4th Secret Report up in my profile. Go check it out.

Quick heads up, guys. Classes here start on the 24th, which means it will take me more time to update this fanfic. Don't worry, I'm not leaving it. Just remember my warning about asking me for updates and we're cool.

Blazer, consider yourself blocked and unable to post reviews from now on. Even if you post a guest review, it's going down the drain, so don't try it. Jesus, man. You're starting a war in the reviews, that's not cool. You're making other people uncomfortable with everything you say. You don't like this fanfic? I wonder why you're still here, idiot. Just leave this story alone since you and I are never going to get along. I do not tolerate people like you, because I write this story the way I want it to be, and there are people who help me make it better. I don't have to listen to you blabbering because I'm not obligated to. Write your own fanfiction so you can shut up for once. Good day!

Discord link: [discord . gg / 4y5QVPj]

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

Into an open clearing in the forest next to the old school building, both Sora and Yuuto stood face-to-face against Irina and Xenovia. Both exorcists had already discarded their white cloaks to reveal what they were wearing underneath. They both wore black skin-tight leotards with short sleeves, matching fingerless that extended towards their biceps with thigh-high boots, all of which were filled with straps. Every curve of their bodies was as clear as day, which was enough to bother the spiky-haired keybearer, who was doing his best to retain a calm demeanor in his current situation.

"You got to be kidding me!" Sora screamed mentally as he fought off the urge to blush. A mini-Sora inside his mind began to shed anime tears in despair. "They were wearing those things under those cloaks all this time?! Why can't there be some sense of decency around here…"

Seriously, this world was literally designed to embarrass him in any way. The only thing that could make this worse, was if Kairi somehow does the same, and he could only hope that never comes true.

No, it's not a joke. He wouldn't be able to take it if his sweet and innocent Kairi would get corrupted, he'd just be better off selling his heart to the darkness again… yeah…

Everyone else stood by next to the trees, observing the impending battle closely. Akeno and Asia were both standing next to Rias, who had a look of worry on her face that was directed towards her blonde knight. She had no doubt that Sora can handle himself, but Yuuto was another story. It was obvious that he's been wanting an opportunity to destroy those Excaliburs ever since Griselda's group arrived to the clubroom, and this was his chance. Rias didn't want this to happen, but a fight really was inevitable now. The only thing she could do was hope that Yuuto won't let himself get carried away by his emotions.

Speaking of Griselda, she stood at a nearby distance from Rias, donning a serious frown on her face and her arms crossed under her chest while looking at the four combatants. If she had to be honest, she didn't really like the idea of fighting against their new and temporary allies, but as long as a certain blue-haired idiot knew her limits, then everything should turn out fine. She made a mental note to give Xenovia an extra warning in case she gives her fists more freedom than they usually have.

Kairi was standing beside her, feeling the same way as Griselda did, although none of them involved her blue-haired exorcist friend (she wasn't one to break off friendships that easily). Instead, her full attention was focused on Sora and his blonde-haired ally. Now that she had a closer look on the guy, she could clearly detect the anger that the latter was feeling, and it made her worry for him and her friends.

That's just how Kairi is, going out of her way to help and be caring to everyone around her, similar to how Sora is.

The redhead turned her gaze towards her beloved childhood friend. "Sora's… a devil now… but he's still the same lazy bum I know, I can feel it. He hasn't changed at all, but that's not a bad thing… wait a minute, something did change about him…" she thought, before taking a deep breath to calm herself. There was no point in thinking about this right now, especially after she herself accepted the fact that Sora wasn't a normal human anymore.

Besides, even if he somehow changed in more ways than just being a devil, it won't take away the feelings that she already had for him.

Griselda narrowed her eyes and took in a deep breath, before she began to speak in a loud voice that could be heard by everyone, especially the four teenagers who were about to fight.

"Let me make a few things clear. This is only meant to be a private duel to settle things between you. Nothing about this will reach the church or the devil society," she then turned to the girl who was likely going deaf regarding her words. "Is that understood, Xenovia?"

Said girl flinched, showing that she was listening the whole time. "Y-Yes," she stuttered out of fear.

The older exorcist kept her gaze on the bluenette for a few more moments before continuing. "I will step in should things get too far. Use of any means of lethal force isn't allowed. After all, this is only supposed to be a friendly duel."

Xenovia nodded, turning her attention to the two devils before her. "Then let the battle begin. We shall see if Rias Gremory's servants are strong enough for what we will face altogether soon."

"You bet'cha!" Irina beamed at her partner as she held her katana in one hand while making a cute pose with the other.

"I don't like it, but as of now, both our sides will be working together. However, I will not accept any weak allies and have them fight against a more powerful adversary," Xenovia stated before getting into a basic sword stance.

"Sora! Yuuto!" The keybearer looked over to where Rias was, and she had a look of worry on her face. "This may be just a friendly duel, but beware of their holy swords! Even a simple strike from its handle can cause great pain to you!"

"I got it!" Sora gave her a thumbs-up as he summoned the Oblivion keyblade and got into his battle stance. He was aware of the immense power that this weapon possessed, but there's no telling if it was on par with an Excalibur. That wasn't the point, though. Irina and Xenovia were both wielding swords that are highly dangerous to devils, and Sora needed something to even the odds. In this case, the dark power of this keyblade should be able to counter the holy energy of their weapons.

