"Oh come on...! Can't you let us get some pictures? It will only take a minute! The public is dying to know about-"
"I apologize ma'am, but this area is off-limits to public eyes, mostly because a careful investigation is underway, so please be patient."
The female reporter huffed as her attempt at getting inside the small forest was rebuffed by the stoic police officer. This was her big break...she needed to get this story before anyone else!
She was determined to get in!
Hazel eyes watched as the reporter continued to heckle the police man in order to get inside, obviously believing that she could try and charm her way in.
Good. She had time then.
Koneko was right outside of the small forest that surrounded the abandoned church, which has obviously gained quite a bit of attention recently. Prepared to enter it and search for clues to find her lost family member.
Her eyes quickly flitted behind her, at the same direction of Kuoh Academy, a small frown growing on her face.
By this point everyone should have noticed that she was gone by now...
She hoped that she didn't worry everyone too much, she simply did not have the patience to wait while everyone gathered up to go out all at once.
When Naruse Mio came in to the ORC club room to tell everyone about what she heard from the news, the rookalready realized that the information was time-sensitive.
To put it simply, they had to check the church quickly so that the trail that their fellow devil left behind doesn't go cold.
And she was sure that he was involved in this.
So, while everyone was distracted in having a question-and-answer session, the young girl took the chance to sneak out, completely undetected.
Hopefully Buchou would forgive her for her unconventional actions later.
But, as they say; it's better to ask for forgiveness than for permission.
With this logic in hand, she quickly used her superior speed as a devil to run past the humans guarding the forest undetected, moving deeper into the area for the first real clue of Yuuto's location.
As she made her way through, she noticed just how...battered the small forest actually was, as the damage wasn't obvious when looking from the outside.
There were small craters all over the place, as well as the dead bark of uprooted trees that littered the area. All supplemented by small barren wastelands where the healthy soil was obliterated, leaving just the harder ground in it's wake.
An environmentalist's nightmare, really.
She had no idea how badly damaged the area actually was until now, it was kind of strange to see it like this after what happened the last time she was here...
Koneko's eyes narrowed slightly as she remembered the large barrier that surrounded the forest, the one that the fallen angels built up when they had a presence in Kuoh Town.
It was Naruto-sempai who dealt with them, and it was the first time that the Gremory team truly entrusted him with something important.
She was at the place where the foundation of their current relationship began.
Did Yuuto think about that when he entered the area? What was going through his head now?
"...I've never seen anything like this. Have you sir?"
Koneko skidded to a sudden stop and hid behind a broken tree, peeking around it to see a few men scattered about in front of her.
Hazel eyes took in the scene of what looked like several police officers that were milling around the abandoned church, probably talking about the damage done to the building and the area.
"No. Never. I have never seen anything like this before...to be honest, I'm genuinely not too sure about what could have caused this. The damage seems to be too intensive for normal hooligans..."
The rook frowned at what she was hearing, taking the chance to actually check up on the building itself now that she was in viewing distance to it.
What she saw shocked her, especially since this was the first one that she actually saw the building that was the focus of two separate conflicts now...
The building was a complete wreck, it's ceiling was thoroughly caved in and rubble was all that was left of it's walls.
But that wasn't what was so...'notable' about it, not by a long shot.
What stood out about it was the fact that several ice spikes were jutting out from the ground, there were small fires that were burning what remained of the wooden stalls, as well as large columns of earth replacing the concrete columns that once held the ceiling aloft.
The reincarnated devil leaned closer, her heart beating faster as she clenched her fist.
This was it...Yuuto was definitely involved with this.
The young teen snapped her head back to focus on the police officers and investigators that were meticulously studying the supernatural residue, she needed to knock them out in order to-
Hazel eyes widened, then moved upwards, her lungs breathless.
Something has shifted...
She felt it...as if she suddenly changed locations.
No...as if the location itself had changed.
"...Barrier." Koneko determined conclusively, as her eyes took in the change in the sky.
Then that meant that Buchou had caught up to her...
"Hey...guys...do you feel a little...?" she heard one of the human officers mumble out, before she heard the tell-tale sounds of people falling onto the ground.
*thud*
*thud*
*thud*
Koneko peeked out from her hiding spot, seeing the unconscious forms of the human investigators that littered the area.
...She didn't have much time left, but at least her main obstacles were out of the way.
Taking the chance that was provided to her, the devil quickly closed the distance between herself and the dilapidated building, entering it once she reached the shattered doorway.
As expected, the floor was littered with small craters, likely created via supernatural forces, as well as the residue demonic energy that was left behind from the elemental based attacks.
Koneko twitched when she moved closer to the ruins, a shiver going down her spine as the residue of another energy source became obvious to her.
Light.
"...Fallen angels?" the rook couldn't help but wonder, remembering their presence the last time that she neared the area.
But...this place was emptied out by Naruto-sempai...right?
Did that mean that fallen angels were trying to reestablish this church as a base?
More importantly...where did all of the hypothetical combatants go...?
One thing was for certain, the only way to find an answer was to search the area for clues, to find a trail of sorts.
So Koneko did just that, walking steadily and sometimes climbing over rubble in order to find some sort of elusive hint to her friend's location.
After a brief check, she very quickly determined that there was nothing obvious that could lead her to Yuuto's trail, which meant...
"...Time to dig." she muttered, clenching her small fists and raising them over her head...
Then sending them towards the ground, breaking and shattering all that was in it's way.
Maybe there was nothing above the ruins, but there just might be something that was buried underneath it. Lost in the confusion of battle.
She would leave no stone unturned.
Gritting her teeth, Koneko began to repeatedly hit the broken pieces that once consisted of the church's ceiling and walls, effectively digging through it like a makeshift sledgehammer.
Hazel eyes were firm and focused, despite the turmoil that laid within her heart.
She wouldn't give up on this, she couldn't, not now and not ever.
She wouldn't lose a second family. No matter what.
"I just can't believe it! How could she be so reckless!? For all we know, there could have been an ambush waiting for us when we entered the forest! There was a reason that we moved out as a group! I just don't-!"
"Rias. Calm down."
The Gremory heiress ended her tirade prematurely after she was rebuked by Sona, forcing herself to stop and take a deep breath in order to calm down.
Mio watched her fellow red-head warily, knowing that she must have been really pushed to the edge in order to lose her composure so thoroughly.
The small group of devils just left behind most of Sona's Peerage in order to take to the sky, leaving them behind to moniter the barrier that was just put into place around the abandoned church and the forest surrounding it.
Well...what was left of the forest anyways.
More than that, all the humans that were trapped inside the barrier were quickly put to sleep, and the Sitri group had the unfortunate task of modifying everyone's memories of everything they've seen here. Essentially making sure that the only conclusion that any reporter could reach about the perpetrator's of the church's damages is through the mundane, rather than the supernatural.
Probably regular human hoodlums, or something of the sort.
