Chapter 3

While he didn't particularly care much for appearances, Azazel was fully aware of how important they were.

Designer clothes. Expensive fabrics. Appealing cologne. Eye catching, yet subtle accessories. The man utilized it all to its fullest for so long that it had become a part of his standard appearance. A habit that he could care less about if it wasn't so intricate to his day to day job as the leader of the Fallen.

And then there were times like this.

Sitting in the middle of what he liked to call his workshop. Dressed in nothing but an undershirt and boxers, surrounded by countless trinkets, papers, electronics, and the occasional alcoholic container. His normally stylish hair was all over the place.

It was one of the few places that Azazel could without a doubt say that he could relax and just be himself, and, dare he say it, actually have fun without a single care in the world.

Or at the very least, talk to people more casually than he normally would.

"You're serious."

"Yep." The Leader of the Grigori smirked as he focused on his sixty inch 4k TV, head-shooting one of his opponents from across the game map. "He caved in on the first visit. I'm just as surprised as the rest of you. Asami really is a miracle worker. If it wasn't for her no shit taking attitude and her priorities, I'd almost say she's a solid recommendation for that project you're working on Michael. She has more patience and done more miracles in the past few years than half of Heaven."

"I have no idea what project you are referring to." A calm and peaceful voice claimed innocence through the Headset that the Fallen was wearing. "However, I must commend your efforts. The rest of us were rather wary of contacting young Issei in person, let alone persuade him to go to Kuoh. You're the only one of us that still has a credible relationship with them. We were under the impression that he is still… antagonistic, to our side of the world."

"You're not far off, Fuck! Ajuka you bastard!" He flinched as his character was taken down from the side without warning.

"No scope."

"Bullshit." The Fallen pouted, before sighing deeply. "Issei's still a complete mess. One look at him was enough to tell as much. He's recovered enough to talk shit to pretty much everyone, but he's jumpy as hell. Kid nearly "woke up" at the mere thought of us using him in some hidden long term agenda. Right at the dinner table too. Honestly, that kid. I don't know what sends chills down my spine more. Juggernaut Drive or him when he fully "awake". I don't even want to remember when it was both."

"That's not a good sign." Falbium yawned, not caring at all that his avatar was blown up by a grenade. "We're supposed to make sure he doesn't go off like that again. It's why we've left him alone for this long. Are you sure it's a good idea to send him to Kuoh?"

"We're running out of time. It's a blessing the Dragons have been this patient with us to begin with." Azazel sighed, moving his newly respawned character to the closest powerup. "That being said, I think its best if you warn your siblings not to get ahead of themselves when the year starts. Sera. Sirzechs. If Issei thinks we sent him to the school just to get turned, he'll raze the entire place to ash as a start. Civilians and all. I'm not joking either."

"Don't worry! My adorable Sona's smart enough to know when something important is going on." Serafall cheered as her character came out of nowhere and took down Azazel's character with a shotgun shell. "Woot! Killing streak!"

"Son of a bitch Sera you camping cosplaying gnome!"

"It's all skill! Skill, magic, and a buckshot up your dusty crow ass!"

"Not sure about you guys, but I still don't know if exposing Serafall to violent video games was a good or bad decision." Falbium spoke what was on the minds of every male there. "Whose idea was it again?"

"I'm more worried about Rias and her peerage." Ajuka added his two cents to the conversation, while trying to change the topic so people don't remember that this monthly get together of theirs was his fault. "She's going to get more desperate to obtain strong individuals for her peerage soon, what with Riser pushing the issue as of late. Her queen isn't going to take well to Azazel's underling in the school either, given her disposition."

"And considering the fact that someone has been in the market for mutated pawn pieces and been donating them generously as innocent brotherly gifts to their younger sibling as of late… certain assumptions might be made and not taken well." Azazel's tone was clearly warning said specific someone to not do anything stupid.

"Sirzechs. While some might consider your actions generous, might I remind you of an old adage that even we in heaven adhere to: The path to hell is paved with good intentions. Although, if we are being more specific, I suppose it is the path to Cocytus." Michael lectured, though only those that knew him well could hear the very clear and strained warning that he was pressing.

"Yes. Yes. I understand you all loud and clear." The current Lucifer relented with a patronizing tone. "I'll warn Rias to be a bit more careful around Issei when he arrives, and I'll refrain from giving her any more possible gifts in the near future."

"Politics and paranoia aside, is it safe to put him in Kuoh in general, Azazel?" Akuja droned. "Even before the incident, Issei had trouble relating to his peers… or anyone for that matter. And that's not even including his reaction to large crowds. The only person his age that anyone could see as his friend was Vali, and that in itself was a peculiar relationship for obvious reasons."

