The Strawberry Devil.

Not a bad first chapter response and I guess most are waiting for this to develop a bit more. Yes I have sort of thrown out a lot of the Bleach-verse, but hopefully you'll enjoy the direction this story goes.

Warnings: Gore and Characters are OOC.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or High School DxD.

"Normal Speech."

'Inner speech/Thoughts'

XXX

Prologue Part 2:

Sighing to himself as he teleported into his temporary apartment, Ichigo tossed his jacket over the back of the living room couch and walked towards his room. Undoing his tie and shirt buttons, he padded into the bathroom and stripped down to his boxers, before dumping his clothes into the hamper and heading back to his room. Sinking into his King-size bed, he let loose a sigh of relief and closed his eyes.

"Sirzechs-sama would be worried if you've already gone this complacent so soon after leaving Hell Kurosaki-sama," a soft female voice said from the corner of the room.

"True, but I knew that you were there from the moment I arrived Grayfia-san," Ichigo replied, not bothering to open his eyes and address his visitor. "Now stop hiding in the shadows, it's not behaviour fitting of the 'Strongest Queen'."

From the shadows emerged a slim woman in her twenties, her silver hair and eyes glinting in the moonlight that filtered into the room. Dressed in a French maid's outfit, that would have left many a male mind heading towards the gutter; she presented a front that would lull anyone into a false sense of security in her presence.

"How did they take it?" she asked in a tone that anyone else would have regarded as being akin to disinterest, but he knew otherwise. Underneath the uncaring façade, was her general heartfelt worry for her sister-in-law's wellbeing.

"Both of them got emotional over the reasons for me leaving for almost a decade," he said softly, the memory of their tear-filled eyes still fresh in his mind, "but they're both handling it well."

"Sirzechs-sama will be glad to know that. He has high hopes for your relationship after all," she said quietly, prompting him to shoot to his feet, a scowl on his face.

"I've never agreed with the way their parents play matchmaker with both their lives," he hissed venomously. "When it comes to choosing their mate for life, the choice should remain their own."

"We've had this argument before Kurosaki-sama," she said with a sigh, "And nothing you say now will change the fact that your family is even more in need of such an arrangement."

"I've been locked away for almost a decade Grayfia…don't you dare think that I can, just go out and make a claim on someone," he growled, walking over to the window and gazing out at the crescent moon. Feeling his left hand twitch, he clenched it in a fist and ruthlessly suppressed his bubbling powers.

"Is it becoming more insistent?" she asked him, conscious of the slight twitch. Seeing him send a pointed glare at her, she bowed her head to him. "You can try and deny your heritage Kurosaki-sama, but it would be far more painless if you just accepted it."

"When I decide to accept it, is up to me to decide Grayfia. Now please leave me," he requested, but his tone made it seem more like an order. Hearing her teleport out of the room, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair, staring down at his still twitching left hand with anger. 'Not yet…it is still too soon to tell them about it.'

XXX

The following morning dawned and the Kuoh Academy was abuzz with news about the match between the Student Council and the Occult Research Club. So when school finally let out, it was not surprising to find the majority of the students camped out around the tennis courts. Their murmurings were quickly silenced though, when Ichigo arrived clad in the same kind of simple black suit that he had worn the previous day. Any thoughts that the girls had of speaking to him though, were quickly shot down as they took in his scowling face. Spotting Yuuto and Koneko in the crowd, he slowly ambled his way over to them.

"I know that they're hormonal teenagers, but there really isn't any need for such looks now is there?" he asked, nodding his head at the perverted expressions on the majority of the student's faces. Hearing them cheering, he looked over his shoulder and watched as Rias and Sona led the way towards the courts.

"Sorry to keep you waiting Ichigo, but it took some time to get changed into these," Rias said with a sensual smile, gesturing to the tennis skirts the four girls were in. Looking around him, he could already see how most of the boy's minds were well and truly lost to the gutter.

"Not me you have to be sorry to Rias. After all, your adoring public awaits you," he answered, gesturing at the crowd. "Just remember to put a good show on for them."

