{Tara's general POV}

Rias was great! I'm pretty sure she knew the house was warded, but she still came over to hang out. Having another person to weeb out and just connect with was awesome. We hung out almost daily, and she even introduced Martha to a younger version of herself. I swear, they took one look at each other and decided they'd found their other halves, despite Martha and I being literal twins. They were then joined at the hip ever since. She even let Sona into her library a few months after they met, and I swore Rias and I heard their cackling in our nightmares.

We came to a joint understanding that if those two went to the library, we were leaving. No ifs and or buts, we were getting the fuck out. Even mom agreed, and would chaperone us to wherever we decided to go. Our house was usually where we hung out, but when Rias decided to show me her house, I think a part of me, probably my dragon part, roared in delight.

It was a 3 story house, kind of like ours, but that was where it ended. As soon as I stepped inside, I practically smelled the I didn't know how I knew it was gold I was smelling, but I just blamed it on dragon instincts.

I didn't know where it was, I just knew there was gold somewhere in the house. Though, that wasn't the only thing I smelled. I could smell something that smelled like nature... And cat.

Later on, I found out what the smell was coming from.

{Tara's POV}

Humming one of those 'stick in your head' songs, I didn't know what it was, just that the tune hadn't left my mind, and I was annoying Martha by mentally humming it at her, I made my way to Rias' house. We had days where we went over to each others houses, just to hang out, and today was my turn to head over to hers. I had an offering of cake, since this was apparently a tradition we were starting, one I totally loved and was happy to officiate.

Making it to Rias' house, I kept myself from kicking the doors open, and knocked like a normal person. It didn't take long for the doors to open. "Ah, hello Tara-chan.~ Rias-chan said you'd be by, just not when."

I smiled at the miko, and walked in. "Eh, we didn't really set a time for this. Sooo... Sorry not sorry?"

Akeno laughed, closed the door, and started walking with me. "It's fine. Though, maybe call ahead sometimes? Our tutors might not like you spontaneously appearing."

I nodded at that, since it made sense. (Plus, I'm not sure about where I stand with adult Devils.) While we were friends with Rias/Sona, and their Peerage's, Martha and I had no idea what they meant to the Devils. We knew they were High Class Devils, since those were the only ones that had Peerages, which either meant they were super strong, or related to a Pillar Clan... Or both, but neither of us thought it was both, and were both leaning into the Pillar Clan idea.

It was made easier since Rias' last name was literally 'Gremory' and Martha used Google to check, because it could be/was that easy, and we got our answer. For the fuck of it, she also looked up 'Shitori' and didn't get a hit... But after looking at it for a bit, and at the names of the other Pillars, she ended up pegging 'Souna' as a Sitri. ('Just ignore the h and the o, and you get your answer.' Well excuse me if I don't know all the demons of the Ars Goetia by name.) Really, she made it sound easier then it was, and did so sounding far more smug then I liked.

Though, there was still the chance that the Ars Goetia was a pile of shit, so we kept that in mind, just in case.

Anyway, Akeno and I talked for a bit, and we were just passing the kitchen, when my nose picked up the scent of cat. I'd smelled it before, but I hadn't met the source. I knew there were 4 people in Rias' Peerage, I'd strained my hearing when Rias whispered or made slips, and heard her call Akeno her Queen, Kiba her Knight, and a 'Koneko' as her Rook, but I hadn't met the latter. Though, it looks like that's changing.

Akeno noticed me stall at the kitchen, and was probably going to say something, but I'd already walked in.

When I entered the kitchen, I instinctively looked towards the source of the scent, and came face to face with a small figure in a fuzzy pure white onesie. Said figure stopped rummaging through the cupboard, and met my gaze, her amber eyes locking onto my blue ones, and we both blinked. (Adorable.)

{General narration}

The little white haired child had stirred something in me, something that I knew Martha understood, but refused to confirm until I figured it out. It was interesting looking back and remembering how I just put my hand on her head, and gave her scratches. I didn't know what I was doing, Akeno, and Rias, when she found us, didn't know what I was doing, and the little cat girl didn't know why I was doing it, just that she enjoyed it. I eventually sat on the ground, pulled her into me, and she melted into my lap as I scratched her and fed her cake. It was a strange start to our relationship, but it always made me happy.

Rias just looked at us, took a picture when I wasn't looking, and sent it into the group chat we were all a part of. I felt Martha's amusement across the link, and she even called me a lolicon. Jokes on her, technically were all lolis! She sent back her annoyance when I said that, but I was right!

