"I hate this."

"Oh, has it not changed since the last hundred times you mentioned it?"

It was the first official day of Kota and Beth's enrollment in Kuoh Academy, and to say one of them was more optimistic than the other would put things lightly. Yesterday they received their uniforms from Rias and Sona, and it was met with some… resistance. The boys uniform was rather simple: dress pants, a button up shirt and a blazer.

Beth meanwhile was a can of worms the two had to deal with. The girls' uniform consisted of a similar button up shirt and the choice of either a vest or cape to accommodate. However Beth's fighting came from the required skirt, and the argument of the length. In all honesty Kota didn't blame her, the skirt was far from what he expected of an academy like this, it isn't as short as Beth made it out to be, but Kota agreed it was shorter than expected. Beth was fuming over it, and wasn't able to get Sona to budge a smidge at the required clothing.

What resulted was the most agonizing walk of the girl's life, one hand holding down her skirt as Kota walked next to her, carrying both his bag and hers as they traveled. Beth's face was several shades of red, feeling utter humiliation at the clothes.

"No, it hasn't changed and it will never change for as long as I live." Beth growled, tightening her free hand into an angered fist at the memory of Sona's constant refusal to budge. "Heiress or not, the smugness she showed pissed me off, and I know she was soaking in my suffering at this damn skirt!"

"I'm pretty sure she wasn't smug about your complaints." Kota responded. "You were yelling right from the start."

"Of course I would! This is like three inches, four max!"

"You could've just worn briefs." Kota said.

"Well I don't have any! And the stores were and still are closed!" Beth stomped. "And someone wouldn't lend one of his smaller pairs!"

"I don't have small pairs! I dress comfortably, not practically and you know this!" Kota snapped at that, the conversation divulging into a shouting match at that point. On one hand every onlooker quickly noted the two and their growing disagreement, many taking notice they were new faces in the academy's uniforms. On the other hand, the argument fizzled out near the academy itself, and Beth was thankful for the distraction having made the walk more bearable to her.

"Stop holding your skirt." Kota whispered to the girl, as the two entered their classroom at the request of the teacher.

"Say that in this yourself." Beth silently spat back at the boy, fidgeting slightly at the full attention of the class.

A couple years ago Kuoh was strictly an all-girls school, which Beth could almost then understand the uniform. But since then boys were allowed to enter, resulting in a skew five to one girl-boy ratio. But as it's been roughly two years, the second-year class they were a part of had a more even split, and Beth wasn't dumb enough to not notice the stares.

"Everyone, this is Kota Price and Bethlehem Evetta. They're recent transfers that come from the United States, so do your best to help if you notice them struggling." The teacher introduced the pair, a slight murmur in the students going around.

"That's a big first name."

"Is that natural red hair?"

"Do you think he's related to Rias?"

"Those are sharp eyes."

"She's really cute."

"Evetta, Price, would you two write your names for everyone?" Their teacher asked, both nodding as Kota went first.

A part of him winced as he grabbed the chalk, his teeth by reflex feeling as if they were grinding against the board. It wasn't something he ever thought on, he just knew the unbearable scraping sound chalkboards have and every time he saw one it caused his teeth to irritate him. But he could fight it down by licking his teeth, which he kept hidden by staying silent. Once he wrote his name down, Beth followed suit, writing out her full name and then putting in quotes her nickname.

"It's nice to meet all of you, my name's Kota Price. I realize I do stick out a bit, but I'm just like the rest of you." He said, bowing in respect. "I hope we can get along, and are patient as I try to keep up."

"A-And I the same." Beth said, giving a lighter bow, afraid of her skirt moving too much as she spoke. "I'm Bethlehem Evetta, but everyone just calls me Beth."

Introductions were relatively uneventful, aside from the further gossip about the two that was heard. Kota was right in his assumption on his enhanced hearing, able to pick up the faint whispers between the students at the discussions of the two. He was also astonished to see how well he processed the speech of everyone. Seekvaria said he could understand any language and they could understand him, but it seemed like everyone was speaking perfect English to him, it felt off almost as he noted sometimes their lips didn't move exactly with the words, wondering if that'd mean learning Japanese proper again would make it harder to detect possible errors.

