Interrupting a Meeting

It was Friday morning and I was busy typing away at the computer in the student council office. I was just going over some more comments from staff and students about the system and app and looking at the bugs that were reported. Since Monday Sona had been a little odd, but in a cute way, like fidgeting a little at our conversations or blushing slightly when her peerage starts gossipping about boys and overly loudly asking if she's found anyone yet or if anyone had caught her eye.

"Hey, Ron-kun, could you maybe deliver these to the ORC? I need Rias to fill out her expense forms. Tell her to fill them out properly this time." Sona asked from behind, an apologetic look on her face.

"Sure, anything else?" I asked.

"No, thanks so much for helping out. I was meant to send Saji but he would just start a fight with Issei and the girls are off doing something else for me." Sona smiled.

"No problem. You owe me for all the questions they'll try to ask considering I've ignored their questions since the church." I said before picking up the file and walking out.

"Noted." Sona chuckled.

I gave the door a single knock and pushed it open, in a bit of a rush as I wanted to get back early tonight and practice my magic a bit more. I didn't expect to walk in to the room and a blonde pimp demeaning Issei who had just been beaten into the ground by a girl with a staff while Grayfia watched on uncaring and Rias angrily glaring at both the pimp and Issei.

We all momentarily froze at my entrance before I continued on my way to Rias's desk.

"Right, I don't know what's going on here and I don't care. Gremory-san you have to fill this out properly this time, and get it to Sona-kaichou." I said, walking through the room to hand her the papers. I'd arrived at the desk and she reactively took the papers, still staring dumbly at me as she did.

"you lowly human! how dare you interrupt the great Riser as he is teaching this lowly devil a lesson?" Riser exclaimed angrily.

"Just a guy doing his job and leaving. see you later ORC, Mister Riser." I nonchalantly said as I started making my way out only for Riser to step in my way.

"I think I'll enjoy having some fun with this human for the rest of the meeting my dear Rias." Riser said with a sickening smile on his face.

"Riser don't touch even a single hair on his head." Rias stood up from her seat.

I just tilted my head waiting for him to initiate any form of conflict.

"oh, like this?" Riser's fingers touched my hair.

I grabbed his hand and twisted his wrist hard, as I did I noticed something trying to heal him. inwardly smirking I channeled a bit of life force and made a block to the area, preventing the injury from healing for a little while. maybe a day or two, I didn't put much energy into it.

"Ahhhh, my wrist. argh you Shitstain human what did you do to me? why isn't it healing?" Riser wailed in agony.

"What? you clearly were going to hurt me so I prevented it. Next time, don't hurt people. And what do you mean human? we're all human, nothing else exists after all. Maybe lay off the drugs and drink mate, you smell like a crackhead's toilet. Gremory-San, I'll be telling Sona-Kaichou of the pimp you allowed on campus. Remember, do the papers properly this time." I said calmly as Riser had retreated to his group of girls holding his hand and looking at me with genuine fear. This probably wouldn't come to bite me in the arse. After all, he now knew whatever healing power he had meant nothing to me. A small thing I learnt a while ago, power of life-energy also meant I could control other people's life energy in certain ways. Stopping flow of healing energies was actually one of the easiest, but it was still difficult.

***

<Grayfia POV>

"Riser-nii-san, why aren't you healing?" Ravel asked in worry, though it was for herself, she too falsely thought herself immortal.

"Grayfia, how dare you let that human harm me?!" Riser screeched at me, ignoring his sister, face red in rage.

"I was about to stop you from harming him, he and his family are very close to Serafall-Leviathan, he moved before I could and you are lucky to be let off with a broken wrist since I would have frozen you for two weeks had you actually touched him." I answered honestly. Serafall had few friends, and Ronald seemed like a nice enough person. I was fine freezing the little shit. He'd gotten on my nerves far too many times and I'd also just claim I was instructed by a Satan to safeguard him and his family if I could. Well, that warning should stop Riser from retaliating.

"I want recompense Grayfia. tell me how he did this?" Riser snarled, paling slightly.

" I wish I knew, but I don't. you won't be getting any recompense Riser-Sama, so drop it." I stated, letting some of my power leak out. It shut Riser up quickly.

"Rating game, ten days. You and your peerage will belong to me. I'll show you what a real man is." Riser pathetically growled before one of his peerage whisked them away.

"Harmless human, Rias?" I asked.

