It all happened on a weekend while Makoto was staying with his grandparents. He was about around 9 at the time. We lived in a humble house we were able to purchase through Hikaru's modest wealth.

After we fell in love, he decided to resign from his position as servant of the Himejima temple to avoid any suspicion.

One day, Shuri, who wanted to spend the day working on the house while Baraquiel was off on business with the remaining loyal fallen angels, asked if Akeno could spend the day with "Aunt Gabby"

We had lunch and went shopping together.

Akeno asked me, "Why are your wings white and mine and Daddy's black?"

"It's not a difference you should be worried about."

At one point, though, Akeno noticed a man in an alleyway in trouble.

She could tell because her mother taught her to sense evil spirits, and it was attempting to possess this man.

Reluctantly, I followed her. Naturally, as a seraph in my position, I had a similar power.

Together, we managed to banish the evil spirit and he was well. Just unconscious.

Shortly after, a middle-aged butler and a young girl with red hair appeared.

"Thank you for saving him. You two have spared our family's servant a very slow and painful death," the butler said. "The house of Gremory owes you a debt of gratitude."

The girl waved as the two of them left.

Akeno was cowering behind me, "Are those?"

"They're devils, yes."

I didn't know at the time if they could tell if I was an angel or not, nor if that would mean danger to me.

All I knew was going down that alleyway was one of the most important decisions I have made.

Akeno's fear had gone by the time I returned her to her mother.

"Come back soon, Aunt Gabby!"

"I sure will!"

Later in the evening I was working in the garden, getting some tomatoes and herbs for supper, when I heard clattering inside.

I went inside to find a frightening masked man with a sword. And worse, he had already dealt a fatal wound to Hikaru.

He told me, "You have been corrupted by the fallen angel and must be silenced."

Right then and there, I obliterated him.

Before I could heal Hikaru, he told me "Please don't let Makoto get involved in this ordeal" and passed.

I rushed over to Shuri's house, too frantic to properly grieve, knowing those assassins will have come for her as well.

I was, again, too late.

She was cut down trying to protect her daughter.

I obliterated the assassins before they could kill Akeno as well.

I used all my strength I could muster to heal Shuri, but she was already gone.

Akeno looked confused.

"Could you save Mommy?"

I was in too much grief and pain.

"I couldn't save her. I was too late for Hikaru and I was too late for her…"

"It's not your fault, Aunt Gabby, it's Daddy's."

I had no chance to respond to that, I had a bigger fish to fry.

"We know you're in there, Gabriel."

"Great-uncle?" Akeno exclaimed.

"Normally I would just have had my assassins deal with that cursed daughter you're harboring. But I hear the gods have a particular high price for your head."

I emerged from the house and saw an old man holding a staff with several more assassins on either side of him.

"I won't let even a seraph get in the way of blotting this shame from the Himejima clan."

"You monster. I won't let you hurt Akeno!" I exclaimed as I unleashed my power on them.

While the assassins were vaporized, the old man simply dissipated it with his staff.

"My, Gabriel. You sure have gotten soft over the last decade on Earth. I expected an angel of your stature to be more of a threat."

"What's the meaning of this, Suou Himejima?" the girl with the red hair asked as she and the other devil from earlier suddenly appeared.

"Lady Gremory? This matter is concerning a seraph and a fallen angel. It does not concern your kind."

"On the contrary, Himejima. It most definitely concerns us.

You see, our clan is indebted to those two and if you cause them any further harm, you will have to answer to us."

"I am Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, Bishop of Lord Gremory," the butler said. "If you wish to negotiate this matter, I would be happy to oblige."

The two of them went to the side.

"Can I go inside with you?" the girl asked.

"I suppose."

As the girl and I entered, she said, "It's okay. You're safe now…"

Akeno emerged from where she was hiding. She looked scared at the young devil's presence.

"My name is Rias Gremory. What's yours?"

"Akeno… Himejima."

"You have such pretty hair, Akeno…"

Rias' compliments and my presence seems to have calmed her down a bit. She walks ever so closely in front of Rias, whom I was right behind.

"I think we could become best of friends…"

"And that was how I became her servant," Akeno commented after my mother finished her story.

"And after this," Mom added, "the Gremory family hooked me up with this house as reparation and as a token of own new relationship."

I always thought this house came from God-knows where, now I know it's actually Lucifer-knows-where

"I didn't know you were that mature at age 10, Rias." I commented, "When I was that age I was still going 'Hey, y'all. Watch this,' and I would have been off my legs for a week if not for my healing abilities."

"If I'm not mistaken, that's how you learned to heal…" Mom commented.

"Yeah. You're right."

The entire room burst out laughing. I managed to break the kinda somber mood.

"Akeno, Makoto," Rias began, "I want you two to investigate the address on the letter. See if you can track down Ravel Phenex."

"Yeah, about that," Mother chimed in. "Part of the negotiation said that they would only leave us alone if they stayed out of Himejima's property, which that is."

"But you forget," Rias replied, "if the letter is actually from them, they have broken this peace by asking for Makoto's Bishop in exchange for Riser's."

"Plus, it's been, like, eight years, right?" I added. "That geezer might be dead by now."

"There's no telling," Mother said. "At the very least, you two should dress up so you make a good impression."

Later that night, I teleported near our destination, right after Akeno. It seems we had two different ideas of "dressing up."

I was wearing a light blue dress shirt with top button undone, with a navy suit jacket and pants.

Akeno, on the other hand, was wearing a very nice black kimono with her hair done up in a bun.

"Did I dress for the wrong occasion?" I asked.

"No," Akeno replied. "You look quite sharp."

"Yeah, sharp as in I look like a member of the yakuza next to you."

"Accompanied by his mistress."

"You are not my mistress."

"I can be if you want~"

"Good grief."

Akeno giggled.

We eventually arrived at the address, which appeared to be a Japanese-style mansion.

"This is the place," I commented. "Let's hope I was right, or we dressed up like this for nothing."

However, once we passed the gate we were suddenly surrounded by guards. My Retribution Aura flared up again.

I'm beginning to notice a pattern. Could my power be linked to my desire to protect someone?

"What's all this commotion about at this time of night!?" a young woman wearing a silk nightgown exclaimed as she emerged from the entrance of the manor.

As she approached us, however, her look of frustration then turned to joy, "Akeno! It's so good to see you!" she said, embracing her.

"It's great to see you, cousin," Akeno replied, "This is a very close friend of mine, Makoto Fujiwara."

"Apologies for the rude introduction. We've had some security concerns as of late," she said, now turning to me. "My name is Suzaku Himejima, head of the Himejima clan."

I noticed a striking resemblance between her and Akeno, right down to the massive knockers. The main difference between the two was Suzaku's scarlet eyes.

"You're head of the clan, now? What a pleasant surprise." Akeno commented.

"It couldn't come soon enough. The murder of your mother was a tragedy. It's high time that the customs of the Five Clans be reformed."

So, I was right. The geezer is gone.

But this raises even more questions. Unless there's something about Suzaku that I'm not catching, there's no way she's the type of woman to have captured Ravel.

"You're welcome to stay the night," Suzaku stated, "We can discuss whatever matter that brings you here over tea in the morning."

"We'd be more than welcome to," Akeno replied.

I was then back in the club room.

What the hell? I could sworn...

"Makoto…" I heard Rias say.

I turned around, she was next to Akeno, "Which one of us do you choose?"

"Uhh…"

"The choice is obvious, isn't it?" Akeno replied to her. "Ménage à trois!"

"What does 'ménage à trois' mean?" I asked.

Asia burst into the room, "Stop right there!" she said, "If he's going to give his body to anyone, it's going to be to his loyal servant!"

"Slow down, you guys," I chuckled. "I'm not ready to give my body to anyone just yet…"

"Oh really? I can tell you're aroused by this," said Aika. "I'm willing to be more than friends, you know?"

How did she get here!?

I was trying to back out of this situation, but then I almost ran over Koneko before she grabbed onto me.

"I'll protect you from these bimbos, Makoto… Your virginity is 50% up to you."

What the hell's going on here? Who are you and what happened to Koneko!?

What's next?

Oh yeah. Of course.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, everyone. But I went on a date with Makoto first."

Who invited Raynare here?

"I'm sorry. But there's room for only one sleazy purple-eyed mistress here," Akeno shot back.

"Why else does he still have my number in his phone!?"

I've been meaning to delete that for weeks…

The storm of arguments around the room kept going on in on until my head was about to burst

Then suddenly, everyone began to dissolve away.

The room suddenly grew dark as all of the dust suddenly gathered into a familiar silhouette with red eyes.

"Halja!"

I immediately summoned my Sacred Gear and began to glow bright white.

"It's too late," Halja said. "Everyone you love is doomed to destruction. Not even the White Dragon can save you."

I charged at her as my aura began to grow brighter and brighter, to the point I couldn't even see what was in front of me.

Then I woke up. I was in a cold sweat.

It was early in the morning.

Akeno entered the room.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"I am now."

"It was those dreams, again, wasn't it?"

I nodded.

She began to smirk, "Was I in it?"

I didn't know how to answer that question.

She giggled, "Just kidding. Just trying to take the edge off."

She put her right hand onto my chest.

"Whatever spirit is in there is definitely restless," she said. "No wonder you were so tense a few days ago,"

"I have a question," I began to ask. "About what my mom said last night. Is it true that you're-?"

"Yes. I'm the daughter of a fallen angel and a human," she said, still trying to calm my dragon spirit.

"I've always secretly envied you and your mother. Your wings are bright and pure, while mine are tainted even though I did nothing to deserve them. It's all because of my father, who didn't even show up when his own daughter's life was in danger.

I wanted to become a devil just to make a fresh start, but even then, these wings still haunt me."

I hugged Akeno.

"It's okay. You didn't need to give me your life story again."

"Sorry. All this time I thought you hated fallen angels after what Raynare did."

"There's no hard feelings. I would like you no matter who you are, even if your teasing can get old."

She giggled as she headed back out the door.

"I'm going to get some tea. I'll see you in a bit."