Disclaimer: I do not own "High School DxD."

Chapter 1

Drifting through the Dimensional Gap was an otherwordly entity.

It didn't matter when or where it was, as time and space held no bearings on that plane of existence.

This 'presence' was Chronostrasza, the Bronze Dragon God of Time, who felt trapped in this realm and desperate to break free.

The fate of its previous host remained shrouded in mystery, but for some unknown reason Chronostrasza had decided to move on and seek another vessel.

Perusing the trillions of rips in the cosmos, it finally settled on one and emerged into its new form.

PoV: Shoichiro

*DING-DONG-DING-DONG*

It's finally lunchtime. Good... I'm effin' hungry.

I stand and bow along with the rest of my class, as is expected of us all. Despite living in this country my entire life, I have yet to truly understand why.

Another question for another time, perhaps.

My mind already buzzes with questions that are within my comprehension; the ones I don't understand will simply have to wait.

It's lunchtime at Kuo Academy, the high school where I'm currently a second-year student. I grab a notebook and head outside to eat alone on the lawn, as is my daily routine.

For all of my notoriety here, I have exactly zero real friends. I do have a handful of associates, but that's about it.

Part of me is okay with that, while the part of me that craves human companionship is tearing at the seams.

I shove that part down and begin to eat.

Except for reasons I have yet to comprehend, I'm not alone.

She is here.

It's not even the fact that she's here that irritates me... I can deal well enough with that, I suppose. There are other things at work here, and those are what I find so irksome.

First is the way she tries to hide herself from me. She's perched in a tree almost like a cat, obscured by the branches and leaves, and just... watching me.

Second is the fact that - and this is absolutely not her fault - I can't see her, but I know she's there. I can sense her, like a normal human being would never be able to.

Her presence tells me more about myself than it does her. If I can sense her like this, then logically speaking I must not be a normal human being.

Oh well... problems for another day, I suppose.

This stalking has gone on for two months now, with increasing frequency. At first, it was just here and there, but for the last two weeks she's been in that tree every day, watching me eat and review my notebook.

There are moments when I think about inviting her to sit next to me, but I've seen her in the hallway. I know for a fact it's her because she carries the same... presence as the girl currently in the tree. She's short, has golden eyes - almost like mine, so it's no wonder that I find them to be her best feature - and shoulder-length silver hair with a cat clip over each of her ears.

She's cute enough, sure... until I move down to the mosquito bites under her shirt.

So disappointing.

I finish my lunch and crack open my notebook. Physics, my favorite topic. I do some reading before I head back inside for the rest of my classes.

My name is Shoichiro Seiryuu, and I am a 15-year-old physics nerd.

After school I have my meeting with the Archery Club, the only other students whom I share more than a passing interaction with. There are eight of us, and I'm the captain despite only being a second year, as opposed to one of the two third-years.

I remember my fifth birthday when my grandmother gifted me my first bow. I don't remember why, but she insisted I have it and learn how to use it, even at such a young age. My parents seemed to know, but they wouldn't tell me.

Assholes.

Anyway, for the last ten years I've trained with bow and arrow. As a result, I've gotten really fucking good. But it's a bizarre kind of good. Like I can feel where the arrow is going to land just based on my shot.

The weight of the arrow, the draw distance, the aiming angle... it's another reason why I study physics so much. Mass, force, gravity; all concepts I apply to make the perfect shot. I've gotten to the point where the arrow goes exactly where I want it to go, without fail.

In fact, running the Archery Club is what earned me the nickname the other students use for me.

I hear it in whispers, like it's supposed to be some mysterious secret. I have to try not to laugh because it sounds kind of ridiculous, like a superhero's name or something.

'The Black Arrow.'

But my clubmates and I aren't the only ones here. There's something else.

Another strange presence, except it's entirely not human.

Not hostile, at least I don't think. But it's definitely new.

In one of the upper corners of the overhang. I can feel it, but I can't see it.

Part of me is tempted to fire an arrow in its direction, but that would freak out the rest of the students. Since they don't seem to sense it, I acknowledge its presence but otherwise ignore it.

My name is Shoichiro Seiryuu, and I am a 15-year-old master archer.

