Chapter Seventeen - Be Just or Be Dead

"Oi, time to wake up!"

Issei's voice muffled through the wooden door, reverberating throughout the dark room, until finally, the lump that was Vincenzo Corsetti stirred from his night's sleep.

"Ugh…" Vin blinked his eyes once, twice, three times to focus the world into view once more, "I'll be out in a minute."

Turning over himself, Vin swung his feet off the bed and stood up.

…Wait.

Vin stared down at his naked legs, nothing there. Eyes trailed up to his stomach, nothing there. Finally, staring down at his wrists, nothing there.

Holy shit, that was impressive. He barely even felt any muscle pain. The most he could feel was equivalent to a nearly-healed bruise. Oh, he was going to thank Asia for this…

Looking over at the dresser, Vin spied the neatly folded stack of clothes that were left for him last night. Taking them in his hands, Vin unfolded the shirt. Nothing more than a simple black long-sleeve shirt. Not flashy, but entirely welcome. Pulling it on, sure the sleeves were a little short, riding up a good inch and a half from where his wrists actually were, but that was fine. He also found a pair of pants, simple red and white track pants, probably the part of some tracksuit that Issei owned. Still, they fit just as well as the shirt, and the waistband had enough flex to it to properly accommodate any difference in waist.

Vin grabbed the final piece of clothing left out for him, a red and white jacket, oh, so that's where the rest of the tracksuit was. Vin tugged the jacket on, leaving it open as he gazed in the small mirror that sat against the wall. It wasn't his favorite look, but then again, what were his standards, leather bondage costumes or band shirts?

There was only one problem, and Vin found out about it as soon as he tried to undo his ponytail to matt it all down properly.

…The band snapped.

Vin sighed, looking in the mirror, his hair cascading down in thick brown locks all the way to the small of his back. Brushing a few strands out of his eyes, Vin sighed. Maybe there was a band that he could borrow from someone in the house. If not, then he could always go and buy one later.

Vin's stomach rumbled. Huh, who knew that nearly dying would make you hungry. Looks like food was coming first. So, without any further delay, Vin opened the door, and walked out into the hallway, and followed the hallway to the stairs, eventually finding himself back at the kitchen, a small crowd gathered before him. From whom he could see, facing him was Issei, Asia, and Rias, while who Vin assumed was Issei's father sat with his back facing him.

"!"

As soon as Issei glanced up from his food, his eyes went wide as he gazed upon the long-haired, decidedly more feminine-looking boy in front of him. Perhaps from the pure system shock of it all, Issei sputtered, before nearly choking on his food, chugging back a cup of water to help stop himself from meeting an early second death.

Rias and Asia also looked over; Rias didn't really seemed to fazed, just her usual controlled, measured, pleasant self; Asia did show a little bit of surprise, but didn't really make too much of a fuss about it, she simply took in the sight of Vin's untied hair, before returning to her food with the faintest of blushes on her cheeks.

If anyone asked her if she had a crush on the long-haired boy before her, she would say no immediately; she could say in confidence that there was only one boy she loved. Still, she would be lying to herself if she didn't admit that the teenage boy's long hair wasn't appealing.

"What's the matter Issei?" His father questioned, or, at least the inflection sounded like a question to Vin, because, you know, language barrier, "Is there something behind me-"

Gorou Hyoudou turned around and looked up at Vin, who brushed a strand of dark hair behind his ear in order to get it out of his face. Gorou turned back to the table with a blank expression, returning to his meal.

"My goodness, these girls just keep on coming…" Gorou shook his head, before turning his head towards the kitchen, "Miki honey, Issei brought home another girl!"

"Really?!" Miki Hyoudou burst into the room, a plate of food somehow already in her hands.

She looked over at Vin, who, once again, really didn't know what was going on. So, Vin did what he did best, and smiled, giving a sheepish wave to Issei's mother.

"Well, she's quite the beauty," Miki admired from a distance, "Is she foreign?"

Issei cleared his throat, "Eh, mom, dad… That's the guy you met yesterday."

Oh.

Ohhhh…

So that's what they were talking about. Yeah, that was understandable, Vin supposed. It was the main reason why Vin chose to wear his hair in a ponytail, and it kept his hair from getting in any mechanisms he works on.

Soon enough, Vin was seated at the table, a plate stacked high with steamed rice, and an omelet. Without wasting time, Vin clapped his hands together, bowing his head in respect, before digging into the food.

As breakfast continued, Vin sat back, eating bites of food while listening to the one-sided conversations that the others were partaking in. The joking barbs directed at one person at the table, the random small talk… It honestly reminded him of simpler times a few months back…


"... And I was like, oh, I'm sorry, you just don't seem to understand quality when you see it!"

Vanessa shoveled a fork full of pasta into her mouth, "Can it Ethan, I've said it before, and I'll say it again. No matter how many times you try to convince her, you won't be able to write an essay about a comic book."

"It's a graphic novel," Ethan slammed his hands on the massive table, "Get your terminology right, Vanessa."

"Oh, my mistake," The girl rolled her eyes, going back to her dinner.

"Wait, are you two doing that project now?" Irina asked.

"Wait, which one?" Vin asked, turning to face Irina on his left.

"You know, last year, the one where you had to write an essay about the themes of a book," Irina slumped down slightly in her seat, "The one I failed."

Vin thought for a moment, before the gears clicked into place, "Oh, that one…" He winced, "Yikes, yeah, I remember not liking that one, I never want to read The Great Gatsby ever again…"

"Right beside you," Irina weakly raised her fist up, as the two weakly bumped them together.

"Anyway, don't be worried about that project," Irina reassured, "No one has ever done super well on that project. Like, I'm pretty sure not a single person has ever gotten above 82%..."

From across the table, someone cleared their throat, looking over, Vin saw Ezekiel sheepishly raise his hand.

"I- um… I had received ninety six percent from our former academic proctor on that academic mission."

The sound of several metal utensils suddenly slipping from hands and falling to the table reverberated through the suddenly silent room.

"How. The. Fuck," Ethan balked.

"Language," Griselda chided, "Perhaps if you all worked together and studied together, your grades would have been better."

"But seriously, how the hell did you manage to do that?" Vin asked, "That project was impossible."

