Seize Our Day

The Daily Life Saga

The Yakuza Conspiracy Arc

Chapter 1: Only Human

Disclaimer: Highschool DxD is owned by Ichie Ishibumi. I'm writing this story because I like the premise and want to see what I can do with it.

Issei Hyoudou coughed up blood onto the ground. The battleground was filled with smoking craters and he could spy his broken sword a few feet away from him.

BOOST!

"Your usefulness has come to an end, Sekiryuutei."

Rain poured down upon the two warriors, a black-haired man holding a spear by his side and a boy in draconic crimson armour clenched his fists.

"Just shut the fuck up and fight me." He spat a glob of blood to the side, a strained cocky smile was on his lips. He was rewarded with a swift smack across his head, the helmet breaking apart.

"You are foolish,Sekiryuutei. Look at how the world treats us. We're nothing but tools to them. Humanity has been stamped on by the devils, fallen angels and youkai. We're either cannon fodder to them or collateral damage?!" Issei felt Cao Cao drag him up, looking him in the eye. "Don't you understand? I'm doing this for humanity."

"Is that what it takes to be a great Hero?" He croaked, his armour healing itself. "To commit genocide and kill because of who they are?"

BOOST!

Cao Cao's eyes hardened with resolve.

"Yes."

Rage. A white hot burning rage was building within him. Issei knew that he was going to die. Blood and sweat fell on his shaking hands, each breath was becoming harder than the last. Three superior opponents wielding weapons that could unleash nightmares, rain destruction or simply obliterate him from the face of the earth.

"That's not for you to decide." Issei declared, his hands had stopped shaking, nothing but absolute determination filled him. His hand reached up grabbing Cao Cao by the neck.

'Are you ready, partner?'

'If we're gonna go down, let's go down swinging.'

"It is, I will save humanity even if you won't and I will use Ophis' power to do so." He couldn't control it anymore. He wanted to tear him apart at those words.

A corona of energy burst forth from him as the dragon within responded to the call, howling in fury.

"What did you say?!" Issei was too far gone as he roared, charging towards the people who dared take Ophis away from him.

A massive explosion dominated the landscape, winds buffeted boulders away and the very sky cracked open. Then...all was silent.

A silence that was broken by the rain.

"Onii-chan! Wake up, Onii-chan!" Honey brown eyes shot up, his fist swung towards the air but he stopped before he reflexively opened his hands and hugged his little sister to his chest.

"It's okay, onii-chan. It's okay." The little girl mumbled into his shirt.

Safe. He was safe. He wasn't there anymore. He had lived past that. He was stronger, yes, he was...stronger.

Honey brown eyes stared into his own.

"Yeah, I'm okay, Olivia." Issei kept telling himself that lie.

Kuoh Academy. An all-private girl school, once upon a time, that had turned co-ed, it was universally acknowledged that to be accepted into such a prestigious school, you must have the intelligence, power and wealth to do so. A massive building designed for the best and brightest that Japan had to offer reflected that very status. It was perhaps a wonder how a lazy deadbeat managed to get in. And this tale begins on the life of what many students had considered to be insignificant and for some a stain upon their esteemed reputation.

The brunette boy yawned into his hand, scribbling away in his notebook. He tapped his foot erratically while the teacher droned on about math.

His brown eyes shifted to the clock that was ever so slowly ticking closer to the end of the period and he couldn't help but heave a sigh in resignation. He had nothing against the subject but there was something to be said when a person's voice completely turned you off from reality. He spotted movement and noticed his hand was trembling again, the fingers rapping on the wood and he flexed and squeezed the muscle and joints for it to stop.

A normal life, he said. A world where he didn't have to deal with the affairs of the supernatural, where the only thing he had to worry about were girls and sports. To do the same routine everyday, to wake up at the same ungodly hour, wear the same uniform that chafed horribly and attend the lectures and deal with the inane whispers of students was...somehow more terrifying and painful than facing a basilisk in a life and death battle. The not so subtle pointing and whispered ridicule of his scruffy appearance and general lack of wealth didn't irk him at all. Not really.

