I don't really feel like typing anything up here, and I can't think of anything super important, so I'm just gonna give you the normal nonsense about how I now have more time to write and all that. Read and review, give suggestions for chapters or scenes or whatever you'd like to see in the story cus I have no idea where it's going.

"Lady Yasaka, the Red Dragon has awakened in Kuoh Town!"

An out-of-breath Tengu shouted towards Yakaska, leader of the Yokai faction, after bursting through the door in a frenzy.

The Nine-Tailed Fox immediately stood to attention, fear in her eyes.

"How many dead?"

Akeno, nearly dead on her feet, struggled to pull Issei's body behind her as she fled deeper and deeper into the Kuoh forest. He'd just exploded, instantly incinerating the entire block- all except her- and then passed out. She desperately hoped three things:

That he hadn't died-

-that he hadn't just murdered innocent citizens-

-and that he'd destroyed all of their attackers.

She was just barely able to drag him along by using every ounce of supernatural strength her mostly fallen constitution awarded her- whatever he'd done to release that explosion had left him half-covered in scaly blood-red armor, and it made him heavy.

Thunder shattered the dreadful near-silence of the forest, and lightning cracked the sky. Akeno screamed out and nearly dropped Issei as a nearby tree exploded into cinders, showering them both with burning debris. Rain began to pour down, and the poor girl wanted to fall on the ground and cry; could it really get any worse? But, she resolved herself to continue. This nightmare had left her nearly numb and half-delirious from grief and terror, but her mind screamed at her to save the one thing she had left- the boy who'd saved her life.

She desperately prayed her father would show up to save them, but he wasn't responding to any spells or even a normal phone call.

At this point, they were alone.

Or at least, she hoped they were.

Thunder boomed, rattling her very bones, and lightning once more struck far too close for comfort. This time, Akeno did drop Issei. She screamed in terror and dropped to the ground, covering her head in a wild bid to remain safe.

"A-keno."

Akeno nearly jumped out of her skin as Issei croaked her name. She immediately was at his side, kneeling down while he reached up to her.

"Are you...okay?" he just barely managed to say with what little energy he had left, "Are you...hurt?"

His massive expulsion of energy had nearly killed him, too- if the Dragon inside his armor hadn't stopped the full power from being released, it would've obliterated both himself and his friend. Even with that, however, his speech was slurred and his eyes couldn't really focus on anything. He appeared to be majorly shell-shocked, and no small part actually injured.

"Are you really asking me that?! Can you stand?!" Akeno was frantic, trying to look over him and see if he was majorly wounded.

"I'm...fine. Can't...move. But, fine."

"Keep going! They're around here somewhere!"

Akeno's eyes went wide in fear as they heard a Himejima clansman shout from not too far away. Issei pulled her down into the dirt with him, and covered them both with a bush as he tried to wrest away the strange armor that had covered him. It refused to come off, and pulling it hurt like he was trying to pull off his own skin.

The parts of him that were covered were his right arm, about 40% of his torso, his left leg and pelvis, and the right side of his face. The armor on his face was especially life-like, and seemed to move with his mouth when talked. It was almost like his skin had turned into plate mail, rather than simply being covered by it. The parts nearest the armor looked badly burned, and his veins seemed to run bright crimson.

"Issei, what happened to you…" Akeno mumbled breathlessly as she took a closer look at him.

"Shh. They're...coming."

They were both underneath some brush, and with the low visibility of the storm shielding them as well they were surely out of sight.

Until lightning struck a tree just in front of them, and Akeno screamed.

"Did you hear that? They're close!"

"Akeno...stay down." Issei began to try and stand as the clansmen got closer, apparently aiming to fight. He struggled with even trying to pull himself to his feet, and it was obvious he wouldn't be able to throw a single punch. In just a couple seconds, he fell back onto the ground.

Akeno watched on in fear. The clansmen drew nearer with every second, and neither of them could do anything about it.

They'd already killed her mother, and his parents.

What more were two kids?

