High School DxD: Fox of Ill Omen

Koneko

I was sitting sideways on Yuki-senpai’s lap in the dressing room after our interview.

Yuki-senpai sat in an armchair, leaning back with her head tilted up as she relaxed.

I laid my head against her shoulder as I leaned against her.

We were all a bit out of it after all of the tension and nervous energy drained once the interview ended.

Gya-kun was next to the coffee table, lying face down on the rug.

He was mumbling to himself about too many people and wanting to go home. 

Issei-senpai was lying on a couch with his head in Asia-senpai’s lap as she played with his hair.

Yuuto-senpai leaned against the wall by the room's door.

Xenovia-senpai was reclined on the other armchair.

Buchou and Akeno-senpai were sitting on the other sofa and looked the least tired out of everyone.

The interview went well enough, and Buchou was the one to receive the majority of the questions. 

When she was introduced, she received applause and cheers from the studio audience.

When she smiled and waved to the crowd, the cheers grew louder before settling down.

She was asked questions about her opinion of our match against Kaichou, if there would be any major changes to how she managed her peerage, and if there were any of the other young Devils that she had her eye out for in particular. 

Buchou answered each question with practiced rasas and a smile.

Then she was asked if she thought the Rating Gabe rules were showing favoritism, how she felt regarding her drop in appraisal as a [King] from the match, and how she felt about failing to meet the expected results of a clean sweep in our last match.

Even with the more politically complicated questions, Buchou didn’t hesitate when answering each of them with an appropriate response.

Asia-senpai, Gya-kun, and I were introduced and received some cheers and polite claps, but nothing like what Buchou got.

We were each asked a few questions about the match and questions about ourselves as reincarnated Devils.

Asia-senpai looked nervous, but answered everything well.

Gya-kun looked like he was moments away from passing out or running when he answered.

I was a bit nervous speaking in front of so many people, but managed to answer everything just fine.

Xenovia-senpai and Yuuto-senpai received a few more questions than we did, but handled everything just fine.

Then, when Akeno-senpai was introduced, there was a larger reaction from the men in the audience.

There were even a few shouts of ‘Akeno-sama!’

Just like Karina-san had said, she was popular with the male audience.

Akeno was asked similar questions about the Rating Game as us and about her expectations for our next match.

She seemed to be having fun answering them teasingly to get a rise out of the crowd.

Yuki-senpai was introduced next and received a similar reaction from the crowd as Akeno-senpai.

There were shouts and cries from both the male and female audience members who seemed to be her fans.

I frowned as I heard some of the guys in the audience cry out, ‘Yuki-sama!’

She was questioned about the match against Kaichou and her thoughts about our next match, like Akeno-senpai was.

Then she was asked questions about being a Kitsune Devil and about the transformation ability she used during the match.

The questions had been checked before the interview by Buchou, so there wasn’t anything too personal in them, thankfully 

She answered everything calmly and without much reaction to the crowd.

When she spoke about her ability, she kept her answers vague and short.

Lastly, it was Issei-senpai’s turn.

When he was introduced, some children in the audience shouted ‘Oppai Dragon!’ They seemed rather excited to see him.

When he went to answer questions, he was slightly stiff, and the smile on his face seemed forced at times.

He was questioned on his fight with Saji-senpai and his Pailingual ability he used before retiring.

He became more certain as he spoke about fighting Saji, and sounded excited when he spoke of his lewd ability, but after noticing a look from Buchou, he toned it down and gave some simple answers.

After that, the interview wrapped up and we were escorted back to our dressing room.

Everyone had quickly found a spot to relax once we arrived, and now we were having our for a bit before we would be heading home.

I frowned to myself as I leaned on Yuki-senpai.

I understood why she was popular after her feats during our last match, but it still made me unhappy to hear people calling out to her like that when we were having our interview.

She didn’t really react to it, but she would only get more admirers in the future.

Eventually, more of her seals would be released, and she would attract even more attention when that happened.

She was already beautiful even if she still looked slightly sickly from the seals' effect on her.

But each time one was released, she looked even more attractive and healthier.

I wanted her to have all of the seals removed, but I knew that she would draw much more attention to herself when that happened.

And even more people would want to be with her.

I rubbed my head against her shoulder as the thought of random men and women trying to get with my senpai annoyed me.

One of Yuki-senpai’s tails moved to brush against my back in response.

Asia-senpai’s voice pulled me from my thoughts.

“You did great, Gasper-kun. You were very brave.”

Asia-senpai said to Gya-kun as he continued to lie face down on the ground.

He mumbled something back that I couldn’t understand.

“…You did well, Gya-kun. I only had to stop you from running twice,” I added.

Yuki-senpai let out a soft chuckle at my comment.

“Ise, what was it that you went to record before our interview?” Buchou asked while eating some snacks. 

“It’s a secret, Buchou. The staff here even asked me not to tell any of you what it was,” Issei-senpai replied with a strange chuckle.

