To Roll The Die

Chapter 5, The Son of Perdition

I do not own anything pertaining to DxD or RWBY

Word of warning, these next few chapters focus heavily on world building as well as the development of future plot points. It can get pretty deep into spiritual and religious topics that the more zealous among you might find offensive, but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make. This story does not reflect any personal beliefs of mine, so don't come at me sideways for what is clearly a work of fiction like what happened when I was writing Exalted. Or do, it's your choice to waste your time at the end of the day.


"Domain field, sir?" Jaune questions uneasily as he eased himself into the chair summoned by Zeoticus with a wave of the man's hand, Penny following suit with much less poise as she plops herself down in the offered plush chair with glee. "I'm afraid I don't follow."

Rias's father was an extremely attractive man, something that Jaune felt comfortable admitting despite his unfathomable love of the female form. With long, straight crimson hair, an angular, aristocratic face with high cheekbones and a perfectly shaped nose, deep azure eyes and a shapely goatee that curves around his jaw in stylized horns, Zeoticus Gremory looked like he could command respect from even the blind with just his charisma alone.

His overall presence was very similar to two other people Jaune had worked with closely in the past, Clover Ebi and Qrow Branwen to be precise, but spicier, if he had to describe the source of mystical power within Rias's father. If Jaune were a betting man, he'd be willing to wager that Zeoticus was unnaturally lucky, even without an Aura or Semblance to boost his probability in a favorable manner.

"Right, I didn't think you would." Zeoticus nods in understanding while idly brushing his left hand through his stylish beard in thought. "Tell me, did Rias begin to discuss the origins of the Devil race with you yet?"

Jaune blinks at the odd line of questioning. "I do not believe so, sir, we mainly discussed the differences between Humans, Devils, Aura, Semblances and her expectations for Penny and I going forward before we both decided we could go for a break."

The current head of the Gremory Family makes a noise in his throat in affirmation absentmindedly, his eyes becoming slightly vacant as he tries to formulate an explanation for his odd line of questioning.

Jaune wasn't sure how to feel about Rias, or the absurdity of his current situation, but Zeoticus certainly lends more credence to the crimson haired girl's claims than the words of four teenaged strangers alone, no matter how Magical they were. The fact that Rias's father was present and displaying the same overly affectionate cordiality that his daughter continuously displayed eased Jaune's unspoken concerns about his continued presence in Rias's home at least, no matter what audacious claims she made.

Zeoticus didn't seem to be here to give the blond the Devil version of the shotgun speech, but Jaune didn't consider himself to be out of the ballpark quite yet in the least.

Devils, Peerages, Evil Pieces, Earth… it was all so crazy that the blond Huntsman had been sorely tempted to assume that he and Penny had somehow ended up being saved by delusional and extremely wealthy teenagers that were in some extremely weird cult or something and that the two of them had never truly died, because that explanation certainly had made more sense at first.

Jaune could no longer hold that crazy idea to be true, because reality had been staring him back in the face the entire time.

He really died.

He was really brought back as a Devil.

He would now live for hundreds, if not thousands of years while his normal friends and family would perish in what could be considered a blink of an eye by his new standards.

He had wings, Magic and everything else he needed to put Cinder down like the dog that she was, but no way of getting home so he could do exactly that.

Potentially ever.

"Are you alright, son?" A masculine voice draws Jaune from his thoughts sharply, and for a split second he imagined he was back at home when he saw the concern in Zeoticus's blue eyes.

They were the same shade as his father's, who he realized would never see again.

"Yes, sir." Jaune sighs tiredly while idly reaching up to rub his hand across the back of his neck to ease the tension forming a knot in his stomach. "Please continue, sorry for spacing out like that."

The afternoon glare momentarily landed in his eyes from the large glass windows behind Zeoticus, the sun giving way to the moon once more in just a few hours more.

A whole, unbroken moon, from what Rias mentioned in passing.

She had offered to show him pictures, of course, but he denied her the small offer, saying that he'd really like the first time he saw it to be in the sky, with his own eyes.

That was the only way to be really sure any of this was real or not, because there was just no way Rias or her father could fake such a thing, right?

Was 'real' even real to begin with?

