Chapter 4

"Brother, why did you call me back home so soon before the next term?"

In the office room were two beings known as devils.

Siblings, obvious by their matching facial features and luscious crimson hair.

One, an extremely handsome man in his mid to late twenties, sat behind a desk. He was dressed in elaborate clothing suited for that of a ruler, or a conqueror. A representation of power and authority. Yet, this was all betrayed with a kind smile and gentle features.

He was Sirzechs Lucifer. One of the Four Great Satans. Current leader of the Devil Race.

And recognized by reality itself as one of the top ten most destructive forces that exists within it.

The other was a young woman. A teenager with the body that most women would be envious of, mortal or not. An enormous chest, wide hips and thin waist. Her long, thick vermillion hair splayed out behind her, in contrast to her brother's straight and slick locks.

She was Rias Gremory. Heir to her family name and younger sister to Sirzechs.

"Is it that odd that I wish to speak to my adorable little sister before she starts her final year in high school?" Sirzechs avoided the question. "This is a very important time for you after all."

"For me, or for politics?" The younger sibling was not amused by his comment, crossing her arms in distrust. "Even if what you said was true, you would not have called me over on such short notice and meet me in person. Did something happen?"

Lucifer chuckled in amusement before leaning back on his chair. "Your keen mind is matched by your sharp tongue Rias. You will do well as the next matriarch of the family, though your patience still needs some work. Then again, perhaps that will be tempered as you become more involved with this unsavory game that nobles play. I fear the day that you truly invest yourself in such an unsavory occupation. It doesn't suit someone as lovely as you are."

Rias sighed and looked at her brother with mixed emotions. "You say that as though I have a choice in it in the first place Sirzechs. You have already made your position on the matter clear to everyone with your arrangement between me and Riser. Or are you telling me now that you are changing your mind?"

His mind had been made up from the start, but it was not what Rias would expect. If it were up to him, Riser would not be allowed to even utter Rias' name, let alone marry her. However, once he had taken the name Lucifer, his obligations to his family had become next to worthless in the grand scheme of things.

That stupid blonde fool nearly damned them all, and five years later he was being rewarded for it. Was it not enough for the Bael Family, their mother's family, to wallow in its stagnancy, but now it had to drag others in it as well?

To think that even the power of being a Super Devil and the authority of Lucifer was not enough… Politics was truly the greatest tool of evil out there.

He would have to risk so much just to save Rias. He hoped his gamble paid off.

"What I think of the matter no longer affects the agreement Rias. Even if I were to throw my weight around, only more problems would come of it." Sirzechs deflected the question before taking out a few sheets of paper. "We are getting off topic. This is the real reason why I called you over."

Shooting her brother a dirty look, Rias glanced down to see two profiles. A human teen a year her junior and… "A Fallen?"

"They're going to be students at Kuoh." Sirzechs supplied. "Second years. Given how your Queen reacts to… extended family members, I thought it would be prudent to give you enough time to prepare her."

That was certainly one way of describing Akeno's vitriol fueled opinion of the Fallen, and that wasn't even taking her father into account.

"Why the boy though? It says he's human." Rias inspected his paper a bit more thoroughly. Issei Hyoudou? It says he's confirmed to have a Sacred Gear, but its name is blacked out. Actually, a suspiciously large portion of his profile was redacted. It made her feel like she was reading something from a spy movie.

"He's the main reason why we are here." Sirzechs got to the heart of the matter. "Issei Hyoudou is a person of great interest and importance not only to us, but to all three Factions. So much so that all of us have been keeping tabs on him discretely for some time. The Fallen is Azazel's contribution to keeping an eye on him. Michel does not have the means or the resources in Japan to have someone at this time, though if the year started a few months from now that would have been different."

Rias blinked in genuine surprise. This boy was that important to the three Factions, and they were just signing him up to the Academy as if he was another kid? "Why is he being sent to Kuoh in the first place? What faction does he belong to in order to warrant such attention?"

"Issei's situation is… unique." Sirzechs was not going to explain to Rias the whole story. If he did, she would probably get overconfident and use it against Issei in the worst possible way without realizing it. Partial information was just as bad.

His adorable sister was smart and confident, but she had a bad habit of getting in over her head at the worst of times due to her stubbornness. The incidents involving Gasper Vladi and Yuuto Kiba were prime of examples of that.

If only Rias knew just how much trouble she had caused when she took those two in…

"Meaning?" She arced a delicate eyebrow.

He sighed. "If there was a group or faction that Issei officially belonged to, it would be the Dragons."

