So Here We Are (Destiny x Highschol DxD x Hamefura x Youjo Senki x Re:creators

[Flameal15k]

AN: Okay, this is a friggin weird idea I have had, but it keeps bugging me, so here we go.

Also, a certain level of knowledge about Destiny, DxD, My Next Life as a Villainess, and Yohko Senki.

Please reserve all criticisms until after reading the end of chapter notes.

XxXxX

I: So, how was your evening?

S: Good. Helped Setsuna finish the next chapter of her story.

I: Nice.

I:…

I: Everything fixed between you two?

S: Yeah. I know I wasn't there for her when…well, when the Darkness came, but I'm here now, for what it is worth.

I: That's nice of you.

I: Not sure I could manage that.

S: You do seem to want your experience with women to be wide rather than deep.

I: Hey, having a harem would be awesome.

I:…

I: But, all things considered, not really sure I want one now.

S: Yeah.

S: Companionship of those on our age ranges seems to be out of the question now.

I: Not for you.

S: Sorry for offending you.

I: It's fine. Just…treat Yuna well.

I: You have something good with her, don't blow it.

S: Thanks. Good luck on…achieving your dreams.

I: Thanks.

I: Not to put a damper on things, but you know it's almost that time, right?

S: Yeah. Already got flowers. You?

I: Same.

I:…

I: I really miss Aoi.

S: Me too.

I: I forgot - did she find the secret route where you play as Catarina?

S: I don't think so. Atsuko and her sounded like they were on the right path, but then the Red War happened and…you know.

I: I know.

I: It's the reason we are who we are now.

S: Yeah, it was.

S:…

S: We should probably be getting to school now, right?

I: Yeah. Talk to you between classes?

S: Sure.

I: Well, goodbye for now, Souta.

S: Until next time, Issei.

XxXxX

"So, time to go to class?"

Glancing at his floating metal friend, the boy nodded. "Let's get rolling, Japheth.

XxXxX

Several Hours Later….

"So, you decided on which flowers to get?" Asked a bespectacled boy.

Issei sighed. "Not yet. What about you, Souta?"

"Same here. Yuna's been helping, but I'm just not sure what would work right for this year."

"Well, we still have a week. Well think of something by then."

Before the two could speak any further, they were interrupted by a loud yelp, followed by two boys screaming as the sounds of punching filled their air. Turning their heads toward the noise, the duo found that it was another pair of boys, noses streaked with blood, getting the crap beaten out of them by a group of red faced girls. School staff were already trying to seperate them all, but it looked like they would need some time to do so.

Souta quirked his eyes Issei. "What did Matsuda and Motohama do this time?"

Issei thought for a moment. "I don't actually know."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Been too busy thinking about our plans for Aoi and Atsuko to talk much with them today. They understand, even if they don't quite like it."

"Well, at least they are reasonable."

"Eh, they know not to mess with someone who's grieving a sibling."

"Good for them, then."

Then Souta's eyes fell upon the sole of the other students intermingling at lunch. "Is there a reason there are so many attractive students here?"

"No idea. All I know is that two new arrivals to the city who somehow had a ton of wealth helped find Kuoh's rebuilding after the Cabal were evicted."

"The Sitris and the Gremorys, right?"

"Yep. Also, the Gremorys were the ones with the red hair, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

Wordlessly, Souta raised a finger and pointed behind Issei. Turing, he found a scarlet haired beauty staring at him, an inquisitive look in her eyes.

Issei suddenly felt very warm.

"…That's Rias Gremory, head of the Occult Research Club, right?"

Not daring to look away, Issei could only respond with a meek "uh-huh."

"Well," whispered the almost imperceptible voice of Japheth, "looks like you have at least one girl interested in you."

"Be careful, partner - she's got a weird feeling to her."

"Ghost, Ddraig, not now."

"Uh, excuse me?" Asked a new feminine voice.

Instantly, Issei and Souta's eyes fell upon a black haired young girl, who had some how snuck up on them. She looked uncomfortable in their presence, which made the two of them slightly suspicious. "Yes?" Asked Issei.

"Sorry. Are you Issei Hyoudou?"

"Y-yes. Why'd you want to know?"

The girl took a deep breath. "I'm Yuuma Amano, and…"

"Yes?"

"Would you like to go out with me?"

