Chapter 16

Oh. That could work.

Issei didn't like that satisfied smile on her face. It looked far too happy. Too pleased with herself.

"A modification then." She took a single step forward to him so that they were almost within arm's reach of one another. "I'll still have to masturbate if I lose, but if I win…"

He rolled his eyes as she paused on purpose. "What is it? Doing your homework for a week? Extra training? Public streaking? If it's the latter, then you'll be pleased to know that I have plenty of Vaseline and fishnet stockings on hand."

The hallway was silent.

"It's not public streaking?"

"Why do you need Vaseline to streak?"

"I chafe easily." Damn dragon genetic modifications screwed around with his sweat glands. He'd needed to either be sick as a dog or be stuck in a humid jungle environment for his stupid eccrine glands to stimulate naturally. With magic though, it was another story, otherwise his thighs and armpits would be on fire from chasing Raynare. Problem was that using magic in public was always a bit of a risk.

"I, ok then. Never mind. No. It's not streaking."

"Neat. What is it then? Hit me." After spending years with and being humiliated by Ghost and Azazel, he was fairly confident he could handle anything she threw at him.

"You have to let me hug you."

Critical hit.

It was super effective.

Issei instantly paled and backed up several steps.

Jackpot.

Finally, she distinctly found one of Issei's weaknesses. A way to make that stubborn child nervous and tease him without worry. Suddenly, his reaction to that church girl Asia's hug made so much more sense. It was…

The warm feeling in Akeno's chest died a little at the realization.

Physical intimacy.

Issei didn't just hate being touched. He genuinely didn't trust being close to people to the point of being terrified of the mere thought of being comforted by others.

Akeno was a bit standoffish and didn't trust many people, but even she still opened herself up to those she was close to. Hell, even Kiba allowed himself a few moments of weakness every now and then, and from a certain perspective, he was an even worse case than Gasper.

For the first time in a while, Akeno second guessed her sadistic habits, and wondered if she might have gone too far this time.

"Sweet merciful Buddha please don't say that you're in love with me." Issei shivered violently. "I have enough trouble trying to avoid death by two Yandere already."

Her guilt didn't last long. Rock bottom must be further away than she thought.

"Ara?" Her smile was fake as could be, but for an entirely different reason this time. She took a couple of slow, sensual steps forward, slowly and sensually hugging her body in a way that showed all her curves and pushed her breasts out. "What's wrong Issei? Don't tell me you don't like any. Of. This?"

As if a switch was flipped, his expression fell flat again. "Four point two. You have no clue what you're doing. Your hands are not in tempo with your hips and interrupting the oscillations of your breasts when you walk. Your gestures don't mix well with what you are wearing. Your performance hasn't improved in the slightest. The only reason why your score is higher than normal is because you actually look like you want to follow through this time."

Electricity was rolling around Akeno by the time he had reached this point in his grading. She was still smiling, but it was far more malevolent now.

"And then follow through again apparently." He noted absently with only the slightest sign of awkwardness.

"Ngh." A third voice groaned, catching both Issei and Akeno by surprise for a moment, before they realized that it was Raynare, still slung over Issei's back. "Just agree to the stupid bet and teach her something already. Listening to you two fail at flirting is giving me a headache. Idiots."

The hallway was awkwardly silent for several seconds.

"You two forgot that I was here, didn't you?"

"To be fair, you've been so intoxicated every other time I've had to carry you that I've associated the action with you possessing complete short term memory loss." Issei excused himself.

"I just prefer to pretend you don't exist in the first place." Akeno's excuse was more to the point.

"I have a wonderful view of someone's kidneys from here. Ooh. Look. There's a spine too."

Not wanting to risk the possibility of Raynare actually having enough energy left in her body to do anything with said kidneys, Issei decided to finally finish things up with Akeno. "Fine. Deal. Loser foots the bill for a sex toy of your choosing that I'll make. You lose, you give me a show. I lose, you can…hug me."

"Good." Akeno smiled. "Was that so hard?"

Considering the most memorable intimate moment he had involved being drugged, restrained to a bed, raped, and being stabbed in the chest at a young age by people he had once trusted, yes.

He gave her a dry look. "I don't do intimacy well."

"We noticed." Akeno crossed her arms, her confidence returning. "Though it does make me wonder just how you'll be able to make me hot and bothered for you this weekend with such a disposition."

Issei rolled his eyes. He couldn't do intimate, but he could fake it under the right circumstances and mindset.

Actually getting close to people and emotionally exposing himself? Hell no.

Enacting actions and natural physical and psychological responses to arouse others for the sole purpose of stimulating hormones and instinctual reproductive actions? He could hold seminars.

Ladies and gentlemen. Class has begun.

Surprising both girls, he took a large step forward, immediately putting himself within Akeno's personal space before she could react.

Physical proximity. Check.

He willed his magic to waft out some of his body odor to make it more noticeable. Normally it was a bit of a coin flip on whether the scent was a turn on for the target, but being literally part dragon, and a strong one at that, heavily tilted things into his favor.

He spotted her near flawless nose flare just barely as he closed in. Olfactory influence. Check.

"The hell are you-?" Raynare grumbled behind him.

Crack! His free hand cracked as it spanked the Fallen's rear over his shoulder without looking.

"Gah!"

Shutting up the Cougar. Check. Doubling also as establishing the dominant role for the moment.

Judging from her reaction, she was surprised. Good. Keep her off guard. Keep her anticipating his next move. Keep her eager to know what he was going to do next. Make sure all of her attention was on him and him alone. Every action from this point on would only magnify his dominance over her actions, thoughts, and senses.

… Huh. Not a bad response. Rippling in the right places. Good texture, size and shape. With a little exercise to add the necessary firmness, it would definitely go places. Eight point one.

A small twinge was felt in the back of his mind and chest that gave him pause as he turned his attention back to the now blushing and confused Queen.

Damn it. Not this again. Why the hell did he get this feeling whenever he was dealing with the Yandere? Like there was something he should be taking into account every time they talked?

Never mind. If he spent too much dwelling on that annoying problem again, he'd loose the moment. Right now, Akeno was on the back step, confused, not helpless, but definitely not the one in charge of the situation and waiting for what he would do next.

He held up his free hand again and allowed a small ball of magic the size of a grain of rice to hover over his finger. "Like I said. I only need this much magic to bend you."

His voice was slightly heavier than normal with genuine intent, and his wording was both vague and easily applicable to all sorts of misinterpretations without going overboard.

"Not break?" He had to give her credit, she wasn't backing down.

"Only children break their toys." Ok, he may be going a bit overboard with the innuendo now, but compared to most porn scriptwriters he might as well be fucking Shakespeare. Then again, that wasn't really setting the bar that high to begin with.

