Chapter 6: My Friend

"Marisa. You're here." Alice commented happily, smiling at her fellow spellcaster. "Have you been well?"

Marisa scratched her head sheepishly, returning the look with a similar one. "Of course I'm fine! Who do ya' think I am?"

Alice giggled. "Yes. I almost forgot that, didn't I? I'm glad that you're well, either way."

"Get a room, you two!" Suika practically shoved the puppeteer towards Marisa who deftly caught her, giving the both of them a mischievous grin. "And yeah, it's nice ta' see everyone here!"

The two of them graced Suika with a small glare though she wasn't affected nor did she react in the least.

"Almost everyone. Patchouli's still back in Kyoto working with Yasaka." Aya corrected, walking up to the gathering in the living room. "Ran left earlier to tell us that Yukari won't make it either."

"Eh, five outta seven is pretty good." Marisa commented, waving her hand dismissively. "Next time, I'll drag Patchy over."

"If you can. She's cooped up either in her room or working with Alice all the time. I can't even get her to really talk to me." Aya complained, pouting at her failure.

"I'm sure you'll get a chance sooner or later." The puppeteer comforted, with the tengu perking right back up.

"Eventually." She replied before turning to Reisen. "So what's been going on? Suika told us that you and Marisa went off to do some negotiations with the devils after being caught. "

Reisen nodded. "Yes. Let's have a seat first and I'll explain what happened."

The group did so, seating themselves at a square table laid in the center room while Reisen explained what had gone on during the negotiation. As the explanation went on, topics such as Marisa being caught after saving Issei had Aya smirking at the shame-faced Marisa. Then came the negotiations with the devils in which the table went silent with the exception of the moon rabbit. She had first, told them that she hadn't really directly lied to the devils during negotiation, although she did lie by omission to conceal that they were in Kuoh to spy on possible enemies of the Youkai Faction and to protect them while they were busy moving to Gensokyo. Then came the conditions in which they had managed to agree upon with the devils. The first condition of allowing the devils to use their services as a clinic for free went by without much reaction. The second condition of allowing the devils to see Marisa's mini-Hakkero had ended with a slight grimace among the group, although it wasn't the end of the world to let them see it.

The third condition had garnered the most reaction however.

"Whoa, what!? Are you serious?" Aya nearly shouted, looking at Reisen as if she had grown two heads.

"That… seems like a very risky decision, Inaba-san. Are you sure that's wise, extending that amount of trust in them? They are devils, after all." Alice gazed at her, trying to gauge a logical answer to her decision.

Suika turned to Reisen with a wry grin. "If ya' think this is the right decision, then I won't really judge too much. Any reason why ya' decided to go with this though?"

"I think it's the right move. Now that we've been caught, it's imperative that we make a good relationship with the owners of this territory. That means extending some amount of trust to them." The center of attention answered, giving her reasons for doing so. "I understand that it's risky, but there were some signs that showed that Rias Gremory may be a reasonable person to work with. I'm hoping that this will pay off."

"I won't say that it wasn't wise to give them that…" Alice glowered at the violet haired girl. "… but I hope that this doesn't end with us having to defend the Youkai Faction from the Devil Faction in the end. Or having to defend ourselves for that matter."

"I know." Reisen, with a low tone of voice, lowered her head in a moment of doubt. "Maybe it wasn't the best decision… but."

She then raised her head back up in a resolute manner. "Master and I am tired of war and skimming around as if anybody not a Youkai or not part of Gensokyo is a potential enemy. It might even be a sign that we're starting to become closed off and that's not the Gensokyo I want to be part of."

Small grimaces came from most of the occupants of the room.

"I know that we should take some caution with our surroundings, but based on my first impression of Rias-san, she didn't seem the type that would immediately throw us out without reason. I even spotted a small wince of sympathy when I mentioned how we were here for Reimu. I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt on telling her why we're really here eventually after enough trust has been garnered. It may be small currently, but in the end, I'm hoping that we'll have an ally in this world other than ourselves and the Youkai Faction and that they'll still keep our reasons a secret."

The Magician Youkai turned to Marisa. "And you're fine with this?"

Marisa shrugged casually. "I kinda reacted the same as you at first. But then I remembered something that made me think that this is the right thing to do."

"And what would that be?"

The witch smirked at the whole group, rather than just one of her best friends.

"That this is what Reimu would do."

The gathered people of the Gensokyo Team quickly twisted their heads to her for even mentioning the name, also unable to really disagree with that statement. They couldn't exactly object to it either as everyone practically knew that Marisa was Reimu's best friend without any doubt. As nobody appeared to want to talk, Marisa decided that it was her cue to go on.

"I knew her the best and you guys can't deny that. She treats everyone equally no matter what so long as ya' didn't actually threaten anybody or broke a law. It didn't matter if you were a Goddess, Youkai, or even a human. She gave everyone equal trust and treatment ta' some extent and that's why she's never really exterminated anybody who caused incidents." Marisa continued, making sure to scan her eyes across each person who gave her their undivided attention at the mention of Reimu.

"And well, Reisen's got a point. We're really thinkin' us against everybody else right now, but we weren't like that when we were tryin' ta' fight for our lives during the Lunarian Invasion. Everyone in Gensokyo from the Scarlet Devil Mansion, the Youkai Mountain, and even Eientei came together ta' help us win. And they were from the Moon in the first place."

The witch pointed that out and nobody could deny that either. It was true after all as eventually under one banner, they had all cooperated for mutual survival whether they disliked each other or not.

"Reimu helped protect everyone, no matter who and what you were. Even trusted them to certain limits." She paused for a moment to gather her thoughts before eventually resuming. "I'm not really the best at all this. You guys are all better at words than me, but I think Reisen's right in that we should give these guys the same trust Reimu would've. That's what I think."

Reisen rotated her head to Marisa, giving her a face full of surprise at first which the latter reciprocated with a grin. At that, the moon rabbit gave her an incredibly grateful smile which was not missed by the group at all.

"Yeah… Reimu represented the best of Gensokyo after all. I can't really find anything to argue with that. I wouldn't want to live in Gensokyo if everyone was treated like someone who could kill you." Aya eventually concluded, giving her final decision.

"Me neither. It wouldn't really be the same Gensokyo after all." Suika shrugged casually.

The group turned to Alice, awaiting her finals words.

"I suppose in our zeal to defend the Youkai Faction, we forgot what Reimu stood for. She protected Gensokyo as a whole and its ideals as a paradise for everyone living in it and not just the youkai. Not to mention equal trust no matter how troublesome she found them. To some extent at least, even if she didn't particularly like you." She finally stated before turning to Reisen and Marisa. "I'm sorry for doubting your decision, Inaba-san."

Reisen accepted the sincere apology, giving a soft smile at the puppeteer. "It's alright Alice-san. I think I might have thought the same way if I was in your place as well."

Each member of the group gave their own smiles or grins at the peaceful resolution of what could potentially have been an intense argument. After all, would Gensokyo ever be the same if everyone treated everybody else as a potential killer? Even the human village had a certain amount of trust in Keine, the village's famed protector even though she was a youkai herself. To not trust others would eventually lead to only a lonely life where the only allies you had were yourself along with your incredibly close friends which not everybody had. Not only that, but the wariness would ensure that Gensokyo wouldn't be the paradise anymore everyone hoped for and they all had no doubt that Reimu helped represent just that.

With tensions resolved and everyone in general agreement at the events, Suika took the opportunity to shift the mood towards a more positive one.

"Well, that's that!" Suika exuberantly remarked, punching a fist into her palm. "Dilemma resolved! Now, whaddya say we start cookin' all the food and drinkin' the sake? I have a feeling we're not gonna be together like this too often anyway and it'd be a waste otherwise, right?"

Reisen stood up from her seat. "I agree. I guess I'll get started on it then."

Alice stood up from her seat as well. "Actually, why don't you let me take over for today? As a form of apology, I think I should be the one to handle the cooking for our gathering today. You've handled the negotiations already and I'm sure you're tired after everything."

Reisen placed her hands on her hips sternly, frowning at the youkai. "I've been doing this for a month already Alice-san. Another day won't really make too much of a difference."

Alice however, stood her ground. "But now you'll have five people to cook for if you include yourself. I've done nothing all day and I'd rather not be idle if I can right now."

"But-."

"Okay, okay guys!" Aya immediately cut in, standing up and spreading her arms to the both of them before the minor dispute could start. "Look, just divide the duties in half among yourselves, okay? This isn't really a big deal. There's plenty of time before dinner and it's probably better if one person isn't stuck doing everything."

Alice and Reisen turned to Aya, both nodding and looking pacified at the logic before heading into the kitchen without any more argument.

The tengu sighed in relief.

"Geez, for two of the most level-headed people here, it feels weird having to break them up before it just got stupid."

Suika laughed boisterously in response. "That's just how they are! Let 'em be! Like I said, it won't be every day when we can be together like this and it can be fun ta' watch people lookin' like idiots sometimes! We can make fun of 'em later for it too!"

Aya beamed at her idea. "Maybe it'd be worth putting this in my newspaper then!"

"Sure sure! I can poke fun at Alice for it later! Go for it!" Marisa grinned as she gave a thumbs up to the journalist, practically giving her approval.

