Hi guys! It´s me! The almighty, handsome congresscrab! So, new chapter, new luck, eh? Heh, no. Minispoiler: I am a sadistic fuck, and these guys know it. I should at the very least be allowed that pleasure right now, as I have to deal with three tests a week for A WHOLE DAMN MONTH. Fuck. My. Life. Expect the updates to slow down a lot. Anyways, to the reviews!

RedBurningDragon: Training would be the least of their worries, I´ll tell you that much. After all, the first week of school is nearly over, and the weekend approaches…so much opportunity to mess with relationships…heheheheheheh…also, spoiler, Kuroka doesn´t come in till around season 3. We haven´t even begun the plotline of season 2 yet! Just realized that. I might want to speed up the pace a little bit…

Also, I looked at your idea/challenge, and let me say this: I´m about halfway through the game, judging by the Steam achievements. I haven't even cleared the second world yet, so…will put that off for now. But I will consider it at a later date when I actually finish the game. And kill whatever Abyssion is. It can´t be that hard. I beat nearly all of Dark Souls 2 SOTFS on SL1/no iframes and mediocre damage (seriously though, fuck adaptability and the mace can be eaten by the Covetous Demon for all I care)!

ultima-owner: Most excellent. That moment had to hit it´s mark(I assume/hope you´re talking about the part where Ms Kidnapped goes all yandere up in this bitch), and it seems it did. *self-shoulderpat*

With a flash, the group appeared in Tatsuo´s apartment, the living room, to be precise. Some of them were too wrapped up in their emotions/unconciousness to notice, but Kiba, as the only conscious one with his wits and senses about him saw that Levia-tan was currently sitting on the couch, a sandwich in her hand, her eyes wide and jaw slacked. Slowly, her gaze drifted from one to the next, from Rias, who was unconscious on her back, bleeding on the floor, to Koneko, who was sitting on the ground, confused as to their surroundings, and seemingly sniffed the air, recognizing the apartment by the smell of it, resulting in a small smile and a sigh of relief.

Levia-tan´s eyes then turned, finally spotting the corpse of Kushiel, before continuing on to Asia and Issei, who was still tightly holding his stepsister to his body whilst shedding tears of sorrow, to Akeno and Tatsuo, whose embrace lasted still, the joy and relief of the reunion overflowing from their eyes, and finally, back to Kiba, who stood as the sole person capable of reason of the beaten and battered, yet victorious group.

Wasting no time, the Great Satan demanded what happened as she dropped her meal in favour of picking up her phone from the couch, presumably to call Sirzechs and get some doctors over to get Lady Gremory and her servants, including Tatsuo fixed back up. As they waited, she got the two unconscious girls on her bed, and gave them the usual first response, checking their pulse, their temperature, and sighed as she realized that Asia was truly just exhausted. Rias, however, was in a much worse shape. The Great Satan tried her best to get rid of the holy energy that was still inside her, but without the help of highly trained medics, this would not work. Levia-tan´s magic was not meant for this precise, surgical usage. It was more like an erupting volcano, just a huge, overwhelming power to destroy every last enemy in battle.

All the while, Issei sat next to her, holding Asia´s hand as his tears continued to flow. He didn´t pay attention to Rias, not now at least. His focus was solely on his stepsister. He knew that the President was a strong person. She didn´t need his support. She could handle it on her own. Asia, however, lacked that strength. She was someone that was so reckless in her love for life that she was willing to throw her own away if it meant saving another. His thoughts then drifted as to her reason to live. And it was in those moments that he realized just how little Asia actually had any ambition of her own. She was literally only keeping herself alive to help others. She was selfless to the point of literally having no self. No goal in life other than to help others…

Issei violently shook his head and strengthened his grip on her hand. He had made a decision. Whatever it may cost him, however much he would have to suffer, he would make sure that Asia finds joy in life, joy that did not stem from others. But her own happiness. His tears slowly started to dry up as he thought of ways to make her happy. Clothes? She wasn´t exactly a fashion freak, unlike the red haired devil lying on the bed next to her. Maybe he would take her to the arcade again? She did enjoy that the last time they went before she was kidnapped by…now that he thought about it, that may just bring up unpleasant memories.

But where? Where and how could he take her to show her a purpose in life, a reason she herself can choose to live for that does not involve anyone other than herself? He spent the next few minutes pondering that exact question, until the medics arrived, and he was chased out of the room. He waited a few seconds outside, before one of them poked her head out, and gave him permission to enter so he could remove Asia from the bed, as she didn´t need real medical attention. And while he was relieved to hear that, his anger, which he knew was unreasonable, stemming from them dismissing his stepsister as unworthy of their attention nearly made him shout at them, but he stopped himself when he heard his master moan in pain.

