Part 1

"What the fuck?!"

My ears ring from both the lack of sleep and the surprised scream from Azazel

Despite the awfully late hour that me and Ayumu came back, we still decided to wake everyone in order to tell them about everything that happened

"Easy there Azazel, you wanna wake up the entire building?"

I warn him, we are currently meeting in Issei's room with everyone that's involved except the Maou Leviathan, a few of us are still in their pajamas, but the fallen angel couldn't care less

"You just told me that you, Ayumu and your parents kidnapped the Kyuubi, the Jade Dragon and the top branch of the East Faction in a single night and you're asking me to be quiet?"

I put my hand against my forehead, this is going to be tough

"T-that's really a lot to take in Tatseyo..."

Liliana says with a troubled expression, she's talking to us through a magic circle and we can see her as a projection

"No joke, you did all that in one night?!"

Saji asks loudly

"Tatseyo's parents really are monsters..."

Xenovia says under her breath, despite her words, I couldn't really say anything back

What I just said to them was absolutely ridiculous

In a single night, we may have caused the single greatest crisis the Alliance has faced so far

"I know, but you guys need to understand everything I just said so we can prepare, the invasion will happen in just two days"

Azazel scratches his head, visibly nervous

"That's bad, really fucking bad."

Everyone is looking around, concerned

"You guys did all that tonight? In the last few hours?"

Issei asks in disbelieve

"And you couldn't tell us anything because of Georg's Sacred Gear..."

Liliana says, I just nod my head

"Dimension Lost... damn, that Sacred Gear is a pain in the ass, those guys could be hiding right under our nose and we wouldn't be able to tell." - Azazel complains

"The whole damn thing is problematic, they placed barriers everywhere to avoid detection, we couldn't find a single breach to communicate with you all. If we refused, our disguise would be gone and with mom and dad there... well, that was not an option"

Everyone in the room has a troubled expression

"I knew Lady Tatsumaki and Kageyama-san were strong, but to have defeated Arjuna and Sun Wukong that easily..."

Liliana says and Azazel places a hand on his chin

"You said they weren't captured... anytime we might receive a call from them. There's no way that guy Indra will be quiet about this"

He then gives a loud sigh and pinches the middle of his eyes

"Holy shit Tatseyo, you and your family have raised more chaos in a night than the Khaos Brigade in months"

He's angry, I find it hard to answer something since what he said was not a lie in anyway, but someone speaks up for me

"Leave him alone, Azazel"

Liliana's voice came from the projection, scolding the fallen angel governor

"Tatseyo and Ayumu had no choice, this was the Hero Faction's fault. If they hadn't gone along, then someone else would do and it would only be worse for us because then we'd have no inside information"

Azazel closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath

"I-I know, I'm sorry, Tatseyo, Ayumu, you just... that really came out of nowhere"

I shake my head

"No, I get it, you are actually reacting a lot better than I expected"

Ayumu scratched her cheek

"With the way things turned out we'd be surprised if you didn't react like this"

The fallen angel sighs and Liliana talks to me

"And there's another esper from the Community working with them, that's just the icing on the cake... you have no idea who it is?"

I shake my head

"From the little information we got all I can say is that it's gotta be somebody with access to classified information and a lot of resources. It could be an elected official, someone with a high military rank or an esper with level."

"Or in the worst case, all three..."

I nod as Liliana speaks up what had crossed my own mind much earlier

Azazel narrows his eyes

"Do you think they are the one behind this?"

I frown, once again troubled

"I can't say for sure, the plan seems to be Cao Cao's idea and while it's true that the Esper Community would love the chance to support something like this, any aid to members outside of the organization requires voting, discussion among the members, we definitely would have heard something."

Ayumu agrees

"Whoever's supporting them, it's definitely clandestine, far away from official matters"

"Like us..."

I reply troubled, Ayumu turns to me

"Yeah... just like us..."

The room turns silent for a moment

"So, that means we got no clue?"

I nod

"If we want answers we're going to have to take it out of them"

"At Nijo castle?"

Issei asks

"Yes, it seems like that will be our only chance to fight against them"

Azazel once again presses his hand against his forehead

"An invasion of Kyoto and riots to divide our forces, tricky bastards"

He spats out with bitterness in his voice

"But it is a very good plan, with our forces divided we will be forced to send a small but powerful unit to deal with them and who better to do this..."

Liliana says looking towards me

"Than Tatseyo, Ayumu and the Sekiryuutei team, the strongest we have"

Azazel puts a hand on his goatee

"That's true, in the end we'll fall right into their hands..."

Issei looks confused for a moment

"But is that okay? I mean, doing exactly what they expect from us isn't bad?"

I scratch the back of my head

"It's not so easy Issei..."

Liliana nods, agreeing with me

"If we divert too much from what they expect they will become suspicious and might change their plans into something we can't predict." - She explains

"I-I see..."

Issei answers

Azazel clicks his tongue in anger

"Tsk, so in the end we have no choice but to dance to their tune"

I raise a finger

"But not exactly, Cao Cao expects that when Issei and his team arrive, we'll backstab you and then they'll be free to summon Great Red. That's why we planed with Yu-Long, Yasaka-san and the three leaders of the East youkai faction to break their brainwashing"

A smile forms in my face as I explain

"He thinks they'll be in an overwhelming advantage when it's actually the exact opposite, they will be the ones trapped inside their own ambush"

Even through the projection, I can see that the worried expression on Liliana's face has turned into a smile

"That was an amazing plan, Tatseyo"

"Thank you"

I reply with a smile of my own at the hologram

With all that's happened, it feels like me and Liliana haven't talked in forever, even if barely a day has passed ever since we last saw each other.

