"Whoa! How'd you get that huge bump on your head, Haruto?!" Ruruko exclaimed in surprise, eying the huge lump on my head that was revealed to the world as I laid my head on my desk.
It was after class and I was still deeply bothered by the previous night…
"It…It's a complicated situation."
"I'm powerless and this is the only way I'll be able to make them listen to me."
"… Either way, I would be out of this situation of mine…"
"I just… I don't know what else to do."
I kept running Rias-senpai's words through my head, trying to piece together what was going on. She seemed so troubled, but she never told me what was wrong. I don't care for her in the way I do for Ruruko or Yuuki, but I think I know her well enough to call her my precious friend. AND she's the treasured master of my brother. In a way, that makes Rias my sister. It made me feel so bad not understanding her situation or being able to help…
"Haruto…"
It just sucks.
"Haruto!"
"Huh—What!?" I was snapped out of my thoughts by Ruruko who had screamed in my ear.
My official alpha placed her hands on her hips, pouting.
I blinked. "Ruruko? When did you get here?"
Ruruko sighed. "Geez, you're so deep in your own personal world that you didn't even notice that classes ended for the day."
Finally, out of my mental trance, I glanced around the room to see all of my classmates were either standing in various groups around the classroom talking or were walking out the door. I took this, along with the fact Ruruko was here despite being a First Year, as a sign that school was indeed over for the day.
"Ah…"
Ruruko frowned. "Are you okay? When I mentioned that bump on your head, I really thought you would have one of those awkward moments where you reminisced about Naruko-san's physical punishments with a goofy smile."
My mind wandered back to the bump Ruruko mentioned. It all started with Naru-nee barging through my bedroom door and happening upon me and a nude Serafall.
"What the hell did I say just last night?!"
"N-Naru-nee! I-It's not what it looks like!"
"Morning Naruko-chan, Haru-tan!"
"..."
"N-Naru-nee?"
"Naru-style Divine Punishment!"
"GYAAAAAAH!"
I laughed awkwardly. "Sorry…" I sighed. "I just…I have a lot on my mind…"
"I see that." Ruruko didn't press me for answers. She didn't demand that I be honest or whatever. She trusted me and understood that it was something I wanted to keep to myself. "Just let me know if I can help in any way."
I nodded, gathering my things and standing up from my seat. "Yeah…" Then a thought that should've been painfully obvious from the beginning occurred to me, so obvious it made me feel like an idiot for not thinking of it earlier. "Hey, Ruruko."
Ruruko turned to me again. "Hm?"
"The Occult Research Club is meeting today, right?" Ruruko pondered this for a moment before shrugging.
"I suppose so. Haven't heard anything stating otherwise at any rate."
I caught her by surprise with a quick peck on the lips, causing her face to flush red with embarrassment.
"Thanks, babe. See ya later!" And I was off running. I ran out the door of the classroom, almost bumping into either Karlamine or Tsubasa (could've been either) before muttering a quick apology and continuing on my way. I avoided obstacles and made my way to the club building behind the school which provided a base to Rias and her Peerage. I didn't bother calling ahead of time. I was going to barge into that room by kicking down the door. It would be easier to get answers out of Rias-senpai if I caught her by surprise.
The moment I entered the building, I gave an extra burst of speed, running for the door that housed the Occult Research Club.
Found it!
I stopped, hesitating with my hand at the knob. I sensed several presences behind the door (how? I assumed it had something to do with my Devil senses.). I recognized several of them as the members of the ORC with two unaccounted for presences. One could possibly be the maid woman, Grayfia, from the previous night… but that one unaccounted for presence…
Screw it!
KICK! SMASH!
"Alright, Rias! Time for some answers!" I demanded, having smashed the door into splinters using my enhanced [Rook] strength. "It's time to tell me wh—!"
It was then that I realized I probably should've read the atmosphere of the room before barging in, coz when I barged in, every eye was on me and a few of them were glares.
