Chapter 87

Since poor Rossweisse didn't have anywhere else to go, and I fed her, I got her to help with minor repairs around the workshop. The worst of it was that my power hammer needed a little work. The explosion of my safe had knocked a few things loose, and the last thing you want with one of these things is something loose.

After school, we headed up to the ORC room. I should have been a little more surprised, but everyone was there, except they were practically draped over every bit of furniture in the room and napping. Gasper was curled up in his box (purple floppy teddy...bear(?) in hand). Kiba, Xenovia and Issei were on their usual couch, heads tilted back and snoring quietly in perfect unison. Koneko and Asia were leaning on each other in that adorable way only two mascots could, and Akeno was sitting in Rias's usual spot, posture perfect, with her eyes closed and a tiny trail of drool forming at the corner of her mouth.

Except Rias. She was very quietly shuffling papers at her big office desk, with a look on her face that was a mix of envy, frustration and determination.

"As you can see." Rias said quietly, "We're a little tired." The light from the big window behind her couldn't quite hide the dark circles under her eyes.

"I did offer you all something for it." I replied, putting a hand on Rossweisse's back and nudging her forward, "It seems Lord Odin forgot someone in his haste to get home."

I could tell the poor Valkyrie was holding back tears out of respect for the people in the room, "You yourself have told us how bad they taste." Rias motioned to the one 'guest chair' across from her desk, "I could use a break from all this paperwork, please, tell me about it Rosseweiss-san."

I only payed a little attention to the hushed conversation. Instead, I was reading a little travel guide to Kyoto. Since Asia/Koneko were in my usual spot, I took up the end of the couch and pondered what I might do while I was there. I still didn't know a few key things about the trip itself. How long were they going to be there? Accommodations? Would it even matter since there was a good chance I wasn't actually going to have an official job while I was there? Did I need a passport? ID? Money? Were Koneko's ears always so fluffy? Would Yasaka be all formal and stuff? Should I bring a gift? Would Asia look good with cat ears? Would Kunou be there to greet us? Was there some kind of formality when another Kitsune was visiting? How did I end up in the middle of the couch?

My train of thought hopped off the tracks, and I realized I was now in the middle of the couch, with Asia and Koneko on either side of me, their heads on my lap. Then from behind me I heard, "I'd be a fool to refuse such a wonderful benefits package..." Rossweisse mumbled, a bit of paper ruffling, "Who needs that old lecher anyhow? I accept."

I could hear the smile in Rias's voice, even through the exhaustion, "And since you are qualified to teach, I am sure I can get you a second job here at the school, if you wanted something to fill the time."

"I'd like that." Rossweisse replied, "Um, so... What's involved?"

"Normally, I'd at least have the rest of my peerage awake, but aside from your consent, nothing more is needed." I looked back over my shoulder just in time to see Rias hold up a crimson chess piece, a Rook, "Welcome Rossweisse, to my peerage, and family. With you joining, I now have all my pieces accounted for, and with your ability to use magic, you'll be a powerful addition to my team." She looked past Rossweisse, to me, "This means of course you'll have to make equipment for her."

"Already have her measurements." I said quietly, watching the rook vanish, and suffuse the silver haired Valkyrie with a faint red glow, "Except she commissioned it already in trade for magic lessons for Delly."

"Very sneaky Sensei." Rias smiled, "I suppose we should wake them up now. Two days to the trip, and the school festival right after they return." She sighed, "Have you planned your trip already?"

"I was thinking about it, but well, I'll ask my questions when we're all talking about it." I looked down at my lap, and gave the two girls a little shake.

After a little more nudging, yawning, hasty chin wiping, and a fresh pot of tea, everyone was awake enough to attempt enthusiasm for Rossweisse's recruitment.

"This does mean I'll have to take you home to visit. My parents have insisted I bring each of my peerage home for a little chat." Rias said, sipping her tea and nodding her approval to Akeno.

Rossweisse looked a little worried, but Kiba held up a hand to try and calm her, "No need to be alarmed. You, and all of us, are like family now."

"President's family is really easygoing... I mean... being all high class and stuff hasn't stopped them from being fun to be around." Issei added, "Even her brother! It would be impossible to guess he's one of the four Satan."

