Her Image

"Why am I not surprised you were caught again?"

Rias sighed as she stood over her currently beaten servant, Issei. The brunette had once again snuck into the girls locker room with the rest of the Pervert Trio. As usual, their plans had quickly been foiled the moment Koneko entered the room, finding them with ease. Said petite Devil stood close by Josuke, having been the instrument of Issei's punishment. Asia stood close by, fixing her love interest up as usual.

"S-sorry, just a force of habit I guess," Issei laughed uneasily, rubbing the back of his head.

"You certainly don't seem to learn despite how many times you fail. I would have thought you'd learn by now," Rias sighed, her voice carrying more of an edge than usual in it.

"I-I'm sorry, president! You know how much I love women's breast, I can't help it!" Issei exclaimed, placing his hands together and bowing his head in apology. Despite this usually being the way Issei apologized to his master, Rias seemed unforgiving, turning her back to Issei.

"It's just how you are, I suppose. You should get ready with the others to leave for your contract," Rias said, her tone causing Issei and the others to look up at her in concern. The brunette in question looked like a kicked puppy, lowering his head as he stood up.

"Y-yes, president…"

Rias didn't bother to look back at him, moving to her chair and keeping her eyes closed as she waited for her servants to leave. When Rias heard the tumbler of the door click, she finally released a breath, rubbing her head. "That was… unbecoming."

"That was more unusual than anything."

Rias jumped, suddenly realizing that she wasn't alone as she thought. Sitting on the couches at the center was Josuke, an arm wrapped around the back with a manga in his other hand.

"J-Josuke. I hadn't realized you were still here," Rias cleared her throat, trying to regain composure after her initial surprise.

"I always stick around for a bit with Okuyasu, although I guess he had to do some make up test," Josuke said, looking up at Rias with concern. "So I thought I'd stick around and see what was eating at you."

Rias felt her eyes widen ever so slightly, but tried to put on a facade and shook her head. "I'm quite fine, Josuke-kun. I'm just not in the greatest of moods right now, is all. Perhaps you should head home for the day."

Josuke was silent at first, watching her with an unconvinced expression on his face. "I'm guessing it has something to do with Issei?"

Rias ever so slightly flinched, Josuke having hit the nail on the head.

"I-I'm sure I don't know what you mean."

"You know you don't have to hide it from me. It's pretty obvious, anyways," Josuke chuckled, a knowing smirk playing on his face. "Come on. Feel free to tell me what's bothering you. I promise to keep it to myself."

Rias peered at Josuke in question, somewhat conflicted by his offer. On one hand, she was fairly embarrassed to admit to her state of feelings. On the other, Josuke was the one person she could call the expert when it came to Issei, being his best friend since childhood and all. If anyone had the answers she was looking for, it would be him.

"... You promise to keep it to yourself?"

"Sure. I'd hate to break your trust like that," Josuke agreed, giving a kind smile as he leaned his elbows on his knees. "What's going on?"

Rias took a moment to consider her words, her eyes falling to her desk. "I… as I'm sure you know, I… deeply care about Issei. And as we're all aware, he's interested in building a harem for himself. As a Devil, it is not an unusual thing. So despite my feelings, I know I shouldn't mind when he looks at other women… but…"

"It still bothers you," Josuke finished for her, understanding filling his voice.

"In a way, but… not because I want him to only look at me," Rias explained, biting her bottom lip. "I just want him to look at me more if that makes sense. It's why I've been more open with allowing him to see my body, after all… not that I was shy about it before, but I was hoping that it might be enough to at least keep him from peeking so much."

Josuke hummed, holding his chin in thought as he leaned back in the couch. "I see. Sadly, even if he gets a girlfriend, I don't think that will really stop him from peeking. You might have to deal with that for a while," Josuke explained, causing Rias to release a sigh. "But what we can work with is getting him to look at you more. Though there is a reason that you might get less looks than you'd expect."

Rias blinked, looking up at Josuke in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Rias, when you first started showing off your body to Issei, it wasn't out of attraction toward him, right?" Josuke guessed, rubbing his chin in thought. "You did that before you even considered the idea of liking him. While that might have been to your advantage before, you can almost say it's backfired in the long run. Now he just views it as you being playful or carefree. You can't use it now like you could have because of that."