"Eh. You probably have a point there. Issei's surly as can be these days. He goes from zero to infuriating at the drop of a hat, only now he actually means it. Brat had the nerve to call me a post prime man whore as soon as I entered the door."

The game was put on pause as everyone in the conversation took the time to laugh incredibly hard. Even Michael couldn't hold back a few amused chuckles.

"I know right." Azazel snickered. "I'm a bit aged, but I'm not that old. Finely seasoned at most."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night. Or should I say, whoever?" Serafall jabbed mockingly.

"Depends. What day of the week is it?" The accused played innocent.

"It is comforting to know he at least still has his sense of wit and lack of filter." Sirzechs sighed. "Of course, it will probably cause headaches down the line, but it is an indication that some parts of him survived the ordeal."

"What about… you know. His goal?" Serafall hesitantly asked, as if crossing into a taboo topic.

And like that, the energy in the group was drained. "… I didn't ask. Considering how badly he reacted to the thought of being used, I decided it was best not to bring it up for the time being."

"I assumed as much." Ajuka surmised.

"This won't go over well with the others." Michael sighed.

"At the very least, he's been working on the side again. Even if it is merely a way to distract himself." The Fallen tried to pick things up again. "Writing articles. Tweaking adult toys. I hacked his bank accounts again recently and he's been investing and shifting money about for the last year. Plus, at the very least, he never really stopped giving advice and help to the girls in my other ventures."

"Say what you want about Issei, even depressed his mind is rarely out of the gutter." Sirzechs joked.

"It might be the gutter for most people, but for him I wouldn't be surprised if it's one of the few places he still feels a shred of comfort anymore." Falbium yawned. "That kid was different from the start. Who knows how he's developed while secluding himself away from people for so long?"

o. o. o.

"What the hell is this?"

Raynare shot Issei an annoyed glance as they stood in front of the gates to Kuoh Academy. "What are you babbling about now?"

Issei didn't bother looking at her as he shot suspicious looks at all the girls passing them. "This place. The uniforms. You actually expect me to believe that an academic institution with as high a reputation as this one has corsets as part of their school uniform? What is this, a half assed eroge? This can't be legal."

The fallen looked at him as if he was stupid before pointing at herself, also dressed in the standard female school uniform. "You just noticed that? Not when, oh, maybe when we met before coming here?"

He turned to her with an uninterested and blurred gaze as if he had better things to focus on. "I thought that was just you being your natural cougar self and wanting extra attention."

The Fallen's fists tightened dangerously.

Ever since they had first talked a month ago, Azazel had all but instructed her to get closer to the family, coming over nearly every day to the point that she now stayed in one of the guest rooms of the house.

And every day, Issei pushed her patience and self-control to the limit relentlessly with his never ending insults, comments, and near inability to see or call her anything other than a cougar.

"Really. A corset? Does anyone here know how expensive it is to make a quality one meant for daily use? Even if they were mass produced, there's no way that these things would last more than a few months and still be affordable and included in a school tuition." Issei lost interest in her and immediately went back to his main gripe for the moment. "Either this place really is as prestigious and obnoxiously expensive as they tout themselves to be, or the uniforms are so bloody fragile that a stray scratch could tear the whole damn thing apart like tissue paper… and if they're that careless, then that also means that the skirts are light and short enough that a simple gust of wind could…"

Before Issei could finish his sentence, a gust of wind blew across the campus, flipping up nearly every female student's skirt to reveal a cornucopia of panties and the occasional bare bottom.

"HOLY FUCK I'M IN A BUDGET EROGE HIGH SCHOOL!" No one looking at Issei missed the fact that his nose was bleeding, his cheeks were blushing, and his eyes were staring at as many backsides as possible.

o. o. o.

"Issei Houdou. I was somewhat hoping to speak to you sometime in the near future, however this was not what I had in mind."

"We couldn't even make it in through the front gates." Raynare cradled her face in her hands, mortified by her situation. She really didn't care about high school in general, she was several centuries old and didn't need it after all. But still, there was only so much embarrassment she could take, and not even making it through the main entrance before being dragged away by the irate devils that owned the place was far past her threshold. "We didn't even make it to the opening ceremony. Azazel-sama. Why? Why me?"

"I am a victim of poor upper management and planning." The accused crossed his arms defiantly. "The administration clearly needs restructuring."

In front of them, sitting behind a desk that was significantly too large and expensive for a normal student to possess on campus, sat Sona Sitri and her peerage, all staring at them with unreadable expressions.

"We are the administration." Sona's eyes narrowed dangerously.

