No matter how much some of you want me to change my mind, I am dead-set on harem. This is DxD, it's supposed to be harem. If you don't like it, it's not my problem.

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Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Highschool DxD, or any of its characters...

Sora had spent the last hour digging through the mansion's library, for which he was grateful that it had one, trying to look for a book that can possibly help him re-learn the magic spells he used in the past. Since this place belonged to Rias' family, there must be a book about magic around here since his leader also has some spells up her sleeve, like the one he saw her use against that stray devil.

"Nope! Nothing here…" Sora sighed, putting away another book and pulled another one from the stack he gathered on top of the table.

He wasn't fond of reading but again, he needed to work on his magic. He was already confident in his own skills with the keyblade and plus, he now had three of them in his arsenal after that battle with Yozora. There was no real need to work on that, which is why Sora was focusing on his magic instead.

"Come on… even just something about stopping time or another way to shield myself from my enemies…" Sora mumured boredly, resting his cheek against his hand as he flipped through the pages, unaware of the person that just appeared on the doorway.

"I never expected to find you here, Sora. What the occassion this time?"

Hearing his name being called, the keybearer looked up to see Rias walking towards him with a smile on her face. She was wearing her school uniform, although there was a towel around her neck, which meant that she had gone through some training. He also noticed that she was holding a folder in her arm.

Sora smiled and waved his hand. "Oh hi, Rias. I thought you were training with Akeno?"

"Taking a little break. Now why are you here in the library? I know that you don't like reading books, so it's quite strange to see you in such a place. What got you to go against your normal self this time?" she asked whilst chuckling, approaching the table where Sora was.

"I'm just trying to look for a book about magic. I figured I needed to add some more spells to the magic that I can already pull off. So far, I don't have anything useful." Sora leaned back on his chair and stretched out his limbs. "You said that your family owns this place, right? Is there a book here that can teach me magic?"

Rias shook her head. "Not to my knowledge. I haven't been here ever since I was a child."

"Aw, man…" Sora hung his head and groaned in disappointment. "I was really looking forward to learning some new magic… I guess getting all these books were for nothing…"

"Perhaps you can consult Akeno about this matter. Her specialty is magic, after all." Rias suggested, chuckling in slight amusement before looking thoughtful. "But are you sure about this? If you must know, Riser's specialty is fire and wind. Fighting him with magic might not be the best idea. Wouldn't it be better if you're training your swordsmanship instead?"

"I already have a new keyblade that I can use, and I can't really ignore my other abilities. Donald will use his Thunder on me repeatedly if he finds out that I neglected to learn or improve my magic while I'm here." Sora said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head as he could clearly picture the duck doing that.

Rias blinked in realization. "Oh, I almost forgot. You have three keyblades now." True to his word, Sora told his friends what he had went through the previous night during breakfast earlier. He told them about facing off with a guy named 'Yozora', nearly being defeated at one point only to come out on top in the end when he acquired another keyblade, that being the Oathkeeper. The most suspicious thing was that 'Yozora' was connected to someone Sora had fought in the past, which made everyone wonder if the keybearer's worldline was somehow connected to theirs.

Sora nodded. "Yeah, exactly. That's why I really need to get back on making my magic stronger. I have to stay balanced so I can help everyone, not just Kiba since we both use a weapon, on the day of the Rating Game."

"I see your point. That sounds like a good plan from someone who is normally reckless." Rias said with a teasing smile, causing Sora to roll his eyes playfully. "Keep this up and you'll be known as the 'Ultimate Pawn' in to time at all."

"Yeah, yeah, I know…" Sora chuckled along as well, before a sudden idea came into his mind. If this goes well, then there might be a way for him to learn one of the spells he had in the past. "Oh, Rias! I gotta ask… do you know anyone who can stop time?"

Rias' eyebrows raised in surprise. "W-What? Where did this come from?" she asked curiously.

"Well… you might not believe this, but…" Sora stood up from his seat and put his arms behind his head. "I actually learned a magic spell that can stop time when I left my home, but I forgot about it when I lost my powers for the first time. Maybe I can learn it again if someone else with that kind of power shows me how."

"You… can stop time? Really?" Rias said, taken aback with what Sora revealed to her. This was something that she didn't see in his journal, but if Sora was telling her that he could do such a thing, she couldn't bring herself to say that it was impossible.

