Chapter 3: Devils and Nuns

Red surrounded him; no longer the jet black of the insects he'd given birth to during his battle, even though those critters were visible in there. No, the flickering orangish-red he was watching was from the cold fires surrounding his body, as he stood midair in an unknown and undistinguishable space.

"Issei Hyoudou," a booming voice announced in such a way that it could be heard across the entire area he was in. "What in the world are you? What is this thing, infecting your soul? It's not an external entity, it is as much a part of you as I am."

Emerging from the depths of the fires was a large green eye, slit-like, belonging to a crimson-scaled creature. The eye was easily as tall as he was, suggesting that this creature was certainly at a size that he couldn't comprehend.

"You… you will be just like them. You might be one to succumb to the throes of war, with all this power you have. Unfortunately, I cannot refuse you my power, but I will not grant you my grace unless you prove yourself, boy."

Issei gaped at the size of the creature before him. Having departed from the close gaze, he had now revealed his entire form, but only under the darkness of a shadow.

A large dragon, bearing shining green jewels on certain parts of its body, was staring down at him. Issei couldn't help but feel overwhelmed at the pressure the creature was putting off.

"And I have one last thing to say, Issei Hyoudou."

Issei gulped. What else did this dragon have to say to him?

"What the hell is with these damn flies?! I'm trying to get my beauty sleep, and suddenly, these things appear and start nagging me! Tell them to fuck off already!"

Issei blinked in shock, the previous fear all but fading as the dragon kept on whining about his lost sleep and feeling that less than 70 hours of sleep a week would have an impact on the shine of his scales.

'The hell's with this girly dragon?'

"Oi! I heard that! Ah, you're just bullying me again, just like all of them! Me, a creature that was once responsible for the destruction of the world! I'm retired, you know! Stop treating an old guy like me so poorly and give me the respect I deserve!"

Issei sweatdropped at his reaction, deciding not to worry that the dragon was completely capable of hearing his thoughts.

"AAH, YOU! Argh, nevermind, you're waking up anyway. Fuck off, already. And do something about these damn flies!"


"Raynare, have you completed the task?"

"What the hell does it look like?!"

Within the decrepit church that they used for their hideout, Raynare had started to apply bandages across herself to heal from those weird ghost bites. The one talking to her was a man with ruffled, black hair, dark brown scowling eyes and a long trench coat, giving off a detective vibe.

"Were you discovered? Was it the devils?"

"No…" Raynare hissed. "Believe it or not, it was the fucking human. His Sacred Gear is an unseen one, something that can form these little biters that are completely invisible. And he dodged my goddamn light spears! I did get him in the end, and he should have died if it weren't for those fucking bugs!"

The man cocked an eyebrow. "So, you're telling me that you failed?"

"No, I certainly did kill him. He should have died from the blood loss, at least. I just couldn't confirm the death."

"Well, that should be enough. Recover quickly, or we can have the girl heal you once she arrives."

"W-Wait, Dohnaseek!"

Dohnaseek, who was about to step out of the room, paused to hear her out.

"This… This is what Azazel-sama wants, right? I just… I don't understand why he'd want someone with such an unusual Sacred Gear Holder to be killed…"

"… You know better than anyone that we are all Azazel-sama's servants, Raynare," Dohnaseek spoke, turning back to her and smiling. "We all owe him our lives."

"… Yes, of course," Raynare agreed. "As a devoted maid of Azazel-sama, I will certainly follow his orders. Thank you, Dohnaseek."

However, Dohnaseek wasn't done yet. "Why did you want those words? Did you, perhaps, find some pleasure from gallivanting around with that human?"

"What?! No, absolutely not, he's human!"

"…"

"… For some reason, his expression reminded me of my brother. I just felt bad killing someone who held such an expression that my dear brother wore."

"I see. Well, there is no need to worry. Azazel-sama's orders are absolute, after all."

"Of course, they are. I did not hesitate in the attack."

"Good. Recover quickly, Raynare. We will need you for when the girl arrives."

Seeing Raynare's soft smile, Dohnaseek went out and closed the door. As the man adjusted his fedora as he walked out, he couldn't help but smile.

'Everything is going according to your plan, Kokabiel-sama.'


