AN: Yeah, last chapter was received about as well as I expected, with some people dropping it, or saying how it just isn't a good story anymore. I know I can't please everyone.

IMPORTANT NEWS AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER!

"Adam, could we talk?" He felt a smidgen of satisfaction when his glare caused Rias to flinch, but it was immediately replaced with indignation.

How dare she say his name so casually, after turning him into her slave? No matter how well she treated them, or how flowery words she used, he was a slave to her whims. She did not deserve kindness. He sneered. "You're talking right now, Gremory."

She winced, catching his disdain, but pressed on. "In private, please? I have a couple things to say that…" She looked around and finally realized that almost the entire class was listening in. "...I need to say something to you. It's important." She leaned forward a little and jut out her bottom lip. "Please?"

While the rest of the class began whispering about a 'confession,' Adam was unimpressed. Instead, he glared. "Fine."

When he stood up, she blinked. "Adam?"

He raised an eyebrow. "If it's truly important, then I refuse to wait."

She gave a small smile and chuckled. "Yes, I suppose you wouldn't. Very well." She stood up with him and snapped her fingers, and instantly everyone in the class except him and the two Devils were caught in a spell. As Adam looked at the dazed faces of the girls around him, Rias started walking. "Let us head to the Occult Research Club, yes?"

The author huffed, but started walking with them.

Might as well get this over with.

He was ready to tear the woman in front of him apart. The three of them were in the Occult Research Club room, and a strange silence had overcome them. However, Adam didn't care. He was going to make his demands, and if she didn't acquiesce, he would escalate. He was no fool though. He would most likely need to kill her if things went south. He looked at his hands for a moment then back at the red head, who was starting to fidget. He steeled his will and made a decision. Yeah, he was going to-

"Join my Peerage!"

...What?

Adam stared at Rias, who was currently bowing her head to the boy. "What?"

She raised her head, eyes fill with determination. "I've tried nearly everything on you, and you've yet to even blink! So..." She bowed once more. "Please join my Peerage!" Before he could give a response, she continued. "Plus, if you become a Devil, you'll be fully healed! When I tried healing you last night, I wasn't able to fix you completely! Human bodies don't regenerate like the supernatural does, so if you join me, you'll be healthy again! I'll get you back up to 100%!"

He took a moment to process everything. "...So the headache I had when I was exposed to sunlight…?"

She nodded. "Concussions make people delirious and sensitive to light."

He frowned and tried recalling the previous night. "Then, when you showed up last night..."

She nodded, as if confirming what he was thinking."I had Akeno's familiars watch you. When they reported you were getting attacked by Sona's familiars, I dropped everything and was on my way, with Akeno in tow. I found you alone in the warehouse." She nodded to her Queen, a smile on her face. "Akeno checked the surroundings and confirmed we were alone. You were on the verge of death, so we took you home and healed you for as much as we could've, then changed your parents memories."

He narrowed his eyes, trying to dig up memories from his mind. "Alright, what about that burst of power?"

She tilted her head. "You mean your Sacred Gear?"

...Wait, "What?"

She blinked, then realization finally hit when her eyes widened in surprise. "Do you not remember what happened last night?" He narrowed his eyes but didn't say anything. Taking the silence as confirmation, she began to explain, "When we found you, I didn't think you would survive, so I tried making you a Devil." Seeing a sneer form, the red head quickly waved those concerns away. "B-but! I couldn't! What happened was…" After a short bout of hesitation, she began to explain.

And explain she did. The more she talked, the more Adam felt his ire wane. By the time her story was over, almost all resentment aimed at the Gremory was gone. Instead, he simply stared at the Devils in front of him. There was stray thought, wondering if the Devil in front of him lied, but her story made too much sense. As much as it irked him, he had to believe she was telling the truth.

Finally, after a minute of silence, Adam decided to ask a question that was beginning to bother him. "Why are you so invested in me?" She blinked, but he continued. "I obviously don't have a very strong Sacred Gear. I'm human. I don't have any special tricks up my sleeve. I barely have anything at all." He narrowed his eyes. "So, I must ask again. Why are you so invested in me? What do you gain from this?"

She was obviously surprised, but after a moment she began to speak. "Well, at first it wasn't anything. You were the first man to enter Kuoh Academy, and apparently flirted with Sona and Tsubaki. Did you know that you already have a nick-name? 'The Ice Prince,' because of your personality." He grimaced. No, he didn't know. "And because of that, I decided to see you for myself." She gave a small smile and asked, "And I was greatly pleased. Do you even realizing how refreshing you are?"

Alright, he had to admit he was lost. "Refreshing? Out of all the-no." He cut himself off then sighed. "I'll hold questions until the end."

