Disclaimer: I own neither JoJo's Bizarre Adventure or Highschool DxD

Chapter 44

Tomoko certainly loved Sundays.

It was her only real day off, able to take a break from both grading and pestering students. And as of late, Josuke would often go to join his friends on Sundays, leaving her all to herself. Sometimes she would have liked to spend a day with him, but other times she liked to have quality 'me' time. Today was one of the latter. Plus, any chance for those girls to help pull him out of his shell was welcome.

Tomoko let out a satisfied moan as she bit into a fresh baked donut, a box full sitting close by. She didn't plan on eating all of them of course, but it was nice to not have her son clawing at her favorites so soon after getting home.

I definitely need to workout later… but I'll enjoy this now. Tomoko thought, feeling a small bit of guilt for going off diet, but then allowing her tastebuds to wash the thought away.

*knock knock*

Tomoko sighed as her blissful downtime was interrupted, placing her half eaten donut in the box. "Just a few minutes to gorge myself, is that too much to ask?" She stood from her chair in the kitchen and moved to the front door, opening it and putting on a polite smile. "Hello? Can I-" She blinked when she saw the Hyoudou's standing on her porch, her smile becoming more genuine. "Ah, hey neighbors! What brings you here?"

"Hello, Tomoko-chan! I hope we aren't interrupting your Sunday off. We just had something we would like to speak to you about, if you wouldn't mind." Mrs. Hyoudou greeted with a kind smile.

"Of course! Come on in. I can make you some coffee if you like." Tomoko waved for them to follow her. She always liked Issei's parents. They were a bit quirky, but they were honest, good people. "I have some donuts too if you want something."

"I certainly can't say no to that!" Issei's father laughed, earning a small hush from his wife.

"Don't come over to Tomoko-chan's house and eat all of her food, honey! That's rude!"

"Don't think anything of it. It's just me today, anyways." Tomoko waved them off, giving a kind smile as she walked into the kitchen. "Would either of you like some tea or coffee?"

"Ah, yes please. Tea."

"Coffee to go with the donuts."

Tomoko quickly prepared her guests their snacks, walking back over and placing their cups in front of them. "So what brings you both here? Was there something you wanted to talk about?"

"Ah, yes. Something quite big, in fact!" Mrs. Hyoudou said before sipping her tea. "I'm sure by now you're aware that we have two young women living with us now, right?"

"Ah, yeah. Josuke mentioned that. His friends Asia-chan and Gremory-chan, right?" Tomoko nodded as she sat across from them.

"Yes! Those lovely ladies have really brought some life to our house and our son! We're so astounded that he could possibly end up with such amazing girls!" Mr. Hyoudou exclaimed, linking hands with his wife.

"And here we thought he'd just be a pervert his whole life and forever alone! We're so proud that he was able to prove us wrong!"

"Well, I can see why that would be a worry…" Tomoko laughed sheepishly, no stranger to Issei's antics. She was quite blown away when Josuke said that the girls were definitely interested in him.

"Well~, just yesterday, we spoke with Gremory-chan's brother. He thanked us again for letting Rias stay in our home for so long. And he was so grateful to us for taking care of his sister, they've decided to pay for us to completely renovate our house!" Tomoko blinked, drawing her cup away from her lips to look at the couple.

"Are you serious?! That's amazing! What are they going to renovate?"

"Everything! Not only are they going to completely reconstruct for us, they're going to be adding several different floors to our house!" Mrs. Hyoudou declared, causing Tomoko's jaw to drop. "In exchange, they are planning to move in several of the girls under their care, but with what they're offering we have absolutely no problem with that!"

"That much?! Just how loaded is Gremory-chan's family?!"

"They're extravagant foreign business owners from what they said! Who would have thought letting that girl live with us would have such payoff!" Issei's father gave a big dumb grin. "They're going to begin later today! Apparently they can get it done in a flash, too!"

"That's incredible… I'm definitely jealous…" Tomoko mumbled, picking her coffee cup up and sipping. "But… about these other girls moving in. Have you met them before?"

"A few times. Apparently they were adopted into the Gremory family some time ago. You might have seen them before, Himejima-chan and Toujou-chan?"

"W-Wait, those two?!" Tomoko exclaimed, immediately recognizing the names of the two girls who blatantly admitted their feelings for her son.

