Well, color me flattered, over 300 favorites before I hit a dozen chapters. I can't thank all of you enough for all the support/feedback you've given me. Closing in on the end of Volume 1, and the meat of Season 1 from the cannon side of RWBY and Highschool DxD now, so strap in for a wild ride for the next few chapters!

To my (awesome) anon reviewers: My guys, I cant reply to your reviews when ya do it the way you did! That said: on OC's, I plan to be sparing with them, but with how wrapped up in canon events/schemes most secondary, tertiary and antagonistic characters from both franchises are dont have much time to go jumping between worlds. At least for now that is. On character bashing (in general): yea, no, that's tasteless at best, and usually just sloppy and/or lazy storytelling imho. Jaune unlocking devil Auras: Patience is a virtue, buddy, much like the escalation of tensions with the Fallen I've introduced, I don't aim to wreck the narrative by racing ahead to the short term fun bits when there's building blocks to be laid down for later on story arcs and adventures.

Side-note, it warms my withered heart just how much hatred has been directed at Suriel after the Peerage arc.

And without further ado, I dont own RWBY, Highschool DxD, or make a single gorram dime off of this fic. Enjoy the next chapter my friends.

Jaune, Pyrrha and Weiss are, more or less, patiently lounging in the waiting room of Shamrock Principles law office. "How does a guy end up with a name like Shamrock Principle, does he come from a family of lawyers or teachers or something?" Jaune wonders aloud from one of the cushy black leather armchairs.

Weiss looks up, standing out like a sore thumb against the warm russet-hued walls in the comfortable but not too brightly lamp-lit, shades half-drawn room, replies from her perch on a matching sofa "It's an alias he took on to avoid fiction with his family. They are traditionally lawyers, but Shamrocks road to his own practice was..."

Weiss glances at the receptionist, a deeply tanned bleach blond faunus with enough makeup and piercings that she might very well be a cleaned up streetwalker, and big, droopy ears that wouldn't be out of place on a basset hound. "Oh, you don't need to mince words Miss Schnee. Shamrocks willing to bend the rules and laws near to breaking to get a win for his clients."

Pyrrha looks up from the opposite side of the couch Weiss is on. "Bend the laws? Wasn't he nearly debared nearly a dozen times?" Her clipped tone and furrowed brow making her opinion on Vales slipperiest, shadiest celebrity lawyer fairly obvious.

The receptionist shrugs, and goes back to filing her nails. "Half of those were his family trying to get him away from practicing law to save face, and the other half was when he actively broke the law to win the case for his clients." Both Weiss and Pyrrhas faces are swiftly set into angry scowls at that revelation, which the receptionist just laughs at. "Oh, don't give me that face you two. He only takes stupid risks like that for those annoying, sob-story, may as well be pro bono charity cases. Jacques gets the letter of the law and not an inch more."

"You're... being awfully forthcoming." Jaune interjects, feeling more than a little wary of the chatty receptionists ease with what should be sensitive information.

She shrugs "Mr. Schnee may hire Shamrock on occasion, but he doesn't like word of it being spread around. His PR image is already bad enough. Add to that the fact that your friend is clearly old money or some sort of nobility from outside the kingdom, looking to break ties with her family for forcing an arranged marriage, and anything I tell you three isn't leaving this room in any meaningful manner."

"Huh, good point, didn't think of that." Jaune replies a bit flatly, earning a smirk from Pyrrha and an eye-roll from Weiss.

Jaunes scroll starts buzzing in his pocket, he pulls it out, to see 'Ravel' superimposed over a picture Kuisha had snapped of them chatting at one of the Young Devils Balls last year. Ravel, hair not in those ridiculous ponytails for once, but flowing freely down her back, in a slinky, form hugging powder-pink martini dress, left leg visible to the upper thigh where it extends from the dress' slit with how she is standing and Jaune looking, he likes to think, fairly good in his fitted black tuxedo. Both of them laughing over a joke someone off-screen had made with mostly full champagne flutes in their hands. Both Pyrrha and Weiss are frowning at him. He declines the call. Five times. "Hey, Ravel, whats up?"

The image on the other side of the scroll is a strange one, Ravel, wrapped up in a poofy crimson and red robe, face mostly obscured by a facial mask, looking more than a little pissed. "Jaune, you wouldn't happen to know where Rias is, would you?"

Crap. "Umm, no, why would I? And, umm, why are you asking?"

Ravels deep blue eyes narrow, her disbelief even more obvious than it would be were her hair not tied up and back to keep it out of the mask. "Because Riser just dragged me out of the spa to ask me if I know where 'his flighty fiance' has run off to this time. And you're her friend too, so it isn't that big of a stretch for her to flee to..." Ravel recognizes the stranger behind him on screen, and the unfamiliar room. "Actually, where are you, Jaune Arc? And who are you with?"

Jaune glances around nervously. Partial truths, lies of omission, he can manage those well enough when he needs to be deceptive. But an outright fabrication? Ravel will see right through him. He glances over at Pyrrha, who looks just as stricken as he feels, then Weiss, who simply looks lost. Shit.

