{Akira's POV a few hours later}
"Oh come on bro, can't we get a hint or something atleast?"
Sighing at my bestfriend's whine, I did my best not to look at him, because I knew I'd give away the game if I did. "No Ryuji, no hints." The childish 'oh man' from him made me smile. (Never change man, never change.)
"Still, one has to wonder what exactly has come up for Akira to be so tight lipped." Sometimes I wondered if Yusuke spoke just to hear himself speak.
Not that there was anything wrong with that, narcissism was okay to have in small doses every now and then. "... I think you get that from me actually." I idly nodded at that, I could see it. "I'll take that as a compliment."
Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I listened to my Thieves talk. "It's got to be something big, Mona isn't here after all." Ann was right. Morgana was with Tara, we both knew he'd spill the secret if Ryuji goaded him into it or if Ann asked nicely. "... Which is weird now because Mona's always just... Been there."
Blinking, I couldn't stop myself from reacting to that. "Huh..." Looking down to my bag, which I'd brought with me despite not needing too, I had to admit that she had a point. I'd gotten used to having Morgana riding in my bag, which was a weird sentence, and even weirder scene in reality. "You're right... This feels weird."
"... Is it weird I don't find the fact you smuggle a cat around daily, strange?" Despite being a newer member of my Thieves, that just meant Makoto was adapting to the life well.
"Pfft, just means you've caught our crazy. There's no going back anymore Prez! You're one of us!" I was a little worried at how happily Ryuji said that... Also worried that Ann joined in on the chant of 'One of us! One of us!' I was entirely sure both blondes shared a brain cell.
"#Are you sure he is not related to Junpei? Sure beyond a shadow of a doubt?#" The more he asked the less sure I became. Orpheus Picaro shared stories about the Journey he and his Fool went on, and the similarities between his group and my Thieves was starting to freak me out.
/Let's just put the possible relation aside, and get to the station please./ The Father of Music hummed, but agreed after a few moments. /Thank you./
"#You are welcome.#" He receded after that, letting me have only Arsene at the forefront of my mind.
Our side conversation aside, I perked up when the aforementioned Persona nudged me. Taking in my surroundings, I grinned when I saw that we were at the station. /Thanks bud./ I got back a hum of acceptance, and turned to my Thieves, clapping my hands to get their attention. "Alright," That worked wonders seeing as everyone was looking at me. "So, today we'll be doing something different... And something we really should've been doing since the start." I could tell they were curious, which made me grin as I thought about how they were going to take the surprise.
Taking out my phone, I hummed as I tapped the Metanav's icon. Mementos was the most recent location, so it was the first option in my 'Recent' tab. After checking with everyone to make sure they were ready, I tapped Mementos. "Beginning Navigation." And so the world twisted.
The sounds of the city died out, replaced with the unnerving si...- "I'm just saying, my ass and thighs look fucking amazing in this thing... I can't even be mad because Bunny Girls are the SHIT... Though, I'll need to make sure Cynthia doesn't find out I have this, Martha wo...-" Tara stopped speaking as she realized we were all here. I realized she knew that because the 'thump' pf Ryuji's body hitting the ground was equivalent to a gunshot going off in the silent world that was the Metaverse.
Turning towards us, the redhead blinked, her eye roaming as she took us in... Though it was hard to know what she was thinking given none of us aside from Yusuke were able to look at her. (WHY IS SHE WEARING THAT?!) For some reason she was in a Playboy Bunny esque outfit, her long and toned legs 'covered' by black fishnets while a red leotard covered her top half... Though 'covered' was a strong word given the fact it stopped just above her nipples, which were faintly outlined by the fabric.
I could feel a brief surge of lust coming from my True Self, but we both reigned it in. "... Nice." I reigned it in.
/DAMMIT ARSENE NOT NOW!/ My face wasn't the only one tomato red, Ann looked ready to go nuclear as smoke was starting to come out of her ears, while the actual Nuclear one amongst us looked like someone just injected the color red into her cheeks. Ryuji was passed out with a nosebleed, something so goddamn cliche I thought someone with a camera would pop up out of nowhere to say they'd gotten it on camera.
After a few more moments, she spoke again. "I know I'm hot, most likely the baddest bitch you'll ever see in your lives, so I'll give you time to soak it in." It didn't help that out of the corner of my eye I could see her smirk and fold her arms beneath her bust, emphasizing her 'assets.'
"... As much I would like to call her out on that, we really can't..." His commentary REALLY wasn't helping. "Again, I wasn't trying too." I closed my eyes and started breathing. I couldn't deal with Arsene and Tara's antics at the moment.
"MAGNIFICENT!" Oh god fucking da...- "Sakura-san, please, model for me!" The collective groan that came from Ann, Morgana, Makoto and I was loud...
But we still heard her answer. "Kay." I was pretty sure we all snapped towards the redhead at the speed of sound, our necks sharing the pain as we stared at her, dumbfounded. Seeing our looks, she raised a brow and looked at me specifically. "What? I just got a shit ton of cute/sexy outfits, obviously I'm going to show them and myself off as much as possible." ... Made sense.
I opened my mouth to say something, maybe counter with some kind of quip, but Makoto got the better of me and spoke first. "WAIT!" We all turned towards her, and I idly noticed she was still blushing and trying not to look at Tara. "Can someone just explain what the hell is going on?! Who are you?!" The way she pointed at Tara made me wonder if a laser would fire off her finger.
Ann, Morgana, Tara and I shared a look, Yusuke wasn't involved since he was too busy staring at Tara, realizing that Makoto and Tara hadn't actually met... Huh... "Well this is awkward." It took a moment to recognize it was me that said that, but I figured it out when Makoto glared at me.
We also ignored the groan that came from Ryuji.
{15 minutes later}
Looking around, Tara hummed as she took in the park, then nodded after a bit. "This'll do." Turning to us, which included a now conscious but shell shocked Ryuji, she plopped herself onto a bench and scratched her chin. "So, where to start..." I wasn't the only one to sweatdrop at the mild look of confusion in her eyes... Because seriously, she had hours to think of something, and I wasn't even counting the 15 minutes we took to get here. "Well yeah, but I had bigger things to think about Akira." Ah... I said that out loud. "Yes, yes you did." I wanted to crawl into a hole.
