Last time Lucien ended up getting a visit from his brother and Grayfia where they discussed Kuroka's fate. Lucien ended up taking her on as the Queen of his Peerage. Now however he must fulfill a promise he made to Akeno.

Lucien didn't know what to expect honestly, when Akeno said he owed her a date, we'll that wasn't exactly comforting information. Lucien decided to wear a crimson button up shirt that matched his hair, tucked neatly into a pair of black dress pants. He wore a belt that had a buckle shaped like a classic record. Black dress shoes on his feet and of course his black headphones. Lucien looked himself over in the mirror and took note of all the scratches and even a few hairline cracks on his headphones. "I should really try and buy a new set of headphones." Lucien thought to himself as he grabbed Zankoku Otome as the door to the room opened up.
          "My don't you look handsome." Kuroka purred as she strutted over to Lucien before looking him over. "You are not bringing that katana with you on a date!" Kuroka said as she quickly swiped the sword away from her master before he could protest. "What if I need to defend myself? I don't feel like using up the magic in my cursed arm if I don't have to." Lucien fired back as he looked at his Queen sternly. Kuroka playfully sat on the bed before shooting her master a rather playful cat like grin. While Lucien appreciated Kuroka becoming his Queen, he still felt uneasy when ever mischief flashed in the nekomata's eyes.
             "I know your destruction magic is your weakest form of attack, but how do you expect to get better if you barely utilize it? You can't rely on this sword and that arm of yours forever you know?" Kuroka said in her usual teasing tone, but Lucien could sense the seriousness in her words. "Fine, but only because I doubt something catastrophic will happen during this date." Lucien said admitting defeat as a triumphant smile spread across Kuroka's face. "Good, now you should go down to the cafe, I'm sure Akeno is waiting." Kuroka said as she walked past Lucien, brushing a hand along his arm before making her exit from the room as Lucien let out an unamused sigh.
           Lucien made his way downstairs to the portion of the building that made up the Cackling Skull. Lucien knew his parents wanted him to move back to their family home full time, but he had gotten pretty attached to this place so it was hard to just pack up his room and leave. He appealed to his parents by staying at their home Thursday through the weekend, although he made an exception this week due to the promise he made. "Oh did you get all dressed up for me Lucien?" Lucien turned to see Akeno, not in her usual school uniform, but a red dress with puffy white sleeves. A heart necklace hung around her neck and the thing Lucien noticed the most, her hair was down instead of in the usual ponytail.

           "I wouldn't say your necessarily dressed casually either Akeno." Lucien said calmly causing her to giggle before walking up to the youngest Gregory sibling and standing right in front of him. "Well I wanted to look good, this is a date after all." Akeno said in her usual sultry tone as she gently hugged Lucien's left arm. "Now, shall we get going?" Akeno said as Lucien simply nodded before both of them walked out of the Cackling Skull. As Lucien and Akeno walked down the street, little did they know a figure was watching them from a distance. The short figure followed after the duo as they kept their distance as to not be spotted.

Mall
Lucien and Akeno entered the shopping mall as Lucien looked around the large shopping center.

