Hello! Belial the Liar / Mr. Rags here with a surprise. So, you know how I hate His Angel, my first and most popular story? Well, I decided to rewrite it. I wrote that garbage when I was 17 in Highschool, and I'm now 24 with years more writing experience under my belt. Expect good things. Bigger update on myself and my circumstances to come with the original His Angel, which I'm going to update soon to let people know about this new one. For now, I hope you enjoy!
Edit 4/6/2024: Apparently some of the formatting for this document got screwed up by the transfer from file to fanfic. Fixed some minor issues.
"W-would you go out with me?"
The question rang in Issei's ears. Was this actually happening? A cute girl was asking him out? This had to be a dream, right? There's no way in hell a woman this gorgeous would ask out a nobody like him.
Issei pinched himself. Nope, not a dream. A prank or a dare, then?
Of course.
Issei had almost let himself forget. Cruel and unusual though it was, some girls used 'ask out our school's biggest loser' as a rite of passage. That had to be what this was.
"Look, I'm sorry your friends made you do this, but don't tease me, okay? Sorry you wasted your time," Issei replied, moving to walk past the girl on the bridge.
Raynare was shocked.
This kid was seriously such a pussy that he automatically assumed she was being forced to do this?
Well, she was, but that's not the point.
Even if her goal was to kill him, it made her sad.
Not sad like she wanted to not kill him, of course - just sad in the same way someone might get sad when a stray dog looks at them with puppy-dog eyes. Not enough to make her reconsider or even hesitate, just enough to think about in passing before shrugging and saying "ah well, cruel world!" and continuing about her day.
And she would love to continue on with her day - being stuck on this bridge at sunset was not where she wanted to be. In fact, she'd rather be anywhere else.
"Forced? What makes you say that?" She begrudgingly asked, stepping in front of him. This whole thing would go a lot smoother if she secured the date, or at least some form of one-on-one hangout - otherwise she'd have to stalk him more and probably kill him at his home.
Not that she'd be opposed, of course, especially if she got the chance to whack his parents too - but it would be more work for her.
Issei, meanwhile, just sighed, and resigned himself to humiliation.
At least if it was a joke at his expense, he was happy it was a particularly pretty girl.
"No one asks guys like me out just because. I mean come on, what do you see in me?" he said, bracing for the moment when her friends would jump out of a bush or something with cameras, like every other time. "Is it the bad grades? How about zero extracurriculars? Maybe my dashing handsomeness?" he dryly remarked, gesturing to his matted, unkempt clothing and wild hair. "Yeah, right."
'Or maybe it's your can-do attitude,' Raynare snarked inwardly, already kind of annoyed. Even with her mission, she couldn't help feeling frustrated with the boy - just show some spine! Any girl who was interested for real would've immediately been put off by the way he started self-deprecating right away. He was even kind of cute, but what girl wants to date a self-hating write-off?
But, unfortunately, she wasn't interested, and she had a mission to complete. That meant she had to put up with his attitude, whether she hated it or not.
"I don't know about any of that, but I'm being serious-"
"Please, just don't!" Issei exclaimed, gritting his teeth. Luckily, in his overdramatic and frankly pathetic outburst, he had firmly shut his eyes and pointed his face towards the ground, so he couldn't see Raynare quite visibly cringing.
'...Seriously? So dramatic…' Raynare silently bemoaned after a second, unable to stop the distaste from reaching her face before she quickly quashed it.
He was begging, pleading for her not to break his poor little heart. They'd known each other for less than five minutes, and already he was terrified she'd toy with him. Raynare was almost impressed - whatever chick had done such a number on this kid could put even her own heartlessness to shame. Whatever this mystery girl or girls had done, Issei Hyoudou was so ridiculously gun-shy that he was nearly crying at the prospect of it happening again. How much damage had been done, for a teenage boy to be anything but elated at a pretty girl asking them out?
But, she was still just almost impressed. In reality, she was way more annoyed. She had half a mind to toss this brat off the overpass and fly away, witnesses or no witnesses - what would they do anyway, call the cops?
