《Alternative: To Love–Ru》


 .0

    [Yuuki''s Residence ? 6:45AM]


    [???????]


    The sounds of fingers tapping against smoothened wood echoed in the dimly lit room as music flowed gently in the background. Together, the two blended perfectly, enchanting and hauntingly beautiful. And right around the corner sat Rito, his head shook back and forth slowly along with the rhythm as he tried to remember who the composer was. He couldn''t¡ª He was never one to remember unimportant details. He did enjoy the music though. It alway seemed to soothe and coax his mind in ways nothing ever could.


    Satisfied, he turned down the volume. His eyes remained closed as he waited patiently. He could hear it, the sounds of creaking floor assheapproached his door. ¡°Rito, wake up or you''re going to be late for school.¡± [???]


    Hearing that feminine voice called out his name made him smile lightly. He didn''t need to be woken up. In fact, he didn''t even need to sleep at all being the fourth generation of transformation weapon. His true nature rendered that an useless act. Still, he enjoyed and embraced this daily routine as much as he felt guilty about it. Although he tried to help wherever and whenever he could, Rito knew he''d only bring Mikan, his little sister more troubles than good¡ª He wasn''t exactly gifted at doing house chores as his sister.


    That wasn''t to say he was completely useless. Most of the heavy lifting were done by him, he also took care of the plants and occasionally cleaned the house when she was busy. Sure, it wasn''t much but it was something. At least he was around to help, unlike their irresponsible parents, who literally left their underage children to fend for themselves while they were out ¡®working¡¯. It wasn''t as though they were bad parents or anything, he just wished they could be around for them more. Kids needed their parents¡ª He didn''t. But he didn''t want his sister to feel either neglected or abandoned.


    So far, his worries and concerns for her remained just that, worries and concerns. She didn''t seem to particularly mind that their parents were out all the time. And that''s good. For a period of time, he was truly worried he mightn''t have been enough to fill the role that should have been their parents''. ¡°Rito?!¡± [Mikan]


    After not receiving any answer, Mikan called again which brought him back to reality. He stood up, his body cracked in disapproval of the sudden movements. Done scretching, he walked toward the door and unlocked it to find his sister standing hands on her hip. She was quite small, only reaching his chest in height, which wasn''t really a surprise considering she was four years younger than him. She had silky dark brown hair and beautiful golden eyes that Rito swore could shine in the dark. ¡°Geez. What took you so long?¡± [Mikan]


    The girl pouted cutely¡ª A gesture Rito very much appreciated. Because their parents rarely ever came home, coupled with the fact he was almost useless when it came to house chores, Mikan needed to grow up a lot sooner than her peers. In some ways, she was even more reliable than he himself. Which made cute, childish acts such as this rather scarce. ¡°Sorry, I was thinking of something.¡± [Rito]


    He said, scratching his head embarrassed. He couldn''t say he was worrying over her¡ª While he truly cared about her, he had a hard time actually expressing it. Fortunately, this was never a problem for them since she herself knew how overprotective he could be. There was this one time when the boys in her class took advantage of her, she didn''t know what he did, but after what he swore was only ¡®talking¡¯, they avoided her like the plague, which was kinda funny¡­ And alarming at the same time.


    ¡°I made breakfast, come down and eat. Also, remember to lock the door when you leave.¡± [Mikan]


    She told him as she went downstairs, all while taking off her pink apron. Once he was sure she had gone on her way to school, Rito closed the door. His gold eyes flashed as they turned into an inhuman crimson. Feeling the ¡®Dark Matter¡¯ around him, he heaved a sign of contentment. His hands reached into the shadow of the room, which instantly wrapped against his body. The enlongated shadow tendrils twisted and shifted under his control, giving off a vivid life-like expression. They continued to creep along the outline of his body before transforming into his uniform¡ª A short sleeve white button shirt and green trousers with cross-hatched pattern.


    He honestly didn''t like the uniform. It was too colorful for his taste. He much preferred staying in the background and the color wasn''t helping. Not that it mattered given how popular he was at school. Done preparing, Rito grinned at his reflection in the mirror. The person who greeted him back was a teenage boy, fourteen to fifteen years old at most. He had deep black hair and striking golden eyes. his facial features were refined yet soft, giving off a friendly and elegant vibe.


    He eyed his uniform carefully, making sure there was nothing missing¡ª The last time he forgot to check, he came outside with incomplete clothes. Needless to say it was an embarrassing experience. Fortunately, most people thought the condensed ¡®Dark Matter¡¯ was some kind of magic trick, else he''d have been in big trouble knowing how weird humans could react to unexplainable, supernatural things. But he wasn''t alwaythis. There was a time when he knew nothing of the supernatural and was kept in the dark by the government, similar to most. Though those peaceful time now seemed to be an eternity away.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    <hr>


    Sainan Metropolitan High SchoolorSainan Highfor short was a relatively normal school, if you ignored the fact that it had a close connection to two of the most wanted people in the known universe. One of which was the infamousGravewalker. To the students here, Yuuki Rito was just a normal boy. He was polite but slightly anti-social, there''s nothing particularly special about him other than his high grades and appearance. However, to the rest of the universe, he was a true walking nightmare. His power and the things he, supposedly, did made the battle-forged criminals of the underworld look like a chihuahua in comparison.