It apparently worked too if the blush on Akeno's face was any indication. She halfheartedly twisted her body to the side in a subconscious attempt to defend herself if needed. "So you say, but I'm not so easy that I'll let anyone play with me as they please."

How cute. She actually thought that he needed to access to her breasts or other erogenous areas to play her.

"You're right handed, correct?" He held out his own free hand, as if expecting her compliance.

Surprised by the change of topic and the unspoken demand, the Queen could only nod in confusion before slowly complying with his request, allowing him to take her hand in his.

It was everything he had expected. Pale and delicate without a single blemish, yet the muscles and magical flow beneath the skin betrayed the strength and power she possessed.

Actually, she was stronger than he suspected if the hairs on the back of his hand standing up were any indication. The natural and magical insulation he possessed would normally prevent such a reaction from most lightning users' passive electromagnetic fields. Devil or otherwise.

Interesting, but not something to address right now.

Weaving her fingers around expertly, almost sensually, with his own, he touched the tip of her index finger with his. A faint glow of magic was seen on contact, and then he pulled away.

"Done."

"… Eh?" As if snapping out of a daze, Akeno blinked and looked back at him with an expression that almost betrayed her expectation for something more to happen, if only to satisfy her curiosity.

"That's it. That's all I needed to do."

"I, don't understand." She lifted her finger to her eyes and tried to see if anything was different.

"Try blowing on it." He suggested, almost too innocently.

She gave him a skeptical look before deciding to humor his request, blew and-

"Aaaangh?!"

Nearly collapsed on her knees from the sudden wave of stimulation she received, moaning in rapture and surprise.

Aaah. A nice, natural response. Good voice, but sadly one could tell that she had little experience letting it all out. Seven point six.

"Wh-what did you do?" Akeno managed to regain composure, save for the fact that her face was completely crimson now.

He shrugged, as if he didn't do anything impressive. "I just altered the nerves in your distal phalanx to replicate that of a high functioning erogenous zone."

The hallway was silent for several long seconds.

"… Your fingertip now feels like a second clit."

"You did what?!" Akeno squeaked in alarm, suddenly no longer feeling so confident in herself.

"Of course they understood it when I put it like that." He muttered to himself.

"Seriously?" Raynare on the other hand was genuinely intrigued to the point of trying to look around Issei's back to see what was happening for herself.

"It's actually a pretty popular spell." Issei stated confidently. "It's nearly impossible for most people to interact with the world without frequent use of the index finger of their dominant hand, so the stimulation received is nearly perpetual no matter how hard most try. A common competition is to see how long a person can last without climaxing while pleasuring their partner with the afflicted appendage. From what I've heard, the stimulation while "doubling down", and yes that's the term for it, is borderline addicting."

"Holy shit." Raynare laughed with a gleeful smile on her face as she watched Akeno's fall deeper into a genuine and humiliated panic. "I underestimated you. Way to play dirty."

"I feel like I'm being underestimated in something that everyone knows I'm exceptional in. I'm quite certain I dislike it." He did not spend over a decade studying porn and practicing several fields of medicine to simply settle at merely being "knowledgeable" in pleasing women. If he wanted to make a woman cum, they would fucking cum whenever and wherever he damn pleased.

That went double for when they wanted release and he dictated otherwise.

He earned that fucking "Edge Lord" title, and he sure as hell was not going to lose it due to being rusty of all things, even if people constantly got the wrong impression whenever they heard it for the first time outside of proper context!

"W-wait." Akeno stammered, any posturing and confidence in her was quickly fleeing her body as she realized that maybe she actually had jumped into something over her head. "Y-you mean right now, m-my finger is, that anything I touch with it will feel like I'm masturbating?"

"Yup. Kinky, isn't it?" Issei nodded. "And now that we finally have the bet out of the way…"

He pulled his free hand from behind his back again, with a small stack of booklets in it.

"These are basic college entry level electrical engineering, electrical physics, and neuroscience books. Your training for the weekend is to read through all the safety sections and be familiar with all the ways electricity can potentially hurt, kill and or maim a person, how to apply them to your own magic and spells, and how to protect yourself from said methods."

He dumped the books in her hands and leaned in so that his head was right next to her ear.

Now for the finisher.

"I have a feeling that you will enjoy this training exquisitely."

Akeno's red face was distinctively white as he pulled away, realizing what he was insinuating.

All those pages that she'd have to turn. One. By. One.

"Y-you evil, dirty…"

Before she could figure out what to say, or potentially do, to Issei, he had already walked through the door to the bathroom and closed it behind him.

o. o. o.

Raynare was a stubborn bitch, but she had to give credit where it was due. Issei had played Akeno brilliantly.

Watching the Queen fall apart like that as the door closed behind them almost made up for the three hour hell that she had just… no, never mind. It was going to take a lot more to make up for that nightmare.

It was still a good show though. She couldn't deny that much.

She had also managed to learn a few interesting things in the process.

With the curtains drawn, Raynare was enjoying a very long and much deserved hot shower, letting the hot water relax and wash away the pain and agony in her muscles from sprinting nonstop for three hours. She did not hesitate to take her time lathering herself with the very expensive oils, soaps, and shampoo that were part of Rias' daily routine.

Outside though, Issei was absently working without a care in the world, preparing to work on Raynare's development.

All around him were various books, needles, vials of liquids, medicines, pieces of equipment, and other items that he thought might be of use.

She glanced at the growing list of items through a space in the shower curtains. "You seriously store all of that in your Sacred Gear?"

Every time Issei wanted something, he'd put his left hand behind his back, manifest his crimson gauntlet, mentally command the coils around it to cock back, and then recoil with a snap, making its contents pop out instantly in his hand. The following second, the gauntlet would be gone once more, leaving only the item behind. Storing away the items was just as simple.

She had spied it for the first time when he had gotten the books out for Koneko. It had happened so quickly that she had doubted what she had seen. It wasn't until he had repeated the process that she had realized what he was doing.

There was no burst of power or flash or anything. It was an instantaneous and fluid motion that was so seamless that she had no doubt in her mind that it was more or less a subconscious action for him.

Issei's training for Gasper for turning on and off his Sacred Gear made far more sense in hindsight now.

"Yup." Issei didn't look up from the book he was reading, sitting on a collapsible chair that had not been in the room beforehand. "The thing's internal space is big and durable enough for Ddraig's soul to fit in with room to spare. I'm just putting it to good use."

"You can put anything in there?"

"No. There's a physical size limit. Basically, if I can carry it with a hiking backpack, I can store it in the gear. Nothing biologically living that can't be cultivated in a pitri dish either."

