Chapter 3

I awoke in the morning to a green-haired goddess sprawled across my chest. Her head was draped over my chest and her right leg hooked around mine. I ran my hand lightly across her back and enjoyed the softness of her skin. She had stopped wearing any clothes to bed now since practically every night ended with sex in some way, shape, or form. My alarm hadn't gone off yet, so I knew I had time to just lay here.

So, I chose to simply do that. Laying there in the early morning, the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen butt naked and clinging to me like an oversized teddy bear, was easily the most wonderful feeling in the world. Knowing that I had rocked her world last night made it so much better.

Granted she'd rocked mine as well, but I certainly wasn't complaining. I played with her hair as I idly ran through my plans for the day. Classes would fill most of it up, but then I'd come home and help Akari with unpacking all of our belongings. Knowing her, she'd do the kitchen first so that she could have dinner ready by the time I got home. She was an angel like that.

Or rather, a devil I suppose, I laughed at my own joke despite it being horrible and let my mind wander to how crazy my world had become. I could still hardly comprehend that I was the son of an ancient house of devils that were so feared that their enemies went to great lengths to see us brought low. I thought about my father and wondered what he'd do if he were in my shoes. I hope I live up to his expectations.

Before my thoughts could spiral to a more negative place, the otherworldly creature, heh, began to stir. She stretched an arm up over her head and let out the cutest yawn I have ever heard in my entire life. Completing her yawn and her stretch, Akari rolled on top of me and we locked eyes.

"Good morning, beautiful. Sleep well?" I asked with a shit eating grin.

"The best night of sleep I've ever gotten, thank you," she smiled back and stole my lips for a passionate good morning kiss.

And that was the moment my alarm decided to remind us of its existence as it began to loudly play music. Akari started to groan and sit up, but I wrapped my arms around her head and kept her lips locked to mine. I deepened the kiss further, trying to tell her how much I loved her without words. After a few moments I let go and let her sit up, watching the love of my life pant for breath above me with not a shred of clothing on.

My eyes fell to her breasts once again, can you really blame me?, and enjoyed the sight of them heaving up and down for a moment.

"Get moving, goofball," Akari slapped my chest as she swung a leg over me and began to get up off the bed.

"You think I have time for a quick wash before school?" I asked, staring at her gorgeous ass saunter out of the room.

"If you don't join me in the washroom in the next 5 seconds you aren't getting any boobs for a week," she called over her shoulder as she turned the corner.

I'm pretty sure I set the land speed record right then and there with how quickly I got out of bed, ran out the door, scooped her up into a princess carry, and rushed to the washroom. Akari giggled the whole way to the washing station right up until I plopped that juicy ass on the stool.

What followed was a quick wash followed by a quickie in the tub before we both recleaned ourselves, since we couldn't keep our hands off each other. Akari chose to go start breakfast in the nude while I threw my uniform on. When I entered the kitchen, I was greeted by the green-haired beauty's ass swinging in the wind as she cooked me breakfast with nothing but an apron on.

"Be careful, or I might just make that the only clothes you're allowed to wear in this house," I grinned as I sat at the table, my eyes never leaving her pert ass.

"Don't tempt me," Akari grinned as she turned around and showed me the rest of her apron, "But then we'd never get anything done."

She was wearing an all black apron that read 'Kiss the chef' in red lettering and had a window in the chest to reveal plenty of creamy cleavage.

"You sure would," I grinned like a lunatic as she approached me with my usual breakfast.

Akari slapped my shoulder playfully before turning back to the stove to cook her own eggs. I patiently waited for her to join me before I dug in. I had 45 minutes to my first class and I knew the gym was a 20 minute walk at a leisurely pace and it would take me roughly 5 minutes beyond that to get to my classroom. Which gave me 20 minutes to eat, brush my teeth, fix my hair, and enjoy Akari's company for as many minutes as I could possibly squeeze. I mentally grinned at the thought of squeezing before returning my attention to Akari.

"What are your plans for the day?" I asked, "Surely you don't plan to unpack all day."

"Of course not. I'll probably clean up here, unpack the kitchen (I knew it), then teleport over to our apartment and get some shopping done."

I grinned at my foresight but simply nodded at her, "My classes will take up most of my day, but I'll be back for dinner. Are you gonna be okay all by yourself today?"

Akari laughed at me, "Silly, I've been alone every day you've gone to school. I'll be fine."

I'll give her that one. All too soon my breakfast was finished and I retreated upstairs to finish getting ready. I quickly rushed back downstairs to say goodbye to Akari and found her waiting at the front door with my school bag on the floor next to her.

I easily scooped her up into a full body hug as soon as I reached her and gave her a deep kiss. Gently placing her back on the floor I gave her bare ass a good smack just cause I could.

She giggled but didn't try to chastise me for it, "Have a great day."

"You too, beautiful."

I gave her a couple more pecks on the lips before slinging my bag over my shoulders and strolling out the front door like I owned the world.

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 It was finally the end of the day and I was excited to get back to the house. Not only had my classes gone well, but I liked all of my teachers and had also received the entire workload for each class for the year.

Basics of Math was going to be so easy I could finish all of the work by the end of the week. Basics of Science would be much the same, but might take a day or two more simply by having more work. Japanese Literature had 10 different books I had to read and an essay on each book about what I learned and how I could apply that to my life. Public speaking was simple enough. There were specific days I had to be at class in order to give my public speech to the high school students on various topics. They were optional for high school students to sit in on, but depending on the topic you chose many would simply to listen to one of their elders give them advice or knowledge.

Using a Perceptive Palette, on the other hand, would require me to be in class every Friday for that day's lesson. The rest of the classes each week were optional but the style in which we'd be expected to use each week would be taught during that time. So really, I'd likely attend every Thursday and Friday.

Excited at the prospect of being almost entirely free of school in just a few weeks, I happily hummed to myself as I made my way home. Halfway there, however, I came across a rather interesting scene.

