NMHA Ch. 51 - Intrigue


A/N -

Keeping the gravy train rolling.


Sona Shitori, that is, the girl whose true name was Sona Sitri, stared hard down at the two papers in front of her.

It wasn't often that a student approached her of their own volition. The last one she remembered doing so was Genshirou Saji. Now that he was in her Peerage and had the Sacred Gear of the fragmented Evil Dragon Vritra, Absorption Line, that was one less person beyond her inner circle who had visited her freely.

So Issei - that is, the most redeemable of the Perverted Trio - had taken it upon himself to visit her. He even asked her if she could spare a minute during lunch.

Oh, the whispers and rumors that could have gone around. Oh, the couple that did.

She took a deep breath and sighed.

Those rumors were merely that; rumors. Still, once Saji heard about them he didn't seem too pleased either, and Sona didn't need him defending her honor.

She was untouchable. Unassailable. The Invincible, Implacable Student Council President. It was an image Sona had carefully crafted for herself, but it seemed that the students were starting to get it in their heads that maybe she wasn't as indomitable as she put forward.

Her hand went to her chin, rubbing it slowly as she stared down at the two profiles beneath her.

"Yuuto Valerie and Gasper," she echoed, closing her eyes as a memory surfaced. One of another Devil, one with no claim to Kuoh, asking if he could enroll his ward - Isaiah specifically - in a more inclusive academy than what the Underworld had to offer. Sona had said yes at the time, but now she had to wonder if there was an ulterior motive at work here.

She couldn't exactly say no without compromising her dream of an all-inclusive school though. Both Valerie and Gasper were Dhampir, and had clearly linked themselves to Isaiah, both in their very introduction and in the way that Valerie had staked her claim on the blonde in front of the entire classroom.

If anything, Sona had a feeling the rumors between her and Issei were only as quiet as they were because the rumor mill latched on to the fact that Isaiah appeared very much already taken.

Much to the despair of the fairer parts of the student body.

"Honestly, you two had to go and stir the pot, didn't you...?" she mumbled under her breath.

At least Gasper was... not intentionally provocative, if a bit of an oddball in his own right considering his apparent habit for crossdressing. Even after being outed as one, there had still been boys that had approached the Dhampir anyway.

Apparently, in their words, 'traps weren't gay'.

Sona was just glad that Mr. Yamada had been there to de-escalate the brewing fight between those people and the ones who disagreed.

She needed to give him a raise, for being able to put up with all the crap that Kuoh dealt with.

"Sona-kaichou?"

"Apologies." Sona coughed briefly. "You were saying?"

Issei furrowed his brow, scrutinizing the Devil carefully. "I just mentioned that I saw someone leaving Rias-sama's clubhouse earlier this morning. Koneko mentioned that she wasn't sure who it was though, and Ddraig also said he wasn't quite sure what had happened there."

"Right." The Student Council president cleared her throat. "It's just, accusations of an infiltrator of some sort are rather severe, don't you think Issei-san?"

"I never said that person was infiltrating the ORC."

"But you were implying it."

He paused, then dipped his head in acquiescence. "Maybe I was. But really, I was just curious who that person could have been. I didn't catch any features as I was passing by, but Ddraig suggested I talk to you about it. That should be important, shouldn't it?"

Which laid the crux of the matter. As far as Sona knew, there was nobody scheduled to discuss things with Rias that early beyond Issei. But at the same time, she couldn't simply dismiss Issei's claims out of hand.

He came and offered information about this potential security risk freely, after all.

"Perhaps he has a point." Sona kneaded her temple with two fingers. "But despite what Rias may think, I know that our families have posted guards and sentries across Kuoh, especially around Kuoh Academy. I strongly doubt someone would be able to sneak in."

Issei tilted his head, eyes flickering to the side.

"So what if they were detected, but overlooked?" He furrowed his brow. "Er, whatever that means."

"I take it Ddraig is offering potential explanations?" the black-haired Devil asked, brow rising.

"He seems to think that whoever it was could have been a... mentalist? Whatever that means?"

Sona was silent.

"Sona-kaichou, are you alright? You turned pale! Is a mentalist a bad thing?"

"Not bad, necessarily, just a... that's the title of a Devil or magician that specializes in mind-affecting magics like illusions, hypnosis, or outright memory manipulation." Her head throbbed at the thought of such an action, and Sona put a hand to it with a grimace. "It's dangerous magic, easy to become addicted to using and difficult to defend against. We can train our bodies and minds, but unless you have specific safeguards in place, a good mentalist can... do a lot to you."

Issei swallowed, and looked away. "I think I get the point. Do many Devils go into that field?"