Her breath hitched and her eyes widened in genuine surprise. "The Dragons? How? Other than Tanin and a few other that had already made agreements with select individuals, the Dragons have shunned the three Factions entirely. And yet a human is somehow accepted as one of them?"

"It's confidential." He spoke to her not as her brother, but as Lucifer. "I will not say how this has come to pass, or why he is enrolled in Kuoh specifically. I will not even dissuade you from coming into contact with him or offering a place in your peerage if you so choose."

Her eyes lightened with hope at that last part, as he knew she would be excited about it.

"However, I must warn you that it is very unlikely he will agree to it in the first place. Issei experienced poor encounters with the three Factions in the past, and has become an extreme recluse as a result. So much so that we consider it a miracle that he was able to be coaxed into coming into a school in our territory in the first place. I believe you are familiar with someone in a similar situation."

The image of an effeminate cross dressing vampire flashed through Rias' mind. "I think I am getting the picture…"

Sirzechs frowned. "Unlike Gasper, Issei is the type to lash out violently rather than run and hide if he is pushed into a corner or agitated without reason. Even though he is a human, he has a Dragon's temperament. He is not weak, just the opposite. The mere suspicion that he's being used or tricked by someone else is enough to make his emotions and pride go rampant. If you try to approach him in a roundabout way like you would another to other nobility or someone that you believe is weaker, it would not end well. I do not want to see what a confrontation between him and your peerage would result in."

Rias visibly flinched. She did not like the idea of being looked down upon, but she also did not like the idea of her precious peerage being hurt either. "Make up your mind Sirzechs. You warn me about how dangerous he is, but at the same time you are subtly encouraging contact. Which is it? What do you want me to do?"

Sirzechs sighed, looking down at the recent photo of Issei. The dead look in the teen's eyes was a severe contrast to what he had just a few years ago. "I a merely giving you an idea of what Issei Hyoudou is like Rias. He's a rather complicated individual that distrusts literally everyone in the world save for a handful of individuals with fingers to spare. Ideally, it would be grand if you and Sona established a positive relationship with him, but realistically, from the reports we have received, it would be a difficult thing to accomplish. To be honest, we would be surprised if he makes even a few solid friends while at the school."

Rias didn't know what to say. It wasn't as if she was unused to taking care of broken or emotionally damaged individuals. Her entire Peerage consisted of them. Issei's personality sounded like her Knight's shortly after he was resurrected, only far more severe.

The anger of Kiba mixed with the reclusive habits of Gasper, and the temperament of a Dragon. That was not a pleasant combination in the slightest to imagine.

"What happened to him?"

Sirzechs couldn't help but snort bitterly. He leaned back and played the long series of events that made Issei what he was today. "We'd be in here all day if I had to go over everything that happened to him. But if I could point out the biggest one… it would be he was robbed."

"Robbed?" Whatever Rias had expected to have happened to Issei, being merely stolen from did not cross her mind at all. "Of what?"

A smile of self-loathing made its way on Sirzech's face. He could still remember that blood curdling roar that echoed throughout the underworld. The pure agony and pain behind it was something only a freshly shattered child could manage.

"Everything that gave him reason to keep going forward."

o. o. o.

Ruruko Nimura, Sona's pawn, knocked on the door to classroom 2-C, before entering. "Excuse me. I'm from the council. I'm here with two more students."

The teacher was an unimpressive middle aged man with average looks all around. An easily forgettable character that could be replaced in an anime for a more important one at any given time and no one would bother to ask what happened to him. "Hm? Oh, Nimura-san. Please. Come in."

The Pawn opened the door wider and turned around. "Ok you two. This is where I… huh?"

Raynare blinked in confusion at the bewildered look on the girl's face. She clearly didn't do or look any different than she had five seconds ago. So by process of elimination…

"Where did Hyoudou-san go?"

Indeed. Issei, who had been right next to her just a few moments ago was no longer there.

Really?! Seriously?! What was he, seven?! Did she have to keep an adult magazine on her at all times just to keep him in place?! And just after that close call with the devil that's in charge of the area!

Quickly looking around, the Fallen spotted a flurry of movement enter a doorway before exiting her sight. A quick look up revealed that said entrance was the boy's bathroom.

He couldn't hold it in? No, he couldn't just let them know he had to go on the way there?

Or maybe he had cold feet… no. There was not a single humble bone in that ass' body. He was probably just doing it to annoy her.

He wouldn't run away. If there was a single person on the planet that could cow the fool, it was his mother, and he had promised her that he would at least try to go through the school without screwing it up for everyone.

Then again, he was already off to a shitty start. No pun intended.

