Hey there, DxD fandom, it has been a while.

So, considering this story taking another routes for now just like I did with Re-Birth; and with that, while the story is still a dxd fanfic with our girls as main, I'll be having a little more fun on this ride and maybe create some new and funny concepts along the way. I finally figure it out how i can make Takumi work as a mc that can be liked, and just like the new title, new life blooms. I'm just kidding. But expect some good routes and maybe a few surprises along the way, or not. Jk, this is still a work from the heart, so i hope you all enjoy this fic to the fullest, I'll be doing my best as well.

As always, dxd doesn't belong to me.

"In the end, love is senseless, but in no way meaningless."

"Uh… Huh."

And again I found myself in a rather surreal situation. I thought that after classes and my detention for my lateness the other day I would have my day free from other events that would be harmful for my overall health, but I was wrong: after putting on my shoes and waving a goodbye to Kiba-san while we parted ways by Kuoh's gates, I met with Lisa-san, who was for some reason with a medical eyepatch on one of her eyes, casted arm and bandages all over her body, who invited me to eat in a nearby ramen shop, all on her. I felt a little bad since she again would be paying for my meal, but in the end, I accepted it, if just to spend some time with her and talk…

And now here I am, in a ramen shop in the middle of nowhere, the place filled to the brim with people and ramen, the scent of pork and noodles filling my nostrils while the bright crimson lanterns would illuminate the place like I was in a festival. However, that was not the biggest surprise in this entire scenario; oh no, the main show was seeing master again gobbling down bowl after bowl of big-sized ramen without a minute to stop! Me, who ordered just a small portion of gyoza dumplings, am almost losing my appetite by seeing her gulping down such large amount of food! But in the end, she let out a satisfied sigh, pushed her last bowl of ramen away and with her good elbow on the table and chin supported by the back of her hand on a V-form, she calmly smiled at me. Letting out that random piece of advice. That was so sudden. In the end, she looks back at me, blinks a few times, then let out a small laugh…

"Sorry, sorry, Takumi-kun. That was a small spurt of the moment, don't mind me." She laughs it off, waving her hand in front of me a few times in order to lift up the mood. What was that all about? A spurt of the moment she says, but in the end that was a great amount of insight for what happened. "I'm just having a small full-tummy high right now, so that was just a random thought of the moment, something Master Vali said to me a few times in the past. Think nothing of it."

"Okay, I guess." I said, finally having space to take a bit out of my dumplings. I munched a few times, still with those words of her on my head, thinking about how love is senseless but not meaningless, with my cheek resting on my hand while I eat. That sudden talk made me a bit curious: "Say, Lisa-san, have you already fallen in love? As in, you got a crush or really felt head over heels for someone?"

"Huh? Why the sudden question?" She asks while taking another bite out of her pork, but after a few seconds of silence and a few moments more, she looks thoughtfully up to the ceiling, only to snap her fingers to herself, leaning over the balcony where we were having our meal. "Well, I did have a crush on a guy named Hawk when I first joined the Association. He's around my age, handsome, really nice, funny and kind and his researches and thesis are always one point. Basically, he's the type of guy any girl would fall for, me included… Until I discovered that he's known around for having the softest mouth in all the Association."

Oh…?

Oh!

Oooh~…

"I'm… Sorry to hear that, Lisa-san." No joking, that revelation would've hit me hard too, harder than discovering that some of my classmates are supernatural creatures or something, or at least something close of what I'm feeling right now. For my words of sympathy and encouragement, Lisa-san turned around to flash me a quiet stare, to then smile and puff a laughful sigh.

"Don't be, Takumi-kun. Things like that happen all the time, I'm all over it anyway." She puts her hands on the air and makes a nonchalant gesture like she's just throwing away all the bad ideas off her chest. A few seconds pass, then she supports the side of her head on one of her hands on the table, looking at me with the only uncovered, ungazed eye, shining me a mischievous, teasing smile that made me blush. "But why would you ask about something like that? Is it possible, perhaps, that you're starting to develop feelings for you master at such time, Takumi-kun?"

