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Chapter 38: The Art of Dating

Today is the big day, and I was absolutely nervous of how things will fare out of this.

Maybe it was just a case of personal anxiety due to how many bad things could come out of a date now that it was an official one compared to the previous one. If before I had all the reasons to flunk, now I had good reasons to actually score. Did I doubt that Akeno was going to like it? Not really. It wasn't even the purpose of the date. The date itself was to set up our pace and how the relationship was supposed to work since… well, there were plenty of reasons for this to end up poorly.

One just needs to think about the relationship between Masaomi Yaegaki and Cleria Belial to understand why this had to still be kept a secret regardless of what happened to my identity. The very moment our relationship plus the affiliations came up and became public, I was certain we were going to get assaulted due to this. It wasn't even a joking matter, especially with how staunch a certain Zekram Bael was about this kind of stuff. Sure, the reason that drove him to pursue such a harsh punishment was tied to the fact both Masaomi and Cleria had discovered the secret of the Rating Games, making them even more troublesome by keeping them alive.

At this point it was all a game of acting and of keeping certain individuals in the dark about this kind of stuff. And I had also other things to worry about other than just minding over the last checks for the date, starting with a certain Queen's promise manifesting in quite the unamusing matter. The very moment I entered school, I could tell that something new had unfolded. Students were rushing around with a clear hint of interest, fascination, wonder. I spared a quick look to both Kunou and Koneko, the Nekoshou having waited by the entrance until our arrival and definitely clueless on what was going on. Clarity over the matter would soon come to me the moment I spotted Tsubaki going through her way around the halls with a nervous look on her face.

"Any issue?" I greeted with a nod, followed by the other girls. The young woman spared me an uncertain expression.

"I want to believe there isn't one, but Sona-taichou asked me to check on the current… state of curiosity the school is in. I'm sure it has to do with the new teacher."

A blink. "A new teacher?" I asked in pure surprise, caught off-guard by a news that… technically shouldn't have been possible to happen out of the blue. "I thought the principal was supposed to discuss this with the board before hiring someone so suddenly."

"That's correct… but it would seem like the board had been aware of this for a while… which doesn't make sense since we would have noticed something this big before now," Tsubaki confirmed with a nod. "I think it might be tied to… politics."

That drew a frown out of me. "Sona-taichou would have still noticed."

"Which is why I ask you to be wary of anything coming from this teacher," The young woman added with a serious look. "I know you're usually careful-"

"But I will be an extra touch more than usual because of this. Don't worry," I assured before bidding her a good day. After leaving the two girls to their classes, I proceeded to get back to my classroom and prepare to see what she was all about. I would have asked which subject might have given away their seat to a new entry, and I remembered how the Art teacher had been particularly interested in retiring early, mentioning how it happening before the end of the year would have been optimal for her.

With that in mind, I kept myself ready to react accordingly if something bad unfolded during the first lesson of this teacher. I spotted Akeno and we exchanged a wave of hands as she paused a conversation with her boss. Rias actually looked surprised at the friendliness, reminding me that she wasn't really that aware of the situation with me and Akeno. While it was obvious for anyone invested in the situation that something had happened on the 'first' date, it just didn't make sense in a logical way why Akeno and I would just act friendly and… nothing more. Even though there were public plans for a second date. Azure eyes locked onto my form, trying to get through my body language and my current action at her stern looking at anything that her sister-like friend hadn't told her about.

This lasted until the first hour began. We had Math, the lesson being fairly calm and quiet as the teacher started to explain a few new arguments and those were going to be important for the next exams. Second hour was also fairly easy since it was History… and then it was the turn for Art. I braced myself as I could feel something from within screaming at me to the top of its lungs that danger was on its way.

Oh, I think I know who it is.

I would have answered that comment, maybe pressed him to give me a straight answer but… I really didn't want to do this anymore. After yesterday, I really felt unwilling to converse with Lucifer as I knew that he wanted to play the tough game. While I would normally say that it was fine when it came to unimportant stuff, there was so much that could be said and told before I got avalanched by it all out of nowhere. But no, I had to be 'toughened up' instead of aided through the worst. Which was fine, since it meant not talking with the prick at all.

