Sorry for the wait. I would have had this done sooner, but I'm still helping unpack everything after moving, not to mention I burnt my fingertips the other day, which put me off writing for the rest of the day.
I'm super glad to see that people are interested in this story, and in Yoko herself. My goal was to make a purposefully unlikeable protagonist, as opposed to the accidentally unlikeable protagonist that is Issei. After this chapter, I'd like to think I've succeeded even further in that regard.
So please, enjoy chapter two of Devilry in Motion.
Katase adjusted her skirt as she glanced around, biting the inside of her lip. She wondered if it was too short; she only had her own opinion to fall on for choosing her outfit. For some reason, her best friend hadn't been available to help pick out her clothes for her date. Murayama had blamed it on a build-up of homework, but Katase could have sworn that the two had already done most of the week's homework together.
She looked down at her neckline and tugged on the V of her shirt. She knew that she had some of the largest breasts in her year—thanks to the ravings of that bastard Motohama—but she rarely ever showed them off. Her shirt was low enough to reveal a generous amount of cleavage, but in a tasteful way, she had thought when she tried it on. She wasn't sure what Yoko's preferences were when it came to breast size, but remembering what Yoko said about how, "Only when a girl wishes to show someone her charming figure should it be viewed", she decided that she very much wanted to give her date a glimpse.
Katase checked the watch on the inside of her wrist, the digital face showing it to be quarter to two. She had arrived half an hour early, not wanting to make a bad impression on one of the most popular girls in school. If she played her cards right, she could be the first of the many girls Yoko dated that she went steady with. Katase's face flushed at the thought.
Ikawazu Yoko was well known at Kuoh for dating many girls, at least one a week. It was a testament to how charming and kind Yoko was that none of the girls had a bad thing to say about her. How she managed it was one of Kuoh Academies Seven Great Mysteries (other mysteries included the location of the Occult Research Club and why the Perverted Duo hadn't been expelled). All the girls she dated had been very tight-lipped about it, but none of them seemed to hold their incredibly short relationships against Yoko. The mystery only added to the Flower of Kuoh's allure.
An allure that Katase had never expected to pull her in. Before Kuoh Academy, Katase had never even considered girls as romantic partners. Sure, she and Murayama had practiced kissing, but that was just the curiosity of two childhood friends. Two young girls who wanted to see what it was like with someone they knew and trusted. It had been in the name of fun and intrigue, certainly nothing romantic or sexual.
But after entering the academy, Katase had been bombarded by incredibly attractive girls whose appearances were almost unnatural in their beauty. The sight of Rias Gremory and Himejima Akeno walking through the school gates together on her first day was an image that had ingrained itself in her mind. She admired their beauty, their grace, their sheer magnetism. The two were larger than life, unapproachable paragons of femininity.
Then there was Shitori Souna and Shinra Tsubaki. Both were undeniably gorgeous like the Onee-samas, but their own charms were uniquely theirs. Shinra was the epitome of cool beauty, and Shitori was not only graceful and intelligent but also held a position of power that she had more than earned. More than a few students have had salacious fantasies about the Kaichou asserting her authority over them, and not by giving them detention.
And of course, in her own year was Ikawazu Yoko. Unlike the previous four, Yoko wasn't as unapproachable. She held an affable air about her that seemed to draw people in, always making time for her peers. She wasn't in any clubs, but she spent the time otherwise spent in one patrolling the academy to catch the Perverted Duo committing their twisted debaucheries. She always got good grades, did amazing in P.E., and she never lauded any of it over anyone. Sure, the boys didn't like her much, but most of the female population had long since given up on the other gender, aside from Kiba Yuuto of course.
Another thing that made Yoko so admired was how unapologetic she was about her sexuality. Her self-confidence was unshakeable, and any jeers on the matter rolled off her like water on a duck's back. She made no apologies for who she was. Ikawazu Yoko came across as a strong woman who knew where she was in life, and to the other students she was a role model. She had given many lesbians the courage to stand by who they are; and in a academy that had been all-girls until over a year ago, there were plenty knocking about . To a bunch of teenagers who constantly struggled with existential angst, Yoko was an inspiration.
