2/4
{Martha's POV 15 minutes later}
After Warding my uncle's cafe, we started talking about safe topics, since a pair of time worn women walked in. By the end of it, I was sure the neighborhood would know that their resident barista/cafe owner was related to THE Sakura's. (I don't think I'll ever get used to the fact my family is famous.) Sure, I'd had a decade to get used to it, but the reality of walking outside, seeing a billboard of a line from Sakura Blooms, and remembering that 'oh, that's ours', was still a surprise.
It wasn't made any easier when those of supernatural origins also talked about our products. Azalea and I had gotten onto the topic of the company, and she had asked about it, not in a manner that said she was fishing for information, but genuinely curious. I asked some of my own in regards to how the Fallen saw my Grandmother's products, and learned that while their leader didn't exactly care, the females of the faction loved them, almost all for different reasons.
The materials made for durable attire, which were easy to clean, and didn't tear unless they were attacked.
The diverse styles our Grandmother incorporated into her lines appeased the fashion minded Fallen, especially with those who were alive during the periods some of the lines were based on. (The fact Azalea just knows people who were alive when heroes like Herakles roamed the earth, is both fascinating, and absurd... Though atleast they like the clothes.)
There were those who carefully extracted the materials, even the powder from Tara's horns, claws, and scales.
There had been more factors, but the general idea was that the clothes sold, and people liked them.
Fashion aside, we were done with Uncle Sojiro's cafe, and since more regulars were coming in for their morning cup of coffee, he had given us permission to enter his home, and place the Wardstone, I refused to call it a Hearthstone despite them qualifying as just that. He just advised us to not push, and only engage Futaba in conversation if she reached out to us. We had agreed, but Tara had found a loophole. "If I just so happen to lose a slip of paper with my number on it, specifically around/under her door, then oh well." Mother had snorted at that, while I rolled my eyes.
Our uncle had an exasperated, but thankful look on his face as we left the cafe.
Our uncle's home was a short walk away from the cafe, and it was a rather normal looking home. He'd given mother the keys, so after she opened the gate, and the front door, we walked inside. Tara was happily humming, excitement and interest practically radiating off of her. [What is up with you?]
She kept humming, but I saw her flick her eye towards me. {Interested. I remember that the Thieves come here once, cause Futaba's room being open was important, and that's it. We see the entry hallway, the outside of Futaba's door, and then we never come here again.}
That earned her an eye roll. [Uhuh. So you're just being a weeb, is that it?]
The twitch of her eye, and annoyance that bloomed on her side of the link made me grin to myself. {Is the nerd that's friends with a female Harry Potter, calling me a weeb?}
[Is the woman that begged to look like Erza Scarlet talking to me about being friendly with someone that looks like a book character?]
{... Touche.} I grinned. {You're still a nerd.}
My eye twitched. [And you're still a weeb.]
She blew a raspberry at that. {Whatever.}
"You two done?" Turning to our mother, we saw the amused look on her face, and shared a sigh. "I'll take that as a yeees.~" We were both annoyed at the singsong manner she said that in, but shared a look, and decided to get her back for this later.
""Anyway."" Tara and I shared a look at the unintended twin speak, and shrugged.
"I'll be going to set the Wardstone down, mother, with me. Tara, don't destroy the house"
Mother snickered, while Tara clutched her heart, and exaggeratedly staggered as if she was struck. "Oh ye of so little faith, you wound me with your re...-sunnova!" A good kick to her shin shut her up. It didn't help her that I was in some comfortable and sturdy boots. After taking off said boots, we left Tara in the hall, clutching her shin, and 'angrily' shaking her fist at us. "You'll rue the day you maimed the lady Scarlet! You'll rueee iiit!" And I tuned her out as mother let out a bark of laughter.
I was also amused, and we all knew it.
Tara being Tara aside, I had a job to do. Though I kept my senses focused on the house, and followed Tara as she got up, and started checking out the home.
When we got to the livingroom, I took in how cozy it looked, and hummed as I felt a small tingle from the carpet. (Hmm, benefits from fighting a user of lightning magic for years, sudden shocks don't do anything anymore.) It was an amusing thought, but one that I could return to later.
Deciding that this would be a fine place, I told mother to lift the rug, which she did, and exposed the floorboards. Like we'd done before, I Charmed them to move, and expose the concrete below. Though, since Tara was off 'accidentally' dropping her phone number to Futaba, it was up to mother to dig. (Not that I can't do it myself, I AM proficient with earth attributed spells, I just choose to let them do it.) After mother was finished creating a hole, I fed the Wardstone a trickle of magic, activating it. The pulse of magic coming from the stone confirmed its activation, and I set it into place.
I didn't and wouldn't know the long term effects of this until P5 'canon' came along.
{Futaba's POV}
They were here. Sojiro gave them the key, and let them come in.
They were here, and I didn't know what to do. I was obviously going to stay in my room, but what if they tried to come INTO my room? What if they tried to talk to me? What if they didn't like me? What if they h-hurt us-urt me? I couldn't fight a dragon! That was an endgame situation, and I didn't even get to the second map yet. (What do I do, what do I do?!) I didn't know!
The sound of steps, and a hum coming from the hall leading to my room, brought me out of my freakout, and I slowly turned towards the door. I heard the byplay from earlier, and even though I found it funny, I was still freaking out.