"Thankfully, no. It's incredibly difficult to get right beyond the simplest spells. It's the bloodline skill of the Dantalion family, and even among them the ability to cause even sentries to 'overlook' an individual they should actively guard against is few and far between." The grimace turned into a full scowl. "I could theoretically wipe a person's memory of the true extent of our world, that's even part of the job as co-steward of Kuoh, but a true mentalist could make the same person think even the most extraordinary happenstance is absolutely ordinary, even if they had never before been exposed to the world of Gods and Dragons. Nobody would even be the wiser."

"Could they have messed with your memories of the event?"

"No." Sona shook her head. "The wards around the school would have recorded their signature, and neither Rias nor I have the ability to delete ward records. Even if a Dantalion did get in and manipulate my memory to think nothing had happened, there wouldn't be a way for them to remove their presence from the records, and my sister has specified that the wards trigger if one so much as steps foot in Kuoh."

"Even the Leviathan is scared of mentalists?"

"She has good reason to know just what they can do, considering she could be called one herself."

"Then could it have been her at some point?"

Sona fixed the brunet with an icy stare. "I would advise you to retract your words, Issei-san. As troublesome as she can be, Serafall is still my sister and would rather cut off her own hand than raise it against me or mine."

"Right, sorry." He shook his head, rephrasing his previous query. "Do you know if there are other masters of mind magic that could have potentially infiltrated Kuoh?"

"The closest would be Mephisto Pheles, but not only is he the head of a neutral faction but has personally vowed to never use mentalist arts again except in the counter-activity of them." She shook her head once more. "It is not in his modus operandi to act aggressively either, which means it is just shy of impossible that he'd have anything to do with your supposed 'ORC visitor'. The only other individual I can think of is Janusca Dantalion, the current lord of his Pillar, but he's a fervent traditionalist and despises so much as setting foot in the human world. Even so, if either paid a visit then the wards would have logged them, and I check the ward logs daily."

"So you're saying it's probably just a surprise visit from another club president that I just missed?"

"Occam's Razor would certainly suggest it." The black-haired Student Council president hummed, before exhaling and closing her eyes. "But if Ddraig suggests something may be off, then yours is not a warning to dismiss lightly. I'll do some digging, to see if I may have missed something."

"I'd..." a conflicted look came over Issei's face, before he sighed resignedly and nodded once. "Nevermind. Thanks, Sona-kaichou. I appreciate you hearing me out."

She nodded once, gesturing to the papers on the table. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have two new students to look over further."

As Issei nodded and took his leave, Sona's gaze returned to the pictures of Valerie and Gasper, a frown adorning her face.

"Astaroth... what is your game, bringing these two here?"


Issei could hardly believe it.

"I-I thought you two were related!"

When Isaiah had joined the classroom, Valerie had taken the opportunity to shock the class.

That is, to not just kiss him, but make out with him in a full lip-lock.

She got told off by Mr. Yamada for it, but got away with basically a slap on the wrist.

Maybe he'd been taken aback too. Either way, the small grin on the red-eyed woman's face was indicative of the full purposefulness of her impromptu make-out session.

Even the normally stoic Isaiah was taken aback; he took several seconds to recover his composure after what had appeared to be a searing kiss.

"Our affections reach beyond such trifling matters as familial relationship," the red-eyed blonde held out a hand, reaching for the sky, eyes directed upward. "Even death itself could not separate us; we have been eternally bound by the red thread of fate."

"We're not actually related by blood," Isaiah translated, to which he got a small pout from Valerie.

"Not that it'd matter if it did," she added, to which Issei just stared. "We belong to each other. End of story."

"W-wait, so i-incest really isn't a p-problem for you?" the other blonde girl, this one with green eyes rather than red, stuttered.

To that, Valerie just stared.

"Should it?"

Asia stared back, as though she was going to go into a tirade about the blasphemy of brother and sister doing the dirty, before Issei set a hand on her shoulder.

"Does it have something to do with your Sacred Gear?"

The pale girl blinked several times, before glancing over to Isaiah and narrowing her eyes at him.

"Did you really spill your guts already?"

"He wants to be ready for the supernatural but doesn't want to take up either of the Peerageship offers the Devils have given him. I've been in his shoes before." Isaiah explained with a sigh, grimacing as Valerie poked his cheek.

"That's rude, and here I was going to have fun with them." The otherworldly beauty stuck out a tongue, before turning back to Issei and Asia. "Before you go and spill your own guts, that's one way to look at it."

"So if you have a Longinus as a Sacred Gear like I do-" that turned Valerie's dismissive look into an interested one, Issei noted as he glanced at the third effeminate blonde at their lunch table. "Do you have one yourself, Gasper-kun?"