    Some said he was the embodiment of death iself, others even declared him theIncarnation Of Sins. Rumors spoke of his unbound evil, devilish charm and limitless strength¡ª Though none had actually seen him in battle... In fact, none had actually caught more than a glimse of the real him. That''s why stories of him differed everytime, ranging from somewhat believable to absolute insanity.


    ''Till this day, seven years after theGravewalkermade his debut in the underworld as a mercenary for hire, nobody had managed to come close to figuring out his identity. Even the Devilukean, who prided themselves in having the widest information network ever had to admit defeat. His abilities, weapons and origin were all currently mysteries waiting to be discovered as whoever lucky, or peharps unlucky enough to enounter him often didn''t live to tell the tale most of the times. Those who did were traumatized to the point of losing their memories of the event, or so they said¡ª In truth, he used his ability, ¡®Psycho Dive¡¯, to erase or blur out their memories, but¡®close enough(?)¡¯.


    <hr>


    [Sainan High ? 7:06AM]


    [???????]


    Rito stood, his back against the wall as he read articles about himself on the¡®Galactic Net¡¯. He had no idea where they got these bullshit from, but he appreciated it. This, along with his pre-existing reputation would hopefully deter any retarded, annoying pieces of inferior garbage from bothering him trying to make a name for themselves¡ªHopefully.¡°Hey Rito, are you listening?!¡± [???]


    A voice suddenly dragged him away from his thoughts. Rito lifted his head finding none other than Saruyama Kenichi, his best friend since junior high. Unlike him, Saruyama was, to put delicately, a perverted, luckless loser. He had spiky black hair and dull black eyes. He enjoyed reading porn magazines and was quite open about his inner sexual desires. Added with that plain face of his, it wasn''t hard to see why he had never had any luck with girls. But despite all his flaws, which he had a fuck tons of, Rito knew he could trust Saruyama when things became serious. It was for this reason that they came to be friends in the first place.


    ¡°Yes~ I''m listening. How can I no¡ªt be interested in loudly discussing how to sneak inside the girls changing room in the middle of the FUCKING HALLWAY?!¡± [Rito]


    Rito replied sarcastically, almost yelling at the end as he pointed at the small crowd that had gathered up nearby. He could feel his face heating up from the embarrassment as he tried to drag his friend away before the discipline commitee came and gutted them both alive. Fortunately, he succeeded. The two of them then continued on their way to class. Saruyama still babbling on and on about girls while he pretended not to know the insensitive idiot.¡°What about you, have you got anyone in mind?¡± [Saruyama]


    Eventually, they reached their destination. At this point, the conversation had been changed entirely from girls to him and his love life. Rito shrugged uncomfortably¡ª Since young, his life had always revolved around having fun with the few friends he had and protecting his little sister. He had never given love a serious thought. As someone who had issue expressing his emotions, love made him nervous. Not to the point of shaking uncontrollably, but enough to turn what was previously a normal conversation between two best friends into awkward silence.


    And Saruyama knew this, which was why he felt the need to tease him at every turn¡ªAsshole.¡°No I''m not intere¡ª!¡± [Rito]


    Before he could finish, Saruyama abruptly poked him on the side. Rito followed his gaze and saw a girl with purple eyes and dark blue hair that was held up by a red vertical hair clip. He knew who she was, her name was Haruna, Sairenji Haruna. He didn''t like her very much. It wasn''t her personality or anything, it''s just that he often caught her looking at him weirdly, which was discomforting in many ways. At first he thought she knew he was theGravewalker, but she hadn''t made any demands so that didn''t seem to be the case either.


    ¡°What about her? She''s pretty cute, I can definitely imagine you guys going out.¡± [Saruyama]


    Seeing Saruyama grinned at him pervertedly, Rito rolled his eyes in annoyance. He didn''t say anything and chose to instead go over to his seat, located beside a window¡ªLet''s get this over with.Then, he proceeded to stare blankly at sky until class ended.


    <hr>


    [Yuuki''s Residence ? 5:34PM]


    [???????]


    That day, Rito came home rather tired. He had been working way too hard lately. His¡®Core¡¯was burning up from being overused, which in turn brought a lot of unwanted side effects such as nausea, severe headache and slight fever. The boring lectures he had to endure all day made the situation even worst than it already was. ¡°I''m home.¡± [Rito]


    He greeted. ¡°Welcome home, Rito. Dad said he''ll be home late again today.¡± [Mikan]


    His sister replied, informing him that their father most likely wouldn''t be coming home, as always. Giving back a small gibberish sound of confirmation, Rito dragged his worn-out body into his room where he could finally relax. Or so he thought. Unfortunately, fate had a different plan for him, and this plan involved a certain troublesome pink-haired princess. Peharps, if he knew beforehand this was going to happen, he could''ve avoided it somehow, but alas, he was a transformation weapon, not a prophet.


