Chapter 92

"Backup huh?" Issei looked around, first at us, then the nearly glass smooth battlefield, "Did we really win that quickly?"

I gave Issei a pat on the shoulder and turned away, "Asia?" I called out quietly.

She looked up at me but averted her eyes quickly, but then separated from Xenovia and came over to me. "I'm... I'm sorry, I..."

One of my tails gave her a headpat, since my hands were either full or covered in blood. "Thank you, sorry you had to see that." I said softly as her healing aura fixed up the stab I'd taken earlier, along with all the other bruises, scrapes and minor acid burns I'd gotten, "Everyone else seen to?"

"Yes." She smiled, "I want to thank Haruhime-san too..."

"Next time I call." I nodded.

"What are you going to do... um, with that?" She asked.

I only noticed it then, that Asia, Irina and Xenovia weren't looking away from me. They were averting their eyes from the spear. The quiet conversation behind me stopped, and Wukong asked, "Yes, what are you going to do with that?"

"And why does the air hurt my ears?" Yu-Long asked, "I thought Kyoto was number one on the top ten most harmonious energy capitols of the world."

I sighed, reminded of the screechy feedback I'd been ignoring since I upset the dragon veins, "I am currently the Kitsune of Kyoto. When Cao Cao captured me in a small dimensional space like this one, he told me his plans." Shinkage walked over to me and sat at attention, so I gave his chin a pat, "Thanks to some creative thinking from my partners, we escaped." I looked around for Delly, but didn't see her, so I went on, "Then I worked with Kunou, Yasaka's daughter and the one formerly in charge in her absence, got permission to screw with the ley lines, and basically undermined everything Cao Cao was working for."

"Then... All this here..." Saji blinked, "Wait! That would mean..."

"He told us where he would be, when he would be there, and put himself into his own trap. Aside from rescuing Yasaka-sama, we didn't even need to show up really." I finished, "All that's left is for me to ask Kunou if the mission is done. Speaking of?"

Maki spoke up, "She took Yasaka-sama back with a teleport tag, along with her two guardians."

"And yes, since he told us everything, we also had some hidden backup. When we first met, he said he could see Shinkage, who was hidden by Delly's illusion since we were out in public, and Delly, who was hidden by her own illusion. One was fairy magic, the other was a hybrid of fallen angel and human magic." I looked around, gave my pockets a pat, then called out, "Loaner?"

A minuscule fox head peaked out from the ruff of fur behind Yu-Long's massive dragon head, "Yip?"

"How'd you get there?" Yu-Long asked, one great dragon eye looking upwards.

"He made no mention of the pocket fox." I continued, "Making me think he couldn't see them with what ever he used for detecting invisible things. Silly when you're walking around the Demon Capitol of the world, but maybe that was more Georg's oversight." I shrugged, "So, we had Kunou's guardians hiding here, and they crossed over when Cao Cao's gang used Dimension Lost."

"And history repeats." Wukong nodded, "A tyrant's rule comes to an end."

"As for the spear." I looked at it, then at Loaner, then shrugged, "I've got an idea or two. But we have to leave first. Where do the teleport tags take us?" I asked.

"There's a conference room at the hotel. Biggest space we could find and lock down." Saji said, "I hope Tomoe-chan isn't making too much of a fuss over Kunou-chan and Yasaka-san." He held out a few bits of paper, "I brought spares too."

I looked around, all of us tired looking but victorious, "Issei?"

"Oh right! Um..." He looked way up, "If you want to join us, you'll have to shrink a bit." Then to Wukong, "You're invited too of course."

"I suppose I wouldn't fit into any of the buildings around here..." Yu-Long sighed, "Gimme a moment, and you! Off my head."

Loaner vanished, suddenly poking his head out of Wukong's robe and holding the nice wood and gold pipe in his teeth, "Oh thank you. Mind fetching the, ah thank you again." Loaner ducked back in then returned with a match.

Yu-long's emerald green glow faded, and the massive dragon body compressed into itself. Over the next few seconds, he went from legendary dragon, to a 180cm man, with a wiry build, angular and handsome face, and a nice emerald green and gold bordered suit. Thankfully the glow was gone, but he still had somewhat messy short hair, and a pair of small antlers sticking out from his head behind his slightly pointed ears.

"Admit it! I am one handsome dragon." He grinned as everyone admired him.