Vanessa looked over at Vin, "It's Ezekiel, if there was anyone who could do that project, it's him, c'mon Vin…"

"Vin…"


"Vin?"

Blinking his emerald eyes, Vin suddenly refocused, the world returned to the Hyoudou household, Asia looking at Vin curiously.

"Hm? Eh, yes?"

"Are you feeling alright? You weren't responding to anything I was saying."

"Ah, sorry, it's nothing," Vin brushed off, "So, what were you saying?"

"It's alright, I was telling you that we're all going to head over to school soon, so if you need to get anything, then you should do it now."

Vin smiled warmly as he stood up, "Thanks for reminding me. Um… Do you happen to have any hair elastics? The one I was wearing snapped this morning."

Asia gave a small, sad smile, "No, sorry, I don't think there's any in the house…"

The blonde thought for a moment, before perking up, "Oh! Akeno-senpai probably has a few to spare! She's wearing ponytails all the time. Although she usually tied it with a ribbon…"

Vin put his hands up, "Don't worry about the details, it'll be worth a try anyhow."

Seeming pleased, Asia gave Vin one last smile, before heading off to get her stuff packed up for school. Lagging behind her, Vin slipped into her room as she went off to pack her book bag.

"I'm sorry about causing such a mess in here."

"Hm?" Asia looked over her shoulder, "Oh! It's no problem, we can easily fix things like that. People though… They're worth so much more."

Vin hummed, "That's… Thanks…"

Vin grabbed his phone, stuffing it in his pocket. The rest of his stuff was still back at the hotel… Oh well he would grab it later.

Following Asia back down the stairs, Vin was met with Rias and Issei waiting for them by the door.

"Are you ready to leave?" Rias asked Vin, to which he nodded, "Good, now, follow us."

As they headed out the door into the bright, morning sun, Asia turned back into the house, "We're off to school!"


The walk was nice, honestly. They talked a lot less than Vin imagined they would. But that was all the better for him, as that meant he could soak in the comfortable quiet.

That was, until they reached the gates of Kuoh Academy, and suddenly the air filled with the incessant buzzing of conversation. As the group proceeded across the school's courtyard, all Vin could feel were all the gazes on him. The worst part was, he didn't understand a lick of what any of them were saying…

"Woah, does Hyoudou have another girl on him now?"

"She seems kind of hot, but she's got that creepy loner energy a bit, doesn't she?"

"Ouch, Hifumi, that's mean. She could just be shy."

"Yeah, but I can't get a good look at her face. Does have nice hair though, I'm a bit jealous…"

While Issei and Asia headed into the school proper, Rias stayed behind, patting Vin on the shoulder, tilting her head towards… the woods at the edge of the school?

"Uh…" Vin drawled.

"Our clubhouse is back there, I'll lead you over."

"Alright, lead the way then," Vin nodded, pointedly ignoring the stares of at least twenty to thirty other students as he followed the crimson-haired devil across the school fields.

Soon enough, they walked down a path that seemed to almost meld into the tree-line, before coming out before the steps up to a classy looking building concealed within the edge of the forest. Tailing Rias, Vin walked up the steps, and into the dark, barely-lit halls. They passed by door after door, one of them covered in an ominous amount of chains, locks, and caution tape; whatever they were keeping in there, oh boy, Vin didn't want to know…

Finally, Rias stopped at a set of double doors, which she elegantly pushed open as she stepped inside. As the wood swung to the sides of their hinges Vin took in the room before him: a wide-open space with numerous bookshelves lining the walls, a large oak desk much like the one that he saw in the Student Council office was pushed up by the far end of the room, and right in the middle were two dark green upholstered couches, a coffee table sitting in between them. However, that wasn't what drew his eyes, no.

Rather, it was the woman sitting on one of the couches.

The very first thing that Vin could say was that the woman before him was incredibly beautiful. Long, raven hair tied back into a ponytail with an orange bow; amethyst eyes glistening in the dull candlelight that provided just enough lighting to see clearly, and her figure…

Vin didn't consider himself to be too much of a letcher, probably because he spent most of his free time at home, in his room pouring over projects, music, or games… But he couldn't help himself as his eyes darted to the woman's… well massive chest. Now that he thought of it, Rias also had massive breasts of her own…

Vin forced his eyes back to focus on her face, or scan the room around him. Oh boy, it was going to be real fun to try and keep his gaze on the straight and narrow today. It wouldn't do if he was caught ogling the very people that he was supposed to make negotiations with later that afternoon.

"Ah, Rias, you're here," The woman stood, before her gaze landed on Vin, "Is this the one that you told me about?"

"Yes," Rias confirmed, turning around to face Vin, "This is Akeno Himejima, my queen."

Should he commit to formality? I mean, sure, it wouldn't hurt to try…

Vin stepped forward, extending his hand in greeting, "Hi, my name's Vin; a pleasure to meet you."

Akeno seemed minorly confused by his attitude, raising her eyebrow ever so slightly, looking over to Rias, who simply shrugged in the background. Eventually, Akeno's expression returned to her normal smile, as she took his hand, giving it a light shake.

"Akeno Himejima," Akeno supplied, "...You… Are rather strange for an exorcist…"

Vin sighed, "I feel like I'm going to get that a lot…"

Akeno gave a light, quiet giggle, "Yes, well not many are so forward and courteous when dealing with devils."

Rias suddenly interjected, "Akeno, classes start any minute now, can you watch Vin here for a while?"

"I assumed you were going to ask that,"Akeno smiled, lifting up a small handful of paper and books, "So I already took the liberty of retrieving all the materials needed for class."

"Wonderful, I'll make an extra set of notes for you," Rias nodded, "Alright, I have to leave now. Farewell Akeno, Vin."

Akeno bowed slightly, "Of course, goodbye Rias."

"Uh… Yeah, see you," Vin replied.

And with that, Rias shut the double doors behind her, leaving Vin alone with the raven beauty. It was awkward to be sure…

Thankfully, Akeno was the first one to break the silence, "Would you like some tea, Vin?"

Perking up, Vin smiled, "Of course, that'd be great, thanks."

Akeno walked across the room, opening a cupboard and pulling out two china teacups. Carefully, she began to pour piping hot tea that steamed in the air.

Keeping her eyes on the teapot, Akeno began to speak, "That's quite the hair you have there; you'll have to accept my apologies, but I almost thought you were a woman for a second there."

