The day after my meeting with the ORC, I set out to see exactly what I could do. Pinnacle Form was changing my body, making it faster, stronger, more efficient, and I wanted to see just how far I could push myself with this power.

Upon waking up, I made myself some breakfast with the food Kuroka left in the fridge, and I browsed the internet for a nearby shopping center. I only had the change of clothes I appeared with and I was not going to be wearing those same clothes for another day if I could help it. Now that I was several inches taller, they barely even fit me anymore.

I found a small shopping area a few miles away and set out to get supplies. I returned a few hours later carrying a bag of clothing and several more bags of food and toiletries. By the time it took for me to unpack and put everything away in the house, it was nearing noon, so I immediately tossed on a new pair of clothes, left the house again and started jogging towards the edge of town.

"The forests around Kuoh are pretty nice." I thought to myself, enjoying my newfound athleticism. "I imagine people don't go out there, so I should be able to find a nice place to practice and train without disturbing anyone." I kept running, and eventually I found my way to the edge of the woods. I looked around, memorizing the houses around me, before walking into the forest.

Once I got out of eyesight of Kuoh, I manifested Pinnacle Form and started fiddling with its energy. Just like when I met with the ORC, I realized this power had undergone a serious upgrade. Where before the energy had moved like molasses, now it flowed like water. I barely even had to think to shift and condense the power of Pinnacle Form around my body. And that gave me an idea.

"If I can move the energy within me more easily," I thought, reaching out for a nearby tree. "Then what about when it's in something else?"

Almost instantly, energy condensed in my palm and I started to hear the humming noise. I grabbed at the tree, and the energy flowed in just as quickly as before. The area around my hand exploded out, and I got more than a few splinters in my arm.

"Shit!" I shouted, flinching back. I wiped my hand on my shirt and the splinters fell out almost instantly. "Must be the accelerated healing." I thought to myself, before looking back at the tree. The part of the tree touched by my hand had a large gouge in it, several inches deep and wider around than my hand. It was like something detonated on it, which wasn't entirely false.

"Too much power, then." I thought to myself. I walked to another tree nearby, this time only building a small amount of energy in my palm. I touched the bark of that tree, and this time willed the power to move slowly, from my hand into the bark, staying out of the tree itself. I flexed my grip and the bark around my hand shattered, though this time not as explosively. I stepped back to admire my work.

Where I touched the tree, there was now a large, uneven patch that had the bark completely stripped. The wood of the tree looked slightly scratched, but other than that, the tree was fine. No gouges and no splinters in my arm.

I laughed, looking at my hand in slight awe. "Control is massively improved, it seems." I thought to myself, before walking further into the woods. "I'll need to practice with more and more power, though." As I walked, I touched another tree with that hand, and the bark shattered around my palm. I kept walking, creating patches of stripped bark on the trees as I delved deeper into the woods. I needed a way to get back, after all.

I walked like that for a while, hopping over tree roots and rocks, before I finally came to a grassy clearing. It was maybe thirty feet across and completely open, except for a large stone near one side of the clearing. The thing was taller than I was, and it easily weighed more than a car. I looked at it, and I set a goal for myself.

"One week." I promised myself, looking at the boulder in front of me. "And then you break."

I took a moment to gather myself, and to make sure I had left a good enough trail back to Kuoh, before walking up to the smallest tree at the edge of the clearing. It wasn't very thick compared to its larger brethren, but it was healthy, which was exactly what I wanted. I gathered power in my right hand until I heard a small humming noise, and then I reared my arm back and punched the tree. My hand stung a bit, but I could see the bark was cracked. To punch the tree as hard as I did should have split my skin and it should have hurt much more, but I was fine.

The energy was still covering my hand, which confirmed that it acted as a shield, or something that made my body tougher. I condensed the energy in my other hand, and took a boxing stance. I started punching the tree, lightly at first, before slowly picking up the intensity. I threw jabs, I threw crosses, I even threw a light hook in there once or twice, but the tree held up for the most part.

Then things changed. As I kept punching the tree, I felt the energy condense in my wrists, then my forearms, until eventually it reached my shoulders. Now, both my arms were being strengthened by Pinnacle form, and the punches started coming faster and faster. The tree started cracking, and I started punching it harder and harder, feeling a slight strain in my arms now. A few more strikes later, and the tree started to lurch towards me. I paused, before I reared back again and threw a wild haymaker into the center of the tree, putting my entire body into the punch.

With a loud crack, the tree started to fall into the clearing. I moved behind a nearby tree just as the one I was punching hit the ground. I peeked out from my cover, and quietly marveled at what I did. This tree was the smallest in the clearing, yes, but it was still as wide as my waist, and stretched another fifteen feet above my head. The upper part of that tree now laid in the clearing, completely severed from the base.