Plus, I didn't even need to pressure him for anything as the answer to my question was just turning the corner and… I could only hold back a sigh as I should have expected it to be that very individual. Humming happily and eagerly, Lilith entered the room with a vibrant smile and a small bag to accompany her for this peculiar development.

"Good morning, students~."

The greeting gained two major reactions. A good part of the male students was gawking in interest at the new Art teacher, faces burning red at the crush-material before them, while the rest of the guys and the girls in the classroom stood up and greeted the woman back as she walked up to her desk.

"Hm~ Hm~, I'm happy to see how well-behaved this classroom is. Truly beyond expectations," The brunette complimented before sitting down and checking her registry and going for a roll call. When my name was brought up, she paid extra attention, sparing just a giddy smile as if she was deeply amused by this circumstance. I wasn't happy, or… I wasn't as happy as she was in this instance. For numerous good reasons.

Lilith being there meant that big shots were going to look at Kuoh regardless of Kokabiel's stunt or not. Which, in layman's terms, equated the Church growing interested in the city and making plans to get a small slice of it back from both the Underworld and Grigori. This wasn't going to be a fun ride while she was around, and I doubted anyone would be able to ask her to get out of Kuoh. Not only did she have interest in the city, but she also had 'me' to watch over. At this point, there were many reasons for her to stay and forsake any thought of leaving due to me, her other relatives, the interesting pull the city has by nature and… yeah, many other things.

The lesson was actually easy to handle despite the fact the woman was blatantly paying extra attention to me. Nothing too strong or that one could mistake for anything weird… except Akeno. The few times Lilith was turned around, she would look in my general direction and give me a confusing look that left me particularly perplexed. It wasn't a jealous one, but I could tell I wasn't supposed to take it positively. There was just a degree of… annoyance at that. Most of which was aimed at the teacher.

A massive mistake for Akeno since that literally confirmed a few suspicions from Lilith herself about who she had to keep an eye out for. It was clear that the woman was more of a meddler than an active lover seeking new partners. Instead of ruining the loyalty for her husband, she turned her fascination and attention into the principal fuel for her matchmaking drive. In this case, the purpose of her 'duty' was heightened by the fact that I was her 'surrogate grandson'. I had yet to fully grasp the idea I was now 'part' but also not of the Lucifer family.

Would that make Vali… my nephew? No, I could tell that the use of 'grandson' was picked out of convenience as to not make it too long and just define me as her great-grandson. Kind of difficult to keep track of that, I was quite sure of that, and I could tell the woman also didn't want to stress too much her patience about being defined as a grandmother. Knowing how ladies' minds work in anime, I was steering clear from anyone trying to set me up to make that kind of mistake, being well too aware that the classic dislike of women for anything reminding of their old age was tripled if not quadrupled when it came to anime.

The lecture didn't last too long as Lilith, or professor Evelyn Morningstar, decided to use this opportunity more to gauge the current level of the classroom instead of pushing the curriculum forward. It was a smart decision considering the situation, but I was deeply impressed by the fact that she knew what she was doing. Many times there were characters that would just join Kuoh Academy in the original timeline only to be around the main cast, even though they lacked a fair amount of requirements needed to be part of the school. Most of the time it was even a lack of preparation and a general lack of qualifications to become a teacher in this class.

Despite this, I still kept a guarded look and approach when it came to Lilith. It might sound too harsh in her regards, but I could tell that she knew why I was so careful about her. If I behaved too 'cozy' around her, people would have gotten suspicious of me as to why someone like me was getting the attention of the former Queen of Hell herself. Which made some sense as to why she was keeping a moderate approach towards me… and shifting a lot more focus on two other individuals. I think Maria was the one to first grasp on why the new teacher was being so cuddly towards her and her sister, maybe feeling a connection between their two magic patterns and how the older woman shared some of the facial features with both her and Mio.

With that lesson over and with my current plans being to check on Sona and see if she was aware of the current situation, I managed to get in a conversation with the President of the student council on the matter. I told her that I had been aware of this since yesterday, but that Baraqiel had ordered me to keep quiet about it until we were sure of what Lilith had in mind to do for her stay here in Kuoh. She was annoyed by the fact she had to discover this in that manner, but she still didn't seem to mind it too much. The girl added that she was going to check on Evelyn's background some more and then create a profile for Lilith to keep track of her actions during her stay here in Kuoh.

