Chapter 12: The natural order is disturbed, and it is magnificent.

I don't own Highschool DxD, any of its characters, or any references in this story. If I did, horrible things would happen. Neither do I own any other anime that I reference. I do own all OC's and new abilities in the story as well as every ounce of pure awesome spawned by this.

o. o. o.

Seven Years ago:

"I like her."

"She hates you."

"She's going to be in my harem."

"She's going to murder you before that."

"For the harem!"

"You can't fall back on saying that whenever you can't think of a legitimate reason to justify your actions. It only works so many times before people won't accept it as an excuse for your poor decision making." Azazel deadpanned as he walked Issei towards the Principal's office where the boy would sign the last of the paperwork needed to register for classes next semester. "That girl is a student here. She has more important things to focus on than kids that ogle and feel her up on first sight."

"You just don't think I can do it because she looks like a challenge and you're used to setting the bar low for yourself." Issei reached the door first, leaving a stuttering governor looking in absolute confusion and disbelief at the back of the kid's head.

"Guh?!"

"Ahahahahaha!" As usual, Ghost played the role of the one man audience, laughing his ass off whenever Issei absolutely tore into anyone with no sense of shame. "It's funny because it's true!"

"No! It's not true! No! You haven't even seen me on my game you ungrateful brat! I have standards!"

"The non-soundproofed walls between hotel rooms says otherwise."

"Erk!"

"Scrub! Total scrub mistake! Scrubbing it up three nights straight! Ya Scrub!"

"At least I'm able to get some! Keep talking like that and I'll make it my goal to make the kid immortal just to make sure your sack discharges dust the next time it fires off!"

"Bitch say that to my eyeball gem gauntlet face thing!"

"Calm down you idiots." Ddraig tried to be the voice of reason. "Azazel has done a lot recently. You can spare to ignore a few of his shortcomings for the time being."

"You too Ddraig?!" Azazel was both agonizing over the loss of his dignity, and absolutely thankful that no one ever seemed to be around whenever Issei tore into him like this.

"Fine. Fine. I can let him off the hook for now. I'd rather talk about Onee-san anyways." Issei waved off the subject with a tired sigh. "I still think she should be in the Harem though. She looks lonely."

"Lonely?" Azazel blinked, trying to figure out what the hell Issei was talking about so suddenly before the kid opened the door and walked in. Almost instantly, Ddraig's and Ghost's presences vanished inside their host, knowing now was not the time for them to participate.

"Ah. Azazel of the Grigori. And I assume you are Issei Hyoudou." An aged man of European decent if the full face of hair was any indication greeted them behind a desk in the office with a kind smile. "Welcome. Welcome. I've been expecting you two."

"Ah. R-Right." The Fallen switched gears instantly, walking forward and reaching out peacefully with a hand. "Alexi Blavatsky. Descendent of the famous Helena Blavatsky. I've heard quite a few things about you. I was quite surprised that someone of your reputation and lineage would aim for a position like this."

"Like this? He's the head director of one of the biggest neutral party educational and magical facilities on the planet." Issei was confused.

"He's referring to the fact that I'm here and not in Grauzauberer, the leading academia in human based magic."

"And a part of the Magician Council." Azazel added pointedly.

"Oh." Issei blinked in understanding and already visually losing interest in the subject.

"Hmhm. I see that our young prospective here may be talented, but still has some growing up to do." The head of the college chuckled, giving Azazel the briefest of scrutinizing looks as if trying to figure out what the man's hidden motive was. "You have gone through all the legal hoops already, but I am obligated to ask you again, Issei, are you certain that you wish to enter my school? You have proven yourself academically, fantastically so, but you are still a child. You should spend your youth enjoying it."

Issei tilted his head curiously at the man, before turning to Azazel. "What is he evasively trying to warn me about?"

Alexi, understandably, coughed nervously.

The Fallen, on the other hand, laughed, having already gotten somewhat used to Issei calling people out on their bullshit. "This school's reputation is well earned Issei, but you were so focused on the academics that you never bothered researching the politics of this place. It is a neutral entity as far as the factions and other pantheons are concerned, but that doesn't mean that games aren't played here. Actually, you could say that it's considered a local sport. Many notable and wealthy families from all regions send their kids here not only to learn, but to get practice dealing with friends and foes alike. If you aren't a name here, odds are you're being used by one."

"Oh." Issei blinked understandingly. "… So what you're saying is that this place is constantly getting bribes from all the pantheons to look the other way whenever their kids screw up… meaning that the research facilities here must be better stocked and diverse than I thought! Well, that or things are destroyed so frequently from infighting that the civil engineers here must make a killing."

Azazel and Alexi shared a look. The kid wasn't wrong, but he completely ignored the point they were trying to get across.

"Issei, I think the bottom line he was getting at was that some of your classmates would try to take advantage of you once they find out who you are. Regardless of the fact that Ophis likes you or not."

"I thought that the people here were supposed to be at least somewhat smart." Issei looked confused.

"Coming from the impulsive brat that constantly rips on a certain Heavenly Dragon and Outer God without shame."

"… Ah." The boy looked to the side, slightly embarrassed for being called out for something so obvious. "So what should I do then? I don't care about any of that stuff. Power. Fame. Money. All of it is superfluous acclamations that matter more for social constructs and self-gratifying measurements that have little to nothing to do with my ultimate aims. I have enough of each already to accomplish what I want, and can easily get more on my own if needed. What should I do to avoid getting dragged into these worthless dick measuring contests? I have more important things to do."

The head of the College had to stifle a choke of surprise and laughter. He could only imagine the expressions that half the student body would have if they ever heard anyone blatantly dismiss their activities and interactions with one another as "worthless dick measuring contests".

He hoped that, should the day ever come, he would be there with a camera at the ready.

Azazel coughed. "Yes, well, that was something that me and some of our acquaintances talked about before coming here. I was actually planning on setting up shop in the area to do some Sacred Gear research for a while since things were calming down, but that's just me being a nearby friend to talk to."

Actually, it wouldn't be far to assume that he was using Issei as bait to see what underground parties might be interested in the current Sekiryuutei. Especially if the kid was smart enough to get into college before hitting puberty.

Issei deadpanned. "I fear for the future cumulative GPA of this place if you're staying in the vicinity long term."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"How many fraternities are you a part of or had a part in founding around the world again?"

"Oi oi. Cut me some slack. My wild rabble rousing days of youth are behind me kid. I prefer researching these days. Not partying."

"Says the guy that's seen more often with hard liquor than not these days."

"I wonder why."

Alexi laughed nervously as the mismatched duo were giving one another the stink eye, glaring with such intensity that lighting was clashing viciously. "Issei, like Azazel was saying, we did speak of this beforehand. I can clearly tell that politics is not exactly your forte, or in your interests, so I proposed a workaround solution for the time being."

"A workaround?" The boy was interested and confused.

"Mmm. Interacting with your fellow students is unavoidable, however I felt that controlling who you spoke to first would curve things to your favor. There are many programs across campuses these days that serve to aid and acclimate new students to college life away from home and their families. Normally it's handled by the student government body or a related club. This campus is no different." The man pressed a button on his desk, prompting his secretary to allow the person in question into his office.

"I hope you got someone with a good head on their shoulders." Azazel sighed. "Issei's a personality, but he's got quite a number of eyes on him that are curious about his growth."

There are many parties that are invested in the boy. I am not the only one keeping an eye on the kid. Azazel's unspoken message about the boy was heard loud and clear by the Headmaster.

"Don't worry. This person is on the freshman student body. He is already aware that he is tasked with guiding a special human student sponsored by the Grigori through the school and will stay to his duties."

"Which is it?" Issei rolled his eyes, already knowing where this was going. "Devil or Angel."

"He's-"

Before the man could get another word out, the doors to the office opened to reveal a tall and handsome blonde teenager with a confident swagger and smirk on his face.

Said smirk dropped almost instantly as the owner took one look at the unremarkable image that was Issei and the very familiar sight of the Leader of the Grigori, and realized that this job was not going to be as easy as he had thought.

"Azazel. Issei. Allow me to introduce you to Riser Phoenix. Third in line to the Phoenix clan of the 72 Demonic Pillars."

"… Can I trade him for a her please?"

Azazel face palmed. This was going as expected faster than planned.

o. o. o.

Current Day:

Three hours had passed, and the second it had been acknowledged, Raynare had collapsed on the ground unable to do anything but breathe and barely keep conscious.

"Haaah." Issei breathed out slowly. He was also covered in dirt and sweat, but despite being human, he appeared to be more or less still ready for action. His breathing was deep, but not labored, and otherwise he looked like he was able to go for another hour or two without too much problem. "Damn. I really must be out of shape if I'm this tired already. This weekend's gonna suck."

"I do hope that does not mean that you are going to give us a similar treatment." Rias tentatively stated from what appeared to be a safe distance away from him, alongside Akeno and a sullen Koneko. The youngest of the three had red eyes, clear proof that she had been crying a good deal recently, but no one dared to point it out for obvious reasons.

Mostly because almost everyone present was more concerned of Issei potentially going after them with dildos for several hours next.

They, along with everyone else in the school facility had served the roles of confused spectators for at least an hour each as Issei chased after Raynare in a blind sprint while they shouted the most bizarre and vicious things at one another. After which the audience, much like during a NASCAR race, realized that they had better and more productive things to do with their lives.

"Kill. Them." Raynare managed to wheeze out between breaths. It was the only thing she could do in her current state.

Issei rolled his eyes, moving his hands, which were still gripping the "trucker dildos", behind his back. "Stop clenching your sphincters already. Unless you three have been doing nothing but eating, sleeping, and doing barely any physical and magical activity for the past two months, you're in the clear."

"Hate. You. Hate you, so much."

"Well, that is a relief. Although, considering your track record that does make me somewhat wary of what other horrifying experiences you might make us undergo in the future." Akeno smiled sweetly.

"Keep talking Yandere. You might actually learn to be subtle at some point." Issei deadpanned.

"Couldn't she have just flown away?" Rias asked in confusion. Issei was still for the most part a human. Raynare could have just used her wings to get out of range.

"She tried." His eyes momentarily flashed with a sadistic satisfaction that he didn't even attempt to conceal. In the back, his victim shivered unconsciously, trying to suppress the horrifying memories.

All the girls present made a mental note to up their personal training regimens to avoid ever finding themselves in Raynare's position.

They were so off put that they almost didn't notice him returning his hands to his sides, the sex toys nowhere to be seen.

"How do you do that?" Koneko blinked, her tired expression not changing at all.

"Do what?"

"You keep on making things appear and vanish behind your back." The Rook pointed out. "Your phone. Those stupid toys. I don't see any light that comes from magic when you do it."

Issei shrugged. If he had been surprised about being called out by his gimmick, he didn't show it. "Pocket dimension."

"That, still doesn't make any sense." Rias frowned in confusion, trying to make sense of what he said. "Even if you did have one, normally you'd still need to use magic to access it. We would have sensed or seen at least something, even from this angle."

"It's a special pocket dimension." He lamely added without any shame.

Rias, knowing a lost cause when she saw one, gave up the investigation. "Really, Issei? Never mind. Leave it be, Koneko. We'll probably find out eventually regardless."

"… Fine." The girl didn't look happy about the dismissal, but she didn't look like she was up for a fight right now either.

"I must say though, I am impressed that you could move so fast for so long." Akeno giggled. "That sort of stamina is quite uncommon, even for Devils. If I was told that a hikikomori did what you just did, I wouldn't have believed it myself."

"You do realize you're making a sexual stamina joke to a guy that can literally write you a statistical report off the top of his head on how long a person can last in bed based on age, gender, and species, right?" Issei asked skeptically.

"Yes. But while we are on the subject, I'm curious, where would you be on said list?" You had to give it to her, Akeno wasn't backing down.

"Akeno!" Rias blushed.

"Top hundred thousandth percentile of human males, but that's mostly because I cheat. Top seven percent of males of all sentient species." Issei didn't miss a beat. There was no shame in him at all. "Ballpark estimate. Angels aren't included because they skew the graphs and there isn't enough data on them."

"Issei!" Rias turned on him, trying very hard not to think about what his supposed stats said about him.

"Oh my. Someone certainly thinks highly of himself." Akeno had no such reservations, before pausing. "Ara? I thought that you don't masturbate?"

"I have my ways." In typical Issei fashion, his ominous answer left everyone with questions that they really didn't want to ask or spend time thinking about.

"I thought Angels were eunuchs." Koneko threw in her two cents, clearly not caring at all about his supposed sexual prowess.

