***AUTHOR'S NOTE***
"I have changed the story up a little bit. It does not affect the main plot at all, but I have changed awkward words, de-cluttered unnecessarily wordy sentences (I did NOT kill the descriptions AT ALL) and changed how certain characters react in certain parts. This story is not just some attempt to spread my name around. It is a real book that I truly care about. It is a real book that I really am using as therapy as well. I hope you enjoy the changes. FEEDBACK ALWAYS WELCOME!"

Thank You,
Hanul Baek

***AUTHOR'S NOTE***

Silver threads. Eyes that almost glimmered of gold. Skin beautiful as the flesh of porcelain with strength that shook the earth, following snarls of my worst nightmares. It was certain now. The time to run had run out and the deadline to face this fear of my unknown predator was nigh. I surveyed the area and proceeded towards my potential freedom with caution- as much caution as sprinting could provide- desperately searching for somewhere more open. My eyes darted around with vigilance as my heart began to race. My pacification could breed no longer. I had reached a point in my life where I had to be, both, the physician of indifference and the wolf inside. I've come too far to look back into the depths of my history. All I could see now is a metaphorical Devil's Pass flooded by a thorough fog of regretful choices and a karma lurking in my shadow, goading me on to stop running. Stay still and die.

This was it.

As I reached the local children's playground, I spun around- a few fingers on my right hand digging into the gravel as I slid back anchoring my stoppage- terror seeping into my lungs, adrenaline irrigating my brain and goosebumps spreading like a dark pandemic across my body. I clenched my teeth simultaneously with my fists. I knew that I couldn't win this- I didn't even stand a ghost of a chance, even after dancing with multiple devils, recently- but there's one thing that I did have; regardless of the petty elements in its make-up. I had a soul and a will to live. If I spoke in honesty, I didn't pride myself on my desire to live very often because I was exhausted. Even for the short amount of my existence, I have, many-a-time, prayed for the acquisition of my dissolution.

But... this was not one of those times.

This was the a new slate. The new origin of my gradual convalescence. This was the time to make my fears falter- to dig my feet into the ground and confront my accrued consequences. I hardened myself, and as she sprung out from the nearby bushes with her skirt flailing in the turbulence of her motions into full exposure, I bull-rushed her. I held my breath and revolted against my good sense with roars erupting from between my fangs. I picked up speed, putting everything I had into my legs and feet and sailed like an Italian exotic, and as we closed the distance between us, my arm swung and my hips followed through indiscriminately.

This was it. It was time to make a stand

***XXX***

"WHAT?!" The entire room clamored in disbelief. Their flabbergasted expressions on their faces were priceless and sincere.

"So, let me get this straight," Akeno retorted. "You're saying that he walked up to you in front of the entire class... with EVERYONE watching... and asked you out." She really was getting it straight. This was less of a question and more of a recount. The room was filled with an uncomfortable atmosphere as Koneko slightly winced in chagrin, but nodded her confirmation. Although provided with an abundance of suitors, no one had ever been this direct with approach towards her. Rias scrutinized the room, but her particular interest during her extended silence was Toujou Koneko- front and center.

"My, my... Koneko! This is so exciting," Akeno squealed. "I was secretly worrying about your sexuality as a maturing young woman, and here you were- behind our backs turning into a fullly realized adult!" Akeno stuck out a tongue and winked teasingly at the presently flustered Rook.

"W-Well, what did you say? Did you accept?" Issei stumbled.

"Baek asked if I was interested, and before I got the chance to respond, he suggested that I contact my master for permission." Koneko's eyes shifted to Rias', who narrowed her gaze as if she was contemplating something. Maybe she was thinking something along the lines of, "That's respectful, but who is this Baek? What does he want from her? How does he obviously know about our house's front? Maybe I should snuff him out before Koneko gets too attached and poses a threat to all of us."

"So I told him that I would when I saw her next time and that I would need some time to think about it." Rias remained in her thoughtful pose while the gang ambushed Koneko in questions of the 3rd degree. The club room was lively once more, but there lingered a feeling within the King that she convinced herself was not jealousy. Just a sense of threat.

