...
Reincarnation is a fickle thing, at least from a Mythological standpoint.
You could be reborn as a wealthy human, a sick human, a tree, an ant, any living thing really.
When it comes to fanfiction, however, people are most always reincarnated as some sort of humanoid.
Occasionally, people are reincarnated as slimes, or a something along that vein, but usually they're human.
Those types of stories are common, Ones where someone is reincarnated into their favorite franchise as a powerful guy and get all the girls, so something like that.
As for me, I got reincarnated as a human. One Issei Hyoudou.
Am I in a manga, a video game, an anime? Who knows? I watched lots of anime, but never heard of this character.
Am I an OC? Or have I just been reincarnated into another Earth? Another boring Earth? Who knows?
What I do know, is that I'm not in Louisiana any more. I did start learning basic Japanese, so that helped when I ended up here in Japan.
Still, my life hasn't been very exciting. Let me tell you, being a baby sucks ass. Thank god you sleep so much, but when you're awake? Torture of boring proportions. Absolute boredom. It's hell.
My parents' friends, our neighbors, had a kid as well, a girl named Irina. She was a born a few months after me. I never liked babies, but god could she be annoying.
Soon, we grew up, both of us. She became a good friend to me, and I returned to my baser, childlike-instincts, causing mayhem wherever I, or rather we, went.
Still, I missed being able to converse with adults. Fortunately, I was born in 2005, so I was able to have the internet and play games. This really was just another Earth, all the same games existed too! Maybe 'I' still exist in America. Isn't that a weird thought?
Anyways, now it's 2021, March. School starts next month. Let me tell you, comparing American schools to Japanese ones is like comparing night to day.
These Japanese take their schools fucking seriously!
I had pretty good grades in my past life, but I can't compare to these people! Having prior knowledge made me seem smart when I was young, but soon other caught up and I really had to try.
My already good grades helped me get accepted into the best school in the city, Kuoh Academy. A previously all-female school, turned co-ed recently. Quite odd, since it had been all-girls since its' inception.
Regardless of all that, I was accepted and will start me first year there next month.
Usually animes are set in High School, so maybe something will happen.
Something. Anything. My life is just as monotonous as it was before.
Irina and her family moved back when we were six and I've been a loner ever since. Not by choice, kids are just fucking annoying. Irina got a pass because she 'grew up' with me, but not these kids.
Who knows... maybe I'll find something to brighten up my bleak life one day...
—————
Three days until school begins. It's an unnaturally hot early April day. It's not 'Louisiana in the summer' hot, but it's definitely hot for Japan.
I walk around Kuoh Town, to pass the time, the sun's rays beating down on my neck.
As I pass the park, I notice a guy running an ice cream stall. He usually only starts to show up in May, but we've had a heat wave this week, so he's been out here.
'Ah, why the hell not?' I think to myself, getting in line. His stall isn't massively popular, but it does attract a fair few people.
There's only a few people ahead of me. Something then catches my eye. A short girl with pure, white hair, leaving the line after getting her ice cream.
My American genetics seem to have carried over to this life as I've grown rather tall, currently standing at 5' 7", or rather 170 cm. This girl though, she has to be around 4 and a half feet tall! That's only 138 cm!
Her short height, combined with her striking hair color, make it so I can barely tear my gaze from her. I do manage to focus on the line, as I see her sit down on a nearby bench.
The line moves somewhat quickly. With only one person ahead of me, I hear a 'splat' sound and a small gasp. Turning my head to the sound, I see the girl has dropped her ice cream on the ground. Her deep golden eyes show sadness at this, despite the fact that her face seems emotionless.
Hmm... I do have a bit of money so...
The person a head of me leaves with their sweet treat, I walk to the stand.
"Oh, Issei-kun! The usual?" The man, Kirei, greets me. I've been coming here since I was little. He's ran this stand for nearly 30 years now. He's an older man, yet his hair has yet to grey, a kind smile is often shown on his face.
"Of course, Kirei-jii-san, and one of what that girl got." I say, pointing to the short girl.
