Remnant DxD

by Dessel Ordo

When an 11 year old Jaune Arc wandered out into Forever Fall hoping to become Remnants youngest huntsman, that should have been it for the foolish kid. Luckily a passing devil saw potential in him and re-incarnated him. Now, 6 years later House Bael has sent him to attend Beacon Academy to learn more about his homeworld, and establish his own peerage. What could possibly go wrong?

17. Chapter 17: Flames - Phoenix Rising

A/N: Me last friday: Oh, its just a few more fight scenes, I can crank this out for a weekend update no problem! I can tell all of you today, my amazing, awesome, loyal readers, which, holy shit, 400 faves and almost 200 comments, you guys rock! Anyhow, back on topic, the next huge fight scene/set piece battle? That shits getting broken up into a couple chapters.

As usual, I dont own RWBY or Highschool DxD, and dont make a dime off of this. Now, FIGHT!

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Pyrrha, Nora and Ren follow Akeno and Issei towards the manor looming in the distance, and the champion fighter turned devil is doing her best to collect her thoughts and energy enough that she will be able to focus properly on the coming lesson. Jaune had told them all that he had been exhausted when he got back from these trips over the last few days, but she is beginning to think he had been massively understating just how tired he had been. She feels hollowed out, like she could sleep for a week and still not be rested, like something is suddenly missing from her, but she cant put her finger on what that is.

As the quintet pass through the looming, arched double doors the mansion has for a main entrance, Pyrrha vaguely recalls having read something about the long term repercussions about rapid auric depletion early in her training and career as a tournament fighter. However, addled as her brain is from the sudden, unexpected, literally soul deep exhaustion, all she can remember is that she had read it. The manor is richly appointed, as is to be expected, thick carpets in crimsons and purples, darkly stained wooden paneled walls seamlessly giving way to creme painted ones with matching, elaborate molding. Floors not carpeted tiled in wildly striated marble or wood as richly stained and grained as the trim and panels other rooms poses. By the time they slow to a halt in a side room, probably a study or den normally, Pyrrha can, mostly, maintain a coherent train of thought.

Akeno gestures for her quartet of pupils to stand at the far side of the table standing in the center of the room, and the only piece of furniture visible. Once they are more or less lined up facing her, she begins to instruct them with a pleasant, encouraging smile. "Now, I know that Jaune already walked the three of you through how to find what your magical affinity is, which is kind of putting the cart before the horse." She pauses, glancing at all four of her students, before continuing. "Normally, you start by learning to feel the magical energy surrounding us and within yourselves, then visualizing it flowing to a focus point on your body to manifest as a light." She pauses again to shoot a sideways, half exasperated glare at Issei "And, aside from peeling potatoes and onions, that's about as far as Issei has gotten."

Nora tilts her head in confusion "Peeling food? Why would you use magic for that?" She nearly knocks the mostly full bottle of water resting on the otherwise empty table spreading her hands as she asks her question.

Grinning, Issei interjects "Because its magic, duh. The only limit is what you can imagine."

Akeno reaches across the table to playfully swat Isseis head "Which means doing mundane household chores is a great, safe way to practice. It also helps to get you used to the idea that magic can do more than just the flashy, super obvious elemental applications for fights that most people jump straight too when they think of magic." As she shifts back to a more normal standing position, ghosting her hand above the bottle, freezing the ice and rupturing the bottle in the blink of an eye. It's quite impressive, especially for what is supposed to be a first lesson, Pyrrha has to admit. Rens eyes widen ever so slightly, clearly sharing Pyrrhas opinion, while Issei has the half glazed look on his face of someone watching a rerun of a favorite episode on a lazy afternoon.

A slender hand slaps the table, drawing back almost as quickly as it had struck to Pyrrhas left. The patinad kaleidoscope of colors of an Arc peerage magic circle flares to life and follows the hand, a wild pillar of ice chases the retreating circle until it winks out of existence after about a foot. The result looks like someone had flash-frozen the splash from a decent sized rock being tossed into a pond, then cut it cleanly and set it on the table. "Now that's what I call ice." Nora chirps, a competitive fire in her eyes, hands planted on her hips.

Akeno doesn't miss a beat, tilting her head, eyes closed above her perhaps too friendly grin. "And that brings me to our next topic. Magical affinities. Every devil has at least one, and they are, excluding specialists like ideal rooks and knights, how mid class devils and up normally fight. Usually the techniques are big, flashy, draining and require a magic circle unless you're extremely proficient and efficient with how you wield your magic. Nora has her ice, obviously, though it looks like she doesn't have a complete handle on how to wield it yet, and I'd be shocked if it matched up with the Sitri Clans ice magic. I'm famous for my prowess wielding lightning, but I have a second affinity that I like to keep closer to the chest." She pauses, looking at each of the her students, face still calm and smiling. Nora, for some reason has her head on a swivel and actually looks more than a little unsettled.

Ren cuts in "What exactly do you mean by 'ideal' knights and rooks?" Also looking curiously at the increasingly nervous Nora.

Akeno shrugs "Normally, knights and rooks are physical combatants, so, ideally, a king would be able to recruit already trained fighters for those roles."

As Ren nods in understanding, Pyrrha asks "What about sacred gears? Are they a type of magic as well?" She looks over to her pale, rigid teammate, then adds "And why does Nora look terrified?" A slight edge creeping into her voice as her eyes bore into those of her fellow queen.

Akeno shakes her head "Sacred gears are certainly magical in origin, as often magical in nature, but entirely separate from your own naturally occurring magic. As to why your friend is looking terrified, that would be my second affinity, illusions." A crimson magic circle the size of the room flashes then fades away. "She's been seeing new 'me's' walking into the room out of different secret entrances and the old me disappearing every few seconds since she pulled her little stunt during my lesson."

Pyrrhas glare intensifies, and Ren moves to rest a hand on Noras shoulder as color slowly returns to her face. "Did you have to make your point so pointedly, Akeno?"

Issei glances over at the trio of Remnantian devils "Akeno's kinda our resident hardcore dominatrix, so, what she just did to Nora is actually kinda getting off the hook easy. I'd have warned you three about stepping out of line during her lesson, but, well..." Not exactly first time meeting each other conversation material, Pyrrha grudgingly admits to herself, as she works to calm herself down.

"You're kidding, right?" Ren asks Issei, still paying more attention to Nora than anyone else.

"Nope!" The raven-haired devil replies for the other member of the Gremory peerage in the room, smile still vibrant and friendly, eyes glittering with mirth. "Now, all of you, close your eyes, and start visualizing. Issei can get a tiny ball of light with this exercise, so I'm expecting all three of you to be able to get at least that far before we run out of time today."

_-*R-DxD*-_

After returning from their joint training session with the Gremory peerage, the rest of the week proceeds more or less as usual. Classes continue, with homework winding down in favor of reviewing for finals as the first semesters end closes in. For team JNPR, Thursday passes much the same way as Monday and Tuesday had, classes, goofing off and studying with team RWBY, and after sunset Jaune leaves to continue training Asia while Ren, Nora and Pyrrha set out to form pacts, practice their visualization techniques, or teleport down to the Emerald Forest to slay grimm. When Jaune returns, he and Pyrrha spar with their wooden training swords and shields just like they had nearly every night since Pyrrhas defeat at the hands of Suriel and subsequent reincarnation.

After classes on Friday, tam JNPR find themselves playing host to RWBY in their dorm room, which, by dint of more cohesive planning is better suited to hold so many students compared to that of their neighbors across the hall. The pretense of studying for next weeks finals had been abandoned to a marathon of bad horror movies hours ago. Mostly, they were just laughing at the bad acting, and bantering back and forth about how stupid the main characters and plots are. Just what the doctor ordered for a bunch of students trying to de-stress before the biggest tests of their academic careers so far begin on the coming Monday.

Jaune, clad in a pair of tattered old blue jeans and his bunny hoodie is laying on his bed diagonally and belly down so he can see the screen from his bed, with Pyrrha laying next to him in her uniform skirt and blouse, the top untucked and with a few buttons loosened. On the couch Yang is leaning on one arm wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and a light gray t-shirt a few sizes to big for her with a quartet of hunter emblems Jaune doesn't recognize, though the one at the top of the diamond they form does remind him of Ruby's. Said sister is sat next to her sister wearing a pair of denim shorts and a snugly fitting charcoal gray t-shirt with its own diamond of emblems. Hers at the top, Weiss on the bottom, Blake and Yangs on the left and right. "Ugh. I still cant believe you stole one of Uncle Qrows old t-shirts Yang." She jostles Nora, who is wearing a pink sloth print t-shirt a size to big so that it hangs off her left shoulder, revealing a white bra-strap, and her uniform skirt, as she gestures at her sister.

Yang looks over to her sister from the T.V. "What, all of the old Team Stark clothes were just collecting dust in that closet in the basement, and the shirts comfy for when we're just lazing around. Besides, none of the girls clothes in that closet fit me quite right."

Nora shoves Ruby back, which quickly escalates into a playful shoving war, which has Ren, garbed in a loose fitting black tank-top with his personal emblem emblazoned across the chest and his uniform slacks, getting poked and prodded in the crossfire. Yang avoids this by leaning over the edge of the couch, grinning. "It makes sense not to let perfectly good clothes go to waste, even if you're just using them when you're at home." Blake interjects from where she is leaned against Rens bed seated on the floor, paying more attention to her book than the movies. Clad in a pleated knee length purple skirt and a black, long sleeved blouse as well as her ever-present bow.

