"From today onward, Asia is officially a part of my peerage," Rias announced with a gentle smile. "She is my Bishop."
Asia bowed her head slightly.
"Thank you, Rias. I'll do my best."
Issei, who was sitting beside her, beamed with pride.
"She's already family."
Ryusei leaned back in her chair, arms crossed and one leg draped over the other.
"Speaking of which, Asia needs somewhere to stay, right?"
Ryusei tilted her head toward Issei.
"Why not stay with him? You two already get along, and she'll be safer under your watch."
Issei blinked in surprise, then rubbed the back of his head, flustered.
"Y-Yeah! I mean, if that's okay with you, Asia...!"
Asia smiled sweetly.
"I would love to. Thank you, Issei."
Rias gave a small approving nod.
"Then it's settled."
As the group returned to the celebration, cutting slices of cake and pouring tea, Rias leaned over toward Issei.
"Now that you have someone depending on you, Issei... it's time you stepped up."
Issei gulped.
"Starting tomorrow, basic training. Stamina, strength, control of your Sacred Gear. I want Ryusei to help supervise it."
Ryusei nearly choked on her cake.
"Wait, what now?"
"You've already proven you're more than capable. And I trust you."
"You're not gonna go easy on me, are you...?" Issei muttered with dread.
"...."
"Right?"
"Hell no."
Ryusei leaned over to Akeno, who was sipping tea.
"Hey. You're one of the most powerful magic users in the group, right?"
Ryusei tapped her fork against her empty plate. "Mind teaching me a few things about magic sometime?"
"Ara~? I'd be delighted, Ryusei. But be warned... my lessons tend to be a little intense."
Akeno picked up a fork with a neatly cut slice of vanilla cake and turned toward Ryusei.
"Ryusei~ say ahh," Akeno said sweetly, holding the fork up.
"Huh?"
Akeno leaned in just a little. "Come now, don't be shy."
Ryusei blinked, a little caught off guard by how close Akeno was, but she leaned forward anyway, already opening her mouth until another fork slid into view, right in front of her face.
"Ryusei, say ahh."
A second fork suddenly appeared in her line of sight-this time with a rich slice of chocolate cake, the scent hitting her nose immediately. It was Rias holding the fork.
Ryusei looked from Akeno's cake... to Rias'... then back again, her mouth still slightly open in confusion.
"...Why do I feel like choosing wrong might get me killed?"
Ryusei slowly reached up and gently pushed both forks down.
"Okay. First of all... I'm not a damn baby bird."
Akeno chuckled softly, clearly amused.
Rias crossed her arms, but her lips twitched-just barely.
"Fine," Ryusei muttered, snatching a fork for herself. "I'll eat the cake my way."
"Chocolate or Vanilla?" Akeno asked, still holding out the plate.
Ryusei paused.
"...Yes."
She took both.
{Woods outside of Kouh Town- next day}
The sound of crackling, unstable energy pulsed through the forest outside of Kouh Town. Ryusei stood in the center, calm and focused, her finger extended like a gun pointed at a distant tree. At her fingertip, a small but dense sphere of red-black energy whirled violently-pure Power of Destruction compressed into a tight spiraling mass.
The crimson energy swirled tightly around Ryusei's fingertip, compressing into a dense, spiraling sphere no bigger than a marble. She locked onto a distant tree at the far end of the field and fired.
FWMP.
The [Power of Destruction: Spiraling Bullet] shot out like a railgun round, twisting through the air with a shrill whirring sound before slamming into the thick trunk.
There was no explosion-just instant disintegration. The entire middle section of the tree vanished in a neat spiral, and the top half dropped like a stone with a heavy crack.
A soft gasp escaped Rias' lips as she watched from the shade of a nearby tree with Akeno.
"Wow..." Akeno's voice was almost breathless. "It didn't even destabilize. That level of precision with the Power of Destruction is rare. Even you don't usually compress it that tightly, Rias."
Rias didn't answer right away. Her blue-green eyes remained locked on Ryusei, watching as she spun another spiraling bullet on her fingertip, adjusting its size. There was a subtle sting of envy in her chest-but even more than that, there was awe.
"She's using it more efficiently than I do..." Rias finally said, her voice quiet. "And she created a new move that fast...?"
Akeno tilted her head slightly, giving Rias a sidelong glance with a teasing smile.
"Looks like your crush is also a prodigy."
Rias blushed, quickly averting her gaze.
"I-I'm just impressed, that's all...!"
BOOM-another tree collapsed, reduced to particles.
"Mhm~" Akeno replied, smirking. "Of course."
Ryusei turned back to them, brushing her fingers together to clear away residual energy.
"So... how was that?"
Rias tried to keep her composure but the pink on her cheeks was unmistakable.
"Perfect. Almost... too perfect."
Rias's hands clenched slightly at her sides as she continued to watch Ryusei.
Ryusei had moved on to practicing multi-directional control, forming three smaller orbs of Power of Destruction that hovered around her like satellites.
Rias muttered under her breath, her voice tinged with frustration and something more... tender.
"This... doesn't make sense. It took me over a year just to make my Power of Destruction function without it blowing up in my face..."
She bit her lip as she watched Ryusei casually manifest another spiraling bullet and expertly curve it mid-flight. There was no hesitation in Ryusei's movements, no fear of the power-only total control.
Akeno glanced sideways at Rias, sensing the tension.
"Jealousy doesn't suit you, Rias~"
"I am not jealous!" Rias snapped a bit too quickly. Her cheeks were already red, and her eyes betrayed more than just irritation. "I'm just... concerned. She's growing so fast it's almost unnatural."
Akeno raised a brow. "Or maybe she's just... gifted. Or motivated. Especially if she's trying to impress someone..."
Rias gave her a glare.
Akeno smirked.
"It's okay, Rias. I'm sure she'll still come to you for help with the advanced stuff."
Rias looked away, folding her arms under her chest.
"She better."