How It Could Have Been

by NotNow25

In a time when even the questions were lost, what can a Devil child, who seems to be a bit more than the rest of his people, do? He may not know of it just yet. Neither do his family or race. And neither do the Dragons know. But he is the answer nobody thought to ask for. For short, a Riser who's motto is: Be polite to girls. Do not make girls sad. Absolutely do not make girls cry.

1. Chapter 1: A grand (?) first impression

Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. ANYTHING. DxD related. The cover is not mine also.

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A/N: Greetings! I've been trying to decide for a while now whether to try my hand at writing a fanfic or not. This is the result.

I'm not a native English speaker and the only practice I get is reading novels or fanfiction or whatever catches my fancy. So you'll have to forgive me since grammar and phrasing mistakes are bound to appear (some other kinds as well, probably). I would be grateful if you would be kind enough to point them out to me. I want to improve as well after all.

I'm open to constructive criticism, but please don't start roasting me for not satisfying your preferences.

More ramble at the end!

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How It Could Have Been

Chapter 1: A grand (?) first impression

---

Crimson.

Yes. Crimson was the only way to describe her after she had first entered his eyes. A luxurious mane of crimson hair almost as long as she was tall, reaching all the way dawn to the back of her knees. Two long locks of hair framing her face and resting on her chest. Loose bangs covering her forehead, allowing just a hint of the girl's eyebrows to be seen. Another lock of hair sticking out from her head, occasionally twitching or moving from right to left. Or the other way.

Okay. That was kind of weird.

'Do girls come with antennas nowadays?' He would ask Yubelluna later.

Putting his weird potential discovery aside for now, he went back to studying the girl.

She was the same height as him. About four and a half feet tall. Was she tall for a ten year old girl or was he short for a ten year old boy? He's heard from his mother that girls grow quicker than boys, so it didn't really concern him for now. He would outgrow her eventually. Probably. Hopefully.

A heart shaped face, her rosy cheeks not quite ridden of baby fat yet. A cute little nose. Slightly upturned, adding a hint of playfulness to her lovely visage.

Big baby blue eyes shining with innocence. For some reason narrowed in … anger? Did he do something wrong?

Full pink lips, twisted into a small scowl. How cute. Seriously now … Had he done something wrong?

Had she been growling a little, he would have thought a little lioness was out to get him. But growling would have been unbecoming of a lady of her stature so that wasn't possible.

Now that he thought about it, even her outright show of hostility (?) should not have been possible in this kind of setting, given her education.

Should he introduce her to his etiquette teachers? After all, it wasn't appropriate for his betrothed to be so belligerent towards him, her fiancé. Especially during their first meeting. Could it be that she …

Twack.

!

A loud smack to the back of his head brought him out of his reverie and almost made him stumble.

It also caught his fiancé slightly off guard, her previous frowning face slowly turning into a snicker. By the way her lips kept twitching upwards, she was barely restraining herself from falling into laughter. Her only restraint being her little violet eyed, black ponytailed companion tugging at the hem of her pink, frilly princess dress. Though she was quite failing at keeping her amusement from showing as well.

"Yubelluna?!" the boy shrieked, his voice climbing more than a few octaves. "What's going on?! Why did you hit me!"

"Young Master." The purple haired and eyed teenage girl wearing a red and black long sleeved french maid outfit began dully, "Please excuse my rudeness, but I was acting upon Madam's orders."

"Mum's?! Why would mother order you to smack me?! You are my Queen! The only orders you should listen to are the ones I give you!"

"Young Master," the maid continued undisturbed by her King's little tantrum, "Could it be that you have forgotten the thing the Madam has been stressing you over since last week? If so, I have to inform you, Young Master, that the Madam will be sorely disappointed in you when she will hear about it. Please do not make your Mother sad."

"Of course I have not forgotten! I'm not that foolish!" the boy retorted as if stepped on the tail.

"Be polite to girls. Do not make girls sad. Absolutely do not make girls cry," he declared proudly, puffing his chest more than a bit. He seemed to have forgotten instead the fact that his family descended from the noble Phoenixes and not from peacocks.

"You have broken the first two rules Young Master," the maid answered critically. "As such, I am under orders to 'smack some sense' into you."

"I have broken no rules!"

"If so, Young Master, pray tell me, what have you been doing since a few minutes ago," the maid pressed on, trying to keep up her stern act but not quite making it, judging by the way the corners of her full pink lips tried to lift themselves up.

'What to do! How can my Young Master be so cute even when acting so foolish!This level of cuteness is just not fair!'

"Huh?" the boy replied eloquently. "What do you mean? Obviously, I have introduced myself to my future wife and her Queen."

"Young Master," the capable (?) maid cum Queen resumed after exhaling a fed up sigh.

"Entering the room pompously, lifting your nose high in the air and then saying arrogantly, 'You have done well to show your face here, fiancée of mine. I see that you and your little pet know how to respect your betters. It seems that you are barely qualified to be taken in as the wife of the great Riser of the mighty and noble pure-blooded Devil clan of Phenex. Since you are such a good girl, I will reluctantly accept that pet of yours as a mistress as well. Be grateful.', is not how you introduce yourself."

"In fact, you have insulted Young Lady Rias and her Queen, Miss Akeno here, outrageously enough for the Gremory clan to be entitled to demand a Rating Game against the Young Master at the very least or declare blood feud with the Phenex clan if they feel more vengeful," the maid admonished her young charge calmly.

"Blood feud?!" the now Riser Phenex named young boy shrieked with all the elegance of a pig at the death's door. "But! But! Why?! Why would they declare a blood feud? All I did was imitate the Young Master from 'The pompous Prince'! The book my Father gave me! He guaranteed me that if I take after the prince from the book, I'll make a grand first impression!" Riser tried to explain himself. And judging by the frantic look on his face and his wildly gesticulating arms, he really thought he was doing the right thing.

"Young Master Riser," the maid, who now was barely restraining herself from breaking into a fit of laughter, proceeded to solve his misunderstanding. "It is true that the Master said that by imitating that book one would make a grand first impression. But he never said it would be a positive one. The Master was merely giving you an example of what to not, under any circumstances, do. You have basically insulted the Gremory clan horribly enough for them to want your blood. Please redeem yourself until it is too late," she admonished the boy with slight stern smile.

"W-What have I done … " the boy blushed in shame, his face now a match with his fiancée's crimson hair, his eyes leaking the horror taking control of his mind. "Mother and Father are going to be really disappointed … And even worse … I insulted my fiancée and her family …!" he went on in a whisper.

"Fu, fufufu!"

"Heh, hehe, heehee!"

While Riser was sinking deeper and deeper in despair and risking adding a new first place in his Black History list, girlish giggles erupted from behind him.

He was so focused on his monumental mistake that he forgot all about the two little girls currently keeping him and his maid company.

He swiveld his head around so hard that hadn't it been for his clan's famous regenerative ability, he was sure he would have twisted his neck. Badly.

Seeing the boy finally realize he wasn't the only one around except his maid and then catching a look at his ruddy cheeks and wide open eyes, was just too much for the two little girls. Giggles turned into full blown laughter.

"Hahahaha haha hahihi hahaha!"

"Hahaha fufuf hahahi!"

Yes, two very unladylike, undignified and gleefully laughing little girls. He wasn't quite sure about it, but he had the feeling some steam started drifting above his head. Once again, he was grateful the Phenexes were descendants of the sacred (?) Phoenix. Otherwise, he would have passed out from all the heat he was feeling. Of that, he was supremely certain.

'Don't mind it, Riser', he started thinking in the mush he once called his mind, 'you are the one who hurt them, even though you didn't mean it. If laughing at your own expense can make them abate a little of their ire or at least make them feel a little better, what's a little blow to your pride. Ok, a big blow to your pride.

'But you are a man! You are one of the Phenex clan's proud members! You are the son of Rival and Retanya Phenex! You are the little brother of the Hell renowned Ruval and Reval Phenex! Your elder brothers! You are the big brother of Ravel Phenex! The cutest little sister ever! I'll be a man and swallow my pride this time around! After all, I'm the one who is in the wrong.

'And of course ... Damn! Why do I have to realize once again that I'm the only sibling without a matching name! Why in a moment like this! I do not have a complex about my name!

'No, enough distractions! I have to apologize!'

He was having a motivational inner speech. He was trying the get over his utter embarrassment and mortification born from his foolishness. He was trying to compose himself in order to deliver his heartfelt apologies. He was preparing himself to beg for forgiveness, to salvage what little left remained of his first meeting with his fiancée. He wanted to keep his fiancée! He didn't want to drag his family's name down! He didn't want to disappoint those dear to him!

And so focused was Riser on his mental little speech and desire to mend all that he had unknowingly destroyed, that he was the only one in the room who didn't notice.

He was de only one who didn't notice his ruddy cheeks starting to bulge, starting to turn into a pout.

He was the only one who didn't notice his lower lip beginning to quiver.

He was the only one who didn't notice tears appearing in the corners of his big, sky blue eyes.

He was the only one who didn't notice his shapely golden eyebrows, the same color as his short messy hair, scrunching into a tight frown.

He was the only one who didn't notice the almost physical aura of determination he was giving off.

Of course, he was the only one. The other occupants of the room on the other side ...

'Adorable ...'

That was the only thought running through their minds.

'Kyaah! Another one of Young Master's specials! Camera! The camera! Where did I put the camera?! This moment has to be immortalized for the sake of posterity! I have to add it to my collection! This could be of use for trading with Madam or Young Mistress Ravel! A treasure! A treasure I say!'

One wildly twitching in place maid though so, her face straining to keep her professional facade, beads of sweat starting to run down her forehead from the exertion.

'So adorable! How could this be?! He can even rival Akeno's mischievous cuteness!'

One certain young heiress of the Gremory clan getting captivated by the loveliness of the boy she was strangling in her mind just moments prior.

'Fu fufufu ... Why do I suddenly feel like bullying Riser-sama would be a most delightful pastime?'

One certain stylish black ponytail feeling the awakening of a most sinful pleasure.

'Hmm ... 93 ... No, 94 points ... Hmph! You may have ranked quite high, but you'll never reach the threshold of Rias-tan's cuteness scale! Don't think you've won yet!'

One Embodiment of Destruction, siscon Satan hiding in the shadows.

"I am truly sorry!"

One perfect ninety degree bow and an earnest shout awoke every single musing person from the room.

The boy was bowing in a way no pure-blooded devil would ever bow, regardless of his culpability. The pride of a Devil was just that high.

'Had someone told me this morning the infamously arrogant Fried Chicken would be sincerely bowing before me, I would have gone back to sleep after sneering in their face.'

One bewildered Rias mused.

---

"Why do I have to marry that dastardly, pretentious prick!"

Rias Gremory, heiress of the Gremory clan, one of the remaining pure-blooded Devil clans of the 72 pillars, little sister of the strongest Satan, was stomping on the hallways of the Gremory mansion, heading to the meeting planned to introduce herself to her arranged fiancé.

"How could Mother and Father agree to such folly! Have they never heard of his reputation?! Have they never met him?! There is not a single good thing about him! He's arrogant and spoiled and selfish and ... and ... he's a roasted turkey!"

"You are right, Rias-sama."

"Have Mother and Father stopped loving me?! Do they not want their daughter anymore!?" the little crimson fireball went on with her tirade, a massive scowl on her adorable pudgy face.

"No, Rias-sama," her little tail answered with utmost conviction and then gave her honest opinion, "you are the reason they wake up in the morning."

