Wavy, unkempt, uncontrollable bedhead, both light and dark browns mixed together. Looking at his hair always reminded him of that one little shit in early middle school that called him "coffee head". Shiki couldn't think of any other time he punched someone with as much satisfaction, even if it did result in a suspension. Light brown eyes that darted all over his reflection in the bathroom mirror as he did a visual inspection. Mouth set in a slight frown as he looked himself over, checking for any oddities. Pale white skin. Not overly built with muscle, he always preferred a more slim and wiry look to himself. Made it easier to look unassuming and normal, both in school and in fights. No scars, cuts or bruises on this stomach despite the fact that the girl currently in his room told him that he had died the previous night by way of impalement. Average-sized hands, fingernails neatly trimmed. Strong arms with wiry muscle that carried more punch than someone would think up until the moment his fist smashed into them. Strong legs, necessary for him to move on reflex and instinct as quickly as he did. Toenails just as neatly cut as his fingernails.

He looked normal. Of course he looked normal, what did he expect? To sprout horns and a spade-tipped tail because some girl told him he was a "Devil" now? Nope, not him. Still human as human can be. Thankfully no stitch marks anywhere he could see either, hopefully that meant he was still in possession of all his organs. Could never be too careful when you wake up next to a possible lunatic. Or maybe he was the real crazy one for entertaining someone that was clearly not all there upstairs. Granted, not as crazy as her but still. Could be that this was all just a very elaborate, very weird prank. One that involved one of the "Great Ladies" of Kuoh Academy sleeping in his bed, naked. Who then proceeded to tell him that he died and that she was some supernatural, biblical monster. If it was then he was going to have a very long, possibly very violent, talk with the mastermind behind this.

Until then he wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of losing his cool. Of course, deciding that after he had grabbed a new uniform from his closet and scrambled into his bathroom to change and preserve whatever dignity he had left may have already blown his cover that his cool was anything but kept but it was the thought that counts. For now he'd just play it normal and keep pace with his regular morning routine. He glanced at the shower and had to rule out following the entire routine. No way he was taking a shower with a stranger in his house, it was bad enough she was currently out of his sight doing who knows what in his house. He'd have to make do giving himself a quick wash with a towel and the sink faucet after brushing his teeth.

A brushing and wipe down later, he quickly dressed himself, doing his best to look nonplussed as he opened the door and walked back into his bedroom. Oh good, Rias was fully dressed now. Good, that was good. Trying to stave off an erection when running to the bathroom was hard enough, no pun intended, he'd rather not have to do it again. Trying to keep his voice as level as possible, he called out to her. "You want to, uh, freshen up or something before school?" Smooth as sandpaper.

She turned towards him, flipping her hair over her shoulder before giving her reply, "It's fine, I can take care of that at school and I wouldn't want to impose. Will you be alright? You were quite frantic earlier." Of course he was frantic, he woke up to Rias Gremory in his damn bed with no memory of the previous night. Any man in his position would have been "frantic".

"I'm good. I..." He couldn't lie and say he took a shower last night when he didn't remember last night. He refused to believe something as ridiculous as last night's nightmare was a reality, which left him in an awkward predicament. Couldn't say he did it before she woke up either considering how she found him. Truth then? Yeah, sure, this whole situation was bizarre enough as is. "I don't like showering when there's a stranger in my house." That got a light laugh out of her.

"Fair enough." A simple, graceful, two word reply. "Breakfast then?" Was she offering him breakfast in his own house or was she asking him to cook something for her? Either way, she was certainly bold but he could already tell that much given this entire morning. You don't get naked and crawl into someone's bed being timid. He was hungry anyway, wouldn't hurt to make her something even if she was just messing with him. Would hurt even less to keep her happy if she really was just as crazy as he feared.

"Sure, I'll cook."

No way was he letting her near the knives.


"That was delicious. Thank you for the meal."

