At the café's outdoor seating area. Ryusei and Issei sat at one of the tables under the shade of a red umbrella.
Ryusei poked lazily at a slice of chocolate cake. "So remind me again—who are we waiting for? Shinji? Sanji?"
"Saji," Issei corrected with a sigh. "Are you just bad with names, or do you just not like the guy?"
Ryusei shrugged. "Honestly, not sure. I'm just kinda on edge. There's this new girl in Koneko's class who looks like me—same hair, same eyes—but she's really getting on my nerves!"
"Ah, I see. A doppelgänger problem," Issei said with mock seriousness.
Before Ryusei could respond, a voice cut in. "Hyoudou. Okkotsu."
Saji walked over, hands in his pockets and an unimpressed look on his face.
"Hey, uh, sorry for calling you out here," Issei said sheepishly.
"No worries, man." Saji sat down, glancing between the two of them. "So? What's this about?"
Ryusei crossed her arms. "We've got a plan, but you might not like it…"
After a quick explanation, Saji blinked, processing. Then he slammed his hands on the table. "Hell no! Are you two serious!?"
"As a five-hour boner, dude," Issei said with a straight face.
Ryusei froze mid-bite of her cake, staring at him in disbelief. "…Bro, what the fuck."
Saji groaned and rubbed his temples. "You two are insane!" His voice raised, catching the attention of two women at a nearby table. Realizing it, he quickly sat back down and lowered his tone.
"You do realize our presidents will punish the two of us just for talking about getting involved with those Holy Swords, right?" Saji hissed. "And you!" He pointed at Ryusei. "Isn't Rias your girlfriend or something?"
Issei leaned forward. "Rias might not hurt us if Ryusei tags along!"
Saji's eyes widened. "It doesn't matter if Okkotsu is there or not! She can't save me from Sona's wrath!"
Ryusei blinked, watching the two argue. So they're using me as a shield against Rias? Hmph… jokes on them. I'm scared of her too.
"We're gonna get murdered for sure!" Saji groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Rias might be strict but at least she's fair. Sona's a tyrant! She enjoys punishing us!"
He abruptly stood up. "No way. Don't rope me into this madness!"
He turned to leave—but froze when his shirt refused to move with him.
A small white hand clutched the back of it.
Koneko sat calmly at the next table, a parfait in hand, munching on the dessert as if she'd been there the whole time. "I kinda had a feeling you'd try to run away," she said flatly.
Saji looked back, defeated. "You've gotta be kidding me…"
Koneko took another spoonful of parfait. "You're helping."
The four of them now sat crowded around the café table.
Saji slumped in his chair, staring down at his lap with glossy eyes. "I wanna go home…" he whimpered, voice trembling. He made a weak attempt to stand, but Koneko grabbed the back of his shirt and tugged him back down without a word. He sighed in defeat, sulking like a scolded puppy.
"So you want to cooperate with the Church?" Koneko asked, turning her golden eyes to Issei and Ryusei.
Issei crossed his arms. "Not exactly."
Ryusei took a sip of her drink. "Yeah, I'm just helping because Issei asked. Besides, there aren't any dungeon gate jobs right now."
"Ah, that's right," Koneko said. "You're a Hunter."
"Yup. And kinda bored."
"I mean," Issei started, "those two Church girls said they'd rather destroy the Excaliburs than let the Fallen Angels use them, right?"
Koneko nodded. "Yes. It seems they'll stop at nothing to reclaim them in the Church's name."
"Kiba wants revenge by defeating the Excalibur that destroyed his friends," Issei added. "And the Church wants the swords back no matter what it takes. The goals might be different, but… same end result."
Ryusei leaned back in her chair, crossing one leg over the other. "So basically, we just need to get Kiba and those two holy girls to work together."
Koneko frowned. "Easier said than done. They're all pretty stubborn."
"We should still try," Issei said firmly. "If there's even a chance Kiba can move forward and stay with us, we have to help him."
Koneko stood up, her expression softening just a bit. "We'll need to find them first. I don't like keeping this secret from Rias and Akeno… but I agree. We have to do something."
Ryusei smirked, pushing her chair back. "I have a way to find those two from the Church."
Koneko blinked. "How so?"
"Follow me."
They moved into a narrow alleyway behind the café. The air was still, and the shadows stretched across the cracked pavement.
Ryusei stepped forward and raised her hand, her eyes glowing faintly blue. "Arise."
Her shadow expanded outward, spreading like liquid ink. From its depths, three humanoid figures clawed their way up — dark silhouettes with faint blue and black flames flickering in their eyes and body.
"Whoa!" Issei jumped back. "What the hell—when did you learn to do this?!"
Even Saji's jaw dropped. "That's… terrifyingly cool."
Ryusei grinned. "Around the time of the Rating Game against Riser. Haven't really had a chance to show you guys this ability yet."
The shadow soldiers knelt before her silently, awaiting orders.
"These are my shadow soldiers," she explained, gesturing toward them. "They're under my command, and they can scout faster than any familiar."
Koneko tilted her head, watching the flickering eyes of the nearest soldier. "What's this ability called?"
"Shadow Extraction."
The soldiers sank halfway back into the ground, awaiting her next order. "Find those two holy girls — Xenovia and Irina. Don't engage. Just track them and report back to me."
The soldiers bowed their heads, vanishing one by one into the darkness.
Koneko gave a faint nod. "Let's see if your shadows find them before we do."
Saji, still trembling, raised his hand. "Um… do I have to come with you guys? I'm already risking my life just standing here."
Ryusei looked back with a teasing grin. "Relax, Saji. What's the worst that could happen?"
"Death!" he yelled.
Koneko tugged on his shiry again. "You're coming."
He slumped in defeat. "…I hate my life."