She nodded in appreciation and continued, "Then, when you introduced yourself and," she giggled at this point, "analyzed us, it was like you didn't even care about who we were. In fact, it's like you're in your own world, watching everyone else that's outside of it." He blinked, surprised. Seeing his reaction, she smiled. "Am I correct?"

He crossed his arms. "I will neither confirm nor deny what you stated."

She gave a cheeky grin, as if that was a confirmation. "And then, things just escalated from there. The more we talked and interacted, the more my interest in you grew. The more advances you ignored, the more I wanted to test you. The more you practiced and tried magic, the more I wanted you to join my Peerage." Her grin slipped off her face. "But then Sona decided to take her own actions. I will admit, she warned me about you, saying you were too dangerous. I ignored her warnings, and I suppose she decided it was easier to have you killed than recruited." Her eyes, filled with sorrow and guilt, locked onto the author's. "I didn't notice what she was doing, and for that," she bowed, a perfect ninety degrees. "I am sorry."

He glanced at Akeno, who was quiet during the conversation, but her smile was unwavering. He turned his attention back to the girl and sighed. "I will never join your Peerage." She flinched, as if visibly struck, and he saw Akeno's smile dim for a second, but he wasn't done. "However, you have no need to apologize. You did everything you could with the information you had, and even saved my life. If anything, I should be..." A frown shifted onto his face, and the words in his throat were trying their hardest to not leave his mouth, but he continued, "I should be… grateful." The red head finally looked up at him, gratitude radiating from her. "And… I am in… your… debt." He spat the words out as if it physically hurt him to say them, but could anyone truly blame him? He was essentially giving a Devil the option to do whatever they wanted with him, and he couldn't refuse! Besides, she essentially admitted that the only reason he was alive was because he was 'interesting.' He was alive, and human, for another day simply because… he was entertaining. That was it. He was alive because a nearby Devil acted on a whim and took interest.

"Thank you so much Adam!" Rias quickly jumped onto him, wrapping her arms around him. As she did, he felt two very large… 'assets,' squish into his chest, but he ignored them.

More dark thoughts festered in his mind, but he pushed them away as well, like he did with the Devil in front of him. "Think nothing of it, Gremory. There is nothing to be grateful for." He turned around and began to walk away. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to have a discussion with Sona."

"You can't!"

He froze. "I can't?"

Turning around, he saw Rias nod. "That's right, you can't! If you meet her in the Student Council room, she'll kill you!" There was worry on her face, but Adam ignored it.

"Then we have the same thoughts."

Rias blinked. "Wait, you were going to try to kill Sona?"

"What is so hard to understand about that?" He snapped. "She tried to end my life, because she saw me as a threat. I can't sit around and do nothing as she plots another assassination!" He glared at the Devils in front of him. "I refuse to have my life ended due to the whim of someone else. I refuse to die because a stranger is threatened by my existence." He refused to have his life be controlled by others.

She must had seen something in his eyes when he said those words, as her shoulders slumped and a pout went across her face. "Then I won't allow it. I'm turning in the favor. You are to not attack or antagonize Sona or her peerage."

She had to be kidding. "Gremory, I know I said I owed you a favor, but she tried to kill me!" He gestured to himself then argued, "If I can't go after her, then she'll go after me! And unlike her, I don't have any supernatural backing!" He growled, "I'm just a lowly human, a piece in someone's puzzle. I refuse to standby and let her conjure countless ways to end my life!"

Akeno, for the first time, spoke up, "While I do agree with you Adam-kun, it would be unwise to challenge her in her territory. If you attacked her in the Student Council room, her Peerage would attack you without hesitation. Furthermore, even if you did kill her and her Peerage, you would have to deal with her sister, who is one of the strongest Devils of our time."

He was grinding his teeth together in frustration. As much as he wanted to go in there and kill the smarmy little princess, he couldn't, because he knew they were right. Damn it all, they were right. He had zero chance of surviving against Serafall, and Sona wasn't someone to take lightly either. "So, what? I sit here and do nothing while she prepares a dozen plans to kill me in my sleep?" He was glaring, but not at them. "I don't have a choice. I have a Devil with powerful connections gunning for my head. If I don't submit to her whims, then she would see me as a nuisance and remove me. I have no other choice to but kill her."

Rias winced, but her Queen took on an inquisitive look. "Is that really the truth? Kill or be killed? Isn't that a bit too black-and-white?"

Rias looked like she bit a lemon as realization set in, but Adam felt like he wasn't seeing something. "I will admit that the world isn't so set in stone, but Sona is a calculative and intelligent Devil. And I believe I know how much pride and commitment carries in your world."

