3/4
{Tara's POV a week later}
It didn't take long for me to bounce back from the shitty fight, all it took was a big slice of cherry cake, but I was still annoyed that it sucked. Martha helped me get over it though by talking about stuff, and offering to fight when we got back to Kuoh. I was all for it, and happily looked forward to it.
Though, I was a bit worried about what would happen when we got back. Rias had pretty much tanned my hide, and then fussed over me so much she teleported over, and practically gave me a medical examination. Martha and mom were both amused, I wasn't. I ended up having to promise her that I wouldn't worry her so much, and bribed her with the merch I'd bought her. While all was not forgiven, a vast majority of it was. She did ask me about the whole 'Berith' incident, and after telling her about it, she agreed that it was better offing him.
A few days after that, she told me the Naiad ended up grouping up with the Druid, the martial artist, and the guy with Sword Birth. They bugged out and went Stray, so they were somewhere in the human world, while the rest of them went back to the Berith Clan home, and stayed with the clan. I was surprised the Weasel didn't run, but it was whatever.
That aside, the rest of us were having a good time, and we'd even gone to see a movie as a family. Uncle Ro came with us, but Futaba was still staying inside... Though, she DID start talking to us... And I ended remembering something... Something that I forgot because it was only mentioned once or twice... Futaba had Leblanc bugged, and heard everything.
The first time she texted me, well, us really since she invaded the Sakura family group chat, she asked us a question that made Martha pause. 'What determines a person's magical affinity?' That just made us all freak the fuck out, because we had no idea how she knew. But when she told us about the bugs, I literally bashed my head into a wall, because despite knowing I hadn't had any contact with Persona 5 for over a decade, I forgot HOW Futaba was able to find out about them in the first place. But it wasn't my fault!
Really, it wasn't!
Moving on, Futaba, Martha, and Rias had hit it off with the magic talk, while me, Rias and her hit it off on the manga and anime talk. Rias hadn't ported over that much, she was working with the rest of the Devils on something, something that was supposed to be a surprise, so she didn't tell us. She did spend time with us though, and for the first time today, was going to join us heading to Leblanc, and officially meeting Uncle Ro, and sort of meeting Futaba. Rias already had some experience with a NEET, so she knew not to press Futaba, and would stay with us as we stayed outside her door, and talked to her.
Zoning into the now, we heard a shout from downstairs. "Girls! You ready?!" Rias and I were still getting ready, but mom and Martha were apparently done.
Looking over to Rias, who had wanted to make a good impression with Futaba, and Uncle Ro, I gave her outfit a once over. Rias liked showing off her body, she was the epitome of 'if you have it, flaunt it.' But today, she was in a modest sky blue blouse, which had a thin golden furred sweater over it. Her bottom half was covered by a ocean blue skirt, with black thigh highs, and a pair of pumps that brought her up to my height. And like usual, her hair was flowing down, with her signature ahoge lazily moving side to side.
As for me, I was feeling vain, and decided to wear clothes that were both comfortable, and attractive. I had a red crop top hoodie that exposed my toned midriff, with a nice boob window to boot, a pair of blue ripped skinny jeans, and some slippers. My nails and claws were all painted red, and were naturally manicured, since that was a nice perk of being a Dragon. My hair was actually up in a high ponytail today, ending above my ass.
If anyone saw us, and didn't know us, then they'd think Rias and I were twins. We were the same height, though she was a few inches shorter then Martha and I without the pumps, her hair was a different shade, and our eyes were also different shades of blue, but that was it in the way of differences. We were pretty much sisters, ones who were now the opposite of what we'd normally be like. Sure, I gave into my draconic side to show off every once in a while, but I usually wore baggy/comfortable stuff, while Rias was in the scandalous stuff. (What makes this funnier, is that the DEVIL amongst us is being modest.) It really was a funny thought.
Though, amusement aside, Rias and I met each others eyes, and shared a nod. ""We're done mom!""
"Good! We're leaving in a few!"
""Kay!"" Then she went back to doing whatever it was she was doing before she called up to us.
While mom did that, Rias started fussing again. "This is fine, right? I don't look like a slut or anything, right? Maybe I should change out my skirt?" I raised a brow at her, which made her stop for a moment. "What?"