"Oh, Koneko-chan, dropped her ice cream?" He says, glancing at her. As he begins to work, he says "That girl comes here so much, she's the sole source of over half of my profits last year!"
"Seriously?!" I ask, that much ice cream, even over the course of a year is near inhuman!
"Yes! Even I find it hard to believe!" He exclaims, chuckling. "Here you go, Issei-kun." He says, handing me both cones. "You ought to ask her out, you're both that age!" he teases me.
"Wha-?!" I exclaim, this damn old man! "I might. Later, Kirei-jii-san."
I walk over to the short girl, still sitting on the bench, lamenting her ice cream. I feel a wave of nervousness wash over me as I move closer to her.
Finally, I stand in front of her. She looks up at me, her deep golden eyes entrancing me, piercing into my very soul. I think my heart skipped a beat. "Here." I say simply, holding the other ice cream cone to her.
She tilts her head to the side slightly, never betraying any sort of emotion at all. "You... bought me this?" She asks, in a quiet, almost inaudible voice. I nod. "Why?"
"Why not?" I retort.
"Thanks." She says, taking the cone.
"Mind if I sit with you?" She merely nods.
We both, sitting on the bench, eat our ice cream in silence. The sun beats down still, slightly melting our ice cream. After a short while, after both of us have finished, she stands up.
"Oh you finished. Was it good?" I ask, still sitting.
"Un." She says with a nod. "Thanks again."
"No problem, I had some extra money and felt like doin' something good." I say, waving her off.
She nods and turns to leave, I stop her by saying "Hey!" She turns and looks back at me. "What's your name? I'm Hyoudou Issei."
"Toujou Koneko."
"Hope to see you again, Toujou-san." I say with a smile. With a final nod, she turns and leaves, this time, I don't stop her.
My heart begins to race as she leaves, why? As she left, she had an almost unnoticeable smile on her face. Even if I was right in front of her, I might've missed it.
But to me, it was like looking at sunshine.
"Haha." I begin to laugh to myself. "I hope I see her again." Glancing at the ice cream stall, I remember what Kirei said. "Yeah, I'll definitely meet her again." I get up and begin to walk home.
Hmm. I completely forgot how hot the sun was until now.
—————
"Oh, back already?" My mother's voice greets me as I enter my home. Miku Hyoudou's her name, she stays at home. She has long, straight brown hair and golden-brown eyes, which I interited. My father, Gorou works as a salaryman. No idea what he does exactly, though. He has short, brown hair like I do, and brown eyes..
"Yeah, stopped by Kirei-jii-san's stall earlier."
"Oh, Kirei-san's working today? Makes sense, with this heat wave and all." She says, not stopping working on dinner. It's evening by this point.
"Yeah, he was fairly busy too."
"Well, I'm almost done with dinner, so go and wash up."
"Alright then, Kaa-san." I say, walking upstairs. Our house is fairly small, mostly due to the fact it has two floors, with all the bedrooms upstairs.
As I begin washing my hands in the upstairs bathroom, I find I can't get her off of my mind. 'Toujou Koneko.' There's something about her that's made it so I can't forget her.
Was it her stark white hair? Her deep golden eyes? Her cute face, or was it that almost nonexistent smile that blinded me like the sun? Maybe it was all of them.
I dry my hands with a towel. 'One thing's for sure. I can't wait to see her again.'
—————
It's been a week since I started at Kuoh Academy. The school is nice, the only worrisome thing are the 'Perverted Duo' who got caught peeping on the Kendo Club. Why they weren't expelled, I have no clue. I've got zero tolerance of their bullshit, especially since they're in my class.
They probably came to Kuoh due to the overwhelming ratio of females to males. Shame they'll never get any pussy acting like they do, but it's not my problem.
The heat wave still lingers on a week later. Since it's Friday, I figured I'd go see if Kirei's working today. To my surprise he is.
A few minutes later, with my ice cream, I sit on the bench I sat on with Koneko a little over a week ago and eat.