"A common misconception. They have the gear, but can only use it under specific circumstances otherwise they'll Fall." Issei corrected her factually. "It was originally a petty insult Devils and Fallen used on Angels that was somewhat popular around third century BC because like I said, Angels are rarely able to have sex without Falling. But, it eventually somehow got to the humans that didn't know the true nature of the world at the time. A few false assumptions and generations later, and the idea became mainstream. By the time the upper brass in Heaven realized it was a thing, it was too late to change it without putting in far more effort than it was worth, so they just left it alone."

That, and it gave the male Angels some relief that any paintings and sculptures that were made in their images wouldn't have their junks on display for the world to see. Self-conscious virgins.

"I, huh. That is actually pretty interesting." Rias admitted, allowing herself to be distracted. She knew that Angels weren't eunuchs, but the other details were never explained to her in full other than the basic common knowledge that "if an Angel falls in love, or enjoys sex, they Fall".

"It is. I almost pity them, being unable to freely express and enjoy themselves." Akeno agreed.

"Don't bother. Most of them are so married to their jobs that it's practically hardwired into them. They're the types that practice what they preach so much that they'd be absolute shit at domestic life." Issei waved them off. "Fallen are unstable as fuck, but they're still leagues ahead of them when it actually comes to understanding others and adapting to life on terra firma and raising families."

Nobody had expected Issei to dismiss Heaven and Angels so viciously. Even Raynare had stopped trying to kill him with her eyeballs.

"Unstable?" Koneko tilted her head, confused. Unlike her, Akeno and Raynare suddenly appeared uncomfortable. Rias was too, albeit less so.

"It has to do with God's system and the Falling process. The flaw or action that made them what they are throws a metaphorical wrench into their otherwise idealized structure." Issei gave her a vague explanation. "A Fallen's sin is an extremely personal and private aspect of their being for several reasons. It's a part of their very definition. A conceptual scar. The closest comparison I can come up with is that it's akin to the relationship between a Dragon and their Nature."

A Dragon's Nature. After Issei's episode half a decade ago, the topic of Dragons in general had been all the rage for quite some time. Breeds. Notable figures. Physiology. Powers. Etc.

What most people weren't aware of until then was the subject of a Dragon's true Nature. Their goal. Their obsession. Their definition. Their meaning for existence.

All Dragons had one, but very few were ever truly aware of what their respective Nature was exactly. What was known though, was that Dragons did not take too kindly to outsiders interfering with the objects of their fascination. And they were not the most patient of creatures to begin with.

The number of Dragons throughout history whose Natures were known publically could be counted on one hand. For Issei to make an analogy underscored just how sensitive the topic was to other Fallen in general.

"That… makes sense." Koneko frowned in deep thought. She looked up at Issei and appeared as if she wanted to ask another question, but stopped herself at the last moment.

He hazarded a guess what she wanted to ask, but didn't even hint that he had done so.

"As enlightening as your lectures are, don't you think that we are a bit off topic?" Rias sighed. "We are here to train after all."

Issei looked at her skeptically before turning to Koneko with a raised eyebrow, accompanied by an unspoken question. It was clear he had doubts that the girl was in any state to do training at that moment.

To her credit, Koneko was self-aware enough to know exactly what he was getting at, and shifted on her feet with a faint blush on her face. "I'm fine."

"Hmmmm?" Issei seemed to close in on her almost immediately, looking down on the girl almost comically and almost giving the impression that she was shrinking while his deadpanning face grew bigger.

"I said I'm fine. Now get your ugly face away from me perv, before I punch it." Koneko held her ground, her embarrassment giving way to irritation and annoyance. Despite that though, her blush seemed to double in size and color.

For the briefest of moments the girls could have sworn that they saw his body sag slightly in genuine relief.

"Fufufu." Akeno giggled, enjoying the interaction between the pair.

The only male there shrugged off her threat as meaningless and took a step back. "Fine. Whatever you say Jailbait."

Rias shook her head, not knowing how she was going to deal with the two constantly taunting the other.

"Well?" Koneko almost demanded as Issei casually looked at her with an unreadable expression.

"Well what?"

"Train me."

"How?"

His question caught Koneko flatfooted. "What do you mean, how? Just do what you've been doing with everyone else you stupid perv."

"Fine then." Issei crossed his arms. "What are you? What are your strengths and weaknesses? Do you have any particular hobbies or skills that can be exploited?"

"I…"

"How strong can you hit? How much damage can you take? Do you have a Sacred Gear? Do you have any unique events in your background that exposed you to uncommon sources of power and or entities? Do you have any allergies? What is your familiar? Is it useful?"

"Stop!" Koneko shouted, finally putting an end to Issei's rapid fire questions with a pale expression. She turned to Rias frantically. "He did this to you too?"

"I, no." The King was almost as confused and overwhelmed as her Rook, looking to Issei for an explanation.

He pointed to Rias. "Gremory that can use the Power of Destruction."

Then to Akeno. "Yandere psycho Queen that excels in lightning based magic."

He jabbed his thumb behind him. "Standard Fallen grunt with a set kit that I'm already familiar with. Man Slave is a borderline copy for one of the most famous fictional blacksmiths in the past two decades. Dio is Dio. The Enabler is a Sitri, and I've already learned and prodded her Peerage on what they can do."

He pointed at Koneko. "You, are a midget Rook. That is all I have seen, and all I have been told. I can't work with that. The long term training I'm giving to everyone is to make what makes you barely special, into something that makes you stupid and unfair. Unless your Rook trait made you impossibly sturdy or strong compared to literally everyone else, you're going to have to give me something to work with. I wouldn't give a damn if you're secretly a descendant of the original Lucifer or whatever. I would just do something similar to you that I did to that other dumbass descendant that I kicked around for years. Just give me something already."

Rias held back a frown as she digested his words. Issei had a knack for bending the truth, but even this was extreme. He knew she was a nekomata. He knew she was Kuroka's sister. But he wanted her to say it for herself, and...

"Wait, did you just say that you know a descendant of the original Lucifer?"

"Details." He brushed her off as if the subject didn't matter in the slightest.

Her cheeks puffed out. She hated it when he threw out random subjects on the fly that distracted her only to disregard them as meaningless information an instant later.

Koneko shifted uncomfortably, clearly looking for any out she could to avoid the topic of being a nekomata. She knew that he was trying to get her to admit it, that he already knew what she was, but she wasn't ready yet. Even after learning the truth. Even though it probably was for the best if she did.

"I… know how to use Ki. But I haven't practiced in a while." She met him with an unexpected curveball though. A user of Chakra was a user of Ki, and anyone that could master Ki was a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.

She wasn't ready for Chakra yet. Or to face her inner demons. But, she was at the very least prepared to take a few steps forward. Hopefully.

He gave her a flat look. One that was hard to read, but for once he appeared to be inspecting her instead of judging or expecting anything.

"Hah. Fine. I can work with that. You already know that this is going to take a while, right? Ki isn't something that we can just cover or learn a trick or two over the course of a weekend."

"Y-yeah." Koneko stood up a bit straighter, relieved that he was going with the charade.

"Then just review what you already know for now. The basics. Meditation and re-familiarizing yourself with the flow if your inner energies. You can show me what you got at the end of the weekend and then we'll work from there."

"Mmm." She nodded.

"Do you need anything for the time being? Review books? Meridian and life energy pathway charts and diagrams? Meditation 101 videos?"

She paused for a moment, trying to recall what she actually remembered, what she had available on the subject matter, and what she could get quickly. She did have some material on the matter, but most of it was gathering dust in a storage space that she rarely touched. "… I'll take the books."

She barely had time to react before a small stack of small books were tossed her way, catching them at the last moment.

"I expect them back intact."

"Did, did you actually expect this to happen before you even got here?" Rias was having trouble trying to determine whether to focus on Issei or the items he had lent Koneko at a moment's notice.

The books weren't that big individually, and they were clearly not new either, but they still almost stacked up to the small girl's shoulders in her arms. All of them had shown signs of being used before, and several had sticky notes popping out of all sides with surprisingly neat handwriting on them.

It was a bit of an assumption, but, Rias suspected that they were the books Issei personally used when he learned how to use Ki. She made a mental note to ask Koneko to have a look at them later when she had an opportunity.

"I have a bunch of stuff on me. I don't know everything. I only know what I know. I try to have some reference material on anything else I think might be useful at some point." He shrugged.

"Sounds handy." Akeno smiled, impressed. "At the very least, you certainly are one that tries to come prepared."

His cell phone with Gabriel's chanting on it. The Church gun. Books. Spray paint. The Dildos. Issei seemed to have something on him for any occasion. Was it out of obsession or paranoia though, no one could make an educated guess yet.

"It's better to be prepared than screwed over. Less to clean up afterwards." He brushed off the compliment automatically, as if what he was doing was simple common sense.

Koneko gave him a flat look. Even if he didn't lead her to this exact moment on purpose, the mere idea that it was a likely truth didn't appeal to her. Between the revelation of her sister's past, her emotional breakdowns, and Issei being Issei, she couldn't handle much more stress. "I'm going now."

"Have fun Jailbait. Don't hurt yourself on the big words."

"Fuck you, Pervert Batman." She snarked, turning to walk away without giving him another chance to respond.

Issei tilted his head to the side. "You know, that's actually not the first time someone's called me that."

"I wonder why." Even Rias knew of the famous American comic book character, and the fact that he practically had everything under the sun stored in his utility belt. The comparison was actually pretty accurate in retrospect.

"I think she's starting to like you." Akeno teased.

"That poor misguided child." He shook his head in pity, getting a couple of smirks from the girls around him.

"I'll keep an eye on her." Rias took a step towards Koneko's shrinking form. It would be a lie if she said it was purely for the girl's sake. In truth, she was curious as to what Issei could have written in the books he loaned her Rook. "Is there anything you need before I go?"

Issei looked at her for a moment before clearly remembering something. "Actually, can I use your shower and a spare room in your clubhouse?"

"Oh my." Akeno swooned.

"I thought you were going to train in the field." Rias pointed to the sports field where the paint he had sprayed several hours ago was almost dried.

"I am. It's for the Cougar." He jabbed his thumb back at Raynare, who was fading between consciousness and a blissful coma.

"Her?" The revelation caught both Devils off guard.

"Yeah." He nodded, unashamed. "I think I might have overdid it a little. If I don't do something remotely immediately beneficial to her soon, I think she really might try to kill me in my sleep. Which would be annoying."

Truth be told, he wouldn't have been surprised if she attempted to stab his kidneys from behind right now if she wasn't so exhausted.

Rias and Akeno looked at one another skeptically before glancing at Raynare's exhausted form. They, really couldn't argue with that logic. Nor could they determine if Raynare was conscious or not.

"That does seem to be a problem you would likely have." Akeno agreed with him, completely honest. "I'm surprised it hasn't happened already."

"I have to perpetually remind her that I cook her food whenever things get bad." He lamely revealed his secret, walking over to the fallen Fallen and hoisting her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes with ease.

"I thought you carried her like a princess…" Rias was slightly disappointed by the unromantic sight.

"She isn't liable to regurgitate all over me right now." He shamelessly shifted her a few times with one arm while giving an unnaturally proud thumbs up with the other. "She started to dry heave after the two hour mark, so I know she doesn't have anything left to spew."

"Well, there goes one fantasy." Akeno sighed, sending Rias a sly look, knowing exactly what her King was possibly hoping for in the near future. Issei was an ass, but he was not bad looking in the slightest. Getting the bridal treatment from him wouldn't have been too bad so long as he kept his mouth shut. "I do hope you aren't using this as an excuse to skip my training though, Issei-kun."

"Already have something for you in mind. We can go over it while we walk." Issei already started to make way for the clubhouse.

The King and Queen exchanged a quick glance at one another before Rias gave a helpless shrug. "Might as well show him where everything is in the clubhouse while you're at it just to be safe. I'll look after Koneko in the meanwhile."

"I'll try to keep things clean and steer him away from our secret places." The newly designated guide gave her a saucy grin.

"Just to let you know, my room stocks more custom sex toys than some specialty shops. I highly doubt whatever you two are hiding will impress me." Issei factually stated behind them accusingly, as if daring them to try and rise up to the challenge.

"I thought you said you don't masturbate." Akeno steered the bait in a new direction just as quickly, while Rias' face quickly tried to match hue with her hair. While she was fairly open about her sexuality and her habits, she was normally in control when the topics were brought up in conversation. Having them brought up out of the blue on the other hand left her completely unguarded and exposed.

"I don't. If you paid attention to the past three hours, you'd know that I make and sell the things as a side business, along with writing reviews and articles for porn outlets. They fuck. I make bank from home. Everyone wins."

"Ara? How interesting." Akeno's grin widened as her mind started to concoct devious ideas. "However, I'm pretty sure that having a side occupation of any kind would go against school rules. Sona-san wouldn't take too well to this fact when she remembers this."

