Chapter 104 — A Train Full of Trouble

Yuki 

We arrived at the train station on the day we were set to head to the Underworld.

I quietly walked with the group as Issei excitedly talked to Asia about something.

I glanced around at the humans walking through the station.

It was an odd place to put an entrance to the Underworld, but it could have been stranger, so I kept quiet about it.

We arrived at an elevator.

Rias turned to the group.

“Alright. Ise, Asia, Yuki, and Xenovia as my new servants we will be heading down together first. Azazel-sensei will head down after with everyone else.”

Issei looked around in confusion.

“Uh, Buchou, this station doesn’t have any lower floors.” He said.

Rias smiled at him.

“Come on Ise, you’ll see what I mean.”

We moved into the elevator.

“We will see you in a few moments. Make sure everyone is accounted for Akeno.” Rias called out.

“Of course, Buchou.” Akeno replied. 

The doors shut and Rias took a card and pressed it to the elevation buttons.

The elevator began to move downward after the elevator panel let out a chime.

Asia and Issei jumped in surprise but Xenovia only seemed interested.

I was interested in the hidden entrance as well but not shocked like Issei was.

Rias giggled at their reaction.

“There is a secret level beneath the station for us Devils to use.” She said.

“I’ve lived here my whole life and never knew. I’ve used this station plenty of times and never heard about it.” Issei said with awe.

“It’s a secret. It wouldn’t make sense for random humans to know about the Devil's Underworld access point.” I said, giving him a dull look at having to point out the obvious. 

“Yuki is right. There are other hidden locations around town that are only for Devils as well.” Rias said.

The elevator arrived at the lower level and we exited.

We entered another station platform that looked similar to the one above, besides being larger and more grand. 

We looked around for a moment until the rest of the group arrived.

Once they did, Rias gathered our attention again. 

“Alright. We will need to head to platform three for our transportation.” She said.

We walked through hallways until we arrived at a platform with a train waiting.

Rias turned to us.

“This train belongs to my family. We will be riding it to enter the Underworld. We can board right away so let’s go.”

The doors on the train opened with a his as Rias approached.

We followed after her.

Asia and Issei were looking at the train with wonder.

Gasper was hiding behind Issei as we moved.

Xenovia was looking around the room with interest.

Akeno and Yuuto were watching the reaction of everyone.

Azazel was following behind the group with his hands behind his head.

Koneko… she was still acting off.

She normally was quiet, but this was different.

Ever since Rias had mentioned that we were going to the Underworld she had seemed off, and now that we are boarding the train to take there, it’s even more noticeable. 

I wasn’t entirely comfortable with heading to the Underworld either, with Sirzechs-sama bound to appear and other noble Devils being present as well, but I didn’t know what was bothering Koneko so much.

I don’t know enough about her past to know if that was the issue, but I could assume she had a troubled past in the Underworld.

As we arrived in the train I looked around.

The carriage was spacious, the seats upholstered well enough to make the whole thing feel expensive without becoming gaudy.

The windows were broad.

Everything about it suggested comfort purchased by people who wanted to ensure their comfort. 

I kept my worries about Koneko to myself and followed Yuuto to our seat.

Rias had gone to the train car ahead of us to work on paperwork for our arrival and handle tasks required of the next head of her house.

Azazel took a seat at the far end of the train car and leaned back like he was planning on sleeping through the trip.

That had left the rest of us to take the seats together.

As usual, the arrangement settled almost naturally.

Koneko sat beside me by the window.

Across from us sat Yuuto and Gasper.

Across the aisle, Issei sat with Asia, and facing them sat Akeno-senpai and Xenovia.

For a moment after I took my seat, I relaxed and took in the surroundings.

Koneko’s shoulder near mine.

Yuuto across from us, posture straight and easy in the way that made even train seats look elegant.

Gasper-kun beside her, looking nervous enough that he kept glancing from one face to another as though checking whether he had done something wrong. 

Across the aisle, Issei had somehow already managed to look both excited and confused about taking a train to the Underworld.

Asia beside him had that same soft, happy expression she wore whenever she spoke with Issei. 

Then there were Akeno-senpai and Xenovia, which was its own problem.

Akeno-senpai had settled into her seat and glanced at each of us like she was planning who to bother first.

Xenovia, by contrast, was looking around the train car with interest as she listened to Issei and Asia talk. 

I let out a content sigh, folded my hands in my lap for a moment, and looked out the window.

The movement had not yet fully begun.

There was still the small, suspended quiet of waiting to leave.

“Yuki-senpai.”

I turned slightly.

Koneko had not moved much.

She almost never did.

But she shifted slightly closer to me when I turned to her.

“Yes?”

“Are you alright with going to the Underworld? I know that you had bad experiences with your other [Kings] and the last time you were here wasn’t good either.” She said.

