This chapter is pretty text-heavy and it has been a while since I've written. Keep any eye our for any mistakes or gaps in logic and I'll fix them later.

10 Days until Rating Game

A morning sun was still rising in the east over a few mountains in the distance. In the faint rays of sunlight, a group of people were standing outside a lavish looking villa nestled among the trees of the forest. In front of the villa was a large sparkling pond surrounded by a ring of freshly trimmed bushes. Off to the side of the pond was the cluster of Roman columns, not really sure why they were there but they were probably just for decoration. In essence, it was a fairly nice place that exhumed a comforting yet natural air.

Basically, this place was really expensive.

Standing in front of the villa in a large patch of grass were Tatsumi and the Occult Research Club. Everyone was in their training clothes, which was pretty much what they wore in PE, and were ready to train. The members of the Occult Research Club stood in a line while Tatsumi stood in front of them, leaning a bokken against his shoulder. The green-eyed teen was bored and tired. After dealing the Abomination last night, Tatsumi found it hard to get back to sleep so he stayed up. And thus the story of Raccoon-Eyes Tatsumi continued.

"Alright, before we begin allow me to make something perfectly clear to all of you." Tatsumi narrowed his raccoon-ringed eyes. "In the next few days, I'm going to be an absolute monster towards you all." He spelled out, his voice leaking with restrained malice.

"There will be moments where you hate me but...this is what's necessary for you to grow stronger." He then assumed his usual look. "Any questions?"

Kiba cleared his throat, stepped forward, and pointed at Tatsumi. "I do actually," he said, his usual polite tone being replaced with a serious one. "Tatsumi-san, before begin training, I think it would be fair if you perhaps did a demonstration of your capabilities."

"Oh? Why do you think that?" Tatsumi asked while looking straight into Kiba's eyes, making the blonde boy flinch a bit in his place but still remained resolute.

"As you have probably guessed, fighting against Riser and his peerage is gonna be the toughest challenge we'll be facing in our lives yet. If you're gonna be the one to prepare us for it, I think it would only be fair if you showed just how strong you are so we would all know that we made the right decision in allowing you to train us," Kiba stated firmly while his fellow peerage members looked a bit uncertain if it was such a good idea. "Plus, I think we'll all find that attitude will be justified."

Tatsumi cocked his head to the side while maintaining his steely gaze on Kiba. "I guess that would be fair since this is does concerns your future. So... what would you have me do then?"

The blonde-haired devil allowed a small, almost unnoticeable smirk to appear on his face. "I think facing off against me in a duel would suffice enough... if it isn't too much trouble to you, of course."

"In other words, you want to know if I'm capable of killing you." Tatsumi sighed and heaved the bokken over his shoulder. "I guess you're using this as some sort of excuse to fulfill a selfish agenda."

The blonde knight narrowed his eyes. "Are you trying to imply something?"

"Sure am." Tatsumi nodded before shooting a piercing glare at Kiba. "But, I'll keep those comments to myself," he stated with a lazy shrug, "I'm way too tired to argue with you."

Kiba glanced at his peerage members and was greeted with questioning and curious stares. "So now what?"

"Consider that strike one, pretty boy," The green-eyed swordsman threatened. "Get to three and you'll wish you didn't," His eyes practically glowed with malice. "I guarantee it."

He stated, "If you want a duel then we'll duel." He smirked and jabbed his thumb into his chest. "But don't think that I'm going to go easy on you just because you're a pretty boy."

"I would expect nothing less," Kiba replied with a keen smile. "Finally, I get to see what you can do up close."

Tatsumi and Kiba stood a distance away from each other, bokken in hand, and their eyes locked together. The ORC looked on with both interest and anxiety. The interest was in how this would actually turn out. Kiba and Tatsumi were both fast, they were both skilled, and they both experienced. They also held a mutual dislike for each other which no one clearly understood. The anxiety came from the possible...repercussions that this could have, pissing off your teacher was never a good thing.

"Are you ready?" Kiba called out as he took his stance.

Tatsumi also took his stance. "Sure."

With both combatants ready, the two dashed at each other with blinding speed before meeting halfway in a flurry of swift blows. The two traded blow for blow with neither side gaining the advantage over the other. They were in complete equilibrium.

The blonde knight smirked. "He's not bad."

Tatsumi frowned as he carefully balanced out Kiba's blows with his own. He was especially careful to not make it appear as if he was losing or that he was winning. Simply "equalizing" would be enough to get a gauge of Kiba's abilities. "He's sloppy."

The two speedy fighters then jumped way from each other, putting at least a couple yards between them. No one moved, not even the onlookers, as an era of silence overtook the battle. Neither Tatsumi or Kiba dropped their stance or lowered their guard. Even though nothing was happening, one could practically feel the pressure of the tension in the air rising.

"He killed four fallen angels and a small army exorcists with this?" Kiba doubted as he lowered his stance to get better leverage. "I find that hard to believe."

"His technique are as basic and low-level as they come." Tatsumi grimaced as his stomach growled. '"Why am I so hungry? I just ate twenty minutes ago."

Kiba suddenly darted towards Tatsumi at the fastest speed demonstrated by either fighter. The blonde looked like a jet as he sped towards his opponent, his bokken poised to deal the next, and possibly, the last blow. But Tatsumi didn't back down. He put his guard up and anticipated Kiba's blinding attack.

"Hyah!" Kiba slammed his bokken down on Tatsumi with both hands. But it was blocked.

"Hmm, that particular blow was strong," the green-eyed swordsman thought as he balanced out Kiba's strength with his own. "But his moves are about as telegraphed as they come."

Tatsumi pushed Kiba back but the speedy knight went right back at Tatsumi. The green-eyed swordsman show no expression before he swung low at the advancing Kiba. The knight rolled out of the way and into striking position. "Tsk."

"I got you!" Kiba proclaimed as he struck low at Tatsumi's waist. "Perfect!"

"As if."

Kiba's eyes widened when he saw his attack blocked and a counter strike coming right for his head. He ducked and rolled out of the way before swiftly getting back to his feet.

Tatsumi hoisted his bokken up on his shoulder. "That wasn't a bad attack," he said, much to everyone's shock.

The blonde knight blinked at the praise, "You're not bad yourself."

"Too bad it was the only impressive move that you've demonstrated so far." The brown-haired assassin finished with a smirk.

Kiba's eyebrow twitched at that insult.

Tatsumi's smirk disappeared. "Easily insulted; possibly indicating a lack of emotional control," His grip on his sword tightened.

With that, the brown-haired former assassin jetted forward towards Kiba, who braced himself for the incoming blow. When the brown-haired teen was close enough, he bent down low to strike up.

"Is this the best you can do Tatsumi?" Kiba mocked before his eyes suddenly went wide when his opponent switched hands. "A feint!?"

Kiba jumped back from the blow before thrusting forward at the advancing Tatsumi. The green-eyed teen tilted his head to the side just as the blade came straight for his face. Seeing his opportunity, Tatsumi slashed at Kiba's waist only for the blonde to spin to the side to avoid it. Tatsumi dug his heel into the ground and spun to strike just as Kiba came down on him.

"Back to square one." Kiba grit his teeth and frowned.

Tatsumi's stomach growled. "Well...that ain't good."

The two swordsman suddenly disappeared in a burst of blazing speed and traded blows at an unreal pace. Rias and the rest of her peerage watched with awe as Tatsumi and Kiba seemingly phased in and out of existence, only appearing to exchange blows. Neither side had the definite edge. Neither side lost speed or power and neither side lost momentum. For all intents of purposes, they were completely equal.

"Tatsumi-kun sure is strong,'" Kiba thought to himself as he continued to strike and block at extreme speeds. "But, how is he this strong as a human? Special training? Innate ability? I'm not sure...but something is off."