Issei blinked several times, his face indicating that he was clearly not impressed as he looked at the people he insulted. "… I'm not apologizing."

"He does not speak for me." Raynare rose her hand. "Please do not include me in whatever decision you make for him."

"She'll still watch though. She gets off on it. Like a cougar." He accused.

"How is that anything like a cougar!?"

"You would know. You're the cougar."

"For the last time, I'm not a cougar!"

Sona coughed loud enough to gain control of the conversation again. "Hyoudou-kun. Allow me to get introductions out of the way first. My name is Sona Shitori in public, however you may be more familiar with my real name, Sona Sitri. I admit, I do not know who you are, or why you are attending Kuoh Academny, let alone with certain company. When I was informed of your arrival and your importance, I had come with… expectations of your behavior. Expectations that are not being met."

"Well that's your problem for getting your hopes up." Issei deadpanned, not at all sympathetic to Sona's position. "Whoever told you about me either skimmed the details or purposefully left them out to screw with you."

"You seem rather certain of that." Outwardly, Sona was as stern and confident as a general. Inwardly, she was already screaming at her sister in frustration.

"Considering that the only people that make a big deal about me know exactly who I am, what I am, and why I'm here in the first place, yes." Issei's disposition didn't change. "And I'm not the sort of generous idiot that tells everyone my life story at the drop of a hat, so don't bother asking."

"You're not going to make this easy for me, are you?"

"This entire school is one giant sexual harassment fiasco just waiting to happen!" Issei exploded, throwing his arms up in the air in exasperation, causing everyone to jump in surprise. "Why wouldn't I be a bit frustrated by the shortsightedness of this whole thing and make it easy for you enablers!?"

"… Eh?" Sona blinked in surprise.

"Criminally short skirts that are kicked up when there's practically no wind. Corsets. A high school environment where the vast majority of the population is clearly female. And just to go for broke, let me guess, you guys still have the girls wear bloomers of all things during gym class outside." Issei listed his gripes, slowly working himself up. "I'm a healthy, warm blooded male and enjoy a good show as much as the next one, but come on! And you expect me to believe that the entire student council is all female?! Where's the camera?! Where's the lotion!? How long have you been practicing your stern businesswoman and stacked secretary combo shtick?!"

The entire student council, primarily the accused "stern businesswoman and stacked secretary", Sona and her Queen, Tsubaki, could not help but gape with wide eyes and stare at him as if he was insane.

Raynare on the other hand, sighed and took out her cell phone. "Issei. If you don't calm down and shut up, I'm calling Asami-san and telling her that you managed to get us in trouble before getting into the damn building. If my memory is right, she said that she'd baste your workbench in cooking oil before setting it on fire in the back yard if you caused any problems on the first day of school."

"Don't you dare." Issei growled, glaring at his watcher menacingly.

"Try me, brat." Raynare countered, not budging an inch.

The two squared off for what felt like a solid half minute before Issei cracked first and sulked into his chair like a petulant child. "… Cougar."

"Humph. As much as I despise devils, being around you is clearly a greater evil in my books." The fallen snorted, putting away her phone before turning to the audience. "To sum up this hikikomori idiot in one word: difficult. He rarely listens to what anyone has to say. I've had to be close to him for a month and he does nothing but make life hard on everyone around him. Anything sex or fetish related sets him off and it's near impossible to shut him up when he gets going outside of using his mother against him. At the very least, he keeps his hands to himself. Shy loser probably hasn't touched a woman in his life other than his mother."

Issei flinched at that last comment and glared murderously at Raynare, but surprisingly held his tongue.

From what the Fallen had seen, Issei had two general settings. The standard was quiet, bitter, and sullen, and the second was agitated, mouthy, and easily excitable. So long as nothing was around that particularly interested him, the idiot seemed to just walk through life like a robot with dead eyes. A snippy comment here and there, but otherwise pretty low maintenance, which was a genuine surprise to her when she had first seen him like that. Hell, the kid even had a habit of falling asleep pretty much anywhere absurdly quickly if there was nothing to focus on.

It was when he was agitated that he became a major pain in everyone's asses. He'd viciously lash out at anyone and everyone that made the mistake of grabbing his attention. Any subject that he found issue with would be the subject of his overelaborate and seemingly never ending ranting and scrutiny. She had seen him once go on and on about some article in a porn magazine for nearly four hours before he realized that she and his mother weren't actually listening and stomped up back to his room.

As much as she hated to attribute the brat with anything grandiose or notable, she had to admit that "Sleeping Dragon" was an appropriate moniker, even if it wasn't as flattering as most people would first assume. To be honest, she wouldn't be surprised if he was genuinely bi-polar, but she wasn't that well learned on psychology so she couldn't make the diagnosis herself.