There was a group of female students yelling up at three students sitting in the branches of the tree. As I approached, I got a better understanding of what was going on.

"Did you see that? They took pictures down my shirt while I wasn't paying attention."

"Seems like the perverted trio are the same as ever."

"I knew they'd never grow up!"

"What a bunch of creeps!"

Sitting in the tree above were three students the same age as me. One was a bit taller than the other two, had his hair cut very short, and was yelling profanities back at the women around them. Another, the shortest by far, had longer black hair and glasses that caught the light so well that I couldn't see past the glare to his eyes. In his hands he held a camera, which he was still shamelessly using to take pictures down the shirts of the girls below him.

Finally, the third who sat a little further up the tree actually had the shame to look embarrassed. He was scratching the back of a head filled with long brown hair. He had both his school jacket and button-up shirt opened up to reveal a red shirt beneath.

"Alright ladies, I think that's enough. I think you're just giving that one more time to take pictures of you all. I'll take care of them for you," I called out as I approached.

Most of the yelling ceased, except for the tall one in the tree above me, and the girls finally noticed the short one still taking pictures. They all grumbled their complaints for a moment before slowly walking away.

After a few minutes they all seemed to disappear and the perverted three teens lowered themselves to the ground to stand in front of me.

"Thanks for the help, friend! Now I can process all of these photos on my computer and add them to my mental spank bank forever," the short one said, "My name is Motohama." He stuck his hand out for me to shake, but honestly I had no desire to do so.

"Yeah man, that was totally baller of you to help us out there," the taller one began, "Names Matsuda, top-handsome guy and resident lady killer." Yeah, I seriously doubted that.

My gaze fell on the third who had yet to speak.

"And you?" I asked.

"Issei. Thanks for that. We just wanted to get a quick peek of those bouncing bazongas. I don't know what all the fuss was about."

These three are either dense or actually proud of how creepy they are. Probably both. "I'd recommend not creeping on girls like that. You realize that you'll never actually get to date one of them if all you do is creep on them, right?"

"Sacrilege! All there is in life is boobs and butts! Eventually one of them will wake up and date me," Matsuda claimed.

"Why would I waste the time and effort trying to date one of them when I can just see what I want without them even knowing," Motohama questioned me.

"I mean, yeah seeing is nice and all," I began as I leaned in a little closer, "but have you ever actually felt a woman's breasts? Or ass? Or her touch as she runs her hand across your skin?"

"He knows?!"

"Speak, oh wise one!"

"Teach me, master! Teach me the ways of groping boobies!" Issei finished as they all fell to their knees, begging for me to teach them. I rolled my eyes at their antics, but maybe I could do a good thing for the women of the school here.

"Lesson One, then. Half the fun in dating women is the chase. The longer it takes to finally woo her into your bed the better it's going to feel once you do. But you can't do that if you are constantly creeping on them. You have to show them your interest in different ways. Normal ways," I spoke as if I was giving sage advice instead of common sense.

"Once you have mastered lesson one we will move to lesson two."

"Yes, master. I won't let you down!"

"Be prepared to come back tomorrow, this first lesson is already in the bag!"

"This is it! This is the start of my hero arc to become a harem king!"

I rolled my eyes again before turning around and leaving the three of them there. Hopefully that might actually make a difference.

I strode casually the rest of the way home, failing to notice that I had three perverts tailing me. As I approached the front door, Akari opened it for me revealing her in a blue and white kimono that barely covered her tits. In fact, I could just see the edges of her nipples poking out at me. We both failed to notice the torrents of blood that shot up into the sky as three perverts were literally blasted away by the beauty of my green-haired queen.

I quickly scooped Akari up in a hug and walked her inside, kicking the door closed with my foot.

"Hey there, beautiful," I kissed her as I set her down.

"How was your day, love?" she asked me as we broke apart.

I filled Akari in on my day as we made our way into the kitchen where dinner was already laid out on the table.

"You really are the best, you know that?" I grinned at her as I pulled her seat out for her.

"I know," she teased as she sat down and waited for me as we both began to eat her cooking with relish.

I filled her in on my day as we ate, letting her know my plans for completing all of my school work as soon as possible. When we finished, I shooed her away to the living room as I cleaned up the kitchen. She can cook for me all she wants, but that means I'm doing the dishes.

When I finally finished cleaning the kitchen to perfection, I entered the living room to see Akari sprawled out on the couch, her green hair fanning out around her head like a vibrant halo against the soft fabric. Part of her kimono slipped open further, revealing a full, heavy breast to my hungry eyes. I swore the light coming in from the window caught her eyes perfectly and made them look as if they were sparkling as she smiled up at me approaching her.

"I've been oh so lonely today," Akari said seductively as she spread her legs open for me, revealing her creamy white thighs.

"Akari," I grunted, fighting myself to not dive on her this second, "As much as I would love to dive onto you and sample every inch of your perfect body, I'd really like to get a little of my math homework done tonight."

Akari pouted at my response and quickly corrected her kimono, returning it to her previous state from when I met her at the door. I smiled since she just revealed that she'd intentionally revealed herself to get my attention.

"Don't be like that. Why don't you put your show on that I know you've been dying to watch all day. I'll even rub your feet while I work," I replied as I sat down next to her, close enough that she could place her feet in my lap.

"Okay!" Akari happily agreed as she turned the tv on and put on her favorite show. It was some awful romance story about a guy who couldn't choose between three different women, so instead the three constantly fought for his attention.

I pulled the nearby table closer and pulled my math booklet out of my bag. It was fairly thick, roughly 50 pages I'd estimate, and would definitely take me all week to finish.

Getting out a pen, I got into a comfortable position that I could still write in and began to gently massage Akari's feet as the sound of her show filled the room.

I'm not sure how long we stayed there, but eventually I was awakened from my math-filled stupor to the sensation of Akari's bare foot rubbing against my hardened cock through my boxers. When or how she'd opened my pants without me realizing I don't know, but I also realized that she had one hand inside her kimono between her legs and the other playing with her nipple as she stared at me needily.

