54godamora: Maybe...

YubelXIII: If you want that kind of fic, there are loads of that from other archives.

Discord link: [discord . gg / 4y5QVPj]

Disclaimer: I don't own To Love Ru, or any of its characters...

Town of Sainan

Rito laid on his bed happily, satisfied with today's events. His arms were crossed behind his head, and a smile was plastered on his face as he recalled what happened during the school trip.

Miraculously, he managed to ask his longtime crush, Haruna Sairenji, to have lunch with him and his actions paid off well. They enjoyed a meal together and while it was cut short thanks to Risa's intervention followed by a spider biting him out of nowhere, it still enabled him to spend time with Haruna.

After washing the spider bite that he received earlier today, his homeroom teacher came to him with a first aid kit and proceeded to clean his wound before applying a band-aid on it.

Either way, it was just a minor inconvenience.

What mattered more was what happened after. When lunch ended and the tour of the museum continued, Haruna walked with him again and did her best to educate him on the artworks once again.

The school's next and last destination was the Imperial Palace, and the two continued to be inseparable there. They stuck together the whole time, even when Haruna was invited by her friends to walk with them instead. The two even took some pictures together on his phone, one of which will be his brand new wallpaper tomorrow morning!

By the end of the trip, Rito felt immensely happy and satisfied with how things turned out and if that wasn't enough, when it was time for the students to go home, Haruna wrapped her arms around him in a hug before thanking him for making this school trip a memorable one for her.

HARUNA-CHAN HUGGED HIM!

Because of that, Rito went home with a stupid smile on his face afterwards that even when he finally got to his house, it still didn't go away. It was only when Mikan noticed her older brother's expression that he finally snapped out of it and proceeded to deny every accusation that she made towards him.

Fortunately, Mikan didn't continue with the accusations when she saw the band-aid on his hand and asked him about it instead.

Realizing that he was safe from Mikan's endless teasing, he told her about how he got bitten by a spider during lunch, causing his poor little sister to start berating him for not being attentive to his surroundings, probably out of worry.

Anyway, after reassuring his sister that it wasn't even a dangerous bite, Rito ate dinner with her, took a shower, brushed his teeth and prepared to tuck himself in bed.

It was still early in the night, exactly 8:42 PM at the moment, but after everything that happened today, Rito felt incredibly tired and he wanted nothing more than to get some rest right now.

As he closed his eyes, only one thought occupied his mind before surrendering to the sweet confines of sleep.

"I'm glad I chose to ask Haruna-chan to eat lunch with me."

The boy's eyes snapped open as he sat up and looked around him. He wasn't in his room at all, but rather a dark empty space where nothing else can be seen. He was completely alone and there was no one around, not even Mikan.

Rito had no idea how much time had passed since he fell asleep, but he knew that he couldn't have woken up and took a walk just because he felt like it.

"Where am I?" he asked himself, before standing up and looking down on himself. He was still wearing the same clothes from when he slept, but he was definitely in another place right now. "Am I dreaming?"

"I've been waiting for you, Yuuki Rito."

An elderly voice spoke from behind him, causing the young boy to quickly turn around and see who it was.

An old bald man with a long silver beard wearing a baggy cloak was walking towards him with the help of a wooden cane. His eyes looked like they could pierce through a person just by looking, but Rito couldn't bring himself to turn away, because he feared that it would be disrespectful.

"Who… Who are you?" asked Rito, thinking that this was only a dream and it wouldn't be bad to initiate a conversation with the stranger.

The old man bowed his head.

"I am Garia from Planet Spider, and I am here on borrowed time. I do not have long, so I ask that you lend me your ears and listen to what I say."

Rito blinked a few times as he tried to understand what he just heard. "Planet… Spider? What do you mean by that?"

"It does not surprise me that Earthlings are still unaware of the existence of aliens until now, but it only proves that they have been discreet about their presence around humans to avoid being exposed," Garia spoke in a tone that almost made it seem like he was amused.

The boy's eyes widened.

"D-Did you just say aliens? Y-Y-You're an alien?!"

"Yes, I am. As I said, I am an alien from Planet Spider and I have come to speak with you, Yuuki Rito. It is of the utmost urgency."

It's impossible. There's no way this old man could be an alien. He looked like a normal person and he didn't even have any features that would normally be found on an alien, like tentacles or an abnormal amount of eyes.

This has got to be a product of his own imagination, nothing more.

"W-W-Wait, wait, wait! I'm still dreaming, aren't I? This can't be real!" Rito shook his hands before him in denial, unable to believe that he was actually talking to an alien.

