In his room, Akito sat down in his bed. He prayed for all the lost lives today. After finishing, he decided to get some rest, for he ought to contact Merlin tomorrow. He knew that he needed her to help him grow exponentially and quickly find out who this "brother" was and his goal.
As the sunlight shined throw his blinders, it shone against his face causing him to wake up. "Morning, already?" He asked himself in dissatisfaction. "Uhh, up we go!" He groaned as he got off his bed. "What time is it?" He asked himself as he turned on his phone. "It's Saturday?" His screams of frustration filled the house. "I woke up this early for a Saturday?" He asked himself with fumes coming out of his head. "Ah, eh. Well, whatever." He said as he put on a hoodie. Stepping outside, he noticed that the weather was switching. "Getting warmer?" He said as smoke came out with his breath. Walking to the nearby convenience store, he reminded himself that he needed to contact Merlin. He wanted to be trained by her, knowing that she held superior knowledge and combat experience. He slid his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. Feeling sudden fatigue, he remarked on how the battle was so minor yet so destructive. "I need to drive away my attackers, somewhere less populated." He said to himself as he looked up.
Ding*
"Welcome in, Akito." Said an old lady. With her soothing voice, Akito couldn't help but smile. "For people like her, I'm prepared to do anything." He said to himself as he headed to the freezer section. "I need to eat." He exclaimed as he looked down at his body. "Oh, Satoshi was right. I have lost weight?" He asked himself in disbelief. For Akito, all those hours and days spent running and breaking his own body meant nothing. It was almost like he still viewed himself as fat, never realizing that all those efforts paid off. "Umm, granny. Do you still have those fresh rice balls?" He asked as he headed towards the counter. "Oh? Your favorites? Hm, of course, I do." She said with a smile. Excited, he grabbed it out of her hand and shouted. "I haven't had one of these in a while!" While watching her favorite customer enjoy her handmade rice balls, she faced the other way and looked towards a picture of her son, who sadly lost his life a few years before Akito's birth. "He's just in love with my rice balls, as you were." She said as she looked up to Akito and smiled.
"The price's still the same, right granny?" He said in secrecy. "You know that market has gone up, so I'm just making sure." He said as he leaned in. Both laughing, the old shop owner said, "This time, it's on me."
Akito got embarrassed. "No, no. I was joking." He reassured her. He felt terrible not wanting to provoke her, so he pulled out his mini-dragon wallet and held the money towards her face with two hands while bowing down. "Please, accept it." He said nervously. "Watch for your rice ball now." She said as she shook her hands in refusal. While laughing softly, she glanced back towards her son's picture and tried to reassure Akito. "Hm, well, it's my son's memorial today, so it's on him." She said with a comforting smile. His heart touched by her usual kindness, Akito lowered his arms, bowed down, and thanked her.
"Have a safe day!" The granny said while he headed out the door. "I will!" Screamed Akito as the sliding door was about to shut close. With his mouth stuffed, he ran into a bit of a problem. "Water?" He asked himself as he held his throat. "Shit, I'm joking!" He screamed inside of his head with a terrified face. "Damn it, I don't wanna go back in. It's going to be embarrassing!" He screamed as he looked back towards the small convenience store. His face started turning pale, scared. He smiled and said. "Well, shit. I guess this marks my end."
Then, smirking with fear, he felt a sudden touch on his arm. Looking back, it was a hand holding a water bottle. "My savior!" He screamed inside of his head as flowers of a joyous occasion surrounded him while in relief. Gulping down the entire water bottle, he rejoiced. "I'm going to live!" He said as he crouched and held his knees. Taking deep sarcastic breaths in, he looked up to his savior, and suddenly his facial expressions changed, and he finally realized he had made a mistake. "N.O.R.I.O-san? He said with a blank look. "Y-Your water bottle, I uhh. I-I'm sorry." He said while Vibrating with embarrassment. Rias smiled and reassured him. "It's fine." She said while holding her hands out and moving them back and forth. But Akito didn't listen, his body kept on vibrating, and he kept on repeating, "I'm sorry!"
This time, looking Akito in the eyes, she giggled and said. "You're fine. You seemed like you needed it" Akito froze and handed her the empty bottle. "Thanks for the meal." He said as he turned around, blushing. "Huh? Meal?" She confusingly questioned herself as she looked at the empty bottle. Then, reaching her hand out towards him, she uttered. "Umm, sorry to bother you, but do you want to hang out with me for a bit?" Akito stood still. His entire face flushed red, his head caught on fire from the cuteness of this girl. "Why do you wanna hang out with me?" He asked her nervously. Turning around, he found that she was blushing. Realizing that she was unable to answer that question, he thought to himself. "But why me?"
"Hmm, we can hang out." He said as he slid his hands inside of the pockets while they were shaking. Nervous Akito walked up beside her, and they took off in the direction of the park. Placing his hands onto his head, he asked with a slight blush. "So, where are we going?" She smiled and looked at him and softly answered. "The park!"