"Yes, those two young beauties! I figured you had met them already. They'll also be joined by another exchange student, Xenovia Quarta." Mrs. Hyoudou nodded before tilting her head. "Is something wrong?"

"A-Ah, no, not at all. They just… have some complicated stuff going on with Josuke is all." Tomoko cleared her throat as she sat back down.

"Oh~! So it was them, wasn't it!" Mr. Hyoudou's eyes lit up in realization. "Issei mentioned that Josuke had recently grabbed the attention of two girls!"

"Yeah, you could say that. Though that situation is a bit… complicated," Tomoko scratched the back of her head. Josuke had clearly made no progress with the girls as of yet, though she knew it wouldn't be that easy. "Having them live so close now will certainly be something… well that aside, were you guys coming over to warn me about the noise?"

"Well… yes and no…" Mrs. Hyoudou gave a somewhat giddy smile. "There was actually something that came up in our talks with Gremory-san's father. You see, we have enough room on our property for the renovations, but~, we figured that there could be a little more…"

"More? What do you mean?" Tomoko raised a brow. Mr. and Mrs. Hyoudou shared smiles before focusing back on Tomoko.

"You've been a long time friend to us, Tomoko-chan, and we've always appreciated you and your son's friendship! So~, we thought, since you're our neighbors, perhaps you'd like to connect our houses!"

Tomoko choked on the coffee she sipped, patting her chest and coughing. "Wh-What?! Really?!"

"Of course! We asked Gremory-san if that would be alright, and he said that it was completely fine! We would just tear down the fence between our yards and your house would be built into ours!"

Tomoko's jaw hung low, in utter disbelief at what she was hearing. "You guys… really want to connect our places?"

"You bet! It would give the kids more room to move around, and you would still be able to have your own privacy! I'm sure Josuke and Issei would be happy to be living together!" Mr. Hyoudou exclaimed with a grin.

"Well, sure… though I don't know how he'll feel about living with the girls…" Tomoko mumbled. Part of her knew he was actually going to be rather livid about it.

"You don't have to decide now, and we're not going to pressure you to do anything you don't want to. We just thought, as our longest friend, you might like to consider it! It would be a full renovation, all completely free! And~, Gremory-san is giving us the freedom to choose anything we want to include!"

"R-Really? Like what?"

"So far, we tossed out the ideas of an indoor onsen! Then another for an indoor pool! And he said 'I'll be sure to inform the builders' like nothing!" Mr. Hyoudou declared.

"Are you kidding?! Are you guys building an actual mansion in our neighborhood?!"

"Pretty much! Here, we even had some of the stuff drawn up!" Mrs. Hyoudou whipped out several concept images, definitely drawn by a professional. She was utterly baffled by the absolute size of the house, if it could even be called that. Mansion almost seemed to be underselling what they were planning to build.

And Tomoko couldn't deny that her interest had been piqued.

"S-So… if I were to agree to this, I could ask for… any sort of additions I want?" Tomoko was afraid she might be salivating at this point.

"That's right~! Anything you want to add! We'll connect our houses and give yours a full makeover as well!" Mrs. Hyoudou declared. Sweat beaded down Tomoko's face at the tempting offer. But she then thought of her father's room, biting her bottom lip.

"Well… it all sounds nice, but… my dad's room…"

"Ah, yes. Of course," The Hyoudous had more understanding expressions this time, the wife reaching out and gently gripped her shoulder. "If you'd like to keep it intact, we understand. But we could… request for a room to be built for his old things if you like? If you want that, of course."

Tomoko gave a small smile, nodding in appreciation. "I'd like to keep his things where they are… this house has a lot of memories with him, you know?"

"Of course. We wouldn't want to take that away…"

"So~, maybe instead of a full makeover…" Tomoko's lips turned up into a more amused smile. "How about we expand things instead?"

"Whoa~! This place is huge!"

Josuke and his friends gazed around the glossy white facility that surrounded them. It was once an old warehouse, close to the one which had previously been occupied by a now dead Stray Devil. This facility was in much better shape of course, occupied by several scientists and workers moving around and putting several machines in place.

