Alright then. I haven't heard anything from krrish0oooo75, so I'm going to assume you guys have let up on him/her. Great! But from now on, let me handle the haters. That whole incident was really embarrassing, and I don't want a repeat of it, ok?

Good. Now onto the story. Where Issei finally kicks butt by himself.

Chapter 11: The Bride of the Devil

The night was quiet at the shopping district. The leaves on the trees rustled in the wind, while a hanging sign squealed. A couple of cats screeched as they fought over food in a dumpster and were chased off by some barking dogs. Aside from that, not a single noise was made in the district.

That all changed as a thief smashed his way out of a store, the alarms shattering the silence like the glass.

He ran as fast as he could while carrying his ill-gotten gains, breath panting from the effort. He quickly slipped into an alleyway as the police cars drove towards him. He didn't stop until their sirens had faded away. As he stopped to rest, he chuckled and looked at his prizes. He had done it. He had just waltzed into the store with that 'magic key' and stole everything he could get his hands on. The jewellery will make him a millionaire! But he yelped as the jewellery flew away from him. As he tried to grab hold of the bag, he saw it float up to a tall, leggy girl with a clawed glove and a dark mask. Standing next to her was a boy, with a red scaled gauntlet.

"I'm afraid you'll need a receipt if you want to leave with these." The boy said while his girl waved the bag. As he tried to grab it, she punched him with a large metal fist. "But it looks like it's lights out for you." He groaned as something wrapped him until he couldn't move a muscle. "And that looks like a wrap."

The girl groaned. "Issei, those are the cheesiest lines I have ever heard. You don't need a quip everytime we do something."

"This is coming the girl that uses a lot of eye-related puns as Eye-Girl?" The boy shot back. They seemed to glare at each other until another girl fell in with a scream, landing inside a nearby dumpster. While she squealed in disgust, the girl held her head in her palms as the boy helped the other get out of her predicament.

"Let's just tie this guy up where the police will find him, go home and put this night behind us." She sighed. Before anyone could object, bindings unfurled from her arm and held the crook upside down. As she tied him to a lamp-post, Issei walked out with the other girl covered in garbage. "It's alright Asia. I've been in worse situations than that."

"Like…?"

"Like having to feed a monster until it vomited." They started laughing as they walked away, the tall girl growing blue wings as they flew away. The crook swung there for what felt like hours before someone found him. It was a tall man, dressed up like a Victorian noble. He wore a top-hat with a red rose, and his black coat-tails hung just above the ground. He skipped over to the crook, giggling as he gave him a little spin.

"Did you see her?" He asked. "That was a marvellous fight, if you were so generous. Oh, how my heart flutters."

The crook finally worked his mouth clear of the bindings. "So son of a bitch." He growled. "You set me up. You told me I'd get in and out with no trouble."

The count slapped him with enough force to make him spin. "I cared nothing for your pathetic aims. You were only the bait. And technically I did fulfil my end. You just had the glory of running into the greatest warrior in the lands." He gave a lustful sigh. "Did you see her figure? She was almost heavenly. Her long legs, her luscious curves, her dazzling fingers! Pity she chose to bind her breasts. Apparently they're to die for. Oh, I can't wait for her to be mine."

"Whatever, asshole. Now get me down from here before the pigs show up, or I'll…"

"Oh I can't have you talking. You'll ruin the surprise." The count grabbed the crook by the face, hand squeezing painfully. "But I'm afraid your usefulness has reached its end. You might just blab to the wrong person. But don't worry. I've got a nice little retirement plan for you. It's a killer."

If anyone was close, they might've heard him give a muffle scream as red lighting lit up the street.

(**/*\**)

"I still don't see why you can use cheesy lines while I can't." Issei was saying, wrapping a towel around himself and dumping his garbage-encrusted clothes into the wash with Asia's.

"I get to use them because I've been in this game for a long time." Ben replied through the door. He was washing some grime off and making sure not to look in Asia's direction as she washed her hair. "I know when the best time to use them is. And frankly, my lines aren't as bad as those. Now my fight with Albedo, that was bad. I think his lines were almost as painful as his attacks."

