Yuki
After we returned to the Gremory family estate we met with Azazel-sensei, who had arrived while we were out.
We all gathered into one of the sitting rooms to discuss the young Devil gathering with him.
“Hmmm… I see. It will be a showdown between you and the Sitri group.” Azazel-sensei said.
He leaned back into his seat and closed his eyes for a moment.
“Well, today is currently July 28th, in the human world’s calendar,” he said. “So we have about 20 days until the day of your match to get you all ready.”
“So we will be using that time for training?” Issei asked
Azazel-sensei nodded.
“Of course. My plan is to have you start your training camp from tomorrow onwards. I’ve already put a lot of thought into each of your training regiments.”
He seemed to have actually put effort into this.
Either he was taking his role as our advisor seriously, or he was looking forward to trading the four Sacred Gear possessors in our group.
It was most likely the latter.
“I-Is it really alright for us to receive your help though, Azazel-sensei?” Asia hesitantly asked. “Couldn’t it be s-seen as favoritism?”
Azazel-sensei sighed.
“It’s fine. I intended to help various members of the Devil side with data and recommendations. The Angled are giving some support to other groups as well. Accepting the resources and help offered is up to the young Devils at the end of the day. If they can’t get over their pride then there is nothing we can do about it.”
I did not know if Azazel-sensei had met or heard about Zephyrdor, but it was easy to imagine him turning down any help.
Thankfully Rias wasn’t that prideful about it.
Especially since the leader of one of the Three Factions was helping us.
“The assurance from the other factions has expanded to the point that even my Vice-Govenor is giving advice to some families,” Azazel-sensei said with a laugh. “Though Shhaza’s advice may be more helpful than mine!”
As Azazel-sensei laughed to himself I rethought my appreciation of receiving his help.
After he finished laughing he looked at us.
“Anyways, I want you to gather in the main garden tomorrow morning. I’ll give each of you your training plans then, so be prepared.”
“Yes!” We replied together.
Everyone seemed filled with anticipation.
Their faces showed determination and resolve at the idea of growing stronger to face our opponents
Then Grayfia-sama entered the room.
I shifted my posture and corrected my expression as she looked over our group.
“Everyone, the hot spring is ready for you to use.” She said,
Issei let out a cheer and looked at Rias excitedly.
She smiled and shook her head at him.
“Yes Issei, we will be using the hot springs,” Rias said, and then continued before Issei could get too excited. “But there is no conjoined bath, so we will be splitting up into the men’s and women’s baths.”
Issei visibly deflated.
“Don’t worry kid, I’ll make sure you’re entertained,” Azazel-sensei said while smirking and giving him a smack on the back.
“But I’d rather be with the girls! The oppai....”
Akeno chuckled at his melodrama.
“It’s fine Ise-kun. I’m sure there will be plenty of opportunities for us to use the hot springs after training. You and I could use them together if you’d like.
“T-that sounds great!” Issei said, perking up.
Rias lightly glared at Akeno.
Azazel-sensei’s smirk grew larger.
That couldn’t be anything good for anyone.
I just hope whatever he has planned that is making him smirk like that doesn’t involve me.
_________________________________________
We headed to the bathhouse and I was the first to get changed and enter the hot spring.
The bath itself was set into a secluded corner of the Gremory estate grounds.
Dark stone rimmed the water.
Beyond the low walls, trees and trimmed greenery held the night in place with the same care that everything else in the Gremory home seemed to have received.
I found a spot that looked comfortable and was not too central then closed my eyes as I relaxed into the water.
I spread my tails as I leaned my side against the stones, so that I was facing the bathhouse exit.
I was content to enjoy my time relaxing alone, but eventually the others entered the hot spring.
As I heard footsteps and voices approaching I cracked one of my eyes open to see.
Rias and Akeno walked together, both forgoing wearing their towels, walking at the head of the group.
Rias had her towel slung over her shoulder, while Akeno had hers draped over one arm.
Rias said something that made Akeno cover her mouth and laugh lightly.
I looked past them to see Asia, Yuuto, and Xenovia walking together.
Yuuto and Asia had their towels wrapped around themselves normally, and Xenovia followed Rias’s example while walking nude with her towel slung over one shoulder.
Koneko followed behind them, wearing her towel over herself, and her gaze lowered.
Even now she seemed closed off.
“Ara, you didn’t want to wait for us after getting changed and now you're enjoying watching our bodies as we get into the hot spring?” Akeno asked. “I thought you were better than that, Yuki-chan. I guess I was right about you being similar to Ise-kun.”
