Hello again, Biosword here with another chapter for this story.

I was going to release this a few days earlier but I ended spending most of New Years day stuck in traffic with my parents. Yeah not exactly the best way to start the year.

Still better late than never eh?

*Cue crickets*

Yeah I clearly need to set a schedule for myself.

Oh well, without further ado here is Chapter 2.

Update: fixed a few mistakes I missed, added a few sentences to have this flow better, and replaced "said" with "hissed" on one sentence.

"Wait, you mean you were an exorcist and the holder of Boosted Gear this whole time?!" Rias cried out in disbelief shortly after I made my appearance.

"Hey Hyoudou," I turned my head to notice Yuuto Kiba, the blond pretty boy with the beauty mark under his left eye, pointing his sword at me, glaring at me and speaking in a hostile tone, "How do I know you weren't going to back-stab us after this is over."

There are more urgent manners to deal with here but I might as well assure him so he doesn't back-stab me, "First of all, I'm a former exorcist and second of all, I've lived with Sona these past two years."

"What?!" Rias looked flabbergasted as she turns towards Koneko, Sona herself just sighs in exasperation since I let the cat out the bag, "Koneko, can you please explain why you told us that his Sacred Gear is a Twice Critical and why you didn't mention that Sona is living with him?"

She looks back at her blankly before replying, "They fed me…"

"You mean to tell me that they bribed you with food in exchange for your vow of secrecy?!" Rias appears to be on the verge of pulling her hair out as Koneko nods shamelessly. The rest of us probably would have giant sweat drops hanging onto the back or side of our heads if this were an anime or manga when we witnessed this exchange in front of us.

"Uh hey, how we go back to the part where we're going to slaughter you all now, what do you say?" the centaur stray devil spoke up after snapping out of her astonishment of the events unfolding before her.

"Right," I got off my bike, my legs ready to spring towards the enemy, "Hey pretty boy!"

"Yes?" his hostile tone is replaced by that of curiosity and caution towards my actions.

"How about we see how many stray devils each of us can take down. Last place has to make bentos for everyone for a whole week, what do you say?"

A small smile appeared on his face as a second sword appears in his hand, "You're on."

Not surprisingly, Koneko is the first one to charge at them.

[She must really want those bentos really badly, right partner?]

Right, anyways the deep booming voice that just spoke to me is-

[Ddraig, the most badass dragon you've ever met!]

Yeah, said the dragon who is trapped in the gauntlet permanently attached to my left arm.

[Hey, to be fair God and the Devil himself were responsible for my and the white one's imprisonment.]

"Hey Hyoudou, we could use some help right about now!" Sona shouted as she threw the Minotaur right at me with a water tentacle.

Ddraig, why don't you properly introduce yourself while I take care of this. With the blade of light in my left hand, I thrust it forward and the tip effortlessly came out the Minotaur's back.

[Very well.]

[Boost!]

I felt a sensation, not unlike that of a river flowing through my body as my sword cleaves off the Minotaur's head. The lack of blood from the act is due to the fact that the wounds being cauterized by my blade of light.

[Boost!]

[I am Ddraig, one of the Heavenly Dragons and due to my great strength am known by many as the Red Dragon Emperor. The gauntlet I currently reside in is called Boosted Gear, its main ability is quite self-explanatory.]

The river of power grew within me as every ten seconds went by, soon I'll be able to take them all down and go home for dinner.

[Boost!]

[The only limits to how much the host can hold the energy used to boost their allies or their own strength is their physical condition, as such rigorous training is required to control this energy. The second ability in this Sacred Gear is…]

"Hyoudou, I need a boost!" I looked up to see Sona floating above and in the process of creating large ice spears.

[Transfer!]

I aimed the green sphere of energy at Sona, so she can make more of them.

[Reset!]

"Everyone, pull out right now!"

Allies and enemies alike scattered as they rain down toward the park at blinding speeds. Miraculously they didn't hit anyone but since the stray devils are now separated from each other…

[Boost!]

I rushed towards one of the lamias as she took notice and responded in kind.

[Boost!]

I swung my blade at her head but she bend backwards causing my blade to fly over her and then she sprung up into me, knocking me down onto my back.

[Boost!]

We tumbled onto the pavement, my light sword flung itself out of my hands.

[Boost!]

The snake tail coiled around my waist, lifting me up to her face.

[Boost!]

Her right hand gently lifted my chin for me to see a small but wicked smile appear on the lamia's face.

[Boost!]

Her left hand began to stroke the side of my cheek. My left arm is throbbing. "You know you are rather cute for a human," she cooed, "And so strong too, I can only wish there were some way we can convert you."

[Boost!]

"Oh well," she shrugged, "Maybe I can convince them to let me keep you as a pet."

[Boost!]

A smirk appeared on my face, "Sorry but I rather enter a relationship by my own free will."

[Explosion!]

Instantly my body tore through by a sensation I can only describe as power. This power, it burns me inside and out yet it strengthens me. It swirls inside me chaotically, threatening to tear me apart, demanding release!