"Please stop fighting." Asia said. "I'm sorry if I didn't do that well tonight."

Ben sighed. He'd be the first to admit that Asia wasn't good Plumber material. In fact, he'd probably send her on the first ship back home. They only took her because Issei didn't want her feeling left out. "You don't have to apologise. Some people just aren't cut out for this kind of work."

After dealing with Riser Phenex, things had pretty much gone back to normal. Motohama and Matsuda had started a fight with Issei the day after the Rating game. Apparently, Mil-tan had been way too creepy for them, especially after introducing them to her old friends. Ben shuddered as he imagined a room full of muscle-bound guys in magical girl clothes. Nightmare. And they summoned Issei and him to turn them all into little girls. Hopefully they were the last one, because he was never doing that again.

According to Rias, Issei and Ben had made names for themselves, Ben being more noticeable. Riser had apparently developed a fear of giants after the pounding he put him through. So Ben did what any, self-respecting hero does when they have the address of a bully.

He sent a card with a giant on it.

He giggled at the memory as he put his sleepwear on, making sure his breasts weren't poking out anywhere. Issei had passed out last time because half his breasts had spilled out top. Unfortunately, Asia chose then to walk past and get her nightgown, giving him a full view of her naked body. Even after about 3 weeks of being a girl, he still couldn't get used to this. He had a VIP seat that hardcore perverts like Issei could only dream about. But he hated how he kept taking advantage of their trust. If they knew he was actually a boy, they'd probably be shocked and embarrassed. And then try to kill him.

"Finally." Issei said as they stepped out. "I almost thought you fell asleep in there together."

"Dream on, pervert." Ben said as he walked back to his room. As he closed the door behind him, he flopped on the bed and sighed.

It wasn't just because he was tired, though the late nights didn't help. It was mostly because of his body. His emotions were stronger than usual. He snapped sooner at the others, or started sobbing at the drop of a hat. He went from moody, to cheerful, to nearly suicidal in moments. And he couldn't figure out why. It was like something was flicking a whole load of switches in his brain at random.

Maybe he'd feel better tomorrow.

(**/*\**)

Issei didn't know what was going on. Maybe she had a bad nightmare. Maybe Motohama said something creepy when he tried a pick up line in English. But here he was, running with his friends as Bri tried to set them on fire. Before, that would be a rare sentence. Now it was pretty normal for him.

That kinda scared him.

"AHHH!" Matsuda screamed as they ran down the street. "I am never going near her again! No girl is worth this kind of horror!"

"I told you that line sounded weird!" Motohama shouted back. "I don't want to die a virgin!" Issei quickly turned a corner, sighing as Bri ran right past him. Hopefully, she'll calm down later on. Then they're going to have to have a talk. He sighed again, walking after her to school. He didn't notice the Victorian Man spying on him from above. If he had, he might've noticed him glaring at him with a rage unlike any other. His teeth were filed down to points as his eyes blazed with a red glow.

He vanished in a blast of red lightning.

(**/*\**)

"I'm so sorry guys." Bri sobbed. "I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I just didn't like his line. Can you forgive me for showing off my powers?"

"We'll forgive you Bri." Rias said, lifting another book out of the puddle. "Just please stop crying."

As soon as they made it to the Club room, Bri just started drying rivers of tears. As in literal rivers. Akeno and Koneko were currently using pails to throw water out the windows, while Yuuto and Issei were sweeping more water out the door. Looks like there was a new danger of having a shapeshifter on the team.

"I… I don't know what's coming over me." Bri sobbed. "I'm never this emotional. It's like something's breaking inside of me." Rias looked at her for a moment, before smiling.

"Bri, how long have you been here for, in terms of days?"

"About 28. Why?" After a few minutes, her expression turned to shock as it finally hit her. How could she be 16 and not know what her period was? Issei was getting more and more confused.

"Give it a day, and I'm sure it'll pass, Bri." Rias hugged her. "It does get painful sometimes. But I don't want this kind of behaviour again, alright?" She walked over to the open door, shaking her shoes every few steps. "By the way, since you made this mess, I'm expecting you to clean it up. C'mon everyone, class-time." Everyone stopped working, and walked out the door, picking up their bags from where they had been keeping them safe. As Issei left, he looked back at Bri to see how she was holding up.