"Ah, uh... y-yeah, I do." Gasper looked down and gulped. "Er, a Sacred Gear, at least. It's... ah, it's not really useful like Valerie's is. It's kinda- erm, scary, actually."

"He can stop time in a localized area," Valerie supplied, to which Gasper yelped and tried jumping across Isaiah to shut her up, to which the human(?) blond simply leaned back to avoid getting in the way of the trap's lunge.

"That doesn't sound so bad!" Asia chirped. "That's actually neat!"

"He can also transform into a shadow monster and rip his enemies to shreds." Valerie smiled serenely. "Personally, I think it's quite a unique gift that he should be proud of."

"Oh." If this were an anime, Issei would have imagined that Asia's eyes had shrunk into dots to go with the similarly tiny smile. "That makes more sense."

"Valeriiiiiiie, don't be a meaniiiiiie!" Gasper wailed, flailing his arms at the other transfer student's way, who scooted away just out of reach. "I don't wanna talk about thaaaat!"

By now their table was getting curious stares, but Issei noted that nobody was getting too close.

Had Valerie's make-out session with the class prince gotten her labeled as a pariah as well? Issei could see it, at least with the girls.

Honestly, some of the looks Issei saw them level the blonde's way had him wondering just how many were actively contemplating murder.

Or maybe the fact that he was already apparently buddy-buddy with the new kids had the others steering clear. They wouldn't want to be 'infected' by his 'pervertedness' as well.

Issei wouldn't be surprised if that was the case.

"Then let's change the topic," Issei suggested. "So you're all Sacred Gear users? That's pretty incredible, actually. Asia and I are basically the same."

"Issei, are you really gonna share that?" the former nun in question pouted. "That doesn't seem the smartest, does it?"

"We already know two of their Sacred Gears, but they don't know ours," Issei provided. "If nothing else, maybe they'll understand-"

"-what it's like to be judged for your Longinus, rather than who you are as a person?"

"Yeah, exactly!" Issei blinked, then zeroed in on Valerie. "Wait. How did-"

"My childhood was a disaster thanks to my Sacred Gear. Monster. Demon. Mad." Valerie smiled, but there was little warmth - indeed, she looked far too eerily like a porcelain doll, too blank to not trigger a sense of uncanny valley in the brunet. "The list of names I was called goes on. Consider yourself lucky that yours manifested late."

"I'm not sure it's lucky at all." Issei scowled. "Ever since I first summoned... well, my Sacred Gear, everything's been going into a tailspin. I've got Devils and Fallen after me for one reason or another, you three doing the same, and I'm not even sure what's going on with Heaven. All I know is, if it wasn't for Asia, Masaomi-jii, and... the lady who rescued me from a whackjob with a lightsaber, I'd be completely overwhelmed."

"It is a lot, isn't it?" Isaiah smiled, bowing his head. "I get it. I really do. I had a rather brutal wake-up call myself early on. I couldn't have been more than eleven when my first guardians tried to kill me."

"What?" Asia leaned forward, eyes wide. "That's horrible! How did that happen?!"

"As it so happens, I was part of a secret experiment. They were never kind to us to begin with, but they kept us fed and clothed, and for a while, it was enough." The blue-eyed blond sighed. "At least, until the compound came under attack and they tried to dispose of the evidence."

Issei caught on quickly. "You and those other kids were the experiment?"

"The resources to the experiment, and expendable." Isaiah corrected Issei and shrugged. "They'd already killed a good forty or so of us before we were freed and awakened to the truth."

"That's horrible..." Asia murmured.

"That's life. It's a struggle, and those with power are always going to leverage that over those without. Typically for the worse." Isaiah's gaze locked on to Issei's. "You're starting to realize it yourself, right?"

("I... don't want someone else to be hung out to dry like I was. Not if I can help it.")

Issei drew in a breath, then nodded once, Luna's words echoing in his mind.

"Yeah. That's why I'm training to become as strong as I can, as fast as I can." Issei bowed his head. "So the next time someone comes and threatens Asia or I, I can fight them... and I can win."

"Then we're in agreement," Isaiah reached out a hand. "Join us, you two. We want to choose our own paths as well, so why not pool our strength and do so together?"

Perhaps the most tempting offer yet, Issei admitted. Still, he had reservations.

"And what about the offer you gave me about making me 'more than human'?" he pointed out, to which both Valerie and Asia gave Isaiah a pointed look.

"It would go a long way to bridge the gap you have before you in terms of ability." Isaiah pushed on regardless. "I'll leave the final choice up to Valerie, but there's so much that you stand to gain."

So much to gain.

He'd heard that pitch before, and it hadn't swayed him then, nor did it now. He was getting sick and tired of it.

So much to gain?

