Before I begin.

So a few commenters have commented on commentable things. One of them being Kodori's last name. I have two things to say about this.

On the wiki, and in the books, Haruhime's name is in this order, "Sanjouno Haruhime'. Now, the books are the official releases, translated from Japanese to English. So all the names seem to be in the 'western' order. Bell Cranell, Welf Crozzo, Sanjouno Haruhime. The Wiki does this too. Both her first and last names are spelt as one word each. Not 'two words.' So, this is what I've gone with from day one.

Second: There's over a half million words of Kodori now. I'm not changing it now. x.x Besides, being called 'The Hime's' is kinda funny.

However, that being said, please, keep commenting. But this is my final word on this one.

Oh yeah, before I forget. If you're going to leave a comment, please, make an account, so I can reply to it. Some people have questions, or imply they have missed a plot point, or point something out, and I can't reply to you, unless you have a Fanfiction account. Like that one guy who commented in Spanish. I was gonna google translate a reply. :(

Chapter 10.

Past the first room, through an unhinged set of heavy wooden doors, was the main chapel. Not a huge place, there was enough room for five rows of pews. Most of those pews, the big wooden benches churchgoers sat on, looked like they'd been thrown all over the place.

"Your doing?" I motioned with a hand at a small pile of them, some of them looking like they'd been cut in half with a blade, or one of those holy light sabres.

"Mm." She replied, patting one of my tails as it went to explore her shoulder.

We walked side by side for a moment longer. The place looked to be originally built out of stone. Not quarry cut, like bricks, but smoothed over field stone. If there was anything I could respect about mindless religion, it was the dedication and thoughtfulness that some of the more creative practitioners had. The pillars, rising towards the ceiling into graceful arches, were also cut stone. Sadly, most of the windows were blown out now. But amazingly enough, the main window, a stained glass portrait of what was probably the Virgin Mary, remained intact. Approaching the altar to get a better look, I noticed that the altar itself was was pushed back, revealing a long staircase leading down.

"A secret room? Really?"

"Most of the fighting happened down there." Koneko replied, yawning as if saying more than 5 words at once was tiring.

"Huh." I was about to go down, when I spotted one of those holy sabre tubes. "Ah, research material." From what I'd seen of Freed, they simply 'worked' when held. I could feel a little tingle of magic in it, but didn't dare try and turn it on yet. "Oh... This is holy ground, isn't it? Isn't that... I dunno, bad for Devils?"

"Yes."

"Weakness? Headaches? What?"

"Yes."

"I'll ask later for specifics then." I sighed, touching the wall as I went down the steps. This looked newer than the stonework upstairs, and was made from quarried stone. I could feel a faint energy in the air too, like a dull hum that wasn't quite audible. I picked up another cylinder, and a handgun, the latter covered in holy symbols and also feeling magical in my hand. "I wonder if I can change what these do... Not like I could use it, but..."

Koneko was silent, but was now petting two of my tails as she walked just behind me. She was really good at it too, her little hands teasing the skin just under all the fluff.

As we reached the bottom of the stairs, the feeling of energy in the air increasing, I was greeted by... a very small 'chamber of prayers'. Reminding me of the room Oranous, God of the Sky, and 'ruler' of Orario, this place had the same feel to it. Underground. High ceiling. Tingle of energy. Old stonework. A platform up a flight of steps. The only big differences here, was that this room was round, with two half circles where people could stand, almost Colosseum style seats. And the platform ended against the far wall, on what looked like a place for someone to be chained to the wall.

Oh. And dead bodies. Lots of them.

"Rough night." I mumbled, an instant before I felt Koneko's weight against my back. "Huh? You okay back there?" I looked over my shoulder.

"snrr."

"Oh. Well, don't get up then." I said quietly, my tails wrapping her up and holding her to my back. "I'll just... well, suppose you won't need this anymore..." I pulled a long exorcist uniform shirt off one of the bodies, noting the cause of death to be 'fist imprint in face'. "I'll just collect a few things..."

"Where's Koneko?" Akeno asked as I returned to the main room. Rias, Issei, Asia and Kiba were having what looked like a serious talk near the door, while Akeno looked to be waiting specifically for me. Asia was also holding my ghostly fox, and Issei had his phone in his normal hand, his pants too wrecked to trust the pockets.