"Rias... If anyone looks like a slut here, it'd be me. You're fine." Which was true. Rias was giving off 'the girl next door' vibes at the moment, instead of her 'budding seductress' vibes.
My younger sister sighed, and pat her skirt. "I know, it's just, what if she doesn't like me? What if I mess up and give your uncle a bad impression of me?"
That earned her a 'are you stupid?' Look. "Rias... You've literally MET him before. You know he likes you." And she had. Uncle Ro, before he took in Futaba, showed up for our birthdays. On our 11th and 12th birthdays, he dropped by, and met Rias and the rest of them. When he first met her, he thought she was our super secret triplet, which endeared her to the old dude.
It made sense too. Rias had the brightest shade of red, I had a good scarlet one, and Martha had fine wine red, so Rias being related to us wouldn't have been much of a surprise. "I know! But I haven't seen him in over a year, he could've changed his opinion of me by that time! And he's taking care of a kid now too! And that's not even getting into whether Futaba will accept me or not."She was building herself up for a negative reaction again, and I sighed.
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I did the count down from 10 thing, and looked at Rias when I was done. "Rias, do you trust me?"
She blinked, but responded without much thought. "Obviously. You're my sister." I loved hearing that.
"Then trust me when I say Futaba will love you. You both have alot in common, and alot to bond over." She was listening now, and I pressed my advantage. "1st of all, you both love anime and manga." She nodded, since the two of them made another chatroom with me that was just us talking about anime, manga and games. Futaba was trying to get Rias interested in Final Fantasy, and me in Monster Hunter... Because irony and all that... It didn't help that I was actually interested in the franchise now because I was a dragon and I found Zinogre to be fucking awesome... Hey, he was a cool lightning dragon doggo, the fuck do you want from me?
Moving on. "2nd of all... I don't know if it's supposed to be said like that, but eh. 2nd of all, you know how to approach her and know the do's and don'ts of talking to a hikimori." Another nod, because she knew I was right. "3rd of all, I'll be right by your side the whole time," Martha and mom were going to talk to her at a different time, Uncle Ro and mom were worried that more then a pair would be a bit much for her at the moment, so it would be me and Rias first, then mom and Martha. "So, even if you somehow put your foot in your mouth, I'll stop you, got it?" This nod was followed by a smile, one I returned. "And 4th of all, redhead's gotta stick together, right?"
Rias laughed at that, and wrapped me up in a hug. "Yeah, we do. Thanks Tara-nee." I grinned, and bopped her head. "Hey!" I just laughed at the pout that earned me, and started walking ahead, as my younger sister followed along, pouting at me as she did.
{15 minutes later}
We would've ported over to Yongen-Jaya, but for some reason, Rias wanted to try the train. We tried to tell her that was a bad idea, we really did, but Rias was one of us, and stubborn as hell. So, we suffered the train... Again.
The troublesome younger redhead walked out of the doors as soon as they opened, and didn't look back as we came out after her. And when we were all by her side, she looked at me, a far away look in her eye. "If I ever have a bad idea like that again, just punch me."
That got a trio of snorts from us. """Gladly/Gotcha.""" Martha and I pulled off another twin moment without even trying, while mom was the last one.
Rias nodded at that, and we made our way out of the station. The experience of being packed tighter then sardines, and uncomfortable tits to be left behind and never thought of again.
We made it to Uncle Ro's cafe, and this time, it was Martha's turn to lead us in. So, opening the door, she did just that. "Goodmorning uncle. I've come bearing a trio of annoying redheaded children."
"""Excuse me?""" As unexpected as our response was, none of said anything about it, more focused on boring holes into Martha's skull with our eyes.
The old crone even had the audacity to look over her shoulder and smirk at us. "Am I wrong?" We glared harder.
Though, Uncle Ro's laughter brought us out of our combined glare, and brought our attention to him, making him stop laughing, and put his hands up in surrender. "Hey, wasn't me." He was right.
So we went back to glaring at Martha, who rolled her eyes at us. "Children." That said, she walked up to the counter and ordered her coffee.