Rias widened her eyes, suddenly realizing her mistake for herself. "I… I hadn't thought of that. I… honestly never would have guessed I would have fallen for Issei like this, but had I known…"

"That damage has been done, sadly. Getting him to see you showing off your body as special will be hard with that in mind," Josuke said, humming as he formulated some ideas. "There's two ways you can go about this… the first would be to stop giving him that privilege for a while-(I can't believe I'm used to that idea, damn it)-so that he can appreciate it more."

"B-but if I do that, he'll think I'm upset with him!" Rias exclaimed, more of her girlier side coming out as her strict expression became somewhat childish. "I don't want him to hate me if I end up doing it for too long!"

"Whoa whoa, I know! Trust me, I know what you mean!" Josuke said, waving his hands back in forth in surrender. "I don't think Issei would ever hate you for that really, but I feel like that might be harder for you to deal with than anything."

Rias sat back in her chair, huffing out a breath as she curled her lips in. "Then what do I do? Should I… be even more open with my body?"

Josuke sighed, shaking his head as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't think that's necessary. I think you need to take another route in this. Instead of focusing on your sexuality, why not focus on your overall image instead?"

"My… overall image?"

"Yeah! You're too focused on giving him what he wants, which is to see your… breasts," Josuke coughed at the last word, "So maybe you should shift your focus to your image overall. What perfume you put on, what clothes you wear, hell maybe even makeup! Try to make him want you while you're dressed up rather than when you're naked… god that felt weird to say…"

"But… what's wrong with me now?" Rias asked, feeling somewhat insecure.

"Nothing. You've always had an allure to you that draws in guys. You're beautiful and smart, almost any guy would fall for you. But on top of all that, Issei views you as his senior and his master. It's a pretty great but intimidating combo for him to face. And since you can't use your usual tactic to disarm that worry, you have to go about it another way," Josuke explained for her, Rias frowning as he spoke. "Hey now, don't let it discourage you. That's why you got best friend and great wingman Josuke Higashikata here to help you out!"

Rias looked up at Josuke, feeling some relief after hearing his offer. She smiled and gave a nod of hope, standing from her seat. "Okay. Where do we start?"

Koneko had finished with her contract early that day. Her client had broken out in a fit of rage and called their gaming session early. He apologized for his attitude in the end, but still wasn't in the mood to keep playing. With free time now available to her, Koneko decided to walk through the town and stop in on her favorite sweets shop. Shep peered through the window, wanting to decide what to get first before going in the shop.

"Donuts sound good… I wonder if Jojo is still at the clubroom…?" She wondered aloud, her cheeks turning rosy as she considered getting a treat to share with her crush. "He liked donuts too."

Koneko turned to walk inside the shop, but a small glint in the reflection of the glass caught her eye. She focused closer on the image, seeing a familiar head of red hair in it.

"President?" Koneko turned to look across the street, but froze. Rias wasn't alone at the moment, but with Josuke, the two walking close and chatting. Together. Just the two of them.

Alone.

Koneko quickly jogged across the street, but remained out of their sight and staying several meters back in distance. She fought the urge to reveal her cat ears, as they would have given her a better gauge on what they were saying.

"... we really need to? I do have some at home I can try on."

"No. We're starting fresh with your image, so that means fresh clothes. So... "

Koneko narrowed her eyes. They're going shopping together? That's… something you do on a date. Especially with someone like Jojo.

Koneko didn't hesitate. She pulled her phone from her pocket, her first call going out to her rival for Josuke: Akeno.

"Ah, Koneko-chan. Is there something you needed? I'm currently with a client, so-"

"Jojo's going on a date with President."

"... Are you positive?"

"I'm watching them right now," Koneko started to walk forward, tailing the two at a distance they wouldn't notice easily. "I didn't hear much but they're going shopping together."

"Hm… I see. While I am inclined to believe this might be some sort of misunderstanding… I would most definitely like to see it for myself," Akeno said, her sickly sweet voice having a sharp edge to it. "I'll be there momentarily. You should also give a call to Issei-kun. I'm sure he would be quite interested in this development."

"Understood. I'll give you a location to meet me at. I hope they have a good reason for this."

"Fufufu~, as do I. Otherwise our master and Josuke might have to receive some punishment."

Just ahead of Koneko, Josuke and Rias suddenly felt a chill run down their spines, both halting and looking at one another.

"D-did you feel that?" Josuke asked, a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek.

"Yes… that was rather strange. It felt like someone might be angry with us. But I wonder who?"