"snrr." Said my sleeping back warmer.

"Poor dear." Akeno said, her voice a little quieter. "You don't mind carrying her then?"

"She's a feather." I replied, "And she's a little chilly too."

"Spoils of war?" she asked, motioning to the 'bag' of exorcist items. "You do know those are very dangerous to us, correct?"

"I'll keep them stored safely. I'm going to see what makes them tick. And if I can, maybe do some enchanting with them." I scratched an ear, then remembered something, "You mentioned I had 'void' and 'air'. The Eastern version of the elements?"

"Yes." She smiled, "My shrine maiden outfit isn't all for show."

"As much as it looks good on you."

"Ara ara, aren't you married?"

"Married, but not blind."

"fu-fu. Did you not know?" She made a point to bounce a little on her feet, making her bust jump a little.

"There are very few... scientifically minded people in Orario. Most are concerned with things to help them survive in the dungeon. Not what makes them work." I sighed, "I still have a few big questions on what goes on there, but I'd need more tools, and people who cared enough, to figure most of them out."

"Such a shame. You do seem like the type for puzzles."

"So what's the topic over there?" It seemed like it wasn't my business, so I hadn't been listening in. My fox was sleeping blissfully in Asia's arms, and I could feel the ghost sensations of her fingers over my back. But otherwise, I could only guess.

"Well, little Asia seems to be a bit of an orphan. And rather attached to Issei." Akeno said, "The President is trying to bring her into her peerage."

"Make a devil out of a nun? Wouldn't that be a problem?"

"Not really? Some things may be a little difficult for her at first, depending on how devout she is..."

"I suppose a devil praying to God..." I shrugged, "If how Rias has helped me is any indication, Asia could do much worse. And certainly no worse than how Freed was treating her..."

"The President does like to take care of her friends. No matter their background." Akeno agreed.

"Looks like she's decided." I said, seeing Rias hold out a hand, a red bishop standing upright in her palm. Asia looked over to me, then put my little fox down, then stood again, looking up at Rias and then closing her eyes. As with before, when I witnessed Issei's 'reincarnation', the red piece was absorbed into her chest, right over her heart, and with a single heartbeat that could be heard throughout the room, her body glowed slightly.

And she passed out. Issei caught her almost before her knees started to bend, and despite Asia having her front exposed, save for her still intact pink bra, the boy's face didn't have that lustful look. Well, for a moment at least. He realized her state of dress, his eyes and face turning into that familiar lustful stare, but Rias gave him her version of a Karate chop of Justice, snapping him back to reality, and turning his gaze away from the girl. As one, they turned to Akeno and I.

"You're planning on bringing those home I suppose?" Rias sighed.

"Research materials." I replied, "I guess congratulations are in order?"

"Yes. She has agreed to join my peerage. This does however, leave us without a place to put her." She hm'ed, "Can I leave her with you for tonight, Kodori-Sensei?"

"I don't mind." I replied, "I'll make sure she gets a proper breakfast while I'm at it."

"Excellent." Rias smiled, "Issei? Kiba? Ready to go?"

"Yes President." They said together, Issei picking up Asia, one arm under her shoulders, the other behind her knees.

"Akeno? If you would?"

After returning, and trading Koneko for Asia, I returned to my room, sleeping nun, well, former nun? In arms. I realized, as I entered my room, that I still had a pair of fallen angel wings on the floor. Not to mention, the various wires and such all over the floor from the computer. Who ever my house keeper was, they hadn't cleaned up 'clutter' only done 'chores'.

Since she was sleeping so soundly, I simply held her in my arms while I used my tails to move things around. The wings, still 'alive' feeling, were folded up and carefully put into the closet.

Well, after I made sure my mystery room keeper wasn't hiding in it.

The pile of exorcist weapons went into the corner, still wrapped up in the shirt. The fedora went on top of the pile as well.

That done, I got us both undressed, and warmed up the shower. Even if she could heal any wound or some such, we were both covered in blood, bits of forest, and stray bits of glass. My clothes weren't salvageable, save for my boxers, so I tossed those into the garbage. Her top was similarly wrecked, though her long skirt had survived with just a little dirt, so it and her underwear went into the wash with my boxers.

