Fated Meeting

Back in the dimensional gap, Issei is now 5 years and he is currently breathing fire out of his mouth. When he first saw his father and even his mother do it, he was amazed by how cool they looked and so he decided he wanted to do it as well. He is a dragon after all and what is a dragon without the ability to breath fire. However, it was not as easy as it looked. He tried to focus power in the pits of his stomach and when he breathed out he could only get a small burst of flames. He had tried many attempts at this but they all ended in failure. He made a cute pouting face whenever things didn't go his way which Ophis found absolutely adorable. She went to him and when he saw her, he came running towards her and asked her with puppy eyes

"Mom, what am I doing wrong. I tried and tried but I can't seem to make it work like you and dad showed me." pouted Issei. She smiled and answered "Do not worry, my little Issei, it takes time and practice to be able to do it and I know you will eventually get the hang of it. In fact, you were able to breath out a small amount of flames which is incredible at your age."

"Really?" asked Issei. Ophis patted his head "Yes". At that moment, Ophis saw Great-red teleporting back in, "Why don't you continue playing while I talk with your father?" said Ophis. With a nod of his head and a wave towards his father which he reciprocated, Issei went back to doing his thing while Ophis went to talk with Great-Red.

"How's everything going on your end?"

"All preparations have been made. The place we are going to inhabit is located in japan called Kuoh. From what I can tell, that place is the territory of the Gremory Devil's family. In my opinion, it is the perfect place to raise Issei because not only will we be able to remain hidden but, from what I could tell, not many beings have the guts to incur the wrath of the Gremory family specifically the super devil Sirzechs Lucifer. I have acquired us a house and just to be sure no one recognises us, we will conceal our presence and aura so that no supernatural beings can locate us." Stated great-red as he reverted to his human form.

Ophis nodded as she placed her hand on her chin and asked "Are you sure it's a good idea to reside in devil territory? They have many conflicts with the other Christian factions which could lead to us getting indirectly involved. Wouldn't it have been better to live in a city where only humans reside?" She was worried that being in a city with supernatural beings would cause Issei to be revealed that much sooner than she wanted. His safety is her top priority at the moment.

Great-red sensing her distress replied "At first, I also thought about living in a human region without any supernatural beings but there are several issues pertaining that. Although we can conceal our presence completely from outside forces, Issei is still too young to master that ability; therefore, his draconic presence might leak from time to time and in a place devoid of supernatural entities will be sensed by other factions which could lead to them sending people to investigate the unknown presence. On top of that, in todays era, dragons, especially powerful ones, are feared by all factions so in the worst case, Gods and other forces may be sent to try and deal with us forcefully. Granted, with our combined might, we could easily deal with any puny gods that come our way but our son might be caught in the crossfire which is something I really don't even want to think about. That is why I chose a location that is controlled by the devils. Since they control the territory, other factions would not be able to intervene even if they were able to sense us. We would only have to deal with evading devil sentries which by placing barriers around our place would do. We will use the devil's influence over this place to hide ourselves in plane sight until our little Issei is strong enough to protect himself."

Ophis was very impressed by great-red at the moment. She never pegged him as an intellectual type of dragon due to his constant laid back attitude and so she let out a small laugh.

"Whats so funny?" great-red asked, a bit ticked that she was laughing at him.

"Oh, its nothing really, just I never imagined you being this smart. It seems baka-red is no longer baka." Said Ophis to which great red just stated

"I was never dumb to begin with, you and I are both entities that have been born way before any Gods roamed the world and therefore have the intelligence to back it up. I was just never serious about anything in my time in the dimensional gap. I simply wanted to roam free but now…" he paused and looks at Issei flying about and trying to shot out fire "I have a reason to take things seriously" he said in a firm and decisive tone.

"You are right" she replied as she too stared at Issei.

Great-red wanting to get back on track continued "So, are you ok with moving to Kuoh or would you like to keep searching?".

To tell the truth, Ophis really did not want to move anywhere. She wanted to keep Issei in the dimensional gap where she knew he would be safe from any harm but she also knew it would be detrimental to his upbringing. Anyway, sooner or later, Issei will get curious enough to go visit the human world and may get himself into trouble without them knowing, which is something she wants to avoid desperately. After careful amount of consideration, she yielded and told Red "I'm alright with it. No matter where we go, there will always be risks that come along with it. All we can do is limit them as much as we can" she sighed as she looked to Issei

"Issei"

Having heard his mom calling him, he flew over near her.

