103Time Again
Issei Hyoudou didn't know what was stranger, the conversation he just had, with a god-like being, or the situation that the conversation had led him into. To call it a conversation though was giving it too much credit. It was more of a one sided explanation without details.
Time Renewal
The last words he had heard before the darkness had consumed his vision for all but a moment. His surroundings were, familiar, at best, it had been quite some time since he was in his room at his parents house for the 5000 year old Red Dragon Emperor.
Wait. His room? His parents house? That couldn't be right, could it?
Now things were getting even stranger. He was sure that Japan had been annihilated in the 1000 year war, but here Japan, his parents house, and he was.
[Partner, what the HELL just happened?] Ddraig spoke up unexpectedly, the Red Dragon Claw gauntlet forming over Issei's arm.
"Ddraig? Is that really you?" Issei was almost brought to tears at the fact that he still had his best friend with him.
[Indeed my young friend, I will not forgive anyone to try and separate the two of us after all we've been through. No god or god-like being has nearly enough power to face us at peak condition.]
Ddraig almost stopped talking but something caught his attention.
[Partner, your appearance, it's that of your younger self!] Great surprise was evident in Ddraig's voice.
"What?!"
Sure enough, He had a similar body build to Vali Lucifer when first they met. The only differences being, Issei having the muscle size and fitness level he had before the war. Basically his peak physical condition before he sustained permanent battle damage.
His magical ability though, after a thorough internal look, was the same as his 5000 year old self. A simple way to put it, in Issei's words. Absolutely fucking insane. On par, if not exceeding an Ultimate class Devil, and that was without the combined power of his 8 mutation pieces. 4 of them being his perfected Triaina and his Cardinal Crimson Queen Juggernaut drive. He was also tuning another one of them to be a secondary type Juggernaut Drive that was pure raw power based, that one was far from being finished. The other 3 were on standby, just in-case something came up where he would need niche abilities.
"I'll finish working on that another time, first things first, find out when I am." Working on the mutation piece wouldn't be difficult, nor time consuming
He was almost surprised at the date, but seeing as every god or god-like being he met in his life had a sick sense of humor. So it wasn't too surprising in that regard, the only surprising thing about it though, was today was the first time he met Yuuma, or Raynare as her real name turned out to be. Issei made his way back to his room to plan out how he'd spend his day. Seeing the clock read 5:30 am, he decided to consult Ddraig for the next half hour.
[Are you sure that's a good idea Issei? She might not fall for it as easily as you think.] Ddraig was skeptical.
It had only been 15 minutes, and Issei already came up with a questionable plan.
"Well as long as I disguise my voice when I'm using Balance Breaker, the first part of the plan should work flawlessly. The only part I'm not looking forward to at all is being stabbed by a light spear, that's going to hurt like a bitch."
Issei's eyes downcast before adding.
"At least it's just physical damage that can heal this time. Sadly, not all wound's can be healed by spells or even time."
Ddraig considered talking about it with Issei, but decided against it. There wasn't enough time and he didn't want to make him more depressed as it was.
[Alright partner, Rias and Akeno should be at school any time now, suit up, and take us to the club room.]
"Balance, Break!"
[Welsh Dragon, Balance Breaker!]
The Crimson Welsh Dragon scale mail armor formed instantly.
Two simple words with more power than most could imagine. Issei's 5000 year old power, combined with the amplification of Balance Breaker. Someone like Vali stood absolutely no chance, unless he used his Juggernaut Drive, which would be extremely risky considering the experience Issei had fighting sacred gears and Vali himself.
Such was the way of the Heavenly Dragons.
Issei created a transportation circle, and walked into it.
With a flash, he was gone.
Rias sat at her clubroom desk, with Akeno sitting on one of the couches nearby. Under normal circumstances, today would have been an above average day with the possible recruitment of Issei which they had planned to do within the week, but in a matter of moments, that was all about to change.
The first thing they noticed was, obviously, the glowing circle on the ground. Next, that it had the Gremory insignia on it, which a surprise visit from Rias' brother wouldn't have been unexpected if not for her brothers checkup few days previous. Now the really odd thing, was the intensity of the circles power. It was astronomical. Nobody they knew ever needed that much power to travel. Lastly, the size of the circle was huge, as if, and ironically, a creature was being transported. They eagerly, and a bit naively, waited near the circle for the guest to arrive.
Not moments later, Rias and Akeno came face to face with the Red Dragon Emperor. Who was a good 2 or 3 times their size. Shocked by the immense pressure and power the dragon gave off, and the proximity to it, they immediately flew backwards out of melee range.
"Hello Rias Gremory, Akeno Himejima, it's a pleasure to meet two fine ladies on this fine day."
Issei's disguised voice sounded nothing like he normally did, even if they ran into him hours later, there would be no way of making the connection. He gave a courteous, but short bow do to the limitations of wearing his armor.
"It seems we don't need to introduce ourselves seeing as you already know who we are, but since you're intruding on our territory, I demand to know who you are and what business you have with me!" Rias as serious as always responded, with a hint of awe and fear in her voice at the being in front of her.
Behind the mask, Issei couldn't help but smile, same old Rias.
"I am the Crimson Welsh Dragon Emperor of Domination, also known as the Red Heavenly Dragon. My business with you is about the Fallen Angels that have suddenly been showing up as of recently."
Issei didn't want to reveal too much right away, as to keep Rias interested as to what he might know about them.
"I am aware of the Fallen Angel presence in this town, what their objective is I cannot say for certain, but if I had to guess it seems they might be after something, or someone."
