Ben 10: Dragon God of Life

by DragneelGiant96

Ever since he was 10, Ben Tennyson has been having dreams of strange creatures, strange events...and a strange green dragon. No one can explain them; they're a mystery. But when he attends Kuoh Academy, he learns that there's more to his dreams than he realizes. Powerful, original version of Ben Tennyson. OOC and AU. Rated M for swearing, violence and DxD nudity. [Ben x Harem]

19. Classroom visits and declarations

A/N: Hello everyone. Apologises again for the late upload. I'm doing my best to keep up to schedule on these chapters but real-life keeps getting in the way like a bitch.

I'm sure a fair number of my readers who are fanfic writers will agree with me in this.

With nothing else to say until the end, I'll shut up and let you get on with the chapter.

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

At the Tennyson household

"I would like to thank you again for being so kind and letting us stay in your wonderful home for the evening."

"Oh, you're too kind. Our home isn't much but we have more than enough space for you and your wife. You are Rias' brother after all, there's no way we could refuse."

Once it had all been arranged, albeit very begrudgingly on Rias' part, the meeting was adjourned and everyone left the clubroom, heading back to their respective homes while Ben, Asia and a reluctant Rias escorted Sirzechs and Grayfia back home where they found both his parents already home.

Despite the initial surprise from the two of them at finding Rias older brother and his wife – Ben had been gobsmacked when he learned about that small fact – accompanying them, Ben's parents had absolutely no reservations about letting the two of them stay for the night…especially when they heard that he was in town for the classroom visit.

"Thank you so much for your hospitality…and for looking after Rias. Our parents asked me to pass on their thanks for accepting their daughter into your home. We all hope she hasn't been causing you any trouble. She has been known to be a handful, especially when she was younger.

"Sirzechs!" Rias spluttered, her face the same colour as her hair from embarrassment, embarrassment which only grew worse when Ben's mother spoke.

"Not at all! Rias has been nothing short of an angel," she replied quickly, not noticing the small chuckle from Sirzechs and Ben at her choice of words. Even Rias, in her sulking state, couldn't stop a small smile from forming. "She's become such an important part of our family that we can't imagine life without her now."

"Yeah, she's been such a help around the house. Sometimes I can't believe that she actually chooses to hang out with our son," Ben's father added.

"M-Mother, father, please!" Rias mumbled, unable to handle the praise that was being directed at her.

Sat at the kitchen table on the other side of the living room, Ben was doing his best to stay out of the way as his parents spoke with Sirzechs, completely oblivious to who they were really speaking to.

"I still can't believe that there is a devil king in my house," he muttered under his breath though Asia was able to catch what he said from where she was sat in the chair next to him.

"It's fine. They don't even know they're talking to Lucifer," she said sweetly, giving him her most confident smile as a way to try and make him feel better.

"That still doesn't make this whole situation any less weird," he countered, glancing towards his parents who were deep in conversation with Sirzechs and ensuring he had adequate refreshments.

"Ben!" Rias whined cutely as she came over to their table and sat down in the chair on his right "What were you thinking? How could you let him stay here?!"

"I was being polite!" Ben retorted, making sure none of the adults could hear their conversation. "It's not like he wanted to go anywhere else and like I could ever say no to a devil king."

Rias only pouted cutely at Ben's words and wrapped her arms around his before burying her head against his shoulder. "Urgh, this is so embarrassing!"

Ben could only chuckle at Rias' adorable expression as she complained and planted a soft kiss on her head to cheer her up a little. He had to admit that it would be embarrassing for anyone if they had their older sibling visit where they were staying and talk about them to the people who were looking after them.

Thankfully for Rias though, the conversation seemed to drift off from embarrassing her and switched to his parents asking if Sirzechs and Grayfia would join them for dinner.

. . . . .

(Later that evening)

"What! What do you mean I can't sleep with Ben tonight?!" Rias demanded as she stood opposite her brother with an adorable pout on her face.

"Sorry about this, Rias," Sirzechs apologised from just within Ben's room. "It's just for one night, okay? I wanted to speak to him about a few things while I'm here."

Rias looked as though she seriously wanted to argue with her brother on the matter which honestly surprised Ben a bit. Rias never seemed to argue with Sirzechs on anything and did her best to treat him as his station deemed it. Sure, she would make her frustration known to him, such as when he revealed he'd be attending the classroom visit, but he had never seen her so inclined to go against what he said.

He was cut off from his thoughts when Rias suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, as if she was never going to see him again. Well, after sleeping together for over a month now, he could only assume that it had become an important part of her routine and she wasn't one for having her routine changed against her will.

"Do you think you'll be able to sleep tonight?! I don't think I'll be able to get a wink of sleep without you by my side," the crimson-haired heiress stated fearfully which only served to make her appear even more adorable.

Just then, Grayfia appeared in the hallway beside Rias, still in her maid attire. "Come now, my lady. Let's head to our room. It's time for us to go," she said in a professional tone of voice.

"Alright, I suppose I've got no choice. I'm coming Grayfia," Rias muttered dejectedly before casting one final glance back at Ben. "Good night, Ben, and sweet dreams," she added before leaving the room and following the Gremory maid to the room they would be staying in for the night.

Almost as soon as Rias left the room, Asia appeared in the doorway in her place. "Unfortunately, I also will be sleeping in my own room tonight," she revealed with slight sadness in her voice that only made Ben feel guiltier about the whole arrangement than he did already.

"Good night, Ben. I hope you have sweet dreams," the blonde ex-nun continued with a small smile on her face before she turned away and headed for her room, the same room that his parents had set aside for her when she moved in though she had only actually used it a handful of times.

"Uh yeah, you too. Sweet dreams, Asia," Ben replied, rubbing the back of his head guiltily as he watched her disappear.

. . . . .

Once everyone had gone to the correct room for the night, they had all settled down and gone to sleep. Ben, however, lay awake in his bed, staring up at the darkened ceiling of his room, unable to go to sleep because of the absurd situation he was in which made it impossible for him to relax.

He looked over to his right to see Sirzechs lying on the floor in the makeshift bed that had been set up for him by his parents with his eyes closed. At any other time, he would have found the whole scenario extremely amusing; the Devil King, Lucifer, was in his room and sleeping on a futon just like any other normal guest would do.

Instead of this, however, he only felt tense and unable to fall asleep. In no time at all, the intense atmosphere became too much for him to remain silent any longer.

"Are you sure you're okay with sleeping on the floor?" he asked to the crimson-haired man who opened his eyes to look over at Ben with a small smile on his face.

"It's fine," Sirzechs replied quietly, looking over at Ben as he said it. "I'd actually like to thank you. In the Underworld, it would be completely unthinkable for me to be treated like a normal guest in a home. Despite the perks of my position, it can get quite tedious at times. I'm enjoying the change immensely. You and your family have been wonderful hosts tonight."

"I actually feel more comfortable here than I would in a hotel," he added with a sincere smile as he looked up at the ceiling.

The room fell into silence once again as Ben registered the praise he had received from Sirzechs. As he did though he was suddenly reminded of the last time he had met Sirzechs and how that had gone down. With that event in mind, he glanced over at his room-mate for the night.

"Uh, Lord Sirzechs?" he asked quietly.

"There's no need for formalities, Ben. I insist that you call me by just my name," Sirzechs replied kindly.

"Uh ok, Sirzechs," Ben tried again, turning onto his side to look at Sirzechs better. "I want to apologise for how things went the last time we met. I had no idea what Azmuth would say and…."

"It's quite alright, Ben," Sirzechs chuckled, interrupting Ben from his apology. "I admit he was a bit brash with histone and choice of words but I can't fault him for the words themselves; they needed to be said."

"Still though, there must've been a better way than speaking to you the way he did," Ben muttered as he recalled the conversation.

"It was quite refreshing actually. It's been quite a while since anyone has spoken to me in such a manner," Sirzechs admitted as the memory of the conversation ran through his mind too. "Well anyone other than Rias, that is," he added with a soft chuckle.

"Yeah, she certainly does like to speak her mind," Ben muttered in agreement. He couldn't help but find it adorable when Rias released her angry or frustrated side, especially when it came to how Asia, and Akeno had been treating him over the last few days. He knew that she had no malice in her words when she ordered them to stay away from him and found her cute when she did so.

