"... I refuse."
A chilling silence settled in the room, enough so that one could hear the sound of a pin dropping. The uneasy pressure that had previously been there, courtesy of the Servants glaring at one another, practically daring them to make a move, intensified tenfold while the Devils tensed. Rider's eyes widened, only to narrow down sharply as her teeth gritted against one another. Berserker didn't look the least bit surprised, but the slight shift in his posture told Altera what she needed to know. Lancer, compared to his allies, simply looked on with newfound intrigue and curiosity, genuinely surprised by the boy's words. Altera, in response to her master's words, could only assert more of her aura while glaring at them. The fact that she raised her sword ever so slowly only spoke volumes on what she would do if any one of them tried to harm her contractor.
Rias didn't seem to register the two words that came out of Haru's mouth at first. After ten seconds, her brain rebooted, and her eyes widened. "W-What… did you just say?"
"I said," Haru repeated firmly. "I refuse."
NOW the words registered in her mind. But the question was… why? Why would he refuse her offer when she was practically granting him sanction from the other Masters and Servants as well as free tutelage in magic? He was throwing away a prime opportunity to gain the knowledge and ability to survive the war! "Why?" she asked, doing her best to keep her composure. She would not show weakness here. "Forgive me for saying this, but you are practically running in blind. You know nothing about the world of magi, much less the world of the supernatural. I could teach you everything there is to know."
"And I don't doubt it, Gremory-senpai." Haru answered. "But… let me just make something clear." His eyes hardened a bit, and his hands tugged on the fabric of his pants. "How do you expect me to trust you, when you told me, not ten minutes ago, that you left me to die and could have stopped it?" The remark stung her visibly as she winced, momentarily losing her grip on her cup of tea. Haru sighed, scratching his head before looking at her in the eye. "I get it, okay? There's some political bull keeping you from acting, but the fact of the matter is, you were going to let Raynare KILL me. You seriously can't expect me to trust you when you more or less just signed off my death warrant, do you?"
Another proverbial stab the heart.
"Furthermore," Haru continued with his retort. "You approach me, knowing full well that I am a Master and box me and my Servant in a room. Which happens to have other Masters who are Devils working FOR you, and their Servants, outnumbering Altera and me 7 to 2. You claim to hold negotiations, but in reality, you are making it so that we can't refuse. This isn't an offer, but a demand." The third stab proved to be the most damaging, as for a moment, her calm facade broke. Haru saw this, and gave a heavy sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry, senpai," he said as he stood up. "But I can't work with someone like you." He then turned towards Altera. "C'mon, Saber. Let's go."
"Yes, Master."
Rider growled, moving to stop them, but a look from both her Master and Lancer kept her in place. Kiba, in spite of the tense atmosphere, was kind enough to open the door. Haru and Saber gave the blonde knight a curt nod before they left. As the door closed with a chilling creak, Rias groaned and put her face into her hands while Akeno giggled. "Well, that went well, didn't it?"
"Cut the sarcasm, Akeno." Rias deadpanned as she looked up to her Queen. "The entire thing went horribly."
"Not quite so, Gremory-san." Berserker said. "No one died, so it wasn't exactly the worst case scenario."
Kiba gave a light, nervous chuckle, scratching his cheek. "To be frank, I was rather terrified. I certainly didn't want to see what was going to happen if things got rowdy."
"I'm more amazed by the boy's audacity." Lancer said, a smirk forming on his face. "Then again, perhaps that is to be expected. In a way, the boy's refusal is quite intriguing to see. If I recall correctly, to become a magus is to walk with death. The boy may have no knowledge of the craft… but his refusal for an alliance is proof of his birthright as a magi." He then turned to his Master with amusement. "I look forward to seeing the boy's determination, my bride."
Rias groaned once again. "How many times must I ask you not to call me that?"
"Many times, but I'm afraid it hasn't stopped me yet." Lancer replied cheekily, causing the red-haired beauty to huff. He gave a light laugh at her expense before he looked at Rider, who was still fuming. "And what is the matter with you, Rider?"
