High School DxD: Fox of Ill Omen

Koneko

I stood in the hallway in front of Yuki-senpai’s door.

It was early in the night as I stared at the door in front of me.

Late enough that some people had gone to bed, but early enough that some were still up. 

It had been a few days since we had Irina-senpai’s welcoming party.

Things had settled down, and Irina-senpai had acclimated to our group easily.

She, Asia-senpai, and Xenovia-senpai had been spending a lot of time together.

Especially now that Irina-senpai and Gya-kun had moved into the house with us.

Buchou offered a room here, as she was a member of the Occult Research Club and a representative of Heaven.

She had accepted, and Asia-senpai had gotten pretty excited to have another friend living with us.

After that, Gya-kun decided that he was ready to move into the house with the rest of the peerage.

I don’t know if someone convinced him, or if he saw Irina-senpai move in and decided that he shouldn’t wait any longer. 

And I was happy that he had moved in with us.

It was nice to have him around the house and at dinner.

With him still living in the old schoolhouse until now, I only really got to see him during club activities or during the weekend.

Now that he had moved in, I got to see him much more often, even if he would still hide in his room most of the time.

It was nice to have someone else my age in the house.

I shook my head as I had let myself get distracted.

Right now I was trying to gather the courage to go into Yuki-senpai’s room.

After seeing the way Xenovia-senpai had been looking at Yuki-senpai the other day, I had decided I needed to do more.

After getting back from the Underworld, I had decided that I was going to try to pursue my crush on Yuki-senpai.

I had delayed thinking about it while we had the training and the rating game to focus on.

But after we had won, I had taken the time to sit down and think about how I felt.

It had hardly taken any time for me to accept that I had a crush on Yuki-senpai.

I had for a while.

I had just ignored it until then.

But now that I had accepted what I wanted, I had to figure out what I was going to do about it.

Yuki-senpai had said more than once that she didn’t have any romantic interest in anyone.

And the way she said it made it sound like she wasn’t interested in starting a relationship either.

So I had to approach things carefully if I wanted to try and get her to take me seriously and warm up to the idea of a relationship.

I’m pretty sure she is interested in girls, considering what I’d seen when Akeno-senpai teased her too far.

She would also let her gaze linger sometimes when we all bathed together or during training.

And there was also the way she acted when she used her state ability.

My hand moved to my neck where she had left a mark on me before.

I frowned as I felt faintly upset that it was gone.

I had been spending too much time around Issei-senpai and Akeno-senpai, and now I was starting to have weird thoughts.

So, I had decided to slowly grow closer to Yuki-senpai.

I wouldn’t act rashly or push her too hard, and hopefully she would eventually reciprocate my feelings.

I know that she has been abused before, even if she hadn’t given me any details on what had happened.

With how she had reacted to being hit by Issei-senpai’s Dress Break, it was obvious that something awful had been done to her.

And there were other smaller signs that were worrying as well.

So I would move slowly, but I would have to accept it if it wasn’t something that she wouldn’t reciprocate.

That’s why I had started sitting in her lap and spending more time with her.

I wasn’t being very subtle, but she didn’t react like I was flirting with her whenever I did something.

She would be confused or try to rationalize it as something else.

Like she refused to believe I had feelings for her.

But I wouldn’t give up.

So I had decided to do something a bit more forward.

After dinner yesterday, I had asked her if I could sleep in her room with her.

She had paused for a moment before questioning me.

I had simply said that I liked being close to her and gave her the option of refusing me.

I didn’t want her to accept it because she thought she had to.

I was worried that she might feel obligated to accept my requests.

So when she agreed to it, I asked her again if it was alright with her.

She said it was fine and gave me a spare key to her room.

She had a habit of locking her room anytime she went into it.

She had even asked me to lock the door if I ended up coming to her room.

I had walked past her room on my way to her with a snack late the night before and had debated sneaking into her room.

Then I immediately discarded that as an awful idea.

There was a fairly good chance that trying to sneak into her room would cause her to panic.

So I had asked her and gained permission.

And now I was about to unlock her door.

I raised one hand and rested it lightly against the wood of the door.

I took a breath and used the key to unlock the door.

There was a quiet click as the key turned.

I opened the door and quietly stepped inside.

Her room was dark except for the dim light from the window.

The curtains had not been fully drawn, so moonlight and the distant glow from lights outside lit the room dimly.

