Disclaimer: I do not own High School DxD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Harry Potter, Naruto, and Rifts

Major AU: Do not expect this story to strictly follow canon for High School DxD.

Key: "Talking" 'Thought' [Sacred Gear] (Pailamancy or Telepathy) *Technique*

Winding Down

The entire ORC was in the Gremory infirmary occupying six of the sixteen beds in the Rapid Treatment Unit. It should have been seven, but Rias refused to be separated from Xander and literally clung to his side much to the bemusement or everyone. Between magical fatigue and the sudden relief of a great deal of stress in her life, the redhead was fast asleep. Thanks to the Retirement System of the Rating Game the worst injuries the ORC suffered were massive second degree burns. Between the healing ointments, spells, and advanced technology even the worst of those burns were just painful memories. Not that Kiba, Asia, Akeno, Raynare, and Xanrai walked away scot free. The results of rapid medical treatment left them all magically exhausted and suffering the equivalent of bad sunburn. As such they were all sedated after they were coaxed to eat a meal. What amazed Xander was that the treatments had restored each person's hair to perfect condition. As for Koneko she was one again conscious and in the process of eating her body weight in Root Beer Baby Back Ribs. As for Xander himself, he only had a new assortment of bruises and scrapes that had been treated with salve and painkillers.

"I'm telling you I am fine. Whatever painkillers are wonderful~." Despite what some might think Xander Harris-Hyoudou was an ideal patient. He cooperated with nurses, healer, and doctors. He gave clear and concise reports on exactly what symptoms he was suffering or how he acquired the injuries without any macho bullshit downplaying them. There was his odd sense of humor, but nobody is perfect. "You've healed all my bruises and scrapes. And I have to say the hospital food here is actually good."

"You're sure?" The petite green haired nurse asked again, "I can't offer you a sponge bath?"

Several perverted thoughts came to Xander's mind as he heard the words sponge bath. In fact he had a full on fantasy that involved Rias, Akeno, Koneko, and Asia providing a sponge bath. Shaking himself out of that thought, he offered an apologetic smile to the nurse. "I doubt Buchou-chan would willingly let me go at the moment and she might react badly if she woke up to a cute stranger fondling me while I'm naked."

"Well, it's your loss," The nurse shrugged as she turned and walked away, her ass swaying as she did.

Xander wasn't even tempted and was able to pull his eyes away immediately. Instead he chose to watch Rias sleep. As per usual she had stripped out of her clothes much to the dismay of a few nurses. She had then proceeded to strip Xander's off as well, going so far as to destroy his boxers. Now she was fast asleep, apparently having a good dream given her bright smile. "She looks peaceful. I guess the Riser thing was worrying her more than she let on."

"Buchou was very worried." Koneko spoke just loud enough for Xander to hear, "She was worried she would lose you, Sempai."

"What?" Xander was more than a little surprised, "Don't you mean she was worried about losing all of us?"

"She was." Koneko confirmed with a nod of her head, "But she was more worried about losing you. So was I." The stoic girl revealed that last part in a whisper that she hoped Xander didn't hear.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere," Xander replied as he tried to absorb what Koneko was saying. 'They must be afraid of losing a brother figure.' "You can't get rid of me that easily. All your boyfriends will be utterly terrified of the shovel speech."

"Clueless." Koneko sighed as she rolled her eyes. "Can see everything, but utterly clueless."

"I was correct Xander would be a very interesting opponent," Sairaorg rubbed his chin as he replayed the scenes where Xander showcased his ruthlessness and brutality. "He's not as physically powerful as I am, but that will come with time and that Sacred Gear. Unfortunately, his true strength only seems to come out when his loved ones are harmed. Providing him with motivation would not be hard, but it would be distasteful."