*RRRINNGGG!*

Issei finally woke up from his slumber, slamming his alarm clock shut. Every time he'd seen that clock, he would always feel sorrow for his Limited-Edition Anime Trope-Emulating Alarm Clock. For some reason that had Aniki written all over it, it had ended up smashed on the floor right as he pressed the button one day. While that didn't have any suggestion that his big brother did it, he knew that his big brother had a way of doing outright unnatural things. More importantly, he had a knack for picking on Issei whenever he could whenever he was home.

But none of that mattered at that moment; his Aniki was at work. As long as he got up in the morning for his run and his breakfast and lunch prep, he would be good.

However, just as he rested his left hand on the side of his bed, he felt something soft. Softer than his bed, but also round.

Issei, not knowing what it was, looked to the side to lift up the covers and check.

The thing in his hand was Rias Gremory's naked left tit.

Immediately, Issei shot out of the bed and brought his blanket along to protect himself, then turned around, forcing himself to ignore both the stellar beauty that ended up stark naked in his bed and the problem he had arisen downstairs. Looking down at his left hand, however, he couldn't help but smirk erotically.

'I'm never washing this hand again.'

"Hmm? It's morning already?" Rias whined as she stretched into a seat. Issei winced as he heard the light groans from her stretching, the tone stimulating him even further than any porn he'd watched.

'This is heaven! If only I could find some way to turn back around and keep looking at her without being a perv…'

"Oh? It's only 5? Hyoudou-kun, why do you wake up so early?"

"Ah, I have to go for my morning run and make bre – wait, you answer me first, woman!" he suddenly announced, taking the chance to turn around and look at her. "What the hell are you doing in my bed?! And why are you naked?! Why are you being a threat to my no-perv?!"

He'd meant to look at her face to say those words, but his eyes automatically drifted to the little pink 'eyes' present much lower than her face.

Unbelievably, Rias did not react to Issei gazing openly at her naked boobs.

"My, I just had no choice," she said, not even realizing she was continuing to be indecent even then. "I had to take you to your home and heal you from that injury. My healing works best on skin-to-skin contact. And for a pierced heart, I needed to keep as much contact with you as possible."

"Wait, pierced heart? What are you…"

He remembered. He finally remembered everything that happened the previous night. He remembered Yuuma Amano, or rather, Raynare. He remembered how she'd tried to kill him, and how he'd fought back. He'd remembered the…

"The insects…" Issei murmured. "I… remember it now. Ah, wait, you were there at the end too, weren't you? That wasn't some kind of fever dream?"

"No, it was not a dream," Rias harshly revealed to him. "Everything you had seen was real. Everything you'd experienced was real."

Gaping at the redhead, Issei first felt up his own arms. He stood in shock as he found that they weren't blistered from the creation of those flies until he remembered that they didn't even leave a scar upon creation. Shaking his head, Issei tied the blanket he was wearing around his waist and refocused his view at the centre of his chest. It was incredibly faint, but there was a slight discolouration on his skin where he remembered the spear cutting him.

"This is… shit, that actually happened, huh?" Issei finally realized. "Ah, seems like my first ever girlfriend almost killed me on our first date. Certainly, something to add on my Tinder Bio."

"Well, good to know that you're taking it rather well," Rias commented. "What I am curious about is how you'd fended her off. What exactly happened back there? I'm guessing it's related to those insects you mentioned earlier?"

"I… I can't really explain it. I don't know how to."

"… Well, no matter. Feel free to let me know when you're ready." Rias slowly got up off the bed, revealing her entire naked body in its full glory to Issei. Watching in disbelief at the incredible curves leading from Rias's chest to her hips, ending at a pair of plump thighs and a clean-shaven pussy, Issei couldn't help but reveal his erotic grin. He hardly even noticed the drops of blood leaking out of his nose.

"Now, Hyoudou-kun, I was the one to have healed you from that life-threatening injury, yes?"

Shaking himself out of his stupor, Issei quickly nodded. "Y-Yes, and I don't even know where to begin repaying you for it. Seriously, thank you so much for saving me."

"Yes, well…" Rias paused, placing a finger on her lip in mock contemplation. "Wouldn't you say that you owe your life to me, then?"

At that comment, Issei forced himself to pause. A naked girl that he woke up next to was now telling him that he owed her his life? This sounded more and more like a bad eroge plot.

He was getting more and more interested.

"Yes, I would," he stated. "Go on…"

"Precisely. Now, I will require payment from you for the contract you made with me. Payment of equal measure to the task done. Since I had to rescue your life, I would say that a good price is… your eternal servitude, Issei Hyoudou."

