Sunday came faster than he could have ever expected. It was something he was beginning to realize when it came to his Sacred Gear. The more he worked, the more time seemed to slip away from him. Hours spent tinkering, instead of sleeping, eating, or drinking. It had only been a chance comment from Pollux that had brought him out of his fugue state to realize just how bad he had gotten. In three days he had maybe gotten eleven hours of sleep in full.

It was a manic rush to appear presentable and ahead of time for his date this Sunday. Issei stood in front of the Cold Front, a local and well-liked ice cream place that wasn't too far from the school. He was never much of an ice cream guy himself, but there weren't many other places to visit. In all honesty, he felt nervous. This wasn't a date-date, after all, this was Aika he was talking about, but he felt restless. Time not spent tinkering was better spent training, but Ajax had ordered him to take some time off. To remember the "human side" and not neglect it.

"Hey there master blaster," a shrill voice taunted him.

He turned and nearly did a double take. Aika had clearly gone through some trouble for their outing. She was dressed in a light purple blouse, complete with a pair of black leggings and sneakers. Around her shoulder she held a large beige purse.

"Wow," he breathed without thinking.

"Down boy, this is just something I threw together. Did you think I was going to wear my school uniform on a date?"

He wasn't sure what he had expected, except that he wasn't expecting her to look so good. Issei mentally slapped himself and turned away. Again, this was Aika. Aika Kiryuu! He'd sooner kiss a taxidermied deer than her. He coughed into his fist and regained his composure.

"Yeah, yeah, very funny," he grumbled. "Are we going inside or what?"

She smirked. "Touchy. What, are you on nofap or something?"

He grimaced at her words but didn't rise to the bait. Instead he opened the door for her and followed the girl inside. Even on an early afternoon, the shop was lively. Couples, parents, and kids milled about the small store enjoying their treats. Aika fixed her glasses with an excited smile.

"I specifically brought you here for one thing, Issei."

"Oh yeah, what's that?" he wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

"Their flavor of the week is wedding cake! They only serve it four times out of the year and it's the best thing ever!" she giggled. "You have to try it!"

They both stepped up to the counter and ordered the same thing. A double scoop of wedding cake ice cream in a bowl. They sat down together and didn't waste time digging in. To his surprise, Aika was completely right. This was, perhaps, the greatest ice cream he had ever had. It tasted almost exactly like the wedding cake he'd had as a kid when he went to his uncle's wedding. It was the perfect amount of sweetness with a rich creaminess to it that forced him to savor each bite.

"It's good isn't it huh Sir Spanks-a-lot?" Aika grinned at him.

"Eugh, I'm eating."

He rolled his eyes as she giggled again. He'd known Aika long enough to figure out when she was trying to get a rise out of him. Still, the dose of normal conversation was welcome in the hectic and weird series of events his life had become. They talked for a little while longer, mostly about boring school stuff, and finished their ice cream. Aika paused and glanced up as the door opened again, and Issei turned to see what had caught her attention. To his surprise, Koneko Toujo, a member of the Occult Research Club, walked in.

He felt his heart race a bit as his hand fell to the watch on his wrist. It was perhaps his most basic gadget, but a versatile one. He had wanted something that was capable of acting as a multi-tool hidden in plain sight. However, the only thing that would help him if she came after him was the simple heat laser he'd incorporated into it. Luckily, he was spared from having to fight. Koneko passed by their table and nodded at them both silently before making her way to the counter.

"Wonder what she's doing here?" he mumbled.

"You mean you seriously don't know?" Aika leaned over conspiratorially. "They say she's the Sweets Queen of Kuoh Academy. She's always eating something sugary whenever I see her. Gotta wonder how she manages to stay so thin."

Devil magic. Quite literally in this case. The white-haired girl got some sort of massive tower of ice cream and waffle cone that was giving him heartburn just by looking at it. He watched her movements carefully for any sign that she was going to try something. The rational part of his man knew she wouldn't be so stupid as act out in broad daylight, but he wanted to be careful.

