(Disclaimer: I own neither Highschool DxD nor Ben 10. Both of these belong to their respective owners who own all rights to them.)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Woah! I don't think I'll ever get used to this!"

Ben was flying through the air, soaring through the clear sky, way above the clouds below him, beside the huge head of the titanic form that was Azmuth's true body as his body soared majestically through the air.

Unlike the last times he had trips/dreams with Azmuth in the past, this time Ben had found himself flying beside Azmuth with a transparent sphere surrounding him with a pale green tinge of colour in it.

This was all thanks to 'real' Azmuth who was serious when he swore he would ensure that Ben wouldn't suffer from these sorts of visions again. The 'shield' – for lack of a better word – held back the torrent of intense energy that had been bombarding him in the past.

Because of this, Ben was able to truly see the visions of Azmuth's past without harm befalling him.

The clouds below them parted away momentarily to reveal the exquisite sight they had been hiding beneath them. As they parted, they revealed a large, crystal clear lake; beside it, Ben could see, thanks to his greatly enhance vision, a sprawling city which he could tell would be a large settlement if the lake wasn't so big that it made the city look so small.

Near the city and huge lake, Ben also made out a lone, solitary mountain which had four distinct peaks, each of roughly equal size.

The small orb, the same colour as the shield surrounding both it and Ben pulsated a little as it spoke.

[Perhaps it's because I've been sealed away for so long but I, too, have to admire the simple beauty of sights such as this.]

The orb, of course, was 'real' Azmuth's consciousness. As well as providing protection for Ben's mind, Azmuth also followed through with his promise to help guide Ben through these dreams so that Ben could understand the things he was seeing.

"It's incredible! Where are we?"

[I don't remember. I've been to so many different worlds and dimensions in my time that I know them all instantly.]

Despite only being an orb and incapable of making physical movements, Ben could still imagine the shrug of Azmuth's shoulders at his response.

His eyes widened suddenly when Azmuth's words sank in.

"Wait…this place might not be Earth or the Underworld?"

[This definitely isn't anywhere in the Underworld and I'm certain that this isn't anywhere on Earth so that leaves one logical answer.]

"That's not what I mean! Are you saying there's multiple dimensions?!"

[Of course there are multiple dimensions!] Azmuth retorted, as if affronted by the very idea. [You can't be so naïve as to think that the miracle of existence can be contained in a single dimension, can you?]

Ben ignored the bluntness of Azmuth's response as he tried to wrap his head around the bombshell that had just been dropped on him.

"So…you've been to these other dimensions then?"

[Indeed. Unlike the other Dragon Gods, I find the idea of simply existing, to have no purpose or drive as the antithesis of life. While those two have taken well to the bleakness of isolation, I refused to let myself be consigned to such a boring form of existence so, every several millennia or so, I would traverse through The Gap to seek out and explore different dimensions. On some worlds, I'd even stay a while and bring Dragonkind to them.]

Ben went silent for a few seconds as he absorbed everything Azmuth was telling him. As the ancient dragon finished his tale, Ben blinked several times in silence before speaking again.

"The Gap? What is that exactly?" he asked, picking on just one of the many things that were roaming through his head.

[Hmm. I'm not surprised you haven't heard of it yet. You haven't been a part of the supernatural world for long. The Gap, or to use its full name: The Dimensional Gap, is, just as its name suggests, the space between dimensions which separates them and ensures they never encounter each other. If that were to happen, I can't even begin to imagine what the result would be.]

"How long do you explore these dimensions for? Ben wondered, eager to learn more about Azmuth's life before becoming sealed within his Sacred Gear.

[It's hard to say. Time passes at a different rate for long-lived creatures such as myself…and that is only amplified when travelling to different dimensions.]

"How so?"

[Time is relative. It doesn't remain constant from one dimension to the next. I could spend one hundred years in a different dimension and only a few hours could have passed back in this dimension…or it could be ten thousand years.]

"Woah. So how long were you gone the last time you left this dimension?"

[The last time I left was in the opening years of the Great War. I wanted nothing to do with it and I needed to leave this dimension for a while.]

"Why? what happened?"

[Hmm, I guess the best way you'd understand it is that God and I had a disagreement over something and it caused a large rift between us,] Azmuth mused nonchalantly, not noting the shocked expression on Ben's face.

"You had an argument with God?!" he blurted.

[Isn't that what I just said?] Azmuth replied as though there wasn't anything strange about what he just said before carrying on with answering Ben's original question. [Anyway. I lost count of how many different dimensions I visited before returning nor how many centuries I spent exploring them, but when I finally returned only a few millennia had passed and I returned during the final years of the war.]

"What happened when you met God again? Was the rift still there?"

[No, while it was something that still affected Him, God came to me to ask for my help in ending the war…but that's a story for another time.]

Ben groaned at the sudden stop to the tale and while he wanted nothing more than to hear the rest of the story, he could tell that Azmuth wasn't going to tell him more until he wanted to.

So, instead, he returned his gaze back to the land far below him. As he gazed down at the clouds which parted further to reveal more of the landscape below him, another question came to his mind.

"So you've been to loads of different dimensions. Did you create dragons on every world you visited?"

[Not every world, no. I only created dragons on worlds that had magic flowing through it. Dragons are immensely powerful magical creatures, so I could only bring them to worlds with magic which would allow them to grow and thrive.]

"Were the dragons you made the same on every world?"

[No. Just as the magic and its source varied from dimension to dimension, so too did the dragons that formed on those worlds. That alone kept my desire to bring dragons to various worlds strong. I was enthralled by the sheer variety of variety that developed on the worlds I brought them to. In fact, one of the main reasons I spent so long exploring different worlds was so I could observe my dragons integrating themselves into the very fabric of that world's magic…even more so with the very few dragons I shared part of my own DNA with.]

"Wait, so Ddraig isn't your only child?"

A sound came from Azmuth that Ben could only assume was something similar to a chuckle.

