I found myself in an unfamiliar place. The floor seemed to be made of mirror, or was it water? The blue, cloudless sky seemed to be stretching to the endless horizon, and after a while, I found out that I wasn't alone.

Standing a few meters away from me was a young man, attired in clothes that I could identify as a school uniform. Both his hands were stuffed inside his pockets, and he seemed to be slouching. One of his steely grey eyes was covered by his blue hair, which made me wonder whether he could see properly with one of his eyes covered by his hair or not.

Truly, that wasn't really my main concern here as I studied his face. From what I could see, the young man's physical age might be around sixteen or seventeen-years-old, and yet from one of his grey eyes, the one that was unhidden by his bang, I could tell that he had seen more than what an ordinary seventeen-year-old youth could ever behold in his whole life.

Unconsciously, I took a step forward. Then, another.

I didn't know why I did this. Even as I tried to resist this strange feeling in my chest, I took another step forward.

I brought one of my hands to my chest, trying to discern this feeling of mine I was experiencing. I had no idea what this feeling was, but it was not entirely unpleasant. If anything, this strange feeling of mine brought comfort and warmth in my heart.

I focused on the blue-haired young man before me. I did not know him, which made it even stranger for me to have such a feeling as it urged me to approach him. I took a few more steps before I opened my mouth, trying to say something.

Two words.

Yet, no sound came out. I didn't know why. Surprisingly enough, I could feel mild frustration from this. Probably I needed to say something important to him, yet I was unable to form them into words. I could tell that I was scowling.

Then, the blue-haired youth smiled as he approached me before he brought up his hand and touched my head. I blinked, unable to comprehend what was going on. He was standing right in front of me, his hand patting my head. It was kind of embarrassing, to be honest. Even so, I could feel the warmth of his palm touching my head, and I could get a good view of his feature, and I could see his kind smile on his face.

It was…

…a beautiful smile.

As his hand continued to touch my head, I couldn't help but wonder if she learned to smile like that from him? From what I could see here, it was probably true.

"Who are you?" I asked. It was strange. Earlier, I tried to say those two words to him, but no sounds came out of my mouth. But then, I managed to ask him this question. I blinked in confusion, while the boy just looked at me with one eyebrow raised before he smiled.

And he told me his name. I repeated his name several times, trying to make myself familiar with his name. The boy chuckled when he saw my attempts to familiarize myself with his name. I pouted. What was so funny with me trying to say his name, anyways?

Then, he told me to sit down. So, I sat down, and the boy sat beside me. We said nothing. I didn't know how long we kept on sitting in silence, but whenever I tried to say something to him, he looked at me and smiled.

I felt something strange. I didn't know why, but seeing his smile made me feel warm.

"Want to hold hands?" Suddenly, he said before he held out his hand. I blinked several times as I looked at his hand that was held out to me.

After a few moments, I nodded before I reached out for his hand. The hand was a little cold, but the touch strangely felt warm. So, we remained sitting on the reflective floor without saying anything as we held each other's hand. I didn't know how long had passed before my vision started turning dark.

"I will see you once again," the boy said before everything turned into pitch blackness.

Heart of a Butterfly

Persona 3 and High School DxD Crossover

Chapter 11: Heart Song

"Thanks for inviting me for tea, Senpai," a young woman with light-brown hair said, setting down a teacup on a saucer, as she looked at another woman opposite her. "To tell you the truth, this is what I need after what I went through last week…" the young woman let out a heavy sigh.

The other woman, a red-haired one, looked at the brunette sympathetically. "I'm sorry to hear that, Yukari," she said after taking a sip of her tea. "Even so, I'm glad that you went through such an incident without any lasting harm." She set down her teacup. "Even so, that was quite a surprise for all of us. Apparently, the world of supernatural is vaster than what we could possibly imagine, and the Shadows are not the only things we should focus on these days…"

The brunette, Yukari, nodded as she crossed her arms under her chest. "Yep, you can say that again, Mitsuru-senpai." Yukari sighed. "It's still kinda scary, when I think about that again. We were preparing to shoot a scene at the setting when those scary people showed up." The young woman closed her eyes, visibly shuddering as she recalled the incident they were discussing about. "I mean, seriously? Vampires? Why didn't I see that one coming?"

