Issei Hyoudou watched from within the visitors room as he and his family watched the Rating Game, on his left was Asia as she nervously watched. On his right was his mother and father, with Azula standing behind them. They had been glued to the fighting that only lasted for half an hour, surprisingly quick for what usually took hours. At least, the Queens of Lord Abban Phenex and Lord Zeoticous Gremory said so. But how quickly this game went, Issei guessed this was a rarity. In all honesty, Issei was rather glad Rias won. Over the training time, he had gotten into a pretty good friendship with the devil heiress. Of course, he was a bit scared of her due to how much her training turned her into something like that.

"Rias is scary," Asia whispered, leaning against him as she shivered, "very scary."

Issei hugged his girlfriend as he thought back to the fight between Akeno and Riser's Queen was something to behold, of course his other girlfriend he was going out with. The power shook the barrier from the assault of lightning, making Akeno one of the powerhouses of Rias's peerage. However, this game also showed off the training that the peerage went through pretty well. Issei was rather proud of himself as he had worked with all of the peerage along with his sensei.

Given how much the peerage had utterly destroyed Riser's, Issei felt rather vindicated in how hard the peerage was trained. He wondered how his sensei was handling this win until Azula made a comment.

"Did you notice how Riser acted?" She asked softly from behind them, looking thoughtful.

Issei blinked before looking up at her, "It was rather odd, I have to admit."

Azula nodded as she said, "he was lost, confused then terrified before the other personality seemed to fully take over. And that ability to turn into a massive column of flame was very impressive, even though it looks like he hasn't trained much with it. Something about it seems off though, almost wrong."

Issei pondered on what Azula mentioned about it, something had seemed very off about it. It acted like it was alive, not just a flame one would see in a fire. No, the flames were almost eldritch and ominous, the way they moved and danced was very alien. He was pulled out of his thoughts as Abban Phenex's Queen stepped forward, gaining their attention.

The woman looked like she belonged to some high end rich family, fancy dress and jewelry included. Dark blue hair along with sharp purple eyes made her look like some imposing wife of some rich family. Probably why she fit as Abban's Queen piece, given that a lot of those under the Phenex family were richly dressed.

"Given that the Rating Game is over, I shall lead you to the reception area where you can meet up with those you came with."

Issei, along with his family, stood up and followed the Queen through the hallways. Issei simply remained quiet as he listened to the other members of his family speak in hushed tones about the game. His father was conversing with this mother, who had been rather enthralled with the game itself. However, she was very interested in how well that spell she allowed Akeno worked. Issei had felt the storm building up, even though he was shielded due to the viewing room. He could feel the clouds as they churned, the lightning as it flared within those darkening artificial skies.

How had he even been able to feel those currents of power? It was a rather curious question as they soon found themselves at the reception area, where the others that had watched were arriving. Issei spotted his and Asia's Sensei, who was looking rather smug as she walked with Medusa. Soon, Issei and the others would be teleported to the ORC's main room so they could go home but they were invited to a party in a few days time to celebrate Rias's first win.

The next day at school was rather quiet, Issei didn't feel safe about it. Something was setting his nerves off other than what was inside his soul messing with him. Akeno was with him, along with Asia as they ate lunch under their tree. He was also amused to remember that this spot was avoided by the peerage, though they seemed to not realize it. Eating comfortably, the three enjoyed their lunches before Akeno spoke up.

"Hey, Issei," She said softly, looking over at him, "could we go on a date before Rias's celebration?"

Issei blinked in surprise at her question, "I-I wouldn't mind but why are you asking so suddenly?"

Akeno hummed before leaning against him, sounding embarrassed and soft, "I-I…well, after the game, I was really beginning to feel like I was focusing on Rias and myself more then you and Asia. So, I wanted to make up for it."

