Fate: Bonds Beyond Humanity

by Apprentice of Life

In a world where all can be real, what does it mean to be human? What is the meaning of humanity? A meeting between a human and a devil will have them discovering the truth while chasing their dreams. My take on the combined worlds of Fate and DxD with characters from other franchises if they can be adapted to it. Harem.

26. Chapter 26

Fate/Bonds Beyond Humanity

…..

26- Death of Innocence

…..

Before becoming a devil, Hyoudou Issei could say for certain that he had never been in a real fight before. Sure he had been pushed or pulled as a kid but he never had to throw a real punch in his life, much less harm someone on purpose.

The first stray hunt of the newly reincarnated devil gave him perspective that even his former thoughts about fighting were not even close to the damage that some beings can actually do. Learning what he can do once he gets strong enough was a surprise even if he was just a Pawn.

And so on the next day after classes when some of the members of the ORC were leaving to train, Issei decided to ask if he could go with them, just to see more of how the other devils fought and try to learn from it.

To his surprise the only devil that really was training was Kiba and he was in a high intensity spar with Setsuna that made the speed he used against the stray devil the previous night, a spider-like monster with the body of a beautiful woman as its head, look like child's play as he moved constantly to attack and try to break Setsuna's defense.

"Pay attention Issei!" Is the only warning the brown haired devil receives as a gloved hand hits him on the nose.

"Awo." Issei falls on his butt and holds his hands to his face. "Did you need to do that?"

Shirou lets out an exasperated sigh. "You wanted to train but you are barely paying attention. I have been calling for you to get ready for a while now." The redhead commented while offering a hand that Issei refused to use to get up doing it by himself, slowly. "Look, it is clear that you have no idea how to fight but you can't start something if you aren't willing to commit to it."

"But I'm." Issei protested as he touched his nose, still feeling a little pain from it.

"Then pay attention while I try to teach you how to fight, at least the basics." Shirou points out, both are still in their school uniforms but Shirou has a pair of huge cloves on his hands with the purposes of taking punches. "Distractions are usually the thing that gets most people killed."

"I got it, I got it. It's just…" Issei looks to the side again to see Setsuna blocking Kiba's two hand sword and pushes it to the side before going for a fast slash to his chest. "They are just so...amazing. I don't think I can do that."

"Of course you can't. You are just starting." Shirou says with a frown as Issei turns to him in shock. "What? Did you think both of them started like that? They trained pretty much everyday to get this good."

"But can I get that fast one day?" The devil looks back as Kiba had managed to retreat before the blade of the naginata touched him but Setsuna is in pursuit and while the blond is the faster of them both, the woman has no intention of giving up her offensive. "They are just so fast."

He keeps watching as the two fighters start to move around the club grounds, the concept of boundary fields and secrecy was explained to him so Issei isn't worried about someone walking on them.

Shirou takes a deep breath again. "I can't promise you will be as fast as them or something like that. It all comes to a lot of factors, factors that you are still lacking since you never fought in your life."

"How do you know that?" Issei looks at the redhead astonished as Shirou just gave him a deadpan stare.

"When we began, the first thing you did was get distracted." He points out like it was the most obvious thing in the world and Issei flinched. "Not only that but your posture is atrocious."

"My posture?" Issei looks to himself, not comprehending what Shirou means. "I'm pretty sure I'm standing up straight."

"That is good for walking and sitting, not for fighting. It is like you are on the neutral march on a car." Then Shirou changes the position of his feet, raising his hands close to his face. "Try to stand like this, a classical boxer stance. It is a good place to begin learning the basics."

"Can boxing really help against that?" Issei points to Setsuna who is summoning a cyclone in Kiba's direction only for the blond to quickly create a green sword to cut it in half before the maiden charges through the remaining wind and cuts the sword in half just for the devil to make a new one to block the attack.

"Depends." Shirou replies honestly. "There is much more happening in that fight that your eyes can't see."

"Like?" Issei turns to Shirou, completely curious.

Glad to finally have the pervert's attention, Shirou got ready to explain. "Well for starters-" Only for an explosion to happen on the sign and some trees to fall as Issei looks around in panic.

"What was that? Are we under attack?" The brown haired devil looks around nervously as Shirou just sighs.

"No, just two people who don't know how to hold back started to spar...since I am also teaching you I suppose it is my turn to keep an eye on them." Shirou comments mildly depressed at the thought.

"Who? Akeno-san?" Issei throws out a hunch, remembering the Queen's attitude from the night before. Never on his life he would have thought that the polite and kind Onee-sama of his school would have such a sadistic streak to the point she was gushing at her time torturing the stray with lighting.

"No, but don't worry about it. For now let's focus on the basics." Shirou tries to stay optimistic while lamenting that no one else was carrying about the destruction around the club property. "Come on, raise your hands. Boxing stance."

"You still didn't explain what I can't see." While commenting Issei tries to imitate Shirou's posture with some success.

"Don't forget the feet, they are the most important part." Shirou comments as he watches the devil flinch at another explosion, making him sigh and turn back to the club. "Liz, can you do something about those two?"

Watching the spars on a foldable chair with a magazine and juice on her hand, is the white haired woman with a pair of sunglasses on her face. While she is dressed as she does normally for her classes she had taken off her jacket and Issei's eyes grew unfocused as he noticed the white shirt she was wearing was drenched in sweat and revealing a bra of similar color.

"No." Liz responds while taking a sip of her drink. "Buchou said I can't after the last time."

"Right, I forgot about that." Shirou turns back to his temporary student only to see him salivating. Realizing the reason and feeling a little protective, the magus flickers Issei on the nose, making him fall again. "Attention."

"Ow, sorry." Issei gets up again, trying to get in the posture and failing completely. "What is this supposed to do anyway?"

"To help teach you the basics of footing and balance. I thought it was a good place to start." Shirou traces the gloves again before approaching Issei. "Move your legs a little more...no, that is too much. Make sure both of your feet are firmly planted on the ground."

"No offense but why are you teaching me? Aren't you a magician or something like that?" Issei's question just makes Shirou chuckle.

"Did Rias explain how someone develops their magic power?"

"Yes, training and…" Issei managed to connect the dots but Shirou still decides to give him a little help before placing a hand on his back and directing him a couple of steps to the side.

"A healthy body, practice, direction, all are important to the development of magic. If you want to grow stronger magically and have no bloodline or hacks to help you out, you will need to start training." Shirou looks around and stops once he notices as the explosions start to get louder.

"And why you again? I mean, no offense but-"

"You would prefer to get closer to a girl." The magus comments without problems and notices that Issei is not bothered that he knew. "The reason is simple, the majority of them don't want to help you." Shirou places a hand on Hyoudou's shoulder when he notices the brown haired devil look depressed. "Well, that is not the whole truth; Rias is too busy to help right now, Akeno doesn't fight hand to hand and Liz doesn't know how to hold back either so you better learn the basics before you try to train with her."

"And the others?" Issei is moderately afraid to ask.

"Neither Rin nor Luvia want to do it, they don't trust you." And both of the men know that Issei has no one to blame but himself. "When Rias suggested Koneko...she said no, let's leave it at that. Setsuna never had to learn how to fight hand to hand in a human manner as she was always much stronger and her fighting style won't suit you."

"So that left only the pretty boys in you and Kiba." Issei lets the tears of depression fall from his eyes.

"Well Kiba sucks at fighting without a sword so that leaves only me." Shirou says with a shrug.

"That is not fair Shirou, I am getting better!" Kiba shouts from the other side of the woods while he ducks from a kick.

"You still are awful without a sword." Setsuna comments as the blond counterattacks but Shirou is only paying half attention to them at the moment.

"And boxing is going to help me?" Issei finally asks and Shirou shrugs.

"To be fair it is just a base for you to start until you figure out what you want to learn." He points to Issei's hand. "The fact you have a gauntlet always with you means that with boxing you can already begin to use some aspect of your sacred gear. Even if just to punch people."

"But that will help in a real fight?" Shirou just smiled at the question and as if on cue one of the trees close to them falls apart as two women are trading blows in the middle of the forest. "Holy-"

"Careful! No divine names, they may hurt you. At least if you aren't mocking them in some way." Shirou warns as he watches the ladies trading blows.

"-shit!" He finishes the statement as he watches Luvia grabbing one of Rin's arms and trying to turn her shoulder to lock it in place to potentially break something but, with clenched teeth, Rin refuses to allow it to be locked and does a flip, revealing the biker shorts beneath her skirt, to deliver a kick on Luvia's shoulder.

The blonde grunts and lets go of the arm as Rin was managing to pressure her back combined with the force of the blow that was enough to force a change of course for the European. But Luvia has no intention of just giving up her advantage.

As the Japanese magus arm escaped, her leg was left in a vulnerable position and the blonde grabbed it to slam her fellow magus on a tree, breaking it in half.

Rin grunts, she couldn't stop the sign of her pain and discomfort escaping as her rival starts to pull her by the leg again, dragging the Tohsaka through the ground for a while with every intention of slamming her against another tree.

But the black haired magus has no intention of allowing her blonde counterpart to just attack her for free, mana is already circulating on her other limbs as she kicks Luvia to the side and uses her arm to push herself up with her full strength to deliver a brutal punch on the blonde's face to finally force Edelfelt to let her go.

Luvia takes a couple of steps back and cleans her lip from a little blood as Rin charges back into the fray with quick combos with her hands and an elbow to break the blonde's guard before delivering a jab on the woman's side and then a hook, exactly what Luvia expected as she quickly moves for a sudden lariat right before Rin noticed her change of posture.

The impact of the arm was unexpected and Rin flew back as Luvia kept pushing until they hit a tree again. The blonde is already repositioning herself once more to lock the other magus neck to force her to quit but her rival is already familiar with her tactics and hits her three times on the arm in rapid succession for it to go lax before the maneuver could be complete, circuits blazing in both sides as the women grab the other's hand and their reinforced school uniform before headbutting each other.

Their eyes met with glares on each other as Rin tries to move her feet to unbalance Luvia who tries to push Tohsaka's arms to the side for an opening. Both keep their hands on the other's uniform to try and pull their opponent on unfavorable ground and keep failing because of the other's stubbornness.

In an attempt that shows both the similarities of their thought process and their attitude, both girls jump to the side to try and pull their opponent to the ground.

Only that they jumped to the same side much to their surprise as they slammed the earth while raising a huge cloud of dust. Rin recovers first and tries to separate herself from Luvia as the blonde has the advantage under those circumstances but the blue magus refuses to let go of Rin's arm as the red magus knees her stomach.

"Let me go Sausage Hair!"

"Like hell Poor Head!"

Both punch each other in the face, before separating again and charging again. Neither is willing to be the first to retreat or even recognize defeat as their wills keep clashing.

Once again Rin is trying to keep a moderate distance and keep Luvia away with punches and fast kicks when she manages to get an opening that the Edelfelt can't capitalize.

And Luvia wants that opening, she wants it desperately. Both fighters know that if she manages to really lock one of Rin's arms or legs then the fight is pretty much over.

With the two of them there is little room for compromise as their hands clash on each other as the two magicians try to push the other down and back. Reinforcement gave both girls superhuman strength and they are using it with every intention of ripping the other's heart out of their chest.

The two girls' hands are now locked in each other as both go for a headbutt again, meeting in the middle with scowls on their faces, veins bulging more and more as they are really trying to hurt each other.

"What the hell is going on with them?" Issei questions almost in despair as he can see the two women, two classmates, trying to kill each other.

"They don't really like each other." Shirou replies with a small smile that is clearly forced. "It is a snake and mongoose kind of relationship." Another tree explodes in a shower of wood as the fight continues. "Would you believe it if I said that this used to be worse?"

"Really? Worse than trying to kill each other?" Issei covers his head with his arms as a huge cloud of dust is kicked up when Luvia manages to get Rin into a hold and supplex her on the ground, hard. "And is Edelfelt-san using wrestling?"

"Kinda, technically it is one version of the style of martial arts that wrestling is based on." Shirou could explain the history behind it, Luvia is proud of that, but he thought Issei wouldn't be interested. "And believe it or not, they are fighting with rules."

"Rules? Really?" It is clear that the brown haired boy couldn't believe that. "They are trying to kill each other."

"Oh, you poor sweet summer child." Liz said as she approached the magus and devil, Issei admiring her curves as she stretched to prepare herself.

"Time is almost up?" When his maid nodded, Shirou turned to Issei to see his eyes traveling where they shouldn't and he placed himself on his path to snap the boy to attention. "They are only allowed to use Reinforcement on their 'spars' for example."

"Reinforcement? That is a spell?" The subject interests Issei enough that made him focus on Shirou who nods at the question.

"A basic one to make things stronger. Those skilled enough with it can make themselves strong enough that superhuman feats are not that hard anymore." The redhead spoke in layman's terms to get the conversation going. "Another rule is that they can only fight half an hour at most before having to stop, that is what Liz is going to do if they don't stop for themselves."

As if he had timed it, an alarm clock rings around the clearing. Setsuna and Kiba ignored it and kept sparing at their own pace but Rin stopped herself mid punching Luvia and Luvia relaxed her grip on Rin's shoulder.

Both girls glared at each other again and stepped back close to some trees to get their bottles of water and towels, all the while their glares didn't relent as their eyes refused to leave each other.

Liz watches the interaction calmly with Shirou while Issei looks at the two girls with horror. "They are bleeding. Shouldn't we do something?"

"Some of the rules the two placed themselves, a matter of pride between them; no outside help and the wounded will only be healed at the end of the day." Shirou chuckles at the horror that grows on Issei's face. "Relax. Things used to be worse and we are here to make sure that things don't go too far."

"Again." Liz added, her eyes not leaving the two young women as their breathing evens out and they are practically just waiting for the time to start second round.

"Again." Shirou agrees with a nod. "Unless some of us are around, Rias, Liz or myself, they are forbidden from sparing and there are also a whole bunch of rules to stop things from escalating like only letting them spar twice per month."

"Again, they are bleeding and bruised all over and look like they want to kill each other." Issei points out, still finding the whole affair hard to believe. "Are you sure they are humans? It looks like they are strong enough to break mountains."

"Not that much." Shirou says as Liz starts going back to her seat and the alarm rings again as the two ladies charge to begin their conflict anew.

"I…" Issei doesn't know what to say.

"Hey, don't worry. With some training you will be doing the same thing. Maybe you will be here waiting to stop the fighting once in a while." Shirou tries to be optimistic and motivate Issei.

"Watching them?" The brown haired student looks back and he can see the two girls fighting but now he is not paying attention to their power but their bodies.

He can see Rin's thighs, the fitness on her biker shorts making it a tempting vision, he also notices that Luvia is also using sports clothes beneath her own uniform but that didn't stop her breasts from jumping around.

Issei didn't notice when Shirou hitted him on the head until the pain made him raise his hands to try and alleviate it. "Auch."

"Focus." Shirou says with a sigh. "I know you are a pervert but come on man. Focus on training for now."

"You told me to watch them." Issei points out.

"And I regret it immensely." Shirou takes a few steps back and raises his hands, tracing gloves already in position. "Now come on. Call your sacred gear. It is time for you to learn how to use it."

"To punch?" Despite the question Issei did as instructed and tried to replicate the previous posture that Shirou showed previously with moderate success before summoning the gauntlet on his left hand.

"Everybody starts somewhere." Shirou motions with his hands a little. "You are like this, try to stay like this."

"Is boxing really going to help? I mean…" Issei looked to the side as the two ladies were ducking it out again.

"Martial arts have many functions. To normal people they are a way to exercise, to learn how to defend themselves even if they need to complement in other ways later." Shirou begins to explain before making a pause. "Now, throw a punch."

"Don't devils have their own martial arts or something?" Issei questions while throwing his fist with his gauntlet at Shirou.

The redhead easily receives the punch and he frowns. "You are doing it wrong." He makes the glove on his left hand disappear and makes a fist. "This is how you make a fist. Look at my finger and do that." Issei nods and tries again. "Okay, better. Now put a little more strength behind it. And about devils having martial arts, they use mostly brute strength or magic. From what Rias told me only with Rating Games is that fighting styles started to diverge."

Issei begins to punch again, noticing that Shirou isn't moving or even being bothered by his gauntlet making contact. He starts to repeat the motion while keeping his other fist raised. "And why do we use normal martial arts anyway?"

"While most are not really great for fighting, pretty much every single one of them is useful to get fit and to instill someone with good principles and a stern regiment to get healthy." Shirou traces another glove and raises it, indicating for Issei to alternate his punches which he does. "But those that are good for a real fight have multiple principles that magicians started to explore for a long time in ways to increase their magic power."

"Magicians? Really?" In Issei's mind that didn't fit his vision of a magician at all.

"Let me guess; you thought that most of us used just robes, staff and cauldrons?" Shirou questions with a smile and raised eyebrows and Issei loses his balance and falls on his face. "Don't worry, some of us are like that. Even if there is merit in training with their bodies, there are many who just do the minimum while using other methods to keep their mana steady flow and their bodies healthy because exercise may get in the way of their research."

"And you aren't like that?" It was barely a question as Issei can tell that Shirou is way stronger than he looks.

First Shirou chuckled a little. "No, I am kind of a third rate. My magecraft has a more hands on approach. My work also demands a good deal of strength and energy and I also train everyday on combat as I am more oriented towards it."

Once Issei was on his feet he started to punch again. "So you are going to train later?" He tries to take turns with each hand but Shirou stops him.

"Calm down. This is also about posture, taking turns is good but not if you are going to lose strength with each punch." The redhead then smiles. "And who said I am not training now?"

"You are? It's more like you are just helping me." At Issei's commentary, Shirou just smiles.

"There are lots of ways to train. In my case I am using Reinforcement to make my hands stronger while using it gently on my muscles to help with their durability while stressing them just enough to make them stronger." All that shocked Issei as he barely understood what was said and Shirou decided to simplify. "I am doing the same thing Rin and Luvia are doing but on a more precise scale."

"You said you are a sword user right? How many sword styles do you know?"

"Interested?" Shirou asked with legitimate curiosity but Issei just shrugs.

"I don't know yet. Isn't a weapon better than a fist?" Issei stops to look at his hands but Shirou shakes his head.

"In a fight there are many factors; it is much easier to learn magic directly with your hands than with a weapon, Setsuna for example," Shirou motions to the woman dressed in a boy's school uniform launching green projectiles from her naginata, "trained for years to be able to do that but that is because she isn't as skilled as her father in using her powers with her hands. Both me and Kiba can make our own swords with their own abilities while Koneko and...Kuro are better at fighting with their hands and I can guarantee that Kuro would beat me in a fight with barely a sweat. And all that is not even considering the easy access to magic that having your hands free allows."

"So is there any real difference?" Issei has a preference but for his dream he is looking for the best route.

"Of course there is, your preferences." Now Shirou stops himself before speaking, needing to take a moment to figure out how he would explain afinities and origins. In the end he decided to just say his opinions. "Everyone has something that they like doing for a reason or another and no one is good at everything. You can try one thing or another first, pick up what feels right and just go from there."