Recently severed limbs that could still be reattached to the main body were still good though. He had to remind Ddraig not to eat those the first couple of times, but they got that technicality down.

Eventually.

Swords. Tents. Sleeping bags. Collapsible chairs. Books. If he needed anything bigger than that, he'd need to find a version that could be taken apart and stored piece by piece.

From what he's been told, he was useful to have around for camping trips.

And smuggling.

Especially smuggling.

Mostly smuggling.

"That's disappointing." She looked at his left hand and recalled the altered Boosted Gear she witnessed. "You have a Sub-Species, right? I've heard that those things have all sorts of crazy abilities, but considering you have a Longinus, yours is a bit underwhelming."

"I get by." If he was insulted by her observation, he didn't look like it.

Raynare rolled her eyes and turned back into the shower, allowing the last of the sweat and grime to roll off her body. "So what about the Divine Dragon himself? His soul's still there. Isn't he pissed that you're using his place as a giant warehouse of useless crap?"

"He is. Thankfully, the gear has no limitation to what it can hold, so I often get him things he wants as well to keep us even."

"He's a dragon bigger than most mortal buildings. What could you possibly get that fits in your tiny hands that would make him happy?"

"Fifty pounds of bacon every three weeks."

"… You're serious."

"I learned a long time ago to never underestimate the power of properly cooked quality bacon. It's saved my life on more than one occasion." He was serious. "He's quite partial to produce from Circe's islands."

"… Aren't those animals the ones that are descendants from the ones that had once been Greek human sailors but she turned into farm animals because she was bored and stuck alone on an island?"

"Yup. They're also expensive as fuck. You need to be on a list just to order from them in the first place."

She really needed to stop putting her expectations of him on the same level as other humans. For a hikikomori, this kid had a ton of deceptively upscale connections.

"Figures. What do you call it anyways?"

"Huh?"

"Your Sub-Species. They usually have secondary names, and knowing you, you probably went out of your way to call it something needlessly stupid."

"Oh, that." He shook his head and turned the page of the book he was examining. "Actually, I'm not the first person to get this subspecies. As far as the Boosted Gear's concerned, it's actually the most common alternate version of the lot. Problem is that most of the prior users died off pretty quickly once they got it, so not many know of it. According to Ddriag, I'm the first user that managed to figure out how use it properly."

"Seriously?" That was news to her. From the way Issei was describing it, this version of the Boosted gear was more liable of killing the owner than the original for some reason. Was there some kind of flaw? "So what, it already has a name then?"

"Yeah. It's called the Endless Crimson Hoard. Pretty self-explanatory all things considered. Didn't 'Zaz tell you about it?"

"Humph." She didn't bother holding back a bitter laugh. "The only things that Azazel-sama told me before coming here were what you were, subjects to avoid, and tricks to calm you down if you got too agitated. He didn't bother telling me what your powers or abilities were because, in his words, if I screwed up bad enough that I think I would need to know what they were in the first place, then I was already probably dead where I stood regardless what I did."

"Yeah. That does sound about right." He casually agreed after a moment of thinking.

"Someone's humble." She bit out sarcastically.

He shook his head. "Someone's realistic. Devils. Angels. Fallen. You all walk and talk like throwing your weight around will bend the world to your whim. You all pretend that you are all practically Super class regardless of who you are talking to, and to be honest, it's just embarrassing to watch. You'd think that everyone would eventually figure out that there's a genuine reason why I'm not impressed with anyone here, outside of the fact that I'm a sulky and damaged nutcase. But no. No one's able to get over the cancerous lump that is their ego to even get that much. It's like I'm dealing with a bunch of children pretending to be adults."

Truth be told, the only person there that's even come close to getting a hint of the situation was Rias. Gasper had the best grasp of his terrible state of mind, but in terms of perspective when it came to power and social position, Sirzech's sister was the only one to realize that there was a legitimate reason why playing the authority card on him didn't work on him.

"Humph. You seriously are saying that to me of all people?"

… Scratch that. Raynare actually had the greatest grasp on things, though that was only because she knew who he was in the first place. She just didn't bother acting on it.

"Should I interpret that as you finally admitting that you're a Cougar?"

He absently leaned to the side to avoid the bar of soap that almost hit his head.

"Fuck off. For your information, I'm not even a hundred."

Huh. By Fallen Angel standards, that was actually pretty young. The fact that she had passed the espionage training of the Grigori at her age was genuinely impressive.

It still wouldn't stop him from ripping into her, but he would lighten up on the age jokes in the future.

"And knowing the Weeb and her family, that soap you just chucked was likely over a hundred thousand yen. Might want to put that back before we go."

"Ugh. I hate it when the stupid shit you say makes more sense than it should."

Before he could respond, he heard the shower turn off and the curtains shift to the side. Just a few feet away from him, there was a beautiful, naked, and literally soaking wet Fallen Angel in full view, but he didn't even look interested in the sight.

"… For someone that's supposed to be having issues keeping your dragon puberty hormones in check, you're awfully celibate." She was more irritated that she couldn't even get a reaction from him in general than the fact that he was ignoring her as if it was as easy as breathing.

She was fucking hot and literally wet and naked damn it! Act like it!

"Better than being some out of control sex crazed dumbass." He waved off her accusation. "On a side note, remind me again, how many of your targets did you seduce and whisper sweet nothings to before killing them with their guard down?"

"Humph." She didn't grace him with an answer as she finally found the stand that held the towels and began to dry herself off.

She didn't trust him, and he didn't trust her. It was a mutual understanding that they both acknowledged. An unspoken admittance that the other wasn't a complete idiot in the grand scheme of things, regardless of what else they thought about the other.

But that lack of trust all but ensured that they would never go too far with one another. They didn't desire to risk what the other would do out of spite if given genuine motivation.

"So what is with the setup? I thought you were going to help me get stronger, not give me a spa treatment." Wrapping the towel around her body, she stepped out of the shower and had a closer look at what Issei had brought out.

For all intents and purposes, it really did look like a massage therapist's room. Books. Oils. Even a chair specifically designed to rest on while someone else worked on her back.

"The two aren't that different. At least in the beginning." Issei turned a page. "This isn't some magical one visit macguffin procedure. At least, if you want to be anything higher than a four winged grunt. I'm going to be messing with your body on a level that you've probably never guessed could be done. I'm going to know things about you that you won't talk to anyone else about too. Last chance to back out."

She gave him a skeptical look. It wasn't often that Issei actually asked others for permission before doing anything. He was the sort that preferred to ask for forgiveness than permission sort of person… not that he bothered to ask for either much.

"Humph. You make it sound like I have something to lose. So long as I have my life, my looks, and my power, I'll make due." Without hesitation, she sauntered over and sat down on the massage chair, allowing her towel to drop so he could access her back. "That being said, I will kill you if you make a happy ending joke."