Using the claws of the gauntlet, I shoved my left hand through the lamia's chest and quickly yanked it out of the now spurting, bloody hole. Her expression became that of mild shock as her body went limp, releasing me. Landing on my feet, I can still see the lamia's glazed over eyes staring at me, as if to ask why.

[That's a bit brutal for you, don't you think?]

Yes, Ddraig but I know I can sleep easier knowing those monsters won't be around to kill more humans. Besides I might as well end this as soon as possible before my body breaks down from the strain from supporting this energy.

[By the way does your adoptive sister know you're out here? Because you'll definitely give her a heart attack when she sees you come back in this state.]

Don't worry I left her a note telling her where I went and to expect guests for dinner.

I walk over to the hilt of the sword and the blue flame sprung back to life in my hands. A blur came towards my left; I instinctively spun to the left, my blade intercepting the claws of a succubus.

"Not bad," after all not many devils can fight back against a light sword wielded by an expert.

"You're not so bad yourself, human," she leap back only for another one to show up from behind me. I barely dodged to the left as the claws scratched my right arm.

I retaliated, my legs pushing me toward the two succubus, sword pointed at the ground and trailing behind me. A hoarse cry escaped my lips as I leaped towards the one standing on the left. Their claws constantly deflecting my sword strikes but we knew that it won't be long until I finally break through their defenses.

However Koneko suddenly appeared grabbed one of the succubus by the right arm and slammed her down head first into the ground, no doubt turning her brain into mush from the impact. Seeing the other succubus is now distracted by the death of her twin, I swooped in and impaled her.

Pulling my blade back out of the now deceased succubus, I turned my attention towards Koneko.

"So, how many did you take out?" I asked.

"Four," she said casually.

I briefly scanned my eyes over the park to notice the vampire buried head first into the ground, his lower half is sticking out and not moving. Nearby are the other three lamias, two are covered in cuts and each have a large hole on their chests and one is bent in unnatural angles. The centaur appears to be violently tore in half, what remained of it is now lying in a growing pool of blood and guts. And worst of all, my bike now smashed into broken steel rods and bits of rubber scattered throughout the park.

Turning my head away from the gruesome scene, I could see everyone else fighting the Gashadokuro, the last stray devil to take out. Whoever their former king was must have both really loved monsters and have incredibly stupid luck to recruit them at all.

"Everyone move out of the way right now!" I pointed my gauntlet at the seemingly invulnerable skeleton, a red sphere forming in front of my open palm. Seeing that I am about to fire a powerful attack, Sona pined the skeleton down with four large icicles, two of them through the feet and the other two through the palms. Glowing green veins appeared all over my body, each of them felt like several hot pokers stabbing in different places as they pumped the remaining energy into my left arm. My devil friends had successfully pulled out, leaving the now seemingly frightened skeleton.

The green gems on the gauntlet now shines like the brightest stars in the night sky, indicating that my attack is now at full charge, "Let's see you come back from the dead now! Dragon Shot!"

The floating red sphere burst open like an egg, releasing an energy beam as large as a freight train that struck the stray devil, causing a large explosion to engulf part of the park. Small rocks and dirt rained down on us as the smoke clears up, revealing a large trench and a crater now a permanent feature of the park and a twitching skeleton that had finally stopped regenerating from its wounds.

"Damn, I didn't get… him…," I started to fall forward but small and strong arms caught me, guiding my left arm over her shoulders, "Thanks… Ko…ne…ko…chan…"

A black-reddish energy orb fired from Rias is what finished off the skeleton, with the side effect of making the crater deeper in the trench I made.

"Well, that was fun," Tsubasa, the blunette tomboy from Sona's peerage spoke up.

"Yeah sure…" I am now leaning on my little strong friend for support.

[Partner, I think we should start training your body again so it can readjust to the gauntlet's power.]

What am I out of shape by dragon standards?!

[Technically, yes.]

CURSE YOU HOMEWORK! You caused me to slack off on my training!

[… You should be cursing the strict devil instead…]

Oh, okay let me change that. Ahem, CURSE YOU SONA AND YOUR ABSURDLY HIGH EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS!

"Hyoudou-kun," I snapped my head up to see Sona's face uncomfortably close to mine.

Eh, she couldn't read minds… could she? The thought of that would definitely send me is a panicky state.

[Sorry, can't exactly tell you but I wouldn't really be surprised if she could.]

Well … um… that's not very reassuring, Ddraig.

"Hyoudou, were you paying attention to what I'm saying to you?"

"What?" I said blankly, I glance around to see that our merry little group is close to my house. Huh, we must have teleported while I was talking to Ddraig. Speaking of our group, everyone seems to have escaped with small cuts and bruises though Akeno is leading on Rias for support while panting and blushing heavily.

… I'm probably better off not knowing what is going through her head at this moment.

Sona face palmed for what, the 60th time today? "I said you should be more aware of your limits as a Boosted Gear wielder, do I have to make myself clear again?"

I let out a deep sigh of annoyance, "You're never going to stop reminding me, are you?"

"Nope and we'll have to discuss this in more detail later, Issei-san."

Yes, in no doubt in a long, serious lecture.