I opened my eyes so that I could glare at her.
“I didn’t realize we were all waiting for each other, and I thought you were done with that teasing already Akeno-san. Shouldn’t you be bothering Issei-san? I’m sure he’d appreciate your company right now.” I asked.
Her smile became smaller for a moment.
She glanced towards one of the walls, where I assume the men’s bath was.
When she looked back at me her smile was back to normal.
“You’re right that Ise-kun would definitely enjoy spending time with me right now, but I’m here with you instead. Shouldn’t you be happy to have your Onee-san’s attention for yourself?”
Her eyes dipped lower over my body then back up to my face.
I raised a brow at the strange reaction she had to me mentioning Issei.
Before I could reply Rias decided to end Akeno’s teasing.
“Knock it off you two. You’ll have to wait until we’ve all had some time to relax before you cause another scene.” Rias chided, smiling.
Everyone shed their towels and entered the water.
For a few moments it was silent as they adjusted to the water and enjoyed the sensation.
It was peaceful.
And I knew it would only last for a small while, considering what I know about my friends.
At the moment, Rias was leaning back against the stone with her long crimson hair damp against her shoulders, looking far more at ease than she had in the meeting halls earlier.
Akeno rested nearby with the kind of smile that usually meant she was deciding how much trouble to cause and who she was going to bother, most likely it would include me.
Asia sat with both hands in the water, cheeks warm from the bath and from life in general.
Xenovia was leaning back against the rocks with her eyes closed and only her head still above water.
Yuuto had decided to sit on the stones at the water's edge for the monument.
Her legs dipped into the water, as she leaned back to rest her weight on her hands. Her body
Koneko sat near me.
Quietly.
Her white hair was damp and clinging lightly to her neck.
The hot water had not loosened whatever distance had settled over her since we entered the Underworld.
She wasn’t withdrawn enough to worry the others openly, perhaps.
Whether Koneko was aware of how much Rias and I were watching her was harder to say.
She had not joined much of the conversation since we had separated from the boys and Azazel-sensei.
That had been the case with her since we arrived in the Underworld and didn’t look like it would be changing now.
Everyone got comfortable in their spots and slowly conversations picked back up.
At first the talk stayed simple.
That helped.
No one wanted to begin the evening by tearing open the day’s politics all over again.
So instead they circled around them gently.
Comments about the absurdity of the gathering.
About Zephyrdor’s stupidity.
About how odd Diodora had been as he continued drinking tea through the chaos.
“The nerve of that man,” Rias said, exhaling slowly. “To behave as if he was above any of the other Devils present, and cause enough of a scene that Sairaorg had to intervene.”
Akeno-senpai smiled. “My, but perhaps Zephrydor-san simply wanted to be struck.”
Xenovia frowned. “He did not look particularly pleased afterwards.”
“Then maybe Sairaorog needed to hit him again,” Akeno said.
“Hmmm…. I don’t know if you’re right.”
“Don’t be silly, Xenovia-chan. I’m always right.”
Xenovia didn’t seem fully convinced by that, but it was an issue that she was believing any of it at all
Asia smiled a little.
“I still can’t believe how large the gathering was,” she said, shifting the conversation to a better topic. “There were so many people…”
“And almost all of them are rich,” Xenovia said.
Asia blinked. “That too.”
Yuuto let out a small laugh. “That wasn’t the only important thing about them, Xenovia-san.”
I listened without adding much.
There were too many parts of the day I did not care to reexamine in detail.
Too many older devils above, too much polished scrutiny, too many reminders of other Devils looking at me with the same superior gaze.
Sairaorg, at least, had been easier to understand than the others.
Almost easily so.
“My favorite part of the trip so far,” Akeno-senpai said, drawing the word out lazily, “was Ise-kun’s face when he realized Rias’s territory was the size of Honshu.”
That pulled the conversation into easier water immediately.
Rias actually smiled.
“It was a little excessive.”
“A little?” Yuuto asked.
Rias’s smile sharpened. “Perhaps more than a little.”
Asia covered her mouth, laughing softly. “He really did look as if his heart was going to stop.”
“I thought it might, though you weren’t much better, Asia,” Xenovia said.
“I was just surprised, that's all! I wasn’t that bad!” Asia quickly said as her face became more red.
“Sure you were Asia-chan,” Akeno said. “Though with Ise-kun, his reactions are always a treat to watch, especially when you bully him.”
