Minato x Ophis snippets

by Angel of light darkness

wrote a couple omakes/snippets that shipped Minato from Persona 3 with Ophis from DxD. Figure I'd repost them from DaD Forum Omake section. MessiahXDragon snippet series: ongoing.

27. MessiahXDragon: The Banana Incident

Author's Notes: This whole chapter started off with the blink and you'll miss it trivia of DxD Dragons loving bananas and it just rolled from there. Originally it was going to be a part of the previous one but I had to split it up due to the size of it, over twenty two thousand words for this one

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The Banana Incident

"Any chance of Mu returning?" Ophis asked as she laid down with Minato on the floor, laying opposite to one another, music playing in the background. Both enjoying the music and each other's company.

Minato thought about Ophis's question. Mu went to work with the larger Tamer organization, signing magic binding contracts that promised to make Mu a very wealthy chimera dragon. While Minato would never agree with the intent of Mu's creator he couldn't deny there was good that could be done with Mu's fruits, providing a slightly safer alternative to typical body enhancement surgeries and helping those with genuine medical issues, and the amount of money to be made was mind boggling.

People would pay small fortunes for bigger breasts, butts and 'members' normally so simple fruits able to enlarge those body parts without going under the knife could be even more lucrative, Minato could practically see Tanaka with Yen signs in his eyes as Minato thanked the businessman for teaching him.

It was with that knowledge and foresight that Minato had the magic contracts signed, after going through several revisions to deal with possible exploits and making sure Mu got the best deal possible, there was a fortune to be made with Mu's fruits and even though Kiyome vouched for the ones going to be caring for Mu it felt better to be safe than sorry.

"It's possible, though I think it will be a while before then unless something comes up" Minato answered, frowning for a moment as the image of Mu showing up out of the blue with a fedora brass instruments and suitcases "I just hope they call first, give me time to get enough bananas"

"Don't buy too much this time, we're still overflowing with them in the kitchen" Ophis said, her mind going over to the literal mountains of bananas Minato bought to keep Mu happy.

Minato winced slightly, he could still see the bill for the bananas in his nightmares "That's fair, though with everyone here we should be able to go through them all in a few weeks" as Minato said that his thoughts drifted over to the ice cream they had in the house "We could make banana splits for everyone, different flavour ice creams and toppings. Could even make a class teaching how to fancy it up"

"Hmm, I'll take part in the artisan aspects but I won't be eating the banana splits" Ophis said, frowning slightly as she thought about the core fruit "I don't much care for bananas"

Curious about why Ophis felt that way Minato looked over to her and asked "Any reason why you don't like bananas, taste, texture, how easy they bruise or is there no particular reason?"

"The seeds" Ophis said, frowning heavily as she remembered the first time she saw a banana. A dragon Ophis could scarcely recall anything of brought bananas to her as an offering, for what Ophis didn't know, she looked one of them over before breaking it apart to see the large seeds in it. Ophis couldn't remember much of what happened after rejecting to eat the bananas but accepting it for the gesture it was, other than the dragon that brought them began eating them when it thought Ophis wasn't looking.

"Seeds?" Minato asked, sitting up as he did so. Pausing the music Minato turned to Ophis to confirm what he heard "I'm sorry, did you say you didn't like the banana's seeds?"

Sitting up Ophis turned to face Minato as she answer "Yes, the seeds. While most dragons can ignore them I can't, never gave them much thought after coming across them initially" Ophis tilted her head (?) at she saw Minato's puzzled expression "Am I missing something?"

A few minutes later in the kitchen.

"Here, have a look" cutting two bananas, one horizontally and the other vertically, Minato show the inside of the bananas to Ophis who studied their interior but not touching them.

"Their very different from the bananas I'm familiar with" Ophis said, using a pair of chopsticks to poke and pick up the banana slices.

As Minato watched Ophis studying the bananas he waited a few moments before saying anything "The bananas you described sounded like wild bananas, their filled with seeds and actually have very little edible fruit at least for humans" picking up one of the cut up bananas Ophis wasn't studying Minato ate it, partially to show how the bananas before her were different than the one's brought to her and partially due to him being a little hungry "These cultivated bananas here are sterile so they have only tiny residual seeds remaining"

"Hmm" Ophis nodded, comparing the horizontal and vertical slices as she looked over the residual seeds Minato mentioned "I see, no wonder so many eat bananas. I thought they simply got used to the seeds" Ophis brought a banana piece closer to herself before wincing and putting it back.

Seeing this Minato raised an eyebrow "Still not too fond of them"

Ophis shrugged "I've avoided them for so long it's a bit difficult to eat them, I still think back to the seed filled bananas" for a moment Ophis wondered if the dragon that brought the wild bananas to her knew about cultivated bananas and didn't want her to know about them or if they hadn't and the offering was genuine. Putting the thought aside Ophis poked the bananas "I want to try them, see what the fuss is about"

"What about if I mash them?" Minato offered, picking up a spoon he tapped one of the cut up bananas "it won't look like a banana so it could help with the mental block your experiencing, could even help us get through the surplus of the bananas we have"

Ophis was conflicted on the idea "I don't want to bother you over something so trivial"

Minato shook his head and gave Ophis a small smile "Don't worry about, what's the worst that could happen?"

"Eating contest" Ophis answered without missing a beat, even going near the area the contest was held had her flashing back to it in her mind.

Minato winced, rubbing the back of his neck "Touché. But to be fair you liked the first bite, not very much the hundredth"

Reluctantly nodding, Ophis agreed to Minato's idea of trying to eat the mashed banana. It wasn't long before Ophis had a bowl with what she assumed was the mashed banana, holding up a spoonful of it Ophis steeled herself before putting it in her mouth.

Taking a moment to taste it and let it linger Ophis relaxed as she found herself liking bananas. Swallowing her first spoonful she quickly began working on the rest.

Minato smiled as he saw Ophis enjoying the mashed bananas, smiling brightly with a sparkle in her eyes. happy that she liked the fruit and gaining an extra mouth to eat the bananas he bought too many of due to him not being sure how many to buy when he was taking care of Mu. Turning around to the counter Minato reached out to take one of the unpeeled bananas to eat, a little snack before dinner later on.

'Hmm, bit too much' Minato thought as he accidentally took a bigger bite of the banana than he planned, looking back over to his dragon friend Minato froze at what he saw.

Ophis was eating the mashed bananas as fast as she could, stopping for half a second to look at her spoon before throwing it over her shoulder and eat what was left in the bowl with her tongue.

Before Minato could utter a word Ophis grabbed the nearest bananas to her and began stuffing them into her mouth, her cheeks expanding due to the sudden influx of the fruit, it wasn't long before Ophis ate all the bananas in the kitchen.

Ophis ate the half eaten banana in Minato's hand without hesitation, skin and all, before looking up to Minato himself.

The two stared at one another, both their mouths filled with bananas, Ophis slowly swallowed the banana and banana skins in her mouth as she stared at Minato. In her eyes something Minato had never saw in Ophis eyes before, at least not as prominent as it was now.

Longing. Desire.

Those were what Minato saw in Ophis's eyes, those same eyes fixated on Minato that followed his every movement like a predator stalking it's prey. Minato dared not move as he was sure any sudden movement could lead to any number of unpredictable situations, he could hear footsteps and doors opening as someone approached but with Ophis's lack of reaction hinted that she was hyper-focused on Minato himself.

"Why is there a spoon stuck in the wall-" Minato wasn't entirely sure who had entered, only that looking away could be detrimental to his well being at the moment "What the?"

Ophis didn't react as more people came in to see the scene taking place, a partially ruined kitchen with Ophis seemingly ready to lunge at Minato with the slightest reason.

"I can see this ending in death, or the opposite"

"The opposite of death, wouldn't that be conception? Oh"

Minato wasn't sure how long Ophis had him cornered, only that eventually the look of desire and longing began to recede as reason returned. Reason quickly being joined by embarrassment, worry and realization.

"Sorry" Ophis said softly, her posture becoming far less tense "I really like bananas, apparently"

Minato swallowed the banana in his mouth, relieved Ophis's eyes didn't try and follow it as it went down his throat "I'm happy to hear that, though I didn't expect this" a thought crossed his mind and he felt compelled to ask "Were you after the banana I already had in my mouth?"

Ophis looked down at the floor, gaining a sudden interesting in it "Yes"

Minato wasn't sure how to feel about that, a part of him curious at how Ophis was going to go about getting the banana out of his mouth before putting the thought aside "Well, it seems you really like bananas. Though why didn't you go for the other bananas we have-"

Ophis's eyes widened, the look of longing returning to her eyes for a moment, she seemed ready to teleport to where she could get more bananas before stopping herself.

Minato gave Ophis a worried look, hoping her relationship with bananas was a sudden but temporary gluttony and not an addiction.

"I think I'll skip dinner tonight, I'm going out for a while, see you later tonight" Ophis quickly said before teleporting away, Minato's hand reaching out to her wanting to know if she was really okay.

Minato looked where Ophis was a moment with worry before shaking his head, deciding to give her space for the time being and hoping she did come back later that night. Turning around he saw the audience that had gathered during his stand off with Ophis, looking behind them Minato was able to see the spoon Ophis had thrown earlier sticking out of the wall.

"What just happened?" Chloe asked, looking up from a magazine with a cover of a small family converting an old abandoned church into a new home.

Katina gave Minato a worried look as she looked around at everything in the kitchen worktops were knocked over "Hey, is everything okay?"

"I don't know" Minato answered honest as he picked up the bowl Ophis licked spotless moments ago "Ophis liked bananas a lot more than I expected, worryingly so"

Looking over the others for a moment Katina spoke to Minato with a gentle tone of voice "Hey, if you need any help you hesitate to ask us okay" Katina pointed at herself with her thumb "We owe you big time, after all"

Minato gave Katina a grateful smile "Thanks, but for now all we can do is wait" Minato looked down at the bowl, worried for Ophis's well-being and wondering where she went.

-Elsewhere, With Ophis-

On her own Ophis considered the events that transpired a few moments ago, how in a few minutes she went from enjoying music with Minato to being ready to pounce on him like some animal for fruit.

Gritting her teeth and clenching her head Ophis mentally reprimanded herself, with some of her inner thoughts being spoken without her realizing.

'Months of work building trust, living together and getting to know one another, and it may have just ended because of fruit!?' Ophis grumbled. Her mind spinning as she hated her self and the fruit, a fruit she wanted to have more of-

Taking a moment to centre her thoughts she began to plan what to do next.

[1] Considering her options Ophis made way to where she kept her hoard filled with offerings, artefacts and other items of some note she acquired during her quest to defeat Great Red. She had no use for them, but one thing Ophis had learned was that beings were willing to trade and do things if the price was right on most occasions.

Not being able to quite remember what she had stored away Ophis instead turned her attention to the possible aftermath of what just happened and how to negate, or at least mitigate, any issues from almost using her tongue to scoop the banana out of Minato's mouth.

'Ophis, I want to sleep on my own tonight' 'I can't come with, I have other… things to do. Oh look at the time I have to go' 'Things aren't working out, at least not now. I think we should go our separate ways' 'I don't want you around'

Ophis stopped as she felt something off "Wha-?" Ophis felt a sensation course through her being, her hand going to her stomach thinking it was a repeat of what happened after the eating contest but that wasn't it. Slowly, Ophis's hands moved from her stomach to her chest. Not knowing what was happening Ophis wasted no time to get to her collection of items for a specific artefact, a crystal ball capable of telling someone what was wrong with them given to her by a deity of healing Ophis couldn't quite recall their name at the minute.

Pass weapons and artefacts either never known to the world or known to the world and thought lost to time Ophis removed the crystal ball from the box it was offered to her in, Ophis searched her memories to remember how the thing actually worked.

Grasping it with both hands Ophis allowed the ball to search her being for any aliments, after several tries Ophis threw the ball back into it's box without care after it told her nothing was wrong with her.

Frowning, Ophis looked around her hoard trying to remember if there was another artefact capable of telling her what this terrible feeling she had was.

'I'll try Phoenix Tears, for now' Ophis thought, making a mental note to re-examine what she actually had stored away as passed by boxes of artefacts with two seemingly talking to one another in whispers. Ophis looked around for a possible gift for Minato, a peace offering to smooth things over for her earlier actions.

Yet, as much as Ophis searched with the aid of countless snakes nothing she had stored away felt fit for the task at hand. Ophis made sure to memorize where certain things were like an old spell book before heading off to acquire Phoenix Tears.

Arriving at one of the Khaos Brigade's bases Ophis found a huge stash of Phoenix Tears, using one of the vials did to cure herself did nothing causing Ophis to glare at the remaining vials with suspicion.

Ophis was broken out of her thoughts as she felt a set of eyes glaring at her, looking over her shoulder Ophis saw a vampire aiming a crossbow at her. The vampire maintained their glare for a few seconds before realization dawned on them.

"Master O-Ophis!" the vampire quickly put the crossbow away and knelt down as soon as they realize who was before them "W-What brings you here, Oh mighty Dragon God?"

Ophis looked over the collection of vials containing Phoenix Tears before turning to the vampire in a state of terror "I require your aid for an urgent matter, come here for a moment"

The vampire tense before slowly walking over to Ophis, their body tense as they waited for the slightest reason to run.

"Show me the palm of your hand, either will do" Ophis asked, slowly the vampire outstretch the palm of their left hand that had several fading scars along the fingers and palm.

Faster than the vampire could act Ophis made a small cut on their palm with her finger nail, seeing the wound open before using a Phoenix Tear to heal it. The wound healed without leaving a scar, the scars that were already on the vampire's hand faded as well leaving it without a blemish.