She cursed her father's name. Where was he? He should've been here, protecting her and Shuri, not leaving it to Issei like some kind of pathetic deadbeat.

She cursed the storm. Why did it have to be lightning of all things? Had she somehow earned the ire of the Gods themselves, too?

Most of all- she cursed her blood. This- this nightmare- none of it would've happened if she wasn't some disgusting Fallen-Human crossbreed, she told herself.

Akeno laid her head on the ground and began to quietly sob.

It felt like an eternity, waiting to either be struck by lightning or killed by a cultist. Every time thunder rolled , Akeno wanted to scream. Her ears rang, static charge filled the air, and every bone in her body was roaring for her to run- but there was nowhere to go.

This was the end. They were going to die, because she was a monster.

"There you are."

And with that final acceptance of her fate, the clansmen stepped into view. There were three, all cloaked in black ceremonial robes and carrying bladed weapons. They looked directly at the two, grinning.

"You really did a number on our guys back there, kiddo. Time to pay."

The closest clansman began to unsheathe his sword, only to suddenly stop. The rain appeared to stop in a single instant, and a kind of peaceful hum settled in around the area. The three attackers all looked around in eerie discomfort.

There was a flash of gold, and without even a moment to think about their actions, three heads toppled to the ground.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry I wasn't fast enough. Please darlings, come out of there. You're safe now."

In front of the pair was a woman in a white and red priestess robe with two fox ears and nine fluffy tails, crouching down and holding her arms out to receive them.

"I am Yasaka of the Yokai, and I'm here to save you both."

Several years later

Akeno was ecstatic. She was practically dancing around their kitchen, humming and spinning and laughing- Issei watched with an inquisitive look on his face, unsure why she was so happy. She was only cooking dinner, but it looked more like she'd discovered the secret to life itself.

When Issei had made his unorthodox confession, Akeno had wanted so badly to react. To do anything; to open her eyes, to say "oh my God, you love me too?" She'd even had the impulse to just turn her head and kiss him outright. But, no. She'd done nothing, all for one purpose- messing with him. Now that she knew for sure he loved her the way she loved him, she had a bit of a blanket to fall on, per se- she could be as oblivious as she wanted, and she'd always be safe in the knowledge that he was smitten with her anyway.

She always was a bit of a tease, after all- and this was just too good to pass up. She thought of it as a punishment for Issei not telling her his feelings sooner, or in the right way.

Conversely, Issei was more than a bit confused. Ever since she'd woken up from the little midday nap, she had been absolutely elated, and he had no idea why. Not that it bothered him, of course- he'd rather see her happy than sad any day, but it made him feel a little on edge that she was so joyous and wouldn't tell him why. In fact, it made him just a little wary that she might not be happy at all.

"Akeno…"

"Yes, Issei~?"

"...are you mad at me or something?"

So he was treading lightly.

"Nope~!" Akeno answered in a sing-song voice, not looking at him. She twirled as she moved, sending her frilly white apron into a spiral around her pink and black house-sweater. She was in black socks and red flannel pajama pants, dressed for being lazy, as was the custom around the Hyoudou household when nothing was going on.

'She's not mad...' Issei thought, inwardly repeating the events of the day and trying to figure out what he'd done to make her act so strangely. Nothing came to mind except his confession, which he couldn't quite bring himself to regret- it was as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, even though she hadn't heard him.

...Right?

A scary thought flashed in his mind for probably the tenth time that day. What if she had heard him? Is that why she was acting so odd? Surely not. It wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility, he supposed, and it certainly wouldn't be out of character for Akeno to tease him, not to mention when she'd kissed him on the cheek the other night...

His face flushed red.

But still, there's no way she'd heard it, right? Akeno was a ridiculously heavy sleeper most of the time, so that wouldn't wake her up by itself-

"Issei, you look like you've seen a ghost."

The poor kid practically jumped to attention, tearing himself out of his thoughts. Akeno was standing over the stove while a pot boiled away, a delectable smell coming from that direction.