"Ahem." Rias looked a little resigned at the description, "They are both correct. As part of my peerage, your actions will reflect on me, and my house. They'll simply want to take your measure, so to speak, so you at least know who you're working for." She tapped her chin, "If we left on the train tonight, we could have everyone back in time for the trip."

"Irina has been giving me puppy eyes to ask you to bring her along next time you go home." Xenovia said, "I kinda want to spar with the guards again. They were a lot of fun!"

"So long as you are all packed before we leave." Rias said, "Sensei? Did you want to come along?"

"I'm not ready for the trip yet..."

"I can help you pack." Akeno smiled.

"Still have to work on plans for the shrine."

"Lots of space on the train, and I'd like to help you with that too."

"I don't want to leave my eggs alone either."

Delly popped into existence over my shoulder, "I can take over egg sitting duties."

"I suppose I'm not getting out of this am I?" I sighed.

It wasn't that I didn't want to go back to the underworld and visit Rias's family. They were good people, and as Issei said, being high class didn't stop them from being fun. But I had so many other things to do. Least of all, was to replace my coat. I mean, sure, I could summon my new armour without too much issue, but it was not something I wanted to advertise, and I was not nearly as quiet in it. People would give me even more funny looks if I went about dressed like some sort of fox/tengu or something all the time.

"Hm, why the long face?" Shinkage asked, "Worried about your sudden excess of free time?"

I packed away the collection of pencils and rulers I'd been using, "You make it sound like I overwork myself." I looked around the shop, giving the eggs one last look/pat/half turn, "Hida, are you clear on who is allowed in the shop while we're gone?"

"Yup!" The perky holographic Delly said, "And I've linked to all of the emergency contact numbers in case of emergency."

With a little help from Gasper (who was still holding the purple teddy bear(?) at the time) we got Hida linked to the school's phone system (not through wireless internet) so that she could call Sona and her entire peerage if there were an intruder in the shop.

"Ignoring that you do overwork yourself, something else is bothering you, isn't it?"

I gave him a raised eyebrow as he followed me out of the shop, "I basically broke my promise to Rias, let some of Fenrir's body out of the shop without her approval, and I'm almost certain the three who helped me are dead now."

"Those three fragments, yes I remember." He replied as I closed the garage door and secured it from outside entry. "If I recall however, the deal was 'nothing that could be of use' was to leave without her permission."

"You saw the daggers. One nearly killed Susanoo, and that dark elf I fought just missed my kidney." I opened the door for him and we waited at the foot of the steps for the Rias and the others.

"Perhaps it is because you do not really make weapons that you didn't think of it." Shinkage rumbled, "Regardless, the fragments as you had them were useless, and thus didn't breach your word."

"Oh I get that. Doesn't make me feel better." I frowned, "I hope they just ended up tied up in a closet or something."

"It's a good thing I've gotten better at hiding things." Akeno commented as we walked towards the train station, "You should really just buy a new coat."

I was dressed in my bright yellow Number One Mom shirt, track pants, gauntlets, shin guards, boots, fedora and magic sunglasses. I was a fashion disaster with pretty eyes, and the rest of them, in their nice school uniforms, were making me look even weirder.

"I agree." Shinkage tilted his head at me as he stalked beside me, "And for all intents, you just got judged on fashion by someone who is naked."

"Oh, shots fired." Irina (who was all but dancing at the invite) giggled, "Maybe you can ask whichever of Riser's bunch to make you a coat? I mean, they got our body suits just right!"

"Yeah, I have to agree Sensei." Xenovia nodded, "Though, you did look good in it."

"I might do that." I shrugged, "Though, I've been thinking on making something out of the big bad wolf. I'd be doing that now, actually, if I wasn't suddenly being dragged off to the underworld."

"There there Ko-san." Akeno pat my shoulder, "As much as some of us might like to see you in leather, it's only an overnight trip."

Issei and Kiba both looked thoughtful over Akeno's words, and I couldn't help but sigh. "It won't have been ready for the field trip anyhow, but at least I can make another coat out of Cerberus hide." I looked down at myself, "Aside from my belt pouches, I have no pockets. I can't stand having no pockets."

Most of them went back to napping for the train ride. I didn't blame them, and the general quiet let Akeno and I draw up floor plans. In the end, not much had changed from the original. There was a bigger bath, slightly more modern wiring (there would be TWO! electrical outlets in the main building now) and a very slightly bigger bedroom, the only big change would be the addition of a basement.