"Oho, I'm starting to feel jealous, Issei. You already have such a cute girl in front of you and you're already looking for more to add to your harem?" Aika teased him.

"T-That isn't it! I was just surprised to see her here."

"Hm, I guess I am too. Anyways, I think it's time we move on."

He blinked. "We're done already?"

"Already? It's good to know you want to spend more time with me," she laughed as he prepared a retort. "I'm having fun, so I might as well strong arm you into bringing me to the arcade."

He grumbled something in response, but didn't deny her. He needed to get his mind away from all this supernatural stuff for a day lest he delve back into his workshop. Research and development was going extremely well. He'd already ported a handheld design of his Mk. I Martial Lasgun and was working on adding some mobility to his roster. However, as he was quickly realizing, space was an issue. There was a limit to the amount of stuff he could carry at once. Between that and battery concerns, a prolonged engagement was quickly becoming the bane of his existence.

"One sec," he stopped Aika right before they left. Fast as he could without drawing attention, he headed over to Koneko's table to give her a message. The short girl gave him a sidelong glance as he approached but didn't say anything. "Koneko, hey! Uh, look I just wanted to ask if you could give Rias a message?"

"Go ahead."

He smiled. "Awesome. Tell her I said thanks for trying to explain things to me and that I'd like to talk to her more in-person if she wants."

"Alright," Koneko went back to eating her ice cream without another word.

He returned to Aika who gave him a smug look as if he had asked her out and got rejected. He didn't indulge her expression with words, but instead just held the door open for her to leave. The two teens left the ice cream shop and quickly headed to the game center where the town's only arcade was held. The day was fine, with a cool breeze and just enough warmth to feel refreshing instead of stifling. Children and other people ran around, going about their lives without ever knowing just how special their town was.

Demons, exorcists, monsters, and superheroes. All of it was located in this town. It made him wonder if something was drawing them all here. It wasn't like Kuoh Town had any strategic value that he could think of. He and Aika chatted as they walked, and he found himself surprised at how natural it was. If he set his own preconceptions aside, he could admit that Aika was a cute girl. Maybe not the smoking hot babe Rias or Akeno was, but her figure was awesome and her ass was better than Irina's!

So, mostly, it was her personality that killed his boner.

The game center, like the ice cream shop, was bustling but not packed. That didn't surprise him though. The arcade was pretty much the only thing kids could do other than play in the park. Aika dragged him along with fervor, already talking about the prizes he wanted her to win. The two of them quickly fell into a rhythm of playing games, competing with one another to get the most tickets. The fact that most of his tickets went to Aika's "Cute Girl Date Tax" didn't feel fair, but he didn't complain. It was… fun. Perhaps the first real time he'd enjoyed himself since Matsuda and Motohama died.

For a moment, he felt like a normal teenager again.

By the time the two were done - and he'd won her that damned stuffed animal she was adamant on getting - the sun was beginning to set. Geez, had he really spent the entire day on this date? He and Aika walked together through the streets, although he was sure to keep in populated areas lest Abella return to finish him off. A comfortable silence had fallen between them. There wasn't much left to talk about, after all. It was a dose of normalcy he hadn't realized he needed.

The trip took them to the northern edge of town where the church lay. For a time it had been abandoned after Irina's father had gone away on some business, but to his knowledge it was now in use again. With no other place to go, Issei steered them both towards the large brick and mortar structure. The last time he had been here was with Irina on Easter Sunday four years ago. Given everything he knew now, maybe he should convert and start being more pious.

The dimming sunlight cast the sky in shades of orange and purple, making the stained glass windows sparkle ephemerally. The doors to the church were open as they drew closer, and something called him closer. Inside, he could see a couple figures talking to one another. At first he thought they were priests until he noticed the blonde hair on one of them. Was that Irina?

"Oh, hey it's Irina," he noticed.