The first glare was from Grayfia-san who was probably more upset about me breaking the door than barging in.
The second glare was from Rias who was probably upset about how I almost brought up last night in front of not only her servants but also two completely unrelated people.
The third glare was from a completely unfamiliar guy. He stood out amongst the ORC members and Grayfia, sitting next to Rias-senpai. The unfamiliar individual in question had medium-length blonde hair that fell annoyingly perfect and a handsome face that seemed to hold an invisible sign for me saying: Please punch my face, Haruto. Punch it with everything you got. The confident and smug look on his face didn't help. He was dressed in a pair of black stylish pants and a red button-up shirt which was open to show off his chest.
Despite the fact I wanted to punch this guy in the face, I couldn't help but notice the incredibly heavy atmosphere in the air.
It was heavy enough to crush a block of concrete.
Asia was trembling slightly behind Yuuki and Issei who seemed to bear a certain hostility towards the blonde guy. Koneko-chan's eyes were narrowed, but she said nothing. Akeno hid her hostility much more skillfully, but I could still sense it. Rias-senpai had no such tact. She looked like she literally wanted to MURDER the guy sitting beside her. I even noticed how Grayfia-san seemed relaxed, yet oddly on-guard at the same time. Like she was ready to intervene in case a fight broke out and her expression clearly said "Try to cause trouble and you WILL suffer the consequences".
I glanced from Rias to the blonde guy. Then back to Rias. Then back to the blonde guy and so on and so forth.
"Ah." I said after a good five minutes of awkward silence, smiling with equal awkwardness. "I see you guys are in the middle of something right now."
"Yes, we are," The blonde man agreed irritably. "So please begone from my sight. This matter does not concern an insignificant, Low-Class bug like yourself." There was a sharp burst of killing intent. Some of it from Yuuki and some of it from Issei. I even sensed a little annoyance from Akeno while Asia gave the blonde man a very cross look.
I have such nice friends if they are willing to show the desire to beat down a guy who insults me.
Rather than snap back immediately, I took a long pause, maintaining my smile despite having just been insulted.
Once I was finished with my pause, I took a deep breath before finally speaking.
"So, Rias-chan… Who's the douchebag dressed like a playboy-wannabe?" I asked in a sing-song tone like that of which I've learned to mimic by watching my master. And like that, I returned fire.
This earned Issei's suppressed snickers, a slight snort from Yuuki who managed to maintain her overall composure, a surprised squeak from Asia, a small smile from Koneko-chan, and finally, an unrepentant yet ladylike grin from Rias.
The playboy-wannabe, however, looked at me with contempt. "Who do you think you are?"
I gave a care-free thumbs-up. "Namikaze Haruto! Age: 16! Second Year at Kuoh Academy and the current White Dragon Emperor! As my demeanor suggests, I am care-free, loving towards the ladies, and very caring towards my loved ones!" I said. Then my expression became darker as I emanated an aura of animosity. "But towards people who cross me or my friends, I'm rude, vicious, and possibly hedonistic, so I'm basically the worst guy you've ever met or ever will meet. Read the manual before talking with me. Play with fire, and you're gonna get burned." Then my expression became bright and cheery again. "Nice to meetcha, Mr. Douche!"
There was a blank silence following my introduction, but my friends from the ORC couldn't hide their amused smiles.
The douche raised an eyebrow, but his level of annoyance seemed to remain the same as before.
"Well…I truly do not care WHO you are. As I said before, this matter does not concern you, you bug. Please leave me and my lovely Rias to our own matters." The douche tried to place his arm over Rias's shoulder, something which she clearly disliked judging from the look of disgust and displeasure on her face.
"That's okay," I said. "I actually lied before. I'm not just a Second Year at Kuoh Academy. I'm actually a delivery boy. I'm here to deliver one free ass-kicking if you don't get away from Rias-senpai. Quick lesson, man: When a girl looks at you the way she does, she clearly doesn't want you touching her and may be seconds away from blowing chunks. And she clearly does not like you referring to her as your 'lovely Rias'."
