Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or High School DxD

"This is not my room."

That was the first thought that came to Ichigo's mind as he woke up, looking at an unfamiliar ceiling colored in dark red. Moonlight was shining through the parted curtains of the sole window in the room. Why the hell was he here he thought? He then recalled when he kept an eye on Issei and Asia, then the Fallen Angels showed up, and then he pummeled them down using his mask even though his Shinigami Badge wasn't with him, and then it broke, and then...

...He failed.

Damn his badge and that heavy mask of his.

Wait a minute.

His eyes widened as he remembered he was stabbed in the stomach by one of those bastards. He immediately sat up and placed a hand over his stomach. Surprisingly, he felt no wound, only firm skin, wrapped up in bandages of course. It was then he realized he was topless. Suddenly, he could directly feel the bed he was laying on with his whole lower half of his body. Shaking and silently hoping what he thought wasn't true, he slowly lifted up the sheets that covered him from the waist down, and gasped in surprise as his worst fears were real.

He was fully naked on bed.

What the actual fuck?!

"Ara ara, it seems you are awake, Ichigo-kun."

"GAH!" the orange strawberry shouted in shock as he immediately pulled down the sheets to cover his body's lower half. Looking over at the opened door, his saw Akeno standing there with her usual smile on her face, both of her hands holding what looks like a set of clothes. "Dammit it Akeno, you scared the shit out of me."

"Oh really? I'm glad I did, ufufufu~," Akeno then closed the door behind her and walked into the room, placing the set of clothes just beside him, before she boldly straddled him on his lap and brought him into a hug, much to his surprise and embarrassment, as he was practically naked under the sheets.

"W-What? Akeno, wh-what are y-!"

"I was scared, Ichigo-kun," He stopped in surprise as he heard her voice, her breath tickling his neck. Instead of the usual teasing tone Akeno used, it was replaced with... sadness? Concern? Both? "No, I was worse than scared. Words could not describe how I feel when I saw you laying there on your own pool of blood. I thought I was going to lose you." Without letting him go, she pulled away to look at him in the eyes. Ichigo was frozen on the spot, she looked so sad. She looked so vulnerable it gave him the urge to just hug her and comfort her all night, "Promise me you won't do that again, okay?" she whispered pleadingly.

Ichigo could only just stare at her as she said that, a hint of guilt in his eyes. That was not a kind of promise that can be easily kept. Either way, he wrapped his arms around her in return as he spoke in an equally soft tone, a soft smile tugging on his lips "I don't know if I can keep that promise, but I can promise that I will be more careful. How does that sound?"

Akeno just looked at him, her expression unreadable before she leaned in to kiss him on the cheek, eliciting a blush from the club secretary. As she pulled away, she gave a small smile in return as she replied, "I suppose that's fair enough." She then hesitantly let go of the hug, prompting Ichigo to do the same as she took the set of clothes she brought in beside him and hand them in to him. It was then Ichigo noticed a brown pentagonal piece resting on top of the garments.

His Substitute Shinigami Badge.

"It was on the coffee table of the clubroom," Akeno explained, sensing the unspoken question Ichigo was going to ask, "We felt an energy spike at the park, but Rias told us you were there, so we decided to not interfere as we thought you could handle it on your own. When the energy spike was gone, we wondered what had happened, and Rias noticed the badge on the table, which prompted us to take action."

"I see," Ichigo just stated as he took the set of garments, scowling as he looked down at his badge in the process. How can he be so careless? He was lucky he was against opponents of decent power, but not enough to actually kill him, but if they were...

He reminded himself to make a call to Urahara-san after all this.

It was then he remembered something as he shot up to look at her dead in her eyes, concern clearly showing, "How about Issei? Is he okay?"

Akeno nodded as she replied, "He is currently speaking with Rias and sustained no injuries. Other than he was unconscious at that time, he is fine," She smiled as she saw Ichigo let out a small sigh of relief. In spite of his annoyance and loathing against the Pawn's perverseness, he still cared about the boy, "You however, were slightly complicated. Since you can't teleport with us, Kiba used his speed to bring you over to the clubroom in a matter of seconds and lay you here in one of the classrooms we converted into a simple bedroom. From there, Rias healed you. Thank the Maou your wound from the light spear wasn't as serious as we thought it would be since you weren't a Devil. She was able to heal you completely in a short matter of time."

Ichigo nodded at that. He recalled that she was well-versed into healing magic, but why the heck he had to be naked in the first place. He wanted to ask Akeno about that before he bit his tongue. That would be a bad idea. He really don't want to go through her merciless teasing.

"So what now?" Ichigo asked, "I know Devils and the Church don't mix, but are you guys going to save Asia?"

Akeno nodded as a small smile graced her lips as she spoke, "We may be Devils, Ichigo-kun, but we're still beings with a conscience. It helps that the Fallen Angels are committing grievous crimes within her territory. Then, there is the fact that Issei is really close to her. So, Rias decided, for the sake of her cute servant, we'll go save her."

Ichigo sighed in relief before he spoke, looking slightly amused, "And here I thought you guys won't go save her, because if that happens, I would've gone and save her alone then and there, no matter what you guys said."

Akeno face slightly twisted into an expression she used when she was in teasing mode, making Ichigo to inwardly curse as she leaned onto him, her magnificent mounds pressing against his chest as she said, "Ara, that's what you've been plotting when you're awake? You really are a bad boy, Berry-kun."