The thoughts about his new sensory abilities had him zoning out for most of class, counting himself lucky as he was at the back of the class, three desks away from the window. The sunlight still stung, noticing how much more sensitive his eyes were to small exposure. His skin also felt hot, but that wasn't as noticeable to the unsuspecting. Although he swore someone was sneaking glances when he wasn't looking. The offender was a girl with messy brown hair, the reason he caught her being the shift in her glasses being heard by him.

It actually made for a good test, as he looked to her just at the corner of his eyes, avoiding any major movements as he began to concentrate. Minutes went by without a change, his attention shifting around as he processed information no one else could. After an hour of concentration, he blinked and in a moment he saw a flurry of colors that made him wince. Thin auras began to spur to life around the entire class, invisible to everyone but him as he silently grinned at his trial, having a good idea what was happening.

He was peering into everyone's souls, looking between them to notice any differences he could see from them. It was hard to determine between them, noting the only outliers he saw were his own soul and Beth's. He figured this was due to them being the only devils present, everyone else having similar hues with small blights appearing from time to time. Most likely, he could only see the outermost layer of a person's soul, the part that identifies their biological core. He didn't know if that was right either, he's only met humans and devils so he had no idea what other souls he could notice.

Angels and fallen angels were obvious possibilities, but it then had him wonder if those had unique souls or if they were similar to each other? Or did they have souls similar to humans? How many layers of a soul were there; could he see factors of the soul that determine hereditary traits? Could he predict someone's magic just at a glance? Could people do the same to him?

That was pretty much all he could think about, only ever snapping out of his thoughts when he and Beth grabbed lunch and ate at the hill beside the school. It was a popular spot, given how many people were present, but it wasn't difficult for them to keep their conversation off of any supernatural topics.

Kota was feeling the strain on his eyes however, rubbing them as they irritated his senses. The direct sunlight was bad enough, but he was also detecting everyone's soul that was in sight, adding to the brightness. He spent an hour figuring out how to see people's souls he hadn't thought about how to turn it off.

Beth tried to help, but any cues that she could give were limited due to them being in public. And in truth, she didn't know the first thing about souls and detecting them. It was a hard talent to learn, and even harder to teach to those who aren't naturally gifted with such sensory abilities. Sunglasses would probably help, but not predicting his sudden training meant neither had a pair.

Kota accepted he'd just have to tough it out, enduring the time in class to further look amidst his classmates. He was hoping he could begin to peer in, perhaps see if there were actually layers to a person's soul. However it wasn't as easy as simply detecting them, as he couldn't do any more than make sense of the texture each individual soul had. Or understand the shape they took, as it seemed like calm puddles, an occasional drip of color in the clear texture signaling possible details he wasn't able to process yet.

By the time the school day had ended, Kota felt as if he went through twice the time everyone else did, evident as he flopped his head onto the desk. The blinding aid of darkness helped, covering his face the best he could by surrounding it with his arms, only able to hear the gossip going around before Beth spoke up.

"You feeling any better?" She asked.

"Like this, yeah." He answered, not looking up from the desk.

"You all good fire crotch?" Beth and Kota blinked in bewilderment at the statement, turning their attention to the girl that spoke up. Kota instantly recalled it was the same girl that was appearing to try and get a look at him. She was strangely both lax and focused, her amber eyes looking to him while her glasses were slightly askew, and her hair was messy and out of place.

"…Is this a custom I don't know about or did you actually just refer to me as fire crotch?" Kota asked, bewildered by the girl's casual shrug.

"Eh, felt better of a conversation starter. My other option was "does the carpet match the drapes" if you think that'd be better?"

"It isn't…"

"But do they?"

"You have no shame, do you?" Beth mulled, partially gagging as she rolled her eyes away from the offending girl.

"Not that I've figured out yet, comes with the talent." The girl said, shifting her glasses with a cheeky grin. She appeared almost expecting, looking to Kota as he relented with a tired groan.

"Yes, my hair is natural." Beth looked to him in surprise. Feeding into that question couldn't go well, given the girl's brazen approach. "Have a name or should I stick with Glasses Perv?"

"Kiryuu Aika, thanks for asking." Aika chuckled, looking to the guy past her shining lens, getting him to wince at the combined soul and sunlight. "Something in your eyes?"