Hilarious.
But, that would bring a rant from Dohnaseek, and thatwould somehow be even more annoying… probably.
So, with a very long inward sigh, Raynare prepared herself to really earn that Oscar and act her heart out. She was all of a sudden very glad she'd chosen to use an alias and a disguise for this, instead of acting so embarrassingly desperate in her true form.
"Issei Hyoudou. Look at me," Raynare said softly, reaching out to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Slowly, with all the fear of a beaten dog, Issei turned his face back upwards and looked her in the eyes.
'Holy shit, he's actually terrified,' she thought to herself, incredulous. The poor boy was wide-eyed and trembling, and if she didn't know any better, she'd have guessed he somehow knew she was going to kill him.
Trying not to puke in her mouth, she summoned all the acting skills she could muster and fully poured herself into her disguise.
"There we go, that's better," she smiled brightly. "My name is Yuuma Amano. I get bad grades too. I don't do any extracurriculars. And I happen to think that you are very handsome," 'Yuuma' laughed. "I'm not teasing you, silly."
"You're… not?" Issei asked quietly, disbelief in his eyes.
"I'm really not," she assured. Her voice was sincere, but after a moment, Issei sighed again. He glanced around, seemingly looking for something, and his hopeful expression fell once again into despair.
"Thanks, but no thanks," he said. "That girl over there has been watching us this whole time. I may be a loser, but I'm not naive. Have a day."
Issei pointed towards a nearby bush where the distinct shape of a human stuck out like a sore thumb. Raynare locked her eyes on it, then suppressed the urge to grimace as she picked up a hint of demonic magic.
A devil. But why would a devil be following this nobody? Unless they also knew he had a sacred gear, but it was supposed to just be a twice critical, so why-
Unfortunately, she was pulled out of her musings by Issei brushing past her and walking off, not even sparing a glance back her way.
Leaving 'Yuuma Amano' standing there, Issei walked off the bridge and went straight home. He was both proud about catching the prank before he humiliated himself, and somewhat disappointed that it had been a prank at all. Maybe one day…
"No, wait-... ah, shit."
Meanwhile, Raynare watched him walk away for a moment, till eventually turning her gaze to the bushes where he'd claimed to see her 'friend' hiding. Surely enough, there was someone behind them.
"Come on out, devil," Raynare called out, letting her disguise slip away. Yuuma Amano melted away, and with a flash of black feathers, Raynare's true form was revealed. "You'd better hope you're not a stray," she added, standing up to her full height and holding a hand out to her side, ready to skewer a devil with pure light.
"Suck it, ratbird," came a monotonous voice from the bush, before a short, petite girl with white hair stepped out. "I belong to the house of Gremory. This is our territory."
At that, Raynare rolled her eyes. Much as she might want to, killing one of the Gremory household without provocation would be a mess, and this was technically their territory - not that that would ever stop her from being there.
"Sure, sure. Silly me, how could I forget?" The fallen angel snarked, shrugging dramatically. "Now spill, shortie. Why'd you ruin my fun? That little wimp was about to sign off on a trip to Heaven, all expenses paid."
"I didn't ruin anything. I was gonna let him do it. He saw me on his own - probably for the best, though. He can do better," she insulted with one last shrug, turning around and preparing to leave.
Raynare grit her teeth as she watched the petite devil depart, severely annoyed not just by the insult, but by this entire chain of events.
Why did Azazel have to pick her for this lame assassination? And why did he insist on it being so discreet? Freed practically skinned the last poor sod they got a kill order on, so why couldn't she just nuke this one's house with a light spear from low orbit?
With an exasperated growl, Raynare threw her head back and pondered whether or not she should reassume her Yuuma facade. Issei probably wasn't too far. She could still catch up to him…
…Nah. She'd had enough nonsense for one day.
That would be a problem for tomorrow Raynare.
