Chapter 200 — The Chase

Yuki

We were joined by Asia, Xenovia, Yuuto, and Irina as we followed Issei and Akeno outside.

We hung back behind the two of them, but any attempt at stealth was useless.

Rias was glaring at them and giving off an ominous aura.

Asia was still teary-eyed, but her face had become solemn as she stared at them dully.

Even Yuuto. who at first seemed relaxed about Akeno’s and Issei’s date, seemed upset now.

Her brow was furrowed, and a frown was on her face as her aura was leaking as well.

Only Xenovia and Irina weren’t giving us away by the atmosphere they were giving off.

Xenovia looked mostly unbothered.

She still seemed upset, but it was nowhere near the level of the other three Devil girls.

Irina was frowning faintly as she watched Issei and Akeno, but she didn’t seem very upset.

She would occasionally glance at Rias and the others, and her frown would deepen for a moment as she studied them before looking back at Issei and Akeno. 

Koneko and I stood off to the side and watched the whole thing.

Between the haphazard disguises and the ominous aura around the group, we were anything but inconspicuous. 

“There really are a lot of odd-looking deep-sea fish, aren’t there?” Akeno said with a chuckle. 

Issei smiled, but it turned stiff as he noticed Rias again.

“So how much longer do you think this date will last?” I asked Koneko.

“…Mmm. I’d give it another two hours,” she replied with a finger on her chin.

I noticed Akeno looking over at us with a mischievous grin on her face. 

A moment later, she grabbed Issei’s hand and started to run. 

“Come on, Ise! Let’s ditch Rias and the others!” She shouted to Issei as she pulled him along. 

There was a brief moment where no one moved.

Then Rias pointed at them and shouted.

“After them!”

She took off running after Issei and Akeno, and Irina, Xenovia, Asia, and Yuuto followed after her. 

“…Come on, Yuki-senpai. We should help them chase Akeno-senpai and Issei-senpai,” Koneko said.

I let out a sigh and nodded.

Koneko and I ran after them. 

We had caught up to Asia by the time Issei and Akeno took a sudden turn down a side street.

We pushed through the crowds of people on the streets and turned the corner to continue our chase.

We couldn’t rely on our supernatural abilities to catch up to them with all of the humans around, so we were stuck running after them.

We got strange looks from people as a group of suspiciously dressed girls running through the streets.

Issei and Akeno took another turn down a different side street.

“I’ll cut them off!” Yuuto shouted before turning down a different street.

“Good idea! I’ll do the same!” Xenovia shouted as she followed.

The rest of us turned down the street Issei and Akeno had just taken, just in time to see them turn down another street.

“Hurry, we are going to lose them!” Rias shouted.

We rushed around the next corner to see they were nowhere to be seen. 

Rias let out an aggravated groan.

Asia quickly moved to an elderly couple who were on the street.

“E-Excuse me! Did you see a b-brown-haired boy and a-a black-haired girl in a frilly dress r-run past a minute ago?!” She asked as she tried to catch her breath.

“I believe they went that way,” the woman said, pointing at a street further down the road.

“Thank you!” Asia said as she began running towards the next street. 

“Good luck finding your friends!” The woman called out as we ran.

We turned the corner again and still didn’t find them.

The street we ended up on was deserted and didn’t seem to have any open shops on it. 

We began running down the street.

“Maybe we should split up and keep looking?” Irina asked.

“N-No, we should stick t-together,” Asia huffed as she ran.

“We just need to keep looking!” Rias ordered as she ran at the front of the group.

Koneko was quietly looking down the streets we passed.

I slowed my pace and let them run ahead of me.

They were looking down each alley and discussing what they should do to catch up to Issei and Akeno.

I stopped walking, and then backed up a few steps.

I turned my head down a narrower side street that we had already passed.

In the shadow cast by the building were Akeno and Issei, pressed against the wall and trying not to breathe too loudly after running all this way. 

Issei sucked in a nervous breath.

