Chapter 198 — Mission, Apparently

Yuki

I was woken by knocking on my door. 

I immediately noticed three things. 

The first thing was that I was still wearing the outfit Koneko had given me for her Senjutsu treatment.

The second was that one of us had kicked the sheets off the bed in our sleep.

And the third was that Koneko was still lying on my chest.

She had shifted lower and was now lying with her head between my breasts.

It seemed that we had gotten lucky and I hadn’t had any nightmares after she fell asleep on me.

I had gotten better at not immediately panicking when I woke up next to her when I had one, but it still happened on occasion.

And if I woke up with someone on top of me, I’d most likely react much worse. 

There was another knock on my door that this time caused Koneko to begin to stir.

She blinked slowly before lifting her head from my cleavage and looking up at me.

“…Good morning, senpai…” she murmured groggily.

“Good morning, Koneko-chan. Could you get off of me so that I can see who that is?”

She tilted her head and blinked slowly again.

“Hmmm?”

Then my door opened. 

“Yuki, Koneko, you need to get up. Buchou—“

Xenovia stopped as she stared at the two of us. 

Koneko and I stared back at her.

“Normally I’d ask to join, but Buchou wants us downstairs for something,” she said.

“What do you mean, ask to join?” I asked, slightly confused.

“Joining the two of you practicing making babies. That’s what you were doing, right?” Xenovia asked, tilting her head.

Koneko’s face began to turn pink as she moved herself off of me.

“…No, we were just sleeping like that. We did not do anything.” Koneko said.

Xenovia looked between the two of us.

“While wearing lingerie?” She asked.

“It’s a purified garment for Senjutsu healing,” Koneko corrected.

Her face was becoming more flushed as she spoke.

Xenovia stared at her and Koneko stared back.

It was silent for a moment as neither of them blinked.

Then Xenovia broke the silence.

“If you’re going to make things up, at least try and make them convincing,” Xenovia said with a sigh. “But Rias wants us downstairs for something. She said it was important and you two were the only ones not up yet.”

Koneko looked like she wanted to argue, but I spoke before she could.

“Thank you, Xenovia. We will be down in a moment after we have changed.”

She nodded and then left, shutting the door behind her.

Koneko shot me an annoyed look.

“You weren’t going to convince her, and we would be wasting time while Buchou was waiting for us,” I said.

She let out a huff.

“…You might be right, but we should at least try to convince Xenovia-senpai that we weren’t having sex. She’ll probably just tell everyone that is why we slept in.”

I glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that it was later than I normally would have gotten up, even for a weekend like today.

“Speaking of how we slept, didn’t you say you were going to move after you finished the Senjutsu treatment?” I asked

“…I accidentally fell asleep on you after I finished. It was really comfortable to lie like that, and I didn’t want to move,” Koneko said, looking away from me.

I frowned at her.

“You know that wasn’t a good idea. If I had another nightmare, I could have seriously hurt you when I panicked.”

“…I won’t do it again, senpai.”

“Good,” I said, then got out of bed.

“Let’s get changed and head downstairs. Hopefully they’ve left us some breakfast,” I said with a small grin.

I walked over to my dresser and pulled open a drawer.

“I’ll head to my room, senpai. I didn’t bring any spare clothes since I didn’t think I’d be leaving mine in Issei-senpai’s room,” Koneko said as she stood up from the bed. 

“Alright, but wear this,” I said, tossing her one of my shirts. “These outfits really don’t cover much. Could you ask Akeno-san if she has another that won’t be so tight on me, for next time?”

Koneko pulled the shirt over her head.

It came down past her waist and ended up looking like a short dress on her.

It looked rather cute on her, and I ignored that I enjoyed seeing her in my clothes.

“…Thank you, Yuki-senpai. And I’ll ask, but I don’t know if she has any that won’t be like that. And the garment can’t be loose.

Otherwise, it defeats the purpose of increasing contact and efficiency.”

I sighed.

“Alright. Well, I’ll meet you downstairs with the others.”

“Bye, senpai,” Koneko said as she left my room.

After Koneko left, I got dressed and headed downstairs.

I found everyone but Akeno, Issei, and Koneko seated at the dining table.

Yuuto and Gasper-kun greeted me first as I moved to take my usual seat.

“Good morning, Yuki-san.”

“G-Good morning, Yuki-senpai.”

“Hello, everyone,” I said as I sat down.

Asia was watching me with a red face, and Irina was watching me with an intense stare.

Yuuto looked like she was holding back a grin.

“What is it?” I asked, looking around the table.

“I told them you and Koneko had been practicing making babies when I walked in on the two of you,” Xenovia said bluntly.

I sighed.

“She did say that,” Yuuto said with a grin.

“S-So it’s true then? You a-and Koneko-chan had s-s-s-s-sex?” Asia asked as she turned bright red.

“No, that is not what happened. She was—“

I was cut off as Irina stood from her seat and pointed to me.