In Tatsumi's mind: "So this is all he can do. How...disappointing."

With that the two swordsman clashed swords one more time before they jumped away from each other. The peace didn't last forever and the two went back at each other once more.

However, this time was different. While the flurry of strikes hadn't changed, there was something underneath. Something boiling underneath the surface.

"I've got you now!"Kiba swung his sword...but hit nothing.

The blonde knight as well as the spectators blinked in shock and confusion. It was strange. Tatsumi was here one moment but when Kiba took a swing at him, it seemed like he just...vanished. Almost like he wasn't even there. Kiba looked all around for his vanished foe but found no trace of him. It didn't seem the others had anymore luck in finding the missing assassin either. They were all looking around as well.

"Where did he-!" Kiba stopped when he felt something poke him at the base of his skull.

"Tag, you're it."

The blonde knight's eyes widened to the size of plates before ever so slowly turning his head to look over his shoulder. What he saw was Tatsumi with a rather bored and uninterested expression. Kiba's shocked blue orbs slowly glanced over to his comrades and found their expressions were just as dumbfounded as his own.

"So shocked that you can't even speak?" the former assassin inquired as he poked Kiba in the forehead to grab his attention. "If the roles were reversed I suppose I would react the same way."

The knight remained silent, probably still from shock so Tatsumi kept talking. "By the way, I could have done that at anytime."

That seemed to snap Kiba out of it. "So this entire time you were toying with me?" he questioned, irritation obvious in his voice.

Tatsumi sighed, he knew this was going to happen. In terms of skill and ability, he and Kiba were worlds apart. Make no mistake, the knight was decent speed and strength but all it wasn't like Tatsumi was trying to win that skirmish. If this were a real battle to the death, Tatsumi would waste no time cutting Kiba down. That was what it meant to be an assassin. At its core mercy is merely a responsibility not a right. Kill your target before they can kill you. Unfortunately it didn't work out that way.

"Well, technically speaking I was testing your capabilities." Tatsumi stated with a sweeping hand gesture. "The purpose of today was to access the strengths and weaknesses of everyone here." This statement made everyone arch an eyebrow. "Besides, you were the one that challenged me, remember?" Everyone looked at Kiba. "The only one you have to blame for getting embarrassed is yourself."

Green eyes glanced down to see the Kiba's grip tighten on his bokken. It was obvious that he didn't like that remark and he didn't like what just happened either. Tatsumi gave the knight a bored look as the blond boy sighed and walked to his comrades on the sidelines.

"This guy," he thought. "He's going to have an agenda with me now. And he didn't like me to start with." He snorted and inhaled sharply, "What is his deal anyways? I didn't start the fire, but he is definitely fanning it."

"As I was saying." Tatsumi stabbed the tip of his bokken into the ground and placed a hand on his hip. "We have ten days until the Rating Game with Raiser. The way you are now...you're not going to win. You're all hopeless."

Upon hearing that, Issei started, "Hey! We're not-!"

"You're not what?" Tatsumi challenged, glaring at the pawn from the corner of his eye.

The pawn wanted to say that wasn't true but soon found his mouth had betrayed him. In all honestly, he wasn't sure if they could win but there was always a chance...no matter how slim. The perverted boy glanced at his comrades to find that they didn't necessarily like that comment either. But, what could they say?

Asia raised her hand. "So...um...what exactly will be doing?"

The green-eyed swordsman smirked unconsciously. "I'm glad you asked that," he said, "Each of you is unique so you'll either have your own regime or share one with one of your comrades." He pointed his bokken at a tired Issei. "Issei, for example, is going to be swimming in that pond while wearing a suit of armor."

Said teen's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and his jaw practically hit the floor at that statesmen. Despite the humorous reaction, Tatsumi's face remained blank and expressionless even though he did find the image to be oddly amusing.

"I'm going to be doing what!?" Issei shouted in outrage, not really surprising anyone that he did so.

The other members of the ORC cringed the exercise that Issei had to do. In was, in no meaning of the word, practical. In fact it was more dangerous than anything. A low-level devil like Issei would have a hard time keeping afloat in a suit of armor let alone actually sleeping in it.

Tatsumi maintained his blank and expressionless face as he calmly replied, "I said that you're going to be wearing a suit of armor and swimming in that pond. What part don't you understand?"

"The whole swimming in a suit of armor thing!" Issei countered in an outraged manner. The perverted boy's eyebrow twitched at the very thought that question had even been asked. Was Tatsumi trying to kill him!? "I'll die! I'll drown! I can't swim in a suit of armor!"

"Well, if you die it would be pretty obvious you drowned," the human teen replied with a sarcastic deadpan. "I won't expect you to die from dehydration."

Issei deflated, crumbling into a ball on the ground. "If you're trying to be funny then it isn't working."

"Don't worry Issei-kun, I have an idea."

Issei turned his head to see Rias giving him a reassuring smile. The warm smile on the Buchou's face did comfort him a bit but it didn't wither away all of his anxiety. While he was sure that Tatsumi wasn't going to let him die and that this was all an attempt to make him stronger, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous. It was only natural that water and heavy armor didn't really go together. Only a dead fellow and a water grave could result from such a careless pairing.

A red magic circle appeared and Rias's familiar, in human form, appeared. "She'll save you if you start to drown," Rias offered with a smile.

"A-alright then." Issei gulped before turning to Tatsumi. "Where is the suit of armor?"

The human teen pointed near the pond where an incomplete suit of armor laying on the ground. It was the kind of armor that knights wore in a time long past. This meant two things: it was all metal and it was very heavy. It was a perfect instrument of death. How ironic, that a garment meant to protect would cause death.

"This is bullshit!" Issei cursed as he ambled over the armor, Rias's familiar following closely behind.

With Issei getting started on his exercise, Tatsumi turned his attention to the others. While scratching the back of his head Tatsumi turned his focus to Koneko who, surprisingly, wasn't munching on anything. She was a rook piece from what Rias and Sona said. Apparently the rook piece was practically like a tank, it possesses great physical strength and endurance but usually lacked speed. He had never seen Koneko really move that fast but it didn't necessarily mean she was slow considering devils were stronger than humans to begin with.

"Hmm, I'm not sure exactly what she fights like but it would probably be a good idea to test her speed." The swordsman thought before shooting Kiba a look. "And he's a knight, right?"

Knights, in a sense, were like the polar opposites of the rooks. Rather than having the high strength and endurance of the rooks, knights boosted high speed and were usually more fragile than their rook comrades. Of course, that didn't mean that all rooks were slow and that all knights weren't strong or resilient. There are exceptions to every rule after all.

"I already got an idea of what he is capable of but I can probably use this to my advantage."

"Koneko-chan and Kiba, you're next," the green-eyed teen stated, pointing his bokken at the duo.

There was no visible reaction on Koneko's part while Kiba looked like he was focused on something else. The distant look in his eyes was all the evidence needed to see that. Tatsumi could think of a number of things that the blonde swordsman could have been thinking about. All of them...were a pain in the ass.

"I'll take your silence as a cue to go on." Tatsumi coughed awkwardly into his hand. "You two will be sparring with each other all day." He motioned towards a bag that was placed at his feet. "Then when you're done you will fill out reports on what your opponent was like." They both nodded. "Now begin."

Without a word the two veteran devils turned and walked away to find a space big enough to begin their mock battle. Tatsumi gave an approving nod and turned to the three remaining members of the ORC: Asia, Rias, and Akeno.

"I saved you three for last because you're going to be following similar training for today," he said. "I prepared these lists for you." Tatsumi produced three pieces of paper from his pockets and handed them to the remaining devils.

