High School DxD Wiki:Shirou Fujimura/Relationships

Shirou has developed many relationships throughout the series within the Occult Research Club, Stuident Council, and the Three Factions. He has also attracted the attention of many of the female characters.

Issei Hyoudou
Issei is Shirou's best friend and mutually proclaimed "blood brother" as well as Shirou's rival. Shirou and Issei have known one another since they were little, Issei having been one of Shirou's first friends, being the one who drew Shirou out of his depression following his mother's death and again when Irina, Shirou's first love, moved away. Issei made a habit of becoming Shirou's personal protector from their childhood through middle school. Shirou deeply cares for Issei and desires to protect Issei just as Issei protected him.

Shirou also desires to return Issei to a semblance of "normal", wishing to calm Issei's perverted instincts. While mostly ineffective, Shirou's repeated lessons have slowly begun to sink into Issei's mind, helping Issei display a more romantic attitude towards building a harem. Due to Shirou's superior instincts, he is quite capable at sensing the affection Rias has for Issei and secretly plots to push the two together to ensure their happiness.

However, while Shirou deeply cares for Issei, he secretly possesses a deep-seeded sense of inferiority compared to Issei, further agitated upon realizing Issei had won more important fights between the two. Shirou does not hate Issei, but rather, Shirou deeply envies Issei and what he perceives to be Issei's superior strength, subconsciously believing himself to be pathetic and unnecessary.

At the same time, Issei is Shirou's most important emotional support. Neither truly realize it, but Issei is a major pillar holding up Shirou's emotional state. This is to the point that Shirou will risk death in the most reckless choice in order to save and protect Issei, literally sacrificing himself first to protect Issei from Raynare's attempted assassination. Shirou places a great amount of care on Issei's happiness and safety even to the point of costing his own. If Issei were to be killed, Shirou would most likely fall into an inescapable depression, succumbing to his negative emotions and simply "giving up on life", dying as a result.