9

Another day in Kouh dawns upon the town the four brothers were currently in the living room of their house, waiting for the Supreme King to come downstairs.

Haou then finally did come downstairs and the brothers looked at him curiously. "Lord Haou, good morning," they greeted.

Seeing their curious looks and tone, the Supreme King knew they were practically asking for why was he late. "I just talked to Amaterasu," he said gaining their attention.

"Was it about the church girls?" Yuto asked as they made a space for Haou to sit in.

The brown-haired teen nodded as he took a seat and started breakfast. Yuya decided to ask, "So, what did she say?" hoping that the Shinto goddess might have convinced the Supreme King to help the girls avoid certain death.

"Pretty much what I did. Leave the church to their business, and only interfere when the town is in danger," Haou explained and the four brothers nodded.

Yuya and Yugo looked at each other. They were really hoping that the leader of the Shinto pantheon would have changed the Supreme King's mind, but they couldn't blame her since she had no reason to help the church.

"It's not like there will be a problem," Yuto noted, not seeing the danger in fighting Kokabiel.

His brothers had to agree. Kokabiel was a little weak for a Cadre Fallen Angel. All he could do if serious is destroy JUST this town. Meanwhile, people like Sirzechs, Serafall, and even Azazel can endanger all of Japan if they're not careful when serious. Comparing them to the warmonger was nothing short of laughable.

"What about the church girls?" Yuri asked wanting to know what Haou's thoughts on them were.

"Not my problem," the Supreme King replied. Truthfully, the only thing he was actually concerned about was having to tell Griselda Quarta about her daughter's passing.

Yuri and Yuto nodded and returned to finish their breakfast. Meanwhile, Yuya and Yugo looked at each other again, honestly thinking about something that they both considered extremely stupid.

…

It was now time for school, much to many students' boredom. Haou and the four brothers have already split up and were all headed to their respective classes.

"This doesn't feel right," Yugo said as he and Yuya were walking towards their classroom.

"I know," the green-haired teen agreed with his brother that it was cruel to abandon the church girls. "But, Lord Haou gave us orders," he said grimly as his brother shared the same annoyed expression. "Plus, what are we even supposed to do?"

As much as he wanted to say something, Yugo couldn't. Even if they went against Haou's orders, which was stupid even for them, they didn't have a plan at all. So, it would just enrage the Supreme King for no reason.

Suddenly, both brothers stopped as they looked at each other. "Do you smell that?" Yuya asked his brother.

Yugo nodded. "Yeah," he replied as he took another whiff of air and catching the familiar scent of two Dragons that were turned to Sacred Gears.

They both walked towards the end of the hallway and looked over the corner to catch sight of Issei talking with Saji.

They both became suspicious. True, they could have been sent by their kings, but they doubted that either Sona or Rias would send these two instead of someone more reliable. They could also smell a certain White cat spying on them from the other side of the hall.

"What do you want, Hyoudou?" Saji asked rather agitated that the Red Emperor just dragged him here.

"Yeah, listen, can you meet me at the park after school?" Issei asked hiding what his intentions are.

"Why?" Saji asked not completely trusting one of the Perverted trio.

"I need your help with something," Issei replied putting his hands together. "Please, I promise it's for a good reason," he was practically begging at this point.

Saji, despite being sometimes egoistic, wasn't a stuck up. He can see how desperate the Red Emperor was by his tone and actions.

With a sigh of frustration, the Sitri pawn nodded. "Fine, but it better be good, or else," he threatened before walking away.

Issei smiled and nodded before he walked away himself, pleased that he was able to get Saji to meet him. Now, he just has to convince him to actually agree to his plan.

Meanwhile, Yuya and Yugo listened to the conversation and took in what they heard. They might not be as good at mind games as Yuri, or as tactful as Yuto, but they can still understand that whatever Issei has planned is something that his King obviously did not approve of.

Yuya looked at his brother. "Think it might be about the church girls?" he guessed.

"Maybe," Yugo nodded with it being the most likely possibility since Rias had no intentions of getting involved in the church's business. Which was understandable for a Devil.

"I know what you're thinking," Yuya said drawing an obviously fake confused look.

"And what am I thinking?" Yugo asked hoping that his brother didn't actually figure it out.

"Something incredibly stupid, and will probably get us in trouble with Lord Haou," Yuya replied, hitting the nail on the head.

Despite being figured out by his brother, Yugo just smirked. "You want in?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Yuya smirked back at his now grinning brother.