Azazel also has an impressed expression

"I'm honestly more surprised at how you made all those five agree with this crazy plan, surrendering just to attack later, it doesn't seem like something that Yu-Long would agree on"

Ayumu shrugs

"Well, they were inside a sealed cage with Tachan's parents just a hallway away, so they didn't had much choice"

I give a nervous laugh

"Indeed, my parents being there to stop them if they tried to escape probably helped too."

"About those two..."

Azazel frowned again as he mentioned my parents

"How are we supposed to stop them anyway?"

The eyes in the room turn to me

Ayumu also looks at me, concerned

"I was going to ask the same thing..."

Azazel puts his hand forward with a palm up

"When you said your parents were strong I wasn't expecting that... even I don't think I could take that monkey geezer and Arjuna on my own and as strong as our cute Maoshoujo Leviathan is, she likely wouldn't be able to do it either."

Liliana herself has an unease expression

"That is true... have you thought about how we are going to deal with it, Tatseyo?"

She asks and I sigh

"Well, I did but it's obvious we'll only have one way to deal with this situation now that mom and dad will be involved"

I scratch the back of my head

"You and Serafall-san are gonna have to win their trust"

Exclamations of surprise fill the room

"What?! That's your plan?!"

Azazel asked

"I know it's risky, but what choice do we have? I won't be able to contact them while fighting Cao Cao and there's no way you guys can stop them and the Khaos Brigade together"

"And how do you intend for us to do that? You just said your parents don't trust non-humans, what are we supposed to do?"

Liliana speaks up

"Maybe I should send Mayumi and the others? They are espers, maybe Kageyama-san will listen to them"

I nod, indeed this seems like a good option

When we first met the only reason I listened to Liliana was because there were espers with her, maybe dad won't trust them outright, but it might make him willing to at least listen to them

However, there is a chance that things won't go so easy with them...

Just as I'm about to interject, Ayumu replies

"No, that won't do"

"Uh?"

Liliana says, confused

Ayumu speaks up

"We can't take such a risk Tachan, even if Liliana's servants are espers, they are still devils, what if your parents don't trust them?"

I nod in silence, unable to give a proper answer

"Ayumu-chan is right... it's very risky..."

Liliana agrees with her, my redhead friend continues

"When Liliana introduced herself to you, it was when you were bonded and in a building where a fight could have harmed innocents. Also, at that time there was nothing to lose, if you decided to not listen and just fight them, they could have just escaped"

I close my eyes and nod, she's right

"But if my parents decide to not listen..."

The tension in the room is evident, if mom and dad don't stop, all non-humans in Kyoto will have a collective funeral

"Ayumu is right, we can't risk anything, if we are going to send someone to talk to them, it'll have to be someone they will listen to and, most importantly, trust."

I turn to her

"Do you have any ideas?"

Ayumu sighs

"I mean, is there any other option?"

She says and I frown, a bit confused

"You're not saying..."

She nods

"It has to be me"

My frown turns into a shocked expression

"W-what?!"

"Ayumu-chan?"

Liliana also asks , just as shocked as I am

Ayumu shrugs

"And what else can we do? It can't be you because we're gonna need your power to break the brainwashing and fight those assholes, so if it can't be you, it's gotta be me"

I am bewildered for a moment, processing what Ayumu just said

"But... you..."

I can't argue with her idea, but the thought of Ayumu going on her own to try and convince mom and dad, standing right in their line of fire...

"Face it Tatseyo, your parents know me for years, without you arond, I'm the only one they will trust"

She then gives a nervous smile

"At least I believe they won't crush me the moment I start talking"

For a moment, the room turns silent again

"Ayumu-chan is right"

Liliana breaks the silence, I turn to her projection

"You'll be fighting against Cao Cao and the other leaders, as much as it pains to me say there's a good chance your parents won't listen to any of us... and in a situation like this we can't take any chances"

I find myself blinking repeteadely

"It's true, if there's anyone here they will listen to, it's her"

Azazel agrees

I put my hand against my forehead and take a deep breath

Ayumu is right, in the situation we are in we can't risk it

She's the only one who has even a chance of convicing them

"You are right, Ayumu. But we're gonna have to think really well what we're going to say, you can't go unprepared."

When I say this I hear a soft giggle and look to see Liliana with a hand on front of her mouth

"You're so cute when you are worried Tatseyo"

I feel my cheeks getting warmer at her teasing

"It's not like I don't trust Ayumu's power, but with mom and dad, if there's even a chance... I don't want her to get hurt."

Liliana laughs a bit louder this time

"What a noble feeling, I'm sure Ayumu-chan appreciates it too, don't you Ayumu-chan?"

I follow Liliana's eyes and look back at Ayumu, who's smilling at me

"Thanks Tachan, I'll do my best"

I find myself becoming even more embarassed, unsure of what to say

"Good to know you don't care about us getting hurt though"

Azazel says at the other side of the table

"I-I didn't said that!"

I sigh

"If our plan works, then fighting won't even be necessary..."