"Really? Just like that?" Issei sounds extremely disappointed. "I don't know. I expected something like a video game where you could master all weapons if you try hard enough."

"With enough time? Sure. Or the right ability." Shirou points out. "But I wouldn't recommend that for someone who is starting. Actually I would suggest you hold off on your decision until you learn the basics first."

"Like punching?" And Issei is back at it again with Shirou nodding along as the devil is trying to find a rhythm.

"Like punching, standing properly, learning how to run, training to adjust your body to its new condition." Every new point made the devil's arms weaken at the size of the task but the magus wasn't done. "Don't worry too much about it. Take your time and find what you want, what you are good at."

Issei looks a little disappointed again. "Kinda wish I could just pick something up and go with it."

"There are only two kinds of people who have things easy like that; genius or fools. The genius literally that can do everything, hasn't met one of those yet, or a fool who can't see that he is doing stuff wrong or refuses to get better thinking that his way is the best." Shirou stresses his point by changing his posture and gesturing for Issei to do the same. "Now try this, put you back in your punches and find a rhythm. No rush, this is your first day."

Obeying the instructions Issei can tell that punching is easier but his arms are starting to hurt from the constant exercise. "But should I get a weapon?"

"Do you want a weapon?" Before the devil could reply, Shirou shakes his head. "Either way, before that you need to condition your body, to get it into shape and to make sure you can at least move properly." The magus starts to move to stand on a single foot and yet Issei's punches don't shake him. "Balance is something important for any aspect of fighting, some would say it is the most important part. Martial arts have another advantage of helping you learn equilibrium, to learn how to control your body in any situation and to get used to fighting." The redhead can already tell that Issei is getting increasingly tired. 'Good thing we didn't start with the power of the sacred gear today. He would have already passed out.' He keeps his observation to himself to not demotivate the devil. "Practicing a fight style also helps a lot with magic."

"How...so?" Issei keeps punching, determined to keep going until Shirou tells him to stop.

"Magic has a lot to do with will. If your will is strong, your magic grows steadily with it and allows you to use it at its full potential." The redhead notices that Issei is getting to his limits but says nothing. "If you learn to control your body, master your will and strengthen your spirit then you will know true strength."

"Really?" Issei found what Shirou was saying a little confusing but appealing.

"That is what I do." The magus says with a smile. "Of course I train everyday and as a devil you are going to have advantages of some kind, especially when learning basic magic."

"And when will I...get to learn magic?" If there was something that interested the devil in training it was that aspect, the kind of thing he only saw in anime and manga his whole life made real by his own power.

Shirou chuckles a little. "When you can do exercise for more than 10 minutes without looking like you are going to die." With how much the brown haired devil is sweating, Shirou is beginning to worry about dehydration. "Want to stop for now?"

"No...I can keep going." And he keeps punching an amused Shirou's hands.

"Not the training in general but take a break for some water." The newly reincarnated devil looks at him in disbelief. "You need to really learn to pace yourself, you know? The only one that can tell you your limits is you and taking a break once in a while helps."

While the comment was gentle, the devil couldn't help but glare at the magus a little before throwing another punch. Shirou decides to shrug his shoulders and let Issei get used to punching for a while longer while he tries to decide what he is going to make for dinner tonight.

…

"Oh God- Ow- that was good!" Issei declares as his body is ready to enter a food coma by the combination of a long day of training and the huge quantity of food he ate on a single sitting.

"And so falls another to the Shirou Standard." Liz says with a nod of wisdom, Koneko, Yoruichi, Medusa, Setsuna and most surprisingly Rin, nodding with her almost like she spoke a gospel much to the embarrassment of one of the cooks.

"At least that is better than the 'Shirou Scale'." Said cook feels uncomfortable with the new name for his level of food while the other, his assistant in most matters in the kitchen, has an impish smile on her face.

"I hope you all remember that I also contributed to our meal." Akeno says with false irritation and everyone can see even as she tries to hide her smile.

"Oh don't worry Akeno, we certainly know who did what." Rias comments while motioning to her cup of tea, making her Queen pout before she smiles again.

"My, my Rias. I didn't know you were getting upset for not developing your techniques in the kitchen." Akeno's comment made the redhead devil freeze. "How long has it been since you made something for everyone? Must have been quite a while if you are bothered."

"I have been busy on multiple fronts. It is also not my fault that Shirou can make a great lasagna." The King glares at her Queen but everyone else knows it all is good fun.

"Are they going to fight?" With the exception of the new arrival that is still getting used to their antics.

"Don't worry about it. They are just playing around." Kiba whispers back, making sure to not say 'for now.'

While conversation is going around, Shirou and a silent Medusa start to collect the dishes. Usually the little goddess isn't much of a talker anyway but today especially she particuary silent because there is someone on the table who is better not noticing her at all.

As Issei was about to look in the purple haired girl's direction, Rias stood up. "Now is time for another important step in your new life as a devil, Issei."

"It is?" Even after what he did during the whole day he isn't complaining, the arrival of the night actually filled him with new energy.

"Yes, yes. It is something that will help you reach your dream of having a harem." Just hearing those words had Issei very interested. "Your first...contract."

At Rias' words, everyone on the table applauded politely. Those that can applaud that is as Shirou is escorting Medusa to the kitchen with Liz and Yoruichi, still in her cat form, right behind them as both them and the goddess expect a little more to bite from the kitchen.

Usually Koneko would be following right behind to get some more to eat but today she is needed to help her King with the instruction of the new member of their household. So the petit devil closes her eyes in lament as she gets up with everyone else to go to the main office of the building.

Once they entered, the devils started to sit down in places of relaxation while Setsuna got ready to practice her violin. The only member of the ORC who left the building earlier on the day was Luvia who had to admit losing her fight to Rin which meant she also lost the rights to Shirou's food today per bet.

It was the only punishment Rias would allow for those spars and even then some people consider it cruel. The King didn't since to her it was still better than some stuff the magicians were proposing to do to each other just to get said food.

As the owner of the building sat down on her chair and fixed some papers, she looked at her new servant with a smile. "Today you are going to receive your first contract, an important step in your journey to one day be a high class devil." Issei nods quickly, hearing 'high class' and replacing it with 'getting a harem'. "As I explained before; to gain contracts you need clients and most of them can be found with pamphlets. Of course other methods like word of mouth or special sites on the internet also are there to help a modern devil to find their own clients and establish a network of contacts that shall last them their lifetimes." Rias picks up another pamphlet but this kind is different. "And this is a small manual of instructions for you to study later on how to expand your contacts and do a good service but for now you have work to do."

"I do?" Issei was confused by the whole thing. 'Am I getting a client today?'

"Indeed. Because of a mistake on schedule, our dear Koneko here ended up with two of her clients at the same time." Rias places a hand on the side of her face as Issei turns to Koneko who slowly nods at the presentation. "Usually such situations are no problem as the clients are aware that we have others in our schedules but today is a special case and we need you to fill up for her."

"So my first client is actually one of Koneko-chan's?" Issei questions while looking at Koneko again to see if she was upset.

She isn't, not because of that at least. What upsets the white haired devil is the fact that instead of eating the leftovers of the excellent food that Shirou makes, she is here having to nod along to the fact that one of her clients called her the wrong day.

But personally Koneko has no issue with giving one of her clients to Issei, especially not one that is a little pervert himself. 'They will get along.' Is her conclusion for the whole thing. Besides, they need something to take their pervert out of the club for a while.

"As you can see, Koneko has no problems with that." Rias smiles proudly at the maturity of the small devil, not realizing Koneko's own thoughts. "So, you are going to be taking care of one of them, this one to be exact."

Issei picks up the offered piece of paper and reads some details about the client. "Okay but it's on the other side of the town. How do I get there?"

"Teleportation." Akeno announces with a little flourish of her hands to direct Issei's attention to the magical circle of Gremory at the corner of the office.

"Really? Teleportation? That is so cool!" The brown haired devil quickly gets to his feet as he approaches the circle, examining it with admiration. "How do I use it?"

"You stand in there thinking of the person or place that you want to teleport to." Rias explained with a smile as she got up from her chair. "Here, stand in the center and it will use your power to teleport you to the residence of your client."

"Most of their time we attend their homes but some call us to their offices or just other places where they are comfortable." Kiba said with a small smile. "It all depends on where they are and if they are carrying our pamphlets or not."

"That is also one of the means. The other is if we feel the desire throughout the magic circle and then use it to directly summon us to their side." Rias explains, avoiding to mention that was how Issei had managed to summon her as she was waiting for the summon to talk to him about the moonlit world in a counter recruitment maneuver against the fallen angel.

"So I only have to stand here and think who I wanted to teleport to?" Sounded easy enough for Issei.

"They must have our circle somewhere in their residence as that is the only way that devils can teleport." Confessed Rias with a small shrug. "Other methods of teleportation are more sacred gear and divine based but you can go from here to the Underworld if the connection is properly established and you have enough power."

"Fortunately that much power is unnecessary as you are just going to take a hop to the other side of town." Akeno commented while making a walking motion with her hand. "From there once the job is done, you touch one of our pamphlets and use it to teleport back here."

"That may be difficult at first so if you have any problems you can call and I will go get you." Rias said with a smile. "Now stand in the center and get ready to go. You have a job to do representing the House of Gremory and I expect you to do it to the best of your ability."

"Yes, Buchou!" And Issei steps forward towards the center of the circle, excited for the prospect of being teleported and his first job. As the magic circle of Gremory begins to glow, Issei couldn't help but think; 'One more step towards my dream!'

The circle started to glow more before it fizzled out and everyone looked at it in confusion.

"Did something happen?" Rias begins to approach as Akeno kneeled close to the circle, touching it with a finger to study it.

"No...it is normal as far as I can tell." Akeno uses Structural Analysis delicately to check the floor and the area around but there was no problem, with the circle at least. "Issei-kun, please step back from the circle." Once the newly reincarnated Pawn obeyed, the Queen stepped up and lights were immediately on. "No problem with the circle at all."

"So what happened, Akeno-san?" Issei is considerably nervous now that the teleportation failed, worried that he was already failing as a devil.

"You are just...too weak." Akeno informs her junior with a smile.

"'Too weak'? Are you sure Akeno?" Rias just smiles in good humor.

"What does that mean, Buchou?" At the King's good humor, Issei got more relaxed.

And then Rias gave him an almost apologetic smile. "You can't teleport yet." For a moment Issei didn't understand what that meant. "Apparently your magical talent is...bad."

"Bad?" Issei didn't like that.

"Really bad." Kiba sounds legitimately apologetic.

"The worse." Koneko says bluntly.

"At least we know you must have had zero talent for magic as a human." Rin says with a bit of relief as she won't have to instruct the pervert in magecraft of any kind. Setsuna is the only one that stayed silent and even then she looked at him with visible pity.

"Is that bad?" Issei was getting nervous now.

"No, no. You just haven't bloomed yet. As a devil." Rias is quick to try and reassure her newest servant. "Not everyone is born with magical talent and you still are getting used to everything."

"Be as it may, he can't teleport." Akeno says with a cheeky smile, waiting to see the realization sink in on Rias and Issei.

On this occasion, the new devil was faster to react. "What does that mean?" He looked confused between the King and Queen while Rias smiled at him again.

"You need to get there by other means." The redhead devil says gently, hoping that Issei would get the message. When he didn't, Rias sighs. "That means you will have to run there."

"Wait...for real?" Issei is shocked by the turn of events. "That is on the other side of the town. After all the training today...Should I fly- No, wait, I can't even fly properly yet." He starts to panic and that makes Rias panic a bit herself.

"Calm down, Issei. There are other ways, I mean…" And for a moment the King stops to think about something when she snaps her fingers in realization. "Do you have a bicycle in your house or something?"

"I do but what is that going to help?" The reply made pureblood smile more.

"Well, your house is on the way and if you get your bike then you can get there in no time." Was the best solution Rias could come up with, much to Issei shock.

"I…" Issei tried to think what to say to that.

"Hurry up Issei. This is supposed to be your first client." Akeno comments with a small smile. "Or are you going to give up your dream?"

And the Queen knew the exact words to say to motivate the Pawn. "No way in hell!" A determined Issei starts to run out of the club at full speed leaving his audience impressed and almost tripping on Shirou as he leads his small group with cookies in hand.

"Looks like someone is in a rush." Yoruichi comments with a chuckle as she walks in the office directly to her pillow.

"What did we miss?" Shirou questions as Koneko grabs the cookies in a rush, a nod of appreciation goes to Shirou as she moves to the teleportation circle.

"Issei can't teleport so he rushed to get his bike and go to his first client." Rias informs as she gets a cookie while everyone else sat down and Kiba began to walk to the teleportation circle.

The Knight waves his goodbye as he departs after Koneko. "He is really weak." Medusa comments as she picks up the tea Akeno was distributing. "His mind is like a child's still, the trauma he faced wasn't enough to steel it and his body isn't used to any stress."

Rias looked upset by the comment and as she sat in her share a question escaped her lips. "What do you think, Shirou? Is Issei that bad?" The magus wasn't surprised by the question, if anything he expected it.

"Nothing that training and time won't fix." Was the best answer that Shirou could give.

"I watched from the trees, the kid has no skill or balance or anything." Yoruichi comments with a roll of her eyes as Shirou was being too nice. And when she saw his amber eyes look at him with sadness it made her feel like she kicked a puppy. "But Shirou is right, give enough training and time then the kid can learn something. He does want it, a lot."

"Yes, the harem thing really can push him when needed." Rias found the whole thing cute. The way Issei acts when his goal is brought out or how determined he looks when anyone brings it up.

"Motivators aside, how is his case going?" Shirou felt he needed to ask but immediately he wished he didn't as a dark look crossed Rias' eyes.

"The fallen angels have other agents in the area." And it is clear that Rias doesn't like that, at all. "They made clear that they don't approve Raynare's actions and that if any of their agents see her they have orders to apprehend her."

Shirou blinks to process what was said. "That is...good?"

"No it isn't!" Rias looks at her magician with anger that actually made Shirou recoil. "Not only the Grigori has the balls to say they have people on MY territory, they also are saying they will settle things in house instead of giving me that criminal to face justice."

"Nothing can be done about that." Akeno comments as she looks at the watch on the wall and starts to walk towards the magic circle. "That is just Azazel's police and our word against theirs. There is little we can do."

Before Rias could formulate a proper response for her Queen, Akeno is already off to her job, leaving the redhead devil with a pout. "I hate when she leaves with the last word like that."

"And she knows it." Yoruichi points out with a chuckle.

"Isn't something that we can do?" Shirou asked with a frown, the idea of letting Raynare getting away with murder was not pleasent to him at all. "We could look for her. If we find her in your territory then there is no way that they can complain."

"Except Japan is neutral and there are some areas the devils can't just approach without justification." Setsuna reveals while keeping up the rhythm on her violin, a calm song for the topic. "There is a church in Fuyuki that fell into disrepair. If there are fallen angels in the area they are probably there and if the criminal is still in the city, she may also be hiding in that place."

"And we can't do a thing about it without just cause." Rias says clearly frustrated. "Unless the fallen decide to turn on their friend there is nothing I can do about it."

"Can't I do something?" Shirou asked with a serious face. "I am human. There is no law impeding me from approaching a church."

"Except you are her magician. While you get a lot of protection from that fact it also means you are her direct representative. You can't go there without permission." Yoruichi informs Shirou and even she didn't like that fact.

"The fallen angel didn't enter Kuoh." Liz reminds Shirou of the fact.

"Exactly." Rias confirms with a nod. "This is like an embassy and the same can be said about that church. Worst of all is that the Grigori admitted that they have agents in a devil controlled city and I can't do anything about it."

"They have permission from someone?" Yoruichi questions but is also offering it as a possible explanation for the situation.

"Since the factions are under a ceasefire? Maybe." Rias recognized the fact and part of her wanted to ask her brother to look into it. But she didn't want to run to him every time a problem popped up. "For now, there is nothing we can do. If we, by any chance, see the criminal fallen angel, there is nothing stopping anyone here to capture or even kill her." She looks around with firm eyes to show she is serious about the prospect and deeply irritated by the fact that is the best she can do.

"Why are the fallen angels here anyway?" Medusa asked with a frown on her face.

"Recruitment, outpost, vacation." Rias shrugs, basically telling her to pick her answer. "Fuyuki may be a city of devils but Japan is neutral and anyone can walk in and out with the proper papers and if they don't start a mess."

"This is really irritating." The purple haired goddess declared before picking up a book and beginning to read it, choosing to not be part of the subject anymore.

"Don't I know it? Unfortunately there is little we can do 'without reason' unless we want to start a war." Usually Rias respects the ideals of the Grigori's leader, she wouldn't insult Azazel for protecting his subordinates.

However, that prerogative that everyone follows means that unless she can personally get her hands on the right fallen angel, on neutral ground or her territory, she can do anything against any of them until they act first.

"Do we know how many are around?" Liz brings back the issue with a practical question, her protective instincts searching for any relevant information to help protect what she cares about.

"They informed me that they have four agents in the area with some humans being called to help fortify the position." Rias said with a scoff. "And of course they didn't tell us the number of humans either so this could be a couple to a dozen and we can't do anything."

"I will get a little more tea for you." Shirou prepares to serve some more of the calming drink to the King who nods in appreciation.

"They at least guaranteed that none of their agents had permission to kill anyone but was the most they were willing to say. I wish I could get hold of someone higher in the totem pole so we wouldn't be just waiting." Rias finished the explanation by savoring her tea. 'Akeno is really getting good at making those, this is excellent.'

"For now don't focus on that. Focus on training that puppy devil, that kid needs it, badly." Yoruichi decides to change the subject.

"I will get him to run a little to start conditioning him." Rias already has a training schedule in mind. "You won't mind helping you a little more, do you?"

The question was for Shirou and he nodded with a smile. "No problems. Once he has the basics down he can even join in our spars."

"That is going to take a considerable amount of time, Shirou." Setsuna said while pointing the bow, the piece used to play the violin, towards the magical circle. "He really needs the training and you can't neglect your own."

"You are just upset he isn't going to spar with you that much for a while." A small blush appears on Setsuna's face for a moment at Rin's comment and Shirou decides to intervene.

"He isn't ready for training every day just yet, some days I will just have him running or doing push ups to help his constitution or something similar." The redhead knew Setsuna approved of his plan when she began to play again.

He also notices his fellow redhead nodding in appreciation. "With you and me pushing him a little, Issei will be in proper shape in no time."

The fire on the King's eyes showed that she has every intention of really pushing Issei to his limits, her goal is to make absolutely sure that Issei is strong enough to seize his dream and when everyone considered how much Rias could care about her servants many of the present could only hope that the Pawn could survive his first few weeks as a devil.

It was a general consensus that these are going to be some of the hardest days of his life.

…..

