Ruto was lying back against the arm of the sofa with Rossweisse lying against his chest, both with their eyes riveted to the screen. They were both idly eating pop-tarts as the finale approached. Just as the end was in sight, a silver magic circle appeared in the centre of the room. Grayfia stood there and watched them, waiting for them to acknowledge her presence.
"…"
They didn't notice her. She cleared her throat, still unnoticed. Then louder, still to be unnoticed. So in the end she sighed, grabbed the end of the sofa Ruto was lying on and flipped it. He tumbled over the back of the sofa which startled Rossweisse into clinging to it. She put the sofa back down and Ruto looked at her as he stood up. He gave her an icy glare.
"Excuse me, but one does not simply interrupt Game of Thrones." Ruto said tersely. Grayfia shook her head with a sigh.
"I had to take myself away from it for the Rating Game, so you can suffer too." she responded with just as much annoyance. "Luckily I record my shows so I'll just watch it when I get back." she smirked.
Ruto's eyes widened with horror as he had a daunting revelation. He hadn't recorded the final episodes of the season and he hadn't renewed his Netflix membership. "Son of a bitch!" he chastised himself. He dusted pop-tart crumbs off of his shirt and walked around the sofa.
"Alright, before we go anywhere, there's something I need to explain to you. I've been informed of a loophole in the rules of the Rating Game. It's something called the Rogue Piece system. Ring any bells?" Ruto asked. Grayfia nodded, but was quite surprised that he'd come across that rule. It had long fallen into disuse as Devils were too proud nowadays to accept help outside of their Peerage.
"Indeed it does. It was a rule used long ago, when Rating Games were far more brutal and the rules regarding combat were a lot looser. This style of Rating Game goes back to the time of the old Satans. Why are you interested in it?" she raised a curious eyebrow, already knowing his likely answer.
"I'm joining in. I've done a little bit too much sitting on the sidelines, and when I do get some action, I have to hold back. Tiamat said she'd verify the ruling with you." Ruto responded, punching the air to get his point across.
"Ah, I thought I'd sensed Tiamat here." she then smiled gently at Ruto, somewhat amused. "You always do find the most interesting guests to share your house with. I know a young man who'd be quite jealous."
Ruto already knew who that was directed at. "Well, if he quit being awkward and actually timed his perverted antics correctly, he'd see an improvement. But alas, that is not the way of a harem protagonist." he lamented.
"Too true." She then remembered why she'd come in the first place. "It seems we've gone on a tangent. If you would please follow me. You included Dragon King." she said, looking towards Tiamat who'd descended the stairs wearing her azure-gold Scale Mail.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." she muttered as she straightened out her hair. The silver magic circle flared to life once again and the four stood on it. With a flick of the wrist, they were transported to the ORC clubroom.
It was a familiar scene. Rias sat at her desk, Akeno leaned against it. Haru sat with Koneko as she ate sweets while Kiba and Asia sat opposite them. They all looked towards the magic circle as Grayfia, Tiamat, Ruto and Rossweisse appeared. Quite unsurprisingly, Haru was the first to notice Tiamat.
"Ruto I swear if that beauty is living at your house I'll—" he began to threaten. However, Ruto cut him off, earning an amused look from Rias.
"She is indeed. What of it?" Ruto asked innocently, trying his hardest to fight off the evil grin threatening to grow. Haru didn't feel the need to finish his threat, not while Ruto's trollish gaze was on him.
"God dammit." he mumbled, but then clutched his head. "What, I can't even say God dammit!?" more pain pulsed through his head.
"Anywho, down to business." Ruto said, gaining a serious look. "I assume you have no Evil Pieces left, Rias?
She gave him a confused look. "Well, I've got no Pawn pieces left, but I do have a Knight piece left. Why?" she replied, wanting to know exactly where Ruto was going with this.
"Good, that'll do. I need you to give that piece to me." he said, a kind of hunger beginning to show in his eyes.
"Uh, what are you going to do?" Rias asked uncertainly. If there was something she'd come to learn over the time she'd known Ruto, it was to be wary of him at all times. She hated how unpredictable he was, so now he was asking for an Evil Piece, she couldn't help but question why.
"I'm about to make your team a little stronger." he said with a fierce grin. Rias opened a small ornate wooden box that contained what remained of her Evil Pieces and handed him the Knight piece. It was a small piece of polished wood carved into the shape of a horse's head. He clutched it in his palm and focused on infusing the piece with his mana.
"Make a contract with me, Rias." Ruto ordered as he continued to focus on charging the piece with mana.
"R-right. Ruto Ruto, heed me. Become a Devil and serve me in the name of the House of Gremory." she declared in the most commanding voice she could muster. A crimson glow erupted from around Ruto's feet, bathing the room in its glow.
Once the glow died down, Ruto looked at them with wide eyes for a few seconds, then clutched his head and swayed on his feet. "Ugh… damn that felt… weird. I'm still human right?" Ruto asked with great concern.
"Quick, say… you know what?" Rias said.
