Miss me?

Chapter 29: Reignition

"No."

"Eh?"

"I said no. I don't care who they are. I don't want to know who they are. Whatever it is, NO."

"But, but. Come on!" The Horseman pouted and whined like the child she appeared to be. "They were snooping around your territory! That pretty much gives you carte blanche to do what you want with them! You have to show these upstart gods that you're no pushover!" She said the last part with the zeal and conviction of a military general going into battle, one arm raised into a fist, before realizing her mistake and re-wrapping it around the blond teenager.

Issei took one look at the supposed gods in front of him. They certainly didn't look like divinity. More like traumatized kids, really. "By the looks of it, I'm sure that you've already taught them a lesson. Now put them on the other side of the planet and let me enjoy my day off."

"This can be your date! You know like a bonding experience? The couple who slays gods together, stays- "

"Literally no-one says that."

"You haven't met that many gods!"

"Excuse me…"

It was at this point that Issei remembered the two new 'arrivals.' He gave them a cursory glance, refusing to even look them in the face.

"Look, Min, this is my day off. Put them back wherever they came from and leave me alone."

"Again, I didn't bring them here. They were already sneaking around like a pair of little rats. Vermin never learn their lesson, always scurrying wherever they want, eating whatever they can dig up without a care."

The redheaded girl growled at the comparison and moved to remove the slender arm over her shoulders. But Minnie only held on tighter. Despite this, the girl continued struggling. "I won't be treated like an animal!"

"Then stop gnashing your teeth like one, girl. It isn't cute at all, which is a shame since you've gotten yourself such a cute form." Minnie's admonishment did not help to ease the teen's aggravation, especially when she pinched her cheek. "So, what do ya say?"

At this point, I can't tell if she's acting like a kid for the hell of it, or she's just so used to it that she's started to believe it herself… Ulrich's commented wryly.

Knowing her, it might very well be both. Sighing, he accepted his fate. "Can I at least get their names first?"

"Well, their names are…" Minnie blinked and finally released her captives. "That's a good question. What are you calling yourselves?"

And that's how Issei and Shirone's day was crashed by two gods and a conceptual being. At least Issei had the foresight to order more food to placate Shirone's rapidly deteriorating mood and Minnie's devastating appetite. Though he did feel a bit petty not ordering anything for the newcomers.

"So, Tripp and Arianne." Drawled Issei, letting himself get used to the foreign names. "What are you and what do you want from me? In short, simple sentences."

The two of them exchanged a look for a few seconds, before the redhead intensified her glare and the blonde boy began to talk. "Well, to put it simply, I'd like to ask for your protection. You see, I'm a very young god and my authority isn't quite set in stone. I need you- "

"To play keep-away with all the people shooting at you? Pass."

"Look, the fact that I'm here is frankly a miracle in and of itself. It's only because the information age progresses so fucking quickly that I was able to gain sentience within a decade. But if things had gone just a bit differently, any other god could have consumed me before I could even know what that meant. And they can still do that today."

Issei narrowed his eyes. "Why does the information age have anything to with this?"

Tripp's eyes widened, and Arianne went back to glaring at him. Damn, he's worse at this than I am. No wonder they wanted to take things slow.

"I just… I just need a few years. Do you know what Moore's Law is?"

"Let's pretend I don't."

"Basically, the power and capability of computers processors double every two years, with costs being halved at the same rate. Meaning my capabilities will grow just as quickly. Think about it. How often do you use the internet? Couple hours a day? How much information people leave out there? All those systems, databases, it doesn't matter if it's encrypted, because that doesn't mean much when I am every bit of it. The more they use me, the more they learn how useful I am, which then makes them use me more. And on in on it goes."

No way. "Are you saying- "

All at once, the small restaurant broke out in a cacophony of chimes and bells. Every customer, and every staff member looked at their phones and then their surroundings in their confusion. Outside, Issei could see pedestrians doing the same. Further out, he could see some stores which had electronic monitors at their windows, monitors which started glitching until they displayed a few words. Finally, his own phone buzzed, notifications incoming from every app he had, and not just messaging apps. Each one displaying the same short message: Yes, I am.

As soon as it started it stopped. "I'm the child of the information age. Not just the internet. Any and all forms of modern communication, internet, television, radio, hell even newspapers. I'm the messenger of the 21st century."

On the other side of Kuoh, another meeting was occurring, one that was somehow even less friendly.

If it wasn't absolutely necessary (and if Rias hadn't practically ordered her to do this), then she wouldn't care to breathe the same air as the man currently occupying the Kuoh shrine grounds. But despite her misgivings, she knew that the shrine was her responsibility, as it has been ever since Rias Gremory and her peerage settled here. For years she maintained it, collected the offerings, tidied the grounds, performed the right rituals at the right times and gave blessings to those who sought them.

The irony of someone like her being a shrine maiden was not lost on her. But what the people don't know won't hurt them.

"Lord Baraqiel. Thank you for coming." She ignored the grimace on the man's face at her formal address. "And thank you for agreeing to instruct me."

