Chapter 13: Chapter 12: Warning
It was awkward, to say the least.
"Soooo..."
Asta wanted to say something but he stopped when he noticed the thick air of tension at the table.
Sitting with your enemies that were trying to kill you yesterday wasn't exactly comfortable after all.
Well, other than him being a bit nervous and Jeanne staring at Shoto with those lovey-dovey eyes, the rest were glaring at the other side. That is until the silence was broken down by an outrageous remark by the blonde woman.
"Hey, wanna go on a date with me?" She asked directly looking at Shoto's eyes while beaming a bright smile at him.
If he was drinking right now, he already would've spit out his drink like a broken faucet. He knew he had quite the... admirers so to speak, but he never expected to meet somebody that would be this blunt!
To be honest, everyone was taken back by what she just said.
"Jeez Jeanne! He's only sixteen!"
"And I'm eighteen, Sieg. What can you do about that?"
Nothing. Sieg just recalled that they're also in Japan, so he cannot do anything about it.
She then pointed at the dual-haired Hero and said, "Other than his handsome face, his scar also makes him look so manly~"
Jeanne used Emotional Damage.
It was super effective!
The pride of the boys at the table took a big one - especially the two who were closer to her.
'Damn... I lost to this kid in front of me.'
Was what Sieg and Heracles thought as they were green from envy due to Shoto. They weren't exactly into Jeanne or anything, but it hurt their pride when she said it like that.
Meanwhile, Shoto flinched from the direct compliment of his scar. The traumatic event which resulted in his signature burn mark wasn't exactly his favorite memory. So you could tell that he was somewhat annoyed at her for saying something positive about it. Although, in a corner of his heart, he felt a bit happy that a part of him which would usually be considered "grotesque" was actually cool to her.
But that didn't mean he would go out with his would-be killer as if nothing happened.
He then said with a determined face, "...Sorry ma'am, but I have to respectfully decline your offer."
She looked a bit bummed out and pouted like a kid a who couldn't get their way.
"Bummer..."
Though she smirked and added, "But in hindsight, maybe you can defeat me this time and show me what you really~ got." as she finished with a wink.
Confused, Asta leaned towards Kirito and asked quietly, "Etto... Kirito, why's she acting like that."
"She just needs some water."
He whispered back.
"But there's already a drink in front—!"
"I can hear you y'know?!"
Jeanne was annoyed at the two for judging her.
Kirito, though, formed a stern expression and responded firmly.
"And I gotta protect my kouhai from cougar attacks, y'know?"
"Yeah! Tell 'em Kirito!"
Hype man Asta tried to back up the black swordsman even though he didn't know what he just said.
"Why you–!"
"Stop it, Jeanne. Don't embarrass us even more to our enemies,"
"Though to be fair, Siegfried, they'd be pretty good sparring partners. They're strong after all."
"Not you as well Heracles."
The swordsman couldn't believe that his teammates were getting buddy buddy with the people who were their enemies yesterday (and still are).
"Well I appreciate the compliment, but nothing beats more than a real battle, amirite?"
"Challenge accepted!"
Sieg couldn't hold himself back anymore. He didn't put on his usual nice guy persona because he didn't feel like being polite to these little shits. So he stood up and slammed on the table which brought attention from the other customers.
"Shut up! Everyone of you!"
He then menacingly glared at the other people which made them quietly ignore that freakish table - they don't wanna mess with that hulking and scary looking dudes.
Even his teammates and the chat group members gone silent. Well, everyone but one single "normal" human.
"Jeez don't get your panties twisted; soften up a little, would ya?"
Kirito stared at Sieg as if he didn't care that he almost got killed by him during that day. One would think that he's being stupid, but it's a calculative risk on his part - and he's surprisingly good at math.
"You lil sh—!"
He had to stop himself there, or else he'd be playing at the hands of the little shit in front of him. Go and recklessly attack him right then and there and he'd be siccing those freaks on themselves with their own hands. Sieg had to be composed.
So after calming down a bit, he dropped a bombshell that made the trio tense. They didn't like what he said.
"Today or tomorrow, we'll be attacking the Kyuubi princess."
"I don't know whether to be amazed or disappointed for shamelessly outing your plans like that."
