Digital x Dragon: DLC (Devil Lovers Chronicle)

A High School DxD fanfiction by Yukikaze101

High School DxD is the property of Ishibumi Ichiei and Fujimi Shobo. (If I owned it, the anime adaptation would have hijacked "Database" and "Slide Ride" as its OP themes.)

In addition, this fanfiction borrows elements from Arifureta (property of Shirakome Ryo, J-Novel Club, Seven Seas Entertainment, White Fox, and Asread), Recovery of an MMO Junkie (property of Kokuyō Rin, Comico, and ), and Great Teacher Onizuka (property of Fujisawa Tohru, Weekly Shonen Magazine, Animax, and Fuji Television).

Note: This is the continuation of Digital x Dragon: Final Patch. That story is, in turn, the authorized conclusion of KurobaraIto's original Digital x Dragon, but it's best to consider this an alternate universe that forks off from that story's last published chapter. (Just in case KurobaraIto decides to pick it up again someday.)

Fluff/silliness warning. Author's musical tastes warning.

Some long-delayed replies to reviews:

Scorez: I don't really agree (if anything, I feel like in my mind, Sona's place at the heart of Issei's life is just getting solidified), but it's entirely possible you're seeing something I'm not. All I can do is apologize and try to be more persuasive in future chapters.

Mauricio11: While I can see your point, there is no unified Dragon "faction" in this setting (nor, from what I've seen, is there one in canon), and the existing dragons either tend to their own knitting or have already allied themselves to existing factions (such as Gorou and his allegiance to the Kyoto and Shinto Factions, and Alivan and Tannin to Devilkind). In the latter case, they would probably be constrained by Devil laws and traditions to keep from outright killing Riser (although challenging him to a retaliatory Rating Game would probably not being out of the question), and in the former, Ravel already pointed out the risks of pissing off Kyoto (and, by association, Gorou).

Crimson Dragon VIRUS: The bit with Riser's phone was written way back in November, and was the deciding factor in what Issei's Sacred Gear would be. If not for that, it probably would have been Star Buster Star Blaster. Not that there aren't ideas for later… *ominous music*

Ryani: There will be an updated harem list at the end of this chapter.

INTERLUDE: The Grand Facade Soon Will Burn

Part 1: A Hostage To All My Hopes And Fears

It had been a very long day for Hyoudou Gorou. It had started… well, it had started the day before today, without them even going to bed before Issei's Rating Game. Then the match had happened, as intense and brutal as it was relatively brief. Then had come the aftermath and cleanup, making sure he and his budding harem were all right, and then the celebration.

That last part had ended just now, Gorou mused to himself as he got ready for bed. They were taking advantage of old friends' hospitality. Under other circumstances, it might not have been one of their hosts' guest suites they were staying in… but there would be other times for that.

All the quiet tension and fear for Issei had bled away, and the pride in him had relaxed. He had just enough energy to crawl under the covers

Stifling a yawn, he stepped out of the en-suite bathroom. "Rio? Ready for…?" He trailed off as he took a good look at his wife.

Rio stood by the dresser, her expression pensive. In her hands was an old photograph, somewhat faded with frayed edges. He knew it immediately.

"I didn't know you brought that with you," he said softly.

"It seemed like a good idea," Rio said, her own voice equally hushed. "In case things had gone wrong."

"You hadn't really thought things would go wrong," he said carefully. He hadn't either… not anywhere where his conscious self could catch him, anyway. That hadn't kept his heart out of his throat, or him and Rio clutching each others' hands hard enough to leave bruises.

"No," Rio agreed. "I expected things to go pretty much as they did. But that didn't stop me from worrying." She leaned back against him, and he wrapped his arms around her waist, his eyes looking down at the photo.

The picture was… eight, maybe nine years old, he reflected. Right before - and even now, his mind skittered away from that. Some wounds never really closed…

Daria sat on the couch, a serene smile on her face. As always, she was the social center-of-gravity. It was always something she seemed unaware of, or to try and avoid acknowledging, as if admitting its existence was the height of arrogance. He and Rio stood behind her, arms around each others' waists. Dulio sat next to her, looking awkward in civvies but smiling anyway. Kuroka was on her other side, her usual hauteur replaced with a surprisingly gentle smile and one hand resting on Issei's head. Penemue was absent from the photo - predictable, as she had been the one behind the Nikon's viewfinder; this had been taken during one of her intermittent shutterbug phases. Finally, Issei sat in Daria's lap, grinning broadly.

Gorou wasn't sure when the last time had been that their son had worn that uncomplicated smile. At least, the last time in the last eight years, before Issei and Sona Sitri had met. Had it really been that long since Daria's passing? Had Sona and the circle of girls coalescing around Issei really only been there a year, or less? All he did know was that for far too long, his son's smiles had been shadowed, or manic, with no real middle ground, and that didn't even count his year-long hikikomori phase.

"We need to talk to him, Gorou-kun," Rio said softly.

He gave her a sideways look. "This was your idea, Rio…" Not that he'd argued at the time. Well, argued about that, anyway. Back then, everything else was fair game for yelling about.

"I know." Rio's voice was small. "I didn't see any other choice at the time, but now, with Issei a part of the supernatural world, the way things are going…"

"He's not going to be happy," Gorou pointed out. In fact, he was more than a little worried about how Issei would react. And not just because of the force of destruction a young, angry dragon could be.

"No, he won't be." Rio nestled deeper into his embrace, and something about her felt unusually fragile. She let out a shuddering sigh. "But he deserves to know, however angry he gets at us. We need to tell him soon, Gorou-kun."

"Yeah." Gorou let out a sigh of his own. She was right. They couldn't keep hiding it. When he was able to make himself think about it, they never should have in the first place. But… not tonight. Even now, it was still an open sore that he shied away from, and he knew that Rio felt the same.

He gently took the photo from Rio's hand, setting it on the dresser. "Not tonight, though."

She smiled wanly, her eyes dark with mingled memories and emotions. "No. Not tonight."

Part 2: If You're Partial to the Night Sky

"All right, everyone ready?" Issei called out, shifting around. So far, having five girls on his back didn't feel much heavier than having two, but he had yet to do more than hover slightly above ground.

"Just a moment." Sona concentrated, and he felt the air warm slightly on his back, around where she and the rest of his lovers were perched. "There. That should last about an hour before I'll need to refresh it. Reya, Aika, I'd like your help with that. Managing climate-control spells is good training for intermediate magic."