Akeno looked so earnest in this moment, it took Issei's breath away just looking at her before his higher mental functions kicked in. Wrapping his arms around the devilress, Issei hugged her close. Asia moved closer and soon was hugging Akeno as well, the trio enjoying a shared moment. Issei found himself pondering to himself as he let his senses out, feeling out Akeno's inner lightning as he felt Asia's light shine against him. The thing inside him quickly hid itself away into the darkest recesses of his mind, her light burning and destructive to such an eldritch entity.

He simply enjoyed the moment before letting Akeno go, smiling warmly.

"If you want a date, then we'll go on one," He chuckled, watching as Akeno lit up with joy, "just be a good girl until tomorrow."

Akeno mockingly pouted, "but if I'm a good girl, how can I be snarky to those that clearly think they're my betters?"

Issei thought about that for the briefest of moments before answering, "well, I guess those richer former Aiichi Symbiosis Academy students need a reminder that they aren't the top dogs here."

Akeno all but gave him a feral grin as he said those words, "Of course, I'll be a very good girl then, Mr. Hyoudou."

Asia snorted as she shook her head, "I don't feel bad for those students, Akeno has needed an outlet recently."

Issei shook his head, giving Akeno permission was like giving her the ability to cause as much unholy chaos amongst the ranks of the rich gals of Kyoto without retaliation. Oh, Issei was not going to hear the end of it if Akeno was caught.

The next day, chaos ensued. Issei had trouble keeping a straight face as he heard the rumors hitting the Kuoh gossip mill that there was a breaking in the ranks of the beauties of Kuoh. Many of the men were simply watching as the girls gossiped about it, the rumor mill getting through a few stories before the one that came through solidified. One of the "Queens of Kuoh", the original ones, had declared the others as interlopers. That was after saying she was going on a date with her boyfriend, causing the others to scoff and say she wasn't actually doing it.

Chaos ensued as the rich girls that were learning at Kyoto were finding it rather inconceivable that someone like Rias or Akeno would simply go on a date with a guy, just because they loved them. The chaos Akeno was causing amongst the ranks of the rich was hilarious, even more so when Akeno came into his classroom and sat in his lap. Not a word was said as he hugged Akeno, the third year leaning into him with a content smile. Several of the rich girls, Issei guess from their rather expensive looking variations of the Kuoh uniform, gaped at them as he tilted his head.

"Hey, Issei," Matsuda said, ignoring that Akeno was on his lap, "did you get the memo from Ms. Meda Suu?"

"No, what was it?"

"She said that her class was canceled for the week because the tech she used needed to be recalibrated or something. So we aren't being hunted for the rest of this week, but we got regular survival classes." Issei's friend said, shrugging before looking over at the rich girls who were blocking the door, "why are there so many dames at the door gaping?"

"I wouldn't worry about it," Issei said, shrugging at his friend, "they clearly are in shock. Our teacher will handle them before anything untowards them happens."

Planning out a date for Akeno the night before doing it was something Issei was never gonna do again, but the next day was the party for Rias's win. However, he was eternally grateful that his parents were able to help him get a plan together. Soon, he was waiting at the park for his date as he went over the plan of the date in his mind. Soon, he spotted Akeno approaching him. His heart skipped a beat as he saw Akeno in a cocktail dress that hugged her body, a coy smile on her lips as she approached him.

"I hope I'm not late, Issei," She purred, her eyes flashing softly as she kissed his cheek, "I had some trouble with my outfit."

Issei found it very hard to speak for several moments before he forced his tongue to work, "N-no, Akeno, you are not late. I'm not sure you could not be late and not convince others that you were on time anyway."

Akeno giggled before wrapping her arms around one of his own, allowing him to lead her onwards. Issei led her away towards the movies, wanting to do a classic date plan. A simple movie and a dinner, nothing to go wrong. Which was a good thing, as the date went off without a hitch. Akeno picked a romance movie for the pair to enjoy, snuggling into his side throughout the entire feature film. He wasn't going to reject this closeness from her as he was enjoying her inner lightning pulsing, making his body feel fuzzy and warm. A few hours later, the pair left the theater as Issei led Akeno to a local diner that his parents had suggested.