"Oh, one of Jaunes sister, Saffron, is a student at Eastern Vale University was at a protest over the weekend. Some of the other students got a bit, out of hand, I'm sure you know how those things go, ma'am." Jaune shifts the screen so the receptionist currently saving his and Rias' bacon is on screen. "His good friend, Weiss, offered to set Mr. Arcs sister up with a consult here at the firm, in case the VPD decides to bring her in for some reason. Of course, Saffron had nothing to do with the unrest and any such police action would be spurious accusations and profiling, we would defend her pro bono were any charges pressed."

Ravel blinks owlishly at the receptionist, before collecting herself and replying "I see. I'm sorry for having taken your time ma'am." The receptionist nods, a solicitous smile on her face. Jaune feels a slender hand pushing his mouth shut as he turns his scroll back to face Pyrrha, Weiss and himself. "So you're just as clueless where she went as I am then. Sorry for jumping to conclusions, Jaune. It's just that wherever Rias went her, scroll, isn't getting any reception. Calls go right to voice-mail,and texts cant be received. You know how Riser can be."

Jaune arches an eyebrow at the other blond. "Do you really want me to answer that honestly, Ravel?"

Frowning, one hand going to her hip, Ravel counters "He isn't nearly as bad as you and Rias' like to say he is, Jaune." Not replying to her defense of Riser serves just as well as a blisteringly stern rebuke would. The silence swiftly becoming uncomfortable she continues "Right, I'll let you and your friends get back to worrying about your sister then. Enjoy the rest of your day, Jaune."

Jaune nods, he and Pyrrha return the pleasantry, and the call is ended. No later than his scroll is in his pocket the receptionist shifts in her seat to shout "Clocks running out, boss!"

Less than five minutes later a stunned looking Rias walks out of the sole office in the suite, clutching a manila envelop to her chest like a toddler would a doll. Shortly behind her is a stocky man in his middle years, with a clean shaven face and neatly trimmed chestnut brown hair. He's clad in a forest green suit fitted to make his thick frame seem more powerful than pudgy. His face is sporting the same cheshire grin that has seen cartel bosses walk free, pimps collecting payments from the Kingdom and murderers receive a light slap on the wrist. "It's been a pleasure working with you, Miss Gremory. I hope we will be able to do so again under, more favorable, circumstances."

Rias thanks the man, and the four teens make their way out of the strip mall office, shielding their eyes from the late afternoon glare as they look around the mostly abandoned parking lot. Two other units on the strip mall are abandoned, a convenience store that takes up enough space to probably have been two units at some point has a handful of customers visible through the full wall windows, where they aren't plastered with advertisements and sale signs. The hot-shot lawyers office had been shockingly close to one of the seedier parts of the Kingdom, close enough that were the quartet would be terrified to be walking the streets so close to dusk were they not as powerful as they are.

The last unit on the strip mall looks to be a combat school, but "Striking Serpent" looks fairly run down, and this close to the slums Jaune doubts it has any students making it into Beacon more than once or twice a decade. A quartet of thuggish looking men in matching cheap suits, red ties hanging loose and wide brim, crimson banded fedoras resting on their heads leave the school as his eyes fall on it. All four have workout bags in their hands and look utterly beat.

For a moment, the thugs bristle like they want to start a fight, until Weiss' scroll begins to blare out a poppy rock tune, the one the heiress' and her partner had been caterwauling the night the two teams had went out clubbing, if Jaune isn't mistaken. One of the thugs eyes bug out at the image on the screen, probably one Weiss had snapped of her partner during combat class, considering Crescent Rose is unfurled and there is no ground in sight, and grabs two of the others shoulders, shaking his head.

Jaune is too engrossed in watching the hired muscles perplexing and rapid flight from what, currently, look like three pretty teenage girls and a wiry kid the same age, to catch any of Weiss conversation. He turns back to his friends just as the Schnee is sliding her scroll back into her white leather purse where it rests on her pale purple, knee length pencil skirt clad hips. Her white, form hugging blouse accentuating her modest bust without showing any of it. "I hope the three of you don't mind if I split off from you here. My team is getting dinner at a noodle place that isn't too far of a walk, but it isn't in the same direction as the bullhead docks either."

Jaune looks at his, friend – he hopes at least, who currently looks every inch the heiress she is, with none of the dangerous air she normally carries about her as a huntress in training. It's less than three blocks from one of the rougher parts of town, and dusk is closing in on them. "Are you sure you'll be alright on your own, Snow Angel?"

Weiss, scowling, pulls her scroll back out, and starts tapping at the screen. Moments later, her rocket-locker touches down, the heiress grabs Myrtenaster out of it, slams the door shut, slaps it on its way back to the academy, and shoves her weapon through one of her skirts belt loops. Pyrrha side-eyes her partner with a slight frown, and Rias poorly disguises her chuckling at the exchange as a cough. "Its been a pleasure to meet you, Rias. Hopefully you wont need to use what Mr. Principle wrote up for you, but if you do..."