Loki left the place a smoking crater. But in true adventurer fashion, I'd used what the monster gave me for something useful. A little digging, some stone, a few other things, and it would be a nice solid place for storage, shelter or maybe some sort of storage for dangerous things.

Grayfia had insisted (politely, but immovably) that I wear something less... loud to dinner. To that effect, and my surprise, she led me to the massive room of hung dresses, and showed me a copy of the dress I'd made for the formal meet and greet last time I was here.

"You were correct, unfortunately." She said while assisting me into the nice Gremory red battle kimono.

"I was hoping I was wrong." I sighed, rolling my shoulders a little, "I am getting bigger... bah." I looked down at myself.

"Your timely report however, exposed the three doppelgangers who had taken their place." She replied, "When they learned of Loki's defeat, they surrendered to our mercy, and were handed over to Lord Odin." She looked at me thoughtfully, "Have you considered taking this outfit with you to meet Lady Yasaka?"

"I didn't know you'd had it remade." I looked at myself in the mirror, "Do you think the mix of Japanese and Chinese styles would be a little off putting?" I nodded to myself, then put my hands together in front of me, hiding them inside the sleeves.

"Your grasp of politics is strong, but still just above an instinctive level." She brushed a speck of lint off my shoulder then motioned me towards the door, "At the formal meeting, you showed your personal style for form and function. Continue to do so, and others will respect the show of wealth, as well as the confidence of how you wear it."

I nodded, "I'll remember that. Hm, maybe I can make something like this with something tougher than cloth... Still have most of my old coat left." I looked over at Grayfia, "Speaking of exotic monsters and materials, did you talk to Steve?"

"Mr. Irwin? Yes." She smiled, "After several reminders, he suggested several suitable candidates."

The 'suitable candidate' that was chosen was perched on a simple wooden bird stand next to Millicas at dinner. White and blue, with a trio of feathers for a 'crown', it looked like something between a falcon and a blue jay. The odd thing though, was it also had red beak that was similar to that of a parrot. I could tell it was not just an ordinary bird too, with how it looked at all of us as we chatted. Its blue eyes were observing us all, and even with over a dozen of us in the room, it was calm and quiet. It already seemed quite fond of Millicas too, and would look directly at him when ever he spoke, and even preen a little when when he looked back at it.

"So." Lord Gremory started as the plates were being cleared, "Rossweisse was it?"

"Yes sir." She replied, her shoulders tensing up at the sudden attention.

"From my understanding, you're now a Rook of my daughter's peerage." He lifted his wineglass, "A trained Valkyrie, adept with magic, already graduated with a teacher's licence... And you're quite young too."

Rias gave Rossweisse a 'V' sign and a smile, the King of the peerage having already reported how good her new Rook was. "Yes, I'm an only child, so my parents were able to help me go to the best schools for my education. And now that I no longer need to worry about where food is coming from, I was considering on the possibility of opening a school to teach magic here in the underworld, and perhaps train female devils to a Valkyrie's standard."

"Oh? Not a bad idea." Lord Gremory nodded, "I look forward to your contributions to our house."

"So when you return, you're going on a trip to Kyoto?" Lady Gremory asked, "Last year, Rias brought home some pickles, they were quite good too."

Rias looked a little embarrassed, but smiled all the same, "I'm a little sad I planned my trip so poorly. If I could, I'd find a way to go again this year too."

"I'm sure you've already gone through great lengths to make sure everyone who's going learns from your mistake." Lady Gremory replied, "But you mustn't abandon your duties to the school."

"No danger there." I said, "Even after all the excitement last night, she was still doing paperwork while everyone else was napping. Rivals or not, her and Sona work well together when it comes to the school and all those little details most people miss."

Rias gave me a grateful smile while her parents nodded approval, "Speaking of, I hear you're just over half way through collecting those dungeon fragments." Lord Gremory said, "And that we had you to thank in part for the Japanese pantheon agreeing to join."

"With Lord Odin and Azazel, I'm sure they would have been fine. But it was quite the honour to meet them, and their gift of materials was perfect." I smiled, "I'm actually looking forward to a big project like this."

