Re;Fell Dragons
Life 37: Open House Begins
"I am never gonna get used to the size of this place."
Shu's head plonked down on the edge of the frankly oversized bath tub of the penthouses equally oversized bathroom, more like something from a bathhouse than something that would be in a home, wet strands of silver and black intermixing in front of his face as water dripped from them.
"Honestly, I get it's a penthouse and all but geez." Shu sunk lower as he sighed, shuddering at the tingling feeling on his back, "Well, at least the hot water is making that damn throbbing stop."
"I doubt the agitation will go down any time soon. With some of the leaders of the Big Three coming into this area, and considering they're all a good few tiers above you in terms of power at the moment, you're gonna have to power through until you and Azazel find a way to break the curse."
"It was a seal placed by freaking God. Not exactly gonna be as easy as the one my old man placed on my memories. Besides, I think Merlin would've cracked it by now… guy is weirdly interested in the shit that happens around me."
"He did send his Familiar to watch you."
"True." Shu lowered his mouth into the water as he gave a hum, looking to the side to see Licht snoozing on the edge of the bath, basking in the warmth of the water, which for a normal person would've been considered scalding, but since Soren was a demi-dragon, to actually feel the heat it'd have to be much higher… and floating in the water, downright sleeping, was Fou, using his tail as a float. "Kinda wonder when that guy is going to contact me again… or, probably the better question, how is he going to contact me?"
"Guess you'll find out when he decides to chat to you again. Not like he'll have the convenience of some weird ass time bubble thing."
"Yeah I still don't know how that works." Shu said, readjusting and leaning on his arms, grabbing his pendant, "I guess the powers of the royal bloodlines can do a lot more than what I'm aware of… which put bluntly isn't much."
"Well… shit. We've got loose ends up the ass but almost no way to solve them. Our only seemingly viable method of breaking the curse could kill you if it goes wrong, you can't find a thing regarding Eonis and anyone who knows your old man hasn't said a damn thing about where he's been, and now we've got this summit. Did you report that news yet?"
"Had to. Kira probably forward it back to the Clocktower the day I sent the news in… odds are they're sending someone here to reside as our own representative to make sure the other races don't get the shaft from this deal."
"As is so often a happening when things involve the Mythologies."
"Can't I get one break from all of this crap? Just one, it's all I'm asking for right now."
"Are you talking momentary, or in a broader perspective. Because I've got a good idea for a break right now."
Shu felt his eyes lid as a dry chuckle left his throat on impulse, pulling his drooping bangs back to more clearly view Astra, the girl having sauntered in completely bare, not even a towel hanging over her shoulder for later, or, for a matter of fact, hiding her scar on top of it.
"I mean a longer term… I mean c'mon, I brought it up the other afternoon. Tropical island getaway sounds really nice for a summer trip." Shu said, hardly reacting as the fallen angel slipped into the bath beside him… and both ignoring Izayoi's looming from just out of sight, "Question, is Izayoi always gonna follow you around to some places?"
"You know how serious she is about maid duties." Astra said, going under for a moment.
"Considering the fact she's threatened to castrate me for doing my own cooking…" Shu made a point to emphasize that point and make it a bit louder to boot, "I'm well aware."
"It is a maid's duty to attend to such details. The knowledge that you happen to be a prince will also not change my stance on what I allow you to do. In fact, if anything it tempts me even more to make sure you let me do my job." Came Izayoi's calm reply, her tone still the usual cool as ice manner of speaking.
"For all I know the monarchy system in Eonis was abolished after the Scourge hit! Not like I'd know considering I haven't been there in nearly a decade. Besides, self-sufficiency is a plus, and do not act like my cooking is terrible! You try surviving Artoria's cooking for a year!"
"Gotta give points to Shu here Izayoi, his cooking is dang good." Astra added, casually wrapping her arms around Shu and nuzzling into the back of his shoulder.
"I will not detract from that, in fact, I admire Prince Soren's skill as a cook, but, it is my duty as a maid to attend to such things, and as such, I will." Izayoi said, "And Lady Astra, I'll get to washing your back at any time."
