Chapter 1: A Deal with the Devil

(A/N: Well… Here it is. This is my Code Geass/High School DxD crossover. Will there be a harem? Yes, but this is my first time writing one. Will there be hot chicks? Yes, depending on how good your imagination is and what kind of fetish you have. Will there be lemons? *groan* Yes, but they won't be written by me. I simply don't have the experience in that field. When they arrive, I'll give the writer in question the credit. But for now, simply enjoy what I present to you here.

But a warning to all of you: Horrible shit happens near the end of this chapter. Like, really horrible stuff. If you stop reading because of it, I will not blame you. Trust me; writing it was hard on me as well.)

I do not own Code Geass or High School DxD.

Things were different for Lelouch vi Britannia as his soul was taken to C's World, having successfully died for the Zero Requiem. Instead of becoming a part of said place, there was a pull in another direction that led him somewhere else. He passed through a portal of some sort, not understanding what exactly was happening to him or where he was going. But he understood one thing.

This wasn't the doing of C's World. No, an external force was taking him away from his world altogether.

The former Demon Emperor landed on what looked to be red concrete. He was in quite a bit of pain, but ultimately he was fine. But as soon as he got to his bare feet, several chains bound him to a wall, and it was then that he knew where he was.

He was in Hell: a place he hadn't thought existed until now.

"Welcome, Lelouch vi Britannia," echoed a cool, husky yet suave voice, catching the young former emperor's attention.

"Who are you? Am I in Hell? What exactly is going on here?" Lelouch was naturally full of questions – after all, he was supposed to be absorbed into C's World. But here he was, feeling the fire and brimstone warm his skin and the black chains that now bound him to a giant wall, where in front of him was a throne and a large circle that held the wall and the throne on the same ground. He could see fire burning in the distance.

"Let me answer one question at a time, my dear boy." It was then that a man with long flowing red hair emerged and sat in the throne. "My name is Sirzechs: otherwise known as Lucifer, or Satan, or The Devil himself. You are indeed in Hell, but not just any Hell; you're in my particular domain. Basically, all I did was open a portal to your world and then took you into this dimension – my dimension. It's as simple as that."

Lelouch understood all that was said by the rather polite Lord of the Nine Circles, but he couldn't help but ask, "Why go through all this trouble just to take someone like me into your universe?"

But all Sirzechs did was smile, his eyes glittering with the faintest red. Lelouch figured it was the wall of fire reflecting off Satan's eyes. So he paid no more mind to it.

He sighed. So it appears that there are other worlds apart from my own after all. Judging by where I am, it looks like scientists aren't the only ones who were right about something. "So what now? Am I going to be eternally damned? Am I going to go through all the Circles and suffer for all of eternity?" It would make sense for me to. After all, that is my punishment…

"Well now… there is that option. Or…"

"Hmm?"

"You can always become a devil, and make a name for yourself and increase your ranking," Sirzechs suggested.

"I don't understand. Why would you offer me something like that?" Lelouch asked, despite not knowing what his 'ranking' was all about.

"It's because you have potential."

"Potential?"

"Yes. Within you is a great power, one that could prove useful to you if you become a full-fledged devil."

"So then, you're referring to my Geass, is that it?"

"If your ability to force others to do as you wish is what you call that power, then yes, I am referring to your 'Geass'."

Lelouch contemplated his options. On one hand, he could carry out his sentencing in Hell and be forever damned, living a life of suffering with no end – in other words, the righteous path. But on the other hand, he could start a new life, become a devil, and gain new powers that even he couldn't imagine – essentially starting fresh; forgetting all that had happened. It was a very tempting offer, to say the least.

If this was a new dimension like Lelouch was told, then perhaps this could be his way of repenting for his sins; by literally becoming what many people have called him.

So he made his decision.

"I accept your offer, Sirzechs. I will become a devil, repenting for all the sins I committed before arriving here."

Sirzechs smiled. "That's good to hear." He snapped his fingers, and three things happened as soon as he did.

One: Lelouch was released from the wall, but the chains were still bound to him, almost like it was his clothing (he was naked, after all). Two: A small round table and two chairs emerged between Satan and the former Demon Emperor. And third: Sirzechs got up from his throne and walked over to the chair in front of him. He sat down gracefully, like a true king. Lelouch couldn't help but admire that.

"What is this?" Lelouch asked.

"It's quite simple," said the Prince of Darkness as he snapped his fingers again, revealing a chess board on the table. The black side was facing Lelouch. "Let me propose a deal to you, Lelouch vi Britannia." He smiled. "If you can defeat me in a simple game of chess, then you will be free from the chains that bind you to my Circles, and you can become a real devil."

So that was how things were. Beat Satan, or Lucifer, or Sirzechs, or whatever, in his favourite game and Lelouch will become a devil just like him. He just might enjoy this.

"What an interesting thing to say," replied the former Demon Emperor. "Very well then… Chess always was my kind of thing anyway." He sat down in his seat.

Sirzechs moved the white pawn in front of his queen two spaces forward. "So then, tell me about yourself, Lelouch. If I'm going to make you a devil – assuming you win – I would like to know more about you first."

Lelouch blinked, simultaneously thinking of his first move and an answer to the dark lord. As he moved the pawn in front of his king one space forward, he asked the man in front of him, "Can I avoid talking about myself altogether?" He honestly wasn't in the mood for spilling his guts to someone he only just met – even if it was Satan himself who wanted to know more. He was, after all, killed just a few minutes ago. Who could blame him?

"I won't force you into anything, no," said Sirzechs. "However, I get the feeling that what you can tell me will help me trust you when the situation calls for it." He moved his queen behind his pawn.

"How can I trust you? After all, you are Lucifer."

"True, but I'm not the first one to bear that name. I might possibly be different to the others."

Curious, Lelouch asked, "What do you mean?"

"I'll tell you another time," he said. "It's your move."

Lelouch mentally sighed as he moved his king forward.

Sirzechs was confused. "Why do you move your king so soon?"

"If the king doesn't lead, how can he expect his subordinates to follow?" he retorted. "That's a philosophy of mine; I've followed it for as long as I can remember."

Sirzechs looked amused. "A very fine philosophy indeed," he complimented. "However, it doesn't quite apply to a game like chess." He moved another pawn.

