Chapter 2

After I left the Occult Research Club, I went home. The path was now familiar as if I'd used it for a while... Well, Issei Hyoudou had.

When I got home, I was received by mom, she was wearing the typical housewife outfit, a long-sleeved shirt, a long skirt, and an apron on top of it all.

My body moved automatically, my shoes flying off my feet towards a small gathering of his fellow shoes near our house entrance, my blazer was already off. I only caught up with my actions when I was entering my room.

That was a weird experience, it felt natural but I know I've never done it before. I can only assume that I didn't take complete control of this body.

Ha~, I should adapt fast, I can't be worrying about small things like what my body will do on instinct or out of habit. And my hand went to the back of my head and messed with the two locks that stayed there… Well, another one, I just hope that I don't have any perverted ones.

Enough of that, come on brain, we don't have time to waste!

First things first, I'm now in an anime world, where fights are common, I also am the protagonist of said world, so I will have to fight, even if I don't want to.

This leads to my most important course of action at the moment, I have to grow stronger. So, how am I going to do it? I'm a devil, I should already be stronger than the average human, but those don't matter, it's not like I'll fight any of them.

Then let's use the devil's standards… As I am right now, I don't stand a chance. Right. With that out of the way, let's go to how to improve.

We devils have the so-called imagination magic, I wonder if I can use that? I should be able to, but Issei wasn't good with it, maybe that will carry over? I'll have to test it out, probably ask my fellow peerage members about it.

Magic is a no-go, for now. That leaves me fighting in close quarters. I am the carrier of the Boosted Gear, one of the strongest Sacred Gears in existence, and for me, it'll take the form of a gauntlet, so hand-to-hand combat should be a must.

And since I'll be a brawler I should work on my body as well, I can't just rely on my Sacred Gear, there are crazy strong people on this Earth.

-O-O-O-

Great, my plan's ready! Now to execute it… First I should awaken the Boosted Gear, it'll be my main form of combat, so the more familiar I'm with it the better I am.

How was it again? Do a pose of power? I don't know if I can come up with anything like that… Maybe just try and imagine me as a super-powerful being?

I tried that, I saw myself facing different beings, from ones that had angel wings to those that had tainted them and even some with bat wings, I could imagine myself defeating all of them.

But nothing happened, am I doing something wrong? Maybe I should focus on only one? Let's see how that goes.

I thought I'd need to concentrate on this one, so I took a seat on my bed and closed my eyes.

I started reciting, 'A powerful being!' over and over within my head. And surprisingly it worked, thank you subconsciousness.

What started to appear within my mind was a scene that I hadn't lived through, I was in a park, in front of me was a cute black haired girl, we were standing by a fountain, she came closer and hugged me, I could feel my heartbeat start to increase.

I closed my eyes, getting ready for a kiss… However, before that, she asked me if I'd do something for her. Sure, all I want now is to kiss those beautiful lips, but I can wait for that.

"Will you die for me?"

What? What is going on… She transformed! Black wings, and a murderer's gaze, a pink light spear started to form on her hand.

Is this it? Did I get reincarnated just to die at the hands of a crazy bitch? No! I won't allow it.

Move body, step back, we can run, we can find something to throw at her. We can do something to stop her!

Move… Move… Move! As I saw the spear getting closer and fought with my body to move, I heard it.

A voice, an old guy, why am I hearing this now? A crazy woman is trying to kill me!

"Do you want power?" What?

"Power so you'll never feel this helpless again? Power so no one will think about harming you again?"

Yes! Yes, I want that power!

"Very well little devil, I'll grant you such power! One so great that you'll be capable of changing the direction of the conflicts of the factions, one so great that you'll be feared as I once was, one so great that you'll show them all who is the true Emperor! I'll give you my powers, so from now on you'll become the Red Dragon Emperor!"

-O-O-O-

As the voice ended, so did the scene that was going through my head. What just happened?

I looked around and saw my room, all was normal, just like I had left before I… Started to awaken the Boosted Gear! That's it!

I looked down, towards my hands… Nothing. There wasn't a gauntlet there, there was supposed to be one. Did I imagine all of that?

"No! You did not."

Huh? Where? Once again I looked down, this time I saw it, the red artifact with its green jewel and its two golden spikes on its end.

"Hello, Issei Hyoudou!" The jewel shined as the sound came out.

I was exhilarated! I did it, I managed to awaken it! Phase one complete!

"Kuhum~, are you ignoring me, little devil?" The voice spoke again, he sounded angry this time.

"Wha… No, I wasn't, my apologies, oh great gauntlet."

"Don't play around with me boy! I've eaten creatures that annoyed me less than you."

Woah, bad start. Well, let's try again.

