New variables meant new circumstances, new circumstances which could transform into a new reality.
An uncertain future. One that couldn't be planned out of.
They didn't want to face an uncertain future, they didn't want to deal with it.
Yet that option was out of their hands, they were utterly impotent in the face of this new variable.
Of this unknown variable.
So all they could do was lash out. Against the circumstances, against the individuals that have engineered this terrifying prospect of uncertainty.
Yet they couldn't even do that, everyone who was directly responsible for bringing this boy to the limelight was far too powerful for them.
So for now, they did nothing, but the negative emotions that many nobles were feeling wasn't about to go away anytime soon.
No...the resentment would be hidden, bottled up, until something managed to push their frustration into intolerable levels. Or rather, until someone could give it the final push that it needed.
If that happened, then they would do the next best thing to soothe their damaged pride, rising fear, and hidden resentment.
Find a scapegoat.
"I can't believe how reckless you all were! Running towards the battle like that! If it wasn't for Naruto, all of you would've been killed! Especially you Issei!" Rias reprimanded, pinning all of her Peerage members with a hard stare.
Around the time that the flaming bird appeared, Riser's little sister; Ravel, panicked and attempted to help her brother. Much to everyone's shock.
Issei, being who he was, only hesitated for a split second before running after her, trying to stop her from getting herself killed. Which in turn, caused the rest of the Gremory Peerage to chase after him.
The Gremory heiress could only shake her head at the turn of events.
"Ah...apologies Buchou, we acted without thinking. But seeing Issei-kun run off like that...well, I think I speak for all of us when I say that we felt like we should have backed him up." Yuuto claimed, giving his 'king' an apologetic smile for the trouble.
The red-headed devil sighed at this sentiment, it seemed that it was shared by everyone else too.
Her beliefs were compounded by the next set of comments.
"Now now Buchou, how could we possibly leave our kohai to that scary monster? We did act without thinking...but I don't really regret it." Akeno piped up cheerfully, completely and utterly unrepentant of her actions.
"...Won't abandon family." was all Koneko said, giving her 'king' a firm stare.
Issei gave everyone grateful looks, thankful that they would back him up here.
Rias for her part, held the bridge of her nose in frustration, they were making her out to be the bad guy here...
She stopped after calming herself down and gave her 'queen' a pointed look, hands on her hips. "You know for a fact that this situation isn't as clear cut as you're making it out to be, right?"
Akeno shrugged slightly, not losing her easy smile at all.
"True, but at it's essence, we moved to help a precious family member, no? Outside of all considerations, we did that. I suppose that I'm merely focusing on that specific fact." the 'queen' admitted easily.
Rias could have face palmed, she was intentionally being obtuse about this...
Koneko stepped up silently, moving towards her 'king' and tugging at her skirt.
"...You would do the same for us, Buchou." Koneko stated.
The Gremory heiress could only stare at her cute servant, surprised to realize at how utterly correct the young 'rook' was.
She sighed once more, a wry smirk appearing on her face, very much against her will.
If she was in their shoes and watched one of her Peerage members run towards imminent danger in front of her, she would have done the same thing. All logic and reasoning be damned.
"...Fine, you're right. I'm being hypocritical, I admit it. Just...be more careful, ok? All of you nearly gave me a heart attack." Rias grumbled, turning away from the slightly smug look that Akeno was giving her.
She felt a hand land on her shoulder, giving her a comforting squeeze.
"Sometimes, even a 'king' could be overthrown by their servants." Sona pointed out, eyes dripping with humor.
The red-headed devil rolled her eyes at that, slightly annoyed that one of her closest friends was getting some amusement out of her predicament.
With that unpleasantness out of the way, she finally noticed that someone wasn't taking part in the conversation.
She turned around to see her kohai staring off into the battleground.
"Mio. Naruto is fine." the high-class devil murmured.
The younger red-head's shoulders twitched, slightly surprised that her inner thoughts were so see-through. So she turned around and regarded her sempai with a sheepish expression.
"S-Sorry. I'm just a little worried that he might have gotten hurt, but this is my brother, right? So he's probably fine." Mio said, before turning to look at someone behind Rias. "But I think we have more pressing issues, like what to do about the little girl?"
All eyes turned to the young Phenex girl, unconscious and leaning on the wall ever since she was retrieved from the fight outside.
Issei, who was sitting right next to her, only shrugged. "No idea, I was hoping that she would have woken up by now. I don't really want to leave her behind if we have to go anywhere, maybe Grayfia-san can do something?"
Mio glanced towards the front of the castle, where the flames from the deadly phoenix once threatened them.
The maid was inspecting the burned and melted area where the flames once raged, staring at it as if it was a disconcerting puzzle.
The teenaged group glanced at one another, unsure who should approach the icy woman and seek her advice on their conundrum. She wasn't exactly the easiest person to approach.
Mio glanced at Rias, hoping that maybe she could-
"No way, Grayfia is scary when she's in maid mode. So don't look to me to solve this problem." the red-headed devil stated, shooting down the younger devil's idea before it even began.
The high-class devil then turned to her 'queen', maybe she could-
"Ara ara, Buchou. How could I, a lowly servant, possibly request anything of the second-most powerful woman in the Underworld? I simply don't have the prestige to ever hope of trying!" Akeno exclaimed dramatically, feigning her disappointment with her inability to help.
Rias just sent her a dry look, she knew damn well that the black-haired sadist was just enjoying watching her squirm.
Before the Gremory could try to punt the issue to someone else, Sona intervened again, trying to be the voice of reason.
"Instead of trying to ask individuals to speak to Grayfia-san, perhaps it would be prudent to speak to her as a group? With Issei-san taking the lead of course." Sona spoke out, glancing at the owner of the 'Boosted Gear'.
Issei squirmed a little, suddenly feeling that he was being put on trial. "Wait, why me!? I'm pretty sure that I would mess everything up if I went!"
The Sitri heiress pushed her glasses back up to the bridge of her nose, the glare of the light reflecting on her lens as she gave Issei a stern stare.
"Because you are the catalyst of this situation, thus you should be the one to resolve it."
Ah...his reckless actions were coming to bite him in the ass now, huh?
That sucks.
Yuuto was watching everyone's interactions with a smile, glad that most of the tension has bled away now that the immediate danger was gone.
He turned to ask Koneko, who was by his side, what she thought of the situation-
He stopped.
"...Koneko-chan? What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost..." Yuuto asked quietly, unintentionally grabbing everyone else's attention.
Koneko suddenly started shivering, her eyes were wide and her expression was scrunched up in a mixture of fear and disgust.
"...Natural energy." the 'rook' spoke with a soft tone, her eyes downcast.
Many faces paled.
Issei looked at the young girl in confusion, what the hell was natural energy?
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