"Yeah not gonna be needed Izayoi. I'm not exactly planning to wash for a good hmm… how long do you think we could go before the water gets cold?" Astra hummed, Shu sighing, but with an amused chuckle mixed into it, "I'm asking a serious question!"
"I'unno, ten minutes." Soren counted, Astra humming.
"Enough for a round at least. Personally I'd prefer more but, hey, don't wanna drive off the others now… speaking of..." Astra added, sliding onto Shu's lap, "I finally got around to giving the newcomers an orientation run."
"Orientation run for what?" Shu asked, then holding up a hand, "Wait, no, I feel like I know where this is going since it involves you. I know it's not your nerdy past times."
"Said a nerd himself."
"Not the point. It… wait did you give them that kind of talk?"
"Of course I did. I mean, after Xenovia tried to go on and make a baby I felt I had to set the ground rules with them set out by me, Luci, and the cat."
"You three have rules?" Shu snidely said, Astra chuckling as she coyly put a finger on her lip.
"Of course we do darling, we wouldn't wanna wear you out now would we? We'd hate to lose one of the funner ways to spend time with you we've got. Well, the opinion may not be shared. Anwen sure seems happy just sparing, and I'm not so sure about Jeanne at the moment… I feel like she has potential though." Astra gleaned a thoughtful look, then snickering as she leaned against Shu's front, "I have to add, you are an expert at tripping flags. I mean, considering Xenovia's personality, I suppose earning her affections, whatever it constitutes as, was all a matter of the right thing at the right time, and boy did you hit that nail on the head."
"That entire speech was a spur of the moment thing!" Shu said, blinking when Astra poked him on the nose. "Don't do that."
"Anwen is still a mystery to me, but then again she's a tsundere, so maybe with the right push that stubborn girl will see there's more than just a desire to fight behind that… maybe."
"You mean like with you?" Shu snickered, Astra looking back at him with a puffed out cheek.
"Hey, no condescending pot shots. Then again, you are the king of sarcasm." Astra added, "Well, for all I know Anwen could have a completely platonic thing, maybe not. I'll just see how it goes with her from here."
"Same here." Shu added, glancing over to where Izayoi was lurking.
"Now let's see, innocent little Jeanne… the poor pious maiden who lost her faith. I feel sorry for her, really I do." Astra said, giving a sigh, "I chatted with Luci about her, and she mentioned how even when you all first met her she was looking at you all starry eyed, like she was seeing someone familiar. After your "heat of the moment" stunt of the day, I doubt it'll take much for her to be head over heels, if she isn't already."
"You're awfully confident in my odd ability to just make this crap happen without trying." Shu said, leaning on his unsubmerged hand, Astra chuckling as she shifted a bit.
"Well, I suppose it's the combination of your dragon aura, as you're a magnet for all kinds of people, that oh so pretty face of yours, and your uncanny ability to know what to say and when to say it." Astra let out a content sounding him, leaning back further down on Shu's front, "Let's just hope our group doesn't get much bigger. Discounting Izayoi and Raynare, you've got a six strong harem."
"Team."
"Right right, forgot you hate the H-word." Astra let out a laugh, then holding up three fingers, "And then there's us three leads. Luci was honestly inevitable since she's Naga's vessel, you two practically have the red string of fate tightly wound around your fingers. That, and you were basically the first decent guy her age she met. Kuroka was already looking for a mate, and she let her instincts go there, you did the rest by helping her get some ground in terms of fixing her relationship with her little sis. And then of course prettly little me… that is history."
"Well considering this pretty little mark on your shoulder here I think the answer is obvious."
"True. Lust vices don't start getting agitated until the holder meets someone they're compatible with. But alas, I was too stubborn to realize it until you popped my cherry… well, Luci set it up so I'd stop being a crabby bitch. The things unresolved sexual tension will do to a person, honestly."
"You have mellowed out a lot since then." Shu then looked to the side, giving a hum, "Speaking of unresolved tension, makes me feel kinda sorry for Issei… seriously, I wonder how it goes over there sometimes… he'd come to me hollering his head off the day he gets laid, but so far that hasn't happened. Which is weird because I was sure it'd happen after the Phenex thing went down."