Vin humorlessly chuckled, "You did better than Issei and his parents, at least. How'd you manage to figure it out?"

Akeno gave a knowing smile, as she brought the tea to the table, "Let's just say I have experience."

Vin let himself sit on one of the couches opposite Akeno, reaching down and grabbing the teacup put before him. He nearly brought it up to his lips, before thinking better of it, and placing it back down on the table.

"Is the tea not to your liking?"

"Oh, no, it's not that," Vin idly flicked a rouge strand of hair out of his eyes, "Do you happen to have a hair tie? I usually wear a ponytail, but my elastic snapped this morning."

Putting a finger to her bottom lip, Akeno hummed, "I might have one, let me send someone to find it."

Vin was about to ask Akeno what she meant by 'send someone', but it died in his throat as Akeno held up her hand, palm to the sky, as a small magical circle appeared, eventually, in a small poof of smoke, a little cute gremlin creature, no bigger than a phone appeared in the palm of Akeno's hand. It quickly turned around to face it's summoner with a smile on its face, as Akeno leaned down to eye level with it.

"Hello little guy, do you think you could go look around the building for a hair elastic?" Akeno brought up her index finger, and lightly petted the small creature on the head, "I think I have a few in my belongings down the hall."

The creature paused for a moment, before it puffed out it's chest, using it's stubby appendage to give the best salute it could, before hopping off Akeno's hand, and waddling across the floor, and out of the room.

Akeno looked up at Vin, who sat in minor shock, "Oh? Are you not used to the concept of familiars? I was sure that some exorcists used them."

Vin shook his head to clear himself out of his daze, "Oh, um, yeah, I know about the whole concept of familiars… I just never thought I would see one up close before."

Akeno took a sip of her tea, "You must be pretty new to things then."

"Yeah, only about nine months now."

"Hm, I see…" Akeno took another sip of her tea.

As silence enveloped the room, Vin found himself idly drumming his fingers against his knee. To tell you the truth, the silence was a bit unnerving. Behind the frankly mischievous glint in Akeno's eyes, Vin could feel them seizing him up, scanning his entire body for anything.

"So, what's it like?" Vin blurted out, "Being a devil I mean? I'm curious."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I mean, I'm curious. What's the day-to-day routine?"

"Well, that would probably take a long time to explain…"

The door creaked open once again, and as Vin turned his gaze to the ground, as the little gremlin familiar waddled into the room, carrying a black elastic in his hands. Vin bent down, lowering his hand to the floor, as the creature hopped on. Raising his hand, the tiny familiar smiled proudly holding out his prize towards Vin.

With a smile, Vin grabbed the hair elastic out of its hands, providing it with the same pats to it's head that Akeno did. As the creature hopped on Vin's shoulder, finding a comfortable spot to sit, Vin warmly smiled, as he slipped the elastic onto his wrist in order to begin tying back his hair.

"Well, we have a lot of time to kill, don't we?"

Akeno returned the smile, "Yes… Yes, I suppose we do."

Vin scooped the familiar off his shoulder, setting it down to sit on his thigh. Glancing over at the tray of tea, Vin spotted cubes of sugar.

"Can this little guy eat sugar?" Vin asked, pointing at the container of cubed sugar.

"Yes, he can."

Vin nodded in thanks, and quickly grabbed a cube from the tray.

"Here you go little buddy," Vin gently placed the cube in the gremlin's stubby grasp, and it wasted no time in beginning to munch down on it's little treat.

Meanwhile, with his arms now free, Vin began to gather up his long hair, and tied it back with the elastic, eventually reforming his ponytail. Vin let out a sigh, he finally felt completely comfortable again.

He noticed Akeno staring at him, "Ah, Akeno, is there a problem?"

Akeno hummed, "You know, without all that hair in your face, you're rather cute."

Vin blushed, "A-Are you hitting on me?"

Akeno waved her hand, "No, no, it's simply a compliment. Sorry to say this, but respectfully, you're sweet, but not my type."

"That makes sense… Um, thank you."

"You're very welcome," Akeno smiled, "Now, I believe that you wanted to have a question answered?"

Vin finally took hold of the teacup put before him, "Yeah, how about we start with your day-to-day?"

"Very well, then let's begin…"


Hours passed by, and the two traded stories back and forth over tea. Stories of hilarious escapades with Vin and the other exorcists-in-training, recounts of weird devil contract jobs, or one's that'd gone awry.

Time slipped by, as the two engaged in a good-natured competition to see who could recount the more bizarre memory. Giggles, chuckles, and all manner of laughter echoed throughout the room as all pretenses of background was thrown out the window in favor of two people entertaining each other.

"... And then, Vanessa had the bright idea to try and repair the massive gash we made in the pillar with duct tape, of all things. Safe to say, having a strip of grey tape put over a light beige pillar was not the brightest idea in the world, so then she tried to use a sharpie marker to scribble over it to make it the right color. But that only led to her getting sharpie on the pillar itself. Soon enough, our teacher discovered that there was a massive slash left in the pillar. Safe to say, she was not~ happy."

"This happened because she wanted you to record a video of her swinging a sword around in a cathedral?" Akeno snickered, "You can't be serious."

"Oh, I am. We got up to some crazy shit whenever our teacher was out for the day."

"You know, if you keep saying these things, us devils are going to think that the church is weak," Akeno teased, although her laughter was evident in her tone, "It's going to be so hard to fear you all now. What am I supposed to think? 'Oh no, not the girl who thought duct tape could conceal a gash in a pillar!' Or, 'Yikes, not the boy who thought that vinegar was spicy water!'"

"Well, that's good," Vin nodded, "I like to think that gives me a more approachable air."

Akeno sheepishly eyed up the boy across from her, "Are… Are you sure you're comfortable like that?"

"Like what?" Vin echoed as he sat up straight on the couch.

The sight was certainly a strange one. If one were to picture an fearsome exorcist, a warrior of the church who wielded a weapon granted by God himself; you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who would describe a teenage boy in a second-hand tracksuit, casually chatting with a devil, all while six tiny multicolored oni scrambled around his body like a jungle gym.

Not a moment later, the doors clicked open once more, as all sets of eyes turned to see Asia and Issei enter the room. The two second years looked over at Vin with varying levels of confusion at the familiar swarmed exorcist.