"I see, these work then" Ophis said mostly to herself, taking two unopened vials from the ample stockpile present. Ophis pocketed the vials to try again later, and if nothing else she could use them for something other than healing.

"Master Ophis. May I ask, what was the purpose of that?" the vampire asked, cradling the hand Ophis tested a Phoenix Tear on.

Ophis stopped and considered her response, deciding not to mention how she wasn't feeling well or whatever was wrong with her a Phoenix Tear couldn't help Ophis decided to lie.

"I needed to make sure the Phoenix Tears here were good quality, so I came by for a surprise inspection" Ophis answered, vaguely recalling a surprise visit made by a health inspector to Gentle Etiquette "They are… satisfactory, I had heard word of counterfeit Phoenix Tears being sold and wished to confirm for myself none of our forces had been swindled"

The vampire lowered their head "Master Ophis, I can personally assure you that we take every precaution to ensure something like that would not happen. And if it did, it won't happen a second time"

Ophis nodded, feeling now was the best time for her to leave. After some small pleasantries Ophis left leaving the vampire all alone, the vampire smiled for a moment before running off in a terror filled panic.

"Gregory, grab your shit, their onto us!" the vampire cried out before ordering their collaborators to destroy all evidence of their fake Phoenix Tear production and supply, as well as any evidence to them charging double for the Khaos Brigade's supple of Phoenix Tears for their own profit.

Grabbing what they could they proceeded to burn down the base and faking their deaths, planting evidence of the fire being a magic experiment gone wrong. And so without intent, Ophis stopped a Phoenix Tear counterfeiting operation.

-=-][-=-

Not having any success with her personal endeavours Ophis turned to the one person she could trust in this situation, unfortunately that one person was unavailable.

"Vali overexerted himself in his last fight, he'll be good as new in a few hours" Albion said, the wings of Divine Dividing emerging from Vali's back as Vali slept slumped over the table. Ophis had found Vali at one of the safe houses he and his team use to recover from missions, stock supplies or as vacation houses when they want to relax on a trip away from home.

Ophis frowned as the one of the few people she could truly trust was out like a light, a part of her wanted to wake Vali up for his help while the other wanted her friend to get needed sleep.

'See you later tonight' Ophis's own words replayed in her head, in her haste to leave the scene of 'The Banana Incident' she had put herself on a deadline meaning regardless of how he felt about the whole mess there was a real chance Minato would be waiting on her, Ophis winced as she wasn't sure what to do next.

A wince that didn't go unnoticed "Is it something truly that urgent?" Albion asked, never seeing Ophis winced before with her current appearance.

"Yes" Ophis answered.

One of Divine Dividing wings stretched out as images of the members of team Vali appeared on it as projections "I'm not sure how open you are to this idea, but if you need to talk to someone than how about those Vali trusts?" the wing receded with the projections "At the very least, they'll be able to pass on any message to Vali when he wakes up"

Ophis considered Albion's idea, while she hadn't planned on bringing Vali's teammates into this matter she had already brought their resident Magician in when securing magic books for Minato to learn. Agreeing to the idea Albion used a magic circle Vali had set up for Albion to use to contact the other members of his team in cases of emergency, within moments those who weren't already in the same safe house as Vali and Ophis teleported in with magic circles all looking ready for a fight.

After everyone calmed down, thinking Vali was in serious enough danger that Albion used the panic button, they all sat around the table with Vali still fast asleep.

"So Albion, what's so important that you used the panic button when Vali is alright?" Bikou, descendent of the original Monkey King, asked as he looked Vali over. Bikou kept his movements to a minimal so as to not disrupt his bandages too much, his injuries from his previous fight while not life threatening would take more than a day to heal if Bikou's bandages came undone.

"Ophis came to Vali about an urgent matter and since Vali is going to be out for a while I figure you all could offer aid in Vali's place" Albion answered as Vali continued to sleep, a blanket placed over him with a pillow for him to rest his head on.

Arthur pushed up his glasses as he turned to Ophis "An urgent matter, this wouldn't happen to have something to do with the task you took my sister for would it?"

Kuroka blinked in surprise as she turned to Le Fay "Wait, what did Ophis want you for? This is the first time I'm hearing this"

Le Fay scratched her cheek as she felt Kuroka and Bikou's eyes focus on her "It was nothing big to speak of, a lot of common books on magic that explain it and spell books for common and basic spells" Le Fay paused for a moment before continuing "Really the only thing I had to worry about was if the books I borrowed from some libraries would be back on time, which they were so no late fees or buying the books"

Kuroka hummed for a moment before looking over to Ophis with a curious look in her eyes and a smile, her eyes roaming over the new clothes Ophis wore instead of her usual Gothic Lolita dress "Well, consider my curiosity peaked. What do you need help with?"

Ophis looked over everyone present, her expression usually tense "What I tell you here, you can not tell anyone or anything else about it" Ophis met the gaze of all those present, those who looked into Ophis's eyes knew how serious she was about what she said "I need a vow from you all that you won't say share what I tell you" hearing some light snoring Ophis turned her attention to the still sleeping Vali, pointing at him she added with a far less serious "You can still tell Vali, he's a part of this even though he's asleep"

Everyone agreed to keep quiet about on the matter with Arthur offering to use Excalibur Ruler to ensure they never spoke a word of what Ophis tells them, both as a means to keep Ophis's secret and to protect themselves from Ophis's wrath if they made a mistake.

'Okay, how to tell them this without revealing too much' Ophis thought to herself, not wanting to reveal that Minato was able to summon a counterpart of Ophis from another world she decided to keep some select details to herself.

"Several months ago I realized I had lost count of how many snakes of my power I had given to the Khaos Brigade, I summoned them all back to myself and saw I had given out more of my snakes than I thought I had" Ophis said, giving them an explanation for why she took back her snakes that didn't involve Minato summoning Ouroboros.

Still, thinking back on it there were far more snakes than Ophis thought there'd be. Too many if someone like the former heir of Astaroth had one of them.

Bikou laughed a little at the mention of the snake event "Oh, I remember that. I heard a lot of people you gave snakes to damn near had heart attacks when you took them back"

Ophis lowered her head to hid her eyes "Seeing how many snakes I had given out I started questioning the strength of our forces, I went out looking for new recruits to join us. I had planned to search for six months before returning, while it's leader the Khaos Brigade doesn't require my direct involvement for much of it's operations so I saw no issue with a leave of absence"

'It certainly wouldn't have been my longest' Ophis thought to herself, when she gained control of the Khaos Brigade a few years ago after it's founders the Fallen Angel Satanael and The Wizards of Oz she gave orders to those under her to complete them in what way they saw fit with restrictions on what they could and couldn't do rarely given. Apart from specific diplomatic meetings Ophis could leave the organization to it's own devices for a year and it would still be functioning when she returned, which she did to test if the organization could hold it's own weight and not collapse in on itself.

"And in this search, you found the person you were having my sister pick out books for?" Arthur asked, wanting confirmation and wanting to know how long Ophis had known about this mysterious individual.

Ophis nodded "Yes, rather early in my search I found him battling a Stray Devil on his own and easily defeating it. The power he wielded and the variety of it was nothing to be taken lightly"

"How strong are we talking?" Kuroka asked, becoming more interested in Ophis's mysterious individuals.

Ophis considered the Yokai turned Devil's question, Minato could summon another Infinity Dragon which would put him in the EX rank where the only other beings in that bracket were Ophis herself and Great Red.

The image of Minato and Vali fighting one another came to Ophis mind for a second as she considered what to say, too strong will lead to two of the people closest to her fighting each other and too weak will cause the others to question why she had been away with Minato for so long.

"He'd be among the ranks of the twentieth strongest beings, if not already then within a year at most" Ophis answered.

Vali stirred a little but went back to sleep at Ophis's words, everyone else eyes widened while Kuroka gained a glint in her eyes.

Bikou whistled "That's rather high praise, while people only talk about the top ten there's some scary ones in the top hundred" the currently acting monkey king gave Ophis a toothy smile, keeping his movements restrained despite his excitement "Come on, you have to tell us more now"

[2] "Oh, definitely~" Kuroka agreed with a purr, the look in her eyes reminding Ophis of the first time they met. Ophis wasn't sure why but she suddenly didn't want the Yokai turned Devil meeting Minato even more so than before, even after she secured his loyalty.

"He's human with his powers being a natural ability" Minato described Persona as an evolutionary defence mechanism so it did fall under natural powers, Ophis thought before continuing "He is able to use Senjutsu and has proven himself to be an adequate Magician after learning from the books Le Fay picked out" Ophis turned to Le Fay and gave her a nod "He says thank you for the books, forgot to mention it when I dropped the books off"

"Both Senjutsu and a Magician, a rare combination as people tend to specialized in one or either but it's not unheard of for someone to learn both" Arthur said, thinking back to the duels he had swordsmen who had combined Senjutsu or close equivalents along with magic to enhance their sword play. He himself had learnt some of basics of both himself from his sister and Kuroka but hadn't yet proceeded further beyond that.

"I observed him for several days before approaching him, to make a long story short he didn't want for anything and didn't know anything about the supernatural beyond fighting Stray Devils" Ophis smiled a little at the memory of Minato and her first meeting "With his lack of knowledge of the supernatural I inserted myself as he sole source of information regarding the supernatural. I spent months working to secure his loyalty before bringing him over. But"

Ophis smile fell as she laid her head on the table, surprising everyone present "...I messed up"

Le Fay reached a hand out to Ophis, a worried look on her face as she had never seen the Dragon God act this way "Ophis, what happened?"

"It was going perfect, yes there was a bump or two here and there but everything was going perfectly. But then" Ophis put her hands over her face, the shameful memory coming back to her as the uneasy feeling ran through her again "the bananas"

"I thought you avoided bananas?" Albion asked, recalling a conversation Ophis had with Vali at some point.

Ophis didn't move as she answer "I did, but due to circumstances he show me cultivated bananas and how they were different from the wild bananas" Ophis lifted her head up as she looked at her hands "I… had difficulty eating a whole banana at first, so he mashed it up for me to try. I liked it, I liked it so much I wanted to eat at much as I could get my hands on and I lost control of myself for a moment"

Everyone shared a worried between them, dragons going out of control was a dangerous situation with even weak ones. Ophis, the Infinite Dragon God, going out of control would be apocalyptic at minimal.

"I managed to come to my senses, when I did I found myself starring him down as he had bitten into a banana before I lost control and still had the fruit in his mouth" Ophis held her head in her hands "Had I not had better control of myself I would have taken even the banana he had in his mouth, I apologized and left"

Bikou blinked surprised "That's it?" Ophis nodded "You didn't total the kitchen or anything, just ate all the bananas in sight and almost french'd the guy?"

"French'd?" Ophis asked, unfamiliar with the term.

Kuroka tilted her head "I'll be honest I was expecting worse, though the fact you lost control for a moment is a big concern"

"Would you lose control again if you ate a banana?" Arthur asked, deeply troubled that there was something that could cause the Infinite Dragon to go wild and his older brother instincts were a factor to that worry due to Ophis's current form.

Ophis shook her head "No. I believe it was just the rush of the new sensation, I won't lose control like that again"

"Well, there's one way to make sure" Bikou said as he got up from his seat and went over to the kitchen top and came back with a banana, everyone tensed at the fruit as Ophis took it.

Ophis gave the banana an apprehensive look, steeling herself Ophis took a bite of the banana skin and all.

A look of joy passed over Ophis's face before it was quickly replaced with a one of determination, swallowing the bite she took Ophis put the banana down on the table and put her hands to her side.

After a few tense moments, with team Vali looking between Ophis and the banana for any sign of danger, Ophis let out a relieved sigh "I'm okay"

"Well, that's one concern dealt with" Bikou said as he picked up the banana, giving it a look as he removed the banana skin "Personally I find it tastes better without the skin"

Le Fay released the breath she was holding, she turned to Ophis and saw how the Infinite Dragon God still looked troubled "Ophis, is there something your not telling us?"

Ophis kept her head down as she thought about the best way to tell them what originally brought her to them "After 'The Banana incident' I have had this terrible feeling, if feels as though I'm unwell or that something terrible will happen soon. I used an artefact I had in my hoard to see what was wrong and it told me nothing, I retrieved Phoenix Tears and they had no effect either" Ophis removed the Phoenix Tears from her pocket and placed them on the table.

Kuroka straightened up as she examined Ophis more closely, recalling the medical applicants of Senjutsu she was capable of along with what was effective on dragons "Is this feeling constant or does it pop up on occasion?"

"It's constant, I think. I can ignore it most of the time but when I think about losing control of myself because of a banana and almost attacking Minato it gets stronger" Ophis answered, wanting nothing more than this feeling she was having to go away.

"It sounds like emotional turmoil" Arthur answered, keeping the conversation going and not to draw too much attention to Ophis's slip of the tongue, filing away the name of Ophis's mysterious person of interest "Perhaps in your quest to ensure this person's loyalty you've inadvertently grown fond of them, it's a known phenomenon to happen when someone goes undercover for a long period of time"

Ophis frowned as she thought over the heir of Pendragon's words, Ophis had grown close to others before Minato and had even develop some emotional fondness for a handful of them as well with Vali being the most prominent example. She couldn't deny Arthur's suggestion that she had grown more fond of Minato than originally intended, however it felt different from those times before.

There was something different about Minato other than the power he wielded that drew Ophis in, she didn't know what it was but it made it harder to face him after what happened.

"Is this person you've been working on the type to hold a grudge?" Le Fay asked, even more curious about this mysterious Minato Ophis has bonded with.

