Notes...

Fine fine, I'll change his name. :P

Chapter 38

After dinner I returned the food-coma'ed half vampire to his room. Unable to resist, I opened up his coffin, which was very comfortable looking, and put him inside it. I made sure to put his stuffed animal, a purple floppy bear/monkey thing, in with him, and partially closed the lid. I had no idea if he was afraid of the dark, needed it closed all the way, or anything. But I just... couldn't help to try and take care of everything at once.

And yes, I gave him a heatpat.

Closing his door and heading back to my room, trying to shake off the weird feeling of wanting to just sit next to his coffin and wait for him to wake up. All the way back to my room, I was rubbing my thumb over my wedding ring too...

Bah.

But, our little bit of banter before dinner had given me an idea. Thinking outside the box, inside the box. After a half second of thinking about it, I thought about the box itself. What wouldn't be 'outside' the box? It was made of volcanic obsidian, from Hell. And what didn't stand a chance in hell?

Locking the door behind me, I checked over my alchemy sets, made sure none of them would spoil if left alone for a while, and picked up the puzzle box. I was going to clear my sink of the dishes... but it seemed my shy housekeeper had done them already. So, I put the box into the sink (it just barely fit) and turned the tap on.

The water acted almost like it was sticking to the box, as it sluggishly washed over the top. I was unsure how much water I needed, or if I needed to submerge the box entirely, so I turned the tap off to examine the box for any changes.

Aha!

The gold inlay of 'flames' along the bottom, had changed where the water had dribbled over it. Instead of gold, it had turned an almost blue-green colour. Taking the hint, I turned the tap back on, and plugged the sink. A minute later, there was enough water to reach all the 'flames' along the bottom of the box. And with a quiet 'click' something inside unlatched. Quickly, I curled my fingers under the bottom of the box, and pulled it out of the water, shutting off the tap with a tail.

"Huh... I'll have to ask about this metal..." I examined the now blue 'flames', which of course looked like 'waves' now, and saw that the top edge of the 'waves' had the smallest of seams. Flipping the box on end, so that the feet were in the air, I noticed that feet had also changed, and instead of simple rounded curves, now looked like small fish. I had a feeling that Lord Phoenix had received this from a rival house as a joke gift...

I lifted the box up by the 'feet' and it came off like a lid, revealing the contents of the box itself. Carefully, I removed each item. One half cape, with a half dozen long blue and red feathers woven into it. Two fancy crystal bottles with a mouthful of deep red liquid inside them each. A shoulder ruff, with four long blue and red feathers trailing down, and dozen shorter but much wider ones, fanning out from the top. Two bits of paper, one of which was a summoning circle flyer.

On the other was a simple line, "Congratulations. Was it worth it?" Then under that, "Please, use the circle to contact me at any reasonable hour, set by the material world's Eastern Standard time." And that terrible unreadable signature again.

Looking at the two vials of phoenix tears, I almost felt bad for what I was about to try and do.

Fox: Well, I opened the box.

Boss: Well done. Unless you broke it. Then shame on you.

Fox: Did you want the bottle of tears?

Boss: Did you have plans for both of them?

Fox: (thoughtful face emote)

Boss: I won't ask. Don't forget to get proper rest. And thank you for taking care of my bishop.

Fox: I keep wanting to steal him and put him in a cave to keep him safe.

Boss: Please don't. I'd lose my best bargainer, and retainer.

May 20 2016, Friday.

"Ah, Sona." I greeted her as she stepped into my shop around lunch time.

She stopped at the door, put on some goggles, and an apron, and stepped over the yellow caution line I had taped into the floor. I was using the power hammer again, still slamming out plates for my new armour. I was pretty sure I had the design on paper now, sorta...

Now protected from the various sparking things of my shop, she came closer, waiting until I had put the plate of metal back into the furnace to heat up again. "Sensei. How are you feeling today?"

I looked at her puzzled for a moment, then the calendar, "Well, it's lunchtime, the night before a full moon. If I needed to hide from the world, it would have been a couple hours ago." I was very thankful for this, considering...

She looked pleased at this, and smiled slightly, "If that's the case, are you free tomorrow night? Since we missed our chance last month, I was planning on taking my peerage to the forest to find familiars, for those of us who do not have one."

