Shiki sighed as he sat on the edge of his bed, drinking his third cup of water in the past ten minutes. He felt too anxious for the fight to begin. How could he not? He only had, he shot a glance at his alarm clock, two more hours until the Rating Game began at 12 AM. Only an hour and a half until he was to report to the clubroom for one last strategy meeting and finalizing any changes to Rias' plan.

He wanted so badly to go take a walk to calm himself but Rias had flat-out forbidden any more of his "relaxing walks". He still felt that that incident wasn't his fault, he was given express permission to go through with his plan and how was he supposed to know the blast was going to be that powerful?

So, with no viable outlet for his stress and not in the mood for taking a short nap, he sat. He sat and he thought, but he didn't worry. The end result was already decided, so why should he fret over it?

They would win. There could be no other ending. Losing would mean handing Rias over to Riser. Losing meant that Rias would be taken, not just from him but from everyone in the Peerage. She would become the wife of Riser Phenex.

Shiki would never allow that.

It was as simple as that. Rias Gremory would never be wed to Riser Phenex because he wouldn't allow it.

A knock at his door broke him from his internal thoughts.

"Shiki-san? I finished what you asked me."

A wide smile broke out on his face as he rushed to the door to let Asia in. Turning the handle, he quickly opened the door.

"Really? It's done al-" He paused and took in what Asia was wearing. "Nice clothes. You look cute." She was wearing the same clothes she had on when they first met, her nun outfit, sans veil or cross necklace. He smiled as Asia started stuttering, all embarrassed.

Hanging around Akeno too long was starting to make him enjoy watching others get flustered. He hoped she wouldn't rub off her affinity for sadism next. He could do without that, just embarrassing others was enough for him.

"Buchou-san said to wear what we're most comfortable in," Asia finally managed to say after getting herself under control. "Oh! Before I forget," she held her hand out in front of her, a small, rectangular box resting in her palm.

"Asia, you're a life-saver." He took the box from her and placed it in his pocket for safe keeping. "I'll be sure to return it when this is all over."

Asia nodded. "Just be careful when handling it. It still hurts to touch it without protection," she finished before looking away.

Shiki paused. Why did Asia look nervous when she said that last bit? She hadn't…

"Asia, you did remember to wear gloves when you were moving it, right?" Asia didn't respond. "Asia?" The girl laughed nervously before pressing her fingers together. "Please tell me you didn't forget."

"Hehe… Sorry." Shiki gave her a blank look before bringing his hands up and pressing the palms against the sides of her head, some strands of hair getting caught in-between his fingers. "Shiki-san?"

And proceeded to tousle and ruffle her blonde locks, moving his hands to-and-fro, taking care not to get too rough.

"Shiki-san! My hair!"

"If you don't like it then learn some common sense already!"

He finally stopped and let his hands drop back to his side. She looked absurd, hair pointed every which way and in complete disarray. The pout and teary eyes didn't help matters, though it did add to the cuteness factor. "Dummy. Stop doing things that make me worry about you," he said softly.

"Sorry..."

He sighed.

From day one Asia had been such a handful.

Clumsy, naive, sticking to her religious beliefs even if they went counter with being a Devil, almost entirely lacking in sense. Sweet, innocent, steadfast when it mattered most, caring.

He wouldn't have it any way.

Shiki grabbed her by the hand and pulled her into his room.

"I'll fix your hair, just sit on the bed for a second."

She did as he asked and retrieved a comb from his dresser before sitting behind her. Gently, he began to comb through her hair, returning it to her original look as they sat in silence.

"...Shiki-san?"

"Hmm?"

"Can we stay together like this?"

He stopped brushing.

Stay like this? That's what he was fighting for, no? If they lost and Rias was taken away, things would never be the same. Moments like this wouldn't exist anymore. The entire group would break into pieces, collapsing. He wouldn't be able to bear the grief of having failed Rias when she needed him most. Even if everyone managed to pick themselves up after the loss, he wouldn't. If they lost, he would be crushed beyond recovery.

That's why they had to win.

That's why he had to win.

"Yeah, Asia. We'll always be together."

The battle had begun.