I was amazed. I would have broken my arms before even cracking a tree like that. It would have taken me hours to cut that down with an axe, and yet I was able to punch one down in minutes, bare knuckle. I looked down at my hands. The knuckles were slightly red, but even that faded after a few moments. The increased durability along with my minor regeneration almost ensured there was no damage to my hands, at least at this level.

I smiled again, before trying to reabsorb the energy in my arms back into the rest of my body. It took a moment, but the power sunk back into my core, and the humming stopped. I flexed my hands, feeling the knuckles pop, before leaning down to the fallen tree. It was heavy, had to be. It had to have weighed over a thousand pounds, but I squatted down and wrapped my hands around the trunk where I snapped it. I started to slowly lift.

Pinnacle Form reappeared, and I felt its power flowing, condensing, strengthening every part of my body. My hands, my arms, my back, my legs, every joint and muscle fiber was slowly being amplified by Pinnacle Form. I could feel a strain, a tugging sensation in my core, but the tree began to shift, and with a grunt I redoubled my efforts.

The humming grew louder, and I could see the edges of my arms shimmering, almost distorting, and I imagine the rest of my body looked the same. Still, the tree was moving. I was lifting the end off the ground. I kept lifting, shifting my hands to better lift the wood, taking small steps forwards to stay on balance, until eventually I was lifting one end of the tree overhead, the other on the ground, having torn up the grass and shifted the dirt.

My arms were shaking slightly, but I took a moment to laugh, before tossing the tree to the side of me. My body was sore, having been pushed pretty damn hard, and I sat down on that fallen tree trunk. My power receded, and I felt the pleasant sensation of my body healing itself. I would probably be fine again in less than an hour.

But I wanted to try something first.

Once I felt the aches start to lessen, I stood up and began coalescing energy in one of my palms, more energy than I had ever used. I kept building up power, pushing more and more into my palm, and eventually the hum was genuinely loud, and the edges of my hand looked far more distorted. Still, I pushed more and more power in until I felt that I couldn't put any more power unto my hand. And then I leaned down, put my free arm over my eyes, and grabbed the tree I was just sitting on.

Immediately, there was a horrible crunching noice, and I felt my skin get peppered by tiny splinters. I waited for a moment before moving the arm covering my face, and I took a look at the damage.

The tree was gone. Every branch, every bit of bark, the whole damn tree was in tiny pieces scattered across the clearing and into the forest. Everywhere I looked, I saw slivers of wood. Below my hand was a tree-shaped indent in the grass, but besides a few fragments of wood stuck in the dirt, there was nothing left.

"...Well shit." I thought to myself, looking around at the clearing. "Shattered to pieces... hey, there's a good name for it."

I looked down at my hand, covered in wooden shrapnel, and I let my body push out the splinters left in my skin. "Shatter." I said softly, feeling the energy coursing through me. My gaze shifted to the bands of Pinnacle Form on my arms. "That's what you do, right?" Pinnacle Form continued to glow, not showing any difference. I walked over to the middle of the clearing and sat down, taking a meditative pose.

"But that's not all you do." I thought to myself, as I slowly shut out the rest of the world around me. "You heal, you improve, you do so much more than simply Shatter." The world fell away, and all that was left was the not-humming. As I sat there, pondering this power, my mind was drawn to when I sensed the power of the ORC. Everybody had a unique sensation, yes, but something about my own power was fundamentally different from theirs.

I realized that even though every member of the ORC had that not-humming, it never took the front stage. Rias had her Power of Destruction, Kiba had Sword Birth, Akeno had her Lightning Magic, Koneko has her Nekoshou abilities, and Issei obviously had the Boosted Gear. Those powers overshadowed the not-humming, something which made up the entirety of my own power. I wondered what that meant.

Even then, something was different compared to mine. Their not-humming didn't mesh with mine, it didn't meld, it wasn't on the same frequency. It didn't... resonate.

Like a light went off in my mind, I knew what to call this power.

"Resonance... it fits. I like it." I thought to myself, before standing up and getting back to work.

The rest of my day was spent in the clearing. I ended up punching more trees, using my newly-christened Resonance to enhance my body. I was finally getting a hang on what I could do. Where before, I was putting dents in the trees, now I was taking chunks out with every strike.

Five trees were felled before the sun set, each larger than the last, until I knocked down a tree that was twice as thick as the first tree I felled. And just like the first, and every other tree, I condensed Resonance in my palm, and Shattered the tree completely. I was getting the hang of how to Shatter the trees without sending shrapnel into my body. I could theoretically send shards of something in the direction of an enemy, turning weapons, armor, even the environment to my advantage. Though that took much more power than simply breaking whatever Shatter was used on.

The huge stone in the middle of the field would be broken by the end of the week, that was for certain. The question was, what else could I improve on? As the sky darkened and I began my trek back to Kuroka's house, I had an idea.