"Oh, don't worry about my adorable Servant." Akeno told him with a grin. "She's just mad because he refused to bow down is all."
"I just can't understand it!" Rider huffed in frustration. "That boy refused to bow down to my whims! No man has ever done that since Cu Chulainn! And even then his defiance did not last!"
The pink-haired Servant pulled at her hairs, unable to comprehend this. Meanwhile, the rest of the Devils and Servants gave her a sweatdrop.
Naturally, Koneko spoke her mind in the most blunt manner possible: "... Dominatrix."
"Master?"
Altera had called out to Haru again for the third time as they walked out of the Occult Research Club's building. The redhead had been oddly silent since the left, and it was starting to worry her. No doubt he was wondering about what to do about the Masters. Being Devils, they were naturally stronger than he was. However, he wasn't alone. She was by his side, blade in hand. She vowed to cut down all who dared stand in his way. Still, how troublesome. To think that three Devils would be Masters. Worse, that Gremory Devil's Lancer… if her guess was right, that one might be trouble. After they reached the open clearing in front of the building, her Master stopped abruptly. This, of course, worried her.
"Master?" she called again. "What's the ma—"
"I'M SO FUCKING SCREEEEEEEEWED!"
Haru screamed in absolute panic while clutching his head with both hands. In despair, he collapsed on his knees and breathed heavily in anxiety. What the hell was he thinking?! He just turned down an offer that would've at least prepared him for the Grail Wars and fighting against other Servants and Masters! Granted, he was justified in refusing Rias Gremory given his lack of reason to trust her, but how else was he supposed to learn magic and crap?!
"WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING?!" he shouted comically as he repeatedly bashed his head into the ground, hoping that this was just a bad dream. "I'M SO FUCKING BONED!"
Yeah… there was absolutely no way he was going to survive this. He was outnumbered, outgunned, and lacks any form of training whatsoever. Why was he so stupid?!
"DAMMIIIIIIT!"
As Haru wailed, Altera watched with a slightly stunned and dumbfounded expression. The reason for his tense silence… was because he was worried about the consequences of his actions? That was… well, understandable. Still, though… in spite of herself, a giggle escaped her before she could even keep her facade in place. Truly, her master was so adorable.
But still… it would be troublesome if he lacked formal training as a Magus. Even though he had prana running through his magic circuits, it wasn't much due to the fact that only some of them were open. He needs training to properly use them and perform magecraft. But how were they going to find a teacher at this point in time… provided that there is anyone willing to instruct him?
Then she recalled meeting his grandmother last night.
"Master," she said slowly. "If memory serves, you received a letter from someone named Einzbern, is that correct?"
Immediately, Haru snapped out of his depressed funk after registering Altera's words. "Oh, that's right!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out the crumpled letter. He smothered the creases with his fingers before opening it and reading its contents.
"If you want the full story, come to Fuyuki City outskirts, where the old castle lies." he read, only to pause when he realized that there was only a single sentence and gawked. "Wait, that's it?!"
That barely explained anything! All it said was a meeting place! Was he supposed to meet someone there?! This made no sense! What's with all the cryptic messages?!
Granted, Fuyuki wasn't too far from Kuoh Town. But he'd still have to call his parents to let them know why he was going. He paused, however, when he realized something.
Fuyuki.
"That's… where the last Grail War was."
Going off of that, there could be a chance that someone there knows about the previous Grail War and could help him. Just what exactly did his aunt want with him? Did she know the story behind the Grail War? If so… then it seemed like he had a destination in mind. He took out his phone to check the time.
Haru then sighed, slipping it back into his pocket. "Guess I'm skipping out on tomorrow." It was too late to go to Fuyuki right now. He'd have to skip school tomorrow to go and make the trip. He gave a low groan, running his hands through his hair. "Man, kaa-chan is gonna be pissed."