Issei waved her off easily, turning to walk to the clubhouse. "I doubt that'll be a problem. She'll keep her nose out of my business, or she'll have to stick her nose into it. Which means she'd have to learn who some of my clientele are."

"And that would be a problem because?" Rias didn't understand what Issei was getting at.

"It means that my services are indiscriminate and cater, but are not limited, to humans, Fallen, and Devils. Of all societal ranks and occupations."

The only thing anyone could hear for several seconds was Issei's footsteps as he walked away from them as the girls eventually realized what he was hinting at.

Akeno turned to Rias with puppy dog eyes, her eyes begging without shame as she bounced on the balls of her feet like a child on sugar. "You have to let me be there when Sona learns of this. I want to see everything."

It wasn't for the first time that Rias pondered just how well Issei's and Akeno's personalities would mesh if given the chance. The two were so subconsciously sadistic and built for exploiting and basking in the humiliation of others it was scary.

Well, maybe a few minutes of private talking and training would help… or turn the situation into a potential inconsolable train wreck like with Koneko. One of the two.

Rias mentally paused upon realizing just where her mind had taken her. Normally she was less, flippant, about the potential severe mental anguish of her peerage as a consequence of someone's actions.

Damn it Issei.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, which Akeno mistook for a reaction to her own actions. "Just, just go with Issei and try not to push him too hard. You know how he likes to turn things against people if they're taken too far."

The Queen's energy dropped significantly, clearly disappointed by Rias' lack of a guarantee to what would undoubtedly be an amazing show. With a controlled bow and a fixed smile, she relented. "… As you wish."

Rias held back a reaction, knowing that Akeno wasn't pleased with her dismissal. Despite the front she put up, her best friend could be quite a selfish child at times. That, and she couldn't help but agree with Issei that her Queen's fake smile was a bit off putting. "Stop sulking and go already. You'll learn something interesting to waste your time on soon enough. I know I have."

"Hai hai." The Queen turned and walked briskly to catch up to the annoying teen in question.

The King couldn't help but sigh in frustration. At the rate things were going, she couldn't tell if her Peerage was going to get used to Issei or wind up self-destructing from their insecurities being constantly poked. Gasper and Koneko were somehow surprisingly turning out better than she had thought, but Kiba and Akeno…

"Issei. You're being rude, not waiting for me." Akeno chided as she jogged lightly to where he was, her massive breasts bouncing with each step she took.

"I can't waste that much time on you. The longer I wait, the higher a chance the Cougar will shank me while I carry her like this." Issei didn't slow down, but he did sneak more than a few unsubtle peeks at her breasts defying the laws of physics.

Seriously, what sort of mystical reality defying skin cream does that woman use to ensure that she doesn't get premature stretch marks?! Most human women would have surgery to reduce the breast size just to avoid those at this point!

Unconsciously, he sniffed the air quickly to see if she was using any product. Sakura petals? He didn't know any compounds that used those. Must be perfume.

… It wasn't bad though. Not obnoxious or overpowering like what most girls wore. It was almost soothing actually.

"Ara? Well, when you put it like that, I can't really blame you. That woman does give a rather unreliable impression." Leave it to her to make an easy jab when available.

And like that his curiosity was gone.

"Yeah well, she still does her job when needed, so I'll give her that." Surprisingly, Issei didn't follow through with the roasting. So much so that Akeno blinked in momentary surprise by his words.

"Really? That's rather unexpected. Half of what either of you do is complain about the other."

"That's because outside of dealing with me, she's got an easy job. Say what you want about her personality and work ethic, she's still been a spy for years. Unlike the Devils here, I wouldn't be able to peg her as a non-human from a crowd at first glance if she was on her game. That alone indicates she's more capable than most."

Sign number one that the non-human female you are with is possibly a spy: she regularly uses bras with proper bust support. Note: investigate further for additional patterns.

Akeno paused in mid step as Issei's words sunk in, and looked at Raynare's slump form over his back. It was hard to see the mouthy and bitter woman as any form of competent spy, or possess a hint of subtlety, but then again, it was rare that she was seen not near Issei either. It was widely accepted that Issei had a habit of purposefully getting on everyone's nerves and prodded at their insecurities one way or another. That being said, it could also be reasoned that none of the Peerages had ever actually seen what Raynare was like at the top of her game without any real distractions around.

All in all, it was the closest thing to a public compliment he had ever given Raynare.

"Eeeh? Is that right?" She quickened her step to catch up to Issei again, her fake smile once more back in place, and smug with confidence as she noticed him trying to not ogle her chest again. She decided to give him a little service by arcing her back just a bit to make her breasts more prominent. "Well, I guess she's good for something then."

His ogling stopped, and his eyes were replaced with annoyance. "… You know, you're embarrassing not only yourself, but the Weeb as well when you act like that, right?"

Once more he caught her by surprise. So much so that she forgot to be angry or annoyed. "Excuse me?"

"The Cougar's a Cougar, but if I had to compare the seducing abilities between you, she'd win every time, and it's not because I'm sucking up to her ego so she won't stab me." He stood his ground.

Behind him, a faint golden light slowly died off, as if trying not to be noticed.

Akeno wasn't smiling anymore. Even if it had been for a moment, she had forgotten just how easily he could get under her skin the moment he set his sights on her. "I fail to see what your point is."

Issei rolled his eyes. "Your fake smile. Your uninterested eyes. Every tempt you make is just a hollow bluff. You're a child that happens to have a good body and likes teasing other children. A schoolyard bully that just happens to be bigger than the other kids and knows it. You don't want sex. Hell, you likely haven't even blown a guy before. You tease all the time, but you probably don't even know what to do if your bluff was ever called. Any idiot with genuine training in the seduction arts, politics, and reading others would be able to peg you for a novice with a single glance. That includes probably half of the older generation nobility that the Weeb has introduced you to. I can only imagine just how much patronizing they did every time you tried that weak shit around them and their entourages. Zechs has probably had to cover your ass behind the scenes a few times more than a few times after you left the room and have them disregard you as mere eye candy."

He shifted Raynare on his shoulder. "At least the Cougar knows that if she tries that shit in the real world, there's a chance that she'd have to put out one way or another eventually. And you know what? She'd probably knows how to do it well too. Because she knows that she can't bluff through everything."

Akeno had stopped walking again.

He, he did NOT just say what she think he just said, did he? This boy that had done nothing but a shut in for half a decade is really trying to lecture her about seducing others?

Without even noticing it, sparks of electricity began to spark around her, reflecting her weakening hold over her emotions.

"You… I find it rather hypocritical that you chide me for my behavior when you mouth off to everyone perpetually."

If Issei was worried about her gathering power, he didn't bother to show it. "It's not hypocritical if I actually can and am willing to back up what I say."

The arcs of energy increased around her. "And what of your claims earlier that you can beat us easily? Without tricks or your Sacred Gear?"

He rolled his eyes and flexed his free hand, gathering some power in the process. "Stop showboating and zap me already."

He pretended not to feel Raynare's body stiffen in alarm on his shoulder as he called Akeno's bluff.

For a brief moment, it looked like the Queen was beginning to have second thoughts, what with Issei not backing down from her threats in the slightest. However his cold, unimpressed gaze seemed to push her over the edge. With a frustrated yell, she threw her hands forward, manifesting and shooting several bolts of lightning at Issei.

The target, at the same time lazily swiped his free hand to the side, trailing several smaller lines of electricity in front of his body straight to a nearby guardrail.

In high speed, Akeno watched as her significantly stronger and more violent attack approach Issei, but then suddenly get swept up in the trails he had made and strike the nearby rod as if it was her target all along with a loud bang.

The abrupt reversal and display of magic had caught her completely off guard. Almost as much as the fact that she had actually attacked him out of childish anger. "… I thought you said you were a fire specialist."

"I am. Naturally at least." Issei inspected his fingers, watching the small sparks of electricity dance between them. "Pure fire magic isn't really that helpful when it comes to the medical field and diagnostics though. Or for anything that doesn't involve mindless destruction. I trained to control it, and a couple of other small tricks, but never bothered with much more than that. Believe it or not, I prefer to waste my time on things that are actually productive. White and electrical elemental magic are far more useful and applicable to all sorts of fields, so that's what I spent the most time practicing, even though I have next to no natural talent in them. Easier to practice subtly without risk as well."

"No talent?" She looked at the obliterated metal and held back a wince. Sona was definitely not going to be happy when she saw that they had destroyed school property. "I may still be in school, but I am already known as the Lightning Priestess in several circles. There are not many that could take away control of my elemental magic."

"Then you haven't met the right people." If there was a compliment in her words, Issei didn't hear it. "There's more to magic than just power. Physics matters. Even a hundred of me wouldn't be able to compare to the electrical output you have. But you're sloppy. Crude. Too heavily dependent on Devil Magic basics and your natural talents."

"I… that doesn't explain what you did though." Akeno tried to piece together what Issei was saying, but she still came up with a blank. "Even if you were as strong as me, your magic should have clashed with mine instead of redirected it."

As if giving up on the conversation, Issei rolled his eyes and turned around to walk towards the clubhouse again. "You know, for an electrical specialist, you know surprisingly little about your element. Electricity is energy in a state of extreme imbalance. Electrons naturally flowing from high concentration to low concentration via the path of least resistance. Basic electrical users use their magic to either force this power in directions that it wouldn't flow, or it makes said path of least resistance in the direction they want, while also generating the attack simultaneously."

She didn't even notice the fact that she was walking quickly to catch up to him. "… That doesn't make sense. Devil Magic is based off of imagination and intent. Even if you simply made a new path of your own with your spells, even if they were of the same nature, they still should have clashed. It goes against one of Merlin's basic rules of inter system thaumaturgy."

"Hooh? You actually bothered to know the rules?" He sounded almost amused.

"Of course I do. Any Devil that intends to specialize on magic learns them. We may not use human Magic, but that doesn't mean we can't learn from it."

"So you know about the second reason why Magicians make pacts with Devils."

There were three common and publically accepted reasons why these sorts of pacts were made. Protection. Information. And, in the case the Devil was well known, Reputation.

While Human and Devil Magic were different, there was a wide plethora of subjects that Devils could assist Humans on in their research, be it spells, artifacts, techniques, general knowledge, or otherwise…

… However what wasn't said or understood as often was that Devils often learned just as much as Humans in this regard. Technology in the underworld developed at roughly a similar rate to earth's because Devils were always watching Humans innovate and learn. Whatever was developed down there were just modifications of what humans made.

Advanced Magic theory, was no different in several ways. Devils and other races would always be superior as a species when it came to enacting magic. But Humans were the species of knowledge and obsessing over trying to understand what they did not, the intricacies of everything. When it came to discovering something new or old, they would always be among the first to try and write down every fact possible.

"I do. However I haven't made a pact yet with anyone. It isn't recommended for any Devil to make one until we finish our primary education for the sake of time constraints." She had a feeling he was leading her to a conclusion but couldn't see it yet.

"That, and to protect younger Devils from rushing into pacts like idiots without thinking first and getting stuck in crappy situations." He surmised. "So I assume you know about the adapted rules for elemental Devil Theory then."

"The less against Nature and the local laws a spell's intended nature will be, the less magic it will take to enact." She recited word for word. It was simple and self-explanatory. Using fire magic to heat things was less cost intensive than using water magic to do the same action. The latter was possible, but far more expensive.

"Mmm. So using that logic, wouldn't it be possible to manipulate your lightning with my magic via natural physics so long as I am able to supersede the authority of your intended spell?"

"If that was so easy, people would have learned and done it in large numbers already." Influencing and disregarding another's magic was not an easy thing to do, and almost always required a significant amount of power to back it up.

Issei let out a hum that was almost a chuckle, as if she had said exactly what he had expected. "You sure about that?"

Akeno frowned in confusion. "What on earth are you talking about?"

He waved his hand behind him, fingers splayed wide open. "There's already a magic that allows others to supersede the spells and natural energies of others. A common one that all species have used for years."

On one finger, electricity sparked faintly.

On another, the tip glowed pure white.

She froze in her steps, her eyes wide open.

White magic? Healing magic?

Wait. Wait wait wait wait wait. It couldn't be.

"You… You're a battle medic?"

Issei paused before looking at her confused. "Battle what now?"

"You used white magic to sublimate the intent and control of my attack, and electrical elemental magic combined with physics to redirect it. Synchronizing white magic with other elements to take control over the spells of others."

Even unconscious, a person's natural energies always strove to protect its host from threats and irregular influences, be it internal or external. Despite this, White magic users still managed to cast spells to alter and heal the target directly. Their spells were designed to synchronize or bypass the natural defenses of the patient's body… their magic.

