The Sacred Geometry of Chance

A High School DxD fanfiction by Yukikaze101

High School DxD is the property of Ishibumi Ichiei and Fujimi Shobo. There would be way more puns involving 1980's song lyrics if it were mine.

The fic's title is taken from the first verse of Sting's "Shape of My Heart."

Violence warning. Sappiness warning. OOC-because-AU warning. One-shot plot bunny warning.

"Issei-kun, can you do something for me?"

He grinned at her. "Anything, Yuuma-chan."

Himejima Yuuma clasped her hands behind her and leaned forward, grinning. "Kiss me."

"Sure." He took her gently by the shoulders and kissed her tenderly, drawing a pleased sound from her. By now, a tender kiss in front of the fountain had become an integral part of their dates. It was interesting how six months could come to feel like a lifetime, and in a good way.

He wouldn't have expected this six months ago. Back then, he was pretty certain he would graduate high school single and a virgin, with no friends but Matsuda and Motohama. Then Yuuma and her sister had transferred in, and she had made a point of striking up a conversation with him. That, despite the warnings the other girls in class gave her. She just brushed those off with a smile, as if she knew something they didn't.

And they'd hit it off. Before a month had passed, they were walking to and from school hand in hand, leaving other students staring in shock. Even before that, he'd started cleaning up his act. No more trying to peep at the girls' locker room; not like anyone in there could measure up to her, right? Matsuda and Motohama had gone apoplectic about his "betrayal," but it somehow hadn't seemed to matter much. The approving smile she had given him had far outweighed their demands that he stay single and miserable out of solidarity.

He finally drew back from her, savoring her impish smile and the pleased flush to her cheeks. "Do you have to hurry home tonight?" he asked.

"Did you have something else in mind?" she said teasingly.

"Well…" Issei began, starting to lean in for another kiss.

"Sorry to interrupt." The sneering male voice came as a complete surprise, and Issei whipped around to see a middle-aged man in a trenchcoat and fedora, looking at him and Yuuma like they were filth stuck to his shoe.

"Dohnaseek." Yuuma sounded surprised and disturbed, and grabbed Issei's hand. "What are you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Issei didn't even see the man move; all he knew was that he was suddenly on the ground, screaming and burning pain erupting from his chest. He forced himself to look down, and stared in shock at what looked like a sapphire-blue lightning bolt piercing his heart.

"What - no! Issei-kun!" Yuuma screamed, and suddenly there was a glowing magenta sword in her hand. She hurled herself at Dohnaseek, driving him back from Issei. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Cleaning up the trash," he said with a smirk. "Your father has gotten in Kokabiel's way once too often. Hold still. I won't make this too painful."

"I don't think you can manage," Yuuma shot back. "Bring it on if you like, but leave Issei-kun out of it." She summoned a second blade of magenta light, holding it Florentine-style.

"Oh, no. I've heard too many things about your skill with a lightblade," he smirked. "No, I think I'll go the safer route." He reached into his coat and threw what looked like an omamori at Yuuma's feet before she could parry it, and it exploded into a glowing circle around her feet. That circle flared light upwards, dissipating the blades she'd somehow manifested and holding her still "There. That's a handicap I'm comfortable with."

"N-no!" Issei managed to yell. "Leave her alone - " He groaned and curled into a ball as Dohnaseek kicked him in his smoking wound.

"Tough luck, kid," Dohnaseek sneered. "Just sit there for awhile. I'll finish you off after I take out Baraqiel's brat."

"Asshole! Keep your filthy hands off her!" Issei thundered, managing to push himself to his knees. Despite his wounds and disheveled appearance, his voice rang out with surprising force. "I won't let you hurt Yuuma-chan!"

"Shut up, you!" Dohnaseek yelled, spinning back around. A spear of sapphire light snapped into existence in his left hand, and he drove it downward.

"No!" Yuuma cried out from the entrapment wards that held her still. She was still struggling against them, but unraveling wards this complex took time. Her heart was in her throat as she saw Issei in peril, and she was unable to help. "Issei-kun!"

Issei threw his right hand up to block the spear. He knew it was pointless, but he didn't know what else he could do. It wasn't like he had a sword, or a gun, to defend himself with. If he did, he'd smack this guy into the next time zone! If he had… if he had a sword, a sword that could crush stars, or a gun, a gun that could pierce stars -

He screamed, in mingled terror and defiance, and Dohnaseek's spear rang like a clarion as it was parried and sent flying by something.

