~Chapter 7: Challengers~
It was well past midnight.
Son Goten was still wide awake as he stared at his ceiling in deep thought. The look of obvious sadness and despair on Rias' face earlier that day plagued his mind. "I'm not stupid. There was definitely something bothering Rias today. But what? She wouldn't tell me anything! Girls are strange. They say one thing and mean the complete opposite. I just don't get it! And then there was what she said right before she left the other day. What the heck could have happened?"
Then a red magic circle formed in Goten's room as Rias appeared in front of him. It was almost like she heard his thoughts. Rias stared desperately at him, relieved that he was actually awake at such a late hour.
Goten sat up, confused. "Rias? What're you doing here?" Despite the darkness in his room, Goten could easily see that same defeated look on Rias' face as she approached him. "Come on, Rias! You gotta tell me what's wrong! Maybe I can help!"
Rias unhooked her skirt and sat down on Goten's lap. She locked eyes with Goten again as she pus. "Goten, you have to take me. Quickly!"
"Take you? Where? On a date?" Goten said scratching his head. "Well that would be fun, but dont'cha think it's too late for that? It's like 2:00 in the morning! No stores are open!"
Rias shook her head and leaned forward, lightly moving Goten back down onto the bed. "No! I need you to take my virginity right now!" She said as she began to unbutton her school blouse.
A few seconds went by as Goten processed what Rias just said to him.
"WHAT?!" He screamed before immediately covering his mouth. His eyes darted to the door, praying that his mother didn't wake up and catch them in the act. Goku slept like a rock, but Chi-Chi? Not so much.
Rias blushed as her shirt slid off her shoulders. "It's my first time, s-so I'm not really sure on how this works. O-Okay?" She stared at him in a white lace bra and panties that hugged her incredible figure perfectly. "Y-Your turn..."
Goten waved his hands in front of his face, still shocked as to what was actually happening. "W-Wait a sec! What the crap is going on with you, Rias?! What brought this on all of a sudden?!"
Rias hushed him by placing a sole finger over his mouth. "We'll talk later."
"No, talk now!" His heart was pounding in his chest and his throat was in knots. He didn't know what to think.
Rias leaned down until her face was nearly touching his. He thought she was going to kiss him until she spoke. "Please, Goten! Quickly! We don't have much time!" "If word gets out that I'm not a virgin, I can finally be free."
"Free? Free of what?" Goten said, covering his underwear "Rias, we can't do this! Just tell me what's wrong! I can help!"
Noticing Goten's obvious signs of resistance and hesitation, Rias backed off. While still straddling Goten, Rias sat up and frowned sadly.
"Do you not want to…?" Rias said in a soft whimper, staring at him with glossy eyes. She was trying her best not to cry, but this was her only option and it wasn't working.
Goten's heart broke. He hated seeing anyone this upset. Especially someone he cared about. "N-No, that's not it! This is all just happening way too fast! Can't you at least tell me what's bothering you first?!"
"No. At least not yet. I'm sorry. I wish there was another way... I feel trapped, Goten. I can't do anything about it no matter how hard I try. I've hid it for a long time but the time's come. And I don't want that for myself. I know we both don't have any experience, but we'll figure something out...Please, Goten. i need you. I'm desperate..."
In front of him was a defeated girl with nowhere else to turn.
This wasn't the Rias he knew. At all.
"...I don't want to see her hurt anymore. I'll do anything I can to see her smile again..." Goten swallowed hard, before nodding. "O-Okay..I'm in."
Rias smiled. A twinkle of hope returned to those blue eyes of hers. "Let's start here, then..." She went to take off her bra when Goten hesitated.
"Wait..."
"Yes?"
"If we're going to do this, shouldn't we... y'know... k-kiss first?"
"Yes. I guess you're right. ...Kiss me then."
"Dont say that so casually!" Goten said then gulped hard.
Goten glanced between her eyes and her lips. His heart was pounding and his throat was in knots. Rias was just as nervous as he was, she was just better at hiding it. They inched closer, their lips only a hair apart when a second magic circle with a bright white appeared in the room.
Another interruption. Again Goten wasn't sure if the timing was perfect or couldn't be worse.
