A Demon Misplaced

~Dazed And Confused~

Akeno Himejima considered herself a lot of things.

A good cook, a collector of rare things, a Queen on her way to becoming one of the greats, and a sadist with a mean streak the size of Mt. Everest. She was also a light masochist —there was no need for people to know about that. The Priestess of Thunder made sure it was a secret; she had a reputation to maintain.

But, there was another trait Akeno liked to think she had: empathy.

Partially empathetic, if not completely.

She wasn't perfect, contrary to what the students of Kuoh Academy believed. Akeno had issues —lots of issues. There were things she did not want to talk about and if she could, she would change the blood in her veins.

But the matter which demanded her attention at the moment was the fidgety expressions of her King, more importantly her best friend, Rias Gremory. Something had been off for the last four or five days, and for the life of her, Akeno couldn't figure out what it was.

Usually, the Crimson Haired Ruin Princess would tell her Queen everything; Akeno was called the Gremory Confidant for a reason. And yet, there was no forthcoming from the young heiress. Akeno didn't want this period of misery to continue.

"Buchou," the black haired beauty said, after steeping the tea. Her King looked at her, broken out of a marathonic mental race from what she assumed.

"Huh?" was the intelligent reply Akeno got. Urging the temptation to frown, the Queen went to the desk and sat opposite to the Gremory.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

'Another lie.' Akeno coughed into her hand before staring at Rias. She was trying imitate an action a certain blond in her life did. 'Ara, it's actually working.' The Queen smirked when her King began to fidget under her gaze. All she needed was a bit more pressure and-

"Alright, fine!" Rias shouted, looking away with a regal manner. Akeno found this satisfying. After a few more moments, the redhead spoke. "It's about Issei."

"What did Hyodou-kun do?" she was generally curious. To her knowledge, the month-old reincarnated Devil wasn't doing too shabby.

"It's his Sacred Gear," her King sighed, a bit distraught. "It's still in its dormant form. At this rate..."

"Rias," Akeno was confused at her words. It didn't make sense. "What are you talking about? Are you hiding something?"

"The wedding deadline, it decreased."

Akeno felt a pang in her chest; she could only imagine what her King was going through. "Again? I thought it was six months later."

"There was an incident a few days ago." Rias explained. "We don't know what exactly, but the rumor is Loki defected from Norse pantheon."

A god was just that: a god. The power they held, it was maddening to say the least and Loki was no prankster. Well, not a harmless one anyway. "I see," Akeno said. "And what did Lord Lucifer say?"

"Every pantheon is a bit on guard, the Three Factions especially. To be honest, we're still recovering and I'm not talking only about our race." Rias explained and closed her diary. Now, that book contained secrets that even Akeno didn't know. "And, they didn't want to take any chances with a how a rogue god can act —especially one like Loki."

"So they scheduled your wedding ahead of time." Akeno said, Rias' nod seemed cruel to her. "Rias, we don't have a choice now. We're going to have to start training Hyodou-kun."

"I know, but how?" Rias asked, her voice louder than usual. Her air of regality, gone. In that moment, the red haired girl was nothing more than a teen whose fate was all but sealed. "What do I do? Issei's devil powers are horrible, he hasn't awakened his Sacred Gear, and half the time I talk he's staring at my chest!"