    How could he possibly imagine all the troubles that fate had in store for him? Then again, how bad could suddenly becoming fianc¨¦e to the heiress of the strongest¡®Galatic Government¡¯ be? In fact, things probably wouldn''t be much different than now... If you ignored the thousands of love-struck fianc¨¦e candidates and the assassination attempts on his life that were most likely going to be carried out by them. But other than that, things were going to be fine... Probably? Maybe?

 .1

    [Yuuki''s Residence ? 5:43PM]


    [???????]


    Contrary to the speculations and rumors floating around the ¡®Galactic Net¡¯, Rito''s living enviroment was pretty bland. There was no lineup of weapons that spanned from one side to the other, no powered suits waiting to be put on, not even your standard galactic equipments issued to every registered household. All there were was an old set of wooden table and chair, a bookshelf where he kept his book collection and his closet, which he barely ever used.


    Overall, it gave off an extremely mundane feel¡ª Something his life seemed to desperately need at the moment.


    That''s why he appreciated just about every second of times like this. Seconds where he could completely let down his guard and relax in his room without having to worry about parts of his body being blown off by someone when he wasn''t paying attention. Of course, being blown to pieces wouldn''t actually kill him or anything of sorts, that said it was still painful. And while he didn''t know about other people, last he checked, pain definitely didn''t turn him on.


    Rito shuddered at the thought, remembering the horrible experience he had on planetInfernum. As the name implied, it wasa place for people all over the universe to let loose their inner desires. From slavery, rape to torture play. You name it, they got it. There, you''re either a masochistic slut or a sadistic creep¡ª Both were equally bad and disturbing. Though he didn''t know which was worse than the other as he didn''t stick around long enough to find out.


    Sighing at the rather recent memories, Rito tiredly threw his backpack into the corner as he rubbed the goosebumps off his arms, watching in boredom as dozens of shadowy tendrils leapt up, caught and quickly dragged it away from his vision. He didn''t know where they''re taking his backpack, but he''s fine with it as long as he got it back tomorrow morning. For now though, he just wanted anything school and work related out of his hair.


    As much as he hated to admit it, Rito knew he was currently completely spent. Peharps he should''ve stopped the moment he realised his¡®Core¡¯ was overheated, but his work ethics didn''t allow him to simply give up already accepted missions. So he made a run for it, and now here he was weeks later, too weak to even fight normal space pirates. Still, the time he spent onInfernum aside, Rito didn''t regret his decision at all. Although a bit tiresome, it was an enjoyable week.


    Rito smirked, reminded of the twin he had the hot with the other night. They were partly responsible for his burnout. But if given a second chance, he''d still choose to do it with them nonetheless¡ª Those two were absolute beasts, he didn''t even know it was possible for a body to bend the way theirs did without breaking some bones, and they did it for free too. No dinner, gift or cringy pick up lines needed, just pure raw sex like the olden days. ¡°Worth¡­¡± [Rito]


    Was all he managed to utter now that he had time to look back at the short but memorable nights he spent with the two sisters. Suddenly, all the pain and severe headaches he had to suffer for abusing his ability no longer seemed as bad anymore. Better yet, they also gave him their number so he could call them whenever he¡®desired¡¯¡ª As they phrased it...


    Rito stood still, his eyes landed on the phone in his pocket. He was half-tempted to take on the girls'' offer. But then decided against it. He''d call them, sure. However, as horny as he currently was, he knew now was not the right time. His much deserved and definitely needed vacation awaited. And he doubted he would be able to get a wink of sleep with them around. Rito chuckled pervertedly as he began to pick out clean pieces of clothing from his closet.


    His stomach grumbled briefly in protest and disatisfaction as whiff of cooked food wandered into his room, but he was having none of that as he continued on his way to the bathroom.¡°Rito, leave the water heater on for me when you''re done, ''kay?¡± [Mikan]


    His sister shouted, to which he replied affirmatively before going inside with his newly selected outfit.


    <hr>


    [Sainan City ? 5:24PM]


    [???????]


    The pitch-black curtain draped over the city as twisted, warped shapes of stars began to loftily ascend in the midst of that haunting blackness. These milky speckles twirled and danced alongside each other in various differing patterns, seemingly never wanting to stop, tugging at the hearts of those free enough to watch. Yet this beautiful scene didn''t last long as a flash of light tore apart the unending darkness, followed by a series of thunderous explosions.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Instantly, the sleepless city fell into mass-panic and confusion as half of the electricity seemed to abruptly disappear. The cause was still unknown, but some scientists said it was due to an intense energy shockwave generated at the center ofSainan City. Fortunately, the city outskirts weren''t as affected by the accident so hospitals and the authorities were trying their best to move terminally ill patients, whose lives depended on the life-support system, over.