On any other occasion, Toujou Koneko would have instantly rejected anybody who pursued her at the drop of a hat, but in this case, she didn't even allow herself to respond. She only marched back to disclose the details. She had this expression on her face, but it was not one of worry or discontent, it was buoyant and weightless- an expression thought to be predominantly lost to her. For the most part, her eyes remained fixated on Rias, awaiting her reaction.

"Koneko," Rias sighed. "You... can do whatever you want, but at least do me a favor." Koneko nodded in agreement. "Be careful. Don't let your heart grip the reigns on your head. The heart is a powerful organ regardless of the degree of attraction, and it can blind your judgement, easily. We don't know this Baek," Rias help up a preemptive index finger to silence Issei before he could protest, "so I'm a little bit against it, but in the end, my decisions on our love life doesn't automatically dictate the best decisions for you. Only you can do that.

With a satisfied smile and a touched heart, Koneko padded up to Rias and embraced her cozily. Rias reciprocated this sentiment and deep inside, she hoped that with the incoming war of romance that her little rook was up against, she could continually keep a fair guidance and enough support that Koneko would inevitably need.

As Koneko turned to leave, Rias inquired about her current schedule. "To meet with Baek. I thought it'd take some time to ready an answer for him, but thanks to you, I think I know how I want to respond." Rias' stomach churned slightly and her breath became short, but she maintained a statuesque poker-face, as always.

Her gentle footsteps made way to the halls of Kuoh Academy. She took a final breath- inhaling deeply though her nose and exhaling deeply through her mouth- shoved open the doors to the courtyard with vigor and stepped through with confidence, excitement and felt ready for a new adventure on a completely different scale. Little did she know, love was a powerful emotion comprised of pain, guilt, sorrow, happiness and frustation- and even in the worst case scenario, hate and resentment- altogether. Little did she know, but little did she care to know.

***XXX***

Issei rushed to my desk and caught me off-guard when he shouted like a nosy housewife, "YOU'RE DATING KONEKO NOW!?"

My eyes widened at this revelation. Issei heard about my confession attempt? He wasn't even at school that day. He was home "sick" again. He called a lot of sick days, recently. But still... how? Was this perverted lackey one of the people in her circle? My brain completely shut down for a second and had to restart. I get that I confessed to her shamelessly, but I didn't brand it into everyone like he's doing now by making it a PSA. All that was left in the time my brain was taking to restart were primitive instincts. That was so annoying of him. So with that, I subconsciously swung my arm into him for a jaw-check and flung him into another row of desks before I face-palmed. But that didn't stop the rumors from starting. I was already revered as a delinquent, not a ladies man. The girls of homeroom- in all their royal glory- happily chatted away. Rumors. Insults. Predictions. It was so degrading and hurtful.

"I heard he forced her to date him by blackmailing him!"
"She's too good for him! He's nowhere in her league. What a spaz!"
"Don't worry, girls. It won't be long before she realizes what a mistake he is and leaves him to the wolves. Give it a week!"
"What if he becomes a crazy psycho stalker and ends up raping and killing her?"

I couldn't believe my ears. Every insult. Every prediction. Every rumor. It was like a wrecking ball smashing through me and taking huge parts of me away. Their whispers began to grow. Louder. Louder. I clasped my hands over my ears and closed my eyes. Stop. Stop... STOP! I could feel my tears trickling down my face. I could hear them going after my throat for that. STOP. WHY...?!

And just before I began to...

A familiar hand hovered in front of my face. My eyes opened wide and as I looked up, I saw him there. The kindest and most ignorant smile I had ever seen him bear. I have never, in my life, been more grateful for his presence than today. "Baek. It's getting stuffy in here. Maybe someone forgot to take out the trash last period. Let's get some air."

I grabbed his hand desperately and he jerked me out of homeroom. I stayed silent as I, then, followed him of my own accord. It seems we were making our way to the rooftop.

***XXX***

As we entered through the door of the rooftop, my bipolarity flared. I was so grateful for him rescuing me from that toxic classroom, but... he's the one who caused the toxicity.

