1/4

{Tara's general POV 2 hours later}

After being embarrassed, we eventually settled down, and talked about other stuff. It was nice just chilling with family, but eventually, we moved on to do other stuff... Like exploring! I didn't remember everything about P5, it'd been a decade and some years since I'd seen anything related to it, which was one of the reasons I was so caught off guard when Uncle Ro talked about how he found Futaba, but I did remember some of the fun stuff, like locations!

We started out at Yongen-Jaya, and moved onto Shibuya, exploring the area, getting snacks like a really tasty parfait, and just being tourists. We even stopped by the bookstore for a bit, where Martha found a fucking tome about magical theory that she didn't have, and was interested in. We, or she would when she had time, were probably going to drop by here to check if there were any other gems. Then I remembered the bigger bookstore in Jinbocho, and we ended up heading over there, where she found two more tomes to add to her library. She freaked mom and I out when she picked up this THICK, and I mean 500 pages minimum, thick book written in Chinese, and practically ran to the counter to buy it. The other book she found was smaller, but not by that much.

Later, we found out that the thick book was a guide on golem creation, one she thought was a precursor to the Terracotta Soldiers in lore. A part of me was worried that when we got home, she'd turn Kuoh into one of the most heavily guarded territories on earth, but the rest of me wanted to fight cool golems.

The other book was a volume on elemental magic, combination magics that could be made, and how. She knew most of them, but there were a few she didn't know, and was interested in testing out.

That trip aside, we had a good time looking around.

Though, none of us knew about the S grade freak out a certain gremlin was having.

{Futaba's POV during the explanation}

(... Holy shit...) There was no other way to describe what I just learned, and how I felt about it. A part of me was just convinced I was having the weirdest dream I'd ever had, but that part was put in a corner after I pinched myself really hard... My cheek was still a little sore...

Anyway, I had so many new docs about what I just learned, it was crazy. There was a doc for Angels and the Heaven Faction. Another doc for the Fallen and their faction. And one for the Devils and their factions, which was the only one with two different factions in it. I had a doc with magic, well, what kinds were talked about. (Who knew there were so many kinds of magic?) From what I had recorded, there was the human kind, which was mathematics on crack, Devil magic which was inherent to them and based off of imagination, Japanese, Egyptian, Celtic, Runic, Wards, and a bunch of other stuff. It was all so interesting, and I was looking forward to seeing if I could do any of it. (Human magic is just math, I can do that.) I totally could.

I had docs on the Yokai, because apparently those were real, and a literal 9 tailed fox owned Japan, with the gods of the Japanese pantheon backing her. Another on the church, since while they were backed up by Heaven, they were technically two different factions since the church was corrupt, and who saw that one coming? No, seriously. You'd think that having literal Angels around would keep that from happening, but guess not.

There was also a doc on what I knew about dragons, and damn wasn't that something? Just knowing the Welsh dragon was real, and technically still alive, was awesome. Having one literally a minute or two away was just as co-dangerous, need more information-ol. It was even cooler that she and her sister looked and sounded like characters from Fairy Tail, though, I was kinda disappointed that Tara Sakura didn't know Requip magic.

That aside, I resumed listening to the conversation, which was just a treasure trove of in-invaluable and highly useful-formation. There was so much to lea... I blinked, and rewound the conversation a few seconds back to make sure I just heard that right. "If you'd like, I could Ward your home and cafe against anyone that'd wish you or your charge harm."

I took that in, and slowly nodded at that. (...So they're going to be in the house... Cool... Cool...) Then it hit me. (They're gonna be in the house!) On the one hand, magic! On the other hand, (STRANGER BUT NOT TECHNICALLY STRANGER SINCE SHE'S RELATED TO SOJIRO, DANGER! AHHHH!)

"Hmm... Alright. I'll let Futaba know some family is dropping in tomorrow."

(TOMORROW?! AGHHHHHHHHH!)

I didn't notice to glowing yellow eyes in the corner, staring at me while I was freaking out.

{Present time, Tara's POV}

"Sooo, what do?" We'd had fun just going around, but now we were at the point of 'what do we do now?' Which was why I asked the question.

Mom and Martha, who was practically devouring the golem creation tome she'd found, looked at me, and we all stared at each other for a bit. Martha was the first to look away, more interested in the book then she was of us, which was obvious given the fact I was literally dragging her along while her nose was deep in the book. (Gotta respect the determination.)