"Sensei works too hard." Akeno mumbled just loud enough to be heard.

"That's why we give her vacation days." Rias nodded, "As much as she doesn't want them, I won't have someone under my employ working themselves ragged."

Millicas walked with us, the odd bird now perched on a leather pad on his arm. While yes, the bird did look like it had strong feet, it certainly didn't look like it was gripping the padding too hard at all. Apparently Sirzechs was home, though had been working through dinner time, and some of us were going to crash his office.

"So who's your new friend?" I asked.

The young prince looked up at me, the bird's gaze following his and locking onto me, "This is Tristan. He's a mimic bird." He very carefully used the back of a finger to brush over the bird's chest, "He's very smart, and his kind were used a long time ago as messengers."

"Why not show her, Millicas?" Grayfia asked, "Here." She reached under her apron and took out a small shiny pebble.

"Oh thank you!" He accepted it then looked back to me, "That is Lady Kodori." He said as the bird's eyes locked on to me again, "Um, wait right here please." We all came to a stop, and Millicas quickly looked around, then ran down a side hallway and around a corner.

I could faintly hear him speaking, but not enough to make out the words. A moment later however, the white and blue bird flew around the corner and down the hall towards us. Grayfia offered me another one of the little shiny pebbles, and I accepted, the weight of it too heavy for aluminum, too light for steel, making me think it was silver.

The bird pulled up in front of me and flapped its wings to hover easily. I offered it a finger to land on, then offered it the grain of silver. It plucked it out of my fingers daintily, then said in Millicas's voice, "They make really good messengers, because they can remember faces, and mimic the person's voice so you know who sent it!"

Oh yeah, Steve knew the coolest animals.

Millicas trotted back to us, all smiles, "Why not send him ahead to tell Lord Sirzechs we are coming?" Grayfia suggested.

I lowered my hand and the bird hopped over to Millicas's leather pad again, "I think I would rather surprise him." He said with a grin, making the rest of us laugh.

Sirzech's office was much like any other room in the Gremory home. Nice walls, nice carpet, perfectly clean, well lit etc etc. This room however, had rows of shelves along most of the walls with leather bound books and office binders. Mixed in, and oddly not looking out of place, was a small set of filing cabinets. Sirzech's himself was sitting behind a big desk, looking very much the warrior official in the armour I'd made him.

It was amusing to see Sirzech's face light up as we entered the room. Now, to be fair, he was behind what looked to be his own body weight in paperwork, but the look of joy on his face as Millicas trotted over to him (pausing only to lift his hand up to a nearby bird stand) and give him a hug was...

Was something I was so looking forward to damn it...

"An unexpected surprise!" He said, giving Millicas's red hair a ruffle then smoothing it out again, "As you can see, I've been dealing with... the administration."

"I thought you were the administration." I commented.

"Only part of it, and there are countless other things that need a stamp of some kind... Ajuka keeps mumbling about modernizing, but it might be years before we start seeing proper computers down here in the underworld, and years more before networking comes even close to what the mortal world has." He sighed, "But!"

He stood up, used the wider view he had of his desk to find something, then another something, then a third something, and sat back down. "Since you're here, I can do this now." He smiled, "I have in my hands the official approval, given by Zeoticus Gremory, co-signed by Venelana Gremory, to bestow noble titles to three of you."

Rias looked a little shocked, the others looked mostly dumbfounded, but Irina and I had near complete opposite expressions to the rest. I of course knew this was happening, so I smiled knowingly at Sirzechs (who returned the smallest of shrugs) while Irina bubbled up with a "Congratulations! I mean, to who ever is getting it."

"Isn't it too soon Brother?" Rias asked, "Especially with the older generation still resisting some of the changes."

"Well, we thought about that." He nodded, "We asked around for a little advice, kicked around a few ideas, and this is what we've come up with." He smiled, lifted the paper up a little and started speaking in that 'official' tone, "Ahem. Issei Hyoudou, Kiba Yuuto, Akeno Himejima. For your growth, not just as young devils, but as upstanding people. For your deeds, not just in combat but for the good of the people common and noble. For your service, under orders or freely given on behalf of the noble house of Gremory. It is my honour, as the Devil King Lucifer, to bestow upon you three the noble title of Knight."

