Issei Kurenai

"Saa, jigoku no tanoshimina." Issei Kurenai is the protagonist and main male hero of the crossover story, High School DxD: Destiny's Play. He takes the place of both the canonical hero, Issei Hyoudou, and Wataru Kurenai.

A first-year student at Kuoh Academy, Issei was taken in by the Hyoudou Family after being founded seemingly abandoned as a baby, with only his father's violin, Bloody Rose, as his prized possession. He is the son of Otoya Kurenai, a well-known musician who quit for unknown reasons, and Maya, the Queen of the Checkmate Four, the ruling hierarchy of the Fangires.

Issei is both the Kamen Rider Kiva (仮面ライダーキバ Kamen Raidā Kiba), and the Red Dragon Emperor (レッドドラゴンエンペラー, Sekiryuutei). He is also known by several names, which are associated with the name of Kiva, the most prominent being the King of Vampires (吸血鬼の王, Kyūketsuki no ō), a title that is recognized by the Camilla Faction, and a few Fangires who were loyal to Maya.

Appearance
Issei's appearance is virtually identical to his canon counterpart, though he is slightly younger, as he is 16 years old in the beginning of the story.

Whenever he is about to transform into Kiva, he develops thick vein-like marks from his hand to his face, which possesses a kaleidoscope-like color. As Kiva, he wears a black suit that possesses a bat-like motif, as he has a red breastplate with silver pauldrons over his shoulders that resemble bat-like wings with chains over them, silver bangles around his wrists, and a silver grieve on his right leg, which is heavily chained up until he performs his finishing technique. The Kivat Belt, which is red in color with different fuestles on each side. A mask is set over his face, which has yellow bat-like eyes with a red highlight design.

Personality
Issei Kurenai's personality is a mix of both Issei Hyoudou and Wataru Kurenai's, in that he is passionate in music and wants to create a violin that will match, or surpass, Otoya's Bloody Rose, and is fiercely loyal to his friends. Unlike Wataru, he is not as socially awkward or as shy as he started out, but instead, he is cheerful and slightly bashful when praised. Despite his claims of being self-taught, many have praised him for his talent with the violin.

Issei has a somewhat respectful nature, as he refers to those closest to him by last name. However, when push comes to shove, he can refer to them by a first-name basis, as is the case with Koneko after her insistence. Also unlike Wataru, he is much more confident about his problems, facing them head-on, and can be considerably aggressive in his pursuit of what he believes to be the best course of action. This, of course, puts him at odds with Keisuke Nago, who he highly respects.

History
Currently in Construction

Equipment
Boosted Gear: Issei's Sacred Gear and main weapon alongside the Kiva armor. The Boosted Gear is one of the 13 Longinus which holds the spirit of the Welsh Dragon, the Red Dragon Emperor, Ddraig, one of the Heavenly Dragons. It is said to have the power to kill a God when fully mastered. Boosted Gear takes the form of a red gauntlet on the wielder's left hand that has the ability to Boost the user's power every 10 seconds without limit, and its sub-ability can Transfer the multiplied power to a being or object, it can even be used on certain parts of the user's body such as the eyes for enhanced vision.

Kivat-bat the Third: Issei's Kivat partner, and the key to unlocking his transformation into Kiva with the Kivat Belt.

Kivat Belt: Transformation device that forms when Kivat bites Issei. Kivat acts as the buckle when he is placed on it, and allowing Issei to become a Kamen Rider.

Trivia

 * Issei is a year younger than his canon counterpart, due to the story's "Kiva Arc" being set one year prior to the events of the canon storyline of DxD.
 * Issei Kurenai has been nicknamed "Kivei" by the author, due to his status as the alternate universe's Kamen Rider Kiva, a role that belongs to Wataru Kurenai, the protagonist of Kamen Rider Kiva.
 * Despite being only partially related to the Checkmate Four, due to his blood from his mother, Issei is still recognized as a powerful and influential individual by the Camilla Faction.