Still don't own K-Project or Highschool DxD, otherwise, I would just pay to get this animated.

The first thing Issei was conscious of was the dark void around him. After looking around for some time it was then he took note of that accursed water fountain the ground melding into the infinite darkness around him.

"Well I have to admit, I did have some fun today, considering how naive and childish you are things could have been much, much, worse. Thanks a lot for the gift too, very sweet… but even so…" her voice echoed throughout the void but he couldn't find her no matter where he looked.

"Yuma please wait!" he shouted only for something to ram into his chest and knock him into the ground.

"You're still trying to cling to your pathetic life? It's commendable for a human to survive against a light spear for this long, but nothing short of an actual Miracle is going to save you now… though given how it's God's fault you are in this situation to begin with, I doubt that's going to happen. So just Keel over and Die!"

Issei heard her voice a multitude of times though all he could see was an unending void all around him. He felt nothing for some time until an incredibly sharp pain in his chest called his attention. Looking down he saw the gaping hole left behind by Yumas- no that things attacked and he soon felt what felt like a raging inferno replacing the sharp pain he felt in his chest.

'How dare she… speak down on me as if I was just some dog… I never did anything wrong… if she hated me so much why did she ask me out? No, Screw this… And SCREW HER! As if I'm just going to take this Lying down!' he remembered the feeling of betrayal as he watched the fallen angel turn to fly away.

He remembered flashing a shit-eating grin through bloody teeth at the fallen angel after causing a massive eruption of crimson flames throughout the park and covering over damn near half her body in severe burns. He began to feel at peace again as his mind began to feel heavier as if entering a deep sleep.

Things were going wrong… and Rias couldn't even tell why, the ritual had appeared to have healed the injury but Issei was still non-responsive, with the only other sign of him being alive other than his breathing was when he involuntarily convulsed and threw up blood. He would remain stable so long as she sealed all of the power from her evil pieces which defeated the whole point of resurrecting him to begin with. His body continued to reject the evil pieces.

She had been there for hours now and was forced to cast a simple hex on his parents to leave them alone. She could simply wipe their minds after she figured out what was halting his devilfication. She was about to call on her childhood best friend Sona for her expertise when she heard a vehicle pull up to the Hyoudou residence.

Rias watched as a pair exited the back doors of the vehicle and began approaching the house, both were carrying duffel bags. One had short brown hair and was relatively well dressed, with black slacks, black dress shoes, and a purple dress shirt with a black floral design across it though he had rolled up the sleeves to elbow length.

The other had crimson red hair not too different from her own but his only reached about halfway through his neck and he had tied back any fringe from being able to block his vision though unlike his companion though he dressed rather simply. He wore a black, leather jacket with a fur collar and a white V-neck underneath. This was accompanied by dark blue, denim jeans held up by a simple brown belt, with a silver chain attached from the belt to his back pocket, with black shoes to top off the rest of his outfit. Rias also noticed a star-shaped necklace hanging from his neck.

She was about to hex them as well but she felt the dynamic of the house change as soon as the 2 entered the house. A weird pressure covered the house, it wasn't unpleasant but that soon changed as a shockwave traveled through the walls of the house, one that chipped a small bit of her magical integrity away. Suddenly her instincts were all but screaming to her to get out. With 2 unknown variables she didn't account for and with no immediate backup to call on, she decided on a temporary retreat.

She sealed up the evil pieces supplying any excess energy and cast a quick spell to clean up any of the mess made during her attempts of trying to resuscitate Issei fully. She was going to alter the hex she had placed on Issei's parents to cover her tracks but by that time she already heard two sets of footsteps approaching Issei's door. On top of that, the feeling she had previously to flee was now being compounded by this weird heat. It was hard to describe but the closer the pair got the more and more it reminded her of immense magical pressure. Thankfully by the time the door handle began to open her teleportation spell had pretty much gotten her out as Scott-free as possible.

Approaching the house Sano began to look around, his head constantly on a swivel very much to Mikoto's annoyance.

"It's just a house… what's got your feathers ruffled?"

