Edited by: Priapus, Old man of the mountain, Marethyu, Immortal Spank

– Ichiban –

He slowly opened his eyes, wincing and quietly groaning from the sharp pain in his stomach, eventually adjusting his sight to the surroundings. He was in a familiar place—the living room inside the facility, lying on the couch facing a TV.

This felt familiar…

Ichiban quickly recalled what happened prior, grimacing at the phantom pain from that horrible gut punch he suffered in his spar with Saejima. Had he seriously fucking passed out after a single hit? Really?

In front of a lot of people, too. God, that was just humiliating. Yes, Ichi realized that he had been the one to tell Saejima not to hold back but to go all out, like that was a bit too much, right? At the very least, he could have made it look like an actual fight.

Honestly, Ichi thought he was doing something when the fight started. He was slowly but surely pushing the Tiger back, even doing some kind of damage to him. Then he struck back, and the match ended instantly.

What the fuck was that all about? Well, it should've been obvious in hindsight. Saejima was a yakuza legend, on the same level as Kazuma Kiryu and Akane's dad. Of course, he was going to be powerful.

But to think, not even his Subspecies Balance Breaker, the one both Akane and Sona hyped up to be this really powerful and unique thing, stood a chance against him…. either Ichiban was too weak, or Saejima was just way above his league.

This sucks. Ichiban thought. Just when I thought I was strong.

There's always a bigger fish, partner. Ddraig said, being the reasonable one. And you're still a hatchling. You have much to learn.

That was true. He had only gotten his Sacred Gear a month ago, and Saejima was what, in his fifties? Then again, Kokabiel was probably thousands of years old, so age wasn't that much of a factor if he was being honest.

Oh well. No point in whining. Might as well just keep training.

"Took you long enough." His best friend suddenly said, irritating him further. Ugh, she was here. Of course, she was. "What? Did it hurt that bad? Do you want me to kiss it better for you?"

"Shut up." He said, not moving his head away from the slightly cold but very comfortable pillow. Its softness made him not want to get up. "It's actually painful, y'know. Way worse than anything Kokabiel did."

"Wimp." She said with a snort.

Ichiban's right eye twitched in annoyance, looking around for this arrogant bitch to address her properly, only to freeze as he glanced up, seeing her look down at him with her usual smirk. Well, he assumed she was smirking. He couldn't tell because her breasts were in the way.

He took a moment to process his position, moving his arm to touch the 'pillow' his head was on while still keeping eye contact, wanting to make sure he was not imagining things.

It was a bit cool, smooth, and very soft. Too soft. In fact, it was not even a pillow. No pillow could ever feel this heavenly, after all. His hand would almost sink in every time he'd squish it. It felt out of this world.

Akane blinked and raised a brow as he continued squishing it, looking very amused while he slowly but surely fully comprehended the situation. Ichiban's face burned before he got up, saying nothing but glancing at his best friend in a mixture of shock, embarrassment, and immense gratitude for being so gracious as to grant him the fabled Lap Pillow.

And to top it all off, she was wearing shorts. He didn't feel it through the fabric. It was pure skin-to-skin contact.

"Good evening." She said with a tone that almost made him shiver.

"Evening…" He responded quietly.

He said nothing else. All the words he wanted to say earlier vanished from his head—the sudden shift in this atmosphere was too much for him. He didn't know if this was part of her 'fuck with Ichiban' routine, but it certainly felt different. It was as if she got a lot more aggressive than usual.

First, being offered a kiss, and now this? This was beginning to genuinely scare him. She was adapting too fast, and now he didn't know what the hell he should be doing to get back at her. What other malicious and sadistic plans did she have for him?

This woman was dangerous beyond her physical and magical might.

"You can lie back down if you want." She offered, patting her lap.

Terrifying.

"I-I uh, I'm good, actually." He cleared his throat, then changed the subject. "Where's everyone?"

"They already left a while ago." She said, before answering his unasked question. "You were out for a bit over three hours."

Three hours?! Just how bad was that punch? Not even getting his ass handed to him by a cadre knocked him out for that long.

"Damn..." He scratched his cheek.

"Yeah, jokes aside, that was a bad hit. You were out the entire training session," Akane said, then grinned in amusement. "Kaa-san was scolding Saejima too. Was hilarious. You seriously missed out on a lot."