"Yes, mom." He said, with a big smile on his face and his tail swigging like a puppy. His hair was a bit messy, his wings a bit charred due to all the practice he's been doing but Ophis does not mind it at all. It just makes him look that much cuter. She bent down to be able to look at him at eye level and told him in a sweet tone "We are going to be moving today to the human world. The reason being that it has come to our attention that it would do you some good to socialize and play around with kids your age instead of being secluded here in the dimensional gap. You will get to meet new people, make friends, experience things we cannot teach you and much more. Are you ready to leave?" explained Ophis. She secretly hoped that Issei would not want to leave the dimensional gap and would be afraid to go to an unknown place which is why she was incredibly surprised when Issei shouted

"REALLY! yahoo let's go." Issei was jumping up and down showing how excited he is. Unknown to both Ophis and Great-Red, Issei had been secretly planning to visit the human world for some time. From time to time, ripples in the dimensional gap would appear and through them Issei caught a glimpse of the outside world ranging from seeing kids play in the park to even seeing devils and angels go about their business. Saying that this didn't captivate his attention would be a lie. Ophis earlier concern was actually spot on. He became curious about the "outside" world and all the wonders it may contain and therefore was planning to somehow sneak away. Luckily, he doesn't have to do that now since his mom just told him they would be living there which got him very excited at the revelation.

Ophis nodded and brought Issei to Great-red as he prepared the teleportation magic circle to take them to their new home. Ophis looks around and breaths a heavy sigh.

"What's wrong?" asked Great-red.

"I cannot believe that I am voluntarily leaving the dimensional gap so soon after I came back, much less with you of all things. The silence I craved so heavily is being given up so easily yet, unexpectedly, I don't feel bad about it." She said looking at Issei.

Great red simply replied "Well I cannot believe I will be raising a family together with you but it seems fate had a different goal in mind for us." He looks at Issei "All the problems and issues that will eventually arise is something my previous self would never, in a million years, have taken. Yet honestly, I can safely say I wouldn't have it any other way" with a big grin on his face. Ophis lightly blushed at what he said but quickly suppressed it thinking "was I just flustered by what he said! No no no no this is baka-red!".

"The magic circle is ready, are you ready?" asked great-red unaware of the inner turmoil Ophis just had. She quickly shook herself back to reality and just nodded her head signaling that she is ready. The three of them got teleported to the front of their new house. Surprisingly, the house wasn't anything grandiose. It was a normal two-story terrace house with a light blue exterior, a balcony on the second floor, and a brown roof. The first floor includes a living room and kitchen while the second floor has 3 bedrooms with bathrooms. Considering Great-red personality, Ophis thought he would get them an extravagant house but since great-red did not want to attract attention to them from both the human and supernatural side, he got them a normal house.

"This is the place we will be living in for a long time. Do you like it Issei?". Before he could answer his father, he bolted inside the house as his excitement was through the roof.

"Well… that answers that" both dragon gods giggled at his own comment. As they were going in, Ophis noticed a few barriers surrounding the house, understanding that they were used to keep "unwanted" people away and keep them hidden as well as for Issei's protection should they need it. Being the Ouroboros Dragon god, she could feel the devil presences in the town as well as a few fallen angels. Although too weak to pose a threat to them, she would rather avoid any unnecessary conflicts that may arise from coming into contact with them. She notices in front of the door, a sign that says "Hyoudou" and looks puzzled at Great-red who understood what she was getting at and told her.

"I've given us the family name Hyoudou while we reside here in order to keep up appearances. To the outside world, the Hyoudou family resides here." Ophis acknowledged with a nod that she understood what he said. Now their new lives will begin today and not even she knows what the future may bring.

Issei, at the moment, was extremely excited. Why shouldn't he be? This is the place he caught a glimpse of in the dimensional gap and has, since then, peeked his curiosity. He could not wait to go outside and explore the wonders of the world. Unlike most kids his age who are very timid and shy, he is very outgoing and willing to try new things. He wanted to go visit the "park" he saw back then and hopefully play with other kids. His parents did explain to him that he needed to be very careful due to his origins and the fact that he had to keep his race a secret as humans will be absolutely terrified of him should they find out he was a dragon. He had to be cautious that he doesn't accidently sprout his wings out or breaths fire out of his mouth. He promised his parents that he would be very careful and make sure to keep out of trouble otherwise they would not let him play outside.

After getting accommodated to the new house, Issei immediately bolted towards the nearest park and luckily for him was not very far. Ophis, worried about his safety, wanted to immediately follow him but was quickly stopped by great red who waved his head side to side telling her that they should allow Issei to live his own life on his own terms without their intervention. Ophis argued back that he is too young to take care of herself but was reprimanded by great red when he reminded her that he was a dragon and many dragon parents allow their young the freedom to do as they want to give them a sense of individuality and sometimes responsibility. He goes to tell her that she worries to much and that should anything happen, they could quickly intervene to help him as they can sense him anywhere he goes. After constant back and forth bickering, Ophis reluctantly agreed to let Issei do what he want, for the moment, but made sure to tell great red that if anything were to happen to her little Issei, he would understand the meaning of the term "hell on earth". A drop of sweat could be seen on Great-red face when she said that but he nodded nonetheless thinking "I hope you'll be ok Issei or I might really end up dying today."