She was still kneeling in the water, her face locked in shock. Poor girl probably didn't even hear Rias.

(**/*\**)

"My period." She moaned as they walked home from school. "How could I've so stupid? I have never felt so embarrassed in my life."

"Oh come on, Bri." Issei said. "I'm sure there have been plenty of times you've been more embarrassed. Like the fact that Kevin didn't realise you were a girl until you told him. Or that adventure when you got covered in vomit. Or when you told us about the fountain of youth."

"Thanks." She growled. "That really made me feel so much better."

"Sorry." Issei apologised. "Please don't fwoosh me."

Bri sighed. "I'm not going to… I just hate getting so emotional. I've got all this power literally at my fingertips. Just crying caused me to nearly flood the room. I nearly set you on fire when I got angry. What'll happen when I'm moody? Or…" She shuddered. "When I'm… lustful?"

"Uh…" Issei didn't know what to say. He'd love to 'help' her with that, but he'd also like to live. "We'll cross that when we get to that." They started laughing, when someone stepped in front of them. He looked strange, wearing a full Victorian getup. But Issei met a girl wearing a full suit of samurai armour, and had to set her up with a guy in a knight plate. Maybe this guy liked the looked.

"Greetings, fair maiden." He said, giving Bri a deep bow and kissing her hand. "I am Lord Gil Arrivederci. I must say, the rumours of your beauty do not do you justice."

"Ok." Bri looked out of her depth, shaking her hand like it was covered in slobber. "That's… nice. But I'm afraid I'm not in the dating mood."

"Of course, milady." He didn't seem angry about being shot down. He pulled a rose out of his sleeve. "At least accept this rose as a token of my admiration for your beauty. It has the most wonderful aroma." Bri seemed hesitant, but she accepted the flower, giving it a deep sniff. She started swaying a bit, her eyes having trouble staying open.

"Bri?" Issei was getting worried. Before he could help her though, Arrivederci gave him a massive push. He yelled as he slammed into a nearby stone wall, collapsing in pain. When he got back up, he saw the creep holding Bri and stroking her cheek. "Hey, you bastard. Get your hands off her!"

"Silence, dog." Arrivederci growled at him, his eyes glowing red. "Such filth like you should never be in her presence. Only I am worthy of being her betrothed."

"Another one? What is with you Devil Nobles? You just keep thinking that you can get any girl you want. Well, you're not taking her." His Gear formed and started boosting his power. "In case you forgot, we managed to beat Phenex."

"No, Miss Tennyson defeated Lord Phenex. You just acted as a punching bag." Red Lightning started arching from his free hand. "And that's all you'll ever be." Issei ducked as a bolt blasted the wall behind him. He started running as more bolts flew. He got in close, but Arrivederci jumped farther away and placed Bri on a nearby bench, giving her a kiss on the forehead. "How dare you attempt to strike Miss Tennyson. Prepare to suffer, mongrel." Issei yelled as a bolt managed to strike him in the stomach. But after being stabbed multiple times already, he pushed through the pain. He fired his beam at Arrivederci, but he merely pulled out a shield from thin air and blocked it. Issei tried again and again, noticing that the shield was fracturing. One more strike would do it. Arrivederci yelled as he was struck by shield fragments and the beam. As the smoke cleared though, Issei was scared. Bri was lying a few feet away from where she had been, but looking mostly unharmed. He went to check on her when something skewered his leg from behind. As he turned around, he nearly wet his pants.

Arrivederci was floating in mid-air, his suit slightly tattered. Glowing red swords filled the air behind him, crackling with power. He looked unbelievably pissed.

"Mongrel. You dare to lay a finger on my lady? I will see you in ruins for this." Issei had no choice. He had to fire another beam. But as he charged the energy, his body erupted with pain. It was like every nerve was on fire! Was this some kind of power of his?

He didn't know, as he lay there, blacking out. All he could feel was more pain as swords skewered him everywhere. Arrivederci was cackling high above. As he stopped feeling anything, he cursed at himself. He was too weak. After weeks of Bri saving his skin, he couldn't help her when she was in trouble. He was weak, weak.

