"Six against sixteen, I'm not surprised at the result." I throw a kunai up in the air before catching it with one finger. "How long until Lucifer comes to beg for my help?" A red circle appears on the ground. "Not very long, whatever."
"What did you think Y/N?"
"I think devils are a weak race who rely too much on their status. None of you interest me because you already have it in your head whether you are going to win or not. The unexpected isn't something you all are good with." I throw the kunai at the wall and hit the bullseye I've drawn. "1,000." I head over to a bar hanging from the ceiling and start doing pull-ups.
"Have you reconsidered our arrangement?"
"Nope, not one bit. This is the coziest place I've ever lived, and I have everything I could want. Peace, enough space to workout, you even gave me a TV and the materials to make practice dummies. If you want to kill me then go ahead and do it, quit wasting our time." Sirzechs takes a step back.
"I feared this would be the result." Another red circle opens up and I see Akeno come through it.
"Hey little sis, your wounds healed quickly. Maybe devils are good at something after all."
"Why won't you help us?" I let go of the bar and land on my hands to allow myself to do handstand pushups.
"You know how important Rias is to me Y/N, so why won't you help?"
"It's not about you." She comes over to the edge of my cell and puts her hands on the bars. "You got by just fine without me, and you can handle this too. You're a strong woman Akeno, and I know that you truly don't want my help."
"You're right, I don't, but I know that if you don't that Rias is going to have to marry that asshole."
"Those were the rules of the game, were they not?"
"That may not concern you, but what if he doesn't stop there? What if he took me?" I pause my workout and look at Akeno.
"Then I would murder him and his entire family, simple enough. I came back into your life to explain what happened and why I acted the way I did, and if you allowed me to I would protect you with everything I have. It may not mean a damn thing to you, but you're the only family I have left, and that means something to me."
"Then do it for me. If he does marry Rias then he'll have access to her entire peerage, myself included." She looks down to the ground. "I've had time to think. I'm still angry with you, that will never change, but I know that deep down you would never do something that would put me in harm's way. You had your reason, and while I may not agree with it, it's what happened. There is one thing you're wrong about though." She opens the cell door and walks inside of it, approaching me and hugging me. "I need you Y/N. You're the only thing left that reminds me of my parents, even if that includes their deaths." I put an arm around Akeno and kiss her head.
"You're making this hard for me to say no. I need to warn you though if I am set free there are still tons of people who want my head. My killing spree didn't end with the Himejima, it started with them. Some clans still have people that I missed and they want me gone, and as long as you're around me, you'll become a target as well." Akeno lays her head against me and closes her eyes.
"Your heart feels so violent."
"I'm a violent person. The path I've walked is a dark one, and it's not one I recommend to anybody." I look up at Sirzechs. "You win, I'll save your sister. Let it be known that I'm not doing this for her, I'm doing this for Akeno."
"It'll have to do. Now, Akeno, if you don't mind, we need to return to the rest of Rias' peerage."
"If you don't mind I have something else I need to tell Akeno." She walks back over to me. "Akeno, I'm going blind. The power of my eyes is starting to wear on them heavily. If it's not taken care of soon I'll lose my sight forever, not to mention the chance that I'll grow sick and die. Once this is over I have somewhere I need to go, but I want you to come with me."
"Save Rias and I'll do it."
"Perfect."
"Grayfia will bring you everything you need for the night the morning of." I look at the maid behind Sirzechs.
"So that's your name, I like it." Akeno leaves my cell and I return to my workout. "Just let me know when I have to mentally traumatize a motherfucker, I'll be waiting patiently."
"That's one thing, I would rather you didn't do that."
"You asked for my help, that's all you are allowed to demand of me. Now scram."
"Goodbye Y/N." I smile at Akeno.
"I'll see you soon little sis." The three of them teleport away and I turn my eyes to the window. "It's been a long time since I've had a real fight, I'm curious if I've still got it."
A Few Days Later
"Y/N, it's time to go." I open the cell door and take the tuxedo Grayfia gives me.
"I've never worn something like this, is there a wrong way?"
"Put it on and I'll help you straighten it out." I smirk as I take my shirt off.
"Try not to get too excited." She rolls her eyes as I strip down to my underwear before putting the tuxedo on. "How do I look?"
"Let me fix your collar." Grayfia comes over and adjusts my collar. "Tell me Y/N, have you ever been in love?"
"I was, it was a waste of time. She couldn't handle the fact that I was a wanted fugitive that the Three Factions wanted the head of so she left me. Middle of the night, we were sleeping right next to each other, and I woke up the next morning alone. No note, no indication of a struggle, just her and all of her things gone. Now I'm just a drifter on the wind wondering how long I have before Death comes and takes me."
"You seem ready to die," Grayfia notes.
"It can't be any harder than living. You make decisions you're unhappy with and have to live with them. I won't take myself out though, I want to die for a reason." Grayfia takes a step back.
"There you are, now everything is in order." She hands me a flier. "I'll teleport you a safe distance from the mansion. That invite is from Sirzechs himself so the guards should have no issue letting you in."
"So I just walk in, waste the bastard, and walk out?"
"You're not going to kill him. Besides, you'll have a way out."
"Whatever, let's just get this over with." Grayfia and I teleport away and she leaves me on a path leading up to a mansion. Once at the door I flash the invite.
"Go on in." I take a step into the door and walk down a hallway with some of the other guests. We arrive in a large room with a ton of people in it, all dressed up in fancy clothing like mine.
"My brother won his bride in the Rating Game, it was only fair." I look to my left and see a short girl with a pink dress on. Her eyes meet mine and my cold scowl shuts her up. I meet with Akeno and two other members of Rias' peerage.
"Glad to see you made it," Akeno tells me.
"Against my will, I'm here, but I'm ready to get this over with."
"Oh, right. Y/N, this is Kiba and Koneko. You two, this is my brother, sort of."
"You shouldn't say it so loudly, you're going to blow my cover." Akeno nods and looks to the floor. A short girl walks over to us and I recognize her from the other day.
"I'm surprised to see you're here," she says to me.
"I'm full of surprises."
"Either way, I just wanted to say that you all put up a great match. It's a shame what happened, but there's nothing that can be done about it."
"More can be done than you think." A fiery pillar appears at the end of the room and Riser Phenex appears. "Lucifer better give me a good signal."
"Friends, family, and fellow guests, Riser is honored to have you all here tonight to celebrate not only my latest victory but my incoming marriage to the heiress of Gremory." Rias is brought through a teleportation circle and I take Kiba's champagne.
"I'll pay you back for this later. Besides, you're too young to be drinking." I chug the glass before taking my tux coat off. I hold it in one arm as I walk toward the bride and groom, but Riser recognizes me.
"Guards, seize him!"
"I had an invitation and everything. Suppose I can't be surprised that the house of Phenex would treat guests like this." In an instant, the guards that are sent after me are dispatched and I continue my walk toward Riser. "I'll cut to the chase. You and I will fight, and if I win then Rias Gremory doesn't have to marry you. If I lose, then everything will proceed as normal. You don't have anything to lose fighting a lowborn like me anyway."
"Very well, Riser accepts your challenge." I throw my coat to Rias and crack my neck before taking my shirt off.
"Be nice and I won't end your pathetic life," I tell Riser.
"Riser would be surprised if you could even scratch him."
"Calm down you two." I turn my head to look at Sirzechs.
"This is a party, I'm just trying to have a little bit of fun with the groom is all."
"And you shall. You may not understand Riser, but I've invited our friend here to give you a second chance to prove your strength." Riser laughs at me.
"No offense my Lord, but Riser has proven more than enough by defeating Rias and her peerage."
"That may be true, but the battle was rather close. One thing goes differently and Rias would have won the battle."
"It's the final result that counts."
"Can we get on with this? I'm getting bored." Riser scowls at me.
"Why bring this human here anyway? Riser knows enough about you. You're the one who murdered my older brother, and it would be my pleasure to put you down for that." I tilt my head before realizing what he meant.
"Oh yeah, I didn't even learn his name. He was a smug son of a bitch, much like the one in front of me." A blonde woman stands up from the crowd with tears in her eyes and walks toward me.
"So you're Y/N." All of the devils in the room gasp at hearing my name. "You should burn in hell for what you've done."
"If I had a dollar for every time that I've heard that I would have retired by now. Yes, I'm Y/N, the one who has separated your sons and daughters from you. I'm not here asking for forgiveness, I'm just here at the request of someone close to me. How about I propose this to you all? Riser and I will fight, and if I defeat him without killing him Rias Gremory gets to leave with me?"
"What about if you lose?" I look over at Riser.
"I won't lose. Besides, if he dies, he dies." Riser and I are teleported to an open arena. I look around to see all of the devils spectating the arena with Rias and Riser's families in separate sections watching. From where Rias is I see Akeno looking down at me with a desperate look on her face. "Everything is going to be okay little sis."
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The Y/N and Riser fight will be in the next chapter. For those of you who read Sworn Apart, this fight won't go the same way that it did in that story. If you have any suggestions feel free to let me know, and until next time, have a good one.
-Coop