this place.' The teen thought to himself, reminiscing fondly on a childhood spent traversing around the forests and less urban areas of Kuoh. Back then, there wasn't any bodybuilding; there wasn't even the perversions of the flesh that he had worked so hard to bury deep within himself. Back then, it had just been the two of them. Issei and Rin; thick as thieves, and a terror to all who came across their path.

Issei chuckled sadly to himself, shaking his head clear of thoughts of his once close friend, gone now to Britain to be with his parents. "Alright, focus." He whispered, slapping his own cheeks to free up any lingering doubts or irrelevant thoughts. He was here, quite literally in a bush, and it was time to scope out the situation. Something was very obviously wrong with the weird lady that had taken Asia after their time together, and he was going to get to the bottom of it!

Something was making Issei wary of this place. Not exactly as if entering the church itself is dangerous, but that there were some powerful beings in there. Issei didn't exactly know how he knew that, but like with the raven haired woman from earlier, something was truly off. This something in fact was doing more than just making him wary. It was making him volatile.

Issei could only hold back his blood thirstiness through digging in his nails into his skin. He needed to kill something, no, DOMINATE something. Issei was about to step forward, except something was going to interrupt him.

A strange insignia suddenly appearing in the air in front of Issei would be that something to interrupt his bloodthirsty instincts. The teen had no idea what it meant, but he certainly wasn't going to stick around and find out! Quickly, he retreated further into the nearby shrubbery where he had sat and waited to see what would happen. The insignia completed its creation, and with a bright light, Issei was shocked to see what had happened. This was not because a random light had appeared out of an insignia, as baffling as that was for Issei, but because of the arrival of a certain redhead.

Rias Gremory.

'What the hell is Sai's cousin doing here?' Issei thought.

While Issei was freaking out over her arrival, Rias on the other hand had no idea about Issei's presence and was instead focused on one thing: protecting her territory. 'There's been a few instances in Kuoh Town that are simply unacceptable. No more shall anyone in MY territory die to some crows! This ends here!' Rias thought.

"Kiba, Koneko, don't let anyone get away. Akeno and I are going to do some cleanup. First I think we'll take care of the small fry. How many do you sense Koneko?" Rias said.

The white haired loli gave a few sniffs of the air before reporting back, "Four fallen deeper in the church but around 50 exorcists behind those doors." Looking towards her master, Koneko said, "Sorry I can't be more precise, the church's holy aura is throwing me off slightly."

"That's just fine. Akeno and I are ready to stretch our wings for this," Rias said, bringing out her wings to prepare to fly in.

"Are you ready Akeno?"

"Of course, Buchou-sama," Akeno said, giggling slightly as a spark of electricity flared from her finger tip.

Before they could start their assault, and before Issei could figure out just what in the hell was happening here, yet another surprise nearly jolted the young man out of his hiding spot.

Right as the Two Great Onee-Sama were about to embark on their fight, yet another insignia made itself known, a very familiar figure stepping through it with not a care in the world.

'Sai?!' Issei nearly vocalized his shock, one hand coming up to stop him from genuinely gasping. What the hell was his best friend doing here?

"Love the attitude, cousin. You and your family are showing a lot of initiative, but if you wouldn't mind, I'd actually like to address this particular issue." Sai spoke, his voice no longer the relaxed and jovial tone it always carried around Issei. No, this was a different man altogether, a Sai that spoke with grave authority and an undercurrent of power that Issei could barely even comprehend. He wasn't asking for them to step back, he was simply giving them prior warning that this was his problem to deal with now.

Rias, true to her heritage, did manage to speak out, though she was clearly a bit miffed about the sudden upstaging by her enormous cousin. "Sai, good evening!" She called out.

"We're happy that you've offered help, but truly, my Peerage and I can handle something like this without issue."

Sai nodded, flashing his favorite cousin a thumbs up and a smile, watching as she shyly managed to smile back. "I believe you, Rias. I'm so proud of how active you and your group are being with regards to safety, and I've got no doubt that you could fry these crows without too much trouble. Thing is, I've been lazing around a bit too long. You wouldn't begrudge your poor old cousin a chance to stretch his legs now, would you?" He asked, an altogether unusual and highly bloodthirsty grin making its way across his face.

Koneko, Kiba and Akeno were still stuck where they were, rooted to the ground by some invisible pressure that kept them quiet and still. Rias, for her part, nodded shakily, before offering Sai what Issei would describe as the cutest pout he had ever seen.

"Mou, you owe it to me after this, you know! I want at least three Blu-Ray copies of Drag-So Ball for this, you got it?" She demanded, pointing her finger imperiously at the much larger man. Sai simply chuckled, nodding wholeheartedly before shooing the group away.