Ichigo blushed a deep crimson, especially when she used that nickname on him that he oh so hate as he stuttered out, "S-Shut it! And don't call me that, dammit! Now's not the time!" With that, he looked away, trying to avoid her alluring gaze in embarrassment as he slowly regained his composure as he spoke, "What's the damn plan anyway?"

Akeno face took a more serious turn, as she leaned back and said, "We will infiltrate the church from two sides, the front gate and the back gate. We suspect that the Fallen Angels anticipate us to infiltrate through the back gate, so you, Rias, and I will be the group to deal with them. As for Koneko-chan, Kiba and Issei, they'll head to the front gates, hopefully uninterrupted as they go and save Asia."

"Sounds like a good plan to me." Ichigo smirked at the prospect of putting those Fallen Angels in their place. It was not that he wanted revenge for humiliating him, no sir. He just wanted to show them who they were truly messing with.

Plus, he had defeated opponents that was a gazillion times stronger than those four combined, so there was no way he was going to let what happened before slide.

"Alright then, prepare yourself and meet us there. I'll tell Rias that you're awake and ready to go." Akeno smiled as she get off from his lap before she walked towards the door and opened it. Before she exited the room, she turned around, which gave off the alarm bells within Ichigo's mind because she was giving him a sultry smile, "And Ichigo-kun?"

"U-Um?"

"You're big." That was the last words Ichigo before she walked out of the room, closing the door behind her, leaving the strawberry's entire face as red as the fruit itself.

...

"Please! Let me go and save her!"

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," Rias didn't even look up at Issei silhouetted form at the curtains backdrop as she spoke. She just finished showering after healing Ichigo and was currently dressing up into her uniform, "It would cause a lot of conflict if us Devils go and wreak havoc in the Church. It could even break out a war."

"But Asia is my friend!"

"And a nun who is affiliated with the Fallen Angels," The curtains slid open and came out Rias, wearing her usual school uniform. She crossed her arms as she narrowed her eyes at him, but Issei stood strong, "We tried to help her, but once she was retrieved into the Church, she's off limits, so there is nothing much we could do. Also, if I let you go to the Church to rescue her alone, you will be killed! I don't something like that to happen to you!"

"Then disown me!" Issei cried out in desperation, "I'll save Asia on my o-! No, I could bring Ichigo-senpai along! He's healed already right? He could help me since he is not a Devil. Plus, I'm just a measly Pawn. It's not like you'll lose much if you let go of your weakest piece."

"That's enough!" Issei stiffened as he heard the dangerous tone in her voice, her eyes stern.

Just then, Akeno burst into the room. She hurriedly walked over to Rias and whispered something into her ear that no one else could hear. Rias' face shifted for a moment before going back to a neutral expression as she nodded.

She turned back to look at the others as she and Akeno walked past the dumbfounded Issei and towards the door, "An urgent matter came up, so Akeno and I will be going out for a bit."

"B-But Buchou!" Issei shouted in surprise as he watched the Two Great Ladies walked towards the door, "I'm not done talking yet!"

"A couple of things before I leave, Issei," the redhead said as she abruptly turned around to face him, "Do you really think the Pawn is the weakest piece in chess?"

Issei was going to speak, but then decided to shut up as he looked away. He wasn't that well-versed in chess anyway. Heck, he never even played it before.

"As I said before, the Evil Pieces possess the same traits as their chess counterparts," Rias continued, "In chess, the Pawn piece possess a special ability that no other piece has: Promotion."

"Promotion?"

"Yes. Much like in a real game of chess, once it enters enemy territory, the Pawns possess the ability to be promoted into any piece other than the King."

"So that means I could have the powers of the others the moment I reached enemy lines?" Issei asked. He was keeping it cool on the outside, but there was a fire of hope in his eyes after hearing all this. He wasn't that useless after all.

"As long as I, your master, recognize it as enemy territory, yes," Rias make sure she stare directly into her Pawn's eyes as she spoke out her next sentence, "For example, the Church."

A little ways away, Kiba knocked a fist into an open palm as a look of realization spread across his face. Koneko had stopped eating her sweet snacks as she heard that last part of the conversation.

Issei swallowed as he let all that sink in. If he was able to enter the Church, he could promote into a Knight and have super speed like Kiba... or a Rook with superhuman strength and defence like Koneko-chan... Or even a Queen which is the strongest piece like Akeno-senpai!

"Listen," Issei's train of thoughts were broken as he heard Buchou spoke, "Even with the help of a promotion, a single piece would not stand a chance against a Fallen Angel."

"I don't care," Issei spoke with determination in his tone, "I'll still save Asia, no matter the consequences."

"You are incredibly stubborn aren't you," Rias sighed, which made Issei blinked in confusion. She wasn't objecting his statement like before, "Lastly, this is about your Sacred Gear. It is activated by your willpower. The stronger your will is, the more powerfully it will react to your request."

"Willpower..."

"You must remember this, Issei," Rias stated in utmost seriousness. "Even a Pawn can kill a King. This is the same basic principle found in chess. With it you can become stronger."

And with that, the Two Great Ladies disappeared in a teleportation circle.

...

And reappeared somewhere nearby the rear gate of the Church. Rias looked around as she inspected the area. It's not like she could see anything beyond the trees. They were pretty thick here. It made seeing past them impossible as the branches overlapped each other in a twisted network of patterns that only nature could produce.

"Looks like I've arrived in time."