Rias quirked an eyebrow at her list. These were just normal strength training exercises: five hundred push-ups, five hundred sit-ups, and a five-kilometer run. In comparison to Issei, Konkeo, and Kiba, her regime was surprisingly easy and simple. Rias was shocked that Tatsumi had gone easy on her. Although there were still nine days left for that to change. Her green-blue eyes shifted to see that Akeno and Asia shared her expression. They must have had the same exercises as well.

"Get on those exercises immediately if you will," Tatsumi said in a very businesslike manner.

The trio of devils nodded before scampering off to find an empty spot to do their exercises. As they did so, Tatsumi took stock of what everyone was doing. Issei was struggling to 'swim', more like in the lake with that strange woman watching over him. Koneko and Kiba were completely immersed in their sparring session, their outfits already showing the battle damage.

With all of his disciples in check, Tatsumi let out a sigh before sitting down on the ground. His green eyes narrowed slightly, "Enjoy yourselves while you can, the gloves come off in the days to come," he thought without emotion. "From dusk to dawn, I'll train you all even if I have to break you in the process."

8 Days Until Rating Game

Rias breathed heavily as she bit back the pain wrecking havoc through her system. Her whole body ached and she could already feel bruises starting to form. There was not a single part of her body that didn't hurt. Even her workout clothes reflected how much she hurt. They were disheveled, covered in dirt, and were even ripped in some places. Her red bra was visible on the right side and one of the legs of her pants had been detached completely. She wiped the sweat from her brow as she stared down her opponent.

In front of her, in his typical sword stance, was Tatsumi. The former swordsman's look was hard and he held a bokken in his hand. While Rias was looking worse for wear, Tatsumi was completely fine. Not a single hair was out of place. This was the training that she had faced. The point was to battle Tatsumi as effectively as she could using only physical attacks. No magic at all.

"That's enough of a break," Tatsumi stated. "Prepare yourself."

Rias grunted and held up her hands in a fighting stance.

Tatsumi suddenly bolted forward and Rias braced herself. She sidestepped the downward strike and threw a punch at Tatsumi's head. He spun around it and slashed high.

"Gah!" Rias put her arms up to block the blow with her forearms. She winced as the wood slammed against her pale skin. The force of the blow sent her skidding back but she remained standing. Her forearms throbbed from the pain but she ignored it and locked on her target.

The brown-haired swordsman sidestepped the incoming blow and easily worked his way around Rias's inexperienced strikes.

"You're too slow." Tatsumi grabbed her wrist and tossed her over his shoulder. "Come at me like you mean it."

Rias hissed in pain as she hit to the ground but quickly got to her feet, her hand cloaked in a red energy. However, before anything could come of it, Tatsumi grabbed her wrist and painfully wrenched her arm behind her back. Rias winced at the pain and struggled. Big mistake.

The devil's struggles only made the pain intensify and shoot up her arm. This hold that Tatsumi had her in was surprisingly effective despite how simple it must have looked. The results were painfully dreadful. Although, it was strange the brown-haired teen was able to hold her in place like he was doing. How...peculiar.

"I told you no magic," Tatsumi chided, letting her go but not before giving her a wrist a twist.

In all honestly, he had expected Rias-senpai to her lose her cool at some point which was perfectly understandable given the savage ass-whopping she was receiving. Luckily he predicted she was going to use magic or the results would have been...messy.

Rubbing her wrist after Tatsumi let go, Rias replied. "I don't see why I even have to do this." The red-haired senpai glared at her kohai. "I don't need to do physical training. I just need to master the Power of Destruction. It is our greatest weapon against Riser!"

The green-eyed swordsman sighed in exasperation before poking Rias in the chest, causing her sizable bust to jiggle in the process. Tatsumi's eyes focused on Rias like a falcon about to swoop down to claim its prey. "Why?" he repeated. "It's because you're weak! Magic and abilities are great but using them too much creates a reliance on them!"

The pure-blooded devil listened as Tatsumi went on. "When you become reliant on your abilities, you create an exploitable weakness for yourself. All it would take would be for your opponent to be physically stronger and faster than you and you're done." Rias blinked in surprise. "Answer me honestly senpai. If we were fighting for real do you really think you'd be able to hit me?"

Rias flinched as the memory of the altercation between Tatsumi and Kiba flashed in her mind. No one saw him move and if he wanted to, he could have killed Kiba or rather...anyone else if he wanted to. Admitting defeat, Rias gave a downcast look and shook her head.

"Then you see where I'm coming from?" Rias nodded. "You could have all the power in the world but it wouldn't mean a thing if you didn't last long enough to use it. Now, let's proceed." He pulled something out of his pockets.

The red-haired devil nodded and assumed her fighting stance once more. However, her face drained of color when she noticed what the objects in Tatsumi's hand where. They were definitely knives, throwing knives to be exact. They were thin yet quite sharp. Rias could tell that much from here. Without so much as a warning, Tatsumi threw them at his senpai.

Caught off guard, Rias clumsily stumbled out of the way of the lethal projectiles. "Are you serious!?"

"Don't worry, I'm not aiming for vital spots," Tatsumi reassured with a sly smirk. "Besides, it gives you more of an incentive to improve your speed and reaction time."

With that, Tatsumi threw another handful of knives. Rias grit her teeth as she dodged the lethal projectiles as they were sent her way. But one of them cut her arm, drawing blood as it whizzed by. She winced but didn't stop moving as to dodge the others that followed.

Once all the knives were gone, Rias charged towards Tatsumi and gathered the rest of her strength. Tatsumi didn't move as his senpai charged towards him.

"Hyah!" Rias punched forward.

The green-eyed assassin caught it before kneeing her in the solar plexus. Rias coughed violently as she held her gut in pain. But that was short-lived before Rias retaliated with a flurry of pitifully slow and weak blows. Tatsumi danced around her subsequent strikes before retaliating with his own in the form of a sharp strike across the face.

"Ah!" Rias whined in pain before suddenly spinning around to try and catch Tatsumi off guard.

The green-eyed swordsman evaded and Rias grit her teeth. Tatsumi scoffed as he punched her twice in the stomach before kicking her in her ribs, sending her away. The red-haired devil staggered back but remained firmly on her feet. Tatsumi quirked an eyebrow.

"She's quite tenacious," he noted as he ducked under her side hook. "I expected her to give up by now."

Tatsumi pulled his leg back and swept Rias off her feet. The red-haired senpai's eyes widened as the sudden realization of what happened hit her like a ton of bricks. She was falling. With a thud, Rias hit the ground like a sack of potatoes but didn't get back up this time. She heaved heavily as her chest rose and fell at a rapid rate. Her eyes were sealed shut and she desperately gasped for air.

The brown-haired swordsman watched his exhausted senpai with narrowed eyes. "Despite taking such a beating she still continues to fight.'" He glanced at the knives he had thrown, most of them were lodged in trees. "I suppose I may have underestimated her." He sighed. "If all the others share her tenacity, this may not be so difficult."

"I suppose that is enough for today," Tatsumi said, looking down at his senpai one last time before turning away to leave. "Tomorrow is a new day."

7 Days Until Rating Game

A waxing gibbous sat high on its throne in the sky as dusk approached. A chilling breeze weaved through the forest until it was freed by an opening where a lone figure sat in the middle. The figure sitting in the middle of the opening was Tatsumi. The teen sat crossed-legged, his eyes closed, arms folded, and his bokken splayed across his lap. The brown-haired swordsman had been here for an hour waiting for his subject to arrive. She wasn't exactly late but she sure was taking her sweet time to get here.

"There are times like this where I wish I had a watch," the green-eyed teen mused internally. "I have enough money to buy my own cell phone service but not enough to get a watch?" He shifted a bit. "Wait, my phone has a clock on it." Then he suddenly deflated. 'I left it in the villa.'

"Here I am, Tatsumi-kun," a voice interrupted said teen's internal muse. "Sorry for being late."