(Issei POV)

I quickly ran out of our house in search of the playground, also known as a park, I've seen only glimpses of back in the gap. I remember seeing that place surrounded with many different kids my age playing amongst themselves having fun. I hope that they will let me play with them and, hopefully, I'll be able to make friends.

After a while, he finally made his way to the park and the place was exactly as amazing as he saw it back in the dimensional gap. No, it was even better because he was able to see it with his very own eyes, in person. He saw kids playing tag together, kids swinging on swings, playing ball and many other things. It made him really impatient at the thought of being able to try new things he couldn't even dream off back home in the gap. He was grateful to his parents for trying their best to raise and protect him by themselves. He loves them both very much and would do anything for them, but secretly, he longed to be able to see the outside world and, as previously mentioned, was about to sneak away from the gap and into the human world. However, that was in the past and now his parents allowed him to play outside which he will now take full advantage of. He first approached the group of kids playing tag and when he got close, they all stopped to look at him.

"Hello, my name is Issei." He greeted them with a wave of his hand expecting them to interact with one another. Unfortunately, the response he got was something rather unexpected. Instead of replying all the kids slowly back away from him not even bothering to answer him or even talk to him. Issei thought it odd but decided not to pursue and instead tried going to play with a different group. Regrettably, the same outcome occurred with every other group of kids. No one wanted anything to do with him.

Issei did not understand what was going on. "Why was everyone avoiding me? Did I do something to offend them?" He pondered a bit and believed that maybe all of them were nervous at a new kid suddenly appearing out of nowhere. They were probably a bit spooked by his appearance, which would make sense as kids are taught to not trust strangers. So, instead of becoming depressed, he left for home intending on trying again the next day where he might have better luck. He is a brave and cherry person for a 5-year-old child. Sadly, reality is a cruel and fickle thing. For the following week, Issei attempted to interact with other children, but time and time again to his sorrow, they either continued to avoid him or straight up ignored him. To make matters worse, sometimes, even parents took their kids away from Issei. As this continued, Issei heart slowly broke. He could not understand why everyone was treating him like a plague, a nuisance.

A sniff could be heard from Issei as he wandered back home with a teardrop falling from his face.

"Why won't anyone play with me? What did I do?" Issei asked himself as he started crying looking at the ball he's currently holding. He did not understand why everyone was so afraid of him as if he were a monster; furthermore, if that weren't bad enough, many simply ignored his presence completely as if they wanted nothing to do with him. Even though Issei is a dragon god, he is still only a child, and to be alienated and treated horribly by everyone around him only hurt his feelings deeply.

Unbeknownst to him, the reason everyone kept fearing and avoiding him is due to one simple fact. It was something that every dragon possesses and that is "Aura". Every dragon whether high or low class has something that differentiates them with other dragons and other species in general and that being the manifestation of their aura. It is basically the nucleus of every living dragon for them to use their powers and with age and experience their aura would manage to gain certain properties that would help them grow at an alarming pace even amongst their own kind. For instance, the two heavenly dragons Draig and Albion. When draig 'awoke' his aura, the trait he received was of Domination, that's when, he gained his first ability related to his "Aura of Domination" which were his flames capable of annihilating even gods reducing them to ash. The same for Albion, who gained the trait of Supremacy which gave birth to his venom ability that had the same lethal potential as Draigs flames. Even Ophis and Great red have aura's symbolising their concept. Ophis's aura being infinite symbolising the infinity of nothingness while great-red aura represents the illusion of dreams. Issei, is no different, being the son of not one but two dragon gods and essentially being born off both aura's meshing together, his aura awoke the moment he was born. Even though his parents are able to completely conceal their parents and auras from others, Issei does not due to him being too young to know how to do so; therefore, to supernatural beings he would be seen as a powerful individual but to humans, his aura gives a frightening feeling and they could only view him as a monster much to his dismay.

As he continued walking, he passed by a staircase that led to a shrine above. For reasons unknown, Issei climbed the stairs and headed to the shrine. Once he reached the entrance, he spotted someone cleaning the entryway just a few meters ahead of him. It would be an encounter that would change his life entirely. It was a young girl around his age or possibly one year older than him. When he saw her, he was mesmerized by her appearance. She had black raven hair tied in a bun that went till her shoulders, was dressed in a traditional miko outfit but what drew his attention were her beautiful violet eyes. Issei was so enthralled that he did not realize that he was slowly making his way towards her until he accidently stepped on a branch that snapped as he stepped on it. His instinct quickly kicked in as he hid behind a nearby tree but not before the girl managed to catch a glimpse of him doing the act.