"I think the Gremory chicks are a bunch of moment killers. They're not mature enough to handle the kind of set up you'd need to share the same guy." Astra said so with all the air of maturity she could project… that, and cockiness, "Hmm… well, that about concludes my rundown of the current group dynamics. So, you gonna "practice" with Xenovia sometime soon?"
"Give it till after the conference, I'll be able to think about this kinda stuff with those three in an easier manner when we're not dealing with the potential fate of the entire damn world is at stake from the result of this." Shu sighed again, Astra humming, then snapping a finger.
"Oh, almost forgot one more… Koneko. Well, she's kinda off limits by Kuroka's rules, for now anyway. But, it's more of a senpai/kouhai thing. And besides, you're not a lolicon… but considering how her big sister turned out…" Astra had a thoughtful look on, hiding the shudder than ran up her body, though the snide smirk from Shu told he caught it as she wiggled on his lap. "I also don't wanna imagine what'd happen to you if you did do something and Kuroka found out."
"Exactly why I will not going to."Shu added, looking upwards, "Why are we talking about all of this?"
"Hey, I brought it up." Astra then looked like she remembered something, looking over her shoulder, "Oh yeah, I meant to bring it up the other day but, y'know, Kuroka had her fun before she left."
"Bring up what?" Shu titled his head, Astra folding her arms.
"Here's the thing. See, Izayoi was doing her routine cleaning, and while she was in your room she found this hidden closet that had… well, you know those "yes/no" pillows?" Astra said, Shu nodding with a raised brow.
"I will add that there was quite a numerous amount. It was a walk-in closet. I believe Lord Azazel planted them as a joke." Izayoi added, peering in from around the corner, Shu raising a brow even further.
"Yeup, loads of the things!" Astra said, putting a finger up, "They were all heart shaped to boot, and god they were soft… maybe even softer than both of Luci's charm areas."
"Not possible." Shu flatly said, Astra laughing as he said that without restraint. "Honestly though, a walk in closet full of the things?"
"Oh yeah. I'm so gonna start planting them in everyone's rooms for kicks!" Astra laughed, then coughing into her hand as her body shuddered again, "Hey, magic hands, maybe wanna slow down a bit down there?"
"I have no idea what you mean." Shu said, acting utterly oblivious as Astra shuddered again.
"I swear I'm not losing to you right now." Astra said through clenched teeth, Shu snickering as she hunched forward a bit.
"I'll take my leave until you two are finished fooling around." Izayoi left with that phrase, the sound of the door shutting sounding through the room, and Astra slumped over the side of the tub as Shu leaned on his hand.
"Ugh… dammit Shu, it was so hard keeping my voice in! I was so damn close to getting you this time…" Astra muttered, a hand sliding down, sounding disappointed in herself, Shu chuckling as he wiggled the fingers of his now unsubmerged left hand, "You're getting too good at this."
"Yeah well I'm also a fast learner." Shu added, Astra chuckling as she put her arms around his neck.
"Well, we've got maybe ten minutes… how do you wanna spend it wise guy?" Astra coyly said, one hand going down, "Because I have about three ideas."
"Really, cause I have a few of my own."
"Oh? Then let's see."
"Somehow this is worse than getting stabbed through the damn chest."
Clickclickclickclickclickclick
The incessant clicking of a camera was like a dagger through his head. In lieu of the news regarding the summit, Shu had completely forgotten about Open House. Or rather, he hadn't, more he'd been reminded of it… in the one way he didn't want to be reminded of it.
"I forgot exactly how this woman acts when she's not in work mode!"
Who else to be here on his end but Artoria herself, the woman going wild with her camera as Shu tried his best to look calm, but since it wasn't like his emotions were literally damaged, it was impossible for the eighteen-year-old not to be sitting there with the most annoyed "someone get me out of here" look on his face possible. Probably made all the worse that Chloe had tagged along as well, and the sight of the quiet, tiny girl munching away while her mother drew attention with her obvious pride showing being too much to handle.