I rubbed my chin a moment, then offered him my hat. He took a look at it, then snapped his fingers, making one of his own that matched his suit, complete with a phoenix feather sticking out of it. With a perfect flip, it plunked on his head. All he needed was a cane at this point.

"Don't leave anything behind." Issei said, "Xenovia-chan?"

"Got all my daggers back." She replied.

"Shinkage?" I asked.

"I have some pebbles in my feet, but all my parts are accounted for." He shook a paw with a rattle.

"Oh hey... There's two Red Dragon Emperors?" Yu-Long looked back and forth between Issei and Shinkage.

"We'll explain later." Issei accepted a tag from Saji, "Count to three before the next person goes."

With a little flash of light they started vanishing from the field in a nice orderly fashion. Finally, it was down to myself and Wukong, oh and Loaner, who seemed to be looking through all of the monkey god's pockets.

"You took the low path." He said after a moment.

"An animal is born, eats, finds a mate, procreates, then dies." I said, remembering my talk with Wiene, the best dragon girl ever, about 'choice'. "Sure, an animal may fight and kill for food or territory, but that falls under 'eat' and 'mate'."

"True, true." He nodded, taking a little puff from his pipe, what ever it was burning pleasantly fragrant.

"To kidnap a person? To take over their mind, and try and use them for some sort of blood sacrifice? To try and leave someone in some kind of dimensional void so they'd starve to death? To want to wipe all creatures other than ones like it out? Those were choices." I bowed my head then looked up again, "Honoured Elder, I hunt animals, but I kill monsters."

"Age before wisdom then." He smiled, then looked down, "Shoo, I can't teleport with you in my pocket."

As he vanished, Loaner stuck his head out from my coat collar, and rubbed his face against my cheek, "Thanks." I gave him a pat, counted to three, then activated the circle.

The cleanup was actually rather simple. Thanks to Sona inspiring efficiency in her peerage, and Serafall being professional when she needed to be, all the 'loose ends' were already squared away. Yasaka, the two guardians, and Kunou were already in a room and resting comfortably. Delly and Leonardo as well as Tsubasa the Rook were in another room as well. There had apparently been an attack here, but with everyone ready for trouble, as well as the extra supplies brought in by the Gremory labs, the only sign there had been any trouble at the hotel was being mopped up (literally) as we arrived.

Asia of course put herself to work as soon as she saw Tomoe with a smudge of blood (not hers) on her face. While everyone else sort of sat down on the first available chair and accepted refreshments from the already prepared carts in the room.

It reminded me of home.

"How are they doing?" I asked Ruruko, "Sure Tsubasa will be enough to guard Leonardo?"

"Delly-chan just wanted her to carry him. What ever spell she has on that poor boy is really strong." She giggled, "Such a cute sleeping face."

"Good." I was about to give her shoulder a pat, when I saw just how... dirty my hands were. "I'll be cleaning up for a few minutes."

"We'll be having a meeting upstairs again once things are tidied up here." She nodded, "Long enough for you to put that..." She motioned to the very long spear with the very faintly glowing end, "Someplace, before we turn the hotel cameras back on."

"Thank you." I looked around the room at the exhausted teenagers, getting a few thumbs up, a smile or two, a wave, "We did good today." I said.

"Yes Sensei, we did." Issei grinned, "I hope we can actually have a vacation tomorrow."

"Me too." I nodded, "Yu-Long-san, Sun Wukong-san." I bowed to them, "Please stick around. We'll be meeting soon."

"Oh! Can we order some food?" Yu-Long asked, "It was a rough trip here, and I was promised food for the trouble."

"I swear..." Wukong sighed, "I'll never hear the end of it if we don't feed him."

"We'll order room service in about ten minutes." Tomoe said, giving Asia a smile, "Then we can wake up the hotel staff from their little nap."

"Yes!" Yu-Long grinned.

"Shinkage?" I gave my coat a pat again, "Loaner?"

Loaner was currently getting a good rubdown by Serafall, but dutifully rolled back to his feet and ran over to me, hopping up on Shinkage's back.

I really wanted nothing more than to clean up, go to Kunou, return my temporary authority, and go to sleep. The air itself was making my skin itch, with the weird discordance messing with the dragon veins had caused, and the low buzzing in my ears sounded like there was a bee or something buzzing around my head.

But, things to do first.

"Loaner?" I looked down to the white fox, "I have a message for you to deliver."

