Life 8-3

"Uh… hello? I know it's a day off today but uh… anyone here?" Despite having said he would report to Rias, as it was, Noé was more than somewhat hoping his arrival to the ORC room would go quietly so that he could just leave without any incident occurring. "Nooo? Okay then… I guess I'll leave…"

"There you are! Do you know how worried I've been?!"

"… fuck."

Noé sighed a bit as the other door in the room flew open, Rias appearing along with Akeno. The crimson-haired girl had quite the unpleased expression on as Noé's eyes lidded at her.

"Okay, first question, why were you worried?" Noé grumbled. "You know damn well I can handle myself."

"Well what else was I supposed to think? We went to investigate that house after you didn't report back, and with what we found… seriously, what happened? It was a complete mess!"

"The news has been on it all morning," Akeno stated, flashing her phone to show an article, the title non-too subtle in its statement of the brutal murder that had happened the night before.

"I was going to explain that," Noé said. "It turned out the reason there was interference last night was some Stray Priest who got the client first. I fought the guy off, so that should be the end of it. What's the big deal?"

"And you didn't bother to at the least come back here after that?" Rias said, her eyes narrowing. Noé looked to the side. "We found traces of a barrier there as well, leftovers from a ritual… and barriers have to be maintained by someone if they're not rune based. Which would mean there would have had to have been a second person there along with that priest. There's something you're not telling me, aren't you?"

"Nope, the whole truth," Noé said, not a hint of a lie in his voice. But Rias didn't look a hint convinced. "Look, I didn't come in because I brought it to my dad first. It's as much his job to oversee Kuoh as yours, so what's the harm? I mean, I could have just texted or called you, but that didn't feel appropriate."

"You're not telling me something," Rias accused, Noé shaking his head. The girl's eyes narrowed. "There wasn't anyone else there? At all?"

"Nope, just the Stray Priest," Noé stated, again not at all hinting he was boldly lying to Rias's face. Yet she still didn't seem convinced about it. "Look, that's all that happened, alright? I can only assume that priest might be with those Fallen Angels that attacked me before, but that's just a guess."

"There's no risk of them retaliating, is there?" Akeno asked, Noé shaking his head.

"I told the guy to leave town else I'd finish him off," he said, "Besides, those Fallens are probably just a bunch of low-rank scouts. Not even that bastard seemed to respect them, so he was happy to leave. Not like any one of us in this room couldn't stomp that group flat with a shrug."

"While true…" Rias agreed, "The problem isn't whether we could easily handle them. It's the ramifications of doing so. If their superiors believe there to be any pretense to retaliate, they won't hesitate to take it. But… if they're really that low ranking, then maybe not even that. But it's a risk… one not worth taking without due cause."

"Yeah yeah, I get it," Noé flipped a hand. "No going off and beating their teeth in on a whim. Not like I do that as is. I don't really care. If they leave me alone, I'll leave them alone. But I guarantee nothing if they go after me again."

"We'd have no reason to stop you," Akeno said, chuckling, "In fact, if such a reason does come, we'd quite happily help you in getting rid of those pests. One of our clients is dead because they recruited a wild sort. That's almost reason enough to justify something, wouldn't you say, President?"

"Perhaps, but it's still hard to justify," Rias said, Noé shrugging. "Are you positive there's nothing else to this situation you're leaving out?"

"I told you everything that was important, and that's all it needs to be," Noé said. Rias sighed, shaking her head as she put a hand to it.

"If there is, clearly, you're not intent on telling me. Fine. Just don't do anything reckless that would cause a mess. That last thing any of us need is a political mess, even if my father and yours could leverage things."

"Again, I get it. If something does happen, then you'll be the first to know. Maybe we can have some fun cracking heads," Noé turned and left. Rias watched as he departed, then going to the window to observer as Noé trotted away from the old building and out of sight.

"He's quite the skilled liar, isn't he?" Akeno mused, joining Rias. "If we didn't know better, I'd have been quite convinced he really wasn't hiding anything from us."

"My question is why he would," Rias sighed. "It can't be that bad… I doubt he did something as reckless as basically kidnap a nun or anything."

"Hm… Noé does give off the idea sometimes he acts on impulse," Akeno hummed. "He is half human after all. Perhaps sometimes, that human nature gets the better of him and causes him to act before thinking. After all, he's only ever been around humans despite his heritage. I'd say he's far more empathetic than us Devils tend to be as a result."

"Akeno, you say that like you aren't also half-human," Rias hummed, "Reincarnated Devil or no, that fact hasn't changed."

"Well, unlike Noé, I feel I've long discarded my human heart," Akeno said, giving a chuckle, "It does make him interesting to watch, however. He's quite the case of a Devil, a true paradox. Do you think whatever secret he's keeping is because he made a promise to somebody? He did tell us he keeps his word when he gives it."

"Perhaps," Rias mused, "A Devil who's so insistent on keeping his word, hm? It does make him intriguing… and makes me want to know what else about him has been influenced by his upbringing. What I would give for the chance to meet his mother and learn what kind of Devil she even is. But for now…" Rias gave a chuckle, "How about we begin planning to deal with some pests? Noé's bullheadedness may be the thing we need to handle this situation without causing a problem. After all… we'd only be lending our aid to a protectorate of my house."