I started running through the woods, letting Resonance enhance parts of my body. My legs, so that I could run faster. My eyes, so I could see out the best path to run. My mind, so that I could react and plan to the huge stream of information filling my mind. As I ran faster and faster, I let Resonance enhance my other senses. I could hear every rustling of the leaves, smell the sap of a tree and feel the slightest shift of the wind against my skin.

Senses were amplified, brought to a heightened state bordering on supernatural, the hum of Resonance within each sensory organ. And I ran.

I knew how fast I was moving, and yet to my enhanced mind, everything was moving slower than it should have. "I feel like I'm in the Matrix." I thought to myself, before I realized the name for this ability. "...Bullet Time." I thought to myself, dashing between the tree, kicking off of roots, weaving around rocks.

"If the enhancement of my brain is Bullet Time." I kept thinking, as I blurred past a tree I had previously Shattered the bark of, "Than the boosting of my senses should have a name as well." It didn't take too long to think of something.

"Hypersense." I decided on, now reaching the edge of the forest. I slowed down, dispelling Pinnacle Form and letting Resonance flow back into my core. I then started jogging back to Kuroka's house.

-0-0-0-0-0-

When I got home, I realized I needed to contact Rias about the meeting tomorrow. I grabbed my phone from my table and called the number she had given me. It rang for a few moments, before someone answered.

"Hello? Who is this?" I heard Rias say from my phone.

"Lady Gremory, it's Kai." I said, moving into the kitchen to make something to eat. "I was calling to ask about when you would like to meet tomorrow. I'm free the whole day, so any time works for me."

She paused before I heard a few papers shuffled around. "Once school is out, I'll call everyone to the clubhouse. Is there anything you will need for tomorrow?"

I thought for a moment, before answering. "Well, we are going to need an area to train in, preferably a place where out powers can be used freely. Do you have that?"

"The field behind the ORC clubhouse should suffice for now," Rias said over the phone. "But I will work on finding a more appropriate place if your training proves fruitful."

I smiled to myself, excited at the prospect. "That sounds just great. We will probably need some sort of weights eventually, but those are more for your own peerage members." I then paused, before asking one more question. "Does your knight know I would like to spar with him?"

The phone was silent before responding. "... I may have forgotten to tell him." I could pick up on the slightest hint of embarrassment.

I chuckled a bit, and I'm sure Rias was pouting over the phone at that. "It's quite alright. It really doesn't matter either way, as long as he knows that we will be training."

"I let him know that much." Rias said, a bit too quickly. I wanted to tease her a bit, but ultimately decided against it. I had just met the girl, after all.

By then, all the ingredients for my dinner had been prepared, so I decided to wrap it up.

"Well, I think that is all I need to tell you for tomorrow. I'll see you and your peerage tomorrow, then." I said. "Goodnight, Lady Gremory."

"Goodnight, Kai." Rias replied, so I hung up the phone, made dinner, and found myself in a dreamless sleep.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The next morning, I started my day by pushing the more niche limits of my new, near-supernatural body. I found that my sense of balance was incredible, as was my flexibility. I could do the splits with ease, and I found myself able to do handstands and walk on my hands with little challenge. I walked from the front door of the house all the way to my bed, completely on my hands. It wasn't even hard.

I found myself trying several workouts I had never been able to do. One-handed pushups, pistol squats, the planche, everything was almost easy. Hell, I was holding a handstand with one hand and searching on my phone for other stores nearby with the other. I wasn't even using Resonance.

I spent a good couple hours pushing these limits before going on another jog around town. This time, I ran around the edge of town, while keeping an eye on the time. I had around three hours before Rias would be expecting me, so I took the time to map out more of the town, especially the area around the abandoned church, where the other Fallen were holed up in. By the time I returned home, I had an hour left. I grabbed some food out of the fridge, made a quick lunch, and began my jog to Kuoh academy, apple in hand.

By the time I had arrived at the gate, students were starting to leave the academy grounds. I walked through the crowd, ignoring whispers from students who were not as quiet as they probably thought. My supernatural condition had caught the eye of several students, much to my dread.

I didn't have a lot of time to think about it, however, when two young women stepped in my way, stopping me from entering the main school building. The taller one had long black hair extending to her knees, and she had heterochromatic eyes, one violet and one brown. The other, the shorter one, had violet eyes and a black hair in a bob cut that went to her shoulders. Both wore glasses, and were both quite beautiful. Almost impossibly so. The shorter girl was very much in charge with the way she stepped out and stared me in the eyes.

Sona Sitri, the other King in Kuoh, along with her Queen, Tsubaki Shinra.

"What business do you have in Kuoh Academy?" Sona asked bluntly, eyes trained on mine. "I've never seen you before and I don't recognize you from our school records." Tsubaki walked up to me and also stared me down, hands at her side but clearly ready for some sort of conflict. They could likely sense something about me, and Rias must not have told them I was coming.