The subject of physics just seems to resonate with me for some unknown reason, especially the concept behind electromagnetic waves. They basically boil down to how slow or fast photons move, changing their frequencies for different applications.

It's all about speed. For reasons yet unknown, so am I.

I'm the fastest person in my school. No one else even comes close.

I can run fast. I can run far. I'm at the point where I do half-marathons on weekends just for the fun of it.

The weekends aren't the only times I run, of course. In fact, I run literally every day after archery practice. Four miles throughout the city, with strength exercises thrown in along the way.

As a result, if I had to bet money I would also say I'm the strongest person in my school, although that might not necessarily be a fair comparison. From what I've heard, mine was the first class to allow boys to enroll at this school. Prior to that it was all girls, and I can count the number of boys I've seen around campus on both hands.

Not that it matters... if it really came down to it, I could swat them all without breaking a sweat.

Okay, that might be an exaggeration when it comes to two of them in particular. I sense similar auras around them as I do my stalkers, but nowhere near as strong. Maybe because I haven't been around them long enough.

When I train, I sense another presence following around me. The aura is different but distinct, and stands out more than its owner's chest. Which I must admit is a tall task.

This one is Tree Girl's opposite in almost every way. She's tall, has violet eyes, wears her black hair in a ponytail to her ankles with an orange ribbon around it, and tits out to Honshu. And there is something about her that just calls out to me, to conquer her, to dominate her, to make her mine, to force her to submit to my will... but I'm getting ahead of myself.

My name is Shoichiro Seiryuu, and I am a 15-year-old pervert.

Most days, today included, the sun is setting by the time I'm ready to finally head home. My observer is still hovering nearby, and I can sense her well enough to pinpoint her location by now. I twist the cap off a sports drink and take a long sip.

I could throw the cap and graze her nipples if I really wanted to. As tempting as the idea is, it doesn't take a great deal of effort to restrain myself. She's 'hiding' behind a brick wall just out of my view, but I know she's there. Like Tree Girl, it's the fact that I know she's there that is so unnerving.

Why? Why am I able to detect these people's presences?

I'm not even concerned about the fact that these auras or whatever means they are more than likely not entirely human; if I can detect them like this, I must not be entirely human either.

And that again begs the question: if I'm not human, then what the hell am I?

"Excuse me... you're Shoichiro Seiryuu, right?"

I'm standing at the top of a flight of stairs leading to a highway overpass when a voice freight trains its way into my consciousness. I look in the direction the voice came from and see a... girl? "Yes?" The only word I can force out of my mouth at this moment.

My name is Shoichiro Seiryuu, and I am a 15-year-old boy with no idea how to talk to girls.

Actually, I should probably not say "no idea," but if I went with what was in my head most of the time, I'd scare people away more often than not. Chalk it up to the voices I hear.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that I literally hear a voice in my head. It comes and goes, but I've heard it enough by now to recognize the sound. It comes at the seemingly most inopportune times, too. In fact, I hear it now as this girl confesses to watching me train. She then asks me to be her boyfriend.

The voice is quietly clamoring for me to get away from this girl, so of course I say "I'd love to," with as goofy a smile as I can muster. She jumps for joy, puts her number in my phone and runs off as happy as a clam. The voice dies down, although it - and whatever it comes from - is clearly frustrated for some reason.

Guess I'm gonna have to learn some social skills, pronto...

"Kaa-saan! I'm home!" And apparently I have a girlfriend, but I figure that can wait.

My mother peeks her head out from the kitchen. "Welcome home, Shii-kun. Dinner should be ready by the time you finish your shower." She's gotten my routine down pat, which I am eternally grateful for. I still have homework to do.

"Arigatoh, kaa-saan." I speak, read and comprehend Japanese like it's my first language, but with a harsh American urban accent. As a result, I sometimes misplace the emphasis in certain words, and it is glaringly obvious.

As if I needed yet another thing to set me apart from my peers, but still... I like it.

My name is Shoichiro Seiryuu, and I'm a 15-year-old Japanese boy, at least I think. You would be forgiven for not believing me at a glance, though.