"No problem. You're a guest, it's only be polite of me to make you breakfast." Specifically one that only needed a fork to eat. Fresh, nicely diced ham, an omelet and a glass of orange juice. Not a bad meal to start off the day and would hopefully give him the energy to deal with whatever game Rias was playing. "If you don't mind I'd like to ask you a few questions."

Rias smiled and set down her fork before gracefully wiping her mouth with a napkin. Hell, every way she moved carried an air of grace and nobility to it. Must be that higher class upbringing of hers. "And I would love to answer them. Unfortunately," Unfortunately? "we're running a bit late on time. Classes will be starting soon." Shiki had to clamp down on the urge to ask if she was being serious right now. School, now? After this freaky-ass morning? "I promise to answer any and all questions you have after class. I'll send for someone to bring you to the Occult Research Club. We should really get going though, we wouldn't want to be late."

Occult Research Club?! He really was neck-deep in the shit now, he had brought a well and truly crazy girl into his house. 'Thanks, God.' And no sooner did that thought stop that he had to stop himself from visibly wincing. 'What the fuck was that?' It felt like a lance of pain right through his skull, unexpected and seemingly for no reason. Thankfully for as quickly as it came, it went, and he was left no worse for wear. He watched as Rias stood up from her seat at his dining room table and began walking to the door, worry present in his eyes. 'What the hell did you do to me when I was asleep?!' Quickly bringing the plates to the kitchen sink and dumping them in, he all but chased after her as she put on her shoes, opened the door and walked out, hastily putting on his own shoes and rushing to lock the door behind him.

On the bright side, at least he got her out of the house. A few more small victories like that and maybe he'd be able to convince himself that he had the situation under control.


Shiki felt like shit a few minutes into walking alongside Rias. Out of energy and that soreness from earlier making itself present once more, he struggled to keep a neutral expression. His eyes felt strained and his arms felt like they were full of lead, every step was a struggle. He had to squash the urge to just grab Rias and demand what she did that left him feeling like this. This was not normal, nothing about any of this was normal and it was really starting to not only anger him but worry him as well.

"It's a shame your parents couldn't join us for breakfast." What? Oh, right, normal conversation. Not particularly his strong suit, especially feeling as crap as he did at that moment. Nevertheless, he told himself he'd remain collected until Rias Gremory and her gorgeous brand of insanity was as far away from him as possible and if that meant small talk then so be it.

"Would have been difficult for them to, all things considered. They don't live in Kuoh. I live here alone." Considering this girl had, for all intents and purposes, broken into his house and laid next to his sleeping body he wondered if it was a smart move to tell her that he lived alone. Probably not. 'Note to self, buy security system and change all locks.'

"Aren't you a bit young to be living on your own?"

'You're not wrong.' he thought with more than a healthy amount of bitterness. His parents were sort of a sore spot for him, one he didn't particularly feel like going too in-depth with with a stranger. He didn't want, nor need, sympathy and he wasn't looking for anyone to act as a therapist either. His problems were just that, his problems. "It was a location issue. Their jobs needed them somewhere else but they wanted to send me to the best possible school they could. So, they rented out the house I'm at and come over a few times a month to check up on me. This way works out best for everyone." It really didn't in his opinion, but he didn't bother to voice such thoughts, not to Rias nor his mother and father. The former because she didn't need to know and the latter because they worked themselves hard to put him in Kuoh, get him a place to live and put money into an account to live off of so he wouldn't have to juggle work and school. He shouldn't complain, regardless of how he felt. "What about you?"

Rias smiled when answering him, "I also live by myself." Eh? Then why did she say he was young to be on his own if she was too? They couldn't have been more than a year apart in age. Damn weird girl. "I wanted to be more independent and experience some freedom so I asked them to let me live in Japan. They agreed so long as I speak to them regularly and don't let my grades slip." So that's how it was. Two high schoolers living on their own, one by necessity and the other by choice. Small world. "And it looks like we're here."

