Chapter 190 — Dream’s Voice

Koneko

Issei-senpai jumped as Yuki-senpai spoke next to his ear.

“Y-Yuki-san! Do you need to do it like that?” He said while flushing slightly.

I frowned, seeing him act that way. 

“I need to speak to you without the others hearing me. I just explained how the ability can affect anyone who hears it and that I can’t control it very well,” Yuki-senpai replied.

“I-I remember. I just wasn’t really ready for that, I guess.”

She gave him an unconvinced look. 

“You sleep next to Rias-Buchou and Asia every night, and Buchou sleeps naked. I’ve seen you touch Akeno-san’s, Buchou’s, Asia’s, and Xenovia’s breasts. And you have an ability that strips girls' clothes. But a girl whispering into your ear flusters you?”

“I-I just wasn’t ready!” He said, turning more red. 

“Well, are you ready now?”

He nodded and sat up straight. 

Yuki-senpai tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear as she leaned in close to his ear.

She began to speak quietly next to his ear.

He didn’t jump this time, but he still seemed flustered. 

I couldn’t really make out what she was saying, but I could just barely hear her talking.

Her voice sounded different than normal.

I couldn’t tell how exactly.

It just felt off somehow.

I noticed Buchou frowning at Issei-senpai and Yuki-senpai.

Akeno-senpai noticed as well.

“Ara, ara, Rias. You’re looking a bit upset,” Akeno-senpai said. “Are you getting jealous of Yuki-chan being so close to Ise-kun?”

“I am just having second thoughts about letting her use Ise as her test subject, that’s all,” Buchou replied. 

Akeno-senpai’s grin widened.

“You’ll have to get used to sharing, Rias. I’ve got my date with him, and even Asia made a move on him. It’s only a matter of time before the others do too.”

Buchou looked at the other girls.

Asia-senpai had already turned red when Akeno-senpai mentioned her making a move and was now hiding her face in her hands.

Xenovia-senpai seemed unconcerned as Buchou looked to her next.

Yuuto-senpai’s cheeks colored faintly, and she turned away from Buchou’s gaze.

Irina-senpai awkwardly chuckled and rubbed her neck.

I stared blankly back at Buchou when she looked at me last.

Buchou shook her head. 

“We can discuss this later, Akeno. Let’s just watch how Yuki’s new ability works.”

Akeno-senpai chuckled softly.

I turned back to watch Yuki-senpai use her new tail ability. 

She was still whispering to him.

But now he seemed much less stiff.

His gaze looked unfocused, and his eyes seemed hazy as he nodded along to something Yuki-senpai said.

Then Yuki-senpai stood up and looked to the rest of us.

She nodded and then looked at Issei-senpai again.

“Issei-san, stand.”

I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand straight and my tail stiffen as I heard Yuki-senpai speak.

Her voice sounded strange.

It was softer, but managed to fill the room as if she had shouted.

It also sounded layered, like two or three Yuki-senpais were talking at once, only slightly off from each other.

Issei-senpai stood from his seat with a dull look on his face. 

“Issei-san, wave to everyone.”

He lifted his arm and slowly waved at us.

His movements were stiff and sluggish, like he had to think of how to do each movement before doing it.

It was unnerving to see, and if it was anyone other than Yuki-senpai doing it, I’d be scared of seeing something like this.

Her voice was resonating in my head.

Even though she wasn’t trying to affect me, I still felt a strange pull from her as she spoke.

I noticed that the others were slightly tense and had sat up straighter as they watched her.

“Issei-san, do a handstand.”

After Yuki-senpai spoke.

Issei-senpai stepped forward, lifted his hands up, before falling forward onto his hands and lifting his feet up in the air, performing the handstand Asia-senpai had requested.

Yuki-senpai let him hold the position for a few seconds before giving him another order.

“Issei-san, stand up and give Koneko-chan a one thousand yen note.”

I shivered when she said my name.

Something about it made it hard to focus on anything but her for a moment until I snapped out of it.

Issei-senpai stood up from his handstand before walking stiffly over to me and pulling out his wallet.

He slowly reached in and pulled out a note.

He held it out to me, but when I went to take it, he didn’t let go.

I looked over to Yuki-senpai, who furrowed her brows at him.