I'm 5'6" tall - well above average for my age, considering I'm still growing - and 155 pounds. Not skinny, not built, but defined due to all my exercise and training. My skin is dark, like the average African-American I see on TV and the Internet, darker than my mother but lighter than my grandmother. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but I spend my free time studying physics as opposed to genetics.

My hair is black and sits in a giant poof on top of my head. There just doesn't seem to be much I can do with it, so I try to keep it combed and use it as an excuse to always sit in the back of the classroom.

My eyes are a light brown, almost gold (my mother calls them 'honey,' which would sound like a compliment if it came from anyone other than my own mother, but I digress), albeit ultimately useless. I have to wear pretty strong contact lenses just to be able to see two feet in front of my face. Glasses are not my style, but I do own several nice pairs of sunglasses. They keep others from getting a good view of my eyes, and hopefully keep people from reading what I'm thinking at any given time. At least I hope.

I shower and join my parents at the table for dinner. My mother is only a couple shades lighter than me, so I question where she comes from but she refuses to tell me. Her husband, my stepfather, is full-blooded Japanese. I like, admire, respect and love him. His parents? Not so much... I think they're from the war generation that doesn't like foreigners or something. Neither of us has ever cared enough to ask.

We finish eating and I make the tea. I decide to use the last few bags Obaa-san brought from her homeland. She refuses to tell me where she's from either, but at least they make really good tea there, wherever "there" is. It tastes like apples, and there's never a need to add anything to it. I ask my parents to remind me to ask Obaa-san to bring more the next time she visits. She's always telling me I'm her favorite grandchild, so that should be easy enough. Tou-san tells me to remember to ask her myself, and Kaa-san just laughs at that. So do I.

After tea, we all retire to our rooms since it's getting pretty late. I write a quick sticky about the tea and get started on my assignments. Homework takes until about 1:45 due to my atrocious handwriting. I don't know what it is about writing in Japanese that is the absolute bane of my existence, especially hiragana and kanji. I don't know how to explain the struggles my hands experience when trying to write the characters correctly.

Not that it really matters... I won't be going to sleep anytime soon anyway. For reasons beyond my comprehension, I haven't slept more than an hour a night since I started high school. Yet somehow I wake up every day fully refreshed and energized like I slept a full eight hours.

My parents have often suggested I exercise after dinner so we can "spend more time together as a family," which I kindly but firmly refuse. Truth is, I tried that once and only once, but that was enough to make me say "never again." It feels like the woods around here come alive at night, and not in a good way. If I believed in ghosts, I would be convinced they were following me at night. But I don't, which means that whatever comes out at night is something unknown.

I fear the unknown more than anything else in this universe, which brings me to the girl from the bridge.

Yuuma Amano.

There is nothing remarkable about this girl whatsoever, which has me on edge. She was wearing a school uniform that I didn't recognize, meaning she doesn't go to my school. The only way she could possibly know who I am is from watching me train around the city.

Which means I now have a total of four stalkers, but she's the only one brave enough to actually approach me.

That alone should automatically qualify her as the most dangerous.

If they wanted to attack me, they certainly would have by now. Tree Girl, maybe not since she's always watching me at school. But Tetra Tits, who watches me running and working out around the city? She could have taken a shot by now, so she likely isn't going to. Or have I simply been so arrogant as to believe I could take her if she did?

Sometimes I question if I'm too paranoid, but it isn't until this very moment I realize I haven't been nearly paranoid enough. Or how does the saying go, it's not paranoia if they really are out to get you?

I'm thinking too much. I need some *ahem* stress relief, so I dip into that secret stash that every teenage boy owns, but none ever admit to.

Well... almost none. There's the notorious 'Perverted Trio' at my school.

Hyodo, Matsuda and Motohama, three boys in my class who allegedly talk about nothing but porn. I know them by name and reputation only, but I've never actually met or spoken to them. I try not to pay too much attention to gossip at school, especially when it comes to that particular topic.

Not because I find it disgusting or anything - quite the contrary, I find the subject of women's bodies and what I could potentially do with them fascinating, to say the very least. But for some reason, of all the legendary seven deadly sins, lust seems to be the one I fall victim to the most.