Katase checked her watch again; five to two. She swallowed, trying to contain her excitement. She was unsure about what would happen on their date, but she couldn't wait. It was the first time exploring the Sapphic feelings that had started to take shape since she began High School, and who better to guide her through them than Ikawazu Yoko.
"Hey there babe, what's a cute girl like you doing alone on a Saturday?"
Katase jumped, a voice snapping her out of her daydreaming. Looking up from her watch, she paled a little when she saw several teenage boys approaching her. Despite being in casual clothes, the group's look just screamed high-school delinquent gang. One actually had a ridiculous, oversized pompadour. Another had a nose piercing. One was even carrying a bokken over his shoulder. Katase hadn't seen delinquents since middle-school: Shitori-kaichou had put a stop to such behaviours before Katase even entered high-school. Still, she never recalled them looking quite so…obvious.
Despite their goofy looks, the fact that they outnumbered her and one was armed put her at a serious disadvantage. Perhaps if she could take the bokken she could fight them off, but life wasn't like anime. She couldn't just wrestle one of their weapons away and not have one of the others attack her while she was distracted; people didn't come at you one at a time in real life fights.
All of this ran through her mind as the group surrounded her. The leader apparent, Mister Pompadour said, leering at her. "Why not come with us, if you're free?" His eyes raked down her body, his gaze leaving a burning trail of lechery on her skin. He took a step forward, bringing him within slapping range.
"Get lost." Katase said with a glare, her palm stinging in the air. Despite the overwhelming odds against her, she wouldn't let them do as they pleased. If she was lucky, she could cause enough of a commotion that someone would hear and come running. She could take a few hits, even without any kendo armour.
Pompadour's brow twitched, but his eyes were taken aback. He quickly got over it and grabbed her wrist. "You're gonna pay for that, bitch."
It struck Katase in that moment that she might not have handled the situation optimally. Now she was restrained as well as surrounded. "Let go!" She shrieked, trying to yank her hand away. Gone was the confidant kendo practitioner, and in her place a normal Highschool girl being assaulted by a group of shady men. The group surrounding her weren't like the Perverted Duo, and a second realisation struck her; those two weren't the scummiest human beings she'd ever met. She, in that moment, empathised with the two. Surrounded and outmatched by those who wish you serious harm, a vague part of her mind almost felt bad for the beating they suffered the other day. The bile in her throat might have been from the situation she was in, but the sudden sense of camaraderie was just as likely.
At least those two had earned what they got. The unfairness of it all made her eyes water.
"Hey boss, can I have her after you're do-OOF!" One of the goons in the back collapsed to the ground, pupils rolled to the back of his skull.
"What the hell?" Bokken Boy yelped, he and the rest spinning around to see what happened. As he finished his turn, Bokken Boy received a hard punch to the stomach. The bokken that he started to raise above his head dropped from his hand. It was caught before it could hit the floor, but the same couldn't be said for its owner, who fell to his knees, then flopped uselessly on his side.
"What the shit?!" Pompadour let go of Katase, who brought her hand close to her body and backed away. She was too awed by what she saw to pay attention to her arms condition.
"What's this? Six guys ganging up on a single, defenceless girl? For shame."
Katase, finally finding her voice, let out a joyous, "Yoko-san!" Her eyes watered further, a single relieved tear sliding down her cheek.
"You!" Pompadour growled, clenching his fists.
"Me," Yoko said, slapping the edge of the bokken into her palm. She was dressed in a pair of slim, black jeans and a white button-down shirt, with the top two buttons undone, under a casual men's blazer jacket. Perched on the tip of her nose was a pair of aviator sunglasses, low enough to reveal her condescending gaze as it dragged over the motley crew before her. Giving them absolutely zero interest, she looked to Katase, her gaze turning much warmer. "Katase-chan, I apologise for being late. Are you alright? I would feel awful if my tardiness resulted in you being injured."
Katase wiped her cheek with her hand, which reminded her of the grip that had been on it not long ago. Looking at her wrist, she was relieved to see that it had barely even gone red. "I-I'm fine, Yoko-san, you came just in time."