"What exactly are we doing here?" Lucien asked as he gave Akeno a cautious look considering he was not about to let his sister's best friend kill his wallet. "Well you need new clothes, while what your wearing is nice, you have entirely to many t-shirts and hoodies riddled with holes." Akeno said in a teasing tone as Lucien had an idea of how she knows what his wardrobe looks like. "So not only did you sneak into my bed in your underwear, you also dug through my closet. Do you even understand boundaries?" Lucien asked in an exasperated tone as he looked at the girl in disbelief.
Akeno giggled as she hugged Lucien's arm tighter, trapping it between her cleavage. "Lucien, your a handsome young man, you should dress as such." Akeno said in her usually sultry tone as a light blush spread across the youngest Gremory's face. "So how exactly did you explain this whole date thing to my sister?" Lucien asked as he knew that Rias would probably make any girl he potentially wanted to date go through a whole screening process before giving the okay. "She thinks that I'm just catching up with you, anything that happens she doesn't have to know about." Akeno teased as Lucien rolled his eyes at her response. "Of course, she plans on teasing me. Akeno could literally get any guy she wants, I'm just her best friend's kid brother." Lucien thought to himself, not that he minded Akeno only seeing him as Rias's little brother.
           Akeno dragged Lucien into a clothing store as she began rifling through the different clothes in the men's section. "So how has that mangy cat been treating you? Rias mentioned your brother made her become the Queen of your Peerage. Has she tried anything?" Akeno said in a slightly stern tone as as she quickly glanced at Lucien out of the corner of her eye. "Akeno would you relax? Kuroka isn't going to kill me, look if you plan on stopping by the Cackling Skull." Lucien said in a calm tone as he didn't realize that was not at all what Akeno was asking of him. Akeno then turned around with a folded stack of clothes before handing them over to Lucien before dragging him to the changing room.
          While Lucien was in the changing room, Akeno was sitting deep in thought. "I need to make my move before the mangy cat gets her claws on Lucien!" Akeno thought to herself as she heard the door to the changing room open. Lucien was now wearing a black leather jacket with long red sleeves, a white shirt on underneath it. Tied around his waist was a red flannel shirt, white jeans, and black boots. Around his neck was a new set of red headphones.

"You look rather good in that, it's much better then your usual attire." Akeno said as she smiled at Lucien who just rolled his eyes at her statement. "Fine, I guess this'll be my default outfit from now on. Let me get changed and we can get out of here." Lucien said as he reentered the changing room before switching back into the clothes he wore for the date. Akeno smiled as she already had the next part of their date planned out.

Restaurant
After finishing up in the clothing store, Akeno led Lucien to one of the restaurants within the mall for lunch. They had ordered their drinks and food and were just waiting for it to be delivered. "So of all things, why a date? If you wanted to tease me, I'm sure you could've come up with something embarrassing for me to do." Lucien said as he was curious why Akeno chose a date of all things that he owed her. Akeno did a good job of hiding it, but that comment stung a little bit. "Well, your family wasn't the only person who missed you when you disappeared. I missed you quite a bit, you were always so nice to me when we were children." Akeno said gently as her cheeks were tinted pink.
Lucien looked at Akeno in concern, he still felt guilty for hurting so many people with his supposed death. Lucien gently took Akeno's hand in his own as he gently squeezed it. "I'm sorry that I worried you. I, I just felt like I was failing my family by not getting a handle on my destruction magic. So I decided to stay away for awhile to focus on bettering myself." Lucien explained as he gently rubbed the top of Akeno's hand with his thumb. "Lucien, you know that no one considers you a failure right?" Akeno said her usual sultry tone replaced with one filled with nothing but concern. Lucien knew that no one considered him a failure since he had returned to the Gremory manor.
         Their food arrived as they began to eat in mostly silence. "I know that I'm not a failure, I was just in a bad place at the time." Lucien finally said breaking the silence between the two of them. Akeno looked at Lucien before giving him a gentle and reassuring smile. "Lucien, you know if you ever need to talk I would be more then happy to listen right?" Akeno said as she tried to let the youngest Gremory know that she was there for him. Lucien let a smile spread across his face as he nodded his head in understanding. "Yeah I know, just took me awhile to realize that." Lucien said before both of them continued eating their meal before paying the check and leaving the restaurant. Little did they know the figure was still watching them

Alleyway
Lucien and Akeno were just walking around town talking when they heard footsteps from behind them. Lucien and Akeno turned around to see a girl with blonde hair done up in twin tails that ended in drills. She had large blue eyes and wore a purple dress with black stockings and matching purple shoes.