Everything in the immediate vicinity of the the three humans seemed to freeze up. If you listened closely, you could hear a pin drop.

Issei started making a strange choking sound. "Go out…with…y-you? As in, like a date?"

Yuuma smiled softly. "Yeah, sure! I mean, I know that other people call you…sleazy.." she said with disgust, before a smile graced her lips once more, "but I've also heard you're quite the gentleman as well."

Hearing that made Issei choke up even more. Nearby, his friends and the girls pummeling them had called a truce to gawk, while Rias and her friends were now frowning.

Issei spent a few more seconds doing a fish impression before finally clearing his throat. "Could you give me a moment?"

"Uh, sure."

"Thank you."

As soon as he said those words, Issei grabbed Souta and dragged his surprised friend a few feet away before leaning toward his ear. "You sensing anything odd from her?"

"..No, and neither does Benten. What about Japheth and Ddraig?"

"No red flags."

"Nothing."

"Ok, then. That aside, do you think I should say yes?"

"Why are you asking us?"

"Because you are the only guy I know who is in a serious relationship!"

Souta felt very stupid after hearing that remark. "Oh yeah."

"Look, I might want a harem, but I need advice before taking up a girl on any offers, okay?"

"I get it! And since you asked.."

Souta took a deep breath.

"Accept. And be on your best behavior."

"…Thank you, and I will."

Composing himself, Issei turned back toward Yuuma. "Sorry about that, just needed a moment to calm my nerves. And to answer your question, I accept."

"Oh really?! Thank you!"

Issei smiled, proud to have successfully scored a date with a pretty girl. Nearby, Matsuda and Motohara were bawling and ranting about betrayal, while many of the girls were incredulous that someone had asked Issei out. As for the Lady Gremory, her friends, and the student council (whose president happened to be a member of the Sitri family), they were looking at the pair with no small amount of suspicion.

XxXxX

After classes

"So," asked Rias, "why's that fallen angel interested in Issei?"

"I don't know," was Sona Sitri's reply. "I've pulled up everything I could on him, and so far there's nothing out of the ordinary, aside from that he apparently almost died in a hawk crash a few years ago during the…Red War."

Oh, that.

Yes, that had certainly been a surprise.

Gremory was the name of one of the seventy two demons in the Ars Goetia, a tome all but lost in this age. Most humans believed that the name referred to a singular, fictitious entity, but in truth, it referred to a bloodline - one which Rias was the current scion of.

For you see, Rias was a devil.

Long ago, Angels, Devils, and Fallen Angels (yes, there was a difference) had bene far more active on Earth. They had made deals and contracts with mortals, fought amongst each other at times, and sorted out their own affairs, but that had been how things had been for a great many centuries.

And then that great sphere in the sky had shown up on Mars.

Its arrival had been a shock, to say the least - gods of other mythologies were a known factor. Gods from outer space, though? Ones that seemed to be mechanical, and refused to communicate with anyone? That was a surprise. For a time, the various mythologies had stayed back to observe, letting the new arrival make the first move and reserve judgment until then.

They never got the chance. For the Traveler, as it was called by humanity, had an enemy. Called the Darkness, it had hunted the sphere across the cosmos, for reasons that nobody could understand. Upon discovering the Traveler and its protectorates, it had sent forth armies led by a fat being wielding a scythe to bring about the end of its eternal foe. Only through a last stand by the sphere had mankind and its allies been spared, and that fight had been costly. Though it had survived, humanity was now an endangered species, while those that had followed the Darkness were on the ascent.

For those races that had lived in the shadows of mankind, times had been even worse. While while mankind had been numerous when the Darkness came, the angels, demons, and fallen angels had already been rare in number when the Collapse had come, and the Deep had seen no reason to spare them from its wrath. Only by hiding away in heaven, hell, and other domains known only to them had they escaped extinction, and even now, their existences hung by threads. Necessity had eventually forced them to return to Earth, though that had only been a recent decision, and the world they had arrived at was one they did not recognize - most of mankind was now centered in a city in South America, aptly named the Last City. The older faiths had not been forgotten, but many had now worshiped the Traveller, with some religions achieving syncretism to maintain relevance.

Rias' family had spent years readying to return, as had all the other devils with heirs available. Assembling a peerage hadn't been easy, but there were enough outcasts in the wild to contract without arousing suspicion of the…Guardians. Supposedly the chosen of the Traveler, they were an enigma - no one knew how they were created, or what their powers were. All that was known was that they were warriors wielding strange magics, supposedly able to transcend death. Rias had some doubts there - one time resurrection was a thing, but repeatedly returning from death? That was a little too difficult to believe.

But that was all getting off topic right now.

"I still can't believe we missed an alien invasion."

"You really think our families would have let us get involved?"

Rias sighed. "I know. Still, this feels weird - we're intruding on territory that technically isn't ours, and -"

"I know. So, why are you interested in Issei?"

Rias thought about that for a moment. "Just a..feeling."

"Hmph. If I didn't know you better, I'd assume you had feelings for him."

Rias cringed at that remark. "Please - he's not the kind of person I like. Even if he doesn't know about my family, he's only interested in girls for their curves."

"True enough. Still, that look you gave him showed a certain amount of interest. Eyeing up another pawn?"

"Maybe. I think he might have a sacred gear."

"Interesting. And what does the rest of your peerage think?"

"Whatever Bucchou decides, I'm with her," said a sultry black haired girl.

"I am also with Rias," added a petite white haired girl. "But if he tries to peek on me or cop a feel, he'll regret it."

"I stand with Rias," finished a blond haired, very good looking boy.

Rias smirked. "I think the decision is made."

Soma merely nodded. "Well, you should get your chance to add him to your peerage soon - I doubt he's gonna live long with her watching him."

"True. Poor him."

XxXxX

Evening…

Issei would have been lying if he said that his first date was anything other than amazing - Yuuma had been so nice and considerate, and seemed to enjoy just being with him. There was that odd moment where he had been handed a flyer by a strange girl wearing a demon costume, but that was just a moment. Now, with the day coming to an end, he found himself enjoying the unexpected pleasure of tea that Yuuma had made for the two of them.

"Thanks for going out with me," said Yuuma. "Do you like the tea I made?"

Smiling, Issei gulped down the last of said tea, satisfaction plastered on his face. "It's delicious."

"Wow, really?!"

'Damn,' thought Issei, 'this girl is so sweet…also, why is my vision getting fuzzy?'

The girl seemed to notice his unspoken question. "Um, is something wrong?"

"I think you made the tea a little too strong, however that's possible."

Issei noticed that he was starting to slur his words. 'Japheth, is something wrong?'

'H-uh? W-w-what g-guardian?'

'Uh, p-p-partner, I f-f-feel w-weird. Think that tea was w-way too s-strong.'

'Guess this girl overdid it. Must be her first time out with a guy.'

"U-uh, Yuuma?"

"Yes?"
"I think I need to go home. Could you help me-"

"Of course. Which way?"

"C-closest is through t-that alley over there," he said, pointing toward his home.

"A-ah, right! I'll get you home right away."

"T-thanks."

Issei tried to take a step forward, only to stumble, requiring Yuuma to catch him and start carrying him homeward.

'This..this..this isn't right,' realized Issei. 'No way I should be feeling like this from tea. Japheth'

'G-guardian?'

'Can you do something-'

'Already t-trying. But something isn't…right.'

'Ok. Then…give me a weapon?'

'What?'

'Something…isn't adding up.'

'..Understood.'

'G-good luck…partner.'

Pulling himself out of his mental conversation, Issei cleared his throat. "Yuuma, stop."

"Wh-huh?"

'Just, stop. I need to stand up."

"Oh. Uh, sure."

Carefully, Yuuma helped Issei stand up. "Are you feeling a bit better?"

"Yes. I think I can make it the rest of the way home myself."

"Oh. Well, could I accompany you-"

"No. If my parents saw you, that would open up a lot of discussion I don't want to have for them right now."

"W-well…dang it, you have a good point. Well, goodbye then."

"Goodnight, and goodbye."

With that, Issei started to walk away, mentally grasping his fingers around the Dead Man Walking. Just as he was about to turn the corner, though, Yuuma spoke up again.

"Before you go, could I ask you for something?"

"If that's a kiss, then no - I'm not feeling well, and I don't want to give whatever's making me feel down to you."

"Oh, no, sorry, I didn't mean that."

Taking a deep breath, Issei had ghost ready to summon his sidearm. "Then what did you want to ask?"

"Could you…die for me?"

…What? "What?"

"I said," she repeated, voice now sounding deeper, "could you die for me?"

When Issei finally processed what she had said, the sense of inebriation fled his mind as his pistol was summoned to his hand. Turning, he readied a question. "What are you-"

Shink

"-talking about."

Issei felt the gun slip out of his hands as a sensation of pain suddenly registered from his gut. Glancing downward, he saw that there was now a spear of light sticking out of his abdomen.

"Well," said Yuuma, "that was easier than I thought. You know, I was expecting getting you alone to be more difficult - I'd heard that you were a raging pervert, but with how you'd changed in the last few years, I'd expected you to be more careful around strange girls. Guess I was wrong."

"..G-ghost, a little help-"

'I-I can't. Something's wrong - her spear is…wrong. Not related to the Darkness, but not connected to the Light either.'

'I think I might know what she is,' intoned Ddraig, 'but it's a little late to mention that now.'

Dazed from the attack, Issei fell to his knees, only now noticing the sound of footsteps approaching him. Glancing upwards, he found Yuuma walking toward him, appearance now different - she looked quite a bit older, with a fuller body, and had traded her original outfit for a Kuoh Academy uniform. Strangely enough, she also had black feathered wings coming out of her back. If circumstances were different, he'd have thought the look was much better than her original one.

"I don't know why Azazel was interested in you, but it doesn't matter now - one dead human shouldn't make him too mad. I might even get promoted for killing you."

Even as he felt his consciousness starting to slip, Issei found that remark insulting. 'After all that I've been through, I'm going to die to a spear to the gut, and the last thing I have to hear is a girl mocking me? Hell no!'

"..Hey."

Yuuma raised an eyebrow. "You're still standing? Er, kneeling?"

"Yeah. I am."

Yuuma looked a little surprised at that, but soon was back to smirking. "Well, guess I have to give you credit for lasting this long."

"So what, you going to let me bleed out? T-too lazy to f-finish the job?"

Hearing that made her groan. "I was, but if you're going to bitch about it, I guess I'll speed things up. I'm gonna warn you, this will be painful."

With that, Yuuma walked up to Issei and put her hand on the spear in his gut. "Any last words?"

"Who a-are you, r-really?"

"...Raynare."

"Okay…T-thank you, R-Raynare."

Instantly, Raynare's eyes narrowed. "For what?"

"For getting in range."

The minute Issei said that, he summoned forth the blade Throne Cleaver and buried it in her stomach.

Raynare's eyes widened at the blow. Then she vanished, leaving Issei alone as the blade in his gut dissipated. Only then did he collapse.
"..S-so this is how it ends?"

'I guess, Guardian.'

'Sorry, partner.'

'T-thanks, guys. Still, this feels..weird.'

'Yeah. It does.'

'Can you…revive me….after this?'

'I…I'm not sure, Guardian. There's some residual power left that is suppressing my Light. I can try, but-'

'No promises, is that it?'

'Yeah.'

'Well…try.'

'I will.'

'Cause I…don't want to die here. Not for good.'

As he slowly felt the familiar grip of death grasp him, Issei thought back to earlier, when he'd been discussing his vigil for his sister with Souta. His thoughts turned to the crimson haired girl he'd seen watching him, his mind wondering why she had an interest in him - pity? Curiosity? Actual interest? It seemed that this question would never be answered. A shame, too - he'd already died once without getting laid, and now…wait, what was that in the air?

…where had that flyer come from? And why was it glowing?

Before Issei could ponder things further, the ticket suddenly turned into a strange magic circle, out of which emerged a-was that Rias?

"I have come," spoke the red head before him. The voice, one he had heard only in passing before, left no doubt in his mind - Rias was the one before him.

"You're the one who summoned me here, aren't you?"

Issei tried to speak, but couldn't form any words.
"Well, since death is upon you, I'll gladly take you in."

Now, as Issei stared on with a numb sense of shock, black wings seemingly made of energy formed behind Rias.

"From this moment forth, you will live your life for me. Is that acceptable?"

Issei turned his thoughts inward one last time. 'You hearing this?'

'Yeah. And as much as I have reservations against this, accept her offer.'

'I know what she is, partner, and she ain't trying to mess with you.'

'Okay, then.'

Mustering the last of his strength, Issei extended his right arm. "I..accept."

Rias was actually rather amused by his gesture. "We don't need to shake hands, but thanks anyway."

"You're welcome."