"What?" Ruto replied in confusion.
"You know what!"
Ruto deadpanned. "I seriously don't."
"Ugh, God!" she shouted angrily. She immediately regretted it as she clutched her head in pain. She opened her eyes to see Ruto smiling at her, his shoulders trembling as laughter threatened to erupt. "Asshole!" she grumbled.
"God, right?" he waited silently for the pain to hit. Nothing came. "Fuck yes, it worked!" he cheered.
"Good for you, but what worked anyway?" Rias asked.
"I'll explain it when I feel like it, but to cut a long story short, I'm now directly fighting with you." He replied, anticipation in his voice. Confidence surged within the group now that they knew he was on the field with them. However, what he said next would make it plummet somewhat.
"Don't get too hopeful though. I've been nerfed, and there are certain conditions under which I have to fight. My power has been cut in half at a rough estimate, I can only access areas in the arena where there are two or more opponents, and I can't engage in fights by myself, I have to interfere in a fight." he surmised.
Haru, while excited to fight alongside Ruto again, was curious. "How exactly do you know your limits in this game?" he asked. Ruto gave him a thoughtful look.
"You know, that's a good question. I just sorta… know. Must have been the Rogue Piece system becoming active. I'd wager it's feedback from the mana I pumped into that Knight piece." he said, although that was just a wild guess.
Akeno smiled sultrily at Ruto. "Mmm, the thought of us inflicting some pain together… doesn't that just make you feel hot, eh Ruto?" she said breathy with a slight blush.
"Hmm, now that you mention it, it is pretty exciting." he replied for the sake of humouring her.
"Well, it'll be good to have you actually fighting with us this time. Not sure I wanna take you on again if I'm honest." Kiba said good naturedly. Ruto gave a bemused smile.
"Are you kidding? Dude, you'll be handing my ass to me in close quarters combat in no time with the way you fight. Keep that up, and I'm not sure I could afford to hold back against you." he replied.
"Nah, you flatter me too much." Kiba waved it off.
"Seriously it's true." Ruto insisted.
The peerage watched as the budding bromance developed between Ruto and Kiba. While they were glad they were getting along, now was not the time. The door to the ORC clubroom opened as Sona Sitri, her Queen Shinra Tsubaki entered the room.
"Sorry if I'm interrupting." Sona said as she approached the group, Tsubaki in following. Rias regarded her casually.
"No, please come on in." Rias greeted her friend. Ruto looked curious.
"So it's you again? Been a while. Come to wish us luck?" he asked. Sona gave him a curt nod.
"In fact I have. It seems you've made quite an interesting choice, joining the battle yourself. Didn't seem like something you'd do in my opinion." she said. Since she'd met him he'd struck her as the type to play a tactical and supportive role as opposed to being an active combatant. Then again, others would assume the same of her as she shared his gift for strategy and tactics.
"Well I have my reasons beyond wanting to strangle Riser until a coherent and properly formed sentence comes out. But yeah, I suppose my actions are a bit unorthodox." he replied with a chuckle.
"Especially seeing as you've found a way to manipulate the Rating Game system to your advantage. I must admit, I'd never have thought of using the Rouge Piece System." she said with a tone of praise in her voice.
"But why are you here?" he asked.
"There's a live broadcast of the match so family members can watch. They're here to help with that." Rias chimed in.
"Well it is your first Rating Game, right Gremory? So it goes without saying you should put on a show for the folks at home." Ruto said with a somewhat sinister tone.
"That being the case, I wouldn't miss this." Sona said, proud of her friend. Just then Grayfia cleared her throat.
"It's almost time my lady. In a moment we will use a magic circle to transport you and the rest of your team to the battlefield." she said.
"Alright, we're ready when you are." Rias replied, preparing herself for the imminent struggle.
Haru looked at the others curiously. "Where is this battlefield anyway?" That's when Akeno threw in her two cents.
"It's in a neutral alternate space. It's created specifically for the game, so we don't have to hold back and can cause some real damage, even burn it to the ground if we want." she said with growing excitement as she put a hand to her face with a giggle.
Well that doesn't sound scary at all. Haru thought nervously.
"Quite basically it's a low level pocket dimension for short term use. Child's play for a Magician of my level to create, but the size of these dimensions is what really costs mana. Even without use they typically deteriorate within a couple of days, but some have been created with the purpose of being eternal." Ruto explained.
Haru, despite not understanding all of the Magician jargon being tossed about, found Ruto's explanations fascinating. Over the time he'd heard Ruto speak about magic and what different feats magic can accomplish, he found himself wanting to learn more about it and found Ruto to be a source to easily learn from. He didn't explain too simply, but not too complex either.
"Huh, they sound pretty useful." Haru said impressed.
"They are, that's why they're popular with pretty much everyone capable of magic whether it's for storage or for a temporary residence outside of the normal world." Ruto added.
"Anyway," Sona began. "We'll be in the student council room calling the game. We'll be cheering you on, so good luck." she said with her typical aloofness. She turned to walk out of the room.