    While all this was happening, the root of this accident¡ª A pink-haired girl and her group of pursuers were having a standoff on the rooftop of an apartment building nearby. Cornered with nowhere else to go, the girl bit her lower lip in frustration. She thought she could shake themoff by escaping to this backwater planet, but their persistence and stubborness seemed to know no bounds as they relentlessly chased after her.


    ¡°We''ve finally found you¡­ I never thought you''d run to this ¡®remote area¡¯, but this is the end of your game of tag.¡± [???]


    Said one of her pursuers. He had dirty blonde hair and wore a typical black suit, which furtherly emphasized the gigantic scar on his face. From an outsider''s perspective, this looked like two guys trying to kidnap a girl, but the truth was actually much simpler... And dumber than that. These two were in truth under orders of their master to bring back the young miss, who apparently got fed up with meeting fianc¨¦e candidates all day and ran away from home.


    "Now if you would, please come with us, Lala-sama." [???]


    They told Lala-sama, but their effort was met with ridicule and rejection from the young girl as she stuck her tongue out at them in a childish manner.¡°Not coming~¡± [Lala]


    She then fished out agrey bracelet with an odd looking creature on it that had red eyes and what appeared to be long ears attached to the ring. The device shone brightly¡ª A pink color soon shallowed the playful girl in its light and just like that, Lala disappeared as if she was never even there. What remained was pieces of destroyed mecha that scattered the rooftop and two burly dudes in suit looking at each other awkwardly before finally giving chase.


    <hr>


    [Yuuki''s Residence ? 5:58PM]


    [???????]


    Rito laid naked in the bathtub, his hands playing with the galactic phone. He was extremely bored. He never thought he''d miss having to look behind every five seconds, but his life so far had revolved around having fun, school and job. Now that one of them was out of the picture, he felt empty... Peharps he''d take the girls up on their offer after all. Though he''d have to choose a different location. Doing it in his hideout was obviously a no-go.


    Satisfied with this decision, Rito turned on his phone to find on the front page of¡®Galactic News¡¯ that the heiress of the Deviluke Empire had apparently run from home, abandoning her duty as a princess. Seeing this, he couldn''t help frowing as he muttered, seemingly tired and defeated.¡°Royalties these days¡­¡± [Rito]


    Then, he closed the tab in a disinterested manner. Although his relationship with the Deviluke Empire wasn''t bad, he didn''t want to get involved with royalty. And he definitely wanted nothing to do with the current reigning emperor, Gid Lucione Deviluke. He met him once¡ª The simple act of standing near him made Rito sweat profusely. The man was an absolute monster in every sense of the word. And he''d rather die than face him(Gid) again.


    Continuing to put in the number given to him, Rito smiled pervertedly remembering the beautiful twin. He met them in one of his recent mission, they were hot and he was drugged with aphrodisiac. One thing led to another and before he knew it, they were going at it raw on a bed somewhere like wild animals. The best thing about the whole situation was they didn''t ask him for anything in return and even demanded more sex, which he''d gladly give them.


    Just as Rito was about to press call, he stopped. He felt weird, his senses were tingling. Something was gnawing at the back of his mind. And though he might not know why it was doing this, he sure as hell knew what it meant. It was his instincts warning him of danger, and he had learnt to trust these instincts throughout the years. They had save him too many times for him not to, from warning him when he was about to be betrayed to telling him to duck split seconds before enemies'' bullets could blow his brain out.


    Carefully, Rito stood up, with a wave of his hand, he took control of the scattered¡®Dark Matter¡¯ nearby and used them to scout the house. There was nothing amiss, the one other living being was his sister, who was busy making dinner in the kitchen as usual and he doubted she would, or could pose a threat to him.


    Unbeknownst to him, a small light was flashing inside the bathtub. But he was too absorbed in his thoughts to notice. Only when the light was growing visibly brighter did he see it. Alas he was late. The light exploded in the bathroom, which resulted in him being thrown off balance and fell on his ass.What the actual fuck?!¡ª He wanted to curse, yet held back for fear his sister coming to check on him. Unless he knew for certain this invader wasn''t hostile, Rito didn''t want his sister anywhere near the place.


    As he stared warily at the figure behind the steam, Rito cautiously prepared himself, his hands ready to transform at moment''s notice. His breathing calmed as he tried regain his composure... Only to fail miserably once he saw the person in question.Beautiful¡ª Was all he could use to describe her. Bountiful chest with two pink cherries attached, plump ass that could make men drool over, mischievous features that evoked obscene thoughts and shinning emerald eyes that seemed to pierce one''s very soul.


    Though her most prominent and distinguish feature was probably her hair, which was dyed(?) bright pink. ¡°Wh¡ªo¡­?¡± [Rito]


    Rito stuttered, confused as to why such a goddess was in his bathroom. But before he could truly ask her, he saw something that made his blood go ice-cold. A symbol that only those whose heritage belonged to the strongest, most deadly race in the universe had¡ª A long, thin tail that extended from the base of her back and ended with a cute heart-shaped tip.¡°Devilukean¡­¡± [Rito] He choked.