As Issei finally felt his consciousness slipping away, he noticed that everything around him seemed to be glowing red. With his vision fading, he mustered the strength to say one last sentence.

"Just…one thing…"

Road raised an eyebrow. "And that is?"

"You're not…the first one…I pledged my life too."

The last thing Issei saw a look of confusion on Rias' face, which turned to shock as the red light was replaced by a mixture of white blue.

Only then did the darkness of death finally take hold.

XxXxX

Slowly, Issei's eyes fluttered open. Shaking off the cobwebs, he leaned upwards and forward.

'Ugh, what happened last night? What was I dreaming about?'

'Uh, Guardian? You weren't dreaming.'

'..What? What are you talking about?'

'Long story, partner, but I think you might want to look around the room.'

Confused, but still trusting his friends and comrades, Issei started scanning his bedroom.

He came to a halt when he noticed a familiar scarlet haired beauty smiling at him.

"Good morning, Issei."

XxXxX

AN: chapter summary - a guardian meets a fallen angel and a demon. It gets weird.

Now for a more in depth analysis:

As you can see from the title or description depending on the site you are reading this on, I went with a collection of oddball series for this crossover - Highschool DxD, Re:creators, Youjo Senki, and My Next Life As A Villainess, all meeting in the world of Destiny. As you can further see, most of the protagonists of those series are connected in some way - Issei and Souta are friends, and in case you missed the hints, the monkey girl who would reincarnate into Catarina Claes is/was Issei's sister (since she has no canon name, I'm giving her the name of Aoi Hyoudou). As for the Saga of Tanya the Evil, well, that one is an oddball among these other ones.

Since I probably didn't make it clear enough in this chapter, Setsuna 'Yuna' Shimazaki's suicide that happens in the very first episode of Re:creators happened here, but she evidently did not stay dead very long. As for what kept Souta from reaching out to her in this timeline, well, she would have been hit by the train sometime during the last season in the Destiny storyline. The current season is Beyond Light/Season of the Hunt. So yeah, Souta had some…very massive things to preoccupy him.

Before you cry foul on Issei and Souta remembering their past lives despite being guardians, I have justifications for that which will be elaborated on later.

On Issei and Souta being friends: there are not many guardians who are teenagers, so small social cliques. Also, they knew each other before they were risen. Additionally, them being guardians is a heavily guarded secret, because this runs into the problem of having child soldiers.

Souta and Issei rose sometime during the Red War from Ghosts that originated from the shard of the Traveler in the EDZ, which emerged sometime after the Young Wolf visited the EDZ. Obviously, this means neither of them is the Young Wolf, but both have met and assisted the Young Wolf - while I'm still deciding on the specifics, Souta was involved in the Garden of Salvation Raid while Isse took part in Last Wish. Mostly, though, they are like the Guardians in the background materials that just help defend the city, guide pilgrims to it, and fight in the Crucible.

On the infodump between Sona and Rias: my original plan involved the characters from the various mythologies being cut off from the events of Destiny such that they had no idea about the Traveler showing up and being left completely in the dark about all the changes mankind has gone through. I recognized that this was stupid, so I changed it to them mostly being out of date on current events - they know about the Traveller, the Darkness, and the Collapse, but the events going from D1 until the relative present aren't public knowledge. Also, they have no information on how guardians work - the entire arc I have planned for Issei only works if he is the first Risen that has ended up in a peerage.

On Issei still getting ganked by Raynare: everyone in the mythologies who is aware of Issei has some inkling that there is something odd about him, but they don't know what, which naturally makes him a target for research. Raynare obviously jumped the gun killing him as in canon, but she at least had an inkling that there was something up about him, so she gave him tea poisoned with however much it would take to incapacitate a guardian to weaken him before the killing blow. Assume it includes stuff like hydra venom, diluted prayers, holy water, and whatever else you can imagine. The point is that she pilfered a ton of stuff to be really sure her attack would kill him and will be in really hot water no matter how things turned out. Especially when it becomes apparent she failed to kill him.

Also, Raynare is still alive. Womp womp.

Regarding how the various fictional works within these stories (Vogelchevalier, Fortune Lover, Code Babylon, etc) exist in this universe: PLOT!

Final note: my original plan would have had a second set of scenes taking place simultaneously to the events with Issei and Raynare that would have focused on Souta. I decided to save those for the next chapter.

Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!