The brown-haired 2nd year looked over his shoulder to see Akeno in her workout clothes. She had the usual closed eye smile on her face and had her hands folded curtly at her legs. Tatsumi got to his feet, dusted himself off, grabbed his bokken, and jabbed it into the ground.

"Alright, now that you're here we can start the training." Akeno nodded before Tatsumi held up his finger. "From what I observed over the last few days, you and Rias have similar issues; a lack of close combat training."

The raven-haired senpai nodded in agreement and flashed her signature smile. "Such a weakness is to be expected from 'wizard' types like me and Buchou," she stated knowingly, "Pawns usually make up the front line so there is really no point for the back line to be trained in close quarters."

The green-eyed assassin nodded. "Good, I'm glad that you realize what the problem is."

Akeno giggled. "Of course."

"But, there is still one matter we need to discuss."

Confused, the raven-haired senpai cocked her head to the side. "Oh? And what might that be?"

Tatsumi's face turned dead serious. Now, that wasn't saying that his previous expression wasn't serious, it was simply that this look was dead serious. Upon seeing that look, the smile on Akeno's face faded and was replaced with a displeased frown. Her eyes opened to reveal hollow violet-colored orbs. It was definitely not the look that would normally be expected from the beauty.

Tatsumi began, his voice ridged and sharp, "The sadism needs to stop."

The violet-eyed beauty didn't say anything but Tatsumi noticed her eyes narrow slightly. Seeing that Akeno wasn't going to say anything, Tatsumi went on, "You're going to get the others killed one day if you don't stop."

Akeno cocked her head to the side and it was obvious that she was irritated now. "I find it asinine that such my personal tastes would be such an inconvenience." She put her hand on her hip. "How did you even find out about that anyways?"

Tatsumi cringed grimly as a phantom visage of a certain imperial general appeared in his head. "Let's just say that I'm familiar with sadists," he admitted. "More familiar than I'd care to be."

Seeing an opportunity, Akeno giggled and placed a hand on her cheek. "Oh my, I never expected my adorable kohai to have a taste of-"

With that, Tatsumi practiced his tomato impression but despite his very apparent embarrassment, his face remained serious.

"T-this isn't about me," he interjected in a shaky attempt to regain his composure, . "I'm serious Akeno." He quickly regained his composure and added, "I'm not telling you to give it up forever. At the very least, you can not be sadistic for one battle."

The raven-haired senpai narrowed her eyes at the comment but took it at face value. "I don't see why that is such a concern," she stated honestly. "If I can defeat my opponent what does it matter if I play with them a bit?"

The green-eyed teen scoffed and glared at his violet-eyed senpai. "The problem is that you're wasting time and energy 'playing' with your opponents even when you clearly have the power to end it quickly," he said. "You're setting yourself up to fail."

"Oh? And how is that?"

Tatsumi's glare intensified, making Akeno shiver slightly under its powerful gaze. "With all the energy you're wasting, it would be easy for a foe to trick you and make you use all of your energy torturing them." He cracked his neck. "Or, because you used all of your energy you can't do anything useful in the heat of battle." He turned to the side. "If one of your comrades was about to die and you had the power to save them, but used all of your energy torturing your foe, what would you do?"

Akeno didn't answer but her face grew noticeably lighter and tender. Tatsumi sighed as he thought back to his previous life. He was all too familiar with not being able to save comrades in need. Despite knowing that your comeuppance could come at any time, it didn't take away the sting. There was nothing worse than losing a comrade and friend. But...that was just way the dice were rolled.

"There is nothing worse than not being able to save your comrades when they're right in front of you."

Violet eyes widened with surprise when those words hit her ears. They were...filled with emotion. She could feel the sadness and pain in that sentence. It was too...ripe to be something fact or insincere.

"Tatsumi-san." said teen looked up to see a somber yet compassionate look on his senpai's face. "What aren't you telling us?"

"A lot of things."

She glared, "Be honest."

"That was being honest." He cringed.

The green-eyed swordsman shook his head. "It's nothing to concern yourself with," he said, his eyes hardening to disguise any bit of sadness they once held. "Besides, it's in the past now. It isn't like talking is going to change what happened."

"What did happen?"

"Well...I had friends," he started. "And I couldn't save them, that is the condensed version but the point remains."

"Maybe it will help to talk about it."

"Perhaps." He shrugged. "Although, my main concern right now is training you for the Rating Game."

A frown marred Akeno's face as she absorbed Tatsumi's words and the last bit of emotion vanished from his eyes. "If we win...will you tell me what happened?"

"And why would I do that?"

"Closure?" she offered with a friendly smile.

Tatsumi blinked three times before slapping his face with his palm. "Honestly, you really shouldn't pry me for information," he said. "There is obviously a reason that I can't tell you." He gestured towards the night sky with his free hand. "As long as secrets don't hurt each other then what's the problem?"

"But-"

"Enough!" He commanded before taking a practiced stance, one very different from the one he normally used. "Just focus on the task at hand. When the time is right...all will be revealed."

It was obvious she didn't like that response but she nodded and said, "Alright."

"Good, now let's begin." He cringed. "I must be crazier than I thought."

-Hours Later-

Akeno laid on the ground, breathing heavily. Her bountiful chest bounced with every desperate breath she took. Her body was decorated with bruises, scrapes, and a cut here and there. Unpleasant pain was the paint and her body was the canvas. Her workout suit reflected this as the white shirt she was wearing had been practically reduced to shreds, give a clear look at her impressive mammaries.

Essentially, someone put her through the wringer and quickly put her back into it.

"Not bad at all...but not good either. She's only slightly better than Rias which isn't saying much but..." Tatsumi commented, cracking his neck as he did so.

"Alright, that is enough for today," he said, looking up at the orange sky of the setting sun. "Tomorrow is a new day."

6 Days until Rating Game

One Koneko Toujou couldn't see anything. There was nothing around her but everlasting darkness. A devil that couldn't see in the dark? A bird without wings, correct? Not if the devil was being blinded by a black cloth tied around her head. Of course, this was planned. The blindfold and the extremely heavy weights on her arms and legs were all part of the training. She didn't quite get it but...she was doing it.

Koneko winced as a something slammed into her shoulder. It didn't exactly hurt but it definitely stung.

Another blow struck her in the in the gut.

"Koneko-chan." Said first year turned to the source of the sound which was directly to the side of her. "Try to sense me out and block my attacks," he advised. "The point of this training is to prepare you against fast opponents."

Koneko's mouth opened but before she could say anything she was struck in the stomach. Again, it didn't hurt but it stung. The white-haired first year's brows furrowed as she stood quietly, trying do what her senpai advised. She focused, paying attention to every sound and feeling for even the faintest of vibrations in the air.

There!

Koneko raised her arm to block but it was too slow and the bokken slammed into her shoulder. "Tsk." She grit her teeth. Too slow.

Again!

Whack! The bokken slammed into her side. That one was definitely faster than the other. "He's changing speeds," Koneko deduced before taking a deep breath, centering herself, and sliding into a combat stance. "I'll defeat you senpai!"

-Hours later-

Koneko sat on the ground, hugging her legs, and staring at a tree. The weights and the blindfold had been removed, but her workout clothes were a mess. Just like Akeno-senpai and Rias-senpai, her clothes had been severely damaged during her training session. But, whereas Rias and Akeno had large tears in their clothing, Koneko only had small rips which was pretty outstanding considering all the times she was hit. It was still caked with dirt though.

"I didn't block a single one," she grumbled mentally. "I lost."

In the background, Tatsumi observed his kohai's internal turmoil with a puzzled expression. "There...is something wrong here," he noted as he resisted the urge to slap his face with his hand. "But, I get the feeling my presence is making it worse." He sighed and looked up at the orange sky of the setting sun. "Tomorrow is a new day."