Or…

Was all of this just an elaborate dream his dying mind cooked up in an effort to extend his measly existence, like electrons firing off into a nothingness that had no bounds? A way to comfort himself, to live out his wildest dream in a moment that could feel like years like some scientists speculated happened to everyone right before the soul left the body?

It would explain Penny's presence, and Rias's beauty, and Akeno's teasing, or Kiba, Koneko and even Zeoticus as well.

Were all of these people he'd met today besides Penny personifications of some subconscious desires he had that he didn't know about or acknowledge before his death? Rias being a composite replacement for Pyrrha, and Akeno maybe representing a desire to be wanted by even the beautiful women that Jaune would have never gotten the attention of back in Mistral? He could certainly see Kiba representing the little brother he always wanted but never got until Oscar joined the fray, that sort of made sense.

Koneko… well, she seems like a cute little cat, and cats are super cool, Jaune idly concluded, his eyes further clouding over as his mind stuttered under the strain he was feeling.

Even Zeoticus's existence made sense, maybe as his desire to be accepted by his future lover's family, represented by the Rias-Pyrrha gestalt that his mind cooked up and how sweet, affectionate and just… damn perfect the 'Gremory Family' seemed to be.

Maybe his rebirth as a 'Devil' had something to do with his guilt over Penny's death? That was just a word for an evil person or being at the end of the day as far as common use back on Remnant went, and was even often used to describe the Grimm alongside demon and other words of the sort. The act of killing Penny certainly made him feel evil in that moment, tainted in a way that only death washed away, even if she had asked him to do it and her final sacrifice prevented an even greater evil from occurring by Cinder acquiring the powers of the Winter Maiden.

His hands had been permanently stained by the act, there was no doubt about it in his mind. Even if it was for the greater good, he had still committed an act of unspeakable evil, one he doubted his friends and family could ever forgive him for when Weiss and Winter eventually tell them what happened in those final moments.

"Are you sure you don't need a moment?" Zeoticus leans forward a bit until his forearms are placed against Rias's desk, the look of concern on his face growing even more pronounced as he regarded the blond seated across from him carefully.

It was impossible for Jaune to say for sure whether any of this was real or not, a conundrum he never thought he would actually be forced to ponder like the superheroes in his often criticized comic books, but it was still incredibly rude of him to get lost in his own head while the maybe real maybe not father of his maybe real maybe not savior was speaking to him.

"No, I promise I'm fine." The blond warrior raises both of his hands while laughing off his discomfort, as if to display a lightheartedness he certainly wasn't feeling at the moment. "Don't mind me, Rias mentioned that you were an extremely busy man and I don't want to waste your time any more than I already have. Sorry, sir."

"You'll soon find that time is something we have plenty of, my boy." Zeoticus assures the tense Huntsman with a smile that could make a more questionable man into a sinner. "Especially when my family is concerned, of which you are a very welcomed member of, let me say. Both of you. If you need anything, and I do mean anything, we of the House of Gremory will do our best to make it happen, so long as you promise to do the same for us."

Jaune had spent quite some time learning how to spot a liar from Robyn Hill during his many extended interactions with the Happy Huntresses. Rias's father was as genuine as genuine could be when it came to welcoming Penny and him into the Gremory household, something that touched the younger man's heart.

Whether that had anything to do with the Scroll that he was fiddling with, or whatever a 'Domain Field' was and how it somehow related to the origins of the species he was now a member of, however, remained to be seen.

"Thank you, sir." Jaune accepts the olive branch, regardless of the reason it was extended. "I promise you won't regret having us."

"The Captain is right!" Penny interjects cheerfully, her exuberant usage of Jaune's former rank drawing an amused grin from her heavily burdened friend. "Thank you for being so kind to us and extending a helping hand to otherwise complete strangers in our time of need! You can rest assured that we will do our best to repay this debt!"

"From what I can tell, I don't think I'll ever have to worry about the two of you making me regret a thing! Hell, if anything, I should be the one thanking you two from what I can gather!" Zeoticus laughs lightheartedly before leaning back in his chair once more, content that his two guests were well adjusted enough to continue their discussion. "Now then, to get us back on track, because it isn't wise to put this off for reasons that will become apparent very soon… I suppose it's safe to say that you are thus unaware that we Devils are not a completely naturally occurring species, then?"