"You are indeed dreaming, but I am nothing less than real, Yuuki Rito. You must listen to what I have to say at once. My time here is limited, and I cannot be here for long."

Upon hearing Garia's last statement, it was enough to convince the boy to listen to him at least. Of course, Rito still had doubts that the old man before him was an alien, but he could put that aside for now.

"What do you want to tell me?" he asked.

"The story of my now-extinct people," Garia spoke, as the landscape around them changed drastically. From an empty void, the surroundings changed to show Planet Spider itself, back when it was still peaceful and prosperous. "Long ago, Planet Spider was once a peaceful planet for aliens and spiders alike. We were happy in our home until one day, he decided to invade us."

Rito was so distracted staring in awe at the sudden change in his surroundings that he almost didn't understand what Garia said.

"...Who's 'he'?"

"Professor Monster," their surroundings changed once again. From the peaceful planet that it once was, it turned into a place covered in darkness when it was invaded by the Iron Cross Army.

Blood was all over the ground, and dead bodies were scattered almost everywhere. The planet was a cold shell of what it used to be. It's almost impossible to think that it used to be a beautiful place before.

Rito felt sick in his stomach upon seeing the lifeless bodies around him, even if they were aliens, but his attention was quickly drawn to the two beings that just appeared: Professor Monster and Amazoness.

"He is a half-alien, half-robot hybrid from the Planet Monster, who is the leader of the Iron Cross Army."

Rito felt a shiver down his spine now that he got a good look at the evil alien known as Professor Monster. Just by looking at his disfigured robotic face was enough to send fear to others. Both he and Amazoness were smiling evilly at the carnage around them, obviously enjoying all of this.

"He, along with his general Amazoness and his Ninder army, set out from their planet to begin their grand conquest of bringing the whole galaxy under his thumb. He began slaughtering many small alien races across different planets and growing stronger along the way, all while spreading the word that he will soon become ruler of the galaxy."

Rito could tell where this was going, and it made him uncomfortable. "Then he got to your home planet too."

"His arrival was unexpected, but we were well-prepared for it. We fought against the Iron Cross Army with everything we had but in the end, after five years of trying to resist Professor Monster, my people fell to him as well. While I was able to escape on a ship, the rest of my comrades weren't. They were slaughtered like animals as well and as I left my planet, I vowed that I would avenge my people and destroy the Iron Cross Army someday, especially Professor Monster."

Rito stared at the old alien for a moment. If Garia made that promise and fulfilled it, that means he should be happy that he managed to avenge his people.

But the fact that the alien was here, telling him all about Planet Spider while being completely serious about it, gave Rito the answer he wanted to know.

"You weren't able to, were you?"

Garia nodded.

"I spent 60 years preparing myself to fight against him and his army, but I was a fool to think I could fight him by myself. When I snuck on his spaceship in an attempt to kill him, I was met with thousands of his Ninders and I was easily overwhelmed. I couldn't even touch him and in the end, I barely escaped with my life. I fled to the nearest planet to heal my wounds and recover my strength, which happened to be Earth."

Rito slowly nodded, taking all of this information in. While the boy still had some doubt that this was all true, he was slowly being convinced otherwise.

His imagination alone can't possibly make all of this up in a dream.

"...so what does this have to do with me?" the boy asked, wanting to know the reason why Garia was telling him all of these things.

"Before I left my planet, my King gave me a mission. He told me to travel the galaxy and search for someone to inherit our power. Someone worthy of it to be able to fight against the Iron Cross Army and bring them down once and for all."

Upon hearing those words, Rito started putting the pieces together and it made him widen his eyes in shock.

"Y-You can't be thinking about me, Garia-san…"

"It is too late for doubts, Yuuki Rito. I have already chosen you. The responsibility of fighting against Professor Monster and his army is now in your hands."

Rito shook his head furiously. "Y-Y-You're making a big mistake…! I can't fight against an army of aliens! Look at me, I'm just a teenager!"

"That does not matter. You are the one I chose and I will not regret my decision."

"But why? Why me? Couldn't you have chosen another instead of me? I'm just a normal human. I can't do anything against someone like that!" he denied, pointing to Professor Monster's projection for emphasis.

"You are not a human anymore, Yuuki Rito. Not fully human, at least."

That made Rito freeze in his place, as he tried to process what he just heard. "W-What do you mean by that?"

"You are still a human in the physical sense, but you now have alien blood coursing through your veins as well."