"I stand by my assessment that he is not an interesting opponent but a deadly one," Sona was watching the same scenes as she tried to analyze her best friend/rival's pawn. She was rapidly coming to the conclusion that any plan involving him would have to avoid triggering his protective/vengeful side. And she absolutely would not allow any of her peerage to use Chainsaws no matter what. "He's a true Wild Card especially with the Boosted Gear. He is accustomed to using guile and trickery to fight enemies more powerful than himself. With the Boosts he will eventually be more powerful than any of his opposition. A prolonged battle would be potentially suicidal, even for you."

"Yes, taking him out quickly would be the wisest decision, but also boring and no challenge," Sairaorg nodded in agreement. Despite his extreme physical prowess he did not let his mind rot. He wasn't on Sona's level, but he wasn't dumb either. "You can't tell me that you aren't excited about facing him and putting your skills to the test."

"I would be lying if I said that," Sona replied as she took off her glasses to polish the lenses, "While Rias will likely remain the tactician, I have no doubt Xander's input influences her a great deal. They say two minds are better than one, even if that mind is a genius. I would like the chance to disprove that."

"Well, that certainly settles the issue between the Gremory and Phenex families," Sirizechs couldn't help the smile on his face. Being The Lucifer has tied his hands when it came to helping his sister. He couldn't publically do anything for fear setting off another Civil War. While the Blood Purist factions would be put out by the results of the match, their support among the other factions would take a hit. The match was supposed to be an easy win for Riser and instead it was a rather crushing defeat. "I trust that everyone will adhere to ALL the terms of the Match."

"Of course, Lucifer-sama, House Gremory would not think of backing out of our end," Despite the fact he was addressing his son, Zeoticus knew to keep it as formal and respectful as possible. It helped that he was happy for the outcome. Much happier than he had dared hoped he'd be. 'Rias-chan is free of that spoiled brat.'

"House Phenex will adhere to the original terms," Reginald was not the least bit pleased. "Reginald begs your pardon. There are many affairs of the Phenex family that must be tended to." Not even waiting to be dismissed, the blonde haired lord stepped just far enough away he could use a teleportation circle.

"I have the suspicion my husband is about to do something foolish," Ramona Phenex sighed as she chook her head, "Would you offer Rias-chan my congratulations on her victory? I hope she forgive my family for the actions of my Son and Husband."

"I will pass your congratulations along, Ramona." Venelana smiled warmly at her best friend. Despite how their husbands had butted heads she never stopped caring for her. "Perhaps you and Ravel-chan can visit more often now. I have missed our talks."

"I would like that," Ramona smiled warmly, "Now if you will excuse me I have to go check on my Ravel, she will likely be confused over the way she was eliminated. She has been so adamant that she will only find such pleasures with her future husband. She even refuses advice on toys."

"Oh, I do not envy you that conversation. My own daughter was of similar mind once." Venelana chuckled at the memories of the expanded talk she had to give Rias, Akeno, and Koneko. "I must take my leave as well. I want to see my baby and her peerage."

'How did I get here?' Xander looked around noting he was definitely at a Shinto Shrine. It took him only a moment to recognize it as the Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Shrine of Kyoto. He'd visited it once for the wedding of the slayer Kimiko who wanted Xander to stand in as her father while Buffy had been drafted as her mother. So it was no surprise that he recognized a Shinto Wedding procession or the fact that he was the lucky groom. Taking a glance at the bride he nearly stumbled over his own feet. Rias Gremory was radiant in her kimono, even with the headdress hiding her crimson locks. He opened his mouth to speak, but what came out seemed to be out of his control. "How did I ever get so lucky?"

"That's a question I have asked myself every day since you came into my life." Rias' face lit up in pure joy as she turned her gaze to Xander. "I want to thank you again. I know this isn't the wedding you were hoping for..."

"Yes it is. Any wedding where I am marrying the woman I love is the one I am hoping for," Xander cut her off before she continued. "It wouldn't matter if it was a simple exchange of vows or a grand spectacle of a state wedding."

"Fufufu, don't remind me of what my brother is demanding we perform after your other brides have their weddings," Rias' soft laugh was one of tenderness and amusement. "At least I get to marry you first and have you to myself for a whole week before Akeno sinks her claws in." There wasn't even the slightest bit of bitterness of Rias' voice, in fact she looked pleased.