He smiled. "We'll see about that." He moved one of his knights.

It was cutting it close, but Lelouch was winning. He had his king, a rook, two pawns and a knight. Sirzechs had his king, a bishop, and two pawns. Lelouch hadn't faced an opponent this tough in a while. Schneizel was incredibly good, but Satan wasn't too far off from that level of skill.

But in less than twenty turns, Lelouch was going to call checkmate; he determined that with little difficulty. Sirzechs wasn't going to get the upper hand.

Not unless Lelouch screwed up, but that wasn't very likely to happen.

"I must say, Lelouch," said Sirzechs, resting his head on his palm with his elbow on the arm rest, "you're very good at this game. I could tell just from seeing how you took my queen before I got yours. That was thirty turns ago."

"Look at this picture," Lelouch said, amused. "I never thought I'd see the day where the Prince of Darkness himself compliments someone who has committed as many sins as I have."

Satan chuckled. "Sin doesn't necessarily detract from a man's skills in certain professions. In my opinion, sin can sometimes help in that regard."

Lelouch thought in silence for a second. He decided to go with it. "Listen, about what you said earlier…"

"Hmm?"

"You wanted to know about my past, correct?"

"I did," he answered.

"Will what I tell you stay strictly confidential?"

"You have my word, Lelouch vi Britannia."

"Please, Lelouch will suffice. If you're going to learn about my life, I'd prefer if you spoke to me on a more familiar basis."

"Very well, Lelouch. However, I'd prefer if you talked to me after we finish the game." He moved his bishop. "Check."

"Alright then." He moved his king closer to his rook.

Finally, trapping Sirzechs' king in a corner, Lelouch moved his own king forward. "And that, is checkmate."

The lord of Hell smiled and sat up straight. "Excellent match, Lelouch. I haven't played an opponent as tough as you in all my years of living. I am certain you'll make a fine devil in this world."

Lelouch tried to smile, but found he couldn't. It was time. "Now then, about my past..."

"Yes, of course. You did say you were willing to tell me everything about yourself." They both stood up as Lucifer snapped his fingers. The next thing Lelouch knew, the chairs and table were gone. Sirzechs walked to his throne and sat back down in it. Snapping his fingers again, a seat one could find in a psychiatrist's office was laid out in front of the winner of the chess game.

"Isn't this going a little overboard?" Lelouch pointed out. "I mean, come on, I'm not sick or anything."

"No, I suppose you're right. But you look like you need to lie down. Since you're in my world, I feel obliged to treat you as my honoured guest."

"Well, my death wasn't exactly the most pleasant send-off," he admitted.

Sirzechs outstretched his hand. "Come. Tell me everything from the beginning."

He sighed before lying down on the couch. "It was like this."

And so he told him everything. He told him about his royal heritage, and that his father, Charles zi Britannia, believed in choosing the next emperor by process of elimination, animal kingdom-style. He told Sirzechs about how he had a little sister, and how when he was 10, his mother was assassinated (he didn't mention V.V.; not yet at least). He spoke of his banishment, his first encounter with Suzaku, the Second Pacific War and the introduction of Knightmare Frames, how the Ashfords sheltered him and his sister, the Shinjuku ghetto… The turning point, Lelouch said, was when he met C.C. and Suzaku.

"Who is C.C.?" Sirzechs asked.

"I'll go into more detail a little later, but she was basically an immortal with green hair. She was imprisoned in a special capsule by my half-brother Clovis – who I'll also get to soon."

"I see. Please continue; this is turning out to be quite an intriguing story so far."

"Well, that's only because you have someone like me narrating the whole thing for you. For someone else to do it as well as I do, they'd have to be as good as, if not the, Stephen King." Yes, he knew about that author. He was one of Britannia's best, in fact.

"I've heard of him; even read some of his books. I particularly liked It and 11.22.63."

"Off topic, Sirzechs."

"My apologies. Continue."

Lelouch then got around to how he was almost killed by the Royal Guard. But then, C.C. came back to him and gave him the Power of the King: Geass. It was then that Lelouch ordered the guards to kill themselves. From then on, he went on a road of destruction, aiming to destroy the Holy Britannian Empire and create a world where his sister Nunnally could live happily.

He told of everything that happened after that moment: The introduction of the masked man Zero, the Saitama Ghetto, the Narita Mountains, Mao, the revelation that Suzaku – his best friend – was the pilot of the White Knightmare Lancelot; the one who had been ruining his plans from the get-go. Shikine Island. Kamine Island. The Specially Administrated Zone of Japan. And lastly, before his memory was wiped, the (failed) Black Rebellion.

"And what happened after that?" Sirzechs asked, engrossed by the story he was being told.

"It gets a little more complicated," said Lelouch. "But it went something like this."

The resurrection of Zero at Babel Tower. Rolo. The revelation that Nunnally became the new Viceroy of Area 11. The new Specially Administrated Zone of Japan. Horai Island and the Chinese Federation. Shirley… The Geass Order and his father. C.C.'s loss of memory. The Second Battle of Tokyo. The F.L.E.I.J.A. warhead. The Black Knights' betrayal. The final showdown with Charles and the Ragnarok Connection.

"And then what?"

"We have reached where I can explain how I ended up here."

His establishment as the new Emperor of Britannia. The offer to ally Britannia with the United Federation of Nations. His declaration of war. The annihilation of the capital of Britannia, Pendragon. The Battle at Mt. Fuji against his half-brother Schneizel. His victory, thereby having gained control over the entire world. And finally, the Zero Requiem: the final stage of the plan; the very same plan he devised together after defeating his father; the same plan that caused everyone he cared about so much grief.

The same plan that he died for.

Silence hung over the two men after Lelouch finished his story. Both of them were thinking about what was just told, mostly Lelouch. Was everyone going to be fine without him? Will they manage to sustain world peace in his absence?

He would never get his answer, nor did he need it. He knew they were going to be fine. He believed in them.

He hoped, anyway.

Breaking the silence, Sirzechs clapped his hands repeatedly, like he just finished watching a brilliant stage performance. "Marvellous. Simply marvellous. Your story was very inspiring." He stopped clapping. "I won't forget this story for a very long time, Lelouch. You have my thanks."

