Chapter 03: The Devil's Advocate
Previously:
"Zastin, this is….unexpected." Rito said. "Haven't seen you in a while. What are you doing here?" Rito asked curiously.
But in response, Zastin only gave out a 'Hn.' Grunt and turned around, walking into the house.
"Gid Lucione Deviluke, king of the galaxy, wishes to see you, Rito-dono." The man addressed seriously as Rito's eyes widened.
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Chapter 03: The Devil's Advocate
The teenagers all exchanged a look of confusion as they followed the Devilukean knight into the house. The five wordlessly set their shopping bags down onto the corridor grounds and stool and took off their shoes. And one by one, they walked through the unlit corridors and straight forward.
Looking forward to the end of the corridor, covered by Zastin's broad purple cape and shoulders, was the sliding glass pane that lead to the backyard. The transparent piece of glass illuminated the hallway with warm golden light rays of sunset, yet the warmth of the light did nothing to sooth or ease the tension between everyone. Reaching the end of the corridor, Zastin wordlessly slid the pane door to the side, allowing the surprisingly chilling air to gush into the house.
That's not natural. Rito concluded inside his mind, but not before shutting his eyes abruptly, once again feeling the sting in his eyes. These aches are getting more frequent. I need to take my medicine soon.
Gid's in a very foul mood… let's hope he doesn't lose it. Zastin thought to himself in fear, his tail wavering.
The knight hopped onto the grass and appeared in the centre of the field, beside a certain Devilukean. "My king, I have returned with Rito-dono." Zastin announced, but not before falling onto one knee and placing one hand on his opposite shoulder, his head bent low, his tail submissively between his legs.
"Hm." Was the deep gruffly reply of the short man before him. The man the size of a toddler had black spiky hair, with visible silver streaks running through it, his bangs covering his eyes ominously. He had a slightly devilish looking face, which was accompanied by shark liked teeth. Adorned his little frame was a pitch black long sleeve tunic with matching long pants and shoes. Around his neck was beads of purple, as well as another necklace, which ended with a golden trident head, showing off his superiority. His sense of royalty was further highlighted with the golden earrings and corresponding brass rings which he wore on his arms and ankle, four on each limb. He had a long blue cape around his figure, which was held together by a collar of white fur. The cape touched and dragged onto the ground, essentially covering his entire backside, though it did not stop his tail from appearing by his side. But like none other, it ended with a wicked silver trident head. Its three edges curved and pointing forward. The side blades resembled the devils wing. As the tail swished about in the air, the golden rings on his tail made clattering noises.
The teenagers stepped out into the backyard and looked around. Nobody was talking. Nobody was moving. But slowly, Rito brushed past the girls and walked towards the centre of the yard, standing mere meters between him and the king of the galaxy, but to Rito, he was nothing more than the father of his fiancés.
"Wh-what a surprise, G-Gid-sama… It-It's been a while..." Rito lamely began with a weak smile, to which he later regretted. What a lame starter…
"It has been a while hasn't it, Yuuki Rito, or should I say," Gid then looked at him straight in the eye.
"Lone Eagle."
It was at that point that a silent breeze picked up. The wind carried brown leaves across the yard as everyone's hair flowed along. Rito and the girl's eyes widened as they looked at Gid's face. His now furious face. Everyone held their breath as they expect a reply from the boy. But Rito remained rooted on his spot on the ground, unable to move.
"…I…"
"That's right, remain silent, boy." The king interrupted, then continued. "You say it has been a while, Yuuki Rito. But it wouldn't have been if you hadn't disappeared so suddenly at the end of last year, and along with my precious daughters no less."
Rito could do nothing other than gulp in nervousness. On the sidelines, the Devilukean sisters as well as the Yuuki sister were watching in suspense. Lala couldn't stand it and was about to move when a hand held her shoulder. The pink heads turned around and saw Zastin, who had a stern yet sorrowful look on his face. Mikan could only watch on worriedly.
"Make no mistake, the only reason why I came here on this pathetic excuse of a planet was purely for the concern of my daughters." Hearing this, Rito looked down on the grass. "And to teach you a lesson."
"Firstly!" He announced as he held out a hand to his side. His trident necklace then zoomed onto his clutched hand. Then out of nowhere, a full-sized trident materialized in the Devilukean's hand, standing straight on the ground. It stood up to Rito's neck height, the trident blade faces reflecting Rito's one.
"Zastin has told me everything. Your transformation into the number one assassin on the black list of every justice organization in the galaxy is surprising indeed. Who knew a mere human would attain such power. But… I had my suspicions for a while now, even back to when I first met you." Gid spat out the word 'human' like poison. "I am ashamed."
"I ah-"
"Secondly!" Gid's voice rung with authority, commanding obedience. "Your little 'grand adventure' towards the Talha Galaxy." Rito winced at the word 'little'.
