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

Akira, Morgana, and Yusuke all had warned not only their fellow Phantom Thieves, but also the Devils and Fallen Angels privately towards one another of the visit from this Hero Faction. The Phantom Thieves found it a bit worrying. People like them did not reveal themselves until they were sure of something, and their confidence and bearing only added to that notion. While they had not told the three male Phantom Thieves what organization they belonged to, it was suspected to be something bigger than just a few humans.

On the side of the Devils, Sona and Rias both reacted differently as expected when receptively told. Sona agreed that it was a bit of a foreboding moment, but such a group would not dare challenge any of the factions outright yet still it was good to be wary. It would be suicidal to try and fight without the necessary power, something that these heroes must have had if they came into contact with the Phantom Thieves. Rias too was worried, but then was too occupied with her own predicaments at the same time that the humans decided to drop the subject in favor of helping her.

Azazel however was interested in such as he actually pulled out some information that he had been looking into. Apparently, the heroes may actually be a part of something called the Khaos Brigade. Such group was supposedly a terrorist organization made up of Devils, Fallen Angels, humans, and even a few unfallen Angels. The humans part of what Akira dubbed a cult (it was a spur of the moment) was suspected to be these very heroes they had interacted with. But a question remained though.

What were they doing in such a group in the first place if their goals were claimed to be different than the chaos they caused?

TakeABreak

The clearing was in the middle of the forest, surrounded by lush vegetation, and bordered by dense undergrowth. It was a secluded place, far from prying eyes. Had all the male Phantom Thieves not had a summoning circle to teleport them it would have been hard to navigate through for the first time. Credit had to be given. Rias knew how to pick secret locations. All the guys' gazes wandered around the surrounding scenery, taking note of the kicked up dirt on the ground and the deep, charred marks on the trees that could not have been made naturally followed by multiple holes. Some of them were fresh. But that was all within reason. Just when they arrived with the females, Rias had told them this was where they went to practice with their Sacred Gears and firearms given. A place where they trained as a team and tested out new strategies.

Everyone soon began to start their own things though when such a place was revealed. Haru immediately went towards the large wooden cabin, ready to prepare a meal for all of the Devils and humans around. Futaba sat down on a log, Necronomicon already out with her Phantom Thief outfit on while studying several green screens all displaying data over an Evil Piece. With Makoto, she helped Rias, Issei, and Koneko practice with their decided firearms. Yusuke, with his new status as a Phantom Thief back in action, decided to practice with Kiba to see how one would fare against the other and problem would be pointed out whether they be for him of the blonde Devil. Ann went with Akeno to try and work out possible skill card uses. Morgana was assigned to be with Asia, probably to help her with tactics if she were caught in the open. Ryuji was assigned to creating a workout regimen since he probably created one himself when once a part of the track team. Akira meanwhile studied up on the Phenex family and heritage, going over various strategies with Rias.

That was only when there were eight days left. As time passed, the training began to become slightly more variant due to the schedule Ryuji ended up making when they had seven more days to train. Most of the Devils though had it easy due to being used to fighting.

Rias did need to work on many tactics due to her admittance that she mainly relied on the power of Bael. Akeno had to be reminded countless times to stop with her sadistic toying at times unless she wanted to use up all her power on a worthless enemy and not have enough magic for a more important target. Koneko mainly had a problem with speed due to her nature as a Rook making her naturally slow. Kiba meanwhile was fairly naïve when it came down to fighting, a mindset that had to be quickly changed. Asia mainly had an issue of stamina and where to be when in the midst of all the fighting which was sorted out by Morgana who was both healer and navigator of the Phantom Thieves before Futaba took over the latter role.

Issei was more of an… interesting issue. His proficiency with revolvers of all of the guns was impressive. Many of them thought that it was natural talent that Issei could use the weapons with precision when each of the Phantom Thieves first gained their weapons during their awakenings. Koneko however, which was a bit more of a logical one despite it being a blunt insult, voiced her opinion that all of the perverted things the brunette imagined doing helped his fingers. With fantasies of fondling and groping breasts, all that finger and hand movement probably played out into such dexterity.