And considering Shu's last recalled memory of Artoria before he left for Japan was of getting a book to his face and her stern scolding, remembering that she was also horridly embarrassing when not in "work mode"… and embarrassing as in "incessantly brags and gets extremely smug when her kids are involved" kind of embarrassing… was something he was hard pressed to recall half the time.
And yet, a glance over to his right, since it was almost too convenient for him, Rias seemed to be suffering all the same on her end, her own family, which one shall be reminded are from the Underworld, went so far as to bring a video camera with them. This also included the older brother who was one of Hell's four rulers, Sirzechs Lucifer. Shu had never seen the man before, but seeing him for himself, he could best ascribe Sirzechs as a male Rias… but this entire situation, seeing the young man (at least, seemingly young) and the red-haired siblings' father fawning over the girl to his right made him highly doubt Sirzechs' station.
"It's just as bad for you too, huh?" Rias hissed under her breath, Shu sighing as he tried to hide any sign of Artoria from his view with a hand.
"Thankfully she doesn't get much worse than this… makes it hard to think she's the leader of an entire organization huh? Well, branch of a bigger one anyway."
"Trust me, I know the feeling. My brother makes it very hard to remember he's one of the Satans sometimes." Rasi said, both she and Shu sighing heavily.
And while he'd avoided doing it before, Shu then dared look back over his shoulder at Artoria, his expression faulting from shock as he saw her now holding an actual video camera.
"Oh come the hell on! What did you not bring?!" Shu thought, turning around and tenting his hands in front of his face as he tried to tune out Artoria's embarrassing amount of praise… though he at least had the benefit some of the people there seemed surprised the clearly European women was speaking such clear Japanese.
Not like she had the same gift of tongues as dragons or devils did after all.
"How much worse could today get?" Shu dared said the phrase, knowing full well his odds of even more insanity just increased the moment those words left his mouth.
"Do you have to follow me around?!" Shu snapped around as he ground to a halt, Artoria and Chloe stopping in sequence behind him, "You have a map!"
"Yeah but if I didn't follow you around then I wouldn't be able to see what kind of routine you have at school. That, and considering the fact your "team", was it, consists entirely of girls, I figure I may as well stick with you, they're bound to show up." Artoria's tone was casual, hell, even cheerful, downright unnatural to hear from her as far as Shu was concerned, but he felt this underlying menace beneath it.
"Let me guess, Kira told you about everything?" Shu flatly asked, Artoria nodding, "That little manx!"
"She also forwarded all of your reports to me. But, that's business, and I'm not here for business. I'll reprimand you for some of your stupid impulse choices later."
"This isn't about the fact I let the Boosted Gear end up in Devil hands, is it?" Shu said, the feeling that something was coming back to bite him was imminent. "Thinking back, I really could have gone about that in a different way… but, too late to change things now."
"Nothing in your mission said anything about that." Artoria said, "Only to watch… and considering you've made friends with the peerage housing said Boosted Gear, thus meaning they are not a threat, you're doing your job just fine. I'm talking about your usual kind of impulsive decisions."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Need I mention the fact your team is almost exclusively female?"
"That was of no fault of my own!" Shu objected, "It just… happens."
"Suuuure, just happens." Artoria's tone was teasing, Shu then looking to the quiet Chloe, the girl just shrugging. "Though I'm also here as the Association representative… we're not gonna let this summit go by and let humanity get a bad deal out of it, again."
"Yeah, that makes sense." Shu said, pocketing a hand, then sighing again, "How can I get away? I need to go clear my head somewhere…"
"Yo, Sieg! The hell is with all the parents here?!"
"Perfect timing!" Shu couldn't help but give a subtle fist pump as Anwen showed up, the girl looking at him as crossly as ever. "Well, it's Open House… we did kinda talk about this."