If there was so much to gain, then didn't that just mean that his humanity was important somehow?

And that Isaiah had already thrown his own to the wayside?

Issei grit his teeth and sharply stood.

"So what, you'd make me a goddamned guinea pig like you were?"

Valerie's eyes widened.

Gasper yelped and dove under the table.

Asia lifted a hand to reach out and pull Issei back down, but after a brief moment of thought lowered it.

Isaiah reeled backward like he'd been slapped, and then glared back, the friendliness in his tone all but gone. "What are you on about?"

"To join your little party, I'd need to subject myself to whatever it is that Valerie made you? Is that what you're getting at?" Issei pressed onward, swiping a hand to the side. "To sacrifice my humanity, just because it's inconvenient? Because I'm too weak?"

"H-hey... .knock it off you two..." Gasper's pleas from beneath the table went unheard as the air grew thick with tension.

"Humans don't get anywhere in this world, Issei. You'll be swept up, or crushed beneath the heel of Devils, Angels, and Gods alike." Isaiah continued, rising to his own feet. "With Sacred Gears being poached by every different faction daily, what do you expect to do, especially on your own? You'll be stopped short far, far before you reach your goal of true freedom."

"S-seriously guys... this i-isn't cool...!"

"And how are you any different, deciding what's best for us because you've supposedly got more supernatural experience?"

"Gasper-kun?" Asia asked, looking down beneath the table before her eyes widened and she slowly started backing off. Valerie had already done just that, seemingly unperturbed.

"Because I'm trying to look out for someone who's in the same place I was!" Isaiah swiped his hand to the side. "It was an offer, and nothing more, and I'm even thinking of retracting such an offer now. Watch your mouth, Red Dragon Emperor, you insult us all with your temper."

Issei's nose flared at the title, and he leaned forward with a raised fist. "You fucking watch yours, bastard!"

Finally, someone else snapped. "That's enough!"

There was a brief flash of light, and the next moment Issei was back in his seat, as was Isaiah, both of them blinking at the sudden juxtaposition, before a pair of hands slammed against the table with a surprising amount of force.

"Enough, you two!" Gasper bit out, tendrils of shadows leaking out of his form, red eyes hard and pointed canines bared. The petite trap was quite a bit more menacing than what Issei had originally thought. "Isaiah, we're supposed to be in this together, but you don't get to decide what we want or what we do like that, and Issei-san's definitely right when he's suggesting you go too far. Issei-san, Isaiah really does mean well, and the fact that you seem so intent on making the whole world your enemy is not helping and it's pissing me off!"

Issei was in the middle of re-evaluating Gasper when the shadows vanished, as did most of the hardness to Gasper's eyes. Still, Issei could notice a firmness to them all the same.

"W-what has you both so on edge?" he continued. "We all want the same thing... don't we?" The trap's eyes widened as he waved his hands, as the rush of anger subsided entirely as he recognized that other students were watching - and making themselves even more scarce of their table than before. "A-ah, I'm sorry, that was rude of me, I s-shouldn't have shouted like that!"

"No, Gasper. You're right." Isaiah ran a hand through his hair and sighed, the tension leaving his shoulders as he leveled a neutral look at Issei. "You want to be free, to rise above and beyond your Sacred Gear, but you also want to be human. I get it. But humans don't get to do that. Especially people like you or I."

"Then I'll show you that I can break the mold," Issei fired back, but this time it wasn't nearly so accusatory. "Not just that I can, but I will. That's what having a Longinus is all about, right?"

"That's what they used to be about. But today isn't the same day as the one God made the Sacred Gears." Isaiah looked over Valerie's way. "...If it was, then she wouldn't have to suffer the one she has."

The blonde in question scowled, sitting back at the table before bonking the top of Isaiah's head with the bottom of her fist.

"You're a stubborn dunce," she succinctly summed up her thoughts before glancing across the table to see Issei rubbing his arm where Asia had pinched him.

"I had the exact same thing in mind for Ise-kun, Valerie-san," the former nun replied, a faint smile on her lips.

"Issei-san." The brunet in question stopped rubbing his arm to focus on Valerie, who gave a slow, single nod. "The Sephiroth Graal doesn't just have the ability to change others. It can draw forth innate ability as well. If nothing else, then allow me to help uncover the potential you bear within your soul. You have my promise that I will do nothing to your body that it, itself, could not already achieve if given enough time; you would remain human, through and through."

Where Isaiah's offer before was a tempting prospect were it not for the 'sacrifice humanity' caveat, Valerie's promise gave Issei actual pause, inspecting the full, bright red eyes of the blonde for any sign of falsehood. When he couldn't find any, his thoughts turned inward.

'Ddraig, your thoughts?'