"And Onii-sama," Rias almost growled, "he's the strongest Satan, the new Lucifer! Dissolving a little betrothal contract should be nothing for him!"

"It is precisely because Sirzechs-sama is the Lucifer that he cannot do such a thing," Akeno quipped in from her place one step behind Rias and to her right. "He has sworn an oath of impartiality. He cannot take any overt action."

"And for Satan's sake, who sets up arranged marriages this days! It's the age of Internet, damnit!" the girl snapped while kicking a small table which had the misfortune of appearing her way.

"From the discussions I have heard around the mansion," the little Queen began, "the contract had been set up way before you and Riser-sama were born. As a proof of friendship and loyalty between Lord Gremory and Lord Phenex.

"And if I am not mistaken, the betrothal arrangement doesn't clearly specify that Rias-sama has to marry Riser-sama. It only states the fact that a child of Lord Gremory has to marry a similarly aged child of Lord Phenex." Akeno paused and then added with a mischievous giggle, " Theoretically, you could marry Ravel-sama as she is only a year younger than you."

"I know," Rias deflated with a mighty sigh, while also not forgetting to give her Queen a deadpan stare for her suggestion of marring Riser's younger sister. "I know, Akeno. It's just ... I just ... I don't know what to do anymore. I've always hopped that one day I would meet my special one. And then we'll fall in love and marry and have kids ... And now, because of some roasted peacock who jumped out of some bonfire, I have lost this chance forever."

"Ara, ara," Akeno let out her surprise. "I didn't know my King had been harboring such a romantic dream. But I should not be so astounded at hearing that," she drawled out the words, her eyes narrowing in a playful manner and lips tugging upwards, a mischievous smirk finally appeared on her lovely face. "After all, this comes from the girl who hides a mountain of endearing plushies in her closet and, more importantly," Akeno, now sporting a grin spreading from ear to ear, finally took out the heavy artillery, "I seem to have witnessed a certain red haired little cutie ransacking her mother's wardrobe and even trying on a couple of her more beautiful dresses."

"That only happened once!" Rias flushed, her eyes opening wide at the realization that her little sinful secret was not so secret anymore. "And what's wrong about liking cute things!? I'm not the only one with plushies! You have quite a few of them as well!"

Now it was Akeno's turn to feel her cheeks turn ruddy. She may have some little cuties, but that wasn't supposed to be a know fact. It was, after all, a bit embarrassing for a girl so big such as herself to be still be playing with plushies. Not that she would admit it though.

Seeing each other's blushing faces and shifty eyes, the two little girls finally couldn't hold it anymore and so, they both erupted in bright and mirthful laughter.

After a couple of minutes of merry sniggering, Rias finally said while wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes, "Thank you, Akeno. I needed that."

"Ara, whatever do you mean", Akeno replied while fixing up the wrinkles on her King's princess dress. "I seem to not have caught the meaning of your words."

While bickering and bonding with each other, the two girls arrived to the room reserved for their meeting, one of the numerous drawing rooms haused by the gargantuan mansion. One of the fancier ones. Plush sofas, marbled coffee tables, expensive paintings, a huge black stone fireplace and even a pool table. Of course, because they were the Gremory, everything was tasteful and classy, without being gaudy or ostentatious. If you have to flaunt your riches, you have to to it without coming off as some nouveau riche after all.

They were the first the come.

While sitting themselves on a sofa facing the door, Rias lastly let out one of her worries under the form of a promise.

"Akeno," she began slowly, trying to infuse every bit of the determination she was burning with into her words, her blue eyes locking firmly onto her Queen's puzzled violet ones, "no matter what happens to me in the future, I swear that as your King and as your friend, I will definitely protect you. No matter what."

Hearing the girl's soulful promise, Akeno's face took on a bright, lovely smile, her eyes tearing a bit. Suddenly, she looped her arms around her King's shoulders and drew her into a crushing embrace.

"And I, as your Queen and your friend, I swear to you my King, that I will forever be by your side, never leaving you alone and always being the last bulwark to protect you. No matter what."

The girls kept the embrace going for a few more moments, slowly pushing each other at arm's length, their eyes locked into each other's, a small, content smile on each face.

"We'll get through this together, my Queen."

"Always, my King."

And that was the moment the double door was kicked open, prompting them to get up with a startle.

A blond, almost golden haired, blue eyed boy entered the room haughtily. A beautiful older girl trailing after him, an apologetic smile adorning her face.

The boy, dressed into dark grey dress pants and shoes, a crimson button up shirt hugging his upper body with the last two upper buttons left open and the cuffs rolled up, regarded the two startled girls with a lopside smirk and then proclaimed conceitedly,

"You have done well to show your face here, fiancée of mine. I see that you and your little pet know how to respect your betters. It seems that you are barely qualified to be taken in as the wife of the great Riser of the mighty and noble pure-blooded Devil clan of Phenex. Since you are such a good girl, I will reluctantly accept that pet of yours as a mistress as well. Be grateful."

Hearing the little shit's blasphemous words, something seemed to snap in Rias' mind, her face contorting into a expression of utmost fury.

'I'm gonna kill him,' was all that her mind could process.

---

"I am truly sorry!"

Yes. Arms molded by his body, body bent in a perfectly 90 degrees angle and eyes boring directly into the carpet by his feet.

Yes. Even after her little mental escapade concerning this morning's events leading up to the sight before them, everything was still real.

The boy. Yes. The boy. Because the 'little shit' appellation just didn't seem to fit anymore, was still bowing to them.

That was strange. That was definitely strange. His reputation in Hell was well known after all.

According to her sources — the maids in the mansion — Riser wouldn't admit his mistakes even to his parents, not to mention his fiancée or even more so, someone who wasn't a pure-blooded Devil, such as her Queen. The boy was a blood supremacist judging by the rumors.

But that could wait. Now wasn't the time for her to analyze the discrepancies between Riser's current behavior and the rumors about him. Right now she had to deal with the situations in front of her.

"You have insulted me, Rias Gremory, current heiress of the Gremory clan," said the girl, banishing any last stray unrelated though from her mind. Narrowing her eyes and adopting a stern, almost regal visage, she began anew, "You have insulted my beloved Queen, Akeno Himejima. And you have insulted my clan. Those insults. They were not just mere insults."

She stopped once again, taking a deep breath. Even thinking about the boy's slanderous remarks had her almost spitting fire from her eyes. Fixing the still bowing boy with her cold gaze she almost screeched her next words.

"How dare you think of us as being beneath you! How dare you call my precious Akeno a pet!?"

The girl practically spat out the last word.

"How dare you slight those dear to me!? And look at me when I'm talking to you!" Rias shouted, raising abruptly to her feet.

Hearing the resentment and hurt in his fiancée's cracking voice, Riser started shivering a little. Sucking in a deep breath, he steeled himself and then slowly commenced to straighten his back.

When he finally stood to his full height once again, he looked straight into the raging girl's eyes, his own eyes full of remorse and anger. Anger directed not towards the red haired girl. Nor towards her Queen. Anger directed at himself. For hurting her. For hurting them. For being so foolish as to reenact a scene from a stupid book just to try to mask his nervousness at meeting his wife-to-be for the first time.

He held her gaze for a few more moments and then started speaking. His voice cracking from anxiety but nonetheless trying to project as much sincerity and heartfelt contrition as humanly possible.

"I'm sorry. It was truly wrong for me to say something like that ... And I really regret it. And I'm not trying to make excuses, but I will let you know."

Having been fixed by his stare, Rias gulped audibly. That stare was just too intense. Any rebuffs she would have wanted to lash out were stifled in the cradle. Right now she had to give it her all just to not break the contact with his gaze.

"I will let you know that I did not, not even for a single moment, mean to insult you and your clan. Or Akeno," he added, his eyes leaving Rias' for a second, just for them to settle on the nervously squirming young Queen.

"I've been expecting this day for a long time now," he admitted, surprising both girls. "But when I entered this room and met your eyes, I started panicking. And then did something stupid. Very, very stupid. My mind froze for a second and then, for some reason, the first thing that flashed through my head was that blasted stupid book. And then I blurted out whatever came first, not even realizing what I was doing," he stopped for a second, wetting his lips and fighting down a raising blush born from the admission.

"Heck," he confessed with a self deprecating smile, "I was so out of it that I didn't even realize what I had done until Yubelluna started to chastise me," Riser glanced towards his Queen, a small, grateful smile worming it's way on his face.

"I am sorry. And I won't ask you girls for forgiveness. But if there is a way to make up for my wrongdoings, please let me know," the boy ended his earnest confession.

The room fell into silence for a while. Rias and Akeno were both a little lost in though, exchanging short glances from time to time, not knowing exactly how to react to the boy's sincere words.

And there was one certain maid about to break her professional countenance. Yubelluna was squirming in place, trying really hard not to dash at her Young Master and crush him to her chest. That honest and sincere apology was just to much for her. The only thing she wanted to do right now was to praise him to the moon and back for a job really well done.

Of course, she selectively forgot about the reason why Riser had to give an apology in the first place. After all, cuteness is justice!

After a few more moments of silent conversation through gaze exchange, Rias and Akeno seemed to have come to some kind of temporary agreement.

"D-do you think that explanation is enough for us to believe you?" asked Rias after clearing her throat with a small cough. "You could be lying your way out after all. How do you expect us to believe you just like that?"

Seeing his heartfelt apology being dissed made Riser a little sad, but he knew that she had every reason not to believe him. So he gritted his teeth and made up his mind to go with the only sure fire way of showing them he was telling the truth he knew about.

"There is a way I can demonstrate I was telling the truth," the young Phenex said out aloud. "It's a method our people and the others of the Three Factions and the rest of the supernatural world have been using for eons in order to assure people of their sincerity. It is used during trials to force the convicts give credence to their words if they plead not guilty or when trying to make important business deals or signing treaties," he finished, secretly a little proud of his display of knowledge.

"Oh? And what way is tha-"

"You mustn't Young Master! It's dangerous!" Yubelluna yelled, interrupting Rias and making her jump in fright a little. Placing her hands on his shoulders and then commencing to shake him hard enough as if trying to fling away his thought of doing as he proposed, she shouted again with teary eyes.

"Your Lord Father was especially serious when he told you not to use this method unless strictly necessary! You mustn't!"

"C-calm down, Yubelluna!" Riser almost shrieked, his eyes going spinney, breakfast rolling in his stomach. "You are embarrassing us!"

Hearing her Lord's undignified yelps managed to somewhat snap the frantic maid out of her rampage. Then, she gingerly released him from her clutches and gave him a deep bow, arms folded on her lower belly.

"l-l-I apologize! My King!" she stuttered. "But! But! It's dange-!"

"Calm down, Yubelluna," her King interrupted his Queen in a calm voice, his face going a little red from trying hard not to burp. He's had enough shame for a day.

"It is only dangerous if you lie," he continued. "I am telling the truth, so there is no problem. And I want them to know that I would never hurt them knowingly," the boy finished, his conviction clearly herd in his voice. "You will stand back now, my Queen."

Not quite appeased yet, but getting the note of finality from her Young Master's voice, Yubelluna backed out with a resigned little sigh.

"Alright, my King. But please be careful."

"Don't worry," Riser beamed her a winning smile, making her redden a little. Then turning back to the slightly amused and more than a little confused little girls, who were watching their exchange with warm eyes, he said out loud.

"I apologize for our unseemly charade. I will go ahead and fulfill my promise now, if you don't have something to add."

