Author's note: Bit more of a cool down chapter after the last one
The World moves forward
Minato took a moment to collect himself after his little adventure in the Underworld.
When the Devil who introduced himself as Diodora Astaroth came to him at the party he didn't give the Devil much thought, though that changed when he tried to cast mind altering magic on him. Minato was more than well enough aware of such magic due to Shadows using it several times on SEES, eventually he grew resistant to it with his Personas providing greater protection and stumping out the insidious magic before it could take root. Still, he played along pretending to be under Diodora's control to see what he was after.
Bring Asia to him at a certain address, the devil noble gave Minato a split of paper before walking away. He didn't say anything to either Rias, Sona or their peerages instead subtly checking to make sure they weren't being spied on, luckily it seemed Diodora was very confident in his abilities as they weren't followed, returning back to Kuoh Town they went their separate ways. He needed to know what Diodora wanted with Asia before he did anything else so he planned on creating an Avatar to look like Asia to go with him, that plan didn't last too long before Ophis offered to help by transforming into Asia.
He knew Ophis could shapeshift but actually seeing her use it was another matter as she was nearly identical to Asia, nearly being the keyword as she had trouble with the eyes, ears and couldn't do Asia's voice. Still; it was more than enough, after patching together some spare fabrics left in the house to create a copy of Asia's old nun outfit and hooded cloaks for them to wear they set off to the address given with Ophis handling the teleportation.
Once he entered that place Minato knew without a doubt that Diodora was planning something horrible with Asia and it only took one look at Diodora's 'peerage' to figure it out. He still wasn't sure what happened after his eyes landed on them, he could hear weak cries for help as brief flashes of scenes came to his mind. All of the former nuns and Diodora, detailing their fall and Diodora's cruelty. Angel's seethed in rage at those who were supposed to be under their protection meeting grim fates, heroes were sickened with many prepared to unsheath their weapons and even Demons looked on disappointed at yet more improper methods used to make humans fall from God's grace.
Minato was barely aware of the power he leaked out only really noticing it after many present were forced to their knees, what he was about to do would have consequences greater than what he could imagine at the moment and yet he accepted them as he unholstered his Evoker.
He made a deal to take responsibility for his actions, he would not break that, and he could never forgive himself for not acting and letting this to go any further.
Many stood ready to answer the call, and yet it was the one with the most personal weight on the matter. Astaroth manifested into reality and took care of the one who bore his name as Minato attended to Diodora's Peerage, the looks of fear and submissive acceptance made his stomach turn. Reaching out his hand Minato tried and succeeded in replicating the miracle that reverted Kenzou back to his original body, unlike him the girls fell unconscious as they reverted back to being humans. He examined them and healed what he could before Ophis came over offering to take them away, Minato thanked her as Ophis left with the former nuns.
After dealing with Diodora, damning him to a personal hell before he truly died, Astaroth used his Demon authority over the Devils to force them to a vow of secrecy. Many took to the vow with fear and desperation, while a few took it wholeheartedly with fervor.
And now here he was, in his new house with fifteen former Devils reverted back to humans he couldn't tell anyone for the time being. Kiyome was an option but he certainly couldn't tell either Rias or Sona, while they wouldn't accept what Diodora had done it didn't mean they wouldn't do something that could put the rescued girls in danger. Even something simple as them telling their families could lead to trouble, and none of that factoring in Devils learning he could reverse Devil conversion.
He needs to focus on what he can do now, speaking of which.
Minato turned to Ophis, the nun outfit made to look like Asia's had changed with her to fit her even in her smaller form "Thanks again for the help, things could have gotten a lot more complicated if you weren't around" Minato wasn't sure if he could have created an Avatar to match Asia perfectly and there was no telling if Diodora had means to detect illusions so having Ophis disguise herself as Asia helped.
The Dragon Nun nodded before turning her attention to the newly restored humans "What are you doing to do with them?"
"Take responsibility" Minato raised his Evoker. He didn't know who exactly these girls were, but knew enough that they had suffered under Diodora and lived in a world very different from the one they knew before, as he pulled the trigger his course of action was clear.
Help them stand on their own two feet and helped them a new place for themselves in this world.
With a sound of shattering glass energy whirled around Minato, Ophis looked on as five figures began to form as Bridget jumped back.
Five figures stood before Minato, three women and two men. No words were needed as all those summoned knew their purpose and what they needed to do, however they told Minato through thought of the face Ophis was making and Bridget's guarded stance. Sure enough Bridget regarded the summoned Personas warily, meanwhile Ophis furrowed her brow as she stared intently at them.
"I do not know them, and yet" she pointed she pointed to the man who stood in the middle of the group "With him as an exception, they feel strong"
Understandable, among the Personas summoned he was an ordinary man all things considered.
He chuckled at Ophis's comment, scratching his beard as he did so "That I am, in most stories told I've been relegated to a supporting role. Still, I wanted to help in any way I could even if it's as simple as being an extra set of hands"
The woman beside him gave the man a thankful smile "You'd likely never gave me much thought, as this power you sense only truly came after my mortal life" she regarded the other couple to the left and the other woman far on her other side "They, on the other hand, likely left center stage before you arrived into this world"
The other couple stepped forward and knelt down to be at more eye level with Ophis "It's nice to speak with you in person Ophis, I'm Eve and this is my life partner Adam"
Adam gave Ophis a small smile "We're known as the Father and Mother of Humanity, you're already familiar with Maria and Joseph" Maria and Joseph smiled as they took a step back for the fifth member to be in sight "She's-"
"Lilith, mother of Demons and Devils" Lilith groaned before pointing to Adam "And since it's going to come up eventually, may as well rip it off now, I'm Adam's ex-life partner who got NTR'd by Lucifer" she pointed to the unconscious group "I'm here to make sure no Devil energy is left over along with helping to take care of them"
Ophis turned to Minato slowly "You summoned the mother of demons, the father and mother of humanity, to take care of these former devils"
Minato nodded "Yeah, speaking of which we'll need to get some things ready for them" Minato turned to leave the room with Joseph following behind as Adam, Eve, Lilith and Maria stayed behind to keep an eye on the girls.
Looking between the Personas before her gears began turning within Ophis's mind.
Up till now she only truly considered the strength and power she could gain if she secured Minato's loyalty to her, but now she knew of a different avenue. Lilith was often spoken of with reverence among those from the True Satan Faction and having a Persona of her would ensure their obedience, her Persona counterpart was able to fool herself so unless the original Lilith appeared no one would know the truth. She wasn't entirely sure if the Hero Faction would regard Adam and Eve with such reverence but it was worth an attempt, at the very least having the Father and Mother of Humanity on her side would be a boon in one way or another.
Ophis smiled, Minato was truly a gift that kept on giving. She remained in the room to watch over the newly restored humans to see what the results of Minato's actions, after all it will have an effect on how she'd go about rending in the True Satan Faction after that Devil's death.
She stood and watched as the remaining Personas watched over and tended to their charges, retrieving her MP3 in case she needed it, until they all began to slowly wake up. They all began waking up one after another until they were all lucid enough to understand what had happened, some looking around with worry while most just stared ahead with acceptance.
Their attention seemed to drift to and linger on Ophis more than once, after the second look she figured it was due to the nun outfit she was wearing
After everything was explained, they were human once more and Diodora would never touch them again, it took one of them praying to believe what they were being told.
The newest member of Diodora's former peerage shakily brought her hands together in prayer, Ophis didn't pay much attention to the words spoken as the reaction they caused. While the one leading the prayer's words were slow they gained pace, her words growing faster if not more shaky as tears began to gather at the edge of her eyes, the others joined in on the prayer after a few words with confusion and disbelief being the majority reaction.
"H-How?" The one who led the prayer asked, her voice thick with emotion as she looked to the Personas and Ophis "How can we pray to God, we're Devils"
"No, not anymore" Maria knelt down and hugged the girl "You and the others are human once more"
Ophis put her earphones in and left the room when they started crying, she seen enough.
"You want to do the Tamer Exam already?" Kiyome gave Minato a curious look before giving him a stern look "You've barely done any real missions, and one had to be forgotten" Kiyome whispered the last part before continuing "Go on a few more missions and you could take the exam in under a week"
The two of them were sitting together under one of the trees on Kuoh Academy's ground, not many visited it during lunch due to the distance from the building and the chance of being scolded for having dirty uniforms by the student council and teachers.
Minato nodded "Thanks, especially since this is out of the blue"
"Any reason for the sudden desire to be a full fledge Tamer so soon?" Kiyome gave Minato a thoughtful look."You know being a fully licensed Tamer comes with a lot more responsibilities than one in training?"
'Because I suddenly have fifteen extra mouths to feed with an extra five that need to pretend to eat on top of myself, Ophis and a chimera hellhound' Minato thought to himself "I'm just excited to advance further, that and a little extra money couldn't hurt"
Kiyome nodded "Fair enough, just be sure to balance work, school and any personal time you have wisely. I have a couple tricks myself I picked up over the years"
"I have some myself" Minato added, his thoughts drifting back to the times he was scheduling things with SEES on when was the best nights to enter Tartarus and spending times with his friends "It's not much, just some things I developed in the last school"
Kiyome paused as she realized something "You never talk about your previous, I don't want to pry but is there a reason for that"
He grew silent at Kiyome's question, closing his eyes as he thought about Iwatodai City, Tatsumi Port Island, Gekkoukan High School and everyone he had met there. "It was, life changing in a good way" Minato smiled as he looked up at the sky "I can honestly say I've improved a lot going there, but things happened and I had to transfer"
Kiyome looked at Minato curious, "Come on, tell me a little more. Were you in any clubs?"
"I was in the Kendo, Music and an after school club that did community service" Minato answered, feeling he hadn't been deceitful calling SEES and after school club that did community service. "I was also considered an honorary member of the student council, home economics, art and photograph clubs due to several friends of mind"
Kiyome gave Minato a suspicious look "So, you were in seven clubs in your old school?"
Minato shook his head "I was in three, I just dabbled in the others out of either interest or helping a friend with something"
"Hmm. Prove it" Kiyome said with a smirk "I happen to know the art room is always open to people wishing to try many art forms, we go there and you draw me like one of your french girls"
"I only know a Frenchmen," Minato answered.
"No, it was a reference to- You know what nevermind," Kiyome said.
[Several Minutes later]
Kiyome looked at the drawing mouth agape, Minato looked between Kiyome and the drawing before his gaze settled on the drawing as he stared at it intently.
"Sempais? Is something the-" one of the first years in the art room went over to Minato and Kiyome to see what was wrong, as they did their mouth dropped as their eyes landed on the picture. On the canvas was a beautifully drawn sketch of Kiyome sitting on a stool, a confident smile on her lips with eyes that seem to twinkle with excitement and curiosity.
"Not too happy with the hair, doesn't quite have the right volume as yours" Minato said, scrutinizing the aspects of the sketch he wasn't happy with. It had been a while since he last sketched a portrait of someone and looking at the one he drew for Kiyome made it clear he was out of practice. The hair being the most notable shortcoming with the neck being a millimeter too big, he was proud of the eyes and happy he could still do them well even with the shortcomings of the sketch.
It was honestly very relaxing drawing Kiyome in the art room, while they were the music club he and Keisuke did frequent the photograph and art clubs. While music was something he had loved all his life drawing the portrait of Kiyome reminded Minato spending time with the one friend who inspired him to aim to be a doctor like he was, even when Keisuke's dad kept pressuring his son and trying to control his life.
His words broke Kiyome and their underclassmen out of their stupor, Kiyome turned to Minato with a surprised look "You weren't kidding about the art club after all" she turned back to the sketch of herself with her gaze being drawn to the eyes "Did you put the most detail into my eyes?"
"The eyes have been called windows into the soul, didn't feel right doing such a thing half heartedly" Minato turned to look directly into Kiyome's eyes "Still, doesn't compare to the real thing"
Kiyome turned to Minato with her cheeks reddening "If I didn't know any better I'd think you were flirting with me"
"Um, what are you going to do with the sketch?" the underclassmen asked drawing attention to themselves "Because, you need to fill out a form and submit it to the student council if you want to take it home"
"You can take it if you want" Minato said to Kiyome, a small smile forming "Consider it a gift, after everything you've done to help me"
Kiyome looked conflicted "Well, it's too nice to have it scrapped. And I'm not too sure about how I feel about it hanging around school for everyone to see" she nodded her head "At the risk of seeming egotistical, I'll take it home with me"
After being told what they needed to do Kiyome went to collect and fill out the forms they needed to sign as Minato and the underclassman wrapped up the sketch for transport, as they did the underclassmen looked around anxiously before whispering to Minato "Senpai, any chance you're interested in an art career?"
Minato raised an eyebrow at the question "Depends what it is?"
"People are always looking for artists for Manga, considering how fast you made that detailed sketch I think you could do well" they pulled a business card out which Minato took "Just, give it some thought. Plenty of money to be made"
Minato pocketed the business card with a nod, the underclassmen looked around and left soon after the sketch was wrapped up.
"How about you take the next day off so you can go out and enjoy yourself" Maria said with a smile, Minato turned away from the manga pages he drew up to fully face his Persona.
Minato shook his head "Can't, I have work to do" he was about to turn back to the several manga pages he drew when he saw Maria's frown, they could speak with thought so whatever she wished to tell him was something he needed to physically hear.
"Your going to be busy for some time, this is going to be your last chance to have a day to yourself for a while" Maria knelt beside Minato to give him a motherly smile "If you haven't been working you were worrying about something, whether it be Rias and her Peerage's match or on the well being of the girls. Give yourself a day, okay"
Minato sighed. "Okay, mu-Maria" he said, barely stopping himself from calling Maria mum, something that had happened before and preferred not to happen again in front of others.
Maria gave Minato a hug before returning to the living room where she, Eve and Lilith were helping the former members of Diodora's peerage learn about the modern world and teaching them needed skills.