"Hmm... I am not so keen on letting the user of Sephiroth Graal into your soul," he mused. "She would have unlimited control over what you are in that period of time."

'I hear a 'however' in your comment.'

"Whelp." Ddraig huffed. "I will be frank. You have an incredible capacity to learn, and your buried potential is great, but your 'baseline', as I'll put it, is absolutely pathetic. You have next to zero traditional magical potential, your best combat quality is your mediocre capability to take punishment, and your obsession with breasts is going to impact the nontraditional skills you pick up as well."

Issei blinked. 'I don't have an obsession, do I? No, wait, bad question, I absolutely do, but how does that tie into how well I can fight?'

"It's that ingrained in you," the Welsh Dragon deadpanned. "Ingrained to the point that your perversions affect how you control magic or ki.."

'Would Valerie be able to undo it?'

"Not without changing who you are. She could, however, encourage that flow, which would increase your affinity... for better or worse. But she'll know full well just how deep that well goes if you let her in to begin with."

Which meant another source of leverage that they'd be able to hold over him. Issei grimaced, which all the blond-haired young adults at the table noticed.

"This isn't something you have to take right away," Isaiah jumped in. "But we don't exactly want to be kept waiting either. Take your time to come to a decision, but let one of us know as soon as you do." He nodded to Asia. "The same applies to you. Neither of you have to do this alone. Us small fish have to take all the advantages we can get, to make a splash in as big a pond as the world we live in."

"It's-it's fine, Issei-san, Asia-san" Gasper added in, smiling faintly. "All three of us h-have gone through it. Er, it is kind of unpleasant, b-but honestly I'm glad to have d-done so!"

"I did end up digging through both your souls," the third of Isaiah's party muttered, a crooked grin growing on her face. "If you ended up liking the fact that I was that deep inside of you, well... I'd be rather concerned for your sanity. More so than I typically am."

"I resent that remark," Isaiah lifted up a finger in protest, to which the wielder of Sephiroth Graal hummed and leaned against the table.

"Oh? Should I be getting ideas on what we should be doing tonight?"

He lowered his finger. "...I retract my statement."

Gasper laughed, Valerie smirked, Isaiah lifted a hand to his face, Asia hunched over muttering something about 'perversions', and Issei just watched it all, a strange detachment now that his anger had settled.

'Honestly, they don't seem like... bad people.'

"But they are offering something too good to be true."

'Yeah. Especially after Rias-sama tried to... whoa. She actually tried to seduce me!'

"I can feel the awe radiating from your subconscious," Ddraig drolled.

'Er, that's besides the point though. On one hand, I... wouldn't mind, trying to be friends, but they're... how can I trust them when I have no idea who's here for me and who's here for you?'

"Don't ask me, whelp. Dragons are mostly solitary creatures, we don't crave connection like you humans do. Besides, what about the nun and the priest?"

'She and Masaomi-jii are the only exceptions.' They'd supported and stood by him even when he had nothing to offer them. He'd do the same for them, but now he had something to offer everybody, and...

It was everything he'd hoped for.

But at the same time...

Valerie stared at Issei again, and suddenly he felt like he'd been muttering under his breath despite the fact that he hadn't been saying anything at all.

"I'm... definitely gonna need to think this over." Issei met the eyes of each person at the table. "It's just been one person after another who's shown up and offered me a ticket to the top. Everyone wants me for this thing here-" he tapped his Boosted Gear arm for emphasis, "-and even if you say you're willing to treat me to the Holy Grail free of charge, there's no way I can take that at face value."

"Good." Valerie leaned forward, locking eyes with Issei, and for the third time that day he was unable to look away. This time, however, it was just from intensity, rather than anything extra... though her uncannily flawless form certainly didn't help matters. "Keep that caution, Issei-san. Now that you are the host of a Longinus, nobody is going to approach you without ulterior motives. You are going to be used. That's inevitable."

Issei grit his teeth behind thinning lips. "Is that from experience?"

"Yes." The other Longinus wielder's voice was flat. "I was saved from the hell I had endured as a child because of the same Sacred Gear that plunged me into it in the first place. Hosting a Longinus is a double-edged sword, Issei-san. You are going to be used. So instead of pushing everyone away who comes to you, use what you can to make sure you and yours come out on top instead. Maybe you'll even figure out a couple people worth keeping around."

There was a pregnant silence as Issei just nodded slowly, chewing on Valerie's words.

Meanwhile, Koneko watched unnoticed from a distance, a small frown across her own features.


Issei's phone vibrated as class ended, everyone packing their bags and heading out the door, the chatter of the students silencing the usual ringtone he typically used..

He blinked, then reached for it, before noticing it was from an unknown number with a username attached to it.