Rias, still clad in her Kuoh Academy uniform, waves the Heiress off "Don't worry, I have enough funds and friends that are strictly mine to not need to worry too much about the ensuing what-ifs." Weiss crosses the street to head off towards her teammates, while Rias, Pyrrha and himself turn to the left to make their way back to the bullhead docks. With Rias on his left and Pyrrha on his right, they look like a trio of high school students headed home for the day. Pyrrha, clad in a pair of fitted and faded jeans, as well as a shirt nearly the same shade as her hair, which is currently falling down her back unbound. Emblazoned on the shirt is a silhouette of herself from behind, likely walking towards a match, 'invincible' scrawled under the images feet in the place of ground, Pyrrha looks more like a Pyrrha Nikos fangirl than the genuine article, and could easily pass for Rias sister. After half a block of walking more or less in silence, Rias interjects "Jaune, I'm sorry for accidentally intruding on your territory, but I formed a pact with Mr. Principle instead of paying him in lien."

Jaune misses a step and nearly trips at that. "You – How?"

She shrugs "I had him word a few things differently enough from the norm and requested enough extra clauses that he figured out I wasnt having the articles drawn up for any Remnantian nation. He pressed for answers, and I ended up explaining the supernatural world as we know it to him. We ended up forming a pact as payment, and I'm pretty sure he'll be a regular customer for me, considering he had me leave his a handful of summoning circles."

Jaune chuckles, and shakes his head. "It's fine, Rias. Do I even want to know what you ended up doing for him?"

Rias waves her finger at him "Even if you wanted to, confidentiality on my end is part of the pact. You don't need to worry though, it was a fairly benign request." The trio falls more or less silent at that, as they arrive at the bullhead docks. There is a fairly large crowd of Beacon students as well as their friends and family, so the trio sticks to innocuous chatter about friends and funny happenings at their respective schools. The bullhead they end up on is nearly full, and, once they reach Beacon is almost immediately filled again by family and faculty leaving for the night. Once they reach JNPRs dorm, Rias brings talk back to more serious matters. "So, Jaune, is there any reason you recreated the Suicide Forest so close to beacon?"

Nora looks up from her desk, startled from her homework both by the trios return and Rias words "He made a what now?"

"The desecrated ground out in the forest. One of the reasons devils don't normally create it, especially as a safe haven for our own on Earth, and Remnant, now, is that supernaturally unaware humans feel, compelled, to act on their desires when they are on it." Rias explains.

Ren pokes his head over the edge of his bed "That doesn't explain how Jaune made a Suicide Forest."

Rias shakes her head "Well, it isn't guaranteed to become a suicide forest, but desecrated ground tends to develop leanings the same as reincarnated devils." She plants a hand on her hip, slipping into 'lecture' mode as Jaune and Pyrrha flop onto the futon, the former looking sheepish and guilty, the latter genuinely curious. "And, a secluded forest, with plenty of places a person could hide away in while you stew in your own misery and depression, combined with the general accepting, safe feel a desecrated sanctuary like what Jaune made will have for anything not angelic..."

Nora winces "Yea, I can see how that might turn into a suicide hot-spot."

"Hey, its secluded enough, and a dangerous place for civilians to get to, so it could just end up a place where students can hunker down and catch a breath when their out training or culling grimm." Jaune tries to defend himself.

Rias levels a slightly judgmental glare at him "Sure, that could totally happen. And if you and your team has enough kinky sex out there, it could end up Remnants Impregnation Forest."

Pyrrha and Nora both blush at that, and Ren retreats back over the edge of his bed and to the textbook he had apparently been reading before their return. And Jaune freezes up. For a moment. Until what Rias had jokingly suggested sinks in and his eyes bug out. Had he been eating or drinking anything he'd probably be hacking a lung out right now. "Fine, fine, I'll ward the area so that humans have a strong aversion to entering it. It'll probably be good practice for Ren and Pyrrha too." Nora pouts at that, but considering that all she has been able to consciously accomplish with her magic thus far is teleportation between summoning circles, it isn't an unfair statement.

Rias chuckles at JNPRs byplay, before centering herself on the rug covering the summoning circle. "Thank you again for the help, Jaune. Hopefully I wont need to use it, but..."

Jaune nods "More options is always better. You'll let me know how things turn out?"

Still grinning, Rias replies "It'd be hard not to, considering I plan on relocating my peerage to Remnant if I have to go with this plan." She hefts the envelope Shamrock had enclosed the documentation he drew up for her in at the end of the sentence.

Before Jaune can so much as utter a 'wait what' Rias vanishes in a flash of crimson. For a few moments the quartet of hunters in training just sit there, stunned by the other devils revelation and sudden departure. "Did, did she just..." Pyrrha trails off, clearly as much at a loss for something to say as the rest of her team.

