In the silence, the only sounds were flicking joysticks and tapping buttons.
Click-clack!
Pow! Pow!
"KAH-ME-HAME-HAAAAAAA!!!!"
"KAH-ME-HAME-HAAAAAAA!!!!"
BOOOM!!
"DRAMATIC FINISH!"
"Of course you lost. I'm a Super Saiyan with the power of a Super Saiyan God!"
…
Gasper slowly turned to Koneko with a smug grin. He could feel her seething.
Koneko tightened her grip on the controller.
CRACK.
It slowly bent in her palms.
"Well, you tried your best. Maybe you'll do better next time."
She looked him straight in the face.
'Why does his face look… so punchable right now?'
"Why are you looking at me like that?... Ahhh, don't worry. I'll let you win one. It's the least I can do."
Koneko's eye twitched.
She didn't look at the broken controller in her hands.
She just stared at Gasper's self-satisfied expression.
"You'll let me win?" she repeated. Her voice, dangerous.
Gasper leaned back, completely oblivious to the fact that he was courting death. He waved a hand dismissively.
"Sure! I mean, it's clearly hard for you to keep up with my inputs. It's only fair that I hold back a little …"
He glanced back at the TV.
"One more."
Then he paused.
"…what's the point? You're just going to lose."
She shot back immediately.
"Are you afraid you're going to lose?"
His smile grew. "Nah, I'd win."
He didn't wait for her reply. He just got up and headed for the kitchen.
She got up after him, eyes narrowing.
"We're not done here."
Not until she wiped that smug grin off his face.
"Yeah, we are. You'd need at least three thousand years in seclusion before you reach my level."
He kept walking. "But I'll be waiting for your rematch. In the meantime, I'm gonna go make some cakes."
His grin did not fade. 'Man, it's fun teasing her.'
…So he is suicidal… I see.
"Fine…but make it fifteen cakes instead."
He whipped his head around. "Fifteen? Are you crazy?!"
She just gave him a look.
'With how much she eats…how the hell is she not fat?'
She narrowed her eyes. "What are you thinking about?"
He swallowed hard. "...Oh, nothing, just thinking if we have enough ingredients in the kitchen for that."
Wait, why did that…actually make sense?
She turned away. "Mhm." She didn't believe him for a second.
And Gasper took that as a sign to leave!
Koneko stood there, staring at the TV as his footsteps rapidly retreated.
She waited.
Then, slowly, she turned to check if he was gone.
Seeing that he was truly gone, she reached for her bag on the couch and pulled out a hardcover book titled "Deep Dive Into William Shakespeare."
She opened it.
Inside wasn't Shakespeare.
She flipped through the pages, trying to get to where she last left off, then sighed. 'The month is almost done.'
'But so far so good. If he keeps this up, then Rias will…let me not jinx it.'
She looked at the doodles in the book, and her expression softened slightly.
'But after this, Rias owes me one…even if it is for his own good…especially with all the changes.'
But it sucked, having to go behind his back for this.
Still, it would be worth it.
She knew it.
—
Sip~
Koneko put down the teacup she was drinking from, her eyes still on the same book from before.
She blinked in utter confusion and turned the page.
'A whole 10 pages and I still don't get what's so great about this "Aura Monster" and him climbing the stairs.'
"Yes, over a hundred million deaths and a dream that would not end, Subaru became the aura monster with 10/10 altruism and 10/10 sadness."
Her eyes narrowed. 'He's still going…'
She sighed and flipped the page again
"It's all stupid, I say."
She leaned in.
Finally something new.
"People say that humongous calcium cannons are the best but I say…"
Koneko tilted her head. '...Calcium cannons?'
"Size does not matter! You can have calcium cannons or be the captain of the itty bitty titty committee, and it would not matter!"
She gained a tick mark on her forehead.
"BECAUSE what matters most is under the waist!...Yes, the most important components: the thighs, nice and firm; if muscular, the better; and the most important of all...AN AMAZING ASS!!!"
Koneko slowly closed the journal.
Stared at it.
Then opened it again to make sure she'd read that right.
"..."
"What…am I reading?"
She genuinely did not know if she should be pissed off or…proud?
"Hey, Koneko, whatcha reading?" a voice sounded out from behind her.
Bam!
She closed the book at lightning speed!
"Nothing," she said, her voice a bit too fast.
"Just... Shakespeare."
"Oh...cool," he said, walking around and sitting next to her, placing down a mountain of cakes on the table.
He grabbed a cake and handed her one.
She took it and grabbed a plastic spoon on the table and started digging in.
…
Growl~
Koneko paused mid-bite.
She turned to Gasper.
His face was slowly turning red as he avoided her gaze.
She stared at him for a moment.
Then, without saying a word, she scooped more cake onto her spoon and leaned closer.
Gasper, feeling the weight of the couch shift looked towards her–
And the spoon went into his mouth.
Pop!
She took the spoon out, his face softening as he savored the cake.
She looked at him for a long moment.
"…Pervert."
"…Wha—?" Gasper's eyes widened. "Where did that come fro–"
She shoved another spoonful into his mouth.
—<19 minutes later>—
"Uhhh~" Gasper groaned, unable to eat anymore.
Most of the cakes were gone, frosting on his lips.
Nom! Nom!
And Koneko just kept going at it.
'She's a monster…'
He turned his head to look at her and gave a soft smile. 'But hey, at least she doesn't let the fruits of my labor go to waste.'
"You're going to get a stomachache," he mumbled.
She didn't even respond. She just stuffed more cake in her mouth.
'Fruits of my labor, huh? Should I ask her? I mean, it could be helpful, especially with that bottleneck I reached in my magic training.'
'Ahh, crap, that just reminded me. I totally skipped training with Crowley and Saji, didn't I?'
'Well, it is what it is. But she's a devil too. She could have the answers I need. I mean, she is my…sempai…'
Just thinking of the word sent a shiver up his spine.
'Yeah, I'm never thinking about that again. Who the hell do I think I am? Mash?'
"Hey…Koneko?"
"Sup."
"You think you can train me in magic?"
She stopped as she was about to put another spoonful of cake in her mouth and looked toward him.
"But you're better at magic than me."
Oh…shit.
"Ahem. Well, what I need isn't training. It's more help, I guess."
Her eyes dropped to her hands.
"Even so, I don't really use magic like that." She paused, something coming to mind. "But I know someone who does."
She looked at him.
"If it helps… I could set you up."
He nodded. "Yeah … that would be great actually."