"There was no reason to refuse, daughter. We are to be allies now, and it is far past time for me to pass down the secrets of [Holy Lightning]. We shall begin- "

"Don't call me that."

Baraqiel was visibly startled by the curt interruption. "… Akeno, you may loathe me, but you cannot deny your own heritage."

"I do not deny it."

"Then why act as if I am a complete stranger to you? As if I mean nothing to you? In order to master the [Holy Lightning], you must embrace your Fallen blood. Elsewise, this is all pointless."

"I do not deny it." Akeno was close to growling. She snapped open her wings, one the jagged, pitch-black batwing, the other an equally dark wing of feathers. "How dare you even suggest that I would, that I could deny such a thing, when it is the reason my mother is dead?! I know exactly what I am, Lord Baraqiel, and I detest it even more than you believe."

"Then why approach me now? Your master would not have made the request without your consent, nor would she have coerced you into this if she had the vaguest inkling of our history."

"Because I refuse to be as weak as you were."

"Akeno- "

"I do not care if you are Vice Governor-General of the Fallen. I don't care if you have millennia of experience, or if you are of the highest class of Angels. The only thing that matters is that you were too weak, or too weak minded to stop an attack on your own family, when the perpetrators were supposedly only a fraction of your strength. I will not be as careless. I will protect who I love, just as you should have done. And I will use everything I have, even the parts of me I despise, to do it."

Baraqiel allowed his face to show the despair he had been suppressing for a decade. "I do not expect you to forgive me, Akeno. I have not forgiven myself either. But don't you think that it is time to release that animosity? To live your life while holding on to that hatred is no way to live."

Akeno was silent at first, but she couldn't keep herself from laughing. "No way to live. You think far too highly of yourself, Lord Baraqiel. I would have thought the years away from me would have given you some clarity with regards to how I feel about you. I won't bother to hide my feelings, because you would undoubtedly see through any façade I put up. But I have my priorities. I love my family more than I hate you. "

Baraqiel stared hard into the eyes of a young woman who should be his daughter, but knew he had to right to call her such. Where he expected to see resentment and disgust, he saw that and much more. Not resignation and cold acceptance, but rather determination and drive. She was more willing to do this than he was. I've underestimated you yet again, Akeno.

He deployed a teleportation circle which enveloped both of them, noting that Akeno had no visible reaction to the sudden activation of magic. A blink later, they re-materialized on top of a huge plateau. The air here was dangerously thin, and so densely charged with electrical energy that a human placed in this environment would collapse, breathless and feeling like their skin was flaking off. Below them were dark storm clouds, eternally turbulent and leaking with deadly voltage.

"Your resolve is impressive, Akeno." Baraqiel held his hand forwards and it ignited, crackling with intense white lightning, the dull whine of Holy energy permeating the air. Despite herself, Akeno couldn't help but flinch at the sudden sensation, but Baraqiel could hardly hold it against her. It was a Devil's most primal instinct to shy away from the Light of God, and what he held in his hand was enough to obliterate a lesser Devil with a touch. It was pure Holy energy compacted so densely that it took the form of explosive and utterly destructive lightning. "I hope that it will be enough. Because either you master this power, or it will tear you apart."

"Well, by the sounds of it, looks like you got everything well in hand. If it's like you say, then why not just lay low for a decade or something? Bide your time, wait till the internet explodes some more, and then take care of you and your friends without involving me?" Issei said, not hiding the hint of hope in his voice.

"Because that kind of rapid growth gets noticed. I just told you, I'm everywhere, I can't exactly lay low. People will try to assume authority over this growing power, and I'll have to assert myself to maintain my sense of self. A few minor deities are already nipping at my edges. If someone were powerful launches an all-out attack. I don't think I would be able to survive it completely intact."

"And that's where I come in, is that it?" Issei thought about it for a minute. "And in exchange, you'll… what? Be my eyes and ears?"

"Exactly. Half of the planet is under my control, the rest of it I can watch through a hundred satellites. Even the supernatural can't hide from me ever since I taught myself to see the signs of magical obfuscation. Any target, any bit of information you want, I can get it for you."

"I see. One small problem with that. If you really have been keeping up with me all this time, then you should know that my troubles right now aren't really big social media presences. I mean, I don't know about Heaven, but the Devils have TV, hell one of their leaders is a Magical Girl. But it's far from widespread, and they're a couple of years away from a working internet. So, yeah you would be useful then. But what do you have right now?"

"You're going up against the Khaos Brigade, right?" He pressed on. "There are factions that are based here. Hexennacht and the Hero Faction, they're primarily humans. I can see them, track their movements."

"Sounds interesting." A familiar voice popped up.

Of course, this was already a circus. "You know, I was getting kinda anxious when you didn't show up to bug us for so- " Issei looked up to greet him, and had to stop to take in his appearance. Vali's face was a collection of bruises at different levels f healing. His left arm was in a cast, and in his right hand was in a cane that he was heavily relying on for stability. But despite his sorry state, Issei wasn't surprised to see the same cocksure smile on his face.