The Sadistic Seductress grinned, like a cat who caught the canary. "Exactly. And you're planning on meeting her with that exact same pride and commitment." She tilted her head a little, an innocent smile betrayed by her anticipated gaze. "You're planning on fighting her like a Devil when you're not one. So why don't you get back at her..."

His eyes slightly widened as he understood. "Like a Human would." His anger once more fizzled out, curiosity taking it's place. Everything Akeno and Rias had said was true. In terms of firepower and support, Sona had him beat. She was stronger, had more allies, and the shoulder of a Satan to lean on in case things went rough. Meanwhile, all Adam had was… himself.

He took a quick glance at the two ladies in front of him. Maybe not just himself…

"I see." If he couldn't beat her in strength, then he had to change the battlefield. Turn her allies against her, make her support useless, and undermine her authority. Ah, he let his emotions cloud his judgment. "How foolish of me." He turned his attention back to the two women in front of him. "You both have given me much to think about, but I believe we should hurry back to class. First period is about to end, and I would rather not deal with the Student Council as of yet." With that, he turned around and left the Research Club.

As he walked back to class though, his mind was swarmed with thoughts. Once more, he received help from Devils, and he had to admit that it was troublesome. His emotions were distracting him from his goals. He needed to train with magic more. He had to watch out for Sona and her Peerage. He needed a stronger body. He needed inspiration. He needed to continue writing.

So much to do, so little time.

First, he had to organize what was more important to his survival. As much as it pained for him to admit, inspiration and writing would have to take a backseat, albeit temporarily. While they were still his main goal (his everything), he didn't wish to risk his life. Not yet, anyways. He could combine his strength and magic training into one somehow. Either manipulate his gold while he lifted weights, or have his weights be gold, there was plenty of room to creatively make himself stronger.

No, the number one priority was making sure the Student Council didn't end his life. He already had a foothold, as he managed to talk amicably with the Vice-President and the President herself (not that it did much, since he was still almost assassinated), but he wasn't going to bow to the Sitri Heiress and her Peerage. Not because he was prideful, or because he disliked the women-although he despised them at the moment-but because of one reason: If he was too busy working like a slave, he wouldn't have time to write.

His writing took precedence over everything. If he bowed to anyone, they would take advantage of him through any means necessary. Bribing, blackmail, temptations, and countless other ways to pull his attention away from his story would be thrown at him if he showed even a sliver of weakness, and he had no desire of being trapped in a hole he didn't even want to dig.

A dangerous thought whispered in his mind, about how he didn't even know if the Rias he knew from the show was the same Rias in his life.

"Curse those Devils..." He muttered. However, his internal musings were stopped when he reached his class's entrance. Without hesitation, he opened the door and walked right in. All the ladies immediately turned to him, but he ignored them all as he walked to his seat in the back next to the window. The previous conversations were replaced with hushed whispers, and Adam wasn't surprised when said whispers were all about him, Akeno, and Rias.

Today was going to be a long day…

She failed.

Her plan to remove Adam Suzuki out of the picture had gone up in flames. Many Devils back home would call her failure bad luck. That the human she desired dead had simply gotten lucky, got a cheap shot, or was simply sturdier than expected. None of it was her fault. He was simply… lucky. If any of her kin found out, they would all attempt to placate her with the same pitiful excuses.

Except, that was wrong. Sure, luck always played a factor in life, but it wasn't luck that allowed Suzuki to keep his life. Looking back, she realized she made a fatal error in her plans. He had one thing that a majority of the world, including Humanity itself, lacked.

Willpower.

The author was a head-strong and dedicated man, and nothing showed that more than his obsessive drive. His constant writings to his daily magical training, all signs pointed to man with one goal, and the determination to achieve it. It made sense that when his life was in danger, Suzuki would do every single thing in his ability to keep breathing, whether he was aware of his limits or not.

She wanted him dead specifically because he was different than the rest of Humanity, yet she still underestimated his abilities, like all the supernatural did when it came to Humans. The lance of shame and worry hit her when she realized all seven Familiars were defeated the night before, but said lance twisted-ached-when she saw the writer walking with Rias and Akeno in tow on their way home, as if nothing happened the night before.

She didn't receive a report from Kaze yet, but she knew he was still alive due to his bond with her still active. She still felt him, aware that he was resting in the Familiar Forest. She further deduced that a not a single life was lost of the six that followed her wolf, as none of her Peerage had asked any questions regarding their familiars.