"It's Cao Cao's orders; he told us to try and find you guys and give you the message."
Even Siegfried looked like he was having a headache. After the Holy spearman met the Alien Hero, he's been acting too secretively and planning every single minute of the day just to deal with Ben and the other three with him. Well, at least now he knows not to underestimate his current enemies.
This caused Kirito to think, 'It's either one of these two cases...'
1) Cao Cao is being an honest dumb idiot villain thinking that he could take them on even with reinforcements. That's unlikely though, because he's a total snake even if he is honest sometimes. After all, you can't deceive others if they don't trust you.
2) As for the second... Well, he'll think about that later since this is not the best place for theory crafting.
"So what's the catch?" Kirito was still apprehensive about this.
"Nothing. It's just a simple warning." Sige also put on his nice guy persona as he smiled and replied.
"Sigh... Fine. Tell me whaddya wanna know?"
Asta and Todoroki both looked surprised as they expressed their concerns.
"... Kirito-san do you really want to tell them private information like that?"
"Yeah, are ya really sure about it?!"
But the black swordsman said something that made the duo calm down.
"Relax you two, it's only fair if we tell them something when they outright told their plans like that, y'know?"
'With something misleading, of course~' He had a wicked grin on the inside that didn't show up on his face.
"Don't worry, Kirito-kun, I won't be asking something too sensitive." He was being polite but you could tell that he was forcing himself to stay that way any longer.
"Go then, shoot your shot."
"Where will you be before raiding the Nijo castle?"
"Oh, nothing special. We'll just be hanging around the city since we already visited the temples."
Kirito lied as he naturally breathed.
"Hmm.. I see—!"
"Enough of this boring talk! The one who finishes their drink last will pay!"
Herc interrupted Sieg since he couldn't stand this stuff anymore.
"You read my mind~" Jeanne also joined in.
"Hey! I was talking—!"
"I won't lose!" Asta joined in as well.
"Cheers." Kirito and Asta tapped their drinks before gulping them. Meanwhile, Shoto was silently drinking.
A minute or two later.
"Damnit..!" Siegfried cursed in whispers as he got forced to pay for everyone's share - including the chat group members.
While everyone was chugging their drinks, he was too surprised to do anything as he was interrupted by his subordinates/teammates like that.
Meanwhile, Herc and Jeanne were having casual a conversation with the chat group - which is surprising to say the least.
"Hey man, can you tell me your workout routine? That body of yours is a work of art."
"Oh! I do..."
Heracles was stupefied when he heard Asta's fitness schedule. That boy is grinding for real.
As for Jeanne, she was still being coy with Shoto but kept it to lesser degree as she still respected him for being honest and straightforward.
"My offer still stands, y'know?~ You're really handsome."
But Shoto still rejected her.
"No matter how much you try to seduce me, my answer will be the same."
The blonde felt a bit dejected as she knew that many men would accept her in a heartbeat if she gave them the greenlight. Still, being hard to get is a nice appeal which makes her want to get on with him even more.
"That's a shame... But that aside, you still have to beat me like it or not." She winked at him as she finished.
He only nodded as there was nothing needed to be said, and that was enough for her as she got ready to leave.
"See ya later~!"
"Hmm, we're going?"
"Yes, Hera-kun. Sieg-chan is already coping and seething for being forced to pay that guy." She said as she pointed at Kirito.
"Hey! I wasn't the who proposed that little competition."
"Anyway... It was nice meeting you three fine warriors of your respective humanities in a peaceful situation. A great honor as another warrior of humanity if I do say so myself."
After Herc paid his respect for the trio, he and Jeanne dragged Sieg outside the cafe whilst he grumbled to himself.
"Damn you, Kirito..! I'll make sure to cut you into ribbons next time we meet!!"
While they were leaving, Shoto glanced at his new friends and thought to himself, 'Do they always deal with this kind of pressure?'
To be honest, he didn't expect that those two - especially Asta, would keep their calm and talk with their enemies in neutral grounds. Usually, in his world, the Heroes would jump on any suspicious behavior and deal with it before questioning and reasoning about what's going on; even though there's a law against it, some Heroes do get the pass if you know what I'm getting at.