The silence holds for a few more minutes. Nora is the next to break it "So, why are her magic circles red and ours are all that weird dirty tie dye effect?"

Jaune finally recovers enough to chuckle at Rias' playful way of telling him her plans should her brother not acquiesce to her wishes and call off her engagement. He's talked with Sona enough times to know Rias and her peerage are quite accommodating as far as neighbors go. "Oh, that's an easy one. Most devils magic circles are tied to their family, and, in the case of members of the Pillars or nobility, a filial affinity. When a devil is re-incarnated or recruited into a peerage they become part of their Kings household, and get the family magic circle as well."

Jaune pauses, remembering that he had finished one of his side projects the night before, and deciding now is as good a time as any to distribute the results. "So, in theory, were any of you to reach High Class, and decide to start your own peerage, your magic circle would revert to what your own filial circle would be. Though, with all four of us being reincarnated devils, our current circles are probably personal, and the filial circles would be a mix of our own and who we end up having kids with."

"Don't you mean who we end up marrying?" Pyrrha interjects as Jaune backs away from his desk to see her shifted on the futon to look out their window, and Nora with her face all but buried in her homework.

He shrugs "I mean, ideally, yea, but, well, life doesn't always go the way it should." He starts handing out the small slips of paper he had retrieved from his desk. "These are summoning circles keyed to each of us, and, if I got everything right, one of us activating our copies should be the mental equivalent of an emergency siren to the rest of the team."

"Why would we..." Nora trails off as she looks at the tags Jaune had handed her, probably remembering the fact that he had had to bring everyone on the team aside from himself back from the dead as devils over the space of two days. Everyone stays quiet for a few moments before Nora presses on "Right, if any of us are alone and in danger, or something super suspicious is happening, bring all of us in." Pyrrha nods at that, and Ren hums in agreement from his bed. Accepting the stilted acknowledgment of his plan as enough, Jaune moves to his desk to start on his essay for Ooblecks class tomorrow. He'd probably put it off for too long, but if he can eke out a C he'll call it a win.

_-*R-DxD*-_

"Despite having emerged victorious from the Faunus Wars, many faunus, especially veterans and former..."

Yang leans over Jaunes shoulder as he does his best to focus on Ooblecks lecture "Hey, Jaune, whats the real scoop on your friend from the other day?"

"Huh?" Jaune suavely responds to his friend shocking him out of his near torpor trying to follow the professors ramblings. "Oh, you mean Rias. Like I told you four when we were trying to convince Weiss to help her out, she's from old money. Parents don't want her marrying below her station and all that."

Yang glares at him and crosses her arms, the action, combined with her uniform causes her bust to stand out even more than usual. "Yea, bullshit. Weiss may have bought it, but people just don't do crap like arranged marriages anymore."

"Like I said, she isn't from Vale. Shes Vacuan." Jaune shoots back, doggedly sticking to his guns and their cover story.

Yangs glare doesn't soften, nor does she look away from the blond devil. "Hey, Doc?" About half the class snickers at that. This is far from the first time a student, or group of them who had been blatantly ignoring the scatter-brained professor ask him a question mid-lecture to settle a debate or slake their own curiosity on a subject. Or get him talking about something more interesting. It really could be either most of the time.

The bespectacled professor all but teleports to the stairs next to where teams RWBY and JNPR are sitting. Ruby nearly jumps out of her skin and lets out a yelp as the professors sudden appearance startles her awake, earning her a glare from Weiss and a look of sympathy from Pyrrha. "Yes, Miss Xiao Long?"

Yang spends a few moments blinking and trying to collect her thoughts, before asking "Do, um, do any of the kingdoms still practice arranged marriages?" The brawler asking her question drawing Ooblecks attention just long enough for Blake to slip her novel back into her bookbag, leaving only her textbook and notebook in front of her.

Smirking, the professor darts away to stand near his desk again "No, Miss Xiao Long, Vale is perhaps the most forward-thinking Kingdom in that regard. Atlas' upper class are notoriously inclusive, and, while they rarely go so far, I doubt Miss Schnee, or her siblings will be allowed to wed anyone who hasn't been carefully vetted by Jacques. Mistrals wealthy are more concerned with which criminal syndicates those their children become besotted with are affiliated with than station of birth, though special attention is payed to the connections any nuptials may form. Menagerie may, technically, be considered as contemporaries to Vale, but many rearwards thinking scholars do not yet consider it a Kingdom in its own right, and even then, only the Belladonnas and Albains have been consistently wealthy and influential to be considered nobility."

About half the class turns to Blake at that, who mumbles "Not related, obviously." at their attention, though she looks more sad than her usual aloof, nearly apathetic nature after her refutal.

Oobleck frowns for a moment as well, before continuing. "Finally, Vacuo, still being a functional oligarchy despite having elections and many of the other trappings of modern democracy, is the only nation where the wealthy and influential can still be considered Nobles, not simply upper class. In Vacuo an arranged marriages are commonplace amongst the nobility, though whether that is to keep a firm grip on what little power there is to hold, or undo the damages centuries of inbreeding did to Vacuan nobilities gene pool up for debate. The Nobles are quite tight-lipped about it, and, surprisingly, simply asking them which it is gets you thrown out of galas and not invited back."