That's a part of why I deliberately avoid talking to girls at school: so I don't say the wrong thing or stare at the wrong part of them for too long and end up making a complete mess of myself.

Speaking of mess... good thing I have baby wipes nearby.

I check my phone one last time before I climb into bed. Yuuma is meeting me nearby to walk to school together.

Here's just hoping I don't puke on my shoes or anything.

PoV: Rias

e2-e4 / d7-d5

Nb1-c3 / d5xe4

Nc3xe4 / f7-f6

My parents brought it up again last night.

Bf1-b5 / Nb8-c6

Bb5-a4 / g7-g6

My impending marriage to that peacock prick of House Phoenix.

c2-c4 / h7-h5

d2-d4 / f6-f5

Ne4-c5 / Ra8-b8

Times like these are when I hate being an only daughter. If I had an older sister, he would be marrying her instead of me.

Such is life as the Heiress of the illustrious Devil House of Gremory, for whatever that's worth.

Nc5-e6 / Rb8-a8

One of my more blunderous moves, born out of frustration and distraction. Fortunately, my opponent fails to capitalize. I don't make that same mistake twice.

Ne6xd8 / a7-a6

My rival must sense my frustration. She's clearly trying to let me win.

Nd8xc6 / e7-e6

She's not even hiding it.

Nc6-e5 / Ke8-e7

Ne5xg6 / Ke7-d8

Ng6xh8 / c7-c6

If only I could defeat the threat of this marriage so easily.

d4-d5 / f5-f4

d5xe6 / Bf8-d6

Qd1xd6 / Kd8-e8

Qd6-c7 / Ra8-b8

She's drawing out the inevitable. Just like me, I suppose.

Qc7-f7 / Ke8-d8

I have her cornered, but one wrong move and she could slip out. That sounds all too familiar.

Bc3xf4 / Bc8xe6

It takes me longer than it should to realize this isn't a trap.

Qf7xe6 / Ng8-e7

O-O-O / Kd8-e8

I have several options on the board, some of which lead into more of a shitstorm than others. Again, that sounds all too familiar. Unlike real life, I spot a way to end this particular threat immediately.

Rd1-d7 / h5-h4

Qe6xe7

Checkmate... if only this engagement were that simple to deal with.

I thank Akeno for humoring me with the match, even if she was throwing it from the beginning. I know Riser won't be that easy to beat, but my spirits are at least lifted somewhat.

My parents have at least offered me a way out should I refuse to marry Riser. All I have to do to earn my freedom is beat him - and his complete set of Evil Pieces - in a Rating Game.

I have to pull off this miracle with a Queen, a Rook, and a Knight when I've never even taken part in an official match.

I feel like it's also worth mentioning Riser's record in the Rating Game is eight wins against two losses, and those losses were basically forfeits to earn the favor of another Devil House.

This should be a cakewalk, right?

I need help. Desperately.

Fortunately, I may have found at least some assistance.

There's a boy in Kiba's year who stands out - literally and figuratively - from the rest of the students.

Shoichiro Seiryuu, president of the Archery Club.

He's intelligent, always studying at lunchtime from what Koneko tells me.

He's fast and strong from Akeno's reports.

My familiar has been watching him on the archery range. He's the club president for a very good reason.

And there's just... something else about him. He just carries this powerful aura around him that I feel every time I'm in his presence. I can't help but wonder if Sona has noticed it yet. I really hope not; as much as he doesn't seem like her type, his power - whatever it might be - might just be too much to ignore and she may snatch him up into her own Peerage. I'm not entirely certain what it could be, but if the ancient legends are to be believed I at least have some idea.

But the question is, how exactly do I approach him? "Hi, my name is Rias. Can I make you into a Devil so you can help me defeat my fiancé-to-be so I don't have to marry him?" Sure, that would go over really well.

Unfortunately, time to craft the perfect approach is a luxury Akeno informs me I don't have. The fallen ones have noticed him as well, and dispatched an assassin to take him out.

That at least makes things easier for me in theory. I just have to wait for her to murder him, then reincarnate him as my Devil soldier. The only question now is, which piece should I use? I have eight pawns, one bishop, one knight, and one rook at my disposal. Not great options, all things considered.

