{Martha's POV}

Waking up, I already knew that Tara was still asleep, her thoughts were the jumbled mess of randomness that denoted that she was out of it. (Mother's probably asleep as well.) A quick Tempus showed me that I'd woken up at the same time I have for the last few years, 6:45AM. (Well then, let's begin the routine.) It might've been boring or robotic to others, but I preferred to be orderly in the mornings. (Because gods know that there will be some form of chaos later on in the day.) That was especially true today, considering we were taking the first 'vacation' we've ever had.

Getting up, I begun my routine, check the strength of the Wards, brush my teeth during a shower, getting dressed, braiding my hair, I'd come to love having my hair braided, either in a single or double braid, despite what my sister said about me buying into the Irene look, and eventually going downstairs to make breakfast. Mother would either wake up at around 8, or she'd sleep in since we had a break. Either was fine, we were going to be teleporting to the property our Grandparents had set up for us, so it didn't really matter if she took her time to get some sleep in. (Who knew having highly successful Grandparents, and access to magic, would make life so efficient?) There was a joke in there somewhere, but comedy wasn't my strong suit.

Moving on from that thought, I focused on Tara, and let her content feelings stay in the background. She knew I essentially used her as background music, being asleep led to her emotions just being far more soothing then music or familiar actions could ever be. It was difficult to be in any form of foul mood when I was connected to a consistently happy person like Tara.

Humming to myself, I let myself relax as I cooked, Tara usually liked some form of meat for breakfast, so I was making a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich for her, while mother was getting some pancakes topped with butter, strawberry, and cream. I still couldn't understand how, the heathen that she was, didn't like syrup. It almost pained me to make pancakes without including syrup, but it was a sacrifice I would just have to endure. As for myself, I just made a simple salad.

After everything was done, and I placed both bits of food on the table and under a Stasis Charm, I'd noticed it was now 8:10AM, and mother was still asleep. So, with nothing else to do, and after I finished my salad, I decided to go to my library and do some studying until they woke up.

Entering my library, the Wards washed over me, making me smile at the feeling. The Wards in my library, along with the Wards and Runes protecting my family and our home, were among the strongest I'd made. Granted, their base forms were good and all, but as Sona, Tsubaki, Momo, Reya and I edited, combined, or outright changed them, we created quite powerful defenses. (Though, Sona didn't seem to be amused at the secondary effect my creations have. Atleast Reya understands me.) It was something I weaved into all my Wards and offensive Runes. Any unfortunate soul that happened to be on the other end of my creations, would suffer. I was 'obsessed' as Sona would say, with diseases and illnesses. The agony I, my husband, and our children were in watching him wither away sounded perfect for any foolish creatures aiming to hurt my family. They would all wither and rot if they dared anything...

Blinking to myself, I let out a soft sigh at those thoughts, and walked into the 'Restricted Section' of the area. I knew I'd become quite merciless and even a touch vindictive in my new life, especially when my family was involved. Tara and mother didn't mind it, I was sure my sister was amused that I'd become some kind of dere in regards to us. Our Grandparents also understood, and in the case of our Grandfather, approved. We'd understood the pain of losing family, and would do anything to keep ourselves from feeling it again.

It was strange really, thinking those thoughts, but not in a depressing way, more of a 'matter of fact' if I were being truthful. (Which, if there were no context regarding the link between Tara and I, then I'd most likely get classified as Psycho/Sociopath... Now if only I understood why that amused me so much.) Shrugging to myself, I eventually made it to my workspace, and happily delved into my Compendium.

Outside of my Runes and Wards, I'd been working on a dedicated style that I could call my own. Tara had her 'Lightning Dragon Slayer' magic, Rias had her 'Power of Destruction', mother had her 'Lightning Style Renewal Taekwondo', but I was a generalist outside of my aforementioned methods of magic usage. Sona was aiming to reinforce her Clan's affinity towards water magics, even though she didn't have the Clan Trait, that just made her more resolute with her choice.

Confronted with all of that, my style was still in its infancy stage. At the moment, it was a 'control and dominate' type of style, where I'd endeavor to mold the surroundings to my advantage, while putting down my enemy. To do this, I was working on learning the weaknesses of the supernatural races, Devils were weak to holy, which I was working on creating an artificial version of with the elements from the church's light sabers, because that's what they were and no one would or could ever could convince me otherwise, that were given to me by Grandfather.

At the moment, I managed to replicate the element, but it was at 50% power at best. (Not entirely sure if I'll ever get it to 100%, but I'll just have to keep working on it.) That didn't entirely matter, because the Onmiyoji of Japan had talismans that were highly effective against 'evil/foul/corrupted' beings. They called it 'Jundo', Purity in English. 'Jundo' was 30-40% as effective as Holy energy was, and utilized energy similar to concentrated sunlight... Which had Tara bursting out in laughter, wheezing out 'By the power of the SUN!' I had just rolled my eyes, and went back to my research.

Angels were weak to chaos/dark magic, which was a strange element to work with. Chaos magic was a form of magic that couldn't be controlled in a traditional sense. To borrow Tara's understanding of it, 'It's RNG.' Chaos magic had been rooted in curses, which I had an inclination towards, but utilized them differently. All chaos spells utilized the same amount of mana to use, but upon release, the severity of the spells effects were up to chance...

I hated it.

So much.

Moving on.

Fallen were also susceptible to Holy, obviously, but they were also weak to 'Jundo', so it was easy to just use some of, if not all, the same procedures for Devils, against the Fallen.

The Yokai all needed individual files and plans because there were too fucking many of them for me to just make a general plan for them! (Honestly, if the Yokai had another leader equal to Yasaka, then they'd be such a threat to everything.) I knew Sun Wukong was alive, but 'He Who is Equal to Heaven' was a hermit, and not actively in the scene. Meanwhile, the 9 tailed fox was over in Kyoto, being a big 'Don't fuck with us' sign, and keeping Japan under control, with the backing of the Japanese pantheon. (Again, a threat to everything.)

