Edited by: Priapus, Marethyu, UwU

– Daigo –

"Any word on this mystery terrorist problem?" He asked his right-hand man, who put a stack of papers on his desk.

"None." Mine responded with a hint of frustration. "They've vanished without a trace, and we're still in the dark about their motives for the initial strike."

This was a problem. It was unacceptable that this had gone right under their noses in the first place, but to not even find out why this happened at all? This couldn't be some random warning shot to prevent the peace treaty, as said treaty had already gone through, so why?

Just who or what was responsible for something like that? All things considered, the disappearance of some random two-bit gangs wasn't really a problem. It's not like they were of any importance, so what was the point?

Was this really the doing of some terrorist with a goal? Well, it had to be. The fact that there wasn't even a drop of blood left behind meant that they weren't an amateur. The fact that they hit a relatively unguarded region meant that it was planned, seeing that most of the Yakuza forces had been in Kanto due to the treaty.

It couldn't be the Amon clan. Not only did Mizuki think this wasn't like them, but this move didn't make sense at all. Their goal wasn't to scare the Tojo clan or kill random humans; it was to take Akane away from them.

So then, why Hokkaido? Was there something they didn't know about? Daigo had had his men look for anything that might explain this random attack. No stone had been left unturned, and yet, nothing. There was nothing.

"I'm starting to think it was the work of a monster." Mine said, sharing his thoughts. "A smart one, but nothing that could be described as an attack on Japan."

"No, I don't think so." Daigo disagreed. "This silence… it feels off. Call it a gut feeling, but I think that, whoever they are, they're waiting for a perfect opportunity to strike again."

"You think they're hoping we let our guard down?"

"Yes." He nodded in confirmation. "Though I'll admit, I could just be paranoid."

"No, it's a valid concern." Mine said, then paused for a moment. "...It does make me wonder if we can use this to our advantage."

Daigo raised a brow, feeling intrigued. He could always rely on his right-hand man, couldn't he? Although he wouldn't admit it in front of him, he also dreaded what he was about to hear. Mine's plans could sound a little too pragmatic for his taste.

"What do you have in mind?"

"We'll give them what they want." He answered. "Pretend to let our guard down. It'll be at a risk, but—"

"It might help with our investigation."

"Yes. It will be tough, but we might be able to figure out their goal or at least an indication of what they could want." Mine nodded. "If they attack Hokkaido again, then the chances of that region holding something important increase. If they attack somewhere else, we can safely say they're trying to provoke us specifically."

Or whatever they wanted was in Japan.

"Hmm… It's not a perfect plan, but it's not like we can do anything better with the lack of information." Daigo muttered. "I don't like it, but it'll have to do. Tell the Hamazaki Family to return to Tokyo."

"Understood." Mine said before pausing. "On another note, I believe you've received an invitation from Sirzechs-san."

"Ah, you mean for the festival?" The sixth chairman said. "I have."

"You're not going?" His first captain raised a brow. "You do know that Tatsu's girl and her friends would participate in that tournament of theirs, yes? I expected you'd be interested to see how she fares in that competition."

"I am. To an extent." He admitted. "But I can't be wasting three days doing nothing. There's still a lot of work to be done."

He pointed at the stack of papers on his desk. Although he'd love to see how strong the girl was, he could always arrange a test of some sort. Pitting her against someone like Majima would be more than enough to evaluate her level of strength, even if she didn't have a chance at winning.

However, according to the Mad Dog's reports, Akane grew insanely quickly in serious encounters.

"Hmm, that is fair." His captain said. "Though, why not have someone like Majima go with them? I imagine some security would be wise."

"Sirzechs-san has promised to ensure their safety, and I'm sure he knows what would happen if any of them got hurt," Daigo said. Not sending his own guards with them was a sign of trust. "Besides, Mizuki-san is going as well, and there's no one I trust more to take care of Akane than her own mother."

He was very doubtful that the Amon clan would ever try something in the underworld, and Mizuki herself didn't seem worried about them either. It was the fact that they were going to the underworld that bothered the poor woman.

"That… is the issue, sir." Mine said. "It's not Akane that needs babysitting."

Daigo paused as he thought about that. That… was a very good point, actually. Mizuki's problems with the devils might end up being an issue. But that will be fine. He had gotten word about a certain someone being there. Someone very good at keeping the peace.