Lelouch did nothing. Didn't look, didn't smile, nothing. He just stared out into the endless abyss above his head.

However, he did ask a question.

"Tell me something," said Lelouch. "If you were in my position, after killing my father, would you have done the same thing I did? What would you have done differently?"

Lucifer pondered this. "That's a difficult question to answer, because under those circumstances, nothing could've stopped you from doing what you did. If you somehow figured out that Nunnally was alive – which was impossible to do no matter what you did – then anyone in your position wouldn't have planned to kill themselves to bring about world peace."

Lelouch didn't say anything in response at first. "So then . . . the decision I made really was the right one…"

"Don't worry about it too much. Your plan was a success; you united the world into one. I bet that pretty soon, Nunnally will be happy that you did this for her. And for the world."

Lelouch let out a small smile, still staring at the blackness overhead. "You're right… Thank you."

"Now then . . . since we spent about four hours talking about you and your old world, allow me to tell you about the one you're in now."

"I'm listening."

Sirzechs explained what was different from Lelouch's world. There was no Britannia; instead that continent was called North and South America – two different continents. There was no EU (not like the one Lelouch was familiar with, anyway) or Chinese Federation; only Europe and China. In this dimension were angels and devils, and they, obviously, were at odds with each other. Of course, not all angels were as good as they were described in the Bible.

"Sounds like a novel that tries to depict Hell as a better place than Heaven," Lelouch commented.

"It's not quite like that. Hell has its fair share of twisted people."

"As does every realm in existence," he said cynically.

Sirzechs also told of how the different kinds of devils worked, even mentioning the different 'classes', which were sort of like tiers. He explained how certain devils that were servants to a high-ranking demon worked pretty much exactly like chess. Devils also held special chess matches – the Rating Game. Sometimes they were to the death. A devil's 'army' was called a Peerage. There was a pawn, who under special circumstances (that is, entering the enemy's headquarters) can promote themselves into a knight, bishop, rook or queen. But not all of them would be able to sustain the power of a queen; it could be quite strenuous on their bodies.

"Think of a pawn this way," Sirzechs continued. "They're like glasses, and a promotion is the water that goes into the glass. All glasses are different sizes, so that means only certain promotions won't kill them. Say I take a glass that can contain 600 millilitres of water, or 'power', to be more precise. A promotion to Queen will be . . . let's say 900 millilitres.

"Now of course, looking at this, it's obvious that all that power of a queen won't fit into the glass, so it overflows. Stay as a Queen for too long, and they would start to die."

"Easy enough to understand," concluded Lelouch.

"Next we have rooks," Sirzechs began. "What do you think their attributes would be?"

It didn't take long for Lelouch to reach an answer. "Heavy artillery. Their strengths lie in their incredible physical capabilities."

"Correct. And bishops?"

"That depends; does magic exist in this world?"

"You could say that."

"In that case, bishops work best with long-range attacks."

Sirzechs asked, "How about knights?"

"I can tell by the description of this dimension that knights aren't going to be riding on horseback."

Satan laughed. "Very good! Continue."

"They use weapons; most likely swords."

"I have a feeling I don't need to ask you about queens."

"Queens are the jack of all trades; the most well-rounded and powerful fighter," Lelouch answered.

"Right again. I assume you know about the king."

"Let me guess: They're not like a king on the chessboard."

"Exactly. Unlike chess, the king can actually fight back quite well."

"But what I'm curious about is how the king fights."

"Everyone has something called a Sacred Gear: a special item with any specific attribute you can think of. They all vary in strength, size, you name it."

"How do I get one?" Lelouch asked.

Sirzechs became uncharacteristically quiet. "Well, how do I put this? You can't obtain one."

Lelouch sat up abruptly. "What?"

"Let me explain. A Sacred Gear is a device created by God, and it is only given to those of human blood through a complex system. It works by the laws of probability, and it's fair to assume that people taken in from outside this dimension can't obtain one."

"I . . . I see…" He relaxed and lied on his back again.

"Any more questions?"

"Just one," said Lelouch. "Assuming I'll become my own king–"

"Which you will, since I will make you a decently-ranked devil," Sirzechs inquired.

"–then I want to know: How do I form my own Peerage to use in these Rating Games?"

Sirzechs blinked once before answering, "In order to gain Peers, you need to find them and get them into a contract of sorts. They can be alive or dead – it doesn't matter which."

Well, that was comforting, at least. He was glad to know that people didn't have to die to follow him.

"Is there anything else you want to know before I send you off?"

"Where will I be going?"

"Wherever you want."

He thought about that. He could be taken to Britan– America, or Europe, China, anywhere he wanted apparently.

But if there was one place Lelouch was content with most of all, it was…

"Take me to Tokyo, Japan," he told Sirzechs.

"Want to enrol in a school?"

"No."

"Apartment or house?"

"Apartment."

"Annual salary?"

"Enough for me to manage my life at least." Why was he getting all of this without seemingly any problem? Did Sirzechs really have that much power so as to have an open spot somewhere in the middle of Japan's capital, of all places? The city had over thirty-million people living in it. So how was this so easy?

"Occupation?"

"Should that really matter?" he asked matter-of-factly.

"No, it shouldn't, seeing as how you're going to be a devil and all."

"Where will my money come from?"

"A special bank in Hell for people like us. What I'm doing is gathering information on what your life will be as you live on Earth."

"How convenient; almost like a badly-written story."

"Well I assure you Lelouch that this is reality as we know it." Satan smiled.

"Somehow I doubt that, probably because I'm not from here."

Moving on, Sirzechs said, "It looks like there isn't much else to talk about." He got up from his throne and walked over to Lelouch. "When you arrive in your new home, you'll have something detailing everything else you might need to know about this world."

"Understood."

The lord of Hell raised his right hand over Lelouch's eyes. "Anything else you want to say before we depart?"

"No…"

"Lelouch?"

"Yes?"

"While it's nice to get familiar with you, from now on, in front of company, call me Lord Sirzechs. People can't accept a devil with little social standing talking to someone like me without proper formality."

"Yes, my Lord," he said, smiling at the irony of his words.

And with that, Lelouch's world went dark.

He woke up in a dimly lit room, head aching slightly. It appeared he was in a bedroom of some sort. Slowly, he sat up and looked around.