"That's something else I'd like to thank you for, by the way," Sirzechs stated, glancing towards Ben as he spoke. "I've never seen her so happy; even back in the Underworld."

"It's not like I did anything in particular," Ben replied, unsure of how else to respond to that statement.

Sirzechs chuckled again at Ben's humble response. "You might not think so but she's changed so much since she met you. It's all thanks to you that she's able to enjoy her life as a normal teenage girl and you have my eternal gratitude for that. That's something I've always wanted her to enjoy…and now, because of you, she can. I'm counting on you to take care of her."

"Of course I will. I don't intend to let anything happen to Rias," Ben declared firmly, sitting to rest on his elbow as he looked down at Sirzechs who had copied the action to look up at him.

"That's good to hear," Sirzechs smiled before his expression suddenly turned deathly serious. "Although I must warn you now that if you ever hurt Rias for whatever reason then I will find you and have you tortured for the rest of your miserable life. There will be nowhere you can hide from me and I will ensure you regret ever being born. Got it?

"I promise! I don't want to ever see Rias cry either. When she cried for me after we lost the Rating game against Riser…that image will haunt me forever."

"That's good to hear," Sirzechs replied, his serious expression then completely vanishing in the blink of an eye and returning to his charming smile. "Sorry about that, Ben, I've always wanted to try out the 'big brother scaring the life out his little sister's boyfriend' thing but Rias never seemed interested in anyone until you came along.

"Uh, I'm honoured," Ben mumbled back, still reeling from the intensity he felt from Sirzechs' words and tone and unable to say anything else for a moment.

"Oh yeah," Sirzechs went on, changing the subject, "my sources informed me that you spoke to Azazel a few days ago."

"Yeah, yeah I did," Ben confirmed, happy at the change of subject. "He was hiding as one of my regular clients though I already knew who he was thanks to Azmuth," Ben said as he pulled his left arm out from under his duvet to look at it. "I guess he's interested in Azmuth's gear, not that I can blame him though."

"I can understand his fascination. Until you, it was never considered a possibility that a dragon god could be sealed in a Sacred Gear, the Heavenly Dragons were thought to be the limit. Thankfully he's not a war lover like Kokabiel was though."

"Yeah, I guess he…wait; did you say 'was'?" Ben asked, catching the last part of Sirzechs' sentence.

The crimson-haired man nodded his head at Ben's question. "Yes I did. I've been told that Azazel punished him by freezing him solid."

"I'm glad. Good riddance," Ben declared with a sigh of relief. "I don't have any wish to see him again after what he put us through…what he put Gwen through."

"I can understand your hesitation. It's impressive for a group of such young, inexperienced devils to hold off a leader-class fallen angel who fought with such distinction in the last war and way before that," Sirzechs said as he settled down into his bed once again. "I suggest we both go to sleep now. I don't know what Rias is like with you but Grayfia will not be pleased with me if I'm tired in the morning because we were talking all night."

"I still can't believe you're married to Grayfia," Ben blurted out without thinking.

"Why? What's wrong with her?" Sirzechs asked testily, his eyes boring into Ben's as he asked him.

"Uh, I just mean that she's so sensible and mature while you just scared the crap out of me with your big brother routine simply because you 'always wanted to try it'."

Hmm, I guess you've got a point. Good save," Sirzechs mused with a small smile before he lay his back down on the simple yet remarkably comfy pillow.

"Good night, Sirzechs," Ben muttered as he rolled over and closed his eyes.

"Good night, Ben," Sirzechs replied as he also rolled over and drifted off to sleep.

. . . . .

(In the morning)

Thankfully, both Ben and Sirzechs were able to get enough sleep so as to not get shouted at by Rias or Grayfia.

Ben was walking towards school with just Asia at his side today as Rias had offered to show her brother and sister-in-law around town for the day and had told the two of them to go on ahead as she would most likely be late. Even though the classroom visits wouldn't take place until later in the week, Sirzechs had declared that he'd be staying in town until it took place so as to explore the town in which his little sister had been staying in. He had also declared that last night had been a one-off just so they could meet Ben's parents; he and Grayfia would find other forms of accommodation until the visits arrived.

As their route to school took them right past her apartment, the three of them would normally stop at Xenovia's place on the way to school so she could walk with them. Today, however, she wasn't waiting for them outside the building as usual.

"I wonder what's taking her so long," Ben asked aloud as they came to a stop where she was normally waiting for them.

"She said that she'd be staying up late so she could study as she couldn't do it yesterday," Asia explained before heading into the building. "I'll go see if she's feeling alright. You go on ahead."

"Uh, sure," Ben replied as he watched her disappear in search of the azure-haired Knight's apartment. He set off towards the academy with a small smile on his face at how friendly Asia and Xenovia had become towards each other. They may have had a bad start (and it would take him a while to forget all the horrible stuff Xenovia had said to Asia when they first met) but they seemed to have put that behind them. He supposed it must have been their strong belief which brought them together.

Before he even knew it, he had made it to the bridge just before the entrance to the academy a few minutes later. He paused for a moment to lean over the side of the bridge and glance down at the river which ran under it and see his reflection looking right back at him.

"It's been a while since I've come to school by myself," he murmured to himself, a smile on his lips. For the past month, he'd been coming to school with Rias and Asia almost latched on his arm.

He was abruptly brought out of his thoughts when he felt a sharp tingle run up his right arm. His hand twitched at the slight spasm and confused him as Ddraig's gear had never done that before…except once before when he thought about it.

"What's up with you?" he asked before feeling someone watching him. He glanced ahead to see a young woman around the same age as him leaning against the wall of the school and staring back at him. She had long silver which had been tied up into a ponytail, a plain dark green shirt which revealed an ample amount of cleavage from her large bust, an open, black, leather jacket with upturned collar, and she wore a pair of burgundy jeans with a silver chain drooping down them on his left side.

As he spotted her, the mysterious person pushed herself off the wall and approached him. The tingle kept running through his right arm and his fist clenched.

"Can I help you with something?" Ben asked her as she stopped in front of him, an inquisitive expression on her face. From the way Ddraig's Gear was reacting he had an inkling who she was but he wanted her to confirm his suspicions before doing anything rash.

"This is the second time we've met, Benjamin Tennyson, possessor of the Red Dragon Emperor," she said, ignoring his question and staring at him with a calm attitude.

"And you must be the Vanishing Dragon," Ben deduced, recognising her voice from the last time he had seen her and stared at her with a cautious expression. After the way she had handled Kokabiel with such ease when he and the others struggled to even land a single blow on the fallen angel, he had no intention of lowering his guard around her.

"I am, but you can also call me Valerie," she replied calmly as Ben felt another spasm arc through his arm which caused his hand to clench up uncontrollably and distracting him for a split second as he glanced down at his hand.

That split second was all that Valerie needed to suddenly thrust her left hand straight towards his face, her index finger outstretched and aimed between his eyes. Unbeknownst to her, however, Ben sensed the movement and his left arm subconsciously shot up and caught hold of her wrist, stopping her when her fingers were just two inches away from his face.

Rather than being surprised by his sudden action, Valerie actually seemed to approve of it.

"Good. You have strong reflexes. You're still nowhere near as strong as I am but you're certainly on your way to becoming a suitably strong opponent," she said with a small smirk on her face as Ben released her wrist and let it fall back down to her side.

CLANG!

Two swords suddenly appeared, crossing over each other, resting on Valerie's neck. Ben looked at their owners to see Kiba and Xenovia standing on either side of him. Both of them were glaring at Valerie intensely, as if daring her to make a move.

"Don't you think this joke has gone on long enough?" Kiba asked with a dangerous glint in his eye.

"It wouldn't be very smart for us to let you start a fight with the Dragon All-father, would it?" Xenovia asked with a dangerous glare of her own.

"What's going on?" Asia asked curiously as she appeared from behind Ben.

"There's nothing going on here," Ben told her before turning his attention towards Kiba and Xenovia. "Guys, you should just step away from her. We all saw what she's capable of and you two are no match for her."

