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

Sorry for the long time it has taken me to publish this chapter; I had an unpleasant struggle to write this chapter due to the way I wanted things to go.

Now, I am sure that a lot of you will probably not be happy with how the chapter went but be assured that I'll explain everything in the ending AN's so be sure to read these before reviewing so you could have the whole picture.

Also, keep in mind that a certain character here will be OOC but not by much, and it will not have a big impact on the story other than explaining some things that are important to the story's plot.

I am also happy to announce that I am currently working on a Bleach story! There's still quite some time before I'll publish it but I can already say a few details on it, but I won't spoil anything before I have everything planned out exactly like I want it too.

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

"..." Talking

'...' Thoughts

"..." Quotations

*...* 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

A week has passed since Issei and Ddraig had their talk with Ophis, the Ouroboros Dragon, and the brunettes talk with Vali later that same day.

Right now the brunette was training like he has trained for every day for the past week.

He would wake up when the sun was just showing its first signs of appearance on the horizon. He would then get dressed and grab some food at the HQ's cafeteria before heading to the training grounds where he would start his training.

Of course, Issei was not alone during this training. Ddraig would accompany him and would advise him on things to do and improve which Issei would be grateful for if it wasn't for the fact that the Dragon within his Longinus was a complete maniac when it came to training, something Issei was partly surprised from.

While Issei wanted to take it slow and do it at his own pace, Ddraig continued to push him beyond his limits and to the point where his body threaten to shut down if he would continue to increase the strain on it.

The plan the training maniac Ddraig improvised for Issei was that up until noon Issei would perform physical training and afternoon the boy would go to sleep and will be forced into his subconscious where Ddraig awaited him with training for his Dragon abilities and the abilities of the Boosted Gear.

For hours Ddraig would chase his host in his subconscious while launching attacks on him; both physical and magical alike as the brunette continued to dodge cowardly, but that changed when in one of his training sessions while evading yet another incoming attack a thought ran through his mind.

'How will I be able to protect them if I continue to stay weak?' The brunette thought while flashbacks of his fight with Rias and his old peerage surfaced to his mind. How he got taken out in a moment of weakness that originated from the uneasiness of his heart.

Another one of these flashbacks that ran through his mind was something that happened more recently; his fight with Cao Cao.

For days the young emperor was deep in thought about how he was seconds from death's door and for the simple fact that if it weren't for his bond with Ddraig that triggered that life-saving ability in the last second. How he would've been nothing but a remnant of the past, engraved in the minds of his friends and comrades.

Upon thinking about this Issei ceased his flee from the mighty, red Dragon that pursued him, turned around and for the first time since his training began two days prior he summoned his Longinus and started to attack Ddraig back, which, as the days went would turn into a full-on fight between the two that would prove to be helpful for the brunette's training.

But this was the least of the troubles the brunette had to deal with during this week.

One of the other problems was the talk Vali had with him and the kiss she gave him, a kiss that showed him a rare peek at the many emotions that swirled vigorously within his seemingly emotionless silver-haired rival.

Never in his life has he felt the same amount of both affection and intense passion he felt from his kiss with Vali. Sure, his kiss with Yasaka had a great deal of both, but with Vali's her emotions were different. It was as if they were bottled up for a long time, waiting to finally be released.

He found himself dumbfounded as to what's going on through Vali's mind after the kiss they shared, a kiss he equally returned with as much passion and affection as the one who initiated it. So the day after Vali showed up at the training ground merely minutes after his arrival; surprising Issei who knew Vali wasn't a morning person.

He remembered the talk they shared with each other that day; how much joy her voice contained, how much love her eyes held when they met his own eyes.

But, the sweet memories of that day did not live for long because he then remembered what happened when Vali left the training ground; when they finished talking she gave him a kiss which he returned and told him she loved him, waiting for him to say it back... Only he never did. He remembered the frown that adorned her face, the despair in her eyes before she quickly vanquished any trace with a smile Issei knew was fake.

He wanted to tell her how he felt about her; he wanted to so badly, but, he couldn't do it.

'What if it'll happen again?' This was the question he kept asking himself as images of Rias and his old peerage as well as Raynare kept popping up in his mind, but not the happy moments. No, the images that kept popping were images of the times he wished to erase from his mind.

['Partner, we should start with the magical training now,'] Ddraig's voice snapped Issei's train of thoughts and managed to distract him from the thoughts that plagued his mind before he sighed in exasperation and dived into his subconscious where his partner awaited him.

"Phew that was a close one'" Issei said between panting as he managed to dodge one of Ddraig attacks barely.

['You should focus more or else you'll be hit,'] Ddraig warned his partner while inhaling a large amount of air before exhaling it as a stream of fire.

'I know, but there's a lot on my mind right now,' Issei told the Dragon as he jumped away from the attack's reach.

['Oh? It doesn't concern a certain silver-haired girl right?'] Ddraig teased his partner with a smug grin; making a vein to pop on Issei's forehead while his cheeks went crimson red.

'S-Shut up you stupid Dragon!' Issei snarled back while glaring daggers at the now snickering Dragon who stood in front of him; a gentle blush gracing his face.

['Listen, partner. While I can't really provide any help, that will help to vanquish your fears and uncertainties I can tell you one thing. During my entire time being locked in the Boosted Gear, I never saw both my possessor and Albion's possessor having feelings other than unadulterated hatred towards each other, but not anymore. You and Vali are the first possessors who wield intense feelings towards each other that do not have even a trace of hatred towards each other in them, But don't think that the path of hatred our past possessors took couldn't be repeated even now because hatred always finds a way to a person's heart'] Ddraig told his partner with no emotions which only showed Issei how serious he was.

'W-What do you mean?' Issei asked after nervously gulping.

['Sorry partner, but you'll have to figure this out on your own'] The Dragon replied with a smirk.

Issei could only flash Ddraig a weak smile before resuming their fight, but the fight did not last for long before Ddraig said something that made Issei freeze in his tracks.

['Oh, speak of the devil. You should wake up now partner'] He said much to Issei's chagrin.

"Issei?" The brunette woke up to the enthusiastic yet tender voice of his teammate calling to him.

"Vali? What are you doing here?" He asked, his voice not matching the enthusiasm she had upon seeing him; making her flinch slightly before composing herself fast enough so Issei wouldn't notice.

"W-Well... Cao Cao wanted to meet with us," Vali nervously stuttered as she was caught off-guard from the brunette's sudden coldness towards her.

"What does he want?" Issei asked in irritation caused by thinking of the raven haired man, something Vali did not know.

"I-I don't know, but we should go," She said with a grimace; thinking the irritation in Issei's voice was aimed at her and not Cao Cao.

The brunette did not respond and instead just followed Vali to the main hall of the Hero Faction.

The walk to the main hall of the HQ wasn't long, but for Issei, it felt like it took forever.

During the walk, he and Vali haven't spoken even a single word to each other which made the brunette nervous as to why exactly the usually talkative Vali would stay quiet during this walk.

He came to a conclusion that the silver-haired girl may be upset, but didn't know for sure about what.

Sure, he wasn't dumb, he knew the reason for Vali being upset; how he failed to return her affection, how he did not match her joy and enthusiasm in seeing her as she expressed in seeing him, but he didn't want to believe it, he didn't want to believe that he was the source for it.

He found himself gazing at Vali's back every other second to see how she was doing, wondering what was going through her head while apologizing internally for the pain he must've caused her. That was until they reached the doors to the main hall.

Vali for her part was deep in thoughts about the brunette that was walking behind her.

'Why is he acting like this?' She continued to ponder with each passing step she took towards the main hall.

When she returned to her room after their kiss she spent the entire night staring at the ceiling of her dim room while processing what happened, and when she did a huge grin appeared on her face.

She thought about what the aftermath of the kiss would be, how they would most likely be in the relationship she longed for, how she will be able to stand by his side in moments of need, and how the feud between the mighty dragons will finally have its happy ending.

But, none of those thoughts came to fruition because the next day she was met with a stoic Issei who didn't look as overjoyed as she was, not even close.

But, she didn't mind that. The thing that made her heart to clench was when he didn't say that he loved her after she told him.

When she returned to her room that day, while the tears kept cascading down her cheeks, she thought back on the kiss. How he reciprocated the emotions and passion she expressed in it and why, if he returned it in the kiss why wouldn't he return it now?

'Maybe he was caught up in the heat of the moment?' The mere thought of this made her clenched heart to slightly crack with each time it passed by in her mind as sorrow began to slowly fill her core.

'No, that's probably not it. Issei's not like that, it's gotta be something else,' Vali would always instantly reassure herself when that sorrowful thought popped into her mind. Not because she wanted to soothe herself regardless of how farfetched the thoughts may be. No, she reassured herself because she knew for sure that it's not how Issei is. After all, he is her arch-rival who she knew for quite a long time now.

