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

Issei sighed to himself as he was drinking from a can he got at a vending machine found around the area he was at the moment.

"…Is everything okay, Issei-san?" Asia asked the brunette as she was sipping some juice from a can. There was a bit of worry all over her face as the two of them were sitting down around a fountain.

"Huh?" Issei asked, blinking through the sun and adjusting his gaze so that he could look at the blonde. Eventually registering what she had said, he nodded. "Ye-yeah, everything's fine, Asia-chan." He answered, but then Asia was a bit hesitant to accept his words. That just made him feel guilty. "Okay, not really. It's just… I never expected Kiba's past to be related to holy swords and for him to have an experience with them like that."

"Oh right… that…" Asia mumbled, awkwardly looking forward again to the people just passing by them. "It's really sad for him…"

"Yeah." The brunette rubbed his head. "Being a part of an experiment and all before eventually having to be killed by the ones running the thing sounds like something out of an anime. I thought that the Church was filled with good people, but that thought's been going down the drain a lot recently. I mean, human experimentation is something I would expect some evil person to do. It's almost as if... so many things are in reverse. Back when I was human, I thought the Church was a good place while Devils were… devils. But now that I'm one of the latter… it's just weird."

"It really is an odd thing." Asia looked down to her can but then giggled a bit. "But still, it's not as bad as I thought it would be."

Issei breathed through his nostrils with a small smile. "Yeah, guess you're right." He nodded his head, taking another sip from the can he was holding. Looking around, he then saw a small group of people that he had invited over. "Yo, Senpais, Sakura-san, over here!" He called out, waving his free hand around.

All of the Phantom Thieves, minus Morgana and Akira, all heard the brunette's voice. They all looked over in their direction. "Oh, there you are, Issei-kun and Asia-chan." Ann said as the group began to approach the Devil duo.

Issei nodded his head to confirm what Ann had said. But then as he and Asia were being approached, the brunette noticed one other person that was not actually part of their original group. "Huh? What is Ravel-san doing here?" He blinked with a bit of surprise.

"When Sakamoto-san blurted out that he was meeting up with Gremory-san's Peerage, I found it odd that he was actually heading off of school grounds rather than towards the Occult Research clubroom." Ravel informed, the male blonde wearing a look that seemed to be a bit of a mixture between embarrassment and shame. "Here you are, Pawn of Gremory-san, holding a secret conference without the presence of your King. It only makes me wonder what you all are going to talk about."

"Hey, I didn't really blurt it out." Ryuji attempted to defend himself. "It just… manage to come up in the middle of our conversation."

Ravel just gave Ryuji a look. "Either way, it seems rather suspicious to have this happen behind your King's back." She coughed.

"Well, the main reason is because Buchou said for us to not get involved with those two exorcists." Issei stated at first but then shook his head. "But I would really rather wait for everyone else to show up first before I continue explaining myself. Although… I'm not really sure if I can trust you with this."

The Phenex folded her arms. "I suppose I could give you the benefit of the doubt."

"Come on." Ryuji added. "How bad could something like this be? It's not like he's going to tell us to just go and do something that could be considered suicide."

"But since you said that, Issei-kun…" Makoto rested her chin on one of her hands. "I'm assuming that it has something to do with the two that visited Germory-san yesterday."

"Sorry, Makoto-senpai, but I'd really rather wait for the everyone else before explaining." Issei said again.

Yusuke however looked around. "Everyone else?" He asked. "If you're waiting for Akira and Morgana, they're both at the café since the staff were actually a bit short just then. However, they only need him for about an hour longer."

"What? N-no, no." Issei gave the blue-haired male a weird look. "I already know that. Ann-senpai explained that for me. We're just waiting for Koneko-chan."

Futaba tilted her head with a confused expression. "Isn't Koneko-chan sitting right there?" She asked, pointing to a table that was a couple of meters away from where Issei was standing.

With an odd expression, Issei looked over. "Gah!" He hopped in the opposite direction of where he actually did see Koneko sitting down with a parfait in front of her. "When did you get here?!" He pointed at the white-haired female.

"I arrived five minutes ago, I-cchi." Koneko stated, scooping up some ice cream while Futaba walked over and took a seat. "It's not my fault your perception is not that good." The girl continued as the orange-haired female dipped her finger into the dessert.

"Well… that's convenient. If that's the case, I guess we could start now." The male brunette slowly started off, doing his best to ignore the insult that had just delivered bluntly to him.

"What about Kiba-kun?" Makoto asked, noticing that all but the King, Queen, and Knight were missing. The first two, she understood in a sense since Issei was trying to keep this a bit of a secret. "Shouldn't he be around as well in this case?"