"Even before the meeting, I was planning to build a more official facility for the Speedwagon Foundation to use in Kuoh." Jotaro declared as he lead the group ahead, Azazel walking next to him. "Now that we're allies, we're receiving their help in completing the project as well as adding their offered technology and resources to it."

"I didn't think your expansion would happen so swiftly… I suppose it helps show how serious the other Factions are about integrating you," said Rias.

"No kidding. I thought I was being generous, but it turns out that Michael and Sirzechs were ready to try and one-up me." Azazel chuckled, his eyes gazing across the facility.

"We're going to be working more closely than the other two can offer, so it makes sense that they would provide us with more on-sight resources available." Jotaro dismissed without missing a beat. "If your aid with Sacred Gears is as useful as you say, then I'm sure it will be fine."

"Trust me, I'm worth every moment in that department." Azazel winked.

"Try not to drop your panties for him too quick, old man." Azazel nearly tripped at his daughter's words.

"This facility will act as an official hub for meetings between Factions as well as a base of operations for the Speedwagon Foundation. The Church will be sending us exorcists eventually to act as their representatives in Kuoh as well since the Devils and Fallen Angels have theirs here already." Jotaro went onto explain. "Speaking of, Michael will be meeting us here with Sirzechs."

"So soon?! I thought they might be busy handling things back in Heaven and the Underworld." Issei asked in disbelief.

"Don't let their serious demeanors fool you. I'm pretty sure they goof off just as much as I do." Azazel laughed.

"Don't sound too proud, old man…" Hazel rolled her eyes. "Not that I can talk…"

"This is still part of the pact made for the treaty, so either way they would both need to be here for this. Michael apparently had something to tell us, anyways." Jotaro said, leading the group deeper into the facility and into a conference room. A wide circular table sat at the center with nice leather chairs and a large monitor at the back wall, giving the appearance of an almost typical business room for a high end company. Sirzechs, Grayfia, Michael, and Kakyoin were already inside.

"Ah, Jotaro-san. Just in time," Sirzechs greeted as they entered the room. "We had barely just arrived ourselves."

"Good to see you again so soon, Jojo." Kakyoin smiled, the two being the first to shake hands before looking to the others.

"I'm sure you have other commitments now considering your position, but I'm glad you're part of these talks now." Jotaro gave a rare smile.

"I do, but now that we're able to meet freely like this, I decided to take what chances I could to do so. Besides, I'm sure there's a few things I can help answer as well."

"Speaking of, you guys had something to share regarding Stands, right?" Azazel asked, taking a seat at the round table. "Not to sound rushed or anything, but I've been curious about what was left out of the initial meeting."

"Of course. Do forgive our failure to disclose such before, but the circumstances cut the need for such talk a bit short." Michael said, taking a seat with the other leaders. The students moved to the far wall, allowing the meeting to go on. "Before we begin, when will the Fallen Angels be adding their technology to the facility?"

"I'm having my guys move stuff in later today. Just wanted to get situated with our cozy new meeting place first."

"Understood. Ajuka will be paying a visit soon as well, as he's been rather curious about the different projects that could spawn thanks to our union." Sirzechs explained this time.

"With that said, I think we can begin our meeting. Jotaro-san, tell me. How many of the Stand Arrows is the Speedwagon Foundation in possession of?"

"None, and we only know that one was stolen here in town by another Stand user." Jotaro's eyes flashed to Grayfia briefly but quickly returned to Michael. "Sona Sitri explained the origin of the Stand Arrows to me, but she never gave a number. I assume you know?"

"W-Wait, there's more than one?!" Josuke blurted out in surprise.

"Correct. In total, there are seven Stand Arrows that exist. Heaven possesses one in its vault that we will bring here if you wish. But the others were lost when they were stolen from their burial place." Michael nodded in affirmation, causing the students and Jotaro to briefly widen their eyes.

"H-Holy shit! Seven?! And nobody knows where the rest of them are?! That's bad!" Issei blurted out.

"No kidding. That's so bad that I can't help but feel like Heaven was pretty irresponsible with those arrows." Azazel's brow knotted, his eyes glaring at Michael. "How come Heaven didn't put those arrows under better lock and key?"

"I'm quite curious as well. Why were the Arrows buried on earth rather than kept in Heaven's vault?" Sirzechs asked, looking at Michael for answers.