What was she doing out so late? She was talking with another woman who seemed to have strange blue hair and was draped in a white cloak. Was it another exorcist? The blue-haired stranger took notice of him first and turned with a sharp glare.

"Man, talk about spooky," Aika shivered. "What's her deal?"

"Dunno," he murmured back.

Irina perked up and followed her companion's line of sight until she saw them both. His childhood friend blinked before giving a cheery wave and coming over, dragging the other girl along with her.

"Heyyyyy!" she called. "Didn't expect to see you here. Come to pray?"

"Not quite."

The cloaked girl gave them both a once over. She was giving off a weird vibe to Issei. There was something definitely not normal about her. "Irina, who are these people?"

"Oh, right, I didn't have time to introduce you guys yet. Xenovia, this is Issei Hyoudou, my best friend and Aika Kiryuu, a classmate of mine. Guys, this is Xenovia. She's an old friend of mine who's been in my bible study for awhile."

Ah, that explained things. "Bible study", of course, meant "church warrior". Xenovia stared him down like a cat would stare down a mouse. What was her problem? He returned it evenly, even as the tension began to thicken. It was as though she were searching for something in him.

An arm wrapped around his and tugged him back. Aika stepped forward a bit with a smile and fixed her glasses. "Never seen a blue-haired nun."

"I'm not a nun," the woman responded blandly. "I'm here to help Irina with a special matter that doesn't involve you."

"Speaking of, what were you guys doing?" Irina asked.

"Oh, uh, we were-"

"We're on a date."

Aika cut in before he could explain it better. Irina recoiled as if struck, her cheeks turning red for a moment. Issei gave Aika the evil eye which she dutifully ignored.

"O-Oh, I see! Uh, that's g-great!" Irina was looking everywhere but them. "You guys enjoy your d-date! I need to handle something with Xenovia."

The blonde exorcist grabbed her partner and pulled her away with fervor, nearly taking the girl off the ground with how frantic she was. Issei facepalmed, knowing he'd be paying for that later. Aika chuckled smugly as she pulled him back down the steps. With that horrific interaction over with, he decided that it was time to take her home.

Aika's house wasn't far from the church and arrived in no time. The sun had finally dipped below the horizon and the streetlights had come on. They stopped just shy of her front door where she turned to him.

"Thanks for the fun, master blaster."

"I have a name you know."

She smiled. "I know. As thanks for being so chivalrous to me, take this with you to go Sir Spanks-A-Lot."

He opened his mouth to ask what she was talking about, but stopped as she kissed him right on the lips. His mind went into overdrive as she tongued him, french style! If he thought the secrets of the universe were tough to keep up with, this was on a whole other level. His mind melted as he lost the ability to fight back and just went with the aggressive kiss until she finally pulled back.

His heart felt like it had gone through a tumble dryer.

"We should do this again," she sighed, her face beet red. "Seeya!"

Before he could say anything else or even ask what the hell that was about, she already walked through the front door and slammed it shut. His fingers came up to touch his lips numbly. His first kiss had been stolen by Aika Kiryuu.

Man, this was awesome.

0-0-0-0

Man, this was not awesome.

Issei's head swam as Beaufort punched him right in the jaw. He stumbled backwards, one hand reaching into his utility belt to fumble for one of his explosives. His opponent didn't give him much of a chance, instead rushing forward to try and put the pressure on. His hand clamped around one of the explosive shuriken which he tossed in between them. Beaufort stopped his momentum and turned right as the shockwave rippled through the makeshift sparring ring.

He raised the barrel of his laspistol and fired a bolt of burning energy at his comrade. Sparks exploded from the redhaired man's hands as a shield of white fire bloomed out in front of him. Ajax had ordered the both of them to begin combat drills in preparation for their first field safari, and so far all he had done was get his ass kicked.

"Not bad man!" Beaufort laughed as an axe of flame appeared in his hand. "But not enough to defeat me!"

