Chapter 4

After a delicious lunch that he never would have been able to splurge on with the limited budget his parents gave him, Junichiro made his way to the train station. There was nothing special about his journey back to the scrapyard or his entry into it. Though, the middle-aged balding man running the place did give him a bit of a funny look for coming into a scrapyard with what he was wearing.

Junichiro immediately went deep into the scrapyard while grabbing any piece of material that caught his attention. It didn't matter what the material original came from, just that it looked even remotely interesting to him. He did so until he came close to the rear of the yard furthest from the entrance. It put him far enough away to hide the light show from making things.

First and foremost, he made eight small devices. Each device would go into a corner of his apartment, both top, and bottom, to build a space that blocked all outgoing magical emissions. With the system up and running he could make anything at home without setting off a search once again. He wanted to avoid the devils, just for the time being. There were things he needed to do before he joined them.

He stored the shield system and moved on to his next item. Originally, he wanted to make an automaton, android, golem, or something similar to become his home cook and dishwasher. However, he'd thought of a better idea. Why make something like that when he could make something so much better that would give him unlimited free food? He took inspiration from the ever-inspirational Star Trek and thought about making the ultimate awesome item, a food replicator!

As he gathered the materials to make his replicator, he pondered what other items he could make from the iconic show. He instantly thought of the two most amazing technologies of the show that he could use at home, matter transporters and the holodeck. However, only one, the holodeck, was really worth making. After all, teleportation magic existed and he had a plan to make something similar to his ice magic gem focused on such magic.

As he was about to make the food replicator, he was hit with a sudden inspiration. He froze as thoughts fluttered through his mind and a grin split his face, "Perfect!"

He stopped what he was doing and pulled out his previous creation, "I haven't even used you yet but it's already time for an upgrade!"

He placed the items with the other materials he'd gathered and got to work. The eight small items originally meant to just block auras, magic, and such from getting out of his apartment were becoming so much more. By the time he finished working on them, they would continue to fulfill their original purpose along with two more. Now they not only blocked outgoing magic and such, but they also became the projectors for holograms based on the holodeck and replicators that could not only create food but anything that the projectors created. All of which were powered by mana generators to make sure he would have all the energy they would ever need.

With the new system, he could turn his entire apartment into whatever he wanted. Then anything he really liked could be turned into a real item. Well, anything except living things. He didn't need that can of worms opened. Just that thought gave him so many ideas. He especially wanted to use the new holohome (trademark pending) to create trainers to teach him how to fight. The absolute best thing was that the whole system ran on magic, he didn't need to program in scenarios or items like the original holodeck required. His little apartment was about to become the best home EVER.

He put away the eight projectors in his storage ring and thought about what he wanted to make next. With how his head was feeling, he felt he could make one more big item or several small ones before he would need to stop for a while to recover. He currently had defense, offense, sustenance, and training covered. That left transportation. He had a license but nothing to drive.

A look at the scrap yard showed the corpses of many vehicles, most of them hardly more than husks. That, of course, didn't matter as he could turn them into anything he desired. But what did he desire? There were so many options. So many choices. Classic muscle cars, tuner cars of all eras, motorcycles of all kinds, and then there were possible fictional vehicles to choose from! As he was thinking about just which single one he wanted to make, because more than one would be an issue, he realized he had nowhere to park it. His apartment didn't include a parking space for him.

Of course, he could store it within his ring but that could bring up questions about where it was when he was at home. The legal matters could be handled by his VI but logistical ones, like applying for and being approved for a parking permit at school, couldn't. Too dangerous to try and change the records that the devils would have access to. Trying to explain in person was too much risk. If only he knew how to teleport... DUH! Hadn't he just been thinking about that?

He grabbed chunks of glass and focused on them, much like he had earlier. His hand glowed and sparks flew around as the glass slowly turned into a deep purple gem with a beating heart of power. It didn't take as long to create as the one for ice magic, but when it finished he had a new gem to add to his armor's gauntlet, the portal gem. Well, kind of any type of teleportation or portal-style magic. All it cost was a few minutes of effort and his head now throbbing. The pain couldn't keep down his excitement and desire to test his new toy though!

He quickly slotted the new deep purple gem into his gauntlet, after summoning his armor. With a twist of his wrist, while picturing what he wanted, a familiar-looking style of portal opened in front of him. Sitting in mid-air, surrounded by orange sparks, was a perfectly circular doorway showing the interior of his apartment. This type of portal was styled after the portals used by sorcerers in the Marvel movies.

Seeing that it worked perfectly, all while taking mana from his own core, brought a smile to his face. He wasn't done though. He twisted his wrist again to close the portal but followed the motion up with a flick of his hand. Another portal popped into existence with a different aesthetic. This portal appeared like a black hole surrounded by dark purple mist. He wanted this version so he could keep his destination hidden from sight. If he walked through the portal he would be back in his home, the same as the last.