His reply was to look up at me, sit properly (while still keeping perfect balance on Shinkage's back) and wag his fluffy white tail crazily.

"I need you to go to Heaven, and find Michael." I continued, thinking of the calm, almost sad looking arch angel, "He might be busy, but make sure you get his attention, and let him know I need to see him, urgently. Can you do that for me?"

More crazy tail wagging.

I reached out, and with the least bloody bit of my gauntlet, brushed the underside of his chin. While I did so, I pushed mana into him. I wasn't sure why I felt I needed to, but Akeno had told me that some of these things, related to me being a Kitsune, would feel instinctual. Loaner soaked up the attention, and my mana, fondly, then with a little jump into the air, he vanished with a 'pop'.

"Excitable." Shinkage commented, "I'm surprised you want to get rid of that so quickly."

We finished the trip to my room in silence. Only when I'd shut the door to my room did I answer, "It went through every protection I'd come up with, and the best metal I can make without more pure adamant. I want it off the field." I tapped the glowing head against the nearest wall, an there was that weird sort of fuzzy resistance before it actually touched the wall itself, "It's acting like Bikou's staff in regards to my curse."

"Fair." He sat patiently while I took off my gauntlets and did some quick cleaning, "I could try and break it. I still have those bone inserts in."

"That could go three ways." I ran my gauntlets under the tap, scrubbing them with a wire brush, then drying them with a fluffy Gremory Red hotel towel, "You won't be able to. You will be able to. Or you will be able to, and it explodes." I looked at the long spear now resting across my bed, "Besides, it won't be an act of charity."

"Be that as it may. It still seems unlike you to discard a potentially new research object."

Gauntlets dried and taken care of, I got out of my coat. Thanks to all the care I'd put into making the chemicals I'd put on it to protect it (and me) from workplace hazards, it hardly needed more than a shake to get the dirt off it. The boots were next, and they too were nice and clean. My body suit however was... a wreck. A puncture over my hip, dried blood all down that leg, bits where the armour had cut through it after a nasty impact, some acid had eaten through bits of it here and there, and I was over due to relieve some pressure.

"Lemme get those rocks out of your feet." I took one of the back plates of his body off, "And take a look inside..."

"When the mist separated us, I arrived inside a magic circle. By the time I'd figured out how to break the spell it had on me, I was already... very high up." He explained while his internal light let me look around to make sure nothing was still damaged, "The impact broke just about everything that wasn't a solid piece, but since I was already at full charge, the repair function pulled me together again."

He rolled over and shook his paws in the air, the rattle of dirt and pebbles clattering around with a series of clinks. "When I heard your heart still humming, I knew you'd be okay. But I was worried for a moment." I admitted, "Good job with the secret weapon."

"It worked as intended. And felt very satisfying." The rattling stopped, so I helped him wiggle around on his back to shake the dirt onto the floor.

"We'll do a proper strip down when we get back. And I'll change a couple of your back plates, install a parachute of some kind." I put his armour back in place, locking it down. "If Michael arrives before I get out of the shower..."

"I'll offer him food and drink." He nodded.

"Lady Kodori." Michael greeted me as soon as I stepped out of the bathroom. He was quite elegantly averting his eyes, since I had walked out in nothing but a towel, "I received your message."

He was wearing his full armour, including the massive shoulder guards and cape that went around the front of his shoulders and around his back. Loaner was biting the fabric about half way up the front edge of the cape, and was dangling there. Not aggressively, but more like a dog refusing to let go of a toy. The dutiful fox started wagging his tail happily as soon as he saw me.

"Loaner, thank you." He let go instantly and hopped up onto Michael's hand to accept a pat, "Just give me a moment Lord Michael. And please, it's no trouble, have a cookie."

"Very well." He replied as I grabbed my formal battle kimono and went back into the little bathroom.

"Told you so." Shinkage rumbled, "I think I understand the reluctance to sin. To avoid excess and the like. But you should also be thankful you can taste at all."

"That is true." Michael replied after a very quiet crunching of a cookie, "Though you seem to have no trouble with your new body, I suppose it isn't truly alive."

"Alive enough. Aren't living bodies simply shells for the soul? Mine just happens to be metal instead of flesh. I consume energy, heal, and sleep just as a normal body would."

I listened in on their mild philosophy with interest. While I'd done my best, without say, resorting to learning necromancy or the like, I was still worried Shinkage might be... lacking in some ways when it came to 'living'.