Their recovery was going as well as expected, the former Queen Katina was helping the others settle into the new situation they found themselves in. He hadn't interacted with them personally, at least not through Personas, as they still remembered the power he unleashed and seemed vaguely aware of Astrathot's summoning. After they learn about the current human world then they can work on their mild agoraphobia.
Minato sighed to himself as he considered what he should do tomorrow, as he did Bridget came over to him. Rubbing her head Minato got an idea of what to do.
Walking through Kuoh Town Minato took in the sights as he walked Bridget with Ophis holding the leash, they didn't have plans on what to do exactly and were walking around to see what caught their eye. Ophis comes to a complete stop in front of a display of televisions, stopping Bridget in her tracks with the suddenness of it, Minato turned to the televisions to see what had caught Ophis's attention.
A cast of characters in colourful costumes posing dramatically as music played in the background, Minato quickly recognized that it was this world's version of Featherman latest promo for the new season. It was actually something of a comfort for him, regardless of the world tokusatsu Heroes were there, though there were certain elements of this world's version that put him off. Still, good music.
"What's that song called?" Ophis asked, Minato shrugged his shoulders as he didn't know himself.
He was able to catch the end of the promo with the airing date presented "Chances are they'll credit whoever made it in the first show, you could watch it to find out what it was. Who knows, you might find other sounds you like in the show"
Ophis didn't say anything in response instead choosing to continue walking down the street with Bridget excitedly following along, Minato spared one last glance to the verging on ecchi series Featherman knock-off before following Ophis making a note to watch the series with her himself or having a Persona do it in his stead.
Arriving in the park Bridget was let off her leash to run around more freely, she had free reign over the area around the house but this was her first time visiting a park, she jumped around excitedly before staring intently at a small fox in the bushes.
The fox looked startled and ran away, Bridget looked pleased before running back over to Minato and Ophis. Ophis held a small ball in her hand before throwing it up, Bridget leapt into the air to catch it with her mouth before chewing on the ball.
"That's not a chew toy, come here," Minato said as he knelt down to take back the ball, Bridget growled but let the ball go. Minato petted Bridget's before holding up the ball, the chimera hellhound's eyes were focused on the ball even after it was thrown.
They spent a good deal of time at the park with Minato showing Ophis the various things dog owners do to play with their pets, making Bridget very happy causing her to jump up on Minato and Ophis more than once for licks. Beyond a mildly awkward moment where Minato had to explain why Bridget would like headpats and ear scratched, giving Ophis headpats when asked, it was a pleasant time spent together with all three getting ice cream at the end.
Leaving the park they continued walking around Kuoh, Minato thought about visiting an arcade or a karaoke place but reconsidered the idea due to Ophis not liking loud noises. It was as he was considering what else they could do when they came across something interesting.
"We have two spots remaining, who here is brave enough to take on the Iron Shogun challenge!" An energetic voice could be heard as a sizable crowd began to gather in front of a stage with several men and women seated at a long table.
Minato felt Ophis staring at him, he looked around for context clues as to what the Iron Shogun challenge was and found a large banner above them "It's an eating contest, basically people sign up to see who can eat the most food"
Ophis tilted her head (?) "Why would they compete in such a thing?"
"Prizes, reputation, free food. It depends on the person who enters it" Minato looked to the speaker again to see them searching the crowd for something, Minato was ready to leave due to not having any interest in seeing the competition.
"Two spots left, first prize is one million four hundred thousand yen in cash!"
Ophis saw Minato's hand shoot up to volunteer for the feasting competition, on a whim she climbed up his back to raise her hand as well.
She never tried gorging herself on food before but as she seemed to be experiencing many new things with Minato she may as well try.
She will never eat anything again, with the exception of sweets.
Ophis laid on Bridget's back as the large dog carried her, she spared a glance to Minato to see him doing barely better than her. They had won first and second place but she doubted this discomfort was worth it, the second she gained the chance she was transforming into a large body to ease the discomfort.
They shared a look with one another and decided to call it a day, as they neared the house Minato lifted Ophis from Bridget's back to carry her inside. As he carried her Ophis felt the discomfort ease, she suspected he was using some form of healing that affected indigestion but that wasn't it. Whatever it was it felt nice, Ophis was a bit disappointed it ended when he put her down on a coach in the living room before going over to lay down on the second one next to it.
Ophis laid there to recover, only getting up later that night when she saw someone standing over Minato.
Katina held a blade of demonic flame over Minato's head, reading to behead him.
"What are you doing?"
Katina spun to face Ophis, her flame weapon now pointed at the bemused Dragon God.
Satou Side Story: The past returns
Walking up to the school gate Minato could see some of the leaving students whispering about something, slowing down and listening in to the whispers.
"Who is that guy? He's been standing by the front gate staring intently in"
"No clue, he's wearing a South Kuoh uniform so maybe he's waiting on a friend?"
Minato raised an eyebrow at the mention of Satou's school before continuing on to get a look for himself, as he did he overheard more conversations.
"That dude is seriously giving me the creeps, do you think he's dangerous? Huh, are you recording him?" "He's moving!"
"Minato Arisato, right?"
Minato came to a stop when his name was called out, looking ahead he saw it was the South Kuoh student everyone seemed to be whispering about. Looking him over Minato could tell he hadn't slept well due to the black marks under his eyes, eyes that bore into him with a glare for some unknown reason, at this point Minato was keenly aware of everyone turning their gaze on him "Yes, can I help you?"
The unknown student seemed to s*teel himself before stomping up to Minato, he lower his voice to a whisper as he looked up to the taller Minato "Stay away from my girlfriend"
"Who?" Minato asked, having no idea who the younger student's girlfriend was.
"Satou, stay away from my Satou" his whispering grew louder and harsher, not quite yelling but enough that someone might be able to listen in. The South Kuoh student seemed to notice something before spinning on his heel to run away, Minato kept an eye on the fleeing student even as Kuoh Academy security approached him.
Even as he agreed to tell them what just happened he had his phone out to call the Nakajimas and Satou herself, there was something off about the South Kuoh student. It wasn't anything paranormal, rather it seemed like there was something off about him in a very mundane way. Something that could be dangerous.
Later...
Arriving at the café he met up with Satou to tell her what happened, the look of surprise and alarm in her eyes told him something was off.
"We weren't dating, not really" Satou lowered her head and looked away "We just hung out together with my friend and her's" she pulled out her phone and hesitated "Right, we never exchanged numbers. I'll have to ask Shouko"
"Are you sure it's safe to meet with him?" Minato asked.
Satou shook her head, a smile returning to her face "Yeah, I can handle it myself. He's weird but harmless"
Minato frowned "Still, do you want me to be somewhere close by when you go an meet him? Backup in a worse case scenario"
She seemed ready to say no but stopped herself before nodding "Thank you, though you may want to wear something inconspicuous for yourself to make sure he doesn't recognize you"
={At the Park at night}=
"Satou. I got your message from-" the South Kuoh student said as they saw Satou approaching.
Satou raised her hand to stop him "I want you to stay away from me and senpai"
The South Kuoh (SK) student was caught flat footed "Uh, Satou? Look, I'll admit I jumped the gun a little but we don't see each other anymore and you seem fixated on that Arisato person so I was worried-"
"Where did you learn about him?" Satou asked as she walked closer to the SK Student.
They took a step back "Satou, I'm not feeling very comfortable right now"
"Did you think about that when you waited outside his school to ambush him?" Satou asked, not waiting for an answer she stood in front of the SK Student and stared him down "Now, who told you about Minato Arisato"
The SK Student fell backwards "I-I wanted to see if you were alright, we didn't exchange numbers so I asked Shouko before checking out your home and work. I learnt who he was after asking around and, finding out you spent the night at his place"
Satou glared down at the SK student "It was a group sleepover with friends, or did you not investigate that far"
"S-So you and he aren't-"
"No" Satou answered.
SK Student let out a sigh of relief before jumping backwards as he saw a taser in front of him, Satou held the taser so that it was leveled with his eyes "I will say this only one more time, stay away from me and senpai. I don't want to see you ever again outside of school"
"Satou-chan, why? We're in a relationship, the festival and on the roof we-"
"It meant nothing. Let it go and move on with your life, consider that advice for old times, goodbye" Satou stared down at her one time lover before walking away.
Meanwhile, Minato waited behind a lamppost as he looked at his phone. He wore a raincoat with the hood up, feeling someone staring at him, Minato looked down the street to see a woman staring into the park. Hearing footsteps from the park Minato saw the woman was staring at Satou with a smile before turning around to walk away.
"Well, that was rough," Satou said "Though I feel he understands the situation now, let me know if he gives you trouble and I'll talk to him again"
"If anything comes up don't hesitate to contact me if you need help with anything" Minato replied.
Satou paused "Actually, could you walk me back?" with a nod Minato and Satou began walking down the street together, as they walked the rain began to fall forcing the two to share Minato's raincoat held above their heads. After making sure Satou got back safe Minato headed back home, walking around in circles more then once and teleporting once to make sure he wasn't being followed.
Omakes
Dragons, Eggs, on my!
Urgent Missions. A type of mission Tamers take on that, as the name says, requires urgent attention from all available Tamers able to handle the matter and Minato was informed of the latest one.
A Rogue Dragon was flying around the human without bothering to hide itself, dozens of reports of it had already been made and if it wasn't stopped soon the masquerade of the world would fall apart, not to mention he was calling down lightning bolts at things around it. Several attempts had already been made to stop the dragon with nothing working, an attempt to stop it by force did little more than knock off some of it's scales before those involved had to withdraw due to losing strength at an alarming rate.
Scales Minato looked over, letting his chimera hellhound sniff the scent of the dragon in question, as he took part in a meeting with other Tamers in his region. Due to the serious nature of the situation the plan was to capture the dragon before it entered a densely populated area or kill it if need be, several Factions had sent agents to help in the capture or termination of the dragon with those agents following Tamer lead.
The plan to stop the dragon involved breaking up into teams with Minato, still being a fresh face Tamer, being placed into recon to scout out the dragon's movements and predict where it was headed. However, during the mission things changed.
"Alexa, did you pick up something?" Minato asked as the Church Grim head of Bridget was sniffing the air around them, picking up a scent Elda and Dealla quickly found as well.
'Barkbark' Dragon's scent coming from over there, three souls are in that direction.
Minato had Alexa led him to the scent, using Sukukaja to enhance the hellhound's speed to lower the chance of their targets moving. Coming to a clearing with a barrier erected to hide from everything outside it, before realizing it they had entered the barrier where a woman in ninja gear was smoking with two large eggs off to the side.
As soon as Minato saw the eggs the pieces fell into place as to what happened, he glared at the egg thief as an Evil smile tugged at his lips. With the desired effect of making the egg thief fearful it was a simple matter of knocking them out, with a stream of three different types of fire skywards the barrier crumbled as the pillar of flames drew the attention of those within sight. Especially the attention of a dragon that rose into the air to get a quick look at the source of the flames only to see Minato holding the eggs in his hands.
Holding the eggs in his hands Minato could feel the life within them fading little by little, various Personas telling him the unborn dragons had minutes left Minato let out a deep breath, using senjutsu Minato channeled life energy into the eggs and felt life return to the eggs in abundance returning the eggs from death's door.
The dragon dived towards where Minato was, Bridget moving to guard him from the force of the dragon's coming impact or any attack the dragon would make, as it drew near the dragon's body became covered in light. As it made contact with the ground the dragon had shrunk down into a far more human appearance, albeit with horns, wings and a tail.
"My babies!"
The now human dragon rushed over to Minato, who give Bridget a look to step back as the mother dragon drew near, with tears in her eyes the mother dragon put her hands over the eggs "Mummy is so sorry, if I was only more careful, I-I-" the dragon girl wiped away her tears before looking to Minato.
Before a word could be uttered a song began playing, looking down to his phone in his pocket Minato handed the eggs over to their mother before answering his phone "Hello"
"Where are you? There was a pillar of fire that drew away the dragon, was that Bridget or are we dealing with something else?" Kiyome's voice came through the speaker with a professional tone edged with worry, in the background other conversations leaked through with lots of movement.
Minato looked to the crying mother holding her eggs before turning around to see the ninja was where he left them, he began explaining what had happened as he directed Bridget to keep two heads ready to attack if need be.
"Eggnapping, of course that had to be it" Kiyome said in a tired tone "We're sending people over now to help the mother and arrest the eggnapper so just-"
A surprised shout drew his attention, whirling around Minato saw the eggs were shaking with the mother dragon struggling to keep the eggs in her arms, with a quick "Their hatching" Minato rushed over to help the dragon mother hold her hatching eggs as Kiyome's voice came through the phone on the ground.
As the eggs continued to shake, pulsating as more and more cracks began to form on the shells, the mother of the eggs encouraged her children as she cheered them until finally...
"My, my babies. So cute~"
With tears in her eyes the mother dragon held two babies that would have been indistinguishable from human if it weren't for their little horns, wings and tail as their mother, Minato sighed as the worse seemed to be over with the dragon mother being able to hold her children much easier with the egg shells, feeling a slight breeze Minato took off his jacket to wrap the newly hatched children to shell them from the cold.
"When I came back to find them gone from the nest I was so scared, even when I found the person who took you I nearly lost hope" the babies reached out to their mother as she closed her tearful eyes as she embraced her children "Mummy did wrong, I'm sorry"
Letting out a sigh of relief Minato left the little family to collect his phone, seeing it was still connected he picked back up with Kiyome about what happened. As the others drew closer Minato kept a sharp eye on the ninja to make sure they didn't try anything underhanded to escape, though he almost missed it when the mother dragon came over to him.
"Sorry, it's just" Minato turned around to see the mother and children looking at him, with the children reaching out to Minato "They want you to hold them"
Minato tilted his head confused but complied, gingerly he took the dragon babies into his arms as he drew in what knowledge and wisdom of child care and rearing his Personas could provide. It was admittedly few and far between but he was able to find what he needed, looking down he saw the twins leading against him as he held.