"What the hell? You've been gone for so long I figured you would have healed by now."

"Hm? Oh, this." Vali plopped himself down with a sigh, forcing Issei and Shirone to scooch into the wall. "Normally, you'd be right. But after that battle, any healing has mostly been dedicated to building up my energy. Not to mention…" he tugged down the left side of his shirt to reveal a large scar at the base of his arm. "Ddraig managed to completely blow away my arm. Same with my right leg. It was easy enough to get replacements, but I'm still rehabilitating. We can't all regenerate limbs out of pure cosmic energy. Will be on the mend for a while, so I'm gonna crash in this town. Thought I'd give you a heads up. So, who are these clowns and why are they telling you about the Hero Faction and Hexennacht?" Vali gestured to the two silent guests, stealing a few of Issei's fries.

"You know about those two."

"Nothing too specific. Hero Faction's all human, and very gung-ho about it. A couple of my people were scouted by them, but they split when they found out a half-breed like me was their boss, along with a Nekoshou as a member. A real xenophobic bunch, and that's saying something. Most interesting thing about them is that they got quite a few Longinus users. Not sure which ones, but I can make a few educated guesses.

"As for Hexennacht, they're not as dangerous, but still something to look out for. Coven of witches, so they can be very secretive. Their leader's got the [Incinerate Anthem], another of the Longinus. Pretty nasty one, though you could probably handle it no problem."

Issei swiveled his head to the two gods. "Well, look at that. Looks like you've been undercut. I guess we're done here. Minnie, show them the door."

"Don't wanna."

His eye twitched. "Fine then. Shirone, come on. Vali get up. There's a family restaurant that I've always wanted to try. I hear the desserts there are great." He started pushing Vali, who was still eating their food, but he was stopped when Arianne grabbed his hand. Immediately, Shirone's hand snapped towards her wrist, squeezing enough to force a release.

Issei took a moment to shoot her a smile before turning back to the young woman. "You know, if you want to get on my good side, you guys aren't doing a very good job. Now, I kinda like this restaurant, and would rather not cause any damages, but unless I have an actual reason to be here…"

The boy swallowed, his eyes darting between him and the woman next to him. Now that he was focusing on him, it struck Issei just how young he looked. He wouldn't look out of place in a high school, or an arcade. If he weren't paying attention, he would have just been another teenager. And more importantly, he seemed young too.

"…I can give you the planet." He said.

"…What?"

Tripp closed his eyes in concentration, then pulled out a smartphone and showed him the screen. After a few moments, the screen lit up to show a spreadsheet, the information on which Issei almost immediately recognized. "Is that… Is that my bank account?!"

In response, Tripp merely raised the phone higher, and Issei watched as an influx of numbers flooded the screen. Five million…eight million… two million… ten million… "What the hell are you doing?"

Finally, it stopped, and Tripp opened his eyes. "I just transferred 75 million yen into your account. No questions asked. No-one, at least no institution or government organization will ever question how it got there. And that's just the tip of the tip of the iceberg. People, companies, economies, entire fucking nations place a lot of their information in me. And I can use it however I want. Or, however you want. You want to put someone as President of Japan? Give me a couple of weeks. You want control over the stock market? I can give you that now. You want to cripple a global company? That's nothing to me.

"It's true, my influence in the supernatural is still juvenile. But are you really so tunnel-visioned that you can't appreciate how much the mundane world can do for you?"

…Why didn't he lead with that? He was still reeling a bit after seeing that he had become a multi-millionaire over a couple of seconds and reminded himself to check his account when he got home.

Good question. Nick mused. Ideally, when requesting aid, especially for someone in an obviously disadvantageous position, one would offer tangible goods and services as payment before resorting to more fringe benefits. In this case, immediate and active aid before passive surveillance. Granted, very thorough surveillance, but even so. You want to make very clear why you are useful, and why you are worth investing in. This young man is either unskilled in the art of negotiation, or something about those options gives him reason to hesitate.

True. He did look pretty constipated before talking about it.

Well, he did say that he was getting noticed. Ulrich remarked.

"…You can give me the planet…but you're going to paint a bright neon target on my back by doing it, right?"

He flinched. "Yeah. Indirectly, but yes. The more I use my power, the more I'm noticed. Passive surveillance is nothing, but active interference? Since there's already a hell of a lot of people who are looking at me, big movements like that would draw more attention to me, but also around the one the movements are focused on. Not denyin' it, but that's why I didn't tell you this in the first place. It's a lotta power, but a lotta risk too."

It's… not a bad deal, strictly speaking. Nick conceded. But I doubt that drawing attention to yourself, and by extension, your family, is a risk you are willing to take.

He doesn't have to know that.

Indeed, he doesn't. Furthermore, you do have a few unknowns you should uncover before you accept anything.

Good point.

"Alright that's your sales pitch." Issei turned to the redhead. "Why are you here?"

"I've been helping her out." Tripp interjected.