Weak.

(**/*\**)

He was pleasantly surprised to wake up back in the Club room. It had to be real. His body ached too much for it to be the afterlife. Though he could definitely do with a change of clothes.

"Issei?" He heard Rias say. "Are you alright? Say something!"

"Bri." He whispered. "Where's Bri?" The others looked at him before looking away in sorrow.

"We don't know." Yuuto answered. "Asia was walking back to your place when she found you lying on the path, bleeding everywhere. She healed you, then dragged you back here to us. You're the only one who'd know anything about what happened."

Issei groaned as he sat up. Even with Asia's power, his whole body still felt like it was going to fall apart. "It was some Devil guy. He wanted Bri as a wife. I think his name was Lord something Arrivederci."

"Gil Arrivederci." Rias said. "Great. Just great." The fight seemed to go out of her at this. "I've heard of him. He's got the power to be greater than the Noble Houses, but instead he spends all his time doing weird experiments. And from what you said, he's got Bri."

"Well, when do we go and get her back? I'm ready to pay him back in round 2."

"We don't." Issei stared at her. "We can't beat him. Riser tried with his whole Peerage, and Arrivederci managed to waste them all on his own. He was also the only person to have managed to harm Riser enough for him to be counted as beaten. Even my brother is afraid to fight him, and you don't earn the title of Lucifer by being a pushover. Everyone agrees that if he ever wanted to take over, there would be no stopping him. I'm afraid Bri will have to either free herself, or enjoy being his wife."

"What the crap? We took on Charmcaster, remember. He can't be any more difficult than her. Besides, we managed to beat Riser and his group."

"Charmcaster was already insane, and weakened from fighting a god. If it wasn't for Alien X we'd be dead, or worse. And it's the same against Riser. Even if we managed to beat his peerage alone, Bri was the only one to manage to hurt him till he was removed. Arrivederci will still be lucid, and therefore more dangerous."

"I'm not going to abandon her. I'll fight him till he drops." Rias didn't say anything. She just pushed against his chest with one hand. Instantly, his chest felt like it was on fire, and he had trouble sitting upright. As he groaned, he finally conceded defeat. He was in no condition to help anyone right now.

"I'm sorry Issei. But we're not strong enough to stop him. And he's already taken our strongest member." Rias seemed genuinely upset. "I'm afraid we can't do anything to help her."

Weak. That's what he is. Weak.

(**/*\**)

Weak. That's what kept going through his mind as he and Asia walked back home. He could remember all the times that Bri saved his skin. When Dohnaseek ambushed them. When Freed laid that trap. During the Rating Game. And he remembered how everytime she wasn't there he got his ass handed to him. Yuuma was the only time he ever won against someone on his own, and even then Bri had pounded her nearly to death beforehand. Now she was in trouble, and he couldn't do a damn thing. Some hero he was.

"Um, Issei?" Asia said. "You mustn't be angry at yourself. Lord Arrivederci sounded unbeatable. And…and…" She started sobbing, before giving him a massive hug. "I was so worried! You were just lying there, bleeding everywhere. I could see through your arms and legs. And you weren't breathing. I thought I'd lost you!" She sobbed harder. "Please Issei. I beg of you. Don't throw your life away like that. You are strong, I know it."

"It's ok Asia." He consoled her. "I don't want to die just yet. But it's just… Bri's done so much for us. For me. She's so unbelievably strong, and the one time she's in trouble I just couldn't do anything! I just want to save her. She deserves so much more than to become some dick's trophy wife."

"I know she does. But do you really think she'd want to trade you for herself?" He looked away in shame. She wouldn't want that. But he just couldn't leave her. "Issei. Promise me you won't do anything without me. Please."

"Alright. I promise."

(**/*\**)

"Hey there, sport." His dad said as he walked past his bedroom door. "Why the long face? And where's your girlfriend?"