Mom looked away second, and shrugged. "Don't know. I don't actually care about Tokyo, Kuoh is more my speed, even with the wacky life we have there."

Well damn... (Now what?) I racked my mind about stuff to do, aside from going back to Leblanc, we'd go back later, and eventually decided to do the fun thing. "Split up?"

After some thinking, mom nodded, and started looking around. We were back in Shibuya at this point, in front of the 'Big Bang Burger', and she eventually spotted somewhere she liked. "Alright, have fun girls, and if anything pops up, call me." I was happy she didn't try to baby me, and grinned. She rolled her eyes at that, and waved me off as she walked away. "Love ya." And so she walked off.

That left my sister and I. Knowing that Martha was going to spend her time being a nerd, her eyes snapped up to me, daring me to go down that train of thought. I chickened out, and decided not too. "Anywaaay, there should be a nice spot to relax too over there." I pointed in the general area of that one place you can go study and get INT with coffee. We passed by it earlier, which kicked that memory up to the front of my mind.

Martha looked to where I was pointing, hummed, then nodded as she gently closed the book. "Have a good time, and try not to expose the supernatural world." And then she was gone.

(... I can feel the sweatdrop...) Shaking that off, I decided to put my headphones in, I sent a silent thanks to the Kirijo Group for making wireless headphones for some reason, and set my playlist on shuffle as I started walking around. I lived in an anime/game world now, so random events should just happen if I wandered around.

It was sound logic in my opinion.

{Another 2 hours later}

(Ok, maybe not so sound logic.) I'd been walking around for a couple of hours, and nothing interesting happened. I hadn't bumped into anyone, wandered into some random fight, interrupted some super secret organization, nothing! (Is it only protagonists that have that kind of luck? Am I a side character now?!) I never really thought about how Martha and I would be classified by the world, but now that I tried to test some anime logic, I was starting to worry. (I'm... I'm not a side character... Right?) As if the universe heard my thoughts, an answer came to me in the form of a scent I KNEW, suddenly appearing around me.

Looking out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a colorful haired individual, which already was a point in the 'supernatural origin' column. The guy had gray hair, not white or silver, gray, and cobalt blue eyes. From what I could tell, he was a few inches shorter then me, and had a lean swimmers build. His clothes looked fancy, penguin looks pretty much, and was a good 7/10. If he lost the lust and desire in his eyes when he leered at me, he might've gotten an 8, but eh.

He also smelled like a Devil, so I knew what was going on. (So, should I bet on Sex Slave, or Peerage 'recruitment?' Hmm...) It coulda been both, so I reserved the right to bet, and just kept walking around. I was in Nakano at the moment, I wanted to see the place from the Cyber Sleuth games, which I actually played, and maybe see if Alphamon was here, because if Digimon was in this world, I'd lose my fucking mind and do everything I could to get my claws on a Dracmon. Sure, Digimon as a franchise was here, but I wanted to hope dammit! I loved that little shit, and wanted a Sangloupmon as a pet. (Vampire doggo best doggo.)

Humming that thought away, I stopped playing music, but kept my headphones in as I focused my hearing onto him. "Hmm, a Queen... Slightly unfortunate, but I should be able to get brother to trade me her. We'll be even afterwards." I rolled my eyes, mentally noting that I was worth a Queen to this guy.

Rias and Sona had said they had to actively use their King's Sight to get a read on Martha and I, and when they did, they would see that they weren't strong enough to reincarnate us even if they did have their Queen Piece. So, knowing that this guy would need to use his strongest piece to reincarnate me gave me an estimate of how strong he was. (High-High Class.) Rias and Sona were both Medium-High Class Devils, they'd grown a stage ever since we started training together, but they hadn't reached that stage yet. They'd probably be there by the time 'canon' would come, or they could be even stronger. Only time would tell.

But back to my stalker, I felt my senses... Shift, as people all around me started to suddenly start leaving. It didn't matter that some people were mid lunch... Or dinner considering the time. Anyone and everyone human was leaving the area. (Huh... Guess this guy doesn't believe in subtlety.) Knowing what was happening, I stopped pretending, and turned to the gray haired Devil, raising a brow as I did.

The dude sneered at me, which lowered his attractiveness to a 5 at most, and walked away from the stairs, where he was looking at me from. Popping out my headphones, I heard him talk at me when the last human left the building, as the rest of this type of 'Bounded Field', settled on the building. "Not even going to attempt to escape little human?"