Before Issei could even truly wrap his head around what had happened, the Gremory Peerage was gone, flashing away with the same insignia that they had arrived. Sai, on the other hand, simply folded his arms and leaned back on one foot, sniffing the air for a moment before grinning broadly.

"Come on out, man. You could have at least climbed a tree or something. A bush, Issei, really?" He called out.

Issei froze up. 'Oh god, he knows I'm here. What should I do? Is he going to eat me? Was this all a trap?' The young man's mind was racing at a mile a minute, coming to no conclusion, no plan out. He was well and truly fucked now.

"I can literally hear you breathing, Ise. It's getting late out, I really need to get to bed soon, dude." He simply called out again, huffing grumpily at being pulled away from a solid night's rest. It was no use building all that muscle in the gym if he couldn't rest properly afterwards!

After a few tense seconds, the younger of the two made his way out, brushing aside the foliage with one hand as he climbed out from underneath the bush.

"So… Are you guys in a cult or something? It'd be cool if I had gotten some prior notice about my best friend being a magical cultist or whatever, man. Not cool." Issei replied in a deadpan tone, staring at Sai with the most fish-eyed glare that he could.

The silence stretched on after that, both men taking a hard look at each other. Issei could feel his whole body tense, muscles built through extraordinary amounts of toil, both with weights and with the bag that Sai made him work out with. He knew that his larger friend was much the same; they were two predators sniffing each other out, waiting for a sign of weakness.

Sai, surprisingly, cracked first, a rather undignified snort that erupted into a full belly laugh that had the large man bent over at the waist, wheezing and chuckling. Issei managed to break not soon after, a chuckle escaping from his firmly shut lips that soon made way for similar laughter.

"Ah… A cultist. I haven't heard that one yet." Sai continued to laugh, snickering as he drew himself back up to his considerable height. "But… no. You see, Issei. Myself, Rias, Akeno, Koneko, Kiba, the Student Council, we're not cultists, or aliens, or from another dimension… We're devils."

With that rather abrupt announcement, Sai let loose the barriers that he almost always constrained himself with, great leathery bat-like wings erupting from his back as the ground shattered into spider-web patterns upon his release.

"Now, how about you just sit back for a minute and watch what a Devil can do, my brother."

(-)

Sai didn't fly. Flying would imply that he used his wings to propel himself into the air, flapping them to keep himself there. No, Sai certainly didn't fly. Sai simply kicked off the ground so hard that he left a shockwave down on Earth, and himself soaring into the air, shooting up in a tightly controlled arc and coming down like a purple comet.

The impact on the top of the church building was deafening, akin to a sonic boom. In an instant, Sai had torn down the whole top floor of the structure with just the impact of his landing. As Issei raced forward, ducking behind some foliage further ahead, he was treated to a first-class view of what kind of beast his best friend truly was. Though he could barely feel it at the time, what with the terror, Issei would later reflect that he wasn't particularly scared of Sai; no, he was locked in place with wonder, a deep part of him reacting to the display of aggression and power with respect, with agreement.

Sai stood at the center of the destruction, his whole body wreathed in an aura of royal purple. The ground below his feet was scarred irreparable, shattered nearly beyond recognition. All around him stood the groaning bodies of dozens of Exorcists, those closest to him immediately taken out by the sheer kinetic force of his impact.

The ones further away from the blast, to their credit, ran in almost immediately, brandishing strange looking firearms and what appeared to Issei to be some kind of white lightsaber? For a moment, the young man was scared for his friend, who held no weapon nor wore armor. That fear wore itself out almost immediately, replaced with a frenzy. The teen felt a dull throbbing behind his eyes, some strange pull that rooted him in place.

Issei's worries were enormously misplaced, as the young teen soon found out; witnessing his barrel-chested mentor simply reach out with bare hands and flick aside the blades and bullets as if they were weightless, simply minor annoyances to be swatted aside.

One particularly brave Exorcist managed to get in close, screaming some mix of profanities as he wielded two Light-Swords in a deadly arc towards Sai's head. The young Devil leaned back minutely, the tips of the blades missing his neck by what must have been a fraction of an inch, before he leaned right back in, landing a sickening headbut to the exorcist's face.

Issei felt almost giddy at the sight, watching as Sai nearly pulped a man's head with just his forehead. As soon as the dual wielder had been taken care of, three more took his place, the exorcists streaming up from the basement of the church to take on this new foe. The teen stood there still, the blood roaring in his veins, begging him to join in, to assist his brother in all but name in this glorious, bloody endeavor.

Sai was unperturbed, unmoved even. Since the moment he had taken out the top floor of the church building, he had moved perhaps a foot in total. As the exorcists waded into his range, he simply grinned, his stance widening dramatically as he sank low, taking up a three-point stance that Issei was sure he had seen before in American Football.

