"Talking"

'Thinking'

"Flashback"

"Attack/Name"

"Narrator"

Hyoudou Residence

Sekaino stood on his feet, looking around at the sunlit room. Issei's unseemly alarm had yet to go off, based on the fact that Issei was still sleeping. Glaring at it, Sekaino tore it from the wall. The meager cord snapped in half from the force behind his tear.

Looking down at Issei, Sekaino shook him awake. The boy's eyes fluttered open, before focusing on Sekaino above him. Still dazed, Issei muttered, "No babe, I'm tired...

OW DUDE WHAT THE HELL!?" A red hand mark now on Issei's face, Sekaino sighed as he saw the pervert stumbling out of bed. Satisfied with the result, Sekaino commented, "Looks like that did the trick, you finally got up?"

"Yeah, did you have to slap me?" Issei whined, still rubbing his cheek. Standing up, Sekaino answered with a sly smile, "No, just thought it might snap you out of your dream."

"It was a nice dream..." Issei complained, before looking at Sekaino and asking, "What are we doing today?"

Sekaino looked at the boy in surprise before answering, "As I said, those Fallen Angels weren't the only supernatural beings in this town. At your school, there's a huge concentration of supernatural beings. If I had to guess, it's several groups of Devils.

For now, I'd say go to school, afterward I'll see about training you. As it stands you are not in the proper condition to fight with or against me." Sekaino explained, the last part garnering Issei's attention, "Wait, wait, wait! Against you?"

"I suppose I could have worded that better. I have no intention of fighting you, but I will end up sparring against you just to see how you measure against me." Sekaino replied, calming Issei's panic. Though just as quickly he rekindled it as he opened the window, before announcing, "Just tell your parents I left early. I'll be watching over you for the day. Maybe we might run into those Devils."

Issei nodded his head before Sekaino jumped, landing just out of view. Closing the window, Issei began to get ready for school. However, before he did, Issei looked at his broken alarm lying on the floor. With a twitching eye, he thought to himself, 'He better get me that damn harem,'

Time Skip

Elsewhere - Kuoh Academy

"Man this blows, 'your life's about to be more interesting' my ass," Issei muttered while walking into the familiar school grounds. Normally he would've already been leering over as many girls as he could've, but he didn't feel like it right now.

Silently entering the main school building, he began looking for his perverse friends. Luckily he didn't have to look too hard for them as they were resting on the middle landing of a staircase. Walking up to them he ignored any greeting, opting to let them engage with him. Once both noticed his presence they looked at him with a petty expression. Issei furrowed his brow, before saying, "What's your problem?"

"What's our problem!?" The two both yelled, their faces smashed together with their fists held in front of them. Issei backed away, holding his arms up, surrendering to his only friend's wrath before one continued with, "You still have a girlfriend!"

"Yeah! For all we care you betrayed us." His friend, Motohama added, his foggy glasses reflecting the dull light of the school building. His other lecherous friend, Matsuda followed with, "I should kick your ass man!"

His eyes closed from fury, as he grabbed Issei by the collar threatening to punch him. Issei glared back at his friend, responding with, "Back off man! Don't get jealous because I can get a girl's attention!"

"Oh yeah, you'll get a lot of attention soon enough." Motohama sneered before looking at Matsuda and saying, "Do it."

"Don't need to tell me twice." The shaved teen replied before his fist roared toward Issei's face. However, just before his fist could land, a much bigger arm snagged onto Matsuda's. Matsuda squealed in pain as his arm was torqued behind his back, threatening to snap behind his back. Before any of the boys could say anything, a familiar voice announced, "I can't believe I found my cousin about to get jumped. Guess you can say I made it just on time."

"Sekaino?" Issei questioned, looking at his savior. Sekaino looked past Matsuda in his grip, before answering, "Oh, hi Issei. Just forgot I had some news to tell you, thought I should do it before school starts. Lucky for you."

Issei looked around, seeing people from all over the school looking at the scene. Whispers echoed through the halls, many of which went along the lines of, "Serves him right."

"Is that Issei's cousin?" Another common question, several others asked is, "What is he wearing?"

Of course, the teenage population looked at the man saying, "I didn't think Issei has such cute relatives, sucks we can't have him instead."