Waking up early wasn't a thing that Issei was used to and he expected after a couple of days as a devil that the contrary became the norm. Fortunately for him, especially because his parents aren't complaining about him getting back home late, devils need much less sleep than humans. Instead of eight to ten hours, Issei now finds himself sleeping three or four and getting ready for the day with little effort.

'But the sun still sucks.' Is not exhaustion that hurts the Hyoudou family child, it is the sun itself. The star at the center of their solar system whose presence gave life to the planet doesn't actually hurt him directly but the headaches at the beginning of the day do. 'But I will do it. For the harem!'

Issei can already see in his dreams, a version of himself with his gauntlet on hand surrounded by girls of all kinds with big breasts and barely dressed. Some have skimpy maid outfits while others have more provocative clothes. Just thinking about it was enough to water his mouth and fill his determination as he feels his heart beat harder with the idea.

Excited for the future and his dreams of a harem, Issei begins to run…"Aw." Only to hear a cute yell as he accidentally hits someone and the both of them fall to the ground, a briefcase falling apart and sending clothes in all directions. "Auchy, that hurt." A cute voice came from the other person.

Massaging his head, Issei opens his eyes to see a vision he never had so close in his life. "White…" He said without thinking about the panties of the girl that had fallen because of a lack of attention from both their parts. When he finally noticed what he did, the devil stood up quickly. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I think so." From behind a white veil Issei sees an image that he could only call angelic, really angelic like the frescos of great artists and on the rooftops of great churches.

With gold hair, truly looking to be made from the noble metal and green eyes that even emeralds would feel envy towards, is a girl close to Issei's age. She looks innocent, pure as a snowflake and in a long dress of a nun of all things in dark teal color with white highlights that share the same color of her veil and brown boots. The dark colors of her clothes brought out the light on her eyes and it can be said that she is one of the most beautiful girls Issei has ever seen, a part of him felt dirty for even having sullen her form with the dirt of the ground.

Her eyes looked around nervously to her things that fell on the floor, her golden bangs escaping the veil highlighting her aparece to another level in Issei's mind and one she began to move, the devil started to move too.

"Here, let me help you." The devil moves quickly, a desire of making sure the person before him was fine swelling on his chest as he starts to put stuff back on her briefcase as delicately as he could while his eyes steal glances at her from time to time as she also helps fix her luggage. "There, all done."

"Thank you for your kindness and I am sorry for bumping into you. I am a little lost and was trying to find my way around town." The girl says with a soft tone that had Issei blinking to remove the stars when looking at her before shaking his head.

"No, no. It 's fine. I was a little distracted thinking about...stuff." Hyoudou is sure that there is no reason for such a pure girl to know about his impure thoughts. "I'm sorry for asking but you said you are lost?"

"Yes, I am new to town and don't know exactly where to go." She looks around with a pout, like a lost puppy that lost their owner and had no idea where they went. Then she turns to Issei with her hands together and then the devil can see that he is at least a head taller than her. "I am sorry to impose but...do you have any idea where the church of the town is?"

"The church?" Stopping to think for a moment, Issei then nods his head after a memory of his old friend clicked in his mind. "I think I know one around the town that someone I knew frequented but that was a long time ago."

"Thank God." The blonde girl doesn't notice when Issei flinches at the name of the heavenly Father being said with complete sincerity. "Please can you tell me where it is? I am supposed to start taking care of it today if possible."

Without thinking twice, almost hypnotized by the petite girl's eyes, Issei nods his head. "Sure."

"Oh, how nice of you." She then joins her hands and closes her eyes in prayer. "Please Father, bless this gentleman for his kindness. Bless his day with love and light." It was a prayer being made with the most pure intention and if it was for anyone else she would receive smiles of appreciation even from non believers.

Unfortunately she is praying for a devil and he needs her to stop before getting anymore sick. "Whatisyourname?" Issei said fast and managed to stop the nun's prayer as her eyes looked back at him. "My name is Issei, Hyoudou Issei." He manages to say, gratitude pouring out of him. "What is yours?"

The girl was confused for a moment before nodding. "Asia Argento. It is a pleasure to meet you, mister Issei." Asia then lowers herself in a bow while holding her briefcase.

"Nice to meet you too." The devil is relieved by not having to deal with prayers for his sake anymore. "You want to go to the church, right?"

"Uhum." Asia's smile made resisting all those prayers worth it as she looked at him with shining eyes but also made him curious.

"Are you a nun? A real nun?" While Issei never saw one in real life before, Asia looked too young to be one anyway.

With a slight innocent tilt of her and huge eyes better in the face of a doe, Asia replied. "Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?"

'A nun! A real cute nun! I can't believe it! I thought these kinds of things only happened in games. While his mind wants him to jump with joy because of the events, Issei's mind is more concerned about the girl's safety when he realizes something about her predicament, "It 's just that the church here has been empty for a long time…" Issei is pretty sure it is empty and falling apart at this point but then again he could be mistaken.

"Maybe that is why the Lord sent me here. To make it flourish once again." Asia said before giving the heavens a small prayer again, this time silently and short, before turning to the brown haired youth with her charming eyes. "Can you tell me where to go?"

Now Issei has a problem since the last time he ever got close to the church of the town was years ago when his old friend still lived in Fuyuki. Without Irina present and since it was his family that were devoted christians Issei had no more reason to go there, they were protestants from what he could recall and loved to go to the church despite it being a catholic one and in those days he did go once or twice for the sake of his friend.

While he missed his friend, the pervert wasn't a fan of the church and if his memory didn't fail him he was sure that the church was abandoned right after Irina's family had left. And now he met a nun going there, a beautiful nun that looked like the shining example of her kind with a modest dress but beautiful like an angel-

'Will you die for me?'

-undoubtedly the prettiest girl he has ever seen. Issei just can't help himself and smiles at Asia. "I can take you there if you want."

"Really? But I don't want to be a bother." The way Asia said was enough that made Issei feel guilty for having seen her in a vulnerable moment before, a moment he will cherish for the rest of his days but didn't erase the guilt he felt either way.

Such an act demanded compensation. "It's alright. Come on, I'll show you the way." Issei extends a hand to carry the briefcase but the nun shakes her head.

"I already am bothering you enough, at least allow me to carry my stuff." Asia said without malice or suspicion and the brown haired devil turned his head to hide his tears.

'She' s an angel! A real angel!' There are no negative entonations on his mind as he can almost bask in the girl's sincerity. "Alright, let's go to the town's church." Issei is sure that there is no one else there but if that is what the nun wants it is what the nun is going to get.

Before they left the park they came across a kid playing with a ball, his mother on the side sitting on a bench. Asia smiles at the little boy with black hair and he smiles back before stumbling on a loose shoe lace. "Yahiko!" The mother shouts in a panic, the devil and the nun also rushing close to the child who is now crying. "Calm down bady, it is just a scratch, don't worry about it."

Issei has no idea of what to do in this situation but he agrees with the mother's assessment. "Can I take a look?" Asia politely requests the mother with a smile. "I know how to make him feel better." The mother didn't understand but Issei repeated the words for her and she nodded with doubt in her eyes and Issei looked confused by the nun's actions. "Yahiko, can you look at me?" It took a second before the boy eventually opened his eyes to the nun, even if he didn't understand her words he understood her intentions. "That is it. You are a strong boy aren't you?"

While the child is still crying and struggling to not cry loud, his attention, and the mother's, is entirely on the nun as she hums a gentle tone and places both her hands on the child's wound.

Issei is the only one really looking at Asia's hands when he sees a pair of rings appear on them, silver circles with polished emeralds on each one that had a glow of the same color that covered the wound and made it disappear in an instant.

"There, it is all better now." The mother couldn't comprehend but didn't complain when the son got up with a smile.

"Thanks onee-chan." Asia didn't understand what the child said but she smiled all the same.

"No problem." Issei translated the nun's words and both boy and mother departed happily before Asia turned to him again. "Thank you for translating Issei…-san? Is that how they say it in Japan?"

"Yes, it is." The devil has the distinct impression that Asia is trying to speak Japanese at the moment and that she also tried with the boy but failed until he helped. "Shall we get going?" The young man tried to say elegantly and he was elated when the nun nodded with a smile as he directed them towards the church.

While they made their way, they started talking about one thing or another. Issei learned that Asia came from Italy and recently was assigned to work in the church of Fuyuki, having left the one she lived her whole life. When the nun commented that she was impressed with his Italian, Issei blushed and tried to explain some Japanese terms for her to help get her more used to their culture.

She was thankful to him that he was speaking so much Italian for her and the boy blushed again by the fact that it wasn't something he could really control because he is a devil. Not that he wanted to tell the nun that even if he asked about the green light. "I prayed to God and he allowed me to help the boy." The nun explained that with a smile that looked a little sad and Issei apologized for prying into a potential private topic.

Asia didn't mind, she was enjoying Hyoudou's presence and how patient he was in taking her to the church. It only took a couple of minutes as the distance between the church and where their meet wasn't that vast but eventually they arrived there.

And Issei didn't know if it was a good idea to leave Asia alone in such a place; like he imagined, the church really fell in disrepair as every angel statue he could see lacked a head while usually also having one or both wings broken, the symbols around it were erased by time and the cross on the roof was practically hanging by a thread.

"Are you sure this is the place?" The child of the Hyoudou family sounds legitimately worried but he couldn't help it. While the building itself looks stable everything else looked either destroyed or overgrown.

Yet it was Asia's smile and confident nod of her head that reassured him either way. "This is the place without a doubt. I will have a lot of work to do." The blonde girl said with a nod and joined her hands in prayer once again. "Oh Lord, I thank you for having provided someone to guide me. Your wisdom truly knows no bounds."

The nun keeps praying and Issei feels more uncomfortable with the situation, turning his eyes to the church in an effort to distract himself from the well wishes of the nun that also are turned towards him.

It was while Issei was looking at the church that he felt somewhat uneasy, like there is something warning him hard to not step in the church's territory. 'It makes sense I guess, I'm a devil and I don't think God would like me in His 'house'.' The irreverent way he thought the name of God pretty much made sure it didn't bother him but Asia praying still did.

"-and for that I thank you for all you did, my Lord." Finally the blonde nun finished her prayers before turning to Issei with a small smile. "Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?"

"Huh?" For a moment the devil was surprised that what he heard wasn't another prayer. "Tea? Are you sure? You just arrived."

"I am sure nobody wouldn't mind." Asia said with a gentle smile. "After all you did the Lord's work by guilding one of His flock towards their destination. There is nothing wrong with at least giving you something to drink. The day is hot and you did give some of your time to help someone in need."

"Day?" It is then that Issei looks towards the sky and notices the sun already in an unfamiliar position before picking up his cell phone and noticing the time. "Shiiiiiiiiii-" Looking to the nun and her head cutely tilted, Issei stops himself from swearing. "I'm late for classes!"

"Oh, that is horrible." And immediately Issei regrets his sudden declaration as Asia looked like she just did the most awful thing in the world. "If I had not got lost-"

"Hey, don't blame yourself alright? I wanted to do it." Just looking at the blond's eyes, 'Oh Maou, does she want to start to cry', was enough that Issei knew he needed to say something quickly. "I have some time but if I don't hurry up I'll be late to the next class so no tea today."

"Really?" Asia looks relieved by the thought he wasn't going to get into trouble.

"Really." Issei for his part is relieved that the nun calmed down. "Maybe we can hang out after or something like that. Now I gotta rush to school."

The devil began to run when he heard. "'Hang out'?" The words sound foreign for Asia even if she understood them perfectly.

"Yeah. You know, walk around town. As friends or something like that!" The last part Issei said in a hurry since he didn't want to impose anything on Asia.

The brown haired teenager expected a complete rejection but instead he received a smile and a nod. "Yes, I would like that."

Issei didn't need to know that the smile he gave her was the biggest of his week.

…

Unfortunately for the newly reincarnated devil, school is still the same regardless of what species of being he is. In the beginning Issei had some problems waking up to go but after a couple of days he got used to the sun bothering him more than it did in the past.

"Hey Issei, where is my game?" Motohama demanded to know, whispering in class as the teacher of the lesson didn't mind if it didn't interrupt the lesson.

"I have it here right here." Issei said back with a frown as he pointed to his bag. Because of Asia he arrived a little bit later than usual and if it wasn't the fact that Kuzuki wasn't really bothered by how his students spend their time but respect his class he would be in deep trouble.

Knowing that his friend has his game, Motohama gives him a nod as they both turn back to the front of the class.

Kuzuki Souichirou is a tall man with a dark suit and hair, he is also lean and his glasses only help to highlight his strict personality. While he doesn't mind what his students do unless they interrupt his class, he delivers shift punishments to those that do, either in the form of giant piles of homework that had some students crying or a task that usually disrupts the club activities of that student.

And he does it without mercy. Every single one of the man students and even some of his colleagues would call him emotionless but also respect the man for the aura of discipline he exudes.

He is also acknowledged as the favorite teacher of Shitori Souna and when he moves or talks, it was almost like the movement itself demanded attention even if it looked nothing special.

By the end of that class the students had some time to talk as their teacher left without anything other than a "Have a good day".

"Why did you arrive late today, Issei?" Motohama asked as he received his game back from his friend.

"Yeah, you came running and covered in sweat. What happened? Stayed awake too late yesterday?" Matsuda follows their friend's question to express his own curiosity.

"That wasn't the problem. I woke up normally today." Issei said without thinking and his friends didn't think too much about it. "You guys have no idea of what I saw this morning."

"What? Something cool? Was it a girl with a hot body?" Issei actually had to stop to think about Matsuda's question but everytime he tried to remember about Asia's body he ended up just returning to her smile with the heavy nun clothes covering it.

"Is it not too early for you guys to be doing your usual shenanigans?" Aika fixes her glasses as she approaches the male perverts. "Especially talking about girls. With things going like that none of you will ever get a girlfriend~"

"Shut up Kiryuu." Matsuda is quick to react with rejection.

"What are you supposed to know? You don't even have a boyfriend." Motohama complains more passionately as he stands up to stay on the same level as the other student declared 'Perverted Glasses'.

"You guys don't know what I do outside of school~" Aika practically brags about it as Motohama takes a step back in retreat. "What about you Issei? You're kinda quiet today, especially after your late arrival."

"I met someone today. A girl." Issei is quick to say and immediately regretted it when Matsuda talked.

"Did you finally find that 'Yuuma' you said was your girlfriend?" Matsuda says in a mocking tone.

"What? No, I met a nun." Issei is quick to correct, his mind trying to stay away from the named subject.

"""A nun?""" The three other perverts present ask with curiosity, trying to decipher what 'nun' means.

"Sit down class! Signal already played! Let's move people!" The next teacher calls for order and the students obeyed as Kuzuki's influence is still felt around the class for a while as they are still in the same careful mentality the man manages to lock them in with absolute respect towards the faculty.

Most teachers love to work after Kuzuki because of his work ethic and how he manages to control even the most unruly of classes, everyone always falls in line when Souichiro is on the room, he cannot be bribed, bought or convinced of shrinking the punishment once he finds someone he believes deserved it and students learned that the hard way.

It takes until lunch for the most strict teacher influence to leave the students as they start to act more normal. At that time most of the teachers themselves also start to relax as the middle of the school day is more for recovery and the gathering of strength to survive the next leg of classes.

However that is when another change in Issei's life makes itself known to all the classes as Yuuto Kiba shows himself in their classroom, obviously looking for someone and while a great majority of the girls approach to talk with the newly arrived blond they are not the ones he was looking for.

Motohama knows who he is looking for. "Hey Issei, your boyfriend is here."

"You cut that out!" Hyoudou protested as he got up, completely ignoring the eyes looking at him as he started to push Kiba outside, the blond waving the girls away.

"Ha, that is why our rumors work. Issei makes this too easy." Matsuda brags as he gives a high five to Motohama who hits his hand proudly.

"That is what he gets for abandoning us. He and Kiba are practically the 'hit' couple of our school and nothing will stop that." The male pervert with glasses says loud enough for his friend, basking in his accomplishment, but not enough for most other students to hear.

Most didn't include the other pervert with glasses. "You two are only jealous because he gets to have the company of some of the hottest girls in school." Kiryuu's words pierce both perverts' hearts with the same skill as a hunter seaking to take down their prey. "Honestly, good for him, going for better friends than you both. I don't know how he got into the Occult Research Club but it is better than you two."

That just made the other perverts mad as they vow to drag Issei's name through the mud, much for Aika's amusement since she pretty much gets a front row seat for their 'adventures' as they are and she enjoys laughing about it too much to call them out on their hypocrisy.

At least in any way that she knows would actually be effective.

Outside of the classroom Issei keeps pushing Kiba on their way. "You didn't need to come get me." The brown haired devil of the par says with a little frustration.

"Rin thought it was a good idea since you apparently took too much time to get ready when I didn't get you on the first day." Kiba says gently but Issei isn't having none of it.

'That girl likes to put me in uncomfortable situations.' Ever since Kiba showed up after the 'devil reveal' to call him for his second club meeting rumors have started to spread around the school faster than a fire on a haystack.

And they got worse when the blond showed up the next day to invite him for lunch with the other club members. Not that Issei is complaining about the act itself since he gets to spend more time with more than a half dozen beautiful girls eating delicious food. There is just no way that he could complain about that.

On the other hand, 'If I ever get whoever started these rumors I'll shave their head.' The fact is that Issei heard enough people talking around to know that some people think that him and Kiba are a potential couple and Rin in her amusement convinced everyone to send the blond to call him and throw fuel into the fire. "You guys could have called me by phone."

"But you might not hear your phone in the initial rush for lunch." Kiba said but the words weren't his, they were Rin's.

"That is why cell phones vibrate." Which Issei realized just now, his mind coming up with reasons.

"We told Rin that but she insisted." Kiba shrugs with his response and Issei wants to facepalm. "If it makes you feel any better, Akeno agreed with the idea."

"Because Akeno-san likes to watch." Mumbles a half depressed pervert since even if he told Kiba that the girls are pairing them up the Knight won't even care. 'And I can't count on anyone else against them because nobody will believe that two of the most popular girls in school are out to tease me for fun.'

They arrive at the rooftop to find the rest of the ORC already eating, everyones sitting around a huge towel for comfort as they enjoy Shirou's food.

But there is an extra person there today, someone that Issei saw around the school once in a while. At the moment she is in the first year but the girl already is gaining fame for her sweet personality, beautiful aparrence and elegant disposition.

At the moment that sweet girl whose body is already reaching adulthood despite her age is sitting beside a smiling Rin and a calm but fast eating Koneko. "Issei, welcome. I was worried you managed to make Kiba get lost as well." Rias said as a joke and everyone greets the newly arrived devils.

"Here is your bento." Shirou extends one of the boxes for Kiba and then Issei. "If you need tea, ask Sakura. Hers is the best one in town."

"That is nice of you to say that, senpai." The raven haired elegant girl says with a smile.

"Do you two know each other? I don't think you ever had the chance to meet." Shirou realized with a smile.

"If it had been up to me, you two would never have met." Rin mumbles in agony.