Checking my math booklet, I realized that I had done three pages of work already and admitted that that was a good start for tonight. Closing my book and throwing it across the couch to my bag, I turned quickly and dove between Akari's legs, going straight for her honey pot. Akari giggled happily at me as I got to work, lapping at her dripping wet pussy lips, and then her giggles quickly turned to moaning.

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The week flew by as Akari and I fell into a routine that was comfortable and fun. Every morning, I awoke to a naked goddess clinging to me. Once we were both awake, we'd take our time washing each other before enjoying each other's bodies for a few rounds of fun. After that, Akari and I would cook, eat, and clean up from breakfast together. At which point, we'd separate. Akari would go shopping or do some unpacking until lunch while I would work on my math booklet. At first, I thought that I was gonna breeze through the booklet in just a few days, but sure enough once I got about a quarter into the book it started to get a bit harder with each page. At lunch time we would cook lunch together and spend some time watching tv while we ate. Afterwards, Akari would clean the kitchen while I got back to work on my math.

Eventually Akari would call me in for dinner and we'd sit down and enjoy some more time together. After eating, I'd clean the kitchen and then join Akari in the living room where we would repeat what we'd done Monday night. Akari claimed it was due to her benevolence that I was allowed to work after dinner, but we both knew that she just really enjoyed my foot massages.

After a few episodes of her show, she and I would go to the washroom and clean each other before making each other dirty again. After washing for a fourth time on the day, we would retreat to the bedroom for some more fun before falling asleep in eachothers arms. On Thursday I attended a one hour class of Using a Perceptive Palette, which I had taken to referring to as 'UPP', on the style of painting I'd use the next day. Friday evening was my first painting class and also the first time my entire class was here together. We met on the roof of the gym where our instructor, Ms. Takahashi, had already set easels up for us.

Ms. Takahashi was a beautiful woman, probably in her early 30s. She had straight black hair and almond shaped brown eyes. She wasn't nearly as well endowed as Akari, but she was still quite attractive.

While we waited, I noticed a few of the students teasing one of the other women in my class about her figure. She was only a little shorter than I at about five foot, five inches, had orange-brown chestnut hair, and a crown braid. She wore a tight fitting, sleeveless dress that showed off her toned arms and legs.

"You're never going to attract a man with muscles like that," one of our classmates jeered at her.

"Yeah, what man would want a woman who's as strong as he is."

"Or stronger," a third added and all three laughed loudly at that.

"Please, just leave me alone," the lone girl quietly said as she continued to look down at her feet.

I was about to step in and try and help when our instructor appeared on the rooftop, causing the three girls to finally leave her alone. I chose an easel closer to the chestnut-haired girl just to make sure she was left alone for the class.

Our instructor quickly told us that once the sun began to set we would be painting the sunset. Until then, we could ask questions about the style she taught us or practice it in a notebook.

While we waited, I simply chose to pay attention to the three girls sitting behind me and watch out for any shenanigans. It didn't take long for them to start before all of a sudden, paint was flung overhead and splattered across the bottom right corner of the girls canvas, making an ugly green splotch on the otherwise untouched canvas.

I quickly turned around in my seat and shot a glare at the giggling girls behind me.

"What? Don't tell me you are trying to protect her," she laughed at me.

"Look, Ayame, it seems like you have an admirer," another jeered at the girl next to me.

Ayame turned to face me, confusion in her eyes, "Please, don't. They only get worse when people try to help."

I stared dumbfounded at the girl before the other three laughed again. The cruelty of people always shocked me when I witnessed it.

"How long has this been going on?" I whispered to her.

"The three of them have been in almost every single one of my classes here at Kuoh since high school started. They even joined the kendo club once they heard I was there," Ayame answered quietly. My heart broke at the sound of her voice. That was the voice of someone who had given up. Who was so beaten down that she no longer tried to get back up.

I growled in annoyance and was about to turn around to yell at the three but our instructor spoke up and told us it was time to start painting.

Everyone turned towards their easels and began to paint. I quickly realized that while I was certainly not a great painter, I definitely wasn't the worst in the class. Granted, a few of the people around me were barely trying, but I counted it as a win anyways.

By the time the sun had almost fully set, we were told to finish up and Ms. Takahashi would take care of our paintings for us. As I finished up my painting, I appraised my work and felt pretty good about what I had done. I had never painted before and would definitely not call myself artistic by any stretch of the imagination. Taking a look around, I noticed that my painting definitely seemed to be one of the better ones in the class. I allowed my pride to swell at that until I turned and saw Ayame's painting and my draw dropped. She was just finishing up her painting by signing her name along the bottom with a flourish. Not only did it seem like she had taken a photo of the sunset we had just watched, but she even made the ugly green splotch blend into the painting as if it was meant to be there!

"Wow, Ayame. You are very good at painting!"

Ayame blushed a deep crimson, but didn't reply as she quickly gathered her things and fled the rooftop. I couldn't help but notice how quickly she moved and how easily she dodged through the crowd of students. I chalked it up to her being eager to lose her three bullies who even now were scanning the crowd for her.

I made my way back to the house that night slowly, resolving myself to help her from the bullies who refused to leave her alone.

Later that night I had finally finished my math work for the year and even managed to start my coursework for Basics of Science. Akari could tell I was a little off when I was a little less eager in the washroom than I usually was.

Once I had calmed her down and told her about what I had witnessed at my class that night, her temper flared and she began pacing back and forth in the bath. She was talking aggressively and shaking her arm so much that it made her tits bounce very enticingly.

Neither of us were in the mood after that and so instead we finished up in the washroom and settled into bed to cuddle.