Issei and Asia jogged through Kuoh's outdoor mall with great desperation. After Asia had completed her work with a client and Issei failed to make another contract, they had met up to walk back together. Not long after that though did Koneko give the brunette a surprise call, informing him of a strange situation involving his best friend and his master. Now Issei trusted Josuke, knowing that his best friend would never go behind his back like this with a girl he was interested in, especially Rias of all people. But, despite himself, Issei couldn't help but fear the worst as his imagination ran wild with the idea. And after enough torturing himself, Issei gave in and made a mad sprint to the mall.

Asia of course followed, both concerned and interested to see what the situation was for herself.

"Look, there! I see Koneko-chan and Akeno-san!" Issei pointed out, said girls both standing outside of a clothing store with their faces leaned close to the glass. "Hey, I'm here! D-Did anything happen while I was gone?!"

"Ah, Issei-kun. No, nothing that could be considered problematic… yet," Akeno said, her curt smile doing little to hide the aura of irritation surrounding her.

"I never would have guessed Josuke-nii and President would be out together like this…" Asia mumbled, following Issei to the window to peek in alongside the others. "B-But maybe we're overthinking things?"

"Y-Yeah, I think you're right. President and Josuke? Please, I couldn't… see them…" Issei tried to reason, but his building doubt caused him to trail off. Swallowing a lump in his throat, he quickly pushed his face against the glass. "What have they been doing?"

"Looking at clothes right now. Jojo is helping President look through a selection they picked out," Koneko said, her hands cupped like makeshift binoculars as she watched the two.

"That damn Josuke… he's got the advantage of taste in clothing," Issei grumbled, biting his bottom lip as he watched his best friend pull several articles off a rack. "His own fashion sense is kinda weird, but he knows exactly how to dress other people up to make them look good, even girls."

"Fufu, does he now~?" Akeno hummed, her hand clawing the window in restrained frustration. "Why don't we go inside and get a closer look?"

"Let's do it," Koneko immediately agreed.

"Yeah, lets!" Issei said, turning to the store entrance.

"M-maybe we should try trusting Josuke-nii and President…" Asia reasoned, causing the three to pause and look back at her. "I don't think they're interested in each other. And if they were, thy wouldn't sneak around like this, would they?"

Issei, Koneko and Akeno looked at one another, allowing her words and reason to sway some of their worries. The brunette teen took a breath, scratching the back of his head.

"Y-yeah… if Josuke had a thing for President, I feel like he would have been straight with me on it…"

"If Rias had her eyes set on Josuke, she likely would have been more forthcoming with her desires," Akeno also pointed out, releasing a sigh as she tried to calm down.

"Yeah… maybe we are going over…" Koneko trailed off after peeking one eye back inside, her eyes widening. "They're heading for the changing rooms."

"What?" Issei and Akeno immediately looked back up, watching as Rias and Josuke headed to the west side of the store with clothes hanging from their arms. Issei looked back at Akeno and Koneko, their reason immediately pushed away by their insecurity. "Let's go,"

"E-Eh~?! B-But you guys, they're-" Asia tried to stop them, her hand trembling as she watched the three quickly shuffle inside. With a small sigh, Asia gave up and followed them in.

"I'm surprised, Josuke-kun. I was expecting some clothes that were much… louder in style from what you picked," Rias called out from inside one of the changing rooms, holding up a cute top that Josuke picked out.

"Like I said, we're trying to change your image to be more inviting. If we're going for that, we're looking for clothes that are more grounded. Something that when Issei sees it, it'll make him feel easier about approaching you while still showing off your appeal," Josuke explained, leaning back in a chair as he waited for Rias to finish changing.

"For someone who acts so prudish around women, you certainly know how to dress them," Rias giggled, slipping on one of the tops she picked out.

"Just because I'm shy doesn't mean I don't pay attention to how they look," Josuke chuckled in response. A small clutter behind Josuke caught his ear, the tall teen craning his head to look back. He didn't see them clearly, but he could have sworn he saw several heads quickly hide the moment he turned. "Huh… that was weird…"

"Alright, I'm coming out," Rias announced, pulling Josuke's attention back forward. Strutting out, Rias placed a hand on her hip and tilted her chin up. "So, what do you think?"

Josuke leaned forward on his knees, holding his chin in one hand as he analysed her outfit. Rias was dressed in a purple blouse that revealed her black bra strap over her shoulder and upper chest, wrapping suggestively around her ample breasts and giving a full view of her cleavage. She wore black shorts that hugged her thighs and and black boots that stopped mid calf.