After my impromptu meeting with the cat girl, who hadn't shown me her cat features, I spent some time around the weird guy, Kiba. There was a reason I called him 'the weird guy', since he asked me for a spar as soon as he laid his eyes on me. I beat his ass in a minute flat, but he would keep coming back for more...

Maybe it was a kink? I didn't know, didn't care. If he kept coming I'd keep knocking him down.

The real interesting meeting was between Irina and Rias.

I called Irina one day, and Rias was on my bed reading an issue of Ranma 1/2, and the moment Irina heard Rias, I thought I saw electricity shoot out of my phone aimed at her.

They somehow got into a 'Superior younger sister' war, and I just zoned out due to how dumb it sounded. But hey, Irina was 9 at that point so she could still afford to be a little brat.

{Tara's POV}

Hearing the call get picked up, I preemptively grinned. "Nee-chan!" That just made my grin grow, Irina just had a 'you're gonna smile' voice.

I didn't notice Rias perk up, more focused on my phone. "Heyo little sister of mine. How ya doooin?"

Irina huffed, I could picture her beaming a smile at me. She loved the fact I called her 'little sister', and was one of the things that would always make her perk up. "So far I'm fine, but dad's being annoying."

Now that interested me. "What's up with old man Toji?"

"That's the thing, he won't tell me! He just looks at me for a few seconds, looks like he bit an onion, then goes to do something else. It's so weeeird." Huh, that was interesting. "Mom knows what it is, but she won't tell me either! Whenever I ask, they just go 'When you're older sweetie', 'Not yet sweetie', like, ugh! I don't get it!" I had no idea what that was about.

Thinking about it, I was going to ask if anything else was going on, maybe get some context clues, but Rias seemed to have had run out of patience. "Hey, Tara-nee, who's that?"

I swear, a red fucking exclamation mark appeared over my phone, like a Pokemon Trainer coming at me for a fight. Either Anime Logic decided to assert itself, or I had way too many Lightning Beads. "'Tara-nee?!' Nee-chan, are you replacing me?!" Uh oh, I felt an implosion ready to start.

Damage control! "I'm not replacing you Irina. I just adopted Rias...-"

"Huh?!" I ignored that reaction, and the bulging eyes that came with it.

"After you left. So really, she's your sister too." I was spewing bullshit, but to be fair, Irina was a child.

I could tell Rias was thinking 'it doesn't work like that' or something along those lines, while Irina was silent for a bit. "... I'm still the little sister though... Right?" I blinked at that, because huh?

Rias decided to use my moment of confusion to respond. "Mine! I'm THE little sister!"

Irina's response was swift. "Nuh uh! I am!"

"No, me!"

"Me!"

Knowing what was going to happen, I sent a silent prayer to the saints, and braced myself for a childish fight.

It took a bit, but Irina came out of the 'fight' smelling like roses, and probably a whole lot happier then when we started talking.

Rias on the other hand? I had to console her with cake, and a promise of taking her with me the next time I went manga hunting.

Our days seemed to fly by, and then came the day Rias, Akeno, Sona, Tsubaki and Momo transferred into the last year of Kuoh's junior high.

Martha, Kiba and I saw them off, and watched as they walked in with mom leading the way. They had a good day and eventually that was added to our routine. At that point kuoh was still an all girls school, that only changed before we were all going to enter the high school division. And that wasn't the only thing that changed. Mom decided it was better to ask for forgiveness then permission. Oh we let her have it that day!

{Illiya Sakura's POV.}

It was going to be today. Today would be the day I did something that might end up getting my little angels angry at me. The kids had freely let us in on their origins after my girls 12th birthdays. None of us were surprised, my girls knew the day they met that Rias and her friends weren't human. Sure, they never told them they knew, but they would imply it. I was pretty sure Sona knew, but didn't tell Rias and her gr...- Peerage. That was what they were. She didn't tell them, and the look of disappointment on Rias' face was adorable. Akeno drank that in, and we teased Rias about it whenever we could. But now, I came to a decision. They were all going to be entering Kuoh's high school division in a year, and I'd finally made up my mind. I requested for a teacher to call Rias to my office after my P.E class was done for the day, and I waited.

This was going to be one of the most important decisions I'd make in my life. Almost as important as choosing to go to term with my little angels despite how sick I was. It was nerve wracking, Eventually, Rias walked in to my office, and I had to admit she was going to be a stunning young woman when she was fully grown.