My attention was drawn to Yuki-senpai lying in her rather large bed.

The bed itself looked as if it could comfortably fit at least five people, and she was still asleep on one side of it.

I had expected her to still be awake, or wake up as soon as the door unlocked.

I slowly shut the door behind me and then locked it after it had quietly shut.

I moved a bit closer and watched her as she slept.

Her silvery-white hair was fanned out on her pillow.

It stood out against the pillow cover in the dull light.

The low, soft light made her look even more beautiful.

Her tails were draped around her.

Two hung off the side of the bed, one stretched further into the bed, and the last one was wrapped around one of her legs.

She was wearing a loose T-shirt as her pajamas, and it had slipped down one of her shoulders as she had slept.

I stood there for a second when I got close enough to notice something else.

Her breathing was uneven.

It was too quick. 

I moved next to the bed and watched her face.

Her brows were drawn together tightly.

One of her hands had tightened into the blanket hard.

Her tail thrashed once beneath the covers, then went still again.

A small sound left her throat.

It sounded like she tried to say something, but it only came out as a whimper.

She was having a nightmare.

I hesitated.

I didn’t know if I should wake her from it or leave her be and head back to my own room.

I glanced back at the door.

I didn’t know how she would react to me waking her up.

As I was deciding that it would probably be for the best if I left, she shifted again.

She tensed and rolled her head to the side in her sleep.

She made another small sound.

That made me decide that I would wake her.

I hated hearing her sound like that.

I moved closer.

“Yuki-senpai,” I said quietly.

She didn’t react.

Her breathing hitched, and she rolled her head to the other side.

I leaned closer.

“Senpai.”

Still nothing.

I reached out to her, hesitating for a moment before touching her shoulder lightly.

Her eyes opened at once, and her whole body jerked.

I took a step back as she locked eyes with me.

Her eyes were wide in panic, and she had a look of fear on her face. 

She quickly pushed herself up on one arm and swung her other arm out towards me.

I felt the crackle of magic as she formed a spell before her hand finished pointing at me. 

I froze.

Her reaction was too sudden and immediate. 

The amount of power she was putting into her spell was too much.

She was going to seriously hurt herself if she fired it.

“It’s me! Koneko!” I quickly said. 

She paused, and the spell stopped building.

She stared at me.

I let out the breath I had been holding.

She had fully woken up and realized it had been a nightmare. 

She quickly canceled the spell and dropped her hand.

“I-I'm so sorry, Koneko-chan!”  She stammered.

“It’s fine, senpai. I probably shouldn’t have woken you from your nightmare like that,” I said, moving back to her bedside.

She had sat up fully now and was holding her hands together tightly in her lap.

“It’s not fine! I could have seriously hurt you! I knew you were coming over. I should have stayed awake until you did,” she said and then sighed. “It was probably a mistake for me to have told you that you could sleep here.”

She was gripping her hands together harder.

I could see her knuckles turning white, even in the dim light.

I frowned at her.

“You didn’t hurt me. But if you’re upset about it, would doing something for me make you feel better?”

She blinked.

“Koneko-chan, I know that you want to make me feel better, but this—“

“Scoot over and lie on your side,” I said, cutting her off.

“I really don’t think—“

“Senpai,” I said, shooting her a look.

She paused for a moment before sighing.

She shifted over and lay down on her side facing me.

I climbed into bed and lay with my back facing her.

I moved my tail so that it wouldn’t get caught between us. 

I moved so that I was pressed up against her.

Our height difference meant that I fit well next to her as the little spoon.

I could feel her breasts pressing against my upper back and her hips against mine.

I took her arm and draped it over myself before moving the covers over both of us.

She stiffened for a moment before relaxing her arm.

“…there now everything is fine,” I said once I was comfortable.

I could feel Yuki-senpai’s chest move as she let out a chuckle.

“If you say so.” She quietly replied.

It was quiet for a moment before I spoke again.

“…Do you have nightmares often, senpai?”

“Now and then. That one was particularly bad, though.”

I didn’t fully believe her.

Yuki-senpai was the kind of person to minimize her own issues.

“Do you normally wake up like that? In a panic?”

“…Occasionally. There are times I wake up and forget where I am. Sometimes it takes me a few minutes to realize that it was only a dream.” She replied. 