The Seraph leader released a deep sigh, crossing his hands in front of him on the table. "To be honest, it was a case of misplaced trust. While the Great War was getting close to its end, there was discussion of collecting the Arrows and returning them to Heaven. But before we could, one of the Stand users we created went rogue and stole the Arrows from under our noses. By the time we had found him, he had already hidden them with no trace of where."

"What happened to the Stand user?" asked Jotaro. Michael was silent at first, a heavy cloud beginning to form overhead.

"He had decided to fight against us, rather than be captured. In the end, I myself had to deliver the final blow to him."

"I remember hearing about that battle. The Angels got pretty desperate if you had to step in." Azazel stroked his chin in interest. "That was the Stand user who became a Devil, right?"

"That was the official story we allowed to spread. But the truth of the matter is, well…" Michael sighed again, turning back to Jotaro. "Jotaro-san. Have you or any of the others here seen the Arrow that this wayward Stand user is in possession of?"

"I haven't seen it directly. I just have a picture taken of Enya with it. But if there's multiple Arrows, it could be a different one. But Okuyasu has seen it more than most of us." Jotaro looked over his shoulder at the punk Stand user. "Do you remember what it looks like?"

"H-Huh? Oh, yeah. I saw my bro with it a few times…" Okuyasu nodded, nervous about being put on the spot.

"I see. Then allow me to inquire upon you Okuyasu Niijimura," Michael shifted his attention to him, a magic circle appearing in front of him and materializing a holographic image of the Stand Arrow. "Is this how the arrow your brother possessed looked?"

Okuyasu stepped up to the image, holding his chin in thought. "Yeah, that's definitely it. Looks just like that."

"I see. That's both a relief and a disappointment." Michael smiled at him. "Thank you for your assistance."

"R-Right!" Okuyasu quickly shuffled back to the rest of the students.

"What was the point of that question?" Jotaro asked, narrowing his eyes. "Are there different variations of the Arrow?"

"Yes. But before I explain that, allow me to enlighten all of you on the origin of Stand Arrows." Michael stood from his seat, hands behind his back. "The story we allowed to spread was that Heaven had unlocked the true potential of tapping into the souls of humans for their power through the Stand Arrows. That they were a creation achieved by the brilliance of Metatron." Michael turned his back to them, looking out the window that overlooked the facility. "But in truth, that was merely propaganda we spread to help shake our enemies."

Silence filled the room, shock covering the faces of each student and teenager in the room. Sirzechs raised a brow, curious, while Azazel's eyes narrowed in further suspicion.

"I thought something was scandalous about that whole thing. But no matter how far I dug, I couldn't confirm anything." Azazel clicked his tongue.

"So what's the truth about the Stand Arrows origin?" Jotaro asked.

"The truth was that, while Metatron did forge the Arrows and turn them into inherently Holy Weapons, we had not unlocked the secret to tapping into the soul. After God had vanished, a strange meteorite landed on earth, and we heard reports of people sprouting strange powers from it." Michael continued, turning back to look at the gathered group. "We sent our agents to investigate, and realized that Stands were being manifested thanks to the strange properties of the meteor. Seeing its danger and potential, we were sure to take it back to Heaven and study it."

"And that's when you realized you could use it to your advantage." Azazel pointed out.

"Yes. The powers, while varied, were still quite wonderful to behold among those who had it. So we tasked Metatron with turning the meteorite into something we could use, and thus he birthed the Stand Arrows."

"This has to be one of Heaven's few best kept secrets." Sirzechs mused, sounding impressed. "But if it's true that you were unable to learn how to tap into the soul, why is there a variation of Arrows?"

"In truth, there is only one other variation. The majority of the Arrows look like the one that I have shown Okuyasu Niijimura. But two of them…" Michael snapped his fingers, making the largest monitor against the wall flicker on for all to see. A picture of a Stand Arrow took shape, but this time there was a notable difference in the arrow head's design. Instead of a heart at its center, a large golden beetle was carved into the top. "Look like this."

"What's so special about these ones aside from the design?" Azazel asked, resting his hand on his chin.