5 Days until Rating Game

"Ah, there you are Tatsumi-kun."

Said teen looked around to see Kiba coming through the treeline and into the clearing Tatsumi had been using to train Akeno, Koneko, and Rias. The blonde-haired knight had the typical "nice guy" smile on his face. The knight also had the bokken that Tatsumi requested be brought and he was wearing the weights that had been prepared for him. Everything was in order so there was no need to beat around the bush.

The green-eyed teen turned to face his fellow second year and heaved his own bokken over his shoulder. Kiba stopped walking when he was just a few feet away from Tatsumi and his smile vanished, being replaced with a serious look coupled with a steely gaze.

'Hmm, it seems he's still ticked off,' Tatsumi thought, taking note of the aggravated feeling he was getting from the blue-eyed knight. 'This might be a problem if he doesn't get over it.'

"Kiba," Tatsumi called out. "Luckily for you, I gained firsthand experience what you're issues are." The knight did not react. Tatsumi narrowed his eyes.

"You don't know any sword techniques do you?" he asked. "To me, it just seemed you were trying fight me in a battle of speed." He pointed his finger at the knight like a pistol. "If my guess is correct than basic swordplay honed over the years is all you've got."

Kiba scoffed. "You can criticize me for that, but weren't you doing the same?"

"I could have beaten you from the first move," Tatsumi pointed out, much to Kiba's ire. "If I had used one of my techniques from the very beginning then you would have lost...quicker." He spelled out bluntly, "I hate to say this but if I wanted to kill then we wouldn't be having this conversation right now."

The devil pretty boy didn't response but he gulped a bit and his eyes widened slightly at the possibility of meeting his untimely demise so quickly. He could only imagine what that would feel like, being so swiftly cut down in a way. It wasn't something he contemplated or even had to think about. He, however, was sure that Tatsumi's statement wasn't just buffing himself up. And that was the most frightening part.

"I get what you're saying," Kiba said, his face barely hiding his nervousness.

Tatsumi rolled his eyes at the blonde devil. "Look, I don't what your problem is with me but you need to get over it."

Kiba folded his arm and arched an eyebrow, "Why do I need to get over it? If I'm not mistaken you're not too fond of me either."

"Fair enough."

"So what are we going to about it and why does this factor into the Rating Game?"

Tatsumi rubbed his nose, "Well, I'm sure we both have a reason that we don't like each other." He said, "But, it is best that you don't bring your baggage into the Rating Game."

Sighing, the blonde knight shrugged. "I hate to admit it but you're right." He said, "Even though this wouldn't be happening if you were honest from the beginning."

"He's probably pointing out my lies." The human observed, noticing the way Kiba was staring at him. "Alright then, can we agree to put it aside just this one time?"

"Only for Bachou."

"Works for me."

"I have just one question though."

Tatsumi blinked in confusion as Kiba's aura darkened, a lot. It was thick but it was nothing compared to the murderous auras of some of the Empire's "finest." Compared to them, Kiba was less threatening than harmless, if that was even possible.

Kiba spoke his question, "Do you know anything about the Holy Sword Project?"

Almost immediately, the human teen cocked his head and quirked an eyebrow. "What in the world is that?"

Instantly, the murderous aura that Kiba was exhuming started to weaken briefly before disappearing completely. As the aura dissipated, Kiba's features became softer than they were before, eventually reverting back his normal expression.

"It seems you can tell the truth." Kiba shot.

"And it seems the nice guy act was just that. An act."

"We all have demons."

Tatsumi smirked, "The problem isn't when we fight our demons. It is when we fight our angels."

He glared, "Just so you know, I still don't trust you. You're lying to all of us about everything." A pause, "But, it does put my mind at ease that you weren't a part of that project."

The human teen shrugged. "I don't even know what that is." He glared suddenly. "Besides, I don't like you just because I can."

"What?"

"You ever met those people that you just don't like for no reason? Well, that is exactly what happened." Tatsumi said, "My dislike increased because I can see through your facade. And, the fact you pry, is a real pain. Maybe I'll learn to dislike you less."

"Noted," The smirk vanished and he slid into his typical fighting stance. "Now then, let's get started."

-Hours Later-

Kiba panted heavily as his body ached, begging him for a rest. He was covered in harsh bruises, all caused by a hard bokken. A trickle of blood escaped from the corner of his mouth, a reminder of the harsh lessons inflicted on his body today. By far, this was the most amount of pain he had ever been in. He was surprised that he was even standing given the amount of pain surging through his nerves.

"Guard."

Kiba braced himself as Tatsumi suddenly jetted forward. He got into the stance Tatsumi showed him, the Ko Gasumi.

The blonde second year side-stepped the attack and swung in a rising, crescent-like manner. The form and swing made it difficult for foes to to dodge it as it covered a large area, cutting off room for escape. Tatsumi blocked it with his bokken.

"Hack."

Tatsumi slashed but Kiba ducked under it, spinning around and swiping at the former assassin's feet. Tatsumi jumped over it and took a step back to avoid the follow-up strike at his neck. A clever one-two combo that left little room for error on the opponent's part.

"Slash."

Kiba slashed at Tatsumi's neck, but he missed when Tatumi stepped back. Suddenly, the knight switched hands and struck low at Tatsumi's abdomen. He jumped back and raised his sword to block the incoming blow, a chain to pressure opponents and potentially cause them to crack.

Smirking, Tatsumi said, "Not bad." He suddenly pushed back. "But, you're still too slow."

"Grah!" Kiba coughed when Tatsumi's bokken jabbed him in the stomach. He recoiled and held his stomach in pain.

The green-eyed teen sighed as he heaved his bokken over his shoulder. "I guess that's enough," he said, turning to to walk away. "Good, he's learning the proper stances and techniques quickly."

The teen glanced at the sky to see the earliest rays of sunlight peaking over the horizon. "Tomorrow is a new day."

4 Days until Rating Game

Issei Hyodou was shocked. He couldn't believe what he just heard. It wasn't even a pleasant kind of shock, it was the kind of shock one felt after being told something grave. An omen for a lack of a better word. He had a very bad feeling that a great amount of suffering was about to come his way.

"C-could you repeat that?" Issei stammered as he stared at Tatsumi.

The green-eyed teen tilted his head back, inhaled deeply, and exhaled. "Okay, let me repeat it for the third time," he grumbled. "You need the most work because...you suck." Issei cringed. "So, you're going to fight me in unarmed combat."

The perverted male's eye twitched. "Why?"

"Because I said so."

Once again, Issei's eye twitched at the comment. "Of course, how could I have been so stupid?"

"Cut the sass," Tatsumi snapped. "Consider this me going easy on you. I used the bokken against Rias and Akeno when I did this with them."

Issei flinched. Oh yes, the mighty bokken that Tatsumi had been using these last couple of days. Issei had only heard the horror stories of the amount of pain that wooden sword could bring but he would be spared from its holy onslaught. Well...at least for today.

"Thank you," Issei said, crying tears of joy. "A mighty force is looking after me it seems."

Smirking, Tatsumi replied, "Oh don't thank me yet. I said unarmed combat." His smirk grew larger as all the color drained from Issei's face. "I'm still going to beat you up, just not with a bokken. My attacks are going to hurt like hell either way."

"Mighty force...go fuck yourself."

"I'd be careful partner. Despite how he looks, he is definitely very strong."

Issei looked down at his arm in surprise. "Ddraig?"

"Try not to get beat up badly."

The perverted male deflated. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

-Hours Later-

Tatsumi punched Issei in the jaw, causing the brown-haired devil to recoil. Issei grit his teeth and threw a punch of his own, but it was sidestepped.

"Still too slow," Tatsumi pointed out, punching Issei in the face before kneeing him in the stomach. "Fight like you mean it!"

