Some time has passed since the battle against Riser. The engagement was broken off and Rias no longer had to worry about Riser bothering her. Rias' family actually heard that once Riser woke up he was in shock at his loss and has secluded himself in his home ever since. I'd say I feel sorry for him but I would be lying. Issei thought to himself. After Rias confessed to Issei at the party they had gotten much closer. Naturally that night they slept together, and Issei learned that different girls gave different experiences. If I had to say which was better between Mash and Rias… No, I shouldn't be comparing them. They are both my precious girlfriends after all. That's just a problem waiting to happen so I won't go down that thought trail. Issei warned himself. Rias continued to live with Issei and had been helping out around the house. She showed everyone that she knew how to cook and clean and when Asia saw her doing that she wanted to learn too. Boudica decided to help teach both of them new dishes and have been getting along since.

This closeness showed itself at school too. Rias didn't bother to be discreet about being fond of Issei, although she restrained herself enough to leave it at clinging to one side of him while Mash was on the other. Many students couldn't believe their eyes and as usual the rumors started to spread like a plague, varying from Issei two-timing the girls to Issei blackmailing them. As usual, Issei ignored them to the best of his abilities while Rias was contemplating saying that they were going out to shut up the rumors. Issei warned her against it because he didn't want to bring down her reputation so she relented for now, but she wasn't going to let it go.

Mash and Issei were walking to the clubroom together to meet up with everyone else. They had to come in late because they got a call from Da Vinci they had to take, so the others went to the club ahead of them. The two were chatting as they walked through the hall when suddenly they heard noise coming from the clubroom. Issei stopped and stopped Mash too and put a finger up to tell her to be quiet. He made a small bounded field around them, creating a presence concealment. They then walked up to the door and began to listen in. They heard Sona inside talking to Rias.

"You can't do anything you know. It doesn't matter what he's done, it will only matter what he is." said Sona.

Rias made a sour face along with the other members of the ORC who were watching and listening to the conversation. "I didn't take you for the type to think nobody but devils mattered Sona." Rias said frostily.

Sona slightly flinched at that. "You know that's not what I meant. Being a devil you can't get involved with a human, especially since you are a member of one of the pillar families."

Asia felt her heart sink when she heard that. While she didn't understand the specifics she at least understood what was being said. The others in the room had serious faces as well as they were fond of Issei. Rias continued to look displeased. "You think I don't know that? I'm well aware that getting involved with a human is taboo. Hell, getting involved with a fallen or angel would be more acceptable." Rias was rubbing the bridge of her nose. "But I've already decided that I'm going to be with him. I won't let something like the Council get in the way of that." she said with resolve. Issei and Mash who were listening on the other side of the door smiled at her words.

Sona looked like she was fighting a headache and continued to address Rias. "Look, I understand how you're probably feeling right now but you have to think about this clearly. If you upset the Devil Council they may take drastic actions against you and your family. The only reason they seem to be tolerating it at the moment is because there is no news spreading in the Underworld about you being in a relationship and they figure that either he will become a member of your peerage or that he will simply, pass on, on his own."

The others scowled at Sona's explanation. Rias looked like she was holding herself back from exploding. Those people of the Devil Council can kiss my ass! She was fed up with being told what to do and how to live. She took a moment to recompose herself before speaking to her friend. "Sona, we have been talking for a long time about how we would help change the Underworld. I understand where you're coming from with trying to take things slowly, but after what happened with the fallen angels earlier this year, I realized that I was being too cautious because I didn't want to set myself back. But after Issei pushed me to do something about them, I realized that trying to take things the slow way is not always the best option. If I had stayed cautious and didn't do anything or had left it to Issei I never would have found out about him and the fallen would have possibly gained a powerful Sacred Gear and thus could have been the end of us." Rias showed a contemplative look. "I know you don't want to make a mistake for the sake of the future but that can be true for doing nothing either. If we are going to change how things are done then we need to be able to show them that not only does another path exist, but that it is prosperous. Going against social norms is just as much a part of that. Those old fossils on the Devil Council are only able to continue to throw their weight around because people won't stand up and say no to them. Their time has long since passed and they just cling on to whatever they can to seem like they're relevant. But we know who really makes our society progress."

Sona had an indescribable look on her face. She didn't disagree with Rias, but the fact she said it so brazenly took her by surprise. "Be careful where you say that Rias. You don't want someone making things difficult for you." she warned.

"That would only happen if someone here said something." Rias narrowed her eyes at Sona.

Sona sighed in defeat seeing how Rias wasn't going to budge on the issue. "Look, just keep it private between you two. As far as your relationship goes my sister isn't against it at all and I doubt the other Maoh care either. What of your brother?"