Aside from that, he appreciated the normalcy of it all. There were often periods of extreme boredom such as the long-winded and very much forgotten lecture that the man was giving to the class.

Fortunately that was when lunch had arrived and he tucked all of his books under his arm.

He didn't make it past two steps when his books were knocked out of his hands by a stocky teen. The disrespectful boy, Saito, sneered, "Watch where you're going, deadbeat!"

He only gave a half-hearted shrug before going back to pick his books up again.

Yeah, what a normal life.

Rias Gremory, the heiress to the Gremory clan was a beautiful girl with long crimson hair, and a buxom figure that earned her the title of one of the Two Great Ladies, alongside Akeno Himejima, her queen. To her peerage and a select few students, they were Devils, one of the three factions in the Judeo-Christian religion. Rias however was in quite a difficult situation. She was facing off against her rival and childhood friend, Sona Sitri or Souna Shitori, a fellow Devil and heir to the Sitri clan, in a duel of wit and intelligence.

Rias paused, taking a look at the chess board before her and moved her rook forward. She'd enjoy her daily matches against Sona, the student president of Kuoh Academy but damn was it infuriating that she could never be able to beat her. She hid it well with her smile but they both knew that she was cornered.

"Checkmate," Sona said.

"You win again, Sona, it seems that my strategies can't get past you." Rias said. She started collecting her pieces.

"You almost had me at one point."

"Almost being the key word."

"...Have you found a way, Rias?" Sona asked. Rias' hand stilled when it reached for a pawn before she picked up the piece.

"Yes, if all goes well then I believe that I found my trump card."

"Does this trump card involve Issei Hyoudou?"

"Yes."

"Are you planning on letting him die to gain his loyalty?"

"...yes." Rias said but with less conviction than before.

"Did you confirm that he has a Sacred Gear?"

"Yes, he has a very powerful one but it was hard determining it in the first place and I don't understand why. It's like it's locked away or sealed deep inside him."

"That's odd, it seems like it should require some investigation." Rias stiffened before narrowing her eyes at her words.

"What are you planning, Sona?"

"Nothing, I'm just making sure to check if he has what you need in the first place." Sona pushed her glasses up not looking at Rias.

"Is that so?"

"Of course."

Issei smacked his head down onto the bench, a distinct feeling of utter exhaustion washed over him when he sat down. He angled his head upwards and saw the mischievous face of Aika Kiryuu staring down at him. Aika was a second-year student like Issei with loosely braided hair on both sides of her face, she had the curves and bust of a budding teenage girl that was accentuated by her uniform. She peered down behind her glasses and Issei could feel a headache coming on.

"Oh ho, tired on a Monday, did you spend all weekend pleasuring girls as a gigolo?"

"Go away." He moaned.

"Or was it your job as a stripper for the ladies in the red light district?"

"Are you always this annoying or is today special?" He glared half-heartedly.

"Oh you know I rejoice in the suffering of my best male friend." She pinched his cheek in amusement.

Issei smacked her hand away from him and sat up on his desk giving his full attention to the girl in front of him.

"If you really want to know, Meiko-sensei has been driving me and the other assistants crazy with her spontaneous ideas and deadlines."

"You could say that she's been riding you hard all weekend." She grinned perversely.

"Shut up."

"Fufufu!"

"Anyway, some asshole decided to steal my bike so I had to walk all the way home and my body is aching to go into a coma at any time now."

"That's rough and how's Olivia?"

"No."

"Aww, I was just asking how she was doing."

"The last time I let you near her I had to explain where babies came from, putting her outside of

your influence is good for me."

"Hey, she got an early sex ed from her brother. That's a big plus in your book."

"She was five! Ah I swear you are a walking ball of lust and corruption, I'm surprised those two haven't keeled over from your presence." He pointed at Matsuda and Motohama.

"I'm not that bad, I do have a lot of self-respect and dignity thank you very much." Ah yes, Aika was something of a boogeyman in the hallways of Kuoh Academy. Even though guys fantasise about girls coming after them, they did not expect Aika, who was so forward with her intentions that it frightened the small number of males in the academy away. She was the combination of the Perverted Duo and oh so much worse than them. Luckily, Issei was the best meat shield they could throw at her and the two struck up an odd friendship where he wasn't too put off by her innuendos and she could use Issei to discuss every idea and fantasy that she had. Truly, a friendship forged in the fires of teenage hormonal lust and the tears of the frightened male population.