Without missing a beat Ophis shook her head "No. He's the type who would let someone stay in his house after confessing to contemplating killing him in his sleep, a bit too forgiving if I'm being honest" Ophis answered, her response worrying team Vali about Minato's self preservation instinct "He tries to see the best in people, whether they're the type to kill given the slightest reason or created for some perverse goal, and gives them chances few others would extend"

"So, he's strong enough to use Senjutsu, smart enough to be a Magician and is a softie at heart" Kuroka said with a purr "I have to say you've painted quite of picture of this Minato for us" Ophis snapped her head towards Kuroka with a wide eyed look, Kuroka smiled at the rather cute expression Ophis wore "You let his name slip out earlier, also your new outfit is very cute"

Ophis looked down and cursed internally, in her haste she had forgotten to change clothes!

Groaning in defeat Ophis put her head on the table and cover her head with her arms, she would have pulled up her hoodie but since she didn't have it she improvised.

"So I guess if someone planning to kill him is not enough for him to kick them out of his house you wrecking his kitchen and eating all his bananas wouldn't be a blip on this Minato's radar" Bikou finished off the banana.

"It wasn't all of the bananas, just those in the kitchen" Ophis said as the horrible feeling within her weakened the more she talked about the issue, what at first felt like a sinking feeling threatening to consume her lifted.

Lifting her head Ophis let out a sign of relief, a small grateful smile on her face "Thank you, I feel a lot better after talking about it"

Le Fay let out a sigh of relief "That's good to hear. Do you want to keep talking, make sure you got everything off your chest?"

Kuroka licked her lips "I wouldn't mind learning more about this Minato fellow, he sounds like the complete package, what does he look like appearance wise?"

"I'll admit, I'm a bit curious myself, for entirely different reasons" Arthur shot Kuroka a knowing look before pushing up his glasses "The fact you used the word natural means this Minato's power is not related to a Sacred Gear, as such Vali would consider recruiting him to the team" Arthur looked over the gathered team Vali "While a formidable, a generalize could help round things out or at least offer support when needed"

Bikou grinned "The fact he's been fighting Stray Devils on his own means he can handle himself in a fight, even if he's not on our level I don't mind training up a new sparring partner"

"Zzzzz…" Vali lightly snored, soundly almost like approval, as his team had their attention focused on Ophis.

Ophis's eyes looked over everyone, while she had no issue with Minato joining Team Vali after she secured his loyalty she didn't want them meeting them until after she had secured it without a doubt.

Especially Kuroka, Ophis still isn't sure why but she rather not have the Yokai turned Devil meeting Minato anytime soon.

Looking for any excuse to leave Ophis spotted a nearby clock and saw how late it was, seizing her chance she took it.

Ophis shook her head "Sorry, I have to go soon. I promise I would be back later tonight and Minato's likely waiting up for me, I'll need to go back soon to make sure everything's okay before going to bed"

"Well, they say never go to be angry. That holds especially true for those who share a bed~" Kuroka commented, a little let down they wouldn't be learning more about this mysterious Minato that Ophis was paying special attention to.

"All the more reason I need to go now then" Ophis said as she got up from her seat.

"Wait, what?" Kuroka asked, her cat ears twitching as she looked to Ophis confused "Sorry, I think I misheard something. The way you said that makes it sound like you and Minato sleep in the same bed" Kuroka said with a nervous laugh.

"I do" Ophis replied nonchalantly "I have my own room and bed but I've begun sharing a bed with Minato for a little while now"

Kuroka looked at Ophis shocked, not believing what she was hearing "Not to pry into your personal life or anything, but you and Minato. Are you two, sleeping together?"

Ophis tilted her head (?) "We share a bed throughout the night, but I don't sleep"

Le Fay blushed as Arthur, Bikou and Kuroka looked to Ophis slack jawed.

"Ophis doesn't sleep, they don't need it and prefer not having their mind enter any domain Great Red holds sway over" Albion said, regaining control of the conversation and clearing up any misunderstandings before they devolve into anything. However "Though if you are doing what they think you are, you better have the decency to take on a different form and not defiling the one you based off of her"

Ophis frowned, feeling as though she was missing something in the conversation "That's what I said. I find it comfortable laying next to him and it's quiet there"

"O-Oh! So, you pretty much use him like a teddy bear and not" Kuroka stopped herself for a moment before saying anything else "Never mind, forget I said anything" Ophis gave Kuroka a confused look before disregarding what she was in the middle of saying like she asked.

It wasn't long after Ophis left, thanking Team Vali for their help and offering them to pick any item in her hoard to take as their reward later on. As those among the team talked amongst themselves of this mysterious Minato that got Ophis's personal attention Arthur turned to the still sleeping Vali and the Wings of Divine Dividing.

"Albion" Arthur called out to the Vanishing Dragon "Earlier, you mentioned something about using the form of another? Who did Ophis take their current form from?"

"...It's not a one to one comparison, but if you put them together you could be forgiven for thinking they were sisters" Albion answered, his mind going back to the past. Back to when Vali first met Ophis and back further to when Albion first met Ophis when they still wore the form of a man "That's a long story. One for another day"

-=-][-=-

Arriving back at the Arisato Residence Ophis found herself in the same spot she left from, looking around the kitchen she found it had been tidied up while she was away. Hearing the sound of pencil on paper Ophis looked over and saw the back of Minato's head as he sat on the coach.

Taking a deep breath to steel herself Ophis walked over to Minato "Hey"

Minato turned away from his sketch and turned to greet Ophis with a smile "Hey, are you feeling better?"

"Much better, I won't lose control like that again" Ophis said, looking down at the floor as she awaited a response.

Minato let out a sigh of relief "That's good to hear, I was worried I had inadvertently made you addicted to bananas for a while there and you were off to take control of the big banana producers to feed your new habit"

Ophis raised her head to give Minato a bemused look with a slight blush colouring her cheeks "I wasn't that bad" wishing to change the subject to anything else Ophis looked to Minato's sketch and looked it over "What are you working on?"

While it seemed to still be in the early stages Ophis could get an idea of what Minato was drawing, a humanoid warrior with rings of energy at their back was in a battle ready stance in a cave. Ophis narrowed her eyes as she noticed something off with the picture, the way it was framed seemed to hint the image was from someone's perspective.

"A drawing of a scene for a new Light Novel" Minato answered with a frown as he looked over his work "It has not been going well" Minato collected several sheets of paper and showed them to Ophis, each one was a completed version of the one Minato was working on but at different angles and poses on each one "I have character proportions right and a generic enough background but when I asked the writer for more details to flesh out the scene they only sent me a list of adjectives, apparently that's more than enough for me in their eyes"

Looking over the sketches one thought was prominent in her mind "It sounds like your giving these more effort than the writer"

Minato shrugged "Can't say for sure. I haven't met them in person and their messages seemed like they were made in a rush, for all I know they could be dealing with a busy home life-" Minato stopped himself as he let out a yawn, looking at the time he frowned "I think it's about time I called it a night"

Ophis handed Minato his sketches to put away, a concerned look on Ophis's face as she wasn't sure if things had changed between them due to the banana incident "Um…"

Minato turned to Ophis "Hmm?"

"I can… sleep in my own bed tonight, if what happened earlier made things a little… awkward between us" Ophis offered, unsure how to proceed as she had never been in a position like this before.

Minato shook his head "Like I said, it's fine. It was a moment of weakness, we all have those and I'm no exception" getting to his feet Minato stretched after sitting down for so long "You can sleep anywhere you want, I won't stop you"

"I…" Ophis began, biting her lip as she suddenly found it hard to look Minato in the eyes and developed a sudden interest in his feet "I want to sleep with you tonight, like last night and the night before that and the night before that" Ophis confessed, almost saying she liked the warmth she experiences being next to Minato but stopping herself "I think I would be restless if I went to bed on my own alone"

"Well, let's go together" Minato said as he finished collecting his things, as they made their way to Minato's room he felt the need to say something personal "To be honest, I'm happy you're okay with sharing a bed with me still"

"You are?" Ophis asked in response, not expecting Minato to say that.

Minato nodded "Yeah. It's nice having someone dear to me right next to me as a drift off to sleep, it a bigger comfort than I'd like to admit"

Though Minato recognized the world he found himself in was real, a part of him still worried that something was going to go wrong. Whether that meant he would go to sleep and wake up in the Great Seal again, having dreamt everything he's experienced in Kuoh Town and this familiar yet different world, or simply dying in his sleep with no medical reason. With his luck Minato couldn't rule either out.

Having Ophis next to him as he slept, holding onto the strongest bond he had made in this other world, it was a comfort to Minato. Proof that it was real, that he had a third chance at life, and if it wasn't he could hold onto the memories and feelings of it until the end.

Ophis, the Infinite Dragon God, smiled with a bright blush "I'm happy to help, and happy you feel that way about me"

A comfortable silence fell over the two

"Do you want me to continued from where we left off last night or would you rather I tell you about all the different things we could make from bananas since your not addicted to them?" Minato asked, looking to Ophis Minato saw she was drooling a little as she thought about possible banana related dishes. Seeing this Minato smirked as he poked Ophis's cheek snapping her out of the stupor "Hmm, seems like I found another way to corrupt you?" Minato said in a joking tone.

Ophis dried her drool with her sleeve before looking Minato in the eyes and answering in kind with half lidded eyes with a knowing smile "Don't get cocky, I know how to pull your strings"

A Messiah of another world and the Infinite Dragon God born within the Dimensional Gap stared down one another for half a minute waiting for the other to blink before both breaking down into laughter together at the same time.

"Oh, would you two just do it already!" Davina opened her door to give Minato and Ophis an annoyed look, eavesdropping on the two as they got closer to her room.

""It?"" Minato and Ophis asked, not sure what Davina was talking about.

Davina facepalmed, not sure if Minato and Ophis were messing with her or if they were really this innocent.

-=-][-=-

Slowly waking up Minato could hear the birds outside on the forest, their chirping signalling the arrival of dawn. Wrapped in the warmth of his bed Minato snuggled up closer to what he had his arms around, a part of him already knowing who it was.

Opening his eyes Minato saw Ophis's face right next to his own, his half lidded eyes meeting Ophis's own as she stirred.

"Good morning" Ophis said with a smile, a sparkle in her eyes that warmed Minato's heart as he saw it. Seeing it, knowing it

"Good morning" Minato said returning the smile with his own, searching his memory for what he had to do for the day.

Several Personas helpfully reminded Minato that no he didn't have anything for the day, the day was whatever he made out it. While several Personas made suggestions on what he could do there was just one thing Minato wanted, to stay in the warm cocoon of blankets beside Ophis, who was more than happy to do the same.

It had been a long time since Minato slept in properly, one not involving becoming so sick he needed to stay in bed for several days or being knocked out after his first battle.

The world faded away for Minato then, metaphorically speaking, it was just him, his bed and Ophis beside him. The sounds of the others getting up and going about their day barely registering in his conscious mind, Minato thought someone opened his bedroom door to look in before closing it again but he didn't really give it much notice.

Even the sound of the house phone ringing wasn't enough to get Minato to leave his moment of comfort, however the contents of the phone call that Joseph answered did.

With a groan Minato sat up, leaving his cocoon of comfort with Ophis hanging off him, checking his phone Minato saw he got around three hours of peace. Rubbing his eyes Minato muttered about what forced him to get up "Internet"

Besides a longer than normal commute the house had one other problem, namely no internet connection. Minato could guess why it was never installed, given the house's previous status as an evil residence, but that meant he had to have the thing installed himself.

A task easier said then done but after getting the funds for it with Adam's take over of that construction company they had enough to get it installed, however as the only one in the house being registered as a Japanese citizen and the home owner Minato needed to meet with the installers coming over.

'We really need to work on that at some point' Joseph mentally commented, going into detail about how their could be issues if Adam is arrested as an illegal immigrant running a formerly shady company.

"Is this going to be noisy?" Ophis asked, not sure what took place when a house was getting internet connected. The concept of a global spanning network that offered up the collective knowledge of the world intrigued her when she first heard of it but it wasn't that impressive when she first saw it, Ophis briefly wondered how much it could have improved over the last thirty or so years since she last seen it.

"More then likely" Lilith said as she read the same magazine Chloe was looking over yesterday with a loose piece of paper and a pencil in hand "You and Minato don't have to stay here, he only needs to greet them and sign anything if need be.

[3] Adam looked away from the fruit salad he was preparing to talk to the others "I'm not working today so I can stay behind to keep an eye on things, maybe network with the people coming over"

"Here's hoping you find a connection" Joseph said with a grin even as Katina facepalmed over the dad jokes.

"Do you have anything planned, Lili, Regula and I are stopping by the abandoned church later today" Chloe asked Minato as she turned away from a list she was making.

Minato shook his head "No, though I was hoping to unwind for the day"

"Why not try camping? Use it as a means to get away from everything for a day or so" Maria suggested as she brushed Gabriel's hair much to his embarrassment.

Gabriel was about to nod but stopped himself as to not disturb Maria as she worked "I found it relaxing personally, though I'm not sure if the weather will be good for it today"

Minato considered the idea before nodding "I'll give it a try, anyone want to join?" Minato asked.

Ophis hummed for a moment "I'll go with, anywhere is better then here with the noise"

"BarkBark" Bridget barked several times and sat on the floor beside Adam, making it clear the chimera hellhound was staying to keep an eye on things. The others mention how they have other things planned for the day, not wanting to stand around and potentially interrupting the workers coming over.

