On the rooftop, during lunchtime.
"You're here."
Akeno's heart was pounding louder than she liked. Each beat seemed to echo her emotions—anxious, restless, yet hopeful. When Rias told her that Kousuke would be waiting on the rooftop, she'd tried to stay calm. After all, this was the moment she had long awaited.
She spotted him standing near the fence, his back turned to her as he gazed down at the courtyard, where students gossiped and laughed over their lunchboxes. Then, without turning, he spoke.
"Why do you look so nervous? I don't bite."
He glanced over his shoulder and gave her a teasing smile.
"Unless that's what you're into," he added with the kind of grin she'd only ever seen him give Tsubaki and Yasaka.
Her legs froze in place. His gaze made her feel exposed—like he could read her every thought. She wanted to tease him back, to play it cool like always, but somehow, this time was different.
"Fu-fufu… What are you talking about?" she replied, trying to maintain her usual smile, though the slight stutter in her voice betrayed her unease.
Then, he reached out and gently caressed her cheek.
She froze again—but for an entirely different reason. The warmth of his touch spread across her skin like a current. Her smile wavered, eyes wide, breath hitching. Her body trembled—not from fear, but from the overwhelming surge of emotion.
"I talked with Tsubaki and Yasaka the day after you confessed," he said softly, his eyes locked on hers.
Her heart skipped a beat.
For a moment, she debated cutting him off—afraid of what he might say next—but his tone wasn't cold. It wasn't rejection.
"There's nothing you need to be nervous about," he continued. "Relax."
Somehow, his voice alone calmed the storm inside her. Her breath slowly returned to normal. Maybe it was his words, maybe his presence—but either way, she felt like she could finally listen.
He gently traced his thumb across her lips, and her breath caught again. His touch was tender, but deliberate.
"I have one question for you," he said, his smile fading into something more serious. "Do you think I'm a scumbag for wanting to keep Tsubaki, Yasaka… and you all to myself? I can't even promise there won't be more in the future."
He chuckled softly—but it was dry, almost self-deprecating.
"I… I guess I'm really greedy, huh?"
For a fleeting moment, Akeno saw something vulnerable in his expression. A raw honesty that made her chest tighten. He wasn't playing around. He wasn't saying it lightly.
Ever since returning to Earth, Kousuke had carried himself with a quiet kind of freedom. As if he no longer cared about the rules that governed everyone else—like nothing could bind him anymore. No laws. No traditions. No guilt.
He believed that to be free was to protect the peace he'd earned. After all, what was the point of surviving that other world if he came back only to live quietly and suppress himself? If he wanted happiness, he'd seize it with his own hands. Even if it meant being a selfish bastard.
That was his truth.
Akeno looked down at her hands.
Scumbag? Greedy?
She might've laughed, if her throat weren't so tight. After everything she'd carried—the guilt, the fear, the whispers that told her she didn't deserve to be loved—and *he* was the one worried about being selfish?
"...You're wrong," she whispered.
Kousuke blinked. "Huh?"
She stepped forward, her fingers brushing against his chest. A smile adorned her face.
"You're not a scumbag," she said, her voice steadier. "You're just… someone who is more honest to themselves, true to your desire. That is something to be proud of, not many actually live an honest life."
Her hand curled slightly into his shirt.
"I have a hunch that if I'm honest in my confession, you wouldn't betray my expectations. Perhaps, I'm just as greedy, if not more...I don't want to be reject, so I kept bottling my feeling until I could no longer control it."
Kousuke looked at her for a moment longer, then slowly placed his hand over hers. The contact sent a warm pulse through her—a quiet promise, grounding her.
"I'm not Tsubaki, nor Yasaka," she continued. "And I don't care how many others there are. Because I know my feelings for you is real. And that's not going to change, not now and neither in future."
A breeze passed by, rustling her hair. She tilted her head up and smiled faintly.
"I love you, Kousuke."
Her eyes shimmered with emotion, but she didn't cry. She stood tall, calm—like someone who had finally embraced her feelings and found something worth fighting for.
He smiled—not the teasing one, but the one he reserved for those he truly cherished. Then he gently pulled her into his arms and whispered into her ear, "Then I'll treasure you properly, Akeno."
That was all it took.
Her arms wrapped around his back, and her head rested against his shoulder. She held him tightly, as if afraid the moment would disappear.
Neither of them noticed Rias quietly peeking from behind the rooftop door with a bittersweet smile on her lips.
"...I knew it," she whispered, a sigh escaped her mouth before she turned around and walked away silently.
---
Later, in the Occult Research Club.
"...I see," Issei muttered, his voice low. There was a tightness in his chest that made it hard to speak, and a bittersweet smile tugged at his lips. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised."
"Issei-kun..." Rias said softly, worried expression surfaced on her beautiful face.
"I'm fine, Rias… No, well—it stings a little, but I'll manage," he replied, chuckling weakly. "After all, I have you."
His words were sincere, but his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. The room was empty aside from the two of them, quiet except for the faint ticking of the clock.
Rias walked closer and sat beside him on the couch. "You're not angry?"
Issei looked down at his hands. "Well ..I thought she liked me, maybe she did. We even went on a couple of dates, she looks really happy. I thought there was a chance."
Rias didn't interrupt.
"But after Kousuke started showing up more... I noticed. The way she looked at him. It was different. Warmer. Softer. Like she saw something in him I could never quite be." He forced another laugh, this one even more hollow. He wasn't angry at his friend for stealing Akeno from him, after all, Akeno isn't officially his. If there's anyone to blame, it's himself.
"So yeah... I guess I knew. I just didn't want to admit it. By admitting it now, I accepted the reality that Akeno have someone else in her heart."
Rias reached out and placed her hand over his. "It's okay to feel hurt, Issei. But knows that you're not alone, I'm with you."
He turned to look at her—and for a moment, the pain cracked just enough trauma vision for him to really see her. Not the hot and sexy red haired devil, but the real Rias Gremory. The one that won his heart, his girlfriend.
"Yeah… I know," he said quietly, a small smile appeared on his face. "Thanks, Rias."
She leaned her head gently against his shoulder. And for a while, neither of them said anything more.