Weiss looks over to the faunus in disguise from her spot on the floor resting against the couch to Rens left, wearing her uniform skirt and blouse, though her top is tucked in and buttoned all the way to the collar, unlike Pyrrha. After a few moments, she quips "An awfully frugal mindset, Blake."

Blake side-eyes her team leader and JNPRs most bombastic member as their play-shoving escalates into a tickle fight, then shrugs at her teammate. "Menagerie isn't as old as the other kingdoms. More fluid. There's a good chance that a wasteful Chieftain wont see any of their children take the mantle of leadership when its time to step down." She pauses to mark her place in her book "Plus, when you grown up moving from, camp to camp..."

Blake trails off, and no one who had been paying attention really knows what to say to that. The awkward silence is swiftly broken, first by one of the actresses on the screen letting out an overly loud scream as the movie monster catches up with her, then by a giggling, yelping, writhing Ruby and Nora falling from the couch onto Weiss. First, the heiress lets out an undignified squawk, then she tries to crawl away from her partner and friend. This, apparently, is the wrong decision according to Ruby and Nora, who drag the Schnee heiress back into their play wrestling before she can get so much as halfway free from the duo.

Yang, smiling lightly looks away from her sister and their friends, then asks the rest of the group "So, are we done picking apart my awesome fashion sense?"

Jaune shakes his head, a rueful smile on his face as well "Hey, my dad and two of my older sisters are Beacon graduates. There's enough team emblem shirts, jackets and sweat pants floating around home that I wouldn't have noticed it was a shirt for a team other than yours if Ruby hadn't said something."

Ren shakes his head "I actually looked into it when I got some stuff with my emblem on it. The Arcs are one of maybe a dozen families prolific enough as huntsmen and huntresses that Beacon makes family emblem clothes to order."

Jaune lets out a half nervous chuckle and rubs at the back of his head. "A few of my sisters are a bit young yet, but, once all of us who are gonna go to Beacon have graduated we're all getting one. The, direct, family line ones, that is. All the way back to our great-great grandfather."

Flush faced and panting, Nora, Weiss and Ruby are untangling themselves on the floor, the prodigy looks up at Jaune curiously "Direct line?"

He nods "Yea, just parents, grandparents, then me and my siblings. The full Hunter Tree ones are kinda hard to make out, and, well... its a dangerous life."

Ruby winces, and Weiss pats Ruby on the shoulder "I, I apparently had an Uncle. Wheat, he helped my Grandfather start the SDC, but Dust prospecting is dangerous, and that is all that mother likes to say."

As the mood continues to tank, Jaune does his best to salvage the otherwise relaxing evening "It isn't all sad reasons for why some of the lines end of course. Uncle Brass moved to Mistral a few years ago with his fiance. And Aunt Amethyst is Amethyst Rais now, so, as far as the Academy is concerned for any of the hunters emblem merch, they don't make the cut for the Arc family stuff."

Grinning, Yang looks over at her sister "We should talk to dad, see if we can get anything like that, sounds kinda cool."

"There are a few companies that do commission work for the families that aren't quite prolific enough for the official academy sponsored lines." Pyrrha offers helpfully. The chatter dies down, and the gaggle of teens go back to watching movies in companionable silence. Team RWBY leaves an hour or so after sunset, and team JNPR re-arrange themselves on the couch, anxiously waiting their next guest.

A blue magic circle flares to life on their floor, and, when the light clears the smirking form of Saji Genshirou greets them. "Hey guys. Sona sent me to get you patched in to the broadcast of Rias' Rating Game. Anywhere in particular you want me to set up the spell?"

Jaune shakes his head, chuckling, then gestures towards the Sitri pawn, "Guys, this is Saji Genshirou, he's four of Sona Sitris pawns." Standing about halfway between Ren and Jaune in both hieght and build, with sandy blond hair and a mischievous grin that has Jaune wondering if he and Nora arent somehow distant relatives, now that he can put both of them side by side. Without missing a beat as he thinks, he turns to gesture at his team. "Saji, this is Pyrrha Nikos, my queen, Lie Ren, my bishop and Nora Valkyrie, my rook."

The pawn waves at each in turn as Jaune finishes the introductions, and, once they are finished, Pyrrha asks "Will you be staying to watch the match from here then?"

Saji nods "That and to maintain the spell. It's pretty robust, but only really designed to broadcast to the underworld. With Momo and Reya shoring up the spell from the broadcast side getting it to reach, Remnant?" Jaune nods at the pawns query as to whether he got the planets name right, and motions for him to continue "Fairly easily, but they need someone on this side to keep it in focus and stable."

Nora tilts her head, the mid-evening gloom filtering in through the drawn curtains making her hair seem darker than it is, and the mood in their normally cheery dorm room ominous. "So, you're a glorified antenna?"

"I... Yea, I basically am." Saji deflates as he answers. Jaune stands up and makes his way over to their dorms door, locking it. "Is there anywhere in particular you want me to set up? I dont need to be able to see the magic circle behind the screen I'll be projecting, just the image."

Jaun looks over to the pawn "Pick one of the desks and make yourself comfortable. If the lights in here were dimmable, I'd get us some light, but..."

Saji waves him off "Don't worry about it, this works better in the dark anyways."

Just as Jaune and Saji find their seats again, the blank white screen flares to life, revealing a stern faced woman, her white hair done up in a series of braids and held away from her face by a maids headband, stern gray eyes all but boring holes through the screen. "You're attention please. My name is Grayfia, I'm a servant of the House of Gremory. I will be your referee during today's match." The image of the woman fades away, showing the abandoned halls that Jaune recognizes as Kuoh Academy, from some of the pictures Rias has shown him over the years.

Long hallways, with polished wooden floors, crisply clean white walls broken up by gleaming pillars framing the large, full wall windows all eerily half lit are shown in a series of flyover passes as the Great Devil Lucifers Queen continues to explain "To create the battlefield you will be competing in, I took suggestions from both Lady Rias and Lord Riser. You may recognize this place, as it is an exact replica of Kuoh Academy. An educational institute in the human world."

"Well, a human world." Jaune interrupts with a grin "But the rest of the Underworld doesn't know about us yet." That gets some snickers from his team, and a half-scowl from Saji. Though the latter's reaction does look to be more good natured and playful than anything.

Grayfias officiating carries on, easily cutting over the light banter that had sprung up in the room. "Each peerage has been given an area that will serve as its home base. Lady Rias, your crew will be in the Occult Reasearch Club headquarters in the Old Clubhouse." The screen shows Rias standing over a dark wooden desk, lightly embossed with burnished brass, flicking her well kept, crimson mane over her shoulder, apparently without a care in the world.

The screen flicks to show Riser seated on an overstuffed leather chair, his feet resting on an equally opulent looking desk, clad in a crimson suit jacket hanging open, and matching pants, the top few buttons of his undershirt hanging open. A pair of girls in fetishized maid uniforms are leaning on him to either side, one looking down at his crotch, both hands obscured by the nobles feet resting on the desk in front of the chair, the girl on the other side pressed into his torso, blushing as she leans in to look up at his disinterested face, one of her arms also obscured by the kings face and angled towards his crotch. "Lord Risers home base will be located in the Principals office in the New Schoolhouse." If the slight twitching of the girls arms is any indicator, Risers pants are probably hanging as open as his suit-jacket.

Behind him and to his right, Ravel is smiling at the screen in her abomination of a frilly pink dress as if a camera was in front of the group of Risers peerage showing her where to direct her gaze. Jaune isn't sure whether her calm being due to her having been desensitized to her brothers enjoying his harem of a peerage this openly, or if some of the darker rumors making the rounds about her place in it being true would be worse. "Pawns will be promoted if they can make their way to the home base of the opposing team." Grayfia continues, either unaware or uncaring of the image her voice is being projected over. To the right of Ravel stands the only other girl not wearing a hyper-sexualized outfit, through the ample cleavage displayed by the plunging v-necked, form hugging dress, corset and and cape combo would have any other women glaring holes through the curvaceous purple haired woman were she to wear it anywhere even remotely public.

"I mean, at least two of the girls aren't dressed like hussies, I guess." Nora ventures, shifting awkwardly on the couch, and blushing slightly.

Jaune looks over at his friend and rook, not quite sure why she is trying to defend the guy. Probably just trying to defuse an awkward situation. Which makes sense, as, despite how much Academy hunter teams live in each others back pockets, all but the most, open minded, of teams stop well short of watching skinemax together in their free time. And if Riser moves his feet just wrong, what is currently on the screen would be well past that. Conversely any odd noises or moans overheard while someone is 'having a long shower' are written off as tight, sore, overworked muscles being soothed by hot water and light stretching, and that's that. Everyone knows the lie, and no one pokes at it. It's the only way to stay sane living on a campus chock full of fit, attractive young adults with the fact that any day could be their last not just planted in their minds, but accepted as fact.

"Nora, he knew that the broadcast would show him at least once during this part of the matches start, and had two of his pawns start jacking him off anyways." Jaune reminds her after parsing out his own thoughts on her statement. Riser really doesn't deserve any slack or defending. The girl goes still, most of her awkward embarrassment replaced by a scowl and furrowed brow. The fact that she has gone perfectly still has the rest of the team giving her a bit more room on the couch.