"Should I let slip about your size to the ladies, I'm sure you'll get a date."

"Do it and I swear I'll withdraw your dango privileges."

"You monster! Oddly enough, that IS the size of your di-" She began to say loudly which was muffled by Issei's hand. The students looked curiously in their direction and Issei had to withdraw his hand from her mouth which spotted a Cheshire grin.

"You are pure evil," Issei grumbled and Aika could only laugh at his misfortune.

The Perverted Duo were currently enjoying the sights of the Kendo Club members undressing and Issei sleeping soundly against a wall as he tried to catch up on some sleep. Both were trying to catch a view of boobs however their inner greed to see some flesh caused a fight amongst themselves.

"Matsuda, it's my turn now!"

"Shut up Motohama, I can almost see it." Motohama shoved him aside and peeked.

"It's amazing!"

"Huh did you hear that?"

"Someone's peeping on us!"

"What's with all the commotion?" Issei said. He stifled a yawn before he was pulled away from dreamland and saw Matsuda and Motohama's frightened faces before dashing away.

"This is bad, the Kendo club is after us." Motohama said.

"It's fine," Issei said. He dug his heels into the ground and faced the oncoming dust-cloud. "I'll talk to them. Let's go."

He was met with strong protests from the other two.

"You're joking, right?" Matsuda shook his head frantically. "Don't you know the saying 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'?"

"He's right so let's get the hell out of dodge. And besides what the hell are you gonna do to face that?" Motohama asked.

"Like I said, I'm gonna bullshit my way out ." Issei stepped closer to the cloud. Both Matsuda and Motohama grimly nodded to each other. Suddenly, they pulled out hammers and whacked Issei behind the head.

Issei sagged on the spot, falling to his knees unconscious.

Issei blinked his eyes open as he felt something poke him on the side. Slowly, he looked up to see the members of the Kendo Club staring down at him in righteous feminine fury. All equipped with their shinai as well.

"Oh, this is so not a good day." Issei stared up to see Murayama and Katase, the captain and vice-captain to the Kendo Club respectively. Murayama was a brunette girl with her hair tied in pigtails and a taut figure, she held a bokken in her hand and he could swear that her amber eyes glowed with an unholy murderous light. Katase was a shorter girl in comparison with pink hair and reddish-brown eyes and a slim figure.

"Just tell us where they are Hyoudou," Katase said serenely, that was betrayed by the aura of wrath around her and the other club members.

"Can't we talk about this in a civil manner?" Issei had sweat dripping down his brow and he tried to move away but his back met the wall.

"Oh we are going settle this civilly with this bokken hitting someone's crotch, repeatedly I might add, it's your choice whether it's yours or theirs," Murayama said sweetly.

'Ah shit.' He thought as they came closer to him. "Wait! Wait! Hold on! Alright if you're interested in beating someone, how about we settle this in a match?"

Seeing some of the unconvinced gazes from the ladies of the Kendo Club, Issei decided to give them some incentive. "If you win, I will be your personal gopher for the week in place of Matsuda and Motohama, you can order me to do anything you want while we're in school."

"Hmm, that is a tempting offer Hyoudou but what's in it for you?" Murayama said, her eyes still held scepticism in them.

"If I win, you have to leave Matsuda and Motohama alone and I'll make sure that they don't peep on you for a week. A win-win situation if you think about it." Issei offered.

"Alright, I accept your bet, meet us inside the Kendo Club after school."

'Great…'

Souna Shitori, or Sona Sitri, as she was better known to her informed companions, loved a mystery when she was presented with one, so she thought that finding out who Issei Hyoudou was going to be easy. But it was proving to be difficult however, when all she could come up were elementary records that stopped in the third grade. Nothing about his parents or where he came from, Issei mysteriously appeared in Kuoh Town a few months ago and had already built up a reputation as a deadbeat.

Nothing about him made sense, she thought a bit irritably. Certainly, not the others who came the same time as him.