Issei almost cried at how it was most likely that explanation rather than having natural talent.

But it was not only that. Since Issei had the Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet, he had to work on his stamina. This led to some brutal exercising as the boy tattled on Rias to the Phantom Thieves who would just stared at the exasperated red-head about it.

That was not the only thing though. It was a gauntlet Issei used after all. That meant that the boy at least had to have some good fighting experience in. Kiba and Koneko tried their own ways to give him a good idea what to experience during a fight. While that was good, it didn't really help Issei adapt to fighting back since almost all he could do was run and miss. That was when Makoto suggested that the male brunette also learn a bit of aikido from her. Despite the nervous protests of the Devil, Makoto still went on with it.

It was learned that despite being proficient with firearms, Issei struggled to learn the basics from Makoto. The female Persona-user wasn't a bad teacher really, she was actually a decent one. It was just that Issei had a hard time learning and pulling it all off.

TakeABreak

Only a few days were left and Azazel was waiting in a room for his guest to show up. It took him about five days with no rest or focus on anything else, but then he had managed to do it. Hearing a sharp knock on his door, the sound drew him from his thoughts. Getting up off of the couch he was sitting on, he walked over to the door. Turning the knob and opening the wooden barrier, he found Akira standing casually behind it with Morgana poking his head out of a bag.

"You got the stuff?" Akira asked and Azazel grinned at the joke.

Gesturing with his head, Azazel ushered the two Phantom Thieves inside where the reason for the request to come over laid. The project that Akira had challenged Azazel had finally been completed.

On the table sat some revolver of sorts. Instead of a chamber for six bullets, there were six slots to replace them. Sitting right next to it though were several skill cards that were rather lined up in a neat and orderly fashion. The display was simple, but the items held a lot more of a larger value than many would think.

"Out of all of the weapons to model it after, I felt like a revolver was the most appropriate both appearance and mechanic-wise." Azazel passed the weapon over to Akira. As the teenager eyed the firearm, the Fallen Angel grinned. "Want to test to see if it's up to your satisfaction?"

"Yeah, why not." Akira answered, nodding his head. The three left the room and eventually arrived to some kind of firing range of sorts.

"This area is probably the best we can use for something like that." Azazel pointed at the gun in Akira's hands. "Originally, the room is just for our fellow Fallen to just practice throwing spears or to vent out some frustration. Should still be able to serve a purpose to help us though."

Morgana meanwhile crept out of the bag as he looked up towards the firearm in Akira's possession and it made the cat think. "Will that be able to withstand the power of an actual skill card spell though?" He asked, tilting his head. "I can see that for a few spells that affect the status of a target, but what about elemental or physical like an Agi or a Cleave?"

"I've already tested the durability on that many times." Azazel explained, rolling his hand around. "But from what I can understand, those cards that you gave me are weaker spells. While I used some pretty strong stuff to make that, I'm not sure how it will actually fare when firing a stronger attack. But the actual spell does not affect the item itself. Gunshot attacks also work like so. However, shooting a physical move like this Cleave you mention… well…" He paused to think about what to say. "It doesn't actually shoot anything. That's where this part comes in."

Beckoning for the weapon, Azazel waited for Akira to pass it over to him. As soon as the metal was placed into his hands, Azazel flipped the gun over so that he was holding it by the barrel. With his thumb swiping the handle, a small dial-wheel with grooves that Akira didn't notice at all before moved and a quick small screen. "See this icon?" Azazel asked.

Akira bent forward and recognized the picture. "That's supposed to be a Flash Bomb attack." He observed.

Azazel nodded while smiling. "Inside the handle are several of the physical skill card attacks you provided for me. As you can see next to the icon, there is also the amount to show you how many cards of that move are left. How to use them though…" Looking to the side to see that they were next to a wall, he slammed the butt of the revolver against the wall and a large explosion followed by light engulfed the area they were in. Fortunately for Azazel, he knew it was coming so he already had his eyes closed while keeping his feet firmly planted in place.