This elicited another round of hidden smiles.
Really, I was angry. I didn't know who this guy was, but he pissed me off so much.
The blonde sneered and stood up before approaching me. When we were face to face, he clearly tried looking much taller than he was. "I don't care who you think you are, you low class Devil. My lovely Rias is my fiancee. I'm allowed to do what I want with her."
And THAT was the straw that broke the camel's back.
I didn't bother hiding my anger by that point.
"Hm. Apparently in Douchebag School, they taught you exactly the WRONG way to treat a woman." I said, resisting the let loose my blooming rage. " I glared at the douche. "No matter how you spin it, you can't just treat a woman like your property. You clearly don't know the meaning of fiancee. Let me explain it here. Marriage is not about 'owning' someone or having superiority. It is a romantic commitment to one you love above all others. A bond that both parties must be immensely prepared for. If this is how you treat her as your fiancee, I am loath to even think about imagining how you'd treat her as your wife. I mean—" Then I fully processed what he said. I turned, staring incredulously at Rias with wide eyes. "Wait! Holy shit, you're getting married, Rias-senpai!? I didn't know that!"
Rias-senpai sighed, rubbing her temples. "It is an ARRANGED marriage." She said it like she could not stress it enough.
I pondered this. Then I looked from Rias to the douche, then Rias, then the douche, and then an understanding clicked together in my head.
"OOOOOOOHHHHH!... Oooohhhh… So THIS is what you were talking about." I said, finally understanding the answer to the question I had when I first got here. Rias-senpai gave me a quick and almost unnoticeable nod. I bowed my head to her. "I am so sorry."
"About time the pest apologized." The douche replied condescendingly.
I narrowed my eyes on him. "I was talking to Senpai. Know when someone is and isn't talking to you, Mr. Douche."
And then his anger became present as well. "My name is Riser Phenex of the Phenex clan, you peon."
I mockingly applauded him. "Oh. Peon? I will admit that's a new one. Up to this point, I've been called an A-hole, bastard, pervert, jackass, and several other names I don't feel comfortable mentioning in front of any of the women present here, but 'peon' is definitely a new one… Naru-nee can be a cruel person sometimes." I smiled bitterly, remembering all of the fights that we've had to show our sibling-bond. "How long did you spend remembering its meaning, preparing for the day you could triumph over a sixteen-year-old?"
That was once again said in a mocking tone.
The playboy clenched his fists, what appeared to be flames appearing on it. "Do you KNOW who you're antagonizing?"
There was a long silence between us.
"An asshole?" I guessed mockingly. "So anyway, if it's not too much of a bother, could you please leave and never come back so I don't have to smash your face into the wall?"
I couldn't keep my killing intent hidden anymore so I decided to move on with the threats.
Riser raised his somewhat flaming fist. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't destroy you right now?"
"Leave him alone, Riser!" Rias-senpai demanded angrily. Akeno-san and Yuuki looked like they were ready to jump in at a moment's notice. Issei looked outright ready to kill the bastard.
I grinned, liking where this was heading. If he threw the first punch, I was justified in kicking his ass.
"Oh, so you have fire powers too?"I asked. "Then if you're from the 'phoenix' clan, then this makes you a flaming yakitori." The flames around Riser's fist seemed to increase slightly in strength.
Riser stomped forward, grabbing me by the collar, his fist pulled back to throw a punch. "You rotten little—!"
To be honest, I fully expected either Grayfia-san to respond or myself to counter his attack, but both possible scenarios did not occur. Instead, an unexpected THIRD scenario occurred.
Before Riser could throw his punch, a magic circle behind him glowed a brilliant blue light with a symbol I recognized.
"Haruuu-taaaaan!" A familiar, adorable voice whined, cutting through the severe situation that had begun.