But there was something else that deserved my full attention, so I cleared my mind, and steadied myself. "Hi dear, can you sit for me? I want to talk about something." Rias looked a little unsure, probably why this couldn't wait for when we were home, and wasn't that a thought? Rias was pretty much my daughter, even looked like it too! (Tara has pretty much adopted her as a sister as well, and Martha doesn't even mind, so that's another point.) That thought aside, she sat down in the chair in front of my desk and waited for me to talk.

I already knew what I was going to say, and I wasn't about to back out now, so before I could start doubting myself, I spoke. "After you all told us about being Devils, Martha has been grilling Sona for all she could... And she told me something about it a while ago, but I've only just decided to follow through on it. Those Evil Pieces, the ability to turn a normal person into a Devil. When I first heard about it... I knew. That's what I needed. The lifespan to match my girls and the abilities that would come with it. But hearing about being bound to someone until I was strong enough? That's the only thing that gave me pause. I had to think. 'Did I want that?' And I decided to wait. To learn what kind of people you were, and see if you were people I could really commit myself too. So I did. I waited. I watched. And I got to know you all. for 4 years, I've watched as you and all of your friends interacted with each other and with my girls. I'm proud to say that you, Rias Gremory are like a daughter to me. I've seen how Tara and Martha interact with you.

Tara sees you as I do. A younger sister to protect, family, and someone that's part of her hoard." I recognized I was giving away a hint there, the girls had a 'I'll tell you if you guess it' thing going on, and neither Rias nor Sona had guessed what my girls were. That clue could help, but she might end up forgetting about it after I was done. Their theories were that both girls had a Sacred Gear, Tara's must've been some kind of draconic one, while Martha had a sub-species of Twilight Healing. "Martha sees you as family too, but she leans more towards Sona, but we all know that." Rias smiled at that, and I kept going. 'I've seen how you treat Akeno, Kiba and little Koneko. I haven't met Gasper yet, but I can tell you care for him as much as you care for your other peerage members." Gasper was an interesting topic. He'd apparently been 'recruited' a year ago, but didn't have enough control over his Sacred Gear to freely roam the streets. Martha was helping along, but we weren't sure how long it'd take. "And I know you. I know the caring Rias, the Rias I would adopt in a heartbeat if I could. And I finally came to my decision. So I'm asking this of you, Rias Gremory, will you allow me to stand by you and support you and the rest of our family? Will you make me your Rook?"

When I first started speaking, she was still confused. When I got to the point where I told her I was contemplating this? Her eyes widened and I saw it click into place for her. She knew what I was asking before I was even finished. But she kept listening. She soaked in the words coming from my mouth and just waited. When I got to the part I told her how I and my little angels saw her? She started to tear up, and I could tell it was taking all her strength to not cry. But by the end of it? She was freely crying as a red Rook materialized above her palm. I smiled as I got up and walked over to her. I pulled her into a hug and we stayed like that for a bit. I nabbed a few tissues from the box on my desk, and gave them to her. She wiped her eyes and I watched as the Rook piece went into my chest.

That was it. I didn't feel any different, but Martha told me it was apparently a process when the person was still alive. It would be a bit, but I'd eventually be able to play on my girls' field.

But now I'm tired. (Can't wait to get home and... Oh wait... ) It hit me like a ton of bricks. "Oh shit..." Rias was surprised at my sudden outburst but I didn't mind that. I had an issue on my hands... Who would figure it out first? Martha, because of her Wards reading me as a devil, or Tara from her nose telling her? "I am so fucked." At that point, Rias put together why I was freaking out. I thought I'd have more time then this!

"You didn't tell them!?" Her shriek resounded through my office, and I didn't bother scolding her about her tone.

"Of course I didn't! Martha would skin me alive and put me back together again! And if I told Tara, then Martha would know a second later! That girl can't keep secrets from her!" Now me and Rias were just freaking out in my office. Then I conked out.

{Tara's general POV}

Oh boy, wasn't that a day? Rias called me out of nowhere, and was freaking out after reincarnating my mother. She was rambling about how she didn't know that our mom kept it from us and was going on and on, but I zoned out after she said 'Mom's unconscious' and just lightning coated myself and ran all the way to Kuoh academy. It didn't hit me that Rias called her 'mom', until a while later.