Shaking that off, I went back to thinking about my own style, and spent time working on it, just as I had days/months prior.

{1 hour later}

I felt Tara stir, and instinctively looked towards her room. She felt groggy, still tired, and also slightly hungry. {Marthaaa.}

My lips twitched at the whine that went through my mind, and I already knew what was coming up next. [Yes, Tara?] The scene was set. (Nonsensical request in 3. 2. 1.)

{Destroy the sun... The sun's evil... EEEVIIIL.} I snorted, and had to ground myself so I didn't erupt into a giggle. I was far too old to giggle... When it could be heard.

Anyway, when I managed to get myself under control, I aimed a thought to my sister. [While the idea of destroying the sun fascinates me, in a morbidly curious way, I do believe we need that Tara, so the answer is no.] My sister grumbled in my mind, and off in the distance, I could tell her tail thumped onto the floor. [Your New Yorker stereotype special is on the table.]

The thumping grew louder as Tara moved towards her bathroom, and I rolled my eyes as I felt the eager hunger coming from her. {I love yooou!}

I snorted. [I love you too Tara.] And with that, her sink turned on, and she went through the motions of her day.

As Tara did that, I continued working on my magical repertoire and style, though I knew it would take time for it to truly be complete.

A while later, Tara's shower turned on, and her emotions and thoughts became clearer. {So, you ready to see Uncle Ro?}

I hummed at that, and thought about it. 'Uncle Ro' was a nice man, one the family had joked had stolen all of mother's culinary ability. Whenever he came by, he would always take over the kitchen, much to mother and Tara's relief. I didn't like the fact my kitchen was in the hands of another, but conceded that he was a great chef. [I AM ready, just waiting for you and mother.]

{Sooo, should I go be a brat and jump her?} That was a highly image...

One I wanted to see. [Let me know when you're going to do it. I want to record it.]

Tara was positively radiating amusement at my answer. {Bet!}

We spent some more time talking about random things, what we were going to do over in Tokyo, and some other things like that. When Tara finished her shower, and had gotten dressed, she called me over.

Knowing what she had in store for our mother, I grinned to myself, closed my Compendium, and made my way over.

Meeting up outside of our mother's room, Tara was a bundle of childlike energy, and it was difficult not to smile. Outside of our new looks, and life, I was feeling nostalgic. Even as Valerie, she had these childish moments, moments she knew I loved but didn't actively participate in... Most of the time. Valerie had been a master at the art of guilt tripping, or just convincing me to go along with her harebrained schemes. I'd just gotten used to doing so.

Now, I had my phone out, and with a cheeky grin from my sister, started recording.

Silently opening the door, she tiptoed into the room, a rather hilarious sight for a woman as tall as she was, and slowly but surely made her way towards our mother's bed. Then, when she was at the foot of the bed, she grinned mischievously, and jumped. "WAKE UP!" And so Tara crashed into our mother like a bag of bricks, making the poor woman wheeze as the sudden weight forced the air out of her lungs. {I can feel you subtly insulting me, so hush you.} I rolled my eyes, and focused on the look of discomfort and the silent scream coming from our mother. Her expression was hilarious to me, and so worth it.

And I caught it on camera.

"T-Tar-Taraaa! Whadda fu-ack!?" I laughed as our mother tried and failed to speak, while Tara was cackling as she rolled off the poor woman.

With my sister off of her, our mother took in as many deep breaths a possible, as if air was a valuable commodity. (Well, when a dragon steals said air from your lungs, it just might be.)

As our mother was regretting the thing known s life, my sister was busy laughing her ass off. "You should've SEEN the look on your face! That was a fucking amazing idea, I really am a genius." Okay, her ego was looking a little inflated there.

Clearing my throat, both women gave me their attention. "While the comedy routine is quite enjoyable, I believe we have better things to do." And we truly did.

My sister stopped cackling in order to sigh, while our mother wheezed out a reply. "C-Can I go back to sleep? Sojiro will understand."

My sister and I shared a look, and as one, turned that look to our mother. ""No.""

She groaned like a child, which made the both of us grin at her. "Demons, the both of you."

""You know you love us."" Having a twin was such a wonderful thing.

{30 minutes later}

After our mother managed to fully wake up, and get the day started, we relaxed and waited until our friends came over. And when the door was opened, Rias and Sona both had keys to the house keyed to them and their Peerages, the three of us turned towards the door, and welcomed Rias, Koneko, Sona, Tsubaki, and Momo into the house. Reya was off with her parents, while Akeno was most likely at the shrine. Kiba was training with Tomoe, the two of them got along well, perhaps a little too well... (Hmm... Well, if he breaks Tsubaki's heart, I CAN turn him into a toad, see how he returns from that.) The possibility for a three way relationship could happen too, but only time would tell.

After welcoming them all in, and they all took their places in the livingroom, I asked what they wanted for breakfast. It was somewhat of a tradition now for the visitors to eat breakfast with us. I didn't mind it, the opposite in fact. Cooking for a decent amount of people was another nostalgic feeling that I enjoyed sinking into. I had long since come to terms that Edward was gone, and was open to the idea of moving on. That didn't mean I would avoid remembering the good times.

When I finished making breakfast, again, conversations flowed freely between us. "So, Martha," We'd all managed to get the Devils to drop the honorifics around us. "The three of you will be staying in Tokyo for the summer, correct?" Sona knew, but I assumed she was just reiterating it to be sure.

I nodded at her. "Yes. We'll be visiting our uncle." Despite the fact Sojiro was mother's cousin, the relationship between us all was closer, hence the address. "We haven't seen him in a while, and with his recent act of suddenly dropping out of contact, and reappearing after some 'trouble', we want to see him, and also check up on him while we're at it." Which was true.

Due to the rather sporadic nature of our uncle's visits, I wasn't able to update the Runes and Enchantments on his family locket. (It doesn't help that we have yet to tell him about the supernatural.) There had been a reason for this of course. Our uncle already found himself in a stressful situation, being a single parent to a child dealing with depression, and adding the knowledge that everything from mythology was, in some fashion, true, would add to that stress.