Rias and Akeno turned around at the sound of the voice to see their favourite orange-haired Shinigami Substitute Kurosaki Ichigo arriving in a flash of Shunpo, giving the two beautiful Devils a smirk as he continued, "And here I thought I was running late."

"Ichigo!" Rias shouted as she ran towards him and engulfed him in a hug, eliciting a gasp of surprise from the orange strawberry as he stumbled back a step, catching her by wrapping his arms around her slim waist, "Oh thank the Maou, I was so worried back there when I saw you laying there over your own pool of blood. Honestly, I thought I was going to lose you there, you idiot!" she shouted out, her voice slightly muffled as her face was buried into his chest.

"Rias..."

"And you even forgot to bring along your badge! How could you be so careless? I thought you know better!" Rias pulled her head away from his chest to look at him straight in the eye, and Ichigo felt a hard pang in his heart as he saw that tears was rolling down her cheeks, "Did I heal you alright? Are you okay now? Is your stomach still hurt?"

The Shinigami/Hollow hybrid was motionless for a while before he brought up his right hand over his right cheek to wipe her tears with his thumb. He then placed that hand on her cheek, and he could feel the redhead leaning onto it as he spoke, "Sorry for making you worry that much, Rias. The only reason I got injured was because I can't truly use my powers while still in my body. I promise it won't happen again." His lips curved upwards into a comforting smile as he continued, "To answer your questions in order, yes, you healed me perfectly, yes, I'm okay now, and no, my stomach is fine now."

"Really? I'm glad to hear that, you dummy," Rias returned a smile of her own as she released her left hand from her hug and placed it over his hand that was on his cheek. His hand felt so warm and she just want to stay in this position forever, it just felt so...right.

"Ara, ara," Akeno suddenly interrupted before it could develop further. Her eyes were closed and she was smiling with a hand on her cheek as she said that, but on the inside, she was somewhat livid with jealousy, "It seems Buchou really is taken in with Berry-kun. Acting like a spouse worrying for her husband."

That prompted them to abruptly let go and pull away from their embrace, blushing like a tomato as they averted their gaze from each other, with Rias giving her best friend a half-heartened glare as she stammered, "Th-That not it! It's just because he's a friend. I would do the same if you, Koneko, Kiba and Issei were in the same position as him."

"Y-Yeah!" Ichigo replied with a scowl, disregarding that goddamn nickname Akeno called him and trying to stay calm as he tried to suppress the blush that was still invading his face, "Th-There's nothing more than that."

"If you two say so, ufufufu~"

"Well well, look at what we have here."

All that awkward tension was broken as was replaced with a sense of alarm and alertness as they heard that voice, with Ichigo immediately grabbing the hilt of Zangetsu behind his back, preparing for an attack. Looking up, they saw three Fallen Angels levitating above them, their black feathering wings already out. Ichigo immediately recognized them as three of the four who ganged up on him and abducted Asia back to the Church, and he was wondering why the black-haired one was absent.

"I believe that introductions are in order," the one with blonde hair styled in twin, short side ponytails and was wearing a maid outfit spoke with a smirk on her face as the three of them landed in front of them, "My name is Mitlett," and the she gestured with her hand to the buxom female with long, navy blue hair to her left side as she continued, "She is Kalawarner." And then she gestured to the one wearing a fedora hat and a trench coat Ichigo knew oh so well as she finalized, "He is Dohnaseek, and we will stop you three from entering the Church."

"As expected, I see that you have recovered, Shinigami," Dohnaseek spoke as he looked at the orange strawberry, "But the end result will still be the same. You and your Devil friends here will fail."

"That blow you gave me last evening caught me off guard, I admit," Kalawarner added, "But when I heard from Dohnaseek that he managed to stab you, I guess you're not as powerful as we thought after all."

Ichigo remained silent, but his deepening glare towards the Fallen Angels was able to get the message across.

"Ara ara, how arrogant of you," Akeno said with a smile, her hand still on her cheek, "You said you'll stop us from entering the Church, but three of our cheerful kouhai just infiltrated the Church through the front gate."

The one known as Mitlett took a double take as she stammered, "W-What?! Really! Dammit I thought all of you guys are going to sneak it from the back gate!"

"It's okay, Mitlett," the bustier Fallen Angel known as Kalawarner spoke as she placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her stomping, "It doesn't really matter if they enter through the front gates," then she looked at the three in front of her with narrowed eyes as she continued, "Because you three are the only ones who actually stand a chance to interrupt our ritual."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed as he heard what Kalawarner said. He heard Dohnaseek mentioned about this ritual that seemed to involve Asia which in his words will end all of her sufferings before he lost consciousness. He spoke, "What do you mean? What ritual are you talking about?"

"After the ritual is over, you guys won't stand a chance," Kalawarner said smugly as she stepped forward, "The other Fallen Angel, Raynare, is not here because she will be the one conducting the ritual, which is to take the nun's Sacred Gear and make it her own. After that, that nun will die and we'll be unstoppable. She must be grateful that we helped her escape from her miserable life."

Rias was angry after hearing what the Fallen Angel had said. To sacrifice a Sacred Gear wielder and obtain that power for their own personal welfare, how lowly can they be? At the same time, she couldn't help but worry as she took a glance at Ichigo beside. His demeanor has changed, his orange bangs shadowing his eyes as he looked down, and she could see his grip on the hilt of his sword has tightened.

