Hard Work Beats Talent (High School DxD x OC)

Chapter 5: Ice Cream and A Plan of Dreams

The rest of the day passes by without anything else worthy of note happening, with the past couple of hours consisting of Koneko going from place to place with Ed waddling behind her like a newborn duckling as she introduced him to the school's facilities (and faculties if they just so happen to meet a teacher along the way). The headmaster was mysteriously absent, so they skipped the principal's office. Nearly the entire time, Ed reacted to each and every sight with open glee and excitement, even when said sight is something as mundane and commonplace as the classrooms.

"Why 'nearly'?", one might ask. That is because the only time during the tour where Ed drops his smile-and-thumbs-up combo and instead breaks into a crying fit of pure ecstasy is when Koneko let her rebellious tongue (that she never bothered to give obedience lessons to) runs loose and informed him her favorite spot on school grounds: the rooftops.

Thinking back to it, Koneko has to physically restrain her hand from giving herself a hard smack to the face. The one spot in the entire school where she could enjoy some much-needed solitude, and her big mouth just had to go ahead and tell the loudest and most intrusive person she knows where it is.

"Farewell, peace and quiet. You were... too beautiful for this world." Koneko quietly laments, knowing that a thirty-meter height and very few ledges to grab onto wouldn't do much to dissuade Ed from scaling the wall and pester her some more.

"Oh well, at least I get a free day out of all this." Koneko remarks, breathing in deeply and let her mind simmer in the reality that she doesn't have to do much today other than being Ed's guide. Getting assigned with what is colloquially known in Kuoh Academy as the 'extended welcoming ceremony', she is exempt from all the lessons for the day. It isn't a lot, but she suppose it is good enough compensation for her to deal with her friend's antics and keep the complaining down to a minimum.

Though the fact that Ed kept asking questions, both reasonable ("How long does a class went on, I wonder?") and ridiculous ("Can I lift the lockers in my free time? It would certainly help me build strength and cultivate the spirits of others through inspiration!"), throughout the entire process makes it extremely tempting for her to just ditch him and vacate the premises without looking back.

But a sense of duty and the power of their friendship kept her in place, and thus the beleaguered Nekoshou must endure these trials and tribulations:

"Fine colors these walls have, don't you agree? Say, rival, do you happen to know where I can seek out this particular brand of paint?" Asked Ed, as he ran his fingers along the walls of the art room.

"Rival, I detect the smell of leaves of the trees here to be particularly fresh, youthful and spirited! I believe I have never ask you this before, but what is your favorite specimen of plant? I feel quite partial to oak saplings, for the youthful spirit they embody in their infancy!" Asked Ed again, as he lowers his head to take a sniff from a nearby bush.

"Koneko, greatest rival of mine, will you be so kind as to identify for me the genus of the flowers that beautify the exuberantly green shrubbery of the school? It will be of great use increasing the range of my botanical knowledge and further expand my mind!" Asked Ed yet again, one arm wrapped around Koneko's shoulders and pulling her closer as he motions a hand towards a myriad of greenery that decorates several parts of the massive courtyard.

And the stream of pointless questions just keep piling on and on. So much so that, as a natural response to a potential cognitohazard that will inevitably cause her ears to bleed, she blocks him out and replaces his voice with a more pleasurable sound. A song, the purrings of a relaxed cat, anything at all!

Just.

To.

Stop.

Hearing.