18 Thunderstrike

The group of stoic second-year students outside the classroom said not a word as they escorted Lucifer, Sakura, Yasu, and Haruto to the white limo waiting for them outside. Nao politely took his leave stating the affairs of the Fourth Seraph had no meaning for a Sixth Seraph's aide and left. Lucifer saw the glint in his eyes as he said that and he figured Nao would just spy on the fight to not be 'officially' associated.

Haruto was apprehensive as he climbed into to long limo, but Lucifer seemed completely at ease. He even closed his eyes and relaxed on the black leather seats as the car silently trundled along the road.

"Where do you think Kaminari's cafeteria is?" asked Haruto peeking outside the limo's window.

"Probably in the Seventh Sky area." said Yasu blankly, opening a can of soda from the limo's fridge.

And sure enough the limo easily passed the line marking the most exclusive area in the entirety of Shukuto-Kodo's campus where only the high ranking administrative staff or the Seraphs were allowed casual entry. None of the guards even dared to stop the car as it turned down a few wide roads to finally pull up in front of a neat, turquoise blue building with a beautiful cream white awning creating a pleasant shade for the entering visitor.

"This is our stop." said Haruto as a man in a silver uniform approached the limo and opened the door.

"Sakura, what're you doing? Let's go." said Yasu spotting her friend texting on her phone.

"Oh, right." said Sakura hurriedly. "Let's go." She glanced sideways at Lucifer as he lazily scanned the building but saw no fear or misgivings in his dark eyes. Taking a wide yawn, he strolled to the doors which were being held open by even more uniformed staff and walked inside.

Inside was a wide hall full of round tables covered in spotless snow-white cloths. A warm glow emanated from the sconce-style lights on the walls, and the air inside was sailing all around the vast room with the smell of freshly baked scones and pastries. Nothing here was wild or loud; the students were pleasantly chatting with each other as they read books or smiled cheerfully in each other's company.

"Looks more like a cafe." observed Haruto, looking around.

"What world do you come from where cafes are this big?" asked Yasu, as emotionlessly as ever, but Lucifer spotted her eyes flitting over to the long counter filled with soft and fluffy confectionaries.

"Well, let's hope we don't end up destroying this place completely." said Lucifer lazily grinning as he walked almost into the middle of the cafe hall. "I'd like to have a few cookies here someday."

"Just say the world and I'll make it happen." whispered a quiet voice behind them.

The girls jumped but Lucifer languidly turned around. A second-year student dressed immaculately in his white uniform stood behind them. His long, thick black hair were slicked back gracefully, to the point where they almost seemed to shine in the warm glow of the lights. He had thin, golden glasses on his face behind which his eyes shined brightly. Though he was slightly short for his age, Kaminari Yoshioka stood with a ruler's charisma in the hall.

"I didn't know you were the kind to be summoned so quickly like a dog." he said to Lucifer, his eyes burning with glee. Yet his mind was bewildered. He truly HADN'T expected Lucifer to show up right away. His immediate 'visit' meant only one of two things: either Lucifer was afraid of him and had conceded out of fear, or he was smart enough to know this was the quickest way to deal with the Fourth Seraph. And Kaminari knew which was the right answer. 'I have to be careful.'

"And I didn't know the great 4th Seraph was so short, pipsqueak." said Lucifer yawning. "Guess we all learn something new each day, huh?"

Kaminari clenched his fists. Suddenly, it seemed the entire cafeteria had fallen ominously silent at Lucifer's insult. Even Sakura, Yasu, and Haruto subconsciously stepped back from the aura of sheer rage that the Seraph was giving off at the sentence, leaving only Lucifer to arrogantly stare him down like looking at a hungry wolf.

Lucifer's smile widened. 'Got him.' "What?" he asked slyly. "Is the so-called 'Storm' of SK conscious about his little height?" He laughed. "I'm sure none of the people present here make fun of that about you behind your back at all."

Kaminari's eyes turned cold. "You've got quite a rude tongue, haven't you, Arima?" he asked. "Or do you prefer 'Night', since Yamato never officially adopted you, BASTARD."

Lucifer grinned. 'Dumbass. That was a pointless effort to insult me.' "Whichever one you like, senpai." said Lucifer pleasantly smiling. "It's not like I really care what the LITTLE fellows think about me."

Kaminari burst into a cold laughter which hideously reverberated in the silent hall. "Oh, you're good, Arima." He said stopping. "You knew why I called you here, you knew there was no point to fake pleasantries. So, you came out of the gate storming." He grinned. "Let me guess; you wanted the fight to be over quickly so you could go home quickly. Be 'unbothered' is what you like to say, right?" He laughed. "Well, Arima, I'll make sure you are 'unbothered' when you're paralyzed on your hospital bed, unable to move or shit, begging me for death."

Lucifer scoffed. "Is that so?"

Kaminari's lips spread into the widest grin yet. "Let me show you, Arima-kun, why they call the 4th Seraph the Storm of Shukuto-Kodo." He stretched his arm out to the side an a thin white spear formed formed out of nothingness in his palm. "Lightning Art. 10th Form..." he whispered, his feet slightly tensing as he lowered his body poising for attack. Lucifer smiled and his eyes blinked into the Demonic pupils. 'I guess it's time.'

"...Thunderstrike!" And Kaminari moved. The next instant he stood beside Lucifer, his spear lowered, and a wide gash over Lucifer's cheek. There was a streak of a white light along the straight path Kaminari had dashed, and a second later, a deafening boom of thunder echoed in the hall, as if sound itself hadn't been able to catch up with Kaminari's movement.

Lucifer's eyes were wide. It had been terrifyingly fast. He hadn't been able to read Kaminari dashing to attack him at all. On sheer instinct, he'd BARELY manged to move his face, yet even then Kaminari had still hit his cheek. As he stood there in complete shock, for the first time in a LONG time, outperformed, one thing was hauntingly clear to him: 'Kaminari's faster than me.'