Eventually, the steps and humming stopped just outside my door, and I heard the voice of Tara Sakura, an honest to god Dragon, and a real life Erza Scarlet. I had to strain my hearing, but I was fully focused on her anyway, so it wasn't that hard. "Huh... This doesn't look suspicious at all." Oh god. "... Hmm... Note to self, get Gasper one for his room, the little trap would probably eat it up."
I blinked. (A trap? That's... She... What?) I knew what she was referring too, but I just didn't know if I was ready to accept the fact she knew a trap. (Because what the hell?) I was also saving my philosophical breakdown for sometime next decade, because I wasn't going to start panicking about those being real yet.
Back to listening to the Dragon outside my door. "Anyway, where'd I put that damn...- Aha!" Now I was just confused... Until I saw a slip of paper slide under my door, and under a stray newspaper clipping... "Oh nooo, I seem to have lost a paper that has my number on it. What a travesty!" I blinked again, and felt my jaw fall open.
It was... It was just... (I... I don't think I can ever watch Fairy Tail again.) My image of Erza was being, (Nevermind, I think she did an acting thing before, and she sucked at it too... But was that filler?) I was going to have to check it out later. Point was, my image of Erza also being a terrible actor, saved my image of her.
"... Maybe I should've asked Rias for lessons, she can act... I think?" That really didn't help. "Eh, fuck it. Anywhooo, we'll be looking forward to getting to know you, Futaba. Talk to ya later." And so she started walking away.
I didn't think it was possible, but I was sure my jaw would've fallen off it went any lower. (WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THE ACTING IF YOU WERE JUST GOING TO SAY THAT TO ME?!) I was so tempted to just shout that out, because seriously, what was the point? But I didn't, and just settled for staring at where I heard her steps. It was just so ridiculous.
Still... I looked to where I knew the slip was, and debated with myself whether to get it or not. On the one hand, I didn't know her, or the other Sakuras. We might've shared a last name, but I wasn't really related to them. They could end up hating me if they didn't like me.
But... On the other hand, they seemed nice. Sojiro approved of them, and they seemed to approve of me, despite not knowing me. They knew about a whole other world, magic, Angels, Dragons and Devils! The thought of having a staff, a pointy hat, and throwing spells at people made me giddy, and made me want to unleash my inner chuuni, even if I would cringe myself to sleep afterwards. (Plus, maybe they could help me?) I didn't want to get my hopes up, I didn't want to give someone the chance to get too close, especially when I co-will get them killed-uld get them hurt... (But magic. Tara is a dragon, Martha is a mage, and their mom is a Devil... What could I do to hurt them?) I couldn't see a way for me to hurt them... (But should I give them a chance?) I didn't know...
Chewing my lip for a bit, I decided to get up, and slowly walk over to where I knew the slip of paper was. After moving the newspaper clipping out of the way, I picked up the card, and read the number... Numbers, since her sister, and mother's numbers were there as well as a little note.
-You might not have been born a Sakura, but you'll be cared for as 1.
P.S - You don't have to text right away.
P.P.S - And yes, Martha and I know who we look and sound like. My adoptive sister, Rias, likes to make me say lines from the anime or manga on occasion. I find it funny, and sometimes manage to get Martha to do it too.-
I felt my lips twitch at that, the fact that her and her were personal voice actors was awesome, and made me think about having her say stupid stuff for the fun of it. (... I'll think about it.) Thinking that, I put the note away, and went back to my setup, deciding to look into them some more. (It's totally not because I want to see if they have some of those clips on their Twitter.)
It'd be a while before I noticed that mom wouldn't show up outside of dreams, and that I felt just a small bit better each day.
{Tara's POV}
With the note delivered, and feeling the Hearthstone activate, I met back up with my sister and mom, and nodded at them. They returned it, and we left the house, content with completing our missions. I wasn't sure when Futaba would reach out, but she had the option to do so at anytime now, which was great. I knew it'd take some time to get her to trust us, but when she did, I'd ease her into talking to Rias, who she could also bond over anime with, and Gasper, who had similar circumstances to her. I was looking forward to that one, because Futaba's reaction to meeting a trap was bound to be hilarious.
After that was done, mom went back to the cafe, while Martha and I went to Shibuya. We were going to come back later, spend some time with Uncle Ro and all that, but I wanted to meet the Harry Potter girl, and make sure the Fallen didn't try to start shit with my sister. Sure, I knew Martha could break bones with the best of us, and beat the shit out of pretty much all of us, but older sister gotta do older sister things.
So, the two of us activated our Notice-Me-Not stones, and held the others hand so she could teleport us to a secluded area in Shibuya. Despite our ages, it was fun to hold each others hands, mostly because our link made physical contact soothing, but also because it made my sister embarrassed to do something as lewd as holding her sister's hand. (Though, the thought of us doing anything 'lewd' is cringy to the extreme.) That was the reason I never made that joke ever again... Though, mom had that moment on video, and always grew this wicked grin whenever the both of us did this. (Evil woman that she is.)
Porting over to Shibuya, we let go, and walked out of the alley. No one noticed us, which was fine for us. My sister hummed, and I saw her gesture to the left. "Come along Tara, we'll be early, but that's fine." I shrugged, and followed her as she let go, and started walking ahead.
The study spot wasn't that far away, and getting in was easy since we both had the Notice-Me-Not still on. The two of us went to an empty booth, and after my sister set up some privacy Wards, she took out the big book on golems, and started reading. I knew she was in the mood to just read, and let her do that. It was pretty much something we were used too. Martha would take something out to read, and unless she was near burnout, or being too much of a nerd, I'd leave her be, and just do my own thing.