"You've had your turn, man. Besides, it looks like she's been itching to say something. You've obviously been thinking about this presentation for a while. But you haven't told me what's in it for you. I don't even who she really is. Which is pretty rude considering you were spying on me fifteen minutes ago."

"You already know my name. You should." She ground out. "Prometheus. You really don't recognize your friend? It is me, Artemis!"

"Artemis." Issei said, the skepticism clear. He ignored Minnie, satisfied 'I knew it!'. Guys, uhh, help me out here.

Issei, it's me.

Issei recognized the gentle tone immediately. Prometheus… you sure you wanna handle this? I mean… they could be just jerking our chain but…

If, if you don't mind, I would be grateful for the chance.

Issei sighed, settled back into his seat and closed his eyes. Alright, let's do this.

"So you call yourself Arianne, now?"

She blinked, clearly rattled by the sudden change. "Prometheus? Are you in control right now?"

"No. I can't control Issei in any capacity. I'm just a spectator. Right now, he is simply parroting my words. More to the point, can you still claim to be the Artemis I knew? It's been thousands of years and gods can change from season to season. The Artemis I knew could be completely different to the woman named Arianne in front of me now."

Arianne winced. "I know that. And I can't deny that I've changed, significantly. It would be impossible not to. But we would still like to continue our friendship. You've always been an honorable man. I fought for your freedom and grieved your death.

"…We? 'We would like to continue our friendship.' I have never met this godling. Who else is involved in this?"

"Me." They all turned towards the new voice, a middle-aged woman in a wheelchair, being pushed by one of the restaurant staff. She looked up at her and said, "Thank you, dear, here is fine. If you could bring me a cup of tea, that would be much appreciated."

"Of course, ma'am, right away."

As the waitress scurried off, the woman sighed in contentment. "I love the Japanese service industry. They are all so eager to please, even the ones who clearly do not enjoy their position."

"Auntie!" Arianne cried out. "I thought you were still at the hotel."

"Sweetie, I am old, not senile. Did you honestly believe that you could cross half a country without me noticing?

"…Hestia."

The woman finally addressed Issei, or rather, the man speaking through him. "I wonder how your face would look if you were sitting in front of me now. As it is, this young man can only convey your words and not your emotions."

"He's still present. Please don't treat his as if he is an extraneous presence. If anything, the opposite is true."

Hestia held up a hand. "Please, please I mean no disrespect. It's just me being nostalgic. For what it's worth I didn't mean to dismiss you, young man. But forgive me for being more attached to my lover."

"I'll tell you this now, I have made it clear to Issei to not allow my feelings to influence his decision in any way. This young man has enough burden on his shoulders. He has his own worries, his own will, his own love to follow. He has been through much in very little time, and he is perfectly justified if he wishes to reject you."

"This is what I mean. Do you mean to be so cold to me, or is it just the effect of speaking through a proxy? Issei Hyoudou, you are quite rightly paranoid in the presence of unknowns, but does it not count for something that I, and Arianne of course, were once held dear by a man you trust?"

"Trusted thousands of years ago, maybe." Issei spoke as himself. "But people change. Hell, humans can do it overnight. Who knows what happened after all this time?"

"Perhaps that's fair." Hestia conceded. "But Tripp has proven our willingness to co-operate, yes?"

"Which still doesn't answer the question. I get why Tripp is asking for protection. Are you two so weak right now that you'd go along with this plan?"

Arianne growled, but Hestia silenced her. "Harsh, but true. The modern age has not been friendly to our kin. We know you met Aphrodite. How was she? After you split her from War, that is. Even with such a powerful authority such as love, she barely held any power. There are quite a few gods today that have retained their power. Odin, Hades, they kept such tremendous power by having their own realms, Valhalla and the Realm of the Dead. Others maintained their following, like Shiva. But us, we have been forgotten. Gods like us carry on by cannibalizing others and taking their power to fight their diminishing influence."

"I'm not gonna help you do that, so don't bother asking."

Hestia huffed in amusement. "Not even a moment of hesitation. Good. But that's not our aim. Me and Arianne were living quite peacefully the last few hundred years. We have accepted our coming mortality, far better than most. Others have become desperate and attack us. That's when we found Tripp. He became our lookout, our guide in the new world, our first line of defense. And in exchange-"

"You gave him me." Issei finished.

Hestia nodded. "We told him what to look for. As he might have said, but Tripp can see the magical through mundane lens. It took a while, but he saw you, especially after that display in Romania."

Issei tried to keep his breathing steady. He wasn't sure what he was feeling right now. The fact that this guy could just watch him nearly anywhere on Earth and used that to track him so he could hide behind him. Suddenly he was more forgiving to Minnie for ruining their plans. "So, you're the same, you want me to be your guard dog so you can keep living your retirement. Why? I'll die in eighty or so years and you'd have to do this song and dance all over again, with no guarantee that the next guy will even awaken their powers. Seems like a band-aid solution at…"

Hestia smiled, and Arianne looked pained. "Exactly right. I do not have long. Not at all. I lost my ability to walk a few decades ago, and since then every movement takes quite a bit of effort. Arianne is faring better, but she has been gracious enough to stay by my side to see me off. Just a few years, and Arianne will go her own way. Just a few years, and Tripp will be fully self-sufficient. Can you spare us that much?"

