Chapter 572 - 37.2

Sona knew why. "...Of course, we'll go when you're ready."

With a jerk of her head to her queen, the young black-haired devil backed up in order to leave the house, opting to wait for her friend outside, giving her some privacy.

Once more, Rias was thankful.

"Everyone." the high-class devil started, catching -almost- everyone's attention in the room. "You heard what Sona said, we're going back to the ORC club room to contact the Underworld government. And if necessary, we'll rest afterwards, so get ready, ok?"

It took a few sparse seconds for everyone to actually register her words, but eventually everyone that her words applied to began to get ready to leave.

Akeno slowly stood up from her seated position near Yuuto, carefully smoothing over her clothes as she moved to stand next to her king.

Yuuto, with some reluctance, listened and moved to stand beside her as well, silently falling back into his old routine thanks to his lack of knowledge on what to do next.

No one questioned it, unwilling to rock the boat after all of the time and energy they expended on finding the blond in the first place.

Issei for his part, was slowly trying to unhook Asia off of him as she used him as a pillow to rest on, blushing a little as the other teens began to stare at the scene.

He was trying to be careful for one simple reason; she was asleep.

After Asia finished healing everyone, she quickly fell asleep on Issei after claiming that she wanted a little rest, revealing how tired she actually was in restoring so many people to their full physical strength.

Unfortunately for the teenaged boy, his movements still managed to prematurely wake the resting nun, getting her to blearily open her emerald eyes to see what was happening.

"Ah...damn. Sorry Asia..." the young man apologized with a frown, wanting to curse at his clumsiness. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"Hm...? Oh! Oh, I'm sorry Issei-san!" the human female cried out suddenly, her cheeks burning as she scampered off of him after taking a second to wake up properly. "I-I must have fallen asleep by accident!"

Seeing the innocent blond fluster over falling asleep brought a wry smile to the pawn's lips, before he nudged her a little to get her attention again. "Hey, no worries. It's all good. Anyway, seeing as you're awake, you should know that Buchou wants us to go back to the club room now. Do you want to come with?"

Asia blinked, staring at him for a moment or two, before smiling sadly. "...No, I don't think that's a good idea, Issei-san. There was a reason that I didn't want to fall asleep yet after all."

Slowly, steadily, the nun tilted her head to the side to look at the other side of the room, focusing on the people there.

Issei followed her gaze, understanding in his eyes as he looked at the two people that flat-out ignored Rias' words to leave earlier.

On the other side of the room, sitting close to the unconscious fallen angel from earlier that day, was Mio and Koneko.

Between the two, one of them was stone-silent and the other was trying to coax the other to talk.

Considering what Issei and Asia knew about what happened inside the barrier that Diodora made, it was obvious which one was retreating inwards.

"...So you want to stay with her then? Alright, that's fine." Issei said eventually, standing up from his seat. "Just make sure that you don't leave the house, alright? As long as Naruto's...uh...'magic' I guess, works properly, then you'll be safe. Basically, just make sure to stay with everyone, alright?"

The nun turned back to the brown-haired boy, nodding her head up and down fiercely. "Y-Yes! Of course!"

The pawn smiled, and quickly shuffled away to stand next to Buchou, ready to go.

Meanwhile, Rias was staring at her two kohai with concern, knowing that Mio-chan went through...something while inside the barrier that she fought in.

But she also knew that she was completely unwilling to talk about what happened. To anyone.

Which meant that they had to back off until she was willing to talk, pushing her too hard wouldn't help her or anyone else.

"Koneko-chan." the high-class devil called out, the tone in her voice evident enough of what she wanted.

Koneko flinched, her demeanor almost guilty as she faced her king, wary of leaving the recalcitrant red-head like this.

Especially after she left her to face that rogue devil in the first place.

Not that she could do much now though, as she was staying stubbornly silent, so she had no choice but to answer Buchou's call.

With a heavy heart, the rook stood up and moved to stand beside her king as well, at attention.

Just like that, in what felt like a month, Rias' entire Peerage was present and accounted for.

She just hoped that it would stay that way.

"Alright, let's go everyone." Rias announced clearly, turning on the spot to leave the house.

Her Peerage followed suit, with Akeno moving right next to her, whispering to her in hushed tones. "Buchou...is it a smart idea to leave Mio-chan and Asia-chan alone here...?"

The red-head raised her arm to open the door, responding briskly. "The one who was responsible for our troubles is gone, there is no other reason for any of us to retain a battle-ready status. We have nothing more to worry about. Besides, if there's anymore stray devils around, then they wouldn't be able to find everyone in this house thanks to Naruto's powers."

But as she was opening the door, she paused in her response, slowly regarding her queen carefully. "...But you're not talking about the stray devils, are you?"

Akeno twitched, but didn't respond.

The Gremory heiress continued to regard her, keeping the door wide open for them to leave through, searching for words. "...Akeno, that fallen angel isn't a threat as far as I can see. You don't have to treat her like one."

The queen lowered her gaze, demure in behavior. "...Not yet."

Rias chose to ignore that, walking ahead to group up with Sona and her Peerage, trying to hope that this shaky unity wouldn't break apart at the drop of a hat.

But, it should be fine now, right?

The threat of Diodora was gone, there was nothing more to worry about.

Yet...she still felt a tension in the air, like there was...something else.

Once more, silently, she couldn't help but hope that a certain blond was getting home soon.

Mio heard someone speaking at the edge of her awareness, almost like it was a far off event that didn't really concern her.

A part of her felt like she should be paying attention, but she wasn't, and she wouldn't.

Mostly because she didn't care.

...Or at least, that's what she wanted to say.

She wanted to say 'I don't care', both to the noise, and to...that disgusting son of a...!

The red-head quickly felt the righteous anger that she was building up peter out, a bitter smile unknowingly spreading across her lips.

Because she knew.

She did care.

Whether she admitted it or not was irrelevant, because deep down, she knew it was true.

She cared about the haunting words that the former Astaroth heir left her, despite knowing damn well that he meant her ill.

She cared about whether the entire incident regarding that evil man was her fault.

...And mostly, she cared about what Naruto would say about what has happened.

Or, specifically, whether Diodora's last words to her could possibly ring more true than she cared to admit.

...No, it wasn't true.

In her head, she knew that it wasn't true. But still...in her heart...the knowledge still kept her in a state of inaction.

In short, the threat continued to hang over her head, like an axe that threatened to lodge itself in her skull if she wasn't careful.

And that ever-present threat just continued to worsen her mood the longer that she stewed over it, meaning that she was essentially brooding in the corner.

So Mio stayed like that, in the dark corner of the house, waiting for the noises to drift away from the edge of her awareness, seeking peace and quiet, at least for a little bit.

She waited, until any and all noise began to drift away, almost like a distant memory.

It took a little bit, but finally, after a few more heavy seconds of silence, she steadily opened her eyes to look at the ceiling. A sigh on the tip of her lips.

Instead of the ceiling however, all she saw were wide green irises.

Mio jolted backwards, not at all expecting to see that anyone was still in the house with her. "A-Asia-san?"

Asia offered the red-head a small smile. "Hello."

It took the daughter of Lucifer a bit to calm herself down at the surprising sight, a heavy scowl growing on her face as she regarded the nun that was 'intruding'. "...I thought that you left."

The human female tilted her head to the side, genuinely puzzled. "I'm sorry, did you want me to?"

A low grumble was her only response, as the half-devil forced herself off of the couch that she was leaning on to get a proper seat. Choosing the one that was right next to the one that was still occupied by a certain fallen angel.

"I just don't feel like talking to anyone, or hearing anything from anyone right now. That's all." she claimed as she plopped herself onto a chair, a tone of finality present as she spoke.

Asia shuffled after her, quietly taking a seat in a chair nearby, but making sure to keep some distance. "...Are you still troubled by what that...bad person said before?"

The red-head felt her arm spasm, trying not to think about what that monster said.

"Mio-san?" the innocent girl questioned quietly, leaning closer to her. "Are you...?"

Mio bit her lip, eyes downcast as she tried to find her inner balance, idly noting that her foot was incessantly tapping onto the floor. Her restless energy obvious.

In frustration, she raised her foot and then slammed it into the ground, hoping that the excess energy was spent.

It wasn't.

A snarl made her bare her teeth as she was just about ready to-

"Mio-san."

The red-head froze up, forgetting that there were others in the same room with her, as the soft voice of the nun reminded her.

Asia placed her hand onto the half-devil's arm, steadying her slightly, despite the fact that the she wanted nothing more than to snatch her arm away.

