AN: Hey Guys and welcome to the third chapter of "Switching Sides."

I want to thank those who supported the story by Favoriting and Following :)

I want to address something so you guys will understand something regarding the last chapter.

Some may think that Vali got off the hook for Issei too easily and that the interactions I wrote between them contradicted what I wrote in the AN's about Issei recovery but it's not.

Vali was someone Issei knew for quite a while and even then he still doesn't trust her, he just acknowledged her change of heart and is willing to give her a chance to gain his trust which she doesn't have now.

His feelings towards her will not be a significant factor in the process of her gaining his trust because he wants to be careful about who he lets in his heart and he is afraid to be burned off again like he has been two times already as he recovers he will change as well.

Regarding the Harem, those who are written in the stories characters (Le Fay, Vali, and Kuroka) are the only harem members so far, but I will make a poll in the future about which girl you want to see being added to the harem.

Regarding "The Maiden And The Dragon." Since "Switching Sides" got elected in the poll, I will give this story around 75% of my focus and it will always be one or few more chapters ahead then "The Maiden..." But don't worry the next update will be to that story.

Now without further ado here is the next chapter, Enjoy

EDIT: I had to take the chapter down shortly after uploading it because of an error so I apologize for that.

"..." 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

It has been a few hours since Issei finished talking with Ddraig about the consequences of his transformation.

At first, the brunette was very alarmed from the effects but as he thought about it more and more he realized that it was a small price to pay and that there are actually more pros than cons such as regaining his enhanced senses but without the sensitivity to daylight and hardened skin along with expanded magic reserves and increase in strength.

But as he was trying to adjust to his new life as a full-fledged Dragon he also had to adapt to another new life.

The life as a member of a terrorist organization that is hated by all the three factions.

Never in his life did he imagine himself aligning with them but he did not regret his choice, he saw how bad his supposed friends treated him and he figured that nothing could be worse than that.

*knock knock* A knock on the door was suddenly heard, making Issei jump slightly.

Issei didn't say anything as the person on the other side opened the door after hearing no response.

"Yo kid, I see that you are awake and well," Cao Cao said as he entered the room.

"Cao Cao? Y-Yeah.." Issei nervously said as he looked at Cao Cao a bit warily.

*Sigh*

"Listen, boy; I know that we have been enemies before but right now we are on the same side so you can stop being nervous around me" Cao Cao said, sighing as he saw how Issei was nervous around him.

"Sorry, but it might take me time to fully trust you or anyone in that matter" Issei admitted as he relaxed slightly, making Cao Cao a tad happier.

"Fair enough, I don't know what you have been through but from what I saw it was quite major," Cao Cao said in pity aimed at the brunette.

"I don't want to talk about it," Issei said as he averted his gaze downward to his thighs, dismissing the issue before it would get any further than that.

"I understand..." Cao Cao replied as he struggled to come with something to talk about instead.

"Why are you here?" Issei suddenly asked in suspicion.

"What do you mean boy? I came to check on you" Cao Cao replied, surprised by the sudden question.

"But that's not all of it right?" Issei refuted, making Cao Cao to sigh in defeat.

*sigh*

"I wanted to let you know that you will be introduced to your fellow members and new comrades tomorrow" Cao Cao revealed.

Issei for his part was starting to be filled with dread after he heard what Cao Cao said.

He wasn't ready yet to meet his new team and fellow members of the Hero Faction, he needed more time, but he really had no choice as he knew that he wasn't in any position to ask that.

"Are you ok kid?" Cao Cao asked as he noticed Issei starting to shake slightly.

"What? Oh, yeah I am fine" Issei said, trying to cover up how he felt.

"Ok then, I am going to leave now so if you need anything let me or Vali know," Cao Cao said, shrugging the brunette's weird behavior off.

"Ok" Issei replied as Cao Cao started to head to the door.

'What Am I going to do Ddraig? I don't think I'm ready for that yet' Issei asked the Dragon shortly after Cao Cao left.

['I don't know partner but you don't really have any choice, just try to do your best and pretend to be friendly for now until you actually do befriend them'] Ddraig suggested to his partner.

'That might work...Thanks, Ddraig' Issei said gratefully to his partner.

['No worries partner. I am going to return to my nap now so I will talk to you later'] Ddraig tiredly said before he sunk into his deep slumber again.