"Considering that Aigis also had her own encounter with other supernatural entities other than Shadows, encountering vampires doesn't seem to be too far-fetched, I suppose," Mitsuru said. "Luckily, we already have all the vampires who assaulted you and your colleagues and people who were put under their thralls contained safely. Having them roaming around freely doesn't sit too well for me. And to think that there are more of them out there…" Mitsuru closed her eyes, shaking her head.

Apparently, Yukari had some kind of encounter with supernatural entities when she was at work. And the supernatural entities in question happened to be vampires. Although the incident had been resolved, the encounter seemed to leave some sort of impression in the young actress.

"Regardless, I'm glad that you made it out safely, Yukari. I mean, you single-handedly defeated and subdued all the vampires before any sort of reinforcement arrived. And you also did it without even manifesting your Persona, which is very impressive," Mitsuru said, nodding, as if praising the other woman. Yukari blushed, scratching her cheek sheepishly. "I heard you used your prop weapon and, umm… a pack of dried onions?" The red-haired woman blinked a few times, as if unsure whether she said the right thing or not.

Yukari nodded. "It happened that I bought dried onions for the night's dinner before I went to the setting. I never thought it would come in handy in that kind of situation, to be honest."

Mitsuru smiled. "Even so, your actions are very commendable, Yukari. You protected your colleagues all by yourself and defeated all those, umm… vampires, without even using your powers." She nodded, folding her arms under her chest. "While Personas are not exactly intended to be put into secrecy, keeping them hidden can surely help us, Shadow Operatives, to carry out our missions, as well as avoid mass panic from the public."

Yukari scratched the back of her head, smiling wryly. "Well, I'm sure if it were you, you might have done the same as me," a pause, before the brunette continued, "Only with executions, though. Lots and lots of executions. I doubt the vampires can even withstand your executions."

The red-haired woman nodded a few times, seemingly pleased. "You know me well, Yukari."

Yukari puffed out her chest proudly. "Of course. I'm your best friend, after all."

Chuckling, Mitsuru tilted her head. Now it was time to tease her best friend. "Between me and Aigis, which one is your number one best friend?"

"Heh, of course-" Yukari stopped. At first, she thought it was an easy question to answer. But then, she realized that she had to choose between Mitsuru and Aigis. She considered both Mitsuru and Aigis to be her best friends, but from Mitsuru's question, it seemed that she had to put one before the other. "Umm… t-that's…" The brunette young woman was flustered.

Mitsuru covered her mouth with her hand, trying her best not to laugh.

Upon realizing Mitsuru's intention, Yukari pouted. "It's not fair! You're a cheater, Senpai!"

Still suppressing her urge to laugh, with little success, Mitsuru looked at Yukari. "Sorry, sorry… I just can't help it. That's all. It's been a while since the last time I teased you, Yukari." There was a warm smile on the red-haired woman's face. "I was busy, so I didn't have much time to spend with you. So, you probably don't mind if I tease you whenever we meet, right?"

Sighing, Yukari smiled. "Geez." She scratched her cheek, as if in embarrassment. "W-well, about your question earlier… I guess both of you are my best friends. There's no rule that says that I need only one best friend, right?"

"I suppose you are right, Yukari." Mitsuru nodded.

"Though I won't be able to spend much time with my other best friend, considering that a certain someone sent her away for a long mission," Yukari eyed Mitsuru mischievously as she said this. "I hope she'll be alright. Aigis, I mean."

"Considering who she is, I know she will be fine," Mitsuru said. "She is the strongest of us among the Shadow Operatives, and I even thought about making her as my successor once I step down from my position as Shadow Operative Number 1. She still has more to learn, but I am sure that her leadership ability and charisma will make her a suitable replacement for me." Mitsuru looked down to her cup of tea.

"Even though she is… you know, right?" Yukari said.