The second portal vanished with another gesture of his hand. The test proved that he could have his portal appear any way he desired. Next was teleporting! He wanted to start small so he looked down the aisle he'd walked through to get to where he was. He focused on a spot about one hundred feet away from his current spot. With a classic 'Bamf!' he vanished leaving behind a cloud of blue smoke, only to appear at his desired spot with another cloud of smoke. All just visual effects but the point stood! He'd copied a classic and it brought another manic smile to his face.

"I'm going to have so much fun with this!"

He spent some time practicing by teleporting short distances before calling it a day. He exited the scrapyard and made his way around the corner to get out of sight of anyone. It wouldn't do to leave the guy working the entrance wondering why he hadn't left the scrapyard if he teleported home directly from within it. He also made sure there was no one nearby to see him after leaving the place.

With another classic 'Bamf!' and a burst of smoke, Junichiro teleported himself home. Just after his arrival, he began setting up his projectors. He placed two in each of the four main corners of his apartment, one in the bottom corner and one in the top. Doing so enclosed his room in a cubic shape. Once the final one was installed, there was a small flash of light from each one as they networked together and booted up. Once they finished they would prevent extra signals from exiting his home keeping his magical work from being detected.

"Computer, I'd like beef wellington replicated for dinner."

As soon as he spoke there was a soft glow of light and a gentle hum as a plate of steaming food appeared on his small kitchen table. Beef Wellington, something he'd only ever had once in either life due to its price. It also didn't help that only really high-class restaurants usually offered it. A large filet mignon wrapped in various ingredients including prosciutto and puff pastry. It was a complex and difficult dish to cook to perfection but with a single sentence, he had a perfect one all to himself.

Junichiro quickly dug into his dinner and if someone had heard his moans of delight they would have assumed that something distinctly different was happening. The food didn't last very long but he savored every last bite. When he was finished, a simple command cleared up the dirty dishes turning them back into energy, mana specifically.

With a full stomach, he retired to his small couch and pointed to the wall in front of him, "Computer, replace my current TV with a replicated sixty-four-inch flat screen."

With the expected glow of his system, his small twenty-inch television vanished and was quickly replaced with a much larger one. He didn't even have to plug it in, the system had redone the cables automatically. He picked up the remote and pressed the power button, only nothing happened, "Oh, right. Computer, replace my current remote and replicate one for the new TV."

He'd need to remember to ask for things like that in the future. The machine seemed a little too literal in some cases. He'd just be more specific from now on. He flipped through the channels until he found something interesting to watch. With everything he'd done, he felt the need to relax and recover for the rest of the day. Tomorrow would be the beginning of the new school year and his first day of class. Sometime after which he would be breaking into Issei's place and stealing the Boosted Gear from him. Fun times.

"Computer, replicate a small tracking device and tracker on the kitchen counter."

No need to use something magical for a mundane task like finding out where the pervert lived. He'd just tag him with the tracking device and follow it to his place sometime tomorrow night. No need for complex or difficult plans. No, the difficult part would be trying to convince Ddraig to work with him. Junichiro was confident and Issei's perverted nature would make that conversation a little easier, along with some information on his rival Albion's host.

The following morning, Junichiro stood in front of his mirror looking over himself in the Kuoh academy uniform. While it differed from the more 'standard' male uniforms of other high schools, it wasn't by a huge margin. It was something he wouldn't be embarrassed to wear and looked somewhat professional even. Still, he tweaked his uniform a bit by changing the expected weird neck-tie thing with a proper black necktie and adding a black vest over the white shirt with thin vertical stripes he had to wear. Lastly, he would wear his converse style shoes when he left his apartment to complete his look. He had his own style and refused to compromise.

With everything set, he collected his school bag, a messenger-style bag, and made his way out of his apartment, being sure to lock it behind him. The walk to the school wasn't too long and he'd left with plenty of time to make it. He needed to meet up with the student council to find out his class assignment.

A normal school would have just sent that information to him but with who ran Kuoh Academy, it wasn't surprising they'd want to meet everyone new in person. He expected this was a tactic used by Sona Sitri, the student council president and one of two devil princesses overlooking Kuoh as their 'territory,' to get the measure of new students for possible recruitment. He made sure his restriction bracelet was working properly. He wanted to appear as a perfectly normal mundane human the first time he met them.

He did plan to become a devil by joining the peerage of Rias Gremory, eventually. Her peerage was constantly in the center of important events and he wanted to be right in the center of them himself. It was the best possible way for him to make sure the world didn't end up destroyed. Especially since he planned to steal Ddraig and the Boosted Gear from Issei sometime tonight. Boosted Gear combined with The Workshop would allow him to make items of such power it almost terrified him as much as it thrilled him.

He was brought out of his plans and thoughts by his arrival at the main gate to the school. He garnered some attention from the crowd of students arriving alongside him as well as those within the schoolyard. Clumps of friends were gathered together talking to each other. He felt he was rather lucky as he drew only a small amount of attention from the student body. Unlike other male students within the school, such as Kiba with his blonde European looks or the perverted trio with their bad reputation, he came off as rather plain and ordinary. In other words, he didn't really stick out so no one paid him much attention.

