Chapter 18: Arrow through the Heart

Adrian was hardly staying awake the next day at school after his nightmare about the "Bone Dragon," and his friends noticed.

"Hey, you aren't looking too good Adrian," said Calvin, noticing Adrians change in posture; him slouching at his desk, bags under his eyes, and his voice growing deeper, almost like a snore,

"I'm fine Calvin," said Adrian, "Just tired, that's all."

"Why not just take a nap in the nurses office? That should help," said Damon, being uncharacteristically helpful. Adrian gave Damon a raised eyebrow,

"You can do that?"

"Yes you can," said Issei, confirming Damons claim. Adrian raised his remaining eyebrow,

"Huh...you definitely couldn't get away with that in New York," he said, rising up from his desk and making his way to the nurses office. Once inside he found the rows of beds with curtains around each individual one, and after seeing plenty of options, decided to degenerate his coat and shirt and lay down in the closest bed, falling fast asleep.

A few hours later...

Adrian slowly woke up, but he realized he was no longer alone in the bed. Now, dozing sweetly, was Rias, as bare as the day she was born. Adrian blinked twice, and subconsciously brought an index finger to her hair, pushing a few strands back behind her ear. She smiled and her eyes fluttered open,

"Oh, hi Adrian," she yawned.

"Hey beautiful," said Adrian.

"I'm sorry, I felt a little sleepy so I thought I'd grab a quick nap. You were already here so I thought I'd join you," she said.

"Which I have absolutely no problem with, but um," he looked over her shoulder, "Do you normally have your wings out while you nap?" Rias looked over her own shoulder, and sure enough, her wings were unfurled.

"Oops," she quickly drew them back in, and returned her attention to Adrian. "Sorry, silly things sometimes have a mind of their own."

"No it's fine, but I'm just a bit curious," said Adrian, "Do you normally sleep in the nude?" Rias giggled at the question,

"I can't sleep otherwise," she said. She then cast Adrian a seductive glance, "Do you like what you see?" She asked, making Adrian blush.

"I'd be lying if I said otherwise," said Adrian.

"Do you WANT what you see?" She asked, being more direct. Adrian blushed harder, but kept his composure,

"That's very tempting," he admitted, "But I'd rather take you on a few dates first, get to know you more, and then, THEN once we've gotten to know each other better, we could give it a whirl." At first Rias was stunned, but then she smiled,

"Very respectable of you Adrian," she said. "Tell you what, if you get this pact tonight, I'll make sure you get those dates."

Several hours later...

Both Adrian and Rias were now standing on a massive rune created by Akeno,

"Are you sure you want to come along for the ride President?" Adrian asked.

"It never hurts to let a seasoned pro accompany your side for a pact," said Rias.

"As you wish."

"Good luck Adrian!" Cheered Asia, whom Adrian smiled towards.

"Don't fuck it up!" Said Damon, whom Adrian flipped the bird towards him in response. Wesker and Calvin hit a double slap to the back of his head as a result.

"Make sure you get that pact," said Katrina, to which Adrian nodded.

"If you see a hot girl while you're there, make sure you get her number for me!" Called Issei, making Adrian shoot a glare. The remaining ORC members, consisting of Koneko and Kiba, simply watched as the two were about to be sent,

"Get ready you guys!" Said Akeno, "I'm sending you now!" And with the fall of her hand, both Rias and Adrian dissappeared from the room.

Both Rias and Adrian aappeared in a room, with the walls covered in a variety of Japanese decor, from artwork to maps, and even swords and armor,

"Interesting. Whoever summoned us must have an eye for Japanese culture," said Adrian. "Wonder where they're at?" His question was quickly answered when a large set of samurai armor began to rise up, startling Adrian to the point of hiding Rias behind himself, ready to defend her.

"Um, you're the devils, right?" Asked a girls voice from inside the armor. Adrian blinked, and decided to let Rias free.

"Yeah...not gonna lie, you startled me," said Adrian.