"…Err…" The male brunette voiced out awkwardly.

"…Is this about what happened to Kiba-kun back then?" Makoto asked with a sigh, having a feeling that she actually knew where this was going.

"Uhh…" Ann grabbed everyone's attention, holding her hand up. "Mind telling those that didn't take part of the meeting yesterday what you two were talking about just now?"

The female brunette however only massaged her forehead "I think that is actually something Kiba-kun should explain rather than us. After all, this is about his past and I would prefer it if we had his permission before talking about him." She then eyed Ann. "But you should at least know that his backstory isn't a very nice one."

"…Wow… that's freaking dark." Ryuji commented from the side.

Ravel rolled her eyes. "So, what exactly did Gremory-san's Pawn call you all here for anyways?"

TakeABreak

As Issei explained things, everyone made sure to be quiet. Listening was a very important aspect of life and was a gesture that should be respected. The brunette's words continued to flow out of his mouth as he made his sentences simple enough so that it was quick.

"So, you want to cooperate with the Church and you want the Phantom Thieves to help you." Koneko basically summarized up Issei's words.

Futaba curled her lips downwards while making a face. "Hmm, kind of does make sense. From what Morgana and Makoto told us last night about what happened yesterday, it is possible they would rather destroy the swords rather than allow the Fallen Angels to use them."

"Yes, judging by their words, there is the possibility that they would stop at nothing to get the Excaliburs back in the Church's hands." Yusuke said.

"Wait, you guys are saying that the Church wants the swords back to them. But at the same time, you all are agreeing that destroying them is completely fine." Ryuji stated. "How the heck does that make any sense? Well, I kind of do get what you guys are going for and all. But…"

Ravel rolled her eyes. "What they're basically saying is that Yuuto-san is not happy unless he could exact his revenge upon the blades of Excalibur, and the Church wants to take the swords back no matter the costs. The goals may be different, but the result would end up being the same."

Ryuji grunted in acknowledgement. "You didn't have to make it sound like I'm stupid or anything."

"Which is why Issei-kun wants to try going forward with this. But then he has to do it in secret from Gremory-san since she doesn't want him involved with the Church's issues." Haru added on to the Phenex's explanation. "That does explain a bit of this cloak and dagger bravado."

"Though if that's the case, another problem is actually getting those two exorcists to cooperate with us." Ann said as well. "Yeah, I'm on board and all. But I highly doubt they would be as eager to do this as you are though, Issei-kun."

"But that shouldn't stop us from trying though!" Issei replied back before scratching the back of his head. "Look, I know this is sort of crazy. But Kiba's not only a comrade, he is also my friend. Isn't that the same for all of you? Ever since that meeting with those two chicks, he's been looking… conflicted. Like there's something on his mind. He's even had that face on for almost the entire day today. I… just want to be able to help him. Who wouldn't for their friend?"

Everyone simply looked at one another. "Well, that sounds like something I can get behind." Ryuji answered with his hands in his pockets with a small smile. "Count me in. The way you're making things sound with Kiba right now, this Excalibur business must be pretty bad."

"I believe that we all agree with what Ryuji is saying." Makoto nodded her head in acknowledgement. "Well… except for…" She began to trail off after continuing, looking over towards Ravel who was still among them.

Noticing how the pair of red eyes were on her at the moment, the girl had a bit of an awkward look on her face. "We-well…" She cleared her throat. "This is indeed an issue that should be taken up with Gremory-san," Ravel then paused. "But I do believe that I should give you all the benefit of the doubt and allow you do go forth with your actions. It is a bit worrying though."

"What is?"

Hearing a familiar voice, everyone slowly turned over in that direction. As soon as all of their eyes fell upon that one spot, each of them held faces of surprise when they each fell upon Kiba. The male blonde Devil was carrying his bag and looking at them with a surprised look of his own. "Ravel-san said something about being a bit worrying. Is there something I should be aware of?"

"…Huh…" Futaba commented. "Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Once again, extremely convenient." She then looked towards the white-haired female. "Hey, Koneko-chan, do you think that phrase actually does apply to this situation? Or would that only apply to Sirzechs-san?"

"That wording does seem appropriate at the moment." Koneko commented, eyeing her closer friend.

Kiba heard those remarks and blinked. "You guys… were talking about me?" He asked a bit cautiously, now seeming to be a bit careful of everyone that was in front of him. "…What's with those looks?" His question was still met with silence. "Everything's fine… really!"

"We didn't ask how you were feeling." Ryuji stated, folding his arms. "You just said that all on your own."