"So," Rias spoke up as we near the front door, Koneko dragging me there as my body is too damaged from the strain of firing a gigantic laser of death, "Is there really anything going on between you two?"

"I can assure you, Rias that such a relationship between Hyoudou-kun and myself is very improper considering who we are," she replied calmly.

"I… see…" did Rias sound disappointed just now?

Sona opened the door and entered first, "Asia-chan, we're home and we have guests!"

"Be right there!" she called out from the kitchen.

We filed into the living room after leaving our shoes at the front door where I collapsed onto the couch to rest my very sore body, Koneko joined me placing my head on her lap. The second couch is now occupied by a still flushed Akeno, Rias, and Tsubaki. Yuuto is leaning with his back on the wall with his arms folded, Sona stood next to the couch I'm lying on, and Tomoe, Tsubasa, and the girl with the white hair (Hanakai Momo if I remember correctly) found some chairs nearby. Asia appeared from the kitchen wearing her light green pajamas decorated with crosses and a white apron that said 'Jesus died for our sins'.

"Again Issei?" she said sadly when she saw the sorry state my body is in.

"Don't worry," Sona stated calmly, "This time the idiot only had a minor cut on his arm and over-strained his body after boosting eight times."

"Oh my lord," Asia threw up her arms in mock despair, "Why do I have this idiot as my older brother?"

"Sorry I couldn't resist the chance to fight some stray devils but hey we're back and quite famished, right Koneko?"

"Yes, Issei-senpai," she said.

We're in the same grade, remember? Though I didn't say that out loud since I had long since given up on convincing Koneko otherwise.

"Alright," Asia sighs exasperatedly, "but how about you rest while I go next time."

"You?" Kiba Yuuto asked in disbelief, "What can you do exactly?"

"Believe or not, but my father had taught both Issei and I. Though Issei ended up becoming his apprentice while my own life… Well let's just say it steered me away from my family." she explains, fidgeting uncomfortably.

"I see…" Yuuto stared back down at the wooden floor of the living room, "You're a daughter of an exorcist, huh."

"Yup, and this," Asia's right hand briefly glows before revealing two silver rings with teal gems at the center of them, "is the reason why I never became an exorcist alongside my brother."

"Twilight Healing," Rias muttered under her breath.

I now jumped back into the conversation, knowing that we are now stepping on landmines, "After she was… relieved of her assigned duties at the church, my sensei would often let her tag along on our missions behind the church's back. Teaching her how to defend herself from the enemies we faced on our travels."

What I didn't tell them is that he never truly approved of the duties the church gave to his daughter. After Asia's excommunication he seems to have become constantly tired and on edge, as if he was afraid that something terrible will happen at any moment. I never fully understood what frightened him so, to the point of causing us to distance ourselves from the church little by little as each day passed. Of course I never forgot the look of relief he had on his face when he saw us off at the airport before Asia and I board the plane for Japan. Looking back now, I asked myself, did his daughter's excommunication affected him that badly?

"And trust me," I continued to explain, "Asia handles herself very well despite at least two years' worth of experience sparring her father and I and she knows everything she needs to know about the human body, including weak points."

"Grande fratello?"

"Yes, Asia?" I looked over, half expecting to see her blushing in embarrassment, instead she adopted an expression of resolve. Ah I remember now, she sometimes reverts back to Italian wherever she takes something seriously.

"It has been a while since we lasted sparred you know. And I'm pretty sure my skills had become rusty by now."

"Fighting skills yes, but your healing skills should be quite sharp after treating all the injuries I got while beating up thugs these past two years."

"Baka," Koneko lightly smacked my head, causing me to slightly wince.

"I see you have become over reliant on your little sister, Hyoudou-kun," Sona's spectacles suddenly became shiny white half-circles, making her look more intimidating than usual.

Yeah, she has a point as usual.

[Hey at least there's someone watching your back ever since you moved here.]

Yeah, I'm sure the church will quite thrilled to find out that my closest friends are devils.

[And me, the most badass dragon in all existence!]

Is the white one at all like you?

[The white one? Please, that bastard has nothing on me.]

I take it you two have been keeping score on all your battles then?

[…]

My thoughts exactly. Well might as well get something to eat now, I'm going to need fuel for my incredibly sore body.

"Hey are you sure you should be moving about now?" Rias called out in concern as I struggled to get to my feet.

I know my body is still suffering from the strain I placed on it but some of the pain had left me, enough for me to walk a few steps at least. A small hand grabbed the back of my shirt and yanked me back confirming that Koneko has other ideas about my well-being.

"Look it's only a few steps," I told Koneko.

"No."

"Koneko's right," Asia placed both her hands on my chest, "Just let me look you over before you can get up."

Her rings emits neon green lights, the agonizing pain slowly replaced by a soothing sensation. I wiped the blood off my right arm revealing muscle tissue and blood vessels growing, moving like live fleshy colored tentacles until the very tips of the muscle strands meet and fuse together. As this happens my skin began closing up the slits, leaving a large somewhat tender pinkish area on my arm.

"Thanks," I mumbled as Asia and Koneko finally let me go.

"Issei," Rias said, "you sure recovered pretty fast, for a human."