"...If you're feeling troubled, you can talk to me, if you want?" the human girl hesitantly offered, her emerald eyes shining in worry.

Mio didn't respond, all at once wishing to hug the girl and to get up and run away from her.

She chose the middle option.

"...Thanks, but I think that I'll just go and rest in my room for a little bit." the daughter of Lucifer responded stiffly, getting up to go and do just that, wanting that isolation for a bit to think.

She wasn't given the chance, as another hand latched onto her arm, stopping her short.

It wasn't Asia's.

"...You...? You're Naruse Mio, right...?"

Mio snapped her eyes backwards, recognizing the voice that was referring to her.

Her pink eyes met the bleary -but quickly sharpening- violet gaze of the once-unconscious fallen angel.

"...I'm not sure what has happened since I lost consciousness..." Raynare said, her gaze snapping around to take in her surroundings as best she could, frowning. "But there's something else that I've got to know first."

Her violet gaze focused back onto the red-head's pink, serious, despite still being a little sleepy.

"Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri...you know them, right? Or at least, a little bit?"

Mio nodded slowly, already figuring where the fallen angel was going with this.

So, predictably, she asked the inevitable.

"...Can you take me to them? I need to speak with them, urgently." Raynare requested, trying to be polite as she slowly moved to get out of the couch she was laying on.

The two teens that were facing the newly-conscious individual glanced at one another, a silent exchange passing between through the two.

Then Mio turned to the fallen angel again, swallowing her...thoughts so that they could be dealt with in an other time.

This had to be dealt with, since she was sure that the black-haired woman's request to meet with the two devils was important, if she remembered properly anyway.

So she'd deal with...whatever this was, later.

...

No. She wouldn't deal with it 'later'.

She'd deal with it once this was over.

She wouldn't push this off, not this.

And there was only way one way for her to resolve this, truly.

"...I'll take you to them." Mio allowed, trying to sound firm, yet not quite managing it. "But don't do anything harmful to them or anything, alright? I'm trusting you."

Raynare steadily got onto her feet, wobbling for a moment, until she regained her balance again. "Yeah...no worries. This is all legit."

"Good." the half-devil approved, looking past her to look through a window, seeing the low light of the night. "...Because I don't want to deal with anymore drama right now, not until I get to talk to Naruto again."

The fallen angel perked up at the mention of the blond's name, and looked like she wanted to try and send a query.

Until she quickly took a second to rethink on it.

In the end, she stopped herself short and just nodded briskly, filing away the question for later. "...Please then, lead the way."

Yuki focused ahead, more than a little aware of the critical eyes that were focused on her profile, studying her.

The hero ignored it though, continuing on her path to Kuoh Academy, her lips thinning as her mind continued to run.

She, very simply, wasn't entirely sure what she should do about the two cloaked women beside her.

Now, it wasn't like they were threatening or anything like that, but the teenaged girl still couldn't help but feel wary about their presence.

Ignoring the fact that she was beings stared at, there were also other warning signs that gave her pause.

For one; the way that both of the relatively unknown teenagers carried themselves told her that they were, at the very least, familiar with combat to some extent.

Worse, that they were properly trained to fight.

Something like that would be extraordinarily rare in a small and sleepy town, and their presence here during a time when things were likely about to blow up...didn't seem like an accident.

More than that...

Yuki chanced a glance to her right, seeing her small companion sweat lightly as she chanced a few looks at their new 'friends'.

Maria was nervous, for a reason that the hero couldn't really figure out.

A reason that the hero was keenly interested in finding out, as while her wariness felt warranted, the loli's nervousness felt like a bit too much.

Unless she knew something that she didn't.

And, as if the succubus heard her, she turned to look Yuki, her eyes wide with tension.

"...Yuki-san, those two...they're both carrying powerful weapons. I can feel it. So much so that my skin is practically tingling just by being next to them." Maria whispered to the hero, as she shot a quick glance at the two women that they were taking to Kuoh Academy.

The young human female raised an interested eyebrow, her wariness of the newcomers growing by the second. "What kind of weapons?"

The succubus spared one more look at the two teenaged girls, nervous. "...Holy weapons. Powerful ones at that."

Yuki's yellow eyes narrowed, her focus sliding towards the two human girls, unable to see the weapon that the woman known as Shidou Irina was carrying.

But she could see that her friend; Quarta Xenovia, was carrying...something.

The girl with blue hair had a wrapped up item that almost looked like a cross on her back, completely hidden from view, but patently obvious.

She was almost embarrassed that she didn't focus on it before.

...But if Maria-san was right, that these people were holding holy weapons, and they wanted to go to Kuoh Academy where the devils just so happened to go to...

Well, that was quite the coincidence, wasn't it?

"What should we do, Yuki-san?" Maria hissed, snapping her focus from her ally to the mysteriously armed figures. "If we keep going, then we'll take them to the the devils in Kuoh Academy...! And I don't think those holy weapons are just for show!"

The hero was well aware of that possibility, and she was already working on a makeshift plan, silently cursing the fact that she had a broken arm holding her back.

Not to mention an unconscious childhood friend on the strong succubus' back...

Obviously, she was patently regretting the decision to rest a little at the yokai faction leader's home for a little while longer before departing.

If they had left immediately after Naruto had left, then they would have avoided this messy situation, and not have to worry about taking care of an unconscious friend if a fight broke out.

As it was now, with their handicaps, they were in no shape to fight.

So that only really left one option.

The succubus beside her continued to stare at the human female as she fell silent, her eyelids shut as she thought about the issue a little more...

Until she finally made her move.

"...Hey."

The two cloaked figures that were walking parallel to them on the other side of the road perked their heads, then turned to listen to the one who addressed them.

Yuki looked at them, her eyes flat, and her voice having that tone which implied that she was stating a fun fact.

"...Do you two believe in devils?" she asked bluntly.

Maria tripped over herself and slammed into the floor, cursing under her breath as the duo close to them just did a double-take.

She completely forgot how terrible Yuki-san was in social settings...!

That was a terrible way to gauge them for questions!

Meanwhile, the girl with blue hair with that strange green fringe on her hair; Xenovia, stood straighter with a frown...

"N-No! Of course not! We don't believe in devils at all! I mean, who would!? It's not like we're here to meet up with devils or anything like that-!"

Her partner on the other hand, the one with the twin-tails and chestnut-colored hair; Irina, just began babbling rapidly, shaking her head wildly in shock.

Before she was cut off completely by her partner, who covered her mouth with the palm of her hand.

"...What my partner meant to say was; there are no such things as devils." Xenovia rectified, glaring at her irresponsible comrade through the side of her eye. "But...just out of curiosity mind you, why did you bring that topic up so suddenly?"

Yuki pursed her lips in response, suddenly looking a little uncomfortable, staying silent.

The succubus felt her eyebrow twitch, watching the exchange, waiting for a response from the usually intelligent girl.

Yet she stayed silent, for long moments, so long that it made the quiet itself seem like a gaping chasm.

And then it hit Maria, nearly making her trip once more despite just getting herself up again.

...She didn't think about a good reason for why she'd ask such a question out of the blue, did she?

And, after checking up on the silent hero, who was sweating slightly as she focused on the ground, as if it was the most interesting thing in the world for her, she could tell that she was right.

Then, as if struck by lightning, the young teenaged girl's eyes lit up, ostensibly because she found a well-reasoned and thought out excuse-

"I read about it in a book!" she declared, a triumphant shine in her eye.

Maria, currently, was now suffering the effects of second-hand embarrassment. Feeling the shame that Yuki shouldhave been feeling for such an unbelievably awkward conversation.

The jig was up now...there was no way that that serious warrior named Xenovia would fall for-

"Ah, I see." Xenovia replied, nodding her head with understanding.

The succubus felt her jaw just drop.

She fell for it!?

Could it be that, despite her serious demeanor, that she was an idiot too!?

Yuki smiled, inclining her head at the the blue-haired warrior, before turning to her silver-haired comrade in order to report her findings.

But all she saw was a silverette that seemed listless, muttering about how she seemed to be 'surrounded by idiots' or that she just 'didn't get it'.

How strange.

Regardless, they at least knew that the two warriors didn't seem to come here for a fight, so they shouldn't be too worried about leading them to Kuoh Academy.

More than that, it turned out that, despite her less-than-stellar amount of friends that she has had throughout her life, that her social skills weren't as bad as she had thought.

She felt her chest puff out in a bit of pride, knowing that she could enter in a conversation with some skill if she truly wanted to.

So, in a good mood and with a listless succubus in tow, the group continued on their way to the only institution of learning in Kuoh Town.