"Like the others, this Arrow can grant a Stand to those struck by it. But the difference between these two and the others is that it was forged from the core of the meteorite." Michael went onto explain, his face becoming grave. "As you all know, the Arrows can only grant beings with a soul a Stand. But what Metatron discovered after coming into contact with the core was that it could grant even we Stands."

"What?" Azazel and Sirzechs heads snapped to Michael, alarm coloring their expressions.

"Metatron, while disassembling the meteorite for more arrows, ended up granting himself a Stand after touching the core. He realized that the core had abilities beyond that of its outer crust. With that knowledge, Metatron forged two arrows from the core, both with the beetlehead design carved into it."

"An arrow that can grant even our races Stands, hm? What an ominous weapon to have in possession." Sirzechs mumbled, stroking his chin. "With this knowledge, I am surprised that the Angels did not seize the chance to turn the tide."

"No kidding. If you started handing out Stands to your top Seraphs, you probably could have taken the whole war in an instant." Azazel's face became pale, imagining the kind of horror that could have been.

"We were barely recovering after losing God. While it seemed like a tempting resolution, we simply wanted the conflict to be finished." Michael explained, shaking his head. "But we still concocted our tests in secret. Creating a fallback plan should the fighting not cease. Preparing the humans to fight should the conflict go as horribly as we thought. It was and has been our secret nuclear option in a worst case scenario."

"This Arrow sounds pretty special, but I don't see how a regular Stand user would benefit from taking it." Jotaro pointed out. "Is there something else it can do?"

Michael's face became grave, giving Jotaro a solemn nod. "Indeed. I do not believe he understood it before taking the Arrow, but when we had found him, his Stand had completely evolved. His power was overwhelming, and several of our strongest warriors had fallen in the fight against him. Seeing the damage he had caused, I did not wait any longer and stepped into the battle. And I barely escaped with my own life."

"You did?! Against a single Stand user?!" Rias mumbled in utter disbelief.

"How the hell'd that happen? Even with a Stand like Jotaro-san's, they'd have a hell of a time doing damage to guys at our level." Azazel pointed out.

"From what we gathered, he struck his Stand with the beetlehead Arrow, and that had put it into what we call a Requiem state. The evolution of a Stand to the highest level and changing it beyond comprehension. Metatron has spectated that a human with a soul born Stand can be granted this evolution, allowing them to evolve it into something… godlike."

The room became heavy, the atmosphere thick. The implication at hand was bad, out there was a Stand Arrow that could grant any Angel or Devil a Stand. Or turn a human into a god. The weight of this truth weighed on all present. And if an enemy were to get their hands on it…

"Does anyone in the Khaos Brigade know about this?" Sirzechs asked this time.

"I imagine not. We had buried this secret deep, and took what measures we could to make sure that the power of the Beetlehead Arrow did not come out." Michael said before sighing. "Still... We should keep our guard up. If enemy Stand users were to start appearing on their end, we may have to fear the worst."

"You said that two Arrows were forged from the core. Does that mean the one you have is one of the two?" Jotaro asked.

"Yes. We've kept it under close watch ever since losing the other six Arrows." Kakyoin confirmed for Michael. "In fact, it has been a mission of mine and Avdol to scour the different worlds for the Arrows. We thought it possible that the Stand user from before hid them off of the human world, but it seems that he kept them close to home."

"I'm sure no one has to be told, but the secret of the Beetlehead Arrow cannot leave this room." Azazel's eyes darted over to the students, causing them all to tense up. "The Khaos Brigade is already gathering a dangerous amount of Sacred Gear users. If they were to learn about the kind of potential power that could be gained from something like that, we'd be in deep shit."

"Of course. We won't let that kind of secret slip out." Rias nodded in understanding.

"Even so, this kind of info is pretty damn great and heavy…" Josuke gulped, scratching the back of his head.

"Until such a time that we'll need the top brass of our respective leaderships to obtain Stands, we will keep this knowledge and the Beetlehead Arrow under lock and key." Michael declared before looking at Azazel. "But now that the most dangerous information has been shared, I do have some good news to share."

"Oh? After a bombshell like that, I doubt it'll be that good." Azazel laughed dryly, still looking somewhat thrown off.

"I believe you and Jotaro-san will like this, at least." Michael chuckled. "While a good amount of the meteorite, including all of its core, had been used for creating the Arrows, there is still a chunk of it left that has not been tampered with."