It was a relatively new role of specialists that had debuted in Rating Games only recently. Due to the difficulty of the style of combat, synchronizing one's magic with an opponent's signature in the middle of battle, only a handful of Bishops and Queens could manage to utilize it efficiently in fights. But, the results were unquestionable.

Battle Medics were remarkably useful in whatever teams they were in. They were top tier support as healers, and as counter specialists for enemy mages.

But their most renowned traits came from the fact that if they got their hands on their targets, it was almost a guaranteed kill regardless of what natural and magical defenses their targets had. Their white magic enabled them to bypass literally everything with terrifying ease.

TLDR? They were White Mage Assassin hybrids with anti-magic tricks that almost guaranteed them to OHKO almost anything they got their hands on regardless of the power difference.

"No, I mean… Battle Medics? They actually stuck with that?" He gave her a strained look. "'Zaz you, fucking lazy prick."

"I don't follow. You sound like you were involved in making the style."

Surprisingly, Issei began to sulk like a child that didn't get their way. "Battle Medic was the supposed to be placeholder name until someone came up with something that was actually decent. I wanted to call it Caduceus, or something else badass like that, but noooo, the others wanted to hold off on any names that might piss off the other pantheons or pay royalties. Cheap bastards. Not like the Greeks already make a boatload from loaning out their names to practically a third of the fantasy franchises that hit mainstream."

Word on the street was Hera had become a monster in the court of law after having who knows how many incidents with Zeus that either ended in domestic violence or her husband paying child support. So much so that she apparently had her own law firm set up with a rather impressive track record.

"A-ara. It, sounds like you've had a hand in quite a number of projects." Akeno's fake smile this time was more a poor attempt to hide her inability to keep up with Issei. The more she learned about him, the more she questioned just who the hell this guy was in the first place.

She blinked as something caught her attention though. "Issei…"

"Of course they didn't bother changing the name to something decent. Not like anyone ever listens to me whenever it wasn't important to them. Stupid Angels. Stupid Zaz. Stupid ass-"

Thunk. "Gah!?"

Issei's petulant grumbling was cut short as he walked face first into the ORC clubhouse door.

"We're here." Akeno lamely pointed out three seconds too late. It wasn't on purpose. She'd swear it.

He gave her a deadpan glare, daring her to say what was really on her mind.

"After you." She smiled innocently.

He continued to stare at her, glanced at the door, and back at her. "Did the Weeb turn off the security spells on the place?"

"Now you're just being paranoid." She sighed. The ORC building was decked out with safety features, but nothing genuinely over the top.

His stare intensified. "Was 'Zechs, a registered Sis-con and man that more often than not throws far too much of his vast range of power and resources into petty things that have his attention, given an opportunity to get involved in the making of this place and its defenses while your backs were turned?"

It took a few seconds for his words to sink in, and the result was for one of Akeno's delicate eyebrows to start twitching. "… Fine. I'll walk you in if it'll make you happy."

"Registered. Sis-con." Issei hissed, stressing the words as if they were all that was needed to validate his paranoia.

It had been years since he had seen the current Lucifer, but the hours upon hours he had been forced to endure while Sirzechs had gushed over his wife, son, and sister, complete with a genuine photo reel and baby stories, were enough to traumatize anyone.

Serafall's rendition on the other hand, was only bearable only because she had just one person to gush over.

"Just come in already." Akeno gave into her urge to roll her eyes and opened the door, disarming the security on the building. She had all but given up on trying to stay angry at him for his behavior. She had learned too many surprising facts about him in too short of a time to be able to stick to any one particular topic, and it was starting to give her a headache.

The pair traveled through the first floor of the building in relative silence. Said first floor was actually as dilapidated as the outside to keep up appearances, despite the insulation and foundation being intact and still in pristine condition. Only the upper floors and the basement were actually used by the club in earnest.

"Come to think of it, you never did explain what you have intended for me." The guide gave Issei a curious look. "I do hope you have something monumental saved up."

"It'll do, but it won't save that trainwreck of a seduction game you're playing." Issei shot her down instantly.

The upperclassman frowned but didn't let her anger get the better of her this time. She had already been suckered into his pace once already and wasn't going to fall for it again. Instead, she settled for sticking her nose up in the air and dismissing him. "That's amusing, coming from someone that can't even talk to people properly. At least I can play the game. You probably wouldn't even know how to satisfy a woman if you had the chance."

And like that, instead of getting drawn into another game, she had unintentionally started a new one that she had absolutely no hope of winning.

Inside Issei's soul, Ddraig groaned. The girl just had to call him out on this topic, didn't she?

"… Oh really?" He turned on her with a mad glint in his eyes that caught her by surprise. "How much do you want to bet on that?"

"Wh-what? A bet?"

"Yes." He borderline hissed like some sort of stereotypical villain.

"Wait, you actually are going to try and seduce someone?" Akeno tried to keep up with Issei's madness, but only resulted with her mind burning out. Stop changing the mood whenever you feel like it!

"That's right. A bet. An erotic, un-kosher, dirty little bet between the wannabe dirty minded virgin Yandere, and the porn obsessed anti-social shut-in." It wasn't hard to tell that Issei had clearly taken her accusations of his supposed inexperience very personally if the strained tone and slightly mad gleam in his eyes was any indication. "That is, if you think you can manage it."

"I-is that so? I didn't think an unstable wreck like you would manage to muster the nerve to start something like this." Akeno instinctively held up her hands in front of her body. This wasn't the first time a male of questionable intent approached her, but it wasn't often that she felt like any of them had a hope of actually doing anything to her. Even so, she wasn't going to surrender to his manic behavior just yet and cow to him like everyone else did whenever he got the slightest bit agitated. Her pride would not let her. "What are you thinking? Do keep in mind that I have standards that will not be crossed."

"Don't worry. It won't be anything beyond your low hanging threshold." He crooned, holding up a finger, and generated a tiny ball of magical energy. "I bet, that with just this much magic, and my skills, you won't be able to last the weekend without rubbing one out while thinking about me."

A normal person his age wouldn't dream of making a challenge like this.

A normal person wasn't used to dealing with Devils and completely comfortable with their significantly reduced inhibitions.

Her face turned as red as her King's hair. "H-huh? Wait. Me? As in-?"

"Battery testing. Self-pleasuring. Clit beating. Ménage a moi. Finger painting. Fucking masturbation. Don't tell me you don't even know how to do that."

"I know what you meant!" She snapped, her polite shell finally shattering. "You think I'd actually, that you are able to seduce me?"

She didn't know what she was having more trouble believing. The contents of the bet, or the fact that Issei was actually taking the initiative with her, and going far past even what she was willing to do.

"As for the terms." Issei went on, her question completely disregarded.

"Don't ignore me!"

He ignored her. "I'll keep it simple because you're new to this. If I win, you have to order a sex toy through the store I run. And if you win, I'll make you a sex toy of your choice free of charge. Oh, and loser has to admit that the other is their superior in all things sex related."

"I don't need any more toys to begin with!" Her eyes were spinning now, completely unable to keep up and unable to filter out what she was saying. "N-no! Never mind that! Why are you so determined to get me to masturbate? Is that your fetish? Do you get off thinking about getting other people to get off?"

"I don't masturbate."

"No one believes that!"

"And for someone who is so comfortable teasing others about their sexual habits, you're embarrassingly easy when put on the defensive. Of course, that's to be expected from someone with no actual experience whatsoever."

… Oh he did not just say that.

Sparks and bolts of magical electricity were arcing around the irritated Queen. The fact she was being called out by this boy of all people was infuriating. She was one of the great Onee-sans of Kuoh. Men and women melt under her teasing and whims. She's folded more people just by smiling at them than she can count, and yet he's calling her bluff?

This simply could not stand.

"Ara. It sounds like someone is rather confident in himself." It took a good deal of self-control to regain her composure. It took three times as much to not zap him in in any way. "So much so that I wonder if he's interested in upping the stakes."

"Bring it." Self-respect was for scrubs. Like Azazel.

"Loser is the slave for the winner for a week."

"Not interested." He instantly shot her down with a dead look.

"Scared?"

"No. I'm just not interested in bossing you around for a week. And you'd probably be unable to stand being close enough to order me around after a few days in the imaginary timeline where you do win. Either way, the victor would be just as miserable as the loser." He reasoned logically.

She glared at him. Angry at his dismissal, and even angrier that deep down, she knew he was right.

But she couldn't leave it at that. She would never let herself get over it if she let him have the final say. If only there was something that she could use against the pervert. Something that she knew he didn't, or wouldn't normally…

"Fine then." She smiled confidently, taking a step closer to him with a sultry look. "Loser has to masturbate. In. Full. View. Of the winner."

Much to her disappointment though, the biggest reaction she got out of Issei was some confused blinking and a slight tilt of his head. "But I don't masturbate."

"That's my point." She tried to keep her irritation from showing again.

"… Ooooh." For someone supposedly so smart, he could be a bit of an idiot at times.

She couldn't help but frown this time. "You sound awfully disinterested in the prospect of watching someone of my stature pleasure herself in person despite the contents of the wager in the first place."

"You are vastly underestimating the amount of porn I have watched." He dismissed her observation while looking at his hands, as if seriously trying to decide which one he should use to do the deed with should the need ever arrive. "I'm not blind. You are beautiful. Exceptionally so, even by non-human standards. But between porn and the fact that I've been psychologically shafted by a good number of visually appealing women, one free show isn't going to do much."

Akeno clicked her tongue. He seemed to have an answer to everything she threw at him. He was unflappable. He seemed to just take any extreme or humiliating risk as if it was normal, but at the same time freaked out over the dumbest… little…

Oh. That could work.

Issei didn't like that satisfied smile on her face. It looked far too happy. Too pleased with herself.

"A modification then." She took a single step forward to him so that they were almost within arm's reach of one another. "I'll still have to masturbate if I lose, but if I win…"

He rolled his eyes as she paused on purpose. "What is it? Doing your homework for a week? Extra training? Public streaking? If it's the latter, then you'll be pleased to know that I have plenty of Vaseline and fishnet stockings on hand."

The hallway was silent.

"It's not public streaking?"

"Why do you need Vaseline to streak?"

"I chafe easily." Damn dragon genetic modifications screwed around with his sweat glands. He'd needed to either be sick as a dog or be stuck in a humid jungle environment for his stupid eccrine glands to stimulate naturally. With magic though, it was another story, otherwise his thighs and armpits would be on fire from chasing Raynare. Problem was that using magic in public was always a bit of a risk.

"I, ok then. Never mind. No. It's not streaking."

"Neat. What is it then? Hit me." After spending years with and being humiliated by Ghost and Azazel, he was fairly confident he could handle anything she threw at him.

"You have to let me hug you."

Critical hit.

It was super effective.

Issei instantly paled and backed up several steps.

Jackpot.

Finally, she distinctly found one of Issei's weaknesses. A way to make that stubborn child nervous and tease him without worry. Suddenly, his reaction to that church girl Asia's hug made so much more sense. It was…

The warm feeling in Akeno's chest died a little at the realization.

Physical intimacy.

Issei didn't just hate being touched. He genuinely didn't trust being close to people to the point of being terrified of the mere thought of being comforted by others.

Akeno was a bit standoffish and didn't trust many people, but even she still opened herself up to those she was close to. Hell, even Kiba allowed himself a few moments of weakness every now and then, and from a certain perspective, he was an even worse case than Gasper.

For the first time in a while, Akeno second guessed her sadistic habits, and wondered if she might have gone too far this time.

"Sweet merciful Buddha please don't say that you're in love with me." Issei shivered violently. "I have enough trouble trying to avoid death by two Yandere already."

Her guilt didn't last long. Rock bottom must be further away than she thought.

"Ara?" Her smile was fake as could be, but for an entirely different reason this time. She took a couple of slow, sensual steps forward, slowly and sensually hugging her body in a way that showed all her curves and pushed her breasts out. "What's wrong Issei? Don't tell me you don't like any. Of. This?"

As if a switch was flipped, his expression fell flat again. "Four point two. You have no clue what you're doing. Your hands are not in tempo with your hips and interrupting the oscillations of your breasts when you walk. Your gestures don't mix well with what you are wearing. Your performance hasn't improved in the slightest. The only reason why your score is higher than normal is because you actually look like you want to follow through this time."

Electricity was rolling around Akeno by the time he had reached this point in his grading. She was still smiling, but it was far more malevolent now.

"And then follow through again apparently." He noted absently with only the slightest sign of awkwardness.

"Ngh." A third voice groaned, catching both Issei and Akeno by surprise for a moment, before they realized that it was Raynare, still slung over Issei's back. "Just agree to the stupid bet and teach her something already. Listening to you two fail at flirting is giving me a headache. Idiots."

The hallway was awkwardly silent for several seconds.