Akira and Morgana however did not know what was going to happen and ended up being blasted a few feet away from the point of impact. Blinking, Azazel realized his mistake. "Whoops, are you both okay?" He asked.

"Oi, give us a warning at least! Why would you do such a thing?!" Morgana exclaimed. "He asks up if we are okay while we are partially blinded by the equivalent of a concussion bomb and blown away by the strength of a hand grenade." He grumbled after, still hearing a bit of ringing in his ears.

Akira however remained silent as he blinked rapidly while shaking his head at the same time. Instead of answering, he got up and walked over towards Azazel. Holding his hand out, he waited for Azazel to get the message and was passed the weapon. Looking over it slowly, he looked at the wall before tapping it lightly on the surface.

"Of course, there need to be a certain amount of strength to be able to activate the-"

Azazel was unable to finish his sentence as Akira slammed the butt of the gun against the Fallen Angel's cheek hard so the Fallen Angel felt both the power and effects of current skill card.

TakeABreak

Issei sighed to himself as he applied another bandage to his body.

Sure, he could have had Asia heal him, but it was late at night and the blonde was asleep. Not only that, but the brunette had to assume that all of the other Phantom Thieves were back at home to get some sleep before going back to school.

But in the middle of patching himself up, he began to think to himself. He learned a few things here and there during his training with everyone. Five days he had made a few discoveries. He had no talent for swords. He had no talent for hand-to-hand combat. He had no talent for magical power. The only thing he was good at was gunplay.

While that last one could be more of a positive, he was ill-equipped for such. He doubted those fake guns that he practiced with wouldn't even make Riser and his Peerage flinch upon impact. The Phantom Thieves claimed that real guns should be enough to hurt a Devil well enough after some tweaking and modifications. But would it really do the trick?

If not… he was useless in this Peerage. Nothing more than a meat shield.

Staring at how dirty his hands were, it made him frown. It was purely dirty from being thrown around by Makoto and trying to throw her while not doing as well. All of that calluses… all that work yet he was still where he was in terms of strength.

Deciding to maybe go for a drink to calm his nerves, he got off his bed and began to walk down the halls. Entering the kitchen, he was surprised to see that there was another occupant inside who was rummaging through the fridge. "…Ann-senpai?" Issei asked.

Within the fridge light, the blonde Phantom Thief turned around and her eyes shot up with a bit of surprise. "Issei-kun? You're still up?" Ann asked, pulling out a bottle of milk. Unscrewing the cap, she sniffed it carefully before taking a sip. "Can't sleep or something?"

"…Something like that… Actually, what are you still doing here?" Issei's face looked dejected, remembering why he was still up and about in the first place.

Ann frowned at the look the brunette wore, but didn't say anything. "Futaba-chan wanted to show Gremory-san something. Makoto's with them as well but just listening in. Apparently, this thing Futaba-chan managed to do is supposed to be one of the biggest game changers that she claims will help you guys win. But the catch is that it's all up to you guys." She explained. "You want anything from the fridge since I'm standing right in front of it right now?"

The boy blinked before shaking his head. "Water's fine." He sighed, rubbing the top of his head.

Ann realized that he didn't even notice her frowning. Thinking about what to say, she grabbed him a water bottle and tossed it in his direction. She was surprised when he managed to catch it with any sort of indication of her throwing it in his direction and without looking. Yet still, the gloomy look was on his face.

"…Hey, want to listen in onto the conversation?" Ann asked.

TakeABreak

"Now that we are all accounted for… behold!"

Rias and Makoto stared as Futaba held out a single object in his hands that was presented to them. Both girls stared with a look of surprise. One was excited while the other didn't exactly know what to think. "Is that…" Makoto didn't even know how to complete her sentence.

"A limited-edition Phoenix Ranger Featherman Victory Pink Argus action figure?!" Rias exclaimed, shooting off of her spot and shoving her face close to the object. Marveling at the design, all she could do was breathe in excitement and awe at the sight of the rare object.