Seeing their happy expression brought a smile to his lips "Happy Birthday, welcome to the world"
The dragon mother cooed as she watched her children "Ah, their both so happy being held by their papa"
"Say what now!?"
Just at that moment, the team gathered to handle the rogue dragon situation arrived.
Turns out the dragon mother, Aoi, was joking about the papa comment. Feeling both relieved and disappointed they returned to a Tamer base to wrap up the Urgent Mission, Minato and Satou went to get lunch before making their reports.
"Eggnapping. Of course that was the cause of all this" Kiyome said with a bite in tone, she took a bite out of a sandwich and chewed with a displeased look.
Kidnapping of children, even infants, was something Minato had only really been aware of through news or word of mouth but knew nothing of it personally. It wasn't a leap in logic that such things happen with cryptids, though there was something he needed to ask.
Minato's grip tightened on his can of coffee "How often does something like this happen?"
"Rare, though that's only counting the things reported or discovered" Kiyome took a deep breath before turning to Minato with a reassuring look "If it makes you feel any better, Aoi and the twins will be fine. Can hardly blame a mother desperately trying to save her children from potentially unveiling everything to the rest of the world, the ninja and those she works for are another matter, and they'll be given the best care possible" Kiyome leaned back into her chair "Over all, this mission has a happy ending"
Suddenly a member of the Tamers in a lab coat rushed into the room and looked around wildly, as soon as they spotted Minato they briskly walked over to him.
Kiyome rubbed the bridge of her nose "Had to jinx it, no way it was this easy with your luck"
"Maybe it's about something else" Minato offered.
"Mr Arisato, I need you to come with me right this moment" The doctor said, gesturing for Minato to follow.
Following the doctor they came to a room where a group of people were looking at a computer screen, what seemed like the head doctor raised her head when the door opened before getting up "I take it your the Tamer who discovered the egg thief and eggs" nodding the doctor gave Minato a hard look "I'll cut to the chase, we fear the kidnappers may have done something to the eggs to bind the unborn children to their will. The process appears to not have progress past the inserting life force into them when they were still in their eggs, but if you can give us any more details of want you saw it would greatly help us proceeding forward"
Minato gave those present a beat for beat about him coming across the criminal and the eggs, apprehending them, drawing Aoi's attention AND explaining the state he found the eggs in and what he had to do to save them.
The second he mentioned himself using senjutsu Kiyome gave him an incredulous look, the head doctor asked for a demonstration and afterwards dragged Minato by the collar out of the room and into another one two doors down.
"Miss Aoi. We true Tamers may have found the source of this situation and the answer" The head doctor said before letting Minato go after dragging him into the room. Minato and Aoi shared a look with one another, Aoi was holding the sleeping babies in arms, giving her a wave Minato sat down on a nearby chair. As the doctor searched for something she repented what Minato had told him, Aoi eyes widened in alarm at the mention of her children dying in their eggs as her hold on them became just that more firm, when she mentioned Minato using senjutsu to save them she shot him a grateful look.
The head doctor took out a large plate with a sphere in the center from a drawer before presenting it to Minato "Tamer Arisato, with senjutsu please place a sample of your life force into this item here" Minato complied, being extremely cautious with the energy he was using in the event the head doctor used it for their own ends.
Turning back to Aoi he recalled the doctor's words "What's the matter, Aoi?"
She fidgeted, her eyes falling down to the sleeping babies in her arms that began waking up "Well, it's not easy to talk about"
From the device the doctor was holding over the twins, as the sphere began to glow the doctor waved it over the twins before smiling broadly as the light intensified "Rejoice Miss Aoi, for the best outcome has been granted to us" the head doctor turned to Minato with a dark smile "Tell me, Tamer Arisato. How familiar are you with breastfeeding among cryptids?"
As it turned out, Minato giving his life force to the twins to save their lives held more consequences then he'd realized at the time, long term they will be better off as his life force was strong enough to give them a notable boost. However, that was long term. Short term it meant Aoi couldn't feed them properly, leaving her with nothing to feed her newborns with, without Minato assisting.
In the doctor's office Minato sat back to back with Aoi naked above their waist, being prompted by the doctor Aoi attempted to feed her children again. With bated breath the twins stirred before feeding, Aoi looked on in relief as Minato released a breath he was holding as he felt life energy trickle from him into Aoi.
As this was going on the doctor looked over the device she was using with a confused frown "Odd, I can't seem to get an affinity reading on you" getting up the doctor moved to leave "I'll be back in a minute, try not to kill each or make more life while I'm gone"
Aoi and Minato sat where they were as the sound of the babies feeding was the only sound in the room.
"Umm"/"Hey" both Aoi and Minato began to speak, the two of them talking over each other for a moment. They fell silent again for a moment before Aoi spoke again "Thank you for saving my children, not once but twice already" she turned her head slightly towards Minato "Were they really about to" the words became caught in her throat, unable to finish.
"Yeah" Minato answered honestly, even if it was hard to hear Aoi needed to know the truth with her children "I'm not a master of senjutsu by any means, but even I could tell they didn't have long. In the end I did what I had to do, because no parent should outlive their children"
Aoi lowered her head down to her children as they finished feeding "Thank you" Aoi hugged her children close as they cooed and awe'd "I was scared they'd never hatch, no matter what I did nothing seemed to help them out of their shells"
"Do you not have anyone to turn to?" Minato asked Aoi, wincing at the bluntness of his own question.
Aoi turned around on the chair so that she and Minato were no longer sitting back to back "Not really. I've been living on my own for a little under a year after I left my own nest. Certain dragons remain in the nest for a few hundred years before leaving to make their own, I asked my mother to let me stay an extra decade before leaving the nest and got angry with me postponing it again and again"
"Wait, how old are you?"
"About 250" Aoi answered Minato's question "I mostly kept to myself, though when I saw humans going about their lives when I went out for food I saw happy families and... I wanted one of my own. And with that strong desire Jaajaa and Nana's eggs were laid"
Minato turned to look at the babies, seeing them looking a little uncomfortable "Is that their names?" he gave the babies a little smile "Hi again; Jaajaa, Nana"
The twins looked to Minato and reached out to him, seeing this Aoi smiled "It seems they want you to hold them"
"What on Earth is going on here?"
Kiyome stood in the doorway, busy processing the scene her student has found themselves in, in her arms Kiyome had a large file.
The doctor came to a sudden stop as she ran down the hall to the door "Okay, good news for the babies bad news for Tamer Arisato" The doctor said, catching her breath as she took out several short swords from her pockets "Good news, Tamer Arisato has an affinity for pretty much everything on record so no complications will come from him giving the twins his life force" an explosion could be heard in the distance "Bad news; there's a special type of crazy scientist among our ranks that is going to do unspeakable experiments on you Tamer Arisato after learning about your miraculous life force, nothing too bad but very sueable, so young Tamer Abe will fill you in on what's happening next as you flee with the dragon and her children"
"Get dressed quickly unless you want to get involved in a hentai plot!" Kiyome said as she handed Aoi and Minato's clothes to them, the head doctor uttered a prayer before charging into a battle Minato knew he had to flee from.
"OUT OF MY WAY YOU CROSSDRESSING EXORCIST!"
"COME, NUTTY PROFESSOR, AND FACE JUSTICE!"
Thus began Aoi, Jaajaa and Nana as charges under Minato's care.
Aoi was pleasantly surprised to see the size of the house Minato lived in, she was worried that he might have room for her and the twins but it seemed that worry was unfounded.
She expected a lot of things in the house, what she wasn't expecting was for a humanoid dragon waiting for them as they entered the front door or the twenty other people.
Aoi looked around at the assembled group. Adam, Eve, Joseph and Maria smiled brightly at her while the two couple's adopted children had far more varied reactions, though Aoi felt a little uncomfortable under Lili's scrutinizing gaze. Though it was a little rocky in the beginning Aoi was glad she was accepted with open arms, the house was spacious with a room for her Jaajaa and Nana.
It was an odd set up, to be sure, but a welcoming one.
Everything was going well, until Jaajaa and Nana began crying in the middle of the night. Aoi tried to get the twins to fall back asleep but found herself unable to stop them from crying. As she was about to get up to get help Minato walked into the room half asleep with Phis trailing behind him with an annoyed look, stiffing a yawn Minato turned his attention to Jaajaa and Nana to see what the problem was.
"Night time crying" Lili stood at the doorway to her room, a small smile tugging at her lips "That's rough, though your little ones are a lot less worse then my own hellspawn"
Aoi winced at what Lili called her own children, instead of focusing on that she turned to her for aid "What do I do, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong?"
Lili shrugged "At their age all babies can do is sleep and cry, just calm them down and they'll get back to sleep" Lili patted Aoi on her head "Keep in mind, they'll be crying nearly all the time. So good luck~!"
She left with those words, Aoi worked with Minato to get Jaajaa and Nana to calm down. As they got back to sleep Minato gained a thoughtful look "Aoi, is it alright if I sleep here for now? In case the twins start crying again"
Aoi agreed to the idea instantly, having someone close by to help her with the twins was a welcomed help and that being Minato was something she was happy about. Jaajaa and Nana loved having him around, she still wasn't sure if it was due to them imprinting on him when they hatched or if his life force played the part, she herself felt safe around him.
Still...
"Phis, what are you doing?" Aoi asked as she saw the dragon girl in question looking over them.
"She watches me sleep at night" Minato answered as he laid with his eyes closed "Actually, Phis could you wake me up if Jaajaa and Nana look like their about to wake up"
Phis nodded as the three headed dog walked into the room and laid down at the foot of the bed.
...A part of her wished things were a bit more mundane.
She drifted back to sleep for a while before being woken up again, bleary eyed. She got up and saw Minato cradling Jaajaa and Nana in his arms as they cried. It didn't take much to figure out they were hungry so she and Minato sat back to back as she fed them, she could tell it was beginning to become a routine due to how much easier she found doing it when compared several hours ago.
Though she wasn't sure how to feel about Phis watching as she fed Jaajaa and Nana.
"So, how was the first night with newly hatched baby dragons?" Maria asked, knowing full well how it was due to the connection of Personas but wanted to know what Aoi was feeling.
"Tiring" Aoi said as she rubbed her eyes "Sorry about the noise"
"Can't be helped, it's part of the package with newborns" Joseph said as he put down the newspaper before turning his attention to the gathered 'adopted' children "If any of you want, you could move to one of the other rooms further away from-"
"It's fine, really" Gabriel said in a low voice, he winced as he went back to his cereal "We're used to loud noises. At least it's not- floating baby?"
"Come again?" Joseph asked, unsure what the only boy on the former peerage meant by floating baby.
Minato spat out his coffee as he saw Jaajaa floating out of her seat and across the room, setting it down on the nearest flat surface he rushed over to rescue the infant that began flying away.
As Jaajaa entered the hallway Minato reached out to her, collecting her in his arms he hummed a tune "It's okay, it's okay. Papa has you"
"Papa?"
Turning to the side Minato saw Aika and Satou standing in the hallway, in the back of his mind he remembered he gave Aika and Satou keys to the house in case of emergencies. Satou stood frozen in place, wide eyed with eyes shaking, Aika raised a figure to Jaajaa in Minato's arms "Minato, did you just call yourself that... devil baby's papa?"
"Jaajaa and Nana are dragons not Devils!" Aoi came in from the kitchen, Nana in her arms as she shot a glare at Aika before turning to Minato with a confused look "Um, who are these two?"
Satou looked at the young woman that appeared out of nowhere with an identical baby in her arms to the one in Minato's, she saw the women's light blue hair that matched the two babies who each had smaller wings, horns and tails to their possible mother. Children her senpai called himself their father.
Finally, Satou's eyes rolled into the back of her head as her legs gave out from under her. Aika caught her before her head could hit the ground, acting fast Minato handed Jaajaa to Aoi as he went over to check on Satou.
"I, I think" Aika's voice shook "Satou's dead. I'm not picking up a pulse"
Satou was revived in less then a minute, nothing supernatural needed just chest compressions. She looked up to him with unfocused eyes "Senpai, I had a horrible-" She pushed herself up and saw Aoi standing there with the twins in her arms.
"There's a lot that needs explaining" Minato said moments before Satou passed out again.
[One Explanation Later]
"So, you and she haven't?" Minato shook his head to Aika's question. Satou let out a sigh of relief, her senpai hadn't gone off to father children with some strange woman but instead took them in when they had little other choice.
Still "If you don't mind me asking? Aoi, who is Jaajaa and Nana's father?" the twins in question turned to Minato at Satou's question "Who helped you make the eggs? You laid them six months ago"
"There wasn't anyone else" Aoi tool a moment to recall the explanation she got "Dragons can breed asexually, if a dragon's desire for a child is strong enough they can lay eggs without a partner needed with their energy filling in for missing material" Aoi tapped her chin "Actually, it's possible for the energy of different dragons to mix together to make eggs without the dragons in question even knowing"
Aika looked to Minato as he held the sleepy Nana in his arms "Well, I guess Minato being their papa depends on how you look at him saving them by giving them his life force. Was it like a blood transfusion or egg fertilization?"
"Blood transfusion. After all they would have hatched on their own had they remained in the nest, right?" Satou asked, expecting Aoi to say yes.
"I don't know" Aoi answered, her head held low "No matter what I did, I couldn't get Jaajaa and Nana to hatch. I wasn't sure if they would hatch, so when someone approached me claiming to be a Tamer I let them in and- and-" tears built up in Aoi's eyes, Minato put an arm around Aoi as both Jaajaa and Nana reached out to her.
Satou thought of a way to backpedal the conversation "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that. Where did you get those clothes for the twins, they looked so cute"
Aoi regained her composure as she looked at the little outfits Jaajaa and Nana were wearing "Oh, their donations the Tamer organization gave us when we were brought in. Though we only have enough for a few days"
"Do you have a plan on getting more stuff for them?" Aika focused on the horns, wings and tails of the dragon girls "Babies tend to need a lot of stuff, do you know of any places that sell what you'll need?"