"You two forgot that I was here, didn't you?"

"To be fair, you've been so intoxicated every other time I've had to carry you that I've associated the action with you possessing complete short term memory loss." Issei excused himself.

"I just prefer to pretend you don't exist in the first place." Akeno's excuse was more to the point.

"I have a wonderful view of someone's kidneys from here. Ooh. Look. There's a spine too."

Not wanting to risk the possibility of Raynare actually having enough energy left in her body to do anything with said kidneys, Issei decided to finally finish things up with Akeno. "Fine. Deal. Loser foots the bill for a sex toy of your choosing that I'll make. You lose, you give me a show. I lose, you can…hug me."

"Good." Akeno smiled. "Was that so hard?"

Considering the most memorable intimate moment he had involved being drugged, restrained to a bed, raped, and being stabbed in the chest at a young age by people he had once trusted, yes.

He gave her a dry look. "I don't do intimacy well."

"We noticed." Akeno crossed her arms, her confidence returning. "Though it does make me wonder just how you'll be able to make me hot and bothered for you this weekend with such a disposition."

Issei rolled his eyes. He couldn't do intimate, but he could fake it under the right circumstances and mindset.

Actually getting close to people and emotionally exposing himself? Hell no.

Enacting actions and natural physical and psychological responses to arouse others for the sole purpose of stimulating hormones and instinctual reproductive actions? He could hold seminars.

Ladies and gentlemen. Class has begun.

Surprising both girls, he took a large step forward, immediately putting himself within Akeno's personal space before she could react.

Physical proximity. Check.

He willed his magic to waft out some of his body odor to make it more noticeable. Normally it was a bit of a coin flip on whether the scent was a turn on for the target, but being literally part dragon, and a strong one at that, heavily tilted things into his favor.

He spotted her near flawless nose flare just barely as he closed in. Olfactory influence. Check.

"The hell are you-?" Raynare grumbled behind him.

Crack! His free hand cracked as it spanked the Fallen's rear over his shoulder without looking.

"Gah!"

Shutting up the Cougar. Check. Doubling also as establishing the dominant role for the moment.

Judging from her reaction, she was surprised. Good. Keep her off guard. Keep her anticipating his next move. Keep her eager to know what he was going to do next. Make sure all of her attention was on him and him alone. Every action from this point on would only magnify his dominance over her actions, thoughts, and senses.

… Huh. Not a bad response. Rippling in the right places. Good texture, size and shape. With a little exercise to add the necessary firmness, it would definitely go places. Eight point one.

A small twinge was felt in the back of his mind and chest that gave him pause as he turned his attention back to the now blushing and confused Queen.

Damn it. Not this again. Why the hell did he get this feeling whenever he was dealing with the Yandere? Like there was something he should be taking into account every time they talked?

Never mind. If he spent too much dwelling on that annoying problem again, he'd loose the moment. Right now, Akeno was on the back step, confused, not helpless, but definitely not the one in charge of the situation and waiting for what he would do next.

He held up his free hand again and allowed a small ball of magic the size of a grain of rice to hover over his finger. "Like I said. I only need this much magic to bend you."

His voice was slightly heavier than normal with genuine intent, and his wording was both vague and easily applicable to all sorts of misinterpretations without going overboard.

"Not break?" He had to give her credit, she wasn't backing down.

"Only children break their toys." Ok, he may be going a bit overboard with the innuendo now, but compared to most porn scriptwriters he might as well be fucking Shakespeare. Then again, that wasn't really setting the bar that high to begin with.

It apparently worked too if the blush on Akeno's face was any indication. She halfheartedly twisted her body to the side in a subconscious attempt to defend herself if needed. "So you say, but I'm not so easy that I'll let anyone play with me as they please."

How cute. She actually thought that he needed to access to her breasts or other erogenous areas to play her.

"You're right handed, correct?" He held out his own free hand, as if expecting her compliance.

Surprised by the change of topic and the unspoken demand, the Queen could only nod in confusion before slowly complying with his request, allowing him to take her hand in his.

It was everything he had expected. Pale and delicate without a single blemish, yet the muscles and magical flow beneath the skin betrayed the strength and power she possessed.

Actually, she was stronger than he suspected if the hairs on the back of his hand standing up were any indication. The natural and magical insulation he possessed would normally prevent such a reaction from most lightning users' passive electromagnetic fields. Devil or otherwise.

Interesting, but not something to address right now.

Weaving her fingers around expertly, almost sensually, with his own, he touched the tip of her index finger with his. A faint glow of magic was seen on contact, and then he pulled away.

"Done."

"… Eh?" As if snapping out of a daze, Akeno blinked and looked back at him with an expression that almost betrayed her expectation for something more to happen, if only to satisfy her curiosity.

"That's it. That's all I needed to do."

"I, don't understand." She lifted her finger to her eyes and tried to see if anything was different.

"Try blowing on it." He suggested, almost too innocently.

She gave him a skeptical look before deciding to humor his request, blew and-

"Aaaangh?!"

Nearly collapsed on her knees from the sudden wave of stimulation she received, moaning in rapture and surprise.

Aaah. A nice, natural response. Good voice, but sadly one could tell that she had little experience letting it all out. Seven point six.

"Wh-what did you do?" Akeno managed to regain composure, save for the fact that her face was completely crimson now.

He shrugged, as if he didn't do anything impressive. "I just altered the nerves in your distal phalanx to replicate that of a high functioning erogenous zone."

The hallway was silent for several long seconds.

"… Your fingertip now feels like a second clit."

"You did what?!" Akeno squeaked in alarm, suddenly no longer feeling so confident in herself.

"Of course they understood it when I put it like that." He muttered to himself.

"Seriously?" Raynare on the other hand was genuinely intrigued to the point of trying to look around Issei's back to see what was happening for herself.

"It's actually a pretty popular spell." Issei stated confidently. "It's nearly impossible for most people to interact with the world without frequent use of the index finger of their dominant hand, so the stimulation received is nearly perpetual no matter how hard most try. A common competition is to see how long a person can last without climaxing while pleasuring their partner with the afflicted appendage. From what I've heard, the stimulation while "doubling down", and yes that's the term for it, is borderline addicting."

"Holy shit." Raynare laughed with a gleeful smile on her face as she watched Akeno's fall deeper into a genuine and humiliated panic. "I underestimated you. Way to play dirty."

"I feel like I'm being underestimated in something that everyone knows I'm exceptional in. I'm quite certain I dislike it." He did not spend over a decade studying porn and practicing several fields of medicine to simply settle at merely being "knowledgeable" in pleasing women. If he wanted to make a woman cum, they would fucking cum whenever and wherever he damn pleased.

That went double for when they wanted release and he dictated otherwise.

He earned that fucking "Edge Lord" title, and he sure as hell was not going to lose it due to being rusty of all things, even if people constantly got the wrong impression whenever they heard it for the first time outside of proper context!

"W-wait." Akeno stammered, any posturing and confidence in her was quickly fleeing her body as she realized that maybe she actually had jumped into something over her head. "Y-you mean right now, m-my finger is, that anything I touch with it will feel like I'm masturbating?"

"Yup. Kinky, isn't it?" Issei nodded. "And now that we finally have the bet out of the way…"

He pulled his free hand from behind his back again, with a small stack of booklets in it.

"These are basic college entry level electrical engineering, electrical physics, and neuroscience books. Your training for the weekend is to read through all the safety sections and be familiar with all the ways electricity can potentially hurt, kill and or maim a person, how to apply them to your own magic and spells, and how to protect yourself from said methods."

He dumped the books in her hands and leaned in so that his head was right next to her ear.

Now for the finisher.

"I have a feeling that you will enjoy this training exquisitely."

Akeno's red face was distinctively white as he pulled away, realizing what he was insinuating.

All those pages that she'd have to turn. One. By. One.

"Y-you evil, dirty…"

Before she could figure out what to say, or potentially do, to Issei, he had already walked through the door to the bathroom and closed it behind him.

o. o. o.

Raynare was a stubborn bitch, but she had to give credit where it was due. Issei had played Akeno brilliantly.

Watching the Queen fall apart like that as the door closed behind them almost made up for the three hour hell that she had just… no, never mind. It was going to take a lot more to make up for that nightmare.

It was still a good show though. She couldn't deny that much.

She had also managed to learn a few interesting things in the process.

With the curtains drawn, Raynare was enjoying a very long and much deserved hot shower, letting the hot water relax and wash away the pain and agony in her muscles from sprinting nonstop for three hours. She did not hesitate to take her time lathering herself with the very expensive oils, soaps, and shampoo that were part of Rias' daily routine.

Outside though, Issei was absently working without a care in the world, preparing to work on Raynare's development.

All around him were various books, needles, vials of liquids, medicines, pieces of equipment, and other items that he thought might be of use.

She glanced at the growing list of items through a space in the shower curtains. "You seriously store all of that in your Sacred Gear?"

Every time Issei wanted something, he'd put his left hand behind his back, manifest his crimson gauntlet, mentally command the coils around it to cock back, and then recoil with a snap, making its contents pop out instantly in his hand. The following second, the gauntlet would be gone once more, leaving only the item behind. Storing away the items was just as simple.

She had spied it for the first time when he had gotten the books out for Koneko. It had happened so quickly that she had doubted what she had seen. It wasn't until he had repeated the process that she had realized what he was doing.

There was no burst of power or flash or anything. It was an instantaneous and fluid motion that was so seamless that she had no doubt in her mind that it was more or less a subconscious action for him.

Issei's training for Gasper for turning on and off his Sacred Gear made far more sense in hindsight now.

"Yup." Issei didn't look up from the book he was reading, sitting on a collapsible chair that had not been in the room beforehand. "The thing's internal space is big and durable enough for Ddraig's soul to fit in with room to spare. I'm just putting it to good use."

"You can put anything in there?"

"No. There's a physical size limit. Basically, if I can carry it with a hiking backpack, I can store it in the gear. Nothing biologically living that can't be cultivated in a pitri dish either."

Recently severed limbs that could still be reattached to the main body were still good though. He had to remind Ddraig not to eat those the first couple of times, but they got that technicality down.

Eventually.

Swords. Tents. Sleeping bags. Collapsible chairs. Books. If he needed anything bigger than that, he'd need to find a version that could be taken apart and stored piece by piece.

From what he's been told, he was useful to have around for camping trips.

And smuggling.

Especially smuggling.

Mostly smuggling.

"That's disappointing." She looked at his left hand and recalled the altered Boosted Gear she witnessed. "You have a Sub-Species, right? I've heard that those things have all sorts of crazy abilities, but considering you have a Longinus, yours is a bit underwhelming."

"I get by." If he was insulted by her observation, he didn't look like it.

Raynare rolled her eyes and turned back into the shower, allowing the last of the sweat and grime to roll off her body. "So what about the Divine Dragon himself? His soul's still there. Isn't he pissed that you're using his place as a giant warehouse of useless crap?"

"He is. Thankfully, the gear has no limitation to what it can hold, so I often get him things he wants as well to keep us even."

"He's a dragon bigger than most mortal buildings. What could you possibly get that fits in your tiny hands that would make him happy?"

"Fifty pounds of bacon every three weeks."

"… You're serious."

"I learned a long time ago to never underestimate the power of properly cooked quality bacon. It's saved my life on more than one occasion." He was serious. "He's quite partial to produce from Circe's islands."

"… Aren't those animals the ones that are descendants from the ones that had once been Greek human sailors but she turned into farm animals because she was bored and stuck alone on an island?"

"Yup. They're also expensive as fuck. You need to be on a list just to order from them in the first place."

She really needed to stop putting her expectations of him on the same level as other humans. For a hikikomori, this kid had a ton of deceptively upscale connections.

"Figures. What do you call it anyways?"

"Huh?"

"Your Sub-Species. They usually have secondary names, and knowing you, you probably went out of your way to call it something needlessly stupid."

"Oh, that." He shook his head and turned the page of the book he was examining. "Actually, I'm not the first person to get this subspecies. As far as the Boosted Gear's concerned, it's actually the most common alternate version of the lot. Problem is that most of the prior users died off pretty quickly once they got it, so not many know of it. According to Ddriag, I'm the first user that managed to figure out how use it properly."

"Seriously?" That was news to her. From the way Issei was describing it, this version of the Boosted gear was more liable of killing the owner than the original for some reason. Was there some kind of flaw? "So what, it already has a name then?"

"Yeah. It's called the Endless Crimson Hoard. Pretty self-explanatory all things considered. Didn't 'Zaz tell you about it?"

"Humph." She didn't bother holding back a bitter laugh. "The only things that Azazel-sama told me before coming here were what you were, subjects to avoid, and tricks to calm you down if you got too agitated. He didn't bother telling me what your powers or abilities were because, in his words, if I screwed up bad enough that I think I would need to know what they were in the first place, then I was already probably dead where I stood regardless what I did."