The journalist did just that as she took out her tengu notebook and began writing what she had witnessed. She then remembered that Suika had told her at one point that the latter would notify her of the major events that had happened in Kuoh. Suika vaguely remembered that and began explaining all the events that had happened after her return to Kyoto while they all waited for Alice and Reisen to finish cooking. By the time they were done, Reisen had begun bringing out appetizers for the group. More waiting eventually gave way to main courses for the whole group, this time brought out by Alice along with dolls that were assisting in carrying smaller plates. Alice then seated herself at the table before joining the light-hearted interactions of the group, reminiscing of times long past years ago. Reisen was the last to join them, bringing out a massive baked chicken.

Said giant chicken was promptly gone within less than 5 minutes.

The look of incredulity on Alice's face as Suika had somehow gobbled the biggest course down made Marisa laugh at her friend's expression. As the excitement of the reunion and the dinner began dying down, Marisa decided to break away from the group for some space, opening the sliding door to the backyard not very far from the others.

Marisa breathed the air in deeply as the cool night air was sucked into her throat before exhaling into her hand.

Thoughts began floating through her mind.

Today was a marked change for sure. For about a month, the team had been able to hide their presence from the other factions. But now, they had been found thanks to her. Aya being caught wasn't the worse as she had 'disappeared' not even a day after she had been found which raised some eyebrows, but there was nothing the spotters could do about it. She was a crow tengu which meant she could be traced back to the Youkai Faction and therefore, she'd be suspected whether or not they denied she was part of their group. Herself being caught on the other hand, as well as being unable to leave, would most certainly cause a chain reaction. The fallen angels who she fought against and escaped her would inform their allies and leaders. The devils who recently saw and negotiated with her would probably inform their allies and leaders about their presence in Kuoh. Then, there was their own Youkai Faction in Kyoto that would probably need to be told about what happened and she hoped that Alice and Aya would be able to handle that front.

The difference here was that she was a human and it wouldn't be very easy to connect her to the Youkai Faction who were very vulnerable right now and needed their activities to remain a secret for as long as they could. Reisen had made it so that the third condition to Rias and Sona would be that they would reveal why they were in Kuoh after they felt they could trust them enough. It was a sign of trust from Reisen and luckily, both Rias and Sona had accepted it. Once they learned the real reason they were here was to help the Youkai Faction leave Kyoto, would they keep it a secret at their request?

Some part of her said no, but most of her sided with Reisen on that they would keep their secret and even become allies with them probably. Their acceptance again, was a very good sign on that front. It only showed that Reimu's ideal of trust and wish for the paradise that was Gensokyo, peace between two natural predators and prey, had good basis and was the right way. This was what she would do, probably.

Marisa frowned.

Reimu. She wondered if Reimu would support their decision. She promised herself that she'd apologize once Reimu woke up from her coma, but could she? The massive guilt she felt for allowing her to become like that had never left and who knew if Reimu would even accept it.

She looked over behind to Aya who was giggling at whatever Suika was talking about.

Aya probably felt the same, even as a youkai that supported Reimu who she thought represented the best of Gensokyo.

"Marisa?"

Alice approached her slowly, a worried look marring her face.

Marisa shook her thoughts away to address one of her best friends.

"Hey Alice. What's up?"

"I wanted to speak to you and make sure you were okay. You just roamed over here after everybody finished eating." Alice replied.

Marisa nodded, giving her usual grin as she tried to dismiss the magician's worry. "Nothin' ta' worry 'bout. I'm fine!"

"I see." She responded. "Have you been getting along with everybody?"

"Sure! Suika and Reisen are great company ya' know." The human answered. "It'd be awkward workin' with 'em if we didn't really get along. Not includin' Patchy."

She then looked over to Reisen who was downing some sake.

"It was kinda weird workin' with them at first. Reisen especially. But we've been talkin' to each other a lot recently and she's a great person ta' be friends with. We get along a lot better now."

Alice raised an eyebrow before smiling. "That's… very good to hear. I'm happy that you're opening up again to the others besides Reimi and myself. I should thank them for helping take care of you in my stead."

Marisa shrugged casually. "I guess. Doesn't seem like that big a deal. So, what's up with all the questions?"

Alice looked at her a bit guiltily. "I won't lie, I've been very worried about you ever since the end of the Lunarian Invasion. Maybe I'm worrying too much, but you weren't exactly in the best of places. A month in Kyoto doing nothing but thinking and research with Patchouli hasn't helped any."

Marisa looked down at the floor in shame. "Yeah… I was in a pretty bad spot huh?"

The opposing blonde nodded gravely and spoke in a low tone. "Unfortunately and that's an understatement. You were muttering nonsense and the times they were coherent, it was mostly about Reimu. The expression you had in your eyes and face almost defined insanity. You weren't eating either and I practically had to force you to. Even worse, you were very unresponsive to everything. I contemplated going to Eirin for assistance several times when I was staying with you."

"So…. Worse than I thought." Marisa mumbled although Alice heard anyway.

"You scared me… No." Alice shook her head. "Practically frightened me with how you were acting, having known you probably the second longest after Reimu. I still regret being the one to tell you that Reimu ended up in a coma."

"No…" Marisa looked at her with a forlorn look. "Was probably for the best if it came from you. If I'd heard it from anybody else, I'd probably have thought they were lyin'."

"Still, it was… difficult to say the least." Alice strained to reply properly, but managed to for her dear friend. "Every day, I contemplated whether it was the right thing to do. Is the truth worth it if you know that it hurts so much? Is it worth lying to yourself of the peace of the past when you know the present will hurt and that the future is not always the brightest?"

A determined look replaced the struggling one that Alice had as she stared at Marisa in utter seriousness.

"I asked Aya this. Do you know what she told me?"

The aged witch gave a wry smile. "What'd she tell ya'?"

"Nothing is the same forever, no matter how much others may hope and wish for it. That it's better to overcome whatever sorrow and regrets we have now. Then to learn from it, and make sure that it never happens again in the future. Only then can we become stronger people through our experiences."

Marisa raised an interested eyebrow. "Aya said that? I'm kinda surprised actually that she'd think a' that."

Alice gave a wan smile. "I suppose she doesn't act it, but she is one of the oldest youkai that has been known since Gensokyo began. That would put her as old as Yukari at the very least."

Marisa shrugged somewhat nonchalantly. "With how she acts, ya' wouldn't think so. I guess even she says some wise things from time ta' time. Kinda like Suika."

Alice gave a sincere smile at her friend. "Yes. You're right."

Marisa turned to the night sky, a sad smile on her face. "But Aya's right and ta' be honest, there almost isn't a day I go without thinkin' ta' myself if I coulda changed things. Wonderin' if that things coulda been different."

Alice looked at her silently and Marisa took that as a sign to continue.

"It hurt. So much… I felt so guilty and I knew the reason that Reimu was like that in the first place is because we failed to protect her. I wanted ta' blame the Lunarians so badly, but I knew the truth and I couldn't take it. It was even worse when Reimi said that it wasn't anybody's fault, but everyone knows how she is. I don't even think I was the only one who felt like that."

A wry smile adorned Alice's expression. "No, you're not. Aya feels the same way, but she does a good job setting that aside. She has her own goals with Reimu when she wakes up, but she was one of her first human friends in a long time."

"Huh… that's sorta what I thought." Marisa muttered. "But anyway, I got lucky."

She turned to Alice with determination and resolution.

"Because I had you in the end. And besides Reimu, yer' my closest friend."

Alice resisted the urge to beam at that statement.

"Honestly, I wouldn't be lyin' if I said I wouldn't know what to do without you or Reimu around. Yer' two of my closest friends and I'm glad I had you to take care a' me after the Invasion. I'm glad you were there for me and even here after I asked you ta' come with me, whether Yukari knew I'd ask ya' or not. But just for everything…"

Marisa reached out to hug Alice closely, surprising the latter enough that she gave a small yelp.

"Thank you. For everything Alice."

Alice hugged back against her friend sincerely. "Of course Marisa. I'm honored. And thank you as well. For being persistent enough to become friends with someone like me."

Marisa chuckled. "No problem. I knew ya'd warm up ta' me eventually. I hope ya' still remember me when I die as a human. I know you'll live way longer than I will."

Alice shook her head. "No. No matter what, I'll never forget one of the greatest friends I'll ever have even after you pass away. And there's still time to become a youkai. You have more than enough magical power to do so."

"Ya know I won't… But thanks Alice."

"Of course."

They remained hugging silently for a while before eventually splitting apart and deciding to sit on the backyard porch. They looked up to the night sky together, remaining quiet as they took in the different stars that shined brightly, smiling and grinning all the while.

Off to the side, Suika looked on at the two of them with a smile as well, feeling the mini-Suika merge back together with her and learning the information that it had. It might have technically been eavesdropping on the two, but she didn't think she'd reveal that to them. Times like these were going to be rare now that things had changed from being under the radar to now being seen. They wouldn't be able to meet up as often anymore.

She'd let them have their time together respectfully, not counting her eavesdropping.

"It's not nice to do that you know." Aya frowned as she glowered at the Oni. "Wasn't that a private moment for them?"