"He's in the bathroom. Hopefully he'll wash his hands before leaving." She sighed, knowing that the less problems he caused, the less she'd have to deal with. "I'll just have to go ahead. Thanks for your help."

The Devil looked at the Fallen warily before nodding. "Please enjoy your stay here."

With a brief bow, the girl turned and walked over to a nearby classroom labeled 2-A.

"I assume you are Amano Yuuma-chan?" The teacher spoke up, catching her attention again. Really. This man is so forgetful. She's going to forget his name every time she looks away from this weakling.

"Yes Sensei. Sorry. Hyoudou-san had to go to the bathroom. He'll be right back." She hated it here and would leave the first chance she got, but that didn't mean she would act out on her emotions here. A bad reputation would just make this place even more unbearable than it was already going to be.

"Oooooh!"

"She's so cute!"

"Her hair is so silky and smooth!"

"She's so hot!"

"And her tits are massive!"

"I know!"

Eh? What?

Allowing herself to stop squinting, Raynare spotted the idiots that despite all logic and rationality, somehow had even less tact than Issei. Something she had thought impossible until that very moment.

It didn't take her long to find the culprits. Partially because the two were ogling her like a piece of meat to the point that they were actually drooling. Partially because everyone else was glaring at them like something unsavory that had just been stepped on.

She could tear them to pieces. See them cry and squirm. They would be good outlets to vent her frustration on since Issei seemed to be practically immune to insults, but she couldn't do it here. Not yet at least.

"Hello everyone. My name is Yuuma Amano. Pleased to meet you."

It was a pretty standard introduction. Fake smile. Fake name. Fake backstory. She didn't sense any Devils in the room, but then again her detection abilities weren't the greatest. She wouldn't be surprised if all the Devils in the school knew of her by now. She had been told that there were two High Class Devils here. The Council President was obviously one, but the other was still a mystery.

She gave them the standard bullshit backstory. Moved in from abroad, or another part of Japan. Enjoys fashion and other teenage girl dredge. It was all copy paste by this point, and it took her less than three minutes to get accepted by everyone there. All lies. All fake as hell. She didn't care so long as they got off her back. She didn't care about the worms around her. They were so easily fooled by a pretty face it was disgusting.

She had barely sat down when Issei opened the door and warily looked inside. He didn't pay Raynare any more mind than everyone else in the room. "Guess this is the place."

"Issei Hyoudou-san, I presume." The teacher greeted him. "You came just in time. Amano-san just finished her introductions."

"Tch. It's just a dude. What a buzz kill." One of the two perverted idiots grunted in disappointment.

"Wait… wasn't he that crazy guy that was screaming about the school being an eroge this morning?" The other idiot shifted his glasses suspiciously.

Several students whispered nervously, recalling the episode Issei had before he had even entered the gates of the bloody school.

Raynare simply smiled and looked around curiously, silently praying that she wouldn't be associated with the jackass just because she was seen with him earlier.

"Hyoudou-san. Can you introduce yourself to the class and tell them a bit about yourself?" The teacher spoke up a bit louder to distract everyone from the rumors.

Instead of saying anything right off the bat, the brown haired teen merely gave the room another look over, breathed in deep through his nose, and then shrugged before walking to the front. Already he was disturbing the people there with his dull, almost dead gaze. Even after spending nearly a month with him, Raynare had yet to get used to it. It was nearly impossible to read him whenever he was quiet like this.

"Hi. My name is Issei Hyoudou and I have an encyclopedic knowledge of all things related to the Adult Entertainment Industry."

Everyone in the room just stared at him.

She tried. She really tried not to facepalm. However the power of her kneejerk reaction to sudden overwhelming levels of stupid vastly surpassed her self-control.

"Our Comrade!" The two idiots from the back of the room cheered in unison.

"Great. Another shameless perv." One girl groaned.

"Shame. He's not bad looking." Another sighed.

If Issei was at all put out by the comments he had stirred up from his introduction, he didn't seem affected by it in the slightest.

The teacher looked like he wanted to be anywhere else at the moment than where he was. "H-Hyoudou-san. Can you tell us something about yourself that is more appropriate for this environment?"

The teen shrugged. "Ok. Um. Not much. I live with my mom. I've been homeschooled for five years. Oh. I recently got a pet cougar."

… That mother fucker.

"A cougar?" Several people asked curiously. There was no direct translation for the species' name in Japanese. Their attempts to pronounce it properly sounded like "ku-ga".