Despite not asking Sirzechs for specifics on what his apartment looked like, he kind of wished he asked the man to tone down the extravagancy of where he lived.

The hotel had a large king-sized double-bed and two bedside tables on either side of it. Both of the lamps were turned on. The bedside table to his right had a digital clock. It read 7:07pm. In front of him was a television attached to the wall, and for some reason the news was on. Apparently a man was arrested for holding a family of three captive for about six hours. It turned out the man was the family's uncle, and as of now, no-one knew the reason why he did all of this. Police were currently interrogating him.

All of it was in Japanese, including the headlines, but for some reason, everything the news reporter was saying was translated into Lelouch's native tongue. He literally was listening to English. He quickly deducted that it wasn't that the whole world now spoke the same language as he did, but it was that his devil powers were breaking the language barrier. He still had to read Japanese normally, though. Thank goodness he learnt Japanese when he was young.

That was one benefit, at least.

To the corner of his left eye, he saw an opened door, and it led to the bathroom. The light was also on in that room. To the corner of his right eye was a door that led to his living room – or at least that was the reasonable assumption. He got up from his bed on the left side and looked down at his body.

For some odd reason, he was dressed in the same clothing he wore when he became Zero for the second time. All that was missing was his mask and his large cape. And he didn't feel any of Hell's chains on his body, so that meant he really wasn't a prisoner of that realm anymore.

He looked back at the bathroom, and in the mirror in line with his vision he saw something strange.

Where was his Geass?

He knew for certain he wasn't wearing contact lenses anymore; there wasn't that annoying itch he felt once in a while. His Geass seemed to have just . . . vanished. It was certainly peculiar to say the least. So where did it go?

Later, he dismissed in his head. I should look at the rest of my living quarters. And maybe look for that thing he mentioned that'll tell me what else I might need to know.

And so he did. He went out into the living room. To his right and up was a finely fit kitchen, with a stove that operated on touching the buttons, almost like one of those phones Lelouch knew about where it had a touch-screen. He never bothered getting one of his own – it was a waste of money in his opinion. Not to mention it would've been too inconvenient for him to start learning how to use one, especially when his old phone worked just fine.

Speaking of which, he reached down into his pockets, but he found nothing in them.

"Looks like I'll need to buy a phone then…" he noted to himself aloud, sighing, before he looked left.

There was a sofa and two large chairs on either side, along with a coffee table in front and another television on a cabinet against the wall. Two vases were on either side of the cabinet, full of white flowers. And further at the end of the room – the other side of the apartment – was a table with a lamp and a bowl on it. He assumed the bowl was for his keys.

At the farthest corner of the room was the front door.

So that's it then. I'm a hell-spawn with an apartment, a manageable wage, and from what I can tell, my Geass is either gone or has finally been brought down to a level where I can activate it at will.

He heard his shower go off. Someone was using it.

He was instantly on high-alert, and he instinctively ducked down into a crouch. Slowly, he duck-walked across the floor and back into the bedroom. Steam reached out of the door and into his room. Lelouch kept advancing more and more.

Okay, he needed a plan. Yes, he knew exactly what to do in this situation. He will emerge from hiding, startling the intruder, and then use Geass on them to obey him.

Wait a second. Wouldn't he need Geass for that?

That was when he noticed his eyes, the red bird floating in his vision, almost wanting to be used. Like it was alive.

So it looked like he still had it. Good. But hold on… why did he have to use it again? This was his curse; it was a constant reminder of the mistakes he made when he was back in his home world. Why should he have to use it again? He didn't want to use it – no, he didn't need to use it. There was always another way to dealing with something.

Geass would always eliminate that other option.

Deactivating his Geass for the first time in over a year, he swiftly made his way back to the kitchen and took out a butcher knife. That would suffice for an interrogation device, he said to himself. Now back where he was beforehand, Lelouch eased the door open, so as to not alarm the intruder of his presence. But then he thought about something.

Why was the intruder in his shower? Why wasn't this person opening drawers, looking through useless crap, trying to steal keys or money or anything? This act was a little too bizarre.

But there was still someone in there.

Or maybe there wasn't? For all he knew, his shower was of low quality, and it probably spilled out a lot of water because of its less-than-mediocre taps. That would be a reasonable explanation.

But then again, why would Sirzechs give him a shower that broke without anyone knowing?

So he kept easing the door open, and now he could hear humming. Who was doing that? It sounded like a woman's voice. Great. That was what he needed: a disruptive girl who was probably going to make his life miserable if she decided to live here with him. Sounded like a certain green-haired witch he knew of…

Dismissing those thoughts for another time, he counted in his head. Three . . . Two . . . One!

He burst the door fully open and held the knife out in front of him. "Don't move!"

What he saw was not quite what he expected.

It was a woman, yes, but it wasn't C.C. or anyone else he knew of. This woman was amazingly curvy, and her red hair was so long and full of life Lelouch thought for a split second he was looking at an exotic plant or an animal. That would explain what he thought looked like antennas on her head; particularly antennas that belonged to a cockroach. Her back was turned to him, so he saw that she had one hell of an amazing backside. Somewhere in the back of his mind he thought it was kind of hot.

His words earlier didn't seem to startle her, as she turned her head quite causally toward his general direction.

Her deep blue eyes blinked.

He blinked.

She blinked again.

And then he blinked again.

And then she said casually, "Hi there Lelouch. What can I do for you?"

For a moment, Lelouch couldn't think of anything to say. There was a beautiful girl, she was using his shower, she was naked, and she somehow knew his name. Honestly, what could he say?

In one second, he came up with these possibilities: She was a spy, she was some sort of strange mythical creature that he didn't know about, she was an illusion or a hallucination, she was a devil just like him, she was the owner of this apartment, she was Sirzechs' sister and for some reason wanted to live with him (maybe she was even that 'something' the man mentioned), or she was some sort of magical girl that appeared in every fat Japanese otaku's dreams because they were lonely and sad and had nothing better to do with their lives like getting a job.

As it turned out, he spoke of the correct possibilities.

"So Sirzechs sent his little sister to live with me?" he guessed.

"Wow, you're quite sharp," Sirzechs' sister complimented. "That's right; my big brother sent me here to live with you to help you learn the ways of being a devil. My name's Rias Gremory. Pleasure to meet you."