Her words reminded me of when Sirzechs had pulled me from my peerage after the loss against Riser Phenex in a Rating Game.

His anger at my failure and his new orders for me along with a threat against the peerage I was going closer to.

I blinked and forced myself back to the present.

“I will be fine Koneko-chan. It will surely dig up some unpleasant memories, but I have all of you with me now. I’m not alone anymore. But more importantly, what about you?”

Koneko shifted slightly and wouldn’t meet my eyes. 

“What do you mean, Yuki-senpai? Nothing is bothering me. I'm worried about you.”

“Koneko-chan. You’ve been acting off since Rias first told us about this trip. I don’t know what about the Underworld is bothering you, but you’re not alone either. Everyone in the peerage is here for you if you need us.”

Koneko looked down at her lap for a moment before looking up at me.

Her face was still expressionless, but her eyes looked uncertain.

“…Would I be able to talk to you about it if I need to?”

I nodded.

“Of course. If you want to talk to me you can. I may not be the best person to help, but I’ll always be here for you Koneko-chan.”

She nodded once, accepting that, and returned her gaze to the window and leaned against my shoulder as she looked out the window again.

That was hopefully a sign that my offer helped.

Across from us, Gasper-kun looked from me to Koneko and then down at his own hands.

“Y-Yuki-senpai,” he said softly, “Do you think this trip will be good for us?”

There was a slight awkwardness and uncertainty to the sentence.

I met his eyes and inclined my head. “It will be, we will get stronger with our training. The only downside will be the social events, but you can stay behind us during those.”

His shoulders eased a little.

Yuuto smiled between us, quiet and warm.

“We will help you Gasper-kun.” She looked at me. “I think this is a good start for the trip,” she said.

“That depends on the rest of the trip,” Xenovia replied.

Akeno laughed softly. “My, Xenovia-chan, must you sound like a pessimist before we’ve even left properly?”

“I’m being realistic.”

“And I’m telling you that it sounds like you’re trying to curse us.”

Asia lowered her eyes, trying and failing to hide a small smile.

Gasper-kun did not smile, exactly, but he looked less like he wanted to vanish through the floor.

That counted as progress for him. 

The train shuddered once beneath us, then began to move.

The shift was smooth enough that if I had not been paying attention, I might have missed it.

Koneko’s shoulder shifted against mine for half a second as the carriage rolled forward.

She didn’t seem bothered by the movement, so I didn’t comment on it.

Outside the window, the view began to slide.

We were moving through a tunnel for the time being, so there wasn’t much to see. 

Inside, the conversation softened into the kind of scattered talk people used to settle themselves into a journey.

Yuuto checked on Gasper-kun again, quietly enough not to embarrass him.

Asia and Issei began speaking in low voices across the aisle.

Xenovia watched the tunnel out the window like she was waiting for the first real sight to appear.

Akeno joined Issei and Asia’s conversation with a grin.

That was its own warning sign.

I noticed it in the way her smile changed.

She said something that made Issei look panicked.

“What?! So I could get in trouble for doing ecchi things with Buchou?!” He shouted.

I sighed as it was too early into our trip for this kind of nonsense.

Akeno smiled while he looked lost in frantic thought and then moved onto his lap while he wasn’t paying attention.

Issei jolted and then flushed as Akeno straddled his legs and leaned close to him. 

“But there isn’t an issue between servants having physical relations.” Akeno said while taking Issei’s hand and guiding it towards her skirt. “So that means we-”

Akeno’s voice cut as Asia snatched Issei’s hand and held it with hers.

“Oh, is something wrong, Asia-chan?” Akeno asked.

She pouted at Akeno.

“Akeno-san, you’re influencing Ise-san in a bad way. He will act like a pervert if you keep acting this way.”

“Asia, I’m sorry but that’s already a lost cause.” I added dully. “I don’t think he could get that much worse.”

“…. Lewd Senpai.” Koneko added from beside me.

I had to force myself not to grin at her comment.

“Hey!” Issei complained from beneath Akeno.

He was ignored as Akeno smiled at me in a way I knew wouldn’t end well.

“Ara, ara, Yuki-chan, that’s rich coming from the girl who snuck into Ise-kun’s room and tried to run when she was caught.” Akeno said with a chuckle.

I felt my tails shift in agitation.

“That’s not what happened.” I replied.

“Oh? I seem to remember that being exactly what it was.”

Now our conversation had everyone’s attention.

“When did this happen?” Yuuto asked curiously, glancing between Issei and I.

“I am interested in what happened as well.” Xenovia-san added.

Koneko at least rolled her eyes realizing it was Akeno causing more chaos for fun.

Akeno’s grin widened as she started to talk, still on Issei’s lap.

“It was actually the morning after we all moved into Issei’s house. You see, I was already in Ise-kun’s room discussing some matters with Rias, when Asia-chan spotted Yuki-chan creeping into the room. After she was caught she gave a weak excuse and tried to leave. Isn’t that right, Asia-chan?”

