Arriving at the location through her teleportation circle, Rias found Meguna sitting on a bench a short distance away from the corpse. One of his legs rested over the other as he casually drank from a can he had apparently bought while waiting.
Noticing her arrival, Meguna glanced in her direction. "Took you long enough."
Rias ignored the complaint and walked closer, her eyes briefly moving toward the corpse before returning to him. "How long have you been here?" she asked curiously.
"Almost about thirty minutes," Meguna replied as he got up from the bench. He tossed the empty can into a nearby trash bin before continuing, "Anyway, can you clean up this mess? If I had used my ability, it would've just woken up the whole neighborhood."
Rias understanding the situation stepped forward and activated her demonic power. A crimson magic circle appeared beneath the corpse before the remains gradually dissolved into particles of light.
For a brief moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Meguna suddenly asked, "So, what's the problem that you were having just now?"
Rias expression softened a little as she recalled what had happened at the church.
"It was just that my pawn was attacked by a priest while fulfilling his duties," she explained. "He's fine now, but his new nun friend, Asia, got captured."
A small frown appeared on her face. "Things became complicated. There were Fallen Angels involved as well."
Meguna listened quietly. 'Seems like that brat isn't having a good day nowadays.' The image of Issei getting dragged into increasingly troublesome situations flashed through his mind.
Slipping both hands into his pockets, he gave a small shrug. "Anyway, good luck with that." He turned around and began walking away.
"Wait! Aren't you going to discuss this with us?" Rias asked as she moved a little closer.
Meguna stopped and glanced back over his shoulder. "What's that got to do with me though?" he replied. "And what's there to discuss? If he isn't foolish, he shouldn't be associating himself with members of the Church. That's just common sense."
Rias opened her mouth slightly before closing it again. She couldn't really deny that there was some logic in what he was saying, even if his way of putting it was blunt.
Meguna, had no interest in continuing the conversation further. "If that's all there is to it, then I'm leaving." Leaving those parting words behind, Meguna walked away.
With that, he left Rias standing there, reflecting on his words for a moment before she went back to the clubroom.
----
Seeing Rias return to the clubroom, the members of her peerage turned their attention toward her.
"Welcome back, buchou," Akeno said with a gentle smile.
Rias gave a small nod as she walked further into the room.
As she made her way toward her chair, Akeno glanced up from where she was tending to Issei's injuries. "So, what did Fushi-san call you for, buchou?" she asked curiously.
The others were interested as well. After all, Rias had immediately left after receiving the call, and none of them knew what could have been important enough to pull her away at a time like this.
Rias sat down in her chair before answering. "He took down a Fallen Angel. So he called me to inform me about it and deal with the body. That's all."
Kiba blinked. "He took down a Fallen Angel?" The surprise in his voice was obvious.
Rias nodded in confirmation "Apparently so."
Akeno brought a hand near her lips.
"Ara, ara. It seems Fushi-san is doing the devils' work for us." Despite the lighthearted comment, there was genuine amusement in her voice.
Kiba chuckled softly. "Fushi-san might seem hard to get along with, but he does seem to hold up his end of the deal."
"That's true," Akeno agreed. "Although his personality leaves much to be desired." Rias couldn't really disagree with that. Despite his attitude and tendency to do whatever he wanted, Meguna hadn't break any part of their agreement.
Meanwhile, Issei sat quietly, unlike the others, his attention wasn't on Meguna. His gaze remained lowered as thoughts of Asia continued to occupy his mind.
His hands slowly tightened into fists. 'If I had Fushi-san's strength, I might've been able to save her.' he remembered how effortlessly Meguna dealt with the stray devil earlier. Compared to that, he had been completely powerless at the church.
Rias seeing her pawn still tense with worry for the nun, she decided to remind him of something important. "Issei," she called out and continued "Remember, you're a devil. Even if she's a friend she's still affiliated with the Church, so you can't be reckless."
She understood why he was worried, but acting impulsively would only make things worse.
Issei turned his face toward Rias and muttered in a low voice, "Buchou..."
----
"Hoahhhhhhhhhhh..."Meguna let out a long yawn as he walked down the road, a plastic bag full of groceries hanging from one hand.
His mother had sent him out to buy a few things, and after spending several minutes wandering around the local convenience store, he was finally heading back home.
As Meguna was walking, his gaze landed on two familiar figures standing near a vending machine. It was Issei and beside him stood a blonde nun who appeared to be talking with him quite comfortably.