[Of course he isn't, he isn't even my only offspring in this dimension. I've lived a VERY long time, kid, longer than even most other immortals, and I've been to so many other worlds too. I might not have the drive nor instinct to reproduce that short-lived beings such as devils and human have but I still created a few dragons that biologically count as my offspring.]

"So, who's your other child here aside from Ddraig?"

[My other son is Ddraig's twin brother, the dragon known as the White Dragon Emperor, Albion. You'll most likely encounter his vessel in the near future. Ddraig and Albion have been fighting for millennia and merely being sealed within Sacred Gears isn't enough to stop them. That is just one more reason to get stronger; to prepare yourself for when you–."

. . . . .

[Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!...]

Ben's eyes shot open at the sudden, ear-piercing noise that entered his head, ruining his sleep. Turning onto his right-hand side and folding the corner of his pillow to cover his ear, Ben reached out to his bedside table and switched off the alarm to end the torture on his ears.

"Fuck!" he groaned as he read the time on the clock.

4:30AM

"What sort of madman is awake at this unnatural time?" he grumbled to himself as he fell back onto his back and stared up at his ceiling as he went about the slow process of wiping the sleep from his face as he fought to keep himself awake.

[Well, you did agree to the early morning training with the young Gremory,] Azmuth reminded him.

Ben groaned and lay back against his pillow as Azmuth reminded of the conversation he had with Rias when they returned to the clubroom.

. . . . .

*Flashback*

"What do you mean you'll see me early tomorrow morning for training?"

Rias planted her hands on her hip at Ben's question.

"I mean exactly what I just said. I want you to join me early tomorrow morning for some training before school."

Ben grumbled theatrically, crossing his arms across his chest.

"But why do I need to have training in the first place?"

"Because you need to step up your training so you can handle your Sacred Gears. Now that you've started using the Boosted Gear, you need to get a lot stronger to be able to handle the strain of using their power at the same time. In order to achieve this, I'm going to put you through some rigorous training."

"You might not like it now but you'll thank me at the end of it," she added with a coy smile.

Ben grumbled again.

"So, how does 5AM sound to you?"

"Awful."

Rias smirked at his retort.

"I'll see you at 5 tomorrow then?"

"Urgh, fine."

Rias clapped her hands together happily.

"Wonderful! Now, Asia…." She turned her attention towards her newest peerage member who balked at suddenly being the centre of attention. "…lets chat. We've got a lot to work out with you."

*End of Flashback*

. . . . .

Ben was still half asleep when he left his room. In preparation for whatever Rias had in store for him with this extra training, he was now wearing a simple pair of shorts, a plain black t-shirt and his trainers.

"It's unnatural for anyone to be up this early," he moaned as he rubbed the sleep that seemed determined to remain in his eyes.

Being as quiet as he was able so as to not wake his parents up, Ben tiptoed along the hallway towards the staircase which he descended silently. As he opened the front door, he cursed at the small but intense ray of sunlight rising over the row of houses in front of him, its bright, blinding rays shining on his face.

"Gargh! Shit!" He closed his eyes and looked away from the early morning sunlight as he closed the door behind him.

As the unwelcome blast of light struck his face, it provided some benefit for him in that it instantly wiped away the last vestiges of sleep from his eyes…not that was something Ben was particularly thrilled at. Still muttering about having to wake up at such an unreasonable hour, Ben headed off down the street towards his local park where Rias had told him to meet her.

He reached the park a few minutes before the time Rias stated and only had to wait there a few minutes before Rias turned up herself. As she entered the park and approached him, Ben glanced over at her to see that the outfit she was wearing for his training session was a maroon-coloured jumpsuit with white stripes running up her sides. He couldn't help but note how form-fitting the jumpsuit was on Rias nor how it hugged every part of her body perfectly.

'How is it she looks so hot in everything she wears?' he wondered in silent amazement as she approached him.

"Good morning!" she greeted him with too much cheer in her voice for the morning for Ben's liking.

"Morning," he grumbled back in response.

"You ready for some special training?"

"I guess so. Let's just get on with it," Ben mumbled as he performed some warmup stretching exercises for his arms.

"I should warn you, this isn't going to be easy. It's going to be really tough."

"Heh. How hard can it be? I've done training before…and I'm a devil now."

As he said this, Ben completely missed the evil smile forming on Rias' face.

"Come on. Let's get started then," she said innocently, turning away from Ben and leading the way to the park entrance where they would start the training.

When she reached her spot, she stopped and spun around to face Ben.

"To start with, I would like you to run a few laps around the park."

Ben blinked at this.

'Is that it? That's not so bad.'

"Uh, sure. How many do you want me to do?"

Rias shrugged her shoulders in response to his question.

"However many you can do. Shall we start with fifty and go from there?"

Ben nodded his head slightly.

'Fifty. That's not so bad.'

Performing one last, quick stretch, Ben took position and prepared to set off. Before he could do so, though, Rias stopped him.

"Ooh, wait a second. There's something I forgot to give you," she declared as she created a small magic circle in the palm of her hand.

"What?" Ben asked, turning to face her.

"These," she replied, holding up four thin, black bands that had appeared in her hand.

"And what are they?" Ben wondered with intrigue, relaxing his posture again as she approached him.

"These are a little something that will help you with your training. They're weights. They'll make your training that little bit harder…but more worthwhile," the Gremory heiress explained as she handed him them.

"Weights?" he repeated as he strapped them around his wrists and ankles. Once they were secured, he swung his arms and shook his legs a little to get a feel of the added weight. He was confused when he couldn't feel any difference.

"Huh, these aren't so bad. Maybe I'm stronger than you think I am."

Rias' smile grew ever so slightly at Ben's confident response.

"Maybe you're right. If that's true then you shouldn't have any problem managing fifty laps of the park then, should you?"

Ben retook his starting position.

"How hard can it be?"

With that, he took off and started his first lap.

. . . . .

(Thirty minutes later)

"I…had to…open…my fucking…mouth…," Ben gasped as he rounded the second-to-last corner of the park exterior.