"Do I even need to point out that one of the girls on screen is wearing about as stereotypical of a harem slave girl outfit as you can find?" Saji cuts in, his voice carefully neutral, despite the disgust showing on his face. "Doesn't get much more on the nose than that."

Before Jaune can react to the pair of feminine growls emanating from the couch Grayfia offers a final "Good luck to all." And the screen is replaced with a slow crawl of members of the two peerages, With Sona giving the name, and ranks of each.

She starts with Rias' peerage, whom everyone present already knows, but the commentary swiftly moves on to Risers much larger peerage. Jaune decides to let his friends continue to watch the filler content while the two peerages prep and make their opening moves in peace. The screen splits into three halfway through Risers pawns, one frame showing Koneko and Akeno wandering seemingly aimlessly through the forest adjacent to the Old Clubhouse. The second screen shows a pair of green haired twins with carry cases slung over their right shoulders, a blue haired girl in traditional looking Japanese robes wielding a staff, and a statuesque raven haired girl in a cheongsam that, between the slits going to the waist of either hip, generous diamond cutout displaying her cleavage, and the fact that it is less sleeveless than it is sideless above the waist may as well not be there save for the thick white sash tied around her middle, making their way to the gymnasium from the New Schoolhouse.

A few minutes later, the side screens fade away, and the video feed zooms in to show a bored looking Koneko standing in the middle of a forest clearing, idly eyeing a trio of women breaking through the trees into the clearing. A massive crimson sigil is wavering out of existence centered beneath the Gremory rooks feet. A second blue-yellow one flares to life, and when the glare fades a massive, domed cage of lightning has three of Risers pawns stuck in the clearing with Rias' rook. "Welcome to the thunderdome, skanks." The white haired girl deadpans, before cracking her knuckles as the invaders try to rub their unprepared eyes clear.

"What did you call us?!" the girl wearing a harem slave getup who had briefly been shown during the opening sequence of the match demands. Sona had identified her as Shuriya, one of Risers pawns during the lull between Grayfias introductions and the match proper starting.

Koneko wastes no more time on banter, instead kicking off at a dead sprint towards the trio. She leaps into a front flip a few feet from her foes, and plants a savage axe kick into the busty, gray haired pawns sternum before she has a chance to react. Shuriya crumples with a gasp as Koneko uses her heel as a pivot, riding the older, larger girl towards the ground. Just before Shuriya is driven into the dirt, Koneko has rotated her body to point herself at the pair of pawns behind their leader, rested her left foot fext to her right on Shuriyas chest, and her legs are fully compressed, ready to leap.

Koneko launches herself at the pair of pawns in fetish maid costumes before her with enough force that Shuriyas body digs into the ground, her head bounces once, but the view on the screen is following Koneko as she streaks through the air, not the stricken pawn. Crimson haired Burent is able to roll out of the ballistic rooks way, leaving Marion to take the savage aerial right hook Koneko had been primed to deliver to her jaw. The blond pawn is thrown halfway across the clearing from the force of the blow, rolling along the ground for a few more feet after landing. "Exactly what you are. Now shut up chickenheads, we're here to fight, not chatter." Koneko shoots back as she rises from the momentum bleeding roll she had landed in and dusting her uniform off almost disinterestedly.

Burent, back on her feet from her haphazard dodge, rushes Koneko, left fist pulled back to deliver a haymaker "Those traps were an adorable play coming from a bunch of rating game virgins. No one who knows what their doing falls for those, but since you're just now getting your cherries popped, its cute, not insulting." Koneko looks over her shoulder at the charging pawn, and sidesteps the other girls body as she slaps the punch away as she completes an adroit rotation with contemptuous ease.

The white haired rook hooks the taller, fuller figured pawns legs with one of her left, and sweeps her own leg forward and up, spilling the older woman to the ground. She lets her momentum carry her into a tight pirouette. As she completes the counterspin to her first, her right first is extended just above the left side of her head, chin tucked into her bicep and left palm firmly clutching her right fist. Sona might be messing with the playback, or it might be the last few moments before a brutal hit being landed seeming longer to Jaunes trained eye. Konekos left foot sweeps down at just the right moment for to shift all of her built up momentum into the thrust. Her left arm guiding and accelerating her right elbows descent onto the small of Burents back. All of that only adding to her impressive physical strength.

When the dust cloud settles, Konekos face is still stone cold as she replies "Those were the bait, dumb-ass. I'm the trap." Burents open mouthed silent scream trails off as she dissolves into motes of white light and is teleported clear of the crater she is currently sharing with Koneko in the alternate space to receive medical attention. "Riser isn't going to lay a finger on Rias."

"Oh, he'll be using a lot more then just his fingers on Rias" A recovered Shuriya taunts as she rushes at Koneko. The rook rises from her crouch just in time to roll under the tanned womans attack. She catches the trailing edges of the pink silk scarf, and with a small grunt of exertion surges back fully to her feet with a half-spin and hurls the larger girl perpendicular to the direction she had been traveling in. Shuriya flies shoulder first across the clearing and slams into the vaulted cage of lightning that was still containing the three of them. She shrieks in agony for nearly ten seconds before she and the magical construct fade away, one eliminated, the other spent.

Marion had just barely managed to push herself up onto her hands and knees, a puddle of blood and more than a few teeth on the dirt under her face as Koneko strides over to her, utterly nonplused. The rook drives a full forced toe kick into the mostly prone pawns liver, eliciting a pained gasp from the last fetish-maid pawn as she is once again sent airborn by Koneko. She has been safely removed from the alternate space as defeated before she can hit the ground. "Suck it." Koneko quips, before striding off towards wherever Rias had instructed her to go after defeating whatever forces Riser sent through the forest.

_-*R-DxD*-_

As Grayfias voice calmly announces the defeat of three of Risers pawns, and the screen shifts to a still, mostly dark gymnasium, Pyrrha asks everyone else in the room "So, do you think we should tell Koneko what the two of her opponents had been doing before the fight started?"

Ren shudders ever so slightly "They probably washed their hands." Is all the response he offers.

Smirking, Saji offers "I dunno, dark cloth hides stains pretty well. And white liquids normally cant stain white..." He trails off, and, again, no one in the room has much to say.

"I mean, if you wanna risk being the convenient target for that after she finds out, go right ahead." Nora adds, showing an abnormal level of self preservation. Or, maybe, simply feeling the trepidation any messenger bearing uncomfortable news does.

Smirking, Jaune nudges his rook with his elbow. "Come on Nora, you cant tell me you don't want to have a spar with her after watching that."

Nora lets out a single, half forced laugh at that. "Get in an honest fight with a mix of Yang and Ruby, forget about her being better at the whole 'being a rook' thing than I am just by having been doing it for longer? Of course I do! Probably share some pancakes afterwards too." Nora pauses, glancing around nervously "just-"

The apparently florescent overhead lights flare to an impossibly uniform and immediate brightness, showing Asia, Issei and Kiba standing on the gymnasiums stage, and the party of women from Risers peerage that had been on the screen heading, somewhere, just after the matches set-up lull kills all conversation in the room.

_-*R-DxD*-_

"Well would you look at that." A supremely confident voice cuts into the otherwise silent gym. "The knight, the bishop and the pawn. Looks like we get to snub the main thrust of Rias' offensive, girls."

The blue haired girl shakes her head, and Jaune idly wonders just how much hair gel goes into maintaining a pair of ponytails that curve upwards, while she replies to her teammate "I dont know Xuelan, their rook took out Shuriya, Marion and Burent pretty quickly."

The cheongsam clad rook waves her subordinate off "That was always supposed to be a sacrificial feint. If we could have gotten one of their pieces for it that would have been beyond a success. As it stands, their rook is going to be too out of position to be of any use now."

Seeing as they are already being more or less ignored, Kiba glances over to Issei and Asia "Wow, a rook who's nearly on the level of a queen, Koneko is gonna be jealous of me for getting this fight. Issei, think you can handle the pawns?"

Issei nods "Hell yea." He manifests his sacred gear, boosting almost before the light from doing so had faded.

Asia, jumpy and nervous looking at being so close to the fighting, looks over at the sole Gremory pawn and asks "Issei, are you gonna use, you know..."

He nods Triumphantly, and shoots Asia a wink, but before he can say anything, Kiba interjects "Just stick to the plan, Issei, watch my back while I deal with the rook, and keep them clear of Asia if you can."

"Don't worry blondie-bear, I got your back." Issei crows before launching himself at the gaggle of Phenex pawns, all of whom look more than a little pissed that the members of the Gremory peerage had ignored their introductions. Kiba flashes past Issei at full speed, and Xuelan barely manages to dodge his opening slash with his Holy Eraser. Kiba doesn't let up, darting in for quick thrusts and slashes before hopping back out of the rooks range before her kicks or punches can connect, circling her the whole time.

To his right, Issei's first punch is shifted aside by Miras staff. He tries to grab the staff, but the other pawn is too quick with her weapon, snaking it around Isseis gauntlet to slap it into his kidney. Issei grunts from the hit, then powers through it, again trying to rush the blue haired pawn down. Mira sidesteps Isseis second lunge, and plants the reverse of her staff directly into the spot between his shoulder blades, and roughly shoves him towards Ile and Nel, the two girls now empty carry cases on the ground, chainsaws already revving.

