As she observed the falling sun from the relative comfort of her clubroom's window, Rias couldn't shake the feeling that soon she would be confronted with an opportunity to expand her peerage. While she was immensely proud of her servants and wouldn't trade them for the world, the Gremory heiress knew that she would need to expand their numbers if she was to successfully prove to her family that she was capable of bringing honor to her name, without the need of a arranged marriage.
While she already had a potential candidate in mind, their was another that piqued her interest and it wasn't in the nature of a Devil to dismiss anything that could provide them with an advantage.
Before she could contemplate on whether or not she should first convert the perverted but kind hearted Issei, or the charming yet mysterious Dante, the pure blooded Devil was dragged out of her musings by the unmistakable sound of paper work being unceremoniously dropped on her desk courtesy of her most trusted subordinate.
"You know it's funny. Despite the fact that your 2 youngest servants are lacking in the social skills department, they each manage to bring more completed contracts than the rest of us combined. You would think that most humans would prefer communicating with someone with a more…developed figure, but instead they seem to harbor a secret loli fetish. I'm not sure whether we should be amused or insulted".
Allowing an amused smirk to spread across her face as she crossed her arms under her generous bosom, the crimson haired Devil walked away from the window until she was sitting across from the equally, if not slightly more develop raven haired Devil.
"As long as our clientele doesn't ask Koneko to do anything too inappropriate or dangerous, then theirs no need for us to interfere. Besides, if our clients are foolish enough to believe that they can do whatever it is they want with the Devil they have summoned, then I'm sure both you and Koneko would have no problem reminding our customer base that their is a price to pay for their..rudeness".
Giggling at the thought of what she and her white haired comrade could accomplish if they joined forces in punishing the more...forward contractors they sometimes got, Akeno allowed her tone to convey a noticeable trace of concern as she noticed that her fellow great lady was acting more pensive then usual.
"So care to tell your devoted queen what's been bothering you for the past couple of days? Because as far as I know, the view out that window hasn't changed much since you took this building as your base of operations. Though considering the recent efficiency of the Kendo Club, it is possible that a couple of grave stones might haven been placed when I wasn't looking.
Though Akeno's observation managed to briefly bring a smile to her face, for she too had noticed the increased competence of the Kendo Club's man hunts, Rias's expression quickly morphed into one of tired resignation as she explained her current dilemma.
"Well if you must know, I got a message from my brother this morning. Updating me on the current status of our family's...arrangement with the Phenex clan".
Allowing her usual cheerful smile to disappear in the face of her friend's revelation, Akeno ventured to guess the nature of the message, vainly hoping that she she was wrong in her assumption.
"I'm guessing that Lord Lucifer stated his desire to help you out, but due to the nature of his position he is prevented from doing so"?
Nodding her head at the raven haired girl, Rias began to go through the stack of contract reviews in a attempt to distract her from her somewhat bleak looking future
"You are correct. Brother says that his position allows him to stall the proceedings, but in the end the final decision rests between my father and lord Phenex. He also warned me that Riser might push for an earlier date than what was agreed. And since he's been recently increasing his rank through the rating games, I thinks its only a matter of time before he's able to do so".
Considering the fact that the 3rd son of Phenex clan was an arrogant narcissist whose only redeeming quality was his loyalty to his family, Akeno knew that Rias's predication would likely come true in the near future. That being said, the pony tailed devil was slightly confused as to why Rias didn't seem to be more upset with her situation.
"You know, considering that you haven't reduced our club house into a smoldering pile of rubble, I take it you have a plan to get out of your current predicament"?
Knowing she could never hide anything from her most trusted servant, nor would she want to, Rias gave her faithful queen a small nod as she proceeded to explain her plan.
"Yes I do. Since my family believes that I am incapable of maintain the status and dignity of our clan without the aid of a husband, I am forced to go with their plans. And while you, Kiba and Koneko are all exceptionally skilled, and I wouldn't trade you for anything, the fact that my peerage only consist of 3 Devils is something that the clans will hold as proof that I am not capable of leading my house independently".
Pleased to hear her crimson haired master reaffirm her devotion to her servants, Akeno guessed the direction Rias was going with this explanation.
"So your plan is to prove your worthiness by bringing in fresh blood hmmm? I suppose it could work. Provided of course you choose to convert human's with potential. And I must say it would be nice add some new faces into our little group, if only because it'll be fun to help them adapt to their new situation. I'm guessing that you already have a candidate or 2 in mind"?