As he had thought, when he first set off and started his run he didn't encounter any issues and was easily able to complete his first ten laps with ease. He disregarded the 'weights' strapped to his limbs, throwing them off as either defective or too weak for his strengthened body. Due to this confidence, Ben had the cheeky confidence to throw a quick smirk at Rias as he ran past her as he completed his seventh and eighth lap.

Karma has a way of punishing people in surprising ways, and after his tenth lap, karma came for Ben with subtle-yet-increasing intensity.

It happened partway during his eleventh lap when he realised something was wrong. As he ran, he started to notice how his body was becoming a little slower and heavier. It was subtle at first that he initially brushed it off and ignored it. It wasn't until he finished his twenty sixth lap when he broke a sweat and the struggle began that he realised what Rias had done to him. Unbeknownst to Ben at the time, the weights he had been given (and initially brushed off as defective) were magically-enhanced wights that started off extremely weak, offering next to no resistance for even a regular human to feel much from them during the first few minutes they were worn. However, the weights steadily made their wearer's limbs heavier and heavier the longer they were worn…to the point where the person wearing them wasn't able to stand anymore nor lift their limb as gravity pinned it to the floor.

They were enhanced in such a way that it didn't matter who wore them – be it a human or a devil – if they wore them long enough then it was only a matter of time before they were physically incapable of moving anymore and were pinned to the ground.

Ben didn't know this as Rias had decided not to spoil the surprise so he just continued to run around the park, fighting through the sweat pouring down his face as well as the feeling he felt in his arms and legs; the feeling he was fighting against the gravity of Earth itself.

If he hadn't been concentrating so much on simply trying to keep moving, Ben may have noticed the smirk on Rias face as she watched him, confident when he first started his run, struggle just to remain on his feet.

By the time he had finally finished his fiftieth lap, Ben was practically crawling along the floor, pulling himself over the imaginary finish line where he finally came to a stop. His breathing now heavy and ragged, Ben pushed himself over onto his back to look up at the clear morning sky above him. His face was now shining from the glistening sheen of sweat that covered it. He would've wiped it off if it wasn't for the fact that he could no longer move his arms which were pinned to the floor. His legs were in a similar state and wouldn't respond to any of his bodily commands.

"I…did it!" he gasped heavily, his chest rising and falling sharply as his lungs cried out for air.

The clear sky above him was broken by a head of crimson-red hair which entered his view, the owner of which was now crouched down beside him, a beaming smile adorning her beautiful face.

"Congratulations, Ben. I have to admit, I didn't think you'd be able to do that many laps the first time you used the magic dead-weight bands.

Ben blinked away a bead of sweat which was about to obscure his vision and tried to give Rias a thumbs up for completing his task but all he was able to manage was a weak thumb up where his arm lay, unresponsive to his attempts to raise it off the floor.

Rias reached down and began unstrapping the bands from around Ben's wrists. "Here, let's get these off you. I think you're just about ready for the second part of training."

"Thanks. I…." Ben stopped midsentence as his frazzled mind took in what Rias had said.

"….What do you mean 'second part'?" he wheezed as the weight suppressing his arms suddenly vanished as the band was removed.

As Rias finished removing the last band from Ben's leg, she stood back up and looked at Ben with a cheery smile.

"I mean exactly what I said. I told you training with me was going to be tough."

"Can I…have moment…at least?" he gasped deeply as he, through great effort, pushed himself up and dragged himself backwards so that he was now resting against the edge of a bench behind him. once he was in his new position, Ben then started the strenuous task of dragging his arm across his face so that he could wipe the sweat from his face.

Rias supported her left arm up with her right as she tapped the side of her cheek with a thoughtful expression on her face. "Hmm, I suppose I can let you have a couple of minutes to recover. Consider it a reward for exceeding my expectations."

Ben was only able to nod his head weakly in understanding and continue to take deep breaths and fill his burning lungs.

After exactly five minutes had passed, Rias gestured for him to get up and join her for the next part of her training. Still breathing heavily (though not as heavily as before), Ben forcibly pushed himself up off the ground and, begrudgingly, followed behind Rias as she led him over to the climbing frame area…or more specifically, the hanging bars in the corner of the area where people could exercise.

"Right. I think I'll go easy on you considering this is your first taste of what training is like with me so this will be the last thing we do before we head off for school.

"Great," Ben groaned, making a mental note in his head to never again talk back to Rias or let his guard down around her whenever they trained together in future…if he survived today's session, that is. "What am I doing this time?"

"A simple exercise really. I want you to do as many pull-ups on this bar as you can?" she stated, gesturing up at the bar they were now stood in front of.

Ben cast a quick glance up at the bar above him then back at Rias with a suspicious look on his face.

"And that's it? I don't have to wear anything else, do I? No other gadget that makes it nearly impossible?"

"Not quite. I have to make it a little challenging for you otherwise there's no point to my training you."

"Don't worry, though," she added with a sly smile. "It's nothing like it was with the magic weight bands."

"So, what is it then?"

"Just turn around and get into position," was Rias' response to his question.

Not liking her answer, Ben did as she asked him and stood underneath the metal bar above him and reached up with his arms, taking a firm grip of the metal in his hands.

When nothing immediately happened behind him, Ben was about to look back and ask what was going on when Rias took him by surprise when she abruptly leapt onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

If he hadn't been holding onto the metal bar then Rias' sudden action would have certainly sent him tumbling to the ground with her on top of him.

As it was, though, he merely grunted at the sudden weight hanging from his back and held onto the bar tighter to steady himself.

"Well, go on then. Let's see how many pull-ups you can do," Rias muttered into his ear.

"R-Right," Ben grunted as he adjusted himself to Rias clinging to his back.

"And you'd better not make any snide comments about my weight," Rias added in a calm whisper that suggested anything but.

"I…wouldn't dream of it," Ben replied, grunting as he pulled himself up off the floor and performed his first pull-up. He might not have much experience with talking to women but he wasn't a completely ignorant. One thing he had very quickly learned from his mother and sister was to never bring up the subject of a woman's weight or anything in that area.

