Bab 77: Let the Dancing Commence! An Unknown Request to Dance? The Neko-Kitsune and the Agares Agents stop the party-crashers! Part 1
Soaring across the evening sky, everyone rode on the back of leather jacketless Bova, who along with his gang of dragons were forced by Michael to get rid of the jackets and quit the unnecessary chanting of his name. From then on, the flight had been a bit awkward for Michael and Bova.
"Hey, Boss… I'm sorry about before… I think I might have gone too far…"
"Ya think!?"
"*SIGH!* I went too far…"
"Dude, I know you want to help me, but you tend to go a bit overboard. Usually, I would just be sort of okay with it, but in front of my Master and friends? Now that's going way to far." Michael noticed Bova lowering his head and sighed, "Look, Bova, I accept that you're my "subordinate" and after getting to know you this month, I feel like I can truly depend on you, but you're at a ten, man."
Michael raised his hand above his head, "And being here could cause some trouble for me, so try to be around a…six or a five at best because all of this over the top stuff isn't going to cut it because…"
"Boss?" Bova noticed Michael trembling.
"Because that's supposed to be my thing!? How am I supposed to come up with the awesome plans and crazy ideas that I end up bring my friends into, me! If I keep playing the role of straight man to your wise guy, then I'll eventually lose touch with my wise guy schtick!" Michael cried.
*PINCH!*
"Yeowch!"
"…You're too loud." Out of irritation, Koneko, who sat in between Michael's legs pinched his leg.
"S-Sorry about that, Koneko-chan…" Michael grimaced in pain, he should have known better than to act up when around her. Especially since her nekomata sense really enhance the sensitivity of her ears.
After the commotion with Bova and his gang, everyone decided to climb aboard the dragon's accommodating back since they found his complexion to be less scary than the other dragons that Bova brought along. Sitting at his special seat atop Bova's head, Michael claimed the best view out of everyone else, and frankly he wasn't the only one because as soon as he sat down, Koneko plopped herself down on his lap like usual.
'Geez, if she'd even go so far as to sit on my lap while riding a dragon, then there's no lengths that she won't go just to sit here…' Michael sweatdropped as he "officially" confirmed his lap as Koneko's favorite seat.
"So, like I was saying, you can still do the things you do, but be moderate about how you do them, okay?" Michael smiled.
"Understood, Boss, I'll do my best to consider that for the future." Bova nodded.
"Great because that's all I'm asking, dude."
"…"
"…"
"So, Boss does that mean?"
"Yes, you can keep the leather jackets."
"YES!"
"And make sure to get me one, too, but make sure to write my name on the back along with this title "The Dragonites"… Also make three other jackets like that just in case…" Michael maniacally rubbed his hands together.
"No, Michael, for the last time, we're not starting a goddamn band!" Saji somehow heard the conversation from Bova's back.
"Come on, Saji, we were meant to be Rock Stars! Besides, you know how much I like to play the guitar!"
"That's exactly what you said when you tried to make us daredevils but guess how that turned out!"
"Its not my fault that you bitched out from making a simple stunt with your bike!"
"That's because you wanted me to ride my bike up a ramp, off of our middle school's roof, and into the pool!"
"You lacked belief!" Michael shouted.
"Fuck your belief, I would have died!"
Coughing to his throat, Michael leaned in and whispered, "Just make four leather jackets for the "Dragonites"."
"Gotcha, boss." Bova winked.
After a couple more minutes of flying, Michael noticed Koneko's silence which isn't uncommon for the girl, but at this point in his relationship with his underclassmen, he was able to tell the difference between her usual silence and her rare moments of unsettling silence. The signs were clear based on her lowered head and how tense her shoulders were. It was clear to see that she was still hung up about the training, the Pawn's urge to talk about was met with his decided stance on the matter to not intervene with the possible growth of Koneko and Natsuru's relationship.
Resting his hand on her head, Michael garnered the girl's attention long enough to grin at her before directing both of their attention to expansive view of the Underworld around them, the evening sky really gave the sight a relaxing atmosphere.
"Such a great sight to look at, isn't it?"
"Mm…"
Michael smiled while the quiet Rook nodded in agreement.
"I may have ridden on Bova and Gramps' back a ton of times but this feeling I get when seeing such a beautiful sky and land from above just never gets old for me."
"Mhm…"
Still looking a bit dejected, Koneko simply gave minimal nods and answers.
Seeing that she wasn't budging from that comment, Michael sighed, "Koneko-chan, are you okay?"
Noticing Michael's voice sounding worrisome, Koneko opened her mouth to answer.
"Its okay, you don't have to answer me, I simply wish to say a few things to you. Heh, I even promise not to yell with this big mouth of mine." Michael grinned and hoped that had gotten a bit of smile from the girl, but sadly it didn't.
"I…can tell that your training must have been hard on you and that you may have been struggling with some baggage, but I can tell that you've been working hard all the same. So, I just want to tell you that you can believe that I'll be by your side to help you no matter what happens while I can believe that you'll do the same for me and the others. After all, you're more dependable than even this Upperclassman of yours."
Michael laughed as he tried his best to skirt around the issue. He hoped that he didn't give anything away about Natsuru talking to him about her past.
"Well, you're probably done hearing me blab on and on, so I'll leave you to the silent view."
"Michael-senpai…?"
"Yes?" He was surprised to receive a response from her so suddenly.
Any anxiety and doubt that she displayed washed away when Koneko gave her senior a smile, "Thank you."
"Heh, don't mention it! Besides, as the Gutsy Hanamura, I've been known for being quite an upstanding guy! I mean, I even got you to acknowledge my greatness just now so its only natural that I can handle talks like this!"
"Don't push it." Koneko narrowed her eyes.
"Got it…" Michael sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.
After a couple of seconds, the two began to laugh. For Michael, it may not have been much, but it was still enough to put a smile on her face and that's all he wanted. While Koneko took this bit of levity as a refresher for what was to come for her, at first, she was too frightened and choked up about denying the ominous invitation laid out to her.
The thought of her past eventually happening again terrified her into simply complying, but thanks to sharing this tender moment with her senior, she would now be able to think much more clearly and fully commit to her definite answer.
