Issei
“Asia-chan, Otou-san and I will be at your class later!.”
My mother was absurdly energetic for the first thing in the morning.
“Oh, you too Ise.”
It was classroom-visit day, and if you asked her, you’d think the main event wasn’t me attending my own school, but Asia existing in a classroom where my parents could proudly look at her.
Dad had even taken a paid day off for this. I was pretty sure half his motivation was “Our sweet Asia-chan is going to be visible in public.”
To be fair, I understood him.
Asia, for her part, was glowing.
“Yes!” she said with a huge smile.
I, on the other hand, was being ignored.
“…..Yeah mom.”
It really was her first time experiencing something like this.
Not just a school event, but one that is open and oddly lively.
It included parents, middle school students considering where they’d go next, teachers acting stricter than usual, everyone a little more nervous because they didn’t want to embarrass themselves in front of visitors.
Honestly, I was nervous too.
Not because of my parents.
Because of everything else in my life.
But if Asia was happy, then that already made the morning better.
Buchou parted from us near the entrance after making it extremely clear she had no interest in being watched by her family in class.
I sympathized with that from the bottom of my heart.
If two crimson-haired noble Devils walked into your classroom to observe you, it was definitely going to become a story everyone remembered forever.
Plus things were still kinda strained between Buchou and Sirzechs-sama.
It had been noticeable that Buchou was not happy with him when he was staying at my house and I don’t think they’d patched things up since then.
Asia and I headed to class.
The second I sat down, Matsuda and Motohama were on me.
“So, are your parents coming, Ise?”
“Yeah,” I said. “But I don’t know if they’ll even notice I’m here. They’re really excited to come see Asia.”
Matsuda nodded very seriously. “That makes sense.”
“Totally,” Motohama agreed. “If Asia-chan were my daughter, I’d do anything to make sure I could come too.”
“Asia couldn't be your daughter, she’s far too pretty,” Kiryuu said from nearby.
“What does that mean?!” Motohama cried out.
That was fair.
Asia took her seat with a little smile and folded her hands on the desk. “I’ve never experienced something like this. I’m so excited!”
That made me grin.
She was too precious.
Then Xenovia appeared at our desks.
She’d only been a student for a few days, but somehow she already gave off the air of someone who belonged exactly where she was and looked ready to challenge to anyone who said otherwise
She looked slightly off..
“Is something wrong, Xenovia?” I asked.
She lowered her head.
“I’m sorry for what I did the other day. Asking something like that of you so suddenly wasn’t right of me.”
Ah.
That.
The equipment room. Wanting my baby.
Buchou walking in and my life nearly ending.
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Yeah, well, it was kind of sudden.”
“That was my conclusion as well,” she said. “I reflected on it and realized that I was only thinking of myself at the time.
Reflection was good.
Healthy.
Promising.
“I learned that sort of thing too suddenly isn’t the way to go about it. That’s why—”
Xenovia reached into her pocket.
Immediately, every bad instinct in my body activated at once.
The thing she pulled out came in a small packet.
“First, we should practice using this.”
She held up a condom.
No.
No no no no no.
Not here.
Not now.
Not in the middle of class on classroom-visit day!
The entire classroom had been watching the new girl talk to one of the resident perverts.
Every eye in the room locked into the condoms in Xenovia’s hands.
“Y-You— You idiot! Why would you take that out in front of everyone!?” I yelled.
The whole class started to murmur.
Some guys glared at me.
A few girls whispered loudly and pointed at the pack of condoms.
I wasn’t even embarrassed anymore.
I had gone beyond embarrassment and was instead both angry, panicked, and confused on how Xenovia thought this was in any way acceptable..
All eyes in the classroom had turned on us.
Actually, not just on us.
On me.
On Xenovia.
On Asia.
And even though she wasn’t next to us at the moment, Kusari-san too too.
Xenovia immediately continued speaking like she had not just triggered a social disaster.
“Where I grew up there was some argument over using them at all.” Xenovia said with complete seriousness, “but if we follow Japanese customs then there is no issue using them. It’s actually encouraged.”
“That doesn’t matter!” I hissed. “The time and place is what matters!”