I then think for a little more and realize my wishful thinking

"At least on your side"

Azazel asks me with a serious expression

"You mean the front I'll be fighting at, right?"

I nod

"Ayumu can't be two places at once, and if we're gonna have to convince my parents then we definitely have to start with dad."

The fallen angel stroke his goatee before replying

"That means our dear Maou Leviathan will have to hold your beast of a mother and Napoleon untill we can get Ayumu and your dad to stop her too, huh?"

"Exactly"

I answer with a troubled expression

Azazel blinks a few times and answers

"Well, I'm sure we can think of something to buy us time, but you better work on your speech skills. I don't wanna have to explain to one of my students why her sister won't be coming back from Kyoto"

I see Saji nodding from the corner of my eye

"Sona-kaichou will be really upset when she hears about this..."

Issei turns to Azazel

"Should we alert Buchou and everyone else at Kuoh?"

The fallen angel nods

"Definitely, if there will be riots in devil controlled towns then we need to warn them and Sirzechs as soon as possible. Meanwhile..."

He stands up and heads for the door

"I'll call Serafall and we'll meet with the Kyoto youkais leadership, they'll likely want to hear about it."

Then points at the projection close to me

"You should prepare too, Liliana. If there's riots, then it's likely your territory will suffer attacks"

Liliana nods

"I know, I'll also have to warn my family... I'll send mom a message"

Azazel stops for a moment as he holds the door open

"Heh, it seems like your infiltration plan was a success, huh?"

I support my head with a hand, troubled

"Even if we did ended up helping them..."

In the end we managed to get a huge amount of information about the Hero Faction's next steps but we were also used as soldiers by them

However, Liliana calls to me

"If you weren't there, it's likely they would just capture the East faction's members in another way, you two managed to make sure the Nurarihyon escaped and now we know that your parents are with them. If we didn't know that and went to fight, the damage would be immesurable"

I nod, it's good to know our plan paid off in the end

"Cheer up kid, you two did really good. Setbacks are bound to happen in any plan, but you managed to come up with a way to deal with it on the spot, that's something to be proud of."

"Thanks Azazel"

Me and Ayumu thank him, why can't this governor be like this all the time?

As Azazel is preparing to leave, Issei speaks up

"Wait, sensei, what are we supposed to do now?"

He asks and everyone turns to look at Azazel

"Honestly, all what you all can do right now is prepare. By what Tatseyo said the Hero Faction will try to cause quite an impression in order to lure you guys into Nijo Castle, so I won't tell you to stop enjoying Kyoto, but don't let your guard down"

Irina tilts her head and asks

"Did they told you how they would invite us?"

I shrug

"No, but they said that however they decided to do, it would cause quite an impression, after all they really want you to show up"

Issei then scratches his head

"That means we won't be able to put our guard down at all during the school trip! Ahhhh, why do we always get wrapped up in these kinds of situations"

Saji nods at Issei's complaints

"You guys have a talent to get caught up in dangerous situations, I wouldn't mind it so much if me and the student council also didn't got pulled along so often"

He declares with an annoyed sigh

Azazel laughs

"It can't be helped, the power of a dragon will attract companions and rivals too. You two as fellow dragons should have gotten used to it by now"

Despite Azazel's remark, both Issei and Saji show tired expressions

"Ahhh! I just want to live a peaceful, ecchi-filled life! Why do these people keep showing up after us?!"

Saji tightens his fists and raises one up

"It's true! I just wanna live a peaceful life in the Student Council and Kaichou!"

The two start to shed tears from their eyes

I raise an eyebrown, is this really that bad?

Me and Ayumu are used to constant fighting, but for Issei and Saji, who used to be regular humans, I guess this must be really stressfull

"There, threre, it's alright, Ise"

"Calm down Gen-chan, it's fine, it's fine"

The girls from each group pet the heads of the complaining dragons

I hear Liliana and Azazel laugh

"Anyway, both of you should get ready for whatever comes your way, specially since we don't know how or when they will make this invitation"

I nod and look at the two groups with a serious expression

"Me and Ayumu will still have to keep our distance from you because it could ruin or disguise if we are put in a situation where you'll be attacked, so be careful"

They all look at me with serious and nervous expressions

"Leave it to us"

Issei says

"Yeah, we won't be caught so easily"

Xenovia answers

Kiba nods and places a hand on his chin

"Maybe it would be better to change my group's schedule here in Kyoto so that my a group and Issei's overlap more"

Everyone seems to agree, the more the Gremory team stays together, the less likely they are to get hurt in a possible ambush by the Hero Faction

"That would be good, call if you need my help for anything, but right now I have to go"

Azazel says as he walks out of the room

Then it's just the students and Liliana left

Liliana looks a little troubled over the projection

"I... should probably go too, I have to warn everyone and prepare for a likely attack in my territory. Tatseyo, Ayumu-chan, please be careful, okay?"

We both nod

"Don't worry, it'll take more than the Hero Faction to take us down"

My bravado is rewarded with a smile and a giggle from Liliana

"I'm sure of it, but make sure you and Ayumu-chan know what to tell your parents, we can't risk getting into their bad side"

"I'll do my best to convince Tachan's parents. This is... my fight too after all"

Ayumu replies with a bit of embarassment

This causes Liliana's smile to become even broader

"Thanks a lot, Ayumu-chan"

Ayumu then points at the projection

"Just to be clear, I'm doing this for Tachan, not you, okay?!"