The sharp urgency in Zeoticus's voice made Jaune, Penny and Rias sit straighter almost in sync with one another, and Jaune couldn't help but wonder what the man meant by that or why it was important to their current conversation.

"Not naturally occurring as in, created artificially?" Jaune hazards a guess while sending a fleeting glance towards Penny, who seemed very keen on finding out where the elder male was going with his sudden revelation.

That didn't surprise the former captain, given her origins.

"Correct." Zeoticus nods enthusiastically before continuing. "Now, as artificial creatures, Devils were created with as many advantages as the first Lucifer, Lord Helel, could give us, but there was always one area where we could never match our more natural adversaries, one weakness that we've never been able to shore up. Do you know what that area of weakness is?"

"I could take a guess." Jaune gives it some thought, comparing the Devils among Rias's Peerage, the maids and Zeoticus to Penny and himself, finding only one real major difference between them all after accounting for the variables he'd been made aware of thus far. "The soul?"

Where Jaune and Penny had souls akin to stellar bodies as far as size, strength and intensity went, Rias, her Peerage members, her maids and her father alike, however, had souls more comparable to sparks at best or faint embers in the worst cases.

The scale and scope of the two were hardly comparable, despite being the same fundamental spiritual force needed for proper life on paper.

While Jaune was hardly as practiced with the ability to sense the soul as someone like Ren or that one fellow from Team CFVY, Fox something or another, he had spent long enough honing the technique with his teammate to visually pick up on the esoteric force of power that all Huntsmen and Huntresses relied on so heavily in the form of a optical ability.

Said ability allowed him to see the soul in the form of a colorful fire that exists within the chest of all living being in the case of people having sealed souls, or a fire that has spread through the entire body for those with their Aura awakened, letting him judge where his opponents natural defenses were at their strongest as well as where his opponent's Aura was the weakest during training and live combat alike.

Aura did not universally protect the body consistently or even in a uniform manner when damaged, and could be overwhelmed when one area was targeted too much, too quickly. Any Huntsman or Huntress worth their salt knew this, of course, and knew how to counter this weakness by staying mobile and preventing themselves from taking too many hits in any one location, but it was still pretty useful as an ability to have and was well worth the two years it took to learn it.

It allowed Jaune to pinpoint distant hostile targets and buried civilians alike in whiteout conditions during one of the most heinous blizzards Solitas had seen since the Great War a few months prior, for example. For the Grimm, though, it was like looking into a void in reality, a moving, hungry void of black that hated your existence.

That said, when compared to the frailest of the elderly or the youngest of children back in Mantle and Atlas, since Jaune didn't have the skill back when he was in Vale or Mistral, Rias and the rest of the Devils had some of the weakest souls he'd ever sensed, to the point that he almost missed them a few times when scanning Rias's maids.

Purely because he was surprised they were Magical, of course.

Not because they all had some sort of exotic beauty to them, like that one woman with tan skin, light blond hair and the pointiest ears Jaune had ever seen in his entire life, or because they all had practically undressed him with their eyes as he passed.

Professional reasons, really, which had no correlation with why he had been dubbed the 'Milf Slayer' by the more audacious infantrymen he'd often been deployed alongside during training exercises and combat engagements alike down in Mantle.

Arc's honor.

"Got it in one, you're pretty sharp!" The elder Gremory raises his brow and gives Jaune a set of finger guns that the blond himself was just as guilty of giving to others. "I like that!"

It was certainly endearing to see one's own personal habits reflected in others and made Jaune really feel as if he were speaking to a kindred spirit.

Zeoticus was really a nice guy, and Jaune really liked that. Nice people were easy to get along with!

"So how does that relate to the concept of a 'Domain Field'?" Penny leans forward with wide eyes, her mind working far faster than Jaune's ever could to find the missing links needed to tie these disparate conversations and concepts back together. "Is that the Earth concept of a Semblance, perhaps?"

"Close!" Zeoticus agrees with a nod, the pleased expression on his face only growing stronger now that his audience was starting to catch on. "A domain field is just like a name implies, a field or area of complete and total control established by Gods and Buddhas by projecting the power of their souls outward to override the rules that govern our reality. Domains themselves vary from deity to deity, while Buddhas establish something like a Domain but just different enough to be considered unique and through a method exclusive to those who follow the teachings of the first Buddha."