Sekaino ignored the comments, pushing Matsuda against the wall. However, he let go, letting the boy clutch his arm in pain. It wasn't mercy, rather he felt the presence of someone who didn't belong. Turning behind him he saw a pair of blue eyes observing him, her sharp red hair blowing in a nonexistent wind.

'Gremory...' He thought to himself as everyone watched the minor interaction. Behind him, he heard the two bullies leer over her body, Issei resisting the urge to do the same yet succumbing to his desires.

Sekaino studied her, he could tell why lesser men would immediately fall for her. Good thing he wasn't a lesser man, rather than ogle at her body he studied her eyes. A lustrous blue, completely contrasting her saturated red hair. Yet Sekaino saw her expression behind that smile, telling him to back off. The two never dropped eye contact, both challenging the other.

The moment before she turned down the stairs, a red glow shot through her body. Sekaino looked away as she walked down the stairs, turning to face the boys behind him. To his surprise, both of Issei's friends had dazed looks on their faces. Before snapping to attention upon seeing Rias down the stairs.

"Oh man, we missed that." Matsuda complained, Motohama responded, "Damn, I couldn't even get her proportions."

Sekaino looked at Issei, who was even more confused. Grabbing the boy's shoulder he whispered, "You come back home after school, I suspect we already have our first enemy."

Issei looked at him with a nervous expression before nodding his head. Walking down the stairs, he felt people staring at him once again. Yet he didn't care, they were nothing compared to what he's been through.

Time Skip

Elsewhere - Hyoudou Residence

Unlocking the front door, Issei zipped past the living room. Only briefly answering his parents asking how his day was. Hiking up the stairs he burst through his bedroom door, and seeing Sekaino sitting on the floor.

"Took you long enough, first you have anything you need to do before we start?" Sekaino asked, looking up at the boy. Shaking his head, Issei answered, "No, my teachers are fairly relaxed when it comes to homework since school didn't start that long ago."

"Good, then let's get going," Sekaino stated as he stood on the edge of Issei's window. Issei looked at him in confusion, before asking, "Wait, to do what?"

Sekaino laughed at his question, answering, "To train you, of course, now hurry up!"

Issei watched as Sekaino jumped before he got ready to go out. Undressing from his school clothes he put on gym shorts and a t-shirt, preparing for whatever workout was about to commence. Going downstairs he told his parents he'd be out for a few hours, before grabbing a water bottle and heading outside.

Issei saw Sekaino on the sidewalk, his cape, swords, and footwear gone. Once Issei walked over, Sekaino announced, "First, I need to test your endurance. I'd rather you be able to stay in a fight than out on a single show of strength. So let's go."

Sekaino motioned for Issei to follow before jogging away, Issei doing the same. While he wouldn't intentionally lose him, he certainly wouldn't make things easy for the boy. Behind him, he heard Issei's breath grow labored, before he questioned, "Just, just how long are we gonna be running for?"

"I'll figure that out, just make sure you don't lose me. If you do, I'm not stopping anyone from killing you." Sekaino threatened, Issei's eyes widening from fear before he boosted forwards to run alongside his coach.

After a few blocks, he could tell Issei was tiring. The neighborhood didn't go on for too much longer, only a few more blocks. After they exited the suburb he planned on running through the surrounding forest. As they both grew closer to the edge of town he noticed Issei wavering, narrowing his eyes he stated, "You want to get that harem right? First, you need to be strong, you need power. If you can't even push through this then you'll never accomplish anything in this world."

Issei didn't respond, but his attention certainly was caught. With a small grin on his face, he pushed past Sekaino before replying, "Then let's go."

'Attaboy.' Sekaino thought to himself as he took the lead back. While he didn't want to demoralize the boy quite yet, he still was his coach. After a few minutes, the two exited the neighborhood, the adequately paved road fading into a graying mountain pass. The road narrowed significantly, the sidewalks disappearing, forcing the pair onto the sides. Luckily it was late enough to where no one would be driving on the street, even so a car here and again wouldn't be a danger.

"H-hey, Sekaino?" Issei asked, panting through his breath.

"Yeah, what do you need?"

"Shou-should I use the gear? After all, it does boost my strength." Issei suggested.