The task of everyone else? Find Koneko and find Yuuto.
Everything else comes later.
So what was left of the Gremory group as well as the kingand queen of the Sitri group were flying straight towards the church.
...Then again, what Mio meant by 'what was left' pretty much meant just Rias-sempai and Akeno-sempai by this point.
Since Rias-sempai's only pawn was currently...
Her train of thought was suddenly cut off when she saw the telltale signs of a building enter her view.
"...I see it!" Mio called out the second that the church came into view, alerting everyone else.
As expected, the remains of the small church came into view as the group of devils quickly reached the center of the battered forest, with several noticing something...'off' about it's appearance.
"...Are those ice spikes sticking out of the ground? As well as small fires?" Akeno voiced out, asking the question that everyone was thinking about.
Indeed, through the collapsed ceiling, many of the devils could see the sharp glint of ice inside the building, along with the bright glare of small fires burning inside.
"I'd say so." Sona stated, voice neutral, but her eyes calculating. "It seems that there was quite the battle here. Let's hope that we can gain some valuable insight through the wreckage...as well as your Peerage members, Rias."
The red-head was far too frustrated to respond properly, so she decided not to respond at all, focusing her energy on calming down her simmering anger.
It didn't take them long to finally reach the church and land in it's front door, prepared for a fight if necessary.
But Rias didn't even bother to wait, instead choosing to stroll right inside, features tense as she quickly scanned the area for her lost family members.
Mio took a step forward, trying to grab the older teen's arm in order to encourage her to calm down and be more cautious.
But there was no need, since the Gremory heiress herself stopped moving in order to stare at something.
Pink eyes followed her gaze once Mio caught up, taking in the crouched form of the white-haired young girl that ran off ahead of all of them.
"Well...there's one." Sona noted, walking up to them and surveying the building. "...I sense light energy here..."
If Rias was paying attention, she didn't verbalize it, as she quickly stormed up to her rook an angry lecture at the tip of her tongue-
"I found it." Koneko's quiet voice echoed in the small abandoned church.
Blue-green eyes focused momentarily onto what the younger teen was focusing on, confusion in their depths.
Then they widened, realizing what exactly she was looking at.
Mio moved closer to the two silent females, curious to what exactly caught their attention, peeking over the loli's head to see...
What the half-devil saw surprised her; an extraordinarily damaged and yet still functional set of stairs that led to...well...somewhere underground probably.
Mio moved her gaze back to Koneko, about to question her on how she found this obviously hidden secret of the building.
"I dug through the rubble." the rook stated bluntly, as if she somehow knew Mio's question before she even asked it. "I found it by accident while I was searching for clues. It was already open...just caved in."
Unwittingly, pink eyes traveled to the devil's fists when she mentioned them, her pupils growing fractionally bigger when the scratches on her knuckles became clear.
...She must've been trying to find clues to the missing knight's location using those fists of hers for a while now...
"Koneko-chan, we will definitely be having a discussion about your actions later on." Rias began, giving the younger female a reprimanding look. "But for now...we should take this chance to search this underground area...especially considering the little blood trail."
The rook nodded solemnly, bowing her head slightly. "...Sorry."
Blue-green eyes remained focused on the white-haired girl for a split-second, then moved to the stairway underground.. "Let's go."
With that, the high-class devil began walking down the steps carefully, gazing into the darkness below.
Koneko demurely followed after her, wisely deciding that she pushed her king far enough today.
Mio took a step forward, prepared to follow after the two teens.
Then she paused, remembering her sempai saying something strange...
"...Blood trail?" Mio echoed quietly, eyes moving downwards to see what the older female was talking about-
Oh.
Blood.
On the floor.
Little blood stains were trailing down from the base of the stairway to deeper inside, a trail of blood...
Someone must have gotten hurt and retreated inside to recuperate, at least that was Mio's first guess...
"Come on Mio-chan, we can't leave Buchou and Koneko behind you know~?" Akeno spoke up, tapping her shoulder lightly with a amused smile.
Feeling her cheeks redden faintly, the red-head nodded and quickly shuffled after the two devils, keeping a wary eye out for any traps that might have been placed for any nosy trespassers along the way.
"Hello? Is there anyone home?" Asia called out softly, peeking through the crack that she made by opening the door.
Emerald eyes tried to pierce through the darkness of the room, but they couldn't manage that, so the nun decided to simply enter the room to make doubly sure that there was no one present.
But the young blond couldn't help but sigh as she slowly walked inside the ORC club building, feeling down that everyone was helping out and doing something important...except her.
She knew that it wasn't anything personal, it was just the simple fact that she couldn't keep up with the fast-paced devils due to their strong bodies.
When everyone was focused on chasing down a speed-focused fighter like Kiba-san...well, it was obvious that they needed to be as fast as they could be as a group.
...It still made the nun a little depressed though, since she couldn't do her part to help because of her relatively weak body. Even if she was improving in other fields.
That train of thought ceased the same second that she actually entered the main room and saw...something.
A crouched form right in front of the Gremory team's king'sdesk, shaking faintly.
Asia watched the form warily, wishing that she could see in the dark so that she could get a better look, but seeing that that wasn't exactly an option, she opted to take a step forward and call out to it. "H-Hello...?"
The form's head snapped to her, freezing her in place as all of it's attention was placed onto her.
Then without warning, the form jumped up from the ground and dashed towards her, far too fast for her to react in time.
Asia reflexively closed her eyes shut, tensing as she felt a pair of arms warp themselves around her.
"A-Asia...!" the young man cried out, words heavily slurred.
The female human's eyes reopened when the voice that came out of the man's mouth registered in her ears, recognizing it.
"...Issei-san?" the nun questioned softly, patting the teen's back as the tension in her frame quickly bled out.
Hyoudou Issei lifted his head up, waterfall tears trailing down his face as a depressive air engulfed his very essence. "...I was left behind Asia."
The young female tilted her head cutely. "What do you mean? Where is everyone? Why are you here by yourself?"
The pawn's lip quivered faintly as the questions that were launched against him forced him to face reality. "...I can't..."
Asia leaned in, honestly befuddled. "You can't...?"
If possible, the depressive air that already surrounded his form became more bleaker, crushing his spirit indefinitely.
"...I can't fly." he muttered, self-pity obvious.
The nun stared at the young man, trying to comprehend the significance of his words, but failing to see it.
Seeing her blank stare, Issei tried to muster whatever dignity he had left in order to straighten his body and puff his chest out. Determined despite the flow of waterfall tears down his cheeks.
"I...can't fly!" he declared, raising his fist into the air for the sake of his only audience.
The young female couldn't really respond, far too shocked to do so.
Issei did his best to retain his dignity with this 'mission' that Buchou gave him, but he was having a rally hard time at doing that with how pathetic it was...
He knew why of course, he would slow down everyone else who would take to the sky due to their rush to the abandoned church.
But still...being assigned to 'protect' the ORC club building...?