"Very true. Hm, your body may be more... permanent than one of flesh, but it would still require your care, so that it doesn't fail you."

"Mine, or that of my friend." He replied, "In a way not needing to eat isn't so bad. I never have to worry about my weight."

I stepped out of the bathroom, dressed for a formal occasion, or a formal duel, "Aside from it being too much for most wooden structures." I said.

"I am as much an outdoor dragon, as an indoor one." He nodded.

"I can guess why you've asked for my presence." Michael said, "Is my second assumption correct, in that you wish to return the Lance of Longinus to the custodianship of Heaven once more?"

"I certainly wasn't going to call you here so I could wave it in your face and say 'ha, who's got the scary lance now'." I smiled, "Though I admit, this isn't purely out of altruism."

"What would you ask in return for such a gift?" He didn't even blink at my outright admittance of wanting to 'sell' the lance to him.

I pointed at his armour, "I would like learn how to make armour that can resist holy weapons. I am returning the lance to you, in the hopes of never seeing it again, since it bested my very best work. And so I ask you, someone who might know someone to teach me how I could make sure something like it never does it again."

He looked thoughtful, nodded, then said, "I accept." He smiled, his normally sad looking eyes brightening, "I've a feeling you won't misuse this knowledge. And I will make sure the Lance of Longinus remains locked away."

"Thank you." I bowed, fist in palm, then got a cloth to make sure the bloody hand print on the spear was gone. Picking it up, I laid it over the backs of my hands, and offered it to him.

Wordlessly, he took it, carefully manoeuvred it (it was a three metre long spear in a room too short for it) so it was by his side, "Fair journey, Lady Kodori."

"Go with Grace, Lord Michael." And he vanished.

"Hm, Delly isn't here. I suppose I'll just have a nap."

"You sure? This is as much your victory as any of ours."

"I'll be fine. Don't forget to take the cheesecake with you to the meeting."

I gave his big metal head all kinds of pats, "Thanks partner."

I wheeled the silver cart of chilled cheesecake to the elevator, up two floors, and down to the end of the hall. Even through the discordance in the air, I could feel the presence of the most powerful Kitsune in Kyoto, and her daughter. It might have been because I was the 'custodian' of the land, or because I myself was a Kitsune and they were nearby, but it didn't matter. I had a promise to fulfill.

"Kunou." I tapped on the door. "It's me."

There was a quiet noise, then the sound of tiny shuffling feet. With a little grunt, then a heavy click, the door opened. Poor Kunou was only just tall enough to reach the lock on the door. She looked very tired, and her eyes were red with recently shed tears, but she smiled brightly all the same.

"Kodori-san." She greeted, stepping aside, "Please come in." She sniffed the air as I went by, "What's this?"

"Better than cookies." I replied, spotting the two Karasa-tengu, eyeing me and the cart cautiously, "Good job you two."

"It was our duty." They said together.

I followed Kunou down a very short hallway, just long enough to give who ever else was in the room some privacy from the front door, and there, laying on a massive super fluffy looking bed was Yasaka. She had an equally fluffy looking comforter pulled up to her chin, and looked to be sleeping peacefully. I could clearly make out the outlines of her tails under the blanket, and suddenly didn't feel so bad about how much grooming mine needed. She clearly had more volume than mine, as well as two more tails.

"Serafall-san dispelled what ever was done to mother's mind, and she's been sleeping soundly." Kunou said quietly, "Though, I'm surprised she can sleep through all this noise..." She added with a pout, "I had no idea what it would feel like..."

"Me either." I knelt in front of her, bringing me to eye level with her, "Kunou, how would you declare the mission to rescue your mother?" I took off my silk gloves, and offered my hand to her, palm up as if holding something small in the cup of my hand.

She smiled and took my hand, placing hers over it, "I would declare it a success." She replied, a weird tingling feeling sweeping itself through my body, making the hair on my tails bristle slightly, like someone was brushing them backwards.

"Then I return the authority of the land to you." I raised my hand and bowed my head, touching my forehead to the back of her hand. As soon as the tingling sensation faded, I let go of her hand, but instead of backing away, she took a step forward and hugged my head tightly. I wrapped my arms around her back, "You were very brave. Thank you for trusting me, and the others from Kuoh."