Thankfully, that didn't leak out. "Okay... I'm just going to come out with it." My eyes drifted to Makoto, who was doing her best to not look flustered. "Can you please change out of the Bunny Girl outfit?" My mind instantly knew what kind of response Tara would come up with.
The buxom redhead crossed her leg and put a hand on her cheek, then proceeded to do THE THING. "Ara?~" Oh god, I wasn't ready for this. The sultry smirk I expected was out in full force, and I sent a silent prayer off for the foolish Priestess for incurring the vixens teasing. "Hasn't even been a day and you already want to get me out of my clothes? How lewd."
Makoto blushed as red as Tara's hair, stammering that she didn't mean it that way, but my focus was on Ann... Whose eye was twitching and was grinding her teeth? (Nope, not touching that with a 30 foot pole.) I felt Arsene agree with me, and nodded towards the Gentleman Thief.
Queen and Panther's reactions aside, the chaotic redhead just laughed. "Well, I'll do some shit with this stuff later. Firstly, Requip." We had to guard our eyes from the golden light, but after it was gone, I realized she was in the outfit she wore before everything happened. Everyone aside Mona and I were surprised at that, and Tara clearly enjoyed the expressions everyone made if the amused smirk on her face was any indication. "Anywaaay, sit somewhere, I'll explain what ye should know."
That was easier said then done considering she took the closest bench, so we had to either sit at a bench a little bit further away, the bench she sat at, or on the ground close by... I was only a little surprised that Ann had marched over and sat right besides Tara, blushing but not letting it get the better of her.
I also wasn't surprised that Mona hopped onto Tara's lap, the redhead not even caring.
Makoto surprised me though, sitting on the Martial Artists' free side, leaving the rest of us guys to figure out where we were going to sit.
Yusuke decided to sit on the ground though, so that left Ryuji and I in a weird spot. Either we sat besides Yusuke, or we went off to the closest bench and sat together... Which would be awkward... So we shared a look, and settled for sitting on either side of Fox.
With everyone settled in, the redhead nodded. "Kay, so firsts things first, ye aren't the first gen of Persona Users. You're the 5th." Despite already knowing that, that fact still made my heart skip a beat.
The reactions from everyone aside from Mona and I could be drummed up as 'shocked' or 'dumbfounded.' It hadn't come up before, well it had, but we didn't have in depth conversations about this. The issue though was we were noticeably busy with the Palaces and daily life.
No one was able to really react to that information, I could tell they were trying to wrap their minds around the fact we were the fifth generation of Persona Users, so I took the opportunity to ask something. "Speaking of them," Tara's eye landed on me. "Where'd Arisato, Shirogane and Yamagishi go?"
I noticed Makoto SNAP towards me when I said Shirogane, and Yusuke when I said Yamagishi, but Tara spoke first. "I sent em back after you left. Naoto's taking a quick trip back to Inaba to test if they can go to the TV World through the Metanav or some shit, while Aigis and Fuuka are doing the same with the rest of S.E.E.S and The Dark Hour." That...
As much as a confusing sentence that was without context, it made sense IN context. (Yes, because using a phone app that transports us into an alternate dimension to try to go to OTHER alternate dimensions makes sense... What the fuck is my life?) Arsene, and even Orpheus Picaro, snorted in my mind.
"C'est ce que c'est." My eye twitched at that flippant bullshit.
/I hate you so much./
"What a healthy mindset." I was going to choke the hell out of him later. "Does that count as masturbation given our kink?" I paused... The gears of my mind whirred to life as I tried to come up with some sort of actual answer instead of a snarky reply because I didn't actually know if it should or not.
After an unknown amount of time, I came to a decision. /I... I'm just going to pretend you didn't ask that./
"Understandable, have a nice day." My eye twitched again at the meme answer.
Though before I could snark back, someone else spoke up. "Alright, wait..." I snapped back to reality to look at the speaker, unsurprised that it was Makoto, who was giving Tara a look. Sapphire blue met Ruby red, the former completely unfazed at the intensity coming from the latter. "Shirogane Naoto is a Persona User?!" In hindsight, I should've expected this.
Tara nodded, not entirely caring about the subject. "Yep. Her light and 'I ignore your defenses because ALMIGHTY' bullshit is annoying though. I mean come on, the fuck is the point of being magically resistant if someone can just say 'hehe nope!' I couldn't even scavenge any scales either cause they just got bombed out of existence!" The mention of scales made me pause, then suddenly remember a very important fact.
Tara wasn't Human. She looked like one, bled like one, and pretty much fit in as one, but she wasn't Human.
She was a Dragon... An honest to God Dragon... And I was back to not knowing how to process that.
"Uhh... Scales?" Ah, Ryuji, the brain cell that had become a human being.
His question had garnered the attention of the dragoness, who was petting a cat form Mona without a care in the world. Though, when she grinned, I had a premonition that she was going to do something ex...- Her eyes went slit, golden scales grew along her neck and knuckles, all topped off with golden horns that grew from her skull. "Ya, scales." It wasn't hard to realize she was fucking with us when she flicked her tongue out, her forked tongue.
Seeing Ann and Makoto jump away from the suddenly horned and scaled redhead was hilarious, more so when their Phantom Thief outfits materialized and Tara didn't even ca...- "Mhm." The look in her eye, as well as the way she licked her lips as she looked at Panther reminded me of Tae... And I was suddenly worried for her purity. "Mama like~. Mama like alot." The... Purr, because there was just no other description that'd match the noise that rumbled from her throat, was full of sensual energy.
Panther, poor poor Panther, who was on the other end of the Dragon's gaze and appreciative purring, reacted how I'd expect for someone in her position. "Eep!" She crouched down and covered herself with her legs and arms, blushing madly at the Dragon.
