The Chains that Bind (Highschool DxD x Ghost Rider Reader)

Chapter 4

When the morning sun rose over the horizon, everyone in Issei's house was up and about. Issei and Asia were in the kitchen, making some breakfast before they left for school. Issei's father was already sipping on coffee, sifting through all of the work in front of him, preparing for the double that he was going to go through. Issei's mother was looking through her purse and ensuring that everything she needed for the shopping day.

(F/N), in the meantime, was currently in the shower, preparing for the day as well. He washed his hair, scrubbed his body down, and took the time to revel in the warm water that he was soaking in. It felt like his body was releasing all the tensed-up tendons that he had gotten before he had arrived. He took in the air, for a moment.

This is boring, the voice from before spoke, making (F/N)'s eyes shoot open and him frantically looking around. He poked his head out from behind the curtains and checked the bathroom. He swiftly turned off the shower and stepped out, checking everywhere for the source of the voice. "Where was that anger from last night? When are we going to get to the good parts?"

"Who's talking?" (F/N) asked, trying to put the pieces together. "Who's there?" He figured it was his mind playing tricks. Slowly going insane, maybe after the car wreck? Something happened to him, but what was it? (F/N) didn't know. He then looked over at the mirror in the bathroom, seeing tiny flickers of something in the reflection. Blue flame? He cautiously approached the mirror, reaching his hand up and placing it on the left side of the mirror.

There was hesitation in his movements, a sense of dread. Something in his head, not the voice, was telling him not to remove the steam from the mirror. His heart was beating rapidly, but he thought it was merely all the activity in the bathroom that got his heart racing.

When he wiped his hand across the mirror, he could only see his reflection. A sense of relief washed over him and he let out a huff. He wiped any of the sweat that was on his face, thinking himself going insane.

Suddenly, the reflection in the mirror changed. What was once (F/N)'s reflection turned into a man with only his skull showing, and blue flame rising up from beneath his top. The reflection let out a roar, and (F/N) shouted in surprise before stepping back. He slipped on the floor, and fell to the ground. When he collected himself, he pressed his hand against his face and felt around. He still had his cheeks, his eyelids, his nose, everything. He panted from the adrenaline rush.

"(F/N)!" He heard from outside. He got up and slowly opened the door, looking outside. Asia was on the other side, followed by everyone else that heard his scream. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"Yeah, we heard you scream! Is everything alright?" Issei asked. (F/N) looked around in the room he was in, before nodding his head.

"Y-Yeah," (F/N) answered. "I just tripped, that's all. I'll be out in a moment." With that, he closed the door and pressed his back against the door, running through what he just saw in his mind again. With one more glance at the mirror, testing to see if it'll happen again, he finished everything he was going to do in the bathroom and walked out.

Everyone each went their separate ways after the morning routines were over; Issei and Asia went to school, Issei's father went to work after a "good luck" and "be safe" from his wife, and (F/N) and Issei's mother drove off towards the shops in town.

(F/N) sat up next to her in the passenger seat, looking out the window and watching the scenery pass by. Issei's mom looked over at (F/N), seeing him look outside the window, before she looked forward and cleared her throat.

"Are you comfortable? Sitting up in the passenger seat?" She asked. (F/N) turned his head towards the driver, before slowly nodding his head.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, before looking back out at the scenery.