"Her body may consist of metal bits and wires, but she has a heart of a human," Mitsuru spoke. "And I believe she, in a way, personifies what is good in humanity. Something that we have sworn to protect, something we have promised to live for…" There was a sad smile on the red-haired woman's face, as if recalling a certain someone who was out of her reach. "In order to lessen the burden of a certain boy, I promised to myself to live my life as best as I can, and at the same time, protecting humanity, from either the outside threats or from itself. And Aigis is the symbol of the promise I made. That's what I believe…"

Yukari studied Mitsuru's face before she nodded slowly. "You know, I believe the same thing too. I probably had told you this before, but at that time…" Her expression changed, her brown eyes filled with sorrow. "When all of us lost him, I was overcome by grief. I desired nothing but to see him once again no matter what, and I was blind to anything else. And then, when I came back to my senses, thanks to Aigis lodging a bullet into my kneecap, by the way," Yukari smiled self-depreciatively, "I realized how much I had hurt Aigis, with my words and my actions. I wasn't the only one who was affected by his death, and from what I could tell, the pain she experienced might be greater than mine. I… I was so ashamed of myself because in my desperation to see him once again, I broke a dear friend's heart. So, after learning the truth behind his sacrifice, I made up my mind that I will live my life as best as I can, and do whatever I can in order to make him suffer less. And to make sure that none of us, either me or Aigis, suffer the same pain ever again."

"Yes, that is right. That is a good resolve to have." Mitsuru nodded. "While we may not be able to see the results of what we do in our lifetime, at least we can bring forth changes, however small they are."

"Living is a continuous process of changing. I know that," Yukari said, nodding as well. "As long as we are still willing to change, preferably for the better, I guess we're off to a good start."

Both the women giggled. Then, they talked about some other things. Mostly trivial things, but then, Yukari brought up the topic about a certain android girl.

"Speaking of Aigis, I'm kinda worried about her, actually," Yukari admitted. "I mean, she's a total workaholic and worse than you, no offense."

"None taken."

"She's too focused on her job as a Shadow Operative. Sometimes, that attitude of hers bothers me. She's decided to fight for the sake of others, but at the same time, she ignores her need for her own happiness. And whenever I asked her about that, she'd tell me that Minato-kun will do the same things too." Yukari sighed. "It feels like everything she does boils down to 'What will Minato-san do?' It's kind of frustrating, you know?"

Mitsuru already knew that. And she also knew that there was nothing she could do about it. In a way, that certain boy was the reason behind the miracle of 'the machine with a heart'. "He's someone who is precious to her, more than what we can imagine. And I know that she will keep holding onto her feelings," she looked down, smiling sadly, "even until the end of time. That resolve that she has… we can't possibly imagine to have such a resolve."

"I know…" Yukari nodded weakly. "Even so, it's still kinda sad, don't you think? If she still keeps holding onto her feelings of him, it'll be painful for her." The brunette woman brought up her hand to her chest. "I don't mean she has to forget about him or anything like that, it's just… there has to be time for her to let her feelings go, right?" She sighed softly. "Aigis can be stubborn sometimes, right? I always told her to pursue her own happiness, but then, she said she would be alright as long as she could protect everyone."

Mitsuru kept on listening as Yukari continued.

"She wants to dedicate herself to protect those who need protection. I'm glad that she has such a noble goal, but then, what about herself? Will she always be happy if protecting everyone is the only thing she does? Geez, she needs to learn how to be selfish sometimes, you see? Being so selfless all the time is a little unhealthy, right?" Yukari sighed after saying that. "And… I don't want her to be hurt. Aigis… she's a precious person to me, and I love her…"

Mitsuru tilted her head before her lips curled up into a smile. "My, that sounds like the position of Yukari Takeba's 'best' best friend is taken by Aigis, with me being a first runner-up." She brought up her hand to her cheek, making a (fake) pouting face. "I'm so jealous…"

Yukari's cheeks reddened. "S-Senpai, s-stop teasing me, will you?!"

Mitsuru chuckled. "Well, not that I really mind." She then reached out to her teacup and took a sip. "By the way, there is something I wish to show you, Yukari."

"Hmm?" Yukari blinked a few times when the topic was suddenly changed. "What is it, Senpai? Is it something important?"

For a few moments, Mitsuru was silent before she nodded. "Yes. After a few recent events which involve Aigis' mission and the existence of other supernatural existence other than the Shadows, I made a little research in our old archive, and I found something." She brought up her hand to her chin, as if thinking for a while. "I believe this matter requires a considerable amount of secrecy, and a balcony isn't exactly a right place for us to discuss this matter."

