Chapter 29 : Tempus Fugit - Dreadfully rude.
I gaze at the results of our midterm exams and instantly feel a bit proud of myself, allowing a little satisfied smile to curl up my lips.
Seventh ranked of the first years.
Yes, I didn't have to do much about the coursework, since it was mostly rehearsal for me and I wasn't a total dumbass, but I still had to pull my fingers out in history and literature while juggling the Kendo club, my daily gym sessions and my personal Psyker training on the side.
All of that while taking into account that, while, for some reasons, the school week was only five days long in Kuoh High School compared to the rest of Japan, yet the workload was denser to compensate.
Saying that I was glad for my college-acquired methodology was putting it mildly, since I'm pretty sure I would've tanked my grades badly without it.
I let my eyes roam the rest of the board out of curiosity.
Sona is, of course, ranked first, like the good little overachiever she is, and the second spot is held by her Shinra-tagalong.
The third name rings a bell of obscure lore and makes me quirk an eyebrow as I read it.
Hanakai Momo?
I squint a little, deep in thoughts.
…Isn't she one of the future peerage members of the Sitri heiress?
I wonder if Sona already put her claws into her or if this particular ranking is the reason why she caught her interest in the first place?
I shake my head a little, before looking back at the board, only giving a cursory glance to my school years names-
-finally finding those I'm interested in a few seconds later.
Himejima Akeno: 17th place.
And-
"Prima-chan! I did it!" A certain overexcited devil not-quite squeals next to my ear, before glomping me into a hug.
-Gremory Rias: 23th place.
Out of eighty-ish first years, certainly not a bad outcome.
My lips quirk up a little.
"Yes, you did, Rias." I agree with a smile, giving the overly proud redhead a well deserved head pat, "Yes, you did."
"Mou!" The heiress pouts back at me, eliciting a titter from her eternal shadow next to the both of us, "Don't sell yourself short, Prima-chan! I would have had it worse if you hadn't helped me!"
Because, yes, yes I did.
The poor thing had viciously ambushed me with the puppy dog eyes attack two weeks ago and asked me to help her review her own coursework, because she was a bit in over her head, and I folded like a wet towel in front of this particular soulful look.
I've said it once, I'll say it again: there's a reason the girl has her brother almost entirely wrapped around her finger.
Her exclamations, said a bit louder than her usual volume, elicits a slew of reactions around us, and I feel the emotions of the crowd change almost instantly.
Where before it was mostly variation of Joy, Dismay, Pride and Shame, as the attention of my fellow yearmates goes back to the board, it quickly shift to Surprise, Disbelief and Astonishment, with the odd Jealousy and one little ball of seething, dark, Hatred as the outliers.
I shrug the auditory onslaught of The Voices with practiced ease, dismissing most of them, before zero-ing on the source of the Blood-Red taint-
-my eyes landing on the girl whose nose I broke on the second day.
Our eyes meet, a snarl distorts her lips-
-only for it to melt like snow under the sun almost instantly and her complexion to whiten as Outrage, Sadism and Glee rise next to me, prompting me to give a quick side-glance at Akeno, which, behind the back of her King as the heiress keeps exholting my virtues, is looking at the ponce whose name I forgot with vicious intent.
…Well, if I had any doubts the two had 'a little chat' a few months ago, those can now be safely buried.
Judging it more important than giving the entitled bitch who apparently still thought herself better than I any more of my attention, I go back to the much more important task at hands.
"-and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have gotten the good answers on the Meiji era without your help." Rias rambles, still hugging me, apparently giving no fucks for propriety right about now.
I huff a little laugh, before shaking my head slowly.
"That's just rote memorization, Rias." I gently chide her, even as I put a little bit of distance between the two of us -having her assets pressed against me like that makes me a little uncomfortable, considering that I already have a girlfriend-, "What you need isn't my help, not really, but a good methodology and doing regular review sessions."
"I know!" She not-quite whines, making me trade a little exasperated glance with the half-fallen next to me, "But it's so boring!"
Yes, it fucking is.
Guess what, though?
So it is for absolutely everyone.
"Not much of a choice if you want a good job down the line." I answer with a nonplussed shrug-
-smirking a little internally as I see the Gremory heiress tenses for half a beat, before smiling widely.
"Ah ah, you're right, Prima-chan! It is important!" She lies through her teeth, to my great amusement.
Before she can dig herself even deeper into her grave, someone, or rather, two someones, steps next to us.
"Rias, Himejima-san, Hanako-san," Sona smoothly injects herself in the conversation, Shinra Tsubaki on her heels and giving us a short, quick bow, a gesture instantly mirrored by the other Queen in the premise, "Congratulations are in orders, I see."
"Sona-chan!" The crimson headed missile next to me beeline, then glomp her other friend, flustering the Sitri heiress a bit if the dusting of her cheeks is anything to go by, "I did it!"