'Seriously...What do you do besides sleeping all day' Issei said in frustration but the only reply that came was snoring from the Dragon.

'Nothing is going to be the same ever again after tomorrow...' Issei thought sadly shortly after his talk with Ddraig as he realized that starting from tomorrow he will start his new life.

He thought what will happen once the three factions will come to know about his alignment with the Hero Factions and what they are going to do.

Even thought he wanted nothing to do with the girls he still had people who he cared for from the three factions such as Michael, Sirzechs, and Azazel along with Sona and her peerage who did nothing bad to Issei when he thought about it.

He was a bit sad that he lost a fair bit of his friends because of his new alignment, but he did not regret his choice because the more he thought about it the more it made sense to him that what Cao Cao told him on that night was true.

He was just a flashy toy for them, a source of power that was at their disposal whenever they saw fit, and he didn't know if he could still trust them or not after what happened.

He dreaded the moment where he will have to face all of them, and he hoped that it wouldn't be anytime soon.

As he started to think about all that his thoughts shifted to the girls as anguish and sorrow started to fill him.

He thought about Irina, Xenovia, and Asia who had a close and unique bond with the brunette.

Irina was his childhood friend, and Xenovia was like a lost lamb that grew up in the church not knowing anything until she met Issei who changed her perspective on everything.

Asia...He was her first friend, the one who he saved from his first girlfriend and the reason he awakened his Boosted Gear.

He then started to think about Rias, the girl who captured his fragile heart along as well as Akeno.

But thinking about them didn't give him any happiness. Instead, it filled him with the familiar feeling of anger and betrayal as he tried to relax by averting his thought to something else like wondering how they are all going to react once they find out that their flashy Red Dragon Emperor is now their enemy.

He thought about everything that could happen for hours until he found himself surrendering to sleep.

Issei woke up angry at the morning thanks to Vali knocking on his door repeatedly.

"Hyoudou wake up!" Vali shouted as she continued to knock on his door, increasing the intensity of her knocking each time she did not get a respond.

She was losing patience quickly and was just about to kick the door off its hinges when she suddenly heard the brunette shouting in exasperation.

"What the hell Vali? I am trying to sleep...Leave me alone" He shouted.

"Like hell, I will, you need to get ready for your introduction to the Hero Faction," Vali said as a matter of fact.

"But it's so early now..." Issei replied with frustration.

"It's noon already you sleepyhead," Vali said rather playfully when she suddenly heard a loud thud coming from inside the room, making her open the door in panic.

Once she opened the door, she was met with a sight that almost made her rolling on the floor with laughter.

She saw Issei on the ground with his blanket covering him while he struggled to remove it.

"Cute..." Vali silently muttered as she watched the scene unfold, but she got panicked when she saw that Issei stopped moving after her muttering.

"Hyoudou are you ok?" Vali asked nervously, gulping when she thought that he might have heard her.

"Yeah...This stupid blanket won't go off, though, can you help me instead of just watching me?" Issei asked in irritation.

Unknown to Vali he did hear her thanks to his enhanced senses, but he chose not to do anything but blush at the comment.

He loved Vali, but he wasn't ready to let her know that yet, not until he will recover from what happened to him.

Vali did not respond and instead just went ahead and removed the blanket from the brunette who thanked her in return.

After that incident, she stayed in the room as Issei started to get ready until she saw him change his clothes, making her blush and run out of the room, leaving a very confused Issei behind.

When he finished getting ready, he went outside and saw Vali leaning on the wall right beside his room.

"Took you long enough," She said in a playful manner as she got up from her position on the wall and started to walk away, signaling Issei to follow her.

When they reached their destination, Issei was met with a sight that made him panic.

He saw the entire Hero Faction gathered around and talking to each other.

He gulped upon seeing the amount of people that will dedicate their attention to him once he will be introduced.

"Are you ok Hyoudou?" Vali asked in a slight worry as she noticed Issei behaving differently.

"Y-Yeah...Just nervous that's all" Issei said with a shaky voice.

"It's going to be ok," Vali said as she flashed a smile to her rival in an attempt to cheer him up.

"I hope so" He replied still very nervous from what to come.

"Don't worry, I am not going to let anything bad happen to you" Vali said, but she was confused when she suddenly saw Issei turn crimson until she turned crimson as well once she realized exactly what she told him.

They both remained silent until Cao Cao made his appearance on the platform that was in the middle of the room and started talking.

