Edited by: Marethyu, Immortal Spank, Bluwuh, Priapus

Hi, to those who aren't aware, I now have a Pa tre on—an actual one with genuine benefits. You can read five chapters of this, Optimistic Game, and Draconic Impact ahead of everyone else, alongside other funny stuff. Yes, this means chapter 38 of this fic has just been uploaded.

Now I'll stop bothering you here and plug that stuff at the bottom of the chapter from now on lol.

Gently putting the chip on the piece of glass on top of a wooden table, I smile proudly. Taking it out of the corpse was hard, but I knew they had to have used something like this to hide their energies. So this was it? It's tiny. So small that I can barely tell what it is.

Good thing I came prepared with a microscope, though. I felt it was something maybe in their bloodstream, and this was close enough. To think that something this little can conceal someone of Kokabiel's power, even to an extent, is amazing.

As I inspect it closer, I automatically start the next dungeon wave as my turrets and armored guards deal with the annoying plants outside my ice castle. I expected more, considering the level requirement, but the dungeon mobs are pretty weak, and unfortunately, the exp they give is also kind of… meh. Not too bad, but I'll admit, I'm a bit disappointed. I'm already more than halfway to completing it, and I only leveled up 20 times. Good enough, but nothing that game-changing.

I did spend a lot of time practicing my illusion magic, however. I can't do anything that complicated just yet, but whatever spell I cast does work on the higher-level mobs here, so that's a good sign of my growth. From what I can gather, it's a mix of original D&D-style illusions and Skyrim's more emotional/mind manipulation.

I think I made the right choice when I picked the class. It's going to be really hard to beat me once I master it. Like, can I cast insanely overpowered illusions like straight-up mind control or even something as busted as Tsukiyomi? More than likely. The best part about it, though, is that it's silent and nigh-invisible casting. It doesn't work on stronger entities, and they'd probably realize someone is trying to manipulate their mind, but weaker targets? They won't know a damn thing.

The rewards and gacha tokens are pretty so-so, unfortunately. Nothing really that useful—some armor pieces and okay-ish accessories that increase my magic damage and resistance. I am level 215, though, so that's pretty cool, and picking up a new class is great. I immediately picked an endurance and strength-based class called 'Juggernaut'. I get ten END and STR with every level up now, so once I fully max out the class, I'll get the endurance essence.

Bit of a challenge, though. Gotta get to level 300. Not counting whatever quest I may get in the future.

It also gave me a heavy armor proficiency mastery skill, and I'm not sure if that will synergize with the mechanical armor I'm making. If yes, then I continue to demonstrate my boundless intelligence. Definitely planned and not at all a coincidence.

Finally, I can work on the 'glass orbital laser' problem. Also, this new dungeon does have five more waves than the zombie dungeon, so that's good. I'm guessing the wave count will increase with every dungeon I unlock.

Regardless, I far outstat everything here, so letting my frost knights and turrets go to town on some wild flesh-eating plants while I research and investigate the advanced tech sounded smart to me. It's still very early in the morning, so I have time before my mother wakes up and teaches me how the Amon clan fights.

I'll admit, knowing how powerful Touki can be, I'm pretty excited. Apparently, according to Akiyama, that's why most Yakuza like Majima are that strong. Aside from stuff like Yokai blood or Sacred Gears, of course. Counting Ichiban and Saejima, the Tojo Clan has two Longinus wielders.

I know my memories of the canon series are fading, but I still can't recall if the directional gods have their own Sacred Gears, much less Longinus tier. Hell, I think Suzaku belonged to an entirely different faction as well. I don't remember what it was, though.

Anyway, this does explain who I'm dealing with here. The only thing I still don't know much about is how and why my father was so strong. He had no Yokai heritage or even a Sacred Gear, as far as I know. Though, honestly, I don't care enough to ask about it.

…Okay, maybe I'm a little curious, but I have other important things to worry about.