"I am sorry, sir. I was simply too excited and got carried away. Please forgive me!"

"Hump! You don't have to be so formal, as long as you understand to not annoy me it'll be fine."

And I'm safe. It wouldn't have been a good idea to start my relationship with him on a bad foot.

"So… You know my name, do you have one?"

The green gem shined once more, but this time no sound came out of it... Did it break?

"Kuhum~, yes. I might have forgotten to introduce myself. Allow me to tell you that you are in the presence of one of the strongest beings that ever existed! The one who is feared by all thanks to my great power! Rejoice little devil for I am Y Ddraig Goch, the Red Dragon Emperor!"

"Y Ddraig Goch... Nice to meet you! Since you're a part of my body, I hope we can get along."

It didn't hurt to be diplomatic, and my dragon companion seemed to like it, I think the glows of the jewel show me how he's feeling. Cool!

"Yes, me as well, Issei Hyoudou. And since we'll be partners from now on, you shall call me only by Ddraig."

"Oh, in that case, feel free to call me by Issei, let us get strong together, Partner." Man, it felt nice to call him that… Is this some sort of remnant from the old Issei, or are these emotions mine?

"Now that our introductions are over, I believe we should talk about our future. Since you've awakened me, your life won't be easy anymore."

I guess we're having this talk now then. But isn't mom home? What would she think if she heard me talking with an old man in my room with the doors closed? She knows how much of a pervert this body used to be, I should find a way for me and Ddraig to talk alone.

"Hey Ddraig, can we not talk about this right now? My mom's home and I don't want her to think weird stuff if she hears us talking here in my room."

"Hmm… Your concerns are relevant, in that case, lay down, I know a way we can talk undisturbed and with certainty that no one else will hear us."

Here we are, partners for not even a minute and we're already having a secret meeting. This is so cool!

Woah, what is this? I'm not usually this excited about basic stuff like a simple talk, secret or not. This is the old Issei showing up, damn, I'll have to find a way to fix this. I don't trust what that guy would do.

Pushing the small concern to the back of my mind, I laid down and closed my eyes, I didn't know what to expect, what would he do?

-O-O-O-

My answer came in the form of me feeling the bed disappear from beneath me. I also realized that I was standing and no longer in my room.

"What is going on?" The words escaped my mouth, I looked around, but all I saw was white, I didn't even see a floor or a ceiling, I'm just here floating in whiteness.

That was until I heard my partner's voice, "You are inside the Boosted Gear, I brought you here since I'm the only one who can allow who gets in or who gets out."

I turned to the voice, this time it hadn't come from my hand, it came from above.

Once I turned around I saw him, the ginormous western dragon, he was completely red, the same as my gauntlet, only his underbelly, and his neck were of a lighter color. He looks intimidating, that's all I can say.

"Woah! That is a giant dragon. Cool!"

Huh? What was that?

I looked at Ddraig, but he was as confused as me. I looked around and standing there, right beside me was someone that I'd never thought I'd see. Issei Hyoudou.

I don't think I'm hallucinating, seeing as Ddraig looks just as stunned as me. Issei for his part is just smiling as if nothing is wrong.

"Hey guys, what's up?" He said, he even gave us a small wave of his hand.

"What is this? Who are you and why do you look like him?" My dragon partner was the first to question.

Issei, for his part, looked me up and down, then looked at himself. When he was done he held his chin in a thinking position and stayed silent for a bit.

"Well, I am Issei Hyoudou, I am in my second year at Kuoh Academy, and I'm also a proud member of the Perverted Trio."

He introduced himself, that last part shouldn't be something to be proud of in my opinion, but each to their own.

"Well, we can see that, what I want to know is, what are you doing here?" I intervened, he looked like he wasn't done with his introduction.

"Oh that. I don't know how I got here, I just appeared here after Yuuma killed me, and I've been watching you go about your day." He finished by pointing at me.

"If you've been here before us then that means that your body has two souls within it. And since you said you showed up here after dying, that means that I've been talking with someone who took your body from you!"

Oh boy, he sounded angry.

"Woah, Woah. Calm down Ddraig, I didn't take no one's body, from my point of view I just woke up in his body and went on with my day."

Uff… He calmed quite a bit with that.

"If not you, then who? And tell me boy, who are you and why were you sent to inhabit the body of my holder?"

This is turning out to be a conversation that I'd rather not have. I don't think that lying to him would be the best of the ideas, besides I didn't do anything wrong.

"I don't know. All I can tell you is that I came from another world, one where there weren't any supernatural beings, so clearly I couldn't know anyone that would be behind this."

The dragon thought on my words, trying to find anything that could indicate that I was trying to trick him.

"So you came from another world? Nice! How was it? Did it have a lot of hot girls?"