There was no reason for me to ask her to keep quiet about this with Rias, feeling like such a move would just draw suspicions from the redhead onto Sona herself. Plus, I doubted that Sirzechs was only using his sister to keep tracks of things here at school and he had to know that Lilith was here in Kuoh.

Which potentially meant another meeting between the big shots to draw agreements on the matter. The return of Lilith established a new important element to keep in mind to maintain the status quo and avoid any issues with the rest of the Christian Factions.

It was a mess that was just waiting to explode, and I took this circumstance to clear my mind from my own worries over the date. With school day over and with just a few hours to get lunch ready and go through the last preparations before my private time with Akeno, I prepared my brain for the biggest worry for the time being.

And I wasn't going to mess things up. Not now that I had a reason to win her over.

It was time for the date, and I felt less nervous than how I was during the morning.

Maybe it was tied to the fact my worry had shifted to another, more pressing concern, or maybe I felt confident now that I was about to hit first contact once more that things were going to work for my plans. I had taken into account a couple of elements I've learned about Akeno, setting up an ambitious plan that began with a nice stroll by the park, then a visit at the local arcade since I discovered a tiny bit of interest in games from Rias ended up becoming part of her Queen too. Finally, we would go to a proper restaurant which I knew was known to sell good food. It wasn't a fancy one, but I wasn't resorting to cheap locations and I chose this one through its menu rather than how much it cost to reserve two seats.

I had set some plans in case strange things happened for the occasion as I doubted Lilith was just going to spare us from meddling in the date. There was a slim chance she didn't know about it happening today, but I was more of a realist than an optimist and I could tell the woman was just going to know about what was going to happen today.

Once I was done, I left home to make my way at the spot where I had planned out my rendezvous with Akeno, right at the entrance of the park where we were going to start our date. I found her there and… I could say the young woman wasn't slacking off when it came in effort in driving a good investment from her part too. If I had settled for a fancier set of clothes for the occasion, she decided to go for a gorgeous dark-blue dress and a black jacket to keep herself warm before we went to the restaurant. It matched well with the little make up action she went for. She put on some lipstick and I quickly noticed it when she asked a kiss on the lips as a greeting. Nothing wrong with that, except for the lipstick. I really didn't like the feeling of having it on my own lips but… it wasn't the worst feeling in the world and definitely not a reason to be whining already.

"So… where do we start?" The woman inquired with a hint of amusement, clearly intrigued by what I had in mind for this serious date.

"I was planning for a little walk in the park," I offered with a nod. "It's not dark just yet and it's a nice place to share a conversation or two."

A blink, then two. She was curious, but also slightly annoyed from a closer glance.

"Why do you think I need this?" It was quite blatant from me that I wanted to talk with her before the main bits of the date. At first it was just about her family, but now I knew she might have got the wrong idea out of Lilith's interest in me. And just the thoughts were more than enough to spark some jealousy. I didn't blame her for that, but I would definitely blame myself for noticing this and not confront her about these matters.

"Because I think you want to ask me things before we go through this. And no, I'm not forcing you to do anything-"

"But you don't want this to ruin the date," Akeno interrupted with an understanding nod. "I can say that would be troublesome but… it's not that bad."

"You were giving me odd looks earlier in class with… her."

The reincarnated devil huffed, crossing her arms beneath her bosom. "S-She was giving you strange looks herself, and you didn't seem to mind that."

"Did that really make you jealous?" I asked while frowning, trying my best to hold back my amusement at that pout she had on her face.

"W-Why shouldn't I? I know Lilith-sama is important but… wait, why are you holding back a laugh?"

Her mood changed instantly as she noticed how much entertainment was playing on my face. The girl knew I wasn't a sadist and that was enough to rule out the chance of me enjoying her 'suffering'. I decided to not play the long game and I just told her.

"Akeno-chan, I met Lilith yesterday and… well, I can assure you that she isn't someone that is trying to seduce or steal anyone," I assured with a tiny smile. "In fact, she is the kind of lady that wants to… coddle people younger than her. She is loyal to her husband and so she just likes to tease people as if they are her children. She asked me to call her grandma in private."