"Well," Asia dismissed her rings, "he was always unusually resilient, especially when compared to the other initiates back at the church."

"Don't sell yourself short Imuto-chan," I rolled off the couch, landing on my palms and pushing myself onto my feet, "You had greatly improved thanks to my tendency to get injured."

"Right…" she replied, clearly not convinced by my argument.

"You know," Rias got off the couch and circled slowly around me, her sapphire-blue eyes critically analyzing me, "the strain from supporting a eight times boost should have crippled or killed you without Asia's help, yet you managed to recover enough without her help to move around a little bit despite recently making it out a battle. So how did you manage to survive that?"

I glance around the living room, finding that everyone looking at me expectantly for an answer. Even Akeno who managed to recover from… whatever it is that affected her during battle.

"Very high pain tolerance."

They blinked dumbly at my answer, "Are you serious?" Tsubasa broke the silence and shot me with a skeptical look, "I mean you are just a human, right?"

"Yeah, so?" I felt my eyebrows subconsciously furrow at those words, "I'm a trained exorcist remember?"

Rias stopped dead right in front of me, "Care to elaborate on that?"

"My sensei and adoptive father, Arthur Argento, taught me how to use my Scared Gear while Griselda Quarta took over the rest of my training."

Surely they knew about Griselda and her reputation as one of the most dangerous humans on the planet, right? I mean the seemingly innocent old lady pushed me through my training regimen like a slave-driver.

Rias' eyebrows briefly went up when I mentioned Griselda, "I guess… that is a plausible explanation, I can only imagine how her training gave you such high tolerance for pain."

"Oh my," Akeno said in a sultry voice, "I'm a little disappointed that you managed to keep this information from little old me, but now that I know how about we go have some alone time, just me and you, what do you say?"

I glance over to Akeno to respond but immediately regretted the witnessing the sight in front of me. I thought I had seen everything there is to know about her but no what I saw before was only the taste of her true colors. To think the depths of her demented mind were deeper than humanly possible.

Now an outsider watching would've thought I was exaggerating after all if you look past the dark aura surrounding her, you would probably see a buxom yet innocent looking Japanese beauty but you clearly don't know her like I do.

If one were to look closely, they would see her violet and seductive eyes staring at me hungrily, thinking ways to devour my body and soul. Her cheeks lighting up like the brightest red stars. And that smile, that horrific smile… The way she licked her lips, the light panting, and the smile that seems to promise endless pain and despair for all. No, no what have I done?!

[Partner! It'll be alright.]

No, NO it is not alright! I have doom us all! THOSE EYES! THAT SMILE! THOSE EYES! THAT SMILE! THOSE EYES! THAT SMILE! THOSE EYES! THAT SMILE!

[Whoa, whoa there you are just exaggerating. I mean it can't be that bad, r-right?]

Ddraig, God and whoever the original Satan was are nothing compared to the horrors she can unleash upon the world. Hell, she can probably make the Cthulhu her bitch if she wanted to. The apocalypse upon us Ddraig, and we are the ones who started it!

[Partner, PARTNER SNAP OUT OF IT! The Earth will the same as it was tomorrow, trust me on this.]

No, NO don't you deny your fate! The great plagues of Egypt will be bought back a thousand fold! Pigs will fly, couches will become potato gardens, and cats and dogs will rain from the skies!

[… and he didn't even use a certain ability yet…]

Angels and Devils becoming bros! The Moon splitting in two! And God revealing himself as Santa Claus!

[Ah great, R.I.P. Issei's sanity…]

THOSE EYES! THAT SMILE! THOSE EYES! THAT SMILE! THOSE EYES! THAT SMILE! THOSE EYES! THAT SMILE! THOSE EYES! THAT SMILE! THOSE EYES! THAT SMILE! THOSE EYES! THAT SMILE! THOSE EYES! THAT SMILE! THOSE EYES! THAT SMILE! THOSE EYES! THAT SMILE! THOSE EYES! THAT SMILE! THOSE EYES! THAT SMILE!

[Oi, can one of you devils please bring back Issei's sanity?]

Sharp pain around my torso is what caused my poor fragile sanity to burst out of its early grave.

[Ah thank you Koneko, I knew he needed that hug.]

I looked down to see two little arms crushing my ribs with a bear hug. The second thing I noticed is my left hand glowing with lime green light.

"Welcome back to the world of the living, Issei-chan~," I glance back up to see Tomoe standing in front of me with a toothy grin before she lightly pats my head and prances back to her chair.

"Yeah," said Yuuto still leaning on the wall, "You had us a little worried there."

"So damn handsome, I take it we're good now?" It would be a shame if we became enemies.

"Of course, it is obvious you and the church have an estranged relationship now that I think about it. And if you were an assassin then you passed up many, many opportunities to kill us."

"But what if I happen to be one of those crazy nut jobs or a sadistic bastard bidding his time? What would you do then?"

"Well then, one of us can see a person's true nature by reading their life-force and one of us is a very capable telepath, and judging from your lack of usage in magic I can only assume that you can't mentally shield your thoughts," I can only gawk at Yuuto as he countered my argument with a calm, almost gentlemanlike demeanor, "Oh and they both know where you live."

