Zach Praktum/Relationships

Being one member of the main squad/crew, Zach has forged relationships with nearly the entire cast of the story. Some are good, some are bad.

Michael Eon
Michael is Zach's best friend, so naturally, they're on good terms. Their conflicting personalities cause minor conflicts, but they're quickly resolved. Michael's politeness and fantastic manners are a mirror image (see what I did there?) of Zach's rudeness and informality, and the two serve as a counterweight for each other.

Up until Zach and Madison started dating, Michael had a crush on Zach, but refused to let anyone know about it. He kept it a secret until they learned all of each other's secrets when their souls fused in the fight against Kaira. This didn't happen to any of the other of Zach's allies whose souls fused with his, due to the lack of a strong enough bond between them.

In the beginning, Zach despised Michael because of how different they were, and the feeling was mutual. Throughout the course of their adventures together, the two became nearly inseparable, becoming better friends than Zach's original wingman, Lucas.

Ever since being trapped in the DxD timeline, Zach's bond with Michael has only gotten stronger. They see each other as the only people they can really rely on due to their situation. Their friendship has allowed them to feed off of each other's auras, resulting in them both getting power boosts when near each other.

Madison Aldridge
Madison is Zach's girlfriend and another counterweight in his life. Their relationship, like with Michael, started out rocky, but the pair grew to like each other over time. She was originally a "self-centered older sister" and rival in Zach's eyes, but as they matured, he began to have romantic feelings for her and their relationship turned into more of a flirty friendship than a friendly rivalry.

As the pair adventured around with their friends, they ended up in many rather awkward situations together ("I was smiling down upon you two all your lives." - Aphrodite, goddess of love in the First Timeline). These only pushed them together, albeit thanks to godly interference. The two made a great team in battle, knowing how to easily use each other's strengths and cover each other's weaknesses.

During the final act of the final story in the First Timeline, the two began getting even closer, but not officially dating. Whenever it was needed, they'd go so far as to pretend to be dating to go on fake dates for whatever reason. For a long time, nobody was really sure what was going on during that part of the story. After the multiverse was restored and Zach had returned from being sealed with the three deities, Maddie officially confessed her romantic feelings for Zach, and the two began their relationship. Their time together was short, however, because of Zach being trapped in the DxD timeline. She took over the Vanguard in his place, along with Nexus. The first time Zach activated his new Balance Breaker, its power ripped a hole in the multiverse, allowing him to speak to Maddie. They agreed that as long as they couldn't get to each other, they were allowed to choose one person to date. Maddie's choice was unknown, and Zach chose Irina Shidou.

Lucas Nighthawk
The original "best friend" character, Lucas and Zach have known each other since childhood. They awakened their powers on the same day, and were inseparable during their first year of training. It was Lucas's encouragement that allowed Zach to Unbind, helping him stop Nexus.

Over the next couple years, they began to grow apart thanks to the introduction of Maddie and Michael. Despite this, they remained on very good terms, and became friendly rivals. After the fusion of their souls, Lucas gained a bit of the Phoenix of Rebellion's power in exchange for Zach getting a bit from Lucas's Sacred Artifact, the Griffin of Justice. He is the only member of the band not to join the Vanguard.

Nexus
Nexus is Zach's grandfather. The two despised each other before learning they were related, and after that, Nexus became a sort of mentor to him. As an Ace in the Vanguard, Nexus took over after Zach and Michael's disappearance. He tries his best to run it as they would.

Rias Gremory
Zach and Rias didn't like each other at first, but have since set aside their differences. They co-lead the Occult Research Club (despite Rias's initial objections) and Zach acts as an emergency leader for the group in case Rias and Akeno are both unable to do so.

Akeno Himejima
Zach and Akeno are on good terms. She was one of the only two members of the club not to initially despise or be afraid of Zach after he betrayed Raynare and the other Fallen Angels. They have a slightly flirty friendship, but there is no sign of it going any further.

Asia Argento
Zach and Asia are good friends now, but she was initially terrified of him. He was, after all, partially responsible for her death. She knows how strong he is, and doesn't want to see that kind of devastating power used on anyone, regardless of how bad they are. She tends to try and convince him to take the peaceful route instead of violent, usually succeeding. Nobody really knows how. He likes to tease her about her crush on Issei, but also tries to help her win his affection.

Koneko Toujou
Koneko is the other member of the club that was okay with Zach from the start. Soon after the two became better acquainted, Zach began seeing her as a little sister, and she saw him as a brother. They're very protective of each other, and provide each other with emotional support when it's needed. Zach serves as a mentor, teaching Koneko how to use her Nekomata powers effectively.

Yuuto Kiba
Kiba disliked Zach at first due to his arrogant nature, but the two are now friends and respect each other as equals. Kiba trains Zach in swordfighting in their off time, and Zach helps Kiba learn to use his Balance Breaker in the best way possible.

Issei Hyoudou
Issei hated Zach at first, and was the hardest for Zach to win over. He's now a good friend of Zach's and possibly his best friend in the DxD timeline, despite their rivalry. Issei wants to one day be strong enough to beat Zach in a fight, and Ddraig wants to show he's stronger than "a bird's claw made from a cheap knockoff of the Boosted Gear." He's actually weaker.

Xenovia Quarta
...

Let's just say they're not really fans of each other.

Irina Shidou
Irina was Zach's "choice" as the girl he'd date/try to date as long as he and Maddie were separated. Due to this, they have a flirty friendship and have kissed once, but only for the purpose of strengthening an alibi ("Suuuuuure..." -Michael). Zach managed to break Irina free of her crush on Issei, but it's unknown whether she likes Zach now or not. Despite still living with Issei, she often spends nights at Zach and Michael's house, occasionally sleeping with Zach. They also work well together in battle, despite their different fighting styles.

Gasper Vladi
Gasper is terrified of Zach. There's not much more to say about that.

Sona Sitri
Zach and Sona are on good terms, and are fierce rivals. Fire against water.

Tsubaki Shinra
Tsubaki is on good terms with Zach, despite their refusal to fight alongside each other for reasons unknown.

Genshirou Saji
Saji and Zach are friendly rivals, much like Zach and Issei. They have a special combo move called Electro-Absorbtion, where Zach charges Saji's Absorbtion Line with electricity, which damages the opponent and absorbs their power at the same time, transferring it to both Zach and Saji.

Zach is on neutral terms with the rest of Sona's peerage.