I flicked Issei with a tail as he opened his mouth, prompting him to hold the obvious question back.

"Not to be confused with the evil piece, the title of Knight is one given to someone who has earned the notice of the nobility. Above a simple guardsman, but below any noble who holds land, you three are no longer ranked among the common people. In a time of need, you will be called upon by the house Gremory, but you have already shown you need no titles to aid others." He smiled and stood, a small crimson magic circle appearing by his hand, "Step forward, kneel, and be recognized." A plain looking sword hilt slid out of the middle of the circle, and Sirzechs drew out an equally simple looking longsword.

They looked at each other, then Rias, who was smiling, then forward again before stepping forward. Once away from the rest of us (who backed up a little as well) Sirzechs stepped out from behind the desk. He saluted with the sword, then brought it down, tapping each of their shoulders left/right/left.

"Rise, Akeno Himejima, Knight of Gremory. Rise, Kiba Yuuto, Knight of Gremory. Rise Issei Hyoudou, Knight of Gremory."

As each of them was bid to rise, they did, and as Issei straightened up, Sirzechs said, "Present the hand with your magic crest." They each lifted their left hand, and Sirzechs waved his free hand over each, "Now no one can dispute your title of nobility." He smiled then put the sword back into the magic circle it came out of, "You've earned this. Let no one tell you otherwise. Rias will explain further if you have questions."

The moment of ceremony broken, Irina finally let out a cheer, while the rest of use offered congratulations. "Thankfully, someone else did the paperwork for this one." Sirzechs chuckled as Rias and her peerage had a small celebration.

"How old was that sword anyhow?" I asked.

"I think Gawain held it at some point. I'd have to check the certificate."

September 26

Our return the next morning was without incident. Delly was already in the workshop when we arrived, and to my surprise, Saji was there with her. He was very carefully handling the phoenix eggs, turning them over while in full protective gear.

"Found a minion, did you?" I asked after Saji had closed the door on the egg.

"He actually volunteered!" Delly replied, zipping over to me and giving the side of my head a hug, "The ones in your room are still fine too." She hovered backwards, "Hey, isn't that the dress from before? I thought it was ruined."

"Grayfia apparently had it remade. With the trip tomorrow, I suppose its a good thing, since I'm out of formal clothes." I nodded to Saji, "What brings you by?"

"Well..." He held out his arm, and I could see, with my smart glasses, that he no longer had any illusions on it, "Azazel-san helped me with this, but some other things too."

"Oh? Have a seat, tell me about it." I motioned to a workbench and went to the fridge, "Water?"

"Yes, thank you." He sat down and accepted the bottle, "Well, remember when he crashed our big training session back then?" I nodded, "He called my sacred gear a 'fragment' of the dragon Vritra. Well, he and his assistant Shemhazai-san gave me the other fragments they had."

"Wow, what's that like?"

"Noisy, I'd guess." Shinkage said before Saji could reply.

"Heh, yeah. How'd you guess?" Saji scratched the back of his head.

"In terms of power, raw power, Vritra was rather weak. But very versatile. Vritra could do many things we could not."

"Yeah, Azazel-san gave me a brief history lesson before sticking the three other fragments he had to me. The 'Black Dragon King' or the Prison Dragon was more about magic than might, and could do all kinds of things to weaken or hinder his opponents. But now that I have more of the fragments of Vritra's soul, I feel... weird."

"You were doing well during the battle." Shinkage replied, "It was quite refreshing to see."

"Thank you. I was just barely able to control it all though. Its like I have this ball of angry static in the back of my mind. Noisy, just like you said."

"Unlike Albion and Ddraig, or even me I suppose, Vritra was broken into bits. It might take a little while, but maybe you can help restore Vritra's mind now that more of those fragments are in one place."

"Oh, so I can join the 'I talk to random body parts' club?" Saji grinned at me.

"Don't listen to him." I said over my shoulder as my tails hovered behind me, waiting for their turn to get a pat, "So you came looking for advice?" I asked.

"Yeah. Issei said you helped him get used to Ddraig."

I considered, shrugged, then said, "Well, lets start with this. Close your eyes, and imagine a Lemon."