She was right, they were already at the gates in front of Kuoh. Conversation and all that time spent in his own head had distracted him and made the walk go by faster than he thought, despite his body pains. And, unfortunately, people were staring at them both. Staring and talking. Staring and talking very loudly, saying things like "What's Rias onee-sama doing with somebody like him?!", "Who the hell even is that?" and his personal favorite, "He better get away from Rias-sama if he knows what's good for him."

'Oh please, try. Please come over here and do something so I can claim self-defense.' Shiki thought to himself. Yesterday's trash-level fight left him more than unsatisfied and this morning's BS made him more than annoyed, any opportunity to work off some anger would be relished. Externally though, he put on a polite smile as always and whispered to Rias, "Are they always like this?"

"You get used to it." No, he would most certainly not be getting used to it. This would not be happening again, walking together with one of the school's "idols". Having people's attention like this would not be a repeat performance, not if he had anything to say about it. "Regardless, I'll send someone for you after class. We'll talk then, alright? Goodbye and have a nice day." Rias finished with a smile. Speaking of things that wouldn't be happening, that. He played along with this joke for more than long enough, he wouldn't be involved any further. He still smiled back and wished her the same before breaking off from her to go to class, the eyes of what felt like the entire student body boring holes into his body.

Unwanted attention from literally everyone aside, it wasn't a bad feeling, pissing off all these people. He tried to keep his more vicious tendencies contained to fights but seeing people trying to glare him to death put him in a smidgen of a better mood. He supposed it was just in his nature to enjoy pushing people's buttons, in fights or out of them. 'Keep on glaring, idiots. It's all you can do, whether you know it or not.'

Only a minute after splitting from Rias and his mood was looking up. Now he just needed to make it through another boring school day. Easy.


"What were you and Rias-senpai doing walking together to school, Yukimura-kun?"

Why couldn't things be easy? Why did people have to keep badgering him for details? Nothing even happened! That damn girl and her ridiculous popularity were starting to cause real problems for him! The attention from walking in with her he could accept on the condition that it eventually dissipate when people found something more interesting to talk about. It was the constant questions from his classmates that was angering him, because it wasn't as if he could just get up and walk out of the room. Not only would that make the situation worse, it'd probably get the rumor mill spinning even faster. With his awful luck lately causing a scene by stomping out would somehow result in a rumor like "Yukimura-kun left class to have a mid-day rendezvous with Gremory-senpai!" Just thinking of all the crap they could make up made him want to vomit. Why couldn't anyone in this school be normal?!

"Nothing, actual nothing. We ran into each other and talked on the way here. That's the extent of my interactions with Rias Gremory, Kutaragi-san." he answered, not even bothering to look up as he addressed her, more focused on shoving his textbooks into his bag quickly. Probably could be considered rude but he was so tired of this shit and the terrible sluggishness in his body from that morning hadn't disappeared. Maybe he should consider going to a doctor, because whatever was wrong with him wasn't going away apparently.

Kutaragi Noire was the closest thing he had to a friend in his class and even using the word "friend" was stretching it. They were passing acquaintances that only interacted with one another in school, though from the way she kept inviting him to hang out with her and her friends she probably wanted more. He wasn't interested in any sort of romantic relationship with anyone right now. He had enough on his plate and he knew he wasn't exactly the picture perfect poster child of stability to begin with, no need for other people to go and find that out too. "But, I do need you to do me a small favor." Shiki finished, looking at her for the first time. He was probably pushing his luck here, asking the girl who's invitation he turned down yesterday for some help but there wasn't any harm in asking.

"Huh? A favor? Sure, I guess. What do you need?" Noire quickly responded. Well that certainly worked out nicely. Maybe he should have felt guiltier taking advantage of a girl that had some sort of thing for him. Time for guilt later though, right now was time for getting the hell out of Dodge and for that he needed a small part of deception. Right on time, the bell signifying the end of class and school rung. Perfect.

