chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own HighSchool DxD

Chapter XII – Let Us Begin

The next day, Sona and Tsubaki just finished their first class and were now walking back to the Student Council room to check up on things.

"I assume that your talk with Kyuren-san went well, Sona-sama?" Tsubaki asked to her king.

Sona nodded with an almost unnoticeable smile. "Yes, but we unanimously agreed that it be kept a secret until the Science Fair." It just wouldn't do. The Iron Man armor they would build would no doubt attract unwanted attention.

Of course it was better to keep it under wraps until it was ready.

She still couldn't believe that Kyuren had managed to design just that. The Sitri heiress looked over the design with a very critical eye and couldn't see any problems with it.

It was just so well designed; Kyuren was probably working on this for years and perfected his design over that time.

Tsubaki nodded. She held no illusion in this; if Kyuren and Sona were on the same team, then they had already won. This was just a battle for second place.

On another note, Tsubaki had also noticed that Sona had begun to look forward the time Kyuren was coming to the Council room for their chess game and to have a little chat.

It didn't take a genius to realize that Sona was slowly becoming attracted to the raven haired teen, and Tsubaki wondered that it was the same for him.

Though he had his own fair share of faults, the raven haired teen was a good match for Tsubaki's king. Only time will tell, but for now, she would keep quiet about this.

"I have heard that Saji has asked Ruruka and Momo to have a talk with him. Do you think he finally realized it?" Sona asked. She had known that Saji was smitten with her, but he wasn't exactly her type.

He was a nice boy and Sona cared about him, but only as far as siblings go. And there was Momo and Ruruka, the Sitri heiress knew they both harbored romantic feelings towards Saji.

She didn't want to break the girls' heart so Sona had been hoping that her pawn would notice their feelings for him. And now, it might just happen.

Tsubaki nodded, having also got wind of it. "Yes, I have. No matter how it turns out, at least they'd get closure, don't you think?"

Sona hummed in the affirmative. Like Rias, she viewed her peerage like a second family though she was much stricter compared to her friend. It wouldn't do that some of her pieces had conflicting feelings. She wanted them to be comfortable and performed at their very best.

If things went well, then Saji might just give up on getting her to fall for him and focus on the two girls that had genuine feelings for him. It wasn't necessarily illegal to have multiple significant others in Devil Society...or in any of the Three Factions except for the Angels' side.

A devil could have as many spouses as he or she so desired, and as much Sona wanted to wring her neck for this, that Issei could become a Harem King if he so wished for it. That is, if he can find women that are actually willing to.

Don't get her wrong, Issei is a nice boy and all, but he's just so fixated on breasts that it wasn't even funny. What Rias saw in him, Sona didn't really want to know.

Soon, they came upon the Council room and entered. Only a few were there since the others were still in class. After greeting those inside, Sona and Tsubaki began their going over the usual things for the day.

Kyuren was sitting in the library, trying to finish up on his assignment for today. It wasn't anything he couldn't handle, after all, if he could design the Iron Man Armor, he could absolutely do this.

Except for a few setbacks, things were going exactly to plan for Kyuren. He was happy that Sona had agreed on his Armor project and had been making calls for the equipment to be brought in and the materials to be delivered.

He had designed this months ago, before he was transferred to Japan, so the raven haired boy had already made the necessary arrangements. He just had made the call last night and his equipment and materials would be delivered in one day, guaranteed.

Of course, it wouldn't be fair for Sona if they just did his own project. Kyuren would admit that the supposedly fictional armor was for his own benefit so he could hide his superhuman powers. But Sona also deserved to have her idea come to fruition.

While both of their projects would revolutionize the scientific world as a whole, Kyuren felt that Sona's work deserved to be constructed just as much as his did.

There were a lot of people who had missing or amputated limbs. Her level of prosthetics could help them live normal lives; not just humans, but maybe other beings as well.

Maybe he could talk to her about it, convince her that her idea was worth it and would be happy to help her with it. It was the least Kyuren could do as a way to say thank you.

But still there were a lot of things to consider and Kyuren was welcome to any more ideas Ms. Sitri might have. After all, this was their project.

"And that should do it." Kyuren sighed as he leaned back on the chair, stretching his body for the kinks. After feeling a few satisfying pops, the raven haired boy placed his assignments in his bag and decided to lounge around the library for a little while longer.

Besides, free wifi.

"Yo, Kyuren." A familiar voiced called out to him and he found that it was Saji coming his way.

"Oi, Saji. What brings you here?" Kyuren asked, pocketing his phone. Well, it's not exactly strange to find him here, he is a student after all. But considering the other circumstances...