He shut himself up, picked up Asia, and left the room. Before the door closed behind him, Koneko was led into it by the Great Satan, who had a worried expression on her face, and after hearing the door shut, she led him into the living room again, and as he slowly trudged behind her, watching Asia slowly breathe in and out in his arms, his grip strengthened as his mind began to race once again. Once they arrived in the living room, Levia-tan asked him to have the Bishop rest on the couch, which was seemingly extendable to form a bed large enough for three people, as Akeno and Tatsuo were still in their own world. In the background, the TV was showing a documentary about some weird planet he´d never heard of having been discovered, but the Great Satan shut it off so as to not disturb the two on the couch and the sleeping Bishop.

Thankfully, the Queen was actually wearing some semblance of clothing, even if it was just a long, one-pieced dress in white colour. On one hand, the Pawn was let down because he would´ve loved to admire those curves a while longer, but he immediately smacked himself for it. Not the time for those kinds of thoughts. Tatsuo, on the other hand, had taken off the rest of his armour, which was scattered on the floor, with parts of his skin still attached. Issei assumed that he refused to receive treatment in favour of remaining in his current spot, and he couldn´t blame him. He would stay too if it were Asia or the President that was rescued and needed some comforting, even if he was as heavily injured as his teacher.

Though said teacher was in immense pain at the moment, not just physical from the battle, but also mental from all the things that had happened that morning; Koneko was blinded, albeit only temporarily now that she would receive proper treatment, Akeno had been tortured for a whole night by a bunch of psychopaths who were likely at least partly her family, and he had literally had to watch as his friends were ripped to shreds by said family while he was entangled in another fight. It weighed heavily on his mind, so he was all too happy when he finally got to take a break once the whole thing was over.

And he had to admit, the dress looked really good on the Queen. It gave her a childish sort of look. He silently continued stroking the back of her head, trailing the line of her hair, which she was wearing open now. He felt at peace in these moments, separated from the shitty world that was outside of this hug. As he was enjoying this break, Akeno started whispering into his ear. "You know, that angel was not lying. I am an abomination." He immediately responded by slapping her on the back of her head, making her let out a small yelp. He was surprised that she didn't start giggling, as he would´ve expected when they bantered. Instead, she continued talking with her depressed tone.

"Please, just listen. I need to get this off my chest. So, please do not judge anything I say until I´m finished, okay?" Reluctant because of the hurt in her voice, Tatsuo took a brief moment before agreeing, but only after looking over to Issei, to give the boy a signal to plug his ears for a while. The brunette immediately obeyed without hesitation, and Tatsuo gave a nod, thanking Issei for complying and telling Akeno to begin her story.

With a deep breath, she began explaining. How her family was deeply connected to the angels as their servants, though it was more based on faith and voluntary submissiveness and less on a system like the Evil Pieces. For approximately 800 years, her family had served the angels this way, giving them the leeway that was needed to carry out their holy duty without fear of being caught by humans. Usually, it ended with witnesses being accused of theft, with items of the clan being planted somewhere in their home, and the Himejimas demanding their execution. It worked like a charm, to a frightening degree, especially in feudal times. Once those times came to an end and industrialisation began to alter how the world was viewed, they used a different strategy: those who saw the angels were promptly given a well-paying job offer in one of the family´s factories, and on their first day, a terrible accident would kill them. Or rather, they would be declared dead. Some survived, and those suffered even worse, as no one would ever look for them.

"But then, my mother was born. She was a wonderful person. She would go around and put volatile spirits to rest in the region, and because of her beauty and good heart, she became famous across Japan. Many came to court this woman they´d never met, and yet, she turned them all down." Her hands tensed, and Tatsuo began softening his touch to her to the point of it being ticklish, and she giggled. "Thanks. So, as I was saying, even though she turned them all down, there was one that caught her attention. That was my father. He was a strong, upright man. There was only one problem. He was a Fallen Angel."

Tatsuo briefly stopped his motions to process what she had said, before resuming, urging her to finish the story, even though he had a pretty good guess as to how it would probably end. "My mother was banished to a shrine to become a priestess there when her relationship with him was discovered, but she did not care. What she did care about, was the baby in her belly." Akeno briefly giggled before looking up at his face and pointing at herself. "That was me. So, four years later, we lived in peace at the shrine. We had no care in the world, my mother exorcised a restless soul every now and then, my father disappeared every few days before coming back, and I was just a simple child playing with Ryuuji. Oh, that was our dog." She added upon noticing his confused expression.