He could already feel his small bit of pride he had left crumble.
It was at this point of concentration to such internal issues, that he felt a faint tickle at the bag of his throat...
*Achoo!*
Asia placed her small hand onto Issei's forehead, concerned. "Issei-san, are you getting sick?"
The pawn grunted, eye twitching when he remembered that he hasn't been getting a lot of sleep after his training. So maybe something like that would have gotten him sick.
...But he still had his job to do, despite how ridiculous it was.
"Hey Asia-san? Care to kill some time with me?" the brown-haired teen asked with a tired grin, quirking an eyebrow at her.
The still-human nun beamed, glad to see some semblance of positivity return to her friend's face.
"Of course!"
*Achoo!*
"...But maybe we should get some medicine for you, Issei-san..."
"...Looks like the cave-in was a bit more extensive then we thought."
Hums of agreement echoed in the small stairway as the small group reached an obstacle in their path.
The final stretch of the journey deep underground was impossible to undertake now, all thanks to the large amount of boulders that have clumped together to close off a large amount of the stairs.
At least that would have been the case if they were normal humans anyways.
"Ok, so if we try and completely destroy the rock pile in front of us, we might accidentally destroy the only thing that is supporting this part of the ceiling." Sona explained, analyzing the issue and seeking a work-around for it. "Perhaps it might be best that we create a new pillar of earth with our demonic energy to support-"
The high-class devil suddenly stopped speaking when a bright red light lit in front of her, all coming from her fellow pure-blood devil.
Rias took a step forward, blue-green eyes stormy, her demonic energy flaring to the point that her hair was defying gravity and floating in the air.
Specifically, her demonic energy was taking form in the visage of a crimson magic circle in front of her, a small and precise one.
"What...!? Wait!" Mio cried out, stretching her hand out. "The kaichou just said-!"
If the Gremory heard her attempt at a plea, she didn't acknowledge it, releasing the pent up energy in her magical construct without hesitation.
All of the devils inside the stairway covered their faces as dust flew up into the air, buffeting their bodies with pebbles and a blast of air.
Mio coughed as she swiped at the space in front of her, trying to get rid of the dust that was making her choke, doing her best to see through it. "R-Rias-sempai?"
In front of the blockaded area, Rias remained upright and firm, hand outstretched as it explored the crevices of the crumpled rocks. Studying it.
"...It's firm." the red-head noted with approval, tapping it with her knuckle. "Good enough to pass through without worry."
As the dust cleared and settled, everyone could finally see what exactly the heiress of the Gremory clan was talking about.
A hole right in the middle of the clump of rocks, small enough to allow the sides of the clump to remain, yet big enough to allow them access.
Almost as soon as Mio made that silent observation about the rock formation, her elder crouched down low and moved inside the hole she made, silent and intensely focused.
"...Ara ara, it seems that Buchou has lost all of her patience now...I'd say that Koneko's and Kiba-kun's rear ends are in danger at this rate, wouldn't you?" Akeno chirped, sliding a knowing gaze to the rook beside her.
Koneko shivered subconsciously, hands snaking to cover her behind in an attempt to stop the very real possibility of her king's 'punishment'.
She couldn't sit down without wincing for a few days after last time...
Mio gave the two reincarnated devils an incredulous look, unsure if she wanted to know what her fellow red-head would do to her Peerage members when she was so upset.
Sona moved past her as she was staring at the two devils, sighing in exasperation as she ducked to move through the hole as well. "Well...she did make sure to keep the rocks on the sides intact, keeping the stairway ceiling from falling down...so that's something I suppose."
The half-devil twisted her body to face the high-class devil's back, pointing at Rias-sempai's queen. "Wait, is...what Akeno-sempai said true? Does Rias-sempai really punish her Peerage members like that?"
She supposed that it made some sort of sense, but it didn't really fit in with her mental image of the Gremory heiress' personality at all.
Not even bothering to stop, Sona responded. "Yes, it is."
Mio coughed, faintly embarrassed that she got an affirmation. "That...well...I don't really have a comment for that actually."
The Sitri heiress tilted her head to the side to look at the red-head for a moment, a very faint smirk reaching her lips. "Is it really so surprising? You do realize that I've done it too, yes?"
This time the half-devil took an involuntary step backward, gaping at the admission.
Behind her, she heard the Sitri's queen hum in agreement. "Indeed, Saji has been on the receiving end of a thousand spankings once I believe."
Now Mio's complexion paled considerably, her hands moving to protect her behind in reflexive defense. "Ah...I see..."
Chuckling, Sona ducked into the hole that her friend made and followed after her, with Tsubaki moving right after her.
"Ufufu...you're too fun to tease sometimes, you know that Mio-chan?" Akeno giggled, patting her shoulder as she passed her to enter the hole herself.
Pink eyes glared after the sometimes-sadistic devil, grumbling under her breath all the while, but stopped as soon as a certain white-haired devil moved into her field of vision by preparing to go into the hole as well.
"Hey...wait."
Koneko froze mid-action in trying to get inside the hole, turning her head to the side so that her head's profile was visible to the red-head. "...Yes?"
Mio scratched her cheek, then twitched when she realized what she was doing and forced her hand back to the side of her hips. Annoyed that her nervousness was manifesting itself in such gestures.
She twitched again when she realized that her brother did that occasionally...
"Ah, sorry. It's just that I wanted to ask you a question...if you don't mind?" Mio questioned, attempting to flash a comforting smile.
If the rook was eased or not, she didn't show it. Her expression as neutral as always. "That's fine. I don't mind."
Nodding, the half-devil continued. "It's just that...well...a thousand spankings is pretty severe, and apparently it's something that you've suffered before. So...well, why did you go ahead and risk getting in trouble? Why not stay safe and stick to the group?"
Indeed, considering the criminal that was on the loose, the disappearance of Kiba Yuuto, and the obvious battle that occurred in the abandoned church...well, it was obvious that sticking together was not just a smart decision to make, but maybe even a necessary one. All things considered.
So for the teenaged girl to disregard that and go on ahead was...
Koneko inclined her head, closing her eyes as she let out some breath. "...I didn't have a choice."
Mio quirked an eyebrow, curious, but stayed silent.
Hazel eyes locked with pink ones, serious. "...Yuuto was involved...I had to go before we lost his trail again. If I didn't...Buchou wouldn't have arrived as quickly...because she wouldn't have been in a hurry to find and catch up to me."
Koneko turned away, demeanor surly. "I guess I...just didn't want the only plausible trail we had to fade away to time...to leave it to chance whether we got a clear trail to Yuuto or not. Even...if it meant getting punished for it later."
The young devil nodded to herself, firm in her belief, and then stretched out her hand to reach the hole to reach everyone else.
"Yes...the pain of a thousand spankings doesn't measure up to the potential loss of someone close...nowhere close. I won't leave Yuuto's return to chance." she concluded in the end, pulling herself inside the hole.
