The Old School Building was what the name implied. Kuoh Academy wasn't always an escalator school with an extremely massive campus, complete with its own university town on the other side. It was once a humble, small school. Of course, that was before Rias's time and during the time Cleria Belial was the town's administrator.

"My Lady, do you not like the tea?"

Rias glanced out of the corner of her eye to the girl standing next to her.

She was beautiful, and Rias meant that objectively. Long, silky black hair, serene violet eyes, and a perfectly designed body with a bust larger than her own, a round firm rear, and long slender legs. She was what the boys of this school referred to as a Yamato Nadeshiko. In short, she was the ideal woman.

"Akeno, your overly polite tone is making me squirm," Rias said, sipping her tea.

"Ara, Rias, can't I act my role for once?" Akeno asked, smiling at Rias's slightly unnerved face.

Yes.

This girl was Rias's Queen and her Lady-in-Waiting, Akeno Himejima. As a High-Class Devil, Rias had servants. People she had reincarnated into Devils with the use of an invention of her people, the Evil Pieces.

"Stop that, it's creepy," Rias said. She placed the tea down on the saucer and looked up at the other members of her club.

A petite girl with white hair and a cat hairclip sat on one of the sofas playing a game on her phone. Her yellow eyes were extremely focused on the game in front of her and she paid her master's gaze no mind.

Koneko Toujou. It was hard for Rias to believe that she had progressed so much these past couple of years.

Her other servant was a handsome boy with blonde hair. He had a mole underneath his left eye. Contrary to other pieces that she had seen, her Knight was rather slender and far more built for speed than overwhelming striking strength. Her bluish-green eyes made brief contact with her Knight's blue eyes.

Yuuto Kiba. Or rather, that was the name she had given him. His original name… well, Rias made sure not to tread around that. It was a delicate matter after all.

"Mmm? A request?" Rias scanned the paper.

"Another request to take out a Stray?" Akeno asked.

"No, it's a reminder to take out the Stray. To me, Satsuki, and Sona," Rias said, placing it down. "Haah, Koneko. You managed to remain hidden from those two. Can you confirm what I sensed when I scanned him in the Nurse's office?"

"About?" Koneko didn't look up from her phone.

"Ise."

"Ah, the pervert. Yes," Koneko replied.

"Oh? What's this? Is this about a boy, Prez?" Akeno asked.

"Mmm. A potential member for our Peerage. Koneko and I have cross-confirmed. He has a Sacred Gear. I just don't know which one," Rias said.

"So, will you reincarnate him, Prez?" Yuuto asked.

"Most likely, though-"

Her train of thought was interrupted by three knocks at the door.

"Speak of the Devil," Rias said. "Come in."

The door opened slowly. Rias smiled warmly. "Hello, Adashino-san. It's rare of you to come here yourself. Usually, Satsuki would come instead of you."

Mitsuki stood at the entrance. Her hair was messy and her cheeks were slightly flushed. Since she had just come from her kendo club, Rias deduced that she had just taken a shower.

"Satsuki's not here right now. She's busy taking care of business down in the Underworld with Grandma, so you get me instead," Mitsuki said, walking over to one of the chairs and sitting down.

Koneko and Yuuto became slightly annoyed by her attitude. She didn't show Rias much respect and spoke to her casually.

Unbeknownst to the entire school, there were forces at play in the shadows. Forces masquerading as normal humans while secretly monitoring and controlling the town from the background. And Mitsuki belonged to these forces.

Mitsuki Adashino was like her. A Devil. Well, Mitsuki was a half-devil but Rias never cared about specifics when it came to that.

Rias nodded. "Koneko. Yuuto. You two can go home for today."

The two nodded, knowing that this meeting between the Houses was private for the most part. At least, they knew that whenever the younger sister was here, Rias and Satsuki spoke mostly alone. Their Queens were the only ones present.

After the two left, Mitsuki crossed her legs and leaned back in the chair with her eyes closed.

Akeno placed a cup of tea down before her, smiling at the younger girl.

"Thanks, Akeno," Mitsuki said, taking a sip of the tea.

"So? What is it?" Rias asked.

"The assignment Satsuki had to track down the Stray Devil Viser. She asked me to give it to you since she can't make it back to Earth on time. Apparently, she held it off since she was going to the Underworld but things came up," Mitsuki said.

Rias's eyebrow twitched. This was the third time she had done it. Was her sister really this lazy?

"Five people have already died. All of them are in different parts of town." Mitsuki waved her hand, projecting a holographic map of Kuoh. There were five marked locations on the map.

