Part 1
"Hi"
The person whose figure is partially covered by the fog says giving a simple wave towards me
"Ma-Manaki?! What are you doing here!?"
I ask outloud turning my face away from her
"Taking a bath"
She says as if it's the most normal thing in the world!
"U-use the women's side then!"
"I want to talk with you, so I thought it would be better here"
*Splash splash*
The water is still rippling! Don't keep moving closer as we speak!
"Why?! Can't we do this from the other side?"
I answer, still forcing my head down as to not look at her
"Liliana-sama says bathing with someone is a great way to get to know them"
"W-what?!"
*Splash splash*
She's still approaching me!?
"I highly doubt she meant like this! Even so, you don't have to get so close when you are-"
Finally, taken over by embarassment, I look up towards Manaki and my eyes fall on her...
Towel?
"Y-you are covered?"
I ask, slightly more disappointed than I should be
N-no, I'm not disappointed! Just surprised! It's a relieve that she's covered, b-but anyway, she's still here!
Manaki tilts her head
"Yes, but I was going to take it off once I was inside, we can't use a towel at an onsen, right?"
She says tugging at the top of the towel, threatning to release it from her body and making my despair immediately come back
"D-don't do this!"
"Uh, why?"
Do you even need to ask?!
"B-because..."
While shuffling through my brain for the right words to convince this crazy girl she shouldn't get naked in front of a guy she barely knows, I hear the door open.
"W-what?"
A cold feeling reaches my stomach as a short figure walks in and takes a long and amused look at the scene
"Oh, bonjour there, kekeke!"
"G-Galard-san!?"
A stream of thoughts and excuses rushes through my head as I think of ways to explain what is going on to the old man that just walked in unannounced
"It's not what you think!"
I desperately say the most cliché line ever that usually causes people to suspect misunderstandings even more, however, the old man gleefully laughs
"And here I was thinking I could get the onsen all to myself after a tiring day at work, hope I wasn't interrupting anything, kekekekeke!"
He says with his typical laughter
"You're not!"
I quickly deny his suggestion as Manaki wonders to herself
"I thought I could get to know Tatseyo-san a bit better, but Galard-san is here too..."
Don't say things that'll cause more misunderstanding!
"Oh, so I was interrupting something..."
I cross my arms and retort desperately
"No, no! That's not it!
I look bewildered at the scene as Galard chuckles and addresses the clueless blue haired girl
"Manaki, I believe Tatseyo is uncomfortable with you in front of him like this, remember what I told you about it?"
What? They already had a talk about it?!
Manaki tilts her head and looks at me confused
"Is Galard-san right?"
I nod
"Y-yeah, you are girl so o-of course this is weird"
She looks at me with a confused glance, but soon acknowledges and starts to walk out of the onsen
"I'm sorry, it seems my judgement on things was wrong"
Galard gives a pleased smile looking at us
"Thank you, see Tatseyo? Manaki knows boundaries"
I nod in response, but instead what she just said got me even more confused
"Your judgement? What do you mean?"
Did Manaki had some weird idea about me?
As she prepares to climb up, she puts her finger up in an annalytical gesture
"Well, you always seem pleased being taken on Liliana-sama's breasts or when hugged by Mayumi, so I thought the female body was something you were used to"
I cough loudly at her response and feel the urge to shove my face in the water to hide myself
"But I am sorry if my initial idea was wrong"
"Hahahahaha!"
Galard starts laughing as Manaki looks clueless at us
"What, did I said something funny again?"
The old man seems too absorbed in his own laughter to reply, but how should I answer to that!?
I-it's true that I might be too relaxed whenever Mayumi and Liliana have some i-intimacy with me, b-but that's just touching, right? That doesn't make me a pervert... d-does it?
"T-that's different!"
Is this the only thing I managed to come up with?! Damnit!
Manaki tilts her head one more time
"It is?"
"Y-yes! It is!"
Still not convinced by my words, she puts a finger on her chin with the same neutral expression as always
"Why?"
"I-it's just is!"
I find myself unable to give a proper explanation to her, luckily, Galard had recovered from his histeria and decided to butt in
"Hey Manaki, things like this are difficult to explain, especially for a young lad like Tatseyo. But if it's making him uncomfortable, why don't you go to the ladies proper side? I believe you can have a conversation from there as well"
Manaki ponders for a moment untill eventually giving in and noding her head
"I still don't understand, but okay..."