"Cause Heaven forbid you ever become happy." He rolled his eyes and put the book to the side for a vial of some oils and pouring the contents on her back. "Relax and don't use any magic. This stuff is going to seep through your pores and skin, numbing your energy channels and nerves. It's gonna feel a bit weird for a little while."

"Why do yoooooh." Her question was interrupted as Issei's hands immediately got to work on her back, rubbing the unnamed substance all over and kneading her muscles like dough.

"I told you. Relax." He was just doing a basic surface level massage, but Raynare did not want to lighten up.

First was the upper back. Nine times out of ten, going after the erector spinae muscles was going to hit something that would make the patient putty within seconds. Treating this area first also tended to make subsequent areas easier to deal with too, and vastly improved flow of internal energies since it cleared up the channels of everything to and from the head, causing a slight sense of light headedness real fast.

After that, he went directly for the trickshot, the infraspinatus muscles right below both shoulder blades. Not a necessary small spot to treat under most circumstances, but they were practically erogenous zones for winged non-human women with large breasts due to how their muscles developed to adapt to their chests and wings.

Well, that and the spots were the equivalent of major arteries for internal magic circulation.

He liked to call those particular areas the "Devil's Keystones". Hit them right, and everything rigid in front of him falls apart.

"Aaaangh." And with that, he more or less had full reign over the Fallen in front of him in… twenty three seconds.

Ah crap. He really was getting rusty. Constantly playing it safe with his mother for half a decade must have taken some of the edge off of his game.

With single minded focus, Issei kneaded and rubbed nearly every part of Raynare's neck, back and shoulders with borderline expert care. He was perpetually attentive to his patient's reactions, the state of her body, and his end goal.

Raynare, inversely, was enjoying herself too much to care that Issei was supposed to be somehow make her stronger and give her additional wings through this.

Not once did she notice that his hands were glowing white with magic the entire time.

After nearly half an hour of constant treatment, the teen breathed out slowly and leaned back, stretching and popping his spine in the process.

Reaching forward and gently brushing Raynare's back with his fingers, he traces the flow of her internal energies to make sure that they were relaxed and running smoothly. He mentally mapped out where they went, and how much power they were channeling passively. It was a skill that most white magic practitioners had trouble with. There were tools that could accomplish the same feats with less effort, and there were few maladies that required such invasive knowledge in the first place to require the hands on approach, so it was not something that most healers learned extensively.

So far. So good. Nothing impressive or out of the ordinary so far. No irregular holy energy pathways. The flow and quality of her power were average. No growths or defects detected that might hamper or hurt her progress later on. No disabilities, diseases, curses, injuries, scars, or otherwise maligning her. Physically, Raynare was a healthy run of the mill two winged Fallen.

Now for the part that most people didn't know about.

"Deep slow breath." He ordered with a commanding, but quiet voice, placing both his palms on her back right below her shoulder blades. "I'm going to stimulate your power a little. This is going to feel a bit odd. Don't fight it. In."

Without fighting, Raynare followed his instructions and inhaled deeply. She was far too deep in bliss to argue against him.

Issei frowned in focus as he matched his breathing with hers, his hands glowed gold instead of white as his fingertips literally melted into her skin. "Out."

"Nnnngh." Raynare grunted in discomfort, but complied none the less.

Air came from her mouth, but golden lights and inscriptions revealed themselves from her back.

"There we go…" Issei whispered, his eyes looking at the integrated circles and condensed ancient writings that littered the beautiful woman's back.

This was the true mark of the Biblical God on his subjects. Angels. Fallen. The color and number of wings they had were inconsequential compared to what was displayed in front of him.

The inscription of God's system.

Even after getting shafted by Heaven and the Fallen, both species were still desperate to be on Issei's good side. Not because he was the Sekiryutei. Not because of his power. Or the dragons.

But because after his first trip to Heaven, he had inadvertently gained the ability to hack the great system itself. From any node. Which included Angels, Fallen Angels, and Sacred Gears.

To a degree at least. It's not like he could magically turn her into a normal angel or some other bullshit like that. It didn't help that he was admittedly a bit rusty at this either. There were limitations to what he could and couldn't do that no amount of practice or power would change.

Thankfully, he had learned of this after he had left Heaven the first time. Things had gotten a bit, tense, after Michael and Azazel had found out about that particular trick sometime later.

Said tense situation didn't let up until Ophis showed up from out of the blue and put her foot down.

In front of the Gates of Heaven.

From what he heard, it took the Angels over a month to get rid of the crater. Which was impressive considering that there was next to nothing but clouds up there.

He wouldn't change anything this time. Nothing major at least. All he was going to do was examine Raynare's personalized formulae, maybe tweak a few things to accelerate and improve her growth a little, find out how her soul functions, and then later he would find out the best way to… to…

He blinked a few times to clear his eyes, but no matter the number, what he saw was the same.

Well, ok then. This was different.

"'Zaz, you asshole." Issei muttered under his breath as he took in everything he could. He wanted to get angry, but for once he couldn't bring himself to do so. Both because he knew better than to get distracted now, and because he was too entranced with what he was looking at.

Outside of the existence of the irregularity, Raynare didn't appear to be all that special. Everything outside of the fact that she was clearly more beautiful than the majority of Fallen Angels pointed to her just being a run of the mill bitch with wings.

Frowning, he decided to experiment against his better judgement.

Moving his right hand to several key trigger spots on her lower back, he instigated a very specific response.

"?! Aaaaangh!?" The reaction was immediate. The Fallen Angel instantly tensed up from the overwhelming wave of pleasure that rolled through her body.

Even though she was wrapped in a towel, it did nothing to stop the small spillage of fluids beneath her.

"Oops."

"You fucker! What the hell was that for?!" Raynare snarled, picking herself up and turning around. The only reason why she didn't use any magic was because she could tell that something was off for the moment. She didn't even care that the towel had slipped and was baring her breasts in full glory. "You think you were being clever?! Huh?! News flash asshole! Being forced to orgasm that hard from out of nowhere fucking hurts!"

Ok, he definitely was in the wrong for not asking or warning her beforehand, but he did have a semi-reasonable excuse. "I, shit, sorry. Really. I must be rustier than I thought. I was aiming for a gradual ramp, not an instant detonation. But, damn it, how do I put this…"

She did not like where this was going. "So help me if you say that making me cum so hard my intestine gets twisted into knots is the trick to making me stronger I swear I will do the same thing to your tentacles minus the metaphor!"

"Cougar." He looked at her dead in the eyes. "I think I found out why you specifically were loaded onto me."