Liliana's smile does not fade at all and she giggles

"Of course and I'm sure Tatseyo appreciates it, but that doesn't mean I can't be happy as well"

Ayumu seems unable to answer and just crosses her arms and lays her back against a wall

"W-whatever..."

Liliana gives a soft laugh and looks at me

"I have to go, bye Tatseyo, we'll see each other soon~"

I say goodbye to Liliana and the projection disappears

And then it's just us, the students, left in the tight room

Issei is the first one to open his mouth

"So... what do we do now?"

I get up and supress a loud yawn with my hand

"I don't know you guys, but I'll make use of the sleep I still have before morning call comes in"

Part 2

I had to supress a yawn even as I showered

"Fuck you Cao Cao..."

I curse under my breath as I leave my room and head to the dinning hall

"Hey, Tachan!"

"Woah!"

I meet Ayumu right out of my door, even after our poorly slept night she still seems full of energy

"Hey Ayumu, heading to the hall?"

Ayumu pouts

"More like coming to get you, Kanade and the boys must already be finishing their breakfast, took your sweet time getting ready, huh?"

I wave my hand

"We went to sleep at like 3 AM last night, I had to force myself out of bed, how the hell are you so energetic?"

Ayumu pumps her fist up

"We have less than two days to make the most out of our Kyoto trip, so we gotta keep our spirits up"

I smile a little, Ayumu's attitude is surprisingly refreshing sometimes, but I still cannot shake my worry away

"Not nervous even by having to convince my parents to work alongside devils?"

Ayumu's expression drops a little at my remark

"A-a little, but I already decided I would do this... for us to finally have peace... and for you"

I feel my face turn red at her last remark

"W-what?"

Ayumu blushes as well, probably realizing the possible meaning of what she just said

"I-I mean, I made a promise to help you didn't I?"

"A-ah, so that's what it is..."

I reply, feeling somewhat... disappointed?

Despite the strange feeling that just rose through my body and mixed with my concern, I try to give a smile to Ayumu

"Thank you Ayumu, I really mean it. I couldn't have done this without you, any of this"

She's still blushing, but instead of an embarassed expression, Ayumu smiles at me

"I know, what would you do without me, right?"

She playfully punches me on the shoulder

"Besides, it's about time I payed you back for all you did for me"

"Uh?"

A question mark appears over my head as we walk through the staircase

Pay me back?

*CLACK CLACK*

Suddenly, a faint sound echoes through the stairs and I stop

"What is it, Tachan?"

She asks and I raise a finger

"Listen up, can you hear this?"

Ayumu becomes silent and we try to listen for the sound I had just heard

*TAP TAP TAP*

"There it is again!"

I exclamate, Ayumu nods with a confused expression

"It's coming from the roof, what the hell is that?"

I shrug

"Sounds like footsteps, but they are too loud to be someone just walking around. Also, who would be in the roof at this hour?"

We decide to check for who could be making such a noice and we end up meeting four very familiar faces

"What are you guys doing?"

Issei and Asia stop moving around just as Xenovia and Kiba lower down their wooden swords

"Hey, Tatseyo, Ayumu, you came to train with us too?"

Xenovia asks enthusiastically

"Training? Here?"

Ayumu questions her, Issei answers while wipping his forehead

"We need to keep training to face against the Hero Faction, now is a good time as any"

Kiba nods

"We not only have our upcoming battle with the Hero Faction, but once we get back home we also have the Rating Game to worry about"

"You mean that devil championship where you guys pummel each other untill one side wins?"

Ayumu asks, Liliana must have told her about the Rating Games when she explained about the pieces.

"Well... I guess you could call it that"

Kiba replies with a troubled smile

"You guys have a Rating Game coming?"

They all look at us, confused

"Liliana didn't tell you?"

I look at Ayumu, she also seems clueless

"Tell us about what?"

The members of the group look bewildered for a moment untill Kiba speaks up

"We were settled for a match against Sairaorg from the Bael clan, so he went to Buchou's mansion when we gathered in the underworld for a farewell meeting before the trip..."

He hesitates for a moment before continuing

"Issei and Sairaorg fought a mock match untill Liliana appeared and challenged us"

I raise an eyebrow at his statement

"A challenge?"

Xenovia speaks up

"She said however wins the challenge will get a chance to fight her in an official Rating Game"

My eyes go wide at this statement

"Against her?!"

I ask surprised, Issei nods

"The game we'll have against Bael is more like a youth championship, not actually official, so if we win we'll get to have an actual, honest Rating Game against Liliana's peerage"

Asia agrees with Issei

"Rias told us that Liliana is famous in the Rating Game world, if we can win against her she'll likely be very happy!"

She says, with the innocence of a child

"We're honestly surprised she hasn't told you guys about this..."

I tilt my head

"Well, me and Ayumu are not devils... this is pretty much something you guys have between yourselves"

My friend nods

"True, it's not like we have anything to do with it, what we could do with this info anyway"

The group looks at eachother

"Y-yeah... I guess you're right"

Issei says and I nod

"On another note..."

I slam my fist on an open palm

"Are you guys insane?!"

My exclamate, causing the to jump backwards

"W-what...?"

Kiba asks

"Do you guys actually think you have a chance to defeat Liliana? At all?"

