High School DxD: Fox of Ill Omen

Issei

“Got it!”

The ball smacked into my glove hard enough to sting my palm.

“Nice catch, Ise.”

Buchou grinned and gave me a thumbs-up from near home plate, bat still in hand.

We were in the dirt lot near the old school building, the one with barely any grass and just enough room to make sports practice possible if you didn’t care too much about dignity or clean uniforms.

Which, apparently, Buchou did not.

“Next week is Kuoh Academy’s Ball Tournament,” she said, planting the bat against her shoulder with all the force of a general announcing war. “It’s a match we cannot lose.”

That was how the whole thing had started.

The Ball Tournament was one of the school’s big events. Baseball, soccer, dodgeball, basketball, tennis—anything involving a ball was fair game, and which event you got was announced on the day.

Classes did it, clubs did it, boys did it, girls did it, and since the Occult Research Club was still a club no matter how many supernatural secrets it hid, that meant us too.

So lately, after school, the clubroom had stopped being only tea and conversation.

Now we changed into gym clothes and practised.

I was already training in the mornings, going through regular classes all day, and then doing this after school before Devil work at night.

Honestly, if I weren’t a Devil already, I’d probably be dead.

Buchou, meanwhile, was loving it.

No, that wasn’t quite right.

She was on fire.

Ever since the mess with Riser, she had gotten even more serious about anything that even smelled like a competition. Losing to that bastard clearly still bothered her pride. And if Buchou decided something mattered, then by definition it mattered.

Even if the thing was baseball in a dirt lot.

“All right,” she said. “Batting practice is over. If the game ends up being baseball, Koneko-chan will be our main hitter.”

Koneko-chan, standing with her glove on and her face as unreadable as ever, gave a short nod. “...Okay.”

That was fair.

Even without using any obvious supernatural advantage, Koneko-chan hitting a ball was probably going to be terrifying.

“Now then,” Buchou said, turning the bat in her hands. “We’ll continue fielding practice. Everyone, spread out!”

“Ara ara. Buchou is really getting into these practicing.”

Akeno-san’s voice had that amused softness it always got when she was looking at Buchou in a good mood.

“I understand it,” Asia said earnestly from left field, glove in both hands. “Rias-san really hates losing.”

“Exactly,” I said, jogging backward into position. “We’re Devils. If we lose at sports to normal students, that’d be pretty sad.”

“Please hold back properly, Issei,” Yuuto-san said dryly from farther out. “This is practice, not a Rating Game.”

I pointed at her. “I know that.”

“Your face says otherwise.”

That got a quiet laugh out of Akeno-san.

Kusari-san stood between Yuuto and Koneko-chan, glove on, school gym uniform fitting her in a way that should honestly have been illegal.

Even with her fox traits hidden for school, she looked different.

It was one thing to notice it in class or when she walked in the hallway.

It was another to see her moving like this, no lingering injury dragging at her steps anymore, no careful favoring of her arm, no signs of the damage from the Rating Game left on the surface. 

She still held herself in that controlled way of hers, like even standing among all of us came with rules she didn’t entirely trust.

But she moved cleanly now.

That was new.

Buchou raised the bat. “Asia! Here it comes!”

The ball flew straight toward Asia.

Asia made a tiny startled sound, her eyes going wide. “Ah—! Ah—! Aah!”

The ball shot cleanly between her legs.

She spun around two beats too late.

“Asia!” Buchou called, trying and failing not to sound exasperated. “If you can’t catch it, go get it!”

“Y-Yes!”

Asia ran after it in a panic.

I couldn’t even tease her for that one.

Asia’s sports sense was tragic. Sometimes she tripped over nothing. A ball flying toward her with actual speed meant she never stood a chance.

Buchou let out a small sigh, then adjusted her grip.

Ever since the Riser match, there was this edge to her whenever winning and losing came up.

She’d always been proud. She was Rias Gremory.

But now there was something else in it too.

Less casual. Less willing to assume things would simply work out because they should.

I understood that.

We all did.

“Next,” Buchou said, eyes lifting. “Yuuto.”

Yuuto-san steadied.

The ball shot toward her.

And smacked directly into her shoulder.

She just stood there and took it.