Josuke hummed, nodding several times as he thought it over. "As usual, you know how to dress well and you look good, but it's still not the style that we're going for," Josuke said, standing up and moving to the selection of clothes that they collected.

"What's wrong with what I picked?" Rias asked, feeling somewhat miffed by Josuke's judgement.

"Like I said, nothing is wrong with it… from a general perspective of looks," Josuke explained, picking up several pieces before holding them out to Rias. "But we're trying to make you look more inviting. Guys give you one look and they think you're a goddess who they couldn't even dream of talking to. Issei never would have if things didn't turn out like they did."

"Oh… I think I understand," Rias nodded, taking the clothes from him. "You think I can change my image that drastically, though?"

"Sometimes all it takes is a little adjustment. Just give it a chance, prez," Josuke encouraged. Rias glanced down at the clothes, biting her bottom lip before nodding. She turned around and walked into the changing room while Josuke returned to his seat.

"I couldn't hear anything, but… how dare Josuke!" Issei hissed in irritation, poking his head out along with the others. "He just totally snuffed what Rias was wearing! E-Even if this is a misunderstanding, he acted like it was no big deal! She looked amazing!"

"Fufufu~. I'm sorry, Issei-kun. While that might seem an unfavorable idea to you, I'm quite happy with that result," Akeno giggled, pleased to see that Josuke wasn't phased by Rias.

"Jojo's hard to impress…" Koneko muttered, taking what she just saw as something that was discouraging for her own chances.

"D-Don't be like that, Koneko-chan! I'm sure Josuke-nii would be happy to see you dress up like that for him!" Asia said, hoping to reassure the petite girl.

"Hey, she's coming back out!" Issei whispered, the four quickly ducking their heads again but peeking through the hangers of the rack they used for a hiding spot. Now there was very little that Issei didn't gawk at when it came to women, Rias especially. But the moment that Rias stepped out of the changing room, Issei could have sworn his heart stopped for a second.

Now to most people, Rias' outfit would be considered normal. But Issei had never seen Rias in such a simple yet elegant style before. She wore a dark blue jean jacket and a V neck black shirt under it. She wore leggings in place of shorts this time, with ankle high brown boots.

Wh-what's going on..? I-I've never seen Rias dressed like that! Her leggings fit her so well it's incredible! The V neck shows off just enough cleavage that it's giving me a taste and leaving me wanting more! I-It just… looks so good on her!

Issei had to swallow a lump in his throat, suddenly feeling a bit hot as he looked at his master.

"Ara ara… Josuke made quite the good choice for President, didn't he?" Issei was suddenly made aware of his spying companions, turning to look at Akeno and Koneko. The former was radiating with fury, a cloud hanging over her thick enough to suck the air out of the room.

"Yeah. Jojo seems pleased with his choice, too," Koneko grumbled, her hands easily crushing the metal rack in front of her.

"Now that looks just great!" Josuke grinned, standing from his seat and giving Rias a thumbs up. "That's exactly the look we were looking for!"

"Y-you think so? Does it look that good?" Rias asked, looking down at her outfit in question before smiling. "You think he'll like it?"

"Definitely. I'm sure if he saw you now, he'd be drooling," Josuke chuckled, crossing his arms in pride. "You really have to take him out in that outfit sometime."

"Heh. Well, looking at it now…" Rias turned to a mirror, smiling as she did a small twirl to get a full view. "I'll have to admit defeat. I finally understand what look you were going for. And you certainly gave me something good to work with."

"No problem. Thanks for trusting in me like this, prez. Just trying to help," Josuke chuckled, rubbing the back of his head bashfully. "Now, why don't you try on a couple more things? I bet we can expand on your potential even further!"

"Alright! I'm in your hands, Josuke!"

"It looks like they're having fun," Asia giggled, smiling at the two as she watched them. But the building cloud around her companions quickly made the blonde Devil laugh uneasily.

Josuke and Rias spent a little under an hour in the shop, the two experimenting with a variety of clothing. In the end, Rias only purchased a few outfits, but each one was given Josuke's seal of approval. With that, they moved on to a make-up shop, though Josuke made sure to assert the idea that Rias should be reserved when using make-up, same with perfume. All the while Issei and the others continued to spy from a distance, watching like hawks for anything that might be considered damning for the two in general. Asia was thankful that the two hadn't done anything scandalous, as her three companions had nearly destroyed several pieces of property on simple false alarms.

"Two cones, please."