Ayumu laughs a little and I find hard to contain my own laughter

"I wasn't going to say anything but... yeah, you guys are gonna get your butt kicked"

Issei and everyone else look at us

"I-I know we aren't exactly close to them, but that's why are training"

I frown, I don't want to humiliate them, maybe with enough time they can...

"We have only untill before the Cultural Festival, so we need to make the most out of it"

"WHAT?!"

I exclaim

Ayumu slaps her hand against her forehead

"So... you intend to close the gap of strength with less than two weeks of training?"

Seeing how ridiculous their plan sounds Issei scratches his cheek

"W-well, it's not perfect, but what else can we do?!"

Kiba nodded

"It's not eveyone who was born with talent like yours, Tatseyo, also, we have to train to fight Sairaorg before we even worry about Liliana"

Issei agreed with him

"True, we gotta defeat Sairaorg if we even want to have a chance at a Rating Game with Liliana-san..."

I place a hand against my chin

"This Sairaorg, is he a high-class devil like Rias?"

They all nod

"Well, not so much like Buchou. In therms of strength, Sairaorg-san is a monster, I mean, not in a bad sense, he's a good person, but his strength..."

He answers with a sigh

"Wow, that strong?"

I reply, starting to get interested on who this Sairaorg might be

"Issei's defence was like glass to him, if we even want to have a fair fight, we have to train, train and train"

Issei nods to Xenovia's words and then turns to me

"Will you guys be there? Y'know, to watch?"

I scratch the back of my head

"I mean... these games are held in the underworld. I don't think me and Ayumu would be... welcome there"

"Or comfortable..."

Ayumu says and I nod

"That too"

Kiba shrugs

"Well... you wouldn't be the first humans to visit the underworld, but with things the way they are..."

"Exactly... I don't think it's a good idea"

They seem a little disappointed

"Y-you can still watch it through TV! The underworld broadcasts the fights, don't they?"

Asia says and the others nod

"They do, you could still watch it with Liliana's help"

I look at Ayumu, it's clear that she's not very keen on the idea

This is mostly their fight, I can understand why it's a big thing on devil society, but to us this mostly seems like a blood sport to show off power

However, they are on our side and this seems something important, we should learn more of the culture

Also, devils will be on our side when we eventually fight the Esper Community, we need to know their strength

I nod

"Of course, we'll definitely watch your battles. So you guys better win against this Bael guy"

My answer makes them smile

"Leave it to us!"

Issei confidently answers

Xenovia raises her wooden sword

"You guys wanna help us train? We could really use your help"

Kiba nods

"Training with real espers would give us a good advantage"

"Oh..."

I scratch the back of my head

"Well, I'd agree with a little spar to open the appetite..."

Ayumu looks at me surprised

"You wanting to train... that Liliana really messed with your head, huh?"

I feel my face getting a little warmer at her accusation

"W-what does Liliana have to do with this?"

I shake my head, realizing I was changing subjects

"A-anyway, we can't fight here, it'd destroy the hotel"

Kiba shakes his head as he places a hand at Xenovia's shoulder, who was already pointing her sword at us

"He's right, this is hardly a good sparring enviroment..."

If it was just a basic physical training it would be fine, but it's impossible for them to use even half of their strength while being careful not to break the hotel's rooftop

"Kiba's right, if we couldn't manage to defeat Tatseyo using our full strength, we wouldn't even have a good training while holding back"

Issei says and Xenovia nods, seemingly disappointed

"I see... well, then let's fight again another time in a better place!"

She says, way more excited than I expected her to be

"I really want to see the strength of Ayumu!"

Ayumu laughs, proably feeling flattered.

I sigh, so that's the reason... seriously, how much of a battle maniac this girl is?

"Okay, let's train another time, good luck getting stronger" - Ayumu waves at them as we leave

"I kinda like Xenovia, she's funny"

"Oh, really? I can't see why"

I say with irony

"What do you mean by that?"

I laugh

"No idea, hahaha!"

We walk into the dining hall where our friends were waiting for us

"Damn guys, you sure took your sweet time"

"I thought you only went there to get Tatseyo, what were you two doing?

Kanae looks at us with a smug smile on her face

"I have an idea..."

"We were not!"

We both answer embarassed

This causes our friends to laugh

"Anyway, we are already late to begin our schedule for today, so grab your breaksfast and let's roll already"

Me and Ayumu nodded

Soon we'll have to get in a bitter fight with my parents and the Khaos Brigade, but like Azazel said, there's no reason we can't enjoy this trip for just a little longer

Part 3

"Ahhh, I'm beat!"

Eizo says while he slouches in the restaurant chair, our last stop at today's schedule

"Woah, it's beautiful out here"

The restaurant chosen by Kanae is open and sits at the top of a small hill where we can watch the sunset

"It's so beautiful here..."

Ayumu says while taking a sip from her juice

I look at her fascinated expression as she watches the horizon, the sun illuminating her face, making her red hair seem like it's actually fire.

"Yeah... beautiful."

I remember the first time I had dinner with Liliana and how the moonlight made her face glow and her hair seem like it was shinning

Ayumu is beautiful, that I have always know

It's not like I haven't been aware of her as a woman, otherwise I wouldn't have been so embarassed with her touch, but since when have I started feeling like this around her?

And... since when have I been remembering Liliana even on a situation like this?

"Hey Tatseyo, I know the sunset gets people in the mood and all, but we're still here you know?"