"Issei Hyoudou. You have one chance." He looked at me with an undivided attention. "What... the hell... was that?"
"I know, I know! I'm so sorry! I just got really excited because it's the FIRST TIME I SAW KONEKO ACTUALLY HAVE A DAAAAAAAAAAAAATE!"

I finally exploded for the first time in 2 months.

"ISSEI HYOUDOU! SHUT! THE HELL! UP! Don't you think you've done enough damage as it is with your constant energetic behavior? Let's get some things straight, Hyoudou! First of all, we are NOT friends. We're not enemies, but hanging out 3 times during the course of a year, DOES NOT constitute friendship!" He tried to protest, but I was outraged. "Which brings me to my SECOND issue: You had NO right to try to bring up my love-life, especially in public! I don't even trust my mom with that shit! You think I'm going to trust you? Who the HELL are YOU fooling?"

That's all it took. One look. One look of being hurt from his body language and the bipolarity began to subside and disperse. This was Issei. He began to get used to being liked because of his recent popularity, and he always meant well despite his shitty knack for execution. He was a good guy, but I couldn't stand being around him for extended periods of time because he was just... far too hyper, all the time. I sighed and inhaled through my nose before I lit up a cigarette.

"And the last issue? We AREN'T dating. All I did was talk to her for a minute, asked her to go out with me when the time felt right and told her to ask her friends if it was okay. Rias, in particular because those two seem to spend so much time together. She nodded, munched a Hello Panda cookie and basically, said okay. I... didn't get a response yet, either, and honestly, I don't really have high hopes for one."

Just then... Issei shot me a look and spoke with serious tone. "Can I ask you something, Baek?"
"Uhh, sure," I hesitated. "What's on your mind, Issei?"
"Why Koneko? Out of all of the beautiful girls available... Why her?"
"Well, I guess it's because-"
"Because you got a fetish for lolis, and you've converted to the DAAARRRK SIIIIIIIDE?" Issei gushed like a bored stay-at-home mom from my neighborhood.
"WHAT? NO! It's because-"
"Because she's so tiny that you could just thrash her all around the bedroom? OOOH!"
"IT'S BECAUSE I WANTED TO KILL YOU AND SHE'LL MAKE SURE I HAVE NO WITNESSES IF YOU DON'T SHUT THE HELL UP!" Another puff on the cancer stick followed by a deep sigh. "It's because... I don't like any other girl here." He steeled up. "The girls who go here are..."
"I get it, Baek."
"I'm known as a delinquent at this school, and just to add salt to the wounds, I'm cool with every guy here, and that's including Kiba- you know, the guy who looks like he'd be a total sadist to every other guy because he treats the girls as a scoreboard?" Issei slapped his hand to his mouth ridiculously and began to stifle his laughter.

"LOOK! It's not a joke to me! It's someone that I'd legitimately like to get to know and have someday. She's... different. She's not like every other girl here. I don't know if you've noticed, but it's to each his own, and I feel like we're in a school that's dedicated to promiscuity on an extreme scale." I took a last puff before I flicked the cigarette off the rooftop of the school.

"That's all I got, man. That's all I got... so, I'm going back to class now before I'm late, and for future reference, I would oh-so-appreciate-it if you left this between us. And the next time you find some juicy gossip about my life or something that involves me, just talk to me, personally, instead of getting on like a desperate housewife.

***AUTHOR'S NOTE***
"Will Koneko accept Baek's confession? Is she ready for the adult world of romance, lust and dating? Will Baek be able to keep it together and will he end up with the little rook?

FIND OUT NEXT TIME IN:

Koneko & I (2nd Tango)

Thank you for reading,
Hanul Baek

PS: Come check out my profile! I have an Anne Frank-style diary about the thoughts of particular characters as a side-story. It is fully written in thought-provoking poetry with no rhyme scheme. Another one I'm starting soon is a "Koneko & I" spin-off in which I, sometimes, take the endings of my fan-fiction chapters and them in a hilarious, shounen style!

***AUTHOR'S NOTE***