KingofCrimson: Hi Issei. It's Rias. I have a deal for you as per the Pact.

Wait, that was Rias?

Issei rubbed the side of his head, several questions running through his head. How did she get his number? Why was she texting him, rather than sending for him? Why was she utilizing their Pact already? He'd just signed it that morning!

Finally, as he was walking through the hall he decided on something more casual.

LordofH: Wait, your handle is KingofCrimson? Like, the Jei-Jei's Wacky Wanderings Stand? Seriously?!

KingofCrimson: What can I say? I like a bit of ham in my shows. But if you think Jei-Jei is too much, you should see Magical Girl Levia-tan. Complete chuuni fuel.

LordofH: ...Are we talking about the same 'Levia-tan' that's apparently Sona's sister?

KingofCrimson: Think along the lines of Power Rangers mixed with your stereotypical magical girl stuff. And yes. Same person.

LordofH: Should I ask?

KingofCrimson: Only if you don't value your sanity.

LordofH: Then I have but one option to defeat this menace... Nigerundayoooooo!

KingofCrimson: If only you could, once she sets her eyes on you. Anyway, back to the main topic.

LordofH: Right. So?

KingofCrimson: There is a Fallen Angel that's active in Kuoh.

If Issei had to guess, that was the same Fallen that had ended up taking an extended visit to the Yaegeki household.

LordofH: What are they up to?

KingofCrimson: As of right now, I don't know. I don't like that. Thankfully, they seem to be gravitating around you. So I want you to confront them and figure out what their game is.

Really? He'd only seen Yuuma a few times. Was she using concealing magic to keep herself hidden?

LordofH: Why have me do it when you're one of the stewards of Kuoh?

KingofCrimson: I'm busy and as such need to delegate tasks. I'll be leaving shortly to deal with matters back home, and I may not be back for a couple days. Additionally, as previously stated, they're gravitating around you, which means they may be more open to answering you as opposed to one of their racial enemies.

Put that way, Issei could hardly argue the point. Rias was right on all counts, though he wasn't sure how he felt about being handed a mission just like that.

That was just the nature of their Pact, though. He'd be able to do the same going forward.

LordofH: Yuuma Amano, right?

KingofCrimson: That is the one. As long as you complete that mission and hide any evidence of wrongdoing, I don't care how you get the information..

LordofH: Er, I'm not gonna perv out on her, if that's what you're suggesting.

KingofCrimson: That is decidedly less criminal than what I had in mind.

Issei's brow drew together.

LordofH: I'm not gonna hurt or kill her either if I don't have to. She hasn't done anything wrong. Yet, at least, that I know of.

KingofCrimson: Like I said, I don't care about the methods, just the results. The fact that she's been sitting around doing nothing beyond possibly monitoring you unsettles me.

Issei sighed.

LordofH: If it helps calm your nerves, I can lend a hand. But what am I going to receive in return?

KingofCrimson: Well, what did you have in mind?

His mind immediately went to the gutter, but Issei hauled it back out with a grimace. This was serious.

KingofCrimson: You were just thinking of something... naughty, weren't you?

LordofH: I did not say anything of the sort.

KingofCrimson: You didn't. But I know you are a decisive person, Ise-kun, so your silence is... telling.

No no no, that was not what he wanted in exchange for confronting a rogue agent of the biblical god!

'But the oppai...' Issei's brain whispered to him, as his memories drifted to those soft pillows against his chest-

His face lit up with pain as he staggered to the side, glancing at the fist he'd punched himself with as the intoxicating memory faded from the forefront of his mind.

'That woman's damned dangerous!'

He paid no attention to some of the side-eyed glances he got from that spontaneous action.

LordofH: I want information. On the Longinus specifically.

KingofCrimson: Oh? Very well, I can oblige once you've completed your mission. Would you prefer it delivered verbally or textually?

LordofH: Both, if possible.

A minute later, Issei felt his chest grow tight, as though something had wrapped around his heart and started to squeeze ever so slightly. Uncomfortable, but not terribly so. The feeling faded a moment later.

Thus, he knew what Rias would next say as the message appeared on his phone screen. However, it went unseen, as he walked over to a smiling Asia.

KingofCrimson: I suppose 'both' is an option. I agree to your terms, Hyoudou Issei. I look forward to hearing about your success.


Rias slipped her phone into a drawer, letting out a sigh as she started to undo her uniform, swapping from uniform into something more befitting the heiress of a dukedom.

"Keep an eye on things while I'm out," she ordered, to which her first non-noble friend gave a single nod.

"Can do, Buchou."

"Let Issei-san know that he is free to call upon your assistance if he needs it to complete his own mission."

"I was going to."