Akeno gave me a wry smile, and I could tell from her eyes that she was thoroughly enjoying herself. 

I stared at them silently for a moment.

No one moved. 

I noticed that Akeno’s and Issei’s hands were still linked.

I watched them for a moment longer before Koneko called out from further down the street.

“Did you see something, Yuki-senpai?”

I watched them for a moment longer before turning to Koenko and shaking my head.

“I thought so, but it was just a stray. I’m coming,” I called out to her.

I heard Issei let out a sigh of relief.

The two of them were having a nice day together and deserved some time without the rest of us stalking them and Rias trying to meddle.

Akeno looked happy and had let herself relax for the day.

I wanted her to be able to enjoy that.

And Issei would finally be able to relax without Rias hovering menacingly around him. 

I started to jog to catch up to Koneko.

I could feel their gazes on me until I moved past the street’s opening.

I’d leave the two of them be.

Akeno

Ise-kun let out a sigh of relief as Yuki-chan left after not telling the others that she had found us.

She was using an illusion to disguise herself, but since she was with Rias and the others, it wasn’t too hard to figure out it was her.

She had studied us silently for a moment before she had announced we were here.

Maybe she had decided that she was done tailing us, or perhaps she had decided to cut us a break so that we could enjoy the rest of our date alone.

Either way, we had given Rias and the others the slip. 

“Well, it looks like we lost them, Ise,” I said with a grin.

He nodded, but he was still staring where Yuki-chan had been. 

“Why didn’t she tell Buchou she found us?” He asked. “There was no way she didn’t see us hiding here.”

I squeezed Ise-kun’s hand.

“She probably just wanted to leave us be, so that we could enjoy our date,” I said softly. 

“Maybe…” he murmured.

“Or maybe she’ll ask something of us in return later, like doing her chores,” I said with a chuckle. 

“Well, either way, Buchou and the others are gone. I think that we can stop hiding now,” Ise-kun said before stepping out of our hiding spot and into the street. 

We looked up and down the street quickly before relaxing when they were nowhere to be found.

“Ufufu, we really did lose them,” I said.

Today has been great so far.

I got to go on my reward date with Ise-kun.

He liked how I looked in my relaxed and cute dress.

We got to go shopping and visit plenty of places, and I got to mess with Rias the whole time.

I don’t think there was much that could have made it better.

I noticed that Ise-kun had gone pale and frozen next to me.

It immediately made me think of how he had been when I first met him for our date.

“Ise? What’s wrong?” I asked with concern.

“We need to leave here, Akeno-san! If Buchou and the others come back and catch us here, they’ll kill me!” Issei said quickly with obvious panic in his voice.

I blinked at him and then looked at where we were.

There were red and pink neon signs advertising rooms for couples and prices to spend the night.

I immediately realized we were on a street filled with love hotels.

Ise-kun was right that if Rias saw him near one of them with me, she would lose it.

I think most of the girls would.

My face flushed as I realized that we had the chance to use one of them now that we had lost Rias and the others.

But I didn’t know if I was ready for that yet.

I wouldn’t mind if it was just about Ise-kun and me, but it wasn’t.

The moment I thought of going into one of the love hotels with Ise-kun, my thoughts stopped when I thought of Yuki-chan.

I knew that I was interested in her like I was with Ise-kun, and that stopped me from telling Ise-kun that we could go into one of the love hotels.

I wasn’t ready to go that far before I was certain of who I wanted to be with.

Things with Ise-kun were simpler.

He was straightforward, sweet, funny, brave, and easy and fun to tease.

Begging around him was fun and relaxing.

I knew that he wouldn’t judge me and would do whatever he could to protect me.

Yuki-chan was more complicated. 

She was interesting, somewhat distant, kind, and willing to push back against my teasing.

She also wouldn’t judge me, but she could also relate to me in ways that most others couldn’t.

And she had a fragile and wounded side that made me want to protect her and hurt anyone who would think of harming her.

