I do not own the Persona series or High School DxD. Everything belongs to their respected owners.

Luckily or unfortunately, before any actual carnage could erupt, a cold aura suddenly filled the room. Riser's anger and Haru's crossed demeanor shrunk into nonexistence as they both slowly turned their heads to look at Grayfia. The grey-haired woman was definitely the source of such temperature and Haru could tell with just one look alone. Grayfia's eyes were focused intently the both of them and the cold spiked when her eyes narrowed, causing both of them to shiver a bit.

"Please, the both of you, refrain doing anything rash or I will be forced to intervene." The grey-haired woman stated, her power not weakening for even a moment. "I can assure you that there will be no second chances if I have to get involved. Even if you are Ojou-sama's friend, this is indeed a matter of the Gremory and Phenex clan. As for you Riser Phenex…" She let it hang, but the warning was heeded. Everyone else also felt something similar, even though it was not in their direction.

Haru looked over at Grayfia with a mixed expression. Looking over towards Riser, she sighed, settling for dispelling Milady and forming her normal clothes back. The power directed towards her reminded her of the target Shadows she would face when stealing a Treasure from the Palaces. It was strong that was for sure, but she was sure the Phantom Thieves would stand a large chance if banded together.

Grayfia meanwhile stared at Haru. Two of those weapons were oddly familiar… presence-wise at least. Serving as a maid of the Gremory family while being the Lucifer's wife made her familiarize herself among several other powerful Devils. The axe made her think of Beelzebub in all of his craftiness with some swirling madness behind it. The grenade-launcher however… it reminded her of her family… as if it had the power of Bael.

The maid stored this in the back of her mind, just in case it would become an issue. Or maybe she should tell her husband right now? Perhaps the former would be better. Wouldn't want to stress the man slash husband out too much at the moment due to the conflict at hand.

"Fortunately," Grayfia began, already getting back to the topic at hand. "Gremory-sama and Phenex-sama predicted that Ojou-sama wouldn't agree to the marriage willingly." She stated, already lowering the cold aura she presented before while ignoring the looks she was given. "They have agreed to give Ojou-sama a chance to end her arranged marriage through a Rating Game." A gesture was made during her explanation.

Haru made a quick note to ask what a Rating Game was later.

"If Ojou-sama wins," Grayfia continued. "Her marriage will be canceled. If Riser-sama wins, then the wedding will take place soon after the Rating Game."

"Yes!" Issei immediately exclaimed audaciously while vigorously pumping his fist. "Let's do it, Buchou!" He cheered energetically with fire burning in his eyes. "We can totally beat this blonde, pretty boy bastard!"

Riser soon began to chuckle in amusement, most likely at Issei's proclamation. It was as if he had completely forgotten about Haru or that Grayfia had even threatened him. The confident blonde-Devil continued to snicker before it become full-blown laughter, much to Issei's and almost everyone else's annoyance. Even his Peerage snickered a bit. "A Rating Game? Is that all?" Riser finally stopped with a smirk on his face. "Fine with me, if a Rating Game is the only way to settle this then so be it." He then pointed at Rias confidently. "And, as a sign of good faith, I'll give you ten days to prepare for it. You may even have the opportunity to pick the stage."

"…I agree." Rias simply responded after a moment of silence. "A Rating Game it is with Kudou Academy as the grounds."

Grayfia nodded her head. "If that is what you wish." She said as a red magic circle appeared at her feet. "I will inform your parents of your decision." The woman then shot a glare at Riser. "And you will come with me. Your parents will want to have a word with you after they're informed of your conduct."

Riser lowered his head. "Yes, ma'am."

As all of Riser's Peerage began to leave with the Devil, Haru noticed one of them staring at her with suspicion. She was small, standing under the height of Haru. Maybe she was just taller than Futaba by one inch. She had blonde hair tied into two drill-like shapes and the front of her hair had several bangs hanging over her forehead. Her outfit consisted of a light purple dress with dark purple accents and a blue bow at the front. At the back, three feather-like extensions mimicking a bird's tail protruded from the dress.