The next morning I woke up early for a Saturday and left Akari to sleep in bed. Settling into a comfortable position on the couch, I opened up my family's grimoire and began to read. The first few pages were an introduction to my family's history. Apparently, my family had possessed the power to control shadows since our progenitor, Mephistopheles Tenebris, received the power at birth.

I continued reading, completely absorbed in the words as it eventually began to talk about how to manifest the power. Since it was already in me, all I had to do was call it forth. It was very similar to devil magic, except it would draw on different reserves than my devil magic would. The explanation as to why and where this reserve came from was so esoteric that I could hardly comprehend, but essentially it seemed like the shadows of the Underworld itself fueled our power.

Rushing upstairs to the supply closet, I pulled out a few candles that Akari had bought some time ago and returned to the living room. I closed the blinds and the curtains, bathing the room in almost complete darkness save for the light coming in from the kitchen. I quickly lit all three candles and placed them on the table in the center of the living room, spaced equally apart from each other. Immediately, shadows cast by the small flames danced on the walls around me.

I returned to a comfortable seated position on the couch, I closed my eyes and followed the instructions from the book. First, I visualized the room around me, paying special attention to the shadows on the walls. Next, I reached deep into myself as if I was trying to reach the Underworld through my own body. I quickly realized that this part would take a lot of concentration. So much so, that by the time I felt like I was making progress I realized that I had stopped visualizing the room around me. Restarting, I made sure to keep the room in my mind's eye as I dove back into myself.

Finally, after I began sweating from the strain, something in my mind clicked and I felt a sudden falling sensation. Snapping my eyes open, I was still seated on the couch and nothing had changed. Wait, no, the shadows on the walls! They no longer moved!

Despite the candle flames still flickering like they always did, the shadows on the walls didn't move at all. Focusing on one in particular on the wall opposite me, I imagined it moving and changing shape. As simply as that, the shadow appeared to collapse in on itself before suddenly rising up, curling outward, and then crashing down again like the waves of a beach. Spreading my awareness to the rest of the shadows on the walls, I imagined them syncing with the first one and soon, one by one the shadows began to crash like waves on a beach around me.

I was about to cheer my victory when I heard a sudden gasp behind me. Turning to face it, Akari was standing there admiring what I had done. When her eyes finally landed on mine, she smiled so widely that I thought she'd split her face open. She suddenly rushed me then, diving over the back of the couch to tackle me onto it, spinning me onto my back in the process.

She proceeded to plant light kisses all over my face, making me laugh and try to push her off.

"Leo! That was amazing! Was that your first try," Akari excitedly yelled at me once I finally managed to sit up and face her.

"It took a few minutes, but yeah it was," I admitted.

"That's amazing! My mother told me that it took your dad weeks to move a single shadow, but you moved all of them and synced them together!"

Really? Was I stronger than my own dad? Or perhaps since I had no understanding of magic prior to two weeks ago that I didn't have any bad habits or misconceptions I had to get over first.

Akari laughed at me being stuck in my thoughts before she pulled me closer, planting my face right into her naked chest, "I always knew you'd be the strongest Tenebris to ever live!"

I chuckled at her enthusiasm and allowed myself to be held there. Life sure is good, I thought as I relished the feeling of her massive breasts wrapping around my head.

"I still have a long way to go, but it's a start," I replied humbly, causing Akari to giggle at me.

Suddenly, she gasped and pulled away, "I'm gonna have to work so much harder to get ahead of you now!"

I rolled my eyes at her, but it did give me a question I had never thought to ask, "Actually, Akari, what powers do you have?"

"The best powers possibly fitting the queen of a member of House Tenebris, of course," Akari announced proudly before standing up. She held her hand up and suddenly, a volleyball sized ball of fire came to life in her hand. Except instead of red or yellow, this fire was a dark, purple flame and gave off a rather sinister aura.

"This is hellfire! Most devils have the power to use hellfire in some capacity, and the most powerful of devils can rival even my family. However, there are a few reasons that my family's power is far more impressive. For one, we have an innate ability to control hellfire and an emotional resonance with it. It's often the first kind of magic we are taught growing up and are taught how to use our emotions to fuel and control it, something that other devils can't do."

"Also, my family holds ancient knowledge in our family grimoire that contains techniques and insight into hellfire that nobody outside my family knows. This allows me to, for instance, control hellfire created by another devil's magic and turn it against them," Akari grinned maniacally at me. The shadows from the hellish flame danced on her face in a way that turned her usually beautiful smile into one that promised pain and death.

"Honestly, I'm surprised that it produces enough light to even project shadows," I noted as I looked closely at the flames.

Akari giggled sweetly at my comment, "Silly! Other devils produce a hellfire that projects no light or shadows. My hellfire doesn't project light either. It actually creates shadows and enhances shadows caused by more natural means. Look," she gestured towards the walls around us.

I glanced at the shadows on the walls around us and realized that they were definitely darker than before, despite there being the same amount of light as before. The shadows themselves felt different too. For one, my connection to them felt deeper, stronger. Also, they gave off an aura of power.

Akari seemed to read my mind, "Shadows created or enhanced by hellfire are about as close to naturally occurring shadows cast by natural hellfire in the Underworld as you can get. And since your family is best at controlling shadows in the Underworld the best, you should feel a stronger connection to them as well. Also, usually being surrounded or even near so many shadows of this kind would cause a reaction of fear or unease at worst in most devils. But since they literally answer to you and your family alone, so long as you are present you and anyone you don't want to be affected by them won't feel it."

I turned and stared in amazement at Akari. It started to make so much more sense as to why Akari's family always served as the queen for my family. I thought it was out of a sense of duty or strict loyalty, but now I understood that it was so much more.

"Come here, you," I growled at her with desire. She giggled wildly before turning and lighting one of the nearby candles with hellfire by simply pointing her other hand at it. Dispelling the massive hellfireball from her hand, Akari practically dove into my lap.

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It was a few hours later in the early afternoon that we were walking together to get some fresh air when I heard someone shouting from nearby.