As Ben slowly lowered himself back down from the bar and began repeating the process again, he found himself fighting against the intense burning feeling he could feel in his arms as he pulled himself back up to the bar. One thing that really helped to pull his mind away from concentrating on his burning muscles was the feeling of Rias' body pressed up against him, particularly her breasts which were pressed hard against his back so that Rias could wrap her arms around his neck. They were pressed against him with such pressure that he could tell that Rias wasn't wearing a bra under her tracksuit by the extra warmth he could feel coming from her body heat…and also from the two small, pebble-sized things that he knew where her nipples squashed between her breast and his back.

After several more painful pull-ups, the pain became too much for him to both ignore and bear and Ben couldn't take it anymore. After bringing his chin up to the bar one last time, he quickly felt his grip failing.

"Oh shit!"

This was the only warning Rias received before Ben completely lost his grip on the bar and fell, crashing into the ground face-first with a dull *thud* as he landed on the solid ground beneath him with Rias now sitting on top of him.

"I think that's enough for one day," she announced with a satisfied smile, patting Ben on his backside as she removed herself from him and stood back up. Ben only tilted his face so that his right cheek was resting against the floor, glanced up at her with his left eye and gave her a very weak thumbs up accompanied by a weak groan in response.

"You should consider yourself lucky that you had a sexy devil such as myself draping her arms around you," she teased him playfully, adding a cheeky wink for good measure.

Without the strength to properly respond to her teasing remark, Ben could only give a small "Uh huh," back as he remained lying face-down in the dirt, waiting for feeling to return to his arms.

Rias looked beyond Ben and spotted someone out of his field of view. "Ah, speaking of sexy devils, here she is now."

'Great,' Ben groaned internally. 'Has Akeno turned up to join in with tormenting me? Or is Koneko here to give me a judgemental silent stare?

As is turned out, it was neither of them.

"Sorry I'm late," another familiar voice called out as the sound of someone rushing over to them entered Ben's ears at last.

'Asia? what's she doing here?'

Manoeuvring his face so he was now resting his left cheek on the floor, Ben looked around to, indeed, see the former-nun-now-reincarnated-devil running over to them. She was wearing her nun's habit again (though this time without the veil included) and holding a small wicker basket in the crook of her left arm.

As she approached them, she waved at them with a bright smile on her face.

"Good morning, I hope you slept well–," she started to greet them before her foot caught the hem of her habit and she tripped herself up, falling forward with a small squeak as she landed face-first onto the ground.

"Ouch!" she whined as she pushed herself back up to rest on her knees and rubbed her bruised forehead with her right hand. "Sorry about that. I'm not very good at running and talking at the same time."

It was then that she noticed Ben lying on the floor in front of her.

"Oh dear! Are you alright, Ben?!" she exclaimed with worry, returning to her feet quickly and rushing over to Ben's side.

"I'm feeling…great; just a little bit sore," he grumbled as he forced himself up and leant back against the metallic frame beside him, grimacing at the sore feeling he felt throughout his entire body.

"Here, let me help you," Asia insisted as she held out her hands to him which glowed green as she started healing Ben.

Almost instantly, Ben let out a sigh of relief as he felt the soreness in his body quickly begin to disappear though the exhaustion he felt after Rias' torture which she claimed was 'training' still remained.

Standing to the side and watching them with amusement, Rias crossed her arms under her chest and attracted his attention with a slight cough.

"I think we'll call it for today," she announced with a mischievous smile that Ben was starting to develop apprehension for. The main reason for this was, like Pavlov's dogs, he was quickly associating it with bad, usually painful, things that happened to him shortly after it appeared.

"Ahh, that feels so good. Thanks, Asia. You're the best!" Ben thanked her as he moved his arms, thankful that feeling had returned to them again.

Asia blushed a little at Ben's compliment but he missed it as he continued testing his body.

"T-Thank you," she flustered as she finished healing him, the pale green light dissipating again. "Um, would you like some tea?"

"I'd love some," Ben replied, not realising until that point how dehydrated he was after his training. He accepted the small cup that Asia had filled with the flask that had been hidden in the basket on her arm and offered to him before repeating the process again and handing a cup to Rias who accepted it with thanks.

'Ooh, I really needed that,' Ben thought with a small sigh of pleasure as the liquid poured down his parched throat.

After quickly finishing off the drink in his hands to rehydrate himself a little, Ben looked back at Asia who was enjoying her own cup of tea.

"So, how come you were dragged out here this early in the morning?" he asked, intrigued as to the reason Asia had joined them. It wasn't that he didn't want her there. Far from it. No, it was just that, because they were only doing some early morning training, Ben thought he'd see her at school.

"Rias asked me to come along," Asia answered innocently as she finished her tea. "She didn't say why though."

"Really?" Ben replied, turning to look at the redhead in question to see her looking away from them with a blank expression on her face, barely noticing the cup of tea in her hands and seemingly lost in her own world.

"Rias?" Ben asked, calling her name a little louder than normal in an attempt to attract her attention.

His plan worked as Rias was brought back to her senses, blinking several times, at the sound of him calling her name.

"Hmm, did you say something?"

"Uh, are you okay, Rias?" Ben asked, noting the strange look in her eyes as she turned towards them.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking." Rias then focused her attention on Asia. "I'm glad you finally made it here."

"Why did you want her to join us?" Ben asked curiously before a thought came to him. "You're not going to subject her to your training, are you?"

He dreaded to think what sort of horrors Rias would subject onto Asia under the name of 'training'.

"No, nothing like that. I'm just trying to help sort her out with somewhere more permanent to live now that she's part of our group," Rias explained before finishing off the content of the cup she still held in her hands.

"But I thought you said…," Asia began to say but stopped herself when Rias quickly placed a finger over her lips in a 'ssshing' fashion. Asia got the message and, while she was confused as to Rias' reasoning, did as she asked and stopped speaking.

Ben completely missed Rias' action as, upon hearing about Asia's living situation (or rather, lack of) he spun his head around to look over at Asia who was still knelt down beside him.