Not sure what warranted such a look, but Haru was at the full force of the girl's eyes before Riser and his Peerage disappeared with Grayfia.

"Sorry you had to see and be a part of that." Snapping out of her thoughts, Haru turned around to see Rias sitting behind her desk again." I did expect Riser to come, but not without Grayfia." She said. "Although, it was a sight to see your Persona and… your equipment…" Trailing off, she stared at Haru.

The Phantom Thief saw this, wondering what Rias was staring for. She then realized that it was probably about the weapons she had on her person. Well… Futaba did mention that Baal as well as Beelzebub were clans from the 72 Pillars. "Yes…" Haru nodded slowly, thinking about what to say next.

Rias shook her head. "It seems that starting from tomorrow, we're going to be training."

Haru tilted her head. "Training?"

The red-haired female sighed. "Riser is not going to be an easy opponent." Rias stated with a downcast look. It was clear to the heiress that the Gremory girl pretty much had already resigned to fate and this whole Rating Game thing is only means to prolong the inevitable. That didn't sit well with her. "The Phenex clan possess the powers of the Pheonix: immortality, healing tears, and pyrokinesis. His also outnumbers and is stronger Peerage wise compared to us. I still see a chance to win… but…"

Haru frowned. She noticed that Rias was quite angry, annoyed, and saddened all at once. It seemed like this whole Rating Game thing was just a way to give her false hope that she could actually end the marriage. That's what it sounded like, right? Allowing the fate of a marriage to be dictated by an even in which one of the participants had extremely high chances of winning.

"…I want to help Rias-san."

Everyone slowly turned to the voice that had spoken out. Never before, or was expected, had anyone seen Asia with such conviction in her eyes. "I want to be able to participate in this Rating Game with her. I want to help her win!"

All of Rias' Peerage and Haru blinked at the statement the smaller girl made. "That's…" Akeno said slowly, managing to be the first to snap out of the stupor. "That's very kind of you to say, Asia-chan." The girl shook her head though. "But only Devils may participate in the Rating Games."

"Then turn me into a Devil." Asia answered immediately, surprised looks staring at her growing even bigger. "Issei, Ann-san, Akira-san, Morgana-chan, Makoto-san, Futaba-san, Haru-san... even you and your Peerage, Rias-san. You've all done so much for me. You all gave me a new life I never thought I would have experienced." Blinking a single tear ran down the blonde's cheek. "All of you have done so much for me. So I want to do something in return. I don't care if I'm a Devil… Life will still be wonderful with you and God… even if I cannot end up praying to him…"

"…Asia-san…" Issei said with admiration. But then he looked away to hide a guilty face with shame on it as well.

"And of course, you can call upon the Phantom Thieves to help you in anyway we can." Haru added, stepping forward to get closer to the desk. "There is no way I want you marry that man." Seeing Rias' gaze light up a bit, Haru felt like she should throw something else in. "No, none of us want to be turned into Devils."

"…I wasn't going to say any of that." Rias denied, but then her face told a different story.

Kiba meanwhile had a confused look on his face. "So… Asia-san is joining our Peerage. While that is nice… how are you going to help us, Haru-san?"

Turning over towards the blonde, all of the Devils in the room and the former-nun all felt a rather heavy atmosphere. It was as if Milady was back in the room with Haru's angry look. But the girl's face remained as neutral as ever, but then it was as if she had a plan in mind. Honestly… it gave them all hope that they could win.

"What is a Rating Game and what are the rules?" Haru asked.

TakeABreak

"You know… for something that sounds extremely important… this Rating Game idea has a lot of loopholes."

Futaba made this observation after Haru had explained to all of them what Rias had told her. All were scattered around their lounging area with designated spots. "I mean, seriously! You think there would be some better rules to this thing!"

"At least we can use this to our advantage though when helping Gremory-san with her marriage problem." Yusuke said while folding his arms and legs in his seat. "Which makes me beg the question. How are we going to help her and her Peerage anyways?"