I stand stiff, realizing for how long I've been staring at Ayumu with Lord knows what expression I had

"I-I wasn't!"

Ayumu turned to me with a confused expression as I lied to Kanae

"Yeah, sure you wasn't, serious if you guys keep flirting with us we're gonna start getting jealous"

" " We weren't flirting! " "

Me and Ayumu exclaim together, causing us further embarassment

"""Hahahahaha!"""

Our friends laugh, ugh, it seems wecan't win against them...

Thankfully, the waitress arrives with our orders and interrupts the relentless teasing from our friends

"Wohoo! I'm starving!"

Eizo exclaims as we all start to dig into our food

"Kyoto's cuisine really is the best!" - Koji says

"Hmm, Kuoh Academy is the best"

Kanae moans while placing a piece of almond tofu on her mouth

I smile to myself and look to Ayumu, who also looks happy

This... peaceful life, eating lunch under the sunset of Kyoto, not worrying about wars, battles or conspiracies.

I remember Issei's and Sanji's complaint

'Peace is the best' huh?

But peace... how far away are we from it?

After fighting with the Hero Faction, the Khaos Brigade will not be defeated, they still have other members, in other factions, we'll still have to deal with them.

We'll still have to deal with whoever it is the esper aiding them.

Them we'll have to fight against the Esper Community if we want them to stop hunting non-humans

And that's just the Japanese Esper Community. We'd still have to worry about all the other countries during and after that...

Just thinking about these things causes me to sigh

Peace... such an abstract but desirable goal, is it even achievable?

"You okay, Tachan?"

Ayumu asks and I realize I must have been making a worried face

"O-oh, sorry, it's okay, I was just thinking about... stuff"

I answer, my friends llok at me with suspicious expressions

"I'm sure you are, fufufu"

Kanae says with an impish expression

"I wasn't-!"

As I try to argue with Kanae's teasing, I hear hurried footsteps coming from the stairs

"Azazel?"

I ask as the fallen angel governor arrives in the restaurant

"Azazel-sensei?"

"You came to this restaurant too?"

Our friends ask confused

Azazel greets them and shakes his head

"Hi kids, sorry, but I didn't come here to eat. Tatseyo, Ayumu, I'm gonna need the help from the two of you, can you come with me?"

They turn to us and I frown

"O-okay, are you coming, Ayumu?"

She nodded while standing up

"Yeah... seems important"

I turn to our trio of friends with an apologetic look

"Sorry guys, this might take a while, we'll meet you all back at the hotel"

"Well, this was our last anyway, but did something happened?"

I shake my head

"Oh nothing serious, we just need to sort things concerning our... parents, you know... since they live in different towns and all"

They look confused for a moment, but end up buying my bullshit excuse

"Ah, okay, see you two later then."

We wave then a final goodbye as we descend the stone stairs with Azazel

"Something happened?"

I ask, worried, but Azazel shook his head

"Well, a lot did happen, but nothing particularly bad so far."

"Then why did you pulled us out of nowhere?"

Ayumu asks and the fallen angel says

"I don't think either of you will be surprised, but the leaders of Kyoto have requested the presence of all of you"

"Ah...I see"

I reply, not so shocked, it's to be expected that something like this would happen

Coming face to face with the youkais my faily just helped to screw over wasn't exactly on the top of my list for today, but I guess it's unavoidable.

"We still haven't gotten any news from the East fation by the way, everything seems to be a chaos over there..."

I nod, no news means that the Nurarihyon hasn't arrived, but at least it still gives me hope that the worst hasn't happened... yet at least.

"Will the others be there as well?"

Azazel nods

"Rossweisse was just on her way to get everyone else, we'll be meeting them on the West youkais inner capital"

"Urakyoto?"

I ask, Azazel looks at me

"So you know about Urakyoto, huh? Why am I not surprised..."

And so we followed Azazel, all the way to the west youkais hidden capital.

Part 4

"So this is..."

Ayumu asks, bewildered

"Yes... this is... the hidden capital"

We stepped through a secluded torii at Kinkaku-ji and arrived at... whatever this place is

"You two knew about this place?"

I nodded, speechless

At the Academy, we learned it was a pocket dimension, but this is more like a whole different world

Buildings in the Edo style, youkais packed in the streets and some peeked their heads through windows, doors and passegeways and we can hear some of them talking to each ohter.

(Are those humans?)

(I heard some of them are devils)

(Is that pretty foreign girl a devil too?)

(Dragon, this is definitely a dragon's presence, but what is this other presence I'm feeling?)

(Devils and dragons in Kyoto...)

(I've heard that the scary looking guy and the redhead girl are espers)

(Espers... I always thought they were urban legends...)

The youkai's gossips reach our ears and the fox lady serving as a tour guide apologized

"I'm sorry, we are not used to receiving newcomers here, your presence is very much a surprise to almost all of them."

We nod, it's not really a problem, in fact this is to be expected.

"This is the world of the youkai?"

Issei asks and the fox lady nods

"This is the place where most youkais of Kyoto live. I remember you devils have used bounded fields in your Rating Games. So why don't you think of this place as something created in a similar way?"

I nod hearing her explanation, so in the end our investigations were right, this is an artifcicial dimension used to hide the youkais who don't wanna live in the human world.

The guide continues

"Some call this place 'The Backstreets' or 'Inner Capital', among other names like-"

"Urakyoto..."

