Important note: I've been having serious issues with my computer so I'm taking this opportunity to upload everything I can to , completed or not so that everyone can at least have something to read.

It was unusual for her to be summoned from the clubroom of the Occult Research Club, Rias mused and that alone was enough to pique her curiosity about who it was that had summoned her as rarely did someone's wish require her power to grant. When she opened her eyes after appearing at her destination, Rias found herself nearly breathless at the sight before her. She had guessed she would be summoned to a hospital or some other such tragic situation where someone wanted to make a drastic change to the world. Instead she found herself standing on a beach, her shoes sinking slightly into the wet sand beneath her as she took in perhaps the most beautiful sunset she had ever seen. The sky was a deep, somber crimson that faded through oranges and golds before reaching a fading remnant of robin's egg blue, the whole sky filled with occasional scattered clouds that reflected the sinking sun's light further into the air. As her eyes approached the horizon, she found the sun itself obscured, some form of towering construct rising into the darkening sky to block off the sight of the point where the sun would disappear below the horizon.

It was several moments before her eyes adjusted to the difference in lighting and she could make out what sat before her. And what she saw left her at a loss for words. It was a ship, a tremendous vessel, larger than any she had seen before. The bow of it rested several dozen yards off shore and the rest of the hull stretched on behind it for several hundred feet before she lost sight of the curving hull as it sank into the water. A superstructure of some sort rose from the water a little further on, the sharp edges and jagged spires reaching at least a hundred feet or more into the air. Ahead of this tower sat two tremendous turrets of invaluable weight, each sporting four tremendous cannon barrels which Rias estimated were close to a meter in diameter at the bore. Any further observations she would have liked to have made were cut off by a soft rasp of a voice from the sand before her.

"Who the hell are you?"

Her attention drawn downward, Rias laid eyes on a young woman laying on her belly in the sand, her torso propped up on her forearms so she could look at the devil before her with deep sapphire eyes that stared with a frightening intensity from beneath a mess of wet, white hair that clung to the pale skin if her forehead. What got her undivided attention even more than the unusual physical features though, was that the woman seemed to be literally disintegrating before her eyes. Already her feet had dissolved into some sort of silver powder that was drifting away in the water surrounding even as the process advanced hip her calves, taking her clothing with it. Her fingers already bore traces of the silver material and seemed to be destined for the same fate. Belatedly, she noticed a piece of soaking wet paper clenching tightly in her left hand, legible enough that Rias could make out the summoning crest used to being her there.

"My name is Rias Gremory," she said in introduction, "And I am a devil."

"A devil huh?" The girl before her rasped, "And what are you here for? I don't have a soul for you to take."

Rias noted the oddity of that statement but set aside her curiosity until business had been finished with the girl.

"I am a devil, and I was summoned by you through the crest on the paper you are holding to grant your wish," Rias explained.

"My wish..." The white haired girl mused, "And what's the price of my wish?"

"I don't know, you need to tell me your wish and then I can put a price on it."

The white haired girl was silent for several seconds, the deterioration of her body advancing up to her knees before she finally spoke in a much firmer voice than before, determination clear in her tone.

"I want to live."

Rias smiled in response as she crouched down and pulled out a cellphone, bringing up her app to price the girl's wish. As she looked at the result, Rias could only shake her head before running the app again, only to receive the same result.

"Curios..." She murmured quietly before being interrupted by her summoner.

"You mind telling me what's 'curious'? I'm a bit short on time for guessing games, Devil-san," she said, her voice nearly a low growl.

Looking over her summoner, Rias couldn't help but grimace, seeing that the disintegration was now past the girl's knees. Interestingly, she noted the ship behind her was rusting over and turning to the same silver powder, the charcoal and matte white hull slowly disappearing into the waves.

"It's curious because the price for your wish is service in my peerage as a devil," she eventually replied.

"I accept," was the near instantaneous response.

"You accept? You don't even know what that means!" Rias said at a near panic.

"It doesn't matter you could be the cruelest taskmaster or the kindest caretaker, the fact is I want to live." the white haired girl said in a hard voice.

Her concern ceased at her words and a smile spread onto Rias's face as she replied, "What marvelous determination. Then before I grant your wish, I need to know your name."

"I am the Last Order, but you can call me Hymn," the girl said with a grim smile.

"Then let us begin," Rias said warmly.

From there, Rias summoned Asia to assist her in granting the wish, taking a brief moment to explain the wish before letting the Asia begin to repair the damage to Hymn with Twilight Healing. The restoration of Hymn's body took a great deal longer than Rias had thought it would, but eventually the girl was whole and healthy.

When she looked up from her newest pawn, she was surprised, no not surprised, frightened to note that the ship that had been lurking in the water had disappeared, vanishing at some point during the healing process. There didn't seem to be anywhere near enough of the silver powder around to explain its absence, so Rias could only believe it had slipped back out into the water.

But that was a mystery for another day, right now she had a new member in her peerage to see to the care of.