Can I? He asked himself. Honestly, it seemed like far more trouble than what it was worth. This guy just handed him the keys to the world at the cost of painting a target on his back. Honestly, he had enough on his plate without taking on a bodyguard duty. But at the same time, it wouldn't be arrogant to say that those going after these three would not be a problem for him. If what Hestia said was true, their pursuers were the weak and the desperate. Still gods, but nowhere near the power of War. Or even any of the more powerful Devils.

He looked to the side to Shirone. She caught his gaze for a few seconds, then shrugged and went back to her food. She probably couldn't care less what he did with regards to those two.

Thanks a lot.

"You know what. I'm not doing this today." He finally said, getting the attention of all three gods. "I'm not agreeing to anything. I'm not saying no, either. See, the biggest problem right now is that you can be very, very helpful, or a useless pain in the ass. So, here's what you do. You can contact me at any time, and you can watch me at any time. So, stick around, stay in touch. Hell talk to Vali here if you're that desperate. If I need you, I'm sure you'll know. If you're still feeling generous at that point… we'll talk about returning the favor."

This time, he did walk away, and they didn't stop him. As expected, Shirone wordlessly followed him.

Perhaps, not the most diplomatic move. But I can't say that I don't understand. Nick commented.

I am sorry that you must had to deal with this, Issei. Even without seeing him, Issei just knew that Prometheus was looking very apologetic.

It's not your fault at all, man. You couldn't have known that they were still around, or that they would get that creep to track me down.

It is quite some time since you got some good honest rest, hasn't it? Seraphina fussed. Maybe we should silence ourselves for some time. Leave you to yourself for a while?

You don't have to do that.

Yes, we do. She insisted. What Prometheus said is true. Despite our frequent dialogues, we are merely spectators. We should leave you in peace and you should call for us when you need us. You need to be a teenage boy, even for just a few days. Enjoy yourself without thinking of what fight comes next. You've burned yourself out before, you should take better care not to do it again.

Issei didn't respond to that, not that there was anyone to respond to anymore. His mind, which usually carried an undercurrent of activity, was silent. He didn't realize how… familiar it would feel.

A sharp tug on his sleeve caught his attention. He blinked, meeting Shirone's questioning stare, and he realized that he had stopped right in the middle of the path. "Sorry, I was…"

She jutted her chin upwards. "They talking?"

"No, no, it's just…" He shook his head and took her hand. "It's nothing to worry about right now. Let's just go home."

Kiba swung the Holy Sword he had just created. It was the first time that he had been left alone since the Gremory Peerage returned to Kuoh. Rias, along with the other Peerage members were determined to help him with his problems, which in turn meant making sure that at least one of them was nearby. It was… comforting to be surrounded by his friends, but it was more than a bit stifling. They were trying not to baby him, but everyone involved knew that they were handling him with safety gloves. Still…

Of course, being alone and occupied meant that his mind was free to wander towards subjects he would rather leave alone. So, he kept himself busy. [Blade Blacksmith] was practically identical to [Sword Birth] in terms of operation, but Holy energy was the literal opposite of Demonic energy. Demonic energy was inherently corrosive and damaging to most species, but as a Devil, his body responded to it well. His constitution also gave him an instinctive grasp on its flow and strength. However, Holy Energy harmed Devils simply by touching them. The fact that the Sacred Gear belonged to him meant that the damage to him was virtually nonexistent, but the energy itself resisted him. He didn't notice back at Tepes Castle, but now that he could examine his creations more closely, he could see the slight warps and imperfections, lines that weren't perfectly straight, sections that were slightly blunted, effects that were weaker or stronger than he'd intended them to be.

"It looks like you're working hard."

His eyes snapped open, and before he could even think, his arm snapped out to strike the speaker's head. But before he could make contact or even see who he had attacked, his vision flashed purple, and suddenly he was swinging at nothing. "Gasper." He gasped out, banishing the sword in his hands before whirling himself around to see his visitor. "I am so sorry- "

"N-no, it's fine. Really!" Gasper desperately assured him, waving his hands in front of his face. "I shouldn't have surprised you like that. Are you alright?"

"Yes. Yeah, I'm fine." Kiba got to his feet. That voice… I could've sworn it was-

"You're hearing voices again, aren't you?" At Kiba's surprise, he smiled sheepishly. "I, uh, know what that looks like."

"What are you doing here, Gasper? Where's Valerie?" Gasper's face told him that his attempt at deflection won't be very successful, but Kiba had to try.

"Valerie's with the President. I think they're having a tea party." Fidget, fidget. "I, I just realized that I didn't apologize yet."

Now that threw him for a loop. "Gasper, what could you possibly have to apologize for?"

"I should have been watching Valerie more closely the night that she… did that to you. If I had been more alert, then…"

"Gasper stop right there. That was not your fault, or Valerie's. We both know that she couldn't control herself, and her actions are virtually unpredictable."