"Sure," Aika said easily. "As long as Ikkun doesn't try any barrel rolls and send us flying." She patted his flank.

"I'll start reinforcing it now, kai… Sona-san," Reya piped up. Her ability to roll with the changes in their collective interpersonal dynamic was admirable, but the habit of referring to Sona with relative formality died hard.

"I don't get why you guys are afraid of a little breeze," Tsubasa remarked… well, breezily.

"We're going flying at dusk, Tsubasa," Kaori said, rolling her eyes. "Above the clouds. You don't think that'll get chilly?"

"It's just an excuse to lean down and snuggle closer to Ise-chan," Tsubasa replied, a good-natured smirk on her face as Kaori's face pinked slightly. For all that she was technically the second-senior member of the harem, the Knight was still easily set a-blush about physical intimacy.

"...maybe you have a point," she said after a moment.

Aika opened her mouth to comment, paused, and then just shrugged.

Reya gave her a surprised look. "Really? Nothing?"

"Not beyond an obvious 'riding the dragon' joke, no," the meganekko admitted. "We'll save that for after the flight," she added in a joking-but-not-joking tone.

"Promises, promises," Issei said, laughing and trying to turn his mind towards the mechanics of flight. Now was a bad time to be thinking sexy thoughts. "Ready when you guys are. I'm gonna go up slowly this time, and brace yourselves when we hit the clouds."

"We're ready, anata," Sona told him. "Take us up." A chorus of agreement arose from the others, and Issei took a deep breath and took off. Those sounds of agreement were replaced with ones of delight as they rose higher and higher into the air.

He'd been right. The weight difference was… noticeable, but far from unmanageable. He was still going to take it easy with the ascent, though.

A surge of dismay and protectiveness swept through him at the thought of his girls coming to harm, and he set his jaw in determination. He'd be damned if he was going to let anything happen to them.

He shook the thought off as they approached the clouds and accelerated to what his instincts told him was the maximum "safe" speed. "Hold on!" he called out as they entered the clouds.

"Somehow, I expected them to be fluffier," he heard Aika remark in surprise.

"We didn't get a good look at them last time," Kaori said in reply. "We were moving too fast, and it was later at night."

"Oh," Aika said, but before she could say anything else, Issei was breaking through the cloud cover.

Surrounding them was a vast sky streaked with blues, pinks, and oranges. Those colors painted the clouds as the setting sun ponderously merged with the horizon.

Sona sucked in a breath, and Issei somehow knew how the sight was moving her. He felt rather the same, and the way the others were shifting around, the intensity of their scents, told him they were moved as well. He could even visualize their faces right now: Sona wearing a rare open smile, Kaori beaming, Tsubasa's eyes wide and her mouth open in awe, Aika's face gobsmacked and free of her trademark good-natured sardony, Reya's small and content grin.

The night sky had been majestic, with its white stars and silver-blue moon, but there was something soothing and welcoming about sunset above the clouds. The company only made it better.

The six of them floated there, above Kuoh, watching in companionable silence as the sun dipped ever lower below the horizon.

Part 3: A Loaded God Complex (Cock it and Pull it)

Amanogawa Kouki just didn't get it.

"Kouki-kun." Shizuku gave him an odd look. "Why don't you come to karaoke with us?" She gestured to the handful of other students. Two of them were recent transfers from Kyoto, of all places, and were apparently old friends of Shizuku's. They were friendly enough, but something about them seemed strange. Not bad, necessarily, but strange. And they always seemed to be watching him. (It must have been a trick of the light, but one of them seemed to have almost feline features once…)

He wondered if he would have noticed that before.

"Thanks, but no," he said. "Next time. I need to go home."

"If you're sure," Shizuku said, giving him a mildly-concerned look. She'd been casting a lot of those his way lately, ever since that Saturday.

He waved at her, nodded to the others, and walked away. The trip home was one he could make in his sleep, and right now that was just as well. He had a lot to turn over in his mind.

It had been one entire month. Thirty days since that strange, violent… priest? He was sure Asia had said that's what he was. Anyway, since that strange, violent priest had kidnapped Asia and him, and the Student Council - including Hyoudou, much to Kouki's shock - had rescued them. And since that day, Kouki had been trying to mentor him, trying to show him the proper way of doing things.

It was a frustrating task, to say the least.

Oh, he could admit it now, at least. He'd been wrong about Hyoudou Issei, or at least the other boy had been positively influenced by Sona. He did seem to mean well, and he was willing to risk himself to help others. It was more admirable than he'd ever expected from a member of the Perverted Trio. But that made it all the more important that he listen to Kouki, follow his example.

Amanogawa Kouki was a firm believer that good intentions without proper direction were almost worse than bad ones. In fact, the idea that good intentions could exist without proper direction was still new - and uncomfortable - to him. Hyoudou needed to do the right thing in the right way, have it acknowledged by the right people. It wasn't merely doing good he needed to strive for, but respectability. Otherwise, he was little better than a vigilante. It was bad enough that Hyoudou didn't grasp that, but Sona and Asia seemed to actually support him in his way of thinking.

And so did Shizuku.

Kouki couldn't understand.

"What's to understand?" a voice in his head said. "You're overthinking things. Hasn't your friend ever told you that?"

"No, she hasn't," Kouki said, only slightly surprised. His surprise was less at the voice in his head, and more at the question he'd been asked. In some distant, abstract way, he supposed the fact that he was holding a conversation with someone he couldn't see might be… concerning. (So would the fact that he and the voice had been conversing since the night following the incident.) Somehow, though, it wasn't. He felt, even if he couldn't explain why, that whatever the voice's source was meant him no harm. "She's never said anything like that."

"Hmph. I'm not surprised," the voice said. The retort was hardly complimentary, though it wasn't derisive, either. More like a friend trying to point out where you'd screwed up on your homework. Not that that took much of the sting out of it.

"It's frustrating," he insisted. "He won't even listen to me. He thinks he's doing enough good as is, but the idea of respectability, of justice - it's like he can't even see the value in them. And no one else seems to see the problem with it…"

"'Justice.'" The voice snorted. "Justice is a worthy thing to aspire to, I'll grant you. It's not a magic word, though." There was a thoughtful pause, and then the voice added, "And don't make the mistake of assuming that another's idea of justice is the same as yours."