"Even though you have your own tasks to fulfill?" Rias took off her top and glanced backward, knowing full well that Koneko wouldn't so much as blink.

Indeed, even as the redhead stepped out of her skirt and walked over to her closet, dressed in little more than her undergarments, the nekoshou-turned-Devil was unfazed, instead giving a single shrug.

"You have me on guard duty. The two overlap."

"And it has nothing to do with your own feelings for Ise-kun?"

Koneko frowned, even if her cheeks reddened ever so slightly. "The two do not conflict."

"And if they did?"

"They won't."

"Awfully optimistic of you."

"Call it a gut feeling. Either way, if I have to choose, I made an oath to stand with you and I'll follow through." The white-haired girl shrugged, though it went unseen as Rias pulled out a more formal dress, a red to both match her hair and wordlessly emphasize her disapproval of being called to court for the same sort of hearing as she'd been to twice already.

Truly, Rias thought that rules of triple-jeopardy would be quite welcome in the Assembly.

"Can you help me with the zipper?"

The Rook nodded, stepping forward to reach out and zip up the back of the dress.

"And what of Akeno?" she asked.

"I've already let her know that I have a court hearing for your sake. She'll be back in class tomorrow anyway."

"Did you give her any tasks to complete as well?

"Hold down the fort and handle any administrative duties that arise in my absence." Rias stepped forward, then turned around, doing a polite smile and a curtsy. "Though I've also asked her to track down Amano-san and have a word with her if she has the time. A two-pronged assault will encourage Amano-san to be up front with her intentions. Alternatively, if she closes off, then we have good reason to believe her mission is less than altruistic, and we can react as such."

"Yet you used the Pact to have Issei-san do the same?"

"Two sources is better than one, and anything he asked for was going to be of little cost to me anyway." Rias shrugged bare shoulders, tilting her head. "It will also be a good exercise in trust. If he can deliver, I will do the same, and we both know we can count on each other a little more."

Koneko nodded wordlessly, as Rias lifted a hand and started channeling a magic circle, the sigil of the Gremory family forming in the lattice.

"I will be back soon. Take care of yourself, Koneko."

And with a flash of light, she was gone, leaving the white-haired girl alone in the upper rooms of the clubhouse.


As the circle deposited the redhead in the entry hall of the Gremory estate, Rias schooled her expression, a careful mask of amicable politeness as a servant approached.

"Welcome home, Heiress Gremory."

Heiress. One of her's, then.

"Let Mother know that I have returned," she instructed, not deigning to meet the servant's eyes, instead looking directly past them. They were not worth fixing her gaze upon. "I wish to speak with her before I depart for the Assembly."

"As you command, milady." The servant bowed his head and departed further into the household, leaving Rias alone in the mansion, only the few other servants scurrying by keeping her a moment's company.

In the silence of the foyer and the light of the chandelier above, the Gremory closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.

'Home sweet home.' So why did she not feel at ease?

Rias exhaled softly, and opened her eyes to look up the stairs where she knew her mother would be standing.

She always wondered why she took so much after her mother. Besides the eyes and hair of her father, it was practically impossible to differentiate between the two women in the immediate Gremory family.

"It is not polite to arrive a half-hour late, Rias," Venelana spoke, voice cool as she stared down at her redheaded progeny.

"I told you during our call that I would be arriving no later than an hour before the Assembly is set to gather," Rias replied, bowing her head.

"Is that so? You said that you would arrive ninety minutes before."

The crimson-haired Gremory furrowed her brow. "I am quite sure that I didn't specify a specific time frame beyond that hour mark, but I apologize if I did."

"It is of little importance." Venelana waved away the apology. "What matters is that you are here now. Come, let us speak over a spot of tea."

As her mother turned around and walked off, the redhead had to fight back the urge to scowl.

Even so, Rias followed suit, and soon found herself sitting in the Gremory's gardens, across from her mother, who was already lifting her tea to her lips. Rias took the opportunity to glance around before returning her gaze to her mother's teacup as it lowered.

"How goes your schooling?" Venelana asked a question innocent enough to cause the back of Rias's neck to tingle.

"It goes well," she obediently replied. "Naturally, I remain uncontested among my classmates in academics save for Heiress Sitri, and in terms of popularity the only one to rival me is my own Queen."

"Yes, as it should be. You are a gifted young woman, and you deserve recognition as such." Even as the words left Venelana's mouth, she spoke them as though it were a foregone conclusion.

To say nothing of everything else Rias had to juggle in addition to staying at the very top of Kuoh.

The redhead pursed her lips, but refrained from drawing her brow together. "I have already spoken to you about this today, Mother. Is there a reason why you would bring the topic of academia up once again?"