"No, go on," Rias gave him the go ahead after sending a questioning glance to Akeno, who just shook her head. Now both of them were pretty curios about what was to come.

"Alright then. Here I go," Riser took a very deep breath and then exhaled slowly, going over how to formulate his oath clearly.

"I, Riser, third son of the of Rival and Retanya Phenex, swear on my demonic power and on my life. Since the moment I entered this room and up until now, I've had no intention of knowingly insulting my fiancée, Rias Gremory or anyone of her clan. Neither have I had any intention of slighting her Queen, Akeno Himejima. So mote it be."

With his last words, a blazing red aura of demonic power came into existence and surrounded Riser. And then if was gone just as fast as it appeared.

Patting himself all over his body to look for any changes, and then felling his demonic power, Riser finally gave a sigh of relief and sloped his shoulders, the tension leaving his small frame. One anxious maid acting much the same behind him.

"See? I was telling the truth!" proclaimed Riser happily. "Now you know I would never be such a jerk to you girls!"

"What?" asked Rias with a face full of confusion, her ahoge almost turning into a question mark. "I've seen you make an oath and then give off some red sparkle. But how is that supposed to prove you were not lying? I have to confess that you lost me."

"What!? But! No! This was a magic-"

"Riser-kun is truly telling the truth, Rias," came a slightly amused voice from their side. "That was a magical oath and judging by the results, your little fiancé was not affected by it. And that means he's not lying."

With a start, all the occupants of the room turned towards the sudden intruder. And what greeted them left the kids baffled.

A tall handsome young man was leisurely reclining in one of the previously empty sofas. He appeared to be in his early twenties, his blood crimson hair cascading over his shoulders, bluish-green eyes watching joyously over them. He looked just like an older, male version of Rias.

"Onii-sama!? How come?!"

"Sirzechs-sama!?"

"Lucifer-sama!?"

"Maou Lucifer!? What are you doing here?!"

"What can I say. I have to confess being a little worried about my little sister, so I couldn't resist taking a peek," the young man, the Maou Sirzechs Lucifer answered them with a warm lopsided little smirk, apparently having fun knowing he managed to make them loose their composure.

"Onii-sama!" shouted Rias, her cheeks bulging cutely. "I can take care of myself well enough! There's no need for you to concern yourself with my affairs. I'm a big girl now!"

"You'll always be my little sister, no matter how 'big' you get," retorted Sirzechs, his eyes radiating love and petting. "And I will always worry about you. After all, that's my job as a qualified elder brother," he ended with a smile, eyebrows wiggling mischievously.

Rias tried to counter her brother's words, but in the end gave up and turned away from him with a loud huff, arm crossing over her chest. In her mind, she was making her displeasure known to world. It was a pity that her flushed face, happy little smile and sligh humming gave away her true feelings. Yes. Today, Rias Gremory was a lovely tsundere as well.

"A-ahem!" The happily embarrassed little girl cleared her through in a obliviously fake manner. "So ... You ware saying something about magical oaths, right? Onii-sama."

Rias awkwardly changed the subject, the warm gazes watching over her making the girl fidget uncomfortably. She just wanted to lessen the attention she was getting, hopping to get her bearings back while the others were focusing on her question.

"Yes. Magical oaths," Sirzechs knowingly took her lousy bait. He's gotten his daily dose of little sister cuteness anyway. He was a happy siscon today as well. "In short, you give an oath and if you break it your own magic imposes the sanctions. There's no way around it."

"Does that mean that, had Riser been lying ... He would have lost his demonic power and life?!" Rias deduced smartly, her eyes widening in horror. She couldn't help sprinting to Riser and then she started to pet him all over his body, carefully checking for any injury.

"Hey?! What are you doing?!" yelped the boy and then tried to get away from the offending little hands. "It tickles! Let go of me, Rias!"

"Stand still and let me check if you're okay, you big idiot!"

"Wha-?! Idiot?! Who are you calling an idiot! I'm no idiot!" riposted Riser, trying to keep his honor.

"Of course you're an idiot! If you weren't, you wouldn't have happily endangered your life for no reason of all!"

The boy tried to defend himself once again but seeing the girl's teary eyes and worried face, swallowed his protest.

"I'm sorry," Riser said softly, catching one her hands in his own and giving it a squeeze. "But I wanted you to believe me," he continued gazing tenderly into her puffy eyes.

"Who puts his life on the line just to try and make a pair of girls believe he was not lying about something. And without being forced at that," the girl gave him a wan smile, trying not to snuffle too loudly. She had to maintain her image as a lady after all. Even if it was a moot point by now.

"Ok," Riser gave in, sighing a little. "I'll admit being a little reckless by trusting my life to the oath. But I've hurt you. So I thought it would be meaningless to just take a safe oath. You are important to me. I had to add something just as precious to the stake."

'Precious ... Is he perhaps implying what I think he is?' Rias though, her face reddening in an instant and her eyes widening in surprise.

"So ... I'm sorry for worrying you. But I don't regret what I've done. I'm a man after all," said Riser, puffing his chest in a manly (?) way.

'He's being adorable once again ... Seriously, this shouldn't be legal ...' Rias squeezed the hand holding her own, a beautiful smile blooming on her face. 'He's not a bad guy in the end.'

"So. For how much longer do you intend to flirt with my little sister, " a cold voice rasped out behind them, startling the couple out of their own little world. "And take your filthy paw of her hand, you little bastard!" Sirzechs roared, staring daggers at his sister's fiancé.

"We weren't flirting!" Rias and Riser shouted in unison, jumping away from each other like burnt. Their eyes were swimming all over the place and their faces were red like ripe tomatoes, though.

"Yes, yes. You weren't flirting. Just stay ten feet apart from each other, okay? I'm feeling quite jumpy today, and I wouldn't want to break something by mistake. Or hurt someone by mistake."

Sensing the warning in the Maou's voice, Riser wisely chose to shut up. The clouds seen from the room's window were quite interesting after all. Not that the freezing cold glare boring into the back of his head would notice them. The pair of sparkling gazes coming from the other two girls weren't helping either.

"So ..." tried the young Phenex to break the uncomfortable silence permeating the room. "With all these distractions, I kind of forgot. But I have some gifts to celebrate our first meeting."

The boy said, a blazing red magic circle with the crest of the Phenex clan appearing in the void in front of him. Riser the proceeded to to stuff his hand into the pocket storage dimension opened by the circle.

After a few seconds of searching around, he finally seemed to find whatever he was looking for and withdrew his hand with a small cheeky simile on his face.

Riser was now holding a little rectangular ornate case. Now prepared, he strode with a confident gait towards the young King and Queen duo.

"Here! For you!" He said cheerfully and handed the case to Rias.

"A gift ...? For me?" Asked Rias in bewilderment, but then she took it in her hands anyway.

"Now just for you," denied Riser shaking his head then pointing towards the little Queen. "For Akeno as well."

Now it was Akeno's turn to be puzzled.

"For me as well? Why?" asked the girl a little defensively. She truly didn't know what to expect from him anymore.

"Why you ask? Because you are family?" the boy responded matter-of-factly.

"F-family? M-me and you? How is that supposed to work?" the Queen asked, her voice trembling slightly and her eyes widened almost comically. Though no one in the room seem to be able to detect the hint of hope hidden in them. Neither the hurt concealed even deeper.

"Huh? You don't know?" asked Riser while being a little taken aback. "How could you not understand? It's very simple. Rias is my fiancée, so she is family. And you are her Queen, so you two are family. So, if she is part of my family and you are part of her family, than you are part of my family," he explained it to her clearly, his voice slow, as if talking to a stupid little kid.

"I'm not stupid!" Akeno defended herself, sensing the implication leaking from his voice. However, judging by the brilliant smile blooming on her face and the tears threatening to burst from her trembling eyes, his simple admittance touched her greatly.

Knowing how much Riser's words meant for her Queen, Rias took one of her hands in her own and gave it a reassuring squeeze. The gentle smile on her face denoting the happiness she was feeling from the boy's unknown acknowlegement.

"Come on! What are you guys doing! Open it already!" yelled the boy impatiently.

Seeing the youngster's restlessness, the girls exchanged a glance, and then both rolled their eyes at the same time.

""Boys!"" they both said and then burst into laughter.

"Huh? Why are you laughing?" asked Riser, his eyes narrowing in annoyance. He could kind of feel the fact they were laughing at his own expense, but didn't really know what to make of it.

"Nothing, nothing," said Rias as she placed the case in one hand in between her and Akeno and then finally opened it.

Two thin and delicate looking gorgeous bangles were laying inside. Both of them having some kind of scaly design. One was deep crimson with a few baby blue trimmings here and there. The other one was onyx black with violet trimmings.

"Oooh!" Both girls explained. The bracelets were just that beautiful.

"The red one is for Rias and the black one is for Akeno," Riser informed them happily, snapping them out of their stupor.

Each girl took their respective bracelet from the case and started admiring them closely.

"What are they made of? These look like some kind of reptile scales, but are they?" asked Akeno while twiddling with her bracelet. "I have not heard of any creature having scales this tiny yet being so tough. And it's really lightweight."

"They are Dragon scales. And from some high-level ones at that," explained Sirzechs in a low voice, showing his surprise.

"Dragon scales?! But they are so tiny!" Exclaimed Rias in disbelief. "How is it possible?"

"They are compressed Dragon scales," the Maou clarified their doubts, now eyeing Riser with a calculative look. "From what I know, the compression process is helluva strenuous. And it takes a lot of power of the one doing it. But the result is just as great. Like this, they have three times the original defensive power and energy storage capacity."

He added and then turning towards proud and giddy looking boy, he asked him about his growing suspicion.

"Riser-kun, if I'm not wrong, these bracelets ware created by Ajuka, right?"

"That's right!" responded Riser, looking extremely pleased with himself. "It wasn't easy to convince the Beelzebub, but in the he accepted my commission," he went one now looking a bit sheepish from reminiscing something probably embarrassing for him.

Shaking his head to banish those thoughts from his mind, he then detailed upon the bracelets.

"The red one is made from the scales of a fire High-level Dragon. The black one is made from a Evil Dragon. High-level as well. Come on, try them on," he finished with a grin.

At his urging words, both girls stopped holding back and then happily put the bangles on. Originally, both of them were a little big for the wrists of the ten year old girls.

However, the moment they were safely worn on their hands, the bracelets started shrinking until reaching a snug fit, laying comfortably there.

"Ohh! They are body adjustable," remarked Rias happily. "That's really convenient! Now we don't have to grow up to wear them properly. How is yours, Akeno?"

"It fits nicely as well, Rias-sama," answered the little Queen excitedly while examining the bangle on her hand critically. After not being able to find any problem with it, she turned towards Riser and gave him an elegant bow, her red and white Miko outfit giving her a refreshing mystical charm.

"Thank you very much for your lovely gift, Riser-sama," she said. "I like it very much."

"And I like it as well," quipped Rias from her friend's side. "Thank you, Riser!"

"You're welcome! I'm really glad you find them pleasing," replied the boy, secretly giving a little sigh of relief. He was happy both girls liked his gift. After all, he literally had to shed tears for them. And a lot of them. Just the thought of the possibility of the girls not liking them was enough to make him shudder. That Ajuka could really be a Devil sometimes. No pun intended.

"They are truly charming, indeed, but that's not all there is to them," said Sirzechs with a knowing smile. "Right? Riser-kun?"