"None of that! None of that! Sorry, but not really." I said waving my hands frenetically in front of my face so that misunderstand could be clearer, and her only reaction was to laugh on my face again, making me blush even more. It's not like master is not a beautiful woman, but I have no feelings for her, and her body and personality is not what people might call uber-attractive. I now feel a bit bad for thinking that. In the end, her smile now fading into a smug one, I sighed and lowered my head at the balcony, eating another dumpling. "It's because… How can I say? I got dumped by two girls, and only now I discovered that I had no chance since the start. They were in love with another person, and I have no idea what to think of that. Should I be relieved? In despair? Maybe a bit hopeful? I seriously don't know, so maybe asking you would help me… Kinda."

"I didn't like this 'kinda', it implies I might not be the best suited for those grown-up topics." She pouted a little and spat those words at me, my only response was to laugh under my breath and bow a little to apologize. Of all the people I know, which is not that many, Lisa-san seems to be the most reasonable of them all and it won't (probably) ask me to do or do herself something that I might regret later. Ryou-chan, Issan and Touya are out of question for obvious reasons, and Ryuuko-nee is not the most stable person to talk about relationships. Not because she doesn't know about relationships, but because she… Knows too much about it. With both men and women. Lisa-san is my safest bet, all things considered. In the end, she asks for more ramen. "But like I said, Takumi-kun: Love is senseless yet not meaningless. What you feel, what you felt and what will feel is only for you to decide."

"I… Guess." I respond. I didn't actually quite get that one from her, but she continued anyway, drawing something invisible with her finger on the air. She wasn't doing anything mystical, it was only a sign that she was bored or something.

"In case you didn't get, let me put it like this: there's plenty fish on the sea. Love is not something immutable or stationary; it's quite mercurial, really. Call it a response for animals to mate, call it a red invisible string on your pinky finger, call just a bunch of butterflies in your stomach, call it whatever you like, in the end, Love is just as mutable as its explanation or definitions." She then snaps her fingers to my direction as her ramen arrive, using her good arm to pick up her chopsticks and take a long and delicious slurp from her noodles. "The same thing goes for loved ones: there is no such thing as eternal love or endless passion. Love is a finite infinity, a limited eternity, so if anything be happy that you know what love is, and knows it can happen again."

"…" I pouted a little as my face soured a bit, but not because of grief or sorrow mind you, but because I'm a bit relieved now. I guess she's right in a way, all that love talk is really sinking in to me now. It's not like just because I've fallen in love with Kunou-san and Lilith-san I'll just confess to them and we'll get married, have kids and spend the rest of our lives together, as pretentious as that sounds. Also like they said, It is not the first time I've fallen in love, and I'm sure it won't be the last time. I turned to Lisa-san with a bittersweet smile. "Maybe you're right. No the first time falling in love, anyway. Still, it hurts a bit. This is my first rejection since kindergarten, after all."

"Huhuh." I turned to master yet again, and now she was playing with a single chopstick on the middle of her teeth, grinning slightly at me. "You still look like a boy, but has anyone ever told you that you're maybe a little too mature for this kind of thinking? Boys like you should be thinking about getting laid or becoming a pop-star or something like having a girlfriend, not this kind of mentality so soon. You should… Not worry about those things."

"Hahahahah." I again laughed nervously. Yeah, I heard that one before, and it wasn't in the brightest of situations either. But what can I do, I can't force them to like me either way, so the only way is to swallow that one just once. I reached for another dumpling to munch on it a bit nervous. "I dunno, Lisa-san. Maybe I don't feel like pursuing that after all, something I couldn't get from the start. And besides, if I get a girlfriend before my friends, I would feel bad. I dunno, maybe it was just a spurt from the moment or something…"

"Oh-hoh. So you have friends. Impressive, gotta say. People like you are usually loners, so this basically just overruns all the impressions I have for you. Congratulations, and sorry for that." She smiles at me, and I couldn't help but to awkwardly grin at her again. Is it all that hard for someone like me to have friends? Although they are my childhood friends, so I don't think she's all that wrong.

"Thank… You, Lisa-san?"

"Don't mention it." She finishes yet another bowl of ramen, pilling up another one on what I can only describe as a ramen Babel. "When you asked me to train you, I was expecting to fully engage you in a series of phases and trials for you to overcome, but after all those moments with you, I realized that maybe your training should start with something a bit less manual and more on the mental side."

"What…?" I questioned her with a tilt of my head.