If I knew exactly what sort of magic powers he had, I might consider using the bishop.

If he were any good with a sword, I'd probably go with the knight.

If he looked like more of a fighter, I could use the rook.

Neither Akeno nor Koneko has been able to get any sort of read on what his powers might be, which leaves me in a rather disadvantageous position. The safer bet feels like a pawn.

Of course, if his powers are more than I can control with a single piece, I run the risk of leaving myself short on numbers. Then I'm right back where I started this whole mess to begin with.

All this thinking, plotting, and planning is putting me even more on edge, if that is even possible. I decide to take a shower in the club bathroom after Koneko and Kiba have left for the evening, but Akeno decides to stay for a little while longer. She briefs me on his workout routines in a little bit too much detail for my tastes. If I do bring this boy into my Peerage, keeping the two of them away from each other will be another challenge on its own.

Although that does give me an idea, now that I think about it...

He's a boy, I'm a girl... I could just seduce him. Then once word gets out that I'm no longer a virgin, surely Riser would no longer want to marry me.

Right?

Ugh, who am I kidding... he'd take me anyway just to prove how truly powerless I am compared to him and my family's wishes. Still, I'll file that plan away as a last resort.

Besides, this boy is fairly middle of the road as far as looks go. Maybe if he did something with his hair and stopped wearing those ridiculous sunglasses...

Once I make him my servant, those will be the first things to go.

PoV: Shoichiro

"A date?"

"Yeah, next Sunday afternoon. Can you do it?"

"Sure. That sounds great." Yuuma and I have been... doing whatever we've been doing, for about a week now. I shouldn't really call it dating, since this will be our first official date, but I don't have a better word for it.

Most of our time spent together has just been walking to and from school. To tell the truth, it hasn't been nearly as awkward as I thought it would be. I'm fine as long as we stick to simple yes-or-no questions, but it's the open-ended stuff that produces the word vomit. She once asked me who my favorite singer was, and it turned into a ten-minute breakdown of the vocal pitch of the top ten idols in Japan.

My name is Shoichiro Seiryuu, and I'm still a physics nerd.

We bid each other good night, and she shouts out how happy she is that I'm her boyfriend. Weird flex, but I'm not complaining.

I've been so wrapped up in enjoying Yuuma's presence that I almost completely miss Tetra Tits lurking nearby.

I gather what information I can from her presence. She's farther away than usual, which makes it more difficult to pinpoint her exact location. At the same time, she's still close enough that the distance doesn't conceal her completely.

I can tell she's trying to hide from me, despite her best efforts. I figure that means we're both safe from each other.

I go home, change into my workout clothes and start my routine. Since I have no homework tonight, and I'm supposed to go out with Yuuma on Sunday, I decide to do eight miles instead of my usual four. By the time I get home, I can only hope I've given Tetra Tits a good show. That's another reason I end up more than doubling my workout for the next three days. If nothing else, whoever she's working for needs to understand that I refuse to be an easy target. I'm not a great fighter by any means, but I should at least be able to keep from being overpowered. Failing that, fleeing is always an option.

Sometimes success is defined as simply living to see another day.

It's weird, though... the following day after I made my date with Yuuma, my stalkers have stopped watching me.

Let me rephrase that: I no longer sense them watching me.

I eat lunch in the same spot I always do, but don't feel Tree Girl looking over my shoulder. Whatever was watching me on the archery range isn't there anymore. And Tetra Tits isn't watching me run around the city, even though I do a total of fifteen miles before I'm completely convinced.

For whatever reason, they no longer seem interested in me. Or they've figured out I can sense them and are going above and beyond to disguise themselves.

I don't exactly know how to proceed with this new revelation. Either way, I don't like it. It's my fear of the unknown at work again.

The rest of the week is the same. I can't feel them around me, and I get more uneasy about it. What if it's Yuuma they're after and not me? We still chat via text message, but I haven't seen her or heard her voice in a few days. Tomorrow is Sunday though, so I'll have my answer soon enough.