Kuoh's four Fallen Angels resided in a ramshackle church on the edge of town, downtrodden even by "old church" standards. The Christian presence in Kuoh had long since gone, so they were easily able to slip in and take up residence there while they completed their mission.
That, of course, being the assassination of potential sacred gear users.
They numbered only four: Dohnaseek, an odd, grim, and unflinchingly professional man; Kalawarner, a cold and no-nonsense bombshell of a woman; Mittelt, a young and eccentric girl who preferred cosplay to clothing; and Raynare, the sadistic and callous leader of their troop.
When Raynare finally arrived back, it was already late evening, and the sun was mostly set. For whatever reason, she'd chosen to walk instead of flying or teleporting, and as soon as she stepped through the heavy doors of the church, she was immediately assaulted with a question.
"So when's the date, Yuuma?" Mittelt giggled as Raynare closed the doors behind her.
"He said no," Raynare growled. The other two fallen, having previously been wrapped up in their own tasks, now turned their attention towards her.
Dohnaseek was wearing his standard trench coat and fedora, reading some dusty old book in a pew, and he started observing the exchange without even looking away from the tome, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. Kalawarner had on some ridiculously proportioned maroon suit dress and was posing in a mirror, but at least had the good courtesy to turn around and look at Raynare in disbelief.
Mittelt, of course, little weirdo that she was, had on a gothic lolita cosplay dress, and was sitting on the windowsill of the large stained glass window above the main entrance of the church.
"Said no?" Mittelt exclaimed, nearly falling off the windowsill. She was half shocked, half surprised, and all parts flabbergasted. "What do you mean, said no?! You totes killed him anyway, right?"
"No," Raynare retorted, half-tempted to throw a light spear at Mittelt for shits and giggles. "He's still alive. That kid is the biggest fucking pussy I've ever met! You should've seen the way he almost wet himself when I asked him out!"
The woman was both angry and amused, if the way she was laughing incredulously was any indicator. The other three didn't know what to think.
The plan was easy, and only required one person: Raynare. Raynare would ask him out, go on a date with him, and then at the end of the day, when he was comfortable and feeling good, she'd kill him. Hell, she didn't even really have to go on the date - she could honestly just catch and kill him whenever she felt like it, and it would be fine.
'So why is he still alive?' the three fallen thought.
"So, like… when you gonna gank his ass, queen?" Mittelt asked after a tense moment.
"When I feel like it," Raynare answered, glaring back at the much, much younger fallen. "Issei Hyoudou is one of the biggest losers I've ever met. I can kill him with a flick of my finger whenever I want. But, it really ticks me off that he turned me down for a date, so I'm gonna get him to say yes, then make whatever bitch scared him last time look like the nicest chick he's ever met. He won't know what hit him."
"You can't be serious," Kalawarner laughed. "You're really trying to get the approval of a human teenager? Just go kill him."
"I agree," Dohanaseek added, still not looking up from his book. "Didn't Gabriel ever teach you not to play with your prey?"
The room went dead silent. What Kalawarner said was rude, but Dohnaseek's dry comment seemed to suck the very heat from the air, leaving the church in an icy chill, and a split second later a spear of cruel red light was leveled at his throat.
"You wanna see what Gabriel taught me?" Raynare snarled, using her left hand to rip the book from Dohnaseek's grip and fling it across the room while her right kept him within an inch of death, his eyes wide and his usually unflappable demeanor very considerably flapped.
"Whoa, Raynare, cool it-"
"Shut up!" She snapped back at Mittelt, eyes fiery, before turning back to Dohnaseek; she definitely had his attention now. "I want that little prick to know I'm the best there is. Then, when he finally kisses my feet, I'm going to lop his pathetic little head off. So unless you wanna go first, watch what you say."
"...understood," Dohnaseek murmured after a tense moment, casting his eyes down. "I apologize for my carelessness. Forgive me."
Raynare held the spear at his throat for another moment, then growled and lowered it, standing menacingly over Dohnaseek for another second or two before finally moving away. She headed towards a set of stairs behind the altar, which led down to the church's miscellaneous areas, among which were several bedrooms. Presumably they housed a congregation at some point, but they'd long since abandoned the place.