"Sacred Gears… Are God's love letters to humanity. By wielding those, we're using divine force in the name of the way we want to accomplish. A strong and firm heart equals a powerful and controllable Sacred Gear, and for that, the same could be said about the opposite: weak will or fragile spirit might corrupt it and make it unable to work under certain circumstances. That way…" She snaps her fingers one more time to ask the waiter for another bowl of ramen, now turning to me to pick one of my dumplings. I'm not even mad, I wonder what she has to say now. "Maybe we should start by organizing that little head of yours because your [GOSPEL JESTER] won't work under pressure or stress. Long story short, maybe instead of throwing you to the ocean and wait for you to either sink or swim, we should start in calm waters. No use in training with you all tense, nervous or hapless because it'd be fruitless and a bit dangerous. So… Let's start small."

"You're… You're not going to really throw me into the ocean, right?" I know that is just a metaphor, but ever since I started to live knowing all those supernatural stuff, it is always nice to be sure that I'm not in danger, although it does not always work. She shines me another smile out of mischief, and makes me shiver a bit. "But that aside, what you have in mind, Lisa-san? Zen classes? Maybe a lot meditation? Or we can play video-games back in my house. My uncle just bought me a PS4, anyway."

"Hmmm~. I have a better idea." She says before diving in again into her bowl of ramen and eat it's content to her heart's capability. When she was done, she picked from her pocket a small black card with the drawing of a pretty rose on it. For some reason, I could feel a rather dark aura coming from that small piece of paper. "Say, how late can you spend the night off?"

"Wait, what?"

After I had a complete dinner with Lisa-san and she used the rest of her research money to gulp down half of the noodle stock of that restaurant, we walked around Kuoh town for a bit, me following her to an unknown location after I asked my sister if I could spent the night away again, she giving me a thumbs up for that. Looking at the evening sky, the golden dawn slowly descending to nighttime, I couldn't help but to feel a cold shiver run down my spine since what happened last time I spent up to this hour at night. Fortunately, if anything happens, Lisa-san will be here to save me. Or at least help me beat whatever would want a piece of me.

"Fweeh, now we're talking. Nothing beats a good ramen after Master punch my headlights out. I feel alive again and not because I was practically resurrected after he's beaten me up." Lisa-san commented off-handedly, making me wonder what kind of master does she have for that. I just hope she's not like that while training me. She turns to me then, flicking the small card on her good hand among her bandaged fingers. "But anyway, you ready? Don't worry, it won't kill us or anything bad, but you can always turn back after what happened last time, I owe you that much."

"Well, if Lisa-san says it's okay, then it's okay. If anything happens at all, then I can always count on you, too." I said, remembering also what happened the other day. She went ahead to pinch my cheek and wiggle it a little, like I was a little kid or something.

"Well, aren't you cute? No wonder you don't have a girlfriend." She snickers, and after letting go of me and my hurt ego, she guided me to a deserted space somewhere between a building and another. Picking up the card between her fingers, she flickered once and tossed it right in front of us. What happened next threw me back: The card simply spontaneously grew in size to the same size as hers, and opened a black vortex in the middle of nowhere! It looked like a door from here to an unknown darkness ahead. I leaned forward a bit to take a closer look, but Lisa-san was bolder than I, walking right through it! "Meet me by the other side, why don't you?"

"What do you mean, Lisa-s-…?" And before I could say what I wanted to say, she just passed through the black portal and disappeared in thin air! How is that possible? I looked around and saw nothing, only the same spatial blackness that conveys all of that door. What in the world? Is that one of those Transitional Einstein-Rosen Bridge? No wait, that's a wormhole. I guess the right one would be a warphole, or a portal. I walked a few steps into it, reaching my hand for its dark borders, but hesitated a little. Instead, I leaned forward to call for her, if sound can also trespass like that. "Er… Lisa-san, are you there? Lisa-san?"

"…" Nothing from the black hole.

"Lisa-san? Hey, Lisa-san?"

"What are you waiting for? Come here already!" And then from that same darkness an arm extended towards me, reaching for my own hand to pull me in! I let out a mute scream with the sudden movement, but in the end, in a moment as sudden as a small *POOF!*, I've traversed the black door, it disappearing right before me soon under, only to step into a new location: I wasn't in Kuoh, or in Japan for that matter, anymore.