I still wasn't able to do the shit Laxus did and turn into lightning, but I'd figure it out eventually. When I told my sister, over our link, what Rias told me, she teleported to the academy, because she was a cheating cheater that cheats, and learned it from a book Sona gave her, at the same time as I got there. Which still annoys me, because I can't teleport for shit yet, and turning into lightning is the closest I've gotten to it. Anyway, we both rushed towards our mom as soon as we could.

When we got to her office, we saw a panicking Rias, who was fussing over mom. Martha tried to diagnose her, but she was in the process of turning into a Devil, and Martha had never studied someone in that transition period. So it was just up to our mom.

That had to have been the most tense four hours of either of our lives. But when she woke up, all fine and dandy acting like nothing was wrong? We crashed into her like meteors. We fussed over her, made sure she was ok, and then I let Martha at her. And damn was Martha pissed! She didn't want to overdo it, but she still tossed a fuck ton of trees at mom now that she could get away with it. Seeing it from the outside in was amusing as hell though. That was also when we revealed what I was, I was pretty sure Koneko knew but just didn't share, and how strong we really were to both peerages.

That was fun.

{Tara's POV.}

"Illiya Kintara Sakura, we are going to the training grounds and that is final." Hearing Martha talk in her 'mom' tone, as well as use her full name, was like a death knell for our mom, and was amusing to be on the other side of.

Mom went to her knees, and latched onto Martha's legs, wailing comically as she did. "Noooo, honey please! We can talk about this!" Might've been the wrong thing to say there.

Martha narrowed her eyes at our mom, which just made mom shiver. "Oh? NOW you want to talk about it!? That won't work mother! You're in for it as soon as we get there!"

Me, Rias' and Sona's peerages, which Martha had been with the latter, while the former must've instinctively known they gained a new member, were just watching as my mother was clinging onto my sisters leg like a baby koala as said sister started marching out of the building. Now normally, the sight of a 6ft/2m tall woman clinging onto the leg of a 5'4/1 point something meter tall teenager would be both strange and hilarious, but considering our mother gave us the scare of our new lives, all I could feel was pity. Though, pity could take a backseat for a moment, since I couldn't help but take a shot at her. "Now you'll feel a fraction of my pain, mom."

Mom turned to 'glare' at me and leaned further into Martha. "Traitoooooor!" I just snorted at that.

Meanwhile the others were just following us as we were walking towards the training grounds. They knew we had one, we just never brought them there. But if mom was fine with being reincarnated by Rias, then it was fine for them to know. (Even if they haven't figured out what we are.) They were close, we all knew that. Martha hadn't denied being human, and since they never explicitly asked ME if I was human, they didn't know I wasn't. Cause really, if our mom was human, which she isn't anymore, and Martha is human, then that means I had to be human too, right? (It'll be hilarious to see their faces when I transform.) I was so looking forward to that.

Anyway, it didn't take long for us to get there, and when we did, I just sat down at the stump, and the rest of them followed me.

Martha had to pry our mom off her, and practically threw her away from her. I could feel her anger simmering in the back of our link, but what I was feeling was more of a protective annoyance. She WAS mad at the whole worrying that 'our mother is now technically a slave and also a Devil now' thing, but she was mostly annoyed that the woman did it without telling us.

Mom just got up, and looked at me for help, even trying to give me puppy dog eyes, but I rolled my own eyes at her. "Don't look at me, we'll be even after this. It's your turn to break some bones!" The others just looked at me in confusion, aside from Koneko. She was on my back, uncaring about the world around her as I ran my fingers through her hair. Her low purr was like a low setting vibrating chair at those fancy spa places.

"Are they going to be ok? Should I do anything?" Rias was a nervous wreck. She was worried, sure, but I just reassured her and told them all to just enjoy the show. Mom, who sighed and understood she wasn't getting out of this, and Martha, stared at each other, and were only waiting for a signal. No one else looked like they were going to do it, so I stepped up, pried Koneko off my back, and walked closer to them. I did say it'd be a show, so it was up to me to kick it off.

Mom and Martha noticed me coming closer, and nodded when they realized what I was doing. "On the clap of thunder, you'll start! Ready?" They nodded, I and raised my head, as my throat gave off a golden glow. I wasn't going for a verbal one, but this was still quite a bit of magic being used, which meant the peerages of Devils were suddenly very focused on me. When it was ready, I opened my mouth, and fired. 'Lightning dragon's ROAR!'

