Hey guys, first of all I would like to apologize to all my readers for the late updates especially to those who have been following my story. I have been extremely busy with work and school and barely had time to work on my story. I managed to put up a chapter and I thank you all for waiting patiently.

I will try my hardest to update chapters at least every two weeks since I do not want to keep you guys waiting for too long. Anyways on with the story.

A certain distance away, outside the shrine, the two children were playing random games that they were able to think of on the spot. At the moment that game happens to be hide and seek. Currently Issei was seeking and Akeno was hiding.

"18 19 20. Ready or not, here I come"

The games continued into a circle of distractions and jovial complaints as the two solidified their friendship. Over time, they had learned of each other's dislikes and likes, slowly building foundations of friendship over their simple talk. Both of them seemed to go on for hours, not even seeming a bit tired due to how much fun they were having in the company of one another.

Eventually, when both started to get exhausted, mostly Akeno due to her human physiology, they decided to take a break while talking about their individual experiences. Issei talked about his experience in the dimensional gap and even the small amount of training he did, spanning from learning to use his wings and even breathing fire.

"I say breathing fire, but it's just a small spark compared to my parents whose breath could engulf anything" brooded Issei.

"Well, at least it is a start. My father told me he was going to train me to use my holy lightning powers when he feels I'm ready. Other than that, I've helped my mother cleaning around the shrine and attended school." Akeno responded.

"Is it fun going to school?" asked Issei curiously.

Akeno thought about it before answering "It's ok. I spend the day playing games with other kids. Sometimes they take us out to different place like the amusement park or even the zoo." Akeno continued to talk about all the different things she did in school to which Issei listened very intently.

"Did you make many friends!" he asked. Although at the mention of friends, he became a bit depressed recalling how every kid he met shunned him and wanted nothing to do with him. Akeno, not noticing his inner turmoil simply answered his query.

"I guess I did. Everyone was really nice to me and we all played together so I guess it does make us friends but" she stopped to look at Issei and smiled

"I think you would be my best friend" she said as Issei became a bit flustered at the mention of it.

"really.. but why... we've only recently met and you spent a lot more time with them then me" he asked clearly not understanding why she would consider someone she just recently met as her best friend.

"I guess it's because, with you, I can show you who I really am. My parents always told me that I could not reveal who I am to others even though I do not understand why. Anyways, with you I don't need to hide my wings and can just be myself."

"thank you" he answered as they continued enjoying their day.

Eventually, evening came and it was time to return home. Ophis and Great-red came out to get Issei and head home. Barakiel and Shuri followed them to say farewell and to get their own daughter.

"Issei, it's time to go!" Ophis called out to her son.

"aww, already! Can't we stay for a bit more?" Issei pleaded with his mom but she would not relent.

"Unfortunately not, Issei. It is getting very late so it is time to return home." Issei started pouting at his mom's answer to which everyone thought he looked absolutely adorable.

Shuri stepped in "Ufufu, You know you can come by anytime you want. We would be pleased to have you here and I'm sure Akeno would love to spend more time with you." She told Issei giving both him and Akeno a wink to which they both blushed.

Barakiel also added "Yes, as my wife mentioned, we would be honored if you would come back. Despite, starting off on the wrong foot, we had a great time today and we hope you did as well." Great-red followed by Ophis nodded accepting what he said

"Indeed, although at first I did not know what would happen, we had a marvelous time with you both and we hope to get along very well" Great-red said with a smile on his face and he shook Barakiel's hand.

"at least, they offer better company than you" mocked Ophis to which everyone started giggling at her joke. Before Great-red could defend himself, Issei interrupted

"YES, this is so awesome. Thank you." Issei started jumping up and down clearly illustrating how happy he was that his time with his first friend is not over. Both parents couldn't help but giggle at Issei antics making him look absolutely adorable.

After calming down he went over to akeno to say his farewell

"It looks like I have to go. I had an amazing time with you today, Akeno and I hope we can spend more time together."

"Yes, I also had an amazing time with you and I hope you come visit soon." She responded as she gave him a hug which he reciprocated. After separating, they all bid each other good night as Ophis, Great-red and Issei returned home to rest.

After they left, Shuri looked towards her daughter with a small grin

"Oh my, it seems somebody has caught your fancy, Akeno?" giving her a small wink to which Akeno started blushing

"MOM, its not like that, we are just friends" she shouted although a small part of her did not seem to agree with that thought. Both Shuri and Barakiel just laughed at their daughter's reaction as they too went back into their home as the curtain fell on yet another day.