"Wait, what?" Azazel blinked in shock.

"Metatron stopped making the Stand Arrows after making the Beetlehead Arrows, seeing the danger. But we still made sure that the remainder of the meteor was kept safe. Now that we're allies, I would like to offer this last chunk to Jotaro-san and the Stand Faction."

Jotaro raised a brow, but nodded in understanding. "I see. In that case, we'll take it."

"But what's this got to do with me?" Azazel asked.

"Now this is just an idea, but after seeing your artificial Sacred Gear at work, I thought you might like a new challenge to your work." Azazel's interest was suddenly taken, now leaning forward in his chair. "Jotaro-san and several other Stand users present do not seem to have an interest in becoming Angels or Devils anytime soon. So perhaps, to help them reach a certain level of power not easily in their grasp, you might consider trying to make an artificial Sacred Gear from the meteorite."

"What do you think that could do?" Jotaro stroked his chin, interested in the idea as well.

"I believe that, like becoming a Devil or Angel would do for you, perhaps achieving a new strength from an artificial Sacred Gear will help certain Stand users tap into the untouched potential that they possess as humans. And seeing as how the meteorite is the only thing that has made this possible, it might be the best way of approaching it." Michael suggested. "And judging from Azazel's knowledge and own work, there is no one better to help you look into this project."

"... You know, Michael. Sometimes you really know how to make a man feel special." Azazel grinned eagerly. "Alright, if you'll let me, I'll definitely dig into the secrets of that meteorite. We could make a damn fine artificial Gear from it!"

"Hm… it's not a bad idea. We could definitely use something that would give us an edge once the fight comes to us. Judging from what the Khaos Brigade did at the meeting, it's only a matter of time. Whatever can help us get ready." Jotaro said. "And regarding the Beetlehead Arrow, I'd like to have it brought here for examination, but I don't want to risk it falling into enemy hands. I hope your vault is as secure as you think."

"There's no place safer for it to be, I can guarantee that." Kakyoin nodded in affirmation.

"Good. Is there anything else to share?" Jotaro asked, looking around at the table.

"I have nothing on my end. At least nothing that could top our previous subject." Sirzechs chuckled.

"Same. Just that I hope you guys pick up the pace of bringing that meteorite here. I wanna get working soon as can be." Azazel grinned.

"I will have Metatron send over any of the notes he took regarding the Arrows as well. Perhaps something in there will hint at some possible help." Michael suggested, offering a smile as he stood.

"W-Wait! I-I uh…" The leaders shifted their gaze to Okuyasu, who had spoken up out of the blue. He crumbled under their gazes, head hanging as he became nervous. "I uh… I wanted to know if… one of you guys could help my pops out."

"Your father? What's wrong with him?" Xenovia asked, looking at Okuyasu in wonder.

"Dio infected him with a flesh-bud he made. When Dio died, it mutated his body beyond belief." Jotaro explained, causing Xenovia's eyes to bulge slightly. He then looked at the other leaders. "I told Okuyasu if he wanted your help that he needed to ask himself. And since he has, I'm going to put that in as a request from the Stand Faction."

"Th-Thank you, Jotaro-san…" Okuyasu bowed his head lower.

"I see. A human completely changed by the flesh bud of a vampire." Sirzechs hummed, stroking his chin. "That is indeed troubling. Perhaps you should have your father stay at this facility so we can study him and look for a cure."

"R-Really?! Alright! I'll go and bring him… over…" Okuyasu's expression fell at that, his excitement leaving for a moment.

"What's wrong, Okuyasu?" Kiba asked, seeing his concern.

"N-Nothin', I'm happy as hell, but… I haven't been alone in my house in a while…" Okuyasu admitted before smiling. "But… if it'll help my pops, I don't mind if he stays here as long as he needs."

"Okuyasu…" Xenovia mumbled, going to his other side. If he doesn't want to be lonely… maybe I should-

"If that's what worries you, perhaps I can stay with you." Kiba spoke first, causing Xenovia and Okuyasu to blink. "I don't want to impose of course, but I would be happy to be your roommate."