"Oh we will Kurosaki-san, I'll sure of it," Akeno said, chuckling slightly to herself.

Watching the girls step out onto the court, everyone watched as the match began. Despite the fact that they had a large audience, it didn't stop either side from employing hints of magic to aid them as they played, causing Ichigo to pinch the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

"It could be worse Kurosaki-san," Yuuto said as they watched Sona use a magic circle to change the angle that the ball bounced at, "they could be using far more impressive techniques after all." Just as he finished speaking though, Rias returned the serve, while the ball shone slightly and sped towards Sona's outstretched racquet, punching through the strings and leaving a perfectly round hole in it.

"You were saying Kiba?" Ichigo asked, raising an eyebrow at the Knight.

"Trouble," was all Koneko said in her emotionless tone, gesturing at how stumped the rest of the student body was.

XXX

Several hours later and Ichigo was sitting across from two sheepish looking heiresses, both trying to avoid the glares he was sending their way.

"You destroyed the tennis courts…" he said in a low voice, causing the two girls to flinch at his tone. "If there were no witnesses, we wouldn't be having this conversation, but now your fathers needed to send a team to remove this memory from every human that was there today. And what makes it even worse…the match never even got a chance to decide a winner."

"Well we…might have gone a little overboard," Rias said shyly and blushing when Ichigo turned his smouldering gaze on her.

"A little overboard? You set a fence ablaze with a tennis ball, which then went on to scorch several uniforms and start a forest fire. How is that a bit?" he asked incredulously. Hearing Sona chuckle softly, he rounded on her. "You're no better Sona; you broke several bones with that one shot." Seeing her turn away from him, he sighed and sunk back into his chair. "The thing I don't get is why I'm the one being blamed for not keeping you two in line!"

"Sorry Ichigo," they both mumbled, making him sigh again.

"Look just…don't do it again," he replied, standing and walking over towards the window of the office they were in. "You still haven't decided who's going to see the Familiar Master, so this time we do this in private and somewhere that we can hopefully contain the damage." As they thought in silence for a few minutes, Sona's voice broke the quiet peace.

"We could use the gymnasium if we want privacy," she piped up. "And if we do it at night, almost everyone will be off the grounds and we won't have to worry about collateral damage too much."

"And the game?" he asked curiously, thinking along the lines of basketball or volleyball.

"Well…why not make it dodge ball," Rias put in. "It's simple and a team sport that will have everyone involved in it." Nodding their heads in agreement with her, they made to leave, but stopped when a bright silvery magic circle appeared in the room. Remembering the last time this happened, both Rias and Sona tensed up, while Ichigo calmly watched as Grayfia appeared again.

"Sorry to intrude Kurosaki-sama, but there has been a new development with regard to the nest of stray devils," she said in her dignified tone.

XXX

"So remind me why you're here again?" Ichigo asked in a bored tone, rubbing the back of his head as he and Grayfia walked through a forest on the outskirts of the town. After listening to her last night, he had come out here to corner a rogue 'Queen' that was trying to make her way towards his assigned target.

"I was asked to observe your skills Kurosaki-sama," Grayfia said as she stopped at a fork on the dirt path. "Also Rias-sama asked me to make sure that you don't do anything stupid."

"Yes of course, because I'm the one that destroys the area I'm in a simple sports match," he said sarcastically. Hearing a branch crack, he froze and looked around. "She's here," he whispered, watching as Grayfia retreated out of his way. Stilling his breathing, he listened intently as the wind rustled through the leaves and the branches creaked overhead. Ducking at the last second, he narrowly dodged a sharpened black scale as it flew through the air where his head used to be.

"You know…generally the Devils I get asked to hunt down, normally gloat for the first few minutes, before they try to kill me," he said out loud, leaning to the side to avoid another scale as it shot towards him.

"T-they…told m-me about you," a jittery female voice said from somewhere in the tree line. "I-I can't af-ford to take chances, w-with you."