"You still haven't got somewhere to live?!" he asked with concern in his voice.

As Asia was about to answer him, she caught sight of Rias behind Ben giving her a silent message with her eyes and shaking her head ever so slightly.

"Uh…no, I don't. Unfortunately, I'm still looking for somewhere suitable."

At the dejected look on her face, Ben made an on-the-spot decision.

"Well, if you want, you can come live with me and my parents."

Asia's eyes widened at his offer.

"Really? Oh, I couldn't possibly intrude," she muttered in an attempt to reject his offer though Ben would've had to have been blind to not notice the way she perked up when he made his offer nor the bright look in her eyes.

"It's no problem. We've got plenty of space and my sister's room is empty at the moment," he countered kindly.

Asia fiddled with the hem of her habit as she shifted uncomfortably beside him.

"B-But what about your parents?"

Ben quickly waved her issue off.

"They won't mind in the slightest. In fact, with my sister out of the house, my mum would love to have another young woman around the house."

"Sounds like a wonderful idea, Ben!" Rias interjected, joining in with the conversation again. "Shall we get going and introduce Asia to your parents then?"

"Yeah, sure. I need to have another shower before heading to school," Ben agreed as he pulled himself up with the metal frame he had been leaning against. His legs still ached from what they had been subjected to that morning but it was thanks to Asia's healing that he was able to stand up at all so soon after. When both he and Asia had returned to their feet, Rias gave them a small nod before leading the way out of the park and down the street that led back to Ben's house with both Ben and Asia following closely after her.

. . . . .

Back at Ben's house

"What's all this doing here?" Ben wondered at the sight that met the three of them when they made it back to Ben's house. As he opened the gate for Rias and Asia, they were met by the sight of several cardboard boxes lining up along the short path to the front door.

Beside him, Asia shifted uncomfortably.

"Um, it's my stuff."

Ben glanced over at her.

"Your stuff?"

Asia nodded meekly. "Yeah. I had more stuff than I originally thought."

"Okay, but what's it doing here already? I only suggested you come live with me a few minutes ago. There's no way you could've got your stuff here that fast unless…."

Ben stopped himself mid-sentence and glanced around at the devilish red-haired young woman who hadn't said anything yet and had a look of faux innocence on her face.

"…unless you already knew it was going to happen," Ben finished, glaring at Rias with a very suspicious look in his eyes.

Rias tried to maintain her innocent look under his suspicious gaze but only lasted a few more seconds before she finally broke.

"Okay, okay, I admit it. I asked Asia last night where it was she wanted to live and she said she wanted 'to live with Ben' without any hesitation."

Ben looked back over at Asia to see her trying to hide a look of embarrassment on her face.

"I-I'm sorry I didn't tell you," Asia stated suddenly, an upset expression on her face as she bowed her head apologetically. "I-I understand if you don't want me to live with you anymore."

"What? Of course you can still live with me," Ben told her, surprised she would even think that was a possibility. "I just wish someone…." He glanced over at Rias"…would've told me instead of surprising me like this."

"Oh come on," Rias retorted, a cheeky smile still adorning her beautiful face, unperturbed by the way he was looking at her. "What's life without a few little surprises in it? Now, let's head in and introduce Asia to your parents.

. . . . .

(A few minutes later)

"Of course you can stay with us, dear!" Sandra stated cheerfully, doing her absolute best to keep a neutral face and to not react to how cute and adorable the young blonde-haired lady was upon hearing this.

They were all sat in the living room. Ben, Rias and Asia were all sat on the large sofa with Rias sat in the middle of them. Sat opposite them in the two individual armchairs were his mother and father. When they had gone inside to speak to his parents, they had found the two of them in the kitchen getting breakfast ready. They were aware that Ben had left early in the morning for some exercise but they were surprised when he came back with not only Rias with him but with someone that they hadn't met before, a young, beautiful blonde-haired young lady who was strangely wearing the habit of a nun.

After they had been introduced to her by Ben, they had all moved into the living room where Ben had informed them of Asia's lack of permanent sleeping arrangements and had told them that he had offered her a place to stay with them as long as they were okay with it.

"Thank you very much, Mrs Tennyson!" Asia beamed happily, doing her best to hold back the tears that were threatening to appear.

Ben's mother waved off the name Asia called her by. "Oh, pssh! None of that 'Mrs Tennyson' here, sweetie! You can call me 'Sandra' or 'mother' instead; whichever one you prefer."

Asia's face flushed at the choice of such casual names she was presented with (a reaction that forced Sandra to bite the inside of her cheek to prevent her from reacting to it) and wrung her hands nervously in her lap.

"Uh, ok…mother."

Sandra squealed internally at how adorable Asia was being, even if it was unintentional, and forced herself to ignore it by glancing towards Rias.

"The same goes for you, Rias, dear. Feel free to call me 'mother' if you wish."

In contrast to Asia's reaction, Rias responded with a genuine smile that brightened up her entire face.

"Thank you, mother."

This finally proved too much for Sandra who clapped her hands to her cheeks and smiled broadly at being addressed like this by the two beautiful young women sat opposite her. When her daughter, and eldest child, had left home to go to university, it had hit Sandra hardest out of everyone. She wasn't ready to let one of her babies leave home yet – she doubted she'd ever be ready for that day – but the rational side of her understood that Jennifer had her own life to live.

Ben groaned in embarrassment at his mother's behaviour and hid his face in his left hand, the arm of which was resting on the arm of the sofa.

While his wife was incapacitated by their cuteness, Ben's dad finally spoke up.

"The same goes for me too. Call me 'Carl' or 'dad' if you'd like," he told them with a warm smile on his face. "If you don't mind me asking, Asia, why did you wish to stay with us so much?"

Asia stopped wringing her hands and held them together in her lap as she cast a quick, embarrassed glance at Ben before looking at the floor in front of her.

"Well, the thing is…dad, is that when I first came to this country, I came here alone. I had nobody who came with me and nobody who was willing to help me when I got here. Ben was the first to show me kindness and friendship. He was there to help me when nobody else would and I would now like to be there to help him however I can."