Mom, Rias and I shared a look after that, and with a collective huff of annoyance, we followed her in, and claimed our places. Mom was on Martha's left, I was on my sister's right, and Rias was on my right. When we sat and ordered, Uncle Ro looked over to Rias, and gave her an easygoing smile. "Hey there, Rias, right?" The redheaded Devil nodded, and Uncle Ro grinned. "It's been a while. You doing ok?"
"Yes, I am. How about you sir?" It amused me and my fellow redheads at how formal she was being.
Uncle Ro saw that too, and chuckled. "I've been doing just fine kiddo. And you don't have to call me sir, makes me feel old."
"But you ARE old." The deadpan he gave me was worth it.
After Rias and mom were done giggling, he turned back to the youngest of us. "Anyway. Feel free to call me whatever makes you comfortable." The redheaded Devil gave our uncle a smile, and our morning went from there.
{10 minutes later}
The moment the Leblanc door closed behind us, I grinned at Rias. "Told you you had nothing to worry about."
She rolled her eyes, and looked away. "Shuddup." My grin only grew wider at that, and the huff she let out just went to show she probably knew it. "Come on, Futaba's waiting for us." And like that, she grabbed me by the arm, and marched forwards, dragging my along the whole time.
It made me laugh, which wasn't what she wanted.
After I locked the front door, I walked into Uncle Ro's house, after taking my shoes off since I wasn't a bitch, and made my way to Futaba's room. Thought, it didn't take long for me to hear a discussion going on. "But Gundams are awesome! Sure, Fantasy is cool and all, but robots! Space! Big lasers and shiny cool robots are something that EVERYONE has to love." I nodded along with the robots and lasers bit.
"Magic is funner though! There are so many possibilities, and so many different ways to play with it. Like Konosuba! Having a cool chant and blowing things up is so cathartic and beautiful!" I agreed with most of this too.
"Pfft! You just wanna be a chuuni! The explosions are cool though."
Rias spluttered at the first half, which made me snicker, making her turn to me as I walked up. "She's got you there Rias. I've lost count of all the times I'd walked into you posing in front of a mirror, saying some super chuuni shit."
"TARA-NEE! YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO SAY THAT OUTLOUD!" Futaba was cackling in her room, while I was pretty much doing the same as my younger sister blushed as red as her hair, while her ahoge bounced around from side to side. "STOP LAUGHING!" Neither of us stopped laughing. "Mou!" Her pout didn't do her any favors.
It took Futaba and I a bit to stop laughing, but eventually we managed. "So, you two have been getting along good." Rias nodded, while Futaba let out a 'yup' from her room. "Cool. So, what's the topic?"
""Best genre of anime./Best anime."" Rias blinked at that, while Futaba let out a 'huh' from her room, probably as surprised as the redheaded Devil was.
I just shrugged, and sat down outside of the room. "I'm big on Battle Shonen, or anime where some cool ass fights go on. Partly why I love Bleach as much as I do."
I wasn't expecting the reaction that would come from that statement. ""Naruto is better!/One Piece is better!""
A blink was my immediate reaction, but after I processed that, my eyes landed on Rias, who was blinking in surprise. At some unspoken signal, we then turned to Futaba's door. The three of us were silent for a bit, before we all spoke. """This means war."""
Safe to say, the three of us went on a debate on which of the big three was really the best.
We had a great time.
{Martha's POV}
I hummed to myself as I sat in the back of my uncle's cafe, reading my tome as he and mother went about making coffee, cooking, or cleaning. The atmosphere here was just so much better then the cafe in Shibuya. (Adding the feeling of my Wards defending us, and it's practically as if I were home.) It truly was nice. (Hmm...) Taking a few moments to think, I debated on whether or not I should introduce Azalea to Leblanc. (Cons would be she could tell her superiors about Uncle and Futaba, attempts to kidnap them could be made, or they may attack the Warded properties. Pros would be an ally to watch over them when we are not here, someone that could offer her perspective of the supernatural world, and a new regular for Uncle... Hmm... Introducing her to them would be too soon, I'll observe Azalea some more, and introduce them when she has earned it.) Nodding to myself, I focused on my tome, and idly tweaked the Silencing and Aversion Wards, so I could listen in on Uncle and mother.