Valerie just chuckled, completely unfazed by the swords pointed at her throat. "You'd better listen to him. If all of you fighting couldn't even bring Kokabiel down, you stand absolutely no chance in a fight against me. But you don't have to take my word on it; keep going if you don't mind making a scene."

Kiba and Xenovia continued to glare at the silver-haired woman for a few more seconds before releasing their magic and letting their blades disappear into thin air and moved from Valerie to stand by Ben who was locked in an intense staring contest with her.

"I have a question for you, Tennyson," she said with a curious look on her face. "Where do you think you stand against those with power in this world?"

"I don't know. I haven't really thought about it," Ben replied tersely, reluctant to potentially give anything away to her unintentionally.

"With your incomplete Boosted Gear, I'd say you'd have a four-digit ranking – most likely between 1000 and 1500. However, you also possess the power of Azmuth which changes a lot. With Azmuth and the Red Dragon Emperor's power combined, I'd say you were a low three-digit, perhaps a high two-digit if you really tried."

"Is that so? I'm sorry to disappoint you but I'm not interested in climbing the power ladder," Ben replied.

"Don't be like that, Tennyson. There's a lot of strong people in this world. Even Sirzechs Lucifer wouldn't be placed in the top ten," Valerie said with a slight shake of her head.

"That's all well and good, Valerie, but what's it got to do with you?" Ben asked, anxious to find out what she was really doing here.

"I'm saying that you're a powerful player in the game whether you want to be or not. You should be properly nurtured, isn't that right, Rias?" the silver-haired woman said, looking over Ben's shoulder as she did so.

Ben looked back to see Rias as well as Akeno and Koneko who stood on either side of her. Holding a look of displeasure on her face, Rias approached them and came to a stop beside Ben. "I don't need your advice," she stated firmly, glaring at Valerie with distaste.

"Are you fully aware of the history surrounding the two Heavenly Dragons? Those involved with the red and white dragons have never had the best of luck in the past. I'm curious to see how your life will turn out," Valerie said, adding the last part more for herself than anything.

She glanced around at the group of devils before her and smirked. "There's no need to look at me with such intensity. I didn't come here today to fight anyone. I'm here for much more important matters," she said calmly as she walked past everyone and left the area, leaving an aura of nervousness in her wake.

. . . . .

Tennyson house, Ben's room

(After school)

Once the school day was finally over and the ORC meeting had ended, Ben soon found himself back in his room, sat on the floor with his back resting against the side of his bed, Ship napping peacefully in his lap as he stroked them, and his thoughts recalling back to his morning encounter.

The Vanishing Dragon.

He hadn't expected for Valerie to make herself known to him so soon after they had first encountered her in their battle against Kokabiel.

He looked down at his right arm where Ddraig's Gear resided as he remembered how he had reacted to his counterparts' presence. He had asked Ddraig about what happened later in the school day when he was by himself and had been told that it was an automatic response upon meeting Albion after such a long time had passed since they had last encountered each other.

'I forget sometimes that, even though I'm the first to wield Azmuth, I'm not the first person to wield Ddraig's Gear,' he thought to himself. The fact that a lot of his previous wielders had fought against the white dragon and his wielder; continuing their fight which was meant to have been stopped millennia ago when their souls were sealed within the Sacred Gears.

Ben's thoughts then turned to the way Valerie had completely dominated Kokabiel barely a few seconds after entering the fray. It scared him how outclassed the fallen angel was against her, especially after he had shown Ben and the others some of his destructive power.

He then thought about what she had said about his power rating. He had meant what he told Valerie that morning; he didn't have any intention of getting stronger simply to rise in the ranks of power to stand on par with some of the strongest beings in the world. He was, however, willing to become stronger if it meant he could protect everyone he cared about from harm. This desire had only grown stronger after seeing the Vanishing Dragon's power first-hand and after hearing her clear intention to fight him one day.

"Are you still thinking about Valerie?"

He was brought out of his thoughts by the shower of crimson hair now obscuring his view which was quickly followed by Rias' upside-down face appearing before his as she leant over his head from her position on his bed. Whenever she had free time, she would always spend it in his room even if she just ended up doing nothing; she liked just spending time with Ben.

In his lap, Ship stirred from their sleep as Rias' hair tickled their nose and caused them to sneeze adorably. Ship cast a quick glare up at Rias for ruining their nap and decided to hop off Ben's lap and go find someone else to give them attention.

He scratched his cheek sheepishly. "Yeah I am," he admitted.

Rias sighed as she got off the bed and sat down in his recently unoccupied lap and wrapped her arms around his neck where she gently ran a hand through his hair affectionately and stared into his eyes.

"How many times do I have to tell you to not worry about her? I will always believe in you," she said firmly, determined to get him to understand that.

"I know, I know," Ben sighed in response as he brought his own arms up to snake around her waist where he held her. "I just can't help it. After watching how easily she was able to subdue Kokabiel, I realised how much of a mountain I have to climb before I'm strong enough to protect you and the others. It's just that–."

Ben was suddenly cut off mid-sentence when Rias pressed her head forwards and kissed him on the lips in a way which was both firm and affectionate.

Despite being taken off guard by her sudden action, Ben was never going to complain about it and moaned in ecstasy as he leaned further into the kiss; the feeling of Rias' soft lips nearly proving too much for him. The abrupt kiss lasted a few more seconds before Rias pulled away from him, much to his disappointment, cupped his cheek with her left hand and stroked his cheek affectionately.

"You need to stop doubting yourself. I have no doubt you'd be able to win against her," she assured him softly as she pulled his head down to rest on her shoulder and continued to gently stroke his cheek affectionately while he slowly tightened his hold around her waist, pulling her closer to him so that they were embracing tightly.

"And what about you?" he asked from his position on her shoulder. "I could tell you were shaken by Valerie's sudden appearance today and I wanted to know if you're okay."

It was true. As they watched Valerie leaving to wherever it was she had to be, Rias had subtly taken hold of Ben's hand which he couldn't help but notice was trembling slightly. Before he could ask her about it though, the school bell rang out, signifying that they were late for class.

Because of that, he never got the chance to ask her about it until now.

"You remember that, huh?" she asked quietly and was met by a slight nod of his head in response. "I guess I was taken off guard by her sudden appearance. I guess she's here because of this summit which is coming up."

"Yeah, she must be," Ben muttered in agreement as he felt himself slowly becoming overcome by Rias' warmth and her intoxicating scent. Before he could lose himself to it entirely though they could hear his mother calling up to them to inform them that it was time for dinner.

Rias made to stand up but noted how Ben seemed reluctant to move from where he was sat. This made a warm, affectionate smile appear on her lips though, while she would have been more than happy to stay there in Ben's arms, she knew better than to ignore his mother.

"C'mon you," she murmured as she gently pushed his reluctant head off her shoulder. "We'd best get down there before she has to call us again."

"Yeah, you're right," Ben grumbled in agreement and followed Rias as she stood up and led the way out of the room.

. . . . .

(Several days later)

The rest of the week passed by without any further incidents or unexpected situations and, before they knew it, the day of classroom visits was upon them. Even though he was glad that both of his parents could attend the visit today, he knew they had really come for Asia's sake. It was amazing how quickly they had come to accept Asia as part of the family and how they had come to see her as another daughter. He could see how much their affection meant to the young ex-nun by the bright smile on her face whenever his parents called out to her from the back of the class.

Rias, on the other hand, didn't seem to hold any affection to the classroom visit at all. He remembered how she had reacted when Sirzechs had told her that he and their father would be attending the event and was led to the conclusion that she absolutely did not want her family visiting her in class at all.

The parents were led into the classroom a few minutes before the class started and stood at the back of the class where they would watch their kids go about their studies. As they entered the classroom, Ben's parents immediately spotted Asia and him sitting near the back of the class and discreetly waved to her.

The low murmur of chatter slowly died down as the teacher attracted everyone's attention and started walking up and down the row of desks, placing a brick-sized block of PVC clay on each student's desk.

While he was surprised by this as they were meant to be having an English lesson, Ben quickly came to the conclusion that they were doing this today because of the classroom visits and the teacher wanted to do something special for the day.

His theory was answered when the teacher, having handed out the last block of clay, returned to the front of the class and addressed the confused look he could see on the faces of his students.