“Give her the yen.”

He finally let go and let his arm drop.

He stared blankly at me. 

I slowly slid the yen into my pocket. 

Then he seemed to come out of it as he blinked a few times and then shook his head.

“There. As you can see, if I manage to influence someone enough, I can control them to a degree,” Yuki-senpai said before coughing and rubbing her throat. 

“Aww, you didn’t have him take anything off. This seemed like favoritism, Yuki-chan,” Akeno-senpai said with a fake pout. 

“I wasn’t going to make Issei-san strip, Akeno-san. You can get him to do that for you on your own time,” Yuki-senpai said, shooting a small glare at Akeno-senpai. “And he obviously didn’t want to give away the money, and I even had to push to get him to follow the order. So it was a good demonstration of how someone can push back against my influence.”

“Umm, speaking of not wanting to give away my money,” Issei-senpai said. “Koneko-chan, can I have that yen back?”

“…No,” I said, shaking my head. 

“Come on! It was just supposed to be a demonstration! You shouldn’t just keep my money!” Issi-senpai complained. 

“You should have a stronger will if you wanted to keep it,” I replied. 

“Buchou!”

“Let it go, Ise. It was only a thousand yen. If it really bothers you, I can give you that much.” Buchou said. 

“W-Well, I don’t want to take your money, Buchou.”

Buchou waved off his concerns.

“I don’t mind, Ise. Besides, my monthly allowance is much more than that.”

Issei-senpai paused before nodding slowly.

“I always forget that your family is really wealthy, Buchou.”

Buchou didn’t normally act like she was from an extremely wealthy family, but she had her moments where it showed. 

When she first came to the human world, she had no concept of money.

So she ended up leaving absurd tips at restaurants and blowing through her allowances within days of receiving them.

It was funny to see Grayfia-san scold her when it happened.

“So, with that demonstration, is there—“

Yuki-senpai spoke, bringing our attention back to her, but had to stop as she began to cough.

She cleared her throat with another small cough after she stopped.

“Does anyone… have something to drink?” She asked, her voice sounding rough. 

Yuuto-senpai tossed her a juice pack.

Yuki-senpai caught it and quickly drank the whole thing.

“Thank you, Yuuto-san.”

“No problem, Yuki-san.”

Yuki-senpai’s voice sounded much better after she had something to drink.

She turned to the rest of us.

“As I was trying to say. Does anyone have any questions for me?”

“How much harder would it be to use on someone who was more difficult to influence?” Buchou asked.

“Buchou! Why are you acting like I’m easily influenced?!” Issei-senpai asked, looking shocked.

“Because you are,” Xenovia-senpai replied.

“…Pervert senpai is distracted if breasts are involved,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him. 

“Koneko-chan! Xenovia!” He cried out like he was betrayed.

“They’re not exactly wrong,” Yuuto-senpai muttered.

“Ise-kun is easily swayed by his sinful desires,” Irina said with a nod.

“I mean… Ise-san is easily distracted by ecchi things…” Asia-senpai added.

“Not you too, Asia!”

Yuki-senpai and Buchou ignored the whole interaction.

“Yes, but there are other factors at play,” Yuk-senpai said. “Someone easier to influence is more affected by my ability, but if they’re strong enough, or if they’re able to strengthen their will, then they could ignore most of the effect. If Issei-san wanted, he likely could have broken free of my control by tapping into the power of the Sekiryuutei.”

Issei-senpai turned to her.

“Why didn’t you tell me that before I gave away some of my money?!”

The corner of Yuki-senpai’s mouth twitched like she was trying not to smile.

“It was a good learning experience for you. And I enjoyed it.”

“Buchou! I’m being bullied!”

“It was only one thousand yen…” Gya-kun murmured.

“It’s the principle of it, Gasper!” Issei-senpai scolded him.

Gya-kun let out a small shriek and jumped in his seat.

“Anyway,” Yuki-senpai said, bringing attention back to her. “My Dream’s Voice ability is finicky, to put it simply. Its effect is influenced by a variety of things. From the target's willpower, how on guard they are, how tired they are, their strength, and how easily I can hold their attention. And that’s only what I know at the moment with my ability. As I said, I am not well practiced with using it yet, and will need to train with it before it’s usable in battle beyond simple applications.”