"Oh?" I scratched an ear thoughtfully, "Would I even be able to find one?"

"I honestly don't know. We Devils are suited for them, due to our magical nature. While I'm not sure your nature is similar enough, you are certainly magical."

I turned back to the metal in the furnace, took it out and started up the power hammer again. Sona took a step back, but watched all the same as I shaped the steel for a minute. Once I was satisfied with the rough shape, I dipped it into a trough of oil to cool it enough to put down on a worktable. "Sure. I'll let Rias know. Honestly though, I'm not sure I even want a familiar..."

"Oh? Though, I suppose you can make your own, when ever you please." She nodded, but smiled slightly, "However, familiars are magical in nature as well, and I'm sure an artificer of your skill could find use for fur or scales from such a creature."

"Well, I'm sold on the idea." I nodded, "Did you want another lesson in return?"

"This is an offer from a friend, not a deal from a Devil." She admonished, "However, I wouldn't say no to another lesson." She sounded a little disappointed.

"Sorry. I'm sure you've heard of what went on with Kiba?"

"Only that you and he had... some words."

"We did. And after those words, I beat him unconscious, and tossed him at Rias's feet for what he said." I sighed.

"I'd never had expected that from you." She took off her apron and sat down, "But there's more isn't there?"

I turned off the power hammer and shut down the air compressor, "Yes. I will freely admit, I have a certain standard to which I judge all of you. It's not out of any malice, or 'I'm strong, you're weak'..." I looked at my hands and went to get the hand cream, "The dungeon is impartial. It hates people, and won't forgive you if you make a mistake. It's a job, who's boss is judge jury and executioner."

"I've gotten that impression, from the stories you've told."

"So, when I see all of you. Bright young men and women, with super natural abilities and skills. When I see all of you go into combat, or train for combat, or even speak of combat, I think, 'would they come home at the end of the day'." I turned off the water, hands feeling nice and personable again, "So, when Kiba started to distance himself, I couldn't help but to remind him, that for who, and what, he is, that is unacceptable." I turned to her, "That would get you, and your friends killed, where I'm from."

"Harsh, but with how serious you train us, I can believe it." She pushed her glassed up a tiny bit, "But why would you be sorry for that? You are taking your responsibility for teaching us seriously."

"And I'm forgetting you are all trying to be my friends as well." I returned, "I know, and you all know, the instant I can go home, I will. But despite that, it isn't all 'professional relationship'."

"We aren't all about bartering, this is true." She smiled, "So long as you realize that we can be your friends, and not just your students, I'm sure no one will hold it against you."

"Thank you." I nodded, "I'll take you aside later in the gym if you want."

"Excellent. Be sure to inform Rias-san. Though, if I may make a strong suggestion?"

"Hm?"

"Do not wear your dragon scale. You'd likely scare the entire forest off, and anger what didn't run away." She stood, patting one of my tails as it went to rest on her arm.

"Very well. I'll be sure to leave it at home. Better get back, lunch will be over soon."

Maki came by near the school's day end, smiling happily, both her tails swishing happily, "I passed math again!"

"Excellent news." I replied, "I hope you don't mind, but I cleaned up your little project here."

"Oh! I thought it was good though..." The project in question was a leather 'hat' to hold her mask in place.

"It was, I just added some buckles, tidied up the edges, that kind of thing. Think you're ready to do the last bit of shaping for your mask?" I took her mask, made of 'Ma-steel', from its iron circle, "I'll do the eyes for you, but the rest of the enchanting is on you."

"I hardly know where to begin with that though..."

"You've done most of it already. With you working on it, you've hammered your own spirit into it." I smiled, turning on the gas for the furnace, "Anyone could wear it, but only you will be able to make it work."

"I'm glad your confident, at least." She grumbled.

"Just remember, as you hammer it to its final shape, and as you sand it and file it to its finished form... With every strike, with every motion of your tools, think about what you want your mask to do for you." I offered her the tongs and a hammer, "I'll be right here. Just relax, let the magic come to you, and settle into your work."

"A jedi lets the force flow through them..."

I gave her ear a light scratching, "Exactly."