"Tatsumi-san is brutal." Issei wiped the the blood from the corner of his mouth before charging forward like a mad bull. Tatsumi didn't react, even his face lacked any sort of change, as he put his hands up in a combat pose.

The perverted male swung but it was dodged. "Are you an idiot?" Tatsumi asked him as he effortlessly dodged all of Issei's lazy attacks. "Then again, what else could I expect from a stupid pervert?"

"He's got your number," Draig commented with a whistle.

"So far, you are the most miserable excuse of a devil I've seen!" Tatsumi punched Issei in the face again, causing the perverted male's body to violently jerk to the right. "Rias and Akeno may have been weak but at least they had tenacity...unlike you." He kneed Issei in the solar plexus. "A pawn? Is that what your piece is? No, there isn't a piece low enough for you."

Issei coughed as his body was jerked around from the violent assault. Pain flooded his senses as he put his arms up in a desperate attempt to defend himself from the former assassin's punches. But it was no use, Issei's guard was full of holes and some of the assassin's punches broke through his pitiful defenses, striking him violently all over. Never had Issei been in such pain, not even when he died.

"Rias could have done way better than you!" Issei found himself skidding back before slamming into the base of a tree. "I don't even remember why I even defended you. All wasted effort."

"Kah!" The perverted male coughed, wincing as he tried to sit up. When he finally mustered the strength to sit up, he found Tatsumi giving him a disappointed glare.

"Such a waste of time and effort, but it must be done," Tatsumi snapped harshly. "I advise you to get your act together by tomorrow," His eyes darkened. "Don't even think about slacking. You and everyone else, including Asia, will be sparring with me several times a day." A cruel smirk twisted his lips. "Let's see how long a weakling like you can survive."

Issei shuddered under Tatsumi's gaze and watched him disappear into the treeline. Rubbing the back of his head, the perverted teen murmured, "Geez, what was that about?" He got to his feet and brushed himself off. "Why he is being such a giant jackass all of the sudden?"

As the perverted male grumbled, his arm shined a dull green as Ddraig stirred uncomfortably. "Perhaps, he is trying to rile you up."

Noticing something was off, Issei looked down at his arm, "Why would he want to do that?"

"Sacred Gears often respond to their wielder's thoughts, needs, and feelings." The dragon explained. "Perhaps he is trying to force an evolution."

"Uh...okay?"

"Didn't your master explain this to you?"

He looked away sheepishly, "Uh...maybe?"

"It takes a village." Ddraig sighed.

"Hey!"

3 Days until Rating Game

Asia ran as fast as her legs could take her. She powered her way through the shrubbery, the branches, and the plant cover that got in her way and was rewarded with scrapes for her efforts. She twitched as the thorns of a bush cut small slices out of her legs and continued to run.

"Keep...on moving!" she thought to herself right as a rock shot out of a bush like a gun. "KYA!" She ducked and kept on moving.

The blonde devil took a sharp turn into the brush right as another rock came speeding towards her. The rock pinged off a tree as she rapidly advanced through the thick foliage. She wasn't sure how big this forest was but she had to find the exit before she got hit. If she got hit then or caught she would have to start back in the middle again. And this, there was no reason to actually stop moving.

"What!?"

Suddenly, Asia's eyes widened with horror when the ground suddenly collapsed beneath her. With a panicked gasp, the terrified devil reached out her arms and caught the edge of the hole. Her breathing intensified as she looked down to see the deep abyss that awaited her below. What was with this pit? It was so deep that not even with her newfound devil night vision allowed her to see the bottom.

"Ah, ah, ah!" The blonde devil struggled to gather the strength to pull herself up. "I'm going to fall into the hole!"

Terrified of falling into the seemingly bottomless pit, Asia began to panic. In her panicked state, her grip loosened on the little piece she managed to grab onto.

"KYA!" She screamed, her eyes shutting out of instinct.

But...she didn't feel herself falling.

The blonde devil slowly opened her eyes and immediately looked down to see she was still over the bottomless pit. Her heart rate quickened upon seeing close she was to a potentially life threatening fall. Obviously, there had to be something stopping her from falling.

"Ta-Tatsumi-san?" The blonde devil spoke upon seeing him just a few feet away.

Said brown-haired male was literally holding her over the pit, one-handed, and the expression on his face couldn't have been more exhausted. The bags around his eyes had darkened to an unhealthy shade of purple-ish black, almost like bruises. His green eyes were narrowed but they lacked even a hint of a visible emotion, but that could have been a symptom of exhaustion.

"You failed." Was all the green-eyed male said before moving Asia over stable ground and carefully placed her on the ground. "But, you're getting better at evading and your speed has improved. So it isn't all bad."

The whole purpose of this training was to increase speed, reaction time, and evasion capabilities. The role of a medic was...harsh. They were often targeted first because of their ability to heal their allies. This meant they had to be able to dodge, evade, and outrun. If they could do that their chances of survival increased dramatically.

Looking at him, Asia asked. "Are you feeling okay, Tatsumi-san?"

"I've been better." Was the shrugging response. "I'm guessing...you're worried by the bags under my eyes?"

A nod.

"It can't be helped." he said, waving off her concern. "All I need is to get some sleep." He suddenly flashed a dread filled cringe. "If that damn Abomination would stop showing me erotic images. Pervert."

"O-okay." Asia replied, an unsatisfied frown on her face.

"By the way."

"Hmm?"

Tatsumi poked Asia's forehead. "Start over."

"AW!"

2 Days until Rating Game

"Aah, finally."

Tatsumi winced from the hot water as he slipped into the bathtub. It was painful at first, the water temperature was quite high but it only took him a few moments to adjust to the temperatures. The water all did wonders for his sore muscles and it seemed all the tension was melting away.

"Everyone is growing splendidly I think they can win now, but I won't tell that that." Tatsumi remarked, raising his hand to it was already began to prune. "Your weakness shows when your prideful."

"How right you are." A dark and distorted voice said.

Slowly, the smile disappeared from Tatsumi's face and was replaced with sneer. He slowly lowered his head to see his reflection had changed completely. A twisted and distorted shadow replaced his shadow. A pair of predator-like red eyes with cross-like pupils, stared back remaining idle despite the ripping waters.

"I knew it was too good to be true." He said, wiping the sweat off his face. "What do you want?"

"Still stubborn, I see." The Abomination said, its voice make its own image ripple. "Why do you assume I always want something? Maybe I just wanted to say hello?"

"No."

"Fine." It sighed. "You can choose not to accept me all you want but you soon realize that is a mistake."

Tatsumi closed his eyes, titled his head back, and inhaled sharply. "Why is that?"

"You're just a human being, you're as fragile as they come." The Abomination pointed out. "Eventually you will meet someone stronger than yourself."

"I don't doubt it."

"And when they day comes, you'll have have two choices. You can embrace the dark and live, or praise the sun and die."

He sighed. "Is that all you had to say?"

"No," It almost moaned. "You've been acting strangely." Tatsumi narrowed his eyes. "Increased aggression and paranoia, that isn't like you at all."

His glare intensified. "Why do you care?"

"Because that is something that I'd expect from me."

"Oh really?"

The reflection of the Abomination narrowed its eyes, seemingly in irritation. "Increased appetite and the next stage will be the desire to mate." It explained. "The desire to mate shouldn't be suppressed. You'll wish you were dead if you do."

"Is that right?" Tatsumi said, feeling increasingly more uncomfortable from this conversation.

"Shut the hell up." The Abomination snapped. "Perhaps I'm rubbing off on you too much. Yes, yes, that must be it." It clicked its tongue. "You refuse to accept me so the system is forcibly merging us together."

Tatsumi cracked his neck and his fingers, "Care to explain?"

"You and I share a bond that this world has never seen." It suggested. "You may choice not to accept me but there will be consequences for not doing so."

"And that is one of them?"