"…You were hearing voices again, right?"

"What?"

Gasper fidgeted nervously. "That's why you freaked out just now. You heard their voices again, didn't you?"

Kiba nodded tersely. He had been hearing those voices at random times for days now. Sometimes it was just a whisper, other times they sounded like they were just next to him. And it was not just voices. His vision was affected as well. He would be looking through a crowd and he would see one of them or look into a mirror and one would be standing right by his shoulder. It was maddening.

"Gasper, just… just leave it alone. Please."

"I can't." he cried out. "I can't ignore something like this. You're… you're my friend, Kiba, and this is hurting you badly. President thought that helping you slowly work through it would be better, but you've just not co-operating! Y-you run out of the room every time we try to talk to you. Everyone can see that the haunting is driving you crazy but it's like you don't want to get… better…" Gasper trailed off, his glistening red eyes widening as soon as the realization came to him. "Kiba… why, why do you not want to get better?"

Kiba turned away from him. "I don't want to leave them behind again." He dismissed his sword and collapsed onto the ground. "I abandoned them once, all those years ago. I don't think I can let them go again." He curled into himself, lowering his head between his knees and wrapping his arms around them.

Gasper slowly, tentatively approached him before he sat down beside him. "Kiba, you didn't abandon anyone. Your friends… they gave their life so that you could live, right? Isn't that what you should be focusing on. Live so that their wish isn't wasted?"

"You don't understand." Kiba said.

"Th-then tell me. Help me, because… because I don't know how to help you otherwise."

"…When Pres- when Rias took you in, when she welcomed you into her family, did you ever think about Valerie? How she was still with the Tepes while you were rescued."

He could tell without looking up that Gasper that the question shook him, but to his credit, it didn't take long for Gasper to answer. "Of course, I did. She was my best friend and… and I knew what she was going through every day because I went through the exact same thing. But there wasn't anything I could do."

"And now that she's back, is there anything that you wouldn't do to stay with her? Even if she didn't come out unscathed, she's here. Would you ever let her go?"

There was silence, and Kiba thought that he had finally made his point. But then, "That's different, Kiba."

"Why?"

"Because your friends are dead."

This time, Kiba did raise his head, shocked that Gasper would be so blunt.

"You're right, when you say that I would never let Valerie go now. Because now more than ever, she needs me. It would take decades to repair the damage that the [Sephiroth Graal], maybe it will never be fully fixed. The point is that Valerie is still alive. She can keep living for her own sake.

"But your friends are dead. There's no bringing them back and there is nothing you can do for them. They should be allowed to pass on. I'm sure that they would want to move on without worrying about you."

Kiba breathed out, and when he spoke his voice was defeated. "Then what? Should I just forget about them? All this time, I've been thinking about Galilei. I thought about finding him, killing him., thinking that it would put them, put me at rest. It was the reason I kept training, kept fighting. I don't know what else I can do."

"You-you know… that's something else we have in common. I'm a coward. I know that. I've been hiding from everything my whole life. Even when Rias took me in, I was afraid, and useless. Fighting for myself didn't seem right, I was nothing worth fighting for. But I realized that there was something I could fight for.

"Rias, she loves us. She treats me like her own little brother, she gives me everything I could ever want. Akeno's the same. She always knows when I get too anxious and hugs me and comforts me when it happens. Koneko-chan teases me all the time, but she always tries to drag me out of my shell, even when I didn't want to because she knew it wasn't good to shy away from the world forever. And you… I always admired you. I always wanted to be cool like you, and whenever I acted like a coward, you were always patient and gentle with me.

"Fighting for myself was something I've never been able to do. And that's probably not good, or a healthy way of thinking. But at least… at least I know that my fight matters. When we fought in Tepes Castle, I fought for Valerie, and for you guys. I didn't want to lose you guys. How many times has she been in mortal danger this year?" He shivered at the thought. "And she's the heir of the Gremory clan, so there's bound to be more.

"Rias… she doesn't have a dream yet. She doesn't have a goal beyond taking care of us and keeping her own freedom. Or at least she hasn't told us. But she is a Devil. Desire is her natural to her. Don't you think it's selfish for us to keep holding her back from that? If you don't know how to keep going without fighting for something, then fight for Rias. Figure out what you want later if you're still hung up on it. But you swore to be Rias' Knight. Live up to that name, if nothing else."

"Huahh…" Issei breathed out as he collapsed into bed. "I thought I was going to relax today." Even though he essentially did nothing but talk all day, he was mentally exhausted, both from having to deal with Minnie, Vali and three gods for an extended period of time, and from the emotional rollercoaster Prometheus had put him through.

"Your fault." Shirone mumbled into his chest. "You should have told those idiot nuns to piss off, and we could have spent the whole day in bed."

"I learned my lesson." Issei agreed with the implicit 'I told you so'. "Still, it's crazy to think that Hestia has been surviving for literally thousands of years, and just accept her death. I suppose I wasn't expecting a god to go that… peacefully."