"Touché," seriously this guy would be a great teacher.

"Though I would like to make one request," he stopped leaning on the wall and looked at me dead in the eyes, telling me that his request is to be taken seriously.

"What would that be?"

He suddenly bowed down before me, "I want you to be my sparring partner so I can greatly improve my skills to accomplish my life's goal!"

"A devil requesting an exorcist to be his sparring partner? My, the peace treaty must be working better than I thought. Still, my skills have gotten a bit rusty so I made not be able to improve your skills as much as you like."

"Wait, what do you mean? After all were you not trained by Griselda, one of the most famous wielders of Excalibur?" Yuuto said with a pleading tone though he said Excalibur with a hint of venom.

"Look if this reassures you then yes, she actually did use six of the Excaliburs in our later sparring matches, but I went two years without a sparring partner so yeah I don't think I am your answer to your problems. Besides, judging by our skills with a blade you are clearly the better swordsman because dual wielding is incredibly difficult to pull off naturally, even by seasoned swordsmen. All I have going for me is brute strength, reflexes, and my willingness to fight dirty."

"Are you willing to help me or not?" Yuuto asked me, now unsure what to do should I refuse.

"I …"

What can I do? It's not like I am the one to solve anyone's problems. I mean I'm a warrior by nature not a therapist.

Koneko's arms tighten around my ribs once more, though not into a bear hug thankfully, "Please…"

I craned my head around to see Koneko unleash the most deadly weapon in all of existence: puppy dog eyes.

"… Help Kiba-kun, I don't want him to suffer from his past anymore," she said in a quiet voice.

I closed my eyes before letting out a big sigh, "Ah geez, you really know how to rope me into this, don't you Koneko-chan?"

"Alright," I snap open my eyes and turned them towards Yuuto, "I don't know how much of a help I would actually be but I hope you'll find what you're looking for."

"Okay, as long as you agree to help me, I'll make sure you won't regret this," he said, his eyes burning with resolve.

"I hope you're right."

"Well," it appears Rias is attempting to break up the grim atmosphere, "is it okay if I ask you something, Issei?"

"If you are asking me to join your peerage then I'm afraid I have to say no."

Rias noticeably became crestfallen at those words, "I… I see. Well I could hardly blame you for your decision considering…"

I placed my right hand on her left shoulder, causing her to look up at me in surprise, "However I guess I will reconsider."

"You… Y-You mean it?" she glances back up, her eyes now shining like emeralds.

"Of course, Sona this applies to you to."

"Good," she moved herself next to Rias, "I was worried you had forgotten about me."

"Alright you listening?"

"Yes," they both said.

"You listening?"

"Y-Yes?" Rias said again.

"You listening?"

"Please, get to the point," Sona demanded.

"Alright, alright no need to make such a serious face Sona-chan," I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of a normally composed strict girl squirm and her face taking on the shade of a tomato as I ruffled up her hair. Ah yes embarrassment, the ultimate weakness of Sona and so much fun to exploit!

"Enough! Please you are almost as bad as my sister when you do that."

"Maybe you should introduce me to her so I can judge."

"NO!" she got my hand off her head and grabbed the front of my shirt, "You must not reveal your existence to my sister, what so ever."

"Your sister couldn't that bad, right?" In all honestly, I thought her sister is more or less like an even stricter version of Sona, as least that's what I thought when she first mention her because who else would she take after. Now it seems she likes to mess with Sona, how is unknown to me at the moment but I must be really close if she compared us like that.

"Issei-kun," she pulled me down until our faces are on even levels, "my sister is one of the most terrifying people I had the misfortune to know and trust me when I say that you really don't want to meet her especially due to our current living arrangements."

I glance towards Rias watching us awkwardly, "You grew up with Sona, right? Please tell me she is bluffing."

Rias shook her head as she replies in an exasperated tone, "No, I'm afraid she isn't bluffing, let's just say her sister has always acted… overly concerned towards her."

So Sona has an overprotective sister, well I suppose that is why she liked being independent.

"Eh…" she must have seen the look of shock now plastered on my face since she let go of my shirt.

"I take you want to move on to a different subject now?"

Sona silently nodded, no doubt eager to get this over with.

"Okay, I'm only reconsidering my choice out of respect of our friendship. In other words I might join either Rias' or Sona's peerage if one of you fulfill one condition."

"Really!" Rias grasped my hands eagerly, her face lit up like a child finding out that Christmas has come early, "Please I'll do anything you ask!"

"This is welcoming news to say the least," even though Sona sounds stoic, her eyes show great interest towards what I have to say, "It better not be anything too ridiculous."

"Okay all you have to do to get me to join is… convince me."

"Wait… wait what?!" Rias fell flat on her face, no doubt in shock from hearing my unexpected request.

"You know I didn't expect the one condition to be so… mundane," Sona pointed out.

"Because in the end I still get to choose whether I want to become a devil or not so I can only wish you good luck," then I paused, am I forgetting something? "By the way before I forget, who is making the bentos for one week?"