Soon, Issei was several thousand yen lighter but Akeno clearly was having a great date. Her smile was brilliant and heart warming as they conversed throughout it, something that made his heart beat much faster. He also learned something funny, Akeno was a horrible bowling player. How she was so bad was beyond him but that was something he learned that night. As he led Akeno to the ORC building, he couldn't help but feel like tonight was a success.

"Issei," Akeno whispered as they stood on the steps of the old school building, feeling her press up against him, "I truly enjoyed tonight."

Akeno kissed him, her lips pressing into his as he felt a jolt of lightning pass from her to him. The next few minutes were a blur but once he could see again, he saw a rather flustered Akeno before him who was breathing much more heavily then before.

"Never realized kissing you would be so breathtaking," Akeno grinned before opening the ORC door, "I hope to do that more often. See you tomorrow, Issei."

With that, Akeno went inside the building as Issei tried to get his body to move towards home. Tried being the right word as his legs seemed to be cemented to the porch after that kiss, which had him wondering if going on a date with Asia would be the same.

Rias Gremory is sitting before her vanity in her family house, looking over herself as she puts the hairbrush down. Given that she had taken the time to look her best but she wasn't feeling really up to flaunting her victory anymore. The next few days after the win had left a sour taste in her mouth, as the victory was something she thought she would treasure. Turns out, it was like ash in her mouth after going over it in her mind. She had pushed all of her friends and family that was her peerage into going beyond with their powers and gifts, pushing them past their limits.

She also felt horrible with herself, seeing the person that was what "Aunt Elizabeth" saw. Trapped behind a personality that happened because of what Issei now carried. To imagine a state of being was terrifying, to see it first hand was worse. That was why the victory was so wrong to her, as she wasn't fighting Riser at all. She was fighting a monster that created a personality fit for some obsessed ego driven maniac, whatever Issei carried within him had done this before jumping hosts.

That thought made her frown deeply, imagining the monster that had taken hold of Issei as he tore off that stray exorcist's lower jaw. The look on his face as he regained control of his body, evacuating his stomach from the gruesomeness of the act. The person that was Issei was totally different to the eldritch horror that was housed within his soul, Rias was starting to see the differences.

That and tons of therapy with a third party in the know of the Supernatural world helped a ton too.

She blinked as her thoughts came to a stop as someone knocked on her door, making her turn to look in that direction. She stood, walking towards the door before pausing. She had time before the party, several hours in fact so who was here so early? Couldn't have been Akeno or Asia, both were spending their time with Mr. and Mrs. Hyoudou before coming to Gremory Manor. The rest of her Peerage would have been doing some odd jobs before getting ready, last minute contracts and such.

Slowly opening the door, she blinked in surprise to see one of Riser's Pawns standing there. However, something was very off about her. The Pawn, Burent, looked very pale and gaunt now. Her teal-blue eyes were very dull and gray in color as she lifted her arm, palm facing the ceiling as it was lifted to face level. A magic circle formed, facing Rias, as it glowed purple with runes that Rias quickly read. One was of dust, another of paralysis and another was sleep. Burent blew into the magic circle, dust billowing out and covering Rias's face.

She coughed, gagging as she stumbled backwards before collapsing. Her muscles tightening, restricting her movement as her brain slowly started to stop thinking. It was getting harder to stay awake but she forced herself to do so, trying to figure out what was happening. Burent stepped into the room, along with her fellow maid, Marion. Marion had the same dull eyes as Burent, as she walked in behind the other devil. Burent smirked at Rias before pulling out a sphere that sparked and gleamed in the light, putting it on the bed.

"We have our Masters prize," Marion said, pulling Rias into her arms, "we must leave before the others notice the discrepancy in their wards."

"Of course," Burent nodded before sneering at the room around them, "Master will be able to get them to bow to his whims soon enough."

Rias felt her eyes close as the darkness took her, so many questions running through her mind as she was kidnapped from her bedroom.