Ayumu says, causing the guide to stop and look at us, surprised

"O-oh, so you have heard about our capital before?"

We both nod, I feel a bit awkward

"Y-yeah, in the Academy we espers learn a lot about other species..."

I leave it as vague as possible, in true all the information we get is either from other human organizations or from torturing and brainwashing non-humans.

And everything we learn is mostly aimed to teaching us on how to fight them...

"Esper Academy has a lot of information about you guys, there was even a voting regarding if we should try to invade this place or not"

"Ayumu!"

I scold her and she turns to me

"What? It's true! Is not like they are in danger because of that, the council voted against it"

"Still, that's not the kind of thing they-"

I stop midsentence and realize that everyone in our group has been looking at us

I scratch the back of my head, embarassed

"Sorry, Azazel must have already told you but... espers aren't exactly on good terms with supernatural existences"

The woman nods with a troubled smile

"Governor-dono has alerted us about that, still we are glad to have you on our side"

"T-thanks"

The road leading to the palace was a rather dark and one of the few lights in the path was a lantern floating in the middle of the road

However, that lamp has a presence...

"Hey, Issei, watch out"

I call out to Issei, who was very much at the front of the group, but it was too late

"WOOSHASHASHA!"

"Woah!"

Issei stepped back in surprise as the lantern let out a screech while showing off it's wide mouth and large eyes, then it laughed while dashing away

"What was that?" - Issei asked while recovering from the scare

The fox lady apologized again

"I'm very sorry, some youkais here love to play pranks on people, though I believe none of them can pose any threat to you"

She says

"Pranks, huh?"

Ayumu states under her breath, I close my eyes for a moment, according to the Esper Code, just scaring humans is enough to give them a death sentence.

"Was that a Chochin-Okabe?" - I ask

Once again the fox lady looks surprised

"You two truly are familiar with youkais, Esper education must be really good"

I nod awkwardly, again, we didn't learn anything good about him.

After walking through rows of residences and shops we arrived at a forest with a long river flowing through it, the forest is even darker than the residential area, Ayumu light up a fire in her hand and I raised a ball of light created with my aura.

Despite that, Issei and everyone else didn't seem disturbed by it though, likely because devils and fallen can see in the dark

After walking for just a few more minutes we arrive in front of a huge red torii and finally the lights become bright enough so that we can turn off our artificial lights

"Wow..."

"Another youkai mansion..."

Ayumu says as we arrived in the capital's palace, a sumptuous mansion with a majestic air to it.

Right at the steps leading inside is the Maou Leviathan surrounded by different figures, but one calls my attention the most

A little girl with fox ears and a thick tail, dressed like a princess in a kimono

"So that's the Kyuubi's daughter"

I say to Ayumu, subtly pointing out to the youkai girl

My friend nods

"She's just a little kid..."

I feel a hint of guilt in Ayumu's voice and I feel just as bad

Because of my parents, this girl's mother is on a cage god knows where and without her father too... she's basically an orphan

"Ah, hello everyone!~"

The cute Maou Leviathan greets us and Azazel waves

"Hey Serafall, we're all here"

Azazel waves back, at this moment, the fox lady bows her head and speaks, seemigly addressing the little youkai girl

"Kunou-sama, I have brought them here"

She just says this and disappears in a burst of fox fire

So her name is Kunou...

The little youkai girl steps towards us

"I am Kunou, daughter of Yasaka, the administrator of the youkais living in inner and outer Kyoto"

After introducing herself, the little girl bows her head

"I have heard about what happened to my mother... that's why..."

I look concerned at her, what will this girl say about us, we were responsible for her mother's capture after all

"Please help me get my mother back!"

The little girl's plea catches me off

I walk up, placing my hand on Issei's shoulder as I pass him

The eyes of the little girl and those beside her widden

Since Ayumu and me are the only humans here it must be obvious we are the espers, the ones that kidnapped her mom, even so...

"Kunou, isn't it?"

The fox girl nods nervously looking up at me, the tension in the air is clear as all of their eyes have turned to us

"Y-yes!"

She answers stiff

"I am Tatseyo Kageyama and that's Ayumu Yatsushiro, we are espers, did Azazel and Leviathan-dono told you that?"

Kunou nods

"Good..."

I then think for a while before bending my knee to look better at her, making my next question

"Have they also told you that my mom was responsible for your mother's kidnapping? And that we captured the East youkais leadership?"

My question clearly shocks all those around, speciallly the little girl, whose fox ears stand up in attention and her eyes widden.

"A-ah..."

She seems at a loss for words, looking around and behind me as if looking for an answer from Azazel and Serafall

"T-they did..."

Eventually she answers honestly

"I see, then you all know about us?"

I ask, looking at the youkais behind Kunou

They look between each other before nodding

"Yeah, we explained it all to them" - Azazel answer

I nod

"That's good, thanks Azazel, Serafall"

After thanking the faction's leaders I look down at Kunou

"But you see, there is one thing your mother asked me to tell you."

The little girl's face lightens up when I mention her mother

"M-mother?"

I nod and place hand on her shoulder

"Yasaka-san told you to be strong, everything is going to be fine, even if your parents aren't around you need to give strength and hope to everyone as her daughter. We are going to do our best to bring her back, so you need to hold things for the both of you, alright?"

She nods, with a teary eyed expression

"Y-yes! Thank you!"