Riser snorted lightly when he heard his future brother-in-law's words, "That's true," he admitted anyway, a little annoyed at the Maou for stealing from him the opportunity to go at his own pace once again. Seriously, why won't he leave him set the mood for his own surprises?

Shaking his head to dispell some strange thoughts about murderous brothers-in-law, Riser decided to just give in to him this time, "Both bracelets have two abilities each," he drawled out his words, hoping to draw the girls into his rhythm. He wanted to have some fun as well, and what could be better than the cute looks of anticipation showing on the girls' faces.

"One of the two is one both of them have in common," he now had to make an effort not to snicker since the sparkly eyes his fiancée and her friend were giving him were just way to endearing.

"Come on, Riser!" Rias called out at the boy, pouting in impatience. "Stop trying to look mysterious and tell us what they do!" Then seeming to have gotten a good idea, she smiled mischievously for a fleeting moment and turned to whisper something to Akeno.

"Ara, ara," the young Queen said out loud. "If that is what you want to do, my King, then it is my duty to comply. Ufufu~" she ended her reply with a short laugh, her eyes getting a playful glint.

Having come to an accord, both girls then approached the slightly puzzled young boy, and stopped about a foot in front of him. Next, adding to his growing confusion, each girl took hold of one of his hands in between their soft and tiny ones and raised them to their chests, keeping them there.

What happened next made Riser's young and unbeaten by the society mind crush. Hard. Really hard.

Putting on pouty looks and making doe eyes at him, they started fluttering their eyelashes as seductively as possible — for two ten years old — and then chirped in a singsong voice, "Please~ Riser-sama~ Tell us what they can do~"

That was truly a bit too much for the soon to be teen. After all, where could have a sheltered and slightly spoiled Young Master seen such a devastating act of womanly might? So his answer should have let nothing to expect.

"I-I-, uuh, w-what?" Was all that he could say, his cheeks turning so red you could have mistaken them for a couple of cherries.

Seeing the stupid and awestruck look on Riser's face and hearing his eloquent answer, both girls started giggling proudly. Though each of them could see the light dusting of red staining the other's cheeks. This was, after all, the first time they've both done something so bold with a boy their age. Experiment Number One, who was gritting his teeth and sending murderous glares to the young boy excluded, of course.

"Cough," one sour looking maid interrupted the fearsome show of vixen power affecting her young King, much to the relief of both said King and Experiment Number One. "Master, please wake up from from your unrefined stupor. You are making even me, your faithful maid, be ashamed of your behavior." Of course, she wasn't feeling somewhat jealous. At. All. That would have been unbecoming of a maid of her class.

"Ahh? Uh. Ahem! Yes! You are certainly right, Yubelluna," said Riser, waking up from his daze at last. Then, having noticed the fact that his hands were still gripped by the girls in front of him, he proceeded to swiftly but gently free them.

"Young Master," the teenage girl took some pity of her young charge at last, so she threw him a lifeline, "why don't you and these ladies and gentleman here take a short break and taste some of my craft while I brew you some tea," she said while taking out a layered tray of small cakes and cookies out of nowhere and placing it on the coffee table.

"Of course. Please do so, Yubelluna," responded Riser a bit more quickly than necessary. "I've been feeling a little thirsty for a while now, actually."

"Then please let me give you a hand," chipped in Akeno. "I must say that I am quite confident in my tea brewing skills," she then explained a little smugly.

"Thank you, Miss Akeno," accepted the Phenex maid, directing a slight bow towards her younger counterpart. "I will take you upon your offer."

Ignoring her King's betrayed look at having been abandoned by her when feeling quite shy thanks to their daring little escapade, Akeno followed Yubelluna to the corner of the room where tea related utensils were laying in wait on a table next to a quaint tiny stove. She too had to calm her heart.

"In that case, please take a seat, Riser-kun," Sirzechs said, pointing at the sofa opposite of him. "You as well, Rias," he added, patting the empty place on the sofa he was sitting on, "sit down here." He wasn't trying to pull his sister away from that slimy little bastard at all, no. He just wanted to reassure her with his calming presence. Yes, that was exactly what it was.

"Alright Onii-sama," agreed Rias concealing a tiny sigh of relief.

"Thank you, brother-in-law," agreed Riser as well, not taking pleasure in the way the Lucifer's right eye started twitching thanks to his appellation. Ok, maybe just a little bit.

After waiting a couple of minutes in awkward silence until the two young Queens placed a steaming cup of tea on a saucer in front of each of them, the young couple finally started to relax.

"Ohh! This is really good!" Riser gave his honest opinion after taking a sip of tea, all the tension leaving his small body. "Thank you, girls," he proceeded to give his thanks while unconsciously flashing both maidens a grin that left them blushing in delight.

"Alright now," he breached the subject they aborted earlier due to reasons he wasn't willing to think about right now. He wasn't quite confident not to start reddening once again if he did so. "We were talking about the skills the bracelets were enchanted with," he said and then added quite proudly. "Although they are not on the level of a Sacred Gear, they are not that far of!"

"Oh? That's quite the boast there, Riser-kun," retorted Sirzechs in disbelief.

"It's true," defended Riser, rolling his eyes. He was pretty sure now that he won't be free of the Maou's subtle harassment for a while. "Let's take the function they have in common for example. This one is quite straightforward. It creates a defensive all encompassing magic barrier."

"That's all?" asked Rias, not quite managing to hide her disappointment.

"I know it sounds kind of plain, but they are quite strong, I assure you. Basically, after the barrier is up, it can resist constant full power magical bombardment from five High-class Devils for almost an hour until the passive energy intake is overwhelmed by the damage sustained and the shield falls apart," explained the boy smugly. "And in the same conditions, it can keep one safe from the full power attacks of a Ultimate-class Devil for about seven minutes."

After hearing the young King's explanation, Rias, Akeno and Sirzechs fell into silence. What they've just heard was quite shocking after all. Resisting the attacks of a High-class Devil was one thing. But resisting the attacks of a Ultimate-class Devil? And for seven minutes? That was insane!

"Y-you are kidding," asked Rias while gulping audibly, "right?"

"No, I'm not," replied Riser smugly. Surprising girls was always fun. His mother thought him that well. "They've been tested. By Maou Beelzebub and his subordinates."

"Wow ... " both little girls whispered quietly.

"By Ajuka as well? Personally?" asked Sirzechs. That surprised even him.

Hearing his future brother-in-law's question, Riser's complexion darkened for a second, "Yes," he responded shrugging his shoulders and chasing away his displeasure, "he tried their defensive power as well. The result wasn't a good one. Both of them broke. For short, neither of them can take a blow from a Super-class Devil."

"That's kind of reassuring, actually," said Sirzechs with a little sigh. "Even though they are made of compressed scales, they are a little overpowered," he continued. "After all, the scales belonged only to High-class Dragons."

"Had it been just for the Dragon scales, that would have been true, brother-in-law", agreed Riser, now expertly ignoring the eyebrow twitch from him. Seeing Rias blush a little from hearing the said moniker was just the cherry on top of the cake, "but they have one more ingredient that makes it possible," he continued to elucidate, now his eye twitching in turn.

"Oh? Another ingredient? And what could it be?" asked the future brother-in-law curiously.

"You'll have to excuse me, brother-in-law, but that's not a subject I'm comfortable to breach right now," the boy said quickly, and judging by the intensification of the eyebrow twitch, he was telling the truth. "Maybe we'll talk about it at a latter date."

"Is that so? Alright then," he was not really content with the answer of the boy who had some chances at becoming his future brother-in-law, but the decided to give in for now.

"Riser," interjected Rias from her brother's side, "you mentioned that the bracelets have been broken, but they both seem okay to me. Did Brother Ajuka manage to repair them?"

"Yeah, about that", Riser said uncomfortably in response. "It's thanks to the said ingredient as well," he admitted eventually. "No matter how much you break them, they can repair themselves gradually by absorbing some energy."

"That's good!" exclaimed Rias happily, a feeling shared by Akeno as well, considering the quiet sigh of relief she let out at the boy's admittance. They were both already quite taken with their gifts after all.

"So they can regenerate by themselves, hmm?" asked Sirzechs sharply, a hypothesis forming in his mind. He would have to have a little talk with his old friend later. "And what kind of energy do they use? You've been mentioning the subject for a while now, but you haven't given any details yet," he raised another point of interest.

"Any kind of energy will do," replied Riser instantly.

"What?" the man questioned out loud. "Any kind? Seriously?" That was kind of hard to believe.

"Yes, any kind", said Riser happily. You couldn't see a surprised Maou every day after all. "Demonic power, divine power, holy power, chakra, natural energy, whatever. Though their needs can be met by passively absorbing natural energy from the surrounding atmosphere. It usually takes about half a day for a full charge." And after waiting a few seconds for his words to sink, he added, "The charging period can be shortened as well by actively feeding them the energy the wielder possess."

That was something else. Defensive power strong enough to withstand the attacks of a Ultimate-class Devil, passive self-repair, passive self-charge. Using ambient energy as the main power source. In their eyes, Riser previous boasting was now quite understated. Those bracelets weren't just close in level to Sacred Gears, they were leagues above most of them! And all this even without their secondary ability!

"They are truly amazing artifacts," Akeno said with sigh, awaking the others from their thoughts. "Yes, they are truly incredible," she resumed once again sighing wistfully and then reluctantly took of the bangle from her wrist. "That's why I can't accept it anymore," she said while approaching Riser.

Stoping a step away from him, she gave him a small, self-deprecating smile and then took one of his hands in hers, placing the bracelet there.

"They are truly great and useful and they could save the life of someone important one day," she began, looking soulfully into his eyes. "That's why, you shouldn not waste it on someone like me," she spat out in self-loathing, shocking everybody in the room. "Someone like me should not be given something amazing like this," she finished and took her hands from Riser's, leaving the bracelet there. "You should keep it for yourself or give it to-"

"Shut up!" bellowed Riser, interrupting her painful demonstration of self-hatred. His face twisting in rage and eyes spitting fire, he then caught one of her hands, griping it almost painfully. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"

"Riser-sama?! Wha-what is wr-"

"I said shut up!" he roared once again, not giving her a chance to talk. "Someone like you, you say?! How dare you! How dare you say something like that! Why wouldn't you deserve it?! Why are you looking down on yourself so much?! Answer me!"

"R-Riser-s-sama ... P-Please, stop ... You're scaring me and m-my h-hand hurts," the girl answered while her face distorted into a mess of fear and pain, her eyes tearing up.

"Riser-kun, that's enough. Let her-"

"Stay out of this, Sirzechs!" shouted Riser, snapping his neck towards the Lucifer and interrupted him, and not caring one bit for the look of anger flashing on his face, he returned his attention to the girl he was currently freaking out. "Why would you say something like that?" he asked again, his voice softening and his hand easing the grip on her smaller one, but still holding it firmly. "Why would you demean yourself like that?"

"R-Riser-sama ... I-I-... I ... Can't tell you ... I'm sorry ... " she replied after a long pause, averting her eyes from his.

He wouldn't lie. That hurt. That hurt him quite a lot. He hadn't know until that moment how much not being trusted hurt. But he could understand where she was coming from. Today was the first they've met after all. He couldn't demand her to trust him right of the bat. That would have been hypocrite of him. It would have been hypocrite of him to expect something from her he couldn't do neither. He was hiding some things from them as well. Things that would need time to reveal to anyone.

"It's okay," he whispered after taking a moment to clear his mind, "I understand. I haven't earned your trust, so asking, no, demanding something like that from you was stepping way out of the bounds. I apologize for that," he said giving her a wry smile, his blue eyes gazing gently into her misty, violet orbs.