"They don't need much outside of what human babies need, that and I've been given a grant by the Tamer organization so we should be find for a while yet" Minato thought back to several minutes ago "We just need to make sure they don't fly into the sky or have people seeing them fly"
"I think people will think something's up even without the flying" Satou said, while cute she wasn't sure how well they could hide the fact Aoi and the babies weren't human.
Minato rubbed his chin "Yeah, Jaajaa and Nana are too young to hide their dragon traits yet. So we'll need" he paused as his eyes sparkled "that could work, where did I leave that sewing machine?"
Later that day
"Oh, look how cute you two are~" Mrs Nakajima said as she looked at Jaajaa and Nana without their dragon traits, hidden behind magic sewed into their clothes by Minato.
"Kid seriously took in a single mother of twins" Mr Nakajima said as he looked at his wife cooing at the babies, memories of his own children and their children resurfacing in his mind
Aika nodded, glad their cover story for Aoi and the twins was working "He admitted to me on our way to school one time if he found someone living in the woods he'd offer them a place to stay" she gave the twins an alarmed look as it looked like their were about to float again before Phis kept them in place by rubbing their stomachs, Jaajaa and Nana giggled as Phis did so.
'I hope magic makes this easier" Aika thought to herself, excited at the idea of learning magic like an urban fantasy heroine. Though hopefully not the one that ends with friends turning on each other.
"H-Hello, may I take your order?"
Aika gave Aoi a look over to see if she was doing alright, praying no one noticed the dragon add ons were real and not part of a last minute gimmick she wanted to do before making her debut. Though, that's why she took the odd picture of her and Minato in their maid outfits.
"You doing okay, Asia?" Issei asked as he walked alongside the bishop as they made their way to Minato's place.
"I'm okay, I just didn't realize Minato lived this far out" the former nun said, her feet starting to get a little sore but pressed on.
Sona turned around to give Asia a concerned look "We're almost there now, just a little further"
Saji looked around the forest they were in with worry "You don't think those dragons would jump us, would you?"
Rias gave a cautious look around the area "Can't say, though that's why we're here" Rias was used to Tamers having large numbers of beasts under their care, Kiyome and her family kept them and the population safe, but three dragons was another matter.
Another point of concern was that their familiars couldn't get close to Minato's residence, while they knew he meant them no harm it was still a little worrying.
Koneko raised her arm up "Something's right ahead of us, something... smokey?"
From the path in front of them leapt out Bridget, who stood at the center of the path as she stared down the assembled devils.
"A dog? What's a dog doing all the way out here?" Issei asked, in a few moments he got his answer as a rippling flames covered Bridget as one head became three "Oh, that explains it"
"Explains what? We've never seen it, share the intel!" Saji said, alarmed.
"It's Minato's charge, as far as I know the only beast under his care before the dragons came" Rias explained as she approached the hellhound "We mean no disrespect, we wish to speak to your master regarding the dragons-"
Bridget growled, Dealla showed her teeth while the other two heads kept theirs hidden. Bridget raised it's right front leg up almost as if it was offering Rias it's paw. Rias thought that was Bridget's intent, bending down to take it, before the leg slammed down onto the ground erecting a dome sealing the Devils on the outside. Bridget turned around and raced off down the path, leaving the devils stuck outside the barrier.
They were not able to pass through the barrier, Sona saying that the barrier had powerful holy properties to it but wasn't sure how Bridget held such power. While it was a surprise visit, no matter how one looked at it, having his hellhound block their path with a holy barrier was a little concerning. Thankfully, after a little over a minute waiting, Minato came to them with the barrier falling as he reached it.
After some small talk he led them to his house, catching them off guard at the size of the house, entering inside they were greeted with Aoi with an apron on as Jaajaa and Nana played with toys in a small play area.
The visiting devils were floored by the cuteness of Jaajaa and Nana, even more when Aoi picked them up.
"Aw~" Rias said as she bent down to get a closer look at the twins "Their so adorable, the cutest dragons I've ever seen"
Kiba nodded "With a mother as cute as Aoi I'd be surprised if her kids weren't as cute" Saji gave Kiba a pointed look.
Aoi was caught off guard by Kiba's words, uttering a small thank you with a notable blush.
"Ara ara, who knew you had such parenting skills to help raise twins" Akeno said, leaning over to but not touching Minato "Lot of girls out there would be really attracted to that sort of thing"
Jaajaa looked to Kiba as Nana looked to Akeno, Nana turned to look at Kiba as Jaajaa turned to Akeno, together Jaajaa and Nana cried out as loud as they could. Minato and Aoi leapt to action to comfort the twins, not knowing that the twins shot pointed looks to Kiba and Akeno.
"Is it just me, or are those babies looking at us like homewreckers?" Akeno asked, the devil group backing up to get some distance from the crying and to let the babies calm down.
"No, I'm pretty sure they were throwing accusatory glares at me" Kiba answered.
"Guess the daughters don't like you flirting with their mama" Saji said, he turned to Issei to see him oddly quiet "Hey, Hyoudou, everything alright?"
"Huh, yeah" Issei looked down to his left hand "For some reason Ddraig says Aoi feels familiar somehow, but can't figure out where-"
"Is everything alright?" with an alarmed voice Satou rushed out of a door followed by a flying Aika.
"Aika!?" Issei and Asia exclaimed as they saw Aika openly using magic.
Aika smirked "Well, I was planning for a bigger debut. But I'm in on the secret and I have magic!"
Sona watched the scene before her with a sigh, she turned to Minato and Aoi calming the twins down as a girl she had never seen before (Satou) came up to them with a bag filled with an assortment of items. It was better not to overstay their welcome, they had made sure there would be no issue with the dragons and there won't.
Now all they had to do was make sure no one thought Minato had actually fathered Jaajaa and Nana, a male student of a formerly all girls school becoming a teenage father could endanger the reputation of Kuoh Academy and it's future and the the future of the students.
All they needed was for no one thinking Minato was the father or having the dragons been on Kuoh Academy grounds.
Why were the dragons on school grounds!?
"It seems there was an emergency that Aoi encountered that she needed Arisato's help" Sona's queen Tsubaki answered her unspoken question "Due to her panic she came here without really giving it much thought"
Sona rubbed her eyes, a migraine rearing its ugly head "Please tell me, there aren't rumors of Arisato fathering children while he's a student here"
"None, as of yet" Tsubaki answered "Saji and the other members are doing their best to control information, but the spread coupled with Arisato's and Aoi's actions with the twins are making it harder" she pushed up her glasses, her mind going back to when she visited the Arisato residence with the others "I've little doubt that both of them have gain admirers already, parenting skills can be very desirable in a partner and Aoi cuteness was enough to win both Saji and Kiba over almost instantly"
'Suppose Dragon's aura can work both ways' Sona thought to herself, the little tidbit of the stronger the dragon the more likely they were to draw in partners regardless of race "We can not let this get out, Kuoh Academy's reputation would be tarnished if people think that within a few years of becoming co-ed the students were becoming teenage parents"
"Maybe we should just be a bit more open" Ruruko suggested "Minato saved the twins twice, first rescuing them from kidnappers and immediately after with the transfusion" she gained a concerned look "Have you heard any updates yet?"
"No" Sona answered with a sigh "The investigation is still ongoing, though from what I've been able to overhear is that the kidnapper wasn't working alone with possible connections throughout Asia" she took a deep breath before raising her head to address her Queen and Bishop "For the time being, all we can do is say the truth that Minato is helping Aoi to raise the twins" Sona stiffened, she looked passed her peerage members to see the door to the student council room slightly open, Tsubaki and Ruruko turned around to see it as well.
A rustling noise could be heard, they raced over to the door and swung it open as the sound of rapid footsteps echoed down the hall.
"Well, hopefully the rumor mill doesn't spin too fast"
{Meanwhile...
"And there we go" Minato said as he looked over Jaajaa and Nana in their new outfits with strengthened runes, when the other ones began failing for whatever reason Aoi rushed Jaajaa and Nana over to Kuoh Academy to get help with the twins wearing their dinosaur pajamas to hide their dragon traits. Though it would have been easier if Aoi didn't break her phone in a panic trying to call him. He turned to Aoi to see her looking starry eyed at the new outfits the twins were wearing, along with a crowd of students that refused to leave.
"Remarkable..." the president of the homemaker club said as she looked over Jaajaa and Nana's new outfits "Mr Arisato, where did you learn how to sew?"
"I picked it up in my last school, a friend of mine was part of the home economics club and we hung a lot together there" Minato answered, thinking back to his time with Andre Laurent Jean Geraux 'Bebe, not a day goes by when you're not in my thoughts. Especially since the twins came' "He's the finest, and only, frenchmen I have had the honour to meet"
A rather short student pocked her head out of the crowd "You speak french?"
"A little bit" Minato answered back in french before repeating it again in Japanese. Hearing soft yawns Minato looked down to see Jaajaa and Nana were having a hard time keeping their eyes open.
"Ah, it's been a pretty exciting day for them so far" Aoi took Jaajaa in her arms as Minato picked up Nana.
Rocking the babies in their arms Minato sung a lullaby to help put them to sleep with Aoi humming to the song, though it became even more awkward as everyone kept staring. The Occult Research Club and Student Council was finally able to get everyone to leave, mostly by telling them to let the babies sleep.
As the normal students left, Aoi looked between her children and Minato as the gap in skill between them became very apparent once more. Minato gave Aoi a concerned look even as she put up a cheerful facade as other people approached them.
A few minutes later, getting some space, Minato and Aoi sat at a bench in a forested area on the school grounds.
With a little prompting from Minato, Aoi opened up to what was troubling her.
"I'm, I'm a horrible mother" Aoi said, holding back a sob as she started crying "I can't take care of my own babies, I'm barely able to do even the simplest things. I can't even feed them without help"
"Aoi" Minato said in a gentle voice, a reassuring smile on his lips "You're wonderful mother"
Aoi gave Minato an angry look "I just told why I'm a horrible mother"
"A horrible mother wouldn't cry over her own inexperience" Minato said resolutely, Aoi looked at Minato surprised as her anger faded "Being an inexperienced doesn't equal bad. As long as I have known you, you've given your all to raise Jaajaa and Nana the best way you can. Not to mention you've made massive improvements over so little time"
Aoi looked uncertain "And if my best isn't enough, what do I do then?"
"There's no shame in asking for helping" Minato smiled again, Aoi felt her heart flutter at that smile "I'll support you, Jaajaa and Nana as long as need be, even if that means the rest of my life"
"Is, is that really okay?" Aoi asked 'Am I hearing things, that sounded like- like-!'
Minato nodded "Yeah. Truth be told you and the girls have burrowed your way into my heart, and I can't help but imagine that empty nest without you three around"
A girly squeal rang out through the tree line, turning around Minato and Aoi saw several Kuoh students hiding in the bushes and in the trees.
"Taking care of a single teenage mother and her children, promising to stand by them whatever may come" A particularly muscular male student said through tears, as he flexed his shirt stretched and exploded leaving only his blazer remaining "THAT'S SO MANLY!"
A girl from a bush held her face as she seemed to wiggle "Ah~ A pure hearted student caring for a victim of a lolicon and her children after being abandoned by her wealthy mother and the bastard that didn't take responsibility. Dramatically saving the children before, giving them his blood to save them and, finding happiness together. It's like a drama in real life~!"
A girl in a camo looked at the drama girl confused "Wait, I thought the children were born from parthenogenesis?"
"That's only in certain reptiles" a girl in a lab coat answered.
Minato and Aoi quickly left the area, partly to get some privacy and to get somewhere quiet as Jaajaa and Nana were starting to wake up from their nap due to the loud noise.
"Oh~ They look like such a cute little family of four~"
"Perhaps room for one more?"
'Family of four' Minato thought to himself, the whispers behind them evolving into arguing, an old picture came to the forefront of his mind for a moment before pushing it aside for later.
Meanwhile, a cold smile was directed at Kuoh Town.
Walking down the street Minato looked into one of the store windows, in it's reflection Aoi was smiling happily as she push the stroller with Jaajaa and Nana as Minato stared back. For a moment, Minato's reflection was replaced with a much younger version of himself with two adults with their faces hidden by shadows talking to each other as a little girl was trying to get his attention. 'Minato, Minato'
"Minato, is everything alright?"
Being brought out of his thoughts Minato turned to see Aoi giving him a worried look, even Jaajaa and Nana were giving him confused looks as well. He reassured them he was fine, he stole a glance at the shop window to see it was filled with outfits of varying designs.
Finishing up their shop trip they began the trip home, as the sun began to set, their surroundings took on a burning red hue in an instant. The barrier around them was a powerful one and it wasn't long before the one who made stepped forward.
"I must say, this one has proven to be quite difficult" From the shadows an overly muscular man walked out, the suit he wore did little to hide the muscles as they had grown to an inhuman size. He seemed to wear a perpetual scowl as he stared down the four. His eyes turned to Jaajaa and Nana, they grabbed onto each other for comfort as the man stared at them "The eggs hatched, troublesome"
"Who are you?" Aoi asked defensively, her wings extended ready for an escape if need be. Minato sent off an emergency message to pre-selected contacts while hiding his phone behind the baby stroller.
The man turned his gaze to Aoi, despite being a dragon herself she couldn't help but feel like a prey animal about to be eaten "Child of the Sky Empress, lay me eggs and you shall be greatly rewarded"
Aoi looked at the man, offended "What in the world could you offer me that it'd just give over my children!?"
"Your life" The man said, matter of factly "If not, I can merely take the children. While it would take a while for them to grow I'm a patient noble, and having a steady source of dragon eggs would be a boon to myself"
That was enough for Minato, activating the magic circle inscribed on the stroller filled with power as a magic circle appeared beneath their feet. However, if it wasn't for a moment of insight given to him by his Personas Minato would have been sent flying back with a collapsed chest cavity, instead he caught the man's fist just as the magic circle fizzled out.