We spent a moment like that, then she let me go and stepped back, "I wish to be here when she wakes up." She started, scrubbing her kimono sleeve over her eyes.

"I'll let them know." I nodded, getting to my feet again, "I just have one thing to do before that then." I went to the hotel room's tiny kitchen and brought out four plates. I put five slices of cheesecake onto four plates. "For you." I handed a slice each to the guardians, "And you." Of course the double slice went to Kunou, "So you don't secretly eat your mother's share."

She tried really hard to look innocent, but nodded, "I may also have eaten all your cookies before getting home that day..."

"The youkai we enlisted to help with the dragon veins ate all the cookies you gave us." One of the guardians said.

"I'll make more tonight or tomorrow." I nodded, "Have the front desk call Issei's room if you need us." I gave Kunou's ears one last pat, then left for my next destination.

I followed my inner sense towards Delly. Since I hadn't gotten a call yet to meet, I figured I'd stop there next. Tapping on the door, I announced myself, "Tsubasa? It's Kodori."

A moment later, the athletic rook opened the door, "Hey Sensei." She said quietly, "It's kind of weird in here, but come in. Oh is that more..." She motioned a hand at the cart, and was instantly visited by a tail.

"You all had your share already." I said quietly, leaving the cart at the door. I followed her to the main section of the room, "Oh..." Yes, it WAS weird in here.

The setup was much the same. Giant fluffy bed, big fluffy blankets, small kitchen etc etc. But instead of a kitsune under the blankets, there was Leonardo. Instead of that sleepy blank look on his face, he looked like he was truly sleeping. But that wasn't the weird part.

Delly, who was sitting on a pillow that had been put on the end table, was glowing faintly. She hadn't been pulling mana from me, so this was entirely her own effect. She was looking not at Leonardo, but at a woman who was sitting on the bed. She had the same brown skin as Leonardo, long glossy black hair, and a red robe/dress common to India. The curves of her face were soft, though she didn't have eyes a nose or mouth. Her hands, playing gently with Leonardo's white hair, were slender, but a little too long of finger. And while she had a lap, she didn't have anything below the knees. She looked like she had risen out of the bed itself, and stopped part way.

"Delly?" I asked quietly.

"Hey boss." She whispered, "Want the short version?"

"Yeah."

"I found him on the top floor of the palace. Just standing there with a spotlight behind him. The light, and him, had the same kind of 'please ignore me' spell on them that I've been using."

"Casting a massive shadow of him all over the field without actually realizing it." I nodded.

"Well, I tried to put him to sleep, but he already was. Who ever it was that had a hold on his mind basically had him sleeping with his eyes open, perfect for hypnotic suggestion. So, I tossed an instant coffee pill into him, then put him to sleep. Then I stuck an emergency teleport tag to him from Saji, and we left the field."

"And her?" I motioned to the faceless lady.

"The best way to keep a person under a sleep spell, is to make their dreams as comfortable as possible. Once Tsubasa got him into bed, I did a little poking about in his mind for a happy memory. Then the bed under him sprouted this lady here... Just appeared out of his shadow like those monsters."

"Surprised me." Tsubasa nodded, "But well... even without a face you can tell how much this person loved him."

"So, I'm really just keeping watch. They really messed with his head Boss... If you want a metaphor, she," Delly motioned to the faceless mother figure, "Was at the end of a dark hallway, around the corner, through an invisible locked door and tucked away in a little box."

"Good work." I said, "Until Azazel gets around to visiting, just keep him happy. If you think there is something you can do to untangle his mind, you know, maybe see if you can find his personality in there someplace, go ahead."

"I'm not touching any of the dirty work in there until he's in ether total darkness, or in a shadowless room." Delly shook her head.

"We'll think of something." I nodded, feeling my phone hum inside one of my sleeves, "Hmm, seems like it's time to meet?" I checked, "Anything you want to share before I go?" I asked Tsubasa.

She shook her head, "Delly-chan has already told me a bunch of it, and the others will fill you in on the rest. Ruruka or Tomoe will come by later to give me the short version later."

"Thank you." I nodded.

As I wheeled the cart towards the elevator, I took out my phone and noticed I had two messages. The first was Issei, and it read simply 'Meeting time'.

The next was a picture, backlit by a small fire, showing the dancing figure of Akeno in her Miko robes, and my two bronze foxes. The text itself was from Rias, and it said, 'Wishing you good fortune'.

