It's True Love 75

"Oh, you're back, Senpai." Yuta found himself being woken up by Ciel's late return.

Which was something unusual, actually. He tended to be a pretty heavy sleeper, which was convenient for a man trying to build a harem. Although he imagined his supposed mega instincts would wake him up should he ever be in danger.

Ciel sighed. "Yes, sorry to wake you up." She looked tired.

Not in the sense that she looked like she needed to sleep, Yuta guessed she was used to nights like this. She looked tired in the sense that she clearly needed some time to think and calm down... Which was strange.

He could guess what it was about, the undead she went hunting with Noel. Still, much like she should be used to staying awake for long periods of time, she should have been used to hunting those poor things and seeing gruesome sights.

Which meant something else had happened.

Naturally, he started to sit up. "It's all good. I feel pretty rested actually." He didn't, and that was clear in his voice. His brain was still not working at full capacity.

Ciel gave him an awkward smile. "Well... still, sorry. Feel free to go back to sleep." No way he could do that now.

He would have nightmares of sad rabbits or something.

So he started getting up. "Nah, It's fine. At this point I passed the threshold where it's more annoying to fall sleep again than anything else." So he would just stay awake until it was school hours.

She pouted. "What kind of logic is that?"

"The sound one." Was this a him thing? Maybe. "Speaking of sleep though, you don't look like you're about to do it. Why?" There, he just came out and said it.

She crossed her arms. "I will after I change. Sleeping while dressed like this is pretty unprofessional." It was true that she was wearing her battle clothes.

But she wasn't carrying around that huge weapon of hers. Which meant she had the time to drop it off somewhere, and yet did not change her clothes, and instead she went to check on them sleeping. It made him think that she was alert, ready in case of danger.

He raised a hand. "Senpai, can I watch you change?"

She nodded. "Yes." Oi. "But please give me a warning next time before you suddenly say a line like that. If I shouted of embarrassment I would have woken up everybody." That was true. This was probably not the best place to have this conversation.

Since Ciel's apartment was small, pretty much everyone slept in the same place. It went without saying that it was cramped as hell, not a place meant for so many people. Well, it was still better than Sensei's previous sleeping location, that is to say, under a bridge.

He smirked. "Right. I'll keep that in mind. By the way Senpai, wasn't I supposed to get a mansion or something? I kinda remember that." Maybe they stopped construction because he spent so much money on Aoko.

Worth it.

She chuckled. "Yes, but don't you think it's better to wait for the... Roa situation to end? It would be a shame if your mansion got destroyed as soon as you got it." Ah, he could target it huh?

Well, he could target this place too.

Scary thought. "True enough."

Ciel then left the room, naturally he began following along, which prompted a raised an eyebrow from the woman. "Um? Do you need something, Yuta?"

He nodded. "I was told I could watch my girlfriend change her clothes? Was that one of those banter type lines that a guy is supposed to chuckle at and then ignore?" Hopefully not. He wanted to talk with her.

She smiled. "Nope. I'm just surprised."

The two entered the bathroom together, and Ciel really did start to change. Though Yuta's mind was filled with too much worry to find the scene to be exciting at all.

He scratched his cheek. "So... this is gonna sound awkward, but did something bad happen when I was away?" If it did, then next time he would fight harder to stay by her side.

She tilted her head. "What gave you that idea, Yuta?" Oh, was he wrong?

He hoped so. He rather be paranoid, than have his girlfriend suffer. "My Ciel radar is going off. It warns me that a nearby Ciel is feeling down." Maybe he should cook some curry. It wasn't the time for it, but he knew she'd like it.

"Does such a thing even existed!?" Ah, she finally lost her nerve and shouted.

He nodded with as much confidence as possible. "Of course. And before you say it's ridiculous and absurd, please remember that those words can apply to the rest of my existence as well." He legimately wouldn't be shocked if he developed a Ciel radar.

But then again, heroes tended to be awful at relationships. So his Ciel radar would probably be faulty and let him down all the time.

Ciel pinched her nose. "I suppose you're right. But seriously, how did you know?"

He used all his strength to not just respond that the Ciel radar was real. "I just know I guess. I joked about the Ciel radar, but once you live long enough with someone you tend to start noticing when they're not feeling well, even if you can't tell why."

She blushed. "I see... That's... It's strangely nice to hear that." She sighed. "And you... are correct. I... Nothing really happened, but I ended up feeling a bit of anxiety today. It's not something I'm used to when huntind undead."

She continued. "Or more accurately, it's not something I have felt in a long while. It's amateurish. I guess it ended up getting me down." And it was that nervousness that made her want to keep wearing battle armor?

Well, at this point she had already finished changing. He more or less missed a magical show out of worry, truly the world was dark, cruel and cold.

