Meeting a Yakitori

It had been a few days since Raynare began working at The Midnight Raven. There was still no sign of Issei showing up for work. That left Raynare handling everything—bartending, serving, and maintaining the bar. Viktor offered no assistance, not that she needed it. For a supernatural being, likely older than a few centuries, pouring drinks and wiping tables was child's play. The real challenge came from enduring the constant teasing and harassment of male patrons. She couldn't talk back or lash out, not unless she wanted one of Viktor's punishments. She had learned quickly: be polite, be humble, and smile.

Business went smoothly enough—not that Viktor seemed particularly interested. His mind was elsewhere. It had been days since any of his usual supernatural clientele stopped by. The absence was beginning to itch at his instincts.

And then, just as he was entertaining the thought, the bar's front door opened.

Rias Gremory entered, her peerage trailing behind her—Kiba, Koneko, Akeno, Issei, and Asia.

But they weren't alone. Following them was a group Viktor didn't recognize. Fifteen devils strong, led by a man in an ostentatious red suit, with fourteen women trailing after him. Viktor raised an eyebrow at the sheer number.

"Another High-Class devil?" he thought, mildly intrigued.

Raynare glanced at him, uncertainty on her face. He gave her a subtle nod toward the tables. The guests began to settle in, spreading out through the bar. Viktor, meanwhile, made his way to the central table, where Rias, Akeno, Issei, the man in red, and an unfamiliar woman had gathered.

"Good evening," Viktor greeted smoothly, his usual smile in place. "How can I be of assistance?"

"I'll have the usual," Akeno said first, her eyes gleaming with amusement.

"Same here," Rias added.

"Umm… me too?" Issei echoed, his tone awkward, eyes darting everywhere but toward Viktor.

The man in red gave Viktor a once-over. "You seem to have quite the collection behind the counter." One hand casually fondled the breast of the woman beside him as he spoke. She didn't flinch.

Viktor hid his distaste well. "I pride myself on quality."

"I'll have a Glen Albyn," the man said. "And a Bloody Mary for my companion."

"Excellent taste," Viktor replied, already turning to prepare the drinks.

Rias's expression soured slightly.

Viktor was swift and efficient. When he returned with the tray, he set down each drink with a professional touch, then pulled up a chair for himself and sat.

The man in red blinked. "What kind of establishment lets the staff sit with the customers?"

Viktor lit a cigarette. "I'm Akeno's order," he said casually.

The man chuckled and snapped his fingers, igniting Viktor's cigarette with a small flame.

"Thank you," Viktor said with a nod.

"Um, boss? I didn't order this," Issei spoke up, staring at the glass of bourbon in front of him.

"You said the usual, didn't you?" Viktor replied without looking at him.

"Well, yeah, but—"

"No buts. You ordered the usual."

And that was the end of that.

Viktor turned back toward Rias. "So, care to introduce your new companions?"

Rias nodded reluctantly. "The lady is Yubelluna, and the gentleman is Riser Phenex… my fiancé."

Viktor's brows rose slightly. "Pleasure," he said, offering no surname. "Just Viktor."

Riser gave him a curious look. "No title? No house name?"

Viktor took a slow drag of his cigarette. "Had many names over the years. This is the one that stuck."

Yubelluna observed him with a detached interest. "You don't carry yourself like an ordinary bartender."

"So I've been told," Viktor said with a faint smirk, trading a look with Rias. "But I pour drinks. I listen. I make sure people don't kill each other. That's enough."

Riser swirled his drink with idle grace, the amber liquid catching the bar's warm light. "After the… negotiations about the engagement, Rias insisted I see this place for myself. Said I had to check it out." His golden eyes flicked toward Viktor with calculated curiosity. "She called it unique, saying the owner of the place was someone I had to meet."

Viktor exhaled a slow stream of smoke, watching it curl toward the ceiling. "Is that so?"