"You're son is a great guy and I consider it a blessing to have met him," she added shyly, lifting her head to give the two adult a small, adorable smile that nearly sent Sandra over the edge.

"He sure is," Carl agreed with a small nod, glancing over at Ben with a proud expression on his face.

He then tapped the arm of his chair and pushed himself out of it and looked down at his wife sitting beside him.

"Come on then, darling. I'll bring in Asia's things outside and you show her to her new room. I'm sure Jennifer won't mind if someone uses her room while she's not here.

Seemingly forgetting the initial reason Asia had come to them, Sandra quickly recalled it and nodded her head at her husband as she, too, pulled herself out of her chair and held out her hand for Asia to take. She did so and allowed Sandra to gently pull her up off the sofa.

"Come on, I'll show you the way. Your room is opposite Ben's and I think you'll love it.

"O-Okay," Asia agreed, casting a quick glance back at Ben who gave her a reassuring smile. As she was led away towards the staircase, Rias also stood up and followed after Ben's father.

"I'll help you carry some boxes, dad," she called out cheerfully, a bright smile on her face.

Carl glanced back at her with a warm smile of his own.

"Thanks, Rias. I'd appreciate it." He looked past Rias and over at Ben who was also leaving the comfort of the sofa. "You'd better hit the shower, Ben. You look like you've been put through the ringer, son, and you don't have long before you need to head off for school."

Ben was about to say something in retort to this, but as he took a step forward, he hadn't realised it before but he could feel the clamminess and overall sense of dried sweat still covering his body.

'He might have a point,' Ben thought as he moved his arms slowly, grimacing at the sticky feeling he felt when he moved them.

So, as everyone else got to work either showing Asia to her new room or helping her move in, Ben made his way upstairs disappeared inside the bathroom and prepared himself for day ahead.

. . . . .

Kuoh Academy, Ben's class

(Half an hour later)

"Uh…good morning everybody. My name is Asia Argento and it's a pleasure to meet all of you. I'm feeling a little out of place here but I'm excited to get to know you all," Asia introduced herself nervously, bowing her head a little in greeting to her new classmates.

Ben had to admit that he wasn't wholly surprised that Asia had been placed in the same class as him and he was also grateful for that fact.

'Rias probably pulled a few strings with the school's higher ups,' he surmised in his head with the ghost of a smile forming.

As they were now in the same class at school, it meant that they would spend nearly all of the school day together where it allowed him to look out for her and help her out if she ever needed it. the empty desk that had been placed directly behind him also helped as it meant she would be close to him and away from two certain unsavoury individuals who Asia was best staying away from.

As Asia finished giving her brief introductory speech, the whole class suddenly burst into excited chatter and conversation, surprising both Asia and Ben at the sudden noise.

Speaking of certain distasteful individuals, two voices could be heard clear as day above the ruckus of the rest of the class.

"Sweet! We got another cutie in class!" Matsuda exclaimed excitedly, pounding the air with his exclamation.

"Bust: Thirty-four, waist: twenty-two, hips: thirty-three, and check out all that spectacular hair!" Motohama announced, gripping the corner of his glasses as though he were reading stats off from thin air.

Asia quickly found herself surrounded by a small group of friendly girls who were chatting with her excitedly.

"You're new in town, right, Asia?" one brunette-haired girl asked with interest, eager to learn as much as she could from the new student in their class.

Asia nodded her head and smiled politely. "Yes, that's right."

"So, where are you staying?" the same girl wondered.

"I'm staying at Ben's house," Asia replied innocently, not realising the effect her answer had on the class.

"Bastard!" the majority of the male students seethed, glaring at Ben with hatred in their eyes. They soon averted their gaze, though, when Ben returned their glares with one of his own at each and every one of them, forcing them to baulk from their tough appearance and look away from him. even the perverted duo didn't have the balls to match his glare for long and scarpered away, returning to their usual perverted conversations.

The girls, in contrast to the boys, had gathered around Asia in search of even more information and began bombarding her with questions.

"Are you alright, Asia?"

"He's not making you do anything weird, is he?"

"Your door has a lock on it, right?"

"Why are you living with him?"

"Did he force you to stay with him?"

Asia was unable to hear every one of the numerous questions thrown at her, let alone know who asked her what. Instead, she tried to answer as many of them as she could with a single answer.

"Uh, I'm fine. I met his parents who allowed me into their home. They are wonderful people and made me feel extremely welcome. As for Ben, he's done so much for me since I came to Kuoh and I want to be able to repay him for all the help he's given me."

While this answer didn't answer everyone's question, it did seem to placate most of their more pressing concerns and they decided to drop the subject, much to Ben's internal relief. After this, the line of questioning turned to more 'normal' things female high school students talked about; namely fashion and make up.

While it was obvious Asia was unfamiliar with a lot of things that were now being discussed, Ben was happy to see that she was doing her best to remain involved in the conversation and that the other girls were ensuring that she remained part of the group chat.

'She's going to fit in well here,' he thought with a small smile.

Before long, the teacher returned and classes quickly resumed for the day.

. . . . .

(Several days later)

Nearly a week had passed since their fight against the Fallen Angels in the church and Asia's reincarnation into a devil and a week since anything even remotely exciting in comparison had happened.

As well as it being almost a week since Asia became a devil, it was also nearly a week since Asia enrolled in Kuoh academy and started living with Ben in his parent's house, both of which Asia had settled into extremely well, becoming popular with everyone in both locations, from their classmates to his parents who quickly accepted her and started treating her as part of the family and encouraging Asia to do the same.

In regards to her new life as a devil; true to his word of looking out for her, Ben joined Asia whenever they were sent out to hand out flyers and, aside from giving her some helpful pointers the first few times they went out, tried to let her learn the job at her own pace, only stepping in to help her whenever she wanted it.

The two of them had just finished handing out their quota of flyers for that evening and had returned to the clubroom to inform Rias of their success.