"I know this isn't what you expected for your English class but I thought we should have a change, just for today. The assignment I'm giving you is to turn the block of clay in front of you into something original. It can be anything you want as long as it's meaningful to you. The reason for this is to make you understand that we all see life and situations differently. It can be seen in everyday conversation; we may use the same words but it's our personal expressions that makes us unique," the teacher explained and watched as his students picked up the clay and began to morph it into various shapes.

As he watched everyone else start moulding their blocks into different shapes, Ben looked down at his own block and began to randomly knead it into no particular shape, surprised at himself for being unable to think of a single thing to make. It only made matters worse for him when he glanced over to see both Matsuda and Motohama already making a good start on their blocks – though, from the familiar two mounds that they were patting enthusiastically it wasn't difficult to see what they were making – while he still had nothing.

As he kneaded the block of clay in his hands, Ben closed his eyes and tried to relax his mind; the intent being that maybe something will come to him if he lets his subconscious create ideas for him. While he did this, he simply allowed his hands to move on their own and was soon allowing his subconscious mind to control his hand movements completely.

He didn't know how long he was in this position for but he was brought out of it when he felt a hand land on his shoulder.

"Oh my, I never knew we had a sculptor amongst us," he heard his teacher say from his left. He opened his eyes and looked up at his teacher to see an impressed look on his face. He looked around to see everyone also staring at him, some with amazement while some looked at him with anger. The look of anger mainly came from the boys of the class which confused Ben a bit, though that quickly vanished when he looked down at his sculpture and saw exactly why everyone was staring at him in such different ways.

Standing on his desk, carved completely out of clay, was a perfect replica of his Tetramand "Four Arms" form standing on a small plinth. Sat on his lower left bicep was a completely naked Rias Gremory. Held in place by his upper left hand which was laced through her long locks of hair, the Rias statue held an expression of ecstasy as the hand of the arm she was sitting on had reached around her clay body and had cupped hold of her right breast. If that wasn't enough of a unique clay sculpture to have made, the exact same thing was happening on the Tetramand's right side though instead of another Rias figure it was a grey-coloured figure of Akeno, also completely naked and with a look of bliss on her face as her breast was groped by the grey-coloured demon.

"I must say, Ben. You have quite a healthy imagination. That's a great thing for an artist to have," the teacher praised. "It seems this class was a fantastic idea. I never believed I had a student who possessed such artistic talent."

From behind him, Ben could hear his parents whispering to each other, praising the statue their son had made…even if it was a questionable subject matter.

"I never knew our son was so talented," he heard his mother whispering though was easily picked up by his enhanced hearing. "It's just slightly embarrassing to see what his mind always leads to."

"What are you talking about?" his father replied. "It's completely normal for a teenage boy to think about such things."

Ben sighed under his breath at his parents' conversation and noticed Asia staring at him out of the corner of his eye with puffed out cheeks. It didn't take a genius to figure out why she was making such an adorable face when you looked back at the statue.

He brought his attention back to the crowd which had gathered around his desk, looking at the sculpture with amazement at its detail, disgust at its subject matter, and anger which mainly came from the male half of the class as they were reminded of how close he was to the two 'Great Ladies of Kuoh Academy'. Barely a few seconds later, the rest of the class was taken up by the students trying to outbid each for the statue.

. . . . .

When lunchtime finally came around, Ben and Asia left his parents as they went to look for Rias and the others as they normally did for lunch.

Only this time, they had an addition with them.

"It's very well made," Rias said as she examined the clay statuette with a wry smile on her face. He obviously couldn't sell his creation to any of his classmates and had presented it to the crimson-haired heiress when they found her and Akeno.

"Ara, ara," Akeno chuckled softly as she leaned in for a closer look at the detail Ben had put into hers and Rias' clay figures. "I shouldn't be surprised that Rias' body is so accurate considering you're touching her body every night. I'm curious as to how you learned my measurements though…not that I mind."

Rias smile slowly turned into a cute, suspicious glare as she looked at the Akeno figure on the right side of Ben's Tetramand form. "Yes, I'm also curious as to how you were able to make such an accurate replica of Akeno. Care to explain yourself?" she added with a dangerous glint in her eye.

"Uhhhhhh," Ben sighed sheepishly, understanding that he had to be VERY careful with how he answered Rias' question as he would likely incur her wrath if it was unsatisfactory. "I don't know how exactly. It just appeared within my mind."

Rias sighed and shook her head at him. "You truly are a lewd beast, aren't you?"

Ben wanted to respond to Rias' slanderous comment but was halted by two factors: He couldn't actually come up with a good retort to her statement and he was interrupted by the sound of a group of boys rushing past them and heading towards the gymnasium while cheering and shouting joyfully.

"No way! An actual Magic Girl photo shoot!" he heard Motohama shout from the front of the crowd closely followed by his pervert-in-arms, Matsuda.

"C'mon! As former members of the photography club; we've got to represent!" he shouted as they disappeared into the large building.

"What's going on with that lot now?" Ben asked, secretly glad they took the attention off him and onto something else.

"It couldn't be!" Rias gasped with surprise.

"Or could it?" Akeno replied with a bright smile as their group made their way to the gymnasium to see for themselves.

. . . . .

The first thing the four devils noted when they followed the crowd into the gym was the numerous flashes and clicking sounds from the numerous cameras and camera phones held in the hands of the crowd of men who were taking photograph after photograph of someone standing in the centre of the stage who was posing for the photos, seemingly enjoying the attention they were attracting.

As he moved closer to the commotion, Ben saw that the subject of all the excitement was a beautiful young woman with long, jet-black hair which had been tied into twin tails, violet eyes, and while she may appear to have a child-like body, her larger than average breasts revealed her actual physical maturity.

The next thing that he noted was her attire.

"Isn't that a Magic Girl Milky Spiral Seven alternative cosplay outfit?" he wondered, mostly to himself.

"How do you know about that, Ben?" Asia asked curiously as she stood by his side.

Ben groaned and ran his hand over his face as the unpleasant memory came back to him. "Urgh. I know about it because, for my first ever contract, I had to watch almost the entire show while sat in the lap of a huge, muscular man who thought himself as a magical princess. It wouldn't have been that bad had I not been used as a hug pillow." He shuddered at that particularly unpleasant part of the memory.

"Hey! Knock it off! We are still on school property and this kind of thing is not acceptable!"

Ben looked back at the stage to see Saji standing there, standing in front of the cameras to prevent the crowd of boys from taking anymore photos. This didn't sit well with the crowd who began to voice their discontent towards the student council member.

Saji ignored their complaints and continued to wave them away. "Enough! We don't need this kind of commotion, especially not today with the classroom visits! Get out of here!"

The crowd continued to voice their annoyance at Saji spoiling their fun but begrudgingly began to shuffle out of the gym leaving behind the four devils, Saji, and the mysterious girl in the anime cosplay outfit.

"Now that that's dealt with…," Saji muttered as he turned to face the strange girl on the stage with him. "What do you think you're doing, encouraging such things on school property?"

When she just simply stared at him he sighed and tried again.

"Are you related to anyone here?"

"I sure am," she replied with a bright smile and nod of her head.

"Well they should have told you that this sort of outfit and behaviour isn't acceptable here."

"Saji!"

Everyone looked towards the new voice which came from the back of the gym to see Sona Sitri standing in the doorway with an annoyed expression on her spectacled face. "What's going on here?!"

"Hey Sona," Saji said, suddenly a lot less confident than he was before. "This girl says that she's…."

"There you are Sona!" the girl exclaimed with joy as she moved around Saji to get a better look at the Sitri heiress.

"I'm so happy to see you!" she cried happily as she leapt off the stage and ran towards Sona, coming to a stop right in front of her. Her expression turned into one of curiosity as she saw the retrained look of horror and panic on Sona's face. "What's the matter? Your face is all red. Aren't you happy to finally be seeing your big sister again?"

"Sona has a sister?" Ben asked Rias as they approached the stage. "That's news to me."

"Yes she does," Rias confirmed with a small nod. "That is Lady Serafall Leviathan, one of the four devil kings.