So, I just took out some munchies, I found a shop that sold the BIG bags of sour cream and onion chips, and bought a bunch of them yesterday. As a dragon, and someone that worked out every day, my metabolism was so good that I could probably eat nothing but junk food for the rest of my life, and still look like a model to end all models. (Gods, why couldn't I have had that in my last life?) I had no doubt in my mind that I would've abused the hell out of it, and was probably not blessed with it because of that.
Happily munching away, I grinned when I saw her brow twitch. I wasn't a loud eater, or one of those idiots that chew with their mouth open, I was just deciding to be a brat by ruffling the bag, and the chips in it every time I took some out. It got to the point that she looked up, gave me an annoyed glare, then shot a silencing spell at me. I turned the hand holding my chip draconic, and let the spell harmlessly bounce off of it. Seeing that only made my sister's brow twitch again, and made her direct her annoyance at me.
My grin just grew, and so began the game of Martha flinging relatively weak spells at me, and me deflecting them by turning specific parts of my body into scales. It lasted for a minute or two, but she got me eventually. That didn't mean I lost the big grin on my face, since she was highly annoyed at me. {I love you!}
Martha rolled her eyes, and turned back to her book. [And I you, Tara.] I smiled, and went back to munching on my chips as she read.
With that out of the way though, I started thinking as I willed some scales to grow on my knuckles. Being able to reflect spells was a recent thing, and one that the Old Gecko explained to me. One of the reasons that Dragons were feared was because the older we got, the stronger our resistance to spells and magic in general, grew. Right now, my scales could deflect weak spells, and I took less damage against magic. Martha and her little coven put it to me having a 2% resistance to spells at the moment, which didn't seem that good at the moment, but it would just keep getting better as I grew older. By my first century, depending on the power of my Dragon Core, I should have around 25-30% magic resistance. The century after that would get me to 50-60%, and the century after THAT would be 75-80%... And surprisingly, it'd stop there.
It took getting to Dragon God levels to breach the 81-99% resistance levels, and Ddraig had no tried and tested idea how to become a Dragon God. He thought we'd need to devour a god and steal their Divinity, like how he and Albion stole concepts from the big G, but neither Issei or I was entertaining that idea.
It was also a little weird to think in centuries, but I was used to it. Mom would live 5,000 years at the absolute minimum, Martha would live as long as I lived, which a Dragon's minimum was a few millennium higher then Devils. Rias and Sona's Peerages all had Devil lifespans, and even Issei, who decided he wanted to become a Dragon when he was older, his body wouldn't exactly handle him sacrificing body parts to Ddraig, which was a weird fucking thing when I first heard about it, and he'd probably go into shock. Sure, Martha could stabilize him, her healing and a bunch of her medical Wards would help, but she didn't know how the introduction of draconic organs would affect him. The only way he could survive it, while still being human, would be with Twilight Healing, but apparently the user of that gear was with the Church... So yeah, we didn't exactly have a chance to do it. Though, Ddraig said he should be fine to start the process when Issei reached his 20's. Until then, he was going to stick with being a human with a Dragon on his arm. So, he, and the rest of them would still be with me as time marched on.
The only issues I had with it were Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Ro, Irina, Futaba, and any other humans we got close to. We'd outlive them, but I just decided to throw that thought to the back of my mind.
Out of sight, out of mind.
Was it unhealthy? Oh fuck yeah. But by the time it was relevant, Martha would probably have come up with a solution by then. I knew we both worried about losing people, her more then me, but I wasn't a thinker. I wasn't stupid, but my sister was the one with the chance to actually figure something out, so I trusted her... (How the fuck did I get here?) That was a good question... One I didn't have an answer too... (Oh well.)
Not wanting to stay on a depressing topic, I just hummed to myself, cause while I was silenced, I could still hear myself, which was interesting when we found that out.
So, while I hummed and went unheard, and Martha just read her book, while also casually writing notes in her Compendium, since she brought that monster out too, we just let time go on. If Beneath the Mask, the rainy one, was playing, then this would pretty much be a day back in our college years. {Hmm... Note to self, find a way to bring back Beneath the Mask.}
My sister looked up at me, a small smile on her face, and nostalgia flowing through our link. [Yes, it does feel like one of those days, doesn't it?]
{Yeah. The only thing we're missing is that one asshole that always blasted music at the worst times, and we'd pretty much be set.}
I watched as she blinked, confused for a moment, then watched as she remembered what I was talking about as she rolled her eyes. [Ah yes, him. I'd genuinely forgotten about that. However, if my memory is correct, didn't you almost maul him once?] I twitched at that, and she grinned. [You DID! You managed a week before you lost it, and I had to drag you away kicking and screaming!] Her mental laughter was annoying.
That got a silent huff out of me though, and I had to set her straight. {Well excuse me for getting annoyed at the asshole that thought, 'hey, let's blast the loudest shit possible at 3AM, that'd be fucking awesome!' It didn't help that I had double lab that night, and that little shit woke me up. Really, you should be proud that it took me a week before I lost my shit.}
My sister couldn't hold it in, and outright laughed at me. Her laughter made me roll my eyes, and munch on more of my chips. [While you have a point about lasting a week, the image of you attempting to kick down the offending door looking like a cat that just came out of the rain, and in nothing but a pair of panties and a oversized shirt, shouting obscenities for all the world to hear at 3 in the morning, will always be one of the funniest things I'd ever woken up to.]
