(Haruto's POV)
I had to admit that the mansion at the top was pretty impressive. As expected of the great Gremory clan. It was built completely from wood yet had a type of home-y feel to it.
I put away all of the bags I was carrying (still thinking the amount was a bit much for only ten days).
The girls all decided to go upstairs to change into clothes more appropriate for training.
"I will also go and get changed." Yuuki said as she walked past me carrying a blue jersey. She then winked. "Don't peek." I couldn't tell whether she was joking or trying to entice me.
I felt my cheeks pink slightly. I noticed Ise glaring at me with hostility before he too left to go change.
I sighed and decided to change in the now-empty room since it would be a waste of time to go upstairs when the room was already clear. It would only take a minute to get changed. I started with my shirt, taking it off and ready to change into my jersey.
"Oh wow that's hot…"
"Heehee!"
"..."
I frowned, dropping my shirt on the floor. I quickly searched around the room, confused. "Did I just…?" I could've sworn I heard someone.
I shrugged. Maybe it's just Yuuki and the girls talking about something… Hopefully I just heard words completely out of context.
I looked down at the ground and my eyes widened. My jersey AND my shirt were missing!
"What the Hell?!" I glared in the direction Issei walked in."Issei, did you take my jersey?!"
"No!" He called back from the room. He sounded confused by my question. "Did you drop it somewhere?!"
I frowned again, looking around the room. There was a couch… I crouched down and put my head against the floor, trying to see if I subconsciously flung my jersey under there.
"Wow… he's really toned in all areas…"
"Hehee. You'd better hurry up and snatch him up, Mittelt or I might just be tempted to take him for myself."
"... nice…"
"Hey, there's more than just his obviously gorgeous body! I'm not as shallow as you, you damned sexual predator!"
"SHHH! Be quiet! He'll hear us!"
I shot up, alert and quickly looked around the room. That time I was certain I heard something.
"Smooth move, Kala!"
"Me?! It was you—Shit." By that point I had noticed the only closet in the room was where the voices seemed to originate from. "OK. Nobody makes another sound…"
I sighed. "Whoever's in this room, come out before I hunt you down and knock your lights out!"
There was silence.
So that's how they wanted to play it.
I quickly started stomping my feet, hiding behind the couch, stomping much more slowly and quietly after several seconds.
Then I stayed absolutely silent for several seconds.
"Is the coast clear?"
"...Don't know… I'm scared…"
"Sssshhh. There there, Ray-chan. Haruto may be kind of brute-like sometimes, but he's really cute like a puppy."
My eye twitched. I was NOT a puppy!
I silently walked over to the closet…Then I punched my fist clean through the material. I clung my hand to the other end of the closet and gave a firm yank, completely breaking the door off its hinges and tossing it to the side. I was radiating killing intent.
"Who's—!" I blinked twice at the sight I saw, trying to process.
Sitting crouched on the floor of the closet were the three females of the Fallen Angel ORC members.
All three stared up at me. They quickly blushed.
"Wow… It looks even better up close."
"...So big…"
"Definitely a keeper!"
I blushed deeply covering my torso, trying to ignore how embarrassing those comments sounded out of context. "W-What?!" I then noticed that Mittelt was holding my jersey in her lap, hugging it like some kind of security blanket. "How did you even—?! Give me that!" I snatched my jersey back, my face was absolutely red. "Y-You perverts! You were peeping at me?!" I then thought about what I just said. "Well, honestly. It's actually a little bit flattering."
"You're welcome, sexy." I hit Kalawarner on the head for that one. She rubbed the aching bump on her head.
I was still blushing. "W-Were you trying to see me naked?!"
I noticed Raynare cowering behind Kalawarner, but decided that they'd all get an equal shouting at.
"Would you be angry if we said yes?" Kalawarner asked, smiling slyly.
I pondered the answer to that question. "What are you three even doing here?!"
"Buchou sent us here yesterday to make sure the mansion was still in good condition." Kalawarner explained.
"And boy what good condition it was in!" Kalawarner sang. "I mean with the outdoor baths and—" She was silenced with a squeak as Mittelt elbowed her on the stomach.
"..." Raynare shrank even further away from me.