"Kaichou! Kaichou! Murayama and Issei are going to have a match in the Kendo Club!" A blonde boy said bursting into the room.

"Saji, what did I say about bursting into the room?" Sona said. Her glasses glinting and Saji flinched.

"Um...not to."

"I don't believe you've learnt your lesson, after I go down to investigate, I'll have to give you a remedial lesson."

Saji whimpered.

Issei walked into the Kendo club spotting a large number of girls all waiting in the stands and giving him a glare, that would have combusted him on the spot and scattered the ashes to the wind. 'Oh good, the whole school is here'.

'Huh, never knew I was so popular.' He thought dryly until he spotted Matsuda and Motohama with a large amount of cash in hand.

"Place your bets here! All bets are here! See how long the deadbeat of the school can last against the Captain of the Kendo Club!" Issei growled seeing them run a betting pool and seeing that a lot of people were betting in favour of him losing.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you guys are doing!?"

"Ah, Issei! Thanks for taking the fall for us back there! We're using your total humiliation and defeat to our advantage." Matsuda stated matter-of-factly.

"Don't worry we'll give you a big cut for this golden opportunity," Motohama responded. "Plus we get to look at the girls here up close and not get in trouble for it."

Issei blinked, once then twice as an idea entered his mind. "Anyone betting on me to win?"

"Aside from Aika and a few others, no-one is dumb enough to make that bet." Issei's jaw twitched in irritation before he shoved a couple of crumpled notes from his pocket into their hands. "I'll bet 4,000 yen on me. And when I win, I'll be sure to get my winnings from everyone who bet against me."

"You sure you want to lose your money too?" Matsuda said awkwardly as he held the notes in hand. Issei ignored them and turned around. He spotted Aika in the stands chin in hand with her perpetual grin still in place.

"Thanks." Issei bowed his head as Aika perked up at the sight of him.

"You're welcome although are you really going to honour your agreement with Murayama?"

"Actually that reminds me I need to make an amendment on my side of the bet. By the way, how much did you bet on me?"

"Oh not much, only 10,000 yen." Issei almost stumbled when he walked away but was nonetheless touched by the faith she had in him. He walked up to the sparring mat to see Murayama outfitted in her traditional Kendo outfit.

"Are you ready to lose?" A cocky smirk was on her lips.

"Actually, I'd like to make an amendment on my side of the bet." She frowned at this information and crossed her arms.

"Sorry but you can't change the bet at this stage."

"Oh, this will benefit you, if you listen." He walked up in whispered in her ear as her eyebrows raised before a smile was plastered on her face.

"I'll think I'll make an exception Hyoudou-san." She tossed him the helmet and shinai which Issei caught easily. She was about to give him his armour when he held up his hand.

"You do know this stuff is to protect you right? I'm not that cruel that I won't leave you without protection.

"I know, but I figured without protection you could smack me really hard and it would make me try harder not to get hit by you."

"...you're crazy." Murayama said, putting her helmet on.

"The odds are stacked against me, pretty much everyone in the school is betting against me and no cup to protect my balls. Meh, this could be worse." Issei settled into a relaxed stance gripping the shinai in his left hand.

"Look the deadbeat doesn't even know how to hold a shinai."

"Oi, doesn't he sleep all day in class?"

"Are you not taking me seriously!?" Murayama fumed at seeing his relaxed stance.

"Don't worry, it's all part of my master plan." He said, doing a couple of exaggerated swings. In the process, he accidentally dropped his shinai.

"Shit."

Murayama was stuck between incredulity and rage.

"...I'm gonna hit you now. I don't know when I'll stop." The latter emotion won out.

Issei backed away from a jab, pivoting using his head before he kicked up his shinai and parried a hit. He watched her with a grin.

She tried to wipe grin off his face but he parried each strike, spinning on his foot as he backpedalled away from the stabs to his midsection.

She rushed forward, the captain's shinai sliced through the air, aiming for Issei's neck only to be met with wood. Both of them were only inches apart.

"Hmm, is that peach I smell?" Murayama's assault was reinvigorated with that comment. She snarled in frustration as every hit she made was blocked or parried.

