High School DxD: Fox of Ill Omen

Issei

The moment break started, the class swarmed Irina.

Everyone was interested in the new, beautiful transfer student.

Guys wanted to introduce themselves and try to leave a good first impression with her, and the girls wanted to learn more about her and who she was.

Even Matsuda and Motohama had joined the crowd around her. 

There was a torrent of questions being thrown at her.

Where are you from?

Why did you transfer now?

Do you have a boyfriend?

What clubs are you interested in?

Are you free after school?

It was chaos.

Irina wasn’t able to answer anything before another two questions were asked of her.

She looked startled by all the attention, but still kept her friendly smile on her face as she tried to answer the questions asked of her.

I pushed my way through to get her out of there before it could get worse.

I wanted to help, and I needed to talk to her, so I had more than one reason to get her away from the crowd.

When I got through the wall of students, I grabbed her arm and pulled her away.

“Ah, Ise-kun!”

“Come on!”

I dragged her out into the hall as my classmates complained behind us.

We moved down the hall towards a quieter spot a few classrooms down.

Asia, Xenovia, and Yuki-san would be waiting for us there.

We stopped in the hall,l and I let out a long breath.

It was wild to see her again.

My childhood friend, whom I had mistaken for a boy when we were little, had become an agent of the Church alongside Xenovia.

I didn’t think I’d see her again after the stolen Excaliburs were recovered.

But here she was, now a member of my class.

It couldn’t have been a coincidence that she came back to Kuoh and ended up in the same class as us.

Irina looked as cheerful as ever.

She looked the same, but something about her felt different.

I couldn’t figure it out, so I stopped trying to think about it.

She smiled at me as we started walking again.

“It’s been a while, Ise-kun. It’s nice to see you.”

I gave a wry smile.

“I’m surprised you’re here, but it’s good to see you again,” I replied. 

When we arrived, the others each had slightly different reactions to her.

Asia was watching her curiously.

Xenovia was looking at her with apprehension.

Yuki-san was calmly watching her with an analytical gaze.

“Xenovia! It’s been a while!” Irina said as she quickly moved to hug her. 

Xenovia looked surprised but hugged her back after Irina wrapped her arms around her.

“I’m glad you’re doing alright, Xenovia! I know that we didn’t part on the best terms, and that was mainly my fault, but now that we aren’t on opposing sides, I hope we can get along again!”

“It had been some time, Irina, and I’m glad you seem to be doing well too,” Xenovia replied with a small smile. “I understand that my decision to become a Devil must have come as a shock, so I understand why you reacted the way you did. But could we separate? Your cross is damaging me.”

Irina quickly backed up.

“Sorry! I was excited to see you and forgot about it.”

Seeing the two of them reunite and then act just like they had before was a little strange. 

But I was glad that their friendship seemed likely to continue now that the Underworld and Heaven had made peace.

Irina turned to Asia next.

“It’s good to see you as well, Asia Argento,” she happily said with a small bow.

“It’s nice to see you again, Irina-san. And you can call me Asia-san if you’d like.” Asia said with a warm smile.

Irina smiled back before she turned towards Yuki-san.

“It’s good to see you as well. I’ve read a report that you’re going by a different name than when we first met, Shiramine Yuki.  Would it be alright if I refer to you as Yuki-san?”

Yuki-san gave a nod.

“Yes, that would be fine. It’s good to see you’ve fully recovered from the injuries you sustained fighting Kokabiel.” Yuki-san replied. 

Irina smiled at her as well.

Then Xenovia got straight to the point.

“What brings you here?”

“I was transferred here on Michael-sama’s orders. We don’t really have much more time to chat, so I’ll explain more later,” Irina said with a wink. “I’ll head to the old school building after classes so we can talk more.”

I blinked.

Michael-sama had ordered her to transfer to Kuoh?

I immediately pulled out my phone and sent a message to Buchou.

[Shidou Irina is here and says that she was ordered to enroll in our school. Did you know about this?]

Buchou replied almost immediately.

[I am aware. The decision was rather sudden, so I hadn’t gotten a chance to tell you. I'll explain after classes. In the meantime, please look after her. Even if she’s an agent of Heaven, she’s still a transfer student.]

It made sense that Buchou would already know about Irina’s transfer.

It made me feel relieved to have it confirmed.

Buchou and Sona-Kaichou were the high-class Devils responsible for Kuoh.

They both would be aware of some supernatural enrolling in the school in their territory.

I was still curious as to why Irina was sent here, but I guess that I’d just have to wait to find out.

“All right then. We will talk more after school.” I said.

Irina smiled.

“Okay!”

The five of us headed back to class.

Irina was energetically chatting with Asia and Xenovia.

Yuki-san walked beside them, quietly listening.