'I hope I'll see her.' Looking up, I see a familiar mop of white hair at the front of the line. 'It's her!' As Kirei hands her a cone, she turns and notices me.
I awkwardly wave as she begins walking towards me. "Hello, Toujou-san." I greet. "Hello, senpai." She says, sitting down. That's an odd thing to say.
"Senpai?" I ask confused.
"You're wearing Kuoh's uniform." I look down to see that I am.
"You still in Middle School?"
She nods. "My friends go to Kuoh. I'll start next year."
"Ah, well I hope to see you there, then."
We continue to eat as the day slowly passes. Soon, I finish my ice cream before she does.
"Welp." I say, standing up. "Guess I got done first this time." I stretch a bit, to alleviate my stiffness. I turn back to her and say "It was nice talking to you again. Later, Toujou-san."
"Koneko."
"Huh?" She said that so quietly, I almost didn't hear it.
"Call me Koneko."
I'm a bit thrown off by that, but I calm myself and smile. "Then call me Issei, just Issei, no honorifics. Never did like those and the whole 'call people by their family name' thing. See you, Koneko-chan."
I'm blessed with yet another blindingly bright, yet infinitesimally small smile. "Bye, Issei."
I walk back home, with a stupid grin on my face.
—————
Time passes on, it's now May. School has progressed smoothly. Those two perverts are still up to no good, fortunately, they haven't bothered me personally. I doubt anyone'd blame me for smacking them, though.
Interestingly, people can't shut up about the four 'Great Onee-samas', four really popular girls that cause everyone to act as bat-shit as those two perverts. Sometimes, I think the girls here and just as perverted as the 'Duo'.
I might be the only sane person in this school.
A thing of note is one of those 'Great Onee-samas', Rias Gremory, the head of the Occult Research Club. Now, I've always been a fan of mythology, particularly Christianity's angels and demons. Blame Fate Grand Order and Date A Live for that.
Still, a girl with the name Gremory, one of the 72 Demon Pillars, running an Occult Research Club? Either it's an alias, or she really is a demon. Or she thinks she's hiding in plain sight. Fair, how many people are big into mythology these days?
Enough about that, it's May, which means it's getting hot, which means I want some damn ice cream!
The heat wave broke after I last saw Koneko, so maybe we'll meet again today. As I think about that, I notice that white hair again, its' owner walking in the same direction as me.
"Yo, Koneko-chan!" I call out as she turns her head.
"Ah, Issei." She says, in that soft tone of voice. "Ice cream?"
"Yeah, looks like we both had the same idea." I say, smiling. She merely nods her head. "Well, how about we go together this time?"
"Okay." She says simply, as we walk to the stall. Interesting, no one's there, guess this'll be quick!
"Yo, Kirei-ojii-san!" I say, greeting the older man.
"Oh, Issei-kun! And Koneko-chan! Strange to see both of my favorite customers together." The older man greets us both, a smile on his face.
"We just bumped into one another on the way here." I say.
"The usual for both of you?"
"Yup." "Yes." We say in unison.
"Comin' right up!" He begins to work on the cones. "By the way, Issei-kun, met any cute girls at school?"
Where the fuck did that come from?! "Er, not really. I did meet one out of school, but I don't think it'd work."
"Why not?"
"Well I'm not exactly boyfriend material." Maybe I just have low self-esteem. In my past life, I was a loner too. Never had a girlfriend, never even kissed a girl. I doubt it'd end well.
"Why not?" He asks me, raising a single eyebrow. "You're a nice, handsome young man. I bet if you put yourself out there, you'd get a girlfriend in no time."
"I dunno."
He stops making the ice cream and looks at me with such seriousness, I'm taken aback. "Take it from me kid, don't miss out on a opportunity for love. I used to be the same way, didn't think I'd be good enough. A couple girls asked me out and I turned 'em down. One day one of them asked why I turned her down, and she thought I was being stupid. We went on a test date, and now we've been married for over thirty years!"
My thoughts race after his declaration. Soon, after a moment of silence, I make a decision. "Alright then, when I get the chance, I'll ask her out."