"OI! Everyone get ready! We've arrived!" Bova rudely shouted.
In the end, they're talking allowed for time to pass by rather fast as they arrived at the hotel venue and it quite literally the size of Kuoh town. Michael's eyes lit up at the grandness of it all before excitedly cheering as they headed towards and landed on the ground runway for jets and apparently large sized monster transports.
"Alright it looks like you're all here. Good, I was afraid that one of you had fallen off my back on the way here again."
"S-Sorry about t-t-that…" Gasper guiltily raised his hand.
"Well, we better start heading off to our section of the party."
"Do they even have rooms that accommodate huge dragons like yourself?" Michael questioned.
"They do have a waiting space in their gardens, so we were just thinking about chilling there. Also, a message from my Old Man, he says that he'll be arriving after an hour or so."
"Gramps is coming? Woohoo!" Michael threw his arms up and cheered.
"Thank you for bringing us here, Bova, and it was nice…getting to know you and you're eccentric group of friends." Rias smiled, albeit a little bitterly.
"Don't even mention it, Big Sister Rias, you're the boss' girl so I hold you up in the same regard as him."
"W-Why thank you."
"In fact, you two together are the absolute best! With you by his side, the Boss will be both an incredible dragon AND devil, who will be a beacon for not just us dragons but misunderstood devils, too. So Big Sister Rias, don't hesitate to call for my help too BECAUSE-!"
"Alright! That's enough of that, go, shoo-shoo!" Michael noticed how taken back Rias was by Bova's overly ambitious nature and pushed the Dragon's inching head away from her.
"Hrphm! Sorry about that I got a bit carried away." Bova panted, excitedly.
'A bit is an understatement…' Michael sweatdropped.
"Well, Boss, you know where to find me in case you need anything and if you simply wish to call me then you could use the…" Bova pointed out.
"I know…" Michael raised his hand and revealed the purple Dragon Gate magical circle on his hand. During their time together, Bova suggested that Michael made some form of contract with him similar to that of a devil contracting with a familiar. Now he could summon Bova at his leisure.
"Alright, alright, I guess that we'll be seeing you later then…" Bova and his dragons took off.
"Bye!" Michael waved.
Bova stops flying to ask, "Just make sure to call me in case you want to beat up some asshole trying to pick a fight."
"BYE!" Michael emphasized.
"I-I mean, I think it would be easier for me to keep those kind of jerks in check if I simply went in with y-!"
[Dragon Booster!] [Boost!] [Transfer!]
"BYEEEEE!" Michael used the Boosted Gear to increase the power of his voice and with that Bova took off.
Turning back to all of his friends giving him incredulous looks, Michael awkwardly shrugged, "Dragons, am I right?"
Arriving strangely on time, the hotel employees led their group to the limo they had prepared for them. Thrilled to finally enter one of these Michael was the first one to call shotgun before Rias had to urge him to ride in the back after she started to hear him mention the song "I'm on a high way to hell" to the driver.
Sitting next to a nicely dressed Rias and Asia, Michael whistled, "Wow, this is sweet! A limo, I never thought that I would be in one before… Oooh, is that bubbly water!? How do they even make it that bubbly?"
"M-Michael, just hold still please…"
Restraining the cheerful Michael, Rias made to straighten out his suit despite the harsh winds on Bova's back having no effect on them due to the protective barrier around them.
"Urp…sorry…" Michael apologetically grinned.
"I'm happy that your excited about this whole thing, but please relax. We're simply taking the limousine to the main hall. This time for the annual party will have armies in facilities around the hotel due to Khaos Brigade's current activity.
"Right, right, so where's Ero-Ossan, is he coming or…?" Michael tried not to sound awkward about considering how his last talk with the Fallen Angel went.
"He is, he's simply joining up with Onii-sama and the others before arriving on another route." Rias handed Michael a nicely decorated comb.
"Oh, okay…" Michael pocketed the comb.
"Michael." Rias seriously looked at Michael, "You may not have heard this since you were riding on Bova's head, but just before; I declared war on Sona. I told her that we will blow you away in order to accomplish our dreams."
"Really?" Michael grinned in surprise as received a nod from Rias, "Wow."
-"Sorry, if I sound like I'm taking your schtick, but I honestly can't think of anything else that can satisfy my dream than that. I already know that it won't be easy since I'll need Intellect, Power, Experience and the recognition of the entire devil society. Intellect and Power are a work in progress, but I lack Experience and gaining recognition is already going to be a pain after what happened at that Gathering."-
Saji's words echoed through Michael's head as the clash of dreams finally became apparent to him.
'Buchou's dream to be Number One and my unspecific dream of being a Maou. I guess, everything is going to be on the line in this Rating Game match, and even though I don't know the type of Maou that I want to be, I'll still fight for the dream that I hope to one day figure out and attain.' Michael clenched his fist.
"Buchou, Saji says that he wants to be a Maou, too…"
"Really?" Rias was surprised but kept her composure as Michael raised his fist.
"Yeah, he even wants to be the Maou, Asmodeus. He looked determined with his eyes filled with a burning fire that I haven't seen before…"
"An admirable dream, even I have to admit that he's a smart guy and the fact that he now has all of Vritra's sacred gears makes him quite a formidable and tactical opponent to face in the Rating Game. Even so, we will win. They're not the only ones with dreams, either."
The two knowingly nodded at each other.
Looking at Michael's hair, Rias said, "Michael?"
"Yeah?"
"Where's the comb that I gave you?"
"Oh, sorry, here." Michael handed it back to her.
"No."
"What?"
"No, why didn't you comb your hair back?"
"Because I don't want to."
"Well, you have to look respectable in front of the other families, so…" Rias gestured to the comb and his hair.
"Rias…Rias..look, I already promised to wear the suit, these heeled guy shoes, and the tie. So, leaving the hair alone should be fair…" Michael crossed his arms.
"Well, this wouldn't be an issue if you had just used the hair gel that I bought you." Rias narrowed her eyes.