Plus, he trusted Mizuki. She was stubborn as hell, but she wasn't stupid. She wouldn't do anything to warrant a public apology from the Tojo Clan.

Hopefully.

"I'm sure it'll be fine." He said, not sure it would be fine. "Mizuki-san isn't a child. She can control herself if she's willing to go to the underworld. Give her some credit, Mine."

His captain was not convinced.

"Look, I just got a message from Akiyama," Daigo revealed. "He's attending the festival, and none of our men know Mizuki more than him. He'll handle it."

"…If things go wrong—"

"If things go wrong, Mizuki-san will be punished accordingly."

"You want to punish the most ungovernable woman in existence?" His captain looked doubtful. "You do realize she has somehow avoided paying a single yen in taxes by herself ever since settling down, yes? The government is not pleased with us. They know she's a Tojo Clan problem."

"Let me worry about this, alright?" Daigo sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Just tell me how the progress with our tech is going."

Knowing that arguing about Mizuki was ultimately pointless – There existed no force in this universe that would get her to pay taxes – Mine decided to drop that conversation altogether, answering his other demand.

"Very good. Getting our hands on Amon tech propelled us more than five years ahead in the span of a month." Mine said. "We'll be able to get all of our tech upgraded and working by the end of August."

Now, this was what he liked to hear—music to his ears.

Finally, some good news.

– Akane –

"Do you really need all this?" I ask my mother, carrying several bags worth of clothes and other personal belongings. "We're only gonna be there for three days, not three years."

Then again, I don't know why I'm even bringing this up. She would do this every time we leave Japan on a vacation, even though the longest we've ever been on a vacation was, what, a month? When we visited Hawaii.

…Huh, we should go there on summer vacation to celebrate winning the tournament. And being outside Yakuza surveillance actually sounds very nice. I know they're just trying to keep me safe, but it's also really annoying. I'm not allowed to punch random people anymore. Imagine that?

"Oh, and what's this?" She points at the mecha armor standing next to me. "Complainin' about bags when you have this guy as luggage?"

"First of all, I'm gonna use this." I scoff, gently knocking on the armor's metal arm. "You won't use most of the stuff you bring with you."

"Well, I'm not the one with the secret pocket dimension that can store my stuff for me." She responds with a defensive tone. "I don't even know where you got that power from."

"That has nothing to do with what I asked," I argue, following up with a lie. "Plus, my 'secret pocket dimension' has a limit."

"Pshh, whatever." My mother rolls her eyes. "I'm just trying to be safe."

"The only thing you should worry about is not starting a fight with the locals."

"You have no right to say that to me!" She says indignantly. "I'm not the one who got acquainted with police officers because I can't keep my hands off people!"

"That doesn't help with your discrimination problem." I counter casually before pointing at Asia, standing beside her with a single bag. "Why can't you be like her? She's a woman of God yet isn't racist like you."

"I-I'm not racist!"

"Said every racist ever." I snort. "Next, you're gonna tell me your closest friends are devils."

Mizuki doesn't respond verbally, only glares at me, knowing that trying to argue will get her nowhere with me. She can deny it as much as she wants, but this is the textbook definition of racism.

I can't believe I'm the reasonable one in this situation, though.

"Um, I don't think Mizuki-san is racist," Asia says. "I mean, I don't condone discrimination in any way, but I think it's natural to feel that way after being hurt like that. It's only human, right? As long as we know it's wrong and work to better ourselves, I'm sure the Lord will forgive us."

"Asia…" Mizuki looks at the blond with teary eyes, weeping in a highly exaggerated manner worthy of an Oscar. "I love you so much, my second daughter! Oh, if only this rude gremlin were just as kind as you are…"

"Call me 'gremlin' one more time and see what happens."

"See?!" She hugs Asia tightly and sobs. "She's threatening me! Her own mother! Why must I suffer such disrespect and scorn from my own flesh and blood?!"

"Akane-san, you have to be nice to your mom." Asia scolds me with a frown, surprising me greatly. "She took care of you since you were little. You shouldn't be rude to her."

"Yeah, tell her!"

"Since when did you have the guts?" I raise a brow, genuinely impressed. Seriously, where did that come from? "...Fine, but only because you asked."