 .2

    [Sainan City ? 6:32PM]


    [???????]


    Rito had never considered himself a hero. Being brave, selflessly risking yourself for the greater good. All that heroic stuff just seemed so tasteless and impractical to him. But if so, why was he here? Being chased by two Devilukeans and potentially provoking someone he most likely couldn''t afford to? Unfortunately, even he didn''t know the answer to that question. Peharps he just felt compelled to save her, or peharps it was his hidden heroism kicking in. Either way, it no longer mattered.


    Rito feared if he couldn''t find a solution to this predicament, he might not survive the night.


    He didn''t even consider hiding. Their pursuers knew where his home was and there was no way he''d abandon his sister to save himself. That left him with two options¡ª Face the two Devilukeans head-on or continue stalling for time. Continue to run would tire him out sooner or later, leaving him vulnerable, but taking on two trained Devilukeans while being severely weakened also didn''t really seem doable in his perspective.


    He could, of course, leave her and pretended that this never happened, however then his efforts would be for naught. Beside, he doubted whoever behind this would just leave peacefully after he tried to sabotage their plan.


    ¡°Looks like fighting is unavoidable¡­¡± [Rito]


    Rito muttered under his breath, his expression was grim and solemn. Side-effects from overheating was starting to take its toll on his body, once it reached the latter stage, he might not have the strength to stand, let alone fight. It''s now or never¡­¡ª He thought as he abruptly took a sharp turn towards the nearby park. This was his chosen arena. There he could minimize the amount of collateral damage as much as possible and utilize his familiarity with the terrain at the same time.


    Gritting his teeth, Rito looked at the otherworldly beauty whom he was holding in a princess carry and told her his plan.


    ¡°I''ll deal with those guys somehow¡­¡± He pointed at their pursuers with his thumb and continued, using the softest voice he could muster. ¡°¡­But I need you to run and hide the moment I tell you to, understood¡­?!¡± [Rito]


    But the beauty appeared dazed, her beautiful emerald eyes bore into his own as she stated. ¡°You could''ve left me, but you didn''t¡­¡± As if confused as to why he helped her; she stopped briefly and then decided to vocalise her question. ¡°Rito¡­ Why?!¡± [Lala]


    Rito returned her question with silence. He was trying to come up with something, anything to use as an excuse, yet couldn''t. Truth was, even he was completely clueless as to why he decided to save her. His body just acted on its own, and that had never happened to him before. He had always strongly believed keeping a cool head was essential for people in his line of work. As long as it didn''t concern the safety of his family and loved ones, Rito believed he''d never lose himself to his emotions.


    But then, does that mean he is in love with her¡­? Impossible!¡ª Rito immediately denied that possibility.


    His control over his own emotions was something Rito took pride in, he refused to believe his mental blockage could be so easily broken by some random girl he just met an hour ago, a girl who literally exploded her way into his bathroom, no less... He simply could not accept or even comprehend that explanation.


    Minutes passed, Rito was still unable to come up with anything plausible, so he finally decided to tell her the truth. ¡°I don''t know¡­¡± He silenced, before continuing in a low voice as he kept running. ¡°But trust me, you''re not the only one who wants to know the answer to that question¡­¡± [Rito] Then he once again focused on running for their lives, refusing to say anything else.


    As Rito jumped from one rooftop to another, he deliberately slowed down his pace, acting as if he was growing tired. He needed their pursuers to follow him, leaving them in the dust would endanger his sister and that''s something he must avoid at all costs. That''s why he ran neither fast nor slow, keeping the two Devilukeans on his tail yet careful to not actually get caught.


    In the end, with their patience worn thin, one of the Devilukean grabbed a small truck and threw it in hope it could block off his route, which it successfully did. But what they didn''t know was this was the result he desired.


    Since showing his ability to others would complicate things and pose many unwanted problems, he had purposely led them here. Because today was monday, the busiest day in the week, nobody had time to play in the park after work and school, which meant the park was pretty much deserted. Added with the truck they used to block off the road, they had unknowningly provided him exactly what he needed¡ª A closed-off place where he could use his ability without having to worry about potential witnesses.


    ¡°Do not interference, earthling.¡± [???]


    The Devilukean commented, yet his advise fell on deaf ears, completely ignored by Rito. As for said earthling, he was staring up at the vast night sky, illuminated by twirling stars, wondering if he had made the right choice. Then again, Rito had already known and prepared for this day long ago, to him, it was just a matter of when and where it''d happen¡ªThe day I''m to repent for my sins...He sighed resignedly.


    Traces of sadness and melancholy briefly appeared on his face, but Rito very quickly shook off those negative feelings. If he wanted to survive this, he needed to be in hisbest conditions, both physically and mentally.¡°Remember the plan I told you? Now is probably a good time to execute that plan.¡±


    Reminding the girl to run, he turned to face the two burly Devilukeans. With his newly regained confidence, Rito once more took in the appearance of their pursuers. His first impression of these two was;They were huge, easily topping six foot five in height, the two Devilukeans looked like two masses of pure walking muscles instead of aliens¡ª Although he had fought much bigger opponents before, he knew better than to underestimate trained Devilukeans.


