It had been three days since Kaito Yamada entered the world of High School DxD. Three days since he'd died on Earth, been granted infinite wishes, and reborn into one of the most dangerous, chaotic, and temptingly indulgent worlds anime had ever created.
Three days... and he still hadn't made a single move on the main story.
By design.
He'd paused the timeline. Locked the major events that would lead to Issei Hyoudou's death, resurrection, and transformation into the Red Dragon Emperor. Everything that followed—the battles with fallen angels, peace conferences with angels and devils, the emergence of gods—was frozen.
And in that suspended moment, Kaito observed.
He wasn't ready to change the world—not yet. Not without understanding how his presence was already affecting it.
And oh, it was.
---
Day 1: Observing the Game Board
Kaito wandered the school halls like a ghost. Hidden behind a wish that rendered his presence completely undetectable to supernatural senses, he moved unnoticed even by the most powerful devils.
He studied Rias Gremory, the crimson-haired heiress to the Gremory clan. She was as regal and elegant in person as she appeared in the anime, but there was more to her—small signs of pressure in her posture, the way her smile never fully reached her eyes. Kaito could sense her struggle. Trapped by her family's expectations, trying to maintain peace while guarding Kuoh's secrets.
Akeno Himejima was never far from her. She laughed easily, played the role of flirt and sadist with grace, but her aura was tightly coiled—controlled. Kaito could feel the lightning under her skin, the divinity buried beneath the demonic facade. Half-angel. Half-devil. Torn between love and hatred.
Kiba Yuuto trained hard. Every morning. Every afternoon. Sometimes alone, sometimes with lower-ranked devils. His movements were beautiful—precise. Kaito remembered his backstory: Holy Sword Project. Survival. Revenge. It all bubbled beneath the surface.
Even Sona Shitori—Souna Shitori, really, head of the Sitri family—was watching. Calm, calculating, and intelligent. He saw her eyes linger on Rias more than once, her gaze sharp and analytical.
This was a school—but it was also a battlefield. Everyone was just waiting for the next move.
And that move… was Kaito.
---
Day 2: Introducing the Unknown
On the second day, Kaito made his first public appearance.
He "enrolled" as a third-year transfer student from another private academy, using a forged background he'd created with a wish. The papers were perfect—his records immaculate, complete with recommendation letters, a faked family registry, and photos of parents who didn't exist.
Principal Tsubaki welcomed him awkwardly. "We've had... a few unusual students transfer in before, but you're certainly well-prepared. The student council will help you get settled."
Of course they would.
Sona Shitori had already taken notice. Kaito could feel her eyes on him even before he entered the council room. She sat at her desk with calm authority, a chess set pushed to the side, her queen piece resting between her fingers.
"You're unusually composed for someone entering Kuoh Academy for the first time," she said coolly.
"I'm good at adapting," Kaito replied, taking the seat across from her. "I've studied the area."
"Have you?" She leaned back slightly. "And yet, no one in our records mentioned your name until yesterday. Almost as if you appeared out of thin air."
Kaito smiled. "Is that your way of asking what I am?"
Sona didn't flinch. "I'm simply observant. And I like answers."
Kaito leaned forward. "Then you'll love this one: I'm a variable."
Silence. Then her brow lifted slightly.
"Interesting."
Their conversation was short. Civil. Tense. But it was enough. Kaito knew Sona would be watching him even more closely now. That was fine.
Let them wonder.
He transferred into Class 3-B the next morning. His teacher introduced him, and he gave a halfhearted bow to the curious eyes of his classmates. Most saw another good-looking new student.
One set of eyes, however, studied him with suspicion.
Issei Hyoudou.
The pervert king of Kuoh. Still human. Still unaware of the world waiting to pull him into darkness. Kaito locked eyes with him and gave a brief nod. Issei blinked, confused, then shrugged and returned to whispering about boobs with Matsuda and Motohama.
Kaito smirked.
Not yet, Issei.
Not yet.
---
Day 3: First Contact
On the third day, Rias Gremory approached him.
It happened during lunch. The courtyard was filled with laughter, students chatting beneath cherry blossoms. Kaito was sitting beneath a tree, sketching a rough map of Kuoh's magical ley lines—a task he'd taken on himself.
A shadow fell across the page.
"May I sit here?"
He looked up.
Crimson hair. Deep blue eyes. Presence like royalty.
Rias Gremory stood before him, lunchbox in hand, smiling politely.
"You're the new transfer student," she said. "Kaito Yamada, right?"
"That's me." He gestured to the empty space beside him. "Feel free."
She sat gracefully. Her aura was carefully controlled, but Kaito could feel the weight of her presence pressing against his own—testing him.
"I've been meaning to introduce myself," she said. "I'm Rias Gremory. Head of the Occult Research Club."
"I know," Kaito replied before he could stop himself.
She blinked. "Oh?"
"I did my research before transferring. The Gremory name carries a lot of weight."
A pause. "You know about the supernatural."
It wasn't a question.
Kaito met her eyes. "I do."
Rias studied him silently, then unwrapped her lunch. "You're not human."
"Not anymore," he said softly.
She didn't ask what he was. Not yet.
Instead, she asked, "What do you want?"
Kaito looked out across the courtyard.
That was the question, wasn't it?
He had infinite power. He could wish for anything—conquer the Underworld, seduce gods, rewrite the laws of existence. But what did he want?
"I want to see what happens when someone like me gets involved," he said honestly. "I want to understand this world—its rules, its people, its flaws. And maybe… I want to fix a few things along the way."
Rias smiled faintly. "You sound like a fool."
"I probably am."
She chuckled. "Fools are dangerous. Especially ones with ambition."
"So are devils with regrets."
For the first time, Rias looked surprised.
Kaito stood.
"I'll see you around, Gremory."
She watched him walk away, a thoughtful look in her eyes.
From a rooftop above, Akeno Himejima smiled and whispered to herself, "How interesting."
---
Later That Night: Testing the Waters
Kaito stood on the roof of Kuoh Academy under the moonlight.
The world was quiet. He raised a hand and summoned his Sacred Gear—his own creation, born from his second wish.
[Evolver: Mirror of the Self]
It shimmered into view—an elegant gauntlet of silver and black, the gem at its center glowing with shifting colors. The gear pulsed with his emotions—adapting, learning, evolving. Every feeling, every fight, would mold it into something new.
He extended his hand and focused.
With a thought, he opened a rift—just a small one—into the Dimensional Gap. Chaos energy leaked out like smoke.
Kaito absorbed it slowly, feeding it into his gear.
"Not too much," he whispered. "Not yet."
He closed the rift and sat back, breathing deeply.
He wasn't ready to confront Ophis or Great Red. Not now. But the seeds were planted.
Down below, the supernatural world was beginning to stir. He'd seen it already—scouts from the Grigori near the edge of town. Sona's devil pawns patrolling the ley lines. Even the faint scent of a fallen angel's cursed spear lingering in the abandoned church.
Raynare was near.
The story wanted to begin.
But Kaito wasn't done preparing.
He opened the wish screen and added a new command:
> Wish 4: I wish to create a private dimension where time flows 100:1 relative to the real world, accessible only by me.
The world rippled. A glowing doorway appeared beside him, leading into a shimmering space of endless twilight.
He stepped through.
It was time to train