AN: Thanks for the reviews bois. Hope you enjoy this chapter after the long wait. Been busy. As for using their last names, I'm gonna still be using them as it just works imo. As for limes, unlikely. Perhaps it'll get to some extent, intimate, but chances of that are not high. And yes, NobodyOwens5, harem shenanigans are merely Rito's destiny. We'll see whether or not he'll accept them at any point in the story though :).
Beta: XenoTime39
I hope y'all enjoy my fluff. Also, I hope people are still reading this. Please review and do all that stuff to give me feedback! Perhaps I could be persuaded to show intimacy of some kind but in all probability not inherently sexual acts.
Rito yawned with only mild drowsiness attached to it as he wobbled in his seat, trying to pay attention to the teacher. 'I really need to wake up if I'm going to be able to get anything out of the study group we're doing. I managed to get the word out to everyone about it and since everyone agreed, I'm going to have my work cut out for me to entertain them all.'
Writing a quick note in reference to the teacher's instruction, Rito continued his thought. 'Since it's at my house, I'll probably fix up a snack for all of them. I wouldn't want to bother Mikan to do it.' Leaning back into his chair, his mind scrambled for all the logistics surrounding a study group at his house.
'Hopefully, this'll be a good experience for Lala and everyone else. Ooh, that reminds me! I need to invite Run to it. I just hope that she stays in the driver's seat instead of Ren. I have a feeling he's the more troublesome one of the two.' Rito tried to plan while listening to the lecture, but it was clear to him that his thoughts were taking up most of his attention.
Lala could observe this herself and it greatly amused her. Tapping him on the shoulder, discreetly, Lala whispered, "Don't you need to listen to the teacher?"
Rito's whole body shivered at her whisper in his ear. With a light blush tinting his cheeks, Rito gave Lala a mock glare to which she giggled.
"Knock if off you two. This stuff is important," the teacher scolded Rito and Lala before resuming right where he left off in his lecture.
Rito gave one more look back at Lala to see that Lala was staring right back at him with a smile. Staring back at her for a second, Rito turned back to give his full attention to the teacher. 'She is just full of bountiful adoration for me, it's slightly scary. I don't want to disappoint her, so even if Ren comes out, I'll do my best at handling him so that Lala will have a good time with the study group.'
Lala, who was teasing Rito with her staring, refocused on the teacher's lesson as well. 'Rito is definitely worrying about something. I hope that by getting better at Japanese and English, he won't have to worry so much. I bet the engagement isn't doing him any favors. I bet papa has something for him. Well, all I can do is support him with all I am!' Lala thought optimistically as class went on.
(-)
"Hmm, if I go to the study group, will you promise me a kiss?" Run attempted to bargain.
Rito deadpanned, "I'm asking because Lala would appreciate your attendance, but even then, I'm not going to bend over backwards to get you to come."
Run pouted, "Fine, fine. I'll be there. My grades are admittedly not the best. Just be sure to be my personal tutor."
'This one is quite cheeky, huh. Maybe playing along will be the best route, especially if I'm trying to persuade her,' Rito thought. With a grin that had some edge to it, Rito replied, "Sure, I'll tutor you, but be prepared to study hard otherwise, it's not going to be very fun for you."
Run seemed shocked by this change in behavior from Rito, but instead of being scared from it, her amusement only grew more. 'I'm sure that it'll be a lot of fun for me, Rito. Wait, hold it. I can feel a sneeze coming on.' Without any ceremony, Run let out an admittedly cute sneeze, turning into Ren.
"Ah, now I can give you my piece!" Ren said, preparing to unload on Rito.
"Before you do that, can I suggest you pack a change of clothes, both you and Run. I think it would lead to just an easier time overall. I wouldn't have to look at sights like these for instance," Rito said, pointing to Ren's appearance.
"SHUT UP! I don't control when we change. Plus, carrying a change of girls' clothes is kinda unmanly…" Ren said, drifting off as he thought of the idea.
"I'm sure that your other half would appreciate it. And in return, she would probably give you the same favor," Rito said, tired of these shenanigans.