"Yeah. That does sound about right." He casually agreed after a moment of thinking.

"Someone's humble." She bit out sarcastically.

He shook his head. "Someone's realistic. Devils. Angels. Fallen. You all walk and talk like throwing your weight around will bend the world to your whim. You all pretend that you are all practically Super class regardless of who you are talking to, and to be honest, it's just embarrassing to watch. You'd think that everyone would eventually figure out that there's a genuine reason why I'm not impressed with anyone here, outside of the fact that I'm a sulky and damaged nutcase. But no. No one's able to get over the cancerous lump that is their ego to even get that much. It's like I'm dealing with a bunch of children pretending to be adults."

Truth be told, the only person there that's even come close to getting a hint of the situation was Rias. Gasper had the best grasp of his terrible state of mind, but in terms of perspective when it came to power and social position, Sirzech's sister was the only one to realize that there was a legitimate reason why playing the authority card on him didn't work on him.

"Humph. You seriously are saying that to me of all people?"

… Scratch that. Raynare actually had the greatest grasp on things, though that was only because she knew who he was in the first place. She just didn't bother acting on it.

"Should I interpret that as you finally admitting that you're a Cougar?"

He absently leaned to the side to avoid the bar of soap that almost hit his head.

"Fuck off. For your information, I'm not even a hundred."

Huh. By Fallen Angel standards, that was actually pretty young. The fact that she had passed the espionage training of the Grigori at her age was genuinely impressive.

It still wouldn't stop him from ripping into her, but he would lighten up on the age jokes in the future.

"And knowing the Weeb and her family, that soap you just chucked was likely over a hundred thousand yen. Might want to put that back before we go."

"Ugh. I hate it when the stupid shit you say makes more sense than it should."

Before he could respond, he heard the shower turn off and the curtains shift to the side. Just a few feet away from him, there was a beautiful, naked, and literally soaking wet Fallen Angel in full view, but he didn't even look interested in the sight.

"… For someone that's supposed to be having issues keeping your dragon puberty hormones in check, you're awfully celibate." She was more irritated that she couldn't even get a reaction from him in general than the fact that he was ignoring her as if it was as easy as breathing.

She was fucking hot and literally wet and naked damn it! Act like it!

"Better than being some out of control sex crazed dumbass." He waved off her accusation. "On a side note, remind me again, how many of your targets did you seduce and whisper sweet nothings to before killing them with their guard down?"

"Humph." She didn't grace him with an answer as she finally found the stand that held the towels and began to dry herself off.

She didn't trust him, and he didn't trust her. It was a mutual understanding that they both acknowledged. An unspoken admittance that the other wasn't a complete idiot in the grand scheme of things, regardless of what else they thought about the other.

But that lack of trust all but ensured that they would never go too far with one another. They didn't desire to risk what the other would do out of spite if given genuine motivation.

"So what is with the setup? I thought you were going to help me get stronger, not give me a spa treatment." Wrapping the towel around her body, she stepped out of the shower and had a closer look at what Issei had brought out.

For all intents and purposes, it really did look like a massage therapist's room. Books. Oils. Even a chair specifically designed to rest on while someone else worked on her back.

"The two aren't that different. At least in the beginning." Issei turned a page. "This isn't some magical one visit macguffin procedure. At least, if you want to be anything higher than a four winged grunt. I'm going to be messing with your body on a level that you've probably never guessed could be done. I'm going to know things about you that you won't talk to anyone else about too. Last chance to back out."

She gave him a skeptical look. It wasn't often that Issei actually asked others for permission before doing anything. He was the sort that preferred to ask for forgiveness than permission sort of person… not that he bothered to ask for either much.

"Humph. You make it sound like I have something to lose. So long as I have my life, my looks, and my power, I'll make due." Without hesitation, she sauntered over and sat down on the massage chair, allowing her towel to drop so he could access her back. "That being said, I will kill you if you make a happy ending joke."

"Cause Heaven forbid you ever become happy." He rolled his eyes and put the book to the side for a vial of some oils and pouring the contents on her back. "Relax and don't use any magic. This stuff is going to seep through your pores and skin, numbing your energy channels and nerves. It's gonna feel a bit weird for a little while."

"Why do yoooooh." Her question was interrupted as Issei's hands immediately got to work on her back, rubbing the unnamed substance all over and kneading her muscles like dough.

"I told you. Relax." He was just doing a basic surface level massage, but Raynare did not want to lighten up.

First was the upper back. Nine times out of ten, going after the erector spinae muscles was going to hit something that would make the patient putty within seconds. Treating this area first also tended to make subsequent areas easier to deal with too, and vastly improved flow of internal energies since it cleared up the channels of everything to and from the head, causing a slight sense of light headedness real fast.

After that, he went directly for the trickshot, the infraspinatus muscles right below both shoulder blades. Not a necessary small spot to treat under most circumstances, but they were practically erogenous zones for winged non-human women with large breasts due to how their muscles developed to adapt to their chests and wings.

Well, that and the spots were the equivalent of major arteries for internal magic circulation.

He liked to call those particular areas the "Devil's Keystones". Hit them right, and everything rigid in front of him falls apart.

"Aaaangh." And with that, he more or less had full reign over the Fallen in front of him in… twenty three seconds.

Ah crap. He really was getting rusty. Constantly playing it safe with his mother for half a decade must have taken some of the edge off of his game.

With single minded focus, Issei kneaded and rubbed nearly every part of Raynare's neck, back and shoulders with borderline expert care. He was perpetually attentive to his patient's reactions, the state of her body, and his end goal.

Raynare, inversely, was enjoying herself too much to care that Issei was supposed to be somehow make her stronger and give her additional wings through this.

Not once did she notice that his hands were glowing white with magic the entire time.

After nearly half an hour of constant treatment, the teen breathed out slowly and leaned back, stretching and popping his spine in the process.

Reaching forward and gently brushing Raynare's back with his fingers, he traces the flow of her internal energies to make sure that they were relaxed and running smoothly. He mentally mapped out where they went, and how much power they were channeling passively. It was a skill that most white magic practitioners had trouble with. There were tools that could accomplish the same feats with less effort, and there were few maladies that required such invasive knowledge in the first place to require the hands on approach, so it was not something that most healers learned extensively.

So far. So good. Nothing impressive or out of the ordinary so far. No irregular holy energy pathways. The flow and quality of her power were average. No growths or defects detected that might hamper or hurt her progress later on. No disabilities, diseases, curses, injuries, scars, or otherwise maligning her. Physically, Raynare was a healthy run of the mill two winged Fallen.

Now for the part that most people didn't know about.

"Deep slow breath." He ordered with a commanding, but quiet voice, placing both his palms on her back right below her shoulder blades. "I'm going to stimulate your power a little. This is going to feel a bit odd. Don't fight it. In."

Without fighting, Raynare followed his instructions and inhaled deeply. She was far too deep in bliss to argue against him.

Issei frowned in focus as he matched his breathing with hers, his hands glowed gold instead of white as his fingertips literally melted into her skin. "Out."

"Nnnngh." Raynare grunted in discomfort, but complied none the less.

Air came from her mouth, but golden lights and inscriptions revealed themselves from her back.

"There we go…" Issei whispered, his eyes looking at the integrated circles and condensed ancient writings that littered the beautiful woman's back.

This was the true mark of the Biblical God on his subjects. Angels. Fallen. The color and number of wings they had were inconsequential compared to what was displayed in front of him.

The inscription of God's system.

Even after getting shafted by Heaven and the Fallen, both species were still desperate to be on Issei's good side. Not because he was the Sekiryutei. Not because of his power. Or the dragons.

But because after his first trip to Heaven, he had inadvertently gained the ability to hack the great system itself. From any node. Which included Angels, Fallen Angels, and Sacred Gears.

To a degree at least. It's not like he could magically turn her into a normal angel or some other bullshit like that. It didn't help that he was admittedly a bit rusty at this either. There were limitations to what he could and couldn't do that no amount of practice or power would change.

Thankfully, he had learned of this after he had left Heaven the first time. Things had gotten a bit, tense, after Michael and Azazel had found out about that particular trick sometime later.

Said tense situation didn't let up until Ophis showed up from out of the blue and put her foot down.

In front of the Gates of Heaven.

From what he heard, it took the Angels over a month to get rid of the crater. Which was impressive considering that there was next to nothing but clouds up there.

He wouldn't change anything this time. Nothing major at least. All he was going to do was examine Raynare's personalized formulae, maybe tweak a few things to accelerate and improve her growth a little, find out how her soul functions, and then later he would find out the best way to… to…

He blinked a few times to clear his eyes, but no matter the number, what he saw was the same.

Well, ok then. This was different.

"'Zaz, you asshole." Issei muttered under his breath as he took in everything he could. He wanted to get angry, but for once he couldn't bring himself to do so. Both because he knew better than to get distracted now, and because he was too entranced with what he was looking at.

Outside of the existence of the irregularity, Raynare didn't appear to be all that special. Everything outside of the fact that she was clearly more beautiful than the majority of Fallen Angels pointed to her just being a run of the mill bitch with wings.

Frowning, he decided to experiment against his better judgement.

Moving his right hand to several key trigger spots on her lower back, he instigated a very specific response.

"?! Aaaaangh!?" The reaction was immediate. The Fallen Angel instantly tensed up from the overwhelming wave of pleasure that rolled through her body.

Even though she was wrapped in a towel, it did nothing to stop the small spillage of fluids beneath her.

"Oops."

"You fucker! What the hell was that for?!" Raynare snarled, picking herself up and turning around. The only reason why she didn't use any magic was because she could tell that something was off for the moment. She didn't even care that the towel had slipped and was baring her breasts in full glory. "You think you were being clever?! Huh?! News flash asshole! Being forced to orgasm that hard from out of nowhere fucking hurts!"

Ok, he definitely was in the wrong for not asking or warning her beforehand, but he did have a semi-reasonable excuse. "I, shit, sorry. Really. I must be rustier than I thought. I was aiming for a gradual ramp, not an instant detonation. But, damn it, how do I put this…"

She did not like where this was going. "So help me if you say that making me cum so hard my intestine gets twisted into knots is the trick to making me stronger I swear I will do the same thing to your tentacles minus the metaphor!"

"Cougar." He looked at her dead in the eyes. "I think I found out why you specifically were loaded onto me."

The difference between Fallen and their Angel counterparts primarily laid within the existence of their "Sin". If Angels were borderline flawless machines, Fallen were the same machines with specific flaws that enabled them to function in more, and less, ways than intended.

It granted them a degree of freedom from God's system. To utilize functions and aspects of themselves more freely than they ever could tethered to Heaven and the rules that governed it. Literally and metaphorically.

At a very steep cost.

The Sins, the Fallen, were considered flaws by Heaven for a reason.

These imperfections, inconsistencies, the Fallen's Sins, impaled the species with debilitations that one could say ruined the race as a whole.

Devils were inclined to sin simply because they possessed very low inhibitions and a good deal of desire to do whatever the hell they wanted. They were more agents of chaos than agents of evil. It just so happened that the great Pillar Families tried to make it organized chaos, in their favor and no one else's. Which is why Devils and their nobility had such a poor reputation in general.

Fallen on the other hand, were mentally, and spiritually geared to Sin. Specifically, the sin that made them who and what they were. Pride. Gluttony. Lust. It didn't matter. The literally needed to validate that part of themselves in some way with some consistency or else they'd go insane. It had to be satisfied to address the imbalance in their once idealized souls.

In theory at least.

Like most things, the topic itself was a bit more complex and elaborate than just that. For most Fallen, the Sin in question often needed to be a bit more specific than just accepting one of the general Seven Deadly Sins to placate their souls. Fourteen Deadly Sins, technically, if one wanted to go by the original Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics list.

More importantly though, were the implications it had for any second generation Fallen. The unfortunate that were born "imperfect", that didn't even know what they did wrong in the first place.

It wasn't uncommon for Fallen children to go literally insane at an early age, or even in the womb, because they couldn't or didn't know what their Sin was or how to address and express it.

As a result, roughly eighty nine percent of all the second and later generation Fallen tended to carry the sins of Gluttony, Wrath, or Sloth, as those were the sins that were the easiest for an infant that knew nothing of the world around them to express.

Angels couldn't reproduce.

Devils had low birth rates.

The Fallen though? They didn't have those issues.

They simply had trouble keeping their children alive and sane.

It was estimated that roughly only one in three children that were predominantly Fallen Angels made it past the age of one.

Most outside the Fallen faction assumed that they loathed God, even so long after they began to Fall in the first place was because Heaven didn't accept them anymore.