"B-But how can that happen?! My parents can't be part-alien, can they? One of them can't be an alien, either!"

Garia shook his head. "You didn't get alien blood from them. You received it from me."

"From you…?"

"I was the spider that bit you earlier," he revealed, causing the boy to gasp.

To prove his point, Garia's whole form then began to shrink until it was the size of an insect and in his place, Rito saw the same spider that indeed bit him during the school trip. The boy's eyes almost bulged out of his sockets as the spider reverted back into Garia, complete with the cloak and cane he had.

"My people are capable of changing ourselves from this into a spider whenever we wish. The presence of my blood in your body is also why I am able to appear in your mind and speak with you at this moment."

And at that moment, Rito was convinced.

This whole thing was indeed a dream, but Garia was completely real. So were Professor Monster, Amazoness, the Ninder army, Planet Spider, all of them were real.

Aliens were real.

Rito gulped, now realizing the gravity of this situation. He wasn't just talking to some regular alien. He was talking to the last remaining survivor of an alien planet, who apparently chose him as a successor of sorts and now he had alien blood in his body.

Does this make him part-alien, then? Or maybe a pseudo-alien?

"Why did you do that, then? Why me, Garia-san? Please tell me why," the boy asked, unable to comprehend why would Garia someone like him.

"My time was ending, and I needed to pass on my powers before I die. That does not mean that I chose you because I had no choice. I have spent my last 40 years in this world, trying to see if there was someone who was worthy of inheriting our race's powers and in all that time, you were the only one who I deemed fitting."

Rito wanted to ask how exactly was he worthy, but he opted for the important question at the moment.

"Does that mean… you're dead now?"

"That is right. Now is the first and last time that I will be able to talk to you and for that, we cannot waste time. I was the last remaining survivor of our planet but now that I am no more, our race has truly gone extinct."

The boy bowed his head in sadness. Even though he didn't know him or his people, to hear that they were slaughtered by an evil alien was disheartening.

"I'm sorry, Garia-san."

"Do not mourn for me, Yuuki Rito. I have long accepted that my planet and my race will end at the hands of Professor Monster. Even so, our battle doesn't end with my passing."

Rito looked up slowly, meeting the old alien's gaze with his own.

"You can continue our battle, Yuuki Rito. With my blood in your veins, you will gain the power of my race and become stronger than you ever thought possible. Avenge me and my race. Stop Professor Monster and his army from taking over the galaxy."

The boy stared at the old alien for a few moments, before letting out a heavy sigh.

"I think you made a big mistake, Garia-san… this whole thing about Professor Monster, Amazoness, the Ninder army, aliens in general, it's all too much for a teenager like me. I don't even know a thing about defending myself, so how can I possibly fight against an evil alien like Professor Monster? You should have chosen someone else, honestly. Someone that's not me… someone who can fight against those aliens…"

Garia remained silent, choosing to let the young boy continue in his words.

"...but I won't let you and your people's sacrifices be in vain. For some reason, you chose me because you think I can do it but I can't see how. For me, I'm not a hero and I don't think of myself as one… but I don't want your death to be in vain, either. I don't want you to die with regrets."

A look of determination then spread across Rito's face, replacing the troubled and bothered expression that he had before.

"What do I need to do?" he asked.

"A wise and noble decision. I knew that I made the right choice choosing you," praised Garia. "Now, it does not matter whether you are capable of defending yourself or not, Yuuki Rito. My blood grants you the power of my people. You will become strong enough to be able to lift over a hundred tons of matter. You will become fast enough to avoid danger when it arrives. You will also be able to sense that danger whenever it is approaching. You will be able to climb up walls and swing across the sky with webs created from your own body. All of that will be yours."

Rito blinked a few times, his face frowning in confusion. From the way Garia explained those powers, they were all eerily similar to the abilities of a particular arachnid and the boy had to ask the old alien to confirm his suspicions.

"You mean… like a spider?"

"Yes."

"That's… pretty convenient," he commented, realizing the obvious connection between said powers and the fact that the alien planet's name was 'Spider'. "When do I get them?"

"My blood should have spread through your whole body by now. When you wake up from your slumber, you will notice the obvious changes in your body."

Now that he was sure that this whole thing was real despite being a dream, Rito felt his curiosity rising at the thought of receiving superhuman abilities. For any other person, it was an impossible dream but now it was going to happen to him, of all people.

"Now I believe it is time to tell you more about Professor Monster," Garia continued, which immediately caught Rito's attention. "It has been more than 60 years since I have last seen him, so I cannot say anything about his whereabouts. However, I am sure that he is out there, continuing to destroy planets and slaughtering races in his conquest to take over the galaxy."