Like finding a way to dismantle this tiny thing to learn its inner mechanisms. It'll help a lot, because clearly, the dungeons aren't enough to boost my powers that much, and once I learn all I need from my mother, my growth will turn glacial again. I have to be able to leave town and put my Devour skill to good use.

"Such fascinating power you wield," Lucifer says, walking through the castle walls. "Creating a pocket dimension like this…"

I pause my work for a moment, then respond, feeling inquisitive.

"Is it really that impressive?" I ask. "I'm not the only one who can do this."

"Certainly not. It is not particularly difficult to make small dimensions." He agrees. "However, yours is fundamentally different. Not even connected to the world we know."

"What does that mean?" I raise a brow.

"Hmm, well, to simplify it further…" He puts a hand on his chin. "I'd say it's more akin to making an entirely detached miniature universe than a dimension within the world."

Interesting. Is this true, Game?

To an extent.

Huh, but the skill says dimension, doesn't it?

The dimensions you make via the skill aren't inside the multiverse, but outside of it, within a separate empty space I made specifically for it.

But I thought you said that once the time limit expires, I get kicked back into my world. Shouldn't I be sent to this separate space instead?

I made a safety mechanism in case something like this happens.

...Is there a reason for making Instant Dungeon Create work that way, or are you just flexing your powers?

Yes. To prevent intruders.

See, that would make so much more sense if you made it so that I'm able to use the skill whenever I want instead of 'oops, can't do this while enemies are nearby. Guess you'll have to die.' What is this, Skyrim?

…

The Game doesn't elaborate further, but I'm already used to its stupid antics, so I ignore it.

"What's the difference?" I asked, a little more interested. At least he's way less sketchy than the Game.

"On the surface, not much." He shrugs. "But unlike other dimensions like the Underworld, Heaven, Asgard, and so on, your dimensions cannot be entered by anyone but you."

That wasn't really a concern before, but it's good to know that I don't have to worry about it at all.

"And you," I reply, a bit amused.

"Well, that is because I'm bound to you now." He clarifies and smiles. "Otherwise, I wouldn't even hope of seeing this, I can assure you."

I hum and go back to my little project, inspecting the chip even more. Still, it makes me think. Can I somehow… 'invite' someone to the dungeons? Without binding myself to them, I mean.

Yes, by joining your party.

There are parties? What can they do?

It makes it possible for others to enter the dungeons.

…That's it? No exp share or whatever?

No.

Boring, but, you know, that does sound very useful. Being able to invite people into dungeons is—well, actually, not exactly inviting—more like kidnapping. I can't be traced while here, so in case I need to get rid of somebody important, this will be the perfect place to do it. At the same time, I can't do it when 'enemies are nearby' so I need to be smart about it.

Have I mentioned how stupid that rule is, by the way?

Yes.

Good, because it is stupid.

Anyway, I'll keep this in mind in case I'm forced to be morally dubious somehow. Let's hope it doesn't come to that point.

"It's equally interesting how this dimension is capable of creating artificial life for you to practice on." Lucifer continues. "As to how you grow more powerful by doing practically nothing."

I don't respond and decide to ignore him. I don't feel as defensive, though, since pretending otherwise won't exactly convince a guy like him. He saw me nearly eat Kokabiel's soul, and while he never brought it up again, there's no possible way he thinks I'm normal.

Besides, who's he going to tell anyway? Only I can see him and interact with him, and unless he wants me to hand over the sword to some higher authority, he's going to stay quiet. That's if I don't try to devour his soul first.

Which honestly sounds unfathomably reckless and dumb. There's no telling what he can do if I try that. He can just ignore it or somehow reverse it and devour my soul instead. I'm not fucking testing that. And getting his power is one thing, but most of his usefulness right now comes from his knowledge.

Too bad he doesn't know anything about tech. Would be really helpful right about now.