That was interesting. (So he doesn't know I'm a dragon?) I knew Martha had made a good Concealment Collar, it was an invisible choker that hid my nature, and a good amount of power... (Which, now that I'm thinking about it, maybe it's working on his King's Sight? Did it work that way?) I didn't actually remember... {Hey, quick question.}

[Yes? What have you done?] I was annoyed that that was her first assumption, but it was whatever. Getting to the point, I asked her about it. Her answer should've been obvious. [Yes. At the moment, you should appear 25% weaker then you are in your base form.]

{Cool beans. Thanks!}

[You're welcome.] And she was right back to doing whatever she was doing.

Zoning back in, I noticed that the guy looked annoyed at me, and realized I didn't answer him. Thankfully, thinking at each other went faster then talking outloud. "What's the point? Running from a weakling doesn't make too much sense to me." I was very much a fan of the 'Make em mad em stupid' philosophy, and would happily exploit it if I could.

My opening taunt got a twitch of his eye, and a tensing of his posture. (Tch, well, atleast it's a start.) In an ideal world, he would've gone apeshit, charged me, and gotten his head taken off by a Triple Kick or something similar. (Can't always get what we want. Though, doesn't stop me from going again.) Grinning to myself, I made a show of looking around, a 'curious' look on my face as I did. "Sooo, is it just you? Or am I missing something here?" His eye twitched again, but that was it... Well, maybe his sneer got worse? But I couldn't tell.

Though, surprisingly, the guy grew a malicious smirk, and started walking down the stairs. "You've got a mouth on you, it'll be a pleasure," I felt my skin crawl as he said that. "Breaking you of th...-" Yeah, fuck that.

Not giving this random guy finish talking, I moved. (Lightning Dragon's Thunder Step.) I turned into a bolt of lightning, not the same type as Laxus, but a 'step' below it... I could've done that version, but I found out that it didn't exactly carry momentum, while Thunder Step did...

Anyway, I flashed towards the Devil. I hadn't vocalized it, because that could give the game away, so the Devil had the chance to blink, before I reappeared right in front of him in a spin. Renewal Taekwondo Baekdu, my knee caught him in the chest, lifting him up into the air, and knocking the air out of his lungs, and spittle from his mouth. Though, before he got too high, I brought the leg I used down to the ground, while my other leg shot out quick as lightning. Renewal Taekwondo Baek Rok, I felt and heard my heel shatter the Devil's jaw, giving me a sense of satisfaction.

Said Devil shot into the roof/2nd level floor, breaking through the cement as he did. I stared for a moment, then shrugged. (Not my problem.) Turning into another bolt with my Thunder Step, I materialized onto the 2nd floor, and turned to the Devil, who was picking himself off of the floor. Not really that interested in the guy, I coated my legs in lightning, used another Thunder Step, and appeared above the downed Devil. "Die shithead, Axe!" My leg crashed down against the Devil...

Well, where the Devil had been, since a teleportation circle flared to life underneath him, taking him away... Leaving me to crash on and destroy the floor. When I got up, I just stared at the spot he was at, and I practically drooped. "That's it? I didn't even get warmed up..." Sighing to myself, I put my hood on, hid my hair, and made my way out through the 1st floors back exit. (Hopefully something else comes up, that was just pathetic.)

{Martha's POV same time}

The tomes I'd found today were priceless beyond measure in my opinion, especially the one on golem creation. (Note to self, get Sona something nice for the 'Omni Glasses.') I knew they would be useful, being able to read every language as fluently as a Devil can speak them would always be useful, but they'd helped me find a diamond in the rough. I was sure that neither Tara, nor mother, understood the significance here.

While golems were a somewhat niche field of magic, their potential was astronomical. Need a workforce that doesn't tire? Make golems. Need a spy network that can be spread out throughout an entire city? Make golems. Need an army? Make golems.

Contrary to popular belief, not all golems had to be humanoid. Golems could come in all sizes, such as spiders or birds. So far, I'd been following the theories of just what the best material to craft golems from would be, and was fascinated that clay was one of the best materials. (Either the limitations of their time made it difficult for them to find anything better, or clay is a far more magically conductive material then I gave it credit for.) I didn't know which, and it amazed me. (I'll need to test when we return to Kuoh.) I was giddy at the prospect of creating a network of golems encompassing Kuoh. It would be far more efficient then a Familiar, which Tara, mother and I had yet to receive since Sona and Rias weren't 'cleared' to re-enter the Underworld. Their overprotective siblings wanted them to be at High-High Class levels of power before feeling they would be safe to return.

I was just about to turn the page when I was alerted to someone 'knocking' against my ward. Looking up from my tome, I let my senses free, and narrowed my eyes at the 'intruder.' Standing by the side of my booth was a rather short, 5'4/1.63ms at the least, buxom woman with long black hair, emerald eyes behind some rather sleek glasses, and in a outfit befit an office worker. I could tell the woman wasn't human, she felt somewhat similar to Akeno, just a tad bit more... Which confused me for a moment, since I was unsure just what that feeling was.

Either way, the woman was being polite, and I wasn't in the mood to be rude.

So, giving her a nod, I watched as she smiled, and gently slid into my booth. After ordering some coffee, the woman turned to me, and blinked as she noticed my reading material. "Golems huh? I never quite understood the appeal of the creatures." Hoh? I took in her accent, somewhat British, and put away the image that reared itself in my mind.

I gave the woman a raised brow, and decided to enlighten her as it were. "So you know of a more efficient spy network then hundreds of thousands of bird/insect typed golems?"

My guest opened her mouth and raised a finger, then blinked as she took in my answer, resulting her her lowering her finger. "Huh... Aside from the time sink that would take up, and the conspiracy theories that would crop up should a bird turn to mush in front of people, I see your point... But how would you go about hiding their magical output and signature?"

That question made me smile. "The simplest way would be to enchant the base material so any golems created from it will inherently have that ability." She blinked again, but grinned a moment later, recognizing that it was a good and simple idea. "Could you imagine manually enchanting golems one after the other? I'd die of boredom should I attempt such a thing."

My comment earned me a laugh from my guest, who gave me a nod after she was done. "Quite." She set her coffee down, and extended a hand to me. "Azalea Nightshade."

I had to take a moment to beat away the 'looks like a Potter, has a flower for her first and last name, and is supernatural' thoughts, and shook my guest's hand. "Tara Sakura." I was amused at the pause, and sudden look of recognition in her eyes, which made my smile turn to a grin at the fact she hadn't approached me due to my identity.

After her surprise was over, and we stopped shaking hands, my guest asked a question I was anticipating. "'Sakura', as in Elaine Sakura?"

In reply, I brought out my locket, which made her subtly tense as she most likely felt the Enchantments, Wards and Runes I'd woven into it, and opened it. All of our family members had the same photo on one part of the locket, a family picture of all of us under the old tree in Kuoh Park. Tara and I were 7 in the picture, smiling and standing side by side as our mother stood behind us, arms around our shoulders as she beamed at the camera, while our Grandparents were behind her. Grandfather had a stern but clearly happy look on his face, while Grandmother had a serene smile and look on hers.

The other picture in my locket was a picture of Tara and I, both a few months old at the time, sleeping side by side and holding each others hands. Seeing that picture seemingly erased Azalea's weariness of the locket as she cooed at it. "Oh how adorable. I wasn't told Elaine Sakura had grandchildren."

That made me blink as I closed and put my locket away. "Truly? It's not that hard to find out, especially when Grandmother tags one of us on her personal account." Which she had done so in recent memory.

Azalea looked at me, somewhat embarrassed for some reason. "Well, it's kind of hard getting time to myself. I'm practically running my my boss' office, and that nearly takes up all of my time. Sure, I get to have breaks and all that, go shopping when I can, but..." She lost the embarrassment for a bit, and gave me a look. "Just to be sure, you know I'm not some regular person, correct?" My deadpan made her rephrase that. "You know I'm not human, correct?" I nodded, because while I knew she was something, I was unsure of what... Aside from it being something similar to Akeno. "Well, I'm a half Fallen," And there was my answer. I didn't know why Akeno hadn't told us of that, but I'd question her when we returned home. "Is there any issue with it?"

I shook my head at that. "No. Considering you haven't turned into a rotting and curse addled corpse, you don't seem to have hostile intentions. So long as you don't try anything, I don't care what you are."

She went green at her possible fate, and gently pushed away her coffee. "Ok... There went my thirst... I swear, whoever enchanted those things is one is," I cleared my throat, and gave her a look that said 'choose your words carefully.' She got the message, and switched tracks. "A bloody intelligent individual."

That earned her a grin. "Why thank you." Seeing her go even greener made me burst out laughing. She shook off her fear/unease, sighed at me, rubbing her forehead as she did, and began whispering about 'crazy humans' and some such. After she was done with that, we eventually ended up talking about magic and what being a Fallen, even a half as she was, entailed.

All in all, it was a fun talk, and we exchanged numbers at the end. (This may just be the start of quite a nice friendship.)

{Illiya's POV same time}

(Okay... Where the hell am I?) I got bored just walking around Shibuya, so I activated one of Martha's 'Notice-Me-Not' Rune Stones, and let my wings out to fly. Flying was one of my favorite pastimes, the wind in my face and whipping around my body just felt so freeing. Martha was the only one that didn't really care about it, she preferred relaxing/studying, but would indulge us when Tara gave us a ride on her dragon body.

Though, my love for flying wasn't important at the moment, because I had no idea just where I was. It didn't help that I felt something on the edge of my senses, watching me. (Ok Illiya, before you start overthinking, just do the simple thing.) With that thought, I took out my phone, and opened Maps. When it finished loading, I blinked at where my GPS told me I was. "How the hell did I end up in Asakusa?" Now that I knew where I was, I looked around, and spotted the famous Sensoji Temple. (Hmm... Visit a place that may or may not have some supernatural faction there? Or go fly around some more?) I was actually pretty torn here, because while I liked flying, I WAS a tourist at the moment, and the Sensoji Temple looked beautiful... (I'll just let them know where I am, just in case.)

After sending a text to my girls that basically said 'If I don't show up in a few hours, I was here', I flew down towards a nearby alley, and turned off the Notice-Me-Not as I walked out. As I did, I noticed the feeling of being watched grew. (Well,hopefully we won't have to destroy this beautiful temple.) And so I walked through the gates, taking in the sites while keeping an eye on my surroundings.

{25 minutes later}

Aside from my stalkers, since I felt another pair of observers looking at me, being a tourist was fun. I took some pictures, found a nice little stand that sold Dango, delicious Dango, and saw the sights. I was having fun, and almost missed it when one of the eyes on me, one of the recent ones, started coming my way. I didn't outwardly react, but internally, I was curious. (Yokai, Magician, or an Onmiyoji. No way it's a Devil, I'd recognize the feeling if it was.) So, I waited, and wondered what one of my stalkers was.

It didn't take long for said stalker to reach my bench, which was where I was sitting at and looking at the Sakura trees, they were in full bloom, and it was beautiful. The stalker sat at the end of the bench, I was on the other end, and he just sat there. The guy seemed to be in his 50's, his hair was greying at the roots, dark brown eyes, was muscled but not like a bodybuilder, and was in shaman robes, similar to the ones Akeno wears. (Onmiyoji is looking like a winner so far.) His hands were in his sleeves, so I had no clue what he was holding, but he did look tense, and ready to spring into action.

While I was sizing him up, he was doing the same to me. I noticed he didn't ogle my breasts, so that was a point in his favor. We both spent a few more moments looking at each other, and I ended up breaking the silence. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but stalkers tend to get their balls broken."

I doubted he expected anything like that, and was proven right when his eyes widened, before he coughed loudly, getting his surprise under control. "While that information is somewhat entertaining, I must inform you that no, I am not a stalker. I am Ikehara Moroe, the senior Onmiyoji stationed here. May I be graced by your name, Ms. Devil?"

Humming at that, I filed away the fact he was the head honcho, and decided to treat him how he treated me. "You may. I'm Sakura Illiya." The recognition of my last name was there, but I went on. "So, what's the big cheese want with little old me?"

Ikehara didn't seem phased by what I said, and answered. "Usually, when a Devil enters the area, we place them under surveillance, and depending on what we see, that Devil is either eliminated,' Ouch. "Left alone, or contacted."

That made me raise a brow. "And? What'd you want to talk about?"

The old Onmiyoji looked at me, and I could tell he was scrutinizing me, which raised my hackles a bit. "When a High Class Devil shows up, our scrutiny needs to be more extensive. I believe you sensed my partner observing you from afar?" I nodded, because I did... And also noticed he only said 'partner', singular. I didn't react to that, but mentally frowned as I kept my senses sharp. There was also a shot of pride that ran through me at the official confirmation that I was the 3rd strongest Devil from the Kuoh group. We'd known I was, but it couldn't be made official until the girls went back down under, which they'd have too during events and stuff. "We've decided to speak to you, and get your intentions for why you are here. Now, may I know why you are here Sakura-san?"

"At the moment, I'm visiting family, my cousin to be precise, and being a tourist on the side. That's it really." And it really was. (Now, I just have to hope he's not a paranoid bastard. I'd hate to have to fight here.)