“D-Don’t try to deny it! Xenovia said that you had tried to claim that it was something to do with Senjutsu, but that was obviously a lie! Xenovia said she was certain that’s what happened between the two of you,” Irina loudly said.

“That isn’t what happened. Koneko-chan and I aren’t in a relationship li—“

Irina cut me off again with a gasp.

“You’re partaking in such sinful, debauched acts and you’re not even together?! Y-Y-You seduced our kohai, another girl, and brought her into your bed like that? You would unleash your lustful desires onto her even if you shouldn’t be together?” Irina asked with a shaky voice.

Her wings began to flicker from pure white to a deep black.

“I-I can’t even imagine what s-sinful acts you two must have d-done together…”

Irina trailed off as her wings' flickering began to increase.

Then it stopped as she shook her head.

“I-I will pray to Michael-sama for the two of you and guidance for myself in a home full of such sinful Devils.”

She sat down and bowed her head as she began to pray.

Everyone in the room was staring at her in confusion.

I had no idea what to think of that outburst.

I didn’t know if it was because she was still feeling uncomfortable around me or something else.

Before anyone could question her, Koneko arrived and saw the strange atmosphere.

“…What did I miss?” She asked as she paused in the doorway.

“Xenovia told everyone that we had sex after she saw you sleeping on top of me, and Irina-san had a rather loud reaction before saying she would pray for us,” I explained.

Koneko looked at Irina, who had her head bowed as she prayed.

“Well, we didn’t. I just slept on top of Yuki-senpai. She’s comfortable,” Koenko said as she moved to her seat next to mine and sat at the table. 

As soon as Koenko sat, Rias finally spoke.

“Alright, now that everyone is here, I can tell you why I’ve called all of you here.”

The room became silent as we all turned our attention to Rias.

She stood from her seat at the head of the table and slammed her hands down onto it.

“I have an important mission for us today! We need to follow Ise and Akeno during their date!” She shouted.

Asia nodded rapidly.

I realized that I should have known that this would be something ridiculous.

“Their date starts at ten o’clock at the nearby train station. We will need disguises so that we can follow them without being spotted. We will only interrupt if Akeno tries to take things too far,” Rias said with a determined glint in her eyes.

“Buchou, is this necessary? It’s just a date. And why do we all need to go?” I asked, rubbing my temple.

“Because we can’t let Akeno steal a march and get ahead of us. Ise will probably go along with whatever she chooses to do, so we just need to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

I gave Rias a dull look.

“I have no interest in this. You all can go stalk them without me.”

“Don’t be like that, Yuki-san. It’s been a bit since we’ve all done something together, and this will be fun, even without following Ise-kun,” Yuuto said.

I narrowed my eyes at her.

“And you don’t have any stake in making sure Akeno-san’s and Ise-san’s date doesn’t go too far?”

Yuuto’s ears turned red.

“W-Well, I just want to help Buchou and Asia-san. They both really want to keep an eye on them, right, Asia?” She quickly said.

Asia nodded with a determined look.

“Yes! I don’t want to fall behind after getting closer to Ise-san! Please come with us, Yuki!” Asia asked with clenched fists.

“We should make sure that Ise-kun doesn’t fall for any of his lustful tendencies!” Irina added. 

I frowned.

I really didn’t have a desire to follow Issei and Akeno around on what would likely be a totally normal date.

Or if they ended up doing something more, I didn’t want to see anything.

“…It might be fun, Yuki-senpai,” Koneko said.

“Not you too, Koneko-chan.”

“We will be following them on their date. That means that we will be able to visit stores and do some shopping while we follow them. You haven’t taken much time to yourself, Yuki-senpai. This will be a good way to relax,” Koneko said with a small smile.

“I don’t think that’s necessary…”

“And you can take me to a bookstore as we had talked about.”

I hesitated.

I did want to take her to pick out some books to read, but we hadn’t had a chance to do so yet.

But I didn’t want to be a part of Rias’s ridiculous plan and miss out on the training I could do today now that Koneko’s Senjutsu healing had rejuvenated me.

Rias spoke up before I could answer.

“This is taking too long. Yuki, come with us. Everyone wants you to come with us. You can train when we get back.”

I looked around the table and saw nods and smiles from everyone.

I let out another sigh.

“Alright, I’ll go, but I’m only helping you watch them to an extent. I don’t want to get any more involved than I have to.”

“Great. Now that is settled, we can prepare for our mission to observe Ise and Akeno’s date.”

“What do we need to prepare? We are just following them, right?”

Rias chuckled.

“We are Yuki, but we will need to remain hidden while we do. That’s why we will need disguises!”

Asia clapped excitedly.

“That's a great idea, Rias-oneesama! We will be able to see everything, and they’ll never realize that we are there!”

“It makes sense that we would need gear for a mission,” Xenovia said.

“Ooh! I could wear a dress with my disguise!” Gasper-kun said excitedly.

“We will need to stay inconspicuous though,” Yuuto added.

I watched them all begin to discuss their disguises and the plan for watching Issei and Akeno.

This wasn’t going to work at all.

____________________________

Issei

I was standing in front of the convenience store near the station.

