บท 79: Let the Dancing Commence! An Unknown Request to Dance? The Neko-Kitsune and the Agares Agents stop the party-crashers! Part 2

"…" Traversing through the thick woods, Koneko continued to follow the trail of energy left for her by her sister. Staying at the party had managed to clear her mind as she enjoyed herself by being with friends and dancing with Michael for a while. However, things soon came to an end when started to feel a presence that she was all too familiar with.

Ducking out of the party was a cinch for her due to the merriment and commotion that filled the hall. Now, steeled to face what could possibly be her hardest challenge yet, she bravely transforms into her nekomata form, growing her cat ears and tail as her aura formed itself to appear much thicker and strong as a sign of rigid confidence.

No longer was she to be swayed by fear, now she'll face her past with her head held up high.

*GLEAM!*

Stopping in the middle of the forest, Koneko's cat ears twitched at the sound of leaves and branches rustling up in the trees. She was watching her but has yet to make a move or speak. Still following the trail, Koneko kept her eyes forward as the rustling of tree branches filled the area.

"My how you've grown, Shirone…" Jumping from tree to tree, a black cat kept its eyes on Koneko. Startled to hear such a voice from a long time ago so close, Koneko shook herself back to staying level-headed as she quietly traversed down her path.

Eventually, Koneko was able to make it to a small clearing just big enough for to finally see clearly. However, this wider range in sight had her catch the appearance of a black cat mewling at her from a tree branch. Her hand trembling, Koneko balls it up into a fist, takes a deep breath and approached the tree ahead.

Each step that she took, she found that the black cat's appearance was slowly transforming to take on the appearance of a beautiful and attractive young woman with a voluptuous figure, long black hair with split bangs, and hazel gold eyes with pupils reminiscent to that of a cat's. The loose fitting black kimono that she wore didn't leave much for the imagination as her slender legs and cleavage of her bountiful breasts were teasingly revealed.

"Way to go, Shirone, I'm so proud, nya~! I only sent a fraction of my chi out and you were still able to find me without being misdirected. And here I thought that I needed to tail you and lead you into the right direction. Goes to prove that you've grown with your sage arts quite a bit, nya!"

"…"

"Is that any way to greet your Big Sister after she took the time out of her busy schedule to see you?"

"Kuroka-neesama, what do you want?" Koneko said with anger steadily rising in her voice.

"A response? A response, nya! Finally, and I here I thought that we were going to just have me talk through our little reunion. But…*SIGH!* that tone could use some work, my, my, our sisterly bond must has gotten weaker as the years passed by, and here I expected some sisterly love, nya…" Kuroka playfully teared up and sniffled.

"Nee-sama…" Koneko urged, seriously which caused Kuroka to groan.

"…You may have gotten cuter with time, but man, you sure have turned into a stick in the mud, Shirone. To cut to the chase, I had heard from the grapevine that the devils here were throwing a killer shindig, so as a natural party animal, I decided to crash the party was all."

"…" Not buying that explanation, Koneko continued to glare at Kuroka.

"What? I'm speaking the truth, ya know." Kuroka smirked.

"…"

"Ufufu, well, a half-truth actually." Kuroka mischievously giggled, despite that serious look on her sister's face, she knew that Koneko was still able to read as effectively as she did in the past. It was quite nostalgic, so like every conversation that resulted this way, she came clean to the 15 year old.

"You remember my leader, Vali, who attended the Three Faction Meeting, right? Well, of course you do, I mean, I was there to notice your presence and I'm sure you were there to notice mine, yes?"

"The White Dragon Emperor?" Koneko looked shocked at the revelation but nodded. She had also finally confirmed to herself about Kuroka's brief presence during that crisis and started to piece things together.

"Then that means that you-!"

"Yup~! I was the one, who helped facilitate an appropriate space for Vali and the Red Dragon Emperor to duke it out in. Well, after their fight ended in a draw, I started to notice a change in my sweet Vali's attitude." Kuroka winked, "Nothing bad, but its still quite a considerable change and that change had me wondering. "Wow, to effect Vali this much, this era's new Sekiryuutei must be something else-nyan!" So, interested in the Red tyke, I decided to come with a stuffy comrade of mine to play with him a bit."

"…! You mean that you're after Michael-senpai?" Koneko gasped.

"Michael-senpai? Oh, so his first name is Michael? Vali only refers to him as "Hanamura" or "Loser" so it was hard to pinpoint what his full name was. But yeah, I just wanted to see what he's capable of, and if I can test myself against him in a free style bout, then…" Kuroka's eyes gleamed, dangerously.

"I'd be able to keep myself satisfied until our next appointed battle that Vali has in store for us. You see, I was able to get some help to send quite a number of monsters to lure him out, but instead I got a bunch of other devils making a mess of that plan."

"…W-What?" Finally sensing her surroundings, Koneko noticed the multiple presences of wild beasts lurking in the forest as they made their way towards the hotel. She would have instantly turned tail and run to stop them, but the powerful energy signatures of the Agares peerage alleviated most of her worries.

"For a terrorist attack, I'd have to say this wasn't the most solid of plans, but oh well, after I'm done here, I'll make sure to go to the Sekiryuutei myself, nya." Kuroka sat up and jumps off the tree branch. But as soon as her feet touched the ground, she vanished.

"…?"

"So Shirone have you finally made your choice?" Wrapping her arms around Koneko, Kuroka lays her head next to her sister's much to the Rook's surprise, "As glad as I am that you've decided to try and learn how to use your power, I fear that you're not in the capable hands of someone who can properly bring out that potential of yours. So, come with me and I'll be able to make you much more powerful than you are now."

