Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or Highschool DxD, and sadly never will.

Chapter 1 - A Miracle

The war was over.

As those words echoed throughout the world, ninja and civilian alike celebrated the end of Madara Uchiha and the self-proclaimed Goddess Kaguya.

The two heroes of the day lay next to one another, mirthless smiles upon each of their faces.

A trail of blood oozed from their lost appendages, scars littering their battered bodies in a cornucopia of war-driven madness.

"Ne, teme."

A light grunt was his response. "What is it, dobe?"

The blonde grinned slightly. "I'm glad you're finally back."

The Uchiha scoffed.

"Don't get all sentimental on me, now. You're still an idiot."

The jinchuriki merely grinned wider at the attitude of his biologically unrelated brother.

"Awwww, you know you love me." He coughed lightly. "You're such a tsundere you know that?"

Sasuke sighed in exasperation. Only Naruto could bring him this much annoyance in a single sentence.

"Shut up dobe."

The fond smirk that found its way on his face was a testament to his true feelings, however.

The two continued to lay there as their minds wandered to places unknown. It was a miracle that they were still conscious all things considered.

Their battle, while appearing a draw, had been a definite victory for the blonde ninja.

His attempts to bring his best friend back from the brink of insanity finally bore fruit.

Naruto smiled. It was a rather simple expression in practice, but it spoke volumes about his character. A man who was able to get back up after being kicked down countless times.

If it wasn't for the fact that he was essentially a God by this point, then most would probably attribute his determination to be the only reason he was still alive.

He certainly wouldn't fault them for that logic.

"Hey, dobe?"

Naruto craned his head over slightly. "Yeah, teme?"

The Uchiha went quiet. "Thanks for not giving up on me."

Typically, the Uzumaki would have made some snide comment and ruined the moment, but he knew how much it took for his friend to admit his weakness.

So, he decided against it.

"You're welcome Sasuke. I'd do it again if I have to."

A quiet 'tch' sounded out from the crevice as the two fell into companionable silence.

"So, we should probably seal these wounds shut, shouldn't we?"

Naruto nodded silently at the question before closing his eyes and bracing for the pain. Sasuke looked at his friend before going through a few one-handed seals and using a simple fire jutsu to carefully cauterize the wound shut.

Naruto very much did not enjoy that.

Looking at his friend Sasuke turned over slightly and gave Naruto a better angle to do the same thing for him. Creating a Bunshin, the boy started doing hand seals, the clone doing the same thing as one another to make up for their lack of knowledge with one handed jutsu.

Sasuke bit his tongue, hard, as his wounds were forced shut. Naruto simply did not have the same control he had over fire leading to an even more painful experience. Still, it had to be done, and the boy was thankful.

Satisfied that there was no more risk to their lives, Naruto decided to test his luck with walking.

He slowly rose to his feet and, while clutching the adjacent wall to support himself, began to walk towards his downed friend slowly.

Sasuke looked up and smirked lightly at the offered arm. The moment he touched his friend's hand however he suddenly fell back to the ground on his knees.

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

For the stoic individual to scream with such reckless abandon, Naruto knew something very wrong must have happened.

Rushing to his side he began assessing his friends' injuries.

Finding nothing which would indicate this much pain he spoke in a commanding tone.

"Sasuke, where is the pain coming from?"

The Uchiha began taking gulps of air, greedily attempting to fill his lungs and pacify the excruciating pain before gingerly pointing to his eyes.

His right one specifically.

"Your eye? Okay, let me see it."

While he was far from being a medical ninja, Naruto had learned a good deal from Sakura and her mentor.

He found the lessons exceedingly boring, but he at least managed to gain a decent level of knowledge about identifying injuries. He had even become somewhat of a professional when it came to removing infected appendages and sewing shut wounds.

He was rather surprised when he stopped to think about it. No one saw his proficiency in this field coming. He sure the hell didn't.

Though, on the other hand, his actual abilities in Medical Ninjutsu were shoddy at best. He had barely managed to learn the Mystical Palm Technique and could not use it to heal anything beyond a simple cut or bruise. He attributed this to his subpar chakra control.

Still, this thought process wasn't what his friend needed right now.

Slowly lowering himself to his knees, he held the back of Sasuke's head in a feeble attempt to lessen the strain.

"Dobe... believe me, I really don't want to ask this, but I don't think we have any other options. Help won't arrive fast enough, and I need this eye out now. It hurts, so damn bad. There's… there's something wrong with it. I just don't know what that actually is."

Naruto grit his teeth.

"NO! Sasuke I can't just take out your eye. Are you insane?" He shook his head. "There has to be another way."

The boy laughed lightly before convulsing violently on the floor.

Recovering from the momentary lapse, Sasuke shook his head bitterly. "Believe me, if there were another way, I would have suggested it by now. I have no idea what's going on with this thing, but I do know that this needs to be dealt with; and fast." He paused to gulp more air. "It wouldn't surprise me if that bastard Madara had something to do with this. But, at this point I guess it doesn't really matter."