I walked behind them and watched Irina and Xenovia begin to reconnect.

We made it back to class moments before the next period began.

Each of us hurried to our seats.

The rest of the school day seemed to drag on after that.

My other classmates still badgered Irina between classes, and she answered questions and greeted people the whole time.

I tried to focus on class, but it was hard when I was looking forward to the talk we would be having after classes. 

I was restless as I waited for answers on what she was doing here.

I noticed that Asia, Xenovia, and Yuki-san had their attention drawn to her as well. 

And Yuki-san seemed quieter as well.

After the topic of her not being a virgin and Motohama and Matsuda began questioning her, she seemed more tense.

She felt more closed off than she had before.

Their questions had been rude and probably too personal, but it felt like there was more to her change in mood than that.

At lunch she seemed a bit more like herself, but was still off.

She was even quieter than normal and seemed tired.

I was worried for her, but by the time classes ended, she seemed to be better.

We left our classroom and headed to the old school building.

“Shidou Irina-san. Welcome to our school.”

Buchou’s voice carried its usual dignity as she sat behind her desk.

Our whole peerage was present, plus Azazel-sensei and Sona-Kaichou as well.

Azazel-sensei was leaning against the wall behind Buchou’s desk. 

Kaichou stood next to Buchou’s desk with her usual neat posture.

Almost everyone else was in their usual spot.

I was sitting on the couch I normally did, and Asia and Xenovia were sitting on either side of me.

Akeno-san was standing at Buchou’s side like she always did.

Gasper was in his box near the other couch.

Yuuto-san sat on the opposite couch from me with an elegant posture.

Yuki-san sat on the same couch, but the difference in the seating arrangement in the club room was that Koneko-chan was sitting on her lap.

That has become the new norm since we had come back from the Underworld.

Koneko-chan would occasionally climb into Yuki-san’s lap and make herself comfortable.

It had drawn attention the first few times it had happened, but now it was being viewed as a common occurrence.

Yuki-san had questioned her the first and second times, but didn’t seem to mind at all and let Koneko-chan do as she pleased.

Koneko-chan was sitting with her back against Yuki-san’s chest.

Yuki-san had one arm loosely wrapped around Koneko-chan’s side.

Koneko-Chan was still expressionless as always, but she seemed content as she leaned back slightly into Yuki-san.

The two of them had become even closer after Koneko-chan stopped hiding her Nekomata traits.

The new physical closeness between them seemed to be a part of that. 

Maybe it was a Youkai or cat girl thing I didn’t get?

Either way, Koneko-Chan seemed happy.

It was distracting seeing them cuddled together like that, though. 

Our tall fox girl and small cat girl together was a sight that I couldn’t help but find cute and enjoy. 

And after our talk before we boarded the train, where it seemed like Yuki-san was hinting that she was interested in me, seeing this cute side of her was even better.

Irina stepped forward and bowed with her usual bright energy before replying to Buchou’s welcome. 

“Thank you! It’s a pleasure to see you all! Most of you already know me, but my name is Shidou Irina. I hope that, now that I am enrolled here, we can all get along and be friends! As for why I’m here, it’s because I’ve been sent to Kuoh Academy as a messenger of the Angels!”

Everyone clapped at her introduction. 

Buchou had told me that she was sent here as support from Heaven’s side.

There was a Devil and Fallen Angel presence at Kuoh Academy, but no Angels.

So the higher-ups in Heaven decided to send Irina to add someone from each of the Three Factions.

It was weird to think that the occult research club had become a sort of representation of the Three Factions, as Irina would be joining and Azazel-sensei was our advisor. 

As Irina continued on and began to talk about things like her praise of Michael-sama, gratitude to the Lord, and cooperation and trust, I leaned over towards Xenovia. 

“Hey, Xenovia,” I whispered to her. 

“Why are you whispering?”

I gave her a look.

“Does Irina know about the death of God?”

Xenovia’s expression shifted.

“I’m not certain. At the very least, she didn’t know when she and I parted ways.”

That was worrying.

Irina was someone with deep faith, and learning about God's death could seriously affect her. 

If she found out suddenly, it might—

“You do know about the death of the God from the Bible, right?” Azazel-sensei asked bluntly. 

My head snapped towards him.

“S-Sensei! That’s not something to casually drop on someone!” I shouted.

But Azazel-sensei just sighed like he was disappointed.

“Think a bit, Ise. If she had been sent here, she would have had to be told the truth. This location is one of the most important points in the alliance between the Three Great Powers. Anyone assigned to it would need to be aware of that information before arriving.”

Irina nodded with a serious expression at his words.

“Of course, Governor-sama of the Fallen Angels. Don’t worry, Ise-kun. While it is a painful truth, I’ve already learned about the absence of the Lord.”

