Chapter 192 — Making Groups

Yuki

“You know, for someone who finally started to look healthy, you kind of look like crap.”

Kiryuu-san gave me a disappointed look after seeing me open my second can of coffee since I had gotten to class.

It was a few days after Azazel-sensei had shown us the Oppai Dragon episode, and I had caused an incident with Irina while testing my ability.

It was currently lunch at school, and I was eating with Xenovia, Irina, Kiryuu-san, Katase-san, and Murayama-san. 

Desks had been pulled up to Kiryuu-san, and my desk and we each had our bentos out to eat.

Asia had joined Issei with his two friends, Matsuda-san and Motohama-san. 

She had been closer to him since the sports festival. 

She seemed to feel relaxed alongside him.

I’d even seen her kiss his cheek before breakfast yesterday, and she didn’t immediately turn red and panic afterwards.

It seemed like the two of them had gotten much closer.

But so far neither of them had mentioned if they were in a relationship yet.

Either way, it was progress for Asia.

At our small circle of desks, Mirayama-san had mentioned how it was amazing how much healthier I was looking now compared to when I had first transferred.

This wasn’t the first time it was brought up, as most of the class was curious when I first came back after my fifth tail was unsealed. 

I had explained that I had been suffering from a long-term illness that, with the help of Rias’s family, I had been able to finally treat and overcome. 

I had received congratulations and praise on my appearance from my classmates and slight skepticism from Kiryuu-san.

But she didn’t press the subject after congratulating me on recovering my health.

And now she was chastising me over my tired and lethargic appearance.

I was like this because I had trained longer the night after the incident with Irina to make up for some of the time I lost from the night before.

I had pushed myself harder and trained deep into the night.

After waking Asia and getting healed by her while she was barely awake, I stumbled into my room in exhaustion.

I accidentally woke Koneko as I moved about the room.

She got up and helped me get into bed, then she scolded me for being up far too late before changing my alarm for the morning to make sure I got more sleep.

But because of how little I had slept that night, I was still feeling exhausted now, two days later. 

“Thank you for your concern, Kiryuu-san,” I said, giving her a dull look. “But I'm doing fine. I’m just tired.”

“You look like you haven’t been sleeping at all, Yuki-san. Is everything alright?” Katase-san asked. 

“I’m a bit worried too. You were the same yesterday, and today, you almost fell asleep during class even after drinking a coffee,” Murayama-san added.

I sighed. 

“I’ve just been staying up late the last few nights working on some things for the Occult Research Club.”

It was true in a way.

I wanted to protect everyone in the club by getting stronger.

“Rias and the others have been keeping an eye on Yuki to make sure she’s doing alright. I understand why she is doing what she is doing, but I also understand why the others are concerned,” Xenovia said.

She had noticed my increased training regimen quickly.

After I told her that I felt my strength was inadequate, she had nodded and said she understood.

She didn’t try to warn me or get me to stop.

She accepted it and would come join me in training occasionally.

The rest of the peerage was aware of my new training habits.

They were worried like Koneko and Asia were.

I had reassured them that everything was fine, but not everyone was fully convinced.

“Well, whatever it is, you need to get more sleep, Yuki-san. You’re going to crash at this rate.” Kiryuu-san said.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I replied.

She rolled her eyes at me and decided to change the topic.

“So, Irina-san, Xenovia-san, Yuki-san, the class trip to Kyoto is coming up. Would you want to make a group with the four of us plus Asia?”

“Aren’t we supposed to make groups of three to four people?” I asked. “I doubt we will be allowed to make a group of five.”

“Yeah. I don’t think guys will be able to do that. And I would offer to have one of you join our group, but it’s already full. Katase and I made a group with two other girls from the Kendo club. Sorry.” Murayama-san said with an awkward smile.

“But you guys can pair groups,” Katase-san added. “So you could make two groups of three if you find one more person and still be able to stay together.”

Kiryuu-san chuckled ominously and pushed up her glasses.

She grinned at us as her glasses shone in the light. 

“Normally that would be the case, but I’ve managed to get us an exception,” she said smugly.

“You have? How?” Xenovia asked. 

Kiryuu-san chuckled again.

“You see, since the four of you are all transfer students, I managed to convince our homeroom teacher that it would be best if I watched over each of you during the trip.”

I narrowed my eyes at her.

“And our teacher agreed to that? The only one of us who transferred recently was Irina-san. The rest of us have been here long enough that it shouldn’t be an issue.”

She shrugged.

“He did. Of course I was able to convince him to let us all form a group. Are you doubting me, Yuki-san?”

“Yes.”

Katase-san chuckled at my immediate response.

“You should trust your friends more, Yuki-san. Especially me. I mean, haven’t you heard of all the great advice I’ve given Asia? And it worked out great for her,” Kiryuu-san said, crossing her arms.

“She has been spending a lot more time with him this week,” Murayama-san said. “The two of them seem closer.