"No, Riser-sama, if was my fault. I shouldn't have-"

"No, you had to," he stopped her softly while wiping the tears remnants from her beautiful eyes tenderly. "You were right and I was a bastard for thinking otherwise," he added with a cheeky smile, drawing a little snort of amusement from her. "Ohh, I knew it!" he shouted abruptly.

"Wha-what is it?" inquired Akeno, his action startling her a bit.

"I knew it. You are cuter when you smile" he answered her honestly.

"Wha-!? Riser-sama!" she cried out, her face turning as red as a lobster from his unexpected attack. "What are you even saying?!"

"The truth," he replied instantly.

"Geez, Riser-sama," she giggled, placing her free hand on her ruddy cheek, her eyes narrowing in pleasure. Like any other girl, she loved getting candid praise about her beauty. "What is Rias-sama going to do in the future with such a smooth talker of a fiancé?"

"I will have to train him not to wander," answered the girl in question, rounding the coffee table with a naughty smile and coming to them. Then taking Akeno's unheld hand into her own and squeezing it gently, she added, "I'll be counting on your help when the time comes."

"Hey?!" riposted, pouting indignantly Riser. "What do you take me for? A dog?!" His pout grew even more when his answer made them burst into a fit of merry giggles. Though he was praising himself on the inside for successfully cheering the little Queen up.

After waiting for the girls to end their long bout of giggling, Riser drew back Akeno's attention to himself by gripping her hand a tiny bit tighter.

When her look turned into a questioning one, he let out what's been on his mind since his latest outburst, "I don't know what's hurting you so much," he shushed her by placing a finger on her pink lips when she tried to answer. Then giving her a gentle smile, he continued, pleadingly, "but please, please. Never do that again. Please never say that you're not worth anything. Please never that something is wasted on you. Please stop hating yourself!" he implored her, his earnest eyes never leaving her wide open ones.

"I believe you deserve everything and more. I believe you are worth it. And more," he the paused for a second, his eyes washing over Rias, and then Sirzechs. "I believe Rias thinks the same. I believe brother-in-law thinks the same," he smiled a little when Akeno's eyes followed his earlier path, looking from him, to Rias, to Sirzechs in wonder.

"They took you into their family. They both think of you as a little sister. They love you," he snickered happily seeing her flush at his words, her eyes swimming all over the place. "I may sound a little cliché, but ... Believe in me who believes in you. Or at the very least, believe in them. Since they believe in you. After all, it would be next to impossible for all three of us to be mistaken about you," he finished with a little chuckle.

"I ... I don't know ..."

"He's right, you know," said Rias, not letting her Queen finish her though. "You are family to me. To us. And hearing you say such degrading things about yourself hurts. A lot. Right here," she whispered, placing the hand she was holding in the middle of her chest, right above her heart. "You've made your way into this place, and I'm never letting you not acknowledge this fact. I love you, Akeno. And I want you to be happy."

That was a bit too much for the young girl. Not being able to hold back anymore, she jumped on the redhead, embracing the life out of her, and started bawling her eyes in the nook of her neck.

Rias didn't waste a second and embraced her back tightly, a motherly smile on her face. After a few moments, she started rubbing tight, little circles on her back, trying to reassure her.

It didn't take long for the young Miko to calm down. She left Rias' embrace only a few minutes later and gave them a watery smile. Though it was a happy one.

"Please use this," the capable maid, who has been keeping to herself this whole time, handed Akeno a handkerchief.

"Thank you, Miss Yubelluna," she accepted it and proceeded to wipe her puffy eyes and loudly blow her nose. "I apologize for my unseemly display," she said bowing low to everyone in the room. "And thank you. Truly, thank you," the girl gave them all a beaming smile after straightening herself. "Your words, they mean a lot to me. I can't promise I won't do something stupid like this again, but I promise I will try my hardest. So please ... bear with me from now on!"

"Anytime, stupid," Riser replied cheekily, earning himself a playful swat from Rias.

"Riser-sama, I seem to remember telling you of about using that appellation on me," Akeno admonished him while getting closer to him. "It is your fault that I have to punish you now," she grinned playfully and then surprised everyone when she placed a loud smooch on his cheek.

Riser tried. He tried really hard. But he still couldn't stop himself from flushing red. For the umpteenth time that day. Who knew interacting with girls his age could be this dangerous?

"Wow, you two are quite matching my hair now," Rias teased them happily from the side, her eyes full of mirth. Though all she got was a couple of eye rolls from them.

"Ahem," coughing the boy falsely. "You seem to have forgotten something, my dear Miss", he said while waving his right arm pompously at Akeno.

"And what could that be, good Sir?" giggled Akeno taking his hint.

"This," he said loudly and took her right hand into his. "You have forgotten about the gift I put my soul into for you. You could hurt my poor heart if act like this, dear Miss."

"Oh my! Far from me that thought, good Sir! I could never!" she fake pouted at him.

"I believe you, dear Miss," Riser said smiling softly at her and then placing the bracelet back on her hand. "So please don't wound me by taking it off a second time."

"That, I can promise you, good Sir," she said while returning his smile and gazing lovingly at the bracelet now once again hugging her wrist.

Snap.

Yes. That was a camera shutter just now.

"Rias, can I ask way did you just take a picture of us?" queried the young boy monotonously. He really hoped it was not what he was dreading.

"Don't worry about it," grinned the heiress. "Photography is a hobby of mine."

"Photography?"

"Yes, photography," answered Rias with certainty.

"That's okay, I guess," the boy decided to give up the matter. He most surely hadn't heard his fiancée mutter something about adding the photo to her 'My cute Queen' collection. And he definitely hadn't heard her say something about having to start a Riser collection.

"Sooo, how does the shielding work?" asked a content looking Rias, taking back her seat on the couch next to her brother.

Riser answer was to regard her with a deadpan stare. And then her smile widened. She wasn't one to refuse a challenge coming her way.

And that turned into an impromptu staring contest. One of them was expressionless. The other one was giggling like mad. One of them felt his eyebrow start twitching. The other one started wiggling her own in response. One of them decided to be the mature one and gave up. The other one gave him a victorious smile.

Riser sighed and then sat himself back down on the sofa. Though he pulled Akeno with him, trying to defy the winner through a little pettiness. Though neither of the two seemed to mind since the number of snickering girls increased by one.

"To be honest, I think this is the best feature the bracelets have," he admitted eventually. "Let me give you a short demo."

After ending his words, the boy took two cookies from the tray and placed them in front of him on the table. Next, he opened his pocket storage dimension and started rummaging through it.

"Sorry, I don't have much proficiency with the spell yet, so it takes me awhile to find things," Riser apologized after pulling up a bottle and dismissing the magic circle.

A pitch black glass bottle with a white Jolly Roger painted on the side. "Holy Water," he explained trying to look serious which had even Sirzechs chuckling.

"You have quite the twisted sense of humor, Riser-kun," the Satan blamed him good naturedly. He seemed to not have taken his earlier outburst to heart. Allegedly at least. "But how comes a Devil goes around with Holy Water on his person?" he asked teasingly.

"It's for training purpose. I'll tell you some other time," Riser replied offhandedly, opening the cork of the bottle carefully not to spill anything on himself. Afterwards, he proceeded to drip a few drops on one of the cookies.

Looking satisfied with the results, the Devil boy clapped his hands and let his gaze travel from Rias to Akeno and back. "Which one of you girls wants to be my assistant lab rat?" he provoked them lightly.

"Me! Me please!" Rias offered herself while raising a hand and shaking it enthusiastically. She didn't even give poor Akeno a chance to open her mouth.

"Alright then", Riser agreed, chuckling to himself at her eagerness. "Then please stand in the open."

Hearing his words, she stood up sharply from the sofa, and not caring one bit for the look of concern her brother was pinning on her, she walked all the way to stand a few feet from the fireplace.

Now in a relatively deserted spot, the girl redirected her gaze back to the boy.

"Are you ready?" he asked the impatiently waiting heiress who was now bouncing on the balls of her feet. After getting her nod of approval, he picked up one of the cookies and throw it at her while crying out, "Catch!"

Seeing the cookie slowly draw up a gentle ark through the air, Rias outstretched her hands, readying herself to catch it. And then she caught it. And then nothing happened.

"What are you looking at me like that?" asked the boy while expertly ignoring her pout. She expected something shocking to happen and all she's got was a cookie. "That's the good one. You can eat it if you want."

"Meanie", sulked the little King as she took a vicious bite from the treat. No, she didn't imagine it being Riser's arm. Not. At. All.

Waiting for his fiancée to finish chewing, Riser swiftly took the other cookie and threw it at her powerfully, the only warning being his shout, "Be careful!"

Hearing her fiancé's yell and seeing the cookie projectile heading straight towards her face, Rias wasn't ashamed to admit that she started to panic. And like any child in her situation, be it Devil or human, she gave in to her first instinct. And that was to cross her arms in front of her face, closing her eyes and waiting for the hurt to come.

And a moment later she heard the expected loud thud. But no pain assaulted her. Curiously, after one more moment of waiting, she peeked warily through a gap between her arms.

What greeted her was a mashed cookie slowly sliding down from the thing that materialized a couple of feet in front of her. No, not just in front. All around her. She was surrounded by a scaly, crimson and translucent sphere of light, which was leisurely rippling from the point of collision.

"Pretty ... " she gasped, slowly extending a finger forward to poke the barrier. It felt strange. 'Like solid water. But not frozen.' she thought, watching as ripples she created started crashing into the first set of undulations.

The barrier held up until the last bits of the holy cookie fell from it down on the carpet, slowly fading out of existence with the completion of it's duty.

"And that's how it works," stated Riser, startling them from their thoughts and bringing their attention back to him.

Next, with a wave of his hand, he incinerated the cookie remnants. The fact that he managed to burn it and leave the carpet undamaged spoke volumes about his control over his flames.

"If the user is about to receive an attack that can cause damage, the barrier shows up, right?" Akeno asked him thoughtfully, her delicate face marred by a frown. "But how does it perceive which attack can cause harm?"

"Maou Beelzebub explained it to me", he replied and flushed a bit in embarrassed, "Though I'm ashamed to admit that I couldn't understand a word."

"Yes, he can have that effect on people," chimed in the fellow Maou in the room with a fond smile on his face. "It happens to me all the time. He tends to forget his brain works differently compared to us normal folk."

"Sorry I couldn't make it clear," Riser said sheepishly. "You'll have to ask him yourself for that particular detail."

"If the opportunity arises", agreed quite instantly Sirzechs. It left little to doubt whether he'll ask or not.

The conversation lulled into a stop. All of them were lost in though. The advantages the bracelets brought to the table were huge. But most important of all, the girls were protected.

"Is there a way to raise it up actively?" asked Rias inquisitively.

"Yes, there is," the boy reassured his fiancée. "Just will it."

Frowning in concentration, she tried just that. It took her just a couple of seconds to succeed.

The crimson translucent barrier was back in place.

"I thought it would be harder, but it came up right away after I thought about it," the red haired heiress bragged smugly, a happy smile on her face.

Suddenly, seeming to have gotten an idea, she started focusing once again. Then the barrier disappeared. And then it appeared one again. And disappeared again. And so on. It kept flashing in and out existence faster and faster, proving the rapid mastery the girl was getting over it.