"Had an exam a couple days ago, pupils are dilated still." A lie, but not a complete one. In the past Kota's eyes were awful at handling the dilation he needed for his eye appointments. There was actually a time he went a full week with his pupils being larger, the plus side he got to feel cooler with shades on.

"Damn, didn't know it could last that long." Aika said, before tapping his pointed ear. The action had him flinch, placing his hand over it as he turned to her.

"The hell!?"

"Watch your boundaries!" Beth growled as Aika motioned to Kota's ears, having noticed their elongated and sharp appearance past his hair when she got close enough.

"Interesting ears, what's their story?"

"Birth defect."

"That was quick."

"Maybe because I'm used to people asking about it. And tired of people touching them to see if they're real." Kota responded, trying to get angry as it seemed the girl was somewhat feeding off it. Her soul was normal, she was human, so he doubted she was trying to see if he was human or not. Just nosy and far too in people's business.

"Fair enough, you'll probably get that question a lot here." Aika smirked, before she shifted her glasses again and looked down more to Kota. Her eyes felt directly peering into him, and if he didn't know better he'd think she was looking into his soul as well. "Hmmm, not a bad size at all. Lucky girl you are Bethlehem."

"It's Beth…"

"Bethlehem sounds better." Aika said, seeing her fellow brunette getting close to her last fuse before waving it off. "Alright, alright, I've overstayed my introduction. Nice meeting you two, don't be strangers."

"And don't get too greedy Bethlehem, girls around here have been waiting for a guy like him." Aika cheekily said before snaking out of the room, avoiding Beth's empty binder that hit the wall next to the door.

"The hell is her problem?" Beth growled, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared at the door.

"She was… interesting?" Kota mused, getting a disappointed look from Beth. "What?"

"Don't "what" me, you let her walk all over you."

"I'm not going to start a fight over my ears being touched and a few embarrassing questions." Kota responded. "Need I remind you our first conversation wasn't much better?"

"Tch!" Beth clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Starting to think you have more than one type."

"You are getting really heated over this." The boy sighed, flinching back as she got in his face.

"Of course I am! Unlike you I'm no fan of sexual harassment! And if you won't stand up for yourself someone has to!"

"Okay! Whoa! Stop!" Kota motioned his arms in a cease. "It was not that big of an issue!"

"She called you fire crotch you toad! And that last stare everyone else could practically see her undressing you!"

"It's the first day! Can we not cause more of a scene!?"

"Looks like Kiryuu's already gotten drama going with the exchange students…" Kota heard some of the girls sigh, looking to a trio at the notion.

"Does she do this a lot?"

"It's more she likes pushing guys' buttons." One of them said, seeing Kota's confusion while Beth was noticeably angered.

"Pushing them how?" The brunette asked.

"Well… when you said her stare was undressing him… you weren't entirely wrong." One admitted, Beth's anger cooling as it shifted to a smile, although the rage was still present in her eyes.

"Oh please, do tell. No need to hide it."

"Kiryuu uh… has a really weird "gift" she brags about." Another girl said, feeling Beth's cold rage. "She claims she can take a look at a guy's crotch and immediately know its… length and girth…" The girl's face went red as Kota blinked in surprise at the notion, while Beth's smile nearly cracked at her boiling anger.

"Oh, is that so?" Beth said, rolling her shoulder as she stepped forward. "Hey Kota, you stay waiting here. I'll go have a "girl talk" with this Kiryuu."

"Don't go starting fights now." Kota said, grabbing the back of Beth's shirt and stopping her movement.

"I'm not going to fight her; it's just going to be an unfriendly chat." Beth spoke through gritted teeth.

"And I'd like to avoid you being kicked out first day for being too "unfriendly"."

"Then grow a backbone and don't let a girl walk all over you like that!"

'Says the girl trying to order him what to do…' Half the students in the room thought, sharing the motion of looking away when her gaze snapped behind her.

"Oh my, it seems I missed something important." The entire room's attention turned to the door, seeing Kiba stand up with Beth's thrown binder tucked under her arm.

"Kyah! It's Princess Kiba!"