"Anyone that comes in here looking for me, tell 'em I went to the bathroom and that I'll be back. Can you do that for me?" Shiki asked, smiling brightly at her, laying on as much charm as he could in the hopes she'd just accept what he was asking without looking too much into it. He was taking a gamble, asking someone else for help on this, but he needed to stall whoever Rias sent for him just long enough to give himself a head start on the way home, where he could lock all of his doors and pretend to not be there if she showed up at his house looking for him.

"Um, sure? Why though?" Noire asked, more confused than anything. She really was cute, tilting her head like that with such an expression. Too bad he was such a mess in every way possible otherwise he'd have taken her up on one of her many, unsubtle, requests for a date.

"Now that is a story, unfortunately one I don't have time to tell you today. Thanks for the favor, Kutaragi-san. Will pay you back when I can, promise!" Shiki shouted over his shoulder as he grabbed his bag and hurried out of the room, heedless of what anyone might think or say. Hopefully Rias gave up after today's setback, otherwise his classmates could get used to this kind of spectacle from him. Even his reputation was taking hits because of that troublesome redhead. Crazy chicks were the worst.


'Oh you must be fuckin' shitting me.'

"We finally found you, shithead brat." It was that idiot from yesterday, along with his two cronies. Shiki noted with a bit of pride that the guy he beat up on had a cast over his nose, making his ugly mug that much worse. He must have let some amusement show on his face because Ugly, as he had now taken to calling him, got angrier. "Oh you think this is fucking funny? We spent all day looking for you, what a surprise that you're just some snot-nosed high school punk. You're not gonna be lucky this time though. All three of us are going to pay you back for yesterday." Ugly chuckled as his goons looked ready to jump in the fight with their "boss", so sure of their strength in numbers. They stood across from him on the same overpass he walked over on his way home, the same one from his dream.

'Why is this happening to me? Did I do something to deserve it?' Shiki thought to himself. Then he looked again at the cast on the man's nose and the black and blue bruises peppering his face. 'Okay, stupid question.' He had a feeling that his after school activities would give him grief one of these days but for someone he trashed to actually come looking for him? That was a first. And it was a bad first, incredibly so. These people were getting a look at him in his school uniform. A few questions around town and they would know what school he attended. One thing would lead to another and if they spoke to the administration it would be their word against his. He could get expelled for this.

It was that final thought that made him really angry. Ever since he'd started this bad little habit of his he had busted his ass to keep it under wraps. Never starting fights within the general vicinity of Kuoh Academy or with any of the other members of the student body, never fighting in his uniform, he had even gone as far as to leave Kuoh Town a few times when he was feeling particularly cautious. And these idiots were ruining everything. They were putting everything he worked hard at in jeopardy because they couldn't take the loss he handed them. They were putting his perfectly maintained image in danger because they were sore losers. Who the hell did they think they were to pull this stunt?

He dropped his school bag to the ground without a care and started undoing buttons on his black blazer, starting with the cuffs before moving on to the front buttons. They wanted a fight? He'd give them a damn slaughter. He was going to regret getting into a fight like this. Too close to school, while still wearing his uniform, in plain sight where some passing student could see them. He didn't give a shit anymore. The day gradually wearing him down, the general fatigue he had felt since waking up, everyone's constant gaze on him at school, and just the audacity of these men to try and call him out, it all swirled together and fueled the fire inside him. "For as much I might regret this in the future," he began, undoing the last button and letting his blazer hang open as he started walking towards them, eager for the opportunity to finally cut loose, "you pieces of shit are going to regret it a hundred times more now."

"Ah, there's no need for that."

Shiki felt a hand on his shoulder and spun with as much force he could, knocking the hand away and throwing a hook with the intent of taking someone's head right off their shoulders. He was shocked not only by his punch being blocked but by the person doing the blocking. Kiba Yuuto, second year at Kuoh Academy, also known as "The Prince of Kuoh Academy" to many of the female students. Kiba Yuuto, currently stopping Shiki's fist from decapitating him with a block using his forearms, his punch stopped dead in its tracks. Kiba Yuuto, with that damned constant smile on his face despite the fact that Shiki swung at him full force. "I hope you don't greet everyone like this, Yukimura-kun." Kiba Yuuto, currently getting on his nerves.