The difference between Fallen and their Angel counterparts primarily laid within the existence of their "Sin". If Angels were borderline flawless machines, Fallen were the same machines with specific flaws that enabled them to function in more, and less, ways than intended.

It granted them a degree of freedom from God's system. To utilize functions and aspects of themselves more freely than they ever could tethered to Heaven and the rules that governed it. Literally and metaphorically.

At a very steep cost.

The Sins, the Fallen, were considered flaws by Heaven for a reason.

These imperfections, inconsistencies, the Fallen's Sins, impaled the species with debilitations that one could say ruined the race as a whole.

Devils were inclined to sin simply because they possessed very low inhibitions and a good deal of desire to do whatever the hell they wanted. They were more agents of chaos than agents of evil. It just so happened that the great Pillar Families tried to make it organized chaos, in their favor and no one else's. Which is why Devils and their nobility had such a poor reputation in general.

Fallen on the other hand, were mentally, and spiritually geared to Sin. Specifically, the sin that made them who and what they were. Pride. Gluttony. Lust. It didn't matter. The literally needed to validate that part of themselves in some way with some consistency or else they'd go insane. It had to be satisfied to address the imbalance in their once idealized souls.

In theory at least.

Like most things, the topic itself was a bit more complex and elaborate than just that. For most Fallen, the Sin in question often needed to be a bit more specific than just accepting one of the general Seven Deadly Sins to placate their souls. Fourteen Deadly Sins, technically, if one wanted to go by the original Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics list.

More importantly though, were the implications it had for any second generation Fallen. The unfortunate that were born "imperfect", that didn't even know what they did wrong in the first place.

It wasn't uncommon for Fallen children to go literally insane at an early age, or even in the womb, because they couldn't or didn't know what their Sin was or how to address and express it.

As a result, roughly eighty nine percent of all the second and later generation Fallen tended to carry the sins of Gluttony, Wrath, or Sloth, as those were the sins that were the easiest for an infant that knew nothing of the world around them to express.

Angels couldn't reproduce.

Devils had low birth rates.

The Fallen though? They didn't have those issues.

They simply had trouble keeping their children alive and sane.

It was estimated that roughly only one in three children that were predominantly Fallen Angels made it past the age of one.

Most outside the Fallen faction assumed that they loathed God, even so long after they began to Fall in the first place was because Heaven didn't accept them anymore.

The real reason why they spited their maker was because his system automatically damned those that even they knew were innocent.

There was a reason why Azazel, the first angel to Fall, bearer of the sin of Lust, and one of the oldest man whores in the mythical world, did not have any known children to this very day.

Between the high infant mortality rates and their already naturally low population, it really wasn't any surprise that they couldn't take advantage over the equally crippled states of the other factions. They could afford a prolonged war just as poorly as the rest of them.

It wasn't too uncommon for these second plus generations to have affinities for more than one Sin, depending on who the parents were, but…

All seven?

His eyes didn't play tricks on him.

All seven key locations in the Angelic testament system had displayed in front of Issei showed distinct signs of harmonized imperfection. Sloth. Lust. Gluttony. Pride. Envy. Wrath. Greed. They were all there.

In hind sight, it made sense in a twisted way. Raynare never had any one specific bad habit that she frequently fell back on.

She lazed about in his home.

She gorged herself on his food whenever possible.

She got angry incredibly easily.

She lorded herself over others and picked fights. Albeit, only with other non-humans.

She was clearly jealous of those that were more fortunate, powerful, and affluent than her.

When she saw something she liked, she tried whatever she could to obtain it. Normally, while no one was watching.

As for lust, well, he had made it a habit to turn on the soundproofing spells in the house again at night, but even then he was fairly certain, and magnanimously relieved, that his mom was not capable of going to town on herself for four hours straight in the middle of the night hard enough to make the home shake slightly AND strut around with a perfect gait the following morning.

Two times a week.

She was just an all-around bitch.

Issei opened his mouth to answer her perfectly reasonable demand, but caught himself before telling her the truth. There was no telling her how she would react in her current state, and with their relationship the way it was. Hell, even he was still trying to figure out what to do with the revelation. Finding a Fallen that was connected to all Seven Sins was just a ludicrous sounding as finding a normal Angel that had an affinity to the Seven Virtues. Her very existence was a theoretical fluke that most people joked about in absurd "what if" scenarios that they knew would never happen.

Hell, the only reason why he forced an orgasm was because it was the fastest and easiest way to see the system inscribed on her show a major reaction and verify what he was seeing was real.

Triggering Wrath to a high degree in any way was just suicidal. Setting off Pride, Greed, Sloth, and Envy would do jack shit when she was completely content and relaxed as she was. Gluttony was an option, but making her hungry to the point that she felt like she hadn't eaten in days would just make her leave early.

So all that was left was Lust, meaning he could either make her horny as hell or set off an orgasm, and he sure as hell wasn't interested in trying to stop the person in question from jumping his bones and then dealing with the fallout afterwards.

Regardless of his methods, the results were unquestionable. It wasn't a joke. Raynare was in tune with all Seven Sins. Her existence was a theoretical fluke. A literal diamond in the rough. One that needed to be treated with extreme care, precision, and caution.

A wild, sloppy, and reckless haymaker launched him from his chair.

"I have no idea what the hell you are going on about, but Azazel-sama didn't send me here just so you could play with my body like it was some sex toy!"

As he flew through the air backwards in a graceful arc, Issei contemplated shattering something valuable and potentially unique in the world in order to satisfy his petty desires and satisfy the spite he was currently harboring.

By the time he landed on the ground, he was musing over the fact that this was not the first time this train of thought had crossed his mind.

o. o. o.

Well that could have gone better.

Then again, it could have gone worse too.

Raynare had half a mind to bolt out of the clubhouse and tell everyone what had just happened, but his quick thinking, quicker mouth, and twisted reputation managed to get her to calm down enough to not make an idiot out of herself.

He didn't think that anyone would believe that he was actually interested in the Fallen in a sexual way, and he really wasn't, but he was dealing with teenagers. Who knows what those idiots were willing to believe if worded and presented in the right, or wrong way?

One false sexual assault accusation was enough in his lifetime, thank you very much.

He didn't bother telling the Cougar about her condition. Not yet. Not when even he didn't know what to do about it. Instead he just skirted around the subject saying that he was testing something abnormal about her body and accidentally caused the intense reaction… which was true.

He had intended for a ten second leadup to the orgasm, like any reasonable practitioner would go for. Anyone with experience knew that only an incompetent idiot or an ungrateful asshole ever went for a maxed out climax right from the get go or think that was a good idea.