Seeing that Akeno supported her decision, even if some of her reasons where not quite what she had in mind when she considered this course of action, Rias adopted a thoughtful expression as she explained her dilmena to the now smiling queen.
"I have 2 options in mind. But I confess I'm having a little difficulty in choosing which one would fit better in my peerage. Both of them have qualities that I feel would be beneficial our group, but I'm uncertain if they would accept their new situation with open arms".
Putting a finger to her chin in contemplation, Akeno was curious to see which of the academies students had grabbed the attention of the Crimson Princess of Destruction. For if she was uncertain about their final placement in her ranks, they nevertheless possessed something that had managed to grab Rias's attention.
"And who are the lucky humans up for consideration? Hopefully one of them shares the same interests as I do, since neither Kiba or Koneko seem to share the same enthusiasm I do when we're on a mission. Though I suppose having a masochist on our team wouldn't be such a bad thing, if only because I get a chance to be more creative with my training sessions".
Shaking her head in amusement as she listened to the hopeful voice of her sadistic servant, although truthfully she feared for the sanity of the rest of her peerage if she recruited someone with the same penchant for sadism as her ever loyal queen, Rias voiced the name of the first candidate she was considering to make into her servant.
"Well I'm not sure if he has any sadistic tendencies, Issei Hyoudou does seem to posses the typical characteristics of a masochistic since he always gets involved in situations where he knows he'll be violently punished if he's discovered. So if I was to select him to join us, I think you would find that he would be more or less eager to enjoy some...quality time with you".
Pleased though she was at the prospect of having someone who could she could easily dominate, Akeno was nevertheless surprised that Rias would select the unofficial leader of the Perverted Trio as a likely candidate to your their ranks. However, since she knew that her king must have given this serious thought before voicing her decision, the violet eyed Devil gave voice her suspicions on why the Gremory heiress had selected Issei for such an important position.
"Well, one thing that can be said about that boy is that he's extremely determined to achieve his desires, no matter the obstacle in his path. And if you were somehow able to direct that enegery towards more worthwhile pursuits than then I suppose he would make a fantastic servant. However that same determination could easily lead to his downfall".
Pleased to see that her queen was taking her suggestion seriously, and valuing her opinion, Rias motioned her most powerful servant to continue her assessment of their potential comrade.
"Since the boy tends to chase after his desire without any care for the danger ahead, it is very likely that he could be tricked to reveal vital information about our group, or even get his teammates hurt if he becomes distracted by his public desire. That being said, if you decide to turn him into a Devil, it is possible that he could be taught to restrain his base desires, since its possible that the only reason why he hasn't changed is ways is because no one has been able to inflict enough pain on him to stop. Would be more than happy to break him in so he becomes a more productive member of the team".
Having come to the same conclusion herself, Rias was not overly shocked that Akeno would list a solution to help channel Issei's energy towards a more productive goal. However, since she noticed that her queen hadn't expressed any personal issues with the boy's perverse nature, the crimson haired Devil allowed a small smirk to form on her face as she teased her sadistic servant.
"I noticed that besides being potentially detrimental to the boy's health, you don't seem to have anything against his more...honest nature. Already planning on how to tease the poor boy should he join our ranks Akeno"?
Chucking at the question, the black haired beauty gave her friend a conspiratorial smirk.
"Like you weren't planning on doing the same . Besides, if you do choose him to become your servant, I think it will be more amusing to see how Koneko treats him. CAuse while we might find his perversity amusing, I sincerely doubt that your white haired rook will be as understanding. Now whose the second person who has managed to gain your attention"?
Taking a moment to chuckle in agreement with her raven haired queen, for the thought of how her usually blunt servant would react to an unrepentant pervert reminded her of a cartoon, Rias allowed a more pensive expression to come over her face as she voiced the name of the second candidate she had been considering.
"The other person I had in mind was Dante Inumbro. The academies newest student, and favorite black knight".
At the mention of the black haired student, Akeno's smile gained a slightly predatory edge to it, something which amused Rias greatly.
"I take it that you would be in favor of having Dante become a Devil"?
Placing a hand to her cheek with her eyes closed, Akeno sighed as she agreed with her master's smirking inquiry.