As Mira sprints towards Asia, an eager glint in her hazel eyes, Xuelan is looking incredibly frustrated. Already she has several shallow gashes on her legs and arms, while her form-hugging dress doesn't have a single nick on it. Kiba catches another of her flashy, sweeping, flame coated kicks on the flat of his blade. When the rook moves to strike at the seemingly planted knight with a flying scissor kick, he simply falls into a tumbling side-roll, and lets her left foot slice through the air over him. When the striking limb touches the ground near Kibas left side side, he surges back to his feet, sword trailing behind him and leaving a long gash on the outside of her calf.

"You know, strength against strength, you could have given Koneko a run for her money." Kiba quips, turning just in time to deflect her left hook with his blade, adding another cut to the top of her wrist as he does so, and sidestepping her follow up right hook. "But, as close to a queen as you may be, you simply cant match my speed." He finishes as he leaps back out of the third punch in the combos range, leaving out that, had his aura not been unlocked, she probably would be fast enough to face him evenly, and maybe even win. Considering he has only had the expansion of his physical prowess and abilities for a few days, he's more than impressed and grateful for the favor Jaune had done for him and the rest of the peerage.

Issei catches another wild slash from a chainsaw on his gauntlet, and ducks under the twins follow up sweep. He lashes out with his own leg, trying to trip up Nel, he thinks, while she is immobile. The tiny psychopath jumps over his attempt, actually giggling as she does it. That also frees her chainsaw, which she swings at his freaking head forcing him to catch the blade, tanking the hit on his aura, which they had all agreed to try to keep on the down low. The twins had been shocked when he did that the first time. Now, though...

"Ooh! He did it again Ile!" The twin excitedly crows as she jumps back. He moves to try to get a free shot in on the retreating pawn, but the growl of a chainsaw closing in from his right, not just moving away has him spinning to block another wild slash on his gauntlet.

The girl that is glaring up at him from behind her actually giggles, before she replies "I know Nel! This is so exciting! Our toys normally break so fast! Do you think Riser will let us keep him once he marries Rias?"

He punches the bratty, psychotic twin in the gut, and is rewarded with a grunt and the kid tumbling away from him. "Probably, he seems like he really wants to break his sacred gear too, so its not like he's gonna be a threat much longer!" The other one chirps as she rushes him. He's touched both of them, and needs to get away to get the third so he can end his part of the fight here already. He can hear the next wild slash coming from his left, and ducks under it without wasting the effort turning to watch it coming at them. When he sees the chainsaws wielder pass above him, apparently having thrown herself at him, he lunges forward. When he feels his gauntleted hand clench around the airborn pawns ankle, he knows he just ended this fight.

He pivots to his right, and hurls the tiny green haired devil at her twin. Both of the girls all but throw their weapons away from themselves as soon as they realize they are about to collide. The airborne sister slams into her twin, despite the others attempt to dodge out of the way, and the duo rolls across the polished wooden floor in an ungainly heap, getting more tangled and disoriented with every bounce and flip.

Issei doesn't waste any time, turning to where Asia is doing her best to fend off Mira and sprinting towards the fight. The blue haired girl is thrusting and sweeping her staff at Asia relentlessly. The blonde bishop is, for the most part, blocking and dodging the Phenex pawns attacks. It looks sloppy, and Asia looks more tired than Mira. Issei is able to watch Asia slap, literall, one thrust to the side, halfway trip dodging under the follow-up sweep, then get her wrist slapped back down by the staff when she tries for a retaliatory punch.

Finally close enough Issei lunges at the robe-clad pawn, tackling her away from Asia. He punches her a few times in the gut for good measure, and taps her shoulder when she uses her staff to fling him off of her. He flares his wings to right himself as he flies through the air, landing in a decent three point stance, Boosted Gear dragging on the floor, palm wide open, his bare right hand stretched out behind him. Grinning ear to ear as he finally slides to a stop, he raises his sacred gear, ready to snap his fingers.

_-*R-DxD*-_

"I, thought you said you had been training Asia, Jaune?" Pyrrha querries looking over at her team leader and away from the magical screen they are watching the rating game on.

Jaune lets out a small chuckle "I was, and probably still will be on and off after this match. I wasn't being mean when I said training her is like trying to teach wet tissue paper to stand up for itself. She really doesnt like hurting people."

"Wait, what was that he just said about getting naked?" Nora interrupts the partners, and draws their attention back to the screen just in time to see Issei snap his fingers as Kiba dodges around another punch from Xuelan, positioning himself behind her and slicing through both of her hamstrings, causing the rook to crumple to the ground.

_-*R-DxD*-_

Magic circles spring to life on all three of the Phenex pawns, one in each place he had touched them, whether it was a punch, tap or slap. Then, the small circles burst, and not so much as a stitch of clothing is intact on the three pawns bodies, and it doesn't look like any of the shreds of cloth are much bigger than two inches in any dimension. The three pawns all shriek in embarrassment, Mira, who had just stood back up and had been glaring down Issei, ready to rush him drops her staff to the ground as she falls to her knees, pressing her legs together. Her hands fly to her chest, one to cover each boob even as she bends nearly double, clearly hoping her body will cover the rest of her.

Further off, Ile and Nel are in an, interesting, predicament. They had untangled themselves to the point where one had been hovering over the other, heads at opposite ends of what had once been a human knot. One of the girls clearly would rather her sister, who has, quite literally, the exact same body to see anything as opposed to the brown haired pervert. The other, clearly, doesn't want her face stuffed in her sisters snatch. Unfortunately for the latter of the two, she is the one who had been lying on her back, not the one holding herself above her sister. So, while one sister is desperately trying to worm her way away from her sister, face a vibrant shade of crimson, the other is trying to hook her crotch under her sister chin, to use the other girls head to hide both of her holes, while trying to shift the other girls legs to cover her barely there tits and hook her chin over her sisters crotch to return the favor she is trying to take from her sister.

In short, its a writhing, shimmying, crimson faced screeching match between two sisters no one can make heads or tails of. "Nora, remind me to never let him touch you or Pyrrha." Jaune instructs, too shocked to emote much. The ginger girl just nods, Issei shouting a speech about undressing girls with his eyes since his balls had dropped is so much white noise to the gathered devils in team JNPRs dorm room. When he explains exactly how his apparent 'special move' works to everyone watching like an idiot barely registers any more. "Seriously, don't let me forget to keep that guy away from you girls."

"Issei, when did you come up with that perverted attack?" Kiba queries as the trio of Gremory devils walk from the gym, after briefly conferring with, someone. Jaune is pretty sure they are using some sort of communication spell, but cant be certain. Xuelan and Mira are both shouting at them about walking away from a fight, and the twins are still shrieking at each other and fighting over how they should go about covering themselves from the position they are still stuck in because of the argument.

Asia, grinning despite the sheen of sweat coating her face and her hair being a mess chirps "Oh! I helped him come up with it during the nights while we were having our training camp."

They keep up an even pace, though Kiba does look to his left to glare at Issei "Seriously? You spent your nights during the camp stripping Asia down? I thought you were her friend dude."

"I am! That's why I helped him train for that technique." Asia cuts in, now striding between the two. "Friends help each other out after all, and I know Issei wouldn't do anything to hurt me!"

A massive pale blue and yellow sigil springs to life surrounding the gymnasium, and an entire thunderstorms worth of lighting bolts strike the building. The Gremory pawns don't break stride, or look back. "It isn't him hurting you that I'm worried about, Asia. Even if we know our perverted pawn wouldn't force a woman, image matters."

Grinning, Issei quips "Kind of like how we all made sure not to turn around to look at the massive explosion that just went up?"

Kiba groans, though his face seems more playful than exasperated as he drops his face into his palm "Yea, and I'm sure the Priestess of Thunder appreciated the effort. She's probably the one who likes causing spectacles the most in our peerage, but pointing out that you didn't turn around to look at the explosion makes it a lot less cool, Issei."

"The who?" Asia queries, breathing already normalized and face far less flushed. At least her training with Jaune seems to have improved her stamina and recovery times, despite the actual combat trainings effects having been, negligible.

Kiba chuckles "Oh, that's the title she earned when it became clear that she's probably the strongest with lighting magic in the underworld currently, and still only a teenager. Now come on, we have to meet up with Koneko at the spor-" A purple blur streaks at Kiba, striking him squarely in the chest and exploding with enough force to send him flying back towards the smoking wreck that had been the gymnasium not long ago. His jacket, shirt and tie are rendered to tatters, and his chest is a burnt, bleeding wreck. Then he starts tumbling through the dirt. The only reason his pants are still in tact is probably that he had, past tense, a really nice leather belt.

Two more purple bolts are intercepted by a pair of blue-white bolts of lightning, mere feet from where Asia and Issei had frozen in place at their friends apparent defeat. The concussive force of the blasts is enough to throw both of them back towards, but not all the way to their stricken teammate. It is, however, enough to snap the two newest devils in the rating game out of their shock. Asia rushes to her feet just to sprint back to skid to her knees at Kibas side and set about healing him. Whatever Akeno is saying to that bitch who had damn near killed Kiba is lost on Issei. As soon as Kiba looks like he knows what is going on, Issei asks "Dude, what the hell? I though our auras were supposed to protect us from crap like that!"

The blond in question, hair a tussled mess, normally kind gray eyes hard with anger turns his head so he can meet Isseis eyes. "Yea, I had mine down. I thought we were in the clear, and needed the break." He coughs a few times as purple bolts of magic and blue-white slashes of electricity start smashing into each other in the air above them. "I can only have it covering my whole body, or nothing at all still. It's a hell of a boost, but..."