Issei sighed. Maybe talking to his dad would help him think of something. There was some weird feeling in the back of his head, like a memory that refused to come out. "They're kinda related." His dad sat down on the bed next to him. "This creep came along today and took Bri from me. I tried to stand up to him, but he was just too strong. She didn't want to go with him, but he promised to leave me alone if she went out with him." He sighed again. "I want to get her back, but everyone else told me to forget it. I know they're worried about me getting myself killed or something, but she deserves better than him. Now I don't know what to do."

They sat there in silence until his dad spoke. "You know, when I met your mother, I was the school nerd. Pocket protector, scrawny arms, bad acne. Total cliché. And of course, the school jock had his eyes on her too. Everyone knew we had the hots for her, and boy did Antonio hate that. So one day, he and his buddies cornered me after school. They pounded me six-ways-to-hell and told me to back off. Well, my body agreed with them, but my spirit said no. And so every day, I spent some time with her. We got to know each other better, like our hobbies and interests. And every day, Antonio used me as a punching bag. I couldn't keep all those bruises hidden, but one of the rules was that you don't tell on Antonio. Eventually, she caught Antonio kicking me around, and charged in furious. Antonio tried to force himself on her, but she got him with a solid kick to the jewels. And when he tried the second time, I smashed him over the head with a piece of 2x4. He went down for the count, and his goons tried to take me out. Sure I got the crap beaten out of me, but I still managed to knock them down for a bit. After that, your mother convinced me to see the school headmaster. So Antonio got expelled, and I got to be with the love of my life. The point is, son, that if you really, truly care for someone, whether as a friend or a lover, you can't give up on them. You've got to keep trying. You might get the crap beaten out of you, but if you try enough times you'll land a good punch." He patted his son on the leg, and left him to his thoughts. As he sat there thinking his words over, that little memory finally unlocked itself.

"Alright then Ddraig. I know you can hear me. And I remember what you said."

"Good." A deep voice said as his gauntlet formed over his hand. "I was afraid nothing would ever stick to that perverted brain of yours."

"You could really give me the power to save Bri? For a price?"

"And for only ten seconds. Any longer, and your body will not survive the strain. Do you really want to go through with this?"

"Are you in, or not?" Issei didn't have time for this. That creep could already be forcing himself on Bri.

"Very well then. In exchange for your arm, I will grant you the power of victory. Use it well." He gasped as his arm glowed with a painful light, his flesh almost burning as it was transformed. When the glow faded, his Gear didn't look any different. But he could feel the power coursing through it. It was unbelievable. He might actually be able to win with this. He rushed over to Asia's room and started knocking.

"Issei?" She said. "What is it? And why do you have your Gear out?"

"Get dressed Asia. We're going to save Bri."

(**/*\**)

Gil gave a massive sigh of contentment as he gazed upon his bride. She looked so wonderful in her puffy white dress, hanging low enough to bare the top of her breasts for him. If only she was awake, this would be perfect. But alas, she might not see the blessing that is their marriage and try to escape. Still, what did it matter? She was still beautiful. And maybe he can tweak the spell slightly so that she seemed awake. Genius. Now he just needed to find a priest to wed them, a nice home to live in, possibly several nannies for their powerful children. Oh yes, he can't forget her Sacred Gear. Perhaps he could replicate it somehow. He leaned in to give her a kiss, when the wall behind him exploded.

"What!?" He yelled. "What mongrel dares to disturb me and my bride?" As the smoke cleared, a blond boy with a sword charged at him with a yell. Gil intercepted him with a sword construct. He jumped as a small girl threw some rubble at him, and intercepted a bolt of lightning with one of his own.

"Hey asshole!" The boy from before shouted. "Give Bri back. She doesn't belong to you."

"You." He growled. "You think I haven't heard the rumours? About how close you two are? Well forget it, mongrel. She is to be mine! Only I can show her the love she deserves!"

"By putting her to sleep? You're completely messed up."

"I will not be lectured by a rival for her love!" Glowing swords formed around him, at least three for each of them. Issei didn't wait for him to strike. He had to move fast. "Shine Force! Over Booster!" He yelled, his Gear glowing with painfully bright light.

"WELSH DRAGON OVER BOOSTER!" Ddraig yelled. Armour started forming over Issei's body. Red scaled panels covered all of him, with yellow horns over his body and large green jewels on the arms, knees, and chest. His feet were now claws, and a tail arced from his helmet.