"Only when they piss me off. Now if you don't mind, I'm in the middle of something here." Shiki quipped rudely, not even bothering to play the role of normal, average high school student that he usually took on around classmates. No point to it, Kiba had probably seen and heard more than what Shiki would have liked, meaning he was screwed no matter what. Might as well just go with what felt natural, and what felt natural right now was being angry.

"Sorry, Yukimura-kun," Shiki really wished this guy would stop using his name so casually, "I've been instructed to bring you to the club room." So this was his "escort", huh? Persistent guy, to chase him this far out. Fast runner too, had to be considering the lead Shiki had over Kiba with Noire running interference. Kiba stepped in front of him and glanced at the three thugs at the end of the bridge. "Besides, these gentlemen were about to leave. Isn't that right?" First, dead silence, as if they were contemplated actually leaving. Then, almost like magic, they actually did, just turned and left, Ugly grumbling all the while about how two kids weren't worth their time. Kiba turned back to Shiki with that same smile he always had, "See?"

"I don't need you or anyone else fighting my battles for me." Shiki snapped. Denied a fight to take out his anger on someone and now likely to be coerced into walking back to school to meet with Rias, this day just kept getting better and better. "Lemme guess, you're here to make sure that I take Rias' invitation to visit her club and if I don't then you'll report what happened here to the Dean? Get me suspended or expelled if I don't go with you?"

"Neither I nor Buchou have any desire to blackmail or otherwise extort you. She just wants you to visit the club and to answer the questions you had this morning, that's all." Kiba replied calmly, trying to placate the irate Shiki as best he could. To Kiba's credit, he did manage to get Shiki to settle down after mentioning that nobody was going to try and get him expelled.

Shiki snatched his bag of the ground and turned to walk back in the direction of the school. "Fine, blondie. I'll go to your damn club meeting, hear what Rias has to say and get some answers. But so help me if this is you people's idea of a joke you're not going to be blocking the next punch so easily. Got it?" He didn't even wait for Kiba's response before walking off, determined to get this over with as quickly as possible. Kiba just chuckled as he followed closely behind.


"So..."

"Is there any reason in particular you left despite my telling you I would send someone to your class you bring you here?" Shiki could hear the lightest bit of irritation in Rias' tone. Good. She had caused him nothing but grief from the moment he wore up to now. It was only fair that he pay some of that back. To answer her, he decided to give the truth and see how she took it.

"Well at first I thought you were screwing with me, trying to play some really over-elaborate prank. Then you started talking about Devils and my death and I switched from thinking you were messing around to thinking you're insane." He took a pause and looked around the room, taking in the scenery. Weird, occultic symbols on the floors, walls and even ceiling. Some sort of "magic circle" drawn in the center of the room. The only light provided were candles. A Victorian-era styled sofa sitting off to the side, with one Toujou Koneko, the school's unofficial mascot, sitting on it and eating sweets, Kiba standing close by. A desk that he was currently standing in front of, having refused the seat offered to him under the belief that he wouldn't be there long, Rias sitting behind that desk and Himejima Akeno, the second of the two "Great Ladies", standing to her left with an amused look. "Jury's still out on the whole "insane" bit, to be honest with you." Making eye contact with Rias he could tell that she was still a bit annoyed but also entertained by his response, even if it was at her expense. Lucky for him, would be pretty bad if she was angry at him and then wound up to be actually crazy on top of that.

"Ara ara, you've found a lively one, Buchou." Himejima Akeno, the second half of the "Great Ladies". Absurdly attractive, with a body women well above her age would literally kill for. Long black hair up in a ponytail tied with an orange ribbon, with two long strands of hair sticking up from her head and sloping backwards. Shiki had to resist the urge to liken them to antennae and ask her if she picked up any radio stations. He was pushing his luck as is, and it's not as if the black-haired girl had done anything to warrant his jokes. She wore the standard female uniform and, just like Rias, the chest area was bulging. He had to wonder if it really was something in the water of this town or if everything the women in Kuoh ate just went to their breasts.