Heck, he believes most of his fighter classmates will do the same (most notably Bakugo). But there is one guy who comes into mind who'd actually have a peaceful chat with a villain who's non-aggressive.
'Izuku...'
This actually made him notice something. A similar yet distinct behavioral pattern between the rest of the chat group members and Deku. All of them are kind, put others before themselves, save the innocent even if it means putting yourself in danger - to sum it up: they're full-fledged heroes.
Deku might still be a trainee like him, and probably even weaker than him right now, but the guy is a legitimate Hero through and through.
Maybe this is what they call the Heroic Protagonist Syndrome?
"Something is definitely wrong with them."
Kirito suddenly got serious as he stated. Asta nodded, seeming to agree as well.
"You noticed it too, right Asta-kun?"
"Yeah, I could sense nothing malicious coming from them other than that priest guy."
Because of his Ki sensing, Asta can understand the emotions and intent of the others to some degree if he concentrates. Hiding your intent is no easy task so he could tell that the two were being genuine to them. Whereas Kirito could tell the difference because of him meeting a variety of 'colorful' people back in Aincrad. Character observation was a must-have skill if you wanted to survive there; it's the main reason why he managed to beat the game way earlier than planned.
Shoto, however, didn't have any similar skills in his repertoire so he was out of the loop.
"...What is it that you two got from them?"
"It's because the three of us are humans that they were friendly with us - except for the closet psycho. Hell, if Ben was here, they'd most likely treat him like their oshi (favorite idol in Japanese) and ask for autographs. He's the idol of many hero wannabe children after all; after Batman and Spiderman, that is."
"Ben is that famous?!" Asta didn't know half of what Kirito just said, but he understood that Ben is probably a way bigger big shot than he realized.
"Explaining it would be a bit hard, but just know that Ben's influence is far beyond his own world."
"Wowza!!" It was something incomprehensible for Asta, but that's what made him amazed.
"...So if Issei was here, they won't hesitate to fight us because we're colluding with a 'Devil', am I correct?"
"You're right Shoto-kun. Whatever bullshit propaganda Cao Cao used to take advantage of their situations, and turn them against the supernatural for his benefit was surely effective."
While they were still talking, a tired panting voice rang out beside the trio.
"Was... Huf... Anyone... Huf... Talking about... Haaf... That Chinese Jesus-wannabe?"
"Right on time, Tennyson. I wouldn't have mind if you came even later."
"You're using sarcasm against me? Wow, never thought my own weapon would be used on me."
"Sarcasm is not exclusive to one person for your information."
It was Ben who ran straight from the mall to here. He thought that he could get here pretty quick, but he was sorely mistaken. We'll get to that later, but more than that, there's something more important to be discussed.
"Anyway, what just happened while I was out there running for my life?"
"...I have a question myself, Ben-san. What was it you were running from?"
Alien Hero looked pretty annoyed as he pinched the bridge of his nose and frowned.
"Ah! Don't get me started; while I was out there coming here normally, a woman tried to feel my chest. After I dodged her, she then chased after me like a goddamn mindless perverted zombie!"
"...."
The three were utterly speechless.
"It wasn't only her, mind you. There were many people out there who were trying to cup each other's breast out in the open without a care in the world."
Now this is getting even more bizarre by the second. And then, Asta said something that surprised the other three.
"Guys... Don't you think this is maybe because of Issei?"
"Nope, Issei's powers don't work like that. I'm sure of it." Kirito shook his head as he tried to save face for the perverted dragon.
Meanwhile.
"Achoo!" Issei sneezed out of nowhere and surprised Xenovia who was right beside him.
"Ise, is somebody talking about you right now?"
"Nah, I'm fine Xenovia-chan! It's probably just a normal cold, nothing to worry about."
"But Ise, Devils don't get cold."
"..."
.
.
.
"All that aside, what did you guys learn from them?"
One matcha smoothie and explanation later.
"Let's tell Azazel about this ASAP. We can't afford to take any risks when it comes Kunou."
"...I agree."
"Yeah! The kid must be protected at all costs!"
Whereas Kirito looked as if he was in deep thoughts, like he was still pondering about what to really do in this situation. The brunette raised his eyebrows and asked while glancing at the swordsman.
"Kirito, you okay?"
"Hm? Oh yeah, sure. Let's do that."
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