"S-Serafall?!" Saji stuttered quietly as it slowly dawned on him who he had been speaking to and how he had spoken to her. "I-I've never seen her before. Sona told us about her but I never saw her in person."

"Good first impression on your future sister-in-law," Ben whispered in Saji's ear, ensuring it wouldn't be overheard by anyone else.

This only made Saji feel worse as his face paled slightly at Ben's words whilst remembering how he had told him his dream. "S-Shut up, Tennyson!" he hissed back, equally as quiet.

As the two pawns continued to chat to each other, Rias decided to help out her friend and walked towards the two siblings with a warm smile on her face. "It's been quite a long time, Lady Leviathan," she said politely, attracting the jet-black-haired devil king's attention.

"Oh yes it has, Riiias," Serafall replied cheerfully, emphasising Rias' name playfully. "How excited are you to see me?"

"I'm very excited to see you. Thank you for asking. I assume you're here for the classroom visits."

"That's right," Serafall declared chirpily before pouting comically. "But Sona was a big meanie and didn't tell me about it. I had to find out about it on my own. I was so mad that I nearly attacked Heaven out of frustration."

'Could she have really done that?' Ben thought with great surprise. While she didn't look powerful, he had to assume that she was far from weak. She had to be incredibly strong if she was one of the four leaders of a society that valued strength above anything else.

"Hey, isn't that guy meant to be the Dragon All-father?" Serafall asked Rias as she glanced over her shoulder and noticed Ben.

"Yes he is," Rias said proudly, turning towards her precious servant and gesturing for him to join her. "Could you come here, Ben? There's someone who would like to see you."

Doing as she asked, he stepped away from Akeno and Asia and came to stand beside Rias and in front of Serafall to whom he bowed his head respectfully. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Leviathan. My name is Ben Tennyson, Rias Gremory's Pawn."

"The pleasure's all mine. As you may already know; I'm the devil king, Serafall Leviathan." She turned sideways, posing for him and making a peace sign at the same time. "But you can call me li'l Levi!"

"Please listen to me!" Sona demanded desperately, attracting her big sister's attention again. "I am responsible for the entire student council here! Even if you are family, your attire is totally unacceptable! You're going to have to change!"

"Can't you hear the tone of your voice? You're borderline violent," Serafall retorted.

As Serafall continued to talk to Sona and find out what was going on with her, Ben backed away to re-join Akeno and Asia where he leaned towards Akeno and spoke quietly so as to not be overheard by the devil king.

"So, if Sona's older sister is a devil king like Rias' brother is, why didn't she call her to help us with the whole Kokabiel incident? Don't they like each other or something?"

Akeno chuckled behind her hand before responding. "No. quite the opposite in fact. Serafall likes her little sister a little too much. Some people would go as far to say she's obsessed about her. The situation would have spiralled way out of control if Serafall had been there."

"Ah! I can't take it anymore!" Sona cried out tearfully as she turned and ran away from her sister who ran after her.

"Wait, Sona! Don't leave!" Serafall called out as she chased after her sister.

"Looks like Sona will be needing my help. I'll see you later," Saji said to Ben as he watched his master flee from the gym.

Ben patted his shoulder and nodded, a knowing look on his face. "I hear you. Catch you later."

Rias sighed and rested a palm against her forehead as she watched her childhood friend ran away from her overbearing sibling. "It's not really my place to say, but all of the devil kings are like this," she groaned, nodding her head towards Serafall. "They're all high-strung and extremely excitable. It can be exhausting."

"Hey! I resent that," came a cool, familiar voice from the stage behind them. They all turned around to see Sirzechs sitting on the edge of the raised stage, his hands in his pockets and a broad smile on his face.

"What are you doing here?" Rias asked, taken off guard by her brother's sudden appearance.

"I heard a commotion and thought I'd check it out. I should have known it'd be Serafall. She sure knows how to attract attention. Anyway, stop changing the subject. What do you mean by "high strung and excitable"? I seem to recall that, in the past you would follow me everywhere I went whilst saying "big brother this" and "big brother that"." He sighed fondly at the memories. "Huh, I guess it must be the rebellious age you've reached…."

Rias, whose face had turned bright red from embarrassment, stomped her foot on the ground and glared at the devil king with adorable puffed out cheeks. "Sirzechs! Please don't bring up my childhood!"

[Flash!]

Before anyone could react, Sirzechs had quickly brought his hand out of his pocket to reveal that he was holding a small camera which he pulled up to his face and took a picture of Rias' adorably embarrassed expression before she could remove it.

"There we go. What a nice face, Rias. I'll be sure to show this to father…," he chuckled warmly as he stood up on the stage and looked at the picture he had just taken, impressed at his own skills. "He'll be so happy…and I'm sure mother would appreciate it, especially as she couldn't make it today."

"Give me that camera, Zechs!" Rias demanded in what was clearly intended to be an angry tone though Ben could only marvel at how cute it was. Instead of acquiescing to her demand, Sirzechs just chuckled at the look on his little sister's face and quickly made his exit behind the stage curtains before she could do anything more than just shouting after him.

Ben had to hold back a chuckle which was threatening to break free. Once he had calmed down, he looked back at Rias, transfixed by how adorable she looked right now, and nodded his head. "I think you might be one to something there, they are a bit strange aren't they?," he mused with a smile.

. . . . .

Determined to find her brother and take his camera off him before he could show their father the picture he took, Rias led their group of four back into the main building and were making their way down the corridor and soon found themselves in the main atrium of the academy though with no success in finding the crimson-haired devil king. They were just about to head off towards another part of the school when….

"Hey there, Ben!" they heard Ben's father shout out from the other side of the atrium.

"Hey, dad," Ben called out back as they diverted from their path and headed towards his parents. As he caught sight of them, Ben noticed another man standing beside his father…an eerily familiar, crimson-haired man.

"Hello there, Rias. I've been looking for you," he said in a deep, faintly familiar voice.

"Hello father," Rias replied politely while Ben's brain snapped in gear and reminded him where he had last seen her father. It was all the way back at the engagement party he crashed.

Perhaps not the best first impression he's ever made.

"You must be Ben. It's a pleasure to finally meet you properly," Rias' father said politely as he held out his hand which Ben accepted and shook. "You're parents have been telling me so much about you. Thank you for taking care of my daughter."

"Um, you're welcome," Ben replied awkwardly at first as it struggled to find words to say. When it finally kicked back into gear, Ben followed the crimson-haired man's lead and shook his hand firmly and respectfully. "It's a pleasure to meet you too, sir."

"Sir? My, you must be so proud to have such a well-mannered son, Sandra," Rias' father beamed at Ben's mother who smiled proudly at Ben.

"We most certainly are," she nodded cheerfully.

Releasing his hand, Ben looked back at his parents who were noticeably more formal than he had ever seen them before which intrigued him.

"So…uh…how did you end up meeting Rias' father?" he asked, aiming the question at his parents.

"Well, we were standing around here, waiting for you and Asia to come back when we bumped into Mr Gremory and began chatting…and here we are fifteen minutes later still talking. Isn't that right, sir?"

"I've told you before, Carl, 'Mr Gremory' was my father. Please call me by my first name, Zeoticus," he chuckled as he put his hands back in his pockets and cast a quick glance at Ben and Rias who were standing close to each other. "Besides, I think our children are close enough for us to drop all formalities, don't you agree?"

"O-Of course Mr…." Ben's father began before he was subtly elbowed in the ribs by his wife, "…uh, I mean Zeoticus," he quickly corrected himself and it suddenly dawned on Ben why his folks were acting so strange.

They both worked for his company and, even though his mother had quit to raise him and his sister, and his father worked in just one of the many offices of the business, they both worked indirectly for Rias' dad.

Zeoticus smirked when he noted the red look of embarrassment on Rias' face.

"Perhaps we should continue this conversation somewhere a bit more private. It's quite noisy around here and I'd much rather embarrass my daughter when I know she can hear me."

"Father!" Rias exclaimed, her face turning as red as her crimson hair.

"Would you like to come back to our place for dinner?" Ben's father offered. "We've got some whiskey, or sake if you prefer, and could continue talking in comfort.