"No, no, no, I'm not going to wear that crap ever again! I hate having to clean my hands of the stuff after scratching an itch on my head."
"Michael, please, its just one little thing. Just comb your hair, and that will be it."
"Nuh-uh, nope."
"Michael, do it."
"Look, I'll do it, but not now. Later, and besides don't you trust me to do it later?" Michael said with his eyes wide, Rias could tell that it was a lie a mile away.
"Michael, I'm really begging you, please, just comb your hair… For me?"
'Ugh! Not the puppy dog eyes…' Michael turned away to avoid getting guilted into doing the task.
"Hey, I'll comb my hair whenever I want, I just don't want to right now." Michael huffed.
"…" Looking to the others in the limo, Rias nodded at them as they nodded in turn as they slowly approached the surprised teen.
"No... Stop... Get away!"
Arriving at the hotel's entrance and led in by many employees, the group managed to check and take the elevator to the main hall of the party.
"You guys suck…" Michael growled as his hair was painfully combed back.
"You gave us no choice." Kiba shrugged.
"Sorry, Michael-san." Asia apologized.
"Just to be clear, it took all of you to hold me down in order to comb my hair…" Michael bitterly said.
"Whatever keeps your pride intact, senpai…" Koneko patted Michael's shoulder.
"It seems that we're staying on the huge top floor. Michael, if you're called out by anyone please don't greet them so casually like did my parents. Properly greet them and try not to offend someone."
"…" Michael opened his mouth.
"And no, you're not allowed to do that."
"…"
"Or that either."
Michael closed his mouth, at this point in their relationship, its become a bit of thing to where Rias can predict most of Michael's usual shenanigans without him having to literally speak it.
"Okay, totally serious question this time. I swear, so wasn't this party prepared for you guys by the Maou?" Michael asked.
"Yes and no, honestly, once we arrive it won't cause much excitement. This is an annual custom, so the young devils won't have as much impact here like the other parties in the past. In reality, we're simply extras while the adults are the ones to usually enjoy themselves in the nearby facilities for their own meetings. *SIGH!* Probably to partake in some alcohol and get too intoxicated like always…" Rias disappointedly shook her head, "Father, why…"
'So Zeo-sama's just like the Ero-Ossan when it comes to alcohol, eh? Wonder what's all the appeal in that stuff?' Michael thought, 'Does it taste good?'
[Not so much the taste, but rather the effect it has. You'll find out when you're older.] Ddraig said.
After exchanging a few bitter smiles and laughs with each other, the elevator was finally able to arrive at the destination of the main dance hall. The extravagance of the hall surpassed even the grand architecture of the outer hotel. There were glistening chandeliers on the ceiling, delicious looking foods arranged on tables and a marble dance floor with some exotic paintings depicting some romanticized parts of the Great War.
[Ooooooh!]
All of the devils in the room clambered up to the group, specifically Rias and Sona as they voiced their admiration.
"Princess Rias, I can't believe how beautiful you've become over the years!"
"Ah, Princess Sona, your elegant charm just seems to grow more and more each time I see you!"
"Sirzechs-sama and Serafall-sama must be so proud of the two of you."
Smiling and shaking hands despite the overwhelming onslaught of compliments and adoring stares, Rias and Sona underwent their greetings right off the bat. It almost took Michael by surprise by how accustomed they were from all the attention.
"O-Okay, Okay…I can do this…" Gasper took deep breaths as he shook the hands of the approaching devils, "Why hello there, my name is Gasper Vladi, its quite nice to meet you."
'Wow, Gasper is actually socializing with others, I'm impressed. The Ero-Ossan really did his best to train him over the break.' Michael nodded in approval.
"Why hell there, my name is Gasper Vladi, its quite nice to-Hrrphm!"
Just as Gasper was about to shake hands with another devil, he ran off covering his mouth.
"Say Kiba?"
"Yeah, Michael-kun?"
"That has to be a new record for the little guy, right?"
"Yes, I believe so."
*SLAM!*
"HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUAH!" The sounds of Gasper's retching could be heard from outside of the bathroom.
"You did good Gasper, you did good." Michael pounded his chest in respect for the nervous shut-in.
"Hello, excuse me?" Someone tapped on Michael's shoulder.
"What?" Michael plainly said before spotting Rias giving him a stern look, 'Right, right, forgot… I have to use my gentlemen skills and crud. Welp, here goes nothing.'
"Why hello there good sir, my name is Michael Hanamura, pawn to Rias Gremory. Nice to meet you." Michael vigorously shook the man's hand.
"And you too, sir." The Devil nodded, Michael noticed that compared to the other noble devils, this one seemed different. They had long and spiky purple bound into a messy pony tail, purple eyes and quite a handsome face that belonged to a European man. He too wore a suit along with a red headband wrapped around his forehead.
After a while their handshake seemed to have gone on far longer than Michael would have expected.
"Hm, I see…" The young devil scratched his chin.
"What is it?"
"So you're right handed, huh?"
"Yes, how could you tell?" Michael asked.
"Well, I can deduce that since you held it out for the handshake and your grip seems incredibly strong. I mean, ouch, you are literally crushing my hand." The man sweatdropped.
"Whoops! Sorry!" Michael mentally kicked himself for not paying attention.
"Don't be because now I know the hand that you use to fap with." The man gave Michael a satisfactory smile.
…
"Excuse me?" Michael blinked in surprise.
"What? You don't use your right hand whenever you're uh…alone?" The man leaned in to whisper.
"Wow, this is really happening…" Michael awkwardly looked around before seriously looking at the man, "Awkward… Yet, I'm intrigued by this weirdness of yours. Go on…"
"Nah, no need to, I just wanted to get a bit of a chuckle from you since this looks to be your first greeting down here in the Underworld." The man laughed, "So I guess you could say that I popped your Greeting cherry, pfft!"
"Ohohoho, sex jokes, nice…"
"See? Finally, someone who gets my humor, you know, usually people get sensitive around me for making jokes like that."
"But they're the best kind though!"
"Oh my maou, I know right!"
"Say, what's your name?" Michael said.
