"... Altera?"
Yes, Master?
"Next time when you vanish, give a guy a warning next time."
The previous night, Haru's mother had offered to let Altera stay the night, and she graciously accepted. What surprised Haru the following morning was that when he woke up, she was nowhere to be found. No sign of her disappearing or presence… until he heard her voice in his head.
Apparently, according to her, Servants had the ability to enter a state known as "Astral Form" and could manifest at any time, but only upon the Master's order. It certainly freaked Haru out quite a bit when she talked to him inside his head, and had to explain why she disappeared so suddenly when his mother found this out. Now he was back on his way to school in the sluggish morning as always. At the halfway point, he found his two friends waiting for him. "Yo," he greeted. "You two look like hell."
"Blame Matsuda," Motohama growled, glaring at the baldy. "We were having fun at the public pool and ALMOST got see some lesbian action until this idiot sneezed! We got caught, and worse, one of them was apparently a black belt! I'm still sore!"
"Back off dude! I got my shoulder dislocated!"
Haru chuckled anxiously, unsure how to respond. Rowdy as always, he thought, smiling a bit. Kinda makes it seem like what happened yesterday was just a dream... Or so he would have liked, but looking at his hand, which was now wrapped in bandages under the excuse of injuring himself in order to cover up his Command Seals. It was a reminder that his so-called girlfriend had lied to him and tried to kill him, and summoned what was apparently a legendary figure in history. The letter cleared up a few things… but if he wanted the full story, he would have to see his grandmother. Luckily, he had a few good excuses to let him out of school for a day or two.
Now that he thought about it… Fuyuki was where his grandfather was born, wasn't it?
"... aaaah, Gremory-senpai's oppai are always an awesome sight!"
"No kidding! Do you see the way the buttons are struggling to keep her shirt in place?!"
True enough, when they reached the school gate, they found none other than Rias Gremory herself, sitting on a bench nearby, reading a book. She had one leg crossed over the other with her eyes staring intently at the pages of the book. A serene setting… a picturesque sight of a foreign beauty. The way the sunlight brought out the sheen of her crimson hair… it was no wonder why she was known as one of the Two Great Onee-samas of Kuoh. Beauty and brains… everyone at school was her fan.
Of course, in Haru's book, she was high up on the sexy meter because of her breasts. Good god, they looked soft. However, one thing caught his interest. She was far away, so he couldn't see clearly, but it looked like she had markings on her hand. As she pushed a few strands of her hair away, she caught sight of the three… and smiled.
Instantly, Motohama and Matsuda were grinning like idiots.
The only one who wasn't smiling was Haru. His eyes were focused on the markings on her hand. They were red, like the ones on his. Then he remembered what his grandmother told him. Anyone with a Command seal was his enemy… and Rias Gremory had them on her hand. Did this mean… she was going to try and kill him like what Raynare did?!
More importantly, if those were Command Seals on her hand like he thought they are… does that mean… she's also a Master? Altera, is she—
Yes, the Saber-class Servant answered, her tone already leveled and cold. I sense the presence of a Servant close to her.
Haru gulped. Would she try to attack him? With so many people around? As he thought this, Rias suddenly stood up, setting her book down and began walking toward the three. While the two of the three perverts were cheering, believing that they were going to talk to him, Haru remained tense. Altera, who stood beside him unseen, readied to attack should this woman try anything. Soon, she stopped in front of the trio… more specifically, in front of Haru. Her teal eyes bore into his golden ones, leaving the male redhead even more tense than before, and Altera prepared to sever the girl's head from her shoulders.
"You're Hyoudou-kun, correct?" she asked. Haru nodded, his body tense. It must have shown, as Rias giggled. "Relax, I don't bite. Actually, I was hoping to speak with you. Are you free after school?"
"Y-yeah… why?"
"I would like for you to come to my club room. We have much to discuss."
11h ago normally, this would be cause for celebration, if not for the fact that she might be like Raynare and trying to end him. He could feel Altera tensing up, no doubt ready to strike. Meanwhile, Haru felt something close by. It felt like Altera, only far more… violent, bloodthirsty even. It was enough to make him nervous. Could that be Rias' Servant? Now that she was close, he was able to tell. The markings on her hand resembled some sort of beast, with two of the Seals making up the horns, and the third making up the head, vaguely resembling that of a goat.
"D-Do I have to?" he asked nervously, sweating somewhat. "I might make some plans."
"That would be fine," Rias insisted. "It's only for a few minutes. The choice is up to you, however."
What should he do? He could politely decline and make sure that he wouldn't have to fight her… on the other hand, she may have valuable information regarding the Holy Grail War, despite the risks involved. Not to mention the presence of her own Servant pressing down on him, as if pressuring him to accept her offer. Dammit… talk about being stuck between a rock and hard place.
Well… damned if you do, damned if you don't.
"Sure," he said. "Alright."
The red-haired woman's smile widened. "Splendid," she said. "I'll have Kiba-kun pick you up after school. See you then, Hyoudou-kun."
With that, she turned and made her leave. Against his better judgement and the situation, he found himself staring at her swaying rear. Good god, she is tempting me, he thought. What is it with women trying to kill me that look hot while doing it? Unfortunately, the moment was short lived when he found himself on the receiving glare of Motohama and Matsuda. "... what?"
"YOU FUCK!"
The two were upon him, fists raised. Haru yelped, expecting this to happen. What he didn't expect was for Altera to materialize and swiftly grab the boys by the wrists and effortlessly toss them over her shoulder, sending them flying through the air. A few seconds later, they crashed harshly back down to the ground almost comically. Matsuda found himself stuck in a garbage can, legs flailing while trying to escape, and Motohama landing on a light pole straight between the legs, causing all color to drain from his face. He then fell back to the ground, clutching his damaged manhood.
The redhead stared in shock at what just happened before speaking to his Servant. "Altera! Did you really need to do that?!"
"They were about to assault you, Master." Saber stoically replied. "I will not allow any harm to befall you."
"B-but what if anyone saw you?!"
"No one had seen me materialize except for that Gremory woman's Servant. Therefore, there was no reason to worry."
Haru groaned, his hand slapping his temple and dragging down his face. This is gonna be a looong day…