"A logical conclusion, no wonder the Fallen Angel threat last time was swiftly dealt with." Issei thought.
"Whether or not you take my word for it, the Fallen Angels are after two objectives. Firstly, to kill a boy that goes by the name of Issei Hyoudou, he has the potential to grow strong enough to tip the balance between the three power factions. Secondly, to lure a girl that goes by the name of Asia Argento to the Church in town and steal her sacred gear; Twilight Healing."
Not telling them about the sacred gear; Boosted Gear, which was a mid-tier Longinus, would set the plan in motion. Hopefully. Rias was a very observant person, and her question proved just that.
"What do you get out of telling us this? As someone as powerful as yourself could easily deal with them yourself if you really wanted to, so why come to us?"
She had a good point, and under normal circumstances, he'd be stumped. However, having the perks of being an Ultimate-Class Devil came in handy, like showing off how strong you are, and what you are, by the amount of wings and type you have.
Issei revealed his Devil wings, 12 in total counting 6 on each side, their black color looking like an endless abyss of nothingness as Vali would describe them, causing Rias' and Akeno's eyes to widen in even more shock.
"You're a devil?!" Rias exclaimed, still staring at the amount of wings he had.
"Yes, now you see why I came to you with this information. If you deal with these rogue Fallen Angels by yourself, none of the 3 power factions will be able to argue that you didn't act within your jurisdiction."
It was true, the town Rias lived in was claimed by her to do what she wanted with it, she was well within her rights to defend it.
"Another thing, you've seen to what pieces that Hyoudou boy can use, yes?"
"Yes," Rias replied. "I have. With the amount of power he will be able to handle with proper training, he will need all 8 pawn pieces to reach his potential."
Issei already knew this from a similar conversation about the amount of pieces from his previous world.
"If I may make an observation, candidates that require all 8 pieces are far and few between. You have an even less chance of finding one than finding a pure blooded devil from before the 3 way war."
A suggestion disguised as an observation was the best way to avoid suspicion at this time. Issei really wanted the extra 8 pieces to let him fiddle with many niche counter armors that he could one day turn into a new "illegal move" like his Triaina.
Rias seemed to ponder this for a short while, it wasn't a bad observation by any means. She was about to speak when the schools warning bell rang.
"It appears we are out of time to talk, Red Dragon Emperor. I shall not consider your words lightly, for it is not everyday a Heavenly Dragon is allied with the Devils."
"Thank you for your time, Rias Gremory. I hope we meet again soon, there is much we could discuss. I bed thee farewell, Rias Gremory, Akeno Himejima."
Issei bowed as much as his armor let him, and activated another magic circle, transporting him into a hidden spot on school grounds.
He quickly made his way to class and prepared himself both mentally and physically for after school.
The bell for the end of the school day, the day had gone by pretty as much as any normal day would for Issei, he decided to hang out with Matsuda and Motohama to avoid any suspicion Rias might have if she was keeping tabs on him.
One thing he did notice though, was the distinct lack of Kiba. Why that was, he could only guess. He decided that it didn't matter right now, and that becoming Raynare's "boyfriend" for a day would be much more exciting.
Not really though.
What he was actually looking forward to, was the long cruel death he planned for her. His revenge would be a mighty cold served dish. That was only going to work though if she fell for his trap, which wasn't really his trap, but more of her trap seeing as his plan was to fall for her trap. Was it the best plan?
Not really, no.
It was the only plan he could use that didn't out him as the Red Dragon Emperor though. Although in hindsight, he didn't even know why he decided to keep his identity a secret since it didn't benefit him in any major way.
Damn that war to oblivion. Damn all of it.
It was time to meet Raynare.
He made his way from the school to the fated bridge and waited. It took about 10 minutes for "Yuuma Amano" to arrive.
"U-Um, excuse me? Are you Issei Hyoudou?"
Her innocent voice was dripping with way too much sweetness for this not to be an act. If 5000 years of life taught Issei anything, it was when someone was being honest or not. That and your act not being discovered when you were in the heart of enemy territory. There were too many close calls in that regard.
"Y-Yeah, I am."
"I-I'm Yuuma Amano, please go out with me!" She quickly bowed in "respect" to make her act seem genuine.
After a quick exchange of words and false smiles from both parties, they departed. Issei heading home, and Raynare probably heading to the church or Fallen Angel hideout. Once out of eyeshot in an alley, Issei released an aura of killing intent so large in covered the entire town. Of course, with the specific purpose of the aura, not a single human felt anything.
The Devils and Fallen Angels however, were very, very worried at what could have that strong of a killing intent, and power to release an aura that powerful.
[Issei, is everything all right?] Ddraig was concerned for his younger partner, if Issei wasn't careful enough with his anger, his old Juggernaut Drive might decide to make a re-appearance like it had once before. Not including the incident involving Asia.
"Sorry Ddraig, I'll try to keep my anger at bay, but that bitch killed Asia last time, and then had the nerve to try and beg for forgiveness afterwards. She will die a slow death after I prevent that from happening again." A promise written in stone for Issei.
Issei arrived home and immediately ate supper before heading to his room. He shut the door behind him and immediately laid in his bed. He was mentally, and somewhat physically exhausted from not sleeping for over 10 days.
Tonight, he would finally get some much needed rest.
Authors Notes: Hello all! Sorry I've been gone so long, a bunch of real life stuff came up and I had to deal with that first, and just recently I got time to sit down these last few days and write down a chapter of a new story I've thought up. Hope you all enjoy it! Reviews are appreciated!