The gym was abuzz with activity again. There were a few absent faces, but Sona assured me they were busy, not lazy. Maki was one of them, my adopted sister working on her mask. Asia, Sona, Tsubasa, Ruruka and even Rias, were following along with me as I did some simple Tai-chi.

"Rias?" I started, "Mind if I take tomorrow night off?"

My sudden question, when I usually remained silent during exercising, nearly made her fall, "Oh?"

"Since it looks like I'm going to remain myself during the full moon, Sona has invited me out to look for a familiar." I replied, "Tsubasa, shoulder back a little, that's a block, not a strike."

"Yes Sensei."

"Oh, I don't see why not, however..."

"You will also note, it's Friday." I spoke over her, "Where I'm from, that means it's pasta night."

"And I will happily volunteer my peerage to the gathering of ingredients, and requisition the home economics room for the cooking." Sona added.

Rias smiled and was about to say something, but again, I stopped her.

"Hey no stopping."

She hastily moved her arms and legs to catch up with the rest of us, "Pardon." She said, then, "I accept."

From across the gym, I heard "Woo hoo!" From Issei, then "Ouch!" From Gasper, as a ball bounced off his forehead.

That evening, as myself and several others of both peerages cut up vegetables and the like, I moved over to Rias, my hands expertly peeling a potato as I went, "Remember how you said you might need to open a room for all my alchemy sets?"

"I do." She smiled, "Are you making a request?"

"I am." I replied, lowering my voice, "I plan on reverse engineering Phoenix Tears, to bring back home with me."

"It would be a powerful tool, in the dungeon." She nodded, also whispering, "And bargaining tool here."

"I do keep extensive notes on all my work. And would be happy to make a copy." I added.

"I'll have it in place for when you return." She replied, looking down at her hip, where one of my tails had latched on to her, "Would you like me to send Akeno over to brush your tails later too?"

"If you all haven't fallen into a food coma." I replied at my normal volume, "Asia? How are the onions?"

I took comfort in serving so many people. An odd thing to say, but it felt a little bit like home, be it the occasional 'vacation' working a shift or two at the Hostess, or just making food for two dozen orphans and a dozen or so adventurers. Of course, by the end of it, both peerages were almost immobile with how much food was eaten, even though I warned them that it would count as their snack limit for the next three days. At least, it would for those people who were taking my meal plans seriously. (Like Issei.)

Afterwards, Akeno visited my room to brush my tails, but ended up falling asleep on them part way through. Aside from making my tails sad that their favourite tail brusher wasn't brushing them, (Though, who ever was brushing them was their favourite, they weren't picky, just demanding,) I found myself using her presence as an excuse to sleep with someone.

May 21 2016

"Ara?" I felt someone stir in my arms, then wiggle slightly, "Hm, I seem to be stuck."

"My pillow is talking." I mumbled, "Bad pillow." I opened my eyes just enough to see over Akeno's head of raven hair.

I'd made sure that if she did wake up, she wouldn't be able to do anything more inappropriate than what was already happening. Unbreakable grip and tails that very much enjoyed a warm body, made sure she would stay cuddled into my front.

"Well, I won't complain about this..." She replied with a voice that felt like a finger up my spine. It didn't help that she wiggled her rear just enough to make a little extra warmth, "But if you don't let me go, I may have a little accident."

I rolled over, laying her on top of me, then used my tails to slip the sheets off, lift her off me, then place her feet first on the floor. Even as she giggled with the fur of my tails swishing over her bare legs, I finished rolling over and took up the middle of the bed where it was warmest. Pasta night always made me want to sleep in.

"Oh dear... making a den and kicking me out?" She laughed as she walked to the bathroom, "Number One Dad?"

"Only shirt I had left that you could wear." I said, hugging all my tails, but seemingly unable to recapture the warmth of another person.

"I do prefer to sleep in the nude, much like the President."

"You tempt me, Devil." I said, "So I must draw lines."

I heard the toilet flush, then the water run, "I understand, Sensei." She said seriously, coming back out and returning, "Thank you for dinner."

"Thank you for understanding."

She didn't reply, but reached down to pet my ears. She was just starting to make me sleepy again, when I felt a bit of fabric land over my head, and a quick flash of light glared its way through my closed eyes. Blinking and removing a Number One Dad shirt from my head, Akeno stood before me in her Miko outfit.