The reflection rippled, "Precisely."

"Because you're the only creature I actually like, there is no one else I'd rather have as a partner." The Abomination replied. "I much prefer you the way you were though; unsoiled if you will." It added.

The brown-haired swordsman sighed and tilted his head back. He was trying to hide it but was actually touched by Abomination's "concern." He wasn't sure why but he felt like an "old friend" was telling him these things. This paradox of familiar and unfamiliar was strange but it felt strangely justified.

"Abomination?"

"Hmm?"

"I realized I never asked you something."

The Abomination's reflection blinked. "And what is that?"

"Do you have a name?"

"Eh?"

He laid his head back. "I'm kind of curious to be honest." The water rippled, "I've just been calling you Abomination this whole time."

The creature hummed, "I find it strange that you're asking me this now."

"Well, you were harassing me the whole time."

"I prefer 'tormenting.'"

The green-eyed teen rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Are you going to answer my question or what?"

The Abomination was silent, seemingly deciding upon its response. For some reason, Tatsumi felt his heart swell. He didn't understand it, but there are a lot of things he didn't understand.

"[...]" A cry of shock quickly followed. "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!? I COULDN'T HEAR MY OWN VOICE! DID YOU HEAR IT!?"

"Uh, no."

"FUCKING GODDAMN BULLSHIT!" The Abomination roared, it's rage causing the bath water to literally boil.

Instantly, Tatsumi felt the rising heat of the bath water. His cheeks burned red as the intensify heat surged through his body. To make matter worse, the water was boiling and it was starting to burn like fire.

"L-look just c-calm down."

"I KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN! THAT IS WHY I DIDN'T SAY MY NAME EARLIER!" The water practically exploded, spraying boiling water over. "I'M DONE! THEY'VE BEEN FUCKING WITH OUR HEADS! THOSE FILTHY DOGS! " It calmed down. "My name is [...]" A pause. "FUCK!"

With that, the water practically turned red.

"OUCH!"

A cry of pain echoed through the night.

1 Day until Rating Game

"There is something I don't understand."

An eyebrow twitched as a judgmental sigh resonated in the air. A pair of green eyes narrows as they slid over at Rias, the producer of the sigh. The pure-blooded devil's look was in complete "how did you do this" mode and she even had hand on hip for emphasis.

She closed her eyes, "How in the world do you burn yourself in the bath tub?"

"No need to sound so condescending."

Sitting on the couch was Tatsumi, his entire bottom half was wrapped in bandages and one could see even more bandages underneath his workout shirt. He was obviously angry but it didn't seem to deter the other peerage members from sharing their king's feelings.

"And as for why I got burned in the bath tub." A vein popped on Tatsumi's forehead. "I guess I just got careless."

"I said I was sorry." The Abomination said.

"Being sorry doesn't excuse third-degree burns!"

"Be thankful that your body heals quickly."

Kiba, who was standing in the doorway, cleared his throat. "How exactly were you careless enough to actually burn yourself?"

"What are you a scientist now?" Was the sarcastic quip.

"Anyways," Rias interrupted, trying to prevent an argument. "What are we supposed to do while you're recovering from your burns?" She asked.

The brown-haired swordsman pointed a bandaged finger that Rias. "Can't say that I'm in love with your tone right now." He shrugged and relaxed his arm. "You're in charge for today, teach them whatever you want."

"Are you sure that is wise?" She asked.

He sighed, "It was what I had planned anyways." Both hands were raised. "Eight days were for training with me and two days were for you to take over."

"I see."

"But there is something that I want to say." He said, relaxing on the couch even more. "You have the advantage, you just need to use it effectively."

The peerage members who knew what that meant nodded. They did have because they trained and got stronger, much stronger in these last nine days. The rest just came down to appropriate strategy to make full use of what they had.

"I'll leave the rest to you, Rias-senpai." He stated, a smile growing on his face. "If you win let's make an agreement."

Surprised, the red-haired devil blinked and glanced at Akeno who seemed to be as surprised as her. "What is it?"

"Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Don't walk behind me; I may not lead." He reciting, confusing everyone. "Just walk besides me and be my friend."

He reached a hand out. "So be my friends." A friendly smile stretched across his face. "And win."

Rias blinked a couple of times but took the hand and shook it. "Sure thing." She said, flashing a smile of her own.

In the background, the other members of the peerage had mixed expressions but they all breathed a sigh of relief. This didn't mean they were the closet of friends or anything but it was a start. It was the start of mutual trust.

"Good. Now get going."

Day of Rating Game

Tatsumi whistled as he cleaned and polished a glass. The brown-haired teen was currently at the Arlington Cafe doing one of his many jobs, being the bartender. Normally, the bar seats would have been filled up and he wouldn't have time to clear the glasses as thoroughly as he was. As fate would have it, today was a slow day.

"Good afternoon, sir." An elegant voice said.

The brown-haired bartender turned his head to the side and almost instantly felt a flush of heat enter his face. In front of him was one of the most beautiful women had ever seen. The woman in question was dressed like a maid, probably an employee at a local maid cafe. She has long shoulder blade length hair, not a single hair was out of place. Her eyes were a deep cerulean that remained forward facing and focused. She wore makeup, a light pink layer covered her lips and a modest amount decorated her eyes.

Seemingly noticing that Tatsumi was staring at her, a smile graced her lipstick covered lips. "Excuse me sir."

Stuttering, he sheepishly responded with, "S-sorry, I wasn't staring."

The maid giggled. "Don't worry, that is quite alright." She said, before placing a piece of paper on the table. "I'm here to pick up an order for my master."

"Master?" The brown-haired male said, picking up the paper and reading it. "I actually fixed that order just before you entered." He slid the paper back to the maid. "Wait here, I go and get it for you."

The maid smiled with a bow. "Thank you sir."

Tatsumi pulled at his collar and went into the back to get the order. A few minutes passed before he returned with a large paper bag and placed it on the table.

"Here you go," He pushed the bag towards the maid, "That will be-"

"3,500 yen." The maid finished, already depositing the money on the counter. "That includes tax."

He gaped in shock. "T-that's exactly right."

She took the bag, smiled, and bowed. "Thank you for your service sir."

Tatsumi watched as she left. "What a polite lady too bad I didn't catch her name." He thought before going back to what he was doing.

A few moments later he felt a humming at his waist. Looking down, he found his phone was the source.

"Must be Koneko-chan." He thought, reaching for his phone to answer it.

"Hello?"

There was no response but someone was definitely breathing on the other side. Yep, it was definitely Koneko on the other end. This was something that she did from time to time. He didn't ask and she didn't tell.

"Hello?

"...senpai."

"How did the rating game go?"

"We...won"

He smiled brightly. "I knew you guys could do it!" A glance out the window.

There was a black cat sitting on the window still. The cat was completely black and its eyes were a bright lime green color. It appeared to be a black Burmilla judging by the size and its facial features, but Tatsumi wasn't for sure. The cat was just...staring. It was staring at him specifically.

"What a beautiful cat." The brown-haired swordsman noted despite the cat's staring making him uncomfortable. "T-those eyes sure are piercing."

The cat yawned before jumping of the window sill and scampering off before disappearing into an nearby alleyway. Even with that cat gone, Tatsumi felt like something was still staring at him. He didn't quite know why that cat was looking at him so intently but it was...unsettling to say the least.

"Well that was strange." He narrowed his eyes. "Hmm? Sorry, it's nothing Koneko-chan."

The silvery rays of the moon shone through the broken pieces of rose-glass of the old and abandoned church. It was painfully obvious by the destroyed interior, the broken glass, and cob-webs that hung from the rotting remains like ghosts. Adding to the poor condition, there were also bullet holes in practically everything but the ceiling.