I'm not entirely sure if the feeling's mutual, he thought as he lowered the knife down to his side. "Likewise," he sarcastically said anyway. "But I want to know why he sent you here – or more like, why you specifically."

"A reasonable question," she said. "The thing is, he asked me to look after you and I decided to accept." She got the shampoo out and started rinsing her hair. She turned to face the wall again. "Anything else you want to ask me?"

Why are you using my shower? "Are you a devil as well?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Point taken."

"Any more questions?" she asked as she rinsed out the shampoo and started putting in the conditioner.

Might as well ask... "I hope you don't mind my asking, but why are you using my shower?" Honestly, he was too dumbstruck to be embarrassed by the sight in front of him to leave the room and talk to her behind the door.

"I was wondering when you were going to ask that. I haven't had a shower today since I was too busy. I hate not having showers."

"Wouldn't you have your own shower that you can use in your own home?"

"I thought I told you I was living here."

"Over my dead body," he said cynically.

"Oh come on, don't be such a stick in the mud." By then she was done with the shower and turned off the taps.

And that was when Lelouch hid behind the wall.

"Tell me something Lelouch," said Rias.

"What?" he replied, not wanting to in the first place.

"You wouldn't happen to have a special power, would you?"

Shit, she was on to him. She suspected him of something, as if he was hiding a secret. Well, he was, but the problem was that she seemed to know he was hiding something. No, she mustn't find out about his Geass. No-one should.

That was why the Black Knights betrayed him…

"Apart from the powers devils usually have, no. I don't have anything else that can be considered a 'special power'." To be honest, he didn't actually know what exactly devils could do. Could they regenerate wounds like a superhuman? Could they fly? He would have to ask at a later time.

"I see," she said, drying herself off with the towel on the rack behind Lelouch's wall.

Lelouch was worried about one other thing, aside from the fact that she was suspicious of him. "Did Sirzechs tell you anything about me?"

"Not a whole lot, no," she answered. "All he told me was that you came from another world, defeated him in chess, and that you're now a devil who needs a bit of supervision."

"Nothing about my past?"

"Not a word."

I see… So it looks like he really did keep his promise. "Good…" he muttered.

"Unless, of course," she continued, "you want to tell me what happened to you prior to coming here."

"I don't think so," he said sternly.

"Come on, not even for me?" She emerged from the bathroom without a towel on and clung to his arm. Her breasts were squeezed together with his arm in the middle.

Flustered, Lelouch looked away, his cheeks a cherry pink. "Let go of me and put some clothes on."

She laughed. It was a good laugh. "Oh relax, I'm just teasing you." She let go and snapped her fingers. She was now wearing what he assumed was her school uniform. "Oh and FYI, I'm not leaving for a while, so you're stuck with me until further notice." She smiled brightly. "I hope we can get along!"

Lelouch just sighed.

It was just about midnight, and Lelouch was naked; he had an eventful day, after all, and it tired him out. Turning off the lights, he climbed into bed in only his underwear, and soon fell asleep.

At least, he was asleep, before he felt something soft press against his back. Stirred awake, he turned his head and saw red hair behind him. Perfect. This was just like trying to sleep in the same bed as C.C., only now it was Rias.

But oh god, did those breasts feel soft…

What the hell was he thinking? Actually, scrap that, what the hell was she doing?

He spoke after Rias wrapped her arms around his body. "Rias?"

She muttered, "Yes?"

"…What are you doing?"

"I can't sleep with clothes on, and I need someone to hold onto in order to get any sleep in the first place." She yawned. It was a cute yawn.

"…Why?"

"I don't know; I'm just more comfortable like this. Why, does this bother you?"

"It's making me very uncomfortable if that's what you were wondering."

"Interesting, so you never slept with a girl in the same bed before?"

"I have, actually, and she was a lot more infuriating to deal with."

"You're a bitter yet mysterious man, Lelouch…" She yawned again.

"And you're the younger sister of Satan: the last man I want to provoke just because his sister seems to be making a move on me."

"My brother isn't like that," she said. "He's actually a nice person."

Well, there was truth to that. He did personally meet her brother and talked with him. So he probably would be okay with his sister doing this to another devil.

But what about Lelouch? How did he feel about this?

Rias' behaviour right now was like something you'd find in a young man's wet dream (or a young woman's if she was lesbian). However, normal people don't do this with someone they just met.

Then again, Rias wasn't an ordinary person…

Lelouch sighed. "Whatever… I'm too tired to care…"

He thought he heard the faintest giggle before he fell back to sleep.

The alarm went off at 6:45 in the morning. Lelouch was sleeping on the other side of the bed, so he misjudged where his hand would land. Instead of stopping the alarm, he grabbed something soft and round.

Rias moaned a little.

Shit…

Like a hot fire was burning him, Lelouch threw his hand off of her breast, jerked it over his body and unfortunately onto the bedside table's corner, right in the centre. He bit back his scream. Giving up, he placed his hands to his ears. It was early in the morning and he was already having a bad day.

Then the alarm was turned off by Rias.

He dropped his hands beside him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she said nonchalantly. "You have nice hands by the way."

"Oh great, you felt that?"

"That was what woke me up," she admitted like it was no big deal. "What did you think?"

He replayed his thoughts at the time aloud. "Oh crap, oh crap, what am I holding, must let go, ow."

She laughed as she climbed out of bed. Lelouch turned to look at her arse out of instinct. Stupid hormones…

The red-haired young lady walked into the bathroom and stepped into the shower. It was anyone's guess as to why she didn't close the bathroom door.

Lelouch breathed out heavily as he slowly got out of bed to freshen up. Although he would have to wait before then, so he decided to go to the kitchen and make breakfast. Bacon and eggs seemed good enough.

He got into the clothes he wore yesterday and headed for the kitchen.

Ten minutes later Rias came out of the shower. She wasn't really doing much; she was thinking about Lelouch mostly. For some reason, hearing about how he got here from her brother both fascinated and intrigued her – although it was a shame he didn't spill any details about who he was before all of this. She wanted to meet him, to see what he was like. And so far, she was definitely happy with what she had seen.

On a side note, he was extremely attractive as well.