"…Kiba-kun…" Haru asked slowly, offering him a chair. "Could you please take a seat?"

The swordsman stood in place, almost in a frozen way. His eyes then slowly looked over towards Issei. A small frown soon formed on his lips. "So, you told them about what had happened to me?" Kiba asked, almost in a disapproving way.

"What? No!" Issei asked before defending himself. "It's just that you've always been helping me out with things, so I thought that it was my turn to do the same for you!"

Asia nodded her head. "Issei-san is right, Kiba-san. Not only is it us, but Koneko-san is worried also. Even Makoto-san and Morgana-san. Although… I think everyone else is too as well now that Issei-san's been discussing what he wants to try and do." She faltered for the past sentence before shaking her head. "It has not been long, but it been on your mind and affecting you greatly. Please, let us help you."

As the former-nun stared at Kiba, the Knight was now finding himself in a bit of an awkward position. Eventually, Kiba took the chair Haru had offered and sat down onto it. He took in a deep breath, trying to calm himself as everyone else seemed to move back a bit to give him some air.

"…We were all orphans," Kiba's words were almost a whisper at first, making them all lean in slightly in order to hear him. "We had no homes to call our own. So when the Church offered us a warm place to eat and sleep, we thought it was too good to be true. At the time, we did not know just how barbed that offer was."

The blonde Knight was hunched over, his hands holding each other tightly. The fists shook in anger and agony just in memory of his backstory.

"It was a gradual thing at first. They had no reason to hurry, after all." Kiba's face rose a bit to show that his normally welcome face was lined with disgust. "They took us one by one and told us that we were being adopted. Of course we were happy for them and those that had been chosen promised they would send us letters once they were settled in their new happy homes." The sarcasm in that last quarter of the sentence was obvious. His eyes were sharp he looked at the listeners. "We did not receive any letters for a very long time."

Each and every one of them didn't know where to look. Some kept their gazes staring at him while others couldn't face him. But they all knew that words alone wouldn't be enough to express their sympathy.

"That was what led us to realize something was wrong. After we asked for countless times for any signs of our friends, the Church finally gave in. They gave us letters. Letters that they forged. Letters that were too complicated to be written by any of us." Kiba smiled in any way but good. "In retrospect, it was an easily preventable mistake for them to commit. Most of us were children, but we were not stupid. They underestimated us, but that wasn't a surprise. They never did consider us to be people, or even human. We were just guinea pigs for them to test and experiment on."

A period of silence passed with breathing and people moving by without giving them a second glance.

"They must have found out we knew something was wrong, or perhaps whoever was in charge of the project deemed it had run its course. We were in bed when they first released the gas, and half of us didn't even get the chance to run." The boy grit his teeth as Haru placed a consoling hand on his shoulder. "Those were the painless deaths. The ones who got it easy. They were lucky in that regard. It must have been almost soothing to fall asleep and never wake. The Church made sure that none of us would be able to see the outside world as they would just continue to put us down.

Kiba looked up around at their settings.

"I think I managed to be closest to the exit since so many of the Church members were on me in seconds. But just as their hands were on me, everyone else tore those limbs off of me. They begged me to never look back and just to keep running, crying in agony for me to live. So that's what I did. I ran. I kept on running, never looking back. But I died. Then I came back to live."

The Devil closed his eyes and a pained smile took over his face.

"That's not the worse part though. The worst part was knowing that all those people, all my friends, died for nothing. I learned later that the entire project was so that the Church could create wielders of the Excaliburs. It had failed. Didn't produce a single thing. It would be easier if they did. If they even managed to create a single artificial wielder, it would be easier for me to accept their deaths. At least then, it would have meant something. Their sacrifices would have had a purpose, even if it was as small as creating holy sword users for an institution full of them. But they failed instead, and now I'm haunted with the knowledge that the people I know and loved died for absolutely nothing."

He opened his eyes to see his audience now looking back at him in the expected silence that he had constantly broken himself for the past few minutes. Issei, Koneko, and Asia all gave him sad looks. So did most of the Phantom Thieves. "Let me guess." Kiba stared, eyeing the other teenagers from Tokyo. "You're all going to say that I shouldn't keep on hating and just let it go."

"Hell no." Ryuji and Ann said in perfect sync.

"Of course not." Yusuke added.

"Not really." Makoto answered.

"Nah." Futaba drawled out.

"Why would we say that?" Haru asked.

Not a single Devil expected the answer as, once more, surprise took over their faces. "…Explain?" Ravel asked since Kiba didn't.

"Yeah, people constantly say that hatred is bad. But that doesn't exactly mean that it's the worst thing." Ryuji stated.

