Eating Your Weight: Kindred Spirits
They say that one of the greatest joys in life was witnessing a cute girl in a school girl uniform.
I wasn't really sure who said that, or whether or not they were in prison by now as they probably should be, but I couldn't deny they were absolutely right. Because I was rocking this skirt.
I practically strutted up to the gates of Kuoh Academy, really feeling myself thanks to the swanky uniform I had been issued. The school’s gates rose high into the air, attached to thick walls made of brick that barred entry for anyone who wasn't supposed to be inside. They looked pretty sturdy, probably due to the fact that this used to be an all-girls school only a couple years ago.
An official looking woman was waiting for me in front of the gate, wearing a dress suit and sporting a no-nonsense bun. She gave me a small smile as I approached, and I returned it easily.
“Miss Kanei, it's nice to finally have you. I'm the principal of this fine academy." She bowed, "I'm sorry your paperwork took so long to push through but that's the way things are, I suppose. We are glad you're finally here.”
“It's cool. I know how modern bureaucracy is. My mom's a hospital director so she's told me all about how hard it is to get things out of the local government.” I joked.
Because I had literally never attended a public school before, the paperwork to be admitted to Kuoh had to be started from scratch. It took a while to get everything in order, long enough that the school year actually started, so I was actually joining a little bit into the third week of the semester. I didn't mind, of course. It wasn't like a couple days would really matter.
The woman smiled at my good humor, “It’s sometimes more like wrangling cats than actual bureaucracy. Nevertheless, welcome aboard. Normally the student council president would handle your onboarding but she's busy at the moment so I'll be helping you get to class and your homeroom teacher will take things from there.”
“Sounds good to me.” I said, following her through the gates.
The inside of Kuoh was just as nice as the outside. For a school that was several stories tall they seemed to make good use of the space. The halls were filled with occupied classrooms and the occasional decoration, and I didn't hold back my curiosity as I looked around at everything we passed.
“We're very happy to have you at our school, Miss Kanei.” The principal said as we walked, “Though I'm pretty curious why you're only choosing now to get into public education.”
I shrugged, “I guess you could say I had a bit of an eye opening experience on a trip recently. There are a lot of big experiences I missed out on when it came to school. I didn't want to lose out on high school too.”
She smiled at me, “Well I'm sure you'll enjoy your time here. Kuoh has been the most lauded school in the area for four generations and there's certainly a reason for that.”
As I went to respond, a sound caught both of our attention. We turned in unison and my eyes widened as a brown-haired boy practically skidded around the corner like hell was on his heels, dashing towards us with terrified eyes.
Right behind him and clearly the reason for his fear, was a crowd of pissed off teenage girls. They were wearing kendo outfits and looked more angry than I had ever seen a crowd of women in my life which begged the question…
What the hell did this guy do?
Something inside of me twinged in response to the sight, but I wasn't sure what it was. Pity maybe? Or jealousy? I certainly wouldn't mind being chased like that.
Our eyes met briefly as he saw me in his way, before his eyes slid past me and his face went ghostly white as he saw the principal standing next to me giving him a glare. He tripped over his own feet, falling flat on his face with a sound that made me wince in sympathy.
“Issei Hyoudou, what have you done this time?” The principal demanded, stopping the girls just short of beating the life out of him. The woman was incensed but not at the clearly violent girls. Instead she was mad at the guy. This must have been a regular thing.
The boy, Issei, just groaned from his place on the floor. The principal turned her attention to the crowd of girls instead, “Well? What happened?”
A scowling girl with short pink hair stepped forward out of the group, “He and his friends were watching us change! They snuck into the girl's locker room and hid in Aname’s locker!”
“We already got his friends!” Another added, cracking her knuckles and making Issei whimper, “He hasn't taken his licks yet though. Let us have him, we'll be quick.”
“Wait seriously?” I laughed, incredulous. People actually did that?
The principal didn't seem shocked, merely disappointed, “Again, Hyoudou? When are you going to learn?”
Issei's head shot up, eyes full of righteous fervor, “Never! I'm never going to give up the search for the righteous treasure that is the female body! It's who I am!”
“Who you are stinks!” One of the girls said as I held a hand to my mouth to keep myself from cracking up.
The principal sighed, rubbing her forehead like she had a headache, “Hyoudou… One day you and I are going to sit down and have a long, long talk.”
She turned towards the group of irate girls, “Go back to practice, girls. I'll take it from here. And bring the other two to my office as well.”
“Aww…” The group chorused, walking away mopily. A few of them glared back at Issei, making various threatening and surprisingly creative gestures that had the boy paling, before disappearing down the hall. As they left the principal turned back to me with an apologetic look on her face.
“I'm very sorry about all of this, Miss Kanei. I assure you, this little incident is not representative of our school or administration in any way.”
I waved her off, suppressing my smile, “Trust me, it's fine. I didn't really expect this when I signed up but at least it's interesting, right?”
“Right, interesting.” The woman gave me a strained smile, "I'm afraid I need to tell the nurse to get ready for two patients so I won't be able to finish your tour. Knowing those girls, they'll need it. Hyoudou shares your homeroom though so he should be more than able to see you there.”
Issei perked right up at the sentiment, looking me up and down. A massive grin spread across his face and he did a little fist pump that he thought I didn't see, “Spending time with a cute tomboy? Score!”
He clearly didn't mean for it to be heard but it was nonetheless. While I took it in good humor, the woman beside me seemed to age ten years in a single instant.
“Maybe I should call one of those girls back to help.” She muttered, and Issei's face was immediately stricken with panic, making me giggle.
“It's fine. I'm more than capable of handling myself if he tries anything.” I assured even though I didn't think he would, “Don't let me take any more time out of your busy schedule. Go do what you need to do. I'll be fine.”
She seemed unsure but relented, “Alright then. Make sure to get your syllabus from your teacher. And welcome to Kuoh, Miss Kanei. And Hyoudou, behave yourself.”
“Yes ma'am.” Issei squeaked at the woman's stink eye and she lingered on him for a moment before turning away.
She left the two of us behind, leaving me alone with Issei. I waited until she was out of earshot before asking the burning question.
“So…” I said, turning to look at him curiously, “Did you get any pictures?”
Issei stared at me like I just spoke Russian or something, “W-What?”
“I asked if you got any pictures.” I repeated, enunciating carefully, “A view like that must've been worth the trouble, right? You had to get some stuff to share.”
Issei gaped at me, “You want to see? But you're a girl!”
He didn't mean it in the way it sounded but I still decided to bust his balls over it, “And? Just because I'm a chick doesn't mean I can't appreciate them. I prefer curvy girls, but I also don't mind a bit of muscle every now and then.”
I tilted my head, thinking, “Though I'd never try to actually spy on them while they're changing. That takes some balls man. You better be careful because that one girl looked like she was ready to rip’em off.”
I was pretty sure I broke him. He just stared at me with wide eyes and his jaw agape, and I could only hold the facade for a second before breaking with a loud snort of laughter.
“I'm just fucking with you dude. Don't worry, I don't want any pictures.” I said, patting him on the shoulder with a loud clap as I stepped past him. My hand tingled oddly as I touched him, and I glanced at it weirdly before shrugging it off, “Now pick that jaw up and take me to class. I've already missed enough this year."
The pay spurred him into action and he nodded shakily as he snapped out of whatever trance he had been in, “R-Right. It's over here, follow me.”
He stepped in front of me, leading the way. As we walked, I couldn't help but marvel once again at how utterly massive this place was. Even though the principal and I had been walking for a few minutes, we hadn't even crossed half of it. And there were more floors to go.
“So uh…” I turned to Issei as he spoke, “Are you really a pervert too?”
I snorted, “I guess that's one way to put it. I prefer to call myself a connoisseur of the female body though. Less chance of getting out in prison that way.”
“Oh yeah? Prove it.” He challenged. I raised an eyebrow.
“What, you want me to give you a peek, or something?”
Issei's eyes practically popped out of his head at the prospect of seeing some free boob, “Wait, would you!? I'd never turn down the chance to see some rocking tomboy tits! Even if they're small, I can tell they've got a perfect shape!”
“Pfft, hahaha!” I laughed loudly, “You're fuckin shameless, huh? No, I'm not gonna show you my tits. It'll take more than you got to get a peek under my shirt. Maybe if you were a cute girl you'd have a shot but a cute boy? Nah, not happening.”
Issei looked devastated for a split second before he regained his composure. He shook his head clearing his throat, “Uh no, that's not it. I meant if you're really one of us, then you must also have a pretty good collection of some of the best smut around.” His face became serious, “And I'm not talking bush league crap that you can find at any video store, I'm talking about the rare stuff.”
Oh, so that's what he was talking about.
I smirked, “So maybe something like the limited run of Boob Bouncers 3D? Complete with the inflatable silicone mold of the lead actress’s crazy rack?”
Issei's eyes popped out of his head at the mention of the sacred piece of media, “What!? No way you have that! That run didn't even last five minutes on the web before they were sold out!”
“Probaby because people like me camped the site for hours waiting for it to drop.” I blew on my nails, buffing them on my shirt smugly, "One of the perks of being homeschooled is you don't have to deal with classes getting in the way of your ambitions.”
What I didn't tell him was that that DVD was one of the only pieces of physical media that I owned, mostly because the lead actress was an absolute bombshell and starred in a lot of my favorite videos, and I wanted to see what ‘3D’ porn was like. Hint: It sucked ass and not in the fun way.
Issei didn't know that though and I grinned at his awed expression, “Even Matsuda hasn't managed to get his hands on something like that. You gotta let me borrow it!”
I held a hand up, “Woah, we literally just met dude. Sharing porn is like… I don't even know what base that is, but we definitely aren't there yet. You're gonna have to get yours second-hand, sorry.”
Issei whined but before he could say anything else, we rounded the corner and were immediately stopped as I nearly ran face-first into another person, just barely managing to stop short before we ran into each other.
I put my hands on their shoulders, keeping them from tipping over as they jolted in surprise, “Woah, sorry about that. I wasn't looking where I was… going.”
My voice fell short as I got a good look and more importantly feel of the girl in front of me. She was pretty tall, a couple feet on me but about the same age, with long hair that almost reached her knees and an armful of papers. She was cute but not really the type of girl I'd look at unless she approached me first.
Or she wouldn't have been, if it wasn't for the demonic energy that was radiating from every pore on her body. This girl was a Devil.
A strong one too. This close, I could almost taste the overpowering demonic aura she was passively putting out. Her power saturated the immediate area, and I couldn't help but equate it to what it felt like being near Agnir when he called down his lightning, if just a little less intense.
It was almost scary, honestly. If I was just a normal human I wouldn't have any idea that this girl was anything but another cute girl. It made me wonder how many supernatural creatures I had passed by on the street just walking around town and didn't know it. It was a disquieting notion.
Eyes of a similar color to my own flashed as the girl adjusted her glasses, “Please watch where you're going in the future. It took quite a while to sort these documents and I'd hate to drop them.”
“V-Vice-President?” Issei stuttered before I could respond. The girl's eyes slid over to him before a slightly disgusted look crossed her face.
“Good morning, Hyoudou. What are you doing with this girl? I hope you're not planning to harass her or something.” Her voice held an edge that indicated that better not be the case, and Issei gulped.
“I'm just showing her where her homeroom is, promise! We have the same class and the principal asked me to help her out.” He promised.
At his words, she turned to me again, raising an eyebrow as she looked me up and down, “Is that so? I don't think I've seen you around here before. Are you new?”
I nodded, “Yep. Just started today, in fact. Issei really was helping me to my class. I'm Naomi Kanei, nice to meet you.”
The girl nodded, “Tsubaki Shinra, Vice-President of the Student Council. It’s nice to meet you, Naomi.”
Despite her words, the girl was staring at me intensely, almost like she was trying to dissect me with her eyes alone. Could she sense my power as well? Miyo said it was intense and she was just a human. Being this close as a Devil must be like she was drowning in it.
We stared at one another for a long moment, one of us searching and the other starting to get slightly uncomfortable for multiple reasons, before she broke the silence.
“You’re the homeschooled student, correct?” She asked as she adjusted her grip on her papers, “Why did you decide to attend Kuoh of all places?”
She was clearly prying for information but I didn't see any harm in the question. I decided to answer honestly,, “I've lived in the area all my life and heard good things about this place so I figured I'd see what the fuss was about.”
Tsubaki nodded, “I see. And you have no intentions to cause trouble, I assume? Being on a first name basis with Hyoudou of all people doesn't exactly inspire confidence.”
Issei made an offended noise but I ignored him, examining the loaded question that had just been thrown my way. She was testing the waters, trying to see if I was some sort of threat to whatever her and her peerage had going on here. Briefly, I wondered what she would do if I gave her the wrong message. Would she take care of me right here in front of Issei? Or maybe she'd wait and show up to my house with all her buddies in tow and do it there. Either way, I had no intentions of finding out.
“I'm not here to cause trouble. Just to learn and socialize.” I assured, “I missed a lot of stuff because I was homeschooled and I'd rather get some actual friends in school where it's easy, you know?”
My words didn't have any outward effect on her attitude, but the look in her eye became a bit more appraising rather than analytical, “If that's the case, then I wish you the best of luck. Though If I may offer some advice, I would be more careful what type of people you decide to make friends with.”
Her eyes darted to Issei who deflated and I smirked, “I'll keep that in mind.”
“Please do. It was nice meeting you, Naomi.* Tsubaki said as she walked past me. She completely ignored Issei as she passed him by, and I watched as she walked away, taking the buzzing demonic aura with her.
“She really doesn't like you, does she?”
Issei sighed, “No. Nobody on the Student Council does but her and Sona are the worst. They like Matsuda and Matohama less though.”
“Silver linings, I guess.” I muttered as she disappeared down the hall.
A small seed of worry settled in my gut as I watched her walk away. That was one of the Devils that Miyo told me about? I guess it was a good thing they were peaceful. Because if all of them were this strong then I was completely screwed if they decided we had beef. I could handle one or two of them, but two peerages’ worth? Not a chance.
Good thing I didn't need to worry about that I guess. That definitely revitalized my desire to train though.
I put it out of my mind for now. I was still at school. I had other priorities at the moment.
“Alright, Mr Popular, enough moping. Take me to class.”