Kaguya's descendant looked down in sadness. He did not want to mutilate his friend's broken body that much more.

"At least I have another one, eh dobe?" he joked.

The blonde didn't find it particularly funny.

"Ne... Naruto."

That snapped him to attention. The Uchiha using his name meant that he was serious.

"You remember how Kakashi's Sharingan was given to him?"

How could he forget? Obito was at the center of all the problems that had led to the Fourth and hopefully final Great Ninja War.

But why bring that up now?

...

Wait-

"Sasuke, you can't be serious," Naruto stated incredulously. "I don't even know if my body would accept the Sharingan. Plus, what if it just does to me what it's doing to you? Isn't there anything else we can do!?"

The Uchiha, who was obviously on his last legs just shook his head solemnly.

"Look it needs to come out one way or another and I'd rather you have it than anyone else." He shouted before grunting. "This... is painful, Naruto. Very painful." He was breathing heavily and was deathly pale. "I'm not asking you to put it in your own head right away but I'm probably going to go into shock soon, and I'd rather not die like this. So, do this for me, okay?"

Staring into the eyes of his friend, one black and the other a mixture of red and black, Naruto nodded slowly before unsealing a medical kit medical kit from a small scroll on his person.

Approaching his friend, he spoke. "I'm not gonna lie teme, even though I will numb the pain around your eye this is still gonna hurt like a bitch." He grinned weakly. "But you better not scream, or I won't let you hear the end of it."

The Uchiha smirked at the jab. "Just get it over with."

Naruto acquiesced, and soon he had begun the very delicate procedure of removing the eye from his friend's socket. Unfortunately given how heavily injured the black-haired teen was, he could not just knock him out like what would be considered standard practice for an operation such as this.

He simply could not risk his friend sustaining further injuries mentally and elsewhere.

Gritting his teeth in pain, the prideful teen refused to show weakness in front of his self-proclaimed rival. Though he had to admit the time it had taken before it was finally over could not even begin to be described as torture.

Sighing in relief, Naruto wiped his brow before looking at the eye he extracted from his friends' head.

He really should wait until a medical team came looking for them, but he knew that the eye had to be removed immediately before unforeseen complications happened. Sealing the held appendage into a small storage scroll he placed it into the pocket of his ruined coat.

Helping Sasuke to the edge of the cave he leaned his friend against the wall to recover. It was then that he noticed his friends' remaining eye shifting colors. What was once pitch-black was now red with 3 tomeo's circling the center.

'The Sharingan…?' Naruto questioned internally. He knew that his friend was in possession of a far more deadly bloodline until just a few minutes ago. What happened to it?

"Ne, what is it dobe…?" The tired Uchiha questioned.

As Naruto opened his mouth to answer he noticed that the color normal again. Was his mind just playing tricks on him?

He was probably just tired.

"It's nothing, teme. Just try to stay awake until I get help, alright?"

"Tch, whatever."

Smiling at his friends' reservations the Jinchuriki headed outside. Sitting down on a nearby rock he sent out a beacon with the remainder of his chakra.

Grunting in exertion he continued his actions until he was physically unable.

It was nearly an hour later that he heard the tell-tale sounds of a medical team approaching. Naruto smiled and fell backwards, completely spent.

'Kami… I need a vacation.'

*A few months later*

High-ranking missions were at an all-time low due to a severe lack of missing-nin. The worlds need for combat-trained ninja was lower than ever. Trade-routes were being opened constantly, with stock and trade booming at an all-time high. Unification was finally a reality for the nations.

It was… nice.

Naruto smiled as he looked down at his newly affixed arm.

"Thanks, obaa-chan."

The cells felt like his own and brought him back to the power level he had gained during the war.

It was almost annoying that Sasuke, the only one who could ever give him a challenge, was nowhere to be found. Not to mention, still lacked an arm.

Finding his way into his apartment he laid back on his bed and relaxed. Thoughts flittered through his mind as he stared up at the ceiling.

"I did it ero-sennin. I brought peace to this world."

A tear rolled down his cheek at his admission. Everything his teacher had ever dreamed of had finally been realized and he was the biggest instigator for it.

So then why, he pondered, did he feel so unfulfilled.

Looking over at the small scroll atop his nightstand he considered it for a while.

He had been biding his time, waiting months for a specific opportunity to arise for where he would require Sasuke's gift.

Nothing had, however.

In fact, given the state of the world at present he began to doubt that such an event, where he would require more power, would ever arrive.

What should he do?

Initially he considered donating the Sharingan to the council, maybe it could be replicated for future generations.

Then he adamantly decided against it.

It was simply not right to give his friends gift up to those who would abuse it, so he kept it secret. If Sasuke were here right now he knew the asshole would have berated him for his lack of drive to go through with it.

"Oi! Performing ocular surgery on myself isn't exactly pleasant, teme." he yelled out to no one.

Naruto grumbled to himself as he realized his nerves must have getting to him. Unsealing the eye, he began looking it over. The whole thing was creepy, in a way. He was essentially staring at a piece of his friends' body. There was something else though. It was almost as if an imaginary pull was trying to force his hand. It should have struck him as odd.