"Yusuke's got a point." Makoto nodded in the blue-haired boy's direction. "It's a given that we can't participate in the Rating Game. I don't think we can really train them either since they all have their own methods of fighting ingrained in them. Ten days is something but not much of a difference."

"Maybe we could provide them some supplies that they could bring?" Ann suggested. "It seems that they use magic. So maybe we have medicine and food they could consume in the middle of fighting."

"If that's the case, we should be able to provide several of our battle items to them as well." Morgana stated, causing Akira to roll his neck to pop several kinks. "Though maybe we should also think about which ones to provide just in case questions pop up."

"Holy stuff is lethal to Devils, right? Then there is no way we should provide them with those Happy Bombs." Ryuji pointed out. "Some real bad shit could happen if they were used."

"But it can't just be about equipment." Akira stated, leaning forward while resting both elbows on his legs. "If Gremory-san says that this Riser is strong as well as his Peerage, then just fighting alone won't be enough with supplies we provide them."

Haru looked down. "But if supplies are all we can do… what else is there to help them?"

All of them fell quiet, wondering what they should do next. An idea just had to come up, something, anything! All of them just had to think. What else was there? It was as if something was missing!

It then hit Akira. It was a long shot but… "I think I know what we all can do…" He said slowly, looking at each and every one of the Phantom Thieves. "But… some of us are going to have to sacrifice a fair amount of time in order to go along with it." Taking in a deep breath, Akira sighed. "So, do-"

"I'm down." Ryuji nodded.

"Same." Morgana answered.

"Count me in." Ann replied.

"Agreed." Yusuke provided.

"Let's do it." Makoto threw in.

"Onwards and upwards!" Futaba exclaimed.

"I'm fine with whatever you have in mind." Haru stated.

"…" Akira fell silent for a few seconds. "You don't even know what I have to say."

"Dude, this is your we're talking about." Ryuji deadpanned. "It's most likely a brilliant idea. So, let's hear it."

The leader of the Phantom Thieves rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but smile with everyone else. They give him too much credit. Way too much credit. "All right, so this is the plan."

TakeABreak

"…And that's why I'm asking if you have any books at all related to the Phenex clan and pulling some strings so I as well as maybe a few others won't be in trouble for skipping school."

"…" Sona just stared at Akira with a look that was trying to make sense of what the boy had just said. Some of the student council members held the same look as Sona.

Akira blinked, his school bag over his shoulder while carrying a sack in the other hand. "Hmm?" He hummed in question. "Is something wrong, Sitri-san?"

"Or course there's something wrong." Sona deadpanned. "You can't just say and that's why I'm asking if you have any books at all related to the Phenex clan and pulling some strings so that you as well as maybe a few others won't be in trouble for skipping class without any proper context or introduction to your sentence."

Grey eyes blinked a few times. "Ah."

Sona wanted to bang her head against her work desk. She respected Akira at first. That respect constantly grew in admiration since he was the leader of the Phantom Thieves. All of that was staring to go down the drain with how he acted. Was this really him or just a ruse? "Ah." She mimicked dryly in turn. "That's all you can say?"

"It's to help Gremory-san." Akira answered. "Did you know about her and the marriage with Riser Phenex?"

Taking off her glasses, Sona began to polish them while everyone else in the room got back to their assignments. "Sadly, yes. But despite being her friend, in no way am I able to interfere in the matter." Fitting them back on, she readjusted them to a much more comfortable position. "So, to put it bluntly, you are asking me to make the staff more lenient towards your misconducts of missing classes."

"Yeah, pretty much." Akira nodded. He clearly noticed the disapproving look that she was giving him.

"…I'm just a student council president, what do you think I can do against the staff?" Sona deadpanned, before sighing. "But… I suppose I could attempt to try and persuade them to be so."

"Just hearing that means a lot more than you think, Sitri-san." Akira nodded his head. Stepping forward, he then placed the bag in his hand on her desk. "It's for you."