"Well, looks like it'll be just the two of us then" Ophis said as she continued eating breakfast with Minato, her attention being drawn to the TV as she saw people kissing. Ophis glanced at Minato, specifically his mouth as he ate, before looking away.

-=-[A little while later]-=-

"Right, it shouldn't be much further from here" Minato said as he looked around the forest around them, searching for the marker Katina and the others put up when they were exploring the forest around the house.

Ophis pointed to a tree trunk with an eight petal flower carved into it "Found it, over here" taking a closer look both Minato and Ophis it was the marker they were looking for before continuing on further in.

During one of their frequent trips they had come across several spots that would make for good camping spots, one in particular was suppose to have a nice view and was far away from the house enough that the noise of the workers wouldn't be heard. The camping trip was planned to be for one day and one night before returning the next morning, they packed light with only what they needed with Minato carrying the bulk of it.

As they neared their camping spot Minato looked around for the last marker to point them in the right direction, however due to him looking at the trees for the last marker Minato lost his footing "Woah!" Minato tried to catch himself or correct his foot to save himself but it was already to late for that.

Seeing this Ophis jumped forwarded and reached out a hand to catch Minato, grabbing his hand Ophis pulled to save from the fall "Got you"

Minato and Ophis shared a relieved look before they noticed something worrying, Minato was still falling with Ophis being dragged along with him. Ophis leaping to grab onto Minato left her with no leverage to stop his fall, only succeeding in turning Minato mid-air.

Acting on instinct Minato hugged Ophis to protect her from any possible harm as they rolled down a slope and into a forest stream. The stream was shallow so aside from Minato getting a little wet and both him and Ophis getting dirty from the fall they were both alright, Ophis was on top of Minato when they fell in keeping her dry, picking himself up Minato looked himself over to make sure he was fine before turning to Ophis to see her picking leaves out of her hair.

"That could have gone better" Ophis said, annoyed at herself for not stopping Minato's fall and only ended up joining him in his tumble.

"Are you okay?" Minato asked, while he knew it would take far more than their trip and fall to harm Ophis he still wanted to make sure she was okay.

Ophis nodded as she looked over herself and Minato, Minato was currently sitting in the stream with Ophis herself laying on top of him.

"Sorry, I should have kept a closer eye on the forest floor" Minato apologized as they got out of the stream, testing his shoes to see how soaked they were "You ready to keep going?"

Ophis nodded before they climbed back up the slope they just rolled down, getting back on the path they were taking it wasn't much longer before they arrived at the camping site.

A large clearing with a cliff that overlooked more forest, looking at the levelled ground and clear view Minato took in a deep breath as he looked over the site with Ophis. After checking how level the ground was and enjoying the view of the forest beneath them they got to work preparing their campsite.

Brushing away rocks and branches to clear out their campsite, setting up their tent and preparing the fire with only a minor incident of Ophis setting her sleeves on fire. One sleeve went alight due to a stray ember, annoying Ophis more than anything else as she tried to put it out by smothering it with her other hand but only ended in the other sleeve catching fire.

Feeling something was off Minato turned away from the tent and the hanging rack with his wet trousers taken off to dry to see Ophis was on fire, eyes wide with alarm Minato rushed over to Ophis and channelled a Persona to absorb the flames before showering Ophis with healing magic. As Minato was in the middle of healing Ophis he was relieved to see she wasn't hurt at all, instead his healing mostly repaired her burnt clothes.

After that little incident the two finished setting up their campsite, a fire for cooking and a two person tent to sleep in and a single hammock to lounge in. The hammock was made for one person in mind but Minato and Ophis could fit in it together if they snuggled together, after the trek up and setting up camp the two took a while to rest up before moving on to other activities.

The first thing they tried was making kites by hand to fly, some magic being to used to get the materials needed, after decorating them they flew their costume kites with only a little Persona power to give them a strong enough wind to fly them properly.

Deciding to continue from where they left off during Minato's training of the Occult Research Club, Minato and Ophis practice their dancing skills as a pair. However, unlike last time Minato didn't summon Orpheus to play music and instead they both sang the lyrics of songs they could remember together and hummed the tone when they forgot the exact lyrics.

After a rough early start the two were able to form a synchronize performance, moving together with dance numbers made for two and crafting new routines with dance moves that used both their styles to create something new. Minato and Ophis tried to see much of a given songs lyrics they could remember off the top of their heads to see if they could.

While Minato could remember the melodies without issue he ran into trouble remembering the lyrics of any song that wasn't from his world, whereas Ophis could remember the lyrics with much more consistence she ran into the hurdle of mixing up one melody for another or having it lead into a completely different song.

Seeing this was the case, they made a game of it. Ophis singing the lyrics to a song while Minato would play the melody of the song Ophis was singing with a guitar formed from Orpheus's Lyre, after some time Ophis purposely began changing songs to see how fast Minato could react and in retaliation Minato altered a few notes to make Ophis think she had unknowingly began singing another song's lyrics.

The sun had already began to set when their music battle came to an end, the two sitting together as Minato showed Ophis how to play a guitar. It was going well with Ophis sitting on Minato's lap as he guided Ophis's fingers to help her get a handle of the basics, as they were practising Minato looked up and saw how late it had gotten already.

Their campsite offered them a beautiful view of the area, the orange light of the setting sun reaching over the mountains as the shadow of the trees stretched to cover all it could. What clouds there were drifted by lazily as the sound of birds could be heard in the forest below the cliff in the forest and in the distance.

"Hard to believe how fast the day has gone by" Minato said to himself as he looked into the distance at the setting sun.

Ophis looked up from the guitar as she took in the view alongside Minato "Yeah, we should do this again" Ophis's fingers moved in-between Minato's fingers that guided her through the earlier notes, her mind not giving much thought to where her fingers were "Just the two of us, alone together"

"I'd love that" Minato replied, noticing how his fingers were intertwined with Ophis's own "Anywhere else you want to go? We could try the beach and swim in the ocean"

Ophis was silent as she considered the idea "I don't know how to swim, but if it's with you I'd go anywhere"

Minato smiled as he knew they would be doing at least one thing at the beach "I'll teach you the best I can, and if all else fails we can just keep close to the beach" Minato looked down at the guitar and the placement of Ophis's fingers "Speaking about teaching, how was the guitar lesson?"

"Surprisingly fun. This was the first time I have ever held, much less played, an instrument" Using an item that created noise ran counter to Ophis's goal of reclaiming the Dimensional Gap and her silence so she never entertained the notion of it, until now that is "Was I… good?"

Minato chuckled "A lot better than I was the first time I picked up an instrument, it sounded like a dying cat if I'm being honest" Minato looked upward with a fond smile "I might have given it up if my parents hadn't insisted me to keep at it with Kotone alongside me as we practice, we got better fast to the relief of our neighbours"

"Your parents" Ophis repeated what Minato said, this being the first she had heard Minato mention anything about his family.

Minato was brought out of his memories of music practice with his sister with their parents looking at them with smiles "Yeah, my parents. I haven't really talked about my family have I?" Minato gave Ophis a weak smile "truth is, there's not much to talk about them really. I have some stories of my mum scowling me and Kotone, my fraternal twin sister, from re-einacting scenes from Featherman using the bows of our violins as swords but that's about it"

There was something off about the way Minato said those words, an almost inaudible tremble as he wanted to move away from talking about his family. Ophis hadn't heard such a tremble in Minato's voice before, not outside of…

The realization hit Ophis all at once, she remembered that Minato would get that same tremble in his voice around 'that time' during a full moon. Minato always asked to be left alone for anywhere between thirty minutes to an hour before it was over, Ophis had no idea what to do during those times. Minato wanted to be left alone and Satou insisted Ophis shouldn't disturb Minato during his alone, though Ophis suspected Satou only said such things for some ulterior motive.

Acting fast Ophis moved to change the conversation as quick as possible "Oh, alright" Ophis looked down at the guitar as she thought of where to take the conversation "Is there anything you want to talk about?"

"Well, where did you go yesterday after the incident with the bananas?" Minato asked the first thing that came to his mind.

'Well, it's better than the alternative' Ophis thought to herself "Well, the truth is I was hesitate to come back after what I did. Or rather, what I almost did" Ophis admitted, looking out to the setting sun to see it was on the verging of completely dipping behind the horizon "I was worried how'd you react, not knowing what else to do I went to someone I knew for advice"

Turning to Minato Ophis saw the curiosity in Minato's eyes, Team Vali already knew about Minato so it only seemed right to tell him about them so e wouldn't be blind sided by them.

"That person is the current White Dragon Emperor, the destined rival to the Red Dragon Emperor Issei Hyoudou, and great grandson of the original Lucifer. Vali Lucifer" Ophis locked eyes with Minato to gauge his reaction to the information.

Minato blinked as Helel, Morning Star and Lucifer rose from the depths of the Sea of Souls with a shared 'great grandson!' while elsewhere Lilith did a spit-take with so much pressure it could have removed paint from walls at the news, through their connection Lilith demanded to know the answer to a question.

"Is Lilith Vali's genetic great grandmother?"

"As far as I'm aware, yes" Ophis answered, glad to see Minato was taking the news as well as he was. She'd honestly thought he'd be a bit more shocked, and then the nature of Minato's question sunk in.

While one from another world, Minato had already summoned Lilith.

'Fight me!" Vali said while in Balance Breaker as he floated before Minato, his finger pointed at the blue hair boy as he made his declaration.

Any tension vanished as Lilith appeared between them with her arms outstretched, gesturing to Vali for a hug which he took without hesitation 'Gran Gran'.

Ophis looked triumphally skyward at the starry night sky above them, she found a way to prevent Minato and Vali from battling each other!

With the sun fully set Minato and Ophis moved over to the fire to continue, they cooked marshmallows over the fire after they finished their dinner.

"How'd you two meet?" Minato asked to continue their earlier conversation, removing his marshmallow from the fire to gauge the colouring.

"It was a few years ago when we came across one another, the White Dragon Emperor Albion in Vali's Sacred Gear introduced us" Ophis ate her cooked marshmallow before putting several more on her stick "He and I would talk together when the opportunity presented itself, we've kept in contact over the last several years and he introduced me to his group"

Albion, the Primeval Giant founder of Britain and son of the Greek God Poseidon, grew curious at the idea of this White Dragon Emperor sharing his name but did not act.

Minato waited for Ophis to continue but after several seconds of silence he turned to her "What did you two talk about?"

"Pretty much whatever that came to mind, recently he talked about his time with his group" Ophis said, frowning as a marshmallow caught fire before plucking the burning marshmallow and tossing it into her mouth after blowing out the fire "He give me lengthy details on them, among them are the current generation monkey king and the descendants of King Arthur and Morgan Le Fay"

"Quite the colourful group Vali's put together" Minato said as Seiten Taisei and all Personas connected to Arthurian Legend joined Helel, Morning Star, Lucifer and Albion in their interest in Vali's group "Sounds like your friend draws in a lot of interesting people"

"Friend" Ophis repeat, moving her marshmallows away from the flames "I'm not sure if I would call us friends"

Minato removed his marshmallow as he saw it was ready, he turned to Ophis with a raised eyebrow "Why is that?"

"We've talked and kept in touch over a handful of years and talked on occasion, but I wouldn't call us friends" Ophis answered, thinking of what to actually call the relationship she had with Vali "Acquaintance would be a more a better term for Vali's and I's relationship"

Minato took the marshmallow off his stick and held it between his fingers "Well, there's always a chance acquaintances could become friends. The key being the bond between them" Minato threw the marshmallow into his mouth as he reached for more to put over the fire.

Thinking it over, Ophis realized that while she had known Vali for longer Ophis had spent more time with Minato over the last few months "To be honest, I think your my first friend"

"Really, I'm your first?" Minato asked.

Ophis nodded "Yeah" she turned to Minato to see his surprised expression, she looked at Minato confused not knowing what she said that would earn such a reaction "Did I say something weird?"

Minato shook his head "No, just caught off guard that I'm your first friend" Minato smiled as he brought Ophis into a one arm hug "Though, I'm happy I am"

"I'm happy you are too" Ophis said as she returned the hug, looking at her marshmallows Ophis offered Minato one. Happily eating the marshmallow Minato offered Ophis one of his own in return, Ophis savour the taste of Minato's cooked marshmallow longer than she had with her own as the two stayed in their hug.

After a while Minato glance at Ophis "I'm curious, Albion introduced you to Vali but how did you meet Albion?"

Ophis opened her mouth ready to say something but stopped herself, while she didn't mind telling Minato how she first meet the White Dragon Emperor there were aspects she needed to clear up.

"Before I tell you, I need to tell you something" Ophis broke off the hug between her and Minato, feeling nervous about telling him what she was about "I, didn't always look like this" Ophis said, gesturing at herself.

Minato nodded in understanding "You had another form before that one"

Ophis nodded "Yes. Though most have some limits on what they can transform into or require specialized training, I don't" Ophis looked over to the fire, looking at the flames as memories from decades ago came to the forefront of her mind as one of her snakes emerged from her arm and stood at attention "What I'm trying to say is, I looked very different than I do now"

"What did you look like?" Minato asked.

At his question, Ophis snake wrapped around the base of the fire before biting it's own tail to create a solid circle. The flames turned black as an image began to appear, an old man in a suit walking down an urban street.