"Then that means… he can come to Earth and do the same to my planet," Rito deduced.

"That is right. When that time comes, you must do whatever it takes to stop him. Now, according to the Galactic Database, Earth is constantly being watched over by King Gid compared to other minor planets, because this world advances rather quickly when it comes to technology."

"Who's King Gid…?" asked Rito, raising an eyebrow at the alien.

"You will know in the future. But be assured that when the Iron Cross Army finally sets their sight on your world, you will not fight them alone. Help will come to you when it happens."

"At least I'm not alone…" the boy thought, feeling relieved that he wouldn't be facing this battle on his own. "Is there anything else?"

"There is one more thing you need to know, Yuuki Rito," the landscape changed once more and this time, the two were back to the empty space that they were in before. "I was not the only alien to arrive on Earth many years ago. Even before me, aliens have been inhabiting this planet and living amongst humans without arousing suspicion. If you happen to come across one, make him your ally. Do the same for any other alien you meet. Do not make the same mistake as I did, Yuuki Rito. You will need all the help you can get when Professor Monster begins his assault on this world."

"Aliens… living on Earth?"

Rito had a look of awe on his face as he thought about that more deeply. It made him wonder if there are aliens hiding in this town and if so, the young teen could only hope that they are people whom he can befriend.

"Unfortunately, my time is up, Yuuki Rito. I will now pass on for good, and join my fallen people on the other side," Garia spoke, not even sad or bothered about what's going to become of him. "Whatever happens, I do not regret my decision to choose you as our race's successor."

"Words can only go so far, but I swear that I won't let your death be in vain, Garia-san. I'll do everything I can to stop Professor Monster," Rito promised in a voice filled with determination that was so unlike him.

And with that, the last remaining citizen of Planet Spider faded away.

"Urrgghhh…"

Rito groaned as he stirred in bed, feeling the light from the sun getting in his eyes and causing him to wake up from his slumber.

As soon as he felt that he was awake, Rito sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, all while he was deep in thought.

"I can clearly remember Garia-san and what we talked about during that dream," he thought about the old alien that he met and everything they spoke about, "As much as I believe him now, how am I supposed to find out if I got those 'powers' that he told me? Just wait for them to appear or something?"

The boy stood up from the bed and began to head for the door so he could wash his face, only to stop himself when he walked past the mirror in his room.

Rito's eyes widened the moment he saw his reflection in the mirror. He was always an average guy who never cared about being physically fit, so his figure wasn't really something to look at. In fact, he was lucky that Haruna didn't care about such a thing and looked at someone's personality more.

But what he saw in the mirror was someone different.

His shoulders and muscles were more defined, making his physical figure stand out more. Rito even took off his shirt to see what was underneath, and he gasped when he saw a perfect six pack with his muscle lines sticking out too. The most surprising thing was that it all looked natural, as if they were always there!

"Garia-san didn't say anything about having a muscular body, but I'm not gonna complain about this!" Rito thought to himself with a smile, taking a moment to flex and admire this change from his previous self.

All of a sudden, his gaze flew towards a bulge in his shorts, causing the boy to look down at himself and he blushed furiously at what he saw.

Yep, big change.

"I should probably start wearing bigger clothes from now on," he shook his head and marched over to the door where he tried to open it, but ended up pulling the whole doorknob instead, ripping it off the door like it was nothing.

"Oh, god…" his jaw dropped at what he just did. "I-I guess this is what Garia-san meant when he said that I'll be strong enough to lift heavy things, huh…?"

Unable to think of a solution at the moment, Rito carefully placed the doorknob on the nearby chair and sat down on his bed. He took a few deep breaths to try and process what happened.

"Okay, I guess the superpowers are already with me now, just like what Garia-san said," he muttered. "I should be more careful with the things I touch from now on, though. If I'm strong enough to do something like that, I don't even want to know my limits. I'm just thankful I didn't pull the entire door off its hinges."

All of a sudden, he felt a strong impulse in his mind, as if it was telling him that danger was approaching. In response, Rito quickly leapt for his shirt that was on the floor and put it on before he could get caught.

"Rito, what's going on? I heard something breaking…"

A young girl wearing a yellow dress with brown hair and golden brown eyes then walked inside the room, where she immediately noticed the doorknob that was on the chair. She blinked a few times before turning to the door itself, where there was a gaping hole at where the knob was supposed to be.