"It is the weekend, after all. I have duties to attend." She said with a smile, "Good luck in the forest."

"Any suggestions?"

"Unless you want your clothes melted, avoid the slime." She giggled, unlocking my door and leaving.

"Huh." I mumbled, feeling the call of nature myself now, and sitting up.

I noticed my phone was blinking, and was about to reach for it, when a tail put my fur brush into my open hand instead.

"Oh, right... She fell asleep."

Teacher: We leave close to sun down. Please meet us in the student council room.

Attached was a picture of the school's second floor, and a room marked with an X

Teacher: No one else should be in school today, so your appearance shouldn't be an issue.

Fox: I will have to invest in some casual clothing. Does the school have a tailoring club?

Teacher: Yes. Would you like me to unlock it for you?

Fox: So long as a few materials won't be missed?

Instead of a reply, I got another picture. This one looked to be one of the smaller club room single floor buildings that were actually separate from the main building itself. It actually looked like the little building Issei and Kiba were hiding behind during the wargame.

Teacher: Please keep an inventory of what you use, if at all possible, so that it may be replaced in a timely manner.

Teacher: Alternatively, you could simply go shopping.

Fox: I have a literal divine gift for creating things, and you want me to trust someone else to be my tailor?

Teacher: Point made. If you have any problems, do not hesitate to send a message.

I was just about to reply to that, when she sent a second text.

Teacher: Dinner was wonderful. Could I trouble you for the recipes?

Fox: I'll write them down.

Sona was right. The school was deserted. I found it kind of creepy actually, but I couldn't put my finger on why. Somewhere between 'being watched' and 'ghost town'. It might have also been that I was walking out in the open, with nothing to hide what I was, in broad daylight. It made me feel almost as exposed as that one time I convinced my wife to join me outside for a bit of fun in a bell tower...

I couldn't help but remember the feel of Akeno's bare butt against my hips this morning.

I sighed, looking at my phone to make sure I was at the right place, and trying the door handle.

"Ahh!" Someone squeaked as I opened the door, letting light fill the room.

Something about the voice tickled my memory, and I sounded out the label on the front of the door. "Cosplay...club." I mumbled, looking towards the sound of the voice. "Oh hello again, please don't..."

It was the girl who had stalked me from the Cosplay Cafe. The same one I'd confronted, and shown that I was in fact, real, and not dressed up. And she fainted, again. I was about to quick step over to her, but saw she already sitting, and the most dangerous thing around her was maybe the sewing needle in her hand.

"Well, this is awkward." I mumbled, looking around.

The place reminded me of pictures of two very different roommates. On one side, there were neatly stacked and sorted bolts of cloth, little drawers of various things like buttons and ribbons, a couple of tall laundry baskets with scrap cloth in them, and a single, perfectly clean desk with a nearly sparkling sewing machine in the exact middle.

The other side, was... a mess. Radiating out from where my stalker was sitting, it looked like she had a dozen different projects going on all at once, and was practically up to her knees in them. The desk she was at had no machine on it, but instead had various spools of thread, scissors, cups of buttons and bits of what looked like false fur. The various projects around her didn't even had one solid theme either. Even the two dress forms were obscured under half done outfits.

And then she started snoring. Aha. Crunch time all nighter? Rias was on about the sport festival, maybe there were other things going on too?

Taking off my boots at the door, I went over to her desk (carefully avoiding what looked like a dozen bits of what looked like a marching band uniform and a dozen pompoms) took the needle out of her hand, and looked at what she was working on.

"Some one is going to be... disappointed with me later..." I smiled, "But people have been telling me I have a weird sense of humour..."

My tails were not meant for fine manipulation. It may sound nice, having your own emergency fur coat that enjoyed hugs just as much as you did, but really? It had taken a lot of work to make them more than just decorative, but due to my own practise and mental discipline, as well as having just brushed them, they weren't as 'floofy' as they could be... Now, while not particularly dexterous, they were still quite capable of holding things up, or grabbing simple objects. Pots, jars, potion bottles, knives, people, or in this case...

A half dozen different cosplay projects.

With my divine gift for crafting, measurements and pictures that were already written down and pinned to each of the projects, and my tails holding things up or in place with my unbreakable grip, I made very quick work of things.