Yukari's expression tightened. Now she understood why she was invited by Mitsuru to have some tea at Mitsuru's private villa. It was because there was something important to discuss as the members of Shadow Operatives. "Is that so?" Yukari said. "Okay, I think I get it."

"Très bien…" Mitsuru smiled before she got up from her seat. "Very well. Let's get inside. I hope you are prepared, Yukari."

Nodding, Yukari got up from her seat before both women entered the villa. As they walked down the hallway, they were escorted by a few maids, and she recognized one of the maids. Her short, indigo-colored hair was tied up into twin-tails and she was wearing a maid's bonnet. She was wearing a stylized maid uniform, which made her stand out compared to the other maids who were escorting them.

"It's been a while, Yukari-san…" the maid spoke to Yukari.

"Kikuno-san?" Yukari blinked. Like Yukari and Mitsuru, the maid, Kikuno Saikawa, is also a Shadow Operative, but unlike them, she was not a Persona-user, but instead, a person who could enter Dark Hour without being affected by it or turned into a coffin.

"Yes, it is me." Kikuno nodded. Smiling, she spoke, "I sure hope the bow that we had given to you had served its purpose…"

"W-well, yeah… I guess so…" Yukari said uncertainly.

Mitsuru coughed, getting their attention as they continued to walk down the hallway. They were going somewhere, and it seemed that it would be somewhere which could provide them adequate privacy from the outer world.

"Hmm…" Rias Gremory hummed to herself as she read all the documents that she had obtained from her research about a certain android named Aigis. She had used a lot of means of obtaining information, including asking for help from her fellow High-Class Devil, Sona Sitri. Sona still reminded her that both of them were still rivals, though. As a result, she managed to gain quite a few information that could shed a light regarding the true nature of the self-proclaimed Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon.

While most of them were not entirely detailed, and there were some of them that were carefully hidden. The Devil somehow gained the right idea about what she had been researching thus far. First, she obtained the documents regarding the mysterious powers called 'Persona'. Like the others, they were also not entirely detailed, but from what she could see, the contents of the documents seemed to match with Aigis' explanation regarding the power of Personas, or as both sources would say, the power to manifest one's other self.

She also gained something else related to Persona. It was more like a thesis than anything else, explaining about the research and theory on artificially creating Persona-users, written by someone called Takahisa Kandori. Rias raised one of her eyebrows as she skimmed through the thesis. Sighing, Rias set the thesis and the other documents regarding the power of Persona aside. She would look into them in the future, but there was one piece of information that she prioritized.

Next were a few documents, as well as a few newspaper clippings which were about the Kirijo Group. Rias remembered that Aigis came to Kuoh Academy with a pseudonym, Ai Kirijo. Because of the information of Persona-users, Aigis and the Kirijo Group seemed to be tied together. Rias thought that she was about to learn the truth regarding Aigis' true allegiance and the faction she belonged to. Even if she wasn't part of the three biblical factions, she might belong to some hidden magician's cabal or small factions that had been involved in supernatural world.

From what she could learn from the documents and the newspaper clippings, the Kirijo Group is a multinational company that had been globally operating for quite a long time in the human world. It was said that the company seemed to be involved with almost every aspect of daily life in the human world and finding someone who didn't know the Kirijo Group among the humans would be virtually impossible. Originally a part of the Nanjo Group, the Kirijo Group later separated from them, but still retained a close working relationship with the Nanjo Group. There were a few names recorded in the documents, and Rias assumed that those names belonged to the leaders of the company.

The current leader of the company was a woman named Mitsuru Kirijo. There were a few photos of her as well as newspaper clipping depicting the woman. For a human, this Mitsuru Kirijo seemed to radiate authority and charisma that almost rivaled the High-Class Devil's.

And from some other documents, the Kirijo Group also backed an unofficial section of National Police Agency of Japan, and the section was named Security Department, Shadow Response Unit, but was more commonly referred to as 'Shadow Operatives'. This particular section was shrouded in mystery, but there were some cases of which this particular section had been involved with. There were not many information regarding this, but Rias found something that she had been seeking for.

