And on that bombshell, I had even more trouble sleeping

I had so many questions.

Who is this guy she's supposed to marry?

Is he a total dick?

Was she really trying to marry me before she had to marry him?

If so, is it out of love for me, or out of convenience to avoid the arranged marriage?

Now that I think about it, it was probably my Mom's idea.

To be honest, though, getting married to her wouldn't be half bad. Off the top of my head, she would definitely be a top candidate.

Akeno would certainly be up there too, as much of a tease as she is, she's sweet.

Of course, Asia would be a safe pick.

Aika? Probably worse options out there. Date nights wouldn't be complicated with her.

I wouldn't mind Koneko, but there would be an obvious safety concern in the bedroom…

…

Dammit! This is why I can't sleep! I went from the identity of Rias' fiancé to… whatever the hell I was thinking about me and Koneko.

So, this is having a harem is like…

I decided to go back downstairs to clear my head a little.

Rias was still down there.

Wait. Didn't she go to the club room with that Grayfia lady half an hour ago?

What is she still doing here… And why is she running towards me?

"Makoto! Run away with me!" she exclaimed as she grabbed my right hand.

"Wait! What about Mom? The Club?"

"I'm sure they'll understand. But there's no time! We got to get out of here, now!"

"But, wait!" I said as she was sprinting towards the door, dragging me along. "At least let me change out of my PJ's!"

But that wasn't the weirdest thing that happened.

I was dragged out the front door into a white abyss.

Not only that, but Rias was gone.

"Rias? Anybody?"

"I am here, partner. I have been since the beginning!"

That wasn't Rias' voice. It came from my head.

That voice. It seems familiar. Like that one that I heard when I somehow stole Freed Sellzen's energy.

"Turn around."

I turned around not to see my front door but… a white beast!

White scales, massive blue eyes, a dragon!

"It's been too long since I've been able to reveal myself. But I know we'll be able to do great things together."

Then I heard another voice.

"WAKE UP, BITCH, OR I SHALL CHOP OFF YOUR BALLS"

It was that silly waifu alarm clock that Matsuda gave me as a birthday gift. For some reason it decided this morning was the best day for a yandere.

Technology is incredible.

"Well, damn," I said to myself after shutting the alarm up. "Looks like I fell asleep after all…"

That was a strange dream, though.

I looked at my right arm.

What secrets does this Sacred Gear hold?

However, after all the adrenaline wore off, it hit me.

Damn, I'm groggy.

"Hey, braniac, wake up!" I heard Aika say to me. "Class is about to start."

I hoisted my head up from the table and pried my heavy eyes open.

"You don't look too good," Asia commented.

"You think?"

"Did you get any sleep last night?"

"I might as well not have," I replied. "Kept having these nightmares that were keeping me up. I'm not feeling too good, to be honest."

"You're extremely pale," Aika commented. "Under your eyes doesn't look too hot either."

"Here. Let me help you," Asia said as she began to escort me to the club room.

"Shouldn't I go see the nurse if I'm fatigued this bad?" I asked her as we were entering the old schoolhouse.

"I am your nurse."

"Fair point."

"Is something going on that may be causing these nightmares?"

I couldn't say. What would Rias say if I let everyone know she was getting married? Especially when it's to someone she doesn't want to?

When I entered the room, Rias was in there with my mother.

"Makoto?" Rias asked.

"He's not feeling well," Asia replied. "He didn't sleep very well last night."

"That's to be expected," my mother replied. "Most angels don't react well to extended periods at night without rest."

"It's likely not just that." Rias commented. "I think he's under a lot of stress."

Rias sat down on the end of the couch. The motion she made with her hands on her legs could mean only one thing.

I was too weary to say no, so I placed my head squarely on her lap.

Lordy! That's soft. I'm feeling better already.

If Matsuda and Motohama caught me doing this, they would tear me to ribbons.

"Asia. Use your Twilight Healing on him."

"Y-Yes!" I could sense a bit of apprehension. Is she getting jealous?

My eyes were closed at this point, but I could feel a coolness as she applied her Sacred Gear to the sides of his head.

Goodness. I thought I could heal, but her ability is next level. I could feel the fatigue beginning to flow from my body.

Thank God I chose to have her as my Bishop.

"I'm sorry I caused you so much worry," Rias said to me. "I shouldn't have tried to involve you my private affairs."

"Don't worry about it, I've got your back..." I replied, giving a thumbs up, as I was beginning to drift off.