As Oobleck begins to go on about different forms of government, and their evolution over the course of history, many of the students again tune him out, maybe one or two out of any given team paying proper attention. Yang is the first in Jaunes group of friends to speak up "Alright, so I guess you weren't lying about how she's more or less stuck with that creep. Still doesn't explain why her parents would agree to it. I mean, from the pics he sent her you'd think the guy has his own harem."

Jaune grimaces at that "He does. Its disguised as his personal Domestic Staff and bodyguards, but..."

Nora, voice barely above a growl, interjects "I still don't get why those girls put up with it though."

"Most of them were lower class, living on the streets, or in some other compromised position when Riser found them." Jaune answers with a shrug. "To them, employment by a Noble houses third son, even if its common knowledge what his staff ends up doing for him beat the alternative. Even if it means sharing for the ones that ended up falling for him."

Pyrrha, looking a bit green, prompts "Jaune, I know he has his sister, Ravel... working, for him. Do they?"

Weiss all but gags, Yang looks ready to head to the nearest airship dock to mete out justice, Blake is blushing slightly and glancing at her bookbag where the notebook she doesn't think anyone knows she has rests, and Ruby is blinking owlishly as Pyrrha struggles to maintain eye contact with him. "No. She, respects Riser more than anyone else on Remnant, nearly to the point of hero-worship, but she puts her foot down when its important. Riser lets some of the more... set in their ways, traditionalists think what they like, and is strong enough to teach any of the other nobles too dumb to get his ploy a lesson in, quiet, duels. He's easily the best fighter in his family, despite having two older brothers, and Ravel not being a slouch."

The other prospective hunters and huntresses calm down at that. However, Ruby does press "That still doesn't answer the question about why her family agreed to the marriage, Jaune. Or why Weiss didn't know about the Gremory and Phenex families." Weiss bristles at the tail end of her partners blunt statement, clearly not liking the implication that she is ignorant as to the affairs of the rich and powerful compared to Jaune.

He sighs, really having hoped the tidbit of, admittedly doctored, information on Riser would distract his human friends. At least he'll be able to lay the groundwork for Rias coming to Vale should she need to go through with the escape option from Riser she had had helped her craft yesterday. "Ehh, they're only regional nobility, not big international players like the Schnee are." Weiss calms at that, though she still has a scowl on her face that could strip paint. "Plus, the Gremory are in a strange situation on top of that. Her older brother, Sirzechs, is the governor of the province they live in, so his son, and Rias' nephew Millicas, will inherit the seat of the province if the Gremory aren't voted out. However, as Governor, Sirzechs cant inherit the rest of the Gremories holdings and assets, so Rias will be the head of the Gremory House eventually."

Weiss scowls, but her features carry a hint of begrudging admiration "So, by forcing this marriage through, the Phenex House gains massive control over the Gremory. Enough that it isn't that big of a stretch for one of Risers older brothers to be able to overthrow, or at least depose, Sirzechs, through political pressure." Jaune nods at the heiress assessment. "I'm guessing that financially..."

"Both are based in one of the bigger port cities to the northeast of Vacuo city proper. The Gremory have controlling interests in several of the maritime and airship freight companies that connect Vacuo to Atlas and Vale via Patch. The Phenex have a comparable stake in the overland interests connecting the ports to the rest of Vacuo." He pauses, notices Weiss inquisitive face, adds "Lord Phenex cornered Zeoticus Gremory during a ball a few years ago. If Rias cant get herself out, House Gremory is..."

Weiss nods, though the rest of teams JNPR and RWBY look utterly lost "Her leaving the family may even be for the best in the long term compared to a snare like that. Unless, of course, a more powerful family were to move in."

Jaune shoots Weiss a flat look "Weiss, I know I asked for your help in this, but an arranged marriage to a different family only technically solves Rias' problem. If she marries she wants to do it for love, not politics." He pauses when Weiss deflates a bit at that, but he presses on anyways "Besides, outside help in a manner like this would be as good as blood in shark infested waters."

The heiress sighs "Yes, I know. And I will keep to my word and not contact father about this until the situation is resolved."

At that, the bell rings, and the rest of the students begin standing to leave for their next class. "So, could anyone else follow that?" Ruby asks without a trace of shame in her voice.

"Nope. Anyone pay attention to the rest of Ooblecks lecture? Chances are some of what he went over today will end up on the test." Nora chirps back, Yang nods in agreement as she clears the assorted chip bags and candy wrappers she had been snacking on the entire period from the table intended to hold books and notebooks.

"I did." Ren interjects, both Pyrrha and Blake waggling their hands to imply they had caught some of what the professor had said.

Jaune scratches at the back of his head, more than a bit embarrassed at how distracted he hand ended up "Mind sharing?"