"Though I wish to thank you, on behalf of the Unified Galaxy, that you have prevented catastrophic events."
"No-"
"But!" Gid shouted. "In doing so, you have placed Lala, Nana, and Momo at risk." Gid then flipped his mighty trident and held it with two hands, so that the butt of the weapon faced up. "Though appreciate your efforts in saving the world, you have solely jeopardised the lives of the princesses of Deviluke, my daughters." Gid then brought his trident forward.
"Everyone..of..them!" He reiterated, whacking Rito in the face with the trident butt at the end of every word. Rito froze like ice at his words, which stung more than the light bruises in his face. His turned his head back, once again staring at the ground.
What he said….was all true… Rito told himself grimly as he took the hits, feeling like he deserved it.
"Stop it!" Cried a voice as everyone looked towards the sidelines. "D-Don't hurt brother!"
"Mikan…" Rito breathed out as black eyes met young golden brown ones.
"Th-that's right! We volunteered to go! Rito-san did nothing wrong!" Momo argued alongside Mikan.
"That's right father!" Nana and Lala agreed, determined looks on their faces.
"ENOUGH!" Boomed the deafening voice of the king as Gid stepped back towards Rito, his head looking down, gripping his trident tightly. All people, including even Zastin, exhaled in relief, thinking that Gid has finally calmed down.
Oh but how wrong they were.
"Regardless…" Gid whispered in the wind, his body, along with his trident, vanishing with it. The temperature around everyone deadened suddenly as Rito's eyes widened.
Crap… Gid's pissed. Zastin thought as he remained in front of the girls, protecting them from what is to come.
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(With Gid and Rito…)
The little king appeared behind the unsuspecting boy in mid-air, his body crouched and tucked, his arms cocked back with his trident, ready for a horizontal cleave. But Rito's old instincts told him to dodge at all costs or otherwise as he ducked down and leaped forward in a somersault, dodging the trident head by a breath. Rito landed in a handstand and pushed off again, flipping and recovering in mid-air before skidding a meter back, facing Gid in a crouched position.
"Not bad for a person who cowered out of his career!" Gid called out.
I'm retired, not retarded. Rito mused in his mind as he stood up and got into stance. He was in a slightly crouched position, his knees slightly bent, his left arm forward down his centreline and his right arm covering his left elbow defensively. "Please I don't want to fight!" Rito called out in worry as a wave of pain began surging from within Rito's head.
"Well I want to! I'm here to teach you a lesson, gaki!" Gid then sunk into an odd stance. He was on all four, with the exception of his right arm, which held his menacing trident forward. The trident ended tail behind Gid's back swished in mid-air menacingly. And slowly, his tiny frame of a body began glowing gold. He closed his eyes briefly as a bright aura surrounding him. The aura rose above him as it formed a sharp tail like figure.
A scorpion personality… Rito cried out in his mind as he saw the king of the universe dashed forward. The king began with a simple spin on the ground, only instead of a leg sweep, a black tail was used as substitution as Rito stepped back a few steps, avoiding the rapid spins. Gid then hopped up and brought his trident down upon the boy, but to his surprise, blocked it with a forearm and a hand. The king responded with a spin, in hopes to slam his trident butt into Rito's opposite side. His hope became reality as the pole slammed into Rito's right side, though Rito did not budge, but instead simply slapped the pole away with a back fist.
"I have shown you my personality, where's yours!" Gid shouted.
But hearing no immediate reply, the father of three growled as he ducked down, allowing his trident headed tail to sail above his little figure and forward towards Rito's neck. But unsuspectingly to Gid, Rito dashed straight at the king wildly and vanished into nothingness. Gid paused his posture and awaited for any sign of movement, as did the people in the sidelines.
Suddenly, a small discharge of blue electricity crackled as a boy fell from nowhere and onto the grass, skidding before slamming his into the big tree towards the back of the backyard, once again surprising everyone, even himself.
Haven't done that in a VERY long time… Rito thought as he struggled to stand. His struggle was intervened when Gid dashed forwards at high speed, his trident's blades now morphing into one spear, ready to impale Rito against the tree. Rito's golden brown eyes widened at the terrifying sight as he immediately duck down and clapped his hands together above his head, hard. As a result, he had stopped the spear head from entering into his head. However, the tree trunk behind Rito was not so lucky as the spearhead was seen embedded into the trunk. The entire tree shook in pain as it cried down tears of leaves onto the two combatants.
Gid then attempted to pull his weapon out from the tree, but it did not budge. This was seen as the perfect opportunity for the former assassin as he dashed away from the tree, vanishing into a burst of lightning, only to appear instantly back to the centre of the yard, albeit this time, he was standing upright instead of being on the ground. Rito groaned out as he stumbled back a few steps, he shook his head from side to side briefly, to sooth the pain ringing from within.