"Aaron. Aaron du Lac, [Knight] to Seekvaira Agares-sama." Aaron stuck out his hand, "I'm pretty much related to the Original Lancelot."
"Wait a minute, Lancelot? Agares-sama? Aaron? To?" Michael emphasized before realizing, "Hey, you're that Aaron guy that Shi-rou was talking about, I guess it makes sense that you're a part of the same peerage."
"Shi-rou? Hehehe, nice, but seriously, my bud actually talked about me? That's a pleasant surprise, what did he say about me?" Aaron asked.
"Actually, he didn't really say anything about you per say. All he said was that you sound like a disappointment." Michael said with a straightforward smile.
"Yep, that's exactly what he would say…"
"So back to your last name, I can't help but wonder how AWESOME it was to hear it, so does that mean?"
"Yup, I'm descended from the ancient bloodline of Sir Lancelot of the Round Table." Aaron nodded.
"So cool… But hold on…" Michael contained the inner fanboy within himself to ask, "Isn't Sir Lancelot supposed to be some sort of Holy Knight like King Arthur? How the heck did you end up a devil?"
"Well, my friend that is a long story that took place 8 years ago…" Just as Aaron was about to talk about his backstory, both Michael and him spotted Shirou amongst the crowd of handshaking devils.
"Oh, there he is!" Michael shouted and pointed at the now pale-skinned white-haired devil.
"Hey, Shi-rou! Guess who I just met!" Aaron waved.
"Motherfuc-!"
"Ahem!" Standing next to Shirou was a stern Seekvaira, who wore a stunning, formal blue dress that moderately reached down to her knees.
"God Damm-!"
"Ahem!"
"Darn i-?"
"AHEM!"
"R-Really? Grr, fine…"
Going about to finish their last round of greetings, Seekvaira and Shirou left Michael and Aaron to their business, but not without Shirou shooting the two snickering devil's a vengeful glare.
"Hehehe, he's so whipped…" Michael quietly laughed.
"Oh, you have no idea, and Seekvaira-sama isn't the only one in our peerage, who keeps him in check." Aaron winked.
"Really, who?" Michael asked, excitedly.
"Well, currently, she's…"
"Michael…"
"Ouch! Buchou?" Michael cried out as Rias pulled him away by the ear.
"We're still doing the greeting, so hurry up. You may not have known, but there are actually some noble devils, who want to meet you since you're the first Legendary Welsh Dragon possessor to be reincarnated into a devil. So, let's go!" Rias tugged Michael back into the crowd without releasing his ears.
"R-Right, ouch, I'm sorry, Buchou… Well, Aaron, I'll catch you on the flip, bro! Ouch, ow… Rias, please, I promise to finish the greeting so let me go…" Michael whined.
"It was my mistake to have left you on your own. No, you're sticking with me, so I can keep a closer eye on you." Rias scolded.
'I guess Shirou isn't the only one who's whipped around here. Makes me wonder if those two have a thing like he and Seekvaira.' Aaron whistled to himself as he skipped out on doing the rest of his greetings.
Making their round of greetings was a challenge for Michael since acting like a gentleman was exhausting for him. His shoulders were stiff from trying to keep posture and his voice began to hurt due to restraining his usually loud voice. Once the greetings were done, he was able to catch a bit of his breath, but things were far from over for him once the music started playing.
Watching as devils started to dance in the hall, Michael noticed that he and Rias were standing side by side on the side of the hall. Looking over to her, he had expected her to ask him to dance, but the girl was quiet with a blush on her face as she began to fidget around. After recollecting his Gentleman lessons from Venelana, he started to kick himself for being so forgetful.
'The guy's supposed to ask the girl to dance. Come on, brain! Work faster!' Michael thought.
"Ahem!" Catching Rias' attention with a cough, Michael held out his hand and smiled, "Hey, Rias, I was wondering if you wanted to…boogie down with me?"
"Michael…" At first, she looked about ready to reprimand the boy for his informal behavior, but the look then turned into a smirk, "I'd love to boogie down with you."
"Great, let's get DOWN! OW!" Michael received a pinch to the arm.
"Control yourself…"
"Heh, sorry."
As the two walked out onto the dance floor, they noticed a couple of familiar faces such as Kiba dancing with a few female devils, which wasn't a surprise due to his bishounen appearance. There was also Shirou dancing with his master, Seekvaira Agares, at first, Michael kind of knew there something up between the two during the Young Devil Gathering, but the way that they danced together was completely in-sync and rather intimate giving them quite a close vibe.
Surrounded by a crowd of eager male devils was Sona, who spent her time dancing with a line of them that were just captivated by her cold beauty. Worried for Saji, Michael looked around and was surprised to find that Saji was indeed dancing with on the dance floor and his partner was Tsubaki Shinra!?
'Whoa, what a twist… I guess they have been rather close lately after we did help with that family issue in the woods.' Michael proudly nodded in Saji's direction, but this only confused the young man as he shrugged it off and happily danced with the somewhat blushing Tsubaki.
It was apparent that he wasn't fully aware of her feelings yet, but he's smart, so he'll get the hint eventually. In fact, half of the boy's attention was on Sona as he hoped to have at least one dance with his [King].
Smoothly dancing together, Michael was able to keep up with Rias in their waltz.
"Wow, Michael, I'm impressed. You really seem to be a natural at this." Rias loved him, but she did expect Michael to accidentally step on a few of her toes.
"Well, I do have my moments and besides dancing really isn't that much of a challenge since my great guts pushed me through to master all of those lessons." Michael grinned as he twirled Rias around and brought her back close to him.
'Okay, Ddraig… How are things going down there?' Michael gulped.
[I can't believe you're making me do this for you…]
Just before the party, Michael begged Ddraig to control his feet during the dance portion of the party. The dance lessons from Venelana was hell and he could barely remember most of the steps since he only remembered the pain of getting a heeled foot stabbed into his own.
The dragon wasn't experienced in this form of control, yeah, he'd slap Michael across the face with his own arm, and he'd even fix up the cracks of his armor, but dancing wasn't his forte. At this point, he was simply getting lucky with how simple the steps were and questioned why Michael found this even difficult in the first place.