But she wasn’t open in her wants like Ise-kun was.

Despite reacting the way she had to my teasing and the wandering gazes I sometimes caught, she had repeatedly said she didn’t have any romantic interest in anyone.

I didn’t know if she was just saying that, or if it was true.

And I knew it was cowardly and selfish, but until I knew for sure who I wanted to be with, I didn’t want to give up on either option.

I could console myself by remembering that Yuki-chan didn’t act receptive to the idea of a relationship, and Ise-kun was incredibly dense.

“S-So, Ise, you brought me here despite Rias following us? Were y-you that excited by our date?” I asked.

I tried to go back to my normal confident teasing, but I stumbled over some of my words as I spoke.

Ise-kun still flushed anyway.

“Y-You were the one who led us here, Akeno-san! Even if I’d love to go in one, we need to get out of here in case the others come back!” Issei quickly said.

I was about to tease him again when a new voice called out to us.

“Geez, you’re out here trying to take a woman to a love hotel this early in the day. You sure know what to do, Sekiryuutei brat.”

Ise-kun and I turned to see Odin-sama, a beautiful, diligent-looking silver-haired woman in a neat suit, and him. 

I stared at Barakiel with a mixture of shock and anger.

Running him during my date with Ise-kun was one of the last things I had expected.

But now that I had, my mood was immediately ruined.

“It’s nice to see you again, Sekiryuutei brat. It’s been a little while, hasn’t it?” Odin-sama said with a chuckle.

Ise-kun didn't seem to recognize him with his rough clothes and hat he was wearing, but after a second, recognition shone in his eyes.

“Odin the geezer!” He shouted and pointed at Odin-sama.

Normally I’d find the interaction amusing, but I was currently glaring at Barakiel as he stood behind Odin-sama and the silver-haired woman.

“Odin-sama! You can’t just wander into places like these!” The silver-haired woman said, scolding Odin-sama. “Y-You are a god, so please act properly. You shouldn’t go near such indecent places.”

Odin-sama waved off her concerns lazily. 

“Leave me be, Rossweisse. A Valkyrie who takes care of heroes should learn about these places and get comfortable with them.”

“I am a Valkyrie with no appeal, so I’m not familiar with these places and don’t wish to be,” the silver-haired woman, Rossweisse, said with a scowl.

Then she turned to Ise-kun and me with a glare.

“And you two. You’re both high school students, yes? What are you doing here at such a vulgar place? You should be at home studying!”

That’s when Barakiel approached me. 

“…You,” I muttered, voice low with anger.

Ise-kun looked confused as he looked between the two of us.

“Akeno,” Barakiel said. “What is the meaning of this?”

My mood worsened at the anger in his tone.  

“That is none of your business," I snapped at him. “More importantly, why are you here?!”

“Forget that! You’re leaving here, now! It’s still too early for you to do these kinds of things!”

He reached out and tried to grab my arm.

I jerked back as I glared at him. 

“You have no right to tell me what to do! Don’t you dare try to lay a hand on me!” I shouted at him.

Ise-kun stepped between the two of us with raised hands.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but who the hell are you? Why are you trying to grab Akeno-San like that when she obviously doesn’t like you?” He asked with a glare.

Barakiel looked him over with a frown on his face before answering.

“Today I am here as Odin-dono’s escort. I am one of the leaders of the Grigori, Barakiel. And I am Himejima Akeno’s father.”

Ise-kun looked at me in surprise.

“You are not my father!” I growled.

Koneko

We had lost Isse-senpai and Akeno-senpai.

After the second time we lost sight of them, we never managed to find them again.

Buchou had insisted that we could still find them.

We had searched a few more streets and some stores to no avail, until even she was forced to give up.

Now we were all sitting together in a café.

Everyone had removed their disguises, and Yuki-senpai had dropped her illusion.

Buchou was aimlessly stirring her drink while staring at it dejectedly.

