Fate: Alternative (Highschool DxD/Fate): Chapter 39

Koneko Toujou walked through the halls of the Kuoh Junior High division, searching for the class where her kohai was placed.

The quiet girl who had graduated from this place already walked with quite confidence, as if she belonged here, which the teachers found hard to refute given her small stature compared to the rest of her age group, much to her chagrin.

“Oh! Toujou-senpai! Good morning!”

“Good Morning! Koneko-senpai”

Koneko nodded in greeting as various girls of the third-year and second-year walked by, knowing a lot of them thanks to how she had taken to looking out for these girls when she was still in Junior High.

The only ones who found her unfamiliar were some of the first years who had only seen her from a distance before.

Soon, the Nekoshou turned Devil arrived at the class where her protege studied and opened the door, peaking in to see if her target was inside.

The first one to spot her was the blond-haired, childish girl, Tatsuko Gakumazawa.

“Oh! Koneko-Senpai is here!”

Her shout immediately gathered the attention of the handful of other students in the class, which included Tatsuko’s friends.

Mimi Katsura, the gentle girl with black hair and brown eyes, smiled happily as she saw Koneko walk into the room, seeing that her query was not there yet.

“Koneko-senpai. Are you here for Illya-chan?”

“Mm. Not here yet?’

Mimi shook her head.

“No. Illya-chan won’t be coming to school today. We got the news that she fell ill and won’t be able to make it.”

Worry flashed in Koneko’s eyes despite her neutral expression, one that the friends of Illya and Miyu saw thanks to their familiarity with this senior of theirs.

“Again? Fourth time this month, right?”

Suzuka Kurihara, the girl with a stoic personality that hid a fiery temper, smiled and spoke up before Koneko became even more worried.

“Don’t worry, senpai. While you are right that this is the fourth time, but from what I hear, it is not something truly bad. It is just the common flu, from what she told us.”

The girl with pink hair, Nanaki Moriyama, nodded at her friend’s words.

“Yeah. We even went to visit her the last time and saw that she was completely fine. If my guess is right, she should be back tomorrow.”

Finally, Koneko’s tense shoulders fell a bit before she nodded, sitting down to chat with the girls before classes would begin.

In truth, it was more the girls who were speaking, and Koneko would silently listen and speak occasionally with short sentences, but the girls were already used to this, so they did not mind it.

These girls, along with Illya, had first run into Koneko a few months ago when Koneko was visiting some of her other kohai in the third-year and second-year of the Junior High division.

Kuoh Academy is a truly prestigious institution where the elite of Japan send their children. However, there were also a lot of children from an ordinary background who got into the place through merit or other reasons. So, it was a given that there would be some children who would look down on the ordinary children because of their background.

Illya and her friends were the victims of one such case when they first started attending this school. Victims of bullying from a girl whose father was a high-ranking official in the Japanese government. She and her followers would take every opportunity to target Illya and her friends for petty reasons.

If the girls had gone to their parents or even their siblings, things might have changed. But the girls knew that this kind of escalation might also cause the bullying to intensify, so they kept silent about it, enduring these incidents with no way out.

It was during one such bullying incident that Koneko ended up catching sight of this and got the teachers and other higher-ups involved.

To this day, the girls did not know just what exactly Koneko did, but the girl and her followers were quitely transfered out of Kuoh Junior High, and such bullying incidents came to an end across the board. Better yet, the parents and siblings of the girls had no idea that any of this had even happened since the teachers kept their actions discreet, much to the joy of the girls.

To express their gratitude, Illya and the others went to meek Koneko and hit it off really well.

And from that day on, Koneko took in these girls as her ‘personal apprentices’ as she put it.

Soon, the bell rang, informing that the classes would soon start, making Koneko say her goodbyes and head back to the High School Division.

However, when she got back to the Occult Research Club, she immediately felt like something was wrong.

Rias, her president and King, stared worriedly at a document on her table, while Akeno held a neutral look with her palm on Rias’s shoulder.

Kiba was absent, probably already at class, so Koneko walked forward and looked at the document, only for her eyes to widen at what she read.

“.....This is bad.”

Rias smiled wryly at her Rook’s words.

“That is putting it lightly, Koneko. This is a disaster, is what it is.”

“I still don’t understand, Rias. Didn’t they say they would wait until your education was complete? Why the sudden push?”

Once again, Rias smiled wryly.

“Issei Hyoudou. He is the reason.”

“But what does he.....Oh. I see.”

“Yup. Those cowards think that I would take Issei as part of my peerage and use his sacred gear to break off the marriage. So, they are pushing the date forward so that I won’t have the chance to escape from their clutches.”

“But, didn’t you already tell your family about the problem with him and his ‘teacher’? Surely, Lord Gremory must have informed the Phenex that the boy rejected you and is now under the protection of Emiya-kun?”

At her queen’s words, Rias could not help but sneer, thinking about the monsters of the Phenex clan.

“Akeno, you are forgetting that we are dealing with the head of the Phenex clan. Those guys and their whole generation do not consider the choice of the human they are after to be a factor. To them, it is only a matter of time before I manipulate Issei and then either have him killed or put him in a dangerous position and then reincarnate him as part of my peerage.”

Akeno felt incensed at those words.

“You would never do something like that!”

“You are right, I won’t. But as I said, that old bastard does not think that way.”

“....What now?”

Rias smiled, yet her eyes held a profound sadness which made her servants extremely angry.

“Now, we train. I know it will be a futile effort, but I will not give in without a fight. That, and hoping for a miracle, where I can probably get a strong servant who could help me. But the chances are slim for that to happen.”

For a second, Koneko wanted to suggest something.

She wanted to help the woman who took her in when she was at the depths of despair. So, she wants to suggest that Rias talk to Illya and Miyu to try and take them in as her servants.

Koneko’s sharp senses had long since sensed the absurd levels of mana in both the girls, and if it were not for the fact that their mana felt dormant, she would have suspected that they were powerful mages in hiding. That is why she believed that they had a lot of potential and could easily help Rias overcome this predicament.

However, the former Nekoshou suppressed this desire, letting such thoughts go.

She loved Rias and was extremely loyal to her. She saw her as family.

And yet, she also cared about her precious kohais, and she would never intentionally bring them into this side of the world where they would be placed in danger.

Rias got up from her seat and walked out with a hunch in her shoulders, her usual radiant expression dimmed by uncertainty and fear as she walked out.

“Whatever happens, we will follow the plan that I set in place back then.”

“If we win by some miracle, everything is fine. But, if we fail, I will trade you all out to Sona.”

For the first time this morning, a fierce rage and protectiveness shone in her blue-green eyes.

“I may not be able to escape my fate, but there is no way I am letting you fall into his slimy hands.”

“Rias-“

“Enough. This is not up for debate.”

“...As you wish, my king.”

The girls silently walked out of their club room, heading towards their respective classes, with each of them lost in their own thoughts.

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Author Notes: Sorry for the late update, I came down with the seasonal flu and couldn't move from my bed.