Stab, slash, thrust before the two wooden swords pushed against each other for dominance. One held in the traditional two hand grip and the other held in Issei's one-handed grip.

"You know, you're not so bad, Hyoudou," Murayama commented off-handedly with a smile, sounding less antagonised and more eager.

"That's high praise coming from a two-time champion in the Japanese National Circuit." Murayama was pushed back and she held her shinai closely to herself.

Issei shifted and he held the sword with two hands.

Murayama narrowed her eyes, as before she could find openings in his stances, and now the hairs on the back of her neck raised in anticipation of what he would do next.

"You're really amazing but you want to know a little secret?"

"Oh, and what's that?" She couldn't help but say arrogantly.

"I've been holding back." Issei's grin became predatory and he rushed forward. Murayama found herself on the defensive as she had to use everything in her arsenal to keep from being hit. Until finally, a single stab to her abdomen ended that thought. She grimaced, feeling the pain in her abdomen and Issei pulled back giving her time to recover.

"You are full of surprises today, Hyoudou."

"...I think you may be overestimating my skills here." Wood smacked against wood as they continued their exchange, Murayama's sword struck his shoulder and Issei's struck her shoulder pads.

"You let me hit you." It wasn't a question but a statement.

"Can you prove it?" A challenging smirk on his lips.

"I guess I'll have to beat it out of you." Her strikes became more ferocious, focused as they continued with the intent to hit him, each strike brushed past his uniform leaving cuts as if an actual blade was in her hand.

All thoughts of the bet were forgotten in her mind as she focused entirely on this spar… No. This dance. The feeling of exhilaration, the thrill of the battle with an opponent that was her equal and yet so much stronger that he was driving her past her limits. Nothing was said between them as the wooden swords smacked loudly in the club, no-one said anything in awe of the duel between them.

"Enjoying yourself?" said Issei.

"You're proving to be more of a challenge than I thought."

"I don't suppose you would consider going on a date with me?" The question caught her off-guard. She barely managed to block Issei's slash.

"Why?"

"Aren't we having fun?"

"I'll show you fun."

She glanced off to the side to see...Kiba! Yuuto Kiba was here! This was her chance to impress him.

Issei had left himself open for a decisive strike that would knock him out. He was already in the middle of a strike and she could pull back and hit him sending him out of the ring.

The shinai cut through empty air and she was confused before pain exploded in her abdomen. Issei's shinai splintered and she tumbled outside the sparring mats.

Silence descended as Murayama struggled to get up to her feet, her breaths ragged and the shinai was barely assisting her in getting up but she managed to hold on weakly.

"W-We're not done yet, Hyoudou." Issei's face snapped in surprise and Murayama was about to move forward to strike, before her eyes rolled up in her head and she fell forward, only to be caught by a pair of strong arms. She groaned, hoping that Kiba has caught her. Opening her eyes, she was expecting to see Kiba's dreamy grey eyes but saw honey-brown look at her in concern.

"Hey, you okay?"

"You're pretty good, Issei." Those were her last words before she fell unconscious.

After bringing Murayama to the nurse's office and seeing that the nurse was about to question the state of his uniform, Issei left and came back to the club only to be met with a mixed reception ranging from fear to anger and shock, at his accomplishments which unnerved him but he put on a brave face. He reached Aika who held up his winnings to him which he pocketed before he turned to the Perverted Duo who were ready to hightail it outta there.

"Where do you think you guys are going?" He grabbed both of them by the back of their shirts and they turned their heads robotically seeing the aura of wrath surrounding Issei.

"H-hey, Issei, did you get your winnings?" Matsuda stammered, sweat pouring down his face.

"Y-yeah. See? You win and you got lots of money and we don't get beat up. Win-win," Motohama responded.

"I actually changed the bet on my part, instead I reduced the time that you have before the Kendo Club gets you again to 5," Issei stated calmly before he released them.

"5 what? 5 days? 5 weeks?...5 months?!" They both said feeling their hopes soaring. Matsuda and Motohama's hopes were soon dashed however..

"4...3...2…" Unbeknownst to them, the entire Kendo Club were behind the two and they were itching to get their revenge.