I put my hands up in a show of surrender. "My bad, my bad, I thought someone would have given the memo."

Sona's eyes narrowed as she scrutinized me, clearly not trusting a word I said, and a moment later the rest of her peerage seemed to appear from the building, almost on cue. They gathered in a group behind Sona, and the other students took notice. More whispers from all around me, and with my enhanced hearing I could hear every single one.

"Holy fuck these kids are as depraved as they are stupid." I thought, barely keeping myself from facepalming. "Seriously, I think Issei could learn a thing or two from some of these fuckers."

As I was having a small internal crisis regarding the student population, my savior arrived in the form of Koneko Toujou, who walked through the crowd and nodded to both myself and Sona. Sona looked surprised for a moment, before cursing under her breath and turning back to me.

"My apologies, Mr...?" She asked, a slightly irritated look on her face.

"Kai Malek." I said shortly, eager to get to the ORC and finally train.

Sona, to her credit, stayed in control very well before nodding and walking into Kuoh's main building, motioning for me to follow. I did so, along with Koneko and Tsubaki. The rest of Sona's peerage, which was also the Student Council, set to work dispersing the crowd of students that had formed.

As we walked through the halls of the school, and once I had made sure we were the only ones in the hall, I spoke to Sona.

"I take it she didn't tell you, then?" I said carefully, trying not to upset the Devil Heiress more than she already was.

Sona sighed quietly, turning her head to look at me. "What does Rias want with you? Are you some sort of Magician she has a contract with?" She sounded quite annoyed, though I imagine I wasn't the target of her ire.

I waited for a moment before answering. "More of a trainer/training partner, really." I said. Sona didn't respond to that, she just kept walking down the hall. Koneko didn't seem worried, so I figured it was safe to follow the Devil Heiress.

Speaking of Koneko, I leaned down next to her as we were following Sona. "Thanks for the save, Koneko. I thought I was in some serious trouble there." The small girl nodded, enjoying a small sweet, and said nothing.

-0-0-0-0-0-

We kept walking, taking turns and going through hallways, until we finally reached a set of doors that I recognized as the entrance to the ORC clubroom. Inside, Rias and the rest of her peerage were waiting, talking and drinking the tea that Akeno had prepared for them.

They all looked to the door, and Rias had a look of realization pass over her before she gathered her thoughts and approached. "Kai, you've arrived just in time." She said, eyes flickering over to the people who had escorted me.

"I would have arrived a bit earlier, but I got held up." I said, calm now that I was in friendly territory. My eyes shifted in Sona's direction before I spoke again. "Thanks for sending Koneko, by the way. I was about to get jumped by like sixteen people."

Rias' eyes widened slightly, before she understood what I was saying. She turned to the other Devil Heiress, who was visibly irritated by the conversation. "Sona-"

Rias was interrupted by her friend. "The next time you want to invite unknown people into our school, Rias, just let me know." Sona said, clearly having dealt with similar things before.

Seeing the tension build in the room, I decided to play peacemaker. "Perhaps we should start over, then?" I said, before standing next to Rias and bowing to Sona. "My name is Kai Malek, Sacred Gear user and a training partner for Rias Gremory's Peerage. I apologize for any concern my arrival may have caused." I smiled at Sona, trying to be as friendly as possible. "I hope we can get along while I do business here."

Sona seemed to look at me with a new look, almost appraising me at a glance, before giving a curt nod in return. "My name is Sona Sitri, President of Kuoh Academy's Student Council and the next Head of the Sitri family. I go by the alias of Souna Shitouri, and when around humans you will refer to me by said alias." She then motioned to the woman standing next to her. "This is my Queen, Tsubaki Shinra, Vice-President of the Student Council."

I nodded to her Queen, receiving a nod in return. "A pleasure to meet you both." I said, satisfied that things were smoothed over for the time being. Rias seemed relieved, if only slightly, and the tension in the room was gone.

Sona turned to Rias, and the two seemed to have a silent conversation before Sona nodded again and turned around, leaving the clubroom with Tsubaki.

For a moment, the room was silent before it was broken by a very confused Issei. "Wait a second, the Prez and Vice-Prez are Devils too?" I took a moment to turn around, and faced the Red Dragon Emperor.

"Yup," I said. "Them and the entire student council, from what I saw." I then walked over and sat on one of the couches in the clubroom, before turning to Akeno. "Miss Himejima, would it be possible for me to have some of that tea of yours?" I asked. Akeno just smiled and poured me a cup, which I took carefully.

It really was quite good tea, probably the best I ever remembered having.

I took a long sip, savoring the flavor, before turning back to Rias, who looked a bit frustrated and ever so slightly sheepish. "I mean, to be fair, she did completely forget to tell Sona about me right after forgetting to tell Kiba about our spar." I thought to myself, taking another sip of tea.