"I'm Susan-San, I'm a foreign exchange student, I LOVE Japanese culture, it is totally cool She finished her sentence in fluent Japanese, making Adrian raise his eyebrow,

"You really like the culture that much, eh?" Adrian asked in the same level of Japanese. Susan practically beamed through her helmet,

"Yes very much! I'm so glad you're a nice devil! Because if you were cruel, I'd have to slice you up like sushi!" She then swung out her katana, almost slicing through Adrian, but he caught the blade with his index and middle finger, flipping the sword into the air, and catching it by the hilt. Susan-San was in shock, as was Rias, which made her whisper in a rushed tone,

"Adrian, what are you-?"

"This is an interesting sword," commented the Devil Virus, inspecting the gleam bouncing off the blade, "No damage to the blade, perfectly sharpened and polished," he turned his attention to the swords owner, "Do you care for the blade yourself?"

"Oh no! I got it like that off of eBay!" Said Susan-San, snapping out of her shock. Adrian looked disappointed,

"Oh...well regardless," he turned the sword back around so the hilt was aimed at Susan-San, "It's a very nice sword." The samurai girl took her sword back, "But I trust you didn't summon me and my master just to discuss swords, so how may house Gremory serve you?" Soon all three of them were kneeling on the floor, cups of green tea on a small table in front of them, and Susan-San san grew embarrassed once she finally got around to telling them what she needed,

"Well, the thing is, I left my notebook at school and I'm too scared to go and get it by my self!" She cried. Adrian furrowed his brow,

"You mean to tell me you summoned two creatures of darkness, to guide you through the same exact darkness, for a notebook?" Susan-San then slammed her hands on the table, glaring through her helmet,

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND IT IS SCARY OUT THERE!!" She shouted, and went back to crying. Adrian looked to Rias, wanting her input, but she had her eyes closed, and wore a look of sympathy. Adrian sighed, and stood up,

"Alright Susan-San, lets go get you a notebook," said Adrian, hiding his reluctance. The Devil Virus and Samurai Girl made a quick walk to the school, Susan-San having a brief panic attack in the process, and a quick walk back, the notebook was returned safe and sound. Susan-San thanked Adrian in Japanese while they briefly commerced as Rias began to open the transportation circle, until Susan-San came up to Adrian with another request,

"I hate to bother you, but there is one more thing I need you to do!" Adrian motioned for Rias to put a stop to the portal, and she does,

"What else do you want done?" Soon the three were seated once again, and Susan-San was explaining about her crush on a boy, and her obvious shyness keeping her from speaking to him. After a moment of thought, Adrian already thought of a solution,

"Try a love letter. It's one way of letting him know how you feel, and you don't even have to face him."

"Daijobu! I'll give it a try!" In no time at all, Susan-San had a box of black paint, a paint brush, and a large white paper, "'Shall I compare thee to a summers day?'" She says aloud as she writes, "Oh this is going to be perfecto!""Not to get critical," Adrian whispered to Rias, "But...shouldn't it be something a little more original?"

"I think it's great," defended Rias, "The only thing that matters is the feeling you communicate, not the form." Adrian watched her, just as carefully as he chose his next words,

"If you say so...but wouldn't using someone elses feelings be a bit of a...well...a bit of a cop out?"

"It's hard..." said Rias, turning away, "...to say the way you feel. It's so hard...but it feels good." Rias then went into her own dream world again, and Adrian felt like he was slowly piecing together the puzzle that was bothering Rias. She WANTS to tell him, but doesn't know how to. He heard Susan-San exclaim in Japanese, and he turned just in time to see Susan-San aiming a drawn bow with her note tied to an arrow out the window.

"HOLY FUCK YOU'RE SENDING THE LETTER ON AN ARROW?!" His question was answered when all three of them were waiting in the park the next morning, awaiting an answer from the recipient of the arrow. "I can't believe you seriously sent the letter on an arrow," said Adrian, not removing his hand from his face.

"Looks like he's here," said Rias, making Adrians eyes turn up, and his jaw to drop. Approaching them was someone in a full medieval suit of armor...with the arrow stuck in his helmet. Adrian brought his palm back up to his face,

"You shot him...in the head...with the damn arrow?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I have good aim, I tried to think of other ways and this seemed like the best way!" Susan-San said. Adrian was now hitting his head with his palm, mentally scolding himself for not simply saying the word "No."