Getting a really good look at her, she reminded me a little of Chigusa. Petite, adorable, and looking perpetually underfed. Asia however, had just under a handful, when it came to breast size. I suspected part of that was due to poor diet. Poor Chigusa however, was occasionally mistaken for a boy by people who didn't know our Familia.

Asia was pretty much dead weight through our mutual shower, brushing her hair to get the worst of the tangles out, and putting her into my Number One Mom shirt. The only time she made a noise, was when I put her down finally and pulled the blankets over her. A soft noise of distress, halfway between a pout and sound of pain. Carefully, I rolled up some of the blankets, and tucked them between her arms, giving her something to hug, and she settled down again.

Damn I missed my family.

Now that my guest was secured, I went to the kitchen to take care of myself. As I got a bottle and the little pump ready, I peeked inside the freezer, and noticed the little bowl was gone. Turning my head, I spotted the clean bowl and spoon resting in the drying rack. Also there, was the aluminum bowl, that you froze, and put the ice cream ingredients in. Frowning, I looked back in the freezer, and there, in the back, was a square... pot? Pulling it out of the fridge, it looked to be a white clay pot, complete with lid, which had a woven reed handle. Opening it, I found my ice cream, with 'Thank you', written in very neat English, on the same post-it note I'd left, on the underside of the lid.

Huh... Suppose it was a hit then, and the aluminum container was now clean, so I could make more. So, returning the aluminum container to the freezer, I went back to draining myself so I could sleep.

It had been a long trip into the dungeon. I had headed down, past the twenty-fifth floor, through what looked like a shattered, frozen, water temple. Monsters made of water and claws, insects made of ice and stone, cat like monsters with claws that could carve metal. All of these things and more, I'd encountered, and overcome. For the trip to mean anything, I had been down there for two full days, living off what food I'd brought, and not sleeping, as there was no place for a lone adventurer to camp safely.

But I'd done it. And returned to the surface.

Sun bright, the streets of Orario bustled with activity. Eina greeted me, with her usual smile and wave. Syr let me give her a hug, my tails wrapping around her, making her laugh. Because I could, I went by the small orphanage Syr supplied with her earnings from the Hostess of Fertility. Spot, the Xenos hellhound, was bigger at the shoulder than some of the orphans, yet, was a perfect gentle-dog when around them. I finished my walk home, stomach growling for a taste of something other than dried rations.

As I entered through the gate of the Hearth Manor, I spotted Haruhime. Sitting on the grass, her red Kimono perfectly settled over her form, she was among our children. The seven of them were tumbling and running around her, each one of them a laughing treasure, making my heart soften and soar. As I waved to Haruhime, her attention was pulled away from the children, the seven of them noticing, and turning to face me as well.

Haruhime gathered them up, her arms just managing to reach around them all.

Then one of them, our white haired child, one eye gold, the other green, with two white tails that wrapped around an arm of my twin girls, looked at me. Then, looking back to Haruhime...

"Mama? Who's that?"

I woke up, threw myself out of bed, ran to the bathroom, and vomited into the toilet. My heart felt like ice, my gut felt twisted into knots, and my eyes felt like I was crying pure salt. Even after the nausea had passed, my legs simply didn't want to move, and my tails were like dead weight on the floor behind me. Unable to do more than lean against the western styled toilet and cry, I held my ring, trying to wash the nightmare away with thoughts of Haruhime's memory. But even as the memory in the ring tried to fill my heart with thoughts of my wife, the cold lump of being forgotten by my children remained.

"Mrs. Kodori?" The timid voice of Asia called out, some time later. "Are you okay?" Her head peeked around the corner of the bathroom door.

"No." I tried to say, though I think I just sobbed something.

"You look terrible..." She said slowly, as if the obvious would offend me somehow. A moment later, she returned with a glass of water, "Here, drink this, then lets get you back to bed."

If I wasn't still seeing a loop of that single moment, that one question, over and over, I'd probably have found it funny, how someone who might have weighed half what I did, was helping me back to bed, one of my arms over her shoulder. She made no comment on my lack of clothing, or me dribbling milk down her arm.

"Would you like to talk about it? Part of a nun's duty is to help shoulder the problems of others." She knelt next to the bed, and was about to put her hands together. Before she could though, Haruhime's tail got in the way. "Oh... I suppose I can't pray anymore..." She substituted praying to hold the golden fur.