Then said Dragon turned her gaze to Queen, who had instinctively put her hands up ready to fight. The two stared at each other for a moment, but Tara broke it off after nodding. "Leather is nice, but latex is better." We all knew what and who she was referring to.
Makoto choked on air, which was absolutely hilarious. "Look at the cur." Doing just that, I turned to Ryuji... And snorted at the look on his face. Ryuji was in some weird middle ground of confused, amazed and aroused. "It's like a fight for dominance in his mind. The Captain must be having the time of his life in there." I had no idea what the Pirate Captain was contributing to that, but I wished I could take a peak into his mind to find out.
"Hmm... It is a shame your horns do not curl like a ram's." There had to be a limit to how Yusuke reacted to certain situations. There just HAD to be...
"Eh," Tara's shrug told us all we needed to know really. "I'd like it, but I prefer them this way. Makes it easier to stab people with." There was silence at that, because really what do you say to that?
"That's just badass." I don't think any of us were surprised that it was Ryuji who said that.
Tara seemed way too amused at that though. "I know, right?!" Lightning flickered around the lengths of her horns, and I could swear I saw stars in my bestfriend's eyes.
A deep sigh caught our attention, and we saw Queen pinching the bridge of her nose. "This is ridiculous." I felt that. "Okay... Okay, we got off track. Can we please get back to the explanations? We can deal with..." She waved a hand at Tara. "This, later."
The dragoness hummed, then shrugged again. "Kay." That said, she looked at both Queen and Panther, an amused glint in her eye as she did. "You two just gonna stand around ooor?" The girls shared a look at that, and after an eye conversation, they slowly made their way back to the bench, their Phantom Thief outfits dispersing as they did... Though, the moment Ann sat down, Tara's tail emerged and found itself wrapped around Ann's waist. Predictably she let out another 'eep', but Tara just laughed as she wrapped an arm around Ann's shoulders. "I'm not blind or deaf hun." Seeing Ann sputter and blush so much was highly amusing to us all.
Seeing that, Makoto sighed, and sank into the bench. "This is going to be a long day."
She had no idea how right she was.
{10 minutes later}
"TLDR version, Gen 3 stopped an extinction event that might've led to a mass genocide, while the 4th gen stopped some crazy goddess bitch from doing crazy goddess bitch things. We don't know shit about the 1st or 2nd gens though so don't ask." Ooor not.
The exposition hadn't lasted nearly as long as Arisato's had, but after reminding myself that this was the rather straightforward Martial Artist, I couldn't say I was surprised. (Still though, 'crazy goddess bitch?') I was beginning to wonder if Tara had ANY form of self preservation instincts.
The aforementioned Dragon blew a raspberry, snapping me out of my thoughts. "That doesn't matter at the moment though."
I could feel the collective sweatdrop form at that. (Yeah, mass genocide is just a Thursday thing or something like that.) Arsene snorted in amusement while Orpheus Picaro chortled... Which reminded me that he was technically THERE, so that was a story and a half.
"What matters," Tara dismissed her tail, took her arm off of Ann's shoulders, dumped Mona into Makoto's lap, getting a yowl of protest from said cat, and kicked the ground, hands on top of the bench before she pushed herself off of it, flipping over the bench and above the pond. Her wings sprouted as she hovered above the water, smirking down at all of us. I could tell both Arsene and I were impressed at the feat of acrobatics, especially at how smoothly she performed it. "Is what we're going to do today! Now, one of you brave souls, ask me what we're doing today!"
Considering everyone was too shocked at the sudden development, I did as our draconic overlady commanded, despite knowing what we were going to do. "And just what will we be doing oh Lady Bright Scale?" An interesting tidbit I'd learned was that Tara liked being complimented about her scales... I didn't know if it was a Dragon thing or a Tara thing, but compliments would probably see me get beat less, so I was taking the chance being given to me.
That choice seemed to be the right one given the smile she sent me. "You my snazzy friends will be fighting me!" The proclamation spurred my Thieves out of their stupor... I thought about the fact I'd used a bunch of proper words there for no reason, then shrugged the thought away to listen to Tara, just like everyone else was. "Akira and Morgana told me you guys have been pretty much winging it when it comes to fightin in those Palaces and Mementos, but now that I'm here that's gonna change! At around 3-4PM every Sunday, Wednesday and Friday, we're gonna have sessions to help you newbies fight better. We'll be alternating between reality training and Metaverse training every week. So one week you'll have two days in reality and one in here, then the next you'll have two in here and one in reality. I'll need to see how good you guys take to this, but ideally we'll do two hours per session. Though that's subject to change depending on if yer busy or other shit like that."
Blinking, I couldn't help but rub my chin as I thought about that. (We'll have enough time to relax between sessions so we don't overwork ourselves, though the two hours part is surprising... Though given what I saw when she fought Arisato, Shirogane and Yamagishi, that kind of combat could do wonders for our teamwork, and our strength in general. Plus, we can apply what we learn to Kaneshiro's Palace. The only issue might be the times... But we should be able to deal with it.) The more I thought about it, the more I liked it. Sure, it wasn't what I was expecting, I thought an hour was good, but that was before I'd seen Tara kick Arisato through a few walls, even when she was being shielded by Athena. (Plus, this'll help keep them safe and alive.) That was an important factor to me, and I'd gladly take the chance to improve everyone's odds.
Nodding to myself, I looked at everyone else. Ann was looking at the redhead with an interested gleam in her eyes, Makoto was clenching and flexing her fists with a challenging look in her eyes, Ryuji looked ready to fight, Mona sighed, and Yusuke was looking at Tara like she was his next art piece... Which, considering she was gently flapping her golden wings above a pond, made sense.
Seeing that everyone... Aside from Yusuke, seemed to be on board, I got up, blue fire igniting around me as I did, and grinned at the Dragon before me. I knew we were in for a beating, but it'd be worth it. "Well then Tara," I could hear and see my Thieves igniting as I did, and smirked when they all gathered by my side. "Looks like you've got a fight on your hands."