"He's not taking this lightly… that's a good thing," Rias thought as soon as she saw the dark keyblade appear in Sora's hand.

Xenovia's gaze darted to the weapon that the keyblade wielder had just summoned. "I can sense the dark power coming from that keyblade, are you planning to negate the power of the Excalibur with it?" she asked with a smirk. "Don't get too ahead of yourself, Sora. It's not known as the strongest holy sword for nothing."

"We'll see!" the boy grinned, just as Yuuto began to laugh slowly.

"What's so funny?" asked the bluenette as she turned her attention to the blonde knight.

"All my life, I wanted to destroy at least one of the Excaliburs," he smirked before a pair of swords appeared in his hands. "And now, I have the perfect opportunity right in front of me. I'm not going to waste this chance."

"You said that you were our 'senpai', but what exactly did you mean by that? Were you once part of the church that turned into a devil as well?"

"I'm the only survivor of the Holy Sword Project," Yuuto hissed, causing the two teenage exorcists to widen their eyes in disbelief, but none more so than Griselda.

"That project was one of the church's darkest secrets, a failed experiment that resulted in the deaths of over a dozen children in an effort to mold them into the perfect exorcists… it was said that none of them survived that incident," Xenovia said, sharing her knowledge about that project as though it was etched in history.

Kiba adopted a darker expression. "I'm not surprised but sadly, that isn't true. I survived that night, and I'll do whatever it takes to avenge my friends."

"Holy Sword Project? What's that?" Kairi asked out of curiosity.

"I'll explain it later, Kairi. It's a long and complicated story," Griselda told the girl before she turned towards Kiba. I'm sorry for what the church has done to you! That incident wasn't supposed to happen in the first place!" she cried, which quickly got Kiba's attention. To her knowledge, the Holy Sword Project was a big dent in the church's history that was supposed to buried forever. "That project was never approved by the higher-ups and the man behind it, Valper Galilei, was exiled with another exorcist who was helping him. Both of them are considered heretics, and they were never seen again. Please don't blame Irina and Xenovia for it, Yuuto Kiba."

(Play - "Larval Stage Planning - Sympathy")

"Heh, it's not them…" he scoffed, before turning his attention back towards Xenovia, her sword in particular. Kiba tightened his grip on his blades, feeling anger fill up his entire being. "It's those swords… those things ruined my life, and I'll destroy them no matter what!"

The spiky-haired boy turned to his partner, concerned for the mental state of the Gremory Knight. "Kiba, don't let your emotions get the better of you! You'll end up getting hurt if you do!" Sora warned, unable to prevent himself from getting bothered with his friend's demeanor. He didn't want to assume the worst but if Kiba doesn't get a grip anytime soon, darkness may begin to sprout from inside him.

"Sora-kun…" The boy looked over towards Irina, who looked like she had just lost something important to her. "I don't know how I should feel about this. You were so kind to me and Xenovia yesterday, buying us food when you didn't have to. Kairi-chan told us about how you always go out of your way to help other people, and I liked that about you but… you've been a devil all this time…"

"That just proves that there are good devils out there, Irina. Not everything that the church teaches you is the truth," Sora pointed out as he gestured to the rest of the Gremory peerage. Truthfully, he respected the church after meeting Asia for the first time due to her kindness and good nature, but that ended shortly after finding out that she was excommunicated for healing a devil. Since then, he had a more neutral outlook on the church. "Not just me, but all of my friends too. Rias, Asia, Akeno, Kiba, Koneko-chan, they're all good devils."

"My newfound friend is actually a devil… I don't know what to believe anymore…" she replied with panic in her tone, as if Sora's words passed through her completely. "I never thought the next time we meet would be on the battlefield. My 'friend' becoming my enemy? This must be some cruel test put forth by God!" she yelled dramatically, flailing her arms around like a stage actress. "By overcoming this, I will take another step closer to God! Come on, Sora-kun! I shall pass judgement on you with this Excalibur! Amen!" Irina declared, pointing her katana towards the boy.

"Okkaaayyy… she's being overdramatic and she wasn't listening to me," Sora deadpanned, before doing his best not to stare at the girl's outfit. Seriously, that black leotard made it seem like it was the only thing she had. Was she even wearing a bra? "Urgh, I shouldn't be thinking about this, but seriously! Why would the church give her something like that?! Don't tell me that even the people there don't have any sense of decency! Aren't they supposed to be the ones who are teaching what is right?!" he ranted in his mind, while resisting the strong urge to facepalm.

[You'll get used to it, Partner. It's just that your world is a lot more kid-friendly than this.]

"Where have you been? You've been quiet ever since we were having that meeting." Sora thought as his attention went to his own subconscious. He found himself standing on top of his Station of Awakening, as he pouted at remark that the dragon made. "And just to let you know, I'm not a kid anymore."

[There was nothing that required my presence and besides, if I started speaking, those exorcists will figure out who you are. By the way, I never said you were a kid. You thought of that yourself.] Ddraig said whilst chuckling.

Sora internally frowned upon realizing that he messed up, before shrugging it off in favor of the bigger problem at hand. "Aren't you speaking now? If they hear you, they're going to find out I'm the Red Dragon-something… I really don't want that to happen right now." He thought of Kairi, who had no idea that he was in possession of a Longinus. "Kairi doesn't have to know yet."