As best as he could, Vin gave a small wave and nodded to the two devils, "Sup?"

"What am I even looking at?" Issei deadpanned.

"I don't know," Vin admitted, looking down at the familiars that have slid down into his lap, "I like these little guys though, they're cute."

"This is the exorcist?" A small girl, with a head of white hair held up with two cat-themed pins walked into the room, staring at Vin with an unimpressed gaze, "I was expecting more."

"Um… Thanks…" Vin raised an eyebrow.

"Koneko, be nice to our guest," Rias Gremory herself finally stepped into the room, her blue eyes scanning over Vin, as a small smile found its way onto her face.

"I see that you've gotten very cozy over there," Rias joked, before turning to her queen, "Thank you for looking after him for so long Akeno."

Akeno waved a hand, "It was no trouble at all; as a matter of fact, I'd say we had a bit of fun."

Vin raised an eyebrow as Issei suddenly popped up behind him, his mouth leaning down to the Italian teen's ear, "Oi, oi, oi, what did the two of you do?"

"...Nothing… Why?"

"Because I'm going to be the harem king one day, and I'll be damned if I'm going to be NTR'd by your holy ass."

Vin couldn't help himself, as he gave a very informal snort, as he began to shake with barely restrained chuckles, "You… Are you serious?"

Issei stared into Vin's eyes with nothing but the utmost seriousness, "Absolutely."

"..."

"..."

Vin couldn't hold it anymore.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Vin broke down, the familiars that had collected in his lap scrambling as he slowly fell to his side on the couch, "No way… No fucking way…"

Stomping his foot, Issei huffed, "And what's so wrong with that?"

Vin slowly began to calm down, "No…No… There's nothing wrong… Just… Sorry, I needed a good laugh like that…"

"Wow, thanks, it's not like that's my dream you're laughing at…" Issei spat sarcastically.

Vin reached over and placed a hand on Issei's shoulder, "Look, there's nothing wrong with that dream, sorry, it just sort of came out of left field. I mean, you do you. Sky's the limit, I suppose."

"Well, if laughing at Issei's the only thing that we have to worry about," Rias pointedly ignored the indignant shout of 'hey' that came from the pawn, "Then I suppose that we shouldn't have too much to worry about with the other two exorcists. Let's get into place everyone, Sona just alerted me that she's escorting our guests here right now."

So, everyone in the room began to get prepared, shifting around as they all found their place. Vin was moved over to the couch on the right side of the room, sipping away at a fresh cup of tea brewed up by Akeno while the little familiars continued to play on his body. Across the room, Rias sat alone on the left couch, as the rest of her peerage lined up formally behind her. All in all, it was a very formal occasion; and Vin was willing to bet that if he didn't have the adorable little gremlins crawling and playing up and down his body, he would be a lot more nervous.

The suspenseful silence came to a halt, as the sound of a knock cracked through the still air. A moment later, Rias called for them to come in, and soon enough, the double doors swung open, as Vin was once again faced by his two cloaked comrades.

Vin didn't really hear what Rias and Sona were talking about, likely just trading pleasantries with each other. No, Vin was rather preoccupied with the two sets of gazes fixed onto him from Xenovia and Irina.

On one hand, Irina looked relieved at his safety, if perhaps a little shocked at his current state. Understandable, all things considered. He did have an entirely new wardrobe on, and was currently the play structure for six little familiars.

Meanwhile, Xenovia's glare looked downright scathing. Her eyes narrowed under her hood as she stared hard, eyes roving over his clothes, the cup of tea in his hands, and the creatures that covered him. Vin gulped, it looked like Xenovia was about one second away from giving him a scolding for the ages…

"You two must be the other exorcists from the Vatican," Rias thankfully interrupted, forcing Xenovia to abandon whatever words she was going to say, instead giving a curt nod, before sitting down on Vin's left, the sound of her wrapped Excalibur tapping against the floor was enough to cause the familiars to be spooked, all of them poofing away at once in a plume of smoke.

Irina walked over and sat down on Vin's right, effectively sandwiching him between his two allies on the couch. The effect and subliminal intention was not lost on Vin…

They were trying to keep him as separate from the devils as possible, as if to say that he was theirs. Honestly, if their fears weren't so unfounded, Vin might have actually been rather touched by the sentiment.

"Yep!" Irina replied, nodding at Rias, "I'm Irina Shidou, and this is Xenovia Quarta; you guys are probably already familiar with Vinny though."

Rias took a sip of tea, "Indeed we are. He's a rather wonderful individual; but that's not the topic of this discussion, is it?"

Xenovia shook her head, "No, it's not. We'll cut straight to the chase, we were sent here to reclaim the two-" Xenovia looked over at Vin, "...Three shards of Excalibur that have been stolen."

"The church sent only three exorcists? And so young at that?" Rias questioned, her brow raised in skepticism.

Vin awkwardly coughed, "Yeah, our resources are… stretched thin at the moment."

"Hmm, and why does this involve me and my peerage?"

"We want you to agree to not interfere in our mission," Xenovia confessed, "I'd rather not stay in this devil-ridden town longer than I have to, so we'll retrieve the Excalibur's and leave immediately after that objective is completed."

"Pardon me for my curiosity, but which Excalibur's were taken?" Rias asked.

"Wait, there's more than one Excalibur?" Issei muttered, his question barely audible, fortunately, Vin managed to understand.

Vin turned to face Issei, "Basically, Excalibur was once a really big, powerful holy sword, but after the great war, it was left broken into seven pieces. The TLDR here is that there are now seven holy swords that could be considered 'Excalibur', and each one has a different ability."

Issei made a noise of understanding, as Irina spoke up, "The ones that got stolen were Nightmare and Transparency. But given that Vinny's no longer holding onto it, and it wasn't in the hotel this morning, it's safe to say that Rapidly has also fallen into enemy hands, right?"

Vin grit his teeth at his own personal failure, "Yeah… It was…A stray exorcist named Freed Sellzen stole it from me."

That name seemed to make everyone in the room flinch.

"Wait, you mean like, Lint's brother, Freed?!" Irina gawked.

"Yeah, given his reaction to me asking, he's the very same one."

The devils, on the other hand, had all manner of expressions on their face, from the fear reflected in Asia, to the borderline snarl on Issei, to the concerned and frankly, annoyed Rias.