I deflated.

Now I felt foolish for worrying.

“You’re stronger than I thought, Irina. I didn’t think someone with a faith as central to your existence would be able to handle learning so easily before coming here.” Xenovia said, looking impressed. 

Irina didn’t reply to Xenovia immediately.

She stared at her for a moment before breaking down into tears.

“I'm not alright! How could I be?!” She cried, grabbing Xenovia’s shoulders and shaking her. “The pillar of my life was shattered! The Father Almighty, maker of all creation, is gone?! When Michael-sama told me, I spent a week in bed before I gained the strength to go on. Ahh, Lord!”

Irina fell to her knees and lay down face first on the coffee table. 

Ah.

Yeah, that made more sense.

For someone like Irina, that truth had to be absolutely devastating.

I couldn’t relate, since my family wasn’t religious, but I’d seen how much that truth mattered to Asia and Xenovia.

“It’s okay, Irina-san. I understand how you feel.” Asia said.

“I felt a similar way when I learned,” Xenovia said. 

Asia and Xenovia moved to her at once.

The three of them hugged each other.

They had each suffered when they learned the truth.

Even if they were Devils now, both Xenovia and Asia prayed every day. 

Irina looked at Asia first, then Xenovia, tears still in her eyes.

“Asia-san! I’m sorry for calling you a witch when we first met! And Xenovia, I’m sorry for the terrible things I said to you when you left the Church! I’m sorry for how I treated you both!” Irina wailed as she held them.

Asia smiled gently.

“It’s in the past, Irina-san. Now I only want us to get along. We both love the same Lord, after all.”

Xenovia nodded.

“The same goes for me. I already forgave you for what was said before we last separated. My actions were rash and probably seemed like a betrayal to you. But I’m happy we were able to meet again like this.”

The three of them started praying together.

It felt like they had resolved things and come to some kind of understanding. 

It would be good if the three of them could rely on one another.

Azazel-sensei cleared his throat.

“So, can we assume that Michael sent you here to act as his messenger?”

Irina immediately stood and quickly fixed her appearance. 

She nodded.

“Yes, Azazel-sama. Michael-sama was concerned because no one from Heaven’s side is here. He said it would be a problem if none of the personnel from Heaven were stationed in this area.”

“Oh yeah, Michael did say something like that,” Azazel-sensei said. “This location is active with both Heaven’s and the Underworld’s influence, but the people actually working here are mainly Rias and Sona Sitri’s groups. There are a few others, like me, but it’s pretty much just the two original Devil peerages that were here originally. Things are going well enough with our current arrangement, but Michael insisted that Heaven needed someone stationed here too,” Azazel-sensei shook his head. “I tried to tell him that we didn’t need anyone, but he wouldn’t accept that. So Michael ended up sending Irina here in the end.”

He sighed after saying it.

Even if Azazel-sensei seems to think it was unnecessary, Michael-sama’s worries made sense to me. 

We were supposed to be cooperating with the other factions, and in the location where the peace summit was held, Heaven didn’t have anyone stationed.

So sending Irina to enroll in our school seemed like a good idea on Michael-sama’s part.

She was familiar with some of the Devils present at the school and the same age as some of us, and it gave Heaven a presence here at the same time.

I looked around the room again.

At the start, this had only been a club for Devils in Buchou’s peerage.

I wondered how much more the club would grow. 

Buchou still had one more open spot in her peerage, and now we were getting members who weren’t a part of her peerage.

At first, Buchou had seemed annoyed with the additions to her club room at first, but she seemed proud and determined to be more determined in her role as club president.

She had said that she had spoken to her brother, and he had told her that having members of all of the Three Factions in her club room could be useful to show the stability of their alliance, since she was a family member of a Maou and Azazel-sensei was the leader of the Grigori.

Buchou had sounded fired up after telling me that.

“Though that is not all those in Heaven informed me of,” Irina said, standing up straighter.

She clasped her hands together and bowed her head.

Her lips moved as she silently recited a prayer with her eyes closed. 

Her body began to glow with a soft white energy.

Everyone became more alert and interested as the glow around her intensified.

The two white Angel wings sprouted from her back. 

There were a few gasps, and I saw Buchou, Akeno-san, and Yuki-san watching her intently after her change.

Only Azazel-sensei didn’t seem shocked.

“…You said your name was Shidou Irina, correct?” He asked, narrowing his eyes at her and putting a hand on his chin. “It seems that you were allowed to go through the Angel transformation.”

I turned my head back towards Irina and saw her smiling warmly as her white wings glowed and spread a gentle light around her surrounding.

I didn’t understand what was going on, but it looked like the Occult Research Club had an Angel as a member now.

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