"Kendo lessons in one hour at the gym! Anyone who is interested in learning can be there! You don't even need to be interested in joining the kendo club full time. You don't need to bring anything either! Just an open mind and a willingness to train," a female was shouting from the front steps of a clubhouse. Upon further inspection, I noticed an emblem of two crossed swords hanging above the front door.

I turned to Akari to ask if she wanted to check it out but never got to as she was already pulling me towards the gym. I chuckled at her enthusiasm, but I imagined she probably got the same idea I did.

As we entered the gym, I noticed that there were already quite a few students milling about waiting for the lesson to start. Akari and I stood off to the side and waited patiently as we talked quietly together. We both scanned the room for Ayame as more students filed in. I had to shoot quite a few people a glare when they looked at Akari with lust in their eyes. I certainly wouldn't prevent any from being friends with her, but Akari was mine and I'd be damned if I allowed anyone to look at her like that.

Eventually, people stopped trickling in and five students who I assumed were members of the kendo club closed the doors to the gym. They were wearing the traditional kendo garb including the helmets.

"Okay everyone, thank you for attending our lesson! Before we get started, we are going to demonstrate what it looks like when you commit yourself to the art of kendo," a male voice called out. Two others squared up to face each other and were handed swords. The swords were quite simple with a plain white leather wrapping the handle and a small, simple guard to protect the hands. It looked like they were made of bamboo, but I couldn't be sure from this distance.

They both performed a squatting bow to each other and took up a ready stance before someone announced for them to start. Immediately, they moved forward and exchanged a series of rapid strikes while still coming together, finally ending with their swords crossed and their masks being almost close enough to touch. They seemed to hold there for a moment, each circling and trying to get a better position. Then, just as quickly as they came together, they broke apart and began to exchange blows from a distance.

Their swords clashed together rapidly, filling the room with loud cracks of wood on wood as they both waited for an opening. Suddenly, one of them saw something and moved in closer. Performing a series of rapid strikes, they ended with a strong overhead chop that caught the other on the head before backing off. This pattern continued for some time, though it was obvious to us all that one of them was far better than the other.

Eventually, the fight was ended and they both repeated the same squatting bow as before before backing up and removing their masks. I immediately recognized Ayame as the one who had been far superior to the other, and gently elbowed Akari to get her attention. I nodded at Ayame and Akari immediately caught my meaning, her gaze never leaving Ayame.

Ayame had a slight smile on her face and the sheen of sweat was apparent on her forehead. She was slightly breathless, but her smile widened a bit more as we all began to clap at their performance. It seemed like the demonstration had charged everyone up quite a bit.

The same male figure from before stepped forward, "Now, to start we are going to lead you all through a series of beginner katas to help you get used to the form, footwork, and the weight of the shinai."

Everyone began to chatter excitedly as shinai were handed out to all of us. Once we all had one, they spaced us out across the gym facing the center. All five members of the club faced us and began to teach us step by step how to perform the very basic kata. After a few repetitions and most people demonstrating an acceptable enough understanding of its flow four of our instructors began to walk amongst us and correct our forms.

I kept my eyes on Ayame, but unfortunately she had approached the other side of the gym from me and Akari. I was approached by the female instructor who Ayame had fought earlier in the demonstration.

"Your footwork is a little sloppy, but you have the rest of the form down quite well. Try to be more deliberate in your footwork as we flow through the kata. You want to build muscle memory into your legs so when you are actually fighting you can focus all your attention on your opponent," she instructed me as she showed me where I was going wrong.

I thanked her for her advice and began to correct my footwork as I rejoined the rest of the class. She simply nodded at Akari as she walked by, apparently not needing to fix anything for her. Akari shot me a smug wink that I simply rolled my eyes at before returning my attention back to my feet.

We continued like this for quite some time and I found I enjoyed it quite a bit. There was something peaceful and empowering about flowing through the kata; it was almost meditative. Eventually, we were told to stop and to take a quick break. Akari and I stood together and kept an eye out on everyone around us, especially Ayame, as we waited for the class to resume. A lot of the other students appeared to be very tired, most were nearly completely drenched in sweat, but I guess mine and Akari's devil physique meant that we were in much better physical shape.

Once the class reconvened, we were paired up and given masks of our own to wear. Another male attempted to pair up with Akari, but I shot him a glare that made Akari giggle at my antics. He quickly backed off and Akari and I now stood facing each other waiting for further instruction.

"Now, when we say begin, we want you to all engage slowly. The focus here is not to beat anyone with your shinai. You are trying to engage in combat with someone while using the motions of the kata that we just taught you," the male instructor announced to us.

"Try not to get too upset when I'm better than you," Akari giggled at me as she performed the squatting bow we saw earlier.

I rolled my eyes yet again at her and mirrored the bow. When we both stood, we leveled our shinai at each other, and slowly closed the distance between us. It became almost immediately apparent that Akari completely outclassed me as every time I tried to maneuver and attack her, she simply parried my attack away and lightly tapped me. Despite the taps being somewhat soft, it didn't take long before my upper arms, shoulders, and sides began to feel bruised.

It was entirely worth it, however, since Akari laughed the entire time. As we continued the rest of the world melted away; there was only the two of us. I definitely wasn't distracted by the smile on her face or the melodic sound of her laughter. Definitely not.

Eventually, we were interrupted in our sparring. I turned to my left to find Ayame standing there with a slight blush on her face.

"Hello, again," I smiled at her.

"Hi," she said shyly before turning to Akari, "As amusing as it is to watch you beat him up, I have a few pointers I'd like to show him if that's okay?"

Akari and Ayame shared a laugh together and Akari acquiesced to Ayame, waiting for her direction.

"I want you to square off to each other again, but this time I want you both to move slowly, step by step, okay?"

Akari and I nodded and I reaffirmed my grip on my shinai and readied myself.

Ayame directed Akami to move first and she took a step towards me and I mirrored. She took another and I once again mirrored her. Finally, we were within striking distance and she moved to do so.