Anyway, I need some kind of machine if I want to take a look at the inside of the chip. Probably with some AI for precise work, so I guess that's next on my list. A disassembling machine of sorts plus some kind of Artificial Intelligence assistant. If I can make forcefields, then I sure as fuck can make smart robots.

And once I'm done, even a botched-up attempt to break the chip apart should be massive amounts of experience, and I still have like a dozen corpses with those same chips. They should be more than enough to help me replicate and maybe improve upon their work.

Then I can finally, finally use Devour on anything that isn't a goddamn tree. I didn't even get to enjoy it that time; I was too busy being happy that I didn't die from my heart fucking exploding. That LUK stat is for nothing, I swear.

Ugh, it's already been like three days since then, and I'm still bitching about that. I need to stop thinking about what happened entirely.

Wave complet–

Yeah, yeah, just get on with it. Next wave, please.

…Oh wait, I'm done. Wow, already? What level am I at right now? 225, so the boss made me jump ten levels. Not bad, I could use an extra few thousand to my HP. Won't help make me not a glass cannon, but baby steps, I guess.

I grimace as I see the level requirement for the next dungeon. 500 for a Wyvern dungeon, goody. Well, I won't be thinking about that for a while. Too bad the game is stingy and doesn't want me to just farm levels here. Either it's suicidal, completely moronic, or just isn't as powerful as I'm giving it credit for.

My two hours are almost up. I should probably get ready for training soon. Once that's over, I can start programming my AI minion, which honestly sounds more fun and exciting the more I think about it.

Maybe I can use it as a weapon against the Yakuza in case shit hits the fan. Seeing how a warmonger reacted to my soul-stealing skill, there's no telling what they're going to do if they see it themselves. I need to be prepared, even against my own allies. And maybe it can help me build more mech suits and stuff.

Like my own JARVIS.

God, that sounds so fucking awesome.

A childish and excited grin splits my face as I leave the dungeon with a giggle, confusing Lucifer as he tilts his head at me.

"What's gotten you in a good mood so suddenly?" He asks, raising a brow. "Some sort of good plan, I reckon? You did look deep in thought just now."

"You have no idea," was my vague answer.

"And now you're making me intrigued." He says, mirroring my smile. "Your excitement is rather infectious."

I ignore him as I prepare for the training session, wearing my sports shoes before heading towards the facility. These next few weeks might be pretty hectic considering the massive amounts of work I need to do, but damn, they're going to be really fun.

I take it back; this is fucking boring.

"Do I really have to do this?" I question my mother, sitting cross-legged on the grass in front of the building and tapping my knee in annoyance. "Isn't there a faster way or something?"

"You know, the more impatient you get, the harder it'll be for you." She points out, opening one eye to look at me. "Now less talking and more meditating. You need to have a relaxed spirit to access your inner ki."

I know she's right, and I also know meditating is going to benefit me a lot considering the quest I got about it, but god, I fucking hate it. You'd think it's easy, especially for someone talented like me, but honestly, I just can't get the handle on it for some reason.

I don't know how to 'clear my mind' or whatever the hell. I just… can't control what thoughts go into my mind. Overthinking is a problem I've had since I was young, and I just can't simply get rid of it because someone told me to.

I'm not sure if it's related to my wrath trait or not, but fuck me, it's really frustrating. I can barely sit for ten minutes before getting an urge to do something else. I always feel like I'm just wasting my time, and it pisses me off because, until now, I've never needed to do something like this.

…It was honestly kind of my fault for not taking my therapy sessions seriously. Anger issues fucking suck, and patience really is a virtue.

"You know I hate sitting in one place for too long," I argue, almost whining. "Come on, there's got to be another way."

"Nope. Ki isn't as easy to use as magic because you need a calm spirit and a disciplined mind," she says simply, making me groan. "Now stop being a baby."

I throw the amused Lucifer a pleading look as my mother closes her eyes again, and he chuckles in response.

"I can't help you here, unfortunately." He says, destroying any hope I had. "Your mother is correct. This is the only way of accessing Ki, and through it, Touki."