A few months ago, there was a case of an aircraft hijacking, and the Shadow Operatives played their part in solving the case. Headed for Kagoshima, the wide-body passenger aircraft was hijacked, and from the documents that were clipped along with the newspaper clippings, one of the passengers of the aircraft was the current leader of Kirijo Group, Mitsuru Kirijo. In the end, the case was resolved, thanks to the interference of the Shadow Operatives.

There were a few photos attached, showing the scenes of the hijacking. A few men attired in SWAT uniforms were seen in the photos. The photos were probably taken by the journalists at the scene.

Then, something caught Rias' attention.

In one photo, she saw someone familiar. There was a girl talking to a few SWAT men, clad in a black Chesterfield coat. Though she wasn't the focus in the picture, it didn't change the fact that she was in the picture. The girl's blond hair was chin-length, and from what Rias could tell, she was discussing something with the armed SWAT men.

"Aigis…" Rias muttered. A lot of questions started to form inside her head. Sighing, Rias set the documents and the newspaper clippings aside before she got up from her bed. She had been reading all the documents in her bedroom. "Urgh, the more I found, the more questions show up!" She complained to herself as she ruffled her red hair with her hands. Then, she sighed again.

Thinking that she already had enough, she picked up all the documents and the newspaper clippings before she put them away. Then, she plopped herself onto her own bed, stretching up her arms a bit.

"Aigis, Persona, Kirijo Group, Shadow Operatives…" Rias said before she brought one of her hands to her face. While there were still a lot of things that she didn't know, one thing that she was sure of was that all of them, in one way or another, had something to do with the supernatural world. Perhaps she could ask for her big brother's help to find a way to learn the secret behind all the mysteries surrounding them, especially about one particular android girl who seemed more human than a machine.

And once she made sure that there was nothing to worry about Aigis, she might move on to make that particular mechanical maiden to be one of the members of her peerage. While she wasn't sure whether an Evil Piece could work on a robot or not, she wouldn't know unless she tried. After seeing what she was capable of, with her powers that had displayed a few times before, having her in her peerage would be a great boon for her.

And considering that Aigis was a close friend to one of her minions, Issei Hyoudou, she was sure that convincing her would be an easy job. While thinking about convincing Aigis to serve under her, Rias' lips curled up into a devious smile. She's a Devil, so what would you actually expect? You couldn't exactly separate deviousness from the Devils, after all.

Both Mitsuru and Yukari stepped into a sound-proof room, followed by Kikuno. As soon as the three of them entered, Kikuno locked the door. Inside the room, there were a few seats and a table, and there was a briefcase placed on the rectangular table in the middle of the room.

"That looks important…" Yukari commented.

Mitsuru nodded. "Yes. After reading its contents, it is safe to assume that it has to be hidden. Take a seat, Yukari." The red-haired woman took her seat, followed by Yukari. Kikuno remained standing as she took out a recording device. It looked like the conversation in the room would be recorded.

A while later after Kikuno pressed the record button, she nodded, and Mitsuru nodded to the maid as well. Mitsuru opened the briefcase, revealing its content. Yukari frowned as she saw the content.

"A book?" Yukari inquired, giving Mitsuru a skeptical look.

"A book, indeed." Mitsuru took out the book and handed it to Yukari. It was a notebook with hard covers. From its condition alone, Yukari could tell it was quite old. "But not just a normal book. It is a book which once belonged to…" she paused, hesitating, "Shuji Ikutsuki."

Upon hearing the name, Yukari's jaw tightened. Just hearing the name of the treacherous madman was enough to bring up some unpleasant memories. After taking a few moments to recompose herself, Yukari looked at Mitsuru. "So, this is Ikutsuki's book. Why are you showing me this?"

"I'll tell you eventually," Mitsuru said, sounding apologetic. "But, it is more proper to call this Ikutsuki's journals." She gave Yukari a look, as if telling her to open the book. Nodding, Yukari opened to one random page of the book, and frowned.

"This is…" Yukari looked back at Mitsuru.

"Yes," Mitsuru nodded. "As you can see, the things that are written in Ikutsuki's journals are something that you may expect from such a madman such as him. The Prophecy of the Fall and the details regarding the Shadow experimentation back in 1999."