“What would be a simple application?” Yuuto-senpai asked.

Yuki-senpai tilted her head and thought for a moment.

“It would be easier to show you. Everyone, raise your right hand straight up when I say ‘go’.”

Everyone shifted and got ready to do as Yuki-senpai said.

“Go,” she said.

Then almost immediately after, she spoke again.

“Stop.”

Her voice carried the same ethereal quality that it had before, but it felt more forceful and commanding than it had when she had been giving Issei-senpai orders.

As soon as she spoke, her ability activated.

I felt disoriented for a brief moment as my hand slowed as I raised it.

I noticed the others all had similar reactions as well.

Yuki-senpai coughed into her hand once before speaking again.

“Even if I’m unable to seriously affect someone, I can still cause them to flinch or hesitate, which can disrupt attacks or impair defenses.”

“That does seem like it would be useful, especially if you’re able to master that ability, Yuki,” Buchou said.

“I’ll need someone to help me practice, since I can't exactly use it on a target dummy. Though I understand if no one wants to, as it can be off-putting,” Yuki-senpai said as she looked at each of us.

“…I can help, Yuki-senpai,” I said.

“You don't have to decide right away, Koneko-chan.”

I shook my head.

“I trust you, senpai. It’ll be fine,” I replied.

“Well, we can discuss the specifics later,” Buchou said. “Is there anything else anyone wants to ask Yuki regarding her new ability for now?”

“Is your ability affected by the race of your target?” Xenovia-senpai asked.

Yuki-senpai blinked and then frowned.

“I don’t know. I only ever tested it with my parents, who were Kitsune, and you all. And while Gasper-kun is part vampire, Akeno-san is part Fallen Angel, Issei-san is part Dragon, and Koneko-chan is a Youkai, you are all Devils.”

“You’re forgetting Irina. She’s an Angel,” Xenovia-senpai replied.

Irina-senpai blinked as the room’s attention shifted to her.

Then she smiled brightly.

“I don’t mind helping Yuki-san test her new ability! In fact, I want to see if I can resist it! I think my faith and willpower are strong enough to withstand it! Just don’t make me do anything too embarrassing if you can.”

“Well, Irina-chan seems excited to let you test out your power on an Angel. I think you should try it, Yuki-chan. It should help you learn more about it, right?” Akeno-senpai asked.

She seemed genuine and curious about how Yuki-senpai’s ability would work.

Yuki-senpai sighed.

“If you’re sure, Irina-san, then we can try.”

“Great! This will be fun! I’m pretty stubborn, Yuki-san, so I think I’ll win!” Irina-senpai said excitedly.

Yuki-senpai gave her a dull look.

“It’s not a competition, Irina-san.”

Irina-senpai rubbed the back of her head.

“Sorry, sorry. I got a little excited. But it will still be fun to test my resolve! Let’s start!”

Irina-senpai ran to the front of the room and sat in the chair.

She shifted back and forth in the chair with bubbly excitement. 

Yuki-senpai shook her head before turning to Buchou.

“Is this alright with you, Buchou?” She asked.

“Irina volunteered for it, so I have no problem with it,” Buchou said. “As long as you’re also fine with it, then go ahead, Yuki.”

Yuki-senpai nodded.

She turned to Irina-senpai. 

“I’m going to do this slightly differently than I did with Issei-san. I won’t start by using my ability and talking to you before giving orders,” Yuki-senpai said.

Irina-senpai tilted her head.

“Why not?”

“Because if this is about testing how my ability works on Angels and those with Holy energy, then I need to start with you completely unaffected to get a baseline,” Yuki-senpai explained. “I only did that to Issei-san to demonstrate what my ability could do.”

“That makes sense,” Irina-senpai said while nodding.

Yuki-senpai looked back at the rest of us in the theater seats.

“This time, I’ll be using my ability while speaking loud enough for you all to hear. I’ll be directing it at Irina-san, but if it makes anyone uncomfortable, let me know, and I’ll stop.”

After receiving nods and affirmations, she turned back to Irina-senpai.

She moved and stood an arm's distance away from her. 

“Are you ready, Irina-san?”

“Yep! Let’s do this!”

