Demon Among Devils

Chapter 4: "She can stay"

And to them, he was powerful. They did not know the extent of his power or the number of Personas he had stored away, but from what he had shown them they could make an educated guess.

He did not think it wrong for them to try and recruit him. There was nothing inherently wrong with solidifying one's power base, and that was precisely what Rias and Sona were trying to do. Kings were expected to do so to protect their realm, and those who did not made for weak kings and soon to be deposed kings. No, he did not blame them. He did find their attempts to be annoying though, and when lunch period came around he was the first one out of the classroom, seeking to travel to one of the school's lesser known areas to avoid both devils and their peerages.

That had been the plan, at least.

What he forgot to factor into the equation was Issei. Issei who had somehow managed to find him every time to regale him with stories and tales of harems. Issei who knew where all of his hiding spots were. Issei who had no doubt told Rias when she asked.

He was not surprised at all when he opened the door to find Rias and Akeno sitting formally in the room he used the most often, a blanket spread over the desks they had pushed together to make a table, and a variety of food arranged in a neat pattern on top of it. The smile Rias had given him when their eyes met had been most infuriating.

Akeno: "Ara, ara, Arisato-kun, what a coincidence. We were just talking about you."

Rias: "Indeed, howfortuitous of you to come here Arisato-san. It's as though fate has decreed that we should be together."

In his defense, he had only slammed the door mildly in their faces.

Beating a hasty retreat, he had hoped to find solace in another spot. That hope had been dashed rather brutally when he ran smack-dab into Tsubaki Shinra, who promptly detained him.

Tsubaki: "The student council president would like to peak with you"

The stern girl had declared and from the way her hand tightened over his shoulder, he knew he would have no say in the matter.

He had been frog-marched halfway to their destination before rescue came from an unlikely source. Koneko and Kiba, different as night and day, stood in the hallway, fully intending to waylay them. He actually had been curious, expecting some sort of cataclysmic mental battle to occur between rival devils from different peerages.

Nothing of the sort.

Instead, Kiba ran a hand through his hair in a roguishly dashing manner and smiled at Tsubaki.

Kiba: "Senpai, you are looking very beautiful today."

He had scoffed. As if that would work. It was the oldest trick in the book. And then he had turned to see Tsubaki's cheeks flushing a spectacular shade of crimson.

Tsubaki: "Ah… ah…T-Thank you."

He twitched. He had to remind himself that these were not the demons he was familiar with, but devils, and teenage devils at that. They were susceptible to crushes and infatuations just like any human teenager would. Still, the thought of beings aligned with Hell coming down with a case of puppy love was mildly disconcerting.

Before he had time to dwell on the subject further, Koneko had slid in and started dragging him away by the sleeve. It was only then that the older girl realized things had gone awry and made a half-hearted attempt to stop them. Kiba had immediately interjected himself between her and them and proceeded to sweet talk Tsubaki into turning further shades of red.