"That is a good point," Ren said, thinking the idea through. Shaking his head, Ren got back on track, "Anyway, like I was going to say, there's no way you can exclude me from the study group! I need to be there to get precious time with Lala!"
Rito internalized his complaints, 'I guess that scraps the plan of him not coming out at all then. Maybe this can work though.' Humming, Rito said, "You could arrange something to come out midway, but Run definitely has to appear first. Lala sees her as her best friend."
"Tch, fine then," Ren moved his head to the side as he clicked his tongue, "I'll do it since it's for Lala, but you better hold Run to change to me."
"Fine by me, but you better be good since we'll have everyone else over. Not a thing about other planets or Lala being a princess. They're Earthlings and don't know."
"As if I'd want to appeal to your friends. I'm only there for Lala, so there's no reason for me to do anything like that."
Rito let out a sigh that he didn't know he had been holding in. Maybe he could make this work. With a renewed plan, Rito walked away from Ren, saying, "Make sure to turn back to Run. You're not registered in the school, Run is."
Hearing Ren mutter "Fine" in response, Rito didn't look back as he walked all the way back to the classroom.
(-)
Haruna Sairenji was an incredibly self-conscious individual. It may not look like it all the time, but she is insecure, needy, and fantastically inexperienced when it comes to love. Perhaps one would think that Haruna would have had a boyfriend at her age, but if they asked her, they would be surprised to hear of no such person. Needless to say, Rito Yuuki is now the cause of Haruna's latest worries.
'It might be dumb of me to feel this way, but despite the nervousness I feel with getting to be in Yuuki-kun's house has bee overridden with another feeling. One that says "This is your chance Haruna!" but what exactly does that mean?'
Haruna readjusted her posture which slumped down a little and wrote down some notes from the teacher's lecture. 'I don't wish to be jealous of Lala-chan. I really have no right to be, however, this creeping feeling in my heart is telling me to give it my all and enjoy the time I spend with Yuuki-kun.'
Haruna sneaked a look over at her orange-brown-haired classmate and couldn't help but sigh. 'Rejecting Yuuki-kun was something that I had to do at the time. I don't regret doing that, but…' Haruna shrank into her chair with a growingly red face. 'I just wish that I could be as close to Yuuki-kun as Lala-chan is.'
"Sairenji-san?"
"A-ah, yes, sensei?" Haruna didn't expect to be called out while in class.
"You appear to be a little flushed. You wouldn't need to go to the nurse's office, do you?"
"No, sensei! I'm feeling fine. T-thank you for the concern though," she said, bowing her head.
"Hmm, just make sure that you get plenty of sleep I guess. Wouldn't want the class rep to be sick now would we."
"No sensei," she said, agreeing with him.
Class carried on normally, but Haruna's nervousness didn't end. 'Now I think my friends are worried about me. I hope that doesn't cause them trouble. I can tell that Risa and Mio are looking at me. I do dearly treasure them even if they can get too handsy sometimes. Even Y-Yuuki-kun is looking at me. Oh, I wish the teacher hadn't called me out. I really don't want everyone worrying about me, least of all Yuuki-kun.'
Pulling a stray hair behind her ear, Haruna diligently kept up with her notes, despite her thoughts running amuck. 'W-well, all I can do is try my best this afternoon with the study session. Maybe I can get Yuuki-kun to t-tutor me.' She shook her head at the thoughts that were beginning to form. 'The new transfer student Jewleria-san will probably be there, so I assume that Yuuki-kun will be helping her out, so I shouldn't get my hopes up for any one on one studying time.' A pang in Haruna's heart pulsed at this realization, but alas, nothing could be done for it… for now.
(-)
The bell rang resolutely, signalling the end of the day's classes. Rito let out a sigh from having to listen to lectures all day. He could foresee the mess ahead of him, but there was nothing more to do other than face it.
"Heeey, Rito. Are you ready to hit the books with some babes?" Saruyama said, with a goofy grin adorning his face.
