Interlude: Takeuchi Katase

I know that I am not a friendly person. Never was, never will be. If not for Murayama hounding me, I probably won't have even a single friend. And I like this arrangement. I don't care what people say, I have no obligation to get along with people that have zero sympathy for their fellows, nor do I have to get along with stupid people. Call me anti-social. I don't care.

Murayama would tell you that I am introverted. Bless that fool. I have no clue how she managed to wriggle under my skin without being annoying, but she did. Because of that, I usually end up going just about anywhere with her, mostly for her sake than mine. While I myself don't need constant companionship, Murayama definitely needed someone to listen to her yap about whatever fancies her at the time. It is by that virtue alone that I am her best friend, not the countless others that associate with the bubbly girl.

How did my friendship with Murayama started you ask? It started with a kendo duel. As a daughter of the Takeuchi family, I was the heir to the Takeuchi Ryuu Kenjutsu. Which meant that I would go to the dojo to practice from a very young age. By age 10, I had long surpassed everyone from my age group, and I made a habit of defeating high schoolers who should be faster, stronger and have a greater reach. So when I found myself coming short against another 10 year old girl, I had to take notice.

You see, Murayama is a kendo prodigy. A year of training had placed her in the same skill range as me, and allowed her to duel me to a draw. And since I was the first person of her age to give her a fight, she decided that I was to be her friend and sparring partner. And here we are, 7 years later, best of friends.

Considering she was my only friend, you'd have to forgive me if I come across as protective. She doesn't really mind, so I get to beat away any and all perverts that approach her. It's oddly therapeutic, if you ask me. This was how I came to know Hyoudou Issei. Although, for the longest of times, I didn't know his name, instead knew him as part of the Perverted Trio. I cannot count how many times me and Murayama have beaten up the three of them peeping on us. How they always would figure out the best way to do so stumped me, even though all found holes were fixed post haste.

Color me surprised when he stepped in to help us against some rowdy bikers. Sure we had it under control, but more help is always appreciated. I was suspicious of his intentions, but he made them clear enough. I don't know if he was stupid or just let his ulterior motive of getting to know girls as easily discovered. At least he was honest about it.

I had my reservations, but Murayama was intent on getting to know him. Now that I know him a little, I won't say that he was a bad person, just perverted. A lot. Also stupid. Deciding to spar the best kendo expert of the school, stronger than even me or Murayama combined, just for the heck of it was beyond idiotic. Apparently he liked it well enough to look for a dojo of his own. Then Murayama had the bright idea of recommending the Takeuchi Dojo.

I did not want him to have any access to what was my sanctuary from school and all that came with it. Murayama insisted, so I ended up caving in. I didn't think he would pass father's test, but he did, surprising everyone involved. Moreover, he learned really, really fast. Especially when sparring. It did give me a lot of chance to relieve some stress. He didn't give up even when I switched with Murayama, which was more than I thought possible for him.

His first official lesson at the dojo wasn't any less shocking. It wasn't long before I could see the basics of the Takase Ryuu Kenjutsu in his movements. It was far too quick for anyone to pick up the skill, even by Murayama's standards. He must have been telling the truth when he said he learned better when fighting. The fact that he knew it was a bit concerning, but not my business.

Murayama came up to me once Issei had left with a smug grin on her face. "See, aren't you glad that we now have another Kenjutsu prodigy in the dojo?"

I scoffed at her words. "It's far too early to call him a prodigy. Besides, you know I don't like prodigies."

"You like me, don't you?" Murayama pouted playfully.

"I like you because you are not a primadonna, unlike all the other prodigious geniuses that passed through the dojo." I replied.

"Well, I suppose that's true. Still, don't you think that this is a merit to Issei?" She asked, prodding a response out of me.

"Who knows. He is still a pervert to me."

Interlude: Himejima Akeno

As Rias' Queen, I'm privy to a lot of things. One of which is that Hyoudou Issei, pervert extraordinaire, had a Sacred Gear. One I believed to be of Longinus class. Really, any Sacred Gear that allowed for absorption of information would be powerful, even more so if it can also teach spells. Problem was, it was not a known ability of a Longinus, which meant it was a sub-species evolution. Thus, just about everything is unknown about it.

