Cat Scratch Fever

Chapter 6

"That should just about do it."

Sirzechs and Serafall stood at the foot of the new Bune household, a large mansion built atop where the old one had been. It had been in perfect condition, but Serafall had figured Issei probably wouldn't have been comfortable living in a house that used to be someone else's.

So, in true Devil fashion, they'd torn the whole mansion down and built another one right atop where it had been, all in the space of a couple of days.

It was in the middle of the Bune territory, thousands of square kilometers of land with perfect conditions for Dragons. The northernmost edge of the territory was a mountain named Scaleheart Peak, relatable in size and difficulty to the mountain humans referred to as K2. Of course, it wasn't nearly as difficult for the average devil (partly being due to their inherent ability to fly) and the previous Bune clan often used it for training.

The vast majority of the non-mountainous land was a forest, denser in the west and sparse in the east, and filled with various species of both 'real' and mythical wildlife. The Bune territory was bordered by the Familiar Forest to the south with no real dividing line, so the fauna was generally the same.

The Bune mansion itself was in the exact center of the territory, in a rather large forest clearing just northwest of Bronze Lake (named for the breed of Dragons who make it their home) and several days' hike from the Scaleheart mountain range.

Sirzechs and Serafall had completely redone the household, including all facilities nearby- a mountain home, a lakehouse, and, most notably, a lot of wildlife housing. Dragon stables, chimera dens, hydra dungeons- while known for their work with dragons, their renown hardly stopped there; if it existed, the Bune family had tamed it at some point. Since the family's unfortunate extinction, the facilities had languished and rotted, so a remake was necessary if Issei were to fulfill Sirzechs' hope of truly taking up the mantle of Bune. According to his intelligence, the boy's mother had been a veterinarian, and his own proclivity for animals was what helped him save Kuroka in the first place; combine that with his draconian nature, and the beast taming clan of Bune would be a perfect fit for the young man.

"So Zechs, what's the play?"

"I was hoping you'd ask."

"Are you nervous?"

"No, why?"

"Because your hands are totally clammy, nya."

Issei was lying in a corner of his loveseat, with his feet propped over the other side. Kuroka, being significantly smaller in stature, was comfortably placed on top of him, almost like she was laying in a hammock. Issei's head was on her right shoulder, his left hand crossed over her midriff, and his right hand was up in the air about a foot away from her chest. Her hands were intertwined with both of his, and it looked almost like they'd been in the middle of a Waltz and fallen on the couch mid-dance.

In simpler terms, they were playing a cuddly game of twister.

What Kuroka was referring to was the state of the hands she was holding. This was by far the closest the two of them had been, even including the now-several times she'd slept in his (their) bed. Issei was understandably nervous, and while he tried to play it as cool as he normally did, his hands betrayed his true feelings.

Of course, Kuroka being Kuroka, her hands were somehow both cool and warm- an unfamiliar but entirely pleasant sensation to Issei.

The reason they were so tied up, is a relatively simple one. Issei was unfamiliar with physical contact, so Kuroka decided to get him a little more used to it. Hence, she wrapped herself around him like a blanket.