Though the other reason was because we wanted to wait... Well, Tara wanted to wait, mother and I were fine with whenever.

Tara's reasoning was that anything we told our uncle, would eventually find its way to Futaba, and giving that sort of knowledge to a girl that recently lost her mother, isn't exactly the best idea. So, she opted to wait till we got Futaba to a relatively good place mentally, before telling our uncle.

'Plus, we'll be able to help the Phantom Thieves right from the start.' I believed that was her main reason. She loved Futaba, and was excited to actually meet her. (Though, I wonder if she realizes her meddling might remove Futaba's chance of joining the thieves.) I wasn't going to tell her this, I was going to adopt a 'wait and see' approach, and only tell her if it seemed highly likely, rather then just an idea.

Shaking that thought off, I returned my attention to my conversation with Sona, who hummed as she drank some coffee. "Understandable... Hmm... I don't remember if I told you about this, so I'll say it now just to be sure." I blinked, and was suddenly giving Sona all my attention. "There are a few supernatural points of interest you may want to steer clear of when you're in Tokyo." When Sona said that, I felt Tara's interest, and noticed she was looking towards us. "The first area is obvious, are the red light district. There's quite a notorious brothel there, and not all of the 'workers' are there of their own free will." I didn't bother hiding my disgust at that, neither could Tara, and we scowled. Sona nodded, and went on. "Yes. It's an open secret that it's there, but the owner is a powerful Yokai, a powerful Jorogumo, which is known to above High-Class, on the cusp of Ultimate the last I'd heard. "

My scowl morphed into a thoughtful frown at the information, and I thought about what I knew about the species. (Spiders that live to 400 years, which then gain individual abilities, as well as the ability to turn into a beautiful woman... Ugh, why are Yokai so strange? Usually they lure people/prey in with music, and save them to devour later... Hmm... That's it... Annoying. I'll make a note to study the species more later.) I doubted we'd go anywhere near the red light district, but understood her reasoning for bringing it up. (Mother, Tara and I are all highly attractive women, even though my sister and I have yet to reach maturity... Which would perhaps be a bonus... I'll bring along some of my Battle Sigils.) Nodding to myself, I motioned for Sona to go on, as she had been waiting for me to process that information.

"Aside from there, the Yokai have a shrine in Kichijoji, don't make trouble there for obvious reasons." We all understood that was aimed at Tara, considering Kichijoji was a fun area to visit. Surprisingly, Tara didn't react by shouting, and just nodded, a frown on her face, and racing thoughts behind it. I'd question her after Sona was done. "There are a few Devil owned shops/buildings in Akihabara, and Nakano, the Agaras own some mecha shops due to their heiress being a mecha otaku, while one of the lesser pillars own some maid cafes, and places like that... Hmm... Rias would know more then I would, but there should be a Phenex owned business somewhere in..."

Seeing Sona's scrunched brow, Rias chimed in. "They own a news station. I don't know which, since I wanted nothing to do with them, but I know that." That was both informative, and told me nothing. Wonderful.

Hearing that, Sona nodded, and went back to talking. "Thanks. Anyway, that's all I remember, and there might be a few new spots since my information is a few years old, so just be careful." Mother, Tara and I nodded, and we went back to talking about inconsequential things.

It was nice, but I'd ensure I remembered her warnings.

{2 hours later}

With all of our luggage placed in a Storage Bracelet, one of the first things I'd learned to properly create, we were just about set to go. I had a rather snug sleeveless and backless red 'Virgin Killer', a black skirt that went down to my knees, thigh high black stockings, and flattop heels. My hair was braided in a long single braid that rested over my shoulder, and no hat for now. I knew I was gorgeous, sexy even, and I had no problem giving into my vanity.

Meanwhile, Tara was my exact opposite, wearing a dark grey furred zip up sweater, baggy black sweatpants, and wore her hair down. The black sneakers on her feet were somewhat worn, but she didn't care. Tara didn't care about showing off her body... Unless she felt like it. She could be more vain then I at some points, I was also sure she would begin to get more vain when we were in our late teens, considering she was a dragon. (If she ever walks out the house in skinny jeans and a crop top, I will lord it over her for years.) She hated that combination when she was Valerie, so if she ever wore both of those at the same time, it was a sign from above.

Then there was mother. If there were ever a moment to remember that she was a legitimate MILF, it was now. While our figures were still developing, mother had a full figure, equipped with full and firm DDD breasts, a bubbly and full rear, and legs that'd make models envious. She had her hair in a high ponytail, which ended midway down her back, a thin light blue sweater with a white muscle shirt underneath, which nearly strained against her bust, followed up by torn black jeans that showed a little of how toned her legs were, and a pair of geta sandals, just like Grandfather's. All of that combined with her 2m height, showed how our mother was just vastly superior to the vast majority of other mothers. (And we will both fight tooth and nail to defend our claim.) We truly would.

My observations of my family aside, Rias and Tara were hugging each other, and just broke it off. "You'll call me if something happens, right?" If I wasn't as mature as I was, then I'd make a comment about her being a clingy girlfriend.

Thankfully, I wasn't, and would feel slightly bad afterwards, considering Rias was basically family at this point. Considering my mental age, I didn't exactly bond with her the same way Tara could, I was too old to see her like a sister, and saw her more as a niece. If mother wasn't in the picture, I'd most likely end up mothering Rias, but with mother here, Rias was firmly in the 'niece' position. (Now that I think about it, that sounds like a bad innuendo... Moving on.)

My sister smiled, and nodded at Rias. "Yeah. Though, if there are dragon sightings in Tokyo, I just want it to be said that's it's not my fault." As soon as she finished speaking, I groaned.

That garnered their attention, and I gave my reasoning. "Tara, why in the love of all that is... Well, I can't exactly say holy, so I'll just say strawberries, would you jinx us?"

My sister blinked, and I could feel her realization, which was backed up by the widening of her eyes. "Oh shit. Uhhh... I take it back. Please, I take it back!" It didn't help that the rest of our friends just gave us pitying/amused looks.