As she thought of her former friend, she felt her heart slowly tearing itself apart again, and she pulled herself closer to Tatsuo as a result. His care made the pain melt away, and with a small sigh of relief, she began to near the end of her tale. "One day, it all changed. While my mother and I were having a regular day, talking about how she would teach me how to put spirits to rest, just like her, when these men showed up. She hid me in a closet, and told me to stay quiet. As I was a child, I opened the door just enough to watch the events unfold. And…and…they killed her in front of my eyes. They just…they just…slit her throat like it was nothing…"

His caress softened as he pulled her even closer, so close that he could curve his hand, which was placed on her head, around her and place it on his shoulder if he wanted to. As if squeezing juice from a fruit, his touch made her stutter out the final bits of the story between her sobs. How it was Kushiel and her uncle Shuou who murdered her mother for showing affection to what they called a sinner of the highest order. How her father never returned, leaving her alone with the fanatic zealots. How after they left, she was too weak to even dig a proper grave for her mother. How she was forced to travel Japan, exorcising spirits like her mother, until she met Rias and was saved by her from an assassination attempt of her family, who had finally learned of her existence. How after a whole year of being all on her own, she was given a new family. Though it would never be able to replace the bond her and her mother shared. Her father, though…

"I will never forgive him for abandoning us. My mother bears no guilt for loving him. He should´ve protected us. He should´ve…!" She stopped, and started coughing. Tatsuo patted her on the back, and eventually it blew over. She quietly thanked him, and asked him to not say anything for a second. Wondering what she was on about, he nodded, confused. Akeno let go of him and moved out of the hug, albeit with some difficulty, as Tatsuo was rather reluctant to let go just yet. She stood up, turned around, and pulled her dress down far enough to expose her shoulderblades to the air.

The next instant, two black, yet utterly different wings shot out of her back. One of them was exactly like that of the other devils, a bat-like, leathery wing. The other was feathered, like Kushiel´s, but the dark colour reminded Tatsuo of that book he saw at the manor during training, where a similar wing was on the cover. "This is it. This is the reason they called me an affront to life. I am a monster. I am the hybrid of the two most sinful creatures in the whole world." She spoke, and fell silent as Tatsuo just lied there, watching the appendages twitch about, betraying her nervousness. She thought he was going to hate her. Just how many had belittled her for this that she feared even his rejection? This reminded him heavily of the Voice´s words before he fought the Strap.

"They couldn´t make sense of her. So they put her in a cage. And we both know that being locked up fucks you up inside." They may have known what she was, but what the Voice meant was not possessing knowledge about someone, but understanding. And in the end, what was locked up was the side of her that was the Fallen Angel, which those bastards refused to accept, much less attempt to understand. They simply declared her evil for all intents and purposes, and tried to murder her because her father happened to be a Fallen Angel. Something she had no control over was to be the reason of her death?! He could only guess as to what that did to her psyche. If you had a side of yours that you lock away forever due to fear of persecution, the results can´t be good.

He could tell that she had not brought out this wing for a long time. It was convulsing far more than the other, as if she had no control over it, or far less at the very least. He decided to do the one thing he felt was right. Due to his wounds, it was hard, but he stood up. She watched him anxiously as he slowly lifted himself up. Once he stood with a straight back, he lifted his arm, and she expected a punch to the face. After all, what else could she expect? She was an abomination. A disgusting piece of filth that was unworthy to even be in the same room as the man before her. There was no way that this could end any other way.

What she got was better than her wildest of dreams. He flipped her around, and planted his lips on hers, making her eyes widen. After a second, his lips left hers, and she was just standing there, dumbfounded. For a moment, the whole room was silent. Her mouth was agape, and she tried to find something, anything to say, but her mind was blank. She only knew one thing. She wanted more. She leaned forward, and he all to readily reciprocated the kiss.

They stayed like this for a while, just enjoying the moment. After a solid thirty seconds, their lips parted, and they needed to catch their breath. They just stared into each other´s eyes, basking in the afterglow. It was then that they noticed a small cough beside the bed, and they turned to look. Issei was blushing a deep red and looking out the window awkwardly. "As happy as I am for you two, could you not do that right in front of me?" He asked nervously, and the two had a good laugh as his face got redder than ever. "Don´t laugh! You –"He didn´t finish, as Asia started quietly groaning in her sleep. His protective instincts kicking in, he turned around immediately and held her hand, whispering that everything would be okay with a cracking voice. Tatsuo and Akeno knew that their moment was over, and let go of each other, though there was no awkwardness between the two. Instead, there was only mutual acceptance, and worry that stemmed from the resting Bishop. The only one feeling the slightest bit awkward was the Pawn, though he too was preoccupied by the blonde. Since he had to apologize to him, Tatsuo decided to finally find out why Instinct was being so quiet, as the other half had been right all along about the Queen. He tried to reach him as Akeno lied back down, prodding at the blocked channel. After a while, he received a headache for his efforts. So that did go both ways. Instinct must really not want to talk right now. So, with a sigh, he settled for second best, and lied down on his back, feeling an arm wrap around his chest. He patted Akeno´s head, and closed his eyes.