"There's no discernible pattern… yet but, five people ending up dead all in the same way. People will start asking questions and it isn't something we can keep hidden forever. Which is why Satsuki wanted you to get on it," she said.

"Why can't you and Shin do it?" Rias asked.

"Mmm? I don't have a peerage and this isn't my order. Besides, Shin and I have plans that day. We're going to go on a date to the aquarium," she replied.

"So… what about Sona?" Rias asked.

"She has a family matter to attend to. You think you were the first person I went to about this?" Mitsuki said.

Rias remained silent, analyzing the map. She was right. There was no discernible pattern… yet.

"If you don't deal with this, Aka-nee or Sora-nee will get involved. And you know for sure that… you don't want the Vermillion Star or The Princess dealing with this one," she added.

Rias gulped at her words. The Vermillion Star and The Princess. Those two did not have the word "restraint" anywhere in their vocabulary. They would rather incinerate half of the planet if it meant killing a random stray devil that posed a threat to their… normal lives as they so delicately put it.

"Mmm… fine. We'll pick it up once we have a definitive location on them," Rias said, relenting to Mitsuki's demand.

"By the way…"

"What is it?" Rias asked.

"I know that you want to fill your peerage and all that but… can you stay away from Aniki?" Mitsuki asked.

Rias quirked an eyebrow in surprise. Mitsuki never interfered before whenever she and Sona went out to gather peerage members. Well, Sona. Rias had most of hers prior to going to high school. In fact, not even Shin and his older sister interfered when Sona reincarnated the Genshirou child.

It was strange to her but then again, Rias had no idea what kind of deal the previous administrator had with Shin and Mitsuki's families.

"Are you saving him for yourself… or does Satsuki want him?" Rias asked.

"No, even Sacchan is forbidden from turning Issei. We all agreed that Issei would be safer if he remained human," Mitsuki replied.

"Are you implying that Rias will place Issei in harm's way?" Akeno asked, glaring slightly at the younger girl.

"Akeno-"

"That's exactly what I'm implying."

Rias paused when she heard her words. She bit her cheek and had a hurt expression on her face.

"It's not that I think you'll willingly place him in danger, Rias," Mitsuki said, looking at her. "But, given your status as Sirzechs's younger sister and the fact that you and your peerage actively hunt stray devils more frequently than Sona and Satsuki do, Aniki being in your peerage puts him in a healthy amount of danger."

Rias looked down at her tea, knowing full well that Mitsuki's words were true. "But… he has a Sacred Gear."

"We know," she said.

"Then, why? If I can sense it, then others can too! If anything, he'd be safer with me!" Rias argued.

"No. Being around you would just make him a target," Mitsuki said.

"He'll find out eventually," she whispered.

Mitsuki placed her teacup down and stood up. She walked toward the door but stopped when she had her hand on the doorknob. Mitsuki looked over her shoulder, giving Rias one last look.

"Then I'll cross that bridge once we get there. But for now, I want him to live a happy, normal life away from all of this," she said.

With that, Mitsuki opened the door and left, leaving Akeno and Rias alone.

"Prez, are you going to…?" Akeno asked.

"No. If that's how it's going to be, then we can't do much. I don't want to piss Shin's older sister off. And I'm against the idea of forcing him into servitude against his will. What a shame… he was kind of cute in a puppy sort of way," Rias said. Her cheeks flushed slightly at the thought of that bright smile.

Akeno smiled. "And if he comes to us on his own?"

"Then, that would be his choice and not Mitsuki's," Rias said.

"I'm telling you, she's real!"

Issei huffed and crossed his arms, leaning back against his chair. Currently, he was at his friend's older sister's live house, Hatch Potch. According to Shin, the place was founded and designed after a pub his parents met in when they were in the UK. It was a quaint little location. A simple, nondescript two-story building with an awning in the suburban area of Kuoh.

"A girl. Like a real girl? And not just some… guy who likes to crossdress?" Shin asked, leaning his head against his hand.

"No, Shin. It's a girl… from an eroge, right?" a man with short, spiky blonde hair said. His blue eyes were full of amusement. He wore a white, button-up dress shirt that was slightly parted, revealing part of his chess. His burgundy blazer hung off a chair.

"Ah. Right," he replied.

"Oi! Riser-aniki! Shin! This isn't funny! She's real!" Issei said.

Riser and Shin glanced at each other.

"Okay, I'll bite. What's her name?" Riser asked.

"Yuuma. Yuuma Amano!" Issei proudly declared.

"Hah? Heaven's Evening Daze? Did you just spend the entire walk here making that name up?" Riser asked.

