[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— 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…— 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!— 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 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— The 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 his best 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— 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— 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]— Motherfucker...

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[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— 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— There'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— 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.

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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— 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— He knew if he were in her shoes, he'd have long off'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— What 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]

— What'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]— Spaceship...? 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.”— 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]— Weak... As much as he wanted to refute, Rito simply couldn't as even he noticed how normal 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]— About 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 her master 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.

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[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 of embarrassment 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— 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’.