This pain… I need medicine. Rito thought in his mind, his vision would occasionally divert to the people behind him on the porch.
"Rito, daijobu?!" The Devlukean females from behind cried out as they struggled to reach the boy in discomfort, but they were all held back by the grasps of a stern Zastin
"Zastin! Let go of us!" Nana demanded as she struggled under his grasp, as did her sisters.
"I…I can't. Your father's orders ar-are absolute." Zastin struggled out, despite having the temptation to do so. Groom-to-be, be careful.
"Gid-sama, please stop! Please! I don't wanna fight!" Rito begged as he watched the small man, who eventually plucked his spear from the tree. What was the spear head of the weapon them once again morphed back into its original trident form. Gid held his trident in a reverse position, similar to a javelin. And he did as what nobody would've expected him to.
"Haa!" With a brief cry, Gid hopped into the air and hauled his arm forward, throwing the lance forward at incredible speed.
Rito's legs twitched on instinct, but he held ground, knowing what may result from his carelessness. Crap! I can't dodge this, Mikan and the others behind…
In response to the attack, Rito's left hand came into motion. In that second of timeframe, he could see everything. He could see how the trident head sparkled majestically under the sunset light, and that it was piercing the innocent brown leaves which stood, or rather, cascaded in its way. He could see how it wobbled ever so slightly as it got closer and closer, and closer.
The earthling waited as the weapon closed in on him, then took a courageous step forward as his left arm could be seen momentarily surrounded by a swirl of energy in the form of a double helix. Rito then swung his hand upwards rapidly, and to even Gid's surprise.
His actions resulted in the backhanding of the trident's blade face, causing the long weapon to fly upwards into the heavens, spinning. And with nothing between the two combatants, Gid landed before Rito with a giant punch of his right hand. But Rito sidestepped to his left and slapped it away, causing Gid to turn. But the involuntarily spin was seen as an advantage for Gid as he used the momentum to jump up and perform a back kick, his short legs extending front and back. Rito acted the moment Gid moved as he lifted up his own leg, deflecting the kick. Gid jumped again, bridging the gap between him and the boy. And he began to lay flurry of punches and aerial kicks towards the boy. Gid would deliver a series of attacks, then vanishing and reappearing behind or beside the boy, sometimes even above. And slowly Rito began to feel his disadvantage.
I can't attack…no…I won't attack… Rito said determinedly as he stood ground, and defended himself combinations of dodges, slaps, parries and kicks. But still he held back, never once going on the offensive, despite the openings that would occasionally arise from Gid's little form.
Suddenly, the two sensed an object plummeting from above as they halted whatever they were doing, abruptly each jumping back and landing in a skid. The forgotten trident which spun in the skies fell and dug itself halfway into the grassy ground that was the backyard grounds, head first.
The two gave each other a brief look in the eye, before dashing forward simultaneously. However, having the nimble and small frame that Gid possess, The Devilukean reached the golden trident a fraction of a second before him. Gid then grabbed the pole and pulled it forward harshly. The trident ejected from the ground as dirt flew about, as did the weapon. The trident butt flew straight into the incoming Yuuki's stomach, causing the boy to wince and step backwards. Gid's then caught his weapon as he once again engaged his 'successor'.
Gid trident once again reverted into his lance as he bended his knees and thrusted it forward repeatedly at a quickened rate, forcing the boy to step back, duck, side step and flip as he dodged the countless fatal jabs. Although Rito had dodge all attacks up till now, he could slowly feel the margin between him and the weapon slowly closing. He could feel the increasing heat that the weapon head radiated growing.
I…I have to do something! Rito has done so much for me… I have to…do something… A brown-haired Yuuki thought frantically as she helplessly watched her brother from behind Zastin. But before she knew it, she had push past the big Devilukean, jumping down the porch and running towards the battlefield.
"Mikan-chan! Where are you going?!" The pink haired girls called out in panic.
"Zastin! You have to stop her!" Momo warned. But Zastin stood firm, shaking his head.
"Your father's orders are absolute, to protect you three." The swordsman repeated.
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(With Gid and Rito…)
Rito had finally had enough of the constant defensive play. He has had enough of running away and dodging the father of three. And so he decided to retaliate. With perfect timing, he dodged a thrust and reached out, grabbing the pole of the trident with firmly with one hand and pulling it towards him.
"Che…" Gid muttered lowly as he let himself follow the inertia. The short man hopped up with a strong front kick as his boots met with Rito's fingers, making him involuntarily release his clutch on the staff. Now being in full possession of his trident once again, the king of the Galaxies dashed back along with is possession and pressed himself onto the big tree in the backyard, his legs crouched by the trunk.
It was at this point where Rito knew the fight had reached its climax as he prepared for the impending attack when he heard a voice.