"I knew this would happen..." Rias sighed sadly and pulled back. "I was too late..."
A beautiful young woman in her early thirties, showed up through the magic circle. She had piercing gray eyes, long gray hair tied into braids, full red lips, a large chest, and wore a maid outfit. She glanced from Goten to Rias, and then shook her head disapprovingly. "Really, Rias? You're here with this human? How do you think your father would feel about this?"
"It's my body. If I want to give myself to him, then that's my decision! I don't care what my brother says."
"Still, show some respect for yourself." The gray-haired woman said.
"Wow! She's really pretty! Is she your older sister or somethin'?!" Goten said, whispering to Rias. "Do all devils have boobs that big?"
"Goten, this is my brother's Queen, Grayfia." Rias said as she started getting dressed.
Grayfia's eyes widened. "Wait, this is him? This boy is Son Goten?" Grayfia said in slight surprise.
"That's right." Rias replied.
Grayfia bowed. "It's an honor to meet you."
"O-Oh, uh, y-you too!" He replied and bowed as well.
Grayfia smiled at that. "Come on, Rias. It's time to get going. There's many things we have to discuss about the upcoming arrangement."
Goten scratched his head still looking really lost. Everything was happening so fast and yet nobody told him anything! "Arrangement? What's she talkin' about?"
Rias finished changing back to her uniform and huffed. "Fine. But Akeno will be with me at my headquarters, understand?"
Grayfia nodded. "Noted."
Rias then faced Goten again smiling apologetically. "Please, Goten. Forgive me for putting you in this scenario…"
Goten No problem. S-Sorry I couldn't help in the way that you wanted."
"You don't have to apologize for anything..." Rias stared sadly at Goten like this was the last time she would see him. As his intense gaze caught hers kissed Goten on the forehead before going to join Grayfia. A kiss goodbye, almost. Goten could see it in her eyes.
"Well... I'd better get going then." Rias waved to Goten as they both teleported away, almost as quickly as they appeared.
"Seriously! What the hell is going on!?"
The next day, the younger devils consisting of Issei, Kiba, Asia and Koneko were chatting as they headed towards the Occult Research Clubroom. They assumed that Goten was already there with Rias and Akeno, considering how much they both adored him.
As they approached the building, Kiba spoke up first. "So, is it just me, or has something really been bothering Rias lately?"
"Yeah, she's been different these past few days. It's weird. Kiba you've been with her longer than we have. Do you know what could be bothering her?" Issei said, putting his hands behind his head as he strolled casually towards the club room.
"Probably some house of Gremory drama. I wouldn't be too worried." Kiba replied.
"...Goten or Akeno didn't say anything either." Koneko added softly. "If something was wrong, I'm sure she would have told them."
Asia nodded in agreement. "I hope you're right. I know I'm still new, but I'd still hate to see President Rias sad..."
A few minutes later, all of the devils strolled in like another normal day.
Their good moods were silenced by the tense atmosphere that filled the room.
"Where's Goten?" Akeno asked, sounding sad that her friend was absent.
Issei shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno. We thought he was here!"
Rias huffed, standing up from her desk, the anger and sadness on her face obvious. "Well then. I guess everyone's here. Good."
Grayfia went to speak up next, but a bright orange magic circle formed on the floor of the club room. Rias' gaze hardened into a glare, as the magical circle burst into violent, burning hot flames.
The four devils stared in awe, flinching from the intense magic flames that lit up the entire room.
The fire died down to reveal a man standing in the middle, smirking; a cocky looking man with dirty blond hair who appeared to be in his early twenties. His attire consisted of a fancy unbuttoned red suit jacket with a white dress shirt underneath, along with matching red pants and brown shoes. Rias sneered at the sight of him.
"I, Riser Phenex, have arrived in the human world. I've come all this way just to see you, my beloved Rias. The least you could do is smile." The Gremory princess scoffed, turning away from him. She looked out the window, hiding her sadness that one person she needed most wasn't here.
"Okay, who the hell is this douche?" Issei said. He knew Goten woul be thinking the same thing if he was here.
Grayfi a bowed, gesturing to the cocky elite devil before her, who was seemingly soaking up the attention like a sponge. Every second that he was in front of her just pissed Rias off. "This is Lord Riser Phenex, the third in line to the house of Phenex, and Lady Rias' fiancé."