There were so many things I could say in that situation. I wasn't quite sure how to even react. I could say something perverted, but that would just get me smacked right across the face for no reason. These girls were in no way part of my harem, so I wasn't quite sure what to say in this situation. Perhaps that's why I was so frustrated. I was unused to being in potentially ecchi situations provoked by a female who is not in my harem or on my harem list. Usually I'm the first to make a move.
"Just… get out." I pointed in the opposite direction, urging the three Fallen Angels to leave.
If I had been a bit more perceptive, I would've noticed a sneaky smirk on Kalawarner's face.
"Alright alright, but could you please help me up, Haruto-kun?" I raised an eyebrow. I shrugged.
"Whatever." I held out my hand to my Fallen Angel comrade, allowing her to grasp it.
As I began to help her, Kalawarner started standing up. "Well, I suppose I should thank yo—Whoops." Her expression changed to a smirk as her foot "got caught" on something, causing her to trip forward and slam right into me.
"Kalawarner!"
We both ended up tumbling backwards. I hit the back of my head against the floor hard.
When the world stopped spinning after I opened my eyes, I realized I was staring right into Kalawarner's eyes… and I felt something soft and warm pressing against my li—Oh my Satan.
W-We… K-Kalawarner and I… we… lips… did… us… K-K-KIIIIIIISSSS!
Mine and Kalawarner's lips had accidentally been pressed together when we fell and w-we… j-just…
While I was staring in shock, Kalawarner's expression showed pleasure as she forced her lips against mine.
"K-K-KALAWARNER!" Mittelt screamed angrily and jealously. "Dammit! I told you before, Haruto's mine!" Then she kicked Kalawarner off of me, the more "mature-looking" of the trio showing no discomfort other than disappointment at her attempt at "nookie-time" being ended so abruptly. Just as I was about to thank her, Mittelt knocked me back down, straddling me.
"Mitte—MMPH!" My words were cut short by an obstruction (Mittelt's lips) blocking my lips via kiss. She placed her hands on my shoulders, deepening her kiss to include her tongue.
… I just realized I was essentially getting "assaulted" by Fallen Angels. I was on the fence about whether or not to fight back.
Mittelt seemed to enjoy the kiss a lot considering from the admittedly sexy noises she seemed to deliberately make by moaning into my mouth.
Really though… what do I do in such a troubling situation? I couldn't tell whether or not this had been planned out or, if so, how much of it was planned out? Mittelt was a slightly more troubling situation than Kalawarner. She all but confessed to me back during my imprisonment at the hands of the now de-fanged Raynare and I was still sorting out however I felt about her. I didn't hate her, but I wasn't quite sure I loved her.
"Hehe… Looks like even Mittelt-chan acts like less of a virgin than you, Ray." I heard Kalawarner teasing Raynare.
"...I… It's… Shut u—" Then Raynare seemed to freeze.
Mittelt reluctantly pulled her lips away to glare at her comrade before looking up. Then her face turned a shock-white color.
She began muttering incoherently, her eyes wide in terror as something caught her eye.
"L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L—"
I frowned. "Just spit it out, Mittelt. You're creepin' me the fuck out." Her Fallen Angel compatriots had similar expressions. "What are you even—" I looked up (behind me? Whichever.) to see the stone-cold expression of my master, Serafall Leviathan, directed right towards us. I mean it. Her expression was ice-cold. It wasn't that darkness I sensed from her back in the Familiar Forest, but I did not detect the slightest amount of warmth from her. It was as if every last bit of emotion within her had been absolutely suppressed.
"Leviathan-sama." I addressed her in a business-like manner, ignoring the improper state I was in, being shirtless with a cute girl straddling me and French-kissing me.
I stared at her.
She stared back.
We stared at one another.
"I see…" Leviathan-sama said after a good ten minutes of awkward silence. "This is how you've decided to react. I understand."
Eh? What is she talking about? I honestly don't have a clue. You need to be specific as to what you speak of, master.
"I apologize for disturbing you." Leviathan-sama said in her same, emotionally-neutral tone, bowing her head slightly. "P-Please continue ignoring me." I noticed a slight tremble in her voice before she turned her back to me. "I'll retire to my room early." And then she left.
...What?
"... Holy shit." Raynare uttered in. "Did we just not get brutally massacred?"