The Dragon grinned, her teeth as sharp as daggers as she looked down to us all. "Then let's move onto a proper beating ground." With a flap of her wings, she took off towards the park.
Naturally, we all shot off after her.
{Tara's POV}
(This is gonna be fun. I'll need to handicap myself, which sorta sucks after the fun I had with the girls earlier, but it'll work.) Since I was stronk as fuck, I was used to limiting myself. Hell, I kept my natural perception and strength chained down on a daily basis, so I had that skill maxed out. (So, no Slayer Magic, no Rairyu Style... Dragon Style could work for later, but I'll stick to Renewal Taekwondo for now. I could also toss in some Telekinesis and Requip depending on how good they are... I'll have to limit what Armors and Weapons I use though, Armadura Fairy is obviously out, so is Flight, Celestial, Adamantine, Purgatory and Nakagami... Hmm... That leaves me with some options...) I blinked as a set came into my mind, and grinned when I thought about how to use it. (I'll save that for Persona Combat.) With that thought in mind, I took in where I was, and smiled at the clearing.
Landing was easy, and since I had flown faster then the Thieves, I was here before they were, giving me time to set up. "Now, do I stick with this fit or switch to something else?" Like I told Akira earlier, I had entire wardrobes worth of new clothes, even risque outfits like the Bunny Girl outfit or the Belly Dancer outfit from the movie. Naturally that included workout clothes and stuff that was meant to be worn for combat. "Well... If it ain't broke don't fix it." That in mind, I reached out for the set I had in mind and worked mu magic. "Requip!" The golden light appeared, and faster then a normal human, hell, faster then anyone unable to think as fast as lightning, my regular clothes were replaced by the X792 set.
Though, there were differences. I left the cape in my Requip space, as well as the weird skirt thing that I had no idea why it was there in the first place. The cape could get stuck or grabbed, so I left it out to not let that happen, and I took off the skirt thing because it just looked weird. (Maybe I should've asked about that... Eh, too late now.) Shrugging that thought off, I decided to bring out a normal sword, Erza had a metric fuck ton of normal swords, which made sense given the Heaven's Wheel set, and stabbed it into the ground, my hands easily finding their places on the hilt. The new muscle memory I gained was still being assimilated, so I wasn't exactly used to the fact I could now beat Kiba in swordsmanship... (Note to self, get Kiba to make me some Noble Phantasms. I'm going to EMIYA the shit out of someone and they're gonna thank me for it.) The thought of whipping out a bunch of Clarent's in my Heaven's Wheel set, and blasting people to fucking Narnia was awesome. (I'll need Martha to Enchant the fuck out of my Armors too. Honestly, what was she thinking not finding someone to put some Self Repair on these bad boys?) I was fucking flabbergasted that outside of their effects, her Armors weren't Enchanted. I was offended to be honest... Though that might've been because my twin's enthusiasm about Enchantments sort of rubbed off on me.
My thoughts about making my Armors and stuff better aside, I picked up the sound of feet hitting the earth, and turned an eye to the source. I wasn't surprised to see the source were the Thieves, though THEY were surprised to see me. It made sense really, I doubted they were expecting to see an armor clad knight with a sword in the ground... Which was the fucking height of irony given the fact I was a Dragon.
Putting that tidbit away, I smirked at the Thieves, taking in their surprised looks, and spoke. "Here's how this is going to go." I was channeling Erza here, which instantly got results if the way they straightened out was any indication. "For the first 30 minutes we'll work on Unarmed Combat. This'll help give you experience with the styles I'm teaching you, as well as giving you chances to get used to fighting together without your weapons or Personas." I gave them time to take that in, noticing the interested look in Queen and Skull's faces, as well as the gleam in Joker's eyes. "The next 30 minutes will be you using your weapons and me giving you pointers on how to do better." Some more time to let that sink in. "The next half hour is going to include your Personas, but not their Skills." Now that got me some looks. I was amused at the raised hand, but humored her anyway. "Yes, Queen?"
If she was surprised I knew her code name she didn't show it. "What exactly would that entail?"
I hummed at that. It was a good question. "It'd mean using your Personas natural abilities to help fight..." Looking over to Skull, I scratched my chin. "Your guy has a Pirate Ship, right?" Skull blinked, but nodded after a second. "So, he can shoot canon balls, right?"
Another blink... "Uhh..." That didn't fill me with confidence.
Without warning, his mask burst into flames, and amused chuckling filled the air as a figure appeared above Skull. "Aye, I'm locked an permanently loaded." The skeleton pirate grinned, which was weird since his face was a skull, and the canons on his ship extended a bit, looking primed and ready to fire. "Though, if ya'd like ta see how big the boom is, ye'll be needin some healin afterwards."
Raising a brow at the legendary pirate, I ignored my instincts first reaction of Shifting and putting the little man in his place. "I'm going to remind you about that after I beat your bones into dust."
The pirate's grin grew at that, but a whine broke us out of our staring contest. "Duuude, why didn't you tell me we could do that?!" Skull's question was a good one.
"Ya never asked lad." And Kidd's response was a shit one.
Skull squawked at that, getting a snort out of me, Panther, Mona and Joker. "Well, that answers that." Queen with the obvious statement.
I let the possibility of their Persona's contributing more sink in, then cleared my throat to get their soon as they focused on me, I went on. "Then there's the last half hour. That's when you'll be allowed to use Skills, but I'll be teaching ye how to be creative with em and stuff like that. We clear?" The Thieves shared a look, and after Joker gave them a grin and a nod, they turned to me, all looking ready to start. "Good. Let's start."
And so I began their lessons.
{1 hour and 25 minutes later}
The alarm I'd set up went off, signifying it was time for the last portion of their training. Grabbing Skull by the shoulder, I tossed him up towards Captain Kidd, the skeletal pirate catching his Other Self with his hook. "Alright! 5 minute break!" The groans that rang out from that announcement made me snort. "Ah hush you babies, this is nothin."
A scoff echoed out, and I looked up to the source. "So says the she demon."