Another huff made its way out my nose, because remembering that was embarrassing, and now I was wondering why the hell I did it in the first place. {Yeah yeah, laugh it up.} And she did.
I grumpily ate my snacks, and let her laugh. Though when I was going to bring up another chip, I smelled a scent similar to Akeno's, and the one that matched the smell left on my sister when she came back yesterday. So, turning to the source, I saw the secretary like lady that looked like Harry Potter. She looked just how Martha described her, and I had to admit, she was hot. (Though, if she's like Martha, not my type.) I mentally sighed, and just kept my gaze on the Half Fallen.
Said Half Fallen blinked when she noticed me looking at her, and paused as she looked at me, a still laughing Martha, and back at me. I raised a brow at that, and gave her a 'yes, and?' Look. She blinked some more, then shrugged as she came over, eventually getting my sister's attention. Her laughter died off, her expression turned stoic, and after she coughed into her fist. She had an embarrassed bit of blush on her face as she waved Azalea over.
The Fallen walked over, and after being let into the Wards, slid in right by my sister. I knew it was because she didn't know me, and already had a positive experience with Martha, so I let it slide, hah!
Anyway, I blatantly sized her up, which let me see that despite not showing it, she was tense. (Good poker face.) I barely paid her figure any mind, since sure, she was hot, but the horny took a backseat to my sister's safety. When I was satisfied with what I saw, and confirmed that Martha could kick her ass if it came to it, I nodded at her. "You're good. Try anything though," I made my eyes slit, let scales grow around my eyes, and let some lightning dance through my hair. The way her emerald orbs widened was worth it. "And I will turn you into a charred corpse. Capeesh?" The Fallen nodded, then I went back to my default, and grinned at her. "Cool, cool. Anyway, I've done what I wanted," I stashed my munchies away, and got out of the booth. "So, see ya later Potter." The groan that escaped my sister's mouth made me more amused.
Anyway, with my older sister duty done, and my fingers cleaned, I walked out of the cafe, and went off to see some more sights. (Wonder if they fixed Nakano?) And that was my first stop.
{Martha's POV}
Watching my sister walk out, I debated if I should start laughing again, partly because of Azalea's reaction to Tara's threat, and partly because just seeing Tara act that way had been highly amusing. (It's even more amusing since she knows I'm four times her age.) I chuckled at that thought, and turned to my friend.
Azalea was a little pale, and I could feel her magic cycling through her body, prepared to fight if needed. Her weariness was amusing, but unnecessary. So, I tapped her shoulder, and felt my lips twitch as her head snapped towards me. "You're fine, she's already gone."
My Fall friend relaxed just a tad bit, and her magic began to slow as she took that in. She let out a breath I hadn't noticed she was holding, then nodded. "Next time, lemme know when I'm walking into a trap, yeah?" I snorted, but gave her a nod. "Good, good..." She then covered her eyes with a hand, and slumped into the seat. "*Bloody hell, what have I gotten myself into?*"
My amusement at her slipping into English was very high, and I decided to indulge myself, and respond in English. "*A very interesting and fruitful friendship.*"
The response made her take her hand away from her eyes, and give me an exasperated look. "*Do I even want to know why you're fluent in English?*" My small smile only made her groan. "*Absolutely mental. The both of you.*" I laughed, and indulged in the exasperation of my new friend, much to her annoyance.
{Tara's POV 15 minutes later}
(Well, guess they didn't.) The Broadway was cordoned off because of a 'gas leak' blew up a portion of the area... I totally knew that wasn't what happened, but I wasn't going to just admit it. (Welp, guess I'll skeda...- Hmm?) Right when I was going to leave, I picked up the presence of someone supernatural nearby, and the feeling was similar to that Berith asshole from yesterday. (Aww, the little bat came back to roo...-) I grinned when I felt a pair of presences appear with him, then split off to both sides of the street as they followed me. (Oh I'm gonna get a fight.)
If those idiots saw my grin, they probably would've decided not to poke the Dragon.
{5 minutes later}
I made my way towards the nearest park, making sure the idiots didn't suspect I knew they were following me, and started looking for a good place to sit down and 'snack.' I eventually found a good place on top of a small hill, where there weren't any people in the immediate area. After making sure no one aside from the Devils were here, I sat down, brought out my chips, which I was partly sad about being down to half the bag, and started munching.
It didn't take long for me to recognize a Bounded Field being set up, but I wasn't bothered, and just kept munching as any remaining humans left, and the Devils started appearing. (Hmm, 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, and 9 total. So, 1 Pawn minimum, 1Knight minimum, 1 Rook and Bishop Minimum, I don't think he's got a Queen, since he wanted to use it on me, but I don't know what his Peerage is mixed with. Might have a Yokai or something else... Hmm, guess I'm about to find out.)
The Devil I beat yesterday appeared at the foot of the hill, his Peerage flanking him as he did. I eyed them all, and focused as lightning danced in my mind, making my thoughts race faster then they usually did. (Physically speaking, that threat has got to be the literal fucking Oni, because damn is he a big boy.) The Oni was a nearly 9ft/3m giant of pure muscle, a bald head and icy blue eyes with dark blue skin, twin horns growing out front of his forehead, while another pair of tusks grew out of the bottom of his mouth. He was wearing an animal skin coat, which was wrapped around his waist, leaving his top bare. His leggins were some animal skin, most likely a tiger given the stripes, and he was barefoot. He was also holding one of those big ass spiked clubs, a Kanabo or something like that. The thing looked like it was made of some kind of bone, which made my instincts stir. (... I like it. I want it.) I was totally stealing that after I beat the shit out of them. (Big guy has to be a Rook, it'd be fucking retarded for him not to be.) He was also Low-High Class at the least.
