The Protagonist System

08 Just A Normal Night

“She's happy.” Koneko whispered at the top of the stairs.

“That's because I'm not covered in bruises and complaining about girls overreacting about me seeing their panties.” I clarified for her and she let out a soft laugh under her breath. “I know, right? Kuoh Academy uniform skirts are so short that even when I wasn't trying to look, I saw the underwear of at least ten different girls every day.”

“Not any more?” Koneko asked when I stopped at the hall closet.

“It's not worth the thrill anymore.” I said and handed her two towels, took one for myself, and closed the door. “I mean, I will always like seeing girls showing off their panties, especially pretty girls like you. I just think having them willingly show me is much more valuable than sneaking a peek.”

Koneko waited until we were in the bathroom to speak. “You saw mine when you threw me.”

“Nope.” I said and she gave me a blank expression. “I also didn't look when you straddled me on the kitchen counter.” I took off my jacket and hung it on the back of the door. “I can't even tell you what color they are.”

“Really?” Koneko asked.

I could hear the doubt in her voice. “I promised to not push you, Koneko. You choose what I see, what I touch, and how much.”

Koneko stayed quiet as I finished undressing and I hung up my complete uniform. I left on my boxer shorts and turned away from the door as I made sure to keep my back to her, so I wouldn't see anything. It was a bit of a manipulation, because I could easily make an educated guess on what she was wearing. I started running the water for the soaking tub and went over to the small washing stool.

“Issei.” Koneko's soft voice said. “You can look.”

I turned towards her and she stood there wearing just her panties. They were covered in white and blue stripes. “I guessed you might be wearing those.” I admitted. “That brand is both comfortable and is difficult to see through when they get wet.”

Koneko blinked her eyes at me. “You really didn't look.”

“No. Like I said, it's not worth losing more of a girl's respect by peeking.” I said and then smiled. “How about me? Are you okay about seeing my underwear on the floor?”

Koneko looked down at me and back at my face. “Not showing.”

“Not yet. I'm fighting it pretty hard, because you are beautiful and half-naked in front of me.” I said and turned around. I dropped my boxer shorts to the floor and kicked them over to the laundry basket and they went right in. “Score!”

Koneko let out a huff. “Too easy.”

I laughed when her panties bounced off the sink, flipped through the air, banked off the wall, and went into the basket on top of mine. “And we have a winner, ladies and gentlemen!” I said and lightly clapped. “I didn't know cloth could do that.”

Koneko's small hands lightly touched my back. “Sit.”

“Yes, dearest.” I said and stepped around the stool and sat with my towel draped across my lap. I stayed quiet as Koneko lathered me up and scrubbed me all over. She did not dip her hands down to where she could clearly see the bump in the towel and worked around it. I lathered my hands up and did it myself.

“My turn.” Koneko said.

I moved off the stool and let her sit down without looking at her, then I did the same as her and lathered her up from behind and didn't try to do anything under the towel on her lap. Her breasts were fair game, though. We had both enjoyed what we did in the kitchen and Koneko wasn't shy about it after taking control like that. She washed herself down there and I rinsed her off.

Koneko turned her head to look into my eyes. Without saying anything, I scooped her up into my arms into a princess carry and neither of us could see the crotch of the other. I stepped into the tub and set her down in the middle, turned off the water, and sat down at the end.

“Pervert pillow.” Koneko said and I nodded.

I moved my legs apart and she slid backwards to settle her back against my chest. I wrapped my arms around her and I hugged her snugly as my erection rested between the cheeks of her ass. Koneko took in a deep breath and let it out, almost with a relieved sigh. I slowly peppered the side of her face and neck with feather-light kisses and we both settled slightly to relax in the hot water.

*

Miki Hyoudou quietly opened the bathroom door and hung the spare robe on the hook after she took both Issei's and Koneko's uniforms. Her eyes quickly glanced at the tub and she saw the heart-melting sight of her son cuddling a cute girl. She left the bathroom and went to the laundry room, dealt with the two uniforms to make them presentable to wear in the morning, and left a new pair of panties for Koneko and boxer shorts for Issei.

With her essential work done, she went to her bedroom and changed before she climbed into bed. Miki's thoughts went to Issei coming home and she had been so excited about seeing her only child with a real girl that it made her forget about how angry she was about him coming home so late. He hadn't called and also missing supper.

Of course, Miki had assumed there was a phone somewhere in whatever club he said he might be staying late for. It wasn't until now that she understood why he had been so vague about the details of what he would be doing after school. He was wooing a girl!

Miki pushed those thoughts aside and giggled when she remembered the sign on Issei's forehead that said he was Koneko's Property. She hadn't had a chance to ask who that was before Koneko was revealed. The girl was so tiny and cute that she had to start off with the big guns, as Issei would say.

She covered her mouth to muffle her laugh. Her son had called her out on that move, too. Koneko's reaction hadn't been surprise, though. She had taken it like she expected it and that gave Miki an odd thought to follow. Had the girl been smothered by an enthusiastic big boob hug before?

Miki drifted off to sleep as she wondered how much girl talk she could squeeze in before the teens had to leave for school.

*

After half an hour, Koneko and I reluctantly left the bath and dried off, put on robes, and went to my bedroom.

“Pervert Heaven.” Koneko said as soon as she stepped into my room.

“I will freely admit that a pervert died here.” I said with a laugh and she smiled. “I'll be gathering up things over the next few days to pack them up to either sell to my old friends or back to the store.”

Koneko browsed around and looked at a few of the action figures and props that were on the shelves.

“Some of it is collectible.” I said and folded down the blankets on my bed. “I might keep a few things for nostalgia's sake, like that mecha-girl poster.”

Koneko turned around to look where I pointed. She walked over to the wall and stared at it. “Artsy.”

“That's exactly what I thought the first time I saw it. She's covered, looks classy, and still shows off everything to full effect.” I said and went to my dresser to dig out two pairs of boxers. I slipped one on under my robe and took off my robe, then handed the second pair to Koneko. “They are from a new pack.”

Koneko nodded and accepted them, copied my movements to put them on under the robe she wore without flashing me, and she took off the robe.

“Right side or left?” I asked and turned to show off holding my left arm or my right.

Koneko looked at the bed. “Left. I can leap out to attack easier on this side.”

I chuckled and climbed into bed and patted the spot next to me. Koneko climbed in and laid down on my arm and partially on my chest. I wrapped my arm around her to hold her and she pressed her breasts against my side.

“Goodnight, dearest.” I whispered to her.

“Goodnight, pervert.” Koneko said.

I gave the top of her head a kiss. “I'll warn you now that I'll be hard in the morning and that's normal.”

“Not because of me?” Koneko asked, her voice flat.

“Oh, it's definitely because of you.” I said and used my right hand to lightly caress her arm on my chest. “Don't ever doubt that you're the reason.”

Koneko nodded slightly and closed her eyes.

I stayed awake for several minutes as I thought over everything I went through today. On the whole, it had worked out well, despite the huge gamble I had taken with Rias and her Peerage. I hadn't expected Akeno to call in Grayfia as the supreme authority to handle things and it still worked out positively.

What was funny was that no one explained what I had missed about Grayfia's visit. I could guess, however. She was the agent Sirzechs used to do his dirty work. She was the clean-up crew and handled everything that needed to be done out of the public view and behind the scenes. I didn't miss the fact that Akeno had immediately pointed Grayfia at me and told her to fix the problem.

That realization explained why my Karma had dropped so low when dealing with Rias and her Peerage. My words apparently had a lot of impact on my own Karmic Debt and I was sure that I was either adding to or subtracting from the people I interacted with, meaning my gains and losses were much more than they would be normally.

When seen from that perspective, I knew that at the end, I had relieved some of the negative debt that Rias had done in the past and changed how she would do things in the future, which was the entire point of my lesson. Any future members were going to be handled in a much better fashion than I had been. It had also given both her and myself a large Karma boost... that I immediately spent on Mil-Tan.

I held in my laugh at that, mainly because if I hadn't gambled so much with Rias, I wouldn't have met Grayfia and brought my Karma up enough to use the points. I didn't want to think about how I could have screwed all of that up or how I could have died again when I met Dohnaseek.

Koneko being there with me had changed the conditions of the Second Death option, which proved I was making significant changes to canon. I just had to keep that up and ensure things that happened in the story a certain way, were well and truly off-the-rails.

I went to sleep with half-formed plans in my head to change the next big event to happen in Kuoh, Asia Argento's arrival in a few days.

*

Rias woke with a start and immediately lamented leaving such a wonderful dream. She had been ravished by her newest Peerage member and he was an absolute beast. He had taken her, over and over, and she had been pretty much drained of fluids. She sat up and saw her bed was soaked. Her laugh echoed off her bedroom walls as she threw off the blanket.

Her hand went to between her legs and she cried out with pleasure as she remembered what Issei had done with his magical tongue. Being a virgin, it had been the most intense orgasm she had ever had. Not even Akeno could get her off so well and she was her best friend. Her fingers dug in and Rias moaned and came again.

After a few deep breaths, she climbed out of bed and went to the bathroom to shower and get ready for the day. She had a few hours before school started, so she dressed and sat at her desk where the crystal ball was. She felt a bit naughty as she used her familiar to look in on Issei and maybe she would catch him asleep in bed or maybe taking a bath.

Her jaw dropped open as she saw Issei cooking breakfast and his mother was having an animated talk with Koneko at the kitchen table. They looked comfortable and happy, which was so odd to see on Koneko's face. Rias wished her familiar had been able to get inside and was close enough to get sound, because she desperately wanted to know what they were talking about.

“Rias? It's time to head to school.” Akeno said as she entered Rias's bedroom. “We have some paperwork to fill out about the Fallen Angel attacks and we have to meet with Sona to let her know Issei is fully informed about us.”

Rias didn't say anything and pointed to what the crystal ball was showing. Akeno walked over to her desk and looked over her shoulder to see Issei serving a very nice breakfast to Koneko and a fairly pretty woman. By Devil Beauty standards, she was almost plain-looking.

“Is that his mother? Their hair is almost the same.” Akeno pointed out.

“They are having breakfast like a family!” Rias said instead of answering.

“That is what family usually does in the mornings.” Akeno said and tried to not laugh at Rias and how she was acting. “Is my best friend and Club President feeling envy for our school's mascot?”

Rias opened her mouth to answer and blushed.

“He made quite the impression on you, hmm?” Akeno asked and giggled. “Me, too.”

“He didn't go down on you and make you pass out.” Rias grumbled.

Akeno laughed. “I was pretty close.” She said and lightly touched the spot where he had slapped her. “I still have a slightly red imprint of his hand there.”

Rias glanced down at her friend's hand and back up at her face. “I didn't think he hit you that hard.”

“He didn't. It's magic residue.” Akeno said and Rias' eyebrows rose. “I think he did it on purpose, because every time I try to sit, it reminds me of what he did and how good it felt.”

Rias could only nod and looked back at the crystal ball. The three people it showed looked like they really enjoyed eating and talking together.

“Bring it along and you can check it again when we get to the school.” Akeno said.

“Good idea. Let's go.” Rias said and ended the viewing spell and packed the crystal ball into her school bag. She was glad that she was eighteen and had already graduated high school and was only taking occasional college courses for a few credits. Running the territory she shared with Sona was taking up more of her time than she thought it should.

Unlike her normal morning walk to school, Rias didn't find the adoring gazes from the other students as flattering. Her eyes darted to Akeno's and she saw almost the same thing on her best friend's face. It wasn't until they reached the school gates and neared Sona Sitri that Rias realized what the problem was. The looks everyone gave her were shallow.

The people staring at her and begging for her attention, they didn't know who she really was. They only saw her as one of the top beauties of the school, along with Akeno and Sona's Queen, Tsubasa. Rias would never deny that she was beautiful, she was a Devil after all. The problem was that only her friends and family knew what her personality was like and had accepted her.

“You are thinking too hard, Rias.” Akeno whispered in her ear.

“How can you tell?” Rias whispered back.

“You are frowning.” Akeno answered and turned her head to face forward. “Good morning, School Council President.”

“Good morning, Miss Himejima.” Sona said and nodded to her. “Good morning, Miss Gremory.”

“Morning.” Rias said and sighed. “I'm sorry for not greeting you properly. I'm a little distracted this morning.”

“I don't have to be a genius to figure out this is about your newest club member.” Sona said.

“I'll have him sign the official sign up sheet when he arrives.” Rias said.

“Ahem.” Akeno said instead of actually coughing.

Rias gave her a questioning look and Akeno nodded at Sona. “Oh, yes. Issei has been informed about all of the club's activities and the duties he would be responsible for.”

Sona understood. “We can address that during the morning meeting after our paperwork and before school starts.”

Rias nodded and whispered a hello to Tsubasa as she and Akeno entered the school.

“What do you think she's going to say when Issei shows up for school with Koneko?” Akeno asked.

“They aren't in the same class, so she should assume he is escorting his junior.” Rias said.

Akeno gave her a disbelieving look, then she giggled. “I think you are underestimating Issei's ability to cause trouble.”

Rias huffed and smiled. After everything that had happened the day before, there wasn't much Issei could do to cause any real trouble today.