My roar filled the sky, and the clap of thunder started the match. They started off using only martial arts, and they were actually even. They were both technique fighters, and with moms flexibility, Martha had a hard time actually hitting her, even when the woman moved a bit sluggishly some moments, or over extended because she suddenly moved faster then she expected. That was probably because of her not being used to her new body, which made it easier for Martha in some aspects, and harder in others, considering there was now an element of randomness in the fight.

But when the magic started coming out, mom was in trouble. Sure, she had magic NOW, but before, she was absolute SHIT with human style magic. She had no aptitude to it whatsoever. So understandably, she opted for avoiding any and everything thrown at her, which she was doing good at. But when Martha had started using roots from all the trees around us against mom, she was having a hard time not getting entangled or outright stabbed when the bardiche came out. Though, when mom avoided a lightning coated slash, she brought out her wings. Then the fighting stopped for a bit as everyone just blinked. We've seen Devil wings, and my family has seen my dragon wings, but mom's were a mix of both. They had the scales and some membrane of my wings, but the general structure and color of Devil wings. They ended up calling a ceasefire, and I went over to look at the new appendages.

I ran a finger across mom's wing and just felt it. They felt sleek, but firm. So they would probably be fine if they were used to defend, which wasn't something Devil's could do with their wings. Devil wings were fragile, and didn't exactly do much for them aside from letting them fly. Then I noticed a few other things, such as some of her cuts and bruises were healing faster then they should be, what looked like the start of scales forming on her forearms and legs, and even a weird sense of familiarity around her. I didn't know what it was, but when I tried to touch her wings again, there was a spark of blue lightning that jumped onto my finger. I just blinked at it and reflexively ate it... Which sounds a little bad when you think my first reaction to something was to eat it. (And without context, that'd be a good point.)

But that's how I got it. It was close to my lightning, not the color of even intensity, but in the essence behind it. It felt draconic, but it was mom's now. We all just stared at that point.

Mom and Martha, because of what we just figured out, Martha had figured it out when I did, mom probably looked at her wings and 'scales', and then went from there, and the others because I just ate some blue lightning. "Ok, I've been trying to keep calm, but what the fuck is going on!?" Ah. Sona losing her composure was fun in almost any circumstance, so I chuckled in my mind.

My family and I just turned to each other and shared a blink. Mom didn't mind them knowing, the only reason they didn't was Koneko not sharing the fact I WAS a dragon, instead of smelling like one, and I was pretty sure Rias understood because I swear I saw stars in her eyes. Though, Martha was contemplating something. [Anything except for the reincarnation. They'll probably earn the truth later.]

{Kay.} All that was left was figuring out the best way to do this.

I debated on the best way to tell them, but then I just said fuck it and decided to go for what I thought about earlier, and transformed. At 14, I was a 42ft/14ms long and 12ft/4m tall golden scaled beauty. I almost took up half of the training grounds on length alone, and combined with my height? I was a fearsome creature of legend. Everyone agreed with that if the way they stiffened was any indication ... Except for Koneko. She took one look at my form, tilted her head, brought out her wings, and just flew onto the top of my head. She sat herself between my horns, which grew out straight behind my head for 12ft/4ms, and curved to the side like the letter J. We all just looked at the little cat girl who just laid on my head like a... Well, a cat, and just stayed in silence. Then Rias squealed and started firing off questions about my Dragon Slayer Magic, because why wouldn't she recognize Fairy Tail magic when she pretty much lives in my room? (Though, I'm not sure that's the reason why, since I don't have a magic circle, and it wasn't verbal.) It was probably because she was a weeb, and connected 'Erza and Fairy Tail magic.'

A sigh, another body on top of my head, and me slamming my tail against the ground to restart the match later, and I was curled around my friends as we watched mom 'fight' my sister. It could only be called a fight after mom figured out how to use her lightning, and was getting more accustomed to her stronger body. Her sluggish and over extending moments were becoming few and far between now, probably the dragon influence in her body. She managed to learn coating, and turned into a damn blur when she tried to mix that and her Renewal Taekwondo on the first try... Which I wasn't jealous at. It wasn't like I spent years working on combining the 2, and she does it on the first try. I wasn't salty at all!

I felt better though when we found her buried into a tree 4ms away from Martha. She could combine her magic and Martial Art, but her body was too strong now, so she had to take time to tweak Renewal Taekwondo for her supernatural body. Though, I'd be there to help her, and so would Martha now that she wasn't as mad, and was more curious at how far mom could go.