He smiled. "I see. Well, it's okay to feel nervous sometimes. Everybody has their off days. And hey, I'm sure Noel was there to carry any slack." They were partners after all.

Ciel snorted. "Hah! This may sound a bit mean, but I'm the one who carries her slack. Always." There was indeed a tremendous difference in strength.

Noel was just not that impressive. She was... competent, but she couldn't measure up to a monster like Ciel. She couldn't even measure up to a newbie with potential like Yuta. She was just a normal human. Although he was sure she had to have something special going on if she managed to live for so long.

Though it did raise a question. "Hey Senpai, if that's the case, then why do you work with her? Um... not to be rude or anything, just curious."

She grimaced. "Isn't it obvious? I owe her for what I did. The least I can do is try my best to keep her alive." Ah.

He didn't like that. Mostly because he did not blame Ciel for the deaths that Roa had caused. Though he supposed he couldn't complain about her keeping Noel alive. He liked Noel after all, even if she was a very flawed person. A flawed person who probably hated this treatment as well, even though she wasn't the type to admit it and stop abusing it.

He still found it surprising though. "And the Holy Church just let's that happen with no issues? I would think they would force you into getting a stronger teammate."

In the end at best Noel would contribute nothing, while at worst she would actively drag Ciel down. Not exactly something a organization would approve or want when their main deal was hunting down the enemies of mankind.

Ciel casually waved off his worries however. "The Holy Church is actually very hands off, especially with their most powerful members. They won't due anything that might alienate them. Or at least they will try not to."

In the constant battle against Dead Apostles, they did not have the time to be fighting amongst themselves to try and control rowdy members. That still occasionally happened of course, but it was rare. Especially nowadays when the Dead Apostle threat was so immense.

She continued. "Although I'm sure they're all hoping I leave Noel behind once your training is over. Since I'm training you, we will end up as a pretty devasting team."

He grinned. "Makes sense, but please remember that I'm always down for a threesome." Said the man who had never actually experienced a threesome in this life.

Her eye twitched. "Yuta."

He chuckled in return. "My bad, foursome. I can't forget about Rika after all. Seriously though, is there anything against just a bunch of people partnering up?"

She shook her head. "Of course not. Two people is just the standard... But... This might sound strange, but while I'm okay with picking up her slack, you shouldn't have to do the same thing." Oh, that was just adorable.

And also kind of sad. "Man, Noel really needs some extra training, doesn't she? I will try to get strong enough where anyone fighting by my side will drag me down then. That way it won't matter." He was showing some good ol' Yuta bravado.

Even reaching Ciel's level seemed like a impressive feat, so becoming some ultimate uber monster was probably forever out of his reach. Not that he cared too much, he wasn't particularly strength obsessed.

But Ciel seemed to believe him for some reason. "I'll be looking forward to it, Yuta."

After that, silence filled the room. Instead of leaving the bathroom, both just stayed still, mostly because it was clear Yuta was not yet done.

He sighed. "So... Um... Were you nervous just because of Noel?" He should try to get to the bottom of this, right?

She shook her head. "Not really, I... I guess I got nervous because I underestimated their numbers. I ended up hunting so many, that instead of feeling like I got them all, I felt like I must have missed some. This must be how exterminators feel."

She continued. "And so I... Well, I'll go hunting them tomorrow too. Ah, today actually, sorry, I'm getting my time mixed up." And considering she didn't want to miss school, she would have to stay awake for quite a while.

Yuta nodded. "Gotcha... How about leaving tomorrow for me and Akiha though? That way you can get some rest. Some real rest I mean." And the Tohno Heir could get some experience. She probably needed that.

Ciel looked down. "I don't know if I would feel comfortable with that. As strong as you are, one blow and you're done, unlike me. So it's better for me to lead."

He grinned. "Arcueid."

"Huh?"

"Arcueid is always following me around, so even if I was as squishy as an ant I would be fine. Not to mention Rika, who is always connected to my shadow." He squinted his eyes. "And there's also Akiha, I'm guessing she's monstrously strong once she actually starts."

"Basically what I'm saying is that I'm the Noel of our group, so you don't need to worry. I'll be fine." Also, there was no way he was losing to some random undead like a jobber. Not that saying that to his girlfriend would work in getting her trust.

She let out a groan of annoyance. "Ugh, you just don't..." But she stopped herself. "Well, you're more or less right, I suppose. I shouldn't be this worried about you. Although if you're the Noel of our group, then maybe you should not even go." Oi.

"I... I'm just anxious because..." Because she cared about him. And more than just the normal amount of care she gave to everyone.

He smiled. "I get it Senpai, you don't need to say it." But he would appreciate it if she did it nonetheless, because it would be cute!

He had boyfriend batteries that needed to be recharged too ya know!

She blushed. "Fine... Please take care out there."