"Yeah. I remember that it's called Stop, and… I think I time stops for at least 10 seconds when I use it." Sora said, reminiscing about the days of his first adventure before he turned back towards Rias. "So, do you know someone who can do that?"

Rias remained wide-eyed for a few moments before she frowned, an unpleasant memory coming into mind. She then looked away, avoiding the boy's gaze who seemed confused with her reaction.

"Rias? Something wrong?" Sora asked, tilting his head in confusion.

The crimson-haired beauty pursed her lips together for a moment, before steeling herself to properly respond. "I know someone who can stop time, but… I don't want to talk about it," she sighed.

Sora's eyes widened slightly at her response, before he immediately noticed the downtrodden expression on her face, causing him to panic. "Oh, you don't need to talk about if you don't want to!" He quickly approached Rias and held her hand in comfort. "I'm sorry, I didn't know it brought back bad memories. You don't need to tell me anything, I understand how it feels."

It took a few moments for Rias to say anything, but then a small smile formed on her face as she looked at her pawn. He truly knew how to turn people around when they were having an emotional moment, even if it was just words. "Thank you for understanding, Sora."

The boy smiled back, before he quickly thought of how he could direct this conversation somewhere else. The more she thinks of those bad memories, things might become worse. "Uhm…" He noticed the folder on her arm, gaining his curiosity. "What are you holding there?"

(Play - "Hikari [Piano Version]")

"Oh, this is Riser's official Rating Game record." Rias said, putting on a pair of red glasses before opening the folder and showing its contents to Sora, whose eyes widened for some reason as he stared at the girl. "Sora, why are you staring at me like that?" she snapped her fingers in front of his face, causing the boy to shake his head afterwards.

"S-Sorry, it's just… I've never seen you were glasses before and…" Sora blushed as he looked to the side. He couldn't believe he was actually going to say this. Blame Koneko-chan and her unwavering cuteness that gave the keyblade wielder such an embarrassing weakness. "...y-you look kind of cute in them."

Rias blushed. Did she just hear him right? This may just be the first time that Sora complimented her about her beauty, and somehow it felt like an achievement due to how dense he could be. To make matters worse, there was no ounce of lying in his voice, which only meant that he was being genuine. "R-Really…?"

Unable to bring himself to give a verbal answer, the spiky brunette only nodded while keeping his gaze away. "Agghhh! I can't believe I really said that! Please, I don't want to be a pervert!" he internally panicked.

"I'm… flattered you think of me that way," she mumbled before noticing the troubled look on his face. Seeing this as a chance to press things further, a smirk now formed on her face as she leaned closer towards her servant. "Do I detect a hint of attraction from you, Sora? I never thought you would ever see me that way, considering how dense you are. To hear you even call me 'cute', is something I will truly cherish, fufu…"

Sora would've frowned at her remark about him being dense, if it weren't for the fact that Rias was on teaser-mode again. Despite that, he needed to stop her before she goes too far. "W-Weren't you about to show me something, Rias? Something about… Riser's record in Rating Games…?" he asked, although a blush could still be seen on his face.

"Awww, I guess my fun's over… maybe next time, then~" she smiled teasingly as Sora pursed his lips together to prevent himself from… doing anything stupid. Rias then donned a more serious expression, which prompted Sora to turn back towards her. "Alright then, if you take a look at this, we're not really in a good spot right now. Riser has been in 10 official games. Out of those games, he only suffered 2 losses and those were on purpose as favors towards certain clans for services in the past. He's won in every game that he essentially played. Of course, the reason for his victories isn't because his peerage is strong, but rather his immortality." Her eyes narrowed as she spoke. "That's what it all boils down into. He uses his peerage to gauge the strength of the people facing him, then once all his servants are defeated, he uses the immortality granted to him as a Phenex to overwhelm his enemies."

"If he's immortal…" Sora cupped his chin, thinking of a possible strategy to beat the Phenex. "...he's going to be tough to beat… well, no biggie. I guess I'll just have to fight him with everything I've got."

Rias sweat-dropped at his nonchalant attitude. "You can use light, can't you? One of your keyblades also utilizes light as its main element. Riser is a devil, all weapons of light are effective against him. He'll be overwhelmed and his immortality can't protect him from that." she said, her voice becoming desperate.

"Yeah, but… I'd rather leave that as a last resort. Since I'm a devil who can somehow still use light to fight against enemies, it won't be really fair for the other side." Sora shook his head, not being a fan of underhanded tactics.