Issei held up a fist and huffed, finding himself fired up at the offer given to him. "I'm in! Definitely!"

"Hm, an immediate answer. Very good. But you still don't quite understand what you're getting into."

Just as she said that a loud flap echoed across the room, filling it with silence. But the silence wasn't a consequence of the sound, it was from the cause of the sound.

A pair of black, bat-like wings emerged from the small of Rias's back.

"Issei Hyoudou. I would like for you to be reincarnated as a Devil. Join me as my Pawn."

Issei gazed at the now proclaimed Devil in his room with a gaped mouth. He knew that those wings couldn't have been a gimmick; she was stark naked and she'd exposed her back. Moreover, those wings were genuinely moving.

As he pondered on her decision, Issei's head started to smoke.


In a field of the unknown, two vast armies faced off against each other.

The first possessed several good soldiers. Incredible soldiers, even. Some of them easily towered over the entire field, some had presences that made themselves known clear as day despite the innumerable numbers on the field. Despite that, save for these select few, the majority of the army was filled with old, crippled men. Their bannermen held up a sigil of two round orbs with two small concentric circles within on pink flags.

The second army, however, were all filled with great members. They were nowhere near as strong as those few in the first army, but they had no poor members. Every second member among them was as valiant as the last. Their bannermen bore sigils of a mane of short black hair and square glasses on mustard yellow flags.

Just like they had so many times before, these two armies charged at each other once more. The weaker members of the first army were quickly quelled. The giants and the prodigies, however, were much harder to take on.

Their battle lasted 10 years and 10 nights. And when the last bannerman fell, cheers sounded as the continuous victor won yet once more.

Raised into the sky, standing proudly, was the mustard yellow flag of the second army.


Issei simply looked away once his head cooled down enough. Opening his closet, Issei quickly wore his clothes, only removing his blanket once he wore his underwear and then continuing.

"Hyoudou-kun? Can I get an answer?"

"Just a minute."

Ignoring the fiery-haired beauty behind him, Issei kept on wearing his clothes. Zipping up his morning tracksuit and wearing his socks, Issei jogged down the stairs. Rias, watching him do so, quickly created a magic circle on herself, which then manifested her Kuoh Uniform.

Quickly following Issei downstairs, she caught him wearing his running shoes.

"Hyoudou-kun? Can I please get a response before you head out?"

"Gremory-san," Issei finally spoke up, making Rias perk up. She watched as he picked up his house keys and opened the door. "How did you get ready so quickly?"

"I used magic."

"Yes… magic… Gremory-san, do you know something my Aniki always told me? For when I encounter something I can never explain?"

"No, I can't say I do."

Rias watched as Issei walked out of the house, then past his own gate. Looking back at her, Issei smiled.

And he then disappeared.

Blinking in surprise, Rias ran out to find out what it was that happened. Had the Fallen Angels returned? Had some other faction taken interest in him?

However, upon popping her head from the side of the gate, she noticed that beyond a large cloud of dust, Issei was running away!

"H-Hey!" Rias yelped, trying to reach out for him. However, not wanting to tire herself out so early in the morning, she just facepalmed and shook her head.

"No matter. He'll come back to Kuoh tomorrow, anyway."


After running for a while, and ensuring that the Devil wasn't following him, Issei finally slowed down to a jog.

He wasn't particularly afraid of what he'd seen; he'd managed to fend off a Fallen Angel the day before, after all. That being said, his Aniki had always told him to stay away from weird stuff such as that. After the number of times he'd said it, Issei had already reasoned that whatever he meant actually did exist and that while his Aniki was already involved, he didn't want Issei to be so as well.

That was why he'd run away. Not because of his or his Aniki's fears, but rather his Aniki's concern that he stayed away from those groups as much as possible. That was why he wasn't allowed to go to Alliance, after all.

And so, he maintained the war of debate to himself as he jogged down the road.

"In any case, I feel like that promise is going to break if I stay in 2-E. Should I actually leave…?"

The two sides of the war were still in battle in Issei's head. He certainly did join Kuoh for perverted reasons, but now he was seriously considering leaving Kuoh for the sake of his Aniki's wishes. Getting involved with Class 2-E as well as Rias and any other devils that may be with her would certainly betray his brother's trust in him.

As such, he genuinely started to consider leaving Kuoh.

