Chapter 1: Pact
Rias Gremory wondered how this had come to be. How could she, proud heir to the house of Gremory, have found herself in love with such a newly born devil? One of her own servants nonetheless! The first question was what she was doing falling in love in the first place. Selfish beings that devils were, things such as 'love' and 'affection' were almost entirely unnatural to them. But to be fair, very few things had been natural for her since Issei Hyodo had come into her life. She had found him barely clutching to life, run through by a fallen angel's blade. 8 pawns later, and he was hers. And what a devil he had proven himself to be.
The Sacred Gear he held had been known of already; it turned out to be a Boosted Gear that housed the Red Dragon Emperor. As a devil, he had befriended a sister of the church; now she was one of the strongest in Rias' household. And he had taken on the rumored immortal Riser Phoenix to win Rias' freedom; he was nearly killed a dozen times, yet he kept coming back and in the end stood victorious. No, she realized. It wasn't a matter of how she had fallen in love with him. The greater question was how any woman could truly get to know him and not fall head over heels for him as well. Some days, Rias wondered if she shouldn't be the one calling him Master.
If he's as impressive in bed as he is everywhere else, I have no doubt he will make me call him Master, she thought to herself, her lips curving into a coy smile as heat rushed to her face. Someone on her left giggled. Rias' head jerked in the direction the sound had come from. She had forgotten that there was a club meeting happening when she had lost herself in her thoughts, but it appeared her reaction had not gone unnoticed.
"Riiiiii-as. Everything alright, Rias?" Akeno Himejima, Rias' best friend, was prodding Rias playfully to try and bring her attention back to the meeting. Rias turned to her, appreciative yet a little annoyed. She loved Akeno like a sister, but there were times when she needed to remember her place. "Yes, Akeno. My apologies, my mind was somewhere else. Now, onto this month's numbers..." Rias quickly read off the number of pacts each member of her house had made for the month, suddenly wanting their meeting to be over. Another month of Issei not making any pacts...as much as he has achieved since becoming a devil he has to start getting a handle on the basics. At least the reviews that had come back had nothing but positive things to say about him. "Well then, any other business that must be attended to?" No one spoke. It had been a surprisingly quiet month, though no one was complaining after how crazy the last couple had been. "Well then, I think this Occult Research Club meeting is now adjourned. I'll see you all at home!"
One by one, the members of her family left their building to head back to Issei's house until it was just Rias and Akeno left. Rias sat at her desk, filling out papers.
"Issei on your mind again?" Rias looked up from her work, not realizing that Akeno was still there.
"What business is it of yours, Akeno?" Rias snapped at her.
"You're my friend Rias, if something's bothering you I can be here to help!"
Rias folded her arms across her chest, "I can't keep this up, Akeno. It hurts to see him come at you or Asia when I don't even know how he feels about me. He won't even call me by my name, it's always 'Lady Gremory' or 'President'. Is that all I am to him? Is his master all I'm ever meant to be?" Rias held her face in her hands, tears running down it. Akeno walked over to her friend, gently hugging her and shifting her up to cry into her shoulder.
"Rias, anyone who sees the two of you together more than 5 minutes knows that there's something more between the two of you. I don't think you have anything to worry about there. But he's worried. You know that there are others who fight for his affection. He wants to keep everyone he cares about happy and he feels like being with you is a rejection to all the others. If you want him...you're going to have to be the one to ask."
Rias wiped her eyes, taking a little comfort in her friend's words. "But how do I tell him, Akeno? How do I even get him alone? Everywhere we go it seems like someone pops in right as something is about to happen between us..."
Akeno smiled, a plan already forming in her head. "Just leave that part to me, Miss President!"
"A special assignment?"
Issei wasn't sure he had heard Akeno correctly. All of Rias' household was gathered in the club room to start making house calls for the evening, but Akeno had stopped him from taking one of his own. Rias was apparently away for the evening so Akeno was handling the night's requests.
"Yep! This is a very important guest of ours, and your services were requested specifically. You even get to use the circle and everything!"
Issei jumped at the opportunity, not only would this be a chance to prove himself, for once he wouldn't have to ride his damn bicycle to try and get a pact.
"Don't worry, Akeno. I won't let you down!" Issei walked into the transportation circle, vanishing in an instant. Akeno smiled fondly at the spot where he was just standing.
"Don't worry Issei...I have a feeling you'll handle this job just fine..."
A moment later, Issei arrived at his destination. It was a small room, completely dark apart from two small candles lit on a table in the center. Just what the hell kind of special job is this? Issei wondered. "Hello?", he called out, "Did someone here call for a devil of House Gremory?" Issei looked around, but even with his enhanced vision he couldn't make anything out in the shadows. This is...surreal, it's like something is draining light from the room! Issei called out once again, "Hello! Devil from House Gremory! I was told this was a special request?"