Suika waved it off dismissively. "Yer' not any different, spyin' on others in Gensokyo and still here. For a while at least. And I've been doing this for a while now, so that doesn't affect me anymore."

The tengu flinched. "Geh. I guess you're right. Your cheat ability just makes it unfair. I have to do it the hard way."

"Too bad for you then." Suika practically beamed.

"Still, the reason we're here in Gensokyo." Reisen began slowly. "Obviously, each one of us has our own. To make things short, I'm here because of a debt from Master and to Gensokyo. Marisa is here because of her guilt and motivations for Reimu. But I actually never really heard Aya-san's and Suika-san's reason."

"I told Alice already, but mine isn't all that different from Marisa's. Just a different way of what I'll do after Reimu recovers. It's why I wanted to stay here and not go back to Kyoto though we didn't really have a choice." Aya commented before turning to Suika.

"I can already guess what's yer's." Suika replied to the tengu all the while grinning. "And just like you, mine ain't really all that different either."

Aya cocked an eyebrow. "Really? I sort of expected more. You were one of the ones that could be considered close to Reimu."

Suika laughed boisterously before taking another chug of sake from her jug. "You already know the experience. When ya' live as long as us, it's pretty hard to make friends that don't live all that long. I dunno how long a Moon Rabbit lives, but that's my experience. That's why I don't really have any human friends 'sides Reimu and the only other two non-human friends I have are Yuugi and Yukari whom I've known for a long time now."

The winged journalist nodded. "Yeah. Reimu would be one of my first ones."

"We Oni are pretty honest folk. Reimu's one a' the most honest people I've met. I mean, not always in what she says, but in how she feels. She's really fun ta' rile up too, which is so much better!" Suika chuckled as she beamed at the other two listeners. "Says I'm a freeloader, but lets me stick around in her shrine whenever I want, hehe!"

"I'm honestly a little surprised you know that." Reisen commented. "You typically act very happy-go-lucky."

"I'm a pretty observant person. Wouldn't know if people were lyin' cheats or otherwise though it still makes Yukari hard ta' deal with." Suika leaned back on her arms to support herself. "But anyway, I'd like to say Reimu and I are friends. One of the most amazing things I've ever seen was how happy she was when she had Reimi with her husband. You guys were there."

"Who could forget…" Aya smiled at the remembrance. "Reimu basically bawling from everybody's attendance and her husband being an embarrassed wreck was a great thing to see. Then there was Reimi..."

"When Reimu decided to pass around Reimi with everybody who attended, I was one a' the first few who got to hold her." Suika couldn't resist joining the smile-fest that Aya and Reisen were sporting. "Cutest thing ever. Years after that, I kept comin' back to play with Reimi. Eventually, I came back so often that Reimi started callin' me 'Auntie Suika.' I've never been an Aunt before but that smile she had told me that it was probably one of the best things of her life. So in the end, I kept comin' back to help take care a' Reimi whenever Reimu or what's his face wasn't around. Long story short though, I'm here 'cause of Reimi and Yukari."

Reisen cocked an interested eyebrow. "Yukari? I think you'd be the first person here to be here for reasons other than Reimu directly."

Suika shrugged nonchalantly. "They're my friends. What can I say other than that? Yukari asked me to come to protect Gensokyo and I agreed. Reimi's what I'd call my niece and she's kinda like Reimu in ways, but she's got that undeniable kindness from both her parents. That's what I'm here for too to protect. Reimu coming back is another reason I'm here."

"To be honest, as someone closer to Reimu, I thought you'd be more emotionally hurt." Reisen pointed out. "Or is that because you claim you're drunk all the time."

"Could be." Suika half-heartedly agreed. "Like I said, I never had much friends in the first place and I knew Reimu would come and go sooner or later. It's just a fact I accepted a long time ago with most of the human acquaintances I've made. Ya' get used to people coming and going when ya' live as long as us. Reimu might be one of my first human actual friends, but that doesn't make her an exception. 'Sides, she's not dead. She's in a coma and she's got a chance. Plus, I know we won't fail."

"That's a lot of confidence in her. Sure you're not bias there?" Aya grinned although Suika beamed in response.

"Maybe. That's just how much faith I have in us." Suika took a moment to look at the two seated people, also nodding her head over to Marisa and Alice on the porch. "Yukari asked us ta' be here right? That means we're the ones trusted ta' be out here to help save Reimu and Gensokyo. There's others back in Gensokyo helpin' like the Kappa with the logistics and whatnot, but we're the ones dealin' with the unknown. If Yukari's got that much trust in us, than I will too. Simple as that."

"Guess you're right." Aya chuckled. "In the end, everybody's here because of Reimu somehow."

"What about Patchouli-san? I think we can both agree that it's hard to say that Patchouli-san is friends with Reimu in the first place." Reisen questioned.

Suika waved it off dismissively. "Still Reimu somehow. Pretty sure Remilia's got some hand in that but that's fer another time. Either way, if ya' think about it, we've all got pretty simple and similar reasons on why we're here. Now then…"

She poured each person at the table a full sake cup.

'How 'bout a toast? Gonna be a while 'fore we can all get together again so let's do this while we can!"

"Alright, sounds good!" The reporter agreed, raising her filled sake cup.

"I agree too." The doctor performed the same action.

"Ready? 3, 2 , 1…" Suika counted down before each person shouted loudly.

"Kanpai!"

xXx

The next morning before the sun actually rose, Alice and Aya gave their farewells with warm smiles before returning back to Kyoto. They had given the reason that they risked being caught if they left later as most others would still be asleep at the time they left. Childish as it was, Marisa had asked everyone to group together, hands in the center to shout the name of their team as a cheer. There were various reactions such as Alice being slightly miffed over it, Reisen smiling softly and Suika laughing exuberantly, but Team Gensokyo was left in good cheer and spirits (along with some minor headaches) as they split apart back to their respective areas.

Their duties were set back upon them as Reisen reopened the clinic and began treating patients once again. Marisa returned to assisting while continuously buying supplies for the team. Suika had decided to forgo spying for the meantime though it was to her regret as Rias and Akeno had shown up at the clinic the day Alice and Aya. They had apparently come to see the Inaba Clinic in person as they had never actually seen it before and wanted to memorize the location for a future date along with wanting to see the third member of the group. They were surprised to see a little girl with orange hair dressed in a tattered pale pink blouse, a long purple skirt, and three chain accessories tied to her belt. Her horns were hidden thanks to Marisa's light bending illusion spell. They immediately had their suspicions with her appearance, although they couldn't determine who or what she really was when she introduced herself honestly. They eventually left peacefully although the peace wouldn't last very long.

Only two days later, Rias and her entire peerage burst through the door of the clinic.

"Inaba-san! Are you here? I need your help!" She yelled as Reisen and Marisa immediately came to the front to see what the emergency was, but not before making sure the light bending illusion spell was in effect on Reisen.

As they arrived, Reisen took a quick glance at the whole group that was here. For sure, this was Rias' entire group and Issei was being carried by the white haired girl Koneko on her shoulder.

It seemed they needed her assistance already.

"Bring him to the emergency room. Hurry." She ordered with authority as she quickly led the group deeper into the clinic. As they reached the room, she gestured inside and Koneko brought him in and laid him on the table.

"Leave this to me. You can remain out here while I treat him." She ordered as the peerage obeyed and sat outside the emergency room and the door was closed with the electronic sign on top turning red to signify an operation.

Marisa took a seat across the peerage as they looked at the room with varying emotions. Rias looked absolutely forlorn at what had apparently happened to Issei. Akeno had a similar look, although it was hidden a little better. Kiba simply had a deep frown and if she looked a bit closer, there was scowling at the edges of his lips. Koneko showed the least emotion and the only sign of anything was her slightly narrowed eyes.

"So… what exactly happened? It hasn't been that long since we had negotiations and already ya' need us." Marisa asked, finally managing to gather the courage to break the silence as she gained their attention.

"Issei was taking care of a contract for us that had overlapped with Koneko's. However, it turned out the client was killed by an exorcist and there was a barrier that prevented us from teleporting in for a while. Eventually, we managed to save him, but not before he took several hits by a weapon blessed by light." Rias answered somewhat stoically, though the depressed look completely contrasted her tone.

Marisa raised an interested eyebrow at the mentioned element of the weapon. "Light? Is that some weakness of yours or something? I saw a little black smoke coming from his wounds and I don't think that's normal."

Rias nodded in confirmation. "That's right. We devils can't stand anything that has too much light, including weapons and attacks. Even a slight scratch can cause excruciating pain and weakness. Low level devils like Issei even more so."

"That would mean magic is involved right? Can't 'cha heal him with yer' magic?" She replied with curiosity though the downtrodden general look of the entire group immediately told her no.

"Rias and I can heal basic wounds, but for wounds made by light weapons, it's much harder to do because the light lingers around it and makes it difficult. We took a risk on coming here to see if perhaps the Clinic could do it faster and better than us." Akeno spoke up as the witch took the information in.

Well, that meant most of her light based attacks, mainly her lasers, would pretty much incinerate most devils then. She specialized in light and heat magic and all of the variations of her Sparks were the prime examples of it, including Blazing Star. Not that she'd tell them that. Being in an agreement didn't mean revealing everything you had. At the least though, she'd try comforting them in the meantime.