"…Whoops, wrong thing." Futaba laughed nervously as she quickly yet gently placed it down onto the table.

"Why… do you even have that on you?" Makoto asked slowly.

The hacker shrugged her shoulders. "Koneko-chan never heard of Phoenix Ranger Featherman Victory so I thought I'd show her some of the stuff. Speaking of phoenix…" She began to dig around in her pocket. "Behold!"

In her hands was a Knight Devil Piece.

"…It…" Rias trailed off. "Doesn't look any more different than how it was when I let you study it." She turned her gaze from the object to Futaba's eyes. "What am I supposed to be looking at?"

"Wait for it…" Futaba said dramatically.

She pulled down her collar to reveal the area around the chest but just beneath the throat. Pressing the Evil Piece against her chest, she absorbed it.

"Ta-da! Now I'm a Devil without having to die!" Futaba announced, earning shocked looks from the two known spectators. "But wait, there's more!" Putting the tips of her fingers back on her body where she inserted the Evil Piece, it began to make their eyes widen even more. A red object as seen trying to climb its way out of her skin and Futaba was more than happy to help it out. "And now, I'm now a human!" She announced when pulling it out of her body. "I'm now a Devil! Not anymore! I am Satan! I am human!" She continued to grin. "Devil. Human. Devil. Human. Devil. Human. Devil. Human." The girl soon began to repeat the process over and over again.

"…What?" Rias asked.

"…How?" Makoto question.

"It's pretty interesting." The Phantom Thief known as Oracle shrugged her shoulders. "Managing to affect those markings back with Asia-san. So then I began to think to myself. What if I could do this to all kind of magical objects? Your Evil Piece was something I wanted to have a go at and so, here it is! I have successfully hacked your Evil Piece so that one of us doesn't actually have to die to become a Devil and can have the piece removed whenever we want."

Makoto blinked, and just like Rias, silent due to trying to comprehend the discovery and display Futaba had just explained. Slowly turning her head over, the brunette of the Phantom Thieves faced the red-haired Devil. "Well… It looks like we are going to be much more of a help than we expected."

TakeABreak

"So that's what Futaba-chan was all excited about." Ann commented, peeking from around the door frame to see what the hacker, the analyst and the Devil were all talking about. Taking in a deep breath, she turned around. "Well, looks like your win is going to come a lot easier than expected."

"Yeah, that's great." Issei nodded his head, but the emotion in his voice was clearly different than the words that were spoken from his mouth.

Ann immediately cuffed him on the head with her hand. Before Issei could even speak out or make a sound, she grabbed him by the collar and began to drag him towards the kitchen. "Okay, what the hell is up?" She asked bluntly, releasing her grip and turning around to look at the boy.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Issei stuttered a bit, still trying to comprehend he had just been dragged along the collar. "I'm completely fine."

"Really?" Ann deadpanned. "I'm not buying it." Folding her arms, she slid out a chair with her foot and sat down on the wooden furniture. "Take a seat and tell me what's the matter with you."

Issei soon realized that it was more of a demand, not a request. Not only that, through his funk he didn't realized that Ann was glaring at him until he sat down. Looking up at Ann, the girl still had his gaze fixed on her. "…" Issei thought about his words, what to say to the blonde who sat across from him. "Ann-senpai… look at me."

"…" Ann knew that she already was, but there was a point Issei was trying to make. Rather than make the comment, she decided to stay quiet.

"I'm... hopeless." Issei sighed, lowering his head to hide his face. "After training with everyone, so far as we can tell I'm only good with guns. That's it. You all say that with a few modifications, the real deal could hurt Devils. Sure… that can be good I guess, but what if it doesn't work? Even if it does, what if I'm picked off immediately due to my lacking experience and skill? Even if I'm the owner that holds a Sacred Gear, there's no meaning to it if I can't even fight properly."