And the Tohsaka's Head agony meant joy for another member of their circle. "My, my. Tohsaka you shouldn't be so disrespectful like that to a fellow Gremory employee. What is your mistress going to think?"

"How cute it is that she wants to protect her sister." Rias interrupts the blonde magus with a smile. "But Rin doesn't need to worry about it. Ise is going to be a perfect gentleman, are you?"

"Yes, of course Buchou." Issei immediately agreed with whatever his King said without hesitation, a trait that had Sakura giggling.

"It is fine. I heard about him around the campus." The younger Tohsaka extended her hand anyway. "Pleased to meet you, Tohsaka Sakura."

"Ah, Hyoudou Issei." He was impressed that instead of the usal recoil, Sakura is just polite with him. 'She is nicer than her sister for sure.' He notices that Rin was giving him a stinky eye and for a moment he feared for his life. 'Can magicians ready thoughts?'

"Since we are making acquaintances can I ask you for a favor?" Sakura began with a gentle smile that had Issei nodding without much thought. "Could I ask that you and your friends remain away from the Archery club?"

"Smart girl." Yoruichi said what everyone else was thinking.

"Indeed." Akeno wholeheartedly agreed.

'What is this about?' Issei isn't sure what is going on but his focus was mostly on the cute girl asking for a favor. "I won't peek there but I can't speak for the others."

"Oh that is fine, just let out a howl if they are around where they shouldn't." Was Sakura reply even if her face was a little disappointed that made Issei nod quickly to confirm her request.

"Her diplomatic skills are better than yours, Rin." Setsuna comments with a chuckle but the older Tohsaka sibling didn't respond.

"What is going on?" Issei asked the person closest to him Kiba on this instance as he gets to sit with an empty space on his other side.

Instead of immediately answering, Kiba takes a bite of his food before saying. "Instead of rejecting you, she asked you to not take a peek at her club before everyone in your circle of work." Issei still couldn't understand what that meant. "If you or your friends do that now, then she can take it up to Rias."

And now Issei understood the reason for the request since if there was a person that could punish him, it was his King. Even if Rias doesn't mind his pervertedness now and then, having no problem on him walking on her exiting the shower for one of the best visions of his life, now he gave his word, in front of her, to Sakura that he will pretty much ruin any attempt from his of his friends from peeping.

All because the girl was nice about how she asked it and he didn't even notice, agreeing with her completely without a second thought. 'She is as scary as her sister but in a more subtle way.' Issei still shivered at the mental gymnastics and the fact that if either Matsuda or Motohama tried anything he is obligated to warn the archery club. 'Forgive me my friends, but I fell in the trap of a beautiful girl who knew exactly how to ask for my betrayal.'

"Tea?" Sakura offers to Issei as she notices he still hasn't a cup and he almost cried as her smile was full of kindness.

"Yes, please." The request is granted with the same kind smile as before.

"Are you sure you don't want to join our club, Sakura-chan?" Akeno asked while also sipping a little of the tea and as the specialist devil on that she wants to learn how to improve like that. "Your sister would undoubtedly enjoy the company." Making Rin flinch at the reminder of the work she does in the club was just a bonus to the real question.

"I wouldn't mind if my sister wants help." Which was Rin's cue to ask but since she didn't and Sakura just shrugged. "But I prefer archery anyway. It's soothing, watching the arrow fly and hit the target. I enjoy it a lot."

"I can understand the feeling. When in a more calm setting archery helps put some things in perspective." Shirou observed with a nod. "If I wasn't in the ORC maybe I would have joined the archery club."

"You have enough practice already in the house." Yoruichi comments with a chuckle. "You should see what he did to the side of the dojo; it's practically swiss cheese with how many kinds of targets he placed there."

"And the magic doesn't help with some arrows." Koneko couldn't help but say it outloud.

"I needed somewhere to test the effects." Shirou tries to defend himself.

"Why not use the woods of our club?" Rias asked with a smile.

"Believe it or not our dojo can take a beating." Shirou explained with both Yoruichi and Koneko nodding in agreement.

"But we have people here that can fix those kinds of damages." Rias felt that she should remind Shirou of the fact.

"I know but some of the arrows that I test aren't the kind the guys in Kuoh are used to repairing." The redhead magus comments with a chuckle. "And the others are me trying to get a certain smug cat."

"Nyahahahaha, maybe if you tried that before I threw the first lighting around then you would have a better chance." Yoruichi doesn't need to brag about the facts, just point out the reality.

"Half of the damage is her fault." Koneko said with a glare but the cat just laughed some more.

Even if Issei asked, no one would hear him as laughter and other conversations were still going around. 'They act so...normal…'

Besides the subjects being talked about, everything didn't look that much different than if the conversation that would be happening in a normal classroom with a big group of friends. If anyone walked on the rooftop at that point the weirdest thing they would see was the cat that talked and the fact that most students present are from different years.

"If you try to mix things up, that will only make a mess of things." Sakura was explaining to anyone who would hear about her way of making tea. The most interested in the conversation are clearly Shirou and Akeno who paid avid attention with a smiling Rin behind her sister, clearly proud.

"Maybe we should get another person to practice with us. I am sure if we had another musician we could even have a small band to play at the festival." Rias said that directly to Setsuna who shook her head.

"That wasn't my intention on learning the violin and you know that." The daughter of one of the Kings of Kyoto declared with a certain apprehension. "I can play well but-"

"'Play well'? Setsuna, you are already on a profissional level with just a year of practice." Rias declares confidently. "I know that wasn't how you intended to use the instrument but as a player you are pretty much on a peak of your own."

"Buchou is right." Luvia says with a nod of her head and a gentle smile on her lips. "You could easily join an orchestra if you tried."

"Unfortunately that isn't my interest." Setsuna said with a calm look in her eyes. "Without progress on how to add my youki to the violin...I can't use that as an avenue for training anymore." Her tone of voice didn't show her frustration but those that know her can tell she is upset by the failure. "I am sure that no other instrument would work better than it and maybe I could use a sword with it but…"

"But your naginata is undoubtedly the better weapon." Yoruichi nods in agreement with the implication. "You tried a new thing and it didn't work, that is normal."

"But incredibly frustrating all the same." Setsuna's irritation with her failure is showing.

"You could try your father's route." The suggestion from the nekomata didn't bother Setsuna that much.

But it still opened a pit on her stomach. "My youki is still uncontrollable." Rias places a hand on Setsuna's shoulder.

"We just need to find a way to help you control it." The pureblood Gremory's voice was firm but kind. "If your power was just a little more similar to devils…"

"Unfortunately imagination and mental power aren't enough in these cases, especially for a hanyou." Yoruichi informs with a frown. "Even between her and her sister there are already huge differences between how their youki works that they can barely assist each other."

"There is really nothing you can help her with, Kuro-san?" Rias tried to ask but the cat shook her head.

"No. Every hanyou is like a new species of yokai and unless she wants to deepen her knowledge on senjutsu I can do very little. She needs to explore her power for herself." Was all the nekomata could say about the subject.

Issei watches the interactions, noticing that only Kiba and Koneko aren't really in any conversation like himself. But both of them look content; Koneko just focuses on eating most of the food while Kiba just smiles while drinking his tea, his food done.

Looking to his own bento the Pawn notices that he is already done with lunch and actually doesn't know what to do with himself. "I hope this hasn't been too much for you." Kiba's voice caught Issei's attention.

"What do you mean?" Issei closes the bento box while turning to the smiling Kiba.

"Most of us are already used to each other and have our prefered topics of conversation and they aren't exactly normal." The Knight knows the Pawn was hearing most of the talks and that no one would take offense. "We want you to feel comfortable but during lunch everyone just wants to relax and let their guard down."

"With food like this I can understand that." Issei says in appreciation, noticing how Koneko nodded at the statement about how good the food is. "But I'm fine. Just not used to eating away from the classroom."

"If you want I can drop your food there. Wouldn't take even a second." And thinking about Kiba's offer made Issei feel sick.

"No, thank you. Do you have any idea of what people are going to say if a guy drops food for me everyday?" And that was a hit his reputation doesn't need in Issei's opinion, he really wouldn't know how to live with that.

"We are compatriots now, servants under the same master. It wouldn't be a problem." Was the Knight's sincere reply.

That only made Issei feel worse. 'Damn you bastard pretty boy.' And the bell rings just as his thoughts finish processing.

Everyone is getting ready to leave for their classrooms, fixing the towels, gathering the trash and containers to be washed and used next time. Just before he managed to leave Rias placed a hand on Issei's shoulders. "I heard that you arrived a little later today. Did something happen?"

A moment to pause was all that the Pawn had as his King looked at him with serious eyes while Akeno remained back with them. "I found someone new to town. She was lost and I escorted her where she needed to go."

Another pause happens as Rias took a good look at Issei. 'Doesn't look like he's lying.' Rias gives him a small nod with a smile, she is still learning the reactions of her new servant. "Good, I am glad you had no troubles." With that the King and Queen start to walk down the stairs. "See you later at the club, you are going to have a new client today."

Issei smiled at the thought, another step closer to his dream, but the smile didn't last. 'Should I have told her about the church?' Deciding to do it later, he made his way to his classroom where new rumors were already arising.

…

"A new day, a new contract." The devils are preparing for their work as Setsuna plays her violin in the background. After confessing going to the church and being strictly warned to not do it again, Issei waits for Rias to choose his new client. "And here it is." The King picks up a file and offers it to her new servant. "He was one of Akeno's and is willing to give you a chance."

"Usually he likes to talk about his week while sipping tea, a kind old man that unfortunately doesn't have much contact with his family. Nothing much." The Queen informs with a small smile.

Besides the devils there was only Setsuna and Rin on the office, Shirou decided to work on some projects that night and Liz followed to help while Medusa, Yoruichi and Luvia choose to stay on his waiting room, a room besides his forge with all the comforts the three would need to spend the time, the snake and the cat getting used to play games with each other while the European magus wanted an opportunity to talk with Shirou alone and ended up getting dragged on their games.

"Closer than the last one." Issei comments while he turns to look at the magical circle, the way he slowly turned to look made Rias chuckles.

"Sorry Issei but you still aren't strong enough for it." She didn't try to sound mean but Rias couldn't help it, the situation was just funny for her. It got funnier when Issei lets his head drop and his shoulders slack in depression. "Don't be like that, Issei. A few weeks of training and you will be teleporting in no time."

"Think about the harem." Akeno said out loud and immediately the boy was standing straight.

"For the harem!" He declares with a mighty shout as he leaves the club for his mission.

"He is so cute when he acts like that." Rias and Akeno giggle while Kiba just smiles, only Koneko frowns at the thought.

"Pervert." Koneko shows her disapproval with Issei's attitude with a word and nothing else.

"Let him be, Koneko-chan." Akeno says, holding herself back to not comment much. Her resistance lasts seconds. "Maybe you are jealous of his determination?"

It surprised everyone how fast the usual inexpressive girl's face turned sour. "No." That made only the Queen smile more.

"Stop teasing her Akeno and Koneko, if Issei gets strong enough to have a harem, then he deserves one." Rias comments with a shrug. "He will also have to convince girls to join it anyway but that is in the future, enjoy while he doesn't have one and you can call him a pervert just because he is looking a little too much."

"He will always be a pervert." The white haired girl said with a cute frown that has Rias giggling a little more.

"It doesn't matter if he is a pervert or not, if he has people that like him as he is then as his King I will consider it a job well done." And Rias is fully committed in helping her Pawn, any of her servants for that matter, in reaching their goals regardless what they are. "Besides, you don't have to worry about him today Koneko, he is getting a new client and will go straight home after."

With a nod, the white haired girl gets up and moves to the magic circle, her own deals waiting to be fulfilled that night.

Once the younger of the devils had teleported, Kiba looked to his King with apprehension. "Should I go check the church?" There is a sharpness about how the Knight asked the question.

"Issei's reckless approach, regardless of how innocent it was, just proved what we already knew; there are fallen angels in Fuyuki's church." Rias comments without a care. "The Grigori itself didn't make any secret about it and they are not approaching any part of the territory directly under our control."

"They are still in our city." Akeno felt the need to remind. "You are the Second Owner and they failed to warn you before entering."

"But they paid compensation." This time who spoke was Rin, her face on a literal book that she raised to show it to Akeno. "We received a considerable influx of money right after Hyoudou was attacked. It is clear that they don't want trouble."

Rias nods in appreciation for the explanation. "The fact is that the Grigori are collaborating. They renounce the original perpetrator and inform us how many are in town."

"That is all lip service." Kiba said with a fake smile that bothered his King, and the blond knew it. "They are probably protecting her."

"And where is the proof?" Rias asked with a frown.

"Let me investigate the place." Yuuto gets close to his King desk and lowers his head respectfully. "I can get in and out and they won't even notice."

"They also have an unknown number of humans with them, now including a nun." A nun with healing power that could only come from a sacred gear, Rias and Akeno are sure to be checking the Underworld's books later. "And if you are caught, potential war."

That is honestly the only thing holding Rias back, if she was sure that Raynare was in that church or they were doing something that violated the ceasefire she would be marching on that church guns blazing to see the invaders punished.

"So there is nothing we can do?" The Knight looked a little irritated by the lack of action but Rias smiled at him.

"Go make some pacts tonight, just do normal things. There is no need to worry about them at the moment." At his King's words, Kiba sighed but accepted that Rias was right, there was nothing that he could do at the moment, it didn't matter that he didn't like enemies around their territory.

"Very well. I shall be going then, Buchou." The smile returned to Kiba's face but everyone knew it was more fake than usual as he stepped forward to the circle to soon be teleported, Rias letting out a sigh with her Knight's exit.

'He is right but there is nothing we can do for now.' The Gremory heiress truly hates the bureaucracy that comes with being a Second Owner but what she hates the most is the politics of the ceasefire and how they are being a problem for her. "This would be easier if the fallen decided to punish their own."

"You act like all devils punish their own criminals." Rin points out getting a look from Rias. "What? Your brother and his friends may want the best but the same problem that applies here applies to everyone in general. There are so many people between the normal devil and the top brass that odds are that a lot of troublemakers slip through the cracks."

"She has a point." Akeno comments while picking a couple of books on sacred gears. "It is much easier for you to watch over us even on Fuyuki but considering how many fallen angels are actually running around…" She places the book on the table while Rias considers her words.

It is a known fact that between all the races that were a part of the Great War the fallen angels were the ones that suffered less with the results. While the devils and angels find it difficult to replenish their numbers, the fallen have no such difficulty for the reason they fell in the first place; interactions with humanity, including but not exclusively for sex.

History books tell the tale how as a faction the Grigori was in a huge disadvantage during the war but they still manage to hold long enough for the Four Original Maou to fall and the ceasefire to begin and from there can be argued that the fallen angels actually won the war since they were the only side that managed to accomplish their goal.

"You are right." Rias opens the book Akeno gave her after a dozen pages since she already knew that what she wanted wasn't on them, even if one was marked because of a suspicion she had. "The only reason why their numbers aren't uncountable at this point is because fallen angels end up having more human children than actual fallen ones from inter-species relationships."

The pureblood devil notices her Queen flinching, it was such a small thing that nobody else would notice but Rias knows Akeno well enough to know that it happened. "Hmm." It was a low 'hmm' too that Akeno had let out as she sat down on a spot on the couch and opened the book.

Taking a deep breath, Rias began to focus on the pages in front of her. 'Shouldn't have commented on that.' The King thinks in frustration but it just escapes her mouth without thinking as it was one of the reasons why humanity is still the most dominant species on the planet. 'Even with gods involved, most of their children with humans are mostly human save some exceptions. Even Gilgamesh, while mostly god, was still human enough to die from old age if the gods didn't accept him in their group, which the man himself refused, damning the old gods of that time.'

After meeting Angelo, Rias researched his venerable ancestor and she can say for certain that the man was admirable; few beings in the universe had the chance to grow beyond their condition and Gilgamesh rejected it because of his disdain for most gods and pride in his own person.

'Ironically enough the odds are actually better for devils in that department since most hybrid children have all the benefits for the most part, practically full blood devils in the majority of successful births.' Her brothers explained to her once that there are benefits to pureblood devils, especially in inheriting the power of the parents, but he also said that variation had its own advantage. 'Not that I can say much since I never met a hybrid devil in my life.'

Looking at Akeno again, Rias can only sigh as her case is similar to Gilgamesh to an extent; both were born closer to their more powerful parent, Akeno even more than the King of Heroes himself as she wasn't born human at all in the first place, a rarity on most cases and a powerful variable considering how much power she was actually born with.

And she hated it. Himejima Akeno hated how she was born to the point she didn't mind becoming a devil, hoping that it would have erased that part of her that she despised.

But it didn't and Rias just reminded her friend of that because of the present situation. 'At least Shirou didn't hear about the 'innocent' girl that arrived in the church.' The heiress thinks with some sarcasm as she knows nothing about the nun at that point. 'I also need to call Sona to see if she called her sister.'

But the redhead devil wasn't hoping for that. Like her, her fellow heiress also wanted her independence.

…

Issei pedals with his full strength, passing by a good number of houses while looking for the address of his new client, something that he found easy with his new night vision, the few defective street lights not hampering his search at all.

Standing on his bike and keeping his rhythm, the devil's speed is not that great even if his condition is improving because his bike isn't one for racing. It is an old fashioned bicycle with a basket on the front, the kind used for shopping and leisure trips around the town.

It still doesn't stop Issei for he is determined to find his new client residence, both to obey his King's orders and for the sake of his dream. His eyes looked left and right for the house numbers before he stopped for a moment to check his notes, a piece of paper he ripped out from his school supplies.

"Lets see here." Taking off his phone, Issei is forever thankful for the invention of maps and the innovation that allowed to have one always on his pocket. "Okay, I'm on the right track." He celebrates with a smile as he places his phone back in his pocket before moving again. 'I have never been around here before. I have not even seen this neighborhood once in my life.'

Another reason why he needs a map, with a growing city like Fuyuki new places are always being added and even if it isn't a huge metropolis yet there are a lot of places that its citizens have not frequented in years or areas that a normal person might not recognize after just a couple of months.

As a student, Issei never had any real reason to explore the town unless one of his friends wanted to show him a new place, something his circle of friends doesn't do much as they have their own favorite places closer to their homes.

Finally Issei manages to see a house that fits the description, a huge place for a single person but his client is one from Akeno's, a hard worker with his own office that he took years to build and that liked someone to talk and play cards with him that wouldn't flatter him for more money or a cosier job while having a pleasant conversation with tea.

An easy pact for Issei and something similar to what he did with the one that he technically failed.

Finding the doorbell, Issei pressed the button. "Hello? I'm the devil you called." He lets go of the button but hears nothing. Not really surprised since a devil showing up in a bike is strange by itself, Issei tried again. "Good evening. I'm the devil of the House of Gremory you called today…" In reality, he didn't know much of what to say. "I'm here in Akeno-san's place since she is busy this evening."

He hoped that dropping Akeno's name would help his case but he got no response. Paying attention to the house, Issei saw some moviment and figured the client must be busy with something and decided to lean on the gate to wait only to almost fall to the ground when it opened, much to his surprise.