Akeno smiled as Asia turned a bit more red and Xenovia looked interested at what she had said.
I closed my eyes for a few seconds.
Everything did seem to drift toward Issei eventually in this group.
Not always because anyone forced it.
Often because he was loud and expressive in a way that made it easy to remember, and because he was already on the mind of most of the girls here anyways.
I opened my eyes again and found Akeno watching me.
Akeno’s smile told me she was thinking something I would find annoying or bothersome.
Most likely both.
Yuuto moved from her seat on the edge of the bath and lowered herself fully into the water with a small, content sigh.
Rias shifted against the stone and let the back of her head rest there. “At least the worst of the day is over.”
“For now,” Xenovia said.
“You say the least soothing things,” Yuuto murmured.
“I could be right, though.”
“We are relaxing and won’t be leaving the estate for the rest of the day,” I said. “Nothing will get worse unless one of us causes it. Most likely Issei-san or Akeno-san.”
“Ara, Yuki-chan, I only make things better.” Akeno said, placing a hand on her chest.
Yuuto laughed.
The sound softened the water around us somehow. It always did.
Akeno smiled at her, but let the topic drop.
For a little while longer, the conversation stayed harmless.
Small things.
The train, the old capital, Millicas-sama, Rias’s parents, the size of the residence, the food from the dinner, the tour we took while Issei had to study.
I let their voices move around me and kept one part of my attention on Koneko.
She had not drifted away. She was listening.
But only listening.
Her expression gave almost nothing away, which was normal.
Her shoulders were looser in the water than they had been before.
That was the only obvious improvement.
When Akeno said something lewd or ridiculous, Koneko did not answer with her usual quiet look of disapproval.
When Rias and Xenovia disagreed, she did not bother weighing in.
That bothered me, but I didn't want to try and drag an answer out of her in front of everyone.
I was worried that if I tried to talk to her with everyone present that she would react poorly and push me away.
So, I would have to until I could speak with her alone.
I let out a sigh and shifted in my seat.
That was when Akeno-senpai, perhaps growing tired of peace, turned the conversation.
“Well,” she said warmly, “at least there was one pleasant thing about today.”
Rias’s eyes narrowed with immediate suspicion.
“There was?”
Akeno’s smile deepened. “Ise-kun and I made plans to use the hot spring together.”
Asia turned pink at once.
Xenovia blinked once and then, unhelpfully, said, “That did happen.”
Rias looked at them both in disbelief. “That is not what happened! Akeno suggested it and Ise got excited about the idea, that’s all!”
“Ara, but isn’t that him agreeing?” Akeno asked.
“No it’s not! And if anyone is going to spend time alone in the hot springs with Ise, it’s me!”
Akeno smirked at her.
“Well then maybe I’ll have to convince him to come in with me. I’m sure I could persuade him to join me.”
Rias glared at Akeno and let out an annoyed huff.
Asia was completely flushed and looked into the water as though hoping to disappear into it.
Yuuto, who should have known better than to get involved, said with careful diplomacy, “I think that we should go back to talking about our day, or anything else.”
Akeno turned toward her immediately.
She’d found her next target.
“My,” she said, “Yuuto-chan, I’m surprised you’re not more interested in the idea. Considering how you haven’t really been subtle at all lately.”
Yuuto blinked. “About what?”
Akeno’s smile turned positively luminous. “About Ise-kun.”
The reaction was immediate and obvious.
Yuuto’s face flushed, not vividly like Asia’s, but enough.
Her composure remained in place, though now it was holding something very obvious behind it.
Rias’s attention shifted to her at once.
Asia looked up too.
Xenovia’s expression brightened with interest as she sat up straight.
Yuuto recovered quickly.
“I was only trying to diffuse the situation.”
“Mm,” Akeno said. “As expected of our knight, but was it really to try and help, or were you upset by the idea of Rias or I spending time alone with Ise-kun in the bath.”
“It wasn’t anything like that.”
The answer came too quickly.
Akeno’s eyes gleamed.
“Was it, Yuuto-chan? Or am I right?”
Rias crossed her arms beneath the water. “Akeno, just because you want to start trouble doesn’t mean you can drag everyone into it. Unless, Akeno isn’t wrong Yuuto-chan.”
Rias narrowed her eyes at Yuuto with suspicion.
Her competitiveness plus Akeno’s prodding had caused her to assume that anyone who looked at Issei too long was a threat to her claim on him.
I was the first to get randomly accused of trying to steal his attention, and now it seemed it was Yuuto’s turn.