---

[4] Back in the 1980's

'I despise these things' Ophis thought as they looked over their appearance in a window. A trim grey beard with long mop of grey hair reaching broad shoulders, a black double breasted blazer with a white dress shirt and black tie snugly fitted Ophis's frame as Ophis gave the similarly snug trousers and dress shoes with a glare. Ophis gripped the cane with a serpent's head handle they carried as they looked at their appearance 'The second the opportunity presents itself I am changing into something far more comfortable'

Ophis walked down the street using their cane, both as a symbol of wisdom and power but mostly to make walking around in his uncomfortable shoes more tolerable. Ophis observed the area around him searching for anything to catch his interest, coming to a bus stop Ophis saw mention of the cold war humanity was currently having on the front page of a news paper.

Before anything else could be learnt several teens ran past Ophis with one giving Ophis a condensing grin "Move it gramps!" Ophis frowned at the disrespect before moving on.

The entire reason Ophis took the form of an old man was for the respect it brought along with giving a lower profile to better blend in, Ophis tugged at their shirt collar with how annoyingly tight it was. Having enough of it Ophis ripped off the tie and tore off several of the top buttons on the dress shirt and threw them into a nearby waste bin, glowering the discarded items before continuing on.

'If the world is going to change then it's time I took on a different appearance' Ophis thought before stopping to consider what form they would take, whatever it was to be it must be one that involved less constricting clothing.

Divide!

Ophis paused as the sound of battle could be heard coming from an odd antique shop in a back-alleyway, curious Ophis approached utterly ignoring the wards placed around the area to keep what was happening hidden from prying eyes.

The shop windows and glass door was blown out, glass shards littering the alleyway covering everything directly in front of the store, looking inside Ophis spotted a woman with her back to her with glowing blue wings made out of light emerging from metallic white frames.

Releasing a snake Ophis had it slither on the ceiling of the shop's interior to get a better angle to find out what was happening, the woman had her foot pinning a rather sickly looking vampire to the ground with a hand gun pointed at the vampire's head.

"We had a deal, I steal those blood bags and you give me something to heal my granddaughter" the woman said with a hard look, getting a better angle Ophis could see the woman's wrinkled face contorted into a furious look.

The sickly vampire looked at the old woman with a sneer "What, becoming a vampire not good enough for you?" the vampire's condensing sneer was momentarily broken as the woman dug her foot deeper in the vampire's chest.

"That's not healing her, that's turning her into something else" the wings of light on the woman's back flared. Divide being called out alongside the brief intensity of light as the vampire grew weaker "I don't have time for your bullshit, either tell me how I can save my grandchild or as God as my witness-"

As the woman was in the middle of her threat a figure emerged from the shadows and leapt out at her from behind, clawed hands and fangs ready to cut down the old woman.

Ophis frowned at the sight as the snake darted from the ceiling to the attacking vampire.

"Gertrude, behind you!" a voice from the wings called out, the old woman turned around in time to see the vampire leaping at her to being ensnared by a black snake that complete wrapped around it's body.

As the attacking vampire fell to the floor Ophis walked forward to make their presence known, pushing aside shattered remnants of glass and items as they approached. Ophis looked down at the bound vampire with a blank look, the vampire squirmed beneath Ophis's gaze.

"Thanks, but who are you?" The old woman, Gertrude, asked as she looked at the old man that came to her aid.

Ophis glanced at Gertrude before looking back at the vampire to see if he was going to do anything, seeing submissive fear in the vampire's eyes Ophis turned away to face Gertrude fully "I am Ophis, I overheard the fighting and came to see what was happening" Ophis looked down at the bound vampire once more "I decide to step in on a whim when I saw this one attacking you from behind"

Gertrude gave Ophis a thankful nod "Thanks for the help, me and these blood suckers have a deal going on and they tried to back-stab me"

"Well, maybe you misunderstood our deal you old bag-" whatever the sickly vampire was going to say was cut off as the old woman shot the ground right next to it's ear.

The wings on the woman's back flared again "We won't ask nicely again, either give us something to work with or you both end here"

The sickly vampire chuckled darkly "If you were several decades younger, I might have considered that a valid threat. But your host is on her last legs, White Dragon Emperor, I suspect she can't hold onto my stolen power for much longer"

Ophis frowned at the sickly vampire, finding it annoying.

"We have two vials of the Greek Goddess's Panacaea healing potion in a safe behind the front desk, we were planning on using it to create healing potions to sell on the black market" the bound vampire beneath Ophis cried out, looking up at Ophis terrified "Please, spare me oh Infinite Dragon God"

"Jerry! Don't fold so easily, there's no way that guy is actually The Ouroboros Dragon!" the sickly vampire yelled as Gertrude turned to the bound vampire.

"Shut. Up. Gregory. I just became a vampire last week, I'm not dying here out of your pride" the bound vampire said through gritted teeth, Ophis went behind the front desk and quickly found the safe and the vials contained in a wooden box.

Gertrude kicked the sickly vampire in the jaw before going over to take a vial out of the box to look at it "Is this it?" the voice from the wings asked again.

"One way to find out" with those words Gertrude popped off the cork of the vial and downed in one gulp "Huh? Surprisingly fruity" Gertrude tensed for a moment before taking in a deep breath "Woo, I haven't felt this good in years!"

A relieved yet tired sigh could be heard from the wings "Well aside from how dangerous that was, it looks like we got what we came for"

Gertrude pocketed the remaining vial and made her way out of the ruined shop, the two vampires remaining on the floor defeated even as they were freed, walking over to Ophis Gertrude kissed them on their cheek surprising Ophis "Thank you, I'd stay and chat but I need to get this to my granddaughter as soon as possible so this is where we'll have to say goodbye"

Gertrude turned to leave but stopped as she looked over her shoulder to Ophis "Unless, do you have anything to teleport?"

Ophis nodded "Of course"

Waiting for several moments for Ophis to say something else Gertrude raised an eyebrow "Could you teleport me to where I need to be, it's an emergency"

"Very well" Ophis reached out a hand for Gertrude to take "Take my hand and think of where you wish to be and we'll be there in no time"

"Thank you, um" Gertrude paused before letting out a small laugh "I'm sorry dear, I didn't catch your name"

"I am the Infinite Dragon God who hails from the Dimensional Gap, the Ouroboros Dragon Ophis" Ophis introduced themselves, allowing their power to leak out enough to not cause discomfort to the old woman, lifting up their cane to show the serpent headpiece.

"I'm the current White Dragon Emperor from New York, Gertrude Cohen. And this bundle of sunshine is Albion, been with me all my life but I only really met the poor thing a little over a month ago" Gertrude pointed to her wings "Thank you, for the help earlier and for the ride" Gertrude smiled.

Teleporting away Ophis and the elderly White Dragon Emperor found themselves outside a hospital, Gertrude raced inside as soon as she regained her bearing while Ophis took a moment to look over the area the current White Dragon Emperor had led them.

Walking inside Ophis saw Gertrude talking to a doctor and, while Ophis couldn't hear their conversation over the commotion of the waiting room, seeing the colour fade from Gertrude's face was more than enough to tell Ophis something was wrong.

Gertrude's granddaughter, despite being told she had several months left to live, passed away in her sleep after being diagnosed a week prior. They already had the funeral, arranged by Gertrude's in-laws, while Gertrude went out looking for a miracle cure.

After being asked, Ophis took Gertrude back to her home. Without a word the old woman trudged into her bedroom and laid down, growing weaker and weaker as seconds ticked by.

Ophis winced knowing what was happening, Sacred Gears could put serious strain on the user and could even cause death due to any number of reasons. With Gertrude's advance age it was a miracle she lasted as long as she had, Ophis offered the remaining vial of Panacaea healing potion and even a snake containing their power but was turned down.

"Thank you, but I've lived a long life" Gertrude said as she looked up at the ceiling with a hundred yard stare "It was near my time to go anyway, I only wished it had a happier ending then this" Gertrude smiled closed her eyes."Still, at least I'm not alone"

Ophis looked confused at Gertrude, not sure if she was alive or not, reaching out a hand to check Albion's voice called out.

"She's only sleeping, for now" Albion said, his voice thick with emotion with a resigned tone "Not much longer, less than an hour and she's" Albion stopped himself for a moment to collect his emotions before addressing Ophis again "Thank you for your help, though it didn't seem to matter much in the end"

Ophis looked at Gertrude with concern "Is there anyone I can call to let them know about her?"

"There's a notebook underneath the phone in the hallway, find the number for an Emmet Parker and tell him about Gertrude's passing" Albion said, his voice growing weaker.

As Ophis turned around to spot the phone they saw a picture of Gertrude with a young girl with bright orange hair, the two of them smiling brightly "Is this her granddaughter?"

Albion was pulled out of his mourning due to Ophis's question "Yeah, that's little Emma. She started living with her grandmother years ago due to her mother re-marrying after her father, Gertrude's son, died during the Vietnam War. They moved away years ago due to her mother's new husband's job, she insisted on staying with her paternal grandmother due to her dislike of her mother and new husband"

Ophis turned away from the photo to look over at Albion, which meant looking at Gertrude as her life slipped away more and more.

"Her mother was having an affair with her new husband while Emma's father was sent overseas, while no definitive proof everything about them getting together was too quick" Albion explained further. Ophis nodded and left the room to make the phone call, afterwards Ophis began looking around the house for a certain room.

Finding Emma's room, untouched in several weeks, Ophis got to work on their plan.

They couldn't save Gertrude's life, but they could make her last moments as comfortable as possible.

Taking on Emma's appearance, to the shock of Albion who calmed down after Ophis explained their intent, Ophis held onto Gertrude's hand at her bedside.

Opening her eyes for a moment, through the blurry vision she saw Ophis taking on Emma's appearance, and she smiles "Hey, Emmy. I have a lot of stories to tell you, I came across this man called Ophis, looks like a snake oil salesmen but has the curiosity of a child. He helped me find you medicine, though I suppose you don't need it now huh" Gertrude closed her eyes again for the last time "I wonder, would he get to heaven with us? I wouldn't… mind talking to him again… such a curious snaky"

Ophis frowned, while not a master by any means in regards to Sacred Gears they knew that there existed several that trap the souls of previous wielders within themselves. The Sacred Gears of the Heavenly Dragons were the most well know of those types of Sacred Gears, meaning Gertrude's soul would be trapped within Divine Dividing.

Ophis called forth a snake of their power and used it to strengthen Gertrude's soul, working together with Albion they were able to prevent Gertrude's soul from being taken into the Sacred Gear as it went off to it's next host.

Holding Gertrude's soul Ophis offers one last goodbye before letting it go, watching as it floated up towards Heaven. Ophis stood there for a minute before going to Emma's room to return the clothes they borrowed to take on the girl's appearance, as Ophis was putting the clothes back where they found them they came across a fashion magazine with Gothic Lolita fashion on the cover.

Ophis read through the magazine, liking the Gothic Lolita look she was seeing, as Ophis read a thought struck their mind. They were going to change into a new form anyway so why go back to their old man form, looking into a nearby mirror Ophis began changing their appearance to be more to their liking and less like Emma. Ophis took Emma's form to comfort Gertrude in her final moments, they weren't going to keep it and changed to something that felt more like them.

Aging up their appearance, orange short hair grew out into a long mane of black, After nearly an hour Ophis decided on their new appearance, one all too familiar to those that would come to know the Infinite Dragon God in the future.

---

Present Day

"That's how you met Albion" Minato said as he looked at the image of Ophis in the past, several people fretting over a young girl wearing a business suit several times her size.

Ophis nodded "Yes. Not the most favorable encounters but one that left a good impression on Albion" Ophis turned to Minato with an uncertain look "Well, do you have anything you want to say"

Minato thought about what Ophis had just showed him "I'll be honest, taking on the woman's granddaughter's appearance is a bit iffy. But you did it with the best of intention so there's not much more I can say on the matter"

"No, I mean" Ophis hesitate for a moment and looked away from Minato "What do you think, about how I took the form of a man before?"

"Not much really, though I will say you definitely have an eye for style" Minato said honestly, seeing the uncertain look on Ophis's face gave her a worried look "Is something the matter?"

Ophis was silent for a second before answering "I have had instances when someone learns that I can change genders at will, or I am in fact genderless, tend to act differently around me" Ophis looked down "I was worry, that you would see me differently too"

Without a word Minato gently cupped Ophis's cheeks so that they could see eye to eye, Minato smiled as he looked into Ophis's eyes "Ophis. No matter what form you take, whatever it may be, my thoughts and feelings about you won't change. Because, it's you"

"Eh?" Ophis said, not sure how to respond. Minato's answer made Ophis relieved and happy to know how he felt, the earnest look in his eyes told Ophis there was no falsehoods in what he said.

Ophis could feel her face heating up and she wasn't sure if it was due to Minato's hands are something else.

"Are you okay?" Minato asked with a worried tone "Your face is bright red"

Thinking fast, Ophis began changing her skin and hair colour at random "Oh, yeah. I felt like wanting to show off my shapeshifting abilities and I figure something as minor like this would be a good way of showing it off without turning into other people like when I turned myself into Asia Argento"

Looking for any change for the conversation Ophis looked up to the night sky "I was thinking, do constellation have any connection to tarot arcana? You know since they both involve divination?"

[5] "Well, yeah. Each Tarot is either connected to a Western Zodiac or one of the Planets" Minato explained, slipping into his teaching mode "For example, Aries being connected to the Emperor Arcana and Mars being connected to the Tower Arcana. The Minor Arcana are connect to the four seasons as well"

Ophis nodded along "Do you think it's possible someone might have a Zodiac replacing one of those sub Arcana you mentioned earlier?" as she asked Ophis could feel her face begin to cool down.