Saji looked sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck. "Erm...you're not going to like this, but Sona-sama requested you at the ORC after class hours." He was right when he saw the raven haired teen furrowed his brow.

The raven haired teen scowled. "Why?" It wasn't a question. Kyuren didn't like where this was going.

"They're going to talk about what happened at that abandoned church and..." Saji hesitated for a moment as he shuffled nervously. He really didn't know how to break it to the guy without irritating him more.

Kyuren grew impatient after a few seconds. "About what, Saji?"

"Whether or not you were involved."

At that, Kyuren couldn't help but feel a tad bit angry. Did he or did he not declared that he was a neutral party? What in the hell made them think he was somehow involved in that botched church thing?!

It wasn't his damn fault that Raynare planned better!

"You're telling me that Gremory thinks I helped Raynare and her group?" The raven haired teen said with a noticeable edge in his voice.

"Not exactly, but I think you know who does." Saji didn't need to elaborate his words further because Kyuren knew who was stupid enough to do just that.

"Hyoudou." Kyuren grumbled in irritation as he pinched the bride of his nose. Of course it was him, who else could it be? 'That idiot is really starting to get on my nerves.'

Wiping his face, Kyuren gave out a calming breath. "All right, fine. I'll go. Thanks for telling me."

Saji just smiled and shrugged. "Eh, no problem. Besides, I want to talk to you about something." He hoped Kyuren could help him with this. It was now or never and he needed some last minute pep talks.

Kyuren welcomed the change of subject and smirked, already knowing what the blonde had in mind. "Let me guess, you finally asked them?" At Saji's nod, the raven haired teen smirked. "Then take a seat, there's not a lot of people in here anyway."

It was true, there were not a lot of students present at this time so the two of them could talk freely.

"So..." Kyuren began as Saji sat down on the chair. "You're finally facing it instead of stalling it. About damn time. How are you going to do this?"

"I don't know, man. I mean, you're right, I gotta talk to them, but I don't know what I'm going to say. I never had two girls after me." Saji shrugged.

The raven haired teen nodded. "I've got nothing more to tell you about this. Just keep your cool and let them know." Kyuren shrugged, he himself a little unsure of the outcome. "Maybe they'll understand and back off or you give them a chance."

"Aw, man. This high school drama shit sucks." Saji groaned. This was just too damn complicated! He didn't sign up for this!

The raven haired teen gave an amused chuckle. "Yeah, your problem, not mine." He smirked when Saji gave him a dirty look. "Besides, any guy would kill to be in your position. You got two girls gunning for you, who wouldn't want that."

"What about you?" Saji nodded to him. "You've been getting friendly with the Kendo club, there must be someone there's been eyeing you up. Hell, you're even more popular with the ladies than Kiba!" He exclaimed.

The librarian snapped her eyes at the two teens. "No shouting in the library!" She snapped and the two winced lightly, muttering an apology.

"Yeah, well. I'm not looking for a relationship just yet." Kyuren shrugged. "And don't drag me into this, this is your love life we're talking about. Not my lack of it...matter of fact, why am I even doing this? I'm not a damn therapist."

Saji laughed. "Yeah, but you're the best I got."

After a few minutes of talking, Kyuren looked at his watch and saw that it was almost time for his own class. "I got to run, Saji. Best of luck to you."

"Yeah, sure. Thanks again." With that, the raven haired teen took his leave. "Well...time to meet up with Momo and Ruruka." He said to himself and left the library and made his way to the Student Council room. That's where he was going to meet up with the two girls.

He was lucky that Sona and most of their group had classes at this time and that Momo and Ruruka currently had free time on their hands. So, it was now or never. Saji won't get another chance like this any time soon.

It won't be easy, that was for sure...and a bit awkward. Those two were among his closest friends for crying out loud!

Saji still had feelings for Sona, but after finding out the truth, he had been spending a little more time with the two girls from time to time, looking for the signs.

Now that Saji knew what he was looking for, he could see the way those two looked at him. It was true, they like him. It was a shock at first, but as time went on, he was starting to think that maybe he should give them a chance.

Besides, what chance did he have with Sona anyway? She's been hanging out with Kyuren more lately and now, they were partners in the Science Fair. If they didn't hook up in the next few months, then Saji will eat his damn shoe.

It wasn't their fault, though. Looking at it in Sona's perspective, Kyuren was far more appealing than Saji ever could be. And as much as it pained him to admit it, the raven haired teen had a better shot at Sona.

That made Saji a little bit sour towards Kyuren, but he did say that he wasn't interested in Sona that way - at least not yet - and gave the blonde a chance to win her over.

And that made him all right in Saji's book. Kyuren was definitely a friend in his eyes.

Still though, what he truly wanted was for Sona to be happy, as is his duty as her servant and as her friend. If he wasn't suppose to be by her side, then so be it.

It hurts to think about it, but Saji had to accept that maybe him and Sona were meant to just stay as friends. 'Being friend zoned is a bitch.'

But he could think about that later, for now...Saji had to go the Council room. Picking up the pace, he walked towards his destination.

Well, here it is. Saji could hear two voices coming from the room and steeled himself. This was it, it was time to find out what those two really felt about him. No pussying out now.

"All right, Saji boy." The blonde muttered, trying to hype himself up. "You can do this. You're no chicken, you're a man. And men don't pussy out like bitches."

After a few more seconds of calming his nerves, Saji finally decided to go in and get this over with.

He opened the door and stepped in, and saw the two girls that got him so confused over the past week there lounging about. "Hey, Ruruka-chan, Momo-chan." Saji greeted with a smile at the two.

The two girls both smiled. "Hi, Saji-kun." They both greeted back.

Ruruka and Momo were curious on why did Saji wanted to talk to them all of the sudden. Could it be that he found out about them? Did he found out that the both of them had a huge crush on him?

If so, Ruruka and Momo were extremely nervous. Would the guy they liked say that he didn't like them that way? Would he reject their feelings for him? It was a high possibility since he had his own feelings with Sona.

It pained them to see Saji looking at their king that way and not be able to tell their own feelings for him.

The two had been rivals and were competing on who should have Saji's love as her own, but after a brief talk with Sona and Tsubaki, they found out that it was all right that they shared him.

Needless to say, they blushed up a storm at the insinuation of it. But after long hours of talking, the two had come to an agreement. If he couldn't choose between the two, they could always share him.

That is, if he was willing to give them a chance.

The three sat in silence, unwilling to be the first to take that step. Saji was looking anywhere except for Momo and Ruruka, nervousness creeping up his spine.

'This went so much better in my head.' He thought to himself.

Deciding to take the initiative and lift the uncomfortable silence, Momo cleared her throat and looked at her crush. "You said you wanted to talk to us, Gen-chan?"

Saji hesitated for a moment then slowly nodded his head. "Y-Yeah..." He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling his throat getting a bit dry. "Do you two...like me..?" Well, no chance of taking it back now.

At this, the two stiffened and looked away from him. So, he finally realized it. They should be jumping in joy, but that was not the case.

Shyly, Ruruka and Momo nodded. "H-Hai, Saji. We do." Momo motioned to herself and Ruruka and everything went tense from there.

It was just like Kyuren said, they did like him...maybe even more than that from their reaction. But now, how was he going to do this?

True, Sona was important to him, but it was getting obvious to him that the gap between them was just too great and he didn't even know what she felt towards him in that regard.

Now, his two of his closest friends had admitted to him that they did like him. What're the odds of that happening?

"Um...wow...I don't know what to say." He said truthfully. The cat was out of the bag, now what was Saji going to do?

Several minutes passed of talking to each other and eventually the awkwardness of it began to disappear as they became more comfortable.

That is, until he asked about having two girlfriends if they ever got together. Well, let's just say he got a nosebleed when Momo said he can since they were devils, not humans.

It was slow going and Saji felt more comfortable with the two girls that with Sona. Sure, he still had feelings for her, but it was not as prevalent as it is now. 'Maybe I should give this a shot.'

"Hey, I don't know where this is gonna lead but...maybe we she give this a shot?"

His question got an immediate smile from the two girls. "Yes!" They exclaimed in joy, ecstatic that finally they had a chance with Saji.

Saji couldn't help but smile, perhaps this was better. And he had two girls! That was a fucking win any day of the damn week!

But he couldn't take the credit here, his thanks goes out to Kyuren. 'Kyuren, you're all right.' This wouldn't have happened if he didn't tell the blonde. And that was something Saji will have to thank him for when he got the chance.

"Kyuren, I'm sorry for calling you here after hours." Sona apologized, looking at her partner standing before her and her peerage.

She had been contacted by Rias to for a meeting about what was going to happen. But when she found out that Issei blamed Kyuren for the nun's unfortunate death, it agitated the Sitri heiress.

Sona knew that the raven haired teen would not help the fallen angels, he had specifically told them that he wanted no part in their affairs and kept to himself when it came to this kind of business.

A sentiment that she and Rias agreed with since that's the way it should be.

But then, Issei had to open his big mouth and blame Kyuren for his own failure of rescuing Asia Argento. Saying that he tipped off the Fallen Angels. The Sitri heiress just knew he wasn't going to like that.

Giving a shrug, Kyuren just looked at her with placid eyes. "It's of no consequence. Let's just get this over with."

Nodding, Sona made a teleportation circle to the ORC and her group including Kyuren stepped in before disappearing.

The next thing Kyuren knew was that he was in the Occult Research Club and sighed to himself. He could see all the members of Rias' peerage present and the red head herself sitting by the couch.

Rias smiled in greeting but before she could utter a single word, her only pawn took the liberty to. "YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

Issei roared in rage, stomping his way towards Kyuren until he was held back by Akeno and Kiba. "It's your damn fault Asia died! You ratted us out, didn't you?! You ruthless heartless bastard! Fucking scum! You're no better than fucking trash, you goddamn bitch!" He raged on before the Gremory heiress had enough of his tirade.

"Issei, that's enough!" She snapped, glaring at her pawn. While she did care for him, his was no way to treat guests. Especially if one of them had the strength to rival a god.

Issei stared at his king in outrage. "Why are you defending him, Rias?! He's the one who let Asia die!"

Sona finally had enough of this idiot's incessant and blatant disrespect. "HYOUDOU, YOU WILL SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" She shouted in such a way that Rias and her peerage recoiled slightly. Even Rias hadn't seen this reaction from the usually calm and collected Sona very often. "I will not sit idly by and let you disrespect me, my peerage, and a guest. Do you understand me, Issei Hyoudou?!"

Sona looked like she was going to continue until he felt a hand being placed on her shoulder. She turned her head and saw that it was Kyuren's hand and when she looked at his face, she could see that he was displeased.

Understanding that he wanted to handle this himself, she gave a single nod and took a step back as he turned his attention to Issei.

Never mind that this idiot had shouted at him, never mind that this worthless pile of dritt called him those names, but the one thing Kyuren will not tolerate was this fool blaming him for his own failures.

"Do you understand what you're saying? Are you blaming me for that girl's death?" Kyuren asked in a neutral voice that sent chills down Issei's spine but he won't shirk away.

"Why else would that bitch, Raynare, found out about us trying to rescue Asia?" Issei growled, not backing down. "You cold heartless son of a bitch! Do you even feel anything about a person dying?!"

As this was going on, the others couldn't help but feel worry creep up their spine. They saw what he did to Issei's gear, saw how he shrugged off a rook's attacks, and completely outmatched five devils in terms of strength.

Kiba and Akeno were still holding back their peerage mate, hoping that he could just shut up and not make things worse.

All of them looked on holding their breaths at what Kyuren might do. He is easily the most powerful individual here and it would be nothing short of a miracle if they managed to stop him.

Sona was looking worriedly at Kyuren. She knew he would be upset and all, but after what this perverted moron had spewed out, she was sure that he was furious.

A part of her wanted to approach him but she stayed her ground. This wasn't her fight to finish, but of Kyuren did something unsavory, then they will have no choice than to restrain him.

She hoped to the Maous it wouldn't come to that. Fortunately for them, Kyuren had a long fuse for his temper.

After a few seconds, the raven haired teen leered at Issei. "Believe what you want to believe, Hyoudou, but I'll tell you this. I did not rat your rescue attempt to anyone. Raynare was just smart enough to alter her plans in her favor. You, on the other hand, failed because of your own incompetence." He got close to Issei face and glared him. "She's dead because of you."

Well, at least that didn't blew up in their faces. But Issei was just seething in anger but he couldn't find a proper response.

Seeing that he had made his point clear, Kyuren withdrew and took a few steps back. Once he was by Sona's side again, he turned to Rias. "Now, is there anything else you want to talk about?"

Rias shook her head and the raven haired teen nodded. "Then I'll take my leave." With that, he turned around to the door as Kiba and Akeno let go of Issei.

When the door closed, Sona, Rias, and pretty much everyone except for Issei released a sigh of relief.

*SUNDAY*

It has been five days since his visit to the ORC and Kyuren could honestly say that a lot of things happened since then.

For one thing, him and Issei were clearly at odds with one another. The boy was too idealistic in his views which is fine, but he shouldn't flaunt it around so much...and control his emotions more. Things to add to the list on why Issei was a waste.

It gets annoying real fast.

He even had the audacity to blame Kyuren of all people because of his own incompetence. Now that was just rude and insulting.

Rias had tried to apologize for her own pawn but Kyuren wouldn't have it. Unless that moron came himself to apologize, he would not accept any of it.

The red head means well, but she needs to whip that boy into shape, not pamper him.

Kyuren can understand where Issei was coming from. But he shouldn't preach it. You cannot save everyone and people will die no matter what you do. It's just the way things are, there was no changing that.

On another note, there is some good news. Saji had told him that he was giving Momo and Ruruka a chance at a relationship. Naturally, Kyuren congratulated him but asked if he meant both or one of them.

When Saji said both, it wasn't a simple thing to accept. But Kyuren reminded himself that this was devil business, not human. After all, he didn't even know what customs they had there.

Probably a topic for a conversation in the future.

And it wasn't long before Sona's entire peerage had found out about it and they all muttered finally. Kyuren had laughed when Saji was told that they had always known Momo and Ruruka had their eyes set on him, including Sona.

Moving on, the materials and equipment had finally arrived on Wednesday. While Sona was at school, she had given Kyuren permission to set everything up with the help of her servants.

Needless to say, they work fast. Even by his should've been weeks of work were done in only three to four days. Not that he was complaining.

And now, here they were. Sona and Kyuren were standing in their work station which was Sona's vast basement. Ready to commence their project.

"So, what do you think of the equipment I got us?" He asked looking at Sona who had Pip lying on her head. He had brought his kitten over since he didn't know what time he would be back and she had taken a liking to Sona.

The Sitri heiress said nothing and let her eyes wander around. All of the equipment she could see were all state-of-the-art technology. Scanners, 3D holographic projectors, an assembly unit, and much more.

Seeing her speechless state, Kyuren chuckled. "It's all right, take your time. I'm sure you want to look at it more.".

Hearing this, Sona gave Kyuren a mock glare and he held his hands up in a surrendering manner. "You're so full of yourself." She sighed with a shake of her head.

"Only when I want to be." Kyuren responded with a smirk before moving to the consoles. "Shall we get started, Ms. Shitori?"

"Let's." She gave a curt nod before taking Pip from her head and carrying the kitten in her arms. She smiled lightly when the little hairless cat sneezed in a cute way before coming beside her partner.

"She's taken a liking to you." He said and Sona looked at him smiling at her. She said nothing but placed the kitten on the table and Pip laid down with a yawn.

"She likes to sleep, huh?"

"You have no idea."

Sona watched him booting up the systems and once it was done, he took a step back and snapped his fingers. "Wake up and let there be life." And just like that, the whole room lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Okay." Kyuren rubbed his hands together, eager to get started. "Bring up Project Shell Head and put it on projection." He commanded as he set Pip on his shoulders as he and the Sitri heiress walked to the center of the basement and waited for the hologram to appear.

The hologram came to life and there stood a 3D rotating image of the fabled Iron Man Armor. (Think Mk. 7.) It still amazed Sona that they were actually doing this. A suit of armor that was supposed to be fictional - at least for a few more decades - is now within their grasp.

So many have tried to achieve a power armor, but the closest anyone has ever gotten was the United States but even then, it wasn't complete and suffered numerous and expensive setbacks.

It's almost funny to think that two high school students were closer to recreating the Iron Man suit than one of the most highly advanced countries in the world.

Sona had to restrain the smirk coming to her lips at the thought.

"So, do you have any ideas to add, Ms. Shitori? This is our work after all." The raven haired teen piped up.

"Truthfully, I have no idea. This is new grounds for me." She shrugged. Sona really didn't know what to add to this seeing as this was a totally new thing for her.

Kyuren nodded. "Well, I'm sure you'll think of something." He gave her a smile before turning back to the hologram. "All right, let's get started."

"Right."

OMAKE:

"Kyuren, are you sure this is safe?" Sona asked worriedly, watching him tinker with the flight stabilizer on the table...with the power on.

"Yes, this is totally safe." He reassured. "I just need to calibrate the capacitors and sensors, and and make sure the circuits are all good. There's absolutely nothing to worry about."

Just as he said that, Kyuren accidentally clipped a sensor that activated the repulser and they both heard a hum coming from it before a beam blasted a hole into the wall with a loud boom.

Sona stared at the ruined wall in shock before turning to glare at Kyuren only to find that he was gone! She turned and saw the door closing before she bolted out of her chair and ran after her partner.

"KYUREEEEN!"

AN:

Here you go, another chapter. Sorry for the mediocre quality, but I needed to get this out of the way in preparation for the next story arc, the Phoenix Arc.

And to those that flame this story, just keep talking. I won't stop. Even the best stories in FanFicion get flames. Just trust me with this, I know what I'm doing.