Moving on, I felt out for the magically strongest, and got a hit with one of the three women. Said woman was a gorgeous short stack, standing somewhere in the 4foot area, with some big fucking tits. (Those have to be a DDD at the LEAST! Goddamn woman, what did you eat?!) I wasn't exactly jealous, since my own breasts were still growing, but it still had to be pointed out. Her tits aside, the short woman had green hair, light brown eyes, a nice tan hidden under her wizard robes, and an impressive looking staff. The staff was made of some reddish brown wood, and had some kind of burning crystal at the top, which was probably the focus. (Bishop, no doubt in my mind.) I was kind of sad I'd have to possibly maim her, but eh, they came at me. (Though, wonder if she's human or not.) She didn't smell different, but surprises could always happen. Like the Oni, she was a High Class, though she might've been close to Middle-High class.
With the top two threats identified, I started looking at the others. It wasn't really a surprise when my eyes landed on the other busty and attractive woman. She was tall, maybe an inch or 2 shorter then me, had long ocean blue hair that flowed down to her ass, ocean blue eyes, and had a slightly blue skin tone. Her clothing was pretty much solidified water, which meant it was see through... (Huh, guess I won't know if the carpets match the drapes.) She had some DD breasts, long and nice legs, and some pretty nice heels. (If she's some kind of water spirit or something, then she's about to have a bad fucking time. I'll assume she's the other Bishop.) As a Lightning Dragon, I was pretty sure I had the type advantage. Another Middle-High Class.
The next figure my eyes landed on was an obvious Knight. The guy stood at a clean 6ft/2ms, and had a sword strapped to his side. He was a boring one, short black hair, brown eyes, Caucasian, and had a compact build. He was wearing a military uniform, I had no idea what military, but it was dark grey and had dark orange trimmings. (Speed and Swordsmanship. On the 1st point, I can turn into lightning, so I own speed. On the 2nd point, even if he can penetrate my scales, if I even need to take them out, I'll just go into Dragon Force and beat the fuck out of em.) While I could use Dragon Force, I couldn't sustain it for long since my Dragon Core wasn't active. And despite the fact it stimulated my core, we didn't know how long it would take for the stimulation to awaken it. When it was, I could go in and out of that form at will and sustain it until I passed out from exhaustion or hunger. Though, I had no doubt that I could mop the floor with them before my time ran out. Low-High Class at the least.
The guy next to him was probably another Knight, since he had a similar build. Black hair down to his shoulders, gray eyes, two swords on his side, and a belt of throwing knives. He was around the same height as the other guy, and was wearing a similar outfit to him. (Is he more of an Assassin? If he is, he should be easier then the other guy.) That guy felt like a High-Middle Class, which was sort of sad.
Putting that guy in the 'weak' category, my eyes landed on the last woman of the group. Unlike her allies, this woman wasn't busty, she had B, maybe just short of C cups, red eyes and red hair, which was a shade or two darker then mine, and maybe a foot shorter then I was. She wore a Gi similar to Grandad's, which interested me alot. She also had metallic black gauntlets and leg guards too. (Martial artist? Rook maybe?) I hadn't fought any aside from my mom and sister, so that could be fun. Though, the most interesting thing about her was her scent. She smelled similar to Gasper, and that made me curious. (Is she a bat?) Didn't know, but I was going to find out soon. Unlike the last guy, she was Low-High Class.
Then there were the last three. I had no doubt that they were Pawns, and was tempted to just ignore them, but I didn't. With their ability to Promote, I would be looking at a possible Queen. or multiple Queen's if they could handle it.
The 1st Pawn was some bodybuilder looking guy, he had brown hair and black eyes, maybe just shy of 6ft/2ms, and was wearing what looked like workout clothes. He had gauntlets on his hands, they were some kind of leather, but I wasn't sure from what. (Okay, physical fighter, so he might Promote Rook during the fight. Queen is still an option though.) Like the 2nd Knight, this guy was somewhere in the Middle Class, probably at the Middle of it too.
Looking away from him, I saw a blonde guy with bronze colored eyes, and was in some kind of cloak. (So, a Bishop Promotion. That'll be easy.) Mages were an easy breed to handle... Martha was the exception though. The blonde didn't seem to be that threatening, but I'd watch him just in case. I'd had it literally beat into my head not to underestimate anyone, because people like Gasper, who looked like they couldn't hurt a fly, could whip out some bullshit like a time stop. He was a Middle Class, but I couldn't actually tell where... Which made me a little suspicious of him.
The 3rd Pawn looked like some kind of Weasel... Which made me a little hungry. He was short, somewhere in the 5ft range, light brown fur with some gray stripes, brown eyes, and actual whiskers. (Okay, that's a little cute.) He was in some kind of Rogue gear, so he would probably end up Promoting to Knight. Unlike everyone else, this guy was in the Low Class range, though since he was atleast High-Low Class, I'd give him the benefit of the doubt and just say he was new to this life.
Then there was the guy from yesterday, who I knocked out like a baby. He looked all healed up, but was in some armor, and carried a sword of his own. Though, the sword took my attention, since it just felt... Evil. It felt like Martha's 'disease' Wards. (Note to self, destroy or steal the sword. Just don't get cut by it.) I'd had experience with being cursed and rotted, because Martha incorporated those into our training, and the experience sucked. -20/10, would not want to experience again.