Regardless, Raynare's good mood was gone and she sure as hell wasn't willing to let him get close to her again anytime soon, not that he was complaining. So, he settled with writing down some base instructions and exercises to go through the weekend that would at least start to set up the foundations for her increase in power later on.

That, and bribed her to shut up about the whole event with two weeks of borderline gourmet lunches complete with desserts.

Thank all that was decent that Gluttony and Greed were so easy to abuse under the right situations.

That, and she wasn't dumb enough to believe that he had actually been trying to make a move on her in the first place. Once she had calmed down at least. He could tell that she knew he had found something abnormal about her. She had simply pretended otherwise to get lunch out of him.

Greedy bitch. Just for that, he was going to hold out on giving her any worthwhile treatment until even Dio made her look incompetent.

He hoped the orgasm gave her the cramps.

After that mess was somewhat addressed, he cleaned up his materials, stored it all in the Sacred Gear, went back to the school field, finished setting up his markers, and then placed a rune stone at each of the four corners of the field. Once they were set up, everything inside the field was undetectable to the outside world. No sight. No sound. No smell. Nothing, so long as he didn't try to make things explode or something stupid like that.

And there he was, standing in the middle of a small circle in the middle of a high school soccer field, surrounded by countless more paint circles and crosses with seemingly no rhyme or reason.

Finally alone.

He glanced at his hands, and noticed that they were shaking again.

Too many.

Between the two peerages and the Cougar, he had had extended conversations with roughly a dozen people today. Genuine interactions…

How long had it been since he had talked so much with so many people without excessive yelling?

How long had it been since he had talked so much in general?

Too long. Years.

He managed it better than he thought he would in hindsight. But, it was still too much. Too many. Too soon.

And then there was colossal fuck up with Jail Bait. If there was one thing that did go his way today, it was that that mess had somehow managed to settle itself into something genuinely salvageable.

He was completely exhausted and he didn't even start his own training yet… three hour marathon chasing after the Cougar non-withstanding.

At the very least, he was alone again. It was quiet. He could hear himself think once more.

Peace and quiet.

"Haaah." He breathed out deeply and stared up at the blank sky, looking and sounding like a confused and lost old man. "What the hell am I doing here Ddraig?"

"In your words, getting ready for the inevitable shit shows that you don't give two damns about." The Welsh Dragon answered from his left hand.

"Why couldn't I just load this crap onto Zaz and the others again? They're so desperate to be on my good side that I could probably get away with setting half of Kuoh on fire if I wanted." He complained, finally letting his exhaustion catch up to him. Dealing with and trying to manage two peerages, even if they were incomplete, was mentally draining.

Come to think of it, Sona would probably drag him back to school on Monday after all this too. Damn it. He really couldn't catch a break, could he?

"Because they have long since proved to be unreliable and incompetent when it truly matters." There was a mix of shame, annoyance, and carefully managed contempt in his voice. "We both know that they are keeping something from us again. Their so called good intentions will get everyone killed and drive you mad at this rate, regardless of their flowery excuses and obnoxious plans. If you want to this mess over with and be able to stop more problems before they start, you need to get strong again. And this time, you know better than to hesitate."

"Right." He forced down an urge to throw up as a series of memories briefly flashed through his mind, knowing exactly what the dragon was talking about. "You're right. Thanks buddy."

"You can thank me later, Partner. Preferably after you remember how to use my power without risking a concussion again."

"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"

"Better me than Ghost."

Issei looked down at his right arm, wrapped in a holy shroud, and containing a monster that surpassed the might of even Ophis and Great Red. "Don't remind me."

Ddraig had a point. If it had been Ghost, Issei was pretty sure that instead of mild taunting and sage advice, he would instead be still listening to the annoying immortal laugh his ass off from the event in question.

For the briefest of moments, he played with the idea of removing the shroud and waking up the madman, if only just to talk to him. Ghost, was annoying, but he somehow had a way of making a person think and feel that everything wasn't all that bad in the end. The constant childish joking and twisted mental benders he was constantly bombarded with that completely disregarded every form of common courtesy somehow helped him relax and think that… that he might actually be ok one day.

It was an empty hope, and selfish impulse, but sometimes, it really did help him get by.

"Don't. You know it isn't the time." Ddraig warned. If one listened carefully, they would have noticed a hint of trepidation and something else in his voice.

"Yeah yeah. I know." Issei shook his head, breathed deeply again, and sighed.

He started off with a few basic stretches. He had not done anything particularly extraneous over the past few years, but he did at least manage to maintain a minor routine inside his home, so he wasn't completely out of practice.

"All right." He hopped on the balls of his feet and rolled his neck. "Time to see just how much I suck now."

*Chack Chack*

BOOST!

His Sacred Gear cocked itself like a pump action shotgun as he stood flat on the ground again.

He took a simple step forward.

One.

He rocked back with his other foot, returning to his starting position.

One.

He took a step forward again.

BOOST!

Two.

… He looked down and frowned.

This was going to take longer than he thought.

o. o. o.

Seven years ago:

She sighed as she stepped out of the back of the club, bag full of what passed in some circles as clothes and purse full of bills, mostly singles.

Another night, another deposit.

"Hey Nee-chan."

She jumped as a familiar voice came from what felt like right next to her. Thankfully she wasn't wearing heels, otherwise she might have broken her ankles on the landing.

"The fuck?!" She turned to see a familiar looking annoying brat smiling proudly in the dark. "Oh you've got to be kidding me. Here too? What the hell is wrong with you kid? First the harem thing, then the stalking, then this? Take a hint! I don't like you!"

"I don't believe any of that, I'm too adorable to not like." Issei pouted childishly, crossing his arms before pausing. "Well, uh, the stalking thing might be half right. Most of the classes we have together really are just coincidences, save for our advanced neuro-biogenics course, was going to take that eventually regardless… but I do like listening to your performances and recitals. Your voice is really pretty Nee-san."

"Of course I have a good voice. I have this thing, remember?" The young woman reached up and roughly played with the silver necklace she wore. Her Sacred Gear, Siren's Harmony, a tool that more or less gave her the perfect voice. "You know, the main reason why most of those annoying fools from the factions won't leave me alone?"

Issei frowned. "I don't care about your Sacred Gear Nee-san. You could be completely normal and I'd still want you in my harem."

She pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Kid. You're not even a teenager. I know that getting into college early means you're smart, but that doesn't mean you have permission to try and stick your dick into every girl you think you like."

"Who said anything about sex?"

"… Come again?" She had to admit it, her brain had to take a moment to process his inquiry a few times to register what he had just said.