Deciding that he should at least check with his client to make sure that there is nothing wrong, Issei steps forward closer to the house. He was about to knock on the door when he noticed it was open.

'Weird.' At that point Issei was starting to feel suspicious since things were starting to look like a plot from a terror movie but he hardened his resolve. 'I'm a devil and I can fight. I need to check my client.' Pushing the door open, Issei takes a cautious step forward. "Hello? Anyone here?"

"Damn! I thought nobody was supposed to be around." A man's voice has Issei turning to the center of the living room to see two people, one lying on the floor and covered in body, his eyes stuck in an expression of horror. "Yo. You this heretic son or something?" The other is a short man with white hair and red eyes dressed in what looked to be priest robes with a gold handle on his hand and a deranged look on his face that turns to confusion then glee. "Wait wait wait a moment! You are a devil aren't you?" Issei took a step back at the declaration when the man just smiled. "That bitch couldn't keep the barrier up? Doesn't matter, more fun for me!"

The man jumped at Issei and the devil was surprised but his days of training managed to kick in and he jumped to the side just enough to dodge a punch but not a kick from the unknown assailant.

Smiling more, the man swings the handle to the side and a blade of white light shows up, surprising and impressing Issei in equal measure as it looked like a prop from a movie. "Get ready to die~" Swinging his sword, the white haired man goes for a blow to cut the devil's head but Issei jumps back, feeling the heat of the sword that snapped him out of his surprise.

A sharp sting later and Issei has alarm bells ringing on his head as he can feel pain on his cheek of a cut that almost cut his head in half before he fell on his back. The priest advances once he sees the panic in the devil's eyes and gets ready to pierce his heart with his light sword.

Remembering his training seasons, especially the advice to use his sacred gear even if he can't control it yet, Issei raises his arm covered by the red gauntlet that managed to block the blow, much to the deranged priest's surprise.

Not wasting time, Issei reacts by pushing the man back, the gauntlet shining with green light from its jewel as Issei uses it to deliver a punch on the man's face. 'Fix your posture. Focus on punching.' There was no time for him to enter in the proper posture but survival instincts helped by the surge of adrenaline allowed him to punch with his full strength. Despite not having full control over his power he could hear a voice saying [Boost] as he threw everything he had on his attack, managing to hit the priest on the side of his face. "I did!" Glee run through his body as Issei wanted to stop and celebrate the results of his few days of training

Once again the priest is surprised, this time by the sudden speed increase of the devil's mid punch that made him fail to dodge as he planned when he noticed the amatorish attack. Before he was planning to cut that arm off and then kill the devil but now he felt anger from the surprise attack, anger that grew hot in his chest.

He couldn't stop himself from taking a few steps back and cleaning the blood from his lip before shouting. "You piece of shit!" With his free hand, the man pulls out a gun and aims at Issei who is shocked by the turn of events.

Unlike when the man leaped towards him, Issei has no point of reference of how to dodge the gun and he never dealt with such a situation in his life. He was also scared, scared enough to jump to the side and throw the aim of the priest off enough that the bullet ended up hitting him on the shoulder instead of the chest where it was aimed.

"Get back here!" The white haired man demands as he shoots three more times, two of the shots missing on his anger but the third he aimed a little lower and managed to hit Issei on the leg. "You die now shitty devil!"

He keeps firing as Issei jumps behind a couch. The priest has no vision and the lack of light from anywhere besides his sword is making the devil a harder target but Issei couldn't do anything about that, he is scared as he never had to face a firearm before even if this was the second time someone was trying to kill him.

'Am I going to die like this?' Shaking his head, Issei fought off the panic as he tried to get his cell phone and call for help only for the light to grow more intense and he raised his head to see the priest aiming the weapon at him.

"Die!" Another couple of shots hit Issei on his side and his other leg, his hand almost lets go of the cell phone and it is clear that he can't move properly anymore but the priest had run out of ammo. "Shit!" The man was mad with rage and the bleeding on the side of his face wasn't stopping which just made him madder. "Oi bitch! Get over here already!"

Issei moved his hand as fast as he could, hoping that the deranged priest didn't notice his actions when he saw another person moving towards the priest. "Father Freed what- what are you doing?" A girl's voice fills the room as Asia enters and looks at the blood around the place before turning to the devil who was looking back at her in shock. "Issei-san?"

"What you think you are doing, you slut? You should be keeping the barrier up!" The priest, now identified as Freed, complains to the girl before grabbing her hair, making her cry of pain. "Because of you, a devil entered while I was killing a heretic."

"Please stop. I am sorry." He is grabbing her by the scalp of her blonde hair and instead of being deterred by her scream, he looked happy.

"Why do you care? You can fix that after you heal me." The man points to the place where Issei had managed to punch him. "See. That shitty devil managed to hurt me because you didn't do your job properly. Now fix it!" He pulls harder and Asia screams more.

"Leave her alone!" Issei demands, his phone forgotten in his hand.

Looking back towards the devil, Freed then looks at the fallen Issei then at Asia before he begins to laugh. "Kakakakaka! Why do you care? Or is this some chivalry shit?" Issei's glare was too emotional for Freed to believe that. "For real? You know this bitch?" Asia is really beginning to cry as he pulls her closer to him. "And how do you know a shitty devil? Are you a sinner, sister Asia?" He looks to the devil then to the nun again before getting his face closer to hers. "I'll have to properly punish you later~ Make sure you are still...pure…"

"Leave her alone you creep!" Issei tried to get up but the pain and wounds didn't allow him as one of the bullets was also lodged on one of his bones making the pain worse.

Before turning into a devil, Issei was just a normal teenage boy, he was not used to this kind of pain even if the adrenaline had not abandoned him yet but the priest is being careful now and the light sword is suddenly millimeters from his neck.

"Issei-san!" Asia panics as blood leaks from a small cut on the devil's neck.

"Ah, almost killed you." Freed looked a little nervous about it before smiling again. "I don't want you to miss the show first. Maybe cutting a leg or a hand."

At the mention of his hand, Issei looks at the cell phone again. He can see that Rias' number is already highlighted and presses the call button before the light sword pierces his arm. "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

"Issei-san." Asia watches in horror with her hands on her mouth and tears leaving her eyes as the sword pierces and burns Issei's arm as he keeps screaming in pain. "Stop it! Please stop!"

She grabs Freed by the waist and tries to push him off but the man is stronger and hits her back easily. "Stay quiet bitch! I'm almost done!" Freed looked back to the devil in delight as his screams were music to his ears. He pulls the sword quickly and is about to stab the other arm when he notices Issei himself is also crying. "What is that you shitty devil? Are you that weak that a little pain can stop you?"

The deranged priest is amused as Issei curls into a ball and holds his arm, pain is the only thing on his mind right now and he can't help it. Asia tries to get to him, she doesn't care if he was a devil or not but he shouldn't be screaming in pain in the first place.

Only to Freed to slap her down and start to tear off her clothing. "Hey, shitty devil! Take a look here." He grabs Asia by her hair once again to make sure that she can see him and kicks Issei's leg to make sure he opens his eyes to see her. "Do you guys like that? Do you two really care that much for each other? You shouldn't commune with devils, sister Asia."

The girl can only cry and Issei's pain begins to fade as his anger starts to get more intense. He isn't screaming anymore but taking quick breaths as he uses a hand to start to get up, making the priest smile more.

"Hohoho. The little devil still wants some more?" He pushes Asia down as a hand goes for his pocket to pick up another cartridge for his gun. Once the gun was reloaded, Freed pointed it to Issei. "We can't have that. You will get in the way of the fun." He starts to move his hand, the gun never leaving Issei's direction. "Where should I begin? Maybe the leg again? Or another arm? Can't go for the head, you are too weak to survive that."

It is clear how the man was moving his head that Freed was enjoying the situation and even the look that Issei was giving him, full of anger but still with tears and pain clear for him to see.

Freed wants despair to color his eyes too, but mostly he wants to hear the devil screaming again while he has his fun. "A leg will do." He starts to move the gun only for Asia to tackle him with as much strength her small body allowed her, making the deranged priest miss the shot. "Bitch!"

Her outfit was practically torn apart and her simple white underwear was exposed, revealing her modest chest but Asia didn't care about that. She cared about turning to Issei to help him escape but had no time as Freed is a warrior, born and raised to fight and kill, he may be insane but he is well trained and was already on his feet and hitting Asia again.

"Dumb bitch!" Freed is about to hit Asia again when a red glow appears to the side demanding the attention of all present.

A magic circle appeared, one that is familiar to Issei more than anyone else as relief pours from him with a small smile as he sees the form of Rias Gremory showing up in the middle of the house as she turns to look to the side, a glare fixed on Freed.

"Shiiiiiiiiiiit! The big devil is here~!" The deranged priest announced as he pulled his gun and aimed at Rias only for a beam of destruction to fly in his direction and decimate the wall behind Freed as Rias was already preparing another blast, bigger this time as the magic circle she used to appear is now in her hands and being use to direct her mana. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

Throwing himself back, Freed opens fire in the new devil's direction but Rias' blast easily erases the bullets' existence as she runs towards Issei's side. With a look she can already tell that her Pawn is considerably wounded and even if no wound was lethal that still makes her furious with the obvious aggressor as she also saw the body of their client.

Now she is truly pissed off and since the obvious guilty party is still around she plans to make her displeasure known by reducing him to ashes.

But Rias also can't let Issei on the ground. "Issei, can you move?" She questions him but when he tried to move she only saw the pool of blood growing close to him.

"I'm sorry, Buchou. I-"

"Save your strength. I will get you out of here." The King tells him calmly. 'After I finish killing the bastard.' But inside her, fury is making a storm that demands retribution and soon another wave of Destruction is sent the priest's way.

"Hey! Cut that out woman!" Freed screams as he dodges again, another section of the house getting destroyed. "If you keep doing that then I won't have time to have some fun with the blonde sister! Our bosses will arrive here soon."

While the words sound mad they were enough for Rias to stop throwing her power around and focus her senses around the house. "Tch." She can feel several energies approaching the house at high speeds, possibly were already close to the house and started to move when she began to throw her power around.

Normally she would just kill them all, Rias is already in a bad mood because her servant was hurt and her client was dead, if the responsables and their allies want a fight she wouldn't hesitate in giving one to them to make sure they knew to not cross her path, with a preference to not give them a chance to do it ever again.

Except that Rias' Gremory priority is not blood or revenge, it is her peerage and with one of them already hurt her options become much more limited. Add to the fact that Issei is a new devil that has no experience in combat and that things escalated further she would have to fight while defending him then it is clear to the pureblood devil that she actually doesn't have a choice on the matter.

Approaching Issei but still glaring on the priest's direction to make sure there are not going to be any surprise attacks from him, Rias holds her Pawn on a gentle embrace to the side. "Buchou, what are you doing?"

"We are leaving." While she made sure to keep her voice even for the new devil it barely contained the hate that threatened to kill the priest.

That wasn't what Issei was focusing on even if he could hear the malice behind Rias' tone. "Leaving? Wait!" The brown haired devil looks to Asia and tries to extend a hand towards her as a magic circle powered by Rias appears below their feet. "Asia."

"Issei-san?" Her green eyes look confused by the turn of events as she also can see the magic circle starting around the devils. Asia may not be completely aware of what was happening but she knew enough to understand that Issei was leaving alive and that was enough to put a smile on her face.

"Asia!" Issei extends a hand, trying to get the nun but he is too hurt and she is too far.

Besides that there is another piece of information that Issei forgot that Rias reminded him. "Don't bother, Issei. Only those connected to the Gremory clan can use our teleportation circle." While Rias doesn't know the whole situation, Asia's ruined dress implayed a lot but that wasn't her concern at the moment.

As a woman that only made her want to kill the priest more, however as a devil and the King of her household her priority is always her servants safety. With enemies getting closer and Issei unable to even run to safety Rias won't hesitate to sacrifice an unknown nun without hesitation since she is clearly with the enemy in a way or another.

But it broke her heart to watch as Issei begged her to try and save Asia for her to only say. "I can't. I need to get you away from here."

When the teleport finished they were back at the office of the club. The last thing Issei saw before that was Asia's smile as she wished him well with all her heart. Then he lost consciousness while those present started to treat his wounds, the pain was too much and he was exhausted after the whole experience.

…..

Sitting around in the park, Issei got the weekend off from any devil activities. Rias even guaranteed to him that he wouldn't have to do homework as she wanted him to focus fully on resting after she and Akeno teleported with him to his house. He even got permission to skip classes if he wanted and his King would take care of it so he could recover after his ordeal.

Saturday he couldn't sleep at all. He was instructed to just rest and recover so for that reason Issei didn't even bother to leave the house for anything, he ended up telling his parents that he was sick and for the Pawn's credit he did feel a little sick that day.

On Sunday Issei decided to just leave his home and do something or another to try and pass the time since he was bored out of his mind. His body didn't hurt that much anymore, EM closed the wounds and Rin took care that his bones were healed properly to the point that after a day of rest he could technically go back to his normal routine without any issues whatsoever after resting for a few days and nothing else.

Then came Monday and while he dressed himself up for school he just started to walk around instead of going his normal path as he kept thinking about everything that happened days before. He just skipped classes and wandered alone with his thoughts, unable to let that night leave his head.

The problem was that Issei couldn't forget Asia, neither how much she was suffering or how sad she was at seeing his condition and the happiness that shone on her face when he was escaping even if she stayed behind.

Pure and unrepentant happiness in a way Issei couldn't describe but could recall perfectly.

Issei's mind couldn't leave that moment and maybe that was what guilded his steps towards the same park where he met her for the first time and sitting down on the same bench.

'I am...weak.' Issei admitted easily in the privacy of his own mind. 'If I was stronger and had knocked that creep priest out... If I was fast in dodging those bullets or knew how to take care of myself then Buchou could have beaten everyone else or she wouldn't have needed to show up in the first place.'

Rias did in fact check on him the previous day, that is why Issei decided to leave his house after the sun was out anyway even if he had no intention of going to Kuoh. That day he asked her if he wasn't there then if she could take care of the priest and everyone else around and rescue Asia, she didn't lie and said yes up front but probably wouldn't anyway since the blonde is an enemy.

"Asia, an enemy? As if." Issei mumbles as he remembers the kindness of the girl and how nice she was to him and everyone else they met, even if it was just an awkward 'good morning' or just a simple 'hello'. "She couldn't even hurt a fly."

Letting his shoulders fall in sadness was a mistake as he instantly felt a sharp pain, a reminder where the bullet had almost destroyed the bone. Issei flinches and places a hand over the former wound as no magic that the ORC has could heal him better than time would if he waited long enough.

Didn't stop Issei's shoulder from flaring in pain when he made sudden moves and his sleep was awful when he finally managed it only to awake a couple of hours later because he wasn't in a comfortable enough position.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, the newly reincarnated devil places both his hands on his face in lament for the whole situation.

Issei simply doesn't know what to do, until a week ago he was just a normal student with normal problems; living with his parents, going to school, failing or succeeding in some classes and trying to get a girlfriend. That was the extension of his life before he became a devil and now he feels lost.

He only knows one real fact. "Asia…I hope you are safe." Issei spoke the second most sincere wish he ever made in his life.

"Issei-san?" Then he heard a familiar voice to his side that made him open his eyes in surprise.

There, in her pure and innocent glory is Asia, looking exactly how she was on the first they met sans the briefcase. "Asia?" Issei questions in disbelief but the nun doesn't hesitate, jumping at his neck and giving him a hug, tears already close to falling from her eyes.

"Thank God you are safe." She thighers her hug and Issei blushes with a little embarrassment.

'I never had a cute girl like that hug me before.' Is all Issei could think about before he flinched, the pain in the shoulder back even if Asia's hug was quite gentle as the girl herself.

The blonde noticed the boy growing stiff and stepped back to look at him. "You are still hurt." He barely had time to respond before the two rings showed up again on her hands. "Let me heal you."

Asia's disposition and determined eyes left no room for disagreement from him and Issei nodded, showing his shoulder that was still hurting.

When the green aura started to cover the area Issei felt an immediate relief. It was like drinking a cold cup of water after a stupidly hot day of summer, even better as the devil can confidently say that he never felt such a relaxing sensation before in his life.

It took only a couple of seconds before Asia stopped. "It was already mostly healed, only some of the muscles and the bones needed a little patch up." The nun commented with a smile, happy that her new friend wasn't suffering. "How does it feel now?"

When the blonde took a step back Issei got up from his bench and started to move his arm and shoulder, swinging it around for a bit to make sure nothing was wrong. "Woah, this is amazing. And you barely touched it too. Buchou had to use a small knife to try and heal it and it wasn't half as good. Even Rin could only take out the holy bullet and patch the bone together."

"Buchou?" The term is strange to Asia and her innocent eyes turn to Issei, not demanding but still asking for an explanation.

"It's a way to say 'president' in Japanese." The devil is confused why it wasn't properly translated but he didn't mind explaining before placing both his hands on Asia's shoulder. "But what about you? Are you safe? Did that creep lay his hands on you?" Issei stopped questioning when he saw that Asia was about to cry again. "I am sorry! I-"

"No, it is fine. Sorry for worrying you." The small smile she gave made Issei's heart skip a beat.

'So pure! So unlike some girls in my school!' His thoughts were in another blonde and her rival he grew more familiar with last week or a certain pervert or a group of girls with sticks that wanted to beat him to death most days. 'Not that I don't deserve the last one.' Issei's attention turns back to the girl in front of him. "It's fine. What matters is that you are alright."

"I am fine. The angels told Father Freed that he shouldn't be doing things to me, that we should have stayed at the church and that he shouldn't have...shouldn't have-" A small hiccup escapes Asia's lips as she can't even say it properly. Before Issei could say anything she smiled again. "They took us back to the church and everything was fine for a while. They said I was important and I shouldn't be hurt in any way until…"

Then Asia stopped talking, Issei doesn't know why but he looked at her eyes and saw uncertainty in them before his hands holded her a little tighter on her shoulder. "Did they threaten you?"

"What? No." Asia replies with a shake of her head.

"Are they...mistreating you?" Issei relaxes his hands, he doesn't want to hurt Asia but he wants answers.

"They aren't. They have been mostly nice and the only ones that took me in after…" Once again Asia hesitated but this time she started to move to sit down on the bench. Issei let her go and once the nun was sitting she began to talk. "I am not used to this… everything. I grew up in a small church for most of my life with people that took care of me, priests and nuns that I still hold dear in my heart. Then, one day, I saw a small puppy wounded and I prayed to God, prayed for him to take the pain away." Asia smiled as the rings were still in her hand as she caressed them with love. "The Lord gave me these and I made the pain go away. The puppy was so happy and so was I."

'Is this how God gave her that sacred gear?' Issei's eyes moved to the rings for a moment, trying to remember if he ever had some similar event in his life that gave him his gauntlet only to come up with nothing.