"It's an exotic cat." He clarified. "They live in America in the wild for the most part, but you know how some rich people are. Turns out this shady looking guy around town lost her about half a year back and she wound up stalking the area around my house the entire time. He ended up finding her, but he had to leave the country, so he just loaded the dusty old girl onto us. Crabby thing's more of a pain than a pet, but at least it's house trained. Thankfully it tends to shut up and leave people alone if you feed it enough."

Oh keep talking you little shit. The moment no one was looking she was going to stab him with a spear of light until she couldn't move anymore. And by GOD it would be the most satisfying kill in her entire existence.

"That's… an interesting take on having a new pet." The teacher hesitantly digested the information. "What's its name?"

For the briefest of moments, his eyes flickered to her.

No. No. Don't you dare. Don't you FUCKING even think about-

"Raynare."

He didn't even hesitate.

SNAP. The pencil that the Fallen had been gripping tighter and tighter as Issei spoke split in two in her hand. She was so enraged she didn't even feel the wood stab her flesh.

Not once. Not a single time since she had moved in with his family had he EVER addressed her by her name, real or fake. It was always "Cougar" this and "like a Cougar" that. She didn't even know how he knew her real name in the first place since it was never brought up in conversation!

That settles it. She was going to kill him. She was going to kill him with a smile on her face.

To her credit, Raynare never did stop smiling.

o. o. o.

The day had not gotten better from there.

At least, for Issei's reputation.

Once people stopped asking him questions about his "pet cougar", he had been assigned a seat by the window. Said seat happened to be right in front of the two perverted idiots from earlier, which is probably why it took so long to be filled in the first place.

The Sekiryutei didn't even last ten minutes through the orientation lectures and explanation of how the school worked before his head was already on his desk and he was halfway conscious.

Half an hour later, he was asleep.

Not in a deep daze. He was genuinely unconscious.

No one had realized that he was out of it until about an hour into class. Falling asleep in school wasn't unheard of for students, but on the first day? Before lunch? That must have been some sort of record!

It was less amusing though, when the teacher made the mistake of shaking Issei to wake him up and nearly got knocked unconscious in retaliation.

The second the middle aged man's hand pushed against the teen's shoulder, one hand had lashed out, grabbed onto the offending wrist with an iron hold, while the other one shot off like a bullet for the poor man's face, only stopping just in time to not cave the guy's skull in.

Even Raynare blinked in genuine surprise at the violent reaction. In hindsight, it certainly explained that warning Asami gave her when she first started staying with the Hyoudou family about not waking up Issei if she could help it.

Then again, Issei was nearly always perpetually locked in his room to begin with, so she never had the chance to do so in the first place. Not that she ever had the desire or need to. There was no telling just how nasty his room was.

She shouldn't really be astounded by his behavior in hindsight. He was dubbed Y Ddraig Cysgu after all. It should be expected for him to be a crabby bastard if woken up by someone else.

Issei himself was confused the moments after waking up. He looked around as if he had genuinely forgotten where he was before realizing his situation and what he had almost done.

"… Sorry. I don't like… I have had training." He let go of the now scared man with an apologetic grimace. "I'm also narcoleptic. I don't know if the teachers were informed yet. Just, I don't know, throw something at me or kick my chair next time."

"U-Un." It was obvious to everyone that the teacher was scared shitless from the close encounter. "I-I'll be sure to tell that to the others."

No one missed the man flexing the hand that had been grabbed either, rotating it for a good half a minute to get blood flowing again. Judging from his reaction, no one in the room would be surprised if there was a bruise left where he had grabbed the poor victim.

Nearly everyone avoided Issei after that particular display. The pervert sitting behind him, Motohama, slowly went from unnerved to utterly terrified when he realized that he was inadvertently given the role of literally kicking Issei awake in class simply by being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

It didn't get better for him as time went on either.

Issei fell asleep at least twice in every period, nearly assaulting one more teacher that afternoon who had yet to believe or take seriously the warning their homeroom instructor had spread about.

It had gotten to the point that when lunch had come around, no one wanted to let Issei know about it and just let him sleep through the whole thing.

Oddly enough though, he woke up on his own within the first five minutes of the break without help. Even then, he didn't talk to anyone. He just looked around at everyone with half-conscious eyes, blinked, grabbed his food, and casually walked out the room.

He then swore loud enough for everyone in the room to hear him and then walked back inside to his seat in a huff. He plopped down in his seat, opened the bento his mom made, and then ate in irritable silence.

Raynare had been around Issei long enough to know that he had forgotten something important and obvious again. Whether it was a piece of paperwork or the location of wherever it was he wanted to go in the first place was up in the air. She had no idea what it was exactly, but it was almost a daily occurrence back in the household whenever Asami did manage to get Issei to do something productive.