(Two, Years Later)

Two years have gone by since then and their friendship became stronger than ever. In fact, they both developed a crush towards one another yet were oblivious of each others feelings; yet, they were perfectly happy spending time with one another as much as possible. Their parents, however, were well aware of the feelings shared between them and were very happy for them. Ophis and Great-red could see the joy in Issei's expression every time he spent time with Akeno. They wished for nothing for than Issei's happiness and are ecstatic to see him growing up so well. The same could be said for Barakiel and Shuri. They were absolutely overjoyed that she found someone she could be herself with and not hide her identity. They could see the smile she gives him as well the few blushes she exudes whenever he complements her over anything. Both parents could tell that each of them had a crush over the other and it was only a matter of time before they got together.

The biggest change that occurred during this timeframe was that Ophis and Great-red have finally cemented their relationship as mates. Throughout the years, Great-red has seen so many new sides of Ophis that he never even dreamed even existed and yet little by little, he started to fall in love with her. Ophis, on the other hand, saw that there is more to the Apocalypse Dragon than she had thought. Seeing him taking things seriously with Issei, she slowly started gaining respect for the dragon and eventually stopped calling him an idiot. Eventually those feelings of respect grew into feelings of love. One day, Great-Red gathered the courage and admitted his feelings for Ophis and was extremely surprised when she reciprocated them which marked the beginning of their relationship as mates. Of course, to Issei being so young, nothing really has changed since they were still his mother and father and didn't see any problems with it. Both of them found it hilarious when Shuri and Barakiel found out that they weren't "married" despite having a child. Nevertheless, that did not stop Shuri from suggesting that they hold a wedding for their union even if it is just amongst themselves. Both dragons tried to argue with her that becoming mates is different than humans and there is no need for any ceremony. But, after her never-ending perseverance, they finally succumbed to her decision and decided to hold a small ceremony at the shrine amongst themselves with Akeno being the flower girl while Issei brought their rings. In the end, it was a special day and they thanked Shuri for organising it which she was very happy to do for her friends.

Back to the present day, Issei and Akeno were taking a trip to the zoo alongside Barakiel and Shuri to enjoy their day before they head back to the shrine where both families will have supper together. As they were looking around, Akeno told Issei

"It's a shame your parents could not join us."

Issei smiled at her and replied "Yeah, however that could not be helped. You remember what happened last time we all came together". The last time, they all visited the zoo, the moment both dragon-gods entered the area, all animals immediately went and hid in their habitats. No one understood what had happened but the animals were incredibly frightened by the very presence of both dragons which caused their flight instincts to pick up and immediately retreated in their homes. He could still recall the funny outburst his dad had.

Flashback

In front of the Lion's den, his dad tried to get the lions to come out of hiding

"You are supposed to be the king of the jungle yet you are all acting like a bunch of scardy cats. Get the hell out of there and show some of that lion's pride you pussy"

In the background, all you could hear was the lions frightened whimpers as Great-red kept insulting every animal to come out. Nonetheless, Issei was very sad he could not see any animals and his parents were sad that they were the cause of it. They told him that he should go another time with Akeno and her family without them so he could have a fun time.

End of flashback

As Issei was going down memory lanes, Akeno poked him interrupting his thoughts and bringing him back to reality.

"Let's go pet the baby bunnies in the pen, they are absolutely adorable." Without waiting for his approval, Akeno bolted towards the bunny pen which made Issei laugh at how excited she was. Looking back, he saw that even her parents were giggling at their daughter's excitement taking pictures to commemorate the day. They even took pictures of Issei in order to send them to his parents as they could be here to enjoy the day with them. Making his way towards her, he saw her petting a few baby bunnies sporting a beautiful smile which caused him to blush a bit. When he tried to pet the bunnies however, he saw them jerk away from him as if frightened by his touch. Although saddened from this, he understood that from their perspective, he cannot be seen as anything else but a monster which is something, he cannot change no matter what. Akeno, seeing his grief decided to try and help alleviate the issue. She suddenly grabbed his hand, greatly surprising Issei who turned to face her as if asking what's going on, she simply nodded still wearing that comforting smile on her face as she slowly brought his hand towards the baby bunny she was petting. Seeing the same reaction occur, she gently caressed the bunnies head trying to calm it down.

"Don't worry, he isn't going to hurt you. Issei is a gentle guy and would not do anything to harm you. There, there." Seeing the bunny calming down, she slowly brought it towards his palm. Issei was very nervous, although appreciative of what Akeno was doing, thought that it would be a useless endeavor. The bunny started sniffing the palm of Issei hand as if trying to judge whether or not it was safe. Eventually, to Issei's surprise, the bunny made his way towards Issei's hand. Issei was honestly blown away by what happened as he ever so gently petted the bunny hoping not to scare it away.