"That sounds like an absolutely wonderful idea," Zeoticus said with a sincere smile, ignoring the look of shock on Rias' face as he said so. "I've been wanting to see where my daughter has been staying. Sirzechs and I had wanted to visit together earlier but my work prevented me from finding an opportunity to do so. I hope she hasn't been causing you too much trouble."

"Oh no, of course not!" Sandra said quickly. "She's been such a good girl. She couldn't be any more of a perfect houseguest."

"I'm glad to hear that. She certainly wasn't like that when she was younger," Zeoticus said as the three of them started to make their way towards the school entrance, leaving their children behind as they already began to continue their conversation from earlier.

"This is brilliant," Sirzechs said with a hearty laugh as he descended the stairs next to their group by sliding down the stone bannister.

"What are you talking about?" Rias asked with a glare.

"It looks like we get to have our first proper family meal with our future mother and father-in-law," he answered with a wink and laughing again when he saw both Ben and Rias go red-faced at his response.

"Don't you agree?" he asked them playfully.

"Zechs! Don't go saying stuff like that! And where's that damn camera of yours! I demand you give it to me at once!" Rias demanded, still red-faced with embarrassment.

"Afraid I can't do that, Ri-Ri," Sirzechs retorted, using the nickname he and his father had come up with when she was younger. "I need to record and preserve these precious memories of you growing up. It's my duty as your older brother." He sighed pleasantly as he watched the back of his father and Ben's parents heading away from them.

"I can't wait for tonight," he chuckled while Rias just groaned and covered her face with her hands.

"I can," she muttered with embarrassment.

. . . . .

Back at the Tennyson house

(Later)

"Oh Asia! You look so cute in this video!" Ben's mother all-but-squealed as she watched Asia on the TV.

After the school day had finally come to an end, Sirzechs and Zeoticus had joined Ben and his family as they headed home. Once there, they had enjoyed a delicious meal courtesy of a combined effort from Rias, Asia, and Sandra who, Ben suspected, was aiming to try out some of the new recipes Rias had taught her in the weeks she had been living with them.

Once they had finished the meal and Zeoticus and Sirzechs thanked Sandra, Rias and Asia profusely for the delicious meal and for their hard work, they had all moved into the living room, in front of the TV where they began to watch the video tapes they had collected from that day while enjoying some alcohol.

"Hahahaha! It's an important parental duty to pay attention to the blossoming of their daughter, don't you think so?" Zeoticus laughed heartily, a cup of sake in his hand. He seemed to become an incredibly cheerful person after drinking alcohol…even though he was already cheerful beforehand.

The two girls they were referring to were sat the dining table at the end of the living room with their heads in their hands and wishing that the night was over and done with already.

"I'm so embarrassed," Asia squeaked adorably, refusing to look at the TV which showed her answering a question in class, and all of them cheering when she got the answer right.

"I feel like I'm in the lowest level of Hell," Rias groaned into her hands.

Once they had finished with the video tape footage that Ben's parents had captured, Zeoticus stepped up and began showing the footage he had captured when he was watching Rias in her class. While all the adults began cooing and commentating on how brilliant Rias was, in her case she just began shaking subtly as she worked to hide the extreme blush on her face.

"Of course, it's important to watch them grow," Zeoticus repeated as he watched his daughter spot the camera and start ordering her father to put it down which he ignored. "But I say it's also an important duty of a father to embarrass his daughter at school too!" he laughed.

"Oh look! Our Ri-Ri is answering the teacher's question…oh, and she got it right!" Sirzechs exclaimed with a laugh which was joined by the rest of the adults.

That was the last straw for Rias.

"I can't take it anymore! I'll be in my room, stupid jerks!" Rias spilled out as she kicked back the chair she was sat on and stormed out of the room and ran up the stairs.

Ben rose up out of his seat. "I'll go after her," he said to Asia as he followed Rias up the stairs towards his room though Asia was still planting her head onto the table and covering her ears to avoid the tirade from the embarrassing parents and didn't hear him.

. . . . .

Ben noted Rias sat on the floor in front of his bedroom door as he rounded the corner of the landing. It may have been considered dark in lieu of the complete lack of light but he could see everything as clear as though it were still daytime thanks to his enhanced vision. This vision also enabled him to clearly see the thick blush which was still covering her cheeks and he stopped for a moment to admire how beautiful she looked right now.

"Hey Rias," he murmured softly as he approached her. "Do you want to hang out in my room?"

Rias simply nodded her head without saying anything and Ben was reminded once again that, without her fancy titles and obligations, she was still just a normal teenage girl. He opened the door for her and let her enter the room first. Once inside she quickly jumped onto his bed and buried her face in his pillow and release a muffled groan.

Ben chuckled light-heartedly under his breath and sat down on the edge of his bed. "I know it's kinda embarrassing with the videos and all, but it seems my parents and your dad are getting along well…and that's good, right?"

He glanced over his shoulder at Rias though she didn't answer. He scratched his cheek and continued. "I know parents can be embarrassing at times. You remember when my mum showed you my baby pictures? I try not to remember but I just can't help it. Your dad seems to be just doing the same thing she did."

"I know, I know, I'm happy that my father is getting on well with your parents," Rias replied, her response muffled by the pillow her face was still buried in.

Silence descended on the room for a while before Rias broke it.

"Hey, Ben?"

"Yeah."

"I want you to be honest. Are you glad you met me?"

Surprised by the unexpected question, Ben repositioned himself so that he was lying alongside Rias, his head held up by his left arm which was planted on his mattress for support and stared at her still-buried face.

"What brought this on all of a sudden? Did I do something wrong?" he asked with confusion, thinking back for any ways he could've messed something up with Rias.

Rias shook her head into the pillow at his counter-question and tilted her head slightly so that she could glance at him through her hair which was splayed all over the bed.

"No, of course not. It's just that…I'm really happy here, with you, Asia and your family and I don't want it to end. I'm so glad I have you in my life, Ben. We've only known each other for a few weeks yet I can no longer imagine my life without you in it anymore. I don't know when it happened but you now hold a very special place in my heart."

Before answering, Ben reached over with his right hand and gently took hold of her hand closest to him and pulled it towards him and gently kissing the back of her hand softly and holding it there. As he did this Rias had rolled over so that they were staring into each other's eyes as she waited anxiously for his answer.

"Rias…if it meant that I was able to meet you and be with you then being brutally murdered was the best thing to ever happen to me." Rias had to stifle a giggle at this while Ben went on. "If we're being honest then I feel the same way you do; I also can't picture my life without you in it anymore. I can't imagine it without the others either but with you it's something else. You were the one who saved my life…."

He placed her hand against his chest where the Light spear had impaled him.

"You had no idea who I was; I was just a foreign student who nearly ran into you at our first encounter! Despite this though, you still saw something in me worth saving instead of something that meant I needed to die. You changed my life that night, Rias, and I will never be able to properly repay you for that. As long as I draw breath I will always be there to protect you from harm; you, everyone in your peerage and whomever you choose as your partner."

Rias blinked in confusion at the last part and tilted her head slightly to stare at him.

"What do you mean by that?" she wondered slowly.

"Well, you are the heiress to a really important devil family in the Underworld, right? An influential family that'll require you to pick a suitable husband for the good of your household, yeah?"

"No, you're not wrong but I'm still confused as to what you're trying to say," she tried again, inching closer to see the troubled expression forming on Ben's face.

"I'm saying that I really like the way things are with us but I know it won't be like this forever, and while Sirzechs was teasing us with the 'in-law' comment, I know that he was just joking. There's no way you or your family would want something like me as anything other than your Pawn; a reincarnated devil possessed by two senile dragons that are affecting his body in so many ways I don't think I'll ever be able to understand let alone control. Your family would lose influence and standing and I know how much your family means to you even if you pretend otherwise so, instead, I will devote myself to standing behind you and helping you find that person you want to be wi–," Ben went on before he was suddenly interrupted when Rias suddenly grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him towards her with such force that he ended up rolling on top of her with his arms resting on either side of her head as he stared down at her in shock.

"What the–," he tried again before Rias took hold of either side of his head in her hands and brought it down until their lips touched and she kissed him passionately.

Their lips remained locked for a few more seconds before Rias ended the kiss and pressed her forehead against his.