It would have been fine if that was all there was to Issei. Then, Rias could just reincarnate him as a devil and have him deal with her fiery problem. As it was, with the Youkai already having a claim on him, Rias was stuck. So now, we are feeding him basic information as a courtesy without doing anything else. Problem came when he somehow learned of our species during one of his book absorption sessions.

"Rias, we may have a problem." I said, the moment she walked into the clubroom.

Her response was to simply raise an eyebrow as she took her regular seat. "Oh?"

"Issei figured out we are devils. I had to tell him about our deal with Saika."

"That's fine. It would have happened eventually." Rias smiled, not at all bothered by the course of events.

"I would have preferred if we were able to control the narrative when he did learn." I protested, not sure why Rias was not worried.

"It doesn't matter. It would be easy to befriend him either way. He is just enough enamored by the opposite sex that it should be easy to distract him."

Well, now I knew what she was thinking. "Ah. There was an additional complication."

"Really?" She asked, interested in what I was alluding to.

"His Sacred Gear probably advanced a stage. Just before he caught on to me being a devil, I could feel myself becoming more favorable towards him. Must have been an instinctive charm magic of some sort. Based on what we know of Sacred Gears, that is a feature unique to Dragon types."

Apparently, what I said had Rias' eyes glittering in amusement. "A Dragon's pride will halt just about any recruitment efforts towards him. I think we need to shift our mindset regarding Issei. Think of allying with him. We will fail to get him to work for us regardless of what we try."

That's one way of looking at it. I guess I was worried too much about it. It is my job to make sure Rias doesn't have to worry about what she wishes to do. Must have overcompensated. Hopefully she will soon find a solution to what plagues her.

Interlude: Saika Ono

Hyoudou Issei was turning out to be far more of a headache I thought he would be. Not at all surprising, if you can figure out enough about his Sacred Gear, but that is only true in hindsight. As it was, I now had to figure out contract details that would satisfy both him and my superiors. It was a good thing that I had managed to get a meeting with Yasaka-sama.

Just standing in the presence of Yasaka-sama would usually be enough to distract me, but I forced myself to remain focused. I did not wish to leave a bad impression with my childhood hero.

"I have managed to befriend someone whom I believe to be a Longinus holder while on my visit to Kuoh." I reported, standing across from Yasaka-sama's desk, where she sat looking through some paperwork.

My words had their desired effect as she looked up from the application she was reading, clearly intrigued. "Did you make sure to claim him?"

"I did. Right now I am in the midst of creating a lucrative contract he can't refuse, although I fear it may be impossible to get him to join our faction." I explained. Really, Issei had crappy timing when it came to figuring stuff out. He could have waited to learn of the devils I asked to keep an eye out for him before I could tell him. But no, he had to do it when I was not there. Now, he already knew and was reticent to come to a deal that was favorable to us.

"If he truly is a Longinus user, then any positive association would be good for us. Hmm… make sure to corroborate his Sacred Gear. Additionally, I am authorizing you with the power to make sure the Longinus user allies with us. You are to be posted to Kuoh indefinitely." Ordered Yasaka-sama. I was amazed. I didn't think that I would be the one to broker the deal. Sure, I was the ambassador to the devils in Kuoh, but that was mostly because it was an assignment not many wanted amongst the Youkai. After all, trying to make the sisters of two presiding Maou into allies without offending them was a tremendous pressure. The only reason I was selected for the job despite my inexperience was my willingness to please and the fact that it was an amazing hazing assignment. So I figured I would be the one introducing the real negotiator. Being made the negotiator was a surprising honor.

"Thank you, Yasaka-sama. I won't let you down." I genuflected, and then left the room at her signal. I had a lot of work ahead of me, and not a lot of time to do it.

It's a Christmas miracle! A chapter after over a year, albeit a small one. Can't really believe it.

Why the long gap? Let's just leave it at writer's block. This chapter I had written piecemeal over the year, and I'm only posting it now because I want to get back into writing again, properly. Have a week of holidays left before classes start again, so hopefully I can use the time to get into a better writing habit.

Let's all hope I retain the motivation for writing for a long, long time. Don't forget to leave a review, as they help with my motivation.