I stared. “Yuuto-san!”

Yuuto blinked, then looked down at the ball by her feet like it had appeared there by magic. “...Ah. Sorry.”

“Sorry?” I shouted. “You didn’t even notice it! Are you alright?”

Even Buchou lowered the bat and stared at her.

Kusari-san’s head turned too, the smallest furrow touching her brow.

Buchou exhaled through her nose. “Yuuto-chan, what’s wrong? You’ve been distracted lately.”

“I’m sorry Buchou,” Yuuto-san said again, and this time the apology sounded more real.

That was the thing. She had been distracted lately.

Normally Yuuto could do anything. Sports, studying, swordplay, polite conversation—if someone turned “being graceful” into an actual competition, she’d probably win that too.

But since the visit to my house the other day, and especially since she saw that old childhood photo, something had been off.

Not enough for most people to call it out.

Enough for us to notice.

I had a pretty good guess what was eating at her too.

The sword.

Or, more accurately, the fact that she’d noticed to it in the first place.

“Hmm.”

Buchou reached down and picked up a baseball manual she had brought with her.

Typical Buchou.

She always read when something came up. Sports, politics, magic, whatever. If it existed, there was probably a book on it, and if there was a book, she had probably found it.

Akeno-san shifted closer to me. “By the way, Ise-kun. Did you know?”

I glanced at her. “Know what?”

“Recently, Buchou has begun reading a manual on love.”

I choked. “A love manual!?”

Buchou looked up over the top of the book.

Akeno-san’s smile deepened.

Koneko-chan, Yuuto-san, and even Kusari-san all looked in our direction now.

I pointed accusingly. “Wh-what does that mean!? Since when!? Why!?”

Akeno-san giggled. “You don’t need to worry so much.”

“How can I not worry!?”

“I doubt Buchou were to get a lover while you’re around,” she said sweetly.

“…Issei-senpai wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

Koneko chan muttered while watching us.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying!”

Asia flustered. “A-Akeno-san…”

Buchou closed the book with a small, crisp sound. “Akeno.”

“Yes, yes.”

But Akeno-san was laughing.

I was in emotional agony.

Buchou threw the ball at Akeno-san half heartedly.

It bounced off the dirt near Kusari-san’s foot.

Without even looking hurried, she stepped once, bent, and scooped it up cleanly in her glove.

No wasted motion.

She tossed it back to Buchou in one smooth line.

Buchou caught it one-handed and smiled.

“Good.”

Kusari-san lowered her gaze slightly. “It was a slow ball.”

“You still caught it.”

Koneko-chan glanced sideways at her. “You’re good at seeing the line.”

Kusari-san’s expression did not change much, but I saw the tiny pause that meant she had noticed the wording too. Of course she had.

Akeno-san’s eyes sharpened for the briefest instant before her usual smile settled back into place.

Only Asia asked the obvious question.

“The line?”

Kusari-san answered. “The path. Where something wants to go.”

It was such a Kusari-san answer that I almost laughed.

Buchou spun the bat once and pointed with it. “No chatting. Again.”

We kept practising until the sky darkened and my legs felt ready to fall off.

And through all of it, Buchou stayed energetic, Asia stayed earnest, Akeno-san stayed amused, Koneko-chan stayed terrifyingly solid, Yuuto-san stayed distracted, Kusari-san stayed quiet and precise, and I stayed exhausted enough to wonder if death might be less work than being a Devil.

Still, when practice finally ended, I was kind of fired up too.

Maybe Buchou’s intensity was contagious.

Maybe seeing all of us like that—moving together, ordinary on the surface and still somehow more than that underneath—did something to me.

Or maybe I just wanted to win because Buchou wanted to win.

Probably that.

Lunch the next day was, somehow, even more dangerous than baseball.

I was eating with Matsuda and Motohama like usual, which meant I was already operating at a disadvantage.

“You’re going to the clubroom again today?” Matsuda asked through a mouthful of bread.

“Yeah.”

Motohama adjusted his glasses. “Working hard. That’s unlike you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means until recently,” Matsuda said, “the only thing you worked hard at was porn.”

“Die.”

They laughed like I’d paid them a compliment.

Around us, a few girls from class shot the three of us irritated looks.