"You really are an idiot, aren't you? You're so oblivious to how a young woman's heart works that you start believing such foolish things?" she sighed as she ran a hand through his hair softly.

"But it's true. You saw how I was yesterday when we were at the pool, what I did with Akeno and Xenovia. I don't think I'll ever be able to fully control that and even though you hide it well, I know you're angry and hurt by it."

"I wasn't angry with you getting intimate with Akeno and Xenovia," Rias countered as another small blush formed in her cheeks. "I was…jealous, alright. Jealous because you've done things with them but not with me, even though I'm the only one who you're meant to be doing such things with."

"What are you saying exactly?" Ben asked with a low growl from the pit of his stomach which caused Rias' heart to beat a little faster when she saw the predatory look in his eyes.

He couldn't help but notice the blush now slowly making its way across Rias' beautiful face.

"Urgh! You really don't know what women want, do you? I'm saying that I…that I don't mind you doing those things to me! I-I want you to do those things with me!"

Rias' confession instantly sent Ben over the edge and he felt his self-control abandon him with a deep growl as he descended upon her before she realised it, pressing his whole body down on top of hers while his mouth captured hers and they resumed their passionate kiss from earlier which quickly escalated as their lips parted and his tongue slid into her mouth and began battling hers for control.

At the same time he was kissing the Gremory heiress passionately, Ben had brought a hand onto her waist before slowly bringing it up across her stomach until it reached her breasts. Rias' breathing hitched and she let out a soft moan as she felt him grab her right breast with his hand and squeeze it slightly. She let out another pleasurable groan when he slowly began playing with her erect nipple with his thumb. Even though she was still clothed, Rias couldn't help but squirm at little at how sensitive he made her just by playing with her nipple.

If only she wasn't her top she thought breathlessly.

She wasn't the only one to come to this conclusion. Without his self-control, Ben just growled deeply in frustration at the barrier of fabric which separated them from each other. It quickly became too much for him and, without breaking the intense kiss, he stopped playing with Rias' breast and tried undoing the buttons of her blouse, quickly getting frustrated at his lack of success until he suddenly changed tactic and ripped it open, tearing the buttons off and sending them hurtling to the floor.

With one layer out of the way, Ben's quickly returned to her breast but was stopped once again, this time by her red lacy bra.

Ben let out another growl into Rias' mouth and glared at her eyes which were slowly becoming unfocused from their kissing session before he snaked his hand beneath her and, after fiddling with the unfamiliar mechanism it had never encountered before, undid the clasp and freed Rias' breasts from their prison at last.

Grinning at his success, Ben finally broke the passionate kiss and trailed his head down while Rias took several deep breaths to recover though her breath hitched again when she felt his hot breath over her left nipple. She didn't have time to do or say anything before his mouth descended on her breast and he began licking and nibbling the extremely sensitive fleshy nub that caused Rias' toes to curl and her entire body to squirm.

"O-Oh, Ben!" she gasped breathlessly and brought a hand down to Ben's head and take hold of a handful of his hair while she panted at the attention he was paying her.

*Knock* *Knock*

Rias gasped at the sudden sound and, as her senses immediately returned to her and she remembered where she was and who was in the house with them, sat bolt upright so abruptly that it caused Ben to lose his balance as he was knocked backwards and fell off the end of the bed, hitting his head on the floor which brought his senses back to him too.

"Y-Yes?" Rias asked with a heavy breath as she placed her hand over her heart to feel how fast it was beating.

"I'm sorry to disturb you two but may we come in?" Sirzechs' voice called out from the other side of the wooden door.

"J-Just wait a moment!" Rias panted urgently as she quickly used magic to create a new set of clothes to quickly replace the ones that Ben had ripped or discarded in his passionate embrace.

Not a second later after clothing herself again, the door abruptly swung open and the lights were switched on to reveal Asia standing in the doorway with a frustrated expression on her face while Sirzechs and Grayfia stood behind her, her with a stoic expression on her face and him with a wry smirk on his.

"What were you two doing in here?!" Asia demanded with puffed out cheeks and a cute pout as she glared at the two of them.

"N-Nothing," Rias replied unconvincingly as she got her breathing under control.

Asia's eyes flicked between Rias' still-flushed face and Ben who had a similar expression on his face and was doing everything he could to hide the raging erection which he had developed during their embrace and it suddenly clicked for the young ex-nun.

"That's not fair, Rias!" she whined cutely with a stamp of her foot. "You're always spending time with him! I never get to do those things with him!"

Realising it was futile to deny it any further, Rias just decided to gloat at the lead she had just taken between her blonde-haired 'rival'. "What can I say, Asia? You need to be a bit more assertive if you want to have some fun with Ben. I just beat you to it."

Asia continued her pout and glared at Rias with frustration in her eyes.

Before anything else happened though, Grayfia decided to step in.

"Now, now, ladies," she declared as she entered the bedroom, distracting the two young women from their glaring at each other and attracting their attention. "It isn't wise to be fighting in front of Ben."

The silver-haired maid was soon joined by Sirzechs who also entered the room. "That's true. Fighting is never good." Sorry to bother you and ruin your fun."

"What are you doing here?" Rias demanded hotly, glaring at her brother exactly for spoiling her embrace with Ben. Who knew where it could've gone if they hadn't been interrupted!

"Well. Seeing as you weren't there to embarrass anymore, father started to get to know our wonderful hosts better. I haven't seen him so entertained before, not even during the numerous Underworld dinners I've seen him at. Instead of getting in the way of their bonding, I thought I'd slip away and come find you. I've been meaning to talk to you about something for a while now.

"And what would that be?" Rias asked her brother as she pushed herself off the bed and stood opposite him, her frustration quickly turning into curiosity when she noted the serious tone in his voice and expression on his face.

"After seeing how you and your peerage handled itself in your encounter with Kokabiel I believe it's finally the time to release the other bishop," Sirzechs replied calmly.

Rias gasped with surprise while Ben and Asia just sported confused looks.

"What's he talking about?" Asia asked Ben quietly, glancing between Rias and Sirzechs and noting their strange expressions.

"I don't know. I didn't even know Rias had another bishop besides you," Ben replied in a similarly muted tone.

Hearing their exchange, Rias turned towards the two of them.

"Yes, it's true. I had a bishop in my peerage before you, Asia. However, it was decided that they be sealed away for everyone's protection, especially theirs."

"Why were they sealed away? Are they dangerous?" Ben couldn't help but ask.

Rias shook her head sadly. "No, they aren't dangerous. They had to be sealed away due to the dangerous nature of their gift which they can't control yet."

"I wasn't strong enough to handle them safely," she added with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"That used to be the case, yes…," Sirzechs agreed with a slight nod before going on. "However, from the pace I've seen you all progress, and particularly how you handled Phenex and Kokabiel, I've reconsidered my previous position on the matter. You're now more powerful than you've ever been before and I am now more than confident that now's the right time. Release the bishop!"

"If that is the devil king's wish then I shall make it happen," Rias declared firmly.

Sirzechs then clapped his hands together happily.

"Wonderful! Now then, shall we return downstairs and say goodbye to our wonderful hosts, my love?" he asked, directing his question to Grayfia who sighed slightly at his choice of address though she didn't comment on it and simply followed behind the eccentric devil king as he headed back downstairs with his wife and little sister with her two peerage members joining him as they returned to the three adults in the living room.

. . . . .

(The next day)

Every member of the ORC had gathered outside the entrance to locked classroom which had been sealed up with numerous magical wards and covered with yellow tape to get the point across. Though he couldn't see it, Ben could sense the different magical seals now that he was standing in front of the classroom, seals which prevented the doors from opening until it was time to do so.

When Rias explained what they were about to do, Akeno, Koneko and Kiba were taken by surprise. It seemed that all the original members of the ORC already knew about the other bishop which didn't really surprise Ben when he thought about it. They had all known each other for a while before he, Asia and Xenovia had been brought into the group.

"So this is where the mysterious bishop has been living all this time?" Ben asked as he stared at the large double-doors before him.

"Yes," Akeno answered as she stood by his side. "Even though he can leave the room any time he wants, he absolutely refuses to do so. It's a shame really because, up until now, he was the highest earner we had."

