Issei
“Get ready everyone, we are leaving.”
Buchou’s voice made the whole clubroom straighten up at once.
It was finally time
Tonight was the summit.
The conference between the Three Great Powers.
Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels all sitting in one room to talk about whether they could stop making the world worse for each other.
Just saying that should have sounded impossible.
Instead, by the time evening really settled in, it mostly felt terrifying.
Something could either go horribly wrong or surprisingly well at this meeting.
Everyone from the Occult Research Club had gathered.
The air in the room was strange.
It was quiet, tense, and more solemn than usual somehow, like nobody wanted to be the first one to act too much like themselves before something this important.
And there was still an odd tension over the group that I didn’t understand.
The girls would occasionally look at Kusari and Buchou with different gazes than normal.
Buchou and Kusari seemed better than before, but there was still some distance between them that wasn’t there before.
Thankfully both Gasper and Akeno-san were as out of the loop as I was about it.
We got ready in a calm quiet.
Gasper then ruined that immediately.
“B-Buchou! I-I’m sorry I can’t go! I’m such failure!”
The cardboard box in the clubroom shook.
That was because Gasper was still inside it.
Buchou went to the box and crouched slightly, speaking more gently than she had spoken to the rest of us.
“You’re not a failure, Gasper. This conference is one of the most important things to happen since the Great War. Since you’re still practicing to control your powers you’ll need to stay behind.”
That was fair
If Gasper froze Michael-san, Sirzechs-sama, Azazel, and who-knew-how-many other powerful figures in the middle of an already unstable peace conference, the world might literally end because our [Bishop] panicked.
Still, Gasper sounded crushed.
“...Y-Yes, Buchou...”
I stepped forward and tried to sound like the cool senior I absolutely was.
“Don’t worry, Gasper. You’ve got the clubroom to yourself. I left my handheld game console here, and there are snacks for you too. I even left the paper bag, so if you feel like you need to wear it, it’s here.”
“Y-Yes, thank you Ise-senpai!”
It was perfect upperclassman support.
Yuuto-san smiled slightly at me from nearby.
“That was kind of you, Ise-kun.”
I folded my arms and puffed out my chest.
“Of course I am. I need to take care of my Kouhai. Also, he’s the only other male in the peerage. I need to make sure that he’ll be ready to stand up for us later.”
That was half confidence and half bluff.
The truth was, I was still worried about Gasper.
Training had helped.
Being around us had helped a little too
Kusari-san was a huge help for him coming out of his shell.
But he was still a scared hikikomori with a time-stopping Sacred Gear and years of damage wrapped around him.
I didn’t know how fast any of that could really change.
Still, tonight I had to leave him behind.
That bothered me more than I wanted to admit.
Buchou stood again and led us out of the clubroom.
Kusari-san was near the back of the group at first, walking quietly.
Then, the moment we entered the new school building and the pressure in the air started getting heavier, I noticed her change.
It was as subtle and immediate as it always was when it happened.
Her posture went tighter.
Her face flattened.
Her eyes became slightly downturned like she was preparing to not make eye contact with anyone of importance.
She looked less like the Kusari-san who had been helping Gasper this morning and more like the Kusari-san from when she first joined us.
Someone who acted too carefully, too obediently, and was far too hard to read.
And because I wasn’t an idiot all the time, I noticed why.
Sirzechs-sama was here.
So was Azazel.
Or maybe even just the fact that we were walking into a room that held enough powerful people for her to act that way.
That made something in my stomach twist again.
I wanted to say something to her.
I didn't know if I could now though.
Not when the whole school was wrapped in barrier after barrier and military forces from three factions were standing outside like we were all walking into somewhere where a war could break out at any moment.
Yuuto-san noticed it too, I think.
Her gaze flicked once toward Kusari-san, then away.
Koneko-chan definitely noticed.
She didn’t show anything on her face, but she moved just a little nearer to Kusari-san’s side.
We walked through the quiet hallways toward the staff meeting room in the new building.
The whole school had been sealed off.
No one could enter and no one could leave until the meeting ended.
Outside the barrier, troops from the Angels, Fallen Angels, and Devils had the grounds surrounded.
The atmosphere was so tense it almost didn’t feel like Kuoh anymore.
Yuuto-san said quietly, “If by any chance something happens in tonight’s conference and it breaks down, this place may become a battlefield.”
Hopefully she didn’t just curse us with that comment.
Buchou knocked.
“Excuse us.”
Then she opened it.
The room was exactly the kind of place where you immediately felt small, unimportant, and underdressed even if you technically weren’t.
A huge, imposing table.
Heavy atmosphere.
Everyone major figure seated.
The kind of silence that made even breathing feel rude.
From the Devil side there was Sirzechs-sama and Serafall Leviathan-sama, with Grayfia-san standing by the tea cart like the most beautiful and terrifying waitress in existence.
I wondered if her desire to be a maid extended to being a waitress.
I feel like I should never ask.
From the Angel side there was Michael-san and a beautiful Angel I didn’t know with normal white Angel feathers.
From the Fallen Angel side there was Azazel in full formal black robes and Vali.