"There you see, they just needed to see that you are a gentle person and they would no longer be afraid." Akeno told him. Issei looked towards her with the brightest smile she had ever seen him possess

"Thank you so much Akeno." He told her as she also gave him a smile. As they were gazing at one another, they heard some clicking sounds in the background

CLICK... CLICK ... CLICK. They both turned around to see what was going on only to see Shuri and Barakiel with smirks on their faces taking pictures of them.

"Ara ara, it seems we interrupted our daughters moment with Issei. Please, don't mind us and keep going" Shuri told them, still keeping her smirk while winking at Akeno. Both Issei and Akeno cheeks quickly turned crimson as Akeno shouted

"MOM!"

Both parents just laughed at their daughter's reaction as they continued visiting all the different animals in the zoo. It was especially funny when Issei started a random stare down with the Komodo dragon which Barakiel took pictures of to send to his parents. When Akeno asked him why he was doing it, he answered that he didn't really know why but felt that he would somehow lose if he was the first to look away. Eventually, their visit came to an end and it was time to go back to the shrine. Overall, Issei had a wonderful time which was shared by Akeno and her family and he could not wait to tell his parent's about it. Making their way towards the shrine, they met up with Great-red and Ophis, who surprisingly was dressed up for the occasion wearing a beautiful black dress which made her look absolutely stunning, that Barakiel could not help but stare at her for a moment which caused him to get a slap on the back of the head by his wife who whispered in his ear "I'll punish you later ufufu" causing him a shiver down his spine in both fear and excitement. After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at their destination. Shuri quickly began preparations for dinner with Barakiel helping her out. Seeing that it was going to take time before supper was ready, Ophis called out to the kids.

"Issei, why don't you take Akeno outside to play while we prepare dinner. Just be sure to be back in around 1 hour. Dinner should be ready by then".

"Ok mom, where would you like to go Akeno?" Issei asked her

"hmm, how about we go to the park, it has been a while since we went there" she answered him. Issei nodded and they went on their way.

Arriving at the park, they noticed that they were the only ones there which is normal considering that no parents would let their kids out so late into the evening but all this meant is that they had the entire playground for themselves. As they were playing, they started making idle conversation to pass the time.

"I aced my last quiz in Japanese. My parents were so happy that they posted it on our fridge. It's a bit embarrassing how they overexaggerate almost everything I do." She told him as she scratched the back of her head.

"Wow, you are as smart as you are pretty" he said so innocently not realizing the atomic blush it caused Akeno who staggered in her response

"T Thanks Issei." Recomposing herself, she continued "How about you, has anything interesting happen?"

"Not really. My dad has been making me work out to enhance my physical strength even though I wanted to learn new skills" his tone turned into pouting as he continued "BUT dad said that I am still way too young and my body is still too weak to be able to withstand the power sleeping within me. IT's not fair, I wanted to be able to do cool moves that my parents can do" he started waving his hands everything shoeing how frustrated he was but all that did was make him look absolutely adorable to Akeno who simply giggled.

"Ara, your reaction is absolutely adorable ~Issei-kun~" emphasizing his name as she gave him a wink causing his to blush this time but still manage to continue the conversation

"Also, I did ask my parents if they would allow me to attend school so I could be able to experience what you do but they are still relunctant for me to go."

"I think I can understand the reason they do not want you to go. They are scared that you will re-experience what happened in the past and they do not want you to feel hurt due to their actions" Akeno stated as Issei remembered the past where everyone treated him like a plague wanting nothing more to do with him which did make him feel extremely sad. That is not something he wants to experience ever again and yet... He looked towards Akeno and smiled at her

"I'm very grateful to them for thinking about my well being, but I am a dragon and I must keep moving forward. I cannot let my past define my future so I will face any obstacle head on and besides... I have you as my best friend which makes me very happy so even if I cannot make any other friends or they avoid me, I am content with what I have" he told her with absolute certainty. Once again causing Akeno's cheeks to turn crimson.

All of a sudden, before she could properly answer him, Issei's instincts suddenly warned him of danger as the sky suddenly turned purple and all presence of any humans apart from Akeno were gone. A barrier has been erected around them and he knew this could not be anything good.

"What is going on?" Akeno asked worriedly.

"Akeno, get behind me and stay close to me". Akeno, understanding the severity of the situation, simply nodded and positioned herself behind him although was still a bit frighted by the situation which Issei could not blame her for as he too, was a bit scared.

Then, from all around them, multiple people came out from the bushes and began surrounding both of them. It didn't take a genius to figure out that they were responsible for trapping them in this barrier. Issei was trying his best to remain calm and analyse the present situation at hand. He tried to sense who these beings were as they did not feel like humans but his question was answered when from their back spawned bat-like scaly wings and this helped Issei determine which species they were apart of.

They were Devils.

We have finally gotten to the first milestone of our story. I'm pretty sure you guys already know who these devils are.

Any review is appreciated and I will see you guys in the next chapter.