Though for some unknown reason, in this point in time, he did not consider the rather obvious implications.

Rubbing the back of his head he came to a decision and sighed.

This was not going to be fun.

He was right. It was most certainly anything but fun.

After painstakingly removing his eye with the precision expected of someone with experience in the medical field, Naruto had gone through even more pain when he began to re-attach the other eye into his now vacant socket.

Thankfully he still had anesthesia left over from his recovery process meaning that it wasn't entirely unbearable.

Turning to the two clones which had completed the procedure he nodded at them prompting them to dissipate.

Resisting the urge to hurl he tightly shut his eyes as waves of pain washed over him.

He knew it wouldn't be pleasant but even with the painkillers it was truly excruciating.

Panting with exertion, he blinked lightly and opened his newly replaced right eye and blanched at what he saw.

"The Mangekyou..."

Why was the Sharingan in its evolved state already?

He winced as his eye began to bleed lightly from the unintentional exertion.

"GAHHHHHHH!"

A scream tore through his throat as he fell to his knees in spasms.

'The hell? Is it this stupid eye again?'

He began clawing at the ground as he started contemplating what he should do.

On that note, why did he suddenly think it was such a good idea to implant it anyway?

If it had been causing problems before why would it suddenly be safe now?

It was almost as if his actions had been controlled somehow... but how, when?

Who?

A flash of dark-colored eyes appeared in his mind.

He swore. "Fuck-!"

Looking ahead of him, he tried but to no avail, to stop the portal his Kamui was unwillingly opening. Examining it with a cursory glance, he noted that it was far more purple than any he had seen previous. Though, he wasn't quite sure why.

As if just realizing his situation, Naruto quickly dove towards an adjacent wall and attempted to stick to it using his chakra.

Unfortunately, the portal continued expanding, specifically aiming to pull him into it.

"What the hell is going on?"

He was so confused but more than that he was scared.

'Someone must have gotten into the teme's head back then and affected his Sharingan somehow.'

But who, and why?

He gnashed his teeth as he attempted once more to close his right eye.

It simply would not budge.

Eventually the walls around him began to show signs of cracking. The technique was growing rapidly, and it was starting to take the environment with it. By this point, entering the portal was the only way to stop its expansion.

He growled.

"Damnit."

Before the blonde shinobi jumped in. The voices from some of his friends echoing behind him.

Naruto Uzumaki was no more.

A group of eight teenagers idled around a dimly lit room with nary a word between them.

A beautiful redhead sat behind the desk at the front, eyes of a dead fish on display to everyone around her. She looked disheveled and had the appearance of someone who had not slept in days. The slight red tint adorning her cheeks and telltale signs of tear marks were the only things that implied she could show emotion.

"Buchou, we should probably prepare for the summit..."

The voice came from beside her and trailed off softly. It belonged to a teenager whose indescribable beauty was only matched by her peer right next to her. Black hair was tied up in a long ponytail which cascaded down her back. She was wearing a kimono which failed to hide her impossible figure.

"Hm."

Akeno looked down sadly at her president's nonchalant dismissal of her request. It has been a trying time for everyone, but Rias took it harder than anyone else. She just wished there was something she could do.

She looked away before the tears started gathering in her eyes again. She refused to let her sadness be shown in front of the others. It had been her weakness, amongst others, which led to the tragedy happening after all.

Looking around the room, the half-devil bit her lip as she took in the expressions of everyone else.

No one was unaffected.

Kiba was radiating anger, the likes of which she had only seen when the Holy Sword incident happened. He was always sharpening his swords as a means of distracting himself from the reality of the situation. It had become a tick of sorts, a habit that he had become unable to break. It was evident to her, one of the only ones who kept a mostly clear head about things, that he was pushing himself too far.

Stealing a glance over at the swordswoman next to Kiba she grimaced slightly at Xenovia's identical expression. Those two had been doing nothing but constant sparring for days on end now. In fact, she had only seen them take a break when the president told them to. Even then Akeno practically had to force her superior to do anything otherwise her friends would more than likely push themselves to death.

Taking a wary glance over to the two people who appeared the least affected she breathed sharply.

Rossweisse did not know... him long enough to be hurt by it, she reasoned. While she did seem upset, she had yet to join the pity party that the rest of them had become so accustomed to.

She was glad for that.

Koneko, on the other hand, made Akeno's bottom lip quiver slightly. The Nekomata had a constant frown on her face. The expression in itself wasn't necessarily telling of anything wrong. However, the fact that her normally stoic look hadn't manifested itself in weeks, alongside her complete loss of appetite towards anything sweet spoke volumes of how torn up about the situation she really was.

They had finally become close to one another, only to be forcibly ripped apart. It was too cruel.

The same could be said for Gasper as well. The poor boy was just coming to terms with his powers, much in the same way that Koneko had and his source of strength was taken from him. It was far too soon. No one else seemed to be able to knock the kid out of the self-inflicted funk that he had caused for himself. He considered himself a lost cause, and everyone else was far too lost in their own problems to help him. Some family they were.

