Haru stirred into consciousness on the sofa. He couldn't remember much prior to being knocked out besides an explosion and searing pain all over. His hearing was muffled and his mouth was dry. Slowly he opened his eyes to see Rias and the others looking at him with concerned expressions. Well, except Koneko, since he was a perv and all. He sat up and swung his legs over the seat and rested his feet on the floor.
"Haru!" Rias called in relief, rushing over to him. "Are you feeling okay? Asia healed you but are you in any pain?"
Haru shook his head, something he immediately regretted. "Besides a pounding headache, I'm fine." He looked around the room and only saw Rias, Akeno, Kiba, Koneko and Asia. But no sign of Ruto or Rossweisse.
"Where are the other two?" he asked, placing a hand on his head.
"I haven't seen Ruto since he brought you in here. I don't know where Rossweisse went, but she's probably scolding him right now. She seems to be the only one she'll listen to." Saying his name left a bitter taste on Rias' tongue. She was trying to trust him, but he did something insane and endangered her peerage every time they were in close proximity.
Why do Sirzechs trust him so much? He's dangerous, unpredictable. I don't know why he fought us. Was it some kind of display of power? Or was it to show us something else? she thought tiredly. Come to think of it, he didn't attack me once. He had plenty of opportunities, so why didn't he?
She then came to a conclusion that enraged her. He doesn't see me as a threat. He treated me as a mere inconvenience not worth his effort out there. That bastard!
"Oh, Haru, you're alive after all." Everyone turned to the small kitchenette to see Ruto with a half-eaten sandwich in his hands.
Rias turned to him with a furious gleam in her eyes. "You've got some explaining to do. If you think you can endanger my peerage with no explanation at all, then you're sorely mistaken." she growled. The pressure in the room rose as her temper did. Ruto was not affected in the slightest and took another bite of his tuna-crunch sandwich.
"So I got a little rough with them, what do you expect from actual enemies?" he said nonchalantly. Rias stormed towards him until she was right in his face. Ruto raised an eyebrow at her. "Does personal space mean anything to you?"
"I'm tired of having to constantly have my guard up around you Ruto. You do nothing but show disrespect, treat my peerage like punching bags, and somehow expect me to keep quiet. I don't give a damn if you don't respect me, but my peerage has done nothing to you that deserves what you did to them today!" she bellowed at him. He still remained passive.
"You don't understand the situation you're in, do you?" he asked succinctly. "Your peerage is weak. You are weak. Sure, you can kill a few strays, but they're at the bottom of the food chain. Phenex will decimate you and make the rest of your life miserable if you don't win this." he said calmly.
He stood up straight. "So I suggest you shut your mouth and listen to me. Don't question me, just do as I say and you'll come out of this just peachy." he said with a scowl. "That is unless you actually want to lose, that's on you. I don't care either way."
The room was silent until Haru spoke up. "Rias, we should trust him." She looked at him as if he'd gone mad. "Now hear me out. When we were fighting, Ddraig spoke to me. She said that Ruto did what he did to get us to unite and work together. He wanted us to work as a unit to take him down." he explained.
He had everyone's attention now. He looked at Ruto who just smirked at him. "She also told me that we weren't meant to win either. She'd read his power output and told me that he's at the strength of a Cadre level Fallen Angel without using magic or Divine Dividing."
"He's not lying you know." Ruto supplied to the shocked group of Devils. "Just for this exercise I had to water down my power to a quarter of its total strength. And now I know not to take any of you so lightly in the future." he said before finishing off his sandwich.
"So what abilities are you hiding from us?" Rias inquired. Ruto smirked again.
"Now that'd be telling. I think it's better if I just show you when the occasion arises." he said before stretching with a yawn. "Now I don't know about you guys, but this human needs his sleep." With that, he grabbed a coffee and went to his room.
Rias looked around at her peerage to see all of them looked worn out. Whether it's actively fighting or getting blown up, it was still tiring. "Now that's an example of his I can follow. C'mon, we should go to bed ourselves."
As she walked, she couldn't help but notice how easy it was to forget that Ruto was indeed just a human. Wait… did his hair suddenly get longer?'
Ruto sipped his coffee as he opened his door. Upon looking inside, he found that Rossweisse hadn't left at all. She'd actually fallen asleep. He'd never seen her sleeping and it made his heart soar at the cuteness of it. The tiny breaths and occasional soft snores made him smile, as did her peaceful face.