"No! She's real! I can show you!" Issei said, fishing inside his pocket for his phone.

"I bet it's a trap," Shin said.

"And I…" Riser leaned back in his chair to think, "...think that he's gonna show us a picture of a girl he passed by."

"... Alright, how's 500 yen sound?"

"Okay. I'm game. 500 yen it i-"

But before the two could finalize their bet, Issei pulled out his phone and shouted, "Look!"

It was a selfie of the new couple. Issei had run back to find Yuuma before she could leave and snapped a photo.

So, it was real.

Shin and Riser blinked several times, attempting to process what they were seeing. After a few seconds, Issei pulled his phone away and grinned triumphantly at the sight of their dumbfounded faces. Did they really have that little faith that he could get a girlfriend?

"Well, damn," Riser said, "Now I've seen everything."

"You know they say that impossible is not real. There are events that have an astronomically small chance of happening but it's never 0. I guess this is just one of those rare cosmic events," Shin said in a philosophical manner.

"Did we just lose 1000 yen to Issei?"

"You guys are assholes. You should be happy! I finally got a girlfriend!" Issei said.

"We are. We… are just processing everything," Riser admitted.

"Congrats, Issei. Good job on no longer being single," Shin said.

"Can't you show a bit more enthusiasm!?" Issei said indignantly.

"Oi! Akane! Issei got a girlfriend! Think we can get some drinks?" Riser called out.

"ISE GOT WHAT!?"

Issei sighed. The door to the back opened and a woman with black hair and red eyes came rushing out at lightning speeds. She stopped in front of him with a look of shock and disbelief.

Expression aside, she was a very beautiful and graceful woman. She had long black hair, piercing red eyes, and a slender yet curvy build. It was hard to believe that she already had a daughter who was going to turn three this year. However…

Issei grimaced when he felt her iron claws on his shoulder.

"You got a what?" she demanded.

"A… girlfriend?" Issei said.

"No way this is real," Akane said, letting go of his shoulders.

"Onee, it's real. He showed us a picture," Shin said.

"Photoshop is a wonderful tool people use nowadays," Akane said, nonchalantly waving off his words.

"It's not Photoshop! Look! I have her number too!" Issei tapped his phone several times and pulled up the message thread.

"Huh? Are you sure this isn't just some weird roleplay you and Matsuda do?" Akane asked.

Issei's eyebrow twitched.

"Alright, Onee. I think he's had enough," Shin said.

"Fine… congrats, Ise-chan. Don't tell Sora okay? She'll be really really… well, you know how she is," Akane said.

She pulled out a chair and sat down with them.

"So, when is it?" Shin asked.

"When's what?" Issei said.

"The date, stupid. When is it?"

"Oh! It's this Saturday at 10 AM!"

"Hah? Ah, okay then. I'll get Hanako to take you off the schedule for Saturday. And on Friday, you, Shin, and Mitsuki take the night off. I don't trust your ability to get dressed for a date. Especially since it's you," Akane said, narrowing her eyes at Issei.

"I'm… not that bad," Issei said.

"Ise, during middle school, you went to the school festival in Chiba with the Vice President, Kiyome Abe, and your idea of fashionably dressed was the school uniform," Shin reminded.

"Don't remind me about that. I… will never ever live that down. Vice Prez Kiyome… basically never saw me as dating material ever again," he replied.

"So… what are you going to wear?" Shin took a sip of his orange soda, all the while imagining what sort of monstrosity Issei was going to mix and match. It wasn't that Issei had horrible fashion sense; it was quite the opposite. Issei was normal… for the most part. He was just often times dense.

"What's he gonna wear to what?"

The group turned to the door to see Mitsuki walking into the room. She had her Shinai case slung over her shoulder and her hair was slightly messy. Mitsuki raised an eyebrow when she noticed the slightly serious atmosphere in the otherwise laid-back establishment.

"Eh? Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Mii, you're here. This is very serious," Shin said, folding his hands.

"Huh?"

"Come on. I need to tell you something very important."

Mitsuki's face turned slightly red. Shin had never been… this forceful before. She nodded and walked over to one of the chairs and sat down. "So… Shi-kun-"

"Issei has a girlfriend now."

Her mind went blank. Eh? What did he just say?

"Issei has a girlfriend now."

That statement replayed over and over in her mind. It took a few seconds for her brain to reboot before she smiled at him and waved it off. "Ahaha! Shin, you're really funny. There's no way. I mean… look at him. Do you see this? Do you see this stupid little face?" She reached over and pinched his cheek as if to emphasize her point.