I resist another childish whine and just sigh instead, reluctantly listening to my mother. Fine, it's about time I started getting used to it anyway. It's going to be hard, but I killed Kokabiel, so I'll be alright.

I close my eyes and try to empty my head to the best of my ability. I get rid of every thought in my mind, and my muscles relax reflexively. Not even a minute in, my brain betrays me in the worst way possible, suddenly reminding me of that one nightmare I had when I was sleep-deprived.

At first, I wanted to ignore those troubling memories, but when I woke up, I never really thought about them much, did I? I was tired and too busy preparing to deal with Kokabiel to really reflect on what that nightmare was about, where it came from, and what it meant.

And I don't know why, but trying to recall whatever that was…feels weird. I feel like I know what it is; I recognize it, yet I can't put my finger on it. Is it related to my past life? Or some kind of vision of the future? I know I don't have any ability like that, but that's the only way I can explain it.

What did it say to me? What does it want from me? That thing was filled with so much malice that merely being in its presence was suffocating. Actually, why did I have that dream anyway? Did taking or using the sword somehow trigger it?

But I don't think it's related to Excelsis, because I didn't recognize the sword or Lucifer the same way, yet that thing felt like something I knew very well.

As my curiosity begins to overpower my cautiousness, I try to remember what it is. What it looked like, what it tried to say, and what it meant to me as a person. The nightmare means something, of that I'm 100% sure.

And strangely enough, it's kind of working. Meditation is helping the process as I clear my mind off everything but this monster I saw in my dreams. Bit by bit, I can make out more parts of it. Its razor-sharp teeth, dark tendrils, menacing grin, white hair, and red eyes–

QqqQsTTTTDDdDDdE

?i?}d m(?

OicCTc:Be F?n? ?e

Quest failed

Stop it.

"Akane!"

Immediately, I feel a powerful shock go through my body. I gasp for air as my eyes open wide, looking into my mother's concerned ones as she has two hands on my shoulders, seemingly trying to shake me out of… whatever that was.

"Are you okay?" My mother asks. "You looked pretty out of it there. I've been calling to you for like, twenty minutes now."

Twenty minutes? But it's barely been two…

"I-I'm fine, sorry," I respond absent-mindedly. "I guess I got a bit too into it."

"No kidding." She scratches her cheek. "Meditation really isn't for you, huh…"

…What the fuck was that?

Don't do that again.

What? No, fuck you. You don't get to order me around after that, you piece of shit. Explain what that was.

No. That is dangerous territory.

Do it one more time, and you won't wake up.

You don't have the balls.

Correct.

I don't.

The ominous phrasing makes me back down, but it explains enough. I knew there was something off about this, but I didn't expect it to be so bad that it even made you worried. That makes me pretty intrigued, you know. Not exactly good for you.

I have something inside me that's preventing you from explaining all this weird shit, don't I? And that quest was prompted by it, not you. Honestly, if I knew I just had to pressure you to make you so readable, I would've done so ages ago.

I don't know what the fuck you put into me and why it feels like I've known it since forever, but it's very clear that it's very fucking powerful. So powerful that it's even affecting the system somehow, possibly harming you.

This either means you're not as strong as I think you are, or it's so much more powerful than anything in this world. Which is it? And if it's the latter, why aren't you letting me use its powers instead of all of this? This grinding and training?

…

Whatever that glitch was, using the letters it showed… The first thing is "Quest Added", which is confirmed by the last thing being a very clear "Quest Failed". Not sure what the quest's name is. The word after it is complete nonsense.

But then the next two words are kind of clear. It said "Find me" didn't it?

Do not listen to it. For your sake.

Oh, I won't. I felt its bloodlust for a second, and I'd be stupid if I tried to poke it again for no reason. But now I know that you are afraid of it. Seemingly more than having your very existence erased.

…

It doesn't say anything, but I can almost feel its concern. And that feels very good.