'What in the Opening of Hellmouth is going?' Xander couldn't have helped being confused. Rias had been possessive of him since the day they met. 'In some ways she's more clingy than Buffy, Willow, and Anya combined.' She was very begrudgingly let Akeno have alone time with him. Her reaction to Asia was only a bit better. "Thank you for agreeing to that. If you had pressed I would have been monogamous to you. You do know that."

"Yes, but it would have hurt you to deny them," Rias' smile never faltered, "And Maou knows I understand how much it would hurt them not to be with you. I couldn't be that cruel to them. I love them almost as much as I love you, Xander-koi."

"I do love you, Rias-hime." Xander smiled before he leaned in to kiss his wife.

That was when the entire world froze. A moment later the entire scene began to burn with crimson flames, much like a photo that had caught fire. Then Xander was surrounded by the flames as the Boosted Gear Gauntlets manifested on his hands.

"It would seem my previous host has infected you with his dream of being a Harem King. Ah well, at least the Devils will support that idea." A deep boom voice sounded from the flames, "It's a pleasure to speak with you again, Alexander. It took forever to penetrate the defenses left by your friends. The Witch's were the most powerful, but the ones left by the insane Vampiress were intriguing in their effectiveness."

"Dru left defenses in my head?" Xander asked out of pure shock. "Hey, I have control of my voice again."

"Yes, you had to enter lucid dreaming in order to facilitate this meeting," the voice responded, "I must say you are a very intriguing host. You don't seek power, but you do not shy away from it. You act the fool, but you are rarely one. You see everything, but you are still oblivious…"

"I walk softly and carry the big stick. I have a sponge cake exterior, but a white creamy center." Xander barely suppressed his snicker. "Not that I don't appreciate the drama and mystery, but who the hell are you?"

"…I should have known," The voice sounded amused for a moment, "I am one of the Heavenly Dragons, the Dragon of Domination, the Red Dragon Emperor, Ddraig. My soul resides in the Sacred Gear known as the Boosted Gear."

"Oookaaay, so you were at one point one of the top ten ass kickers in this universe," Xander concluded after a moment, "Arguably you might have been in the top five."

"That is an accurate assessment," Ddraig replied. "Normally I begin speaking to my Host as soon as they reach a certain power threshold. However with you I had to work past those defenses, so I was delayed."

"I'd apologize, but they are there for a purpose," Xander shrugged, "So what's the what?"

"I don't know why I was expecting you to be more respectful towards me than you were the Old Watcher," Ddraig sighed heavily, "I am here to meet you and let you know that the White One will be seeking you soon. I would tell you more, but it is time you wake."

"Oh no, you aren't going to pull that bullshit with me, Ddraig." Xander growled his eyes flashing emerald for a moment as he unconsciously drew on the power of sealed in the Boosted Gear. "If you think the passive defenses are a pain, imagine what the active defenses are like."

"HAHAHAHA! I like you, Alexander. You are much like myself and Albion when we were alive," Ddraig declared obviously pleased with Xander's show of determination. "Now that we had spoken like this, I can speak with you in the waking world as well. I will explain everything in time, but it is truly time for you to wake. Your mate's Dam wants to speak with you."

"Ah, you are finally awake, Xander-san. You were particularly hard to rouse." Venelana Gremory smiled wide as she drew her hand back from his shoulder. Rias had risen a little while ago and had answered her father's summons. The rest of the peerage were currently bathing, something she intended to send Xander to do after they talked. "I just wanted to personally thank you for helping my daughter when her Father was unable."

'Damn, if she hadn't claimed to be Rias' mother I would have assumed she was her sister.' Xander had been struck by the similarities between Rias and her mother. The two had virtually identical bodies, face shape, eye shape, and excepting the color their hair was shockingly similar. There were differences in the mouth, nose, and cheek bones but otherwise the two could be virtual twins except for the coloring and age.