"I mean, yeah, eventually I'd like to have coitus and play with oppai and enjoy every carnal pleasure that could be had like most men dream about." Issei went on a tangent, as if the simple idea of having intercourse was a mere afterthought. "But like you said, I'm barely ten. As someone that made it to college at this age, I'd like to think that I'm aware of what I am and am not currently physically capable of doing."

"But you want me to be a part of your harem. You do know what a harem is and what they normally do, right?" She spoke slowly, trying to figure out what he was getting at.

Issei was not the first person to demand she be in their harem, but he was by far the most persistent and least obnoxious about it. He was stubborn and infuriating to be around, but at the very lease the kid didn't act like he was her superior and that she should be grateful for the opportunity. Instead he was more like an annoying kid brother asking for something from a trusted relative with wide innocent eyes.

Damn those adorable wide innocent eyes.

"Well, yeah." The boy tilted his head to the side as if not understanding her point. "You'd be with me, and the rest of the harem. And living together and supporting each other and doing stuff. Only we would be more open and intimate with one another. And with more people involved, it would be more structurally and financially secure, so there's less odds of everything falling apart for minor reasons."

She opened her mouth and closed it several times, digesting what this kid's definition of a harem was. "… A harem is a big family to you, isn't it?"

"Kinda. Only with a distinct and defined head to keep things in order." Issei shrugged. "Otherwise it's just more or less a mindless orgy that would probably self-destruct eventually. Nothing productive would probably ever get done if there wasn't someone or something to direct it all and keep everyone together."

She didn't know if she should be disturbed or flattered that this crazy kid wanted her to be a part of his twisted future family, and in a way, more or less asking her to marry him. At the very least, he wasn't some idiot that had only sex on his mind… kinda.

"I mean, in a way, you could say that the setup is similar to a single generation dictatorship, but it would be a benevolent dictatorship, and everyone with a brain knows that those have the highest short term success rate of any structured organization. Way better than a democracy that actually allows everyone to vote. Ugh." Issei shivered. "Seriously. Governments can control, test, and regulate the requirements to drive a car, but they can't set a minimum competency bar for voting who runs the country? Lazy backwards thinking morons."

Either way, he really needed to work on his selling pitch.

Tired and exhausted from entertaining perverts, and conversing with a ten year old about the parallel organizational structures between dictatorships and harems in a seedy alleyway at three in the morning. Yeah, she was ready to call it a night.

"Why are you after me of all people?" It was too late for this. She wanted to sleep. "Other than my Sacred Gear and the fact that I actually managed to get into the school on my own merit, unlike most of our asshole classmates, I'm a nobody. Fuck. Even with my scholarships, I still have to pull four shifts at this hell hole a week just to make sure I have a place to stay at and can afford my discount second hand school books."

She nodded her head back to the building she had just exited. A flashy and gaudy looking establishment with a corny name that most people ignored on principle.

It was the third best strip club in town that catered to all species and tastes. And most of the time, the faculty didn't just strip. Not if they wanted any real money by the end of the night.

"Because you look tired." Issei didn't need to think about his answer as he looked directly in her eyes. At that moment, she knew that despite the kid's selfish request, he actually did care about her. "You look tired, lonely, and you work hard, but despite that, most people see the useless crap that doesn't matter to you. And… I thought I could help."

"By trying to get me into your, a ten year old's, harem?"

"I can multitask." He defended himself stubbornly. "You didn't think that I'd try to set up a harem and not provide benefits did you? That's just stupid. No one does anything for free. Even I know that."

"Clearly." Damn it. This kid was so obnoxiously honest and innocent that she was actually thinking about humoring him for the time being. It was obvious that he wasn't going to try and do anything to her, even if she said yes. But at the same time, her reputation was bad enough as it is, being an attractive nobody with a Sacred Gear that was constantly outperforming and shooting down all the more affluent assholes that tried to get their claws in her. The last thing she needed was people accusing her of being a pedophile.

The only real power she had among the student body were the facts that she did work for the student council and she was the colleges' biggest rising star when it came to the performing arts. If something happened to her, word would get out one way or another, and no one wanted to risk taking the fall for that.

If only they could just leave her alone for five minutes and… wait.

"Kid, how did you know I worked here to begin with?"

"Bird Person told me."

"… Of course he did."

Riser Phoenix. Of course that flamboyant asshole would know. He was one of the worst of the lot that had been bugging her lately, and by that she meant he was only half as persistent as the kid had been.

If there was one perk from having the kid around campus, it was that the third son of the Phoenix family was now pretty much known as "Bird Person" among the entirety of the school faculty, in spite of his best efforts. Teachers included.

Come to think of it, her situation was really getting out of hand lately. More people were bugging her than ever, and it was getting harder to earn extra money and keep up with her schoolwork without driving herself insane.

She looked down at the boy, and not for the first time went over everything she knew about Issei Hyoudou.

Super genius kid that got into college at the age of ten. Obsessed with harems and porn to the point that he could and would speak about both in public without any shame whatsoever. Constantly supervised by someone of merit from the three major factions at all times. Rumor had it he was a Sacred Gear holder, but no one knew what he had exactly despite the fact that everyone was certain that it was the reason why he was intelligent and constantly being guarded.

Socially, he didn't get along with most people due to his personality and obsessions. Even if he did mesh well with someone, he rarely gave himself time to have a social life in general. It wasn't uncommon to see the kid either face first in a book, doing homework, or taking a nap while in the most random places, most of the time with a book in hand or in front of a computer playing some raunchy porno that no one had ever seen before.

Oh, sometimes he was also seen running away from that white haired kid that was always trying to pick a fight with him when seen together.

In fact the only times anyone ever witnessed him not doing something school related, or sleeping, was when he was either raging about porn in one form or another, or he was bugging someone to be in his harem. Most of the time, he left the target alone after the first rejection, but she was pretty much the only one that he was dead set on having.

Come to think of it, she was probably the person that interacted with Issei the most in the entire school outside of his caretakers because of that.

There were more than a few headstrong individuals in the campus that thought they could steal or obtain the kid's potential for themselves, as expected, but no one ever managed to succeed. Either they were turned away by one of his constant babysitters or turned off by the kid's unrelenting personality.

Bottom line, the kid was a hard working mystery with a twisted look on life, twisted goals, and connections in very high places. High enough that even other heavy hitters couldn't do much to him.

High enough that she knew that Issei's comments about "benefits" in the harem were not simply empty promises.

Fuck it, don't judge her. The way things were going in life so far, she was going to Hell one way or another. Might as well be on her terms.

"You're seriously not going to leave me alone on this, are you?"

"Haven't seen a reason not to."

She picked her words very carefully. There were a thousand and a half ways this could and probably would blow up in her face. "Even if I offer a compromise?"

"… I'm open for discussion."