"I'm glad," Yoko said. Her smile slipped away as the rest of the thugs surrounded her. Each looked angry, with Pompadour having some rather concerning veins throbbing in his forehead. "You boys really don't learn, do you?" Yoko said. She sighed and leant on the bokken like a cane. "Maybe if you didn't look like such obvious hooligans, maybe some girls might deign to give you the time of day. Or maybe you need to learn that no means no."
"Tch, get off your high horse, Ikawazu," Pompadour said, sneering as he reached into his jean pockets. "Weren't two years ago now that you were one of us hooligans."
"Huh?" Katase blinked, eyes widening.
"Guess going to that fancy academy makes you better than us, huuuuuh?" Pompadour said, drawling out the end with a giant sneer. "Too good to roll with your crew from middle school, huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh?!"
Yoko raised a brow. "Did…did you just have a stroke?"
"What?" Pompadour blinked, exaggerated twist of the lips dropping into a confused frown. "No, I'm being threatening."
"I'm shaking." Yoko said with a derisive scoff.
"Tch, you've always pissed me off, Ikawazu," Pompadour said, narrowing his eyes at her in a glare. "Even back then you acted like you were better than all of us."
Pompadour's thugs started to look a little uncomfortable. Their aggressive stances started to loosen, and they glanced between each other with uncertainty. Nobody noticed, as Katase was too enamoured with the conversation, and the participants of said talk were too focused on each other.
"Well, to be entirely fair, I was—and still am." Yoko brought the bokken up to rest it on her shoulder. "Besides, as far as I remember, it was you bottom feeders who gathered around me."
"Maybe." Pompadour admitted with a shrug. "I'll give you that second bit. But we all know that at the end of the day, you're worse than all of us put together, Ikawazu."
Yoko's eyes narrowed. Her expression closed off, and she pushed her sunglasses up her face with her free hand. "I see. Well, that's your opinion." She turned to Katase, who gulped at the expressionless look on her face. "Bear with me a second, Katase-chan. I'll answer any questions you might have once I deal with these punks."
Katase gave a shaky nod. "S-Sure."
"Like I'll give you the chance," Pompadour pulled his hands out of his pockets and, with a spin of both hands, extended the flip knives he pulled out and charged Yoko with a battle cry, "IKAWAZU!"
The thugs jumped at the cry, and followed their leader with their fists raised. Yoko stood as the thugs all charged her at once, before thrusting the bokken forwards. Unfortunately for Pompadour, he ran straight into the weapon, the wooden tip burrowing right into his solar plexus. Before he had the chance to collapse, Yoko pulled the bokken back and whacked another thug in the head with a two-handed swing. As the two injured boys fell to the ground, Yoko hopped back in time to dodge the other three, causing them to run into each other. Two knocked their heads together, sending them to the ground, pulling the third down with him into a pile of limbs.
The thug cursed as he shoved his dazed friends off him. As he tried to climb to his feet, Yoko swung the bokken at his head, knocking him out and back into the pile. The strike broke the weapon, so she tossed the half in her hand behind her shoulder. Walking over to Pompadour, Yoko kicked the knives away from his hunched over form.
"B-Bitch," he said, coughing and wheezing, clutching his midsection.
"For old times' sake, I'll let you punks off with just this," Yoko said, putting a hand on his head. She leant down, close to his ear, and whispered, "Next time, I won't pull my punches, so to speak." Pulling back, she gripped his head and pushed him backwards, causing him to fall on his back. He coughed as he landed, curling up on his side.
Katase watched the whole thing, awed. As Yoko approached her, several things ran through her head, but the one to emerge was, "Would you like to join the kendo club?"
Yoko stopped in front of Katase, her cold expression warming with confusion. "Huh?"
Katase blushed. "N-Never mind." She looked between the collapsed delinquents on the ground and Yoko, unsure where to begin.
Yoko sighed, donning a contrite expression. "It seems my past has caught up with me today. The things you must think of me, Katase-chan."
Katase bit her lip, and reached for Yoko's hands. Gripping them, she looked into Yoko's eyes. "I-I'll trust you, Yoko-san. I'll trust you enough to let you explain."
