88 A Chaotic Visit (2)

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Leaning against the doorframe was a familiar face, who has a long blonde hair set into twin-tails by two black ribbons and a pair of bright blue eyes.

She has a crimson tight top with long sleeves and a large white cross symbol on the front, a black knee-length skirt, and a pair of black boots with high heels. She also wore a light brown peacoat designer to protect herself from the cold air.

She was a beautiful young woman with a tall and lithe form, but her features was currently set into a small scowl, which brought nothing but discomfort to Hadrian since he already knew that he was the source of her displeasure.

Let it be said, Hadrian would rather take on a horde of alien spawns than a ticked off young woman, especially a talented mage of her caliber.

"Rin?!" Hadrian said in surprise, blinking at her sudden appearance.

Rin Tohsaka, who had her knees bent slightly and was panting slightly from exhaustion, snapped her head up and turned her gaze towards him.

She took a deep breath, steadying herself as she used her right hand to steady herself, and then it began.

The classic scenario in which Rin Tohsaka puts down Hadrian von Schweinorg, the elusive Heir of the Moon.

Despite all of his abilities and experience, Hadrian doubted there was anything that could prepare him when it comes to dealing with someone like Rin Tohsaka anyways.

"Hadrian!" She shouted, making him flinch slightly from the sound of her voice. "Why didn't you tell me that you're already here?!"

"Err… sorry?" Hadrian apologized, chuckling nervously.

In return, he heard a growl of annoyance from the heiress of the Tohsaka house, causing the normally calm and collected young mage to be sweating bullets.

The young mage didn't even noticed that he had sat down on the other couch that was facing the one that Caules and Flat were sitting on, who both appeared to be making themselves as unnoticeable as possible due to the intimidating presence of the twin-tailed heiress, Rin Tohsaka.

"Not once did you even call me when you're away. No messages, no calls. None!" Rin gritted out, uttering each word as she took a step towards him.

"Uh, I was busy!" He defended, slowly inching backwards as Rin's shadow began to loom over him.

"Busy enough to not take a few moments to call me and see if I'm even alive? What kind of ally are you?" She growled, her features almost twisting into a snarl.

And then, she was upon him.

Before he could speak another word to defend his case, Hadrian was interrupted as a pair of smooth and delicate hands found purchase on both of his cheeks, making him cry out in surprise and pain as they quickly began to pull and stretch his cheeks.

Surprised as he was by his predicament, the current scenario was not exactly the first time she pulled it on him. He saw her moved, but made no attempt to stop her nor did he evaded it.

Choosing either option would just stroke the female mage's irritation even further if he did so.

Thus, he was left with no choice but to face her wrath head-on, even if he won't be able to feel his face normally in a while.

Besides, knowing her, displaying her annoyance through actions was simply Rin's way of showing her concern for his well-being.

Well, at least that's what he wanted to believe anyways.

"Auuuuuugh!" Hadrian groaned, feeling his cheeks get stretched a bit.

"You might be cu– Ah, I mean! An ally but that won't always save you from me!" She declared loudly.

"Err, wut?" Hadrian asked, his pronunciation off-center as his face was still hindered by her grabby hands.

"Be quiet and take your punishment like a man!" Rin demanded, stretching his cheeks a bit more as she did so.

Although, from the observers' point of view, her words didn't exactly matched with her behavior as her own cheeks flushed in slight embarrassment and her stuttering earlier, causing a certain cheeky male retainer and a foolish-looking blonde mage to snicker at her slip (and his predicament, most likely) in the background.

Caules and Svin were more subtle in their amusement as they both smirked at the scene before them.

Dia and Arturia, however, remained loyal to their duties to him and began to save him from the heiress's iron-like clutches.

"Ms. Tohsaka, please release his majesty." Dia started, stepping forward like the brave knight he was.

"Indeed, he had recently recovered from an injury. Therefore, we would like for you to refrain yourself from… punishing our master too much." Arturia added, looking poised, regal and calm.

Hadrian, who still had his cheeks stretched by Rin, inwardly cheered at his two retainers' staunched loyalty in fulfilling their duties to him. He honestly felt touched by their actions, unlike a certain friend and cheeky retainer, who were just watching, content being in the background like the traitors they were.

He also couldn't count much on Svin and Caules, seeing as they feel no need to stop Rin from 'punishing' him.

To interfere would simply turn the heiress's irritation upon them as well, so they too stood by the background since she was not exactly hurting him too much.

Hadrian can forgive these two, but not the two certified idiots (Charles and Flat) snickering in the sidelines. He will have to get even by the time his 'punishment' from Rin was over later on.

Hadrian might not be as prideful as his benefactor, Gilgamesh, and can ignore most slights at him as long as they were harmless in nature.

But after the time when the latter's had passed his powers unto him, Hadrian's temperament had been changing a little lately, almost taking after the golden king's but not quite.

Nevertheless, the mere idea that his personality was changing, perhaps even becoming similar to Gilgamesh's, was a concerning thought for him to contemplate.

'Perhaps I'll bring the matter up later to opa. He might know something…' Hadrian mused, feeling disquieted by the possibility.

His musing came to a halt when he heard Rin sigh above him and (finally) released his cheeks, albeit in a reluctant manner.

Hadrian let out sigh of relief, massaging his cheeks slowly to ease the ache.

"Hmph, then I'll let you off the hook… for now." Rin relented with a small frown, crossing her arms below her chest.

The female mage lifted her chin up and stared him down from her dainty nose with an imperious expression.

Hadrian chuckled nervously, having a strange sense of déjà vu in the situation.

He had seen this side of herself in the past before, and that was during the time when she and Rani had assist him in the war since they had already lost their servants.

Whenever his friend/ally acts like this, it only meant that she was concerned for him. But, he also needed to be honest with her, or else, there would be hell to pay later on.

"Erm… thanks." The young mage sighed, knowing that was best he was going to get from her as mercy.

"Hmm. Now, what's this thing I heard that you got injured?" Rin began, her brows scrunched and met in the middle.

'Well… that was short-lived.' Hadrian deadpanned, lamenting over the short lifespan of his relief since his answer would only further displease the Tohsaka heiress.

Buying himself some time, the young mage scratched his head as he considered his next words carefully.

Meanwhile, Rin tapped her low-heeled boot on the carpeted floor, raising one brow at him as she waited for him to speak.

"That is –" Hadrian began, opting for a gentle approach.

*BAM*

He was interrupted once more when the door to the office was slammed open.

All occupants in the room turned to the entrance, and they all had various reactions to the intruder.

Most were curious or surprise, but one twin-tailed mage stiffened at the sight of the newcomer.

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