Kiba and Koneko were ordered to go lay down traps to prevent any of Riser's Pawns from entering the old school building, their base, and using Promotion. Akeno was off setting up illusions in the forest said traps were being laid. Asia was standby and support, seeing as her combat capabilities were minimal.

Shiki rested his head on the front of the desk as he sat on the floor with his eyes closed. He was keeping himself occupied by conjuring a magic circle a few centimeters away from his right index finger, then dispelling it with a snap of his thumb and middle finger, giving off red sparks each time. Light practice for a new technique he had developed in his time on the mountain.

Everyone had been given their tasks but him. It was starting to eat away at his nerves and it showed as the snaps given off by each burst of demonic power slowly began to ramp up in volume as well as strength.

"Nervous?"

He opened his eyes and glanced over to Rias, who had moved from her seat behind the desk to sitting on the sofa.

"Eager," he said. "Haven't been let off the leash in a while, especially since someone cut my last day of training short." Shiki gave Rias a displeased frown at that. He had been having such a great time on that last day too, even enjoying some good, wholesome fun.

On the training trip, in the last few days, he had developed just a tiny little bad habit. When he took a walk to get some fresh air and relax, his brain tended to wander. When his brain wandered it inevitably drifted towards trying to create a new technique. Once inspiration struck it didn't matter where he was, he would get to work putting his idea into practice. Ideas that largely centered around something blowing up.

Rias hadn't minded the large areas of deforestation, trees could be replanted and replaced. She hadn't minded the huge craters his explosions left in the wake of his attacks either, they could be refilled with fresh soil easily. His last act on the final day of training, before Rias had decided to cut it short, apparently that had gone a bit too far.

"Well if you hadn't blown off over half of that neighboring mountain-"

Just some good. Wholesome. Fun.

"You said I could!"

"It was a joke, Shiki. I didn't expect you to actually try."

"Yeah, well, nothing for it now," Shiki said with a shrug of his shoulders. "At least it looked cool. And it did wind up changing our game plan for the better so you can't act as if it was all bad."

Rias released a sigh at her Pawn's antics.

"Just, come sit over here."

She patted her lap.

Shiki gaped at her. Was she really offering what he thought she was?

"Hurry."

He didn't need to be told again, practically dashing from his seated position over to the couch. He laid down on it and rested his head against her thigh. Shiki sighed in contentment as he closed his eyes once more. A lap pillow from his King before he was off to go beat down Phenex. This was the life. A real dream come true for the boy.

He was unaware of the pout on Asia's face as she observed the scene unfolding.

Shiki felt Rias' hand rest upon his forehead before power suddenly welled up within him.

"I've unsealed some of your Pawn Pieces. Your body would have broken if I had done this earlier but with your training, it's more than enough to withstand it. Boosted Gear is a power that comes from an outside source. The strength you're feeling right now, all of it is yours."

Shiki just laid there in shock. This was his strength? He felt so incredible now, like the first time he used Boost. Feeling his power increase exponentially, he couldn't help the question that had crossed his mind.

"Buchou, this is just a temporary dimension, right?"

"It is. Why?"

"So am I allowed to run wild then? I can blow up as much as I want and you won't get mad?"

"...Geez. Ever since the first day of training, you've developed so oddly. I'm going to start worrying about your hobbies at this rate."

What was wrong with his new hobby? He liked to watch things explode and he liked being the one to make them explode. Nothing odd about that. Anyone in his position would have been the same way, he was sure of it! Besides, how could that be looked at as weird? Akeno enjoyed sadism but nobody called her odd. Completely unfair, in his opinion.

"But yes, it's fine. Become as wild as you like. Level the entire area if you see fit, I'll allow it. Blow them all away, Shiki. I'm counting on you."

That's right, she was counting on him.

He wouldn't fail her.

He'd do just as she asked and blow every last enemy away. Riser, his Peerage, all of them. Leave none left standing.

Shiki wasn't afraid of much but little girls with huge chainsaws asking him to stop moving and allow himself to be dismembered was slowly creeping up onto that short list.

"Onii-san, hold still~!"

[BOOST!]

He dodged another attempt by Il to take his head off of his shoulders, leaning back further when the second chainsaw-wielding girl, Nel, took a slash at his legs. Matters only got worse when the blue-haired girl, Mira, that had tried to forcefully relocate his ribs in the clubroom forced him to dodge once more as she crushed the area he had occupied previously with her staff.

