[Grayfia Lucifuge POV]
This boy..
Grayfia watched as the ORC members fussed and surrounded Sam after she was done teasing him and Rias.
He's still green. But that punch? That was clean. Dangerous.
Grayfia looked at the subtle scorch marks, made by speed and lightning. Even the lingering holy energy made her shiver slightly.
Holy Energy of this caliber belongs to angels, not humans… Who in the world is this boy?
Grayfia's attention shifted as someone came to stand beside her.
"Do you think he has a chance?" Rias said quietly, trying not to involve others.
Grayfia let a small smile slip, "Worried about your 'man'?"
Rias's cheeks flushed pink as she looked away.
"I know you saw through that. I don't get why you need to tease me about it."
Grayfia covered her mouth as she let out a small laugh at the younger devil.
"I saw through both."
"Given time, he may even live up to the claim."
When Grayfia looked back at Sam, she felt it again.
The same pull she felt earlier when he baited Riser.
Not enough to call anything, but something that made her want to watch him.
"You should keep an eye on him, Rias, he might be taken by Akeno if you're hesitant."
Rias opened her mouth to retort but quickly looked to Sam, noticing that Akeno was clinging to his arm again.
"Akeno!" Rias quickly joined the rest of the ORC members.
Grayfia watched, keeping her small smile.
Perhaps…
I could stay awhile.
***
[Rias POV]
When Rias and the rest of the ORC members teleported back to the mansion along with Grayfia, Sam immediately went to the gym.
Rias felt a rush of frustration mixed with admiration.
All that Man does is train.
Rias knew she wasn't one to skip training but Sam took it to a new level, making her feel lazy by comparison.
She watched Koneko and Asia follow Sam as well.
Her frustration turned to envy.
She heard Akeno hum next to her.
"Rias~ you want to go to the gym?"
"Not now, Akeno. We have work to do. Such as creating a training plan."
Rias noticed Grayfia looking around the space.
"This works for now. Though we'll need to relocate if you want to get the most of my time."
Rias felt herself sigh as she looked around.
"It was meant more for Sam before he got all…" She gestured towards the gym.
All three women looked towards the direction of the gym.
"Then let's go see what this boy has to work with." Grayfia said as she marched towards the gym.
Rias felt her heart speed up as Sam, shirtless in the gym, intruded on her thoughts.
"Now?"
"No time like the present~" Akeno said before walking after Grayfia.
Rias quickly hurried after the two women.
"So what's the plan, just…watch him?"
Grayfia looked back at Rias. "I need to see what I need to focus on, if he can hurt Riser, he has a real chance of winning."
When they arrived at the doorway, they heard the loud clanking of metal.
Opening the door slightly, they saw Sam already in his workout clothes.
He was pushing up from a squat as the bar that held the weight slightly bent.
"Heal me again, Asia. This works double for our training." Sam said as he tilted his head to the side.
Asia held her hands out forward as green light bathed Sam.
"You're already pushing yourself…"
Sam just let out a breath as he squats mid-heal.
"Need to. Riser felt stronger even if I decked him like a rookie."
Rias listened to the exchange, heart thumping as she watched Sam.
All thoughts of the upcoming match against Riser were pushed to the side as she lost herself in watching Sam.
"Hot~" Akeno muttered beside her.
"Impressive for a human, I take it the equipment is already enchanted or modified for devil use?" Grayfia said as she watched with an assessing eye.
The question briefly brought Rias back.
"Yes, it has."
"Then we're already past where I thought we needed to start. I'll make plans at the main estate for all your training. I'll be back in the morning."
With that, Grayfia turned and left.
Rias and Akeno, however, stayed watching Sam until a small gasp was heard behind them.
When they turned, they saw Yumi. "You know, the gym isn't private."
Rias felt her cheeks heat up but Akeno beside her just smirked.
"Yeah, but it's much hotter if you're peeking~"
Yumi just let out a small huff as she walked into the gym, joining Sam in his workout.
Akeno pouted. "Sometimes I regret focusing on my spells. No *intense* work outs with Sam~"
Ignoring Akeno, Rias looked back into the gym, she saw Sam working with Asia and Yumi as Koneko watched from the weight bench, eyeing Sam.
"Same.."
***
[Sam POV]
Sam felt it now.
The price of HHE (Holy Hero Energy) infused Godspeed.
The few times he had used Godspeed before this had left him feeling a slight tingle that quickly wore off.
But this? This was worse.
Sam felt like he had what he imagined Parkinson's disease did.
When he didn't concentrate on moving, there were tremors in his arms, more so in his legs.
That's why when he arrived back at the mansion he immediately went to the gym.
It only lessened when Asia started healing him, again reminding him of her importance as more than just his friend.
When he finally took a break, he noticed that his usual pings of his system hadn't gone off.
Sam mentally willed the system up.
What he was met with was a bombardment of notifications.
The system was immediately dismissed.
Later. Much later.
Sam rubbed his eyes as he imagined the system shenanigans that were coming.
Chaos. Just like the name implies.
But hey, Chaos might help now.
His thoughts were interrupted as he felt something nudge him.
Taking his hands away from his eyes, he was met with Koneko.
"Break. Come with me."
"I'm already taking a break?" Sam pointed out but still followed.
"You were thinking. Not resting."
Sam couldn't argue with that.
Koneko led him into the living room, pushing him to the couch as she climbed into his lap, turning to the TV.
"Want to play?"
"And get my ass handed to me in game land? Nah, I'm good."
Koneko shifted herself to get more comfortable as she started her game.
Sam took a moment to just.. decompress.
The last few weeks have been a routine of.. something.
School, Train, Sleep.
The only thing that caused him to feel like he was actually alive was his interactions with the girls.
Empath.. was it to blame? It felt like I was piloting myself rather than actually living.
Koneko shifted again.
"Stop it. You're thinking again."
"Right, Sorry. Guess there's a lot to think about huh? Especially with a cat on my lap~"
Koneko looked over her shoulder at Sam, eyes a little wide.
"You… It's been a while since you talked like that."
"Like what?"
"Like you didn't have to filter the thought first."
Definitely Empath. The question is.. what changed? Am I still doing it?
Koneko narrowed her eyes as she leaned her head back letting her hair cover Sam's face.
Sam turned his head and pretended to spit out hair.
"You really are a cat!"
"Nya."
The playful word lost itself as Koneko added her usual dry deadpan tone to it.
Sam chuckled and rubbed her head.
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