Said woman pinched her brow, "Of all people… I should have expected that he would've returned sooner rather than later."

"The identity of our enemies aside… and for how little it may mean to a mere devil, will you swear to not interject in our affairs?" Xenovia asked.

Even though Vin wasn't the most socially-competent person on the block, he could still blatantly see the silent fuming given off by Rias, as she attempted to bury her rising aggression for the sake of formality. After a beat, the crimson devil opened her mouth once more.

"You may be mistaken, for us devils, our obligations are everything. We won't interfere in your affairs here," Rias allowed a mischievous smirk to cross her features, "...For how little it may mean to a mere exorcist."

"Very well," Alongside Xenovia, Irina and Vin stood up. The bluenette turned to retrieve her wrapped sword.

"I can't suppose I can offer you any tea before you leave?" Rias asked, "Your friend certainly enjoyed what he had."

Xenovia paused, before turning to glare at Rias, "I need to ask, why was Vin with you people?"

"He came to us last night, I don't know how else to answer. He was injured, he came to us, and we healed him. Him staying here until the meeting was simply convenient."

"Yet, we come in today to see him fraternizing with the enemy?" While the rhetorical question was posed at Rias, Xenovia narrowed her eyes at Vin, "What did you do to him?"

"I suppose that you won't accept the truth? We were simply acting hospitable."

"Xenovia," Vin said, "They're telling the truth, they weren't interested in knowing anything about the church."

"Really? I find it hard to believe that…" Xenovia pointed at Asia, who seemed to lock up under the newfound attention, "I knew I recognized her face, and the fact that they healed you just proves it, she's Asia Argento, isn't she?"

Vin stalled for a moment, as the air turned to ice, "...So what if she is?"

"Then it would make too much sense… A witch like her would love to learn all about the weaknesses in the church."

As soon as the words left Xenovia's mouth, the entire mood of the room shifted dramatically. Asia went wide-eyed, the strength leaving her legs as she collapsed to her knees on the floor.

"You bitch!" Issei nearly surged forward, if not for the sudden intervention of Koneko, who held his wrist in an unbreakable iron grip, "You take that back! Asia is the most devout person you'll ever meet!"

"Xenovia, what the fuck?!" Vin paled, "She saved my life!"

"She could easily have ulterior motives."

"If you're done with your delusions about my servant," Rias's frigid tone seemed to echo above all other voices in the room, despite her never raising her voice, "I think it's time that we wrap this meeting up."

"Perhaps so…" Xenovia pondered for a moment, before turning her gaze back down to the blonde who kneeled on the floor across from her, "I must ask though, is what the devil boy said true? Do you still hold faith in God, even after becoming a devil?"

The question seemed to stab Asia in some place deep in her emotional core, but through shaky breath and teary eyes, she answered.

"Y-y-yes. Even as a devil… I still believe in him, and hold faith…"

"That's too bad… You genuinely seem like you do believe…" Xenovia slowly raised the hand that clutched Excalibur Destruction, "In that case, allow me to smite you down now, so that your soul may be forgiven by God."

Okay, that was a step too fucking far. Vin should have anticipated something like this happening, if the level of tension in their previous meeting with Sitri was anything to go off of. Plus, Xenovia was raised by the church for nearly her entire life, of course she would be this… unfazed. Vin shot a quick glance at Irina, who simply stood back, saying nothing, of course she would be on board with this too.

A flash of red light filled the room for a split second, as Issei surged forth, escaping Koneko's grip at the slightest sign of weakness. There, he positioned himself in front of the petrified Asia, and with splitting rage, he raised a massive scale-laden red gauntlet, levelling it protectively in a stance that made him seem ready to battle at any moment.

"You won't lay a fucking finger on Asia," Issei spoke loud and dangerously. It wasn't a threat, it was a promise.

Still, Xenovia didn't seem deterred. Scoffing, she spoke "If she really cared about God, then she was still the 'holy maiden' she once was, then she should gladly offer her soul to God in order to be forgiven."

That was when Vin finally stepped in, summoning his Sacred Gear, Vin roughly grabbed Xenovia's shoulder, and yanked her back. His emerald eyes staring into her amber, neither one refusing to back down. Any previous awkwardness be damned, this wasn't the time for it.

At the sudden intrusion of Vin, the rest of the room seemed to bare their fangs. Rias' hair lifted ominously, little sparks of electricity danced between Akeno's fingers; Koneko shifted in stance, her fist raising in preparation; and seeing the sudden shift in demeanor from the devils, Irina suddenly yanked the ribbon band off her bicep, transforming it into a katana as it was pulled out from under her cloak.

For a moment, everyone stood there, ready to trade blows at the drop of a hat, until a voice penetrated the tension in the air.

"Well, looks like my choice to check out this meeting was worthwhile after all."

All eyes turned to the doors of the room, as in it's doorway, stood a familiar blonde-haired boy, his eyes glaring at the swords that Irina and Xenovia carried with a hateful hunger.

The sudden appearance of the knight took the devils by surprise, and they slowly dropped their guard in exchange for shock at the appearance of their runaway teammate.

However, the same could not be said for the exorcists, namely Xenovia, who traced Kiba's gaze back to the sword clutched tightly in her hand.

Looking up, Xenovia stared balefully at Kiba, "Who are you?"

With a scoff, Kiba spat right back, "I suppose I'd be your senpai."


"Oh shit, I am so, so sorry about all of this, guys," Vin begged his apologies to the small collection of devils who stood alongside him.

They were outside now, in the slowly fading latte afternoon sun, which casted it's orange and pink glow down on the clearing around them. Before the small grouping of Rias, Akeno, Koneko, Asia, and himself; there were four teens who squared off with each other.

"It's alright…" Rias started, before pausing, and rescinding her statement, "Actually no, it's not alright, the actions of your teammates were rather unwelcome. You, however, have no reason to apologize on their behalf."

Vin scratched the back of his neck, "Yeah, I guess, but… I don't know, I'm sorry that it ended up like this."

Rias brushed it off, "It's fine, truth be told, this little informal exhibition match is needed by both parties. Hopefully, it will grant some clarity to those four."

"Yeah… Let's hope."