The club room of the Occult Research Club definitely played with and used the popular imagination of a 'devil' in it's motif and atmosphere.

The low lighting thanks to the use of candles instead of the modern light bulbs.

The extravagant furniture.

The theme of red and the darker colors.

It was one that the devils that were in the Gremory group knew all too well.

For them, it wouldn't be a stretch to call it their 'home away from home'.

And that was a sentiment that Rias wholeheartedly agreed with.

The high-class devil smoothly stepped out of the transportation magic circle that the collection of devils used to quickly return back to her and her Peerage's area of operation. Taking ease in the fact that they were out of the public eye and in familiar territory again.

"You know, it feels like it's been ages since we've last been here." Rias voiced out, smiling as she looked at the area around her. "It's...nice."

Sona lightly tapped on her friend's shoulder, lightly telling her without words to focus, before moving to take a seat on a couch. "Alright, it's time."

The Gremory heiress inclined her head, raising the palm of her hand to create a magic circle to contact the Underworld.

Until she saw her fellow high-class devil raise her hand, stopping her.

"Let me do it." was all Sona said, eyeing the red-head's hand with a frown.

Blue-green eyes followed her gaze, seeing the bandages around her usually pristine hand, remembering why her hand was in such a condition.

"...Very well." Rias allowed, stepping back. "But make sure to call Maou Leviathan please."

Sona twitched at the mention of the title. "...Wouldn't it be more prudent to contact Maou Lucifer? He is acknowledged as the leader of the Yondai Maou after all."

Rias' eyes narrowed in response. "Well...perhaps the Maou Lucifer is quite busy, after all, he is considered to be the leader of the Yondai Maou. So I think it would be smarter to contact your onee-sama."

Both devils began to glare at one another, both silently hoping that they didn't have to be the one to contact their respective older siblings. Knowing full well that their overprotective siblings would just make a big fuss out of it.

So the two just stayed like that, locked in deadlock with one another, unwilling to back down.

Their respective Peerages just watched, silent, unwilling to jump into the disagreement, lest they face their respective king's wrath.

This would continue until Sona blew out some air in frustration, raising her hand to push her glasses back onto the bridge of her nose. "Rias...can't you let this slide for once? I really don't want to deal with my onee-sama right now. Besides, there's another reason that I want to contact the Underworld. And it's important."

Rias raised a brow, unimpressed. "Hoh? What exactly is this secondary reason?"

The Sitri heiress didn't answer, instead she tilted her head to look past the other pure-blood devil. "Tsubaki?"

As instructed, the Sitri group's queen took a step forward, at attention. "Kaichou."

Everyone focused their attention onto the girl with heterochromic eyes, the curiosity in the air heavy.

Seeing as she had received everybody's attention, she began to speak. "...Prior to when our king ordered us to assist you in your efforts to find your knight, we have been becoming increasingly...concerned, about what's been happening in the Underworld, Rias-sama."

Soft murmurs began to emanate from the two mixed Peerages, with worried and confused looks passed around, uncertainty rising.

Rias didn't humor those concerns, far more focused on what Sona's queen had to say. "...Concerns? About the Underworld?"

The bespectacled girl nodded, serious as always. "Yes, you see, the kaichou has always retained contact with the Underworld due to how close she was to the administration of this academy, and the fact that this institution is closely tied to the Gremory family. But recently, we've been..."

Tsubaki paused, sliding her gaze to her king, uncertain of how much she should say.

Sona just nodded, encouraging her to continue.

"...We've been having difficulties in contacting the higher ups that help us run this school, and overall. At first it was small, a few unanswered calls, but the trend has been getting more noticeable as of late." the teenaged girl continued where she left off, locking eyes with the king of the Gremory group.

Said leader looked quizzical rather than anything else. "Is that really grounds to be worried though? It sounds more like a possible failure in whoever is managing the magical communications between the human world and the Underworld."

"That's possible." Sona allowed, before she pinned Rias with a look. "But what about you? Have you heard anything from the Underworld in a while?"

The red-head nodded. "Yeah, it happened only when Akeno was here, but Grayfia contacted me about the fact that Diodora Astaroth was declared to be a criminal by the Underworld's government. It was quick and concise, but I didn't think anything of it back then."

Yes, it was a rather sudden call to the young seventeen-year old, but through that call, she received the information about the insane former Astaroth heir, which obviously warranted her full attention.

It wasn't a social call, it was a warning, so she didn't even think about how her sister-in-law was acting then.

She was always a serious woman anyway.

But now that she thought about it...

"Rias-sama, I have called to inform you about the recent decision regarding the now-former heir of the illustrious Astaroth Clan. Listen carefully, as I'll only say this once..."

The woman's words echoed across the Gremory heiress' head, her clipped tone obvious, as well as the tension in her voice.

"...Perhaps we should contact my onii-sama." Rias concluded quietly, turning to face the other high-class devil.

Sona agreed. "Yes, just to make sure."

And with both devils in agreement, Sona raised her hands to create a magic circle that was as big as her ear, using it as a medium to contact the Underworld.

Naruto was gritting his teeth together as he raced across the rooftops of the random town that he has entered, trying to remain inconspicuous as he steadily made his way back to Kuoh Town.

It was really, really, annoying to focus so much on how fast he was moving for an extended period, he could acknowledge that now.

The problem was that, if he ran as fast as he could, he could make quite a disturbance in the air by his speed alone.

And being so close to regular human settlements, he would obviously alert them to his presence.

Mind you, they wouldn't 'hear' him until after he's passed through, but they would definitely hear him afterwards.

They would hear the scream of someone viciously pushing against the air above their homes, and he really didn't want to give the common people so much trouble.

So, to be blunt, after destroying a rundown church, destroying several forests, and taking part in the freezing over of a piece of the Pacific Ocean, he kinda wanted to lay low for a little bit.

That didn't mean that he wasn't rushing home, just that he was trying to not make a fuss about getting back.

Besides, it wouldn't be much longer until he made it back.

It took him a bit to find a map though, because he actually forgot which direction was Kuoh Town again, but he managed to find one in the airport thankfully.

Now he was almost at the halfway point, watching the civilization of humanity give way to the wilderness as he made it to his designated 'halfway' point.

Blue eyes glanced ahead, a smirk stretching his lips as he saw the series of mountains ahead, glad to see nature's behemoths made of rock and gravel.

If he remembered the map that he got properly, they were called the Akaishi Mountains, or something like that.

Quite the mountain range, really.

But he wasn't here to sight-see, he was here to take a shortcut.

And that shortcut was through those mountains.

Honestly though, despite the fact that he would be back to Kuoh Town in a short little bit, he still felt the need to rush a little, for whatever reason.

It was instinctual, a feeling in the back of his mind that he should get back, on the double.

He wasn't too sure why he felt that way though, it wasn't like he was getting back to rush to some kind of battle or anything like that.

He knew the score; a rogue member of the fallen angel's 'government'; Grigori, was last suspected to be located in Kuoh Town. As well as the stolen fragments of some kind of legendary sword called...

...Uh, he forgot what they were called, but he was sure that they were important.

Regardless, he was sure that everyone was alright, as long as they stuck together and fought as a group.

He had nothing to worry about.

Yet his legs continued to move as fast as he could reasonably move without drawing attention to himself, moving a little faster now that he was traveling in a sparsely populated area.

They were fine.

So he told himself at least.

In a dark place, where the laws of physics and reason were thrown out of the window, the golden slits of a powerful young senjutsu-user were glazed over.

The young woman in question was focusing heavily on the energy signal of a certain blond, using her enhanced sensing abilities to keep him in her radar, looking for an opportunity to jump.

"...Are you done yet?" a certain impossibly powerful being asked her, her impatience obvious despite her lackluster tone of voice.

Though it definitely was far more appropriate to call her an 'it' rather than a 'she'.

Kuroka didn't respond, spreading her awareness away from the fast-moving blond to the area around him.

...

Her gaze flashed back into focus, lighting up in glee.

"It's perfect." she purred, her lips twitching upwards. "He's moving to an area where there's barely any humans milling around."

With that statement uttered, she opened the palm of her hand, focusing her senjutsu energy onto the palm of her hand.

Without much effort, she created a small ring of energy, one that opened a portal that cut through the space of the 'gap' in order to get to the human world.

The second that this portal appeared, the second most powerful being in existence floated towards it, focused on her goal, and nothing else. Not even bothering to thank the pouting woman.

But still, the woman with two tails sticking out of her lower back looked excited, eager to see what the mysterious blond that caught the attention of the Ouroboros Dragoncould do.

Naruto was blitzing through the wilderness, instinctively knowing how to avoid all of the myriad annoyances that sometimes infuriated normal people when they passed through the wild.