Rias' face turned serious, making the keybearer take a step back. "Who cares about that? Riser doesn't play fair either, so why should you? Don't give him any chance to pull off anything behind your back! The moment you do, he'll immediately strike!" she exclaimed, before her eyes widened upon realizing what she just did. Her face turned apologetic as she felt ashamed for losing herself in front of her own pawn. "I'm… I'm sorry for my outburst just now."

"No, I understand why you feel that way. You hate Riser so much that you want to do anything just to be away from him." Sora shook his head firmly, remembering the night when Rias showed up in his room unannounced. That alone created another question in his mind which he needed an answer to. "Also, I've been meaning to ask, do you really hate Riser that much that you don't want to get married? As far as I know, marriage is a really important thing for everyone and it's not something to be taken lightly."

"That's not it, Sora." she shook her head sadly. "As a matter of fact, falling in love and getting married are two of the things that I want to experience in life." Her eyes turned sorrowful while the young brunette sent her a look of worry. "I hate Riser because he only sees me as a Gremory. No matter where I go, the Gremory name seems to follow me. Back home, everyone only sees me as the heiress of the clan instead of myself. While I am proud to be a Gremory and it is flattering that men are attracted to me, they only view me as a trophy rather than my own person. Riser is just one of the many men who see me as such. Not once did he ever listen to me or even took interest in what I wanted. All I hear from him is how I'm going to be his, and how I am already his. It's part of the reason why I want to stay in the human world."

While Rias was looking down on the floor in sadness, she was forced to look up when Sora placed his hand on her shoulder in comfort.

"I promise you, Rias. We're going to win that Rating Game, and win you back your freedom. I haven't paid you back yet for everything you've done for me ever since I came into this world, but this is my chance. You're my friend, and I don't want you being like this. Other people may look at you as a Gremory but to me, you're just Rias. You're beautiful, kind, caring, responsible, and you treat your peerage like they're family. I can't tell you how glad I am that I met someone like you, but I can show it when that Rating Game comes." He flashed his signature grin and squeezed her shoulder a bit. "I'll beat Riser and you'll never have to worry about him again. Trust me!"

It was probably one of the few times Rias had ever felt herself become this speechless before. She had almost given up hope that there would be someone who would see her for her, and not a girl with fancy titles or had quite the reputation. Almost everyone around her would rather look at her as Rias Gremory, and not Rias.

And then came this boy whom she encountered on complete accident through circumstances that she never saw coming, had just told her that he didn't see her as such, but rather what she wanted all along. He didn't like the aspects about her that had something to do with the Gremory name, but rather the traits he saw in her throughout the time they spent together. And now he just promised her that he would win that Rating Game just to give her back her freedom.

Now that she thought about it, he never called her with any honorific, even when they first met. She herself insisted that he should keep on doing it even after he found out that she was older than him, and he just rolled with it. Sure, Sora respected her as the leader of the peerage and obeyed her orders when needed, but in the end he saw her as his friend. He never gave her unnecessary praise or became angry with her… habits, because he knew that it's what made Rias, Rias.

Rias felt her face heat up to the point that she became redder than her own hair. She felt her heart beating faster. It felt like a war drum was pounding madly inside her chest. Her breath hitched and she felt that whatever's inside her was ready to burst.

And as these things were happening, Rias began to wonder. It wasn't even a month since she met Sora, and he was still too much of a mystery with all the new things she keeps on discovering about him. Sure, she thought of him as a cute and handsome boy with a heart of gold and it interested her to no end, but it shouldn't be possible for her to feel this way for someone she had only known for a total of three weeks. Yet the feelings in her heart were undeniable.

Rias Gremory was falling in love with Sora Ishida.

(Stop playing - "Hikari [Piano Version]")

(Play - "Aqua")

(Underworld)

A blue-haired keyblade master slowly opened her eyes, waking up from a deep slumber that she failed to have for the past few days, considering the non-stop efforts that everyone has been exerting in order to find Sora. Aqua blinked a few times since everything was still but a blur to her, but when she could finally see clear as daylight, she noticed that she was in a hospital room, lying on a bed.