Just seeing Vali made my nerves jump.
It wasn’t enough to make me lose composure, but I definitely became more tense.
Azazel noticed too, because he smirked at me immediately like he thought this was funny.
Sirzechs-sama introduced us.
“My younger sister and her peerage she calls family.”
Buchou bowed.
That was when it happened.
Serafall-sama’s eyes landed on Kusari.
At first it looked like simple recognition again—the same way she’d looked at her before.
Then her whole face lit up at the same time Sirzechs-sama went to continue.
“They were-”
“Oh!”
The whole room paused.
Serafall-sama leaned forward in her chair excitedly and pointed directly at Kusari.
“I remember now☆!”
No one moved.
She sounded excited in a room that should have been too tense and quiet for it.
Sirzechs-sama looked unconcerned with her interruption and leaned back on his chair while watching with a smile.
Serafall-sama kept pointing.
“You!” she said. “That’s why it was bothering me! You’re Shiramine Yuki☆! The Fox of Ill Omen!”
Everything seemed to stop
All eyes were on one person.
Kusari—Yuki?—had looked up from her lowered gaze sharply at Serafall-sama’s words.
“You’re that Kitsune girl that idiot from the Raim family took as a servant and then he killed almost a whole Youkai village afterwards!”
Her expression changed from excited to frustrated as she pouted in such a cute way that it had to have been practiced.
“Do you know how difficult of a situation that was for me! I mean I get it’s his family’s thing to destroy cities, but come on! Mouuuu! I’m the Maou in charge of diplomatic relations so I had to clean up that whole mess!” She sighed quietly. “But thankfully the house Raim is viewed as extinct, so it didn’t become a bigger incident with the Youkai faction than it already was☆.”
Then Azazel chuckled before speaking as well.
“I’d crossed paths with him enough to know that Orutho was truly a difficult person. I read the reports from that incident and I’m not exactly surprised at what happened. Though I doubt it really was done at the request of his newly acquired servant.”
For one split second I saw real irritation cut through the blankness on her face.
Annoyance sharp enough to make her look like she wanted to throw both Azazel and Serafall-sama out the nearest window despite the political consequences it would have.
The look only lasted a second before she schooled her expression.
She looked somehow even more closed off than before.
My brain got stuck on two separate things.
Shiramine Yuki.
Fox of Ill Omen.
It must be her real name and the title Azazel was referring to.
Her name wasn’t originally Kusari.
Yuki seemed to fit her more.
I was still staring at her without meaning to.
So was everyone else.
Buchou’s eyes widened, but only for a second.
Then something in her expression changed into a tension I couldn’t fully read.
Akeno-san’s brows lifted.
Yuuto-san was looking between Kusari-san and Buchou .
Asia looked startled and worried at the same time.
Xenovia looked like this only confirmed that she was right that there was more to the name Azazel told us.
Koneko-chan’s took a small step closer to her.
And Kusari—
Yuki-san looked at Serafall-sama, then at the rest of us, and said in a voice so quiet and controlled it almost barely there.
“Later.”
That was all.
She didn’t try to explain or deny it.
Even Serafall-sama seemed to realize she had detonated something in the middle of a diplomatic meeting and probably should not keep tugging at it.
“My bad☆,” Serafall said, though she didn’t sound especially sorry. “It was bothering me and then I remembered it all at once.”
Sirzechs-sama’s expression didn’t change much, but I got the feeling he was not pleased by the interruption.
Michael-san, to his credit, let it pass with surprising grace.
He only gave her a concerned look.
Azazel looked delighted.
Of course he did.
Because he was a bastard.
Sirzechs-sama started again.
“They were involved during Kokabiel’s attack.”
Azazel rubbed the back of his head.
“Yeah sorry about that. We should have paid more attention to him to make sure he didn’t cause trouble.”
He didn’t look sorry at all.
“I read the report of their actions and cooperation with our agents. Thank you all for what you did.”
Buchou recovered first.
She bowed again as if nothing had happened and accepted Michael-san’s thanks with perfect composure
Then Sirzechs-sama motioned for us to take the seats along the wall.
As Grayfia-san urged us into place we saw that Sona-Kaichou was already seated there.
Buchou sat beside Kaichou and pulled me into the seat next to her. After that came Akeno-san, Yuuto, Asia, Xenovia, Koneko-chan, and lastly…
I’m going to keep calling her Kusari-san until we get to talk.
It felt strange even thinking of her with another name.
“Now that everyone has arrived, I’ll start with the basics of this meeting. Everyone here is aware of the death of God and is aware of the impact it could have if the truth was learned by the masses.” Sirzechs-sama said.
I looked at Kaichou.
She didn’t react at all to what was just said.
It seems that she was informed of God’s absence as well.
Sirzechs-sama looked around the room before continuing.
“With that covered, we can get to the actual discussion.”
I tried to listen.
I really did.
But it was too complicated for me to follow and my mind kept wandering.
Kusari-san was Shiramine Yuki.
The Fox of Ill Omen title had come from before she was reincarnated as a devil.
She had told Gasper that the people in her village had treated her like a monster.
Serafall-sama knew of her due to her village being destroyed by her first [King].