Though, that also included the television Uncle had set up. "In a surprise post on social media, the idol, Narukami 'Risette' Rise, has announced she is pregnant with her first child! This announcement has brought a flood of well wishes for her, and her husband Narukami Yu, the current police chief of the Inaba Police Force."
I blinked at the sudden announcement, and remembered what Tara had told me before. (Both Narukami's were capable of using Personas, and may still be in contact with their teams... And the Kirijo group CEO is also a former Persona user... Hmm... We'll need to facilitate a meeting between the groups at some point. Having a backer in the form of the Kirijo group could do wonders for us, and be a good group to set up a place to hire Magicians and other human magicals...) I stopped tapping the table as I had that thought, then went full speed down that train of thought. (With their experience with Persona's, it won't be that difficult to induct both groups into the supernatural. With the Kirijo groups backing, they could hire Magician's from all over the world, and with the connections Tara and I are making with the Devil's and Fallen, we could provide texts, people that wouldn't mind teaching magic to others, and create the foundation to create an army... Or a school.) I hummed at that thought, and brought out a spare notebook from my bracelet. (Note to self, confer with Sona about the viability of creating the school in the human world.)
After I wrote that down, I placed the notebook back into my storage. Sona, her Peerage and I had been discussing her dream, and how we would go about fulfilling it. The entire time, we'd been thinking of ways to get it made in the Underworld, because why wouldn't it be there? But this train of thought had provided an alternative that I was quite interested in pursuing. It also made me anticipating the eventual meeting between Sona, the Kiriko CEO, and myself. I had no idea how Azalea would take this, so I didn't include her in the planning, but that could change in time. But the idea of creating, and co-leading a school of magicals, Human, Fallen, Devil and perhaps other races as well, was something I both saw myself doing, but enjoying in the future. (Well, it seems I've found my dream.)
Diverting my attention to the cafe, I listened in for anything interesting, and hearing mother and Uncle bantering with each other, decided there was nothing of note happening. (Well, I'm already thinking about them, so I'd might as well look them up.) That decided, I brought out the notebook, I was slightly annoyed that I had to do that again, and a laptop I kept in my bracelet, turning it on after I opened it. I was a little put out that the caliber of computers I had grown accustomed too in my last life had yet to be created, but I would make do with what I had until they were. It'd only require a year or so for them to be made anyway, so it wouldn't be a long wait
With it on, I spent the next few minutes compiling information on Mitsuru Kirijo, Rise Narukami, Yu Narukami, and those in their immediate circle. I knew some names from Tara, but after a decade of our new lives, she hadn't been very helpful telling me about all the members of the teams from the Persona 3 and 4 cast. She remembered Risette because she was an idol, and Yu Narukami because he was the protagonist, Mitsuru Kirijo because of the Kirijo Group, and Naoto Shirogane because she'd come up in an interview recently, but that was all.
I'd like to say my research was a long and arduous process, that I had infiltrated government servers to procure the information I needed... But that'd be a lie. It truly was simple to figure out when all I had to do was check the Idol's Twitter, and look for multiple group photos with the same people. Seeing her husband, Naoto Shirogane, and Rise Narukami with a brown haired martial artist, a prim and proper looking woman in a kimono, a pair of blondes, one tall and muscular, the other lean and with some kind of costume, and a brown haired man with a bright grin. Those were the people that appeared consistently over 6* years. (So, these are most likely the main cast of Persona 4. Interesting.) I put down their names for later research, and moved onto the cast of Persona 3.
Now them, they were a minor challenge. It was common knowledge that Mitsuru Kirijo attended Gekkoukan High, so I started there. Her first two years were relatively normal, but it was her 3rd year that showed a change. The club she was in, S. E. E. S, had ballooned up with members, and by the final semester, I was sure I'd found the cast of Persona 3. There was the captain of the boxing team, a brown haired girl I recognized as one of the Feathermen... Which made me pause, not knowing how to take that a Power Ranger was a Persona user, but I decided to process that later. There were others, a cap wearing boy with a goofy grin, a blue haired girl, a blonde that seemed... Off, to me, a child, and a dog... (Huh... Didn't see that coming.) Then there was the one I was sure was the Wildcard. An apathetic blue haired boy that just seemed to be there. If I remember correctly...) Checking for any relevant news around that time, aside from the 'Apathy Syndrome' that hit the port, I found what I was looking for. ('Arisato Minato (16), was found dead during the graduation ceremony.') I sighed, and put his name down nonetheless.