That got the captain a raised brow. "Do you WANT to be stabbed?" The two of us stared at each other for a bit, but he looked away first, deciding to look at Skull. "That's what I thought." A canon ball shot out, but I idly caught it with my Telekinesis, throwing it away. I would've thrown it at him, but Skull was on the boat, so that would've been a bad idea.
That done, I turned to the others and appraised them. Mona seemingly collapsed where he was, Fox by his side in the same situation, (I'll need to get that boy a diet plan, he's way too fucking thin for me to work with.) Panther seemed fine, though obviously winded given the deep breathes she was taking... Deep breathes that were doing things to her chest. (... Horny lizard brain activated.) I took a moment to just stare, because Ann was hot, and her outfit was doing ALL the favors. Though, when she caught me staring, neither of us moved... So I obviously saw the way her eyes tracked my form, staying on my thighs for a bit longer then anywhere else before she blushed and looked away. (Hoh? Well, thick thighs save lives, and I'm thick enough to crush damn near anything between mine... I'll explore this some more later.) That said, I grinned to myself and looked at the last two, since I'd already spared Skull a look when the captain caught him.
Queen was taking the time to steady her breathing, while also resting on the ground. Akira had told me she knew Aikido, which she confirmed in the group chat when I asked to be sure, so seeing her properly relaxing instead of having collapsed onto the ground, was nice.
Then there was Joker, who decided to cheat. "Persona." Behind him appeared a... I think it was a High Pixie? Whatever it was, she giggled a bit and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Dia." Blue green light shone around him for a moment, and thanks to how fast I could perceive everything, I could see him recover before my eyes. When it was done, he smiled at the High Pixie. "Thanks."
Said Fae giggled again and actually fucking saluted. "No problem bossman!" And with that, she was gone.
I just stared at him at that, because really what else was I going to do to the guy that had the balls to heal just himself while his friends were fatigued... And when said friends ALL snapped towards the smirking Joker, outrage on their features, I damn near snorted. """""JOKER!""""" That did it.
I started wheezing as the Phantom Thieves ganged up on their leader, Panther and Skull calling him 'You cheap asshole', and a 'Rat bastard' respectively. They all shouted at him to heal them, seemingly forgetting that Mona could do it too... Something the cat noticed if the way he was slowly rolling away if that was any indication.
After the comedic routine was over, Joker brought out the High Pixie again and hit the Thieves with a Media. It did the trick, and everyone was now better. I idly wondered why he didn't do this earlier, but I just guessed he wanted to save his mana for the end, which would make sense.
With them all healed, I started humming, something they noticed. I took in the slight worry on their faces for a bit, amusing myself with it, then huffed. "You can beat Joker later, you've only got 3 minutes left to relax!" That lit a fire under their asses, making them all decide that preparing for their next ass kicking was important.
So they relaxed... Well, they tried too.
Skull had joined Fox and Mona in appreciating the earth, Queen was sitting and staring at me like I was a math problem, Panther was also sitting but was gripping her whip with vigor, while Joker was was rubbing the back of his head from the whack Queen gave him.
Meanwhile I was just here. My armor had been singed and had soot over some bits thanks to Carmen and Captain Kidd, the former using her cigar to shoot off a relatively tame stream of fire, and the former because shooting canon balls results in lots of dust being kicked up. The cuts Zorro and Arsene gave me were healed already, Dragon Physiology for the win, but there was still some ice from Goemon on me. Taking a breath, I aimed at my legs, and breathed out a stream of fire. I didn't want to melt my boots, so I kept it relatively low. Still, it was fire, so the job was done after a few moments. "That's still so weird..."
Looking up, I noticed all eyes were on me now, which got a raised brow aimed at all of them, but specifically Skull since he'd been the one to say that. "Problem Pikachu?"
The false blonde blinked, recognized I meant him, then squawked again. "Pikachu?! Why Pikachu?!"
That got a deadpan. "You wear all black, you're blonde, and you use lightning." The indignation coming off of him was amusing. "Plus, you're all small compared to me." Que the confused looks, which was strange considering I was taller then all of them in Human Form, so I clarified. "Dragon." The collective 'ah' from them made me snort. Though, it also gave me an idea.
Walking over to my phone, I set a new alarm for 5 minutes before the end of the session. I was teaching them how to fight, so obviously they'd need to gain experience fighting a boss, right?
The Thieves took their time, as limited as it was, to recoup. Though it eventually came to an end.
Clapping, I got their attention. "Your last ass kicking of the day has arrived. Get ready." And so they did.
I watched them get up and summon their Persona's, Queen summoned and got on Johanna, Skull hopped onto Captain Kidd's ship, Mona, Panther and Fox summoned their guys while Joker reached for his mask.
I didn't get to figure out who he was bringing out since the revving of an engine clued me into what was coming. Queen's shout confirmed it though. "GUN IT!" The nuclear powered motorcycle shot towards me like a bullet, Persona and Rider looking determined to run me the fuck over.
It was a simple move, so I just waited until she was closer to jump over them. Though that was probably expected given the next moves. "Panther, now!" My eyes drifted towards Joker and Panther, widening a bit when I saw Carmen and Orpheus Picaro side by side.
""AGILAO!"" A stream of crimson flames raced towards me, but I smiled.
(Let's go for it then.) Locking onto the Armor I wanted, I spoke the words, even though I didn't need too. "Requip!" In a flash, the X792 set was switched out, my hair style changed, and I felt a connection to my new blades. Sending out two blades, I made them spin, blocking the flames as I landed on the ground. Standing up, I flexed the swords that came with this set, six swords splayed out behind me, joined by the other two after the stream of fire was dealt with. (Let's see how they deal with the Ataraxia set.) With that thought, I sent a pair of swords towards Skull and Kidd who were charging towards me with the ship, another at Fox and Goemon, another at Queen and Johanna, and the last two at Panther and Mona. (I'll need to get Martha to make me more of these swords.) Brushing that thought aside, I kicked off with a Bo-Pup and went for Joker.