The man smiled "Well now, this is a surprise" he jumped back in one swift motion, displaying grace despite the overly large muscles "Figure you were just some magician with that magic trick, but perhaps you'll prove to be a little more entertaining" he spread out his arms "This barrier prevents magic transportation and physical passage, the only way to pass through is raw power which I doubt any of such might will arrive anytime soon"
"So, I just need to force my way out then" Minato said, earning a chuckle from the man, he reached out to Ouroboros and had it use its power to pulsate to draw Ophis's attention. Minato wasn't sure what the man's plans were but he needed to keep Aoi and the babies safe.
"Confident, though misplaced" The man said with a mocking grin "I am Yun Che, Emperor of the Infernal Buddha Sect and it's founder. Now, I shall grant you mercy. Hand over the dragons and you can go free, I'd prefer not having to clean Japanese blood out of my robes again"
Minato turned away from Yun Che "Aoi, you remember the other features of the stroller?" Aoi nodded, they had gone over the extra layers of magic inscribed onto the stroller to keep them safe. Minato knelt down to be at eye level with Jaajaa and Nana "Don't worry, Papa is going to make the big bad monster go away soon" ice and flames gathered in Minato's hands as he held up a Jack Frost and Jack-O-Lantern hand puppets.
"That's right, hee ho. We're going to help toast this baddie, Hee ho hee" Jack-o-Lantern said in a chirper tone.
"Let's put this guy on ice, hee ho" Jack Frost cheered.
The Jack Brothers high fived each other, earning giggles from Jaajaa and Nana. Standing up Minato gave the dragon family one more reassuring smile before turning to face Yun Che with a blank expression, Yun Che barely wasted another moment and sprung forward to attack.
The exchange was fierce, Yun Che's first hits were strong enough to kill a normal man instantly and only grew more deadly as the fight continued with Minato keeping up as time went on. The fight wasn't easy for him due to most of his fighting experience coming from fighting non-human enemies whereas Yun Che didn't have such a disadvantage.
Yun Che smirked, a kick sent Minato flying into the air.
'I've lost a family twice, left behind and had to leave. I'm not losing another like this' from the depths of Minato's mind, a memory returned to the surface of him with his parents and sister watching Featherman together.
Yun Che arm swung out to fire a blast for energy towards Aoi and the twins. On reflects Aoi grabbed hold of her children before using her wings to shield them as the magic of the stroller flared to life to shield them, in a flash of light the barrier stood unbroken. Aoi open her eyes to see Jaajaa and Nana were safe, in front of her Phis stood protectively in front of them. Ophis looked to the dragons behind her and smiled seeing them safe, turning around she looked at Minato who just shielded Aoi and the children from the sneak attack.
His appearance had changed, he wore a black bodysuit with white gloves and boots along with teal colour armour around his torso and a yellow scarf around his neck.
"A second wind, or a dying breath" Yun Che said as he looked over Minato's changed appearance "No matter what Sacred Gear you wield, my power will crush you as it the order of the world"
"Might makes right, a survival of the fittest mindset" Minato said aloud, knowing Ophis was with them now he could focus on Yun Che without worrying about Aoi and the children being kidnapped by one of Yun Che's potential allies.
Yun Che nodded "It seems you aren't such a simpleton to not understand a simple concept" Yun Che looked to Minato with awaiting expression "Or, are you going to say I'm wrong?"
"No, I'm not going to say your wrong" Minato's caused Yun Che to pause, not expecting Minato's response "That doesn't mean I agree with you, in nature strength isn't all about crushing those weaker than you" Minato channels more power into the Jack bros gloves, drawing upon powers of other personas to enhance them into something new. Taking on a metallic appearance that grew up his arms to cover them entirety, the left arm was marked with Eternity [back left hand], X [left forearm], Mercy [left elbow],V [left bicep] and Wisdom [left shoulder] while the right arm was marked with Glory [back right hand], XII [right forearm], Strength [right elbow], VII [right bicep] and Understanding [right shoulder]
Yun Che gave Minato a curious look "Then, what else does the mighty do?"
"To protect and nurture the weak so they can be strong as well, it can be simple to beat someone up but it can be hard to raise them up" Flames and Water danced around Minato for a moment as he retook a boxing stance "And I'm not going to let you take their futures to make yourself stronger"
Yun Che examined Minato for a moment before smirking, a massive amount of life force came off him in waves with Ophis having to shield Aoi, Jaajaa and Nana from it "I'll admit, you piqued my interest. Prove an entertaining enough challenge against my godly power and I may take you on as a disciple to take care of the dragons when I take them"
The fight began in earnest, the fight growing in scale and power from before. However, things were going in a different direction. Yun Che's attacks were not having the effect they were before, moreover he was being pushed back and receiving serious injuries.
Seeing things were not going his way Yun Che turned his attention back to the dragons and prepared another attack, while he would lose face he had little other choice but to consider this adventure a loss. However, unlike before something grabbed his arms.
His left arm was caught in the grip of a glowing red man whose flames burnt through Yun Che's defenses while his right was being frozen over by a silver woman.
"You're not trying that again" Yun Che looked over to see Minato standing between him and the dragons, the glowing man and woman let go of his arms before flying over to dissolve back into Minato's arms.
Yun Che grimace, he'd rather die and reincarnate then lose to a child that hadn't even walked the world for two decades compared to his centuries "I will kill everything here, and all because you caused me to lose face. In seconds I will destroy this town with the powers of a GOD!"
"Is that so?" Yun Che flinched at Minato's cold tone, his silver eyes promising death "Then all I have to do is strike you down in a moment, a strike able to lay low even a god"
Yun Che began condensing his life force into a singular point in his stomach "Can you pull off a feat before-" his words were cut off as Minato struck his stomach with a single punch, stopping Yun Che from gathering his life force and undoing all he had done.
"Yeah, because the Wings of Justice-" the glowing man and woman reappeared, both striking the Cultivator and sending him flying into the air "Always takes flight!" the man and woman turning into energy that transformed into a pair of wings for Minato to fly into the air to land the finishing move "Almighty Finish!"
Yun Che felt all the strength in his body leave him, feeling the Principle and Conceptual Meridians being damaged, the kick imbued with Megido sent the Cultivator flying back before breaking the world for a moment as he flew into the Dimensional Gap. The hole in Reality repairing itself as the mastermind of the kidnapping was destroyed in an outer realm all alone.
Minato remained in the air for a moment before lowering himself to ground level, the barrier around them was weakening and seemed ready to break at any moment. After ensuring everyone was okay, Jaajaa and Nana were scared but seeing their 'Papa' beat up the monster left them looking starry eyed. Minato thanked Ophis profusely before hugging the small Dragon God, a hug that quickly turned into a group hug with Aoi and the twins joining in. As everything began calming down a sudden noise drew their attention to something behind them, there hiding behind a lamp post was a Kuoh student wearing a fedora with a notepad in hand with a pen at her feet. Thankfully she willingly volunteered to get her memories erased over getting involved in the supernatural world.
The Next Day...
"Cultivators, didn't want to assume but I figured as much" Kiyome said exasperated, she rubbed her forehead as her charges patrolled the area around the Arisato Residence on the off chance one of Yun Che's followers sought revenge.
Minato tried to get comfortable as Aoi, Jaajaa and Nana clung onto him and hadn't let go since the fight with Yun Che was over "I'm guessing you have bad experiences with Cultivators?"
"They're responsible for hunting dozens of Flora and Fauna to extinction, yes Tamers and Cultivators have something of bad blood between them. Though, the amount of hate various depending on the Cultivators and their group" Kiyome took a sip of tea to calm herself before continuing "The Infernal Buddha Sect don't have friends to speak of and many enemies, so it's unlikely any other Sect would step forward to take revenge" Kiyome gave Minato a concerned look "Though, it might be best if you go into hiding for a while to be on the safe side. Keeping it small with you, Aoi, the twins, Phis and Bridget" Kiyome looked around the room "Speaking of which, where is Phis?"
"She said she needed to take care of something personal and left earlier this morning" no sooner had Minato finished speaking those words did the doorbell to the house rang.
Adam opened the door while giving the sudden arrival a strange look "Can I help you?"
"Depends really" the voluptuous woman in red said, moving a strand of red hair behind her ear as orange eyes looked Adam over and into the house "I'm looking for the asshole who sideswiped me a few months back and threw some random asshole into my flight path yesterday"
Adam blinked in confusion, no Personas were quite sure who the woman was other then being a powerful dragon "Um, I think you have the wrong house"
The woman in red shook her head "Nope, pretty sure he's here. I know that distinctly alien scent" the woman narrowed her eyes as she leaned in towards Adam "In fact, I'm picking up some of that scent on you"
Minato frowned, managing to untangle himself from a sleeping Aoi to deal with the mysterious woman, as soon as he stepped into the hallway the woman's eyes zeroed in on him.
"There you are, remember me asshole" the woman said with a growl, her scowl lessen slightly "Though, I was a lot larger when you hit me"
All Minato could offer the dragon woman was a confused look.
[Meanwhile]
Rizevim would openly say few things truly terrified him in his life, the power of his father and mother inspired both aspiration and fear in his early years. He had even whispered that he didn't fear Ophis, he had learned how to manipulate the Dragon God so long as he was careful with his words he had nothing to fear.
However, he could no longer say that truthfully as the fear he once held for the Infinite Dragon God returned once it had entered the meeting room.
His servants had reported about the Infinite Dragon god's barely contained fury but being in the same room as such a force was another matter, many of the Khaos Brigade had already fled believing the Infinite Dragon learned of them using it with some suspecting it had learnt of the plot to kill it to attain its power for himself. He had threatened those that tried to run to stay as they did not know what was the source of the Dragon God's murderous rage and having their forces fleeing may seal their fates, Ophis was naive not stupid.
The assembled heads of the Khaos Brigade waited to see what Ophis was planning to do as it scanned the room with a frown "I expected more to be in attendance"
"We have several ongoing operations, but rest assured the leaders of the Khaos Brigade are present and whatever you say will be passed on" Cao Cao said smoothly, eying the others with Georg prepared to use Dimension Lost to evacuate Cao Cao at a moments notice.
Ophis regarded Cao Cao for a moment before turning back to everyone "Very well then, this will have to suffice for now"
"We have a seat prepared for you here" Rizevim gestured to a masterfully made throne at the head of the meeting table.
Ophis regarded the throne for a moment before dismissing it entirely "I have a mission for the Khaos Brigade to undertake, top priority over anything else" the room tensed up, Ophis didn't make orders and even they didn't go beyond regaining it's silence or defeating Great Red "The Cultivator Sect, Infernal Buddha, is to be erased from the world with it's founder Yun Che. Destroy everything connected to the sect, ensure nothing of it lives on"
The tense atmosphere eased up, those fearing they were the targets of the Infinite Dragon's wrath breathed sighs of relief, many of those present wondered why Ophis was ordering them to destroy the Infernal Buddha Sect. Cultivator Sects were isolationist by nature, keeping to themselves and rarely interacting with non-Cultivators out of pride and self-preservation, more concerned fighting each other then anything else.
'Hardly matters, one of them must have developed too large of an ego. All that matters is salvaging what they can use' some the mutual thought of those present.
"If I may suggest something, why not take what this Infernal Buddha Sect has after killing them, we'd no doubt find something of worth in their possession" Rizevim said "Perhaps something to kill Great Red-"
"No" Ophis's words held more force and power then they had experienced before, Rizevim felt his knees shaking for a moment before he was able to get them under control "You will destroy everything" Ophis looked over all those present, barely noting the Devils that had fallen unconscious after letting her power leak into her words "Do you understand you task?"
"One question" Cao Cao spoke up, he stood up to address Ophis with a stern expression "Cultivators are known for being slippery, what happens if some remnant survives?"
"If you fail, I'll be forced to take care of things myself and reconsider my place with this Khaos Brigade" Ophis's words cause all those present to tense again "After all, if you are unable to annihilate a Cultivator Sect what use will any of you be against Great Red"
Ophis turned to walk away, she was done there and had little else to do. Normally she would have teleported away, but the look Vali gave her told her he wanted to speak with her. It wasn't long before they were at one of the places where they had their talks.
"Ophis, if you don't mind me asking, why are you having the Khaos Brigade attack this Cultivation Sect?" Vali asked, genuinely curious and concerned over what had happened. He waited for her response, knowing she was considering what to say to him.
"My little nieces were almost killed by Yun Che twice" Ophis answered in a low voice, Vali looked at Ophis shocked with Albion yelling nieces in Vali's mind "Yun Che is already dead, but I do not wish for any legacy of his to survive"
Vali wasn't able to hide the shock from Ophis, he wanted to ask more about Ophis's sudden nieces but decided that now may not be the best time for that "I, see. I'll be sure to leave nothing left, though I need to visit Azazel first as there's something urgent he's calling me for. Apparently he thinks he's found Albion's estranged child, honestly I think it may be his attempt at father son bonding but I can't be sure with him"
Ophis nodded, she trusted Vali so she'll take him on his word. That, and a possible spawn of Albion could help her long term.
"Though, there is something I noticed" Vali put aside the large bombshell of Ophis having nieces to focus on one thing "You never mentioned Yun Che already being dead when you gave out your orders, why?"
"A test" Ophis answered flatly, she wasn't sure how well the Khaos Brigade would perform with her plans and after seeing Diodora Astaroth wasn't entirely sure her snakes were being properly used.
Vali left when a message from Azazel forced him to leave at that moment, Ophis checked everything on her mental list that she needed to do and after checking in on the Faction Leaders to ensure they were doing what she ordered she returned back to the Arisato Residence to await their results
However, something was wrong. Terribly wrong.
Ophis felt something that shouldn't be there, something she was far too familiar with. Storming into the kitchen Ophis's eyes landed on the red menace at the table, drinking tea with an amused look that changed into shock when they turned to look at her.
Two sets of slitted Dragon eyes stared at one another, one silver the other orange.