Asia was already red and looked like she wished her desk would open and swallow her whole.
Kusari-san was seated at her desk, it was away from us, but still close enough to be stared at like she was a part of this by proxy.
She had gone very still under all the attention.
She had a somewhat similar reputation as Asai and Xenovia in the school as a sheltered transfer student.
Like Asia and Xenovia they all would occasionally not get things that should be common sense to the rest of us. Kusari-san was better about it that Asia and much better than Xenovia.
But she still got confused at normal things sometimes.
That reputation was about to cause catastrophic damage with Xenovia’s stunt.
Xenovia turned toward Asia first and, incredibly, offered her one.
“This would be good for you as well, Asia. You’ll be able to practice intercourse with Issei and won’t have to worry about anything coming of it until you're ready. I’ve had to learn a lot as relationships between men and women are complex.”
“Then she looked toward Kusari.
“And Kusari too. You can use it on yourself.”
I felt my soul leave my body.
It actually got worse.
The classroom did not improve.
Actually, the room got quieter in the worst possible way, because everyone had just realized Xenovia was now including Kusari-san in whatever nightmare logic this was.
Kusari-san wasn’t as popular in the student body as the other girls in the club yet, but she was still popular as the cold and mysterious beauty of the second year.
And now Xenovia was offering her a condom in the middle of class.
Kiryuu's glasses practically flashed.
Murayama-san and Katase-san, who had clearly already classified me, Matsuda, and Motohama as perverts and only barely tolerated me compared to openly disliking the other two, both turned sharply toward Kusari with expressions that said, Please tell us he has not somehow corrupted another girl.
Then one of the boys in the back asked the obvious question.
“Wait, why did you say Kusari-san can use it on herself?”
It’s fine.
Xenovia will know better than to tell the truth.
Xenovia answered instantly.
“Because unlike Asia and I, she has a p—”
“XENOVIA!” I shouted.
At the exact same time, Asia made a strangled little noise and lunged forward halfway out of her seat.
“N-No!”
Kusari-san had moved too, one hand over Xenovia’s mouth before the sentence could finish.
The entire class stared.
Xenovia blinked.
Then frowned a little from under Kusari-san’s hand, like she didn’t understand why all of us were objecting to bringing it up.
Asia was red all the way to her ears.
I was pretty sure I’d left my body.
Kusari-san removed her hand very carefully and said, with perfect calm, “She was going to say ‘partner.’”
Xenovia looked at her.
Then at me.
Then at Asia.
And, to her credit, seemed to realize on some deep instinctive level that continuing was a mistake.
“Yes,” she said. “She has a partner.”
Kiryuu leaned on her desk and grinned like a devil. “So, who’s the lucky guy and why hasn’t it been mentioned before?”
Damn it, Kiryuu.
Asia responded before I could.
“H-He’s from her previous school!” she blurted. “K-Kusari-san had been dating him at her l-last high school and Xenovai just learned about it the other day! That’s why she was offering it to her!”
That actually wasn’t bad.
Asia was a genius.
Then Matsuda ruined it.
“Wait, had been dating him? So are they dating or not?! This is important! Who is he?”
Traitor.
Idiot.
Why did he have to point it out.
Kusari’s eyes cut toward him with enough cool force that he actually shrank back a little.
Then she said, very evenly, “Because Xenovia-senpai does not understand nuance. It was before I moved here and it didn’t end well.”
The part about Xenovia not understanding things was true.
The lie about Kusari-san breaking up badly with her fake boyfriend was quick thinking.
Kiryuu, arms folded, looked between Asia, Xenovia, and Kusari. “Well I’m sorry to hear that, but you three really are weirdly sheltered.”
Murayama nodded. “Yeah, like sheltered exchange students who were raised in a bunker or something.”
“That’s not completely wrong,” Kusari-san muttered.
Only I heard it.
“I didn’t realize she had just had a bad ending to a relationship. I’m sorry Kusari.” Xenovia said bowing slightly to her.
I relaxed slightly now that we had dodged a bullet.
“However they can still be useful so you should take one.” Xenovia continues.
Kiryuu gave Xenovia a questioning look.