Appearing before their leader, I started off by swinging my body right as my left leg shot out speeding towards his head. Unfortunately Joker did a fucking split, we discovered his Metaverse self was flexible as fuck, making it miss. I spun in the air for a moment, but when my left leg reached the ground I stomped and stopped spinning so I could send a dist towards Jok...- My fist smashed against a Lyre, pushing both Orpheus Picaro and Joker away. "Tch."
I would've pressed him by charging forwards, but a chill ran across my body. Knowing what it meant, I flipped back and avoided the wave of frost from Goemon as Fox fought against the blades I'd sent at him. (Not sure why he doesn't let Goemon handle it... Actually,) Looking at him, I hummed, and spun as soon as I hit the ground to avoid a flaming slash from Zorro and Carmen. (So he's using it to get better as a swordsman... Eh, I'll allow it.)
"EAT THIS!" Looking away from Fox, I took in Skull and Kidd, the captain keeping the swords busy as Skull jumped off the ship, his shout coming way too early for someone still in the air. Seeing him come at me, I waited until he was close enough, then grabbed and tossed him towards Queen, who was getting a little too close for my liking. "WHOA SHIT!" I snorted and hit another Bo-Pup.
Joker was going to be annoying to deal with, him consta...- ""Garu!/Agilao!"" A tornado of flames shot towards me, but I let my wings come out and covered myself to weather the storm. Sure, I could've avoided it by Stepping or Flashing away, but I wasn't using my Slayer Magic for today so those were out.
The tornado engulfed me, and I could feel my swords being pinned... Which was weird, but I rolled with it. (Gather.) All my blades shot towards me, regardless of whether someone was pinning them to the ground or if they were frozen, they came.
My blades revolved around my body and I flexed my wings, dispersing the fire storm I was engulf...- "Fuck no." My blades responded to my will, forming a wall against the Persona Motorcycle, the wheel grinding against... (Uh oh.) Spinning on my heel, I smashed my foot into Queen's arm, which she held up to block.
From there the two of us engaged in hand to hand while I sent out my swords to hold off the rest of the Thieves. "Cadenza!" Queen was enveloped in emerald light and swiftly avoided a leg aimed at her rib, responding with a jab that hit my knee in a way that dislodged it. Getting a knee dislodged ALWAYS hurt like a bitch, and since I was restricting myself, Queen got a moment to push in further... Which she used to de-summon and re-summon her Persona, the ethereal front tire slamming into me as she revved the engine, pushing me along towards the Thieves.
It didn't help that nuclear fire burned my skin and actually HURT enough for me to snarl and reflexively bring out my scales. With them out I grunted and SLAMMED a fully coated arm into Johanna. "Fuck you!" The nuclear motorcycle shattered into motes of blue light, Queen being sent flying like she was just in a wr...- Nevermind, I watched as she was caught by the captain, and went into a spinning handstand as a round of canon balls were shot at me. "Return to sender shithead!" My legs and feet repelled the balls, the rounds being sent to him, as well Fox, who was charging towards me with Goemon and my swords on his heels.
The ice boy and his Stand avoided the rounds and tried to get into my personal space, but I pushed myself off the ground, taking to the air as I went over hi...- "Second times the charm! ZIONGA!" I was dumbfounded for a moment.
Skull was using lightning... Against ME?! (Don't mind if I do.) Twisting towards the source, I grinned and brought out my wings as a bolt of lightning shot towards me. Stabilizing myself in the air, I opened wide and inhaled. The golden stream of deliciousness went down my throat... Which sounded wrong, but I brushed that thought aside.
Anyway, I devoured the lightning, licking my lips after it was all gone. "Ahh, tasty." That was when I noticed there was a lull in the combat. I hadn't noticed it, but while I was eating my swords had stopped moving... (So if I'm busy with something like that I'll lose control of them. Good to know.) The other thing I noticed was that the Thieves were all gaping at me... (Oh yeah... I didn't tell them.) Grinning at them, I gently glided down to the ground, bared my fangs, and let lightning dance across my scales and hair. "Fun little fact, I'm a LIGHTNING Dragon."
There was silence for a bit, but it was broken by twin cries of salty little bitches. "Oh come on!/Oh fuck ye and the horse ya rode in on!" I snorted and grew my horns to shoot a weak Byakurai at the salty duo. The lightning splashed harmlessly against the bow, I think that was what it was called, and the two squawked at me. "Hey!/Watch yer shots lass!"
Rolling my eyes, I called forth my swords, the eight bladed 'wings' flaring behind me. "Less talky more fighty."
The stream of fire from Carmen told me she was fine with that.
{25 minutes later}
The alarm rang out again, so I swiped Panther's legs out from under her and tossed her towards Queen as I punted Mona away. The cat had been sneaking up on me, and was doing a good job of it actually. If I couldn't smell him then he would've gotten the drop on me. Too bad the nose knew... Or whatever the fuck Wolverine said.
Anyway, everyone was letting their guards down, the alarm meant the fight was over...
Not. Clapping, I got their attention. "Alright my wonderful victims, I have news." The uneasy looks I got for calling them victims amused the fuck out of me. (Yeah, I gotta admit it, Akeno is a horrible influence.) My Half Fallen friend aside, I grinned at the Thieves. "Since you all have to deal with bosses that are usually big as fuck, I've come up with a way to help you get used to dealing with things that'd make normal people piss and or shit themselves." Joker and Queen understood immediately. Their eyes widening as the former gulped. "You know I'm a Dragon... But I don't think you understand just what that means."
{Akira's POV}
As soon as Tara finished speaking, she started to... Change. It all happened in slow motion to me. Her horns, wings and tail popped out, golden scales appeared on her body faster then I could see, and she started to grow. Her face morphed into a snout, her hands morphing into paws as her legs changed and grew. It reminded me of Shadow Kamoshida in a way, but far more... Awe inspiring?