Oh Issei, you and your perverted mind, breaking the tension and helping us move away from any desire of the dragon eating me.

"Yes, I came from another world, but I don't know what it was like. Through the day your memories started to replace mine, I don't even remember where I lived, I don't remember any of my family members, I don't remember any of my friends."

My answer affected the boy, he seems saddened by it.

"I'm sorry for bringing it up." He eventually said.

Ddraig wasn't as empathetic as him, he was still trying to figure out what to do with the two of us.

"I don't know anyone who could've done something like this… I know of people who could bring your soul to our existence, but not someone who could put his soul in here without me noticing it."

The dragon gave us both a staredown, Old Issei couldn't keep eye contact.

"Hmm, you'd be a better host, but it is his body, what to do, what to do." He continued.

Upon his words, Issei put his left hand up and started talking, "Hey, if you're going to eat someone, eat me, I saw what he did, and felt how he felt during today. He's a nice guy, I don't think he deserv…"

He stopped talking when he touched me, that is because when he did it we both began shining, from the point of contact going towards the rest of our bodies.

I, thinking fast, quickly stepped away from him, the glowing stopped when we separated.

"What the hell was that?" I asked, fully expecting no answer, but Ddraig surprised me.

"That was your souls merging. I guess it'd make sense, if your memories are getting replaced by his, then it means that you two are already in the process of becoming one."

Oh great, something is happening to me and there is nothing I can do about it.

"So, what do we do?" Issei was the one to ask that.

He seemed to dislike this situation as much as me, we are the same person after all.

Ddraig analyzed our faces, he was perceptive, so I do not doubt that he caught our annoyment.

"Hmm… I see that you two dislike the situation. Too bad there is nothing that can prevent it from happening, there shouldn't be two of you in the first place, so it is only natural that one of you cease to exist. However, that is not what is going to happen with you two, in your case you both will become a new Issei, a perfect mix of the previous and this new one."

That sounded bad, would I just stop existing? Isn't that the same as dying?

"Can't you explain this a little better?" Issei took charge asking him, I was too busy panicking over my incoming disappearance.

"Yes, of course. If you two stay in contact for long enough the one who's currently controlling the body will absorb the one that is not in control, this absorption will change him, nothing too major, only some vices that you had, he'll also become more of a pervert than he is. After all, your unrestrictiveness will clash with his self-control, and since you're a teenager your body will lean towards a freer view of your life."

Old Issei looked satisfied with his answer. I don't get it, he is going to die again, and he seemed happy about it. What is this guy?

"Issei, why are you so happy about this? You realize that you're going to die for real this time?" I couldn't hold myself, so I had to ask him.

He turned to me and gave me an idiotic smile, the ones that the protagonists use when they are doing hero work.

"I already died, I shouldn't have been revived, even if I died a virgin, I at least managed to see a pair of gorgeous breasts before my time was up… You know, time here has passed much faster than for you out there. If it makes you more at ease then just believe that I've had time to have my peace. Also, I saw how you treated my friends, they are good guys, please try to help them find a girlfriend, that was a promise of ours when we became friends. Also, I pass on to you my dream, I want you to build a harem, if I can't do it with my own hands, I believe you can."

He is making me feel bad. Now I see how he seduced all the girls in the original story. He was just a nice guy.

"Are you sure about this?" I had to ask, I wouldn't be able to go through with this if he wasn't completely certain of his decision.

"Yeah! Make me a better Issei than I could've become, I know you can do it!"

After he said that, he held his hand towards me, waiting for a handshake.

According to Ddraig, this wouldn't change how my mind worked, I'd just have to go through puberty again, how bad could that be?

Okay Issei, just go, he's fine with it, and the only other way would be for you to sacrifice yourself, and you definitely don't want to do that, so just do it! Take his hand and finish this once and for all.

My little motivational speech helped a lot, it gave me the final push needed to hold his hand, and once I had done it his grip tightened to the point where we wouldn't separate unless he chose to do so.

He didn't release, we both got engulfed in a blinding white light, I didn't even realize when the pressure from his hold had disappeared, but that was mainly because I blacked out after this ordeal.

-O-O-O-

The next time I woke up I was in my bed, it was dark out, and looking at the alarm clock on the bedside table I could see that I was in the middle of the night.

I still felt like myself, nothing seemed to change, I still remember what I've read of this story, nothing about my past life. Just as it was before I went inside the Boosted gear.

"You're awake, partner." Ddraig's voice got me out of my musings.

"Yeah... I don't feel different though. Did something go wrong?"

The red gauntlet let out a quiet hum, and Ddraig's voice followed it, "No it worked, I saw only one of you leaving my prison, the other didn't exist anymore… You shouldn't worry, I'm sure you'll notice some differences tomorrow once you go to your school and you look at some females."