"No. If I remember correctly, Sacred Gear exponentially increases your strength until it reaches your body's limit. Meaning that if you have a weak body or a base form as you might put it, You can't become as powerful as that gear would allow for. Am I correct, Ddraig?" Sekaino explained as the familiar gauntlet appeared on Issei's arm, the rumbling voice answering, "Yes, to put it simply I could double the amount of Heavenly Energy which channeled through my body every 10 seconds, thus doubling my strength every 10 seconds. And when I was killed by the man before you, I was sealed into a Sacred Gear. Meaning that my ability is now yours to control, boy."

At Ddraig's explanation, Issei widened his eyes in surprise, hearing that not only did he possess a broken ability, but this coach was able to kill the creator of said ability. At this realization, Issei asked, "Holy shit. How powerful are you Sekaino?"

"Very," Ddraig answered before the gauntlet disappeared once again. Sekaino remained wordless, at the moment even the acknowledgment of his strength would cripple Issei's motivation. When he killed Ddraig he was in his base form, the one which he appeared in when he first summoned himself down from his home. The form he was in now was after eons of increasing in power, the power boosts causing his body to mutate into a form that could handle said power.

Behind him he heard Issei begin to slow, the exhaustion finally catching up to the boy. Sekaino kept running, seeing how far he could push him, though it seemed he was already at his limit. Turning around he stopped Issei, who nearly fell to the ground from exhaustion. Holding up the boy by his shoulders, he stated, "You did alright for your first time. You still have a long way to go before we can start sparring."

Issei looked at Sekaino, nodding before taking out his water and chugging it. Waiting for Issei to respond he turned, seeing the sun was still out. Finally done with his water, Issei asked, "What exactly is your plan?"

"Well as I said, I'm going to increase your strength. Your body is not properly conditioned to be able to stand against the threats Ddraig has, let alone what I have." Sekaino started, Issei looking at him waiting for him to continue.

"Afterwards, I'll start teaching you how to fight. It'll be simple at first, how to throw a punch or kick. The. We'll move on to grappling and more advanced moves. Then you'll learn to fight like how I do."

"Oh, that will certainly be fun," Ddraig commented, appearing on Issei's arm once again. Issei, looking down in curiosity, asked the dragon, "Wait, what do you mean?"

Laughing at his host's curiosity, Ddraig answered, "To put it simply, you'll have a hard time finding other people who fight as he does."

Sekaino watching the interaction stated, "You're done with conditioning for today, in terms of strength training. We'll need to getcha a gym membership somewhere."

"Wait, what?" Issei asked, nervous about having to step foot into a gym. Nodding at the boy's question, Sekaino changed his attire as any other Heroic Spirit would. Now sporting a light blue oversized baggy t-shirt, and gray sweatpants with matching blue, white, and black shoes, Sekaino began to walk toward the town they had just run from. Issei followed suit, joining his coach before asking, "Do you know where you're going?"

"What do you think I was doing while you were in school?" Sekaino answered, Issei nodding in response. After a relatively long walk, both made it into a busier downtown district. Kuoh wasn't by any means a large city compared to other major Japanese metropolises, but it still had its larger-scale areas.

Looking around Issei saw a handful of skyscrapers, some commercial, residential and industrial. Near the ground, were various shops and other outcropping which were home to larger businesses or apartments. Glancing over to Sekaino he saw his coach ignoring the city, as though he was looking for a specific building. Suddenly Sekaino sped up before walking into one of the many doors lining the street.

Following behind, Issei found himself inside a lobby area. In front of him was Sekaino walking up to the front desk, and talking to the receptionist about something he couldn't hear. Watching as Sekaino turned around, he was about to do the same before his coach presented a card, saying, "Make sure you keep, I'll be paying for our membership here so you don't need to worry about money."

"Wait, what is this place?" Issei asked, taking the card and glossing over it, Sekaino answering, "A gym, we need to getcha strong before you can use 'that'."

Issei looked down at his arm, before nodding in response. Following Sekaino through the glass doors he found himself inside the main gymnasium. Various racks and machines which were unfamiliar to him were scattered around. One wall facing the street was entirely glass, with a few cardio machines in front.