As she turned to look at the final member of the peerage, she found it no longer possible to hold back her tears. If there was anyone affected more by his death than the president, it would have to have been Asia. The sweet and timid girl was now terrified of her own shadow. Everywhere she went, she constantly looked paranoid about one thing or another. No matter who asks or when, she would immediately clamp up and look down at her knees in self-deprecation.

Akeno could relate to that.

She sat down in a chair by herself. She needed to reflect; again.

Truthfully, she knew how much of a linchpin he was to the group. He kept them all together, and without him, things were starting to fall apart.

No, that's not quite right.

She covered her face with her hands as tears streamed down uninterrupted.

The group had already fallen apart.

Taking a spare tissue from a nearby tissue box, she blew her nose softly.

It had only been two weeks, but everything changed since then.

Akeno grimaced as vibrant images unwittingly popped into her mind.

It was so… sudden. Almost anti-climactic in a way. He had faced down far tougher opponents; Countless exorcists and Fallen Angels, Riser Phoenix, hell even Vali the White Dragon Emperor, and had always found a way to come out on top. He almost felt invincible to them. Someone who refused to give up.

He. Would. Win.

So, when the jaws of Fenrir tore into him, as if he was a mere insect to him; no one was prepared. There was nothing else to say. His life was forfeit the moment he entered the fray.

It was over.

Rias, holding his chewed up body in her arms had lost control immediately after. It was equal parts mesmerizing and terrifying, watching her disseminate both Loki and Fenrir until there was nothing left. She completely overpowered them. There was nothing anyone could do.

After she was done, she walked back over to his body and began weeping over her supposed failure. No one said anything as they all attempted to come to terms with his passing in their own ways.

The three who had the phoenix tears used on them took it extra hard. The feelings going through all of them was that the tears were wasted on them. They would never have taken it if it meant saving their friend from death.

It was far too late for such sentiments now, however.

Upon their return from Hell, Rias had locked herself in her room and missed three days of school. It was the first time that ever happened. When she finally came back, she looked malnourished and refused to speak to anyone for the rest of the week. By the following week, she had begun talking to her subordinates again but only long enough for her to give out orders before she went to the back room to begin crying again.

It was a sad sight.

It didn't end there, however. There were more reports than ever about Fallen Angels attacking the area, and Azazel was nowhere to be found. Of all the faction leaders he surprisingly took it the hardest. More than likely due to him being the self-appointed head of the Occult Research Club.

Even Akeno felt sorry for the man, regardless of his race.

The fact that he had gone MIA inadvertently caused stress for the club who now had to take care of the strays all on their own. Rias was ruthless. Akeno had never seen the princess act in such a suicidal manner. Throwing caution to the wind the red-haired devil would often be seen diving into fights head-on without her usual flair or strategic planning. It was as if everything that made Rias Gremory her own person had been lost amongst the fighting.

Koneko consistently stood at the back of all conflicts. The poor girl was once more afraid of her lineage and the baggage that came with it. Both Gasper and Asia could be found with her; expressions wild. One afraid of everything around them and the other afraid of himself. Everyone saw these things happen, but no one helped them.

It was pathetic.

Xenovia and Kiba had both taken to scouting out and murdering every stray Fallen Angel or Devil that they came across. Their dedication was an obvious distraction, and there was the occasional night or two where they never ended up coming home. They did not arrive at school the following day.

Still, no one seemed to care.

Of everyone in the group, only Akeno and Rossweisse were able to think rationally on the battlefield, the latter the only one able to do so outside of it as well. The two continued to provide the tactical support the team needed in case the frontal assault failed. Thankfully it hadn't gotten to that point yet, but Akeno had little to no doubt that eventually it would. It was only a matter of time.

The depressing atmosphere within the clubhouse was suffocating her. Out of everyone in the room, they were the only two prepared for the impromptu summit set to begin in the school shortly. It was late in the day, nearing the evening in fact, so there would not be anyone in the building.

The summit was a front, and they all knew that. The topic was going to inevitably be about the death of the teenager who had helped to bridge the factions together. It was not a subject that any of them had any intention of participating in, but they knew they had little choice in the matter.

Finding something to mend a potentially broken relationship wasn't easy. He had done that. He was someone that everyone enjoyed and, whether intentional or not, he brought out the best in them all.

On another note, it wasn't hard to imagine that they also wished to talk about the sacred gear that the young teen had possessed. Ddraig, the red dragon. He was a power far greater than most people could ever dream of and he vanished the moment his partner's heart stopped beating.

No one had any idea where he went.

Theories were ranging from the artifact being broken by some means or, more than likely, that the item had been passed onto its next wielder.

This mystery was a major cause for concern, however, as no one had any clue who its wielder would be. Furthermore, nothing of note had shown up on the factions' radar to imply any unknown variables being added into the equation. So, there was no doubt in her mind that this meeting would focus heavily on the possible implications of someone unsavory getting their hands on it.