“Even so, Kiryuu’s advice is normally dubious at best,” Katase-san said, narrowing her eyes at Kiryuu-san. “It’s typically more erotic and lewd than necessary."

“My advice is perfect. After all, I'm an expert on these things after all,” Kiryuu-San said while looking down her nose. “Anything erotic I’ve suggested was perfectly reasonable.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” I said. “Plus, how are you an expert? You don’t have any dating experience, right?”

Kiryuu-san frowned at me.

“Her advice seemed fine when I asked before,” Xenovia said.

“See! Xenovia-san appreciates my expert advice,” Kiryuu-san said with a nod. “But moving on, we will have to pair with Hyoudou and the other two perverts.”

“And why is that?” I asked.

“Well, sensei decided that since I’ve shown initiative and maturity by offering to lead our larger group, I could keep an eye on the three of them,” Kiryuu-san said

“So that’s the catch.”

“Well, Asia and Irina-san would want to be with Hyoudou, so it works out. We will have to deal with the other two perverts, but it will be fine, right, Irina-san?”

Irina looked up from the bento box that she had been picking at with her chopsticks.

It didn’t look like she had eaten much.

“Oh, u-um, yes! I’d like to go with Ise-kun on the trip! I don’t mind if Matsuda-san and Motohama-san are in our group though,” Irina said with bright enthusiasm. “Maybe I can convince them to reach out to the Lord and change their sinful ways!”

She smiled as she looked around the group, but her gaze never reached me. 

Since the incident with Dream’s Voice, she had been awkward around me.

She wasn’t avoiding me exactly, but she had definitely begun acting differently when I was around.

She seemed on edge and stiff while I was nearby.

I could only assume she was still upset from what had happened. 

I had tried telling her again that it wasn’t her fault and that it was my ability to blame.

Despite that, she still acted off whenever I was near or spoke to her.

Even now during lunch, this was the first time she had spoken.

“Is everything alright, Irina-san? You’ve been pretty quiet today,” Katase-san said.

Irina’s smile became slightly strained.

“Everything’s fine! I just didn’t really sleep well last night,” Irina said. “I’m just overexcited for our trip to Kyoto! I’ve never been to the city before!”

Her excitement seemed a bit forced, but there wasn’t much I could do about it right now. 

I would try to do what I could to make things less uncomfortable for her.

“Well, good luck dealing with those three. I’m sure they’re going to get up to something on this trip Murayama-san said. 

Kiryuu-san waved her off.

“It’ll be fine! I will be able to keep the three of them in line easily enough. Irina-san, Yuki-san, Xenovia-san, let’s go talk to the perverted trio and Asia about our groups for the class trip.”

“Sure!”

“Alright.”

Irina and Xenovia replied as they set aside their lunches and started off after Kiryuu-san did. 

I let out a sigh before drinking the rest of my coffee and standing to join them.

“Good luck,” Murayama-san said.

“Let us know if you need us to kick their butts!” Katase-san called out to us.

Xenovia, Irina, and I followed Kiryuu-san over to the desks Issei, Asia, Matsuda-san, and Motohama-san were sitting at.

We crossed the room and arrived next to them as they were also talking about the school trip. 

“So, we have to make a group of three or four people?” Issei asked. 

“Yeah. That’s the number of people they’ll be placing in each room, so that’s the group size,” Matsuda-san replied. “And we will end up as a group of three since almost everyone else hates us.”

They didn’t notice us yet and continued their conversation.

Matsuda-san wasn’t wrong that they were not liked by most of the class due to their poor reputation.

But they had brought that upon themselves. 

Kiryuu-san cleared her throat before speaking. 

“Perverted trio, do you want to pair up with our group during the class trip?” She asked, then grinned lecherously. “It would be like a paradise for you, considering our group consists of five bishoujo.”

“Yeah, that sounds great,” Matsuda-san said, nodding. “But leaving you aside, it’d be four bishoujo.”

“Shut up!” Kiryuu-san said as she smacked the back of Matsuda-san’s head.

“What the heck!”

“Wait. How can you guys have a group of five?” Motohama-san asked.

“Kiryuu received special permission from the teacher since our group is mostly transfer students,” Xenovia said.

“That’s right,” Kiryuu-san said with a nod. “So, ignoring the idiot with poor taste, are you in Hyoudou? You’ll get to be with Asia.”

Asia turned to Issei with a hopeful smile.

“Ise-san, you’ll pair with our group, right?”

“Of course!” Issei responded immediately.

“Great!” Asia cheered. 

The two of them hugged and seemed to forget that they weren’t alone for a moment.

They held each other tightly.

Kiryuu-san adjusted her glasses and observed the two of them.

“Hmmm, the two of you have gotten a lot closer since the sports festival. You’ve been spending a lot more time together too.”

The two of them separated, and Issei sent Kiryuu-san a smug glance. 

“Asia and I have always been close, and we will always be together.”

“Right! I’ll always be with Ise-san,” Asia said as she fed him a sausage from her lunch.