That had to be the most confusing statement the voice had made yet. Justice was… justice. And Kouki had never once considered that anyone else might see it differently than him. The thought was new, and uncomfortable, and one he wanted to shy away from. He'd been running into that a lot lately.

"Yelling about justice at the top of your lungs won't make your enemies suddenly surrender," the voice continued. "You need more than that."

"More? Like what?" Some part of Kouki's mind noted how sinister that sounded. The rest of him didn't seem to care much.

"Power." The voice said the single word almost reverently. "When you have power, justice is something you can make real. Might makes right, after all." There was a darkly-amused snort, and then the voice added, "Might makes for respectability, too."

Kouki wanted to protest that. He couldn't find a way to, though. The voice's logic was hard to resist… or maybe he just didn't want to resist it. (Not that he would ever admit that, even to himself.)

"You have justice you want to enforce? You have people you want to protect? You want to demonstrate that you're right and he's wrong? Then you need power. And I can give you that, show you how to access and refine it."

"Why?" Kouki had the presence of mind to ask that much, at least.

"Because you're my host. When you benefit, I benefit. And, sooner or later, my rival will find us. The best way for you to survive is to learn to wield my power."

That was an answer that generated a hundred more questions. But there was one that stood above the others in Kouki's head. "And who are you, anyway?"

"I was wondering when you were going to ask me that." The voice sounded amused. "You can call me 'Ddraig.'"

Part 4: Put On Your War Paint

The Marquis and Marquise of Phenex had a small but well-appointed villa on the northern border of their territory. When their children had been younger, it had been a favorite vacation spot for them. These days, though, it was virtually deserted, save for a small caretaker staff.

That, Riser thought - when he could spare the mental bandwidth from sulking or brooding - made it perfect for his exile. Once again, his gaze swept across the intricately-crafted wooden case, and the full set of Evil Pieces within.

Less than two months with a full peerage, and here he was, back at square one. He was without even a Queen. No King worthy of the title lacked a Queen - and even as he had the thought, his mind veered violently away from it.

He knew exactly who was at fault, of course. Ravel, their parents, their brothers, all of them believed he'd brought the repercussions down upon himself. Or so they said, anyway. But he knew the truth.

Small minds always feared and resented their superiors.

-xxxx-

Riser had been ten when he realized he wouldn't become Lord Phenex. For someone who had always been deemed a genius, it was an insult - even if he was the only one that saw it as such - that he could never get past.

He still couldn't understand why Ruval got to be the Marquis. Just because he was the oldest… what did that matter? And all the time he had put into schooling and training… why would he waste all that time? Who needed that? The same had gone for Riyal, who had actually went to the effort of attaining several human college doctorates. Riser couldn't fathom why someone would put effort into that.

For that matter, he couldn't wrap his head around his family's weird obsession with being… productive. Mother and her government work, Father and his medical research, Ruval's political training, Riyal's interest in academics and broadcast media… Even Ravel was strangely fixated on business. It was unseemly. Wasn't the House of Phenex part of the 72 Pillars, after all? They were the masters of the world, even if everyone else was too stupid to realize it. Getting your hands dirty was for their lessers.

To be fair, he had worked hard on recruiting and training his peerage. That, after all, was customary for someone of his rank. And it was certainly as much for his benefit as for the House's. But actual toil? Worse, mind-numbing bookkeeping?

Ruval had laughed when Riser had told him that he should give the lordship to him. He'd laughed even louder when Riser's response to being asked why had been "because I'm me." Riyal had laughed with him. Their parents hadn't laughed, nor had Ravel, but they had looked embarrassed, and their father had sat him down and explained at length why Ruval inherited the position.

(Riser hadn't really paid attention to the explanation, beyond it involving Ruval being the eldest child. It hadn't really mattered. He knew what his father was really saying: they were too threatened by his genius to grant him his due. He understood that, but he'd never forgive it.)

-xxxx-

It had all gone wrong because of Sona Sitri - that bitch! his mind raged. Frigid shrew of a reincarnate-fucking whore! (A mixed metaphor, to be sure, but it was unlikely Riser would have noticed, even were he in a clearer headspace.) Her, and her reincarnate fucktoy. The nerve of him, believing his desires were actually worthy of consideration - and everyone present agreed with him. Even Ravel.

Riser vaguely remembered her mentioning that they'd encountered each other in Kyoto, somehow. Hyoudou must have used some kind of Japanese magic to inveigle everyone present, something only he had been strong enough to resist. That was the only explanation. The idea that he might have been right was absolutely ludicrous.

His mind still shied away from the last minutes of the Rating Game. Truth be told, he didn't want to think about it at all. How his servants had proven so useless, so quickly - for a moment, a flash of memory, of the agony resulting from Sona's other servant crippling his natural talents and Hyoudou's dragon form landing on him, over and over. Of the burning humiliation from Hyoudou forcing him to surrender.

It should not have happened. Father had said that he had underestimated Rias and her servants, and there might have been some small truth there. (Admitting even that much was almost physically painful for Riser.) But he knew where the real fault belonged: his peerage, who showed their true worthlessness in the face of Rias's modest skill.

And then, when he showed them the error of their ways, the final insult began.

He didn't understand why it had gotten worse when he'd punished Yubelluna. That should have cowed the other girls. That should have made them behave, made them competent. (What had confused him even more was her repeated pleas that she loved him. Of course she did; a servant was supposed to. But only a foolish servant expected that love to be reciprocated. It was true that many Kings treated their Queens with special respect and affection… but Riser Phenex was not "many Kings.")

Instead, they had gone running to Ravel - that traitorous bitch! He knew he should have brought her to heel, just like he had with each of his servants, sister or no. In fact, that made it even worse: as his sister, she should have supported him, instead of some abstract idea of what was "good for the family." He was the House of Phenex's true heir, so what benefited him benefited all. She should have understood that, even if she had whined to Mother to trade.

But no. Again, she had gone and whined to Mother, and Mother had come to talk to him, this time with Father and Ruval in tow… not that she'd actually needed them. Her maiden name, after all, was Belial, and in her youth she had rejoiced in the nickname "Queen of Absolute Negation." She had hamstrung his pyrokinesis with a look, and physically placed the case with her unused Evil Pieces in his hands, as if he were a stumbling infant. (He felt an ugly shudder of lust as the thought of exacting proper vengeance upon her flashed through his mind.)