With both groups determined, I believed I had them all, I thought about what to do with this information. (Getting the attention of the Kirijo Group would be easy, Grandmother and my connection to her would be the way in with her. I could also send a letter to her...) There was an urge there. An urge to give in and be every bit of the nerd Tara knew I was... And I freely gave in. (Note to self, create magical owls.) In a perfect world, Tara would never know of my moment of weakness, but I knew she would eventually find out... And I was ok with that. She'd never let me live it down, but by that point, I'd have magical owls, so it was a fair trade. (Plus, as a daughter of Athena, even if it was my last life, I should do SOMETHING to honor that. Yes, yes that's the reason I'll give.)
Moving on from that, I went back to my plans. (If Grandmother or an owl bearing a letter do not work, I could always create a small unit of golems, when I have learned to make them, to learn her schedule so I can insert myself into her free time.) There were a few other ways, but they weren't as viable. (As for the Persona 4 cast, I can send an email to the Narukami male, or to Naoto. Getting a personal email should get their attention, and since they're both members of the police force, they'll naturally be curious if I include something eye catching as the header... I could also go with the letter idea, and hope one of them recognized good media.) I wasn't sure if they would, but it was a somewhat viable option.
Both plans in mind, I started thinking of the timetable. At the moment, I was a 14 year old 'girl' to them, and I highly doubted I would be taken seriously should they found out it was me setting up these meetings. (I could wait, when we reach 17-18, I'll have more credibility, and won't be seen as a child, especially with Irene's looks. The next option is to do it beforehand, and just use a Glamor or something similar, but should I be found out, that could lead to distrust and a higher chance of negotiations not turning out well... Hmm... 3rd year is seeming like a better option, considering Mitsuru herself accompanied her Fool on his journey during her 3rd year... This will also give me time to refine the plan, and include Sona, and whether or not to include Azalea.) I nodded to myself at that, and put both my notebook, and laptop away after turning it off.
I'd resolve to wait for a bit, and figure out which method would work the best...
And also work on breeding owls... I wanted magical owls, and would not be stopped.
{A few hours later, Tara's POV}
Today was a good day. Rias, Futaba and I had all just talked about anime, games, and even a bit about magic. Rias had given her the spiel about Devil magic working on imagination, which had launched Futaba into another debate on how that was broken and should be nerfed. 'Again', because Martha had explained the differences between Human and Devil magics. Futaba was entranced at the idea that Human magic was just really advanced math, and asked if she could get a copy of some books Martha had. My sister agreed, and told her that when we got back home, she'd magic up some copies for the excitable redhead.
Back to the Devil vs Human magic debate, Futaba was also interested in hearing how there were some exercises she could do to see how much magic she could use. I was pretty sure Martha was going to tell her about them herself, but eh, it was whatever. They also talked about things Rias could do, some things we covered like ripping off anime techniques, comics, or manga, while somethings we didn't cover, like her pulling a Lovecraft and making spells with effects to drive people insane... Rias and I shared a look at that, and both non verbally agreed that Futaba would be a menace if she became a Magician.
I didn't have much to contribute to that conversation, because not only could I NOT use Human magic, cause I was a Dragon, but because Dragon magic was a completely different rabbit hole. One that I couldn't access because my fucking core was required to learn it. (Being a Dragon isn't all it's cracked up to be when the majority of your racial skills need you to be a century old.) The old gecko got a laugh out of me complaining about that once, and I never did it again where he could hear. Annoying bastard.
Atleast I had my Lightning Dragon Slayer magic. Ddraig was annoyed that I could eat lightning, and grumbled at how that shouldn't be possible. (Why am I thinking this?) I had no idea, so I decided to think of something else. (There's, what, two more weeks left?) I wasn't really paying attention, but I was pretty sure about that. (Two weeks huh?) I looked over to the building I was at, I was walking around, just doing random stuff now that Rias had gone back to Kuoh, working on whatever surprise she wanted to work on, and looked around.