Soon enough, the two's dance eventually came to an end as they took a few steps back and bowed at one another. However, receiving a tap to the shoulder, Michael turned around to spot Asia, Akeno, Xenovia and Koneko waiting in line to dance with him.
'This explains why I didn't see them on the dance floor at all…' Michael tiredly groaned before he sucked it up and stuck his hand out.
"Why thank you, Michael-kun." Kiba chuckled as he took Michael's hand.
"Wha-? Where the hell did you come from!?" Michael screamed.
"I just finished dancing with a few volunteers and after I voiced my desire to dance with you, they more than willingly let me go to come to you." Kiba pointed over to the high class devils, who were excitedly breathing at the two men holding hands. Even a few of the held a heart shape at them, as a way of shipping them together.
'What kind of bullshit is this!?Why are chicks into BL? Especially even High-Class devils, what kind of society allows this to stand!?'
[The same kind that doesn't frown upon devils like you having harems…]
'…Touche… Man, it's a bit weird having someone else point that out. At this point, its starting to become a natural feeling…this harem thing… But back to the main point.'
"Let go, I was supposed to dance with Asia first so take a hike!" Michael hissed.
"Actually, Michael-san, Kiba-san was before me in line." Asia revealed.
"W-What?" Michael sweatdropped.
"So, shall we get going?" Kiba smiled as he dragged Michael by the arm towards the dance floor.
"This ain't right! Someone! Anyone! Please stop this!" As Michael cried, a beautiful black haired woman with blue eyes dressed in an elegant black dress and arm length red satin opera gloves entered the hall as a mature smile crept up on her face as she saw the merriment that everyone was experiencing. As she was about to exit the elevator, a black gloved hand tapped at her shoulder.
"Hello?"
*STAAB~!*
The woman turned around and quickly found that a blade of light had plunged itself into her heart.
"Uuuaa-Mmmmmmmpgh!" Before the woman could even scream another black glove quickly covers her mouth to muffle her screams as she was quickly pulled back into the elevator as the sounds of struggling could be heard before a quick flash of light occurred, then soon enough silence…
*DING!*
With the elevator opening once more, the black-haired woman entered the dance hall, as she giddily looked past the bothersome crowd of dancing devils at the sorrowful Michael dancing with Kiba. Soon enough, her lips crept up into a very unsettling smile as her violet eyes intently looked at him.
"Target acquired~!"
XXX
"So, is everything ready, nya?" Kuroka asked through a small communicator magic circle.
"Affirmative, all of the magic circles have been placed around the hotel. It would seem our benefactor studied the posts of the soldiers protecting the hotel and positioned quite a few of her chimera over them. This way, we'll experience less interference from them when we test the might of the Red Dragon Emperor for ourselves. I'm quite interested to see the Holy-Dragon Slayer Blade, Ascalon that Sir Vali mentioned. Hm, if I have the chance, I wouldn't mind adding it to my collection with Excalibur Ruler." Arthur responded from her side of the woods.
"A sword freak till the end…" Kuroka tsked.
"Better than being a cat that does nothing but bum around." Arthur insulted.
"Nyow, that was a real stinger." Kuroka playfully sniffled, "You may have just hurt my wittle feelings, nyoohoo~!"
"You being an annoyance aside, make sure to contact me when you're done getting your sister, Shirone. That way, I'll give you my coordinates when I find the Red Dragon Emperor, understood?"
"…"
"Do I make myself clear, Kuroka?" Arthur reiterated.
"I hear ya, but first, I just want you to do me a little favor before I send out a fraction of my chi for Shirone to follow."
"And what is that?"
"I want you to also be on the look out for anyone that may seem me-strange around you if you can."
"You mean?" Arthur asked.
"Yep, even though my sister neglected to learn proper senjutsu control from them, it would still seem that whoever they chose was quite a proficient master when using Sage Arts. I'd say they even stand on par with my proficiency and skill with it." Kuroka warned as a deadly smile etched itself on her face,
"I'm not going to get reckless and try to handle more than what we originally came for. We pick up my sister, then we "play" with the Red Dragon Emperor. Those are our objectives, and should we come across any outliers to that objective, we simply dispose of them as fast as we can. So, should you run into this other Senjutsu user, then please do everything you can to make sure my lovely reunion with my sister isn't ruined by quickly-"
XXX
-"Disposing of them…"- Kuroka's words echoed.
'I can't sense any power signature or life force, but they are out there. I feel it.'
Hanging off the side of the hotel's roof, Natsuru used her sage arts to detect anything around the radius of the hotel's dance hall. Her attire consisted of a black kunoichi garb complete with a mask covering her mouth, although it was strange that she was wearing one to a party, she fully realized that the situation was just too dire to even consider wearing a dress and that maybe she could tease Michael if she had the chance by emphasizing the revealing parts of her outfit.
'Not just that, I can also feel something different from then, yet familiar… Something that's bringing back bad memories…' Natsuru distastefully looked over to the guard posts around the hotel and sensed an eerie feeling coming from above all of them.
From experience, she remembered a tactic that she had planned to use against Michael and Rias during the ruse of a date that she planned to capture the pawn. She originally wished to do it but opted for a subtler plan involving the chimera that she had under her control to disguise themselves as the workers for the carnival. Having a full on assault from the get go would have been disastrous and cause too much unnecessary damage that would only catch the attention of the surrounding enemy and create chaos.
"Wait a minute, chaos?" Natsuru whispered to herself before gasping, "Oh, no…"
Things were about to get exhausting this evening, and Natsuru was finding herself in a tough bind. Between protecting the hotel from a possible onslaught of enemies and heading out to find Koneko's sister before they acted out themselves. She couldn't get help from Rias Gremory, the two were already on bad terms and it wouldn't be likely for to even to a word that she would say, and Natsuru quite honestly didn't want to go to her of all people.
There was also Azazel, but it would only end in vain since the Fallen Angel was already drunk off his ass with the other leaders in the rooms above the dance hall. Natsuru didn't want to put up with the inebriated Governor-General and end up reeking of booze.