In all honesty, however; Akeno simply didn't care anymore. She just wanted things to go back to the way they were.

Of all her friends she knew she had to keep the strongest front. She was just as torn up as any of them. Like Koneko, she was just starting to become closer to the boy in a genuine way and then he was taken from her. However, unlike everyone else, he had not yet touched her life in a major way. She was certain he would have if he'd been given the chance, but he hadn't. It was almost a crueler fate, she thought, to have all her friends be so impacted by someone she never got to experience.

Some people would consider it a blessing, but Akeno considered it a curse. True, it helped her keep a clearer head, but the disappointment weighed on her mind. Right before he disappeared from their lives, the beautiful girl had intended to tell him the full truth about her heritage.

Maybe even go on a date with him?

She would never know these things. It was best not to dwell on them.

Smiling sadly to herself, she began looking briefly at her group of broken friends once more.

Taking in their vacant, or overly too expressive faces she made a decision.

Putting her hands together she began praying. She knew there was no God anymore, and hell even when there was one, devils were still forbidden from praying to him.

Truthfully, she did not know why she was doing this, but as the last person of her group of friends that still had her sanity intact, she decided it was a bit of a final gambit. If this did not work, then she wasn't sure if they were ever going to break out of this spell.

They were all at their wit's end here.

Ignoring the flashes of pain that shot through her head from her rebellious actions she spoke quietly. It was only for her and whoever was out there listening.

Perhaps Michael would take pity on them? She doubted it, but she was willing to try anything.

"Please God… just this once." She paused to rub her head before speaking once more. "Give us a miracle to save us. This one time."

She waited a moment.

Then another.

Nothing happened.

Well, she hadn't expected anything to. That was too convenient, and she had learned long ago that nothing positive comes into her life without strings attached. Maybe they had not reached a low point yet, and this was just Heaven's way of testing their spirits?

She chuckled mirthlessly. If they had not yet reached their low point, then she wasn't sure that she wanted to see what that entailed.

Deciding that she had to once again be the leader she stood up. While she did not wish to force them into such a potentially damaging meeting, she had no choice. Akeno opened her mouth to speak.

That's when the world shook.

The group was sent to the floor in a sudden heap, the trances that had overcome them all being lifted for the moment.

Getting off the ground, Akeno looked outside and saw that the tell-tale signs of an explosion had occurred on the sports field just outside the club house.

For some reason, she felt drawn to it.

Not questioning things, she began to walk towards the door slowly. Soon her pace accelerated, and she bolted out of the room.

The rest of her fellow club members looked to one another for a moment before nodding and rushing after her.

Akeno was the first to reach the crater. Even if she had not had the head start that she did, her speed was hard to track. She could not remember the last time that she was this interested in something.

Peering into the large hole, she surmised that something had been thrown at supersonic speeds and smashed into the ground. There was no reason to believe that the rupture had anything to do with a bomb or the like as there was no shrapnel in the area and the force was concentrated. The result was loud, and it caused damage to the vicinity of the field, yes, but the hole itself was quite small in diameter.

As the smoke cleared, she stood shocked as the object she had been hypothesizing about revealed itself. A blonde-haired male with a thin chain vest shirt and orange pants lied at the bottom of the crater unmoving. The young man looked to be in terrible shape. There were deep lacerations all over his body, some of which were merely scars and others looked like recently opened wounds. His right eye had a gash running across it and one of his arms was entirely bandaged.

What happened to him…?

She decided to walk up to him and put her hand to his chest already expecting the worst. Her eyes widened.

There was a heartbeat.

It was faint, but there was undeniably a heartbeat. This guy was still alive.

How was that possible? He did not have any noticeable energy coming from him, and he appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary human.

It was at this point that her friends finally arrived at the scene and as predicted, half of them became sick at the sight of the body while the others merely narrowed their eyes at the heavily bloodied teenager.

Akeno quickly turned towards the president. "Buchou, he's still alive."

Everyone was stunned. How the hell could someone this injured still be alive?

"That's not possible Akeno... he's just a human."

The black-haired girl narrowed her eyes. "It doesn't matter what he is; we can save him."

The red-haired devil appeared apathetic. "Oh? And how do you suppose we do that?"

"You have a piece, don't you?" the half-devil challenged. "Revive him with your last Rook!"

Akeno knew that her master had planned on eventually using that piece to reincarnate Rossweisse, but this was far more important.

"No."

The queen had blanched at the sudden dismissal before she began bristling lightly.

"No? What do you mean no?" she questioned. "This is an innocent life we're talking about here. Why won't you do it?"

"Innocent?" Rias scoffed. "What makes you say that? You have no proof to back up your claim."

Akeno could not respond to her statement. Rias was right. She had nothing concrete to support the statement that the boy was, in fact, innocent but…

She just knew that he was.

"Akeno, there is no reason for me to endanger our lives for your fantasies about getting down with some cute boy that you don't even know."

The lightning maiden's breath stopped in that instance. "What... did you just say...?"