“Alright, I’m going to give you different commands. I’ll keep it simple and 

Yuki-san paused for a moment before she spoke.

“Irina-san, give me a one thousand yen note.”

I let out an amused huff at Yuki-senpai’s first choice.

Her voice had taken on its otherworldly sound again, and I felt the back of my neck tingle from hearing her speak, but it was like when she had been ordering Issei-senpai before, instead of the harsher way she had used it on the rest of us.

It felt much easier to ignore now.

Irina-senpai shivered once after Yuki-senpai spoke to her, but she smiled and shook her head.

Yuki-senpai hummed and then spoke again.

“Well, if that won’t work, maybe we should try something else. Irina-san, give Xenovia your holy sword.”

Irina-senpai looked slightly dazed after Yuki-senpai spoke, but frowned and shook her head rapidly.

From her seat in my row, I heard Xenovia-senpai click her tongue.

“Ara. It seems that Yuki-chan is using some of our suggestions. I wonder if that means that she’ll be using Yuuto-chan’s suggestion and mine?” Akeno-senpai said.

“I-I don’t think Yuki will be doing that, Akeno-san…” Asia-senpai quietly said.

Her cheeks were slightly red after hearing Akeno-senpai speak.

At the front of the room, Yuki-senpai spoke again.

“We’ll have you match, Issei-san. Irina-san, do a handstand.”

Irina-senpai shifted in her seat, like she was going to stand for a moment.

But then she shook her head again, this time more sluggishly.

Yuki-senpai gave her a few more orders, but Irina-senpai resisted each of them.

She was asked to do some of Yuki-senpai’s chores, to say that she didn’t like Michael-sama, and to slow dance with Yuuto-senpai.

The more Yuki-senpai spoke, the more dazed Irina-senpai became.

Her responses were more sluggish, and there was more hesitation with each successive order.

Her face had become dull and expressionless rather than excited and happy like it always was.

I was feeling the effect of Yuki-senpai’s voice ability too.

It wasn’t bad enough that I would try to do what she was asking Irina-senpai to do, but it was getting harder to focus on anything but Yuki-senpai and her voice.

I found myself staring at her instead of Irina-senpai as she gave her orders.

My own thoughts were becoming hazy and slower.

I cycled a small amount of Ki through my body, and it immediately pushed back a lot of the effect I had been under.

I shook my head to clear it.

If I helped Yuki-senpai practice her Dream’s voice, I felt like it would be difficult for me to resist her very much.

I was already very attracted to her, and I think that was affecting how easily she was able to influence me.

I noticed that the others didn’t seem to be as badly affected as I was as we sat and watched Irina-senpai and Yuki-senpai.

I did see Akeno-senpai give herself a small shock with her lightning magic that made her shiver, and Issei-senpai had summoned his gauntlet as well.

I frowned at the two of them for a moment before looking back at Yuki-senpai and Irina-senpai.

That’s when Yuki-senpai asked a different kind of question. 

“Irina-san, is there anything embarrassing you’re thinking? If so, tell me.”

Yuki-senpai’s voice rang out with its layered sound, but Irina-senpai didn’t react at all.

She just blankly stared ahead with dull eyes, as Issei-senpai had before.

After every order, she had shown some kind of reaction or shook her head.

But now she sat perfectly still. 

Yuki-senpai seemed to notice as well, as she paused.

She tried giving her another order 

“Irina-san, stand up and then stand on top of the chair.”

Again, Irina-senpai didn’t react.

Yuki-senpai glanced back at the rest of us for a moment before trying a third time.

“Irina-san, clap your hands once.”

Irina-senpai still showed no reaction.

“Is she stuck or something?” Issei-senpai asked.

“I…I don’t know,” Yuki-senpai replied in her normal voice. “I haven’t tested this ability enough to know for sure, but she shouldn’t just freeze like that.”

Yuki-senpai looked at Buchou with a furrowed brow.

“I’ll try and give her another order and see if that breaks her out of it,” Yuki-senpai said.

“Alright. If not, we can try to physically get her out of it or go get Azazel-sensei if that doesn’t work,” Buchou replied.

Yuki-senpai nodded before turning back to Irina-senpai.

I could make out her words as she quietly muttered to herself.

“Hopefully, this works…”