"Hello, Who is it?" she asked approaching towards his general vicinity. Inside, Issei was panicking. Should he reveal and introduce himself since she already knows he is here? He wanted too but the second he was about to step out from behind the tree, he froze as flashbacks of all the previous encounters he had with other children assaulted his mind and now he was scared that she too would be afraid of him and most likely run away. For a moment, he did not know what to do but with a quick glance, he saw that she would find him either way. Therefore, with stiff movements, he slowly came out of his hiding place as he made eye contact with the girl. Up close, she looked even prettier than she did when looking from afar. They stared at each other for a moment and Issei recognized that the girl was a bit startled by him. He panicked thinking it was going to be same situation all over again. He looked at the ball in his hands and decided to take a final chance. Should he fail, he will give up and seclude himself in his home with his parents. If he was going to continue experience this misery then he would rather not live in such a world.

In a panicked voice he asked while showing her his ball "h…h…hello, I'm issei, w… would you l l like to play with me mmme". He staggered his speech, looking at the ground beneath him, out of nervousness which is reasonable considering what he went through. On the other hand, the girl was very surprised by his demeaner. She did feel a bit afraid from his aura but when she saw him stagger, she found him to be very cute and giggled a bit.

"Hello, I'm Akeno Himejima. It's nice to meet you and I would love to play with you" she answered with a sweet smile. Issei was extremely shocked at her answer. He honestly expected her to shy away from him like everyone else but instead she agreed to play with him and is even looking at him straight in the eye. To him, it felt like an incredible weight has been lifted from his shoulders as he looked her in the eye with a big smile on his face.

"hhhhai, thank you so much"

"ufufufu, you're funny. Let's play since you brought a ball." She said.

They both started playing in the entryway of the shrine considering how big it was. Issei was currently extremely content that he finally had someone to play with him and he hoped she would become his first friend in this world. As they were playing, suddenly a strong presence made itself known right behind Issei. His instincts screamed at him that he was in danger. He looked behind him to find a middle aged, gruff-looking man with black hair, matching beard and had a muscular body. What grabbed his attention were the ten black wings that were located on his back.

"Akeno, get away from him. Who are you boy?" demanded Barakiel, father of Akeno.

He had recently come home from a mission only to find his daughter playing with a boy around her age. At first, he was very happy for her since there were very few instances, if not any at all, that she was able to step outside the safety of her home and play like any kid her age should. Both his wife and him were very concerned for her upbringing. Still, Barakiel had many enemies and the last thing that he wanted was for them to know about his family's existence and place their safety in peril. Even Shuri's family would no doubt want to get rid of Akeno for being part fallen angel. Therefore, they had no choice but to keep her safe in the shrine as much as possible. So, to see her play without a care in the world brought a smile to his face; regrettably, that did not last very long. When he looked at the boy, he felt a tremendous power radiating from him. It wasn't stronger than him but coming from what seems to be a 5-year-old boy raised alarm bells in his head. He quickly switched to his protective father mode as he became extremely worried for Akeno's safety. Being a Fallen Angel Cadre, in his long line of work, he has seen and faced many different beings and there exists Youkai demons that can shapeshift forms to attract children. Even worst still, this could potentially be a ploy from one of his many enemies that managed to discover the location of his family. Although, a small part of his mind disagreed with those thoughts, first, due to the fact that his aura felt raw and primal, more powerful than any youkai could ever hope to achieve and second, if his enemies really did find his family they would have sent an entire battalion to deal with him and not some elaborate scheme like this. Either way, it did not change what he had to do. He would eliminate any threat to his family no matter who or what they were.

Issei looked up at Barakiel, his body trembling from the hostility sent towards him.

"Mymymy name is Issei and I don't mean to cause any harm. I was only playing with Akeno." Answered Issei to Barakiel trying to quell his anger towards him. He could sense that he was way stronger than him and could get rid of him quite easily if the being in front of him wanted too.

Akeno seeing this quickly came to his defense.

"Tou-san, Issei and I were simply playing with one another. He isn't trying to hurt me. He is a sweet boy and a new friend of mine" said Akeno firmly looking at Issei when she said her last statement with a smile. Issei felt happiness overwhelm him not only because she came to his defense but mostly because she called him her friend. Something he desperately wanted to achieve the past week.

"Thank you" he quietly murmured to himself as well as blushing a bit, not knowing that Akeno saw and heard him making her blush a bot when she saw his expression.

"He's so cute" she thought to herself.

Seeing this interaction caused Barakiel wrath to slowly evaporate. Although his guard wasn't down, he could clearly see that he may have overreacted on the poor boy. In addition, seeing his daughter blush at the young boy made him giggle a little as he believed that Akeno may have discovered her first crush. Before he could apologize to Issei for his behaviour, he sensed an overwhelming powerful presence phasing into existence right in front of them. Black aura in the shape of snakes suddenly began materializing and from it emerged an angry Ophis who witnessed the events transpire.