"Oh yes. That boy has sadist written all over him, though I don't think he enjoys the suffering of others as much as I do. But still, his actions towards the perverted trio suggests that he is perfectly willing to give in to his more violent tendencies, even if he has to use the Kendo Club in order to enact his desires. Also, he's done it in a way that has also gained the admiration of much of the student body, so its clear that he possesses more than a touch of charisma as well. Such a delightful blend of talents could prove to be a very useful trait if you were to transform him into a Devil, though I suspect that is other qualities might make it a tad difficult for him to operate with a team".
Smiling at the fact that her queen's obvious enthusiasm for adding Dante into their ranks didnt make her blind to his flaws, the blue eyed beauty proceeded to list the more negative traits possessed by the Austrian born student, and how it would effect his ability to work within her peerage.
"His anti social nature would be a bit of a problem. Despite his popularity with the rest of the school, he tends to keep to himself most of the time, so it's difficult say if he's a team player or not. Though its possible that he's still adjusting to living in an unfamiliar country, so it might just be a passing phase".
While Akeno nodded to show that she agreed with her statement, Rias suspected that their was another reason for the foreign boy's attitude. Ever since she and Sona placed him under hypnosis, the Gremory heiress couldn't shake the feeling that Inumbro was hiding something, she just didn't know what it was.
However, what she did know was that like Issei, Dante had something about him that spoke of some untapped power, and if she wasted too much time comparing the positive qualities of her potential servant to his negative ones, then the choice could be taken away from her before she reached a decision.
Seeing the contemplative expression on her king's face as she thought about the more interesting of the two candidates she had listed, Akeno decided to reveal a piece of information that could potentially help Rias make her final decision regarding her recruitment possibilities.
"You know, Kiba told me he heard an interesting conversation regarding the relationship between the Kendo Club and Mr Inumbro".
Raising an eyebrow in curiosity at this information, Rias motioned for Akeno to continue.
"Apparently, he overheard the then debating on whether or not they should break their rule about prohibiting any male student from joining their club. From what he heard, your potential servant asked Katase what he would have to do in order to become a member. Naturally she told him that it was a girl's only club, but she decided to humour him by saying that if he could beat her then she would talk to the rest of the girls to allow him to join".
Surprised that the militant leader would even extend the chance for a boy to join their ranks, the crimson haired Devil waited patiently for Akeno to continue her story.
"Naturally he accepted her challenge, and from what Kiba gathered, it only took Dante 10 seconds to disarm her".
Eye's widening at this piece of information, Rias allowed a grin to spread across her face as she came to a decision that she knew would meet the firm approval of her sadistic servant.
"Well then, it appears that our ranks will soon be bolstered by the inclusion of a slightly sadistic swordsman. I'll have Kiba extend an invite for Dante to come to the clubhouse tomorrow afternoon, and if he's interested in our offer, today will mark his last full day as a member of the human race".
While she was quite pleased by Rias's decision, Akeno couldn't help bust voice her curiosity about the other potential candidate.
"And what about Hyoudou? That Fallen Angel has yet to make her move, and it would be a shame if we allowed a potentially powerful sacred gear to escape our grasp".
Frowning in agreement with her queen's observation, and conscious of the fact that she still had 12 evil pieces in her possession, Rias decided that perhaps she didn't need to settle for one new servant afterall.
"We'll keep him under surveillance for now. But as much as I would like to chase those crows out of my territory, they haven't done anything that could provide me with the excuse to eliminate them. So until they do, we will make no move against them".
Turning her attention towards the more tedious responsibilities of her position, though she was thankful that Akeno volunteered her services to help her get through the mountain of paperwork, Rias allowed her mind to wander as she thought of her her two future servants.
One whose perseverance to his goal allowed him to whether any and all obstacles in his path.
The other whose ambitions where as yet unclear, but nevertheless still managed to convey a strong sense of cunning.
Both of these traits could be used to strengthen her peerage, and hopefully creating the opportunity in which she could escape her current predicament without bringing shame upon herself and her family.
...
'Ok Issei. This is it. Stay cool. You played out this scenario thousands of times, so don't screw it up'.
Despite his relative inexperience when it came to dealing with members of the female gender, perverse activites and fleeing for his life nonwithstanding, Issei felt that he his date had been a remarkable success, since his companion seemed to have greatly enjoyed herself over the course of the day. The brunette still couldn't believe that such a beauty had asked him of all people to go out on a date, espically since with her looks she could have easily gone after the pretty boys of the academy, but since she was with him, Issei wasn't going to question it.
