DXD: A Shidou Koujiro's

Nobody believed Kouji when he said there was a man following him around when he was eight years old. A tall and mysterious man in a long brown trench coat and a hat covering his face.

He would follow Kouji everywhere he went, watching him from afar at school and even following him home. Nobody believed him when he said there was a monster watching him sleep from outside his window.

Golden cat-like eyes that peered through the darkness and never blinking. And nobody ever believed him when he said he was hearing strange voices talking to him in his head.

For as long as he could remember, strange things happen to him all the time. Aside from the weird people following him and watching him, there were also strange things that apparently nobody else can see.

Strange creatures flying around the sky, weird circles and symbols on the streets, and even strange people that gave off a terrifying aura. All his life, these experiences shaped how Kouji viewed the world.

Just once, just this once, he prayed that nothing happened on the one day he just wanted to be a normal kid.

"Are we there yet?"

Kouji looked to his right to see his best friend, King, buried in an album of photocards he had spent so much time and money on. Kouji was excited to go see his favorite idol group perform their last stage on their world tour, however King was definitely more excited.

He was decked out in Aespa merchandise even going as far as wearing the bandana Winter had given him during a fanmeet a few years ago. He was dressed like an obsessed fanboy, blending in with the horde of other obsessed fanboys that filled every inch of the tram.

He had been looking forward to this day all semester. After spending a whole year in Japan for school, it felt nice to come home to London to spend time with his family and friends.

As luck would have it, Aespa was finishing up their world tour at the start of the summer. All signs point to this summer being the best he's ever had.

"If you'd ever look up," said Kouji. "You'd know.

"

"Which photocard should I ask Winter to sign?" asked King. "Do you think she'd be happy to see me again? Oh my god I'm nervous.

Is it hot in here? It feels so-"

"Calm down man," Kouji smiled. "We're almost there.

"

"Wait, where's Irina?" asked King. "I thought she loved concerts.

Didn't you say she wanted to come?"

Kouji grinned. "Nice try slick.

She's on a job with my dad. She'll be back in a few days so you can crash at my place after the concert.

"

"Again?" asked King. "Dude what does your family do? Why is everyone always out of the country?"

Although Kouji smiled and changed the topic back to Aespa, he wanted to know more than anybody. All he ever knew about his family's work was what his father had told him.

They work for various organizations all over the world, doing contract work that took them all over the world. Irina was a year older than Kouji so she was always frequently accompanying their dad.

According to the two of them, he'll be ready to join the family business once he turns 16.

Now that he was thinking about it, his family has never been anywhere close to normal. His father insisted that he pursue his academic career outside of the country, going to multiple different schools and only coming home for summer.

He's been to America, South Korea, Japan, Canada, even Russia. Every school year brought with it a new school.

He never stayed in one place for too long and his father never told him why. The closest he ever got was when Irina accidentally drank too much comunion wine and almost fessed up.

That was almost three years ago and he's never gotten any closer ever again.

The tram came to a stop a few blocks away from Buckingham Palace, the stage of Aespa's final world tour performance. Drifting through the crowd of fans through the tram station, Kouji and King were met with an entire closed off street just for fans to make their way down to the stage.

The streetlights and string lights hanging from the buildings lit up the entire block as Kouji and King followed the crowd to their destination.

London was always where Kouji thought of as home. The tight and narrow buildings, the gloomy weather, the roads, even the food.

He never cared for the food in this country but his father always made the best egg's benedict.

He's on his way…

Kouji perked his head up and glanced around. He tried to listen around to see if the voice would speak again but nothing.

Through the muffled voices from the crowd, it didn't seem like he could pin point exactly what anybody was saying. That voice…it was so clear, as if someone was speaking directly to him.

It was happening again…

"You okay?" asked King, finally looking back at him. "Oh my god, I'm sorry.

Is this too much?"

Kouji smiled. "I'm fine man.

"

"I've got your meds in case you need it," said King. "Irina would kill me if you had another episode when you're with me and I didn't do anything about it.

"

Yeah…That's what all of the doctors diagnosed him with. To every doctor at every clinic, Kouji has a form of schizophrenia that was inherited from his biological parents.

That's what each and every professional has told him. It's why he sees weird people following him, hearing voices…it's all in his head.

"Thanks," Kouji mustered a smile and urged his friend forward. "C'mon, let's keep going.

"

Truth be told, Kouji hated crowded places like this. Attending concerts, sporting events, pretty much any event that required him to be in enclosed spaces with hordes of people made him wary.

Being around so many people made him nervous and anxious. His heart would race and he would hear even more voices.

He normally would have watched this concert from home but King begged him to come and even bought him a ticket. He couldn't refuse even if he wanted to.