I'll keep it in mind in case the bastard annoys me. I'm not above using scare tactics like this again, because even though it's dangerous, it made The Game scared. Who knows, maybe it'll help me get rid of the Thanatophobia trait.

Nothing like gazing into eldritch horrors to cure your fear of death.

Or any fear, for that matter.

"I told you," I scoff playfully, quickly regaining my composure. "You know I have a bad habit of overthinking."

"I guess so." She leans back and sighs. "I don't know how I can teach you this without meditating, though."

I pause as I try to think of a solution. I guess my only way is to trigger a quest, but the last time we sparred, she beat my ass like it was nothing… but back then, I was like half as strong as I am now, so maybe I have a chance this time.

But how do I make it sound believable…

A minute or two passes, and one solid idea makes it into my head, making me bite my lips in thought.

"Say, is meditation possible while doing other activities?" I ask her.

"Well, it's much more difficult, but yes." She nods.

"Then how about we spar?" I propose. "Clearly, sitting down and doing nothing isn't helping, but maybe I can pull it off while doing something physically intensive? I focus better that way."

"Hmmm…" My mother hums in thought before standing back up. "Well, it's worth a shot."

Quest added

[Power Within] - Quest

Objective: Defeat Mizuki in a sparring match.

Rewards: +100 DEX, STR, END, [Touki] Skill

Hm, less rewards than I expected, but I guess it's because of how much stronger I've grown. That, or it's the Game being a bitch because I bullied it too much. I never thought I'd be able to do that in a hundred years, but goddamn, it feels amazing.

Didn't even bother to make it a general ki mastery skill. Just Touki alone. What a dick.

"But remember, no–"

"–Magic, I know." I cut her off and rolled my eyes, getting back on my feet and making a distance between us. "I'd easily kick your ass if we allowed it."

"Exactly." She agrees, not even denying it. "And we're sparring so you can maybe somehow access your ki, not to test your strength."

"True." I concede. "I'm still winning, though."

"Tough talk for someone in the suplexing distance."

I smirk confidently and rush toward her, throwing a punch at her that she barely blocks. Mizuki's eyes widened considerably, in shock at my speed and strength that I didn't have back in our first sparring match.

"Try me."

Immediately, she began taking me seriously, raising her leg in an attempt to kick me. But I'm nearly twice as fast as her and see it coming, blocking it with my knee and responding with a right hook.

Mizuki grits her teeth as she tries to block the attack with her forearm, not realizing it was a feint until my other fist smashes her face. Surprisingly, she doesn't look very affected even if I took a lot of her HP with that, and instead of trying to make distance, she continues to be on the offense.

I don't expect it, and I'm hit in the stomach with her palm, feeling a powerful shockwave go through me and pushing me off her. I hiss, already annoyed at these double standards. So I can't use magic, but she gets to use ki? That's so bullshit. Ki is basically magic too.

Unlike last time, she charges me instead of waiting for me to do something, not wanting to give me a chance to retaliate. Oh, she knows she's fucked if she doesn't keep on the offensive, but unfortunately for her, I'm still much faster.

I duck and weave under her blows, waiting for a certain point to act. There were a few close calls, but by giving her the illusion that she had me on the ropes, I should find a good moment to counter.

Except I don't.

No matter how much she moves by kicking and punching, there isn't a single second where she's open. By all means, every single move she makes is perfect in defense as well, making me realize the massive skill gap between us.

I might be stronger and faster than her now, but I didn't think she was this good at fighting hand-to-hand.

I'm only able to counter-attack once my Sublime Perception perk activates, slowing down time to give me the needed window to land a hit. I use all my strength to strike her in the chest, hearing her take a sharp breath. I need to end this now. I can't allow her to lock me in a defensive stance again.

Once again, Mizuki pushes through regardless of the pain, but it does stun her long enough for me to turn the tides. I kick her knee and break her balance, throwing a flurry of punches and kicks that she struggles to evade or block.

