Serafall

When I find her, she's strolling around one of Kuoh's few arcades, writing down notes on a small notepad as she walks along. She looks entirely too professional for someone dressed in a magical girl dress, and the staff of the arcade looks wholly confused about it.

I walk in, and silently, I pull out a set of Ofudas. 'Silence', 'Invisibility', 'Illusion', 'Shroud', and 'Domain. They activate as one—burning away into motes of white—and a thin barrier forms around she and I, invisible to all but me. Suddenly, the curious gazes of the staff around us disappears and they return to their work, completely forgetting that we're here.

She turns her eyes to me, and she blinks. "Huh? Who're you?"

"Greetings, I'm Hyoudou Issei, Kuoh's current guardian." I begin.

To my chagrin, that's actually somewhat official now. I'm a liaison of the Youkai, and so Akeno and I needed some place to guard. Kuoh was the perfect choice for it. It's why the number of Youkai around Kuoh has grown in the past year. Not by a lot, but still noticeable to a long time resident like me.

"Hyoudou Isse-?" Her eyes go wide. "Eh!? You're Yasa-tan's disciple!?"

It's my turn to blink. "You know of me?"

Her eyes sparkle. "Of course I do! Yasa-tan's my besty. It's my job to know everything!" Is what she says, but I catch the momentary wince she had. She isn't lying—she wants it to be true—but she knows she and Yasaka aren't exactly 'friends'. Not anymore.

I quickly stop my eyes before they can delve any further. I'll save it for when I have some more privacy.

I hum. "And what might you be here for?"

"Well, I wanted to see if Kuoh's going to be a good place for my So-tan." She begins, before she pockets her notepad with a sigh. "But you're here already, aren't you? I don't think it'll be appropriate."

I smile. She's quite polite; some other Devil would've tried to force me out. "Maybe." I begin. She blinks, and my smile widens. "But I have a proposal."

"Oya? What's your idea, Ise-tan?"

"Well, tell me, if I wasn't here, would you make Kuoh your sister's territory?"

She thinks over it for a few moments, before she nods. "Yep, yep! This place is just right! Good food, malls, arcades, and more!"

I raise an eyebrow. "And the leylines that just so happen to cross beneath Kuoh High is another reason, I assume?"

She seems genuinely surprised, before she nods. "Um, yeah."

"As you've said, I am Yasaka-sama and Nurarihyon-sama's disciple. I am a liaison of the Youkai, but certainly not a representative." I smile. "I will be more than willing to host your sister here. I can trust that she'll be responsible, and, as they say, there is safety in numbers."

She stares, and then a glint enters her eyes. "Ooh! That works!" She straightens, and her cheery smile dims to something more professional. "But, if I may be so bold, can I ask for something more else well?"

I have an idea on what she's going to ask. "Go on." I say.

"The Gremory are close to my family, and their heir—Rias Gremory—wishes to join my sister." She bows. "If possible, can you also let her and her peerage come here?"

I hum. "And what can you offer in return?"

"A favor." She answers immediately.

I rub my chin. "A favor, is it?" She nods. "A favor from who? From Devilkind, or a personal one from Serafall Leviathan?"

She smiles, impressed. "One from Levi-tan, of course!" And just like that, her professionalism drops, and I can almost swear I can see stars popping from behind her.

I laugh slightly, and I let my polite smile soften to a grin. "Well, we have a deal, then."

We spend the next hour walking around town, talking and hashing out details about the story we're going to present to the public.

As per agreed, Sona, Rias, their peerages would be allowed to come and operate in Kuoh. However, they will be guests, not owners. I'll still be the de facto guardian of this town, with Akeno as my second-in-command if I'm unavailable. It doesn't change much in the end; Rias and Sona will still be able to do their Contracts.

But I do allow Serafall to own Kuoh High. Partly because it at least gives the Devils some form of ownership in Kuoh, and partly because I want Serafall to make the school co-ed once Akeno and I become tenth graders.

She's rather pleasant to talk to, though her bouts of cheeriness are rather tiring for me to deal with. It almost reminds of how Akeno was when she was younger, except Serafall's cheer far eclipses Akeno's. I don't mind though. That's the mask she's chosen, and so I won't complain.