The people here were much different, and were wearing clothes I can pretty much say are very outdated. The buildings, also, look a bit older than usual, and the lights coming from them could not turn my attention away from the fact that the sky was… Blank. No stars, no sun or clouds, only a rather ominous shade of dark purple that would collide with the horizon of lights at the distance, where I could also see some other very old-looking buildings and even castles. I took a deep breath, and unlike the smell of a ramen restaurant, here it smells quite sweet, very sweet, to the point of noxious. What is this place? Not to mention, all people in here all adults, so many people in fact, all laughing and smiling.

"Uhh… Lisa-san, where is this place?" I asked her. Letting go of my hand, she snapped her fingers a few times to turn all my attention to her, and smirked, shrugging off.

"Welcome to the Underworld, Takumi-kun." She declares, making a blasé pose with both her hands in the air and a smirk and wink. I tilted my head to a side. Wait, I don't think I've heard her right.

"Macau?"

"No! It's 'Underworld'. Me-ka-i! Underworld!" She waves off her hand at me, and so I conclude what I heard wasn't wrong: I supposedly am in the Underworld! It's… Actually better than I've anticipated. I mean, it is dark and kinda medieval, but the vibes I'm getting from here are far less aggressive than, say, another day at Kuoh academy. It's a bit cold, but of course because there is no sun here. Lisa-san signed for me. "Or at least a more lukewarm part of it. Not very fancy or anything, but the idea place to relax. So, shall we be going?"

"Y-Yeah." I said. She said this place wasn't all that fancy, but from my point of view, it's quite of a refresher for the eye.

The streets were lit, the dark sky wasn't all that bad, and everybody here is really beautiful and full of life, not to mention all the ladies in here are very pretty and are wearing really revealing clothes! But I can't stare too much because apparently they already got company. Is this really hell? For as long as followed master, this seems like a nice place to live, and everyone here is very beautiful, However, seeing more or two personnel with something like horns, scales, slit pupils or fur I concluded that I was no longer in the human world, maybe I was having a fever dream or something. Finally, Lisa-san stopped us in front of a large building that looked more like a marble castle tinted in bright crimson, veils coming from everywhere and from where I could see some other beautiful women waving at us from the wisdoms. On top of the double-doored entranced, there was a bright sign shining in white light. I can hear laughter, steps and laughs from the other side, and I followed master yet again into it, into the unknown of that hellish location…

"Here, 'Sarah's Stravaganza', the perfect place to relax and calm that little head of yours. I needed to come here pick up some information anyway, considering how popular this place is." She said out loud, opening the doors to the so-called 'Sarah's Stravaganza', with me following soon after her steps. Once inside, I felt a soft sensation from where I stepped, so I noticed the carpeted red floor, so fluffy my feet practically sank into it. The insides of that place were just as fancy as the outside: The aforementioned carpeted floor, to the pure marble walls and pillars and crystal chandeliers hanging from the single ceiling. All around me, beautiful women wearing revealing yet charming clothes and sitting next to each other or their companies on the soft chairs and tables or one of the other expensive-looking furniture. The smell here is also quite nice, suave and sweet, not enough to pass as too subtle nor too aggressive to be noxious. Everything here is quite nice too. To think somewhere in hell there is a place like this… Lisa-san reached for the lady on a counter next to the entrance.

"Welcome to Sarah's Stravaganza. Here, we comfort those who cry and humour those who gloat, but we will always love those who c-… Oh, it's you, Elizabeth." The young woman who was not taller than master and cyan-coloured hair, blue eyes and purple lips dropped her smile when she clashed eyes with her, with the latter opening a grin in response, making me think they have some history together. The woman turned her attention now to her paperwork on the counter, writing something on it with a quill. Why not a pen, anyway? That clash between periods is quite something for the eyes.

"Yo, Lunamaria. Good to see you too. Guess who came back after surviving another day with Master Vali?" Master laughed once again, and the woman at the counter, Lunamaria is her name so I presume, scoffed a little without taking her eyes off the paper or her quill. To pick her attention again, Lisa-san snapped her fingers a few times in front of her, and in the end picked a massive golden bar directly from inside her cape to land it right in front of her! How is that even possible? How was she able to do that? The supernatural world indeed cannot be underestimated! "And, by the way, I'm here for the always: free-roaming and with rights to all the drinks and food! All in celebration for my new apprentice I got from the human world!"