Akeno called out towards the four figures preparing for battle, "This will be an exhibition match, where the goal is to incapacitate the enemy, or make them tap out. The pairings will go as follows, Kiba will face Xenovia, and Issei will face Irina. If that's all, you may begin."

"Oh Issei!" Vin turned at the sound of Irina's cry, watching as she wiggled around under her cloak in… well, some sort of emotion, Vin wasn't sure, "How cruel is it that fate has made you a devil, and forced me to face you like this!"

Issei nervously chuckled, "Uh… Yeah… Weird…"

"Regardless of my personal wishes, I suppose I must punish you all the same, as a servant of the Lord!" Irina, at the same time as Xenovia, tossed off their cloaks, leaving them in their revealing, skin-tight battle leotards.

Across the field, Xenovia raised the bundle in her hands, as the wrappings magically shot off, leaving Xenovia holding Excalibur Destruction in all its glory. She levelled the blade into a stance that Vin recognized from their numerous spars in the past. A stance that provided a mix of offense and defense… That was weird, even when it was an opponent who Xenovia knew nothing about, she would usually just go all into offense.

Unless she was worried about speed. A good counter was how Vin managed to eke out any of the wins that he did have on the blue-haired warrior. But the fact that she was actually approaching the encounter tactically only meant one thing…

Xenovia was going to figure out an opening, and then show Kiba no remorse.

Now, if Vin was in Kiba's spot, as he had so, so many times in the past, he would probably be as laser focused as possible, grimly flipping through strategies in his mind, a feeling of adrenaline and feral excitement bubbling under the surface, hot and viscous.

Yet, Kiba showed nothing of the sort.

No, instead, the boy began to laugh.

"What's so funny?"

Kiba looked up at the exorcist in front of him, his eyes blazing with fiery vengeance, "Nothing… I just never thought that the very things I've wanted to destroy for so long have finally appeared before me; on a silver platter, no less."

Vin blinked, in one moment, the field was perfectly normal. But not a moment later, and with a horrible scraping shriek, a large section of the field became a veritable forest of different blades.

Frankly, it reminded him a lot of what he could do… Which probably meant that Kiba had a Creation-Type Sacred Gear, same as him.

Xenovia, if anything, looked unimpressed, "Sword Birth, huh? Shouldn't be a problem, I have experience dealing with abilities like yours."

"Amen!"

"Issei, look out!" Asia cried, and Vin wretched his attention to the other combatants, right as Irina lunged foreword, striking sharp and quick as a viper, as the blade of Excalibur Mimic barely missed Issei's chest, instead taking a slice out of the devil's school shirt.

Stumbling on his feet from the sudden leap backwards, Issei looked down at the damage to his clothes, then gazed at Irina in shock, "Shit, those things are dangerous… Oi, Irina, I thought we said no killing!"

"Oh, to have to face the brutal reality of killing my past…" Irina squirmed, "It's got to be a test from God!"

"Oh great, she's off in Candyland," Issei groaned, before dropping into a more appropriate stance, Sacred Gear extended out and ready to protect its wielder. With an emerald glow from the gem on the back of the gauntlet's hand, a voice echoed out across the field.

[Boost!]

Xenovia raised her brow, "The Sekiryuutei's Boosted Gear, Asia Argento's Twilight Healing, and your Sword Birth… My my, you lot sure are hoarding a lot of Sacred Gears…"

"Stop talking," Kiba spat, grabbing a single blade from the ground, "I swear, I'll destroy that Excalibur in your hands for the sake of my fallen comrades!"

Like a bullet, Kiba shot forward, slashing over and over at Xenovia, who simply kept a level head in the face of the rapid assault, carefully shifting the alignment of her blade to deflect Kiba's high-speed bombardment. Occasionally, Xenovia would shift to the offensive, throwing out one or two powerful swings to probe Kiba, before shifting back onto defense. Although Vin had seen the technique used before, he never expected Xenovia, of all people, to try it out in a fight.

She was tiring Kiba out. Patiently waiting for his own anger to forcibly burn through his reserves of energy. It seemed like Kiba's speed was lowering bit by bit, even if only slightly. One of Xenovia's swings even managed to clip a tiny portion of the blonde's bangs.

Vin shifted his focus back to Issei and Irina, as Issei managed to block a swing from Excalibur Rapidly with… his left arm?

"How's he doing that?" Vin asked aloud, "I'm not an expert or anything, but I'm pretty sure he'd still feel at least some inverse effects from being in contact with a holy sword, Sacred Gear or not."

Rias smiled proudly, her eyes never leaving Issei, "He's very special, his arms not that of a devils, but a dragons."

Vin gave a hum of wonder, a dragon, huh? He had experience with those, he guessed.

Watching Issei fend off the supposedly 'crazed' assault of Irina was interesting at least. The occasional cries from the boy's Sacred Gear seemed to increase his abilities, as he slowly and slowly grew to match Irina's impressive acrobatics and speed with each consecutive [Boost!]

Still, Vin had some sort of idea why Irina was acting the way she was… It wasn't super normal for her, after all. Was she super upfront about her religion? Sure, but it was never to this level. He supposed that there was only one conclusion then: she was acting.

Why? Who knew, but maybe it was her coping strategy for dealing with all the shit that was flung at them over this past month… And to deal with all that, on top of realizing that your childhood friend and probably crush was a devil?

Although he couldn't rationalize the amount of aggression and hate that Xenovia and Irina held towards the devils, he could, at the very least, understand why she would come to act in this way.

Eventually, Irina and Issei clashed once more, both of them hopping apart, and began to circle one another. As they did, Issei's eyes roved up and down Irina's alluring figure. A perverted glint entering the devil boy's eyes.

Irina sweated as she became aware of her opponent's gaze, "Uh… Why are you looking at me with a lecherous face like that?"

"Be careful," Koneko spoke up from the sidelines, "Issei-senpai can blow any clothes by just touching them."

Wait, what?

What the fuuuccckkk?

"Wait, their clothes?!" Irina looked back at the small girl in shock, to which Koneko only nodded.

"Koneko! Why are you giving away my secret attack to the enemy," Issei cried in disbelief, "I thought we had a common enemy!"

"The only common enemy here is you, senpai. You're the enemy of all women."

Vin couldn't help it, as he tried and failed to hold in his laughter, giving an unrefined snort. Why the hell was his secret technique all about stripping clothes?!