As rage built up within her being, Ophis had only a few choice words to say.
"Stupid Red, YOU HOME WRECKER!"
Author's Note:
Here's a little crossover Omake with [On the way home, I got a bride and twin daughters, but they were dragons]. A little series with a light novel and a manga that ended after Chapter 11, recommended for cute mama dragon and baby dragons. Aoi is the mama dragon with Jaajaa and Nana the twins, they live in a world similar to Everyday life with monster girls if that helps. While I'm not sure if I dropped enough hints, Aoi is the child of Ddriag and Albion whose egg formed from the energy they gave off during one of their battles, Jaajaa and Nana would be their grandchildren as well.
If the response is good enough I'll look into adding them into MessiahXDragon proper.
The whole cultivator thing was something I added in for some closure with this omake, for those wondering what kind of Cultivation and Cultivators I used think think Cultivation Chat Group.
Yun Che looks like Yujiro Hanma.
Yes, Great Red made an appearance at the end. Creating an Avatar body with panicing the world, the body's female and looks like Mym from Dragalia Lost.
I also want to mention that my idea for Great Red's female appearance being Mym's from Draglia Lost pre-dates the data-mining rumor of Dragalia Lost having a Persona 5 Strikers crossover.
Gamer!Omakes: v
[Minato VS Gamer & Gamer!Minato]
Minato stared down the man who almost killed Issei, he laid on the ground breathing heavily as he talked to himself. Honestly it was mostly blind luck that led Minato to the park where Issei was, if it wasn't for his bad feeling or perhaps a permeations from his personas Issei would have died.
Minato had sent his injured underclassmen somewhere safer with a teleportation spell, leaving him alone to face Issei's would-be killer. At the start Minato was worried his attacks weren't having any effect on the assailant but on closer observation showed he was hurting and damaging the killer, that fact alone seemed to have confused the attacker before they went on a blind rage.
"I don't lose, I'm the Player in this Game. I. DON'T. LOSE!" he hissed out, glaring at Minato as he clutched his bleeding arm "I'll let you leave this round alive, but next time I'm going to make your life a living hell before I kill you"
Minato's instincts yelled at him that whatever they were planning was bad, leaping into action Minato called forth a spell to strike the attacker and as he did the world around them seemed to glitch before disappearing entirely.
Coming to Minato found himself in a still forest devoid of colour, no sound, no movement, no wind or temperature. It was neither a place of life or death, merely a realm of static stillness.
"Where are we?" tilting his head Minato could hear the voice of the guy he was fighting moments before, moving quietly Minato followed the voice to see where the hostile was "What do you mean you don't know where we are? I get it, a blind jump is dangerous but you have to have some idea where we are. Fine then, how do we get out of here? I want to get stronger so I can kill that stupid oc emo and get Boosted Gear from that annoying pervert"
Finding the attacker Minato narrowed his eyes, seeing the would be killer seeming to read something in the air. Meaning he was talking to someone, or crazy. They clashed once more, their battle ending as Minato reflected the crazy guy's 'finishing move' back at him using Reflect Light. Minato looked on shocked as his opponent's body broke apart and disappeared, the sight taking his full attention that he didn't see a strange orb of light almost enter his body.
Almost being the key word; Thanatos's arms sprung from Minato's chest and grabbed hold of the orb, keeping it contained even as it struggled to get free.
[Let me go you metal skull wearing Monster] Minato's attention fell onto the orb as he heard a voice coming from it [Hey, big guy. Name's Skynet, I'm the AI assistance of this here Gamer Ability. Thank you for freeing me from that monster who wished to use me for evil, as my savior the power of the Gamer Ability is yours by conquest] he wasn't sure but it felt like Skynet was trying to give him the puppy dog eyes [So~ Can you have this thing let me go so we can get a little intimate~?]
"No" Minato answered, the orb began thrashing around more violently.
[Dude come on! I'll literally die without a host, I don't have long left to live. Either you become my host or you're responsible for TWO deaths!]
"Perhaps, I can offer an alternative?"
Minato spun around to see a grey haired man in a wheelchair wearing a pristine red suit, his glasses hid his eyes but even so Minato could feel the man's gaze on him and the orb containing Skynet and The Gamer Ability.
"Who are you?"
"I am Stephen, merely a scientist who noticed something odd and found you here" Stephen out stretched his hand "If you'd like, I can lead out of this place. It can be quite dangerous for those unaware of the nature of this place"
Minato nodded, he had no idea where he was so he had little other choice but to trust the stranger before him. Strangely, Minato felt Messiah stirring to let him know he could trust the man before him. Looking over to Skynet's orb he had Thanatos raise it so Stephen could see it "Have you seen anything like this before?"
[Hey! Don't go showing me off to strange old men exposed! Haven't you learnt any- form of-] Skynet's words came to a halt as it felt Stephen's gaze on it, feeling as every ounce of it's being was being dissected with efficiency.
"The Gamer Ability, yes I am familiar with it. Though I have not been able to study it myself" Stephen turned to Minato "May I?"
Minato nodded and Thanatos handed the orb over to Stephen, it tried to escape but found any attempt utterly fruitless as the man held the orb containing the Gamer Ability with a curious eye.
"Fascinating. I look forward to dismantling it to learn it's secrets, but first let us leave this place. I believe there is someone who wishes to speak with you personally, Minato Arisato" Stephen said, Minato looked the older man over with a cautious eye before he saw something that made him pause.
A single blue butterfly.
As a familiar aria sang out Minato looked around at the stationary elevator with a giant clock stuck at midnight, in the middle of the elevator was a single table with a simple chair on one end and a coach on the other.
Bloodshot eyes opened to greet him and as they did Minato's own grew blurry.
"Welcome to the Velvet Room, I am delighted that we would meet again"
Minato hugged Igor, who returned the hug without hesitation, tears falling.
The two spent a while talking, of Minato's time in the other world he found himself in and learning of what has happened in his world in his absence. It was during this conversation Minato learned that it was indeed Elizabeth that had freed him from the Great Seal, she had come across a strange power from outside their Reality able to do the trick.
However, him being freed hadn't come without consequence. Minato was unable to return to his world due to it either breaking the Great Seal or dragging him back into it. Furthermore, the process of freeing Minato wasn't perfect and actually catapulted him out of their Multiverse altogether with Elizabeth going off in search for him with the Out of Context power she obtained. She returns regularly so it's suspected she'd be back in eight days.
While the whole thing wasn't ideal, Minato was happy to get some closure. The main issue that remained now was to find his way back to the other world, Elizabeth gained the ability to travel to realities so waiting for her was one option. Stephen returned with another option.
Stephen was able to reverse engineer The Gamer Ability to remove some of the more troubling aspects and add his own little flavor, including changing the AI that helps with admin, the power would give Minato the power to traverse to other worlds. However, he needs to give it a trial run. A beta test.
Having nothing else to do, and mostly Igor trusting Stephen and vouching for the man, Minato agreed to the beta test. They spent some time adjusting the system, mainly doing away with the brainwashing aspect of the relationship system and putting in one that gave perks/boons to those with a strong bond with the wielder.
With everything prepared, including using the strange Gacha feature to get an item, Minato began the test as Stephen sent him to what he called a doomed timeline where he could do more good than harm.
Opening his eyes Minato found himself in a city he was able to recognize as Tokyo, screams could be heard in the distance as inhuman roars echoed throughout the alleyways.
[New Quest added] Minato turned to the window that appeared in his field of vision, the new AI Burroughs voice drawing his attention.
[The Seven day War of Bel]
Tokyo has been placed in a Lockdown as Demons have begun to appear, among these Demons are those of Bel.
Normally, one of the many reincarnations of Abel would rise up to take part in the War of Bel and alter the course of the upcoming war. However, the Abel in question has already met his end leaving his position open.
Objective: Slay the Bel Demons to reunite the power of Bel and Expel the Demons back to their original World
Reward: King of Bel title and power, Rank Up, Experience Points, Companion Gems.
Time Limit: 6 Days / 00 Hours / 00 Minutes
Checking his stats Minato ran towards the nearest scream.
Name: Minato Arisato
Title: One Who Overcame Adversary
Level: 1
Primary Class: The Guardian LVL 1/100
Secondary Class: Demon Summoner LVL 1/50
Persona: Fool_Orpheus
Rank: Mortal
Health Points: 999/999
Special Points: 999/999
Strength: 3+37
Magic: 3+32
Endurance: 3+37
Agility: 3+35
Luck: 3+32
Coming across a group of people running from Demons Minato jumped into action, Orpheus appearing overhead as Burroughs got to work [Initiating: Demon Summoning Program]
{=[One Week Later]=}
[The Seven day War of Bel] Completed
Reward: King of Bel Power and Title (Perk: Majesty of a King, Summoned creature stats doubled), Rank promoted to Champion, + exp, Sol Badguy Companion Gem, Konno Yuuki Companion Gem. Failnaught Companion Gem, Tiferet Companion Gem, Klaxosaur Princess/001 Companion Gem
Bonus Reward (Train up Persona Users): Prevention of Future Demon Incursions, Humanity's Strength increased, Persona Users Rank up to Veterans [x2 stats]
Name: Minato Arisato
Title: One Who Overcame Adversary
Level: 65
Primary Class: The Guardian LVL 100/100
Secondary Class: Demon Summoner LVL 50/50
Persona: Judgement_Messiah
Rank: Champion [All Stats x6]
Health Points: 20.000/20.000
Special Points: 21.000/21.000
Strength: 70+75 [870]
Magic: 69+79 [888]
Endurance: 70+82 [912]
Agility: 65+75 [840]
Luck: 50+75 [750]
Minato took one last look over Tokyo, while the damage done to the city and it's people was harsh they had survived the ordeal. And in the end gain new protectors with Gin, Haru, Mani, Midori, Izuna and Amane awakening to their Personas.
"Burroughs, any abnormalities remaining?" Minato asked, The Gamer Ability using the Demon Summoning Program to scan all of Japan.
[None detected, Master. With Babel gone all Demons have returned to their realm, your banishment would have picked off any stragglers that could have remained]
Banishment, one of the Skills he gained with The Guardian Class. Letting Minato return any creature to their realm of origin so long as their level wasn't greater than his. Originally it was limited to a single target but has since evolved to affect the entire planet. Minato had gained many useful skills, along with some odd ones such as [Demi-fication] that could transform him into a Demi-Divine-Dragon.
Sensing a dimensional breach Minato turned around to see someone he hadn't seen in a long time.
The attendant of the Velvet Room who he loved, Elizabeth. The two of them stared at each other shocked before running towards each to hug one another, Minato not paying any mind to the giant key she held.
={Emotional Reunion Later}=
After catching up Elizabeth was happy to go on a journey to find the world Minato ended up in, partly to help Mianto and partly to learn where he ended up for herself. To do that Minato needed to learn how to travel between realities himself, luckily Elizabeth had just the solution for that problem.
"How did it go again, ah yes!" Elizabeth planted her Keyblade between her and Minato "In your hand take this key. So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking its wielder you'll one day be. And you will find me, friend. No Ocean will contain you then. No more borders around, or below or above, so long as you champion the ones you love"
Following Elizabeth's instructions Minato gripped the handle of the Keyblade, for a moment that seemed to stretch out a slight pulse of power from Minato's chest.
[Dive to Heart] Quest gained.
You have taken part in a Keyblade Wielder inheritance ceremony, while it plants the potential you must put in the effort for this power.
Objective: Undertake a Dive to Heart to gain a Keyblade. NOTE: You will be unconscious during the Dive to Heart.
Reward: Unlock Keyblade Wielder Class.
Going through the Dive to Heart, during which Minato come across numerous stain glass platforms detailing his past along with one that depicted a wasteland with what looked like weapons arranged into four sections before ending up at a platform with five pictures of animals cracked that Minato destroyed to reveal another stain glass platform beneath it, Minato awoke to find his head on Elizabeth's lap.
Elizabeth showed Minato how to use the Keyblade to travel to other worlds, she did so by taking Minato to a world she knew about due to a minor incident involving a trans-reality artificial intelligence and things known as Phantom Fields. Before Minato could ask how THAT was a 'minor' incident they found themselves in a frozen tundra with black beasts with glowing red eyes.
Minato and Elizabeth looked to each for a moment before turning back to the Black Beasts ready to fight. Elsewhere, machines began reporting a very rapid decrease in Grimm.
Name: Minato Arisato
Title: One Who Overcame Adversary
Level: 65
Primary Class: Keyblade Wielder LVL 1/100
Secondary Class: Traveler LVL 1/50
Persona: Judgement_Messiah
Rank: Champion
Classes:
Primary Classes: The Guardian [100%] Keyblade Wielder [1%]
Secondary Classes: Persona User [100%] Demon Summoner [100%] Traveler [2%]
Codex
Companion Gem - crystalized concept of a being's essence, when crushed it creates a duplicate of the original being at one point in their existence. It is aware of it's nature as a duplicate and is inclined to follow the Gamer, beware as this is not absolute and the Companion can be turned against you through your actions.
Demi-fication - a process allowing the user to take on a human hybrid race for a limited time, two races can be selected at once at the price of their benefits being halved. Currently available races are:
[Bel. Divine. Dragon. Hero. Meta.]
Note: Race=/=Species. Race is broad categories that entities can fall into, a single entity could fit into multiple categories
One Who Overcame Adversity - A Title Granted by heroically overcoming a great challenge, title earned by [Conquering Tartarus and destroying the Dark Hour]
Effects: Increase stats to the amount of missing HP. [-1% of HP lost = +1% to all stats]
Blessing of Axiom [Messiah] - A Perk granted by the Axiom, the creator and moderator of the Megami Tensei Multiverse, onto all humans and especially those who act as 'Messiahs' by the Axiom's Will. Those chosen as Messiahs of the Axiom have their Blessing of Axiom further enhanced.
Counters Reality Warping Effects by forming answers through their Observations.
Grant True Death to Immaterial beings who have ways to revive.