"... I bet 2 cakes they don't last a week before something happens." Oh, that sweet sweet kitten.

My sister's head whipped towards the cat girl and her daughter, which she has yet to figure out for some reason, and she pouted at her. "Et tu, Koneko? And where are you going to even get the cakes?" That was a good question.

The petite Yokai just blinked, and turned to... Mother and I? (Huh?)

It didn't take long for her to answer my confusion. "If I give Sakura-sensei my cute eyes," She refused to call them puppy dog eyes. "I can get her to do anything." That was true. "And if I get Sakura-sensei on board, all I'd need to do to get Martha-obasan," I was still unsure just how I felt about that, since despite being older then everyone in the room, I didn't like it being referenced. "On my side is to say you'll pay for it." My thoughts on being called aunt by the cat girl aside, I had to admit that she was right...

(I should feel offended that a child has found a reliable way to manipulate me and my family, but on the other hand, she is a cat. Any and all felines are masters at manipulation... She is also a child, and they are both observant, and just KNOW things.) Both statements were ridiculous, but I found it doubtful that anyone could refute them.

There was silence for a bit, then mother laughed. "Yeah, yeah I can see that. To be fair though, the cat ears should be illegal."

Koneko's lips twitched, which said alot in itself, then said ears and tail came out, and she stuck her tongue out at mother. "Nyeeeh."

The Nekoshu had reached a point that she was comfortable with letting her features out, and even expressing herself a bit. She was most comfortable with Tara though, which I believed was an instinctual response to being under the aegis of an apex predator. They acted like mother and daughter, which was adorable to see, especially when I thought I could've experienced seeing her like that had the incident not happened. We had yet to learn why she was afraid of her features, Rias said Koneko would explain when she thought the time was right, so we left it be.

Anyway, Mother and Tara's squeal/coo were heard throughout the building, and I just withheld a sigh. (Truly, their weakness to the cute cat girl is one Koneko may never let them lose.) Shaking my head, I let my family dote on the Yokai turned Devil, and just watched on with a smile on my face.

{15 minutes later, Illiya's POV}

Leaving the Kuoh Kids made me a little sad, I'd been watching those kids grow up for a few years, so them not being around for a bit was a little jarring. Though, the feeling could've, and probably was, enhanced by me leaving my King's general area. I'd been around Rias long enough for my Evil Piece to stabilize, so unless I suddenly lost my mind, there'd be no chance of me going Stray. (Though, considering I've got Tara and Martha with me, they'll set me straight if anything happens.) My girls were stronger then me, we all knew it, so I had nothing to fear if something happened.

The morbid thought of me suddenly losing my mind aside, I checked my phone, and hummed. I told Sojiro that we were coming, I just never gave him a specific time. I didn't exactly know when we were going to get here, teleporting made me lazy and I might've overslept since I wouldn't be worrying about catching a flight, so there wasn't really a point to waking up early. (Though, now the question is, should we just show up, or give Soji a heads up?) I was feeling a little cheeky, and was leaning to the former. (Hmm. If I asked Martha, she would say she was fine with either, while Tara would be up for just showing up... Hmm, well... If it's going to be in my favor anyway, we might as well have fun!) Nodding to myself, I stowed my phone away, and checked to make sure I had the keys to the property in my pocket. After making sure that I did, I grinned, and looked over my shoulder, into the livingroom where my girls were. "Girls! We're heading over to Soji's!"

""Yes!/Okay."" I laughed at their answers, and went to wait by the front doors.

Humming to myself, I gave the livingroom a once over, because it still slightly baffled me that my mom and dad just had a traditional home, mats and old style sliding door and everything, in Tokyo, lying around. (Remembering that we're actually loaded is still crazy.) I was pretty sure Soji didn't remember it either, and was looking forward to his face when we dropped a stack of yen on his lap. (Never thought I'd get to do the 'Rich Ojou-sama' thing and casually pay thousands of yen for a cup of joe, but I'm looking forward to it.)

After both of my girls were ready, we walked out the house, and after locking it, made our way to the subway.

{15 minutes later}

Trains were hell.

It didn't matter to me that I knew girls that were born in hell, trains were just hell.

The fact that my girls and I were hot, didn't help considering the leers and amount of people that looked like they wanted to cop a feel. (Thank fuck Martha knows how to make people ignore us, or I'd have lost my shit if one of those cheeto dust covered motherfuckers touched any of us.)

Tara's groan of annoyance rang out as we got out, and I felt it just as much as she did. "Ugh, mom, next time you want us to get on a train, I'm choke slamming you into the dirt."

Martha nodded along at that, just making it worse with the general annoyed energy she was giving off. "While I won't be as violent about it, I'll second that."

I hung my head at both my girls agreeing, and despite knowing they were right, I was obligated to put up SOME form of resistance. "We got there fast atleast?" The both of them raised a brow, idly I noticed it was the opposite brow for the both of them, and I just sighed. "Shaddup and lets go see your uncle."

""Kay!/Uhuh."" Why did they choose to be like this?

Shaking that thought off, I followed after Tara, who was practically dashing out of the station.

Walking into Yongen-Jaya was interesting, it was different from Kuoh. Sure there were some small areas similar to the alleys and stuff, but Yongen-Jaya was more compact then they were. I mean, really, there was a movie theater, a clinic, a baseball cage, and Soji's cafe all in this little area. Like, what? (Who the hell designed this place?) I had no clue, and wasn't going to look it up.

That aside, my girls and I walked around, looking for Soji's cafe.

And since Tara loved Persona 5, it didn't take us long to find it... It also helped that she just sniffed around for the scent of coffee and curry.

The girls and I took a second to take in the look of Soji's cafe, and I had to admit, it was meh. Tara seemed to agree with me, while Martha seemed to like it. (Well, a cozy little hole in the wall kind of place does sound like something she'd enjoy.) That aside, with a nod to my girls, who nodded back, I grinned, and opened the door.