"Princess Kiba…?" While the girls erupted in excitement, both Kota and Beth stared at the blonde girl in matching puzzlement. Their old school had reputations, hell Seekvaria was often regarded as "the Prodigal Beauty" by half the school. But Princess felt incredibly out there, not to mention the rumored nicknames of Rias and Akeno, "Big Sisters of Kuoh" or something like that. It made clear Kuoh was a much stranger place than its prestigious appearance implied, making it uncertain if that was just as was or the influence of two devil Peerages resulted in a much laxer setting.

"I'm sorry I took so long; my class went on for a bit longer than expected." Kiba explained, stepping to Beth and handing back her binder. "I believe you dropped this." The blonde spoke softly and gave a bright smile, Beth herself taken aback by it as she blushed at the sight.

'What the hell!? Is this disciplined beauty!?'

"Ah, it's okay." Kota said, groaning as he stood up. "We just had a fun discussion before you got here. No harm no foul."

"Thank you for the understanding." Kiba nodded, her smile not wanning as Kota rubbed the back of his head. His cheeks were dusted red as well, it's hard to deny that Kiba was easy on the eyes. Beautiful baby blue eyes and flowing blonde hair, he almost swore there was a sparkle around her at all times, unsure if that was his sight at her soul or just a trick his eyes were playing.

"Oh you're kidding me; new guy is already buddy-buddy with Kiba of all people already?" One of the guys groaned, his head flopping to the desk in disappointment.

"Well they're both foreigners, maybe she was the one who introduced him to Kuoh in the first place." Another said, equally dejected as he hung his head in shame.

"It's not fair, one of the first foreign guys and he has a face like that."

"I think I'm starting to see some of the drama that happened." Kiba laughed, before looking back to her fellow devils. "So, shall we bring you to the club? Everyone's eager to meet you."

"Oh come on, first day and he's even accepted into the Occult Research Club!?"

"Die."

'Japanese school culture is scary.' Kota thought with a shiver down his back, feeling every guy in the class glaring cold daggers into him. His old school had gossip and drama, but he was never the source of it. He really wished he dyed his hair before coming, red really did stand out too much apparently. It was half of what everyone talked about when he picked up the whispers of gossip.

If the walk to Kuoh was eased by the shared argument between Kota and Beth, the walk across the academy felt brutal. Every whisper was heard from the students, the sight of the two new foreign exchange students walking along with a girl who was basically an idol to the school made too enticing a subject to ignore.

"Whoa, the Princess is walking them?"

"Were they already invited to the Occult Research Club?"

"Maybe Kota and Rias are related?"

"That hair looks close, maybe they are."

"No way, his hair's a lot darker. And his eyes are an entirely different color."

"Lucky bastard…"

"Oh, and that's the Bethlehem girl with them too right?"

"She looks cute."

"Think she's single?"

"Man, everyone has a thought to share." Kota whispered, keeping his head low in a failed hope he'd just disappear from everyone's sight.

"Is gossip not common in the US?" Kiba asked, somewhat puzzled at that.

"No, it was about the same." Beth answered. "Kota just isn't used to being the subject matter. Track didn't inspire a lot of discussions like football and basketball would."

"Ah, I suppose in that context your reactions are understandable." Kiba nodded, giving Kota a sympathetic stare. "Unfortunantely there's not a lot that can be done about the rumors and gossip, However, if it's any help most of it is just them letting their imaginations run wild. For them, this is a relatively normal town so they like to think up their own drama."

"Normal town and academy that allows sexual harassment." Beth muttered under her breath, Kiba likely ignoring it given she didn't respond and would be more than capable of hearing it.

It took a couple minutes, but eventually the two saw where Kiba was leading them. A lone building, likely the original building before the increase in popularity and the town's population. Although it looked mostly normal, Kota could just tell by looking at it there was an abundance of demonic energy, the remnants of the devils' souls leaving an impression on it.

Stepping in, Kota's eyes nearly wept as the strain of the sun dimmed considerably. He was still seeing the light from Kiba and Beth's souls, but it was far better than it was a minute ago. He detected three other souls upstairs, and even one more on the first floor that seemed more dormant. He kept quiet on that fourth soul, figuring if they were important they'd come up to the meeting.