Meguna stopped, his eyes lingered on the pair for a few seconds before his thoughts questioned issei's intellect. 'Does this brat have some amnesia, or is he just this stupid?'
His gaze shifted toward the blonde girl, the moment he got a better look at her, his eyes twitched slightly. 'Isn't this the nun who asked me for directions yesterday? Is she the one Rias was talking about? The one Issei was trying to save? From the looks of it, it seems like her, but isn't she supposed to be at the church?'
Meguna then changed direction and walked toward them. "What's going on here?" He asked as he approached them from behind.
The sudden voice caused both of them to turn. "Fushi-san?" Issei blurted out, instinctively jumping a step to the side in surprise.
"Eh—" A small sound escaped him as pain shot through his injured arm.
When asia saw meguna she recognized him almost immediately. "Um, hello again, mister." A polite smile appeared on her face as she gave a small bow.
Issei looked between the two of them in confusion seeing asia greet meguna casually. Asia tilted her head slightly before asking, "Are you by any chance a friend of Issei-san?"
Meguna waved a hand dismissively and replied. "We're just classmates."
Issei looked between the two of them a bit suprised and asked. "Asia, you already know Fushi-san?"
She nodded in affirmation. "We met yesterday. I got lost and asked him for directions."
Asia turned back toward Meguna. "My name is Asia Argento. I never got your name yesterday, so could you please tell me?"
"Meguna Fushi," he replied simply.
"It's nice to properly meet you, Fushi-san," Asia said politely. Meguna gave a small nod in acknowledgment.
Not having any intention of standing around and talking any longer, Meguna shifted the grocery bag in his hand and turned away. "Anyways, I'll be going home now. It was nice meeting you, Argento." He then left with those words behind.
As they both watched him leave, Asia spoke up. "Issei-san, your friend Fushi-san seems very nice." A gentle smile appeared on her face as she looked in the direction Meguna had disappeared. Although their interactions had been brief, he had given her directions when she was lost and had spoken to her politely enough. To Asia, that was already enough to leave a positive impression.
Issei looked at her for a moment, his mind protested. 'That guy is anything but nice.' The image of Meguna calling him a brat, smacking him on the head, and constantly acting like he was above everyone else flashed through his mind.
Then again, compared to how Meguna treated most people, perhaps Asia wasn't entirely wrong.
Issei scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Well... I guess he isn't a bad guy." The words sounded strange even to him.
Asia smiled a little brighter after hearing that.
"I'm glad."
Seeing no reason to dwell on the topic any longer, Issei pushed the thoughts aside. After all, there were more important things to focus on right now. "Asia, let's just continue with our fun." Issei said with a smile.
Asia nodded happily. "Okay."
The two continued walking together down the street, neither of them noticing the pair of eyes silently watching them from a distant rooftop.
----
After arriving home, Meguna immediately throwed himself onto his bed. He stretched his arms above his head and stared at the ceiling, then his phone began ringing.
Meguna stared at the ceiling for a second before letting out a sigh. 'Okay, who's calling me now?' Still lying on the bed, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.
The moment he saw the caller ID, one of his eyebrows raised slightly, it was Rias Gremory. ' I'm not in the mood to listen to one of her requests. So, I'll just turn it off.'' Without giving it much thought, he pressed the decline button.
He then placed the phone on the nearby table before rolling over onto his side.
----
Meanwhile, inside the Occult Research Club, Rias lowered her phone after hearing the call disconnect. For a few seconds, she simply looked at the screen before letting out a small sigh. "He cut me off." Her tone carried resignation.
Akeno giggled softly. "Ara, ara. It seems Kaichou has been rejected."
"Akeno." Rias immediately shot her queen a flat look. The smile on Akeno's face only widened.
Rias ignore her and placed the phone down on the desk. "Seems like Fushi-san is busy at the moment anyway."
She leaned back slightly in her chair. 'Although his strength would've made things easier, I can't just rely on him all the time. I should respect our contract.' Rias quietly organized her thoughts.
Meguna wasn't one of her servants. Nor was he obligated to solve every problem that appeared before them.
Pushing the matter aside and she turned her focused on the more pressing issue. "Akeno."
At the sound of her name, Akeno stepped forward. "Yes, Buchou?"
Rias's expression grew serious. "We're going to investigate the church. I have a feeling that it must have something to do with the nun."
----
[A/N: Give your thoughts]