"Fiancé? Y-You're joking, right?" Issei said bewildered by what Grayfia had said. "This jerk is going to marry Rias?!"
"Not at all." Grayfia said seriously. "Lady Rias has been engaged to Riser for some time now."
Riser turned to Rias' peerage and sneered. They fed off of Rias' energy and were not happy to see this intruder. Akeno had to restrain herself from ringing the guys desk.
"Are these weaklings your pieces? Only five?" He scoffed. "How pathetic. I have fifteen pieces. A full set."
Issei got in front of Asia like a shield as the other devils glared at him. "Shut up, asshole! There's one more of us... he's just not here right now! For your sake you should be glad that he isn't!"
Riser roared with arrogant laughter. "Oh? And why isn't he here then? He's just a coward. Probably hiding somewhere. The fool is probably scared of being in the presence of a noble devil like myself. A mere filthy human can't even remotely compare to me! He's the lowest of the low
"We'll see about that. Just you wait, Riser." Akeno said, her purple eyes staring daggers into Riser.
Riser raised an eyebrow at her condescendingly. "Wait for what? For the human scum to crawl out of the dirt? Please. I'm here to claim what is mine." He touched Rias on the cheek and eyed her body up and down.
Rias slapped his hand away in disgust.
"Ah ah ah. That's no way to treat your future husband." Riser smirked.
"I told you I'm not marrying you. Now leave."
xxxxxx
The tension continued to rise in the club room as Issei made his way outside. He dialed a friend's number, placing the phone to his ear. "Come on come on... answer dammit!"
Riser returned his full sights on Rias. He approached her and touched her chin while smirking, but she turned away from him again and went to sit down on the couch.
Riser sat down next to Rias, getting a little too close. First, he put one arm around Rias' shoulders and started playing with her hair. With the other hand, he started rubbing her thigh, smirking to himself.
Rias brow twitched as she stood up, folding her arms under her chest. "That's enough, Riser. I have no intention of ever marrying you! Get that through your head!"
Riser smirked as he stood up to face her. "Don't forget. It's imperative for devils to remain pure blood. We're still recovering our numbers from the last war. Both your father and Sirzechs made this decision for the benefit of your clan."
"My husband will be my choice. For the final time Riser, I will not marry you. No matter what my family says."
Riser's cocky gaze hardened into a glare. He held Rias by the chin, forcibly this time, and brought her closer to him. "You don't have a choice anymore. The marriage was arranged by our superiors, and I won't let a hot piece of ass like you slip from my grasp.
Rias went to slap him, but he reacted in time and caught her hand, tightly gripping it to where it hurt her. He was too strong. And attacking him could mean severe consequences. Just endure, she told herself.. Even he can't save her right now...
"You're quite a stubborn one, aren't you, Rias? I still see a bit of fire in your eyes. You will become my wife whether you want to or not. As the wife it is your duty serve my every wish and command! And there's not a damn thing any of your little friends could-"
That sentence was never finished.
Before Riser Phenex was able to speak those last few words, a fist crashed into his jaw, sending him flying. An small explosion occured when Rias through the wall of the Occult Research Club and face first into the ground three stories below.
"...W-What the..?" Rias opened her eyes to see Riser was gone and a giant hole in the wall. The other devils silently cheered.
Play Song: Heroic Goku by Bruce Faulconer
Rias couldn't believe her eyes. One second, Riser to the right when the blow came from, and her heart practically leaped out of her chest with joy at who was standing there.
"...G-Goten?!"
"Sorry I'm late. I came over as soon as I could. Are you okay, Rias?" He checked her for any injuries, his voice filled with geniune concern.
Still in shock, she held a hand over pounding heart and nodded while fighting back tears. "...I am now."
"He didn't hurt you or anything, right?" The Saiyan asked her in a soft, calming voice.
With a teary-eyed smile, Rias shook her head. "No..."
At that, Goten sighed with relief. "Good. I'm glad..."
Goten walked past the shocked devils, Grayfia included, over to hole in the wall.
He glared down at Riser Phenex who was climbing out of the rubble. "So this is your fiance, huh?"