"Does Lord Vali know you have been splurging your research and reward money like that? Even he would be more careful while handling those matters, but okay. Just don't go crying back when he snaps your spine… Again." Lunamaria-san said those words in such a nonchalant manner, I wonder if that's a recurrent event or something; that would explain so many things. The woman in the counter than turned to me, her blue eyes shining towards me with curiosity and question, making me a bit nervous. "And is that your so-called apprentice? Well, he is kind of cute all things considered. Hello, my name is Lunamaria Vepar, I'm the owner of this establishment. Welcome aboard."

"Uh, yes. My name is Higurashi Takumi, nice to meet you too." I said to her, which makes me wonder how she's able to understand me, and vice-versa. I ain't supposed to think that devils in hell are able to speak Japanese, am I? A question for another day, Lunamaria-san smirked at me and leaned forward to pat my head. That's nice.

"Wow, such a gentleman. You should be learning some things from him instead, Elizabeth." Lunamaria-san declares with a smirk back at Lisa-san, who pouts a bit.

"And you should already be trying to find yourself a husband, you old hag. Now give us pass, please." Just hearing those words made Lunamaria-san's face sour a bit, as she then reluctantly handed to master and me a small piece of golden bracelet, which Lisa-san firstly put on, and by any means I did the same. I felt no different, wonder why those are needed anyway? Maybe it works just like a pass like in those in Disneyworld. "Thank you, darling. Good work for you, hang in there."

"Just go whatever you want to do. Just be here to check out before Lord Vali has to drag you again." Lunamaria-san sighed at us, making space for Lisa-san to step in into the main room. I was about to follow her, but then the cyan-coloured lady called for my attention, smiling at me, blinking a few times and blowing a quiet one on me. "Have fun, Takumi. I'm sure you'll like in here. Trust me, quality is what doesn't lack here."

"Thank… You, I guess." And then I proceed to follow Lisa-san inside, yet feeling my cheeks burning a bit due to her sweet voice and nice perfume. Or would it be 'sweet perfume and nice voice'? It would make sense either way, what am I talking about? Maybe the atmosphere here is starting to make me a bit dizzy.

Anyway, once inside, I could get a better view from here: the carpeted floor staid fluffy and soft as usual, but unlike the darkness from outside, inside here the place is bright like it was a calm morning, the marble from the pillars and walls only emphasizing the feeling, not to mention all the pretty and beautiful women walking around, all of them with their own share of charms and perfumes. The crystal chandelier above my head only make this place looks fancier. It looks like one of those fancy party buildings I was invited once to a wedding of Uncle Tatsuya's friends. The western look is also not bad.

"Hey, Takumi-kun~! Over here!" I target Lisa-san who was now sitting on one of the chairs and tables next to the center of the place, eating some macaroons from a fountain-like silver plate and drinking something on a wine glass. However, what struck me the most was that she had two other women with her, all of them laughing and sharing some words with each other, like they are old friends or something. I came closer to them, and Lisa-san extended her hand towards me to her other acquaintances. "And that's Takumi-kun, my apprentice who I was talking about. Isn't he cute? He's having a case of heartbroken as well, so he might look a bit gloomy somehow."

"That's not very nice, Lisa-san. You shouldn't be about me like that." I opened a half-smile and scratched the back of my head, a bt embarrassed for that introduction. Even so, myself turned to her other two friends, one of them being a pale-skinned silver-haired beauty of stoic charm and the other of rose-coloured long hair and blue eyes shining such a seductive smile, and slowly bowed to them. "But, uh, nice to meet you. I'm Takumi, and I'm Lisa-san's… To-be apprentice. Nice to meet you, I'm Takumi."