[Don't worry, I'm only speaking in your mind. As long as you don't start talking out of nowhere. They won't get suspicious.] Ddraig then cleared his throat, aiming to take the conversation somewhere else. [So, I see that you are faced off against a couple of exorcists. Do you want me to help with this?]

"Uh, I don't even know how you help me exactly, so why are you asking me that right now?" Sora sweat-dropped.

[I can always tell you right now, it's not that hard to explain when you already tapped into my power a few times before.]

"I did? Oh yeah, come to think of it, you helped me during the rating game…" After contemplating over his decision for a few moments, Sora sighed and shook his head. As much as he wanted to know how Ddraig's power works on him, there was no reason to do so. "No, maybe some other time. There's no need to go too far here. Besides, I think this keyblade is enough. And hey, it'll be just like when Riku and I used to have duels back in my homeworld, nothing bad to worry about!"

Ddraig chuckled in amusement. Even when he was offering to give added power to his host, Sora declines it for the sake of not hurting others too much.

[Very well. I'll just observe quietly and give you some advice if you need it.]

"That's good enough for me. Thanks, Ddraig." Sora grinned at the giant dragon before everything around him disappeared in a whiff of smoke, as his full attention went back to the real world. He was quick to notice that nobody was making a move, even with everyone's weapons at the ready, and what was supposed to be a battle was turning into a simple staredown. "Why is nobody making a move?" he thought in confusion, wondering what was going on in everyone's minds right now.

Having had enough, Yuuto made the first move and rushed in with his twin swords. "Are you here to stare like birds, or are we going to fight?!" he seethed, charging towards the blue-haired exorcist before him.

Xenovia narrowed her eyes and brought up her Excalibur Destruction, clashing her blade against Kiba's, trapping the two in a critical deadlock. Whoever comes out on top of this would surely gain the advantage. "Your Sacred Gear is Sword Birth," she clarified with a scowl. "For the church, it is seen as a disgrace from God because of its ability to create demonic swords. Despite that, I sincerely doubt that any of your blades can stand up to the Excalibur."

"My power doesn't just come from my Sacred Gear, it comes from the hatred of all my fallen comrades! People who were killed because of those holy swords, and they were all innocent! Until I destroy the things responsible for their deaths, they will never truly rest in peace!" Kiba roared as he broke the stalemate and quickly rushed into another attack.

"Dang it! He'll only end up hurting himself if he keeps on doing this!" Sora looked on in worry at how his friend was fighting. Kiba was normally calculating and calm while in a fight, but now he was attacking blindly because of his emotions getting the better of him.

[Sora, up ahead. The other one is rushing toward you!]

"Oh, right!" Sora's mind quickly shifted gears as he turned his attention to Irina, who was already in front of him and swung her katana from the side. He ducked and rolled away before getting back up, gripping his keyblade tightly so he could strike as soon as he sees an opportunity. "Need to focus on Irina, because that was too close!"

"You shouldn't take your eyes off your enemy, Sora-kun!" Irina winked as she rushed towards him again. Before she could reach Sora though, she dropped to her hands and threw a horse kick straight towards the boy's face. Sora quickly countered it by sliding around the girl through the ground, forcing Irina to get back up and raise her sword to block a swing from the keyblade.

He quickly took advantage of her distracted state and pushed her sword away, before delivering a series of dual-handed slashes towards the twin-tailed exorcist, attacking from all directions. Irina was able to dodge all of them thanks to her swiftness, but was unable to fight back because Sora wasn't giving her any chance to recuperate.

Sora was already formulating a plan inside his mind, while not losing his form. If he wanted to win against a trained exorcist, he had to be smart. "I just have to disarm her of that thing," he thought as he took a glance at her Excalibur Mimic. "Once that's out of the way, she won't be able to fight back."

The keybearer then changed his tactic slightly, switching from dual-handed attacks into one-handed swipes ever so often and being careful not to hit any part of her body except for her right arm. Once he would perform an attack with both hands, he would switch to slashing with one hand all while continuing to advance towards her. Every swipe of his keyblade looked so fluid and flawless that it was almost impossible to figure out what he was trying to do.

However, being trained in the art of sword combat, Irina was able to figure out what Sora was aiming for after gaining a few moments to think. "He's trying to disarm me of my Excalibur Mimic…" she thought, before standing her ground and blocking Sora's next slash with her weapon. He was slightly surprised by this, while Irina took advantage by quickly grabbing his shoulder and performing a full cartwheel above the boy's head.

[Quick, turn around! She's going to attack you from behind.]

Sora turned around in time to block her next attack that was aimed towards his head, before pushing her sword away so he could retaliate with a quick slash which would disarm her of her Excalibur. However, he was unable to connect due to Irina already landing on the ground and performing several backflips to gain some distance between them.

"You're really good with your keyblade, Sora-kun! Kairi-chan wasn't kidding when she said you were strong!" she giggled before sticking her tongue out at him playfully. "I would have lost there if I didn't figure out that you were trying to go for my Excalibur!"