This dragon was teasing me? Is this really happening?

"Well, I can't do anything right now, I also ain't sleepy. Do you think we could have that talk now? I don't think we'll need to get back there, my parents are heavy sleepers."

"If you're certain about it, we shall."

And we began our conversation, it lasted until it was time for me to get up and prepare for school.

Ddraig and I talked a lot about the supernatural, I was curious to see how much of what I knew was true, what was wrong, and what was simply different.

Unfortunately, he didn't know much about the recent years, that was because the few previous Boosted Gear holders hadn't managed to awaken him before they died.

Thus, our conversation started with him telling me about my Sacred Gear, about what I could accomplish with it, he also answered some doubts that I had, mainly some ideas that I thought could be possible with it, but the majority of them weren't.

Afterward, he mentioned that it was rare for a Red Dragon Emperor to be a magical user, even though his boosts worked on straightening the spells, and upon my questioning, he did some little testing and found that, much like Issei, I didn't have any talent for it.

When he saw how bad I felt from that realization, he mentioned that I could try to learn senjutsu. He had fond memories of it, according to him, all his users who learned it managed to defeat their White Dragon Emperors counterparts.

And that in turn became our topic of conversation, he said that if I didn't want to go looking for this generation of him, he wouldn't mind, but I had to be mindful of him coming for me.

From his advice it is obvious that I didn't mention knowing the future to him, I don't think I'd want his opinion on every single decision that I chose to make, sure he'd be able to help me a lot by having future knowledge, but I'll get there whenever a problem arrives and I can't find a way out of it.

After that, was just him telling me stories of the time when he wasn't sealed, or the times where the Boosted gear holders won over the Divine Dividing ones.

All in all, it turned out to be a good bonding night, we didn't test my limits of using the Sacred Gear, but we'd do that tomorrow, that would be very important for me to create a training plan.

-O-O-O-

The school day was hard, I felt what the differences were like, especially with those skirts, they didn't cover anything of the girls.

It had been a boner fast, the only time it didn't happen was when we were in the middle of the classes and all the girls were sitting down because the moment one of them got up my eyes would immediately go to their legs, also what is up with all these girls being either cute, pretty or sexy?

I get this was an erotic anime, but this seems too much.

Anyway, I managed! I didn't even let my eyes linger more than was considered polite. The girls didn't care though, they still looked at me as if I was scum.

After classes, Kiba was once again waiting for me.

"Hyoudou-kun have you thought about Buchou's proposition?" Huh, I'm starting to hear the Japanese words, probably a side effect of the merger.

"Yes, Yuuto-san, I have." I saw how he got uncomfortable when I didn't badmouth him because of his good looks.

After our brief interaction, he didn't start any conversation. I also enjoyed the silence.

During our walk to the old school building, we heard the usual commotion that was the Kendo Club chasing down Matsuda and Motohama, those two were special. The poor girls didn't even realize that they enjoyed these chases, they liked it, even more, when they were caught.

We chose to ignore it.

The inside of the old building was the same as yesterday, no surprise there. Only, now that I didn't have much on my mind, I got a look at the restricted room that was Gaspar's home. It didn't look special, only a door with yellow tape over it.

We quickly got to the Occult Research Club's door, much like the day before, Kiba knocked on it and opened it, motioning for me to get in.

This time Rias wasn't taking a shower, instead, she was working on some documents, I could also see Koneko sitting on a sofa and eating something, and Akeno standing by Rias' table and organizing the papers as the heiress finished working on them.

"Hello once again, Issei-kun." The redhead was the first one to speak up, upon her words all attention was turned to me.

"Hello, Gremory-san." My greeting was short and simple, it had to be, I was focusing everything that I had in holding myself from acting as Old Issei would.

"So have you thought about my proposal?"

I took a deep breath, more to calm my hormones than anything.

"Yes, I'd like to accept your invitation," I added to that a formal bow, it seemed appropriate, since this would be my job once school finished.

Rias' smile lit up the room, she even released a breath of relief.

"Great! Let's celebrate! Akeno, please go grab the cake and the tea, we have a welcoming party to make."

Well, it wasn't a party, but it was a nice gesture from her. I knew that from the series, she was a good master, this only helped to prove it.

The cake was good, and so was the tea. Koneko ended up eating the majority of it, but we didn't mind, she did look incredibly cute while doing it, her petite figure helping her on that.

Also speaking of the nekomata, she finally introduced herself, she only gave me her first name though.

All in all, these were a group of people that I could put together with Ddraig, as being my partners, maybe in the future, I'd be able to consider them family, as they do it with themselves.