In a single moment, the girl's entire understanding of the matter flipped in a way she just couldn't recognize and her jaw dropped instantly at the news. She grasped my shoulders, she gave me a serious look and asked a simple question.

"Are you lying to me?"

I blinked. "Nope."

…

"Okay," Akeno replied, her expression dropping to a lovely one as she looked really convinced by my explanation and my genuineness. To be fair, I was as much surprised by her accepting nature to my version of the story as much as relieved. Perhaps I really put out a real display of seriousness when it came to this kind of stuff and she just picked up that I wasn't lying in this circumstance. Still, as soon this was solved, we proceeded to start our little walk in the park, with the girl taking this opportunity to ask me a couple of questions.

"So you don't really like talking about your parents… because you feel like they mistreated you?"

I sighed. "It's more of 'I know' rather than 'I feel' in this case, Akeno-chan. I was no son to them as far as I could tell, always being used to further their reputation in town."

This thought wasn't even one I had been supporting without evidence. I had just a few notes from the Hoitsu before my insertion and the guy was quite depressed from a close look at his things. Very lonely, very humiliated and terribly gas-lighted in believing he was the one to fault for his own misery. The truth was upsettingly different than that. In fact, I was incredibly furious when the hints of neglect and mental abuse started to come up while I tried to 'build' myself from what was once the old Hoitsu Sakakibara. Both Mr. and Mrs. Sakakibara came from rich families that, as much as they were well established in Japan, shared no relation with my 'parents' in particular. After digging some more, I learned how messed up these two were and how they just ended up creating their own personal hell built around the need to have attention. It was a match made in heavens, but for horrible people. And I didn't mind it when Azazel decided to just ship them away and relocate their life and work in the States.

I pondered about checking on my other relatives, but I already had enough experience with the standard Sakakibara, and I didn't need to see either other members of my father's family or from my mother's own clan of possible wackos. It wasn't even an assumption of mine to judge them like this, but I really didn't want to risk it. I called it silly self-preservation.

Still, Akeno wasn't completely sure of my logic here as I had done my best to keep this argument out of many discussions I had in the past. While I didn't care much about the topic. I just didn't want to flaunt it around as if it was a reason to pity me whenever possible. I really didn't like that possibility and I certainly held that just because of it.

"But… are you sure of that?"

I sighed. "Akeno-chan, I know what you are trying to say here and… let's just say that sometimes one can be cursed with some horrible parents as much as one can be blessed with the best kind possible."

Her lips twitched, but she didn't comment on that as I could tell I also opened a door she was really reluctant to entertain as of now.

"You know, I did some digging behind your father's back. About… what really happened to your mother-"

"Hoitsu-kun, I hope you're not trying to start some silly thought about redeeming my father," Akeno interrupted. "I understand you are close with him, but I would prefer to handle this private conversation with him. If I want."

"Well, I guess then I'm in the clear since there is no action he should be redeemed of," I rebuked with a sigh. "But seriously, how much do you know about it?"

"He is to fault."

"Why?"

…

She gave me a frustrated scowl. "Fallen Angels killed my mother."

…

"And that means Baraqiel is to blame?" I pressed, carefully teasing her into being a little more angry but also telling me some more about what she remembered.

"Grigori is the only faction that employs Fallen Angel," The girl elaborated with a loud scoff. "And even then, father wasn't even there to protect mother."

…

"And why wasn't he there?"

"What do you… mean? Why would that matter?"

"It would matter a lot actually," I remarked calmly, having read a couple of reports on the matter and being well-conscious of what Baraqiel was trying to accomplish that very day while away from home. "One can say that, if the Himejima Clan hadn't hired rogue Fallen Angels to strike at your home that very day, you would have probably been taken in by Grigori."

She tried to use a glare to put me out of any trick or lie about the topic, but I held strong as I knew that it was actually the truth. As terrible as it really sounded to learn, Baraqiel had gone to visit Azazel to cash in a favor he had with the Governor-General. He wanted to take Shuri and Akeno into Grigori and give them protection from the group.