Ah, I stuttered…

"Oh, you really are quite adorable, ain't ya? Heartbroken too, may I add? Those two are usually intertwined, so it makes sense." The pinkerette said to me with another smile, picking a macaroon for herself to munch on it. Come to think of it, she's actually very pretty too, more than any other girl here, and she's wearing such revealing clothes, I can feel some blood dripping from my nose. I try to hold that up, I don't even know her. "My name is Mayura. Mayura Amaymon, sweet as sugar and nice to meet you as well. And this one right beside me is…"

"Noin. Just Noin." She silver-haired girl next to Mayura-san completed her, shining her green bright eyes in my direction. Come to think of it, Noin-san is quite beautiful as well, her pale complex and quite overall colour scheme makes her quite shining and charming in a cold way, not like Mayura-san's warmness. How could I say, is it right to call that 'cool beauty'? Still, her stare is both frightening but approachable. "Nice to meet you as well."

"Heheh… Heheheheh." I laughed a bit nervous, now turning to Master. "Lisa-san who are them? Are they your friends or something? If so, I can just be around a little until you're done talking with each other. I don't want to interrupt anything."

"Hey, hey. No problem, Takumi-kun." Lisa-san waves her hand at me. "I mean, I've never meet those two in my life, so it's all good and gold for now. Come sit with us!"

"Wait, what?"

"Come sit with us, Takumi. Let's talk a bit and have a good time." And Mayura-san declared to me, but instead she pulled my arm and almost forced me to sit on a chair in the middle of them, Mayura-san and Noin-san. I gasped in surprise, but then sighed in nervousness considering I'm now between two beauties, and the angle from here allows me to look right into their cleavage, and they have such big bosoms~. I bit my tongue a bit to force myself to look away. Then, to make things worse/better, she started to pat my head! "Oh~, and his hair is so soft and fluffy. You should touch it too, Noin. Look how soft this guy is."

"Umuh. His hair is soft, eh? Nice." And now even Noin-san is starting to pat and raffle on my hair, and her hands are also too soft and warm. To think I'd be able to feel like that in a place like hell… But wait, isn't that a bit strange?! I looked at Lisa-san for a bit of support from her side, but all I got was a grin. I think I'm on my own now! She said she brought me here to have a good time and relax, but I'm only feeling more and more uncomfortable. Nice and loved, but uncomfortable.

"Thanks, I guess." I said a bit nervous, and as a way to coup with it, I picked one macaroon for myself. It was sweet and all around nice, but there is something more to it, like, it has a bitter side to it as well. "So, huh, are you friends with Lisa-san? I… I can leave and let you talk, I don't want to be a bother or anything."

"Don't worry, you're not being a bother. I don't even know Lisa-san all that well." Mayura-san reassures me with another pat on the head, picking a macaroon herself to slip it into my mouth. Noin-san did the same, making my mouth be full of sweets. The pinkerette then snaps her fingers and calls for a nearby waitress holding a silver jar. "Do you want something to drink, too? Coffee? Tea? Water is also available if it fits your preferences."

"B-B-Black tea." I murmur behind a wall of sweets on my mouth, finally having the will to swallow the mass that formed in my mouth. The nice waitress poured some black tea from her jar to a small marble cup and passed it to me, but not before give me a quick and smiley wink. I blushed at that, taking a sip out of that tea to make the sugar go down easier. It's good, very good. Supernaturally so, even. Makes sense.

"So, yeah. Noin, Mayura, have you any idea who might be behind that attack back in Kuoh?" Master cut my line of thought and sight when, out of the sudden, she brought up the other day's incident. Still with a sympathetic expression on her face and sipping from her own cup a bit of coffee, she turns to the ladies next to me and asks, blinking a few times. Noin-san and Mayura-san, on the other hand, covered their mouths with their hands, a bit surprised as well. "I couldn't get a better glimpse at her, and by all means, she does have the Sacred Gear which belonged to one of us. Besides that, I haven't any other lead with me, but I do have a theory for the one I'm searching: she's a devil. So, considering this place's reputation, I wonder if you didn't happen to see little lass with explosive powers, dark hair and really freaking eyes walking around, do ya?"

"Well, you're kinda right for looking for someone like that in Sarah's Stravaganza, but I'm sure that I've never seem someone with that description around. As you'd have guessed, not many girls go here, so I'm mostly sure I've never see her." Mayura-san says with a nail on her chin in a thoughtful pose, looking over her shoulder to Noin-san. "How about you, Noin?"