"Hello everyone!"

"I am sorry for the abrupt summon, but I wanted to introduce you to our newest member," He said as he scanned the room for Issei and upon finding him he smirked.

"Please welcome the Red Dragon Emperor, Issei Hyoudou" Cao Cao said as he signaled for Issei to come up to the platform and stand beside him.

Issei for his part was dreading every moment but realized that there is no way back from this, especially after Cao Cao introduced him already.

He swallowed his fears and did his best to think about other things besides his anxiety as he went to Cao Cao.

Upon climbing the platform, Issei was very surprised from the excitement of the Hero Faction as they clapped and cheered for him.

This went for a while until Cao Cao finished talking about Issei and their next course of actions and when he was done talking about everything that he wanted he dismissed them back to their normal activities.

The room became empty in an instance except for Vali, Issei and Cao Cao who stayed there as they had to talk about Issei new team.

"This went very well..." Cao Cao said with a smirk as he remembered the massive cheering Issei got from the other members.

"Yeah," Issei replied shyly.

"Anyway...Before I dismiss you two as well, I wanted to let you know that you are both going to be teammates" Cao Cao said still with his smirk as he saw the reaction of the duo.

Vali was visibly happy as she flashed a big grin to Cao Cao, silently thanking him while Issei remained stoic on the outside while his mind was racing on the inside.

He thought about what is going to happen now that he is assigned to the same team as Vali.

Will their relationship improve or weaken?

Will he be able to trust her and the rest of the team which he didn't even meet yet? Especially now that his life could be depending on them.

Out of all his thoughts, one stood out in particular that made him the most anxious.

Will I mean something to them or I am going to be the flashing Red Dragon Emperor once again?

Thinking about all of this made him very uneasy, and to his dismay, this was noticed by Vali and Cao Cao who had worried looks on their faces.

"Kid are you ok?" Cao Cao asked as he saw Issei shaking slightly.

Issei did not answer him and instead just averted his gaze to Cao Cao who spoke once again in an attempt to make the boy relax.

"Listen, kid; I know it has been hard for you but at least give them a chance."

"Yeah Hyoudou, my team is actually made of good people, they are currently on a mission which they will return from soon, they were actually very understanding when I told them that I wanted to stay behind to look out for you" Vali said as she as well tried to make the boy relax which seemed to work slightly as his shaking reduced.

"How about you go and relax in your room and when they will be back I will call you to meet them?" Vali suggested which was received with a nod of approval from the brunette, making her smile in delight before she escorted him to his room.

Upon reaching his room, Issei went straight to his bed to relax as he went through today's event in his mind.

'Ddraig are you awake?' Issei asked in the hope that his partner was awake.

During this entire time, Ddraig was the only thing he could rely on to stabilize him, and he couldn't be more thankful for the Dragon.

['Yeah partner, what is it?']

'Do you think the same thing will happen with my new team' Issei asked vaguely but Ddraig understood it all too well.

['I don't know partner but the least you could do is give them a chance to prove themselves before you rule them out'] Ddraig said, voicing his opinion on the matter.

'You're right but still...I can't shake this feeling that whoever I am going to trust will just end up doing the same thing Rias and Raynare did' Issei confessed in sorrow.

['I know but still...Not all people are like them'] Ddraig said with venom towards the end.

It wasn't common for the Dragon to be mad at something but after he witnessed the uprising and downfall of the one he considered his partner by none other than those he trusted the most he felt sorry for him as his hate towards the Gremory peerage intensified.

'I guess...' Issei replied emptily, partly agreeing with the Dragon while doubt still lingered inside of him.

['Give them a chance partner, I am sure that you won't regret it...Don't forget that I am here for you whenever you need me'] Ddraig said, encouraging his partner to give his new team a fair chance while also reminding him of his presence in case he needed support.

'Thanks, Ddraig' Issei said gratefully to the Dragon.

['No worries partner, I suggest you should go to sleep, you had a rough day today'] Ddraig suggested his partner as he sensed how drained he was both mentally and physically.

*yawn*

'Good idea...Goodnight Ddraig' Issei said tiredly after yawning.

['Goodnight partner'] Ddraig replied as he as well started to feel drowsy before he sunk into his slumber.

AN: Don't forget to Follow, Review, and Favorite :)

I also wanted to say something regarding Ddraig.

He will be a combination of slight OOC and his canon self so keep that in mind.