    Looking at their buldging arms, Rito didn''t doubt getting punched by them would hurt very, very badly. But just as his fear disppeared, something else took its place, something much more sinister. Anger. Rage. Bloodlust. Anger at his inability to keep his emotions in check. Rage at his own incompetence. And bloodlust directed towards his could-be murderers. Under that dimmed starlight, faint; almost unseeable ripples of crimson aura started to surround him.


    His beautiful golden eyes were no more, taken over by an ominous shade of crimson and his sclera pitch black.


    In the depth of his eyes wasn''t the kindness and intelligence he often showed, but a primal intent¡ª The intent to rip whatever ahead apart, piece after piece, be it earthlings or aliens... Then chew on their remains, raw.


    His expression too no longer seemed like that of a human but instead resembled an injured, untamed beast that had finally broken out of its confinement after being caged for centuries. Just as he was about to lash out with his transformation, the Devilukean spoke up.¡°Lala-sama...¡± Hearing them called the girl he was trying to save-sama, Rito''s last remaining rationality suddenly had a bad premotion.¡°...Please stop running away from home.¡± [???]


    ¡°...¡± [Rito]¡ªMotherfucker...


    <hr>


    [Approximately An Hour Ago...]


    [Yuuki''s Residence ? 5:58PM]


    [???????]


    Rito stared warily at the female Devilukean standing in his bathtub. His mind spun as countless scenarios and possibilities were stimulated. However, despite his efforts, he couldn''t find one that matched his current situation. The first possibility that came to his mind was that his identity had been compromised, but that didn''t seem to be the case once he actually gave it some thoughts.


    Although he was blacklisted by many interstellar governments, the Deviluke Empire definitely wasn''t one of them as most, if not all of his targets had been corrupted officals and nobles. To be honest, they¡ª The Deviluke Empire would probably feel thankful towards him as he was bascially helping them do what they could not. And that''s keeping the nobles in check while simultaneously giving them a clear warning to not overstep their bounds.


    In fact, over half of his assassination missions were issued by the Deviluke Empire. The reason for this was because despite their military prowess, the Devilkeans were still only one race, they did not posses the manpower to keep tabs on everything. This also led to his partnership with them. Last he checked, him and them had a rather harmonious relationship. They might not be bestfriend, but they definitely weren''t far off. Beside¡ªThere''s no benefit to be obtained, only disadvantages.


    And then there''s also what the intruder said excitedly moments ago as she stretched the wonder that was her body, exposing places that, in Rito''s honest opinions, should probably be kept hidden. ¡°Mmm... Escape successful!!!¡± [???]


    This implied she was being chased. All this led him to believe she was not here for him, but just coincidentally ended up in his bathroom after using some sort of space-warping devices to escape her pursuers. Thinking ''till this, Rito started to let out relieved breaths¡ª Given the sheer amount of enemies he had made over the years, having his location and identity exposed was the last thing Rito wanted to happen. Unfortunately, this small action of his had unintentionally drawn the girl''s attention to him.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    Innocently, the pink haired girl uttered with her head slightly tilted.¡°Hm...?¡± [???]


    It seemed she didn''t care that Rito had basically seen every nook and cranny of her body, which was good, as he didn''t want to have to get into an agruement at the moment. Taking up the fallen towel, he offered it to the girl and quickly left the bathroom with a slightly red face. Yet even as he was leaving, he couldn''t help but stealthily steal a glance or two at her gorgeous body, all while the girl just stood there and giggled to herself.


    ¡°Stay here, alright? I''m gonna get you some clothes.¡± [Rito]


    Rito told the girl as he quickly scrambled towards the door to escape. Truth was, he felt guilty. Had the girl acted embarrassed or even flirtatious, he could just shrug it off as being lucky, but the innocence clearly reflected in her eyes as she stared at him unblinkingly made him feel like he had committed a great sin. Although he could not deny that corrupting something so pure and innocent was very tempting, Rito''d never allow himself to stoop so low.


    It didn''t matter who it was, or what they did to survive. He had always strongly believed that there should exist a line that should never be crossed¡ª For if you were to bare your fangs at everything indiscriminately, you wouldn''t be much different than a rabid dog. Not to mention the girl seemed harmless enough, she didn''t appear to have hostile intentions towards him even after he had seen her face, which was incredibly surprising for an escapee such as her.


    Tendrils of pure darkness twirled and swirled around Rito as he approached a dark corner in the hallway. Gradually, they took on the outline of what seemed to be a short, one piece dress. Initially, Rito wanted to create a whole new outfit. Underwear included. But the throbbing pain in the back of his head immediately reminded him how dire the consequences of overusing his ability could be. As such, Rito had to settle with a white one piece dress.


    And since he only had energy consumption in mind when he was making it, the dress looked... To put it delicately, shabby. Its appearance was that of a white rag that someone cut holes in to make a temporary wear. For now, this would do, still the dress left very little to the imagination. Though Rito doubted it''d pose a problem given the girl''s previous reaction at him seeing her naked body.