Before Rito could answer, Lala ran up to Rito with a hug. "It's time Rito! It's time Rito!" Her Devilukean strength made Rito hardly able to breathe.
"Ugh, La-la. Please… loosen your hold," Rito said in broken up parts.
"Wha?" Lala questioned before seeing the look on Rito's face. "Ah! I'm so sorry Rito! I was just too excited about the study group!"
'She's too defenseless as usual. As much as I was in pain, I unintentionally was in some pleasure for sure,' Rito thought, as he sneaked a peak at the source of his embarrassment. Rito's face dyed red at his side-thoughts forming. 'Lala's hugs are dangerous in more ways than one.'
"Hey Lala-chan," called out Risa, "Don't worry, as much as I hate studying, I'm just as excited to study with you!"
"As am I," nodded Mio, both of their determination showing with their clenched fists.
"That's great!" Lala cheered, "Run, Haruna-chan, I hope that you two are also excited!"
"Yeah, whatever/A-ah, yes Lala-chan," said Run and Haruna, respectively, their words said halfheartedly for different reasons.
"Hmm," Lala hummed, sensing that something was off from their words. She shrugged and instead turned to Rito. "It looks like everything is a go!"
"That's right," Rito said with a grin, getting wrapped up in Lala's enthusiasm, "It looks like everyone is here, so we can start moving out!" His last declaration was said loud enough so that everyone could hear him.
"L-let's study hard, everyone," nervously said Haruna, wishing the best.
"Yeah!" Everyone cheered, except for a certain alien girl who had other plans besides studying.
(-)
I'm home Mikan, and I brought friends!" said the hopeful voice of Rito.
"Oh? And just who is here?" Mikan asked before coming into contact with someone. "Oof-"
"Mikan! Rito and I brought some of our friends to study with us. Wanna join us?" Lala said, unintentionally suffocating Mikan.
Managing to squeeze out of Laa's grasp, Mikan said, "No, I'm sure that Rito would like his company without his kid sister," she said with a teasing smile.
All eyes were on Rito as he scratched his face in wonder of how to respond. "I don't care if you join us or not really. Your involvement would be helpful and you might learn something,' Rito said, his eyes looking away.
"Hm," Mikan hummed, thinking about her brother's words. Her face was turned so no one could see her face, but if they could, they might notice some color showing all over Mikan's face. After a sigh Mikan said, "Why not? I'll see if my brother is actually being a diligent student instead of slacking off."
"Hey, I'm a hard worker when I want to be! Just wait and see." Rito clearly laid out his study materials across a portion of the table and took a seat. "Everyone, get out your stuff and we'll all work on it while at this table."
Everyone replied with a "Right!" and the scurry for who was sitting where began. It ended up after a lot of pushing that Rito sat at one end of the table with Lala on his right and Run on his left. At the other end of the table, Haruna sat with Risa on her right and Mio on her left. Saruyama was left a portion in the middle while Mikan pulled up a chair to sit near Rito, not having study materials to place anywhere.
'I ended up the farthest from Yuuki-kun,' cried out Haruna in her thoughts. It appeared that luck was not on her side today.
"Alright guys, let's get started!" Rito shouted with a smile. Everyone looked at their own materials for what they needed to work on.
It was only about 30 seconds after Rito had said that when Lala asked "Rito, can you help me with this part?" and thus, the floodgates of questions were unleashed.
Risa and Mio asked Haruna for her assistance with some subjects whereas Run attempted to gain help from Rito who was already helping out Lala. Saruyama just chuckled lightly at this line of events and just worked hard on his own work. 'I don't want to overload those two. Something tells me I'd get more done doing it just like this,' thought Saruyama.
Mikan just looked on at her brother who was having trouble bouncing between the questions of Run and Lala. She tried to make sense of what was going on, but from what she could tell, the questions were primarily on language subjects which she excelled in. Seeing how she felt like her promise of learning something was lost and her other reason for joining in wouldn't seem to happen, Mikan shrugged and went up to her room.
"Hey Haruna, how exactly do you solve this equation?" Risa asked.