Yuuma stared in amazement. So did the trenchcoated Fallen Angel.

Issei was now holding a tsurugi-style sword in his left hand. The hilt was an intricate amalgam of rosewood and ivory, with thin fin-like blade guards.. The blade was an eye-burning platinum, shot through with streaks of electric-blue, and glowed faintly.

In his right hand was a pistol. It looked like a revolver-esque energy blaster out of some space opera, with a long barrel and tapered muzzle, and a curved ivory grip. The gun's frame and barrel were that same eye-hurting shade of blue-hued platinum.

"Issei-kun," Yuuma whispered in awe. "Star Buster Star Blaster."

Dohnaseek eyed the sword and pistol with obvious desire. He also appeared to be gauging his chances against the boy armed with them.

"G-get the hell outta here," Issei growled, his voice quavering but sure. He levelled the pistol at the Fallen Angel, and somehow his gun hand was doing better than his voice. (Not that the bar wasn't already low.) "Or I'll kill you."

The Fallen Angel laughed. "You don't have the balls, brat. Now hold still, so I can - " He staggered backwards in shock, looking downward at the sudden smoking hole in his chest. That hole crackled with silver-blue electricity, and seemed to be spreading slowly. His pupils shrank, and his teeth skinned back as he howled in rage and agony. "You stupid shit! I'll skin you and your little bitch alive!"

He staggered backwards again, and again, and yet again, as Issei kept firing. Tears rolled down the boy's face, but his gun hand was completely steady now. Dohnaseek fell to his knees, fingers scrabbling at the spreading, gaping wounds. His mouth worked, but no sounds came out.

Issei's aim shifted, and he put a shot through Dohnaseek's head, exploding it like an overripe fruit. His body slumped and fell over, and after a moment, so did Issei, the sword and gun disappearing from his grip.

Yuuma finally managed to break the wards, and ran to her boyfriend. She could already see blood leaking from them. "No! No, no, Issei-kun, stay with me…"

Issei coughed up blood, managing a wry smile. "I'm tryin', Yuuma-chan. Little hard right now…" More blood came up, and his smile became ghastly. "At least you're safe," he said softly, and the words sounded like a farewell.

Yuuma swiped the tears from her eyes and cleared her throat. She grabbed his hand, and insisted, "Try to stay awake. I'll get help…" With her other hand, she created a small magical circle, the proper size and shape for communications. "Kala! I need your help!"

"Yuuma? What - " Her best friend's voice was surprised and alarmed.

"I need help. Issei-kun is dying!" Yuuma knew she sounded shrill right now. It was a little hard to rein it it, though. "Dohnaseek attacked us, and Issei-kun killed him, but he's dying because of it!"

Kalawarner's reply was sympathetic, but dubious. "All right, I'll come, but I'm not very good at healing. I don't know what I can do to - "

"Bring the Deck."

A stunned silence, followed by Kalawarner sounding awestruck. "...your dad is gonna kill you. And then me, for not stopping you."

"Okaa-sama would kill him first," Yuuma replied tersely. "Please! I'll take full responsibility."

A deep, resigned sigh. "Okay. I'll be right there."

"Kala! Where were you?!" Yuuma demanded, then froze as she saw the figure behind her friend.

"Um, well, y'see, I couldn't exactly get away unnoticed…" Kalawarner trailed off, looking like someone trying to escape an imminent high-speed collision.

"Yuuma." Himejima Akeno did not look amused.

"...hi, onee-sama."

"Himejima-sempai? What's she doing here?" Issei was almost unconscious by this point, but he had enough wherewithal to recognize Yuuma's sister and her ample assets.

"That's a very good question. Yuuma, what happened to Hyoudou-kun?"

"That asshat Dohnaseek attacked him, and he's dying! I need - "

"I'll do what I can to heal him, but why did Kalawarner say you…" Akeno trailed off as she saw Kalawarner hand Yuuma a box. "No. No. Do you have any idea how otou-sama will react?!"

"I love Issei-kun! He loves me!"

"Do love Yuuma-chan," Issei blurted out, his voice sounding drunken. All eyes snapped towards him, and he managed to add, "Wanna make her Hyoudou Yuuma - " He sank back into silence, clearly teetering on the edge of unconsciousness.

"No!" Yuuma worked frantically at the security wrapping around the box, finally tearing it off.