But as she was doing so, she felt a hand grip her shoulder, stopping her movements with surprising strength.
Koneko turned back to the understanding eyes of Naruse Mio, smiling softly.
"...Yeah...I don't think that a thousand spankings is so bad in comparison either." Mio murmured, shutting her eyelids down as unwitting thoughts of the people she cared about entered her mind.
The grip on the reincarnated devil's shoulder grew tighter without her input.
"...I won't let your 'family' lose such an important member. I'll help however way I can." the half-devil guaranteed, eyes sharpening as she snapped them open.
Koneko stayed silent, letting the other teen say what she had to say, completely unaffected by the words that was spoken from the heart.
So after a few more split-seconds, she turned away from her, face still stoic as ever.
Mio watched her go, her heart still believing all that she has said, but understanding how sudden it all was...
"Mio-san."
Pink eyes snapped back to the rook, whose body was now inside the hole.
"...Your 'family'..." the white-haired devil said, her voice so low that the red-head could barely hear it.
Koneko then tilted her head to the side, a hint of a smile stretching across her face.
"...I feel the same way for your 'family'. Buchou, Akeno, Issei-sempai...yes...I'm sure everyone else feels the same...just so you know. Like it or not, we're all stuck together...I think."
The half-devil's eyes widened in surprise, shocked to hear so much from the usually recalcitrant girl.
But that shock quickly bled into a happy smile, pleased to hear as such.
"Then please take care of me from now on, Koneko." Mio said, her new-found cheerful demeanor infectious.
So infectious that it made the rook chuckle a little, despite her penchant for stoicism. "...Please take care of me from now on as well...Mio."
With that, Koneko pulled herself inside the hole, following after everyone else.
Mio, in a much better mood, followed right after.
It didn't take Mio and Koneko that long to get out of the decent-sized hole, or that long to catch up to the rest of the group for that matter.
But the only reason that they managed to catch up was because everyone else was standing still and looking around the new room that they have reached, scanning for anything suspicious.
After making it to the bottom of the stairway, everyone saw that it led to a large chamber, one that contained strange rune-like symbols on the floor as well as a pyramid-like object that jut out in the middle of the room.
"Koneko-chan, Mio-chan, what took so long?" Rias questioned quietly, eyes scanning the room for any unwanted surprises.
Both teens glanced at one another momentarily, with Mio deciding to answer. "Ah, well...sorry, we got distracted."
"Enough about that." Sona quickly cut off, tone not allowing for any kind of argument. "We can talk after we get out of here, this isn't the time for it. Anyway, can anyone tell if someone's here or not?"
As the question rang out, everyone became quiet in order to allow those who have such sensing abilities to do their work. Everyone else making sure to stay on their toes in case they were attacked.
"...Blood." Koneko stated out loud, gaining everyone's attention as they turned to her.
Seeing this, she continued and pointed at a seemingly random spot on the floor ahead of them. "Over there, there's a small blood trail over there...probably from the same person who lost their blood back upstairs."
Rias and Sona exchanged glances, nodding towards one another after reaching an understanding without speaking.
Both girls moved forward, close to one another with their power flaring a little, prepared for a fight if necessary.
Seeing this, Mio took a step forward, confused why they decided to move all of a sudden.
Then something came flying in the corner of her eye.
Several things happened at the same second that she noticed that.
As if expecting it, the two pure-blood devils quickly stretched their wings apart and jumped into the air, just as something smashed against the ground where they were standing a second ago.
The two queens also stretched their wings and took flight, expressions serious as both formed magic circles and aimed them at the area where the attack came from.
It didn't take long for lightning and water to converge towards their intended target.
A blur moved away from that point in the ceiling, narrowly avoiding both attacks that easily ripped through the area.
Meaning that the rubble resulting from that destruction quickly destabilized other sections of the ceiling, with a large amount of dust and rocks falling towards the ground in a small avalanche.
Mio grit her teeth and stretched apart her own wings, setting off towards the blur in order to aid her comrades against...whoever they're fighting.
As she was soaring towards the blur, water rose up from the ground and moved towards the blur, forming four separate pillars all the while.
Those separate pillars of water surrounded their unknown opponent from four sides, and as soon as that was accomplished, they began to twist.
The water stopped moving in a forward fashion and spun around the blur, forming a ball of water that trapped their opponent inside the high pressure water. Not allowing their foe to escape from any angle.
"Now Rias!" Sona called out, eyebrows scrunched together in concentration as she focused on keeping their erstwhile enemy inside her trap.
"...Always the strategist, huh Sona?" Rias couldn't help but state in appreciation, a fond grin on her face as a crimson magic circle began spewing her Power of Destruction towards their trapped enemy.
The attack easily burned through the water, reaching the person inside.
...
A muffled explosion was heard inside the ball of water, covered up by the water that the Sitri heiress was keeping stable.
"Ah...! Wait, Rias-sempai!" Mio called out, finally reaching her in the air after her attack. "What if that was-!"
"Relax." Sona interjected, lowering the ball of water towards the ground as she turned her gaze to the younger teen. "Rias could have put much more power into her attack, whoever was in there...is definitely still alive."
She then turned to her friend, who was watching the ball of water intently. "...This person obviously isn't Kiba Yuuto, so while we technically don't need to hold back, we still need to speak with this person to find out where Rias' family member is. So killing this person isn't an option."
Mio nodded, understanding that line of reasoning, eyes sliding to the ball of water as it was slowly set down onto the ground.
Then her eyes widened when she saw a bright light emerge from inside the sphere...
The half-devil didn't hesitate, her reflexes kicking in as she charged straight to the water-made prison, her demonic energy being focused into the newly made magic circle that appeared on the palm of her hand.
She heard the surprised cry from her elder, but she ignored that, intensely focused on stopping what she feared was a sneak attack.
As she was moving ever closer, her sense of danger grew more acute and sharp as the light inside the water prison became more and more brighter.
Mio was forced to squint when the light became almost unbearable to look at, meaning...!
She grit her teeth and swung the hand that was holding the magic circle to her front, switching from using it as a weapon to using it as a shield.
It was a good thing that she did it too, as the shining little ball that was now close to the ground reached it's apex in luminosity just right at that moment...
And with it, came a bright light that shot out of it, aiming straight towards Mio.
Pink eyes widened to the size of saucers in recognition.
A light spear...!
The spear smashed against her magic circle, trying to harm her with it's poisonous energy, but her defense held firm and prevented it from touching her.
"Mio-chan! It's going to explode!" Rias-sempai's scream echoed in the large chamber, it's owner approaching her from behind.
And when the younger sister of the 'Unknown Variable' saw the deadly weapon glow bright against her shield, she knew that her elder was correct.
*BOOM*
Rias and Sona covered their faces when the explosion pushed them back, temporarily making them lose control of their flight.