But thoughts like that could wait. She wouldn't decide for certain until later if she wanted to be with him. After all, she was free to choose who she wanted. No listening to parents – no, none of that crap. She was independent; she was old enough to make her own decisions.

And that was why, in the end, she chose to live with Lelouch when asked.

Wonder what her parents would be thinking then.

Although, if it was with another devil, they just may've been a bit more lenient.

No, maybe not. Lelouch, despite his appearance, wasn't a Pureblood. He could come off as one if he really wanted to, but everyone would figure out that he hadn't been a devil for more than twenty-four hours just based on how uncomfortable he would be around others like him.

Assuming he wasn't good at masking his emotions, of course. But for some reason, Rias doubted that. Lelouch, based on her first impressions, was highly intelligent, proper, and at times quite cold. So it was pretty obvious that if someone had those qualities, they would be experts in hiding behind a mask. She didn't know this, but he was royalty, so wearing a mask was sort of a necessity if you wanted to survive.

She stood in front of the mirror, admiring her great curves, even doing a little pose or two. She giggled before a snap of the fingers summoned her clothes.

Remember, Rias, she thought. Wait a little while before you decide if you really want him. But try to show him you're keen at least.

"I see you're done," he said, watching her walk out into the living room.

Rias nodded, smiling. "Yup."

"Good." He made his way to the bathroom.

"Hold on a minute Lelouch."

He stopped in front of the bedroom door.

"I want to ask you something."

"Make it quick. I have plans today and I don't want to delay getting ready for much longer." This was true. He was going to go out and investigate the area around him. He wanted to see what this new world was like. And the only way to do that was to go out and experience it. Was this about yesterday, where she suspected him of hiding his Geass?

"Have you . . . ever gone out with a girl before?"

Memories of Shirley popped up in his mind. He banished them. But he told the truth. "Yes, I have…"

"Do you have any intention of going out with another one?"

What's her angle? Does she really know about my past – about everything? Did she lie to me last night? "I don't know why you're asking me all of this. Where are you going with these questions?"

"Just curious," she said in a similar fashion to C.C., and it bugged him.

He sighed again. He was going to be doing this a lot… "No. No I don't."

"Huh," she muttered. Was that disappointment in her voice? He was sure of it. Maybe he could use this against her in some way–

No way. Scrap that. Using the little sister of the Lord of the Nine Circles would be an easy ticket to eternal damnation. Why risk doing that after all the trouble he went through to get here?

Then again, he didn't necessarily ask for this…

Silently, he walked until he reached the bathroom.

Well that was a darn shame…

Rias was kind of hoping Lelouch had picked up on her interest in him. For someone as smart as him, he could be really dense. Honestly, what was she to do with him?

Oh well, no matter. There was still time to get him to see what she wanted out of him.

It was a pleasant day right now.

Lelouch had to admit that. Walking outside exploring actually wasn't so bad. Sure, he felt a bit ridiculous wearing his Zero outfit in public, because more than once people have asked for photos with him, thinking he was a cosplayer, but aside from that, everything else was . . . well, normal.

It was kind of a shock to him at first. After all, he hadn't lived a normal life for quite a long time. Not since he was a kid at the Kururugi Shrine. But that was all taken away from him during the Second Pacific War. And since that day . . . well, he already knew the rest.

So what was he to do, now that he was walking along the streets of Japan, free from war, free from Britannia, just . . . free from a lot of things?

Did this mean he personally was also free? If he was, what was he free from? Why was he free? How was he free? Was he perhaps not free? But if that were the case, what was stopping him; restraining him?

He didn't quite know, but maybe this walk would help him find some answers.

Well, might as well try it out.

If you were to describe 17 year-old Kishi Aoi with at least one word, you would call her 'eccentric'.

But honestly, she would be perfectly okay with this. In fact, as she was walking down the streets after finishing school for the day, she was certain that a lot of people who looked at her in her Kuoh Academy school uniform while wearing emotion-sensor cat ears – you wouldn't believe how much money it cost her to buy them – would be thinking, What a strange girl...

It was this strangeness that Kishi found comfort in. She liked the feeling of eccentricity.

Because of this, she absolutely adored wearing her cat ears wherever she went. She would do almost everything with them on: go to school, do her homework, watch anime and read manga… The only times she would take them off were during her PE classes, or when having a shower or a bath.

She wouldn't want to ruin them.

And her love for wearing cat ears, of course, spawned from her love for cats. Oh boy, did she love cats. Not a day went by without her thinking about at least one of those furry and adorable little animals. She loved how they would lay around all day, do nothing, eat and drink whenever they felt like it, sleep, rub their heads against your leg, play with balls of string, sleep, meow, sleep, how they groom their fur with their tongues, oh, and did she mention how much she loved them sleeping?

One thing people liked to bug her about at school was her flat chest in comparison to every other body feature. Well, she couldn't care less about that. She liked her chest; she also liked her long legs, her curvy hips, her backside – which a lot of guys had been whispering amongst themselves that it was a great arse – and even her long black hair and grey eyes. Oh, and her glasses. She liked wearing her glasses.

She liked boys too, of course. She hoped to find 'the one' for her someday, like most girls did…

Was there anything she disliked? Yeah, plenty of things. She mainly hated milk, and staying up late at night. She would usually stop talking to anyone who started saying bad things about the stuff she liked, like a particular anime she loved, or a certain shounen manga about an orange-haired boy with a giant butcher knife. Or even her favourite manga that was about a group of whacky pirates who ate fruit and got special powers.

Well, she mostly disliked how they wouldn't provide good reasons for not liking what she liked. If they gave good reasons, she was fine with it.

With her school bag in her hand, she skipped along for a bit before finally arriving at her two-story house, opening the front gate that wasn't much taller than she was.

She had five more minutes until her death.

It was the middle of the afternoon, and Lelouch had finally decided to call it a day. He was rather pleased with his investigation of the area around him. The neighbourhoods were quiet, no-one tried anything funny with him, the elderly were friendly… Overall, it was a normal town, and he wouldn't mind living here.

But did he deserve to live like this?

What was Sirzechs' purpose for bringing him here? What brought this about? Why him of all people? Did Satan find this to be amusing in some sick and twisted way?

No, he couldn't. He didn't seem to be hiding behind any sort of mask when he talked to him. But then again, this was the Prince of Darkness he was talking about here.

Although, Lelouch was a Black Prince himself back in Britannia...

Back to the topic at hand. He honestly couldn't put his finger on what was so special about him that Sirzechs decided, 'Hey, I'm going to take into my humble abode a former emperor who killed more people than the worst terrorists I know of in my world, and I'm going to make him a devil just like everyone he knew thought he was.' No, it wasn't as simple as that. There had to be more to it.

But what?

He didn't have time to think about it anymore. Somewhere out in the distance, what sounded like a young girl shrieking rang through his ears.

"Not good," he said to no-one in particular. "I have to see what's going on."

He began running. But he wasn't going to make it. Sadly, he was not aware of this.

But a little bit before that happened, Kishi was still skipping to her house. But she felt something the more she approached her home.

Something didn't feel . . . right.

There was a certain darkness leaking out of the front door. Why was it open? Who opened it? Normally her parents wouldn't leave the front door open randomly.

But as she approached, she noticed something on the floor.

No… Not something. Someone. And there were two people on the ground, not moving.

Bleeding.

A lot.

This had to be some sort of illusion. Yeah, that would explain it. Someone out there was playing some sort of trick on her – someone had to be doing this to get her attention. But who? Who would be cruel enough to play a prank on her like this? But even worse still…

…Who would want kill her parents?

Realisation hit her like a sudden gust of wind. This was real. Someone did this. Her proof?

There was someone inside the house. Standing there behind her parents' dead bodies. Staring. Prowling.

Watching.

She shrieked.

Then, much to her displeasure, the shadow inside her house started to approach her, walking slowly like it was half-asleep (like it was a monster in those old movies and was going to gobble her up–)

She had to get away from here. Fast. She had to call for help. She didn't like this. No, she hated this. She was terrified, her cat ears were rotating repeatedly, but she didn't care (it was going to gobble her up) – all she wanted to do was run. Run. Run–

"Hello, my dear Kishi…"

But she didn't. She didn't run.

The shadow was not really just a shadow. It was a man. A sleazy-looking man. He was wearing a grey beanie, and his black hair underneath looked like it hadn't been washed for days. His skin was a bit pale. Cold.

He was wearing a dirty blue jacket, and a dark orange baggy shirt underneath. He had grey slacks. And he stank.

She stammered, "W-W-Wh-What a-a-are you d-doing here and who are you?" God, she wished she wasn't so terrified. She felt like she was going to wet herself, what with her legs shaking almost uncontrollably.

"I'm offended, Miss Aoi," the man said. "I'm only like your biggest fan ever." He licked his lips. His dry, cracked lips.

Fan? What fan? She never knew about this. When did he…?

"Oh, of course!" He slapped his palm against his forehead. "I forgot; you didn't know you had someone following you, did you? Well, here I am! I've been watching you for weeks, and let me tell you, seeing those damn fine legs of yours moving and that fine arse swinging… Ooh, it gives me chills every time I think about it."

Who the hell was this creep? Why was he here? Why wouldn't he go away? Why wouldn't she run away and call the police?

"I must admit, I was too nervous to go up to you and ask you out on a date before today, but now I'm ready." He stood on the pavement before collapsing to his knees. "Please, I'm begging you, Kishi! Please go out with me!"

"W-What…?" Kishi was in complete disbelief right now. This guy wasn't making a lot of sense. What exactly had she done to gain his attention? Why her? There were plenty of other attractive women out there he could go for – and older, since this guy looked like he was in his 30s. All he had to do was clean himself up, buy some nice clothes, learn a bit of social etiquette and everyone could move on with their lives.

After he was thrown into jail for killing her parents, of course.

But what she didn't know, was that this line of thinking led to the biggest mistake of her life.

"N-No… I . . . can't go out with you…"

He didn't move for a while. He seemed to be as motionless as her parents, like he killed himself.

"If I can't have you, Kishi… then NO-ONE CAN!"

He got up, pulled out a knife – where did he hide that knife? – and he rushed forward, thrusting straight–

Right into her stomach.

She collapsed.

"Oh Kishi, how I'm going to love being inside you." He took her into the house, knife still in her stomach, laid her down on the ground a couple of metres away from her family's corpses, he ripped her skirt…

He knew where the scream came from. It was about twenty blocks down the road when he heard it. Just had to take a few shortcuts to cut the time. Come on stupid legs, move faster.

Lelouch was exhausted. All this running was driving him nuts. But he had to go see who just screamed a couple of minutes ago. He wasn't going to let this go – no way was he going to let someone get hurt if he could do something about it.

That was how he lost Shirley…

". . . Hang . . . on . . . I'm . . . coming!" he said through heaving breathes.

He was almost there, just a couple more houses. He saw an open front gate. Excellent. That had to be it. He turned right and–

And…

His exhaustion disappeared almost instantly. What he saw was no way near as painful as sprinting. What he saw was just as, if not more so, horrible than some of the atrocities he committed as Emperor. What he saw…

…were three dead bodies, mutilated and bleeding.

The third body, was even worse off.

And the man inside of her – his back having one last spasm – was definitely the cause of all of this.

No word in any dictionary in the world could describe how horrified, disgusted, and livid he was at this moment. No word could describe the absolute loathing he felt. Oh he hated his father – almost everyone he knew did as well – but this man about eight metres in front of him, was the very symbol of something to be hated. Charles looked like Suzaku compared to this scum.

"Ooh yeah, that felt good…" This man – no, 'man' was too nice of a word; he needed to use something harsher – this cretin stood and pulled his pants up around his waist. When he turned, he looked as if what he did was nothing wrong. A sort of mild apathy, yet satisfied with what he did.

That was what Lelouch saw in this monster's eyes, anyway.

"Hey, what the fuck are you doing here?" the cretin asked, pulling the knife out of the girl he just mutilated and degraded.

He saw the damage from where he was standing. Her stomach was opened up completely. Her legs were spread, and her… You know what? Lelouch wasn't even going to think about it.

"I said: What the fuck are you doing here?" He held the knife out in front of him, like he thought he was some sort of action star in a movie who was too cool to follow rules.

Lelouch decided, yes, he was going to talk to this despicable excuse of a human being. After all, the thing only had less than a minute before Lelouch was going to dispose of him.