It took a moment, but I managed to raise a hand off the bed and pat her head, "You don't need a God to help people." I coughed to clear my throat, "Let me tell you what happened. Maybe it will help me clear my mind a little."

"I'll gladly listen."

It took a few tries, a little more water, and some ear scratches, but I managed to tell her a brief summation of what had gone on for the last few months of my life. She accepted my response to the question of 'then why are you giving milk if you have a wife?' with a bit of a blush, but otherwise thought that it was a wonderful thing that our love was so strong. By the end though, she was starting to get sleepy again.

"I'm sorry... I said I'd listen, but I'm having trouble..." She yawned, wobbling a little.

"Come back to bed. You have a few more hours until dawn." I replied, scrubbing the back of my hand over my eyes, "If you could do one more thing for me?"

"You helped save my life." She replied, "I couldn't bring myself to refuse a request."

In reply, I backed up a little, making space for her on the bed. Wordlessly, she got back under the covers, and 'eep'ed quietly as I hugged her close, then put my forehead against her stomach. Her hands pet my ears and hair for a moment, then went still, as she started to snore.

"No wonder Haruhime's tail likes you so much..." I mumbled, my ears pressed right against her, listening to her heartbeat.

There was a knock on my door, shocking me awake and to a sitting upright position. The sun was just starting to filter into the room, meaning I'd actually slept in. But, Asia had kept the nightmare from returning, and it had been a busy night. The girl herself, made a pouty noise, and gathered up one of my tails to hug, otherwise making no other motions.

Another knock. "Kodori-Sensei? Are you awake?" It was Rias, the tone of her voice sounding highly amused at something.

"Just a moment." I called back.

"Not too long I hope. I have Asia's new school uniforms." Rias replied.

Finding a pair of boxers and cramming myself into my only remaining sport bra, I opened the door. "That was fast." I said, noting the time, "You're up early too it seems."

"Things to do." She smiled, "I hope I didn't wake you? You look tired."

"Bad dreams." I replied, not bothering to hide it.

"Well, she still has an hour and a half. Give her those, and get her to come to the ORC. I'll take it from there, if you want to go back to sleep." She handed me a bundle of clothing, "Not too late, you still have work to do after school."

"Not to worry." I replied, "I'll get her ready for the day."

She gave me a little bow, then left. I closed the door and sighed, kind of wishing I could sleep in. But, I had things to do, and a time table to do them on.

Asia woke up as the scent of breakfast and baking cookies filled the room. Assuring her it was no trouble, (no really, honest, just enjoy it please,) I told her about what Rias had said. Unlike just about anyone I grew up with, she was excited about going to school. But she also seemed quite sheltered.

"All set then?" I asked, "Oh, could you give this to Issei? And here's yours." I handed her two of those little Bento boxes.

"You... Make lunch for him?" She blushed, reaching for the two boxes. One was blue, the other red, "I thought..."

"Rias has put me in charge of training him. So I'm controlling his diet, to help him make the most of his workouts." I gave her head a pat, "Strictly professional. His is the red one."

"What's the difference then?" She tilted her head, holding one in each hand, weighing them.

"Yours has less meat, more rice, and two cookies. His has more meat, less rice, and some vegetables. He gets cookies later." I paused, "If you want, I could show you how to make his lunches?"

If this were a cartoon, I'd have needed sunglasses for Asia's smile. "Could you? I'd like to repay Issei..."

"We'll find time. Anyhow, get going."

"Thank you, Mrs. Kodori!" And she was off, my door closing behind her.

After doing all my morning tasks, I took my bag of exorcist equipment down to the shop. I didn't plan on doing anything with it this instant, but at least in the shop, it would be further from where Rias and Koneko slept.

It was just before 9:00am when I heard the imperious hoof beats of Cime's horse approaching my shop. I was just finishing up the nails for the horse shoes, so his timing was perfect.

"Smith Kodori, good morning." Cime said from just outside, the massive head of the nightmare horse looking around the corner as well. "I trust the day finds you well?"

"I manage." I replied evasively, "But your, or rather, Her order is done, at your behest." I motioned to four silvery horse shoes on my workbench, "I'm just finishing up a couple more nails, to make sure they stay put."