Issei and Aika walked away missing the curious gaze of the handsome 'Prince' of the school and he left the club to inform his master of the developments that had transpired. The duo learned that day that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

"Whoo, you were amazing back there. The way you stabbed and thrust your stick at her, at every angle and you rammed it in until she was left panting exhausted at the end." Issei paused before turning to Aika with an incredulous expression.

"Does everything have to be a sex joke with you?"

"Yes." Was her blunt reply. "But still that was literally unbelievable what you did back there."

"It's not that hard, you saw it yourself."

"You struck a girl so hard that you shattered the shinai you were using against her, without her armour I'm sure she should be in the hospital at this moment."

"I didn't mean for that to happen." Aika gasped when she saw his bruised hands and Issei looked down at them in confusion.

"Why didn't you get something for your hands when you were at the nurses' office?" She hissed, grabbing his wrists to inspect them.

"I'm fine, this is nothing." He tried to pull away from her surprisingly strong grip.

"It's not nothing, Issei, we're going to get some bandages at least." Aika dragged the protesting boy to the large supermarket unaware of the small smile that graced Issei's lips momentarily.

Issei found himself on the bridge, staring out into the sunset as he mulled over what the events of the day.

"I hate Mondays, I have zero sleep over the weekend, I injure the captain of the Kendo Club and now pretty much everyone are either afraid or they hate me. On the plus side, I have enough to pay for rent this month which is nice." Issei leant against the railing staring at the sunset after assuring Aika that he would be fine in getting home. He waited for a while only to be met with silence and a heavy sigh left his lips. "Who am I kidding that's a pretty weak reason for hurting Murayama like that."

"Quite so, Hyoudou-san." He turned around to see Sona and her vice president standing before him.

"Ah, Kaichou, Fukukaichou. It's lovely to see both of you but ah why are you here?"

"I'm just here to ask you a few questions."

"Hey, if this is about the match between me and Murayama, just know I had zero protection."

"Yes, we'll get to that soon but there's been a few anomalies that I found in your file." Issei was looking around before he got off the rail.

"What sort of anomalies?"

"I looked into your files and I found that you only completed three years of elementary school and anything else after that is missing, it's as if you vanished into thin air. Until your entrance into this school, a few months ago."

"But isn't all my information there?"

"Falsified information, now tell me how and why did you get into school?"

"I'm really into education."

"With the grades you're getting, that's highly unlikely."

"I heard that this used to be an all-female school so why not?"

"Hmm, an acceptable reason for a normal boy but I don't think you're the type of person despite the company you keep."

"Would you believe me if I said that an old man asked me to come here?" Seeing the unamused look that she was giving him, he chuckled in response. "What do you want then?"

"The truth, Hyoudou-san or should I say Sekiryuutei?"

The moon hung high in the sky as Kuoh's nightlife bustled about and for one lone high school student this afforded her the opportunity to think.

Murayama wandered listlessly through the streets of Kuoh Town, walking past the neon lit clubs and she sat herself on the park bench. She traced her fingers over her stomach where she had been struck and paused. She vaguely remembered the feeling of adrenaline rushing through her, the excitement, the intensity and the thrill of danger. Whatever Issei was before he stepped foot onto the mat was not the same person she faced before. It was like staring down a wild beast, so much power and the fear. Nothing had gotten her so excited and then it was over. She had lost. He had looked at her with such kindness, nothing like the lazy boy that he projected himself to be.

"Are you alright there, pretty girl?" Who was that?, she thought. It was a man. A sleazy guy by the looks of it, judging by the cheap suit that he wore, the musky cologne and the haircut were better left unsaid. He wore a lecherous grin and that was all she needed to know about him.

"Yes, I'm alright. I was just about to leave." The man's hand was clasped to her wrist.

"What's the rush, honey? Let's enjoy some good company." A few suited men came out of hiding and surrounded her.

"You'll regret that." She flipped the gangster, kicking his chin before another man grabbed her, stuffing her face with a foul-smelling rag.

"Someone hel-" She tried to scream. She needed help.

"Shh, just be quiet and it'll all be over quickly."

Everything was getting dark and all she could think.

'Help me.'