"It might just be me, but each of us held at least onto a bit of hatred and disgust in order to awaken our Personas at first." Ann threw in.

"It was one of the feelings inside that helped drive us forward to do what we did." Yusuke said.

"They say that hatred is foolish." Makoto replied. "But what's wrong with that?"

Futaba licked her lips after licked some of Koneko's parfait off of her fingers. "We didn't let go of that feeling, but we didn't allow it to just change our choices."

"It's okay to be angry." Haru followed up. "Because in a way… it's a superpower… a strength one can have. Anger can make you faster, cleverer, and stronger. Looking back and feeling that fire inside you… it's okay. Because if you're a good person, and strong, hatred does not have to be bad."

Kiba just sat in thought, registering each and every word that they all had spoken of. He just stared for a while, but then eventually shook his head. "You all sound a lot wiser than you all should for your ages." He let out a huff of amusement. "Guess that's what happens when you kill a god." Eyeing Issei, he rolled his neck. "So, what exactly were you guys going on about?"

TakeABreak

Most of Rias' Peerage, Ravel, and most of the Phantom Thieves couldn't exactly believe their eyes.

At first it was only Asia, Issei, Koneko, and Kiba. It was agreed for their plan to find the exorcists next. Splitting up was a bit of a logical idea since they would be able to cover more ground to search for them around the town. It only took the Devils less than half-an-hour, but then they contacted everyone to come where they were staring at the females that held their meeting with Rias.

"O'blessings on the wandering sheep before us." Xenovia chanted, her eyes hidden under her bangs and hood yet still had her hands raised.

"We are pitiful compared to you, O'Lord." Irina continued, holding out a small bowl. The two would have sounded better if they seemed genuine rather than it almost seeming like they were reading their words. "Have mercy upon us…"

"So… these are the two exorcists that we have been discussing about?" Yusuke asked, his arms folded while attempting to make himself comfortable while standing. "I actually recognize them."

Ryuji was the first to react as he furrowed his eyebrows and gave Yusuke a weird look. "Wait, what?"

"Remember how I arrived back home with a rather large sum of money?" The blue-haired male asked before gesturing to the pair that were still on the streets. "That was them paying a rather enormous sum for each and every Archangel drawing I had painted."

"…Geez, a bit of an over-the-top reaction if I say so myself." Ryuji commented, looking back to the exorcists. "You'd think that the Church would at least give them some cash to keep them fed and stuff." He then was silent for about for a second. "Wait, doesn't that mean they're begging in the middle of the streets right now because of you?!"

"In my defense," Yusuke brushed a bit of his hair back. "The orange-haired female paid me and ran off eagerly before I could correct her."

"…And you didn't go after her because?" Ryuji had to ask, training off and waiting for Yusuke's reason.

"It was late, and I was hungry."

"…You've got to be joking." The male blonde deadpanned.

TakeABreak

Akira was not sure if he should put any thought into the scene that was happening before him.

"Mmm… so delicious, don't you agree?!"

"Oh, yes!"

"This is Heaven!"

"…Here's your hamburger steak." Akira announced, setting the dish down onto the table. Just watched Xenovia and Irina still devour the food as if their lives depended on it, the black-haired male couldn't help but just look over at his friends and acquaintances who all gave him mixed reactions. In return, he had his lips curled down but kept his eyes neutral before walking off.

As the exorcists still ate, Futaba couldn't help but whistle. "Wow." She commented. "I've only seen this amount eaten when Koneko tried out the Catastrophic Curry Challenge." She then looked up in this with her pursed lips. "Wait, why didn't we just do that? I think it would have actually been cheaper if we did that twice rather than pay for all of this even if they didn't finish."

"…I'm honestly shocked that anyone could eat this amount." Ravel added, looking at bit disturbed at all of the dirty dishes spread out all around the table.

"I guess they were really hungry." Asia said.

"You'd be surprised how much Akira-kun can eat." Haru mused towards Ravel with a small smile. "He managed to complete all of the levels of the Big Bang Burger Challenge and even went back a few times to do it for fun."

"Isn't there a time limit for that as well?" Ann asked. "Watching these two eat is intense but having to do it within a number of minutes is just mind-blowing."

A couple more minutes passed before Xenovia slowly put down her plate. "…What just happened?" She asked herself slowly, as if realizing what she had been doing for the past few minutes. "Even if this will build our faith, the Devils saving us must be the end of days."

"We've practically sold ourselves to the Devils!" Irina said in a rather dramatic way, putting her hands together in a prayer. "How will we ever be forgiven?"