"I see," Ichigo said softly, but Rias could detect it was laced with contained rage, "Sacrificing people's lives for the sake of power, huh?" He looked up with his eyes closed as he continued, "Those are the kind of people," He opened his eyes, and the three Fallen Angels gasped as Ichigo gave them a fierce glare, his eyes glowing a bright blue, "I truly hate."

An overwhelming pressure suddenly hit them as everybody bar Ichigo widened their eyes from it. The Fallen Angels were forced to kneel from the massive pressure pressing down on them, unable to breathe at the same time. They tried to force themselves to get up, but to no avail. They never anticipate the Shinigami to have such enormous power. They know he was strong, but not this strong. How much they have underestimated his capabilities?

Akeno dropped onto her knees as well, but it was for a different reason. She was convulsing violently, her breathing was erratic, and her whole face was flushed crimson, her expression absolutely orgasmic. She knew of the effect he gave her when he displayed his strength, and she always loved it, but this was the first time he had truly flared up his power, and it was a feeling like no other.

"Amazing." she whispered to herself as she watched the Shinigami with lust and desire in her eyes.

Rias meanwhile was forced to kneel on one knee, her shoulders heaved as her breathing picked up drastically. What unbelievable power she thought. She had known Ichigo for almost a month, and she knew he was powerful from that time he killed the Menos without any difficulty, but she had a feeling he wasn't displaying his full strength, and she had hoped to witness his true strength. So has her wishes come true? If this was his full strength, he could easily rival an average Ultimate-Class Devil in terms of power. But how can someone so young like him can be so powerful at the same time?

The crimson-haired beauty watched in mild surprise as Ichigo walked towards the downed Fallen Angels, seemingly unaffected by the pressure whatsoever. When Mitlett felt he was approaching them, she forced herself against the heavy weight of the air around them to look up, and instantaneously froze on the spot as she stared into his cold, dark gaze, his eyebrows contracted into a deep scowl.

"If you forgot how to breathe under my power, forget about defeating me," Ichigo spoke coldly as he stood over them, "Now that you have seen the differences between your power and mine, leave, before I change my mind."

As he said that, the overwhelming pressure suddenly vanished, and the blue glow surrounding Ichigo's body has slowly died down as well. Mitlett could not help but let a tear escape from her eyes after the ordeal. She was visibly shaken, if her trembling form and the fear in her eyes weren't a dead giveaway. She had never faced an opponent with power this immense, and it scared her. He was totally on a different level, and was the kind of opponent people like her should not go against.

Even with the three of them combined, they would not stand a chance.

"I'm leaving." To her surprise, it wasn't her but Kalawarner who said that first. As she look at her beside her, she noticed that her eyes were wide like saucers, unable to look up at him, and she was shaking as well. She wrapped herself with her wings before she disappeared in an instant, leaving a few black feathers in the process. Without saying a word, Mitlett followed suit, and then vanished in a swirl of feathers.

Ichigo then looked over towards Dohnaseek, who strangely made no signs of leaving along with his two comrades. He was still looking down, his fedora shadowing his eyes and remained kneeling, unmoving. He was wondering what the Fallen Angel was plotting when he suddenly heard... laughter?

"ahah...hahahaha...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA!" Dohnaseek laughed like a maniac as he looked up towards Ichigo with a disturbing grin on his face, which caught the Shinigami off guard as he took a few steps back. He had seen that grin before, when he fought against Kenpachi. His eyes narrowed as he watched the fedora wearer slowly stood up, dusting his knees in the process.

"You are insanely strong, Shinigami!" Dohnaseek exclaimed with glee, "I knew that you didn't display your true power in our previous excursions. Now I can truly fight against you, knowing that you're a worthy opponent."

"I see," Ichigo paused, "Why didn't you follow them?"

"Tch, why should I go back there?" the man scoffed, sounding disgusted at the thought of rejoining the Grigori. "Everyone there is weak. Constantly trying to maintain this fragile peace we now have. I've gotten sick of it! I want battle! I want a good fight so that I can finally enjoy this life I have!"

A feeling of deja vu washed over the Shinigami as he heard those words. His crazy ass grin, his love for having a good fight, this guy really reminded him of Kenpachi on so many levels.

How pity that his power wasn't.

"So you love having a good fight huh? That adrenaline rush when you exchange blows against strong opponents."

"That's right!" Dohnaseek crowed. "I crave battle! I need it! To fight strong opponents and enjoy bathing in that rush of battle! Ever since this damn stale mate I've been without it for so long I thought I might go mad!"

"Until I met you, Shinigami," Dohnaseek's right hand started to form a spear of light as he spoke, "You defeated Raynare, Kalawarner and Mitlett with one blow each even when you're not at full strength. You made the latter two to flee after witnessing your tremendous display of power. Granted, those two are weaklings and I am not." The Fallen Angel pointed his newly crafted spear of light at the Shinigami, a maniacal grin on his face, "Let's dance, Shinigami. Let's see who will triumph? You? Or me?"

"I told you before that even with the three of you combined, you won't stand a chance. What makes you think you could take me on alone?"

"That's because those two were in my way."

"I see," Ichigo sighed as he let the bandages unravel from Zangetsu's blade and brandishing it to his side, the moonlight reflecting from the oversized blade, "Fine then, I'll be your opponent. To answer your question regarding who will come out on top, it has already been answered."

"Huh? What the hell do you-!"