"Thanks aren't necessary. It's just what I would do for any of my girls. Buchou-chan is no different." Xander offered a smile. "Xander Harris-Hyoudou at your service, Lady Gremory."

"Oh my, Grayfia warned me you would be a charmer, Xander-kun," Venelana feigned having to fan herself to cool her thoughts. Offering her hand, she introduced herself. "I am Lady Venelana Gremory nee Bael. And it is certainly a pleasure to meet you."

"Not the first time I've been called a charmer by the mother of one of my girls," Xander said after he kissed the back of her hand. "So it's what I thought and Lord Gremory was unable to help Rias escape the contract, not that he didn't want to."

"Well… he could help to a certain extent, but not to the extent Rias or I would have wanted him to. Devil Contracts are brutal to any party that attempts to break them unless following one of a very few loopholes. Those penalties are even worse if the person breaking the contract is the Devil who forged the contract." Venelana sighed heavily. "In my husband's defense, no groom was named. Somehow Riser got the contract out of our vaults. It's hard to pressure a family into making their son break a contract when you have to publically support the contract. Worse when there is a clause that states the Father of the Bride can't encourage his daughter not to marry the groom."

Xander stared at Venelana for a few moments and shook his head. "I take it your husband is not normally so boneheaded as to make open ended contracts and this was a case good intentions biting everyone in the ass?"

"Precisely," Venelana nodded. She didn't mind the slip of profanity as she had much, much worse when the contract first became an issue. "Though with your permission, my husband will be have more leeway with supporting Rias."

"Why would he need my permission?" Xander asked even as he felt a cold chill run up his spine.

"Well, because Riser surrendered the contract specifically to you, Xander," Venelana stated, "And since Rias approved of it being transferred to you before he did so, that makes you the Groom."

"Oh, that's what I thought." Xander nodded absently before it sank in, "Wait! What?!"

"You wanted to speak with me, your grace?" Rias Gremory's tone was cold and formal as she addressed her father by his title. She had stopped calling him Father and Tou-san to his face a year prior. Despite winning the Rating Games and Xander getting Riser to surrender the contract, Rias couldn't let go of a lot of the resentment she had towards her father. She didn't hate him or anything like that. In fact she still dearly loved him, but she was still disappointed in him. At this moment, she wanted nothing more than to celebrate with her Peerage, but she had been summoned by her father once she woke. She'd dressed quickly, not even caring to fix her slight case of bed hair, and was now in his study reporting as if she were just a servant.

"Well, it seems you are still rightfully angry with me." Zeoticus Gremory sighed as he gestured to for Rias to have a seat. "I want you to know that I regret writing that contract from the deepest part of my soul. It was never meant to trap you into a loveless marriage. It was supposed to protect you from the underhanded methods some Devils would use to marry you and steal control of the House of Gremory."

"How was an arranged marriage supposed to protect me from the loveless part?" Rias fired back with only a bit of vitriol. "Riser and I just barely got along even before he became a clone of his father, whom you know I loathed before I could even speak properly." There were numerous tales of her throwing tantrums and bits of [Power of Destruction] at her Maoumother's husband as a baby and toddler.

"Well, I hadn't exactly chosen a Groom when I crafted the contract, Rias." Zeoticus admitted looking a little sheepish as his daughter had a point. "I left the contract open on that part. My plan was to give it to you for your birthday and let you choose the man. That was the reason for the clauses in the contract that had me giving my public support of the marriage as well as not taking sides in any argument you brought to me regarding your fiancé."

"Not take sides?" Rias' eyes glowed a fiery crimson for a moment, "You suggested that I trade away my Xander to placate Riser! How is that not taking a side?!"

Zeoticus swallowed nervously. He was a formidable High Class Devil, but he didn't have the *Power of Destruction* like his wife, children and even grandchild did. There was no question of who was the most powerful Devil in his marriage, it was Venelana. He was just lucky she liked being the dutiful wife and didn't henpeck him. It was also well know that Sirzechs dwarfed Zeoticus in power, skill, and charisma. As a Father he could not be prouder of his son, but was also terrified of him a little. His daughter was well on her way to being the next coming of Sirzechs, a fact made abundantly clear by the fact that she nearly matched her mother in power, despite the several thousand year difference in age and experience. So he had every right to be a little scared of his own daughter at the moment.

"I didn't actually suggest you trade Alexander away," Zeoticus corrected his daughter, "I merely suggested you make the offer of letting him control your peerage if you got equal control of his. We both know that was as likely as your brother hating you."

"You… are right." Rias was going to pounce on her father for lying, but it is exactly what he said. She had just been so stressed she did not look at the whole picture. "It still doesn't absolve you of a lot of your actions, your Grace. I would have liked to have you in my corner on this. Even if all you did was tell me that you're sorry about the contract. It just felt like you were in Riser's corner the whole time."

"Well, I am not sorry about the contract itself," Zeoticus said after a moment. "I am just sorry I told anyone about it and that it was stolen. I am also deeply sorry for the pain I has caused you by not openly contesting the marriage. I am so sorry I hid everything I did to fight the marriage from you, even the failed assassinations."

"What?" Rias stared at her father in shock. "You tried to have Riser killed?"

"Oh yes, twice. Indirectly through your mother." Zeoticus replied with a nod, "Unfortunately, I had to stop when Reginald targeted Koneko-chan. To be truthful I considered approaching Alexander to have Reginald and Riser killed. Grayfia was quite insistent that he could find a way."

"He offered…twice," Rias was still stunned that her father would have targeted Riser for assassination. "I had to beg him not to. I don't think he would have listened if I just made it an order."

"I had to do the same with your mother." Zeoticus nodded in understanding, "She did not take the two failed attempts well. I had to convince her that we would stop the wedding, even if we had to attack the groom at the ceremony."

"Tou-san?" Rias didn't realize that she was crying until her father came around his desk and wiped the tears away.

"But we won't need to do that now, will we Rias? You have a much better fiancé now." Zeoticus smiled as he watched comprehension dawn on his daughter's face. "Though, if you change your mind, just let me know. I can act a little more directly against Alexander than I could Riser."

"Attempting to hurt my Xander is an unforgivable offense!" Gone were Rias' tears as she registered a veiled threat against her precious pawn. Her entire body glowed with eerie crimson aura as her hair whipped about.

"Whoa! I won't be acting against Alexander unless you ask me too," Zeoticus placed his hands up defensively as he took a step back. 'She's as bad a Sirzechs when someone threatens her or Millicas.'

"And that will never happen," Rias responded after a moment as she gauged her father's reaction. Calming herself down she then processed something her father didn't tell her directly. "Xander is my fiancé?"

"Ah, Grayfia-chan, have you come to celebrate my Ria-tan's victory?" Sirzechs asked as he poured himself a nice snifter of brandy. "Despite your claims to Xander-kun's skill, I was expecting Rias to lose. I had gone to the effort of procuring a Griffin so she could run away from the wedding. And when Riser made the mistake of trying to stop him, I was going to eliminate him for attempted murder of an heiress." Sirzechs chuckled as he admitted to his plot to murder Riser. Not like anyone in Hell could even think of censor him for it. If the other three Satans stood together they might prevail over him, but Serafall would fight on his side. "But you were right. And he did even better than you hoped."

"I am sorry, Sirzech-sama, as much as I would love to celebrate with you I am bringing some disturbing news." Grayfia was subdued as she spoke. "On guard rotation it was discovered that some unknown parties successful raided Epsilon Facility. None of the prisoners remain and the guards on duty were brutally slaughtered if the blood splatter is an indicated."

Sirzechs almost asked her if it was a joke, but knew better. His wife had a sense of humor, but she never joked about important matters. "I see. Who knew of the location of Epsilon Facility?"

"The Satans, Lord Phenex, Lord Astaroth, Lord Glaysa-Labolas, Lord Bael, and myself are the only ones aware of the location of Epsilon Facility." Grayfia recited, "The guards are sent and retrieved by Magic Circle so they have no idea where they are and it's underground so there is no possible way to scout it aerially"

"Well, it was mostly low level Fallen Angels that were imprisoned there," Sirzechs replied, "Issue warnings to all the garrisons and the city guards. They are authorized to use lethal force."

"You've got a very nice private bath," Xander was admiring the rather massive bath. Not only was there a Japanese style bath area, but a conventional walk in shower that could you could hold a party in. There was also a western style bathtub big enough for four people, and Jacuzzi style hot tub. Currently he was sitting on a stool behind Rias as he scrubbed her back. "Makes the one in my house seem like roughing it."

"Well, I am a bit spoiled by my parents," Rias admitted with slight giggle. Some people would consider how her parents treated her to be well beyond spoiling, but for as much as they gave her they demanded just as much. It created a balance in her that many other nobles ever attained. Riser's attitudes were more common among the Devil Houses than Rias wanted to admit. There were also times that she knew she acted like a spoiled princess, and this was one of them. "But I have never considered bathing with you to be roughing it. In fact if I was alone in here, that would be me roughing it."

"You flatter me, Buchou-chan," Xander chuckled as he grabbed a sprayer and started to rinse her back and then wetting her hair in preparation to wash it as was their ritual. "So, how did the talk with your father go?"

"He explained everything to me," Rias started to explain but then Xander's fingers began working their magic on her scalp. 'How does he make this feel so good?' "Oh Maou… I wasn't happy that he didn't feel he could tell me, but…mmmmhmmmm… I think he just didn't understand how much it was hurting me… oooh… He told me something that I didn't immediately real~ize." Rias moans were making speech impossibly, but there was absolutely no way she'd ask Xander to stop. "You're my new fiancé~!"

"Yeah, your mother informed me of that too," Xander replied as he tried to think unsexy thoughts. 'Holy Twinkies! She is even more responsive than usual. I so need a cold shower.' Unfortunately he just couldn't keep any unsexy thought long enough to have any sort of an effect. "That means any time you want to break the contract, you can."

"Mmmmm… I knoooow… but I don't think I want to break it now." Rias replied with through her moans. "But I will… if you want me to…" 'Please say no. Please say no. I want more time with you before courters try to swoop in.' Rias would have offered a prayer to Aphrodite, but she was sure the goddess would mess with it somehow.

"Why isn't she praying to me?" Aphrodite asked. "I have Eros on standby with the lust arrows! Doesn't this girl want to be the first one to have his babies?"

"Well, you're definitely pregnant." Hephaestus noted as he handed her the jar of Marmite to spread on her Oreo cookies. He really wished he could say that was a hint that she was pregnant, but she had been addicted to the flavor combo for decades. "You only meddle that much when you have bun in the oven."

"Oooh… that sounds good for dinner… cinnamon buns and ramen." Aphrodite said as she grabbed the jar of marmite and started spreading fine layers of it on her cookies.

"I don't mind being your fiancé, Buchou-chan." Xander answered the unasked question. "It'll keep any would be suitors off your back until you find the right man." Normally he would have added or woman to the statement, but it was very clear that while Rias was bisexual when it came to carnal attraction, her romantic side demanded a man in her life. "So for now, you can have the fun of introducing me as your fiancé and explain how I kept blowing up Riser's head until I won your hand."

"Fufufufu, not the most romantic of stories, but it will keep the smarter Devils away," Rias couldn't help but picture the faces of most of the heirs she knew turning green as she explained how she was now engaged to Xander. "But what if I want to make the Ladies jealous?"

"Just tell them I did this." Xander said before he turned her around bodily, lifted her into his lap, and then leaned in pressing his lips to hers in a passionate and romantic kiss.

Rias had been so stunned she couldn't respond at first. She hadn't expected him to make the first move. As he began to retreat, Rias was having any of it. She laced her fingers in his hair and pulled him into a much deeper kiss. 'Maou, if he kisses me like this all the time, I might just get addicted.'

Author Note: And there we have it, Rias and Xander's first kiss.