“I see. Well, I look forward to seeing whatever it was you recorded.”

“It’s odd that you weren’t told as his master,” Yuki-senpai commented.

Buchou shrugged.

“If they wanted to record something special with Ise and he was alright with it, it doesn’t matter much to me. It was probably something set up by Onii-sama or Azazel-sensei if I had to guess.”

That made sense, but it was odd that Buchou wasn’t told.

Issei-senpai did say it would be a surprise, so maybe that’s why Buchou wasn’t informed earlier.

We sat around the room quietly for a few more minutes before Buchou told us that we should be heading back home.

But before we could get up, there was a knock on the door, and then someone entered our dressing room. 

Yuki

A familiar blond-haired girl entered our changing room while carrying a basket in each hand. 

“Ravel Phenex. What brings you here?” Buchou asked.

Ravel-san stopped when she arrived in the middle of the room and looked around.

Her eyes stopped when she found Issei.

Her face brightened for a brief moment before she quickly hid it with a more controlled expression. 

“I-I am here to see Ise-sama. My second eldest brother is filming a television program in one of the studios here, and I heard that Rias-sama would be present, so I came to give something to Issei-sama since things worked out!”

Ravel-san stepped forward stiffly and held out one of the two baskets out to him.

Issei took the basket and peered inside.

When he opened the lid, I could see a meat and well made looking chocolate cake sitting inside.

I noticed Koneko licking her lips as soon as she saw it.

Ravel-san looked shy as she waited for his reaction.

“Did you really make this?” Issei asked in surprise.

Ravel-san turned pink and looked down her nose at him.

“O-of course I did! Why do you sound so surprised?!”

“It looks really good. I was just surprised.”

Ravel-san nodded while puffing her chest out.

“I am quite a good baker when it comes to making cake! A-And I had promised you that I would make one for you, so of course I would make it myself!”

Rias was watching them with suspicion, and Akeno was giving them a knowing look.

“Thank you. But you didn’t have to make it for me now. You could have waited until we had tea as we had promised.”

Ravel-san fixed her posture and stood taller.

“I know that you have your match against House Astaroth soon, so I was going to wait to extend an invitation until afterwards. I don’t want to disturb you as you prepare for the match. But I thought that since we were both at this studio that I could give you a cake now. I made it for you myself, so you should be grateful!”

Ravel drew herself up at that, trying for dignity. “I won’t do anything to disturb you. You have a match with the House of Astaroth coming soon, correct? So I won’t waste your time. But I thought maybe I could simply give you a cake. You should be grateful!”

She was trying to sound proper and authoritative.

Her blushing detracted from her effort of trying to look like a proper noble.

She nodded to herself and turned away from Issei to me. 

She held out the second basket to me.

“And this one is for you, Yuki-sama,” she said, her voice steadier now.

“For me?”

“Yes. I invited you both to tea and promised both of you cakes, so it would be improper of me to only make one,” Ravel said, nodding to herself. 

Koenko shifted to the side so I could stand.

I took the basket from her and looked inside.

The cake was decorated with fruit and looked as well made as Issei’s.

I bowed slightly.

“Thank you, Ravel-san.”

Ravel-san gave a small smile and blushed lightly again.

“I-I hope I made it how you said you liked. And I am looking forward to receiving another letter from you, Yuki-sama.”

“…Another letter?” Koneko asked.

She was still sitting in the armchair we had been resting on before. 

Her expression was still flat, but one of her ears twitched, and her tail shifted back and forth behind her.

“Yes. Ravel-san wrote to me after the Maou-sponsored party,” I said. “She had questions about magic and spellwork. So we began to exchange letters occasionally.”

Ravel-san lifted her head higher while trying not to look embarrassed.

She wanted to learn more and had reached out for help.

I didn’t understand what there was to be embarrassed about.

Unless she didn’t want others to know she had wanted help. 

“You never mentioned that,” Issei said.

Before I could answer, Koneko spoke.

“…When did that start?”

I looked at her.

She was watching Ravel-san. 

“ I received the first letter after we arrived back from the Underworld. We’ve exchanged a handful of letters since then.”

“Really…” she said as her tail lashed to the side.

“It must have slipped my mind to mention, since the filming with Serafall-sama happened and Diodora-san’s pestering was going on at the same time.”

Between Diodora, filming, Irina’s enrollment at Kuoh, Devil work, training, and this television appearance, I had forgotten that I hadn’t mentioned my correspondence with Ravel-san to anyone.

“I did not wish to impose on you, Yuki-sama,” Ravel-san said. “But your answers were very helpful.”

“You ask good questions,” I told her.

She blushed faintly at the praise.

“A-And you were able to forge a connection to a noble Devil, s-so you are welcome!”

I raised an eyebrow at her. 

“Yes, thank you, Ravel-san,” I replied.

She blushed harder and nodded rapidly.