Rias turned towards me, clearing her throat before speaking. "I'm sorry you had to see that, Sona is usually more amicable. She just doesn't take kindly to uninvited guests." She walked over to her desk, before taking a seat and grabbing her own cup of tea.

I smiled at the image. It was nice, being in this clubhouse, being with people. "If I am going to be training your peerage, I want to give you a few tips on things while I'm here." Rias perked up at that, confused but also curious.

"What kind of things, exactly?" She asked.

I debated telling her, before deciding to wait for a better time. "I'll explain once we get our training underway properly." I said, before turning to Rias' Knight and Pawn. "Did Rias tell you about what we would be doing today?" I asked, excited to begin training.

They both nodded, though Issei was still a bit confused. Kiba looked at me carefully, before speaking. "She told me that you wanted to spar with me, specifically. Could you explain why, Mr. Malek."

"Firstly," I said. "Just call me Kai, Mr. Malek makes me feel old. Secondly, it's because fighting literally anyone else in this peerage would result in an overwhelming victory or an overwhelming defeat."

Kiba looked confused before saying anything. "If I'm going to call you Kai than I ask you call me Kiba." He said diplomatically. "But I am unsure as to what you mean regarding a fight with everyone else here."

I smiled wider, glad that he was asking the right questions. "Gaining info before a fight?" I thought to myself. "A good strategy, if that's what he's going for." I decided to humor him for a moment. "Due to the nature of my Sacred Gear, I don't have a way to deal with fighters like your master or Ms. Himejima." I motioned to the two women in question.

"On the other hand," I said. "Koneko is someone who would either be defeated instantly or literally punch a hole through my chest and possibly kill me if I'm not careful. It would be over in a few strikes." I then nodded to Issei. "And I'm not going to fight someone as new as Issei." I turned back to the Knight. "Does that answer your question, Kiba?"

He nodded, seemingly satisfied with my answer. I finished the tea, stood up and turned to Rias. "So, shall we proceed, Lady Gremory? I want to get started as soon as possible." She nodded and lead me to a field behind the clubhouse, which was more than enough for what I would need. The field was grass, not wild but also not as well kept as the rest of the grass in the Academy.

"I guess nobody really cares about mowing this part of the lawn." I thought to myself. It made sense, nobody came back to this part of the school, except for the Devils. Even then, Rias' peerage didn't seem to train all that much, so it was pretty barren. But it would be enough.

I set my things aside, took off my shirt, and walked into the middle of the field. I heard Issei say something under his breath, but I ignored it. The sun shone overhead, and the surroundings were pretty quiet. No people around.

I turned back to Kiba, who had stopped a bit behind me. "So, we should probably talk about the rules for this little spar, yes?" He nodded, and I continued. "As you may know, I can heal pretty quickly. What the limits are of this healing, I have no idea, but I don't really want to find out. So please don't cut off anything, yeah?"

"That sounds reasonable enough." Kiba said, starting to get into a fighting position. "How do we determine a winner, then? First to concede?" As he spoke, a simple sword materialized into his palm, which he held with ease.

"Also if you are in a position to get a lethal blow." I said, getting into a boxing stance. "Or if you are going to remove a limb. I would say first blood, but I don't think I'll be able to make you bleed and I heal pretty fast. I'll try to keep the injuries to a minimum, though." In a flash, Pinnacle Form appeared around my wrists, and I felt Resonance enhancing my body, triggering Bullet Time and Hypersense.

"Lady Gremory!" I called out, getting Rias' attention. "Might we have a referee of some sorts, who can determine when the fight is over, as well as making sure we don't go too far?" Rias nodded and stood a bit closer to us, signifying she would be the one calling shots.

"Are both of you ready?" She asked us. We both nodded, muscles tensing, bodies coiled to move. To fight.

"Then begin." Rias said, and the battle was on.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Kiba Yuuto did not know what to think about this strange new human.

On one hand, he barely survived fighting the Fallen Angel, showing that he was at least a decent fighter. On the other hand, he was absolutely confident he could defeat Koneko, who was quite strong and exceptionally durable. She was surprisingly fast as well, for her size and stature. So how could this guy beat her when he had barely survived against the Fallen, someone Kiba knew would have been child's play for Koneko to defeat.

Could Kai have really improved so much in a few days? Or was there something else he was missing? Whatever it was, this fight would reveal at least something to the Knight.

As he pushed off the ground, sprinting at Kai, he realized that Kai was moving pretty slowly. His hands moved at a fraction of Kiba's own speed. The fight would be over in a few strikes if this was all Kai could muster. Though, the strange shimmer around his hands was something to be wary of.

What Kiba didn't notice, being too focused on Kai's hands, was that Kai's eyes were tracking him perfectly.