"I'm not a deity, or whatever a Buddha is." Jaune affirms quickly with furrowed brows. "What do you mean by domain if they are so different from one another? Do you mean something like the rules that deities… rule over, I guess?"

"Exactly that." Zeoticus snaps his finger in delight, his smile never leaving his face despite Jaune's denial. "Jaune, my boy, you may not think that you are a deity, which is totally fair considering that your domain field doesn't feel like it has pulled itself together fully just yet, but the proof is in the pudding! Here, close your eyes and tell me how many fingers I'm holding up without using either Aura or Magic."

Unsure as to how he was supposed to do that, and receiving no further instructions on any specifications, Jaune decides to humor Rias's strange but friendly father and closes his eyes while trying to somehow figure out how he was supposed to guess how many fingers Zeoticus was holding up without using either of his internal power sources.

For some reason, Jaune got the strongest impression that Zeoticus was holding up four fingers without understanding how he knew it, like it was an extra sense he'd had all along but was only now cognizantly recognizing.

Then, five fingers.

Then two?

"Why do you keep changing how many fingers you're holding up?" Jaune questions without opening his tightly clenched eyes, trying his best to keep up with the rapidly changing numbers ranging from one to twenty when Zeoticus included his toes after kicking off his slippers.

Jaune wasn't sure if he was supposed to count the toe wiggles, but he did it anyway, just in case the clearly unhinged man asked.

"Okay, but just because I have what, a sixth sense?" Jaune pauses to consider what to even call the strange awareness of his surroundings that was now impossible to miss after becoming enlightened to its existence. "Just because I can sense my surroundings doesn't make me a deity or whatever. Besides, didn't you guys say I was a Devil?"

"Usually, you'd be correct, and you are indeed still a Devil, but you are also something more at the same time. Think of it this way… divinities come in many flavors, yours just happens to be particularly spicy." Zeoticus twirls his twist and produces four glasses filled with skull shaped ice cubes and an amber liquid that couldn't be mistaken as anything else but alcohol. "Here, you look like I need a drink for this next part."

The blond Huntsman blinks at the display of Magic and reminds himself to learn how to do the same at the soonest available opportunity before accepting the drink with a nod of appreciation.

"Penny, take small sips." Jaune warns after taking a sample swig of the drink to remain polite, even if he wasn't sure how far he'd get into it until determining the flavor profile like Pietro and James had taught him. "This is like the drink your dad and the General sipped on while they had their weekly chats, but way smoother."

He didn't need to be concerned, because the creamy notes he experienced from the scent and taste left in the wake of the amber liquid clearly indicated a damn fine alcohol indeed.

Sweet, spicy and maybe a bit bitter, just like himself.

Where was Qrow when you needed him?

Probably off drinking by himself, especially after…

The next sip was noticeably harder for Jaune to swallow, but not due to any effect of the drink itself.

"You have experience." Zeoticus notes while leaning forward, being much more judicious with his consumption of the dry tasting beverage. "So, back to my point, the reason that your development of a domain field is so important is that it was always regarded as impossible for our species, even for the best and brightest like my son and Rias's older brother, Sirzechs. Until you showed up, that is."

"What about Penny, then?" Jaune questions before turning to the ginger in question, his brow furrowing as he glances the girl and her ominously empty glass over with concern. "Does she have a domain field as well, and would she also be considered a deity in this case?"

Zeoticus raises a hand and gives it a shake, indicating a so-so gesture that was neither a confirmation nor a denial.

"It's close, but much weaker than yours, or at least, less obvious as to how it operates when your own is overpowering it so much." Zeoticus strokes his goatee thoughtfully once more after draining the last of his glass before producing refills for the four with another display of Magic that left Jaune feeling jealous as hell. "I'd once again compare it to the difference between a deity and a Buddha, with yours being closer to the first while her own is more similar to the second in how subdued it is. Here, let's stick with terms that Ajuka and I have been tossing around these past few centuries to describe hypothetical evolutions for our species… Jaune, I think the best term to apply to you would be 'Daemon', which is a Devil that has fully embraced the divine path, while Penny seems to fit the descriptions of what we call an 'Archon' to the letter, considering her specialty is arcane in nature much like our usual projected path of evolution."