"The parents of your childhood friend wouldn't happen to be mages would they?" Sano asked back as he began to focus on the second floor of the house.

"No…why?"

"Because I'm sensing magic in the house… and one, maybe two signatures similar to our friendly governor but significantly…well darker for lack of a better term." Sano said as Mikoto knocked on the door. No one would open it for quite a while.

"Tch" Mikoto said as he readied to kick the door down, but Sano acted faster, reaching for the door handle and opening it.

"I know you prefer to break stuff in but we are their guests." Sano said, putting emphasis that they were the guests. "Besides, you really need to stop blowing walls apart every time we need something from a gang leader."

Mikoto said nothing as they walked into the house where they saw Issei's parents sitting in the living room in an eerie silence. There, Gorou and Miki Hyoudou sat, their eyes seemingly glazed over. The pair placed their duffel bags down as Sano approached the parents, kneeling down and diagnosing them.

"There's light traces of magic flowing through their brains. Appears to be a simple hex…it's likely they are going to get their memories wiped soon." Sano concluded.

Mikoto released a burst of heat going through the house, cleansing any residual magic. The wave also burned away at the magic maintaining the hex but this resulted in their hosts passing out due to the little experience with magic.

"I could have done that in a way that didn't knock them out you know.." Sano said with a bit of frustration making sure their hosts didn't fall out of their chairs as he made them more comfortable.

"We still have someone to deal with upstairs" Mikoto replied, heading upstairs, Sano quickly followed. Issei being the only other resident, they started with his room but upon opening the door they only saw the boy in question lying shirtless in his bed.

"Teleported away." Sano said feeling the residual magic. "Scent of blood is still in the air…"

"Make sure he's ok, I'll do a few rounds around the house, make sure we're actually alone." Mikoto said heading back downstairs.

Mikoto did 3 laps around the house, occasionally sending out weak pulses of heat and looking for residual magic energy burning away. With the coast clear he walked back inside making sure to lock the main door and went to see if Sano discovered anything.

"Find anything?" Mikoto asked upon entering.

"Our perpetrator left your childhood friend as a perfect cocktail of royally fucked" Sano replied as he lifted his palm from the center of Isseis chest leaving what appeared to be a small seal. "He's been reincarnated as a devil. But since he was one of your clansmen prior to this, the special properties of your flames are burning away anything the evil pieces are healing because of their magic…which leaves him in a state of limbo between death and reincarnation. To add to that the boy has a sacred gear… and quite the strong one from what I could feel. He was bound to awaken it soon and the evil pieces would have expedited that process but your flames are also stopping that from happening." Sano explained.

"So where does that leave us?"

"To use an analogy, normally Issei would be afloat in the water… his death would be him sinking and drowning and while normally the evil pieces would have been a lifeline, due to your flames they've become a blanket across the surface of the water." Sano simplified.

"Tch…Anything we can do?"

"For now? It's best to wait… the evil pieces are keeping him alive by constantly regenerating his wounded organs as of now but only barely… his sacred gear is still trying to break through… with any luck, it can help the situation. Otherwise, we are better off taking him back to Kyoto, my healing senjutsu isn't anywhere near this advanced to deal with this." Sano said dejectedly as he stood up and put the covers over Issei.

"What a shitty start to the week…" Mikoto said, exhausted. "Yoshitsune should still be around for a few days…we'll have him watch the house and keep Issei's parents safe for the time being until they wake up. In the meantime, we will go deal with these devils." Mikoto finished.

"Please don't be so rash… this is their territory…" Sano said reluctantly, trying to counsel Mikoto.

"Like hell I'm gonna kiss ass after they just walked all over my clansman." Mikoto ranted, taking a few steps around Issei's room.

"I'm not saying we do that, let's just scope out the situation tomorrow and decide where to go from there." Sano finished.

"Tch… fine…" Mikoto relented before taking note of the posters around Issei's room. He stifled a chuckle as he hoped Issei wouldn't be as shy around girls as Yata before heading downstairs. The pair swiftly took Issei's parents to their room, making sure they were in a comfortable position before settling into their guest room.