Ikehara hummed, but kept his gaze on me. I met it, since I had nothing to hide, and he nodded. "Very well. What of your Peerage?"

The fact he assumed I had one only made me feel better. "Don't have one." He looked surprised at that, which he was justified in because by all rights, I could get one for myself, but didn't exactly want too. That could change in the future, but not now. "I AM here with my daughters though." That seemed to interest him, so I went on. "Sakura Martha and Sakura Tara. They're not Devil's though, but in the know." No way in hell was I going to tell this guy Tara was a dragon. Nope, no-sirre.

The old Onmiyoji nodded, and after showing him a picture of my girls, he spoke. "I'll pass this along. So long as neither of them create an issue for the mundane world, or us, they will be allowed to pass through Onmiyoji controlled areas." Nice.

We talked a bit more after that, asked if he had a book about the history of the Onmiyodo, because Martha would probably want one of those, and eventually we split off after he gave me a few about their history.

When he left, I got up, and made my way out, noticing that the presence that watched me before the Onmiyoji was long gone. (Haaah. Whatever.) Taking out my phone, I noticed a few new messages in the family group chat, which did include Irina, but she was out on assignment so none of us expected to hear from her for a while, that caught my eye.

-In Full Bloom-

Lightning Flower - So, I knocked out this weak Devil shithead, what'd you guys do?

Rose of Ruin - Huh?

Scarlet Begonia - I seem to have made friends with the female version of Harry Potter... Shut up Tara.

Lightning Flower - NEEEEEERD!

Rose of Ruin - ?

Scarlet Begonia - That aside, Azalea, the woman in question, also happens to be a Half Fallen.

Lightning Flower - Cool... But anyway, NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERD!

Rose of Ruin - Oh... Ummm... Does that mean..?

Scarlet Begonia - Yes. It does. We will talk of this when we return home.

Rose of Ruin - Ok...

Lightning Flower - ?

Scarlet Begonia - I'll tell you later.

Lightning Flower - Kay. Mom, you there? Anything interesting come up?

Sapphire Camellia - Yeah. Just got done with meeting an Onmiyoji. Martha, I got you a book about their history.

Scarlet Begonia - Ah, thank you.

Lightning Flower - Nothing for me?

Sapphire Camellia - I bought you a box of Dango.

I didn't, but I was going to do so before we met up, so she couldn't find out I lied.

Lightning Flower - Yes!

Rose of Ruin - ... I'm not even there, and you 3 are giving me a headache.

Lightning Flower - Sucks to suck.

Scarlet Begonia - Oh well.

Sapphire Camellia - There's Aspirin in the bathroom mirror.

It was hilarious to me that our responses came in back to back to back.

Rose of Ruin - ... Atleast mom cares.

Lightning Flower - I luuuuuuv u!

I rolled my eyes, reactivated the Notice-Me-Not, walked off. I had a box of Dango to buy.

{Next day, Tara's POV}

Waking up in a different house was slightly annoying, I was basically on autopilot when I noticed I hadn't taken out my jar of Lightning Beads, so I had to do that to get one, and then I had to backtrack since I passed the bathroom, then had to reign in my tail, because having it thump against the sleek floors of this house didn't feel good.

Though, the annoyance of a new place was put to the side when I thought about what my sister told me and mom about yesterday. I knew about the weird scent that was part of Akeno, I just never really questioned it since she never brought it up. (But a half Fallen, huh... Why did she never tell us?) I had no idea, but we'd all been noticing a pattern with Rias' Peerage. (A therapist would be having a field day with those kids. Kiba is sorta normal now after Martha called him a dumbass, Gasper is a NEET, but a somewhat socially adapted NEET. Koneko still has some issues expressing herself, and we don't know what Akeno hides behind her S&M persona... Damn. When I put it like that, Rias' Peerage would be a bomb waiting to go off at the worst times.)

Shaking that thought off, I zoned back into what we were doing now, and saw my sister still had the golem book with her. {Are you going to bring that thing everywhere?}

She didn't even look at me as she responded. [Yes. The subject matter is something I have a vested interest in mastering, and I will use as much time as I can to do so.]