Though to be fair, only Koneko, Yuuto, and I were the only ones not showing obvious interest in him.
Xenovia already asked to have his child and later asked to have sex to ‘practice making children’.
But I don’t know if her interest is romantic or solely utilitarian.
Akeno’s and Asia’s interest is obvious to everyone but Issei.
So Rias does have genuine competition for his affection, not that Issei realized it somehow, and she just assumed that every girl in the Occult Research Club was competition as well.
Yuuto flushed further.
“I-I… that’s not… I think we should talk about something else.”
And it seems that Koneko and I are the only ones without an interest in Issei now.
“I-I think that Yuuto-san is right, a-and we should talk about something else.” Asia stood up from her seat as she spoke.
Asia’s face had gone pink a while ago, and talking about people’s interest in Issei had made her face turn red.
“What do you think, Asia? Don’t you think it’s an issue if more girls are going to go after Issei?” Rias asked.
Asia was startled by Rias’s intensity. “M-Me?”
Akeno laughed softly. “How nice. Buchou is collecting the others into her jealousy now.”
“I am not jealous.” Rias replied immediately.
Yuuto gave Rias a long, patient look that might have worked on almost anyone else.
It did not work on Rias.
Akeno stretched one arm across the edge of the bath and sighed contentedly. “My, what a lively bath.”
“It’s your fault it’s like this.” Yuuto muttered.
Koneko said nothing.
I glanced at her again.
Her eyes were lowered.
One hand moved idly through the water near her knees.
She seemed lost in thought as she watched the water ripple as her hand moved.
Then Akeno-senpai’s attention shifted again.
This time to me.
I knew it before she spoke.
“Ara.” she said, smiling as if she had just remembered something delightful. “Speaking of Issei, Yuki-chan…”
I closed my eyes for half a second.
“No.”
Akeno tilted her head slightly.
“You didn’t even wait for me to finish.”
“I already know what you will bring up and I don’t want to go over it again.” I sighed. “I already told you that I have no interest in Issei-san.”
Rias looked unconvinced.
Asia gave a guilty smile.
“Sure you aren’t, Yuki-chan.” Akeno said, grinning smugly. “If that’s the case, is there someone else who’s caught your eye instead?”
Xenovia looked interested at the question.
Asia sat up and looked curious.
Koneko stopped moving her arm in the water and went still for a moment.
I leaned back further against the stones behind me.
I debated how much to say before I decided on the shorter and easier answer.
“No, I’m not interested in anyone that way, Akeno-san.”
Akeno’s smile shrank for a moment.
Rias frowned as she watched me.
Asia made a helpless little noise. “Yuki-san…”
Then Akeno’s smile went back to its normal teasing look.
“Ara, ara Yuki-chan. If you’re trying to convince me that you’re really not interested in Ise-kun then you would need to do better than that.” She said.
I stared at her.
“Why do you refuse to listen to me?”
Yuuto turned her face away, shoulders trembling once in a very quiet laugh.
I looked at her.
She did not meet my eyes.
Akeno laughed.
Rias pressed her lips together, trying and failing not to smile.
Yuuto looked like she was now openly enjoying my suffering.
I hate all of them, I thought, without any real conviction behind it.
“I’m serious,” I said one last time.
Akeno’s eyes softened with false sympathy. “Of course you are.”
That was the point where I understood there would be no winning.
So I stopped trying.
It was easier.
The conversation shifted away from me thankfully and rolled on without mercy.
Akeno kept prodding Rias.
Rias kept rising to it.
Asia got swept into the current every time she tried to be reasonable.
Xenovia joined with blunt questions and mentions of children.
Yuuto, unfortunately for her, had become far too easy to tease once Akeno had noticed the direction of her attention toward Issei.
“Ara, Yuuto-chan,” Akeno purred, “you looked rather happy why you were watching Ise-kun today.”
“I wasn’t watching him.”
“No?”
“No.”
“Both you and Yuki-chan aren’t very convincing.”
Yuuto shut her eyes briefly.
Then opened them and said, in a composed tone that fooled no one, “You should try bullying someone else.”
“But you’re so fun now.”
Rias made a sound of agreement before seeming to remember she was not supposed to be agreeing with Akeno in this particular branch of the conversation.
Asia had gone from red to redder. “I-I think we should talk about something else…”
“We are,” Akeno said. “We’re talking about Ise-kun.”
“But we were already talking about Ise-san…” Asia murmured.