Dinner was surprisingly very pleasant even with more house guests than usual. Partly due to Asia's cooking and the revelation that I am still definitely a friend. Rias took the time to declare that I won't regret becoming a devil and tried to tempt me into joining her peerage by mentioning that I can become stronger and can get my own servants if I am promoted to the status of high-class devil, nothing I haven't heard from Sona when she too first tried to recruit me. Before long, we all said our farewells to get ready for school the next morning.

I came out of the bathroom after I brushed my teeth and opened the door of my bedroom.

Inside is my bed placed near a large window with closed white plastic blinds. The white walls have anime posters plastered all over them, some of them are gifts from Matsuda and Motohama after they introduced me to anime. A small desk with a small lamp, a pile of textbooks, and a swivel chair sits on my right against the wall while to my left is a large, dark, and wooden wardrobe where I store all my clothes.

I was stripping off my white socks, black jeans, and crimson sweatshirt when I heard the door opening behind me, causing me to turn just to find Sona standing in a navy blue satin nightdress.

"Um, S-Sona what are you doing here?" I froze, completely unsure what to do next with her now seeing me stripping off my clothes to reveal a red t-shirt and black boxers.

"I only want to see what my new bedroom is like, that's all," she's acting as if that is the most obvious reason why she is here in the first place.

"I thought you have your own bedroom," I hung my sweatshirt and jeans on the back of the swivel chair, "Did a colony of spiders take over it or something?"

"N-No," she brush past me and plops herself in the middle of my bed, "It's just that after you just announce you just have to convinced in order to become a devil, I decided to make sure that you should be given a fair chance to make your decision. After all, Rias might turn you in the middle of the night."

"Would she really do that? I mean Rias has always been reasonably fair."

"School life and the life of the heiress of the Gremory House are two different and very separate things Hyoudou-kun. And she has been quite desperate to get out of an arranged marriage for a few years now so she might do something rash."

"So, what's stopping you from doing the same?" I asked skeptically, "What is stopping you, Sona Sitri?"

She stare at me silently for a few minutes before she explains, "Because Issei, unlike Rias I worked to get where I am. Unlike Rias who had lady luck on her side when recruiting her peerage members, I had to painstakingly track down and convince the best ones I can find around here to join mine, and you know me Issei, that I will never ever cheat in my life and that is a promise."

Ah yes, pride, one of the seven deadly sins and ironically the one that made her seem more... human in a way. More willing to be considerate towards fellow classmates because she takes great pride in what she does, particularly her role as an authority figure.

"Alright, if two years in Japan without being converted into a devil isn't prove enough, I don't know what is," I said as I sat down next to Sona.

"True, Rias never really experience life outside that of a little princess hailed by all."

"And you're saying you haven't?"

She glances at me, frowning, "Are you saying that I to live a sheltered life?"

"Maybe, maybe not. I spent much of my life traveling to different countries, seeing everything there is to see," a bittersweet smile crept up my lips, "My adoptive father taught me that the world is a much bigger place than we thought and time and time again we had forgot that. And since you are the heiress of the House of Sitri, you probably had a similar upbringing as Rias did."

"So you are saying we don't know anything beyond our current life?"

"I guess though I could be wrong about this."

We sat in silence for what seems to be an eternity. Sona contemplating our conversation while I thought about my life before this one.

It was Sona who broke the silence, "You know we have school tomorrow so it wouldn't do to be late."

"Alright," I slipped myself under the blankets on the side closest to the window, "Say can I ask you a question, Sona?"

"What is it?" I could feel something warm press itself against me as it readjust itself into a more comfortable position.

I turn away from the window to see Sona lying next to me and in all my life I never thought that underneath the strict demeanor and glasses is a very stunning young woman. It was this day that I began to understand why she is widely considered an idol, it's like as if our fellow classmates saw something behind the mask she wore in public. Something mysterious yet desirable at the same time and I bore witness to a sight many had secretly wanted to see. But staring into those violet eyes, black bob cut, and fair skin reminded of someone who looked similar to her. Painfully reminded me of her…

"Oh did you like what you see?" a teasing smile appeared on her face, "After all, what's with the stunned look on your face?"

"…!"

When you're a supernatural creature I suppose otherworldly beauty has to be one of the criteria you can meet, no matter how ridiculous it can sometimes be. Is it wrong for a human and a supernatural creature to get together?

"I… I wanted to ask if Evil Pieces are necessary at all, seeing that humans and devils can interbreed just fine."

Sona frowned before she replied, "Look even though that is possible, the human genes will eventually dominate the devil genes. Not only that but you should've known better because that will inevitably expose humans to the supernatural world. Not only because the next generation will inexplicably have strange powers but because the humans will remember the fact that they shared a world with forces beyond their control. Back then that wasn't so back because most would leave the fighting to both allied factions and competent humans, now with even more humans than ever before and weapons of mass destruction, your own species as a whole is now considered a landmine we must trend upon with caution."

"But devils have longer lifespans than humans, right? I mean with enough given time, there could be a race of human-devil hybrids," coexistence is what they all want right?