"You're… being a bitch," Issei said, causing Mitsuki to pull his cheek even harder.

"Oh shut up you big baby. So… show me a picture of the girl." She pulled his hand away from his face.

Issei rubbed his sore cheek before pulling his phone out and handing it to her.

Mitsuki zoomed in on the picture several times, her eyes flashing red briefly before looking at Issei and back to the phone. "Shin."

"Yeah." Shin leaned over and looked at the phone with her.

"She's too good for him."

"Agreed."

"Maybe she's just gonna use Aniki as a wallet."

"You know what they say," Shin leaned back in his chair, "Pure girls are always the ones hiding something behind those eyes. For all we know, she could be playing around with multiple guys."

Mitsuki wiped a fake tear from her eye. "Poor Aniki. He doesn't even know he's being used as a wallet… boohoo…"

Issei felt his eyebrow twitch in annoyance.

"Come on, guys! Be serious! This is my first ever real date-"

"Did Vice President Abe back in Chiba not count?"

"Mii, you know Issei fumbled the ball on that. Of course, he's gonna say it didn't count-"

"Guys!"

"Okay, okay. Hmm, I think we can put something together. Today is… Thursday so we don't have much time to dress you up, Aniki," Mitsuki said, sliding the phone back.

"So you guys are going to help me?" Issei asked.

"Well duh. We're not gonna let you crash and burn on your first actual date. We're your friends- best friends," Shin said.

"Thanks, man. That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

"Ew, gross. What the hell! Don't hug me!"

Shin tried to push Issei off as Issei wrapped him in a tight hug.

"Come to think of it. Shin and I are going on a date on Saturday. Wanna make it a double date?" Mitsuki asked, leaning her head on her hand.

She watched with great amusement as Shin tried to pull their childhood friend off his person.

"A double date? You really are the group mom, Mii," Akane commented, watching her brother and Issei fighting.

"I mean… I have a pervert and a weirdo to deal with. Both of them I've known since I was a kid and one of them I'm dating. I kinda grew up to be the team mom," she said, sighing. She got off her chair and walked over to Issei and Shin.

In one swift motion, Mitsuki pried the two apart. "So, Aniki, wanna go on a double date? If Shin and I are there, we can keep you from being a weirdo in front of a girl."

"Oi, how bad do you think I am when interacting with regular people?" Issei asked.

"I mean… that is if you want, otherwise, we'll leave you two alone," Shin said.

Issei sat on the ground, thinking their offer over.

On one hand, Mitsuki's offer was tempting. Having two safety nets to keep him from embarrassing himself in front of Yuuma was a good idea. He didn't need to randomly open his mouth and spew something that would completely turn him off from her. This was his first girlfriend after all. First impressions are everything when it comes to a budding romance.

On the other hand, if he just asked for advice and went on a date without either of his best friends involved, then Mitsuki and Shin wouldn't have a chance to utterly embarrass him in front of her. He loved them to death. They were his best friends after all; however, the two were maliciously brutal when it came to embarrassing him. They all were. It was the rule of being best friends. Embarrassing each other just came with the package.

And Issei realized that, just for one day, he would like to not have that entire package on him.

"Ne, where were you and Shin planning to go on your date?" Issei asked.

"Aquarium. Mii wants to see the new dolphin exhibit that they set up. I kinda joked that we're just going to see a sushi exhibit haha- Ow!"

Shin rubbed the back of his head, giving his glaring girlfriend a pained look.

"Oh chin up, you big baby. Aniki, you don't have to go with us on a double date. I understand that this is going to be your first date… your first real date," she added, seeing the look Issei was giving her.

The Kiyome Abe incident in middle school was something Issei knew the two were going to bring up if he went with them.

It was especially embarrassing now that Issei and Kiyome were still in the same school.

"Also!" Mitsuki slammed her hand on the table, causing both Issei and Shin to jump. "We need to get you ready for your date! I'm not just talking about looks! I mean other stuff! The second most important thing other than your appearance! You!"

"Me? What? What does that mean?" Issei asked.

"We need to teach you how to get along with women-"

"I know how to talk to girls!"

"Yeah, because the Kendo club and all the girls in our class love you so much."

"That's really mean, Mii-chan."

"Anyway, before we go home, I'm going to hammer into you everything you need to do on your date! This isn't something I'll allow you to fuck up willingly or accidentally!" Mitsuki said, waving her finger in front of his face.

Issei shrank in his spot.