Yukari continued reading through the journals. The contents of the journals were essentially a combination of the rambling of a lunatic and the insightfulness of a scholar. The details of the prophecy was written comprehensively and thoroughly, and a few eerie symbols could be seen etched in each page. There was one page depicting a geometrical symbol as well as foreign writings.

"Tree of Life, a central mystical symbol used in the Kabbalah," Mitsuru rectified. When Yukari gave her a questioning look, Mitsuru added, "Kabbalah is some kind of esoteric method or discipline that originated from Judaism and later Occultism, if I'm not mistaken. Though this is different from what I had learned." She peered to see the page which depicted the geometrical symbol. "I will look into this in the future."

"S-so…" Yukari closed the book and put it on the table. The things that were written in the book disturbed her slightly. The contents of the book she was currently reading reminded her of one particular Persona-user named Takaya. "What's the meaning of this? Why are you showing me this?" Yukari asked.

Mitsuru closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose before she looked at Yukari.

"It's because the situation has changed. The Shadows are not only our primary concern anymore. We, the Shadow Operatives have pledged ourselves to protect humanity from any sort of harm," Mitsuru said. "Now that we have learned the existence of other supernatural entities such as the Devils and the Fallen Angels, as well as the feud between the biblical factions, I am afraid that humanity may end up becoming entangled in their conflicts. If there is a possibility of humans being involved in their conflicts, I will not sit back and let it happen. I assume you're also thinking the same too, Yukari?"

Yukari lowered her head. "But… does it have something to do with Ikutsuki's journals and the prophecy?"

"Look at the last page…" Mitsuru said. Yukari nodded and picked the book to see the last page. An old photo fell down from the book.

"An old photo?" Yukari raised one eyebrow.

"It was taken during the late seventies," Mitsuru said. In the photo, there were two men. One of them was an unassuming man clad in suit, while the other was a rather tall man with a rather handsome feature. The colors of the old photo had already faded, but Yukari could see that the handsome man's hair seemed to be multicolored. "The shorter man was my grandfather, Kouetsu Kirijo, while the other one is unidentified. And from the journals as well as what I had told you before, you already know what kind of person my grandfather was, right?"

Yukari nodded. She was told that Kouetsu Kirijo was a man obsessed with the idea of the Fall, and the mastermind behind the experimentation of the Shadows back at 1999. He was killed during the explosion, and apparently, his will was carried out by one of his students and advisers, Shuji Ikutsuki.

"This is just an assumption, but from the writings in the journals, my grandfather learned about the prophecy from someone during his youth. The details are scarce, but we can tell from the journals that the origin of where my grandfather had learned the prophecy from was supernatural in nature." Mitsuru's expression turned severe. She closed her eyes for a while before she reopened them. "Like I said, it is just an assumption, but I do think that my grandfather had encountered some sort of supernatural entity which allowed him to learn about the prophecy."

Yukari finally understood what Mitsuru meant. "And… if one of the biblical factions that Aigis had told us was behind all this…" she stopped as Mitsuru nodded. Upon realizing the whole situation, Yukari immediately slammed the journals onto the table. She seemed furious upon finally connecting all the dots. "Dammit!"

Because of them, because of the unnecessary knowledge, the Dark Hour was created. The Prophecy of the Fall, the birth of the Shadow of the thirteenth Arcana, Death, the emergence of Nyx, and the sacrifice of a boy named Minato Arisato, all of these things happened because of them.

Yukari's shoulders were shaking due to anger. Because of them, a lot of people had been living in a series of misfortunes. Many people had suffered due to their machinations. Not only to her, but also to Mitsuru, Minato and Aigis. She gritted her teeth as she clawed on her knees, as if trying to curb down her anger.

"I understand how you feel, Yukari, but… like I said, it's just an assumption. We are not sure whether that is really the case. We may have gotten a few details wrong, so I advise you to not do anything drastic for the time being…" Mitsuru said to Yukari in a reassuring tone.

"B-but… but… why?" Yukari said weakly. "All the things that happened, all the misfortunes, all the suffering and pain, and the sacrifice he made… were they just a part of a machination of someone else? Were we just mere pawns of their stupid schemes?"

