... Damn, 2020 is starting out really bad. It's only the second month and so much happened already. Hopefully the worst has already come and gone.

Anyways, hello everyone. Little late, yes, sorry. Life can be annoying. That, and Destiny has been falling off my radar a little since the latest season didn't really get my attention. I mean, yeah, saving Saint is amazing, but all that with so little content just doesn't feel worth sinking my time into this time.

Anyways, doubt any of you care about the header and footer stuff I put here- minus the few who do. If you do, thanks for putting up with me, if not, hope you enjoy the chapter and my responses to any reviews I've gotten.

Speaking of reviews, let's go get to those.

Reviews:

infinitydrivex: Sorry you didn't like the story, it's not for everyone. Even I know my story is pretty bad. Hope you find a better one.

Exorelix: Yeah, my 'plot twist' was poorly timed and dropped out of nowhere. I've had a lot of ideas of when I could drop it, and i apparently chose the earliest chance I could get. And the whole buildup I keep putting around Saka being the 'Demigod of Light,' I can agree. I do not want to make him a Mary Sue, but I keep hinting at it subconsciously. Otherwise, thank you for saying my story was written better than most others.

Nikkless: Lotta reviews from you, so I'll try to go in order from first to latest. Yes, people know he's here because reasons. He's thin because he's a Hunter, and my view on Hunter is that they're athletic with some muscle development, not buff like how one could see a Titan or as thin as paper like a Warlock. Keith is a character I've been working on for a long time and wanted to bring him in earlier than when I was planning on the first version of this story. Raynare being a good guy was something I wanted to do as well, and yes, I would say Kala is definitely the better of the two as well. The fusion of both worlds was done poorly, I agree. He's currently 19, the 518 was a joke for the first chapter cause of how I view the age system for Guardians. Lastly, it may have been better if only Saka and Ghost were the ones from Destiny to appear, but it would limit me on things I can do.

Guest: I saw Jojo when I was on Hiatus. I liked it.

Guest: Yes, I know there is a very obvious reason why no one has done something like this before. I just decided to say screw the trends and do what I wanted.

OnePunchPlayer: Your concern is appreciated. Good luck if you're still playing Destiny as well.

Bon Bonchan 26: It is one hell'uva twist. I'm not overly proud of what I did, but I do feel happy with myself for doing something unique.

Jebest4781: Thank you, good luck with your stories as well.

ChimaTigon: Nope, there's an Issei. He's just been on the backburner for a while now.

Wacko12: They broke up during the time I took the opportunity to integrate the SIVA Crisis, Red War, and the first two D2 DLCs. The pairings are all decided, but I won't say what characters get a relationship and which ones don't.

Locke Lynx: I really felt like I was forcing the relationship between them this early in the story, but it wasn't the reason I did my twist.

Those were fun. Now, the final results of the poll because Kokabiel arc will start soon. (THANK GOD, AM I RIGHT?):

Asia: 27

Irina: 17

Xenovia: 9

Akeno/Koneko: 7

Ravel: 5

The holy trinity. Gonna be fun writing those. Poor Ravel though, guess so few like her.

Anyways, let's stop the chitchat. You guys wanted a chapter, so here you go.

Please enjoy.


Chapter 22: Calm before the storm


His muscles hurt so much.

"Twenty… five…" He got out between heavy breaths, his body falling down again. He tensed the pained muscles in his arms again, lifting his body up.

"Twenty… six…" He fell again, taking deeper breaths as he got further with his exercise.

Why did no one tell him exercise was so painful?

"Twenty … seven…" It felt like his muscles would be screaming in pain from how long he's been doing this.

"Twen… ty… eight…" At this point, he was running on fumes.

"Twen…ty… ni-"

His counting was stopped when his hand slipped off the bar, his body dropping from the lack of support as the sudden shift in weight made his other hand lose its grip as well. One tired Issei Hyoudou fell to the ground on his rear, his arms resting limply on his sides.

"Dang it…" He took in several deep breaths in an attempt to catch it. Slowly, he tries to pull himself up to his feet, only to find he did not have the energy to get back up. He sighs in defeat, looking around the area of the park that he was in to make sure no one was nearby.

When he felt sure that there was no one nearby, a flash of red and green came from his left arm, his Sacred Gear now materialized on his arm as a loud [BOOST!] came from it in response. Almost immediately he felt a sudden wave of strength and much needed energy flow through his body, enough energy for him to pull himself back up to his feet, even with the stumbling.

[This is a poor use of my power.] The gem on the gauntlet flashed in rhythm with the words spoken by the Dragon inside. Issei didn't reply, choosing to instead go to a bench where his bag was to grab the water he packed earlier. The cap was removed and he poured the contents into his mouth, hardly caring if some managed to fall onto the shirt or tracksuit he was wearing.

"I know… and I'm sorry…" He collapsed onto the bench, saving his energy now so he can make the walk home before the sun is gone. It was getting late already. "So… how many can I take now?"

[You're currently at one Boost. Before, you could only take up to 4.] Ddraig replied. [Are you hoping to push for 5?]

Issei nodded, preparing himself for what was about to come.