Hell, he once even went out in broad daylight to get the mail in nothing but his boxers. He was really scatterbrained and forgetful like that.

On a side note though, for a hikikomori, he was in surprisingly good shape. If he wasn't such a total asshole, she might have even considered toying around with him a bit.

It was during that lunch break that someone finally scrounged up the nerve to talk to him.

"You're not doing yourself any favors with the way you're carrying yourself."

Issei blinked and turned to the person that was standing right next to his desk. She stood confidently with her hands on her hips and a Cheshire like grin. Her chest length chestnut brown hair was a mess, even when most of it was braided into two ponytails and the rest covered her forehead, nearly covering the large glasses she wore.

Like nearly every other girl in Japan her age, she was rather petite in several areas, though her chest did look like it was in the process of budding out healthily.

Trying hard to ignore the people that were now paying attention to them, Issei intelligently spoke the first thing that came to his mind. "Huh?"

The second thing that came to mind was: Pigtails were still a thing outside of roleplaying and five year olds?

"Sleeping in class. Nearly hitting a teacher. Having an exotic animal as a pet. You're trying too hard to make yourself look like some cheap bad boy gangster." She aridly continued as if talking down on him.

If anyone had paid attention, they would have noticed Raynare develop a tick mark at the girl's "exotic pet" comment.

"… And you are?" He was confused. He wasn't exactly up to date when it came to proper social etiquette, but he was pretty sure that you were supposed to introduce yourself to people you had never met before.

His question caught her off guard. Unlike the two idiots sitting behind him and giving her dirty looks, Issei didn't seem the type to get worked up like a five year old when his integrity was insulted. It was a surprising development that already put him leagues ahead of the other two in her eyes. "Aika Kiryuu. Your classmate. You already introduced yourself this morning, so I already know who you are Issei Hyoudou."

"… Ok? It's nice to meet you too?" It was clear to anyone watching that he had no idea why she was talking to him.

His reaction didn't seem to be what she was expecting if the drop in her smile was any indication. "Make up your mind already. You walk in here and spout out stupid things that we'd expect from the two idiots behind you, but now you're just passively taking all the stares and whispers in your direction without even flinching. If you're pretending to be some sort of cool badass, you're not doing a very good job."

"It's a good thing I'm not pretending to be one then." Losing his interest in the girl, he turned back to his food with single minded focus.

The girl paused for a moment as she went over what he said. "You're doing that on purpose, aren't you?"

"Eating food is pretty important. Come to think of it, I've never heard of someone eating accidentally." His dry tone made him sound almost genuine, getting a few people that were listening to the conversation snicker briefly. He didn't bother looking up as he finished his meal.

Aika's eyebrow twitched as she realized she had been embarrassed so easily. Ever since last year, she had been the unofficial go-to person whenever the Perverted Duo ever got out of hand as she was one of the few easily accessible girls at the school that could cow them. Partially because, not in her words, she had bigger balls than they did.

It didn't help that said morons were laughing at her from behind the new guy's back.

When Issei had made his introduction, she had reluctantly taken it upon herself to establish the pecking order so he wouldn't cause any extreme trouble for others, but it was blatantly clear that the new guy was made of a different caste than tweedle dumb and dumber.

It was somewhat pleasant knowing that the guy didn't explode into swears and childish yelling at the first sign of confrontation. Not that she'd tell him that. In fact, the more she talked to him, the more he reminded her of Kiba Yuuto for some reason even though at first glance the two were nothing alike.

"At the very least, you're proving yourself to be marginally smarter than the perverted duo. But you're still practically the biggest poser in the school the way you are now. That cloth you have around your arm as some kind of edgy fashion statement isn't helping things either."

"I was burned as a kid in an accident." Issei frowned, lifting his right arm up as if to prove a point. "Third degree burns all the way up my arm. Way to be considerate, dumbass."

His arm was fine thanks to magic, but the accident did actually happen. A little bending of the truth and people tended to shut up quick about sensitive topics like that.

The girl flinched, as did many other people in the room, but surprisingly she didn't back down. "You just proved my point with the tough guy routine. Couldn't you have come up with something better than the Adult Entertainment Industry to show that you were being edgy?"

He breathed in deeply through his nose and exhaled slowly. This girl was starting to annoy him. The more she talked, the more people were starting to pay attention to him. "I wasn't being edgy. I have a healthy respect for one of the most powerful industries on the planet."

"… Eh?" His words had apparently caught more than a few people flatfooted if the stares he was getting was any hint.