With a grunt, the massive young man rocketed forwards, both arms extended in a sort of double lariat that stacked up two, then three, then four bodies across the length of his arms, each one with a crushed neck courtesy of his efforts. Sai relaxed his stance for a moment, noting with some distaste that one had left a bloody, broken tooth in the crook of his elbow.

Before he could turn to take on any further Exorcists, the basement exploded in a great cloud of dust, bits of wood shooting outwards like ancient shrapnel as four winged figures burst out from underneath the Devil.

Issei's heart was hammering in his chest, his throat dry as he bore witness to the carnage. Once again, a strange emotion gripped him, rooting him in place as these four creatures took up stances all around his friend. One, he recognized; the same woman that had taken away Asia! These must be the "crows" that Sai spoke of. Before he could even realize it, the teen had bared his fangs, rushing out, ready to do something, anything, to bring his rage and suspicion upon his brother's foes.

Before Issei could react, before he could warn his friend or join in the battle, the four Fallen Angels let loose a veritable barrage of light, pale white blotting out Issei's vision in a wave of spears, swords, and other projectiles that all flew straight at Sai. The battalion of weapons kept up for several seconds, each Fallen producing yet another spear, yet another missile, all aimed directly at his friend. The impact that the wave of attacks made was enough to push Issei off his feet entirely, the wind kicking up so hard that he was forced to roll behind a fallen tree trunk and take cover.

Issei's heart felt like it would drop out of his stomach, a pit deep inside of him that threatened to consume him. Was… Was Sai dead? The rage had quieted down, his bloodlust replaced with a hollowness that threatened to consume even more quickly.

It took more than a few seconds for the dust to clear, as the Fallen began to finally relax. A fatal mistake, as Sai's frame could be made out amidst the dust and debris, arms crossed over his chest as he tucked his chin in and rounded his shoulders. The weapons of light, what must have been at least a hundred of them, all laid shattered or nearly dispersed at Sai's feet. The Devil was wreathed in a shroud of aura so dark it almost seemed black, and yet Issei had never felt more vitality from his friend; Sai had taken on a magical wave of attacks that had reduced the surrounding church tiles into dust, and yet Issei would have said that his friend had never looked more alive.

"Well," The taller teen chuckled. "At least one of you has some strength then, to call for my Touki."

The Fallen looked as shocked as Issei, the tiniest of them dumbly pointing a finger at the still-standing young man. "H-How the hell are you alive? We threw three hundred fucking spears at you!" She gawked, blonde twintails bouncing slightly in the wind. Unlike her other two female friends, who both wore incredibly revealing leather outfits, or the single man, clad in a drab grey trench coat and fedora, she was dressed as some sort of… maid, perhaps? Issei had seen stranger things today, certainly, but not by much.

"Language, missy. There's kids around." Sai replied, before flexing and simply taking off again in a great leap, his enormous frame blitzing through the air and directly into the path of the lone male among the Fallen. Swinging an open palm down on the man's shoulder, Sai stifled a grin as he saw the Fallen grit his teeth, sinking at least a few feet as he just barely managed to keep the muscle-bound Devil from taking off his arm.

"D-Damn you, Devil! You think I'll go down so easily!" He roared, his free arm coming out as a spear of light coalesced perfectly into his waiting hand. "You will die this day, Devil, at the hands of Dohnaseek!" He proclaimed, swinging it like a baseball bat at Sai's unprotected head.

As with before, the Devil simply pulled back slightly, contorting himself in mid-air as he ducked just barely under the spear. As Dohnaseek had over-extended himself, he left a great opening. With one hand still pushing down on the Fallen's shoulder, Sai simply squeezed, pulling himself closer to the Fallen as he let loose a simple gut punch to Dohnaseek's unprotected ribs.

It was a sound Issei would remember for a long time; a crack, like a snapped tree bough, followed by the most haunting howl of anguish that the young man had ever heard. Dohnaseek simply stood stock still for a moment, before going limp, his limbs hanging uselessly at his sides as he took shallow breaths.

"H-How…" He managed to rasp out, before Sai let go of his shoulder, sending the Fallen to plummet down the three-story height to the ground, where he landed with a dull thud. He didn't move.

The other three Fallen clearly had more brains between the group of them than the lone male, turning tail and fleeing as soon as they had seen the freakishly strong Devil turn one of their most veteran fighters into a ragdoll without breaking a sweat.

Sai simply let them, watching with a keen eye as they flapped away, before coming down slowly. When his feet touched the ground, his wings retracted, the stifling aura fading after so long, and Issei found that he could breathe once more.

"What… What the fuck was that, Sai?" He roared out, nearly manic with shock.

"That, Issei, is the world you've now found yourself in. Now, how about we find your friend, and we have a long discussion that I've been putting off for far too long."

At that, Issei could only nod dumbly, idly putting a hand to his head to ward off the strange rush that he had felt. What an odd day, indeed.