"Truly?" Yoko's shoulders slumped in relief, and she squeezed back. The action made Katase realise what she'd done, and she let go with an embarrassed squeak. Yoko chuckled. "Well, let's take this somewhere else, shall we? This isn't a conversation I want to have with these guys nearby."
Katase looked at them with a frown. "Shouldn't we call the police?"
Yoko followed her gaze. "I understand where you're coming from, but I ask you to forgive them." She turned back to Katase and put a hand over her own heart. "They're misguided, they haven't had the same realisations in life that I have. They were my friends, once, and I don't want their lives to be ruined because of their own stupidity."
Katase, despite herself, felt her frown softening. "Yoko-san…even after all that…" Katase was touched by Yoko's kind heart, that even extended to those who tried to hurt her with actions and words. Faced with such strength of character, Katase found she couldn't help but go along with Yoko's wishes. "Ok."
Yoko smiled, and with a hand on Katase back, Yoko lead her date away from the fountain. "Now, there's this wonderful café that I usually like to keep to myself. But, I think after all that you deserve the best I can offer you."
Katase didn't even try to suppress the silly smile Yoko's words made.
As Yoko walked away with her date, the thugs started to wake up. Pompadour pushed himself to sit on his backside, hands supporting his weight behind him. He let out another cough.
"Damn, Yoko-banchou really let us have it this time, huh?" One of the other thugs said, rubbing his head with a wince. "I actually blacked out for a bit there."
"She broke my sister's bokken!" One of them cried, clutching the two pieces with tears running down his face. "Haruna-nee's gonna kill me!"
"It's only because Yamada said some unnecessary stuff," the one with the nose piercing said, glaring at Pompadour. The effect was ruined somewhat by the bruise forming on his forehead. "All we had do to was follow the script, but no, you had to go too far."
"She caved my stomach in way before that!" Bokken Boy wailed in protest.
"Oh, shut up, Inoue!"
"Nothing I said was untrue, Kimura," Yamada said, glaring back. "How many times have we had to do the whole 'Harass-a-girl-so-Yoko-can-save-the-day-and-look-like-a-reformed-and-upstanding-member-of-society' routine? All it does is make us look bad while she makes girls' panties all wet."
"Hey, if you want to be the one who says no to Yoko-banchou, be my guest," Kimura spat, pushing himself to his feet, clutching his forehead all the while. "But Yoko-banchou really made us into big shots back in middle-school—the highlight of our lives, being in her gang."
"Yeah, we owe Banchou a lot."
"She owes me a new bokken!"
"Your fault for borrowing it, dumbass."
"But—"
"I swear to God, Inoue, shut it!"
"Tch, what am I expecting from a bunch of idiot sheep like you lot," Yamada said, scoffing under his breath. "Bottom feeders, indeed." He shook his head. "Whatever, I'm gonna go and enjoy the rest of my weekend."
"Oi, Yamada, you better be here tomorrow!" Kimura yelled at Yamada's retreating form. "If you're not, we're all gonna get it from Yoko-banchou!" He sneered when Yamada gave him the finger over his shoulder. "Got no sense of loyalty, that bastard," he said to the guy next to him.
"Yeah, like he thinks he's better than Banchou or something."
"Dumbass."
As they grumbled amongst themselves, they missed the small figure walking in the same direction their old Banchou went.
The little bell above the door rang as Yoko led Katase into the café. Within seconds, a waitress was by their side clipboard in hand. "Hello, welcome to Petit Diable Pâtissier." She bowed at the waist for a few seconds. "How may I help you today?"
"Table for two, please." Yoko said, giving a charming smile.
The waitress blushed a little, but remained a paragon of professionalism. "Of course, right this way please."
"I've never seen a café with a waitress before." Katase whispered, looking around in awe as they were lead to their seats.
It was a homely little joint, not too many tables but most of them occupied. Aside from the one leading them, there were two more waitresses patrolling the floor. One of them was giving theirs a dirty look, probably having been a second too late in getting to them first. The boss watched them being led from behind the counter, making a note in his logbook.
"So, Sado-chan, how's work been today?" Yoko said, moving her gaze away from the inter-colleague politics of the café.