Despite himself, Issei smirked in response. "That's what you think you jabroni!"

He raised the laspistol again and pressed the secondary trigger for the barrel located beneath the gun's grip. It spat out a wad of "hard electricity" about the size of a baseball. It soared through the air with all the speed of a fired arrow, narrowly missing the pyrokinetic hero. It put the man off balance enough that Issei could fire off another shot that struck him in the shoulder. He'd toned down the intensity until it wasn't anything he couldn't walk off, but the force of it was enough to knock him to the floor.

"Good, now keep up the pressure!" Ajax barked from the sidelines. "You have the ranged advantage!"

"Not quite!"

His opponent summoned a whip of flame and flung it out. Like a living thing it snaked around his leg. It didn't burn as much as it should have, likely due to Beaufort's conscious effort, but it still stung like a bitch. Issei reached behind his back and drew his vibroknife, a small thing that he had forged on a whim to give him some melee capability. It cut through the lash like a hot knife through butter and separated them.

Beaufort launched a trio of pyrokinetic bolts at Issei, who raised a gauntleted fist to block it. A hexagonal shield made up of pure aura appeared less than half a foot in front of him. It soaked the projectiles, each impact draining more and more of the battery. He wouldn't be able to reliably survive another onslaught like that. His opponent produced another fireball and slung it towards him.

With little time to react, Issei was forced to roll to the side. His grip on his pistol fumbled and it cost him precious seconds. Right as he reared up to try and fire off a shot, he suddenly felt an intent heat just below his chin. Beaufort stood a ways away, a fiery lance clutched in both of his hands.

"Alright, alright. I give up. You're a beast," he conceded.

Beaufort smiled and dispelled the lance before offering a hand to Issei. He took it gratefully and sighed at the fact he'd lost yet another spar. Seven in and he'd barely eked out two wins.

"You're improving dude," his friend assured him. "You nearly had me for a minute there. One hit from that sidearm of yours and I'd have been laid flat."

Ajax stepped forward. "Not bad, rookie. You still need to find your balance though."

"I know."

As if he hadn't been told that a bajillion times. Offense, Defense, Mobility, and Support. These were the things Ajax called "the balances" or sometimes a "niche". It was the thing a warrior was supposed to excel in. As of yet, he hadn't found a style that really worked for him. His kit had changed time and time again over the days. He'd taken apart the lasgun and built a duo of double-barreled pistols and even had a breakthrough with the hard electricity bolts, but it wasn't enough. He had a wide assortment of gear, but if none of it was good enough to stand on its own he was just a worse version of everyone else.

"Don't be down about it. All of us have months, even years of experience. The fact you won two spars should make you feel good," Beaufort clapped a hand on his shoulder.

Castor spoke up from the shooting range. "Versatility is and will be your biggest strengths, but your mind is cluttered."

"It still sucks super hard to be such a damn loser. Forget Abella, I wouldn't stack up against a sufficiently mean chihuahua."

Ajax sniffed and spat off to the side. "What do you think is your biggest issue when it comes to grasping your power more firmly?"

He paused, and tried to think of an answer. There was, frankly, a lot of things off the top of his head. Time and resources were the most apparent. If there were more hours in the day or less responsibilities outside of his work, he could be so much farther along. The stuff he could order was nearly limitless, but it took time to get to him and by that point his mind had moved on. But, as he thought more, he realized those were symptoms more than causes. In truth, his mind was racing at all times of the day.

Brilliant projects were shoved into his brain and just as quickly discarded for new or better designs. It was innovative, but distracting. Half of his research didn't even make it to the prototype stage before it was abandoned and cannibalized for parts. Even working ten hours of the day, he couldn't make much more than the few items he had now. Innovate Clear offered an endless suite of possible equipment, but it was too much to parse.

Issei thought about Castor's words, and found himself agreeing with him.