"Good." He says with a smile. "Same goes for you, Koneko-chan. If you like someone, don't think you aren't good enough." The short girl nods.
After a moment, he finishes. "Here you two go." He says, handing us each a cone."
"Thanks Kirei-ojii-san!"
"See ya, kiddos."
The two of us once again eat our ice cream at the bench. "Y'know, I've really enjoyed having someone to hang out with, even if it's just for a little while."
"You don't spend time with your friends?" The short girl asks.
"My first friend moved away when we were six, after that... I just never got close to anyone. Not for any particular reason, it just never happened."
"...are we friends?" The quiet question catches me off guard.
"I wouldn't mind it." No more words are spoken, only the sounds of the city surround us.
A few minutes later, we both finish. Before either of us leave, I make a decision. Kirei is right, I can't be afraid of being not good enough. Steeling my resolve, I turn to the short girl seated next to me. "Koneko-chan?"
"Hmm?"
"Remember what Kirei-ojii-san said earlier?"
"Yeah?"
Fuck it, I'll just ask. "I know we just officially became friends, but... would you like to go on a date sometime?"
My question clearly catches her off guard, as her eyes widen and her face shows more emotion than I've ever seen. "Why?"
"Well, I've enjoyed us hanging out, even if it hasn't been very often. You seem nice, plus you're cute, so I figured 'Why not?' and decided to ask."
Koneko goes silent for a long while. "You don't have to give me an answer now if you don't want to."
"Sure."
"Huh?"
"Sure, let's go on a date."
"Really? You sure?" I ask, cautiously.
"Yes. You've been nice to me too, so why not?"
"Heh. That makes me feel really relieved." Pulling out my phone from my pocket, I check the date. "Well, today is Wednesday, so how about we meet up at that fountain over there." I say, pointing to a nearby fountain. "I suppose... Sunday? Maybe at 14 o'clock?"
"Sure."
"Great. Oh! Wanna swap numbers? Might be good if one of us need to change plans."
"Okay." We share our numbers with one another.
When done, I stand up. "Alrighty then! I guess I'll see you Sunday, then."
"Mmhm." She lets out a small noise of affirmation.
"Great, I've never been on a date before, but I promise it'll be a great one! Later, Koneko-chan!"
"Later, Issei." She says, waving.
A fluttery, joyous feeling wells up within me. I'm uncertain how to even describe it. A bit of excitement, nervousness and joy, probably more, all at once. Something about Koneko really draws me into her, and I still don't know what it is at all.
One thing's for certain, I'm gonna give Koneko the best first date I possibly can!
—————
AN (Rant time)
'Sam, why are you starting a third story?' Well, I've been reading DxD fanfics since I found this website. I've probably spent more time reading DxD fanfics than any other fandom. Something really attracted me to the show. Maybe it was the mythology, maybe it was the girls, I dunno.
I've liked mythology since I played God of War at my friend's house back in 2008. It's probably why I like Fate so much as well.
I tried writing DxD fanfics back in the day, but they really sucked. You can still find them, they're on my main account. It's the only one this account follows.
Over time, my taste for fanfics have matured, and I've come to hate 2 major things that plague the DxD fandom on FanFiction.Net.
1) Harem or it isn't DxD. This really pissed me off since day one. Why can't there be a single pairing DxD story. So I decided, fuck it. This story is going to be Issei x Koneko ONLY. No one else.
2) Harem lists at bottom of chapter. I'm guilty of this back on my old stories, but no more! And I still despise seeing it.
I've wanted to write a DxD story for a while. I started those 2 old ones, but gave up after a while. Not with this one, or my other two.
Any reviews asking what characters Issei will end up with will be ignored. So, I'll say it plainly here.
ISSEI X KONEKO.
NO ONE ELSE.
DON'T ASK FOR ME TO HAVE ISSEI GET TOGETHER WITH ANYONE ELSE, GOT IT?!
Ahem. Now that that's out of the way, I have a two other fanfics I'm writing currently. One of Date A Live and one of Fate/stay night. Please go give them a look too.
Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and look forward to the next!