Rias had a slightly embarrassed and unsure look. "W-well, I haven't said anything to him yet. And as far as he knows our dating was a farce to help me out of the engagement."

Sona's headache continued to increase. "You were speaking so confidently before, but it seems even you still understand the need for tact. Just be careful Rias, please?"

Rias seemed to become cool-headed again. "All right. Don't worry Sona, I haven't forgotten the main goal. I won't ruin this for both of us, but I think you should be taking bolder steps yourself. We may be long-lived but you should try to make your dreams happen as soon as you can or you might miss your opportunity." Rias said, giving her the advice Circe gave her.

Sona seemed to think about what she said for a moment before speaking again. "I will keep that in mind. Anyways, I have work to do so I will see you another time."

Rias nodded and Sona left the room. Issei and Mash move to the side before Sona opened the door and as she did she walked past them without even noticing them. After she was gone Issei and Mash went back to listening to what was going on inside for a bit. Asia had gotten up and walked up to Rias. "Uhm… Rias-buchou, about what Sona-kaichou was talking about, does that mean because I'm a devil I can't…" she couldn't finish her sentence, being afraid of the answer.

Rias looked at Asia, considering the girl, then gave her a smile. "Well, all we have to do is convince Issei to become a devil like us and then there will be no problems. Although, like I said to Sona earlier such things are outdated and should be considered with a grain of salt." Rias said a bit dismissively.

Akeno chuckled a bit at her King's response. "Ara ara, buchou seems to be taking after Issei-kun more and more."

Rias blushed at her Queen's teasing while Asia seemed to resolve herself. With that Issei took that as his queue to enter so he got rid of his and Mash's presence concealment and knocked on the door before entering. "Hey guys. Did we miss anything? We saw Sona on our way in." Issei half lied.

Rias just smiled brightly at them. "We were just exchanging information about the recent activity of church agents in our territory."

Issei's look turned slightly serious. He knew about this after he got some information from Georgios about an exorcist he saved. He didn't say anything to Rias because he was trying to get some solid information to work with before jumping into it. Although the fact that the fallen were planning something in this town again made him slightly upset. "And? What did she say?"

"From what we can gather, exorcists seem to be coming into our town. For what reason we don't know but whatever the case, someone is killing them as they arrive. Whoever it is is using a blade to cut them down and…" Rias had a slightly disgusted face. "The bodies are mutilated in disgusting ways."

Issei knew who it was from Georgios' report but again didn't want to give any info yet. But he was gonna point them in the right direction. "That sounds an awful lot like what Freed did."

After he said that the expression on everyone's faces changed. "Wait, you're right! That does sound like something he would do. But I thought he was dealt with after we invaded the church." Rias said.

"Well, we never checked if he was dead or not. Angry Mango just kicked him through a window and we moved on to the fallen leaders. He might have slipped away and recovered."

Rias went into thought. So, Freed has been hiding in the town recovering and doing Maoh knows what while we have been preoccupied with other things. This is bad. While I can't say I care for members of the church, if he goes after Asia for revenge things could get dangerous. "We need to confirm it's him and take the steps necessary to deal with him. Last thing I want is Freed getting the drop on us and possibly getting revenge on Asia or Issei."

Everyone nodded in agreement, but Issei had a slightly stunned look on his face. I didn't even consider him going to attack Asia. I need to ask the others to watch over everyone so that no one is stranded against him. Issei thought. "If he comes anywhere near Asia, he's dead." Issei said in a low tone.

"I-Issei-san, please calm down. I'm thankful but please don't go looking for danger for my sake." Asia panicked but had a grateful look.

Issei seemed to calm down a bit and looked to Asia apologetically. "Sorry. I just don't want anything to happen to you."

Rias looked at the pair with a smile. "Whatever the case we should investigate these incidents to figure out what is going on."

"Leave that to me Rias. My servants can gather info much faster and easier than you guys can. They are already roaming the town so it won't make much difference if I tell them to keep their eyes peeled."

"Thanks Ise, that would be a big help." Rias said with a smile. "Well in any case, we should work on our club activities. We also need to get ready for the ball tournament that is happening soon."

""""""Yes buchou."""""" was responded by all the club members.

It was morning in the Hyoudou household and Issei started waking up to a soft sensation. As he slowly opened his eyes he was greeted to a pleasant sight. On one side was Rias who was wrapped around one arm and on the other was Mash who was doing the same. Both girls were nude and clearly comfortable being close to Issei. Issei had gotten used to this situation already, but he still felt great happiness whenever he saw it. Not only that but ever since Rias and Issei started going out Rias had been spoiling Issei in how she treated him in private. As a result, more of Issei's old personality had made its way to the surface and Issei has had to work harder to keep his composure. Rias noticed this but was happy about it as she was always fond of how Issei was originally, so being able to make him go back to how he was was a bit of a pleasant surprise for her.