If she was annoyed before, Raynare was furious now. First, she's roped into some stupid plan to kill a worthless nobody. Then, she's forced to degrade herself instead of just murdering him. To add insult to injury, he rejected her, then a devil of all creatures had to show up and rub it in.
And then, to top it all off, she was reminded of the reason she Fell in the first place.
They all knew better than to say her name.
As she approached her ramshackle, run-down bedroom, Raynare fell into her ornate and silken black bed - the one nice thing she had. The wooden room itself was in total disrepair, dusty and damaged and cluttered, but the bed was four-postered and king-sized and soft, and she was glad.
It wasn't long before she drifted off to an early but deep sleep, and, strangely enough for her race, she dreamt.
Raynare stood in a very, very familiar place.
Beneath her feet were soft clouds, above her were the stars, and all around, angels and souls of all kinds thronged here without fear or worry or doubt.
It was here where she was created by God. It was here where she learned who she was.
And it was here where who she was was stolen from her.
Heaven.
Raynare was stricken by an overwhelming plethora of emotions.
Anger at being shown this place, where she'd never be welcome again.
Embarrassment at being seen in her lesser state, to her a far cry uglier than all the beautiful, ethereal pure angels.
Regret at being forever barred from returning, under penalty of eradication.
Deepest of all, though she'd never admit it even to herself - Longing, for the home she'd lost.
The same furtive, shameful longing all Grigori unknowingly shared.
But, in her endless vanity, embarrassment won out over all. Raynare looked down, aiming to cover herself with her arms to prevent anyone from seeing her revealing outfit. But, as she did, she noticed it was gone - in place of her skimpy black straps and leather, there was a silken white robe with golden trim, and she was shocked.
But then, she felt her wings flap not by her command, and as she turned to behold them, they were not black nor were they gleaming white…
Her wings were cool, silvered moonlight, glittering like falling stars.
Raynare had but the briefest moment to marvel at the beauty of her own feathers before being unceremoniously torn from the dream.
The fallen angel sat up in her bed with a start, having awoken totally at random. A glance around her showed no threats, save those she'd imagined on her own.
With an annoyed groan, she laid back down, wondering why she'd been shown such a horrible dream. A taunt, maybe? A laughing jest sent from Heaven, as if being imprisoned in this lower plane wasn't enough?
But, before she drifted back off to a dreamless, fitful sleep, Raynare noticed one more thing - a single tear, below her right eye. She angrily wiped it away, frustrated and embarrassed and glad she was alone, then laid back down.
The next day, at school
The evening bell rang, signaling the end of another dreary day.
Issei packed his bag, stood, and left the class. He didn't speak to anyone, and he tried not to look anyone in the eye.
Looking people in the eyes only made them more likely to mess with him.
See, Issei was an average guy. He wasn't super smart, wasn't athletic, couldn't smooth talk anyone, and he definitely wasn't gorgeous. So, people tended to overlook him. He had absolutely no defining traits, or at least, that's what he'd say if you asked.
The only exceptional thing about Issei was, for some reason or another, kids liked to bully him. Ever since he was a small child, he'd been picked on and pushed around. Today, he thought, would be no different.
He was wrong.
It started off just like it normally did. Issei was walking as fast as he could to try and get away from the school grounds before he could be hassled, and it was like the bully could smell his fear.
So, he'd ambushed Issei outside where everyone could see, right in the middle of the school courtyard. Even people on the road passing by could see the spectacle.
"Come on, Matsuda, don't do this, man…" he bemoaned as the shaven-headed former football star pushed him against a wall outside.
Issei was rewarded for the statement with a punch to the gut, knocking him to the ground.
"Don't talk to me like we're friends, chump. Now shut up and do what I say, or else," Matsuda growled, brandishing a fist.
Their school, Kagoshima High, was the place where people who were too dumb or too poor to get into Kuoh Academy went. Naturally, both Issei and this moronic jock ended up there, though both for different reasons. Matsuda? He was too poor. Issei was no such thing.