"Now, when she does that, I want you to do this," Ayame said and she used both hands on my arms and legs, instructing me on properly positioning myself and my shinai in preparation to receive Akari's attack. When I completed the step, Akari moved her shinai to attack me, stopping a few inches from actually making contact. Ayame moved Akari's shinai back a few inches and turned back to me.

"Now, as she begins to attack, you should move like this," and she once again directed my body to better defend against the attack. She even used both hands on my hips to turn me so I was better balanced and in a position to counter attack.

What surprised me the most was that the blushing, shy girl from before had disappeared and in her place was a woman who was confident. I could tell she really enjoyed kendo and felt at home here.

Eventually, she had walked me through multiple scenarios and I found that my body was instinctually picking up on how she was going to move me as we continued.

"I think you are starting to get it. Now, demonstrate to me," Ayame announced and she took Akari's spot in front of me.

Ayame bowed to me and I mirrored. I waited patiently for her to begin, content to let her lead. She moved towards me quicker than I anticipated, but I found that my body was now much more responsive to how I needed to move and react. Granted, she wasn't moving nearly as fast or as fluidly as she had earlier. She was obviously going easy on me. Despite knowing that, it felt good to know that I was picking this up.

We exchanged blows for quite some time, Ayame slowly picking up her speed and incorporating more advanced techniques into her attacks. I was beginning to struggle a bit now as she pressed the attack on me.

I could hear Akari cheering me on and making 'oohs' and 'aahs' as we fought, but I dared not take my eyes off of Ayame. Suddenly, I picked up on a very familiar laughter close by. The accompanying familiar voice called out something as well. It seemed that Ayame recognized it too because she faltered for a moment, allowing me to almost score a hit on her.

The familiar voice was accompanied by two others that were equally familiar, but I paid them no mind. Unfortunately, it seemed like Ayame wasn't so successful as she slowly deteriorated more and more in her ability until finally I scored a hit lightly on her shoulder. We both paused there and I could see uncertainty and fear in her eyes.

"Ayame-" I began but was cut off.

"Oh my god, look at her! She's been doing kendo for years and can't even beat a complete newbie to the sport," a voice called out rudely.

I turned around to see the three bullies standing next to Akari whose face was so red she looked like she was about to explode.

"How pathetic."

"I don't know why she even bothers."

I was now furious and refused to let them continue, "How about you leave her alone? She was doing just fine until you three showed up and distracted her."

The three girls began laughing at me, "Of course a newbie would think she was good at the sport."

"She is easily the worst in the entire club."

Ayame was standing there, face completely flush, and staring intently down at the floor. I couldn't let this go on any further, so I decided to be stupid and give them a new target.

"Yeah? Well then if you're so good then why don't you spar with me?"

All three laughed but didn't take my challenge seriously.

"Get real! I could fight you one handed and you wouldn't even score a single hit on me."

I turned and gently took the shinai from Ayame and tossed it to the one who had spoken. She caught it with one hand smoothly and grinned at me. I refused to falter.

"Well then, it should be easy for you. Come on! First to three."

"Your funeral," the one in the middle who seemed to do most of the talking replied and stepped forward. She roughly shoved Ayame away towards the other two girls, but Akari quickly stepped in and caught the girl, pulling her to the side. As the bully squared up to me, I noticed that we had drawn a bit of a crowd. I could even see the other members of the kendo club shaking their heads at what was happening, but they seemed reluctant to do anything about it.

This must be a common occurrence between Ayame and these three, I thought as I felt my anger bubble up inside of me, threatening to explode.

"Make this quick Reina, I'm bored already," one of the other bullies called out.

Reina grinned at me and started to bow. I mirrored her but quickly realized that she had intentionally kept her bow from being properly low and respectful. I growled in annoyance at her and readied to attack her.

I moved in quickly once we started, aiming to score a point quickly. I used everything I had learned today to aid me as I feinted to the left and then brought my shinai down on her shoulder. I grinned internally as she appeared to fall for my feint, but then I could barely track her as she sidestepped my blow and brought her shinai down on my left arm, hard.

I stumbled slightly to my right and turned to face her, but she didn't allow me time as she quickly stepped in closer and brought her shinai down even harder on my left thigh.

That's going to bruise, I thought glumly as I tried to shift away from her and create some space. Reina refused to give me any as she stepped further inside my guard and swung her shinai in an uppercut.

She moved fast enough that I had no time at all to react and soon my world became pain as her shinai slammed upward between my legs, dropping me to my knees and almost causing me to vomit all over the gym floor. I struggled for breath as I dropped my shinai and desperately covered my sensitive bits with my hands. I could already feel my balls retreating upwards inside of me as I collapsed onto the ground and fought back the tears that threatened to fill my eyes.

Laughter fills the gym as others join in on laughing with the three bullies. Reina shoves her shinai into Ayame's hands as she wipes tears from her eyes.

"That was the funniest thing I've ever seen," one of her fellow bullies cries out. The other is doubled over in laughter clutching her sides, "He is so pathetic."

Akari screams in fury as she quickly swoops to my side to check on me. She rolls me onto my back and cups my face with one hand, "Leo! Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm great. Never been better," I reply sarcastically as I slowly recover from the shock of almost having my baby-making equipment deleted from existence.

Akari stands suddenly with my shinai in her hands. She grabs the other from Ayame and throws it at the second bully who spoke earlier.

"Your turn, bitch," Akari says as she steps away from me, keeping herself between me and the three of them.

"You!-" the second bully yells as she catches the shinai and moves to strike Akari with it.

I tentatively sit up so I can watch as Akari easily parries the blow and swings her shinai into her side, causing the girl to elicit a strange mix of a gasp and a cry of pain.