It was a good thing too, since he didn't have to focus on how to keep moving.

Rather, because of this, he was able to think about other things while he steadily closed the gap between himself and Kuoh Town.

Specifically, he was able to focus on what he should do once he actually reunited with everyone else, seeing as he probably only had so much time to prepare for the one known as 'Kokabiel'.

Well, at least everyone didn't have to deal with the drama that a church agent could have brought to the table.

Still, they had to be prepared, at least mentally.

Blue eyes narrowed, not at all seeing the speeding wildlife that was passing him by as his focus remained on the distant future.

He figured that he could technically just tell everyone what was going on, and then deal with what was gonna happen himself afterwards. It wasn't like he had to drag others into this or anything.

After all, a fallen angel with five pairs of wings wasn't something to sniff at, especially one that actually had experience with that kind of power.

...He probably had to prep some kind of strategy, since using senjutsu or the kyuubi's chakra against this ancient man was out of the question...

Looks like he'd just go with old-fashioned trickery and misdirection then!

Besides that, after this whole mess was over with, he wanted to immediately restart his training on his knowledge of fuinjutsu.

It's become important now, very important.

Naruto suddenly stopped his movement forward without warning, hopping from a stray rock that was jutting out and landing on the flat ground.

He stopped so that he could slowly move his hand to his pouch, being as delicate as he could so that he wouldn't damage his work, frail as it was.

The hand slipped into his old ninja pouch which he had kept since that incident in the train that was supposed to take him to Kyoto, keeping all of his ninja tools on hand, despite their dwindling amount.

And from there, he pulled a slip of paper out in order to inspect it, feeling a slight twinge of nostalgia just by looking at it.

It was relatively small, and had the kanji for 'suppress' right at the center of it.

It was a seal that was meant to seal chakra.

More specifically, it was a copy of the seal that his master had made so that the kyuubi's chakra could be sealed away if he ever went berserk.

"...To think that I'd ever need this thing again..." Naruto couldn't help but murmur softly, a bitter smile making it's way to his face, as it felt like history was repeating itself for him.

Though it didn't change the fact that he felt some comfort in having the slip of paper.

...That being said, it was a prototype, and it could, at best, seal a portion of the kyuubi's chakra away. Absolutely nothing in comparison to ero-sennin's creation.

Roughly, he'd say that it could seal a single tail, and that was kinda optimistic.

That would normally be enough but...well, he wanted to make absolutely sure that this seal would be enough to stop him if he ever lost control.

Naruto's grip on the flimsy piece of paper tightened, his eyes narrowing into slits, feeling sick that he could actually hurt someone he cared about if he wasn't careful.

"...This is for you guys." the blond promised, raising the seal to the descending moon. "For all of you."

He wouldn't fail them.

And with that, the shinobi carefully slipped the piece of paper into his pouch again, lowering himself to restart his sprint.

Until something caught his attention

Naruto suddenly locked up, feeling his body naturally react to what it perceived to be a threat, his instincts taking over before his head could truly grasp the situation.

The shinobi jumped into the air, backing up as someoneappeared in front of him, cutting him off from his trek back home.

At first, it just a ripple in the air in front of him, barely visible, but still there.

But then that ripple opened into some kind of portal, one that made his eyes widen to the size of saucers.

It looked just like-!

"...Found you."

A monotone voice echoed in the rocky area that he has stopped at, coming from the small figure that was -without a doubt- making his sense of danger go haywire.

To be specific, it originated from a small girl, with soulless eyes, which just so happened to be trained on him, and nothing else.

Naruto licked his dry lips, keeping his legs bent in order to accommodate for quick action lest this get ugly. "So...nice portal ya got there."

Damn, that was a stupid way to start a conversation, even for him.

And it seemed that the little girl agreed with him, since she completely ignored that forced greeting.

Instead, she just voiced out what her intent was.

"...Naruto..." the small girl started, her voice droning. "I've come to take you."

It wasn't a query.

It wasn't a suggestion.

Rather, it was framed as a matter of fact.

Needless to say, Naruto didn't like that one bit.

But there was something more important to him at the moment, something that had almost all of his attention.

"...Were you the one who made that portal?" the blond asked quietly, forcing himself to stare down the being that was making his trustworthy instincts go all over the place.

The little girl opened her mouth to respond.

But someone else beat her to it.

"No~ It wasn't her at all, nya~"

Naruto jerked his head towards the sky, his eyes widening fractionally as he saw a woman sitting down in the air.

Rather, she was sitting down on a magic circle that was being used as a floor, which in turn, just so happened to be suspended in the middle of the sky.

That woman's golden slits was focused on him, a sly smile on her face as she waved at him, fishing for his attention.

The shinobi's eyes narrowed, focusing on the woman's eyes, despite how high in the sky she was. "...I feel like I've seen you before."

The woman in the sky lazily laid herself down on her magical construct, looking down at him with an enigmatic smile. "We have. I'm hurt that you don't remember me, does the name 'Kuroka' not ring a bell to you? That's just cruel nya~"

Naruto stared at the woman in the sky, trying to think on it, before snapping his gaze back at the quiet little girl, making sure that she wasn't making any sudden movements.

She wasn't, if anything, she seemed content enough to wait a little bit longer.

So he used that chance to continue to question the girl in the sky.

"I don't remember if we met or not. Sorry." Naruto began honestly, his voice a little loud so that she could hear him properly, looking up again. "But if we have, do you mind answering a question for me?"

Kuroka tilted her head, pouting. "Hm? You want me to answer questions after you don't even remember meeting me? My, my, you're gonna break my heart at this rate."

"I'm sorry." the shinobi retorted, almost single-mindedly gunning for an answer despite his apology. "But please, this is important."

The woman in the sky continued to look down at him, humming quietly in consideration. "Well...since you were soinsistent..."

Naruto didn't even wait for her to finish her sentence. "Can you travel between dimensions?"

The words that emerged from his mouth, despite how mundane they sounded, carried significant weight and emotion within them.

They carried that weight for a specific reason.

Because that ripple that carried the two unknown people to his location, the one that the woman with golden slits created...

It looked eerily like the one that dragged him into this world to begin with.

It wasn't the same now that he had a chance to calm himself down, rather, the one that pulled him in was far more unstable than the one that this woman seemed to be able to create.

But despite the differences, it didn't change the fact that it was something, as well as a new lead to getting back home.

So it was obvious that he wanted to know whether her powers allowed her to travel between dimensions.

And at first, Kuroka, despite being surprised at the intensity that his words carried, seemed to be willing to answer.

But that ended as soon as it began.

"...I've waited long enough."

Naruto's eyes snapped back to the little girl, his instincts screaming for him to-

Several blurs quickly shot past him, spinning around him to wrap him up without warning, seeking to lock his movements into place.

The blond didn't even try and fight it, instead choosing to jump over whatever was trying to capture him, not at all bothering with holding back.

As soon as he escaped from that however, more blurs shot after him, racing to catch him in the air.

Seeing this, the shinobi acted fast, digging his hand into his pouch of tools in order to grab a kunai and a slip of paper.

With practiced ease, he wrapped the slip of paper around the metallic weapon and then swiftly threw it at the attacks that were aimed at him, prepping himself for the inevitable explosion.

And as soon as the kunai reached those blurs...

*BOOM*

It did.

The explosion quickly pushed him back and ostensibly destroyed the attacks that were aimed at him, giving him time to touch the ground again, safe and sound.

Safe and sound, but still wary.

As well as a little frustrated, as he was cut off from hearing what Kuroka had to say about her abilities.

More than that, he was running out of ninja tools by this point, it wasn't a good idea to blow up kunai anymore.

And lastly, he did not have the time to be fighting here.

As the blond continued to stew over his predicament, a certain little girl came floating towards him from the area that he had just left, her dress rustling softly in the light breeze.

More importantly than that though, were the long and thin appendages that were poking from out of her sleeves, dark in color and making a constant hissing sound that reminded Naruto of...

The shinobi straightened his back. "Snakes."

"Ohhh~ It looks like Ophis-sama has lost her patience~" a voice from above him noted with excitement.

The whiskered teen didn't even have to look up to know that Kuroka had followed him, watching from above with the excitement of a child watching their first wrestling match.

He was far too focused on the being that was slowly drifting towards him.

"...Naruto..." the one known as Ophis said out loud, as if testing the name, just to be sure. "...You're coming with me."

Sapphire irises were burning bright as their owner thinned his lips, considering. "Now...why would you want me to do that?"