The scent of coffee hit my nose as I walked in, and it made me relax. There was no one else here yet, so it was just us. Soji hadn't looked up yet, his back was to the door as he was making a pot, and I took advantage of that before he could look. "Best Sakura's sound off! Heeey!"

""Tara here!/I'm not a Pokemon."" They were doing that more often now. Martha's comment also got her a look from Tara and I, who met it with a raised brow of her own. "I'm not." Uhuh...

Anyway, when he heard our voices, Soji turned around faster a human man his age should've been capable of, and stared at us in shock. "Wh-what the?! Lia?! Tara? Martha? The hell are you doing here?!" I snorted at that, while my girls snickered/smiled.

Putting my hand to my heart, I decided to relive my high school drama club days. "Oh Soji, how you wound my oh so fragile heart? Instead of being grateful for three oh so beautiful mai...- He snorted, and my eye twitched. "Alright you motherfucker, the hell was that for?" I was alot more unrestrained as a Devil, as well as sparring with the kids regularly. (That makes me sound like I'm sort of feral... Whatever.)

Soji had the nerve to laugh, while Tara's snickering grew, and Martha was actively keeping herself from grinning. "Nothing, nothing."

Oh hell no. "No no no, you saying I ain't a maiden or something?"

"Hmm?" I saw Soji looking behind me, and even gave my girls a little wave. "Well, those two blossoming roses didn't come by stork, Lia." I hated him.

"Oh shuddup Soji." I walked up to the counter, and sat in front of my cousin, while my girls took my sides, Tara the left and Martha the right, then looked at my smug/amused cousin. "You know what I like."

He nodded, and turned to the girls. Tara blinked, then answered. "Red Eye."

He took that down, then turned to Martha, who didn't waste any time. "I'll take a Mocha." Soji took that down too, not at all surprised or bothered that the girls drank coffee, mostly because he knew and was fine with it.

With our orders taken, my cousin went to work, and we made small talk. It was nice, spending time with him again, especially here, since it just had that relaxing atmosphere. We could even hear Martha humming a tune while Soji worked, and that tune just felt right.

After Soji made us our coffee, I took a Cappuccino, the topics we talked about varied some more, until I decided to ask the question I wanted too, despite already knowing the answer thanks to Tara. "Hey Soji?"

"Hmm?"

"Why'd you go underground for a bit?"

The girls stopped talking, and shared a look, while Soji flinched, then sighed. "I... I don't think... Haaah..."

The three of us just watched him as he took his glasses off, and rubbed his eyes. "You don't have to tell us now, Soji. We'll understand." I gave him an out, which I wouldn't have minded if he took it.

Though, surprisingly, he didn't. Shacking his head, he put his glasses back on, and gave us a weary smile. "No... No, you'll find out eventually. Give me a sec." Saying that, he walked out from behind the counter, over to the door, and went to flip the sign from open, to closed, then came back to sit in the booth behind us. The girls and I turned to look at him, and waited for him to start, which didn't take long. "... Tara, Martha, could you do me a favor?"

That surprised us, but my girls took it in stride. ""Yeah./Yes?""

Rubbing his neck, he looked towards where I knew his house was. "After I'm done telling this story, could you head to my house and just... Talk to my charge?" Now they were REALLY surprised, especially Tara, who looked like a deer in headlights.

It took a moment, but my eldest nodded with a smile on her face, while her sister hummed, and smiled. ""We can do that.""

Soji and I both smiled at that, and I looked at him. "I'm surprised you're letting them stay for this." I really was.

Another sigh left my cousins lips, and he leaned back into his booth, giving me a wry smile as he did. "Anything I tell you will make its way back to them in due time. It's better to get this out of the way now, to save time, and so you girls can try to help Futaba." And there was her name.

Tara and Martha nodded, and I smiled at Soji. It was a good idea.

With that said, Soji went into his story. "So, you remember that I was a liaison between the government and some scientists, right?" We all nodded. "Right, well, I CAN'T say what they were working on, you understand why." Ah, NDA'S, good ol red tape. Dad hated them. "But that isn't entirely important." We knew that was a lie thanks to Tara's knowledge. "But while I was working there, I met a woman named Isshiki Wakaba." We all noticed the smile and fond tone he used when he said her name, but didn't comment on it. "She was a genius. And, I guess you could say, we hit it off... Well, after she decided she could make a better curry then I could, and went to do just that. Turned out she was the lab's counterpart, so we worked together for a good few years... Until... Until last year." Aaand here was the other shoe. "Months, nearly a year ago, Wakaba became more dispirited, lethargic, and despite my best efforts to help her, she committed suicide." He let that statement hang in the air, which seemed to make us all a little depressed, despite knowing it was coming.

Soji himself looked horrible after saying that, so I got off my stool, and sat in the seat across from him in the booth, reached out, and put my hand on his, smiling at him when he looked at me. "Take your time Soji." He gave me a grateful smile, and took in a few breaths. (On one hand, it's nice to see he had someone he cared for. On the other, it's horrible to see him in pain.) Sojiro and I were cousins, but like I said before, we were more brother and sister.

When he was ready, he went on. "After Wakaba died, and the... The funeral," I frowned at the way he said that, and made a mental note to ask Tara if anything happened at the funeral. "I was a wreck. That was partly why I went underground, to grieve... But the main reason was because I had to find Futaba. Wakaba had told me how she didn't exactly have the best relationship with her relatives... And the thought of Futaba being with any of them made me panic. So, I spent months searching for her..." The scowl on his face wasn't filling me with confidence despite knowing the girl was safe. "When I did, I nearly killed her, at the time, guardian. Her uncle left her to sleep in SHIT! There was trash all over the damn place, and she was as thin as a stick! She was 40lbs underweight, and wasn't responsive. I thought she was dead when I first found her, that I failed Wakaba's daughter!" I could feel my maternal instincts stir at that, and felt the need to hug the girl.