“W-Well t-then, I will be leaving now,” Ravel-san said as she turned towards the door. 

“Wait a second,” Issei said before she could leave.

Ravel-san froze.

Issei looked toward Yuuto.

“Can you make me a small cake knife?”

Yuuto nodded and held a hand out.

She formed a small, golden colored blade with her [Sword Birth] and handed it to Issei. 

Issei cut a small piece and sampled the cake.

“It’s delicious, Ravel. I don’t know when we will see each other again, so I wanted to try it while you were here. Thank you for making it for me. I’ll eat it at home,” he said with a smile. “We will need to arrange something for the tea you wanted to have together. If you’d still like to have tea together, that is.”

Ravel’s face turned red, and she turned to me.

I realized she probably wanted my opinion too. 

I took one of the pieces of fruit and scooped up some of the icing and then ate it.

“You did a wonderful job,” I told her. “And I appreciate the thought. It took more effort to make a separate one for each of us. I hope you don’t mind if I share some with the others.”

Her face turned redder somehow.

“We can discuss the tea plans in our next letter,” I continued.

She brightened immediately.

Her embarrassed blush was still there, but she smiled widely at the idea of sharing tea and sending more letters to each other.

“I-I understand,” she said. “Ise-sama, Yuki-sama, I will be cheering for both of you in your next match. W-with that... please excuse me.”

She turned and rushed out of the room

The door closed behind her.

Most of the girls were giving Issei annoyed looks.

That didn’t surprise me since Ravel seemed interested in him and he was accepting gifts and invitations from her.

But what did surprise me was the fact that I was also being given looks.

Specifically by Rias, Akeno-senpai, and Koneko.

Akeno and Rias were shooting Issei annoyed looks too, but I was receiving suspicious looks from them as well.

Issei looked confused, but realized that they were not happy with him.

I looked between them all and tilted my head.

Before I could question anything, Rias sighed and then spoke.

“...Let’s just go home. Today has been too busy.”

There was a tired chorus of agreements from around the room, and we began to make our way back home.

As we rode down in the elevator, Koneko was standing next to me, staring at the basket I was carrying,

“...I want some when we get back home,” She muttered.

I softly chuckled.

“I was already planning on sharing it with you, Koneko-chan.”

That seemed to improve her mood as her tail slowly waved back and forth.

We then made our way to the teleportation magic circle and were sent home.

Everyone was drained from the interview, and our dinner together was much quieter than normal.

We cleaned up, and some people went to bed directly after that.

I decided to head to one of the practice rooms on the first underground floor of the house.

Training was something that everyone in the peerage had been focusing on with our next match only a few days away.

Even before that, we had each been focusing on striving to improve ourselves and grow stronger.

There had been team drills, spars, strength training, and individual practice sessions.

I was launching spells at targets and practicing using my tail abilities at the same time.

I wasn’t able to remove my seals to regain the strength that had been locked away, so I would have to push myself to improve the power that I had access to.

By the time I finished my training, I had worked up a sweat, my body was pleasantly sore, and my hands stung from casting too many curses.

I made my way towards the large bath on the same basement floor that the training room I used was on.

The renovations to Hydouou home were extensive, and I appreciated the luxury that Rias had insisted was necessary.

As I rounded the corner toward the practice hall, the door opened, and Xenovia stepped out.

She looked as if she had been training as well.

Her hair and training clothes were damp with sweat, and she seemed to be in a rather fine mood as well.

She was smiling softly in a way that made me think whatever she was happy about wasn't related to her training.

“Hello, Xenovia.”

She blinked as she seemed to finally notice me.

“Yuki. I was going to use the bath since I’ve finished training for the night. Would you join me?”

“Yes. I was heading there myself anyway.”

We walked together quietly until we arrived at the bath.

We then changed, washed off, and entered the warm water of the bath.

The bath on this floor was rather large.

It was the size of a small pool, and we could fit the whole peerage in it comfortably.

Xenovia grabbed a container of milk from the mini fridge placed next to the changing room door.

Rias had it installed here because she believed that drinking milk after a bath was a Japanese tradition.

She wasn’t wrong, but Rias could be a bit obsessed with anything Japanese sometimes.

Xenovia paused before shutting it.

“Would you like one?”

I thought for a moment. 

“Sure. Grab me a fruit-milk, please.”

Xenovia nodded and grabbed another container before coming over and entering the bath.

She handed it to me, then settled into a seat an arm's length away from me. 

For a while, the two of us just enjoyed the bath.

I let myself sink lower into the warm water as it soothed my tired body.

Xenovia leaned against the side of the bath with her head leaning back and her eyes shut as she relaxed.

The quiet was comfortable.

Xenovia was the type of person who could comfortably exist in silence.

After a few minutes, though, I looked over at her.

She had let herself sink a bit lower into the water and had a small, content smile on her face.

“You seem to be in quite a good mood. Did something good happen?”

Xenovia opened her eyes.

Then she turned towards me.

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