"You may not see it now, but just when the moment is right, you will know that your training will pay off." Ann quickly reassured the Devil, already thinking about what to say as he spoke. "Not only that, we're getting a gun that I'm sure will be able to hurt that Riser Phenex guy and his Peerage."

But Issei shook his head. "I have no talent in fighting other than using guns." He denied. "I don't deserve any of this treatment… All of these people I can call my friends. I'm just a nobody. Would you be able to understand something like that, Ann-senpai?" Issei soon released a bitter breath through his nostrils. "Probably not with how gorgeous you are. You were most likely popu-"

Ann cut off the brunette by slapping his cheek. "…You are wrong." She stated, her hand still in the air and feeling the impact due to the force she used to slap the brunette. "You think you know what it was like for me?"

Rather than waiting for an answer, Ann yanked her phone out of her pocket and pressed a few icons. Handing the phone over to Issei, the electronic presented a picture of her and one of her very few friends before she became a Phantom Thief. "This is my friend, perhaps the only one I had back in Shujin High, Shiho Suzui."

Issei had a confused look. "Why are you showing me this?"

"I am showing you this because you just assumed who I was." Ann took a deep breath after. "Because, you think you know sort of know me."

"Umm-"

"Well, it may not be much about me, but you do. Fantastic!" She said that last part loud and sarcastically. "But let me make one thing perfectly clear. You did not know her!" She pointed right herself in that picture, smiling with the black-haired girl. "You never met her!" Issei jumped at the tone she was using. "But rather than a nobody, she was the rumored whore of the school! Nobody approached her! She never approached anybody! So can you imagine how she felt that it was her fault when her only friend, the only person who first approached her during high-school, attempted to commit suicide?!"

Issei saw Ann stand up so quickly she knocked over the chair she was sitting on. He opened his mouth to say something, but then he decided against it. Now was probably not the best time to talk. It was kind of his fault that she was now remembering her past. A past that was most likely one she preferred not to remember. He mentally apologized with guilt.

"But, do you know what happened after that? She accepted that, and used that to fight back against the person who gave reason for such an attempt. At first, she couldn't. She was weak… useless. But now, she's strong, standing tall to this day. With the issue over, she became a Phantom Thief so that nobody should ever have to go through something like that again." She then began to gesture to herself, placing her hands on her chest. "While you never met her…" Ann nodded down to the image on her phone. "You are meeting a different version of her. One who was once useless, but then eventually got better. Became confident in herself."

Taking a deep breath, she slowly sat back down and continued to breath to calm herself. "That is why, Issei-kun, you shouldn't think of yourself like that? A nobody? Sure, you were that. But now, look at you. You don't deserve this treatment? We still will continue to treat you like so anyways, with or without your consent. You don't see it right now, but the fruits of your labor will show when the time comes, trust me."

Smiling, she noticed that Issei's face was hidden since he kept it lowered. Leaning down, her eyes shot up with surprise when she saw him crying. Now that she noticed it, his body was also trembling. "A-ann-s-s-senpai…" He managed to get out.

But Ann shushed him gently. "It's okay, it's okay." She reassured the Devil. "You like breasts, right?" Caressing his head, she pulled him in close against her chest. "Go ahead, it's not a bad thing if you want to cry." She couldn't help but blush a bit though as Issei continued to weep into her chest while she patted his back.

She didn't know how long it was, but Issei finally managed to let all of it out as he leaned back into his seat with a blush. "Thanks for that…" He mumbled.

"It's fine." Ann nodded her head slowly, giving a weird look to the wet spot on her clothing. Luckily it was laundry day soon. "There are two things I have to add about your issue though. First of all, fighting. You seem to have trouble with swords while fists are fairly average." She watched him nod his head. "So… why not try another weapon?" She then paused. "Like a whip?"

Ann swore Issei's eyebrows shot off his face in reaction to her words. "A whip?" He asked.

"I don't know." Ann shrugged, her tone matching her words. "I mean, most of our teams uses blades and stuff while Makoto used her fists. So that's why a whip came to mind since I'm the only one to use a unique weapon like that." Issei just continued to stare at her with his wide eyes. "Anyways," She coughed. "The second reason is about your troubled learning."