Anyway, with all my enemies scouted out, I came up with my plan. (Step to the water lady and electrocute her into submission. After her, go for Thunder Body and smack down the hot shorty, since letting an unknown Mage get their spells off is stupid to the extreme. With the Mages down, I'll bring down the King, destroy their command structure, then take down whoever tries to take command. From what I know about Oni, which isn't alot, they CAN be smart, but this guy looks like a brute, so I'll assume he's a smash first kind of guy. The Weasel doesn't inspire confidence, the martial artist could take up command, but my bet is on the other Mage. So, if he takes command, I'll go for him, then move on. After that, I'll do whatever I need to do.) My mind set, I snapped out of my hyper focused state, switched off my family locket so it didn't interrupt, and let my mind slow down to normal speeds.
The Devil's all looked at me, sizing me up, and I just grinned as I put down my chips, and looked at the Berith. "Aww, poor wittle baby, couldn't even scratch me so he brought his friends? Aren't you adorable." Plan 'Make em mad, make em stupid', was back in full, but I was going to go for putting them off balance too. The Devil gnashed his teeth, and I idly noticed the water woman was amused. (Now I'm gonna feel bad taking her out first.) Going on. "It's okay ickle Berith," He twitched when I called him that, which probably unsettled him a little considering I never let him introduce himself. "One day, you'll grow big and strong like me." I'd gotten up at this point, and was literally looking down on them, but mainly him. "Though," I adopted a 'thoughtful' look here. "It might take you a few centuries to do so. But by that point, I'll be out of your league." Saying that, I let my lightning dance around me, and slit my eyes, making the Weasel's fur stand on end, and the water woman shudder. "Here's a little taste. Lightning Dragon's Thunder Step!" Vocally, my Step gained the added effects of a loud clap of thunder, and the flash of lightning, perfect for disorientating people.
I Stepped above the water woman, who barely had a moment to recognize the lightning coated leg falling towards her. "Renewal Taekwondo, Lightning Style - Thunder Axe!" My leg slammed into the woman's shoulder, lightning surging over her body, and the impact cracking the ground she stood on. Unexpectedly, after she screamed in pain, her form destabilized, and she turned into a puddle. I didn't let the loss of a physical anchor bother me, and used Lightning Body to turn into lightning, and flash away.
An interesting thing about that was it let me move Omni-directionally, and that included going straight up. The only catch was that I didn't gather momentum, so I didn't have too many combos with it. Anyway, I flashed back onto the top of the hill, and looked down at the Devils, who were now reacting to their fallen ally. Interestingly enough, the weaker Knight seemed to have followed the whole thing, while the other Knight only noticed half of it. (Interesting.) Filing that away for later, I grinned at the Devils, letting my teeth sharpen to their Dragon fangs. It unsettled the Weasel, who looked like he wanted to run. "Too fast for you? Want me to slow down a little?"
That did it. The Berith guy let out his wings, and took to the sky. "TAKE HER DOWN! I WANT HER BROKEN BODY BEN...-"
Alright, he didn't learn last time. "Lightning Dragon's Maw!" Spears of lightning formed above and below the idiot, and 'crunched' down on where he was. Surprisingly, his armor glowed and he moved out of the way. I narrowed my eyes at that, and spared a glance to the rest of the Devils. The other Bishop ported off to one of the edges of the park, while the Oni and Knight's charged me. The other Rook took the water woman away, I didn't know where, so she was temporarily out of the fight until she came back.
The Weasel though, he literally melted into the shadows, which brought my hackles up. (Alright, keep an eye out for him.)
Meanwhile, the other Pawns did what I expected. ""Promotion: Rook/Bishop."" Yup, saw that coming.
Anyway, it was time to fight!
Running down the hill, I made a show of going for the Oni, who roared as he raised his club, and swung. Too bad I wasn't actually going for him. "Lightning Dragon's Thunder Step!" I really loved this move. I Stepped towards the King, who had the evil sword out, and was gathering magic with it as a focus. His eyes widened when he saw a lightning coated fist coming his way, but didn't seem ready to move away... But just like before, the armor he was wearing glowed, and he was moved out of the way. "Tch, cheatin little shit." Though, now that he was away, the sickly green magic he gathered shot off the sword, and flew towards me. "Yeah, no." Using my Lightning Body, I Flashed from the sky back onto the ground, avoiding the curse or whatever it was.
Though, the moment I hit the ground, the grass, tree roots, and some weird green tendrils wrapped themselves around my legs. (A druid then. Cool.) I tore apart the bindings, and was ready to move away when I felt the Weasel come out of my shadow. I didn't even need to enhance myself with lightning to backhand him like a bitch. My fist met his furred face, and felt his cheek and jaw shatter as he was flung away from me like a speeding rocket. Though, that wasn't the only attack that came at me, since a bunch of sword materialized around me, which reminded me of a scene I saw from somewhere but was forgetting where at the moment. (A Sword Birth? Who... Ah, weaker guy!) The 2nd Knight apparently had Kiba's Gear, which wasn't expected, but not really a surprise.
The swords flew towards me, and I thought about Stepping or flashing away, but I had a feeling they'd be expecting that now. So, not being a one trick pony, I let my lightning surge, and slammed a fist onto the ground. "Lightning Dragon's Jagged Fangs!" When my fist hit the ground, rows on rows of fang shaped lightning shot out, and destroyed the swords coming towards me.