"That's impressive," Ben admitted, wondering just what kind of person this mysterious bishop was.

"It's true," Kiba added. "He even had special contracts. He still has them but he simply uses a computer to carry out the special requests from humans."

"It must have been a very dangerous power for the bishop to have been sealed away," Xenovia noted as she stared at the doors with intrigue.

"How come we never noticed this place before? I could've sworn I saw this place in the corner of my eye once but didn't remember it," Ben asked, recalling back to the time he was sure he had seen the classroom.

"One of the seals placed on it is a perception filter spell," Kiba explained for him. "It makes you not want to look at it; a simple spell yet quite effective when used right."

Once everyone had stopped speaking, Rias stepped forward and stood in front of the doors where she tore off the yellow "Keep out" tape covering them which disintegrated and then removed each of the magical seals surrounding the room which took a few seconds as she worked through each one.

Once she had done that, Rias took hold of the door handle and opened the door.

"Aaaaaarrrrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhhh!"

. . . . .

Meanwhile, somewhere in the Dimension Gap

(Unknown time)

Zs'Skayr had no idea how long they were there for telling their story to the tiny crack in the fabric of non-space. As time had no true meaning in the Dimension Gap it could've been any length of time; he could've been there for a few days or even several decades. It was very hard to tell as their body never aged or felt the ravages of time affect them.

However long they had been talking though, it didn't matter. They had finally finished updating their master on everything they could recall since the war against the dragon gods ended.

The voice had listened patiently throughout the entire story, not saying a single word throughout the entire time. Had the spectral creature not been bound by whatever strange force pressed down on them then they would've thought that the owner of the voice had stopped listening.

This wasn't the case though. Their master had been listening intently over the unknown time they had been there, its immense mind already formulating different plans as it learned everything that had been happening outside of its prison.

The last few centuries piqued its interest greatly and momentarily distracted it from its plans.

"So…He's finally dead is He?"

"Yes. I doubted it at first considering the twisted fallen angel which said it but when Azmuth confirmed it, I had to believe it," Zs'Skayr grunted as they continued to struggle against the invisible bonds holding them in place.

"And Azmuth? You say he is now sealed within a…'Sacred Gear'? What is that?"

"They are tools created by God which He gave to humanity to enable them to defend themselves from fallen angels and devils. Apparently the souls of some sentient creatures may be sealed with these tools to massively boost their power," Zs'Skayr explained.

The dark voice's owner went silent as he digested this. He didn't recognise any of the names that the spectral being had given him. Humanity? Devils? He had no idea what they were. They must've been beings that came about after he was sealed away.

The only one he recognised in some regard were fallen angels which he supposed were angels who turned against God.

Perhaps they could be used for his plans. It was worth looking into at any rate.

"These 'humans'; are they powerful beings? Is this 'human' that Azmuth's soul is now bonded to a devastatingly powerful being?"

Zs'Skayr couldn't help but laugh at the invisible being's question.

"Bah! Hardly. Take the Sacred Treasures away from them and those humans become just like the rest of their mortal race: frail, pathetic and weak! This human that possesses Azmuth is no different. Despite the power at his disposal, he wasn't even able to stand against Kokabiel and only barely defeated a significantly weaker fallen angel."

The voice then let out a deep chuckle which sent a chill down Zs'Skayr's back, greatly surprising the spectral figure.

"That's good to hear. That's leaves only Great Red in my way and he stands no chance against me without them! Victory and time have defeated my enemies one by one and my return will bring about the destruction of the final member of their rebellious triumvirate and death to the rest of creation! Yes! I shall raise my daemons and unleash them once again upon my enemies. I shall locate my general and seek out lieutenants to lead my forces into glorious battle against creation."

"And what shall my place be, dark one?" Zs'Skayr queried, speaking up when it sensed an opportunity.

The voice had seemed to have completely forgotten they were even there and returned their attention back on the spectral creature.

"Ah, yes, how can I forget about you? The snivelling coward who only survived because they fled."

Zs'Skayr suddenly felt the crushing pressure return threefold upon them as they felt their existence being crushed.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't grind you to dust right now and return your shadow back into me."

"Argh! Please, my lord! I was the only one to answer your summons! I am the only one of your servants left that survived the 'Angel Purge' and the only one left that can act as your agent in reality."

The voice ignored Zs'Skayr's pleas for mercy and continued squeezing them out of existence. The spectral daemon's eyes widened as it watched its own shadows pull away from and swirl into a small vortex with the small tear in its centre.

"Hmm, interesting," the voice muttered to itself.

And then as soon as it started, it stopped. Zs'Skayr felt their shadows return to them and the crushing pressure around them abruptly lessened though they still held them in place.

"Perhaps you can still be useful to me and my plans. I am in need of a servant to gather my forces and find new allies for me in this strange, unfamiliar time," the voice growled in contemplation.

"Of course, oh lord of darkness!"

"Be prepared then, my loyal servant. There is much to do before my return and I have been missed for far too long."

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

A/N: And there we are, finished with yet another chapter. I'm still building up to the climax of this arc and am working on making it pretty explosive, both with combat scenes and with revelations that affect and shape the rest of my story.

To some of my readers who may think I'm sticking too close to canon then I hope to quash those issues with this arc. I'm going to add a lot more to the story and take it on, hopefully, a more original path.

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Reviews

Leonarddxd: I'm glad you like my chapters, it means a lot to hear that. In regards to Kiba and Valerie being paired together…ehhhh, I don't think so, sorry. I know that, in the world of fanfiction, a writer has the power to make anything happen but it's a challenge to do that but in a way that doesn't ruin the flow of a story. I've seen it happen a few times in fanfiction and, being completely honest, it makes me cringe when they make 1+1=F and try to play it off as if there's nothing wrong with that when it clearly doesn't work.

It's kind of like that here. I can't see any way in which Kiba and Valerie would be paired up together. The best I can see them becoming is friends at the very most. The fact that neither of them seemed interested in that sort of thing helps me out here.

Nivek Beldo: I really appreciate your reviews and actually look forward to reading them after every chapter. I hope (though I'm not suggesting) that you continue to do this in future. Ascalon will certainly get the time it so deserves in the spotlight.

Didn't really think of any particular Queen song in the Karaoke scene (mainly because I find them all fantastic) but if I was pressured into it, I could see Ben singing "Don't stop me now!"

Thank you for noticing the importance of Azmuth's influence. It did seem a bit sudden with the whole summit thing and kinda disappointed me so I wanted to find a way to make it more believable.

Azmuth is hiding pretty big secrets and I know I'm being a tease by holding them back…but please be patient. Everything will be revealed at the summit and there's quite a bit which may cause me to add an extra chapter into this arc, though some may say that's not a bad thing.

I really liked how you described the new side to Ben's personality and think it works well here. If you would prefer me to not use it for any reason then I'll gladly change. I hope you liked how his new side affected his interaction with Rias and Asia in his room.

Magical fan18: I appreciate your input and hope it was just as good in this chapter. I had fun writing it and hope it entertains everyone who reads it.

Ultimatrix bearer: XLR8 always seemed the fastest of the two but, at the same time, doesn't appear to be able to handle himself in a battle of strength compared to Fasttrack. Thank you for the raunchy scene compliment; I hope you liked the one in this chapter too.

I stand corrected on Ben's smartest form. In my defence, I get all my info on the alien forms from its wiki page as it seems to be the most detailed. That being said, I couldn't find any numbers revealing how smart Gray Matter is. Your statement does fit their individual personalities in the cartoon and I will use that as a base for separating the two of them in future.

Spider-Man999: I didn't watch the whole episode as I stopped watching Ben 10 after Omniverse took the brilliant show and brutally defamed it in my opinion. I did watch extracts of that episode on YouTube though and will probably look at that episode for ideas when I come up with ideas for that arc though it won't be for some time.

Omnimania00: I wasn't planning on including that aspect of the cartoon into my story because it kinda got replaced by the magic of the supernatural world of Heaven and Hell. It's basically magic anyway as that's what Gwen used to study in the original series onwards.

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Thank you everybody who wrote a review for the last chapter. I hope to read more of your views, opinions and any questions you may have.

Until next time, see you in the next chapter.

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