"Don't worry. Reisen's one of the best healers you'll ever see. Issei won't die." Marisa reassured, leaving out that Eirin was much better though she had no doubt they wouldn't even know who she was in the first place.

Then, as if confirming what she said, the electronic sign that was red, signifying an operation in progress turned off and Reisen opened the door to the room. The entire group stood back immediately and Reisen turned to them.

"Issei-san will be fine. His wounds weren't lethal and easily treatable. He has two medium-sized slashes across his back and his legs had a bullet hole in each one. Luckily, each one was clean and they were easy to disinfect, clean, and bandage. For the slashes, they weren't very deep at all. I've given him painkillers that'll last for about 36 hours as well as a pill that will boost his natural cell regeneration to a much higher speed, approximately 5 times faster than normal. Normally, I wouldn't give this at all due to the risk involved of overworking the natural cell regeneration process and shortening the lifespan, but given his devil nature and how much more durable they are in general, I've decided to do so. He will be physically healed within the next few hours." Reisen gave her summary to which Rias and the group began smiling again.

"I can't thank you enough for helping him. You have my gratitude, yet again." Rias bowed respectfully.

Reisen bowed back as well. "Something to note, I ran the quickest scan I could and found foreign traces of energy in his system that are causing some small lingering, internal damage. The pill I gave him will outpace that but the energy is something I haven't seen before and I have no idea how long it'll last so keep a close eye on it. He'll be a bit sore, but it's inconvenient at most and the painkiller will take care of that until his healing is finished."

"Oh my… That is… almost phenomenal. I must admit. You're very skilled at healing." Akeno said softly, turning away and feeling slightly inadequate after being given the final result.

"Thank you. Lastly though, if he still feels pain in the afflicted areas after 48 hours, please come back immediately so that I can scan him again to see if the malignant energy is there."

The group looked very impressed overall at both the professionalism presented, as well as the ability to heal wounds that would have severely crippled or even killed a devil.

"He's currently asleep, but he'll probably be awake in a few hours if you wish to stay. In the meantime, I'll write up a report and hand it to you so you have the instructions you'll need." The moon rabbit said before heading to the office.

"See? What'd I tell ya'?" Marisa practically beamed at the group of devils. "Reisen's the best healer here. She'll know what to do."

"I don't doubt that anymore after hearing what she said. It's always been difficult healing wounds caused by holy weapons." The blonde boy wearing the Kuoh Academy boy's uniform commented with the smallest hint of contempt at the very end.

"Now." Rias grabbed the group's attention, addressing them with authority. "The Occult Research Club is dismissed for today. Yuuto, Koneko, please stay together until you successfully reach back safely. Akeno and I will stay here and wait for Issei to wake up."

"Yes, Buchou."

The formerly mentioned group obeyed, leaving the clinic through the way they entered.

"Looks like everything's done for now. I'm gonna head upstairs to sleep. See ya'." Marisa gave a backward wave of her hand to the two devils who promptly gave her good night. "And let Reisen know to get some rest afterwards too."

They each gave their confirmations and Marisa headed upstairs as promised. Instead of heading to the room that she and Reisen shared though, she headed to Suika's room. It was jarred open slightly and Marisa entered quietly.

"Suika, ya' here?"

"Hey Marisa! Any idea what's goin' on down there? Heard somethin' about that kid Issei getting hurt again." The short girl asked, hands on her hips in a somewhat joking manner.

"He's got a real knack for getting himself killed somehow." The human magician remarked, sighing in frustration. "Reisen's already healed him up, but I'm pretty sure he's gonna get himself hurt again somehow. He's a real butt monkey and it's hard to keep him alive if he keeps gettin' attacked."

Suika giggled at the proclamation. "So what do ya' need me to do?"

"Well, Reisen's probably gonna suggest this anyway, so I might as well do it for her."

The idea was relatively simple. With Issei's tendency to get hurt, it was probably a good idea to keep a permanent eye on him. And who'd better than someone who could turn into something intangible, unable to be touched or even struck in that form while looking relatively innocuous.

"Eh? Pretty devious of ya'. It's not really his fault, but I guess we can take advantage of it."

Suika had agreed as did Reisen much later after Rias and Akeno had left the clinic. Issei was no longer in the clinic either, brought home by his fellow devils via magic circle.

The plan itself wasn't complicated. They didn't know where Issei lived, but Suika could easily just spread herself amongst the entire town until she found him. From there, she could tail him innocently to make sure he wasn't targeted yet again. If he was attacked, then she'd reveal herself and protect him as she was the most powerful youkai here in the town now.

The next day, Suika had spotted him attempting to do pull-ups at a nearby park to which she quickly gathered the majority of her consciousness that was spread out. He managed to successfully do a few before falling to the ground pitifully although Suika mentally commended him for his effort. Then, a young-looking nun approached him and Issei warmly greeted her as a friend. She found it a bit strange, as she was sure that a nun and a devil weren't technically supposed to associate with each other. She supposed that Issei didn't really care though and neither did the nun apparently. After several pleasantries, he ended up leading her to a nearby place to get food before leading to other areas.

That was when Suika had realized what Issei was doing with this girl that she could now name.

They were dating! Courting! He was trying to court this girl Asia!

She recognized Reimu's dead husband attempting this years ago!

Nonetheless, she thought it was pretty cute considering how red their faces were and how much enjoyment they were getting out of the various places Issei was leading Asia. Asia had certainly enjoyed getting the stuffed animal toy that she hugged with all her might against her chest as she looked at the young man with adoration in her eyes.

"I'll treasure this as a symbol of our friendship!"

She declared that, but Suika could easily see the blushing cheeks as Issei asked her to follow him to some more places for her to enjoy.

Eventually, they stopped at a vacant area and immediately, Suika was on-guard. This was a very good place to ambush them. They were alone with the two of them doing nothing but talking whereas last time, several other people were around. Asia was currently discussing her past with Issei, being a nun with a Sacred Gear that could apparently heal wounds of any nature so long as they weren't out of her capabilities. As soon as she finished Issei declared they were friends despite being on opposing sides, a fallen angel had descended upon them, standing in front of the massive, yet shallow water pool.

Instantly, Issei stood in front of Asia in a protective manner.

"I-It's you! Yuuma-chan! The one who killed me!" Issei declared as fear for his life shivered throughout his bones, especially as he saw her forming that pink light spear that she had killed him with. However, courage also counteracted his fear for the weapon at the thought of his friend behind him.

"Oh? Freed was wrong. It looks like you are still alive." She sneered at the boy. "I came here to bring Asia back, but instead, I find the same idiot that is somehow resilient enough to live through three of our confrontations. You won't survive this time though."

"Well, you won't either!" Suika shouted from above as she finished reforming himself in the air.

"What!? Who said that!?" Yuuma asked as she looked around randomly to determine the location of the voice.

"Raynare! Look out! Above you!" Another voice shouted as Raynare did just that to look at the hammer fist that Suika had formed aiming right at her.

She reacted just in time, leaping away from her spot as Suika's fists smashed into the shallow pool, causing a massive crater about 15 feet in diameter to form.

"Hoh? Not bad." Suika complemented as she stood up from the spot she had crushed. "I thought I had ya' there."

"Tch, another interruption! And it's just a kid! Good thing we planned for this though." Raynare cursed under her breath. "Dohnaseek! Mittelt! Kalawarner! Grab Asia. Ignore the boy. He's useless to us with his weak Sacred Gear!"

Instantly, Suika reacted and within less than a second, she knew that she wouldn't make it in time to the pair after her missed attack. The distance was too far from her, but she had an alternate plan though.

"Not so fast!"

As the three fallen angels descended to grab Asia, she formed a black sphere in the front of her knuckles and punched it towards them. They dodged the attack, looking very intent on completing their objective. However, they found themselves impeded as all of a sudden, they were unable to move at all. They were straining to fly though they moved nowhere at all. In fact, they were getting farther away from the girl and it finally dawned upon Dohnaseek.

"We're getting sucked back up from that sphere!" He shouted to his comrades.

"Then what do we do!?" Mittelt asked as she tried to speed herself up though it was ultimately futile.

Suika gave no more time for them to do anything as she leapt towards them, fist clenched firmly. She brought it upwards towards Dohnaseek.

The resounding shockwave practically boomed as his eyes rolled up towards his eye sockets as his ribs caved in from the brutal force that was Suika's punch. His mouth dropped under no choice of his own as blood was spat from the overpowering uppercut and his stomach pulsed with indescribable pain. Then, he was launched at top speed towards the sky like a rocket as he blinked out of existence away from the battlefield.

"Huh. Woops." Suika sheepishly said as she remained floating in the air. "Guess I need ta' tone it down way more. I thought my fist would go through his stomach for a sec' there. Wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't survive after that."

"No way…" Kalawarner whispered in shock at the brutality that had happened. "D-Dohnaseek…"

"Asia! Look out!" Issei suddenly yelled as Asia yelped as a pink light spear was planted between them. It exploded, knocking both of them away from each other.