When they entered the clubroom, they were a little surprised at how quiet the clubroom was when they entered it. Aside from Rias and Koneko, the room was completely deserted. Koneko was sat in her usual spot on the sofa and softly munching on, yet another, bag of sweets that lay in her lap. Rias, on the other hand, was leaning back in her high-backed ornate armchair and staring off into an empty corner of the clubroom, yet again appearing to be lost in her own little world.

"Hi, Koneko," Asia waved politely to the white-haired first-year student who nodded her head in both response and acknowledgement that she was aware that they were there.

"Kiba and Akeno with clients?" Ben asked and was given his answer in the form of another short nod from Koneko who continued to munch on her treats.

The two of the manoeuvred around the table and stopped before the large desk that separated them from Rias.

"Hey, Rias. We've handed out all our flyers tonight."

"Is there anything else you'd like us to do tonight?" Asia asked politely.

When Rias made no effort to show that she had both hear them or that she was aware they had even entered the room, Ben tapped the table with his middle finger.

*tap* *tap* *tap*

"Hey, Rias. You okay?"

Rias blinked and turned to face them, surprise clear on her face that they were suddenly standing before her.

"Hmm. Oh, yes, I'm quite well," she replied sweetly, giving him a bright smile as she did so.

"Are you sure? You've been drifting off for several days now," Ben stated with worry.

This was an observation Ben had made several days ago, starting around the time Asia joined their group. She would stare off into the distance, looking at nothing whatsoever and seemingly lost in her own thoughts until someone attracts her attention where she then denies anything's wrong and behaves as if nothing happened.

"I'm perfectly fine, Ben, but I appreciate your concern for my wellbeing," Rias replied with a warm expression on her face.

She then turned her attention onto Asia who was standing beside Ben.

"Ah, Asia. you've finished handing out your flyers tonight." Asia nodded her head in response. "Wonderful! I was just thinking; if you don't have a problem with it, how would you like to make your big devil debut tonight?"

"R-Really?" Asia asked, shocked at the sudden, unexpected suggestion.

"Are you sure? You don't think it's still too soon for her?" Ben wondered with slight concern.

"Not at all! Asia's got plenty of magical potential and she needs to learn the ropes of making contracts at some point, right?"

"Hmm, I guess so," Ben replied, unable to counter any of her points.

"So, what do you say, Asia? you up for it?"

"Oh, uh, I guess so," Asia stated with a hint of nervousness in her voice.

Ben detected the nervousness in her voice and instantly knew that, while Asia was eager to prove what she was capable of, both to herself and to Ben and the others, she was also extremely nervous about doing something like this without any preparation for it.

"Is it okay if I go with her?" he asked abruptly, glancing over at Rias as he did so.

Rias looked like she was about to ask why he would need to accompany Asia but, before she could do so, she suddenly recalled all the problems that happened to Ben during his first few days as a devil, namely his encounter with the mad exorcist, Freed.

"Hmm, perhaps you're right. Alright, you may go with her. But remember; this is Asia's contract. I want her to do as much as she can without you getting involved…otherwise there's no point in her going at all. You can be there as back-up to ensure she is safe but you can't get involved with her contract. Got it?"

"Got it," Ben nodded back in agreement, satisfied with Rias' conditions.

"Of course, I will only let you go if Asia wishes you to join her. It is her contract after all so I'll only let you go with her if it's something she agrees to.

Their gazes then turned to focus on Asia who had been standing in silence during their brief conversation, becoming flustered as the attention was abruptly now back on her.

"Um, I would appreciate the company considering it's my first contract," she stated quietly, clamping her hands together and twiddling her thumbs a little.

"Then you may go with her, Ben," Rias nodded as she pushed herself out of her chair and made her way around the large desk to stand beside them.

Rias gave Asia a tutorial through what was expected of her while attending a potential contract and she also gave her quick a lesson on how to use transportation circles. Once Asia had state she understood everything that Rias had told her, Rias stepped towards the space in the clubroom which they used for teleporting and quickly created a crimson magical circle with the Gremory family crest in its centre.

"Good luck, Asia! I know you'll do us all proud" Rias declared as Ben and Asia positioned themselves in the centre of the circle and prepared to be teleported away. As the two young devils waved goodbye, they were quickly engulfed in red light as they disappeared, sent to wherever their client was located.

. . . . .

(Contract location)

(Several minutes later)

"It sure is a beautiful night, huh?" Ben muttered to himself as he leant against the railing of the external walkway for a set of flats on the second floor of an apartment complex somewhere near the centre of Kuoh.

The reason Ben was stood out here was so that Asia could complete her first contract in piece. Several minutes ago, when they had arrived at the client's location, they found out that the person who had summoned a devil turned out to be a young girl who looked to be the same age as him and Asia.

They quickly learned that the young lady's name was Shinzu, a second-year student in the high school division of an academy on the opposite side of Kuoh to the one they attended which explained why she didn't recognise them, something that Ben was grateful for.

When they arrived inside her flat, Shinzu was surprised to see that two devils had answered her request but accepted it when Ben explained the reason why he was here; to help Asia and make sure nothing happened to her. As he was satisfied that there wasn't anything wrong or suspicious going on, Ben stated, mainly to Asia, that he was going to wait outside for Asia to complete her contract before leaving them to it and making his way to the front door. As Ben made his way out of the flat, Shinzu directed her attention towards Asia and, guiding her to the living room, sat down and began to discuss what Asia had been summoned for.

As he exited the flat, he closed the door behind him before finding himself in his current spot outside the flat where he waited for Asia.

Quickly growing bored of waiting, Ben decided to contact Azmuth through their mental connection.

"Hey, Azmuth?"

[What is it, kid?]

"You remember a while ago when we were talking about your sons, Ddraig and Albion?"

Azmuth sighed with boredom. [We were? I don't really remember. It must have been a boring conversation.]

Ben stifled a dry chuckle at Azmuth's complete dismissal of their last proper conversation before continuing.

"Well we did. I wanted to know what you were saying before we were interrupted…about Albion."

[What about him?]

"You said something about him being one reason I needed to get stronger."