Dohnaseek could only froze on the spot, his eyes wide as he watched Ichigo just glide past him. He heard his footsteps as he finally landed on the ground behind him as a distance. Time seemed to slow down, the silence unsettling yet deafening as Dohnaseek stiffly looked over his shoulder. Ichigo was still in his original stance before he glided past him, but his blade looked slightly different. There was liquid dripping from the sharp edge of the blade, and that liquid's color was... red?

"GAAARRRRRRRRRH!" The Fallen Angel screamed in pain and slumped down onto the ground, kneeling on one knee, as tremendous amount of blood suddenly gashed out from the right arm... or rather, the stump that used to be his right arm that was holding his light spear, "Shit, shit!"

Rias could only watched in surprise as she stood there, spectating the ridiculously one-sided skirmish as Ichigo just displayed his incredible speed of his. One moment he was in front of the Fallen Angel, the next he was standing at a distance away behind him, slicing off his arm in a speed she couldn't comprehend. Even Kiba wasn't that fast.

"That is how much my power transcends over yours," Ichigo spoke as he turned to face Dohnaseek's back, "So I'm giving you one last chance to leave. If not, I will not hesitate to cut you down."

Dohnaseek gritted his teeth in anger as he heard those words. Dammit, he totally didn't see that coming. To just glide past him and to slice off his arm just like that in a short moment of brilliance of speed. And the Shinigami even said that he could do more damage than that. What kind of technique is that? Shit, he really don't want to leave and go back to Grigori, but with his arm sliced off and still spewing out blood, he was clearly at a disadvantage. Shakily standing up and turned around to face Ichigo, he spat at him with a glare before speaking, "You'll pay back for this, Shinigami." before he spread out his wings and wrapped them around his form, disappearing in a swirl of black feathers.

Rias have a lot of questions running in her mind as she watched as Ichigo flicked his sword to his side to remove the blood on his blade before he placed it back on his back, letting the bandages to wrap around the blade. His power clearly outclassed the three Fallen Angels combined by miles, and he could've inflicted a single death blow on each of them if he wanted to. But instead, he let them leave before it's too late, and only proceeded to slice off the right arm of the one named Dohnaseek when he refused to leave the first time. They were enemies, so why didn't he kill them?

"Are you okay, Rias?" Said person's had her thoughts interrupted as she heard Ichigo's voice in front of her. She looked up, only to gasp inwardly as she saw the face of Ichigo looking down at her. She was so into her thoughts she didn't even realize Ichigo was walking towards her and stood directly in front of her, but that was not why she was surprised.

Ichigo was giving her a face expression that she had never once seen before all the time she had known him. His scowl was etched almost permanently on his face and even when he smiled, his scowl was still there, albeit less intense, but now there was none of it.

He was giving her a soft smile, a genuine one at that. His eyebrows weren't contracted in an angle that represents a scowl, but rather relaxed to the point that the scowl was almost non-existent. No scowl, no nothing, just a small, soft smile. His eyes showing concern and relief as he spoke again, "You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"

Rias' heart skipped a beat and her cheeks were tainted red as she looked at him. She had never seen such a soft expression played on Ichigo's face before, and even though she was used to his scowl, to the point she knew it was a natural thing to him, a part of her within her soul wished he would show this soft look on a daily basis because it suited him oh so well. If he wears this expression to Kuoh-

"...No," Rias thought as she shook her head at the Shinigami's question, giving him a similar smile in return, "He will show that expression to me, only me." "No, I'm not hurt at all, Ichigo." she spoke.

"I see, I'm glad to hear that," Ichigo nodded, the smile still intact, but it dwindled moments later as he realized he didn't see Akeno with her. As he looked around, there was no sign of her, making him blink in confusion. Seeing this behavior, Rias was wondering what was he looking for and was going to ask just that when he beat her to it, "Where's Akeno though?"

"E-Eto..." Rias could only gulped as she heard the question. She knew what had happened to Akeno when Ichigo released his power, but she didn't know how to explain it to him. Without saying a word further, she only glanced back at her, making Ichigo to do the same as he looked over her shoulder. His eyes went wide as he saw Akeno was still kneeling, looking down at her hands between her thighs. The both of them could see she was still slightly shuddering.

"Akeno!" Ichigo shouted in worry as he maneuvered past Rias and kneeled in front of the black-haired Queen, "Are you alright? Did the release of my reiatsu affect you badly? If so I'm sor-! Uwah!"

It was at that point Ichigo motioned to touch her shoulder.

Bad mistake.

Before he could even react, he gasped in surprise as he was instantly pushed on the ground, with Akeno straddling on top of him, her hands on his well-defined chest. What unsettled Ichigo and made him really hot on the inside was the hooded look the seductive Queen was giving him as she spoke, her voice alluring, "It affected me badly, Berry-kun. So badly," she licked her lips sensually before she continued, "But it felt so good!"

"What?!"

"Cut it out, Akeno!" Rias fumed as she pulled her up, away from the lap of one very stunned Strawberry. The female side of her was jealous of Akeno putting the moves on her love interest, and was angry at Ichigo for allowing that to happen, but her professional side was angry that they are wasting time.

Thankfully, the latter prevailed.

"Honestly Akeno, now's not the time," the King of the lightly reprimanded her Queen, her hands on Akeno's shoulders, "Our kouhai are still in there, and we've to go check up on them, so please control your urges."