He awoke when he was shook violently, not having had any dreams. Once his eyes were open, he could see that it was Levia-tan that was shaking him so hard. So he responded in kind, and hit her on the head, making her yelp. She then made a shushing sound, holding a finger in front of her mouth with a grave expression. A quick glance to his right showed why. Akeno and Asia were wrapped up in a hug, between two sisters, as the older one was patting the younger comfortingly on the head, and said younger devil had a smile on her face. All the while, Issei was asleep next to them, holding Asia´s free hand, probably dreaming of something perverted, judging from the grin on his face. It was an adorable scene, and Tatsuo agreed that disturbing it would be a crime. With no sound, he got out of the couch. He wondered why Levia-tan was so riled up, though. The scene was cute, yes, but it was not worth that kind of face. She led him back into the hallway to her room with no noise, and ushered him in once they stood in front of the door. The medics were gone, and wherever they had disappeared to, they had taken all their equipment with them, leaving only Rias and Koneko in the room, both fully conscious now.

But something was wrong. Rias was holding the younger devil close to her, comfortingly stroking her head as Koneko sobbed into her master´s chest. He froze as he watched the scene, wondering just what was happening. Then, as he stared, he noticed something that told him everything he needed to know. His knees gave way as he realized just why Koneko was so upset. As his knees hit the ground, the girl seized up, and turned her head. Slowly, carefully, she held out her hand, and he grabbed it with no hesitation, crawling over to the bedside as he did. She recognized his touch, and sobbing, she jumped into his arms, tears streaming down her face. He comforted her just like he did with Akeno earlier, stroking her head, though he found it difficult to keep his composure, as did the others in the room, Rias straight up crying as well. Every sob hit him with immense guilt as he remembered the cause for this.

Why didn´t he kill the human first? He could have saved her from her fate. But he knew why. Tatsuo had enjoyed his battle with the angel. He didn´t help his friend, because of a fleeting emotion. If anything, it was pride. He refused to bow down to the angel, wanted to prove that he was stronger, no, the strongest. And because of this, Koneko, his favorite student Koneko, his dear friend Koneko, was now scarred for life. As they held each other like this, Levia-tan decided to lead Rias outside, to give the two some time to grieve. The younger devil did so, but not before sending her Rook one last sorrowful look. Once the door shut, Tatsuo let his dam give way, and the tears began dropping to the floor. He tightened his grip, and for a long time, the two just sat there, letting their grief flow from their eyes in this small, dark room where no light could enter to expose them in this vulnerable state.

Eventually, he heard someone call out him, though it was so quiet that one might mistake it for the wind. It was the voice of the girl in his arms. "Please don´t let go…" In response, he patted the back of her head, his guilt and sorrow swelling up as he touched the blindfold. "…really?" He nodded, as his fingers touching the black cloth started burning. She would never take it off. Her eyes were gone. Forever. And it was all his fault. As their sobbing eventually died out, he could make out her voice calling out again, though what it said made his heart stop, and silently, he hoped to have misheard. The world, or whoever controls it, was truly a sadistic fucker.

"I like you."

Well, shit is going down! And not down the toilet. So, how will our little romancing problem play out? Will the hero be able to solve this emotional conundrum? What about Instinct? And if/when our hero fails, will they try to talk it out like the adults that they aren´t? Or will they both grab a knife and try to stab each other to death over him?

…holy shit with devil powers that might just be awesome. Tatsuo is right. I AM A SADISTIC FUCK AND I LOVE MYSELF FOR IT!

Anyways, review please, I haven´t been getting my fix lately, and my doctor CAN GO SCREW HIMSELF, I NEED TO GET HIGH ON THIS SHIT TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY!

Ahem, excuse my outburst. It´s just that my good imaginary friend Charlie is being A LITTLE DIFFICULT! HEY! PUT THAT DOWN! THAT´S MY MUFFIN! NOOOOO. DON´T YOU FUCKING – YOU ATE MY MUFFIN! I´LL FUCKING MURDER YOU! GET BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE SHIT! Oh, btw, bye. NOW COME HERE, CHARLIE! I DON´T WANT TO HURT YOU! I JUST WANNA TURN YOUR NECK INTO A MERRYGOROUND! Hish