Blake shoots an unamused half-glare at the less studious members of the teams "Only if you don't make a habit of it."

_-*R-DxD*-_

The rest of the day had been, not exactly tiring, but it had played out far from smoothly. By the time JNPR return to their dorm, all that the four of them want to do is zone out for a few hours, then sleep. Which they are able to start, at least. Until Jaune feels not one, but four familiar tugs at the back of his mind not too long after sunset. Recognizing that none of the summon requests are the sort that get forwarded to, specialists, he does his duty as King and distributes three of them to his team and peerage. "Hate to be the bearer of bad news guys, but we're all being summoned."

Pyrrha tilts her head, then flinches as Jaune shuffles the request he had decided to allocate to her over. "So, how does this work?" Nora asks, before she jumps as the strange sensation startles her as well.

"Normally, the person uses a summoning circle specifically keyed to the devil they want to summon. After the first visit, you schedule any repeat summons." Jaune explains, as he transfers over Rens request. "Problem is, devils aren't exactly established on Remnant, and the three of you have only been devils for a few days. So the circles that have been distributed are only keyed to the peerage, not any person in particular."

Pyrrha, looking a bit apprehensive, interjects "So, anyone can summon us whenever they want?"

Jaune shakes his head "The ritual mortals have to use to activate the circle specifies that it needs to be after sunset, but before midnight. And that is only for the arcane equivalent of a walk-in customer. And even then, you still have to respond by actually teleporting to the summoner." He pauses, before gesturing at the where the circle lies hidden. "Normally you have to make your own circle, but me etching one into the floor saves a bit of effort. Now, wings out, strike an impressive pose, and try your best to form a pact. I'll go last."

Nora is the first to go, wings flared wide, fists planted on her hips, a wide grin on her face and feet firmly planted at shoulder width before she vanishes in a flash. Ren is next, his wings extended as high as he can get them, eyes closed, head tilted back and arms flung wide before he, too, vanishes. Pyrrha falls into a languid ready stance, wings half-folded behind her in a way that would have them out of the way in a fight, but still visible. Peerage seen off, Jaune flares his own wings wide, crosses his arm, and lets a small, almost cocky grin cross his face before teleporting to his summoner. As the light clears, the first thing he notices is that the room he is now in is, very, familiar. Identical, in fact, save for the beds and desks being in different places, and different furniture.

Then a mortified shriek pierces his ears, and he turns to see one Velvet Scarletina pulling her onesies zipper shut in a panic on the floor. Sitting on the brown leather couch, Coco is similarly buttoning up her black silk pajama top back up. Hints of poofy powder pink, and slender slivers of disks barely darker than pale skin warring to either stay in or be purged from his mind. "Umm, Jaune, what are you doing here?" The RA prompts. "If this is some prank you're pulling with your semblance..."

Velvet finally finishes closing up her pajamas and scampers back onto the couch, face as red as Pyrrhas hair, where she grabs a bottle of some sort of clear alcohol and taking a quick drag off of it. "I'm a devil, you summoned me. This is the part where we figure out what you want to form a pact with me." CFVYs dorm has a pair of bunk beds, one to either side of the couch the two girls are sitting on which is centered in front of the window. Past the bunks are a pair of desks along either wall, then a decent sized TV to one side of the door, and a massive wardrobe on the other. Between the desks three other, regular sized, dressers sit.

Velvet looks between her scowling leader and the smirking underclassman "Umm, are you, are you actually-" Jaune retracts just his left wing, extends it and retracts the right, flares them both then retracts them a final time, spinning a few magic circles to life and setting them to orbit around him before blinking them out of existence as well.

For a few moments the dorm room is silent, until Coco breaks it "Right. One of this years freshmen is a devil. I... how does that even work? I mean, we weren't expecting a stooge in a red jumpsuit, but, well..." Coco trails off, before taking the glass next to her on the end table and sipping from it, clearly trying to get her usual 'too cool' demeanor back in place.

Jaune shrugs "I was pretty stupid as a kid. Got reincarnated as a devil at six." He pauses, tries to think of a nicer way to ask what has been bugging him since he showed up in the dorm down the hallway "So, since you got me, not a devil gigolo, getting ravished by a supernatural lover wasn't in you plans." Velvets blush comes back with a vengeance, and Coco flinches at that. "So, why weren't you two all the way dressed when you summoned me?" Noticing that both of them look a touch buzzed, he decides to press on "And, if you dont mind me asking, whats the occasion?"

Blush slowly fading again, Velvet forces a chuckle, and answers "Well, we didn't actually expect the whole 'summoning a devil' thing to work."

"And its my birthday!" Coco exclaims, thrusting her right fist into the air. "Yats an Fox are out getting a place ready for my actual party this weekend, so me an the Bun are having a girls night."

Velvet looks over to her leader, then Jaune, before asking "So, whats it like, being a devil?"