When Tara reared up, her body looking more and more like a Western Dragon, we all saw the golden scales that covered every inch of her body... But then she slammed her forelegs into the ground, a massive cloud of gust springing up, leaving us to wave it away or cough as it got into our mouths. I could see Zorro appear, probably to help get the dust away, but my eyes stayed onto the source of the cloud... Which was the right thing considering the gale that came out fro...- "Holy shit." I was pretty sure that was Skull... But fuck was he right.
Reflexively, my head tilted up as my Thieves and I took in the sight before us. A figure bigger then Shadow Kamoshida loomed in front of us, massive golden wings blocking out the sky as sapphire eyes peered down at us. Tara was right... She'd said she was a Dragon, but I doubt any of us fully processed what that meant. "... Nope. Good luck Partenaire." It didn't help when the massive golden Dragon grinned, exposing spear like teeth. "We are all fucked, and I blame Akira for this!"
Arsene's rant was cut off by a voice to my side. "Akira?"
Glancing towards Queen, I replied without thinking much, more focused on the fucking DRAGON in front of me. "Yes Makoto?" She used my name so I used hers.
"Fuck you." I was pretty sure she spoke for all of my Thieves...
Except Yusuke, who was practically vibrating in what I came to recognize as 'artistic enthusiasm.' He was a weird one, but he was ours.
Him aside, I responded absentmindedly. "Understandable." The Dragon huffed, a puff of steam coming from her nostrils.
"Now then, SHOW ME HOW YOU FIGHT A DRAGON!" Then she spewed a sea of fire, and we scattered.
{10 minutes later}
Looking at the exhausted and nearly passed out forms of the Thieves, I couldn't help but snort. I was pretty sure Mona was in lalaland, Skull was groaning and complaining about his ass being in pain, which was his fault for trying to ride me like a bull and getting bitch slapped by my tail for his troubles. Fox... I was 100% sure he was only conscious out of sheer force of will, his eyes taking in my majestic form and his hands twitching most likely for his tools. (Gotta hand it to him, he's dedicated as fuck.)
Him aside, I looked at Queen and Panther, both girls laying side by side and possibly regretting their life choices.
Though I KNEW Akira was wondering what god he must've pissed off to have been cursed with me. How do I know? Well Arsene is bitching over a laid out Joker. "- Honnêtement, il fallait combien de cellules cérébrales pour se suicider pour que vous pensiez tous que combattre un DRAGON était une bonne idée?" Granted, I had no idea what the fuck he was saying, but bitching was universal.
"Cher, imma second ah two away from lightin yah up. Shutcha trap!" I liked Carmen, Carmen was fun.
Panther groaned after her Persona was done speaking. "Ugh... What she said."
I listened/watched them all groan some more, a highly amused grin on my face as I did. "Ye did good. I'm lookin forward to making ya do better." The groans I got for that were great. (I'll need to get Akeno something nice later... Koneko too just because.) I nodded to myself at that, I would spoil my daughter whenever I got the chance.
That aside, I Shifted back, and switched back into my normal clothes. Seeing that my hoodie and pants were fine, I grinned. I didn't bring spare clothes, I hadn't exactly expected the day to go how it had... (Holy shit, it hasn't even been a DAY!) Akira getting Orpheus Picaro was this morning... And that somehow translated into me meeting and fighting ERZA, while my sister had to deal with IRENE... (I should make a checklist of random anime shit and see how many things get checked off before my first century.) That'd be interesting to do, so I'd make a note to do it later... If I didn't forget. That was a possibility.
Looking over to the Thieves, I nodded and brought out my phone. "I'm gonna head home for the day, see ya later dorks! And I'll call you later Ann!" And with a tap of my Metanav, I left.
Today had been a good day.
+12HP +6SP +2St +2Ma to all Thieves.(If anyone thinks this is excessive then you're stupid.)
[Omake - He... Hehehe. Futaba's POV 15 minutes later}
The entire Souls series should've been lit on fire and thrown into Dev Hell. Granted, they were fun, and I was being fueled by pure spite and Monster energy drinks to finish all of them, but it was the principal of the thing dammit! "Stupid fucking games have no right to be as fun as they are." I was about to confirm resetting my stats to change builds when my phone lit up, best sis but not blood related sis Tara was calling me on FaceTime. I blinked for a sec, looking between my phone and my stat screen before deciding my sister was more important.
Picking up my phone, I propped my phone up against my monitors, giving sissy a good look at me, and picked up the call. ""Tabaaa!/Fu-chan!""
Hearing/seeing both of my sisters, I loved that thought, in Tara's room, I blinked and spoke before thinking. "Is this gonna be the sex tape? I'm all for it if it is." In the back of my mind, I knew this wasn't going to be anything like that, but in my caffeinated and highly annoyed mind, two bombshell redheads wearing nothing more then super sexy crop tops and laying on a bed together far away from the camera meant sexy fun times.
My sisters had different reactions to that, Tara snorted and her lips twitched while Rias just rolled her eyes with a smile on her face. "Fu-chan,again, incest is not wincest."
Now that was just slander! "Lies and slander I say! Everyone knows the little sister is usually the most shipped when she's an option... And don't judge me!" They were still judging me. How rude!
"... Anywaaay!" Looking over at Tara, my eyes locked onto her raised arm. "Look at what I got!" On her arm, at the same spot as Erza's, was the Fairy Tail emblem.
I blinked for a second, then cheered. "Oooh, that looks so good! Where'd you go for it?" I might've already been bringing up tattoo artists and styles, but that neither here nor there.
"The Metaverse." I paused... Not sure if my ears heard that right because that sounded like she sa...- "Yep. But, wanna know what else I got?"
Seeing the massive grins on not only her face, but Rias' face, I put 2 and 2 together and got 22. "NO FUCKING WAY!"
Tara, the flashy crazy woman that she was, hopped off the bed, giving me alot of under boob as she did, and stood in front of the bed, closer to the camera... Which looked like it was on her desk given how far away it was, and how much of a view I was getting. "Witness me! Requip!" The golden flash I'd expected upon hearing that word appeared, and I felt my jaw drop when it disappeared, exposing my sister wearing the X92 version of Erza's armor, cape and all.