Though, thoughts of hugging someone else's child fled my mind when Tara's rumbling growl filled the air. Soji and I turned to see Tara with slit draconic eyes, and a faint flicker of lightning dancing around her body, filling the air with the scent of ozone... It didn't help that Martha was hardly any better, visibly radiating magic, and making the cutlery rattle... And Soji was just dumbstruck, staring at my girls, who were both getting madder because of the feedback loop that was undeniably happening between the two.

I just sighed at the scene. (This wasn't supposed to happen, But then again, plans rarely survive contact with reality.) I knew that wasn't the saying, but it worked. "Girls!" They both snapped towards me, and I didn't let the combined weight behind their gazes bother me. "Calm down before you level Soji's cafe!"

That seemed to do it, and Martha started reigning in her anger, which was closely followed by Tara doing the same. Their magic pulled back, returning Tara's eyes to normal as it did.

When they were back in control, they both looked a little ashamed at getting pissed, but I didn't fault them for it. Tara was a dragon, and those protective instincts of hers were cranked up to 11 when it came to protecting/caring for people, especially family. Martha on the other hand, was a mother. So hearing how a child was pretty much neglected, obviously set her off.

I didn't have a problem with them getting mad, no, the problem was that now, we had to explain to a flabbergasted Sojiro about what happened. Seeing that, I did the most mature thing I could. "Not it!"

That broke them out of their stupor. ""Not it!/What?"" The twins looked at each other here, Tara with a grin, and Martha with exasperation practically oozing out of her.

"Too slooow.~"

Martha's brow twitched, then she turned to me. "I hate you so much right now."

I grinned at her. "Love you too sweetie."

Her groan was worth it, just as much as Soji nearly breaking his neck to keep turning from me, to the girls, to me again. (And now I get to watch as Martha blows his mind. This'll be interesting... Wish I had popcorn.) And so the explanation began.

{Tara's POV 30 minutes later.}

{Uncle Ro should get a World Record for how fast someone can go through the stages of confusion, denial, reasoning, bargaining, and all the way to acceptance.} My sister snorted, both mentally and physically.

That action got us looks from mom and Uncle Ro, who was on his 4th cup of coffee, which worried me a little. [If he has a heart attack, I'll fix him.] I wasn't worried anymore. [And I agree. Maybe you should give him a scale as an award? That'd maybe get us an even better reaction.]

I hummed at that, debating on how much space my tail would take up if I brought it out, and sighed when I realized it would be awkward and probably mess up my pants, and break the booth we're in. {I'll do it later. My tail grew a bit though, so I probably have a scale or two ready to fall out.} I didn't really keep track of when I shed, I just knew that if I was suddenly REALLY itchy, then I had to have everyone peel my scales off.

"You girls done with your mental talk?" Martha and I blinked, and turned to mom, who had a raised brow.

Uncle Ro though, he just looked on in weary acceptance. "So that's how you two do the twin speak thing." Shit, he knew our secret! How were we going to surprise him with random twin speak now?

"Yes mother, we're done wondering if we should gift Uncle Sojiro one of Tara's scales as a 'We're sorry for shaking your worldview' gift." Now it was my, and mom's turn to snort.

Uncle Ro just let out a weak chuckle, and sipped his coffee. "That just might make it worse. I don't know how I'd feel if I suddenly owned something that came from a dragon." Uhhh...

Mom, Martha and I shared a look, all wondering if we should tell him or not. Uncle Ro saw this though, and had an 'wait a minute', moment. We all watched as he brought out his family locket, and stared at it, before looking up to me. "Don't tell me."

I nodded. "Ok. Martha, tell em!"

My sister raised a brow, but kept her face deadpan. "Am I just the designated exposition giver now? If so, I quit." That wasn't supposed to happen...

Mom laughed, and gently pat Uncle Ro's shoulder. "Since our exposition machine isn't working anymore...-"

"Excuse me?"

Mom ignored that. "I'll just say it. Yes, that's one of Tara's old fangs. Martha enchanted all of ours to keep us protected." Our uncle looked like he was so done with life, and I was loving it.

Though, feeling Martha remember something, I saw her reach her hand out, and do the 'gimme' motion to his locket. "I nearly forgot, I need to update the defenses on your locket, so give it to me for a bit uncle." Without nary a word, I think that's how it was supposed to be used, Uncle Ro handed over the locket, and Martha's hand was engulfed in scarlet light, the default color of her magic, while an incomplete magic circle started forming under the locket. While my Dragon Core wasn't mature, my own magic circle wouldn't start forming, which was a blow to my dragon sense of pride, that Marta was ahead of me magically, but I didn't care. "Tch, This'll take me a few minutes, no one bother me." That said, I felt her fully focus on the locket, and let her be.

With Martha out of the conversation for a bit, it was just me, mom, and Uncle Ro now. "Well then," Mom got up, and took his now empty cup of coffee, her cup, as well as Martha and I's cups, then made her way to the sink. "Now that that's out of the way, you got any question's Soji?"

(Huh... Might need another award for the world's most deadpan deadpan ever seen.)

"Questions? Lia... You just told me that God," Mom winced at that, and glared at him, making him hold his hands up in surrender. "Sorry, my bad. Anyway, He is real, Angels, Demons, and everything under the sun, is real, and you ask me if I have questions? Are we sure Uncle Masaru didn't drop you as a child?"

I almost choked on air at that, while mom rolled her eyes. "I KNOW I wasn't dropped as a baby, can you say the same Soji?" Oh?

Seeing my uncle's face, I had trouble keeping my jaw from dislocating itself, while also struggling not to laugh, because then Martha would get annoyed at me for updating the lo... I paused, and after a second of debate, 'knocked' on Martha's part of the link. We could both close ourselves off if we wanted privacy, and since she'd just done that, I had to get her attention that way.

Her eyes flicked to me for a moment, then I felt her side of the link expand. [Yes?]

{Can we give Futaba a locket?} I knew she was only technically a Sakura, but I wanted the gremlin to have one. It was the same for Rias, she wasn't born a Sakura, but was family nonetheless, so she had her own locket with one of my newer fangs, so she had an foot long enchanted dragon fang hanging around her neck.