Fox2: I'll remind Issei to call you soon. (Thumbs up emoji)

Then to Akeno.

Fox2: Our fortune was indeed good. (Smile, hug and four leaf clover emoji). Best Miko ever.

Rias and Akeno replied a moment later with the exact same message, 'We look forward to your safe return'.

"All settled in?" Azazel asked after everyone had accepted a plate of cheesecake (including Yu-Long and Wukong).

For the most part, everyone looked like they'd showered and changed clothes. There was still an obvious level of exhaustion in the room, but there was that hint of 'successful return' in the air, oh so familiar from back home. That 'high spirits wish I was sleeping' look.

"I'll start with what Delly told me." I said, briefly summing up what had led to Leonardo's capture.

"That explains a few things." Saji frowned, "But at least it was handled. I was getting tired holding off those monsters."

"What even was that?" I asked, "It looked like you were possessed."

"I kind of am? More like a working relationship, like Issei." Saji gave Issei a tap on the shoulder, "We've started comparing notes on how to deal with our mental roommates."

Issei nodded, giving Saji a similar shoulder tap, "With him handling the monsters, we could all focus on the heroes."

"I wouldn't have been able to handle Georg as well as I did if I had anything else to worry about." Rossweisse said, "I was just barely able to hold my ground as it was. And even when Shinkage came to help, all I could do was catch my breath."

"How'd you do against Heracles?" I asked Issei, "He was a wall ornament for a little while there."

"He was really tough!" Issei exclaimed, "And he had some kind of sacred gear that made him even tougher. But he didn't have a clue how to take a fall. I managed to get him into that arm hold you showed me," He rubbed his shoulder, probably remembering that classroom trauma, "then used my wings and thrusters to stuff him into that wall."

"Irina?" I asked, "You looked like you were having trouble."

"I'll admit it." She said with a sigh, "Jeanne wasn't as fast, or strong, or even skilled at the basic levels as I. But she has a similar ability to Kiba."

"Another cheaty face sword maker?" I asked, "That dragon?"

"Yeah! She made it out of swords! Thousands of them! They were all just mildly holy, but..." She sighed, "No excuses, I wasn't able to handle her. Once Delly-chan and Shinkage cleared the monsters, and Saji-kun started helping me, it got better, but..."

"That's why we work together." I said, "Kiba? Xenovia?"

"Siegfried is an astounding swordsman." Kiba said plainly, "And even as a human, his battle sense and strength are exceptional."

"Those extra arms... You would think they would just tangle on themselves, but they all worked in perfect unison. Those swords of his... All legendary objects! That didn't help at all." Xenovia added.

"I tried to help once Asia got me back on my feet." Issei rubbed his chest, "But about all I was good for was a shield."

"No shame at all in that." I said, "One of my usual party, Chigusa." I made a 'this high' motion with my hand, a little taller than Koneko, "She might not look like much, but she makes all the difference when she has a shield in her hands next to our fighting forwards."

"Yeah Issei, don't kick yourself over it." Xenovia grinned, "You were a reliable meat shield."

"Urg, when you say it like that..."

"With you there, we actually started to gain a little ground I think." Kiba said.

"Azazel?" I looked over to him.

He put down his plate, "Not much to say. I tried to get some help there, but you guys managed to clean up faster than expected." He motioned to Yu-Long and Wukong, who were making very polite, but full use of the room service cart that had been brought up before I arrived, "We'll be ready to start helping Yasaka put the ley lines back in place as soon as she wakes up, and I've already requested construction of a room for Leonardo. LED tech is progressing really well now. Much more efficient than even basic light magic."

"Be careful with him." I cautioned, "Delly says they really scrambled his mind, waking nightmare type stuff."

"If we need an expert, I'll ask if I can commission some of her time from you then." He nodded.

"Sure." I looked to Serafall, "Lady S... what are you two watching?" She had her face down, watching the screen of Maki's smartphone, "You didn't..."

Maki glanced up at me with a smile, then pressed one of the buttons on the side of the phone, "Sparkle... Sparkle... Kaboom!"

She did...

"Oh that's SO cool!" Serafall gushed, "Le Fey really IS a fan!" She looked up at me, "And you did it perfectly! On your first try!"

While holding my face and sighing, I replied, "I'm going to tickle you Maki. I am."