"Freaking civilians." Rolling his eyes, he breathed in deep again to prepare for a speech he had made multiple times before.

"The Porn Industry, otherwise known as the Adult Entertainment Industry, is a near one hundred billion dollar enterprise and, like it or not, is pretty much the oldest industry in human society. It is bigger, and earns far more money, than Hollywood by an absurd margin. And it dwarfs the American Football, Baseball, and Basketball leagues combined in terms of revenue. Its absurd influence is so far reaching that, outside of World Power militaries, nearly every new pharmaceutical that will be released on the market and every piece of technology ever produced can and will be applied in this industry first before every and any other one on the planet. In fact, while it is not openly stated to the public, the Porn industry is one of the biggest financial contributors to medical and technologic research period. While the exact number of people employed in it is unknown for obvious reasons, there is more than enough reason to assume that the number is somewhere in the millions. This includes, but is not limited to actors, actresses, directors, camera crew, makeup artists, set designers, suppliers, medical staff, producers, lawyers, security, website designers, programmers, graphic designers, resource management, and engineers. Thus making it one of the most diverse sources of employment on the planet."

The room was dead quiet as everyone stared at him, jaws open in disbelief.

Issei didn't break eye contact with the clearly defeated girl in front of him. "Any questions?"

The two perverts behind him, Motohama and Matsuda, seemed to break out of their funk first, jumping out of their seats, landing on their knees, and bowing repeatedly.

"We're not worthy! We're not worthy!"

Aika just stood there, unable to form a reasonable response to the verbal presentation she had just been subjected to.

Getting the moral high ground on this guy to keep him in line was going to be harder than she thought.

"And that is why I respect the AEI." Issei turned back to his food, already losing interest in her again. "… That and I have a moderate porn addiction."

And like that all respect for him vanished in an instant. Save for Motohama's and Matsuda's.

Aika laughed nervously while slowly walking away from him. Screw moral high ground. This guy was all over the place. She needed ground around him in general. "I guess that explains that death grip you gave the teachers earlier. You must practice all the time."

"I don't masturbate." He did not even flinch or hesitate in his next to passive denial.

"BULLSHIT!" No one in the room believed him in the slightest.

o. o. o.

During their free period in the afternoon, the class was given a tour of the school. Most of the students were there for a second year, so it wasn't that important to them, but it was standard procedure for anyone that was new.

Issei, as expected, lagged behind everyone, the last out of the class and pretty much the only person that wasn't in a cluster of gossiping teens. Aika had spent half the time after lunch sending him dirty looks when she thought he wasn't paying attention, and while Motohama and Matsuda had tried to socialize with him, the instant that Issei had made it clear that he wanted to sleep more than talk and reminded them of what happened to the teachers that had gotten overconfident, the two had made tracks rather quickly albeit reluctantly.

Raynare, for better or for worse, didn't have that problem though as she was bombarded by a ton of girls who were all curious about her made up past and what makeup she used to look so good.

As a result, she didn't see the interaction that happened halfway during the tour…

While most of the students were crowded around the area that was the entrance to the main office for the Principal (Like that was ever going to be used with Sona around) and the teachers, Issei hung back by one of the main corners of the hallway, listening from a distance and already nodding off.

He didn't hear anyone approaching, and he wasn't touched, but his eyes opened regardless and looked up to see a small girl in the school uniform with white hair and yellow eyes staring right at him.

The two maintained eye contact for several long moments. Most people would feel awkward or uncomfortable after a certain point, but it was clear that neither one of the two was unsettled by the silence shared in the slightest.

A staring contest between the two would probably have been the stuff of legends.

"… You smell like dragons." The small girl stated softly. It wasn't an accusation, merely a fact.

"And you look like you belong in elementary school." Issei replied in a matching tone.

Judging from her displeased expression, he had clearly won that round of "stating the obvious".

The shuffling of footsteps to the side indicated that his class was moving to the next spot on the tour. He probably should follow them. His sense of direction still wasn't that good, and he didn't want to get into any more trouble… at least for the day.

Pushing himself off of the wall, he turned to follow his classmates, just barely brushing past the girl in the process.

Both of them stiffened upon contact.

Issei's eyes narrowed with rage and he turned to face her aggressively, more than ready to make the first blow in retaliation to her invasion of his privacy, only to pause as he took in her reaction.

Unlike him, the small white haired girl was anchored in place, eyes dilated, and her breathing was unsteady.

She did not seem to be aware that he was there in the first place, let alone that he had reacted aggressively to her tapping into and reading his ki.