Saji left after about an hour, making me think he had only taken the first class off for my advice. This left me most of the afternoon to quickly make myself a new trench coat. I had the leather, (Cerberus, no fur attached) my usual mix of fabric/leather treatments for general environmental hazards (water, oil, acid, fire, electricity, you know, general hazards) on hand, a new bone needle courtesy of one giant demi-god wolf, and a new supply of spider silk thread to sew it all together. If people left me alone for just a few more hours, I'd even have it ready for the trip!

I paused my work and gave the room a suspicious look, got a puzzled look from Delly and Mr. Skitters (who were playing fetch), and put my needle down carefully when I heard the too perfect rumble of a truck engine coming up the street.

I met them out in the driveway, and wondered at just how far the horse's transformation powers extended. Instead of a pickup truck or a small moving van, it was instead a fabric covered flatbed, like you might see transporting those big gas canisters. Cime tipped his hat to me from the driver seat, gave the dashboard a pat and the engine noises rumbled to a stop.

"You know." He said with a grin, "I haven't met many divinities in my time, but Miss Inari is the most adorable lady I've ever met."

"I know right?" I replied, "Somewhere between 'mature' and 'needs headpats'." I smiled, "But she is the Kitsune Goddess. Try not to offend her."

He looked like I'd just called his hat a travesty of fabric and thread, "I wouldn't dream of it!"

"Snort!"

"Well okay, I might, but I'd never act on it." He rubbed his chin, "Sign here please, and I'll unhook your giant rock."

I took the clipboard and he stepped over to start pulling a cable hooks, "Sorry for the trouble." I gave the hood of the truck a pat, "I have cookies this time." I paused, "Hey, don't bother the nightmare." I spotted Mr. Skitters standing on the bumper in front of one of the headlights.

"snort?"

Mr. Skitters waved a front leg at the headlight, then hopped down to the ground and zipped off back into the workshop.

"Fuzzy brown hell spider." I said, "And the most personable critter I've met."

"What about me?" Delly asked.

"You're not a critter."

"You're a snack."

"Grr! Mr. Skitters, tie his legs together or something!"

I walked to the rear of the truck, and I noticed something else on the clipboard, "Hey, what's this here?" I read the second item on the manifest, under 'giant rock', "It says 'loaner'."

Cime was up inside the heavy canvas covered bed of the truck. There was a clunk of one last cable coming free, and he pulled back the rear sheet of canvas, "Hm? Oh, here." He handed me a medium sized plastic dog crate.

"Yip." said the occupant as I accepted the crate and looked inside.

"Really?" It was a fox, of course. Pure white with subtle red swirls hidden under the fur. Around its neck, held in place by one of those traditional white ropes was a little metal tag that said 'Loaner'. "Really?" I repeated.

It gave me a fox smile, its poofy white tail flailing happily behind it. Then a marble sized blue flame 'fooped' into life next to it.

"Ooooo a spirit fox." Delly marvelled over my shoulder, "I wonder if Maki's fox will get along with it?"

"Could you put that down and give me a hand please?" Cime said, "I don't want to mess up any of the paper tags on this thing."

Handshake given, the sixth segment of dungeon put in the basement, and a small bag of cookies given as a tip, Cime left me with my new... friend? Pet? What would I even do with this guy?

"I'm gonna let you out. But if you start chewing on stuff, I'm gonna put you back in." I said through the bars of the kennel box, "We good?"

It replied by simply walking through the bars and sitting at happy attention in front of me. After a half second of me not reacting, it did one of those happy tail chase circles, then sat back down again. "It's a spirit fox. You'd have to go out of your way to make a box that could hold it." Delly said from my shoulder, "Maybe because you don't have any messengers, Lady Inari lent you one?"

"I have a cell phone."

"But it's tradition! Deny it all you want, you ARE a minor god." Delly poked my cheek, "Ranked like... maybe a one and a half on a scale of one to ten."

"And enshrined Kitsune have foxes for messengers. Right." I sighed, "Well Loaner, welcome to the family."

Another happy tail chase, then it pawed at the kennel's latch. I knelt down and peered inside, spotting a rolled up scroll with a little red ribbon tied around it. I retrieved it, untied the ribbon, and unrolled it, "Dear Kodori."

"She really is adorable, isn't she?" Delly mumbled.

