The Game was soon to begin. Team Gremory sat alone in their clubhouse, no outsiders allowed here this close to the time of the Game. Rias sent one last look around at her team.

Akeno was calm and quiescent, hiding her own emotions expertly as she prepared for combat. As Rias had expected, she had been unable to clear her mental block, though it was weaker than before. With luck, she may be emotionally equipped to deal with it at some point before too long...or at least Rias hoped so. She hated seeing her oldest friend in pain.

Yuuto sat absolutely still, a wrapped sword in his lap. The only motion Rias was even able to see was the slightest movement his nose hairs indicating there was air flow, and without that she'd have assumed he had left a statue body double while off pushing himself further. He'd pushed himself as far as a five second dilation before hitting a block of his own. Uzu had stated that it was something Kiba had to work through on his own, and left it at that.

Koneko was curled up in her chair, completely relaxed...practically a puddle on the cushion, in fact. Unlike the others, she had made minor changes to her outfit in preparation for the battle. Fingerless brace-gloves wrapped her hands, lined with some sort of metal that Iori had given her at Ira's request. She also wore a bandana tied around her neck, made from Gamagoori's pocket handkerchief. At the moment, she had it pulled up to her nose and was breathing in the scent. Rias did her best not to think about the implications of that.

Asia was dressed in her Sister's habit, as she had been when she'd first met Ryuko. She was presently sunk in meditation, her power visible in the air around her as she slowly pulled it inward, focusing it. Rias smiled as she saw just how strong Asia had grown, and how quickly. Koketsu sat on her shoulder, breathing in the energy and adding his own to it, plainly ready to pitch in however he could.

Ryuko was slumped in a seemingly indolent manner in her chair, Senketsu lax across her body and Ddraig visible on her arm. Other than her phenomenal demonstration just before they returned from the training camp, Rias had no idea how much she'd actually improved or how seriously she would take this upcoming fight. However, from the way Senketsu's eye moved, she knew the trio were not as relaxed as they acted. They were combat ready.

Setting down her teacup, Rias spoke up. "I have one last thing to say regarding our strategy," she said calmly, immediately getting everyone's attention. "Raiser's greatest strength is his stamina and regeneration...and his greatest weakness is his ego. He genuinely believes we are powerless before him, that he doesn't even need to lift a finger himself to defeat us." She met everyone's gazes firmly. "Let's make sure he continues to believe that until he's the only one left who can lift a finger."

Nods all around met this instruction. "So start conventional, and save any aces for the right moment?" Ryuko clarified.

"And introduce new tactics slowly and carefully," Rias confirmed. "I'll dictate specific positions and objectives...but I leave it up to each of you to accomplish them to the best of your abilities and judgements." As she finished speaking, Sona came in through the outer door. "Good evening, Sona," she greeted warmly.

Ryuko raised her eyebrow at their arrival. "Hmm? I thought no outsiders?" She was more than a little put out that Mako was not allowed to watch the fight. In point of fact, it had taken a special dispensation to allow Satsuki to watch the match from...somewhere.

"The Rating Game is monitored by an outside clan," Rias explained calmly. "To maintain the dimensional space the battle takes place in, to retrieve combatants before they take lethal damage, and to prevent cheating."

"We volunteered for the duty," Sona spoke up calmly, "because this is Rias' first Game."

Rias smiled warmly. "I'll show you a fight that will make you proud to be considered a rival-"

At that moment, magical energy glowed in a nearby open space...only to spark violently. After a brief moment, the sparking faded and a magical circle appeared, and a platinum blonde woman dressed in what might be considered a formal maid outfit appeared. "...that was unpleasant," she observed mildly.

"My apologies," Rias offered contritely. "Satsuki-dono did not like the idea that just anyone could warp into our home ground without warning, and offered to add extra security. I allowed her, in part as a gesture of friendship and trust and in part to see just what she could pull off. She claimed it would violently eject anyone who wasn't using the magic of my family to enter." She rubbed her cheek with one finger sheepishly. "I guess the security took a moment to distinguish the similarities between the magic of my peerage and that of my family to allow you in, Grayfia-sama."

"And this is the one who trained you?" Grayfia asked with a raised eyebrow. At Rias' nod, she smiled softly. "Then Sirzechs-sama and I look forward to an entertaining - and hopefully not too short - Game." Turning, she made sure the magic circle was stabilized. "When you're ready, this circle will take you to the Battlefield."

Silence reined over the group for a time as Sona returned to the monitoring room. The circle then opened wide with the Gremory seal, and the group stepped into the Battlefield.

As the portal closed behind them, Ryuko looked around...at the Clubhouse. "Eh?" she asked in confusion. "Did the warp not work?"

"It worked," Senketsu corrected flatly. "We're in a pocket dimensional space...modeled exactly after your school grounds." He was silent for a moment. "Very exact. They even managed to copy your reactive web."

"Her what?" Rias asked in surprise.

Ryuko shrugged. "Ever since we saved Asia, I got a bit paranoid at school. There's fabric all over the place, so I exposed it all to just enough of my energy that I could resonate with it from a distance to get a sense of what was around it."

"A reactive web," Senketsu explained. "I didn't know you knew that technique."

At that moment, Grayfia's voice echoed over the PA, announcing that the Battleground had been made as a replica of the school grounds, as well as the locations of the 'home base' for each team, as well as explaining that a Pawn had to enter said 'home base' of the enemy in order to be Promoted.

"It's time to begin," Rias stated calmly, laying out a map of the school. "Here's what we're going to do..."