That was normal.

Most of the girls in class couldn’t stand us.

Or, more accurately, they couldn’t stand Issei Hyoudou and his two idiot friends.

Matsuda, Motohama, and I had earned the reputation. Between the dirty comments, the stares, and the fact that we’d been caught peeping before, girls outside the peerage mostly looked at us like we were a disease with shoes.

Matsuda leaned in. “Seriously though, the rumours about you are getting worse.”

I already hated where this was going. “What rumours?”

Motohama pushed his glasses up. “That you’re a wild beast who’s forcing Rias-senpai and Himejima-senpai into terrible sexual acts.”

“What!?”

He kept going anyway, the bastard.

“That you force them into depraved acts against their will and abuse them with words and violence.”

My mouth dropped as I stared at him.

There was more apparently.

“What’s more, you corrupted the school’s mascot, Koneko-chan, and took out your lust on her small body. After that the next victim of your desire is the Angelic transfer student, Asia-san. You used her nativity against her to taint her innocence…. Or something like that.”

Matsuda nodded along like this was all extremely reasonable and commented

“They say that only the princely girl, Yuuto-san, and the sickly beauty, Kusari-san, are still safe. But it’s only a matter of time.”

I stared at them in horror.

Then, because I apparently hated myself, I glanced around the classroom.

A couple of girls were already giving me looks.

Damn it.

“Who the hell is spreading that garbage!?”

“We are,” Matsuda said.

“Yeah,” Motohama added.

I hit both of them.

Hard.

“It hurts!”

“You brute!”

“Don’t make me the villain in my own school life, you pieces of trash!”

Matsuda rubbed his head. “We have to do something or we’ll die of jealousy.”

Motohama nodded solemnly. “Your life is too blessed.”

“You’re making me look like a criminal! Die!”

Before they could respond, from somewhere to my right, I heard a familiar voice.

“Hey, Asia. Finished eating?”

I turned.

Asia was sitting with Kiryuu Aika.

And Kusari-san.

That made sense. We were all in the same class, and Kiryuu-san had already gotten close to Asia. Kusari being there too should not have surprised me.

It still did, a little.

Kiryuu looked up first, glasses catching the light. Then she smirked.

“Asia, your boyfriend is staring.”

Asia went bright red so fast it was almost impressive. “B-B-B-Boyfriend!?”

I nearly choked.

Kusari-san, seated beside her, paused with her chopsticks halfway to her mouth and looked at Kiryuu with an expression that was flat and done with whatever she was starting.

Kiryuu ignored both of us.

“What?” she asked. “You two are always together. You get along. You live in the same house. It’s suspicious.”

“We are not suspicious!”

Asia made a distressed sound. “K-Kiryuu-san…”

Kiryuu leaned toward her, grinning like a devil who had found a weaker devil to bully. “By the way, have you tried bathing together yet?”

“Kiryuu!”

Asia slapped both hands over Kiryuu’s mouth before she could say anything worse.

The corner of Kusari-san’s mouth lifted as if she was going to smile for a moment before she schooled her expression.

“Asia-san, didn’t you tell me that you and Issei-san had already showered together before we went on our trip with the club?”

“K-Kusari-san! Y-Y-You don’t need to mention that!”

Asia jumped from Kiryuu to Kusari-san while trying to cover her mouth instead.

Kusari-san’s expression was calm but I could tell she was enjoying this. 

“He what?!” “Traitor!”

Motohama and Matsuda were apparently still here.

I gave them an annoyed look to shut them up before turning back to the conversation. 

Kiryuu looked delighted to hear that.

“Oh so you did listen to my advice Asia. Good for you!”

“Stop trying to put weird thoughts into Asia’s head! She’s too innocent to be thinking about things like that!”

I pointed at Kiryuu as I spoke.

“Really? Because she was asking for advice on how to-“

“Kiryuu-sannn! Please stop!”

Asia bolted back over to Kiryuu and covered her mouth again.

Her face was the brightest red I’d ever seen it.

Her eyes looked close to tears as she frantically whispered to Kiryuu.

I’m curious about what they’re talking about and why Asia is so embarrassed.

I know she grew up sheltered but this seems like a big reaction.