Kiba swung his sword downward, directly for Kai's shoulder. The blade approached at speeds almost invisible to the human eye. Ten feet away. Five feet. Two.

One.

As Kiba brought his sword down on his opponent, Kai moved, bringing a single hand up to graze the flat of Kiba's blade. He didn't push very hard, and he was still far slower than Kiba, but the amount of force he used was enough to move the path of the swing away from his body.

Kiba was so surprised that he almost missed Kai's other hand reaching for him, but Kiba was barely able to dance out of the way, putting some distance between him and his opponent.

"What the hell was that?" Kiba thought to himself, as he looked at his opponent with a newfound respect. "He isn't as fast as me, but to deflect my sword like that... his reaction time and sheer precision are insane."

"Is that all, Kiba?" Kai said, returning to that boxing stance, looking unsurprised by what he had done. "I know you can do more than that!" He shouted, beckoning him with his hand. "Come on, show me what you're capable of." Kiba paused, gathering himself, before shooting forwards at his opponent.

Before he reached Kai, however, Kiba stopped on a dime and dashed to the side, trying to circle around Kai. But no matter how quickly he moved, the human managed to stay facing him. "I won't be able to flank Kai if I keep this up." Kiba thought, staring into Kai's impassive face. "Let's try this!" Immediately, he changed direction, sprinting in at Kai to catch him off guard.

Before Kai could stop turning, Kiba was already swinging his sword. The blade closed in again, and though Kai was able to jump back, Kiba had scored a small gash in his side, just under his opponent's ribcage.

Kai grimaced, seeing some blood leaking out, before that strange distortion appeared around his hands again and he took that same pose, waiting for another attack.

"He never moves in to attack." Kiba noticed, slowly moving towards the human. "He knows that he can't keep up with me in raw speed, so he lets me make the first move." Kiba then leaned forwards, preparing to run. "But that also means I can plan my next move." And then an idea occurred to him.

Kiba began running in circles around his foe. "He can't react as quickly when I'm moving like this, so I should be able to land a hit on him." Kiba stopped again and dashed past Kai, grazing his arm and drawing more blood. "If he's fine with a few cuts, then how about a few dozen?"

Kiba kept dashing past Kai, before turning and dashing again. Each time he passed by, more and more cuts appeared on Kai's body, until the young man was covered in them. With every cut, Kai moved slower and slower, unable to counter Kiba's moves. Finally, he fell to his knees, arms trembling to hold himself up. Kiba saw his chance.

"This is my win!" He said, running in to strike one final time and end the fight.

Or at least, he would have, if things didn't go immediately wrong. Kiba was at a full sprint, but when he got within a few feet of Kai, his foot slipped. He fell, and Kai took advantage of that. The moment Kiba tumbled to the ground, Kai was on top of him, one hand around his throat and the other a few inches from his face, shimmering with power. On reflex, Kiba dropped his sword and grabbed at his neck, but the man's grip was like steel. It was over.

Kai was bleeding from pretty much everywhere on his body, but he managed to grin at Kiba, who could only look up, dumbfounded.

"Not bad, kid." The human said, as if he wasn't bleeding from every part of his body. "But this is my win."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Fighting Kiba had been an enlightening experience, to say the least.

I realized after his first hit that Bullet Time was much more effective than I had previously thought, and I was able to see him moving. After that, I realized the battle was foregone. I could have deflected or dodged his swings pretty much indefinitely, and if he found a way to hit me I could just Shatter his swords.

It was... disappointing. I worried he would be faster or smarter or... something! I never even threw a punch and I still won.

I had a lot of work to do with Kiba, and Issei would only be worse. To say nothing of the rest of the peerage. "I really have my work cut out for me here." I thought, before I stood up and held out a hand to the Knight. Kiba looked at my hand, still surprised, before taking it and letting me pull him up.

I turned around to look at the Rias and the rest of her peerage, who looked quite surprised. "So, Lady Gremory, was that demonstration adequate?" I asked, trying not to laugh at Issei, who's eyes were bugging out of his head.

Rias composed herself, before walking over to me. "Why did you stop?" She asked me. "You had him, but you didn't use magic or anything I could see, so why did you both stop?" She looked at Kiba, and he spluttered, trying to explain the reason.

I decided to step in. "Perhaps it would be better if I showed you?" I said, getting the attention of her and Kiba. "It's also why I didn't want to fight your Rook." I walked across the field to a large tree, and felt Resonance condensing in my palm.

"Do you need this tree for anything?" I asked, looking back at the Devils. "Or perhaps you have some other large object around that you all don't care for?"

Rias looked amused before answering. "If you're going to attack the tree, be my guest."

"Then you might want to stand back." I said, hearing both Rias and Kiba retreat to the rest of the Devils.

And then I Shattered the tree.