Issei nods in understanding "Yea, I know what you're getting at. We haven't been able to practice with it for long enough to make that big a difference."

Kiba lets out a half-cough half-laugh and shoots back "Speak for yourself Mr. shielding specific limbs and boosting your strength and speed at day three. You might not be on Asias level with magic development, as fast as me or as strong as Koneko, but you've taken to Aura like a fish to water." As he levers himself up as Asia lets her healing fade away from the once again perfectly healthy knight. Issei reaches his hand out to help Kiba the rest of his way to his feet, which the knight gladly accepts.

Issei shrugs as Kiba summons a fresh Holy Eraser and slides it into the scabbard that had, miraculously, survived the explosion that had nearly laid him low. "What can I say, Jaune said Aura is a reflection of your soul, and I know who I am down to my last perverted hair. Besides, I've been splitting my attention my attention between checking out babes and paying attention to whats going on sice the first time I got the shit slapped out of me for looking but not listening."

Before Kiba or Asia can comment on that, a fence-line of stationary lightning-bolts flares to life in an ark in front of the trio. Seconds later the near blindingly bright barrier starts pulsing flares of purple; a near-deafening roar accompanying each flash. The fence slowly spreads to a solid wall of electricity, and the flaring stops, but the near constant explosions make it hard enough to think, forget about talking to each other.

A massive purple sigil spins into existence under their feet, and, seconds later a forearm lance of blue-white lightning, more straight than jagged, streaks past their heads. Somewhere beyond the wall of electricity a tremendous explosion shakes the earth. The wall of lighting is gone a heartbeat later and all three Gremory devils are knocked to the ground, half blind and their ears are ringing. After pushing themselves to their feet, they try talking, but end up just flapping their mouths at each other, the shrill keening in their own heads the only noise any of them can hear. Asia quickly sets about healing their ruined, bleeding ears while the wall of electricity dances back into existence.

"As much as I like having the three of your here for moral support, Yubelluna and I will be really cutting loose soon. So if the three of you could get on with the plan, that'd be awesome. Keeping up your barrier and fighting back is a liiiitle distracting." Akeno chirps as she swoops down from the sky to where Asia, Kiba and Issei are still gathered. She's smiling, but none of the apparent mirth makes it to her eyes or body posture. Which makes it all the more terrifying. A girl who isn't just genuinely happy about the prospect of breaking another woman down to a sobbing, shuddering wreck. Oh no, she's getting turned on by the prospect laid out in front of her. She might be wearing the crimson skirt and white blouse of a shrine maiden, but she has the look on her face of a dominatrix clad in skin-tight, midnight black leather. And Mistress is hungry.

Issei stands dumbly in terror and awe as she darts ahead, placing herself between the rest of her peerage-mates and the enemy queen, feet scraping the dirt but not fully on the ground. With a wave of her hand, the solid wall of electricity guarding the other Gremory devils surges ahead of her, slowly spreading and growing taller as it does. "Yea, now that I'm patched up, we'll get on our way. Sorry about getting in your way."

Akeno waves her left hand playfully at Kiba, while her right sweeps in front of her to spawn a dozen magic circles. "Don't worry about it, now go, I'm about to WRECK this uppity, self important bitch." the raven haired, pony-tailed queen answers, before sweeping her hand back across the array of magic circles and launching a barrage of barely contained electricity at her foe.

"Oh, that's rich. I was about to tell your little friends the exact same thing." A dulcet voice calls back, Yubelluna countering as she lowers to the same level as Akeno. Shifting her hair away from her face she spawns as many magic circles as Akeno had, and every last forked branch of lightning is intercepted by a purple ovoid of raw magical energy.

Akeno winks, then turns to face her Phenex counterpart. "Big words coming from the girl who has to share her man with fourteen other women. Now, do you want to start taking this seriously, or keep threatening my subordinates?" Yubelluna grunts and thrusts her staff forward, and dozens of purple spheres primed to explode at the slightest touch burst towards Akeno. Playful smile not shifting an inch, Akeno traces the top half of a circle in the air, taps where the center would be and snaps with her left hand. A jagged spider-web of lightning springs into existence just in time to prematurely detonate the bombs Yubelluna had just fired at Akeno. Her shield shatters from the impact, but it had done its job.

Akeno shifts her body, right arm and foot pivoting behind her left, mere moments before her left hand points skyward, then drops like a stone. A bolt of lightning nearly as big as one of the ones that had leveled the gym streaks out of nowhere into a warehouse-sized purple sigil. The thunder-clap of contact and following explosion throws all three earth-bound devils to the dirt once more. Akeno doesn't flinch. "Issei!" The blonde knight half-shouts after the ringing in their ears subsides and their vision has color and shape again, not just solid white with flecks of darkness. Issei looks over to his friend, who is waving for him to follow as he starts running again.

He follows his teammate, sprinting as hard as he can, almost afraid to look back, or move slowly enough to be caught up in more of the side effects of the titanic battle taking place between the two queens. As they close in on the athletic field, Koneko steps out of the storage shed, and drags both of them inside of it. "Rias talked to me while you two were caught up in Akenos fight. Kiba, can you still fight?" She roughly shoves Issei away from her with a glare.

Kiba nods "I took a pretty hard hit, but Asia patched me right back up."

"Then the plan stays the same. We rush down the schoolhouse through the athletic field so we can get as many of the chickenheads as we can drawn out. Kick their asses, then help Rias take down the head douche." Koneko shoots back, a predatory smirk on her face, golden eyes glinting in the gloom of the barely-lit shack.

Issei holds out a closed fist towards the diminutive rook "Way to go with those outs at the start of the match Koneko, it sounds like you were on fire."

She glares at his fist, then takes a few steps further away from him, nearly touching the sheds wall to do so. "Touch me and I puke, perv."

"Oh come on Koneko, its not like I'm gonna make your clothes disappear! We're on the same team!" Issei protests, fist still hanging awkwardly in the air.

Kiba looks over at him judgmentally "She really doesn't know that, considering who you used as a Guinea pig to come up with that abhorrent technique."

Koneko glances over at Kiba "Don't tell me he tricked who I think he did into letting him perv out on her."

Kiba sadly shakes his head as Issei lets his fist fall back to his side dejectedly. "It wasn't you, Rias or Akeno, if that helps you narrow it down." Kiba quips, a mischievous smirk on his face as he moves towards the door. "Lets get this show on the road guys."

Issei nods, but Koneko is still glaring at him "Issei, you're the worst, and I'm kicking your ass over this once the Rating Game is over."

The two remaining devils move to follow Kiba, Once the three of them are back outside and walking towards the sports field, Issei breaks the short-lived silence. "Totally changing the subject to get you guys less made at me, but, did Rias say if were she was meeting up with Asia had been changed? I mean, Akeno and Yubelluna shredding the area around the gym wasn't exactly part of the plan."

Koneko shrugs "It is now. Plus, as much as having Akeno knocked out for this part of the fight sucks, keeping the Bomb Queen locked down is just as big a deal, Rias said."

The conversation slows to a halt when the trio step onto the fields proper, where they are greeted by, well, nothing. Just the eerily empty track and the empty field that could be set up for just about any sport without too much effort, cast in an eerie pall by the strange green and black emptiness that had replaced the sky. "Hey we know you're hiding out there!" Issei shouts once they are roughly in the middle of the empty fields, the trio forming a rough triangle, each looking in a different direction. "Quit acting like a bunch of pansies and come fight us!"

The first to reveal herself a girl wearing a plain white dress under a no-nonsense breastplate and gauntlets with sandy-blonde hair she had wrapped a scarf wrapped in. She has knee-high steel boots and at least two swords strapped to her pair of brown leather belts. As the cloud of dust that had kicked up when whatever spell had been concealing her is released calms down she starts laughing at the three of them. After they can see her clearly, she calls out to them just loudly enough to be heard clearly "I am Karlamine, a knight in the service of Lord Riser. To be perfectly honest, asking to be attacked by us makes me question your sanity." She introduces herself, feet in a ready stance, hand on the hilt of her sword, and never diverting her gaze from them for more than a moment. "Although, far be it from me to refuse an idiot his reckoning." She declares, drawing her sword, which immediately bursts into flames.

The three gremory devils exchange a quick glance, before Kiba steps forward, an eager grin on his face "I'm Kiba Yuuto, a knight in the service of Rias Gremory." He draws his Holy Eraser with a flourish, holding it off to the side before assuming a ready stance himself. "I sure hope you're ready, I've been looking forward to battling another knight. Can't wait to get started!"

Karlamine returns his pleasantries, but no one really registers what she had said, as the two knights are embroiled in a duel thats almost too fast to follow moments later. Issei, doing his best to track his friend and their foe cant help but comment "Awesome. I guess it'd be rude to get in the way though."

Koneko prods his side with her elbow "Dude, you'd be more likely to get in the way and taken out by Kiba yourself than actually help in that blender.

"That's entirely beside thje point. You have more than just Karlamine to contend with here." A stern voice cuts through the rapid clanging of swords crashing into each other. The Gremory devils look over to spot a busty woman with strawberry-blonde hair accented with multiple stripes of blood red clad in form hugging dark blue jeans, which are cut off very high on her right thigh. A pair of belts holds the severed denim to her leg starting again midway down the thigh. Her wide shouldered, dark olive jacked is ripped off just high enough to prevent her from showing any under-boob, but with all but one or two of the remaining buttons open, she shows plenty of cleavage. Half of her frowning face is concealed by a mask, and the only readily visible eye is a steely gray.