Makoto just stared at them blankly and blinked. "…I'm not a Devil." She pointed out before gesturing to her friends from Tokyo. "Nor are they. That does not sound like some very nice thanks either for being the one to buy you all of this food." She ended with a bit of a stern frown.

Irina seemed to not hear Makoto though. While Xenovia was chugging a glass of water, the other exorcists began to pray. "Lord, please have mercy on these kind souls even if they are Devils and Devil-worshippers."

"Oi, seriously?" Ryuji questioned with a raised eyebrow. He then noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Looking over, he was a taken aback a bit. "Oh shit, you guys okay?" He asked as all of the Devils as they were clutching their heads under agony.

"You try being a Devil while someone is praying to God for you!" Ravel hissed out, gritting her teeth under what seemed to be a bit of intense pain.

"Oh, right!" Irina quickly apologized. "I'm sorry. It's kind of a habit."

Slamming her glass softly on the table, Xenovia managed to gain all of the attention as she glared under her hood. Immediately, the atmosphere around them was serious and just a bit tense. "Well, what's the deal?" She asked. "What did you want to talk to us about?" The look in her eyes demanded the truth immediately.

"We want to help you destroy Excalbiur." Issei answered for everyone.

"…What?" The bleu-haired female asked.

Makoto looked over towards Issei for a second. "What Issei-kun is trying to say is that due to your rather tough conditions as only a two-person party, we are offering a hand to aid you. However, in return, we are allowed to destroy at least one of the seven swords due to… circumstances." She briefly eyed Kiba.

Xenovia saw this and also looked at the male-blonde Devil. "I see…" She closed her eyes and began to think. It was quiet for a moment before opening them. "I understand your intentions. I wouldn't mind letting you all take care of one sword."

Irina didn't exactly seem pleased with her partner's decision. "Wait a minute, Xenovia!"

However, Xenovia looked towards the girl evenly. "You know who the other side has." She explained herself. "Kokabiel is dangerous. Honestly, it will be impossible for us to recover all three swords on our own."

"Yeah, I get that." Irina agreed just by a bit. "But they're, like, Devils."

"If that is the case," Kiba spoke up briskly. "Then we will just destroy all of them with or without your help."

"…No, we accept your offer." Xenovia stated, still looking at Irina. "There is a thirty-percent chance of returning home if we work alone."

"Yeah, but we knew what kind of risks we were taking when we first got here." Irina reasoned back. "This isn't anything new, Xenovia!"

"If that's the case," Makoto interfered with their small conversation. "Then what if they were to stay to the sides and allow us to aid you?" She gestured with her head around her. "A majority of us are human after all."

Xenovia stared. "You said that you were part of an organization that was neutral, mainly concerned for humanity, correct?" She asked getting a nod from the female brunette. "No, there is no need for the Devils to stay to the side. The larger our group, the larger our success rate." Her tone made it sound like that was what they were going with, and she was not going to take no for an answer.

Irina opened her mouth, wanting to say something. But then she decided to stay quiet, looking away with a defeated sigh.

Ryuji meanwhile looked over towards Ravel. "So… you really sure you still want in for this?"

The Phenex fiddled with her hair. "It's as that exorcist said, your success rate increases as the group does as well." She responded. "I am still hesitant to take part, but I trust that you all can handle this situation fine. I'll just be there to make things better if I can."

"Awesome!" Futaba cheered, almost wrapping her arm around Ravel if the blonde didn't dodge and lean closer to Ryuji with a disturbed look directed towards the glasses-wearing female.

"Anyways," Xenovia got everyone back on track. "What is the next step you have planned out?"

"Actually," Makoto replied. "I'm not the leader of our group."

Xenovia blinked. "Oh? You made it seem like you were." She responded. "So where is this leader of yours then? We need to complete our mission as soon as possible."

"He's right behind you two." Makoto answered immediately.

Alarmed, Irina and Xenovia snapped their heads around and saw Akira sitting in the booth right behind them. The black-haired male was just staring back at them while holding a small cup of soda and his arm resting on the top of his seat. Morgana was also staring at them, his head poking out of Akira's bag as usual.

"How's it hanging?" Akira greeted with a nod of his head while raising his glass before taking a sip without looking away.

"…How long has he…?" Irina trailed off.

"About a few seconds after you both finished eating." Makoto supplied.

Sorry that this took a while. I just finished my finals for the second term. And where I go… we don't get a reading break so it's straight into the third semester immediately! So yeah, my attention was taken up a lot these past couple of weeks. And now… it still may be completely filled up but at least it's not that crazy.

So yeah, they are going to get back the Excaliburs next chapter. Oh boy, how am I going to botch this part?

No flames please.