Hearing the tell-tale sound of speeding scales again, Ichigo sighed and stood his ground, watching dispassionately as the scales stopped within a hairs breath of his suit, before dropping to the ground. Overhead he could hear her gasp, giving him a location. Vanishing in a whisper of wind, he appeared behind her. Examining his quarry, he noticed that she had yet to become truly monster-like, as the only feature out of place, were the scales sticking out of the back of the flowing black dress she wore. She was a woman in her mid-thirties, with an average build, long brown locks that framed her face and tanned skin. What drew him in the most though, were her chocolate brown eyes, which stared back at him pleadingly. Seeing his own brown eyes shift to a poisonous yellow, she quickly fell to her knees, begging and pleading with him

"P-Please…it-it was all just a mistake," she sputtered out, tears shining in her eyes. "He was a terrible master…a terrible man. You can't punish me for wanting to leave him can you?"

"Unfortunately I can," Ichigo said through gritted teeth. "We are Devils, our home is Hell and we fight for our survival against Angels and Fallen Angels. We are not saviours or messiahs, you chose to serve that man, you chose to live this life. To be bound in such a way, means that you are bound to serve and endure whatever it is he wanted you to do."

"No, No, No, please!" she shrieked even louder. "I don't want to die; I can't! Not now when I've just found freedom!" Leaping away from him, she spun around and pointed her back at him, firing off a barrage of scales at him and shredding the trees and ground below him. Scanning the area for him, she spied him gliding smoothly across the ground unharmed.

Shrieking in anger, she gathered her energy to her palm, before unleashing a torrent of flames that scorched the area, turning it to cinders. Disorientated from the heat glare and smoke from the fire below her, she screamed in pain as a fist slammed into her spine, penetrating all the way through her body and exploding outward in a shower of blood and gore from her chest. Looking over her shoulder, she could see him standing there, staring back at her with a blank look, his yellow eyes showing no hint of remorse.

"I missed your heart on purpose," he whispered to her. "You were trying to reach a nest of other stray Devils. If you tell me where they are, I will put you out of your misery."

"T-They deserve their…chance at being f-free," she gasped out, blood dripping from her mouth as she spoke. "And I will not be the one to end that!" she shouted, spitting a mouthful of blood at him.

Staring back at her without any change in emotion, Ichigo sighed and ripped his hand from her torso, causing her to scream again. Before she could fall to the ground though, his bloodied hand snaked around her throat and held her aloft.

"I really was hoping that you would talk," he said, staring at her with something akin to pity. "Now I need to use that one thing that makes me a Kurosaki."

Tensing up as she was raised to his eye-level, she could see his yellow eyes switch to royal blue before a sharp stabbing pain erupted in her mind, causing her to let loose a fresh scream of pain. After a minute of non-stop screaming, he dropped her body to the ground, while his eyes returned to their neutral brown colour. Raising his palm in her direction, a magic circle appeared and began to spin rapidly, before discharging a pitch black crescent wave at her twitching body. As the attack struck her, an explosion ripped through the area, shaking leaves loose from their branches and turning the ground around her to glass.

"Did you get what you were looking for?" Grayfia asked as she appeared behind him, staring down at the ashes with a blank look on her face.

"Yeah I have a location…I'll get Rias and deal with them tomorrow or the day after," he said with a tired sigh, running a hand over his face. "Did I do the right thing Grayfia-san?" he asked quietly, afraid of her answer.

"Of course Kurosaki-sama," she said as she came over and clasped his shoulder gently. "We do not make the rules and we must ensure that those that break them are punished. Had she been left alive, several other lives would have been ruined." Seeing that he wasn't about to reply anytime soon, she stepped back and waited in silence.

"Let's just get out of here, I'm sick of this place," he growled, summoning his magic circle below the two of them. Teleporting away, they reappeared outside the school gymnasium, looking on in shock at the blown out windows and doors.

"RIAS GREMORY AND SONA SITRI!" he yelled, sending a shiver down the spines of the Devils currently recovering inside.

XXX

So yeah, the end of the introduction as it were. Going to get back to my other stories now, but do let me know what you think of this start. Until next time.