He was just not smart enough.
Kagoshima was a primarily male school, and the teachers and staff and student council really just did not care what happened.
Back in the moment, Issei sighed. It was always the same.
Bark like a dog.
"Bark like a dog!" Matsuda yelled at him.
Issei did.
"Wood, woof."
What kind of bark was that? He'd say.
"What kind of bark was that? Louder!"
So Issei would be louder.
"Woof, woof!"
By this point, kids would start to stare and laugh.
Occasionally, the student council would reprimand Matsuda, but today wasn't one of those lucky days, so Issei had to suffer.
Just like always.
Now, roll over.
"Now roll over!"
But this time, Issei didn't roll over.
Issei was thinking.
Funnily enough, despite Issei deciding that the girl who'd asked him out has done it for cruel reasons, for some reason it had gone to his almost miniscule ego.
Those words she said, 'I think you're very handsome,' had made his heart beat just a bit faster.
Made his blood run just a bit hotter.
A tiny trickle of confidence had leaked into his veins, and now, even a day later, it was still there… and it was about to combust.
'Why is it always me? Why am I the one who has to suffer for a laugh? Why do I have to be embarrassed and humiliated for them to be happy? I'm sick of it!' Issei thought, fuming.
"Hey, mutt, are you listening? Roll over, I said!" Matsuda snarled, kicking at Issei's face.
This time, for the first time ever, Issei was ready.
He grabbed Matsuda's foot, and yanked him off balance, causing the bald kid to fall to the ground. Issei jumped up, and moved to kick him in the face. He did, too - with a satisfying thwack, the bully's head jerked to the side.
Unfortunately for Issei, justice doesn't always win.
Issei had landed a lucky hit, sure, but just the one.
Because, as luck would have it, Matsuda was a martial artist, and now he was pissed.
Matsuda grabbed Issei's foot as he tried to kick a second time, and spun underneath him in a leg sweep, knocking Issei to the ground and disorienting him.
Matsuda used this time to get back up and land a solid punch to Issei's face, splitting his upper lip. Fortunately, Issei had been punched in the face before - the pain was nothing new to him.
To his credit, instead of trying to crawl away, Issei grabbed Matsuda's collar and threw a punch right back at his attacker, who was absolutely enraged at this point. He took the hit right on his jaw, eating the punch like it was nothing, before standing up.
"You're pathetic, Hyoudou! You thought you'd get one over on me, huh? I can take on anyone in this school. You're nothing compared to me," he gloated, looming over Issei as the boy tried to stand back up.
It seemed Matsuda had never heard the one about kicking a man while he's down, because he chose that moment to take a page out of Issei's book and kick him hard in the face. As Issei reeled, though, he only kept going.
He kicked Issei mercilessly. Ribs, chest, groin; wherever he could get his foot, he kicked. After a solid minute of brutalizing, he leaned in close to the beaten boy, who flinched at the proximity, and bared his teeth like an animal.
He expected submission, but that wasn't what he got.
In a move that surprised everyone, Issei spit blood in his face.
There was a moment of stunned silence, and then, with a roar of anger, Masuda stood up to his full height and brought his heel down hard into Issei's ribs, cracking more than one. Then, with a rageful huff, he took off. He just left.
At that point, Issei was ruined, physically at least. He wheezed pathetically on the ground, at this point completely unable to stand back up.
And yet, he was grinning.
Why?
Because he fought.
This time, unlike any other time, he fought.
And it was fun.
One minute became ten, ten became thirty. Spectators shuffled off, finding something better to do. Teachers left the school. The student council left, too.
They all walked past him, or even over him.
Nobody helped. Nobody called emergency services. Thirty minutes turned to an hour.
No one cared.
But Issei kept his grin.
Even as the adrenaline of the fight wore off and the pain set in, fierce enough to make a grown man pass out, he stayed awake, and kept on grinning.
He'd gone out with a bang.