Suddenly, Issei heard footsteps approaching him from within the shadows. "Yes, I have called," came a woman's voice, "I have something I wish to ask of you." Issei was shocked at what he heard. He recognized the woman's voice instantly, and when she stepped into the light it confirmed what his hearing had told him.
"...President?"
Even after all the time he had known her, Issei still found Rias a breathtaking sight to behold. As she came into the light, he found himself once again unable to take his eyes off of her. For once, she wasn't wearing the uniform of their school. Instead, she was dressed in a white blouse with a red-and-white colored plaid skirt. She looked exceptionally attractive; the skirt left little to the imagination and several buttons of her blouse that would normally be done up simply weren't. It was almost as though she wanted Issei's eyes to be drawn to her figure, which he did quite happily. Yet it was her face that Issei found himself surprised by. Rias was biting her lip nervously, and her beautiful blue eyes kept flickering from the floor to Issei and back again. Issei had never seen her looking so...vulnerable. "Why did you call me here? I'm already your servant, I don't know of any further pact I can make with you..." Rias started rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet, arms folded behind her back and eyes downcast. "I apologize, Issei. I have called you here under false pretenses. It was...the only way I could think of doing this. The only way I knew..."
"Is everything alright? You seemed pretty spaced at our last meeting so I thought something had to be bothering you."
"Nothing is wrong, Issei...but you are right. Something has been on my mind, something...extraordinary."
Issei frowned in confusion, "Involving me? I'm a little lost here
Rias was practically shaking now, trying to hold herself together. "Nothing has been ordinary since you joined my family. I learned long ago that anything was in the realm of possibility with you around, but still...I never expected this." She took a deep breath, then continued. "Love, Issei. Love has been on my mind. It's something I could fully understand, yet I never thought it to be within my reach. Devils are selfish beings at their core, to feel love is something incredibly rare. Some of us even believe it to go against our nature. But against all odds...it has found me. I...I love you, Issei. I love you utterly and completely. The reason I called you here tonight is to give you something, the greatest gift I have to offer. I give you my heart Issei Hyodo, my heart belongs to you if you will accept it."
Issei's head was spinning. Had she really just confessed to him? Rias Gremory, declaring her love for him? He could hardly believe it. Rias...the red-haired Princess of Ruin who had always seemed just out of reach, whom he had always longed for yet never thought he was worthy of...she wanted him? Issei clutched the edge of the table to keep himself upright.
"I...I don't know what to say, my lady. You've always been special to me, and we both know I'm immensely attracted to you...but why would you want me? I'm just your servant, a pawn at that! I don't know how I'm worthy of being loved by someone like you."
Rias smiled, then snapped her fingers. A small flame erupted in her hand, and a simple wooden box appeared from it. She set the box down on the table and pulled several letters out of it, handing them to Issei to quickly start looking over.
"These come from all the great houses of Hell, regretfully informing me that they will be pursuing other marriages for the men of their household."
Issei looked up from the letter he was reading, "Why? I figured any house would want you to be married into them."
Rias blushed, "I've told you in the past: demons respect power and strength above all else. Word travels quickly among the houses, so everyone knows what you did to the last of us who tried to claim me. Every letter written is that house's unspoken agreement with you: none of them try to force me into a marriage I don't want, and in return you allow them to continue their existence. You have more than proven your worth, both to me and to anyone who would dare challenge you."
Issei looked down, his face turning red with embarrassment. "Yeah...I did go a little overboard against Riser. I hope your family wasn't too upset that I ruined your alliance with House Phoenix."
Rias laughed softly at Issei's expression, "Oh, Issei...that was the happiest my brother has been in many years. He had been opposed to my engagement from the beginning. 'She is my sister, and the future head of House Gremory,' he had said, 'Not some trinket to be sold off to the highest bidder!' As for my father...his desire was only to see House Phoenix put in it's place. Marrying them into our family would have done the trick, but a servant of my household beating down their proud leader? Far more effective."
Rias smiled, remembering how moved she was at how far Issei had gone to win her freedom. "What I should be worried about are these," She pulled out a second stack from the box, this one at least twice the size of the first. "These are all for you. Various girls each house wishes you would consider courting. You've become quite a desirable prize, my dear servant." Rias set the box aside, then circled the table until she and Issei were on the same side. Linking her arms around Issei's neck, she pulled him in close until he was pressed up against her breasts. "But you are mine, Issei Hyodo. You are a member of my family and I refuse to give you away for anything." Rias felt tears in her eyes. "And...I was afraid, Issei. I know you still have the same dream you've had since the beginning, and I was afraid I would lose you to someone who could offer that to you..."