Two white and red 'marching band' outfits, each with eight buttons on the front. Matching black long shorts as well.

Cat girl maid outfit. Possible replacement for some one at the Cafe, though not the right size for my stalker. Included ears, tail, and padded 'cat gloves'. Highly adorable.

Fire Nation uniform, no mask, modest bust. Azula perhaps? Brr, she was a creepy character. Awesome, but creepy.

One from... I think... Euruka 7? Added a little extra to the length, because drafty.

Dark elf military outfit from one of the Tenshi series. I had no idea how a girl could like being 'pushed up' that far...

One leather collar, with the Hiragana for 'I N U' sewn into it. Not asking, just helping...

A spongebob pillow.

Out of tasks, I carefully hung up or folded all of the projects. That done, I put a sheet of cloth over the still passed out girl, and got to work on my own project.

I passed time until evening, doing some of the chores that had been piling up, taking care of my tails, doing some minor alchemy work, drawing plans for my new armour, that kind of thing. Of particular note, I washed my new item, to settle the fabric, and finally got around to really sorting all of the stuff in the hunter's vest.

Most of it was stuff I already knew about. But there were a few things I'd have to ask about, and hoped I wouldn't offend who ever it was I was asking... Much like my mismatched tail, I'm sure if I asked 'do you know where these finger bones came from' to the wrong person, I'd have a problem.

"Wow." Saji said as he greeted me just outside the school, "New coat?"

"Courtesy of the cosplay club." I replied, doing a spin in place, and tipping my hat.

Now, I hadn't know him long. But if I had met Dohnaseek before I'd changed worlds the first time, I'd have spent the rest of my life trying to look that good in a trench coat and fedora. After his death, and salvage of his fedora, I finally had an excuse to try it myself.

To allow for my tails, I had made the coat itself ankle length, and sewn pockets for the ends of my tails to curl up in on the inside along the bottom. Aside from that, it was perfectly tailored, was a nice dark grey (to match the hat), had pockets, and provided nothing bad happened to it, would get the best weather proofing treatment I could give it when I got back from the forest. Bust aside from that, and making a few modifications to allow for my bust... Well, judging from Saji's reaction, I rocked my new smoke grey trench coat.

"You might not need your gauntlets, but if I didn't know to look for them, I wouldn't have noticed you wearing them." He commented as we stepped inside and started towards the stairs to the second floor. "Nice hat too."

"I was told not to wear my scales." I replied, "No way I'm leaving home without some sort of equipment."

"Very fair." He grinned, "Here we are."

Sona and her peerage were already present, and all of them were wearing proper hiking shoes. Aside from noticing that, and everyone wearing warm looking knee high socks, they were looking excited to be going. As Saji and I walked across the gym floor towards them, they all started to notice me and my new coat.

"Oh!" Ruruka was the first to comment, "You make me think of the Highlander!"

"There should only have been one." I said, doing a tip of my fedora.

"Not Resident evil 4?" Tsubasa asked.

I took a moment to undo a couple of buttons, and opened my coat, revealing a half dozen tiny foxes clinging to the fabric inside, "What are ya buying?"

"Blade runner?"

"Do androids dream of electric sheep?"

Most of them were laughing, except Sona, who was looking torn between wanting to sigh, or join in. Finally, she clapped her hands, "Gather around, and I'll explain for the newcomers, and perhaps refresh the other's memories."

The simplified explanation went like this: On the appropriate night, (the full moon) you entered the forest with a particular idea on what you wanted in a familiar. If you found such a creature, you had to lure it to you somehow, and either subdue it, or just make friends with it. Then, the two beings exchanged a little mana, usually through a simple ritual, and that was it.

It was also made clear that we were guests in this place. So unless provoked, 'subduing' a potential familiar wasn't allowed.

With the familiar feeling of descent/ascent, we arrived at our destination. Two things struck me as soon as the teleport circle faded. First, was the mana in the air was thick. Like an invisible fog that made my tails twitch and the fur on my ears stand on end. It was the kind of feeling I got on some floors of the dungeon, particularly when an irregular monster had spawned.

The second, was that with the full moon in the sky, and the near blood red colour that was coming off it, reminding me of 'barrier space', we were in the creepiest of forests. Gnarled trees that looked twisted by torture, bare branches like broken fingers clawing at the sky, and the sickly sweet scent of decaying leaves...