Kusari-san looked from the where Asia and Kiryuu were talking over to me.

She gave me a dull look that made me feel like she was judging me or insulting me in her head for some reason.

It’s not like it’s uncommon for that to happen so I’ll just going to ignore it.

I got up before Kiryuu could ruin my life even more.

“Anyway,” I said, grabbing my lunch. “Buchou told us to come to the clubroom at lunch. Asia, Kusari-san, let’s go.”

Asia turned at once, still flustered.

Kusari rose more quietly.

Kiryuu pulled Asia’s hands off her mouth and adjusted her glasses. “What a shame. I was educating her.”

“You are corrupting her,” I said.

“Same thing.”

“It is not the same thing!”

Kusari-san picked up her lunch things and looked at Kiryuu. “You seem pleased with yourself.”

“I am, but don’t act so innocent. You helped with that. ” Kiryuu said cheerfully.

Kusari-san slowly blinked while keeping an expressionless face.

“I don’t know what you mean. I was only bringing up something relevant to the conversation.”

Kiryuu smiled wider “Sure you were.” Then she turned to Asia. “We’ll continue later.”

Asia squeaked.

I pointed at Kiryuu. “No you won’t.”

Kiryuu smiled sweetly. “You can’t stop the progress of knowledge, Hyoudou-kun.”

I hated how little I could argue with that without sounding stupid.

Murayama and Katase, who had clearly been listening from nearby, looked delighted at my suffering.

Matsuda and Motohama looked betrayed from what they heard and that I was leaving them for the company of girls again.

As we headed for the clubroom, I glanced at Kusari-san. 

She met my eyes for only a second before looking away again.

But there was something there.

Not just amusement exactly.

Not quite.

Maybe it was also the quiet satisfaction of someone watching me suffer and deciding I deserved some more of it.

Rude.

When we entered the clubroom, everyone else was already there.

Well, not just everyone else.

I stopped in the doorway.

“Student Council President…”

Souna Shitori was seated on the sofa like she had every right to be there.

Which, okay, maybe she did.

She was the Student Council President, terrifyingly beautiful, notoriously strict, and had that cold and distant atmosphere around her that made people move out of her way in the hall without understanding why.

Beside her stood a guy from the Student Council.

Same year as me.

Dark hair. Smug expressionThe kind of face that looked like it would pick a fight first and ask your name later.

He was the newly joined member of the student council. I think he is their secretary or something….

He looked at me, then snorted.

“Oh, so you really didn’t tell Hyoudou about us, Rias-senpai?”

Souna-senpai answered him calmly. “Saji, it can’t be helped. Under normal circumstances we aren’t meant to interact like this. Hyoudou-kun’s reaction is appropriate.”

Rias-Buchou nodded from her seat, perfectly composed. “I intended to tell him soon. Circumstances moved faster.”

I blinked. “Us?”

Saji looked at me like I had just asked something offensively obvious.

“The school stays peaceful during the day because Kaichou and the Sitri peerage handle things,” he said. “The Gremory side watches over the school at night. That’s how it works.”

“Sounds Shotori-Kaichou’s real name is Sona Sitri of the Sitri noble house. She is the next head as well.”

Akeno-san chimed in to help clarify. 

My jaw loosened a little.

So it wasn’t just us.

There were more Devils in Kuoh. More peerages. More pieces moving around school than I had realized.

“Sona is a close friend of mine. She treats her peerage well and will treat mine the same, as long as you don’t break any of the student council’s rules.”

Buchou chimed in while glancing at Kusari-san.

She had been watching Kaichou closely since we arrived in the club room.

Tension in her stance loosened slightly at Buchou’s words.

I hadn’t noticed that she was so on guard.

Saji jerked a thumb at himself. “The school is kept safe during the day due to the Sitri peerage, you know? I’m Saji Genshirou, a second year. I’m Kaichou’s [Pawn].”

That made me straighten immediately. “Seriously? Same year as me and also a [Pawn]?”

For one glorious second, I thought maybe I had found someone who’d get it.

Then he made a face.

“Actually, it makes me disappointed,” he said, “for one of the school’s three biggest perverts to be the same piece as me.”

My hope died instantly.

“W-What did you say!?”