I switch my gaze to the very smug-looking old woman in front of me.

"I'm very sorry that you're racist."

"That's not what she meant!" Mizuki complains. "I want a proper apology, damn it!"

Right on cue, I sense the Rias and the others outside, making me smirk.

"Oh, would you look at that? Our ride is here." I open the front door. "Come on, we don't want to be late."

I don't wait for any kind of response as I walk outside, seeing Rias, Akeno, and Ichi. I quickly assume that the rest of the devils are in the underworld, so I make no mention of it as the redhead waves at me with an excited grin.

Said grin falters as she meets eyes with my mother, but it doesn't outright drop. Regardless of the tense look Mizuki has on her face, Rias keeps a positive vibe, as her mannerisms don't show any nervousness or anxiety.

After all, the childlike wonder in her eyes as she looks at the suit of armor behind me is infectious. I, too, am overjoyed. I even programmed a special AI to follow very basic commands. I don't want to wear it the entire time, after all. Also, having a unit like this following me around makes me feel powerful.

Ichiban, though, blushes and looks away when he sees me, which is precisely the reaction I was hoping to get. He doesn't even glance at the armor. God, the only thing that beats this delightful feeling of embarrassing the fuck out of him is devouring souls.

Even that is arguable.

"Hey! You girls are up quick." Rias greets us, glancing at the four bags being carried by my mother. "Uh, forgive me for asking, but what's all this for? You know you're only going to be there for three days, right?"

"Ignore it," I say, noticing the lack of a particular person. "Where's Issei? Wasn't he going to come with us?"

"He changed his mind," Ichi answers, still looking a bit nervous. "Wasn't telling me why, though. Sounded kinda weird on the phone."

Huh. That's weird. He was looking forward to this almost as much as Ichiban. Oh well, it's not like he was going to be useful anyway. He'd just be there to make us look good. Glorified cheerleader.

…I guess I'll have a bot or two watching over him. I am a little curious.

"Right…" I look at Rias. "We're ready."

"Alright!" The redhead raises an arm with Akeno, creating a glowing magic circle beneath us. "Hang on, teleporting for the first time can be a bit disorienting."

The magic circle shines brighter, and in a flash, I can immediately notice the shift in the air around us, telling us that we've successfully teleported to the underworld. I blink a few times to adjust my vision, seeing that we're in an unfamiliar courtyard within a palace, if the massive towers around us are any indication.

Some very familiar people are near us, however. Besides the rest of Rias' peerage, I can see Sona, her team, and many others. Riser and his harem on one side, Sairaorg with his peerage, as well as many other devils I've never met before.

Some are just teleporting here, in fact. Though, besides the ones I already know, only two somewhat catch my attention. One is a girl around my age with pale greenish blond hair and red eyes, wearing glasses even though I'm pretty sure she has perfect, if not supernatural, vision. I think glasses are just a fashion statement for devils. Sona wears them, too.

The other one, though, looks weirdly familiar. Dark green hair with a typical and very punchable bishonen face. He isn't powerful, but something about him screams bad news. I don't know why. My metaknowledge cuts off right after the supposed invasion, so could this be someone I used to know before my memories faded? I don't know. I'll keep an eye out, though, just in case.

Observe tells me that those two are Seekvaria Agares and Diodora Astaroth, respectively. I use Observe on everyone here, obviously, but those two are the only ones worth mentioning. Is this really the competition?

…I feel like I wasted my time preparing for it. God, most of them are fodder.

"Ah, you're here." Sona is the first to greet us with a smile, eyes flickering to my mother and then back to me. "Early as well. That's good."

"You say early, but a lot of people are already here," Ichiban responds. "What is this place, anyway?"

"Palace of Lucifer." My mother answers with an uncharacteristically quiet tone.

…Yeah, maybe she shouldn't have come here. I like her more when she's her quirky, annoying self.

"L-Lucifer?!" Asia repeats, looking shocked. "T-this is the home of the Devil King?!"

"Correct," Sona nods. "It's currently the home of Lord Sirzechs, and right there—"

She points behind us, prompting us to look at a massive stadium. Very similar to a football stadium, in fact, but a LOT bigger. Twice as big as what we humans have. Huh. Feels like whoever built that went a little overboard.