"Let us hope that is not the case," Mitsuru reassured. "Whether it is just a mere machination or not, some facts will never change. All the suffering that all of us endured, all of them were real. We were heartbroken, wounded, hurt, but at the same time, we grew. We learned something from our ordeals, and each of us became a better person after enduring such ordeals. And it doesn't matter if everything was just a mere machination, because in the end, his sacrifice saved humanity as a whole."

For a while, Yukari was silent before she nodded weakly, then she smiled. The smile looked rather sad. "I-I guess you're right, Senpai. I was being irrational again, wasn't I?" Yukari said with a crooked smile. "I guess I still have a long ways to go…"

Mitsuru smiled warmly. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Yukari." The red-haired woman took Ikutsuki's journals and put them back into the briefcase. After closing the briefcase, she looked at Kikuno. "I suppose that's the end of it. End the record, Kikuno."

Kikuno nodded before she ended the record. Then, she went to unlock the door and opened it.

"Come on, Yukari. Let's go," Mitsuru said to Yukari.

"A-alright." Yukari followed after the red-haired woman, walking out of the room.

"Hmm… would you like to stay over for dinner?" Mitsuru asked as she stood beside Yukari.

"Eh?" Yukari blinked several times, caught off-guard by Mitsuru's sudden question.

"Well, it's been quite a while since the last time we had dinner together, am I wrong?" Mitsuru reasoned.

"Umm… is that okay?" Yukari asked uncertainly.

Mitsuru smiled. "Of course. Having a dinner by myself can be pretty lonely sometimes. And since Kikuno is my maid, she can't exactly sit down and have dinner together with me," the red-haired woman gestured to the maid who was accompanying them.

Kikuno seemed apologetic. "I apologize for my inability to enjoy a dinner alongside you due to my position, milady," the maid said.

"Well, I can't exactly blame you for that," Mitsuru said to Kikuno. "But, in case if you have some days off, would you like to keep me company? Not as my maid or my escort, but as my friend." She smiled at the maid.

Kikuno looked down. Yukari blinked a few times. She might be imagining it, but she somehow saw Kikuno's cheeks flushing slightly, as if in embarrassment.

"In any case, we have to prepare for the worst," Mitsuru said. "I'll inform the other members of the Shadow Operatives. In the meantime," she looked at Kikuno, "Kikuno, will you inform the chefs and the other maids that Yukari will be staying over for dinner? I'd like some preparations to be made to match her accommodation."

"Understood, milady." Kikuno bowed before she left.

"Umm… you don't have to do that," Yukari said. "I'm alright with anything, you see?"

"But I'd like to have dinner with my best friend," Mitsuru told Yukari. "And the dinner has to be perfect for her. Am I wrong?"

"W-well… I guess I can't argue with that…" Yukari scratched her cheek. "Hmm… by the way, where's Labrys? I thought she might be staying here with you. I heard that an ASW like her works as a maid when off-duty, right?" Aigis once told her that whenever she was off-duty, she would be working as Mitsuru's maid.

"Yes, she does work here as a maid, and she seems quite enthusiastic with it since Kikuno is the one showing her the ropes, but yesterday, I sent her away to accompany her sister in her mission," Mitsuru said. "In that way, Aigis won't be lonely all by herself."

"Eh?" Yukari blinked a few times. She pinched the bridge of her nose for a while before she looked at her best friend and spoke, "Mitsuru-senpai, do you think… it's a good idea? I mean, it's Labrys we're talking about…"

"Well…" Mitsuru's gaze faltered. "Honestly speaking, even I'm not entirely sure. But considering that she'll be with Aigis, I suppose Labrys will be fine. Maybe. Probably."

Despite the (rather unconvincing) reassurance, Yukari couldn't help but worry. Due to that particular mechanical maiden's limited interactions with normal humans, Yukari was afraid that things might get a little complicated, and she had a feeling that something troublesome might happen in the near future, and such troublesome things might end up giving them headaches.

Yuuto Kiba was walking down the street, carrying a grocery bag with him in one hand. A while ago, he was shopping for the night's dinner. He had been living by himself these last few years, and he was doing alright most of the time. And considering that he was a part of Rias Gremory's peerage, he had nothing much to worry.