"But Buchou~"

"No buts," the Occult Research Club president interrupted her sadistic best friend's whining before she could explain herself. She knew what Akeno was going through, but Koneko, Issei, and Kiba were still in the church saving the little nun, and she really wanted to check up on them as she couldn't help but worry about them. They were her servants/friends after all, "I want you to calm down before we enter the Church. As your King, that is an order."

Akeno just gave her a disapproving pout before she sighed and relented to her King. Putting both of hands on her chest, she stood still and took a few deep breaths, and slowly but surely, her breathing was stabilized and her blush began to recede from her face. After a while, she was back to normal.

"Good, now we can enter the Church without any interruptions," Rias stated approvingly as she switched her attention towards the Shinigami/Hollow hybrid, "How about you, Ichigo? Are you good to go?"

"Uh? Um... I guess," Said person meekly said, already standing up and still a little bit stunned from Akeno's actions.

Rias smiled at his answer and proceeded to pivot on her heels and walked towards where the Church was. She had actually thought of using the teleportation circle, but refuted the idea as it was just a couple minutes' walk.

Ichigo was going to take a step forward as well but was unable to as the black-haired beauty moved in his way and walked towards him. He couldn't help but gulped in nervousness as he watched her closed the gap between the two of them to stand directly in front of him, before she leaned in to his right ear, much to Ichigo's surprise as he was totally frozen on the spot.

"Do not think you have gotten away with this, Berry-kun~" she whispered sultrily before she licked his earlobe, to which Ichigo jolted in surprise as she leaned back and winked at him before she turned around and walked towards the Church, accentuating her sway on her hips as she walked away from him.

Ichigo could only just stand there as he unconsciously watched her rear end as she walked away. All the teasing in one single night was a little too much from him to handle. Realizing what he was doing, he shook his head from the raunchy imaginations as he tried to calm down. He was still a healthy, hormonal male teenager dammit! This was even worse than what he endured from Yoruichi back in Karakura, and she was already bad enough.

It was official. He was definitely going to take an ice bath tonight after all this.

...

Life is unfair.

That was the recurring thought Issei had in his mind as he held the body of Asia in his arms, unable to control the tears that was continuing to flow. At a distance behind him, Kiba and Koneko were watching him, giving him the space he needed. Both of his thighs were bleeding profusely from the light spears Raynare had fired him, but the pain was incomparable to Asia's demise. He may had awaken a new form of his Sacred Gear and had defeated Raynare in the process, but the victory was pyrrhic. He may have retrieved her rings which is her Sacred Gear and slid in back onto her fingers, but he felt no happiness. He still failed to save her.

Dammit.

How can fate be cruel to someone so kind?

He heard multiple footsteps walking towards him behind him, but he paid no heed about it as he continued crying, blaming himself for his weakness for failing to save the blonde nun. Plus, he didn't even bother turning around to see who were the newcomers, as he knew who they were anyway.

"I'm sorry, Buchou," Issei spoke weakly, his voice hoarse from all the crying as he hugged Asia's body tighter to his chest, "I talked like I'm some big shot, and even with the help from you guys, I still failed to save Asia."

"It's okay," Rias tried to comfort him, "You just lacked the experience as a Devil. No one will blame you for this."

"But... But I-"

"Issei-san?"

Gasps were heard throughout the Church, and Issei widened his eyes as he heard Asia's voice, but shook his head as he closed his eyes and half-heartily spoke in amusement, "Shit, now I'm still hearing her voice in my mind. Maybe I'm going nuts already."

"Issei-kun," Kiba's voice rang out, "You might want to look up."

The tone Kiba used didn't sound like a command yet it made him compelled to do so. Slowly looking up, he widened his eyes and gaped in surprise as he saw Asia sitting on the church pew in front of him.

"Asia! You're ali-! Wait a minute," he took a double take as he realized he was still holding Asia's body close to him. Looking up again to look at the Asia sitting on the church pew, he thought his eyes were deceiving him as he let one of his hands go from Asia's body and wiped his eyes, thinking he was hallucinating, but as he looked again, she was still there!

It was then he noticed a few major differences between the Asia he was holding to and the Asia that was sitting on the church pew. One was that he could see through her, as if she was somewhat translucent. Also, the other major difference he noticed alarmingly was that there was a chain dangling right at the middle of her chest.

"B-But Asia, I thought you're dead!" Issei shouted, "Yet, why I can see you? Have you turned into a ghost? Why there is a chain on your chest?"

"I-I don't know," the blonde nun replied, looking slightly surprised at the revelation as well, "I remember I lost consciousness. Then I remember waking up, feeling lighter than I usually was."

"That's because you're a Plus now."

Everyone switched their attention to Ichigo as he said that. Walking forward to stand slightly behind the still kneeling Issei, he elaborated further, "When a human dies, the soul will separate from the body. These souls of the dead are called Pluses. Do you see that chain at the middle of her chest?" he pointed out, to which the others nodded, "That's the Chain of Fate. It connects to the body when she's alive, but since she's dead, it was severed and she can no longer return to her body. She can roam freely now as a soul since the chain is broken, but there is a catch."

"What's the catch?" Issei asked as he looked over his shoulder to see him.

"Her chain will corrode slowly the longer she stays in the World of the Living. When her chain completely corrodes, she will turn into a Hollow."

"What?!" Issei abruptly stood up in shock to face him, carrying Asia's body in a bridal carry, "She will turn into that hideous creature you killed a few days ago?! There's no way I would let her turn into that! You can stop that from happening right?"