Instantly, there was a large cacophony of cracks, before the tree exploded in all directions. I had my free arm over my face with Resonance enhancing my skin, so the multitude of splinters that came my way just bounced off.

I turned around, grinning like an idiot at Rias. "That, Lady Gremory, is why." I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

Rias blinked before tilting her head. "Akeno or myself could have done a similar feat. As could have Koneko or Kiba, despite using swords. Kiba has been hit by such attacks before and survived. What makes that so special?"

I walked back over to the group, before grabbing my shirt, realizing I was still bleeding from everywhere, and set it back down. "Because, Lady Gremory, if I had grabbed Kiba's head with this power, that-" I pointed back to the tree that was strewn across the clearing. "Would have happened to his brain. I don't think I need to elaborate on why that would have been a bad idea."

Both Rias and her Knight paled and looked at me with slight apprehension. "That's why you didn't want to fight Koneko." Rias realized, looking back at her rook.

I nodded. "I'm not strong enough to actually trade punches with your Rook, so I would have had to use this power to win." I said. "I would have kept it to her arms and legs, but I'm not exactly a fan of doing that in a spar, or to kids for that matter."

Rias nodded shakily, and Koneko had wide eyes. I imagine it was strange for a Rook, to have their enhanced durability be flat-out ignored. It would be like a swordsman losing their sword.

"Oh, that reminds me." I said, bringing their attention back to me. "Kiba, would you mind giving me a sword?" He was confused, but a sword appeared in his hand, and he held it out to me.

I promptly put it in my hand and Shattered it into bits of light. "Okay good, that theory checks out." I said.

Kiba looked down, slightly dejected. "You could have done that at any time," He said slowly, turning his head back up at me. "Why didn't you? I cut you dozens of times and you could have stopped it whenever you wanted."

Seeing Akeno get a strange look in her eye, I rushed my answer. "Wanted to see what you would do, and nothing could be gained from a battle that's lost in a single hit." I said, staring straight at Kiba, refusing to look anywhere else (like in the general direction of the black-haired Super Sadomasochist.) "Now that I've fought you, I know what I need to do in order to make you stronger. But first," I turned, looking at Issei. "Think you can bring that Sacred Gear out, future Harem King?"

Issei looked amazed that I called him by such a title, and a red gauntlet with a green gem appeared on his left hand. "Okay, what do you want me to do?" He said nervously, eyes flickering to my hands.

I chuckled, before taking a few steps back into the clearing. "Use your Sacred Gear." I said. Issei looked down at his hand, and with a flash of green, the gauntlet called out, runic symbols glowing on the side of the gauntlet.

"BOOST!"

From the side of my vision, I could see Rias, Koneko and Akeno's eyes widen. Now they knew just as I did. I would just have to train him to truly awaken his power before he fought Raynare again.

"Good, good." I said, clapping my hands. "You have what is know as a Twice-Critical." I said, regaining Issei's attention. "It doubled your power at the cost of stamina, it's a low-tier Sacred Gear but it's pretty handy in a pinch."

Issei seemed a bit disappointed with that reveal. "That's all it does?" He said, looking down at his arm. "This thing blows."

I poked him in the forehead, causing him to step back and rub his face. "Hey, none of that!" I said, causing him to jump. "It just means you'll have to work harder, right? Do you want that harem or not?" That seemed to get him focused again, and he looked at me with that same steely gaze I saw a couple days prior.

"You got it, Kai!" He shouted, all fired up. "What do I do now?" He said, excited to begin his training.

I held out my arms, exposing the full front of my body, and slapped the center of my chest. "Punch me, hard as you can." I said, slapping the same spot again. "Right here, if you can manage."

Issei looked a bit surprised, but he walked a bit closer and tried to mimic the boxing stance I had against Kiba. "You sure?" He said. "I don't want to hurt you."

I motioned to my arms and chest, where the cuts Kiba had made had stopped bleeding, and a few of the smaller ones had already closed up. "I heal pretty fast, so you don't gotta worry about that. Now come on!" I shouted, feeling Resonance fill my chest.

Issei nodded, preparing himself, before he reared back, and with a shout, punched me in the chest.

He didn't hit as hard as I had hoped, but I did end up taking a step back, which was surprising. Then again, I was standing straight up, not in a stance or anything, so perhaps that was to be expected.

Though, I did notice that Issei's form was awful, which was also to be expected. He was cradling his hand, muttering a curse or two under his breath, when my hand landed on his shoulder.

"Good punch!" I said, smiling at him. "Form needs a little work, but that was pretty good for your first go at it." He looked at me, probably relieved that I didn't call him useless or something.

Instinctually, I ruffled his hair, causing him to pull away, before spending the next half hour showing him how to throw punches properly and having him practice for me until I was confident he had understood the form properly.