Rias raised an eyebrow, a monotonous look adorning her face. "Hm? We both know your flirty attitude. It really wouldn't surprise me if you wanted him back so that you could hit on him."

It was hard to tell if the girl in front of her was talking about their dead companion or the one that lay unconscious at her feet.

Either way, however, her words stung. Bad.

Continuing, unaffected by her Queen's silence, the King peered over the edge to stare closely at the near-comatose teenager for a moment.

She turned around.

"He's simply not worth it, Akeno. He isn't 'him,' so there is no point."

That did it.

Akeno walked up to Rias and, in front of everyone, slapped her with as much force as she could muster.

Silence permeated the area as the demon princess looked at her servant in shock.

"What was that for-?"

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR...?" She started incredulously. "DO YOU EVEN HEAR YOURSELF ANYMORE RIAS!?"

The princess took a step back as her best friend reprimanded her.

"JUST BECAUSE HE IS NOT ISSEI DOES NOT MAKE HIM ANY LESS VALUABLE."

Akeno ordinarily would have winced upon mentioning his name, but she refused to back down. She knew it would take a whole hell of a lot more than a slap to bring her friend back from the brink of despair, but it was a start.

"Furthermore, where do you get off by calling me some floozy flirt." She narrowed her eyes in anger. "I only flirted with Issei in the ways that I did because I liked him. Don't get that shit twisted with me."

Rias looked down for a moment. Whether it was in shame or something else entirely was unclear.

However, Akeno was not finished.

"And finally, Buchou." She spat her title. "You know as well as I do that someone who got injured to the point where they look like that," she motioned towards the mangled mess, "and still survived must be someone worth our time. They have to be a figure of interest at the very least."

Everyone was tense as the two 'great ladies' of Kuoh High stared one another down. Finally, Rias relented and pulled her final Evil Piece out of her pocket.

With great reluctance, she placed the Rook on his chest and began to speak softly, the chant emanating throughout the area.

The effect was immediate.

A bright light filled the area as the piece entered his chest signifying the birth of a new devil.

...

Or that's what they thought would happen anyway.

Suddenly, the blonde's eyes opened wide as he was forced awake. The combination of his wounds alongside the Evil Piece flooding his body with unimaginable pain.

Everyone covered their ears as the boy began screaming in pain.

"What the hell is going on?" Akeno yelled, the only one who seemed to worry about the boy's safety.

No one had an answer for her. She decided to approach the bloodied human, braving the heavy winds and lights that had suddenly erupted around him determined to try and bring some solace to his pain.

She was the one who inadvertently caused it after all.

Crouching down to his level, Akeno began speaking slowly into his ear. "Hey, hey it's okay. Everything is going to be alright."

She frowned as he looked to be trying to calm himself down. It was not working, and it wasn't hard to tell that he was only doing so for her benefit.

Gripping his hand tightly, she began squeezing it as a means of reassuring him that she was there. It was the best she could do.

His screams had not lessened in the slightest.

They needed help.

"Everyone get out of the way! I've got to fix this quickly."

Thankfully, ask and you shall receive.

Akeno looked up and was shocked to see the devil factions' leader himself, step out of a transportation circle. Running over to the pit Sirzechs kneeled by the boys' side. Materializing some runes from the air, he began placing them on the teenager's body in a circular formation.

"What are you doing, Sirzechs-sama?"

He looked too deep in concentration to answer and so Akeno dropped the issue.

Soon enough he yelled some unknown command as the runes lit up brilliantly before turning to dust and crumbling around them.

That's when something ejected from his chest.

"The Rook?"

He nodded and grabbed the floating chess piece.

Turning towards the captive audience, he threw the piece to his confused sister and began explaining. "For one reason or another, this boy's body was rejecting the powers of the evil piece, and so I had to forcibly extract it from him before either one of them was destroyed."

Akeno looked shaken by the news. She had forced Rias' hand into doing this and caused the barely conscious boy unspeakable pain.

She was the worst.

Her thoughts of self-replication were cut off suddenly, however, as Rias got up from the ground and began dusting her dress off.

"I'm sorry we couldn't save him Akeno..."

The apology was short and contrite but was far more than the Queen had seen of her King in weeks.

Without any more words, the devil princess walked off to prepare for the upcoming summit. Her subordinates, while conflicted and unsure about leaving the injured boy behind, began following her lead.

Soon Akeno, Sirzechs, and the mysterious teenager were the only ones left in the area.

Looking at the sight before him, the devil factions' leader could not help the sigh that escaped his lips.

"She is becoming more and more volatile. No, more than that. She has regressed to a state of being far colder than anything I ever thought possible for her." He paused, a weary look on his face. "It is disconcerting, to say the least."

His sister's Queen said nothing as she tried to formulate her thoughts.

"Ano, Sirzechs-sama?"

He turned to her with a small smile.

"Yes, Akeno-chan?"

She looked down at the boy she was continuing to hold.

"Why did his body reject that piece...? And how did you know to come here so suddenly?"

He grinned at the Queen's curiosity.