“Yeah, something definitely happened with the two of you. But back on topic. We will pair our group of five with your group of three. That way you’ll get to be with Asia, and she won’t join another group feeling that she couldn’t say no. And Irina-san, Xenovia-san, and Yuki-san can all be in a group with you too.”

“I’d also like to go with Issei,” Xenovia said.

Irina nodded.

“Yeah! It would be fun to be paired with Ise-kun!”

“Dammit! Why is Ise the only popular one?!” Matsuda-san whined. “I want a group of beautiful girls to want to come on a trip with me! Motohama and I are just his sidekicks!”

Motohama-san nodded.

“Recently there have been plenty of flags around Ise. He keeps hogging them to himself! I hope that they all fall apart. If I could see them, I’d break them myself…” Motohama-san pushed up his glasses and glared at Issei. 

“I’d like for it to be known that while I’m fine with pairing with Issei-san, we weren’t given a choice in the matter,” I said.

Matsuda-san looked confused.

“What do you mean?” He asked.

I pointed to Kiryuu-san.

“She bribed the teacher by saying that she would watch your group so that we could have a larger group than normal.”

“That’s slander, Yuki-san!” Kiryuu-san said, clutching her hand to her chest. “I simply offered to help our classmates after displaying my forethought and getting the five of us into a group.”

“Kiryuu-san, you shouldn’t bribe people…” Asia said with a frown.

“What? So we’re your ticket to getting to hang out with your friends on your trip? What do we get out of it?!” Matsuda-san shouted.

Kiryuu-san waved him away dismissively.

“Oh, be quiet. So what if I offered to make sure you idiots don’t get into trouble? The teachers would be watching you three in particular anyways. And you get a group full of beautiful girls as your partners,” she shot Matsuda-san a glare before he could say anything. “It’s not like any other girls from our class would come around you three.”

Issei tilted his head.

“But why do you need a group of five anyway?”

Kiryuu-san shrugged.

“I wanted to go with Asia and the others, but they would have probably made a group of four by themselves. This way I wouldn’t get left out.”

“I’m sorry, Kiryuu-san,” Asia said, looking concerned.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. You’re all in a club together and are close friends. It all worked out anyway,” Kiryuu-san said, then she clenched her fist and her glasses shone.

“So! Our group of eight has been decided. This trip will be amazing! Kiyomizu-dera! Kinkaku-ji! Ginkaku-ji! All of these historical sites and more are waiting for us!”

She seemed to be pumped up already, even though the trip was still a few weeks away.

“Maybe I should visit Tenryuu-ji…” Issei murmured to himself. 

I shook my head.

It was the temple of the Heavenly Dragon, but his Heavenly Dragon was the Welsh Dragon.

I watched everyone begin to chat about sites they wanted to visit and things they wanted to do during the trip.

They all seemed rather excited for it.

I couldn’t really gather any enthusiasm for our trip to Kyoto.

It was a city that would be full of Youkai.

I didn’t know how I felt about the idea of being so close to that many other Youkai again.

Since my village was destroyed by my first [King], Orutho Raim, I hadn’t been to a Youkai settlement or around a lot of Youkai since.

And on top of that, I was the one blamed for the destruction of a whole Youkai village after my master slaughtered almost everyone.

The Underworld government and the Youkai factions had found out about it, and it became a political issue since the Youkai factions saw it as an act of aggression from the Devils.

The Underworld had blamed Orutho, and he had claimed that it was my wish for it to happen.

He was able to get away with a slap on the wrist from the Underworld, and my name and title became known to some in both the Underworld and Youkai factions. 

So, even though it has been years, someone may know of me and hold a grudge or hate me for what happened.

The Youkai community was usually tightly knit, and something like that wouldn’t be easily forgotten or forgiven.

I would just have to hope that I wasn't recognized and that we didn’t run into any Youkai while there.

I sighed as I realized that I wouldn’t be that lucky.

“Is everything alright, Yuki?” Xenovia asked.

I nodded.

“Just thinking about something troublesome, but everything is fine.”

“That’s good,” Xenovia replied.

She looked over at Irina, who was talking to Asia, Kiryuu-san, and Issei.

“Is everything alright between you and Irina? I noticed she seems tense around you.”

“I think that things are fine. She is still bothered by what happened, but I’m hoping that after some more time she will relax around me again.”

Xenovia glanced at me.

“Are you still bothered by what happened?”

“No. It was an accident, and I made her act in a way that she never would have normally. I was shaken by it at first, but I’m better now.”

She watched me for a moment.

“Alright. But if you need someone to talk to, I can help. Even if I’m not the best with these kinds of things.”

“Thank you, Xenovia.”

We then joined the conversation with the others until the bell rang for classes to resume.

I sat back in my seat and thought for a moment about Irina’s off behavior, our Kyoto trip, and what I might run into.

I shook my head and focused on class.

They were both issues that I couldn’t do anything about now.