As he looked at Yumma, the brunette once again considered that he was extremely lucky to have his first date with a girl like her. With mesmerizing violet colored eyes, long silky black hair, a face that was angelic in appearance, and curves that could put most girls to shame, it was no wonder why he was particularly taken with the girl.
"I had a really nice time today Issei".
Relieved to hear Yumma confirm what he had been hopping, Issei gave the nervously smiling girl a shy grin of his own.
"Same here Yuma. I'm glad that you had fun. Ho..hopefully we can do this again sometime"?
Yuma giggled cutely at his slightly nervous question before a slightly hestitant look formed on her face.
"I would like that. However, their is something I want to ask you. And I'm kinda nervous asking it since youve already done so much for me today".
The brunette barely heard the last part of her sentence as his mind had focused on the fact that she had voiced her agreement to go on a second date with him.
'I don't believe it. She said she wants to go out with me again. This is even better than i hoped. Hang on why is she nervous so suddenly? Is she going to kiss me on the first date? Oh boy. I wonder if she going to lean in for a kiss, or press her body into me so I can feel her breasts'.
Trying to keep his rising excitement under control, Issei gave his date a reassuring smile.
"Hey you can ask me anything Yuma. Say the word and I will do it, no matter what it is".
Smiling in relief at his words, the raven haired girl looked the brunette straight in the eyes as she asked him her question.
"Issei, could you die for me"?
With his mind focused on how he would act if he should have the chance to kiss the violet eyed beauty, Issei readily agreed with her request before he realized what she had asked.
"Sure Yuma I'd be...wait. What did you..."?
Before he could finish his sentence, his body was suddenly wreacked with searing pain as his date stabbed him in the chest with a spear that seemed to be composed purely of purple light. Coughing up blood, Issei could only stare at the still smiling girl with a look of helpless confusion as a pair of black feathered wings sprung from her back.
Unable to keep himself standing, the brunette collapsed to the ground, and as he felt his vision start to darken, he had only one question for the raven haired girl.
"Yuma, why"?
Laughing slightly at the dying human's betrayed expression, the now revealed Fallen Angel decided to humor her target one last time before he died.
"Its because."
"Its because her superiors view you as a potential threat to their existence. So in order to ensure that you don't become a danger to their plans, they've decided to kill you. Quite narrow minded if you ask me".
As his vision dimmed, the dying pervert lamented that the last thing he would ever see in his life wasn't an incredibly buxom redhead, but rather the familiar outline of his condescending rival.
"Da..Dante"?
Ignoring the now dead boy in favor of the focusing her attention on the unexpected arrival of the only human who had managed to make her fearful for her continued existence, and fully aware that the dimly lit park created more opportunities to use his powers than that of the darkening alleyway, Raynare struggled to maintain a confident tone as she spoke to the bored looking human.
"Dante. What are you doing here? If you've come here looking for trouble, then I'll.."
"I have no interest in starting a fight with you Raynare. So you can cease your rather pitiful, if somewhat amusing attempt to act like your the one in control of the situation. Cause trust me, if I wanted to, I could have killed you before you decided to send your date to his heavenly reward".
Slightly annoyed with how easily he dismissed her as a threat, though truth be told she was grateful that he wasn't using his presumably strengthened abilities to force a more lethal version of their alleyway integration, the black winged girl took a moment to steady her nerves as the shadow controlling human inspected her handiwork.
"Tell me, before you decided to end his life, did you at least discover which sacred gear he possessed? Or did your superiors order you to remove a potential threat without altering you as to what he might have been capable of in the wrong hands"?
Not overly surprised by the uncanny way in which he knew just what sort of questions to ask, and seeing no reason to hide her intentions since her mission was complete, Raynare ensured that she stood firmly away from the shadow edges of the park as she answered his question.
"My orders were simply to eliminate the threat by whatever means necessary. No why are you here? Cause I gathered that you didn't exactly care about the well being of the pervert. Though I could be wrong considering your both human".
Snorting in derision at the Fallen Angel's assumption that he actually cared about the annoying brunnete, Dante was prevented from voicing his opinion by the familiar sound of a light weapon being formed. And though his instincts allowed him to dodge the blue spear so it didn't kill him instantly, Dante was nevertheless to slow to prevent the angelic weapon from piercing his side.
Though she was relieved by the unexpected arrival of her comrade since she somewhat doubted the now injured human's promise to let her escape unharmed, the fallen beauty nevertheless felt cheated that she hadn't been the one to deliver the finishing blow to her tormentor. Though she carried some doubt whether or not she would have been able to kill the shadow controlling boy before he managed to kill her.