“She just said she’s not in a relationship anymore. Plus I don’t think she hangs out with any guys besides Hyoudou.”
She turned to me with a sharp grin.
“So you’re going to sleep with Xenovia before Asia and now you’re going after Kusari too? Asia sure has it rough.”
Asia squeaked in embarrassment.
“Kiryuu-san! Please stop talking! It’s not like that!”
“I would not mind if that happened. I can share and Asia and Kusari seem like good friends so far.” Xenovia added fuel to the fire yet again.
Kusari stared at her in disbelief.
“That is not what is happening at all. No one is ‘going after’ me Xenovia.” She said.
“Why not?”
Xenovia tilted her head in confusion and then looked at me.
“Are you not interested in Kusari then, Issei?” She asked.
I looked around the group quickly.
Xenovia was honestly curious and waiting for an answer.
Asia looked flustered and ready to pout at my answer.
Kiryuu was grinning and waiting for me to dig myself into a hole.
Motohama and Matsuda looked ready to beat me up while complaining about how unfair their single lives were.
Kusari was giving Xenovia an exasperated look.
She noticed me looking and turned with a raised eyebrow and a gaze too tired for this early in the day.
“Well, I…. I mean I’m…. I think a-any guy would be. And I wouldn't say I’m not, I-I guess.” I bumbled out an answer.
And the second the words left my mouth, Buchou’s comment from the other day came slamming back into my head.
I think it is possible that Kusari understood she could turn that entire scene into a lesson for Akeno... while also making certain you noticed her.
I had laughed about it.
Teased Buchou about being jealous.
And now I had just implied I’m interested in Kusari-san and that’s why Xenovia had wanted to give her a condom in class.
That was not a smart thing to admit.
I mean she’s beautiful and has great breasts and long legs and—
I was getting too distracted and staring at her now.
Buchou’s jealous thought that Kusari-san was interested in me was making it hard not to think about her.
Kusari-san had closed her eyes and was rubbing her forehead already.
I felt a pinch on my arm and jumped in surprise.
Asia was pouting and glaring at me with teary eyes.
“See Asia, Hyoudou is a troublesome guy. You already have competition and now he’s looking at even more girls. You need to stop dragging your feet or you’ll lose your chance.” Kiryuu said while giving me an annoying grin.
“W-What should I do Kiryuu-san?!” Asia sounded panicked.
Akia’s smile became more dangerous.
“Even though Kusari is my friend too, I'll support you Asia. So,—”
“Support Asia, I am not involved in this.” Kusari-san chimed in.
Kiryuu didn’t even turn to acknowledge her statement.
“She’s just shy and won't admit it. So, you’ll need to do whatever it takes to compete with all the girls around him. Hmmm… we need to take you shopping for some new clothes, maybe something more revealing and some special underwear. Oh, and have you been drinking milk for your breasts like I told you too?”
Kiryuu started lecturing Asia on something that wouldn’t end well for me, but anytime I went to move or reply Asia pinched me harder.
What happened to my kind and innocent Asia-chan.
“Y-yes I have been. But will it really make them grow like you said? Issei-san likes b-big breasts and I need mine to get bigger.”
“Of course it will, Asia-chan. You know you can trust me to help.”
Kiryuu kept teaching Asia more ridiculous things that were definitely not good for her.
To the side, Motohama and Matsuda both looked like they wanted to murder me.
“Dammit! Asia-chan will be eaten by Issei at this rate!” Matsuda lamented burying his head in his desk.
“This is a troublesome situation. We will have to meet with our comrades and bring together an emergency meeting of the “Asia-chan” committee.” Motohama said while adjusting his glasses.
It was best to ignore the two of them.
Kusari-san came over to my desk where Asia was being educated by Kiryuu and Xenovia was watching them with growing interest.
That was probably a very bad thing.
Kusari-san’s face was composed, but I could tell that if I said something to annoy her then I was dead.
“Xenovia-san, come here. You, Issei-san, and I need to talk for a moment.” She said.
Xenovia blinked before coming over to my desk and the three of us made a small circle to talk.
“Firstly, I am annoyed with both of you for causing a scene first thing in the morning. But I blame Issei-san more,” Kusari-san said.