"How did you - yes. ...That's him."
"Who did that!?" Riser boomed with fury, glaring up at the boy above him. "I will kill you!"
Goten pointed his thumb at himself. "That would be me." Goten said sternly, looking just like Goku did when he walked up Freeza; clad in his orange gi. He was training when he got the call.
"And just who the hell are you?" Riser said as he regenerated the shattered bones of his face. "How dare you touch the face of elite devil! You're nothing but a human!" He roared, using his flame wings to hover above the ground to be on eye level with Goten.
I'm Goten. Now apologize and go back to where you came from and never show your face around her again!" He shouted, pointing to Rias. "Unless you want to get hurt."
Riser roared with arrogant laughter. "How cute! The boy thinks that because he asked me nicely that I'll just leave? I wont be leaving without my darling fiance.
Goten glared at him. "Over my dead body!"
Meanwhile, Rias' cheeks were flushed red and her heart was beating even faster. The redhead stared at him in awe. Yet again, Goten came through for her. The feelings that were growing in her heart finally made itself aware for the first time.
Riser snarled at Goten. "You little shit! You think you can defeat the great Lord Riser?! I'll make you crawl in the dirt as I burn you alive."
Goten folded his arms confidently and smirked. "I'd like to see you try." He was the splitting image of his father, inside and out. During times of fun, Goten was the sweetest guy around, but the devils found out first hand that when he got pissed, the true nature of a Saiyan emerged.
Rias stepped forward, touching Goten's arm. "Stop it! Please! That's enough, Goten! I didn't want you involved in this!"
"No, Rias! I got involved the second this guy thought he got just barge in here and take you away from me without any concern for your happiness whatsoever."
"But Goten..." Rias began but was cut short by Riser's laughter.
"Don't you know what you're doing, boy? This is a matter concerning only the upper echelon of the devil society. Humans like you have no place in our affairs."
Goten shook his head to the side, frowning. "I don't care about any of that devil crap. Who cares if shes a princess or heiress or whatever. I only care about Rias' happiness and safety, and that is sure as hell not with you! If you want her, you'll have to go through me!" He said, pointing to himself again.
"What was that?! A mere human challenging the great Riser Phenex!?" Riser snarled again, and was about to lunge at Goten, but stopped. "You know what, I'm not going to bother wasting my time. My Queen will be plenty enough to dispose of you." With a snap of fingers, a raging fire appeared with a purple-haired woman in the middle.
"Yubelluna." Riser called out casually. "Take care of this pest. Though leave him alive for now. I want him to be alive so he can watch me marry his precious Rias before I crush him myself!"
Goten's gaze hardened into a deeper glare then before. Rias had never seen him this angry! Electricity started to spark around Gotn for a moment as he stood still like a statue.
"Yes, Lord Riser..." She summoned her wand but before she could attack, Goten vanished completely.
"What?!" Riser shouted.
Goten tapped Yubelluna on the shoulder. "Psst. Behind you!" He lightly chopped on the back of the neck. She hovered motionless in the air for a few seconds, before she just dropped to ground like a rock, unconscious.
"B-But how!? I didn't even see him move!" Koneko thought as her golden eyes widened in surprise.
A smile spread across the Akeno's face. "...Do it, Goten..."
"Such amazing speed!" Grayfia thought in amazement. "I suspect no less of Goku's son."
Riser's face was turning red with pure rage, snarling at the Saiyan. Veins were popping in his forehead as he clenched his fists so tightly they began to bleed. "How dare you! I will make you pay severely for disgracing the Phenex household!"
"Bring it."
Grayfia spoke up next, breaking the tension a little bit. "We're trying to keep the peace as much as possible, so please refrain from any battles in the human world. If Lord Riser and Lady Rias continue to not come to an agreement, then we will have a Rating Game to decide the outcome."
"What's a Rating Game?" Issei asked curiously.
"Basically, two devil peerages face off in a team battle. First one to defeat the other's King is the victor." Kiba explained. Issei and Asia nodded as it was the first time they heard about it as well.
Grayfia nodded. "That is correct. The Rating Game will take place ten days from today to determine whether the engagement between Lady Rias and Lord Riser should continue as planned, or be cancelled altogether."