"—is where the tournament will take place." She continues. "Though the first match is still hours from now."

"But I thought Rating Games took place in a pocket dimension?" Ichiban says. "Why a whole stadium if we're not going to be fighting in it in the first place?"

"Well, devils tend to take inspiration from humans and their ideas." Rias answers, prompting an audible snort from my mother, which is ignored. "The games won't take place in the stadium, but that's where the audience will be seated."

"We can answer your questions on the way," Sona adds. "Follow me; I'll lead you to the evaluation test."

The Sitri Devil, alongside Rias and their Queens, leads us to the opposite side of the stadium and into the palace itself, as the rest of their peerages stay in the courtyard. We encounter practically nobody else through the dimly lit hallways, and I remind myself that getting temporary peerage members is rare. According to the girls, at least.

We ask them a couple more questions, mostly about the layout of the castle, where Sirzechs is, and the rules of the Rating Game. Nothing worth mentioning other than the fact that intentionally killing someone is against the rules; however, accidental killings are allowed.

Which is something, I guess? I won't bother trying to 'accidentally' kill someone since it's a risky move for no good reason. Leveling up isn't as good as devouring souls, anyway, and getting myself disqualified because I didn't like someone in particular doesn't sound intelligent, even if it sounds funny.

I'll play by the rules. I have nothing to lose, and Ichiban and Rias' team are the only people I view as a threat. Everyone else is fodder in comparison. I won't have to use my armor until I face off against Ichi because, as much as I don't like to admit it, his Balance Breaker is way more than I can handle, even with the armor.

But it's not Ichiban that I need to defeat here. I just have to distract him. Rias is the main target, so if she's out, we win the tournament. They know this, obviously, so they're going to plan around it, but I have a perfect foolproof strategy.

And it requires something I got from Majima a little earlier today. That man is a life-saver. As fucked-up and weird as he is, I like him.

I glance at the handy Tojo tech in my inventory with a smirk. Oh, this is going to be so good~! I need to figure out a way to recreate it soon.

"Here we are," Sona says, stopping in front of an office door. "Kasuga, Akane, please step forward."

I blink, not sensing anything or anyone behind the door, but I pause as soon as I see who's inside the moment Sona opens it. I don't know what exactly I expected— maybe a machine that determines our values compared to Sona or Rias. Or if not, then some random guy to prepare a spell that could do such a thing.

I didn't think this was going to be a simple office.

But I immediately recognize the man inside, reading a book on his chair. Observe only shows question marks, as I thought it would because this is no random devil. The sheer presence I felt the moment that door opened was enough to put me on edge.

Slicked back green hair, blue eyes, a cold, unfeeling gaze, and an aura so powerful it feels like he's simultaneously controlling every drop of mana in the atmosphere. The soul-piercing glance he gave me told me that, besides Lucifer, this man is far, far more dangerous than anyone I've ever encountered. Not even Sirzechs felt this way.

Ajuka Beelzebub. One of the current Satans and the creator of the evil pieces.

"Greetings, Lord Beelzebub." Sona and Rias bow politely. "These two are our chosen partners. Ichiban Kasuga with Rias Gremory, and Akane Amamiya with me, Sona Sitri."

He says nothing for a moment, staring directly at my eyes. I don't sense malice or the intent to hurt me from him, which is why I'm not precisely intimidated…

…Yet it feels like I'm directly staring into the jaws of death.

"He's dangerous." I suddenly hear Lucifer's voice as he materializes behind me, confirming my thoughts. "Very, very dangerous."

Ajuka continues his silent staring, staying dead still.

"If you ever find yourself an enemy of his." The devil god looks at me with a serious frown. "Do not engage."

Not even Sirzechs got a warning as severe as this…

Just who the hell am I looking at?

"Akane Amamiya." He suddenly says my name. "...Ten points. You're allowed to participate."

Oh. Oh, that's good. One point to spare.

Right, I nearly forgot why we were here for a moment. I didn't expect this evaluation to work like this. I expected a whole process…

I finally tear my gaze away from Ajuka to look at my partner, seeing Sona smiling widely, pleased with the result. She bows again in respect and gratitude as he looks at Ichiban, gauging him up before answering.

"Ichiban Kasuga. Red Dragon Emperor." He said, pausing for dramatic effect for whatever reason. "...Fourteen points. You're allowed to participate."