Eventually, Kiba opened the door to the Occult Research Club's main room, and the two devils got a good look at the place. It was incredibly furnished, sets of decorations amidst the walls. A large desk, which was assumed to be Rias', sat at one of the ends across from a low table and two velvet red couches. Kota was caught up looking at the incredible décor, he almost missed the sight of a girl sitting at one of the couches.

"Hey wait a second, she was also there at…" Kota began to speak up, Beth and Kiba both looking over to him as he trailed off. Eventually, even the girl looked to him, where he looked to the side in shame. "Sorry… I think I forgot your name."

"It was an intense moment for you, and we didn't have proper introductions." Kiba brushed off, motioning to the girl with a smile. "This is Koneko Toujou, a first year and a treasured member of our family."

"Koneko, white cat, cute." Kota mused, noting the cat hair clip in her white hair. She had a relaxed neutral expression, almost like she wasn't feeling anything as she took a bite into her chocolate fudge.

"…Sup?" She eventually asked.

"Nothing much, you?"

"Nothing."

.

.

.

"Good talk." Kota said, realizing the girl wasn't in the mood to converse and went back to eating.

"Please don't take the silence the wrong way, Koneko's just never been a very talkative person." Kiba spoke up for her junior, getting no resistance from Kota as he responded.

"It's fine, Carter was the same way too when I first met him."

"You didn't call him cute though." Beth added with a pointed stare, getting a tired gaze from Kota in return.

"Seriously, that's your takeaway from that?"

"Just making an observation."

"Someone's territorial." Koneko muttered, getting a stomp from Beth.

"I am not you twerp!"

"Enough with the yelling." Kota groaned, rubbing his ear for a second. As he did, his eyes picked up two more souls, and he realized both were obscured by a curtain on the other side of the room. That was then he picked up the sound of running water, and his face went red at the realization.

'They have a shower in here! Who would even be in there!?'

"Oh, I thought I heard more voices." As Kota shook the degenerate thought from his head, the voice of Akeno caught his and Beth's attention. Kota instantly recognized her, recalling she helped Rias and the others push Satan's focus away from his soul and to the physical fight. He felt something crawl in his stomach remembering the pain the lightning she fired, confused as he knew he didn't feel it at all. Did his body remember? Or was Satan skulking around and his soul twitched at the recollection.

"Hi Beth, it's good to see you again." As Kota was dazing to off to the side, Akeno first took notice of her familiar junior, giving a pleasant smile as Beth flinched at seeing her again.

"H-Hey Akeno, good to see you're better." Beth responded awkwardly, unable to stop her gaze from going lower. A week ago she felt herself respectable, she knew she wasn't the most curvy girl around, Seekvaria and Bafeel were evidence enough for that. But she felt confident enough that she had her beauty and charm in her own way. Meeting Akeno and Rias was the single most confidence shattering experience she felt.

Looking down to her own chest, it was painfully impossible for her to ignore that her B-cup looked like a small hill… while Akeno embodied Mt. Everest.

"Shameless perv." Koneko said offhandedly, taking a bite out of a bar of chocolate and getting Beth to turn to her again in irritation.

"Shut it pipsqueak!"

"Oh, you must be Kota." Akeno then turned to see Kota, snapping him out of his pondering as he tensed at seeing her. He hated how sheepish he was reacting to her, but seeing her as she was in the midst of a bow, unable to avoid noticing a part of her bounce as she went upright made him kick himself mentally. "It's good to officially meet you, my name is Akeno Himejima. I'm the Vice President of the ORC."

"I-It's good to meet you too." Kota stuttered, scratching the side of his head before calming himself. "I'm Kota Price, and I… I… I wanted to say thank you, and that I'm sorry." He then returned the bow Akeno gave him, making sure to lower his head down further. All fluster and relief were dropped at his statement, his tone hollow as he recalled the blurry memories. "I was too weak to fight back against Satan, and as a result he attacked you and your friends."

The room went silent at Kota's apology, Beth showing her own guilt and shame as he kept his head lowered. Everyone present was aware of what had led up to Kota's possession by Satan, he himself knew that. But it never made him feel he was justified, rather all the more proof of his mistake. Everyone knew how he screwed up, and he could only pick up his failure thanks to their efforts. Had they not fought him in those minutes, Satan would have escaped, his soul would be smothered in darkness and a civil war might have erupted.