"Can I be accepted anywhere else?" Issei asked himself. "Maybe I should just go back to Hashira…"

Hashira Academy was his previous school. He'd originally been there with Matsuda and Motohama, but then switched to Kuoh once it was told to become co-ed. He felt bad at leaving those two behind, but at that point, he knew he had to leave Kuoh.

"Ahh…" Issei still bemoaned. "I still wanna feel more tits…"

Looking down at his left hand, Issei couldn't help but smirk.

"Yeah, I really wanna do that again," Issei told himself, curtly using his other hand to wipe off the building sweat near his brow. The initial sprinting had taken a lot more out of him than he'd expected. He mentally took note to make that a much more regular tactic to build stamina.

"But even though I can occasionally feel some boobies here and die happily, I'm still worried about Aniki. That sis-con asshole would be devastated if I die for sure."

As such, Issei made his resolution in his head. He knew that he was wasting a ton of money that way, but he knew that his brother would approve of his actions.

So, for his brother's sake, Issei resolved to leave Kuoh Academy.

Letting out a silent tear at the final decision he'd made, Issei kept on running. If he called his brother, he knew that he would be able to switch schools quickly. Moreover, he wouldn't even have to return to Kuoh for that time either.

The saddest part of it was that he wouldn't be able to see Matsuda and Motohama anymore. He'd have to message them and let them know of his decision, but he knew that for a recovering pervert such as himself, he had to stay away from them. Sure, they were incredible friends that he wouldn't ever find replacements for, but he had no choice.

As he kept jogging, he closed his eyes and mentally prayed that Rias wouldn't stay behind in his place by the time he returned.

While Issei wanted to escape that world he'd entered, however, it seemed that Fate had a completely different plan.

During that period where he closed his eyes during his jog, he'd unknowingly collided with an object that was tall enough to reach the top of his ribcage.

As Issei fell ahead, he jolted his eyes open in shock and looked down to see what it was he'd hit. To his surprise, he saw a head of long blonde hair, certainly belonging to a girl.

A girl that he was falling with in slow motion, and if left alone, the force of his body would impact the girl's smaller frame.

Gritting his teeth, Issei hooked his arms around the girl and used the length of his legs to turn himself around, flipping their positions and allowing him to take the blunt force of the fall instead. The girl, meanwhile, yelped as she found herself being held and turned in all but an instant.

Issei winced as he landed on the ground back first. Looking down, he was glad to see that the girl was completely fine.

The girl looked up to him, revealing her incredibly cute face and emerald green eyes, nearly enhancing the innocent beauty compounded by her back-length blonde hair, now draped over the two of them as she unknowingly straddled him. Looking down, Issei also noticed that she was wearing a dark green robe and a Christian Cross pendant; the girl before him was certainly a nun or a cosplayer. Seeing her visible innocence, he opted for the former.

The girl looked at him in shock, then said something. Issei, however, couldn't understand what she was saying. She was speaking in a completely different language.

"Um, what are you saying?" Issei asked, earning a look of confusion from the blonde girl. It seemed that she didn't understand Japanese either.

"Does this work?" Issei asked, now in English. The girl softly winced, then shook her head. It seemed that she didn't understand English either. Issei only knew English both because of school and because his Aniki had pounded it into him at a young age.

It was, however, weird that she didn't understand English either. What was a girl that didn't know English or Japanese doing travelling to Japan? That too, a Christian Nun entering a Shinto land? While Japan did have its fair share of Christians, it certainly did feel a bit out there for her to be lost in that area.

Sighing, Issei gestured to the girl to get up, which she quickly understood and followed. Issei picked himself up once the girl got up as well.

Now that he was looking down at her, he couldn't help but feel his heart twinge at the sight of her. She was absolutely adorable. Even though her body proportions were meek, she certainly was a beauty of another league regardless. Her innocent cuteness was certainly rendering her a heartthrob.

"I'm… Issei Hyoudou," he said while pointing to himself, making sure to say his name the Western way with his first name first.

"I-Issei?" the girl asked, pointing to him. Issei quickly nodded in approval, then pointed to in return.

The girl quickly picked up on what he was asking for. "Asia Argento," she introduced herself.

"Argento-chan?"

"No, Asia."

"Um, Asia-chan?"

"… Si. Asia."

Recognizing the standard European term for 'Yes', Issei nodded, understanding that she preferred to be called by her first name just like most Westerners. For her sake, he didn't tell her anything about calling him Hyoudou either. She would already find it difficult to adapt to Japan, it was better he allowed her to refer to him by his first name instead.