Trying to brush off Kuroka's embrace, Koneko turns around to notice that the woman was no longer there. No, she was now leaning against a tree wearing a menacing smile as her sights narrowed in on Koneko.

"So, I implore you to make your decision right now, but before you answer. Let me just tell you the choices that you CAN make and my response. If you choose, YES, I'll just send you over to our place while I play with the Red Dragon Emperor with no issues whatsoever. But if you were to choose, NO, well… I'll make things simple and just say that you'll be in for a bad time, nyan~!"

*SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!*

"Nrgh…!"

Despite the cute kitty gesture, the aura that Kuroka exuded threatened Koneko as she literally felt the woman's sheer pressure exert dominance over her own. This was to be expected since Kuroka could quite literally be considered a master over Sage Arts and feeling even so much as killing intent from her would make even a novice like Koneko shake in her boots.

All of Koneko's instinct were telling her to submit just to save herself, but all of the confidence that she had built up told her otherwise as she steadfastly refused to utter the word "yes" to Kuroka's face. It was an internal conflict of her Instinct vs her Feelings due to this, she couldn't even give Kuroka an answer. She was at a crossroads and felt ashamed that she would even be THIS conflicted about this.

It would only require a little push to be tipped into either choosing "yes or no" and at a first hand glance at her older sister's power, she was starting to lean towards "yes".

However, a thought not too long ago, processed through her mind:

-"I…can tell that your training must have been hard on you and that you may have been struggling with some baggage, but I can tell that you've been working hard all the same. So, I just want to tell you that you can believe that I'll be by your side to help you no matter what happens while I can believe that you'll do the same for me and the others. After all, you're more dependable than even this Upperclassman of yours."-

Yes, Michael's belief and trust in her just before the party started.

-"You don't have to tell me anything more. Knowing that your just afraid is good enough for me. Now I have to do my job as your senpai to handle your fears and make you feel more safe with yourself."-

His blind declaration of helping her through her troubles despite not knowing or caring what they are.

-"So just have faith in me for this single thing. You know I'm an idiot, so I'll probably mess up on most things, but trust me with handling your fears because I'll always blow them away…"-

His stupid yet endearing promise to carry the weight of her fears. No, she couldn't allow that to happen anymore. Always letting her fear control her just to leave it up to Michael to deal with it for her, she would only be making more trouble for that reckless idiot of a senior of her's if she always gets swayed by her fears like this. She already grew past her fear of potentially going berserk with her powers, so now all she had to do was confront the person that created these doubts in the first, or else she won't be able to take herself seriously as that idiot Red Dragon Emperor's dependable kouhai.

Upon seeing Koneko's hands open, Kuroka smiled at the display of submission.

"No…"

"…Excuse me?"

*Tighten~!*

Clenching her balled up hands, Koneko narrowed her eyes at the glaring Kuroka and shook her head, "I'm not going with you, Kuroka-neesama. This is my home, Buchou, and everyone else here, I care about them and I won't just cut myself off from them just because I'm scared to stand up you, who got blinded with power and abandoned me. That's why I'll do everything in my power to resist you!"

Koneko grew ready in her stance to fight.

"Shirone, don't make me repeat myself anymore than this. Will. You. Come. With. Me. Or. Not?" Kuroka's body released a dark ominous aura that released a powerful malice and killing intent, "You do know what will happen if you defy, right, nya?"

"Nee-sama, I understand your power than anyone else. You're power could even rival that of an Ultimate-class devil, but I won't be afraid of it or you any longer! I'm no longer the frightened and dependent "Shirone" that you once knew. My name is Toujo, Koneko, [Rook] to Rias-buchou and dependable kouhai to Baka-senpai! We may be sisters, but that doesn't matter since we're enemies! Even if I were to lose to you, I WON'T lose myself!"

After making a declaration that basically breaks their relationship of sisterhood, Koneko faced the unamused Kuroka, who's anger slowly subsided.

"So that's you're answer, huh?" Kuroka's hair covered her eyes.

"Yes, nya!"

Kuroka took a deep breath before raising her hand,

"Fine, then… I guess we're going to have to do this the hard way…"

*SNAP!*

"…!"

Immediately reacting to Kuroka snapping her fingers, Koneko did her best to subdue Kuroka by using her sage arts to manipulate the roots in the ground to bind the alluring nekomata.

"Nice hustle, but you should have attacked me before that declaration of yours, nya…" Kuroka smirked as heavy purple mist began to blow into the forest surrounding the pair. The ominous air about caused Koneko to shudder before she covered her mouth out of sheer pain from inhaling it.

"*COUGH!* What did you-*COUGH!* Do?" Koneko fell to her knees as she gripped her chest in pain.

Taking control of the roots, Kuroka undoes her bindings to approach Koneko with a threatening smile, "Just something that I was willing to teach you had you complied with my offer. This is a poisonous mist that helps restrain my enemies. For a devil like you its wicked effective, but the amount that I placed should have knocked you out upon you breathing it. I'm impressed Shirone, you really have gotten stronger than when I last met you." Reaching her hand out for the white nekomata, Kuroka giggled,

"Fortunately for you, I'll make sure that you'll wind up even stronger than me. Now just relax… You should know better than to defy your sister because after all. We tend to know what's best for our little siblings, nya."

Just as Kuroka was about grab Koneko, an unexpected development where her wrist got grasped by someone else.

"That…is easily debatable…"

"Y-You…" Koneko coughed as she looked up to see that her savior was none other than Natsuru, who stood in between the two Nekoshou sisters.

"Oh my, an unwelcomed guest~! How may I help you today?" Kuroka may have laughed but her tone oozed with sheer anger.

"Thanks for the offer, but I can handle things for myself. Such as this poisonous mist, it seems very effective, but…" Raising her free hand, Natsuru snapped her fingers and easily dispelled the poisonous mist running through the forest.

"I've sort of been dabbling with this form of Senjutsu in the past, so getting rid of at least this much isn't much of a problem for me." Natsuru smirked as she pulls down the mask of her kunoichi outfit.

"Wow~! So, you could do Senjutsu too, nya? How incredible, wait a minute, could you happen to be a part of the Nekoshou clan as well?"

"Why yes, but I'm considered only a halfling while the other is of the Kitsune bloodline."

"I see, I see… How interesting, you're interesting!" Kuroka secretly flexes her other hand behind her back and bares her claws, "Say why don't you and I have a little…TALK!"

*SHIIING!* *SHIIING!*

"…!"

"Heh…"

Upon striking her claws at Natsuru, Kuroka found that the other woman had the same plan as her as both of them had their sharper than knives nails close to each other's throats.

"Impressive…" Kuroka had to admit that the girl had some killer reflexes.

"You're not so bad yourself, Ms. Criminal." Natsuru complimented.

After a moment, the tension soon began to break as both ladies drew back their claws as Natsuru releases Kuroka to jump back and put some distance between the two. Despite the black nekomata's cute smile, Natsuru could sense her growing malice and killing intent that was now directed towards her. It looked like she came at a right moment since Koneko was about to get abducted.

Speaking back to Koneko, Natsuru said, "Stay back and find a safe place to hide or else I can't promise you that you'll live."

Standing up on shaky legs, Koneko panted, "…I-I don't need your help… I can do this myself…"

"Try saying that without pausing to take a breath. Just go." Natsuru urged.

"N-No, I can't… Nee-sama will…go after Michael-senpai if she…" Koneko tiredly breathed.

"Michael-kun? Hmph, shouldn't be surprised if that were a reason for her to also be here." Natsuru bitterly smiled since she quite literally had that same motive.

"T-This isn't a joke! I-I have to-!" All words cease to exit Koneko's mouth as a fluffy flurry of nine midnight black fox tails and cat ears materialize on Natsuru's body as she takes off her blue contact lenses, she casted a hostile glare at Kuroka with her golden eyes.

"No, you mean that I have to defeat her to protect Michael-kun while you stay back and hide." Natsuru directed, but the look of defiance was ever so present on Koneko's face, "I understand if you don't want to trust me, but at least trust in my power to keep any harm from reaching Michael-kun. It's my duty, no, my wish to do this much and letting you get captured here will only bring more harm to him than good."

Koneko's expression softened, but she was still too defiant to listen.

"Look, I know that you want to prove to yourself that you can overcome your fear of your sister, and I have to say you already accomplished that by coming here even though it was a reckless and stupid idea. Fighting someone as experienced as her alone is simply pushing it, and besides, its my fault for your inability to at least stand up to her in a fight so allow me to take some responsibility as your teacher for once."

After a moment's hesitation, Koneko looked between her sister and the serious Natsuru before nodding with a sigh, "F-Fine…"

Taking off, Koneko shoots Natsuru one last look over her shoulder before effectively hiding in the shadows of the forest.

"Aw, how heartwarming~! Its nice to know that another one of our kind is getting along with Shirone, nya!" Kuroka giggled.

"I was simply chosen as her teacher and nothing more, but I can at least say that she's getting along way better with me, a former enemy than her own flesh and blood older sister." Natsuru giggled.

"True~! True~!" Kuroka smiled through clenched teeth.

Walking towards each other at the same time, both beautiful women made a show of their rising Ki before they finally got within range to stare each other down. The fierce clash of their energy shook the very forest around them. Her smile widening, Kuroka raised an eyebrow and said, "Ah… So, you're Natsuru Abe…"

"You know me?"

"Word gets around fast especially around a group of dangerous people in the Khaos Brigade. So you were able to capture the Red Dragon Emperor, nya? That's incredibly impressive to accomplish a feat such as that. I'm personally still struggling to capture the White Dragon Emperor's heart, but you captured the whole Sekiryuutei only within a matter of days."

Bad publicity was good publicity and for Natsuru, she did expect that kind of response from a band of terrorists.

"But that accomplishment was sort lived since you got captured immediately afterwards. That still doesn't dash your condition while committing the act. You even did all of that on your own which only speaks volumes about your skills." Kuroka gestured out her hand and offered, "Why not join us? You're more than capable and I doubt that Vali would mind having another stray cat added to the team. We're alike in some ways, so it could work out."

"…" Natsuru smirked as her tails emitted a harsh blue flame, "Thanks for the offer, but I'll have to decline. I'm not too keen on getting enigmatic offers from people I just meet anymore; call it me learning from experience. But I don't have any qualms with agreeing with you since I can see how we're alike."

"Really, nya?"

Natsuru nodded, "Because if I wanted to dispose of my enemy, I would make them an offer that I would have no intention of keeping while secretly planning to seal off their chi with a sealing spell." Natsuru's eyes trailed down to Kuroka's raised hand.

Winking, Kuroka admittedly raises said hand and reveals a black etching oozing a vile and purple aura.

"Whoopsies~! Ya got me, nya!"

Both women slowly raise their hands in secrecy behind their backs with Natsuru conjuring a flaming sphere of Ki surrounded by fox fire and Kuroka conjuring a blackened sphere of demonic energy and Ki.

"And there's one other thing that's similar about us too, when faced with someone who's exactly like us…" Natsuru said as she and Kuroka's smiles turned into murderous leers.

"We'll do everything in our power to stab them in the back before they do the same to us, nya!"

"Hear, hear, nyan~!"

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

Both youkai fired their attacks without warning as a huge explosion became a result of the dangerous powers clashing. With a snap of her fingers before anyone at the power could grasp their attention, Kuroka made sure to raise up an isolation barrier around the perimeter of the forest to keep anymore intruders from getting in and to prevent Koneko from possibly getting out. This may prove to be an issue since the Red Dragon Emperor may not be able to detect them now, but this way, she'll get rid of the enemy in front of her and get her darling little sister back.

Kuroka just had to hope that Arthur wouldn't get miffed with this change of plans and speaking of Arthur…

Landing on a tree branch, Kuroka started to commune with Arthur via magic circle while looking through the harsh smoke of the explosion for Natsuru, "Hey, Arthur, um, I was just wondering where you are because I was sure to ask you clearly before about, well, I don't know… Getting RID of the other Senjutsu user in the woods!"

XXX

*GIN!* *GIN!* *GIN!*

In another location in the woods, Arthur flawlessly fended off the attacks of her surprise assailant. The attacks thrown at her were child's play at best, no, they were simply test strikes in order to gauge her skill. Despite her distaste for being underestimated like this, Arthur simply smiled and had to admit that she was doing the same back.

Upon her blade meeting her enemy's she was able to react to their moves almost instantly. Not because of her mastery with swordsmanship, but because the enemy's blade was a blade that she knew all too well to heart and muscle memory.

But her momentary smile fell once she received Kuroka's call and noticed the barrier being set up above them.

"I'm a bit preoccupied at the moment, and its no surprise that you were the one to raise the barrier, so mind explaining what happened to the plan that we discussed!?"

["Well, apparently, I'm preoccupied as well thanks to a certain someone, and I did so because I didn't want to garner the attention of those other powerful devils at that party!"] Kuroka exclaimed.

"We are literally trapped with the enemies that are taking care of the Chimera, plus…!"

*ROAR!*

*ZAAAN!*

Arthur slashed a pouncing chimera in half with a two-handed sword that has a long grip with a round pommel at the end, a huge cross-like shaped guard and a long white blade with gold colored edge. The crazy amounts of holy aura that flowed from it was powerful enough to turn the bisected chimera into dust.

"The Chimeras that we let loose. We're literally in quite a predicament here!" Arthur exclaimed.

["You don't think I know that? Ugh, look, try to finish things as fast as you can and come over to me. I sense that the other two devils are still dealing with the majority of the chimera hoard. So, you still have some time, so hurry already!"]

Breaking off connection when a voice shouted "There you are" Kuroka left Arthur to deal with her own issues.

"I apologize, but this matter will take a while." Arthur sighed.

"Hey, isn't it pretty rude to talk on the phone while you're having a reunion with an old friend." Cutting a few chimeras to shreds with a two-handed sword of his own was the descendant of Lancelot du Lac himself, Aaron.

Bearing a resemblance close to Arthur's blade, Aaron's sword was also a two-handed sword with a long grip, but instead had a sharp pommel at the end, a huge "x" shaped guard and a long black blade with a crimson colored edge. Flowing from it was a powerful and destructive demonic aura that obliterated each chimera that touched it.

"True, but isn't it just as rude as suddenly attacking said old friend without saying a simple "hello" at all?"

"Ah, touche, so Artoria, what bring you to this neck of the woods?"

"I go by Arthur now, and the reason why I'm here is because I'm free from my duties from the Khaos Brigade, so I came simply see the Sekiryuutei."

"The Red Dragon Emperor? Oh, I almost glossed by that… I see that you're still struggling with that conundrum about you not being born a male because your father won't accept a woman to be the heir to the Pendragon Household. And here you are a terrorist, your father and…mother must be very proud."

"I see that your treachery has lead you to becoming a devil. How fitting, and may I ask how you ended up this way? Was it perhaps your own vanity being your downfall or were you tempted by some adulterous act?"

"Uptight Nancy…"

"Lustful Pig…"

Both swordsman traded insults before their hostile smiles turned to that of familial smiles between childhood friends. Readying their blades, the two charged at each other and began their battle. However, each strike that they traded was simply met with a block or a parry, nothing was thrown to kill each other as they talked.

"So, how's Le Fay doing?"

*GIN!*

"Quite alright, she's been rather cheerful since we left the household."

*GIN!* *GIN!* *CLANG!*

"Whoa, really? Man, things must be going to shit in Europe. So, how's your father?"

*CLASH!*

"Still as paranoid and pompous as ever, your attempt to take his life has not lost its effect on him."

"I see!" After throwing a few sparring blows at one another, the two settled for a long clash of their blades as they tried to push their respective enemy back. Looking serious, Aaron asked, "What about Merlina?"

"The last I saw of her was when Le Fay and I left home. I've tried to contact her, but I've yet to receive a reply from her…"

"…" Aaron clicked his tongue.

Pushing each other back, as soon Arthur and Aaron's feet touched the ground, they suddenly charged at each other with a sudden intent to kill. Each of their blades were close to severing their respective limbs yet instead, they simply went past their opponent to dice two chimeras to pieces. Back to back, the two swordsmen keenly glared at the accumulated amount of chimera around them.

It would appear that their fighting attracted a few over to them.

"So, I take it that you're not the one who made these things?" Aaron grinned.

"I would never stoop to using my family's magic just to create these abominations." Arthur shook her head. "These were simply lent to us, so it was natural to expect a few of them to attack even me…"

"Then I guess that just leaves us to clean these fugly things up."

Nodding in agreement, Arthur said, "As much as I want to seriously cross blades with you, this will fully take my attention."

"Hehe!"

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. Its been a while since we did something like this. But I wonder…wouldn't the combination of my Arondight and you're Caliburn be a bit Overkill for these things?" Aaron wondered.

"Well, its like the saying our era of young adults make in their lingo…erh…"Is not no kill like over kill" am I…am I saying it right?" Arthur sweatdropped.

"Jesus, you really haven't change in that area as well either, well guess the same goes for me when it comes to be a lady killer!" Aaron howled as all of the chimera pounced at them while the two swordsman reciprocated by charging in with Aaron happily screaming, "BOW-CHIKA-BOW-WOW!"

XXX

"Hmhmhmhm~!"

"…Mmmm…"

Dancing amidst the crowd of devils was Michael and his new dance partner, Asriel Ispos. After begrudgingly accepting to dance with her, Michael received a few glares from his female friends for dancing with such a beautiful woman. Apologizing to them in his head, he tried his best to keep cool while he handed control over his legs to Ddraig, so he wouldn't step on Asriel's toes.

Just recently, he sensed something big occur outside not too far from the hotel before the signature suddenly vanished. He could have sworn that it was his imagination, but it felt too real and rather dangerous to ignore. He would have put his full attention to it were it not for the woman that he was dancing with.

"My, you have such strong arms, Sekiryuutei, and such a broad back, too~!"

"Mmmmhmmm…" Michael uncomfortably nodded.

Letting his guard around her was an absolute no-no!

"And you're face…so full of youth…ah…" Asriel stroked Michael's cheek much to the young man's discomfort.

"T-Thanks…" Michael nudged his head away to avoid her touch.

'Does this lady not know personal space!?' Michael screamed in his head, he would have instantly stopped their dance, but he didn't want to seem rude since Rias is watching and he's already on thin ice after he failed to do the greeting alone.

Taking full advantage of their slow dance, Asriel hugged Michael tightly and whispered to herself, "Thank you for the meal…" Michael had managed to hear most of that and wondered why she would say something like that.

'The wha-?'

"Di-Did you just sniff my hair?" Visibly shocked, the pawn looked back at Asriel, who shook her head on his shoulder.

"O-Oh, forgive me I just got over some allergies but it would appear that I still haven't gotten rid of them all." Asriel sniffled.

"I-I see…" Michael awkwardly looked away.

'Yeah, this doesn't feel right. Maybe I should put an end to this.' Compared to the times where he was teased by Akeno, Kalawarner and Natsuru, Michael didn't feel any form of seduction that those three had from the lady. Sure, she's just as affectionate as they were, but in a different way. Yes, it was something else, and he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Oh, dear! Am I making you uncomfortable? Please forgive me for being so rude…" Asriel suddenly apologized.

"Huh?"

"I've been invading your space this whole time and neglected to take into account your own feelings about it. I am so sorry for that, Sekiryuutei-san. I was just…really excited to meet you and I guess I went a little overboard…" Asriel apologetically bowed her head.

Scratching his head, Michael coughed and said, "Well…yeah, you sort of freaked me out a bit, but since when you put it that way along with you apologizing, then I guess it's okay…I guess…"

"Thank you, Sekiryuutei-san, you truly are as naively kind as they say~!"

"Again with that "naïve" stuff… What is she even talking about?" Michael groaned to himself as they proceeded to dance, "Hey, not to sound like an ass, but why exactly are you exactly excited to see me?" The teen would have been happy to hear that if he weren't too busy focusing on Koneko's disappearance and sudden appearance and disappearance of an influx of various powers.

"That's because you remind of my son."

"Really?"

"Yes, in fact, I would even say that the two of you are almost alike in some ways. But….*SIGH!* I sort of wish that he had most of your traits. You're both strong, and because I heard of it as of lately about you, you're both reckless and overdo things." Michael heavily sighed, but Asriel continued. "But I wish he would be as expressive as you and wear his heart on his sleeve. He could also do with being more open about making new friends despite those friends being overly greedy and gluttonous."

Wistfully looking at Michael, Asriel warmly smiled(?), "To an extent, I sort of envy whoever your mother was to have given birth to such a bright young man like you. Makes me wish that my son were exactly like you too."

"Urh…I…I mean, thanks that's a really nice compliment to get!" Flustered, Michael blushed as he tried to pull himself together, "But I'm sure that your son is fine the way he is. He doesn't exactly be like me since we're completely different people, so it might take some time for him to really open. Effort from you and him will probably make a difference, I'm sure of it."

"Hm, yes, whatever you say…"

"Hm?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing~!" Leaning in to hold Michael tightly, Asriel soothing rubbed his back as if he were a baby and said, "But I wasn't kidding when I said that you had such a strong body, Sekiryuutei-san. Sort of reminds me of my time as a part of the Underworld's army, most of us had rough bodies like this as a result of the Great War between the devils, angels and fallen angels. Not to mention the Old and New Satan War which happened afterwards."

"Wow, you've really been through all of those wars? You must be one heck of a granny…" Michael muttered.

"Ohoho, that is one way to put it since I have been alive for a while now." Asriel laughed.

"So how did it feel to be in two wars back to back?" Michael asked.

"Not as bad as you think, I did lose a few friends, but the wars paled in comparison to the minor battles that happened afterwards…"

"Really? I thought that wars were supposed to be gruesome? What else could be worse than that?" Michael asked.

"Well, it all comes down to perspective because rather than war where both sides are ready to battle. A one-sided battle could be just haunting due to it being a massacre. I would say that one of these battles would have to deal with a certain far-off village not too long ago." Asriel's smile turned into a smirk, "Yeah, a village that was already on most of the radars from other factions due to their daily involvements with dragons…"

'What?' Michael's eyes widened as he listened closely which Asriel catches and only continues to stroke Michael's back as the light in her purple eyes started to dim with a deep pitch-black look.

"We had received word that the inhabitants there have been harboring a dangerous existence there. If left in their hands, they might have decided to take revenge on the other mythologies that stole their secret dragon slayer aura formulas and their sacred weapons. Those that lived in the village were quite defensive, but never strayed far from their home to attack an outside threat in their home turf so a chance of that happening was quite impossible." Asriel continued.

"But the potential threat that they posed with that dangerous existence around them posed too much trouble to just ignore. During that time, everyone was worried about how they would turn all of that destructive power on the factions since they had in their possession all of the Welsh Dragon's chopped up limbs and body parts."

Noticing something off, Rias looked through the crowd of dancing devils to observe that Michael and his current dance partner seemed to have been moving deeper into the crowd away from sight. Worried, Rias began to follow them since she noticed how tense Michael's expression got just a moment ago.

"At that point, you can say that to the eyes of the devils, they were all already seen as dangerous criminals. I don't wish to be graphic, but I believe that there are barely any remnants of that village left today."

"…!" Michael gasped.

"Sekiryuutei-san?"

"N-No, I'm fine…"

Seeing that was far from the case, Asriel lightly giggled, "Good…" And so she continued with her story.

"But that's just my opinion, I haven't gone back to check since my final reconnaissance mission there."

"You mean that you've been scoping the whole place? Many times?" Like an unsure child, Michael quietly asked.

"Yuh-huh~! And I was amazed to see how advanced their culture was despite being isolated from the world. But isolation can lead to issues despite their wealth of technology and knowledge, the village would usually lynch or banish any person from any clan should they make some form with the outside. I'm quite certain that they even banished a few people from the clan that protected the village's most important clan, the Hanamura Clan."

"…!"

"Funny, you seem to share the same name as them. What a coinky-dink~! Well, the Hanamura Clan was well-known for having all of their family members descend from the World's Strongest Red Dragon Emperor, Belzard. This meant that the dragon aura that each blood relative received would be quite stupendous, but I'm afraid that great power comes at a cost."

"Cost?"

Asriel nodded, "Yup, in spite of being the strongest clan there, the Hanamura Clan had suffered a long chain of failed child births with either the mother dying from giving birth or the child dying upon their birth. How it occurs is unknown to me, but I can safely say that the clan's members have grimly dwindled over the years…"

"A-Asriel-san, if you don't mind, but have you heard word about any Hanamura Clan member who was about ready to give birth at the time?" Sweating, Michael remembered back to Vali's insensitive reveal of this information.

"None that I could tell, anytime that she was out in public was brief or out of my range to investigate. They were very certain to keep tabs on her since she was the only daughter to the current head of the family during the time."

"Oh…" He was so close to getting answer, but nothing substantial came up during this conversation. Sensing Michael's disappointment, Asriel muttered "And now for the final nail in the coffin" as she pulled back and mock inquisitively took a better look at the boy.

"But you know…you do sort of resemble someone that I noticed in the Village."

"R-Really!?" Michael excitedly widened his eyes.

'Hook. Line. And sinker….'

"Well, it wasn't someone that was a natural inhabitant of the village, but rather an odd outsider, who somehow managed to sneak in. Hm, yes, I'd even say that the resemblance is rather "uncanny" to say the least. Perhaps, he may have been your fath-."

Suddenly, the music that once filled the dance hall stopped as all of the devils and their dance partners bowed to either change partners or go off to the sides of the hall to rest.

"Aw, and just when I was beginning to enjoy this dance too. Well, Sekiryuutei-san, thank you for accepting my request to dance. I know that you have places, so I'd best leave you to your business, farewell." Curtsying, Asriel pats Michael's back once more before elegantly walking through the crowd of devils.

"H-Hold on! Dammit…" Michael cursed the bad timing of the dance ending, he was so close to learning something about his parentage and since the Ero-Ossan wasn't about to tell him anything, then he's sure as hell not going to let this chance get away. Chasing after Asriel, Michael struggled to push past the oncoming crowd of dancing devils to reach her, but to no avail. Even his calls to her were drowned out by the music and the chattering of the partygoers around them.

"Asriel-san, wait up! I have to ask you some things just now! Asriel-san! Asriel-san!" Unbeknownst to Michael, Asriel was able to his screams through this complete mess of noise.

"Ufufu, its been awfully fun, Michael-tan and I wish that I could play with you so more. But you really do have other places to be than here, you know?" Asriel snapped her fingers as a small magic circle appeared on Michael's back, the back that Asriel made sure to place mark.

"Bye-Bye~!"

*SNAP!*

"Asriel-san!"

"Michael! Micha-huh? Where did he?" Just when Rias spotted the Pawn through the crowd, upon taking a few steps toward him, he suddenly vanished. Looking around frantically, her eyes widened, she was sure that he was just there a moment ago so what in blue blazes happened to him.

"Michael!" Rias cried out, but was met with no response but the hall filling music drowning her out for no one to hear.

XXX

"Asriel-san! Asriel-san! Asriel-sa-! Hey, wait just one second… Where the heck am I?" Taking a look around, Michael found himself in the middle of a forest.

"How did I even end up in this place?" Michael scratched his head.

[Dunno, I was too busy dancing for you!]

"Don't be like that, Ddraig, at least you weren't bored as usual. Besides, I needed you more than ever during that lucky encounter with Asriel-san. She must know something about the village and my parents, but there are some points in her story that confused me. Based on what she said, the devils did something to the village, but what? I couldn't really hear that part well… There's also what Vali said about me being abandoned yet the Hanamura Clan tried its best to preserve its dying clan members? Urgh…"

Michael rubbed his chin in deep thought.

[Partner, I advise that you don't take what that woman said to heart. I don't know why, but I had this strange feeling when you two met. There's more to her than meets the eye, and that's in a bad way. Partner?]

Ddraig noticed how silent Michael was as the young man was too deep in thought.

"…" Slowly changing, Michael's pupils shifted from brown to deep red.

Sensing something well up, Ddraig shouted.

[Partner!]

"Huh? What?"

[*SIGH!* We'll worry about that strange woman later. Focus. We appear to be in a forest and I sense multiple presences here! They all seem very hostile so get ready.]

"Right, sorry!" Michael nodded as he did his best to pick through what appeared to be legions upon legions of chaotic energy presences, "Whoa, this sort of reminds me of that time with the-."

*ROOOOOAR!*

"Cat-chimera!" Dodge rolling, Michael narrowly avoids getting stabbed by the claws of a chimera. Just before the chimera could get a chance to pounce on him again. Michael held out his hand like a gun formed a powerful sphere of demonic aura.

"Dragon Gun!" A powerful beam of energy blasted the chimera into dust with ease.

Blowing the smoke off of his finger, Michael sketchily looked around, "The heck was that?"

[A chimera it seems.]

"Great, I have to fight these guys off again in a forest? That's just…wait…Ddraig. Doesn't this place look to be close to the hotel?" Michael remembered the view atop of Bova's back and remembered the thick forests around the magnificent building.

[You're right, but if that were the case then why don't I sense the presences of the devils at the party?]

"That's because you're in an Isolation Barrier!"

"Huh?" Suddenly honing in on a powerful energy signature, Michael wasted no time to look up at what appears to be a golden cloud coming his way.

"Also SCORE!"

"Geh!"

[Dragon Booster!]

*DOOOOOOOOOOOSH!*

Like a quick draw, Michael summoned the Boosted Gear to take the heavy brunt of an attack made by a golden staff.

"Kakaka! Nice to finally meet you again, Sekiryuutei!" Bikou laughed.

"Dragon Gun!" Using his other hand, Michael fired a blast of energy at Bikou, who nonchalantly avoids the attack by jumping back.

"Nice reaction time!" Bikou cracked his neck, "I can tell that you've grown stronger than the last time you faced Vali."

"You, how do you know about me and Vali?"

[Vali and I…] Ddraig corrected.

'Not now!' Michael thought in annoyance.

"Now don't be like that, you must have heard about me. I mean, we did sort of saw each other after you and Vali's balls to wall FIGHT!" Increasing the length of his staff, Bikou smashed it at Michael, who narrowly dodged it thanks to the cloak of touki that he surrounded himself with.

"Again nice reflexes!" Bikou laughed.

"Look, I don't remember any armor wearing assholes like you so beat it!" Michael roared as he charged in at Bikou.

"Finally, something to look forward to today!" Bikou excitedly chuckled as the pair fought hand to hand with the addition of Bikou's staff, who made continuously thrusted the butt of the weapon at Michael. Dodging each attack was a bit difficult but he made sure to avoid getting hit in the face since he sensed that tons of strength was put into each strike.

*SLAAM!* *THUD!*

Just as he was forced back up against a tree, he jumps to the side as he watches Bikou break a tree with a simple thrust of the weapon alone. Grinning, the monkey youkai looked over at Michael and muttered. "Extend" as the staff grew ten times over in length as he impressively swings it around through the trees in the perimeter and towards Michael.

"Dang!" Michael ducked, but was in awe as the woods around them got mowed down by Bikou's overgrown staff.

"Kakaka, this is going to be so fun!" Laughed, Bikou as he surrounded himself in a powerful surge in aura.

'Wait a minute…' Michael gasped, 'The way he said that, I remember now! He's the one who…'

(Flashback)

"Eh?" In Kuoh Academy, Michael dropped the last of change just as he was about to use the vending machine.

Rolling around, the three coins made there way towards another male student.

"Kakaka! Off to the arcade! This is going to be fun, eh?" The male student looked to Michael, who was expectantly looking at him.

Seconds pass before the male student took off running.

"Wait, dick!" Michael growled, "I will have my revenge! I know who you are asswipe! One way or another! I will get my change back after I get my chips! You hear me!?"

Suddenly the vending machine dropped a bag of chips without his knowing.

"Oh, sweet! Someone forgot to get this! It must be my lucky day!" A female student grabbed it and walked passed Michael.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Michael screamed to the sky.

(Reality)

[Boost!]

*BAAAAAAAAAAM!*

Throwing a powerful punch infused with dragon aura and touki, the collision of Michael's fist with Bikou's staff created a powerful updraft of wind that surrounded the area.

"I've come for the 500 yen that you took from me, Kyle, you, thieving son of a bitch!"

"Kyle? No, that's wrong." Bikou deadpanned.

"What? You mean that you're not Kyle, who's been secretly some mythological creature at my school who just so happened to have stolen my 500 yen?" Michael asked.

"No that's not me."

"Wait, you're right, I was wrong. Maybe you took 1000 yen from that day, yeah, I vividly remember you doing that. So cough it up." Michael whistled.

"The money doesn't even matter!"

"But…the laugh…"

"I never even attended your school! Just because we shared the same laugh and dialogue doesn't mean we're the same person!" Bikou angrily huffed, he knew he should have stayed back home watching Hero movies.

"Look its not my fault that the two of you are alike in certain ways… Wait a minute, does Kyle even laugh like that? And didn't he bring like a ton of lunch that day, so…" Michael grew pale in thought.

"You're not even sure that you're comparing me to the right guy!?"

"Wait, wait, wait. I-I totally remember you! Just chill, okay?" Michael guilty shook his head, things were just getting serious and now the mood felt awkward. It was like seeing a very old friend, who's name you could never remember.

'Wait a minute…' Michael gasped, 'I remember now I heard Shishou say his name, and there's also that one time…'

(Flashback)

Leaning against a corner leading to a dark alley, Michael coughed, "So…uh…You got the stuff?"

"Yeah, I got the swag for you right here my dude…" Whispered a cloaked man in the alleyway, who held out a brown paper bag.

Taking it, Michael coughed, "So, is this shit legit?"

"Why don't you take a look?"

Opening the paper bag, Michael moaned, "Yes…Special, rare, mint condition Blue Eyes the White Dragon cards along with the Dark Magician Girl…Oh, yeah…"

"Ahem! I believe you have something for me?" The man stuck out his hand.

"Yeah, yeah, keep your shorts on." Michael handed the man a "Gamestop" plastic bag, "Just have to let you know that it took most of my friend's debit card savings just to but the first day release."

"Oh, yeah…Senran Kagura: Estival Versus. Looks like I'll be having an eventful Friday night this week." The man licked his lips as he pulled the game out.

"Remember, we trade back after the Yugioh Tournament at the gameshop, deal?"

"Deal."

"Pleasure doing business with you, BB-chan."

"You too, Butsy Dragon, snrk!"

"Its Gutsy Dragon! Gutsy Dragon, its not my fault the website won't let me fix the error to my penname!" Michael wailed.

(Reality)

*BAAAAAAAAAAAM!*

"BB-chan! I've come to give back your Yugioh cards!" Michael threw another punch that Bikou blocked with his staff.

"N-No, that wasn't me at all. I'm not the guy who gave you those Yugioh cards like a drug dealer in the middle of the night! Wait, what sort of messed up nerd circle are you in that resorts for you to even do that!?"

"Ah, I see, you don't remem-I mean, look, here's the Blue Eyes White Dragon card that you gave so now we're square, right?" Michael profusely began to sweat as he bowed his head and held out the card.

"Wait, what about the Dark Magician Girl card, and only one Blue Eyes White Dragon card? What happened to the other one!?"

"Here's your Blue Eyes White Dragon card." Michael didn't have the heart to admit that he betted them in the tournament and had to give them up to the winner when he lost in the preliminaries.

"Don't just repeat the same line and ignore me!? And why the hell am I getting so worked up about this!? Guh, look, my name is Bikou! You might have just heard the name "Bibi-chan" from some guy named Kai at the end of your battle with Vali. He calls me Bibi-chan to demean me, so don't correlate my name with some perverted nerd with a similar sounding penname!" Bikou shouted before taking deep breaths.

"Shishou demeans you, why?"

"Because ever since I was little, he's forcibly made me his subord-. Hold on, did you just say that Kai's you're-?" Bikou trembled.

"Shishou, yes." Michael nodded.

"H-He's not here is he?" Bikou panicked.

"Here? I think I sensed him at the party, but something felt weird… Like he was out of commission for some reason." Michael shrugged.

XXX

(With Kai)

XXX

"MWINE! MWINE! ALL MWINE!" Serafall drunkenly slurred.

"Serafall, please! Put down the mug and relax! You're literally about to neuter Kai at this rate!" Katerea begged the drunken Maou Magical as she stood atop the unconscious and drunk bodies of Sirzechs and the other esteemed High-class devils.

"I-I think I see a light…Mother…?" Kai squeaked as Serafall still kept tight grip on his family jewel.

"Hahahaha! This is hilarious! Quick, Raymond bring out your phone, so we can start recording this together!" Azazel busted a gut laughing at the adult devils get taken down by Serafall.

"Azazel-sama, don't you think you should help put an end to this mess before escalates ever further? You caused it after all." Raymond asked.

"Raymond, sometimes you have to kick back and enjoy the little things in life. Besides, we have Grayfia to keep them all in check. Right, Grayfia? Grayfia?"

"*HIC!*"

*SHATTER!*

The maid hiccuped as she dropped a glass of what did appear to be water.

"Oh maou no…" Katerea facepalmed.

"Hey, you…~!" Grayfia stumbled towards the victorious Serafall.

"Whut!?" Serafall slurred.

"Get you'self offa my man!" Grayfia slurred.

"M-Make, urp, ME, Bitssh…" Serafall hopped off the pile of beaten and drunken men towards the drunk Grayfia.

"Gladry *HIC!* I'mma make ya scream for mershy *HIC!* *HIC!*!"

"Yes, the rematch between Serafall and Grayfia, the fight to decide, who is strongest Drunken Female Devil in the Underworld begins now!" Azazel wasted no time as he began to record the brawl between the two powerful women.

Grabbing a glass of water from a passing waiter, Raymond dipped his finger in it to taste it before blankly and accusingly looking at Azazel, "The water is spiked with vodka…"

"I know, it was getting boring, so I decided to liven things up and make people "happy." You're all welcome!" Azazel shouted out but only received collective groans and a growl from Katerea.

Putting the glass down, Raymond sighed and began to leave, "I'm telling Shemhazai-sama."

"Wait, what? No, Raymond! I'm sorry don't tell on me!" Azazel's face grew pale.

"I'm telling."

"Noooooo!"