By the end of the evening, Josuke and Rias stopped to rest at an ice cream parlor in the mall, Josuke grabbing their order before bringing it back to Rias before taking a seat.

"You didn't have to pay for that. You know I could cover it," Rias said, nonetheless taking the cone with a grateful smile.

"Nah, you spent a lot today already. It seemed only fair I pay for something," Josuke chuckled, taking a seat across from her.

"Even so, I'm grateful that you made the suggestion that we do this," Rias admitted, taking a small lick from her ice cream. "Things with Issei have been bothering me a bit since this morning."

"Let me guess: Asia snuck into bed with him before you for once?" Josuke guessed, his eyes looking unamused as he caught the red haired Devil blushing and fidgeting under his gaze.

"I-I see you're quite used to how things work at Issei's house now…"

"Yeah, painfully so," Josuke grumbled, rubbing his neck as he recalled the first time he walked in on such situations. "But that kind of stuff is so normal now that I'm starting to go numb, so it's whatever."

"I see…" Rias giggled awkwardly, knowing that she didn't make things any easier on Josuke in that regard. "But still, thank you. I've felt like I got back a bit of my confidence today thanks to you. I'm going to try out your idea on Issei as soon as I can."

"Good to hear. Though I can't help but wonder: how come you've been discouraged lately?" Josuke asked, leaning forward curiously. "You've always been super confident in yourself, but with this you're feeling unsure. Why is that?"

"I… I don't know," Rias admitted, her cheeks turning rosy as she looked down at her ice cream. "Maybe… maybe that it's just part of falling in love. I want to be good enough for Issei… I want him to acknowledge me as a woman rather than as his master. But when I think about us together, I can't help but feel like… I'm not good enough. I know it's foolish of me, but I… I want to be better. To be the best woman Issei has and will have. I know it's selfish, but… is that wrong?"

Josuke was silent, listening to everything that Rias had to say before giving her a small smile. "Yeah, a little bit. But is that so wrong? Everyone deserves to be a little selfish. I don't know much about falling in love, but I think that out of all the things in the world, that's one you can be selfish in. And considering that you're fine with sharing him in the end, I'd say you're already being pretty generous to the pervert."

Rias smiled, giving a small chuckle at his words. "Thank you again, Josuke. I needed to hear that. You're truly as good of a friend as any could ask for."

"Heh, stop it. You'll make me blush!" Josuke chuckled with a big grin, rubbing the back of his head bashfully. He looked back down at his ice cream and saw it was starting to get melty. "Ah, crap. Let's not forget to eat these before they get messy."

"Ah, right. That wouldn't be good," Rias chuckled, putting the ice cream to her lips. Before she could take another lick, a single drop fell on her chest, causing Rias to blink. "Oops. Too late, I suppose."

"Ah, damn. Good thing you aren't wearing any of the clothes you just bought," Josuke said, quickly reaching for a napkin and holding it out to Rias. "Here, you should clean that-"

"That is it!"

Josuke and Rias blinked, quickly turning their heads to see Issei standing several meters away, a furious frown on his face as he fumed, stomping his way toward the two.

"Issei?!" The two exclaimed, widening their eyes as they stood from their seats.

"Don't think I didn't see that, Josuke!" Issei growled, pointing an accusatory finger at the taller teen and causing him to blink. "It was one thing to spend all evening with President alone, but you were about to use the drippy ice cream as a way to cop a feel on President's tits, weren't you?! I'm the only one who gets to feel up President's tits!"

"Jesus, you know we're in a public place, right?" Josuke sighed, thankful that it was evening time and that less people were out and about in the mall. "And that's not what I was doing. I was just offering her a napkin to use to clean it."

"Oh yeah, well that…" Issei deflated for a moment, giving it some thought. "... Yeah, okay, that sounds like something you would do, but how do you explain this whole date to me then?!"

"I-Issei, I swear that this isn't a date!" Rias said, panic filling her as she would hate to have Issei misunderstand the situation. "This is…"

"Rias was acting kinda strange today as you saw," Josuke quickly took over, covering for Rias. "And even took a shot at my style. So I thought I'd make her eat her words by seeing who can best dress her up. I won, of course. After that, we were just having fun looking around. This isn't a date, idiot."

"It isn't..?" Issei said, sweat beginning to build up on his brow as he suddenly felt embarrassed. "S-so nothing is going on between you?"

"No."

"O-oh… I see… haha…" Issei trailed off, rubbing the back of his head. "Well… this is a bit awkward."