However, she's able to parry one of my jabs, completely breaking my momentum. As she's ready to hit me in the stomach with another open palm, I grin and use a bit of my magic to create a small ice chain that pulls her leg back.

"What the–?!"

With her distracted, I knee her in the face and send her flying back, landing on her back as she nurses her bleeding nose in pain. Seeing this trick work twice now makes me think I have found my new favorite spell.

Mizuki tries to get up to maybe continue the fight, but I approach her and point an ice sword at her.

"Oi, using magic is against the rules!" She complains.

"Well, that's kind of unfair, don't you think?" I raise a brow. "After all, you were using Ki."

Also, the quest said nothing about that, so I'm pretty sure this still counts as a win.

"Well, yes, but we still agreed to–"

"And it's not like you can't use magic." I shrug. "And it's just a one-on-one; I don't have Ichi or Issei here to help me out. So really, what was the point of that rule anyway?"

"I– well…" She struggles to argue but then stops, wiping her nose. "...Wait, are you saying you can do it now?"

"Do you forfeit?" I raise a brow.

"What does that have to do with anything?" She blinks. Exasperation fills her expression as she looks at my smug smirk. "...Yes, fine, I give up."

Quest complete

"Then yes, I can." My smirk widens into a big smile.

[Touki] – Skill

Using your lesser connection to the Lifestream, you are able to use your very life essence for power, bolstering your physical strength relative to your mastery of ki.

Activating Touki will increase your STR, DEX, and END by 100%.

Drains 5000 SP per second.

…Imagine if that didn't work. I would die of embarrassment.

Anyway, holy fuck, it doubles my stats?! That's way stronger than I ever expected it to be. Granted, the drain is… actually, the drain is massive. I can't even activate it for five seconds before running out of steam.

I do need ki control mastery, don't I? Fuck, how do I get that? I need another quest or something. If the beginner is 100%, then imagine what kind of increase I will be getting when I master it. Probably 500% and beyond, which is straight-up insane, especially if I stack Excelsis on top of it.

Then again, the yakuza can't be that strong, can they? Otherwise, they would've destroyed the devils in practically everything.

Still, even with its unreasonably high drain, I demonstrate it to my mother. A small white aura envelops me and fills me with a lot of power. Mizuki opens her mouth in an 'O' shape, her eyes sparkling with both wonder and pride.

"Ohoho! You're actually pulling it off!" She says excitedly, getting up and forgetting the pain from her bleeding nose. "This is amazing!"

"Such an unorthodox way of 'meditation'. Frankly impossible, if anything." Lucifer says thoughtfully, a hand on his chin. "How fascinating."

My mother doesn't seem very suspicious, which is what really matters. Don't care if I look questionable to Lucifer.

"Is it?"

"Quite." The Devil God nods.

"With this weird method? Hell yeah!" My mother confirms. "I always knew you had the strangest solutions for problems, but so far, this takes the cake."

"What's next, then?" I ask, deactivating Touki as I exhale. Geez, I already feel exhausted.

The stamina drain is too fast. I need that endurance essence soon.

"Well, even though you're still a beginner, I think getting the hang of it is enough for now. You can improve your control over ki in your own time. You're my daughter after all; you got this." Mizuki puffs her chest. "Now, you learn other techniques, like how to incapacitate your opponent with little to no effort."

"How?"

"By hitting them where it really hurts." She smirks. "Ever heard of pressure points?"

After the tiny disappointment of Touki's rather massive drain, this makes me brighten up. Now we're getting somewhere.

"Oh what am I saying, you probably heard of it from an anime or something." Mizuki teases cheekily. "You big otaku."

"You're one to talk. You're not the target demographic of Shonen Jump, you know."

"One Piece transcends such silly things!"

Of course it does.

– Rias –

A few days had passed after the big battle, and after reading a whole summarized report of what happened after she was knocked out, she realized that they were incredibly lucky to have gotten off relatively unharmed against that madman.