"He is, isn't he? He'll make a fine addition." Addition? Oh no, not happening. Joining some school club that was starting to seem more and more like an actual cult was not high on his list of priorities. He'd just have to decline, politely but forcefully.

"Addition? I only came here to get some answers. Not interested in joining."

Or just forcefully.

"Well, hopefully my answers can change your mind." Not likely. "So, how about I start from the beginning?" Shiki's silence must have been answer enough because Rias continued on. "I'll get to the point then. We are Devils. The person that killed you last evening, with black wings, is what we refer to as a Fallen Angel. Former Angels that served the Biblical God but have since fallen from Heaven for holding evil intentions. They, along with the Angels of Heaven, are the enemies of Devils. To save your life I-"

"Is this funny to you?" Shiki cut her off coldly.

Rias looked confused, "I'm sorry?"

"I asked if this is funny to you. Not only have you made my day a living hell, not only do you have one of your club members hunt me down to drag me back here, but then you rub it in and waste my time by telling me something so ridiculous? Do you get off on it, trying to mock and humiliate me like this?" Shiki spun on his heels and began walking to the door. He felt like an idiot for even coming here. Of course this was just a stupid joke by the upperclassmen, why would it be anything else? They were wasting his time and for that he felt no remorse in firing back at them rudely, discarding politeness entirely. "Find someone else to screw with. I'm done, with you and your cult. Don't bother me again." Hand reaching out for the door knob, his heart stopped when he heard two words from Rias.

"Amano Yuuma."

His stomach dropped at hearing that name. How did she know that name? He told absolutely no one about his nightmare from the night prior. There wasn't any way for Rias to know it. Coincidence, had to be. That was it, just pure coincidence. She was making a random shot in the dark, throwing out a name and gauging his reaction to see if he'd bite. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction. "I don't know who or what that is. If that's all you have to say, I'm leaving."

"She existed. Yesterday you were killed by the Fallen Angel known as Amano Yuuma and I reincarnated you as a Devil. As proof that I am telling the truth, that everyone in this room is a Devil," he heard what sounded like something unfurling or otherwise being released, "please look at me once more." It would have been so easy to just blow her off, open the door and walk out but something inside him compelled him to turn towards her once more.

Wings. Huge, black, jagged, bat-like wings. Every single person in this club had wings sprouting from their backs. For the first time in so long, Shiki felt fear, fear and a complete numbness. The people before him were not human beings. Devils, actual Devils. She was telling the truth. "Don't look so surprised, Shiki. You have them as well." What. No, he most certainly did not have wings. He did not have wings because he was not a Devil. He refused to believe that up until he lurched forward suddenly, a pressure on his back building before he heard that same unfurling sound. "If you don't believe me just look yourself." And when he did so he was met with the sight of those same great black wings. Sprouting from his back. His wings. He had wings. "Now, would you like to sit down so we can discuss this properly?" Shiki couldn't even find it in him to respond, he was so badly shocked. All he could do was stagger in a daze back to where he was standing previously before taking the seat that was offered.

Rias launched into an explanation of everything the moment Shiki sat down but it was mostly in one ear and out the other. He was too shocked by the revelation that he was no longer a human being to truly pay attention to anything the redhead was saying. A Devil, that's what he was now. What did that even mean? Would he be taking people's souls in deals? Performing human sacrifice? And what about his family, how did his mother and father factor into all this? Would he have to abandon them to keep them safe from people that would try to hurt him for what he was now?

"Do you understand all of that? You, Yukimura Shiki, were reborn as a servant Devil to me."