All the humor in the scene before him was promptly slammed to a halt, as something glinted in the air above. Squinting his eyes, Vin watched the object twirl faster and faster as it rapidly approached him. A moment later, Vin could actually see what it was… A glinting sword that Xenovia had kicked out of Kiba's hands a moment ago.

Oh shit.

Vin wasted no time, summoning his Sacred Gear, and swiping his right hand upwards in a wide arc. The crystals came not a second too soon, as the blade found purchase deep in the geodes.

"Are you okay?" Asia cried, as she and the rest of the group stared at Vin, who slowly stepped away from the crystal structure, putting a hand to his heart as he steadied his breath.

"Yeah, I'm all good."

"That's the first time we've seen your Sacred Gear in action," Rias noted aloud, "Is it also a Creation-Type?"

Vin nodded, "Yup, I don't know what it's technically called, but it can make crystals… That's about it."

"Interesting, interesting…" Rias echoed.

Snapping his fingers, the crystal shattered, as Vin summoned the Gear, going to pick up the sword that remained on the ground, inspecting it to the best of his abilities. Still, as he held it, he could feel some sort of… foul sensation pervade throughout his hand, enough so that Vin dropped the weapon unceremoniously to the ground.

Right as the weapon hit the ground, the earth began to shake, causing everyone to brace themselves. Looking to the source, Vin saw that Xenovia had slammed Excalibur Destruction into the ground, and a now unarmed Kiba was open as she wasted no time, dashing foreword, and nailing the blonde in the stomach with the pummel of her blade, before snapping around with a devastating roundhouse kick that sent Kiba flying to the ground, utterly defeated.

Xenovia stood over his face-down body, a somewhat cocky, condescending smirk on her face, "So, what was that you were saying about being my 'senpai', was it?"

Kiba struggled to lift an arm, his glare utterly acidic, "Get back here…"

Xenovia looked over her shoulder as she walked away, "No, we're done. Stay down."

Vin turned his gaze away, geez, that was brutal. It reminded him of the worst of his spars, ones where either of them would come out with fractures.

Vin needed a palate cleanser, so he turned back to the other remaining fight. Compared to the unyielding, gritty, systematic takedown performed by Xenovia; Irina and Issei's match was borderline comic relief. Something that Vin really didn't mind, considering the tension, gloom, and dread that enshrouded them all on this stupid, stupid mission.

Now, Issei was just flat-out trying to hit Irina with his 'dress break' technique. Huh, what a day… Was Vin concerned about Irina? No, not really, the girl had the acrobatics to outperform olympians, and the training and reflexes to back everything up. If she got hit by a boy, albeit a devil boy, just lunging at her… Well, at that point, it was her own fault.

Eventually, Issei made one last-ditch attempt to tag Irina with his degenerate spell, and in a swift motion, Irina performed a front flip, arcing right above Issei's head as the brunette fell past her.

Although Irina may have landed gracefully, Issei did not; slamming into Asia and Koneko, who both, for a mere moment, had a magic circle affixed to the point of contact between themselves and Issei. When Issei hit the ground, his fingers on his left hand snapped together…

And with wide-shocked eyes, Vin saw Asia and Koneko's clothes explode to smithereens.

Vin didn't care to admit it, but yeah, he shamelessly gawked for a brief moment. C'mon, he was a teenager, of course he would. Still, after a second, and Koneko stepping forward to deliver an uppercut that literally sent Issei skyward, Vin got the smart idea to avert his eyes, summoning his Gear, if only to create a wall to shield himself from the view outside.

From the limited view he could see, Vin watched Issei thump down to the ground unceremoniously, as Irina squatted by his body, poking his head with a twig, as if morbidly prodding the corpse of some dead animal.

"I think this means I win, right?" Irina asked, and when she received no formal confirmation, she stood up, shrugged, and walked over to Vin, who was currently leaning back against the crystals he created, a blush on his face.

"Are they dressed?" Vin asked.

"Hmmm, Yep!"

"Oh thank god…" Vin broke the crystals, as he walked forward alongside Irina to retrieve her cloak.

"It's time we head out," Xenovia met them, already, her sword was wrapped up, and her cloak was back around her body.

"Yeah, I suppose it's getting late, isn't it? We still wanted to do a little more searching when the sun's up." Irina mentioned, looking to the sky.

Xenovia turned to the devils behind her, "So, we still have our agreement?"

"Yes, of course," Rias confirmed, "But, if you would allow me to indulge my curiosity, have you determined who the thief of the Excalibur's is?"

All semblance of a good mood left Vin, as he glanced over his shoulder, "... Kokabiel."

That seemed to give Rias pause, "The cadre-class fallen angel?"

"The very same. I know, it's insane, they send children to do this."

"Vin," Xenovia cut in, "We need to leave."

"Yeah, you're right," Vin heaved a withering sigh, "I promise that if I live through this, I'll return the clothes. Thank you for your hospitality, but we have to leave."

And so, the three exorcists disappeared into the late afternoon.


"Why did you defend her, Vin?" Xenovia snapped out front of the hotel.

"Why? Xenovia, what the fuck were you thinking?" Vin cried, "Disregarding the 'little' fact that they saved my life; do you even realize how sideways the negotiations could have gone because of you?"

"That's besides the point."

"Besides the point?! Xenovia, that is the point!"

Vin rubbed his temples, "Look, I just… I'm pissed off at you right now, I need to go for a walk."

"I'm not so sure that's safe anymore, Vin," Irina chimed in, "Last time you promised you were just 'going for a walk', you nearly got killed, and disappeared. You… You really had us worried."

That admission caused Vin's anger to simmer down slightly, "I understand. But I think if I stick to the actual city, I'll be alright. I got my phone, I doubt they would make a move in a massive crowd, and above all, I don't have the exorcist outfit, nor an Excalibur right now. I'm basically a civvie."

"Fine, but you make sure to text one of us every half-hour, and meet up with us when we call you, okay?"

"Yeah, I can agree to those conditions. Are you two going to hit the streets for some info?"

Irina shrugged, "That, and try and find a place to eat dinner."

"Cool," Vin nodded, "I'll probably just take an hour, I need to collect myself. I'll see you two soon, alright?"