"No kidding," Josuke sighed, shaking his head.

"Well, I for one am happy to hear that our fear was unfounded," Josuke and Rias eyes, looking up to see Akeno walking toward them with Koneko and Asia at her sides, the blonde Devil awkwardly waving a hand in hello. "While it is a shame that it was all just a misunderstanding, it's nice to be wrong sometimes."

"You guys were here too?!" Josuke exclaimed, taking a small step back in fear as the girls approached.

"Yes. We wanted to make sure you two weren't… hiding something from us," Koneko lamely excused, looking down at the ground with a small blush. "I'm sorry."

"I am too. I was really curious, even though I knew it was unlikely…" Asia apologized, tilting her head down in shame. "Please forgive me."

"I will admit my own fault in the matter. Though I don't regret that we kept a close eye," Akeno giggled, causing Josuke and Rias to deadpan. "You both must see how this looks, after all."

"Y-Yeah, I'm really sorry for jumping to conclusions. I should have trusted that you both wouldn't sneak around like this…" Issei said, guilt beginning to build up the more he thought about it.

Josuke and Rias shared a look, both sighing in resignation.

"It's whatever, I guess. Thinking about it, I guess I can see how it might seem a bit suspicious," Josuke said, rubbing the back of his head. "Just try to trust us a bit more, would you?"

"Yes, I will!" Issei exclaimed, bowing deeply in apology. Rias gave a small smile before correcting that, taking on a more stern facade.

"I am willing to forgive… but only if you can make things right," Rias declared, causing Issei to flinch as she walked up to him. "This Sunday, I demand that you take me out on a shopping trip as well. You'll have to foot the bill, of course. I hope you can manage and do your master proud."

"Y-Yes, of course! I may not have Josuke's fashion sense, but I promise to do you proud!" Issei exclaimed, eliciting a smile from Rias.

"Alright. I suppose that will be enough. Try to surpass my expectations, okay?" Rias said, turning around and giving Josuke a wink. The tall teen smirked but said nothing. "We should get going, don't you think? I'm sure mother is expecting us for dinner soon."

"Y-Yes! Coming!" Issei nodded, quickly catching up to Rias' side.

"H-Hey! Don't leave me behind!" Asia cried out, quickly jogging to catch up to the two.

Josuke peered over his shoulder at the three, letting out a small chuckle. "Looks like things turned out great in the end."

"I suppose they did," Akeno giggled, walking up to Josuke with Koneko. "So, what is our punishment?"

"Huh?" Josuke blinked, looking at the two in confusion.

"Issei has to make it up to President. We should make it up to you," Koneko said, her face neutral but her cheeks a tint of pink.

"A-Ah, that… I don't really think that's necessary," Josuke suggested, turning his head and rubbing his neck.

"But it is! After all, we spied on you due to a misunderstanding! I think I speak for both of us when I say that we want to make it up to you!" Akeno pushed, stepping closer and leaning toward Josuke, causing the tall teen to flinch back. It didn't help that Koneko followed her lead, putting on the pressure. "Perhaps we can take you out shopping like you did with Rias. It will be on us~!"

"I agree," Koneko said, giving a stern nod.

"L-Look girls, you really don't have to-"

Koneko and Akeno both reached forward, gripping the fabric of his shirt as a warning despite the kind smiles that they both put on. "We insist!"

"... Th-That sounds great…"

"Perfect! Don't worry Josuke, we'll make sure to make it worth your while~!" Akeno giggled, letting go of his shirt and skipping past him with a wink. Koneko just gave a small nod, her cheeks heating up before jogging past him. Josuke released a tense breath, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Why does it feel like I was still in trouble for something..?"

The End

Hey there, everyone! I hope you all enjoyed that little fun story! I just spawned the idea when I was thinking about what I could do as a little break from the main story. I've been meaning to focus on the other friendships of the group, and Josuke and Rias came to mind. I've always wanted to delve a bit deeper into the friendships the boy and girl friendships that are just that: friendship with no romantic interest in one another. It's part of why I had Asia look up to Josuke like an older brother aside from being adorable lol. Plus it seemed like a nice chance to have Rias and Josuke connect just the two of them.

This chapter was a fun break from all the serious fighting going on in the story that let me have fun with the characters themselves again. Once my school work for the week has been sorted, I'll be sure to get back on to the main story next. So look forward to next time! As always, thank you for reading and hope you all have a good day!