"Rewarding, Ikawazu-sama." Waitress Sado said, curt but not cold, glancing over her shoulder to give Yoko a polite smile, "I've been very busy today."
"I'm glad to hear it."
Katase watched the back and forth, a small frown pulling at her lips.
Sado glanced at her, before saying, "This is the first time I've seen you bring someone else here, Ikawazu-sama."
Yoko smiled down at Katase, "Well, I felt that Katase-chan deserved to be treated to such an esteemed establishment."
Katase smiled back, cheeks darkening again.
Sado stopped at a free table. Waving to it, she waited until they sat down opposite each other before saying, "I shall return with your menus post-haste." Giving them another bow, she moved towards the counter.
Katase shuffled in her seat as Yoko watched her. Katase opened her mouth after several seconds, but Sado had already returned with their menus. She closed her mouth as she accepted the menu from the waitress. Looking it over, Katase's eye's widened at the prices.
"The quality reflects the price, I assure you," Yoko said, chuckling at Katase's reaction. 'At least I can stop coming here, now that I've finally brought a girl here.' She kept the relief off her face, restricting it to her thoughts, 'The amount I've spent at this place building a rapport with the staff has been absurd; I could have scouted out three other cafés on the same budget.' "It's my treat, so don't worry too much about it," she said, cutting off Katase's protests before she could voice them.
After not much more deliberation, Katase conceded to the offer and ordered a cup of coffee and a red velvet cupcake. Yoko herself ordered just the cup—she had another date to finance tomorrow after all. Once Sado left to see their orders through the two sat in silence.
Katase considered starting the conversation they had gone there for, but she knew that it would probably just get interrupted again when their orders arrived. After a couple of minutes of silence, the bell above the door rang, but before Katase could look over in curiosity, Sado returned with a tray.
"My apologies for the wait."
"No need to apologise, you were very quick." Yoko said, smiling at the waitress.
Once Sado had placed their orders on the table she bowed once more. "Please enjoy yourselves. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to call me over." With one more bow she left. As she went, she passed by the waitress who gave her the stink eye. The other woman smirked as she went to get her customers order.
"The waitresses get paid based on how many customers they serve in a day," Yoko explained, seeing Katase's confused expression upon seeing the interaction. "The more they serve, the bigger their pay cheque." Yoko took a sip of her coffee and sighed. "But that's not what you wanted to know, is it."
Katase cleared her throat, shuffling in her seat. "You…you don't have to if you don't want to…"
"No, I told you I would, and I stand by my word." Yoko took another sip, Katase mirroring her. "Well, I guess I should start at the beginning. Before I entered middle school, my parents got a divorce." Katase's face turned sympathetic. "It was for the best, really. My mother, she…wasn't the nicest person. It wasn't the cleanest divorce either. Court got pretty heated at times, since my mother wanted full custody of my sister."
"You have a sister?" Katase blinked.
"Yes, she's older than me by five years. My father argued hard over it, he didn't want to have to wait until she was an adult to see his daughter again. He might have had an easier time of it if my mother had wanted even partial custody of me. But she wanted nothing to do with me. As far as the judge was concerned it was a simple solution to wrap up a messy case; the parents get full custody of one child each, bang the gavel, early lunch break."
"How awful." Katase frowned, giving Yoko her full attention. So focused was she that she didn't react to the odd sight of the waitress from earlier walking past with a tray full of cakes and sweets.
"Naturally, the whole affair made me angry. At my mother, my father, even my sister, it didn't have to make sense, I was just so angry at everything. I started getting into fights at school. I remember my first fight against one of the school delinquents; I can't really remember why we started fighting, but one minute we had locked eyes and the next I had beaten him into the ground.
"After that, he and his buddies tried to get the drop on me several times, which is when I realised how good at fighting I was. It felt good, being good at something for once, so I got into even more fights. After a while I sort of developed a following consisting of all the delinquents in the school. Those boys from earlier were some of the first to join me."
Yoko took a sip of her coffee, and Katase remembered her own beverage gradually cooling in front of her. After they both put their cups down, Katase said, "From what those boys said, and how you are now, clearly you didn't stay like that. To be honest, Yoko-san, after being in the same homeroom with you for over a year, I find it hard to imagine you being a delinquent. You're far too studious and kind to be like those ruffians."