“Oh?” Saji stepped forward half a pace. “You want to make something of it? Even if I look like this, I used four [Pawn] pieces. I’m not losing to some newbie brute.”

Before I could answer, Kaichou cut in.

“Saji.”

That one word had enough force behind it that he shut up immediately.

Kaichou looked at him with the kind of calm expression that somehow felt stricter than shouting.

“I did not bring you here to start a fight the moment we entered the room,” she said. “I brought you here to meet Rias’s servants properly.”

Saji clicked his tongue, but only barely. “Sorry, Kaichou. But you said Hyoudou was a [Pawn] like me. I wanted to see him for myself.”

That made me blink.

“You told him about me?”

“Of course, I told him about all of Rias’s new servants.” Souna-senpai said. “There are very few reincarnated Devils at Kuoh Academy. So whenever Rias or I add a new piece to our peerage it’s a big deal.”

She folded her hands neatly in front of her and continued in the same calm, clear voice.

“Saji is my [Pawn]. He used four [Pawn] pieces.”

Saji jerked a thumb at himself. “Which means I’m pretty impressive, in case that idiotic look on your face means you don’t understand.”

“Idiot?” I shot back. “Who’re you calling a idiot?”

He ignored me and looked openly smug for about half a second.

Then Kaichou went on.

“Hyoudou-kun required five [Pawn] pieces.”

That shut both of us up.

Saji’s face changed instantly.

“What?”

Kaichou gave a small nod. “Hyoudou-san required 5 pawn pieces to become a devil.” She paused, “Also, he is the one who defeated Riser Phenex.”

Saji gapped.

The room felt very still for a beat.

Akeno-san’s smile deepened.

Kusari-san continued to quietly watch Kaichou. 

Buchou looked faintly pleased.

Koneko-chan stayed expressionless, though I knew she was enjoying this at least a little.

Yuuto-san watched quietly.

Asia looked from Kaichou to me with wide eyes, like she was hearing it all over again and still couldn’t quite get used to it.

Saji looked back at me, then at Kaichou, then back at me.

“Five?” he repeated. “Seriously? And he defeated the Phoenix?”

“Phenex…” I muttered

Before I could decide whether that was flattering or insulting, Kaichou added, “Kusari-san required three [Pawn] pieces.”

Saji turned to our peerage so fast it was almost funny.

“Another high cost pawn?”

Kusari-san, standing near Koneko-chan and Yuuto-san, met his stare without changing expression. “That seems to be the case.”

He looked between the two of us again.

“You’re kidding me.”

“No,” Kaichou said. “I am not.”

He scratched the side of his face and let out a breath through his nose. “So Kaichou brought me here to meet the newer members of the Gremory peerage, and two of them are already that expensive.”

Kaichou inclined her head once. “Exactly.”

Then her eyes shifted to Asia.

“And Argento-san is a [Bishop] as well. I thought it better that you know Rias’s current peerage properly.”

Asia sat up a little straighter at that and bowed her head politely. “Please take care of me.”

Saji looked at her, and the shock on his face vanished so fast it was honestly impressive.

“If it’s Asia-san,” he said at once, brightening, “then I’m happy!”

I saw it coming a second before he moved.

He reached for her hand.

I slapped his arm away.

“Hahaha!” I said with the biggest smile I could manage. “Saji-kun! Let’s be friends! And if you touch Asia, I’ll kill you!”

He grinned right back and seized my hand instead, squeezing hard.

“Yes, yes, let’s get along, Hyoudou-kun! You hogging a blonde bishoujo like that really is a crime. You really are a brute! I hope lightning strikes you on the way home!”

We crushed each other’s hands and smiled like enemies pretending to be civil.

It probably looked insane.

Across the room, Akeno-san sighed into her tea.

Buchou did too.

And then Saji’s eyes slid past me.

To Kusari-san.

He paused.

That pause was small.

Kusari-san had not done anything. She was just standing there in her school uniform, silver-white hair neat, expression guarded, her whole presence distant and calm. 

Saji noticed.

Of course he did.

His grin shifted. “It’s wonderful to meet you as well Kusari-san. We [Pawns] really should stick together.”

Koneko-chan’s eyes narrowed a fraction.