Raynare attempted to take advantage of the shock to try and fly to pick up Asia while Suika was focused on her other two comrades and Issei was still dazed.

"Nope!" Suika denied as she tossed her metal chain that was wrapped around her waist. It wrapped around Raynare'ss leg as she flew and she was stopped completely, falling flat on her face on the water.

Suika then pulled the chain, dragging Raynare towards her and she cocked her arm back in preparation.

Once again, another shockwave reverberated in the air as Raynare was sent crashing back down, skidding along the stone floor at a speed fast enough to cause massive friction burn. The cry of pain that came out of her mouth was not missed by her either as she rolled and tumbled around like a rag doll.

Then Suika turned around to the one remaining fallen angel attempting to kidnap Asia.

Wait, one?

"Iyahhhh!" Asia screamed as Kalawarner dragged her away and Suika immediately turned her head to her.

"Stop right there! Or I'll be forced to kill her!" The blue haired fallen angel threatened as she pointed a spear at her throat.

"Asia! No!" Issei shouted as he tried to run towards them, stopping as she quickly poked Asia's throat just a bit harder causing a drop of blood to drop down.

Internally, Suika cursed as she realized Raynare's plan. The explosive light spear was meant to separate Issei and Asia away from each other while her three allies were there to distract her. Then, Raynare would swoop in to take Asia away and if she failed, then one of the other fallen angels, being on opposite sides away from her, could do so instead. It was pretty simple and had she had enough speed, she would have been able to put a stop to it immediately. Now though, she had a hostage situation and Issei was looking very scared for Asia's safety. Worst of all, her bullets were mostly too big or were explosive. They'd most likely hit Asia as well and while her physical strength dwarfed everyone she'd seen so far, her danmaku and bullets were sub-par in comparison.

The oni descended down next to Issei, shielding him from the fallen angels as they regrouped although Raynare was obviously limping in pain while stumbling every once in a while.

If the situation wasn't so serious, she would've commented on how she looked like someone who had their back broken. Then again, she hadn't really put all that much effort into it since these people obviously couldn't take it.

"Let us get away. Or you'll know what happens…" Kalawarner threatened again, though her face was utterly pale at what had just happened.

She was nervous for sure, but there was nothing Suika felt she could do without doing any more damage.

"Alright. Fine. Not like we got a choice." Suika reluctantly agreed, as she harshly looked at them.

"W-what are you talking about!?" Issei practically shouted from behind her, grabbing her shoulder. "We can't let them leave with her!"

"You see any other choice kid?" Suika pointed out.

"I can't leave her! Friends don't leave friends behind!" He yelled at the top of his lungs as Mittelt supported Raynare up into a standing position.

Despite his bold declaration, his slight injuries on his legs ensured no further moves against the fallen angels as Suika remained impassive. Suika blocked his way forward with an arm just in case and he collapsed onto the ground in utter hopelessness.

"Come on. Let's get out of here! I don't want to stay here any longer with that monster!" Mittelt fearfully stated as her other two comrades agreed and began flying into the air at a slow pace with Asia in Kalawarner's arms with weapon still pointed at her.

As they got farther away and Suika deemed it enough that they'd find it difficult to see what she was doing, she pulled out a strand of her hair and tossed it onto the ground. As it landed, it transformed into a tiny version of her who saluted.

"Follow 'em. Keep an eye on 'em till ya' find out where they're headed." Suika ordered and the tiny Suika was off, flying in the same direction of the Fallen Angel who had gone out of sight on the horizon.

Finally, she sighed in frustration as she seated herself on the ground next to Issei.

"I really messed up…" She muttered to herself before looking towards her current partner. "Hey, kid. You alright?"

"Why… Why am I so weak? Why can't I protect anybody…?" He sobbingly asked as tears dripped down his face and he pounded the floor with his hand. "I had to be saved again…! And I even lost Asia!"

"Easy there. We're not gonna leave her behind for long." Suika scratched her head in slight awkwardness. She wasn't really used to dealing with a crying kid like this.

"Y-yeah…" He shook his head as slow resolution dawned on him. "I-I don't have time to be depressed right now because we're gonna save her from those bastards! We can't let Asia stay with them!"

As she shouted however, he then realized something.

"Ahh that's right! You saved me!" Issei exclaimed. "T-thanks! I would've been killed again if it weren't for you. It just never seems like I can do anything without someone coming in to save me every time."

"Not a problem kid." Suika grinned, giving him a thumbs-up.

"But uhh… who are you? You're way too strong to be a kid… And I've never seen you before." He tentatively questioned, looking at Suika curiously as she barely reached up to his chin.

"I'm Suika, part of the Inaba Clinic! We've been tryin' ta' keep ya' alive since you always get into so much trouble. All three of us there have helped you now." She introduced herself cheerfully as she nudged Issei in the chest with an elbow lightly though he winced at the pressure regardless.

"Oh right! Buchou told me about you guys!" He remembered off the top of his head.

A-are you going to help me get her back?" He asked hesitantly. "Please! I'll do it alone if I have to, but I'm going to save Asia no matter what!"

"If you go alone, yer' gonna get killed. Ya' know that right?" Suika bluntly stated. "Ya' couldn't even handle one of them in the time I was distracting the others."

"It doesn't matter if I can or not! I can't leave her behind!"

Resolve flared in his eyes, though it was hard to say whether it was actually that, or just him being doggedly persistent in what he believed in. That wasn't to say it was wrong, but it was ridiculously reckless. As interesting as he was, her job was to protect him and leading him into an area where he could so easily die was suicide. Even if he had the right idea, he didn't have the current power or experience to come out alive if he rushed in. He would definitely die alone. He needed her help.

She sighed again in frustration. She didn't even think the devils knew he was hanging out with someone on the opposite side though she didn't seem to care and neither did he for that matter. Nonetheless, taking on the enemy side while protecting him would be too difficult to do for her lonesome.

"Fine. I'll come with ya'." She finally acquiesced as Issei grinned in triumph. "But I'm bringin' somebody along alright?"

He nodded his head fiercely with no objections whatsoever.

"Alright, come with me." She instructed as she began heading back in the direction of the Inaba Clinic with Issei in tow.

xXx

Reisen was very unhappy to hear that Issei was going to storm the enemy headquarters as soon as the mini-Suika that Suika sent out to tail the fallen angels had come back. They were at a church. The very same church that Aya had found them at before moving back to Kyoto to prevent any connections from being made. At least there was the consolation that Issei had actually survived under Suika's watch, but also the downside of him wanting to recklessly save his friend without too much thought put into it.

Currently, Issei and Suika were back at the Inaba Clinic where the latter had called for both Reisen and Marisa to discuss the situation.

"The church is filled with numerous exorcists, along with four other fallen angels." Reisen told him, and although he grimaced, she could see that his mind wasn't budging.

Suika shrugged her shoulders indifferently. "Three. I sent one of 'em flyin' somewhere. Either way, he won't change his mind. He's gonna go alone no matter what and it's not like we can keep an eye on him all the time. I'm just here to get Marisa so we have at least one more person that can protect him. She and I could easily beat up anyone in that church if those fallen angels or whatever are the strongest they've got, but protectin' him is the problem."

"My magic ain't really for defense. I've got a few personal ones in case people get close ta' attack me, but nothin' for him. At most, I can lay a whole bunch a' bullets so that no one will wanna come near him, but if he moves at all, it makes it useless. I don't have any real defensive spells to shield him like Patchy." Marisa nodded towards the top of Suika's head where there were no horns visible at the moment, and each member of the Gensokyo Team knew what she was talking about. "He doesn't give me the impression that he'll stay by the side either while we go get her back."

Reisen pinched her forehead to soothe the incoming headache she knew would come.

"Then that leaves contacting Rias-san to provide us some help."

"Umm…" Issei cut in and the three ladies turned to him. "Could we… not tell Buchou? I don't want to get her involved if I can. She's done enough for me and this is my own problem."

Reisen shook her head. "Unfortunately, we're under contract with Rias-san to inform her of any strange and dangerous things happening in town and that includes the fallen angels that attacked you. We're supposed to let them handle things like this, but we thought since you were attacked so many times, it'd be a good idea to keep an eye on you."

"Well, thanks but… Dammit!" He pounded the wall with his fist. "I can't just leave Asia there though! And I don't want to be a burden while you guys do all the work! I'll do anything to be able to go even I have to do it alone!"

"There's just no helpin' it kid." Suika pat him on the shoulder comfortingly. "You're still inexperienced compared to everyone else. We can beat them, but we risk lettin' you die since none of us are all that great at guarding other people. We usually just smash anybody in our way without too many second thoughts on consequences."

"You're so strong though! You're even stronger than Koneko-chan and she's a Rook! I know you can help me!" He countered, though the group didn't know what a chess piece had to do with power.

"And you don't have to worry about me! I can fight too! Look!" Issei raised his left arm into the air.

"Sacred Gear!" He called out and his left arm glowed red before forming a red, claw-shaped gauntlet covering his left arm up to his elbow. The green jewel in the center of the back of his hand glowed with a green tone and spikes protruded out of the sides. With the transformation complete, the group couldn't help but look at the new tool that Issei had.

"Ooo…" Suika began poking at the gauntlet as if it was a toy. "Looks interestin'. So what does it do?"