"While I know I cannot be your patron, I still feel the need to offer what little assistance I can. For the rest of your stay in this world, I would offer the help of this messenger. He's may be a little energetic, but will carry any message you give, to anyone you've met." I looked down at Loaner, who gave me a tail wag, "Even in this day of electronic messaging and modern delivery services, people such as us can find a good messenger priceless. Walk with grace, pride and strength. Inari."

"Do you think she likes cookies?" Delly asked.

"I hope so." I replied, "Well, play nice I suppose. And my rule on chewing on things you shouldn't still stands. I wonder if I can sneak you into my luggage?"

"So what do you think?" I asked Akeno when she visited after school.

"Oh he's adorable!" She scooped up the white fox and hugged it close for a moment, gave it all kinds of ear scroofles, then put it down on the nearest empty workbench.

"I meant the jacket." I signed, "Though, I can't argue."

"Apparently I'm not on the 'do not chew' list."

"You're made of metal, do you even feel it?" Delly grumbled.

"I still prefer the dress." Akeno pouted a little, "But I suppose with how often we all get our clothes ruined, this is much more your style."

"Oh I'm still packing the dress. I'm sure Yasaka is going to want to meet with me, or should I say, allow me to meet with her?" I put the leather trench coat on, feeling the heavy but supple leather settle on my shoulders. With a little wiggle my tails found their way out the back, and I flipped my fedora onto my head, "You know, this feels pretty good."

"Well, I did want to know what you'd look like in leather." She grinned, "But, since we only have tonight before you leave..."

"This is a workshop, not a bedroom."

Delly snickered, but Akeno shook her head, "Since you got me to give Issei flying lessons, I think I am qualified to give them to you as well."

"I bet 100 yen she crashes at least twice."

September 27

We met at the Hyoudou residence early the next morning. It still amazed me at how... silly the place was. It stood out like a giant thumb in the middle of the neighbourhood, yet, no one seemed to care.

Not my job.

"Do we have everything?" I asked the room as they (Kiba, Issei, Asia, Xenovia and Irina) got ready for the day. "Wallets? Tickets? Extra socks? Toothbrushes?"

Xenovia perked up and dashed back into the house.

"I feel better about not being able to go." Rias smiled, "Make sure you all enjoy your trip. Us third years and first years will have to cover for the work towards the culture festival while you are gone." She handed me a little white envelope, "Your saved wages. Please go enjoy yourself."

I accepted it but didn't count it, "Thank you. I'll do my best for the Gremory family." formality done, I stuck the modestly heavy envelope into an inner pocket of my new trench coat, "Thank you, I'll keep an eye on them too." I hm'ed, "Rossweisse coming too?"

"As a last minute chaperone." Rias smiled, "She's already quite popular with the students."

"I can imagine." I nodded, "What? She might not be as worldly as some, but she carries herself like a fighter. A lot of people go for that kind of confidence." I gave her an eyebrow waggle, since Issei was showing some of that confidence too.

She blushed a little, but nodded, "Azazel will be following along as well. Mostly as a tourist, but he's also following a few leads about potential problems. He's also the one who arranged Shinkage's ticket, so to speak."

"He better not try and take him apart." I grumbled.

"Worried he might learn your secrets?"

"Worried Shinkage might take offence." I grinned, "Don't tell Shinkage, but I'm really proud of the progress he's made as an individual. He might not realize it all himself, but..."

"You just can't help but be a mother, can you?" She teased, "Is everyone sure they have everything now?" She looked away from me to the others.

"Yes President!"

"Then let's go."

With Delly hiding my more obvious features, I almost blended in like a normal person. I mean, sure, I was a head taller than most of the people around me, and instead of a more reserved Eastern style, I was dressed in my new dark leather trench coat fedora and shades.

Okay, I at least looked like I belonged there... I had my name tag on my coat!

"Pretty slick Sensei." Azazel chuckled next to me as we watched the other students, around a hundred or so, get a last minute lecture from their teachers. Even Rossweisse was there, giving that same lecture to her class, "Heard you finally got it all working."

"It's a massive effort to power it up, but the next time I fight someone like Loki, I think I'll do better." I looked over at him, "Thanks for helping with building supplies."

"No sweat. Even if you're eventually going to go back to where ever it is you came from, you've been a big help." He rubbed his chin, "I've got Shinkage under a cloaking spell in the cargo compartment. He should be fine unless someone tries to put something on the yellow lines marked 'no cargo'."