It was the day of my date with Akeno-san. 

We had agreed to meet here at ten, and I had arrived a while ago. 

Despite knowing that we saw each other every day, I had still made sure to look nice.

I had worn a nice set of clothes and made sure that my hair wasn’t a mess.

I was nervous about my date with Akeno-san.

Even if it probably wasn’t a big deal for her, it was for me.

Akeno was one of the most beautiful girls I knew and one of two great oneesama’s of Kuoh Academy. 

And this was only my second date ever.

That thought made me freeze.

I recalled that night. 

Standing next to a fountain.

Smiling at the girl I knew as Yuuma-chan.

Her gaze growing cold and hostile.

Black feathered wings growing from her back. 

A spear of light piercing my stomach.

Realizing I was going to die without having a clue as to why.

Then her voice, cold and nothing like how it had been during our date.

“Will you die for me?”

I blinked and realized that I was still by the train station.

It was still the day of my date with Akeno-san.

I wiped the sweat from my brow.

My hands were shaking.

I couldn’t get them to stop, so I stuffed them into my pockets.

I took a deep breath and shut my eyes.

When I opened them, I saw someone familiar walking towards me. 

A girl in a cute frilled one-piece dress came to a stop in front of me.

I blinked.

Then I realized who it was.

“A-A-Akeno-senpai…?”

“Yes, it’s me, Ise-kun. Did I make you wait?”

She smiled at me, but then her smile dimmed.

“Is something wrong, Ise-kun?”

“N-No, nothing at all!” I quickly said. “I was just a bit nervous for our date. That’s all!”

She studied my face.

“Ise-kun, you can tell me if something is bothering you. You know that, right?”

“I know, Akeno-san. I was just really nervous. That’s all,” I said with a smile.

Akeno-san didn’t look wholly convinced, but she nodded.

“Okay then. So how do you think I look? Is it weird?” She asked hesitantly.

“No, you look amazing!” I said, shaking my head. “You look super cute! I was just surprised by your different look!”

She really did look different.

She didn’t have her normal ponytail and instead had let her hair down. 

She was wearing cozy-looking boots and a cute dress.

I had expected a fancy dress or something to make her look more mature.

Instead, she looked like a cute girl my age.

She didn’t look like her usual teasing and seductive self. 

She seemed softer and shyer.

She blushed from my compliments and smiled shyly.

“So, since you’ll be my boyfriend for today, Ise-kun, would it be alright if I called you Ise?” She asked while looking up at me through her lashes. 

Seeing Akeno-san like that wasn’t fair. 

“O-Of course you can. Please do!”

My soul almost left my body.

“P-Please do.”

She smiled brightly.

“I'm glad. Thank you, Ise.”

It was watching her smile when the hairs on the back of my neck rose, and I shivered.

I felt someone watching me with killing intent

And it felt familiar.

I looked around and spotted something.

There was someone with crimson hair wearing sunglasses and a hat, glaring at us. 

They were peeking out from behind a telephone pole.

There was also a blonde-haired girl with large glasses and teary eyes standing nearby.

There was a group of three girls by the window of a clothing store also watching us. 

One had a hoodie with the hood up and tight over her face from the drawstring being pulled tight, but was wearing a gold cross over the hoodie.

Another was wearing a purple wig that did not cover the green in her hair.

And the last was wearing a large sun hat and sunglasses that actually made them inconspicuous.

The last group I noticed was a short girl wearing a baseball cap and cat-eared headphones talking to a taller girl outside of a bookstore.

The taller girl had short black hair and and a tanned complexion.

She was wearing normal clothes and didn’t look suspicious at all, now that I thought about it.

The shorter one glanced at us occasionally, but the other seemed fully interested in the outdoor display at the store.

It seemed like Buchou and the club members were here in disguise.

The only ones I didn’t see were Gasper and Yuki-san. 

But the shorter girl at the bookstore was definitely Koneko-chan, so the taller girl I didn’t recognize must have been Yuki-san.

She was pretty good with illusions, so she probably used them to disguise herself.

And there were a lot of cardboard boxes by stores, so Gasper could be in any one of them.

It was actually a pretty good disguise.

Or he didn’t come because he was scared of being outside.

That was also possible.

It seemed that they wanted to follow Akeno-san and me on our date.

And Akeno had noticed them as well.

“Ara ara. It looks like Buchou and the others couldn’t resist snooping on our little affair,” Akeno said with a grin. “But you’d think that they would’ve done a better job of hiding themselves, considering how many people came.”

Akeno-san chuckled before moving closer to me.

She leaned her side into mine and placed her head on my shoulder.

My heart jumped at how close she was.

Then I heard a loud crack.

I turned and saw that Buchou had cracked the telephone pole with her grip.

She was glaring daggers at Akeno-san. 

I slowly turned back to Akeno-san as I pretended I didn’t see anything.

“S-Shall we go?” I asked.

“Yes,” Akeno-senpai said with a smile.

Akeno-san and I began to walk into town to officially start our date.