"Hikikomori?" One of the members on the council couldn't hold back her surprise.

"It does say that he's been homeschooled for the past five years." Sona glanced at Issei's transcript papers. "To be blunt, I find the fact that he was able to pass the entrance exams to the school in question."

Issei rolled his eyes. "Yes well, if you are as important as you make yourself out to be, then you know that the exams in my case are merely formality. Not that you care much for the reputation of this place to begin with."

"Excuse you?" The student council's voice turned to steel.

"Lady, I don't know much about demon culture, but most humans tend to be conservative enough to ask questions when jailbait are expected to go to school in public wearing stripper clothes. I understand that women are expected and encouraged to utilize their rights of independence and individuality these days in more developed countries, and that Japan's population is on the decline, but seriously? I can't walk to the fucking bathroom here without getting a face full of panty shots."

While the student council stared at him gobsmacked, Raynare, who was clearly more used to his ranting, shot him a wary look. "Not that I'm agreeing with you, but why are you complaining about that? I thought a perverted idiot like you would rejoice over something so stupid."

"It's too easy damn it! I could be prosecuted for peeking even if I wasn't actually doing it just because I was in the area!"

"Of course it is." And like that, the feeble hope that the Fallen had gotten up had been murdered viciously.

"Do you know how easy it is for any guy here to get accused of sexual harassment here? I turn to the left. Bam! Panty shot. I sit down for lunch. Bam! Panty shot. And don't even get me started on going up and down stairs! It would be like opening a bag of skittles in the Middle East! Camel-toe the rainbow! Taste the rainbow!"

Most of the student council took an uneasy step back away from the eccentric teen.

"I'm pretty sure there weren't any black skittles." Raynare muttered, already worn out for the day.

"Black liquorish. Sold only in Europe." He did not even hesitate on the response.

"I… I'll take your word for it." It wasn't often that Sona Sitri's mind had to play catchup in a conversation that she started.

"I think they're still on the market. You have to get them in boxes though. Best bet is to buy them through England. Shipping might take a while though unless you expedite it." Issei was clearly focused on the candy now.

"I was talking about your issue with the female school uniform skirts." She quickly tried to take control of the discussion again.

"Oh yeah. The sexual harassment trap that is this institution."

"… That." She didn't honor the subject with that title. "I will, address the issue, and see if it actually is worth my time. It is the beginning of the year, so I can manage some financial gymnastics to change things. More importantly, Hyoudou-san, is you and the way you conduct yourself."

"… I'm still not apologizing."

"I can see you used the word "difficult" rather generously." Sona turned to Raynare.

The Fallen smiled innocently. "I have other words to use, but they aren't suitable for delicate ears such as ours."

"Don't leave her alone with impressionable young boys here. She'll eat them up. Like a coug-ugh!" Issei's trademark insult for Raynare was cut off by a swift jab to the stomach by the accused.

"Continue." Raynare practically glittered with false purity.

"Hyoudou-san. You have missed the entrance ceremony due to your behavior, but allow me to give you the short version. You are expected to represent the school both inside and outside grounds. You are expected to behave yourself, and perform to your fullest. You are expected to enjoy yourself and your youth while preparing to the future."

No one missed his expression turn slightly annoyed and irritated by this point.

"Most importantly, you are expected to support your fellow students and help them reach success, ensuring the safety of your comrades." Sona's eyes narrowed, as if daring him to speak out of turn. "That means I expect you to participate in class and not to disrupt the lessons. You may have been given a free ride into this school, but should you under-perform you will be kicked out."

Oddly enough, Issei snorted in amusement at her threat and looked at her skeptically. "Under-perform? They really haven't told you anything, have they?"

"Meaning?" Sona's unamused expression didn't change. A brief glance at Raynare told her that the Fallen didn't know what he was alluding to either.

Before anyone could say another word, the school bell rang.

Yawning widely, Issei stood up. Despite his earlier energetic behavior, he stood with a slight slouch and half lidded eyes. "You'll have to wait to find out. Or not. It doesn't really matter to me. I could care less either way. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go to class."

He turned to leave, but stopped after the first few steps.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"You forgot where our classroom is." Raynare deadpanned.

"Why the hell did I agree to come to this cruel trap of an establishment?!"

o. o. o.

Rias watched as the two new second year students were guided by Sona's reluctant pawn to their class. "Well?"

Sona impassively turned to Rias, gently patted her on the shoulder, and then walked away. "You can have him. If you can. Good luck. You'll need it."