"Thank you. If I ever do make him another body, I'll be able to work in a cloak or something, but honestly, he's gotten so good with it that I really don't want to. Besides, when we get there, I'm told I'll have a little help, and Delly can keep him hidden."

"You mean that little fox you have in your pocket?"

"Maybe. Oh, Loaner, this is Azazel."

Loaner, who had shrunk to about the size of a rolled up magazine, poked its head out of my pocket and looked up at Azazel. He then sneezed, and went back into hiding.

"I agree, what even is that cologne you wear?"

"What? It's a hit with -most- of the ladies I've met. Anyhow, keep your eyes open, there's been a few suspicious movements with the Chaos Brigade." He rubbed his chin a moment, "Hm, looks like we're all boarding."

Now, back when I'd been a normal resident of earth, over in North America, I'd been on a few trains. For the most part, they were made to get people from point A to B, and were fairly well organized, on time, and usually only intolerable at peek hours.

The bullet trains however, or at least this one (since I'd never been on one before), made me think of an airplane on rails. Reasonably nice seats, two to either side of a modestly wide aisle, with overhead luggage compartments. A quick look for information when I'd been planning my sightseeing, told me they even had their own rails, since they were meant for long distance instead of intercity travel. This version of train had seats facing forward and back, so little groups of four or families could sit together.

So, after lifting the divider between the two seats, and settling in as best I could for someone who had seven tails in a chair made for a modest Japanese backside, got out my phone and worked on that correspondence course for high speed physics.

Ten minutes or so later, after all the students had gotten settled (Issei and his class were in the middle someplace in the car I was in, while I was at the end) and the train got underway, I had my first visitor.

"Sensei." Maki called out over the general noise of the students chatting among themselves. She had changed a little in the past couple of months. No longer was she looking underfed, a collection of wiry muscle and nerves. It wasn't much of a change, but it still made me smile to see her look less like a hunted animal.

I motioned to the seats across from me, "Little sister." I put my phone away, "Looking forward to the trip?"

She sat, and like me, had a little lean to the side for her tails, "Still a little nervous. But less now. I'm... kind of hoping to learn a thing or two while I'm there as well." Her ears, mostly hidden by her carefully scruffy hair twitched slightly, "I mean, now that I'm with Sona-san, I have more power than before. I might be able to learn to hide what I am, without charms or illusions."

"Just remember, you are only hiding it out of convenience, not shame." I smiled, "I'll be sure to include you when I ask for the same advice."

"Thanks, big sister." She grinned, "Heard you got a messenger."

"Loaner." I said, prompting the spirit fox to peek its head out of the neck of my coat, since my pockets were all folded up from sitting down, "This is Maki."

I could feel the poofy tail try and wag happily, and felt his ears perk up on either side of my chin, "Oh very cute." She said, "Loaner?"

"Name and title both. A gift from Lady Inari." I gave Loaner's ears a pat, then nudged him back under my coat.

"Oh... Maybe we can learn to use some of the other things... Like spirit fire. It would be handy to have a fire starter, if I ever have to live rough again."

"Now there's an idea. Last time I used a bit of cloth, some tinder, a pair of sticks and a smooth stone."

"Oh I've done that one." She nodded, "I should get back before my teacher does that disappointed squinty face at me."

She stood and left, heading down to the far end of the train car. As she left, I spotted Xenovia walking away from Issei. Then my phone buzzed.

Mikochu: Don't forget to take pictures.

Fox2: And remind Issei to buy pickles.

Mikochu: Good idea. Did you know about that... promotion?

Fox2: I might have been one of the people asked for advice. Congratulations by the way.

Mikochu: I kind of... It seems hollow somehow.

Fox2: It's a placeholder. On paper, you are the most minor of minor nobles. But I'm on vacation, no politics.

Mikochu: Don't forget to wear your dress when you go to meet Her. (V sign emote)

Fox2: Don't forget to roll the eggs over, feed Mr. Skitters, and spray a little water on Jiru.

Mikochu: If they weren't potentially keeping your room from getting set on fire, I'd steal your blankets.

NOTES!

Arrival to Kyoto imminent. I have lots of reading to catch up on too. :)

Five days lalala.