"It's… too much to keep track of. I have all these great ideas, but it's like herding cats. I try for everything and end up half-assing a lot of stuff instead of whole-assing a couple things," he put the thoughts into words.

Ajax stroked his sparse chin scruff and gave a sagely nod. The longinus's abilities were still a mystery to him and even to Georg who barely even checked in anymore. He had been left to his own devices to figure it out.

"About what we've talked about, finding your niche I mean, maybe that applies to more than just your approach to combat."

"What do you mean?" Issei asked, confused.

Ajax snapped his fingers. "A specialty! Instead of letting your thoughts run rampant, try to narrow your focus into a specific field of research. Like, I dunno, big guns or explosives or something. It may aid you in figuring out your abilities until you can get control of your Sacred Gear."

"A specialty?" he parroted. "That's… actually an excellent idea. But of what?"

Despite the question, Issei wasn't asking for ideas. He hummed and scratched his head. His finger tapped an irregular rhythm on his hip, a habit he had picked up, as he tried to narrow his mind's focus. What did he want out of his equipment? In a fight, he'd always be inferior physically to supernatural creatures, so why try and keep up? If he couldn't beat them in melee, perhaps his talents would be better spent at a range.

He looked down at his blaster and adjusted its weight in his hands. If he could aim better, shoot harder, and keep foes away then maybe he could beat out superior enemies. But how did he do that?

"Guns… guns and… damn, I dunno, jetpacks?" he hissed and swore under his breath. "I need time to think of ideas. To try and figure out how I want to do things."

His friends acquiesced with a polite nod. He couldn't blame them for not helping more. If anything, he wouldn't be nearly this far along without their help. Issei could almost feel his mind shifting gears as his focus took hold. He could cannibalize some of his old designs and previous prototypes for parts and give his gun some modularity. It wouldn't be much harder to recycle the reverse protonic aura battery and fit it into a propulsion capsule to make some really simple rocket boots.

Dammit, he was losing track of things again. If he wasn't careful he'd miss out on the rest of his day. He couldn't afford that, especially when he had a special someone he had to meet tomorrow.

As the group began to disperse, Issei took Ajax aside. "Can I ask you for some advice?"

"Sure, let's go up to the office," Ajax eyed him curiously.

Once they were inside and the door was shut behind them, he laid it all out to his leader. The man listened with an even stare, occasionally taking notes on a small penpad nearby. By the time he had more or less explained everything going on between him and Rias Gremory, the man had removed most of his armor.

"You're asking me if it's okay to talk to the devils?" the large man cut right to the chase.

"I know they're technically our enemies, but from everything I can see they're not up to anything nefarious."

He hummed. "Devils are tricky, and the Gremory girl is no slouch. Most see her just as the Devil King's little sister, but she's powerful on her own. Her peerage is competent and composed of strong devils, her queen, Akeno, chief among them. There's a reason we haven't tried anything more audacious than peripheral strikes."

"Do you think she'd attack me?"

"Not out of spite or enjoyment. She's not that impetuously cruel. However, if she began to assume you were attempting to work against her behind her back she may well try to remove you. The girl has killer instinct, and she's not the only group we're dealing with."

The man reached back into a filing cabinet and drew out a manila folder. He threw it down on the table and slid it Issei's way. Curious, the young inventor opened the contents to find some kind of dossier. It listed the known members of Rias's peerage, but to his surprise the next page held equally familiar faces.

"Woah, woah. Sona Shitori, the student council prez, is a devil?"

"She is also the younger sister of a devil king. Or queen or whatever."

The words rocked his world. No wonder it felt like they weren't doing much. They were dealing with big names here. Between two powerful devils, their servants, and the church aiding them, things suddenly seemed a lot more dire. How could they even compete with this? Issei doubted he could give one of their servants a run for their money, let alone the "kings". Ajax's expression was solemn and Issei leaned back, shocked.

His little toys wouldn't be enough. Not by a long shot.