"Well, in answer to your second question; I was already in the area for the summit and decided to rush over when I heard the explosion." He revealed. "As for your other question... to be honest, I think that the piece was simply inadequate as a means of containing his potential."

Akeno cocked her head to the side in confusion, requesting elaboration. "What do you mean?"

Sirzechs put a hand to his chin. "Well, truthfully that boy is not normal. " He paused momentarily, trying to come up with further reasoning. "I'm not sure what it is exactly, but there is something about him that makes me feel like he's far more than meets the eye." He stopped and shrugged. "Could also be that his strength far exceeds all of you; combined. At least, in theory."

Akeno blanched.

A human far exceeded her entire Peerage's strength? Was that even possible?

Sirzechs suddenly began pouting. "The most important thing here though is that my dear Ria-tan didn't even seem to notice or care about seeing me!" Tears were now pouring down his cheeks in droves. "Oh, woe is me..."

Akeno sighed at his antics. "Okay then, say I accept that." She led. "Why him? What is it about him that makes you so sure he is this strong?"

The Maou put a hand to his chin and tapped it, thinking to himself.

"Well, truthfully he just, sort of... appeared."

She blinked. "Appeared?"

Sirzechs nodded. "Yes. He came out of nowhere with little to no warning. Honestly, I know nothing about him except that our scanners picked him up all at once. Kind of a mystery that one."

Akeno blanched at that. "He came from out of nowhere? Isn't that impossible?"

He grinned. "It should be impossible, shouldn't it."

She had no clue what he was alluding to.

"That's not the only thing though." He began. "Our radars seemed unable to pick up anything power-wise about him. It's almost as if he is simply not here."

"But how?" Akeno questioned. "Isn't that impossible? I thought those things are supposed to be super accurate."

"They are," he relented. "Even humans have a small power level, especially one as physically fit as he appears to be. Which makes me all the warier of him."

Sirzechs stopped to level her with a look of utmost seriousness. "After all, the scanners are set to pick up any power reading up to the degree of a Faction Leader."

Akeno was stunned. "You... you mean he might be as powerful as you...?"

He nodded. "It's entirely possible. In fact, I am willing to bet that at full strength he could potentially be at an even higher point."

Akeno couldn't believe it. If that's true then-!

"Or the machine could be broken. That's a possibility too."

She face-faulted.

Groaning at the incredible stupidity of the man in front of her Akeno could not hide her annoyance.

"Sirzechs-sama..."

Gulping at the openly hostile girl in front of him, he began to back up slightly.

"Ah… Akeno-chan, it was just a joke. I wouldn't have come here if I didn't believe him to be someone worth saving."

The girl nodded slowly in acceptance of his words just before her eyes suddenly widened.

"Wait! He's still heavily injured! What if he dies from blood loss!? Or he could go into shock! Any number of things could happen! We've gotta quickly get help for him or else-!"

"Hey, hey it's ok Akeno-chan. Just take a deep breath. There is nothing to worry about."

He placed his hands on her shoulders and waited for her to calm down before asking if he could explain himself. She nodded.

"Do you mind listening to his heartbeat again for me?"

She tilted her head to the side in confusion. "What for?"

He smiled lightly. "Humor me."

Puzzled, she did as she was asked.

Wait.

"His heartbeat is far stronger than it was just a few minutes ago. I expected it to be weaker after that incident with the evil piece just now."

The Devil faction's leader just shook his head. "No, I figured this was the case. It appears our little friend here has some form of regenerative abilities." He put his hand on his chin. "I'm unsure if he can heal himself completely with that, but at the very least he should most likely regain consciousness again within the next couple days."

That was surprising.

"Aside from that, I also had another reason for coming here this evening." He began, smiling fondly at her. "You already seemed so taken with him, and I couldn't just let someone so important to my sister be unhappy if I could do something about it."

Akeno smiled lightly at the thought, but it faded fast. Sirzechs quickly guessed the reasoning for this and did not push.

His sister was not the same girl she was before her pawn's death.

"I'm glad that you want to get to know the boy though. I feel like he is a miracle waiting to happen, honestly." Sirzechs stated, expertly shifting the tone of the conversation. "Of anyone I know, you have all needed a miracle for a while now and I genuinely think he is it."

Akeno was stunned. A miracle…? Was it possible?

But when she looked at the face of the sleeping teenager, she felt connected in a way that she did not think possible. For someone, she had never met, especially a guy, it was surprising to her.

Akeno had always been a guarded individual; double that when around the opposite gender. While she may have appeared like a flirt to the world, she held what she considered to be impossibly high standards that no man could ever fill even in terms of friendship.

So why was this man catching her eye to such an extent?

"Also, as I alluded to earlier," He began. "Even though he has those regenerative abilities, he'll still need to be taken care of properly. Bandaged, have his wounds cleaned and given a place to stay for the next little while until we figure out what to do with him."

He stopped to consider his options. "Ordinarily, I would have suggested Rias due to her abilities, but I guess I could get Grayfia-chan to-"

"I'll do it!"

Sirzechs blinked at her sudden statement making her blush immediately upon realization.