Junichiro made his way through the halls of the school, following directions he'd been given in his acceptance letter, to the student council room. He politely knocked on the door and waited a few moments before heading a feminine voice call out, "Enter."

He opened the door and stepped into the room while giving it a once over. He was a little surprised to find only two people in the room. The first he was fully expecting, Sona Sitri, or Shitori as she went by in the human world. He never understood why she bothered changing her family name like that. Especially when Rias didn't do the same thing. It just didn't make any sense. Still, that was neither here nor there.

Sona was a rather attractive young woman with black hair styled into a short bob cut, light purple eyes, and a modest bust because that seemed to matter in this world. Honestly, he found her physically more appealing than Rias Gremory or Akeno Himejima. Though, he never understood why a devil, with perfect vision, would wear glasses. He suspected that it was either a fetish or she thought they made her look smarter. If it was the latter he would have to point out that she was intelligent enough to not need a facade to hide behind.

Next to Sona stood the ever-present queen of her peerage, Tsubaki Shinra. Tsubaki wore her hair so long it reached past the back of her knees with a small section of bangs cut out so she could see. Her brown eyes, much like Sona's, were hidden behind a pair of glasses. Lastly, her bust was a fair bit larger than Sona's own, something he was sure Sona was jealous of.

Both wore the female uniform to perfection with no personal changes, likely to set an example. Personally, he found the female uniform for the school to be ridiculous. He dismissed his stray thoughts when Sona looked him over closely. He saw her slightly raise an eyebrow at the modifications to his uniform, namely his tie and vest, but she seemed to move beyond that as she addressed him, "You must be Junichiro Arai, the new transfer student."

After seeing his nod of confirmation, she continued, "Welcome to Kuoh Academy. I'm Sona Shitori, president of the student council, and this is my vice president Tsubaki Shinra." She gestured first to herself and then to Tsubaki next to her before continuing, "We don't usually get transfers but your transcripts showed you to be an excellent student." She rifled through the pile of paperwork and she pulled out his file, "You're assigned to class 3-B, the same class as my vice president Tsubaki." Saying so, she gestured to Tsubaki next to her, "She will be able to show you to the classroom. Do you have any questions Arai-san?"

Junichiro thought for a moment before shaking his head, "No, Shitori-san."

Sona nodded in acceptance of his word and then looked over at Tsubaki. The two seemed to hold a silent conversation before Tsubaki gave Sona a small bow and focused on Junichiro, "Please follow me Arai-san, I'll lead you to the classroom we'll be sharing for the year."

The two of them left the student council room and slowly walked through the halls of the school toward their shared classroom. The two of them garnered more attention than he had when he was walking alone, but that could be expected. As they walked, Tsubaki engaged him in conversation, "As Kaicho said, it's rare for someone to transfer into Kuoh Academy, is there a reason you've done so?"

Junichiro looked over at Tsubaki and gave her a small smile. He realized he was being gently pumped for information in the guise of making small talk, not that he minded. Before Saturday morning he was a regular human with nothing even remotely special about himself. Any checking they did would show that so there was no reason for him to not answer her honestly, "It was my parents' idea really. While I was fine with the best school near my home, my parents eventually decided it wasn't good enough for me. They applied for me to come here on their own. Their excuse to me is they wanted to start teaching me to be more self-reliant. So, they moved me here on my own, gave me an apartment, set me up at this school, and send me a stipend each month."

He chuckled a little, "I think they hope I will make it into Kuoh Academy's college branch." He leaned a little closer to her to whisper the next part, "I think my mother had an ulterior motive though."

Tsubaki looked at him with a hint of interest, "Oh? What might that be?"

Junichiro replied in a conspiratorial tone of voice, "I think she wanted me to find a girlfriend!"

Tsubaki immediately looked away from him and covered her mouth with her hand. Her efforts were in vain though as Junichiro heard the soft snort of her suppressed laughter. He continued regardless, "I swear, ever since I entered high school she's become obsessed with having grand-babies to spoil rotten." He let out a hum of consideration, "While I wouldn't mind kids, one day, it's too early and I'd much rather just focus on my education and then on finding a proper job. Only after that will I think about a wife and children."

Most of that was pure bullshit. Junichiro had no desire to go to college. Money would never be an issue for him. The only reason he said as much to Tsubaki was so that it would get back to Sona, and possibly Rias, to put him in a proper light. He wanted to garner a reputation as a normal and well-grounded young man with plans for the future. Being so normal would make him stand out a bit more when he started to implement his plan to join Rias's peerage.

Tsubaki gave him a considering look for a moment before returning her attention to where they were walking. A moment later she stopped in front of a classroom door with a sign reading '3-B' above it, "This is our classroom Arai-san. Please wait out here, the homeroom teacher will call you in to introduce yourself once class begins."

Junichiro nodded with a smile and prepared to wait. Today would probably drag, but once night fell things would get interesting. He'd have to keep an eye out for a chance to plant his tracker on Issei sometime during the day. He smiled to himself at that thought. Today would definitely be a good day.