Eren woke up from his nap.

Koneko could tell by how his body tensed slightly, unconsciously reacting to a world he couldn't see.

Her senses had always been more sensitive than the others. Thanks to her heritage as a Yokai and her affinity for...

She bit into another cracker.

"Who are you?" He asked in his accented Japanese. He was facing her direction but noticeably higher than her head's position.

Koneko frowned minutely.

She still hadn't hit her growth spurt, but it was coming. Probably when she graduated middle school and into high school. Then she'd be tall, and her boobs would be bigger than Rias' and Akeno's.

She was sure of it.

She had to pause slightly to finish the cracker in her mouth to answer. Her eating had probably been what woke Eren up from his nap.

"...Toujou Koneko. Nice to meet you." After a beat, she decided to say a bit more to put him at ease. "You can speak English."

Eren's muscles slightly eased. Still tense, but not held on a knife's edge. His lips quirked. Not a smile. But something... something.

Koneko bit into another cracker. Elephant. She liked the idea of eating something so large in one bite.

So she did.

"...Rias' friend?"

Koneko nodded once.

Then, she froze, the back half of a horse cracker in her mouth.

This was going to be rough.

"...Yes."

"What are you doing here, Koneko?"

"Watching you."

"Why?"

"Buchou asked."

"'Buchou?' That is... 'club president?'"

"Yes."

Eren sighed. It was so quiet and minute that most others would not have caught the exhalation of air from his mouth.

Koneko put the cat cracker back in the box and ate the dog cracker head first.

She wasn't lying about Buchou asking her to come.

She, Sona, and Akeno had apparently decided the teenage boy in front of her shouldn't be left alone after classes ended. They didn't want him to get lonely or something. There was some sort of schedule or rotation setup Koneko was unaware of.

Unfortunately, a Stray devil had wandered into Kuoh, and both Buchou and Akeno had decided it was safer for both of them to go. Sona was still occupied with the student council, so they had asked Koneko to sit with and meet Eren and let him know they'd be late.

Koneko had agreed, not really caring. She had no clients tonight and planned to stay at the club to munch on snacks. Maybe visit Gya-kun and play a game. Sitting on an uncomfortable bench while doing the same was no great sacrifice.

She had honestly thought the smell would be the only hassle. Usually, sick people aggravated her sensitive senses. Open wounds, sweat-soaked clothes, or the smell of medication annoyed her sometimes.

Eren Yeager did not smell like any of that.

He just smelled... normal, really. He clearly bathed regularly, and his time in the park gave him the faint odour of grass, wind, and pollen. Even then, it was incredibly subtle. No overpowering smell of body spray, like so many of the boys in school.

Koneko sometimes wished she could punch people who thought deodorant replaced a shower.

But Buchou would disapprove.

Koneko continued to munch away, lost in her own thoughts.

Neither of the occupants of the bench were the most talkative of people, which suited Koneko just fine. She was ready to kill another hour or so, waiting for her King and Queen to find the Stray, kill it, and return.

From everything she had heard of Eren Yeager, he would also continue to sit in silence.

So when he asked her a question after long minutes of silence, she had to take a moment to swallow the rhino in her mouth before responding.

"Do you enjoy it?" His voice was hesitant, almost awkward. The words came out in an unsteady rhythm like he was forcing them out.

"...Enjoy what?"

"Your club. Rias and Akeno." He gestured vaguely in the direction of the school as if to try and explain with movement what his words couldn't convey.

"Yes."

"How about schooling? Do you like going to school?"

Koneko frowned minutely, trying to understand where this was coming from. Why was he being chatty?

Akeno had told her he would be wary and cautious. Buchou said he wouldn't open up easily, and Koneko would need to help him. She hadn't been sure she could but had promised to try.

"It's alright," she answered simply. "Boring. Not too bad."

"That's good. And your club duties? The others complain about them. They aren't too bad, are they? Rias doesn't work you too hard?"

The words tumbled from his lips as if nervous energy pushed them out despite their lack of tonal inflection. Like he didn't actually care and was just going through the motions. Or fulfilling some duty he was unsuited for.

Koneko's frown deepened further. This... didn't seem to be small talk, like her classmates sometimes engaged in.

What was going on with Eren Yeager?

Was he... trying to get information on the others through her? To make sure they didn't act differently behind his back?

She knew of his past and could understand a certain level of paranoia, but she thought he was their friend. Buchou certainly seemed to think so, and Akeno generally had good things to say about him.