Taking the implied invitation, Jaune plops down on one of team CFVYs chairs "A lot of this, though, admittedly less awkward, plus life or death battles with fringe elements of other supernatural communities, and magical monster cleanup to keep the mortals blissfully ignorant." He pauses to glance between the two girls. "Add in a healthy dose of politicking and intrigue to, for the devils attached to the upper nobility like I am."

"Whats it like?" Coco all but blurts, before swiftly looking away and taking another drink. When she is greeted with silence, a dumbly blinking Jaune, and Velvet doing her best to act like she hadn't heard her best friends knee-jerk question, Coco extrapolates. "I mean, actually participating at the high-society functions."

Jaune scratches at the back of his head, more than a little self-conscious of his normally... sub-par showings at the assorted balls, galas and soirees he has been too over the years as a member of Sairoargs peerage. "I mean, I'm at them, but..." Coco Adel pouts at him. An honest, sad, hurt little pout that is completely at odds with the image she normally puts forward. And if that hadn't been enough to get him to reconsider his evasion, the glare Velvet is doing her best to shoot at him is enough to seal the deal. "Well, I kinda make a fool of myself a lot, but, I suppose I can tell a few stories. Though, I am kinda curios as to how your modeling career hasn't landed you an invite or two to wine and dine with the rich and famous, Coco."

As the words tumble out of his mouth, Jaune becomes aware of Velvet shaking her head and waving her hands at him. As the last words fill the air, Velvets head drops into her hands with a whimper. Cocos face rapidly shifts to an angry sneer. "First off, Arc, my career is as a huntress, the modeling gig is just a paycheck for tuition. Second, and I would expect you to know this if youreally had been to any actual high society parties, models are only ever there as arm-candy plus ones, to be seen, not heard."

Jaune winces at the fashionistas outburst, guessing that he had stepped on a nerve inadvertently. "Is being a model really that bad?"

With a growl Coco reaches over to grab her glass from the table and takes a swig from it. "Gods yes! Everyone assumes I'm all looks and no brains when they first meet me. I mean, hello, huntress in training here! I can kick ass and look damn good doing it, thank you very much!" Jaune opens his mouth to interject, but the older teen is, apparently, on a roll. "Plus the whole industry is rotten to the core." The model by necessity pushes herself up and starts pacing. "If it isn't the other models and critics constantly sniping you and nitpicking, which is just-" she lets out a frustrated growl in the pause between gesticulations. "Being good looking is pretty much a given for models, but everyone has something they can find about everyone else that they think counts as a reason to have anyone other than themselves or their favorite ran out of the industry! Is a pointlessly bad self-esteem fueled vicious circle."

"Coco, please-" Velvet tries to calm her partner, but the taller brunette seems to be on the warpath.

Still pacing, barely pausing to look at her partner or guest, Coco presses on, heedless of how one-sided the discourse had become. "And then there's the agencies. If they aren't enabling or encouraging to overly-perfectionist body image standards, they're treating their talent like disposable livestock they can squeeze for every lien they're good for then throw out! Do you know what the first contract I got offered was, Arc?"

Blinking, and stuck somewhere between scared and aroused at Cocos now red-faced, lightly sweating and panting visage, her hair a mess from her gesticulations and a few of her tops buttons having worked loose, Jaune does his best to muster a response. "Umm, no?" It isn't impressive.

"My first contract," Coco seethes, stopping to clench her fists and eyes shut. "had a clause in it that I would do my first adult shoot no more than twenty four hours after I turned eighteen." Jaune can feel his mouth drop open in shock, and Velvet lets out a small growl at that revelation. "Yea, happy birthday Coco, time to get your cherry popped on a casting couch!" She starts pacing again, showing no signs of calming. "If my grandma wasn't as vicious as a nevermore and twice as clever they might have snuck it through too. When it became obvious my huntress training wasn't just a phase they could use to get me pageant wins, they tried to sneak it back in for when I turned seventeen and started Beacon!"

She is nearly shouting now. "Coco, please calm down, you're nearly halfway done then your done with it." Her accent making her plea seem even more plaintive as she gestures to her leader and, Jaune assumes, best friend.

Coco stomps to a halt, and takes a deep breath, eyes closed, before resuming her pacing, albeit at a more sedate pace. "On top of all of that bullshit, when I finally get a chance to enjoy one of the big fringe benefits my shitty exploitative dayjob has, I find out my only purpose at the party is to make my date look good, and maybe give the tabloids and celebrity news rags an easy article!" Jaune opens his mouth to apologize, but, again, Coco isn't anywhere near ready to calm, or slow down. "Hell, its been three gods-damned years since I last got a chance to go to one because the odds were stacked against me before my agent even cleared me for the date!"

"Wait, your agent cleared the date?" Jaune cuts in. His recent interaction with Rias having him more aware than usual of unwilling participants in relationships.