"How thoughtful." He replied, smiling under the brim of his hat, "Hear that? You'll be able to run at full speed again."

"Snort." said the horse, a lick of blue flame huffing out of her nose.

"Tough crowd." I said as I finished hammering the little electrum spike into shape. "Now, if you'll be so kind as to raise a hoof." I looked up at the horse.

Shoeing a horse isn't something that needs doing a lot in Orario. Most adventurers are strong enough to out pull a horse, though they only do so as either punishment, making a bet, or because they really have to, the only time horses really saw much use was for long distance hauling, or in city deliveries for the public.

Welf, as part of my 'training to be a real smith' was to find, and shoe some horses. This required finding a horse, finding its actual owner, and then hoping it needed new shoes. It took a few days, but I did find one.

Anyhow.

First, you do a little cleaning. This particular horse seemed the dainty sort, despite her size, and that didn't take long. No mud trails for this girl. Next, I pried off the old shoe, after looking her in the eye and telling her not to kick me. No problems there either. Taking her big black leg and holding it between my knees, I tugged off the shoe with my smith tongs, and got out my files. Hooves are kind of like fingernails. Except really thick. They have no nerves to speak of, so I filed down the older layers, where the old shoe was attached, and removed about a finger's thickness worth of old hoof. Since horses don't like standing with uneven feet just like people, I removed all the old shoes/cleaned up the hooves first, before getting the new shoes and nails.

"Royal treatment, isn't that right girl?" Cime commented, amused, as he sipped at a water bottle from the fridge. "Normally, she doesn't let anyone touch her feet."

"I'm not just anyone." I replied, "And neither is she. Isn't that right?" I paused my work to give the big horse nose a pat, ignoring the snort of blue flame that tried to lick my palm. "I've got a question for you, Cime."

"Hm?"

"How are you for local events? I mean, local 'here', not 'over there'." I made the appropriate 'over there' motion with my rough file.

"Well, I do handle the deliveries for the area, and I keep up with the less normal news. Like last night. Though I don't know specifics, I do know more or less who was involved." He explained, "Why?"

"There's a bit of a loose end, and I was wondering if I could barter a favour from you, to help." Since I had pre-measured her hooves, I didn't need to heat up and hammer the shoes any further, so I started tapping in the nob-nails to secure the first shoe.

"Oh? You do know that word is special among us." His voice changed slightly, deepening.

"Favour? Yes, I'm well aware. I am currently serving under Rias Gremory, as trainer to her peerage and, when she asks, craftswoman."

"Let's hear the problem first then."

"Well, to put it short form. There's a fallen angel who, last night, had all her friends murdered. War is war, but she has no one at all to lean on, and surrendered to us." I gave the shoe a little tug, making sure it was secure, and put the hoof down. "Give that a tap?" I said to the horse, who clopped the foot down a couple times, the shoe clinking on the concrete. I got a nicker of approval.

"And what would you have me do about that?" Cime asked.

"Well, Rias has given her twenty four hours grace, with the standard 'I see you again you die' clause. So, I was wondering if you had a job opening, anywhere but here, for someone who needs a fresh start, and can fly." I picked up another hoof and started tapping nails into the shoe.

"Hm." He crossed his arms, thinking, "That is no small request, considering we are a devil delivery service."

"Considering your friend here." I paused to give the horse's flank a pat, "That can't be all."

"Clever fox, you're correct." He smiled, "I'll consider it when I meet her. And, if I decide against it, I will at least take her someplace safer than here, considering her literal deadline."

"Most kind." I replied, "Tap tap?"

Ting ting went the new shoe.

"Hm, now what to ask in return, for taking a mortal enemy to my kind, under my wing, so to speak..."

"Open the drawer there, to your right." I replied, tapping in some more nails, "You are the only horse I've met with such nice hooves." I mumbled. "Hardly need to clean them, smooth fronts, good density."

The horse made a noise that was eerily close to laughter.

Cime opened the drawer, and took out a wooden backed horse brush. Instead of plastic, coarse fur, or iron wire, I'd made some fine wire out of the electrum for the brush. I cheated a little by using my immunity to fire, and slowly pouring the molten metal from as high as I could, the long strand of molten metal cooling enough to become rough wire by the time it got to the floor. It was simple work to roll it out like play-doh to smooth it out and lengthen it further.