"Sorry, Elizabeth, but that description does not ring a bell at all." Noin-san bowed a little apologetically, which them I could see the bright shine on my master's eyes grow a bit duller, taking another macaroon for herself. However, after a few seconds of silence, Noin-san snapped her fingers to call for our attention. "Oh, but I do remember a certain individual with some explosive powers, and his smell wasn't of a human or a born-devil at least. He bought a fight with another of our patrons, our bouncer took them outside to solve things and… How can I say? Things got pretty ugly."

"Uh-huh. I get it." Lisa-san was now sharping her senses while still drinking her coffee, nodding understandably."Any description of how that fella looked like?"

"Well, I didn't see him very well, but he had blond hair and looked more like one of those college kids with no hygiene. He definitely had a human aura, though." Noin-san concluded. More nodding from Lisa-san. "He also had those strange shining marks on his hands. Maybe those are the Sacred Gear you are looking for? Sorry, I don't remember very well."

"Heh, I that's good enough, for what I could gather so far." Lisa-san smiled and again bowed to the ladies next to me. "Still, wonder if that means anything. It'd be a little easier if this was a regular type of sacred gear, but an explosion-based one is pretty rare, and for that, it only makes things harder."

"Wait, but I thought you said some Sacred Gears are unique in their own way, and it's really hard for two of the same type exist at the same time?" I inquired Lisa-san, and her response was only a nod, confirming my statement. "What does that mean, Lisa-san?"

"Either our perpetrator has more than one ability regarding herself, or there is something holding the chains of command and passing those sacred gears around like hot potato, neither of those alternative seems plausible." Lisa-san sharpened her eyes once more, hands on her chin and fingers tapping on the brink of her empty cup, the two women by my side holding me tight by the arm. "Huh~, that's so confusing, who the hell would come up with that system to change, and for why? Makes so little sense, or maybe we're dealing with some Illuminati-level of bullcrap. I need more data."

"Maybe if you talk to Sharna she can give you more info about that guy. They fought over her, after all." Mayura-san said, lightly pinching one of my cheeks. I know she means well and fun with that, but it hurts a little nonetheless. Noin-san however made her stop with a stern frown, from which she stopped with a small mischievous smile. I smiled at Noin-san, and for me she just nodded. She remembers me of Lilith-san, she is indeed a cool beauty. Mayura-san points a finger to another dark-skinned beauty talking with other girls. "She's over there, if anything. I think she is willing to talk about it, if not a bit traumatic. Go ahead, she's more on a soft side too, so it won't be hard for you to talk with her."

"Sure. Maybe she'll also bring something else besides macaroons for me to eat. Nothing wrong with that, but a more variable stay is more of my liking." Master smirks and stuck her tongue out, making Mayura-san pout a little in a cute way, maybe even people like her have some weaknesses. With that being said, with one final bite of candy, she stood up from her seat and put her chair back in place, adjusting the cape around her shoulders and bidding a farewell with a small salute. "Well then, gathering time! I'll go ahead and find some more useful information here of all places, but a lead is a lead, and I know people like her would stop by. Well then, see ya later ladies, duty calls."

"Ah, Lisa-san! Wait up! Maybe I can help t-…!" I stood up from my seat and turned to her ready to follow my master, but then suddenly, out of nowhere, I could feel myself being pulled backwards, and before I knew it, I was again sandwhiched between the two beauties from before, Mayura-san and Noin-san. The latter was blushing a bit, contrasting with her pale complex, while the pinkerette was smiling brightly, and passing her hand all over my back! Ah~, my arms are sunk into their bosoms, they feel so g-… What is happening right now?! "Uh, excuse me… I was… Suppose to…"

"No~. You're coming with us for a while, Takumi~." Mayura-san said with a melodious voice, and for some reason, her voice came out as very seductive to me, even more when my arm sunk even further into her exploding cleavage. "We liked you a lot, boy. How about we have a little particular chat with each other for a while? Your master did say you need some care for that broken heart of yours. So maybe we can help you with that. You agree with me, right Noin?"

"Umuh. He seems nice enough and quite green and shy too. It would be nice for a change." Noin-san complemented her friend with her calm voice, yet the blush in her face wouldn't disappear, also sinking my arm further into her chest. I can almost feel their heartbeat. It feels so nice~… But what is happening?!