Haruna gave one look at the question that Risa showed and her face brightened up. "Ah, you use this one and then everything just sort of solves itself."
"You're right! Thanks Haruna!"
Haruna giggled at Risa's excitement. 'This isn't so bad, tutoring my friends on subjects they have trouble on. Maybe not being able to get tutored by Yuuki-kun turned into a benefit? Maybe,' Haruna thought.
"Harunaaa, what am I supposed to do for this problem?" asked Mio.
"Oh, for these types, usually the answer is in the question. The passage will have the answer."
"Thaaanks," Mio said, lazily.
'Yes, this isn't so bad at all,' Haruna thought.
Meanwhile on Rito's side, it was almost a constant stream of questions from Lala and a constant stream of flirting from Run.
From what Rito could gather, Lala was making fine progress with her Japanese and English. Her questions weren't just random, but were new concepts that she hadn't been taught before. To apply everything together, Rito could definitely see the genius behind her eyes.
From what Rito could gather from Run, her subjects across the board were average. It seems that she actually picked up a fair amount of language skills from somewhere as she was making it just fine there. Run seems to run (mind the pun) into the most trouble with history, but that seems to stem from a lack of interest more than anything else. Her questions seemed to lack any focus on it and instead was more of an opportunity to scoot closer to him.
Rito could hold back his embarrassment at the flirting and answer normally, but it was taxing to him mentally. Thankfully, in Lala's obliviousness, she asks a question and will pull Rito instead of pushing to look at her material. This alleviates him from Run's grasp every once in a while.
Surprisingly over the course of about 30 minutes to about an hour of studying, progress has been made for everyone, even Run in all her flirting. But after a break, Run sighed and whispered to Rito, "It looks like I have to leave for now. It's been fun and I've even been warming up to Lala despite her meddling, but don't think I'm done with you in the future."
Rito whispered some words back to Run which made her face boil, puffing out some smoke from the top of her head. "O-ok," she said, before going to the restroom of the Yuuki residence. In came Run, but once the door opened, out came Ren. "Alright! It's time to get some manly work done!"
"Who's this guy, Rito? And where's the new transfer girl, Jewleria-san?" Saruyama asked.
Rito awkwardly grinned, trying to think of a good cover story. 'Those two aren't as slick as they thought they were in changing. Why am I stuck cleaning after their messes?" Out loud, he said, "Uh, I think I heard earlier from Run that she had to leave early to practice her uhh singing. So, we had her brother wait around to help her learn what she needs to know later."
"Hmm, so you're already on a first name basis with another cute girl, eh?" Saruyama said.
"You narrowed in on that?" Rito asked, deadpanned. After all his work at making up a plausible explanation, he responds about the least important part of the cover story.
"Soo, Lala, would you like me to tutor you with the subjects you have trouble on? I'm a bit of a scholar myself." Ren boasted.
The crew on the other side of the table didn't really care what was happening, or at least that was the case for Mio and Risa. Haruna was curious, but more about the new arrival. Lala put a finger to her chin in a thinking position and said, "I don't think I need any help with my Japanese or English right now. Thanks to Rito's tutoring, I think I'm piercing everything together bit by bit. Thanks for the offer though!" Lala said, getting back to her study materials.
'I'm very surprised that her reaction to seeing Ren was so subdued and from the looks of Ren, he is too. I bet he was planning a grand entrance,' Rito thought, seeing a dead-looking Ren collapsed over the table. 'Well, Lala must be busy with trying to learn more about her two struggling subjects. I bet she's the same way she is while inventing, although I only witnessed her making one invention so far.'
Shaking his head to divert his attention to his studies, Rito looked over the collapsed Ren and took pity on the guy, saying, "Hey, c'mon, I'll help you out with some of this stuff. Maybe you can impress Lala with your growth."
Slowly, the dead Ren came back to life with a fire in his eye. "You're right! Let's get started!" Ren did a spit take at his words when he looked over to who was giving him encouragement and said, "A-actually, I'm going to do this on my own. I don't need you!" Ren was very determined to achieve success without his self proclaimed rival.