Meanwhile the devil tried to understand God's intentions, Asia just kept talking. "Once I received this Gift, everyone was overjoyed. The nuns that took care of me their whole life started to call me a Saint and the priests that used to teach me about the love of God asked for my input in things I still don't understand." Asia's smile looked sad for a moment but then it grew huge. "I miss them all. I missed them so much when I had to leave that I cried for days."

"'Leave'? To come here?" Issei hated to see the girl sad but he couldn't help but ask.

"No, before coming here I had gone to a bigger church with lots of people." Asia's smile grew bigger as she opened arms wide to the sky. "There were so many different people there from so many places, my head used to spin just thinking about it." Then her smile diminished. "I tried to do what God wanted, to help them all. But I still miss the small church where I grew up...Hey, Issei-san, do you think God is mad at me for wanting to be normal instead of receiving his Gift?"

"Of course He isn't." Issei can't say he understood God or even bothered with Him before now and even as a devil he would have to say that they are probably enemies but he won't say that to Asia. "If He- He loves you so much He would want you to be happy."

Asia smiles at Issei again. "Thank you Issei-san. Maybe meeting you was also part of God's plan." The girl closes her eyes and does a quick prayer.

For a moment Issei said nothing, then he nodded to himself and extended his hand. "Let's go."

"Huh?" Asia looks at the offered hand in confusion.

"You lived your whole life in a church right?" After a nod Issei continued. "Then let me show you the town. Let's have some fun." Then Issei blushed. "Just as friends, you know." He didn't want her to think he was trying to take advantage of something.

"'Friends'?" The word sounded foreign even to Asia herself but her smile grew brighter. "Yes, let's have fun as friends!"

That was all Issei needed to hear.

…

"Why aren't we doing something?" An extremely irritated Shirou asked Rias as most of the members of the club watch the interaction in the office and it is clear that a confrontation is about to go down. "Issei almost died, twice I might add. Why aren't we doing something?"

Everyone turns to look at Rias as both her hands are supporting her chin as she thought about an answer that would calm Shirou down. Even Setsuna isn't playing her violin from how tense the situation is as the King had explained what happened to her Pawn, something that the human magus didn't knew until now but the moment he heard the details it was clear that Emiya wants the fallen angels out of his town, either nicely or in a body bag, he has no real preference.

"Politics." Unfortunately Rias doesn't have a satisfactory reply that will completely de-escalate the conversation and she can only tell him the truth. "This is still a 'their word versus our word' kind of situation regardless of how much I want to march into that church and start ripping it apart piece by piece."

"You said they killed one of your clients. That is a literal aggressive action there and a direct attack towards you." Shirou argues back but Rias' eyes remain on him as she says nothing immediately. "They attacked you, there is no excuse at this point. They can't use the possibility of war as a shield-"

"That is exactly what the Grigori is doing." Everyone could hear the groan in Rias' voice as she said that. "I called my brother and he got in contact with Azazel and he said he would handle it in a week tops but until then my brother told us to do nothing."

"What?" Shirou gets up in frustration but Rias refuses to move. "They walk in here and kill someone and you are doing nothing. It was an innocent man! An innocent died and we are doing nothing!"

"I know." Rias' voice remains calm and steady but Shirou, as the person closest to her by virtue of sitting in front of her desk, could see her hands trembling in rage. "I know. I want them to pay too. The problem is that if we get in there and kill everyone without any proof of foul play then we are starting a war."

"Azazel threatened your brother?" They practically already had this conversation before and Rias nods at Shirou's question.

"Not a threat but a promise, he said he will send one of his main operatives to check the place, collect the nun and if Raynare is around to punish her, even promised to send her head in a basket if we ask." That made Shirou sit down as he now could see how serious the man was to avoid a real war. However, Rias still wasn't done. "The priest that killed our client also acted out of line and if his reason isn't good enough his and everyone from the Grigori in Fuyuki will be punished and Azazel swore it on a document that forces him to keep the promise."

"Then there is nothing to be done." Medusa commented while flipping a page of her book. "If it is a promise he can't break then all we can do is wait."

"Medusa has a point." Akeno said with a smile but it was clearly strained. "We have to wait now."

"I can go there." Shirou said with a frown. "I am not a devil nor part of a faction. I will go there and-"

"And when anyone checks the sells that we made together and the documents with both our names in it they will see that you are my magician, then war happens and thousands die. Minimum!" Rias immediately cuts that line of thought. "We can't act harshly on this just because we want Shirou."

"This is different from the 'Rutal situation'." Setsuna said with a hand on her chin. "This is not a conflict 'inside' a faction but a conflict 'between' factions."

"Be as it may," Rias talked to stop Shirou to ask more about Rutal since she technically never explained the details to him, "unless someone from that church is willing to testify against the members of that particular cell or we have concrete proof of their wrong doings, all we can do is wait for the fallen angels to investigate."

"I really hate waiting." Shirou said with a frown and pretty much everyone in the room agreed with him.

"But we have to. I won't be the one that will have her name down on history as 'responsible for restarting a war'." Rias is obviously as frustrated as Shirou and everyone else but politics between factions are like that since the ceasefire and as a heiress of the 72 pillars it is her duty to navigate it as best as she can. "Don't even think about it." She suddenly said to her fellow redhead.

"Think about what?" Shirou tried to sound confused but the King of Gremory wasn't falling for it.

"You are thinking of ways to get into that church and gather evidence. Don't." Rias then points to Kiba who was smiling sheepishly. "I already have Kiba trying that with a bunch of familiars this weekend and they found nothing suspicious."

"Besides a gathering of enemy agents on your territory." Rin said sarcastically.

"Spies are common in periods of ceasefire and besides what happened with Issei-kun nobody else did anything wrong." Akeno commented with a shrug, actually not teasing anyone and going straight to the point.

"In other words, there is nothing to be done." Medusa hates to repeat herself but she is tired of the subject. In reality she doesn't like hostiles around her place of residence either but the conversation itself is worthless because there is no easy solution.

But Shirou wants a solution, not only him as almost everyone present wants one as well. Only Luvia didn't care about the situation entirely as she is used to the politics of magicians and they are similar enough, if not worse, to the actual state of affairs that she just accepted what was happening and left once she realized that would practically be the topic of the whole evening.

It didn't stop the discussion from happening either way but everyone present is unable to do anything because forces beyond their control are already working to resolve the situation and their interference may make things worse.

Only that something happened, either by fate or luck, Issei came rushing inside the office, sweating and with some blood on his arm. "Issei!" Rias shouts in a panic as everyone turns to look at a desperate face Pawn.

"Buchou! They got her! They got Asia!" The newly reincarnate devil sounds afraid as Kiba and Akeno rushed to his side while Liz got a glass of water to offer to the devil who drank it with gusto before speaking again. "Buchou, please, you gotta help me! Asia, she is going to die!"

"Calm down, Issei." Rias ordered but Shirou moved closer to the other young man and looked him right in the eyes.

"Start from the beginning." It was Emiya's demand and Hyoudou's eyes turned completely to him as his voice carried a steel some recognized and knew that Shirou was already considering doing something drastic. "Don't leave anything out. We need details if we are going to help her."

"I found her in the town, it was in the park where I met her the first time." Issei paused for a second to breathe but then he continued. "She finished healing me and then we talked, she sounded sad and I wanted her to smile so I took her around the town to, you know, cheer her up."

Shirou offers Issei a smile and a nod. "That is fine, Issei. Continue, talk at your own pace."

Those words didn't abate Issei's despair. "I just wanted her to have a good time, to have some fun since she has never been in town like ours before. I took her to the arcade and shopping, then it was lunch time and I took her for hamburgers, she never had one in her life and even asked for a knife and a fork." There was not a single drop of malice on Issei's tone, to him everything Asia did on their outing was just endearing and it was like he was bragging about her cuteness if nothing else. "She was happy or at least she looked like she was happy. I even managed to win one of those crane games and give her a toy and the smile she gave-"

"Focus." Came Medusa's sharp voice to interrupt the boy, unlike everyone else she wouldn't allow him to dwell in the memories. She knows the pitfalls that they can be in on these occasions.

"Right." Impressing everyone, Issei gave Medusa only a passing glance before returning to his tale. "She said it was getting late, that her time was over. I tried to ask what was going on but she just looked at me sadly and hugged the plushie I gave her… She said it was the best day of her life." He licks his lips, clearly nervous but Shirou nods for him to continue. "She appeared, Raynare appeared."

"Are you sure, Issei? Are you absolutely sure it was her?" Rias demands to know with determined eyes as she gets her Pawn's full attention.

"Yes, it was. She tried to kill me again only for Asia to get in the way, saying that she wouldn't run anymore and go with her willingly. That she will go back to the church if she spared my life." Issei looks desperate again. "Buchou, Raynare said that she is going to rip out Asia's sacred gear from her soul. The way that she said it, that can't be good."

"It isn't." Akeno immediately said. "The only way to take out a sacred gear is to kill the host." At least that was what all the attempts indicate, only the fallen angels know in truth as the only ones known to have done it successfully.

"But they are fallen angels, their studies on the subject are greater than any other Faction. They may have a way to take it out safely." Rin points out.

"Then this Asia wouldn't have to run." Setsuna points back, getting up and preparing to retrieve her naginata while Shirou and Liz move to the door.

"And where do the three of you think you are going?" Rias stops the trio on their tracks but Shirou is the first to speak.

"To the church." His voice made clear that there isn't stopping him this time.

But Rias was going to try because she must. "Kiba, Koneko, get Issei and go there to rescue the nun, Akeno and I will be following you shortly."

""Yes, Buchou."" Both Knight and Rook salut, a smile on Kiba's face as Koneko starts to push Issei out of the office.

"Really? Thanks Buchou-"

"We don't have time, go!" Rias ordered and immediately the three departed. "Shiro, stay here. I can't order you around Setsuna but please stay as well."

"You know I can't." Now that he knew that the criminal was in the church and that an innocent is in danger, there is nothing but Rias' words holding back from Shirou running there to rain metal and death on the residents of the place, something that Setsuna agreed wholeheartedly with and Liz would gladly help.

"Because this is already going to be a big enough mess to someone technically unaffiliated with a Faction to get involved." Rias said while getting up, taking a couple of steps to go around her desk.

"Aren't I affiliated to you? Did that change in the last five minutes?" Shirou is growing increasingly frustrated but Rias was as calm as ever.

"Unless you want more assassins going for your head in the next few days, the best thing we should do is to keep your name away from any involvement." The mention of assassins earned Rias a raised eyebrow. 'Good, I have his attention.' Exactly what she needed. "Think about it, Shiro, just for one moment; last time just your name was enough to already garner attention and killers came for you, this time Azazel will be the one checking, he will know that you are the son of the right Emiya and if we play this wrong he will be the one sending his far more dangerous people after you."

Then Rias made a show to look at Medusa with Shirou's eyes right behind. His oath to protect the little goddess means that attracting people after his head is the last thing he wants and everyone knows it. "So I have to just wait anyway?" The heiress of Gremory nodded with a serious face. "You are planning to turn some people back to the fallen."

"We will need witnesses to make sure everyone knows that there was foul play." Rias is much calm now as she can see that Shirou isn't charging at the church at the moment, that could end badly on too many levels.

"I still can go." Setsuna offered but Rias' eyes immediately turned to her.

"Not this time. Kyoto and the yokais must remain neutral and if you, a famous hanyou, is seen on the scene, Azazel may start encroaching your family's territory." The redhead devil explained which made the daughter of Seshomaru to look to the floor, pondering her words.

She is not the only one as Shirou is seriously considering what Rias said, looking to Akeno and Rin to notice that their faces gave him nothing. 'I wish Yoruichi was here to tell me if Rias is telling me the truth or not.'

But as luck would have it Yoruichi isn't there today having left back to her obligations for a while. Not only that but the only ones politically savvy in the room are Rias herself, Akeno and Rin, all three pretty much working together for him not to go, even if just with their silence.

'Either she is being overprotective as she tends to be or she is being completely honest and me going is only going to cause more troubles in the future.' Shirou scratches the back of his head in frustration as he realized that there was no way for him to know. "I hate politics." He still lets his distaste show with that small line, something that amuses Rias. "I still don't like this."

"Shiro, do you trust me?" Rias questions with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, without a doubt." Shirou said immediately, earning a pleased nod from Rias.

"Then trust me to settle the situation. Don't worry about the guilty parties, they will be properly punished." 'The heiress of the Gremory said with a smile as she and Akeno moved to the door. "Now you all stay here, we will go there and back in an hour, two at most. If everything goes well we will even have a nun for company for a couple of days." They were passing the door when Rias looked at Rin. "Make sure that when he leaves he goes straight home, preferably with Medusa in tow."

"Yes, Buchou." Rin smiles as can see Rias' plan, with Medusa was around Shirou won't risk endangering her and will stay away from the events.

"What a demanding devil I entered into a pact with." Shirou comments with a self-deprecating chuckle, he was planning to follow and Rias anticipated that with a smile.

With that the King and Queen of the household left and Shirou sat down on the couch once again, a little irritated by the situation while Setsuna also sat on a chair a little resigned. "I am sorry Shirou." Liz was the first to speak after the devils left.

"There is no need to apologize." Shirou says quickly to make sure she knows he isn't upset, just frustrated. "I really, really hate politics."

"But you will have to live with them." Medusa just keeps reading her book without much concern, practically not caring about the situation. "When great power exists and they pressure you, either you fight them or abide by their rules to avoid destruction. You may not like Rias' methods but she is trying to avoid things getting worse."

"That is not the problem." Shirou's mind is still racing to try and find a solution.

"The problem is that dunderhead wants to do something." Rin chuckles when Shirou gives her a look before going back to her work, Mondays are some of the worst days for her. "Hey, look for the bright side; that fallen angel that started all this is about to meet Akeno...Akeno with Rias willing to let her go all out and have her fun."

That actually made some in the room shiver in fright.

…

Getting to the church was easy, Issei was slow in comparasion to Kiba and Koneko but he didn't stop either, refusing to ask them to lower their rhythm even once, his wish to save Asia filling him with determination and adrenaline. He didn't stop running until Kiba pointed out that they were getting closer and told him to save his energy.

The plan was simple: they would get in, Koneko is going to take care of any cannon folder while Kiba took care of the swordsman priest that attacked Issei previously, Issei himself will have only one goal; keep Asia safe.

Basically it didn't matter where she was, how she was, Issei had to get the blonde out of the line of fire, to grab her and run away from the church itself if possible or at least to hide somewhere safe until one of them came to collect him and his charge. He is not supposed to fight, that is what the Rook and the Knight are there for, just to get his friend and get out.

The second that they stepped inside the area, Koneko pushed Issei to the side as a blue spear of light almost took his head. The responsable was one of three fallen angels; one man dressed with a long gray raincoat and matching hat and two women, one looking like a small girl in lollita dress with blonde hair in short curls and another with short hair dressed in a short dress that showed her legs and bust, her breasts clearly having nothing else to hold them back.

Before a fight could properly begin Rias and Akeno were already on the scene, attacking the trio of fallen with Destruction and lighting. Kiba pulled Issei directly to the church as he trusted the King and Queen to take care of threats and it was clear that Akeno was going to take her sweet time with them.

Once inside the church, Issei looks around desperately. "There is no one here." The Pawn exclaimed but Kiba shakes his head.

"Remote churches like these are really like outposts for war." The blond commented, stepping up to the altar where a tarnished cross is present. "Koneko, if you would be so kind?"

The white haired devil placed a hand on the altar and pushed it to the side with no effort to reveal a set of stairs to an underground cave. "She is in there?" Issei asked but started to step forward before Kiba placed an arm in front of him.

"Koneko is the Rook, she goes in the front." The Knight informed as the small girl stepped up and started to go down the stairs. "Once we are down there we are going to be in the center of enemy territory. You remember what that means don't you?"

"That I can use Promotion." The exclusive ability of the Pawn, the power to turn himself in one of the other Pieces with the exception of the King. Issei nods at the information and Kiba starts to follow Koneko as he follows Kiba. "I have to go for Queen-"

"Buchou told you that the power of a Queen piece is still too much for your body." Kiba immediately cuts the idea down. "I know it is the most powerful piece but you will have to be smart. Remember that your goal is to protect Asia first and foremost." Issei nods at his colleague's words, already deciding he would go for a Rook or a Knight depending on the situation.

"Hold on Asia, we are going to save you." No one said anything at Issei's words but Koneko threw Kiba a look that had the Knight shaking his head.

Both the more experienced devils can feel the energy around the place, it has nothing to do with the church itself but there was something powerful going on in the area. The only thing that kept Kiba calm was the fact that Koneko was calm, the power wasn't really a threat from what the smaller devil could perceive and so neither was really concerned.

"Lots of people down here." Koneko informs the duo behind her and it wasn't long before they heard voices going around. "Fake prayers."

"'Fake prayers'?" Issei questioned and Kiba just shook his head.

"Those allied with fallen angels are usually the people rejected by the church, by God. They have no reason to actually pray so they made fake prayers in Latin and Italian to spite the Vatican. Mostly insults to pure angels and God or made up words full of malice against them, or sometimes with good intentions for the fallen who took them in." Kiba tells the newest devil as the stairs end and they are in a small corridor in a cave.

Soon they arrive in an mostly open area where Issei's eyes grow wide as he seems Asia strapped on a cross with red chains around her body with just a white nightdress to preserve her modesty. At the nun's side are two figures that had the Pawn's heart filled with hate; Freed, the mad priest and Amano Yuuma or Raynare who is the closest to Asia in the same clothing she used on their date.

"We need to go." Kiba says out loud but Koneko is already moving, getting one of the benches, big enough to five or six people, closest to them. "Remember the plan." Was the last warning the Knight could let out before the Rook made her move and charged, hitting many of the unknown men in robes with violence.

"LOOK AT THAT FOLKS! WE HAVE INTRUDERS!" Freed announced to all in the cave but Raynare completely ignored his words, her black wings unfolding on her back as she extended her hands towards Asia as the red chain let out a dark red glow that made the nun flinch in pain.

Koneko didn't stop her charge until at the very least eight or so robbed figures were down on the ground in pain as Freed unveiled his light sword and jumped in her direction only to be intercepted by Kiba. "Sorry but I am your opponent!" Announced the Knight much to the mad priest's irritation.

"Not into dudes!" Freed pushes against Kiba's sword but the blond keeps it locked against the blade of light which made Freed raise an eyebrow. "Oh...not bad. Let's try this then." With his two hands on the handle Freed tries to maneuver the blade to the side only for Kiba to follow with his own sword. The devil tries to deflect his enemy's blade movement for astab Freed jumps back to evade.

Kiba, knowing that Freed also has a firearm thanks to Issei's previous experience, charges to keep the combat close and personal. "My King researched about you." The Knight commented with an angry smile. "Freed Sellzen, the Mad Exorcist. Reports said you are wanted by the Church for at least three homicides and other crimes."