The ensuing trade might have been voluntary on paper, but he had hated every moment of it. Hated the relief on the girls' faces, as if they had any right to feel anything besides what he told them to.

And so, he had a full set of Evil Pieces again. Not that it mattered. His harem was gone. Even Yubelluna, even though he'd punished her so soundly that it would take weeks for even magical healing to make the injuries right. He still raged at the looks of reproach on his parents' and Ruval's faces. As if they had any right to judge him. As if he weren't merely letting Ruval have the family heirship until he felt like assuming it, whatever his brother might think.

No. He knew what he was due. A new peerage was only the tip of the iceberg. Where to start, though, that was the question…

-xxxx-

The villa's majordomo cleared his throat. Lars was a Devil of apparent middle age, dignified-looking with close-cropped amber hair. His service, and that of his staff, had been impeccable since Riser had arrived, and their manners flawless. Even if they had divergent thoughts about his self-exile, they kept them to themselves. After the weight of his family's disapproval, that silence was a modest relief. "Riser-sama?"

Riser turned a glare upon him, but couldn't muster much force behind it. "What?"

"You have visitors, Riser-sama. Diadora-sama of the House of Astaroth, and his peerage."

Riser sat up slowly, his glare relaxing after a long moment. "Fine. Show them in."

As Lars escorted his foppish-looking visitor in, Riser's eyes narrowed in thought.

It had taken him a long time to understand what he truly desired. The full realization hadn't come until three years before. That was just after he'd recruited Yubelluna and Xuelan, and was looking for more servants. Even then, he was aiming for the Rating Games, and training his new servants accordingly.

It had been a chance encounter at a party thrown by the House of Naberius, a faux-affable conversation with someone he'd never deigned to notice before. But the things the young man had said, in that off-handed fashion so favored by certain Pillar families, had struck some kind of chord within Riser. He had been unsurprised when they had another chance conversation at another party, and then another. By the time the inevitable offer came, Riser was almost anticipating it, and was already prepared to accept.

For all their flaws, his visitor's friends understood what drove Riser Phenex. His choice really had been inevitable.

"That'll be all, Lars," Riser said. After a moment, he added in a begrudging tone, "If our guest's peerage accompanied him, see that they're fed."

"Very generous of you," Diadora drawled. "But it's not necessary." He smirked slightly. "After all, a little mortification is good for the soul."

Riser shrugged, giving Lars a gesture of dismissal. As the door to his sitting room was closed, he gave Diadora a sharp look. "You're late. I expected you a week ago."

"I had reason to delay," Diadora replied, an amused half-smile on his face. "Did you realize this villa is under surveillance?"

Riser's eyes widened. His family had gone that far - ?! "No," he hissed. "Not until now."

"They're very good at keeping it subtle," Diadora said thoughtfully. "But we were able to catch a glimpse. We saw at least one member of the faux-Leviathan's peerage. Naturally, we left them alone. No need to rile Serafall up just yet." He reached into his robes, setting an intricately-crafted silver plaque on the table. "As long as I have this, I can disrupt their scrying just enough so that they'll hear what I want them to hear. The same will go for your staff. So, right now we're discussing Sairaorg's latest Rating Game."

"Clever of you," Riser grated out. Some detached part of his mind meant it, too. But that part wasn't the one holding his mental reins right now. "You left me hanging, Diadora." He felt his voice starting to rise, and paused until he was sure he had it under control. "You and your friends were supposed to make sure I beat Rias." His eyes sharpened. "As a matter of fact, they were supposed to bring Rias to me, suitably rendered docile, too."

"Your friends too, Riser. Don't forget that." The faint smile on Diadora's face had frozen, taking on a hint of cold cruelty, and his voice matched. "You do realize that you've already committed treason. You crossed that line the first time you diverted a shipment of Phoenix Tears to us."

Diadora waited until Riser's belligerence abated before continuing. (It took several minutes.) "As for the original plan for Rias, I'll admit we dropped the ball on that. We underestimated how quickly and effectively the youkai would respond to an invasion. And we never planned for Hyoudou Issei's abilities, or for the presence of the Hakuryuukou." His expression relaxed, but his tone was rife with schadenfreude. "Or your sister, for that matter."

Riser's scowl deepened, but he didn't object.

"As for the help against Rias, we did give it to you. We passed your little sister everything we had on the pieces Sona loaned Rias. We did everything but hand you video footage of Hyoudou and Sona's sex life." Diadora's voice was dust-dry, and his expression faintly mocking. "The only way you could have fought with such ignorance of their capabilities is if you'd outright ignored Ravel-chan. But you wouldn't do that, of course…"

Riser frowned. He thought he remembered Ravel trying to discuss something with him… no, no, it couldn't have been that. He would have listened if she'd had anything truly important to tell him. No, he'd been right all along; Hyoudou must have used some strange youkai magic to influence her. He told Diadora as much.

The Astaroth heir shrugged. "It's possible," he said in a tone that left "but unlikely" hanging, unsaid but clearly heard, in the air. "There are a couple of other things you might be interested in." He pulled another item out of his robes, a thick envelope with photos poking out of it. "Apparently, Hyoudou Issei has been sighted out and about with dear little Rias, both alone and with Sona along for the ride."

Riser glowered at the photos. Indeed, there was that damned reincarnate with Rias on his arm at several prestigious restaurants in Lucifer, both of them dressed to kill and looking pleased to be in each other's company. There were more photos with Sona joining them than without, but the fact that any of these pictures existed at all was like glass scraped down a chalkboard to his psyche. He crumpled them in his fist, his phoenix-fire turning them to ash.

"I don't buy it, personally," Diadora said offhandedly. That note of enjoying Riser's discomfiture had returned. "We have a couple of reliable agents in Kuoh. They say that the two treat each other more like siblings than anything else. There's even a report of him publicly saying that she's 'not his type.'" Riser gave him a disbelieving look, and he shrugged. "Yes, that seemed hard to believe for me, too But the celebrity watchers are eating it up. The Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess and the Phoenix Buster, finding love together with Sitri's Cool-Eyed Mistral Princess. Happy ending all around, wouldn't you say?" His smirk widened. "And fake relationships becoming real ones is a classic story, you know."

"I want him dead," Riser growled. Even he realized how petulant it sounded, and Diadora's expression showed that he hadn't missed that.

"You're not the only one," Diadora replied, his voice vaguely resembling a soothing tone. "As a courtesy, I sent them a little package. Nothing they couldn't cope with, but it should make them paranoid. You'll be the first one they look at, of course, but it'll be clear that you had nothing to do with it."

Riser eyed him for a moment, and then nodded grudgingly. After a moment, he said "Thank you" in an equally grudging tone.

"That's not what I'm here to discuss, though." All foppery fell away from the Duke-designate of Astaroth's expression and voice, and when he spoke, it was with deadly seriousness. "I'm here to discuss the next phase of operations, and your part in them."

Riser's scowl disappeared, and he sat up straight. "Oh?"

"Yes." Diadora's eyes held his, and there was a dangerous glitter in them. "And I think you'll be happy to know that they include a page or two for Sona Sitri's peerage. There are some things that not even a dragon is immune to, after all."

Riser looked up at Diadora. Some part of him was actually excited by this, actually fired up by something other than the indulgence of his vices. In a way, he felt like he was fully awake for the first time in weeks. "Tell me more," he said.

"In a minute," Diadora said with a smirk. "First, I have someone you should meet." He motioned to the door, and a figure in a long cloak and hood entered. Despite the drape of the cloth, the figure underneath was clearly female.

Riser raised both eyebrows. "And who is this?"

"Someone else who has a bone to pick with dragons," Diadora replied. "Go ahead, Raynare."

Riser's mouth fell open. There had been enough stories about Hyoudou's reincarnation and the circumstances surrounding it that even he had heard the name "Raynare."

Before he could say anything else, the woman in question threw back her hood. Riser felt his tongue stilled momentarily by her beauty. The haughtiness in her demeanor only enhanced it.

"So you want Hyoudou Issei dead, too," she said, and her tone struck a chord within Riser. Her lips curled upwards in something somewhere between a smile and a sneer.

"Yes, I do," he answered.

"Then I think we can work together," Raynare said, her expression moving fractionally closer to a smile.

After a long moment, Riser felt himself returning the sneer/smile. There was something about her, a strange kind of spark. For perhaps the first time in his life, he was looking at a kindred spirit. Even the realization that she saw him only as an ally of convenience did nothing to dilute that realization.

Diadora chuckled. "I knew you two would get along."

"You might be right." Riser set down his wine glass, looking speculatively at Raynare for a long moment before shifting his eyes back to the open case of Evil Pieces.

Specifically, the Queen piece.

No King worthy of the name was ever without a Queen, after all.

"Tell me, Raynare," he said thoughtfully. "How much do you know about Evil Pieces?"

Part 5: All of These Lines Are Being Crossed Over the Atmosphere

The sprawling complex that comprised Grigori headquarters had changed several times over the centuries. The last time had been in the early 1930s, when Azazel had become enamored of Art Deco. Even after nearly nine decades, the Governor-General had shown no sign of changing his stylistic mind again.

And thus it was that, in his spacious apartments near the top of the central spire, that the leader of the Fallen Angels lounged, surrounded by the people he trusted most.

This was, by no means, an official meeting of the Cadre Council. Some of the people present weren't even Fallen Angels, and were thus ineligible to serve on the Council. On paper, in fact several of the people attending were elsewhere. Two of them actually were elsewhere, using magic to remotely attend in real-time. The anti-eavesdropping wards he'd lined the walls with long ago had been reinforced, and then reinforced again. But no one present uttered a word about paranoia.

"There's no question about it, then?" he asked.

The man he aimed the question at cleared his throat, straightening up. He was handsome, sporting silver hair in a severe bowl cut, and wore a purple beret over a slate-grey tunic and matching trousers. "If you want to get technical about it, there's always room for error. But in this case, the likelihood is so low that it's scarcely worth discussing." He shook his head. "For our purposes… no, there's no question."

"Shemhazai is absolutely correct." This came from a beautiful woman with long indigo hair tied into a thick braid. Even her voluminous robes did little to obscure her curvaceous figure. "Kokabiel has made no secret of his dissatisfaction with the current detente. And the actions of both Raynare and Sellzen required quiet support from the highest offices. That means Cadre. And we know what that means." Few knew better than Penemue, after all. As Chief Secretary of the Cadre Council, she was also Grigori's de facto foreign secretary, with command over its intelligence-gathering operations.

"Yeah. Yeah, we do," Azazel agreed, his expression sour.

"So what do we do about it?" This came from the beautiful silver-haired girl dressed like a dockworker, lounging indolently in the expensive recliner. Normally, a girl like that would get Azazel's mind racing with the kinds of thoughts that had made him Fall, but Vali had always been immune from those. It was a side effect of being her de facto foster father. "I have a few ideas. Most of them involve my Balance Breaker and a lot of explosions, though."

"Keep those in your back pocket." Azazel reached into his jacket, pulling out a handful of photos, and tossed them on the coffee table. "This happened eight hours ago. As far as I'm aware, no one else in Grigori is aware of it yet."

Those present leaned down to examine them, and grimaced at what they saw.

Ikuse Tobio was the first to speak. "And Raynare was the only one taken?" One hand held Lavinia Reni's left hand. The other drummed idly in a random pattern on his knee. It was rare for the "Slash Dog" to display even that much trepidation.

Azazel nodded. "Everyone else held in that section of Cocytus was killed outright." He shook his head. "Several other people in less secure detainment died or disappeared around the same time. Dohnaseek was one of the former. Being moved to comfortable quarters was evidence that he'd talked, regardless of what he'd actually said. Mittelt was one of the latter."

"That accounts for Raynare's team," Lavinia mused softly. "What's left of it, since Kalawarner was killed. I wonder why, though."

Azazel took a long drink from the highball glass sitting on the coffee table. "Wish I knew. I can't see what Kokabiel would gain from the jailbreak, but either way, it's not reassuring."

Vali snorted. "They're a distraction. He wants us to waste time and effort on chasing them."

"Even if that's the case, we can't ignore them," the man on Azazel's left opined. He was solidly built and sported a goatee, and his grey suit was cut in a quasi-militaristic style. "The two of them are quite able and willing to sow chaos, and it was hard enough keeping them on a leash when they weren't disaffected. Raynare is exactly the kind of person to decimate a city out of spite or whim, and Mittelt damned sure won't stop her."

"Baraqiel makes a good point," Azazel noted, nodding in agreement with the Cadre Council's Marshal of the Fallen Host. "And we should keep an eye out for them. But I agree that they're unlikely to be the main threat." He shifted his gaze to Penemue. "Have you been able to confirm those rumors about Kokabiel having contact with the Old Satan Faction?"