    Satisfied, Rito went back to the bathroom. He opened the door, the newly made dress held in hands, only to find... An empty room void of life.¡°Don''t know what I was expecting.¡± [Rito]


    Rito laughed. But he didn''t blame the girl. The fact that she didn''t try to kill him to off a potential witness was commendable in and of itself¡ª He knew if he were in her shoes, he''d have longoff''d anyone who might''ve seen his face as to avoid any future complications. As for staying, that would just be testing your luck own for no reason. And to think he actually thought she''d stay because he told her to. How absurb. Rito chuckled mockingly.


    That said, to understand something didn''t mean he wasn''t angry at it¡ªWhat the fuck did I endure all that for...?Rito cursed inwardly, waving his hands to dispel the ugly white dress. Once done, he proceeded to clean up the bathroom, draining out the used-up water. Pressing his fingers at his temples in an attempt to lessen the residual pain, a pain which still occasionall assaulted his brain, causing his frown to deepen in a fit of discomfort.


    Finished with his work, Rito put on his clothes and silently went back to his room. If Mikan hadn''t called for him, then dinner probably hadn''t been finished yet. And considering his absolutely awful cooking skill, even if he were to come down he wouldn''t be of any help. In fact, he would most likely be a hindrance instead, as such, Rito decided to go back to his room and wait until dinner was ready. He turned the knob on the door, but to his surprise, it was already open by the time he got there.


    And he never left the door open... ¡°Could it be...?¡± [Rito]


    Rito cautiously pushed open the door, and indeed his suspicion was proven right, what greeted him was a beauty with her body barely covered by the towel he himself borrowed her.¡°Ah, thanks for letting me borrow your towel.¡± [???]


    Rito stared at the smiling girl with half-squinted eyes. Feeling another headache coming, he rubbed the sides of his head irritatedly.¡°Who...¡± He pointed his index finger at the girl and continued.¡°... Are you? And why did you suddenly appear in my bathtub?¡± [Rito]


    ¡°Me? I''m Lala. I came from planet Deviluke. As for why I appeared in your bathtub... That''s because I used this.¡± She brought up her hand, showing him a metallic device that looked like a bunny with oversized ears that made up a bracelet which surrounded her wrist.¡°This is my invention,¡®Pyon-Pyon Warp-Kun¡¯. I can''t specify the destination, but this makes it possible for a living unit to warp a short distance.¡± [Lala]


    ¡ªWhat''s with her naming sense...? What kind of shitty invention is that? What if you appeared inside a vocalno? And Why does her name sound so familiar...?


    Rito wanted to scold her as stupid for using such an unstable and untested device, but given her situation, she probably didn''t have that much of a choice. Had she not used this, she might''ve been caught by her pursuers, whoever they were.¡°I used this inside the spaceship''s bathroom and happened to warp into the bathtub of your house.¡± [Lala]¡ªSpaceship...?Rito''s ears twitched at the mentioning of the spaceship.¡°Why did you do that?¡± [Rito]


    Hearing his question, she stopped talking, her eyes lingered on the warping device as she said.¡°Truth is, I''m being chased.¡±¡ª As i thought. She continued.¡°I thought I''d be safe if I came to the Earth, but my pursuers seen to have followed me here. It was when I was taken to their ship that I used¡®Pyon-Pyon Warp-Kun¡¯ to escape.¡± [Lala]


    For a brief moment, silence took over the room. Lala didn''t appear to want to say anything else, while Rito was at a loss for words. His problem at expressing his emotions aside, he didn''t know what he could say to console the poor girl. She must''ve been through a lot. It was then that something the size of a small teddy bear suddenly bursted into his room through the window.¡°Lala-sama~! Are you alright, Lala-sama?!¡± [???]


    The identity of this new intruder wasn''t known, but Rito assumed it was with Lala, as it called her-sama. Its appearance was small and mostly white. It had two thick swirl shaped black eyes and no visible mouth or nose. Though this didn''t seem to affect its ability to speak. Its body was constructed in a way that made it seem as if it was wearing a white jacket decorated with yellow edges, and a blue shirt plus red tie in-between, behind its back was a pair of devilish wings attached.


    ¡°Peke~! You were able to escape safely too, I''m so happy!!!¡± [Lala]


    The weird-looking creature crashed into Lala, embracing her using its short; yet big hands. It replied.¡°Yes. I was lucky since the ship wasn''t outside the Earth''s atmosphere and they were too occupied with your escape!¡± Then it turned its attention to Rito, only just now noticing him, and pointed its finger at him.¡°Lala-sama, who is this weak looking earthling...?¡± [Peke]


    ¡°...¡± [Rito]¡ªWeak...As much as he wanted to refute, Rito simply couldn''t as even he noticed hownormal he looked compared to the other more renowned muscle bound bounty hunters and mercenaries. Hearing its question, Lala diverted her attention from Peke towards him.¡°He''s the one who lives here.¡± Next, she lightly bit on her nails.¡°Now that you mentioned it, I haven''t asked for your name yet, have I?¡± [Lala]


    Rito said, his tone lighter than before. ¡°The name''s Rito.¡± [Rito]¡ªAbout damn time.