Xenovia frowned slightly. “I don’t see the problem. He’s a very attractive choice for a mate.”
That quieted the bath for one full second.
Then Asia sank lower into the water.
Rias turned red.
Yuuto looked away.
Akeno laughed so hard she had to brace one hand on the stone edge.
I stared into the sky and wondered why I bothered to listen at all.
Rias lifted her chin slightly as she stood.
“Regardless of who’s interested in him,” she said, “Ise is mine. He is my [Pawn].”
She said it as though she had won the whole argument.
Akeno made a small thoughtful sound.
Rias continued before she could be interrupted.
“And I’ve already kissed him.”
Akeno narrowed her eyes.
Asia forgot her embarrassment long enough to look up.
Yuuto shifted in her seat.
Xenovia’s eyes sharpened with intrigue.
Rias saw their reactions and puffed out her chest.
Pride suited her too much sometimes.
Steam drifted between us, softening the sudden silence around her declaration.
Then Akeno smiled.
“My, Buchou. You say that as if you’ve already won.”
Rias frowned. “I have.”
“Have you?” Akeno tilted her head. “How many times have you kissed him? Once? Twice?”
Rias’s confidence faltered.
“Twice.”
Akeno’s smile sharpened further.
“If that’s all, then it hardly matters.”
For the first time in several minutes, Rias looked genuinely dejected.
“It does matter,” she muttered.
“But not enough?” Akeno asked sweetly.
Rias sank a little lower into the water.
“…Maybe.”
Asia looked at her with immediate sympathy.
Yuuto, to her credit, looked as though she was trying not to show too much reaction at all.
Akeno went on, still smiling, “My, if that’s the case, then maybe someone could take Ise-kun away from you.”
Rias’s face turned red, all over again.
“I know that.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
“How brave of you to admit it.”
Rias glared at her.
“It’s more than you’ve done with him. And I’m the only one with that experience with him. I even got his first kiss.”
“Well, that means that he will be able to show me what to do.” Akeno said, her smile turning wicked .
“Why are you both so hung up on kissing?” I asked.
Everyone turned toward me.
I continued, because their focus on it did not make sense to me.
“You’ve both done more intimate things with him. You've both been naked around him. You’ve let him touch you.. So why is this the most important part?”
Asia made a tiny sound and sank even lower.
Rias looked at me as though I had asked a dumb question.
“Yuki, ecchi things with Ise can be fun, and they make him happy,” she said, still red. “But kissing is different. It’s more intimate. More special.”
“Plus Ise-kun has used his Dress Break and peeped enough times that seeing a girl naked isn’t as special.” Akeno continued. “So being able to kiss him is important, and being good at it is more so.”
I blinked once.
“It’s not hard to be good at it” I said
Akeno’s eyes lit up immediately.
“My.”
I knew that look.
It meant trouble.
“You sound very confident.”
“I’m being practical.”
Rias, still embarrassed, frowned at me as though deciding whether I had helped or made things worse.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“That it’s something easy to improve on.”
Akeno’s smile widened into something delighted and merciless.
“Oh? Are you bragging now, Yuki-chan? You don’t need to try to impress us.”
“That’s not what I’m doing.”
“My, then are you claiming expertise?”
Asia made a choked little sound.
Yuuto turned away and covered part of her face with one hand.
Koneko had looked up from the water and was now watching me.
Xenovia, predictably, looked interested rather than embarrassed.
Rias stared at me.
I frowned faintly.
The issue seemed simple enough.
Rias was anxious and insecure regarding Issei, but kissing was like a skill.
Something that could be practiced or learned.
“No, I am just saying that it’s a learned skill. So, like any other skill, you can get better with practice.” I said. “I heard girls at school talking about this, Practicing before a first kiss, I mean. One girl was worried she would freeze or do it badly with the boy she liked, and her friend said they could practice together so she would not be nervous.”
The silence deepened.
“The idea made sense so I assumed it was normal. Or at least not unheard of,” I continued calmly. “So if kissing Issei-san properly matters that much to you, then practicing with someone you trust before trying again would make sense.”
Rias’s eyes widened.
Xenovia nodded at my words.
Asia stopped breathing
Yuuto’s hand slid higher over her face.
Akeno looked delighted.
I realized, a little too late, that perhaps I had stepped onto something I had not understood correctly.
Still, the reasoning itself seemed sound.
So I finished, more carefully.
“I am not saying you have to. Only if the issue is nerves or lack of experience, then you could practice with someone first.”
No one answered.
The bath remained very, very quiet.
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