Rias pauses, tilting her head slightly, before shrugging, not giving a single fuck that the dark haired girl is sputtering at her to let her go.
"Well, I wouldn't have done that well without Prima-chan's help," Oh boy, here we go again, "But still!"
Her statement apparently makes the other heiress pause in her struggle, her attention zeroing on me.
"...I see." She hums, prompting me to quirk an interrogative eyebrow at her.
I mean, I know it was a huge surprise for the rest of the room -apparently-, but come on, girl!
I'm not a delinquent, I swear!
"Forgive me if it is a little abrupt," Sona preambles, her eyes instantly locked on me, "But would you be interested in a spot at the student council?"
I, very slowly, blink at her, all the while, right next to her, Rias gapes at her friend's boldness.
"Sona-" The crimson headed devil starts, a smidgen of anger already visible on her face-
-that I cut off instantly.
I can fight my own battles, thank you very much.
"Say what?" I drawl.
"I'm going to run for the presidency of the Student Council next week," The Sitri heiress starts, her volume high enough to bypass Rias' rant, her fellow King now positively fuming, her fists on her hips as she glowers at her childhood friend, "I could use a hard working individual like yourself with a vested interest in Kuoh's High-School sport's scene-" Read, my presence at the Kendo club and the burgeoning rumors telling that I'm an ace in the making, "-as a mediator between the StuCo and the various clubs.
"You're clearly dedicated and focused, and that's the kind of people I want to work with." Read, pilfer in my peerage, "So, what do you say?"
I take a good, long look at the Sitri heiress, noting the straightness of her pose, the steel in her eyes, the absolute certainty that her gamble -one which can possibly cost her a friendship, I might add- is going to pay off.
In the corner of my eyes, I see the visible dismay on Rias' face, Akeno, having stepped next to her at some point, a hand on her King's shoulder, looking like she just swallowed a lemon.
I open my mouth, the crimson headed devil that I came to call inwardly my friend over the last two months visibly cringing.
"Hard pass." I answer flatly.
Sona blinks.
Rias blinks.
The peanut gallery around us, because the dumbass had to actually pull that kind of shit in the middle of the fucking hallway, blink.
"What?" The purple eyed girl slowly articulates after a beat.
I cross my arms in front of me in a X gesture.
"I've said: hard pass." I reiterate, my arms dropping alongside me before I explain myself any further, "I'm too busy to waste any more of my time on school grounds than I already do, what with the Kendo Club taking a large portion of it, and my various commitments outside of it."
"B-But, what about your resume? Think about your future!" She insists, a bit forcefully.
First, girl, how can you be this certain that you'd win the election in the first place?
This is, like, the fourth time the two of us ever talked, so, admittedly, I don't really know if she has already laid the groundwork to claim her future lair, but still.
A quick glance around us is telling me, if the flabbergasted expressions of the aforementioned peanut gallery are anything to go by, that she probably already started her campaign.
And she just forced me to reject her 'magnanimous offer' in front of roughly all the school.
Fucking.
Great.
"Shitori-san," I start, feeling the beginning of a headache rearing its ugly head, and for once it isn't because The Voices feel neglected, "I cannot express how little I care about that. That kind of thing means nothing if you intend to work on foreign soil, which I do, so I'm failing to see your point.
"The cost/benefit ratio simply isn't in my favor, so I'm afraid I'll have to reject your offer."
That, plus the fact that I'm still largely viewed with distrust by the school at large, bar Sakura, Rias, Akeno and the girls of the Kendo Club.
So, as far as I'm concerned, the rest of the school can go fuck themselves. I'm not commiting my time to help those little entitled bitches.
The Sitri heiress' mouth flaps open for a beat, and, man, do I really wonder what is going in her head right now,-
-before, with a determined expression on her face and her brows furrowed, she points a finger at me, which, rude, before uttering two words.
"A wager." She states.
"I beg you pardon?" I answer, blinking a little owlishly.
His rotten bones, I sure hope she isn't going to say what I think she's about to say-
"A chess match, if I win, you join my team, if you win, you're free to go."
-but, apparently, common sense has left the chat, since she, in fact, says the very same thing I expected.
I can't help it.
I snort, loudly and derisively.
"Right, no." I answer flatly.
"Excuse me?" She not-quite shrieks, prompting my brows to furrow-
-only to realize a moment later why she would be incensed.
The Devils born post-Great War solve their differences through games, Rating Games in particular, but games all the same.
Rejecting a thrown gauntlet like that?
Probably a big no-no in their society.
Sadly for her, I don't give any single flying fuck about their ass-backward etiquette.
"I've literally nothing to gain from this situation, so I'll have to, once again, reject your proposition.
"I mean," I snort once again, "Who would be dumb enough to gamble their future on a chess match in the very first place?"
Sona gapes at me while I have to very strongly bite the inside of my cheeks not to laugh at her absolutely poleaxed look, her Queen next to her throwing me the dirtiest glare possible.