"Figures, I would have a difficult time in finding someone to assist me." Natsuru groaned, she wasn't quite a fan of devils to begin with, so her options were drastically limited. However, there was one person that came to mind, aside from Michael, they were a person that she came to fully trust among the devils that she had met. In fact, she honestly didn't want to owe them more of a favor than she already thanks to their past good deed.
"I apologize for doing this, but I really require your assistance…" Natsuru vanished in the shadows as she ventured forward to find her "ally".
"Oh my god, I'm so tired…" After the ordeal of dancing with everyone in his group, Michael panted as he sat back in his seat next to Asia and Gasper. The three managed to snag a few seats in the corner of the hall to catch their breath. Going from doing their greetings to dancing was mentally tiring for them, especially Michael and Asia since they were completely new to the world of devils.
Rias and Akeno were away talking with a few other female devils that were friends of theirs while Kiba was surrounded by female devils, no shocker there.
Arriving with various dishes of food in hand, Xenovia handed them to the trio, "Food's here, make sure to eat up."
"Food!" Michael cried as he quickly took his plate and began chowing down, "Thank maou, you're a saint, Xenovia, a saint!"
"Sorry about this, Xenovia-san." Asia apologized.
"Don't worry about it, Asia, its nothing, really. This amount is inexpensive, and you look like you needed something to wet your mouth with." Xenovia handed Asia a glass of juice.
"T-Thanks, its just…its my first time doing this sort of things, so my throat got dry since I was so nervous." Asia smiled as she engaged Xenovia in conversation.
Already finished with his plate of food, Michael looked over to Gasper and asked, "How are you holding up there, buddy?"
"Oh! I-I'm fine, Michael-nii just, hurp!" Gasper stopped himself from gagging, "Fine…"
"Hang in there, Gasper, you're proving to be a real man. Consider this event as an ordeal to prove yourself, got it?" Michael said, seriously.
"Os-urp! Hruuuphm!" Gasper nodded, but soon found himself gagging once more as he ran off to the bathroom yet again.
*SLAM!*
"Even if you throw your guts up, make sure to never lose your guts! Got it?" Michael still looked seriously as he looked at the locked bathroom door.
"O-Osu…" Gasper weakly cried.
Getting up to put away his dish, Michael starts to notice a silhouette approach him. In fact, this silhouette seemed awfully familiar. After he placed his dish away, they appeared right in front of him. It was a girl wearing a dress, she had blonde twintails and she was staring dead at him.
"Oh my goodness, you're-!"
"I-It's been a while, Sekiryuutei." The girl smiled.
'Crap, she knows me, and I know her…sort of? I don't remember all too well, um… Oh, yeah!' Michael snapped his fingers.
"Wait a minute, aren't you that little sister with the brother complex for that Yakitori bastard, Riser?" Michael asked, distastefully.
"How rude! It's Ravel Phoenix! My name is Ravel Phoenix!" Heavily emphasizing her name, Ravel introduced herself.
"Whoops, sorry, I sort of forgot since it's been a long time, hahaha!" Michael laughed.
"You admit that while you're laughing? Seriously, this is why you low-class devils are so slow and just…ugh!" She crossed her arms, angrily.
"Okay, okay, that's on me. Sorry about that, so…how's you're bastard of a brother doing?" Michael wasn't subtle, he still didn't like Riser all that well.
Ignoring the remark, Ravel sighed, "Thanks to you, his spirits have been quite low. You defeating him like that really broke his spirits and it didn't help that you stole Rias-sama from either. Well, this was unavoidable since he always did rely on his talent, so beating him when he started getting a big head was a good lesson for him."
"And for me as well…" Ravel whispered to herself.
"Haha! Damn, you really don't hold back when you're talking about your brother, huh? I'm surprised that you could get away with that since you are a part of his peerage."
"Well, it's only the truth, and besides, it's pathetic of him to keep moaning over one loss instead of trying to get back on his feet to be better." Ravel said, "And about being a part of his peerage? Well, I've currently been traded over to be my mother's servant." Ravel fidgeted as she disclosed the information with Michael.
"Trade? What's that?" Michael asked.
"You don't know? Trading, according to the rules of the Rating Games, is possible when two [Kings] exchange pieces with each other. The only condition that's required is that they must be the same kind of piece. My mother traded an unused piece that she had in exchange for me since she doesn't participate in Rating Games. She says that she would trade me again, but only when I find the person whose family I want to become a part of." Ravel inquired as she looked expectantly at Michael,
"Yup, I'm essentially a free [Bishop] now. A [Bishop]. A single piece, that's all."
"Trading…trading… Sounds pretty cool, I can't wait to possibly do that when I become an Ultimate Class Devil." Michael rubbed his chin before blinking to realize that he zoned out in thought, "Huh, oh, sorry, did you say something just now…"
Groaning, Ravel shook her head, "N-No, it's nothing."
"Oh, okay…" Michael shrugged, "Well, its been really nice talking to you, Ravel, see ya."
"U-Um, wait!"
"Hm?"
"Sekiryuutei-!"
"Ah, enough of the Sekiryuutei title. I know it can a handful to typ-hrm!"
"What is it?"
"Sorry was about to say the wrong word there. I mean it can be a handful to say, so just call me by my name, Michael Hanamura. We're both around the same age, so don't force yourself to speak so elegantly to me, okay?"
"H-Hey…!"
"Hehehe!"
Michael playfully poked at Ravel's forehead much to the girl's dismay.
"Hmph! Fine then, if that's what you want me to call you then fine! *C-Cough!* Michael Hanamura-sama."
"You know, you don't have to call me by my full name, Michael is fine, too, and Sama? I already get enough of that from a friend of mine, so you can just call me Michael."
"Absolutely not, addressing you this way is important, Michael-sama!" Ravel exclaimed.
"O-Okay then, you can call me "Michael-sama" then, hehe…" Michael awkwardly laughed.
'Geez, this girl is more expressive than Xenovia, yet, she's just as hard to read.' Michael thought.
"Ravel-sama, Lord Phoenix's friend is calling for you." Approaching the two wearing a long white suit left unbuttoned to show her mid-riff, black shorts and brown boots was an old face that Michael was more than comfortable to see.