Coco turns on her heal to glare at him, though it softens when she sees what is probably a defensive, slightly angry look, on his face. "Jaune, I'm a brand name, not a person as far as my agency is concerned. So when that Atlesian philanthropist Aurelius Marigolds kid got a crush on me, he called in a favor with my boss's boss. Before I even caught wind of a rumor I was on a bullhead to Atlas, ears still ringing from my agent telling me in no uncertain terms that I'm only to speak to anyone other than my date when spoken too, not cause a scene, and make sure the paparazzi catch me dancing with Henry a few times."

The pacing starts back up again, Cocos voice barely more than a growl as she continues her story. "So I spend all night dodging my so-called dates attempts to grope me, despite the fact that he had half a decade on me, and hoping someone that isn't a lecherous pedo will try to strike up a conversation with me." She scoffs at her own comment, before wheeling around again to glare, probably unintentionally, at Velvet and Jaune. "Do you know how much attention anyone who is at a party with one of the guests, not as a guest gets at the sort of parties Jacques Schnee attends?"

Silence hangs in the air for almost a minute at Coco's question, both of the rooms other occupants almost afraid to answer. Coco lets out a huff, then answers "Less than none. Six, miserable, hours dancing with an asshole, listening to him prattle at me and try skeevy pick-up lines. I remember that Weiss was following her father around the whole time, looking as miserable as I felt. Three different times while Henry was gone in the bathroom, and twice when he was leaned over a balcony puking, I nearly walked over to try talking to her. I mean, her sister had made a huge fuss a few years before that when she joined the army, and got disinherited by Jacques for it; and the rumor was Weiss' wanted to go into the same career as me. Decided to play it safe and do what my agent said. I needed the job if I wanted to get to be a huntress, after all."

"What happened?" Jaune prompts, already having a sinking feeling in his gut, and pretty sure he can seal a pact with some stories, considering how Coco is rattling on and Velvet looks ready to scream or cry.

Coco flops back down onto the couch across from Velvet, and takes a long drink from her glass. "I got woke up half an hour before my alarm clock went off the next day when my scroll started going off. I was in my agents office less than half an hour later, termination papers sitting on his desk next to just about every celebrity news magazine you can think of spread out to show either pictures of me or Weiss from the night before." She splays her hands out over her head, miming a marquee board or headline. "Headlines all pretty much read 'Adel Snubs Schnee Heiress at Birthday Party.' Turns out Jacques was using his daughters birthday to drum up good PR and smooth feathers after another round of riots after he sent faunus workers back into the mines when they tried to strike after a cave-in."

Both Jaune and Velvet flinch at that. "I'm guessing you were able to talk you're way out of getting fired?" Jaune ventures, trying to sound curious and hopeful, despite his anger at the treatment of, and hand in life his RA, and, hopefully, eventual friend had been dealt.

Coco nods at Jaunes assumption "I was able to get my agent on his scroll with Aurelius. Papa Marigold didn't pull many punches about his sons social decorum. Laid it out pretty plainly that he only showed up for the free food and drinks. Still, that's the closest I ever got to being part of high society, and all it nearly cost me was my dream."

Silence reigns for a few minutes after that, Coco trying to reign her emotions back in, Jaune trying to keep his foot away from his mouth, and Velvet looking pensive and nervous. The rabbit faunus eventually breaks the silence "So, Jaune, on the forum we found the summoning ritual on, it said something about forming a pact and payment.."

Jaune cocks a grin at Velvets offered segue "Yea, normally, when you summon a devil, they do something for you, you give them a token of your gratitude, the pact is sealed, and both parties are happy. If the devil cant do anything for you that you couldn't get yourself, no token, no pact, that's it. If you're really happy with what you got, book another summoning, everyone wins."

Coco, still looking more than a little keyed up, replies "So, about those stories I asked about... before."

Grinning like the cat that got the canary, Jaune leans back in the chair he's sitting in, and tries to figure out what story to start with. He doesn't think that he will be able to get off this easy with Velvet and Coco in the future, but for tonight, an easy pact is an easy pact.

_-*R-DxD*-_

Jaune teleports back to his teams dorm-room, slightly buzzed and grinning from having formed a too-easy pact to an, interesting, sight. Ren sitting on his meditation mat, but not using it, looking somewhere between worried and triumphant, clearly feeling a bit more powerful than he had before teleporting away to his summon. Nora is scowling at the floor, arms crossed from her seat on the teams futon. Pyrrha is already changed into her tan pajama shirt and pants, and is studiously typing away at some assignment. At first, he assumes his partners summoning had been a success, like Rens had probably been. Until he spots the ghost of a scowl on the voluptuous redheads face, that, on anyone but the exceedingly polite girl would likely be a mask of rage.

Jaune suppresses a sigh, and, knowing it is his duty as King, asks "So, how did your first summons' go?" Despite being fairly certain he already knows the answers.

Razmire, my guy, you were close, so, SO close to the mark in your review!

Gamelover41592, once again, thanks again for the save with my oversight in the last chapter.

Coming soon: Stray Devils! Forever Fall and familiars! The Stray and Rias' peerages mock Rating Game!

All that said and done, Love it? Hate it? Want to glare but have no eyes? Drop a review, I can never get enough of those!