Seeing her best friend have fun with her new toy, Akeno was starting to get fidgety. She wanted to try it as well. So, she raised her right hand and whispered childishly, "Shield! On!"

And the next moment, Riser found himself flying for some reason. And then he crashed straight in the wall.

After a few of seconds of laying on the floor, he got up while groaning. He wasn't hurt. But he was a little disoriented. What just happened? One second he was he was watching his cute fiancée frolic around, and the next he was slipping of a cold, hard wall.

Shaking his head to clear his mind, he was about the asks the others what happened. Although the spectacle currently taking place before him made the boy reconsider his options. So he started snickering.

Rias was standing inside her barrier, mouth agape and eyes widened comically. A few pieces of debris were scattered around her.

Sirzechs was slowly getting out from the remains of the coffee table, his ever present smile cramping. Unhurt, of course.

Akeno, who by now he identified as the culprit, was running around in panic, her black spherical shield up, bulldozing and flattening whatever was left of the couch they have been sitting on. Yubelluna was hot on her heels, trying to calm her down.

Having had his fair share of laughter, he decided to bring the debacle to an end. "Akeno", he shouted, attracting her attention and finally making her come to a halt , "shield down."

As she heard his words, realization dawned upon her face. As she started looking around the room and saw the mess she had been doing, a constipated expression gradually settled her visage.

"I-I-I! I-I am truly sorry!" she said ruefully and then bowed as low as she could.

"I apologize as well," said Riser, trying to dispell the amusement showing on his face and voice.

He wasn't that successful though, at least according to the glare Rias sent his way. She didn't seem to be happy with him making fun of her besty when she was feeling down.

The boy continued unperturbed, "I should have made it clear why I had Rias stay in an open area before activating the barrier. This concerns one of the bracelets' traits that can be considered both a shortcoming or a bonus, depending on your standing," he said, his tone slightly pensive. "Basically, when you put up the shield, everything in range not on the user's person is banished out of said range," he explained before looking around the room for the wrecks that had once been the couch, "and if something can not be physically expelled for some reason, well, the result would be similar to the fate this sofa suffered," and shifting his body to regard Akeno, "So this is as much your fault as is mine. You don't have to blame yourself for something of this level. Besides, it can be solved easily," Riser said, ending his monologue, before directing an encouraging smile to the remorseful girl.

"That's true, Akeno-chan," Sirzechs reassured the distressed girl as well. "This much is not much for our family at all."

"But!"

"Look, Akeno. There's really no problem," Riser said to her in a calm manner and patted her on the shoulder. "I can fix it."

As soon as the boy finished his words, a blazing magic circle flared up into existence with him at the center. It soon expanded to encompass the whole room. Only the word Magic could describe what followed after.

In the shocked eyes of the audience, the broken pieces of the couch came together and soon it was back to how it was before Akeno's little misshap, position accounted. The coffee table came back in place, even it's slight abrasions disappearing as if they've never been there. Even the tea set and the tray of treats found themselves fixed, tea and sweets once again filling them up. It didn't take over five seconds for the room to be the same as before. In fact, everything had a shine on them that screamed 'Fresh out of the factory'.

Sirzechs and the little girls, stared in dumbfounded awe at the newly mended pieces of furniture and table utensils, feeling some of them up from time to time, just to make sure their eyes weren't failing on them.

Yubelluna as well. Sure, she had seen her Young Master use this spell time and time again. But everytime it was like the first time. It was truly amazing. Even if her King kept downplaying it.

"... I must say, that was most impressive," said Sirzechs, being the first one to break the silence. "If you don't mint it, Riser-kun, can you tell us what just happened?"

"A repair spell?" answered the boy quizzically, a little nonplussed why was he being asked the obvious.

"I can see that," groaned the Maou. "What I meant to ask is how does it work."

"Will it and it will happen," replied the boy helpfully. Yes, really helpfully. "I mean, even if you ask me about the mechanics of this spell, I can't answer you since I don't know. I just do it."

"A will drived spell?" the Maou repeated, lost in though. Riser's answer reminded him of something. "Does this spell have anything to do with the western Magic Users?"

The boy nodded in confirmation, "Yes. They were the ones who created the prototype and my family built upon it."

"Yes, I can see that," affirmed understandingly Sirzechs. "That's right in your family's alley."

"Can it fix anything?" asked a starry eyed Rias, her voice full of hope.

"As long as it is inanimate. And I can't fix it if it's magical," her fiancé confessed before he added begrudgingly, "I'm not strong enough for that yet."

Having heard his answer, she let out the breath she hadn't even realized she was holding in. Then, with a pleading gaze, she pleaded, "Please fix up something for me!"

"Alright," Riser agreed without hesitation.

"Thank you!" Rias squealed in joy and then caught him crushing hug.

The boy was pleased as well for making her happy. He was glad for the hug as well. Though he could do with a lighter one. Had he not known his fiancée was just expressing her gratefulness, he would have thought she was trying to crush him to death. The sound of creaking bones wasn't heard just by him after all.

"I know you are glad for it, Rias-tan," Sirzechs laughed, knowing exactly what his sister wanted the boy to mend, "but you shouldn't express your gratitude by pulverizing his ribs."

Comprehending what she has been doing thanks to her brother's teasing, she let him go with a squeak and started apologizing profoundly, her face catching a cute shade of pink.

"No problem, no problem," Riser forgave her with a magnanimous wave of his hand, but not before taking a deep breath and stretching his body to pop his bones back in place. "So what is it that you want me to fix up?"

"We'll talk about that later, Riser-kun," the Maou interjected before Rias could answer. "We still have some things to discuss first," he persuaded her softly but firmly. "And I'm sure Riser-kun would love to have dinner with us tonight, isn't that so? Riser-kun."

Having understood the invitation to dinner as the command it really was, Riser merely nodded in agreement. It wasn't as if he didn't intend to anyway. Even if not asked. But he could try something now the siscon Lucifer made his move.

"Sure! I would be delighted to," he gave his response cheerfully. "But I would like to extend an invitation to Rias as well," he added with a mischievous glint in his blue eyes, all the while not quite restraining the smug smile from showing on his face. He knew his request would rub the Maou the wrong way. "If it's not too much for me to ask this of you, would you please accompany me for an outing this following Sunday?"

Rias blinked. And then blinked again. And then once more. Then she started blushing furiously up to her ears as the implication hidden in his words finally registered to her.

"A-are you ... Are you asking me on a date?" she whispered coyly once she made up her courage to open her mouth. She has never been on a date before after all! That would be her first!

"Yes, I am", said the boy firmly, an earnest look adorning his face. "I messed up our meeting and I would like a chance to make up for it."

Rias' blush started ebbing as she heard her fiancé's honest confession. Then the girl's face adopted a grave countenance and her baby blue eyes set about searching for something in his sea blue orbs. He held her gaze bravely, not wavering from his conviction.

The others didn't interrupt them either, having sensed the importance of the moment.

After a couple of minutes of silent exploring, Rias smiled. A truly joyful smile. She liked what she had found it his eyes.

"I forgive you," she said simply. "No, please let me finish first," the girl interrupted his attempt at saying something. "You insulted me. But I understand you didn't do it on purpose. So I'll forget about it. You don't have to worry anymore. Alright?"

"I get it," Riser accepted with a sigh of relief before giving her a briliant smile, "Thank you." Smile turning into a lopsided smirk thanks the blush he managed to get once again from her, he asked her anew, "Then, will you accept my invitation?"

"Under one condition", she replied quickly. "Akeno comes as well."

"Ok," he replied easily.

"Me?!" shrieked the the aforementioned girl. "And Riser-sama, didn't you agree way too fast to that?!" Akeno chastised him, quite scandalized by his nonchalance. How could agree to take another girl to a date with his fiancée? You can't do things like that. "What would Rias-sama think of that?!"

"What do you mean?" frowned Riser in confusion. "It's an outing. Don't you think it will to be more fun the more people there are?"

Akeno suddenly felt foolish for panicking like that, so she gradually calmed down. After muttering to herself about idiots, she and Rias exchanged a look of exasperation. Then they both let out a sigh in frustration.

"Rias-sama", Akeno said wearily, "we have to teach him a lot about a maiden's heart, don't we?"

"Yes," nodded firmly before shuddering as a thought crossed her mind. "We absolutely can not let him head down the Ic*ika route. It would be a disaster. For everyone," the redhead promised, her words throwing the ponytailed girl into a fit of trembling as well.

The two girls exchanged one more glance between them before both gave the other a solemn nod, a sense of mission etched in their eyes.

"Yubelluna," Riser asked his Queen, question marks appearing above his head at an alarming speed, "do you know what they are talking about? I, for one, can't understand. But for some reason my body started shivering for a while now."

"Don't worry about it, Young Master," the maid replied with a smile that just strengthened his shivering. "It's a good thing for you. I fact, I would like to enlist myself to that cause as well."

Sirzechs was having a lot of fun right now. If only the boy knew what was to come. He could help of course. But he was a respectable senpai. And a respectable senpai always lets his kōhai make the same mistakes as him.

"She's right, Riser-kun," Sirzechs chuckled happily. "I'd had to go through something similar in my younger days and it truly did me a world of good. Fia-chan can attest it for me."

As if he would ask that woman about something like that! She was just too scary. That gaze of hers made him feel like a poor, little doe facing a pack of starving, bloodthirsty wolfs.

"Thank you for your offer, brother-in-law," Riser rejected the proposition a tad too quickly. "But I'll try to deal with this ... this ... whatever by myself."

"If that's how you want to do it, who am I to stop you," the Devil replied, his already impossibly wide grin spreading even more. "Anyway, leaving this delightful topic aside, can you finish detailing on the bracelets? You've been dragging it for quite a while now."

Riser couldn't help rolling his eyes at that. How could it be his fault for being hit with a critical by a pair of wannabe vixens? Or for having a little outburst thanks to a certain Queen lacking in self-esteem? Or for having to deal with the mess created by the same girl?

Okay, he may have been partially culpable for the last two instances, but it was just too much to have all three disrupting occurrences attributed to him.

'... Stinky brother-in-law.'

"Alright, alright," he conceded halfheartedly. "Rias, yours reinforces the power of your spells according to the height of your emotions."

"... In other words?"

"Basically, the more heighten your emotions are when you cast a spell, the better the result," the boy added clinically. Theoretically, the highest amount of energy you can use on a spell is your current maximum energy output added to the full storage capacity of the bangle." Riser summarized before taking a sip of the now lukewarm tea to moisten his throat, "But it would be next to impossible to use it at full power," he threw a splash of cold water on the girl who began to daydream while letting out a creepy, but admittedly cute giggle.

"But why?!" screeched the young heiress. More than a little annoyed at Riser for bursting her happy bubble.

Before the boy could give the girl an answer, her brother took it upon himself to clarify her doubts, "It makes sense, Rias. Think about it a little. We are Devils. And how do we choose our contractors?" Sirzechs said in a preaching manner.

"Based on the height of their desires," Rias responded instantly, without even having to think about it. The topic was long ingrained into her very body thanks to all the teachings she's gotten during her young life.

"Exactly," the Maou assented, a petting smile lighting up his eyes. "And since we have to pick the ones with stronger desires ... " he drawled out.

"I think I understood", Rias said, a pensive mood making it's way on her face as she crossed her arms over her nonexistent chest. "Like not every human has a strong enough desire to be able to even summon us, I won't be able to muster sufficiently strong emotions to use the bracelet at full power." As she took a second to make order in her thoughts, she happened to chance upon an exception, "Does that mean that the more desperate or intense a situation is for me, the more power I can use?"

