(y/n) woke up with a jolt as he woke up in a bed unfamiliar to his own. In fact, when he looked around the room, he noticed that all of it was unfamiliar. He seemed to be in a room with a sort of gothic vibe going on. Not wanting to leave up to the imagination on wherever he was, he quickly jumped out of the bed but ended up falling onto the floor. His legs had buckled underneath him and the sound of his bare chest hitting the floor made a loud sound. He sat up on the floor and let his head lie on the side of the bed, letting his memory slowly flow back. 

"I'm alive..." sighed (y/n), running his hands through his black hair, "One God dies and another takes his place..." 

He heard the door behind him open and he shot up to see who it was. He wasn't able to stand upright on his own so he leaned on the bedpost to help his stance. He saw a young woman in the doorway looking in, but when they met eyes, she gasped and ran off. 

"W-Wait!" he yelled. 

He heard a bit of commotion outside the door before another young woman stepped in. This new woman was just as tall as Koneko and had pale white skin with blood-red eyes. 

"I know you!" exclaimed (y/n), "You're Elmenhilde Karnstein! You served as Issei's pawn during the Azazel Cup!" 

"And I know you, Son (y/n), Devil-Saiyan," responded Elmenhilde coldly, "If you're ready, please join us downstairs... And put a shirt on, for God's sake." 

(y/n) blinked a few times as he processed what just happened. 

"Great..." he muttered as he stumbled over to a black shirt that had been neatly folded on a nearby chair. 

Before he could do anything else, one of Elmenhilde's maids came into the room and offered a crutch for (y/n) to use. He thanked her as she left him with a bow. He managed to make his way down to the foyer of the gothic-style mansion. The first thing he noticed was just how large this place was. If it wasn't for the occasional maids to help guide him, then he would have no problem getting lost in this labyrinth of a home. 

As one of Elmenhilde's servants led him down a long hallway, (y/n) managed to peek out a window to see Hell's purple sky. 

"I'm in Hell?" thought (y/n), "What in the world is happening?!" 

(y/n)'s guide stopped in front of a pair of white doors before opening them to reveal a grand dining room with Elmenhilde sitting at a small table. 

"She's expecting you..." said the servant in a small, but a respectful voice. 

He thanked her as he hobbled over and sat in front of the blond-haired vampire. 

"If I may ask..." 

"No. You may not," interrupted Elmenhilde, "Because I already know what a simpleton like you would ask someone like me." 

"Please. Enlighten me..." muttered (y/n) sarcastically. 

"Cut it with that tone!" yelled Elmenhilde as she took another sip of her tea.

(y/n) couldn't believe it. The woman keeping him safe was a loud-mouth brat. 

"You want to know what's happened since the fight with Loki." 

"Please." 

"Well... You died," said Elmenhilde, taking another sip of her tea, "Your heart stopped completly and Rias' bishop couldn't bring you back. But somehow, you miraculously woke up." 

 (y/n)'s heart twisted when he was reminded of that. He couldn't bear to think about his master's sacrifice and how he was going to repay that opportunity.

"After the Red Dragon Emperor put down the God of Mischief for good, he brought you here. He gave me the task of keeping you safe and out-of-sight while Gremory deals with Sirzechs and the other high-ranking devils." 

"I see... I appreciate your kindness," thanked (y/n). 

"Until Rias comes to get you, you'll stay here with me. Just keep a low profile and don't do anything stupid..." 

Elmenhilde finished her tea and left the room in a hurry, leaving (y/n) alone to finish his drink. 

"I don't know if I can survive here with that woman..." thought (y/n) as he got up to leave. 

One of Elmenhilde's maids came to help him, but he respectfully declined. He limped his way back up to his room but stopped when he saw a familiar face at the foot of his bed. He closed the door quietly so as to not draw any unnecessary attention. 

"Vali Lucifer..." 

"Son (y/n)..." 

(y/n) plopped down on his bed and faced the White Dragon Emperor. 

"Why are you here?" he asked suspiciously. 

"Just checking in," replied Vali, "Seeing how things have been in the past few years." 

"I haven't been there for most of it. I've been stuck in Warenai on account of you." 

"Yeah... Sorry about that. I had no other choice." 

"How is it over there? How's Kuroka and the rest of the gang?" 

"Fine. We've been coasting along since the Azazel Cup ended. But that's mostly because of... him..." 

"Vali... We've been betrayed..." whispered (y/n), "He was there. During the fight with Loki..." 

"H-He showed up?! In person?!" gasped Vali. 

"Not in person... Just his usual energy-donation trick. I thought we were on good terms after the wish but..." 

(y/n) paused for a moment before starting up again. 

"Vali. You and the rest of the Khaos Brigade must be careful... Something's happening... I can feel it..." 

"W-What could it be?!" 

"Something that's been in the works since the very beginning. I think we've been played like pawns for 3 years now!" 

"Are you absolutely sure?!" asked Vali in a panic. 

"I'm sure," responded (y/n), "You and the others have to run Vali. I should be safe for now, but he has direct access to you and the rest of the Brigade!" 

"O-Ok..." stuttered Vali, "I'll round up the gang. I've got some safe places we could hideout." 

Vali summoned a white magic circle and prepared to teleport away. 

"Be careful..." said Vali as he disappeared. 

____________________________________ 

Elmenhilde, after finding (y/n) missing from his bed, looked for him around the house. She finally walked into the kitchen and jumped when she saw him in there. 

"Good morning, Ms. Karnstein." 

"What are you doing in here?!" Elmenhilde almost screamed. 

"Making breakfast?" 

"We have people to do that for us!" 

"R-Right... I got that," stuttered (y/n), "I just thought it would be a show of good faith... You know?" 

"No. I don't." 

Elmenhilde crossed her arms and tapped her foot on the tile floor. 