But it also made them completely unaware of the fact that several glowing objects were flung out of the dissolving sphere of liquid, not aiming for them specifically, but aiming for...
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
Blue-green eyes snapped upwards as explosions erupted from the ceiling, shattering it and causing all of the affected areas to release all of the pent up rock that the structure was holding up.
And it was heading straight for them...!
Before she could even try and manage a defense, the red-head felt a small hand grab her from her ankle and pull her down to the ground, getting her out of the danger zone with incredible strength.
"Buchou...! Kaichou...!" Koneko called out, dragging the two kings to the ground as the veritable avalanche of rubble and dust came flying down at them. "We can't get away in time...!"
Sona glared at the falling ceiling as she was getting dragged down, brain working overtime, seeking a way out of the falling ceiling.
But nothing came to mind, her mind far too clouded to think up anything useful in such sudden circumstances.
It was at that moment that lightning and water appeared from below them, shredding through the first wave of rubble easily, laying the pressure of being crushed off of them.
Akeno and Tsubaki had their hands splayed out, focusing on giving Koneko enough time to take the two heiresses out of immediate danger with their powers even as it felt like the entire building was about to fall on top of their heads.
However, despite their efforts, more and more of the ceiling began to crumble down, bringing down large sections of the earth above along with it.
The worst part was that they couldn't put more power into their attacks either, as it would probably result in the rest of the already failing ceiling to fall apart, burying them all under a lot of rocks.
So when the rook finally managed to land onto the ground with both Rias and Sona still in one piece, the two queensimmediately backed off and descended towards the ground to reach safety.
"Rias! We can't stay here!" Sona shouted, trying to speak over the din of the falling rubble. "We have to back off for now! Wait until we're sure that the ground won't fall on top of our heads!"
The Gremory heiress didn't respond, only managing to gnash her teeth when she grabbed Sona's and Koneko's hands and ran towards the stairway. Knowing that everyone else was right behind her.
Everyone else...
Her heart skipped a beat as that thought repeated itself in her head.
Rias' panicked expression and tone didn't help soothe anyone's nerves when she spun around to scream at the falling earth, fear permeating her heart as she raised her voice to the highest capacity that her lungs could possibly allow.
"Mio-chan! Where are you!?"
...
...
...
Mio felt nothing at first, heard nothing, saw nothing, and pretty much thought of nothing.
It was all a blank, at least for the first few seconds.
Then the first cognizant thought that reached her head was one of genuine curiosity.
Why was it so hard to breathe...?
Mio's eyes snapped open when she took in a lot of dust through her nose, forcing her to get up and start coughing at the air that tried to enter her body.
Immediately after the red-head snapped her eyes open, she shut them, wiping her eyes when dust got into them and irritated them quite a bit.
It took a few precious seconds for the half-devil to regain her bearings, her eyes narrowed so that her lashes could protect them from the large amount of dust in the air.
...Wait...dust?
Mio slowly tilted her body around, a tingling suspicion in the back of her mind...
Rocks.
Rocks as far as the eye could see.
The young teen scanned the mountain of rocks that was occupying the space behind her, blocking her eyesight access to the stairway.
But as she continued to scan the veritable wall, a slow realization made it's way to her heart, the precariousness of her position becoming crystal clear.
She finally understood what their enemy has done.
Those light spears...they weren't just thrown arbitrarily.
They were thrown specifically for the ceiling, yes, but they were aimed at specific points on the ceiling.
Aimed exactly to line up with the pyramid-like structure in the middle of the chamber, a straight line from one end of the ceiling to the other., a split between two halves of the room.
The spears weren't made to hit them, they were made to cut off their enemy from them, using the debris from the collapsed ceiling to separate the two groups and buy their light-based enemy some time to get away.
Well...apparently it worked, seeing the giant wall of rocks.
But...Mio wasn't with Rias-sempai or Akeno-sempai, or any of her other allies for that matter.
No...she wasn't with them at all.
Was it because of the close proximity that she was in when she faced their trapped foe? Or maybe the explosions set her flying towards the wrong side of the wall?
Well, it didn't really matter. What really mattered was...
"...You guys just don't know when to quit, do you?"
Mio jerked her head away from the blockade of rubble and towards the complaining female voice, on alert. "Who said that!? Show yourself!"
Despite the dust cloud that still remained in the area, making it difficult to see anything beyond a few meters, the young girl still saw something approaching her in the distance.
The form of a young woman to be precise.
As the form moved closer, the features belonging to the -obviously- young woman became more clear to the teen.
As well as the current state of her body.
Three things about the young woman's body caught Mio's attention, standing out blatantly to her and as important points for later.
...Also she didn't mean it like that, after realizing how easily misconstrued her words could be taken.
Anyways, first; her extraordinarily...liberal choice in clothing.
Second; the numerous cuts and gashes that crisscrossed the woman's body, which were obviously painful for her since she was somewhat hunched over.
Third; there were a pair of crow-like wings on her back, splayed out for her to see.
"...Fallen angel." the female teen cursed vehemently, wishing to be wrong in her assessment.
But those wings were pretty damn hard to argue against.
Still, the fallen's power wasn't that impressive if her wings were any indication, so if a fight was about to break out...then she should theoretically be fine. Even with facing a light-wielding opponent.
At least that's what she thought until a second pair of wings emerged from the woman's back, wrapping themselves around her as if they being used a a large shield.
Violet eyes peered over the wings, staring at her with wary, yet hardened, eyes.
"...You lot are with that devil from before, right? The fast one." the fallen angel bit out harshly, hostile.
Mio's lips twisted downwards, unsure of what the hostile angel was talking about.
Seeing this reaction, the black-haired woman's face twisted in disgust. "...After all of this, you'd still try and pretend that you're innocent? Well your acting won't fool me, you better be stronger than your friend though...because unlike last time, I won't be holding back!"
With that declaration, the woman formed a light spear on the palm of her hand, with the added strength of a single ring encircling the shaft to give it more power.
When the half-devil saw that addition, as well as the grim determination in her enemy's eyes, she groaned. Knowing that a fight was pretty much unavoidable now.
Then the words that were stated earlier finally hit her.
Devil from before...
Fast...
"W-Wait!"
The fallen angel already spread her wings and began floating in the air, prepared to rain down her attacks, but paused at the abrupt plea from the devil.
"...What?"
Seeing her chance, Mio splayed her hands apart as a sign of her lack of hostile intent. "Ah...well, I just think that we're having a massive misunderstanding right now. You see, that devil from before is a friend of ours and a member of my sempai's Peerage. We were looking for him since he's been acting strange recently. And to be perfectly honest, we didn't really come here to fight, we came here to get answers and drag him back home."
Violet eyes regarded the red-head quietly for a few spare seconds, carefully searching for signs of her honesty.
She then closed her eyes, sighing dramatically. "Hey now..."
The fallen then snapped her eyes open and pointed her spear at Mio once more, an annoyed glare plastered on her facial features.