She had begun to absentmindedly move her hand that I had placed over my stomach.

I forced myself not to react as she drew a pattern with a finger.

I felt myself blushing already.

I ignored the warm feeling building in me and focused on what Yuki-senpai had said.

“…Would it be better if I left?” I asked quietly.

“No,” she said immediately. “That’s not necessary, Koneko-chan.”

Her arm tightened around me like she was trying to keep me here.

I frowned despite enjoying the feeling.

“Senpai, you don’t need to say it’s fine just because I wanted to be here. It’s alright if I need to leave.”

“I won’t say that you asking to be here isn’t part of why I don’t want you to leave,” she said after a moment. “But that’s not the only reason. I enjoy your company, Koneko-chan. And while I never would have thought to do this, it is comfortable.”

I turned back towards her.

“…Are you sure, senpai?”

She gave me a small smile.

“I am.”

I searched her face for a moment before turning back over.

I pushed myself back against her as I got comfortable again.

Yuki-senpai adjusted her arm over me, and then she moved her tails.

One slid over my legs while another draped itself over my waist.

They tightened slightly against me.

“I know you like my tails, but let me know if you’re too warm,” she murmured near my ears.

I felt my cheeks heat as I gave a small nod.

I couldn’t help making a quiet, content noise.

“…Nyan~”

Yuki-senpai let out an amused huff, and I could tell that she was grinning.

“Quiet,” I pouted.

“I didn’t say a thing, Koneko-chan,” she said with a chuckle. It is always adorable when you do that, though.”

I turned my face towards the pillow to hide my red cheeks.

I moved my tail to curl around one of hers.

Yuki-senpai shifted to get more comfortable and then let out a slow breath.

I shivered slightly as I felt it against the back of my neck.

For a while after that, neither of us spoke.

Her room became quiet again.

The only sound was our soft breathing and the creak of floorboards as someone on the floor above us walked down the hall.

I stared at the bookshelf and desk in her room.

The shelf was mostly filled with books, and I could see some homework and notes neatly stacked at her desk.

There weren’t really any personal items that I could see in her room.

There were a few charms or random trinkets that Asia-senpai and Rias-Buchou had bought her when we had gone to the mall, but that was it.

Maybe the next time we went to a store together, I could get her something for her room.

We hadn’t been to a bookstore together like we had talked about before the Rating Game against the student council. 

Maybe I could find something then. 

I relaxed against Yuki-senpai as I ran my fingers through the fur of one of her tails.

I wanted to stay here.

That thought came too easily.

I wanted Yuki-senpai to let me stay here again, but with her nightmares, I don’t know if it’s the right thing to do.

Me being here might only make things worse for her.

Behind me, I could feel the tension of her earlier panic finally leave her body.

Her arm felt relaxed on me, and she leaned her head forward to rest against mine.

I found myself thinking about the way she had looked when she woke up.

The fear and blind panic in her eyes.

The way she had immediately moved to attack whoever was leaning over her as she slept.

Her immediate apology after she realized what was going on.

It left a bitter taste in my mouth

I knew a lot of things about Yuki-senpai.

I also did not know nearly enough.

I closed my eyes.

I’d keep learning more about her.

Both the things that she would show me now and the things that I would have to wait to learn.

“...Koneko?”

Yuki-senpai’s voice was quiet and rough with sleep.

“Yes?”

There was a pause long enough that I wondered if she had fallen asleep.

Then, in a very soft voice, “I’m sorry for how I reacted.”

I opened my eyes again.

“You don’t need to apologize, senpai. I already said it was fine.”

Her arm tightened a little around me, then loosened again.

“Alright. As long as you know that I didn’t mean to try and hurt you,” she said.

“I know.”

She was quiet again for a few seconds.

“Well, for next time, maybe you should wake me up when you first enter the room,” she paused to yawn. “Or just get in the bed without waking me. 

Hearing her give me permission to come back again made me grin. 

“I will,” I said.

My voice came out smaller than I meant it to.

Yuki-senpai made a faint sound of agreement.

Then we were both silent again.

Her breathing slowly evened out.

I could feel her drift off as we cuddled together.

I lay there staring at the wall of her room.

I felt warm and comfortable in her arms.

This was another step forward for me, even if Yuk-senpai still didn’t see it.

I smiled to myself as I closed my eyes and quickly drifted to sleep beside my crush.

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