That sucked. Wasting a whole day by being out cold wasn't great.

"Right…" He rubbed the back of his neck, glancing at her. "So why are you still here? Shouldn't you be back home?"

"I'll spend the night here since it's Friday." Akane shrugged. "That's why I have some of my stuff here with me."

She gestured at the slightly cracked laptop on the other side of the couch as well as the black hoodie she wore. He was consciously ignoring the slightly unzipped portion showing her cleavage, knowing for sure that this was one of her games.

Being her friend as a straight guy was painful.

Ichiban rubbed his eyes and leaned back on the couch, letting out a frustrated sigh.

"What's wrong?" Akane asked, most of her attention on the laptop. "You alright?"

"Missing out on the training I was looking forward to sucks ass," Ichiban said. "I barely did anything."

"Didn't you, though? You still sparred with him, after all."

"He KO'd me in one hit." He clicked his tongue. Weakness was frustrating, he thought. "Fuck kinda spar is that?"

Akane paused for a moment.

"Fair enough, I guess." She said. "If it's any consolation, the devils will be coming over soon to train the whole night for some tournament. They'd probably be happy if you helped them out."

"A tournament?" Ichi frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Yeah, apparently, a big Rating Game tournament is happening in the underworld soon." His best friend answered, tapping away at the keyboard. "Rias and Sona are gonna enter it, so they want to prepare."

Wow, a Rating Game tournament? That sounded very interesting. However, if the already-powerful devils wanted to get ready for something like that, then it had to be something serious. Ichi honestly couldn't see them losing to other peers. That competition couldn't be a joke.

"Tournament, huh?" He muttered. "Must be fun."

"Yup. Too bad we can't join." Akane shrugged. "I mean, if we could, we'd crush them all effortlessly, so maybe it's for the best."

"Heh." Ichiban mirrored her smirk, as confident as hers. "Imagine the looks on their faces, though. Four random humans winning a devil tournament."

"I would pay millions to see that, believe me."

Ichi snorted and rolled his eyes but said nothing, letting the conversation die there as comfortable silence befell the two. The taps of the keyboard filled the room as he glanced at the screen, not making any sense of what she was doing.

Then his eyes trailed down to her supple thighs, the regret of not accepting her offer creeping up to him. Why did he say no? Thinking about it more, he realized he was stupid. So what if she was going to tease him about it? It would still be worth it.

He shook those thoughts out of his head. No, that's exactly what she wanted him to think. If he accepted, she'd probably do something so cruel that he'd lament it for the rest of his life.

I won't fall for it. He thought, still staring. … I should probably stop thinking about it, though.

His eyes went back to the screen, becoming more and more curious. The whole 'hacking the government' thing was a joke, but what was she doing anyway? She never actually answered him the last time he asked. He didn't know she was even into this kind of stuff.

There was also the armor thing she wore against Kokabiel, and Ichiban never really got the chance to ask her about it. It was an emergency, and afterward, he had completely forgotten about it. Where did she get that stuff?

Honestly, thinking about it more, Akane kind of had a lot of… secrets? He wasn't sure if that word was appropriate since he'd probably get his answers if he just asked, but it was still pretty weird how she suddenly could do specific stuff. It was an odd quirk, for sure. Like what she was doing right now. Since when was she capable of programming? She's never done it or even mentioned it before.

Speaking of, holy shit, she typed inhumanly fast. If he were a regular guy, her fingers would be a blur from how fast they were moving. The poor thing looked like it was barely keeping up with her, and he wished he was making this up.

Yes, he was fully aware that they were far beyond superhuman in terms of speed, dexterity, and reflexes at this point, but seeing such power applied to basic things was still wild to him. Weirdly enough, it felt more impressive than when they were fighting.

"So, what are you doing anyway?" He asked after a while. "You haven't told me much."

"Ha–"

"The joke's gotten old."

"Eh, yeah, you're right."

"For real, what's this about?"

"It's a surprise." She answered vaguely. "You'll have to wait until I'm done with it."

"Yeah, but what's 'it' exactly?"

Akane merely shrugged, refusing to tell him.

"Come on, you gotta tell me." He insisted. "I promise I won't tell anyone."

