Hey, hey.

Rias was always a damsel in distress in DxD, despite the crazy potential her power has. Not surprising; this was an ecchi shounen, after all. Issei's crazy powerscaling BS basically negates what possible badassery Rias could've achieved. Anyway, enough from me. Enjoy.


Rias had been dreaming of needles as of late.

It was the strangest thing. It had nothing to do with her upcoming conflict with that bird, nor anything to do with the storybook Hanami had lent her. It happened anyway. Whenever she'd close her eyes, she would dream of needles. Of turning her Power of Destruction into needles. Of soaking needles in demonic tree sap of all things. And so on.

And sometimes she'd look at her left and feel like she'd lost something. A close compatriot. A sister, perhaps? Someone she could trust her entire life to. But that was impossible. She'd never had someone like that. She considered her peerage family, but there would always be some part of her that was scared they'd betray her; like her parents did.

If she dared to close her eyes, she could almost imagine it. An odd city floating in the clouds, sitting next to a girl she couldn't quite remember, her tongue filled with the pleasantly salty taste of a warm pretzel.

It was driving her mad.

She dropped the book with a small sigh. By the Devil, she was tired. When was the last time she'd actually had more than three hours of sleep? Most of her nights had been spent practicing her use of her Power of Destruction, or watching recordings of Riser's previous battles, or reading books about the Alchemy that so frequently appeared in her dreams.

She never let it show. She was a Devil, after all. She had a feeling Akeno at least suspected that something was wrong, though she wasn't sure if her Queen suspected anything or was just worried about the upcoming bout against the Phenex.

She-, she needed help. She was going stir crazy, and even if Grayfia hadn't told her of a strict deadline, she knew she didn't have much time.

She needed help. And her mind turned to that unassuming Pâtissière.

She sighed.

"And so you turned to me." Hanami finished, giving her mug of warm chocolate an idle stir.

Rias nodded slowly. She was fairly sure Hanami wasn't a normal human, though she found herself frozen in indecision. Hanami could help her, perhaps. Could give her the edge that she sorely needed against Riser. But there was something inside her that forced her to be silent. An apprehension. Fear, even.

"Well, to have someone turn to me for help," Hanami rested her chin on her palm, eyes glinting with an almost inhuman glow. "It's a nice feeling. So!" She smiled. "What do you need, Gremory-san?"

Please help me take down a flaming chicken, one part of her said. Another, more frantic part begged; please don't destroy this world. If Japan gets destroyed, living means nothing!

"I've been having dreams lately." Was what she said instead.

"What kind?"

"About needles." Rias grimaced. She was fairly sure she sounded somewhat mad for saying that. Who in their right mind would ever dream of needles? A serial killer, maybe. Or someone with a deep fascination for sewing, she supposed.

"Interesting." She took a sip of her warm chocolate. "Maybe your mind is trying to tell you something." Hanami smiled. "Needles are interesting, aren't they?"

Her brows furrowed. "I…guess."

"Both an instrument to Destroy and Mend. The line between Creation and Destruction was razor thin, so to say. Many things are, be they needles or whatever else."

Rias shivered. Those words were chosen deliberately. She knew it! "So what? It's telling me to, uh, make things?" The moment she asked so, Hanami stared at her. And Rias withered under the disappointment.

"So often we attempt to put reality into neat boxes." An odd smile came onto Hanami's lips. "An attempt to gain control over the infinite unknown." She leaned forward. "Making and destroying, science and magic; are they not the same for a man who only knows of shadows?"

Rias frowned. She was pretty sure she'd heard that allegory somewhere. Something about men being chained in a cave? It just sounded overly cruel.

"We are people; we are alive." She tilted her head slightly. "If you find yourself in a conundrum, never assume that it's impossible." She smiled. "All it takes is a little Imagination." She winked. And took a drink of her warm chocolate as if nothing had happened. "I hope that helps a little, Gremory-san."

"...yeah." Rias managed to say. "Thanks for the advice, Hanami."

She paid for her pastries and left the Pâtissière soon after. It was midnight as she left. The skies above were empty of clouds and stars; illuminated only by the dim glow of a waxing moon.

She sat down on a bench and watched the sky for a good while. She'd only been at the Pâtissière for an hour at most, but it'd felt like she'd been there for days. The words Hanami said replayed in her brain over and over, almost intoxicating in their sway.

Destruction, Creation. Science, Magic.

Imagination.

She took a deep breath. And stood up from the bench.

She had a few things she needed to read about.

.

.

.

.

.

Hanami finished the rest of her warm chocolate, hoping it'd drown away the acrid taste on her tongue.

She hated using [Charisma]. Having the Skill twist her words into something seemingly profound and eye-opening was just-, ugh. And sure, she was technically a goddess in all by name, but being above the common man was not an existence she enjoyed.

The silver cross tucked beneath her shirt thrummed with a pulse of warmth. Hanami rolled her eyes. "You enjoy it. I don't."

She leaned back into her chair. Her back ached from all the chocolat au pain she'd made this morning. Or at least her brain believed so. It wasn't as if she could feel much pain anymore; she was just using [Parallel Thinking] to convince her nerves that she could still feel aches and pain. Make her feel more human than she actually was.

The cross sent another pulse of warmth. She gave her chest an idle pat. "You came into being as a god." She explained. "I became one, so to say. I'm just being a nostalgic old fart."

Rhymytic pulses came from the cross. Something almost like laughter. She snorted.

A blink later she stood in the kitchen, giving her mug a good wash. The bubbly water popped as they ran down the drain. "So, what do you think?" She began, placing the cleaned mug on a nearby rack. "You think Rias has what it takes?"

She received nothing for a good while, before a short pulse of warmth came.

A smirk lifted her lips. "Being shy, are you?" Another blink of her eye, and she was back on the chair she was sitting on, a quiche nestled on her palm. She took a bite and enjoyed the buttery taste. "Face it. Times have changed, you old man. There is no good, nor any evil. No restrictions on what can or can't be."

Silence followed. Contemplative.

She gave the quiche another bite. The buttery taste was impeccable—the wonders of using magical milk—but she wondered if she could add anything else. A cinch of vanilla maybe? Cinnamon could work too. Maybe she'd give herself a quick vacation to see what her [Agriculture] could cook up.

Eventually, a minute pulse of warmth came from the cross. And she huffed as she gave her chest a pat. "Could've worded that a bit better, but yeah."

She closed and smiled. "May the future be abound with Hope."


The next day, just as the afternoon was beginning to bleed into evening, the door to her Pâtissière opened. Rias came in, expression serious. Hanami could see the fear in her bright blues, but also determination.

A smile pulled her lips before she could stop it. "Welcome back." She leaned on the counter, smile playful. "What do you want to order?"

Rias took a deep breath. "I need your help."

"For?"

"A lab." She said. "With all the tools I need." Their eyes met, and Hanami struggled not to grin at the fire behind those eyes. "I'm willing to pay anything."

Her resistance fell, and Hanami grinned. "Well," She clasped her fingers together. "Let's talk business then!"


I'm not the first creation of the author, nor am I the last. They created a being meant as a keystone to a land of Fantasy. A chain to keep alive the last echoes of a distant, dying world. A Keeper of Fantasy, if you will. Very powerful, she is. Strong too.

Still more famous than she is, though.