"Hey, I remember you, you're Isabela!" Michael happily waved to the woman.
"Its been a while, hello, Michael Hanamura." Isabela bowed her head.
'Seriously? He remembers her name and not mine?' Ravel sighed to herself, she must not have left that much of an impression on him than Isabela.
"I-I see, if father's friend wishes to see me, then I should go there to meet them." Ravel hesitantly looked down before she exclaimed, "Michael-sama!"
"Y-Yeah?" Michael blinked out of surprise from the outburst.
"The next time we meet, would you like to have some tea with me? A-A-A-A-And if possible, and if its okay with you… I mean, if you want to… Not trying to force you into accepting, but would you like to have a homemade cake p-p-prepared by me?"
Ravel heavily stuttered.
"Cake?" Michael coughs into his hand before kneeling down to look up at Ravel's eyes to seriously say, "Make it either Velvet or Carrot cake, and we have a deal, deal?"
"D-Deal." Delighted, Ravel excitedly shook Michael's hand.
"Now if you'll excuse me." Ravel raised the hem of her dress and curtsied before she left. Touching the spot that Michael poked, she did look perturbed at first, but eventually she soon came to smile.
"So, Isabela, how have things been?" Michael asked.
"Rather slow lately, after you defeated Riser-sama, he has yet to take part in any other Rating Game, yet." Isabela confessed.
"Sorry if I sound like a jerk, but I'm not apologizing about beating Riser." Michael scratched his head.
"No need to, and besides, between the two of you, it looked as though you valued the battle more than Riser-sama to go to such extremes. I could tell with that powerful blow you gave me back then, I still remember it…" Isabela rubbed her midriff as a blush too small for Michael to notice appeared on her cheeks, shaking it off, she said, "In fact, I can tell that you're much stronger than before, too."
"Well, I did currently manage to completely master the power output of my Scale Mail along with learning a bunch of things from the dragons up on the mountains." Michael clenched his fist.
"Good, the stronger you become, the easier it will be to boast about my battle with you." Isabela smiled with a satisfied look on her face.
"So, are you Ravel's escort?" Michael asked.
"Something like that, the girl has things that she just can't grasp as a child, like our master Riser-sama. Since the Rating Game, she's done nothing but talk about you and your impressive bout with Riser-sama."
"Really? She was impressed? Sort of thought that she'd be pretty pissed off at me for ruining her brother's engagement." Michael asked.
"…No, it's the opposite actually. Well, it's fine. You'll understand eventually."
"Well, whatever the case is, when you're with her again tell her this: I don't know about always having tea together, but if she's ever in the mood to hang out, then shoot me a call anytime." Michael gave Isabela a thumbs up.
"Thank you for that, Ravel will be quite happy when she hears of that."
"And that invitation also extends out to you, too, Isabela."
"!?" Isabela looked surprised at the teen extending his fist out.
"I mean, you're not doing much since Riser's down in the dumps, right? Well, why don't you come over whenever you want to hang out or spar?" Michael grinned, "I really want to fight you again."
"Thanks for the invitation, b-but *AHEM!* I don't think that I'm strong enough to give you a proper fight much less a fruitful spar."
"I mean, after you knocked me flat the first time, I got strong enough to beat you, didn't I? So, who's to say that you can't get strong enough to match me, eh?"
Shocked, Isabela was surprised to such humility in the young man.
"By sparring with each other, we'll slowly get better and stronger than ever, so let's work hard at it together!" Michael did his best to sound like Sairaorg, it felt like something the guy would say.
"After receiving an offer like that, how could I possibly refuse?" After tapping fists with him, Isabela waved goodbye and followed after the daughter of the Phoenix clan.
"Catch you on the flip side!" Michael waved.
"Incredible, Michael-nii, you have so many devil friends already…" Gasper admirably popped up behind the teen.
"Heh, of course because after all I am-!"
"Hurp!"
"Okay, you seriously need help…"
"N-No, I think I'm fi-huuurgh!" Gasper gagged mid-sentence.
"You good?"
"It's fine, I just need to ride it out, hmmmgh!" Gasper rubbed his tummy.
"Well, in case you can't make it to the bathroom." Michael pulled one of the to-go bags from besides the table and handed it to the dhampir.
"Thank you…"
"Don't mention it, Gasper… Seriously, I don't want you puking on me." Michael directed Gasper to the seats as he returns his sight to dance hall. Everyone was where he last saw them, but then that got him question something that he missed when he looked out to the hall in first place.
"Where's Koneko-chan?" Concerned for her whereabouts, Michael began searching through the crowd of dancing devils only to come up short. The girl was quite small as it is and if she were to deem it, then she could basically make it next to impossible to sense her.
"Excuse me?"
Getting tapped on the shoulder, Michael turns around to come face to face with a beautiful and mature devil, the smile that she wore was welcoming and hopeful.
"Yeah?"
"You wouldn't perhaps be the Red Dragon Emperor that I've been hearing so much about would you?"
"Yup." Michael rushed to answer.
"Ohoho, how delightful~! You are just as kind and naively brave looking as they say!" The woman giggled.
"Naively brave? *SIGH!* Look, I'm sorry, miss, I appreciate the thought, but I'm currently searching for someone, so if you mind?"
"Oh no, please wait! All I ask of you is one quick dance. Nothing more, nothing less after that then I'll let you free." The woman winked.
"Erh…!" Michael looked torn as he looked around for Koneko before looking back at the pleading woman.
"Pwease~!?" The woman squeaked.
"What?"
"Ahem, I mean…please…"
"Gurgh, okay, just one dance…" Michael gave in and held out his hand, "But I seriously have to hurry."
"Thank you for accepting to dance with a selfish woman like myself, my name is Asriel Ipos, and do not worry about time because depending on the song, I believe that we'll finish things up quite nicely." Asriel took Michael's hand while hiding the other behind her back as she silently snaps her fingers.