"This is hardly a gift for me." He chuckled.

"Hear that?" I said to the horse, "He doesn't like that brush."

The horse moved its great head, and shorted at Cime, in what was obviously disapproval.

"Hey now... That's playing dirty." Cime complained.

"Hardly. I figured keeping your partner here happy would be worth a lot." I put the hoof down, "Isn't that right? Tap tap?"

Again, the hoof made a pleasing noise as it was stomped against the concrete.

"To keep peace in my house then, I accept your offer." Cime grumbled, "Though, I admit, it is a nice brush. You work very fast, too."

"A literal divine gift, amplifying the skill I have worked hard to learn." I replied, "Say..." I paused my work, getting a snort of disapproval, "Sorry." I resumed tapping in nails, "Do you know anyone who does cross dimension mail delivery?"

He snorted the water he was sipping, coughing and wiping his mouth with his sleeve, "What? That was out of the blue. Why?"

"I'm not from this world, and I'm feeling very homesick." I replied, "Tap tap?"

With a final 'ting' of metal on concrete, the big horse did a nimble little circle, hooves making music on the ground. I was rewarded with a nuzzle that put my hair into a cow lick.

"Well, she's happy, obviously." Cime chuckle, "And no, no one I know does otherworldly transporting. It's... just not possible."

"Why?"

"I can't say." He replied, holding up a hand. "No, I literally can't say."

I blinked in surprise, "As in forbidden and bound not to speak of it?" Inwardly, I wanted to swear, but Haruhime's tail wasn't bopping me on the head for it this time.

"Yes." He replied. "Sorry."

"It's fine. But at least I know there is some information out there. Oh, one last thing." I gave the horse a pat on the nose, then went to my workbench, "This is to be delivered to the vending machine up the road here, at full dark."

"The blue one, with the white one next to it with all the canned coffee?"

"That's the one." I replied. "And, this is for you." I handed him a couple of cookies, "And you." I held up a big cookie for the horse, who nibbled it daintily from my palm so fast it might as well have been teleported.

"Very well. I will deliver this on time, guaranteed." And we shook on it.

"Oh, and if you could save any hair that sticks to the brush? I'd love to try working with it."

To try and take my mind off my nightmare, I spent from just after Cime and the Horse left, to just after 12:00pm hammering things out. I had not real focus. Just hammering things into some kind of shape. I started working on a Ko-steel Jitte, since I kept forgetting my adamant one at home. The shape made me think of something else, and I was just reaching into the forge with my bare hand, when someone stepped around the corner, the light behind her obscuring her face for a moment.

"I was told you were extraordinary." She said, "Doesn't that hurt?"

"Kind of like a muscle ache." I replied, holding the bar of Ko-steel and hammering it out on my anvil, "You're... Sona, correct?"

"Sona Sitri, student council president of Kuoh Academy, and King of my peerage." She made to enter, and I looked directly at her with 'full intensity', stopping her cold.

"Goggles by the door there, unless you stay behind the line." I said, waiting for her to put the goggles on, before continuing, "Kodori Haruhime, though, just Kodori please." I stopped hammering for a moment, held up the round bar, and placed it back into the forge. "What brings you by?"

"A few things." She stood, just on the other side of the yellow line, giving me a look that was clearly a 'sizing up' one. She was a little shorter than I was, with a slender not quite boyish build, and sharp violet eyes. Her black hair was well kept and short and neat, and her uniform was perfectly clean and pressed. "First, you yourself are quite the oddity."

"I am a little out of place, yes." I replied, looking into the forge, watching the colour of the steel go up the light spectrum slowly, "In more ways than one."

"And that you have entered a pact with Rias." She continued, also looking into the forge.

"Not a pact." I corrected, pulling the bar from the heat and hammering the end, "I am under her employment. I provide service, she provides me a place to live, work and study, so I can get back home." I paused my hammering, then adjusted my aim, putting a notch in the steel half way down the rod, and then folding it to a right angle, "Could you pass me that little silvery rod there?" I'd just had an idea.

"This? Here." She handed me the little electrum rod. No thicker than a drink box straw, I knew exactly what I was going to make. "So, you are not providing your services to her exclusively?"