Ehh... {If you say so.}

The three of us talked a bit, and decided what we were going to do today. Mom was going to spend the day with Uncle Ro, helping around the cafe, spending time talking to him and all that jazz, while Martha and I were going to stay with them for a bit, then split off to do our own thing. My sister was going to Ward the cafe and his home, then go search for more bookstores, while also studying up on golems. She also said she might meet up with Azalea again, and I teased her about having a date with Harry Potter. I knew the woman, because she was in her early 20's, wasn't really Harry Potter, but she had the black hair, green eyes, and a flower name, so I had my material. Meanwhile I was going to go manga/merch hunting in Akihabara. Rias had sent me a list of manga she was interested in, and was 'asking' me to see if I could find them. She also 'asked' me for merch. It was hard to say no when she gave me puppy dog eyes, while her ahoge wagged around like a tail.

{5 minutes later}

It was easier getting to Yongen-Jaya when we could teleport, mom and Martha could but I couldn't, over, and I could tell we were all happy that we didn't need to take the train. Though, we were 2 hours earlier then yesterday, so I didn't know how different the trains would be. (Not that I intend to find out, cause fuck that noise.)

That annoying thought aside, we marched over to Uncle Ro's cafe, and since I was in the lead this time, I had the honor to announce our presence... And I did just that when I opened the door to the cafe. So, in my most serious tone, which cowed weak willed idiots, I spoke. "Halt criminal scum, you've broken the law! Pay the fine, or serve your sentence!" I thought Akeno was starting to rub her sadistic tendencies on me, because watching Uncle Ro almost jump out of his skin, and let out a 'manly' shriek, nearly had me start laughing my ass off.

When he noticed it was us though, he let out a long breath, and glared at me, while mom laughed behind me. "Did you HAVE to nearly give me a heart attack, Tara?" My answer was a grin that made him sigh again. "Ugh, whatever. Morning Lia, Martha, pain in the ass."

"'Scuse you?" He ignored me as we walked in.

My mom and sister, the former who was still laughing, while the latter had an amused grin on her face, went to claim their places from yesterday, while I did the same. With us all seated, he asked for our orders, and we just asked for the same stuff we had yesterday.

As he went to work, we talked about stuff, none of his regulars had showed up yet so we could freely talk about what he learned yesterday, and how he was coping with it. So far, he was doing ok, but he was still shaken at the prospect of walking passed a Yokai or something on the street, and not know.

That ended up getting us onto the topic of what we did yesterday, and it was to say, Uncle Ro was not amused at how quickly we ran into three different supernaturals. "... Yeah, I think I'll take those Wards now."

Mom and I snorted, while Martha rolled her eyes. "Very well. Do you want an explanation on what they will do, and how they will work?" He thought about it for a bit, then nodded. Taking that answer, my sister tapped her wrist, where a red gold bracelet appeared. Another tap, but on the bracelet, and a pair of Ward/Hearthstones appeared. The stones were the size of a golf ball, and looked like they were made of marble. Their surface were carved with with Runes so small, that if it weren't for my draconic eyesight, I would've missed them. "Now then, how these work is rather simple," She ignored the look mom and I shot her. "These stones are enchanted to be unbreakable, which doesn't truly mean they can't be destroyed, but it would take a monumental amount of power to do so. They will be shielded, so unless a supernatural us physically standing on them, their signatures will be hidden from them. The next enchantment empowers Runes and Wards tethered onto these stones, which empower them. The second to last will siphon a small amount of mana from the air to fuel them, so I won't be needed to refill them. Then the last one will be to link them, so unless both stones are found and destroyed at the same time, the protections on both properties will not fall."

Uncle Ro just gaped at Martha, before turning to mom and I with a look we both understood. Mom and I nodded, and she took the answer. "Martha's a VERY skilled Enchantress. She, and the rest of the magically talented kids of the group, worked on their skills for years, and that's not counting the amount of time she spends studying magic."

He didn't know what to say to that, so I took the next answer. "And that's not even getting into the Wards and Runes." And really, those were something else. (Kinda feel sorry for anything that tries to attack Uncle Ro or Futaba.)