Mikoto and Sano were running a bit late on their first day at Kuoh Academy. On top of not knowing how to navigate the town that well, breakfast was a struggle without the host to help with finding where things were, and Yoshitsune took his sweet time arriving at the Hyoudou residence. It was about 11 AM when they made it on campus where Mikoto was starting to get irritated by all the attention they were getting.

"So cool!"

"The red head is kinda scary though…"

"Hopefully they aren't pervs, the other one is really cute"

These were just a few of the things Mikoto heard being said about them and while normally he wouldn't mind the part that got under his skin the most was: these girls couldn't whisper properly if their lives depended on it. They might as well have been shouting from where Mikoto was standing.

"Well this was an all girls school until recently, guess some manners take a while to get reacquainted to." Sano said as they walked through the school.

"Tch" was all Mikoto could really say without drawing any negative attention towards them. He was already in a bad mood from the day prior and he was not looking forward to a bunch of girls constantly pestering him for the rest of the day.

"We should hurry up and meet up with the student council president. Once we pick up our uniforms you can go calm down with one of your infamous classroom naps." Sano said to which Mikoto hastened his pace. Sano merely chuckled and sped up to him.

A break period was in full swing as they navigated the main school building, with many students loitering in the halls. Mikoto continued to ignore them as they seemed to clear a path for him and Sano as they passed. This continued to happen until they reached the third floor. They just had to go through one more hallway to make it to the Student Council room when they made eye contact with a pair of girls. One with crimson hair matching Mikoto's, however, the other one had dark hair.

"Looks like we found your match…" Sano jokingly whispered to Mikoto, which only soured his mood even more. Refusing to alter his path the two pairs met down the middle of the hallway.

"Oh my, it looks like we bumped into the new transfers." The one with dark hair said.

"I hope you like what you've seen of Kuoh so far." The redhead continued. Mikoto only continued to stare at the pare before walking by them, nearly bumping them as he passed.

"Apologies, he's had a bad morning and we're running late." Sano said, sounding flustered as he stumbled awkwardly around them before catching up with Mikoto before his mood immediately switched to something more serious.

"You could at least pretend you are not out to kill something even if they might be your target." Sano whispered as they finally reached the door to the Student Council room. Mikoto ignored him as they opened the door to reveal a small room with a table down the middle. They saw two girls both with dark hair and both with glasses though one had short hair and the other had very long hair.

"You're late." The one with short hair said with a strict tone. Mikoto stayed quiet knowing that his temper would very easily get the best of him should he answer.

"Our apologies, we had some difficulties navigating the town." Sano intervened, putting on his businessman charm, giving her a slight apologetic bow and flashing a small smile. The one with longer hair began to focus a lot more on the paperwork in front of her.

'Devils or not, they're still high school girls…' Sano thought to himself as he just barely caught the blush forming on the girl's cheeks.

"I suppose that's understandable…" the one with short hair said as she stood up and readjusted her glasses. "My name is Sona Shitori, the student council president, this is Tsubaki Shinra, my vice president." She introduced.

"Sano Yasuyoshi, and my childhood friend Mikoto Suoh." Sano finished helping to get proper introductions out of the way.

"We facilitate the needs of the student body. Should you ever need anything, don't be afraid to ask either me or anyone else from the student council." Sona explained as she reached into one of the storage compartments in the room and handed them both a school uniform. "You can both come and pick up your extra uniform sets at the end of today. For now, you can use that room to change" Sona said as she gestured to a door beside them. Mikoto grabbed his uniform and went first while Sano grabbed his uniform and waited for the redhead to finish.

"Forgive me for being straightforward… but if you don't mind me asking your records show you having a name change." Tsubaki asked. Sona looked at her vice president, ready to scold her for asking about something most people would like to keep private but Sano beat her to the punch.

"No no… I don't mind. See my father fell victim to some very unsavory individuals trying to protect me. The guardian watching over me now was a close friend of my father and she saw it fit to change my name to better protect me from those individuals." Sano finished rather calmly, though there were some hints of sadness in his voice.