"Balance Breaker, Boosted Gear, Scale Mail!" Issei announced before charging at Arrivederci, a green force exiting his wings. He charged a large red orb between his fists. "Bri doesn't belong to you, jerk." He shouted as he threw the orb. Arrivederci summoned a large shield, but was shocked to see it fragment under Issei's attack. As he climbed out of the rubble, he fired off several swords at him, while using the others to block Yuuto and Koneko. The swords exploded against Issei's armour, but he powered through them to pound Arrivederci. The lord fought him off with a powerful bolt of lightning, forcing him through the far wall. The second strike was intercepted by Akeno, giving him enough time to climb back out and rush forward. He used his armours power to punch away more swords, getting closer and closer. He was nearly clothes-lined by Yuuto and Koneko being thrown at him, but he ducked underneath and kept on going. As he punched Arrivederci in the chest, the lord managed to crack his armour with a close-range strike. He smirked at Issei, until he started coughing up blood.

"What is this?" He asked. "This pain. It's so familiar. Almost as though it was… NO! IMPOSSIBLE! HOW CAN YOU BE USING A HOLY ITEM!? IT SHOULD BE BURNING YOU TOO!"

Issei grinned at him, showing off Asia's cross. "I gave my arm to the dragon inside my Gear, just so that I can rescue Bri from you. And with a boost from me, you're no match for it!" He charged forward again, yelling with every step as Arrivederci fired off waves of sword sat him. He could hear Ddraig counting down. He didn't have much time left. So he summoned the vial of Holy Water he asked Asia to make to his other hand, weathering the storm of blades. But his body ached after every step. He quickly threw the vial at Arrivederci's face, boosting its potency with his Transfer power. The water caused his face to start burning and bleeding like acid. He screamed in pure pain, his swords vanishing as he lost his focus. Before he could recover, Issei punched him right in his stupid face with Asia's cross. Arrivederci was thrown back with so much force that he smashed another hole in the wall.

Issei sighed in relief as his armour timed out. He could now feel all his aches and pains from the beating he suffered. As he spat out a mouthful of blood, he looked over at his friends. By pure luck or design, Yuuto and Koneko has crashed into Akeno and knocked her out. All three of them were getting back up as Asia healed them. With a smile on their faces, they gathered round Bri's sleeping form.

"Now what?" Issei asked. They had been so busy fighting Arrivederci, they hadn't planned on afterwards. "How do we wake her up?"

"I'll have a look around." Akeno said. "There might be an antidote."

As she left to look, Yuuto got closer to him. "Maybe it's like the fairy tales." He whispered. "Perhaps she's just waiting for a kiss from the man closest to her." Issei gulped, looking down at Bri. True, she looked totally hot right now in that dress. And they did get along well. But Issei always got the feeling it was more like two best friends than anything else. Still, anything was worth a try. He leaned in close, feeling Bri's breath upon his face. With an embarrassing slowness, he leaned in closer until their lips finally touched. He stayed like that for as long as he could, until he needed to take a breath. As he started gasping, He watched as Bri didn't wake up. "It was a long shot." Yuuto said. "But I thought it might've worked. Hopefully Akeno's found something."

"You're damn right I did." She answered, carrying a jar of liquid. She opened the lid and poured the whole thing down Bri's throat. Bri started coughing violently, giving short gasps as often as she could. Issei and Asia helped support her as best as they could while she cleared her airway. She blinked a few times and rubbed dust from her eyes before looking around.

"Where are we?" She asked, perplexed. "What are we all doing here?" She looked down at herself. "And why the hell am I wearing a wedding dress?"

They explained everything to her, starting from when Arrivederci drugged her, to when they finally woke her up. Issei left out the part where he kissed her though. She didn't have to know that.

"Damn. I missed some good stuff. Well, now that Lord Whatever's down, we should get back home. And I need to get some normal clothes on." They shrieked as a red sword smashed into the wall right behind them, rubble nearly crushing them. As they watched, Arrivederci stumbled back into the room. His fine clothes were shredded, and his face was deformed from the burns Issei caused him.