"Do you take me for an idiot? Everyone knows about the consequences of going against a king's word in a Peerage system. A servant that runs away immediately gets declared a criminal and are slated for death. You expect me to believe that your 'sempai' not only lost her Peerage member, not only is searching for him for answers and reconciliation, but just happens to attack me at a spot where fallen angels have congregated before?"
Violet eyes narrowed to slits. "In fact...it's not exactly out of the question for this to be a question of foul play. After all, some kings used to send their servants to 'attack' their enemies, claiming that the deaths that resulted were just 'misunderstandings'. If I had died, would my death be considered a misunderstanding, devil-chan?"
Mio took a step forward, trying to call upon any sense of charisma that she might've had inside her body in order to convince her wary opponent. "No, that's not the case! Sure, there were some devils that did that before, especially in the past, but Rias-sempai isn't like that!"
If the fallen believed her words, then she was doing everything in her power to hide that sentiment. Snorting and descending slightly at the ridiculous notion that was being portrayed.
From what she knew, devils rarely, if ever had such kind sentiments. So it really wasn't too hard to see why the black-haired woman didn't see the half-devil's point of view.
"Whatever." the fallen dismissed, tapping her foot onto the ground once she reached it. "Anyways, if you really meant no harm, then you wouldn't have came in such high numbers, as well as blocked off the entire area with a barrier. It's rather convenient that I can't escape, right?"
She shrugged, almost nonchalant. "Well, I suppose I've been had. Just don't expect me to go down easily. There's also no way that I'm going to let you use me as a pretext for war either. You can count on that."
The red-head gnashed her teeth together as the fallen angel spread her legs and took a fighting stance, prepared to attack or defend at will.
...This was bad, this was really, really bad.
"...Naruto...what would you have done...?" Mio couldn't help but wonder quietly, eyes scrunching shut in her impotent frustration.
"What?"
The half-devil snapped her eyes open, locking with shocked violet ones, the owner completely frozen in mid-movement.
"...What did you just say?" the fallen whispered, staring at her with incredible intensity.
Shifting uncomfortably under that heavy stare, Mio felt a faint sense of red reach her cheeks, embarrassed that her words were heard. "Ah...nothing really."
"No." the black-haired woman deadpanned. "You definitelysaid something."
"...No I didn't."
"Yes you did."
"...Not really."
"Yes, you said someone's name, right?"
"...No, I mentioned a ramen topping."
The fallen blinked, taken aback. "...A ramen topping...? In the middle of...well...this?"
Mio turned away, face as red as a tomato, looking like she was about to faint any second. "...It's a really good topping."
...
...
Steam was practically coming out of Mio's head after her fellow female began staring at her blankly for a few moments, totally silent.
It stretched on.
And on.
And on.
"...Are you really not gonna let this go?" the red-head asked quietly, getting more and more uncomfortable with the woman's staring.
The fallen simply shook her head, crossing her arms as she de-materialized her spear.
Mio held out for a few seconds more, trying to call the woman's bluff, but her defenses quickly crumbled over that hard stare. Acquiesing.
"...-uto."
The fallen perked up, leaning a little closer. "What? What did you say?"
"I said 'Naruto', ok!?" the half-devil raised her voice, irritable and embarrassed, clenching her eyes shut.
"...So you did say his name...how do you know him?"
Pink eyes revealed themselves to the world, confusion in those orbs as they focused on the suddenly amicable fallen angel. "Wait...you know him? Like, actually know him?"
In return, violet eyes had an undertone of dry humor at the question. "I wouldn't really say that, more like...he's an acquaintance that helped me out once. In a big way. To be perfectly honest, he probably forgot all about me...but I can't forget about him. I owe him, big."
Mio whistled softly, very much in wonder about where Naruto could have possibly earned this woman's favor and respect.
Then she suddenly felt a rush of negativity inflame her body, making it harder to breath and more difficult to speak properly. All focused onto the the fallen angel in front of her.
"...So." the red-head rasped out, trying not to let her annoyance slip into her voice. "How do you know about mybrother...?"
The fallen angel frowned a little bit, unsure why the teen emphasized the word, but let it slide. "Hoh...so you're his sister? He never mentioned he had one...anyways, we actually met here. In this very church."
Mio tensed up slightly, on guard again when she realized what the black-haired female could be talking about.
The incident against the group of fallen angels that took over the church...
"Yeah." the woman continued. "He helped me turn my life around back then, and helped me make the right choice in a very stressful time. He even gave me some advice that...I've admittedly come to like."
It was at that moment that the fallen focused all of her attention back to the red-head, putting her on guard even more.
"Hey, what's your name by the way?" she asked out of the blue, looking genuinely curious.
Now it was Mio's turn to be taken aback, completely off-put by the fact that a fallen angel was asking for her name in such a friendly context. Let alone one that probably fought with her brother.
It was bizarre.
"Ah...it's Mio. Naruse Mio." Naruto's younger sister murmured tentatively, trying to regain some grasp on her situation. "What's...ah...yours?"
The black-haired woman smirked. "Name's Raynare, remember it, because it's going to be a famous one soon enough."
The red-head nodded, so she was the ambitious type? That's nice, it was good to have goals and the drive to aim for them after all~
...
"Wait just a damn second!" Mio shouted, forcing herself to her feet to face Raynare. "What the hell is going on!? You were completely suspicious of me just a few seconds ago, threatened to fight me, and now you're asking for my name in a friendly context after my brother beat up your people last time!?"
Raynare's lips twisted downwards, unamused. "...You didn't have to remind me of that."
"Regardless!" the half-devil interrupted, on a roll. "What the hell is with this nice atmosphere!? I got caught up in it too, damn it!"
The daughter of Vretiel tilted her head, rolling her shoulders once to stretch a bit. "Isn't it obvious? I trust Naruto...and by proxy, I feel I can trust his close family members. Anyone that is his friend, is a trustworthy person in my eyes."
Mio blinked, dumbfounded, then flat-out gaped, entirely impressed. "Wow, you'd trust me because of Naruto...? You must think highly of him."
Raynare grinned faintly. "He's the man that pushed me into the life that I have now...and I can't be more grateful. This is the least I could do."
That last statement quickly registered in the red-head's head, recognizing the chance she just got in order to convince the usually wary fallen angel.
"Hey." Mio began, completely serious now. "Going back to what I said before...it'd be really helpful if you could believe me when I said that the others don't mean you harm either. This is all just a misunderstanding, a big one."
The fallen angel's genial attitude darkened immediately after she received the plea for reason, becoming guarded and wary once more. "...It's one thing to believe in you as a person, someone who has Naruto's trust...it's another thing to believe some random high-class devil who might have an agenda. You can understand my reluctance, can't you?"
The young teen did understand, she really did.
But it didn't change the fact that the black-haired woman was incorrect about her assumptions, and since she was the only one who had any inkling of where Yuuto went...