The real reason why they spited their maker was because his system automatically damned those that even they knew were innocent.

There was a reason why Azazel, the first angel to Fall, bearer of the sin of Lust, and one of the oldest man whores in the mythical world, did not have any known children to this very day.

Between the high infant mortality rates and their already naturally low population, it really wasn't any surprise that they couldn't take advantage over the equally crippled states of the other factions. They could afford a prolonged war just as poorly as the rest of them.

It wasn't too uncommon for these second plus generations to have affinities for more than one Sin, depending on who the parents were, but…

All seven?

His eyes didn't play tricks on him.

All seven key locations in the Angelic testament system had displayed in front of Issei showed distinct signs of harmonized imperfection. Sloth. Lust. Gluttony. Pride. Envy. Wrath. Greed. They were all there.

In hind sight, it made sense in a twisted way. Raynare never had any one specific bad habit that she frequently fell back on.

She lazed about in his home.

She gorged herself on his food whenever possible.

She got angry incredibly easily.

She lorded herself over others and picked fights. Albeit, only with other non-humans.

She was clearly jealous of those that were more fortunate, powerful, and affluent than her.

When she saw something she liked, she tried whatever she could to obtain it. Normally, while no one was watching.

As for lust, well, he had made it a habit to turn on the soundproofing spells in the house again at night, but even then he was fairly certain, and magnanimously relieved, that his mom was not capable of going to town on herself for four hours straight in the middle of the night hard enough to make the home shake slightly AND strut around with a perfect gait the following morning.

Two times a week.

She was just an all-around bitch.

Issei opened his mouth to answer her perfectly reasonable demand, but caught himself before telling her the truth. There was no telling her how she would react in her current state, and with their relationship the way it was. Hell, even he was still trying to figure out what to do with the revelation. Finding a Fallen that was connected to all Seven Sins was just a ludicrous sounding as finding a normal Angel that had an affinity to the Seven Virtues. Her very existence was a theoretical fluke that most people joked about in absurd "what if" scenarios that they knew would never happen.

Hell, the only reason why he forced an orgasm was because it was the fastest and easiest way to see the system inscribed on her show a major reaction and verify what he was seeing was real.

Triggering Wrath to a high degree in any way was just suicidal. Setting off Pride, Greed, Sloth, and Envy would do jack shit when she was completely content and relaxed as she was. Gluttony was an option, but making her hungry to the point that she felt like she hadn't eaten in days would just make her leave early.

So all that was left was Lust, meaning he could either make her horny as hell or set off an orgasm, and he sure as hell wasn't interested in trying to stop the person in question from jumping his bones and then dealing with the fallout afterwards.

Regardless of his methods, the results were unquestionable. It wasn't a joke. Raynare was in tune with all Seven Sins. Her existence was a theoretical fluke. A literal diamond in the rough. One that needed to be treated with extreme care, precision, and caution.

A wild, sloppy, and reckless haymaker launched him from his chair.

"I have no idea what the hell you are going on about, but Azazel-sama didn't send me here just so you could play with my body like it was some sex toy!"

As he flew through the air backwards in a graceful arc, Issei contemplated shattering something valuable and potentially unique in the world in order to satisfy his petty desires and satisfy the spite he was currently harboring.

By the time he landed on the ground, he was musing over the fact that this was not the first time this train of thought had crossed his mind.

o. o. o.

Well that could have gone better.

Then again, it could have gone worse too.

Raynare had half a mind to bolt out of the clubhouse and tell everyone what had just happened, but his quick thinking, quicker mouth, and twisted reputation managed to get her to calm down enough to not make an idiot out of herself.

He didn't think that anyone would believe that he was actually interested in the Fallen in a sexual way, and he really wasn't, but he was dealing with teenagers. Who knows what those idiots were willing to believe if worded and presented in the right, or wrong way?

One false sexual assault accusation was enough in his lifetime, thank you very much.

He didn't bother telling the Cougar about her condition. Not yet. Not when even he didn't know what to do about it. Instead he just skirted around the subject saying that he was testing something abnormal about her body and accidentally caused the intense reaction… which was true.

He had intended for a ten second leadup to the orgasm, like any reasonable practitioner would go for. Anyone with experience knew that only an incompetent idiot or an ungrateful asshole ever went for a maxed out climax right from the get go or think that was a good idea.

Regardless, Raynare's good mood was gone and she sure as hell wasn't willing to let him get close to her again anytime soon, not that he was complaining. So, he settled with writing down some base instructions and exercises to go through the weekend that would at least start to set up the foundations for her increase in power later on.

That, and bribed her to shut up about the whole event with two weeks of borderline gourmet lunches complete with desserts.

Thank all that was decent that Gluttony and Greed were so easy to abuse under the right situations.

That, and she wasn't dumb enough to believe that he had actually been trying to make a move on her in the first place. Once she had calmed down at least. He could tell that she knew he had found something abnormal about her. She had simply pretended otherwise to get lunch out of him.

Greedy bitch. Just for that, he was going to hold out on giving her any worthwhile treatment until even Dio made her look incompetent.

He hoped the orgasm gave her the cramps.

After that mess was somewhat addressed, he cleaned up his materials, stored it all in the Sacred Gear, went back to the school field, finished setting up his markers, and then placed a rune stone at each of the four corners of the field. Once they were set up, everything inside the field was undetectable to the outside world. No sight. No sound. No smell. Nothing, so long as he didn't try to make things explode or something stupid like that.

And there he was, standing in the middle of a small circle in the middle of a high school soccer field, surrounded by countless more paint circles and crosses with seemingly no rhyme or reason.

Finally alone.

He glanced at his hands, and noticed that they were shaking again.

Too many.

Between the two peerages and the Cougar, he had had extended conversations with roughly a dozen people today. Genuine interactions…

How long had it been since he had talked so much with so many people without excessive yelling?

How long had it been since he had talked so much in general?

Too long. Years.

He managed it better than he thought he would in hindsight. But, it was still too much. Too many. Too soon.

And then there was colossal fuck up with Jail Bait. If there was one thing that did go his way today, it was that that mess had somehow managed to settle itself into something genuinely salvageable.

He was completely exhausted and he didn't even start his own training yet… three hour marathon chasing after the Cougar non-withstanding.

At the very least, he was alone again. It was quiet. He could hear himself think once more.

Peace and quiet.

"Haaah." He breathed out deeply and stared up at the blank sky, looking and sounding like a confused and lost old man. "What the hell am I doing here Ddraig?"

"In your words, getting ready for the inevitable shit shows that you don't give two damns about." The Welsh Dragon answered from his left hand.

"Why couldn't I just load this crap onto Zaz and the others again? They're so desperate to be on my good side that I could probably get away with setting half of Kuoh on fire if I wanted." He complained, finally letting his exhaustion catch up to him. Dealing with and trying to manage two peerages, even if they were incomplete, was mentally draining.

Come to think of it, Sona would probably drag him back to school on Monday after all this too. Damn it. He really couldn't catch a break, could he?

"Because they have long since proved to be unreliable and incompetent when it truly matters." There was a mix of shame, annoyance, and carefully managed contempt in his voice. "We both know that they are keeping something from us again. Their so called good intentions will get everyone killed and drive you mad at this rate, regardless of their flowery excuses and obnoxious plans. If you want to this mess over with and be able to stop more problems before they start, you need to get strong again. And this time, you know better than to hesitate."

"Right." He forced down an urge to throw up as a series of memories briefly flashed through his mind, knowing exactly what the dragon was talking about. "You're right. Thanks buddy."

"You can thank me later, Partner. Preferably after you remember how to use my power without risking a concussion again."

"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"

"Better me than Ghost."

Issei looked down at his right arm, wrapped in a holy shroud, and containing a monster that surpassed the might of even Ophis and Great Red. "Don't remind me."

Ddraig had a point. If it had been Ghost, Issei was pretty sure that instead of mild taunting and sage advice, he would instead be still listening to the annoying immortal laugh his ass off from the event in question.

For the briefest of moments, he played with the idea of removing the shroud and waking up the madman, if only just to talk to him. Ghost, was annoying, but he somehow had a way of making a person think and feel that everything wasn't all that bad in the end. The constant childish joking and twisted mental benders he was constantly bombarded with that completely disregarded every form of common courtesy somehow helped him relax and think that… that he might actually be ok one day.

It was an empty hope, and selfish impulse, but sometimes, it really did help him get by.

"Don't. You know it isn't the time." Ddraig warned. If one listened carefully, they would have noticed a hint of trepidation and something else in his voice.

"Yeah yeah. I know." Issei shook his head, breathed deeply again, and sighed.

He started off with a few basic stretches. He had not done anything particularly extraneous over the past few years, but he did at least manage to maintain a minor routine inside his home, so he wasn't completely out of practice.

"All right." He hopped on the balls of his feet and rolled his neck. "Time to see just how much I suck now."

*Chack Chack*

BOOST!

His Sacred Gear cocked itself like a pump action shotgun as he stood flat on the ground again.

He took a simple step forward.

One.

He rocked back with his other foot, returning to his starting position.

One.

He took a step forward again.

BOOST!

Two.

… He looked down and frowned.

This was going to take longer than he thought.

o. o. o.

Seven years ago:

She sighed as she stepped out of the back of the club, bag full of what passed in some circles as clothes and purse full of bills, mostly singles.

Another night, another deposit.

"Hey Nee-chan."

She jumped as a familiar voice came from what felt like right next to her. Thankfully she wasn't wearing heels, otherwise she might have broken her ankles on the landing.

"The fuck?!" She turned to see a familiar looking annoying brat smiling proudly in the dark. "Oh you've got to be kidding me. Here too? What the hell is wrong with you kid? First the harem thing, then the stalking, then this? Take a hint! I don't like you!"

"I don't believe any of that, I'm too adorable to not like." Issei pouted childishly, crossing his arms before pausing. "Well, uh, the stalking thing might be half right. Most of the classes we have together really are just coincidences, save for our advanced neuro-biogenics course, was going to take that eventually regardless… but I do like listening to your performances and recitals. Your voice is really pretty Nee-san."

"Of course I have a good voice. I have this thing, remember?" The young woman reached up and roughly played with the silver necklace she wore. Her Sacred Gear, Siren's Harmony, a tool that more or less gave her the perfect voice. "You know, the main reason why most of those annoying fools from the factions won't leave me alone?"

Issei frowned. "I don't care about your Sacred Gear Nee-san. You could be completely normal and I'd still want you in my harem."

She pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Kid. You're not even a teenager. I know that getting into college early means you're smart, but that doesn't mean you have permission to try and stick your dick into every girl you think you like."

"Who said anything about sex?"

"… Come again?" She had to admit it, her brain had to take a moment to process his inquiry a few times to register what he had just said.

"I mean, yeah, eventually I'd like to have coitus and play with oppai and enjoy every carnal pleasure that could be had like most men dream about." Issei went on a tangent, as if the simple idea of having intercourse was a mere afterthought. "But like you said, I'm barely ten. As someone that made it to college at this age, I'd like to think that I'm aware of what I am and am not currently physically capable of doing."

"But you want me to be a part of your harem. You do know what a harem is and what they normally do, right?" She spoke slowly, trying to figure out what he was getting at.

Issei was not the first person to demand she be in their harem, but he was by far the most persistent and least obnoxious about it. He was stubborn and infuriating to be around, but at the very lease the kid didn't act like he was her superior and that she should be grateful for the opportunity. Instead he was more like an annoying kid brother asking for something from a trusted relative with wide innocent eyes.

Damn those adorable wide innocent eyes.

"Well, yeah." The boy tilted his head to the side as if not understanding her point. "You'd be with me, and the rest of the harem. And living together and supporting each other and doing stuff. Only we would be more open and intimate with one another. And with more people involved, it would be more structurally and financially secure, so there's less odds of everything falling apart for minor reasons."

She opened her mouth and closed it several times, digesting what this kid's definition of a harem was. "… A harem is a big family to you, isn't it?"

"Kinda. Only with a distinct and defined head to keep things in order." Issei shrugged. "Otherwise it's just more or less a mindless orgy that would probably self-destruct eventually. Nothing productive would probably ever get done if there wasn't someone or something to direct it all and keep everyone together."

She didn't know if she should be disturbed or flattered that this crazy kid wanted her to be a part of his twisted future family, and in a way, more or less asking her to marry him. At the very least, he wasn't some idiot that had only sex on his mind… kinda.

"I mean, in a way, you could say that the setup is similar to a single generation dictatorship, but it would be a benevolent dictatorship, and everyone with a brain knows that those have the highest short term success rate of any structured organization. Way better than a democracy that actually allows everyone to vote. Ugh." Issei shivered. "Seriously. Governments can control, test, and regulate the requirements to drive a car, but they can't set a minimum competency bar for voting who runs the country? Lazy backwards thinking morons."