Minato frowned as he considered the question "Well, if someone is a big believer in the idea that the day they were born has sway over who they are, then maybe it could replace a corresponding Arcana" Minato furrowed his brow "Although, that could lead to other zodiac systems being slipped in like the Eastern and Celtic Zodiacs" looking at the night sky devoid of stars due to light pollution "Thinking about it I could have pointed out a constellation or two if we could actually see the stars, but as things are we only have the moon"

Looking to the moon Ophis saw it was passed the half way point and was on it's way to becoming full, Ophis felt her stomach drop at the idea of a full moon and what it meant for Minato.

Remember their conversation from earlier Ophis looked to Minato concerned "Minato" seeing him turn to face her Ophis steeled her resolve as moved forward, she couldn't bear the fact Minato cried every full moon and she couldn't do anything to help him "Your… family, is that why you…" Ophis pointed to the moon.

Minato didn't say anything right away, instead he closed his eyes and hung his head low. Before Ophis could apologize for asking Minato answered her "It's not an easy thing for me to talk about. Truth is, I think talking about it would help me but I need a moment to prepare myself"

"Take as long as you need" Ophis replied as she waited until Minato was ready.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out to calm himself Minato turned to fully face Ophis "When I said there wasn't a lot to talk about my family I wasn't lying, when I was around seven years old we were driving home late at night due a violin performance me and my sister were taking part in took longer than expected" Minato clenched his fists tight enough to show the white of his knuckles, Ophis placed a hand on Minato's own to offer him support. Minato unclenched his hands as he continued "It was during this time, The Dark Hour was created"

The Dark Hour, the hidden 25th hour the existed between one day and the next. Ophis remembered the details Minato told her about it, the way the world changed and those without a Persona were turned into coffins to protect them from the Shadows that roamed the world, including how it was created.

"I don't know why, if it was dumb luck or the work of some outside force, but I was the only one in my family that didn't enter a coffin when the Dark Hour struck" Minato's looked up at the moon with a blank look "I was scared senseless when it happened, I thought it was some kind of nightmare that I couldn't wake up from. I jumped out of the car to get away from the coffins only to find myself in what looked like a puddle of blood"

Ophis held back a wince, not saying anything as she didn't want to interrupt Minato, what he describe would be traumatizing for anyone yet alone a child.

"While I was still in shock over the whole thing a" Minato stopped himself, looking uncertain for a moment before pushing on "Shadow crashed into my family's car, I could only look on in shock as the car caught fire with my family trapped inside"

'To this day, I don't know if it was the impact that took them from the world or the consuming flames' Minato thought to himself, not saying those words that would pop up from the back of his mind during the ten years after what happened.

"Minato" Ophis said as she tightened her grip on his hand to let him know she was still there to support him.

"Truth is, that's the first time I lost everything dear to me, it's only part of the reason why" Minato stopped himself for a moment before mentioning what he did every full moon "I lost everything twice already, the second time opening old wounds from the first, and I'm scared of it happening again"

Minato opened his eyes, his sight blurry "Every full moon, I cry remembering all I've lost and out of fear of losing it all again"

Ophis's body moved on it's own as she stood up and hugged Minato, it took her a moment to realize what she did before hugging Minato tighter.

"Ophis?!" Minato called out, surprised by the sudden hug, barely keeping himself seated and not tipping backwards.

"I, I don't how much I can help you bear that pain in your heart. But-" Ophis leaned back so she could look Minato in the eyes, her hold on him never weakening "I know what I can do. I'll never leave you"

Minato was caught off guard by declaration, Ophis's words reminding of him of Aigis.

Ophis hugged Minato closer, resting her head on his shoulder "I, I want to stay by your side. I don't how long we can, but I want us to stay together for as long as possible"

"Ophis…" said with little more than a whisper, Minato returned Ophis's firm hug with one of his own "Thank you" a single tear ran down Minato's cheek. The were silent for almost a minute before Minato whispered something to Ophis "Can we stay like this, just for a bit longer?"

With an affirmative noise Ophis buried her face into Minato's shoulder and neck, a happy smile on her face. They two stayed like that until their fire had gone out and all that remained were embers

-=-][-=-

As they laid in their tent, Minato fast asleep, Ophis was restless as her mind was a storm of thoughts. Ophis hoped her moment with Minato earlier would have calm her thoughts but it seems to have only made them worse.

'Why? Even after the Banana incident was forgiven and we've grown closer during this, why can't I get these thoughts out of my head?' Ophis thought as she sat up in the tent, causing Minato to roll onto his back after he was laying on his side.

Regretful thoughts about almost assaulting Minato to get the banana in his mouth had begun to change into something else, half thoughts of what almost happened without the banana involved, idle thoughts of their lips touching and even for moments imagining Minato and herself in the place of other people Ophis saw kissing one another.

At first Ophis thought this stray thoughts were the result of lingering regret for what she almost did to her first friend, now however Ophis suspected something else was happening.

'Is this happening because…' Ophis turned to Minato besides her, even in low light Ophis could see his peaceful expression as he slept '...a part of me wants us to be more than friends?'

Ophis felt a wave of nervousness and uncertainty wash over her, Minato was her friend and she didn't want to do anything to jeopardize that. They promised to be together only a short while ago, but perhaps that same promise to be together is what has made these thoughts worse.

'I've, never kissed anyone before. I don't know if I could even do it right, what if I was terrible kisser? Kissing on the mouth was something mates did' Ophis could feel her face heating up as her thoughts began to spiral, taking a moment to get her thoughts under control Ophis turned back to Minato before leaning over him with her face right above his.

'Maybe, if I kiss him would these thoughts stop?' Ophis thought as her face grew hotter and hotter with her heart rate picking up further 'It, doesn't have to be the lips. Kissing anywhere should work'

Ophis leaned in closer, her eyes focused on Minato's lips as they seemed to invite Ophis closer 'Although…Maybe, a quick peak on the lips'

Suddenly, Ophis heard rustling from the flaps of the tent. Looking over Ophis saw a human girl ghost looking at her and Minato with a grin on her face as long black hair covered her face and seemed to move without outside force as strands of hair snaked into the tent.

"Don't mind me, just here to watch and help things along" the ghost girl said with a toothy smile.

Ophis kept her eyes locked on the ghost at the entrance to the tent "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough, little kiss stealer" the ghost giggled before giving Ophis a half lidded stare "So, tell me, is this a romance between a senpai and kohai or a taboo brother and- Urk!"

One of Ophis's snakes wrapped around the ghost's mouth before wrapping around the rest of it's being and dragging it out of the tent 'It's seen too much' Ophis thought as she left the tent to deal with the interloper.

The ghost girl struggled to get from her bindings with no results, any attempt to slip out of the snake's grasp proving fruitless, the ghost looked to Ophis and her glare caused the ghost to freeze in terror. The ghost's struggling ceased as it let out a muffled whimper due to the snake covering it's mouth.

"Huh, what's happening?" Minato poked his head out of the tent as he rubbed his eyes, spotting Ophis and the restrained ghost Minato looked to Ophis for answers.

Pointing to the bound ghost Ophis, making sure it remained gagged, explained what was happening "This one was sneaking into our tent, they look very shady"

Minato frowned at he looked at the ghost, lifting up his hand Minato showed a long strain of hair "Is this yours?"

The ghost girl used their hands to point to the snake stopping her from talking before Ophis loosened the snake enough for the ghost to talk, Ophis gave the ghost a hard look as she was prepared to gag it again if it mentioned anything about inside the tent.

"Um, depends on where you found it" The ghost girl answered.

Minato frowned "Around my trousers, it seems like whoever this belonged to was trying to take them off. You wouldn't happen to know anything about this, would you?"

The ghost girl looked at the strand of hair for a moment before clearing her throat "Yes. That is my hair. You see, I am human soul who wishes to pass on but I need to take care of lingering regrets" the ghost put on a melancholic expression as she looked away "My regret, is not feeling the warmth of another"

Minato mouth settled into a thin line as the ghost's words, everything about this ghost felt shady and he could tell it was lying about something however he didn't know what exactly "And how were you going to fulfil that regret?"

"Ley Lines, the buried hot spring here and tantric magic!" the ghost girl exclaimed excitedly, eyes sparkling with a blush clearly visible on her face.

Everyone was silent for a long moment as Minato and Ophis digested what the ghost had just said.

""What?"" Minato and Ophis said in unison with blank looks.

The ghost girl went on to explain that several hundred years ago there was a hot spring right were Minato and Ophis was camping, one that rested on top of a Ley line that granted the hot spring special properties. The Ghost Girl was the last to run the hot spring.

"I remember it all so fondly, the joy, the people, the debauchery" the ghost girl said lecherous smile while drooling "Anyway, I've been stuck in the hot spring for the last couple hundred years and I can only move around after midnight but I will return to the buried hot spring before the sun rises. And guess who I find snuggling together in a tent~~"

The ghost girl tensed as it felt Ophis's snake beginning to tighten it's grip.

"I am not taking part in whatever you have planned" Minato said firmly.

The ghost shifted itself so it was floating horizontally, it tried to get closer but found Ophis's snake keeping it anchored in place "Please, if you don't I'll be trapped here for who knows how long"

Minato narrowed his eyes before turning to met Ophis's eyes before walking over to place a finger on the ghost's cheek surprising it "Is this the warmth your seeking?"

"Hah, you can touch me" The ghost smiled as it looked to Minato with half lidded eyes "Well, this got interesting" the ghost's head lurched as it tried to put Minato's finger in it's mouth, Minato pulled his hand back. The ghost looked at Minato annoyed "Mou~ Don't tease me like that, I want your warmth in- Urk!"

Ophis's snake gagged the ghost again as Ophis stood between Minato and the ghost, Ophis stood protectively in front of Minato while glaring at the ghost.

From the spot Minato touch the ghost cracks of light began appearing and spreading across it's form, the ghost looked at this shocked before turning to Minato.

"I can help souls pass on, regardless if they finished their business here on Earth" Minato offered the perverted ghost a kind smile "I figured we can just give you what you want and help you move on"

"THIS ISN'T WHAT I WANTED! I WANTED A LEWD HOT SPRING CULT SO I COULD BECOME A KAMI AND REGAIN PHYSICAL FORM!" the ghost cried out as their arms and legs had already disappeared "MY DREAMS OF IMMORTAL, IMMORAL, DEBAUCHERY GONE BEFORE THEY COULD TAKE FORM!"

The ghost cried out before disappearing in a flash of light, Minato offered a silent prayer for the ghost hoping they could find peace before going back to the tent. Using his phone to check the time Minato laid back down, they still had several hours to rest before they needed to head back down.

"What's a hot spring?" Ophis asked as she laid down beside Minato.

"Land water heated by thermal heat, a lot of people go to them to relax" Minato let out a yawn as he tried to get comfortable again "It's like laying in a warm bath, but with more room so other people can be in with you. There's also a couple of health benefits with soaking in them"

Ophis pictured a lake of warm water with herself and Minato sitting together in it, there heads above water with content smiles on their face with towels over their heads "That sounds nice, maybe we could go to one"

"Hmm, I like that idea. Though, depending on things, we could make a hot spring closer to the house. A private hot spring, if we can use the source of the buried hot spring" Minato suggested in a sleep deprived state "Remind me to summon Sukuna-Hikona to have him look into it, see what the god of hot springs has to say on the matter"

Ophis nodded as she snuggled closer to Minato for the rest of the night.

Several hours later. The two finished packing on the campsite with only moderate frustration in putting away the hammock and tent, Ophis gave the packed items an annoyed look "You could have used magic to get this done instantly"

"Yeah, but that would take away from the experience of the whole trip" Minato threw on his backpack with the majority of what they brought "Ready?"

Nodding Ophis went over to Minato and held his hand, intertwining their fingers together "Let's avoid what happened coming up"

"Wise idea" Minato said as he made sure to have a firm grip to match Ophis's own, not wanting to have another dip in a stream for a while.

Meanwhile, back at the house Joseph was looking around the area of the house when he saw Davina and Gwladus sitting outside as they talked to each other.

When they spotted Joseph Gwladus called out to him "Hey, any idea when Minato is suppose to be back?"

Joseph paused as he put on a thoughtful expression, not entirely sure if the question was genuine or if those among the former peerage were suspecting the true nature of the Personas summoned to helped them "Around noon, I think. I vaguely recall overhearing the two talking about when they'd head back" Joseph turned to fully face the two girls "Anything I can help you with?"

"Not really, truth is we want to say sorry about the whole breaking into the sealed room thing from a couple nights back" Davina answered, looking away from Joseph after she answered "It's just, the guy's doing what he can to help us and we haven't exactly been easy to handle"

Joseph nodded "True, but to be fair you two breaking into the sealed room isn't the worst thing that's happened"

Gwladus frowned "Perhaps, but it doesn't take away from how we've been acting. At the very less we should properly apologize"

"Well, we have good weather for waiting outside" Joseph said as he looked up at the sky to look at the good weather "They wouldn't be back for a while yet, what to join me scouting out the area around the house? Minato mentioned he was interesting in making a few extensions to the house and asked me to look around the area to see if it was possible"

Davina and Gwladus shared a look between them before shrugging and going with Joseph, after a while they saw Minato and Ophis return hand in hand.

Seeing how Minato and Ophis were holding hands Davina and Gwladus blushed as they looked at each other to make sure want they were seeing was real.

"You don't think that they…." Davina trailed off, unable to finish her question.

Despite this, Gwladus knew what she was being asked "They were in the woods all day and night, alone. Maybe?"