"Right, but… what does that mean, sir?" Jaune struggles to place meaning to the words and phrases, despite knowing what they should mean, at least in relation to himself. "What does being a… Daemon actually do for me? I don't really feel like I'm strong enough to blow up the moon like the Brother of Darkness or anything crazy like that, so… what gives?"

"And you wouldn't, either, at least not right away. The thing about deities is that they aren't all supremely powerful, and there isn't just one singular type of divinity, either, each being made of widely different composites of exotic energies and concepts while serving different pantheons and peoples across the planet." Zeoticus explains patiently, his cadence not dissimilar from those employed by Beacon's professors once upon a time to keep Jaune's attention while also quickly moving his education forward. "The only real uniformity among the Gods and Goddesses of Earth is the ability to control reality within the bounds of their domains so long as it is within the scope of their conceptual affinities, and the power of faith, or rather, the ability to draw upon the faith produced by beings who have established a covenant with you. Considering that you and Penny were only just reborn last night, it's no real surprise you haven't realized it on your own yet or feel like you could, er, blow up the moon, as you say. Did… did one of your Gods really blow up your moon, by the way? But why?"

"A quarter of it anyway." Jaune grouses as he takes a long drink of his beverage in both anger and a desire to forget. "Long story short, it was a childish tantrum, really, and one of the major precursor events leading to the million year shadow war between the undying Queen of the Grimm, Salem, and the immortal Wizard King, Oz."

There is a lull in the conversation as Zeoticus tries to process Jaune's absurd claims while the younger blond does much the same.

"So why was it impossible for Devils to establish a domain, anyway? Was there something preventing Devils from becoming divine or whatever?" Jaune eventually asks the open question that Zeoticus was obviously waiting for him to ask to hopefully start wrapping their conversation up after the silence continues to drag on, seeing no reason to beat around the bush. "Does that go back into the artificial nature of their, er, our, existence? Does being a Devil weaken the soul normally? Because I feel like the opposite is the case for me. What about you, Penny?"

"I can-hick confirm that my Aura control-hick and Magic control has improved drastically both qualitatively and quantitatively, as have my reserves of both energies!" Penny pauses to hiccup every few words as if she had suddenly become a habitual liar who couldn't go even a few words without fibbing based on her rather endearing habit of hiccuping when lying. "I feel much more in tune with my body, Aura and Magic now than I did as either a Human or Android, I believe, and can do a lot more with what I have!"

Zeoticus sighs before glancing over at Rias and then back down at his drink. "The truth of the matter is that we are just flawed creations, made by a flawed creation, on top of being cursed. The main reason that it is impossible for Devils to resurrect Gods or Buddhas as one of us is that their souls will naturally reject the conversion, even in death. This is naturally due to how different Devils are spiritually, magically and physically from creatures who derive power from something as transient as faith and the positive exotic energies produced by the Earth and all living beings who call it home. We are, for all intents and purposes, lower beings who sustain ourselves on sin and other negative energies, while deities and Buddhas alike are considered higher beings for good reason. Who in their right mind would want to downgrade?"

Zeoticus pauses to take a small sip of his beverage, a look of longing briefly crossing his face. It was an expression Jaune was familiar with, wistful and fleeting.

"They will also reject us on the premise that as stated before, we as a species are cursed. It's not something we can fix offhand either, as the curse that is passed down from generation to generation was cast on our ancestors during the Great War by the God of the Bible himself, a being so strong he was able to write his hatred for our kind into the laws of Heaven, Hell and Earth alike. Laws that seem to have absolutely no effect on you two. Jaune Arc and Penny Polendina of Remnant, you two beautiful, wonderful, splendid people represent the final steps of the natural path of evolution for our species, one in which that curse no longer holds power over us!" Zeoticus declares jubilantly while offering up a toast, something his daughter mimics seconds later with just as much cheer. "Don't look so intimidated, this is a good thing! Devils have always been locked out of the natural order as it were, both by design and the machinations of hostile forces alike! Your existence proves that what we regarded as impossible, possible, and that you can illuminate the way for all of us and show us the path forward that we've been blindly searching for all along! Let it be said that I, for one, am glad that it's us Gremory's who get to be the first to formally welcome you into our fold, and that I am most eager to see the bright future the two of you can carve out for our species in your names!"