"Buchou says it doubles my power for a while. With this, even I can fight for a while, right? Isn't this enough?" He desperately asked for confirmation as the others looked at each other for a while.

Reisen let out a deep breath filled with exhaustion.

"Fine. But I'll still have to call Rias-san to let her know what's happening." Reisen gave in and Issei was conflicted between thanking them for their assistance, or crying because Rias was now going to be involved whether he wanted to or not. "We can't have too many repercussions you probably don't really know about. I'm sure they'll send some assistance, so make sure you guys are all safe by the time they arrive."

She then turned to Suika. "Are you sure about this though Suika-san? If you do, your powers will be revealed."

Suika waved her hand dismissively. "It was bound to come out sooner or later. It's not really that big a difference. Besides, they won't be able to tell."

Though she said that. Reisen could detect the hidden message in it. Suika had power over density and when applied to her already phenomenal physical strength, it wouldn't look any different visually. People usually ended up looking for visual effects unless they were able to detect signs of it internal workings. Since it was an internal effect on herself though, it would be much harder to detect let alone figure out. To the inexperienced sensor or eye, it'd simply look as if Suika was an overwhelmingly powerful in the physical department. They wouldn't be wrong, but they wouldn't get the full story and get knowledge of all of Suika's powers.

"I see. Alright then. I'll leave this to you and Marisa." Reisen accepted her decision. "Good luck, and be safe. All of you."

"Heh. We'll be back before ya' know it. Don't worry Reisen!" Marisa smirked, confidence practically radiating off of it. "Alright, come on kid. Let's go get your friend."

"Yeah. Thanks!" He graciously acknowledged. "For helping me and Asia! And, you can call me Issei!"

Suika slapped him several times on the back lightly though Issei winced in pain at each one.

"Ahaha! Sure Issei! Let's go!"

Thus, the three of them left, leaving Reisen alone in the clinic. For the meantime, there were no visitors at the moment and it was a good time to probably inform Rias of what was going on.

She found herself giggling at just the thought of devils using cell phones to have long-distance communications in the outside world. Sometimes, the supernatural residents were much more like humans than they thought, including herself. Then again, Yukari had one too and it was a smartphone on top of it.

Dialing in the number on her office phone, the phone buzzed a few times to signify the connection being made.

Click.

"Hello? Inaba-san?"

"Ahh, hello Rias-san. We've come across a situation."

"What? A situation? What happened?

"Issei-san's friend was recently kidnapped by the fallen angels. He's heading to the church along with the Suika-san and Marisa-san to rescue her."

"What!? That… I should have predicted this…"

Reisen could practically taste the initial horror in her voice over the phone.

"Thank you for telling me. I'll need to get permission to remove those fallen angel by force as soon as possible. I'll send Koneko and Yuuto to help right away."

That was the white haired girl with youkai level strength and the swordsman if she remembered correctly from when Aya and Suika had scouted them weeks earlier. Both of them were weak to average fighters in general when compared to all of Gensokyo's veterans in terms of both danmaku, although that just mainly improved dodging ability immensely since there were no actual injuries, and legitimate combat.

"You may want to prepare the clinic for more injuries. The church is filled with exorcists and fallen angels who can all use light magic or have light weapons, which can severely cripple or even kill devils at slightest touch if they aren't used to it. I'll be there myself later as well, but until then, please be ready in the case anything happens."

And with that, Rias hung up. Reisen had no doubt that she'd act as quickly as she could and it'd probably be best that she prepared the emergency room in the case there were injuries. She predicted that Marisa and Suika would probably come out unscathed. Worst case, Marisa would take several hits although with her amazing speed and evasiveness from the Spell Card Duels, further improved as the years went by and the Lunarian Invasion that took place, even that seemed highly unlikely.

The weakness to light magic that devils apparently had was what intrigued her.

"Could it be…?" Reisen muttered to herself, thinking out loud. "Could that have been the lingering energy in Issei-san yesterday?"

Marisa had mentioned to her about the weakness, but hearing Rias confirm it through her words solidified this thought process. If it really was a weakness, then she needed to ensure a way to remove it to prevent any damage just in case.

She let loose a deep huff of breath in exhaustion. She really had her work cut out for her.

xXx

"No…! No! It's you!" Mittelt shrieked as she gazed at the approaching group with absolute terror in her eyes. "How did you find us so quickly? I thought we'd have time to finish the ritual before you'd get here!"

Suika grinned, rotating her arm in a circle as if preparing for another apocalyptic punch of death.

"If ya' run, we'll let'cha live. If ya' don't, sorry! We'll just hafta knock ya' aside!" The oni cheerfully announced as the fallen angel's eyes widened into the size of dinner plates.

She flew away in utter fear for her life, abandoning her post at the front door.

"T-That was quick…" Issei commented, looking at the short girl next to him with slight trepidation. "You're so strong that you just scared her away!"

"Hahaha!" Marisa laughed as she pat him on the head like a pet. "She's a pretty scary monster, huh?"

Suika pouted at her comrade's statement. "Hey~! I'm not scary!"

"Don't believe her. She could probably shatter our ribs with a finger she didn't watch it." Marisa added while poking at Suika's face, only making her somewhat irritated at the witch which in turn, made her laugh.

Issei wasn't sure how he was supposed to respond, instead choosing to face the massive wooden doors that was closed. He kicked it open, forcing both doors to swing open, and came to the view of a white-haired man wearing a gray cleric coat and white clothing underneath.

"Yo, yo, yo! Shitty ass devil! That bitch Raynare said you'd be here after all!" He shouted with utter glee as he stared at the group. "Oh? You brought some more of your fucking friends! Great! I'll kill them after I kill you!"

"Freed!" Issei immediately recognized, scowling at him as he activated his Sacred Gear and brought his red gauntlet up to his face. "Where's Asia!?"

"Oh, that shitty nun! She's down there at the ritual right now! But you're lucky you know!" Freed swore as he brought his weapons, a long pistol and a light sword to bare. "Normally, devils die the first time I meet them! I'm just that good! But you're alive and you're a devil so I need to fucking kill you! Just the look on your face pisses me off!"

He then began laughing in an insane manner, tongue sticking out.

Marisa frowned at the exorcist as she bent her legs, ready to dodge as she took notice of the gun Freed was holding.

"Hey, Issei. Who's he?" She questioned, hands ready to cast a magic spell should it be required. "I don't remember seein' him before."

"He's Freed! Yesterday, that bastard attacked me and he threatened to… rape Asia!" He angrily replied, teeth gnashing at the thought of the latter.

"Meh, I won't get to anymore since that bitch Raynare is killing her. But that's alright! I'll just make sure to make it up with all of you instead!"

Freed then raised his pistol and began firing rapidly firing at the group. They immediately jumped into action as they dodged the bullets fired at them. Where Suika had leaped was directly towards Freed and the floor creaked as if it was almost unable to bear the force of her legs pushing off. The exorcist fired at her, but to his surprise, they simply bounced off of her with no wounds whatsoever.

"Seriously?" He asked before he ducked under her swinging arm just in time as she crashed into the pillar behind him, collapsing it onto her.

"Hey careful Suika! Yer' gonna cave the entire building in and then everything'd be pointless!" Marisa cried out as she jumped into the fray.

"Pay attention to me you bitch!" He demanded as he began swinging his sword around skillfully.

Marisa ducked and weaved away from Freed's sword as he slashed in various directions. Eventually, he got close enough for an overhead though Marisa managed to conjure up a blue magical star barrier outlined with a circle, up in time and knocked him away. As he was momentarily stunned, she raised her arm and shot a moderately sized, green star bullet at him from her hand. As it collided onto his body, it exploded on him and sent him backwards. Taking the opportunity again, Marisa leapt into the air to float temporarily and quickly brought her hands together to barrage him with several more colored star bullets that didn't explode, but sped towards Freed and pelted him with blunt force. He was sent flying backwards even further although he flipped backwards in the air to recover himself from crashing into another pillar.

"You're a fucking magician! You bitch! I'll kill you first just for that!" He pointed his gun at her again and fired. She was able to evade his attacks easily and she countered with her own, using the same type of volley that just recently struck him. This time, he was ready as he brought his sword up and cleaved through the bullets, forcing them to dissipate before they hit him.

"That won't work again! But you can float huh? Here!"

He took the hilt of his sword and threw it at Marisa speedily like a throwing knife.

"Look out!" Issei cried out as he jumped in between and batted the weapon away with his gauntlet.

"I coulda gotten outta the way easily, but thanks anyway!" The witch gave a cocky grin as Issei took it in stride and they both landed safely on the floor.

"Oh, got rid of my weapon! Plenty more right here you shitty devils!" Freed announced, reaching into his coat for another hilt, lighting up the blade and replacing his thrown one.

He was completely unaware that Suika had managed to get out of the rubble in the meantime and sped towards him from behind.

She punched him in the back and his bones creaked in pain and he collapsed onto the floor. Suika leapt back when he suddenly swung his sword behind him wildly and he stood back up to face her.

"That hurt! Ow!" He cried out in pain as Suika rushed into close quarters and gave him two solid punches into the gut, causing him to drop his weapons and kneel. Then, she proceeded to get behind him again and encircle her arms around his waist, trapping his arms and lifting him off the floor.