"Stop!" the voice of Mikan cried out as a Rito saw the little girl running and standing before him, facing forward. "Do not hurt Rito!"She spread her arms wide apart. I will protect you.
"But you will not take my son!" The moment of flashback hit Rito hard as he snapped out from his trance. From past the girl, he could see one Gid Lucione Deviluke, who had just pushed off the now dented trunk of the tree, recklessly dashing towards the human siblings, his hands tucked by his side, his trident by his back.
"No…" Rito whispered as he pulled Mikan's shoulder, stepping forward. Rito's orange hair brushed past her face as her eyes widened. Everyone expected Rito to move, or do something. But he didn't. The boy stood before his sister, his hands by his side, looking forward with an emotionless face.
Within the second, Gid had already reached the stationary boy. He lurched forward like before, his trident tipped like tail sailed forward from above his back. Everyone gasped in horror at what they thought was about to happen.
But a thought was all it was as the Rito moved his hand, gripping the tail so that the silver tip barely touched his forehead. His arm crackled unevenly with electricity. But at the same time Gid has his trident lightly poking his stomach.
"You,do,not,Touch,Her." Uttered an unusually serious Rito as he released his shocking grip on Gid's tail, causing the tail to go limb, dropping onto the ground with a heavy 'thud'. Seeing as though the conclusion of their little 'disagreement' has reached its end, Gid pulled the Trident from its position on the boy's stomach and took a few steps back.
Gid then raised a simple hand, and his loyal bodyguard Zastin appeared beside him, kneeling on one knee, bowing to the almighty king. "My king."
Seeing the Devilukean knight no longer by their side, the princesses all ran up beside the siblings, each tending to Mikan. But in the midst of everything, Gid looked hard at Rito as angry black eyes met determined golden-brown ones.
"Yuuki Rito, when I officially permitted my daughters to stay on planet Earth alongside you, I MADE you promise that they will be protected from harm. And you have violated our agreement," His daughters attempted to interrupt, but a raised index finger was all it took to silence everyone. "And before I left, I tasked you with ONE task, and that was to protect them, to be strong."
"…" Rito once again shut his eyes tight and rubbed them, looking down onto the ground whist shaking his head in pain, grabbing a bunch of his orange hair.
"And look how weak you have become!" Gid shouted, his tone vivid, his cheeks red from anger.
"Papa, that's enough!" Lala retorted as she looked at her father, an expression of anger and concern present on her face.
"Because you have violated our agreement, Yuuki Rito," Gid then slammed the butt of his trident hard on the ground, shaking the earth. Zastin could only wince in fright. "I hereby strip you from your status as the successor to the King of the Unified galaxy!" He announced loudly, causing everyone's to inwardly gasp. Rito looked at the ground. He could do nothing else.
"Fathe-" the twins began.
"But!" Gid rudely interrupted. "I am not an unkind king. From this day, Lala, Momo and Nana will have one month." Gid then paused.
"Before returning to their rightful home, Planet Deviluke, where the seat of my successor remains open!"
"Father! You can't possibly do that!" Momo interjected angrily.
"Momo's right, you simply can't-"
"I just did!" Gid boomed. "I am not only the king, but also your father, your safety is something that I must guarantee." Gid's trident then vanished into the necklace which hung around his neck.
"Remember, Yuuki Rito, you have one month. I'll see you then." And with that, the king was gone, along with the armoured guard, leaving the teenagers standing in the backyard. They didn't know what to think.
No… Was the thoughts on everyone's mind.
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(On Devilukean spaceship…)
"My king…"
"Hm."
"It's not my place to say anything…but…are you sure that was your best judgement? To relinquish Rito-dono's right to the throne?"
"What I did…It was to guarantee the safety of my three daughters. They do not know it yet… but we are on the brink of war, despite what the news claim. You know this better than anyone, Zastin."
"That may be…but Rito-dono is by far the strongest candidate, to come to a stalemate with you is no small feat-"
"Did you not see the earthling?! He is damaged. Post-traumatic stress disorder. As strong as he is, he cannot, and will not, guarantee the safety of my daughters."
"Their happiness…"
"I'm sorry, what was that?"
"Their happiness, sir. That is what he can guarantee them."
"And would their 'happiness' change the outcome of what is to come?! The war! Do not forget Zastin, something powerful lurks in the corners of my galaxy and I will stop at nothing to retain the galaxy's unification and peace!"
"But that is exactly why Rito-dono should-"
"ENOUGH!"
"Forgive my rudeness, my king." Rito-dono…
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AUTHOR'S NOTES: THIS IS A CHAPTER THAT I'VE ALWAYS DREAMT ABOUT WRITING, EVEN FROM BACK WHEN I WAS FIRST PLANNING 'THE LONE EAGLE'
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