That was enough to drag him back to reality as those words rung through his ears. Servant? Servant. Slave. This girl had somehow made him a slave in her service. His fists clenched, fingernails digging deeply into his palms until he was sure they were breaking the skin and drawing blood. He forced a smile to his face, a shaky, unnatural smile that looked entirely out of place with the rest of his body language, though it seemed that Rias hadn't noticed how badly Shiki was taking all of this. "That's how it is, huh? I'm your slave?" he growled, temper flaring once more but this far worse than before. He was approaching the boiling point.

"It's not like that, Yukimura-kun. The Gremory family is incredibly kind and treat us like family." Kiba started kindly and he almost recoiled when Shiki turned to him, fake smile dropping and twisted into a snarl.

"Who the fuck asked you? Nobody was talking to you so shut the hell up, Prince. I was speaking to my new "Master"." Shiki snapped at the blond, shocking everyone at the venom in his voice. He glared at Kiba, almost daring him to speak again before looking back to Rias, the unfitting smile he previously wore back in place. He spoke politely and succinctly, "Whatever deal we have, whatever you did to me, undo it. Now."

"I can't do that, Shiki. Please calm do-"

"What the hell do you mean you can't do it? If you did it then you can undo it! What right do you have to do this to me? Who the hell gave you the right to turn me into property? Don't you fucking tell me to calm down! This is slavery! I want nothing to do with you, with any of you! I don't want to be your friend, I don't want to be your family, I don't know you and I don't want to know you so take back whatever you did to me!" he ranted, panting heavily from almost screaming himself hoarse. Rias was shocked silent, she'd never witnessed so much vitriolic anger, never mind having it directed towards her. This entire encounter was different than anything she had expected. She had expected shock, amazement and a fair bit of anger but this was far past a "fair bit". He looked a hair away from leaping over the desk to attack her.

Akeno, seeing her King's predicament, stepped up in her place to try and pacify the enraged young man before he did anything rash, "Yukimura-kun I know you're angry but-"

"Shut. Up." Shiki retorted, cutting her off. "I don't want to hear anything any of you have to say. Undo this and then let me go." In the back of his head he knew he was entering very dangerous territory, making demands of people that could probably kill him if his last encounter with a supernatural being was anything to go by. He didn't care anymore. He wanted to go home. Go home and just pretend this day never happened. Maybe break something. Several somethings. Several people's somethings.

"Yukimura," Rias began sternly, dropping all politeness, all business now. "I can understand and tolerate your anger but you will not be rude to my servants. I can't undo this, reincarnating you as a Devil is a permanent change," Shiki began growling again at this, sounding more like a dog backed into a corner than a person at this point, "but your status as a Low Class Devil doesn't need to be permanent. You can rise through the ranks and become a High Class Devil, after which you'll have almost complete autonomy."

"And how do I do that? Why should I trust you?"

"I have no reason to lie to you. As for how, there are several ways, but the most common one involves fighting. That sounds like something you'd be interested in, doesn't it? Strong opponents, nothing like you've ever seen before. A real test of your strength." Rias looked so sure this would be enough to get him to calm down.

She wasn't wrong, it did calm him a bit. He could still be free and all it would take was some fighting. Fighting to rise through the ranks, going against the best of the best. That's what he wanted before, wasn't it? Well, not exactly that, but he did want to fight strong people. By fighting those people he'd free himself of this indentured servitude forced upon him, two birds with one stone. But there was something wrong with what Rias said, he noticed. How exactly did she know that he'd be interested in something like that? Kiba couldn't have told her anything about how he'd found him without Shiki noticing, and even if he had one fight didn't equate to enjoying fighting. He took a lot of care in keeping his hobby away from prying eyes, of that he was certain. There was no way for her to know unless...