She had to convince her.
"I understand." the half-devil soothed, sympathetic. "But this is important, not just to me or my friend...but to all of us. We've lost an important 'family member' so to speak, someone that is an important part of Rias-sempai's Peerage...and not just because of his abilities."
She clenched her fist, eyes sharpening, displaying her resolve. "...To be honest, I'm not even remotely connected to Rias-sempai except through our friendship, yet here I am. And I have no doubt that Naruto would've been here with me if he was still around."
Raynare's eyes widened fractionally when she heard about the fact that the blond wasn't present in Kuoh Town, but the red-head wasn't done speaking.
"I'm sure that to you; all I'm doing is talking about a bunch of platitudes, but we at Kuoh Academy look after our own. Devil or human. And I'm not about to abandon Kiba-san when he's in a dark place...no way. And there's also no way that Naruto will come home to a piece of our group gone. We will all be here, welcoming him, Yuki, and Maria back with open arms and cheers. We will all be present and accounted for."
Mio straightened her back, squared her shoulders, lowered her head-
And bowed.
"Please, I know that you have no reason to believe me...the only reason you're even giving me the time of day is because of Naruto. But if you could just have enough faith in me to give me a chance...I promise that I won't disappoint you! I swear on it!"
Raynare stared at the kowtowing girl, shocked that she would leave herself wide open and beg for her cooperation. She simply didn't seem like the kind of person who would do both to someone she just met.
Now that she thought about it, neither did her apparent brother.
Yet here she was, doing just that.
Her eyes became contemplative as she continued to gaze upon the red-head's form, taking a few more long seconds to think about how to properly respond.
...
The fallen angel sighed explosively, realizing that after something like that, there was only one response she could make.
"...Very well." Raynare conceded after a moment of consideration. "I will give you and your allies the benefit of the doubt...even if it is against my better judgement."
Mio straightened her back and stopped bowing, a happy smile growing on her lips. "...Thank you."
The black-haired woman snorted rudely in response. "Whatever...anyways, about your friend, the last time I saw that 'friend' of yours, he escaped the church after I destroyed the ceiling...he was definitely hurt from my attacks, that's for sure."
She then crossed her arms, her face twisting up as she tried to remember where her adversary headed to while escaping.
"...I believe that he was headed to the northwest so that he could recover from his wounds. Though I'm not entirely sure where he went specifically, but I'm sure that he was aware that you guys would be chasing after him...so my guess would be that he hide in a secluded area."
The young red-head frowned, a tingling in the back of her head going off thanks to that information. But she couldn't put her finger on it...
"I see. So he probably went to a secluded area, did he...?" Mio murmured softly, tapping her chin in thought, then grinned at her fellow female. "Thank you, seriously, this information is invaluable. If he's hurt, then it's likely that we can catch him before he moves somewhere else. This is our chance!"
Raynare shrugged. "It's alright, I don't mind...but I have a question for you now, if you don't mind?"
Pink eyes lit up, the young teen staying quiet to allow the woman to speak.
Seeing the opportunity, the fallen asked the question that was very much important to her mission in the area. As she had no clue...
"Do you know what the heiresses of the Gremory and Sitri clans look like, as well as their location? I'm supposed to make contact with them as a representative...but I'm not too sure where they might be or what they look like."
...
...
"Eh?" Mio uttered out, a shaky smile stretching across her face as she began sweating.
She...didn't know...?
"Uh...well, my sempai's name..." Mio started slowly, as if she was speaking to an idiot. "...Is Rias Gremory."
Raynare's facial expression was that of content inquisitiveness when she initially asked her question, and it stayed that way for a little bit when she received her answer.
But the fact that she began shaking slightly belayed the notion that she was 'alright' by any means.
Until finally, her expression morphed into that of desperation, her own face beginning to sweat lightly as well.
"Ah...no wait...you're joking, right? I mean yeah, I barely paid attention to my studies about the devils and their clans...but it's not like I just fought against one of the people I was supposed to be assuring...right? I didn't just do that, right!?"
Mio turned away, refusing to look or answer her.
The fallen legitimately looked like she was about to faint, becoming pale and clammy. "Ah...so I might have intermittently started a conflict with the little sister of the Maou Lucifer...? As well as the Maou Leviathan...?"
Still no response.
This time, the black-haired woman clasped her hand around her face, taking in and expelling air at an increased rate due to her rising stress. Trying to calm herself down.
"Eh...? Hey...- You ok...? You don't- Hey!"
Raynare blinked slowly as the voice that was referring to her became more slurred to her ears, as well as the world suddenly becoming more fuzzier.
She tried to wipe her eyes, figuring that she was just tired.
Then she noticed something strange.
Why was the ground coming closer to her-?
*slam*
Mio jumped when the fallen angel fell face-flat onto her face, literally tipping over without warning as if she was a falling tree.
At first, she had no idea why the woman fell over.
But when she moved to help her up, she was able to figure it out.
Mio cursed under her breath after seeing the many crisscrossing slash wounds that riddled her back, blood slowly leaking from them and pooling onto the floor.
The fact that Rias-sempai blew her up earlier probably didn't help...if anything it may have made her wounds worse.
"Damn it...! Why didn't you say that you were hurt sooner!?" the red-head shouted out, quickly scanning Raynare's back to inspect the wounds more closely.
Violet eyes blearily looked at the frantic younger girl, her sight fuzzy as she tried to internalize the information that she just heard.
...Ah...right, she did get hurt pretty badly from behind...didn't she...? Man...Azazel-sama would laugh at her for refusing to use her second pair of wings...let alone her new abilites...
It was while her sight began to darken at the edges that she looked back up at the red-head once more, trying to assure that she'd be alright.
But she saw a curious sight before she could.
"...Two...?" she whispered out loud, catching Mio's attention.
Before the half-devil could even try and ask, the fallen angel closed her eyes, her body slumping to the ground.
"Eh...? Oi! Raynare-san!?" Mio exclaimed, lowering herself to shake the black-haired woman's body. "Oh no...did she lose consciousness...? Not good..."
Pink eyes trailed behind the fallen angel, grimly noting that there was quite a bit of blood on the floor. Indicating at the very least that the woman fainted because of loss of blood.
...What should she do now?
She simply had no idea how to proceed from here, she couldn't just leave her here, right? But it's not like she could just ask Rias-sempai or the kaichou to temporarily take her in. All they knew of her was her aggression, nothing else.
So she couldn't rely on them...
As the red-head's thoughts swirled around in her head, a piece of the wall that separated her from everyone else began to crack, steadily growing bigger as if there was something digging through the rubble.
She didn't notice it until the small piece of the wall literally exploded outwards, catching her off guard as rocks came flying away from the detonation and dust enveloped the area she occupied.
Mio raised her arm to cover herself from the debris, peering into the artificial cloud that was just made. Knowing who was coming.