"Forget that. I don't need a stupid Rating Game! I'll fight you myself, Riser. One on one!"
All of the devils, especially Rias were completely astonished at Goten's challenge to say the least. Riser had a look of shock of his own.
"With all due respect, Son Goten, it was an order given by Sirzechs Lucifer that no fights were to take place today." Grayfia explained, smiling at the handsome Saiyan. Despite the fact that he was much younger than him, Grayfia had to admit she found Son Goten incredibly attractive. "We will have to approve this first, and it will have to be another day agreed upon by both parties."
Goten's face softened when he turned to Grayfia. "How 'bout the day that the Rating Game was supposed to be?"
Riser snarled angrily, but soon relaxed into a cocky smirk. "I accept your challenge, boy. But just be prepared to be absolutely humiliated in front of the entire Underworld! Do you hear me!? Ten days from now, I will kill you! And your precious Rias will become one of many women in my harem! She'll become my slave."
Goten growled deeply, clenching his one fist as lighting sparked around it. His whole body shook with rage and it took everything he had to hold back. He wanted to break Riser in half with that last comment.
"Enjoy your last ten days." He spat before vanishing from the room in a flaming rage.
The young Saiyan took a deep breath and relaxed, turning to Rias with a gentle smile as he stretched his muscles. "Hey, sorry about the wall, Rias. That guy deserved it though. He's just full of hot air..."
Rias' bright blue eyes sparkled with hope again. "Why...? Why did you do that, Goten?" Rias looked away for a moment before staring back into Goten's eyes as well. She felt like she couldn't face him in this moment. She didn't want to be a damsel.
He stared in Rias' deep blue eyes, placing his hands gently on her shoulders. "I did this for you. I didn't want to see you sad anymore. I really like you, Rias. You don't deserve to be given away like a trophy to some asshole who clearly doesn't give a crap about , you may be an elite devil, but it shouldn't define you. You should be able to live how you please. It doesn't matter to me if you're an elite devil or not. It never did. I just want you to be happy. And if that means I have to beat down every devil in the Underworld to get them to back off, then I will."
The Gremory princess blinked, her heat fluttering harder than ever before. If she could kiss him right now she would have. But she After eighteen long years, Rias Gremory had finally heard the words she dreamed about for her entire life. Rias flung herself at Goten and hugged him. In that moment, it hadn't yet registered, but something in her heart changed.
"Grayfia, please alert my brother of the new arrangements."
"Understood. I will inform Sirzechs immediately." Grayfia said, bowing. A small yet grateful spread across her full ruby-red lips directed at Goten before she also teleported away in the magic circle.
"Well now what?"
"Come with us to my cottage in the country side! We'll be doing some training of our own there!" Rias said, clinging to the Saiyan's muscular arm.
"Sorry, but I can't. There's a technique that I want to learn that my Dad has to teach me. And it may take a little while to get down."
"Alright, fine. You're too cute to resist anyway. But you'd better stop by before the big fight!" Rias said cutely while poking him playfully on the chest. "I want to see this new technique of yours, okay~?"
"I want to see it too~!" Akeno said, winking at Goten.
In reply, Goten laughed sheepishly while blushing a bit. "Sure! I promise!" Goten smiled in relief. Rias was back to her old self.
And with that, Goten took off. Rias watched him fly off with a hand over her fluttering heart, a new hope burning within her.
Goten walked in the front door of his home, looking for his father. The first place he looked was the kitchen, but to Goten's surprise, Goku wasn't there. However, Chi-Chi was. She was happily humming over the stove, in the midst of making dinner when she noticed her younger son.
"You're back early. Date with Rias tonight?" Chi-Chi teased as she went over to the kitchen table and sat down, gesturing for Goten to sit down as well.
"No, Mom. N-Nothing like that. It's kind of a long story." Goten pulled up a chair across from his mother.
"Oooh~! Tell me everything!"
So Goten explained the events of earlier to his mom.
Chi-Chi listened to the whole thing in gawking silence before jumping up from her chair, squealing with joy.
"Oh, that's so romantic! My Goten fighting to save his beautiful girlfriend! How sweet! Should I be expecting a wedding soon?"