"You're biased."

"I guess." Issei conceded. "Though I am more surprised that she still loves Prometheus after all these years. I mean, technically they only knew each other for a few years. I can't imagine holding on to someone for so long without even knowing where they are, and no way to know."

"Would you keep loving them?"

"Hm?"

Shirone shifted her position so she was looking straight at him. "Keep loving. If you could. If you had no time limit. Would you keep holding onto someone you loved?"

Issei wasn't sure what Shirone wanted to hear from him, but she certainly succeeded in putting him on the spot. But whenever she started talking complete sentences, he knew that she was serious. "I don't think I would." Shirone didn't say anything, so he continued. "I don't know if this is just… my humanity or whatever talking but… I wouldn't want to stay stuck on one goal, or one person forever. The way my powers work, I don't feel immortal, and the others, Sera and Ulrich and everyone else, they don't feel like they're living. They're just there. Maybe it would be different if I was that kind of immortal but…" Issei stopped himself before he could ramble any further.

"I'm glad." She moved her head back and closed her eyes. "I wouldn't either. And I wouldn't want you to."

He looked at Shirone, who was already working on going back to sleep. They never really talked about their relationship, whatever it was. Sleeping together, her sitting on his lap, walking arm-in-arm, those were things that they just… started doing, without any discussion or agreement. At first, he thought it was just because his presence brought Shirone some kind of comfort and familiarity. But now…

"Shirone… I, I mean do you… do you lo- "

"Don't ask me that." She interjected, even turning away to hide her face away. "I don't know what that word means. Not anymore."

He moved on his side so that his arms wrapped around her and she was pressed up against his chest. "Look, Shirone," he paused, trying to find the right words. "I don't know what it means either. Before… everything, all I thought about… among other stuff… was getting a hot girlfriend. I don't think I ever considered what happened beyond that. But I know that I want to keep it going. And… maybe take it further."

She turned to face him again, her expression blank as always. "I'm a Devil. I can understand what she was thinking. Even as a Nekoshou, I would have lived for hundreds of years. Now, who knows? But you? You'll die, and your spirit will move on in less than a century."

"Then are you afraid? You don't want to start something that will end so quickly?"

"…That's selfish, right?"

"I don't think so. I agree it isn't something you should just jump into without thinking about it."

"I disagree."

"What do you mean?"

"I think it's the opposite." Shirone moved to sit on top of him, bringing her face within an inch of his. "I don't want to think about it anymore. I don't want to keep arguing with myself about this. What you said, about thinking things through. Maybe that's true for you, but not for me.

"If you think this is a mistake, you should think about it. But if this is a mistake, I have forever to fix it. So, I don't care anymore what I should do. I know what I want to do. Do you?"

There was a moment, then they kissed.

Neither was sure what to expect, nor what the other expected, but when they separated, all they could think of was doing it again, and again. Their eyes were shut, focusing on the feel of each other, the growing heat of their bodies, the scent of the other's skin. Before they knew it. Shirone was straddling him, frantically undoing the buttons on his pajama shirt and running her hands over his chest. For his part, Issei's hands were on her hips, gradually moving one hand lower underneath her shorts to squeeze her bottom. The warmth of his fingers across her skin brought out light moans and whimpers, making him want more.

Finally, their lips split apart, breaking into long, ragged breaths. "Wait. What are you doing?" A minute ago, they were just about to go to sleep. But now… but now he had no idea how this night could end. "This is going way too fast, isn't it?" Of course, it was. Maybe it should have bothered him more, but something was quickly driving those rational thoughts away, overriding it with almost debilitating desire.

"Maybe. But I really don't think I care anymore." She slowly lifted her shirt over her head, flinging it to the side. She never wore a bra to bed, and so Issei's eyes tracked her shirt as it exposed more and more of her smooth, pale skin. He took in every inch of her body. Slender, yet toned, soft yet muscled, feminine, yet fierce. She took his hand in hers, raising them up her sides, until they were covering her small breasts. His hands twitched, wanting to squeeze down, but he held himself. "Maybe we're not ready. Maybe we should stop now. Whatever happens next, we'll get through it. But here and now, we both want this." She squirmed in his lap, the movement further stimulating his already growing erection. "Do we need anything else?"

He surged forwards, kissing her furiously. He brought her down underneath him, one hand wrapped around her waist and the other still on her left breast. He made his way down her body, laying small kisses as he descended. When his lips closed around a raised nipple, her hands flew to his head to push him closer, her small frame trembling from the pleasure. Inexperienced as he was, he could recognize the responses he wanted, each moan and whimper making his blood boil with desire. His mouth still licking and sucking on her tits, he let his hand fall, dipping beneath her underwear and past a small tuft of hair to feel her cunt directly.

He tried to be gentle, not wanting to ruin this with rough fumbling. He slowly moved her fingers around her lips, feeling them grow wetter with his movements. He let his fingers sink in a little deeper, trying to find the right places to touch. Suddenly, Shirone's thighs clenched, and her hand gently slapped against his shoulder. "Wait."