"Just try to keep the play by play fair. Don't need Ruto getting peeved at Riser's retorts." Rias said with a trace of humour as Ruto shivered slightly, the mere thought of Riser speaking being enough to send ripples of disgust through him.
"I'll keep it clean." Sona said, stopping and turning slightly to Rias. "But if I was a betting girl, I'd say you'll beat that scum bag seven ways from Sunday." She then continued walking. Then both Sona and Tsubaki left.
"Oh, I forgot to inform you, the Great Devil Lucifer will be watching the match." Grayfia said evenly. However she knew Ruto would be delighted.
"Oh shit, really! God damn, you should have said so sooner. Tell him I need to talk with him after the game, so he can stop by my place later." Ruto said with a grin on his face.
Rias however, was not so pleased. "Oh, brother dearest." she mumbled just loud enough for the others to hear.
"Whoa, you mean your big bro is the Devil, or am I just hearing things wrong!?" Haru said in total surprise.
"No, Lucifer the King of Devils, and happens to be a good friend of mine." Ruto supplied.
"The ruler of the underworld!?" Haru nearly yelled.
"That's right." Rias replied glumly. Ruto was growing impatient.
"Look, I'll probably exposition the shit out of all of you later, but right now, we have a Rating Game to win. Grayfia, activate the circle." Ruto said, his tone one of barely contained battle lust. She nodded and the magic circle turned crimson as it engulfed a third of the room's flooring. They all stood on it and one by one they vanished into the battlefield.
Upon emerging, Asia and Haru were quite confused. "Wait, we're still in the clubroom." Asia observed. Haru looked around feeling rather self-conscious.
"Did I screw it up again?" he wondered aloud as he remembered the first magic circle he'd attempted to use.
Just then, Grayfia's voice came through over an intercom speaker. "Your attention please. Welcome everyone, my name is Grayfia. I am a servant of the House of Gremory. I will be the referee of today's match. To fabricate the arena you'll be fighting in, I took suggestions from both Lady Rias and Lord Riser. You may recognise this place as a perfect replica of Kuoh academy, an educational institution in the human world." Grayfia announced in a crisp and clear voice.
"What exactly does that mean?" Haru asked with slight confusion. Rias turned her head to him, casting him a sidelong gaze.
"Just take a look outside." was all she said. Asia and Haru moved to a window and pushed open the wooden slatted cover on it, revealing the school grounds, buildings and the swirling black and green sky above.
"Makes you wanna piss yourself doesn't it?" Ruto remarked. He only got a small nervous nod from Haru. "That's what an alternate space does. And no matter how good the replica is, we're not at school anymore, so go nuts."
"Lemme guess, our home base is this clubroom in the old schoolhouse, while Lord lack-of-diction is holed up in the principals office in the new building. Am I right or am I right?" Ruto smirked.
"Correct, Lady Rias' team is in the Occult Research Club's headquarters in the old schoolhouse, while Lord Riser's team is situated in the principals office in the new schoolhouse ." Grayfia responded over the intercom.
"Damn I'm good." Ruto said smugly.
"Pawns can be promoted when they reach the base of the opposing team. Good luck to all. " Grayfia finished her run-down of the rules.
"Alright!" Haru slammed his fist and palm together. "I'm gonna head to their base straight out the gate and—"
"No." Ruto cut him off as he chopped him on the back of the head. Haru rubbed the spot where he was struck. "That is how you lose. You need to fight smart, so no rushing off."
"Odds are that Riser is gonna try to get his Pawns into our territory as quickly as possible to promote them. That puts us on the ropes pretty quickly. So, instead of rushing off, we need to keep everyone relatively close by and fight off the first wave which will consist of all of the Pawns, and the Rooks." Ruto explained. "After we beat them down, we can then focus on pushing out and getting to their territory."
"Sounds like you've got this figured out." Rias said impressed. Ruto didn't grin or smirk, just nodded.
He's totally different when in combat. There's no jokes, no sarcasm, nothing. It's like he's a totally different person. Rias thought anxiously.
"Do we have a method of team communication?" he asked. He looked down to see Koneko holding a small red-white orb.
"These orbs will help us remain in contact. They fit into your ear, so your hands are free for fighting." Rias said as she adjusted her own earpiece. Everyone did the same and then awaited orders.
"I should clarify something before we get down to business." Ruto said, gaining their undivided attention. "When you leave this room, I can't leave here until you've secured other zones. I can't engage enemies on my own, meaning I can only ambush enemies mid-fight. So for now, this room is the safest as the King is protected by myself and Asia. So the more zones you secure, the more freedom I have. But I can provide support." He summoned a white wisp of mana into his hand.
"This is a Sight Wisp. I can send them out to scout around the arena so I can set up ambushes and warn of threats. But other than that, I can't do anything until you secure zones for me to use." The others nodded, relieved that they'd be getting some back-line support out in the field.
Grayfia's voice came over the intercom. "Alright Devils, let the game begin. " she announced, signalling the start of the deadly game.