"Hmm… Nah."

"Is it related to that weird armor you wore?" He asked. "Because that didn't look magical. Awesome work, by the way."

"Who knows." She coolly deflected.

She was pretty adamant about this. Well, so was Ichiban, but he was just curious.

"Can I at least get a hint?"

Akane paused and thought about it a bit, eventually giving him an answer.

"It's really, really cool."

Well, that didn't fucking help.

Before he could press for more, however, he sensed the devils arriving. Right, their tournament. That was good; he could try to make up for the time he lost after being out cold. And he hadn't talked with Koneko in a bit, so he was looking forward to it.

"They're here. Run along now, unless you wanna lie back down." Akane said, gesturing at her lap.

"You're not coming?" He asked her, ignoring her offer again, as much as it hurt his heart.

"I've had enough training for today," She said, referring to her laptop. "And I have other work to worry about."

"Right," Ichiban replied, getting up from the couch. "See you in a few hours, then."

She responded with a wave, prompting him to leave the living room to meet up with his devil friends. It probably wasn't a good idea to train with an empty stomach, now that he thought about it.

But it'd still be a lot better than possibly vomiting out everything he ate because someone hit him in the gut a little too hard.

– Akane –

Seeing the duel between Ichi and Saejima made me realize that I might've gotten a little power high after the many stats and perks I got from killing Kokabiel, and honestly? I'm grateful for this mini wake-up call. It reminded me that I swore to never be caught off guard again, and while to my credit, I am making amazing progress across most projects, it's still not enough.

After their duel, everything continued like normal. I didn't hold back on Xenovia and promptly destroyed her, 'accidentally' knocking her out, then had my mother teach me new nifty things.

Like this secret technique called "Flux Fissure" that can do a lot of damage. You gather ki in your fist and release it as soon as you hit someone, sending a shockwave rippling through them. It explains why my mother's open-palm strikes hurt so much.

And while it's a fantastic skill, it can only be used while Touki is activated, meaning it's practically unusable for me considering the massive drain the initial skill has. I'll eventually get a handle on it, though. I either get a ki control mastery skill or increase my END more and more.

Still, even with this new move, I just couldn't stop thinking about Ichi's duel. The fact that there are still people who are capable of literally one-shotting an undamaged Ichiban in his balance breaker made me realize that, no, resting isn't an option here. I need to make even more progress, learn as much as I can, and improve as fast as possible.

Because if Saejima was strong enough to do that, then he was probably more than strong enough to beat Kokabiel in literal seconds. Sounds great, considering he's on my side until you remember that there were individuals capable of somehow holding that son of a bitch back.

And those individuals are enemies.

I can't possibly relax with this information, seeing that those same people want to kidnap me. I thought my current growth was fast enough to make me able to comfortably handle the next threat, but that's not true. If the Amon wanted to kidnap me, then they would've easily done so in the battle against Kokabiel. They didn't, and I don't know why.

I need to grow, learn everything I can from my mother, farm as many quests as I can, and most importantly, actually fucking use Devour.

I've put it off because I can't expect to use it casually in front of the people around me. I had plans to go around that, yes, but now I can't delay it any further. While still risky, it's the fastest way I can grow stronger.

Of course, Saejima wasn't that strong in his base. I noticed that he actually released his Sacred Gear for a split second, feeling his power just soaring out of the fucking stratosphere, but this was still insane because he did that without his Balance Breaker. He beat an Ichi who was manhandling Kokabiel with a single hit.

Regardless, I have to accelerate the advancement of the Super AI and concealing tech. Get it to a level where I can leave Kuoh without anyone knowing. I don't feel safe anymore, not even around the yakuza.

So that's what I've been doing, putting all my focus on my tech and hoping that I'd get it done before they attack again. Thankfully, I can kind of predict when they're going to attack. Probably while the conference invasion by the… Khaos Brigade(?) is going on. I should probably work on new armor as well, but that's a lower priority. First cloaking tech, then power armor.

At my current pace, I should be done with the former before the invasion. Unless the peace conference is happening, like tomorrow or something. Even still, while I haven't started on the cloaking tech yet, I'm practically done with the AI itself. I've been letting it absorb as much info as possible from the internet for a few hours now.

And now I can test it for real.

I activate it and type in the first-ever command, wanting to test its current intelligence by ordering it to find a name for itself because I'm bad at naming things. I intentionally gave it a broad order, of course. I want to see how good its independence is.

I'm not expecting something that impressive, of course. I did accelerate my plans a bit, so I haven't finished the AI itself. However, what I've focused on improving is its adaptability and capability to learn things by itself. Letting it scour the vast internet probably helped a lot.

Or it ended up breaking it because it's the internet.

I wait for it as one, two, and three minutes pass. Letter by letter, it begins constructing an answer, eventually ending up with…

"Nemesis…?" I whisper with a frown. "Bizarre name. Honestly, I wasn't expecting something that sounded evil."

To my absolute amazement, the AI answered me before I even typed in to tell me its reasoning, which was astonishing because I don't remember ever giving it access to the laptop's microphone. There wasn't even a pop-up…

"ANALYZING THIS MACHINE'S SEARCH HISTORY, I'VE COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT DESIGNATION "NEMESIS" APPEARED FITTING."

I look at it in genuine shock, not sure how to respond. How did it hear me? And did it actually go through my search history to use a name that I might find cool? If that's the case, then, first of all, wow, I outdid myself with this one.

Second, is this bitch calling me edgy?

"You can hear me?" I ask, more interested in knowing what it can do than scolding it.

"AFFIRMATIVE." It answers vocally through the speakers. "I AM CAPABLE OF USING ALL FUNCTIONS OF THIS DEVICE."

Holy shit.

"Hm?" Lucifer blinks, the robotic voice getting his attention. "What was that?"

"YOUR HAIR LOOKS BEAUTIFUL, MISTRESS." It randomly compliments, showing that yes, it's not exaggerating.

It can do everything.

Holy shit.

"Did the device talk to you?" The Devil God questions, approaching the laptop with newfound interest. "Ah, so this was the 'Aay Eye' you've been working on? 'Artificial Intelligence' you called it? Fascinating."

I ignore Lucifer for a bit and continue testing it.

"What's your current task, Nemesis?"

"TO PROTECT AND SERVE MY MISTRESS," It says. "AKANE AMAMIYA."

I almost squeal in joy at the unexpected success of the project. I knew it would work, but I didn't think it would work this well. Holy shit, I have my own AI assistant that I made. This is incredible.

Probably my ego talking, but I also really like being called a 'Mistress'. I didn't even tell it to do that.

I could do without the edgy name, but you know what? Fuck it. I'm not gonna pretend that it doesn't sound cool. I don't care if it sounds childish. This is my own thing that nobody is gonna know about anyway. Besides, with how people or things are named in this world, it'll start to sound intimidating once I make it intimidating.

As I'm about to give it a new task to test its intelligence some more, the door opens up, and in walks Rias, Sona, and their queens, all in comfortable wear, having finished with their showers. I notice that most didn't come in, and I chalk it off as them going to bed, seeing how late it is.

Quickly, I give Nemesis the order to transfer itself to my plugged phone if it can.

It's smart enough not to give a verbal response and obey quietly, actually doing what it's told. Lucifer also vanishes once Koneko enters, reminding me that yes, she's a Senjutsu user, and being around her is dangerous.

Right, this girl is kind of a problem. Not only is she a nuisance to Luci, but she's getting a tad too close to Ichiban, and I don't think it's a good idea if I let it happen, not when I have him wrapped around my fingers. He belongs to me.

Still, I can't bring myself to care right now because, holy shit, my AI is smart. It can only go up from there as it keeps learning more and more, adapting to whatever technological threat might come our way.

It was always going to be intelligent, of course, but I didn't expect this level when I've only just activated it. It blew all my expectations out of the water just like that. Is this what being a proud mother feels like?

My phone vibrates, prompting me to check the notification.

"TRANSFER COMPLETE."

…I think I should tell it to chill on the caps lock. It's an eyesore.

"Took you girls long enough," I say, glancing at the rising sun. I should probably go to bed soon. "I'm also very pissed at you for taking this shit way more seriously than your Rating Game against Riser."

Rias flinches.

"Hehe…" She scratches her cheek as her Queen giggles in amusement. "I mean, I won, and that's all that matters?"

"Yeah, you better be grateful you won." I snort. "I would've beaten you senseless if you wasted all my effort."

"Why are you always so mean to me?" The redhead groans. "I already admitted you were right. What more do you want?"

"Stop moaning," I respond. "Now get over here and brush my hair."

"Yes, ma'am!" She says eagerly, her attitude doing a complete 180.

She might be annoying, but she's also very easy. I get the feeling that she intends to impress me for some reason, which would be expected. I put this image of me in her head, so I'm willing to use that to my advantage. Ichiban is fun and all, but I can always use another servant for different kinds of tasks.

Speaking of…

"Where's Ichi by the way?" I ask Sona as Rias picks up the brush off the table, sitting behind me. "Or the rest. They went to bed?"

Weird. Ichi just woke up from an involuntary nap. I didn't think he'd sleep so soon.

"Yes, most were too tired to bother." Sona answers, readjusting her glasses. "Though, as for Kasuga, well…"

"He's a guy, so he can't be here." Rias continues for her. "It's girls only tonight. Er, well, morning. You get the idea."

"And who decided that?" I blink.

"I did." The redhead says simply.

"Right…" She can be a bit assertive sometimes. It is annoying but slightly respectable, I'll admit. "Well, you girls have fun. I'm a bit tired too, so I'm going to call it a day soon."

"What? No, you have to stay up." Rias says. "We haven't hung out in a long time, if at all. Most of the time, it's about discussing important and boring things."

"Too bad."

"Aw, come on, please?" She hugs me from behind, wrapping her arms around my neck. "At least an hour?"

Quest added

[Girls Only!] – Quest

Objective: Spend some time with the devils

Rewards: +25 CHA, Slightly increase affection with Rias and Sona, slightly increase reputation with Tsubaki and Akeno

…Why?

God, I hate you so much.

"...Fine." I sigh.

"Yes!" Rias celebrates by tightening her embrace, nearly choking me out. "Oh, we're gonna have so much fun!"

Kill me.

– Sona –

She should've gone to sleep. She didn't know why she bothered with this and why she let Rias convince her that it would be 'fun', especially when she was physically tired, considering Asia wasn't with them.

Sona also didn't know where Rias got this energy from. She was just as beat up as her, and all they had to soothe their injuries was a bath. Granted, devils healed relatively quickly; they'd be fine if they got some sleep, but the soreness was still there. And it was annoying.

The first couple of games were fun, though. Poker, a few rounds at the pool table, Uno, and other general board games. It was… relaxing, in some sort of way. Sona would be the first to admit that she enjoyed it. It wasn't very fun when Akane somehow won everything, though, especially when it came to the games that required thinking. It was somewhat creepy. It was as if she was capable of reading their minds.

The girl was gifted in many ways, and Sona was beginning to think that it was unfair. She had to be bad at one thing, at least.

But then Rias had the amazing idea of playing the silly 'truth or dare' game, and with three of the currently awake girls sitting together in a circle with an empty bottle between them—Tsubaki and Akeno having retired for the night—Sona felt like she'd had enough for today.

The sun was already up. Maybe around eight a.m. or something.

She wished there was something interesting going on, like actual questions or challenges that they could gain from, but no. Rias was being Rias by asking the most inane and stupid questions she could.

"Truth." Akane said blankly as the bottle pointed at her, casually filing her nails.

"Again?" Rias muttered under her breath. "Well, okay then. What's your type?"

Sona most certainly ignored this. What garbage. She could've asked something way more interesting.

"Type? As in, what do I look for in a partner?" Akane asked and the Gremory nodded, prompting her to hum and put a hand on her chin. "...Big, funny, stupid, and easy to tease."

Sona almost deflated at her answer. That's just Ichiban…

"Though, I don't mind, confident, intelligent, and witty. Those are fun too. I just prefer the former more." She added, making the Sitri hopeful again. This game was too stressful. "Honestly, I don't have too many preferences. If anything, I don't really mind much as long as they're stupider and taller than me."

"Height? Really?" Rias snorted, unimpressed. "I didn't think you were so shallow. Short people deserve some love, too."

Sona agreed with Rias there. There's no possible way Akane would put so much importance into height. She expected maybe intelligence or strength of character, not that. She's probably hiding something.

"Well, you asked for my type."

"And I'm allowed to judge."

"Fair. Honestly, I don't know what to tell you." Akane shrugged. "I want my man to be tall. The taller, the better, too. That's all."

She's kind of defensive. Sona noted. Hmm, she is most definitely hiding her real preference.

"Okay, but why? There's gotta be a reason."

"What, am I not allowed to fantasize about a big, strong man taking care of me, a delicate and beautiful lady?" She scoffed. "I like being spoiled, too."

Sona held her tongue, not wanting to say something that might end up with her being kicked through the building. Delicate, she says. She's the farthest damn thing from delicate in existence, and she knows that.

"While I fully believe that, we both know that's not the reason." Rias deadpanned, being very persistent. "C'mon, it's just us. We won't judge too harshly."

Akane sighed and looked Rias straight in the eye, saying something none of them expected.

"I want to dominate someone bigger than me because it gets me going." She answered FAR too bluntly. "Is this what you wanted to hear? My sexual desires?"

Both Sona and Rias were dead silent, neither of them knowing how to respond. That was certainly a… preference? It was not weird by any means; it honestly was obvious in hindsight, but that was wild to hear so suddenly.

Wow. Okay. Sona didn't know what to think. That's… something alright.

She didn't know what she expected from this silly game, but whatever it was, it was certainly not this.

Was it just her, or was it suddenly getting hot in here?

"Er, n-no, that wasn't my intention."

"Pervert."

"I was just curious about your preferences, not that!" The redhead whined. "Please don't take it the wrong way."

"Weirdo."

"Why you–" Rias paused, knowing she was playing right into Akane's hand, and calmed herself, changing the subject in an attempt to avoid being called worse. "You know that's a tough task, right? You're pretty tall."

For an Asian girl, at least.

"Sad. Guess I'm just never meant to find a partner." She said, smirking to herself. "Assuming there's even someone out there that deserves me."

The two devils ignored that as Sona asked the important question.

"How tall are you exactly?"

"170 centimeters," Akane answered. "Or 5'7 if you like using the wrong system. I got a bit taller since coming to Kuoh."

Three inches off. Sona thought in discontent. Damn it.

But wait, she said men. Was it different for women?

No, hold on, why was she so invested in this? Putting her feelings aside, it wasn't like it'd be possible for them to ever be together. Even if the conference went through, it'd still be implausible for either side to accept them being in a relationship.

Really, she was stressing over nothing. Sona had never had a chance to begin with.

…So why did her chest hurt whenever she was thinking about it?

"Right," Rias said, giving Sona a glance before putting a hand on the bottle. "Alright, let's continue~"

The bottle was spun once more, pointing at Akane again.

"Is this rigged?" She blinked, looking at the bottle, then at Rias. "What did you do?"

"Nothing. How would I even rig that?"

"...Tsk, truth."

"Really?"

"I'm not gonna let you order me around." Akane scoffed. "You'd probably say something like 'let me test the softness of your boobs' or something weird like that."

Sona laughed.

"Creep. First demanding to know my fantasies, and then this." She added.

"What kind of image do you have of me?! I'd never do that! You just made that up so you can be mad about it!" The redhead, however, wasn't very amused. "And you, stop laughing; it's not funny!"

It was funny because it was true. Sona was pretty sure that Rias had some… strange history with her Queen, and she knew that because she walked in on them kissing once. That was certainly one way to completely change her view of Rias. She didn't think she'd be so experimental.

Sona had never brought it up, of course. Too awkward.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure."

"Why you–" Rias stopped herself from losing her cool and smirked maliciously. "How about you tell us the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you?"

"Being scolded by Mine after my stunt at the party," Akane answered coolly, still filing her nails.

"Wha– that's it?" Rias blinked. "Seriously? There's gotta be something more."

"Rias, I don't lead a life of constant fuck-ups like you. Forgive me if I don't have an entire goddamn catalog for this shit."

Sona would've been off guard at the aggressive comeback if not for the fact that she didn't look as exhausted. Yes, she too was slowly getting too tired to deal with Rias' antics. Fair enough.

"Rude." The Gremory Heiress pouted, not one bit phased by Akane's cold words. She's gotten used to it, it seemed. "Could've just said no."

"If there is, I don't remember it. Better?" She scoffed, spinning the bottle. It ends up pointing at Sona. "Finally…"

Sona grimaced and sighed.

"Truth."

"One of you needs to do a dare next," Rias complained. "Choosing the same thing over and over is boring."

Akane ignored her and stared directly at Sona's eyes, the latter getting more and more uncomfortable in her gaze. Neither of them said anything for a bit as the Yakuza Princess seemingly tried to come up with a question.

Sona was admittedly becoming nervous. What—why was she looking at her so intensely like this? What kind of question was she going to ask? Honestly, she was quickly regretting that she chose truth instead of dare because Akane could just do something really cruel here and ask for her deepest, darkest secrets.

And Sona would honor the spirit of the game and answer because she couldn't possibly break the rules of anything.

"Ever broken the law before?" Akane suddenly asked.

…That was surprisingly tame.

"No, not particularly," Sona answered. "Why?"

"Shame." She snorted. "It's fun, you know. Feels kind of freeing."

Sona and Rias looked at one another in confusion before addressing the human girl. That was… odd.

"How so?" Rias blinked.

"Hmm, I don't really know how to explain it," Akane responded. "There's just this weird thrill to it, knowing you're above the law. Especially with this."

She snapped her fingers, conjuring up an ice crystal.

"I can drink and smoke all I want. Hell, even murder and drugs are on the table if I really wanted to go there." She continues. "Because who can really stop me? The cops? Gimme a break."

The tone suddenly shifted with such dangerous talk. Why would she ever contemplate such a thing? Well, sure, she was never exactly a squeaky-clean member of society with such a background, but was this really necessary to bring up?

Such a bizarre topic of conversation. Why would Sona ever even think about breaking the law? Why= what would she gain from it? A 'thrill' knowing you're 'above the law'? What kind of strange mindset was that?

Being powerful doesn't automatically make you above a concept like that, and it shouldn't. That's how you get tyrants and corruption.

But before either of them gave a reply, she added.

"Before you say anything, I wouldn't go so far, obviously." Akane rolled her eyes. "Law aside, I'm not going to go out of my way to hurt someone or hurt myself long-term. Still, you two should give it a try. Especially someone as stuck up as you, Sona."

"Stuck up?" Sona scowled.

"Yes, you're boring. Too rigid when it comes to that stuff. I doubt you ever even skipped a day at school." She smirked. "You should try to loosen up sometimes. Don't you ever wanna just laze around all day in your bed? Or maybe shoplift something? Drink some alcohol? C'mon, you're devils, aren't you? I know you felt those urges before."

Well, she did drink before. The age of drinking in devil society is twelve.

But that wasn't really the subject of the conversation, was it?

"She is right, you know."

"You are not taking her side on this." Sona glared at the redhead. "There's nothing 'fun' about breaking the law. Don't let a delinquent like her sway your mind."

"See? This is what I mean." Akane shrugged. "You know, even someone as dorky as Ichi does those things from time to time. Rules are meant to be broken, and all that stuff."

"Can we just continue on with the game?" Sona's frown deepened, her patience running thin. "I've already answered."

"Alright, alright, relax. Sheesh…" Rias muttered, spinning the bottle. "I don't know what got you so pissed."

"I wonder why." Akane snorted.

The bottle pointed at the redhead.

"Dare!"

Finally.

"I dare you to go to bed." Sona dared.

"Hah!" Akane laughed. "Nice going."

"What?! No fair!"

"Respect the rules of the game, Rias." The Sitri said. "It's time to sleep. I'm exhausted, and we have a long day ahead of us."

"Ugh…" Rias pouted. "Fine. You were making it boring anyway, choosing truth every single time."

"Great. I should've been in bed hours ago." Akane stood up, stretching her arms. "I'll see you girls tomorrow. Goodnight."

With that, she went ahead of them, walking to her room. Sona rubbed her eyes and got up, exhaling deeply. She'd been awake for far too long, and with how much hard training they'd been doing for the tournament…

Well, Sona had to admit, she felt her respect for Serafall rise after that. To think her sister would suffer through several sleepless days to do her job. It was certainly so much worse than this.

She should bring Sera a gift whenever she goes back to the underworld.

Don't forget to check the pat re on. You can read five chapters ahead of everyone else.