Ophis ceased her seemingly inevitable movement forward, her face retaining it's blank features. "...I want you to help me...to destroy Great Red."

At first, Naruto was stunned into silence at the girl's request, remembering just what 'Great Red' was. "...And what makes you think that you're strong enough to try?"

As soon as he posited the question to the strange and somewhat threatening little girl, he immediately regretted it.

Because she answered with a smile.

Except, it wasn't, not really.

It was a facsimile of one, nearly identical for all intents and purposes.

Yet...it was also hollow.

Meaningless.

"Because I am the strongest...next to Great Red." she claimed with conviction, her blank eyes keeping him as the focal point of her regard.

The shinobi breathed, a vivid memory flashing before his eyes.

Of when he first officially met Rias, when she told him all about the supernatural world after declining her offer to become a devil.

One of the things that she mentioned to him, was the rankings of the most powerful beings in known existence.

Great Red was number one.

And number two was...

"The Ouroboros Dragon..." the shinobi muttered hesitantly, his tone indicating that it was a question as much as it was a statement.

"You got it nya~"

So said a helpful, yet annoying, woman in the sky.

Naruto clenched his fist, glaring at the little girl that made such a bold assertion, unsure whether she was what she was what she claimed to be.

But he did know one thing at least.

He didn't have the time to mess around.

So, with that belief firmly entrenched in his mind, he moved.

Without even hinting at what he was about to do, the shinobi suddenly jumped high into the air, away from Ophis and towards Kuroka.

His blue eyes registered Kuroka's surprise at this movement, getting up from her lackadaisical position just in case he was about to attack.

But, unbeknownst to her, he was building up wind chakra onto the soles of his feet.

Which was why she was caught off-guard when he suddenly stopped in the middle of the air and jumped sideways, rocketing away from both of his unwelcome 'friends'.

Getting away from the two of them, continuing on his original trajectory.

Kuroka narrowed her eyes when she realized this, quickly getting up to try and cut him off before he left the mountainous area.

But she didn't need to, as her 'leader' was way ahead of her.

Through Naruto's eyes, he was well on his way past his obstacles, fuming at the missed opportunity to get more info about dimensional travel.

That assumption turned out to be untrue however.

One second, to him, the area around him was normal.

The next, the sky turned into a dark shade of purple, with his body feeling like someone had just replaced him with a log in a kawarimi no jutsu.

That is to say, that he was moved, suddenly and inexplicably.

A barrier...!

"Shit!" Naruto cursed as he was forced to stop himself in the air, and jump down to the ground, knowing that he was caught.

There was no choice left to him, except to fight.

"...You're not getting away." Ophis' voice echoed to him, speaking to him despite the distance he had created between the two. "...Not until you stand by my side..."

Her statement didn't just seem to echo, it also felt like the very words themselves were alive with intent, moving to envelop him, trying to wrap around him and capture him with the dark promise that they held in their very depths.

Without even thinking about it, a defiant glint entered the shinobi's eye. "...So what will happen if I say; no thank you?"

The words that were uttered were more clear than before, since the being that was considered to be the second strongest had emerged from the darkness and faced him once more.

And there was no mistaking what was filled in those words this time.

"...I'm not asking." was all she said, as snakes made of dark energy emerged from her sleeves, prepping to attack.

Naruto sighed as got into a fighting stance, idly wondering why this shit only happened to him.

"So, what exactly are you going tell Rias-sempai anyway? Like, how are you going to broach the subject?"

Raynare turned her head just enough to look at Mio through the side of her eye. "Nothing complicated, I'm just going to tell her that Azazel-sama isn't involved in Kokabiel's...delusions."

The red-head that was helping her limp along frowned. "Kokabiel? I feel like I've heard that name before..."

"I think I have too." Asia piped up, her green eyes lighting up at the familiar name. "During my religious studies!"

"Well, you would." the fallen angel retorted, firmly keeping her gaze ahead. "He was an important angel...prior to his fall anyway, though not many people are aware of how or when he 'fell'. Let alone any of his past."

Raynare paused in her explanation, slowly turning to look at Asia, who was walking beside her.

It took a few seconds for her to register who exactly she was walking besides.

"...It's you." she breathed, her violet eyes widening.

A sad smile stretched across Asia's lips. "Yes...it's me. It's been a while."

Mio shifted her attention between the two, confused by this strange and sudden reaction. "Hm? Do you two know each other?"

The tired woman turned away from the human female, a grim expression replacing her shock. "...You can say that. I suppose that you could say that...I tried to kill her."

Now that made the red-head do a double-take. "Uhhhhhh...?"

"Long story."

Mio accepted that without comment.

Asia shifted uncomfortably at the memory that this talk was eliciting, trying not to flinch. "Ah...well, to be honest, it feels weird that I'm walking alongside you right now. And...well, I'm also a little scared too. But, I heard that you had a change of heart since then, right?"

Raynare didn't turn to look at her. "And where did you hear that exactly?"

Although she couldn't see the nun's expression, she could still practically hear the cheerful smile through her tone of voice.

"From Naruto-san!" she chirped. "He mentioned it in passing I think, but he said that you were gonna be involved in something important to you...I think."

Mio was watching the exchange between the two females closely, trying to work out more of what has happened between them.

So she was clearly able to see the fallen angel's expression, which was firm and defensive, immediately soften up as soon as she heard what the teenaged blond had to say.

"...Naruto...huh?" she heard her mumble under her breathe, as if the name itself held power and influence beyond it's conventional use as an identifier.

Mio didn't particularly feel like letting this conversation continue though, so she neatly decided to cut in from there. "Hey, you never finished explaining who Kokabiel was, remember?"

Raynare jerked, knocked from her thoughts. "R-Right."

The young woman cleared her throat loudly, getting back onto the original topic. "Well, I don't know much, and hopefully, you won't have to learn more about him either. But from what I do know, is that he's a man that truly embodies the word; 'arrogance'."

The red-head's eyes crinkled up at the vague answer. "Is that all you know?"

Raynare didn't answer immediately, remaining silent for a bit to actually think about the topic at hand.

She wasn't lying when she claimed that that was all she really knew about Kokabiel, as the man was already far removed from the public's eye by the time she was taken under Azazel-sama's wing.

...However, she did have a few...suspicions about the powerful man.

Regardless, her hunch was something that she definitely wasn't going to share with the teenagers beside her, due to the fact that it utilized sensitive information.

"...Yeah, that's pretty much all I know." Raynare finally answered, solemn. "Sorry. But, then again, maybe that's for the best."

Mio regarded her for a little bit, her pink irises trying to figure out whether the other woman was telling the truth. "...I see, well, I also hope that we don't have to learn more about the guy."

The red-head turned away from the fallen angel in order to look ahead, her lips set in a firm line. "Then again, we're almost at Kuoh Academy anyway. So we wouldn't have had much time to hear about much else."

The fallen angel followed the teen's gaze, seeing the sprawling buildings that made up the prestigious academy of Kuoh Town as she slowly separated from her, able to walk on her own now.

"Come on, we just gotta enter the gate, then we should be almost there." Mio urged, swiftly moving her legs a little faster now that they were in the home stretch.

Both of her companions followed, essentially jogging now, quickly getting past the gates in order to reach their destination.

The ORC club room.

Though, as they approached the seemingly abandoned building, a quiet tension began to take hold of the small group as they approached, all three of them aware that the conversation that was about to happen could get...messy.

Everyone was still recovering from the fights that they were forced to endure mere hours ago, so the prospect of a fallen angel going into the devil's base of operations, by itself, could spark outrage.

But whatever the black-haired woman had to say was definitely important, at least that's what Mio believed.

So she went ahead and stood in front of the door to Rias-sempai's base, firm in her resolve.

"Ready?" she made sure to ask the fallen woman beside her, giving her one last chance to back up from this idea.

"...As I'll ever be, I suppose." Raynare retorted with an air of acceptance, taking a step forward to open the door.

"Wait."

Raynare's hand froze mere inches away from the doorknob, stopped mid-action by her surprise rather than her respect of the request that was levied at her.

Asia quickly walked up to the fallen angel after speaking up, lightly tapping on her arm as soon as she got close. "...Can I ask you for a favor?"

Violet eyes flickered to her, a quizzical quality in their depths.

Seeing this, the human female continued. "...Look, I'm not really sure if you mean us well or not, but many things have happened since you were unconscious. So...if you really have to do this...can you please try and be as courteous as possible? I don't want anyone to deal with anymore drama today."

A small frown marred the fallen angel's features, her focus snapping from the nun to the red-head next to her, realizing something.

Both of the teens close to her seemed tired.

Whether it be mental or physical, they only just seemed to be recovering from...something.

