It's True Love 66

"Yo, let's have a talk. You and me." Yuta had to admit... He wasn't expecting being suddenly accosted by some blond kid on the way to school.

Yuta's eyes widened. "Another attack by a blonde kid!?" Actually, now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen Manaka in a while.

The kid rolled his eyes. "I can see this is gonna be somethin'." He looked at Ciel, who naturally was walking with him to school, along with Hisui and Kohaku. "I'm takin' this dumbass with me, if he takes too long to show up to school, do some magic shit so people forget about it."

Immediately Yuta tensed his body. He hadn't noticed that Ciel had put her guard up around this boy... Not that it mattered in the end, since he had clearly announced his knowledge of magecraft.

He was probably a member of the Holy Church, and a high-ranking one at that. There was no way he would so casually speak to Ciel, who was a member of the Burial Agency, otherwise.

Ciel slightly bowed. "Sure... But what are you intentions with him?"

The boy raised an eyebrow. "Nothing bad... I just wanna have a talk." He clicked his tongue. "I can't let a weapon of mass destruction walk around without learning anythin' about it." Yuta would just take the compliment.

Hesitantly Ciel nodded. She then continued her walk with the twins towards the school.

Yuta however, followed the strange boy into an alleyway. "So what do you need... erm... sir?" Should he try to be respectful?

The boy crossed his arms. "No need to call me sir. Just call me by my name, Mario." That seemed... familiar. Though Yuta supposed Mario wasn't some crazy name anyways.

He resisted the urge to make a Nintendo joke and simply nodded. "Got it." And then it hit him.

A Mario who was affiliated with the Holy Church... Was this the guy who had hired Aoko to hunt down Roa? Well, as he previously thought, Mario wasn't some eccentric name. He shouldn't assume anything.

Mario sighed. "Anyways, I don't need anything specific from ya... I just wanna something or another from you. Though it would be nice to hear a report on how things have been going for the city from your perspective." He scowled. "If we go by what four eyes thinks, everything is under control."

Four eyes? That made Yuta think of how Rika referred to Shiki, but in this case, Mario was most likely referring to Ciel. Which meant she was reporting to him... As he had thought, this brat definitely had a high-rank in the Holy Church.

Mario continued. "And if we go by what that fat ass thinks... Then the city is up in flames and we need to send every damn member of the Burial Agency we have." He rolled his eyes. "I imagine the true is some middle ground between the two."

Yuta raised a hand. "Okay, I got who four eyes is supposed to be, I think. But who's fat ass?"

He snorted. "Ain't it obvious? The pig herself, her name is..." He paused for a moment. "Shit, I forgot." For real!? "Ciel's useless partner. If that helps any." Ah, Noel.

Yuta tilted his head. "Yeah, I got who you're talking about. I'm confused though? Why talk as if her fat ass is a bad thing?" He grinned. "It's a great quality." Ooops, all his attempts to be polite to his superior had disappeared.

Mario seemed... shocked at his sudden forwardness. To say the least. "Well... um..." Hey, he couldn't complain! Wasn't his objective learning more about Yuta!?

He recomposed himself, his grin returning. "Hah! And here I thought all Japanese licked damned sticks for women." The craziest part here is that Yuta wasn't even really Japanese. "Anyways, her problem is that her only good quality is her fat ass."

Yuta pouted. "We can argue about that all day, but aight." She had other good qualities, like...

Like... She had other good qualities! "A-anyways, any specific questions you wanna ask?" It was time to prove that he did not plan on blowing up the planet or anything like that.

Mario nodded. "Sure, I might as well start from the obvious one too... Ya got any plans of ending the world, Yuta Okkotsu?" He sighed. "Or doing any crazy damage to it. Shit like that."

Welp, he could only deny it. "Nope. I'm a good boy." Now it was up to Mario to decide whether he believed in him or not.

"Sure... So, why did this good boy join the Church?" And suddenly Yuta regretted calling himself that.

Ugh, couldn't they have sent a cute girl to interrogate him? "It was just really convenient at the time. I wanted to... put down the Dead Apostle Ancestor who was messing things up. The Holy Church was my best bet at that."

"So you ain't religious or anything? I know nobody on your family has ties to the church or anything, but did ya really join just outta convenience?" Right. As one would expect, he had information on his family.

"Yeah, I'm not religious. That said, I don't have plans on quitting anytime soon." Yuta put a hand to his chest. "I want to pay back Senpai... Ciel for all she did to me. And there's no way I would just let her face everything alone."

Mario's eyes widened. "Oh... That's why she looked like she wanted to hump you." Hah? "Because she's actually doin' that." He chuckled. "Well, there has been worse reasons for people to join the Holy Church. I rate yours above revenge, personally." But revenge was definitely involved.

Anyways, it seemed as if Mario had read him like a book. That wasn't that surprising though, even if he was a kid, as a high-ranking member of the Holy Church he had to be crazy perceptive. What was interesting was the fact he initially didn't know about his relationship with Ciel.

Which brought another interesting question to the front of Yuta's mind... What else had Ciel not told him?