"Yep!" Irina smiled, although it seemed more tired, less exuberant…

Vin didn't bother waiting for Xenovia's response as he turned on his heels, and walked away towards the crowds of the city.


It would only be ten minutes later when Vin would receive a text on his phone from a contact that he didn't think he would ever hear from ever again; and the message unnerved him to no end, despite its presumed innocence.

AL ZAEL

[Hey kiddo, I heard you're in Kuoh right now! Actually you're really close to where I am, so why don't you spin by for a quick drink and a chat. We can catch up, how about it?]


Here's the first real upload from me on winter break! I'm sorry if it took a bit to come out, but I also have to work a job again, so I have slightly less time than usual. Also, just the occasional family thing. Still, I really like how this chapter turned out!

Again, I wanted to thank all of you for showing an insane amount of support on this story. We just passed 30,000 views on this story, and I swear, with every favorite, follow, review, or hell, even view, it's like a dream coming true to me. So, from the bottom of my heart, thanks so much.

I'm sure this chapter was one that a lot of people were looking forward to, and it provided a lot of unique challenges for me as a writer, but ultimately, I really enjoyed writing it.

Now, without further ado, let's get into the…

Chapter Notes

Chapter Title

It's not a secret at all, this chapter's title is a direct reference to the classic Guilty Gear song, Holy Orders (Be Just or Be Dead), which is probably in my top five songs of all time. I chose to use this title specifically since it refers to Xenovia and Irina's ideology towards Asia in this chapter. I don't know, it's a cute comparison, so I thought I'd use it.

Dude Looks Like a Lady

One day, I was writing this story, and I came to the realization that if Vin took out his ponytail, his hair might very well be at the same length as Asia's. So, I wanted to make a running joke here where Vin with his hair down makes people think he's female, even if it's usually only because of its length, and it covers his face. And before any of you say that's unrealistic, it's actually happened to me once or twice when I used to have a ponytail some years back.

Vin's Stance on Issei's Perversion

This one's more of a hot-button topic when it comes to OC's in DxD fics. There's always the issue with how the OC is going to engage with the raunchier elements of the series. A fair few people will usually come to the conclusion of making the OC a white-knight, paragon of anti-sex, who still manages to smash puss on the hourly, which is beyond ridiculous. Which is why I want to explore something new, and so, Vin finding immense amounts of good-natured humor in Issei's boldly perverse nature was born. I like it a lot, and yeah, Vin's a little horny too, just in different ways.

REVIEW ROUNDUP!

Tyrant Overlord Killidia Says:

"Heh, this was a neat chapter. Vin ended up needing to be healed by Asia, and Issei also helped out. And it's probably going to be something that takes awhile to form but I do like seeing Issei and Asia together. Heck, she's very likely to become part of Issei's harem if she already isn't part of it. Xenovia had better watch what she says during the meeting since if it weren't for Asia, Vin wouldn't be alive."

I'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter! I am a firm believer in Asia/Issei as a pairing, and I will always put them together, no matter what. I feel like the one comment that Asia makes where she really likes the look of Vin with his hair down may be misconstrued as people thinking that there will be an Asia/Vin pairing, but no, that's not happening. It's just a level of realism to characters, like, the members of Issei's harem are people too, they can look at someone else, and be like, 'oh yeah, that's hot' and not have it be an interference to their actual romantic interests.

Thanks for the comment, and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter too!

KPmine1 Says:

"Nice"

Nice.

RockenDarkly Says:

"Dunno how much a bare chested Asia could be considered fluffly but I love it nonetheless lol.

Mood always improves when I see a new chapter drop, even with less really going on its still great.

Issei is closet bi? Hell I could see it, he's one of the characters I'd say would live by 'every hole is the goal'.

Hopefully it doesn't take anyone to get seriously hurt to get Vin's ass into gear, he did shockingly well in the previous fight so he should be able to do it. Last one I swear, could Bheithir make Vin's body or at least parts of it into a dragon like Ddraig did to Issei?"

As always, it's a joy to see your reviews again!

I'm glad that my story updating is bringing you so much joy, really, to see that my work is having a positive impact on people is simply incredible. And now that I'm off on winter break, expect a lot more in the future!

Issei being a closeted bisexual is pretty much just a head canon with a lot of evidence in the source material. I like the idea, personally. Do I think that Issei would ever act on it? Probably not, but that won't stop him from acting in a way where yeah, it can be pretty easy to see. I'm glad that you like the idea as much as I do anyhow!

There will be proper fluff with Asia later, but for now, I liked how the last chapter had Issei purposefully putting himself in an uncomfortable position for the sake of preserving Asia's innocence. When I originally ran that scenario by some people, they all agreed that yeah, that's in character for Issei.

Yeah, with the last fight, we saw some of what Vin can seriously do, and by the end of this story arc, we'll definitely see Vin in all of his feral, nasty, creative, brutal combative glory. He's really fun to write into combat since he's a character who's not really bound by honor over the simple concept of survival. Which means that he can get away with a lot more shit than some other combatants.

As for if Bheithir could make Vin's body draconic, unfortunately, no. However, she can do some real freaky stuff to him, and there may or may not be plans in the future to really explore the dynamic between the two, in order to really push what it means to be partners. Think, if you will, what would it be like if your Sacred Gear dragon really didn't have your best interest in mind? I'll leave you with that, but expect something about that to begin popping up around the Underworld Training Arc.

As always, thanks for reviewing, you may be like 'last thing, I swear', but for real, I love how much effort you put into your reviews, you ask so many questions, and it's really fun to hear how you felt about each part. Thanks so much, and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter too. Rock on!


Alrighty, that's it for this chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did writing it, and expect another chapter in the coming days! This arc actually only has a few more chapters in it now, since we're already reaching the endgame. The goal is to at least get through this arc over this break, and maybe even dig into the arc after it too!

If you enjoyed what you read, please leave a review, favorite, and/or follow. They all really help motivate me more and more, and while I do enjoy writing this story, no doubt, all that little bit of extra support really adds fuel to my fire, and seriously does help me keep up the frankly ridiculous pace I have. Also, I have an Instagram (dxd_alternate_official), where I post memes related to the story, general updates about myself or the story, and sometimes even background details. Check it out if you have the time!

That's all for now everyone! I hope you have a wonderful day, thanks for the 30,000+ views, and rock on!