"No, I'm afraid that is nothing more than an impossible dream, Issei," she replied somberly, her left hand gently stroking my cheek, "Most of the devils are simply to prideful to take the pragmatic route and no matter how many times humans or anyone else has put aside their differences, ignorance and prejudice will never leave us. That is why we can't be more than good friends had you stayed human. Such an action on our part would have dire consequences, especially towards you."

Dire consequences towards... us...

As if such a thing would happen between us.

"Well, that is a pretty persuasive argument to get me to become a devil and all," I reluctantly admitted after a few seconds of silence, "But I'll just wait a little longer until I reached a decision."

"Alright, it wouldn't be much of a contest if you ended early, so let's give it a whole year at least, does that sound reasonable?"

"Very, by the way what would have Rias done if she appeared in my room without turning me into a devil?"

"She will most definitely use you as a body pillow."

"Really, that doesn't sound so bad."

"She sleeps naked if that is what you also wanted to know."

Okay, that might present a few problems but nothing I couldn't handle. After all a few awkward mornings shouldn't be too bad.

"Oh and if Rias didn't show up, Akeno might because she now knows where you live."

"….. Sona…" I now know what I must do to protect myself at night.

"Yes?" a knowing smirk appear on her face.

"Welcome to your new room."

Oh how far we went since that day two years ago.

Red…

The color of the blood running off my right arm dangling uselessly.

The color of the gauntlet doomed to encase my left arm until my death.

The color of love.

The color of hate.

The color of the crimson sunset in the horizon.

The color of the sirens of investigating police cars, no doubt gathering below the building I'm standing on, drawn by the battle I won.

Still even if I am going behind bars, at least that Stray Devil I fought died, only God can have mercy on that monster.

I broke out of my thoughts as something very bright appeared behind me.

Devils, I thought as I spun around, my left thumb flicking the switch on my sword causing a blade of blue flames to appear once more, and pointed it at the glowing teleportation circle.

"So you are the one who stole our target," a stoic female voice said as a petite figure steps out of the rapidly fading circle.

"To be fair, your target attacked me first, devil," I hissed, still pointing my blade at her.

The light from the teleportation circle fade away, revealing the devil to be: a young Japanese-looking girl with a bob cut, wearing the female school uniform from the middle school Asia and I are attending, and wearing blue-rectangle glasses framing her violet eyes. Wait what is her name again?

"Hey you're the very strict class representative from 2-A!" I exclaimed in surprise.

"Gosh, you do realized that it is rude to point at other people, right Hyoudou-san?"

"W-Wait you know who I am?"

"Of course, I did ended up cleaning up your messes throughout the year and you were partially responsible for the drop in crime rate around Kouh."

Well, apparently I've been turned into a thug magnet ever since I arrived in this city six months ago.

[A dragon attracts many enemies, remember?]

No thanks to you!

"Are you even listening to what I am saying, Hyoudou?" the Devil's voice cuts in through my conversation with Ddraig. Well to be fair, no one can actually hear what we're saying to each other.

"Oh yeah," I muttered absentmindedly, "Wait who are you again?"

"So," a dark aura suddenly began emitting from the petite girl standing in front of me, "You know of my reputation but you didn't know my name?!"

Ddraig, a little help?

[Sorry but this is beyond me. I would advise you to run though.]

You never told me you had a girlfriend.

[I never said I had one…]

That doesn't sound good, wait maybe is something I could do to get out of this.

A blade poking my back rapidly changed my mind, "I wouldn't think about doing anything to Kaichou if I were you, Hyoudou," another stoic one has popped up! Wait then the one standing in front of me is the king while the one behind me is either a knight or a queen. Lady Luck is definitely smiling down at me today.

"What do you want?" I said with the best commanding tone I can muster as I reluctantly lower my blade.

"For starters," the she-devil replied, "I wanted to meet the current Sekiryuutei who turns out to be not only the school delinquent that has been beating up any bully or thug he's come across but also an exorcist which raises a few concerns for my fellow brethren."

"Look I don't have any quarrel with your species but I will never associate myself with any of you."

"You are only being delusional if you think someone like you can ever live a normal life, especially with abilities like yours. Besides just consider yourself fortunate that Rias Gremory and her peerage are out of town today otherwise they would've been the ones to confront you instead."

From the way the strict class representative worded that sentence, it sounded like Rias is apparently less reasonable than herself. Wait Rias is also a devil?

[For an exorcist, you sure are terrible at detecting devils.]

Well I was never much of a tracker anyways.

"I… promised," I said quietly.

A raised eyebrow told me to continue on.

"I promised my adoptive father that I will live a life without the supernatural being involved. If not for myself then for my sister!" I declared boldly.

"Your efforts would be rendered moot, Hyoudou," she argued back, "There are some devils out there that won't take no for an answer. The best way you can protect your sister and yourself is if you both join either my peerage or Rias' peerage, that way at least you won't be forced to join a peerage ruled by a tyrannical king or someone even worse. Think of this as the lesser of two evils."

I paused for a bit, she really does have a point but what would my father, Arthur Argento do in a situation like this.

I raised my sword again, "No," I said firmly.

"Don't be a fool, Hyoudou!"