It didn't take a few seconds for her to put the pieces together.

"Did you just break your doorknob, Rito?" asked Mikan Yuuki, the responsible and mature one of the Yuuki siblings who also handled most of the chores.

Rito, now wearing a shirt to cover his vastly different body, only rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"I guess I did… I thought I was locked inside my room just now and I panicked. I didn't realize that I was still out of it. When I remembered that my room doesn't lock from the outside, it was too late," he lied. "I didn't mean to rip the knob off the door, Mikan.

To Rito's relief, his sister seemed convinced and just sighed as though she was used to something like this.

"Oh dear, just what am I ever going to do with you…" she planted her hands on her hips and frowned at her brother like she was the mom of the family. "You better fix that up later on, Rito. Wouldn't want me to walk in on you at the worst possible time, right?"

Rito only grimaced. "Y-Yeah, I will…"

Mikan gave a satisfied nod and walked out of the room. "Breakfast is almost finished, so wash your face and come downstairs already. You know I can't start eating without you."

The boy waited until Mikan was out of earshot before he released the deep breath that he was holding in, as he felt relieved that he got out of that situation without being suspected by his sister.

Promising himself that he will fix his door later on, Rito walked out of his room and went to the bathroom to finally wash his face. As he did so, his mind went back to the earlier events, particularly moments before Mikan got to his room.

"I don't know how it happened but somehow, I predicted that Mikan was coming to my room and… I was right," his mind went back even further, recalling the old alien's words about one of his powers. "Is this what Garia meant when he said that I can 'sense' danger when it's approaching? If it is, then this thing is gonna be useful in the future."

Okay, super-strength and enhanced senses were in the list of his powers now, and Rito knew that this was just the surface of it.

As he walked downstairs to see Mikan preparing the table for breakfast, Rito looked at his hand and slowly clenched it to form a fist.

"I'm going to have to get used to this, but something tells me that it won't even be that hard. I just have to act normal when I'm around other people, especially the people I know."

Thankfully, Mikan didn't question him again about how he managed to rip the doorknob off his bedroom door, saving him from having to explain himself and his actions. She didn't notice how his body figure was completely different now as well, which is also a good thing.

After he left his home for school, Rito thought about this new change in his body and his abilities. According to Garia, he now had alien blood in him even though he was still a human, and it was the reason why he was very strong now along with his enhanced senses that he would refer to as 'spider-sense' from this point onward, because his powers were literally the same as a spider's abilities.

He actually thought it was funny, receiving spider powers from an alien who came from a planet called 'Spider' and now he was tasked to fight against some kind of evil cyborg scientist and his army. It sounded like some crazy plot for a Tokusatsu show.

Anyway, Rito quickly agreed with himself that this should be kept as a secret and as much as possible, no one must know. Not even Mikan. At the same time, he decided that he would work on figuring out the rest of his new abilities once he gets some free time to himself.

Upon arriving in class, he saw that Haruna was already there like the punctual student that she was, only that she was talking to Risa and her other friends. With his crush in sight, Rito forgot about his newfound powers almost immediately and his thoughts quickly went to the blue-haired girl, when he realized that she was clearly busy with her other friends.

Of course, he couldn't just walk over to Haruna and take her away from them just because he wanted to talk to her. That would be rude and Rito wasn't like that.

So, as much as he wanted to, Rito gave up on the desire to speak with her and focused on figuring out his newly-gained powers instead.

But much to his surprise, Haruna herself approached him the moment he sat down and greeted him, before proceeding to ask how he's feeling lately despite the fact that they were together less than 24 hours ago!

Oh well, Rito wasn't going to let a chance to spend time with Haruna go to waste!

On his way home from school, Rito passed by the supermarket to buy some ingredients for tonight's dinner, which Mikan told him about through a text. After paying for the bag of ingredients, the boy left and continued on his way home, but not before spotting a familiar face by the park.

"That's Haruna-chan… what's she doing out here?"

Rito stopped in his tracks when he saw his blue-haired classmate in the distance. Just when he was thinking of saying 'hi' even though they've been together in school earlier, he saw a big, older-looking man wearing a black cap approach her.

"Who's that man with her?" he mumbled in confusion before his eyes widened when he saw his classmate trying to back away from the man, most likely out of fear. "Oh, no…"

A sense of urgency filling him up, which was something that he never experienced before, Rito set his bag of groceries on the ground and quickly ran towards Haruna and the stranger while bringing out his phone.

