Life 3-1

If Noé's usual walk to school was one often unbothered with little more than the occasional murmuring around him from other Kuoh Students, then today had to suddenly rank up into the worst ones ever. Because apparently Rias couldn't simply go ahead of him and arrive on her own, nope, she had to make absolutely sure they arrived to school downright side by side as they passed through the gates. And the reactions of the crowd were… well Noé certainly thought some of them were quite funny.

"Ehhh?! Lady Rias and Edelweiss?!"

"What?! Since when?! Did something happen the other night?"

"… I mean they look pretty good together don't you think?"

"There's no way! Isn't he a delinquent?!"

"But those are just rumors aren't they?"

"This is just like that thing I imagined one time!"

That last one certainly felt… concerning.

"Well, they're certainly fond of getting ideas, aren't they?" Rias chuckled, Noé shooting her a narrowed look. "Let me guess what you're about to say: "They're only saying this because of you"… am I correct?" Rias chuckled again as Noé looked away with a grumble.

"You just like making a show out of this," Noé rolled his eyes as they entered the main building's foyer. He really wished he could just go in another direction, but yet again, he was cursed with being in the same class as Rias. "So what's the deal anyway huh?"

"Well, if circumstances had been different, I'd send someone to get you once classes were over," Rias said. "But, seeing as we are not only classmates but desk neighbors, things are far easier. All I ask is after classes are done, you come to the Occult Research Club room at the old school building. I'll explain everything I know about this… situation there."

"And let me guess, introduce me to the rest of your cohorts as well," Noé got a nod as he strode past, letting out a sigh. "Fine, since I wanna know what this is about. And don't bother trying to make me remember it. I've got a good mind for these things. I'm guessing your little club room would happen to be that building's former headmaster's office, right?"

"My my, you're quick to figure things out, aren't you?" Rias mused.

"You have to be in this line of work," Noé muttered. "Or else you end up dead."

-----

Noé had to admit, the small bit of anxiety he'd been ignoring until now had started getting to him during class. He had far too many questions about what was even going on to so much as focus on the lessons the teachers were giving. What does dad know about this? Does this have anything to do with mom and why she's out all the time? And what the hell does this have to do with the Gremory clan? At some point he had just given up and feigned himself off as napping while trying to process things. The teacher tried to get his attention at some point but had given up once it became clear Noé wasn't going to respond.

He had to admit, part of it was because he let some of his normally repressed aura leak out. It tended to keep normal people away without much issue when he wanted it to.

And of course, it was as he was "rousing" himself out of his "nap" that Rias decided to tap his shoulder. Noé sat up fully, clearly not at all groggy. Rias feigned surprise as if she had thought he was napping, but it was quite clear she knew he'd been faking it the entire time.

"Oh, so you are awake," Noé rolled his eyes at the clear façade Rias had going. "Well then, you do remember what we talked about this morning, yes?" Don't give these idiots ideas… Noé scanned the room as some of the girls gasped in surprise, and the handful of other boys shot him dirty glares. Glares which Noé responded to with a middle finger behind his back.

"Like I said, I've got a good memory," Noé replied.

"Perfect. Well then, Akeno? Shall we show him the way?"

"Of course."

The girl who responded to Rias was just in front of her. If Noé could take the phrase "Yamato Nadeshiko" and apply it to anybody, he would have applied it to this girl. Himejima Akeno, the other "great big sister" of Kuoh Academy, and the definition of "Japanese beauty." Long black hair done up in a tail, and soft violet eyes Noé couldn't help but get the idea had something behind them other than her pleasant smile. And he also had to wonder what it was that, like Rias, gave Akeno quite the impressive hour glass figure. Must be a thing with Devils. He thought.

Noé had long assumed, with how often the two girls were together, Akeno had to be a Devil herself much like Rias, and by all accounts, likely one she worked closely with.

"My my, I was wondering how long it would be before you ended up around us, Edelweiss," Akeno said, her voice absolutely fitting her image of a gentle older sister type.

"It's a bit more complicated than that," Noé rose and gathered his things, again giving the now even angrier boys in the room a narrowed look, from which they very quickly cowered away from as he followed Rias and Akeno out of the classroom.

The walk out of the main building and to their destination was quiet, but Noé knew the route. Behind the main schoolhouse, out into the woods bordering the different sports fields and gymnasium. Within those woods, a far older building that had served as the primary school house. The last few years of it being unused had resulted in ivy beginning to creep along the walls, but other than that it remained in good shape, though the old clock was now forever stuck at just a bit halfway past six, the last time it's bell had been rung before the new building had been constructed.

All in all, the perfect place for a group of Devils or other supernatural types to discreetly do what they would away from the prying eyes of the local humans.

"Of course the base of operations for you lot is one of this school's creepy ass seven wonders," Noé shook his head as a wry smirk split his face. Rias and Akeno only gave him their own amused expressions as they entered the building.

Noé was the slightest bit surprised to see the interior was far more well maintained than the exterior. The fashioning of the halls gave him Victorian impressions, from the rich woods and the velvet carpeting of the hallway. He could only guess why Rias would need so much space to operate in, but he could guess there had to be some purpose to some of the rooms in the building at the very least.

"So… can I just say a Devil running a club quite literally called the "Occult Research Club" sounds like something right out of a manga?" Noé said, Rias glancing back at him. "If anyone was wise enough to think about it seriously, it's one of the most obvious things in the world when you know about it."

"The club existed well before me and Akeno came here," Rias said, and Noé caught a hint of offense in her voice. "We merely revived it after it had been shut down. However, it does prove quite convenient to carry out our activities without scrutiny from the humans."

"… and yet your dad is also the administrator of the entire damn school."

"While true, there is some caveats," Akeno spoke up, "For one, as you can guess we have to carry out business that comes down to us from Lord Gremory. And Lady Rias has to continue her own studies under Devil education while staying here."

"So, it's also a super convenient excuse to do that," Noé gave a whistle. "Will admit, I'm mildly impressed. Not much, but somewhat."

"Are you trying to be antagonistic about this?" Rias asked, a notable, but slight, twitch in her brow.

"Yes, yes I am."