"Yeah but I didn't hear a damn thing about it being this packed! Seriously, the hell." Anwen scoffed, then leaning over to see who was behind Shu, "Who the heck is with… what the…"
It was here Soren picked up on a detail he'd missed before… why Anwen looked familiar to him. The first thought had been reincarnation, but that didn't fit so well. But now it made sense as he looked between Anwen and the present members of his surrogate family… Anwen looked incredibly similar to Artoria, almost a perfect match for Chloe in terms of looks.
"Anwen, this is Artoria, my adoptive mother, and Chloe, one of my sisters." Shu introduced, silence between the three lookalikes… well, two, Chloe just didn't speak about much of anything anyway.
"AUNTIE?!" Anwen shouted, Shu tilting her head as the girl reeled back, Artoria doing the same.
"Niece?!"
"I'll figure this one out later… your problem now!" Shu shouted, dashing off once he saw the chance available for him to do so, leaving the scene as it was.
"And away… Whew, thank you dragon stamina for not causing me to get winded." Shu wiped off his forehead as he leaned on the rail of the walkway he was under, his mad dash somehow having led him near the gym, "Well… definitely not gonna find the others to see how they are now… then again the only one of us who'd have a parent show up is Astra… I doubt Luci's folks would bother flying in from Britian to visit here."
"Ah no way a MagiGirl photoshoot?!"
And then came the screaming of a crowd of pumped up boys, Shu yelping and jumping over the rail as a crowd of students ran by, to his utter surprise as he stared at them go by.
"What the hell is going on now?" Shu asked, turning around when he heard steps, humming to see Issei approaching, Rias, Akeno, and Asia following, "You guys saw that too, right?"
"Yeah, we're going to check it out." Issei said, Shu sighing.
"I should probably go too. Since I am a member of the student council, someone might need to reign those idiots in." Shu said, nods coming from the others present, the group of now five getting on the trail, Shu making a point of it to kick the door wide open for added effect, though it quickly fell short as he saw who was on stage, "What the… I knew I jinxed myself earlier."
The subject in question on stage getting multitudes of pictures taken was a girl who appeared to be a bit younger than the group, not that Soren trusted such things with the life he lived, long black hair tied into twin tails and bright violet eyes, dressed in a magical girl cosplay that showed that despite her size, the girl was very well developed.
"Am I awake? Is that a Magical Girl Milky Spiral Seven Alternative cosplay?" Issei asked, Shu giving him a look.
"How do you know that?" Shu asked, Asia looking like she was about to ask the same thing.
"I watched the whole show in one sitting. Friend of mine was obsessed with it and insisted we do a marathon." Issei said, Shu feeling like there was something more behind that statement, details Issei was intentionally leaving out of it.
"Sounds like it was fun. Which friend?" Asia innocently asked.
"Okay, whatever…" Shu muttered, stepping forward and clapping his hands loudly, the gym carrying the echo widely, the crowd parting as he sauntered through and hopped onto the stage, "Okay camera dweebs, break it up! We're still on school with open house going. You're all damn lucky our folks can't leave the main building!"
"Shit, it's Siegreich!"
"Ever since the Student Council got him on he's been ruining all of our fun!"
"All our peeping spots have been lost yo!"
"Wait, that was you?!" Issei yelped in shock at the accusation shot to Shu, however, the white/black haired young man only smirked as he cracked his knuckles.
"I'll do more than close off all your peep holes if you don't scram right now!" Shu snapped, stomping his foot on the stage enough to echo it through again, the crowd of camera holders leaving with a slew of mutters, and some looked downright freaked out, Shu sighing as he tugged at his bangs, glancing at the girl behind him, "Sorry about that, the guys at our school have issues. You here for a reason? Related to someone?"
"Mhm." The girl nodded, Shu folding his arms.
"Well, if they did, shouldn't they have said something about that outfit? Geez, Souna's gonna be pissed if she finds this." Shu pinched the bridge of his nose as he thought of it while speaking under his breath. It wasn't the idea Souna could harm him, because she couldn't… he just hated sitting through her lectures. "I mean, really, that? It's cute but, still."
"Hehe." The girl only chuckled, Shu feeling a jolt up his spine as that danger sense of his went off as she twirled, "Sparkle shine, your command is mine!"