"You two are over thinking things" Joseph said breaking the two out of their thoughts "Trust me, whatever lewd thoughts your thinking of it didn't happen"

Davina and Gwladus looked at each other uncertain, seeing the look in their eyes Joseph sighed as he turned to see Minato and Ophis return to the house "Trust me, we've been with the kid for a while. Me, Maria, Adam, Eve and Lilith, we know Minato as if he was our own son" Joseph paused for a moment as he thought back to when he was first summoned in the Velvet Room, feeling the power of the Hierophant empowering him to help a group of children triumph over a tower of demise, he didn't know how much help he could be but he stood with them and offered up what he could.

Joseph turned to the two girls with a raised eyebrow "Didn't you two want to talk to him" at his words the two run off, smiling Joseph returned to his task as he spotted a possible spot for a hot spring to be built.

Some time later….

"Oh Merciful Archangel, we come to you in a time of great need!"

Minato did his best to keep a straight face as a Stray Exorcist and a Fallen Angel knelt down at his feet, he did his best to ignore the stares from the staff and customers and put on a customer service smile 'Of all the times for this to happen, it had to be on a maid day' Minato thought as he dusted the apron of his maid uniform.

"I'm not sure what you mean by an Archangel, but we have a free table over here if you'd follow me" while his voice was filled with faux confusion and cheer Minato's eyes were hard, silently ordering the Fallen Angel and Exorcist to follow him.

The Fallen Angel Mittelt and Stray Exorcist Nero nodded as they followed Minato to a free table, as they passed by several customers a few ignored them while one rolled his eyes and whispered "Otaku"

-=-][-=-

---

Omake: What if, Ophis had a little less self control?

"Why is there a spoon stuck in the wall-" Adelia found herself unable to finish her question as she saw what was happening in the kitchen.

Minato was hanging onto the kitchen counter for dear life as he and Ophis shared an open mouth kiss, the Dragon God's tongue constantly moving as it seemed intent on exploring Minato's mouth to the fullest extent possible. Adelia and the others were so transfixed on the sight they never noticed those who worked for Minato coming in to separate the two.

Adam, Maria and Lilith pulled Ophis off Minato, a long trail of saliva forming as they parted. Minato had passed out at one point and was only spared falling to the floor unconscious by Joseph and Eve helping to keep him up.

Ophis seemed to panting with her mouth open as she looked at Minato, soon her eyes widened in shock and horror as she seemed to pale. Ophis disappeared, teleporting away from the scene of her and Minato tongue wrestling.

Fast Forward

Looking at the banana offered to her with trepidation, it was with a piece of fruit that caused her to lose control and assault Minato leaving him unconscious.

'Everything potentially destroyed, because of a stupid fruit!' Ophis bore her fangs as she violently bit into the banana, refusing to allow some fruit to have so much power over her.

However, as Ophis ate the banana she noticed something off. It wasn't as good as she remembered it, Ophis took another bite to confirm that what she was eating was no where near as good as the bananas she ate previously. Team Vali saw Ophis confused expression and suggested that maybe the bananas that Minato had bought were of higher quality.

Ophis however wasn't sure if that was the answer, she didn't know what but something was missing.

Fast Forward

"I am truly, truly sorry" Ophis did her best to apologize what had transpired, they were in Minato's room as that was where he was taken to after Ophis knocked him out in the kitchen.

Minato looked at Ophis, understanding they were truly apologetic over what had happened "Would this happen everything you eat a banana?"

Ophis shook her head hard "No, it won't happen again. I'll swear them off like before, just" she paused as she lowered her head "How, do I make this right?"

Minato considered Ophis's question, and while he had no idea how to 'make things right' he had an idea that could solve everything or backfire horribly "Ophis, can you come over here"

Slowly, Ophis walked over to Minato's bedside before being gestured to get on the bed. Once she was close enough Minato gentle lifted Ophis chin and gave the Dragon God a closed mouth kiss.

As soon as their lips met Ophis's eyes widened in shock as she felt a tingle go from her lips to her entire body, slowly Ophis closed her eyes as the kiss continued.

The kiss lasted for several seconds before they parted, Ophis wide eyed as Minato licked his lips "Hmm, banana flavoured"

"Wha, what was that?" Ophis asked confused with an undertone of excitement in her voice.

Minato gave Ophis a cheeky grin "Well, you kissed me to get a banana out of my mouth so I kissed you to get the taste of banana, So now, we're even" Minato looked to Ophis to see that she seemed frozen in place. He looked to her concerned "Ophis?"

Ophis slowly touched her lips before looking to Minato with a curious look "Do, all kisses feel that great?"

"Only with those you truly care for" Minato answered without giving it much thought.

A huge blush spread completely over Ophis's head to the tips of her ears "I've. never kissed anyone before. You're, my first" Ophis crawled closer to Minato so that their faces were right next to each other "Can, I have one more?"

Minato and Ophis shared one more kiss, this one lasting longer than the previous two.

Ophis smiled as they parted from the kiss "I don't think I need to worry about being addicted to bananas anymore, because I think I'm addicted to you" Ophis leaned on Minato, resting her head on his chest as Minato put his arms around Ophis.

-=-][-=-

Author's notes: This here has been rolling around in the back of my head since the Dragon Family Omake and I felt the need to write it to get it out of my head.

Omake / Side Story: What could have been, if Great Red approached Minato first?

Great Red was flying through the dimensional gap, trying out new tricks such as the tenfold double spin and generally enjoying the freedom of movement without worrying about breaking something.

Granted; there were things Great Red had to keep an eye out for such as that city of Oz or whatever junk beings from the various realms just tossed into the Dimensional Gap knowing they could withstand the destructive elements of it.

Still, it kept Great Red on their toes and only really needed the barest effort to avoid and they already knew where the stuff to avoid was. Overall, Great Red was in a good mood.

A mood that instantly soured as Great Red felt something fly pass the bridge of it's nose and actually hurt Great Red.

Great Red growled, not wanting to alert to any being that something was able to hurt it nor give anyone the satisfaction knowing Great Red felt pain, as it clutched the injury. It was nothing more than a paper cut in comparison but it still hurt.

"Who's the fool brave enough to try that?" Great Red grumbled, just about spotting the unknown thing that harmed it entering the world Ophis had settled on. Great Red narrowed it's gaze at the world while using one claw to trace the injury in question "Was that your doing, Ophis?"

Great Red knew the Ouroboros Dragon was plotting and searching for means to defeat them, Great Red never gave it much thought and would usually ignore the smaller Dragon God. The paper thin cut on the nose of the Great Red made them rethink their stance on that, if whatever that was turned out to be a weapon Ophis had made to defeat them then Great Red would need to rethink how they handled the Ouroboros Dragon God.

However, something was off. The injury was a perfectly straight line, not curving at all, if it came from the world Ophis had settled on it would have needed to make some form of arch in it's flight to return.

Great Red looked towards the spot the unknown possibly came from, while other worlds could be accessed by travelling the Dimensional Gap there was none in the spot the unknown would have come from if it's flight path was a straight line. At least, none Great Red could sense.

Great Red shook their head 'Whatever that thing is I need to check it out, preferable without any being knowing' Great Red considered what course of action to take. Leaving the Dimensional Gap wasn't an option and using their control over Dreams to search for the unknown wasn't guaranteed.

With some thought Great Red decided on what to do, taking a piece of it's own flesh Great began sculpting an avatar to puppet around to search for the unknown while remaining in the Dimensional to keep doing stunts in peace.

With a basic humanoid outline in place Great Red began putting in details.

'Let's see, almost all see me as male so a female form would throw off any suspicion or at least put some doubt on this being me' Great Red as they added feminate features and assets to their Avatar, using the lewd dreams of others as reference to what Great Red wanted to add.

After painstaking moments of work Great Red looked at their new Avatar satisfied, closing their eyes Great Red focused on the newly created avatar and linked it to their main body.

Orange draconic eyes fluttered open as Great Red checked their new body, long red hair reaching the lower back, a voluptuous figure with shapely breasts and butt with thighs to match, a beauty by any standard.

"I have to say-" The Great Red Dragon said, looking down at it's avatar as it explored it's new body to get a feel for it.

"-While this was my idea, it-" The Great Red Avatar said, gliding hands around their new body and grabbing certain assets to see if they gave any reaction.

"-is going to take a while to get used to" The two said in unison, The Dragon of Dragons and it's draconic avatar in sync as The Great Red began controlling both bodies and getting used to the double senses.

Great Red avatar flew up to the injury on the main body and sniffed the injury to see if there was any to tracked to with, finding a scent able to survive in the Dimensional Gap was surprising but one that could be used.

With a feral grin the Great Red's avatar made way to the world the unknown had landed in, intent on removing it from the world given the slightest reason and throw it back into the Dimensional Gap for a little chat.

It didn't take Great Red long to find what they were looking for, the unique scent of the unknown stood out well enough even with other scents in the world. In a forest near a city, a stone's throw away from the main road leading in and out of it, Great Red found their target and waited to learn more about it like a predator stalking it's prey.

Under the gaze of Great Red, Minato opened his eyes to a world not his own.

-=-][-=-

Great Red looked on as Minato walked through Kuoh Town at night, Great Red's eyes no longer retaining the look of a predator stalking it's prey as they ate from a cup of instant ramen while 'daydreaming' about their main body flying freely through the Dimensional Gap.

From afar Great Red had watched the human from another world, piecing together he wasn't working with anyone and how he acted giving more credence to the visitor from another world idea, studying Minato Arisato to figure out the best way to deal with him.

It was during this reconnaissance Great Red had seen Minato wake up in the middle of a forest confused, stumble his way to the road before making his way into what Great Red learnt was a place Kuoh Town and just wandering the streets like a lost child picking up newspapers and magazines trying to just understand where he was.

Minato had money on him but it seemed whatever it was no one was willing to accept it, one time Great Red even saw Minato being thrown out by a hotel for trying to pay with 'counterfeit currency'.

With no money on hand and nowhere to go Minato ended up spending the night in the park, he was effectively homeless until an old couple found Minato crying and gave him a place to stay with a job. Great Red was happy to see Minato finally getting off the streets, while they weren't entirely convinced at the time Minato didn't mean any ill will seeing someone actively sobbing made it really hard to watch.

If the Nakajima's hadn't arrived Great Red would have went up to Minato, not really caring for what happened next so long as the crying stopped.

Since then nothing had really happened, outside of him crying again during a full moon, Minato has just been acting like a normal human teenager.

Which of course meant Great Red had started to get really bored.

'Come on, do something. I'm not going to leave you alone, I still have a bone to pick with you even without the whole human from another world thing you have going on' Great Red thought as they ate the ramen, having to resort to trying different foods to try and deal with the boredom.

'Hold on' Great Red looked as they saw a change in Minato's behaviour, instead of walking back to his apartment like usual he was following what felt like a Stray Devil. Great Red tossed the half cup of ramen and followed after Minato as he tracked a Stray Devil.

Arriving at an abandoned warehouse Great Red had a front row seat to Minato going up against a Stray Devil 'Alright kid, show me what you got' Great Red thought with an eager grin, an eagerness that faded as soon as Minato pulled out his Evoker and put it against his head 'Wait, you better not be doing what-'

---

[6] With the sounds of a gunshot mixing with that of shattering glass, Great Red saw an entity enter reality. They didn't know what the entity was, only that it's summoning felt like a turning point but for what Great Red didn't know.

Whatever it was seemed to warp reality around itself, the thing was larger than Minato and seemed to have a mechanical body with a giant string instrument on it's back. Without a word the summoned entity moved, playing the instrument as flames manifested behind the Stray Devil severely burning it.

Great Red watched on as the fight went on, the summoned entity dealing with the Stray Devil while Minato ran towards the unconscious couple to rescue them. Seeing this the Stray Devil pointed to the ceiling overhead with a weak blast of magical energy, Great Red looked towards the spot the blast was going to hit and cursed "Oh, damn it"

The spot the Stray Devil shot at was a damaged part of the roof covered in webbing, the blast made contact and in a shower of Devil Spider web and debris fell ready to crush the couple.

Minato saw the debris falling and still reached out his hand to try and save the couple, as he reached out his hand to them Great Red appeared and picked the couple up into their arms before dragging Minato out of the way of any loose debris falling.

Before Minato could say anything Great Red pointed to the Stray Devil frothing at the mouth in rage "I'll keep an eye on them, you deal with that" with those words Great Red jumped leapt through the air, using the Stray Devil's head as a springboard to get higher more out of a whim than any real need.

Not having many other options Minato turned to face the monster before him, putting his faith in the mysterious red headed woman would keep the couple safe.

The monster released a blood thirsty roar as Orpheus moved to stand alongside Minato, Minato looked down at his right hand with a frown. A part of him wishing for a weapon to help take down the monster before him, in response to that same wish Orpheus's power pulsated for a moment as memories of Minato playing heroes with his sister flashed across his mind from the depths of his soul.

Reaching out his hand Minato summoned a short sword styled after the bow of a violin, feeling the comforting weight of a weapon in hand Minato pointed the weapon born of Orpheus's power at the enemy "This ends here, let this song deliver you to your eternal sleep"

"Hmm, I'll admit that was kind of cool" Great Red said as they kept the unconscious couple near them as the fight between Minato and the Stray Devil continued.

-=-][-=-

Minato let out a sigh of relief when the couple were saved, once they were out of sight Minato turned to the mysterious stranger that saved the couple and himself from falling debris.

The mysterious red head looked to be a woman in her late teens to early twenties, a red leather jumpsuit clung to her body leaving little to the imagination with matching boots and a fur collar jacket on top.

"Thank you very much for your help" Minato said as he bowed to pay proper respect to the person responsible for things turning out as well as they had, raising his head Minato gave the mysterious woman a grateful smile even as his Personas warned him about what she was. A dragon and a powerful one as well.