"She seemed rather… insistent." Riser leaned back in his chair, one arm lazily draped across the backrest while his other hand toyed with Yubelluna's hair. "And now that I'm here, I can see why. This bar of yours is charming in a rustic sort of way. Old wood. Faint scent of ash and citrus. Has a kind of... curated authenticity."

Viktor's lip quirked. "Is that a compliment, or are you just working through your wine-tasting vocabulary?"

Riser chuckled, swirling his drink again with practiced elegance. "Take it however you please. I'll admit, it's not what I expected. You don't often find places like this outside the old cities. Reminds me a bit of some tucked-away bar in Prague or maybe the backstreets of Naples."

Viktor raised an eyebrow. "I'll take that as high praise."

Rias, seated beside Riser, offered a tight smile. "I told you it had atmosphere."

"You undersold it, actually," Riser said, casting a glance around. "This place has… character. A bit rough around the edges, but well-maintained. Like someone actually gives a damn."

"That someone would be me," Viktor said, tapping ash into a nearby tray. "I built it to last."

"Did you now?" Riser sounded mildly amused. "Well, I suppose even humans need a legacy. Something to leave behind, yes?"

Viktor's expression didn't shift, but the corner of his mouth twitched like he was suppressing a laugh. "Something like that."

Rias's eyes flicked to Viktor briefly, but she said nothing.

There was a brief pause as they all drank in silence. Then Riser turned to Rias again, tone light but edged with something sharper.

"Still, I'm surprised. A bar, of all places? Not exactly your usual scene, Rias."

She tilted her head slightly. "I thought you needed a change of pace."

"Mm. Or maybe you wanted me somewhere neutral. Somewhere that wasn't under your control." He smirked, clearly enjoying the implication.

Rias didn't flinch. "I wanted you somewhere you'd behave."

Riser laughed, loud and rich. "Touché."

Viktor stubbed out his cigarette, the gesture casual but final. "You two want a moment alone?" he asked, voice dry.

Riser waved him off. "No need. We're quite used to being civil in public. Aren't we, fiancée?"

Rias just reached for her drink and took a sip, her silence sharper than any reply.

Riser looked around the bar, his eyes zeroing in on Raynare behind the counter, who was cleaning a glass with deliberate care.

"My, what unique employees you have," Riser said, his voice thick with mockery and open interest as his eyes roamed over her. "Quite the... aesthetic."

Raynare stiffened under his gaze but said nothing.

"You, girl. Come." He gestured with two fingers, like summoning a servant. His tone left no room for question. Raynare froze, eyes wide for a brief second like a deer caught in headlights. Her grip on the glass tightened just slightly before she forced her features back into neutrality.

With a practiced grace, she made her way to the table, ignoring the tightening expressions of Rias's peerage—particularly Issei and Kiba. Koneko simply glared.

"How can I be of service?" she asked, her voice calm and measured, just as Viktor had drilled into her—be polite, be humble, smile.

Riser smiled like a man who thought himself charming. "Come, sit with us. You seem like good company." He patted the sofa to his left and looked her over, eyes lingering where they shouldn't have.

Raynare hesitated, eyes flicking toward Viktor.

Viktor didn't say a word. He just shrugged, lips curling into something unreadable as he slowly took a sip of his drink.

Raynare moved stiffly, settling onto the sofa next to Riser.

Now flanked by two women—Yubelluna on one side and Raynare on the other—Riser draped his arm over the back of the couch and let his fingers casually brush along Raynare's upper arm.

"Tell me," he said, voice slick with entitlement, "what made such a beautiful thing think it was a good idea to work at an establishment like this?" His hand slid down, fingertips grazing her bare skin with feigned intimacy.

Raynare's spine straightened, her eyes darting again toward Viktor. His gaze met hers for the briefest second—calm, unblinking, still.

"Unusual circumstances," she replied, doing her best to keep her voice even, though there was an edge there. Not fear—but disgust.

Riser chuckled. "I see. Perhaps your circumstances could improve under different… management."

Yubelluna gave a knowing, indifferent smile, clearly used to this behavior.

Akeno, however, set down her glass with a little too much force.

"Careful, Riser," she said with a sweet smile that didn't reach her eyes. "You might offend the wrong person."

"Oh?" Riser turned slightly, feigning innocence. "I thought this was a place for relaxation. Surely a little appreciation for beauty isn't frowned upon in such a setting?"

Viktor finally stood up, languid but deliberate, and stepped forward, slipping between Raynare and Riser without a word.

He leaned down just slightly, resting one hand on the back of the couch behind Riser, placing himself uncomfortably close.

His voice, when it came, was quiet.

"She's not on the menu, Phenex."

The air seemed to shift.

Riser looked up, his smugness flickering for just a second.

Viktor's smile remained perfectly in place.

Riser's smug expression faltered. For the first time, his calm facade faltered—just a flicker—but it was enough.

Koneko, seated a little ways down, didn't bother hiding her disdain. She leaned back in her chair, arms crossed, and muttered loud enough for everyone to hear:

"Pig."

A snort escaped from Akeno, her glass halfway to her lips. She set it down delicately and looked at Viktor, her eyes gleaming with mischief and delight.

"My, my," she purred, "you really do know how to charm a crowd."

Viktor didn't respond, though a ghost of a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Raynare, still seated beside Riser, looked like she wanted the couch to swallow her whole. Without a word, she stood—quickly but with control—and gave the table a polite, practiced nod.

"Excuse me," she said quietly, voice just on the edge of strained.

She retreated behind the bar with stiff shoulders and a forced calm. She didn't falter until her back was turned, and even then, only slightly. Her hands trembled when she reached for a towel, busying herself with cleaning a glass that was already spotless.

Viktor's eyes followed her for a beat. Then, wordlessly, he stepped behind the bar, poured a small glass of something amber and smooth, and slid it down the counter to her.

Raynare blinked in surprise as it came to a gentle stop beside her hand. She glanced up—he was already walking away.

She looked at the glass, then at him. Her lips parted as if to say something, but the words caught in her throat. So instead, she just stared, heart thudding in her chest, unsure why that small act made her feel something close to… safe.

Back at the table, Rias leaned forward. Her voice was quiet, meant only for Viktor's ears.

"…Thank you."

Viktor only gave her a sidelong glance and tapped ash into the tray again, not saying anything.

There was something different in his presence—something heavier.

Riser looked between them all, clearly picking up on the shift but unsure how to respond. Yubelluna reached out and touched his arm, offering a silent suggestion: let it go.

The moment hung in the air—thick with tension, the kind that made people hold their breath without realizing it.

Riser slowly stood from his seat, his expression all smiles but his eyes hard and calculating. He stepped around the table and closed the distance between himself and Viktor, his polished shoes echoing on the hardwood floor.

"Well," he said softly, his tone silken but laced with heat, "you certainly know how to embarrass a guest."

He stopped just short of Viktor, standing close enough that most men would've stepped back out of instinct alone.

Viktor didn't move. Didn't blink. His cigarette burned steadily between his fingers, smoke curling upward like a lazy serpent.

From somewhere deep in Riser's core, a flicker of heat bloomed—a subtle wave of rising temperature that would've gone unnoticed by most. But the air thickened. The wood of the bar creaked softly beneath the sudden pressure.

The Phenex's pride was singed, and it wanted blood.

Still, Viktor didn't flinch.

Instead, he looked down at the glass of whiskey in Riser's hand, then slowly—deliberately—reached forward.

With the same casual grace he used for everything, Viktor took a final drag from his cigarette… then leaned forward and stubbed it out in Riser's half-finished drink, blowing the smoke in his face as a bonus.

The soft hiss of extinguished flame was the only sound in the room.

Viktor's eyes never left Riser's.

"You looked like you were finished," he said, voice quiet, almost polite.

Riser's body tensed. The flicker of flame in his eyes sparked brighter, gold and red dancing along his irises. His hand clenched around the glass with enough force to crack it.

Across the bar, Koneko stood up halfway from her seat. Akeno didn't move, but her aura shifted—lightning crackled at the edges of her presence like a purring cat arching its back.

Yubelluna reached out slowly, fingers brushing Riser's wrist.

"Riser," she said, low and urgent.

But the man ignored her, jaw clenched. "Do you think this is funny?" he asked, voice no longer silk but smoldering coal. "You think you're untouchable?"

Viktor leaned in just a fraction. Not enough to be threatening, but enough to make his point.

"I don't think anything," he replied. "I serve drinks. I run a bar. I clean up messes—preferably before they catch fire."

He let the last word hang, double-edged and deliberate.

For a long moment, no one moved.

And then—

Riser stepped back. Just once.

He turned away with a huff, brushing down the front of his suit like dusting off something beneath him.

"Hmph," Riser muttered, straightening the lapels of his red suit. "If these are the kind of places you frequent, Rias, I might have to rethink our marriage."

Rias didn't rise to the bait. Her smile was tight, strained at the corners. "How awful that would be," she said with enough venom to curdle wine.

Akeno giggled openly, one hand covering her mouth, though her eyes gleamed with unrestrained amusement. The rest of Rias's peerage exchanged knowing glances—none of them needed telepathy to understand how their King truly felt about her engagement.

Riser gave them all a final, dismissive glance. "This place is beneath the presence of a Phenex. We'll take our exit."

He turned sharply on his heel, already motioning for his peerage to gather. Yubelluna was the first to rise, offering Viktor a graceful nod that was more out of habit than respect. The other women followed swiftly, a practiced and elegant formation that trailed after their master like a royal procession.

Riser raised a hand, and with a flick of his fingers, a burning golden magic circle bloomed beneath their feet. The faint smell of ozone filled the bar, mingling with the lingering scent of Viktor's cigarette. With a crackle of flame and a shimmer of light, they vanished.

Silence returned to The Midnight Raven.

Rias sighed, exhaling a breath she'd clearly been holding in. She turned to Viktor, her expression serious now.

"You realize what you just did might cause problems, right?" she said quietly. "Riser is a High-Class Devil from one of the Great Houses. Provoking him openly like that... he will complain."

Viktor returned to his seat and reached for a fresh cigarette, tapping it against the table before lighting it with a spark from his fingertip. "Let him complain," he said flatly, blowing a thin stream of smoke upward. "That was me being polite. If he can't take a hint, then maybe he's not as high-class as he thinks."

Rias narrowed her eyes slightly but didn't press further. She knew Viktor well enough by now—his brand of diplomacy was more like calculated nonchalance.

He took a slow drag, then tilted his head toward her, expression unreadable.

"So?" he asked, voice low. "Why'd you really bring him here? Because it sure didn't look like you wanted to be anywhere near marrying that bastard."

Rias didn't answer immediately. Her gaze dropped to her glass, fingers idly tracing the rim.

Then she looked back up.

"I wanted him to see the kind of people he'd be dealing with if he keeps pushing me."

Viktor's smile returned—slow, sardonic, and faintly amused.

"Well," he said, flicking ash into the tray, "message received."

Rias gave Viktor a small, almost imperceptible smirk. "I'll admit... I was hoping it would escalate. Just a little."

Viktor raised a brow at her, exhaling a wisp of smoke. "So you brought the pompous chicken here hoping I'd put him in his place?"

"I didn't ask you to," Rias said, her tone measured but her smile betraying her satisfaction. "But I knew you'd see through him the moment he opened his mouth."

"I was hoping it would be like in anime, where Riser would start a fight, and then you reveal to him what you truly are, a Cadre Fallen Angel, prompting him to grovel for forgiveness,"

Viktor chuckled, "Well, Princess, life isn't a cartoon,"

"Tell me about it," Said Rias, exasperated.

Viktor then turned his eyes towards Issei. "So… you planning to come back to work anytime soon, partner? I've missed my favorite employee."

Issei blinked, surprised, then grinned sheepishly. "We're actually heading out tomorrow. A ten-day training trip. Up in the mountains."

"Training?" Viktor echoed.

Rias nodded, her tone turning serious. "We're preparing for a Rating Game. Against Riser."

She held Viktor's gaze. "If I win… I'll be free. The engagement will be nullified. But if I lose… I'll be forced to marry him. No more delaying. My brother made it very clear."

The weight of her words settled over the group like fog.

And suddenly, everything clicked.

Viktor's cigarette froze halfway to his lips.

That's why she brought him here.

She hadn't asked for his help. Hadn't said a thing. But she'd wanted something. Even just for him to scare Riser a little. To bring him down a bit, purely for her satisfaction.

But she'd kept quiet—probably because she knew this was Devil business. And Viktor, as a Fallen, had no obligation to get involved.

He hummed thoughtfully and lit another cigarette, eyes narrowing as he stared at the smoke curling toward the ceiling.

Then, casually: "How about this," he said, flicking ash into the tray. "If I help with your training… will you come back to work at the bar?"

There was a beat of stunned silence.

Raynare—who had been quietly drinking behind the counter—spit out her drink.

Akeno blinked, tilting her head in amusement. Kiba looked as if he wasn't sure he'd heard correctly. Koneko paused mid-cookie, staring blankly. Even Rias raised an eyebrow.

"Uhh…" Issei stammered, eyes darting toward his master. "I mean—Rias—"

Rias simply shrugged, her expression neutral. "It's your decision."

Issei looked between the two of them. Then, slowly, as if discovering the answer himself, his eyes sharpened. His fists clenched.

"Anything it takes," he said firmly. "To put that yakitori in his place."

Viktor grinned. "Good. When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"Perfect."

[Extra Scene – Later That Night]

The bar was quiet.

Most of the lights were out, save for the warm amber glow above the counter. A soft jazz tune played from an old speaker near the shelves. Chairs were flipped onto tables. The last of the dishes had been washed.

Viktor leaned against the bar, a half-empty glass in his hand. He wasn't drinking fast. Just… sitting.

Raynare moved quietly behind the counter, putting away the last of the clean glasses. She didn't say anything at first, just worked in silence. The air between them had settled into something companionable, if not entirely warm.

Eventually, she broke it.

"…Thank you," Her voice was flat, but the corner of her mouth tugged slightly.

Viktor didn't look at her. "Don't mention it."

Raynare raised a brow. "That guy was a spoiled brat. Not the worst I've seen."

"Doesn't mean he gets to act like that in my bar."

She nodded slowly, then crossed her arms, watching him. "You planning to get involved in their little Rating Game too?"

"I haven't decided."

Raynare scoffed, amused. "Thought you old monsters hated politics."

"I do."

"Then why care?"

That got a reaction. Not a big one—just a slight pause in how he swirled the drink.

"…I don't like bullies."

Raynare leaned against the back counter, resting her elbows. "Since when are you anyone's hero?"

"I'm not," he said. "And I don't intend to be."

A beat passed.

"…Why did you save me?" she asked suddenly. The question hung in the air longer than she probably intended.

Viktor looked up at her, meeting her gaze for the first time.

"You remind me of myself, back when I was young and foolish."

Raynare seemed to ease a little, just barely. "Huh."

Another moment of silence stretched. Then Viktor turned back to his drink.

"You're not useless, Raynare. You just forgot how to be anything else."

Raynare's expression froze, the flicker of something sharp flashing behind her eyes. But she didn't argue. She didn't deny it.

"…Maybe," she muttered.

Viktor finished his drink and stood up, sliding the glass across the bar.

"Close up when you're done."

He started walking toward the back, then paused in the doorway.

"You're not part of Grigori anymore. Start acting like it."

Then he left her alone with the music and the bottles and her thoughts.

And for the first time in a long time, Raynare didn't feel like she was standing in someone else's shadow.

Just her own.