Azazel knew Orutho Raim personally and acted like it was assumed that Kusari-san had asked him to destroy her village.
But he said that he didn’t believe that story.
Kusari-san wasn’t the type of person to do that.
I know she’s not.
How many powerful people knew things about her that we didn’t?
How many people in the peerage knew and I didn’t?
I knew it was a selfish thought, but I couldn’t help but have it.
But judging by everyone’s faces, this was news for all of us.
It did make me feel a little better that this wasn’t something I had been left out of.
But it also reminded me that there was so much about Kusari-san that we didn’t know.
The meeting kept going around me as I thought.
Michael-san spoke.
Sirzechs-sama replied.
Azazel tossed out the kind of remarks that made the everyone stare at him now and then because no one was ever quite sure whether he was joking.
I understood maybe half of the discussion.
The rest sounded like politics and faction terminology and the kind of discussion you needed years of study to comprehend.
So, naturally, my eyes drifted toward Buchou’s chest.
I was stressed out.
They looked big and soft and inviting.
I felt relaxed immediately.
That was when Buchou, without looking at me, took my hand.
Her fingers were trembling slightly.
I looked up and realized she had seen me staring at her breasts.
She gave me a forced smile before looking back at the meeting.
My brain reluctantly put itself back in order and I clasped her hand back.
Then Akeno-san leaned just enough to murmur to us.
“Ara, ara, the two of you are being very cute in the middle of such an important meeting.”
I nervously looked around to make sure no one heard her.
Buchou quietly replied without looking to her.
“Ise is just supporting me. His presence is giving me strength.”
I smiled at her when she said it.
Then I looked past her to Kusari-san.
She sat perfectly still.
Closed off the same way she had been on the walk here.
But now it was worse.
I could see the strain in her hands as she held them together in her lap to keep them in place.
She was looking at the floor, and I don’t know if she had looked away from the spot she was staring at since the meeting had actually started.
Sirzechs-sama’s presence hadn’t eased at all.
If anything, Serafall’s interruption had only given her more reason to lock herself down.
Then Sirzechs-sama called out to Buchou.
“Rias, would you be able to give a report on the events from your part in the incident with Kokabiel.”
“Yes, Lucifer-sama.”
Buchou stood with Sona-Kaichou and Akeno-san and delivered the summary in a calm voice, even though I could see how tense she was.
This could be one the most important moments of her life.
And even though she was Buchou, we were all just high school students.
“-that is all that I, Rias Gremory, and my household of Devils have to report.” Buchou said.
“Thank you, Rias.” Sirzechs-sama said while smiling.
“Good job, Rias-chan☆.” Serafall-sama said while winking.
Her hands were still shaking a little afterward when she sat back down.
Then Sirzechs-sama turned to Azazel.
“Now then, Azazel. After hearing that report, I think we should hear the opinion of the Governor of the Fallen Angels.”
Everyone looked at him.
Azazel smiled like he’d been waiting for exactly that.
“The first thing I would like to share is that Kokabiel, a leader of the Grigori, acted independently during this incident. He was captured by the Hakuryuu, Vali, and was punished by being frozen in Cocytus. He will be kept there indefinitely. I believe what I have said, as well as more was in the report that was sent to each of you. That is all.”
Michael-san sighed.
“While it is truly worrying that a member of the Grigori leadership acted this way, is it true that you personally have no interest in causing more conflict like Kokabiel had?”
“Oh, I have no interest in starting another war. Kokabiel also wanted to dispose of me as well. Didn’t you read my report?” Azazel asked.
Michael-san looked slightly irritated at Azazel’s flippant tone.
“Azazel, I think we all need to understand something. Why have you been gathering owners of Sacred Gears under you? We first thought you were gathering humans to bolster your numbers or to attempt something similar to our Evil Piece system. Our side was worried that you were preparing for another war.”
Sirzechs-sama said.
Michael-san joined in.
“We in Heaven thought the same. However, some time has passed and you still have done nothing. Then you obtained the Vanishing Dragon and we became wary once again.”
Azazel smiled bitterly.
“It’s for the sake of Sacred Gear research. I really have no interest in war. I only want to be left to my research of Sacred Gears. If it helps I could send over some of my research notes? I am content with the current state of the world and my subordinates have been ordered not to interfere in the structure of the human world. Why does it seem like the trust in my faction is the least of all of the Three Factions?”
“Because it is.”
“Experience.”
“You’re no good☆.”
Sirzechs-sama, Michael-san, and Serafall-sama all agreed on the untrustworthiness of Azazel and the Grigori.
Azazel clicked his tongue and spoke, almost casually.
“Che. You’re just as bad as God and the previous Maou. It’s not like you're all any less suspicious. I know what should work. Let’s make peace. That’s what we all want anyways, right?”
He spread his arms slightly as he made his declaration
It was silent for a beat.
Peace?
From him?
Buchou beside me held her breath.
Even Sona-Kaichou looked genuinely shocked.
This was huge.
If our faction and Heaven agreed there would finally be peace between the Three Factions.
This would be a turning point in history of our kind.
And I was about to see how it turned out.
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