[Very well. BOOST!] Another wave of power , this one stronger than the last one, came through his body.

Ten seconds went by as the next [BOOST!] was announced, his hands curling into fists in response to the next wave.

[BOOST!] His body felt like it was reaching a limit now.

[RESET!] And like a dam that just broke, all that power left his body. A sudden cough came from his lungs in response, his brown eyes looking down at the gem of the gauntlet.

"I thought we agreed on 5."

[Your body is still too weak to handle 5. This little training regime you've made for yourself is doing next to nothing to help you build strength.] Issei opened his mouth to reply, but Ddraig continued. [Yes, you may be building SOME muscle mass, but there is a difference between power and muscle. Those muscles are hardly anything and they are barely even capable of handling 4 Boosts. If we were to do 5, you would be at risk of a limb or any body part exploding because of the power.]

He swears he heard something similar to that somewhere before.

[If you want to build actual power- true strength- you must do something more than this.]

"Well sorry I'm limited to this stuff. I can try and go get a gym membership if that helps."

[Don't bother. If all those 'gyms' have to offer are like what you've been doing, you're better off saving your treasure- or whatever it is you Humans call your wealth.]

"It's called Yen, and it's money."

[I don't care what it's called. Save your wealth.] The gem lost some of its shine at the end of that sentence.

A sigh in defeat escaped his lips before he pulled himself up to his feet again, Boosted Gear disappearing from his arm. He pushed his stuff into his bag with little care of where it went, some light angry grumbling coming from him. "What help is a Dragon in my arm if it just keeps complaining?"

The door closed behind him after he got back him. He took his shoes off at the entrance so he didn't track in any dirt.

He shivered at the memory of the last time he did. Atleast he had his friend back then to help him.

'I still can't remember their name, no matter how hard I try… Some friend I am.'

"Issei?"

His head turned to the side to see Asia coming from the kitchen, his mother still behind the counter as his father- like the stereotypical man he was- just sat at the table with the newspaper in hand and the TV on whatever channel he left it on this morning.

"Hey, Asia. I'm back." He gave her a halfhearted wave. Almost immediately after, he sniffed the air and found a pleasant smell. "So, what's for dinner? It smells good."

"Son," His father looked over his paper, a hand on his face to adjust his glasses. "is that really the first thing you say to a girl when you just get home?"

"It seems our son lacks the tact needed when speaking to girls, dear." His mother chimed in, her hand now on the side of her face while she let out a sigh. "Maybe this is why it's taken him so long to finally bring a girl home."

"Maybe we should tell him about how we got together to set an example."

"Oh, I remember it like it was yesterday. It began back in Spring during our third year of high school…"

Issei groaned as they began telling their story for the umpteenth time since he first brought Asia home. "I'm taking a bath! Call me when dinner's done, please!"

"Wait just a bit! She's getting to the best part!"

His father's words fell on deaf ears when he left as fast as possible. A quick trip to his room to grab a clean pair of clothes and to drop off his bag was made before he went into the bathroom.

Several minutes went by before Issei came back out, a towel in his hand to dry off some wet spots in his hair with a pair of clean clothes. His lips slowly curved up into a small smile, happy to feel so refreshed after his attempts at growing stronger.

"And here's a picture of Issei when he was barely even a year old."

His smile immediately dropped while his eyes widened in fear.

'Oh no.'

He dashed towards the living area of his home, rounding the corner to see his mother on the couch with Asia, his father off in his own chair still with the paper in hand, and a plate of what was hopefully still warm food on the table- most likely his.

However, it was the item in his mother's and Asia's lap that made his blood run cold.

The one nightmare for every boy or man, no matter how old or brave. The one thing that could ruin a man's pride in seconds by revealing deep dark secrets from long, long ago that were best left forgotten.

Baby pictures.

And his mother was sharing all of them with Asia.

"M-Mom, why did you bring that thing out!?" He did his best to try and keep his cheeks from blushing from embarrassment, but he had no practice whatsoever in preventing such a thing from happening.

"Oh, Issei! You're just in time." His mother waved for him to come over. "Please, eat your dinner then sit down with Asia and I. I just pulled out the albums of when you were younger."

"Don't disappoint your mother, Issei!" His father stated, not even sparing his own son a slight glance as he kept his eyes on the paper.

"Baby Issei is so cute!" Asia was almost mesmerized by the pictures on each page. Issei groaned in embarrassment, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

'I hate my baby pictures…'


To say he had a long night would not be an understatement.

"I swear, it feels like I didn't get any sleep at all…" The lone Guardian covered his mouth to cover his yawn. "Seriously… How late was I up after that fight?"

'I don't know the time in the Underworld, but I'd say till about 2:16 AM for up here. Add in the fact the Devils had to be at school by roughly 9, minus the 2 hour ride on that train, you've had about 4 hours and 21 minutes of sleep.' Ghost replied.

"That is not nearly enough…" He reached down to pull his phone out, forgetting it was dead as he let out an annoyed groan. He pocketed his phone, knowing he'll have to throw it on the charger when he gets back to the house he hasn't seen in months. "Gonna take a nap when I get there…"

'And leave me to do all the work of organizing your new inventory? I had no clue my Guardian was so lazy.'