Everyone looked to Aisa who shrunk under the attention.

I cut in before Akeno could railroad the conversation to make me seem weird.

“I knocked on the door after hearing you and Rias-Buchou arguing, not knowing it was Issei-san’s room.” I said. “After walking in when no one answered I saw whose room it was and tried to leave. And you were the one who snuck into Issei-san’s bed that morning. That’s what you and Buchou were arguing about.”

Akeno looked to Asia motioning for her to talk. 

“Well… Yuki did  admit to coming into the room without someone letting her in and Akeno-san was already in the room talking to Rias-san when she arrived. But Yuki tried to leave and did give excuses when Rias-san and Akeno-san stopped her, but none of us believed her.”

I looked at Aisa in disbelief.

She awkwardly looked away.

Akeno grinned like she had won.

“Hmmm, so Yuki is trying to get a head start. A good idea.” Xenovia said.

“H-how bold!” Gasper-kun murmured.

“It doesn’t look good for you Yuki-san.” Yuuto added with a small smile.

I turned to Issei.

“You were there, tell them that’s not what happened.” I said.

Issei looked away from staring at Akeno’s chest that was inches from his face.

“I’ve learned enough to know to stay out of this.” He said before tuning back to watching Akeno’s breasts.

I let out a sigh.

“See Yuki-chan, you’re just as bad as Issei can be.” Akeno said.

“I refuse to be put in the same category as him.” I immediately said.

Akeno gave me a smug look.

“Oh, but I think you are. After all, you pinned me and practically tore my clothes off in the middle of the pillow fight that started when you tried to leave.” Akeno said.

That seemed to finally get Koneko’s attention.

She looked away from the window and turned to me.

“Is that true, Yuki-senpai?”

Her voice sounded flatter than normal for some reason.

“So are you open to the idea of practicing having children or not Yuki?” Xenovia asked, tilting her head.

I shot her a look to shut her up as she wasn’t helping the situation.

“I don’t think now is the time, Xenovia.” Yuuto added. 

At least one person was being reasonable. 

“All that happened was that I fell on top of Akeno-san and tried to get off of her. Anything that happened to her clothes wasn’t my fault.” I replied.

“You seemed very interested in my breasts when you were on top of me, Yuki-chan. Plus, you took your time getting off of me. It makes me wonder what would have happened if we were alone.” Akeno said while batting her eyes.

I felt Koneko’s gaze on me as I looked at Akeno. 

“I couldn’t get off of you because Buchou kept hitting me with pillows! Anything else was in your own head.” I said.

Asia decided to help me this time.

“T-that is true. Rias-san did keep hitting you as you tried to get up. I think she was flustered at Akeno-san’s clothes slipping off.”

“See, it was an accident. So don’t put me in the same category as Issei-san!” I finished with a huff. 

I felt my ears twitch in annoyance.

“Awww, Yuki-chan I thought—”

Akeno was cut off by a new voice.

“What did you think, Akeno? And what are you doing on my Ise’s lap?”

Rias stepped forward into the train car as she shut the door to the front car behind her.

Issei stiffened like he had been caught red handed.

Which he kind of had since Akeno was still on his lap and he had made no effort to remove her.

Akeno did not move off of Issei right away.

“I’m just enjoying one of my privileges as his senpai. Is there something wrong with that?” She asked.

“Akeno.” Rias said, her voice low. 

Akeno chuckled lightly but finally moved off of Issei and back to her seat.

“Fine, fine. You’re so possessive Buchou. As for what we were talking about, we were just talking about how Yuki-chan is a pervert just like Ise-kun and how she snuck into his room before we caught her.”

Rias glanced from Akeno to me and then back.

“Yuki-chan is not a pervert. The only pervert in the peerage is Ise and maybe you Akeno” Rias started.

Ise looked like he was going to protest but realized there was no point.

Akeno stuck her tongue out at Rias.

I was about to thank Rias when she continued.

“But it was very suspicious of her to enter Ise’s room. Her excuse wasn’t even very good.”

I sighed and leaned back against my seat.

There was no point in arguing for people to see reason apparently.

“And Yuki-senpai being on top of Akeno-senpai?” Koneko asked.

“…That was an accident and partially my fault.” Rias admitted while looking slightly sheepish.

Koneko nodded to herself and looked back out the window.

I looked at her, slightly confused why she was caught on that part.

“Oh?” Akeno muttered while looking at the two of us.

Before I could ask what she meant by the door to the twin car opened and someone stepped inside. 

A man in a conductor's uniform entered, posture precise, expression arranged into polite professionalism.

He looked older, having a white beard and mustache.

He stopped at the proper distance and bowed.

“Good day,” he said. “I am Reynaldo, the conductor in charge of this train. And it’s a pleasure to meet the new servants of the Gremory household.”