More than that, it was obvious that Naruto's imouto had taken her in after she fell unconscious, as that was the only explanation for why she woke up in her home to begin with.

Add to that that the one making this request; Asia, was nearly killed by her around roughly a month ago, and her choice became crystal clear.

"...Got it." Raynare agreed readily, turning to the door and prepping herself for the inevitable devil blow-back. "Now let's get this over with."

All of the devils in the room stared at Sona, who's scowl managed to give everyone the impression that she was nothappy.

She was holding a small magic circle near her ear in order to communicate to the Underworld, but she obviously failed if her expression was anything to go by.

"...So we can't reach the Underworld then?" Akeno asked the obvious, just to be sure.

"It seems so." Rias affirmed lowly, sober. "But what does it mean exactly?"

"Nothing good, I can assure you." Sona responded, shutting down the demonic-made communication medium. "But...Rias was correct in believing that we shouldn't jump to conclusions too quickly."

Although the Sitri heiress indirectly cautioned everyone to not reach the worst possible assumptions about what was going on, their thoughts still swirled in their heads regardless.

"...After we get some rest, enough to fully recuperate, we should go to the Underworld to check on what's going on. Just to be sure." Rias concluded firmly, her blue-green eyes narrowed.

"I believe that that's the best course of action as well." Sona concurred sliding her gaze across the room to glance at everyone in the room. "And I think that everyone else here is in agreement."

Even as she was speaking, the many devils that comprised of the Sitri and Gremory groups were conversing quietly amongst themselves, worried about what was going on in the home of the devils as well.

Though, there was one that was staying extraordinarily quiet, despite the commotion.

Kiba Yuuto was doing nothing more than following the crowd, mindlessly allowing himself to be carried along with everyone and everything else, including his king's desire to go to the Underworld.

He didn't have any objections to it, not really, but he didn't necessarily want to go either.

Truth be told, the young man simply felt numb.

A part of him was worried for what was happening in the Underworld, yes, but that emotion was entirely trumped by his complete loss of direction.

The blond man was stuck in limbo to put it simply, torn between returning to what he was before he chose to listen to the treacherous words of Diodora, and his need to pursue justice.

So the young man stayed silent, absent-mindedly seeing Issei next to him alternate between sighing at the concept of more to deal with, and impatience.

Yuuto suspected that a certain nun had something to do with the perverted boy's restlessness.

Meanwhile, Akeno was dutifully staying near Rias, paying close attention to the proceedings, even if she looked kind of distracted occasionally.

And Koneko, for her part, seemingly decided to permanently keep her lips twisting downwards to express her displeasure at the current state of affairs.

Not like he could blame her though.

As soon as he noticed that, through the side of his eye, he managed to see his king turn towards him, determination lining her features.

The knight felt himself straighten in response, having a hunch of what was about to happen.

She was going to try and talk to him again, broaching the subject that was left since their talk in Naruto's home.

Though that was what he thought was going to happen, his suspicions were never confirmed, as right at that moment-

"Buchou, someone is here." Akeno stated seriously, speaking up so that everyone in the room could hear her, alerting them.

Rias was forced to cut her planned talk with Yuuto short as she registered what her queen had just said, clicking her tongue, not missing the relieved expression that overtook the blond's face.

He obviously wasn't looking forward to such a talk.

Newly annoyed, the Gremory heiress snapped her eyes to the entrance of the club room in order to meet this rude intruder.

Literally a second before the intruder appeared, she noticed that there was definitely more than one 'guest' that was coming in.

More than that, at least one of them was familiar to her.

And, indeed, the one that emerged from the doorway to enter the room that they were all occupied in was none other than the kohai that she left to rest.

"M-Mio-chan?" Rias questioned dumbly, so surprised that she had to say it out loud just to fully grasp that she was here.

In her defense, the last time that she saw her, she was completely withdrawn from...well...everything.

So it was a little jarring to see her up and about so quickly after that.

"...Rias-sempai." Mio spoke up in greeting, her tone indecipherable.

The Gremory heiress frowned, unsure of how to take the younger girl's appearance, but that concern was very soon forgotten.

Because right after fifteen-year old girl, another woman made herself known, coming into view.

That woman's violet eyes shifted across the room, wary, despite the fact that her body continued to move past the half-devil without missing a beat. "...I believe introductions are in order."

"...No, introductions won't be necessary." Sona disagreed slowly, newly cautious herself. "I believe that Mio-san has told us a little bit about you already...Raynare-san."

Raynare's lips thinned, freshly aware that she had the full attention of every devil in the room, already seeing many of them prepare themselves for a fight.

But there were two among them that stood out to her.

The first was the black-haired woman next to the Gremory heiress, the one with the orange ribbon, who was all but flaying her with her eyes.

Truly, if she wasn't so positive that she had never met her before, Raynare might have thought that she killed someone close to the devil.

Besides that woman though, there was another that caught her eye.

But this devil was definitely one that she had no desire to see.

"...You..." the fallen angel growled, the look that she was sending the handsome blond teen so venomous that it probably could have killed a lesser man.

Although, Yuuto was still affected by it, if his body going rigid and his stammering was any indication. "A-Ah..."

Raynare only felt her brows crease slightly at the weak response, wondering where the aggressive man that attacked her the last time they met went.

His overall attitude seemed far more conciliatory in comparison to when she first met the possibly deranged teen, and she wasn't entirely sure how to take it.

Did something happen since they last met...?

"Raynare-san." a soft voice suddenly piped up, chiding in tone. "You promised, remember?"

The fallen angel twitched, blowing out some air in frustration, but quickly turned away from the knight in order to properly center herself.

And the one that lightly chastised her was-

"Asia!" Issei called out, getting out of the Peerage's formation so that he could rush in to meet her after she moved past both Raynare and Mio, giving the fallen angel a wary glare in the process. "Why are you with-!?"

Asia was practically scooped off of her feet, making an 'eep' as she left the ground. "I-I-Issei-san! It's ok! I'm fine! And Raynare-san is..."

"Raynare-san isn't our enemy." Mio intervened without prompting, guessing that the brown-haired boy was mostly worried about the fact that the woman who had nearly gotten the nun killed was standing right next to her. "She's not here to fight."

Issei chanced a look at her, uncertain, but quietly acquiesced to her assertion.

For now at least.

As for the fallen angel, she was currently taking a few moments to properly parse through her thoughts and keep her head cool, for what would obviously be an...'interesting' discussion.

Once she felt she was ready, her violet eyes were revealed as she opened her eyelids, focusing her attention on the two heiresses of two of the most prestigious devil clans.

"Greetings, Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri, I am a representative of the illustrious leader of Grigori; Azazel-sama." Raynare began, keeping to what she knew as 'respectable behavior', despite the fact that it was almost completely foreign to her. "I'm here to inform you about a certain incident that Azazel-sama has recently become aware of, and to ensure that no...misunderstandings arise from it."

Rias, falling back on her education about just such situations, inclined her head and got serious. "It's a pleasure, representative of Azazel."

That was as far as she went however, as Sona lightly tapped her friend on the shoulder, almost like she was 'tapping her out' in order to take her place. "It truly is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Raynare-san. However, I was not aware of any such...'incident', as you put it, that could give us cause to misunderstand anything. Could you please enlighten us about the situation?"

The Gremory heiress next to her scowled at being sidelined, but understood why she took charge.

Between the two, Sona was undoubtedly the better diplomat.

That, and she supposed that the wounds on her hands could make her more irritable in the long run in these kinds of talks. These things were delicate.

...It didn't stop her from scowling though.

Raynare wasn't paying attention to that though, keeping herself focused on her limited objective. "Yes, of course. You see, Azazel-sama has discovered that one of his old comrades; Kokabiel, has been involved in some unsavory things in the past month or so. And one of those things just so happen to involve a recent...theft in the Church."

Sona narrowed her eyes, straightening her back. "Explain, please."

The fallen angel acceded to the devil's request, even if she was a little annoyed by the way she presented her demand. "...Right. Now, what I'm about to tell you will likely shock some of you, but I swear that this information is factual. But first; is everyone here aware of what Excalibur is?"

As soon as the young woman made mention of the legendary sword, she received quite the variety of different reactions by her listeners.

The kings and queens in the room obviously knew what the Excalibur was, since their eyes widened to the size of saucers.

But almost everyone else, with a few exceptions, was bewildered. Both; by the change in topic and the topic matter itself.

Specifically, Yuuto made an audible gasp at the mention of the powerful weapon, but quickly shut himself up before anyone really took notice. Not wanting to draw attention to himself.