A deadpan look as sent to over his shoulder, the idea of his Ghost hovering in that spot the cause of this. A very loud grumble from his stomach added on to his current list of objectives.

'… You really should've had atleast something from that table in the party before you went to sleep.'

"Couldn't. It was all fish related stuff cause apparently Gremory is a Japanophile and Riser just got all sorts of sushi and fish related items for her. We both know what fish does to my stomach." Another grumble from his stomach made him wince. "Would it have killed the man to get atleast one bowl of rice? Racism be damned, I'm hungry."

'Order a pizza?'

"Are there any open this early in the day?"

'Probably not. I'll look for the nearest restaurant then. How do you feel about waffles?'

"Waffles sound wonderful right now." He replied, rounding the corner that went to the street where his home was. "Let's take a quick run through inside and then we-"

Saka ceased all movement when he stood in front of the gate that led to his home. On the fate was a sign with bright red and bold letters spelling a pair of words.

FOR SALE

'… Oh.'

The Guardian stared at the sign for a few more seconds before letting his head drop, the mix of anger and sadness numbing the pain from his stomach.

"… Kuso. (Fuck.)"

Promise be damned, he earned that one.


Another day, another… very… boring… school day.

Issei let out a yawn before taking a bite out of the bean bun he had purchased for lunch once again. The young male chewed his meal slowly before swallowing, taking the short time he had between now and his next bite to grab the juice box he bought as well to help wash the bun down.

"Hey, Hyoudou!"

'Oh please no.' He felt his gut drop when he heard that male voice, knowing the second one would be right behind it any second now.

"How the hell did you get a girl to go out for lunch with you?!" And there it was. He turned to look at the pair of male students his age coming towards him, both looking infuriated.

The infamous Perverted Duo.

"What're you guys talking about? I haven't gone out for lunch with any girl." He replied, unsure of what they mean't with their question.

"Don't try to bullshit us!" The one wearing glasses, Motohama, shouted.

"We saw you in town with that foreign blonde babe!" The one with a shaved head, Matsuda, also shouted.

Issei looked at them confused before he realized who they were talking about. "What do you two want with Asia?"

Both of them stepped back with horrified expressions on their faces, a crack somehow forming on Motohama's glasses from what looked like nothing.

"T-There's no way that's her family name, so that means…"

"He's on a first name basis?!"

Issei let out another sigh as he knew where this was going.

"I said what do you two want with Asia?"

Motohama fixed himself quickly, the crack on his glasses somehow fixing themselves as he adjusted them. "What we want to know how is how a nobody like you got a girlfriend before we did!"

"Yeah man, what the hell! You're not like that bastard Kiba and you don't have any defining traits! You're just some kid near the back without any friends and who doesn't say a thing!" Matsuda recovered shortly after his partner in crime, an accusative finger pointed directly at Issei.

"Asia's not my girlfriend. She's… the daughter of my dad's friend from overseas. He sent her here to…" He drew a blank to what he could say to try and give a convincing lie, his eyes looking around for something to help him weave what small lie he could. His eyes slowly landed on his lunch, some form of an idea appearing. "… learn Japanese culture."

He was not that good at lying.

"Bullshit!" Matsuda shouted very loudly, making Issei flinch because of the sheer volume the young teen could reach with his voice.

"Come on man, we're all friends here…" Motohama moved closer to Issei, wrapping his arm around Issei's shoulders before tightening it around his neck. "Just tell us how you got her to go out with you and we'll leave you alone."

He really doubted that statement.

"Pardon me." A new voice caught their attention, all of them looking towards the source to see a familiar blonde male. "I hope none of you mind, but my president would like to speak with Issei before the end of our lunch period. She's also willing to speak after school if now isn't a good time."

Issei's nerves were unsettled by the proclamation, remembering his last interaction with anyone from Rias' group. A quick glance at the perverted duo and then his lunch helped him make his decision.

"Yeah, now's a good time. Better now than later, right?" Issei got up and out from Motohama's grasp. He grabbed his lunch as well before following Kiba.

Both members of the Perverted Duo shouted various curses at the two as they left.

Issei kept glancing over his shoulder at the two before they disappeared from vision. Once they were gone, he took another bite out from his bun as he looked at Kiba.

"So what does she want with me this time?" His eyes narrowed as a small sense of anger built up inside. "I thought I made it obvious last time that I didn't want to have anything to do with her or you guys."

Kiba didn't let his smile falter for a second, nor did he turn around to look at Issei. "It's best if you hear it from Rias herself."

He's heard that line plenty of times from manga, games, and anime. 'It's best if you hear it from (BOSSNAMEHERE) themselves.' Always said for some kind of reveal or threat.

He really hoped it was the former.

… Actually, no. The reveal could probably be a threat as well.

Both situations were not good for him.

Regardless, he followed Kiba towards the old school building. Once inside, it was just as dark as the last time he was there, minus the few lights actually being turned on to illuminate the halls. They moved through the halls and went past a locked door again, a spot where they went up the stairs instead of the door. A short bit of more walking brought them to the familiar pair of doors that led to the clubroom of the ORC.