He answered coldly, punctuating his words meticulously, his anger slowly seeping through, "I am here because I heard someone screaming."

"Oh, so you could hear the stupid bitch could you? Yeah, I probably should've killed her before she did that – would've made fucking her a bit easier; squirmed around too much for my liking."

Lelouch was silent.

"But oh man, I gotta tell you, that chick – Kishi Aoi was her name – had some tight fucking pussy man. And that arse? Woo-hoo! I scored a biggy!" He laughed.

Lelouch was silent.

"Hey man, I don't know who the hell you are, but do you wanna give her a spin as well? It'll be worth it, I promise–"

"HOW DARE YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THE HELL YOU'VE JUST DONE?!"

The cretin didn't seem fazed by Lelouch's outburst. He just kept talking. "So? Hey man, who the hell are you to judge what I do, huh? What, you think you're some sort of god or something?"

Obviously this bastard was insane. There was no redeeming him. That's it, he concluded. I'm going to make him pay.

"Who do I think I am?" he asked so calmly he didn't even expect he could pull it off. "Your end."

His Geass glowed fiercely as he threw his arm over his body. "Lelouch vi Britannia commands you! Kill yourself, slowly and painfully in a location where no-one will ever look for your disgusting body as long as humanity exists!" The emblem in his eye flapped as he threw out his hand to the side.

The being in front of him went from apathetic to emotionless, his face completely blank. The Power of the King still worked.

"Yeah, sure. I'll go."

He began walking, and when he brushed past the former emperor of Britannia, Lelouch stuck his leg out and tripped the scumbag before walking to the house. Served him right.

Lelouch walked, his legs shaking slightly. He hadn't gotten angry at someone that intensely for quite a while. Then again, he didn't want to have to get that mad any time soon. Not anytime soon.

He carefully stepped over the two bodies at the doorway. He didn't want to be disrespectful. Not now. Slowly, he took one small step at a time towards what he remembered was Kishi Aoi, according to… Yeah, it was best if he forgot about that thing just now.

He bent down to investigate, and pressed two fingers up to her neck, just in case she could be saved.

Nothing.

He sighed sadly. He reached for Kishi's glasses, took them off, and closed her eyes shut out of respect. Then he put the spectacles back on her face.

He thought aloud, "Shame. No-one deserves to leave the world like this. She should get a second chance. But how…?"

"Add her to your Peerage. She does have a Sacred Gear, after all."

He glanced behind him. It was Rias.

If she could teleport like that without any trouble, then… "Why didn't you arrive here sooner?"

She sighed, like she knew he was going to ask this. "I can only sense what happens to angels and devils, not random people. If I could've, I would've stopped all of this from happening."

"Then how did you find me?"

"You're a devil, aren't you?"

Damn. She had a point there.

He turned back to face Kishi's lifeless body. "So you're saying . . . I can actually give her a second chance?"

"My brother would've told you that you can make someone a part of your Peerage if you're a devil. So…" She pulled something out of one of her pockets and handed it to him. He took it without looking at her. It was a white bishop. "That's one of your pieces. I forgot to mention to you that you have a whole collection of them. Giving them to you never crossed my mind."

"Will this heal any injury she sustained?"

"I can guarantee it. It'll almost be like none of this ever happened. Everything will be fixed."

He stared at the bishop for a while, thinking about whether or not what he was doing was the right thing to do. Oh what was he saying? Of course it was right. Having someone die this way wasn't fair. Sure, he had no connection to this girl whatsoever prior to what happened a moment ago, but that didn't mean he was going to pass the opportunity to save someone. It didn't matter if he knew her or not, he had a heart.

Even if he was a tyrant…

So he stood up, placed the bishop on Kishi's chest, and gave her dignity by closing her legs and folding her arms over her body. "So how do I do this?"

"I'll help you out with that for now. I'll teach you how to do this by yourself a little later." She snapped her fingers, and a magic circle appeared underneath Kishi. "Now I need to tell you what to say…" She told him.

He memorised it instantly. "Got it."

He stood straight, cleared his throat, and spoke while holding out his hands in a dramatic fashion.

"I commandeth thee as Lelouch vi Britannia. Mine command, Kishi Aoi, is that thy shalt walk again upon this earth. In exchange, thy shalt becometh mine servant!" The circle glowed intensely. "I seal this contract. Walk again!"

The circle glowed even brighter, and Kishi's body started to glow as well, the bishop sinking into her chest. And after that, the circle and the red glow died down and went away.

Lelouch waited. Waited for a single sign of life to pop up. Please… Work…

Then, he noticed a twitch. A small twitch in the fingers. Good, it worked.

He bent down to his knees and held Kishi up carefully, making sure she was sitting up straight.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw him holding her. "Where . . . am I?"

"Kishi Aoi."

"Hmm?"

"My name is Lelouch. I'm a devil. Welcome to my Peerage."

What began from this moment forward would be an adventure – an adventure of epic proportions. Lelouch didn't know what to expect, but he was prepared for it regardless. After all, he was not alone. He had comrades by his side, ready to go to Hell and back with him.

But from friendships, romance was bound to bloom. And he would have to accept that, whether he liked it or not. Although he wasn't sure if he was going to be glad for this, or if he was going to regret it.

Only one way to find out…

End of Chapter 1

(A/N: Whew… Done.

Oh and by the way, don't say I didn't tell you so. When I said 'horrible shit', I wasn't joking. But don't worry; I promise you it won't happen again.

So what do you think? Leave a review – preferably a detailed one that isn't along the lines of: "Great job" or "Update now plz"… Look, just try to find something to say so that I don't see a new review and find I can finish it in less than half a second. It sort of bugs me.

I also won't update this story for a while. Production will be a bit slow. I know, I know, you're probably thinking: "Why are you not updating NOW? I want more NOW!" Well, because chapters like this take time. Not to mention I have other things I want and have to do. So please be patient; if you can read a 10,000+ word chapter, then you can be patient enough to wait for me when I'm ready.

And if you only care about lemons and nothing else… Well go read something else then, because I prefer writing something called build-up. I don't know if you know what build-up means, but it's actually important.

Anyway, now I'm rambling…

Hope to see your responses sometime soon. And if I got something wrong about the DxD world, don't be afraid to bring it up, because then I can go back and change it.)