"Guilty~" The man felt pleased by Kiba knowing his accomplishments before he tried to push Kiba back to draw his pistol and started shooting, the Knight dodging the bullets as they hit some robe figures that Koneko hadn't time to knock out yet. "Say, are the old farts of the church still after me? I was just doing what I was trained to do, you know? Not my fault they didn't give me targets to kill."

"I don't care about that, I am here to kill you for attacking my King's territory." Not that Kiba approved Freed's actions but he didn't care much about the matters of the Church.

Freed shrugs his shoulders and blocks a fast attack that Kiba tried to rush once he thought the Mad Exorcist's guard was low. "Fair enough. Pity you aren't an Executor though, really wanted to kill another of those guys." The comment didn't seem to affect Kiba as he didn't know if Freed was speaking the truth about killing one of the best fighters of the church or not.

But the devil still decided to try and finish the fight quickly, Kiba activates the ability of his sword, Holy Eraser, to consume the light emanating from his opponent sword and stab him in the chest when the weapon wasn't in the way anymore.

Unfortunately for him, Freed was already moving his pistol in position and Kiba had to move his sword in front of him to parry three shots, the Mad Exorcist stepping back to examine his own weapon with a raised eyebrow. "You today, the newbie devil the other, you guys with sacred gears are really annoying."

At the former exorcist's words Kiba chuckles. "We can't make things easier for you, can we?" That said the blond jumped forward with a vertical slash to finish the fight only for Freed to open fire again. Even when Kiba moved to the side to dodge the bullets he could tell that Freed's eyes were following his movement perfectly. 'Insane or not, this guy knows how to fight.'

While his attitude didn't show it, Freed's mind was already racing as he can tell that his sword wasn't going to work anymore, both by the fact that Kiba can nullify its light but the once the light had been 'devoured' the thing stopped working in general, much to the Mad Exorcist's irritation.

But he is well aware of things happening around him, including the small devil currently running around and knocking people out. He also pays close attention to anyone armed around his vicinity so when he took a couple more shots at Kiba, Freed used them as a distraction to slide closer to one of his supposed allies. "Hey~ you don't mind borrowing me some stuff do ya?" The man was completely out when Freed got his weapons. "Thank you~" He then raises his arm to block Kiba's new attack, this time with a steel sword. "Oooooooh yeah~ nothing like good old steel to help me out of a pinch!" Freed declaration was due the bastard sword he now has on his hands, nothing too grand but still a good sword.

And something that Kiba's Holy Eraser can't affect directly as the devil grits his teeth in with some irritation. Both swordsmen start to trade blows as Freed discarded his firearm to hold his new blade with both hands. It was clear to both sides that their skill level was about the same with Kiba being the more defensive oriented while Freed moved like a lunatic that looked to always know when the devil was about to try to pull a fast one on him and how to block the tricks efficiently.

However at the same time that Kiba's sword couldn't affect the new weapon it also had new disadvantages that Yuuto was trying to capitalize on like the fact that now the weapon was made of a common metal and that his sacred gear produced sword could break it if he hits it with enough force.

What he didn't know was that Freed choose his sword well, it was one of the few steel weapons his allies had around but the former owner used to brag how he managed to steal it from a blacksmith that worked for the Church to try and create new holy weapons, there is nothing holy about the blade itself but the man was a good smith and the sword won't break easily.

It also has some proper weight behind it so Freed does manage to get a hit on Kiba, a small cut on the cheek, just before the Knight managed to push the sword back. "What? Afraid shitty devil?" The Mad Exorcist taunts but Kiba starts his attack again.

"Just checking to see if it was a holy sword. Pity it isn't, this cut barely hurts." Kiba says with a snarl as he begins to attack faster, much to the white haired man's surprise.

"Why? Wanted a challenge?" Freed pushes the sword again and Kiba barely dodges a quick swing aimed to his chest. "Don't think that just because this doesn't sting as much 'light' as the other sword that I can't use it to skin you alive!"

Instead of reacting with anger, Kiba chuckles and jumps back to kick a wall with his Knight speed to reposition. He runs a small circle around Freed before going for an attack but while the exorcist's eyes couldn't keep up with him, the man has good instincts as he grabs the same fallen figure he had taken the sword from and uses the man as a shield that Kiba ends up impaling with Holy Eraser.

The brutal maneuver was enough to surprise Kiba who fell in a state of shock with the ease that Freed sacrificed his companion as the man's eyes snapped open and he looked ready to scream in pain. He didn't have the time as Freed cuts his neck and ribs from behind in a effort to get to the devil but the sword wasn't that good and the Mad Exorcist was only using one hand and was unable to reach Kiba before he jumped back again with a glare in Freed's direction who just looked in disappointment that his trick had failed.

Kiba can feel his blood boil at Freed carelessness with his own comrades' lives as he kicked the robbed man to the side while moving close to another, his intentions clear; if Kiba tries to maneuver for the sides then Freed is going to use his companions lives to lock the Knight in place for a counter attack.

While Yuuto didn't really cared for the lives of the men around him the idea of sacrificing comrades like that just made him extremely angry but not enough to force him to discard the idea, what did was the fact that Freed is actually skilled enough to perceive when Kiba started to attack and fast enough to throw bodies on the blond's way in ways that he wouldn't redirect himself or dodge as once he began his advance he would have to slow down to change directions which would give Sellzen the opportunity to counter attack anyway.

'Skill it is.' Kiba resigned himself as he charged at Freed from the front, much to the white haired man's satisfaction as it was much easier to parry the Knight's attack in a straight line.

Both combatants are once again trading blows with Kiba trying everything in his power to get a good stab on Freed's torso or deep cut on the neck to kill the man but the white haired former member of the church is a much more skilled swordsman than he realized and was managing to keep up with the much faster devil without showing any sign of effort, on contrary, the man looked excited which only made the devil even madder.

Kiba is already running some ideas in his head to make other swords and close the gap of skill when a scream of a woman covers the chambers. Both fighters focused on each other, not allowing themselves to be distracted but around them things were still moving.

While Koneko was covering for Issei, the Pawn was running full speed towards the stage. Some of the robbed figures tried to get in his way with light swords or maces with holy symbols but the Rook was on point, throwing bodies around every time someone tried to escape her to get on the new devil's way, usually those found themselves beneath others after slamming a wall or the floor.

Nothing distracted the fallen angel on stage as Raynare's hands finally touched Asia's chest and the young nun screamed in pain as she felt like something inside her was being ripped from her heart, the screams of pain make Issei run fast and he shouts, "Promotion: Knight" to move faster, hopping that he won't need the Rook to free the girl from her chains.

He shouldn't have bothered as the chains themselves started to become dust as he got closer and Raynare took a step back as she admired twin emerald gems, the violet eyes of the fallen angel looking at them with glee as she said, "Yes! I got them! The Twilight Healing is mine!"

Ignoring the angel's celebration, Issei grabs the fallen Asia just before she could touch the ground. 'Cold! Her skin is so cold!' The Pawn thinks in despair as he cradles the nun in his arms and starts to run for the exit which finally got Raynare's attention and a smile, her black wings unfolding completely to give pursuit, her prize still on her hands.

Issei isn't aware of that or anything else; he ignores as Koneko nods in his direction with sad eyes as she broke someone's leg when they tried to pursue him or Kiba who was still in the middle of fighting against Freed with little success as the white haired man shows a great degree of skill even if his body lacked the power to defeat the Knight.

Not paying attention to his allies or his potential enemies that could try to follow him, Issei just ran while holding the nun close to his chest, a amused fallen angel right behind as she enjoyed what she know is about to happen, keeping herself quiet as she wanted to watch everything unfold with a cruel smile.

Back on the surface of the church, Issei couldn't hear anything below or outside, he could only feel Asia trembling in his arms. "Issei-san...is that really you?"

"It's going to be alright, Asia. We're almost out of here, don't worry." Even as he said that Issei can only watch as Asia skin grows more pale and gets colder by the second. When he noticed that her eyes were closing, Hyoudou stopped to shake her awake, realizing that if she fell asleep the blonde may never wake up. "Stay with me Asia. Please! We're almost with Buchou! She is going to know what to do!"

Issei stopped talking when he felt Asia's cold hand touch his cheek. "You are really here." She says with a smile full of happiness but compared with the ones she gave him before it was still extremely weak. "I am glad…to see you again."

"Hold on Asia! Please hold on!" Yet Issei could already see that Asia was growing weaker and he could do nothing to stop it. "Please…"

"I am sorry, Issei-san… I am just… so tired." Asia's eyes begin to close again as Issei couldn't take another step inside the church.

"Asia. Asia! Asia!" He shakes the girl trying to make her open her eyes but it was pointless, she couldn't hear him anymore. "ASIA!"

"So touching." A familiar voice full of humor spoke behind the devil and he turned to see the form of Amano Yuuma with the same smile she had on their date and lacking the wings that mark her for what she really is. "I swear I could see the same thing in a play, 'Asia, Asia. Please hold on'." Even with a lovely voice and innocent appearance her tone is full of mockery.

"You! You did this!" Issei is full of anger but just received a mocking smile back for his outrage. "Fix what you did and heal Asia! Now!"

"Do you even know what happened with that small brain of yours?" Raynare questions as she leans in one of the walls close to the altar. "She is dying because I got these from her." Raynare shows Issei the rings that he saw Asia use before, now on the fallen angel's fingers.

"Give them back then!" Issei demanded and Raynare just laughed.

"Sure." She actually said with a shrug, taking out both rings from her fingers and throwing them to Issei who looked surprised but scrambled to catch them only for the rings to disappear before he even managed to touch them. "Ops~ that is not how sacred gears work~" Raynare raises her hands once again, the rings were already back in her index fingers. "They are connected to my soul now. They belong to me, one of the most powerful healing sacred gears and its all mine~"

Those words just served to make Issei furious, he may not understand everything that was going on but he could understand the fallen angel's words and their implication. His red gauntlet was already on his hand when he demanded, "Give them back!"

"So that is your sacred gear, a measly Twice Critical. Hahaha! You are as pathetic as I thought! Hahahaha!" Raynare keeps laughing at Issei but he doesn't care.

Taking a couple of careful steps, Issei places Asia in one of the benches on the corner of the church. He could still hear her breathing even if it was getting weaker but his mind was already made up. He glared at the laughing fallen angel as he started to move in her direction. "Give it back!" He demanded again.

That just made the fallen angel laugh harder. "That is not how it works you idiot. Sacred gears are deeply connected to the soul of the owner, that is why she is dying, the damage to her soul was just too much." Raynare controls herself a little before continuing. "Hehe, I doubt even giving it back would fix her anyway. And why should I? To have her use it for a couple of years then die for some random reason and we have to find it again? Ha, as if! I better keep them for myself! Not only am I far more capable, I will make some actual good use of the Twilight Healing."

"'Good use'?" The words just had Issei closing his fist in anger as he glared at Raynare. "'Good use'!" He can remember the times that Asia used the sacred gear to heal him and a random kid that was hurt and crying. "You are just a selfish bitch!" Issei shouted as he ran towards Raynare with his fist raised.

The fallen angel for a moment glared at him for his words before she smiled again and jumped back and to the side, making Issei miss. That didn't discourage the Pawn as he focused on his legs and in keeping his fists raised to attack again but Raynare wasn't bothered, she didn't even defend herself and just dodged as his fist failed to make contact with her.

Issei keeps moving to try and hit the fallen angel when she jumps and his gauntlet fist ends up breaking a bench of the church, making her laugh more at him as some of the debril enters his eyes and he starts to scratch them, leaving himself open for a kick on his chest. "You are such a weakling! Hahaha!"

Getting up, Issei glared at her even as his eyes were still begging for him to scratch them and his vision was turvy with some tears. But he can still see her form and that was enough for Issei who ran at Raynare with his full speed for a tackle, much to Raynare's amusement as she just opened her wings and flew away as the devil broke some more benches and couldn't even touch her.

At the moment Issei just can't comprehend what is happening, he is Promoted to Knight and his speed is much higher than his usual and yet he couldn't lay a finger on the fallen angel. 'What is going on?' His frustrated mind asked even as he heard [Boost] coming from his arm.

"What is wrong, devil? Can't fly yet?" Raynare danced a little close to the ceiling of the church, even letting her dress show her panties in mockery. "You are really bad at this~"

"Shut up!" Issei shouts in anger as he looks around for something to use until his eyes looked to his feet and he decided to go with what was on hand as he picked up the pieces of the destroyed benches and some stones and started to throw them at Raynare's direction.

That only made the long haired woman laugh more. "You didn't even learn magic yet! Hahaha!" She makes a show of dodging by moving just the bare minimum while Issei just throws more and more stuff, his anger growing with every miss. "This is so pathetic! It is almost like I am fighting a baby here!" Raynare dodges a bigger piece of rock but in general she doesn't look bothered. "You should have died the first time I tried to kill you! At least then your death would have been beautiful and have some meaning! Now it is just pathetic! Hahahahahaha!"

Shaking his head, Issei looks around for something else to throw, his eyes landing on the altar and a huge table on the top that had the Pawn run in its direction before starting to try and lift it. again to the fallen angel's amusement as she was sure he wouldn't be able to do it even as a devil, he was just too fresh to manage to do such a thing.

[Boost] was announced loud and Issei felt the power of his sacred gear working as he managed to lift the table over his head which managed to make Raynare raise an eyebrow as she noticed the sacred gear letting out a green light. But she is still confident, especially because of her knowledge on sacred gears and that Issei couldn't grow much stronger than that.

Nothing like that was in Issei's mind, he just wanted to hurt the fallen angel, to make sure that the woman felt his pain and so he threw the huge table, feeling pain in his arms as he barely was able to hold it.

"Not bad but," Raynare destroys the table with a spear of pink light before throwing it and hitting Issei on the leg, piercing it easily, "two times zero is still zero." The fallen angel announced as she flew closer to Issei as he was now bleeding with the spear making his leg burn. "You are still in the human limit."

"Human... limit?" Issei managed to question just before Raynare kicked him in the face.

"That is right. Without magic, proper training or a descent bloodline, humans reach a limit of muscles and body that every other race on the planet can surpass easily, even most newly born devils." Raynare kicks Issei on the chest, launching him to the steps of the altar and hurting his back. "Even the greatest of athletes are still in the human limit since the methods to surpass those limits involve either magic, the blessings of gods or the right kind training, of which you have none!" The last part she announces out loud as she creates another spear and flings it on Issei's other leg making the devil curse from more pain . "Even with Twice Critical doubling your power, you are still on those limits. Do you know why?" Issei still glared at her but Raynare was enjoying his eyes full of hate. "Because you are weak~ even as a devil you are nothing~"

She took her time explaining everything because Raynare wanted to see Issei break, to realize the futility of his efforts and break down crying. Instead he just picked up a random rock and threw it at the fallen angel who was caught off guard. Raynare gets hit on the side of her face that loses any amusement in her eyes as she makes another spear.

"You annoying insect!" Raynare's anger actually made Issei feel better with himself as the pink spear pierced his stomach but he didn't scream this time as it disappeared to keep the wound open instead of burning it close with light. "How dare you harm my magnificent form? How dare you?!" For a moment Raynare looked ready to make another spear before the anger disappeared from her face as she began to smile once again. "I shouldn't be upset by that. I really should not. After all," Raynare makes a show of revealing the Twilight Healing once again, "I now have these~"

The fallen angel wants Issei to watch as she raises a hand to her face and begins to heal without any troubles. She was right that he was watching and getting even more furious with her blatant use of Asia's sacred gear for herself as the wound begins to slowly disappear like the rock had actually missed the target.

"Much better~ I can feel the full blessing of the Twilight Healing! Such power truly doesn't belong in human hands!" Raynare embraces herself as she maintains the sacred gear going to envelop her form with its aura. "Ahh~ such warmth. With it I can truly be useful for them." She places her hands in front of her generous bosom for a prayer. "Oh Lord Azazel, Lord Shemhazai~ with this power, I can help you guide the fallen angels to prosperity and glory which shall surpass the Heavens themselves."

The way Raynare said it, full of love, care and devotion, just reminded Issei of their date. It reminded him of the sweet girl that had worked her courage to talk to him, who smiled as they shared some good times together with hope for more and whose happiness was also his happiness.

Looking up, Issei can see the degraded and almost unrecognizable image of Jesus Christ in a cross looking directly at him. "God, if you can hear me…" Then he said nothing else as even saying the name felt wrong for him.

"Devil praying to God? Talk about cliches." Raynare snapped herself out of her reverie to look back at the fallen devil.

And with her words Issei chuckles. "You are right. I'm a devil." Issei begins to get up regardless of his wounds, he can feel the warm sensation of his blood but he can also feel something even hotter on his left arm, ready to be released. "Instead of praying to God, I should be praying to the Maou." The declaration came with more strength than even Issei expected but that only got a raised eyebrow from Raynare. "Are you hearing me, Maou-sama? I shall offer you anything, pay any price," he said between teeth but his next words came out as a roar, "If you let me BREAK HER FACE!"

[BOOST!] Once again both could hear the masculine and deep voice coming out of the sacred gear, much to Raynare's shock while Issei didn't care about it as he only wanted one thing at that moment; to make Raynare pay.

So he charged, without any form or care, no posture or preparation, he just charged with all the wrath and fury of an animal that had been beaten too much and now wanted to rip the throat of whoever was hurting him.

Raynare was shocked by the sudden increase of speed and she barely had any time to react as the gauntlet hand, now completely covering the flesh beneath it and looking more like a claw than just a gauntlet, hit her face exactly where she had healed before. 'That speed surpassed the human limits.' A corner of her mind managed to think before pain filled her mind and another punch hitted her on her stomach. "Gah." She almost vomited.

Issei has no intention of letting the fallen angel recover, his eyes can only see red as he looks to Raynare. He keeps punching as she raises her arms to defend herself, even managing to block his naked fist but her arm feeling every bit of pain it could when the gauntlet had hit it.

Black wings spread on the fallen angel's back as she jumped in retreat but Issei wasn't about to let her as he grabbed her leg and pushed her down to deliver another punch to her still beautiful face.

Unfortunately for the Pawn he couldn't keep hold of the fallen and when he punched Raynare was launched back as she was already floating and trying to escape his grasp. "You son of a bitch! Were you holding back on using Twice Critical?" Was the only thing logical on her mind for what was happening even if she had proof of the contrary as she tried to heal, confident that the burst of power of that sacred gear was only for attacks.

[Explosion!] She forgot that Issei was already moving much faster than before and that in a few seconds he was already on her face again, her surprise and disbelief stop her from reacting as another punch hits her recently healed face.

"Impossible! This can't be happening!" With one hand Raynare tries to heal herself while the other summons a spear aimed for Issei's heart, her eyes full of hate as she tries to stab him. "DIE!"

Only this time Issei dodges, the speed of the Knight increased tremendously by his sacred gear power allowing him to see and dodge the attack before grabbing the offending arm with his naked hand as the other raises in the boxing posture he learned previously. "This is for Asia!"