He wasn't dead, hell, he wasn't even dying - his injuries were serious, grievous even, but probably not fatal if he got any sort of care - but it didn't matter.
None of the kids there knew it, but Issei was done.
He had every intention to go home…
...and end his own life.
Anything. Anything would be better than this. Even an eternity in Hell, Issei thought, would be better than his current life.
He would kill himself, and make the problems go away.
He was proud, though.
He'd gone out as a fighter.
For once in his lame, pathetic, loser life, he'd fought, and he'd fought hard.
But then, his saving grace appeared.
There was a spectator to the violence in the schoolyard, one who didn't even attend the school there. She'd been passing the school when she saw an abnormal crowd and decided to investigate.
Her name was Raynare.
"You put up a mean fight, kid," she sighed as she walked up to his sprawled-out, bloody form on the ground. "That was a nasty kick you got off. Think I saw him spit a tooth out when he stomped off."
"Heh… serves… him… right," Issei wheezed out, every word labored and painful. It felt like one of his lungs may be punctured, and it most certainly sounded like it.
"Ha! I bet. Did it feel good? Finally biting back against the hand that's hit you for so long?" she asked, not bothering to change her voice… or her form.
Yes, Raynare stood just a meter or so away from Issei, bold as ever, in her true form. Her wings weren't out, but she was definitely in her true form. Issei couldn't quite see her, not from this angle, but he was too delirious from the pain, and his eyes too swollen - he probably couldn't have anyway.
"It felt… great," he answered, completely honest.
"Oh, I know. It feels amazing."
Raynare drew a little closer, but Issei still couldn't quite see her. But he could've sworn… was the sky turning a bit… purple?
"Well, I'm glad you got to get your rocks off before the end. Helluva show, too. Really put me in a better mood, that's for sure," she chuckled. "I didn't expect you to have so much fire in you, Issei. Maybe if you'd have shown some of that when I asked you out, you could've gotten some."
"When you…? Wait… Yuuma…?" he croaked, suddenly much more invested in the conversation. He tried to move his head, but could only manage an inch or two - just enough to see her outlined against the purple sky.
"In the flesh," she replied with a grin, knowing he couldn't really see much. "Figured I'd finish you off while you're down, make it look like the bully did it. Saves me some trouble, you know?"
"Ah… makes sense," Issei answered, now more than a bit delirious. With a weak, almost inaudible chuckle, he strained his neck even more, trying to get a glimpse of her, and with a herculean effort… he did.
He opened his eyes as wide as he could, and he saw a woman who looked like a more mature, refined version of Yuuma, wearing something black that he couldn't quite make out.
Now, even more than before, his heart throbbed again.
When Yuuma Amano had asked him out before, if Issei would've told the truth… she really wasn't his type. She was beautiful, yes, but this woman was gorgeous. With another laugh, he concluded he really must be on death's door - because, as he admired what his eyes beheld, he could've sworn he saw two beautiful black wings appear behind her.
And, when he really squinted, it seemed like she was raising her right arm up, with something long and red glowing in her hand. He concluded he really must be losing his mind, and the end was probably imminent.
"Well, I'm glad… it was you," he croaked out. "If anyone is gonna… may as well be… the most beautiful woman… in heaven."
…
Raynare stopped cold, her savage crimson light spear vanishing into motes of red light mere centimeters from his chest.
"What did you say?" she murmured, her eyes wide and her tone urgent. There was no response, so she yelled. "Don't fuck with me! Issei, what did you just say?!"
But Issei, at this point, was too far gone. Between the delirium, the pain, the injuries, and just flat out blood loss, he was way too damaged. The poor boy could barely hear her now, and he definitely couldn't respond.
The last thing he heard before he finally passed out was a frustrated, angry scream from 'Yuuma,' and the last thing he saw was a rush of sunlight, as the purple sky disappeared.
Issei Hyoudou felt arms wrap around him, and then slipped completely into unconsciousness.
Hope you enjoyed the beginning of this rewrite! As always, join my discord!
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