We're supposed to meet at noon, so I arrive downtown at 11:30 to allow the jitters to run their course. Tou-san suggested taking a one-hundred-yen coin with me. When I asked him why, he said "I see you become a nervous wreck when your hands are empty. Just take it and hold onto it."

Oddly enough, he was right. I'm flipping the coin, turning it over between my fingers, and it's bringing my social anxiety down to a level I should be able to manage. I also left my sunglasses at home at his suggestion. He's been married to my mother since I can remember, so listening to him on the subject of dating seems logical enough. Don't judge me.

I'm so focused on the coin that I almost miss that faint yet familiar presence. Had I not been so enthralled with the coin, I would have certainly sensed it sooner.

A girl in a red dress and a weird bat cosplay presses a flyer into my hand with a smile and walks away. But there's no mistaking her aura. I don't know how, or who or what she is, but I know where I know her from.

She's the one who watches me on the archery range.

I move to go after her when I hear my name called from behind me. I'm distracted, and I turn around to see Yuuma has finally arrived. I turn back towards Bat Cosplayer, but not only can I no longer see her, I don't sense her either. There's no way that's a good thing, but at least Yuuma's here to take my mind off of what just happened.

We walk through the various stores and shops downtown. I make a conscious decision to not spend a whole lot of money, although I certainly have it to spend. Obaa-san has always seen that I want for absolutely nothing: clothes, entertainment, spending money, whatever I want or need. Thankfully my parents don't have an issue with it. They believe I deserve it because I work so hard in school and am always getting high marks.

My name is Shoichiro Seiryuu, and I am a little spoiled.

We stop for lunch and sit across from each other while we eat. Since this is my first time seeing her in something other than the pullover sweater she wears to school, I'm just now noticing what a phenomenal rack she has. She's a 36C easily, and I can't definitively tell if she's wearing a bra or not. I don't see her nipples poking through, so my guess is yes.

I hear her giggling. "Are you all right?"

Fuck my absolute life, I'm not wearing my sunglasses today and she caught me staring! Thanks for that one, Tou-san... I quickly look away and suck down my drink. The resulting brain freeze doesn't help matters much, but I get through it.

We enjoy the rest of the day together and are winding down at sunset, holding hands as we walk home. I look forward to the prospect of kissing her. Hell, I kind of want to do it now. There's something inside edging me on, an instinct boosting my confidence and telling me to just go for it.

I struggle to keep that something down. I may be a lustful teenage pervert, but I can at least try to act like a gentleman.

We end up in a park near a beautiful fountain. I recognize it easily, as I run past it (and usually stop to drink from it) every day after school. The sun setting in the background just makes the moment all the more perfect. She must feel the same way, as she asks me to do something to commemorate this special occasion.

I might get to kiss her after all. "Of course... what did you have in mind?"

She looks up at me, and I notice her eyes are darker than before. "Would you... die for me?"

...NANI?!

"I'm sorry, my ears must not be functioning properly; could you maybe say that one more time?" I'm positive I didn't hear that correctly, or so I attempt to convince myself.

"I want you to die for me." She gets right up in my ear and not only repeats herself, she does so with a new deeper and darker voice. One that sends chills through my blood. I don't know if it's her or the fear that has suddenly consumed me, but it sounds like a hiss this time, loaded with venom. Like a serpent to its cornered prey.

She steps back and starts this wicked transformation. Her clothes explode and I am granted a full view of a woman's naked body for the first time in my life. As much as I would love to be able to concentrate on that, the sinister look in her eyes and the black feathered wings that explode from her back make it a little bit difficult to do so.

She starts talking about how much fun she had, even motioning to a hair scrunchie I bought her as a present. "Still, even so..." She conjures a magic spear out of thin air.

"Yuuma, wait, please!" The only words I manage to leak out.

"It's time to die!" With that, she runs me through. She stabs me with that magic spear right in the gut. I collapse to the ground bleeding out. She didn't hit any vital organs, which means her continuing monologue is the background noise to my needlessly drawn-out death.

Somehow, the only words that make any sort of impact are 'sacred gear.' Whatever a 'sacred gear' is, a fat lot of good it's doing me here and now.

And then, silence. She's gone, leaving me here to die alone.