I let out a sigh of relieve as Manaki starts walking towards the girl's area of the wall
However, she stops and turns to me once again, giving one long glance before speaking
"You are weird, Tatseyo-san"
After this statement, she walks away leaving my head spinning
"H-how am I the weird one?!"
Galard laughs again and says while throwing a towel over his shoulder
"Now, now, don't freet over it, let's just enjoy the onsen, kakakakakaka!"
Again, this is not funny at all!
Part 2
"Ahhhh, this is the best"
The old man says in a relaxed tone as he sinks lower into the water
Although the temperature is ideal and the ambient is perfect, I just can't relax here...
"How are you doing there, Manaki?"
This situation has just become even more ridiculous!
"It's fine, the water is pleasant..."
I can hear Manaki answer from the wall separating us
Galard turns to me
"Ah, it's the first time I've had company in the onsen like this! It's good to have all the space to myself, but finally having a male friend here is also great, kakakakaka!"
Please don't make this weirder than it already is!
I just wanted to take a relaxing bath after training, but now I'm this situation with Manaki and Galard talking over the fence separating us
The duo talks about things involving the casino, most of which I don't understand since I don't work here, so my mind starts to wander as I try to enjoy at least a little of the warm water and moist air
Manaki directs a question to me
"Tatseyo..."
"Uhm?"
I was unfocused so I did not hear her question at first, however, Galard has a surprised expression on his face when I turn to him
"Oh, this will be interesting, kakakakaka!"
Galard laughs for a while and I feel a chill down my spine wondering what Manaki has just said
"W-what did you said, Manaki?"
It takes a moment for the reply to arrive
"Tatseyo... do you like Liliana-sama and Mayumi-san?"
Despite the hot water surrounding me, I completely freeze at the question
"C-come again?!"
"Kakakakaka! Is that a confession of guilt?"
Galard amusingly laughs
"It's not! Why are you even asking this?!"
I shout towards the wooden wall separating us
The reply comes right afterwards, in the same monotone, as if she didn't had asked me anything much
"You never answered when Diz and I asked you back then, so I thought now was a good time to ask"
"What in the world gave you that impression?!"
This girl does not understand mood at all!
"I just thought that, maybe the reason you are not embarassed by them is because you like them and not me. It makes sense, does it not?"
"NO! It doesn't make sense at all!"
She has a screw loose! This girl is definitely not right in the head!
"Kakakakakaka!"
While I desperately try to reason with the crazy girl in the other side of the onsen, Galard laughs loudly
"Don't just laugh, try to talk with her! Do what you did before!"
He was able to reason with her in order to not undress in front of me so maybe he can convince her to stop with this too, do something, old man!
"Kakaka, how am I supposed to help? Also, I'm curious too, are you really going for the two of them? Ah, being young sure is a time to be reckless!"
This geezer is making things worse!
"That's definitely not it!"
"So you don't like Liliana-sama?"
Manaki asks and I try to calm down as I my body on the water again and think for a moment before answering
"I-it's different, but... even if you want to know how I feel about Liliana and Mayumi, I can definitely say I like them, but I like all of you. I already think of all of you as my friends, but I think that's different from what you mean, right?"
I try as best as I can to give a serious answer, however, a brief silence follows my words, Galard is no longer laughing, instead he is looking at the wooden wall with a look of curiosity. It seems that he's also wondering how Manaki will answer to this
"Friends, liking... I don't really get it" - A faint voice answers before I hear the sound of water and footsteps
"Manaki?"
I ask, but no answer comes from the other side
"Hoh, it seems you really managed to get our brilliant scientist confused"
"W-what?"
A few moments later, Manaki passes by us wearing a new set of clothes
"You really are a weird guy, Tatseyo"
She says, turning on her heels and heading out of the room
I stare at her back as she leaves, speechless at what I just heard
"Again, how am I the weird one?!"
I look at Galard who begins laughing again
"Kakakakaka, honestly, this Manaki is just too much!"
Indeed she is! But not in the good sense! She is way too abnormal, I just can't get a clue of her!
"H-how did she and Liliana even met?"