I mean really, it smelled like late fall, with a low/full moon reflecting a little more of the sun than usual, but still, the visual effect and the thickness of mana were poking all of the 'in the dungeon' buttons.

"Sensei. Please relax." Sona said, calling me back from 'dungeon trip' mode, "While not without danger, even the weakest of Devils has little to fear in this place.

All of them had moved away from me a few paces. I had to tell my tails to calm down, and cram the flame of my magic back into its cage. "Sorry. The magic in the air here is very familiar."

"It may be because this forest rests on a ley line node." Tsubaki said, "I noticed it the first time I came here as well."

"That's RIGHT!" We all looked up towards the new voice, this one distinctly male, and a little off kilter sounding, "A full moon like this means kids like you show up!"

"Ah, the master guide of the forest." Sona explained.

"I am!" He said, "The name's Zatuji! And I am the familiar master!"

He was a man of average height standing in one of the bigger trees about ten metres off the ground. Dressed in a crazy style of sturdy boots, bright yellow backpack, perfectly white tank top, cargo pocketed shorts, and a blue sweater tied around his hips, he looked... Like a pokemon trainer. He even had a faded baseball cap, turned backwards on his head, complete with a bright red shock of hair coming out of the gap between strap and hat.

That said, his exposed arms and legs showed wiry muscle, and his skin had that 'weathered' look most outdoor types got. He looked crazy, but had obviously been at this a while.

With a hop, he did a flip in the air, and landed in front of our group with a perfect three point landing. "Welcome to my forest!" He said grandly, "And with tonight's full moon, it is the best day to catch a familiar! Because you have to catch them ALL!"

I did a facepalm as he formed a 'G' with his hands.

"He is a professional when it comes to catching familiars." Sona said, "Despite his eccentric nature."

"Now!" He looked at us, "What are you looking for in a familiar?"

Being put on the spot, Saji, Tsubasa, Ruruko and Maki all kinda scratched their heads. I suppose Sona, Tsubaki, Momo, Reya and Tomoe all being third year students meant they all had familiars, but I couldn't be sure. There wasn't a show and tell like when Rias's peerage introduced theirs.

"You!" He pointed at me, "You look like a woman who knows what she wants! What are you looking for?"

"I'm really just observing... But if I had to choose?"

"YES! If you HAD to choose!" He replied, undaunted by my reply.

"Something relatively easy to care for, with an elemental type, that shed something, like hair, scales or mucus." I tapped my chin, "Maybe even an elemental."

He blinked at me, then grinned, "YES! You are a woman who thinks! Last bunch wanted 'cute' and 'sexy', but you! You want 'useful'!" He pointed to Saji, "HOW ABOUT YOU?!"

Saji backed up a little at the sudden singling out, then said, "I like reptiles, but my apartment doesn't encourage large pets."

"Small and quiet eh?" He nodded, then looked at the three girls, "Volunteers?"

Even with his crazy seeming act, Zatuji knew his field craft. He was quiet on his feet, would stop to look at things even I missed at first, like broken branches, claw marks, or even tiny cuts in the few remaining leaves that hung low enough to the ground. Encouraged to be on our best behaviour by Sona, we simply followed him, trying to be just as quiet.

Finally though, he stopped and looked to Saji, "Hey, see that?" He pointed with a finger to a tree across a small clearing.

Of course we all looked, but saw nothing. I relaxed my eyes a little, and after a moment I did. It was the smallest of movements, but something was resting on a branch, fairly low to the ground. "Hey Saji." I said, "See if you can find some dry mud... like really dry... I think it's on that branch there."

"Lady has keen eyes." Our guide said, "That, which most of you are not seeing, is a chameleon bat. It's not the most active of critters, but its a reptile, easy to care for, and as you can see, is a master of camouflage." He gave Saji a pat on the back, "Lady also knows her stuff. Give the base of the branch a little sprinkle, and if it doesn't instantly fly away, try and nab it. Gently now! It likes a gentle hand."

Cautiously, Saji picked up a handful of dried leaves, crushed them in his hand, and all but tip-toed to the indicated tree. Like he was adding spice to a pot, he sprinkled the powdered leaves over the base of the branch and moved up. From this distance, I could only make out a faint outline of something, maybe a bit bigger than my hand.