"Nix the constant harem crap and stalking, and I'll… settle, for being Nee-san. For now. We can save the conversation regarding anything more intimate when or if your balls ever drop and you grow taller than me. If the setup lasts that long." She didn't bring up the "benefits" yet. She needed to build up credibility first before trying anything, especially with the leader of the Fallen Angels keeping an eye on things.

"Done." He didn't even hesitate in his answer.

"For a supposed genius, you really don't think much about things, do you?" She deadpanned.

"Nee-san hug." Issei blatantly ignored her and came at her with arms wide open, only to be held back as she pushed back his head at the last moment with a single hand.

"Porn brat no." She just as easily denied him on reflex, something she had much experience in after the past few months. "You'd just try to grope me again."

"That bra was a cheap piece of discount trash with no bottom support and you know it. If I didn't bring it up, you wouldn't have tossed the abomination."

"And how do you know that?"

"Your breasts never looked lopsided again after I pointed it out."

"You perverted little shit!"

"Lady you are a human with average at best magic reserves. Your oppai don't follow the rules of MOB. As great as they are, if you don't take care of yourself, you're liable to start sagging before you hit thirty."

"… I am going to invoke my rights as "Nee-San" now. You better start running." The sounds of knuckles cracking echoed in the alleyway.

Around the corner of the alleyway, Azazel held back an amused chuckle as he heard the sounds of yet another person partaking in the wondrous activity of trying to strangle Issei with their bare hands.

At first, he had his doubts when it came to the kid's first major choice for his Harem.

Jasmine Redsmith. Age Eighteen. Softmore at the college, having been accepted in a year early due to her outstanding grades, references, and Sacred Gear. A Half Caucasian Half Japanese bastard child spawned from a one night stand between a US army sergeant based in Okinawa and a local prostitute. The mother just barely managed to load the child onto the father just before his end of duty and somehow managed to guilt him into taking care of her.

Azazel had many things to say about the States and how they did things, but they at the very least had halfway decent child care services available on their main bases.

Completely human, save for a drop of youkai blood from her mother's side, but that wasn't surprising. Given Japan's history and isolated geography, almost one of five humans had bit of monster blood in them if you looked far back enough.

An army brat that can speak fluent English, Japanese, and German, she was dragged around with her father from station to station around the world. The man wasn't cruel or abusive, and did try to raise and provide for her adequately, but it was clear that he wasn't ideal parenting material given their estranged relationship. From the reports, it looked like she spent more time with and got along better with his squad's families than she did him, and frequently snuck off of the base to explore and interact with the locals.

A mishap at one of the bases in her early teen years led to her Sacred Gear awakening, subsequently and conveniently leading to her introduction to the other side of the world due to one of her father's squad mates having ties to the Church. She didn't join Heaven's side, but she did make use of the connections to train in using her Sacred Gear to protect herself, and to earn a bit of extra money doing all sorts of chorus, music, and voice related gigs. If she didn't move around so much, she probably would have made a name for herself as a singer or actress.

Highly intelligent and independent. Shows a notable degree of proficiency in applied biology and chemistry if her brief history with concocting some rather high end illegal drugs for some spare cash in high school was any indication.

Outside of that stunt, her record was pretty clean, save for running away from home to enter the college in the first place. Apparently her father wasn't too interested in paying for her advanced schooling and wanted her to join the military first. Her papers say she's aiming for a degree in biochemistry with a focus on pharmaceuticals and wants to make medicine.

Azazel had a look at the young woman as if inspecting a painting he normally wouldn't bother with. Despite just being a human, Jasmine seemed to have inherited the best of both ethnic gene pools to a stunning degree. She had the smooth and near perfect complexion of the people of Japan with matching long ebony black hair. Her face was without a doubt of oriental decent, however her sharp eyes were a striking green, no doubt leading to her name in the first place.

While her body was naturally lean and smooth in the right places, it was by no means small. She easily stood a good head taller than most females her age, with a very generous chest, wide hips, and if one looked carefully enough, coiled muscles barely hidden under her smooth skin. There was little doubt that while she got her appearance from her mother, a good part of her build, habits, and personality came from her father's half of the gene pool and the army background.

And damn did she show it all on the pole when it was her turn in the club. Girl knew what she had and how to work it. There were not many in the business that could do even half the tricks she had pulled off with almost casual ease.

Azazel had even played with the idea of trying a night out with the young woman herself until he remembered that it would probably piss off Issei to high holy hell.

The kid was amicable to pretty much everyone's requests most of the time, but when he was mad, legitimately and genuinely angry… ho boy. That's when some nasty messes were made. Kid was definitely dragon material, it was just hard to spot it out at first glance.

She was not a fighter. Not powerful. Not game breaking. Not a good or bad person. Not a major person of interest, yet not someone completely ignorable either. Her interests and Sacred Gear indicate she does have some potential, just in what, even he didn't know. Definitely a looker though.

"He's got interesting taste. I'll give him that much." The Governor General smirked as the two interacted behind a strip club almost like a real brother and sister would, with the annoyed elder sibling trying to murder the annoying younger one without reservation.

Still, Azazel was somewhat curious why Issei was so adamant on her over all the other females he's met so far. From the moment the kid looked at her, he was determined that she'd be part of "The Harem" for no explainable reason… but there was without a doubt one, even if Issei didn't know it yet.

Maybe it had something to do with dragons? He should try and drag Vali to see her soon to see if he reacted any differently sometime soon. Worst case scenario, he'd ask Ophis the next time she popped up unannounced.

No harm in being careful with just that, right?

o. o. o.

Omake: Advertisement is key to a successful business:

Flip.

Flip.

Flip.

Akeno was quiet as she went through the catalogue with an unreadable expression.

"Akeno? There you are." Rias sighed as she walked into the room and looked over her Queen's shoulder. "What are you… that's for Issei's sex shop, isn't it?"

"Mmm." The Queen mumbled, barely acknowledging her King's existence.

"…"

"…"

"… Is… is that Kuroka in all these photos?"

"Might be."

"And she's used all of these things?"

"Looks like it." Akeno turned another page.

Both girls stared quietly at the paper before tilting their heads to the side at the same time.

"… You think Koneko can bend that much?"

"If you show this to her, I'm taking it away from you."

"And that's why, as a proper Queen, it is my responsibility to keep things that are beyond your ability to handle away from you."

"Is that a challenge, Akeno?"

"I'm merely stating my duties, Rias."

"Is that so? Well then, there's only one way to settle this then, isn't there?"

"Indeed."

Ten minutes later, Kiba walked into the room, took two steps, saw Rias and Akeno glaring at one another while filling out a form and reading a very explicit magazine. He then seamlessly turned around, and walked straight out again without saying a word, or remembering even entering the room.