"LET'S FUCKING GOOOO!" Ichiban celebrates loudly before freezing, remembering where he is and who's in front of him. "I mean, yeah… nice. Cool."

Dumbass. How the hell isn't he feeling the tremendous pressure that's around Ajuka? Does he just not give a fuck?

"Thank you so much, Lord Beelzebub!" Rias beams. "We will be taking our leave now."

With that, Ajuka goes back to his book, pretending we aren't there. I give him one final glance as I follow Rias and Sona outside, deciding to avoid this man at all costs. Or until I figure out what he is and what he can do. I don't like him. Being in his presence made me feel like an open book.

"Is everything okay?" My mother, who is waiting outside with Asia, asks me, looking very worried.

"Better than okay," I say confidently. "We're in."

"Both of you?" Asia asks.

"Hell yeah!" Ichiban's grin widens. "Exactly fourteen points! Imagine that?"

Surprisingly, Mizuki gives us a smile at that, seemingly happy for us. Well, I did make it clear that I've been wanting to join this tournament ever since I heard about it, so she knows I'm very pleased. And Ichi's excitement has always been incredibly contagious.

"Now that we've gotten everything done, we'll show you where you'll be staying for the duration of the tournament," Sona says, clasping her hands together before looking at Mizuki and Asia. "Though I hope you don't mind, you'll be in a separate building from Akane and Ichiban, as they're participants while you're the audience."

My mother immediately looks like she wants to protest, but a single look from me tells her that I'll be fine. After all, Ichiban is with me, and unless you have people of Saejima's caliber, you're not doing shit to either of us.

"...Fine." Mizuki sighs. "Call me in an hour, Akane."

"Got it."

"Tsubaki and Akeno will show you the way to the hotel," Sona says professionally. "I hope you'll enjoy your stay there. We've picked the most luxurious lodgings in the underworld, and everything is already paid for."

The Queen pieces quickly take the luggage off their hands, giving my mother a disarming smile that she doesn't seem to like very much, and lead the two away to wherever their hotel is.

"As for you two…" Rias grins. "Well, I won't spoil the surprise. Just come with me. You're going to love it here."

She must be very confident if she's saying that. That, or she's saying it to Ichi specifically. But who cares about a room? I'm here to kick ass and finish a quest.

This tournament is mine.

– Ichiban –

Initially, when he'd heard Sona say they had already prepared a hotel for Mizuki and Asia, he expected the same for him and Akane. He thought that the separation of the audience and participants made perfect sense. It probably wasn't a good idea to mix everyone together.

At first, as the two humans followed the two devils outside the palace and somewhere closer to the stadium, he thought that they'd be thrown in another hotel primarily composed of participants.

Which was OK with him. Ichi was as social as they came. He'd love talking to other teams and making new friendships. Maybe some kind of guys-only hang out after a match would be a thing here because, as lucky as he was being surrounded by gorgeous women all the time, he barely knew any guy his age. Issei, who wasn't even here, and Kiba. That was it.

Ichiban, however, did not expect a fucking resort ten times the size of Akane's home ENTIRELY for them alone. Yes. Two people. It wasn't shared with others. Not even the millionaires on Earth could afford this entire modern-looking resort of this scale.

"Holy shit…" He breathed in utter awe at what he was seeing.

This was majestic, fit for royalty. In fact, Ichiban felt unworthy just staring at this fortress of a private resort, which had gardens, fields, an outside pool that could probably comfortably accommodate fifty people, and there was a beautiful lake under the cliff the building stood on. It was just that incredible.

"Dayum." Akane, of course, had a far more reserved reaction. Although, she did look genuinely impressed. "You girls seriously didn't hold back on this, huh?"

"For our friends? It'd be an insult if we gave you any less." Sona said, looking proud of herself. "And nothing is for show, either. You can use all the facilities within the resort to your heart's content."

"How'd you even get this for us?" Ichiban had to ask. "Does everyone participating get a place like this?"

"Nope. It's a special case for you two. And us, since we have a similar place ourselves." Rias grinned. "We both have Satan siblings, remember? Pulling a few strings has never been so easy~"

"Is this really okay?" He hesitated.