I have a hard time imagining how someone like Manaki could get recruited into Liliana's peerage, let alone have so much respect for her
However, Galard's happy expression turns into a troubled frown at my question and he retorts
"Well... I believe that would be best if explained by Liliana-sama or Manaki herself..."
He seems hesitant to explain anything, considering the story of some of Rias's party mates, I don't think prying any further would do any good.
"But, Tatseyo..."
Galard says giving me a sly smile
"You were pretty hesitant when Manaki asked about your opinion on Liliana-sama, could it be you are hiding your true intentions from us?"
I feel my face getting hotter at this remark, not again!
"Or maybe the reason why you got nervous around Manaki undressing is because you're interessed on her too? Kakakakakaka!"
"S-shut up!"
I tell the old man slapping my hand against my forehead
"Oh, don't mind an old man and his jokes, however, there is something I want to warn you about..."
Galard's expressions turns serious for a moment
"Huh? What is it?"
He gets closer to me in the bath
"You know, I've been living with those girls for a good time."
And closer...
"And they are like daughters to me, all of them, even Diz who might be a bit hard-headed sometimes is a good girl in her heart"
And even more closer!
"Err, Galard-san, what are you doing?"
He gives me a smile, but this time it's not a good smile, it's a smile that's full of pressure behind it
"What I'm trying to say is this..."
Galard gets even closer and I step back, but he reaches his hand and touches my shoulder
His eyes are closed and his smile is as broad as ever, but the pressure he's giving off makes me shiver even with the warm water up to my chest
"If you hurt them in any way, I don't care whose son you are, you'll meet a side of me which is not on your history books, understood?"
I nod my head furiously, the pressure of an overprotective father is scary!
"Y-yes!"
I say it without even thinking and Galard removes his hand from my shoulder and lays back again
"Ah, that's good, now I can relax with you around them"
It's only then that I realize the meaning behind what I said
"W-wait, I wasn't planning to do anything with Liliana and the others to begin with!"
"Kekekekeke, don't worry, I won't oppose you anymore, you have my blessing"
I wasn't trying to get your blessing!
Part 3
I leave the bath feeling even more tense than before
"Ah, frankly, what's up with those two?"
I walk around the corridors thinking about what I should do next
Should I go back home? Should I find somewhere here to have lunch with Aya? Maybe go to Liliana's office and see if she needs anything?"
"Liliana..."
I didn't had a chance to talk with her in private about what I revealed to them, of course there's work, she's a high-class devil and she runs this entire casino, but still...
Is she really dying to see me like Mayumi said? Why I can't shake the feeling that she's avoiding me?
No, it's not that I just can't shake it off, it's that I'm scared of it
"Is she mad at me?"
The idea keeps running through my head and before I notice it, I'm standing in the hallway thinking only about the dark skinned devil girl
And the question rings in my head
[Do you... like Liliana-sama?]
I feel my face turn head at the memory and shout
"Agh, damn you, Manaki! Now I can't stop thinking about it!"
I slap myself in both cheeks trying to pull myself back to focus
"Wondering about that will do no good, I'll just grab Aya-chan and we'll head back home!"
I go towards the usual place to pick Aya-chan up, however, she's not alone this time
"Hey, Aya-chan, Mayumi"
"Tatseyo-san!"
"Hi, Tatseyo~"
"I thought you'd be working this time around"
The purple haired girl dressed in her secretary suit shakes her head and points outside
"I'm going to grab some food, you certainly took your time in the bath"
I flinch and rub the back of my head, trying to mask my embarassment
"Y-yeah, guess I enjoyed it too much..."
Or rather, not enjoyed at all!
"Is that so? Fufufufufu~"
Ah, shit! Please don't tell me she read my mind?
"Tatseyo-san, are we going home now?"
Aya-chan asks and I shrug
"Yeah, I-I've been meaning to talk with Liliana before but it seems she's busy now too..."
I fail at holding back the disappointment in my voice at the last remark, which draws a curious expression from Mayumi
"Ara~ are you two having a quarrel already?"
I turn my now redded face away from her
"N-no! Stop that! I-It's just been a while since I've seen her so..."
I scratch the back of my head, embarassed on how to proceed. Now that I think about, it's really embarassing to say it outloud
"Fufufu, how cute!"
Mayumi giggles
"Tatseyo-san is missing Liliana-ane!"
Even Aya-chan! You two are spending too much time together!