"Ravel Phenex, let me guess your brother sent you didn't he?" Lucien said in a calm tone as he didn't want to start conflict or provoke the youngest Phenex sibling. "Lucien Gremory, on my brother's orders I am to bring you to him. You can either come peacefully or I can take you by force!" Ravel said as her wings made entirely of fire sprouted from her back. "So now Riser's bratty little sister is coming after you? I will take care of her." Akeno said in a dangerous tone as lightning crackled around her hand as she got ready to strike.
Lucien noticed something, Ravel didn't look like she wanted to fight, in fact she looked scared. "Ravel, are you okay?" Lucien asked as he took a step towards the youngest Phenex sibling. Ravel launched a ball of fire at Lucien, who conjured a ball of destruction magic in his left hand before tossing it at the fire ball. When the destruction magic collided with the fire ball, it destroyed it before dispersing. "I-I'm not asking Lucien Gremory! You are coming with me whether you want to or not!" Ravel threatened but her voice betrayed any sense of danger. Lucien slowly walked towards the girl as she started creating another fireball.
"Did your brother threaten to abandon you? Like what he did with Isabela, Siris, and Xuelan?" Lucien asked as Ravel's hands started to shake as the fireball started to shrink. "I-I'm apart of my mother's Peerage! T-T-This is to help my brother!" Ravel relented, but Lucien could see the tears forming in the corner of her eyes. Lucien wasn't falling for it, he knew something was seriously wrong here and he was going to find out what it was. Lucien gently rested his hands on top of Ravel's as the fireball completely disappeared. "Ravel, it's okay let go." Lucien said calmly as the youngest Phenex looked up into his eyes as the tears finally started to run down her face. Ravel's legs grew weak as she almost collapsed to the ground, but was caught by Lucien, who cradled her.
          "R-R-Riser and I had a fight, I didn't like that he kicked the other girls out. H-H-He got angry when I said he should just give up on getting back at your family." Ravel whimpered as she buried her face into Lucien's chest as they both dropped to the ground. All anger left Akeno's body as she walked up to the duo before crouching down and gently patted the youngest Phenex sibling on the back in a supportive manner. "H-H-He threatened to have the others hunt down Isabela, Siris, and Xuelan if I didn't help capture you." Ravel whimpered as Lucien tightened the gif he was giving the girl. Lucien and Akeno looked at each other before nodding in agreement.
"Ravel, we want to help you. Will you come with us back to the cafe I work at?" Lucien asked as he didn't want to force the girl to follow them. Ravel sniffled before slowly nodding in agreement as Lucien helped her back on her feet. Lucien and Akeno both started leading Ravel back to the Cackling Skull so they could figure out what to do about Ravel. "Ravel, can you get in contact with your mother when we arrive? I feel like the best course of action would be talking to someone more levelheaded." Lucien said as Ravel nodded before Lucien turned to Akeno who was giving him a worried look. "Lucien, I'm starting to get worried about this Riser issue. Maybe you should let Rias get involved." Akeno said as Lucien sighed, but remained silent for the moment.

Cackling Skull
Ravel sat at a table as she conjured a small magic circle on the table. The circle gently pulsed with orange light before a holographic projection of a woman with long blonde hair in a red dress appeared in the circle.