"Come on, princess… it wouldn't be a bad idea to come with me, you know? I can rock your world and treat you to a good time~"

Haruna's eyes were filled with fear as the man before her licked his lips and sent her a sensual wink.

"P-Please… I don't want any trouble," she pleaded, continuing to take steps back while the man advanced towards her. "J-Just leave me alone…"

"Trouble?" the man chuckled. "There won't be any trouble if you come with me, princess."

"Please, don't…!" Unaware of a rock behind her, Haruna tripped and caused her to fall on her bottom, as she realized that she had nowhere to go. Even if she got up and tried to run away, she would be caught in a matter of seconds. "S-S-Stay away from me! Help! Help!"

The girl simply resorted to crying for help at this point, tears staining her eyes as she tried to look around for someone out there, but almost nobody was around the area at the moment.

"Hey, hey! There's no need to be so loud, princess," the man frowned for a moment, before he flashed a perverted grin at her. "Not while we're out here, that is. I'll make you scream louder in my home instead. Now, come on and stop resisting already…"

Haruna was frozen in place, but her hand was ready to slap this man in the face once he got close, which would allow her to run away. That was her only possible chance of being able to get out of—

"Get away from her!"

A loud voice stopped the man in his tracks and made Haruna widen her eyes when she realized how familiar it was to her.

"That voice… it can't be…"

"What the—?!" the man tried to say, but couldn't get any words out of his mouth when he was met with a roundhouse kick to the jaw, which was strong enough to send him rolling along the ground.

Haruna gasped upon seeing Rito standing before her, looking pissed off. It was an expression that she had never seen before from someone as kind and gentle as him.

"R-Rito-kun…?" she breathed out in shock.

The brown-haired boy quickly turned to her. "Haruna-chan, you should run! I'll keep this guy away from you!"

But Haruna didn't go anywhere.

She just stayed where she was, sitting on the ground and looking at her unexpected savior in disbelief.

"Hey, brat!" The man shouted as he picked himself off the ground, getting Rito's attention. "That wasn't nice, butting into conversations that don't involve you. So I'm gonna give you one chance to turn around and go home, and leave me with that princess who's beside you."

Rito stared at him coldly. "Don't bother, because I'm not going anywhere."

"Tch! You asked for it."

With that, the man charged towards the young boy with the intent on teaching him a lesson, but failed to understand how fast Rito was.

Seeing the man charging at him almost like a man possessed, without any regard for anything else around him, Rito quickly sidestepped and stuck out his foot before him. The man failed to realize it at the last moment, causing him to trip and fall to the ground face-first.

Despite not being someone who takes joy in seeing people get hurt, it actually felt funny to see this man falling for such an obvious trick that Rito had to stifle a laugh. However, the man noticed it as he was getting up and it only served to make him angrier.

Rito felt his 'spider-sense' flaring up as he quickly dodged a flurry of punches from the man, perfectly evading every attempted hit towards him like it was nothing.

It almost felt like the man was going in slow motion too, allowing the boy to be amazed at his own power and marvel at how awesome this was.

Realizing that he needed to fight back, Rito ducked under a right hook and used the momentum to sweep the man's legs from under him, before quickly doing a spinning roundhouse kick that sent his opponent rolling across the ground again.

The man felt his anger rise even more, slamming his fist on the ground before getting up on his feet. "That's it! I'm going to break your face and knock your teeth out!" he seethed, sending a deadly glare towards the boy.

"Then come here and bring it," Rito grinned as he adopted a lazy stance, beckoning for the man to bring it on like a drunk person.

Rito had no idea where this burst of confidence was coming from, but he was liking it. He knew to himself that when it came to standing his ground, he was hopeless. However, now that he was standing up not for himself but rather for Haruna, he had no desire to go back to his old self.

Haruna watched what was happening in complete awe, while still sitting on the ground until now. Her full attention was directed towards Rito, particularly at how he was acting right now.

In all the years that she knew him, he has never gotten angry like this, because he was always smiling and embarrassed all the time.

She never knew that he can fight so well too, but maybe this just shows that she didn't really know him as much as she thought.

The boy's taunt only served to agitate the stranger even further, causing him to unleash another flurry of punches which were all evaded by Rito once again. Rito continued to dodge every attack like an expert, causing frustration to build up inside the man until he couldn't swing his arms anymore out of exhaustion.

Despite that, the man gritted his teeth in rage and shouted at the boy.

"Enough! I'll get what I want and you can't stop—!"

He was cut off by a swift punch to his jaw, knocking him out almost immediately.