"And..." Saji said, "Gotchya?" He brought his hand down over that faint outline and gave a gentle tug upwards away from the branch. After a moment, he placed what ever it was on his other arm. Then he slowly turned towards us, revealing a sort of brown and green lizard that looked like a cross between a chameleon, a very tiny dragon, and that dinosaur with that big fin on its back... spinosaurus? Not quite as long at Saji's forearm, it very slowly looked at him with those weird independent eyes that chameleons had.

"Well, it's not trying to poke your eye out with its tongue, or fly away. Must like you!" Our guide said with a grin, "Seems like a success!"

"Well done, Saji-kun." Sona said, her arms crossed under her modest bust, not quite smiling, but the action still made the boy blush and mutter a 'thank you', "Now, perform the ritual."

The ritual was very simple. With a little help from Zatuji, Saji simply placed the 'Chamo-bat' in front of him, knelt, and spoke, "In the name of Saji Genshirou, I order you to form a contract as my familiar." He said as a magic circle formed at the critter's feet and emitted a wispy white glow.

After a moment the circle faded, and the Chamo-bat stretched out its bat-like wings, and jumped onto Saji's knee. It made no sound really, but crawled up his shirt to his shoulder, before matching the colour of his school uniform, its tail curling around the back of his neck.

"Yup, seems to like you just fine." Zatuji grinned, "Now lets see what we can do about the rest of you... sigh... cute... why always 'cute'..."

"Meep." said the round ball of yellow feathers.

"Ohhhh, a tofu." Our guide said quietly. "Smart little guys these. Can't talk, but can be taught language. If you do like this one, I have to warn you, it will steal any loose change you leave laying about and hide it on you."

Ruruko looked at the little puff of feathers, with its stubby wings that looked like it might, maybe, be able to get its round, fist sized body air born. "Sold." She said to it, reaching into a pocket, "I can appreciate anyone who enjoys the jingle of coin." She held out a shiny hundred yen piece in her palm, and offered it to the bird.

"It might look like a rock, it might smell like a rock, and while I strongly suggest against finding out for yourself, it does taste like a rock." Zatuji grinned, "But, it's not a rock."

Tsubasa looked at the round little boulder, about the size of a soccer ball, that was trying to hide in the middle of a bunch of other stones, which were much smaller, and composed of mostly red granite, while the rock itself was just plain stone grey. "It's not hiding very well..." She commented.

"You're right, but look." He pointed at the bigger rock, then the smaller ones, "Notice how it's almost exactly the same shape as the others? This one has a sort of clay body, and can mimic various shapes. Has no concept of colour though." He looked up at me expectantly.

"Only thing I can think of here, is a stalactite monster that's really a beetle, Falls on unsuspecting people, then eats their insides." I shrugged, "What?"

"Your home is very strange." Tsubaki said, "And dangerous."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that from this little guy." He picked up the odd 'stone' with one hand. About the only reaction he got was it trying to change its shape to something more round, to possibly roll away or something. "It's like a friendly lump of clay really, and if you put it near softer things, it can mimic their texture, if you let it learn how."

"Well, mom never let me own a pet. Not even a pet rock." Tsubasa shrugged, taking hold of the ball carefully and patting the smooth surface.

"I'm not sure if I should feel jealous or not." I commented.

"What? That the black fox spirit chose me, and not you?" Maki grinned, "To be fair, you can just summon them. You don't need any more."

Sitting on her head, much like a cat, sat a tiny fox. Mostly black with only two white lines around its eyes, it looked at me with indifference. Floating in the air next to it, was a small blue flame.

"Well, that takes care of them." Our guide grinned, "And I think I know exactly where to look for the one you want." He said to me.

NOTES!

So, this is something that never actually happens (or at least, is never mentioned?) in the manga/books. At least, the wiki makes no mention of Sona's peerage having familiars. And being the author of this particular fan-fic, I have decided that Saji now has some weird flying chameleon thing. Ruruko gets a Guest Star from another anime, and Tsubasa gets a pet rock (that is totally not a Ditto). And yes, why wouldn't the half-kitsune get a fox spirit?