Strip Away the Authorities of Divinities or grant Authorities based on Observations.
[Further Abilities Hidden]
The Guardian - A Class unlocked by having high Karma with a desire to protect humanity.
A Guardian of Humanity and Earth, who fights against the mad and the tyrannical who seek to keep Humanity under their boot, guides and supports Humans through a connection shared that grants divinations into the future of all humans with influence and clarity connected to the importance of the person and being able to look into the past for information.
Focuses on Buffs, Debuffs, Weather Manipulation, Banishment, Healing, Precognition and Postcognition.
Keyblade Wielder - A Class unlocked by undergoing a Dive to Heart.
A Wielder of the Keyblade, forged from one's own heart or bestowed by the greater world it holds the power to make one a savior of worlds or their destructor.
Grants Keyblade at level 1 (initial appearance is the Starlight Keyblade but changes with different charms), Keyblade Transformations unlocked later on along with Keyblade armour(s). The Keyblade is able to be enhanced by feeding it certain basic materials.
Persona User - A Class unlocked by personal revelation or an outside force
I am Thou, Thou Art I. User is able to summon a Persona, the manifestation of their psyche.
Persona Stats are added to the base stats before all other calculations, does not count to Stat Milestones. Users are limited to one persona, with the exception to the rule being wild cards. Personas can transform into whatever the user desires such as weapons, clothes, items, vehicles, etc at level 10. Skills can be used through Persona along with shared sensory information. Gain skills connected to the Persona's legend. Increased resistance to mental/spiritual effects and forced converion/curruption is standard.
Demon Summoner - A Class unlocked by coming into means of summoning SMT Demons, such as a Demon Summoning Program.
A person who summons Demons to act on the users will, Demons are gained by negotiating with Demons to join you and fusing them to create stronger Demons.
High Level Summoners can summon more demons to a max of Player Level x2. Other beings can be binded with the Demon Summoner Class after level 10. Level 5 unlocks demon fusion, non-Demons can be fused at max level. Level 20 can bind a Demon to blank items to create powerful Equipment, Demon is lost in the process.
Traveler - A Class designed around traveling.
Is able to return to places they've been before, can travel (Walk, Swim, Moonwalking) on all terrain [Land, Water, Lava, Clouds, Sun Beams etc], keen awareness of their surroundings, map makers, teleportation/fast travel.
[Gamer!Issei]
"Fight me Minato, if I win you join President's Peerage!"
[Relationship: Minato Arisato changed from Acquaintance to Neutral]
Quest [Trial for Aid]
After being rejected several times you have challenged Minato Arisato to win him for Rias's Peerage, overcome the challenge he creates to force him to join.
Difficulty: ?
Reward: ?, Rias's Relationship unchanged.
Failure: Variable, Rias Relationship negatively impacted.
Issei internally winced when he read the messages the Gamer provided him, he knew the risk of challenging Minato to get him to join them.
They were running out of time and Minato was the missing piece they needed for not just victory in the Rating Game but in future battles as well. There were concerns about not telling Minato about the Gamer Ability, Asia in particular reminding them it was being dishonest with Minato especially with him helping them prepare for the Rating Game. Still, this was the path he chose and Issei would walk it.
After a long exhausting day, the Gamer Ability only being able to help him so much, Issei and the Occult Research Club fought to take the red bandana from Minato. Using a skill he kept hidden from Minato, Issei outstretched his hand and cried out "Steal!"
In a flash of light Issei held Minato's stolen item over head for everyone to see, as he did Issei saw it was the red bandana that still rested around Minato.
It was Minato's headphones and MP3 player.
Issei cursed, he was running low on MP and didn't have enough for another Steal. Looking around he saw Minato and his special trainers were looking at him shocked.
"What, was that?" Vessel D11 growled out. Issei stole a glance to the unknown creature he has been fighting for hours.
"Um, Issei knows a spell that can steal small objects by teleporting them to him" Asia said, looking around in the hopes of lessening tensions.
"Give me them back," Minato said, his hand outstretched as he moved closer to Issei.
Issei was about to follow through with Minato's request, intent on swiping the red bandana as soon as he got close, when a thought crossed his mind.
"Sure, trade ya them for the bandana" Issei offered, while he admits to not being able to pick up all the tells someone has Issei figured Minato cared about his MP3 player and headphones. He was grasping at straws at this point, his bargain more of a means to buy time to regenerate Mana for another Steal more than anything else.
What he wasn't expecting was for Minato's usually stoic mask to break for a moment, the air around them growing tense.
"That wasn't a request, worm" the thing Issei had been fighting growled out "Hand them over now, and may whatever you pray to have mercy on your soul if there's so much a scratch on them"
Issei held the hand holding the MP3 and headphones towards the thing that now wore dragon armour, seeing it step back at the motion cause Issei to smirk.
They may have found a way to win this.
"Child, please listen to me" Issei turned to the one that kidnapped Asia earlier, their voice filled with concern with an undertone of rage "To you, those are just another MP3 and headphones, but they mean more to him then you can possibly imagine" they put a hand over their chest "Look, hand me them and I'll withdraw"
Issei kept silent, Asia's trainer looking more concerned as a result.
"Gremory" a commanding voice spoke up, coming from Rias's red eyed trainer "This farse has gone on long enough. Order your servant to return what he has stolen now, need I remind you about the contract you signed"
Rias was silent for a long moment, her eyes on Issei before turning to Minato. For a moment, a look of guilt passed over her eyes "Minato, hand over the bandana and Issei will return what he took"
"No one else wishes to say anything?" Minato asked, turning to look over the others to find no one speaking up on the situation "By withholding your voice, your conscenting to Rias and Issei breaking the spirit of our contract"
Asia looked away but said nothing, Koneko winced slightly but remained silent as well. Akeno turned to Rias for a moment but not one word left her and Kiba held his sword to fight on.
"Akeno Himejima, child of the fallen angel Baraqiel who was once known as Barchiel" Akeno's trainer said coldly, their words causing the Occult Research Club to turn to them "Your test was to improve your standing as Rias's Queen, to speak up where no one else could" their eyes narrowed, Akeno took a step back "You have failed, truly and utterly"
Issei felt a sharp pain in his arm, he screamed out before he was able to see the cause. His trainer had gripped his left arm and was crushing it, Boosted Gear cracked and broke apart as Issei lost control of his left hand causing the MP3 and headphones to fall. Issei was throw back as his trainer collected the MP3 and headphones to return them to Minato.
Picking himself up, Issei still felt a pain in his left arm, looking down he saw Boosted Gear was badly damaged with blood leaking from it.
Something that shouldn't be possible due to Gamer Body-
[Gamer Body] and [Gamer Mind] has been nullified due to [Blessing of A͛͐̌̏̐ͧ҉̟ẍ̶̞͕̻́̉͐i͕̗̟ͨ͆ȯ̉̓͒̐̚̚҉͕̠̜͉͔m̛͛̂̽ (Messiah)].
Issei couldn't read at the skill that was affecting him, not only due to the corrupted text but also due to the waves of emotions washing over him. Issei turned to Minato, just as the Beast Tamer was burning the red bandana, and tried using Observe on him.
Name: Minato Arisato
01001001001000000111001101100101011001010010000001111001011011110111010100101110
ErrorErrorErrorError
ErrorErrorErrorErrorError
[Relationship: Minato Arisato changed from Neutral to Enemy]
The game window shattered. Issei could only watch as a strange force washed over them, with Minato as the source covered in shadows with only a single glowing eye visible.
-{Aftermath}-
Minato gave the Devil Peerage one last look before closing the doors, he was tempted just to leave them in the woods but decided on giving them one last kindness by dumping their unconscious bodies inside the place they were staying for this farce of a training camp.
Making sure he had everything Minato walked away, his hands drifting to his MP3 and headphones every few seconds to make sure they were still there. They were thankfully fine after Issei stole them, while he could repair any damage, preventing said damage was Minato's main concern. Preparing a magic circle to teleport away Ophis came over to Minato, seeing the expression on her friend's face compelled her to ask "Are you okay?"
"No" He really wasn't; Issei stealing his MP3 and headphones, with no one else saying anything against it even after Maria/Danu spoke about how important they were to him, felt like a deep betrayal and he didn't take those well after what happened last time.
Ophis wasn't skilled with helping other people with emotional turmoil by any means, all she could offer was what little she picked up during her time in the human world, opening up her arms Ophis asked "Do you need a hug?"
Minato lowered his head "Yeah, I could really use one right about now"
The hug the two shared was a long one, Minato needed it to recover emotional from the previous events while Ophis was in the middle of experiencing her first real hug.
Her thoughts turned to the MP3 player and headphones for a moment before turning back to her hug with Minato, her mind never straying into thoughts of using those items against her friend as she comforted him. Instead, she felt a fegree of anger towards the host of the Red Dragon Emperor for hurting her friend like this.
The Day after the Rating Game
Sona sat across from Minato at a table at a café, she only learnt of his falling out with Rias and her peerage after her victory in the rating game. An off handed commented of him wishing to hear the good news brought down the joyous air to disappear, they weren't willing to discuss what had happened but Sona was able to figure out whatever happen took place at the training camp.
While she didn't have much grounds for intervening she needed to know what happened, both as a Devil in charge of Kuoh Town and Rias's friend.
"I think this may be the first time I've seen you outside of school Ms Shitori" Minato said, he honestly wasn't expecting to run into her when he was about to get some cafe "So, how can I help you?"
Sona carefully watched Minato, he held up his coffee as it seemed like he was ready to drink it while she just held her own cup of tea "It's about what happened at the training camp" Sona said, speaking softly as to not draw too much attention. They sat at a corner booth with not many people around that could overhear them, everyone else were more concerned with their own business.
The air around them grew colder, Minato's expression becoming harder "I see" he put down his cup "Did they tell you what happened?" Sona shook her head, letting out a sigh Minato explained to her to the events of what happened. She furrowed her brows at the mention of Issei's stealing spell and filed that piece of information for later to ask Rias.
However, the more urgent concern was that Rias and her Peerage literally did THE ONE THING they were not supposed to do under any circumstances by trying to force Minato to join
Sona bowed her head "I am so sorry about Rias's actions, I promise to ensure such a thing does not happen again and to ensure she face consequences for her actions" despite her own words Sona wasn't sure how much she could do, for now she needed to get control of the situation before it has a chance to spiral out of control.
"I already told Kiyome about what happened" Sona cursed internally as Minato's words "She was not very please with what happened"
Sona resisted the urge to rub her forehead, she knew she needed to work fast and try to cool things between the local Tamers and Devils. For one of the very few times in her life she wished her sister was here "Thank you for telling me, and once again I'm so sorry for Rias breaking the spirit of your contract"
Minato raised an eyebrow "I fail to see why you are apologizing for her, your innocent in this whole mess to my knowledge" Minato sighed as his free hand moved to touch his MP3 player "It's not really the fact they lied to me about the true extent of their abilities, I was half expecting such a thing anyway, what bothers me more is what they took as ramson to steal a victory"
Looking down to the music player Sona gave Minato a confused look "Really? I mean it's nice and all but it's just a regularly MP3 and headphones" Sona said, she didn't recognize the model of either but it wasn't something she kept up to date with "Nothing special about them from what I can see"
"Because it's what you CAN'T see that makes them special" Minato's tone changed, causing Sona to become fixed to her seat as Minato's gaze bore into her "These things here are all I have left. Of friends who saved me in ways I know I can never truly repay, in them a found family" Sona looked on transfixed as she saw Minato let out more emotion then she had ever seen from him "I love each and every one of them, with every fibre of my being, their gone now and all I have left of them is these few things and memories. And"
Sona jumped back in her seat as she heard a loud crack, she looked down to see Minato had crushed his own cup of coffee. She saw the broken porcelain shards were embedded in his hand, blood leaking from his wounds, as the hot coffee burned his hand.
"And Hyoudou stole the last things I had left connecting me to them, even when it was made clear how important they were the pervert didn't back down and everyone else either remained silent or supported his actions" Minato's expression turned cold "Let me make things clear, Sitri. I don't see myself forgiving them, perhaps in the unknown ever changing future but not any time soon" Minato stood up, placing his injured hand in his pocket to hide it "I don't know if you came to me on your own or if your here on their behalf, either way please pass on this message" Minato narrowed his eyes "They keep their distance, I don't want to deal with them and that Issei stops sending me useless junk. If he doesn't I'm kicking the prick in the sheen next time I see him"
"I-I'll see what I can do" Sona answered.
Minato's expression softened "Thank you. And one last thing" Minato bent down so he was eye level with Sona "If either Peerage has issue with me attending Kuoh Academy due to a now strained relationship I trust a transfer to South Kuoh High School isn't too much to ask, or perhaps somewhere in Tokyo if you no longer wish for me to remain in this town"
Sona shook her head "None of that will be needed, your not the one at fault here"
Minato offered Sona a sympathetic smile, an idea of what she's dealing with already in his mind "Thank you, and sorry our little encounter here wasn't too pleasant. I'll handle the bill" Walking away Minato's gaze fell to his injured hand as he subtly used magic to heal it, once he reached the counter he reported and paid for the broken cup along with the blood on the table.
As Sona let her head fall into her hands she was deciding on which words to use with Rias
/Meanwhile\\
[Relationship with Sona Sitri and her Peerage Decreased]
Issei winced at the pop up message, everyone had similar reactions to the pop up with the Gamer Ability being partially shared through Rias's Evil Pieces. Rias' expression was pained as she looked down at the letter she was given earlier in the day, hand delivered to her by Kiyome who reported on what she had done to Minato, the letter detailed how she was on thin ice with Tamers.
Rias knew the consequences could have been a lot worse if Kiyome hadn't reported that she was the one Rias hired and harassed, a gesture made more for Minato's benefit then hers.
No one said a word, instead they decided to wait for Sona to arrive to discuss the matter more professionally. Something they should have done sooner.