"No wedding. I just want to see her happy again."
"That's wonderful sweetheart. I'm so proud!"
"Anyway, where's Dad? I wanna ask him somethin'."
Chi-Chi smiled. "Your father is next door. That man can never keep focused when he's working at the farm, but when it comes to our granddaughter, he'll do anything!"
"That sounds about right. Be back in a bit! Goten said and went next door and knocked. No answer. He knocked again after a moment. No answer.
Shrugging, Goten opened the door. It was unlocked. It was his only brother's house, after all. "Yo Dad! You here?" He peered around the living room and found nobody. "Gohan? Videl?" Still nothing.
The only thing he heard was the sound of little feet scurrying across the room.
Then, Goten felt a slight tug on his pant leg. "Uncle Goten! Uncle Goten!" A cute little voice said. The spiky-haired teen looked down and saw a little girl no older than two staring up at him with hopeful, starry eyes and a happy little grin.
Goten's face lit up with absolute joy. "Panny!" He was always happy to see her. He cried out happily as he scooped up Pan in his arms and began to tickle her.
"Aaaahaaaah!" Little Pan screamed with joyous, child-like laughter. Pan tried to escape Goten's grip, but she was too little. "Stop it! Stop ticking me! I gives up!" Pan said in between giggles and laughter.
Goten smiled and placed the adorable toddler back on her feet. He knelt down on the ground to be on eye level with her. "Panny, where's Mommy and Daddy? And Grandpa?"
"Mommy went out. So me and Daddy and Grandpa is havin' a tea party! I was ust comin' to wook for you!"
"Now this I have to see." Goten grinned wide as he took Pan by the hand. "Where are they?"
"In my room!" She said as she waddled over to the steps and started to make her slow climb up the flight of steps to the second floor where her bedroom was.
"Come here, I'll hold ya. We'll go faster." Goten picked Pan up and walked up the stairs. Pan led the way down the hallway, before stopping at a door with her name in red yellow and blue letters.
Upon opening the door, Goten found his father and brother sitting cross-legged on the ground with a miniature tea set, pretending to pour imaginary tea. With them was Pan's favorite stuffed elephant, who she called Eefy.
But the best part wasn't the tea party. It was the bows that Pan put in their hair. Little pink bows and ribbons
Goten instantly broke into hysterical laughter, before covering his mouth with his hands to restrain himself.
Pan happily ran up to Goku and Gohan. "Daddy! Granpa! Wook! It's Uncle Goten! I founds 'im! See? See?!" The toddler said pointing at the teen while happily jumping up and down. "He came to pway w' us!"
Goku and Gohan looked half mortified half amused.
Pan ran up to him and pulled on his pant leg again. "Uncle Goten, why is you laughin'? You has t' pway too!"
"...I do? But I-"
"Uncle Goten, lemme do your hair 'ike Daddy and Granpa!" She pulled out a ribbon and a bunch of bows. "Granpa, helps me put em on Uncle Goten's hair! I wants him t' be pitty like you an' Daddy!"
Goku and Gohan looked at each other before smiling mischievously. Goten turned slightly blue as they approached him. Meanwhile Pan pounced happily up and down beside him with a pink ribbon in hand.
No! Dad, wait! Stop, no! No fair it's three against one! AAAAH!" But it was too late. Despite Goten's attempts to resist, he was pinned down by Goku and Gohan as little Pan did his hair with a bunch of ribbons!
The three Saiyans played with Pan for about twenty minutes longer until Pan grew bored of tea party and just wanted to watch cartoons. Goku and Goten definitely were up for it too. They were all sitting in the living room watching television when Goten spoke up. "Listen, Dad, I need you to teach me the Instant Transmission!"
"Really?!" Goku's face lit up. He never thought he'd see the day when his sons would ask him to teach them a technique! "What's the reason for wanting to learn that all of a sudden?" Goku asked anxiously.
He shrugged. "Just thought Instant Transmission could come in handy."
"Alright, we'll start bright and early tomorrow!"
A/N: Goten and Trunks restart their training next chapter as well, so expect big power ups for them both as time goes on. Though it'll be a gradual boost and not all at once. Not going to have any bullshit power boosts.