"I could say the same for you. You were really quick on your feet, Irina." He grinned in return as he rested his keyblade on his shoulder to take a quick breather. "Hey, what are you…" His eyes then widened slightly when the girl's katana glowed for a moment, before it transformed into a white keyblade that was eerily similar to the Oathkeeper.

Irina then pouted. "A little skinny sword will never work against a really big weapon like what you have, so maybe I need to change things up a bit! Now, we have the same keyblade!" She did a complete 180 and smiled cheerfully, before she gave a few practice swings with her new weapon. "Hmm, I wonder what would it be like to fight with this?"

"Right, her Excalibur can turn into whatever she wants… even a keyblade," the boy said in his thoughts, before realizing that things had just tipped into his favor. "Wait a minute, this is my chance! She's never fought with a keyblade before, so I can definitely beat her with this!" He smirked, before brandishing his weapon to the side.

"I guess you'll figure it out along the way! It's not easy being a keyblade wielder, you know!" he told her with a grin, charging forward with his keyblade at the ready.

"Oh, I don't plan on losing, Sora-kun! You can't be an exorcist if you only know how to use one weapon!" Irina flashed a grin of her own as she held her own keyblade with both hands and rushed towards Sora as well.

In the sidelines, Akeno watched her kouhai fight against Irina with a smile of amusement on her face. "Ara, Sora-kun is holding his own against an Excalibur-wielding exorcist. I suppose his keyblade's dark power is truly strong enough to counter the strength of a holy sword," she said.

"Perhaps, but Sora shouldn't underestimate his enemy. It would lead to something bad if he did," Rias added as she looked on with a serious expression on her face.

"I have faith that Sora-san will win, but… I'm worried about Yuuto-san," Asia said out of worry. As soon as she said those words, Akeno and Rias had turned their gazes towards the blonde knight who was attacking out of pure anger. Their expressions turned into worry as well, since they could tell that this will end badly for Yuuto if he doesn't keep himself under control.

Rias clenched her fists in frustration. "I should never have let this happen… my servant has already been through so much as of late, but what's done is done. I just hope he doesn't hurt himself too much with this."

"He's letting his emotions get the best of him. He's in no condition to fight at all," Akeno stated with a more serious look on her face.

Meanwhile, Kairi had turned her attention away from the ongoing battle and looked up at Griselda to satisfy her curiosity. "Miss Griselda, you still haven't told me about the Holy Sword Project," she spoke, causing the green-haired woman to look at her. "What's it about? Why is Sora's friend saying he's the 'only survivor'?"

Griselda sighed in defeat as she adopted a somber look. "I shouldn't be telling you this because it is a secret of the church, but it's better if you know about it since we are working with the devils now. Just try to have a strong heart while I explain."

Kairi couldn't help but be nervous all of a sudden because of that last statement, but nodded nonetheless. Griselda then took a deep breath, before she began to tell the younger girl everything she wanted to know.

And so, Kairi could only cover her mouth with both hands out of shock, as she listened to Griselda's words; how a archbishop of the church named Valper Galilei was extremely fascinated with the Excalibur fragments and had the intense desire to wield them, which led to the creation of the Holy Sword Project that involved performing countless experiments on young and innocent children to make them capable of wielding holy swords. The red-haired teen couldn't help but shed a few tears after finding out that the children who were involved in it were mercilessly killed when none of them was a successful experiment.

"W-What kind of man would do such a thing…?" Kairi asked slowly, horrified with the actions of one Valper Galilei as she took in everything that Griselda just told her. Just when she thought that she had seen all kinds of crazy in her homeworld, this bomb was dropped on her. She wiped the tears from her eyes as she sniffled a bit. "...to innocent children, no less…"

"The only one who could do so is a man with no heart such as Valper," Griselda snarled. Even as a proud exorcist of the church, she felt unnerved that the holy swords that she wields were the main reasons for the deaths of many children. "He was banished from the church for what he did, and he was never seen again. For a long time, we thought that there were no survivors among the children who were killed…" She turned her gaze towards Yuuto, her furious look being replaced with one that showed sorrow. "...but apparently, one of them did survive and he harbors hatred for holy swords. Personally, I don't hold it against him for feeling this way…"

Kairi turned her head to look at Yuuto, a concerned expression forming on her face. She wasn't acquainted with any of Sora's new friends yet, but it felt as if she had known the blonde knight already, just from hearing Griselda's words about him. To think that he went through such a horrifying childhood; being part of human experiments against his will, seeing his friends die before his eyes and not being able to do anything about it. What made it worse was that he was never able to receive justice for the tragedy that befell him, and he only had the chance today.

"No one should go through that kind of experience, especially little children who don't have a clue about what's going to happen…" she thought to herself, feeling deep sympathy for what Yuuto Kiba had been through. However, before she could continue any further, a familiar voice cut through her train of thought.

"Kairi!"

The young girl blinked a few times, her mind snapping back into reality as she turned her head to where that voice came from. Her eyes widened almost immediately upon seeing Xion and Roxas walking over towards her, both wearing school uniforms similar to the devils of the Gremory peerage. Xion was waving her arm in greeting, while Roxas simply had a smile on his face.

"X-Xion! Roxas!" she exclaimed as her shocked expression turned into delight, seeing that she was finally reunited not only with Sora, but two of her companions as well. Oh yeah, she hadn't thanked them properly yet for their willingness to help find Sora, and she only had herself to blame for that. She was feeling too emotionally detached that time The lazy bum really wasn't kidding when he said that they were here in the same school. "You're really here!"