"Oh that Karlamine, her head is filled with nothing but swords swords swords, its freaking ridiculous. She was way too bothered by those other pieces we sacrificed too. If you ask me she needs to get it together." A haughty, high pitched voice adds. Issei looks over to see a cute, pouty faced girl with drill like pale blonde twin-tails wearing a poofy, frilly pink dress stalking towards him, glaring at both him and Koneko with piercing dark blue, nearly violet eyes."At least she's keeping that streaker sword freak Rias apparently keeps around away from me though." A I guess it just isn't my lucky day now, is it."

A girl in a vibrantly colored kimono is the next to step from the shadows, her long black hair tumbling mostly unbound down her back, though it is pinned and ornamented to keep it clear of her face, thankfully, she says nothing as she closes in on the unengaged Gremory devils. A second pair of twins, though the red and blue hired girls have big cat ears atop their head show themselves next, are wearing the sort of schoolgirl uniforms you'd expect to see on a stripper, to Isseis delight. The tops stop maybe a finger past where the busty girls nipples probably are, and the skirts covering their wide hips stop about a third of the way down their thighs. Issei really can appreciate the long tracks of toned legs and taught midriffs showed off by their choice of attire.

A third silent girl walks up behind the chatty one, stern brown eyes never leaving the pair of massively outnumbered devils as she does so, her sleeveless high necked, white blouse extending to a narrow tabard that nearly scrapes the dirt at the front. Below the belt worked into her blouse she is wearing a pair of dark crimson shorts not much longer than the skirts of the two catgirls. A massive zweihander is strapped to her back, the leather straps of her sheath accentuating the ample cleavage displayed by her tops diamond cutout rather than concealing any of it. Her garb is rounded out by a set of knee length steel boots and elbow length steel gauntlets, her black hair held literally straight up by a pair of gold bands, with most of it, but not all, falling down her back. "Well, that all of them except for the head chicken." Koneko quips as the group of Phenex devils finishes encircling them. "The Phantom of the Opera wannabe is their second rook. I call dibs."

Issei looks around nervously "Wait, you want me to deal with all of the others? What the hell Koneko!"

The girl in pink ignores Konekos observation and barb to continue "And what am I even looking at?" Her left thumb cradling her chin and index finger resting under her lip like a stereotypical art critic. "Lady Rias has the worst taste in boys and servants."

Koneko growls at that, as she stalks towards the far taller rook, but doesn't respond to the insult beyond cracking her knuckles. Her intended opponent shakes her arms out and starts sauntering to the petite powerhouse. "Cute girl with a bad attitude, you're so cliché." Issei observes, before calling forth his sacred gear, boosting and leveling it at the blonde irritant.

"Please, don't point that thing at me, I have no intention of fighting you." The haughty fgirl orders, left hand holding her dress away from the dirt, right held in a 'stop' gesture as she turns away from him, even going so far as to tilt her head down and close her eyes. "Ni, Li, show that Gremory scum how real foot-soldiers fight."

The blue and red haired girls hurl themselves at themselves at him. Issei is forced to tumble backwards as Koneko launches herself at her current foe, the space she had just been filling occupied by the girl with her blue hair tied in a low ponytail. She launches a punch at Issei, which he catches on his gauntleted forearm, but her fist shifts to a grasping palm, and she pulls herself up and over his head. Part of Issei wants to look up for some upskirt action, but the second remaining Phenex pawn, her hair in a low braided ponytail as long as her blue-haired counterparts slides in for a low kick that Issei is barely able to catch on his shin instead of getting his knee bent backwards. And just as quickly, the other pawn is far and away from his reach.

"I'm Ni." The blue haired, crimson eyed girl chirps before Issei can do anything more than reset his stance as she streaks towards him at a nearly perfect nintey degree angle from where her sister had struck. The girl would have landed a kick cleanly over his kidneys had he not twisted in time to throw himself into a wild diving dodge away from her strike.

Almost as soon as he had rolled back to his feet the other girl plants a trio of harsh punches into the small of his back "And I'm Li." The blue eyed, fire-hydrant-red braided girl exclaims, rolling away from and out of the way of his spinning right hook.

"Thats great, but whats wrong with the princess!" Issei grunts as the red-eyed menace darts in to kick his sternum, and he does catch a glimpse of lacey white cotton from that attack, but the fact that it leaves him wheezing and she scampers away before he can retaliate ruins that. "Is she too good to fight?"

"Oh." Blocked a punch, whiffed on the follow up kick.

"Thats the lady Ravel Phenex." Kicked in the shoulder, but managed to grab that stupid blue ponytail.

A savage axe kick to the hand yanking painfully on one of the sisters hair forces him to let go "She's Lord Risers sister." He spins to try to kick the offending former nekomata, but only connects with air. BOOST! Finish the spin and catch the rushing redhead with a punch to the face. She snaps horizontal from the blow, and her momentum carries her away from Isseis reach. "But she's a bishop, and likes to watch instead of getting her hands dirty." The blue haired babe continues as she yanks his only grounded foot out from under him as she rolls under his guard.

The redhead delivers a brutal elbow to Isseis sternum, again rolling clear of his reach before he can react. Issei gets a glimpse of Kiba standing in front of the flame-sword wielding knight with a bladeless hilt but before he can react, the girl who most recently struck him continues "But before you go getting any ideas."

Issei is barley able to roll away from a viscous stomp aimed for his head, again, unable to properly appreciate the lacy black thong he spotted under the skirt due to his duress, as the sister carries on "She's only in the peerage because she needs something to do."

Issei shoves himself to his feet. BOOST! He catches the toe kick turned into a high kick on his Boosted gear and twists his body to launch his aggressor away from himself. Her sister catches her before she can hit the ground. "She isn't part of the harem. Lord Riser isn't a pervert like you."

Issei growls, but, with the two of them so close, he cant respond to the barb, he has to worry about winning. He cocks his fist back, focuses his power just in front of it, and with a howl of "Dragon Shot!" Launches his, more traditional, special technique at the set of twins. Red dives left and blue dives right, neither of the pawns opposing him so much as singed.

"Lord Phenex, one bishop, eliminated." Grayfias disembodied voice echoes through everyones heads. Issei knows he is standing around like a moron, but all he can see is the massive trench he had blasted in the dirt with his attack. To either side of the new bit of landscape a scraped up, dusty, messy haired girl is pushing herself back to her feet, looking notably worse for the wear.

"You useless bufoons!" Ravel shrieks at the last two Phenex pawns. "You were supposed to be keeping that neanderthal in check, not letting him-"

"I make swords, magical swords!" Kibas voice cuts the irate bishops tirade off. The three pawns all turn to look. Koneko shifts the choke-hold she has Isabela in just enough that the Phenex rook can shift to see whats going on as well. Siris, like Ravel, simply turns to openly face the ongoing duel just in time to see Kiba press his to the ground. A jagged blue magic circle pulses outwards from the Gremory knight, and the ground around Karlamine erupts into a jagged mass of over-sized blades.

The Phenex knight leaps up and away from the attack, smiling as if she had already won. Kiba, still smirking from his announcing what his actual sacred gear is, touches his left hands index and middle fingers to the gilded hilt still grasped in his right hand and draws them away from the hilt almost as soon as they had touched. A slender blade follows the line traced by the two fingers, barely twice as wide as the two pressed together digits are. The blade is polished to the point where it almost hurts to look at, even in the dim light of the alternate space. The blades spine is a vivid blood red, as are its hard to look at edges.

"Vorpal Blade." The shirtless, bruised and singed knight utters before flashing forwards. Karlamine almost has time to react, almost. Karlamine had leapt away from Kibas stand of sapling sized blades, making predicting predicting her path and intercepting it childs play for the knight of Gremory. With a barely audible 'snikt' Kibas current blade slides through Karlamines breastplate, maybe half an inch above the bottom of her sternum and nearly dead center between the same bone and the right edge of her body. She has enough time to let out a strangled, startled gasp before she begins glowing white.

By the time Kiba lands back on the dirt his defeated foe has dissipated completely. "Lord Phenex, one knight, eliminated."

Kiba stands back up, and barely has time to resume a guard stance as the second Phenex knight lunges at him, zweihander crashing down on Kibas slender sword in a sweeping overhand strike. A split second later a massive shock wave sends cracks down Kibas blade. "The names Siris, and I'll be the one to knock you out of this rating game, Gremory filth." She follows up her opening strike with a horizontal slash as fast as her first strike. Kibas reflexes are barely quick enough for him to snap his blade vertical and brace it out with his left arm. The follow-up shock-wave after he blocks the blow shatters his sword and sends him tumbling away.

As he brings forth another Holy Eraser he spares a glance towards Issei, who looks to have figured out his opponents rhythm, and is getting some hits in, which is an improvement, technically. The brunette pervert is also panting from exertion. Kiba lunges towards his foes sweeping chop in an attempt to stab at her unarmored center. As soon as he gets past her strike, she looses her right hand from her blade, taking his own attack on her gauntlet. The force is enough to shift her balance off center, but she seamlessly recovers as soon as she has both hands on her sword again, and her stumbling charge becomes a neat spin into an overhand diagonal chop.