Ichigo nodded as he reach out over his shoulder to grasp Zangetsu's hilt. Releasing his Zanpakuto's hold on his back and keeping its bandages wrapped around the blade, he simply placed it onto his shoulder, and everyone noticed that the base of his hilt was glowing a bright blue, "The only way is to send her to Soul Society before the chain completely corrodes. To do that, we Shinigami perform a ritual called Konsō, in which we pressed the hilt of our Zanpakuto onto their foreheads. From there, they will be sent to Soul Society."

"What happens when I'm sent to the Soul Society, Ichigo-san?" Asia asked.

"Nothing." Ichigo simply stated as he placed his sword back onto his back, to which Asia blinked at the short answer. What does that mean?

"Nothing?"

"Yes, nothing. Other than your name, you will lose all memories of the time when you're alive. You won't remember you were a nun. You won't remember how you died," Ichigo proceeded to look at her directly as he said his final sentence, "You won't remember knowing any of us."

Asia widened her eyes as she heard that. If she goes to the Soul Society, that means she won't remember a thing about Issei-san. He was the first person she made friends with. He was the one who made her dreams come true. She didn't want to forget all of that! After all he had done for her during their brief time knowing together, how could she just let all of that go?

"I have a feeling you don't want to be sent to Soul Society, that's why you have a decision to make," Ichigo looked over his shoulder to look at Rias with a smirk as he continued, "A decision that is still pending since yesterday."

Knowing what Ichigo was talking about, Rias smirked back.

"W-Wait," Issei stuttered as he looked back and forth at Asia and Ichigo, can't believing what he was hearing, "D-Do you mean-"

"That's right," Rias spoke as she walked to stand beside the orange strawberry, "I can reincarnate her as a Devil, that is if she is willing of course." She shoved her right hand into her skirt pocket and took out the Bishop piece she showed to Asia the day before as she continued, "At first, I only wanted to reincarnate her as a Devil because of her powers, but now the reason's more than that. As a King, I want my servants to be happy, and if reincarnating someone who is precious to my servant into my peerage makes him happy, I would gladly do so."

She then switched her attention to Asia's spirit as he continued, "So Asia, it's time to make a decision. Do you want to move on and go to Soul Society, or to be reincarnated as a Devil and continue living as my servant?"

Asia smiled serenely as she looked up to them and spoke, "If I died before I came to Japan, and a Shinigami came to send me to the Soul Society, I would've accepted it. But now, I don't think I want that," Issei watched as she stood up and took a step forward to stand directly in front of him. She lifted her hand and he stiffened as she placed it on his cheek. As he stared at Asia, he noticed there was a red tint on her cheeks as she continued, "Now, I just want to be close to Issei-san's side no matter what. And if that requires me to abandon my faith and be reincarnated into a Devil, so be it."

Issei could only widened his eyes as he heard that, and his tears came back in full force. But this time, it held a different meaning.

It was tears of happiness.

"It's settled then," Rias smiled, "I'm sure you will make a great Bishop, and you will be under Issei's care, as his junior Devil."

"Hai!"

"I believe I can entrust this responsibility on you, Issei?"

"Hai Buchou!" Issei said with determination in his eyes as he looked at the Gremory Heiress, "I'll take good of her without fail!"

With everything in place, Issei proceeded to place her gently on the hard concrete floor, while Asia's spirit form moved to lay down right beside her body. Rias then moved closer and rested the Bishop Piece on the body of Asia's chest, where her heart was. A red Magic circle appeared under the two forms as Rias took a step back and with her arms spread wide open, she began to chant.

"I command you, Asia Argento, on my name Rias Gremory!"

The Magic circle and the Bishop piece started to glow a bright red, and the chain on Asia's spirit form started to noticeably lengthen.

"Become my servant and walk these lands as a Devil!"

As she said that, the brightly glowing chess piece sank into the nun's body, and the lengthened chain from her soul plunged into the chest of her body as well.

"You shall lead a new life with great joy as a member of my peerage!"

As she said the last sentence of her chant, Asia's soul was pulled into her body, and as they finally merged, the glow from the Magic circle died down. Nothing happened for a few seconds after that, but Ichigo knew the ritual was a success, as he could feel a decent amount of spiritual power flowing inside her, in contrast to before that he felt none of it from her body when she was dead.

Moments later, the rings on Asia's fingers began to glow green for a moment before it faded away as well. Then, her body twitched a couple of times, and everybody watched as she slowly opened her eyes. She sat up slowly and looked around her to see Issei and the others surrounding her before she looked down at her hands, a smile broke out on her face, "So I'm alive again huh?"

"Asia!" Issei shouted, tears of joy gathering at the corner of his eyes as he closed the gap and immediately wrapped his arms around her tightly, surprising her in the process. "Come, let's go back together."

The others had smiles on their faces as they watched the heart-warming scene, and they were glad that this entire ordeal was finally put to rest.

...

Well, maybe not the entire ordeal, as far as Rias was concerned.

The heir of the Gremory clan was walking with Ichigo, who was back in his body, back to his apartment after the rescue mission. Before that, they had went back to the clubroom after that and discussed a couple of matters. The first topic they discussed was about Issei's new form of his Sacred Gear which he managed to activate before he successfully defeated Raynare. Turns out that it wasn't a Twice Critical that Raynare had suspected, it was one of the Thirteen Longinus, the Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet, Boosted Gear. That explained why she had to use all eight of her Pawns to resurrect the young pervert. With that being said, she was glad she had recruited someone who had that huge of a potential in her Peerage. She believed that with the right motivation, and guidance from her secretary, Issei could fulfill that potential to the maximum, or even beyond that.