Ayame crouches by my side to check on me, but both of us are glued to the action in front of us. Akari moves forward, swinging her shinai with a speed I hadn't witnessed from her before. Her opponent is barely keeping up, blocking each of her blows but never getting an opening to swing back. She sidesteps around Akari, causing them to move in a circle as she desperately tries to separate from Akari to no avail.

Suddenly, Akari halts her swing before it makes contact with the bullies shinai, causing the other girl to over extend and leaving her wide open. Akari takes advantage and catches the girl hard on her shoulder with an overhead chop.

"You bitch! I'll kill you," the girl screams like a psychopath and forgets all pretense of form.

She begins to swing wildly at Akari who has no struggle simply avoiding her strikes. Eventually the girl's breathing becomes erratic and she is endlessly screaming profanities at Akari. Akari seems to have had enough as she sidesteps a final time and strikes the girl clean across the face who, in her efforts to attack Akari for insulting her, was not wearing a mask.

The strike causes the girl's head to whip to the side hard enough that her whole body spins and she crashes to the floor. At this point everyone in the gym is watching us and the other members of the kendo club come rushing forward to stop this.

"That's enough," the male from before bellows as he approaches, taking the shinai from Akari.

"Sure. It wasn't enough for you to stop when they were openly bullying poor Ayame here, a member of your own club!, but now that one of them is hurt you come to the rescue," Akari spits at him causing him to falter.

The two bullies still standing help the other girl to her feet and start dragging her away, kicking and screaming about her revenge. Reina is shooting me and Ayame a death glare but she keeps her mouth shut. By now I have mostly recovered and put my hand on Akari's shoulder to get her attention.

"Akari. It's okay. Calm down," I say as I look her in the eyes. She looks like she wants to argue with me, but she relents and nods her head.

"Okay, that's enough fun for one day. Class dismissed," one of the other members of the kendo club calls out. Everyone else in the gym grumbles a bit but they accept it. They help the kendo club members gather up the shinai and masks before making their way out of the gym.

Eventually, it's just Ayame, Akari, and I standing alone in the gym as Akari checks on me to make sure I'm really okay.

"I'm fine now Akari, thank you. I didn't expect you to trounce that girl so aggressively."

"I didn't mean to," Akari sighs, "I was just so mad and they deserve to learn a lesson."

"Your skills with a blade are impressive, Akari," Ayame finally speaks up, "Have you taken lessons before?"

"I did a lot when I was younger, but I haven't practiced in a few years. It was amazing to be able to practice again today," Akari grins at the slightly taller girl.

Now that they are standing side by side and everything has calmed down, I can't help but compare the two. Ayame's arms and legs are definitely more toned from what I remember from the art class on Friday, as Akari's are much softer. Ayame is about an inch taller than Akari when she doesn't slouch. Her breasts are also much smaller, but they definitely fit her frame very well. Perky, is what I'd use to describe them for sure. I can't compare their asses from this angle, but I imagine that Ayame's is smaller but firmer and more toned than Akari's larger, softer butt.

"Anyways, I think you are still better than I am," Akari tells Ayame with a sly smile.

Ayame splutters for a moment, "What? I have never beaten any of those three and you just so easily did."

"Don't be ridiculous. You mopped the floor with the other girl during the demonstration. And then you guided Leo in a way that only someone with skill and lots of experience could. Plus, when you sparred Leo you were slowly ramping up your abilities to test him. I have a feeling you were nowhere close to your limit when those three showed up," Akari grinned victoriously.

Ayame simply spluttered further, not knowing how to respond.

"Seriously Ayame, you shouldn't let them affect you like that. You are way better than them," I chime in.

Ayame just blushes and looks at the floor. It seems that the completely shy and unconfident girl has returned.

"I'm not," she finally says quietly.

"But-" I start but she cuts me off.

"I'm just not, okay? They've always been better than me. I've never once beaten any of them. They're the top three in the kendo club," Ayame seems to explode on us, letting out all of her frustrations and doubts at once. She suddenly blushes and returns to staring at the floor.

At least there's still some fire left in her after all, I think before I respond, "You're wrong, Ayame. I know you don't believe me, but you are. For whatever reasons you have allowed them full control over you and you actually perform worse when they're around."

"I can't pretend like I understand why or what they've put you through, but you are wrong."

Ayame stares at me, tears forming in her eyes but she doesn't respond. Akari grins at me but also doesn't say a word.

Suddenly, I'm feeling a little shy myself, "Any-anyways. I'm a little hungry."

Akari agrees with me and leads the three of us out of the gym and back towards our clubhouse. When we approach the kendo clubhouse Ayame thanks us for walking her back and breaks off from us.

Akari and I watch her go in silence until she disappears inside the clubhouse.

"That poor girl," I whisper.

"It breaks my heart, honestly. Nobody deserves to be treated like that."

I grab Akari's hand and lead her back towards our house in silence. Neither of us says anything else; we simply take comfort in each other's presence. About halfway back to our house we notice Rias and her peerage enjoying the shade under a tree up ahead. Akeno spots us first and waves us over to them.

"Hey you two," Rias greets us.

"Good afternoon, everyone. What are you up to," I ask

"Just enjoying some time outside and relaxing. Please, join us," Akeno grins.

"We were about to go get some lunch actually," I reply, rubbing the back of my head.

Rias immediately gestures to the basket in front of her, "Please, help yourselves." The basket is nearly empty but there are a few sandwiches left inside.

Akari immediately plops down against the tree next to Rias and happily munches away at a sandwich. I roll my eyes at her antics and shrug. Grabbing myself a sandwich and allowing Akari to guide me to sit in between her legs. I happily accept her breasts as my pillows and bite into the sandwich.

"This is pretty good," I observe honestly before taking another bite.

"Thank you," Akeno giggles.

Akari and I enjoy our lunch as we all sit in silence, enjoying the peacefulness of the day. Once we finish eating, Akari begins to gently play with my hair so I close my eyes and relish what my life has become.

"Issei!" Rias suddenly calls out, "Thank you for finally joining us."