"Okay, Asia-chan," he greeted her.

Asia paused for a while, then nodded, seeming to be okay with the honorific being added to her name. She then looked around for a moment, then gestured to Issei.

"What is it?" Issei asked, wagging his hands in a questioning manner to help her understand.

Asia said something in her language while she pointed to the road beside them, moving her finger up and down. She then picked up the cross across her neck and showed it to him.

Issei took a moment to understand what it was that she'd meant. "Hmm, you're showing me a road and your cross… The road can mean a way, or directions… Ah! Are you asking me the directions to the local Church?"

Asia tilted her head, still confused by what Issei was saying.

"Church," Issei said in English, hoping it would make more sense for a nun like her. Thankfully, it did seem that she knew the English name for Church at least, as seen by her eager nodding.

Issei smiled as he understood what she was asking. Deciding that he was done with his jog and that a single day without cooldown exercises wouldn't hurt him too badly, Issei gestured for her to follow him. She eagerly did so.

Issei knew that there was one church in their locality. Yet, he was afraid whether she meant that one, mainly because it was abandoned for a while. There was no way he could communicate that to her due to their language barrier. Hence, he decided to just take her there and then somehow tackle telling her that what she saw that one was the only church there.

As the two made their way in their unwanted silence, Issei ended up taking the scenic route. Hoping that Asia had enough time, he wanted to let her see the things that one could do in Kuoh. He'd avoided the market square because of what had happened with Raynare haunting him, but he took her to a lot of his childhood spots. On the way to the church, they'd stopped by at the lake, where Asia beamed as she watched the water rippling under the sunlight.

Seeing her smiling so widely upon gazing out into the open, Issei couldn't help but take a photo of that moment.

'Ah, that is certainly a frameable moment.'

The ridiculousness of the current situation did not escape him. Just the day before, he'd almost been killed by a Fallen Angel. Just that morning, he'd found out that bonafide devils were real. And at that moment, he was taking cute photos of an innocent nun.

All in a weekend's work for Issei Hyoudou.

Asia took notice of the flashing of Issei's phone, then walked up to him. For some reason, she cast a curious glance at the phone in his hand.

"Umm, Asia?" Issei asked, slowly putting the phone down. "Sorry, I thought I could take a photo." He slowly opened up the photo he took and showed it to her.

Now, Issei never saw himself as a great photographer. Making use of photo space and lighting was more Matsuda's bread and butter, so he mostly left those matters to him. That was why the sight before him confused him even more.

Asia was suddenly staring in awe at the phone, upon seeing herself on the screen on the phone. She started to ramble in her local tongue, all of it going straight over Issei's head.

"Hey, hey, calm down," Issei said, hoping that the English could help her somewhat understand. "Where's yours?" To sign the same message, he pointed at his phone, then at her, raising his hand in a curved cup to depict a question. Asia gave him a look of confusion, then pointed at the phone then at herself. She then shook her head.

'Does she not have a phone? Why the hell is she overseas if she doesn't have a phone?!'

That being said, Issei found that she had nothing on her in the first place. Her nun's outfit did not have any visible pockets on it, meaning that she did not possess anything other than the clothes on her form.

"Yeah, that's gonna be pretty difficult, huh?" Issei told himself. Shaking his head, he first looked around. Luckily, there was a small electronics store nearby. Gesturing to Asia, he walked into the store.

By the time they got out, Asia was holding a simple flip-phone, marvelling at it. Issei did not have enough money to buy a brand new smartphone for her, so he settled with the flip phone until she could get back on her own two feet.

After gazing at the phone with stars in her eyes, she looked at Issei and said something with a nod, then beamed at him. Imagining that she would have told him 'thank you,' Issei couldn't help but look away and blush at how cute the girl was being.

He then took a moment to help her set up the phone. For her sake, he allowed her to pick out her language. She ended up picking Italian, which for some reason, was one of the options on the phone.

'A nun from Italy. Why am I not surprised?'

With Asia's help with the language, he was able to add his own number to the phone. After getting her number as well, Issei smirked, then walked a few meters away from her, gesturing her to stay at their earlier spot. Issei dialled up the number he'd gotten from her.