"From here on, no… from now until the end of your date on Friday, you are not allowed to watch porn! I'm heading over to your room tomorrow to lock up your AVs. That also means no peeping! I'll teach you how to look a woman in the eyes when you talk to her!" she continued.

Issei looked to Shin for help. His hope crumbled when he saw Shin giving him a thumbs-up while finishing the rest of his juice box. He whimpered when he saw his other childhood friend's now blazing red eyes peering straight into his soul.

"From now until closing, we're just going to practice talking to girls! So prepare yourself!" she said.

"Aka-nee… Riser-aniki… help…" Issei begged.

Riser shook his head and sent him a sympathetic smile.

Akane just gave him a thumbs-up.

"Now, the first thing about conversation, eye contact."

"Come on, it wasn't that bad."

Issei kept walking forward. His eyes were dulled and lifeless as if his soul had just spontaneously evaporated from his mortal vessel. And in a way, it almost did. Mitsuki had grilled him for three hours straight on proper ways to talk to girls without coming off as a weirdo. Issei had tried to commit it all to memory after realizing that this might be his chance to no longer be a kissless virgin weirdo. And as a result, he overloaded his own brain.

"Always maintain eye contact… don't make things too complicated…"

"Jeez, Mii. You really killed him," Shin said, waving his hand in front of Issei's face.

"Aniki, are you really okay? Was that… too much for three hours?" Mitsuki asked, looking at Issei's hunched over, shuffling form worriedly.

Issei flashed her a tired smile. "I got this… right?"

Shin and Mitsuki gave each other a glance.

Shin smiled and patted him on the back. "Don't worry buddy, you got this. I'm sure after being lectured by Mii for three hours straight, you'll get a second date right off the bat after the first."

"You really think so?" he asked.

Mitsuki nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! You just gotta show her your best sides to make that strong first impression!"

"Thanks, guys. I really mean it. Helping me out with all of this. I actually thought of going to Motohama and Matsuda for advice while I was running to the live house," Issei confessed.

Mitsuki's face immediately contorted in disgust. "Really…? Them? For dating advice? Motohama and Matsuda?"

"O- Oi! I was closer to the elementary school and Matsuda was going to pick up his little sister-"

"Matsuda is allowed near elementary schools?" Shin asked.

Issei ignored him. "But now, I'm starting to think that wasn't such a good idea."

"In what universe would that ever be a good idea? Use your head for once, Aniki," Mitsuki said.

Issei chuckled and nodded in agreement with her. Despite being close friends with them, Mitsuki was right. As of right now, those two would have been the absolute worst people to ever go to for dating advice. It was simply a sad fact of reality.

"Alright guys," Issei said, seeing his house up ahead. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Hey," Mitsuki said, calling out to him as he walked ahead.

"Yeah?" he turned to face her.

"Don't worry about Saturday. You'll do great," she said.

Shin smirked and gave him a thumbs-up.

Issei smiled and nodded before making his way to his house. As he walked, he felt someone's gaze on him. It was coming directly from behind. He slowly reached for the gate of his house when he heard someone calling out to him.

"Hey."

Thinking it was Mitsuki, Issei turned around to see someone he had never met before, yet her face was so nostalgic. An overwhelming sense of deja vu washed over him.

The person in question was a young girl. She had pitch-black hair and almost lifeless black eyes. She wore a gothic lolita style outfit that exposed her entire chest with only X's to provide the barest amount of modesty. Despite her helpless appearance, the pressure Issei felt from her was completely unreal. It was as if… at any moment, he would be crushed by infinite pressure.

Issei struggled to find his voice as the girl took a step forward into the light.

The overwhelming sense of deja-vu hit him once more.

"...Regardless of whether it's a thousand years, or ten thousand, I will stay by Ise's and Vali's side…"

The girl's eyebrow rose ever so slightly when she saw a faint glint in his eyes.

"Do you remember?" she asked.

"Remember what…?" Issei asked.

He watched as the girl's normally lifeless expression shifted into disappointment.

"I see… so it will be the same again."

"W- Wait! What will be the same again?" Issei asked.

"I'll come see you again. But for now, Ise, you have to remember. You have to wake up."

"OI!"

Issei jumped when he heard the angry voice of his neighbor. He turned to see the old man sticking his head out of his window, waving his fist at Issei.

"It's hard to watch this AV without you screaming in the middle of the street you dumb brat!" he spat.

"S- Sorry!" Issei apologized.

The old man slammed his window shut and Issei turned back to the lamppost.

However, the girl was nowhere to be found.

"Remember? Remember what?" Issei wondered as walked into his house.

Yes, it is who you think it is.