In one corner was a foam area, with several punching bags hanging from the ceiling. Near that were several rings for people to spar in, and various shelves with equipment near them. Looking around he didn't see a huge amount of people, several machines were occupied but it wasn't crowded.

"It's a private gym, I thought you'd enjoy a decent amount of privacy so I got us memberships here." here." Sekaino stated, Issei looking at him in bewilderment asked, "Damn how the hell were you able to pay for it?"

Sekaino laughed before answering, "Strength has many benefits boy."

"I don't even want to ask."

"Anyways, let's get to it. You'll be here five days a week after your run. Your split will be upper strength, lower strength, push, pull, and legs. I'll be here to guide you, and to make sure you don't lose focus." Sekaino added, Issei nodding dutifully before responding with, "Then let's get started."

Time Skip

"Heh, s-so tired," Issei muttered as the two walked out. Sekaino had managed to work up a sweat, Issei on the other hand...

"D-did you have to go that hard? My whole torso is sore!" Issei complained, stretching as they walked out, seeing the sun had already gone down. Sekaino looked at Issei before answering, "Get used to it, you'll be doing this almost daily."

Issei laughed from his shock. Once again he commented, "I feel like I'm going to die because of this."

"Rather die in the pursuit of power than because you get arrested because of your... 'habits'." Sekaino stated, Issei looking down in slight shame. Sekaino looked at the boy before saying, "At the very least, you need food. Now I'm going to take you to a restaurant because I don't know how stocked your parents are in terms of food. But this will not be a common occurrence, you'll either have to ask your parents to start buying proper food or I'll do it myself. For now though, please try and eat something decent."

"Yeah, I can do that. But where are we going to eat?" Issei questioned, looking at his coach. With a sly smile Sekaino answered, "Eh, I'll figure something out. Just whatever looks good."

Issei nodded, looking around the street for anywhere to eat. Subconsciously trying to make it a healthy choice to eat at rather than a fast food joint. After a few minutes, a place caught his eye, it wasn't a large restaurant. Certainly not a 'hole in the wall' type place, but not big enough for even 50 people. Tapping Sekaino's shoulder, Issei began, "How about here, looks decent enough."

Sekaino nodded, walking up through the glass doors. Inside the restaurant had a dark, log cabin-like aesthetic. The floor was black, and the walls were brown wood, with several light fixtures mimicking candles or chandeliers. Next to the entrance was a small desk, a young man behind it in an employee's uniform. With a polite smile, he asked, "How many tonight?"

"Just two," Sekaino answered, before the host pulled out two menus from the desk, guiding them to a small table. Placing down the menus, the host turned and stated, "A waiter will be with you shortly."

"Thanks." Sekaino huffed out before both sat down. Mindlessly picking up the menu, Issei began to scan for a meal that stuck out to him. Sekaino however sat with a grim expression, as though he was funneling his thoughts to look for something. Taking note of this, Issei asked, "You alright? You haven't even picked up the menu yet."

"Yeah, just trying to find someone," Sekaino answered, Issei turned to look at the door in a vain effort to help his newfound friend. Shrugging he began to scan the menu, Sekaino however kept searching, not through his mind. He was searching for a presence, the same he felt had arrived on his Earth. It wasn't in the normal world, it had disappeared to where all the higher beings had after the end of the war. The Reverse Side of the World is a place flooded with Heavenly Energy to the point where it can sustain the existence of beings from the Higher Planes. It would make sense if whatever he had felt arrived on his Earth went there, perhaps they were looking for a fuel source. No, he would have felt the Heavenly Energy being drained from his planet. For now, he would leave them be, right now they would have to deal with the damn wizard Merlin who was stuck in Avalon.

Looking back at his now pupil, he forced a cocky smile onto his face before saying, "Alright, I'm hungry. What's on this damn menu?"

Elsewhere - Avalon

"Ah, so that's who you are. Quite the interesting story you have yourself." Merlin commented, the armored man in front of him glaring through his visor. Sensing his annoyance, Merlin stopped digging through the man's memories, saying, "Alright, alright. I'll stop. I must say I am curious as to how you managed to arrive here."

The Slayer looked at the wizard, his gaze signaling his disinterest in answering the question. Merlin sighed, disappointed the man in front of him was as silent as a rock. Making his thoughts vocal when he stated, "Haven't met someone nearly as quiet as you are.