Issei held Rias tightly, the poor girl trembling at just the thought of losing him. Issei felt a twinge of guilt, he hadn't known how distraught his actions had made her. In that moment, the words finally took shape within his mind
"I will never leave you, my lady. When you found me, I was just a perverted teenager who wanted nothing more than meaningless sex and pretty faces surrounding me. I haven't grown too much away from that dream...but I've learned to want something more meaningful as well. You didn't just save my life, you gave me one. I will be with you until the very end. You already know that I think myself beneath you...but I do love you, and I would gladly give you my own heart as well."
Rias squeezed Issei even tighter than before, her heart soaring at the revelation. She felt a little silly, she should have trusted her friends all along. But it was still a great relief to know that her affections were shared. She let Issei go, and he moved back around the table to the other side. A newfound energy was filling the space between them, and they both sat awkwardly facing each other to wait on one of them to break.
"So shall we decide on the terms then?" Of all the things Rias had expected to hear, that was the last thing she would have thought Issei would say.
"Terms, Issei? What do you mean?"
"You called me here to make a pact, I've accepted your request. Now, I believe we decide on the terms."
Issei shifted his head slightly, and Rias was able to catch the playful smirk on his face. So this is how he wants to do things, she realized. She returned the look, then started playing along.
"Well then. First, there is only one thing you are to call me: Rias. Not President, not Master, not Lady Gremory. I don't know why you haven't done so, but I swear you shall call me by my name even if I have to make you say it a thousand times each day." Issei's hand reached across the table to touch her own, and the tension that had entered the room started rising further.
"Agreed. As for you...when you sleep in my bed, I feel I should be naked just as you. It feels weird, you laying there without clothes and me there in my pajamas."
"I would expect nothing less of you. If your wish is still to have your harem, I will allow you to do so with the others in our household as long as your heart remains mine."
"I accept that, in exchange I want you to understand this: I never want you to feel like we're far apart. In fact, there is no one closer to my heart, Rias."
The sound of her name on his lips sent shivers down her spine. Her face flushed, and she imagined the shade of it would match her hair soon enough. Words were quickly failing her, but she tried to keep up their back-and-forth as best she could.
"I...I...DAMMIT ISSEI!" It was too much for her. Rias grabbed Issei by the front of his shirt, pulling him over the table into her arms once again to meet his lips with her own.
Rias and Issei had kissed before, but nothing came even remotely close to what was happening now. This was lustful and wild, two people completely surrendering to their passion for each other. Rias clutched Issei's shirt, feeling the fabric slightly tearing in her hands. This only encouraged her to push even further, devouring Issei's lips, claiming him with her kiss. "You are mine, Issei Hyodo." She said breathlessly, a couple of words at a time between kisses. "You are my equal, my partner, my love..." Her last words had awoken something within Issei, and now it was his turn to take the lead. His tongue was now pressed up against her lips and she allowed it entry, moaning softly as she felt it begin to explore her mouth and wrestle with her own. Issei's hands began moving upwards from her waist, tiny jolts of pleasure running through her body at every touch. They were barely holding on, both of them utterly drowning in ecstasy. Rias could hardly contain herself any longer; she took Issei's hand and pulled it forward to her chest. Issei's hand squeezed her breast almost immediately, and at that sensation Rias bit into his shoulder to try and muffle her screams as her body erupted with orgasmic glee. A loud hiss came through gritted teeth as Issei reached his own climax, tangling his fingers in Rias' hair. The pair finally separated a little, gasping for air. Issei slowly fell backwards to the floor, Rias going with him to rest her head on his chest. They layed together on the floor for several moments, Issei stroking her hair and Rias snuggling up close to him. Neither one of them spoke, neither one had to. Both of them were perfectly happy just enjoying each other's company and the bold new step their relationship had taken.
"Rias?"
"Yes, Issei?" Issei motioned for her to come closer, a quite literally devilish grin on his face. Rias scooted herself upwards until he was able to whisper in her ear.
"After how this went...just think of how mind-blowing the sex will be." Rias bit her lip and clenched onto his arm tightly enough to leave marks. Just the thought of it sent her reeling once again.
Through an unseen window, a pair of dark eyes had been watching the entire thing. Deciding it had seen enough, the creature flew away from the window back to it's master. Things had now gotten interesting.
Author's note: Here's chapter 1! Consider it my christmas gift to you, internet randos. Fuck, it's long. And a little awkward and anticlimactic in places (or so I think, god knows I might be wrong). And smutty. And poorly formatted. But it's mine, and I like it and I hope you do as well. Stay tuned, I can't wait to see where things go from here.
-fatal