Fair enough, but it's not like I really care what the Principal Clan's reject feel about me in the first place.
The bell rings, making me perk up.
"Right, this was an enlightening talk," Or not, "But I have to go back to class."
I about-face like a champ, Bewilderment positively stinking up the hallway as a whole as everyone watches me do so, only to throw a glance over my shoulder-
-my eyes locking with Rias' own, a slightly conflicted, yet happy, expression on her face.
I jerk my head in our classroom's direction.
"Rias, you coming?"
"J-Just a moment," She answers with a smile, "Go first, I'll be right behind you."
I nod at her, before making my way through the still mute crowd.
Before I leave, however, I can hear the Gremory heiress seeth at her friend that they'll 'talk about this later'.
His rotten bones, I sure as hell wouldn't want to be in her place in a few hours.
"I can't believe you did this to me!" Rias shrieks at her fellow King, positively incensed, her teacup held so tightly in her hands her knuckles are white.
Her fellow heiress only looks at her without any outward display of remorse from her seat on one of the Occult Research Club's couches, her Queen standing behind her, her own expression flat and neutral.
"Prima-chan is my friend, and you just tried to poach her, right in front of my face." The Gremory heiress rants, and, if the pinched expression on her own Queen's face is anything to go by, the outrage is shared.
"Is she, really?" The dark haired girl seated primly in front of her mildly points out, one of her eyebrows raised, the statement cutting Rias short, "Then why are you still waiting?"
"What?" The crimson headed devil answers, a bit confusedly.
"I've asked, why do you still wait to invite her?" The Sitri heiress elaborates, an annoyed frown on her face, "The girl is clearly hard-working, talented and resourceful, so why are you still playing pretend with her?
"I apologize if I was mistaken, but after two months, I thought that you had simply decided against it for some reasons and decided to try my luck. She would have been a good addition.
"Even if she's dreadfully rude, but that can be worked upon."
"Enough." Rias growls, motes of Power of Destruction escaping her control, their black-reddish hue lighting up the room more than the artful candelabras it is furnished with, "For your information, I haven't tried yet, despite the fact that she gets along with the rest of my peerage," Well, the girl with a side-shave still hadn't met with Gasper, but she was certain she'd like him! "Because there are some complications."
"And what can those be, pray tell?" The purple eyed girl answers, a bit derisively, Rias already knowing that her fellow heiress was about to launch herself into a lecture about how her laziness was showing and that she was procrastinating.
Which was plainly wrong! She had never worked this hard with her peerage before her talk with Prima-chan earlier this year!
But Sona had her own bias and attitude, so that was expected of her, really. As long as you didn't do something in front of her very eyes, she wouldn't believe you.
Case in point: she had scoffed, multiple times, when Rias had told her that Prima-chan was smart!
The Gremory heiress opens her mouth, an ardent rebuke threatening to escape her lips-
-only for Akeno to cut her off, answering the other King's query a tad more diplomatically than she would have.
But she was mad, so give her some slack here!
"Hanako-san has shown herself to be a very fervent agnostic." The classic Japanese beauty next to her answers, a little more frostily than usual, "My King judged, after consulting with me," The 'and not you' is left unsaid, but clearly heard if the Sitri heiress' frown is anything to go by, "That it would be better to wait for an invitation after she had been eased into the idea of the supernatural's existence."
The statement makes the second King of Kuoh pause.
"Oh." She finally says after a beat, a complicated expression on her face as she locks eyes with Rias once more, "I'm sorry, Rias, I wasn't aware."
The Gremory heiress, still puffed up, her cheeks red, deflates a little with a mighty sigh.
For a beat, silence falls in the room, as the two peerage's heads exchange an uncomfortable glance.
"So," Sona starts, a little hesitantly, "How is it going so far?"
"...Not well," Rias answers, a put upon expression on her face, "Prima-chan is very stubborn, only believing that the Yokais are 'tall tales' and the Abrahamic Factions are 'human's inventions', even if she likes the imagery."
"Well, I do believe she's in for a bit of a shock, then." The Sitri heiress commiserates.
For a while, nobody says anything around the table.
"Do you have any update about this mysterious magus of yours?" The glass wearing girl ends up asking, hitching her aforementioned glasses higher on her nose in a bid to shrug off the discomfort of the situation.
"No," Rias groans, her previous animosity forgotten, since it, after all, steamed from a misunderstanding, "We haven't stumbled upon another case. They probably left Kuoh after the second stray's death."
"A shame," Sona muses aloud, before taking a sip of her tea, "I would've liked to discuss the spellwork required to do such a thing with them."
And on this note, the useful talks about the going on of their shared territory resumed, the previous issues forgotten.
[AN: A pinch of missunderstanding here, a dash of drama, a call-back to previous events...
Man, I'm sure cooking something here!
Hope you enjoy, xoxo]