"No," Koneko answered truthfully but kept it at that.

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She only had a few clients and had plenty of free time. Rias provided everything she wanted. Her life was good.

If he was searching for something bad about her family, she wouldn't give it to him.

Koneko might be younger than the others, but she wouldn't be tricked.

"Did you..." Eren paused in his questions as if searching for the right words again. Koneko corrected her earlier thoughts. His voice had been as monotone as hers this entire time, but he seemed strangely invested in her answers. Eventually, he settled on a question. "You also went with them for the summer?"

"Yes."

"You live with Rias' family?"

"Yes."

"Are they kind to you?"

"Yes."

"Are you... happy?"

Koneko froze, unable to keep up with the one-word answers she had been giving.

Was she happy?

Rias, Akeno, Yuuto, and Gya-kun were her friends. School, while annoying, was alright. She ate what she wanted to eat when she wanted to eat it. On the weekends, she'd nap through the afternoon in a cozy spot where the sun would warm her.

She was strong, safe, and well cared for.

But was she happy?

Her mind flitted back to the nightmares.

To two young girls, black and white, all alone against the world after they lost their mother.

To long days of privation and starvation.

To an older girl, swearing to be there for her, only to leave.

To a small cell, trapped alone with nothing but her unwashed smell and nobody but herself, crying for anyone to tell her where her sister was.

Was she happy?

"...Yes."

It took her a long moment to think it through, and Eren had made no movement to hurry her along, But she arrived at the answer she honestly thought was the truth.

She still had nightmares, still woke up screaming for a sister who wasn't there or for release from the cell. She still feared senjutsu and the effects it might have on her in the future.

Koneko was still afraid of being abandoned again.

But, here and now?

She was happy.

Her new family was kind.

"That is good."

Again, only Koneko's excellent senses allowed her to notice the faint sigh in Eren's voice. Was that relief in his voice? Envy? Wistfulness? She honestly couldn't tell.

Koneko tilted her head as she bit into a giraffe.

Had she been wrong about why he was asking questions?

If he wasn't looking for dirt on Rias, why ask all that?

It took Koneko a bit longer than she would have liked to realize what probably had happened.

Eren Yeager knew nothing about devils, nekoshou, magic, or even the Gremory.

He wasn't asking about Toujou Koneko the Rook, but the Toujou Koneko the student. He was asking about her daily life.

Eren Yeager was a human boy asking about a life he would never have.

An everyday life with school, clubs, friends, and family.

A slight pang of sympathy echoed in Koneko's heart. She wished she had said more than her one-word answers. That she was like Rias, Akeno, or Yuuto and could talk to him at length.

About how life, despite being hard, and scary, and lonely sometimes, was still fun. That he, too, could be happy.

But Koneko wasn't like the others, so she only did what she could.

"...Do you want the penguin?" Koneko asked, holding out a cracker to the older boy.

Eren tilted his head again, and Koneko cursed internally again, realizing he couldn't see her offer.

And he might not know what animal crackers were.

This friendship thing was hard.

********

"Take the picture, take the picture, take the picture." The voice tumbled in a hurry.

"I did."

"Get another one! This is too cute! Eeeeepppp." A squeal that caused Koneko to frown minutely and snuggle deeper.

"You're going to wake them up," the second voice chastised.

"But they're so, so, so, daaaahhhhh!"

Koneko's frown deepened, wishing Akeno and Rias would let her sleep.

"I know," Akeno said with fondness in her voice. "How'd she get so close? When I first met him, he threatened to punch me."

"Pffft. You just aren't as cute as our Koneko."

"Should you be saying that? Didn't he shake your hand away?"

"That was a long time ago," Rias defended herself with pride. "Just last week, I held his ha-. Never mind, just keep taking pictures."

"Ara? I just heard something juicy. Have you decided to become a mistress after all? Should I tell Sona?"

Koneko was full-on scowling now as she kept her eyes closed and buried her face deeper into the couch.

Sometimes, she wished the older girls would be more like Yuuto.

It wasn't like they weren't reliable, but sometimes they got so caught up in their little games that they forgot about others in the room.

The Knight, on the other hand, was a bastion of calm serenity.

On days like this, Koneko thanked the Satans that the two younger Peerage members could simply sit on the uncomfortable couch together, her napping and he rubbing her hair. He was even kind enough to use the special soap that masked most of his scent because he knew she was sensitive.