Rito laughed in his head at Ren's indignation. "Alright then. I'll be here though if you need help." Upon seeing that the two people he was tutoring were now self-studying, Rito decided to perhaps assist Haruna on the other side of the table. "Does anyone over here need some help?"
"A-ah, Yuuki-kun. Can you explain to Risa what she needs to do upon encountering those types of problems," Haruna asked, showing her Risa's workbook which she was shown earlier. "I'll be busy helping Mio with her science problems."
"Right, I can do that. Let's work hard at being senseis for the time being, Sairenji-chan!"
"Yes!" Haruna said with a light blush. It was exciting to get to work together with Rito for her.
"Soooo, now that you're done flirting with Haruna, can you help me improve my math skills. They are positively atrocious," Risa said with a good natured laugh.
"I'm sure that you're only switching some things up when you shouldn't. No reason to down yourself like that Momoika. It just requires a bit more brain power to deal with," Rito said, optimistically.
"Oho? You have a lot of confidence for someone you label as merely a pervert on the regular," Risa teased.
Rito rolled his eyes. "You know I'm just joking when I say that. You're much more capable than you think you are."
With those words said, Risa fell quiet for a second before muttering, "Ah, right," quietly. Rito didn't push on her sudden shyness, but instead pushed forward with his tutoring.
"So, seeing this equation, what you wanna do is move these numbers over to the other side of the equation," Rito said, illustrating the steps by drawing the equation over with the numbers moved.
While Rito was eagerly showing Risa the ropes with math, Haruna was making good progress with Mio on science. "It looks like your only trouble now is applying what you learned. You revert to your own tricks every question it seems," Haruna said.
"You're right, but that's just the way I work. I'll have to practice a lot to retain what I learned," Mio explained. Her eyes wandered after her explanation to the hard-at-work Saruyama, who appeared to have fallen asleep. "Hey dimwit. Wake up," she said, smacking his head.
"Wa- Is it morning already ma?" Saruyama asked, half asleep.
"No, it's studying time, not morning nor nap time, Saruyama," Mio scolded.
Awakened from her words, Saruyama leaned on his arm and said, "Calm doooown. I gave it my all to study for a good while and then I was just resting my eyes for a tad bit."
"Resting your eyes my ass. You thought I was your mom after all!"
Saruyama shrugged her off, and so Mio continued her blunt sarcasm assault on his studying habits.
On the other end of the table, it was Lala and Ren quietly studying on their own. 'I have to show Lala my manliness! I have to show Lala my manliness!' was what was circulating through Ren's head, but with this mantra, led a line of trouble with memorizing certain details.
Lala on the other hand was absorbing the information from her book on tenses, grammar, and common phrases. 'I don't want to be a burden to Rito, as much as I enjoy his help on this stuff. I want to show off my hard work to everyone even while we all study together!' she thought with determination fueling her actions. With her talent for just information grasping, it was probable that she would easily catch up to the Japanese and English skills of a high schooler in no time.
Mikan peeked in at the study group that was hard at work and quietly said, "I'm glad I got out of that intense atmosphere while I still could. It seems really serious over there," she said, snickering at her brother's blank, determined expression.
(-)
After an hour more of studying, it was determined that it was time for everyone to go home. "Well, that was productive, was it not," Rito asked, stretching, giving some straining to his voice.
"Yep! I learned a lot and had fun!" exclaimed Lala, raising a fist to the sky in a cheer.
"I don't know," Saruyama said, "I felt like I was getting chewed out for a while there."
Mio shrugged. "What can I say? I thought you'd get more out of studying if you actually did it instead of napping."
"Right? I feel like Saruyama was only here for less than pure reasons," playfully, Risa added.
"What! No, I'm here for just as noble a reason as Jewleria-san's brother," Saruyama attempted to defend himself.
"Hmm, something tells me your reasoning isn't very manly no matter what you say," murmured Ren.
