Author's Note: Here's Chapter 5. As promised, we are now on the To Love-Ru side. Although I'll reveal who each hair-color refers to, I'll also be masking Issei's name because Rito does not know who Issei is.

This chapter partially serves as filler because I don't want to rush the events too quickly. I am also writing Chapter 6 so it should not take too long for me to get Chapter 6 ready. Don't worry, Rito and Issei will come to know each other at some point.

As for what will happen next, wait and see to find out. I am still iffy about some parts of this story and probably will be adding some ideas as I go along.

Published 4/13/2015

Chapter 5:

Your Wish Will be Granted I

"What does this piece of paper mean?"

Over the next few days, Rito examines the circle everywhere he goes. He tries to ask Lala, thinking this piece of paper is from her. Lala, an expert in technology and gadgets, has no clue. Momo, another suspect, gets dizzy from looking at the circle and faints. Haruna asks her sister Akito for help. Akito thinks the circle means 'good luck' for Rito and Haruna. Saruyama, his roommate, has the most legitimate idea; he thinks it's an invitation to one of the clubs.

"This must be an invitation for the magic club. The way this circle is drawn looks like something used to chant magic spells. Remember that magazine I showed you which had an enchantress casting a magical spell? It looks like that with the exception that circle is drawn on the table instead of a piece of paper."

"Magic? There's no way something like that could be possible in real life. The depiction on the magazine cover probably isn't magic either. The artist might have added it to make it look attractive." Rito applies the knowledge of his father's manga to judge the cover of the magazine.

"Or, this may be a recruitment flyer for the knights club. This circle is the logo of their club."

"But why would it say 'Your Wish Will be Granted' across the top of the circle?" Rito points to the readable words on the piece of paper.

"Maybe it really is for the magic club. It could be for the fortune-telling club. You give this piece of paper to one of the club members at the booth and they will decipher this for you. I hope it's something good."

Rito looks at both the front and back of the paper. "Anyways, it's strange the person who created this flyer didn't put any details about their club. How are people going to know which booth to go to when club recruitment events start next week?"

"Who knows? It might be one of those secret clubs. Only people who can decipher this puzzle are allowed to join. I hear that these clubs are usually the best clubs to join. The entrance requirement is like a basic test and only the best and brightest students are allowed to join."

"Huh?" Rito is unsure about Saruyama's explanation.

"Don't stress yourself out so much, Rito. There's plenty of time to think about which club you want to join. Just enjoy your first few weeks of class."

"Yeah, I guess that sounds good." Rito and Saruyama part ways as they both head to their classes.

Rito's next class is Calculus. He is not looking forward to this class since he struggled with his homework assignments and didn't do well on the quiz last week. Today, they get their results. As expected, the teacher comes up to Rito with a frown.

"Yuuki-san, I am very disappointed with your score. These questions are mostly review from your math classes in high school. Either the math classes at your high school are subpar or you were lazy and didn't bother to work on math. You better brush up on these basic skills or you will never succeed in college," the teacher ungratefully hands Rito his test. Rito turns it over to find a red 15% on the top right corner of the paper. As Rito looks at his mistakes, he makes comments about his math aptitude.

"I always hated math. I never had time to work on math because my dad always called me to help him work on his next manga chapter. He's so enthusiastic with manga that he's always rushing to meet deadlines for three different stories. Why can't teachers understand the situation I'm in and be more lenient on me?"

"Don't worry Rito, that's why I am here." Rito turns to left and finds Lala, the girl with the long pink-haired, smiling at him. "Even though I was the valedictorian in high school, I only applied to this college so I could be with you."

"How is that going to help? We have a term exam in math in a little over three weeks. There's no way I could learn all this in just three weeks."

"I'll be here too," Haruna, the blue-haired girl, sits on the other side of Rito. "Just like how you learned how to cook, being good at math takes time. You might not do well on this exam, but there are few more exams down the road and that final exam. Lala-san and I could help you catch up."

"Yeah…" Rito still feels stressed thinking about all the math he has to catch up on. Over the next few days, Rito continues to keep his mind off the mysterious circle and work on brushing up his math studies. Rito looks at the circle every time he goes to sleep but manages to keep it from distracting him.

After a week has passed, club recruitment events finally begin. Rito can see rows of booths lined up in front of the cafeteria. As Rito looks for the booth that matches the piece of paper, he finds many students are crowding around some of the booths, notably the Photography Club.

"Hey! These are some of my secret ero shots from last year. Take a look."

"I have a nice video here for your enjoyment."

"Here's is the hottest girl I found in the city of Sainan."

"If you join us, I'll show you the perfect place to get these shots. Here's also a bonus for all new sign-ups."

Rito, hoping not to be a pervert like the current members of the Photography Club, quickly moves away, continuing his focus of trying to identify the club that corresponds to the paper. He walks up and down the aisle and finds no clues.

"There's no club with a symbol that looks like this. All the clubs here have words and pictures that are easy to understand. Maybe Saruyama's other theory is correct. This is probably a puzzle I have to solve. What kind of puzzle is it and how am I supposed to solve it? This circle is starting to look weird."