"Akeno."

"Hm~?"

Akeno answered Issei with a delighted tone, trying to hide a giggle.

"Did you hear anything weird-"

He was cut off by their doorbell ringing unexpectedly. Neither of them had sensed anyone approach, which meant it was someone more powerful than either of them. He tensed up, and Akeno stepped back further into the kitchen, losing her grin. Both of them readied for anything as Issei moved towards the door.

He cautiously put his hand on the door, ready to launch an attack at a moment's notice- he didn't really think anyone would be so bold as to attack the Red Dragon at his house, but if there was anything they'd learned since childhood it was that you can never be too careful.

He slowly opened the door, and when he saw who was on the other side, he deflated.

"Lady Yasaka. Hi."

Issei opened the door wide, and through it stepped Fox Queen of the Yokai, Yasaka. Akeno sighed in relief, coming to greet the queen.

"Issei, darling, it's good to see you. Akeno, sweetie, you too." Yasaka hugged both of them in turn with a smile on her face.

Here's the thing about Yasaka- before she was a Queen, she was a mother. Several years before, when she found two kids nearly dead and without anywhere to call home, she'd taken it upon herself to become a surrogate mother to them.

"Hello, Lady Yasaka. I was just cooking dinner, if you want to come join us?" Akeno suggested.

They both called her Lady out of courtesy, but in reality she was far closer to a parent or aunt than anything to the two of them.

"I'd love to."

Yasaka was wearing a normal human outfit- a yellow and black kimono- and had her ears and tails hidden via magic, but once she stepped inside and they closed the door behind her, she extinguished any such illusions and let herself be seen freely. Nine lush golden foxtails spread out behind her, and her ears flipped up on top of her head.

"Oh, kids! It's been too long!" Once she was finally entirely out of view of anyone else, she completely changed personalities. All of her tails wagged excitedly as she hugged the two of them at once, both teens laughing.

After she finally let them go, Issei chuckled sheepishly. "It's only been a couple months."

"A couple months too long! Kunou and I have been so worried about the two of you!"

Yasaka was also a bit of a clingy 'mom'. Once she was out of the public eye, she was free to act as adoring to her 'kids' as she wanted to- which is to say, very.

"Is she here with you?" Akeno asked, moving back towards the kitchen to resume working on dinner.

"Oh, no. She had something to work on and couldn't come, but she asked that I pass this on to her big brother Issei-" Yasaka handed a sealed envelope to Issei, "-and this on to her big sister Akeno," and another to the girl. Both of them took their envelopes, sharing an odd glance as they each opened theirs.

Issei was first, and he held his letter up to look at it while Akeno finished opening hers.

"Dear Big Brother Issei,

Confess to her already, coward!

Sincerely, your loving little sister Kunou."

Issei nearly choked. 'She's too smart…'

Akeno had just finished hers, and so she too held her letter up to read.

"Dear Big Sis Akeno,

Confess to him already, coward!

Sincerely, your loving little sister Kunou.

PS: Mom says she'll help you with a wedding dress."

Akeno giggled, reflecting for the millionth time on Issei's half-assed confession. 'Sorry, Kunou, but you'll have to wait a little bit longer.' She put the letter back in the envelope and slid it on the counter, and watched Issei try to subtly put his in his pocket without her seeing- it didn't work.

"So what did she have to say?" Yasaka asked, with a small feeling she already knew.

"She was offering me some encouragement," Akeno answered confidently, smiling wide.

"She uh...same here." Issei wouldn't look anyone in the eye. 'Am I really that easy to read, Kunou?!'

Yasaka's tails stood up and she got a mischievous glint in her eye. "Oh, I see. Hey, Issei, you look tired. Go wash up while Akeno and I finish dinner."

"Uh, alright." With that odd request, Issei took off to the bathroom.

Once he was out of earshot, Yasaka was at Akeno's side in an instant.

"Okay, spill. How is it between you two?"

"Pretty great, actually. Looks like I don't even need Kunou's tips."