All because he was too weak.

"Kota, you didn't-"

"There's no point in trying to convince him otherwise." Before Akeno could finish speaking, Rias interrupted, drying her hair as she stepped out from the curtain in her uniform. "He's impressively stubborn when it comes to taking responsibility."

"I am the one with Satan after all." Rias shook her head in amusement, rolling her eyes as she long since given up trying to debate with him on the weight of responsibility for his condition.

"So, how was your first day of class?" Rias asked, motioning for him and Beth to sit at one of the couches at the center of the room.

"Fine for the most part, although I'll admit I had a hard time paying attention." Kota admitted, him and Beth sitting on the couch opposite of Koneko, Kiba sitting next to the first year as Akeno went to stand beside Rias at her desk.

"That's not exactly a good thing to start with."

"Genius here decided to test out his ability to detect souls, forgetting he has no idea how to stop." Beth explained, accepting the resulting elbow to her side from the boy, puffing a chuckle at his response. "Turns out sunlight and soul light hurt extra bad."

"You already figured out how to visualize souls?" Kiba asked, surprised at that. Souls weren't easy to process in terms of a feeling, few could manifest that sense to visualize them.

"Yeah, lucky me huh?" Kota chuckled, scratching the side of his head. "It's dark enough in here that it isn't a problem, five devil souls beat dozens of human souls." That was accurate, human souls were a bright blue, like water reflecting sunlight at angles and shifting constantly. In contrast, a devil's soul was darker. It was closer to the texture of oil, not like sludge but flowing more viscous compared to humans.

"If it isn't off before you leave tonight, let me know." Rias said. Kota's eyes were already under the burden of adjusting to sunlight naturally, adding the apparent effect of souls couldn't do him any good. Sensory collection for devils was vital, and if he overloads himself he may never adjust to his new eyes.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"It looks like Sona won't be able to join us." Rias said, the past ten minutes having resulted in a surprisingly idle chat. The heiress had put her phone down, the tack of it being placed on the fine crafted desk getting the room's attention. "So for the time being, we will handle your crash course in all that is devils."

"Cool." Kota responded with a light gesture of his hand, rolling his shoulders as he was feeling stiff after the wait. His eyes were adjusting better thanks to the darkness, and although they were still present the souls around everyone were slowly dimming, he couldn't even see the one on the first floor anymore so it was fading away.

"Beth, I assume Seekvaria's already informed you on the crash course of devil history, Peerages and Sacred Gear?" Rias asked before starting, getting a firm nod from the girl.

"Yep, that's all set."

"Good, that will help. And Kota, how much do you know exactly?"

"I remember during the trial there was talks about a war 400 years ago, and a civil war a hundred back." He admitted, only having knowledge of the events happening and the factions involved: angels, fallen angels, and devils.

"Yes, that first was the Great War, the bloodiest battle between the Trinity." Rias detailed of the hellish war that had been waged for decades before it ended, how through Satan's reign the devils spread like a sickness, corrupting those they could and destroying whatever they couldn't. The push made finally had the angels and fallen angels push back, first divide due to long held grudges and eventually a joined effort. Devils were outmatched, the Maou were monstrous and Satan's only rival at the time was God Himself, but they could only fight on two fronts for so long.

The Archangels and fallen's Cadre were enough to combat the Maou, and God's conflict with Satan created countless schisms that left millions dead. Eventually, the world seemed to toss a stone into the event that would be recognized as the Calamity. In it, Satan and his Maou were killed along with countless devils, angels and fallen angels. It was the last large-scale battle fought, and the start of a ceasefire that has lasted to this day.

Fights still occurred between the three, but are always denied truly happening to avoid breaking the ceasefire. Afterwards the devil civil war crippled the race, the conflicting sides unable to reach a middle ground and fighting to critical results. While the New Maou Faction succeeded, the remnants of the Old Satan Faction remain prevalent, not allowed official political power but are undeniably influential, half the population believed to be in favor of returning to Satan's way of ruling with the descendants of the Maou taking over.