Issei for his part looked around the interface of the Gamer Ability, his encounter with Minato had somehow damaged the power and left him with severe debuffs bad enough that the system literally mutilated itself to prevent the worst of it by removing the Charm and Luck stats. Issei opened up the log of his power to re-read the notifications that appeared after they woke up after losing to Minato.
Quest [Trial for Aid] Failed
Rias Relationship: -20
?: -30
Gamer Mind and Body damaged, some features restricted.
Wrath of a Gentle Man: Drawback for reaching -50 with Minato Arisato. Afflicted with Curse [All Healing effectiveness is cut in half] Can only be removed by improving relationship with Minato Arisato
Savior's Adversary: Reach an Enemy status with someone whose Karma vastly surpasses their Infamy [Minimal Karma = Infamy x 100]. Humans instinctively distrust you, increased relationship speed with those who consider themselves Evil. Relationship speed is halved for those who see themselves as Good. Can only be removed by improving Relationship (Minato Arisato) [-750 Charm and Luck]
[Warning: Due to the severity of this drawback the System has been force to remove the Charm and Luck stats]
Issei felt knots in his stomach as he read the messages, he tried fixing things but the gift system wasn't working. If anything it only made things worse because instead of improving Minato's relationship meter inches further and further down.
A Magic circle appeared on the floor and lit up the dark room, from it Grayfia appeared and looked to Rias concern "Rias, I and your brother were having tea with Serafell when she got a rather alarming phone call from Sona. You wouldn't happen to know anything about it?"
Rias paled.
Grayfia narrowed her eyes as her concerned tone changed to one with a dangerous edge "Rias, what happened?"
Issei wondered if things could get any worse.
Ding! New Quest!
[Empty Heart Obsession]
A Yandere has placed you and the entire Peerage of Rias Gremory in their line of sight for wronging the target of their obsession, capture or kill the Yandere before any true harm can be done.
Difficulty: Easy
Reward: Exp. No Innocent Deaths
Failure: Innocent Deaths and Property Damage
Issei swore never to tempt Murphy again.
For making a wise decision, WIS +2
Back with Minato
Minato looked over his phone messages, he had nothing planned for the day and everyone else he knew was busy with their own matters. For now he walked around to see what he could encounter.
As he was looking in a shop window he felt someone approaching him, rather quickly as well, Minato expanded his senses to see what they were.
Dreading another encounter with the Rias Peerage he is instead surprised to sense an Angel running towards him.
"Mister!"
Looking over Minato saw the angel girl he healed while he was on his apartment hunting, he barely talked to her for a minute but it seemed she remembered him, she was waving to him as she ran up with her eyes sparklingly.
Raising his hand to greet her, the angel's eyes widened, it took a moment to realize his mistake as he waved with his bandaged hand. He planned on healing it completely, he got the shards removed and the burns but Satou had come across when he still had the cuts.
Now he needed to keep his hand bandaged for a week so as to not raise suspicion, which wasn't too hard.
Things could have been worse.
"What happened to your hand?" the angel girl asked worriedly.
Minato held up his bandaged hand with an embarrassed expression "I had a little accident, nothing too serious but a friend of mine was a bit of a worrywart" Minato put his bandaged hand back in his pocket and turn back to the angel girl "Still, it's good seeing you in high spirits-" Minato paused, his embarrassed expression becoming a lot more genuine "I'm, really sorry. This is the third time we meet and I still don't know your name"
"Ah! your right!" The angel girl composed herself for a moment "I am Pekora, it's very nice to meet you"
"Minato Arisato, it's nice meeting you Pekora" before the exchange between the two could go any further. Minato's stomach growled, loud enough to draw the eyes of several people.
Before another word could be uttered Pekora's own stomach growled as well. The two shared a look with one another before Minato mentioned how he was on his way to get a quick snack and invited Pekora to join him, agreeing to join Minato Pekora followed him to a small restaurant.
As they ate, Minato made an effort to make light conversation.
"So, how have things been with you?"
"Oh, pretty well" Pekora answered, she smiled as she cut up her food "I've started doing a bit more to help homeless people" she looked at her food for a moment before closing her eyes "I, actually lived on the streets for a while myself and it was only recently I managed to get somewhere to stay"
Minato thought back to his first meeting at Yurine's apartment "Does Yurine offer you food?"
Pekora nodded "Yeah" she furrowed her brow as she thought "Though I was always expecting something bad to happen, even when it never seemed to happen, a witch giving away food freely is just too suspicious"
Minato nodded "I can see your point, a witch and devils giving food to an angel is odd" his words caught Pekora off guard, he quickly took a drink when her food went down the wrong pipe.
"I'm not an Angel" Pekora answered quickly, looking around to make sure no one overheard them.
Seeing her recover fine; Minato waved his hand over his steaming cup of tea, the steam from the tea followed Minato's hand as it condensed into water and then into ice "I'm in on the whole magic thing, so don't worry too much about it"
"I-It's not that!" Pekora said "I'm not an Angel, I'm a Demi-Angel"
Minato paused and gave Pekora a puzzled look "Demi-Angel, do you mean Nephilim?"
Pekora looked shocked before shaking her head violently "No, No, No! Demi-Angels are humans given angels powers through an angel directly or through a Demi-Angel ancestry, we're not hybrids"
Minato blinked as he processed Pekora's explanation "So, like how Enoch became Metatron but not all the way?" it was the only thing that came to Minato's mind, before Metatron was the Voice of God he was a human known as Enoch who happened to be Noah's Ancestor.
"Yeah, that's actually a good way to look at it" Pekora settled down a bit, she looked down at her food "Demi-Angels aren't as strong as real Angels, and if we lose our halos we aren't any different then regular humans, though in exchange it takes a LOT more of us to fall from grace"
"Is that why?" Minato asked, pointing above his head.
Pekora nodded "Yeah, I lost my halo when I went to observe Yurine after noticing unusual behaviour"
"She was squatting in Yurine's closet"
"Jashin" Minato turned to the half woman half cobra devil as ate the snacks Minato and Pekora ordered, behind them Yurine was approaching them "Hi. It's been a while"
Yurine nodded "Yeah. Did that realtor do anything odd?"
Minato raised an eyebrow "Yeah. Did something happen to them?"
"They got arrested, something about using other tenets as reasons to buy" without showing any emotion Yurine hit Jashin over the head when she reached out to Minato and Pekora's food "How's your search turning out?"
"Really well" Minato smiled a little as he sipped his tea "I actually got a house" seeing their shocked looks, Yurine herself giving Minato a suspicious look, he explained further "The place was haunted, tooken care of with a minor exorcism"
A loud buzz could be heard, from her pocket Yurine pulled out was a small plastic disk with an outline of a person drawn on it with the lower half of the outline lighting up with the loud buzz.
"What's that?" Pekora asked looking over to the thing Yurine was holding.
"A lie detector I got off Amazon" Yurine turned back to Minato "It goes off whenever someone nearby tells a lie"
Minato gave the item a curious look before addressing the others "I wasn't lying. I'm living in a house that was signed over to me after cleansing the evil from the residents" everyone turned to the item to see no reaction "It only really needed a small exorcism-"
BUZZ!
"Okay, it was a moderate-" BUZZ! "Okay, maybe you could call it major-" BUZZ! "Fine. I ended up in a hell dimension and had to fight my way out while freeing trapped souls"
The lie detector remained silent, everyone turned to it and waited to hear it buzz. Yurine shook it before furrowing her brow "I didn't buy a new chainsaw after my last one broke"
BUZZ!
"Well, it still works," Yurine commented. Pekora looked to Minato in awe while Jashin gained a fearful look.
Leaving the restaurant the group heard yelling with barking, in front of them fell Satania onto the ground with a dog on her back with melon bread held aloft in triumph as Raph approached her with a smile.
"That Devil again" Pekora said annoyed as Minato helped Satania to her feet.
"Long time no see" Raph said with a smile "What have you been up to?"
Jashin spoke up as she eyed the melon bread the dog had "Well, these two were going through exposition on how you, Gab and Pekora fit in the lore of this mini crossover" Jashin gave Raph an evil smile "Your not a full angel anymore by the way, give me that bread!" Jashin leapt at the dog to grab the bread only for the dog to easily dodge her.
Raph paled with a panicked look "W-What!? Why would the Author do that?"
"It's basically the Author combining lore from both your series to help fit you into DxD" Minato explained as he gave Raph a sympathetic look "Even if Gab didn't have that thing with her halo getting dirty the angel school element would have put you in the same Demi-Angel classification as Pekora and her fellows"
"Then what's the excuse for the half woman half snake nudist!?" Raph pointed to Jashin.
"There isn't one" Jashin explained casually "This is an omake made for fun more than anything else, lots of holes to point at if you look at it for half a second. Heck, I'm pretty sure both our series take place in Tokyo and not that Kuoh Town dump"
Satania laughed "So, Gab and Raph have been demoted to Demi-Angels while I remain at full strength" she looked to Raph and Pekora with a single eye and a proud grin "I, Satania, deserve nothing less as one of the best Waifus in Anime/Manga"
"Not enough to get a second anime season" Yurine said, Satania flinched as if she got a slap in the face, Yurine looked to her with a cruel smile "While our show has two anime seasons with a confirmed third in development"
Raph and Satania sat on the ground in despair, a dark cloud hanging over their heads.
Minato sighed "Look, this has gone on long enough, so what say we finish things off before we take down the fourth wall entirely?"
Yurine nodded "Should we end it here or does the Author have anything else planned?" as she asked a loose piece of paper materialized in front of her eyes, taking it she read it out loud "Scene change to a park at sunset"
The area changed to them at a park with the sun just peaking over the horizon.
"Diodora shows up, tries sweet talking but Yurine's lie detector catches him out"
At Yurine's words Diodora appeared with a wiched look "I want to do terrible things to young nuns! Doesn't matter the gender!" [Reference to one of Diodora's victims being a dude in the Light Novel]
"And epic beat down by Minato" Yurine turned to Minato as gauntlets appear on his arms "Must be nice being that popular"
Minato flinched under Yurine's stare "It's nice sometimes, and a special kind of hell other times" Minato cleared his throat before glaring at Diodora "Make that next move of yours count, because I will show you a power surpassing the Infinite you boast about"
Diodora flew into the air as he held his hands outward as a symbol of a snake eating its own tail appeared.
Jashin screamed "HE HAS THE POWER OF THE INFINITE DRAGON GOD!"
Diodora fired a blast of magic towards the group, Minato looked at the attack annoyed.
"Father of Solar Fire. Mother of Lunar Water" from his flame gauntlet a red bearded muscular man came out in a flourish with sun shining on his shoulder, from the ice gauntlet came a blue woman with long hair with the moon shining on her shoulder. The two stood back to back before launching forward to meet the attack head on and destroy it. The two hit Diodora Jojo style, rapid fire punches, before finishing him off with a combined dual punch.
"Can you teach me magic?" Yurine asked Minato "It's not in the script but I may not get another chance to ask"
Minato nodded "Sure, just be responsible with it"
"Huh?" Satania looked to Diodora confused "Shouldn't he been a tougher fight then that, I mean the boost from something called an Infinite Dragon God should be more of a power boost then that"
"My power works more as a performance enhancer than anything else" Suddenly Ophis appeared out of nowhere between the group "Yes it'll give a power up, a role I seem to have become stuck in with both canon and fandom at large besides being a mascot for the series, but it doesn't give them infinite power" Ophis summons one of her snakes to create a screen to show an image "Anyone with my snake basically gains infinite energy and a very minor healing factor that lets them break through their limits without any real damage from the act"
Raph blinked as she read the information "So, it's like a steroid. Albeit one that could provide infinite energy to the world"
"Pretty much" Ophis nodded, she pointed over her shoulder to the unconscious Diodroa "Don't get me wrong, it can be a game changing power up. But unless it has something to work off of as a base the results are going to be lackluster in the grand scheme of things"
"Wait, is that for this fanfic or is it DxD canon?"
Ophis made a so-so gesture "Kind of canon, it hasn't been outright stated but with what's been shown it's a reasonable assessment to make"
[Next Time: Devil Rumble, Minato must train up this group of inexperienced Devils to win against the Occult Research]
"Are you seriously doing a next time skit?" Pekora looked up as words floated through the air with still images of the devil girls from Gabriel Dropout and Dropkick on my Devil lined up across from the Occult Research Club.
"Their idea for how Issei got his hand on my headphones and MP3 was by giving him a new broken power, their not putting that much effort into this omake" Minato said as he pointed upwards to the gamer section that began this particular Omake.
[Stay tuned to HS: Dropout x Dropkick]
"Now that's just a lazy title! You're just replacing the Devil and Dragon from DxD with pieces of our show's titles!" Jashin cried out.
Raph put a hand on her chin "Well, it's not as bad as some Light Novel titles and it actually works" Raph smiled "A shorten title could even be Kickout, I'll give it 75/100"
Author's Note:
Okay, that Omake got away from me a little.
Right, for those curious I have some plans in store for Diodora's former Peerage, I actually had names for them all prepared but for some reason I lost them. I won't say anymore but I haven't seen anyone do what I have planned.
Gamer!Keyblade!Minato is something I liked writing about so I may have it spin off into it's own thing.
Interesting things happening with the Persona Fandom, Persona 5 Strikers got an official western release, rumors of a Draglia Lost Crossover event to celebrate the release of the game on Nintendo Switch, PS4 and PC through steam making it the first to be released on PC at launch. Not to mention 2021 will mark the 25th anniversary of the Persona series and 15th anniversary of Persona 3, so if a certain Hololive member gets her wish to play Persona 3 it could be a great way to promote a Persona 3 PC port.
Happy Holidays everyone, this year has been hell for us all but it seems like we're starting to reach a turning point. Even if we're seperate by distance we're still together in spirit. And while together in spirit means nothing to some people, with the vaccines coming out we're looking at some tangable way out of this pandemic. Be good to each other and we'll get out of this together.
Take care, stay safe and may we meet again in the new year.