"Yeah, we are. It's good to see you, Kairi." Roxas answered as the pair stood in front of Kairi. The redhead didn't waste time and wrapped her arms around Xion in a hug before doing the same for the spiky-blonde Nobody. While Xion had no problem returning the action, Roxas felt a bit awkward as he wrapped his arms around Kairi, albeit in a very brief way. Maybe it's because she was the girl whom Sora likes? "Okay, that was weird…"

She pulled away from Roxas after a few moments and decided to get some answers to the questions that were lingering in her mind. "What happened to you two? We all got separated when we reached this world, right? Where did you end up? How did you find each other? When did you see Sora?" she managed to ask with a single deep breath.

Roxas waved his hand to stop the girl from speaking any further. "H-Hey, slow down there… we won't be able to answer if you ask it all at once," he chuckled.

Kairi slightly looked away in embarrassment. "Sorry, I'm just… really happy to see the two of you again. You two were willing to help me and Aqua find Sora, even if you didn't have to." She turned her gaze to the floor and sighed, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "I-I've never thanked you for that, because I was feeling too emotional at the time…"

This time, it was Xion who spoke up while shaking her head. "There's no need to, Kairi. We would've helped either way. Sora's done so many things not just for us, but for other people too. It's only fitting that we help him when he's the one in trouble."

Hearing those words made Kairi giggle a bit, returning to her earlier demeanor as she snuck a glance at Sora while he was fighting against Irina. "You're right, Xion. That lazy bum likes to help out so much that he doesn't care about what happens to him." She then turned her attention back towards the two former Organization members. "So… what happened to you two?"

"Well, like you said, we ended up getting separated when we got to this world. But… the crazy thing is that Roxas and I both landed here in this town like Sora did, and that was about two weeks ago, but he didn't know we were here until recently." Xion replied, much to Kairi's surprise.

"What about Aqua? Have you seen her?" Kairi asked, remembering the blue-haired master who was the person responsible for all of this.

The two friends looked at each other for a moment, confused whether to tell Kairi the truth or not. How would she take it once she finds out that Aqua was in the Underworld, currently staying with other devils at the moment? That would also mean that they have to tell her that they were devils now, and they weren't sure how she would take it. Eventually, Xion just tilted her head towards Kairi and Roxas immediately got the message, turning back towards the young redhead.

"Master Aqua is in—"

"Roxas, Xion."

A stern voice interrupted the blonde Nobody as the three turned their heads to see Rias Gremory approaching them with her white-haired rook, Koneko Toujou. She had a pleased smile on her face, unaware that Kairi was looking at her and her two friends back and forth out of confusion.

"I apologize for interrupting your little reunion, but we have more important matters to discuss. Koneko did a good job bringing the two of you out here with us, this makes things a lot easier because you can just inform Sona of everything afterwards," she said. While the whole group was making their way out of the clubroom, Rias sent her rook to fetch Roxas and Xion from the student council and tell them that Kairi was here in their school.

"Yeah, she also told us that Sora was fighting against a couple of exorcists with Kiba…" Roxas answered, sneaking a glance at the ongoing battle. The moment he heard it from Koneko earlier, he was about to take off quickly and help, until the white-haired rook told him that it was a private matter in which he must not interfere. "Mind telling us what's going on? There's something strange about all this…" he asked with a small frown.

"Roxas, be respectful! She's a King like Sona-kaichou in case you forgot!" Xion scolded, slapping his arm lightly.

Realizing his mistake, the spiky blonde teen scratched the back of his head similar to how Sora would do so.

"S-Sorry."

Rias only chuckled in amusement, noticing how he looked really similar to Sora even for just a moment. "That's quite alright. I only need you and Xion to listen to everything I'm going to say carefully, and make sure that Sona knows about it when you tell her."

The two devils nodded.

"W-Wait, what's going on…?" Kairi spoke up, raising an eyebrow out of confusion. Something just doesn't add up in all of this. "How do you know each other?"

Well, Just when Roxas and Xion turned back towards Kairi with defeated looks, another voice caught their attention.

"I would like to know as well," Griselda voiced out, causing Roxas and Xion to turn towards her. "You two must be Kairi's friends, she's told me about you. My name is Griselda Quarta, and I've been looking after Kairi while she is on her mission to find her missing friends. One of them happens to be in this school, which is Sora, but I never expected that you two would also be here."

Xion observed the older woman up close, before she noticed the black garment underneath the white cloak she was wearing. She then noticed that Griselda wore the same thing as the two exorcists fighting against Sora and Yuuto, which piqued her interest.

"You're an exorcist as well, aren't you?" she asked while raising an eyebrow.

"Indeed I am, but I'm sure that Ms. Gremory here will explain everything to you shortly so that you don't get confused." Griselda nodded her head, prompting the two to turn back towards Rias, who only gave a nod of her own in confirmation. "Now, would you mind enlightening Kairi and I about how you two are acquainted with the devil in charge of this town? I have a feeling that there is something with you two that Kairi must know."