I snap my eyes open to see Issei standing there, staring at me, or more likely where my head is located. His uniform is unbuttoned in the same way I saw last time.

"Yeah! Sorry I'm late! I- uh, was a little preoccupied," Issei stutters and bows respectfully to Rias.

"Oh stop it, Issei," Rias giggles, "Please sit. Now that you are here, I can explain a few things to you."

Issei quickly sits down in the grass, facing Rias and Akeno, occasionally shooting me a confused glance.

"Now, I told you that I would teach you about contracts right," Rias begins, "so when a devil wants-"

"Rias! Shouldn't we not want to talk about such things here?" Issei interrupts her and glances at me again. I simply smile at him and let Rias deal with the situation.

"Issei! Don't interrupt Rias like that," Akeno scolds Issei.

"It's okay, Akeno. I appreciate your concern, Issei. But Leo here is a high-class devil just like I am. Akari here is Leo's queen," Rias explains.

Akari plants a soft kiss atop my head and I can imagine the proud smile adorning her pretty lips right now. She also shakes her chest slightly, causing my head to sink further in between her magnificent breasts as she continues to play with my hair.

Issei practically cries blood at the display and seems to look even more reverently at me than before.

'Does that mean? Could it possibly be that Leo is a true harem king?" Issei practically has hearts in his eyes staring at me like that.

Koneko smacks Issei on the back of the head, causing me to chuckle, "One day, perhaps Issei. Once you become a high-class devil like me perhaps you will too. Speaking of, how has lesson one gone for you?"

Issei straightens up and salutes me, "I am working very hard to overcome lesson one, oh wise one."

"What's happening," Kiba asks with mirth in his eyes.

"I helped Issei and his two friends out of a slight pickle earlier this week and decided that they could all use some advice."

"Advice?" Rias asked, watching Issei curiously.

"Our lord and savior is teaching us the art of becoming a harem king," Issei declared proudly.

I rolled my eyes at him, "I gave them advice on being less creepy and how to show their interest in a woman in more productive, normal ways."

"The women of this academy thank you," Koneko deadpanned. Akeno and Rias giggled at the exchange, especially at Issei's hurt expression, as if he's not that bad.

"Anyways," Rias pulls the conversation back on track, "Devils complete contracts by granting the wish of a client. In the old days, we used to grant humans a small portion of our powers in exchange for them doing our bidding. Nowadays, we make house calls and deliveries. Simpler stuff that requires less power from us and creates fewer problems."

"I suppose that makes sense. But how do you know when a human wants you to help them," Issei voiced his internal monologue.

I have a feeling he does this quite often, I thought with a small smile.

Rias reached into her pocket and pulled out a small flier. On it was a runic circle that I recognized as looking very similar to a teleportation circle. Above and below it read, 'Those who want their wishes to come true, please give me a try!'.

"This is the flier that we hand out to humans. When a human holds it with the intent to summon us, the runic circle activates and notifies me to its location. Then, we go and we form the contract with the human," Rias explained as she handed the flier to Issei.

"Each contract you form will make you slightly stronger, and eventually you can rise to middle-class and then high-class devil."

Issei stared at the flier for a moment and then wondered aloud, "I wonder what rising in class does for me."

"Well, for starters, a middle-class devil is roughly two or three times stronger than a low-class devil. Also, a middle-class devil generally has a higher social standing than a lower-class devil, but as my servant you essentially hold my social standing in devil society. In fact, Akeno and Akari here are middle-class devils already."

"As a high-class devil, however, you will be given your own evil pieces and start your own peerage. Which means," Rias' voice sang out the last two words to get extra attention from Issei, "that you will have your own servants."

Everything Rias had just said left Issei's mind the moment he thought of having his own servants. He even began to think aloud, "If I had servants of my own then I could have the most beautiful women alive as my servants. They'd have to do anything I say which means I could play with their beautiful bouncing bazongas whenever I wanted." Issei broke down into a fit of giggling and staring off into space after that.

Probably imagining all the boobs of the world, I mused to myself as Koneko slapped Issei on the back of the head once again.

"Now Issei, are you really trying to leave my peerage so soon," Rias said and Issei immediately snapped his attention to Rias who was playfully pulling at the collar of her uniform.

"No, ma'am! I will be the best of servants for you! I will work hard to earn the rank of high-class devil, but only when you allow me to become one," Issei dutifully announced.

Akari and Akeno giggled at his determination, "Well he's easy to motivate," Akari noted.

"Good," Rias praised Issei, "Now, be a good servant and go to the location on the back of that flier tonight. Someone has summoned a devil and as my servant it is your duty to represent me."

"Yes, ma'am!" Issei snapped off a crisp salute before committing the location to memory. I chuckled at him as he stood and ran off towards their clubhouse, likely to prepare for tonight.

"That was amusing," I noted, still laying against Akari with my eyes closed once again.

"Indeed. Did you have any questions," Rias asked me.

"I do, actually. Where can I make a flier like that, how should I go about handing it out, and where should I hand it out?" I leaned forward in my excitement. While I was already a high-class devil, completing these contracts would increase my power bit by bit which was exactly what I needed.

"I can have my father have them made for you. He should be familiar enough with your signature that he can easily adapt the spell on the flier to you. As far as handing them out, well you have a beautiful woman right there who could easily get all the attention you need to hand them out. And for where, there's a small city not far from here that I can show you. It doesn't belong to anyone so it is a free game to make such efforts in."

I smiled happily and thanked her for helping me. Slowly, but surely, everything was coming together for me.

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I hope you all enjoyed chapter 3! As of a few days after posting this I will be unable to answer any PMs or reviews since I'll be on a training exercise. I will try and setup the next few chapters to auto post if I can get them edited and ready in time before then. If I can't, I'll work to edit the ones you should have received and post them all together so that we continue on a 1 chapter/week schedule. Thank you for ready and don't forget to fav/follow for notifications when I post and review to let me know what you think!