Kiba rolls free of the strike and shock-wave, and is able to spot Isabella breaking free of Konekos choke-hold and throw the smaller rook across the field, rushing after her with her fist raised for a strike. Kiba springs back to his feet to slash at his foes unguarded back. He manages a shallow slice before she spins away from his attack, countering by smashing the pommel of her blade into his right shoulder. With a grunt he lets the blow shift his center of gravity down enough to put him in place for an upwards diagonal slash. Siris catches the strike on her gauntlets, unfortunately, and knees him in the gut for his efforts.

Kiba leaps back, and is able to spot Issei glaring down the two, now battered and bruised, Phenex pawns. "I don't care how much better than me you two think you are!" He screams at the still grinning catgirls. "I'm gonna whoop both your asses then go help Rias put Lord Douchnozzle in his place!" An odd pink sheen, something that would be more at home on a sword glinting in the sun washes over the perverted pawn, and the panting, the sweat, the flushed face, all signs of exhaustion in Issei are simply, gone. He rushes down the two pawns, apparently fresh again. Then part of what Issei had just shouted clicks, and Kiba looks up to see two forms standing on the roof of the schoolhouse, one topped by a crimson mane, slinging raw destructive energy at her suit-clad, fire spewing counterpart.

A third, smaller figure is huddled behind Rias', the gentle green glow of Twilight Healing barely noticeable compared to the massive outbursts of fire and destructive energies. Isabella backpedals past Kibas line of sight, blocking a near constant deluge of kicks and punches as Koneko leaps about trying to strike at the taller womans weak points as best she can. "Are we done playing voyeurs, Knight of Gremory?" Siris voice pulls him back to the foe at hand. Focusing on the broader fight does him no good if he falters here.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting, trying to figure out who I'm going to beat once I'm done with you. I apologize for my rudeness." At that, Kiba bursts forwards, and Siris catches his first two strikes on her blade handily. The third sneaks through to draw a line of crimson on her left bicep. His forth strike is met with a brutal riposte, and the shock-wave sends him tumbling away from Siris. He slides to a halt in time to see Koneko also recovering from being thrown from her opponent, uniform jacket no-where to be seen, and her blouse ripped off at the short ribs now. The white haired rook shifts her body as she slides along the ground, lashing out with a blind mule-kick that would have caught her foe in the sternum were the masked woman not so well endowed. The strike forces all of the air from the bigger rooks lungs, knocks her mask off of her face, and bursts the few buttons holding her top closed.

The busty rook either doesn't notice or care that she is now fighting with her boobs hanging out, as she rushes back at Koneko as soon as she collects herself. Before he can spare a glance for Issei, Siris is in his face again. Karlamine had mostly utilized her magic and gimicks to fight. Beating her had been simple as picking the right counter. Siris, however, relies on power and skill,and, tired as he is on his third battle of the night, she is pressing him sorely.

He is able to block her first sweeping strike, and hold his ground against the following shock-wave. The next overhanded chop he is able to sidestep, but the shock-wave catches him, causing him to stumble as a faint, light yellow flares at the edge of his vision and he can feel the sound of shattering, if that makes any sense. Knowing his aura, new as it is to him, had just been broken, he turns his stumble into a spin, and drives the already cracking Holy Eraser into Siris kidney.

"Dress BREAK!" Issei bellows before Grayfia can announce the out. Two of his unfortunate victims shriek in embarrassment and scramble to cover themselves. The third just stands there, motionlessly seething.

_-*R-DxD*-_

"Lord Phenex, one Knight, one Queen, eliminated." Grayfia announces, as Jaune winces at the utterly furious, embarrassed banshees wail Ravel lets out. He had heard the term 'full frontal assault' before. Had even seen a few shows edgy or racy enough to go for it. He never thought he would see it happen in real life. But, Ravel Phenex doesn't care a single whit that everyone watching the broadcast can see her, the view doesn't pan in close enough to the irate noble to see everything clearly, but a neatly trimmed landing strip extending above her crotch can be picked out, and her pert bouncy bubble-butt and perky b-cups can be made out clearly. She only has eyes for the pawn she is currently trying to get to grips with, probably to strangle judging by the claws her hands are forming, for utterly humiliating her like he just had.

"Issei just messed up. Big time." Jaune observes dully, doing his best to not laugh at the absurdity of the situation. Or focus too much on the fact that he now knows exactly what one of his oldest friends, who, he is able to admit, he has more than a bit of a crush on, looks like naked.

Nora looks over at him "I don't see how he could have messed up. She seems like the sort of girl that's easy to piss off."

Jaune grunts in agreement, but then elaborates "Sure, Ravel is pretty easy to annoy off when she's still getting to know you, but she's incredibly loyal and supportive once you get past her outer layer of pricklieness. And it takes a lot to get her to carry a grudge, but this..."

Pyrrha nods "Yes, I suspect that stripping a noble used to being treated with difference and respect nude during a fight being watched by her friends and family may be enough to do that." Voice carefully even.

_-*R-DxD*-_

A pair of lightning bolts smash into the two cowering, red faced pawns, mercifully eliminating them from the match. "Issei," Akeno pants as she lowers herself into the blasted, burning, crater-strewn field. Kiba would like to think she looks like shit, but none of them are really in a position to comment on that. She had lost her hair-tie at some point, and her long hair is hanging unbound down her back, her face has several burns and a long, bloody gash down one cheeck. Her blouses right side is, mostly, gone, as is whatever bra she may have been wearing underneath, a single breast hanging exposed to the air, both of her combat outfits detached sleeves are gone. The skirt is ripped, singed and tattered, only making it to mid shin at its longest point. The left side has a gaping hole in it at her hip perhaps a handspan wide where the stained, sooty crimson garment stops at the waistband. If she were walking not flying, her left leg would fall entirely out of that scrap of cloth with every step.

"Issei, go promote and backup Rias. We'll be along to help out as soon as we deal with little sister here." She instructs, her voice straining to keep up her usual chipper tone. Grayfias voice calls out the elimination of Risers last two pawns, but no one on the ground pays any attention to that.

Issei skids to a halt, then leaps to the side when a massive tongue of flame erupts where he had stopped. After rolling to a halt, he gapes up at Akeno, ready to protest, until a pair of nearly animalistic screams draws the attention of everyone on the battlefield. Koneko and Isabela are charging each other, both sporting multiple bruises and scuffs, clothes a tattered wreck, with a fist cocked and ready to strike. Isabela throws her punch first, and Koneko all but flows around it, her own fist finding the blonde rooks jaw with a sickening crunch.

Spit, blood and teeth fly free of the rooks mouth, and her forward momentum shifts to horizontal from the power behind the blow, yanking her feet clear of the ground, her eyes bugging out in pain and shock. Koneko follows through with her punch, taking advantage of her smaller stature to dart under Isabela. As soon as the Gremory rook can reach her victims wrist, she latches on to it with her leading hand, devoid of its glove now, and catches the airborne womans elbow with her right, the fist barely having opened before it snaps shut again. A spray of dust kicks up as she twists her feet, crouches even lower and heaves. Isabela pivots across Konekos back, and slams into the dirt hard enough that the second crack can be heard over the thump of her body slamming into the ground. "Lord Phenex, one rook, eliminated." Grayfias voice drones into the following silence.

Koneko walks out of the dust cloud, hair sweaty and matted to her face, left eye already swelling up from a powerful hit, and would probably be bruised shut before ten minutes are out. The remains of her blouse are hanging open, the tearing at the hems speaking to the buttons, and maybe a section of the center of the garment, being gone. Her left arm is completely bare, though her pink bra seems to have survived the intense battle somehow. Her bare midriff and legs are showing more angry looking bruises than Kiba cares to count, The petite rooks skirt has a trio of wide triangular gaps torn from it. Koneko pulls her left shoe off and tosses it over her shoulder, which means her already absent right had probably been destroyed at some point.

"So, three half dead peasants think they can beat me, then?" Ravel asks, waving her hand, and covering herself in what looks like a ballroom gown made of fire.

"Move it pervert, we have the grilled chicken princess handled." Koneko deadpans, completely ignoring Ravels taunt. Issei nods once, then sprints off towards the schoolhouse. Ravel turns to pursue him, but Akeno cuts her off with half a dozen lightning bolts. She stops well short of the attack, and turns calmly to face them.

The white-hot rage she had displayed after Issei had initially, violated, her is gone from her eyes and posture. Perfect noble poise, garbed in a dress of flame, with eyes as cold as ice boring into the three of them. He notices that at some point during the fighting both he and Koneko had manifested their wings. He glances up at Akeno "I take it your aura's spent too?"

She nods "I had to beat Yubelluna three times thanks to her phoenix tears. Which are great for healing wounds, but when it comes to stamina and magical reserves..." Ravel glances at the three of them, and her dress of fire is joined by a quartet of wings made of flame. Not her actual devil wings, a magical construct she probably added to further stress just how far from fresh they are compared to her. The fact that they resemble the sort of avian wings found on phoenixs, isn't lost on any of them.

"They don't do crap." Koneko cuts in "And once the Bomb Queen realized you had her on the ropes she fought like a cornered rat?" Akeno nods at the battered rook. "My aura crapped out when Kiba was taking care of knight number two."