Pouring three glasses of tea, one for each member of Rias's peerage that wasn't attending the meeting with Zeoticus, barring one, Akeno did what she did best and relied on old habits to distract her from her racing thoughts.

"Thank you." Kiba smiles gratefully at Akeno while raising his glass, while his diminutive Rook counterpart issues a barely audible hum of appreciation. "Is this a new blend?"

"Ufufufu, why are you so surprised?" Akeno grins at the shocked expression on Kiba's face. "Is it really so surprising that I'm willing to give new flavors a try once in a blue moon?"

"Yes." Kiba declares firmly with a nod, not at all mincing words.

Koneko backs him up readily with a nod of her own after she places her now empty tea glass down. "Yeah. It's weird. I like it."

"I'm glad you enjoy it, Koneko." Akeno beams with delight, knowing just how high of praise the younger girl's words were given her proclivities towards short replies. "The aged lemon peels add a zest that compliments the nutty aroma. It should go well with a tart, or three."

Koneko firmly agreed with Akeno's numbers.

"It's fine, I wasn't going to eat them anyway." Kiba's smile is stiff as he glances down at his now empty plate, having only smelled the pastries before Koneko nabbed them faster than his eyes could see. "So… is everything… okay?"

The blond glances towards Rias's study as he speaks, alluding to the elephant in the room waiting to be addressed.

It wasn't so much that he feared Zeoticus, nor did any of Rias's Peerage, but his sudden appearance not long after the arrival of two new members of their mutual 'adopted' family would set anyone uninformed ill at ease. Akeno thought it was cute how much concern Koneko and Kiba both were showing on Penny and Jaune's behalf.

"Things are fine." Akeno assures the first Knight of Rias gently, going so far as to reach out and place a light hand upon his shoulder for a moment to help convey the surety of her words. "I'd even say they're great, despite not being able to explain why just yet."

"That's… good." Kiba deflates slightly in relief, the tension in his shoulders slowly bleeding away as the tea and good news alike did their job. "What can you tell us?"

Akeno pauses a moment to consider her words carefully.

"Well." The yamato nadeshiko begins delicately, her hands folding in front of her mouth as she leans forward slightly. "Rias has signed an exclusivity contract with Penny concerning any and all technology they might be able to introduce from Remnant, for one. I don't think I need to spell out just how much more advanced Remnant tech is compared to even the most recent magitech inventions released by Lady Tiamat, so it's no surprise that Lord Zeoticus would want to be present to ensure that the Gremory Family maintains a firm hold on things going forward."

"That's pretty fair." Kiba offers slowly after covering his mouth with his hands like Akeno and lowering his voice, a habit Rias had her Peerage learn for when they needed to speak about things they didn't want overheard. It had the added benefit of shielding their lips from being read when in unfamiliar territory or when being watched. "But I have a feeling that's not everything."

"It's not." Akeno closes her eyes for a moment as she tries to formulate a hypothesis into something more solid than a guess with what little information she has available. "Jaune and Penny are… different, I think, from the rest of us. That's pretty obvious considering that they're not from Earth, as we know, but there's something more to it there than just being former humans from another world. Something that Lord Gremory is taking very seriously. I'm sure we will find out soon enough, so guessing any further would be pointless."

"I like them." Koneko reaffirms her earlier statement when she finishes consuming every last crumb of her tarts. "Penny is… weird, but cool. Jaune is safe."

"Safe?" Akeno questions with a tilt of her head, not quite sure she follows Koneko's train of thought. "How so?"

"I don't know." Koneko shrugs her shoulders, as if she couldn't be bothered to figure it out. "He just makes me feel safe, I guess. Like he'd have my back."

"I agree completely." Kiba nods firmly in agreement with Koneko's assessment, vague as it may have been. "I… well, I don't even know how to describe what it felt like when he used his Semblance on me. It was almost sacred, in a way, like he was touching upon something way beyond my comprehension, watering it down and then sharing that experience with me freely."

Akeno turns her attention fully to Kiba at this point, her usually cheerful expression turning serious.