The rest of the time passed, and eventually Martha was done beating on mom, and verbally told her she was fine with the decision. I had to carry her and everyone else on my back after that, mom was tired now, and the others wanted a dragon ride... It was a little annoying being called a 'ride', but it could've been worse. Martha was healing mom as we flew, she hadn't broken more then 5 of her bones, so she definitely got off easy.

Later we found out mom's Rook piece had mutated, probably my fault since where else did she get the dragon parts from but me? It was unexpected. but made sense since I was born a dragon instead of hatched. Her affinity with lightning was also probably my fault, but to be fair, she got dragon scales, which disappeared after the fight was over and her wings were away, 'Dragon Lightning' we'd call it, and a better physique. So really, she should thank me. (I'll need to bring this up later, that's definitely birthday cake worthy.)

{General Narration}

The rest of the day passed by with us talking about what our abilities were, and Rias fangirling over the fact I could use Dragon Slayer Magic.

After that, our days were filled with a new schedule. When me and Rias weren't hanging out at home, we were all training at the grounds. It all started when Koneko asked me 'How do I look cool punching a tree?' And things went from there. It was fun. The training ground was full of so many people, and we didn't want to butcher the woods anymore then we already had, so Rias managed to get us another training ground to use. It was up in the mountains, and with their teleportation magic? It was perfect.

Though, there were two more big things that happened before we started at Kuoh Academy.

The first was that Issei had decided to just show up on a Sunday, which was a day Rias and a few other Devils were here, and that meeting was interesting for a number of reasons. Firstly, I'd managed to make Issei a normal person, well, normal in an anime world, so he wasn't an annoying brat when he suddenly found himself in a group of attractive girls. I'd like to say he was used to attractive girls since he spent a good amount of time with me, Martha and mom, but then I think our collective egos would've risen too much.

Adding onto that, because of course the main cast all being in one spot led to an event, something unexpected happened from that meeting.

{Tara's POV}

Issei just finished introducing himself to Rias, Akeno and Koneko, Kiba was being taught by one of Rias' retainers or something, while Martha introduced him to Sona and Tsubaki, Momo went out with mom to do some shopping, when I felt and smelled it. The dragon scent coming from Issei strengthened, and I felt like I was being watched. The only other people that noticed were Koneko, and Martha, who probably felt my anxiety spike. [Tara? What's wr...-]

Everything stopped when a red gauntlet materialized on Issei's arm. The Devils that knew what it was, froze, while I unconsciously started growling, and holding Koneko closer to me. [Well then, this is new.] I didn't expect a dragon to talk so smoothly, but I also didn't expect to talk to a dragon today. [Devils, humans, and a hatching my host has known for years. Congratulations children, you've surprised me.]

As soon as he finished speaking, Issei started freaking the fuck out, which was natural. "Wha-Buh-Huh?!" He went on for a bit more, but the rest of us were more focused on the gauntlet. Rias and Sona had shared a look, the former looking far more eager then I expected, the latter more calculating. Tsubaki was also giving Issei a calculated look, not one he was noticing given the fact he was too busy freaking out.

Martha was just blinking in sheer confusion, or shock, I didn't know at the moment.

Meanwhile, Koneko just stared, then went back to curling into me as I scratched her head where I knew her ears would be if they came out. It helped calm me down.

When I was calm enough, I looked at the gauntlet, and could tell my eyes had gone slit as I did. "You know, it's rude just barging in on someone's conversation." That made almost everyone snap to me, Koneko being the exception as she was too comfortable to care about the outside world.

There was silence for a moment, before the rambunctious laugh of the dragon rang out of the gauntlet. [Snappy little runt aren't you?] My hackles raised at that, and my tail snapped into existence as it trashed against the floor. The fucker had insulted me twice like it was nothing!

I didn't take insults laying down, even if they came from a dragon. "And you're a decrepit old gecko." Not my best, but as a dragon, I got annoyed when someone compared me to some 'inferior' lizard. It was just built into my genes I think.

You could've heard a pin drop a mile away with how quiet everything went. That silence was broken by even more laughter from the dragon. [Bwahahaha! To think a runt like you would insult me, The Red Dragon Emperor! You've got some guts little runt!]

My brow twitched, and my tail thrashed some more. "Yeah, you're oh so mighty inside that little gauntlet, you stupid fuckin geezer!"

[I'll have you know that even contained as I am, I could still instill respect in you with my pinky claw.]

"I call bullshit! You can't do shit, old man. Hell, you can't even do that!"