When she saw the door to the main hall, she came to a decision that as hurtful as it might be, it was necessary.

'I wouldn't force myself on Issei; I want him to genuinely reciprocate my feelings, so, for now, I'll act like I did before the kiss until I can figure out what's causing him to suppress his emotions, and then I'll be able to help him so we could overcome this and finally get our happy ending,' A grin adorned her face as she made her resolve.

Upon reaching the doors to the main hall, all stopped in her tracks with her hand on the decorated handle of the door while turning her head to look at Issei.

"I don't know why are you acting like this towards me Issei, but I swear I'll find out why and I'll help you deal with it so we can both finally be happy, that's a promise!" She said with an extreme determination which caused her fellow emperor to look at her with wide eyes as a frown adorned his face when he was reminded of his cold behavior before switching to a grin when he heard Vali's promise.

"T-Thank you, Vali," His whispered gratitude to the silver-haired in front of him failed to reach her ears, or so he thought.

Upon entering the room Issei and Vali were met with the sight of their team, and Cao Cao was patiently waiting for their arrival which caused both Emperors to cock an eyebrow in surprise when they thought about how Kuroka managed to stay patient.

"Ah! I see that we're all here now," Cao Cao said upon setting his gaze on the new arrivals; a smirk adorning his face.

"Yeah Yeah, what did you want Cao Cao?" Issei impatiently asked as he went to stand beside his team; causing Cao Cao to frown in response to the rude comment his subordinate made.

But the rudeness Issei and his team showed to Cao Cao was nothing new.

Ever since they brought Yasaka and Kunou to live with them in the Hero Faction's HQ and the fight it triggered between Issei and Cao Cao something changed. Cao Cao became much more strict with his subordinates to the point where he threatened to kill someone who was late to one of their gathering.

Due to how Issei and his team defied Cao Cao's wish and how the latter surrendered in his fight with the Dragon of Domination the rest of the Hero Faction got a newfound confidence and in return were not afraid to mess up from time to time. But, all things has to come to an end, and the newfound confidence the members of the Hero Faction received was one of these things because mere days after Cao Cao has changed.

It looked to all of them that he was not happy with how the Hero Faction was doing right now, not even one bit.

They would occasionally hear Cao Cao voicing his dissatisfaction with the members by saying stuff like how useless they were, and how things turned this way.

"Ok then, now that you're all here I wish to discuss something about you," Cao Cao said after suppressing his irritation.

"What is it?" Vali asked with a lack of interest, but that was soon changed with the next thing Cao Cao said.

"The Holy Grail," Issei and his team widened their eyes in shock upon the mention of the famous Grail.

"T-The Holy Grail?!" Vali asked in bewilderment, her voice hoarse.

"Yes, the Holy Grail, or in its proper name Sephiroth Graal" Cao Cao repeated nonchalantly.

"Why do you need it?" Vali asked, still in shock but seemingly much calmer.

"That is none of your concern. The only thing you will be told is the grail's presumed location,"

Vali glared at Cao Cao while mumbling words under her breath, those who did managed to hear her mumbles were surprised to see the wide variety of swears Vali had at her disposal.

"As I was saying. From what our intel has gathered the Sephiroth Graal is being possessed by a Dhampir girl who lives in Romania," Cao Cao told them to which he was answered with the same eyes the people in front of him had when he told them of the item he sought.

"I see. So, what else can you tell us about the possessor?" Vali asked as her patience with the wielder of the True Longinus has started to reach its end.

"The girl goes by the name of Valerie Tepes, and she is the leader of her clan which used to be a male-dominated" Issei's eyes widened upon hearing the name of the Sephiroth Graal's possessor.

His mind immediately took him to a talk he had with Gasper back at the ORC Club room while the rest were out on various tasks.

(Flashback)

Issei and Gasper sat at the ORC, each occupied in his own thing as they waited for the rest of their peerage to return from the various tasks they had.

Rias and Akeno were at a meeting with Sona and Tsubaki which Issei knew had something to do with the overall situation of Kuoh.

Kiba, Koneko, and Rossweise were doing their devil duties which made Issei snicker upon remembering what they told him about their clients.

How Kiba was forced to babysit an annoying teenager girl who constantly fawned on the pretty blonde; much to the Knight's annoyance.

How Koneko was asked to become someone's fitness coach who proved to be exhausting to the stoic girl due to the lack of sweets.

And last of all, how Rossweise was asked to pretend to be someone's date. While the request itself wasn't what made the Valkerye annoyed, the guy who asked her was or to be more exact his pestering and creepy behavior.