Kiba is usually much more selective with his words, and has never been keen on giving insight into his thoughts on personal experiences beyond pleasant niceties.

"Would you call the experience… divine?" Akeno questions carefully, having already formed her own conclusions from Koneko's and Kiba's descriptions as well as her own personal insight.

Kiba only glares off into space before his expression softens, his blue eyes gaining an almost reverent glint to them as he turns to face Akeno.

"I would." Kiba speaks softly, his smooth voice now carrying a strange zeal to it that neither female had ever heard from him before. "It was unlike anything I'd ever experienced in my life, including when I was… it was more real than anything else I've ever felt. It changed me, and I don't think he even realizes it. My Sacred Gear feels much stronger and responds instantly, like it's actually a part of me now rather than something foreign tied to my soul. I wasn't sure at first, but I can even feel it in my bones, Akeno!"

Akeno and Koneko are both taken aback at the rather powerful imagery that Kiba evokes as he speaks, his voice continuously rising until he's almost fervent in pitch.

"If he asked me to follow him into battle, I would." Kiba seems to notice the discomfort he had caused his compatriots, easing back on the simmering heat that he still likely felt inside based on the fire still present in his eyes. "Because he would do the same for me. I know him better than I know myself, just like he knows me better than I know myself, and yes, I realize how absolutely insane that sounds, stop with the side eyes, Koneko. You'd have to experience it for yourself. It's like… he just understands, you know?"

"Kiba." Koneko finally speaks up after an uncomfortable amount of time lapses, the elder blond almost panting from his long winded rant. "Are you okay dude?"

Akeno was glad that Koneko was bold enough to cut through the tension and ask the pertinent questions, because she didn't even know where to begin unboxing this latest package of whatthefuck-ism that Kiba delivered at the speed of zealotry.

"I'm fine, Koneko. As a matter of fact, I've never been better in my entire life." Kiba composes himself after a moment, going so far as to wipe his brow with a summoned handkerchief. "I mean what I said, you'd just have to experience it for yourself to understand. Jaune Arc is a good, no, great man. We are extremely fortunate to have him on our side, something we can thank Buchou for, no doubt."

"How do you feel about Penny, then?" Akeno broaches, hoping to shift the conversation towards Rias's Bishop since Kiba was in such a sharing mood.

It was extremely rare that the three got to bond beyond the average shared schoolwork, hunt for strays and general Devil activities that kept them all so busy. It was even rarer for Kiba to speak so… passionately about something, more so than his love affair with his swords, anyway.

Akeno wanted to make the most of it while she could, content to lock it into her most cherished memories forever.

"She's pretty cool." Kiba nods firmly while crossing his arms. "A bit over the top, but in a good way. She's extremely happy to be alive and seems determined to make the most out of it and really enjoy it this time around, based on her behavior and from what little she spoke. I'm not a psychologist but… we should be there for her just in case."

"That's pretty deep." Koneko shares thoughtfully, her voice a bit more emotive than its usual monotonous inflection implied. "I agree. Penny's good people. Her Magic is old and… feels weird."

If Koneko says something feels weird, Akeno is inclined to agree.

"What about you?" Kiba suddenly questions after another lapse of silence occurs, strangely eager to keep the ball rolling. "We've said our thoughts on Jaune and Penny, but how do you feel?"

Akeno smiles faintly as she recalls the small little details that she'd picked up on when no one else was looking.

"Penny is scared, but she knows she isn't alone and that we aren't going to hurt her, I think." Akeno eventually pieces together the many disparate details into proper words. "The poor girl is only now experiencing what it even means to be alive, though it's not my place to explain how or why. I think we should do our best to be there for her, and maybe politely teach her some table manners."

"Of course you'd say that." Koneko is back to her monotonous grouse as she folds her arms and gives Akeno a baleful side eye. "Sushi is finger food."

"No it's noooot~!" Akeno smiles around clenched teeth, clearly willing to fight over Koneko's heresy no matter how 'nice' she was.

Neither Kiba nor Koneko noticed how Akeno refused to elaborate on her thoughts surrounding Jaune Arc, instead being expertly goaded into a discussion about the proper etiquette of eating sushi and what they could do to help the two new members of their family better adjust to their new life on Earth.