I was pretty sure I struck a nerve there, because the gem glowed brighter, while a growl filled the air, and I felt far prouder then I thought I should. [You wouldn't be making light of this situation if you were in here brat!]

That got a huff out of me. "I wouldn't BE in that situation you stupid gecko. I'm not dumb enough, or have the right equipment, to have a dick measuring contest in the middle of a war!"

[Bah! You say that now, but every dragon has their moments, hatchling. One day, you'll let your pride overrule logic, and do something monumentally stupid. When you do, I hope I'll be there JUST so I can laugh in your face!]

"Suuure I will. Whatever you say you dull scaled Magpie."

[WHAT'D YOU SAY ABOUT MY SCALES YOU UNDER DEVELOPED SPROG?!]

"I SAID THEY'RE DULL OLD MAN! YOUR HEARING ON THE MEND TOO?! AND I'M FAR MORE DEVELOPED THEN THOSE MY AGE!"

[THAT'S IT YOU LITTLE SHIT! YOU'RE GOING TO RESPECT YOUR ELDERS ONE WAY OR ANOTHER!]

"NEVER!"

{General Narration}

Safe to say, I became instant besties with the old lizard. Apparently draconic pride didn't care if there was an older and more experienced dragon in front of us, we would fight back any way we could... We had horrible self preservation instincts when it came to our own species... Which explained why Ddraig and Albion gave no fucks during the Great War.

I also got scolded for cursing in front of Koneko, and the rest of the kids, but it was worth it. The big red gecko respected me for not being a bitch, and I got to brag about being respected by a big ol dragon. Win-Win really.

Anyway, Issei was introduced to the supernatural. Rias and Sona explained the scene to him, and after taking some time to think about it, he decided to come by more often. He trained with us, got to know the supernatural side of our lives, which included Irina now that she didn't have to hide it from him. We learned that Issei didn't really have an aptitude towards magic... Like, he had NEGATIVE aptitude, that's how bad it was.

Turned out that was Ddraig's fault. He took up a vast majority of his hosts' souls, which was where 75% of mana generation occurred, so his hosts', unless they were freaks of nature, usually couldn't use magic worth shit. It didn't help that Issei was human, and therefore had a rather pathetic amount of natural mana affinity/soul space. Supernatural races like Devils, Yokai, and the Angels and their Fallen counterparts, all had the potential for magic.

Martha was one of the freaks though, and could use any kind of magic as long as she had time to study and understand it, mainly thanks to the wish, but they didn't need to know that yet.

Moving onto the last big thing that happened... A year before we entered highschool, uncle Ro dropped off the map. He had called a month beforehand, telling mom something about how he was thinking about quitting his job, he didn't say why, and moving somewhere in Tokyo. A month later, he'd sent mom a text that basically said he was going to be out of contact for a bit... And that was it.

Though, when Martha and I asked about just what he did, and she said he was a intermediary for some scientists, and said 'Cognition', I was pretty sure she said 'Cognitive', but it was the former that hit me in the back of the head like a thrown chancla from a professional Latina mother.

Persona 5 was pretty much my favorite game. I wasn't a gamer, more of a weeb as much as I deny it, but that was the game that really cemented its place in my heart as one of my, if not my FAVORITE, game. I loved Royal too, but the original had a special place in my heart.

And when I figured out that Uncle Ro was Sojiro SAKURA, I felt like the world's biggest idiot. He was right there, I HUGGED HIM MULTIPLE TIMES, and I didn't figure it out until we were 14, running on 15?! God, I was so fucking stupid!

When I told Martha and mom, they both stared at me, slack jawed... For two different reasons. Mom because a member of her family was apparently a video game character, while Martha did it because she agreed that I was an idiot. I'd even introduced her to P5 music, 'Beneath the Mask', especially the 'Rainy Day Mood' version, and she loved it. It was the 1st of her 'relax and or study' playlist. So knowing that he was right there, and I didn't recognize him for YEARS, Martha freely called me an idiot.

Though, she let up when we reached the subject of hat we were going to do with this knowledge.

With mom's agreement, the three of us decided that when we had time, we would visit Uncle Ro, and by extension, Futaba. He hadn't let us visit before, because he was worried about us getting involved, but now, that he was sure he wouldn't be found, he was fine with us coming to visit.

With his blessing, we would ideally meet up with him and Futaba during summer break/golden week. We wouldn't get much time with them, but hopefully that'd be enough to get Futaba to start texting/calling us.