He and Koneko had been given their marching orders and objective: prevent the gymnasium from being occupied by enemies. Any that entered or already there were to be retired or incapacitated. Once that was said and done, they'd move to the next stage in their plan.

Which was how the black-haired Pawn and white-haired Rook found themselves embroiled in a battle against three of Riser's Pawns and one of Riser's Rooks. Koneko was engaging the Rook in hand-to-hand combat and Shiki was busy trying to keep all of his limbs while simultaneously also trying to keep all of his bones from being crushed.

"Neko-san, a little help here?! Maybe we could switch dance partners for this?!"

"...No. Figure it out yourself."

Shiki almost cried at the cold response. This was so unfair, why did he have to deal with a three-on-one fight? He wondered if he was being punished for something. Was she still mad about that short joke? The only upside to this is that he'd finally be able to test out something he had been working on. He just needed one more-

[BOOST!]

Right on schedule.

[EXPLOSION!]

He rushed forward, slamming his fist into the gut of one of the chainsaw-wielding sisters, twins so he didn't even know which one it was in particular, before pushing her counterpart away with an open palm to her back. When Mira went to smash his head with the end of her staff he effortlessly blocked it by raising his right arm. The staff shattered into splinters against his Sacred Gear. A punch to the chest sent her sailing back and the three Pawns found themselves standing across from him.

He pointed his right index finger at them, a magic circle appearing at the end of it just as he had practiced. Likewise, on the areas of contact with the three Pawns, the same magic circle appeared. The stage had finally been set. He had one chance with this, after that he'd have to reapply the circle to each of them if he wanted to try again.

"Time for the debut!"

This was it, the grand unveiling of what he had put his time and effort into.

He snapped his fingers without a second's hesitation, the magic circle at his fingertip shattering as the ones on each of the three girls began to glow before lighting up brightly as he filled them to capacity with his energy. Once they could no longer handle the strain and began to crack, he uttered the name of his new move.

"Detonation."

The blast was wonderful.

A magical explosion that left nothing behind, his perfect short-ranged, one-hit kill.

[Raiser Phenex-sama's three Pawns, retired!]

Shiki stared at the damage wrought as the smoke finally cleared. Where the three girls once stood, there were only scorch marks and the destroyed wood flooring of the gymnasium floor. He gave it a blank look for a few moments before…

"Yes! It worked! It definitely worked just like how I wanted it to! Buchou! Buchou, did you see? Was it cool?"

He promptly lost it, screaming and hugging himself in pure joy that his attack had been a success.

Shiki hadn't been able to properly test his "Detonation" during training. Applying a magic circle to one of his friends would have been too great a risk when he was still having difficulties properly controlling how much strength he could pour into each one. Even if Asia could heal any unintentional damage he did she wouldn't be able to fix it if he accidentally reduced one of them to nothing but a bloody smear on the ground.

Then there was the fact that his range only extended a few meters before the circle dissipated on its own. He wound up with a lot of unfortunate test accidents that ended with Rias having to drag his smoking body out of a crater before giving him a scolding for his recklessness, him promising not to do it again, and then promptly doing it again.

He was nothing if not dedicated to his new craft and passion.

"Dear Satan, he's as bad as Yubelluna-sama," the Rook, Xuelan, said in shock as she watched the boy marvel and boast about his technique to an audience of seemingly no one. "No, it's even worse. He's an idiot!" Koneko applied more torque to the submission hold she had on the enemy, causing her to cease her mumbling to cry out in pain instead.

"Shiki, focus!"

He snapped out of his momentary high as Rias' voice came through the transceiver she had given each of them. Oh, right, he was still in the Rating Game. That was a real mood-killer.

"S-Sorry, Buchou." Shiki said with a nervous laugh. "Neko-san, you done with yours?" He received his answer in a loud thud as Koneko smashed her fist into the back of the Rook's skull with a savage crunch, knocking her both unconscious and out of the fight. Her body quickly disappeared in a flash as she was removed from the battlefield.

[Riser Phenex-sama's Rook, retired!]

"Never mind, time to bail then. Buchou, is Akeno ready?"