Rummaging through her pocket, she pulled out a skill card. "From what we theorized, you just need to apply a bit of magic to it and then absorb the card into your body. Before I tell you the name, I should let you know that we don't any stronger versions of the stuff so you have to make do with this. Plus, you can only have one applied to you anyways."

"…What is it called?" Issei asked.

The object only had a small figure standing around the center of the card. Its feet were firmly on the ground. But the real point of interest was that there was a single lightbulb shining brightly over its head.

"Growth 1." Ann answered.

TakeABreak

"So this television will be able to show us the Rating Game?"

Sona nodded her head at Akira's question as all of the student council members had set up a small screening presentation for everyone that was going to watch the fighting. All Phantom Thieves except Futaba, with reasons they all knew about, were all helping with the set up.

Ryuji even brought snacks for them. Despite it being a serious thing they were going to witness, the male blonde thought it was a good idea.

"What's up, Ann?" Ryuji asked, noticing the look on the female blonde. "You're looking pretty worried. You should have some more confidence in them."

"Yeah, I know, I know." Ann sighed. "But still, I just can't shake that feeling anyways."

"I can't blame you." Makoto agreed. "But we did our best. Plus, Futaba is with them and can help them out of a tough spot when the time comes."

"Shh," Yusuke sat down. "It's starting.

TakeABreak

"Wow… to think all of this is fake. Everything is exactly the same." Issei commented as he looked around after being transported into the Rating Game field.

All of the Devils were waiting for the Rating Game to start. Really, it was a mix of emotions inside a copy of the Occult Research club room. Issei was seen equipped with a couple of revolvers on his waist and a few ammunition pouches strapped on his person. Asia twiddled her thumsb nervous as she would eye the slingshot on her person every few seconds. Kiba kept his eyes closed, taking deep breaths to calm himself. Koneko adjusted straps on her body that held a shotgun, a grenade launched, and several ammo pouches as well. Akeno was silent, but her features betrayed her supposedly calm attitude. Rias meanwhile paced around the room in anticipation.

Only the final occupant wasn't as nervous as them.

"The sky is completely white as well." Futaba was in her Phantom Thief outfit while peeking out of the window. "Devil power is a lot more amazing than I expected. Then again, I've seen a lot of weird stuff so I shouldn't really be surprised. Such a concept sort of reminds me of the Metaverse…"

Before any of the newcomers to the nature of a Devil, a loud voice on a speaker from who knows where began to speak. [Both parties have been transferred to their strongholds. Rias-sama's Peerage is in the Occult Research Club room. Riser-sama's Peerage is in the Student Council room. To promote Pawns, please proceed to the opponent's stronghold perimeter.]

Being handed out earpieces, all of the Devils fitted them into their ears. "Okay, so the plan in mind still what we're going for?" Futaba asked while sitting down on a couch.

"Yes, very much so." Rias nodded her head, looking out to face the open window Futaba was staring out earlier. "But we cannot afford to waste any time. Remember what to do and I promise you all," She faced her Peerage and the Phantom Thief. "We will win."

[The time has come! The battle shall continue from now until daybreak. So without further ado, let the game begin!]

"Well," Futaba voiced with a grin. "Enough of words. Let's get started, shall we?"

As Necronomicon flashed into existence right above her as a holographic keyboard appeared in front of her with multiple screens, Rias stood right behind her while Issei, Asia, Kiba, Akeno, and Koneko all jumped out of the window.

"By the way, have I ever told you?" The hacker looked up towards Rias while wiggling her fingers. "One-hundred and six words per minute."

And like that, cue the Doctor Who – Hanging on the Tablaphone soundtrack!

Well, that part is actually your choice. As for that Ann thing… I am unsure how to actually feel about that. I think it's nice. But at the same time… not really.

So, this is a new chapter. And the next will be the Rating Game. And then after that… well, you just have to wait for that chapter to come out.

No flames please.