My sister rolled her eyes at the three of us, and tapped one of her manicured nails against the counter, bringing our uncle's attention back onto her. "Moving on. Layered onto these stones are an Intent Ward, which will determine the intentions of anyone approaching your properties. Those with no harmful or malicious intentions will be able to enter/approach, while those with harmful intentions will be unable to breach the property. Another Ward I've placed onto them is one that will passively release an effect similar to my healing ability, just far weaker. So, minor issues like paper cuts and the like will close and heal after a half hour, while major issues will be prevented in the long run." I was starting to wonder if that would help with keeping his jaw from hitting the floor. "The last Ward I've been able to layer onto them is an Emergency Alert that will notify me, Tara, mother, or all three of us should they be under attack. I doubt that will ever happen, but to be cautious and all." He nodded at that, understanding why it was needed. "And lastly, the Runes." She smiled here, proud at them, and for good reason. Carved onto these stones are a trio of Runic Arrays of my own creation. The first is an array comprised of Scandinavian, Egyptian and Mayan Runes. This array is the main retaliation/attack array capable of turning anyone foolish enough into mummified and rotten corpses, turning their own essence against themselves, while also empowering the Wards at the same time." Even when she basically skimmed over what that array did, Uncle Ro shivered.

Not caring about that, she went on. "The secondary Array is more defensive in nature, and will be where the majority of any drained power will go. This array has Nordic, Celtic, Japanese, and only one Egyptian Rune. The defenses will prevent possession and help alleviate, mental ailments, curses, and other nasty effects from being placed on you, provide the properties with a defense that can endure assault from High-Class beings while the retaliatory array does its work, and ensures creatures such as ghosts or low leveled Yokai cannot enter the property." I was a little worried his eyes would pop out of his skull. "Then, the last array. With a combination of some Japanese, Native American/Shamanistic, and Celtic Runes, your properties will be protected from scrying/divining, and other forms of searching."

It was hard to believe that those small marbles were capable of all that much, but Martha had literally spent years working on Enchanting/Warding/Rune she hadn't managed to make something like that with her affinity to everything, her natural smarts, a library, even a small one, and Devil support, then something would've had to be wrong.

The stupidly strong Hearthstones aside, Martha still had a bit left. "Now, where do you want me to place them?"

After thinking about it for a bit, he decided the first stone would be put under the floorboards by the beans. Martha did some Diagon Alley shit, making the floorboards part like they were supposed too, and I grew my claws so I could dig a hole into the cement. After I was done, she put the Hearthstone in, made some magical clay, and sealed it all up with the floorboards when we were done. With it in there, we all took a bit to let the power of the Hearthstone's Wards wash over us, and thrum to life.

With them on, topics turned to how Martha progressed with that field over the years, and how she was still progressing. She wanted to find Sumerian Runes or magic to add, but she hadn't found any books. Mom and I just shook our heads at that, and let her go on.

As she did, I felt like I was forgetting about something.

{Futaba's POV}

"-Prevent possession, mental ailments..." My mind zoned in on those words, and I almost shutdown.

I thought about everything that happened ever since... The incident, and was putting the pieces together. I heard her voice, saw her when she was gone, felt her around me... (She's haunting me... Mom's haunting me... And it's my fault.) That had to be it. Mom ha-lov-ted me. She hat-lo-ed me enough to come back to haunt me...

She hated me...

[Omake - Well shit... Rias' POV last night.]

Laying in Tara-nee's bed, I just stared at the ceiling, and thought about what I'd just heard. (Not even a single day into their trip, and they all somehow manage to meet a supernatural... Did the Gremory Luck rub off on them or something?) That was the only answer I could come up with. They were in TOKYO, and somehow, out of the millions of people there, met three different people from our side of the world?! (And of course Martha-Obasan would meet a half Fallen.) That was a whole rabbit hole in of itself.

Though one that could wait. The fact Tara-nee beat up the 2nd son of the Berith Pillar Clan, was a bigger issue at the moment. Sona and I hadn't ever met the 2nd son, Roba Berith, but knew of the Berith's exploits and specializations. The Berith specialized in weapon creation. They, along with the Clans of Eligor and Vephar, armed our armies during the war, and were still among some of the more active Clans that stuck with their trade. Berith focused on melee weapons, some of which were rivals to Holy Swords.

And Tara-nee beat up the 2nd son of a house like that. (What am I going to do with her?) I really had no clue, and that just made it so much worse. (And there's the conversation Martha-obasan is going to have with Akeno when they get back.) It would most likely set her straight, Satans know the conversation with Kiba helped him, but I was not looking forward to that explosion.

(How is it that Kaasan meeting a representative of the Onmiyoji was the least explosive thing?!) My family was strange... Very, very strange, but I loved it nonetheless.

While I love P5/P5R, I'll be changing the story up a bit, since this side of the Sakura family is going to be involved. Right now, Futaba is under a wrong assumption, one that'll take time for the girls to catch and fix.

I've got ideas about her palace, because while I love it, I feel like it could be better with some changes.