Then I heard the door opening with several footsteps. I'm assuming it's the rest of the club.

"Aw. Look at wittle Makoto," I heard Aika say.

I wanna blow her up sometimes, but I'm in too much of a zen to care.

"Hey, let him get his rest…" Kiba replied.

Then I heard another clearing her throat. I'm assuming it was Lady Grayfia. Seems like her issue isn't fully resolved.

"Understood," said Rias. "Asia, take over."

"Yes, President."

She shifted my head from Rias' lap to Asia's.

"I apologize if mine aren't sufficient," Asia said as she continued using her Sacred Gear to clear my head.

"I'm not complaining. Thighs are thighs."

She gave a humored sigh of relief.

"Now that everyone's here," Rias began. "I have an announcement to make…"

Then there was an explosion.

There wasn't any shock wave, but the suddenness of it caused Asia to accidentally knock me off the couch.

"You okay!?" Asia exclaimed as I was getting up.

"I'm fine," I said rubbing the back of my head. "Better than before, actually."

What actually happened was another devil decided to pop in.

As the flames vanished, somehow leaving no scorch marks on the carpet, a man emerged from the summoning circle.

I moseyed over to Lady Grayfia, "Is that-?"

"Yes, he is."

"House of Phenex…" Kiba commented.

That wasn't what I was asking, but okay.

The man who very obviously came straight from Hell was wearing a red suit jacket and an open shirt exposing his chest. He appeared to be about in his early twenties.

He looked like a total pretty boy, but unlike Kiba, he also looked like a total prick.

The man chuckled, "Well, Earth, it's been a while."

Yep. This guy's a prick. No wonder she doesn't want to marry him.

"What do you want, Riser!?" Rias demanded, obviously not happy to see him.

"I just wanted to show you the venue, Rias, my dear," he replied. "Since the date has already been set, and all."

"This is Lord Riser Phenex, Makoto Fujiwara," Lady Grayfia explained to me, "Third in line to the house of Phenex and Lady Rias' fiancé."

"Yeah. I figured as much."

"I must say," said Riser, sipping on tea on the sofa. "Rias' Queen makes excellent tea."

"Thank you," Akeno replied.

She was smiling, but it was less of a "My, my, ufufu" smile and more of a "One wrong move and I'll electrocute your dick off" smile.

Glad to see someone's on the same page as me.

Rias was sitting next to him. He keeps on caressing her hands and shoulders.

Ha. Jokes on you. My head was resting on her thighs a few minutes ago.

"For the last time, Riser, I'm not marrying you."

"Oh, but think of your family, my dear. The Pure-Blood population has been getting thin ever since the war, you know?"

This guy's condescending tone is getting on my last nerve.

My mother, on the other hand, seems to have snapped that nerve.

"Okay, you lech!" Mom exclaimed, surrounded in an intense white aura. "If you won't listen to Lady Rias, then you will listen to me! You don't deserve her!"

"Oh really! Enlighten me, then!" Riser barked back, surrounded in a fiery aura. "Who's more worthy for her hand in marriage!?"

"My son!" she said pointing to me.

Awkward silence.

"Thanks, Mom. Way to put me on the spot." I muttered.

Riser burst out laughing.

"Him? An angel!? And a half-blood at that? Weren't you paying any attention to what I was saying!?"

"Yes. I was!"

Both of them looked like they were about to blow up the entire club room.

Where did he get that info from, anyhow?

I glanced nervously at Lady Grayfia, but she was already handling the situation.

"There's no need for violence. I don't want to have to intervene in this myself."

The two of them reluctantly cooled down.

Riser chuckled, "Well, I don't want to get on the bad side of Lord Sirzechs' 'Strongest Queen,' now would I?"

No shit. With those piercing red eyes and the fact that she's just as tall as me, of course she's the "Strongest Queen."

"Since, as Sirzechs expected, neither party seems to be in agreement, may I suggest settling this through a Rating Game?"

I've heard Rias use that term before. I assume that means we would be fighting this guy's peerage.

"Bring it on, then," Mother said. "Makoto can take him on! Right, Makoto?"

"Not to be a Negative Nancy," I replied. "But I only have have one (1) servant. And he has- What do you have, Lord Riser?"

"Fifteen."

"See? I'm outnumbered 15:1. There's no way I can beat him."

"No, you forgot the King," Mom replied. "That makes it 8:1."

"That barely changes it."

"I was talking to Lady Rias," Lady Grayfia stated. "I could pull some strings and allow the two angels to participate, though."

"Oh, well that evens it out a bit."

"May I ask who this servant of yours is?" Riser inquired.

"Um… that's would be me…" Asia nervously replied.

Riser glanced at her and smiled. "I guess I was wrong to insult you as a Half-Blood, you seem to have taste for the finer things in life as well."

"What… exactly do you mean?"

As Riser snapped his fingers, out came several devils from the unnecessarily fiery summoning circle.

And they were all women.

"That's… That's something." I commented.

"Keep up what you're doing, and you'll have a harem rivalling mine,"

"If Makoto's anything like his old lady, I assure you, he will." Mother replied to Riser.

"You're not helping."

"It's okay to be jealous," assured Riser.

"What are you really here for, Riser?" Rias demanded as I was trying to count the number of girls in his harem.

"Before you finish counting, Fujiwara, I know what you will ask next," said Riser. "Why is there only fourteen when I said I had fifteen?"

He took the words right out of my mouth.

"You see, I'm missing the most important part of my harem…

My dear little sister, Ravel."

"Your sister!?"

"Didn't know he was into that kinda stuff…" Koneko, who was sitting in the corner, commented.

"It's not like that," he replied. "You know the precious person you will put your life down for to protect?"

Asia came to mind immediately. "Yes. I do."

"Oh, so you're agreeing with him now…" Koneko commented again.

"Good grief," I responded.

"Well, that's what my sister is to me. And even though I don't even force her to fight, I don't want to carry on with a Rating Game without her."

"Someone took her away and left this," he added, passing me a letter.

Lord Phenex:

We've taken your sister from you.

If you want her back, you will have to exchange the servant of the half-blood angel Makoto Fujiwara for her.

She has something that is very valuable to us.

You will find him serving alongside your self-proclaimed fiancé.

I continued reading, "It's signed the Hime-…"

I stopped reading.

"Akeno, are these guys related?"

"The Himejima's?" she replied. "Not anymore, they're not."

She looked frustrated at the mention of that name.

"I'm sorry I asked."

"My, my, you don't have to apologize. It's more than fine~."

"You and the Priestess of Thunder seem to get along quite well," Riser commented. "I don't know why your mother insists on shipping him with Lady Rias."

"Get back on topic, Riser," both Mom and Rias interrupted simultaneously.

"My apologies. My challenge to you is this," he continued. "If you can rescue my sister from the bastards that took her, I'll reconsider my engagement."

"You've got yourself a deal," Rias said, quite satisfied.

Later that evening, I was taking a nice, hot bath to help me wind down after what was a very tumultuous day.

But then I realized something.

"Damn. I forgot my towels," I said to myself.

I was about to rise from the tub to grab a towel when Lady Grayfia came in with a pile of towels.

"Here's the towels you requested, Fujiwara."

"You could knock!"

I think I saw her drinking wine with my mom earlier. How much did she drink?

"I apologize. It's my duty to serve the Gremory family. After all, my master is Lady Rias' older brother."

"Well, thanks for taking care of that. You've actually been very helpful today."

"I don't like admitting this, but I'm also happily married to Lord Sirzechs so please don't take the invasion of privacy the wrong way."

"Sure thing."

"Permission to speak honestly?"

"Permission granted."

"I agree with your mother that you're a more suitable candidate than Lord Riser."

"Well, my mom is always my personal cheerleader when it comes to matters like this, so she likes to hype me up much more than I actually deserve."

"It's not just that. I believe a marriage between an angel and a devil, whether it between Lady Rias and you or not, would be a great symbolic action."

"What do you mean?"

"What I'm trying to say is that the conflict between our kind and your's, while not active right now, is still very cold. If we can prove that the forces of law and chaos are able to do more than just coexist with one another, I think we can stop this senseless violence for good."

"You've got a point."

"I'll leave you be, now. Unless you need me to help you bathe."

"I'm good, thanks!"

She then finally left me alone. She definitely had too much to drink earlier.

After I got out of the bath, my mother, Akeno, and Rias were in the Living Room.

"What? Is Akeno in the middle of an arranged marriage too?" I asked.

Akeno chuckled, "No. I'm still very single."

"That's good news."

"Makoto, I have something I should have told you a long time ago." Mother said.

"My dad's dead?" I predicted. She nodded.

"There's more," said Akeno. "The same assassins that killed my mother killed your father on the same day."

"Is that why you kept it hidden?" I asked.

"I apologize. It was too much of a painful memory," Mom replied. "But since that family has come back into the narrative, I will enlighten you."