"You can't bother me today," Rias said primly. "I am too busy being overwhelmed by cuteness. If Gasper was here, it'd be perfect."

"...They are quite adorable," Akeno admitted. "Like an older brother and younger sister. Still, is this alright? For Koneko to be like that?"

"Don't worry about it. You haven't known him as long, but waking Eren from a nap is super hard."

"... I suppose even if he does wake, it is not like he will see them. She must be really comfortable to let them out."

Damn. Koneko had accidentally let her ears and tail out in her sleep. Despite the seating, she was just so comfortable that it didn't seem worth it to go through the discomfort of hiding them again.

Well, no, that wasn't true. The couch was way more uncomfortable than usual, but her pillow made up for it in spades.

Even if having her racial traits out left her more sensitive to the various energies her race was known to manipulate, it was fine so long as she didn't reach out to the world around her.

"It can't be the bench. That thing is terrible. I have no idea how he sleeps on the thing. It has to be his lap. I'm jealous."

"Who knew Koneko would get the famous Lap Pillow before all of us," Akeno giggled.

"My Koneko is the cutest! And cuteness is justice!"

"Didn't Lord Lucifer say the same thing about 'his Ria-tan' this summer?"

"Hush you! That never happened."

Seriously, those two needed to leave. Or keep it down.

Relaxed and half-dozing, Koneko tried to snuggle deeper. In her state, in that awkward realm between wakefulness and sleep, when she was at her most vulnerable, Koneko's supernatural senses slipped the leash she usually kept in tight control.

Like a fire, it blazed across her senses.

"AAAHHH," she screamed in surprise, falling from the bench and to the ground as she rolled away.

"Koneko!"

"Koneko!"

Rias and Akeno dashed to her fallen form, concern and worry written across their faces as they checked her for injuries.

Koneko paid them no mind, staring at the boy on the bench with wide eyes.

"What was that?" He asked, sitting up from where he had been sleeping, Koneko in his lap. "Rias? Akeno? ...Koneko? What happened?" His hand rested on his cane, and he looked ready to stand and fight.

"Fine," Koneko said hurriedly. "I'm fine. Just fell."

Eren remained tense, and Rias and Akeno continued to brush the dirt from her uniform as they checked her over.

"You fell?" Eren asked with a frown, his empty hand raising slightly to his bandaged eyes before falling back to his cane. "Are you hurt?"

"No." She struggled to keep the emotions out of her voice as she stared at the older boy with dilated eyes.

"Koneko," Rias whispered in her ear. Her cat ear. "What happened?"

Quickly hiding her ears and tail, the middle-schooler looked at the older girls and shook her head slightly.

They couldn't talk about this here. Not with Eren here.

"When did you two get here?" He asked the older girls. "What time is it?"

"Just now. I guess we woke Koneko. Sorry for waking you," Akeno lied easily at Eren's question, sensing something off in Koneko. "It's a bit past eight, and the sun is setting. Do you need help getting home?"

"I can do it," Eren said but made no move to stand, instead relaxing back on the bench. "You should head home. You still have school tomorrow, and staying out late isn't safe."

Rias looked like she was about to protest, likely pointing out that the three of them would be much safer than he would, even discounting being devils. They were creatures of the night and stayed up much later than most teenagers could get away with without sleep withdrawals.

Koneko stopped her by tugging at her sleeve gently and giving her a pleading look.

"We were just picking up Koneko before heading back," Rias said with a smile that Eren couldn't see. "Sorry for missing today's appointment. I'll make it up to you tomorrow."

"You don't need to baby me," Eren frowned, but there was no heat in it. "I am fine on my own. If stuff happens, you don't need to send someone to watch me. I am not going anywhere."

"We had an appointment, and I missed it. And we're almost done with Battle Tendency. I think you will like the next part a lot. So I will see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow then," Eren said, giving up on changing the stubborn girl's mind. He nodded in their generation. "It was nice meeting you, Koneko."

"...Yeah. You too."

"And me?" Akeno said with a teasing lilt in her voice.

"...Goodnight, Rias, Koneko."

"Ooohhh, denial play. I like it."

"...Come on," Koneko said as she dragged Rias and the pervert away from the park, the bench, and its occupant.

"Goodnight, Eren!" Rias called back, and the sick boy raised a hand and gently waved farewell toward them.

Koneko continued to drag the pair through the woods and to the clubhouse nearby, leaving Eren behind on the bench.