Issei swallowed the nervous lump- or a piece of his lunch that was still there- that was in his throat, stuffing the empty wrapping into his pocket for him to throw away later. Kiba grabbed the handle to one of the doors and opened it, gesturing for Issei to walk inside.

He did just that, walking into the room he hadn't taken a step in since before the church incident he was involved in.

"Hello Issei, it's a pleasure seeing you again. I hope you're doing well today." Rias' voice caught his attention, his gaze moving towards the opposite side of the room to see the familiar crimson haired heiress sitting behind her desk. Her voice sounded… very happy, her expression also looking like she was in a very good mood.

She actually looked more… free.

The door was closed behind him as Kiba stepped inside. The single Knight of Gremory took a seat on the couch opposite of the one where Koneko was, her emotionless expression appearing to have withered away slightly as she had a faint smile while eating a donut.

… and she apparently had white cat ears… and a matching tail.

'… What.'

She honestly reminded him of that Kur… Kur… Kur-something woman he saw with the Guardians months ago. Maybe they were related?

"Would you like some tea?" He jumped when Akeno made her presence known beside him, a cart with tea and light snacks on it.

Issei shook his head at his upperclassman, refusing her offer. She kept her smile as she went to the other members of the room and gave them all their own drinks.

Another lump was in his throat, this one harder to swallow. He coughed to clear his throat, removing the lump so he could speak.

"So… what do you want with me?" He asked as he let his eyes narrow towards the Devil opposite of him.

"I would like to apologize for my past actions against you. At the time, I was more focused on breaking away from an engagement decided upon by my father and another Devil than thinking of others. My own Peerage is a reflection of this and I have apologized to them accordingly. I have also apologized to the Guardian called Saka Hikari." She stood up from her chair, bowing forward at Issei. "I was acting with self interest rather than with the interest for others."

"… What's going on?" He felt unsure and confused, baffled even because one of the most popular girls at his school was currently bowing and apologizing to him.

"Rias was formerly engaged to a Devil called Riser Phenex." Akeno said, a sip of her tea taken right after.

"Riser is- or now was- a Devil that wanted Rias only for her name and body. He was a very perverted Devil." Kiba continued for the Queen. "It was last night that Rias' wedding was crashed and the engagement nulled because of Hikari's sudden appearance."

"… He kicked the chicken's butt." Koneko added, her smile growing slightly at the memory of the fight.

"He… wha?" His confusion was growing by the second. "Is he and Keith back?"

"We don't know the current status of the Warlock called Keith," Rias pulled herself up to sit back down in her chair and take a sip from her freshly brewed tea. "Mr. Hikari, on the other hand, is back and should be at his home right now."

"… He's… at his home now?" His question was answered by a few nods, which led to more confusion. "But… his house was foreclosed weeks ago. There have been people taking his stuff out the past few days already. It's up for sale. I've seen the sign every time I left home."

"… Oh dear." A look of concern was shared amongst the Devils. "Do you think it's too late to warn him?"

"His home wasn't too far from the station, so he's most likely already seen it. Especially with the current time." Akeno's words made Issei wince, the knowledge of having one of the Guardians so close now gone. Unless he could get his house back. He didn't fully understand real estate.

The sound of a distant bell ringing made them look out the window. Issei's eyes widening in shock.

"Oh man, already?!" Panic filled his body. He turned around and grabbed the handle to one of the doors to almost throw it open. He didn't say a farewell to the Devils as he ran out of the building to run back to class before he was late.

"… He can move quite fast when he wants to." Kiba took note of his peer's speed as he took another sip of his drink.

"Will you still try to persuade him to our side, Rias?" Akeno asked, her answer a shaking of Rias' head.

"No, I don't believe I will be able to do so anymore. You all felt the Light from him too, did you not?" What few members of a Peerage she had nodded. "I'm afraid his Light has grown strong enough to reject the Evil Pieces even if he decided to become a Devil. The best I can do now is mend what strained relationship we have now to try and persuade him to support Devils instead of fight them."

Silence filled the room with that knowledge now in their minds.


A happy tune was hummed by her.

She had gotten her first paycheck from the Human world.

It sounded so useless for someone from the Supernatural, but it was an achievement for her for reasons best left unsaid.

The Fallen Angel named Amano Yuuma- who also preferred the name Raynare out of embarrassment for her own name- was obviously happy right now.

She had an apartment she was sharing with Keith- wherever he was right now- and an actual, Human job by being a waitress at a small café in Akihibara. The position opened after one of the more famous waiters apparently stopped coming in for some reason without any warning. Whoever they were, they were not getting the job back. She liked it.

She also had no idea a Human life was so much more fun compared to everything she had to do when she was working for the Grigori.

Atleast now she wasn't facing the chance of a subordinate or ally possibly wanting to throw a spear of light through her chest.

Raynare came around the corner leading down the street to the Hyoudou household, and the former Hikari household. She didn't really have to come down here, it was more like she wanted to pass by and check to see how Issei and Asia were doing.

She kept her tune going as she got closer to the Hyoudou house, where she then felt a presence.