The two girls stood in silence taking in the new bit of information. Tsubaki was about to comment before Mikoto approached from the changing room. To Sona's dismay he wore a modified version of the school uniform. He had ignored the school shirt keeping his on, as well as any jewelry he was previously wearing. While attaching his chain to the school pants. Thankfully he wore the school blazer so the look wasn't too out of the ordinary. Whatever Tsubaki was about to say got stuck in her throat as the aura Mikoto emanated flooded the room.

"Tsubaki, guide Mikoto to his homeroom, I'll handle Sano." Sona said. Tsubaki nodded as she nervously beckoned the redhead to follow her.

'He really needs to lighten up sometimes…he already has them on edge and that's before he knows these two are devils…' Sano thought to himself before going to change into the school uniform.

Mikoto and Sano discovered much about their situation throughout their first day at Kuoh Academy. Through subtle use of their flames and Sano senjutsu, they were able to deduce the. there were two groups of devils, one of them being the student council.

Sano was able to narrow down the second group as the Occult research club from the weird interactions Mikoto described throughout the day with specific students.

"Judging by their numbers, I believe it's more likely that our special someone belongs to the Occult Research club." Sano concluded after looking over the Intel they gathered over the day.

Mikoto remained quiet, upon looking at him Sano saw him focusing on nothing in particular.

"I assume the Crimson Lion of Kyoto has decided to debut in Kuoh as well?" Sano asked, knowing how Mikoto got when someone pressed his buttons.

"Tch, you know I hate that nickname." Mikoto answered back but not exactly denying Sano's assumptions.

"Well, that's what you get when you prance about Kyoto's supernatural criminal underground and kick around everyone who even looks at you funny." Sano said with a chuckle to which Mikoto only lightly glared. "Fine, fine, I won't say anything about it but rumors about you haven't exactly been under the radar…"

"After my displays of "diplomacy" I doubt they think I am the head honcho…" Mikoto replied sarcastically emphasizing his behavior throughout the day as they came around the bend to Issei's house.

"Oh you cheeky-" Sano started a little irritated after putting together the implications of Mikoto's statement, the redhead snickered at this. Preferring to take a more supportive role than to take the reins, Sano let out a frustrated sigh, "Fine… I suppose I was better at diplomatic measures anyway… not that it matters, Im sure you'll do your thing anyway…" Sano said just above a mutter.

Any energy the conversation carried seemed to drain from the pair the moment they came upon their temporary residence. Yoshitsune was out for a smoke, so as to not leave the smell of cigarettes across the house. He waved at the two boys upon noticing them.

"Evening boys… learn anything interesting?" The older man teased as he took a drag from his cigarette.

"Nope, but I had a nice nap… how are the parents?" Mikoto asked.

"Be careful the next time you break someone out of a hex like that… they should be out for one more day at most but otherwise they're doing fine." Yoshitsune answered, taking one more drag before shaking the ash off his cigarette. "Things are slowly turning around for your childhood friend, his wounds are healing faster though I doubt that's gonna stick around for long." Mikoto looked towards his clansman after hearing those words and Sano instantly understood what was asked of him.

"I'll take a look." Sano said as he went inside.

"Would it be too much to ask for you not to be so rash this time?" The older man asked.

"No promises…" he said before walking inside as well.

Walking into Issei's room, Sano could already tell that Yoshitsune was not exaggerating. Issei's life signature was significantly stronger than it was the day prior. He decided to take a closer look, placing his palm on the center of Issei's chest and feeling his life force. Something had amplified the healing attributes of the evil pieces, something powerful… Sano was willing to bet this was the work of Issei's sacred gear.

He was about to leave when a deep voice called out to him.

'[Wait!]'

Sano got up and looked all around the room but outside of himself and Issei, no one was there. Deciding to use senjutsu to make sure, the only other presence he could sense was Issei… no wait… there was another presence within Issei but it was limited… probably sealed.

He placed his palm onto the boy's chest again.

'[Wait! Don't leave!]' The voice spoke again.