Somebody, anybody... please... save me... I don't want to die here...

My head is buzzing. The blood loss is beyond recovery now. I don't remember who said it, but they were right:

Death is natural. Dying is terrible.

I have just about accepted the reality of my situation when the buzzing in my head intensifies. It's a sensation similar to the ones I got from my stalkers, only much sharper and stronger.

It can only mean one thing. The only thing it ever meant... I just never understood it.

Magic.

Someone is attempting to use magic to save my life. Someone is attempting to tether me to themselves, and thus to this current plane of existence. Whoever it is, I would be incredibly grateful to.

Key words, would be.

Because as much as I try to cooperate, something else inside me refuses to.

As a result, it doesn't work.

My name is Shoichiro Seiryuu... or at least it was.

PoV: Rias

"You were right, one hundred percent."

"Yup, you totally called it."

Akeno and Koneko have both confirmed it; the fallen angel has decided the time has come.

"I'm just glad I asked you two to keep a close eye on him."

Much as I wish I could spare him, I have too much at stake here. If he rejects me...

Akeno asks me what to do with him now. While we need to make our preparations right away, any further surveillance is pointless now. All we can do is wait on him.

The next few days are a shining example of how much I hate waiting. Chalk it up to growing up as an heiress of one of the 72 Pillars, demonic nobility. I realize now just how spoiled rotten I really am, something Akeno has taken occasion to remind me of since we've known each other.

I really am grateful to have her as my best friend. Not only does she keep me grounded, but she's also the one who identified the fallen angel who approached the boy in the first place.

It's Sunday. The day.

My familiar confirms that she gave him one of my flyers. Hopefully he doesn't trash it or anything. It's the only way he'll be able to summon me once... things happen.

My stomach is in knots knowing what awaits me later. What awaits both of us, really: him a grisly death at the hands of a fallen angel, and me the responsibility for cleaning it up.

It then dawns on me that he'll be my first resurrection.

The others I found destitute and running away from their circumstances, but alive. They gladly agreed to my offers to join my Peerage, and I can't thank them enough for it.

Raising the dead is a new venture for me, and that realization has me even more nervous than I was before.

I spend the day around my home, and what family there are to be found. My father is off doing who-knows-what Lord Gremory things, and my brother is off who-knows-where being the Devil King Lucifer, leaving my mother, my sister-in-law Grayfia, and my nephew Millicas around the castle.

They can all sense my agitation, and I almost break down and tell my mother about the situation, but... I can't.

I can't face their judgment. My resolve is hanging by a thread as it is, and if they were to somehow talk me out of it, then this boy would die for nothing.

It's evening when I hear the call, clear as a bell.

Somebody, anybody... please... save me... I don't want to die here...

That's my cue, finally.

I jump to the scene and find pretty much what I expected. The boy is lying on the ground, bled out from a gaping hole in his stomach. At first glance, it looks like the fallen angel missed any vital organs, so his suffering must have been unimaginable. I resolve to make that up to him.

Once he's under my control, that is.

I can still sense some life in him, so I speak directly to him: "Since death is upon you, I will gladly take you in. From this moment forward, you will live your life for my sake."

I've committed to resurrecting him as a Pawn, although I have no idea how many it will actually take. So I do the logical thing: start with one and get ready to use more if necessary. I place the piece on his chest and utter the incantation.

"In the name of Rias Gremory, I call to Shoichiro Seiryuu. Hear my command, and return thy soul from the shadow of death into the human realm. Rise once more as my demon servant. Rejoice, for you have been given new life! Wake as my pawn and footsoldier!"

Then, I wait. Nothing happens for several tense moments.

Finally, the piece begins to be absorbed into his body. My happiness is immeasurable... which of course means it can't last long.

It lasts precisely as long as the few seconds it takes for my pawn piece to fly back at me and strike me square in the forehead.

I pick myself up off the ground and reach up to where a nice-sized knot is forming right above my eyebrows. Hopefully Grayfia can take care of that, but I have a much bigger problem now.

He has rejected me after all.

Even in death, this human somehow has the power to refuse my summons.

Which brings me to a terrifying realization: he's not human.