"In a word, yes," Riser agreed after considering her question for a moment.

"Kyaaaa!" the young she-Devil squealed sharply in delight. And then she squealed some more. "Kyaa! Akeno! Kyaa!" Rias jumped her friend and gave her one of the crushing hugs she was known for. "I'm like the protagonist of a manga, Akeno! I have one of those cheat abilities that can turn the tables on the enemy! I can do something like 'You have to get past me if you want to hurt them!' and then open up! And then open up some more! Kyaa!"

"Good for you, Rias-sama," the little Queen endorsed her Master's words. Though she decided not to mention right then anything about her King's Power of Destruction being a cheat ability as well. Right now she had something more important to do. Like trying not to suffocate for instance.

"Rias, let poor Akeno breath," Sirzechs admonished his little sister humorously. "She's close to passing out," he pointed out helpfully.

"Ah! Sorry Akeno! I didn't mean to," the girl hurriedly apologized. "I was just so happy that-"

"No, there is no problem, Rias-sama," Akeno interjected before her King could sink into a spiral of self-blame. "I am glad for you," she said with sincerity.

And she truly was glad to see her best friend happy. She deserved it. Even more so after how stressed out she's been during the last few days. The little girl didn't take well the fact her parents took away from her the choice to find her other half by herself. Even more so when her supposed fiancé was said to be an arrogant fried chicken. Though, fortunately ,he turned out to be a nice fried chicken.

'How nice', she sighed softly remembering the interactions between her King and Riser. She couldn't help being a little envious of them. No, she shouldn't think like that. After all, who would accept someone like her?

"If you put it like that, Rias, then Akeno's gotten a cheat as well," Riser said as he beamed warmly to the ponytailed girl.

'And that smile should be banned,' though Akeno. You just can't give a girl hope like that. It's unethical.

"Really?!" asked Rias excitedly, not at all jealous for not being the only one who got a good ability. In fact, according to the smile adorning her face and the relieved glint setting her eyes alight, she was even happier for her friend then for herself.

"Really," concurred the boy. "Akeno, yours is pretty straightforward. Owning the Power of Destruction, Rias doesn't lack in the offensive department, but l don't know about you. So this will help you. The secondary ability of your bracelets is releasing beams of energy."

"Beams of energy, is it?" asked the Gremory Queen, quite confused. "Can you elaborate, Riser-sama?"

"Of course," he accepted. "As I said, it can release beams of energy fueled by the energy stored inside. But contrary to Rias, you have no restrictions. If you want to sent out a thousand beams, each powered up by the thousand part of the full storage capacity, you can do it. If you want to attack using a monstruos beam using up all the stored energy, you can do it as well. But be careful if you go full power since it can wound even an Ultimate-class Devil. Though not seriously."

Having given them the main details, Riser paused, giving them a little room for thought. They had to come to terms with what it meant, to understand how it really wor-

"I've got it!" cried out Rias, her enthusiasm starting to become palpable to anyone in the room. "She can do Kameh*meha!"

Silence descended upon the room once the girl had finished her declaration. She short circuited all of them with her revelation.

'... Trust it to Rias to go that way,' Sirzechs and Akeno thought, both with an eye twitching wildly.

"In a way, yes, that's true," replied Riser after his mind rebooted. "It can be seen that way also."

"I knew it!" yelled the girl, now making her fiancé once again wonder whether or not he should recommend her his etiquette teachers. But at a second thought, natural is always better? Probably?

"Akeno, do you think you could ..."

"No, Rias-sama, I won't pose for you," the girl in question answered her King before she could even formulate her query. "That would be unladylike."

"If you say so ..." the little King conceded, her body deflating like a popped balloon.

Seeing his fiancée calm down (?), Riser took the opportunity and finished his depiction of the other's girl bracelet. "Akeno," he started quickly, "that's not all about it."

"There's more?" asked the girl, surprised. Although her King's fooling around distracted them a little, the implication of the ability were not lost on them. It could hurt an Ultimate-class Devil after all. And now the boy was saying that wasn't everything there was to it. Even she felt it was a bit exaggerated.

"Yes," Riser nodded, "one of the things I have yet to mention is that you can attribute the beams elemental damage. For example, I've heard you're good with lightning s-"

"Now she gets the Onee-sama's Electromagnetic Gun?! Now that's not fair any- Mhmm?! Mhm!"

"-o you can add lightning damage to them as well," Riser continued, not perturbed in the least by the sight of his fiancée trying to wrestle away the hand of her Queen from her mouth. "But you'll have to try by yourself to see if you can do it or not."

"I will try my best, Riser-sama," Akeno replied while smiling wickedly. Something about forcing her Master to stop talking just felt nice. All in all, today was a good day for the girl.

"Alright," replied the boy, now wondering if Devils could covert to Buddhism without dying in the process. He was starting to feel like he could make a good Buddhist Monk with how calm he managed to stay even when for some reason his intuition kept alerting him of danger like crazy. "As for the last trait, I think this is the best part. Again."

"Oh? How so? Riser-sama," the young Queen, who was in the process of attaining enlightenment, wondered aloud.

"For short, your beams hurt only who you want them to and those hostile to you," Riser grinned mischievously.

He got them with that. The way their eyes widened cutely when the meaning of what he meant registered inside their minds was worth all the procrastination. His mother was right as usual — it was truly fun to pleasantly surprise girls.

"That is to say ..." Akeno began, drawling her words as her mind was caught in a maelstrom of possibilities, "... I can fire beams at Rias-sama all day long without hurting her? And watch her squirm in helplessness?"

And the room plunged right back into silence.

"Akeno-san," Rias interjected, eyebrow twitching thanks to something she seemed to have heard, "although I'm happy to hear you believe yourself incapable of hurting me and I think your example is correct," she looked at Riser for approval and after he nodded, she went on, "but what is it that you revealed at the end?"

"Ara, whatever do you mean, Rias-sama? I don't remember saying anything weird," the Queen countered almost to innocently.

"And I didn't say you had said something weird, Akeno," Rias pressed on.

"Ara, ara. Ufufu," giggled Akeno unrepentantly. "You are pretty forceful today, Rias-sama."

" ... Alright let's leave it at that for now, my traitorous Queen," Rias conceded with a tired sigh and after cheering herself up with a light slap on both her cheeks, she addressed Riser once more, "Are there any points left you want to add on? About the bangles I mean."

Thinking for a moment, after he let a pout form on his face at being deprived of the source of entertainment he found in the girls' playful bickering, he listed all the other experimental results he had yet to mention, which weren't that many, actually, "Be careful not to open the shield when someone else is in range, otherwise they'll be sent flying just like I was not long before. But you should know this already," the boy said, not hiding his smirk caused by Akeno's embarrassed flush. "Akeno, the ability of your bangle to not cause damage to those you do not consider enemies doesn't apply to inanimate objects. So be careful not to blow something up."

The Phenex descendant paused a moment's rest to see if he could remember anything else before he stated simply, "This is everything I am privy of, I believe. Should there be something I have forgotten about, I will be informing you. Likewise, should you discover other traits, be they positive or not, please do tell me," he claimed in a slightly formal fashion before adding less stiffly, a bright smile adorning his face, "I'm curious as well after all."

"Of course," declared the young heiress matter-of-factly as both she and her Queen nodded seriously. She then added both gratefully and a little ashamed of herself, "I don't think I speak only in my name when I say I love your gift," she smiled as Akeno nodded fervently, just as a chick pecking grains, "and I feel a little ashamed for not having something to give you in exchange. And I feel even more ashamed of myself for believing the rumors about you. You are nothing like they make you be."

Hearing his fiancée earnest apology and seeing Akeno feel the same, the felt secretly happy. It wasn't everyday he managed to make friends after all. And for some reason, he was sure the girls felt the same.

"You don't have to worry about something like that," Riser smiled warmly, thankful for their thought. "My mother was the one who drilled into me the need to always make heartfelt gifts to the people I care about." The boy was quite sure now he managed to make both girl blush more then they did him. "As for the rumors, don't sweat it. For some reason, there are lots of less than flattering rumors about me. But I do not care about them. Why should I care what some unrelated people think about me? That's their business."

Riser proclaimed regally, his disregard for them and their thoughts plain to all of them to see.

"The only opinions about me I care for are those of my loved ones," the boy stated strongly, his somber countenance slowly turning into a loving one, "My parents. My siblings. My Queen," he said while turning his face to regard his Queen with a fond smile. Then he shifted his body to face the other two girls who were watching him with utmost attention and smiled sincerely at them. "And now you two."

He had mentioned this a time or two before. That he regarded them as family. His fiancée. Her Queen. But only now it started to sink in. He truly meant what he said. And that meant a lot for them. It meant a lot for Rias whose loving family was everything to her. It meant a lot to Akeno who was still settling into her new life. So they tried to convey those feelings the way they always did in family.

And that way was hugs. Lots and lots of hugs.

Just as the boy finished confessing his feelings, the girls swept him into a tight three way hug.

Feeling the two small, warm bodies squeeze themselves into him, made the boy stiffen. It was the first time he was hugged by someone besides his relatives or Yubelluna. But it didn't take him long to snap out of it. For him as well, they were family now. Thus, Riser happily started hugging them back as well.

It took them a while to break away from each other. But when they did it, all of them were wearing content grins.

"Can I get an invitation to your happy little group? Being left out feels lonely ... " Sirzechs mock-pouted at them, bringing them out of their carefree little universe.

"... Way to spoil the mood, old man," Riser retorted begrudgingly. He was not happy at all at being interrupted. "And you'll have to work much harder than that in order to win my heart." The boy added mockingly, earning a few muffled giggles from more than one girl.

"Old man ... old man ...Who's an old man! I have to inform you I am a young man! I'm a young man in the middle of my youth! I .. I am-"

"Yes, yes. I understand. You're a young man. A young man who only happened to live for at least a few hundred years," the boy said dryly. "Right. Rias, do you know how old is your brother?"

"N-no," replied the girl, trying to stifle her snickers, but not quite succeeding. "He always changes the subject or tries to distract my attention when I ask."

"Rias-tan?!" Sirzechs wailed in despair as he fell to his knees. "How could you?! How could you betray your own big bro? And to the likes of an upstart fiancé!"

"Oh, come on Onii-sama," the young redhead chided him in exasperation and rolled her eyes. Then she rolled them once more. "Please stop acting so melodramatically and start behaving your age. You're embarrassing me."

"So it's true after all!" the big brother with a knack for acting childishly bawled. "Everyone's been warning me for a while now ... They said the moment they get a boyfriend, little sisters forget all about their big brothers. They stop loving them ... But I didn't want to believe them. I told them over and over again! I told them my little Rias could never be like that! But I was wrong ... My sweet little Rias is gone now ..." The Maou said, wiping a few tears from the corner of his eye before starting to mumble darkly. "A world where Rias-tan doesn't love her big brother anymore ... Yes ... A world like that should be destroyed. No. Shall be destroyed."

"Onii-sama!" Rias now yelled in annoyance. She was starting to really become humiliated now. "Get up right now!" She roared at him, trying to pull him to his feet.

As they watched the impromptu comedy display happening before their eyes, a few eyebrows started twitching. This Maou was really something.

"Is he always like this?" Riser asked of Akeno who was busy covering her face with her palms in chagrin. He felt this spectacle was too much for his poor little soul.

"Sometimes," the girl answered reluctantly. "When Sirzechs-sama feels like teasing Rias-sama a bit more than the usual."