I wasn't sure how much we'd be able to help, but I'd do my best for that little gremlin.

Eventually time rolled on and on, and the time for us all, except Koneko, Issei and Kiba, since they were year younger then all of us, to start in the high school division of kuoh academy came.

[Omake - This needs some studying. Martha's POV a week before starting Kuoh Academy.]

After the revelation that we were in some form of crossover world, I'd decided to increase my training again. Over the years, I'd accumulated quite a few books on several magical practices and styles. This was only boosted thanks to us partnering with Rias and Sona, two High Class heirs of Pillar Clans. Sona especially aided my ventures after I agreed to not only help her in her research, while also furthering her eventual goal, but if she did the same with me and mines.

Sona was probably my favorite person outside of my family. The two of us were technique fighters who favored magic instead of hand to hand/CQC, and favored amassing as much knowledge as we could, while experimenting with it. So far, we'd mastered Runes, the Runes we'd had access too, which included Mayan, Aztec, Celtic, Egyptian, Scandinavian, Chinese, and Japanese. The last art was technically Onmiyodo magic, but the concept of imbuing an object, namely paper for them, with power by carving or writing words or symbols into them, was the same. It helped that we had Akeno to help us with it as well, so that was nice.

I'd wished we had more books on Norse, Middle Eastern, and Russian Runes, but we didn't, so we couldn't master those Runic languages/methods. (Hopefully in the future, we can make a deal with the Norse for some of those books. Harry Potter can only get me so far.) Tara never let me live it down that I was using fictional Runes from a children's book, but the joke was that they worked in some capacity, so I had the last laugh between us.

We had also made great headway into fields like Transfiguration and Conjuration, Sona seemed to have a higher affinity for the latter, while I had more to the former. Not to say I wasn't competent with Conjuration, I was, I just had to use more mana to get the same effect Sona did for less mana.

Though where I truly shined, perhaps due to the model I'd chosen for my body, were Enchanting and Rune Crafting. I had managed to self study up to a level similar to Journeyman, before I was gifted a book on the subject for my 12th birthday, courtesy of Sona. Thanks to it, I'd managed to create an interesting series of Rune Stones, which protected our house, as well as Enchanting the family lockets.

It was interesting to know that by Enchanting the stones prior to using them for Runes, I could place an effect that would increase the efficiency of Runes placed on them afterwards, while also increasing how many Runes I could place on them before they reached maximum capacity. It was quite a simple, but effective method.

However, the best material for Enchanting came from Tara, what a surprise. (Truly, who could guess that draconic materials were highly conductive to magic?)

Our lockets all had a good set of Runes, but thanks to the Enchantment books I'd practically consumed, I was able to add a few more defenses then before, making them capable of using the natural mana in the environment to fuel and boost their capacities. They even had an enchantment that boosted their ability to heal their wearer, which I blood bound to our family thanks to some Mayan Runes whose soul purpose was to anchor a sacrifice to a single location so they couldn't escape... (Mayans truly were a barbaric people. Thankfully, their Runes are capable of being used for good.) The Rune took some editing, but I was able to turn them into anchors for people, so now all of my blood relatives, even Uncle Sakura, had a fraction of my healing ability passively assisting them at all times.

I only had a few weaknesses at this point, my durability, while it was augmented by magic and defensive Enchantments and Runes, was no match for certain supernatural species. Rook's such as Koneko, were also as durable as I was, which depressed me a bit, knowing the cat girl loli was as tough as I was.

My stamina was also a factor that'd go against me should I enter a prolonged fight. Tara and I had tested this, and after a highly intense fight, we discovered I could go at full power for 45 minutes... Which was abysmal compared to pretty much every other supernatural race. Devils, depending on class, could fight on for an hour at minimum, while Angels and their Fallen relatives, depending on their wings, could do similar... Easily.

It infuriated me a bit, knowing that despite how well I've done with my magic, my Martial Arts, my Runes, I was STILL disadvantaged against the magical races, solely because I was human. I was finding ways to increase my strength, but I wasn't satisfied. I needed to train more, find more ways to use my magic, or just find ways to increase my base statistics so I could keep up. I refused to allow Tara to be my shield as I rained magic onto our enemies, I had to do better, and I would.

Which led to now, in my library, looking over my 'Compendium', trying to see if there were any spells I could combine, edit to increase their strength, or find new ways to diversify.

I knew a multitude of different styles of magic, magic that didn't have to stay just one and done.