"None of you will be going anywhere. She is my bride! My beauty! Only I deserve to gaze upon her and be given her virginity! And none of you will stop me."

"Issei smirked at him. True, he won't be able to use Scale Mail again for a while. But with Bri awake, they'll trounce the bastard. "Ready to take him down personally Bri?"

She gave a large smile. "You bet. In fact, I've got just the form for him." She changed shape into something bigger and bulkier. As Arrivederci's face fell, Issei took a quick glance at her and had to do a double take.

She was hideous! She was now a fat, sweaty, yellow-skinned monster! Her large arms had spiny growths all over them, while one arm was longer than the other. She wore a metal bikini that on her normal form would've been sexy, but on this form showed off way too much for his liking. Strangely, she wore a massive helmet with a cage on the front, making it impossible to see her face. It was attached to a massive collar thing, which was also chained to her underwear. Clearly, it wasn't designed to be taken off.

"Toepick!" She yelled in a gargled voice.

"Your-your-your beauty!" Arrivederci wailed. "You ruined your beauty with that monstrous form. I swear, you will never use that form again."

Bri chuckled as she walked closer. "You think this is bad? Let me just take off this helmet."

Issei heard the cage door open on the mask as steam or something billowed out. As Arrivederci looked on at her face, his expression became completely terrified. His skin turned white as a sheet as his swords vanished from horror. He started screaming and blubbering as he backed away from her, while screams and deep, haunting laughter echoed out of her helmet. He started puking while whimpering and pleading her to stop. Finally, after several seconds, he curled into a little ball and started rocking back and forth. Bri changed back to normal in a flash, Issei relieved to see her sexy form again.

"Well, he won't be bothering us again, I can tell you that much." She said as they walked over to her. Everyone could only stare at her for several seconds until she gave a nervous cough. "Ok guy, enough gawking. Since Rias isn't here, I'm guessing we'll have to tell her what happened here. Onwards!" Without a word, they followed her out of the basement, leaving Arrivederci to tremble from the horror he had just seen.

He probably wasn't going to be a problem to anyone ever again.

(**/*\**)

"…While I'm glad you managed to recuse Bri, I am disappointed that you disobeyed my order." Rias scolded them. "I gave that order to forget her to protect her, not to make her life horrible. Believe me, if I thought we could've beaten Arrivederci, I'd have been leading you all after him." As they all wilted under her reproaching gaze, she sighed and smiled at them. "Which shows that I underestimated you guys."

"Really?" Issei asked. He couldn't believe it. He had been worried that Rias was going to kick him out for this stunt. Instead, she gave him a big hug.

"You did so well, Issei. I'm so proud of you." As she stood up again, she looked at his Gear with sadness. "But I'm sorry you had to give up your arm."

"I'm the one who should be sorry." Bri said. "I'm the idiot that got taken hostage. I can't believe I had to be the damsel-in-distress."

Rias smiled at her. "I can see that." She said, noting the dress she was still wearing. "I'm glad I'm not having to wear that ridiculous outfit."

"By the way." She continued. "Care to explain that form you used? What was it called, 'Toepick'?"

Bri started rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment. "Yeah. I was saving that for just an emergency. I don't know what species she is, but I do know that her power is a terrifying face."

"If I hadn't seen it in action, I'd wouldn't think of that as being dangerous." Issei said.

"Yeah well according to a friend of mine, almost every known species in our universe is afraid of it. I can even scare Celestialsapiens with it. The only weakness is that it can't work on anything without eyes, and even I can be frightened by it."

"So, if we can't see your face, then it's useless?" Yuuto asked.

"Pretty much."

Rias smiled, before bowing to Bri. "Bri, I want to apologize for abandoning you like that, especially after all the help you've done in cancelling my engagement to Riser. It was rude of me, and ungrateful, and it'll never happen again."

"Hey, it's ok, it's ok." Bri replied, waving her hands in an embarrassed way. " You were thinking about keeping everyone safe. And from the sound of it, you were right to be worried."

"Right now, I just want to put this day behind me."