The Gremory blinked in genuine confusion. "Eh?"

o. o. o.

Issei, 7 years old:

"Uuuuuugh."

That lifeless groan pretty much summed up how Issei looked and felt as he let his face drop into the textbook he had been reading.

Six months.

He had been reading and training for six months since the day his arms got possessed by a dragon of destruction and a creepy immortal jerk.

Six months since he started to use the Boosted Gear to accelerate his ability to learn and retain information. Six months since he started to read ahead of his class. Six months since he started to actually think and see the world around him.

Six months since he started to exercise and hurt in ways that he was sure his body wasn't supposed to hurt.

Six months since he started to read up on how the body works.

Six months since he started to realize how boys and girls were really different in ways other than the magnificent existences that were oppai.

Six months since he realized that if he wanted a harem, he was going to have to work for it.

Endurance to pleasure multiple women and make them happy. He wanted a harem, but it was pointless if they were sad all the time. He wanted the women around him to be happy. That should only be natural.

Knowledge to make sure that if something went wrong with the home or if someone got hurt, he would know how to deal with it. Home ownership and management. Taxes. Laws. Women were impressed by men who knew what they were doing, and more so when they could solve everyone's problems and be helpful.

Money, because that was obvious. If he was going to live with a bunch of women, he wanted them to live in a big house, with a pool, and not have to worry about something like money. But from the way his parents argued sometimes about how expensive things were, just supporting a normal family was going to be hard. Heck, even getting the books he studied now were making them pause and worry about finances. And if he wanted a big harem, which meant that eventually he'd have a lot of kids. The bigger the family, the more money it would cost, so he would need A LOT of money to keep everyone happy…

… Family. Yeah. The harem would be his family. It wouldn't be a normal family, but it would be his. To support. To feed. To protect. He loved his mom and dad, but the Harem… he'd do anything for the Harem…

It had taken him a while to figure that out. He was still a kid. Big and complex things still made his head hurt trying to think about it, but he was getting better at it. He didn't want to deal with all of it before. So much so that he would yell at Ghost-Ossan and Ddraig when it felt like it was too much, stupid, or unfair to be true.

But… if he was bad at taking care of the Harem… everyone would hurt. Everyone would be made fun of. It would be hard to live together, and no one would be happy. Even an idiot like him understood that.

He read about it. People that were sick and starving. People that were enslaved. People that were used by their bosses or the gangs in the area. Alone or in families. It didn't matter. The strong preyed upon the weak. He didn't like it, but it was truth regardless of where you lived.

The idea of that happening to the Harem though, his family…

Unacceptable.

More.

He needed more. More power. More money. More strength. More knowledge. More resources. More allies. More everything. Enough to protect them from everything should something happen to him. Anything less was not worth his time.

He was young. He had time to grow. To learn. To hoard. But he didn't have that excuse forever. He'd hit puberty in about five years, that's when people started to realize the other gender, maybe even start having relationships.

He'd be a registered adult in about ten. He'd either go to college or have a job by then. In a society where polygamy was looked down upon. That was fine. Having a Harem didn't necessarily mean that you were married to all the women. It was an easy thing to get around really.

"Marriage" itself these days just made it easier to register family units to governments. Family lines. Paperwork. Taxes. All formal bureaucracy that got in the way because of stupid puritan standards that have been around for far too long as far as he was concerned. The label didn't actually matter in the end. In harems, everyone got along with everyone to begin with, at least the good ones did, so while legally he may be married to just one woman on paper, he could still live with all of them in one big happy family in the end. Same building. Same resources. Same life. Heck, so long as he made enough money, which he was intending to, he could give every woman in his Harem the weddings they had always wanted as well, legality be damned. Weddings were just expensive parties and ceremonies in the end after all. The paperwork to make the marriage itself legal normally was done way before it.

However, all of this did not stop two simple facts.

"Boooorrrriiiiinnnnggggg."

Academics, basic or not, tended to be dull as sin.

And Issei, like any usual seven year old male child, hated studying things he did not care about.

"Issei! Come down for dinner!" From downstairs, he heard his mother call him.

"Haaaaaai." With a series of wet sounds, Issei pulled his face off of the textbook paper his face had been stuck to thanks to the drool that had been leaking from his mouth. Great, now he was going to have to wash his face first before getting food.

Behind him, the eighth grade mathematics book lay open, drying from the saliva still stuck to its open pages.

It had been almost six months since he had woken up his Sacred Gears. Boosted Gear and the recently dubbed Blind Eternity.

It had been almost a month and a half since the Boosted Gear had evolved into a Sub-Species.