I opened my mouth to protest but slowly closed it when Kisari-san shot me an unblinking glare.
“Secondly, Xenovia, I know you’re still adjusting to life here, but were you really about to tell our normal classmates about something supernatural?”
I looked at Xenovia as well.
It was one thing to make comments about making babies with me in front of everyone, it was another to put Kusari-san as something non-human.
Xenovia scoffed. “Of course not, everyone in the supernatural world knows not to do that.”
I sighed in relief.
“Oh, okay, that’s good then. But what were you going to say if someone asked?” I asked.
“That Kusari is a hermaphrodite.” Xenovia said confidently.
We had been talking quietly but now Kusari-san and I were silent as we stared at Xenovia.
Kusari-san broke the silence first since Xenovia just stared back at us.
“Xenovia-san, while that is better than telling people what I am, please don’t say that to anyone. I’d rather not have to deal with the rumors and questions.”
“But what will you tell people if you make a child with one of us?”
I choked on air for a moment at that statement.
“That is not something that will happen.” Kusari-san said quickly.
Xenovia looked sceptical but let the topic drop.
We broke apart the small circle we had formed to have that discussion.
Then Kiryuu grabbed my hand.
“H-Hey!”
She stared at my nails over the top of her glasses.
“...They’re trimmed pretty short.”
“So? What does that have to do with anything?”
“It’s suspicious.”
I was too confused by the sudden shift between conversations to reply.
“Men who keep their nails short are the kind that know how to play with women. Longer nails get in the way of groping a girl,” she declared.
There was an immediate reaction to her loud declaration.
Murayama groaned.
Katase muttered, “Pervert.”
Matsuda clutched his head. “Ise, you bastard!”
Motohama looked ready to cry. “Go get a disease or something!”
They’re joining forces to bully me.
I know I’m surrounded by the beautiful girls in the occult research club, but it’s not like I have a girlfriend or anything.
Buchou and Akeno seem to adore me, but it’s more like adoring a pet.
They like to give me attention and tease me, but they end up fighting over me like a toy.
I am just there Servant and Kohai, so it makes some sense.
Koneko-chan and Kusari-san are both hard to read and cold to me at times.
But Buchou thinks that Kusari-san is interested in me….
And Yuuto-san is kind to everyone.
She’s been worrying about me more recently after the events with Excalibur, but she’s more active in the club too so it’s just how she shows her comraderey
Xenovia is more odd and sheltered compared to the others.
She’s more interested in the Sekiryuuti than me.
And Asia is like family.
She’s kind and sweet, and living together has made us closer.
Asia moved, standing up between me and the rest of the class like a tiny shield.
“Everyone, please don’t bully Ise-san! He’s not a bad person so don’t bully him!”
My heart nearly burst.
What a good girl!
“I will believe in Ise-san forever and ever,” she said earnestly.
That only made the room go even stranger.
Kiryuu muttered, “I'm surprised Asai. To make a confession in the middle of that chaos... not bad.”
Asia squeaked.
Then Xenovia, apparently deciding she also needed to help, nodded once and said, “Ise is a very honest person. So him being honest about his sexual desire is a normal outcome.”
Silence.
I hit my forehead against the desk.
“That is not helping!”
That was how the classroom-visit morning started.
Normal.
Perfectly normal.
Kusari
By some miracle, class eventually began without another catastrophe.
Parents and visitors drifted in and out through the back of the class as the teachers tried to pretend this was a respectable academic environment and not a place where a student had pulled out a condom and asked for sex not that long ago.
The next class was English.
As a Devil it was a simple class.
Though the whole event didn’t matter to me as I had no one to visit the classroom.
The only people that mattered to me were in the school normally.
For some reason, the teacher handed out bags of modeling clay.
I took it and looked at the other students.
Everyone else looked confused as well.
“Make anything you’d like,” the teacher said excitedly. “An animal, a person, a house, whatever you can think of right now, try making! That sort of English conversation is also there!”
I had no idea what that meant, but there was no point in protesting.
So I started to mold the clay.
Asia was already kneading the clay.
Issei looked as if this was all alien to him.
Xenovia was somewhat violently rolling out the clay on her desk.