"Uhm…" Xion mumbled, looking over towards Roxas for his opinion on this matter. The blonde Nobody only shrugged his shoulders in defeat, which caused the girl to sigh and turn her gaze to the ground. "It's… a long story…" she muttered, slowly raising her head to look at Kairi.

"Please tell me," Kairi stated with no hesitation, wanting to find out what happened with the two former Organization members before she arrived here.

Everything seemed to be evenly matched between Kiba and Xenovia, but it was far from it. It was close to being solely one-sided.

The blonde knight was using his Holy Eraser to counter the radiation that the Excalibur was giving off, but it was proving more useless by the second. Every time he would try to get close and eat away the holy energy of Xenovia's sword, it was clear that the raw power of Excalibur Destruction was superior. It was only thanks to his speed that he was able to avoid many close calls from the explosions that Xenovia was creating through her Excalibur.

"Why can't I weaken that sword?!" he said, gritting his teeth in frustration. His skin was filled with many bruises and scrapes from all the close calls he went through. It didn't look like he could last in a battle of endurance, but he was far from giving up in this opportunity to destroy an Excalibur.

"From your strategy in trying to get close to me, or Excalibur in particular, that sword has the ability to eat holy energy," Xenovia concluded. "Clever, but futile. Your weapon is no match for the most destructive Excalibur. It's an invincible sword that can never be broken."

"Why don't we test that theory?" Yuuto grinned darkly, summoning Flame Delete in his other hand. The moment those explosions come back, he would be able to absorb them and that would be his opportunity to strike. "The real battle is just getting started!"

Meanwhile, Sora and Irina were caught in a deadlock with their respective keyblades. They were the complete opposite of the earlier pair, with Irina using her swiftness to attack Sora from almost all directions, and the spiky-haired boy standing his ground to defend himself while also sending out a few magic spells to prevent her from getting to him. His experience in fighting fast opponents put him in a slight advantage over the girl, as well as the fact that he could use magic.

While they were in a battle of strength, the boy took a moment to glance at his friend out of worry, before turning back towards Irina.

"You seem to be worried about your friend too much, Sora-kun." Irina said, her keyblade quickly turning into a giant hammer that the young man noticed. This would be bad for him if he was within close range of the girl. "Are you sure that your mind is in this?"

"I can take care of myself. You should worry about your own safety, Irina!" Sora exclaimed, breaking the stalemate and rolling away the moment he saw Irina raising the hammer high above her head with both hands. "I got her!"

Irina blinked as she saw the boy move away, before grinning innocently. "Oh, I see you caught on to me. Well, sorry about this, Sora-kun! Hiiyaaahh!" With all her might, she swung the hammer down.

"Fire!" Sora quickly raised his keyblade and shot a fireball from its tip, which hit the girl square in the chest. Irina screamed in pain as she dropped the hammer to the ground, before putting out the flames that were starting to spread across her outfit in panic. "I… didn't expect that to happen." Sora began to grimace, wondering if he went too far there.

"Irina! Are you alright?!" Xenovia called out in worry, taking a moment to respond to her partner's cry.

"I-I'm okay! It's nothing serious!" she exclaimed, sighing in relief upon successfully putting out the fire. Crossing her arms, Irina turned back towards Sora, who was blushing deeply for some reason. "That was a really clever move, Sora-kun! You almost got me there, but thanks to my training, I— wait, why is your face so red?" she asked with a small frown.

"Uhhhhh…" He already turned his head to the side, and all he could do was repeatedly point to his own chest, hoping that Irina would get the message and fix her problem fast. "I'm in so much trouble…" he began to sulk, realizing that he put himself in a precarious situation.

Ddraig was laughing at Sora's unfortunate situation, finding it amusing how he always gets himself into awkward situations recently. [You sure you're not a pervert, Partner?]

Sora shed anime-like tears internally. "Shut up…"

"Huh…?" Irina looked down at her own chest, removing her arms in the process. Her eyes widened drastically upon seeing a portion of her leotard was burned off, exposing her left breast and nipple. "K-K-K-KYAAAHHH!" Irina screamed with a burning red face, before crouching down on the ground to cover herself.

Rias, Kairi, Asia, and Akeno all gasped in shock. Griselda, Xion, and Koneko widened their eyes at what they just saw, while Yuuto and Xenovia stopped fighting for a moment in response to what happened. The blue-haired exorcist also had her mouth agape as she stared at Irina and Sora back and forth.

Roxas blinked in surprise. "What the…" His mind then snapped back into reality and caused him to quickly turn away, his cheeks burning up. "Sora, what the hell was that about?" he complained to his other in his thoughts.

"I can't believe that that boy would stoop so low… I was terribly wrong about him…" Xenovia growled angrily, glaring daggers at Sora while Yuuto looked on in clear confusion.

Snapping out of her shock, Rias began to pout at her own servant for pulling off such a trick while in battle. Did he just do that on purpose? She doubted it, but there was clearly a possibility! He could have directed that flame spell to the ground or the hammer instead! Why would he do that to someone who was his opponent too? Heck, why can't he do that to her instead?! She already tried to be aggressive on most nights in order to get a reaction from him, but he always ends up becoming really embarrassed or faints because it was too much.

Kairi was actually having similar thoughts to Rias, minus the last part. Instead, it was about how she couldn't believe that the sweet and innocent Sora whom she knew since they were kids was actually capable of doing that to a girl! What happened to her lazy bum?! Did this new world screw up with his mind or something?! She could only imagine Sora has gone through, and what she had in mind was… not that innocent. That wasn't good! She had to get her pure and innocent Sora back! She won't allow him to be a pervert!

So, with burning faces, the two redheads clenched their fists and began stomping their foot repeatedly. In a move that would surprise even themselves, they began to shout at the same time.

"SORA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

He didn't even need to turn around to see who just spoke. The spiky-haired keybearer flinched upon hearing both Rias and Kairi shout at him, to the point that he dismissed his keyblade so he could cover his face with both hands and looked away in shame.

"I-I-I-I'm sorry! I-I-I didn't mean to, I swear…!" Remembering that there was an unfortunate victim of his actions, Sora quickly stammered to find his voice so he could apologize. "I-It was an accident, Irina! I really didn't mean to! P-P-Please, you gotta believe me!"

Irina slowly looked up at the boy upon hearing her name getting called, her face still red. However, it would immediately return back to normal upon seeing the vulnerable state that Sora was in, and realizing that this was her chance.

"An opening!" she smirked in triumph. She grabbed the hammer beside her, which transformed back into a katana, as she dashed forward while still covering up her wardrobe malfunction with her free arm. Despite her embarrassment, she was still determined to win this battle.

[She's rushing towards you, Partner. Snap out of it!]

Hearing Ddraig's words in his mind, Sora removed his hands from his face and quickly summoned his Oblivion. He was able to raise his weapon in time to block Irina's swing, which greatly surprised the girl at how he was able to sense her coming for him.

Taking advantage of her stunned state, Sora pushed her blade away and backflipped into the air, before landing a flying kick towards Irina's abdomen, sending the girl rolling across the ground and dropping her sword in the process. Moments later, she was lying on her stomach and was too beaten to continue.

"Irina!" Xenovia shouted. Seeing that his opponent was distracted with her partner's defeat, Yuuto put away his Holy Eraser and instead created a large two-handed sword that he held firmly in his grip.

"Word of advice! You should keep your eyes on your opponent and not anywhere else!" Yuuto exclaimed, causing the bluenette to turn back towards him. Xenovia frowned and held up her Excalibur to defend herself. "Let's finish our duel as well. I will destroy that cursed blade once and for all with my Destruction Sword!"

Yuuto charged forward as he raised his sword high but unfortunately, its weight was too much for him to support and it ended up slowing him down. Despite it, he was still able to swing the blade downwards, aiming for the Excalibur in the girl's hands.

However, that little mess-up was all Xenovia needed. She quickly side-stepped to avoid Yuuto's slash, creating an opening for herself. "Your Sacred Gear is very versatile, I have to admit. Unfortunately…" Xenovia held her sword in a reverse grip and thrusted its pommel straight into the boy's stomach.

If it was another person, it wouldn't do much but with Yuuto being a devil, it caused him great pain and made him cough up some blood. The impact threw him several feet away and crashed onto his back, gasping loudly as he took several deep breaths to force air back into his lungs and stabilize his breathing. This prompted Asia to move from her place and run over to where he was.

"Yuuto-san!" she cried out in concern, before using her Sacred Gear on him. The blonde knight grunted as he remained on the ground, letting Asia do her work. "P-Please hold still, I'm going to heal you."

"Your emotions clouded your instincts in battle. If you had focused on defeating me and not Excalibur, you would've won, senpai." She spoke, burying the blade of her Excalibur into the ground next to her.

Sensing a presence behind her, Xenovia looked over her shoulder and saw Sora in his battle stance, apparently having energy for another fight. But looking over his shoulder, she saw Griselda shaking her head and sending her a look that meant they were done here.

Not wanting to earn another smack from Griselda, the bluenette turned towards Sora. "You did well against Irina, even if you had to resort to unorthodox methods to defeat her." Xenovia spoke, not forgetting the little stunt he pulled against her partner earlier.

This made the boy blush and looked down on the ground, which also caused him to break his stance. "I-I-I didn't mean it… believe me, it was just an accident…"

Xenovia raised an eyebrow at him, still wary of his true intentions, before deciding to just forget about it. "It seems that Rias Gremory has found herself some powerful servants, which will be needed when we face Kokabiel and that man in the black coat very soon. However," she turned back to look at Kiba, who was being treated by Asia of his injuries. "It seems that your friend there has issues with his emotions."

Realizing that Xenovia wasn't going to fight anymore, Sora dismissed his keyblade and frowned while shaking his head in disagreement. "Kiba isn't always like this. His emotions are just overwhelming his mind right now. It doesn't help that the things that he hates the most just happens to be the swords that you and Irina are using."

The girl blinked. "I suppose you're right. That would explain his reckless strategy. My apologies."

Sora nodded at her before he went over to Irina, rolling her over so that she was lying on her stomach. She looked really tired, but was still conscious. He closed his eyes and looked away with a blush when he got an eyeful of her exposed breast. Oh yeah, a part of her outfit was still burned off. "Don't even think about it right now," he reminded himself as he took off his blazer and placed it on top of Irina's chest, causing him to sigh in relief for his embarrassment was finally over.