"Yes, things did change," Yoko nodded, staring into her mug. "One day, the careers advisor called me into her office." Yoko chuckled, "She really gave me a talking to. Made me realise that if I kept going down that path I'd end up a nobody." Her cup cracked slightly, her fingers tightening around it. "She told me that it wasn't too late to turn my life around. I realised that she was right, so instead of just throwing my weight around I decided to dedicate myself to my studies.
"The more I studied, the less and less I hung out with my crew, the higher my grades became. It was also around this time that I discovered that I was attracted to girls. Like any teenage girl, I was enamoured by the idea of love and romance, so I started to try my luck with the ladies. Between that and studying, I stopped getting into fights entirely. I refined my charming self during that time, and still to this day I hide behind it, hiding the fact that I never feel ready for a relationship. I've tried with lots of girls, but no matter what, the ending of my parent's marriage lingers in the back of my mind, and the idea of entering a relationship scares me off one entirely. Yet I still ask girls out—it's become a habit that's hard to shake."
"I had no idea." Katase whispered, dabbing at her eyes with a napkin. She could barely take in these revelations. Never did she imagine that the truth behind Yoko being single would be anything so sad. The fact that Yoko had decided to share this with her of all people touched her greatly.
"I always let them down gently, of course. Besides, they deserve better than someone who can't even build the courage to date them properly."
"Don't say that, Yoko-san!" Katase once again reached out for Yoko's hands, eyes glittering in the low lighting of the café. "You'd be a wonderful girlfriend, but you don't have to feel bad about not being ready. Everyone moves at their own pace."
"Katase-chan…" Yoko whispered, adopting a touched expression. Internally, however, she was smirking. 'Heh, hook line and sinker.' Taking a deep breath, Yoko forced her voice to shake. "I've never told anyone this before, so would you mind terribly keeping it between the two of us, Katase-chan?" 'Well, that isn't strictly true. While it is true that I've never gone into this much detail, I tell the general story to every girl I date. But since Yamada decided to run his mouth off, I've had to expand on the story even more than normal. That bastard better hope I don't catch him alone any time soon.'
"Of course, Yoko-san!" Katase tightened her grip on Yoko's hands. "Thank you for sharing this with me; I knew letting you explain was the right thing to do." She looked down to her hands, and yelped, once again realising she had grabbed Yoko's hands out of nowhere. Extracting them, her face flushed red. The brightness in her cheeks dimmed though as a thought hit her. "So…I'm guessing you're not feeling up for a relationship at this moment?"
"Ah…" Yoko grimaced, looking contrite. "I'm sorry to say that is the case. I apologise if you feel that you've wasted your time going out with me today."
"N-Not at all!" Katase protested, quite loudly if the other customers turning towards them meant anything. After apologising for the disruption, Katase focused on Yoko again. "It's fine, really. At the very least, I got to learn more about you, Yoko-san."
"Thank you for being so understanding." Yoko said, smiling with faux relief. Her smile soon turned mischievous, however. "But still, there is one thing I can do to repay you for wasting your time today."
"H-Honestly, there's no need, Yoko-san."
"Nonsense, besides, I want to." Yoko grinned, leaning in conspiratorially. "If you'd like to enter the world of romance, there's someone who I think is interested in you in that way."
"H-Huh? Really?" Katase leant in, intrigued by the sudden shift in the conversation. "Who?"
"Your friend, Murayama-san."
"EH!? You think!?" Once again Katase was forced to apologise for being a nuisance. Taking a big bite of her cupcake to shut herself up, she spent a few moments mulling over what Yoko said.
"Totally. You may not have caught it, but Murayama-san was giving me dirty looks yesterday when I approached the two of you. She was definitely jealous that I had asked you out." Yoko winked, watching Katase swallow her mouthful.