Though, that was when things changed. I felt more swords form in the area, but instead of being shot towards me, they were shot into the ground, and I could feel, as well as see my lightning being drawn towards them. I narrowed my eyes at that, and snapped towards the guy with Sword Birth. He was at the top of the hill, both swords implanted into the ground, defiantly gazing at me with a smirk on his face. That just annoyed me, and I designated him as a target. (Plus, with his Gear, he could make other lightning inhibiting swords, and I'm not about to let that happen.) So, with a burst of speed, I dashed out of the Fangs, and shot towards him like a bullet.
Renewal Taekwondo Bo-Bup was a handy technique to know, since it was basically a normal version of my Thunder Step, and was what I based it off of in the first place. Even without using it, I was still faster then Kiba, a Low-Middle Class Knight. But with it?
I appeared on the hill, weaving passed the 1st Knight, the Rooks, and appeared in front of the guy with Sword Birth, who had raised his swords up in a x defense, I grinned as I spun, and let my leg shoot out. "Renewal Taekwondo Hoe Grab." My leg, which I'd coated in scales to keep it from being nicked by his swords, locked around and pulled his right arm arm down, sword and all. I ignored his 'what?' And went up for the combo. "Renewal Taekwondo Spinning Top Kick!" My other leg slammed into his face, where it broke his nose, and also made him move back. Using that moment where he staggered, I freed the leg locking his right arm by moving it back so hard it nearly dislocated the Devil's arm, and spun on it, bringing the other leg back to the ground so I could punch towards the staggered Knight. "Renewal Taekwondo Fist Strike!" My palms shot out, lightning coating my palms for added damage.
I struck the Knight with atleast 15 strikes before reality decided to send the fucker flying. (Tch, gotta be faster.) I wanted to go for the 30's, but I'd settle for 15. Turning around, I made scales grow along my arm, and watched as the 1st Knight's sword scrapped against it harmlessly. He was clearly surprised at that, but didn't let it stop him from continuing his attack, which was coating his sword in some kind of magic that BURNED. I growled, and enveloped my free hand in scales, turning it into a full on claw as I grasped the burning sword, and was right about to snap it when I felt a volley of corrosive magic flying towards me. A quick look up confirmed it was from the King, and I decided that I wasn't going to let myself get hit. So, I disengaged, but not before shooting a foot towards the Knight's knee, and broke it.
The vile magic impacted the spot where I was, hitting the Knight, and the ground around him... And seeing the effects, I was right comparing it to my sister's 'disease' Wards and spells. The grass decayed, the earth lost its color, and the Knight let out a blood curdling scream as his flesh was stripped off his body, and his blood turned black.
Seeing that made me frown, and have a thought. (Why am I entertaining them with a fight?) I wanted to have fun. That was the first thought, but seeing the Knight be hit by friendly fire, and noticing the manic look on the King's face, as well as the fact he was charging more magic through the sword, led me to another fact. (This isn't fun...) So, I stopped moving, and just looked around.
The guy with Sword Birth was down and out, and so was the other Knight, who was still being affected by the curses. I hadn't felt the 2nd Rook reappear yet, but she'd probably be back soon. The 1st Bishop was at an edge of the park, but I could reach her easily, especially since she was making wooden constucts of animals like bears and wolves, the inhibiting swords were gone now too. The Oni went back to charging at me again. The Weasel was knocked out, or dead, didn't know which. Then there was the Pawn turned Bishop, who just fired dozens on dozens of spells at me... Even though the Oni was going to get hit by a few of them... (It really isn't fun.) With that thought, I stopped caring about the fight, and just wanted to get done with it.
So, as the Oni came close, and swung at me with his club, I felt, my arms, legs, sides, and neck be coated in scales, horns grew from my head, golden highlights appeared in my hair, my wings unfurled as they ripped my sweater open, and my tail made its first appearance since the fight started, as my lightning bounced around my form. I easily caught the club, which I still wanted, and glared at the Oni. His body locked up, and I let loose. "Dragon Force." I punched out towards his body, and after my fist impacted him, I felt his ribs snap, and watched him shoot off like a bullet.
With his club in hand, I put it into my storage, and looked up at the King, who froze. and seemed to just realize he bit off more then he could chew. (Let's see him dodge this.) I opened my maw, and let my magic gather towards it. Lightning Dragon's ROAR! He was in the air, so a roar was fair game. And even though I was tempted to do a vocal one, I wasn't stupid enough to cause collateral damage. The Roar itself was overkill, but I wanted this done with.
A beam of lightning as wide as a small building erupted from my maw, and blasted the King faster then he could blink, and faster then his armor could save him. I was done with him, and looked at the remaining Devils. The Promoted Knight had stopped in his tracks, and so did the Promoted Rook. I couldn't see the Druid, but I felt her be still, and her constructs fell apart as the pressure my Dragon Force let out was too much for simple wood. Everyone else was knocked out, so I kept my gaze on the Pawns in front of me. "Try anything, and I will END you. Am I clear?" My voice came out as a rumble, my dragon self being responsible for the growl.