Penemue shook her head. "Those sources went silent immediately after passing on the rumors. They're most likely dead, and I'm still setting up alternate networks." Her lips thinned. "But I'm certain they're accurate."

"Makes it even more important to shore up our own defenses," Baraqiel rumbled softly.

"We may have to take a page from Kokabiel's book, then. If he's making friends with the OSF…" Shemhazai trailed off meaningfully. Azazel's chief deputy looked less than enthused about what he was proposing, but he was too intellectually honest to not put the idea forward.

"'The enemy of my enemy is my friend?'" Baraqiel looked even more skeptical than Shemhazai. "That's a dangerous game to play, Shemhazai."

"But the current Maou are reasonable," Shemhazai pointed out. "And they have just as little reason to want the Underworld disrupted." He shook his head. "To be frank, we've been at de facto detente for centuries. What would we lose by drawing a line under it now?"

"It's worth considering. But let's put a pin in that for now," Azazel said, his tone amiable but firm. This was an old argument, one that Shemhazai had painstakingly brought him around on over the centuries. The advantages to maintaining an official state of hostilities were becoming less relevant every day. They had not, however, completely lost relevance, and Azazel was hesitant to pull the trigger just now. "Right now, figuring out Kokabiel's next move is top priority. That and staying prepared for… other developments." His eyes flicked towards Vali. "We have the White Dragon Empress among our ranks, after all. It's only a matter of time before the Sekiryuutei rears his head."

"Or her head," Penemue corrected idly.

"Or her head," Azazel agreed, inclining his head graciously.

"Are you expecting to recruit the Sekiryuutei?" Vali asked dubiously.

"Not seriously, no," Azazel assured her. He mostly meant it, too. While Grigori would benefit greatly from having both Heavenly Dragons on its side, the likelihood that they would end up trying to kill each other - and get a lot of other people killed in the process - was too great. Besides, the thought of Vali even suffering a serious wound was something his mind skittered away from, like a raw nerve. "I'm more interested in keeping tabs on it."

"I have a thought." All eyes shifted towards Lavinia, who had been silent thus far. She was dressed in slim-fitting blue jeans and a slightly oversized white cashmere sweater, a surprisingly homey look for the beautiful and buxom mage. "Kuoh."

"Kuoh?" Azazel repeated.

"Something's going on in Kuoh," the Grauzauberer mage replied. "It's always been something of a hotbed for supernatural activity, but that… magnetic effect it has seems to have increased dramatically. Sooner or later, I think the Sekiryuutei will find their way there. Presuming, of course, that they haven't already…"

"You're suggesting we send agents to Kuoh?" Baraqiel said doubtfully. "I see your logic, Lavinia, but after the crap Raynare pulled there, Gremory and Sitri probably won't be inclined to let us, and they have the town sewn up tight. Trying to sneak agents in would just piss them off more."

"So don't sneak them in," Lavinia suggested. "Send me instead, openly and officially. I'm a known quantity to them, including my allegiance to Grigori. And my student lives there… in fact, she's Sona Sitri's future sister-in-law. I think they'd be willing to accept my presence, both to work with her and to act as a conduit for information-sharing."

"It'd be a good way to make sure about the viability of an alliance," Shemhazai said thoughtfully.

"You sure about this, Lavi?" Tobio asked, his brow furrowing with concern.

"I'll be fine, Tobi-kun," Lavinia assured her husband, winking.

"I'll go, too." All eyes shifted to Vali, who shrugged. "If Lavinia's right, there's a good chance the next big dust-up will be in Kuoh."

"And you'll have a chance to visit your new friends, too." Lavinia gave Vali a sisterly smile. The latter girl rolled her eyes, but her cheeks were a very faint shade of pink.

Azazel resisted the urge to raise both eyebrows, or outright ask what that was about. Vali's beauty had made her popular in Grigori, but her often-prickly demeanor meant that few besides Tobio and Lavinia had managed to grow close to her. The news that she had found other friends was heartening to Azazel, and not simply because it was one more anchor to keep the Vanishing Dragon from running amok.

Not that he didn't intend to thoroughly vet any young man who managed to pierce her armor.

Aloud, he said, "All right. I'd like Lavinia to get herself established first, though, before Vali moves in." He smirked good-naturedly. "I'm pretty sure Kuoh Academy is due a new teacher."

Vali nodded. The laziness of the gesture did nothing to mask the eagerness for action. "Sure."

Lavinia rose. "With your permission, Azazel-sama, I'll ask Asia-chan to arrange a meeting with Sona-san and Rias-san."

Azazel nodded. "Let's get the ball rolling." He picked the other item up from the table. It looked like a simple dagger fashioned from a broken spearhead, but it fairly hummed with supernatural power. Everyone present understood its significance, and its potential as a game-changer.

"I assume you don't want us to mention that," Vali observed dryly, nodding at the dagger.

"Definitely not." There was no levity in Azazel's voice now. "I'd like you to hold back on sharing about Raynare, too."

"I'm fairly certain Sitri-san and Hyoudou-san would want to know about that," Lavinia replied, a polite tone of dissent in her voice. Penemue nodded firmly.

Azazel considered that, then sighed. "I'd still like you to keep it quiet… but use your judgment."

"And Heaven?" Shemhazai asked softly.

"I'll worry about Heaven for now." The Governor-General of Grigori let out a mirthless, self-deprecating chuckle. "Not like their opinion of us can get much lower."

Part 6: Every Road Leads to Your Door

"Well, I'd meant to start looking for a house soon, anyway." Sona's tone was philosophical, but there were undercurrents of tiredness and anger to it. She gave Issei a grateful smile as he set her favorite tea in front of her, and took his hand as he sat next to her.

"And the fire?" Rio looked aghast, and Gorou seemed pretty stunned himself.

"Hard to miss," Sona replied. She was starting to relax, both from the tea and from Issei's physical proximity. He was glad to see it. "We saw it several blocks out, on our way home from training. By the time we actually got to my complex, it was completely ablaze."

"Do you know how?" Gorou asked. His expression was sliding towards grimness; it was clear he had his suspicions about the fire's origin. Issei had a feeling that he shared them.