Either way, he really needed to work on his selling pitch.

Tired and exhausted from entertaining perverts, and conversing with a ten year old about the parallel organizational structures between dictatorships and harems in a seedy alleyway at three in the morning. Yeah, she was ready to call it a night.

"Why are you after me of all people?" It was too late for this. She wanted to sleep. "Other than my Sacred Gear and the fact that I actually managed to get into the school on my own merit, unlike most of our asshole classmates, I'm a nobody. Fuck. Even with my scholarships, I still have to pull four shifts at this hell hole a week just to make sure I have a place to stay at and can afford my discount second hand school books."

She nodded her head back to the building she had just exited. A flashy and gaudy looking establishment with a corny name that most people ignored on principle.

It was the third best strip club in town that catered to all species and tastes. And most of the time, the faculty didn't just strip. Not if they wanted any real money by the end of the night.

"Because you look tired." Issei didn't need to think about his answer as he looked directly in her eyes. At that moment, she knew that despite the kid's selfish request, he actually did care about her. "You look tired, lonely, and you work hard, but despite that, most people see the useless crap that doesn't matter to you. And… I thought I could help."

"By trying to get me into your, a ten year old's, harem?"

"I can multitask." He defended himself stubbornly. "You didn't think that I'd try to set up a harem and not provide benefits did you? That's just stupid. No one does anything for free. Even I know that."

"Clearly." Damn it. This kid was so obnoxiously honest and innocent that she was actually thinking about humoring him for the time being. It was obvious that he wasn't going to try and do anything to her, even if she said yes. But at the same time, her reputation was bad enough as it is, being an attractive nobody with a Sacred Gear that was constantly outperforming and shooting down all the more affluent assholes that tried to get their claws in her. The last thing she needed was people accusing her of being a pedophile.

The only real power she had among the student body were the facts that she did work for the student council and she was the colleges' biggest rising star when it came to the performing arts. If something happened to her, word would get out one way or another, and no one wanted to risk taking the fall for that.

If only they could just leave her alone for five minutes and… wait.

"Kid, how did you know I worked here to begin with?"

"Bird Person told me."

"… Of course he did."

Riser Phoenix. Of course that flamboyant asshole would know. He was one of the worst of the lot that had been bugging her lately, and by that she meant he was only half as persistent as the kid had been.

If there was one perk from having the kid around campus, it was that the third son of the Phoenix family was now pretty much known as "Bird Person" among the entirety of the school faculty, in spite of his best efforts. Teachers included.

Come to think of it, her situation was really getting out of hand lately. More people were bugging her than ever, and it was getting harder to earn extra money and keep up with her schoolwork without driving herself insane.

She looked down at the boy, and not for the first time went over everything she knew about Issei Hyoudou.

Super genius kid that got into college at the age of ten. Obsessed with harems and porn to the point that he could and would speak about both in public without any shame whatsoever. Constantly supervised by someone of merit from the three major factions at all times. Rumor had it he was a Sacred Gear holder, but no one knew what he had exactly despite the fact that everyone was certain that it was the reason why he was intelligent and constantly being guarded.

Socially, he didn't get along with most people due to his personality and obsessions. Even if he did mesh well with someone, he rarely gave himself time to have a social life in general. It wasn't uncommon to see the kid either face first in a book, doing homework, or taking a nap while in the most random places, most of the time with a book in hand or in front of a computer playing some raunchy porno that no one had ever seen before.

Oh, sometimes he was also seen running away from that white haired kid that was always trying to pick a fight with him when seen together.

In fact the only times anyone ever witnessed him not doing something school related, or sleeping, was when he was either raging about porn in one form or another, or he was bugging someone to be in his harem. Most of the time, he left the target alone after the first rejection, but she was pretty much the only one that he was dead set on having.

Come to think of it, she was probably the person that interacted with Issei the most in the entire school outside of his caretakers because of that.

There were more than a few headstrong individuals in the campus that thought they could steal or obtain the kid's potential for themselves, as expected, but no one ever managed to succeed. Either they were turned away by one of his constant babysitters or turned off by the kid's unrelenting personality.

Bottom line, the kid was a hard working mystery with a twisted look on life, twisted goals, and connections in very high places. High enough that even other heavy hitters couldn't do much to him.

High enough that she knew that Issei's comments about "benefits" in the harem were not simply empty promises.

Fuck it, don't judge her. The way things were going in life so far, she was going to Hell one way or another. Might as well be on her terms.

"You're seriously not going to leave me alone on this, are you?"

"Haven't seen a reason not to."

She picked her words very carefully. There were a thousand and a half ways this could and probably would blow up in her face. "Even if I offer a compromise?"

"… I'm open for discussion."

"Nix the constant harem crap and stalking, and I'll… settle, for being Nee-san. For now. We can save the conversation regarding anything more intimate when or if your balls ever drop and you grow taller than me. If the setup lasts that long." She didn't bring up the "benefits" yet. She needed to build up credibility first before trying anything, especially with the leader of the Fallen Angels keeping an eye on things.

"Done." He didn't even hesitate in his answer.

"For a supposed genius, you really don't think much about things, do you?" She deadpanned.

"Nee-san hug." Issei blatantly ignored her and came at her with arms wide open, only to be held back as she pushed back his head at the last moment with a single hand.

"Porn brat no." She just as easily denied him on reflex, something she had much experience in after the past few months. "You'd just try to grope me again."

"That bra was a cheap piece of discount trash with no bottom support and you know it. If I didn't bring it up, you wouldn't have tossed the abomination."

"And how do you know that?"

"Your breasts never looked lopsided again after I pointed it out."

"You perverted little shit!"

"Lady you are a human with average at best magic reserves. Your oppai don't follow the rules of MOB. As great as they are, if you don't take care of yourself, you're liable to start sagging before you hit thirty."

"… I am going to invoke my rights as "Nee-San" now. You better start running." The sounds of knuckles cracking echoed in the alleyway.

Around the corner of the alleyway, Azazel held back an amused chuckle as he heard the sounds of yet another person partaking in the wondrous activity of trying to strangle Issei with their bare hands.

At first, he had his doubts when it came to the kid's first major choice for his Harem.

Jasmine Redsmith. Age Eighteen. Softmore at the college, having been accepted in a year early due to her outstanding grades, references, and Sacred Gear. A Half Caucasian Half Japanese bastard child spawned from a one night stand between a US army sergeant based in Okinawa and a local prostitute. The mother just barely managed to load the child onto the father just before his end of duty and somehow managed to guilt him into taking care of her.

Azazel had many things to say about the States and how they did things, but they at the very least had halfway decent child care services available on their main bases.

Completely human, save for a drop of youkai blood from her mother's side, but that wasn't surprising. Given Japan's history and isolated geography, almost one of five humans had bit of monster blood in them if you looked far back enough.

An army brat that can speak fluent English, Japanese, and German, she was dragged around with her father from station to station around the world. The man wasn't cruel or abusive, and did try to raise and provide for her adequately, but it was clear that he wasn't ideal parenting material given their estranged relationship. From the reports, it looked like she spent more time with and got along better with his squad's families than she did him, and frequently snuck off of the base to explore and interact with the locals.

A mishap at one of the bases in her early teen years led to her Sacred Gear awakening, subsequently and conveniently leading to her introduction to the other side of the world due to one of her father's squad mates having ties to the Church. She didn't join Heaven's side, but she did make use of the connections to train in using her Sacred Gear to protect herself, and to earn a bit of extra money doing all sorts of chorus, music, and voice related gigs. If she didn't move around so much, she probably would have made a name for herself as a singer or actress.

Highly intelligent and independent. Shows a notable degree of proficiency in applied biology and chemistry if her brief history with concocting some rather high end illegal drugs for some spare cash in high school was any indication.

Outside of that stunt, her record was pretty clean, save for running away from home to enter the college in the first place. Apparently her father wasn't too interested in paying for her advanced schooling and wanted her to join the military first. Her papers say she's aiming for a degree in biochemistry with a focus on pharmaceuticals and wants to make medicine.

Azazel had a look at the young woman as if inspecting a painting he normally wouldn't bother with. Despite just being a human, Jasmine seemed to have inherited the best of both ethnic gene pools to a stunning degree. She had the smooth and near perfect complexion of the people of Japan with matching long ebony black hair. Her face was without a doubt of oriental decent, however her sharp eyes were a striking green, no doubt leading to her name in the first place.

While her body was naturally lean and smooth in the right places, it was by no means small. She easily stood a good head taller than most females her age, with a very generous chest, wide hips, and if one looked carefully enough, coiled muscles barely hidden under her smooth skin. There was little doubt that while she got her appearance from her mother, a good part of her build, habits, and personality came from her father's half of the gene pool and the army background.

And damn did she show it all on the pole when it was her turn in the club. Girl knew what she had and how to work it. There were not many in the business that could do even half the tricks she had pulled off with almost casual ease.

Azazel had even played with the idea of trying a night out with the young woman herself until he remembered that it would probably piss off Issei to high holy hell.

The kid was amicable to pretty much everyone's requests most of the time, but when he was mad, legitimately and genuinely angry… ho boy. That's when some nasty messes were made. Kid was definitely dragon material, it was just hard to spot it out at first glance.

She was not a fighter. Not powerful. Not game breaking. Not a good or bad person. Not a major person of interest, yet not someone completely ignorable either. Her interests and Sacred Gear indicate she does have some potential, just in what, even he didn't know. Definitely a looker though.

"He's got interesting taste. I'll give him that much." The Governor General smirked as the two interacted behind a strip club almost like a real brother and sister would, with the annoyed elder sibling trying to murder the annoying younger one without reservation.

Still, Azazel was somewhat curious why Issei was so adamant on her over all the other females he's met so far. From the moment the kid looked at her, he was determined that she'd be part of "The Harem" for no explainable reason… but there was without a doubt one, even if Issei didn't know it yet.

Maybe it had something to do with dragons? He should try and drag Vali to see her soon to see if he reacted any differently sometime soon. Worst case scenario, he'd ask Ophis the next time she popped up unannounced.

No harm in being careful with just that, right?

o. o. o.

Omake: Advertisement is key to a successful business:

Flip.

Flip.

Flip.

Akeno was quiet as she went through the catalogue with an unreadable expression.

"Akeno? There you are." Rias sighed as she walked into the room and looked over her Queen's shoulder. "What are you… that's for Issei's sex shop, isn't it?"

"Mmm." The Queen mumbled, barely acknowledging her King's existence.

"…"

"…"

"… Is… is that Kuroka in all these photos?"

"Might be."

"And she's used all of these things?"

"Looks like it." Akeno turned another page.

Both girls stared quietly at the paper before tilting their heads to the side at the same time.

"… You think Koneko can bend that much?"

"If you show this to her, I'm taking it away from you."

"And that's why, as a proper Queen, it is my responsibility to keep things that are beyond your ability to handle away from you."

"Is that a challenge, Akeno?"

"I'm merely stating my duties, Rias."

"Is that so? Well then, there's only one way to settle this then, isn't there?"

"Indeed."

Ten minutes later, Kiba walked into the room, took two steps, saw Rias and Akeno glaring at one another while filling out a form and reading a very explicit magazine. He then seamlessly turned around, and walked straight out again without saying a word, or remembering even entering the room.

o. o. o.

A/N:

And done. Again thanks Crayzay Jay for betaing.

Why did I do this chapter first instead of my promised TTRT? Laziness. That and I had half the chapter done already because I had been working on and off on it for a while.

Training chapter. Nothing big. Next chapter should finish up the damn training and get down to the good and pretty dark and gory stuff. Honestly, I think these chapters are when I am my wordiest and most long winded. So, thankfully, we can get the ball rolling soon.

More backstory stuff. More vague hints and insinuations. More crazy Issei being crazy. Sadly no Ninja Puppy this time, but that will change.

All the puppies.

Oh, and yes, Jasmine is an OC, because that's what I do. I make OCs that are relevant to the plot. And because this is DXD, yes, that is a double euphemism for more boobs as well.

And no, Jasmine isn't "White".

That's about it. Hope this tides everyone over until the next chapter. Sorry for the wait. Hopefully the next chapters are shorter again, like I intended from the beginning.

That's it. Work's work. Weather's finally heating up. And I'm being a lazy bum. Bum bumbumbumb.

Oh yeah. Issei's Sacred Gear? It's a double edged sword, but it's absolutely bullshit broken if used right. And liable to kill the user even faster if used wrong. Just food for thought and something to let you guys think about.

SO REVIEW! WORSHIP THE LOG! SPOILER WARNING, AKENO CAN'T KEEP HER HANDS OUT OF HER PANTIES! AND REVIEW AGAIN!