"And so you finally understand the dilemma we find ourselves in. The Vatican is obligated not to get involved, but things are tense between them. If the devils were to step too far out of line then I think your friend would feel pressured to step in. Not to mention we have word she just received backup," Ajax withdrew a cigar from one of the drawers and cut the tip off.

"Y-Yeah, I met her not too long ago. Xenovia I think her name was?"

His boss lit up the stogie and took a mighty deep puff before nodding grimly. "Xenovia Quarta. An exorcist and not one to be taken lightly. I'd say between the two, I'm more worried about her than Irina. Apparently they're on the hunt for a witch."

"A witch?"

Great, more insane problems to deal with.

"It's the technical term for any heretical follower that's been excommunicated from the Vatican. The witch is supposedly on a direct course for here, and may be bringing all sorts of trouble with her as well. Given everything, we're headed right towards a perfect storm. The only question I've been waiting to ask is who's going to set it off first?"

A realization dawned on him. It felt cold in the pit of his stomach.

"You don't mean we should pit them against one another?"

"The fact the Church is even conspiring with devils while simultaneously excommunicating 'heretics' should tell you everything you need to know about the world's current standing. We of the Hero Faction are perhaps the last line of defense against the threats closing in," Ajax took another drag and breathed it into the air. "We don't compromise, we don't back down, and, yes, we get our hands dirty when we need to. Guerrilla warfare is ugly stuff, but you signed on for this."

He did, and damn if that didn't taste bitter in his mouth. But tricking Irina and potentially getting her in major trouble with the church was…

He didn't want to do it. Not to her.

"W-What if we could get the church to change their stance? Irina said this wasn't a very strong relationship as-is. If we could make the Vatican believe that the devils tried something-"

"Then we could potentially bring the girl and her holy sword into the fold. Now you're thinking the right way, son. We have an in with the church thanks to you and her, but we don't have an in with the devils. Or, at least, not yet."

A vintage grandfather clock ticked back and forth inside the smoky office. It provided a stark metronome for the conversation between the two men. Beaufort had gone out to get dinner with Pollux, leaving the last member to play video games in the lounge. At the moment, it was as if the only thing that still existed in the world was this room. Issei could follow his leader's thoughts.

The devils didn't suspect anything yet. He had done everything in his power not to tip his hand and he had taken to covering his tracks whenever he came to the factory to rendezvous with his team. Even with the warnings of devil familiars roaming about, he was pretty sure no one had made a connection. Hell, he wasn't sure if Rias even knew that the Hero Faction was residing on the outskirts of her territory.

In layman's terms, they didn't suspect he'd ever betray them.

It felt dirty, wrong. He hadn't even done anything and already he felt guilty. Then again, he reasoned, if the Occult Research Club and the Student Council had done their jobs, none of this would have ever happened. Matsuda and Motohama would still be alive. If he thought of it like that, a bit of innocent spywork was accusable. It wasn't as though he was going to poison their food or anything. He was just going to gather some info and keep tabs on them, Completely harmless.

"You can't tell your friend, Irina I mean."

The words stopped his thoughts. He began to prepare an objection but stopped as Ajax raised a hand.

"Think about it, Issei. If you really want the church to break off the alliance, then you can't put Irina in a situation where intentionally betrayed the devils. If we do this on our own, she remains innocent in the face of any investigations. You want to keep her safe right?" he asked.

"I-I do. Yes."

"Then trust my judgement on this. Do not tell her what we are trying to do. If you do, she may even be forced to stop us herself. Given everything else going on in town, the exorcists can ill-afford such a distraction. It would weaken all of us."

Issei supposed that was true. Still, it sucked balls to have to lie not only to Rias but also Irina. Again, he rationalized that it was all for the better. No one was going to get hurt or anything, it was just a bit of cloak and dagger. Minus the dagger.

"You have your mission, and you have your 'in'. I expect results Issei, but if things go south get out of there."

"Yes sir."

The words tasted bitter.