Raising an eyebrow, Sona put down the pencil she was holding in favor of opening it up. Her eyes slightly shot up and she looked at Akira. "You just handed me a bunch of explosives." She stated, looking back in the bag. Hopefully no adults would walk in on them as she pulled one Megido Bomb out and observed it in her hands carefully. Slowly putting it back in the bag, her eyes met Akira's. "I have to help you now, don't I?"

"The idea of those as compensation did come to mind." Akira nodded his head.

"Which means that Azazel already made his delivery." Sona observed, slipping the bag beneath her desk. She also made a note that she would have to sneak these out somehow. How Akira managed to get in without suspicion was odd enough, but she wouldn't dwell on it. "I'll provide you with the information I can as soon as possible as well as the news about the Phantom Thieves' absences." She then paused and thought about it. "…I… just made a deal with a Phantom Thief… The leader of the Phantom Thieves to add in fact…."

Akira tilted his head with curiosity. The way Sona said it made it sound like an accomplishment of sorts. "This must mean a lot to you." He noted with a small grin growing on his lips.

Blinking, Sona just realized how she was acting in front of Akira and coughed. "Right." She stated, returning back to her professional persona she always displayed. Taking in a deep breath, she brought back the composure she was used to. "So," Sona began, ignoring the amused look on the black-haired male's face. "It seems that we have everything in order."

Looking up in thought, Akira was in that position for a bit. Nodding his head, nothing else of issue really came to mind. "Pleasure doing business with you." He thanked, extending his hand. Sona looked down at his flesh and slowly stared back at him. Extending her own hand, they linked together and shook.

"Now I just have to mentally prepare myself for the possibility of urinary track disorders."

"…" Sona gave him a dull look. "So you're visiting Azazel already, huh?"

TakeABreak

Ryuji groaned as he stretched his limbs after carrying a large box filled with something heavy if he had to make such a sound when putting it down.

Arching his back while standing, he felt a lot better after taking in a deep breath and sighed. It was after school and apparently the first day since Rias and her Peerage had began their training. If they could at least have Sona inform them that they could skip classes in favor of giving advice for training, that would be swell. Even if the teachers said no, they would still go anyways. But for now, it was staying back in the city to do whatever they can.

Ryuji knew that Akira was going to have to go through some extremely weird things since the leader was going for testing. To be honest, it made him wonder what kind of things would happen. Thankfully, Akira's shifts have been more lenient towards him and allowed the boy to come in whenever or when called.

"Oi, Sakamoto, you doing okay there?"

Snapping out of his thoughts, Ryuji turned around to see an adult walking up to him with a raised eyebrow and folded arms. "Oh shit." He swore to himself quietly before speaking up louder. "Sorry, boss. Just blanked out there for a minute." He rubbed the back of his head.

The adult just looked up and down, scanning the boy. "Something on your mind?" Ryuji stared at the question, wondering how the man knew. "Kid, I've learned to read people's expressions since starting this job. That's how you get business to work at times. You want to talk about it?"

Ryuji thought about it for a moment before shaking his head. "Nah, it's something that doesn't involve me or you. It's just some concern for a friend."

"Whatever." The boss waved his hands, walking back into a building. "When you're done moving that into the building, punch out. Your shift's almost done and I don't want to pay you overtime."

The blonde sighed as he picked up the heavy box once more and began to move. He never thought that his first job would end up being a stocker for a grocery store. But hey, he had to take what he could get. Despite their massive amount of earnings and Haru's savings, all of the Phantom Thieves agreed to work just like the rest of society so that they could get used to it. It was sort of like a form of independency.

Speaking of being independent, it still broke Ryuji's heart a little bit that he had to leave his mom in favor of living with Akira and the others. All of them had to make the choice of living together while moving out of Tokyo since even the boy wanted to try and attempt such a life with his parents saying he could move back in with them at any time.