He set his cup down next to the lamp at the side of the bed. As much as I wish I didn't have to, my sense of chivalry demands I take her to her own room. Dammit. he thought.
Well, at least you took the plunge and got the prize out of it. That particular stage in your relationship will come later, just pace yourself for now. Albion said. Ruto couldn't help but agree with her logic.
Ruto put his right arm under Rossweisse' back and his left under her legs and held her up bridal style. He backed up against the door to open it, careful not to hit the Valkyrie's head off of the door frame. He silently went down the hallway and came to a sudden stop.
Ah balls, I don't know which room's hers. Ruto thought irritably. He went to a random door and knocked it twice using his head. The door opened showing Asia on the other side.
"Oh, hello Ruto. You need something?" she asked in her usual kind voice. Ruto gave her a small smile.
"Uh, yeah actually. I don't know where her room is." he said, referring to Rossweisse. Asia stepped out of the room.
"Follow me, it's just down this hallway." she began to lead him to the room in question.
"Thanks Asia, I owe you one." he said gratefully as he followed her. They stopped at Rossweisse's room, which was around the corner from Ruto's on the left. He opened the door quietly, stepped in and placed her on her bed. He walked back out cautiously and gently closed the door.
He turned and saw Asia was still there. He'd not spoken to Asia much, and decided he wanted her opinion about today.
"Hey, Asia. I wanna know something." he began. She nodded to let him continue. "Do you think I'm a bastard for what I do? Like earlier for instance. I nearly got Haru killed, injured Koneko and Akeno and pissed off Rias even more. Am I doing the right thing?" he asked, guilt making itself known in his voice.
"I think you're doing your best to help us." he looked at her in surprise. "I know your methods are brutal, but I've seen results in Haru already. I saw it all, and I know that the team effort was… well, lacking. Besides, I know you'd never intentionally hurt any of us without a good reason. I think if you keep it up, we'll be ready to face Riser in no time." she said honestly with a bright smile on her face.
Ruto sighed, happy with her answer and felt reassured. "Thanks. I needed that. Now I have to repay you, so I'm gonna let you know something secret." he smirked and beckoned her to come closer as he leant down.
He put his lips next to her ear. "Haru likes you." he whispered, getting a gasp from the nun. "And as a personal favour to you, I'm gonna help you out with the dense idiot. But you gotta promise me that you don't let him know I told you anything. Deal?" he stood straight and held out a hand to shake. She tentatively took his hand and shook.
"Alright, now that's done, I'm gonna get some sleep. Fighting so many at once is tiring." he said as he began the walk back to his room.
Soon he was sitting on his bed, his right arm outstretched with his palm facing him. A white magic circle appeared in his palm, and voices came through. It was the listening circle he'd left on Siris.
"Hey Mira, has Lord Phenex got the Phoenix tears yet?" came the voice of Siris.
"Well yeah, why wouldn't he? He wouldn't have us go into a rating game without them. Seriously, their healing effects are awesome. Gives us a serious advantage over other peerages." she said confidently.
"It's just that, well… I don't feel too good about our chances this time. I can't explain it, but I feel like this one's gonna be really close. Especially since they've got both Red and White with them. That Ruto guy's pretty smart going by what I've heard, and apparently is a master at strategy."
Mira scoffed. "So what? Lord Riser has never actually lost a game by being defeated and this time will be no different. Besides, what's up with part of your winning conditions? If we win, you get Ruto as a prize?" Ruto spat his coffee out when he heard that.
"It's not like I like him or anything, it's just so I can say I helped in the rating game." she feebly defended.
"Yeah, right." Mira replied deadpan. "Anyways, nothing but holy water or other holy items, you know that.'"
Ruto closed his hand and shut off the listening circle. He grinned evilly, and went into a full fit of maniacal laughter. "Oh Mira you walking plot device, you just did all the work for me."
He took out his phone and opened up his contacts. He scrolled down to Siris' number and called. After a few moments, he heard her.
"Hello, who is it?" she asked.
"Hey Siris, been a little while." he greeted jovially.
"O-oh… Ruto, hey. Something you wanted to talk about? "
"As a matter of fact, there is..."