As the man fell to the ground with swirls in his eyes, Rito turned his attention towards Haruna, who never left her place and was just staring at what happened with her mouth hanging open.

He approached the girl and knelt down, before offering her a look of concern, which replaced the stone-cold expression that he had a while ago.

"Are you alright, Haruna-chan?"

His voice was enough to snap the girl out of her shock.

"Y-Yes…"

"He didn't touch you anywhere, did he?" asked Rito, worried that he might have arrived too late.

Haruna shook her head slowly. "N-No. He didn't get to because you showed up."

That made Rito sigh in relief.

"Come on. I'll take you home," he offered his hand to the girl, which she took right away and he pulled her up. There was no way Rito was leaving Haruna alone to go home by herself now, not after what almost happened to her.

"But… what about him?" she asked, taking a glance at the unconscious man nearby.

"Oh, the police should be arriving at any moment. I called them before I stopped him from bothering you any further."

"I-I see…" she mumbled, her cheeks turning deep red that she had to turn her head away.

"Let's go."

After fetching his bag of groceries, the pair began to walk towards the girl's house. The blue-haired girl led the way, because Rito didn't have a clue on where she lived, despite being classmates ever since they were kids.

None of them said a thing as they walked through the streets, mainly because Haruna didn't know what to say while Rito was thinking about his newfound abilities [but she didn't know that]. However, Haruna didn't want things to be this way until they reach her house.

She had to say something! Rito just saved her from a molester and her only reaction to that is to stare at him as if she's seen a ghost?

She had to thank him for saving her!

"I never knew you could fight that well, Rito-kun," she began, already feeling tempted to slap herself for such a stupid question, but it was too late for her to take it back now. "Uhm, I-I'm not saying that you're weak, or anything…! I'm just surprised that… you can fight against someone who's way bigger than you… if that makes sense…"

Her cheeks burning red, Haruna was unable to even look at the boy out of embarrassment from her stupid question. Meanwhile, Rito only stared at her for a moment, before he shrugged.

"Well… I'm not fond of showing it," he replied, hiding the fact that he was only able to do those things thanks to his new abilities. "I'd rather avoid a fight if I can help it because I don't want to hurt anyone. But when I saw that guy making you uncomfortable, I couldn't stand it and I got angry. I don't regret what I did, I only regret that I didn't see you any sooner so I could stop him from getting to you."

Upon hearing his answer, Haruna felt her admiration for Rito skyrocket even further, and her heart began to beat faster. Her safety had been his priority instead of his desire not to fight, and it made her feel special.

A smile made its way on her face.

"I-It's okay, Rito-kun. You saved me, that's what matters. I don't know what I would have done if you weren't there. Thank you for showing up when I needed you."

The boy stared at her for a few moments in surprise before he smiled, feeling a sense of accomplishment in his actions. He wasn't fighting for his own sake, he was fighting for Haruna.

To hear her thank him for being there when she needed someone felt gratifying.

After a few more minutes of walking, the two finally reached Haruna's home. Rito made a mental note to remember how to get to this place for future reference, as he watched Haruna knock on the door.

Within a matter of seconds, the door opened, revealing an older version of Haruna with the same eye color and an almost identical face. The only difference between them was that this woman's hair was long and of the color purple.

"Haruna-chan? Y-You're okay!" Tears quickly filled the woman's eyes as she leapt forward and wrapped the younger girl in a hug. "I saw your text! I'm sorry I wasn't there for you! I'm a failure as a big sister, waaaahhhh!"

"Onee-chan! Please stop embarrassing me!" Haruna cried out as she managed to free herself from her older sister's grip. "B-Besides, I wasn't alone. Rito-kun was there to help me."

Haruna gestured towards Rito, who only raised his hand as if to say hello. But then, he suddenly felt nervous when Haruna's sister turned her attention towards him.

"You're Haruna-chan's friend, right?" she asked as she approached the boy, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Uh… y-yes, I am!" Rito replied, feeling slightly awkward that he was being interrogated for some reason.

"I'm Sairenji Akiho," the woman introduced herself, bowing her head deeply. She then resumed her crying fit, placing both of her hands on the boy's shoulders and squeezing them tightly. "Thank you for being there for my sister! I don't know how I could ever repay you!"

"I-It's okay! Even if we weren't friends, I'd still try to help her. I couldn't just leave Haruna-chan while she was pleading for help," he reassured the woman.

"Oho, so this was the boy you were telling me about, Haruna-chan~?"

The teary look that was supposed to be on Akiho's face disappeared like it was nothing, and it was then replaced by a teasing look that's directed to her younger sister.