"She is. Leave the gym, quickly."

As soon as they were clear of the building and a good distance away, the gymnasium was leveled by a bolt of lightning. Akeno was flying above it, hand still pointing to the heavens with sparks emanating from it. This had been the plan from the get-go. Secure the gym, then reduce it to a hole in the ground so Riser wouldn't be able to use it as a foothold.

"I still think I should have been the one to blow it up."

"...Shiki-senpai has a weird fetish."

Shiki spun around to face the smaller girl. "It is not a fetish! I have a hobby, what is so bad about that? Am I not allowed to have fun? You know, nobody ever says Kiba has a fetish for swords despite the fact that he's way too into them. This isn't-"

He noticed a magic circle descending rapidly towards Koneko.

"Koneko!"

[BOOST!]

He forced all of his accumulated strength into his legs and tackled the Rook out of the way. Once the circle reached the ground it exploded, with even more force than Shiki's previous three blasts combined. Shiki and Koneko were flung across the pavement, skidding to a halt several meters away from the blast.

"Ugh. My head's ringing." Shiki moaned as he picked himself up. "Koneko?! Are you alright?" he asked in a panic as he noted the girl was still on the ground, almost motionless. Before he could run up and check her condition she finally stood, a bit unsteady on her feet.

"...Thanks, senpai."

He breathed a sigh of relief. Despite the two of them being shaken up, they both seemed to come out relatively unscathed.

"Not bad, boya. Your reflexes are pretty sharp for a kid."

The three Pieces of Rias Gremory turned and glared as the source of the explosion made itself known. Riser's Queen, Yubelluna, descended upon them with a confident smirk upon her lips.

"Please. As if I'd let anyone be retired by such a trash attack."

"Excuse me?" The smirk fell away and was replaced by a glare as the Queen began to gather strength once more. "Repeat that again, brat."

"Oh, I'm sorry, was that too difficult to follow? Are you an idiot? If so, I apologize. Sometimes I say things stupid people such as yourself can't follow," Shiki said, a carefree smile on full display as he spoke down to the Queen. "Please allow me to repeat myself. Your attack is trash and I won't let my allies be destroyed by something like that."

"You-"

"It's so disgusting, those explosions of yours. You have no style at all. Nothing but brute force without a care for presentation, technique, or flair. "Bomb Queen"? What a joke title. Don't display such worthless attacks before me again, okay? The only bombs here are the ones attached to your chest."

Yubelluna's face became more and more purple in rage with each word until, by the end of Shiki's small speech, it was dangerously close to matching the color of her lipstick.

"How dare you? You disgusting, worthless, insignificant Pawn..."

Akeno began to laugh. "Ufufu, Shiki-kun is so ruthless now. How wonderful."

"...Senpai's harsh."

"Neko-san," Shiki began, addressing Koneko now, "go join up with Prince. Akeno and I need to forcefully reeducate this sneak-attacking trash woman. We'll continue following the plan to the very end." Koneko gave a nod and departed to join Kiba. "Ready, Akeno? I only know how to go full speed right out of the gate so keep up if you can, Priestess of Thunder," he finished in a teasing tone.

"Ara ara, no need to worry about me, Shiki-kun." Lightning began to spark around Akeno's hands as it gathered. "I've been looking forward to this fight for some time now. Do your best to not fall behind, Sekiryuutei."

Yubelluna raised her staff, no longer waiting for the enemy to prepare themselves.

"You'll regret every insult, Pawn. I'll make sure of it."

[BOOST!]

"The only thing I regret is witnessing such an unsightly attack. Let me show you how it's done."

Author's Note: I'm still awful at writing fight scenes! That'll probably never change, it's my biggest weakness. I can just never describe the perfect fight that I envision in my head, despite it looking so cool in my thoughts. I'll always struggle with them, which is why this chapter took longer than normal to get out. I really chose the wrong series to write something for if I'm bad at fight scenes, huh?

Out of curiosity, would anyone enjoy side-stories of Shiki hanging out with the ORC? They wouldn't be anything huge, just small ficlets of character interactions, mostly on the humorous side of things. Think DxD's own DX side stories.

Anyways, that's all for now. Read and review, I always look forward to hearing from my audience. Have a nice day!