"W-Whoa, really?! That'd be awesome! It gets pretty quiet in my place by myself." Okuyasu grinned like an idiot, causing Xenovia to raise a shaky hand as she tried to make her request known. "Ah, but my place is pretty crappy since it's so old…"

"Is that so? Perhaps I can also help you out with that." Sirzechs smiled. "I'm already helping the Hyoudous renovate their own home, perhaps we can help you renovate yours."

"Wait, what was that?" Issei blinked.

"Seriously?! That'd be awesome! I'm so glad I asked!" Okuyasu barked with laughter.

"Perhaps we should have Gasper move in with us as well. It does get rather lonely for him at the old school building." Kiba suggested.

"Hell yeah! I'm up for more roomies!" Okuyasu laughed before looking at Xenovia, the former exorcist hunched over next to him. "Huh? What's wrong, Xenovia?"

"Nothing…"

"Alright then. With that, we'll call this meeting to a close." Jotaro concluded, each leader now standing from their seats. "I look forward to seeing where our relationship goes."

"Same. This should be a fun year." Azazel chuckled before winking at the students. "See you all at school tomorrow."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Rias blinked in wonder.

"I guess you'll have to wait and find out~!" Azazel chuckled before walking out of the room.

"What an infuriating man…" Rias mumbled in irritation.

"I don't have a good feeling about what he said…" Hazel clicked her tongue before running to follow him out.

"... So what was that about my place getting renovated?" Issei asked again.

"I can't believe all the girls will be moving into my place! It's kinda crazy, but… kinda exciting…" Issei chuckled deviously, rubbing his hands together as his nose began to bleed. Josuke and Issei had separated from the others, walking home while the remainder of the girls wanting to discuss things with Sirzechs while Okuyasu was working out the details of his own living arrangements.

"Give it a rest already, would you…?" Josuke grumbled next to him, obviously in a sour mood by comparison.

"Don't worry, Josuke. I'll make sure not to try anything with your ladies." Issei gave a perverted laugh, clapping him on the shoulder. "Just a couple peeks for the memory banks and I'll be good!"

"Koneko will rip your balls off, you know." Josuke sighed, shrugging off his hand.

"Come on, man. Relax." Issei gave a warmer smile this time, "I know you're not thrilled about the girls moving in next door, but it can't be that bad."

"Things are already in a… weird place with them. Having them live next door just makes it even more difficult." Josuke sighed, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah, I get it. But hey, at least it's not like they're living with you now, right? That could have been…" Issei and Josuke came to a sudden stop as they approached their homes. Only to see Tomoko talking with Issei's parents.

In front of the freshly removed wooden picket fence between their houses.

"Oh…" Issei mumbled, sweat trailing down his cheek. He slowly turned to Josuke to see that his pupils had dilated into dots and sweat was streaming down his face.

"No…" Josuke mumbled, slowly dragging his feet forward toward his mom. Issei slowly followed, swallowing a lump in his throat. "Mom..!"

"Hm? Ah, Josuke!" Tomoko smiled as if she had the best news in the world. "I have a surprise for you!"

"Mom, please tell me you didn't…" Josuke mumbled, but Tomoko seemed to ignore him as she was all smiles.

"Starting from today on, we'll be merging our house with the Hyoudous! Isn't that great?"

"... NO!" Josuke exclaimed, grabbing his mother's shoulders. "Mom! Tell me you're not actually doing this!"

Tomoko raised a brow at this before sighing. "Well, I guess I figured you would be like that. If it makes you feel better, our house will be intact. We're just going to take out the east wall and merge it with a connecting line to theirs."

"No! That doesn't make me feel better!" Josuke exclaimed, shaking at this point. "Do you know who's going to be living with them now?!"

"I do. And considering how big their place is going to be, I don't see the problem," Tomoko shrugged, looking to the side with her chin held high.

"But I… but they… I can't…" Josuke looked like he was short circuiting, unable to come up with a coherent sentence.

"He's taking this pretty hard. What's wrong with him, Issei?" The brunette's father whispered to him.

"I-It's… complicated. Y-You okay, Josuke?" Issei asked in concern.

"... I'm gonna move in with Okuyasu." Josuke grumbled, letting go of his mother.

"Oh, don't you even try, buster!" Tomoko quickly reached out and snatched his ear, tugging it back to her and causing Josuke to wince in pain. "You think I'd let you move out just like that?"