The woman looked down the street the couple took moments earlier before turning to Minato "It was nothing really, I wanted to see how you could handle yourself in a fight and I didn't want others getting caught in the crossfire" The woman smirked as she looked at him with eyes like a predator stalking it's prey "I have to say your more interesting than you let on, Minato Arisato"

His body tensed ready for a fight as he kept composure, his expression unchanging, Minato tilt his head as he placed his lift hand in his pocket were his Evoker was "It seems you have me at a disadvantage, you know my name somehow but I don't know yours, Miss-?"

"I've been called many things, Dragon of Dreams, Dragon of Dragons, True Dragon. But those are really just title, the name the people have give is" The Dragon of Dragons smiled as power leaked from her form for a mere moment "Great Red"

"Great… Red?" Minato asked, wanting to make sure he mishear the apparent True Dragon.

Great Red looked at Minato confused by the way he repeated their name "Yeah…" Great Red narrowed her eyes "Something funny about my name?"

Minato shook his head "No, nothing like that" feeling the glare of a dragon Minato relent and shared his thoughts "It's just, being called The True Dragon and Dragon of Dragons is no small feat and speaks highly of your power. But your name just being an adjective and a colour threw me off with the titles you've gained, honestly a part of me feels someone was being lazy when they gave you that name"

"...Your the first person to say that to my face" Great Red said before looking away as she crossed her arms "But, I see your point. Truth is countless beings debated on what name to give me and I simply took the mantle of Great Red because it was simple, easy to remember and I didn't have to deal with the more absurd names they tried to give me"

Minato nodded "Right, I see what you mean"

Great Red pointed to Minato with her finger inches from his nose "Now then, with that out of the way I have a bone to pick with you" Great Red pulled back their hand to use their thumb to point at the bridge of her nose "You gave me this two months ago"

"Uh. I think you might have the wrong person, this is the first time we've met one another" Minato leaned forward to get a better look at Great Red's nose to see what she was pointing at but found nothing out of place "What did I supposedly gave you?"

Great Red opened her mouth to say something when realization struck her "Oh, right. It's been two months, plenty of time for that paper cut you gave when you came flying pass me on your way here" Great scratched her head sighed, appearing a bit embarrassed about her misstep "I had this whole encounter thing planned out in my head over the two months I've been tailing you and it never crossed my mind the only evidence of your drive by cutting would have healed up within minutes much less a week"

"Two months… Flying pass you on my way here…" Minato repeated slowly as his eyes widened with realization "You know"

Great Red smirked as her previous bravado returning in full force "Oh yeah, I know your from another world. Really surprised when you shot through the Dimensional Gap like an arrow, of course that's the only way you could have harmed me at all" placing a hand on her hip Great Red took a more confident pose as she took a step forward "After that little injury you gave me I came to this world to get payback and throw you into the Dimensional Gap so we could have a more private conversation"

Minato's mind was reeling from what Great Red was saying, her threat ignored entirely as he latched onto certain phrases she used "This Dimensional Gap, it connects to other worlds and you can travel to said worlds?"

"Of course I can, I'm the Dragon of Dragons" Great Red answered, not sure what to make of the hopeful tone in Minato's voice. Minato another word could be spoken Minato knelt down at Great Red's feet "Wait, what are you?"

"Please send me back"

"Huh?" Great Red before taking a step back at the sudden turn of events "Wait, what did you just say?"

"Please send me back to my world, please send me home" Minato asked again as he kept his head bowed.

Great Red didn't say anything, instead merely focusing on the human from another world.

Not hearing a reply Minato looked up to see Great Red just looking at him "I'm truly for whatever I've done, I understand your not a taxi service, but I will do whatever I have to for you to send me home" Minato bowed his head again "I, I just want to see my friends again"

"I'll… see what I can do" Great Red, feeling bad for Minato. Instead of some otherworldly threat or a weapon created to defeat them it turns out the unknown was just some human from another world who wanted to get back to his own world "I'm not promising anything, I'm mostly going to see if I can do it out of my own curiosity" Great Red turned her back to Minato and began to walk away while the true body of Great Red circled around to check out the spot they remember Minato came from.

Minato stood up with a hopeful expression "Thank you"

Great Red glanced over her shoulder before picking up the pace of their walk 'Dang it, with that hopeful puppy expression I need to get him back to his world. Otherwise it's going to bug me'

-=-][-=-

A week later Great Red approached Minato once more. The two sat in Minato's apartment with a table full of snacks and drinks, Minato rubbed the back of his head as he looked to Great Red with an apologetic smile "Sorry. I don't really have much to offer you on hand, though I hope you enjoy what there is"

"Looks good despite being thrown together at the last minute" Great Red said as they sat with one leg flat against the ground while the other was up to rest their arm on. Looking at the little food Minato was offering them Great Red sighed "I can't send you back"

The silence between them lasted for a long moment as Great Red's word sunk in, Minato lowered his head as he clenched his hands "I see… Thank you for looking, but can you tell me why?"

With a great sigh the avatar of Great Red looked upwards "To make things as simple as possible, I used your scent to see if I could find your world or use my power over Dreams to find any worlds in the flight path you took before landing here and I found nothing"

"Nothing?" Minato asked as the coloured drained from his face at the news "You don't mean my world is-"

"I can see the dreams of those in the past, present and future" Great Red quickly said, knowing what Minato was thinking "Even IF an entire world was destroyed I would still be able to at least see those dreams, so the only other options are your world is too far away for me to reach or there are beings with greater control over dreams and illusions than me ruling over there" Minato sighed with relief at the news, grateful knowing his world wasn't dead. Seeing this Great Red continued from where they left off "It's honestly the first time something's been out of my reach or some being have greater control over dreams than me, I'm both excited and annoyed at the idea"

'Although, the alternatives of your memories being fake or something being able to erase an entire world and it's history is not impossible' Great Red thought, deciding that those words were better left unsaid.

"Thank you for all you've done, both for helping save that couple the other night and looking for a way home for me" Minato bowed his head slightly "I'm in your debt Dragon of Dragons"

Great Red narrowed her eyes "Don't go thanking me yet, otherworlder. I still haven't decided what I'm going to do with you, I planned on just chucking you back to where you came from but seeing as your here to stay apparently I need to figure out what I'm going to do with you" Great Red pointed with their thumb at their nose "Especially after the scratch you gave me"

"Is there a way I could make it up to you for that?" Minato asked, not wanting to stay on the bad side of a dragon if he could help it.

Great Red hummed as she thought over Minato's words, idly eating from one of the plates Minato had set out. Great Red hummed with approval with the food Minato had prepared quickly reaching out for another and then another, in the middle of eating Great Red looked to Minato with calculating eyes.

'Hmm, he's a good cook anyway. Likely doesn't know about about the Supernatural, at least not from this world, and barely knows about the mundane world. And it would be a waste to not use this avatar after I went through the effort of making it" Great Red thought as a plan began to form in there mind.

Swallowing their mouthful of food the Avatar of the Great Red stood up with a toothy smirk as she pointed to Minato "Human from another world, I'm making you my minion!"

"Huh?" Minato said with head tilt, caught off guard by the sudden declaration by the Dragon of Dreams.

"Don't 'huh?' me" Great Red said putting a hand on their hip while the other went to touch her chest "Countless souls in this world would kill to be what I'm offering you, and this way you can make up for your previous hit and run. Besides, I can teach you about this world and protect you from the worst of it like any good boss would do for their minion"

Minato nodded, showing he understood what he was being offered. While being made someone's minion wasn't something he wanted he couldn't deny the help Great Red could be, and it meant he'd gain something of an ally and not an enemy "Well, as your minion what am I suppose to do?"

"Simple, really" Great Red's hand moved from her chest and glided down her body as she talked "I put in a lot of effort making this avatar to search for you and it would be a shame if I didn't get a good use out of it, so as my minion you will be responsible for cooking for me meals, running baths for me, cleaning my clothes and wherever I will need or desire among other duties"

"So…" Minato raised an eyebrow as one thing came into his mind when Great Red listed the responsibilities he would take on as her minion "I'd be your house husband?"

"Exactly!" Great Red declared with a surprising amount of energy as she pointed at Minato "By taking responsibility for what you've done to me you'll be my house… husband...

The room fell silent as the words in Great Red's mouth die in their avatar's mouth, Great Red froze as the realization of what they were saying hit home.

The silence was broken when Minato looked away with a faux embarrassed look "Oh my, how forward of you Red" Minato glanced Great Red to see her shocked expression before turning to her with a teasing smile "Not that it's a bad thing. Yes. I accept the role as your house husband, darling~" Minato said all that with a smile, wanting to tease the Dragon of Dragons a little and to see how'd she react.

Great Red's eyebrow twitched as she got up close to Minato, so close their noses were touching "That wasn't what I meant and you know it"

-=-][-=-

"Woah, look at her" a male Kuoh student said as he saw the avatar of Great Red standing outside the gates of Kuoh Academy with a motorcycle with two helmets beside them.

"She's so pretty, is she a student?" a female Kuoh student asked as she joined in on watching Great Red, her eyes looking over the biker outfit that clung to the Avatar of Great Red as simple curiosity mixed with worry "She looks like a delinquent"

"Oh, I would let that biker beauty do anything to me" several students who overheard that comment all turned to the unassuming female student whose glasses had already begun to fog up.

The gawking students scattered as soon as Great Red glared in their direction, their fight or flight response going into overdrive to tell them to run for their lives.

Letting out an annoyed huff Great Red looked over the sea of students even as many of them either avoided her or keeping stealing glances at her 'Come on, where are you already? I hate it when people gawk at me and these children are doing nothing but-' Great Red removed the lollipop from her mouth, surprising some who thought it was a cigarette as she spotted Minato 'Took your sweet tine'

Spotting Great Red at the gate to the school Minato approached her as he raised a hand in greeting "What brings you by Red?"

Great Red ignored Minato's question and looked away pretending not to notice him.

"Sorry, I meant, how I can help you boss?" Minato asked, this time getting a response from Great Red. While she was alright with being called Red she insisted on being addressed at boss in public places.

Red smiled at Minato "Ah, Blue I've been waiting for you because of this" Red patted the motorcycle "You know how to drive one of these, so I want you to teach me how to drive it. I overheard about these stunt bikers and I want to try it"

Looking at the bike Minato had only one question on his mind "If you can't drive then how did you get the bike here?" as he asked this the image of Red pushing the bike along or having someone else drive it for her came to Minato's mind.

"I carried it" Great Red said nonchalantly as if carrying full sized motorcycles was a common feat for everyone.

Minato gave Great Red a blank look "You know, for someone who doesn't like being stared at you do a lot of attention grabbing things"

This was a possible path that fate could have trended, but like so many other times a slight change can cause great ripples in the ocean of space-time.

---

Great Red looked on in shock at the winged serpent that was summoned, the name and power it used being far too close to Ophis's own for comfort.

'Well, this complicate things' Great Red said as they retreated from the area, Ophis no doubt felt the Persona Ouroboros being summoned and would be here soon enough.

Great Red's avatar narrowed her eyes 'If the brat comes here and sees me it'll complicate things' for a moment Great Red thought about how devastating a fight between and Ophis could be for the world they found themselves on 'Looks like I'll have to look on from afar for now, till your next dream otherworlder' with those words the Avatar of the Great Red entered the Dimensional Gap to plan a new course of action.

Author's Notes:

Right, bit of an announcement to be made.

That being I'm taking a little break from writing MessiahXDragon. The Reason being I have three omakes for it I want to write and there is no way I can just add them on to another chapter, they're going to need chapters all their own for this, I've learned from my mistake of cramming the Dragon Family Omake at the end of 'The world moves forward'

So, sorry for those looking for the next arc of this but I really want to write those three omakes. That and it'll give me more time to plan out the next arc beyond several key moments.

[1] The whole Ophis hoard idea is based around the idea of Ophis keeping items offered up to Ophis to curry favour or bribing Ophis to do something. While most of it would be useless to them Ophis would keep them to trade to another for something they wanted, learning from the ancient barter systems

[2] In this, Kuroka wanted to have children with Ophis but the current form of the Infinite Dragon God mixed with their utter lack of interest stopped Kuroka's attempts after trying once or twice.

[3] Dad jokes, did you think having the Father of Humanity in a story wouldn't have dad jokes?

[4] I know that as a true shapeshifter Ophis going from an old man to cute loli likely was as simple as "Hmm, bored of old man" transforms into current form "Haha, cute Gothic loli" and likely was the case in canon due to us not getting any information on it but I felt like adding something to give it a bit more weight / meaning.

[5] for those curious about the Zodiac and Planet connects with Tarot cards

Emperor = Aries

The Tower = Mars

Hierophant = Taurus

Empress = Venus

The Lovers = Gemini

Magician = Mercury

Chariot = Cancer

Priestess = Moon [Astro]

Strength = Leo

Sun [Tarot] = Sun [Astro]

Hermit = Virgo

Justice = Libra

Death = Scorpio

Judgment = Pluto

Temperance = Sagittarius

Wheel of Fortune = Jupiter

The Devil = Capricorn

The World = Saturn

The Star = Aquarius

The Fool = Uranus

The Moon [Tarot] = Pisces

The Hanged Man = Neptune

[6] This spot here and until the line about space-time is the real 'what if' as Minato hitting Great Red and Great Red knowing about Minato is canon. Think of it like different routes in a visual Novel. In one route Ophis is the Dragon of MessiahXDragon while in another it's Great Red. Do either route end in harems involving both Ophis and Great Red? Perhaps, perhaps not. This was just a little what if I wanted to write after the idea took root in that Dragon Family Omake.