It was at this moment Yuta decided he would try to not tell the kid much. If Ciel was keeping stuff from him, it was probably for a good reason. She was the one who was familiar with church politics after all.

Yuta gave him an awkward thumbs. "Thanks...? Can I go now?" He was beginning to get uncomfortable.

But maybe he shouldn't be. Rika was in his shadow as usual, and Arcueid was definitely watching this from somewhere.

Mario shook his head. "Just one more thing... What's your goal. Like in life?" His eye twitched. "I heard you have been wasting' a shitton of money. Money that ain't yours." Ah! The consequences of his actions!

Yuta began to sweat. "Well... I wanna make a harem."

"Huh?"

"So I have been using money to make a harem. Like buying gifts and stuff." He didn't even know... even want to know how much of the church's money he had wasted on revenge.

Mario looked down and started mumbling to himself. "Still better than revenge... still better than revenge..."

Yuta could only hope he had aced this interview.



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"You... um... you okay there, dude?" Arihiko actually tried being nice to his old bully for once.

Though really, it was more like Rika had been his bully. "Yeah, I'm fine." Yuta clicked his tongue. "It's just that I have been put in the dog house." And by pretty much everyone, since Hisui and Kohaku hadn't come see him.

Arihiko tilted his head. "The dog house huh?" He snorted. "Welp, happens to the best of us, bud."

Yumizuka covered her mouth. "Arihiko is the best of us?" A sudden critical hit from the NPC!? "So you have a girlfriend, Okkotsu?" Aha... Was she ready for the legendary lore?

Arihiko sighed. "Why did you end my life and then move-on that quickly?"

Yuta moved-on and ignored him. "Yeah, I have a girlfriend. Her name is Ciel. You may have seen her once or twice." She was the best girlfriend in the entire world!

She also got really mad when she was woken up by her boyfriend screaming about his newfound devotion towards magical girls. Even if that boyfriend had no clue where that devotion had come from in the first place.

Arihiko rolled his eyes. "We all know that isn't true. Senpai said so herself." That said, he couldn't deny they were sharing an apartment. What a sad state of affairs.

Yumizuka nodded. "Yeah... I'm genuinely curious though. Do you actually have a girlfriend, Okkotsu?"

Yuta nodded back. "Yep. Like I said her name is..." Should he really insist on this Ciel thing?

They would probably just call him a liar if he did. And sure, he could go bring Ciel here, but that sounded kinda pathetic... also, she was mad at him. Without her being here however, he would just sound like a weird creep.

Which he was. That said, Yumizuka and Arihiko were hanging out with him without Shiki being a mediator for once, which meant they actually considered him a friend. He didn't wanna lose that.

So instead he came with a ingenious idea. "Gimme a second guys." And left the room. He had a secret weapon to find...

Arihiko raised an eyebrow. "So... was he trying to run away from the question or what?" At least he was creative about it. "Honestly, I kind of respect it." He himself was a master of running away. Mostly from school, but still.

"Right..." Yumizuka also weirdly respect this. Mostly because she would have done the same.

And then Yuta returned. "Here's my girlfriend." By his side there was a blond foreigner that neither Arihiko nor Yumizuka knew. She also wasn't wearing a uniform of any kind.

But she sure seemed happy as she waved at them. "Yahallo!"

Yuta sputtered. "Where did you learn of such cursed language!?" He should have never let Arcueid have access to the internet. Next thing he knew she was going to be saying poggers...

Wait, this was 2014. She was gonna be saying something much worse!

Arihiko interjected. "Forget about some cringe light novel reference!" How did he know!? "Who's this!?" He pointed at the strange foreigner.

It's worth noting that he... and Yumizuka were not the only ones stupefied by her... existence. They were all in the cafeteria after all, and so many, many students were wondering from where had this supermodel showed up.

Some were also wondering why this girl reminded them of trees...

Yuta laughed as hard as he could. "This girl? She's my girlfriend." He could finally get the standard harem protagonist experience of being envied by the entire school.

When one thought of the perks of being a harem protagonist, the first thing that came to mind was probably being fawned over by multiple people, or having tons of sex. Yuta knew what was up though, one had to appreciate all blessings in life.

The blonde nodded. "Yep! I'm Arcueid Brunestud! Yuta's lover." She giggled through Yuta's laughter. "And also his sister." Ah.

"What?" Naturally, they were all quite shocked.

Yuta stopped laughing. "She's not my sister. She just has a very... weird sense of humor." Which was true! Even if she didn't consider this to be a joke.

Arihiko hesitantly nodded. "Right..." For him things had kind of turned into a fever dream, so he would accept anything at this point...

Why did Yuta suddenly comeback with some super girlfriend? Did he magic her into existence? Was she a paid actor? She was definitely a paid actor. Actually... what kind of life was he living where he dated this girl and at the same time lived with Ciel?

And he also had his little sisters who acted very... weird around him. And there was also the fact that Shiki had complained to him about how his own sister was getting perhaps a little too close to Okkotsu.

Which meant... "Yumizuka, stay behind me." And here he thought he was the school's greatest playboy!

She raised an eyebrow. "What is that supposed to mean?" And then she chose to not think about it. "Anyways, it's nice to meet you Miss Brunestud!" Naturally she butchered the pronunciation of the name.