And now Mr. Medieval looks ready to kick some ass, thought Adrian. Both he and Rias stood out of the way as the two armored figures stood face to face.

"I have pursued your letter milady, and I am shot through the heart, not the head!" Said the knight, and Susan-San practically squealed in delight. The two were sweet talking to each other as Rias and Adrian watched on, the latters eyes growing disproportionate and his jaw slacked as he held his hands out in front of him, wondering if what he was seeing was really happeneing.

"Un...believable," he finally managed to utter quietly to himself, his face returning to normal as he hung his head, giving up on his sanity for the moment, but he soon regained it as he looked to Rias, and saw her smiling, truly happy. Soon both devils were back at the ORC, the president holding a photo of the two armored love birds.

"Seems like a match made in armor," said Rias with a smile,

"Now that I'm far enough away to think straight, they do make a cute couple," said Adrian.

"So what do you think?"

"About?"

"About being together with the person you love more than anything in the world?" From the look on her face, from the way she asked the question, Adrian finally pieced together the puzzle that was Rias' recent behavior.

"It sounds lovely to me," said Adrian, "In fact, just having someone to love you for who you are sounds good to me, rather than hanging around someone who doesn't love you, understand you, or barely even know you, and once they finally DO know you, they turn and run...forgive me, I guess I speak more from experience on that last part."

"No it's fine, in fact, I thank you for that insight," Rias said gratefully. "Now, I believe you deserve a reward for getting this pact?" Adrian smiled,

"Just a small date to begin with," said Adrian, and he turned to the radio in the corner of the room (courtesy of Damon and his boredom), and began to cycle through the stations until he found a slow song, just barely beginning. "So how about just a small dance?" He offered his hand to Rias, and she accepted it with a blush, and the Devil Virus brought the Empress of Annihilation close to himself, and the two began to slowly dance with each other, leaving each other with a small smile on each others face. They continued to dance, while Adrian began to think,

Maybe the reason Rias has been so distant lately is because she's looking for love, thought Adrian. The song was over before they knew it, and once again they were looking into each others eyes, and with no one to interrupt, they finally drew closer to each other, eyes closed, lips about to touch...

"We're back!" Rias and Adrian stopped right when their lips were about to touch, for the entire Occult Research Club had just entered the room,

"Oh shit! Looks like Adrian was going to get himself some!" Said Damon.

"Well, both of them are young and single, so it only made sense," said Wesker, polishing his sunglasses once again.

"I thought it was going to be Adrian and Asia," said Calvin, voicing his surprise.

"I thought so too," said Katrina, sharing Calvins expression.

"Maybe he likes girls with bigger boobs," said Issei, voicing his opinion.

"I knew this would happen," Asia mumbled to herself sadly.

"Sorry for barging in," said Kiba, being one of the last two to enter the room.

"What did I miss?" Asked Koneko, sticking her head around the doorway. Akeno then walked up to the almost embraced devils, still wearing her signature smile,

"You look like you got kicked in the balls Adrian. Was the kiss that bad?" Adrian turned to the group, ready to explode, but quickly simmered down, calm enough to speak to his friends nicely,

"Guys, in case you haven't noticed, I didn't even kiss Rias yet."

"'Yet,'" the entire club repeated back. Adrian had no words to counter, but was simply spun back around by Rias, and she gave him a firm but gentle kiss on his lips, stunning the entire club (save for Wesker who doesn't seem to be surprised by anything). Rias finally pulled her lips from Adrians, the Devil Virus glowing bright red.

"The club evidently wanted to see that happen, so I figured I'd give it to them," said Rias, and she continued, "I know you can't choose between me and Asia, so I'm not going to make you choose. Just know that whatever decision you do make, I'll be right here." She then gave him a tight hug, which he numbly accepted, still half in shock. Akeno, like the rest of the ORC, was surprised,

She totally digs him! She thought to herself.

If Adrian cares for her like he cares for me, thought Asia, about to take a step towards them, then that means...! She had a hand placed on her shoulder, seeing it was Katrina.

"It's best to let them have this moment," she said, "He'll come around."