"What did I ever do to you! Rito, c'mmon pal. Surely you believe me right?" Saruyama's pleading got more desperate the more he did it.
Rito threw his arms up into the air. "I don't know what you want me to say, man. Of course I believe you, it's just I also believe you liked the fringe benefits of attending."
Saruyama looked defeated, hanging his head over so everyone only saw his hair. After shedding a few tears, Saruyama raised his head, saying, "You know what? I'll take that, but you all should know that I studied my ass off these past 2 hours!"
As everyone laughed at Saruyama's declaration, the time of day was making everyone slightly tired and hungry.
"I gotta head home, dude. Dinner is waiting for me," Saruyama said, waving goodbye.
"Yeah, we gotta bounce too Yuuki-kun. Thanks for organizing this!" Risa said for her and Mio. They left with little ceremony.
"IThankfully, I don't live that far away, but yes, I do believe it's getting to be that time," Haruna said with some nervousness. She did enjoy herself, even though she was mostly tutoring the entire time.
"Hey, thanks for coming, really. It seemed like you were a bit more helpful than I was, miss class rep," Rito teased.
Haruna's face burned. "T-that's not true. You helped out more people and even Lala is getting the hang of her struggling classes."
Rito waved her off. "That more speaks to Lala's intellect than my tutoring, but I appreciate the compliment." Haruna was surprised to feel some arms come around her. "Might as well see you off with a hug," Rito said, cheekily.
"Is it group hug time?" Lala asked, her eyes brightly shining.
"Of course it is!" Rito said, chuckling at Lala's exuberance. Lala wrapped around Haruna and Rito and held tightly, but holding back her Devilukean strength a bit. "Come on and join, Ren!" Rito said.
"What?" Ren said with no little of an embarrassed tone.
"Join in Ren!" Lala said, agreeing with Rito. "Or are you going to burst into tears again, Cry-Baby-Ren," she teased.
"Err fine!" Slowly wrapping around the three of them, Ren said, "Is this right?"
Rito laughed. "Yep, you're doing it right!" Looking over to the first recipient of the hug, Rito gave sight to a passed out Haruna. "Huh, her face seems to be really hot for some reason."
The group hug was separated and with Haruna passed out, it seemed wise to leave her alone til she woke up.
"It was quite the experience for Run and I, I have to admit," Ren said. He pointed to Rito seriously and said, "You've won this round Rito Yuuki, but once I'm back from my journey, be sure to face me once again for Lala!" And after that declaration, he left thinking, 'I've gained a new insight to my beloved's betrothed. He's not such a bad guy like I thought. That doesn't mean I'll give up on her though!'
Meanwhile, the two conscious people were rather confused. Lala was confused at what exactly Ren was referring to when saying that she was being fought over. 'Whatever, Ren is a little weird like that haha!' she thought.
Rito was confused because Ren started talking about him winning a round and that he was going to go on a journey. He hadn't heard anything of the sort prior, so it was a surprise for sure. 'Well, it sounds like he won't be much trouble any time soon, which is good. Farewell, Ren' Rito thought.
After that dramatic departure, Rito and Lala waited until Haruna woke up again. Rito apologized for the hug (and made Lala apologize), but Haruna was having none of it. "It was my own fault," she said which confused Rito, but he left it alone.
Haruna left for real this time with a big smile on her face. 'That was… a much more stimulating experience than even I dreamed of. Rito's hugs are very warm it appears,' she thought deeply. Needless to say, it was a good time for her.
With everyone gone, that left Rito and Lala. "Well, did you really have a good time, Lala?" This was a big reason why Rito set it up after all. It would be a bit of a waste if it wasn't fun for her.
"Of course!" Lala said with sparkling eyes. "This was so much fun and I have a better grasp of the written language here," Lala said with a prideful huff.
Rito's smile widened. "I'm so glad that you loved it," Rito said, bringing his arms over Lala. He put a lot of work and patience into making this all work, so he was overjoyed that the purpose was fulfilled.
Lala didn't exactly know why she was being hugged, but she returned it with her own warm embrace. "Thanks for your hard work!"