    After a brief introduction, Rito found out Peke, the weird looking creature, was actually an¡®All-Purpose Costume Robot¡¯ built by Lala herself. He didn''t know if this was the truth or not, but if it were, it would certainly explain why she was targetted. The girl couldn''t be more than seventeen, if she could already create stuff like a sentient robot and a warping device, than who knew what kind of destructive weapons she could invent?


    Thinking ''till this, Rito couldn''t help but shudder at the thought...


    While Rito was fretting over the future of the galaxy, Lala; completely oblivious to his worries; told Peke to transform into an outfit for her. Once this was done, she immediately began to discuss hermaster plan with the robot. As the three were each occupied by one reason after another, none noticed the two Devilukeans that had; unbeknownst to them; approached the Yuuki''s residence via rooftop.


    What transpired next was as you''d expect from a typical damsel in distress situation. Apparently,¡®Pyon-Pyon Warp-Kun¡¯ could only be used for a limited amount, and Lala had used the thing twice today already. The first time to run away from her pursuers; unfortunately; she didn''t manage to come far before getting caught and had to use it again to escape, which led to her being warped into Rito''s bathtub, literally exploding her way into his bathroom.


    Thus, without much of a choice, Rito had to get involved. The two Devilukeans were strong, but they were careless, thinking he was just a weak earthling. They paid him no mind even as he approached them from behind. Taking advantage of this, Rito swept one Devilukean over with his leg, using the existing-momentum to carry through with another kick that landed square center at the chest of the other one, making him stumble back awkwardly as he tried to regain his footing.


    As he knew he wouldn''t deal much damage to them in his weakened state, he tried to increase the distant between where the fight would take place and his house as to not accidentally harm his sister in the process. In truth, he could have easily off''d one of the Devilukeans when they weren''t paying attention, but that would likely incur the wrath of the surviving one, which might lead to an intense battle that would take place right above where Mikan was.


    He''d have to fight off two trained Devilukeans while having to protect two dead-weights. And being the protective brother he was, he''d probably rather die than put his sister in that kind of danger. As such, Rito could only grab Lala in the midst of chaos and run away. Drawing the Devilukeans with him. As for everything that happened next, leading to their current situation, it had already been mentioned above.


    <hr>


    [Present Time¡­]


    [Sainan Park ? 6:45PM]


    [???????]


    ¡°I don''t want to.¡± [Lala]


    Seeing Lala said with conviction, Rito''s mouth gaped, wanting to say something, but the words seemed stuck in his throat unable to move. The faint ripples of energy soon disappeared as his brain lagged and his anger dissipated along, all that was left was an empty feeling that swallowed the entirety of his mind.


    He obviously heard the conversation happening before him, but his brain seemed to automatically filter out everything. Even now, he still couldn''t quite comprehend the situation...


    Seconds ticked by, and an overwhelming sense ofembarrassment filled his being. Then came an explosive anger that compelled him to pack the three aliens and sent them flying out into the Earth''s atmosphere¡ª Fortunately, he didn''t act out on his impulse and restrained himself, if just barely. Looking at the conversation, which was taking a turn for the worse, Rito sighed and opened his mouth to in an attempt to defuse the situation.


    But before words could come out, Lala already brought another of her invention using her pink cellphone, which he could only assume was a spatial-related device of sort. The thing that appeared was an ugly octopus machine with disturbingly small tentacles. It seemed to have anti-gravitation atrached as it stood behind Lala intimidatingly. ¡°Suck them up, ¡®Go-Go Vacuum-Kun¡¯!¡± [Lala]


    Obeying its creator, the machine opened its mouth. At that moment, Rito could feel an enormous suction force from¡®Go-Go Vacuum-Kun¡¯ as it easily snatched the two Devilukeans, who caused him quite a bit of headache, into its stomach. But... It didn''t stop there. The machine continued to suck everything nearby, from trees, benches, tables. It didn''t discriminate its target at all. Rito too was no exception.


    ¡°Hurry up and stop it!¡± [Rito]


    Severely weakened with his head still aching from overusing his ability, Rito tried his best to fight the suction force as he yelled at Lala to stop the machine. Alas, peharps it was his bad luck, even the person in-question had no idea how to turn it off as she contemplated, hand holding her cheek adorably. ¡°... How do I stop it?¡± [Lala]


    In the end, Rito managed to hold on, but he didn''t get to rest as the machine instantly blew up after sucking in too much. The explosion wasn''t really life-threatening, but still sent him soaring through the sky several feets high. Bracing himself, Rito maneuvered in the air, landing not as gracefully as he''d have wanted on a tree that somehow survived the brutal onslaught of¡®Go-Go Vacuum-Kun¡¯.