The humming came to a stop when she felt the presence of a being with light- she couldn't tell if it was the Holy power from Angels or the Light from Guardians, it was too similar for a low ranking Fallen Angel like her. She knew Hyoudou was beginning to emit Light like a Guardian, but he also had a Draconic energy to go with his Light.

This one was purely light.

Her purple orbs looked towards the source- coming from the former house of Hikari. The presence was coming closer and felt like it was on ground level. If it weren't for the wall between her and them, she'd see the person coming straight to her.

One hand was ready to use her Holy power to create a weapon, the other ready to cast a spell to trap she and them in a bubble where only they could see the other and prevent anyone else from getting in.

"Raynare?" A familiar male voice made her look to the side, seeing Issei coming towards her. "Are you here to visit-"

The presence suddenly moved faster towards the wall between them.

"Issei, watch out!" She warned him, a spear of light now in her hand as a figure jumped over the wall and onto their side.

He landed on one knee, somewhat happy there were still a good amount of his belongings still in the house that he stole from… himself? He didn't know. It was still his stuff, just not his house.

A faint smile crept up on his features, but his stomach still demanded something.

'Might wanna look up.'

"Hm?" He raised a brow as he looked up to see a spear of light pointed straight at his head, a soft wave of heat hitting his face from the spear. "… Oh." He saw the hand holding the spear and followed up its arm, over the shoulder, and right at the face of the person holding him at… spearpoint? "… Raynare?"

"Saka?" She asked, confused by his sudden appearance.

"Saka?" Issei asked as well, looking at the Guardian he hadn't seen in months.

"Hyoudou?" Saka asked, looking between the two of them. "… was just about to ask what you're doing here, but did just remember he lives right there. So what're you doing here and why do you have a spear pointed right at my face, Raynare?"

She quickly dispersed the spear, letting the Guardian get up to his feet. He dusted off his pants around his knee as he adjusted the backpack he now had containing some of his items and space for Ghost for when he didn't want to be inside his Guardian's mind anymore.

"So, hi. I'm back for now, don't know when I might get called in for something- recently was told Cayde went off to explore the Reef cause of disturbances out there. Might get called out to go with him."

"Where's Keith? How is he?" Raynare almost jumped forward with her questions, the concern in her tone obvious.

"What happened to both of you? You guys were here one day and just left the next." Issei finally asked the question he'd been holding onto for weeks.

"… Okay, was not prepared for this." A breath was exhaled before he took in a new one, preparing himself to give answers. "Keith's doing pretty well. He's still back in the world of Light right now. Both of us went back cause I got called in by a very well known Titan called Lord Saladin- last of the Iron Lords, long story about those guys, basically the people who came before Guardians. Will go further in depth some other time- and Keith went back to help an order of Warlocks he was on good terms with. Lord Saladin wanted me to help him with an issue that was rising up in the Cosmodrone we're calling the SIVA Crisis. Right after, we got invaded by Cabal, they took our powers, almost destroyed the entire solar system in another incident we're calling the Red War-"

A loud growl from his stomach stopped his explanation. The Guardian's shoulders slumped, his head falling down with them.

"… Can I explain over food or something? I haven't had a thing in more than a day, and I am kinda tired right now."


"You crashed a WEDDING?!"

"Oh, yeah. It was fun. Almost killed the groom too." A large bite into the sandwich he had ordered from the restaurant was made, some heavy chewing needed before he could swallow it. "Seriously, neither of you have any idea how great this thing tastes right now. It should be illegal with how tasty chicken can be sometimes."

"I can't believe you not only made a deal with a Devil, but the current Lucifer as well." Raynare's voice was laced with disbelief. "You even have him owing you a favor right now…"

"No idea what I'm going to use it for." A quick bite into his sandwich silenced him for the few seconds it took to chew and swallow again. "… Honestly, unsure of what I'm going to do now either. Was nice having a job and being a normal human, but taxes… by the Light did I hate doing my taxes."

'You doing your taxes? You kept delegating that task to me.'

"Oh, shut up. I only did it after I got annoyed with them after the third time." He groaned at the memory of the pain that were taxes. He looked over at the Fallen Angel and young teen, their gazes of concern on him. "Was talking to my Ghost, sorry. I'm not going crazy and talking to myself. Least, not yet. Hive are likely to take out my sanity if I had to spend a week in their catacombs again."

"What do you mean you're not sure what you're going to do now?" Issei stepped up to follow the Guardian closer than before as they turned into a residential district.

"I mean just that. I have no idea what I'll do now that I'm apparently homeless and unemployed." He swallowed the last bite of his sandwich, crushing the wrapper into a ball to throw into the first trash can he can find. "Only things I can really think of are go house and job searching again- which I really just don't want to. I've slept out in the wild enough to not care about where I sleep so long as I get sleep- or just… take over Keith's position as your teacher into how to become a Guardian."

A certain spark appeared in Issei's eyes when he heard that. "R-Really?"

"Only if you absolutely want to become a Guardian. I need to tell you right now before you say anything: Guardians are not immortal." The memory of his Fireteam flashed through his mind, his hand twitching in response. "Guardians are not like those heroes you see in cartoons, anime, comics- whatever the current stuff is, I'm really out of date right now. Just because we're able to come back from death many, many times, it does not mean we cannot die our final death."