My sister hummed through our link for a second, then mentally nodded. [When we get back to the house, I'll check if we have any of your old teeth. If we don't, I'll just check if any of your current ones are loose.] Wait a minute... [And if they aren't, I'll just knock one out.] Goddammit.

I physically drooped, because I knew none of my draconic teeth were loose. I'd gotten used to losing teeth/scales/claws, but regrowing them was just so uncomfortable! It was like that feeling you get when a leg or an arm falls asleep, but it keeps going until the replacement is in. It didn't hurt, it was just so ughhh. [Don't complain, you brought it up.] Dammit, it hurt because she was right!

{I know...} I felt her amusement spike, and pouted at her. {Cease woman!} She laughed at me. {The fury of a million suns, Mar-Mar!} She just laughed harder. (I hate it here.)

Zoning back into the now, I noticed mom and Uncle Ro having their own conversation again, and since I didn't feel like barging into that, I brought my phone out, and went to the Kuoh Group chat, idly noticing Koneko wasn't online.

-Devil's Bloom-

Lightning Flower - Sooo, does accidentally revealing the supernatural to our uncle count for the bet?

I was pretty sure it didn't, but just wanted to check.

Rose of Ruin - Tara-nee... It's only been an hour... How could you possibly have hit a road bump this fast?!

(Uhh... Let's just not tell her... Well... Rias would understand... But then she might just teleport over, and that would complicate things... Damn.) Rias porting over was an entertaining idea, but wouldn't help at the moment.

Deliciously Sinful - Mah mah, looks like someone owes our kitten some cake.~

Damn.

Serpent Sitri - Will this be an issue?

I blinked, and responded without missing a beat.

Lightning Flower - Nah, Uncle Ro's good.

Serpent Sitri - Very well.

Sona dropped out of the chat after that.

Jack's Knight - Well... That happened.

Kiba stating the obvious was obvious.

Rose of Ruin - Anyway! Tara-nee, explain!

Well shit... (Okay, how do I explain this in a way that DOESN'T make Rias teleport over?) It took a bit, but I figured it out.

Lightning Flower - We were just told about something he had to deal with, and it pissed us off. We're all fine, so don't worry.

I didn't like hiding Futaba from Rias, the two would hit it off, there wasn't a doubt in my mind, but I wanted to get an idea on how Futaba was mentally first, before letting Rias come over. (Though, we could maybe swing Gasper into Futaba's friend circle.) The trapire was doing better, he connected to Martha more then he did me, but he liked staying inside his room, doing NEET things. So, putting the two NEET's together just made sense to me. (Kinda sounds like I'm setting them up to go out... I'll shelve this for later.) I had no idea if Futaba would like a trap, but the worst that could happen was her not being interested.

That aside, I felt my phone vibrate, and checked the chat.

Rose of Ruin - Oh, ok. Anything else we should know?

Deliciously Sinful - And should we make another bet? The last one went so well.

Lightning Flower - At the moment, there's nun else. And fuck you too you ero miko.

Deliciously Sinful - Gladly.~ Do you want to be tied down or should I get the cuffs?

My eye twitched. It was annoying dealing with a sadomasochistic woman like Akeno.

White Mage - Sometimes I wonder how Akeno hasn't managed to corrupt the younger members of Rias' Peerage.

Rose of Ruin - Simple, Koneko loathes perversion, and Gasper is a good boy.

Lightning Bloom - Koneko is also a good girl, she's MY good girl, and Akeno knows I'd blast her to the Stone Age if she made Koneko uncomfortable.

Deliciously Sinful - Hai hai mama dragon, you've told me sooo many times before, that it's stuck already.

I rolled my eyes at that, because yes, I'd threatened her with dragon fire, I was surprised that yes I COULD breath fire, if she corrupted my Koneko. I felt my dragon instincts stir, and took a few seconds to placate it.

Contrary to Martha and our mom's belief, I knew how I thought/felt about Koneko, I just didn't know how to go about addressing it. I couldn't exactly go up to her and just say she was my daughter, what kind of idiot would do that? Besides, I didn't know if she would even want me to claim that kind of role with her. It could mess up what we had going if she said she preferred me to be the older sister between us. (And I'm not sure what scares me more. Her agreeing with that, or her calling me mom.) It terrified the shit out of me.

I hadn't brought it up with mom or Martha, because I knew they would manage to talk me into addressing this with Koneko. I knew I was being a stupid bitch, but I didn't want to suddenly just fundamentally change my relationship with Koneko. I wanted to wait a bit more, then address it... (Though I've been pushing it back for a while... Fuck... Fuck it. When we get back, I'll bring it up.) I felt my dragon instincts let out an approving growl, then slowly go back to being silent in my subconscious.

With that resolved, I checked the chat, and noticed that everything was fine with the group now, so I turned back to mom and Uncle Ro's conversation. "-estly, I'm half worried I'll be smote the next time I walk into church... I won't be smote, right Illiya?"

Mom laughed at that, and waved it off. "You'll be fineee. Sure, I haven't met an Angel yet, and the church is corrupt to Hell and back...-"

"What?"

"But they should be fine... I think."

"Nonono, we're not skipping passed what you just said. What do you mean the church is corrupt?"

Mom looked at him, then at me, then back to him. "Well, power and corrupting and all that. Besides, it's not any of our stories to share."

Uncle Ro closed his eyes, took in a breath, and thumped his head against the table. "Why can't we be a normal family? Was too much to ask for?"

Mom and I shared a look, and looked at him like he was an idiot. "Uhhh, Uncle Ro... You do remember that Grandpa is a world renown Martial Artist that can beat the shit out of damn near everyone, right?" I was pretty sure I heard a 'wait, what?!' From somewhere, but didn't pay it too much mind. "And don't even get me started om Grandma. I don't even KNOW how big the company is, but she's fuckin everywhere!" And she really was, I saw like, four ads of different fashion lines Grandma had put out, while we were on the train. It was crazy.

"Plus, we'd still be three of the most beautiful women you'd ever see, so that'd still be a level above normalcy." Now that got mom a look from the both of us. "What?"