XXX
*ZIIIIING!* *ZIIIIIING!* *ZIIIIIING!* *ZIIIIING!*
Appearing above the guard posts surrounding the hotel were multiple large magic circles, which soon opened a portal for large grotesque beasts to fly out. The beasts were the textbook definition of a chimera seen through Greek legend, they were lions that possessed the wings of eagles, the second head and hindquarters of a goat and snake headed tails.
Now set free, the beasts set their sights on the guards below them as they gave a loud roar before starting their hunt for flesh and blood.
"…Targets spotted, initiating countermeasures."
From below, a barrage of highly condensed magical bullets shot at the wings of the chimera before effectively riddling all of their bodies with destructives blasts of magic. Raining down from the sky, the once terrifying chimera were reduced to bullet filled carcasses.
Amongst the thankful cheering behind them, was a stoic, young, well-developed woman with long golden-blonde hair tied in a high ponytail using a blue ribbon, tied into a bow, and copper-colored eyes. Despite attending the party with her master and fellow servants, she still donned a navy-blue military dress for any form of battle.
Dropping both of her smoking rifles down into the magic circles below them, she creates a small communication magic circle to say, "This is Lyudmila Mykhailivna Pavlichenko. Post A's threats have been neutralized."
*ZAAAAAAN!*
In a single sword swing, the legion of chimera flying towards the next guard post were all cut in half.
*CHNK!*
Sheathing a long sword radiating a heavy demonic aura, Aaron tiredly sighed, "Sheesh, and just when I was about to score on a couple of chicks tonight…"
XXX
"Lancelot…" Lyudmila reprimanded the [Knight]'s complaining.
"Sheesh, okay, fine! Cool off why don't you, Lydie?" Aaron laughed, "Aaron Lancelot, ready and raring to go! Post B's threats have been effectively neutered! Bow-chika-bow-wow!"
"DIE!"
*BAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!*
With only a single punch, the chimera around the third post were completely eliminated. Walking across the remains of the fallen beasts, was the white-haired delinquent himself, Shirou donned in his Grand Chariot armor.
\Finally, now this is what I call a party!/ Typhon laughed.
"Shirou Fujimura, here. Post C's threats are effectively buried…" Shirou said through the communicator circle, "And you Natsuru how are things going on you're end?"
XXX
"Posts D and E have already been safeguarded." Natsuru spoke as she was already dashing through the dark woods surrounding the hotel. She made sure to put the dead bodies that she tore to shreds with her claws to good use by controlling the roots in the ground to bury them and use their decomposing corpses as fertilizer.
Although it was a shaky choice to make, Natsuru was more than glad to have gotten some help with the current situation. All it took was a single call for Shirou and just like that, he was able to round up his nearby peerage members for a counterattack against the incoming threat.
"Just now, I felt Koneko's presence heading for the west, so that's where I'm going. I'll be sure to eliminate any chimera in this direction, but it won't be likely that they'll be any around her." If the enemy up ahead was Koneko's sister, then she would most likely have no harm come to her sister before their meeting. As a fellow older sister, she knew the exact precautions that older siblings take for their little ones.
["You need back up?"] Shirou asked.
"No, you handle the stragglers coming below on the ground, they're most likely coming through those other posts, so be prepared to enter the woods too and make sure that they don't scatter."
["Got it."]
["Understood."]
Both Aaron and Lydie responded.
After a moment's hesitation, Natsuru said, "Everyone, I-I just want to thank for heeding my call, and I simply want to apologize for tearing you away from your current engagements."
["Heh, baby, anything with you in it is always an engagement."] Aaron flirted.
[Are you seriously taking this chance to hit on someone, Lancelot?] Lydie scolded.
["Hey, its never too late to have more than a professional relationship with a kitty-fox like her and besides she can't possibly turn me down after showing off my cool side, heheh…"] Aaron laughed.
"Sorry, but I'm currently interested in somebody else." Natsuru flat out denied the advance.
["Hahahahahaha!"] \Hahahahahahaha!/ Shirou and Typhon laughed at the [Knight]'s rejection.
["Ouch, that actually hurt…"] Aaron whimpered.
["Aaron's failure at love aside, enough with the sappy crap, Natsuru. Until you called we were all virtually bored with the party. We literally do this every year, so stopping man-eating beasts is like a breath of fresh air for us!"] Shirou laughed.
["I do not know how to feel about receiving thanks from a former criminal, but I concur with our inept [Queen]."] Lydie started.
[What the fuck did you just say, bitch!?"] Shirou growled.
["…I've actually grown tired of these events, so I tend to go the guard posts and exchange tidbits about gun weaponry. I was even enjoying myself by participating in a timed gun assembly contest."] Lydie explained,
["But even though this surprise attack is a nice change of pace, I can't sit idly by and allow Seekvaira-sama's night to be ruined."]
"I see." Natsuru sort of admired the woman's loyalty, "But don't take this the wrong way, but I sort of expected for the next head of the Agares family to have more than you 3 as her servants."
["Oh, she has a [Bishop] and a [Pawn]. However, the pawn is too busy being crowded by a couple of admirers at the party while the bishop… Well, she's a bit complicated to explain let's just say that she doesn't like to attend social events like these and prefers to stay at home to tinker with her "babies"."] Shirou tiredly groaned, which made Natsuru wonder how troublesome the other peerage members were.
["Besides, we're more than enough because just as I told her the news, she gave us one simple order."] Shirou said.
"And what would that order be?" Natsuru asked.
XXX
An excited grin crept up on both Shirou and Aaron's faces while Lydie's dead serious.
["""SHOW NO MERCY AND GO WILD!"""]
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
Retribrutus
Retribrutus Next chapter- Let the Dancing Commence! An Unknown Request to Dance? The Neko-Kitsune and the Agares Agents stop the party-crashers! Part 2
Now here is the updated Harem List: Rias, Raynare, Asia, Akeno, Xenovia, Koneko, Kiyome, Natsuru, Irina, Kalawarner, Mittelt, Rossweisse, Ravel, Isabela, ??????
I won't be coy and say that the number of question marks is the number of letters that spell the last person's first name to join. Have fun figuring out who it is...
Welp, I hope you all have a lovely day!
I'm Out so Peace Out!
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone