AN: Hey Guys and Welcome to the second chapter of "Switching Sides."

I want to say that I am mindblown from the tremendous support you showed for this story, and it makes me keen to work on this story more after seeing the support.

I do want to address few things regarding this story so you will have a better knowledge about it.

This story won't be the typical "Issei is going to kill the ORC because he is mad" and rather a story that will focus on how the new girls in his life will help to heal his heart and to make him get over his fears as they try to gain his trust, his state of mind and mentality after the events that transpired with the girls and with Raynare is also going to be a major focus on this story.

I will do my very best to write the feelings in a right way and to expand on them a lot more than usually while also keeping it realistic and not making him recover way to fast.

His journey to recovery will take some time, and I will try to write it as accurate as I can to real life.

Now without further ado here is the next chapter, Enjoy!

"..." Talking

'...' Thoughts

*...* Actions i.e., Yawning and Sighing

(...) Flashback and time skips

["..."] Talking through the Sacred Gear

['...'] Talking in the Host mind

[...] Sacred Gear Actions and modes

{..} Sacred Gear Mentions

"Issei-kun where are you? Please come back!" Irina shouted as she and the rest of the ORC looked around for Issei.

They have been looking all around Kyoto already, and so far there was nothing that could tell them where he went.

During their search, Rias did not speak a single word as she seemed to be deep in thought.

"How is this possible? We have been searching for hours, and we haven't found a single clue about where he is" Xenovia asked in frustration.

"I don't know Xenovia-chan, but we have to keep looking," Akeno said with determination as well, refusing to give up on searching for the brunette.

They kept looking around until they reached a place that looked like a ruined shrine that was in the outskirts of Kyoto.

"D-Do you guys feel that?" Akeno asked as they neared the shrine, feeling a weird and unusual aura coming from within the shrine.

"Strange," Koneko said with her stoic face as she looked at the shrine before she started to walk towards it, the rest following suit.

As they were getting closer to the shrine, the mysterious aura they felt began to get stronger, but something about it alarmed the Devils.

This aura was not the usual aura you would sense in a divine place like a shrine; it was something else, something...oddly familiar.

Upon entering the shrine they were met with the ruins, but in the middle of the shrine they saw something that made their hearts to sink as dread, panic and fear filled their souls.

On the floor of the shrine, they saw eight crimson pawn pieces that belonged to none other than Issei.

Rias who was still deep in thought as they entered the shrine snapped out of it the moment she saw her Evil Pieces.

Guilt and anguish started to fill the Switch Princess as she went ahead and picked up the Evil Pieces.

"Ise..." She muttered as tears began to emerge from her eyes before she broke down into crying.

After seeing their King break down into crying the rest of the girls and Gasper broke down as well except Kiba who just looked at the scene with wide eyes, still refusing to believe what he was seeing.

"I-I can't believe Issei-senpai is dead," Gasper said between sobs as he tried to wipe his tears away.

The rest of the girls only cried louder after hearing what Gasper said.

"I don't think he's dead Gasper-kun, because otherwise, we would have seen his body here" Kiba interjected, making everyone freeze as confusion and bewilderment filled them.

"S-So you say Issei-kun is not dead?" Irina asked in bewilderment, trying to cling to the bit of hope Kiba provided her.

"I don't think so Irina-san," Kiba said with a small smile, believing that his friend was not dead.

After hearing what Kiba and Irina said the rest of the girls managed to compose themselves.

"But how is that possible? He ejected his Evil pieces which mean certain death" Akeno refuted Kiba's assumption.

She like everyone else wanted to believe that Issei was alive but as much as she hated to admit it she knew that the odds for that are very slim.

"You may be right Akeno-sempai, but if he indeed died then we would have found his body here, so something doesn't make sense here, a " Kiba said.

Everyone's feelings were currently turmoil.

They did not know if they should feel hope that he may be alive or grief that he died.

They were utterly confused as to why his body was not there because as Akeno said, ejecting your Evil Pieces means instant and certain death.

One thing they all agreed on was that something did not make sense here and after thinking about it carefully, examining in their minds every situation that could occur here they all nailed it down to the only two situations that made sense.

It was either Issei miraculously survived the ejection or an unknown source was involved and stole his body.

"Everyone let's go back to the hotel, I will contact my brother tomorrow so he could help us," Rias said, drained from everything that happened today.

The rest just nodded before they all went back to their hotel room.

"Urgh...What happened?" Issei groggily asked as he woke up.

Recovered from his sleep, he looked around the room he was in but panicked as he realized that he did not recognize this room.

He continued to look around the room for anything that could help him understand exactly what happened until his eyes landed on a familiar person that sat in a chair near his bed and appeared to be asleep.

He saw a girl with a long and smooth silver hair, a very curvaceous body and a bust that could rival Akeno.

She had a choker on her neck and wore a blue shirt with another buttoned shirt above that looked like it was straining to contain her bust along with a red skirt that reached her knees.

'Wow this girl is beautiful...' Issei thought as he looked at the sleeping beauty before a thought came to his head.

'Now that I think about it she actually looks familiar...' Issei thought in confusion, struggling to remember where he had seen this girl before but suddenly it dawned on him.

This girl was none other than his rival, Vali.

Upon realizing the girl's identity Issei started to panic as his eyes were wide.

His mind was working extra time as he tried to think where exactly he was and why Vali was sitting next to his bed before he remembered the events that took place yesterday.

As soon as he remembered everything that happened he remembered how broken he felt, how his heart was clouded with sorrow and betrayal as well as rage and self-loathing.

He frowned upon remembering what happened last night with the girls.

'...there are sometimes when I think that I made a wrong choice reincarnating you' He repeated the words his beloved King told him, the same words that broke him and made him feel so much sorrow, he remembered how everyone was ganging up on him because he tried to comfort that beautiful blonde who was crying.

['Partner are you ok?'] Ddraig asked as he woke up from his slumber after sensing his partner's emotions.

'Ddraig?...I-I don't know' Issei told his partner sadly, trying to hide his feelings from the Dragon.

['I know what you've been through Issei, I can sense how you feel'] Ddraig told his partner who was shocked in return

He realized that he could not hide anything from Ddraig so instead of trying he just relented and told the Dragon everything that was on his mind.

'I feel betrayed...I feel like the girls took what was left of my heart after Raynare and instead of mending it they broke it more' Issei started to say in anguish as he described his feelings to the Dragon who just stayed silent as he listened.

'I trusted them...I thought that they would be the ones who will be able to heal my heart and help me get over my fears after Raynare but in the end, they just made it worse' Issei continued.

'I don't think I could handle this anymore Ddraig...I don't want to feel like that again. I don't want to feel utterly broken and full of sorrow...I don't think I will be able to open up to any girls for a long time' Issei said in depression, after everything he's been through with Raynare and the girls.

['i understand partner...Who knows, maybe the girl who will finally heal you is right under your nose?'] Ddraig asked in an attempt to cheer his partner up, but the latter just shrugged it off.

'Maybe but I don't think so Ddraig.'

['Until you find that girl I am going to try and help you heal partner'] Ddraig told his partner with determination, reminding him that no matter what he still had him on his side to help him.

Like Vali, the Welsh Dragon could not stand to see how broken his partner was.

He felt like an entirely different person to him; he wasn't the usually cheery pervert who was interested in nothing but boobs.

Instead, he was a shell of his past self who was clouded with nothing but sorrow, betrayal and self-loathing and this made Ddraig very uncomfortable.

Issei was deep in thoughts after he finished talking with Ddraig.

He was thinking about his course of action now that he is not a Devil anymore and instead is a part of a terrorist organization that the three factions want to exterminate.

"Hyoudou? You awake?" Someone asked Issei in a tender voice.

After snapping our of his thoughts, he looked around for the source of the tender voice and saw Vali standing up and looking at him with a small smile on her face that she hid as soon as she saw Issei looking at her.

"Vali? Y-Yeah I am awake..." Issei replied with an empty voice that didn't go unnoticed by Vali who frowned in return.

"How are you feeling?" Vali asked with a small smile on her face that vanished as fast as it appeared.

"Fine" Issei said exasperated, making Vali to frown in response.

"Are you sure?" Vali asked, not letting go despite the brunette attitude.

"Like you really care" Issei rebutted in anger.

"What the hell has gotten into you Hyoudou? I am just trying to help you" Vali said in frustration.

"Since when do you want to help me? You always boast on how you are going to destroy me and that I am a weakling" Issei refuted, making Vali to frown in return.

"I do from now" Vali deadpanned, leaving no room for Issei to doubt.

Issei was very surprised from what Vali said, he never expected that his rival will care for him because so far she only claimed that she would destroy him and become the true White Dragon Empress so seeing how she suddenly care for him surprised him greatly but it also left him confused as to why exactly she started to care now.

"Why now?" Issei asked in a neutral tone.

"Because I saw how broken you were and I can't stand seeing my usual ferocious and full of determination rival that I came to lo...Erghh respect" Vali spat out in anger as she almost revealed her true feelings for her rival.

Issei on his part was awe-struck from Vali's statement.

He didn't think his rival would realize how he felt just from that night they met at the ruined shrine.

Her new attitude and newfound care for him made him actually feel better, but he still had doubts about how long exactly it will last and if she was telling the truth or she was burying it under her nice facade.

He couldn't help but notice the slip-up she had during her statement, and he had his thoughts about what she meant, but he decided against asking her what she meant to say in fear that she will get mad at him.

"Thank you" Issei muttered quietly for no one to hear but thanks to her enhanced senses Vali picked up exactly what she said, making her frown.

"What did you say?" Vali asked, wanting him to repeat what he said louder.

"I said thank you" Issei muttered loud enough, so it was audible without the need of enhanced senses.

Upon hearing him saying that again, Vali replaced her frown with a sincere and big smile.

She was happy that Issei had acknowledged her change of heart, and she hoped that in time he would be able to trust her completely but she wasn't going to stop here...

She wanted to mend the broken pieces of his heart back together, to tell him how she felt about him while hoping that he will reciprocate the feelings as well.

She wanted to be his collum which he can rely on in difficult times and that he would be hers, she wanted to restore him back to the same ferocious, determined and kind guy that she came to fall in love with.

She wanted to be there for him forever.

"Your welcome Hyoudou, I will do my best to help you" Vali replied to her rival, still with her big smile.

"Thanks again Vali, I appreciate it," Issei said, returning a big smile of his own that made the silver-haired girl's heart skip a beat.

"I have to go now Hyoudou but if you need anything let me know," She said before she turned around and left the room, leaving Issei with much to think about.

'Are you sure it was Vali, Ddraig?' Issei asked his partner in uncertainty after shortly Vali left the room.

['Indeed partner though I must say that her sudden change of heart is very nice to see'] Ddraig said in delight.

'Maybe...But I am still not going to trust her completely just yet, not after what happened to me with Rias and the others' Issei replied.

He couldn't afford to let his heart and trust be broken again; that would destroy him completely, and he knew it so he needed to be more careful about who he will trust.

['I see partner, but I don't think that Vali have bad intentions, I sensed that she sounded very sincere when she spoke'] Ddraig interjected, telling his partner what he sensed.

Issei did not respond and instead resolved to give Vali a chance to earn his trust.

He would never tell Ddraig that but he found Vali to be a very attractive woman, and her determination to become the best was actually something that motivated him as he slowly developed a crush on her but after what happened with the girls and Raynare he wasn't sure she out of all peoples would reciprocate those feelings and he was afraid to reveal them to her, at least not yet.

"Did he wake up already?" Cao Cao asked as he saw Vali exiting Issei's room with a smile on her face while she looked like she was deep in thought

"W-What? Oh, Yeah he woke up" Vali said as her train of thoughts was broken by Cao Cao.

"That's good; I should go and pay him a visit later," Cao Cao said, content that the brunette woke up.

Vali did not say anything and instead nodded in approval before she went ahead to her room.

['Issei we need to talk'] Ddraig spoke in Issei's mind suddenly, alarming the boy.

'About what?' Issei asked warily; he knew that every time Ddraig said they needed to talk it was never about anything good.

['After your Evil Pieces got ejected I transformed you into a Dragon like you asked but you need to know the ramifications of that'] Ddraig told his partner who for his part remained expressionless as he kept quiet, making Ddraig continue talking.

['Anyway you should know that since you are a full-fledged Dragon now, you will adopt some Draconic traits such as hardened skin and enhanced senses; mostly smell and sight, but you will also be very vulnerable to Dragon Slaying weapons and attacks, your strength and magic reserves will increase as well'] Ddraig elucidated.

'Wow that's a lot to take in...' Issei said with a bit of shock as he heard the consequences of his transformation.

'Is there anything else I should know?' He asked, making sure that there wasn't anything Ddraig forgot telling him.

['Ah yeah there actually is, You will get some of my affinities and characteristics, but I am not sure which, so we will have to wait and see'] Ddraig added much to Issei dismay.

'Ah...I see, well I hope it will at least be your good traits' Issei said with a bit of hope which ticked off his partner.

['What do you mean you hope? All my traits are good'] Ddraig asked, offended from his partner's statement as he attempted to refute it by praising himself.

'Nevermind that' Issei said a bit nervous, he did not want to meet pissed Ddraig again.

The Dragon just grumbled something that Issei did not manage to hear except for a few words like "Boob Freak" and "Pervert"

AN: I hope you liked this chapter.

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