It was a big request, but one that Azazel saw no reason to deny and so he was given the chance to do so. If his wife had lived through the ordeal and his daughter hadn't mistakenly confused the attackers for members of Grigori. Fate is truly tragic at times… especially when some bastards were involved in that kind of shittery.

"So… my father was trying to… protect us more?"

"He knew that something like that would have happened eventually. He wanted to make sure that wasn't the case and he took a huge risk… that obviously backfired on him and pretty much your family," I replied with a nod. "In fact, the backlash was so massive that eventually the truth of what happened was revealed and the new boss of the Himejima Clan started to purge people that were involved in that kind of madness. Also, I believe you will be surprised to know who is leading them and is currently trying to find out where her beloved cousin ended up going."

It didn't take long for the clue to be taken in, pondered over and eventually used to arrive at a solution with her mind. Her eyes widened as she realized who I was referring to as, beyond her mother and father, there was someone else that she lost after she broke off from both Baraqiel and the Himejima Clan.

"S-Suzaku-nee?"

I smiled. "A search is called to find where the 'wronged Akeno Himejima' is brought back to the clan and asked for forgiveness on a yearly basis. It's a little custom of hers ever since she took over and she seems quite serious about it from how much money is invested into this activity," I added with a nod. "I can tell she means it, maybe you can send her a letter and see if you can chat, even indirectly, and see how the situation is right now."

…

"Hoitsu-kun?"

I noticed a strange hint in her voice. "Yes, Akeno-chan?"

"Did you… check on how my cousin… looks?"

I could feel a headache coming my way at that tactical ambush. "I would say you and her look similar, but she..." I paused one moment, realizing that the telling detail between the two was the difference of one size in particular. So, I settled for a safer bet. "She has red eyes."

Akeno stared at me some more, but decided to let go of it as we continued to discuss this for some more time. The girl was deeply interested in this, and soon we were discussing so much about setting up a meeting between her and her father that we ended up burning the time meant to be spent at the arcade. It was a minor loss considering the huge gains made through that first step into the date. Once I was certain that we were on time to arrive at the restaurant, I took the lead and got her safely to our next destination.

She giggled as soon as she realized where we were going and she was pleased to notice that the place was warmer than outside. Just enough for her to leave the jacket at the reception and accept my hand as we both followed one of the waiters around until we arrived at our seats. There was a minimal presence of people tonight, but the atmosphere was particularly homely as we were given the chance to pick up our orders and receive those in record time compared to other visits to a restaurant. That element was also brought up in the conversation with Akeno.

"I didn't expect them to be so quick."

"I picked this place out of proven quality," I replied with a small smile. "I promised a date worthy of its name."

"And you're doing a great job," She praised happily. "It's not the first time I ate at a restaurant, but this is perhaps better than most I had the opportunity to try out."

I shrugged, getting a giggle out of her as we soon enjoyed our food quietly, taking the chance of going through the first dishes. Soon we took the chance of waiting for the seconds to actually resume our discussion and a new topic came up. One that I actually didn't consider bringing up to the table in these circumstances.

"Do you know if Asia managed to… score that hit with Issei?"

I spared a quick frown at that. "You aren't planning to tell that to Rias, right?"

"What if I am? It's not like it would be wrong to suggest a possible harem."

"It would," I rebuked and she snorted.

"And what we're having right now isn't? It's me, Ingvild and you."

"But that's the thing, I've given it a lot of thought to this and I know that a harem wouldn't be healthy for the three of us. I'm not saying that we should just stop trying to be together, only that there are other ways to handle this situation," I pointed out with a serious tone. "Like, a harem generally means that all the elements of it are just connected to a single individual and… let's be honest, that's the best way to cause disaster driven by jealousy and competition."

While Akeno would have wanted to interrupt me at the first half, she stopped to listen to the second bit and actually looked… interested in this. "And you have a solution to this?"

"Something like that. Since it's just me and you two girls… how about we entertain the idea of becoming a… throuple?"

She frowned. "I'm not familiar with the term."

"What is your opinion on Ingvild?- ignoring that she is trying to get to me in that silly competition you two are still going for."