(Stop playing - "Larval Stage Planning - Sympathy")

"Sora-kun…?" she asked slowly, before remembering the wardrobe malfunction that she suffered earlier. Her eyes widening, Irina stammered to cover herself, only to notice that a black blazer was already placed on the burned portion of her leotard.

"Don't worry, I already covered you up with that. I'm really sorry about burning your clothes, Irina…" Sora rubbed the back of his head while grinning sheepishly, before slumping his shoulders in defeat. Who was he kidding? His innocent smile won't help him here. "I understand if you hate me now…"

Irina giggled while keeping the blazer close to her chest. "It's okay, Sora-kun. I guess it's also my fault for not keeping a sharp eye that I didn't see your magic, hehe~" she said, flashing a sheepish grin in the same way.

"T-Thanks…" Sora couldn't help but be relieved after hearing her words. It felt like a huge weight was off his shoulders. He then stood up and offered her his hand. "Can you stand? I didn't hurt you too much, didn't I?"

She smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just needed a few minutes to get back some air. I wasn't expecting that kick from you," she took his hand and Sora helped her get back on her feet. Irina wobbled a bit, the slight injuries she sustained hampering her movement.

Seeing that the respective duels were over, Griselda turned towards Rias. "Since we both have a victory and a defeat on both sides, let's just call this a draw." The Gremory girl gave a silent nod, keeping her attention solely towards Yuuto. "We will be on our way now. Irina, can you walk?"

"Not much," Irina shrugged, putting on Sora's blazer to fully cover herself before rubbing her stomach. She threw up two fingers in a peace sign. "A bit beat up, but it looks like I need some help to be able to walk."

"I'll help you." Almost immediately, Xenovia went over to her and wrapped Irina's arm around her shoulder as support.

Sora seemed taken aback with this, temporarily forgetting the meeting that had taken place earlier. After fighting against Irina and Xenovia, it felt as if they were going away as soon as they arrived. This also meant that Kairi was going to separated from him again.

"Y-You're leaving? Why?" he asked, looking over at Griselda with a confused expression.

"It's getting late, and we need to head back to the church to rest. Our business here is done," Griselda replied. "Furthermore, Ms. Gremory here has stated that she needs to speak with a few people about her decision to work with us. It's understandable, because devils allying themselves with members of the church is something you don't see everyday. There is nothing left for us to do here."

"But… that means…" he looked at his beloved childhood friend in sadness. Just when he was finally reunited with her for good, there was another obstacle that prevented them from staying together for long. "...Kairi will be away from me again…"

Kairi's eyes widened at that, which then turned into sorrow as she looked down. As much as she didn't want to be away from Sora again, she had to stay with Griselda, Irina, and Xenovia. Gabriel had left her under Griselda's care, and it would be like disrespecting the Seraph if she went against that.

It's not the end of the world, though. They were just staying at the abandoned church, right? She could always drop by in this school to visit Sora, since he was a student here. Plus, they were going to work together to put a stop to Kokabiel and that Organization member, so they will be seeing each other again.

"You won't be separated from her for a long time," Griselda assured him. "As I've said, we are taking refuge at the church in this town, you could visit Kairi if you like, or she can do the same for you. Since we are allies in this matter, there will be plenty of times in which you and her will be together again."

Sora clenched his fists by his side. Even so, he couldn't accept that! This was already a miracle, a blessing, a dream come true! He was able to reunite with Kairi against all odds, and now he had to say goodbye again? He didn't want that to happen! Even if there was an assurance that they'll see each other again, he didn't want to be separated from her!

He already sacrificed his own life so that she could live and that resulted in them literally being universes apart. He sacrificed his own desire to be with Kairi just so her heart could be revived. But that boundary was crossed by Kairi herself. Despite everything, they were back together by some miracle.

What else can separate them?

Nothing.

And he will make sure of that, no matter what!

"RIAS!" he shouted, catching everyone there off guard with the seriousness in his tone and immediately getting the attention of his leader, who looked at him curiously.

Normally, one would scold the boy for raising his voice against his own King, but Rias knew better than that. There were only a few times in which she detected that serious tone in his voice, and it was enough to convince her that what he was about to say was badly important to him. Sora was the most selfless person whom she knew, and she deeply wanted to make him happy by giving him something he personally wished for. The lazy bum clearly deserves it.

"W-What is it, Sora?" she asked slowly, a serious look taking over her features.

"I just wanna ask… can Kairi stay with us?!" he asked with pleading eyes and desperation in his voice, which shocked everyone who was present, but none more so than Rias and Kairi herself.

And there we go. Action-packed chapter, ain't it? Sora goes toe-to-toe against Irina, while Kiba fought against Xenovia. Not only that, Kairi has also reunited with Roxas and Xion, and she is glad to see them again. But ohhh, those two are forced to tell her that they are devils now… I wonder how Kairi reacted to that. I hope you guys don't accuse Sora of being a pervert, lol. It was clearly an accident, and he never meant to burn Irina's clothes. Heck, it wasn't even a Firaga spell, otherwise she's toast. Nonetheless, Sora won against her, while Kiba lost badly. Poor guy.

Next chapter should be interesting, because we see how Rias reacts to Sora wanting Kairi to stay with them. Hmm, I wonder what her decision will be… :)

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

-Lance