Maki didn't stop smiling, "I've already got it on cloud save. It's forever on the internet now." She grinned, letting Serafall hold the phone, "When everything kicked off, I ran back into the back wall of the palace walls, where the stairs were. I relocated a couple times, mostly to try and get a bead on someone to shoot them..." She shook her head, "But every time I managed to get my eyes down the barrel, something would change. More monsters, smoke, magic blasts..."

"You managed anyhow." I nodded, "Thank you for that."

"Well, when I saw you and Cao Cao take to the sky, you were suddenly the only two in a one on one. Once he grounded you though, you were both moving too fast. But then he took out that potion."

"That shot was perfect." I gave her a thumbs up.

"I was aiming for his head. He brought the bottle up just as I fired."

"Still got him." I nodded, "What were you recording for anyhow?"

"I asked her." Azazel said, "We might face them again, and honestly, they'd been pretty good at hiding their abilities until this point."

"The sacrifices we make." I sighed, "Lady Serafall?"

"Well, nothing really exceptional happened... They tried to get some of those nasty monsters through our wards, but they just burned up. With me here, they were extra sparkly." She smiled with a V sign over one eye, "But we made extra sure nothing got through, and that the guests were comfortable." She frowned, all the joy leaving her face, "Yasaka was a mess when she got here though."

The 'away' team all leaned forward a little, "How so?"

"She wasn't harmed physically. But she was basically rabid when she woke up. You might have stopped her from transforming, but she was still in a berserk state when we tried to wake her up." Serafall shook her head, "I did what I could, but there might be other complications. Hopefully being with her daughter will set things right again."

"She was sleeping peacefully when I went to visit." I nodded, "Lets hope its just the left overs from being forced to transform." I was looking forward to talking to her... you know, without all the problems. "Yu-Long-san? Sun-Wukong-san? Your thoughts? Plans? Aside from dinner apparently?"

Still dressed in that fashionable emerald green suit, Yu-Long put his plate down and looked at Wukong hopefully. The elder monkey god looked back, sighed, then said, "Since we're here, we'll stay for a few days. I was supposed to be around in the mortal realm for a certain meeting soon anyhow." He gave a meaningful look to Azazel, "Unless you've already messed things up?"

"Hardly. Even as polite and formal as they are, they're easy to get along with." He grinned, "Don't worry about the bill if you want to stay here."

"Anything else?" I asked.

"What did you do with Longinus?" Azazel asked.

"Traded it to Micheal for a tutorial on how to make holy resistant materials." I shrugged, "You cheat by making swords on demand." I pointed to Kiba, "I cheat by taking things that can break my armour out of enemy hands. Oh, then learning how I can make things that resist it. Still have to work on better lightsabre defence..."

Kiba shrugged while others laughed. Azazel calmed the room down a bit, "Right right, get some sleep then. I'm sure all those people who follow the rules won't let you sleep in at all. Last day of the trip and all that, right?"

"As much as I want to sleep in..." Rossweisse sighed, "Yeah, going to be an early morning."

I followed the rest of them out of the room, save Issei who's room it actually was, and after a little dividing of bodies, I just happened to be in the same elevator as Azazel and our two guests from the Celestial Heavens.

"Are you going to come back with the rest of them?" Azazel asked, "And why the fancy dress?"

"I didn't know if Yasaka-sama would be awake. And it's still a combat ready outfit." I considered a moment, "And no, I'm going to get a vacation. Even if I have to walk back to Kuoh."

"Wouldn't hear of it." Azazel said, the four of us stepping out of the elevator, "Want me to arrange for Shinkage's trip back then?"

"I'll ask and let you know in the morning. He's a free being, not going to decide when his vacation is over for him." We all chuckled.

"Sounds good. Sun Wukong, Yu-Long? If you'll come with me, I'll get you both to a room." Azazel turned to the other two, "This place has almost everything you could want. The... after dark services however are just down the street."

"After dark?" Yu-Long asked.

"Don't corrupt the dragon." Wukong sighed, "Kodori-san, would you be interested in a lesson, at a later time?"

Yu-Long paused his youthful 'looking at everything like a tourist' and looked down at Wukong, "Really? I ask all the time, and you're the one asking her?" He crossed his arms and pouted, "Not fair."

I gave Wukong a fist in palm bow, "When I am more balanced, I would be honoured to accept a lesson." He nodded sagely, and I continued with, "Right now, the air sounds like a hundred flickering light bulbs."