"Really? Do tell."

"You'll never guess...Issei confessed!" Akeno struggled to keep her voice calm.

Yasaka's mouth hung open in uncharacteristic surprise.

Issei and Akeno had lived with Yasaka and Kunou since the day their parents had died up until they started highschool- that is to say, several years- and both Kunou and Yasaka (and everyone with a brain) had always known that the two had major crushes on each other. They constantly pushed the pair to confess to one another, but they never would- until now, apparently.

"So...are you together?" Yasaka's tails wagged just a little, hopeful for a yes.

"Not yet. Guess how he confessed?"

The poor fox deflated. She knew the answer wasn't going to be something good. "In a romantic way?"

"While I was asleep on the couch. He thinks I didn't hear him."

Yasaka's tails fell flat. She wanted to facepalm. Why did these two always have to make it so difficult?

"Akeno, honey, can I give you some honest advice?"

"Sure…?"

"You might as well come clean, because that's likely to be as much as you get from him. He's kind of a scaredy-lizard when it comes to you, I'm afraid."

"Oh, I will eventually. But for now, I'm gonna get him back for confessing in such a lame way."

Yasaka sighed. This wasn't likely to end well, that much she knew. She'd been alive for a pretty long time, and never once during that life had she seen such a silly couple.

"Ok, well, let's just work on dinner for now while I think about all the ways that can go wrong. Also, Issei's listening around the corner."

The culprit sheepishly stumbled out from his "hiding" spot. He'd forgotten who he was trying to eavesdrop on- of course the Fox Queen would be able to hear him trying to be covert.

"It's not good to be an eavesdropper, darling," Yaska said, waggling a finger and chastising him. Akeno giggled, amused at Issei's attempt to hear their gossip.

"You put up a spell, didn't you? I didn't even hear a word," He replied, walking into the kitchen.

Yasaka conjured up an apron to wear while she began to help with the food. Well, really it would be more accurate to say Akeno began to help with the food, as while she was a pretty good cook, Yasaka could be called the Heavenly King of the Kitchen- it was her who'd taught Akeno in the first place. The Fox Queen essentially commandeered the cooking, not that anyone was complaining.

"I may have~. Listening in on a conversation between two ladies is hardly proper behavior, after all. I taught you better," Yasaka said playfully, summoning a spoon to thwack him on the back of the head without even turning to look.

"Ow…"

"So how are the two of you doing in school? I'm not entirely versed in how human school works, but you're starting your last year, right Akeno?"

"Mhmm. It's exciting."

"I bet. And Issei's as far behind as ever, I assume?"

"Is today national 'bully dragons' day?" Issei hung his head, having been made the butt of all the jokes yet again. It was all in good fun, of course.

"Honey, I'm a fox. Every day is 'bully dragons' day. But jokes aside, you must be making decent grades at least, right? I know Akeno tutors you."

"Hey, don't doubt my grades from the start! We just started this year, they're fine."

Both Yasaka and Akeno deadpanned, staring at him until he cracked.

He turned away, rubbing his head. "They're...passing."

"That sounds more like it," Yasaka said, turning back to the food.

"So what brings you to Kuoh, anyway? Not that I'm complaining, I just didn't think you could leave Kyoto for long," Issei asked, wondering to what they owed the occasion.

"Well, for one, I had to see my children. And secondly, there's some pretty important things going on in this town I needed to let you both know."

With that, they both perked up, but the Queen just waggled a finger. "Not yet. We'll talk after dinner. Speaking which, it's just about done. Great work, Akeno! Issei, help me set the table, would you…?"

"Fallen Angels? In Kuoh Town?" Issei asked incredulously, slowly putting down his silverware.

"Indeed. This group in particular was working directly under Azazel, Governor General of the Fallen, in a rather harmless effort to keep an eye on potential Sacred Gear users, until recently. He hasn't heard from them, and believes they may have begun working under Kokabiel."

The Fox Queen had switched entirely to her diplomat personality.