It was almost a comedic sight as Suika was much shorter than Freed and he flailed around to get out of her grip.

"Let me go you bitch!" He tried kicking her to no avail as she turned him around to face Marisa and Issei.

"Here's your chance Issei! Give 'em a good punch!" Suika shouted as she tightened her grip, causing Freed to grunt in pain.

"Right!"

The teenager raised his gauntlet in front of him.

[Boost!]

"Raaaagghhhhh!" He began running forwards towards Freed, arm raised at first.

Then, he got closer and his arm cocked back.

"Damn it! Let me go!" Freed screamed at the top of his lungs as he futilely struggled against Suika's unbreakable grasp even harder than before.

"This is for Asia!" Issei shouted as his empowered fist met Freed's face square in the cheek, flinging him backwards as Suika loosened her hold at the last moment.

"Aggghhhhhh!" Freed yelled in pain as he smashed against the wooden altar, completing shattering it. He coughed out blood from his bruised face as he turned to look at the approaching team that defeated him.

"Y-you shitty devils…! Fuck you!" He managed to squeak out before falling unconscious.

Issei gasped for a couple breaths of air as his hype began dying down and he grinned at the defeated exorcist.

"We did it!" He yelled out triumphantly. "We beat him!"

"How's it feel to win for once?" Marisa jokingly asked, walking up to him.

"It feels great! Thanks for letting me get that punch on him!" Issei said, gratefully thanking both of the females for allowing him to finish Freed. "But, what are we going to do with him? We can't just leave him here."

"Leave that to us, Issei-kun."

The team turned towards the entrance of the church to see two new people that had entered.

"Kiba! Koneko-chan!" Issei called out their names, looking relieved to see them. "What're you doing here?"

The blonde boy with the sword along with the shorter girl walked towards their position.

"Buchou sent us to help you, but it looks like you've been doing well." Kiba noted, looking at the unconscious exorcist as well as the damaged furniture in the church."

Issei sheepishly scratched his head. "Aha, not really. It's because I've got a couple people to help! You probably met them already, but here! Suika-san, Marisa-san, meet Kiba and Koneko-chan! Kiba, Koneko-chan, meet them!"

He gestured to each person respectively and Kiba bowed respectfully to them.

"I've seen you before yesterday Marisa-san. You have our thanks for helping Issei-kun. I've heard from Buchou about Suika-san, but I've never met you before. Pleased to meet you."

Koneko didn't say anything, instead choosing to nod to show to show her acknowledgement.

"Koneko doesn't really talk much." Kiba informed them.

Suika waved her hand in greeting. "Nice to meet'cha too. We were just about to head down those stairs underneath that altar."

She pointed to the destroyed wooden praying place that Freed had crashed into and underneath it, was a set of stairs leading deeper down the church.

Kiba nodded. "Buchou is hurrying to get permission to get rid of the fallen angels and rogue exorcists in the territory so there isn't any backlash. She'll be here as soon as she's finished. In the meantime…"

Koneko strolled over to Freed, picking him up and flipped him upside down causing several things to drop onto the floor. Guns and sword hilts clattered along the floor while Kiba gathered them up into a pile.

"He's sure got a lota' weapons. Not that he'll be needing 'em anymore." Suika remarked. "We gotta get downstairs though."

"Koneko can keep an eye on him and restrain him if he wakes up. I'll follow you down and assist you." Kiba added as the team collectively agreed.

Thus, they decided to tie Freed up in the meantime while everybody else entered the secret passage hidden underneath the altar. The passage eventually led them a massive room with stone walls, almost reminiscent of a European dungeon. The room was lit up with candles and there were several exorcists lined up against the wall, mostly relaxing. On the other end of the room however, was Raynare chaining up Asia onto a gigantic cross with Kalawarner assisting her.

"Asia!" Issei yelled out and gained the attention of everybody.

Exorcist, fallen angels, and most importantly, Asia.

"Issei-san! Y-You came for me!" She shouted from her chained position on the cross.

Kalawarner turned to the group, sneering at them until she spotted the oni amongst them. Then, the sneer quickly turned into abject fear.

"N-No! You!" She pointed at her worst nightmare who was practically beaming at her.

"Hey! How you doing?" She waved cheerfully. "You got away last time, but you won't escape this time. Nor will Raynare. I can promise you that."

"What happened to Mittelt!?" Raynare shrieked in horror. "She was supposed to hold you off! Freed too! I thought we'd have more time!"

Marisa gave a wry smirk. "She ran away. Smart move too, if ya' ask me. And Freed's takin' a nice nap up there."

"Give us back Asia!" Issei demanded, raising his draconic gauntlet again in preparation to fight.

"Never! I'll get her Sacred Gear no matter what!" Raynare spat at him. "There's no choice but to kill them all!"

Kalawarner twisted her head to face her leader with anxiety. "You can't be serious! We won't win against them! Don't you remember what she did to Dohnaseek!?"

"There's only four of them. There's no way she can be human if she's that powerful, and she's helping that idiotic boy. She has to be a devil which means she's weak to light weapons." Raynare tried to reason as she formed two light spears in her hands.

"Attack!" She commanded as the exorcists that were on the floor began drawing the same mass-produced light sword that Freed had used.

Thus, the brawl commenced and entered total chaos as the four members of the team descended into the mass of exorcists.

"Stay close to me Issei-kun! I'll handle their light weapons!" Kiba shouted as the blade he had in his hand began glowing black.

"Alright! I'm counting on you, you damn handsome!"

Though Issei was inexperienced, staying close to Kiba as well as the others gave him courage to fight against the overwhelming odds. Kiba's sword that clashed against any light sword that tried to cut down Issei promptly found the white blade flashing like a burnt out lightbulb before dissipating.

"What the hell!? What's with his weapon!?"

Issei took the chance to punch those that were left vulnerable.

While it was true that the exorcists could surround the group, they couldn't all go in at the same time as they'd risk accidentally attacking each other.

In another area of the room, Marisa was leaping backwards while bombarding them with both explosive and blunt colored stars from the rainbow. Those that got too close and assumed that she was weak at close-range found themselves in for a nasty surprise as while she had no formal training, she was very aware of her surroundings. Either they were blocked by the blue magical barrier that knocked them back before taking the brunt of an explosive star, or they were outmaneuvered with leaps, flips in the air, and backward jumps that confounded them with her unusual movements. They couldn't land any hits on her as she swiftly avoided the sword swings of the mob all the while keeping them from getting behind her. Then they were beaten back with a barrage of more stars that had the force of a truck slamming into them.

"Here! Have this!" Marisa shouted, reaching into her pouch to toss a massive round beaker with a blue liquid in it.

"Magic Sign [Deep Ecological Bomb]!"

Despite the declaration of the supposed Spell Card, with no rules in effect, it had turned into a lethal explosive that blew any opponent away from the blast radius. Several immediately suffered terrible burn wounds if they were close enough while being forcefully shunted away from the explosive, either slamming into the wall before being knocked out or hitting other allies.

"Star Sign [Meteonic Shower]!"

Yet another Spell Card was called out with no rules to inhibit it. Marisa leapt back to gain some distance from her numerous attackers. She raised her arms and immediately unleashed a massive salvo of giant blunt stars into the group, repelling them away and breaking bones.

"Too easy, heh!"

While Marisa was showering them with magic of various degrees, Suika was devastating them with her physical prowess.

Nothing could damage her at all. While Suika dodged most of the swords instinctively, some exorcists had managed to score some hits on her. However, it did absolutely nothing but ensure that their blade broke upon trying to slash her from a good angle. Then, that attacker's bones were promptly shattered as Suika entered their guard and punched them away. She was surrounded from all sides though that didn't matter to her at all. Morale was quickly plummeting as the disguised oni remained virtually undamaged while her enemies were all moaning in pain if they weren't knocked out. It certainly wasn't as flashy as Marisa's magic was turning out to be, but her physical capabilities made it a death wish to enter her melee range. Many had already given up and simply ran away from her.

"T-This can't be!" Raynare was promptly panicking as her army of exorcists were steadily dropping like flies.

"We need to do something!" Kalawarner cried out loudly, practically pleading with her leader. "We can't win against them!"

Raynare scowled in response, looking back at Asia with a hungry look before turning back to the battleground.

It was a lost cause.

The boy Raynare had killed a few days ago was holding his own well with Kiba protecting him from the repercussions of a light weapon. The magician Kalawarner had told her about hadn't taken a scratch yet and her magic was so much more powerful than almost everybody Raynare knew. She already seen for herself the overwhelming power that the little girl had, practically killing her comrade Dohnaseek in one uppercut. She as well was still slightly crippled from the single attack she suffered.

The chances of an escape being possible seemed nonexistent. Raynare recalled that same girl having a chain that would immobilize her and while the room was large, the chain was long enough to pull her down if she tried to fly over them. The most she could do was probably kill both of the boys before getting killed herself.

There was only one thing left to do for her.

"Stop! Stop! Exorcists, stop fighting!" She barked out as many of the addressed turned to her in confusion. "Drop your weapons! We're surrendering!"