"N-no, I'm just concerned that we haven't talked things through ever since we met and she's acting kinda distant so-"
"Ara, isn't that the same as missing someone?"
"I-it's different!"
"Fufufufufu"
Mayumi giggles again and hugs my arm
"Don't worry, we'll make you company! Right, Aya-chan?"
Aya-chan happily nods
"Yeah, yeah, Tatseyo-san won't feel lonely even when Liliana-ane is not around!"
"I-I already said I'm not feeling lonely!"
Ignoring my protests, Mayumi pulls me with her out of the Casino and into the streets of Kuromaku town
"Would you like to call a car, Kanagawa-dono?"
One of the securities asks her on the way out, Mayumi however shakes her head
"No need, we won't be going very far, if there's any emergencies you know what to do"
The man silently consents and goes back to his duties as Mayumi, without letting go off my arm, guides me and Aya-chan through the streets towards the place she said we would be having dinner at.
"I-it's so bright here at night, there's nothing like this in Kuoh. But this big town vibe, I'm really not used to it, uhhh..."
Aya-chan declares confused, at the same time she seems to like the bright colours and lots of stores, the energy of a big town can be overwhelming for someone who is not used to it
I personally enjoy though, being used to travelling due to my jobs as an esper, I really like shifting between Kuoh's calm and cozy atmosphere and the big and bustling Kuromaku
"Fufufufu, don't worry, we're almost there. Just keep holding my hand."
Mayumi however, seems to be on a whole new level of enthusiasm, clinging to my arm whilst guiding Aya-chan by the hand. And I don't think it's just because she's used to the town, but maybe she's excited to show us the places she likes?
"You're correct! Fufufufu~"
She says winking at me
"S-stop that!"
I tell her to stop reading my mind as she giggles to herself
"Look, it's right there!"
Letting go of me, Mayumi points forward
"T-there?!"
Aya-chan asks impressed
"I-it seems pretty... rustic"
The main word that could possibly describe the place comes out of my mouth
I can understand Aya's surprise, this place is nothing like what I imagined a girl like Mayumi would like to eat at.
"Fufufufufu~ don't worry, it's my treat today. C'mon, c'mon~"
She says pushing us towards the entrance of the restaurant
"I don't think that's the problem here, Mayumi!"
"Ma-Mayumi-san!"
Aya-chan still puts a resistance, but Mayumi pushes us past the entrance
"Fufufu, this is one of my favorite places~"
Inside we can see clearly lhe restaurant, it's definitely what I expected
There are families eating inside, old couples, even workers in their business clothes drinking beer and chatting
After we get inside, the man standing behind the counter greets us
"Hey, Mayumi-san! You brought company today?"
The purple haired secretary nods
"Yup, this is Tatseyo and Aya-chan"
The man greets us and a girl dressed as waitress guides us to a table and hands out menus, Mayumi however does not take it
"I'll just have the usual, thank you"
I look through the options, they are all fairly common dishes you'd find at a family dinner
"I'll have the same as Tatseyo-san!"
Aya-chan orders the same thing as me and we wait our orders to arrive while chatting
"T-this place is really cozy, how did you find it?"
I ask Mayumi, who seems pleased at my question
"Oh, one day I was searching for a family restaurant when I found this place"
"I see..."
This is really not the kind of place I thought we would eat at when Mayumi invited us, I expected something well... fancier to be honest
When I look at Mayumi, she's pouting and looking at me
"Mou, you just thought that I was some spoiled rich girl that would only eat at fancy places, right?"
I flinch backwards
"S-stop reading my thoughts!"
Mayumi gives a cute 'hmphf' and turns her head
"I didn't need to read your mind for this, it was all over your face"
"Eh? I-it was?"
Am I that bad in hiding what I'm thinking? No, it seems that Mayumi and Liliana are just really good at telling what I'm thinking... and drawing a reaction from me. Honestly, these two are really dangerous
"Actually, Mayumi-san, I was also thinkingthat this place didn't suit your aura at all. You are such a refined girl!"
Aya-chan says with admiration in her voice, causing Mayumi to give out a smile, however the smile also comes with a sigh
"Don't take me wrong, I love fancy places too, it's just that when I was young I didn't get to go anywhere cozy and... family-like such as this. So sometimes, I just like to come here"
Mayumi looks a little depressed saying this. She was unexpectedly open about herself, to the point where it made me surprised
"A-are you alright?"