The Pawns shared a look, then did their best to look as small as possible. "Smart." Looking away from them, I turned to the direction I felt the Druid in, and charged lightning at the tip of my tail, pointing it over there. "It won't matter if you're hot, come out or die." Safe to say, she teleported the base of the hill after I blinked. She looked nervous, and practically reeked of fear. So, to calm her down a bit, I dispelled the lightning on my tail, and looked at them. "How long until the re...-" Said redhead came back, and the moment she recognized what she was looking at, a war on whether to fight or not broke out on her face. I raised a brow at her, and slammed my tail against the ground. "No. Not in the mood." She blinked, and settled on not testing me. "Good."
With them all here, I hummed, which sounded like a growl, and gave them all one last look. "Don't look for or bother me. If you do, I'll give you the same treatment I gave your King, capeesh?" When they all nodded, I turned, dropped my Dragon Force, and Flashed away. I wasn't in the mood to fight or anything like that. (Might as well hit up Akihabara again, that'll help.) And with the clap of thunder, I was gone.
{Martha's POV during the fight}
Talking shop with Azalea was a fun experience, one I wanted to include the rest of the magically inclined members of the Kuoh group, but waited to do so in order to fully ensure that she could be trusted. With the fear of draconic retribution, I was sure she wouldn't betray our trust, but I would spend some time ensuring that she was completely trustworthy,
It was while we were talking about the pros and cons of creating/sustaining a citywide Runic Array, that I felt Tara's emotions change. She grew interested, then appreciative, which was most likely because she was checking out some female, and back to interested. The process went on a few more times, which made me come to a conclusion from prior information. (It seems the Devil from yesterday has found her.) I wasn't worried, I not only trusted Tara's capabilities, but I could teleport to her wherever she was. There was no chance of ever missing out if she required healing or backup, so I was rather interested in how the fight would go.
So, I took a moment to delve into the link Tara and I shared, and let a part of myself observe her subconscious and personal thoughts. Both of us could do this whenever we wanted, an neither of us minded when the other did it. We'd essentially lost any boundaries between the us, and that was fine.
Anyway, I listened to my sister's thoughts, and reviewed the information she had been compiling. I was intrigued at the description of a Naiad, as well as a Druid. The rest of them, even the other pair of Yokai, didn't really interest me. I was more focused on those two, and the King of the Peerage. I could tell her thoughts had focused on his armor and sword, no doubt enchanted or created with methods solely for their Clan, and wanted to obtain them.
However, as I observed the fight through Tara's mind, I physically frowned at the incident of friendly fire, then sighed as Tara mentally gave up on enjoying herself. I knew she enjoyed the rush of battle, enjoyed a good fight, so for her to give up on one was a sign she was going to be in a strop for quite a while. (Haaah. It seems I'm required.) Closing the tome on golems, I looked at Azalea, who was giving me a quizzical look. "Tara ran afoul the Peerage of the 2nd son of Berith, and is now somewhat depressed at their disappointing fight." This was a calculated move.
By informing Azalea of this, and if it was leaked, then we'd know the source. It was also a measure of defense, one that would tell them that Tara and I would know what the other did. So if either of us were suddenly attacked by Fallen, or both separately attacked, then we'd also know where the information came from. And given the way she blinked, and understanding flashed through her emerald orbs, she knew what I was doing. "*I'll talk to you later then, Martha.*"
Nodding at her, I stowed my tome away, and used the other aspect of our link, teleporting to my sister... Though, the last sight I saw before doing so was the surprised face of Azalea as she seemed to process the rest of my statement. "*Wait a moment, BERI...-*" And I was gone.
[Omake - Huh... Huh. Illiya's POV 30 minutes later.]
I didn't expect working with Soji would be so calming. There were a bunch of old timers in here now, relaxing with a good cup of coffee, and talking about how nice it was. Soji and I noticed the increase in elderly, and I figured it out before he did. Martha's healing Ward, while low leveled as it was, was enough to get those small aches that everyone had, especially the old timers. When I told that to Soji, I could tell he was confused on whether he should appreciate it, because he'd get more customers, or annoyed that he'd get more customers. It was hilarious.
At the moment, two booths were full, and three of the seats by the counter were taken. I was helping out, which was probably another reason he was getting more customers, since I was hot as hell, and everyone knew it. Though, when that one old guy got brave enough, I pinned him with one of Tara's 'Erza glares', and he wisely went back to being a good customer, and left after he was done and paid for his meal.
It was while I was bringing some of the used plates to the sink, that I felt my phone vibrate. Now, I was curious, and after I put the plates away, I brought my phone out, and saw Rias was blowing up the group chat.
-In Full Bloom-
Rose of Ruin - WHY WAS THERE A ROAR SPOTTED IN TOKYO?!
Rose of Ruin - IT'S ALL OVER THE DEVIL NET THAT A BERITH DIED! TARA-NEE?!
Rose of Ruin - HELLO?
Rose of Ruin - THERE'S A CLIP OF THE ROAR! [Video. Mp3]
I looked at that for a few seconds, then checked the clip. It was only a few seconds long, but it delivered. I recognized what it was, and idly wondered how I hadn't heard it, then realized that even though I had the audio on, there was no sound. (Was the Bounded Field dampened?) It'd make sense.
But I'd think someone would have mentioned the be...- "And we are coming to you live with a special report. Earlier today, what seemed to be a laser of militaristic caliber was fired from...-" I tuned that out, and just glared at the television. Then my phone vibrated again, and I checked the chat.
Lightning Flower - The dickhead from yesterday showed up with his Peerage. He was atomized for annoying me... Well, I think he was. Didn't bother checking if he actually left a body.
Rose of Ruin - ? WTF IS GOING ON OVER THERE?!