As expected, she saw long crimson locks as thin arms wrapped themselves around her into a rib-crushing hug, knocking the air out of her with their surprising strength.
"Mio-chan! Are you ok!? Are you hurt!? Where's the enemy from before, did you beat them? Did they escape? Oh, I'm so sorry for leaving you here and for taking so long to get here...we had to be careful so that we didn't start another avalanche..."
The younger red-head sweat-dropped as her elder kept fretting over her, hugging her tightly as if she might disappear on her.
Ngh...she was being treated like a child...
As the Gremory heiress continued to anxiously hug her kohai, her queen walked up from behind her and shot a sly smirk at the two. "Looks like Mio-chan is safe...now hopefully you'll stop tearing up about 'abandoning her', hm?"
Mio's eyes snapped to Rias, surprised to hear that her composure was so thoroughly destroyed.
Rias for her part, turned to glare at the sadistic devil, eyes still somewhat glassy. "It couldn't be helped! We already lost Yuuto, and Koneko-chan is acting so rebellious...so I thought that maybe I lost Mio-chan too..."
Akeno's expression morphed to that of gentle understanding, nodding faintly. "Of course Buchou, what's important is that our kohai is safe now."
Her eyes then turned to the younger red-head, smiling softly at her. "It's good to see that you're alright. We were worried sick, you know?"
The half-devil moved her head from Rias to Akeno, and back again. Honestly surprised to see them so concerned about her well-being. "Th-Thanks...both of you. But really, I'm fine. You guys had nothing to worry about."
As Mio kept soothing her seniors, Sona stepped up from the wall and surveyed the area, eyes latching onto the unharmed form of Naruse Mio, making her eyes soften in silent relief.
Then her eyes hardened again, moving to scan for the presence of any enemies. "Tsubaki, do you...?"
Shinra Tsubaki, the Sitri Group's queen walked up to her king and began scanning the room for enemies as Sona kept her guard up in case of a surprise attack.
Then the teen's gaze shifted to the ground right next to Mio, focusing on the faint energy that she managed to track.
She didn't even have to say anything, since Sona very quickly followed her gaze, body tensing in preparation for a fight.
"Rias, Akeno, Mio-san. All of you move away from there!" the Sitri heiress demanded, a magic circle forming on her hand as she prepared to attack. "Our enemy is still a threat!"
Rias and Akeno stopped speaking immediately and followed their ally's gaze, eyes sharpening when they saw the wings that were sticking out.
Sensing the growing hostility aimed at their downed enemy, Mio immediately broke away from Rias' hug and threw her body in-between everyone and the fallen angel. "Wait! Please! She isn't as bad as everyone thinks!"
All four devils looked at her in shock, all caught off guard that their ally would protect their enemy.
"Uhh...Mio-chan?" Rias started, tone shaky. "You do realize that you're protecting the same person that attacked us with a light spear, right? There is no 'misunderstanding' to be had in this situation."
Mio shook her head from side-to-side rapidly. "No, you see...she accidentally believed that we were with Kiba-san, who attacked her-"
"Even more of a reason to capture her and interrogate her then." Sona concluded briskly, not stopping.
"No! Listen to me!" the fifteen-year old demanded hotly. "She isn't a bad person, this is all just a grievous misunderstanding!"
Sona's expression didn't change a whit, while a frown marred Rias' face. "Mio-chan...even if her attacking us really is a misunderstanding, how do you know that she's telling the truth about whether Yuuto attacked her first? For all you know, she's simply biding her time, using sympathy as a way to recover enough to survive a situation of her own making."
The Gremory heiress inclined her head, serious. "In short, while your claim isn't exactly out of the question, neither is mine."
The half-devil winced at the logic that was employed. "Well...I suppose you could say that. But I think that she's telling the truth, her version of events is plausible!"
Rias tilted her head, expression neutral. "Why? What possible reason do you have to believe her?"
This time Mio drew herself up to her full height -which wasn't that tall- and prepared to take the opportunity that was given. "She's indebted to Naruto."
The older red-head's eyes widened fractionally, but she managed to hide most of her surprise with a mask of interest.
If her kohai noticed, she didn't point it out.
"...Is that so?" Rias inquired rhetorically. "So this woman knows Naruto? Well...I suppose that is indeed something, it's not like his name is well known or anything. Even in the Underworld, at least as far as I know. Instead, any rumors about him know him as the 'Unknown Variable' or something along those lines...so one of the few ways for her to know his name is through personal contact."
"Exactly!" the half-devil agreed heartily, a smile stretching across her face. "If she knows him, then that means that she should be pretty trustworthy, right?"
"Unless she's actually his enemy." Sona pointed out bluntly, raising her chin.
Mio paused, realizing that that could be the case.
...At least it could have been, if she hadn't met Raynare in person anyways.
"No, you guys didn't see how she reacted to learning that I was related to Naruto...her entire demeanor changed by just that one simple fact. Enough that I managed to convince her to tell me where Kiba-san ran off to." the red-head contended, very sure that she was right.
At the news, even Sona was caught off guard by the possibility that the fallen angel would volunteer information willingly. So she stayed silent as her childhood friend took a step forward. "Wait...she voluntarily gave you information about Yuuto's possible whereabouts? All because you're related to Naruto?"
The half-devil scratched her cheek sheepishly, flashing a a half-smile. "Well...it took a while to convince her that all of you were trustworthy, after all, she was wary of you guys as much as you were all wary of her. So I had to promise her that you also meant no harm to her...and I'll be excused if I don't want to be a liar."
Both high-class devils turned to one another, seeking the other's opinion about their current situation, as both were definitely not expecting this to happen today.
The Gremory heiress' pupils flicked between her kohai and her old friend, mind racing, until finally latching onto Sona once more. "...Perhaps that woman could be trusted a little bit, her story seems to check out for the most part. Also, looking at her now...it doesn't look like she could do anything to really hurt any of us. All that I would suggest is that someone keep an eye on her."
The Sitri heiress moved her gaze away from her fellow high-class devil to the unconscious fallen angel. "...I'm a little more wary about helping this person out, but I can hold my suspicions until we question her once she regains consciousness. Until then...I suppose I can't really disapprove of Mio-san helping out. As long as we remain cautious."
A relieved sigh escaped Mio's lips as she saw that the two high-class devils agreed with her, she supposed that the fallen angel was safe for now...
"Please wait a moment, kaichou."
Then someone else had to speak up.
Sona turned her head to look at her queen. "Yes Tsubaki? Do you have an objection?"
Heterochromic eyes fixed themselves onto the two pure-blood devils, calculating. "Not necessarily, but I have a suggestion in regards to our unconscious...'friend' here."
Those strange set of eyes turned to the half-devil in the room, all while brushing her long black hair back into place after her abrupt movement. "I'm not entirely sure, but considering your sweeping defense of that fallen angel, I assume that you were going to take her back to your home in order to recuperate, correct?"