I ask and Mayumi's expression quickly lightens up again as she waves her hand
"I'm fine, I'm fine, I was just lost in thought for a bit that's all"
Me and Aya-chan exchange stares concerned about Mayumi
Thinking about it, Mayumi has never really talked about herself, has she?
I know at least a thing or two about everyone with Liliana, but Mayumi is still kind of a mistery, I probably know more about Manaki than I do about her.
Aside from liking to tease people, reading minds and disliking the Khaos Brigade, she's probably the one I came to know less even though I'm training with her too.
I wonder why is that...
"What about you two? Did you like it here?"
Mayumi asks with sparkling eyes waiting for our answers
"Y-yeah, it's quite a good place"
I reply taking a look around, the homey atmosphere differs greatly from the outside streets and honestly it's quite good
"I loved it!" - Aya says cheerfully
"Fufufufu, I'm glad you did, you used to come to places like this?"
The green haired youkai-girl nods
"In my hometown there were a lot of restaurants like this! I really like it!"
She answers full of enthusiasm and Mayumi stares at me, as if waiting for an answer from me as well
I tilt my head a little
"Err, not a lot, mom and dad usually eat at home or at restaurants. Even when travelling I would usually eat at Esper Association stablishments or bases, so not very often"
Mayumi puts on a curious expression
"Esper association, huh? Sounds fancy~"
She says flashing a smile
"Y-yeah, I'm considered a high-rank in terms of power so I get a good treatment whenever I go. Speaking of which, none of you were affiliated with the Association, were you? "
Galard obviously isn't, Diz never said anything about it and Manaki was a criminal, so there's no chance, but maybe Mayumi was?
However, my suggestion is quickly shot down
"No, no, my family is different reggarding that. It's better if we don't go into that now..."
Different?
Mayumi seemed uneasy saying this, however, even if I wanted to go any further, we are interrupted by the waitress bringing our meal
"Uhmm, tasty!"
Aya-chan says as she happily digs into the steaming plate
"Fufufu, careful not to burn your tongue"
Mayumi replies as she also starts to eat, the food is quite tasty, nothing special like what I had with Liliana the night we rescued Aya-chan, but good enough for a restaurant like this.
However, we barely have enough time to enjoy our meal, my cellphone rings
*Ring Ring*
"Ara, what is it?"
I pick up and my eyes wide at the phone number
"I-it's Ayumu!"
I declare outloud
"Is Ayumu-san okay?"
Aya-chan swallows her food and turns to me
"Ye-yes, it's just that she sent me a message telling that she's already on her way to Kuoh town"
When I say this, Aya-chan shows a surprised expression and Mayumi answers with a slightly disappointed tone
"Oh my... well, it can't be helped then, you two should eat up and hurry back to Kuoh town to pick her up"
Both me and Aya-chan agree as we quickly finish our meals
It seems like my talk with Liliana will have to wait, for now I'll meet with Ayumu and think of a way to make her come to terms with all of this
Even after preparing all this time I still feel nervous...
I wanna see her, but more than that I want to be able to convince her to come to our side, to work with us.
Ah, this'll definitely be a tough call, maybe more difficult than most fights I had, but I promised myself and everyone including Liliana that they could trust me.
I give up on trying to guess what's going to happen and hope for the best while going forward.
Afterword: For the first time I received a complaint about the rhythm of the story, it was anonymous so I couldn't answer in private. Regarding it I must say that indeed, I know it's taking a good while to get back into the original storyline of DxD, I'm sorry if for some it feels like I'm dragging it, but that's also one of the reasons I chose to start the story between volumes 8 and 9, considering vol 8 is mostly filler, to take my time to develop the new cast in a timeframe where nothing major was happening in the original plot, it will take more chapters untill we get into the Kyoto arc but from there on the stories will mostly intertwine. Also, as to why I spent two chapters with Ayumu, I didn't thought I would have to really explain it, but she'll be a major character in the story, so developing her is necessary, just as I spent a chapter with Kuriko and one with Liliana in the Saiki house, these are necessary for the story and wouldn't be here if they weren't. Hope I have cleared any doubts you might have, thank you and look forward to the next chapters.