"DOHNASEEK! What are you doing here? I had the situation perfectly under control".
Receving an amused chuckle from her fedora wearing comrade , Raynare had to school her features back into an emotionless mask as her comrade gave her a mocking smirk.
"I'm sure you did Raynare. Though I'm curious why you allowed a lowly human to live after he witnessed your handiwork. Cause from what I recall, we were ordered to leave no witnesses to our activities lest we alert the Devil's what we're up to".
Knowing that she couldn't reveal the true reason why she hadn't committed the violent deed herself, for it would greatly harm her standing in the Grigori if it became known that she had been bested by a human, albeit a talent one, the violet eyed beauty dismissed her fellow Fallen Angel's accusation with an unconcerned wave of her hand.
"It's no concern of yours Dohnaseek. The important thing is that MY target has been eliminated, which means we can begin preparations for the second phase of our plan. I trust that our new...associate is on her way"?
Smirking to show just how much he was looking forward to the next stage of their operation, Dohasseek nodded his head before casting a glance at the still living human.
"She'll here in the next day or two. On a more immediate note, what shall we do with your friend here? Put him out of his misery? Or allow him to spend his last moments in agony"?
Despite knowing that it would be probably safer to simply kill the seriously wounded human instead of allowing him the chance to recover from his injuries and thus seek vengeance, Raynare reasoned that he was too far gone to expect any future retaliation. And wishing to get a little bit of revenge for what he put her through, Raynare smirked at her glaring tormentor.
"I think we should leave him as is. After all, killing him now would be an act of mercy, and I'm afraid mercy has never been my strong suit".
Chuckling at the truthfulness of her words, Dohnaseek decided to agree with Raynare's rather amusing decision before extending his wings.
"That's true. Now lets get back to the others. I'm sure they're eagerly waiting to hear of your success. And if their's one thing I've learned during the course of our mission, its never wise to leave those 2 by themselves for long".
Choosing not to comment as her comrade launched himself into the air, Raynare spared one final look at her shadow controlling classmate before joining her fellow Fallen Angel in the air.
Despite the phenomenal amount of pain he was in, for the nature of his abilities ensured that light weapons were as deadly to him as they were to Devil kind, Dante managed to haul himself to his feet and stagger towards the unlit portions of the park. For while his injured state prevented him from summoning the shadows to obey his command, if he could reach the comforting darkness, he was confident that he could transport himself to safety.
However as he moved closer to his only option for salvation, the severity of his wound, and the resulting blood loss caused him to collapse under the glaring light of the lamppost.
Knowing that he had limited time before he lost consciousness, and ignoring the burning pain that racked his body as he called upon his powers, Dante willed the shadows to form a single rope like tendril that he would use to pull himself to safety.
However this action proved to be too much for his current state, and thus the last thing he saw before he succumbed to the blissfulness of unconsciousness was a red flash appearing besides the body of his deceased perverted classmate.
...
"For now on you will live for my sake".
Having completed the process of reincarnating the previously deceased human into her newest servant, Rias quickly noticed trail of blood that was leading away from the crime scene.
Following the crimson path to its source, and unsupervised to see an unmoving shape that was clearly a human body, Rias allowed her natural curiosity to take over and investigate who else had been involved in this late night murder scene.
Activating a magic seal to teleport her newest servant back to his home, the Gremory heiress calmly walked to source of the crimson trail and was met with a discovery that soon had her grinning.
"Well well, this is certainly turning out to be an interesting evening. Who would have thought that I would be adding 2 servants to my peerage this night. I trust you'll be able to answer some of my questions once you've rejoined the land of living".
Caring not that Dante was unable to respond to her teasing observation, and surprised at the fact that he was still alive despite his injuries, the crismon haired Devil pondered just which piece she should use on her latest servant.
"Hmm, what will it be? The magical prowess of a Bishop? The speed of a Knight? Or the power of a Rook"?
Deciding that his anti social nature was similar to that of her white haired servant, Rias placed her chosen piece on Dante's weakly rising chest, and recited the ritual that would bind him to her as a servant.
"Dante Inumbro. Your life is now mine to command. Cast off your mortal coil and be reincarnated as my servant".
And with a flash of light, it was done.
Anyways, REVIEWS ARE ALWAYS WANTED (no flames). And will update when...I update lol.