Issei’s parents were present and filming Asia as she worked.
Issei’s mother waved excitedly to Asia, who smiled back at her.
Issei looked annoyed that his parents were ignoring him until he seemed to accept the fact.
I looked down at my own clay.
I wondered if I should make something more personal.
The teacher had said to make whatever we wanted.
I began to mold my clay.
I formed a body, then legs, then a head.
I mindlessly worked on my model until I heard the teacher move to Issei’s desk.
The teacher put a hand on his shoulder.
“Hyoudou-kun...”
I looked to see what Issi had created.
The rest of the class was looking as well.
As the murmurs started I sighed at not realizing that this is exactly what would have happened the moment the teacher said to make what we could imagine.
“Ohhhh!”
“T-That’s Rias-senpai!?”
“Damn you, Ise!”
“No way! He made that from memory!?”
He had made a small, naked figure of Rias.
It was surprisingly good.
Either he was more talented than anyone had realized, or he had seen her naked enough times and was fueled by his lust to create a perfect recreation.
Then the auction started.
“Five thousand!”
“Six!”
“Seven thousand!”
“Eight!”
“I’ll buy it!”
The boys and a few girls began to shout prices over each other.
The teacher looked proud that he had drawn out such talent from one who was normally problem child of a student.
“Damming Issei! How could you be this far ahead of us?!” Matsuda-san cursed.
Motohama-san looked defeated.
“He really is hopeless.” Murayama-san muttered.
Katase-san didn’t even try to hide her disgust.
Kiryuu looked like she had just been handed proof that every suspicion she’d ever had about issei was correct.
Asia looked annoyed at Issei once again.
Then Issei looked over at me.
He had been doing that more often today and the look he had been giving me was off somehow.
He realized that I had caught him staring and looked away immediately.
That was also a bit odd.
I looked back down at the figure I was forming out of my clay and started on the finer details.
The odd looks he has been giving me must have been because of what I did to Akeno at the pool.
I had gone too far.
I had just wanted to tease her back.
Sure it was more than what she done to me, but I had seen her touching Issei while teasing him before.
So it should have been fine.
And for the first bit it was.
I was mostly calm and slightly annoyed but in control.
Until I got too excited and lost in the moment.
It became less about teasing and embarrassing her and more about me touching her and the reactions and noises it got out of her.
I had pushed past what could have been seen as acceptable and Akeno has every right to be furious with me or hate me for doing what I did to her without her approval.
But she had saw how I reacted when I realized that I had gotten too into the moment and started making it something it shouldn’t have been.
Akeno had forgiven me right away and with finality when I tried to tell her it wasn’t alright.
I don’t know if it really was or if she was just trying to stop me from breaking down in front of everyone.
I might have if she hadn’t.
“Are you going to come to lunch, Kusari-san?”
I looked up from my clay figure and realized that most of the class had already left.
Asia and Kiryuu-san were standing by my desk and I hadn’t noticed until Asia had called out to me.
“Wow, you didn’t even notice us. You must have been really focusing on what you made. What is it?” Kiryuu-san asked.
I held up the figure with one hand to show them.
It was a small, five-tailed fox.
Its head was looking to its side with its ears up and alert and its tails grouped behind it.
“Wow Kusari-san! That’s really good! I should have expected that with how patient you are.” Asia said cheerfully.
“Yeah it is really good. Buuuut we the others already left and we need to get going, are you coming to lunch?” Kiryuu-san asked.
I paused for a moment.
“Yes. Go ahead without me. I need to gather my things and I’ll be right behind you.”
“Alright then. Let’s go Asia-chan!”
“Don’t be too long Kusari-san!”
I gave them a small wave as they left and was then alone in the classroom.
I stared at the figure I had made for a long moment.
Eventually I closed my fingers around it and it crumpled in my palm.
When I opened my hand again the small fox had become a distorted thing that barely resembled a fox.
I let out a small huff of amusement.
I left it on my desk as I grabbed my bag and headed to join my friends at lunch.
As I went to close the classroom door I looked at the lump of clay on my desk that was once a fox.
It was less amusing the longer I stared at it.
So I left.
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