"After that, our people were in a hopeless position. The past two wars slaughtered us to a few thousand, barely enough to keep our race going. That was when Ajuka created the Evil Pieces, making a means to recover our population." Rias explained. "Reincarnated devils helped stabilize ourselves, even amidst the discourse between the two factions, as well as growing political concerns about the clash of reincarnated and pure blood devils.

"Of course, we also had to adjust our approach to making pacts with humans." She added in. "Back then, it was more of a blood bond that forced the humans to servitude. However, we lacked the means to hold those bonds while avoiding encounters with exorcists and angels."

"It's now kind of a contract of sorts. We do jobs and favors, and they offer compensation for our efforts." Akeno continued for Rias, holding up a paper slip with the Gremory clan sigil. "These serve as a way to summon us, and if the job is within reason we make an effort to complete it. Of course you can say no to jobs, but it often makes it difficult to form pacts if you're new."

"So you guys just… have a job?"

"Kinda, like being a freelancer that represents an agency that supplies them." Rias detailed. "For example, as the head of this Peerage I receive the boons given to Akeno, Koneko, Kiba and now Beth. I then return equal payment to them depending on the item granted to them."

"Okay… and I'm guessing I'm going to need to know how to manage this kind of routine?" Kota asked. He was unaware of just how the talks were in the Underworld, but he recalled Ajuka referred to him as a pure-blooded devil and therefore qualified to rank and clan.

"That's correct; however you have a bit of a unique issue. As you don't come from a line of devils, you more or less are the sole beneficiary but also lack any reputation among humans and devils alike for pacts. It means you have yet to be able to establish a pact with your own clan, and lack a Peerage to make for a solid foundation to be trusted upon."

"And that means?"

"Until the elders come to a full agreement on your position, rank and fate you will work as an extension of the Gremory clan." Rias answered. "Your work will be catalogued and credited to you in preparation for if you receive clan rank, but until then your payment and rewards will be handled by me and my family. Is that alright with you?"

"I have no idea what I'd be doing otherwise, so I don't have a problem with it." It was a fair deal, he was green as grass and had no clue what was needed to manage pacts or a clan. Having someone to handle that part was more than good to him, especially since Rias seemed well on top of things. "How common are extensions like this?"

"It's actually common. Whenever a member of a Peerage receives their own Evil Pieces, they become an extension. They become members of the Gremory branch family, thus access to resources within reason."

"Anyone can just get a Peerage?"

"After proving yourself and becoming high-class. We don't just hand them around." Rias corrected. "That's how we get problems regarding Stray Devils, especially if the master of the Peerage is unqualified or immoral."

'Amongst devils there's levels of immorality?'

"But everyone here is able to receive one if they…how does rising in rank work?"

"From the pacts you form and the influence you gather. And of course your strength becomes important as well, but that just makes it easier to rise up. The former two are more important and contribute to the qualifications for going up to middle and then high-class."

"Okay, I guess that makes sense."

"There is another interest in using Evil Pieces, one of the secondary goals in their use is to recruit people that possess powerful relics in their souls. Sacred Gears." That caught Kota's attention, recalling the term from before but unaware of the specifics. "Before the Great War, God created Sacred Gears to provide miracles for humans to survive and thrive with. These original miracles are similar to what Kiba possesses, and are the most common kinds you'll find."

"I possess the Sacred Gear Sword Birth, allowing me to create a limitless arsenal of swords based on my imagination." Kiba explained, holding her hand out as an example. Particles of magic began to form in a mold, and Kota saw Kiba's soul blink a mix of white and black before pouring into the glowing mold. Before he could blink, Kota saw a sword materialize in Kiba's hand, the black blade decaled with sigils and fine crafted steel.

"Whoa… that's incredible." Kota said in awe, Kiba gesturing to him with the sword before he pointed to himself. Getting a nod, Kota reached forward and took the sword carefully. Both him and Beth inspected the blade closely, astonished to see the small decals that were hidden in the metal, wondering if Kiba had imagined all of the design before forming it to life.

"Sword Birth is a rare form of Sacred Gear, one demonic in nature. The swords Kiba creates are cursed blades, enhanced by her soul to help resist holy attacks to an extent." Rias explained, the blonde knight continuing for her.