She sat up carefully, noticing that she was wearing a pink hospital gown instead of her usual clothes. "What happened…?" she muttered to herself in confusion, just as a few memories came crashing back into her mind, making her eyes widen in panic. Yeah, she was apparently trying to find three teenagers in particular, before a certain revelation caused her to faint. "Wait… I-I'm in—!"

The door then opened as a beautiful twin-tailed girl walked inside, before she noticed Aqua sitting on the bed. A wide smile appeared on her face as she approached the keyblade master. "Oh my god! Aqua-chan, you're finally awake! You made me so worried, I thought you were a goner!"

"Serafall?" Aqua murmured, noticing that the girl beside her wasn't wearing a magical girl costume anymore, but rather a more formal outfit that consisted of a green long-sleeved shirt and a matching long skirt. She could clearly remember Serafall's words before she blacked out, but she didn't bother defending herself since there was no use. "Why are you here? Where am I?" she asked with a small frown, looking around her once again.

"Aqua-chan, in case you forgot, you fell unconscious while you were talking to me about two days ago." Serafall explained, before anime tears started to fall from her eyes. "I thought you saw me as a boring person and fainted to save yourself from your troubles until I noticed that something was wrong! It's a good thing that the doctors said you were just overwhelmed with shock!"

"She's… eccentric for a devil." Aqua sweat-dropped, not expecting a creature of darkness to… overreact like this. This was the first time she encountered someone like Serafall, and… for a keyblade master who treated every force of darkness as evil and ruthless, she was confused. "Uhm… what did you mean by 'doctors'? Where am I right now?"

Serafall stopped crying instantly and continued in her words. "Oh now that you mention it, after you fainted, me and the other Maou checked to see if you were okay. We brought you to the hospital dedicated to yours truly and had the doctors here check up on you!" she winked. "Luckily, there was nothing really dangerous going on, and you were just asleep!"

Aqua's eyes widened in disbelief. Hearing that a devil helped her when she blacked out sounded like an impossible thing to happen, but she couldn't argue since she was really in a hospital, meaning that Serafall was telling the truth. "W-Why did you help me? You're a devil, right…? Aren't you supposed to be evil?" she asked.

"Ehhhhh?! W-Why would you think of me as evil…?! T-T-That's mean of you, Aqua-chan! All I did was try to help you!" Serafall cried out, shedding anime tears once again which made the keyblade master confused on whether she should let calm her down or let her be.

"I believe I can answer that question, Keyblade Master Aqua."

Aqua's attention immediately flew towards the door as a new person came inside the room. He was a handsome young man with shoulder-length crimson hair and blue seafoam eyes. His attire consisted of a fancy black and gold coat with a white suit underneath and dark pants. The man had a gentle smile on his face as he stood at the foot of the bed, while Aqua frowned at him.

"How do you know who I am? Who are you?" she asked suspiciously.

"My name is Sirzechs Lucifer, it's a pleasure to meet you. As for your first question, it was easy to figure things out thanks to this." he spoke, pulling out a Gummiphone from a pocket so that Aqua could see it, making the girl's eyes widen. "You have quite the interesting story here, and to think that you actually travelled across realms to reach this place."

"W-What are you going to do to me?" Aqua asked in a rare moment of showing fear, but she did her best not to show it.

"Nothing that would involve hurting you." Sirzechs replied in a sincere tone. "Now that we are aware of who you are, I wish to explain our side of things. As you know by now, Serafall here is a devil as well as me." He pointed towards the twin-tailed girl who finally stopped crying and now adopted a more serious expression. "However, I can tell that the idea you have of a devil is not really pleasant, and I would like to explain everything to you in a peaceful manner."

His words were enough to make blue-haired master feel more at ease, but it did nothing to lessen her suspicions. "How do I know that you're not trying to get through to me now, only to mess with my mind later on? I won't be swayed so easily." she asked, raising her hand to summon her keyblade before pointing it towards Sirzechs.

Sirzechs looked unaffected with the girl's threat, retaining his smile. "Would you be willing to listen if I tell you that one of your friends, Sora Ishida, is in this world at this very moment?"

The look of shock on Aqua's face afterwards was barely readable, reaching to the point that she dropped her Rainfell keyblade and it hit the floor with a clang.

(Stop playing - "Aqua")

(Play - "Kairi")

(Heaven)

A certain red-haired teenager shifted in her sleep slightly, before fluttering her eyes open. She had been like this ever since leaving Radiant Garden, with her mind staying focused on one person in particular, that being the boy whom she considered the most important part of her life.