"And how long does this," Riser pointed to the fiasco going on before them, "go on in average?"

"I'd say they should be almost done by now," Akeno answered promptly. "After all, it is high time Rias-sama goes for the jugular."

Riser couldn't exactly know what she meant with that. But as he was trying to ask, the answer presented itself, so he opted to keep his silence and watch the end of the show.

"Onii-sama!" Rias screeched for the umpteenth time in the last few minutes. "For the last time, behave yourself! Otherwise you're forcing my hand! I'll tell you on to sister-in-law!"

"Now, now, Rias-tan," the Maou suddenly started to pacify his little sister as he was standing once more in a flash. His soul broken, crying appearance gone as if it had never taken place. "I'm finished now. There's no reason to say anything to Fia-chan, you know? It was just a little, harmless horseplay after all."

"That was more than just some horseplay, Onii-sama," Rias denied icily. "Seriously now, this is why sister-in-law is always angry at you."

"That is correct, Rias-sama," resounded a glacier cold voice, startling everyone. The voice didn't belong to any of the five occupants of the room.

"Grayfia?!"

"Onee-sama?! "

A beautiful young woman appearing to be in her early twenties stood next to them, making her presence known. None of them had felt her as she showed up. Not even the strongest Maou.

The woman had silky-smooth silver hair, styled in twin braids, hanging down to the small of her back, just above her wide hips. Two other smaller braids were framing her face and hanging over her most impressive bust. All of them were tied with blue bows at the ends. A pair of blood red orbs were watching the Maou in disapproval from her exquisite fair face, a match with the crimson lipstick decorating her full lips.

She was tall for a woman, a few inches short of 6 feet. Her toned body one to give a model a run for the money, yet curvy in all the right places.

A blue and white French maid outfit with short sleeves was adorning her figure, showcasing her slim waist and womanly assets. A white maid headband was resting upon her head.

The sensual air the body of the maid was giving of was, however, a stark contrast to the countenance marring her lovely face. The previous look of disapproval dwelling her eyes morphed imperceptibly into a look of cold annoyance and her lips were twisted into an irate scowl.

"Lucifer-sama," the maid spat out icily. "I have two issues I would like to receive an elucidation from you," she stated, her voice freezing.

"Wha-what could it be? Grayfia-chan," Sirzechs asked, the forced smile on his face uglier than crying.

"Maou-sama," Grayfia Lucifuge, the strongest Queen in Hell and wife of the Lucifer, started her interrogation. "Explain your disgraceful behavior moments prior," the woman demanded curtly before her face turned steely and added an ultimatum, "and please do not add the suffix 'chan' to my name."

"Sorry, Grayfia-cha- ... Grayfia," the man correct himself, not wanting to increase the 'punishment' he knew she would serve him later. "I was just fooling around with the young ones, nothing important," he said, shrugging nonchalantly.

That was not a answer his wife could condone, however.

"Horsing around? Maou-sama, I have said this countless times already, but it seems I still have to repeat myself," Grayfia admonished him with a fed up sigh. "Please conduct yourself in a manner befitting someone of your position. Stop shaming the name of Lucifer."

"Come on, Grayfia," the Maou countered with a playful roll of his eyes. "I am not as bad as you make me sound. I behave myself well enough when the Lucifer is needed. So please cut me some loose at least during this kind of informal settings."

He loved his wife dearly, he truly did. But she was too much of a sucker for rules. It was hard for him to even have her call his name plainly. And that, when it was just the two of them. She would rather fight a bloody battle against the Old Satan faction then be caught calling him something other than 'Lucifer-sama' or 'Maou-sama' during a formal gathering.

"Besides, there's only family here, so there shouldn't be a problem with a little unwinding," Sirzechs added triumphantly.

"Is that so? I do not know how your previous behavior could be categorized as just 'a little unwinding', but I shall let the matter pass for now, seeing as there was no harm done," the silver haired Queen acceded somewhat skeptically while throwing a speculative glance in Riser's direction. "But this was only the first of the two issues," she added before her foolish husband could bask in the glory of his small and exceedingly rare victory. She was the one who wore the pants in their relationship after all. Most of the time, anyway.

"Cough," Sirzechs almost choked himself halfway during his internal victory jig. "What else is the matter?" At least he got away unruffled from the first one. It shouldn't be hard to pass the second calamity either while he was on the roll.

"Oh, it is nothing big, really," the self proclaimed maid promised in a gentle voice, enjoying the look of relief that flashed briefly on her life partner's face. The despair she would make him feel would be just so much sweeter this way. Ah, the joys of devilhood. "So dear husband," she bagan in a sugary voice, abandoning all ceremony and pretense from her lovely visage, her plump lips curling into a sadistic smirk, "could you explain to me why are you here harassing the kids with your immaturity, when you should be dealing with the mountains of paperwork you are in charge of like the good Lucifer you are? Abandoning your poor wife to such a chore while pretending to take a brief toilet break is just not right."

"... Crap."

Yes, crap. That was the only thing coursing through his mind right now. He couldn't formulate a more intellectual thought than that one right one. Not with his brains shutting down in horror. He knew it. He knew he shouldn't have been complacent about his tiny moment of success.

"D-dear," the strongest Maou of them all started in a stutter while cold sweat was wetting his back. "I-I- ... I had not deceived you. I truly took a toilet break."

That shitty excuse was the only thing his usually witty mind could come with right now.

"Oh?" Grayfia though aloud. "And your supposed toilet break extended for hours? And you had to have it in the same room Rias was attending her meeting with her fiancé?" the maid pressed on and dismantled her husband's ridiculously poor lie. "Please stop embarrassing yourself in front of our distinguished guests. We will talk about your punishment tonight."

"Yes dear," was the only response Sirzechs could give.

He could sense the note of finality hidden in the words of his Queen. He knew not to dig his hole even deeper. From experience.

"I apologize for my King's unseemly display, Riser-sama," the silver haired beauty said, bowing formally to the boy, hands folded over her lap.

"Apology accepted, Grayfia-san," Riser accepted her apology modestly. He wouldn't be complacent and think he was entitled to have her bowing to him. She was after all, the strongest Queen. The woman may have failed in her challenge of Serafall for the title of Leviathan, but it was a close fight.

'And it seems she has another Maou defeated anyway,' the boy though, his respect for her growing even more. He respected power, like any other Devil. But he would not respect someone just because they were powerful. Fact evident from the way he added the honorific suffix to her name. He didn't do it for Sirzechs. Or for Ajuka. And he probably never would. But that didn't mean he didn't respect them. 'Okay,' Riser added mentally. 'It's probably because of mum's teachings.'

"I don't have a problem with it," he said aloud this time. And judging from the respectful and whorshipping looks the maid was gathering from the girls, they didn't have one either. Though the intensity of Akeno's stares was just a little disturbing for some reason.

"I am most thankful for your understanding, Riser-sama," the maid said, her previous scrutinizing gaze now turning into a slightly approving one.

It didn't take long for the super maid to perceive the gap between the boy's supposed controversial behavior and the way he carried himself in their presence. And he didn't seem to restrain himself just because he was facing beings much stronger then he currently was.

She was sure her King noticed it as well, but a little remainder wouldn't hurt. They had to get to the bottom of this mystery. Her younger sister's happiness was on the line after all.

The Ultimate-class Devil Queen was extremely protective of those she considered family. Even if she didn't show it on a daily basis.

"Onee-sama, did you come to bring Onii-sama back to finish his duties?" Rias asked her now that the conversation reached a lull.

"That, "Grayfia agreed with a short bob of her head before shooting a warning glance to her husband, "and the dinner is ready to be served. The Madame has directed me to inform you as such."

As she was finished communicating her message, the maid then turned to the guests and asked them politely, "I believe Riser-sama and Miss Yubelluna will be with us for the supper, am I right?"

"Yes," Riser nodded in consent. "We have been invited by your husband earlier."

"Is that so? Then if there is nothing else to be added that cannot wait until after dinner, let us be on our way."

As the maid didn't get any response besides the ones in agreement for her suggestion, she gave them all an elegant bow before opening the door and gesturing them to follow.

And while the group was making it's way to the dinning room in silence, all of them lost in their musings, Riser thought to himself as well.

'Well, it went quite alright, I think,' he wasn't quite sure about it though. He had his earlier transgressions to thank for that. 'But at least the girls are happy,' of that, he was sure. Their occasional giggling were a dead giveaway after all. The fact the girls' attention was completely absorbed by the bracelets resting on their right wrists didn't left much room for doubt either.

'All that's left is the dinner and after that, helping Rias fix up whatever she wanted me to,' the boy listed in his mind. 'Meeting the parents, huh? Another big hurdle.' The thought of that deflated him a little. Having seen a lot of meetings between his father and his maternal grandparents, he was a little afraid of what was to come.

'Whatever,' Riser cheered himself up by slapping his cheeks a little to raise his courage and expertly ignoring the questioning looks the girls were sending his way and the knowing smirks which were tugging the corners of the married couple's lips. 'I'll just be myself and do what I can and everything will be fine.'

Probably. Maybe.

'Hopefully.'

---

A/N: And so ends the first chapter. I hope you liked it. If you didn't, all I can say is sorry.

I believe there are some things I have to make clear:

1. I rated the story M for future content. Swearing, violence and possibly some more. This is a DxD fanfiction after all.

2. You may have noticed some characters were acting OOC. It was intended on all counts.

Riser and Yubelluna. Definitely OOC and plan to keep them so. I don't want the original fried chicken to be my MC even if he wasn't all that bad in the end. As for Yubelluna ... Was she there, perhaps? For me, not really. So I intend to build her up. She'll try to take after Grayfia. But she'll fail most of the time.

Rias and Akeno. I plan to keep them close to the canon — personality wise. But note they are both 10 years old. They have to grow until they reach their DxD selves.

3. You may have noticed some non DxD abilities too. Like the mending spell? Or the pocket dimensions used to store anything inanimate — not just some specific items.

I know there are tons of cool abilities in the DxD universe. But there are some which aren't present and I want them. So I'll add some from time to time. It's my fanfic after all.

If I could choose ten abilities for myself, those two would definitely make the list. Though I would prefer Tatsuya's Regrowth — from Mahouka — instead of the plain old mending spell.

4. You may think the bracelets are OP. That's good then, because I intended to. And I plan for them to be even more so.

I really, really hate the feeling I get when one of my favorites heroines is in danger. So if they can't handle the situation by themselves and they have to occasionally act as maidens in distress and then be saved by MC or someone else, then I thought I should give them the ability to do so with peace of mind. Even if this takes down much of the suspense.

5. Update frequency? I don't know. It took me 11 days to write this. And I only worked on it after tucking myself in for sleep — though usually it takes a few hours for me to actually go to sleep. Oh! The wonders of the Internet! And the TV!

I've only used my phone for writing, so this may slow down things further. Why not use the laptop or the PC? Do you want me to choose between laying down and writing — with the random entertainment break, of course — and sitting down and writing? Seriously? Do you want me to get hemorrhoids or something?

I don't see myself changing my mind about this anytime soon.

6. The last one for now, I think. Is this story a harem one? I think the answer is evident by now. I like Rias and Akeno too much to write a fanfic and leave one of them out. In fact, I stop reading the fanfictions were this happens.

Other members? Yes. Will I tell you now? No. My preferences are pretty obvious though.

Ramble end. This is all I have for now. PM me if you have any questions not involving giving spoilers.

Until next time, take care.