The church trio was roaming the streets of Kuoh as they talked about the thing they found most interesting; religious.

Issei, who was focused on the dirty magazine Azazel borrowed him, turned his gaze to the card box on the floor when he heard sobbing originating from there.

"Gasper? Are you ok?" Issei asked the crossdresser in worry as he placed the magazine on the table and started to make his way to the box only to stop half-way upon hearing Gasper's pleas not to come.

"P-Please don't come!" His voice was cracking as he stuttered hard.

"Ok, but can you please tell me what's wrong?" Issei asked tenderly while returning to his seat.

"I-It's today," Gasper said between his sobs; making Issei to frown.

He knew what the Bishop meant, and it made him pity the little boy who had to suffer so much during his previous life. He remembered the first time Rias vaguely told him of Gasper's backstory as to warn him when he approached the former Dhampir.

"I see. Do you want to talk about it?" He gently asked so Gasper would be at ease and not panic like he usually would.

"Y-Yes Please," He stuttered, but Issei could tell by his voice that the boy has begun to calm down; making him smile.

"Back when I grew up I lived alone while being abused by my father and his servants..." He started with a newfound courage; something that greatly surprised the brunette.

"I found myself cursing two moments in my short life, the moment I was born and the moment my mother was killed because of me as the servants always told me. I wanted to escape, to finally live normally, to find friends and family who will not abuse me. That's when I met Valerie, a girl from the Tepes clan which was a male-dominated one. We used to play at the castle all the time, and she would force me to dress like a girl, but I didn't mind because I had finally found a friend. One day I worked the courage to try and escape the castle with Valerie's help, and so I did, but I was killed shortly by one of the vampire hunters. That was when Buchou found me by luck and reincarnated me before taking me with her to live a new life. I never got to see Valerie again, but I hope that I will so I can thank her for helping me to escape, I just hope she's ok," Gasper explained in sadness.

"Gasper... I-I'm so sorry, but everything's ok now; you have us to worry about you," Issei said in disbelief and pity for the boy who suffered so much for no apparent reason.

"Thank you," Gasper gratefully told his sempai before coming out of his box and coming to sit next to Issei and leaning on him while playing his video game.

(Flashback End)

Cao Cao saw the look of horror, and shock Issei held in his eyes upon the mention of Valerie, and he immediately realized that this girl was someone Issei knew which was something he didn't like at all.

"I do wish to remind all of you that this is your last chance and I would not tolerate another defilement of my orders. If you were to fail in capturing the girl or you would avoid capturing her on purpose like last time I would make sure you will suffer the consequences, and trust me, that's something you would want to avoid at any cost," He warned as he narrowed his gaze specifically at the unsuspecting brunette, who was still in shock from learning the name of their target, before reverting his gaze to the rest of the team who gulped in response

"R-Roger that," Vali said nervously; not wanting to tick off the already upset leader so she and her team wouldn't have to suffer from his pent up anger.

"What are you waiting for? Go back to your rooms to prepare for the mission before returning here in fifteen minutes," Issei recovered from his shock just in time to hear Cao Cao's command before leaving the hall with his team shortly after without speaking another word.

AN: I hope you liked the chapter! Please don't forget to Follow, Favorite, and Review!

Now, I know some of you might be upset with the way I made Issei and Vali's relationship evolve, but be sure that I have this all planned out and I'm sure you'll be happy with the result.

I know a lot of you wanted the kiss between Issei and Vali to end with them getting together, but sadly, that's not how life works, and both Issei and Vali will have a lot to go through before they will get their happy ending.

As I keep reminding in the chapters: Issei's state both emotionally and mentally wise is still not stable as he keep struggling to recover from what Rias and his peerage, as well as Raynare, has done to him, but he changed from how he was at the beginning of the story, and he'll continue to change greatly as the story progress.

Do keep in mind that as I said above, I had every single thing planned out and executed like I wish it to be so things are being done for a purpose so please remember that :)

I could've easily made them get together in this chapter and cut the story short, but that goes against everything I have planned and my will for this story, so I didn't do that.

As someone who has been and still is a reader one thing I always find saddening is when you read a story, and you get really into it only for it to end quickly which only makes you sad from seeing the story, you got into it so much end, just like a TV series or anything else. So, I made sure to make this story as long as I can so people would continue to enjoy the story as much as possible.

Ok, that's all for now. I hope you understand my reasoning behind my decision regarding Issei and Vali's relationship and respect it.