"I'd be living down the street!"

"I don't care! You're not leaving me alone in that big house!" Tomoko said, eyes narrowing dangerously at her son. Realizing what she meant, Josuke quickly relented relaxing but huffing out of spite.

"Whatever… you know I wouldn't…" He mumbled, brushing off his jacket.

"Good…" Tomoko smiled, relaxing her own expression. "Look… You're going to have plenty of privacy on our side of the place. And you're going to have an awesome backyard pool to enjoy with all your friends! Plus all the other fun things you'll find on their side!"

Josuke crossed his arms defiantly, looking away. "Whatever…"

"You'll love it, I promise. Now come here." Tomoko opened her arms for her son.

"No…"

"Get over here and hug me before I give those girls your other baby pictures." Josuke complied to the hug with all haste, his cheeks red as a tomato. "Good boy."

"Josuke-kun~!" Josuke visibly tensed up, craning his neck to the side to see Akeno running over with Koneko shyly trailing behind her. The rest of the girls were a short distance away, sticking by Issei and his parents. "I just heard~! I guess we'll be living under the same roof from now on! I'm so happy!"

"Y-Yeah…" Josuke forced a laugh, his eye twitching.

"I wasn't interested in living with the pervert, but… This isn't so bad." Koneko smiled cute enough to make Josuke wince from its power. "Sorry if we're imposing."

"I-It's… fine. Just…" Josuke took a deep breath and put his hands together. "Please don't pull the stuff Asia and Rias do with Issei."

"Why, Josuke-kun! Whatever are you talking about?" Akeno feigned naivety, sticking out her tongue before skipping back to the other girls.

"I-I look forward to living together." Koneko gave Josuke and his mother a quick bow before running off to join the others.

"That's not reassuring…:" Josuke mumbled.

"It'll be fine~! Now why don't you go help the girls move their stuff into the Hyoudou's place?" Tomoko slapped his back, causing him to stumble forward.

Josuke groaned as he walked over to the girls, quickly picking up what bags they had brought, which was only a couple of briefcases. "Is this all you girls had?"

"We have more coming in a moving truck, this is just our essentials." Akeno explained before leaning in close. "My panties and bras. In case you were wondering~."

"... Mine too." Koneko squeaked out, not looking so confident in her own statement of such.

"G-Great…" Josuke's eye twitched, his cheeks red as he just tried to carry their bags without thinking about their comments. As he followed behind them, he noticed Xenovia standing close by, looking up at the house in wonder.

"What's wrong?" He asked with a raised brow.

"... I was hoping to live with Okuyasu." She admitted bluntly, looking somewhat down.

"Right. I guess you didn't get to put that out there at the meeting, huh?" Josuke laughed before giving a half smile. "But I wouldn't think too much about it. He lives just down the street from here."

"Huh?" Xenovia blinked in surprise. "He does?"

"Yeah. His house is that big one at the edge of the street corner over there." Josuke put down one of the bags to point out the tall and old building. Xenovia's expression lit up at that, looking like new hope had been rekindled.

"I… guess living so close isn't so bad, either." Xenovia coughed, her cheeks rosy as she walked with a new skip in her step. Josuke just gave a small chuckle as he watched her go.

"Josuke-kun~! Don't stand there so long with all of my under-"

"Gah-don't say that out loud! I'm coming!" Josuke quickly jogged after the girls, not wanting to feel further embarrassment.

Thus began their interesting summer break.

To be continued…

Thanks as always goes to my beta nitewind for helping me out so quickly!

Hooo boy, glad I got this written up! I was having trouble a couple weeks ago and focused on some other stories. Apparently that was the kick I needed because the other 2/3rd's of this chapter ended up being a breeze! Sorry it's a bit short, but this was pretty much the extent of what I wanted to get out for this chapter. Now that I'm getting back into my writing groove, hopefully the next one will come a bit faster this time around, eh?

But as I've made clear for my other stories, there won't be a set writing schedule anymore, because otherwise I would just end up burning out again. I'm going to take these stories at a steady pace so that I can still enjoy what I write as well as write something to the standard I've been trying to keep quality wise.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, please give it a follow, favorite and a review if you'd be so kind! Oh, and give the TVTropes page some love if you can. Thanks!