I just STARED at her, the smug look sort of taking away the awe, but not by much. I could feel the nerdgasm building, the urge to learn Teleportation magic growing stronger so I could pop in and just nerd out with my sisters at the fact our older sister was actually Erza now, but I was beat too it by Rias. "KYAAA!" I briefly expected the glass screen on my phone to shatter, and was very happy that it didn't.
Though I was happier when Rias LUNGED at Tara, the armor clad redhead ending up caught by surprise and sent crashing to the ground... (The power of family compels you! The power of family compels you! The power of...-)
Then I heard a moan, and whatever progress I made was overwhelmed by Horny Futaba. "Angh! That's cold." NOT HELPING! "But oh my MAOU! You're ACTUALLY Erza now!"
Tara laughed as she hugged Rias closer to her. "Gee, I wonder where I heard that before." I knew what she meant, we'd gotten onto the subject of how they met and I remembered pretty much all of it.
Though I was more focused on the sight in front of me rather then the knowledge that Rias had basically reenacted their meeting and subsequent claim to bestfriend/sisterhood, but in reverse. (Fuck... That's hot.) Rias and Tara were tit to tit, smiling as they both looked into each others eyes... And I was pretty sure the latter was close to having said tits spill out of her armor. (Okay Futaba, put the Shoujou moment aside for later, nerd out about my sister suddenly being Erza, now!) So I did just that.
Tara, Rias and I geeked out as the former showed us all the new outfits she had... Which included the gag outfits like the Bunny Girl outfit, the Celestial set... And the Belly Dancer one... (WEE WOO WEE WOO, CRITICAL MASS REACHED! GET TO COVER!) The last thing I heard were my sisters calling out to me as I passed out from my nosebleed.
{EXTRA Omake - Meow. Koneko's POV a few minutes later,]
Kaasan was back, best part of the day. She took longer today, which was fine, she couldn't always be on time everyday, but it was whatever. She always came home, would drop anything she was doing to come home if I asked, happily spoiled me with sweets and pets, and would descend onto anyone who pissed me off with the wrath of a mama dragon... What else could I ask for really?
So I wasn't really bothered by the fact she came home late, or the fact she ran straight to Rias after giving me a baggie of candy and a quick kiss to my forehead...
I was curious though. So after I ate the candy, candy was love, candy was life, I made my way towards her room. I could hear Kaasan and Rias talking, saying something about switching 'sets', whatever that meant, and made my way to see what was going on... Though when I opened the door, I just stared.
Kaasan and Rias were there, that was expected. Futaba apparently being passed out over FaceTime was... A thing... But it was what Kaasan was wearing that made me stare at her in confusion... "Kaasan... Why are you a cat girl?" She had white cat ears on her head, a furry white leotard thing that didn't cover much, big white paws, and a white tail that had frozen, just like mine did, as the two of us stared at each other... We just stared for a few moments, maybe a minute, and only got out of it when the sound of a picture being take rang out... (When did Rias get over there?) My King had apparently walked around us at some point, and probably had a good picture of Kaasan and I looking like deer in headlights...
I kinda wanted to see that picture actually. I could tell Kaasan wanted to see it too, but before any of us could make a move, a voice rang out by the doorway. "Nyahallo! Shi..." Onee-sama walked into the room, Kaasan and I both turning towards her as we entered a sudden three way stare down... "Nani the what fuck?"
(...Yes, that sounds about right.) We all ignored the sound of Rias taking another picture.
[EXTRA EXTRA Omake - Thieves POV a few hours later]
- Thieves Den -
Queen - All in favor for blaming today's torture on Joker say Aye.
Skull - Captain and I say Aye!
Panther - Aye!
Mona - Zorro and I say Aye!
Queen - Johanna and I say Aye.
Joker - ... I've been betrayed by everyone, including myself!
Joker - The humanity!
Panther - Can we talk about the rant Arsene was having after it was all over? I've never heard him like that before.
Joker - He say's he's better now.
Skull - Lucky you, Captain is still annoyed that he couldn't blast her.
Queen - Johanna's annoyed that she was shattered. 'The indignity of a brute of her caliber ruining my form is immeasurable' she says.
Panther - Carmen is surprisingly okay after the whole thing... And I don't know what that says about myself.
Mona - Zorro is fine.
Mona - And just don't think about it Panther.
Mona - Also, is no one going to question where Fox is?
Skull - Dude, we all saw how he was after we came out. I wouldn't be surprised if he's been glued to his art stuff ever since he got home.
Queen - ... I haven't known him for long, but isn't that a little worrying?
Joker - Sort of. Though Sakura said she'll make a dietary plan for him, so Fox will be in good hands soon.
Skull - ... Hands that beat the shit out of us literally a buncha hours ago?
Panther - ... I mean... It was for our own good?
Skull - Uhhh? Huh?
Queen - I mean... She's not wrong?
Joker - She's not... And we can't deny that we're earning valuable experience...
Skull - ... But Dragon.
Joker - But Dragon.
Panther - ... Holy shit!
Skull - ?
Mona - ?
Queen - ?
Joker - ?
Panther - I own genuine Dragon clothing!
Queen - ... Oh... Oh damn.
Skull - Uhhh?
Mona - I don't get it.
Joker - ... In hindsight, we should've figured it out after she turned into a literal golden engine of destruction.
Queen - But Dragon.
Joker - But Dragon.
Panther - I'm going to go freak out about owning genuine Dragon clothes. Night guys!
Queen - ... That's one way to sign off...
Queen - I guess I'll do the same... And maybe order that jacket I've been looking at.
Queen - Goodnight all.
Skull - ... Duuude, do you think she'll let me keep a horn?!
Mona - ... But wouldn't that mean she'd have to chop off one of her horns first?
Skull - Uhhh... Maybe?
Joker - Well maybe you should ask her. Knowing her she might do it just because.
Skull - Bet!
Skull - I'll do it tomorrow though. I'm wiped out.
Skull - Night dudes!
Joker - Night everyone.
Irene would technically be reborn.