She also understood that they were extremely awesome to have handled it flawlessly—what happened to the church didn't count—Like, defeating a Satan-class cadre without any help from the Yakuza? Well, it was certainly an ego boost for her.

Yes, she did feel sympathetic for the church girls, but honestly, this didn't really negatively affect Rias or her allies in any meaningful way, so she couldn't bring herself to care about them or their leader very much. It might sound a bit harsh and kind of fucked up, but things like these weren't all black and white. All she cared about were her friends, like Sona, her peerage, and even Akane and the other humans.

What was fucked up, though, was what the yakuza did to the civilians that saw the battle. Obviously, some of them being dragged into it wasn't Akane's fault. She got ambushed and had to defend herself. If anything, Rias felt bad for her. Seeing what happened to those poor people must be haunting, even if she acted like it didn't affect her at all.

Still, while she understood it was necessary, the fact that the Tojo clan went around and either erased or altered the memories of those people… Well, it did make her kind of queasy. Now, Rias had had to do that a few times, but it wasn't exactly something she enjoyed doing. It always felt wrong to manipulate the minds of people that way, even if it was for their own good.

A small part of her hated the fact that the supernatural side of the world was kept hidden from regular humans. Their existence being revealed would cause mass hysteria and might just ruin the balance of the world, but was it wrong to imagine a world where everyone got along?

"So what brings you here this time?" Sona asked her from across the table, a cup of coffee in her hand as she read through a few papers.

"Nothing in particular," Rias answered, looking out the window of the student council room before turning to her. "You know, you look like you're in a good mood today."

"Am I?" Sona asked, still looking at the papers and sipping from her warm drink.

"Yeah. Something happened?"

"Not really, no." Her childhood friend responded. "...I suppose I don't feel as stressed now that we've dealt with most of our current problems."

"Heh, that would do it." Rias smiled. "Weird how all that happened in the span of what, a month? Since Akane came here."

"Mhm."

"Weird coincidence, isn't it?" She said, "She gets here, and every problem we had gets solved one by one. I almost think she somehow knew everything would be happening and prepared accordingly. Says enough about her, I guess."

"I thought she intimidated you."

"Well, sure, but after everything we've been through, I like to think she's my friend now." The redhead said. "...I guess I was never used to people being so blunt to me. And you know what? It's kind of refreshing."

"Is that fondness I hear in your tone?" Sona finally looked at her, a rare, teasing expression on her face. "Is there something you want to share with me?"

"I was thinking maybe I should ask her out." Unfortunately, Rias was immune. "Do you think she's into girls?"

She did give the impression that she swung both ways, in all honesty, with the way she liked to tease both Ichiban and Sona so much. Unless that's how she acts around everyone, which is actually very probable.

Sona paused.

"If this is your attempt at making me feel jealous, then you've failed." Sona very very obviously lied. "Do what you want. Don't come crying to me when you're rejected."

Rias said nothing, content with just looking at her with a wide, smug smirk. After a few moments, her childhood friend frowned and met her gaze with an annoyed one. She was so easy when it came to this stuff.

Sona had an obvious type after seeing her interactions with Akane, and never in a million years did Rias expect it to be the rebellious ones that got her going. It was both comical and incredibly adorable.

"What?"

"You like her~"

"As a friend. There is nothing between us." Sona's face brightened up as she got back to her paper. "Stop listening to stupid rumors."

So easy! Rias thought with a giggle.

Before the redhead could press her and elicit more adorable reactions from her, someone knocked on the door. Whoever it was, they were hiding their energy pretty well, so Rias couldn't exactly recognize who it was.

She quickly concluded that it wasn't a regular human, though.

Rias got off the chair and went to open the door before whoever was behind it kicked it down. The redhead barely dodged the projectile door, almost getting ready for battle before she saw who was responsible.

Whatever alertness and annoyance she was feeling evaporated once she met her cousin's eyes, giving him an equally big grin as she lunged at him for a hug.

"Sai!"