Ever since Aqua told her about her own plan to reach Sora in another universe, Kairi couldn't stop thinking about the eventual when they would finally reunite with nothing else bound to separate them. She didn't stop blaming herself for his sudden disappearance, even when everyone else told her not to, but now there was hope for them and it all depends on the success of this mission.

"Sora…" Kairi mumbled, blinking a few times to regain her sight. The first thing that she saw was sunlight, since she was facing the window. The girl was forced to cover her eyes as she sat up on the bed like it was a normal morning.

"I see you're finally awake now, my dear. Have you had a good sleep?" A gentle voice spoke from behind her.

Kairi slowly turned around as she saw a beautiful blond-haired lady with blue eyes and a long white dress. Her most distinct feature was the pair of angel wings on her back, but the teenager didn't seem to be bothered by it. In fact, Kairi was more concerned with where she was since it was fairly obvious that she wasn't in Radiant Garden anymore.

"Were you the one who took me here?" she asked in a weak tone, considering the fact that she just woke up.

"Yes, me and my brother found you sleeping outside the gate. We were wondering why you were there, actually… and then we decided to take you here where it's safe." The woman bowed her head politely. "I am Gabriel, one of the Seraphs of Heaven. Can I ask you for your name, my dear?"

"Kairi," the girl bowed her head in return. "Thank you for bringing me here, Miss Gabriel. If you don't mind me asking, what is this place?" She looked out the window, where clouds could be seen all over. If she didn't know any better, she was currently in a city in the sky.

Gabriel reached out with her hand and placed it atop the girl's, before speaking. "Dear Kairi, you are in Heaven. This is the place where angels and those with pure souls reside."

Kairi slowly turned her head, a confused look taking over her features. "Heaven…?"

A blonde man then went inside the room, looking delighted at the sight of Kairi sitting on the bed. "Ahh, she's finally awake!" he exclaimed, walking over towards the red-haired girl. The man had blue eyes and wore white robes, which suited the wings on his back perfectly. "My name is Michael, and I must say, it is my utmost pleasure to meet a girl with a pure heart that no ounce of darkness could be seen inside it. This is the first time I've met someone referred to as a 'Princess of Heart', and may the Lord bless you for being as such," he bowed his head in the same way that Gabriel did.

"Nii-san, what's a 'Princess of Heart'?" Gabriel asked cluelessly.

Kairi blinked for a few seconds before realization kicked in. "H-How did you know…?" she breathed out.

"Forgive me, but we came across something interesting that you brought along with you." Michael said with a sheepish smile as he showed Kairi her own Gummiphone. "You see, it's impossible for a person to just show up in Heaven out of nowhere, and I had to investigate quite a bit. I am astounded that someone was actually able to travel across realms, and imagine my surprise when I discovered who you are, Kairi."

"What's going to happen to me?" She had no idea what this world was, nor did she have any clue if Sora was here. Heck, she couldn't see Roxas, Xion, or Aqua anywhere, meaning she was all alone. These people before her don't seem like they have any hidden intentions, but it was better to be safe.

Michael sat down on the bed beside her. "We do not wish to harm you, if that's what you are thinking. Angels are creatures of pure light and kindness, that's the way our God created us."

Kairi's eyes widened.

"You must have many questions that you want to ask. We'll tell you everything you want to know, but we want to know the reason why you are here in our universe, away from yours. You must know of the dangers that interdimensional travel poses to humans, so surely there's a reason, right? In the meantime, you are free to stay for as long as you need. Your journey to our world must have been a hard one, and you need all the rest you can get."

Kairi nodded slowly, finding the strength to flash a small smile on her face. She was among good people in a new world, perhaps this was a sign that she was on the right track, and that finally reuniting with Sora might not be far ahead. In fact, she could feel that she was closer to finding him than ever.

"I understand."

(Stop playing - "Kairi")

And there we go. Sora is getting all chummy with Rias, and he's not aware that the redhead is really falling head over heels for him. I wonder how this will affect the upcoming Rating Game, as well as Sora's own feelings when he notices it. Of course, he has feelings for Kairi, but he never got to directly confess. On another note, we get an update on Aqua and Kairi, and they seem to be doing well. Next chapter should be interesting, because we're finally heading into the Gremory vs Phenex Rating Game.

Goodbye… and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture*

-Lance