Once the details of our collaboration were solidified, I was ready to end our meeting then and there. However, before I could do anything, she dragged me away to find lunch.

We do. We go to one of the fancier restaurants in town; a fine dining restaurant that serves French cuisine and luxurious wines. No child my age should be eating there, but thankfully, I look far older than I actually am. I was worried about Serafall's magical dress, but when I wasn't looking, she'd switched it with a fine, red dress.

Obviously, I was the one to pay for it; it'd be rude otherwise. I don't mind either way. All the jobs I've done have given me quite the sum of money, and it isn't as if I can use it for anything just yet.

It's quite an enjoyable lunch.

By the time she leaves, it's late into the afternoon. She goes with the promise of bringing Rias and Sona to meet me some time soon, and once she does, I can only sigh in relief as I run a hand through my hair.

Again, I don't hate her or anything. I just find her enthusiasm tiring after a while.

She is funny though. I won't deny the chuckles I let out when she complained on and on about her fellow Satans.

I arrive home, and my big sister's there to congratulate me for another exam day finished. Akeno's also in the living room, though she's slouched on the couch, staring emptily at the ceiling and muttering incomprehensibly. "What's wrong with her?" I ask.

My sister grins. "She just realized she made a big mistake and is thinking about ending everything."

"Please don't joke about that." I say.

She raises her hands, grinning all the while. "Hey, I'm just repeating her words."

I sigh. It happened slowly, but as Akeno grew older, her humor steadily got darker. She keeps it to herself usually, but I do worry at times. Her childhood, her anger at her father, and add to that the encounter with the Fallen a year ago-

I turn away, lest my sister sees my grimace. "Where's mom and dad? I don't see them anywhere."

She grins. "Oh, don't worry about them. A friend of dad's having a party right now, and dad invited mom to go out with him." I raise an eyebrow. Her grin only grows. "And they're planning on staying at a hotel tonight, since they're in another town."

I continue to stare, not quite understanding what it is she's-

"Oh." I eventually say, mind flashing to the rampant flirting that's been happening between my parents for the past few days. "How lovely."

My big sister laughs. Akeno continues doing her best impression of a dead fish, mumbling incoherently all the while.

Time passes. Dinner is quickly approaching, but being as lazy as she is, my big sister refuses to cook. She'd sooner burn the house down than successfully boil some water. Akeno's barricaded herself in her room, her studying fueled by spite.

Which leaves me to cook. Again. I don't like nor dislike it, but my mom says that I'm a pretty good cook. We don't have much in the fridge that night, so our dinner isn't anything extravagant. Still, at least it's better than three cups of instant noodles that my sister sometimes eats instead of an actual dinner.

Then again, I can't fault her. She's an undergraduate now, and bad living habits are just one of the things you gain as you go through those years.

Night comes. My big sister dozes off, Akeno bids me goodnight as she continues learning, and I find myself back in Kyoto. I meet with the two Youkai leaders, and I explain what transpired today. Nurarihyon's quite pleased with how I handled things. So is Yasaka, though I can see the slight tension in her shoulders when I mentioned that Serafall will occasionally drop by.

Yasaka soon leaves, thoughtful and relieved and tired all at once. Which leaves Nurarihyon for me to learn from.

The rest of the night passes peacefully, filled with lessons and chatter.

Except it doesn't. Because just as Nurarihyon leaves me to my own personal training, my eyes activate, and I receive a vision. Hours from now, just as dawn breaks, a man will appear before the cell where Eichi is currently being held.

He's a striking man. Tall, with broad shoulders and muscles rippling beneath his suit. But beyond that, he feels familiar, even without me knowing why.

So I use my eyes, the golden glow lighting the dark gardens I was training, and immediately I find my answer.

Himejima Hanezu. He was ostracized from his family because he wasn't blessed by Kagutsuchi. Bitter and furious, he plans to destroy the Himejima Clan, and soon, all of the Five Principal Clans.

That would've been fine and good, except he's no better than the Five Principal Clans. And in hours, he'll attempt to infiltrate Kyoto. He's already placed himself on a blacklist just from that, but his plans after that-

The glow around my eyes fade, and a thin smile comes onto my lips.

Well, I can't let that happen, can I?