"Of course. After all, the Red Dragon Emperor is among those classmates." Venelana hummed thoughtfully. "And yet, he is part of neither yours, nor the Sitri's, Peerage. Peculiar, and... concerning."

Concerning. That single word sent a shiver down Rias's spine. Thankfully, this was something she had already prepared for.

"He has proven himself wary of making such a commitment early in our interactions," she explained. "Thus, he is cagey whenever the topic of Peerageship is brought up. However, I have managed to produce the next best result and convinced him to sign onto a Pact."

"Oh?" That caught Venelana's interest, a fine brow rising. "So you were successful in that meeting after all."

"Yes." Rias nodded, a faint smile appearing on her face. "Indeed, the Red Dragon Emperor is acting in accordance to my wishes at this very moment. Though he may not be Reincarnated, he is compliant and agreeable... given the proper motivation."

"As any man is," her mother concurred, lifting a spoon to her teacup to start stirring in a small amount of sugar. "Your father was quite the rebel himself, before he settled down with me." She glanced back up at Rias. "Do you mean to take the Red Dragon Emperor on as a 'sparring partner', so to speak?"

Rias sighed, tilting her head briefly to the side. "He is certainly receptive. However, I imagine having someone else helping him think things through makes it difficult to truly..." She pursed her lips, eyes narrowing faintly. "Drive home the point. So to speak."

"Ah, you mean that... church girl, that follows him around."

Rias very carefully didn't freeze. The last thing that she needed was to get another person involved. "I was speaking more of Ddraig himself."

"Ddraig is a dragon, dear. Though he is old, wise, and cunning, he is also a beast, and as such may be considered less than trustworthy by his gaoler. Particularly if they have an adversarial relationship, which most dragons do." Venelana stopped stirring her tea to take another sip.

"Most," Rias emphasized. "From what I can tell, the Crimson Dragon of Domination is far more willing to be helpful to his wielders. Or at the very least, this one."

"If that is the case, that makes the Red Dragon Emperor himself... unpredictable. And thus dangerous to my little girl." Venelana set the teacup down to reach out, fingertips touching Rias's chin and tilting it up so their eyes could meet. "I know that you want to be able to see the world. I can even abet your archeological passions, both due to your fascination with history and because you are just so good at it. But can you blame me for being concerned about this Longinus user being active in your school without you properly leashing him?"

"But he is; the Pact-"

"Only goes so far as the terms stipulate." Rias's mother interrupted, the warmth in Venelana's eyes winked out in a moment. "If he is as cagey as you insist, then I have no doubt that the Pact in question gives him far too many freedoms for me to be comfortable with. I have honored your desire to choose your profession, I have honored your wish to see the world above, and I have even honored your choice of Peerage members and your choice to maintain that surplus of Evil Pieces."

Venelana's fingers left Rias's chin, and once again Rias's gaze dropped, an ugly feeling in her stomach. "I have given you so much, my child," the brown-haired Gremory finished, tilting her head as the warmth returned. "Is it really too much for me to ask you to respect my own wishes to see you safe?"

The redhead's mind churned; guilt, indignation, frustration, and shame all warring for dominance within her. She didn't let her internal turmoil show, instead choosing to take a long sip of her tea to try and recollect her thoughts. But she knew that Venelana knew she'd made her point quite clear.

Somehow, her mother always did.

"But that's enough discussion about that. Why don't we run a quick trial so you are best prepared to defend your oldest Piece for a third time?"

Finally. A topic that Rias could be enthusiastic about. She understood the bone for what it was, but she jumped for it nonetheless.


A/N -

The ham of Power Rangers transcends even time and space. Do not underestimate the power of ham. It can make your title retain its name even in an alternative universe.

A bit more exposition. I've hinted at them for a while now, but at this point I think it's fair to say outright that mentalist arts are no joke. There's a reason Ajuka loathes them and why Serafall is an expert, to say nothing of how Diodora is able to clear out an entire facility of exorcists and priests despite being both deep in enemy territory and not nearly at his strongest. Solo. He who controls knowledge, he who controls the dissemination of such, and he who controls the perception of it, can overcome the mightiest of foes.

After all, all the strength in the world doesn't matter if what controls that strength is subsumed. It's basically the Superman effect; what do you do against someone who is physically impossible to defeat? You outsmart them, or you hit them with nonphysical techniques. There's a reason why good ol' Clark Kent ends up getting magicked or mind controlled all the time in the DC comics beyond simply 'he would solve everything on his own'... which he absolutely would.

It's a shorter chapter this time, I know. I'm starting to think that I should get a character web for each chapter going, just to keep a monitor for all the moving pieces. I don't think anyone other than I will see it, but it'll help maintain continuity going forward.

Tempura Wizard out.