Hymn, as she had said to call her, had collapsed into unconsciousness at some point during the healing process, so Rias settled for bringing her back to Occult Research clubroom where she laid her out on the couch so that the girl could rest while Rias attended to seeing that she was admitted to Kuoh Academy. Before she left to see to that though, Rias took the opportunity to look over her new pawn in greater detail and also with the benefit of proper lighting. She had noted Hymn's pale skin and white hair, but other than her brilliant blue eyes, Rias hadn't gotten too good of a look at the girl. Now that she had the chance though, she made proper observations.

First off, the girl was tall, and while it was hard to say for sure while she was laying down Rias was certain she was at least a hundred and seventy-five centimeters, likely more in fact. Next was that, beneath her drying white blouse, Hymn sported a set of breasts that were roughly the same size as her own though it was a bit hard to tell.

Also of interest was how muscular she was. It was something unusual she had noted, for girls to be particularly muscular in Japan, most of them instead being slightly demure an rather lean. Hymn though sported well defined muscled that spoke of hard work and constant use, though used for what Rias wasn't sure. Her hair was another curiosity, even amongst devils, white hair was unusual, and hers seemed to be natural, not dyed. Her hair was a little above shoulder length all the way around and was quite thick. As an exception there was a matching lock in front of each each that reached down to her collar bones, framing her soft face as they went.

All in all, she was probably the mat unusual looking person to enter her peerage. And so she left her pawn to rest as she saw to the requisite transfer documents. The rest of her peerage would meet Hymn soon enough.

A few hours later, Rias returned to the clubroom, a touch of frustration showing in her face at the difficulties she was having getting her newest pawn transferred into Kuoh Academy. Even with the aid of her powers, Rias just kept hitting the same road block: her newest pawn did not exist. At least not as far as the Japanese schooling system was concerned. Finding out why her pawn didn't exist in any particular base of records was her task now, and for the moment she'd begin by speaking to the new devil in question.

When she opened the door to the clubroom, Rias was met with the almost intoxicating scent of fresh coffee. Given the lateness of the hour, well into the night at this point, the thought of the caffeinated drink was enough to ease her mood slightly before she realized that Hymn was no longer on the couch where she had left her. Sighing softly, she headed into the club's kitchen where she found her pawn seated at the table, her elbows propped up on the table as she cradled a mug of coffee in her hands, eyes closed as she considered who knows what. As Rias stepped into the kitchen, her shoes clacked slightly on the title floor and at the noise, Hymn's eyes opened slightly, a small grin coming to her face as she greeted Rias in a significantly more healthy tone then when they had first spoken.

"Hello Devil-san, care for some coffee?"

Hymn looked warmly to the ruby devil before her with a smile as she offered her a cup of coffee from the pot she had brewed a little bit ago when boredom had become too much for her.

"That would be very much appreciated," the devil replied in a mildly tired tone.

Standing, Hymn made her way to the counter where she poured a second mug of coffee.

"Cream?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Sugar?"

"Two please."

After adding the prescribed items to the coffee, Hymn returned to the table where she set the mug down at the seat opposite herself. "Something on your mind, Devil-san?" She asked in a slightly amused voice.

The devil groused slightly as she took her seat and picked up her coffee before she replied, "If you aren't going to call me Gremory-san, you could at least call me 'Buchou', Hymn-san.

"Alright Buchou, something on your mind?" Hymn replied.

"Well the biggest issue is that I can't seem to arrange your transfer into Kuoh Academy. According to the government, you don't exist, Hymn-san, and I must say that that is quite unusual. I've never had difficulty arranging the transfer of someone in my peerage before." Rias replied.

"Mmmm...I'm not surprised at that actually, Buchou," Hymn replied as she leaned back in her chair.

"Could you explain why then?"

"Certainly," she said warmly, "For one, I'm not from this world."

"Explain. You aren't an angel, normal or otherwise."

"I'm from Earth, but not this version of it."

Rias merely raised an eyebrow in reply.

Hymn let out a sigh before she replied, "There was...an incident in the world I was in, and while I really can't explain the specifics, it involved a tool designed to affect alternate dimensions."

"Could you tell me any more?"

Hymn shook her head in reply before she said, "No, not right now. I don't even fully understand the science behind what happened so my ability to explain it is lacking."

"Well that would explain why there were no records about you."

"Correct."

"Would you please explain that ship I saw when I first arrived at your location now?"

Hymn froze for a moment and chewed her lower lip before she eventually spoke. "I'd rather not if you don't mind. That's my own secret and I'll explain when the time is right."

Rias narrowed her eyes in response but let out a sigh of defeat as she said, "Alright. I'll trust you have a reason for the secrecy then."

"Thank you, Buchou." Hymn said with a small smile.

Tilting back her mug, Rias finished her coffee before she spoke again. In a calm, if tired voice she said, "you're welcome to stay here for the time being Hymn-san, there will be classes in the morning so I need to inform the rest of my peerage to your presence before they arrive tomorrow. I'd rather they didn't get into a fight with you because they didn't know you were here."

"Alright, I'll be waiting then," Hymn replied evenly, though amusement flickered in her sapphire eyes as she watched the ruby devil leave, thoughts already swirling through her mind as she considered what her new life would be like.