And at the striking of the pose, Shu only looked nonplussed.
"Cute, but, I'm being serious." Shu flatly said.
"Oh, good, I heard the commotion and came right over, glad you handled it Siegreich." Saji then showed up himself, Shu humming as he turned.
"Yeah, I kinda ran off from something and ended up here… no idea who this girl is, but she said she's related to someone here." Shu said, Saji humming, neither noticing how the cosplayer was looking very closely at Shu, "Should I stick around and lead her around to see if someone knows her?"
"Dude, you're too willing to help." Saji chuckled, Shu punching him on the shoulder, "Ow! Man you hit hard."
Clack!
"Saji, Shu, what's going on here?" Souna's arrival was as commanding as usual, Shu sighing as he put a hand over his eyes while Saji turned immediately.
"Hey Prez, Siegreich said that this girl says…" Saji started, Shu counting down on his fingers, having immediately realized just who the mystery cosplayer was related to the moment Souna walked in… at least he was sure he was right. It was a wild guess.
"I finally found you So-tan!" The girl said, popping out from being Shu, who then snickered a bit in a quick shot of amusement to see the normally stoic Souna suddenly go wide eyed form shock, her glasses slipping to boot, and the others present seemed about as confused… well, Rias and Akeno didn't as it was, the cosplayer hopping down from the stage and running over to Souna, "I'm so happy to see you, what's the matter, you look sad."
"I know I jinxed myself a bit, but now this is just amusing." Shu chuckled, leaning on the podium.
"Your face is red!" The cosplayer said, Souna looking to the side, "Aren't you excited to finally be seeing your big sister again? I'm gonna require a lot more happiness from you, come on!"
"Wait… big sister?" Shu took a moment when that was said, tilting his head in mystery at why he didn't expect that… then it hit him like a brick, "Wait, that's Leviathan?!"
"She has a sister?" Issei asked, the cosplayer/elder sister still bouncing around, Souna's expression flat, but her slight shuddering betraying her attempts not to snap.
"That is the lady Serafall Leviathan." Rias stated, Issei tilting his head.
"Lady who?"
"The second ranked Satan of the four leaders of the Underworld. Honestly considering who I work for I'm wondering why I'm still surprised." Shu said, a hand behind his head, "I do not wanna remember what old man Zelretch put me through, ugh…"
"I'd always heard things about Souna's sister, but I didn't recognize her since this is the first time we've met." Saji said, Shu letting out a hum, folding his arms, the soft feeling of something appearing on him, a glance up revealing Fou sitting on his typical perch of Shu's head.
"Your line is next!" Serafall said, "This is the part where you say how long it's been and how glad you are to see me!"
"It's been quite a long time, Lady Leviathan." Rias greeted, Serafall turning to her.
"Oh yes it has, Ri-tan." Serafall giggled, "How excited are you to see me. And I apologize for my friend there, he's a bit of the impulsive type."
"Oh I didn't mind at all." Serafall said, "He doesn't seem like a Devil, who is he?"
"This, Lady Leviathan, is Soren Noxis Siegreich, a member of the Association and a friend of ours." Akeno introduced, Shu lifting a hand in short wave. "Though we call him Shu for short."
"Sup." Shu greeted, Issei giving him a look for the way too casual greeting to be giving someone like one of the Satans… though some more surprise came abound as Serafall shot over to Shu, looking him up and down in a resumed examination, "Uhm… what's up with the leering?"
"That's it! You look like him!" Serafall shouted, Shu tilting his head.
"I look like who?"
"Ryo Reigen!" Serafall shouted, Shu's head tilting even more, as much as was feasibly allowed with a human skeleton.
"Who?"
"The male lead of Magical Girl Milky Spiral Seven!" Serafall said, Shu raising a brow, "I'm serious, you do! It took me a moment but I would definitely notice something like that!"
"Huh, she is right senpai, you do look like the guy-OW!" Issei yelped as Shu promptly clocked him on the back of the head.
"Not helping!" Shu snapped, then blinking when Serafall had a twinkle in her eyes, "What?"