"Well, I can say she is quite entertaining. It doesn't take too long to tease her, she isn't too shy about her emotions when one plays too much about her shyness and… she is cute," The Queen admitted. "Kind of adorable at times when she is all blushing and trying to appear angry and… I think I know where you are going with this."

"Enlighten me," I pushed and she snorted.

"You want me to try and… reach out Ingvild romantically?"

"Try is the strong keyword here. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do," I pointed out. "It's a proposal and one I've given some thought about and it would help us all when we actually have to settle down in the future."

The girl frowned. "How? Wouldn't that just make it easy for each other to be distracted with… well, each other?"

"Not really and listen me out. The main reason why harems don't end well, especially in realistic situations, is because, despite how much a guy tries to be equal with all girls, he will still draw a favorite out of the rest," I explained with a nod. "The thing is that this kind of relationship is idealistically perfect, but practically self-destructive in the long run because it would require two elements normally can't happen. One, the guy is capable of not favoring anyone, but we know that's not possible and two-"

"Competition," She interjected. "It's what you fear in a relationship. The fact either me or Ingvild do something stupid to appear better compared to the other… and I see the point, it's interesting but..."

"There are elements to consider about the throuple possibility that we can't ignore. Like the chances of you and Ingvild not sharing that kind of interest for each other- which I would respect, I'm not pushing for anything."

"And I'm glad for this, so please stop putting this notice out so frequently," Akeno remarked dryly, still pondering on the matter. "I would have to spend some time thinking about it. It's not something I can answer right now but… I see the advantages. And, if I have to be honest, I wouldn't say no to… well, girls."

Considering that she spent a lot of nights clothless while sharing the bed with Rias, I wasn't exactly surprised by that. Heck, there were plenty of clues within the original timeline where the girls didn't mind fooling around with other girls.

With that conversation concluding, the rest of the date continued smoothly as we decided to switch to something less serious and more amusing. As much as it was important to talk about the topic, I wasn't planning to use it to render the date toxic and… we both managed to get through this issue too. Together.

With the date finally coming to its conclusion after I was done paying the check and sharing one last kiss with Akeno before seeing her leave to go back to her bed, I took this chance to take a long walk around town before going back home. I had a lot to think about this little possibility I had pondered so long about. While in my previous life a throuple would have been just a less toxic circumstance than a harem since there was a trust factor to keep an eye out for, I could tell it was the perfect solution to all problems known to a harem.

What if instead of one guy sustaining the entire relationship, the entire group worked their asses off to keep things stable and working?

And as I indulged in my pondering, I didn't notice that a certain Devil was currently scribbling down the term I had described to Akeno down to her notes, next to the cut lines about plans of 'attacks' in Operation Matchmaking 2498712345678. Lilith sure was growing fascinated by how things have changed since she was active in the game of love meddling and the terms that came out after two millennia of inactivity. There was a lot for her to study, that she was happily sure about…

AN

Before anyone asks 'is this the end of the harem route', let me just remind you that a Throuple isn't the opposite of a harem, but rather something truly tied to the fact the members of that polyamory are in love with each other. In the sense that Jealousy can happen only in case someone distrusted or external to the relationship tries to steal one of the members away.

Is the throuple meant to be the final form of the relationship? No. There are a couple of members that are going to join. I've taken some serious thoughts about going for harem routes and I've always found an inherent problem with all of it: the guy messes things up and creates unnecessary drama, or one of the girls makes such a big problem that wrecks any attempt to create stability with the other girls. Those are a few of the many reasons why the harem genre is best known and kind of disliked right now. The pure presence of drama on itself is amusing for a while, but terribly frustrating to read and write. Which is why there isn't going to be a 'major change' to what I had written right now, but I plan to subvert the idea of drama born within an established relationship. At least the more stupid elements of it. I will not create any disillusion that this is the perfect system, only that it is more stable and more 'doable' in terms of serious anime.

The term harem is still usable in this context, but it isn't the standard harem. And before anyone goes with the whole spiel 'but that makes the MC a weakling'- it would just be crackish to expect a guy to pull that miracle of a relationship without messing things up so badly and create major ramifications. Heck, one just need to look at what happened to Ise in the EX volume to know how this relationship could potentially end to. And that's one of the best scenarios...

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