It had been two days since the Raynare incident. An ex-nun, Asia Argento, was killed during the confrontation, and as a result, Rias Gremory reincarnated her into a Devil despite the fact that her Sacred Gear, Twilight Healing, had been taken away from her. After all, the removal of the Sacred Gear was the main cause of her death. Apparently, the newly-reincarnated Asia was trying her best to adjust herself in her new life as a Devil, and the other members of the peerage, especially Issei, had been supporting her.

Kiba smiled as he recalled the sight of Asia following Issei around back at school. He had to admit it was quite an adorable sight to behold. Such a sight reminded him of a duckling following its mother. And when Issei wasn't around, Asia would be following Aigis instead. And when both Issei and Aigis were there, Asia would be following both of them. And when both Issei and Aigis parted ways, Asia would start panicking in such an adorable way as she was unable to decide which one should she follow, with her teary eyes and 'moe' expression that were proven to be quite fatal to those men of lesser stature.

Kiba sighed. In a way, he was happy for Issei. He had been having quite a rough week due to him being targeted by the Fallen Angels. So seeing him being happy with Asia and Aigis made him feel relieved.

"Happiness, huh?" Kiba muttered to himself. He stopped walking as he recalled some old memories. He flinched as those memories flashed through his mind. He immediately shook his head before he started walking again.

There's no need to think about such a thing. All he had to focus now was to grow stronger and serve under Rias Gremory, as well as to live his life as best as he could.

As he walked, he saw something, or rather, someone who caught his interest. He glanced at that someone, who was a girl clad in a long, dark-blue jacket, who had a large bag sitting beside her feet. The girl's bluish-gray long hair was tied up into a ponytail. She was standing near a lamppost, holding a piece of paper while gingerly looking at her surroundings. The girl had a rather cute face and pale skin, and her eyes were red in color. While definitely rare, it was not impossible for someone to have this eye color.

At first, he thought about leaving the girl be. After all, even if her rather exotic look caught his attention, the girl was probably too preoccupied with whatever she was currently doing. As he stepped away, he suddenly stopped when he heard the girl's voice calling for him.

"E-excuse me?" The girl's voice was pleasant and rather high-pitched, matching with her cute, girlish look. Kiba looked back and his eyes met with a pair of red pupils that stared back into his.

"Yes?" As usual, Kiba wore his 'gentleman' smile and spoke to the girl. Strangely, the girl didn't display any sort of reaction like most females who interacted with him.

"Sorry for takin' your time, mister," the girl spoke, and Kiba noticed that she was speaking in Kansai dialect. "I'm new to this place, y'see, and I'm kinda lost…" she said, giving the blond boy a bashful smile. "Do you know which way to take to reach this address?" The girl showed Kiba the paper she was holding, and written on it was an address.

"Hmm…" Kiba took the address from the girl and looked at it. "Well, I guess I can show you the way, Miss," he said, smiling at the girl, and the girl's expression brightened. "It's definitely better than telling you which way to take, right?"

"Thanks a bunch, mister!" The girl said, beaming happily. Then, she remembered something. "By the way, name's Labrys. It's good to meet'cha!"

TO BE CONTINUED

Author's Note: Finally, it's done! After hibernating for almost a month to refill my creativity juice, I finally managed to finish the latest chapter! Confetti! Yay! Once again, Prince Arjuna is back to business! As you can see here, the chapter is kinda short, and more focused on P3 than DxD. But this is just the beginning of a new arc, so please don't really mind the shortness of this chapter. Persona-users will be more involved in the future, and may end up making a whole new faction. I hope you can just wait and see. And in this chapter, I introduced Labrys, our cute little robot girl with cute Kansai accent! Please expect more from her in the future.

And of course, I won't forget to mention this; thanks to Sorata Shioya for beta-reading this chapter. It's so nice to work alongside you.

So, don't forget to leave some reviews, 'kay? He needs 'em in order to keep on writing. See you guys again in the next chapter, Chapter 12: Wheel of Fortune. Dang, I'm gonna break 'two words for the chapter's title' rule!

What I have planned: "I am a Shadow, the true self!"

Prince Arjuna (2014)