"Who are you?" Sano asked.

'[I am the boy's sacred gear, you can call me Ddraig for now but-]'

"You don't mean-"

'[YES I AM THAT DRAGON EMPEROR! we don't have a lot of time… I have boosted the evil pieces' power for the time being but after tonight his chances of survival drop significantly.]'

"What do you need me to do?" Sano was about to continue when he heard the door to Issei's room open. He turned around to see Mikoto walk in.

"Who are you talking to?" Mikoto asked, looking around.

"His sacred gear, it's awakened"

"Can we save him?" Mikoto asked, getting closer.

'[I was getting to that.]' The ethereal dragon said, calling back Sano's attention. Mikoto stepped closer just in case he was needed.

'[As I was saying I amplified the evil pieces' ability to heal, and I had hoped that would buy me enough time but these flames are simply too effective against devil kind. If one of you can hold his flames at bay, the evil pieces will be able to heal the damaged organs and I can dragonify them. After that it should be safe to seal the evil pieces fully.]' The dragon explained.

"And what about after? Will the flames continue to be an issue?" Sano asked as Mikoto waited. He would rather get all the details in one go.

'[After the dragonification they should be no issue even if his organs are part devil. These flames would be quite similar to my own if they weren't so potent against magic. But even then, my scales can handle ANY flame.]' Ddraig said a bit too proudly.

"Right…" Sano said a bit skeptical of the claim but then again, who was he to question one of the heavenly dragons? "He needs you to hold the crimson flames at bay so the evil pieces can heal his organs, he will then dragonify them and it should bring him out of this state of limbo." He explained to Mikoto.

"Dragonify? What sacred gear does he have?" Mikoto said curiously.

"Turns out your childhood friend and clansman is the red dragon emperor, possessor of the boosted gear." Sano said with a touch of showmanship.

"What are the odds…" Mikoto said to himself though both the sealed dragon and his clansman were both able to bear him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sano voiced, Ddraig had a similar sentiment.

"I'll explain later." Mikoto said placing his palm right under Sano's and a warmth could be felt radiating out from Issei.

Sano helped the evil pieces with their healing process, making sure they didn't release too much energy though he made sure not to cross feet with Ddraig. This went on for a few minutes though it felt like hours for the trio.

'[Alright I can take it from here, seal up the evil pieces once more and…thank you very much for your help. I should be talking to you again soon.]' Ddraig said, freeing the pair from their tasks.

"Ddraig says he can handle the rest." Sano said as he made a hand sign as small black seal markings appeared around his palm, on Issei's chest. Mikoto only made a grunt of affirmation before releasing his hold over Issei's flames.

"Oh and Ddraig? Should you make contact with Issei first, please enlighten him of the supernatural." Sano said, to which Mikoto was very thankful. He did not want to have that conversation over again unless he needed to.

Issei's consciousness had continued to drift for quite some time. Reliving different variations of his final moments with that witch. No matter how far he ran, how many flames he threw at her, everything he did led to his death at her hands.

The fountain had appeared in his vision again as well as the surrounding park. The girl that was supposed to be his date was observing the fountain with her back turned towards him… but Issei didn't even bother sneaking up on her, she would just find a way to kill him anyway.

"There's something I'd like to ask you… to commemorate this date" the same words that made him so happy were now filling him with contempt.

"Just kill me already…" Issei said, devoid of any life. Whether or not the fallen angel acknowledged his request he did not know as she started to walk to him as she did countless times prior… only this time the minute she touched his arm, she erupted into flames. He saw her face control into a look of pain for just a second before her body was blown away as ash.

Issei looked around to see what could have done that just to see the park also began to erupt in flames… the one thing leaving him perplexed was that the flames were not burning him whatsoever despite being so close and even TOUCHING him.

"[It's a pleasure to officially meet you, partner!]" A deep voice said from behind him.

*rubbing hands* Now I get to mess with the canon… Also, Im going to tweak Issei a lil bit, he won't be as perverted due to his time learning martial arts as well as having Mikoto as an older brother figure.