Yuuto-san’s posture changed so slightly most people would have missed it.

Akeno-san’s smile got prettier, which was never a safe sign.

Buchou answered before anyone else could. “Kusari-san is the newest member of my peerage.”

Saji repeated it once under his breath, then looked openly interested. “I didn’t hear there was another beauty over here too.”

Kusari-san’s face did not change. “I’m glad that it seems that I am not openly talked about.”

Akeno-san laughed softly.

Saji seemed delighted instead of discouraged.

He let go of my hand and, unlike with Asia, stopped short of reaching for Kusari-san.

Good choice.

Maybe his survival instinct wasn’t completely absent after all.

“Well then, Kusari-san,” he said with bold cheer, “please take care of me too. If you need anything just let me know.”

Kusari-san looked at him for one long second.

Then she gave the smallest, most polite nod possible. “I will remember that you said so.”

That answer went right over his head.

I bit back a grin.

Saji, the idiot, only looked more interested.

“Oh, that’s dangerous,” Akeno-san murmured.

Buchou hid a smile behind her teacup.

Koneko-chan looked irritated in that very quiet way of hers.

Asia, too kind for the room she was in, simply seemed relieved that Saji had not started another shouting match.

Kaichou’s eyes moved from Saji to Kusari-san and back again, reading more than she commented on.

Then she set her teacup down.

“That is enough.”

Saji straightened at once. “Yes, Kaichou.”

Kaichou looked at all of us, but especially at me, Asia, Kusari-san and Saji.

“I love this school,” she said quietly. “I will not forgive anyone—human or Devil—who ruins its peace. That applies to all of you.”

The air changed.

Not cold. Clear.

I understood immediately what she meant. Buchou’s peerage, the Sitri peerage, me, Kusari-san, Asia, Saji—new Devils or not, none of us got to do whatever we wanted just because we were supernatural.

Kuoh Academy mattered.

To her, that was law.

“Yes,” I said.

Asia nodded at once.

Saji muttered, “Understood.”

Kusari-san said nothing, but I saw the way she watched Souna-senpai.

Careful. Measuring.

She nodded after a short pause.

Souna-senpai rose.

“I believe introductions are sufficient.”

She looked toward Buchou. “Rias, I am looking forward to the Ball Tournament.”

Buchou smiled back. “As am I.”

That smile between them was enough to tell me there was more history there than I understood.

Kaichou turned and headed for the door.

Saji followed—then glanced back once.

At Asia.

Then at Kusari-san.

Then at me.

I pointed at him immediately. “I saw that.”

He smirked. “You really are a brute.”

“And you’re dead if you try to touch either of them.”

“Scary.”

But he was still grinning when he left.

The moment the door closed behind the Student Council, the clubroom atmosphere loosened all at once.

Buchou set her teacup down. “Ise, Asia, Kusari-san. Since we share this school with the Sitri peerage, try to get along with them. Do not start pointless fights.”

“Yes!” Asia said immediately.

“Yes Rias-Buchou.” Kusari-san calmly replied.

I folded my arms. “If Saji starts it—”

“He will not finish it,” Akeno-san said sweetly.

That shut me up.

Yuuto-san exhaled softly, some of the distraction from yesterday still lingering around her, but less than during baseball practice.

Koneko-chan looked toward the door Saji had used and clicked her tongue once.

Kusari-san stood exactly where she had before, but when I glanced at her, she looked faintly dissatisfied.

“With him?” I asked.

She met my eyes.

“His manner is grating,” she said.

I laughed before I could stop myself.

“That’s true.”

Akeno-san smiled. “You only dislike his manners?”

Kusari-san paused just long enough to make it obvious she had noticed the question.

Then she said, “Among other things.”

That got a real laugh out of Buchou.

Asia looked confused.

Koneko-chan seemed slightly more satisfied.

And for the first time since we entered the room, Yuuto-san smiled without that distant shadow sitting behind it.

That was enough to lift something in me too.

Maybe the Ball Tournament would be stupid.

Maybe it would be exhausting.

Maybe Saji was going to keep being a pain in my ass.

Let it all come.

The clubroom felt alive.

Warm.

Frustrating.

Beautiful.

Ours.

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