"Some weapons can bypass it, holy swords of high concentration and light attacks with a lot of power behind it can shatter my swords easier. Luckily though encounters like that are rare and unlikely."

"The big guy made cursed items?" Kota was confused. "Sounds more like Satan's thing, no offense."

"None taken."

"Satan isn't one for creation, he would pervert and destroy whatever he came into contact with." Rias reminded Kota. "If he did have an affect on Sword Birth, he likely twisted it from its original purpose. But even then, God was one to believe good can come from evil. Many Sacred Gear are made from the souls and bodies of both holy and demonic sources."

"Beth is an example of one of the other variations of Sacred Gear, one with a previous soul used to craft it." Now Beth had her attention raised, looking away from the sword to look to Rias. "Have you figured out what your Sacred Gear is?"

"No… I fell behind on that study as I was figuring out magic." Beth admitted, looking to the side in shame.

"That's okay, it isn't a well recorded one." Rias assured Beth, going behind her desk to pull out a thick book. "We believe you possess the Garden of Eve, one of the first Sacred Gear created during the Great War."

"Wait, Eve? As in first woman Eve?"

"Second."

"Oh look at Mr. Bible Study here." Beth mocked Kota, the correction punished with a snicker.

"Yes, we don't have a lot to go off of however." Rias admitted, placing the book down. At a proper glance, it was old and weathered, centuries old if Kota could make a guess. The pages were yellow with age, and the scriptures translated to let Kota see them as it went. A few stuck out: Annihilation Maker, Aeon Balor, Divine Dividing, he even saw Kiba's Sword Birth noted down in it.

"Garden of Eve was lost to time, as most who encountered the original wielder were killed in large scale conflicts." Rias explained, flipping to the page with Garden of Eve, the picture accompanied an assortment of thorns and flowers. "Additionally it has only appeared three other times, most people possess it without knowing it."

"Hehe, ain't that funny." Kota chuckled, giving a smug look to Beth. "Bethlehem Evetta becomes a devil and unlocks the Garden of Eve. It's like your parents knew what would happen."

"The irony hasn't escaped me, Christian Boy who became the Vessel of Satan." Beth countered, Kota looking to the side with a defeated smile.

"So wait, what about me?" Kota realized a question, pointing to himself. "Do I have a Sacred Gear? Could that be why I can contain Satan?"

"It's possible, but considerably unlikely." Rias shrugged. "Given the stress on your body from your initial transformation, it would be likely your Sacred Gear would have manifested at the introduction of magic in you. And if it isn't physically attached to you, it'd likely be linked with a soul. In which case you'd either detect the additional presence or even hear them."

"Wait the souls in Sacred Gear are conscious?"

"Some are, not all but the important ones."

"So why can't I hear Eve?" Beth asked, seeing where Kota was going with this.

"She may not wish to speak with you, or what might be more likely is you haven't reached a level of compatibility to hear her soul." Akeno guessed. In truth the Peerage had little experience with snared souls, ironically Kota might have the most knowledge and lacks the wisdom to apply what he learned while bound by Satan.

"Which then brings us to an important subject matter." Rias nodded, looking at the two newer devils. "Beth, I understand you've learned most of the fundamentals of magic and are currently molding your magic. How much have you done in physical training?"

"…Alivian's put me through a short boot camp when I broke a rule before." Beth admitted, shivering at the memory and holding in the instinct to gag. She enjoyed going on hikes and even rock climbed before, but the suffering the dragon put her through made her confident fighting outside of magic wasn't meant for her. A fate she was more than happy to accept.

"I see… and Kota, you've been in track and field events, correct?"

"Yep yep, played soccer for a few years too, makes for good early footwork along ballet."

"…You rocked a tutu?" Koneko asked, putting her chocolate down for a moment at the information.

"Damn right I rocked that tutu." A rare thumbs up was shared between Kota and Koneko, lightening the mood to everyone's amusement.

"Well then, I think I know how to approach your training routines." Rias concluded, regaining the Peerage's attention. "What's the earliest you can wake up?"

"08:00."

"04:30 if I go to sleep at midnight."

"05:30 it is, Beth work on your sleep schedule."

"Fuck you Kota."