"I never noticed." Katase was embarrassed to admit. At the time, she had been too enamoured by Yoko to really notice what her friend was doing. "But still, since when did she feel that way about me?" But as she thought about it, she had to admit that it made a certain kind of sense. Memories flashed through her mind. Like the times that Murayama had yelled at perverts for looking at Katase. Or the time that the two of them practiced kissing; she hadn't noticed it at the time, but looking back Murayama had been rather red afterwards. She gasped as she remembered how her friend said she couldn't help her get ready for her date that morning. Obviously, she had lied about having homework to do still, since she didn't want to help Katase prepare for a date with someone that wasn't her.
"I see that you've realised something." Yoko said, taking a sip from her coffee.
"Yes, I suppose I have." Katase muttered. Now that the idea had been brought up to her, she examined her friendship with Murayama with a different lens. The feelings she had written off as friendship and even sisterhood suddenly seemed like something else entirely. Katase's face went red again. "Wow…I feel so dense."
"Sometimes we need someone's help to point out what's right under our noses." Yoko said knowingly.
"What am I going to do?!" Katase wondered, laying a hand over her chest, feeling her heart pounding. "I-I have no idea how to approach her about this."
"And we come back to my offer." Yoko said, getting Katase's attention once more. "To make up for today, I'll help you to talk to Murayama-san about all of this. I'll even teach you some of my moves if you like."
"Would you, really?" Katase couldn't believe it. She had begun the date hoping to go steady with Yoko, but now here she was, being offered dating advice from the girl herself. "That would be great! I'd really appreciate that."
"Of course, it's the least I can do." Yoko smiled. Checking her watch, she whistled. "Wow, we spent longer than I thought talking about all this. I'm sorry to say, Katase-chan, but we'll have to continue this discussion another time."
Katase checked her watch. "Wow, we were here that long?"
"How about we continue this discussion on Monday at lunch time?" Yoko suggested as she raised her hand, waving for the waitress to come over. "We can start planning how to get you and Murayama-san together."
Katase, yet again, blushed at this. "Yes…I'd like that."
'Perfect. Not only will this add to my legend as the Flower of Kuoh, but when news gets around that I played matchmaker for those two, my popularity will become even greater. Well, either that or I'll destroy a good friendship by making things really awkward, but I know jealously when I see it. Murayama was greener than a particularly ill frog. I do love it when I notice little things that make my life so much easier.'
Sado the waitress arrived shortly and Yoko paid their bill. Katase took the time to finish off her cupcake—given how expensive it was, Yoko might have shoved the damn thing down her neck if she hadn't. Leaving the café, the two said their goodbyes; one feeling optimistic about her love life, and the other basking in the feel of another successful endeavour.
"Here's your bill, miss." Akane the waitress sweat-dropped at the plates piled up on the table. Considering how small the girl she served was, she was amazed she could eat so much, never mind stomaching all the sugar. "Um…you are able to pay for all this, aren't you?"
The girl turned her blank gaze onto the waitress. "Do you take card?"
"Um, yes, we do."
"Then yes, I can." Reaching into her pocket, the stoic girl pulled out a black and gold credit card.
Akane's jaw dropped. Never in her life had she seen a black credit card. Taking it with shaking hands, she gave it a look over. "Bank of…Gremory? Never heard of it."
"It's real." The white-haired girl said, looking at Akane as if she was staring into her soul. The girl's golden eyes creeped Akane out.
"R-Right, of course."
As she paid for her snacks, Koneko thought that this was a small price for her master to pay for making her follow someone like Ikawazu Yoko around for days on end. In fact…
"I'll take a cheesecake, a chocolate gateau, and three velvet cupcakes to go."
"E-EH!?"
Sometimes, her job really had its perks.
Originally, I intended to do both Katase and "Yuma"'s dates in one chapter, but this one ended up being longer than I expected. I had made you guys wait long enough for another chapter, and since this one already the sort of length I like to make chapters, I decided to split them up. So, look forward to Yoko's date with "Yuma", and for the Devilry to be put in Motion…well, not that Yoko isn't pretty devilish already, but you know what I mean.
Until then, please consider leaving a review, as they really do help me get chapters done sooner. If you're excited about it, then I'll be even more excited than I already am! Can't wait to get into the stuff I have planned for this story, should be fun.
Laters!