[Oh, yeah. I think I remember saying something like that.]

"Well…what did you mean by that?"

[Hmm, ah yes. The reason I told you that is because, in all likelihood, you'll encounter the current wielder of Albion's Gear and be force to face him in battle,]Azmuth explained dryly in a monotonous tone.

"Why though?" Ben wondered with both interest and concern. He was interested because it was almost certain that he had never met the man or woman who wielded Albion's Sacred Gear so he wondered why it be certain that they would have to fight when they met, and he was concerned because he had no idea how powerful that person was. He was still trying to understand his powers. Hell, he wasn't able to speak with Ddraig yet.

[Because the two of them have been fighting each other for millennia. Nobody knows why they started their eternal battle of strength; neither of them remember how it started and neither do I as I had left this dimension to explore when their fight first began. Some believed, myself included, that their fight was finally over when they were sealed away within Sacred Gears.]

[However, that wasn't the case…,] Azmuth added with a deep sigh.[Even stuck within Sacred Gears, it wasn't enough to end their eternal battle and now their wielders continue the fight in their stead.]

Ben slowly digested what Azmuth was telling him.

"So, have the wielders of Albion and Ddraig always fought whenever they meet each other?"

[For as long as I've known them in their current states,] Azmuth replied deeply.[Each wielder has been different in some way yet I don't recall a time where the two of them found each other and they didn't battle each other. I don't know if they've changed in the millennia since I, myself, was sealed within this Gear but you should be aware of the strong possibility.]

"Great," Ben muttered sarcastically with a slight shake of his head. Not wanting to start worrying about something else that was going to cause him problems in future, Ben decided to change the subject instead.

"Hey, Azmuth. Are you the only Dragon God who can travel to different dimensions?"

[No, it isn't just myself who can do so. All three of the Dragon Gods can survive the intense nothingness that the Dimension Gap is made of, but it is only myself and Great Red who have the ability to traverse the different dimensions. The third Dragon God, Ophis is different from us and doesn't possess this ability.]

"Does Great Red explore different dimensions then?"

Azmuth didn't respond to Ben's question at first; something that Ben quickly noted as it had never happened before. Until now, whenever he asked Azmuth a question, the emerald dragon had always given him an answer…even if it was something Ben didn't want to hear.

Just as Ben was going to raise this point, Azmuth finally spoke again.

[No…he doesn't. He has the ability to but he remains within the infinite confines of the Dimension Gap.]

"Why does he…?"

[You don't need to know right now, kid!]Azmuth interjected sternly, his voice full of authority. [Perhaps some time in the future I will tell you, but not now. You are nowhere near strong enough to handle certain secrets and terrible truths. I would advise that you drop the matter entirely.]

Before Ben could say anything in response to this, Azmuth had already ended their conversation and returned back into the confines of his Sacred Gear where neither of them could sense each other.

"I wonder what that was all about," Ben muttered under his breath to himself as he released a deep sigh.

A distraction interrupted his thoughts in the form of someone appearing on the exterior walkway near him and attracting his attention. Ben looked over at him to see it was a young man who appeared to be in his late twenties with an average build, black hair with golden bangs and a black goatee that gave him both a wild and respectable appearance. His attire consisted of what looked like a dark-coloured kimono.

Upon seeing Ben, the young man flashed a brilliant smile and gave him a lazy wave in greeting.

"Oh, hey, kid!" he announced cheerfully as he approached Ben. "Wonderful evening, isn't it?"

"Aye," Ben returned, casting another quick glance up at the clear sky to see the moon shining brilliantly down on them without a single cloud there to block its light.

"What are you doing, hanging around here by yourself?" the young man asked, making idle conversation. "I'd have thought that a kid your age would be hanging out with their friends."

"I'm helping out a friend actually. She's just helping out a client-uh a friend," Ben replied, quickly correcting his choice of phrase and silently cursing himself for making such a careless mistake.

Thankfully, though, the strange man didn't appear to catch his mistake who chuckled light-heartedly.

"Ahh, you kids. Well, I can't blame you; sex is truly a wonderful thing that makes life worth living. It doesn't really matter how the participants meet, just as long as they have a great time!"

Ben coughed at the young man's response.

It turned out that he had caught Ben's mistake! It was just that he had taken a completely different meaning to the word 'client'.

"It's nothing like that!" he stated with a shake of his head.

The young man simply chuckled deeply and raised his hands up, palms facing Ben.

"Hey, you don't need to hide that sort of thing with me. I'm not some prude who's against things like that. I've done similar things in the past myself, actually."

The man continued chuckling at the embarrassed expression on Ben's face and continued past him as he went on his towards the other end of the walkway, quickly disappearing behind a door that led to the staircase for the complex and leaving just as quickly as he had arrived.

"Well, that guy sure is interesting,' Ben noted with an exasperate sigh.

He was glad that Asia hadn't been there to be a part of that conversation. As someone who used to be a member of the Church as well as her own innocent nature, Ben had a strong suspicion that Asia would've become extremely embarrassed at the quick turn that conversation had taken.

As if by magic, as the former nun entered his mind, she also appeared behind him as she exited the flat she had just been inside. As she closed the door behind her, she turned back to say and wave goodbye to Shinzu who Ben glimpsed for a brief second before the door shut again waving back in response.

"Hey," Ben greeted, turning back to face her with a smile and nod of his head.

"Hey," Asia repeated with a sweet smile of her own.

"Did it go well? What did she want you to do…or can't you say?" Ben wondered curiously.

"It went very well. It wasn't anything bad or secret; Shinzu was very behind on her homework and wanted my help to help her get through it."

"Oh, that's not bad for a first contract. Congratulations," Ben praise Asia with a broad smile and short clap of his hands.

Asia's face reddened a little at his praise but the smile remained on her face. "T-Thank you.

"Well, shall we head back then?" Ben asked and Asia nodded her head in agreement.

"Come on, then," he stated with a gesture of his head towards the staircase where they would find a secure place to teleport themselves back to the clubroom and inform Rias of Asia's successful first contract.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .