A New Motivation: Chapter 10 (Patreon)

Rias felt a smile slide across her face as she settled into her seat at the table, and not just from the aroma of the various foods that were spread across its surface. It was lunchtime for Rias and her peerage, and as they occasionally tended to do, they had all convened in the clubhouse to enjoy their time together.The reason for her happiness was the newest addition to their peerage, Nero Okita. The girl was sitting across from her between Akeno and Kiba, chatting happily with the knight as Akeno watched them with a small smile on her face. To Kiba’s right, Koneko was content to simply watch and listen to their conversation from the sidelines, mostly focusing on her food while momentarily pausing to chime in here and there.Rias was happy to see that Nero wasn't having any trouble fitting in and meshing with the rest of the peerage despite her admittedly odd background. She had only been reincarnated for an extremely short while, yet it was as if she had been there all along, slotting perfectly with the rest of them.At the thought of the girl's reincarnation, Rias couldn't help the small frown that crossed her face as her mind strayed to a related matter. One that had caused a great deal of annoyance for her.Thanks to Nero's arrival and subsequent reincarnation, Rias was out several of her pawns. Normally, that wouldn't be an issue; she wasn't the type to reincarnate people into her peerage just to fill it, but just a few days ago, Nero had filled her in on a very vital piece of information that she had forgotten to include earlier.Issei Hyoudou, the boy that she had been hoping to have join her peerage, would need the equivalent of eight Pawns to reincarnate. It was extremely impressive, all things considered, but also somewhat expected given his Sacred Gear. That wasn't the important part though. Issei needed all eight Pawns to be reincarnated. She had two. Even if she were to use either the Bishop or Rook that she still had, it wouldn't be enough to make up for the difference. As she was now, she wouldn't be able to add the Red Dragon Emperor to her peerage even if she wanted to.She didn't regret reincarnating Nero, not in the slightest as the girl was already a wonderful part of her family, but the situation was still a bit of an annoyance to deal with. She had been disheartened to hear that something like the Boosted Gear was so easily within her reach, yet she wasn't strong enough to obtain it in the first place.On the bright side, Sona likely couldn't recruit him either. She had fewer pieces than Rias when she reincarnated Nero, and even now the difference wasn't that great. Considering how close they were in power, neither of them would be able to reincarnate Issei as they were right now. It would take a great deal of pieces or power to compensate for his pure potential as a Devil.And since she didn't have the pieces to spare, that meant that Rias had to train. An evil piece is only as strong as the King who owns them after all, and the only way to increase the power of potential recruits was to increase their own power first.Despite her pride, Rias would hesitantly admit that she wasn’t the strongest among her fellow High-Class Devils, not even close really, and it was high time she changed that.She had already taken the liberty of contacting her brother for assistance in the matter. He had been surprised, knowing that she tried not to ask for his direct help unless she couldn't help it, but had more than happily accepted her request. Rias didn't know exactly what he planned to do as they hadn't had much time to talk before he was pulled away to deal with something else, but he had said that he would see what he could do and she had faith in him.The upcoming break provided the perfect window for her plans and even better, she could include the entire peerage in on it as well. Not only was it admittedly a little overdue, it would also give them a chance to bond even more with their newest member, all the while preparing to recruit a new one. It was perfect!And if this helped her with her not-so-little Phenex problem, well Rias certainly wouldn’t complain.Rias gave a small, but self-satisfactory grin at her plan, before turning her attention back to the table, tuning in to the conversation the rest of the group was having.“So yeah,” Nero concluded a story she had apparently been telling, reaching into her pocket, “I’m from early 2024. Like, even my phone won't come out for another decade or so. That's if things even go along the same path which they could not for all I know.”Rias looked over to see that Nero had pulled out her phone. She had never noticed it before, but now that the girl mentioned it, it did look more advanced than anything Rias had seen on the market recently. Sleeker and less bulky than the average smartphone or even one of the more expensive ones.“I've got a bunch of pictures of stuff that won't come out for a while too.” She said, navigating to her photo app as everyone at the table leaned in curiously, “Like my TV, games, anime and manga, and even my mom's car, see?”Nero swiped through her camera roll, showing them all various things from her world that had yet to be made in theirs and as they got to a picture of her room and Nero began naming things off, Rias’s eyes strayed to a large, rectangular white box standing on one end beside the TV. Judging by the chords and wires coming out from behind it and extending to the television itself, as well as a white controller laying off to the side, it was a game console.That idea was only solidified by the rather large stack of games sitting just beside it. Rias observed them curiously as Kiba asked about one of the posters on the girl’s wall. It seems that she and Nero shared some tastes in games as there were numerous titles that she recognized. She looked them over, reading their titles, only to freeze suddenly.“Hey Nero?” She called out to the girl, not taking her eyes from the screen, “Am I reading that right? The one under Infamous?”“Hm?” The girl turned away from the group to look where Rias was pointing, “It says Devil May Cry 5.”“There’s a fifth one!?” Rias looked at the girl in shock and Nero blinked in surprise at her words, before realization crossed her face.“Oh right, the fourth one just came out over here, didn't it?” She said aloud as she grabbed the phone, “I remember a bunch of people being super surprised when it was revealed at E3. There were leaks but everyone thought they were fake because it'd been so long since the last game. Over ten years between games with barely anything from Capcom didn’t really give us much hope for another entry.”As she spoke, she tapped on her phone, doing something that Rias couldn’t see. “Here.” She said, turning the phone to face Rias, “I’ve got a few screenshots from the game. It’s super good.”Rias managed to hold herself back from snatching the phone out of the girl’s hand, but just barely. The images that Nero was showing her looked amazing, like a night and day contrast from what she had seen in the fourth entry in the series. From what she could tell, the gameplay was seemingly the same, high-octane, flashy slasher as the rest of the games, but it was so much more realistic! From the way the light reflected in the puddles on the street, to the way that the cloak of the white haired teen (who she assumed was Nero given the flaming sword he was wielding) fluttered in the air behind him as he slammed his sword into a demon, it looked like it was ripped straight out a high definition, pre-rendered cutscene!Nero noticed her awe and grinned slightly, “You know…” She led, making Rias look up at her, “I actually have the game with me right now. Console too.” she smirked at the shocked look on Rias’s face, “If you want, the next time we get a chance I can bring it out so you can play?” she offered. Rias nodded enthusiastically, “Oh, we’re definitely doing it. There’s now way that I’m going to turn down an offer like that!”She ignored the smirks her friends gave her at her excitement. They knew how much she loved this series and there was no way that she was going to pass up the opportunity to play the next entry early.Nero laughed at her words, “Alright then, Just grab me when we’ve got some free time and I’ll set it up for you, alright?Ria nodded happily at her words, unable to keep the smile off of her face at the thought of getting her hands on the next entry in one of her favorite franchises.Yeah. She was really glad that Nero joined her peerage.~~~ Later that Day ~~~Akeno watched intently as her two younger peerage members sparred. It had been several hours since school had ended and She observed as Nero dodged one of the shorter girl's kicks before a bright blue flash of light appeared over her shoulder. With a gesture, she sent the spectral Devil Bringer surging forward, slamming it into Koneko and pushing her across the field.Koneko wasn't hurt at all by the attack, flipping her in the air to land on her feet before immediately springing back towards Nero. Unlike before, Nero didn't shy away, instead rushing forward and meeting her halfway in her charge. She managed to dodge under a kick, getting behind Koneko and swinging her demonic arm at her back.Koneko easily whirled around and blocked her attack before responding with one of her own. Nero managed to block the attack but was sent flying away regardless.As the girl landed on the ground several meters away, stumbling as she regained her balance, Akeno nodded in approval at what she was seeing. Nero had been fighting much better recently as she became more acclimated to her abilities. With the addition of her Devil Bringer which she was also slowly getting the hang of using, Koneko was actually beginning to have to try during their spars.It was rather impressive, but considering everything else, not really unexpected.As she watched the spar progress, Akeno's thoughts strayed to how much things had changed since Nero's appearance. The girl was so different from Kiba or Koneko, and not just in her personality. It was a breath of fresh air to have a new face in the peerage, especially with the way that she had been responding to Anko’s remarks and actions.She smiled as she thought of it. Her other two adorable kohai had long since grown used to how she tended to be, shrugging off her remarks like they were nothing which was really no fun. Nero on the other hand, was a fresh face and despite her knowledge of the world, wasn’t at all used to the way that Akeno was. That made her fun.And if she had knowledge of the future, then perhaps she knew other things about them. Maybe she knew of Akeno’s preference in partners.The dating pool in Kuoh, and especially inside of the school itself, was extremely limited for someone like Akeno. Not only were nearly all of them human, but few would be able to handle her… eccentricities, should she reveal her true self to them. One of the most popular and sought after girls in the school being revealed as a closeted sexual deviant would cause untold amounts of issues for not only herself, but the rest of the peerage as well as the rumors of her tendencies spread. The student body of Kuoh Academy was a no-go.Unfortunately, even if she tried looking a little closer to home, she would find just as many issues. While Koneko and Kiba had long since grown used to her personality, Koneko was too young and Kiba was far too serious. Rias was more like a sister to her than anything else and despite her looks Akeno felt little to no actual attraction to the other girl.Attempts to find something in Kuoh's other resident group of Devils had similarly failed. Of the three dates she went on, only one was even slightly memorable and even then only just. Luckily, there were no hard feelings. Momo had understood as well as she had that they had zero chemistry between them. It would have never worked out.But Nero… there was quite a bit of chemistry there, wasn't there? Even disregarding the way that the girl's sexually submissive nature pushed quite a few of Akeno's buttons, there was still a lot that Akeno found attractive about the girl, from her appearance to even the general way she carried herself, a quiet sort of confidence that was hard to see unless one actively looked for it. It did something for Akeno, made Nero even more interesting to her.And from what she could tell, the attraction was more than mutual. She had seen the way that Nero looked at her when she thought she wasn't looking, the way she reacted when Akeno purposefully strayed just a bit too close while helping her in class. Nero was interested in her, even if just physically.Keeping her eye on Nero as the girl got up after a particularly nasty hit from her partner, Akeno's thoughts strayed to what the two of them had gotten up to behind closed doors. When she had first begun teasing the girl, it had been nothing but that, teasing. If Nero had asked her to stop or show any actual discomfort in her actions, she would have immediately.But she didn't. Sure she was surprised and more than a little flustered, but the girl hadn't actually tried to stop her, instead just standing there frozen, as if she was unsure of what to do. Repeated encounters of a similar nature had changed that behavior into something much more willing as Nero began leaning into her hands and even moaning softly as she groped her, turning the friendly teasing into something much more intimate.Akeno's mind flashed back to what had happened in the changing room just a few days ago, or rather what nearly happened. She hadn't meant to go that far in such a public space, but the excitement of the moment had gotten to her. The feeling of Nero’s breasts in her hands, combined with the knowledge that they could have very well been caught at any moment, had sent her blood racing, and it was clear that she hadn’t been alone in that regard.It was a shame that they had been interrupted by Rias. Akeno had wanted to see just how far she could go with the girl before she got uncomfortable. Maybe they would have progressed to more than just simple touching…Unbidden, a much more debaucherous image appeared in her mind. Nero’s adorable blushing face staring up at her, a bright red ball gag in her mouth and a blush that was just as vibrant coating her cheeks. It was such a contrast to the simple touching and caressing that they had been doing so far that Akeno shuddered slightly before pushing the image out of her mind. Now was not the time.Before she could go that far, she needed to continue gauging Nero's interest in her. She needed to know if it was just a physical response to her teasing or something deeper. Then she could indulge in all the naughty fantasies that crossed her mind. Slowly of course, no need to drop the girl off in the deep end before she was ready.Although, perhaps if things went well, that would be sooner rather than later.As the spar came to an end and both of the girls began to wind down from the match, Akeno stared as Nero took greedy sips from her water bottle, watching the cool liquid trailing down the girl’s jaw and neck as she tried to gulp it down a bit too fast. She licked her lips.Even if things didn’t work out, she was going to enjoy the attempt at the very least.