"I know, right?!" Mittelt agreed. "I fully intended to meet whatever lies beyond this life for Fallen Angels!"
"Not to mention that seemed horribly out-of-character for Leviathan-sama!"
Kalawarner hit the nail on the head right there. Leviathan-sama's immediate reaction to such a thing would usually be childish jealousy or suffocating me with affection. In that case, perhaps my idea about her wasn't as far off as I thought. Perhaps she lacked such attachments just as I thought…
"H-Haruto!... A-Are you alright?" Mittelt was staring at me with an odd expression which I expected to be worried. Then I realized that I had been the one making the difficult expression. My thoughts were beginning to show on my face. I sat up, crossing my arms over my chest, sighing.
"It's nothing." I lied. "Could you all please leave so I can get dressed?" I could tell my bad mood was soiling the air around us. I didn't want them to suffer because of it.
"Oh boo." Kalawarner pouted. "We were just getting to the fun part."
"... Yes, Master…" Raynare said, returning to her previous melancholy. The two immediately stood up and walked themselves out of the room without further hesitation, their mood apparently spoiled by Leviathan-sama. However, while they departed, Mittelt remained. She was still straddling me, but her sexual intent was all but gone. She was just staring at me curiously.
"You can get off now…" I said. "I have to get dressed."
"No. Stay half-naked for a moment." Mittelt commanded with a serious expression on her face. She was hanging on real tight so I could tell she had no intention of letting go. "What's with you?"
I turned away. "I have no idea what you mean." Of course I was lying right out of my ass, but she didn't need to know that.
"You know what I mean!" Mittelt accused. "You're acting really weird! Is this about Leviathan-sama betting you?!"
I stared blankly. "Well, that wasn't at the front of my mind before but thanks for bringing that up, Mittelt." I said sarcastically. "I really appreciate it. Thanks a lot."
Mittelt suddenly clasped her hands over her mouth, gasping and looking as if she had been slapped.
"I-I didn't mean—I just—!" She looked both hurt and guilty at the same time.
"No," I sighed, "I snapped prematurely. I'm sorry." Just because I was unhappy, it didn't mean I had to take it out on Mittelt. She was just looking out for me. "It's nothing." I would get up and just walk away, but I had a blonde-haired loli sitting on top of my chest. Such a thing would be impossible at this moment.
"Haruto, even if you don't… I mean even if my lov… Well I mean…" Mittelt seemed flustered for a moment before coughing once into her fist before regaining her composure. "Whatever it is, you don't have to keep it inside. You don't even have to talk about all of it, but let me know why you're so mad."
"I'm not mad." I answered. "I'm just…" It took a while to get the words out. "I just can't believe I was bet as an object like that. If Ise loses ten days from now, I'll end up sent to live in some arrogant Pure-blood's house as little more than a pet. No more normal life, no more normal every day, no more friends…" I bit my lip, realizing I said too much.
Mittelt apparently picked up on that because she gained a sad look. "Is that why you're so mad about this…? You're afraid that you won't be able to see us again?"
I turned off to the side, not answering her question. Her words caused a slight pain in my heart.
My eyes began burning slightly, resisting any and all emotion.
"Haruto… if you love them… us… if you love those close to you, then why can't you trust us to pull through…?"
"I'm no idiot…" I answered, the flood of tears threatening to burst the damn holding them back. "The numbers are against us. If Issei can't pull through for us… I…I'll lose everything again… I…I don't… I don't wanna leave." I couldn't stop it now. A warm, wet sensation gradually began rolling down the sides of my face. "I wanna stay with all of my friends… I wanna be with everyone forever! I wanna laugh with them, cry with them, and be able to stand by their sides! It's bad enough I might lose them forever, but I can't even go with them when they march off to the war that will decide my fate! But… I can't show weakness… Rias-senpai has it just as bad as me, so I don't have any right to complain. Everyone's doing their best to fight, so I can't act like a crybaby and just…" Yet here I was, bawling my eyes out, unable to even wipe my tears since my arms were pinned down by Mittelt.
"Haruto…" I felt something lean against my bare chest. I looked down to see Mittelt laying on me, a sympathetic expression on her face.