Though they were reluctant too, upon seeing the numerous downed bodies of their allies, they proceeded to do just that.

"W-what?" Issei looked at her in shock as the fighting died down rapidly. "What's going on?"

"They're surrendering." Kiba answered for him. "We've won."

Marisa gave an exasperated look at the exorcists, then at the fallen angels who deactivated their spears. "Seriously? I didn't think they would, but I guess they did."

Suika grinned, taking in the scared looks that the exorcists gave her. "Well, it was startin' to get boring. Better than having to keep going 'till the end. Group up guys!"

The victorious team moved towards each other easily as the defeated enemies stood to the side to allow them through, no longer wanting to fight.

"So? What's the reason yer' givin' up?" The oni asked, staring at the leader with some doubt. She didn't want to let her guard down yet.

"Tch, we won't win and you already know that. But enough talk. You want Asia back?" Raynare grudgingly asked as the mixed group walked up the stairs leading to the enormous cross Asia was attached to. "You can have her."

Issei practically brightened at hearing those words.

"As long as you let us go."

And his happy expression instantaneously vanished, taking on a more wary one.

Kiba had the same idea, hand placed on his sword. "And we should accept this? I heard you kidnapped her and now you just want to return her?"

Kalawarner decided to speak up before Raynare said something she regretted.

"This isn't worth our lives. Those two…" She pointed at Marisa and Suika. "Are too powerful for us to handle. And we didn't even get to start the ritual yet or this might have been a different story. We won't win or live, no matter what we try. The only choice we have is to give up."

"And what's stoppin' us from just thoroughly trashing you guys?" Marisa questioned, a frown on her lips as suspicion entered her voice.

Raynare formed a light spear and pointed it at Asia while the group tensed at the action.

"You're here for Asia, aren't you? We'll kill her then." Raynare declared as her light spear edged closer to the scared girl. "We'll kill her, then you'll kill us."

"I-Issei-san!" Asia squeaked out in a scared tone, tears starting to form at her eyes.

"Asia!" Issei cried her name in fear, arms raised at her hesitantly.

Kalawarner formed a light spear and pointed it at him. "Stop right there! You'll know what we'll do if you do."

Issei stopped immediately and reluctantly backed off, stepping farther away from Asia as she looked at him with hope.

"The choice is simple. Let us go, and we'll give Asia back to you. Then we'll leave. You won't see us again, hopefully." Raynare impatiently stated, though her pale face and sweat indicated the clear nervousness she had.

Issei glared at her with absolute hatred.

"Y-you killed me before! I absolutely hate you!" His hands clenched into fists tightly. "You took Asia away and you would have killed me again if Suika-san hadn't showed up! Then you would've killed Asia! Whenever I look at you, I just want to kill you!"

He looked at Suika with quick gratitude before facing his murderer.

"But…" He looked at Asia softly. "This isn't even a choice. I care for my friends more than I want to get revenge."

"So then…?" Kalawarner inquired with hope in her eyes.

"We'll… let you go." Issei finally answered.

Raynare nodded and slashed the chains that held his friend up. She collapsed onto the ground onto a heap and Kalawarner and Raynare made way as Issei ran up to Asia.

"Issei-san! Y-you came for me!" Asia hugged him, sobbing onto his shoulders. "I'm so happy!"

"It's okay Asia. You're safe now." He murmured to her as he hugged her back, tears beginning to exit his eyes.

Kiba sighed at the end result. "I'll inform Koneko that we're allowing them to leave then. I'll be right back."

He proceeded to the exit leading upstairs to the church before looking upwards at the entrance.

"B-Buchou!" The swordsman announced as Rias walked down the stairs with Akeno trailing behind her.

"Kiba? What's going on? Is everybody okay?" She questioned worriedly, finishing her descent before gazing on the two fallen angels along with Issei and Asia hugging each other.

"It's a long story, buchou."

xXx

"Do you understand Issei? What you did was extremely dangerous. If Marisa-san or Suika-san weren't there, you would have been in much greater danger." Rias lectured her pawn as he drooped down at the floor of the Occult Research Clubroom in shame.

However, his next words had him raise his head to face Rias with firm resolution in his eyes.

"I know. But I couldn't leave Asia behind!" Issei refuted. "Friends help friends!"

Rias sighed with what she felt was justified frustration.

She had learned that Issei had made a deal with the fallen angel. The same fallen angel that had killed him. Along with making a deal to release his friend Asia, a nun who was a natural enemy for devils in exchange for allowing them to leave Kuoh in peace. Granted, Asia didn't particularly care that Issei was a devil. Nor did she care about the rest of the peerage being devils for that matter which was great boon to her.

Before that though, she had to place an emergency call to the higher ups for quick permission to exterminate the rogue elements that had entered her territory.

She would certainly look stupid when she told them that they had been allowed to leave in peace, but that was second nature in comparison to Issei's safety.

Once again, she owed the Inaba Clinic another debt of gratitude. She swore that those debts would definitely pile up someday, if not already. First, they had saved Issei before she and Sona had made negotiations with them. Then, they had helped to heal Issei after he ran into the rogue exorcist Freed Sellzen who had inflicted wounds on him with light weapons. Those wounds weren't easy to heal for herself or Akeno either and she had turned to them for assistance. They had not failed either.

Finally, the Inaba Clinic had helped protect Issei, yet again on his endeavor to save his friend. She had to admire his loyalty to his friends. That was why she had wanted him in her peerage. His Sacred Gear had been second nature at the time, although she was pleasantly surprised when he had required eight pieces to reincarnate as a devil.

The duo had already left the clubhouse to return to the clinic, but not before speaking to Issei. She managed to catch some of the last few lines they said.

"Yer' a pretty good kid Issei. Not everybody can let go of their revenge for their friend." Suika complimented, jabbing him in the shoulder as he scratched his head sheepishly.

"It's a good trait to have. We gotta get goin', but come see us whenever ya' wanna visit us." Marisa told him before the duo bid farewell to him.

She had finished multiple meetings with one of them including the now 'pardoned' fallen angels, though she had wanted to just annihilate them for even daring to kill Issei. They had left very quickly, eyeing Marisa and Suika with apprehension all the while leaving Kuoh walking. After that, she had a talk with the duo to discuss what had happened at the church. Finally, she spoke to her own peerage though it was mostly Kiba doing most of the talking as he had seen the most since Koneko was relegated to guard duty on Freed. She questioned him rather than Issei as she thought that he had been through quite the ordeal already.

Yuuto Kiba had described in good detail the strength of the duo that had assisted Issei during his reckless decision to save Asia.

The first was Marisa. If the first confrontation she had with Marisa gave her a glimpse of just how potentially powerful she was, then the next few had practically solidified it. Perhaps even surpassing what she initially thought. There was that mini-Hakkero tool she had that Sona theorized could destroy a mountain easily. However, Kiba had told her that Marisa had not used it during the fights. He didn't know why she didn't use it, but she hadn't needed it at all. Marisa came out of the fights unscathed and not exhausted at all. Her magic utterly decimated all of her attackers too, ranging from explosive stars to ones that hit you with the force of a speeding bullet train. He couldn't get much more than that as he was more focused on protecting Issei at the time although the magic alone was plenty. It was lucky that Marisa had very telling and flashy magic with her varying bright colors.

The next was Suika. If Marisa was the magical powerhouse, then Suika was the physical one. From what Kiba had explained, the physical strength she possessed was far superior than even Koneko who she thought wielded considerable strength already. It was to the point that the light swords did absolutely no damage to her. Exorcists were knocked out within a single hit whether from her leg or fist. It would certainly explain why the surviving fallen angels had stayed far away from her.

Both were extraordinary, but they confounded her as well. The former, she knew was human. Suika, she didn't think was. Koneko had noted it as much from the short interaction she had after they had recently defeated Freed.

Reisen, that doctor was the same. Both Suika and Reisen always had spells on them though she didn't know what it exactly was. Both of them weren't human while Marisa was.

Who could they possibly be?

"Buchou?" Issei snapped her out of her thoughts. "Are you alright?"

"Ahh, yes. I'm fine." Rias quickly waved off his concern. "I'm just glad you're okay Issei. You scared me very much when Reisen-san called me to tell me you ran off with Marisa-san and Suika-san."

"Sorry…" Issei apologized wholeheartedly for worrying her. "But they're really strong! I think they're even better than us!"

As much as she didn't want to admit it, they certainly were. For the meantime though, she'd be thankful for their efforts.

"I heard Asia doesn't have anywhere to go." Rias brought up, peaking Issei's interest. "I have an idea on what to do."

"Y-you do? Really?"

She nodded, smiling at him sincerely.

"I do."


A/N: My longest chapter yet. Still self-beta'ed so expect mistakes. This particular chapter made me feel pretty proud of myself to write and I hope that it shows here. This concludes the first "Canon" Arc. I'm gonna be busy pretty soon, so expect much slower updates for the meantime. Next chapter, Patchouli will finally get an appearance along with an enemy that only the light novel readers will know since he hasn't appeared in the anime yet. Nothing else much to say other than I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed typing it up! Writing stuff that I enjoy is why I keep writing (Along with getting better I would hope to create even better stuff).