Both of them knew that they shouldn't do this. However, their conscience didn't rest knowing that the two Excalibur wielders were practically walking towards their death. Although, they might be doing the same by disobeying the Supreme King.

…

Later on that day, Issei and Saji were now meeting at the local park, unaware that there are three people right now hiding from them. Two of them know about the third, but not the other way around.

"So, what do you want, Hyoudou?" Saji asked wanting to know why the Red Emperor wanted to meet him here.

"Yeah," Issei rubbed the back of his head, not sure how to go with this. He decided to just say it. "I think I have an idea of helping the church girls destroy the stolen Excalibur."

It took a few seconds to register what the Red Emperor told him, but when it clicked in Saji's head, he had one reaction. "No way!" he yelled as he tried to run away. Keyword tried.

He was ultimately stopped when a certain White Haired Rock grabbed the back of his shirt and started dragging him back towards the Red Emperor.

"Koneko?" Issei was surprised, and slightly scared that Rias might have sent her.

"You're staying," the White-haired girl said to Saji as he struggled in her powerful grip. She then looked back at Issei. "You want to help Kiba, I want in," she said which made the brown-haired Devil sigh in relief.

"Don't forget us," Yugo said as he and Yuya made their presence known surprising the Devils.

"Wait, why are you two here?" Issei asked surprised. From what he saw yesterday, they didn't exactly look like they wanted to help.

"We don't think it's right to just let those die against Kokabiel," Yuya explained. "So, we're here to help."

"Then why am I here?!?" Saji asked struggling in Koneko's grip. "This is your business! I'm from the house of Sitri, so why should I get involved?"

"Let's just hear what the pervert has to say," Yugo said, offending Issei in the process.

While annoyed at the insult, Issei just decided to explain. "I say we find the church girls, and ask them to let us help them, in exchange for destroying the Excalibur, while also helping Kiba in the process," Everyone looked at Issei in a somewhat surprised expression. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just…" Yuya struggled to find the right words.

Yugo, however, decided to be blunter. "We just didn't think you can come up with a plan like that."

"Ditto," Both Koneko and Saji agreed while Yuya nodded, despite not wanting to be offensive.

"Hey! I'm not stupid!" Issei argued back. He knew that he wasn't the brightest tool in the shed, but he wasn't dumb by any means.

"So, I guess we just find the church girls now?" Yuya asked wondering about their next action.

The Red Emperor nodded. "Yeah, but I don't have an idea where they are," he said in a defeated tone thinking that it might take forever to find them.

"Don't worry about that," Yugo said waving his hand making the three Devils look at them confused.

"We can find them, just follow us," Yuya added. He and his brother already picked up the scent of the two Excalibur wielders.

…

"You have got…" Yugo started unable to finish.

So, Yuya finished for him. "To be kidding me," he said shaking his head.

The three Devils nodded in agreement, unable to hide their reaction. The reason for their current state is because they did find the church girls… beginning on the side of the street.

The two Excalibur wielders, who were reeking of arrogance the other day, were now sitting on the side of the streets with their cloaks on with their hands raised asking for money like a couple of hobos.

Besides them was also an obviously fake painting that couldn't look more worthless if it was covered in mud and then set on fire.

"I want to laugh, but… this is just sad," Yugo said shaking his head. He did find their arrogance annoying, but to find them like this literally the next day wasn't even funny.

His green-haired brother sighed with a hand on his forehead. "Let's just help them," he said before walking towards the two girls, who noticed his presence. "Need a hand?" he asked with a kind smile.

The two church members looked at Yuya and the group with him before they blushed in embarrassment at being seen in such a state, especially after what happened the other day.

…

The group of now seven people are now found in a family restaurant. Apparently, Irina was tricked into wasting all the money the church gave the Excalibur wielders on the fake painting, so they couldn't afford a place to stay or anything to eat.

And so, the Devils and two brothers took the two church girls to this restaurant to give them food, and they were quite surprised by how hungry the two girls were.

"Delicious!" Xenovia cried out as she took another plate of food while moving her former one into a pile of empty plates. "Japanese cuisines are great!"

"Yes, Yes! This is the food from my hometown," Irina cried out happy to both finally eat something and eat the food of her origins.

"Now I know what Chi-Chi feels like when she's looking at Goku eating," Yuya joked gaining a chuckle from his brother while the Devils stayed quiet.

After a few more moments, both church members were finished eating. "To think that we would be saved by Devils," Xenovia noted as if she just committed an unforgivable sin.

Irina then clapped her hands together and started praying. "Please, God, bless these Devils for their kindness."

Issei, Saji, and Koneko got a sudden surge of headaches because the prey was directed at them. "Don't do that," the Red Emperor requested.

"Ah! Sorry, force of habit," Irina apologized realizing the pain she just inflicted on her so-called 'saviors'.

After retaining her composer, Xenovia looked at the Devils with a curious yet still serious look. "So, why did you want to meet us?" she asked.

After getting over the headache, Issei looked at them seriously. "We… want to help you destroy the Excalibur."

Both church girls looked both surprised and confused. However, before either of them made a verbal reply, Yugo beat them to it. "Just accept the deal," he said drawing their attention.

"Talk about belief all you want, but you can't beat Kokabiel alone," Yuya said. It might have sounded harsh, but everyone can tell it was just facts. "So, stop fooling yourself and take the deal."

The first to speak from the Excalibur wielders was Xenovia. "Very well," she said much to the surprise of her partner.

"Xenovia!" Irina was really taken back by her partner accepting help, from Devils no less.

"We are going against a Cadre Fallen Angel who survived the Great War," the blue-haired girl reminded her partner. "As much as I want to do this, I would like to survive this mission, as well," she added. As much as her partner wanted to say something, she couldn't go against the logic behind Xenovia's words.

"Great," Yugo said, glad that the girls didn't give him some speech about God's love and loyalty. "Now, what do you got?" he asked turning to the Red Emperor.

"Now, we should probably go get Kiba," Issei said thinking that the Gremory Knight should be a part of this.

Yuya sighed. "Let me guess, he left feeling depressed after us, didn't he?" he said as more of a statement than a question.

It was obvious the other day that Kiba was downright obsessed with destroying the Excalibur and really thought he could do it. That is a very dangerous combination when faced against reality because everything you hoped and dreamed about could be crushed in an instant.

"Yes," Koneko said with a sad frown on her face. She was worried about her fellow Peerage member.

Sighing in slight annoyance, Yugo stood up. "Alright, let's go find him," He said as his brother stood beside him.

The three Devils and Church girls also stood up with Xenovia asking, "How are you planning to find him," with a confused look.

"Same way we found you," Yuya replied keeping their reason a mystery.

The two church members looked at the three Devils, only for them to shrug their shoulders. They still didn't know how the two brothers found the church girls, but seeing as it helps, they just rolled with it.

…

After a while of walking, they managed to find the lone Gremory Knight in the park at the front of the fountain with a distant look on his features.

After explaining to Kiba what the situation was, it was easy to say that he wasn't completely on board. "I see… to be forced into working with the thing I despise the most."

"While we don't completely agree, I suppose we can allow you to destroy one of the Excaliburs," Xenovia explained. Recovering the Excalibur was just a secondary objective, their first one was to make sure that Kokabiel doesn't have them.

Kiba glared at her and was about to say something, but Yuya was faster. "Dude, be honest with yourself. After last night, do you really think that you can destroy the Excalibur alone?" he asked. To him, if Kiba actually thinks he can do it, then he was nothing short of delusional.

Kiba simply glared at the blue-haired teen but said nothing. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew that Yuya was right. He didn't have much luck at either fighting Xenovia or Freed when he encountered him.

"Even if you don't it does not pose a threat," Xenovia stated not seeing Kiba to be that important after their duel. "If I'm right, then you strayed from Rias Gremory, so there's nothing wrong with me cutting you down."

The Gremory Knight returned her hostile look with the same intensity. "You can try."

"Okay, stop right there," Yugo said cutting between them to stop their fight. "We're here to work together, not kill each other."

Xenovia simply looked at Yugo before looking back at Kiba. "You detest us because of the Holy Sword project, right? This project is also hated by the church, and its leader was expelled from the church. His name is Valper Galilei, the Genocidal Archbishop."

"Valper," Kiba's hands clenched as his hatred skyrocketed remembering the name. "I know him, it was him all along, the reason we suffered."

"You said that Kokabiel was being helped by a Stray Priest, right? It's not uncommon for strays to work together. Perhaps Valper is the one helping Freed," Xenovia deducted. In all honesty, she believed that to be true.

Seeing the chance at revenge, Kiba couldn't refuse. "Then, I have no reason to not help you."

"Yay, everything is okay," Irina cheered, happy that no fight broke out.

"We should have a strategy," Xenovia suggested before looking at the Devils. "I suggest we split up. That way, we'll cover more ground," she said. She might be forced into working with Devils, but that doesn't mean she has to tolerate them.

"Sounds reasonable," Yuya nodded in agreement. He can tell that her suggestions were mainly to get away from the Devils, but they already got her to agree to this so he decided to not try their luck.

The blue-haired girl nodded. "Also, thank you for the meal… Uhmm…" Xenovia then tilted her head. "Excuse me, but I never got your names."

Both Yuya and Yugo looked confused before they remembered that only Haou introduced himself to the girls as Judai, so they couldn't blame her for not knowing their names. "Oh, don't worry about it. I'm Yuya, and this is Yugo," the green-haired teen introduced himself and his brother.

Xenovia nodded. "Well, thank you for the meal, Yuya, Yugo."

"It's not FUS-" Yugo was about to correct her when he noticed what she said. "Wait, what did you call me?"

Xenovia looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "I called you Yugo, isn't that your name? It does sound like Fusion, but-" The blue-haired girl didn't get to finish her sentence… because Yugo suddenly hugged her out of nowhere.

"Thank you!" Yugo cried out as everyone looked surprised. "Thank you so much!" he pulled back and Xenovia was even more surprised to see actual tears in his eyes. "All the time… all the time people get my name confused, and call me Fusion, and my freaking brothers are no better because they sometimes do it on purpose!" he cried out thinking of a certain purple-haired sadist. "You might be the first person to get my name right, so thank you!"

Xenovia just stared at him, not knowing how to exactly respond to this. "Your… welcome?" she mumbled. Yuya just sighed before pulling his brother away from the stunned girl, who did her best to regain her composer. "Anyway," she then turned to Issei. "I'd like to also thank you, Hyoudou, and for that, I will tell you, the White one has awoken."

That statement was shocking to Issei and downright annoying to the two brothers. Mainly because they can barely handle being around just Ddraig, but if Albion came into the mix, then only Haou would be able to keep them in check.

"Well, that went well," the brown-haired Devil said scratching his head. The meeting could have gone far worse in his opinion.

Saji glared at him, deciding to finally voice his thoughts. "That didn't go well at all! You could have started a war between the Devils and the church!"

"Issei," they were broken out of their thoughts when Kiba started speaking. "Why are you helping me?"

"Because we're comrades," The Red Emperor replied. "We're both from the same group. You helped me out before," he said thinking of the time he went against the Fallen Angels to get Asia back. "It's not like I'm trying to repay you, but I would like to help you if I can."

The Gremory Knight just stood there, not knowing what to say or do, until Koneko tugged on his sleeve. "Kiba… let us help. I would be sad if Kiba disappeared," she said with sincerity, unlike her usually emotionless voice.

Kiba looked at Koneko for a couple of seconds before he chuckled. "Well, If Koneko said it like that then I can't decline now, can I?" he always saw Koneko as the younger sister he never had, and seeing her sad honestly hurt him.

Kiba then started telling them the story of the Holy Sword project. How he and his comrades were tested on, how they were going to be disposed of when they were done with them, and how his friends sacrificed themselves so he can escape, leading him into meeting Rias.

When he was done, Saji was crying from the emotional tale, literally. "That's it!" he yelled putting his hands on the Gremory Knight's shoulders. "I don't care how much president punishes me, I'm definitely going to help you!" he said, completely going against his previous attitude.

Kiba sweat dropped but still nodded nonetheless. "Sure."

"That's great and all, but come on," Yugo said thinking that they had waited long enough. "We got work to do," he started walking away.

Yuya walked beside his brother as the Devils started following them. "You know, Lord Haou is going to be pretty mad," the green-haired teen whispered to Yugo.

Yugo paled thinking about what the Supreme King is going to do. He knew this was a bad idea, and really didn't want to be in the country when Haou finds out.

However, both he and Yuya had already set their minds on doing it. So, deciding to not worry about the Supreme King right now, they both went back at their current objective of helping the Devils and Church fight Kokabiel.

(A/N: Thank you for reading this.

First, I'm sorry for the late update. College decided that the midterms should start early and I've been busy. I'm really sorry.

Second, about why only Yuya and Yugo are helping the church girls. First, Haou already made his opinion on them clear. I don't think any of you can imagine Yuri caring. And Yuto is the most loyal to Haou. However, Yuya and Yugo are the kindest, so yeah.

Third, in the last chapter, when I mention that Griselda is the only good person in the church, some of you had reminded me about Dulio. I forgot to mention that, despite how old Haou is, he didn't meet Dulio yet, so he doesn't have an opinion on him.

And finally, I managed to publish the first chapter of my completely original story. It's called "Final Days In Hell." if you would be so kind as to try it out, I'd appreciate it.

Again, thank you for reading this. Please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.)