"I will."



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Lunchtime was filled with a strange sort of tension.

It was Akiha's fault of course, who had come to Yuta's class and now kept alternating between glaring at him (affectionate), and glaring at poor Sacchin (murderous). He couldn't help, but wonder if she was always like this, or if he had corrupted her somewhere along the way. Perhaps a mixture of both?

He waved at her. "Hey, come here!" He could only guess she was waiting for his invitation to come closer.

Because as soon as she got it, she began moving towards him with surprising speed in her step. "Hello Yuta. Or perhaps I should call you Okkotsu-Senpai from now on?" He would not survive.

He grinned. "I might melt, but I'll accept anything really."

Kohaku sighed. "Hah... my big bro is way too easy. Anyways, what's up my hombre!?" Why did she have to greet Akiha like that!? She actually made the the poor girl speechless!

And it probably didn't help that Hisui followed her footsteps without any hesitation. "Yes, is everything well Akiha?" At least she didn't throw some random spanish into the mix.

Akiha slowly nodded. "Yes, I'm doing just... fine, I suppose." The suppose part didn't give Yuta much confidence.

He imagined she was still kicking herself over what had happened yesterday. Maybe she would appreciate the chance to show off now that Ciel had bowed out for a little while. Either that or she would get inexplicably mad. You could never really tell.

She continued. "But I'm wondering something... Where is the executor, shouldn't she be here?" And there it was.

Yuta shrugged. "It's not like she's always by my side, we don't spend every lunch together." Honestly, they rarely ate lunch together. Maybe because Ciel didn't like attracting attention to herself, and for some reason people would always begin gossiping when the two were together.

"That said, there is a specific reason why Senpai ain't here... She's taking a break." That included a break from school. Right now she was probably watching TV with Aoko or something.

Actually, the two didn't really get along, as one would expect from a mage and a executor, and so Ciel was probably wandering around the city by herself. His Senpai was always helping others, so she rarely got time for herself, as a consequence Yuta didn't really know what she did in her normally non-existent free time.

Maybe she was going around visiting different curry shops?

Akiha raised an eyebrow. "She's taking a break? You don't mean she won't show for... that, do you?"

"I do. Her break won't take long though." It was as already a miracle that he got her to take it easy for a single day.

And it was also a miracle that he had convinced her into skipping school. Originally she just wanted to not go out during the night, but he managed to change her mind with the power of begging. She needed to actually rest after all.

Akiha huffed. "Far from me to criticize a member of the Burial Agency, but what does she think she's doing?" If things had gone according to what Ciel wanted, this break wouldn't exist at all. So Yuta was the one being critized here.

Something which Kohaku quickly brought up. "Careful hombre, this was big bro's idea so you will lose points if this keeps on going!" She was gonna insist on the hombre thing!?

Akiha took a step back. "Ugh...!"

Yuta chuckled in response. "Ayup, many Yuta points have disappeared into the night." Right now Akiha looked like a mixture of worried and confused. She was probably trying to figure out what exactly Yuta points were.

"Just kidding." So he ended her pain quickly. "Senpai really needed to take a break though." He had a feeling her sudden nervousness was due to Roa. It must be unreal to feel like she's making progress after so many years.

"So the two of us will be the ones doing the work... and Rika of course." He raised a finger. "And Noel-Sensei. She's normally Ciel's partner." She would be there mostly to guide them in church protocol.

What a dark reality they lived in, where Ciel got to take a break, but Noel didn't. Then again, she got plenty of rest after Arcueid traumatized her... That justified this right!? It totally did!

Akiha finally conceded. "I look forward to meeting her." The two had already met, actually. He wouldn't blame Akiha for having forgotten her however...

Now that that was done and over with. "By the way Akiha, are you grumpy because you're finding it difficult to make friends or something?" He could see in his mind's eye, a tsundere's greatest weakness.

She tilted her head, cofused, instead of getting angry like he expected. "No...? I'm actually fairly popular." She frowned. "I imagine my classmates are quite unhappy I left them behind to come here." For real!? Did she make a yuri harem!?

Kohaku read the disbelief in his face. "This may shock you big bro, but Akiha has always been pretty popular and social." She dropped the hombre thing...

Hisui nodded. "Yes. Making close friends is difficult due to her position, but she never struggled social." B-but she is so tsun-tsun... He was expecting to go on an adventure to find friends for her!

Akiha glared at him. "Why are you seemingly so surprised at my... charisma? You do know I'm expected to lead a family of greedy pigs eventually? School girls are child's play in comparison." That's...

Very true. "My socially shy Akiha dreams... crushed before they could even begin..." He had no option but to unload his frustrations on Dead Apostles.

In non-sexual ways. Since this concerned himself, he felt like he should make that clear.



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AN: Still no Red Garden news...