"Remember," I said. "Thumb under the fist, never to the side and ABSOLUTELY never inside your palm-"

"Or I'll break my thumb, I know." He said, slightly irritated. "Anything else you want me to do?" In response, I started listing off exercises he could do, basic workouts that he could do just about anywhere for beginners.

"I'll make some routines for you after today." I said, sending a glance Rias' way. "But until we get a proper place to train and really have some fun, we're gonna need to make do." I walked to a spot at the edge of the field where the trees were, and found a decently flat spot with some shade. I beckoned Issei over, and he followed with little issue.

"50 jumping jacks, 50 high-knees, 20 pushups, 30 sit-ups and 50 squats." I said, not pausing to take a breath. "After that, rest for five minutes and do it again."

Issei looked at me like I was crazy. To his credit he DID just see me win a fight by getting cut almost a hundred times and also Shatter a tree, so he may have had a point. But I didn't really care, I was here to make this kid a badass. Sanity is hardly needed for awesomeness, after all.

"Umm, Kai, I'm not exactly the most fit guy, you know." He said, rubbing the back of his head. "Maybe that's a bit too much-" I flicked him in the head again, and he swatted my hand away. "What the hell, man?" He shouted, rubbing his forehead.

I pointed to his left hand. "You're still twice as strong because of your Gear." I said. "And you're a Devil now, so you're stronger than you were as a human anyways. You should be able to do this." I looked at his face, and noticed he was still unsure, looking away. My smile faded. "Hey," I said gently, causing him to look at me. "You can do it, Issei. You got this." I said, holding out a fist. He looked at me, before smiling and bumping my fist.

"Yeah! Just you watch!" He said excitedly. I wondered how many times people had told him that in his life. Probably not enough.

I ruffled his hair again before walking back to Rias, who looked faintly amused. "So..." I said, now feeling slightly out of my depth. "Think I have some value as a trainer, Lady Gremory?"

She laughed, actually laughed for the first time since I met her. "You save my pawn's life, ask for nothing in return except to train with us, and then defeat my Knight without attacking him, and you think I'd turn you down?" She then held out her hand. "On my name as Rias Gremory, Heiress of the Gremory Family, I accept this gracious offer, Kai Malek. We will be in your care."

I couldn't keep the grin from my face. "Thank you, Lady Gremory. I won't let you down." I then leaned forwards, to whisper in her ear. "That feather-brained bitch won't know what hit him by the time I'm done with you all." She smiled at that, before a thought seemed to strike her.

"You said I had another method of defeating him, besides Issei and myself." She said, looking at her Pawn under the tree. "What did you mean by that?"

Instead of answering, I looked towards the rest of her peerage, who were just watching everything play out. "Kiba!" I called out. "I know we just had a spar, but are you up for a little bit more?"

Kiba looked at Koneko and Akeno, before straightening his shoulders and walking over to me, a newfound respect in his gaze. "I'm ready." He said calmly, though I could tell he was excited for what would come next.

I chuckled. "You say that, but you have no idea what I am going to teach you. It might be more than you expect, and it might be something you're not comfortable with." Before he could say anything, I held up my hand. "But remember, you're not just fighting for yourself, are you?" I sent a glance at Rias, then over at the other women of the peerage. "I will teach you how to keep them safe. Are you willing to learn, even if it's tough? Even if it's strange? Are you willing to grow, Kiba Yuuto?"

He paused, genuinely paused, before looking at his master, and his friends. The woman who gave him a chance to survive and the peerage that had helped him to live. "Please, show me how to keep them safe." He said, eyes bright with determination.

"...Good." I said, before I walked to another place in the clearing, motioning for Kiba to follow. "Issei!" I shouted to the boy, who was mid-rest. "Once you're done, come over here, we're gonna talk about Sacred Gears!" He nodded, and got to work doing more jumping jacks.

I turned to Kiba. "Now then, Knight of Gremory." I said, letting a slightly-too-excited grin show up on my face.

"The real training begins."

So, my last update was damn near a month ago.

I'm really sorry about that, I just kept putting it off as I am admittedly prone to do. Power of procrastination, baby.

OKAY, this chapter is up, and boy is there a lot. Training happens, powers gets names, people meet Kai, and Kiba gets beaten without Kai even doing anything (or did he?)

Also Issei is Issei but less of a freak. At least for now. Kai hasn't spent a lot of time around Issei, so there should be a bit more of that classic pervy Issei a bit later on.

And in classic Dragon fashion, it's 3:20 in the morning and I need to be awake at 7:30 for a full shift tomorrow. Fun. (Oh god why do I do this to myself?)

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'm gonna be a bit more bored this upcoming week, so I should have another chapter out this month. (I only updated once last month? What the shit?)

Alright, that's enough out of me. I need to do the whole sleep thing. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Let's see where Kai goes next.

Dragon out!