As Rito observes each booth, he finds his friends already at different club booths. Some of them look like they are signing up. Haruna is trying out the cooking club. Lala is talking to some guys at the Robotics Club. Yui is petitioning to form a Morals Committee Club, hoping to enforce morality standards in Sainan College. Run already has a club waiting for her, the Run-Kyouko Fan Club. Finally, Saruyama is talking to some of the people at the Publications Club, a club that writes magazine and newspaper articles about interesting events around Sainan University.

"Damn it. Everyone else has found the club they want to join. Yet, I'm still here trying to figure out what this stupid circle means. I want to give up on it, but if it was addressed specifically to me, they are probably expecting me to join."

Suddenly, a random girl approaches Rito with flowers.

"Are you Rito Yuuki?"

"Huh?" Rito turns around and finds an older girl looking at him.

"I am Ayane from the Floral Club. Why don't you check out our booth over there?"

"Uh… I guess so." Rito follows Ayane to the Floral Club hoping to take his mind off the piece of paper with a mysterious circle drawn on it. The moment Rito approaches the Floral Club, he is intimidated that he is the only male. Even the club members are all girls. With Rito stopping and looking to turn away, another girl walks up to him.

"You must be Rito Yuuki. Hello, my name Minamo, current president of the Floral Club. Please have a look at some of the flower arrangements we have at our table."

"Umm..." Rito tries to look away but the two girls drag Rito over to the table.

"Come on Rito, don't be shy. We know that you like flowers. You even take delicate care of your plants at home."

"Wait, how do you know about my hobby?" Rito has never met with them before.

"That's simple. I work part time at a flower shop on Della Street. One of our regular customers is Momo Belia Deviluke. She's always looking at our latest flower arrangements and mumbling about you. I started talking to her a little more and she always talked about how great you are as florist. She also contributed some of her flowers in our shop."

"That Momo, I never have an idea what she's doing," Rito does not find it surprising that Momo would do this.

Minamo then shows Rito a flower sitting right next to her. Rito could tell this flower is different because every flower petal has a different color. "This is the Aromahide plant I got from Momo. Doesn't the radiance of colors make itself stand out?"

"Yeah, I guess so…"

"If you come and join this club, I will show you more plants from that I have from Momo."

"Umm… Plants are interesting, but I don't feel comfortable joining this club." Rito is uncomfortable that he is the only male member to join. Since the girls also know about Momo, the two factors give Rito a strong unwelcome feeling.

"What's the matter, Rito Yuuki? It's alright if we're all female. It's always nice to hear thoughts from outsiders such as people from the opposite gender. Come and join; we'll make you feel like home. Momo will also be happy," Ayane advertises Rito to join; before she could continue, Rito has disappeared.

"Phew, that was close. That Momo is sure sneaky. I'm sure this invitation is tied to Momo's harem plan."

Suddenly, Rito comes across a strange booth. This booth is far from the row of booths in front of the cafeteria. Unlike the other club booths, this club booth has no words on any of its signs. It only has a drawing the circle that matches the circle on the mysterious paper that Rito got.

"This must be it. This must be the one of the elite clubs that Saruyama talked about. It's so elite that it's far away from other club booths. If they gave me this flyer personally, they probably want me to join." With that in mind, Rito walks over to the booth.

"Hello," the girl at the booth politely greets Rito. "Welcome to the Dark Magic Club. You're looking to sign up, are you?"

"Umm… I guess." Rito shows the piece of paper to the girl at the booth. "Did you send me this?"

"Ah, yes, this is the recruitment flyer I personally sent you. Congratulations for finding the place. For that, you are invited to join."

"Invited to join? That was quick. Is there anything else I need to do?"

"You're all set. Just sign up here," the person at the booth hands Rito the sign-up sheet. As Rito takes a look at the sign-up, he becomes suspicious. There's no one else on the sign-up sheet. There's also no one but the girl and him at the booth. Rito then asks more serious questions.

"Umm… What does this club do?"

"We learn all sorts of magic spells and try to create our own. Sign up and you'll learn more."

"It's strange that there's no one else here. Who are the other club members?" Rito remembers the fact that Saruyama brought up about 'only the best and brightest students are allowed to join'. Rito is suspicious that no one else is on the sign-up sheet.

"You shall see Rito Yuuki." The moment the girl finishes her sentence, Rito becomes frightened. He recognizes the voice, but isn't able to recall it. Suddenly, a gust of wind surrounds the Dark Magic Club booth. After the wind disappears, Rito finds a new girl standing in front of the booth; this girl is someone he recognizes.

"Hello my servant, welcome back. Did you miss me?"

Rito quickly identifies her. "Wait, you're Nemesis. How did you get here? How did you set up this table?" Rito is surprised that Nemesis would be waiting for him right here during the club recruitment events.

"That was easy. Nobody could notice me in such a disguise. Doesn't it suit me well?" Nemesis is showing off her Trans-ability.

"I think I got the wrong place. I'll see you later, goodbye." Before Rito could walk away from the Dark Magic Club booth, Nemesis continues.

"Don't leave yet, Rito Yuuki. We're not finished. You wanted to see who the other club members are. Let me introduce them to you." Rito hears a loud thud. He turns around and spots another alien he recognizes. He remembers how she caused a big chaos at Sainan High School before.

"Yo Rito Yuuki. Long time no see. Guess who is back?"

Rito takes a while to realize who he is talking to.

"Wait, are you Darkness?"