Haruna blanched, already having a feeling on where this was going. "Onee-chan, d-don't you dare…!" she warned, her cheeks blushing brightly.

Unfortunately, Akiho didn't listen to her and simply slid over to Rito and leaned close to his ear. "Ne, ne, you're Rito-kun, aren't you?"

"Y-Yes, I am."

Akiho smirked at her sister. "Then do you know that Haruna-chan has a—"

Like a speeding bullet, Haruna quickly went behind Akiho and pushed her inside the house, before closing the door with a slam.

"Back into your cage, Onee-chan!" Haruna cried with a blushing face, before she turned around to face her crush and bowed her head. "S-Sorry about that, Rito-kun…! She… has a habit for t-t-teasing…

Rito only stared at her afterwards, so much to the point that Haruna feared she got caught red-handed, until he began laughing out of nowhere.

"Your sister kind of reminds me of Mikan," Rito spoke, smiling at the blushing girl. "She's my younger sister and she loves to tease me whenever I mess up or something. I think it's nice that you're close with your sister, Haruna-chan."

"I guess…" she muttered to herself, becoming flustered from his words again.

Things between them became quiet once again and it bothered Haruna right away. She didn't want things to be like this because it would just end in her getting embarrassed, so as much as she didn't like it, Haruna decided that it's time to say goodbye to her crush.

"T-Thank you again for saving me, Rito-kun."

Rito smiled. "Don't mention it, Haruna-chan. I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Y-Yes," she nodded and waved her hand in farewell, with Rito doing the same as her.

The moment Haruna went inside her house and closed the door behind her, the girl let out a huge sigh of relief.

Rito doesn't seem to suspect anything, so she was safe. She barely managed to get through that and she almost messed up thanks to her older sister.

Speaking of which…

"Mou, why did you stop me from telling him, Haruna-chan? If I told Rito-chan that you liked him, you two could be together now!" Akiho pouted, feeling upset with her sister for stopping her attempt to tell Rito the truth.

"I'll confess to him myself, Onee-chan…" Haruna shook her head and walked past the older woman, having no time for this conversation. "I don't need you to tell him about it in the worst possible way."

"Then why haven't you told him yet?" Akiho pointed out, folding her arms and sending a frown towards her sister.

That question made Haruna stop in her place, as she thought of what to say.

Yeah, she was completely aware of what she felt and she acknowledged that fully, but she couldn't bring herself to confess. Whenever she does think about it, she only ends up becoming too shy and flustered to touch the subject.

But why, exactly?

"B-Because… Because I'm… a-a-afraid that he doesn't see me in the same way," she admitted, her eyes conveying her worry. "What if he likes someone else? What if he doesn't like me at all? I'm scared because… I don't want to lose his friendship. We only started spending more time together yesterday after so many years of being classmates, and… it feels like it's been longer than that. I don't want to lose what we have…"

Akiho could only stare at her sister with a deadpan expression.

"You know, Haruna-chan…" the older woman sweatdropped. "You might be one of the best students in your class, but when it comes to feelings, you're an idiot."

Haruna didn't say anything more.

Rito walked through the street with the biggest smile on his face, feeling very happy and satisfied with how his day went.

First, he had what may be the strangest dream ever, meeting an alien who gave him powers. Second would be discovering those powers upon waking up, where he can still remember being shocked upon seeing himself with muscles. Third would be spending time with his crush in school, who willingly approached him despite talking with her friends before him.

But the best part had to be when Haruna thanked him for saving her from a man who was planning to do unspeakable things towards her.

No, it's because he saved his crush like she was a damsel in distress.

It's because of the sense of accomplishment he got after knowing that Haruna was safe, and that she thanked him for being there when she needed him.

Rito always tried to help people as far as he can remember but now that he also had powers with him, it felt a hundred times better knowing that he was there to help Haruna because he can.

This must be what it felt like to be a hero.

"I have these powers now, but I can't just use them whenever I feel like it. That would be disrespectful to Garia-san and the people of Planet Spider. I can't keep these powers hidden too, because I would only be wasting them if I do…"

Rito looked down at his hand and formed a fist, a look of determination appearing on his face.

And from that moment on, the young boy made a decision that would change his life forever.

"I got it. I'll use these powers to do good. It's the only thing I can do while the Iron Cross Army isn't here yet. I'll help other people as much as I can!"

MINASAN, YONDE KURETE ARIGATŌ! AISHITEMAAAAASUUUUU! *starts playing air guitar*

-Lance