"We just need Yasaka, or her daughter, to give us permission to start the restoration. If we're lucky, it might be just a minor buzz by noon tomorrow." Azazel assured.

"Tomorrow then." We all said.

After a brief visit to my room for some personal maintenance... (I was really looking forward to not having to use that little pump when I got back to my family). I told Shinkage I'd be with Yasaka and Kunou. Aside from rolling over on the hotel supplied 'XXXL Doggo bed' and reminding me to get some sleep (because he was still honour bound to tell people when I didn't sleep), he said to pass on his well wishes for Yasaka's recovery, and that he'd be happy sticking with me for another day or two of actual vacation.

When I arrived at Kunou's room, one of the guardians opened the door instead, nodding instead of a verbal greeting, and motioning me to be quiet as well. Tomoe was sitting guard now instead of Tsubasa, and she gave me a silent but cheerful wave at my appearance.

"Go sleep." I whispered after leaning down next to her, "I'll keep watch."

"You sure?" She asked when I leaned my head (and ear) down for her, "You look almost as tired as they do."

Kunou was sitting in a chair by Yasaka, with her upper body flopped over the bed one hand holding the end of a tail that had escaped from under the confines of the blanket. And while yes, she was drooling ever so slightly as she snored, it looked uncomfortable.

I nodded to Tomoe, and she gave me a pat on the shoulder before standing up and leaving, giving a wave to the two Guardians before closing the door behind her. I looked the mother and daughter, considered a moment, then picked Kunou up and gently placed her on the bed next to Yasaka, careful to place her in the biggest gap between the tails that had fanned out under the blanket (yes they made great pillows, but they still got numb if you leaned on them too much). As quietly as I could, I went through the closets and found the spare blankets, put one over Kunou, and then wrapped myself in one sitting in Tomoe's chair.

"We'll take shifts." The Karasa-Tengu on my right said, "Thank you, Kodori-sama." Said the one on the left.

I nodded to them both, and fell asleep watching the mother and daughter.

September 29

I woke to the feeling of my phone vibrating against my elbow. The light coming in through the windows told me I'd actually slept in a little, so it was probably one of the students.

MagicHand: Sensei, sorry to bother you, but would you happen to know a good gift for an angel?

I squinted at my phone, thought about closing it and going back to sleep, but what kind of big sister would I be if I did that?

Fox2: A certain sword swinging girl we know?

MagicHand: Yeah.

Fox2: Not jewellery. Don't want a misunderstanding. Depending on how close you are, a date might go well. If not, something hand made. Or practical. I could teach you how to knit. I've heard that it gets cold while flying.

There was a long pause, then...

MagicHand: I think I have a good idea now. Could you teach me how to knit before... wow... can't even type that without it hurting. That day in December.

Fox2: Deal.

MagicHand: We're about to head out too. Staying in?

Fox2: Yeah.

MagicHand: I'll let the others know. I mean... They probably already guessed.

Fox2: I'll send a message when something changes. Oh, take more pictures for the Boss. She misses you.

MagicHand: I'm already working with Shyguy. He's helping store them. Stuff for the yearbook too.

I sent one last thumbs up emoji, then closed my phone, looking over at the still sleeping Kitsune on the bed. Loaner had taken up a spot on it too while I'd been sleeping, curling himself into a little ball between a couple of Yasaka's tails. I pulled my phone out again and took a picture. As I was putting the phone away, the two Guardians turned to give me a look. I shrugged at them.

"Why..." I heard from the bed, the voice sounding hungover, "Why does the air hurt my ears? What... where?"

"Be at ease, Yasaka-sama." One of the guardians said quietly, "You are no longer captive, though some drastic measures were taken to make it so."

"Kunou-sama is by your side." The other said, "She enlisted the help of the ones from Kuoh, including the one known as Kodori." I was given a very subtle look, telling me it was my turn.

"Yasaka-sama." I started, standing up, shedding the blanket I'd been using, and ignoring the stiffness of sleeping in a chair, "It is a pleasure to finally meet you."

Yasaka very carefully moved around on the bed, sitting up while still keeping Kunou undisturbed at her side. As she looked at me, I got to one knee and bowed my head, my hands forward fist in palm.

NOTES!

Unless she is executed by Yasaka, Kodori is going to get a vacation gosh darnit.

And yes, Irina's birthday IS the 29 of September. Wiki says so.