A figure dressed in black walked into the where the moonlight shone in, it's footsteps echoing with every movement. The figured looked around and finally shook its head.

"You would tell from the outside this place was a church." It whistled. "But on the inside, it looks more like a haunted mansion, it even has the bullet holes."

A new voice, this one female chimed in. "Haunted mansions don't have bullet holes."

"Maybe not." The male figure responded, reaching for something around his waist. "But, bullet holes mean the man we've been looking for has been here."

Suddenly, the male threw a white power into the air. As the power settled, some particles remained in the air, creating ghost-like figures watched silent as the ghost-like entities fought each other, replaying the events of days long past.

A few moments went by before a group of red entities phase through the door and one of the white entities from earlier emerged from the underground, holding a black colored entity. Then, the black colored entity returned as a red one. How interesting.

"Hmm,"

"Sir?" The female asked.

"Two humans, one lost a hand." He observed, "A group of five devils and a deceased person." He glanced over at broken window to see vague remnants of a red entity. "Make that six devils, someone was watching undetected."

"But weren't fallen angels here as well?"

The male nodded. "But, strangely, there are no traces of them."

"Erased?"

"Probably by a magician or another fallen angel." He replied. "But I'm it would have to be someone with knowledge of my invention."

"And the white figures? They're humans right?" The woman asked, motioning to fold her arms. "The red ones are devils."

The male nodded, "White means human, red means devil, blue means angel, purple means fallen angel, " He listed, "And black...means death."

The female cocked her head, "Is one of them our man?"

"Yes," He answered with a nod.

"Where is he now?"

The male didn't answer but he raised his hand and snapped. Instantly, a series of nearly miniature explosions occured, lightening up the otherwise dark background. One by one, each explosion went off and lingered in the air, weaving together to form an image of a burning triangular Celtic Knot.

"He's far away." He stated. "But, he will be back."

"So we wait?"

"We wait." The man turned around, revealing a silver cross in the moonlight.

The female stepped forward into a shower of moonlight, revealing a red cape and large sword. "Amen, Father."

"Amen, Sister Red."

ANs:

Wait Related:

A Long Time Coming

So its been over a year since the last update of this story. The reason for that can be attributed to a few different things which I won't go into detail on. College sucks up a lot of your free time...even if you're a member of the "go-home club." Then the beta wasn't here a lot of the time and a lot of other things. I think the last time I heard from home was...Feb 4th. Yeah.

I make no apologizes though.

Story Related:

Be Vigilant

This chapter gave me fits, it was by far the hardest chapter to right ever. It went through extensive rework and rewrite before I finished it. I also apologize if the quality is down. I literally haven't written in a long time so as I was basically learning how to write again as I was writing. That is probably the reason this chapter is the way it is.

So, keep an eye out for any logic gaps, spelling errors, and grammatical errors. Considering the amount of rewrite and rework there are probably some. And, I ask, that you be constructive. I won't get any better if you're not constructive.

Chapter 6

Already 25% done. I didn't phone it in and worked on just this chapter during the time I had. I don't have an ETA, because those are dangerous, but I'll try my best to get it before college starts again.

Searching for Additional Beta Readers

Yep, you're probably thinking "Then why not use the Beta-reader function?" Because the system is flawed and it is probably easier to ask directly. The system should tell you the last day they logged on and it should tell you how long they've been a member. But, it doesn't.

I already have one, Rumle5, if he still wants it. I apologize for not keeping you in the loop (if he's reading this). I'm looking for three more to ensure there isn't such a gap in the future. If you're interested then...contact me.

Cancelled?

If this is cancelled I will tell you. Also, it being cancelled is EXTREMELY unlikely considering all the time and thought I've put into it. I have a vendetta/agenda with this thing now. It will be finished even if it takes five years (Which I hope it doesn't).

Why no Rating Game?

Do you even want to see it? Do you truly want to see what happened? It didn't put it in this chapter beause it was way too much effort

Poll Results

Remember that poll I made like a really long time ago? Well, since it has been about a year I think it is time for it to close. The four top candidates are:

1). Akame- 39 votes

2). Esdese - 36 votes

3). Leone - 31

4). Mein - 16

Keep in mind the poll was mostly for "reference." There is no guarantee that the winners will be in it. What decides if they get in or not depends on how easy they are to write into the story and if they don't "clutter" things up.

If you hate ANs

You can say what you want about my ANs and their abundance, but you seem to be overlooking an important detail. You are the one choosing to read them. That is like hating cake and choosing to eat it anyways. Explain your flawed logic to me. Besides, I like to think of it as my "signature" some don't write A/Ns and write long ones.

Burmilla

It's a breed of cat if that wasn't obvious. It originated from the United Kingdom in 1981 and is actually the result of a cross between Chinchilla Persian and Burmese breeds. I read somewhere that Burmillas were a rare breed of cat but I imagine they'd be even rarer in places like Japan. Maybe not.

DxD Related Things

Valkyries

Valkyries are all female (probably) and they're called Half-God. So, there must be a way that Valkyries can reproduce in a way that will always be a Valkyrie. In other words, there is something they mate with that will always end up being a Valkyrie. It probably isn't a human since Valkyries live in Valhalla (most likely) and the only thing I can think of that would be there are Einherjars. It is obviously something if Rossweisse has a grandmother and a cousin.

*Spoiler* Le Fay *Spoiler* (Sort of)

Does anyone know how old she is? It is just a curious question about her age. I know that she looks like a middle schooler but so does Ravel and Koneko. I can't remember that is what her actual age group was or not. I don't remember if they actually said her age either.

Off-Topic

The Fate Series

After doing rather extensive research, I now appreciate that series a lot more and recognize I made serious lapse in judgement. It is well written but not even close to being one of my favorites, maybe like in the top 15. Now that my knowledge has expanded I will probably attempt another Fate story in the future.

As an exercise, I attempted to write other characters from other series into the Fate Universe as servants, mostly AGK. And that crude is really, really, really hard. I ended having to "jump the gun" with some of them, Akame and Esdese especially. I had to resort to things like this:

(This was for Assassin Class Akame)

Skill Name: Night of the Red Eyed Killer
Rank: A+
Summary:
At night, Akame's stats receive a Rank-Up, halves or nullifies negative effects, and allows her a preemptive strike against foes. This skill is nullified at dawn and is activated at dusk. While active, Akame's eyes glow red and gain a contrail.

(And this was for Saber Akame)

NP Name: Flag of Revolution
Rank: B-
Class: Anti-Army
Summary:
Akame "summons" the flag of the Revolutionary Army. This flag causes members of the Revolutionary Army to appear. Each soldier possesses an E- rank in Independent Action and can carry a wide of variety of armaments. A luck roll is done to determine if any of these soldiers possesses a Teigu. One could say this is the result of the collective wills of the entire Revolutionary Army.

See what I mean? It's hard. If you want to see the ones that I still have than ask. They're not fantastic but they were definitely a challenge. My favorite servant is actually Sakura Saber (Souji Okita) but...that Weak Constitution though. The Reduced Earth skill is pretty cool.

Bloodstained Ritual of the Night

This is the name of a kickstarter that I backed a while ago. It is a metroidvania styled game made by Koji Igarashi, commonly known as Iga, whom served as Assistant Director on Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and produced several of the other Castlevanias such as Aria of Sorrow, Order of Ecclesia, Portrait of Ruin, Harmony of Despair, etc. Last week, the game got a Demo and it was pretty solid for a game that is only 10% completed. It can only get better so keep that in mind.

If you're interested then I would suggest looking it up. Also, the Kickstarter actually ended a long time ago but you can still "Slacker Back." If you're not interested then keep it yourself, yeah? I don't want to hear why because it doesn't affect me one way or another.

I'm sharing this because it is definitely something that I will write something for.

I think that is all I have for now so...yeah.

Questions, comments, concerns?