Regardless, Raynare continued after concluding that some people there were lost. "Those of you who don't know anything about Excalibur; don't worry. You just need to know that the blade that was said to have been used by the legendary hero; King Arthur, is now possessed by the modern day Church. More than that, know that the original Excalibur has been recreated into seven different swords after it was shattered in battle long ago. And now...know that Azazel-sama suspects that Kokabiel is responsible for stealing several of those swords for an unknown reason."

The entire room fell into deathly stillness, the gravity of the situation just hitting home after several of the devils pieced together what this actually entailed.

"...So basically, the Excalibur blades, which are powerful tools that the Church had kept for, presumably, a few hundred years, were stolen by one of the leading members of Grigori." Sona practically drawled, voicing out the obvious conclusions that most would make about the situation. "It does sound like a misunderstanding waiting to happen, I suppose."

It was by that point that the fallen woman was beginning to lose her patience. "Look, I get it, you don't trust my people, it's understandable if you consider how long our two groups have been at war with one another. But I'm being straight with you lot here! Kokabiel is acting out on his own volition, seeking to spark a new clash between the three Christian factions. Azazel-sama has not authorized his actions or encouraged them in any shape or form. Besides, Azazel-sama has no interest in war..."

From there, the representative of Azazel paused, a flash of frustration lining the crinkles around her eyes as she squinted, looking at the Sitri heiress dead in the eye.

"And...neither do I." the fallen angel admitted after a few more tense moments.

Sona didn't reply, remaining mute as she listened to the words that the 'ambassador' gave her.

Everyone else was quiet too, surprised to hear what amounted to an admission of her stance on the situation. Something that definitely wasn't what a real diplomat would do.

It was genuine.

Although Sona was remaining silent, likely to consider whether Raynare was being honest or not, Rias took a step forward, sure now that-

"Why should we believe you?"

The fallen angel snapped her gaze to the black-haired girl with the orange ribbon, the one that stayed right next to the red-head, and the one that was giving her that glare before.

By the look that she was receiving, she could only reach one conclusion to explain why the devil was acting the way she was.

"You..." Raynare began, a bitter smile making it's way onto her lips. "...Really don't like me, do you?"

Akeno, raised her chin, completely in opposition to the other woman. "You're right. I don't."

Both black-haired women began to openly glare at one another, with the reincarnated devil remaining hostile, yet cold, and the fallen angel growing more and more angry the longer that their clash dragged on.

"What's your problem exactly?" the fallen angel hissed, her demeanor losing any semblance of cool serenity. "You act as if I've personally done something to you, but I'm positive that I've never met you before-"

Violet eyes blinked, the young woman that was about to proceed with a verbal beat down went inexplicably silent as she studied the other woman's eyes.

Instead of the righteous anger, now there was uncertain recognition in her own violet-colored irises.

"...Have we met, actually?" Raynare asked hesitantly, careful. "At first I thought I didn't, but...I feel like I've seen your eyes somewhere before..."

If anything, Akeno's expression just darkened further.

At first, everyone around them was rooted to the floor, surprised to see the usually amicable queen of the Gremory group act so aggressively to someone she had just initially met.

Almost everyone.

Rias and Sona weren't exactly surprised, but they didseverely underestimate her response.

And by that point, Rias saw fit to intervene, walking forward in order to place her hand on her old friend's shoulder. "Akeno."

If the reincarnated devil was going to continue to antagonize the ambassador of Grigori's leader, then she was unable to do so anymore.

Akeno couldn't, not after seeing the bandaged hand that her king used to place on her shoulder, reminding her that everyone there had just come out from a hard won fight.

"...Apologies, Buchou." she muttered quietly, only for her ears.

Roughly at the same time, Mio walked up and patted Raynare on the back, her voice low as she spoke. "Raynare-san...your mission."

The fallen angel grounded her teeth together, barely holding her fiery temper at bay.

But she managed it eventually, taking a deep breathe before she returned to her original goal in this discussion. "...Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri."

Both high-class devils perked up at hearing their names called.

Raynare continued unabated. "I've informed you both about the circumstances behind my visit, now it's up to you two; do you accept that Azazel-sama wishes to disavow Kokabiel and the actions that he has taken?"

Rias and Sona shared a look with one another, discussing with one another without words whether they should accept the fallen's words as fact.

They stayed like that for a little bit longer, before Rias turned to back to Raynare and addressed her.

"...Very well!" the red-head declared, the authority in her voice brooking no discussion. "In consideration of the fact that you've spent time alone with Mio-chan and Asia-chan without harming them, as well as my kohai's faith in your trustworthiness...we'll believe you."

Immediately, the tension in Raynare's shoulders dissipated after hearing that, her eyes softening. "I-I see...thank you for the trust that you've given me."

Behind her, Mio allowed herself to heave a sigh of relief, in a slightly better mood now that the fallen angel didn't unintentionally start a fight.

...That being said, while almost everyone there was, at the very least, somewhat glad that they didn't have to fight again, there were some that were...less than enthused.

Akeno for one, seemed to be doing her utmost best to avoid looking at the fallen angel for any stretch of time, whether out of anger or a wish to not cause anymore problems, the half-devil wasn't sure.

But, to be honest, while the teenager's actions was...off-putting, it paled in comparison to how Kiba Yuuto was reacting.

The blond teenager was staring at the ground, his grey eyes going through so many emotions so quickly that it was impossible to dissect them individually.

Throughout the entire discussion, the young man has stayed completely silent, so much so that he had pretty much become indistinguishable from the rest of the group.

But, after taking a quick scan around, Mio knew damn well that he was probably reacting the most negatively out of everyone there.

How'd she figure that?

Well, that was because his borderline apathetic front was one that the red-head herself used while she recovered back at home. Before Raynare-san woke up.

To be blunt, Yuuto has been acting strangely ever since Naruto left, and if Rias-sempai was hoping that her knightwas going to calm down after he rejoined them, then she seemed to be sorely mistaken.

As if to illustrate her point, the young man that she was focusing on took a step forward amid the relieved atmosphere. Grabbing everyone's attention by breaking 'formation' so to speak. "...Buchou, may I request a temporary leave of absence?"

Rias' eyes widened at the sudden request, shocked, yet not, if that made sense.

Issei, who was focused more on making sure that the fallen angel didn't try anything funny, felt his jaw unhinge as he whirled around on the knight. "What!?"

Yuuto couldn't look at anyone in the eye as he continued, knowing that everyone in the room was giving him different variations of their own disbelief. "...I'm sorry, but I think that I need some fresh air. As I am now, I'll only continue to be a bother to everyone here...so maybe getting a chance to relax will help a little bit."

He looked up, managing to catch his king's eye, surprisingly vulnerable. "Please..."

The Gremory heiress faced her wayward Peerage member, her countenance void of any emotion, her thoughts hidden behind that veneer of calm.

But if anyone actually looked at her pools of blue-green, they would have seen the disturbed ripples that were just underneath the surface.

It took a little bit, but eventually, Rias gave her answer.

"Very well, but please be careful, ok?"

Yuuto bowed, genuinely grateful, before swiftly moving past Mio to leave the room without another word.

It took all of a few sparse moments for someone to ask the inevitable.

"...Buchou..." Issei started, his voice tight, as if he was barely struggling to hold his emotions from exploding. "Why did you just let him go? Without saying anything? Especiallyafter...well...everything?"

The red-head pursed her lips together, looking about as conflicted as the young man felt deep inside. "...I didn't see any other way to get him to open up. And now, considering the subject matter that we have just gone through, I fear that nothing less than some time alone will give him time to heal."

Before everyone riled themselves up, as she knew that they would just out of principle, she continued hastily. "I'm sure that everyone here is more than a little...frustrated by what's going on, but please, there are extenuating circumstances behind Yuuto's actions."

Her blue-green eyes swiftly made the fallen angel their focal point, a looking more than a little displeased. "...And unfortunately, it seems that you've brought his trauma out with your discussion. Whether you meant it or not."

If anyone thought that Raynare was going to look crestfallen at her accidental faux pas, then they were sorely mistaken. "Wait, are you blaming me for this!?"

"No." Rias remarked coolly. "It's simply an unfortunate fact. The fault partially lies with me, for not taking this conversation away from the Excalibur swords as soon as it was brought up."

The admission helped cool the fallen woman's temper, but it also flared up her curiosity at the same time as she caught onto what the high-class devil was saying. "...The Excalibur swords? Is that what made that man so insane?"

"Raynare-san!" Mio reprimanded quickly, seeing her sempai scowl darkly at the young woman's blunt admission. "That was uncalled for!"