"Kokabiel?"

"Never heard of him."

Akeno and Issei shared a glance- neither of them had ever heard the name. The only high profile Fallen they knew of were Azazel and...Baraqiel.

"He's a defector, trying to instigate war between the three Biblical factions. Honestly, since the two of you are technically in the Yokai faction and Kuoh is the Red Dragon's territory, those angels may steer clear, but...stay on guard anyway. From what Azazel said, they're low-level Fallen but they specialize in sneak attacks and ambushes, and with this town being home of both some important devils and several sacred gear users, there may be an incident."

"I'll keep both eyes peeled," Issei promised, summoning his Gauntlet in a show of power.

Yasaka nodded, but still looked a little worried.

Akeno's eyes were downcast. Fallen Angels, causing problems again? She wasn't surprised.

Issei and Yasaka both noticed her expression, but neither said anything.

What could they say?

"Well, this has been lovely, but I do have to get going. As much as I love seeing you both, my only excuse for being out of Kyoto this long was warning you about the Fallen." Yaska stood up and waved one hand, and all the dishes began to clean and sort themselves, saving the pair some work. They both stood up after her, and all three walked towards the door.

"Come visit us in Kyoto sometime, will you? Kunou misses you both." She hugged them both at once, then stood back and composed herself. Her tails disappeared, her ears folded down into hair, and she shifted back into her dignified and respectable Queen persona.

"Bye, Auntie."

"Bye. We'll come by sometime," Akeno promised, smiling.

"I look forward to it. Be good, and be careful. Issei, no matter how strong you are, even the Red Dragon can be felled by Fallen if you slip up. Even a Kappa can drown. Akeno, do keep an eye on him."

With one final bow, Yasaka slipped out of the door. They waved her off, and closed it behind her.

Later that day, nighttime

"And then you just use the quadratic formula to-"

"Argh!"

Issei was sitting at a desk, head in his hands, tearing at his hair. Akeno was standing just behind him, leaning over his left shoulder while she helped him with his math work.

He was beginning to get a little frustrated.

Akeno was as patient as ever, of course. He marveled at how smart she was.

And how damp her hair was from the shower.

And how close she was…

Was that perfume?

"Something wrong?"

"Uh, no! Just tired of math…"

Akeno giggled, then moved just a little bit closer to him. Her chest was pressing on his back, and somehow his mind wasn't really on the math work anymore.

"It's not that bad. Come on, we'll work through it together."

Issei, trying his best to focus on the assignment, inhaled deeply and looked back down over it.

Inwardly, Akeno was jumping for joy. It was so easy to tease him! She could tell his mind was nowhere even close to being on math right now, and it was so cute when he got flustered.

"Okay, so quadratic formula...right, and that was…?"

"X equals negative b plus or minus the square root of b squared minus four times a times c. All of that divided by two times a, and you're done."

"You lost me at X."

Akeno laughed. It may seem like Issei wasn't really trying, but she knew he was, and if there was one thing she didn't mind it was helping him- sarcasm included.

But, even she was just a bit tired of math.

"Hey, is it just a bit hot in here, or is it just me?"

Akeno stepped back just a bit and stretched her arms up towards the ceiling, standing on her toes and puffing out her chest while she exhaled in exertion.

Issei tried his best not to stare slack-jawed.

The poor boy had known Akeno for a long time, and whether it was because of her being a Fallen Angel or just being lucky, she had always been ridiculously well-endowed; and whether Issei was born that way or if it was just because he'd always been around her, he was one hundred percent a boob man.

That is to say, when she stretched like that- he couldn't help but get hypnotized.

And she knew it.

Akeno wiped some lingering moisture from the shower off her brow and tossed her hair back over her right shoulder, then pulled her low-cut navy blue t-shirt forward just a bit so she could breathe better.

Or, to put on a better show- who knows?

"Okay, let's try again." She leaned down again, and this time, Issei really couldn't pay attention, no matter how hard he tried. Her shirt hung even lower, and he tried his best to ignore the fact that she didn't generally wear a bra around the house.