After that, they discussed about Asia's post-reincarnation plans, such as where she would stay. Education wouldn't be a problem as the former nun is a part of her peerage, and her dad is a part of Kuoh Academy's management department. Rias initially planned to let Asia stay in one of the rooms in the old school building temporarily until she found a place for her to live, but Issei then proposed to let Asia stay with him in his house, to which the blonde Bishop agreed to it somewhat a little too enthusiastic. Regardless, since Asia is placed under Issei's care, she thought the proposal made sense, so she allowed it, much to their joy.

What that all said and done, they were dismissed as it was getting late at night, and they went their separate ways, with Rias accompanying Ichigo back to his apartment.

But Rias couldn't help but being bothered about something.

Something that involved her favorite Shinigami Substitute.

As she looked at Ichigo, she couldn't help but recall the events that occurred at the forest behind the Church. That fact that he let the three Fallen Angels go somewhat bothered her. They had done terrible things, they were despicable, and most importantly, they were their enemies, so why? Why didn't he kill them when he had the chance? Was it because he as merciful? Was it because he hated killing?

"You know, if you have a question to ask me, just do so."

The low, husky voice of Ichigo broke her train of thoughts and she came back to reality, only to widen her eyes as she saw Ichigo was staring back at her. Realizing that she had took a little too long looking at him, she averted her gaze with a blush on her cheek, feeling a little embarrassed, "I… I don't know what you are talking about."

"As if," Ichigo scoffed, "You have been looking at me back and forth and you held your gaze at me slightly longer than before just now without realizing it before I called you out. You think I wouldn't notice? Clearly you're bothered about something, so what is it?"

Rias bit her lip in hesitation. Now that she got caught, she don't know how to present the question to him. Choosing her words carefully, she finally asked, "I just want to know why… why you spared them…?"

"Those Fallen Angels?"

The crimson-haired princess nodded reluctantly, "Yes."

Ichigo stopped walking as he heard that, to which Rias followed suit, giving him a slightly confused look. She watched as he looked up into the night sky, his gaze melancholic as he spoke, "I had no reason to kill them. I mean, I would be lying if killing them had never crossed their minds when I faced off against them, and I could do it without any problems if I wanted to, but what purpose would that serve? Yes, they had seen and done many horrific things, but it was because they may be misguided. That's why they fell from Heaven in the first place right? We've all got our inner monsters, and I don't know their past so I have no right to truly judge them, bad or good, whatever."

Rias remained silent as she heard that, but it was fine. The look her face said it all.

"Besides, I'm a protector. I protect lives. I will only kill when the evil is totally beyond saving." Images of Ginjo Kugo, the only antagonist he had killed among his countless battles, flashed in Ichigo's mind as he said that, which intensified the look of grimace on his face. He would've killed Aizen as well when he unleashed the Final Getsuga Tenshou on him if not for his High-Speed Regeneration that saved his arrogant ass before he was sealed by Urahara's kido. Looking down at Rias, his gave her a small smile as he continued, "People can change, Rias. The bad to good, the good to bad. The line can simply be blurred." He then chuckled in slight amusement, "Plus, I have this uncanny knack that most of my enemies I fought against would eventually fight with me on the same side. When the time comes, maybe the Fallen Angels will put their differences aside and fight alongside us. Who knows? Only time will tell."

Rias couldn't herself but found herself in awe at Ichigo's wisdom. It was almost like he was speaking from experience, in spite of the fact that he was just the same age as her. If she told herself that the Fallen Angels, Angels and Devils will fight alongside each other in the future, she wouldn't believe it herself, but the way he said it, it sounded so... firm, like it can actually happen, despite the major differences between them.

Just what he had gone through for the past few years to obtain such maturity?

"Have…you ever been in a war, Ichigo?" Rias questioned carefully.

"I had." She was left stunned as she could see the anguish within Ichigo's eyes. It lingered for a few seconds before she watched as Ichigo shook his head, and it was replaced with a tired smile, "But it's not something I want to talk about, so let's not dwell alright?" He then angled his arm, motioning her to hold it, "Now it's pretty late already, so let's continue walking. I have a feeling you are here not to just walk me back to my apartment. Plus, I'm in need of a goodnight sleep." He was slightly surprised how he had adapted to sleeping alongside her even though she would be naked when doing so. And to be honest, he liked the feeling of having her sleeping by his side.

Rias just looked at his arm for a moment before she smiled and wrapped her arms around it, "Alright then, let's go." Ichigo simply nodded at that with a smile and they continued their walk back to his apartment.

With her questions finally answered, now she can truly put the entire Fallen Angel ordeal behind her.

And she knew a new one was arising, literally from the ashes.

But with Ichigo by her side, she had a feeling everything will be alright.

There you go, Chapter 7. Finished right before my semester starts.

I see there are readers who are still raging about Ichigo forgetting his badge. You guys need to remember that despite the fact that he was powerful af, Ichigo is still a fucking human. He is imperfect, he can be careless, and he can forget something important, like bringing his badge. I'm a college student, and I sometimes even forgot to bring along my student ID tag with me to college.

I hope this chapter is to your liking.

Please R&R. Constructive criticism is accepted.

The Athletic Author out.