I didn't exactly know where I was, I just let my feet take me wherever they wanted, and apparently it was to the iconic SEGA building. (Well... I can work with this.) Two weeks would be enough time to enjoy myself, and get stuff for Futaba and Rias.
[Omake - Magic is weird. Futaba's POV a week later.]
Spinning in my chair, I couldn't help but question what I was just told. "Okay, but how does it actually work? Is it like a Green Herb from Resident Evil? Just boom, instant mana?"
"While the comparison is close enough, it'll be a bit more personal then that. From the books I've read, Moon Petals can be used in multiple ways. Eating them raw gives the consumer a temporary buff that makes them more in tune with their magic, and provides a small boost towards their inborn affinity. In a statistic, I believe the boost would range from 3-5%, but I may be wrong." That was lame. "Turned into a potion, usually one you would recognize as a Mana Potion, it becomes an instant replenisher to the drinkers mana." So they DID exist, neat. "Then there's a tea form, one that was surprisingly common a thousand or so years ago." Ooou, old stuff was always good stuff! "In tea form, and after around 50 servings of it, which could only be taken once a day, Moon Dew could grant the connection amplifier, the affinity increase, but around 10-15% instead of the 3-5, and a passive increase to the drinkers mana generation, and growth." I gaped at that, and why wouldn't I? That was like Monster Hunter food, but in real life! Sure, the whole 'drink one cup of tea a day for the next month and some change' was a pretty bad requirement, but it was worth it for the buff. "The last way would be to gather a barrel of Moon Petals, and to distill it all into purified 'Moonlight' as it was dubbed." Okay, now that sounded promising. "The result was reported to be a connection to mana that seemed like a second limb, a guaranteed 20% increase in the consumers main affinity, and a 5% increase in all others, an increase to the consumers mana pool, and a moderate increase in mana generation and growth, and another passive in the form of another increase in mana regeneration during the nighttime."
(What the hell?! That's so good!) And it really was. That was like 1% drop chance loot. "And people stopped using it?! How rare is that stuff?"
Martha chuckled, which confused me. "Surprisingly, it's not actually rare."
"HUH?!"
"While the plants themselves are not rare, their blooming requirements on the other hand, are. Moon Petal Fields can be found on mountain peaks, but only on the night of a full moon. Adding to that, their seeds are highly susceptible to the elements, so it would take meticulous protections to ensure the seeds survived until germination. Add in the fact Moon Petals only yield 5-10 petals per flower, the largest field was 40 flowers by the way, and you can understand how long it would take to collect a barrel full, yes?"
Doing some mental calculations, I balked at my answer. "That'd take YEARS!"
Going by the hum from outside, I assumed she nodded. "That it would. It was the reason that last method was rarely, if ever done. The more common method was creating Moon Dew Tea. Giving an apprentice raw Moon Petals seemed to be a way for ancient magicals to entice an apprentice into joining under them for more." That sort of made sense. "Though, eventually, the methods fell out of use, either because of how tedious collecting Moon Petals was, inefficiency, or some other reason." Again, made sense.
"Okay, but why'd you bring it up in the first place?" We were talking about magic stuff, and she ended up bringing those up. I still didn't know why.
"Fun fact," Hmm? "Rias' family owns a training ground at the base of the mountain at Kuoh."
My mind instantly made the connection, and I nearly jumped out of my chair. The only reason I didn't was because I was pretty sure I'd fall on my face if I did, and I knew that. "REALLY?! You'll get me Moon Petals?"
My cousin but not blood related but still cousin, chuckled. "Yes, yes we will. It may take three or so months, but we should end up with enough to supply not only ourselves, but you as well with Moon Dew Tea. I'll see if I can set up a delivery receptacle to transport the tea to you, but if I can't, I'll just set up a schedule for myself to teleport over and deliver it to you myself."
I don't know the sound that made its way out of my throat, but it had to be a mix of a 'whoop' and a squeal of happiness...
A squoop?
Yeah, that sounded about right.