(**/*\**)

Ben started getting a twitchy eye as he spotted Rias in the living room, talking to Mr and Mrs. Hyoudo again. Every time she showed up, something annoying was going to happen. Especially to him.

Yesterday had certainly been… eventful. He had spent the whole time going back to Issei's cursing himself for having been taken prisoner like that. He was thankful for Issei and the other saving him, even honoured that he sacrificed his hand to get enough power to pull off the rescue. But he was the hero. He was supposed to rush in at the last moment, kick some bad guy ass, and then save the damsel (And possibly a kiss on the cheek). And here he was, needing the rescuing. He'd never live it down if Gwen or (brrrr) Kevin found out about this.

"…Why it's perfectly fine." Mrs. Hyoudo said. "We'd love to let you stay with us Rias. But I'm afraid you'll have to share a bed with Bri. We don't have any more bedrooms unfortunately." WHAT!?

"Thank you." Rias replied. Ben lost track of what else was being said. The Universe hated him, he decided. It hated him with a passion, and was determined to humiliate him. There was no way, he was going to bunk with Rias. While he'd gotten… slightly used to his own body, a sultry Devil like Rias was going to be pure hell. Maybe if he mentioned he like girls, she might stay with someone else. But Asia would get embarrassed constantly having to see her massive tits, and there was no way Mr and Mrs. Hyoudo would let her stay with Issei. But there was no way she was sharing the bed with him.

"Hello Bri." Rias said, standing right in his face. Ben gave a girly shriek, dropping the platter that he had been holding the whole time. He was too stunned to do anything as it clattered to the floor and everything shattered. "I've been saying your name for a while, but I guess you were zoned out."

"Listen Rias." He squeaked as he picked up the broken pieces and used Clockwork's power to fix them. "We-we-we can't share a room. You see, I-I-I'm well, I'm a-a-a… I'm really a…" He sighed. He couldn't say it. "I'm just not… comfortable around other girls. Never have been. I mean, with sleepovers, or baths, or… well…"

Rias giggled. "You're so flustered. You'd think you've never been near a girl before." She placed a comforting hand of his shoulder. "It won't be forever. Just until my family builds an extension to the house for me. Then I'll be out of your hair until we meet up for 'club activities'. Until then, you'll just have to bare it."

Ben sighed. He wasn't going to get out of this so easily. "But why do you have to live here? Don't you have a massive manor to go to?"

"Issei will need someone to drain his arm for him. You remember how hard it was last night, don't you?" Yes, he did. Asia and Akeno ad to work together to drain all the excess power from his Gear in order to change it back to normal. It took them two goes before it stayed normal. And it would be awkward if he had to go around all day with his Gear active. "I don't think you've got anything that could do that for him, so you'll both need me to help Asia."

Ben sighed again. "Fine. But I still don't like this."

And there we go. Issei unlocks Balance Breaker! And he gets to save Bri, so bonus points!

I know that periods probably aren't really like that. I've never had one, being a guy, but I just used fiction-logic. Plus I kinda wanted to show a flaw of Ben's new set-up.

If anyone is interested, I recently wrote a story called 'Bri 10'. It's a one-shot based on the idea of Ben really having been Bri the whole time. Give it a look if you're interested. And for everyone having problems picturing Ben as Bri, just think Akeno with short brown hair. That's a good place to start.

Fun fact: Arrivederci changed quite a bit as I wrote this chapter. He was originally a crazy, strong Devil Noble with red lightning and a stalker-lust for Bri. But after he said "Mongrel", I instantly thought of Gilgamesh from the Fate series (Fate/Stay Night and Fate/Zero). And so his first name became Gil, and he also had the power to shoot magic swords. True story.

Also, I want to let everyone know that from this chapter onwards (and including this one if you want to get technical), I will be doing original chapters for a while. So if the quality or length of my chapters start dropping, you will know why. This will be the first time I've done original chapters like this, so bear with me.

See you guys next week.

Edit: I changed some of the dialogue Rias had about Arrivederci after Muse Delta pointed out it made her seem selfish. Now I'm worried that I made him seem too badass, and hit him with the Worf Effect. Oh well, that's just one of the challenges of being a writer. Thanks for the comments Muse Delta. It's really helping me out.