And here I thought I might finally have some decent company." Merlin complained, sighing as he did so. Looking back at the Slayer, he resumed the one-sided conversation, asking, "I have to ask, why did you come here? There's no Demonic threat in the Reverse Side, at the very least they haven't discovered it."

The Slayer almost sighed in relief upon hearing that. While it was technically an accident that he ended up in this area of the world, he was still relieved to find that it was safe. Picking himself up off the ground, he made his way to an overgrown window. Merlin looked at the Slayer in curiosity, realizing that he had no interest in staying confined within the tower. Disappointed that his only company in years was already leaving, Merlin stated, "So you're already leaving? I can understand why. The Demons have already begun to plant those nests on the Earth, and they need to be destroyed."

The Slayer looked back at the wizard, a slight glare on his face. The wizard sensing the man's anger offered, "I can transport you to the next Gore Nest. The first you found was in Britain, the next closest should be... Jerusalem.

I can send you there now, just try to destroy it as soon as possible. Though I assume you already knew that." Merlin added, a smile on his face as he said the last portion of his message. Underneath his helmet, the Slayer felt his lips curl into a smirk at Merlin's joke. Well, a joke isn't the right word to call it, for Merlin was entirely correct.

Watching the man get up, he saw as he waved his staff balletically through the air. A soft pink light emanated from the wooden staff, and several rune-like incantations formed from the pink. Merlin slowly undulated the blade through the garden, creating various circles of the same pink energy. With his spell complete, Merlin stepped out from his circle, looking over at the Slayer he stated, "Well, step right in. This should take you to the location of the nest. If not, you should be close to the location."

The Slayer nodded, stepping into the pink circle of light. The light grew stronger, before enveloping nearly the entirety of his view, only Merlin's body remaining outside of the light. With a hopeful smile on his face, he said, "This is one of the first steps to the greatest Holy Grail War, I have no doubt you'll see me again. Hopefully, then I'll be a little more useful."

The Slayer nodded as the warmth finally took over his view, his eyes closing from the sheer brightness. Just as quickly as the light appeared, it disappeared from his sight, looking around he found himself on a hill. The air surrounding him felt warm and dry, he saw a few trees scattered on the hillside with blankets of dead grass layered on the ground. In the near distance, he saw lights shining from various settlements surrounding him.

Silently hoping no one saw the flash of light from his arrival, he began scanning the landscape. After a brief moment, his eyes fell upon a lone man walking a trail. He was a man of average height and build, the most striking feature was his pale hair and dull-gold eyes, his being plaited to the side. Outside of that, he looked completely ordinary, he might as well have been ordinary. However the Slayer was smarter than that, he could feel things others couldn't feel the energy that irradiated from others. And the man in front of him was able to use energy, it felt like Sentinel Energy. But it felt as though it was condensed before it would be filtered for whatever purpose the man deemed fit for his reserves of Sentinel Energy.

Deciding that the man would be his first target, he leaped from the hillside, landing on the trail in front of the man. He had a meager display of surprise before saying, "Ah, so someone else was able to summon a Servant before me. I can only assume you're here to kill me before I can summon my own."

The Slayer walked closer, inspecting the man as he did so. He felt no ill intent, no fear, no anger, only a meager curiosity at seeing him. Deciding to answer the man's question, he shook his head, surprising the man more than his presence did. He felt the man make eye contact with him, staring through the murky visor of his helmet before stating, "Then who are you?"

The Slayer stood silent, watching the man lose hope of getting a response from him. Sighing, the man added, "No matter, I am not here to discuss business with a Heroic Spirit. I am here to claim my own for the war."

The Slayer snapped to attention, this was the third time he's heard a war be mentioned. Perhaps it was tied to the Gore Nests, perhaps this man might lead him where he wanted to go. Almost as though he was reading his intent, the man offered, "Would you care to join me, I'm starved for company. My trip hasn't been the most exciting."

The man chuckled at his own words, before continuing, "Ah, how rude of me. I should give you my name before we depart. My name is Marisbury Animusphere, it's a pleasure to meet you."

A/N: And that's chapter 3, this arc won't be as fast paced as the previous, but it will still be setting up fairly important people for the future.

Word Count - 4,332