Akeno cleared her throat, trying to calm her sister. "Yuuma, I understand, but - "

"He has a fucking Neo-Longinus!" Yuuma all but screamed in Akeno's face. "That's the entire reason Azazel-jisama had me start observing him in the first place! He fucking saved me with it!"

"A Neo-what?" Issei's voice was very soft, and somewhat distorted.

"I promise, I'll explain everything soon, Issei-kun."

"...'kay. If you say so, Yuuma-chan…" Issei yawned, his pale face exhausted. He slumped in her lap, his head lolling at an uncomfortable-looking angle. Yuuma stared at him, all the color draining from her face.

"Yuuma. Yuuma." Akeno's face was genuinely concerned, and she had to slap Yuuma's face gently. "Get it together, little sister. You're… you're right, though. I suppose there's no choice then." Another sigh. "Remember, though, that once a Deck is opened, every card must be played."

"Yeah, I know." With visible effort, Yuuma got herself under control. Her fingers trembled as she opened the handtooled box, stared into its interior, and said aloud, "Suit of Swords." The aforementioned suit of cards floated out of the box, arranged itself neatly, and flew into Yuuma's empty hand.

Akeno let out a sigh, and said, "Suit of Wands." The cards in that suit flew out of the box and into her hand, already sorted.

"Suit of… Cups, I guess," Kalawarner said glumly. Once she had the suit in her hand, there was only one suit remaining in the box.

"Who're we gonna get as our fourth?" she wondered aloud. "It'd take some real arm-twisting to get Mittelt to go along with this, especially as the King of Coins."

"That'll be Yuuma's problem," Akeno said dryly, giving her sister a longsuffering look.

"I said I'd take responsibility," Yuuma said testily. She held the King of Swords to her forehead, took a deep breath, and spoke. "I commit to play by the rules of this Game, to read true the signs and portents, and to care for the Cards of my Suit as they serve me." The card glowed and turned insubstantial, merging with her and vanishing.

"No going back now," Kalawarner said softly, her expression quietly sympathetic as she looked at her best friend.

"There never was," Yuuma told her, shifting her gaze towards the now-quiescent Issei.

"I guess you really are in love with him," Akeno said thoughtfully. "Do you know which Neo-Longinus he has?"

"Star Buster Star Blaster," her younger sister said. "He actually managed to manifest them. He killed Dohnaseek with them."

"What are you going to make him?" Kalawarner asked, before snorting in self-derision. "As if I needed to ask."

"Are you - " Akeno looked back and forth between the other two Fallen Angels, and then at Issei. In an alarmed tone, she said, "Yuuma, remember the consequences! If you do that, you're effectively marrying Hyoudou-kun! Remember all the trouble otou-sama and okaa-sama went through because they were hasty about that!"

"I know," Yuuma said, her tone soft but insistent. "But I also know how much they love each other. And that they don't regret it, when all is said and done." She laid the Queen of Swords on Issei's head, and then set the pip cards on his chest. They rose in the air above him, floating and rotating, until finally the Four of Swords fell gently atop him. The others cards sorted themselves and set themselves down neatly next to Yuuma.

"Four wings," Kalawarner said in surprise. "That's rare for a new Fallen, isn't it?"

"Very rare," Akeno agreed, looking just as surprised. "I only know of a few such cases. And there's only one known case of starting out with more." She said that with absolute certainty, as well she might. That one case of a Fallen reincarnating with six wings… that had been Himejima Shuri.

Yuuma took the Four of Swords and set it with the rest of the pip cards. One more deep breath, and she spoke in a peculiar cadence, the Queen of Swords glowing and sinking into Issei as she did. "Awaken, dreamer adrift in thine slumber. Cast off the stuff of Man, and spread the ebon wings of the Grigori. Join us, we who have turned our backs on Heaven, and resolved to build our own paradise. Awaken, Hyoudou Issei, my Queen of Swords."

Issei's eyes flew open and he sat up violently, gasping for air. As he did, four black, feathered wings erupted from his back. He hunched forward, on the edge of hyperventilating, and Yuuma grabbed his shoulders. "Issei-kun! Issei-kun, it's all right, just focus on me… focus on my face and my voice…" She peered into his panicked eyes, trying to radiate calm and reassurance. She could feel that panic and fight-or-flight reaction over the psychic link that bound their cards, and put as much love and calm into that link as she could.

It started working almost immediately. Issei slumped against her hands, his wings folding away. "Yuuma-chan," he whispered, lunging forward and clinging to her like a life preserver. "What the fuck is going on?"