"Mom... I'm a dragon... I'M supposed to be the vain one." I knew I was though, I'd bought and put on this really comfortable pair of yoga pants last week that made my legs and ass look amazing, so I was being a hypocrite here. "Hell, even in his little fucking gauntlet, the old gecko still tries to come off like he's hot shit." Which was also true. Ddraig and I sniped at each other alot, which Issei had gotten used too at this point, and he was bragging about shit he'd done centuries ago as if I was supposed to care. (Well... Hearing him blow up a mountain because Albion was sleeping in it sounds funny and petty as hell.) I wasn't at that level of strength yet, but knowing I would be was awesome.

"... 'Old gecko?' Do I even want to know?" Hmm... That was a good question.

Mom took it out of my hands though when she answered. "You remember the whole 'Sacred Gear' thing Martha mentioned?" I felt Martha notice her name, and was now paying the conversation just a bit more attention. When Uncle Ro nodded, she went on, and had a grin I didn't like seeing, cause I knew where it led. "So, one of the kids from Kuoh has one, and it's one of the big 12, you remember those too right?" Another nod. "Right, so, the one he has is 'The Boosted Gear', AKA, the sealed form of the Welsh Dragon. And I mean the one on their FLAG!" Uncle Ro's eyes nearly popped out of his skull. "Turns out he's a pretty cool looking gauntlet now, with a green gem that glows when he speaks. And oh boy, you wouldn't BELIEVE how I found that out." I groaned, knowing where she was going with this.

Mom's grin grew, and she went on. "Now, I was out and about, getting groceries, normal mother things, ya know. And when I'm done, and I get back home, the first thing I hear is Tara shouting 'THAT'S WHY YOU'RE IN A TEENAGE BOY'S JERK OFF HAND YOU OLD FUCK!'" UGHHH!

I had just enough time to see Uncle Ro's head whip towards me, eyes as wide as I've ever seen em, before I slammed my head onto the table. "L've me 'lone." Mom's laughter annoyed me, and mortified me at the same time.

Of course, it had to be while I was already down, that Martha fully returned to the land of the living. "Here you go uncle." I opened an eye, and saw her hand over the locket, which uncle reverently took, and put it on. I saw it glow for a second, and my senses told me the magic on it was now on par with ours.

My sister nodded to herself, and I felt her amusement spike. "Now, I do believe we were talking about Tara and Ddraig's first meeting." Oh for the fucking...

I closed my eye, and let out a long suffering sigh. (Kill me now.)

And so I was being embarrassed to help Uncle Ro feel better about the supernatural being real.

[Omake - Who dat? Futaba's POV.](I have no idea when Futaba got her setup set up, but for the sake of expediting the process, just pretend Sojiro caved early on.)

Ever since Sojiro found me, I had a routine.

Wake up, brush and breakfast, research into what mom was working on/hack into any and everywhere that might give me clues, eat when Sojiro gives me food, repeat prior action, maybe watch some anime, then sleep. It was easy... Sorta... Not really.

I didn't really know how to be around Sojiro. He saved me, clothed me, fed me, took me into his own home, and I had no idea how to react to it. Mom was go-mad at me for ki-ne, and I was alone... Then the fu-burial, they buried her, laid her low-neral, and uncle... I was alone, and he saved me. He gave me everything I asked fo-undiserved-r, and tried to talk to me. But I just made it harder and harder for him to try... He didn't deserve a monster like me.

It was only worse when mom screamed at me... Like now. "You'll kill him. You'll betray him and his death will be ALL YOU FA...-" A loud sound came from my monitor, and I noticed it came from my bugs in Sojiro's cafe... He took me in and takes care of me, the least I could do was watch out for him... That was my reasoning, and it wasn't going to change no matter what.

Anyway, looking at my monitors, I rewound the last few seconds from the bugs in the cafe, and listened in. "Best Sakura's sound off! Heeey!" Huh?

""Tara here!/I'm not a Pokemon."" That second answer made me snort.

(But seriously, who are they?)

Sojiro answered my question a moment later. "Wh-what the?! Lia?! Tara? Martha? The hell are you doing here?!" Well, I had names now.

While they talked, I put the audio from the cafe in the background, and started looking up Sojiro's family... Which is something I felt more then a little dirty about, but had to do just be-protection, who are they?-cause. So, putting aside my self recrimination, I started searching up Sojiro.

It took me less time to find out just who he, and the rest of the women in the cafe, were then I was expecting. As soon as the connection between Sakura Blooms was found, and wasn't that a doozie, that I found a mention on the personal account of the head of Sakura Blooms to an DragonBloom on Twitter, which showed me 'Tara Sakura.' And when I found her... I just had to pause, because (What the fuck?! Erza Scarlet?! Nonono, I'm just imagining it. There's no way...) My brain was making the connection, but the blue eyes were telling me that it was just a coincidence. (But... Hearing her talk... Ugh! Just to be sure.) Opening another tab, and muting the cafe audio, I went to YouTube, pulled up a subbed clip of Erza, and listened to her talk. (Ok, now, Tara Sakura.) And with a short video of her, and a cute white haired girl, I listened to her speak, idly noticing that the white haired girl was called Koneko... And when Tara Sakura talked normally... (Oh my god... Oh My God! OH MY GOD! THERE'S AN ANIME CHARACTER IN SOJIRO'S CAFE!) Then I noticed there was another picture on her timeline, one of her, a taller, beautiful, and more mature woman that was most likely her mother, and another girl next to her standing as the same height as Tara Sakura, who looked just like her, just a little diff... I blinked, felt recognition, and had a brainwave. (OHMYGODTHERE'STWOANIMECHARACTERS!)

That thought hit me so hard, I fell out of my chair, accidentally unmuting the cafe's audio. "Since my mother and sister are suddenly children, I'll explain it."

I blinked. (What'd I miss?)

The next words I heard blew my mind. "I am a human mage. Tara is a dragon. And mother is a Devil."

(WHADDAFUCKDIDIMISS?!)