Kiba shakes his head as the trio of Gremory devils start circling Ravel, who looks happy to let them talk and set the pace. Further driving home the fact that she is fresh and all of them are running on fumes. But all three of them know they're just buying Issei and Rias time anyways. "I still want to know how it is that the guy who hasn't been a devil even a year is outlasting the three of us."

Koneko shoots him a look that all but screams 'moron' before she deadpans "He sparred both you and me every day during our training camp for a few hours each. Besides, with how hard a worker that stupid pervert is, he was probably trying to keep his aura up twenty four seven after getting it unlocked. How much work did we put in on what was supposed to be our trump card?"

Kiba lets out a self deprecatory sigh, as a thunderous crash echoes down from from the roof of the school "You make it sound like we've been slacking off. Next you'll say that Asia is further along with that than any of us."

Akeno shakes her head and lets out a trilling laugh "Oh, considering how our contact sparred her into the ground on a nightly basis, after proving its possible to do what he did for us, she probably is. You two know how hard it is to get Rias to actually train when she doesn't absolutely have too."

Ravel finally decides to cut in "Should you really be talking about your king that way, Himejima?"

Akeno does her best to casually wave the blonde devil off, but she suspects that her exhaustion has the motion less steady and smooth than she would like. "I'm also her best friend. I get a free pass on propriety when she needs a reality check."

Ravel starts tapping her foot, and Kiba, sardonic smirk on his face, quips "Well, this one is out of our hands now. Time to go out with a bang before the Lady Phenex gets impatient I suppose." As one, the remains of the Gremory peerage surge towards Risers last piece standing.

_-*R-DxD*-_

Issei stands in the entrance hall of the false Kuoh academy, seething. He knows his friends are going to lose. That Ravel is going to hurt them because he wasted his time during their training camp coming up with a move that, while pretty awesome, cant actually turn the tide of a battle. He'd promoted to queen, his aura is still strong, and he thinks he might be closing in on a semblance from what he can remember of Jaunes disjointed lectures. But he knows that wont be enough.

Sacred Gear manifested, he holds his left arm parallel to the ground, just under his chin in the eerie twilight of the unnaturally lit fake front hall. "Red Dragon Emperor," he half whispers, feeling the seething rage at the hopelessness of their situation rising up inside him. That, and the pressing, burning, all consuming desire to utterly destroy that state of being, reduce it to less than a ghost of a memory and replace it with his own dream, his own vision. "if you can hear me at all, respond by lending me your power." DRAGON BOOSTER!

He can feel the power surge, and despite speaking in half whispers, knows it wont be enough, and his blood boils at that admittance. "I need more!" he can hear his voice wavering, feel moisture edging inwards from the corners of his eyes. "I ask you to fully connect with my emotions. Boosted GEAR!" his voice cracks as he howls the name of his sacred gear at the top of his lungs, thrusting his gauntleted fist towards the sky. DRAGON BOOSTER, SECOND LIBERATION!

He can feel the power surging through him, his left fist burning, a vivid emerald tinge discoloring everything he can see, and knows he just accomplished something major. He looks up to see a hole cleanly cut all the way through the schoolhouse. A normally sneering head topped by a patch of messy blonde hair, a pretentious wannabe-roosters crest in the same shade can be spotted looking down the hole. Issei can't see the body attached to the very punchable face he can't quite make out at this distance. His wings already manifested, he already knows what he needs to do.

Crouch. Jump. Flap. Fly. Boosted gear leading the way, barely aware of the screeching explosion he leaves in his wake, or the sound of shattered glass, and tumbling wreckage, he shoots skyward like a rocket set to break atmosphere. Issei is passingly aware of the moment his armored fist connects with the assholes face. The shards of the buildings bell-tower scattering as rocks and dust around him as he floats to a halt mid-air seem more real than his flight and attack however. When had that become so natural to do? "Issei Hyoudou, reporting for ass-whooping duty!" He declares as he spins in the air to face Rias and Asia, both thankfully healthy and whole still. If Rias uniform is a bit tattered, a single perfect, to him at least, boob hanging loose from Rias shredded blouse.

A deafening roar, a wave of heat and light from below. "Lady Rias, one Knight, retired."

Searing pain, something connected to his right shoulder missing, and Issei crashes to the slanted roof to the left of the hole in the building he had struck at the Phenex king through. "How boorish. Riser wonders why his bride to be would harbor such filth in her peerage." A bored, condescending voice lazily drawls into the mostly silent false twilight. Issei turns to see Riser walking through the remains of the bell-tower, flames burning away a bloody, savaged gaping maw of a face with the unblemished, sneering facade Riser presents to everyone he considers beneath him replacing the damaged vissage.

Issei snarls "And I wonder how it is an asshole like you doesn't realize how much everyone who isn't one of your bobble-heads hates you!" Before launching himself at Riser, his right hook is dodged, contemptuously, by Riser, but he is able to bury Boosted Gear into the Phenex noblemans gut on the follow up. Apparently, whatever happened down on the ground floor added a lot of segments to his boosted, and some sweet-ass golden spikes. Cool.

A spike of pain draws his attention back towards the fight in front of him. Specifically, Riser pointing a fist at him and a gout of flame enveloping his right torso. Issei dodges away from the flame as he feels his concentration falter, Jaunes training on aura echoing in the back of his mind. Certain types of attack bypass aura. Electricity attacks your nervous system, and only needs skin contact to work, aura be damned. Fire may not burn your skin, but you'll feel the heat and pain you whether or not the damage takes. Cold can be ignored or mitigated, but only that. Give it long enough and extremities start turning black no matter what.

Feeling like half of your body is being roasted is a good excuse to loose concentration, Issei thinks. The problem with that, is that means that part of him now is being roasted, thanks to the sensation of burning breaking his concentration. He cant really see, pain obscuring, well, everything, but he knows something is beating the crap out of him. "I am a King and I am ready for war!" A voice he recognizes but cant place screams, as a wave of red-edged blackness cuts off the flow of hurt.

"Are you okay, Issei?" A small, worried voice asks as his senses return to him. He blinks to see a nearly crying Asia huddled over him, with a gentle green glow pulsing from her palms over him.

"Yea, I'm good." Issei shoots back as he starts working through the visualization techniques Jaune had been trying to walk them all through during the peerages training camp. Another monstrous roar, and he can actually see the massive tongue of flame nearly kissing the impossible sky of the alternate space as heat and wind again buffet the roof.

"Lady Rias, one queen, retired."

Issei shoves himself to his feet, growling "Now its time to end this." He turns and launches himself at the suit-clad asshole. "RISER!" he bellows, boosted gear once again leading a magically enhanced charge. BOOST! The devil in question just smirks, and, with a disdainful wave of his hand, counters with fire.

The whole world is pain, searing hurt and flakes of agony falling from his body as he tumbles across jagged, apathetic ridges of tile at gravitys behest, only slowed by seared meat clinging to any cool surface it touches. "Lady Rias, one bishop, one rook, retired." A haughty laugh, and he looks up to see a blonde girl floating on wings of fire, clad in a dress of flame.

No. Not like this.

Crimson trimmed black streaks past his blurred, aching vision. Rias needs him. "You are mated my love. Admit defeat. Riser knows you better than you know yourself. Do not make Riser hurt you more than is necessary than needs be for a fair maidens first time."

He had felt something similar to this, when he found his second wind during the fight out in the athletic field. Tired, but not spent. This feels heavier, like a decision he needs to make, or suffer the consequences of sitting idly by.

Or maybe the pain is getting to him. It is pretty hard to think right now. Shouldn't he have some sort of barrier against that?

Oh, right, he does. He can feel something deep within him draining, and his body mends itself. That awkward, back of his head there-but-not diminishing. But it doesn't feel permanent. More of a 'be back later, good luck' sensation before starting a big project or entering a competition type feel.

"What mockery of the Noble Hose of Phenex' ancestral magic did you just blaspheme, peasant?" Riser demands as the world snaps back into focus as he stands back up. Wind playing across his skin tells him he's more bare than clothed, but that doesn't matter.

Jaune had told them that its up to the huntsman to name his semblance, once he found it. Issei doesn't have a scroll to check numbers. He doesn't have years of experience projecting the light of his soul as a shield and tool, he doesn't even have that many months of experience wielding magic for battle and convenience. Nor has he formed a single pact. But he knows what he just did down to his core, knows the lesser version of it he had instinctively fired off earlier. And most importantly, he knows what it is. Thin near to breaking aura be damned. Perfect health, and well rested, as fresh as he feels after sleeping until he wakes up naturally on a lazy Sunday. "Oh, I'm not mocking you burnt birdies, or trying to imitate you. I just found my Next Wind."

"A quaint name for a pale imitation of the birthright of the Phenex, and only the Phenex. Now, begone." The next few seconds pass as an eternity and a blur. But he knows he had thrown everything he has against the nobleman. Knows he heard-but-hadn't the sound of shattering glass in the back of his head and clearly through his ears to a flare of pink. A voice he loves shrieking in despair. One hand on his chin, and another on his neck, then a vibrant flare of white.

---

A/N: Whew! not only was that my longest chapter to date, but, well, theres gonna be some major repurcussions from how this deviated from Rias & co's canon rating game. Hope you're all strapped in for part two of the Flames arc, 'cause the ride is gonna get wilder still, and the fight isnt ovewr yet.

Love it? Hate it? HAve a nasty bruise that makes everyday tasks painful to carry out? Drop me a review, that shits my rocket fuel!