"It probably isn't the House of Phenex, despite the usage of fire," Serafall said. Her usually cheer was in abeyance, and if she were hovering any closer to her little sister, she'd be literally sitting on her. Her own expression suggested that she had some suspicions of her own, but no actual proof. (Once again, Issei had a guess what her hunch was, and he was pretty sure she was right.)

"No," Sona agreed. "Certainly not as an official family action."

Rio shifted her gaze to Serafall. "Serafall-san, you're looking into this, right?"

Serafall nodded firmly. "The minute I know something, you guys will, too." She paused, clearly weighing whether to say something or not, then admitted, "I've had eyes on the villa where Riser's exiled himself. He hasn't moved an inch. And Reina-chan assures me he has no access to their family accounts anymore."

"At least no one was hurt," Issei pointed out. He did his best to keep his voice mild and soothing. Much as he wanted to riddle Riser Phenex with holes on general principles, that would be a bad idea if it wasn't him. (Even if no one in the room had a doubt that he was somehow involved.) And taking care of Sona was the most important thing.

"That's true," Sona admitted. "Emergency services were very efficient tonight. No one lost a family member, or even a pet. Just their homes." Sona's voice had a note of guilt in it, and she grimaced, shifting her gaze to Serafall. "Onee-sama, can you help me set up a compensation fund for my neighbors?"

Serafall nodded. "Already done."

"And you're staying here," Issei declared. It wasn't until he heard his parents agree that he realized he'd forgotten to consult with them.

"Thank you." Sona looked unsurprised, but relieved nonetheless. "It'll just be for a little while."

"Or you could just stay. Period." Once again, Issei realized he probably should have asked his parents before saying that, although their tolerant expressions showed a lack of objection.

Sona gave him the first genuine smile of the evening, and if it was exhausted, it was also fond. "I appreciate it, Issei-kun. But I would feel most comfortable with a space of my own. Or, rather, a space we and the others could share." She squeezed his hand. "I promise, though, that I won't go far, and you'll be the first to get a key."

Issei smiled back, feeling a little sheepish. "Good enough."

-xxxx-

"Sona-san's really been focused on the house hunt, huh?" Kaori observed. She and Issei sat at his dinner table, plugging away at homework.

Issei nodded. "It's getting narrowed down. The list she started was half the houses in Kuoh. Now, it's less than a quarter." He chuckled. "Rias-san suggested they buy several houses, and consolidate them into one big mansion for both their peerages. Sona-chan nixed that, though. Just as well; they'd drive each other nuts if they were living together."

"Not to mention that Akeno-sempai would never stop teasing you," Kaori added with a smirk.

"Not to mention that ever, please," Issei replied, a faint note of pleading in his voice.

"You know she only does that because of how you react," Kaori told him with a shake of her head. "Stop giving her ammunition." She squeezed his arm, and found her hand was comfortable there, so it stayed.

"All right, already," Issei said, his expression relaxing at her touch. It wasn't the first time her presence and/or touch had seemed unusually soothing to him, and that both warmed and mystified her.

"You two look awful cozy," Rio commented cheerily as she passed the dinner table. "Can I bring you any snacks?"

"We're okay, thank you, Hyoudou-san," Kaori replied with a smile.

"I don't think it's too early for you to call me 'kaa-san' yet." Rio's tone was good-naturedly teasing, and her smile widened as both Issei and Kaori blushingly rolled their eyes.

"I'll keep that in mind," Kaori promised,

"And you really should too, Sona-chan," Rio added. Kaori and Issei both looked up as their King entered the dining room.

"I know, Rio-san," Sona answered politely. Her serene half-smile was the equivalent of someone else's shit-eating grin. She pecked Issei on the cheek, and after a moment did the same to Kaori.

"Good news?" Kaori asked, smiling at the kiss. The idea of intimacy with another girl was one that her internal jury was still out on. Small affectionate touches, however, felt just right.

"Very good news," the Sitri heiress acknowledged. "I just found a place. It cost a little more than I was hoping for, but it's perfect otherwise." Her smile widened fractionally. "Would you like to take a look?"

"It's that close, huh?" Issei asked, straightening up.

"Very," Sona agreed.

Gorou entered the house, loosening his tie. "Rio, do you know anything about Tanaka-san next door moving?

Rio looked at him in surprise. "Tanaka-san? You're not serious." She caught Kaori's look of confusion. "Tanaka-san's been here since before we moved in, just before Issei was born. He's always said he'd never move, not even if someone offered a hundred million yen for the house."

"And that was back when the economy was better, too." Gorou hooked a thumb over his shoulder at the door. "I swear, it's what he said."

Rio took off her apron and draped it over the back of a chair. "This I've got to hear. Come on, Gorou-kun." She made a beeline for the front door, and her husband shrugged and followed.

Issei and Kaori looked at the former's parents, and then at each other, and then finally at Sona. "You didn't," the latter said, raising both her eyebrows in surprise.

"I did say it was very close," Sona replied, her eyes amused and happy. Kaori was starting to be able to read her too, and that was kind of surprising in its own implications. "Why don't you two take a break, and come see?"

-xxxx-

"I always said I'd never sell, even for a hundred million yen," Tanaka Daisuke said sheepishly. The retired teacher was in his late sixties, but vigorous enough to pass for two decades younger, and had always been a genial elder-statesman presence in the neighborhood. "But when Sona-san here offered me two hundred million, well…" He laughed, and gave Issei a half-amused, half-envious look. "Quite the girlfriend you've got, Issei-kun!"

"We're engaged, actually, Tanaka-san." Issei was blushing, but looked pretty pleased himself. "But yeah, I'm a lucky guy."

"If it's all right, Tanaka-san, I'm going to show Issei-kun and our friend around the house?" Sona asked.

"Sure, go right ahead," Tanaka told her. "Just let us old folks here catch up."

"Take your time," Gorou assured the teenagers as they went deeper into the house.

"Wow. Kaori called it," Issei commented as the three of them walked through the house and into the backyard. The house's interior was actually somewhat larger than the Hyoudou home, although its yard was much smaller, and somewhat neglected. Once upon a time, it had been full of well-tended exotic flowers. Since Tanaka Kotori's passing, however, her husband had struggled just to keep the weeds under control. "It's really nice in here."

Sona nodded, looking around the yard. Issei could clearly see the wheels turning in her head, ideas forming for what to do with the neglected space. "He mentioned that his daughter has been after him to move to Tanegashima with her. The timing was nearly perfect." She smirked in amusement. "Of course, this gave someone else an idea." She nodded to the fence.