Still… it was hard. Ryuji's mom did take care of her boy for pretty much his entire life. His dad was never there in the first place. When the man actually was though, both Ryuji and his mom were hit a lot. The blonde also had a large displeasure of bad things related to alcohol since his dad was also a drunk before leaving the two of them.

But his mom endured it all for him. Thinking back, Ryuji remembered that he was just a kid going through all kinds of phases. One memory stood out from the rest though as if was brought up during a memorable moment. Ryuji chuckled when he thought about the dolphin he bought for his mom when he was just a kid. He just wanted a way to thank her for everything she did for him and that smile on her face was just beautiful.

Setting down the box among many others, the boy wiped some seat off of his brow and felt a buzz in his pocket. Walking out of the storage area, towards the break room, and pulling out a card to scan out of his shift, he checked his phone and saw that there was a text.

[Well, bad news. Sitri-san was unable to allow us to be able to skip classes without getting in trouble.] Akira informed them.

Ryuji sighed again, but he couldn't say that he didn't expect something like this. Tapping on the reply bar, he began to move his thumbs. [Can't exactly say I'm surprised. Who in the right mind would allow students to skip always?]

[I'm sure that you skipping school would be no problem.] Ann commented.

"…" Ryuji took on a look as he stared at Ann's statement in the conversation. [Hah?] He asked in confusion as if he could be heard.

[Ah, I think I see what Ann is talking about.] Yusuke interjected. [It must be due to the fact that you are doing so poor in school at the moment, skipping class won't make a difference.]

[What?] Ann questioned from her end. [No, I was just talking about how he already has the image of a delinquent in a sense. Plus, he's done it before back at Shujin.]

[You guys both realize I'm reading this, right?!] Ryuji exclaimed in his words while groaning. [How the hell can you think so low of me, Yusuke? What about Ann?! She's only doing good in English!]

Taking a deep breath, Ryuji looked down towards his screen and saw that the blonde-girl already had a reply. [At least I'm good at a subject!]

[While I enjoy watching you two react to each other, does that mean we could just skip classes and go over to Gremory-san's palce?] Futaba asked.

[Doubtful.] Akira replied. [Sitri-san also informed me that Gremory-san and her Peerage are probably training in a private strip of land. She gave me her their numbers though so that a summoning circle could be used to shorten travel time when coming into contact with Rias.]

[A bit more complex than it should be, at least the travelling to where they are is efficient this way. I wonder how it will feel?] Makoto noted. [I'll head there tomorrow after school since there shouldn't be much homework. I'll be sure to let Gremory-san know. Yusuke, I'll need a few cards as well to help them out.]

[Of course. The briefcase is just inside the lounging area next to one of the couches.] Yusuke replied.

[I'm going to need a few as well. Just some weak ones though.] Akira added in.

A question came from Haru. [Oh? What for, Akira-chan?]

[Just a proposal for Azazel-san] Akira answered.

Ryuji kept staring, waiting for a few seconds for someone else to reply. But no new messages signaled that the conversation was over. "Still can't believe they had that conversation." Ryuji muttered, referring to Ann and Yusuke.

Walking out of the break room and out of the store, Ryuji wondered what he should do next. Maybe grab a quick bite to eat. But before he could fully make his decision, before he even left the sidewalk in front of the store, he heard a girl struggling.

"Who do you think you are talking to, you miscreant?!"

Turning his head, Ryuji saw a blonde girl with hair tried into two drill-like shapes with another female wearing a mask verbally insulting some random guy.

First of all, sorry for this chapter being all over the place. It's messy, but… it's something? I was also going to throw in Yusuke and the events that would have ended up happening with him but… this seemed like a better place to stop so that there wouldn't be any more branches to this massive tree of confusion.

Next, trying to add in the honorifics, is driving me crazy. So what I'm going to try and do later is go through my previous chapters and edit the names so that it will be like the HighSchoolDxD anime where they just say their names. Just letting everyone know in case they notice it and remind me of it.

There are going to be so many things happening in the next few chapter I'm not sure if they're going to be written well. Oh well, here goes nothing.

No flames please.