This felt too much for him. Could he really enjoy something like this? Him? What did he do to deserve it? All his life, Ichiban had been content with the little things. The small apartment in Kuoh felt absolutely perfect for him, so getting to enjoy this, even temporarily, felt wrong.

It did always feel weird being the only poor guy surrounded by people who were either middle-class or fucking royalty. Hell, the three girls near him were the latter in some capacity. Seriously, how had he gotten himself into this position?

"Of course it is, Kasuga." Rias giggled. "After all, tournament aside, this is a devil festival, and you guys are guests. I'd feel awful if you didn't enjoy it here."

"Just accept their generosity, Ichi." Akane playfully smacked him on the shoulder. "It makes you look bad otherwise. Though, one question."

"Yes?" Sona tilted her head.

"Logically speaking, shouldn't Sona and I share a place," She pointed out, glancing at Rias. "While Rias and Ichi share theirs?"

"That was the plan originally." The Sitri devil nodded. "But we got word that Ichiban must be in the same residence as you."

Right. I'm her bodyguard. Ichiban reminded himself. I guess that makes sense? But still…

"Then how come we aren't all in the same resort?"

"That was also what we intended to do." Rias shrugged. "But Sirzechs and Sera disagreed, saying something about it being crowded."

Crowded? This place? It'd still feel empty even if you multiplied their entire groups by ten.

"I guess that's their way of spoiling, huh? Or flexing." Akane noted. "Oh well, I won't say no to this. Though, no offense to either of you or your siblings, I actually do prefer smaller places."

"You do?" Ichiban looked at her quizzically.

She'd always flaunt her wealth around, saying things like 'I could buy Kuoh if I wanted to' or 'I'm going to personally fund Bloodborne 2 if it doesn't come out this year', so he thought she loved massive castles like this to go with this spoiled princess archetype.

"Yeah." She confirmed. "My place back in Kiyoraha? Perfect for me, and it's barely a tenth of the size."

Right, her hometown was in Kansai.

"I understand." Sona took it well. "But be sure to enjoy yourselves here. There are still four hours until the tournament, so you have more than enough time to have fun and relax."

"And if you need anything else, call us," Rias said. "Phones still work here, y'know? There's WiFi and everything, too. You can browse both human and supernatural networks."

This seemed to pique Akane's interest as she smiled widely. Of course, she would be happy about that. Though, to be fair, you can't live too long without the internet after experiencing it. Ichiban understood that.

"We can?!" She exclaimed. "This is gonna be amazing~"

"You look more excited about the internet than you are about the tournament," Ichiban noted in exasperation before addressing the devil girls. "Thanks a lot, you two."

"Any time!" The redhead waved it off. "Anyway, we'll be off now. I'll send you a message when it's time to strategize, Kasuga."

"Sure."

With that, the two girls created a magical circle and teleported away, with Rias throwing a peace sign right before vanishing. With this, they were finally left alone… which Ichiban quickly regretted as his mind wandered to the picture Akane had sent him the night before.

"Come on, let's explore." She suddenly said, taking his hand and dashing towards the door.

"Easy there." He sighed. "I thought you liked smaller places. Why do you look so excited?"

The suit of armor automatically followed them closely as they explored the resort, entering every room they could find. For a place in the underworld where most streets looked a bit medieval, it was modern as fuck with a hint of magic. It really felt like a billionaire vacation home.

An aquarium, an inside pool, some magic massaging machine, a sauna, a whole ass room for all kinds of entertainment, from entire shelves filled with Blu-rays with a giant TV screen to even video games that weren't out yet – unfortunately, no Bloodborne 2 – There was even an indoor gym below that. It was basically the ideal mansion for anyone.

Several bedrooms with huge king-sized beds alleviated any kind of stress—literally. According to Akane, the beds were enchanted with some weird magic to make whoever was lying on them as comfortable as possible.

The kitchen was stocked with various ingredients, snacks, and drinks. Entire recipes from all over the world were attached to the walls. With everything here, Ichiban was more than confident they could live here for a whole year before noticing they were running out of supplies.

Even a single bathroom was bigger than his apartment. That was how insane this place was.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but you were severely outdone." He told his best friend. "They might actually be richer than you."

"Heh, maybe before they made this place." Akane seemed unbothered, lying on the bench beside the outdoor pool as her robot armor stood next to her. It kept following her around like a pet. "But people who burn money like this only give you the illusion that they're that rich."

"Right, considering how unreasonably stingy you are, that makes perfect sense." Ichiban snorted. "So I take it back."

"That's the thing, Ichi." She smirked. "Every rich guy is a greedy motherfucker. That's how they stay rich."

"Are you calling yourself greedy?"

"Fuck yeah, I am." She admitted with zero shame. "How do you think Kaa-san and I are still billionaires?"

"Not throwing your money around?"

"Tax evasion."

Ichiban paused.

"What?"

"Anyway, what should we do now?" She asked. "It's still pretty early. We barely spent thirty minutes checking out the whole place."

…He would ignore that bit about evading taxes. For his own sake.

"Hmm…" Ichiban hummed in thought.

The problem was that there was a lot they could do to waste time here. The gym in the basement could do well as some sort of warm-up before the real thing. Or they could enjoy some video games.

Ichi felt that going for a swim right now felt too early, even though he'd do a lot to see her in a bikini after what she'd sent him last night.

The memory quickly made his face burn. Goddamn it, and he just forgot about it too…

He looked at her lying there, reminded of how attractive she was. He stared at her chest, rising with every breath she drew while she was completely oblivious to his gaze, seemingly thinking about what they should be doing next.

…But since they were alone, he might as well bring it up.

"S-so uh…" He cleared his throat. "Got a question, actually."

"Yeah?"

"About that image you sent me…" He said, and at her confused look, he explained. "…The nude picture… Did you really mean to send me that, or was it on accident?"

He didn't know why he asked that. It was pretty clear from the caption attached to the image itself, but honestly, that was the best he could do to bring it up without sounding like a creep.

"Cuz like— it kind of felt odd? I know you like to tease me, but isn't that a little too much?" He clarified. "I dunno…"

Akane looked at him silently for a few seconds, which immediately made him regret ever mentioning it. Why couldn't he learn how to shut the fuck up and enjoy the blessings he was given? Why did he have to make a fool out of himself?

The more he spoke, the more he was convinced that he would die alone.

"I don't know how you, but you make stupidity attractive." She said.

"Huh?" He blinked.

"No, Ichi. It wasn't an accident." She sighed before giving him a smirk and sitting up. "I fully intended to have you see that."

"A-ah…"

"Why? Did you enjoy it?" She asked. "Do you want more?"

"M-more?! I-I mean, I wouldn't really mind if you're—"

He froze as Akane suddenly sprung toward him, inching closer to his face as he stood there motionless.

"Or would you rather I…" She said sultrily, slowly unbuttoning her shirt and showing a bit of cleavage. "…Give you a private show? We still have a few hours before the first match~"

What the fuck is happening?

Ichiban didn't know how to answer that. Was she actually being serious? Was this another scheme of hers to mess with him? But this was too intimate. This was…

He didn't even move as she felt her hand take his, guiding it to her divinely soft breast. Even as he reflexively squeezed, she didn't do anything, merely widening her smug smirk at him. Was this a dream? A joke? No.

This felt too real to be a dream or one of her usual jokes.

"...I-if I say yes…" He worked up the courage to speak. "…should I expect to be kicked in the balls?"

This could still be a trap.

"Hilarious." She giggled softly. "…Though, if you do say yes, I'd refuse."

"So it was just teasing after all…" Ichiban didn't bother hiding the disappointment in his tone.

"No. Because that'd be too easy." She said, resting her breasts on his chest as she brought him closer. "So here's what's going to happen…"

As he finally worked up enough courage to maintain eye contact with her, only then he noticed how red her face was.

"If you manage to defeat me in a Rating Game match…" She whispered in his ear, prompting a shiver down his spine. "…I'll give you something even better than that photo."

Something better? His imagination went wild.

"Do we have a deal?"

He nodded slowly.

"Great!" She quickly backed off, flipping the entire mood upside down as she dragged him by his hand. "Come on, I bet I can kick your ass in FighterZ."

He might still be unsure if his best friend(?) was still messing around or not, seeing as she didn't bother buttoning her shirt.

But for some reason, Ichiban had never felt so motivated to win a competition in these seventeen years of his life.

If you want more of this, check out the Money Site(pa tre on). I just posted a 10,000-word chapter there.