Asia almost dropped the phone when it suddenly started to make noise. Quickly grabbing hold of it, she noticed the light on the once empty mirror on the device. Peering a little closely, she was bewildered to see Issei's name written on it. Looking back at her guide, she saw him signing to open the phone and place one end on her ear. Nodding, Asia pulled apart the two ends of the phone like a bag of chips and placed it on her ear.

"Yo."

Asia yelped as a voice emerged from the device, once again almost dropping it. However, there was something unnatural about it. Looking back at Issei's smirking face, she quickly understood that what she'd heard was Issei's voice.

"I-Issei?" Asia asked on her phone, looking at him as she spoke.

To make his point clearer, Issei covered his mouth and whispered into the phone. "Yeah. It's me."

Asia, upon realizing what the mobile phone actually does, beamed in joy at him once more. She was bewildered that such a device actually existed. She wanted to know more about the device in her hands, but unfortunately, she could speak to him well enough. So, she resorted to simply telling her thank you in the only way she could.

"Grazie!"

Issei smiled, understanding what she said upon remembering what she said when she thanked him earlier. With a quick shake of his hand, he conveyed to her that it wasn't much.

So, they continued their journey. Even though the morning was quickly coming to an end and he still didn't have breakfast, Issei still decided that showing Asia around was more important. As such, Issei decided that they would go to the church next.

However, on the way there, they stopped by a children's park outlined by a small forest. Asia was looking at the children playing there in curiosity, so Issei decided to stop there for a while with her.

Taking her into the park, he couldn't really stop her from going down the slide along with the children who were already using it. That being said, she was letting the irritated children go before her, so she wasn't being a complete idiot at it. Also, instead of earning scathing glares from their mothers too concerned for their kids, they instead saw her with soft smiles. Issei could only imagine the weird scenarios they had thought up in their heads regarding himself and Asia being there together, but Ihe forced himself to stop thinking about it.

'This is the power of ignorance,' Issei realized as he watched her go down a slide once more, grinning happily as she did so. That being said, not even he could hold back his grin upon seeing her smile so brightly.

And so, they stayed at the park for the whole morning. As the day started to warm up, the mothers started to take their children back. In that time, Issei even went to a nearby Taiyaki stand and got two for himself and Asia. Asia smiled brightly upon eating the Taiyaki as well.

'The more time I spend with her, the more I think she's some purely sheltered girl that had never experienced the world before.'

Slowly, all the children left, save for one boy whose mother hadn't reached the park yet. He was running around the park alone until he tripped on a loose rock.

Issei winced as the boy struck his knee on the tiled surface below. To compound on the effect, the boy started to wail loudly, lying on the floor and gripping his knee. From what Issei could see, the skin on his knee was torn.

However, Asia spotted this as well. She quickly ran to the poor boy and soothed him by patting his head, speaking in Italian the whole time. Gesturing to the boy to calm down, she hovered her palms over the wound.

'Am I gonna see the Italian version of 'Pain, Pain, Go Away?''

However, what he saw was even more confusing than that.

Out of nowhere, two silver rings with green gems appeared on either hand on her middle fingers. Beneath the hood of her hands, a green glow had emerged. In just a few seconds, Issei watched in marvel as the wound healed.

Upon finding that his knee was cured, the boy smiled after noticing the pain was gone. Standing up, he quickly thanked the girl and ran off. Issei watched as his mother appeared at that very moment and picked him up.

'Wait, that's not the issue here!'

Looking back at Asia, he saw that she was looking kindly at the boy she'd just healed.

'She's just like them? Even Asia's one of those people Aniki told me to stay away from?!'

"Oi, both of you," a voice suddenly announced. "Pretty reckless of you to use your ability like that, out in the open."

Asia looked back in confusion at the strange voice, probably because she didn't understand what it was that he said. Issei, however, understood. And that was why he quickly turned back to find out who it was.

A tall and very buff boy was walking towards them. He had short, muted red hair and amber eyes, wearing a black tank top and sweatpants.

'Wait, I recognize this person! He's in Class 2-E! He's the second guy that tried to attack me in the class!'

"Hey, hey!" Issei called out, standing in front of Asia protectively. "It's okay, she's friendly! Remember me? I'm that new kid in Class 2-E!"

"… The new kid?" the boy echoed. "Ah, now I remember. The one Zumi stopped me from hitting."

'Zumi? Is that his girlfriend?'

"A-Ah, right, that's it! Say, I never heard your name. Who are you, again?"

"… Daichi Bushida," the boy introduced himself curtly.