"I put her work first, after my own goals of getting home. But I do have free time despite that." I replied, getting a small semi-circular form, and hammering a groove into the 'L' shaped bit of Ko-steel. "I owe her much, for providing for me in my time of need, hence her priority.

"What are your rates then?" She seemed interested in what I was doing, "And... What is that metal?"

"Which one?" Groove in place, I fit the rod of electrum into it, and finished hammering the 'L', enclosing the rod within the Ko-steel. I put it back into the forge.

"Both, actually. I am proud to say, I am more magically inclined, between Rias Gremory and myself." She said with a hint of pride, just a hint though.

"Well, the silvery stuff is electrum. A naturally occurring alloy of silver, gold, copper, and a few others things. Depending on the ratio, you get different colours. This, is more silver than gold or copper." I explained, watching the bar heat up, keeping a close eye on it, since Electrum melted at a much lower temperature than Ko-steel. "The other stuff is base iron, with my fur melted in. Affectionately named 'Ko-steel'."

"And being that you are a six tailed Kitsune..."

"Renard." I corrected, "My race might be, maybe, descended from actual fox spirits. But where I'm from, no solid records exist to prove it." I didn't tell her, that I might not have been a Renard either... My status said 'founder of an original blood line'. Which might have made me, literally, the first of my kind.

"Though your tails seem to indicate the same thing as a Kitsune."

"That part is true, yes." I replied, pulling the mixed bar out of the forge, and slowly twisting it, pressing my fingers into the metal and drawing it up the length, making a grooved spiral.

She watched me work a moment longer, then, "My previous question stands. What are your rates?"

"What's the job?" I countered, the steel almost like putty in my hands, the extra material forming a little ball at the end.

She was taken aback by my blunt response, but recovered near instantly, "Would it be possible for some of my peerage to train under you? Rias has mentioned you are instructing her pawn and knight. And I've seen that you are a proficient fighter."

I put the rod back into the forge, needing just one more heat before I moved to finishing touches. "That's a little tricky. Issei seemed to have a spare period..."

"Study hall." She corrected.

"Study hall, at the end of the day. He and I train then. Kiba joins if he can right after school. If I'm involved in the ORC, like last night, I may be unavailable." I took out the bar again, picking up my hammer. "Otherwise, I have free time. Though, it's been a very busy week or so."

"Yes, even though Rias and I are rivals, we protect this school together. She's informed me on what happened last night, and most of the events leading up to it."

"So, my time table may be rather... odd."

"I've been told you have my pawn, Saji-kun's phone number. Since he is one of the ones who asked for training, I can allow you two to work out timing."

"Any others then?"

"I've a knight, and rook, who are interested as well." She replied, "I assume you know the particulars of their pieces?"

"I was given the demonstration, yes." I nodded, the end of the rod now more or less spherical, the entire thing looking almost like an Asp collapsible baton. "Though I had rather harsh review of her choice of venue."

"She was rather upset at your bluntness." Sona replied, a little smile tugging at her mouth.

"Have Saji contact me then, and if I'm able, I we can gather in the training room Rias has provided. Or, someplace a person like me won't draw too many looks. Though, not tonight, I've an appointment with someone." I put the baton in a heated oil tub, "Now, in return..."

"That is how we operate." She confirmed, "I'd hardly expect you to do this for free."

"You say you're better with magic than Rias." She nodded and I continued, "I'd like a few lessons. My usual magic is second nature to me, so much so, it's almost always active. But," my golden tail perched its end on top of my head between my ears, "My wife's magic still has a lot of untapped potential."

"I will teach you what I can. Devil magic is quite different than most other type of mana manipulation." She replied, "Wife?"

"I suppose I have time to tell the story..." I looked at the clock on the wall, "Though, you may be late for your next class.

Notes!

So now we have more social interactions, and another look at poor Kodori's mental state. Hard to think of anyone not being at peace with Asia nearby, but well...

Just for 'flavour' and a little story line cohesion, I'm going to be following the Anime plot line, that leads into the next 'big thing'. The manga jumps straight from Asia being recruited to the 'thing' with Riser Phenix. The anime however, does an amusing thing or two, before that.

Another thing both the anime and manga DONT do, is tell you how many days go by. For all I know, I'm in week 10 of the 'plot', yet I'm only on day... six? Eight? I dunno. Of Kodori's story here.

Five days, etc etc. :)