"You're a straight man type! Just like Ryo is!"
"That doesn't mean a thing." Shu flatly replied, Serafall then zipping around to Rias again.
"Hey Ri-tan, what's Sor-tan like aside this huh?" Serafall asked, Souna covering her face with her hands as Rias chuckled, Soren feeling this shudder up his back as Rias glanced at him with a smug expression.
"Why of course. Shu may act like, well, how you've seen, but he's not so bad once you get to know him. Sure he's impulsive and has an obvious penchant for sarcasm, he's a good hearted person who means well. I doubt my peerage would have defeated Riser had he not helped us train for the battle." Rias said, her words being honest praise, but the fact she was giving them to indulge the hyperactive cosplaying Satan was making it hard for Shu to take the words in a positive manner.
"Just like a protagonist type!" Serafall giggled, Shu putting a hand on his head.
"That is very subjective." Shu objected, "I need a way out of this…"
"Oh, forgive me, I didn't even introduce myself did I?" Serafall said, twirling around to him, Shu waving a hand back and forth.
"I kinda already know who you are, so it's not needed." Shu said, sighing, Souna clearing her throat to get everyone's attention.
"Listen to me, I am responsible for the entire Student Council here." Souna firmly said, "Even if you are family, this is inappropriate school attire, you're going to have to change!" and one of the only times Shu had ever heard Souna raise her voice, much less look troubled. Looks like her troubles with her older sister runs deep.
"Why do you have to be like that? Can you hear the tone of your voice right now? You're borderline violent." Serafall said, yet again spinning around, "You'd know that I'd never ask for anything! All I want is to be a magical girl."
"I think you've got that part down already." As quick with the sarcasm as ever, sighs came from some of the others as the snark left Shu's mouth not even a second after Serafall said that, "Wait… I just remembered… Souna, you mentioned you didn't want me to meet Serafall… I still don't get why, well, mostly."
"Ugh… right, that." Souna muttered, Serafall giggling again, "Well, considering you've already learned a bit of it… I mean, considering earlier…"
"Ohhh! I just had an idea!" Serafall declared, Souna putting a hand over her eyes as she let out a deep, annoyed sigh, "You could totally be my co-star Sor-tan!"
"Co-star?" Shu tilted his head in bewilderment, Serafall nodding enthusiastically. "Okay yeah, I don't need to hear more… LICHT!"
On cue, the small cat appeared on his shoulder, only to promptly yowl in shock when he was grabbed, Shu tossing the familiar like a ball, eyes following the black spot as he flailed about, Licht landing on the floor in a heap, and just as Shu had planned, despite the lack of reactions from others, Serafall looked downright stunned as Licht shook himself out of the ruffled state, Shu taking the moment and dashing out of the gym before anyone could register he'd actually moved.
"ASSHOLE!" Licht shouted, scurrying off as the others began registering that Shu had vanished.
"Ahh he's gone! I had so much to tell him!" Serafall whined, Souna sighing.
"He made the right decision right there is what he did." Souna said.
"Gagh, why am I spending so much time running away today?!"
Shu slumped against the railing of the rooftop as he grumbled his words out, having jumped up to the spot to make his escape all the faster, and he looked to the side as Fou hopped off of his head and onto the railing himself.
"I almost forgot you were there." Shu said, leaning on a hand, "Lemme guess, Merlin wanted to watch?"
"Fou." And a nod was the answer Shu got, the boy sighing.
"Of course. Geez, can this… no, not gonna finish that phrase, I'll just make it worse!" Shu shouted, slumping down and laying down, staring at the sky with lidded eyes, "What am I saying, it's only gonna get worse from here anyway. It always does."
"Do you mean "worse" in a good way, or a bad way?" Bahamut asked, Shu sighing.
"I honestly do not know by this point."
A/N
And so goes part 1 of the Open House bits… next chapters gonna be expository as SHIT. And oh poor Shu, your troubles with Serafall are not yet done… really though it's gonna get crazy soon enough. Not that his place ISN'T a bag of cats at the best of times, HAH! See ya next chapter folks!