"R-right, let's try again-"

A bright flash illuminated the room, and thunder quaked the ground.

In less than a second, Akeno's mind went blank.

She was back in the forest, dragging Issei's near-lifeless body while a storm threatened to kill them both and cultists promised the same. Rain poured down over her and wind whipped her eyes.

Back in the real world, she clutched at Issei's arm as she fell to her knees, screaming his name out loud.

"Akeno!" As fast as he could, Issei picked her up and wrapped her in his arms, enveloping her body with his while he willed the dragon inside him to heat up his skin. She shook like a leaf and grasped around wildly, looking this way and that, unable to form a coherent sentence.

"Hey, I'm here, I'm here. There's no one here to hurt you. It's just you and me, we're in our house, we're safe. The storm can't touch us, and I'm safe. I'm here."

Issei cradled her head, covering her ears in anticipation of the next lightning strike. He silently cursed the weather app on his phone- "no chance for rain," it had said.

Akeno, the girl who was easily able to use lightning magic and whose father was the most talented lightning wielder in all of the Underworld…

...and of all things, thunder was the worst trigger for her PTSD by far.

Calming down just enough to think, she sat still and wide-eyed in Issei's lap, staring up at him and wrapping herself all the way around his left arm, almost as if to prevent him from escaping her grip.

"Issei?" she asked, like she didn't believe it was him.

"It's me. I'm here. I'm gonna lift you, okay?"

"Okay…"

Issei stood up with her in a princess carry, holding her tight to his chest, while he went into the living room. He bent down in front of their coffee table, still holding her tightly, and retrieved a noise-cancelling bluetooth headset from a drawer in the side of the table. Once he had it in-head, he went back to his bedroom, and sat down on his bed with her still in his arms. He gingerly placed them on her head and switched them on, immediately filling her ears with the sweet sound of silence.

After the short amount of time it took for Issei to connect his phone, soft and soothing music began to pierce the haze she was in, and she slowly but surely came back to reality. Lightning struck once more, but it was quite a bit farther away, and between that and the headphones, Akeno didn't hear a thing.

Issei still cradled her in his arms, his skin warm to the touch, while she re-adjusted. As she began to realize what exactly had happened, tears formed at the corners of her eyes, and he was quick to wipe them away.

Had this been several years ago, she would've apologized. He would've responded by telling her to never apologize again, to which she'd apologize once more.

But now, when they'd been doing this same song and dance for quite some time- nothing needed to be said. They both knew the other well enough to know exactly what they were thinking.

Issei knew she was apologetic, and hated herself for being so vulnerable.

Akeno knew he'd comfort her anyway, and wanted nothing more than to be there for her when she needed him. She knew he didn't expect her to apologize, because it wasn't her fault. So, she didn't. As much as she wanted to.

After another tense moment, Akeno leaned further into his chest, the mental toll of her panic attack having drained her of all energy. She was now exhausted, and even with big headphones on, he made such a good pillow.

Sensing how she felt, Issei pulled his feet up on the bed, moving himself into a sleeping position. Akeno did the same, pulling herself face-forward into his chest while he wrapped her tighter in his arms. There was nothing in the world that could comfort her quite like him surrounding her, and with him so close, she could sleep even during a storm like this.

And so she did, with Issei quick to follow.

Oh yeah, big reveal. Akeno, Priestess of Thunder, is afraid of thunder. I'm sure some of you will love that, some of you will hate it, just like always. Obviously, leave reviews and suggestions and such if you want to see this story continued, and if you want to talk to me personally, consider joining my discord server. If you wanna talk, ask questions, make suggestions, just say hi- whatever floats your boat.

Here's the link:

discord .gg / dmUb2Pw

Just copy that and delete the spaces, then paste it into discord or your browser, and join away. Easy Peasy.

Anyway, I dunno when I'll be updating next, should be soon-ish. Till then, don't forget to leave nice long reviews, and as always, I'll see you next mission.