Before I can contemplate any further what this means for both him and myself, his blood catches fire. The flames consume him, and something rises up from the fire.

That is my exit cue. I grab my pawn piece and jump back home before I get myself killed.

PoV: Chronostrasza

Sorry, kid.

If there was any other way but this, I would have spared you this agony. But one problem with casting "Blood of the Aspect" on a new vessel is that it requires the vessel's blood to be purged first.

In short, to grant you my powers, you had to die first.

In times and incarnations past, it required some type of ritual sacrifice. Seriously... people made an entire party of it. Not my host being gutted like livestock and left to bleed out on the grass.

You would think a god-level being would have figured out a workaround for that, but it seems even the powers of the Aspects are somewhat limited.

As one of the Thirteen Aspects, second only to the Dragon God Queen Alexstrasza herself, I have been given the gift of eternal life. And as long as my vessels please me and do my bidding, I impart the gift of long life to them as well.

Not quite eternity, as I get bored living the same life for too many millennia. But close enough, especially by sentient humanoid standards. Usually a hundred of your lifetimes is satisfying enough.

This is my first time possessing an Earthling, though. And as much as I must admit it has been quite fascinating so far, I had no idea my chosen vessel would be so... unimpressive.

Don't get me wrong; you're extremely intelligent and physically fit, not to mention a hell of a shot with an arrow. But you're a walking ball of neuroses, not to mention you can't talk to women to save your life. Then there's the matter of you being a total horndog.

Granted, being infused with the energy of an eternal dragon spirit probably isn't going to help that particular matter. We are particularly lustful and perverted creatures after all. Hell, it's that lust and perversion to which you owe your very existence. But, those are conversations we can have at another time.

Right now, let's focus on getting you back to... wait a second... what is this?

Is that a - no, it can't be - yup, it is.

I can't fucking believe this shit...

WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, YOU DEVIL CUNT?!

Just for shits and giggles, I pull the object in question into my host's body, and it's worse than I first thought. Not only is it a chess piece - meaning some underworld snatch plans on enslaving him - it's a pawn.

A. Single. Pawn.

Are his optical systems still intact? Mercifully they are, so I get a look at this whore. She's got long red hair, those devil wings I would recognize anywhere, and tits that rival the Dragonqueen herself. And of course, she set my vessel up to be murdered in hopes of snatching him up for herself. For the price of a single Pawn, no less.

Fat fucking chance.

I aim right at her forehead and fire the piece out of his body, and I score a direct hit that knocks her on her ass.

I could maybe, perhaps, possibly see if it were a Queen, to bind someone of our combined power. But a Pawn? I am unbelievably insulted.

I review his systems once more. He's dead now, and almost completely bled out. It's about damn time. I chant the rite in the ancient tongue of the Aspects.

"Kuv, Chronostrasza, Lub Sij Hawm Ntawm Lub Sijhawm, qhib lub qhov rooj ntawm tus ntsuj plig hauv lub npe ntawm Nws txoj kev tshav ntuj, poj huab tais Alexstrasza. Kuv hu rau Shoichiro Seiryuu kom hu koj tus ntsuj plig los ntawm kev tuag, thiab tsa koj lub cev los ntawm cov tshauv los ua kuv lub nkoj nyob mus ib txhis. Txij no mus, koj lub neej yuav raug khi rau kuv."

I can feel his blood catching fire - it worked. Not that there was ever any doubt, but still.

But wait a moment... what the entire fuck, the devil scum is still here.

Not for long... I shape the flames into a dragon.

She nope's out of here, taking her pawn with her, leaving me alone to complete the reconstruction of my vessel. That will probably be the smartest thing that dumb bitch does all day.

Back to the boy... I have to burn his body completely to nothing, which is why I'm glad it requires his death first. Can you imagine burning someone alive from the inside out like this? He'd never forgive me for causing him that level of pain.

I take a look at my handiwork. It's done. No blood, no bones, no ash, not even scorch marks on the grass.

Now, to remake him faster, stronger, better... this is going to be fun. I haven't decided exactly how yet, but one thing I know for sure.

That hair and those sunglasses have got to go.