"If it's not good, I'm kicking you out," muttered Elmenhilde as she left the kitchen. 

(y/n) laughed to himself as he continued to cook. After a while, (y/n) emerged from the kitchen holding two plates on a silver tray. Elmenhilde looked down to see eggs, sausage, and buttered toast. Nothing fancy as opposed to the meals that her maids could cook up. 

"A 'thank you' would go a long way," smiled (y/n) as he set a plate down on the opposite side of her and began to eat. 

"So pedestrian..." muttered Elmenhilde as she ate. 

After a bit of silence, Elmenhilde finally spoke up. 

"After you get cleaned up, we'll begin training," she said nonchalantly. 

"Training?" asked (y/n), "I thought I was supposed to keep a low profile." 

"And you will," said Elmenhilde, "But this won't be like any training you've done before." 

She put down her silver fork and looked at (y/n) dead in the eyes. 

"I've seen how you work, (y/n). I saw it in Kokabeil. I saw it in the Azazel Cup. I saw it in Loki. You, (y/n), need to learn how to slow down. How to take a step back and to see the big picture as opposed to running in headfirst." 

"And here I thought I'd get a vacation," laughed (y/n). 

"You thought wrong, Son (y/n)," smiled Elmenhilde smugly, "As long as you reside here in the Karnstein estate, you'll be doing as I say. Now, if you're done wasting my time, I'll meet you in the foyer in 30 minutes." 

"This'll be interesting." 

____________________________________

After washing up and throwing on a black tracksuit, (y/n) met up with Elmenhilde. 

"Where are we going, Ms. Karnstein?" 

"Out." 

"I thought we weren't supposed to leave the estate?" asked (y/n), "Won't we get caught." 

"Not if you suppress your energy." 

Elmenhilde summoned a magic circle and teleported the two of them away. After the bright red light of teleportation, (y/n) was greeted by a beautiful cliffside overlooking a magnificent waterfall. Green hills and trees extended as far as the eye could see and the distant roar of the waterfall put him at ease. 

"This... This is beautiful!" he smiled, "Where are we?" 

"An island between the Philippines and Malaysia. I come here often to meditate and clear my head. However, we are here for Shūji ."

"Excuse me?" he asked. 

"Japanese Caligraphy? How have you not heard of this? I thought you were Japanese." 

"Well... Not in the traditional sense." 

"Right. With the whole alien thing you have." 

"Well... Besides bouncing around Asia and Europe with some escapades to America, I've mostly been in Japan my whole life." 

"Then how come you know so little about Japanese Culture? Or... Human Culture for that matter?" asked Elmenhilde.

"I was raised mostly in isolation deep in the woods. I didn't have any human contact until Bulma Briefs stumbled into me when I was younger, and even then, I mostly took care of myself. Despite being on this planet for nearly 19... 21 years... I've never fully assimilated with human culture. Or even really tried for that matter..." 

"That explains a bit," said Elmenhilde as she pulled out a calligraphy set, "Let us begin." 

"O-Oh. I don't know how..." said (y/n) sheepishly. 

"Just write. You do know how to write in Kanji, don't you?" 

"I mean... Kind of..." 

"Do you even know how to read?" asked Elmenhilde. 

"O-Of course I do!" shouted (y/n), "I'm not that good at Kanji... That's all..." 

(y/n) knelt beside Elmenhilde and tried his best at calligraphy. After a while, he set down his brush and tapped Elmenhilde to get her attention. 

"This is... Awful!" she yelled, "Did you even try?!" 

"Yes! Yes! I did!" said (y/n) as he covered his ears, "What kind of lesson is this anyway?!" 

"Slow down. Before you just rush through it, slow down and take in your surroundings." 

(y/n) took a deep breath and tried again. The crashing waterfall helped loosen his shoulders and the distant calls of bird put his mind at ease. He started again. His hand moved slowly and carefully as he meticulously wrote out the word he intended. It was hard for him not to speed up and quickly finish it but after re-centering his focus, he finished. He tapped Elmenhilde again to have her inspect. 

"Love... you wrote 'Love'..." muttered Elmenhilde, "Why that?" 

(y/n) didn't respond as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. 

"That woman you're with... Xenovia, wasn't it?" 

"After the Warenai Breakout, I didn't have any time to even catch up with her... I just miss her... That's all..." 

Elmenhilde sighed and packed up all the calligraphy sets. 

"I hope you learned an important lesson today," sighed Elmenhilde as she summoned her magic circle. 

"I did. Thank you, Ms. Karnstein." 

"Please. Call me Elmenhilde." 

____________________________________

Vali stepped out from his magic circle to meet to worried eyes of Kuroka. 

"Y-You're late!" she worried.

"Please. I can show up whenever I want!" laughed Vali.

"Oh? Can you now?" 

Vali looked up the stairs to his mansion to see him. 

He was back. For whatever reason, his voice seemed different than the last time they saw him two years ago. Vali knelt to the ground and the others followed him.

"The timeline has changed. I don't come out of this on top... What did you do?" 

"N-Nothing!" said Vali, "I swear! We've stuck to the plan! (y/n)'s stuck to the plan! I'm sure of it!" 

"So it seems... In changing the past, I have affected the present and future..." 

"W-What will we do?!" asked Vali. 

"You will do nothing." 

He extended his hand and fired a beam of energy straight through Vali's chest. Vali collapsed on the ground as blood poured out from his wound. 

"Vali!!" screamed Kuroka, trying to help her friend. 

"You have become a liability, Vali Lucifer. And for that, you must die." 

Kuroka tried to wake Vali up, but he was unmoving. 

"The timeline has changed into a fate that is not in my favor... But I can change it once again..." 

Kuroka cried as she held Vali's body close to her's.

"If you want something done... Do it yourself..."