Seriously, what the hell was up with her right now?

"Uh... I mean, I'd hate to impose upon you or Grayfia-sama. I'll just take him back to my shrine and bandage him up there. I know I don't have the same powers that Rias has, but I know for a fact that I can do just fine."

The devil stared at the girl for a few seconds before smirking.

"Oh? Has little Akeno-chan gotten a crush on the new guy?" He grinned. "Well it's a little hard to tell underneath all the blood and gunk, but he does seem to be pretty attractive. I certainly don't blame you for it."

"No, I don't." she refuted immediately. "I'm just curious about him, that's all."

"Sureeeeeeeeee."

Akeno pouted at the Satan's teasing before picking up the body, gingerly holding it close to her frame. He was lighter than expected.

"Ah. One more thing." Sirzechs started. "Please do not tell anyone else about this alright? To be honest, I was hesitant to even give you this information, but I trust you. So, do this for me alright? We don't need an incident sparking between the three factions over this boy."

The shrine maiden nodded at the request. While she was still not entirely convinced that this boy was as powerful as he was implying, she knew not to go against a request from her factions' leader.

Sirzechs smiled at the girl before waving.

"Now I better get going before Grayfia-chan kills me for being late to the meeting. I'll inform Ria-tan that you won't be in attendance."

Akeno smiled, appreciatively. "Thank you Sirzechs-sama."

He grinned. "No worries. Just make sure that you two don't get up to anything I wouldn't do!"

And moment ruined.

She sighed as the Satan ran from the area to save himself from her ire.

Guess, they better get going then.

Sadly, teleportation was out of the question as he was not a devil, so she had no choice but to carry him to the shrine. Thankfully it was getting late into the evening now so she could just fly home. Walking did not seem like the best idea.

She snorted at the thought, as she flew over the town at breakneck speeds. The police would no doubt have had a few questions for her and the heavily injured boy in her arms.

Landing softly on the ground in front of her house, Akeno smiled lightly at the turn of events. The trip was simple and uneventful, which was a nice change of pace. She half-expected something to go wrong but was pleasantly surprised when nothing did.

Opening the door to her living quarters quietly, she looked at the blonde-haired male in her arms and decided to place him on a spare futon.

After grabbing some gauze, needle, and thread as well as some disinfectant from her bathroom's medical cabinet, she headed back out.

Approaching the body, she steeled herself and started pouring the disinfectant on the areas which appeared to be the most infected before dressing them the best she could.

The heavier wounds, namely a large gash which worked its way across his chest was stitched up by hand with a precision that Akeno impressed herself with.

While far from perfect, it was at least something and it ensured that the boy would make it through the night without further harm occurring.

The boy's clothes were destroyed in the rupture earlier, so she had no qualms about taking off what remained of his shirt and pants. She could not help the blush that lit up her face as she took in his incredible physique. He certainly wasn't hard on the eyes.

Shaking her head to rid herself of any impure thoughts, she began to strip before stopping at her panties. She figured that considering she did not know the boy, despite inherently trusting him, that she would leave them on just in case.

Curling up against the left side of his body, she draped his arm over her waist, feeling him unconsciously bring her closer.

Blushing once more at the close contact, she giggled at the boy in front of her.

Closing her eyes, she decided to use his arm as her pillow and began drifting off very quickly.

If she were honest, looking back at this moment, Akeno would not have been able to say why it was exactly that made her act the way that she did.

Though, as she was drifting off to sleep, a genuine smile was unknowingly placed on her face.

She doubted that her trust was ill-placed.

A/N: YES, it's back; and this time for good! :D For curiosity's sake I wonder how many people reading this, read it back when I initially uploaded it? To be honest guys, I have no excuse for never updating it and just taking it down when I disliked the quality of the writing. I did that to all my old fanfics; and have slowly been working on them in the background. This being one of them. I have around 50k words done by this point in time, and all the chapters I wrote previously have gone under heavy revision. Like the grammar, plot points and dialogue have all been changed to the point that I'm actually proud of this story lol. I'm loving writing it again too :). It's refreshing!

As for updates, the bigger the response, the sooner I'll get to writing and editing the next chapter:). (The original version of this story was only around 14k words long before I took it down lol), so I have quite a bit to do. But reviews especially make me write faster. Even if all you have is a criticism then that's fine :D (Just please don't critique me about the story getting uploaded again… I know I screwed up. I apologize for that guys.)

Finally thought I'd answer the questions that everyone wanted to know last time; just to put it out there.

Question: Will this be a harem?

Answer: Unless the story veers off course, probably not. I am always against being definitive with answers like this as the plot and characters go wherever they go, I just help get them there:P. If it does become a harem though; expect no more than 2-3 girls. Anymore becomes impossible to write imo.

Question: Will Issei come back?

Answer: NO! I came up with this story's concept with the idea that so many fanfics of harem-based plotlines in crossover sections add another protagonist while keeping the original in the same world. It causes conflicts of interest and ruins a lot of scenes. It doesn't work. So no, Issei will never be back.