Asia-senpai was trying to cheer her up with little success.

Yuuto-senpai was watching Buchou while elegantly drinking her tea.

Xenovia-senpai and Irina-senpai were both eating cake and seemed to be competing to see who could eat more.

Yuki-senpai was stirring her tea with a spoon while watching Buchou.

“We should have caught them,” Buchou muttered.

Asia-senpai smiled nervously. “It’s alright, Rias-oneesama. We were able to follow them for most of their date... That counts for something, right?”

Buchou sighed.

“You’re right, Asia. I’m just annoyed that Akeno was able to slip away from us. We had been doing such a good job of tailing her, and she managed to get away with Ise so quickly. Now she could be doing anything and getting ahead of the rest of us…”

“I still don’t understand why we didn’t simply join them,” Xenovia-senpai said as she continued eating her cake. “That would have made observation easier.”

“If we had joined them, it wouldn’t have been a date anymore,” Yuuto-senpai answered. 

Xenovia-senpai paused as she was picking up another bite of cake with her fork.

“It would have been a group date. I heard about double and triple dates, so we could have gone on an octuple date and everyone could go.”

“An octuple date?” Yuuto-senpai asked.

“Yeah. A double date is when two people go on a date with the same person, so since there are eight of us, it would be an octuple date,” Xenovia-senpai explained.

“That’s not what a double date is, Xenovia. And I don’t think an octuple date is a thing,” Yuuto-senpai said.

“I think Yuuto-san is right, Xenovia-san,” Asia-senpai said with a wry smile.

Xenovia-senpai gave them a questioning look.

“I don’t know. What do you think, Irina?”

Irina-senpai jumped slightly, like she hadn’t been paying attention.

“O-Oh, uhhh, w-well, I thought that a double date was when two couples went on a date. So I think Yuuto-san and Asia-san are right, Xenovia. Sorry,” she said with an apologetic look.

“I see…” Xenovia-senpai said while nodding slowly.

 Irina-senpai was acting off again after our talk at the pastry stand.

She was avoiding looking at Yuki-senpai and seemed distracted.

“…Don’t include me in any dates including Issei-senpai,” I added.

“The same with me,” Yuki-senpai said. 

Buchou rolled her eyes at us.

“But I can’t believe they saw through our disguises. I thought they wouldn’t be able to recognize us,” Asia-senpai said.

“They spotted all of us from the start of the date. If Rias-Buchou had listened to me, then I would have used my illusions to disguise all of you,” Yuki-senpai said with a huff.

Buchou crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat.

“And each time you wandered off and got distracted shopping, your illusions might have dropped, and then we would have had no disguises. At least with the ones we had, they wouldn’t suddenly disappear.”

Yuki-senpai took a sip of her tea.

“My illusions are more than stable enough to last for a while without my attention. And I wasn’t the only one distracted. Yuuto-San bought clothes, and Irina-San bought food,” she pointed out. 

That made everyone look at Yuuto-senpai. 

She lowered her cup and calmly replied.

“It was only in the first store, and I apologized to Buchou afterwards. Plus, they were on clearance.”

Everyone looked to Irina-senpai next.

She jumped at the sudden attention and nervously looked around.

“I was hungry?” She said cautiously.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. We failed, and Akeno got away with Ise,” Buchou said as she slumped in defeat.

As Asia-senpai and Yuuto-senpai comforted Buchou, I glanced at Yuki-senpai.

Despite most wanting to originally come with us, she looked like she was enjoying herself.

She was letting the corner of her mouth rise into the beginning of a smile, and she would let out small, dry remarks more easily.

She seemed relaxed

And she needed it with all of the extra training she had been doing. 

She noticed me watching her.

“What is it, Koneko-chan?” She asked.

“…I’m glad you came with us today,” I said.

A soft smile formed on her face before she took another sip of tea.

I shifted my seat closer to her and turned back to the conversation the others were having.

I felt a smile of my own forming on my face.