"Like I said earlier, I will never associate myself with someone like you," I glared coldly at her, "If my actions today will spark another war, so be it."

Am I being suicidal? Perhaps but I didn't really care, I don't how many they will send when I strike this one down but I'll make sure to take as many of them down as I can with me to hell.

"You're intend to fight us even if you found out that my sister is one of the most powerful devils in all of existence?" she fold her arms, her frown grew deeper with each passing second.

"If it is the only way I can protect Asia, then I'll make sure to put your species on the endangered species list."

"Don't push your luck," the one pushing a blade against my back said, "You are in no condition to take on both Kaichou and I in a fight to the death."

"I've been through worse," I replied coolly.

"Kaichou," she press the blade deeper into my back, "What should we do with him?"

The devil standing front of me pondered for a bit before reaching one decision that will surely end this, "Tsubaki, stand down and leave us alone for a few minutes."

"W-What?! B-But Kaichou tha-!"

"I said stand down!"

The devil now identified as Tsubaki reluctantly pulled away.

"Don't worry Tsubaki," her king reassured her the best she could, "I only just need a few minutes to talk to Hyoudou that is all."

"Fine," I heard footsteps getting farther away from me, "Don't do anything to Kaichou, Hyoudou. Otherwise I'll be forced to intervene and you'll definitely won't see me coming."

I looked behind to see… nothing. I guess I only have myself to blame for focusing all my attention on one devil, I thought as I turned my attention back to the class representative.

"You know, you never did asked me for my name despite admitting that you didn't know. Why is that?"

"Do I have a reason to ask an enemy?"

"No, I suppose I'll didn't give you one so I'll tell you anyways," she place her right palm on her chest, "My name is Sona Sitri or as many of our classmate know me, Souna Shitori and I do not wish to be your enemy."

"What is the catch then? What is it that you want from me in exchange for this so called ceasefire?" could anyone really blame me for being suspicious of her?

Sona looked up at the night sky as she explains herself, "As you are now, reincarnating you would only be proved most troublesome. Mainly because you would risk becoming a stray devil due your distrust of devils in general and may have to spend the rest of your life as a fugitive if that were to happen. Personally I wouldn't want to condemn you to a fate like that or start another war. After all, I had grown to love the peaceful times in this era. That is why I decided to help you keep a relatively low profile, Hyoudou."

"What? W-Why?" Why does she want to help me? I haven't done anything that warrant any type of assistance from her. In fact I have been doing the exact opposite of asking for help.

She turned her attention back to me, "Make no mistake, I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this for the future of every supernatural being on this planet, especially Rias. She will most likely try to recruit you by any means necessary when she finds out your true capabilities and in mind that she gained her peerage members by saving them from life-threatening situations. Besides in exchange for you remaining incognito from Rias and her peerage, I only wished to keep a close eye on you just to make sure you aren't a threat. Does that sound reasonable?"

We stared at each other, each second ticking by as my left arm still pointing my sword at her protest when I refused to let it drop down, "Do I have your word?" I asked as calmly as I could.

"Oh my honor as the heiress of the Sitri family, I Sona Sitri shall honor these terms," she announced in a proud yet graceful manner.

I turned off my light sword as my way of saying that I agree with set terms because hey I may or may not keep a low profile here, a bit of a fifty-fifty chance really so might as well take the opportunity to learn of her true intentions.

Asia was surprised to say the very least after we managed to get to my house, after all I showed up with a broken right and covered in cuts and bruises with a petite yet strict looking girl and her slightly taller, more developed, and heterochromic best friend wielding a Naginata. Yep definitely a common occurrence when you answered the door bell.

Still she is informed of our situation and the meeting ended with Sona announcing that she is moving into our house despite my and Tsubaki's protests. In the end though I only agreed because she promised she will move out as soon as she confirmed that we aren't threats, little did we know is that we had come to accept each other for who we are in the days to come.

That is how Sona and I first met.

And that's Chapter 2 folks.

Now I will admit that the title is a little boring but it is the best I could come up with at the time.

I am also willing to admit that most of my knowledge of this universe came from the wiki which didn't have many detailed articles, fan-fiction or at least the reoccurring elements presented in them, and the first four episodes of the anime adaptation of the light novels.

Yeah I honestly truly didn't know that much about the universe of DxD, so a little help is appreciated.

In other news, I am introducing the OC of the fic named Arthur Argento and his only influence in the plot is the upbringing of both Issei and Asia.

Heck he will only appear in key flashback scenes, meaning he won't interact with the main protagonists throughout the majority of the plot.

For now I'll just leave his fate ambiguous until much later.

As for the protagonists being in the same grade, I figured that hey why not have this start at the beginning of high school and end at their graduation. Because with a series called 'Highschool DxD' why not have the whole story take place throughout their high school years.

As for Issei and Asia.

Asia has a slightly different personality because she actually has a family in her back story.

Issei, because he is raised by an exorcist at a church and from what I gathered from the characters raised in churches, they don't get much exposure from the outside world. Instead they seem to focus on honing their skills and carrying themselves with great discipline.

Well that is all I have to say, so have a great day.