"Saka!" Raynare shouted his name out of shock when he said that.

"He wouldn't be the first teenage Guardian. Yes, I was younger than him when I first died and became a Guardian, but back then was a much more different time. We still get teen Guardians, and so many of them are basically drowning in hormones and think 'they're the shit' and end up getting themselves killed cause they wouldn't accept Zavala's order to surrender their armor and weapons and live in the City until they grow old enough to come back. Yes, we get exceptions, but those exceptions are rare." Saka's eyes turned to a light glare that was directed towards Raynare, the Fallen Angel taking a step back in response. "I don't want to be the reason why he gets himself killed. I can live with a lot of things, but knowing I'm the reason why a once normal kid lost their life? That's something I don't think I'll be able to live with."

The atmosphere made a sudden change with his words. For the third time today, Issei had to swallow a lump that had formed in his throat.

"But Keith said-"

"Keith says a lot of things." He interrupted Issei before he could continue. "He's a smart man, but sometimes he doesn't know the right stuff to say. I'm… not… one to talk either cause my social skills aren't the best, nor my people skills. Honestly, I'm the worst person you could possibly have this kind of conversation with."

"Then why did you bring the topic up?"

A shrug of his shoulders was the response he gave. "I just say stuff sometimes. Most of it cursing."

"You are a very flawed person." Raynare admitted. "Not even the good kind of flaw that could make people want to help you or like you. The kind of flawed that makes people want to stay away from you."

'Finally! Someone else said it!' Ghost sounded as if he was celebrating because of what he just heard.

He opened his mouth to give some form of retort, finding no words to say. He knew he could not deny the truth.

"I…" He fell silent, his mood dropping significantly when he heard her words. "… That's… a lot to take in."

'Since she finally said it, I have to tell you now.' Ghost appeared over his Guardian's shoulder, his lone blue eye looking towards Saka's two green ones. "You were more likable when you said almost nothing after the Mercury mission. Since the Gate from the Vault, you've been very, very bland. You were good during the Red War, Curse of Osiris, and the Mars Expedition, but when you got back to this world, you went back to boring."

A deep intake of air was needed as the lone Guardian stood there, his mind processing the information he was just given. His arms moved up just for him to drop them back down to his sides, a look of defeat on his face.

"Well… fine. I guess if people who I thought were on my side hated my character, I… might as well just go back to the World of Light. Least back there no one cares about anything but the number of enemies I kill. Thanks for the wakeup call, I guess… Ghost, you mind if we-"

"Already on it."

A flash of light appeared in his hand, leaving behind an item large enough to not properly fit in his palm. A weak swing of his arm let him toss the item towards Issei.

Issei fumbled for the item when it hit his chest, quickly grabbing it with both hands and pulling it close to himself to get a solid hold on it. Once he had a good grip, he pulled it away from his body to see what it was.

It was a Ghost. It had the regular core, but the shell was a bright red, the edges on the very top and bottoms painted bright green.

"What-"

"Dead Ghost. Found it back home and thought it'd be fitting for you since Ddraig and all that." Saka explained with a few weak hand gestures. "Just… grow strong enough with your Light then push it into the Ghost. That should revive it and connect it to your Light. You should get a set of makeshift armor with the Ghost when it's brought back, so just… use that stuff. I guess dye it red or something. Talk to Keith about getting a weapon- probably an auto rifle or something for you." A deep and exasperated sigh escaped his lungs. "If anyone needs me, I'll… be going back home now. Wanted to get back into the Crucible anyways."

The lone Hunter adjusted one of the straps to his backpack, his back now towards the Titan-in-training and Fallen Angel-Human hybrid he apparently found out just recently.

"… Is he trying to guilt trip us now?"

The Hunter's eye twitched when he heard that but refused to respond, his choice to walk away now.

Ghost watched his Guardian continue to leave, floating after his Guardian.

"… Maybe we were a little too hard on him." She would not the sense of guilt that formed in her chest, weighing down on her like a bag of bricks. "He looked to be somewhat happy to even be back in this world."

"Yeah…" Issei held the Ghost close to his chest, trying to ignore the weight that hung from his chest beneath it.


"I thought you were on my side."

"I am. You just… had to face the facts."

"By crushing my spirits? By telling me to my face that me as a person is just terrible?"

To say he felt betrayed was an understatement.

"I was actually looking forward to finally come back to this world! I was excited to finally get to go back to the house I'd been living in for months, maybe even talk with Gabriel about giving me my job back. But nope! All that came crashing down cause my house is for sale! And apparently, the few people I thought were on my side, and my own Ghost, all say my personality is terrible." A loud grown came out as he planted his face in his palm. "You couldn't have waited for a better time to do this to me?"

"Hey, Raynare's the one that brought up the topic." Ghost disappeared in a flash of light to return to his Guardian's mind. 'I just took advantage to let you know.'

A click of the tongue was the response he gave his partner. His mood was terrible right now and the will to speak was disappearing fast.

"… Least there's no way today can get any worse."

'… You shouldn't have said that.'

A loud and thunderous roar from above made him look up. A droplet of water fell on his face, followed by another and another, slowly turning into a torrent of rain. Lightning flashed across the sky above him, the roar of thunder right behind it.

"… Why do I even say anything at this point?" His head hung low as his shoulders slumped. "I hate myself."

"Aw, don't be like that! I like you!" A familiar male voice spoke out, but it was one he couldn't immediately place a face or name with.

It was then that he flinched when something cold and metallic suddenly pierced his chest.

His bright green eyes slowly looked down to see a jagged looking sword tip covered in a mix of rain and blood coming out from his chest. He turned his head to look over his shoulder, seeing a… somewhat familiar looking priest. What was his name again?

"Bastard…" That was close enough. A cough made some blood come up and fill his mouth with that far too familiar copper taste

"Surprise~!" Freed smiled while one foot was brought up to kick Saka and pull his sword out. The Guardian stumbled forward, blood pouring from his chest and his back and staining one of his favorite shirts.

Instinctively, he reached up to his chest, getting his blood all over his palm. Saka coughed again, more blood filling his mouth to the point he had to spit it out. His eyes looked up at the insane priest, glaring at him with a fury that could not be described.

"Hey, don't be like that! You're giving me all the right kinds of wrong feelings with that glare!" Freed spun the strangely jagged like blade of a sword he hand, stabbing it into the ground to then lean on it. "Missed me?"

More blood being spit out was the answer he gave, his right lung destroyed as his left was being filled with blood.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" Freed held one hand up to his ear towards the Guardian, his insane smile growing wider. "Come on, really! You've got that hot cat, didn't you? Did she take your tongue since we last met?"

Saka stumbled backwards and hit his back against a wall, his blood staining the wall as Ghost took his backpack into the inventory.

"C'mon! Where's your kitty? I wanna say hello to her too before I go back to my boss!"

"Gone." He coughed again, the blood accumulated too much in his mouth and forcing him to spit it out. "She left."

"Aww, that's so boring!" Freed swung his sword in the air in front of him, another swing right after as his facial features curled into an angry expression. He swung his sword frantically at inhuman speeds. "Do you have any idea what I wanted to do to that girl?! I was gonna cut those ears off then move for those tails!"

Another cough got out from him and made him spit out more blood. Ace appeared in his hand with a flash of Light, his firearm raised to shoot Freed.

The lunatic in front of him stopped his frantic and erratic swinging, his insane smile curling up again.

"Ah? Gonna shoot me? Go ahead! I dare you!"

"I'm not aiming for you." He flipped Ace around to point the barrel towards his head, forcing the end of his gun against his head. "Standby for Resurrection. "

*BANG*

Saka's body fell to the ground, Ace falling with it before disappearing back to the inventory to prevent any damage to it. Ghost worked quickly, his Guardian's body disintegrating into light and being transferred into his core to begin the resurrection process.

Light was consumed as the hole in the chest was filled with tissue, blood restored, and the bullet hole in the skull repaired.

Ghost let the pieces of his shell float around his core, a dim light around him before his pieces latched back into place.

Saka landed on his feet, his eyes blinking several times before his vision was cleared. Light covered his body as his armor appeared, his cloak now covering his back and flowing gently with the wind and soaking up the rain. His hands flexed their fingers while he took Ace out again, his other hand grabbing his sword from another flash of Light.

"Eh? You get a wardrobe change?" The priest looked at the now much darker Guardian, one brow raised. "Trying to go emo now?"

No response was given, the Hunter instead moving forward to approach Freed. The priest's smile somehow grew larger when he took a single step- and suddenly turned into a blur too fast for his eyes to keep track of.

'What the-'

'Fast.'

A sudden blow to his back made his shield flare, a fair chunk suddenly destroyed but still stable. He looked at his motion tracker, a red dot moving too fast towards the center where he was as he was then met with a knee to the face of his helmet.

Saka fell down, his shield damaged as he shook his head. He jumped up to his feet, his eyes glued to his tracker in preparation for the next attack.

'On your 8!' Ghost gave him ample warning, his body turning and raising his sword to try and block the next attack.

Just as the blur got close to him, it suddenly shifted and struck his side, pushing his shield to the absolute limit.

'That's not- how is this.'

'Focus! He's going for fast and powerful strikes and can strike from anywhere!'

A quick nod was made, his side stinging a little from the last hit. He gave up on his radar and opted for the new plan of keeping his back against the closest wall. He grit his teeth, the rain pouring down on him and dampening his hearing.

'2 O'clock!'

Void energy gathered in his hand after his sword disappeared back into his inventory to give him the handed needed to make a grenade, the small item slammed into the wall behind him to give the Spike grenade terrain to stick to as it emitted a torrent of Void Light.

Freed appeared for a second because he had to stop in order to not enter the torrent, his eyes locking onto Saka briefly before he stuck his tongue out and disappeared again.

The Spike grenade died down after a few seconds, leaving him exposed again as he formed another grenade with a Smoke bomb in the same hand.

'Above!'