"I'm so pathetic… The training hasn't even started and I'm like this… so pathetic considering I'm a servant of one of the Devil Kings." Dammit… I gotta get it together. "I just love everyone so much… If they're risking themselves to fight, then at the very least, I can maintain a smile and wish them the best… I don't want to be on my own… If they lose—"
"Then I will follow you to the Underworld itself." Mittelt answered, not raising her head.
"Because of orders…?" I couldn't help a bit of bitterness in my voice. I remembered that the reason Mittelt and the other two Fallen Angels were here in the first place was due to orders. As punishment for their "illegal" activities, they had been ordered to act as my servants until such a time where they had properly repented for their actions. Really, the punishment was only meant for Raynare, but Mittelt and Kalawarner joined in because they had become somewhat fond of me and decided to join in to watch Raynare. I was skeptical about whether or not Mittelt's love was true enough that she would follow me to the realm of the Devils and potentially risk her life.
"No, dummy." Mittelt teased, blushing slightly. "It's coz… It's coz I really like you… I…" She pouted. "Iloveyou." Her face was noticeably pink.
"I see."
"Don't 'I see' me!" Mittelt screamed. "I'm being serious here!" Then she calmed down. She sat up again and stared down at me with passionate eyes. "You… You are the first man to ever invoke such thoughts and feelings within me. As a selfish Fallen Angel, I am loath to give it up and thus refuse to." Mittelt reached her hand to hold mine. "No matter what happens, I will always be by your side."
"Mittelt…" My tears came pouring out with renewed force. Even though they were few, her words did help me somewhat. The heaviness in my heart began to alleviate slightly. I wrapped my arms around this girl, holding her closely. "...I wanna stay with everyone… If they lose…" I was a broken record. Even though Mittelt's words reassured me, I was still afraid.
"Then we won't lose."
Eh?
Mittelt seemed confused as well. I didn't say that. Neither did she.
… shit.
Knowing what I would find, I sat up, Mittelt sliding down into my lap. Then I turned my head 90 degrees to face the door.
It was open just a crack. Despite that, I detected at least five/six sets of eyes staring at us, intruding upon our privacy.
"Ara ara, Issei-kun. How reckless, giving away our hiding place like that." Akeno-san teased. The door slowly opened to reveal a sheepish-looking Issei, Rias-senpai, Akeno-san, a blushing Asia, Koneko-chan, and Yuuki. All six of them having eavesdropped on our conversation. To be brutally honest, the only thing I was actually surprised about was that Leviathan-sama was not amongst them.
"H-How long have you guys b-been watching?" Mittelt stuttered.
Rias-senpai smiled calmly, seeming more amused than embarrassed at the thought of being caught.
"Since 'Then I will follow you to the Underworld itself'. It was touching really." Rias-senpai admitted.
".. .Aaaaaggh…" The color drained out of Mittelt's face and she looked like she just wanted to die on the spot.
I turned my gaze downward, feeling ashamed. "So you guys saw that…? You heard what I said…?"
Yuuki nodded, a sympathetic expression on her face. "We heard everything."
"I don't see why you're worrying so much though, Haruto." I stared at Issei who walked forward, his usual goofy grin on his face. "After all, we ARE going to win! Just you watch! We're gonna win!" He held out his fist to me. "Everyone will be waiting for us to win! We'll definitely bring that yakitori bastard down a notch or two!"
"Don't worry, Haruto!" Yuuki assured me, smiling brightly. "I don't plan on letting any other woman be your number 1! I'd rather take my chances competing with the girls here rather than needing permission to go see you in the Underworld!"
"Ara ara, if I simply failed when my adorable Kouhai showed such a cute face, what kind of Senpai would I be?" Akeno-san said, smiling softly with a light blush on her face.
"... Don't worry, Senpai." Koneko-chan added briefly.
"I-I..." Asia hesitated for a moment, but nodded. "I-I can't fight like Isseui-san or the others, but I'll do my best as well!"
My eyes were beginning to water again. This time out of happiness. "Issei… Everyone…" I raised my fist and bumped it against Issei's.
I couldn't be selfish! I had to be strong! I'm gonna help everyone train and then they're gonna smash that bastard Riser into the dirt!
"Let's get this training camp started!"
"""Right!"""