Unlike the other punches, this one carried all of Issei's anger, resentment and power as he put his back and spirit in it with the promised goal to break the fallen angel's face. His grip without the gauntlet failed and once again the fallen angel flew but this time without control until her back hit a wall of the church that broke apart with the impact.

Issei pants in exhaustion as his transformed gauntlet loses the glow on its gem and he is about to fall on his knees when someone picks him up. "Good job there." Comments a somewhat wounded but still standing Kiba with a smile.

"You…" Before Issei could comment he watches as Rias and Akeno also enter the church with the Queen carefully carrying Asia like a bride.

"Kiba is right, good job Issei." Rias tells him with pride before her eyes turn to Kiba. "And everyone else?"

"Koneko managed to knock the majority out…" Kiba began to say before avoiding his King's eyes for a moment. "But the Mad Exorcist escaped and some died."

Rias nodded in understanding. "That is fine, you did your job marvelously." The redhead devil then looks back at Asia. "I suppose that besides one problem this mission was an overall success."

Issei also looks at Asia while Akeno places the blonde in another bench closer to them, the nun is still breathing but it is clear her body is on its limits. "Buchou… is there something we can do?"

"Plenty." Rias told him with a smile. "But before we bring out drastic measures, we have something to settle." The redhead approached Issei and patted his head. "You did an excellent job Issei, we managed to watch the tail end of the fight and you really were excellent." Issei blushes a little at the comment but Rias placed a hand under his chin to keep his eyes on hers. "Now I am going to ask you something; are you ready to finish this?"

"Yes." Issei said quickly and Rias nodded in acceptance.

"I hope you are." Then the King turns to the hole Issei made and everyone watches as Koneko is dragging Raynare through the ground. "Look what the cat just dragged in."

"Really Buchou?" Akeno looks absolutely unimpressed and she isn't the only one as Issei looks confused even if he understood the pun, Kiba just gave her a fake smile and Koneko offered the King a dry look before dropping the fallen angel in front of Rias with a 'huff'.

"Ah, stop it. It was a good pun." Rias approaches the defeated Raynare and the fallen angel raises her head to look at the devil with a look of fear. "You know who I am."

"You…" Raynare is afraid, terrified and starts to look around. "You shouldn't be here! You are violating the ceasefire- '' A slap is Rias reply as even wounded the side of Raynare's cheek still showed clearly where Rias hit her.

"You broke the law first, my law!" Rias announced furiously. "Try again."

Instead of replying, Raynare just glares at Rias in anger before her eyes move directly to Issei. It is clear that she still can't comprehend how she lost. "This is impossible, it must be a nightmare." The fallen said while glaring at the Pawn.

"You can't still recognize it, can you?" Rias asked in amusement as she noticed the fallen angel looking at her Pawn. "Tell me, which sacred gear do you think Issei has?"

For the devil that was practically turning into a game but Raynare was willing to play it, that meant she had more time for either help to come or to think of a way out. "Twice Critical; our equipment revealed that he has a dragon type sacred gear but that was it. He has no magic power, no powerful aura or even a descent ancestor on his family line. He is a nobody."

The words hurt Issei even as he knew they shouldn't but Rias just found them funny. "Twice Critical, a sacred gear capable of doubling the attack power of the user. A common type of sacred gear, nothing much really." Rias' smile grew larger. "And that isn't the one Issei has."

"What?" Raynare can't hold back her disbelief. "You are-"

"Lying?" Rias finishes the question, still amused. "Did it look like his power was just doubled by the end of that fight?" Even Issei found himself surprised at hearing that question but Akeno just chuckles as she also knows the answer while everyone else was confused. "Boosted Gear."

"You...you are lying!" Just hearing the name had Raynare head spinning and her eyes were now paying complete attention to the gauntlet. "That is...that is…"

"You are trying to say 'that is impossible, he was just a normal human'." Rias said with a chuckle and by Raynare's face everyone told everyone that is what she wanted to say.

"Boosted Gear?" Issei questions and Rias looks back at him for a moment.

"One of the 13 Longinus, sacred gears capable of killing gods." Rias tells him with a smile. "Inside it there is a powerful dragon, the mighty Red Dragon Emperor Ddraig, the Welsh Dragon and one of the strongest existences in the world." Rias enjoyed immensely the despair in Raynare's eyes. "And its real power is for doubling the owner's power every ten seconds. Can you understand what that means?"

Raynare's face goes blank as what was said took root on her mind, that was in fact her arrogance and hubris that literally gave Issei enough time to become strong enough to defeat her as his power doubled in the beginning of the fight, then it became four times stronger, still on the human limits. But four to eight times was enough for him to not only break those limits but also easily crush her.

Rias watched with satisfaction as the implications of everything that Raynare did started to catch up to her, how she not only came close to killing a Longinus user but her actions actually guaranteed that he would join the devil side, practically throwing him at them with little to no strings attached.

If she returned to the Grigori alive odds were that even Azazel's kindness is not going to protect her from the repercussions of her actions. Either as punishment or because her own allies will want her dead.

There is little to no chance she is surviving a single day once the information got out that she practically gave the Boosted Gear to the Devil Faction, everyone on the Grigori will want either her hide or her head.

Trembling and unable to hide her fear, Raynare looked around the church to try to find her allies, either the humans beneath the church or the other fallen but it didn't matter where she looked; there were only devils in her sight. "Dohnaseek! Kalawarna! Mittelt! Help me! There are devils on our base!" She just needs an opportunity to escape, a distraction of any kind.

"Are you calling the other three fallen angels that were around?" Rias asked with fake curiosity and a fake smile before opening her hand in front of Raynare and letting three black feathers fall to the ground much to the fallen shock and panic as she could recognize them even with their minimal differences. "I am not sorry to say they passed away, an unfortunate accident really. You see, they died from a case of committing the crime of protecting you, a fugitive, on my territory after you almost killed someone technically under my protection." Her smile looked gentle but it was really anything but. "I could be nice and say they put up a fight but I would be lying. The only reason we took so long was because I didn't expect you to actually rush to steal the nun's sacred gear by yourself. Talk about not thinking things through."

Raynare's eyes were still on the feathers as they grew wide with even more fear and when she looked back to the devil she understood the reality of the situation; her life was already forfeit. "Please, don't kill me." She begged immediately.

"Hum~ and why shouldn't I? You just gave me trouble ever since I found you in my town." Rias makes an effort to not sound irritated but the devil's eyes told the story, she is livid. "You try to kill someone, then hide with your friends just to kill one of our clients, even bringing someone like the Mad Exorcist around here. Tut, tut, tut. Shame on you fallen angels really, having to resort to working with people like that."

"I can be of use to you." Raynare said fast, Twilight Healing already on her hands. "I can heal wounds, any wound. Think about the kind of advantages you would have with it!" Rias isn't budging but she did raise an eyebrow to show that the fallen angel had her attention. "I could serve you, you can reincarnate me or even keep me in chains. I will take care of every wound- no, every necessity you have! Your wish will be my command!"

Rias looks at the fallen angel without sympathy or pity, only contempt. She doesn't like Raynare, not hate for hate was too strong of a word, she just disliked the fallen angel woman. "What do you say Issei? Should we forgive her for her crimes?" The question makes everyone shift to look back at the Pawn. "Should we let her live after all she has done? Or maybe let her go?" The boy didn't know what to say but Rias wanted him to make the decision and for that she is willing to give him all she managed to pry from the other fallen angels before their end. "She was the one that planned everything. She was bored with her assignment of watching you and wanted you out of the picture so she could get more exciting jobs for her beloved leaders." Raynare's face was full of panic once again but the King didn't stop. "She was the one that planned everything and convinced their allies to go along with their plans. Even got around to convince them that killing an innocent nun and taking the power was better than allowing an unfaithful human to keep it. Only thing she can't be blamed for was Freed since he was sent here on another's orders and decided to help her because he found everything amusing but in general, everything that the fallen angels did wrong is absolutely her fault."

Raynare can see Issei blinking and getting angry again. She remembered what he did to her when he was in that state, how mad and how powerful he became to punish her for her slights against him and the fallen angel can see the owner of the recently revealed Boosted Gear deciding to kill her with that same rage.

"Issei-kun, please save me." In less than a second her whole demeanor changed, her eyes lost any trace of fear and instead were filled with hope as her voice sounded meek and kind. It was almost as if the fallen angel Raynare had transformed into the innocent Amano Yuuma and that the girl is begging for her loved one to save her life.

Rias was beyond the point past any fury with that stunt as the fallen angel tried to hide her true nature under the guise of a defenseless girl, she knows the majority of her peerage must also be infuriated by the action but she already promised the choice of how things are happen is up to Issei and discreetly she turned to look at her Pawn and what she saw confirmed something; Raynare just commited the biggest and last mistake of her life.

Tears, there are tears threatening to leave the brown haired devil's eyes but he didn't allow it. His fury was gone and all there is for Issei at the moment is sadness for when he looked at the woman on the ground begging him for help he saw exactly what she wanted him to see, Amano Yuuma and not Raynare, the girl he had a date with, the girl which he wanted to call his girlfriend and perhaps something more in the future.

Hyoudou Issei can be called many things; pervert, stupid, hopeless, foolish. But he can't be called naive, not anymore, not after what happened to him that turned him to a devil in the first place.

"Will you die for me?"

"Buchou...please just finish this. I don't want to see her anymore." Those were Issei's words that made Rias solemily nod, she wanted to help him move past the woman before them but it seemed to her that only the fallen angel's death would truly help at this point.

Raynare once again felt despair. "No, wait! If you kill me you can't save the nun by returning her sacred gear! If I die then the System will reclaim it!" A half lie that she can only hope it works.

It doesn't. "It takes a good while for a sacred gear to settle in someone's soul when stolen, even we devils know that." Rias raises a hand slowly as a magic circle and power are already being prepared. "I could save the nun in other ways too so that never was a worry in the first place. You dying on the other hand just became non-negotiable."

Realizing her end is approaching, Raynare turns around, her wings already half open to make her escape as a scream of fear escapes her lips.

She died before her feet could ever leave the ground, leaving behind only two motes of green light that Rias caught.

Looking to the Twilight Healing, Rias can admit she was tempted. They are one of the few sacred gears that can truly heal anything, superior to EM by leaps and bounds, under the control of someone with enough mana then maybe Shirou could truly mass produce his mystic code, getting rid of many of her troubles, someone like her who while can't control her power like her brother has enough mana to throw around recklessly.

It was luck that such sacred gear is now exposed, away from the System that rules it and in her hands. She can take it and save the nun with other means if she wants, there is no reason for Rias to give them back.

Taking a deep breath, the Gremory heiress turns to look at Issei to offer him a smile. "If her soul wasn't too damaged then returning these will save her life." There are other ways but this was the right thing to do and one of her servants would be happy for it so Rias started to move towards Asia, Issei with a smile on his face, forgetting about the monster in the form of a beautiful woman with black hair and happy that his real friend will live.

However that is only a hope at the moment, a hope that everyone with more experience on the Gremory household knows may not materialize if the damage to the soul was too great. There are still other alternatives that Rias can employ but the nun herself may not like them since unlike Issei her first loyalty is to her God.

It still didn't stop Rias to approach Asia and gently place the sacred gear above her chest. Unlike Raynare where a ritual was needed, this time Twilight Healing just entered Asia's body without assistance or trouble, almost like a lost pet returning home.

'Do all sacred gears have a life of their own? Even those without a creature sealed inside them?' Rias wonders out of pure curiosity as she has no input on the process, she at least expected needing to inject the nun with mana or something since this was the first time she had to return a sacred gear to their owner. 'Not much different to giving someone an Evil Piece.' Was the best compression her mind could come up with as both sacred gears and Evil Pieces dealt with the soul but in different forms.

Everyone watches with baited breath to see the end result of the Twilight Healing's return and while Asia's breathing normalized her skin was still pale. It was enough that the nun managed to open her eyes and Issei kneeled close to the blonde in relief as she recovered her consciousness.

"Asia." Now the tears he was holding back are leaving him, not in sadness but in joy as his friend is alive. "I'm so glad you are alive." And by his tone everyone knew he was being sincere, it hurt some of them to interrupt to tell him the young woman is not out of the woods yet.

"Issei-san? You are hurt again…" Asia tried to lift a hand to touch the young man's face but she lost her strength and it was just Issei's own hands that stopped hers to touch the floor. "I am sorry Issei-san, I am too tired to heal you right now."

"Don't worry Asia, it's fine. Everything is gonna be okay." He tried to reassure her and it is then that Rias decided she must step in.

"Unfortunately it is not that simple, Issei." The redhead devil's words catch both their attention but her eyes are just in the nun. "The extraction of your sacred gear, it was extremely violent and your soul was damaged. The extension of the damage is considerable to the point that even right now you are losing strength, returning your sacred gear was just a stopgap measure at most and odds are that you won't survive the night."

"What? Buchou, you have to do something!" Instead of immediately replying to Issei's outburst, Rias closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.

"I want to do it Issei but rules are rules and someone I know would be upset if I didn't do the proper procedure after I kept him away from this mess with said procedure." Was the pureblood's response as she looked to Asia once again. "I can save you but it won't be for free. You will stop being human and will have to live for me." Rias raises a hand and lets a Bishop chess piece fall from a magic circle, another of her Evil Pieces. "Tell me Asia; do you wish to live, even if that means you won't be able to pray to God ever again?"

In reality Rias wanted to just do it, both for the nun's sake and Issei's as well. After all that happened she was sure both of them have a high compatibility that could help them adjust to the lives of devils much easily. Instead she holds herself back and offers Asia the choice on what she wants, it was a compromise that she felt she needed to do since she was strict with the rules with Shirou earlier on the night and she shall not be a hypocrite even if she wants to see her Pawn happy.

So she laid the choice before the nun. "Will I be renouncing my God?" The question didn't surprise Rias but actually made her think of a proper answer before replying.

"No." Is Rias' conclusion. "I am not asking you to renounce anything or to take anything, it is just that as a devil you won't be able to pray to Him anymore or be as welcome in His house as you used to be." The pureblood shrugged. "I personally don't care what you believe, as long as you don't betray me, I will protect you and take care of you with all my heart." She can see that Asia is almost convinced, she just needed a little push. "In the end the most important thing you should ask is this; do you want to live?"

"Yes." Asia surprises herself on how fast she answered the question. "I finally made a friend," she said looking at Issei with a smile which he returned, "I ate good food, I had fun and I made a friend. Is it selfish to want to live for things like this?"

"Maybe." Rias said with a shrug. "But as a devil you are allowed to be selfish." The meaning of her words was clear.

"Then I want to live." For her whole life, Asia was selfless. At least this time she wants to be selfish. "I want to live, to spend more time with Issei-san and to make more friends and to try new things. I want to live."

Everyone smiled at her words and Issei's smile was the biggest of the bunch as Rias approached satisfied. "Then in the name of the Gremory Clan I, Rias Gremory, welcome you in my household." She wanted to say a couple more words but for the sake of helping Asia she reserved that after she placed the Evil Piece over her chest, watching as the Gremory magic circle appeared beneath the piece and the girl herself as the process began. "I shall take care of you and help you reach your goals. That is my promise to you as a King, Asia Argento, you are now my servant, my Bishop, my family."

It pleased Rias when Asia nodded with a smile as the Bishop entered her body and her mana started to transform the former nun. The change was pretty much immediate as Asia's skin tone returned to normal and an aura of magic surrounded her as the Bishop piece helped repair the damages of body and soul.

The soul is always in charge of the body, that is an absolute fact. Every sentient being has a soul in a form or another and a devil's soul is similar to a human's, that is the bases of the Evil Piece system even if can work beyond humans and Asia's soul, once damaged by the crude process of ripping Twilight Healing out of her body was converted into a devil with her soul being restored together with other advantages of the race being given to her.

And the disadvantages as Rias made sure Asia would know; if she prays to God, it will hurt. Even if she hadn't renounced Him she would have accepted that fact. But she now she can have more friends, Rias promised her a family in her oath and that could only make the former nun happy.

After a couple of seconds the process is done and Asia sits down. "Thank you." She says to both Issei and Rias while everyone else approaches to welcome her to their little family.

No one noticed the purple snake that was close enough to hear everything and started to calmly leave when the transformation was over.

…

"And now she is a devil but she looks happy with her choice." The small goddess Medusa related the events to Shirou and Liz as the three of them sat on the rooftop of a house in the surroundings of the church of Fuyuki, it was still distant with a forest on the way but for an expert marksman with a good bow it is still possible to shot down anyone escaping if visible. Or behind ways with a strong enough arrow. "Looks like we didn't need to come here after all."

"It is just a small detour on our way home." Shirou says with a chuckle, noticing his bow was still on his hand before he made it disappear now that everything was over. He and Liz are both dressed in their armor and school uniform with boots with tips of steel that she demanded, while the goddess is still in her dress and with a small book on her hand that she failed to hold her attention during the most intense moments. "I apologize that you had to use your power like this. I know how much you didn't want to."

"A pity I saw no sign of the Mad Exorcist escaping. The tunnels below the church must go farther than the immediate area. Besides that, I don't mind using my power like this. It was interesting to watch these events and the Boosted Gear reveal was a nice twist. " Medusa commented as she created and used a snake to keep an eye on the events, something only her protector and his maid knew she was strong enough to do. "It is the least I could do for my protector's peace of mind."

Shirou chuckles again and points to the red gem still on the center of his armor. "I think you already did enough that you never need to pay me back for anything."

"Can we skip the 'no I didn't, yes you did' comedy bit? I am hungry." Commented Liz with a frown. Since now the situation was over her priorities returned to one of her favorite activities and her stomach demanded a snack.

"How is your study of it by the way?" Medusa allows her curiosity to show as that wasn't something she doesn't ask much about but she does want to know more about the artefact she created.

"Still in the development stages." Shirou comments and both women watch as the armor extends to cover the back of his head before retreating to just his neck. "I honestly have no idea what we ended up making. If it is just your power that resulted in this or the material is also involved since it refuses to separate from the gem."

"Maybe you can add more to the armor?" Medusa comments with a shrug.

"Thought about it but the armor itself feels limited for now, like I am missing something to make it expand in some way." Shirou says back.

"Starving…" Liz interrupts before anyone says anything else, making the magus chuckle.

"Well, we do need to get back home before Koneko decides to make her way there." Shirou says with a smile as he offers Medusa a hand which he takes so he can carry her to the car. "What should I do for the snack?"

"Dumplings." "Cake." Both women say at the same time and then look at each other as if evaluating each other's choice of food, much to Shirou amusement.

"Maybe cookies? With cream? Kinda late for the other options." A medium in a sense that neither could complain about even as Shirou already tried to think of something else just in case.

At least he could take solace that with the car and the fact Rias would want to welcome her new Bishop, Koneko would take quite a while to arrive, enough time to feed the duo and make her a dish of her own as reward for a job well done.

…..

Going to spend some time with the family so the next chapter may be this year or only on the next depending on circumstances.

Regardless if I post another chapter before the end of the year, great, if not, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year everyone.

Until next time.