Saka jumped from the wall and threw his Smoke bomb behind him, creating a poisonous cloud of smoke where he previously was.

Freed fell into the cloud, his speed dropping immediately when he breathed in the fumes and began coughing.

The grenade was dropped as Arc lightning cracked on his fist. He took one step forward, digging his heel into the ground as he struck Freed's cheek with his Arc infused fist.

One of the perks that came with becoming an Arcstridder.

Freed stumbled off to the side, holding onto his cheek as his eye above the corresponding cheek was now bloodshot somehow.

"You little-"

No time was given for Freed to continue. Saka jumped forward when his shield was partially recharged to send another strong punch into Freed's chest this time.

The priest stumbled backwards, his hand still on his cheek to try and ease the pain. A low growl came from him as he reached into his jacket to pull out a second sword- this one looking like a more proper blade of western origin.

"Fine! Let's see how you deal with Excalibur Transp-"

"Come now, Freed. This one is not worthy to see anymore of the Excaliburs." An elderly male voice interrupted him, causing both combatants to turn and find an elderly man of short stature with gray hair and glasses, a priests robe for his attire as he held an umbrella to keep himself dry. "You've gathered more than enough data for the night."

Saka stepped back and raised Ace, his sights jumping between Freed and the old man while his finger almost pulled the trigger.

"Oooooooh! You got lucky today!" Freed pointed at Saka, his expression still angry as he blurred for a second to appear beside the old man. "If it weren't for the boss man, I'd be dancing in your ribs!"

"Your threats towards our lost son are noted, Freed. Now, if you'd please return us to Lord Kokabiel." Freed handed the second sword to the other priest to then reach into his coat and pull out a small item that was too familiar to the Guardian.

"Alrighty!" He pulled the pin and threw the flashbang to the ground. Saka didn't have the time to prepare as a blinding light flashed him and made him flinch, his reaction speed too slow to protect himself as he was temporarily blinded.

He blinked rapidly to clear his vision. Once he could see again, he looked up to see Freed and the other priest gone, the used flashbang the only thing showing that they were here.

"… What the hell was that sword."

'They said something about Excalibur. The older one said something about Excalibur-s' Ghost placed a heavy emphasis on the s.

"But there's only the one, isn't there? I don't know the full legend of King Arthur, but there was just one Excalibur, right?"

'Yes, there was only one in the tale- the closest I can remember being a potential match being Sir Gawain's sword, Excalibur Galatine. Other than that, there must have been an event in the past that did something to make more Excaliburs that was kept out of the legend.'

"You're kidding me…" He let out a deep breath as he holstered Ace and got rid of his grenade to then pull his hood down. "Old guy said a name. Kokabiel."

'Gimme a sec.' Ghost went quiet as a short period of time went by. '… Not good.'

"What is it?"

'Biblical name. Kokabiel, the Angel of the Stars turned Fallen Angel. AKA, someone that's been around long enough to watch the first man discover fire.'

"… So someone also strong enough to warrant a lot of concern." That was the conclusion he derived from that explanation. A light groan escaped him. "… Looks like I'm not leaving this world just yet."

'You want to deal with him? This is a character mentioned in one of the many Bibles. He won't be anything like what you've fought before.'

"I know." His gaze wandered up to the storm above just in time for him to see another flash of lightning. "The idea of leaving Freed out there with swords apparently named after King Arthur's sword- if not the actual Excalibur itself- is a terrible one."

'Agreed. So we stay long enough to deal with this incident, then we go home?'

"Only long enough to disarm Freed. Kokabiel sounds like a name I don't want to fight. Then again… might not hurt adding on to my resume." He couldn't help but smirk at the idea of killing a named figure like Kokabiel.

'… Don't. I know I said your character wasn't the best, but don't try and become one of those people.'

"I know, just trying to lighten the mood a little bit." He brought his gaze back down to his level as he pulled his hood back over his helmet. "First plan of action, find a place to sleep tonight."

'Hotel about 40 minutes of walking down your left. Nice ratings.'

"Good enough." He pulled out another Smoke bomb and dropped it at his feet, his body turning invisible to hide his armored form from the public.

Little did he know of the chain of events that would soon begin.


Yay, Kokabiel arc is coming up next. I'm almost at the same point where I dropped the first version of the story to rewrite to make is a little better.

Yes, Saka's unemployed and homeless now- it makes sense considering he was gone for two full months and only expecting to be gone for a week at most.

Issei has a Dead Ghost now, so maybe he'll give us a piece of lore with a grimoire card when he gets it to work. Raynare's still around, little interaction though.

Really, all I'm doing down here is just summarizing what you all just read. I'll stop now and just answer any questions with the reviews I'll be responding to next chapter.

For my Song of Drive fans: Sorry I lied. Kamen Rider fell off my radar for a little bit since Zio hadn't caught my attention and Zero-1 hasn't really gotten me either. Felt like a very heavy drop in quality from Build cause I REALLY liked Build. Definitely in my top 3 favorite seasons. I'm going to get to work on the next chapter when I get my next break, college is... annoying.

Anyways, thanks for reading, and for those who didn't, sorry I wasted your team.

Farewell, and let us meet next time.