"Yes, we thought so up till the church thing." Rias answered, looking at the doors regretfully. Likely thinking she should've recruited him as soon as he was suspected of being supernaturally involved. too late now though.

"he's clearly strong though." the now recovered Issei exclaimed.

"Thank you for that observation, Issei." Rias 'smiled' at the boy.

"Rias-sama, make the most of these ten days. I'll be going now." I said to her before leaving, but to Serafall's workplace. Rias would likely tell Sirzechs about the boy, and he'd probably try and rope him into it somehow.

Twenty minutes later I was sitting in her visitors chair as she was fighting halfway through a mountain of paperwork and four cups of devi-caf.

"Fia-chan, I love your visits but they typically mean trouble when it's during my work hours. Please don't tell me there's a serious incident that needs my immediate attention because I have fourteen cases to file and a booked day off tomorrow so I can chaperone my sister somewhere. Now tell me what this is about." Serafall tiredly said, but her smile told me her attitude wasn't anything personal. We were best friends after all, despite our rivalry.

"Well, I get the feeling Sirzechs will try to rope Ronald into helping Rias somehow. I just came from the meeting, and Ronald interrupted as he was delivering paperwork that Rias needed to re-do. Rias also told me beforehand Sona wasn't informed of the meeting as it 'wasn't a big deal'. Riser took offence to his presence, and went to pluck a single hair from his head as Rias warned him not to touch a single hair, Ronald broke his wrist and Riser's wrist stayed broken. Rias will likely tell her brother, you know how she is, so I just thought I would let you know beforehand." I told her apologetically. She paused momentarily, which told me this worried her. She didn't even stop a few decades ago when I told her that Lord Sitri was kidnapped by a human organisation of mages.

"And you didn't prevent Riser's actions beforehand why?" Serafall asked calmly.

"Truthfully, I was curious about the boy. It was a safe place and I didn't know he would be able to break a high-class devils wrist and stop a Phenex's regeneration while breaking said wrist. Had I had a gauge of his strength, I wouldn't have allowed it." I answered, feeling mildly embarrassed about the ordeal.

"That's fair." Serafall sighed. "You know I wasn't joking when I said that I would quit right? All this work and the increasing lack of respect I've been getting from not just the old Satan faction but from Sirzechs is getting too much Fia. Falbium just sleeps, and Ajuka only cares about his research. It's like I'm the only god-damned devil who wants the devil's to continue existing." She paused her speech for a moment, brow creasing.

"Do you know how many times I've had to smooth things over with the Greeks alone? If he tries anything Fia, I'm done. I'm giving up my station as Leviathan and it'll be on your shoulders because the people will want their Satan Leviathan and you are the only one suitable for the position not in the old Satan faction." that hadn't occurred to me before. she wasn't wrong either, to prevent the old Satan faction from getting more power the other three Satan's would put me in her spot.

"So," Serafall took a breath as she slid another piece of paper in front of her and began filling it out. "if you want to continue pretending to be a maid then I suggest you take off your maid's apron for five fucking minutes and beat some sense into your master before I lose my calm. I've given plenty of warnings Fia, he will get bitten if he pushes me one step further. I don't care if it's for his sister, he's used that too many times to break our laws and several other faction's laws already. She should have trained, should have found another way, should have utilised every resource available to her, dealt with her peerage properly, and a lot of other things. Koneko or Akeno could deal with Phenex immortality, and smart planning could have them win if they weren't terrified of their own power. I and my family Care for Ronald and his Family, capital C, Fia, capital C. Don't make Sirzechs lose me as a friend." Serafall was speaking clearly, every word delivered at the perfect moment with perfect tone for impact. For a moment, I realised just why devils saw little retaliation... it was because of how good she was with words, she didn't even slow her writing, but at the end of her speech I realised she had at some point locked eyes with me. And her's were a soldering angry purple in the shadows of her brow... Even still she was legibly writing for another of her cases. Those weren't the eyes of the happy and carefree Serafall that had become lodged in everyone's minds and hearts. Those were eyes reminiscent of the furious Serafall that existed during the civil war... of the Serafall who made hell freeze over.

"I see, I'll do my best to beat some sense into him, but once he gets one of his plans you know how he is. I'll talk to you soon Sera." I said standing from my seat and making my way out.

"Maybe get him to do his job too." Serafall tiredly called out from behind me.

"I'm already trying to do that." I answered just as wearily.