But Adam was still alive. As she watched him enter the academy from the Student Council room, she felt her emotions rise once more, wishing to finish the job she started right then and there, but she knew she couldn't. Unless she wanted to hypnotize every single Human in the academy, she wouldn't be able to kill him anytime soon. Furthermore, she had likely ruined her only chance, given how determined Rias was in making the boy join her Peerage.

She sighed. What a blunder it all turned out to be. Not only did she gain a dangerous enemy, she most likely hurt Rias's trust in her as well. She went behind the red head's back to kill the man, after all. It would be repaired in time, her best friend was kind like that, but Sona knew tensions would be high until she apologized or until Adam Suzuki was strong enough to fight for himself.

She wasn't a fool. Now that she actively targeted Suzuki, Rias would most likely stay near him until he was able to fend for himself, especially since she didn't sense any Devil magic coursing through the man.

Yes, that was the part that hurt the most. Not only did he survive his altercation with the Stray and her Familiar and his team, Suzuki was also able to retain his Humanity in the end. She presumed Rias had an eye on Suzuki to observe, and she was proven correct when she received a call by the fiery red head on her way to the warehouse (which consisted of Rias yelling and scolding her while she tried to placate her best friend), so she hoped that even if he didn't die immediately, he would be forced into Rias's servitude at the very least.

Instead, the worst case scenario happened. Adam Suzuki was alive, human, and stronger than ever. Well, she could still do damage control. It was unlikely he pieced together why seven magical animals attacked him, and even if he did find out they were Familiars of some sort, there wasn't anything that directly traced them back to her, as Suzuki never saw her familiars in action before the previous night. She would get into his good graces and… and…

And he was staring right her.

Ignoring Rias and Akeno as they chatted and laughed, Adam was staring right at Sona instead, his icy cyan eyes lacking the warmth they had when she and him last spoke. However, it was then he did something unexpected.

He smiled and waved. At her.

He knew. How he figured it out didn't matter, he knew, and he was telling her that he knew. Immediately, her mind started going a mile a minute. Was he threatening her? Was he placating her? Teasing her? Taunting her?

She needed more information. To get said information, she would either have to go through Rias, or she herself would need to get into the author's good graces. She doubted Rias would give up any information though, likely seeing it as a way to get more information on the man (she wouldn't have been wrong), and Sona believed even less that Suzuki would give her any time of day. She already burned that bridge.

"President, your evening tea."

Sona turned around and saw her Queen place a cup of tea on Sona's desk, and an idea began to form. Maybe Sona Sitri wouldn't be able to get close…

But what about Shinra Tsubaki? "Tsubaki, I have a new mission for you."

The day came and went in a flash. In the eyes of Adam Suzuki, he walked into class and walked out before he could blink and was on his way home (with Rias and Akeno practically latched to his hips) when he took a quick glance at the window he suspected was connected to the Student Council room. Sure enough, in said window was Sona Sitri, staring down at him with an icy stare.

He hated her. Just looking at her was enough to bring the rage that he quelled earlier to come back as an inferno, but he managed to keep it from spilling out. Instead, he gave a smile and waved, mocking the woman for her failure.

Was it petty? Yes, it was. Incredibly so.

Did he care?

No. Not at all.

AN: So, first thing's first, I believe you guys are smart enough to figure out why I stated that last chapter felt too rushed and wasn't long enough, and that was due to Adam not actually getting turned into a Devil. I originally set up the whole thing up as a joke, but I felt it would've come off as me mocking the readers who thought he turned into a Devil, so I decided to make it a bit more serious, and turned it into the reason why Adam wanted to speak with Rias and Akeno alone.

So I gotta ask: was the cliffhanger last chapter too cruel? I never intended for Adam to turn into a Devil (spoilers: he's staying human for a damn long time), but I believe the last chapter was so poorly received because of Adam himself thinking he was turned. So, please be honest: was the whole 'wait, he isn't a Devil?' thing poorly executed? Did you all simply not like it? Or did you find the quick twist enjoyable? Please tell me!

Sorry for the wait guys. However, I haven't been doing nothing this entire time I've been gone. In fact, I've been busier than ever! A mix between college, looking for a job, and setting up a very special something, I barely had the time to even think!

And thus, here is the very special announcement: I have an original story now! "Fate Fixers" on is live! It's essentially a story about other original stories! Concepts that I think of, characters that I would like to use, and more! If you're interested, you can find it under my name on FictionPress! (TheOneAndOnlyBanana)

I also have a couple other things in the works, but due to real life getting in the way, I can't announce them just yet (these announcements were the main reason why there hasn't been any updates lately, sorry!), but just know that a couple other things are in the works.

Finally, thank you all for your patience and continued support! If you like the story, please Follow, Favorite, or write a review! They keep me going!

Thanks for reading, and have a good one!