"She read me subconsciously?" He frowned, calming down as he took note of her rapidly deteriorating condition. The only people and beings that could do that were senjutsu users, and those were in incredible short supply around the world these days. Clearly she did this unintentionally and was inexperienced enough to not be able to control herself as a result… so odds were likely she wasn't human to begin with. What was this kid?

Paling features. Perspiration. Increased heart rate and breathing. Dilating eyes. Shaking appendages. Lack of situational awareness.

She was going into shock, and he couldn't touch or help her without making things worse.

"Son of a bitch." He groaned. Just what he needed to make his day even better. More attention drawn to himself and another event for people to misinterpret and blame him for.

She was obviously a Devil, but she wasn't a part of the Student Council from earlier, and she wasn't a High Class, so she belonged to the second peerage that was in the complex. What a way to make an impression.

Not to mention they would have a general insight to his personality and internal emotional state when the kid finally calmed down. Fucking fantastic.

Screw it. He wasn't hoping to be valedictorian in this hell hole to begin with. He cringed and mentally braced himself for what he was going to have to do.

"Oi!" He shouted to his classmates and teacher, taking a few steps away from the panicking girl just in case. "I think we have a lost freshman here! Someone help her out! I think she's going to lose it!"

Nobody must have thought that he'd say anything during the tour if the surprised looks they gave him turning around was any indication.

"Oh? Is that Toujou Koneko?"

"The School Mascot?"

"What is she doing out here?"

School Mascot? Wait… wasn't this kid a freshman, and it was the first day of class!? How the hell can this girl already have that kind of reputation?

One of the more brazen girls walked up to him and gave him an accusing glare. "What did you do to her?"

He frowned, not liking being accused right off the bat. What was wrong with this girl, saying such things? "I stood up straight and walked past her. She must not like being near people literally twice her size. Other than that, I didn't do anything."

Technically, they did exchange a few meaningless words as well, but that had nothing to do with the situation at hand.

He didn't lie. He despised lying. That and he was terrible at it. He couldn't play card games for shit.

If the leer she gave him was any indication, the girl didn't believe him, but didn't say anything. Koneko was the priority at the moment and she didn't look too good at that. "Sensei! I'm going to take her to the nurse's office! This is my second year here so I don't really need the tour! I'll go back to the classroom after she's settled!"

Things didn't go much better for Issei after that. No one seemed to think he was innocent when it came to the midget's condition and gave him an even bigger birth than they did before. Technically, they were right, but it wasn't like he had done anything on purpose.

Not that he minded. Less people bothering him meant more sleep. It wasn't like he was there to actually learn. The very idea almost made him smirk in dry amusement.

o. o. o.

Slamming the door behind him shut and locking it as fast as he could, Issei panted heavily.

Ok. Maybe trolling the Fallen so hard that morning might have been a bad idea in hindsight. Thinking back on it, he probably should have gotten the hint that she was going to try and kill him when he noticed that she had not stopped smiling all day.

There was death in that girl's eyes. What was Azazel thinking putting her on his ass?

It wasn't as if he couldn't fight back. Even without Ddraig or Ghost, he still knew enough magic to take on a grunt like her without too much trouble, but doing so in broad daylight was obviously a big no no.

Not that his magic abilities were actually anything to brag about. Quite the opposite. Even after cheating his growth and learning rates using the Boosted Gear, he was still barely average in terms of reserves and capability.

Theory wasn't a problem, he could take to it like a fish to water, but in the end asking him to perform most above average difficulty spells was like asking him to pat his head, rub his belly and scratch his ass at the same time. He just wasn't built for it outside of a few select fields, and even then most of his results were pretty limited.

The doorbell rang. It was an innocent chime that betrayed the presence of death not even a meter behind him. Best step away from the door in case she tried stabbing her way through in the hopes of getting him on the other side.

"Issei? Is that you? Don't tell me you forgot the keys to the house." His mom called from the living room.

"I'm fine, and no I didn't forget the keys." He managed to shout back after regaining his breath. Was he really this out of shape? To be this winded after only sprinting all three miles back home? He might have been a hikikomori, but he still made an effort to keep himself in solid condition in case someone tried to start something again.

True he cheated with Ddraig, like he did with nearly everything else, but he still put in the work and time to ensure that he was in shape in the first place. Damn, wait, how long had it been since he actually worked on cardio in depth? Wonderful. He hated working on cardio. It took the longest to build up, even with cheating.

The doorbell rang again, and this time Raynare knocked as well.

"Who is at the door? Is it Yuuma-chan? Did you lock her outside Issei?" Say what you want about Asami Hyoudou, but the woman definitely knew her son well enough to know when he was the guilty party just by listening to the crime scene.