Raynare turned to her, raising an inquisitive eyebrow. "Am I wrong?"

"Enough." Sona called out, ending the conversation before it sparked the fight that it was inevitably going to start. "There is no point in arguing whether Rias' knight is stable or not, what's more important than that is understanding what's going on."

The Sitri heiress then twisted her head around to gaze at Rias, her eyes set in a firm stare. "...And only you can give us that information."

Blue-green eyes met with her friend's violet, a conversation going on between the two of them without words.

It took a little bit, but Rias eventually closed her eyes and let loose a sigh, caving in to her pressure. "You're right...you've all been more than patient with me, and Yuuto. I suppose that clarifying what's going on is only right by this point."

With that, the young woman tilted her head up, staring at the ceiling with unseeing eyes. "As Raynare-san explained, instead of a single Excalibur, there are now at least seven blades that embody the power of the original legendary weapon, and they are, no, were, under the Church's possession. But what she didn't mention was that not anyone could just wield them."

Mio leaned closer without even meaning to do so, her curiosity about the weapons increasing, knowing that everyone that didn't know much about them were doing the same as her.

Regardless, the Gremory heiress continued. "I don't have an extensive knowledge of what are the requirements for someone to be able to wield one of the Excalibur blades, but I do know that they seem to be naturally born, as well as exceedingly rare. So it should come as no surprise that the Church would eventually want to artificially create more wielders of the great swords...and Yuuto just so happens to have been involved in that attempt."

Blue-green eyes grew hazy, looking beyond the ceiling, peering into the memories of her youth. "...Years ago, the Church gave the green light to a project known as the 'Holy Sword Project', which was meant to create Excalibur users in case another war broke out between the Christian factions again. In order to experiment properly however, they needed test subjects, so they took in several orphans to help them...and Yuuto was one of them."

Issei crossed his arm, feeling a pit in the middle of his stomach, having a feeling where this was going.

Next to him, Koneko didn't say anything, remaining quiet throughout everything that has happened, internalizing all the information that was being passed out, already aware of pieces of it.

"The project was unsuccessful." Rias stated bluntly, her gaze refocusing on the here and now. "So, for whatever reason, the project leader ordered for all of the orphans under their care to be executed...with poison gas. Not leaving any evidence of the project's existence."

The red-head paused there as she began to work her jaw, obviously agitated, but soldiered on. "From what I've heard, all of the children were shepherded into a small room, where they were told that they were going to go through their 'final' test...and apparently, they were all excited that they were going to achieve a higher goal in their young lives. Not at all expecting that nearly all of them were going to get their lives snuffed out by those they trusted..."

A solemn silence followed after her words, many of the occupiers of the room unable to form words after hearing about such a tragedy.

"...I've heard about this 'project' before." Raynare remarked in the silence, her own tone of voice surprisingly respectful as well. "I've studied a bit about it during my studies with Azazel-sama, though it wasn't much. From what I remember, the Church excommunicated everyone that was involved with the project, as they were unaware of the...'experiments' that were done in their name. It might be of cold comfort, but I just thought that you all should know that almost none of the priests who were involved managed to escape from the Church afterwards."

The fallen angel then turned to Rias, locking eyes with her, frowning uncomfortably. "...And, for what it's worth, I apologize for bringing up such a traumatic past to that Peerage member of yours."

To the side of the Gremory heiress' eye, Akeno snapped to look at the ambassador of Azazel, shocked to actually hear her apologize.

But Rias ignored that. "Thank you; for the apology and for the information. Though, I couldn't help but notice that you said almost everyone involved with the project was captured by the Church?"

Raynare nodded grimly. "Yeah, from what I know, the lead organizer of the project managed to evade capture, though, I don't suggest that you mention this to that servant of yours."

The red-head set her lips in a thin line, passively accepting the other supernatural woman's advice, knowing that in his guilt for being the only one to survive that fateful day, he'd hunt for the leader purely on principle.

"...So, it's survivor's guilt then?" Sona muttered, just loudly enough for everyone in the room to hear.

Right when everyone began to turn to her, she went on, aware of their eyes trained on her. "Survivor's guilt; a mental disorder where a survivor from a traumatic event perceives that they are 'guilty' for abandoning everyone that didn't survive said event, evoking self-loathing and the overall feeling of inner turmoil. Does that sound familiar?"

Rias narrowed her eyes, grimacing. "While that sounds rather close, it doesn't fit, Yuuto doesn't have a sense of self-loathing from what I've seen, he simply has a hate for Excalibur."

Mio blinked, watching the back-and-forth, barely following along until she heard her red-head sempai's recent response, evoking a reaction out of her.

The teen quickly remembered how Kiba Yuuto looked after he heard about Excalibur again, thanks to the discussion between Raynare-san and the two high-class devils.

Then she compared that to what she had just heard; that the knight didn't have a sense of self-loathing.

She quickly concluded that, at the very least, there was a faint bit of self-loathing somewhere deep inside that blond. A feeling of inadequacy for 'not doing enough'.

"...Maybe you're looking at this incorrectly." Raynare intervened in the discussion, her tone introspective. "From what I've gathered, Rias Gremory's servant hates the Excalibur swords, correct? Yet, the blades are inanimate objects, they don't contain a will or anything along those lines. So hating upon such a thing would be borderline insanity in of itself...but what if there's a different explanation?"

Her violet irises slid across the room, drinking in the many faces around the room, many of which were lined in tension, until they focused on the two kings again.

"What if, hypothetically, Gremory's knight is actually affected by such a syndrome." the fallen angel wondered aloud. "But, in an effort to remove that self-loathing, he's moved that hatred onto the swords that the orphans were supposed to utilize? That could be an interpretation, wouldn't it? Moving his hatred onto an unachievable goal, so that he no longer has to bear with the guilt?"

Rias bit her bottom lip, mind seriously considering the idea. "...I-I'm not sure-"

"It's possible. Very much so."

The red-head was cut off by one of the last people that she thought that she'd here from agreeing with a fallen angel.

Akeno spoke up, her face stony, but her eyes sympathetic. "What the...fallen woman has claimed, it isn't unreasonable to believe that that's what's wrong with Kiba-kun. At least, I don't think so."

The Gremory heiress carefully refocused back on her queen, a sad smile stretching on her lips. "Yeah...I suppose it is possible...eh, Akeno?"

Akeno inclined her head, acknowledging what the red-head wasn't saying out loud, and thankful for it.

Meanwhile, Sona has crossed her arms by this point, tapping her foot onto the ground. "Well, this was quite the discussion, and it has revealed yet another issue that has to be dealt with, in due time. However, as far as I'm aware, nothing can be done today."

"Exactly!" Rias cut off without warning, much to Sona's irritation. "And that's why I let Yuuto go, because it's imperative that he becomes comfortable with all of us again, and for that to happen, he needs some time to himself. Basically, now that Diodora is dead, there is no one that could invoke his hatred of Excalibur, and he should eventually return to normal."

"Unless you consider that the rogue fallen angel; Kokabiel, has apparently stolen those very weapons, and was apparently last sighted around Kuoh Town..." Sona remarked dryly.

The Gremory heiress nodded, aware of that. "I know, but we are the imoutos of two Maou, unless the man is insane, I don't see him attempting to attack us or anything. More than likely, he's just here to lay low, and we'll never even see him. To add to that, that was the last sighting of him, it's entirely possible that the man has moved on to a different location. Which is why I don't think that Yuuto will even try and search for the swords, it would be a waste of time."

Sona didn't exactly look overjoyed by this logic, but even she had to admit that the idea had merit. "Alright then...what do you exactly have planned then?"

Rias smiled, glad that she asked. "We need to head to the Underworld, if only to make sure everything's alright. If possible, we'll rest there for a little bit and give Yuuto time to wind down, along with everyone else. Though, before we go, we should leave some kind of notification for Naruto, Yuki, and Maria of where we have gone. Just to be sure. In our time away, hopefully my knight will get over this, like last time."

"...Hoh? So you're planning on intentionally keeping that guy out of the loop so that he'll forget about Excalibur?" Raynare couldn't help but drawl in question, a lazy smile touching at her lips.

Frowning, the red-head stared down the fallen angel. "You don't approve?"

In response, she just shrugged. "Nah, manipulation is pretty much what I expected from you devils. That's all."

Knowing on some level that it was bait, Rias refused to answer that jibe. "...As I was saying, until then, we should get some rest. Yuuto should be in a better mood by tomorrow, and hopefully so will everyone else."

Acknowledging this as the signal to leave, the devils of both Peerages began to converse among themselves about all that has happened, many of them making their way to the exit.