"Uh… I would love to… But Master… Master…" And before I knew it, they were already dragging me away from Lisa-san, my weak feet floating a bit off the ground as they would pull me elsewhere. I gasped in total surprise and horror, looking back at Lisa-san, who wasn't even looking back! Is she going to leave me here like that?! "U-Uh! L-Lisa-san?! Oe, Lisa-san…!"

"Go relax a bit, Takumi-kun. Leave the boring work for your master." And without even looking back, she lifted her only good arm and waved at me, giving a thumbs up in the end. I could only grow more and more confused. "Don't worry, those two know their stuff. I'll go around picking some information, you go ahead and have a time of your life. My treat."

"B-But…" And I finally lost sign of her when both Noin-san and Mayura-san turned me around to walk straight around the place. I was a bit nervous for all the sudden attention I was getting, the positive kind at least, but when I looked around, I could see a bright smile on both their faces, giving me, I dunno, a sense of security, even know I was still being dragged around. I opened an awkward smile, trying also to get a sense of confidence for it. That only made me more nervous. "So… Uh, where are you taking me? We can talk and eat a bit more macaroons too. I'd… Love to do that."

"You really are sweet, eh? Don't worry, the treat we'll give you will be even sweeter than the macaroons." Mayura-san said, licking her lips, and for that I blushed, deeply. A nervous laugh escaped my mouth as we now followed to a side of that grand hall, and then to the stairs, going upstairs on the red carpeted steps, away from the rest of the people.

"Uh… Okay." I said, carefully taking one step after another on those soft stairs. Makes no sense, why do that, after all? "Say, why go upstairs if we can ask the waitress? Is there a place there where they serve different orders?"

"Oh no, none of that. Is that… We'll need a bit more privacy for our little activities, just that." Mayura-san smiled and patted my head a little, covering her crimson lips with the palm of her hand. "I mean, we could do it here, but this is not that kind of place, sorry to disappoint you if you're into that~. Don't worry, I can show you a place later for that."

"Eh… Eh… Eh…?"

"Hey Mayura, I think Takumi doesn't know what kind of place this is." Now it was Noin-san's time to talk, also picking a confused hum from me. She went ahead to pinch my cheek so I could stare back at her, and opened a half-smile. "Little boy, have you any idea what kind of place this is? I mean, regardless of what happens, you should know by now. I know you'll like it, but think about it a little so we won't shock you."

"Eh? Noin-san, what are you talking ab-…?" And still being dragged to the second floor, the arrow of reason pierced deep into my head, practically sinking me into reality. Wait, wait a minute? Is this right? Suddenly, all the pieces are connecting to each other, and… wait… Wait…

'Here, 'Sarah's Stravaganza', the perfect place to relax and calm that little head of yours.'

'Have fun, Takumi. I'm sure you'll like in here. Trust me, quality is what doesn't lack here…'

'I mean, I've never meet those two in my life, so it's all good and gold for now.'

'As you'd have guessed, not many girls go here, so I'm mostly sure I've never see her.'

'Don't worry, those two know their stuff. I'll go around picking some information, you go ahead and have a time of your life. My treat.'

This…

This…

This is an adult shop!

And so the plot thickens, even if a little...

Thanks to all who have been reading so far! Now that our hero has entered an adult shop, we can all expect some sorts of lemons next chapter if I feel like it, but I feel like it. I know it might sound a bit strange and outrageous even, after all, this is an dxd fanfic, where love and harems are a things of gold and maybe going to a brothel might sound a bit risqué but... Hear me out, this only strengthens the fact that, after all things, I want a bit of struggle and acceptance in Takumi.

After all, he's no hero or anything, he's just a guy who fell in love with people already caught by the harem king... And that's totally fine. If they fall in love with him or not, I'll try to convey such in a more natural and even healthy way. It might sound strange, but as always, I'll try my best to take a better route with such. He still loves Kunou and Lilith, or have a crush on them, so we might have hope for that dvelopemnt. Hope to make this thing work. Sorry for the incovenience.

Also, for the guest that might abhorrent lemons in this story... I'm sorry if I have to break your expectations. I won't be childish enough to excuse myself with 'this is my story so I write what I want' or 'don't like it don't read it', but if you want to abandon this story because it didn't suit your tastes, I understand. But I hope you can read pass that and maybe come back for the things that you do like in this story. Just wishiful thinking, tho.

Greetings from Houki Minami.