She motioned to herself. "I'm Satsuki Yumizuka, and this guy over here..." She then motioned to the delinquent. "Is Arihiko Inui. We are both Yuta's friends." She had a cute disarming smile on her face.

Yumizuka wasn't Yuta's type... but she was something of an idol in their class for a reason. While she couldn't get even close to matching his dear glasses wearing Senpai, she could challenge most girls in the school.

Arihiko looked away. "I wouldn't call us friends..." He was walking a dangerous road without realizing it. If Arcueid thought of him as an enemy, then everything would be over.

Arcueid smiled. "Well, it's nice to meet you Yumizuka!" Her eye then twitched. "But I'm watching you, redhead." Yep, a dangerous road indeed...

Before Arihiko could say anything, Arcueid continued. "Oh, and Yuta and I really are siblings!" She smiled. "I'm the older one! For once..." Um. Magical girls are cute.

Yuta sputtered. "No we aren't! I mean, look at her! We look nothing alike!"

Arihiko snorted. "I can see that, but adoption exists." Thankfully, it was clear that he was taking the piss. Or in other words, he was being a intelligent being who did not believe Arcueid.

Arcueid tilted her head. "It's not really adoption though... not in the conventional sense." She put a hand to her chin. "He does have some of my dad... who is me... on him. Um..." It seems she was genuinely perplexed by this conundrum.

Yuta grit his teeth. "Please stop this..."

Arcueid giggled. "How can I? You're always putting everyone on the back foot, but you totally get flustered when I bring the sibling thing up!" That's only natural! He actually had a sibling after all!

Arcueid put a finger on her lips. "Um... Maybe it's because you're into it?" Yuta could do nothing, but flinch at such dasterdly accusation. "If that's the case, I might push the envelope even further..."

He could only blush. "Hey, don't throw some weird idea into this. If I'm getting flustered, it's because everything you do makes me flustered." He was not a siscon. He just wasn't.

She got closer to him. "Well, I-."

"Both of you should jump off a bridge and die." Their eyes were immediately drawn to the culprit of such malice. "I mean, you two look so cute together!" It was Yumizuka, much to Yuta's shock... and awe.

Arihiko pat her shoulder. "Jealous huh? This is what you get for aiming at that guy."

Yumizuka's face immediately went red. "I-I... Stuff like this happened."

Arcueid could only take a step back. "I... Your friends are weird, Yuta." Was Rika his only normal friend?

Yuta wasn't paying much attention however. His attention was in something else Arihiko had said. Yumizuka was... jealous of him...? Did that mean she liked him, or was he misreading this whole thing completely?

Um... she wasn't his type, but if she was offering herself, he would gladly make an exception. Though maybe that wasn't the brightest of ideas.

Yumizuka, desperately trying to forget her slip-up, tried passing the ball to Yuta. "So, you really had a girlfriend in the end... and she's so cute too!" Was she praising Arcueid, or being jealous of her?

Yuta couldn't tell, so he weakly agreed. "Yeah, she's the best." Why was he putting so much brain power on Yumizuka of all people? "By the way... Your parents own a restaurant, right?"

The girl's smile became a bit more brittle. "Y-yeah... Did Shiki tell you that?" Probably. He couldn't quite recall from where he had gotten that information.

This school was a tornado of rumors and gossip, even ones that related to Yuta himself. It was only natural he would know one thing or two about a fairly popular girl like Yumizuka.

Yuta scratched his cheek. "Most likely... Anyways, how about we pass through there on the way back from school?" He put his hands on his hips. "That way we can talk more about Arcueid and stuff. Lunchtime is about to end after all." It was a test.

More specifically he wanted to see how Yumizuka would react to him and Arcueid going to her parents restaurant. It would let him decide whether she liked him or not. Though... this would have to be a fast thing.

He had to do his nightly hunting for Roa, and he also had to find some way to apologize to Ciel. Not to mention how there was a good chance Mario would seek him out again...

Yumizuka looked away. "That seems... fun." She nodded to herself. "Sure. Don't expect free food though, sorry." She wasn't very flustered. Perhaps Yuta had been wrong?

Yuta gave her a thumbs up. "Don't worry, I don't lack for money." Even if Mario had pretty much scolded him for using too much recently. "In fact, I don't mind paying for everyone... if you're all willing to go?"

Yumizuka definitely had no objections for obvious reasons, and Arcueid would probably just follow him. Arihiko however, was a bit more hard to predict.

Thankfully the delinquent just laughed. "Hah, I haven't been leaving at night recently due to that whole serial killer mess..." Serial killer mess!? "But there's no way I can turn down free food. I'm going."

Yumizuka grimaced. "Please remember that Okkotsu is human..." She sighed. "At least you're right when you say a serial killer wouldn't attack four people at once." Yuta hoped he did.

He had a theory this serial killer was a certain individual... and if he wasn't, Arcueid could still throw him into the Moon. Ah, the joy of having a overpowered girlfriend.

Or a few overpowered girlfriends in his case.



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AN: Ah! Tsukihime is officially out!