Issei attempted to get up without disturbing the two but there wasn't much room for him to move. As he was stirring, someone spoke to him. "Good morning Issei." said Rias happily.

"Morning Rias. Sorry, did I wake you up?"

"No. I woke up a bit before you, but I wanted to cuddle longer."

Issei smiled gratefully and pulled Rias in closer which earned him a smile from her. As that was happening, Mash started to wake up as well. "Yawn. Good morning Senpai. Good morning Rias." she said groggily.

"Morning Mashu. Did you sleep well?" Issei asked.

"Yes, thank you." she said with a blush.

As the three were waking up there was a knock on the door. "Issei-san, it's time to get up. Breakfast is almost ready." said Asia from the other side.

Before he could respond, Rias spoke first. "We will be ready in a bit Asia."

There was silence for a bit before the door swung open, revealing a slightly displeased Asia pouting at Rias. She then turned to see Mash there too and when she looked back to Rias, Rias clung onto Issei's side while sticking her tongue out playfully at her. Faster than anyone could react Asia began to strip and walked into the room. "I will also get naked! I don't want to be left behind!" she said with determination. With that the morning began a little more chaotically than normal.

After they all got ready the group went downstairs to eat breakfast that was made by Martha and Boudica. While everyone was enjoying breakfast and chatting, Rias addressed Issei. "Oh, I forgot to mention. The clubroom is undergoing cleaning today, so I was planning on hosting our club here today." Rias turned to Issei's mom. "I hope that is ok mother."

Issei's mom just had a big smile on her face. "Oh, it's ok dear. It will be nice to have someone visit besides Matsuda, Motohama, and Kiryuu. Maybe I will get out the photo albums to share with the guests."

Issei showed an embarrassed smile. "Kaa-san, there is no need to-"

"I would like to see those pictures!" said Mash energetically.

"Me too!" said Rias.

"I-I would like to as well!" stuttered Asia.

The others in the room looked interested as well while Issei just looked down embarrassed. There's no way I'm going to convince them not to look and Kaa-san would probably show them behind my back anyways. Issei thought to himself in resignation.

Later in the Hyoudou residence, Issei currently had his head in his hand as his mother had brought out the photo albums for the others to go through. The club members along with some of the servants who were there were going through the albums and sharing them with each other. Koneko said something about finding out Senpai's embarrassing past, while Kiba and Akeno simply looked amused.

"And this is a picture of Issei when he was small and we went to the beach. He was so adorable when he tried to go swimming naked." said Issei's mom with a light chuckle.

The others were looking at the pictures with distinct amusement on their faces. Some of them looked to Issei who buried his face even deeper into his hands in embarrassment. After a bit Issei peeked over to where Rias and Mash were as they were looking at a different album. The pair were staring intently at a picture of Issei when he was small. They both had a light blush on their faces for some reason.

"Child Issei…" Rias muttered.

"Senpai as a kid…" Mash muttered.

Uhhhh… Are those two ok? They almost look, entranced by my picture. Are they perhaps closet shotacons? Issei thought to himself.

Asia walked over to them and held their hands. "I understand how you both feel Rias-buchou, Mash-san!" she said with conviction.

"Asia…" Rias responded back emotionally. Mash also had an emotional look on her face as well and the three seemed to have come to an understanding. Issei, who was watching the trio from the side, was completely lost as to what was going on.

In the meantime, more photos were being passed around to everyone. Eventually one picture made its way to Kiba and he showed a surprised look when he saw it. Issei noticed him and moved next to him to see which picture caught his attention. It was a picture of Issei when he was small with another boy he was friends with in the past and the kid's dad in the back holding an imitation sword. "To find one here, fate sure is funny." Kiba said.

Issei looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

Kiba pointed to the sword in the picture. "That's a holy sword."

Issei gave a look of surprise. "Really? Huh, who would have guessed." Kiba returned the picture to Issei's mom and was quiet the rest of day.

I wasn't planning on posting this until I was done, but I have been procrastinating when writing and I don't want to keep you guys waiting for too long, so I wanted to ask. Should I wait until I'm done with the volume and upload like I did before? Or should I upload a chapter as soon as I'm done with it? Please let me know. On a different note, I will say that I borrowed this drama from AthanMortis, the guy I mentioned who inspired me to write this in the first place. I thought it was a good set up for drama that fit within the frame of this world, so I wanted to give my own spin on it. Also, even though I'm making Issei "better" in this story, him being a perv is an integral part of the source material so I am going to find ways to integrate it into the story and even though Fujimaru is in the driver's seat, Issei is still there being a back-seat driver.