Yuuma wrapped her arms around him, rubbing his back. "It's all right, anata. I'll explain everything. Concentrate on getting hold of yourself right now. It'll all make sense soon."

"You promise?" Issei said, his grip on her relaxing minutely. He hadn't noticed yet what she'd called him.

"I promise," Yuuma said. She was vaguely aware of Akeno and Kalawarner relaxing beside her. "You meant what you said, right? About making me Hyoudou Yuuma?"

"Huh? 'Course I did." There was absolutely no doubt in his voice. There might be naivete about exactly what the ramifications were, but his eyes were steady and clear as he looked at her and spoke.

"That's a good thing," Akeno said, and if her tone was dry, it was also good-natured now. "Otou-sama will be very interested in meeting him tonight."

"Tonight?" Issei said in surprise. He looked around, finally really noticing Akeno and Kalawarner. "Um, hi, sempai. I wasn't sure you were really there… and I don't think I know you…"

"That's Kalawarner. She's my best friend," Yuuma said quickly. "There's a lot we need to talk about, Issei-kun."

"I guess we do," he said slowly, then smiled. "Well, if we get to be together…"

"That much I can promise you," Yuuma told him, and bumped her forehead against his affectionately.

Notes: Sadly, this is something that I will almost certainly never expand upon. The ideas in it are tempting, but my existing projects are taking up most of my creative bandwidth… but I had to get this out; it wouldn't stop bugging me. So, free plot bunny to a good home, right?

Now, because I actually did spend some time thinking about the background, and won't expand upon it in writing, I'll share the notes (so people at least have context):

Fallen Angels use tarot card decks to resurrect people into their ranks. These decks are based on the Minor Arcana of the Rider-Waite deck. (Not a lot of rigorous research here, I'm afraid.)

Each deck is empowered by a Fallen Angel with 5+ pairs of wings (Cadre rank), and selected Fallen Angels with 4+ pairs may appoint themselves as "Kings" of the deck's Suits. Most often, the "selected Fallen Angels" are the offspring of Cadre-rank crows, making them roughly equivalent to high-class Devils. (Cadre-level Fallen Angels can do the same thing themselves, as was referenced about Baraqiel and Himejima Shuri: he became his own King of Wands, and made Shuri his Queen.)

The Suits themselves are as follows:

Swords (the warrior suit; it grants enhanced strength, dexterity, and stamina).

Wands (the spellcaster suit; it grants enhanced magical ability).

Coins (the merchant/sage/intellectual suit; it grants enhanced logic and reasoning capability, and eidetic memory).

Cups (the social operator suit; it grants enhanced charisma and intuition).

Each Suit has one King card, Queen card, two Knight cards, and four Page cards.

Pages are hyperspecialized in one aspect of their Suit, and hapless at the rest of it (i.e., a Page of Swords might be a sniper or a boxer, but otherwise useless at combat; a Page of Coins might be a stockbroker or chemist, but incompetent at anything else Coin-related).

Knights are generalists within their Suit, good at everything but great at nothing.

The Queen card is the most powerful, having the Page and Knight traits without their drawbacks. However, it also carries with it a very strong psychic link with the King card. The holders of the two cards eventually become very emotionally intimate and codependent, essentially becoming a marriage-like relationship.

As regards the family Himejima: Raynare is "Himejima Yuuma" here, and her appearance and personality are genuinely those of Yuuma. Akeno is her older sister, and her personality is mostly the same, but incorporates Rias's older-sister tendencies. Shuri is not only still alive, but is a Fallen Angel as well. (Baraqiel and Shuri's hypothetical interactions with Issei would be akin to those of Nogizaka Gentou and Akiho interacting with Yuuto.)

Kalawarner is the daughter of Shemhazai and his Devil (formerly in this; she is his Queen of Cups) wife; her personality is roughly equivalent to that of Akiyama Mio from K-On! Mittelt is the daughter of Azazel and Penemue; her personality is roughly equivalent to that of Tainaka Ritsu from K-On! Honestly, the relationship between them and the Himejima sisters is based on that of the friendship between the Light Music Club's members. (Yes, that makes Yuuma Yui and Akeno Tsumugi. I was just as shocked as you were.)

In my headcanon, Star Buster Star Blaster's components look like Tenchi's Light Hawk Wing sword and the Cosmo Dragoon, respectively.