"Mm." He moved away, quickly taking his hand out of her panties. "Was that too much?"

"No." She took a moment to calm down. "Not yet. I want… I want to see you." She tugged at his clothes. "Feel you. All of you."

It took every ounce of self-control he had left to not just burn away his clothes. He scrambled out of his pajamas as fast as he could. When his eyes came back to Shirone, he effectively stopped breathing.

He didn't notice earlier, too caught up in her body, but Shirone had fully released her Nekoshou traits, her ears and her twin tails on full display and her nails and teeth sharpened. But most striking was her eyes had narrowed into slits, glowing bright gold, ablaze with animalistic lust. The slivers of moonlight streaming through the curtains made her white hair glow. For a few seconds, Issei was utterly mesmerized, until his own lust drove him to her. Again, they kissed, every inch of their bodies exposed to the other.

His cock rubbed against her, their hips bucking together frantically, almost violently. Shirone snaked her hand between their bodies, grasping his cock and making him grunt at the feeling of her petite hand around him as she guided him right at her entrance. He grabbed her knees and spread her legs, Shirone showing no hint of resistance. With no more words, he began pushing into her. Issei kept his eyes on her face, which had scrunched up in slight pain in discomfort. He leaned forwards until their foreheads were pressed together. In response, she wrapped her legs around her waist, silently urging him to continue.

He pressed further, the only sound in his ears being Shirone's breathless gasps as she acclimated to the influx of new sensations. Soon, his cock was fully inside her. He kissed her again as she worked through the intrusion, while he himself was barely holding himself together from the pleasure. She was burning hot, her walls so tight and wet around him unlike anything she could have imagined.

"Issei." Her mouth pressed against his ear, her voice desperate and needy. "Issei, please."

At her behest, he began to move. He moved slowly, partly to let Shirone get used to the motion, and partly because if he moved too quickly, he was sure that the pleasure would overwhelm him. He continued to slowly move in and out. Before long, her hips began to rise to meet him, and her voice called out to him. "More…"

He thrust into her again and again, each thrust steadily increasing in intensity. Due to her superior physicality, he didn't need to worry about really hurting her now that she she's used to it, and soon he was fucking her as hard as he could. In truth he was in more pain than she would be. Her thighs squeezed around him like a constrictor, her nails, no, her claws furiously raked over his back and leaving trails of fire. She bit down into his shoulder, as if she wanted to rip out a chunk of his flesh. Despite this, he didn't stop. They couldn't stop.

It wasn't about pleasure or pain anymore.

She wanted to devour him, to take everything she had inside of her. And he would let her.

Suddenly, the feeling spiked. His movements accelerated, his muscles literally burning with strain and exhaustion. Hell, he wasn't even sure if what he was feeling was pleasure anymore. He just wanted to feel more of whatever it is. He buried his cock inside her a deep as he could, feeling the orgasm rip throughout his body. As he came inside her, he kept his body still, while below him, she intermittently twitched, and bucked as she felt every pulse inside her.

A few minutes, perhaps a few hours later, they moved again. Agonizingly slow, they began to separate their bodies, their nerves still sore and sensitive, flames lightly healing his injuries. But eventually they managed to break apart, settling down, side by side, still breathing hard. The smell of sex was overwhelming, their bodies were sticky and hurting.

"I… I don't know what came over me." Issei said between ragged breaths. "That was more intense that I was expecting. I mean, I've, I've never done it before but…" Looking back, they had been downright violent in their coupling.

"That…That's probably my fault." Shirone's eyes were closed. "We get… a little carried away. Especially Sages. Don't worry about it."

"Just wondering if the next time is going to be like that."

Her eyes flicked open and her ears twitched. "Next time?"

"Uhh… I only meant that- " She cut him off, giving him one last kiss before closing her eyes again to finally rest. "Alright. Next time."

Well, I gave it a shot.

Now, I always knew that I was going to have to write sex some way for this fic. Its Highschool DxD fanfiction rated 'M'. Duh. I also knew that it might turn off some people, either because they just don't like reading sex scenes or I'm just that inept at it. I know I could have just done a fade to black thing, or gone for a non-explicit description, but I thought 'Fuck it', if I'm gonna do it, let's go all the way. I mean, if you made it this far, you probably know that I like being descriptive. So, I tried applying that to sex… Et voila, my first sex scene.

I've read and rewritten this I don't know how many times, and reading through it doesn't make me cringe anymore, so… Be brutal. Really. I kind of want to do this again, and I want to do it right.

Also, I realize this may not be the healthiest message to give to people who aren't sure if they're ready if they're ready for sex, but… hey no-one ever called the DxD cast mentally stable. Seriously, why isn't therapy a thing in modern fiction.

Also, also, I just realized that this is the longest chapter by word count. Huh.

Also, also, also, some may think that quarantine means that I'd be writing more. Yeah, no. All of my classes have canceled exams in favor of papers projects. Lots and lots of them. So, I'm just as busy as before. So, enjoy your quarantine!

Peace out, bitches.