"Hello, neighbors!" Rias waved cheerfully from the backyard of the other house. She was dressed in casual clothes and an apron, and appeared to be gathering vegetables from the garden, (The Watanabes were nearly fanatical about their vegetable garden… or had been, apparently.) "Fancy meeting you here."

"Rias-san?" Issei said dubiously. "Did you buy that house?"

"Sona made an excellent point about needing a new base for my peerage once I graduate from the high school division," Rias explained. "And the houses in your neighborhood are very nice. Even if the homeowners charge through the nose." She said the last sentence in a tone that blending annoyance and amusement, and offered Issei a fresh tomato.

"Thanks." Issei accepted it, his expression one of bemusement. "And I'm sure that when word gets out in the Underworld about your new place…"

"Yes, its proximity to yours is rather convenient for building that fiction," Rias admitted. "But don't worry. I won't be appearing in your house without warning." Her eyes sparkled with amusement. "Unless you're making shabu-shabu, that is."

"I'm afraid that won't be happening until the housewarming party," Sona said, shaking her head in fond exasperation. "There are times I almost wish I'd agreed to your suggestion, but we'd drive each other crazy too quickly."

Rias nodded in agreement. "It would have been nice, but you're right. We get along best when we have our own spaces."

Sona nodded, turning back towards Issei and Kaori. "I know you'll be happy with this place, Issei-kun. And you as well, Kaori; there'll be room for everyone to be comfortable when the renovations are done."

"Renovations?" Issei and Kaori asked in unison.

"They'll be magical ones, made with onee-sama's help," she explained. "Everyone in the peerage will have a room to stay in, if they need or want it, and there'll be a meeting room and office. I have some other ideas, but they'll take some time to get sorted out first."

"Feel free to spoil the surprise," Issei said eagerly.

"I'll spoil one thing," Sona said with a smirk. "Remember those onsens in the Gremory territory I mentioned? Think how nice it would be to have access to one anytime."

Issei perked up, a rare lecherous smile spreading across his face. Oh, he could think of it. Maybe with a specific section for him and his girls, swimsuits - hell, towels - completely optional…

"My my, Issei-kun, such a face." Rias's good-naturedly teasing voice snapped him out of the fantasy, and he flushed as she chuckled. "Now that's the Hyoudou Issei of rumor."

Issei chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry, my mind was wandering."

"I'll say," Kaori said, her expression one of affectionate exasperation. She did, however, shift slightly so that her body was oriented on his. "Might wanna wipe your chin, Ise."

"Well, I'd better get started on dinner," Rias said, wearing a playful smirk of her own. "Good night, you guys." She took her vegetables back into the house, and Sona gave Issei an affectionately exasperated look of her own. Once Rias was inside, her lips quirked upwards, and she gave Kaori a mock-longsuffering look. "The perils of marrying a dragon. They're always insatiable."

"Mmm." Kaori just nodded solemnly, although the effect was ruined by her smirk. "The things we go through for him."

"Ha ha," Issei said, blushing deeper and rubbing the back of his head. "Maybe we should head back inside now."

"Yes, let's," Sona said dryly, her expression relaxing. As they re-entered the house, she continued, "As soon as the paperwork has changed hands, onee-sama, Rias, and I will start putting in magical defenses and wards. And, of course, you'll get keys that double as access passes for the wards. All of you." There was a faint but noticeable emphasis on the word "all," and he knew that it meant his - their - small family-in-the-making. "The rest of the peerage will get them as well. So will onee-sama, Rias, and Issei-kun's parents, in case of emergencies. But there will be some things that we will be able to access." Again, the subtle emphasis, this time on "we."

"Makes sense," Kaori commented. "We don't want anyone stumbling on the secret sex dungeon," she added sarcastically.

"Do you want a secret sex dungeon?" Sona shot back, one eyebrow arched.

Kaori turned really red. Finally, she managed, "A bed that can fit all of us comfortably will be good enough."

"If you're sure." Sona's eyes twinkled with affectionate teasing.

"I second the 'really big bed' idea," Issei said quickly. BDSM was definitely not his thing, no matter how hot Sona and Kaori would look in skimpy latex.

"That is already on order," Sona assured them. "The master bedroom will be quite comfortable for all of us."

"I love it," Issei said. "Everything you have in mind, all the room you're making for everyone… a home." In his nostrils, cinnamon and sugar were interwoven with the springtime garden in his nostrils, and even in the absence of other scents, that was enough to fill him with contentment.

He pulled Sona and Kaori into his arms simultaneously, and the sounds of pleased surprise they both made him grin.

"You weren't kidding about the perils of marrying a dragon," Kaori told Sona, her smirk gentling into a smile as she leaned against him. "I like the way that sounds, though."

"I'm sure we'll survive," he heard Sona reply indulgently. Her own body relaxed against Issei's. "Yes. A home is exactly what I have in mind."

Issei inhaled again. Home was exactly what this scent was beginning to be.

Notes:

This has not been a good summer for writing. (Or for much of anything that requires free time, really.) I apologize for that. Writing will continue, of course, but my schedule is in sufficient flux to make prediction of release dates… unreliable. All I can say is that Chapter 7 will come out ASAP! (For very, very loose values of ASAP, of course.)

What was supposed to be a short interlude turned into this stage-setting chapter. Season 2 will be very busy - but to say more would be very blatant spoilers.

As promised, here is an updated harem list:

Confirmed (in-story): Sona (head wife), Kaori, Aika, Reya, Tsubasa

Confirmed (by author, for future): Ravel, Irina, Vali

Open Slots: 1 (candidates in descending order of likelihood: Kuroka, Ingvild, Seekvaira, Tomoe)

The chronology of sections is as follows:

Part 1: During Ch. 6, the night of the Rating Game victory celebration

Part 2: Immediately following Ch. 6, same night as the last section

Part 3: Friday of the same week

Part 4 and 5: Concurrent with each other, approximately three weeks after Ch. 6's conclusion

Part 6: One week after Part 6

The chapter title is taken from Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes." The section subtitles take their names from the following songs (in order): Mike + The Mechanics' "The Living Years"; Freelance Whales' "Hannah"; Fall Out Boy's "Sugar, We're Going Down" and "The Phoenix"; Train's "Calling All Angels"; and Chicago's "Will You Still Love Me?"