"O-Okay, Bushida-san! I'm Issei Hyoudou! I'll see you in class tomorrow!"

Just as Issei was about to walk away with Asia, Daichi quickly called them out. "Wait. I wanna talk to that girl you're with."

"Uh, yeah, she doesn't speak Japanese, actually," Issei said. "She's Italian. I've really been struggling to show her around."

"I don't need to talk to her then," Daichi said, walking up to Asia. The girl started to slightly shake upon seeing the intimidating boy tower over her, but he didn't heed her response. "Sleep on the Floor," he uttered.

To Issei's shock, a blue figure emerged from Daichi's back and shot its fist at Asia. Fearing for Asia's health, he quickly jumped to push her out of the way, unknowingly pushing her onto the floor.

For some reason, Daichi raised his brow in confusion.

Turning around, Daichi aimed the ghost behind him to attack the girl once more. Issei held out his hand in a futile attempt to stop it, finding himself powerless to stop that quick attack. However, instead of landing the hit, it only hovered above her face.

The weird part was that Asia did not react in the slightest. Instead, she simply got up from her place and ran to Issei, not even realizing that she was running straight through the ghost's arm.

Asia quickly helped Issei up and checked all over him.

"Asia," he tried asking. "What… are you okay? Why aren't you bothered about that?"

Asia turned her gaze to him, casting a confused look.

"Y-Yeah, I can't say that in Italian, unfortunately," Issei hummed. "O-Oi, Bushida-san! We didn't do anything to you! And… And what the hell is that thing?!"

Daichi looked at Issei once more, his expression unreadable. "You can see it? The figure behind me?"

Issei cast his gaze behind Daichi, and once again say the blue ghost emerging. It looked like a bodybuilder with blue skin, with unusual ripples travelling along its skin. It had four feathered white wings emerging from its back, as well as a face similar to Daichi's own long one, but with a flat square horn poking out of its bald forehead. All it wore were a pair of white boxer shorts.

"I… I can see it. That blue figure with wings, right?"

"Right," Daichi responded, sighing. "And you're the new student of 2-E, right?"

"W-Well, yeah. But I've been planning on leaving Kuoh, so I won't really be bothering you too much."

"… Still, you're a threat. If we leave you alone, you're going to bring in some other messed up fate into our school, or whoever you touch. That's why I'll take care of you, right here, right now."

Issei wanted to speak up, but something pulled him onto the floor. Being forced into a seat, Issei found that there was a short vortex of wind around himself, making it so that he couldn't escape. Looking up, Issei watched helplessly as the blue ghost's fist rapidly approached him.

"Sleep on the Floor!"


A/N: That took a turn, eh?

I don't think you would have expected a Stand Battle so early on, not with the plot of DxD running through. I stand to break those assumptions, though.

I really hope I didn't sound too mechanical when describing Issei's interaction with Asia. I wanted that to be a really cute moment, just to show how precious Asia really is. My standard mechanical way of writing does not really help with that. Please let me know what you thought!

I turned Ddraig into a haggard ol' grandpa/grandma. In DxD, Ddraig literally serves no purpose other than being in Issei's Gear and granting him abilities when he needs it. Naturally I didn't like that, so I've changed it up. The result of that is what you've seen here. If you're offended by it, please know that I've got plans for him; that disappointment will not last.

My version of Issei reacted as I expected him to: by NIGERUNDAYO! That was actually not what I intended for him to do at first, though. I wanted him to just sit down with Rias and talk about his home life after he finished making breakfast and treating her to - yeah, you get it, it's boring. This version is better. I can talk about Issei's family and home life in later chapters.

I'm pretty surprised by the hike in reviews. Was it because of the title change? Yeah, most probably, the old one was just cringey.


NeroAlmia: Thank you for relating to my viewpoint. I see that I'm not the only one who sees it that way. And thank you so much for the high praise; it's genuinely enough to make me worried if I can keep it up in the future. I'll try by best anyway.


FactorySmoke: If you really think about it, a Close-Range Humanoid just doesn't fit Issei. I've always seen the pervy Issei as a conniving little insect, which is why I chose this motif.


Durnehviir13: Thanks for saying that! I won't be featuring any Canon Stands in this story. Reusing another Stand just takes away from the novelty of the experience. It's what I did with this story's prequel as well.


There's that! Next time, the battle between Bushida and Issei will rage on! I'll see you next chapter!