"Hello mother." Ravel greeted her mom as the woman smiled at her daughter. "Hello dear, oh and is that you Lucien Gremory? So the rumors of you being alive were true." Lady Phenex said as she turned to look at the youngest Gremory sibling. "Hello Mrs. Phenex, sorry to bother you, but there is a matter we need to discuss with you." Lucien said as Lady Phenex gave him and her daughter a confused look but nodded her head in understanding.
Lucien and Ravel spent the next hour explaining Riser's hunt for Lucien to get back at the Gremory Family for his defeat against Issei. Ravel explained Riser abandoning Isabela, Siris, and Xuelan and his threat to get her to cooperate. Once the duo finished their explanation Lady Phenex remained silent before letting out an angered sigh. "It appears my son has caused a great deal of trouble for you Lucien Gremory, and to threaten his own sister! I would discipline the boy myself, but we have no idea where he is. The idiot is trying to start a war between our two families over his pride!" Lady Phenex growled as she was not pleased with her son's actions in the slightest.
            Lucien felt bad for Lady Phenex, her son was picking a fight with the family of the current Lucifer. "Lady Phenex, I assure you that I won't let this conflict extend beyond myself and your son." Lucien said as he tried to reassure the woman that this wouldn't escalate further. "While I appreciate your maturity Lucien, I still feel like I must give a token of goodwill to you to truly show that this will not escalate into a full blown conflict." Lady Phenex said as she didn't want to simply go on word alone for such a touchy subject. Lucien wished that he could tell her there was no need for something like that, but considering how delicate this entire mess was, that wasn't an option.
            "Mother, I could join Lucien's Peerage as a sign of goodwill." Ravel spoke up as everyone turned to look at her in surprise. "You don't have to do that Ravel, I'm sure you want to stick with your family." Lucien said as he didn't want the girl to feel obligated to step up because of her brother's mess. "That is a brilliant idea! There is no issue Lucien, my daughter is a free Bishop, she may join any Peerage she sees fit." Lady Phenex said as it once again seemed another decision regarding his Peerage was completely out of his control. "Only if your absolutely sure about this Ravel." Lucien said as the youngest Phenex sibling nodded her head as Lucien went to the counter.
           Lucien returned with one of his Corrupted Bishop pieces as both Lady Phenex and Ravel gave him a confused look. "I have never seen and Evil Piece like that before." Lady Phenex commented as she studied the chain design going across it. "My Evil Pieces are rather unique given the power of my Cursed Arm." Lucien said as he held up the Bishop Piece before it floated in the air in front of Ravel. The chain pattern uncoiled itself before launching into Ravel's torso before removing her Bishop Piece. The Corrupted Bishop drained the other piece of its power before it crumbled into dust. The Corrupted Bishop then entered Ravel's body as she felt a burst of power.
          "I feel stronger, as if I still had the power of my old Bishop Piece with the power of another added on top of it!" Ravel said as she looked down at her hands in amazement. "That is quite the handy ability your Evil Pieces have Lucien, now I leave my daughter in your care. Please set my son straight while I negotiate a punishment for him with your family." Lady Phenex said before she said goodbye to Ravel before ending the call. Ravel turned to Lucien before giving him a small smile. "I hope I can be of service to you Lucien." Ravel said as she curtsied to her new King. Lucien scratched the back of his head in embarrassment before he started to get Ravel setup temporarily at the Cackling Skull. One thing was for sure, if his Peerage kept getting bigger he would need a space dedicated to his Peerage soon.
Lucien walked Akeno to the front door of the Cackling Skull as they both looked at each other. "Sorry our date got derailed at the end there." Lucien apologized as the day had taken a serious left turn. "It's fine Lucien, I still enjoyed our time together." Akeno said as a mischievous smirk spread across her face, which only caused Lucien to worry. "Well I'm glad you enjoyed it, you probably could've done a lot better as far as someone to take on a date." Lucien said as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly, which caused Akeno to frown. Akeno stepped forward before gently pressing her lips against Lucien's, completely catching the youngest Gremory off guard by the act.
Akeno held the kiss for a few more seconds before pulling away and smiling at Lucien. "The truth is I've always had a bit of crush on you since we were kids. I hope you'll consider seeing me as more then just your big sister's best friend Lucien." Akeno said in her usual sultry tone before she sauntered out of the Cackling Skull, leaving behind a dumbfounded Lucien to process what just happened. Akeno couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she continued her walk home. "Looks like I've made my move, now I just need to wait for Lucien to make his decision. Of course I could continue to add pressure if he forgets." Akeno thought deviously as she continued on her way home with a skip in her step.

So Lucien fulfilled the debt he owed to Akeno by taking her on a date. Of course Ravel showed up and revealed more of her brother's new ruthless mentality. Lucien even gained another new member of his Peerage in the process! As always please leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments! What will Riser's next move be? What will happen to Isabela, Siris, and Xuelan? How will Lucien handle Riser moving forward? What other new developments will occur both good and bad? Find out in the next chapter of Highschool DxD: Cursed Arm!