"You've been spying on me." It wasn't a question. "You've been watching me." His voice was starting to pick up again, rising from the whisper he started at. "You… you fucking people have been spying on me!" Rias opened her mouth to say something but he didn't give her chance. "I knew there was something weird about you people, how damn casual you were all acting around me! How none of you reacted even when I stopped pretending to be so damn polite. It's because you knew everything about me before we even met! You've been watching me for who knows how long. Probably waiting for the right moment to put a chain around my neck, right? Tell me something, Buchou." Shiki said, the title dripping with sarcasm. "Isn't it convenient that I died in such a way? Killed by a Fallen Angel and who's there to pick up my life but Rias Gremory, someone who can bring me back to life as their slave! I can't refuse your offer if I'm laying on the ground bleeding out of a hole in my stomach, am I right?!" his anger was getting worse again, all but outright accusing her of having orchestrated his death.

"No!" For once, Rias lost the calm she had kept even when he was screaming. There was a fire in her eyes as she argued back. "I would never, ever even consider that! Yes, I will admit that I had you under surveillance but it was to try and protect you. I considered the possibility that the Fallen Angels could do something to harm you and, to try and prevent that, I was watching you. If I thought for even a moment that they would try to kill you I would have acted in your defense." Rias tried to to calm herself. To be angry was one thing but to say she had planned for his death was crossing the line. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, for invading your privacy in such a way and for failing to save your life. Whether you believe it or not, I am. Neither you nor I can change what's happened though, so shouldn't we both try to move forward?"

"That's easy for you to say, you're not the one on a leash." Shiki countered. He couldn't prove that she had a hand in his death and in the same vein she couldn't prove to him she didn't. For now he'd have to take her word at face value, meaning he really had little choice in how to proceed. He was trapped, completely and utterly screwed. Fine, if that's how it is then he'd set the pace. If nothing else, he'd be the dictating the terms to his "Master", not the other way around. "Fine."

"Fine?"

"I'll work for you, but let's get a few things straight. I'm not your slave, I'm not your lackey, I'm not your friend and I'm not your dog. I'm not calling you Master. Don't expect me to bow or call you "Your Majesty" every time you walk in the door. I'm not calling you Buchou either, as far as anyone is concerned I'm not a member of this club. Any people you've got watching me, that stops, permanently. Finally, once I've reached the level of High Class if I say we're done then we're done. We go our separate ways, live our separate lives and that's that. If you can agree to all of that," he stepped forward and offered his hand, face twisted into a grimace as he made a literal deal with the Devil, "then you and I have a deal."

He felt that what he was asking was perfectly within his rights. He wouldn't acknowledge someone that had practically tricked him into becoming a Devil and he damn sure wasn't joining the Occult Research Club so there wasn't a reason to call her Buchou either. He wanted his privacy back to try and regain something resembling his normal life, a life he could feel slowly slipping away from him the longer he spent in their club room. If this girl wanted anything resembling a functioning work relationship with him then she'd accept his terms, and if she didn't then he'd raise hell whenever he could.

Rias must have thought the conditions he laid out were fair as she reached out and grasped his hand.

"You have yourself a deal, Shiki."

"Good. Now, do me a favor and tell me everything you can about this mess I've been dragged into. I want to know everything."


Author's Note: You may have noticed by now our protagonist has issues. It's part of my problem with DxD's canon, in that the Evil Piece system is objectively a pretty horrid thing. A Devil can reincarnate someone, anyone, against their will and the person has no say in it. Yes there are Devils, like the Gremory, that treat their servants as family but that doesn't excuse anything. It's still, at its base, a form of slavery. The times the negative aspects of the system is displayed is with villains like Diodora, who are so over the top evil that it kind of dulls the effect. Anyway, my OC is unhindered by thoughts of what he can gain from being a Devil and jumps straight to the negatives, as I feel any teenager going through a huge emotional upheaval would. He's been killed and had to confront that fact, had his facade of normality slowly picked apart throughout the day, and finally told that he is no longer human as well as a servant. I don't think there are many people in the world that could take such news with a smile.

Anyway, read, review, etc. I'm also looking for a beta so if you've got extensive knowledge and/or experience with DxD and are interested in such a role then message me.