"I'm going to my room." He didn't even bother to try and deny his actions. Asami could read him like a book without even looking at him.

"Don't tell me you got into trouble on the first day of school."

"Technically I didn't. Class didn't officially start then." He got called in before the day began as everyone was going in.

"Issei? Issei! What did you do this time!?" Asami yelled, clearly getting up from her seat and moving to the main entrance of the house.

But by that time, he was already halfway up the stairs to his room.

With every step he made, memories of the day would flash rapidly in his head. Every step he allowed himself to slowly lose the iron cold grip he had enforced on his nerves.

The crowds of people. The stares. The judging. The girl. The people. The eyes. The looks. The confined space. The suffocating atmosphere. Everywhere. Anywhere. All over. Looking. Looking. Whispering. Accusing. Talking. Questioning. Eyes. Staringstaringstaringstaringstaringstaring-

Asami didn't see his hands trembling unstably as he reached for the door.

An entrance ceremony? Sitting in the middle of that many people? Right next to him on all sides?

So close.

She didn't know his heavy breathing rapidly increasing and progressively getting more uneven by the second.

The door to the classroom opened, revealing so many students just staring at him. He'd have to move through that cacophony and stay put for hours on end, even stand in front of all of them and talk…

He just needed to get inside his den.

That girl wouldn't shut up and leave him alone. She just kept on talking and trying to push him to retaliate, making more and more people notice he was there. What did he do to her? All he could do was focus on his lunch and pretend that they weren't there, even though he had quickly lost his appetite. He had been so close to losing it then. If he didn't manage to distract himself at the last moment…

She didn't see the bitter smile was on his face, his eyes starting to dilate, almost as if he was slowly submersing himself into an unstable dream.

Sleeping was nice. Nothing mattered when he slept. No useless information, and all the voices would fade away. Soon enough, even the stares would be forgotten…

It was safe there. No one could enter without his say so.

She didn't hear him reply to her question. "Same as always mom… I didn't do anything."

He made it. He actually made it. He had made it through the day. He almost didn't. He deserved peace. He needed it. His reward. The closest thing he'd ever get to silence.

Moments after the door softly closed behind him, the familiar sounds of a woman moaning in ecstasy echoed loudly from the other side.

… Loud enough to drown out any other sounds that might have escaped the room that might have been heard.

o. o. o.

Rias wasted no time going to the nurse's office the instant the final school bell rung.

"Koneko. Are you ok? What happened?" She did not even hesitate to embrace her diminutive rook that had been resting in the small bed in the office.

"I'm fine." Koneko calmed her King down with her soft voice. While most people would assume that she was whispering, those that knew her were aware that it was her usual volume for talking.

"Ara ara. You had us in quite a state." Akeno Himejima smiled kindly from behind her best friend. A senior like Rias, Akeno was the only person in the school, if not the area, that had larger breasts than her crimson haired friend. Long black hair in a high ponytail. Elegant, yet traditional features. She was considered the ideal Yamato Nadeshko. "There are all sorts of nasty rumors going around school. Did the big bad Hyoudou do something unbecoming to our adorable Koneko-chan?"

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say as the small girl shivered and brought her knees to her chest. "N-no. He didn't."

Rias frowned. "Koneko. You words say one thing, but your body language says another. What happened?"

It took a few moments for her to gather herself before replying. "He walked past me. We briefly touched. His ki… it's incredibly powerful, but just as unstable. I've never felt someone so disturbed internally before. I wasn't prepared and it overwhelmed me. It was an accident."

"His ki?" Both Rias and Akeno were genuinely surprised. Koneko actively shunned anything to do with her latent abilities with Senjutsu, and yet just a brief brush in the hallway was enough to override her defenses?

"He's scared." Koneko pulled her knees closer to her chest. "Terrified. It's maddening. Nauseating. Smothering. I almost threw up. His defenses are always up. Everyone is a threat to him. He doesn't want to be here, but he has to. But he's strong. Really strong. I almost drowned in his emotions and ki, and couldn't control myself."

The two seniors looked at one another with mixed expressions. Neither one of them had dismissed Sirzechs warning from earlier, but on the other side of things, they didn't think that Issei Hyoudou was this severe of a mess on the inside.

"I think it might be best to speak to Sona about this." Akeno advised.

"Mmm." Rias agreed. She'd have to rethink how to approach him if he was this unstable and wary. The young human was not off to a good start at Kuoh, or for the Devils there, but that was far from a good enough reason to abandon her curiosity.

Issei Hyoudou. Just who are you really?