I smile and look behind her, the other leaders also look relieved

An old man with red skin walks towards me, by the wings sprouting from his back I can tell he's a Karasutengu

He approaches me and Ayumu and extends a hand

"I am the leader of the Tengus, pleased to meet you"

I shake his hand back and he continues

"We have lost many of our own in this war, I hope we can work together to finally end this"

"Me too... I also hope you can forgive us for all the death as well"

I say, not outright stating that I also have killed more Tengus than I can count, but still trying to express regret

"Thank you, I also do apologize for whatever damage we may have caused to your people"

After introductions we were invited inside the huge palace of Inner Kyoto, the old Karasu-tengu and two fox ladies lead us through the hallways, meanwhile Kunou was behind us with Issei's group, it seems that the little youkai girl has taken a liking to him

I honestly didn't expect Issei of all people to be good with kids

"Mou! Promoting yourself even in Kyoto, I won't lose! The Miracle Levi-tan show won't fall behind the Oppai Dragon!"

Me and Ayumu turn our heads back at the sudden yell from the Maou Leviathan with confused expressions

What the fuck is an oppai dragon?

But I don't have time to dwell on that as one of the fox ladies open a double door leading to a large room with a center table

"Please, have a seat"

We all sit around the table and some sort of strategic meeting starts taking place

"Governor-dono and Maou-sama have warned us about what's about to happen, Nijo Castle, everything..."

The old tengu sighs with a troubled expression

"Needless to say you'll have our full cooperation in fighting this coming invasion and in orer to free our leader"

I nod, it's just like Cao Cao said, since we just kidnapped their top leader, of course the Kyoto youkais will give us anything we need to get her back and ward off a large invasion.

However, the lack of any representatives from the East Faction here is starting to trouble me

Azazel said they still didn't had any news from them, but by now the Nurarihyonn should definitely have returned.

"You still got no news from the East Faction?"

I ask concerned, the tengu places a hand on his chin

"Our relationship with the Eastern youkais hasn't been the greatest for a while... in the spirit of cooperation we tried to reach out to then, but so far they have been in utter chaos as the Nurarihyon hasn't been found"

"Hasn't been found..."

My concerns only increase, the Tengu nods

"Indeed, we also worry, such large scale conflict could be a chance for us to finally solidify peace between our factions, with the Nurarihyon gone, we-"

SWOOP

Before the tengu can finish speaking, another fox lady hurriedly opened the doors of the room

"An officer from the East faction has arrived! She's insisting on seeing the espers!"

We all look at the fox lady that just entered as heavy footsteps echoed through the hall and we hear another woman desperately asking someone

"P-please, they are currently in a meeting, please ma'am, just wait a-"

"Out of my way!"

But another female voice interrupts her and the steps get louder and louder as the owner of the irritaded voice finally barges into the room

"Where is the esper?!"

A beautiful woman wearing some sort of japanese military uniform from WW2 enters the room while swinging a katana with rage

I say womam, but the ears popping from her long hair show she's definitely a youkai

Her eyes scan the room, trying to guess which of us is the esper she's looking for

"Which one of you?!"

She exclaims swinging the sword again, everyone's so surprised with the sudden lashing out that no one answers untill the tengu chief tried to calm her nerves

"A-alright, let's calm down, first of all who are-"

"Silence!"

She points her sword at the tengu elder and blares at him

"I must remind you, West youkais, that if you are hiding or aiding the murderers in any sort of way this will be considered a direct attack to the East faction!"

The word murder causes me to frown

"Hey! Knock it off!"

Issei warns her as he summons his gauntlet, Xenovia, Kiba and Irina also have swords in their hands, ready to go at any moment

Azazel, however, lifts his hand

"Stop, you all!"

He warns them and looks at me

"Tatseyo...?"

I nod and stand up, looking at the youkai woman

"I believe we are the espers you are looking for"

She narrows her eyes

"And before you swing that sword at me, I'd like to hear exactly what you mean by 'murderers'"

Afterword: Once again, sorry for the delay, I had five tests between this one and the last chapter I made, this chapter was also supposed to have more parts but I splitted it Thanks for understanding and keeping up with me.

Now to answer some questions:

Thanks for noticing, I realized that if I wanted to make an arc for Tatsumaki and Shigeo I'd need to develop more their relationship as a family and with Ayumu.

Ddraig and Albion are legendary beings, Ddraig is even the flag of Wales so I think it would make sense for Tatseyo to know, but even if it doesn't, esper education is different from normal schools. But honestly, that's my fault, I should have made a chapter about how Esper education works, but remember when Tatseyo said he was raised in the Esper Community? Well, their curriculum is a bit different from the average school, I made a quick mention of that in the Caretaker chapter when Dr. Kano talked about how the new researchers had paid attention to the classes, but I should have elaborated more on that. I'll definitely work on that in future chapters.

I'm also planning to retcon some things by rewritting a few chapters. When I started writting this story the idea of how the Esper community would be was still blurry so I'm going to have to rewrite some chapters otherwise they won't make sense. Like how Tatseyo had to be explained about how Sacred Gears worked when he should know about them if he has been dealing with the supernatural all his life. If they know about magicians it makes no sense they don't know about Sacred Gears. The reason as to why they didn't know about evil pieces will be explained later in the story, but so far I'll have to rewrite some things about the Esper Community that don't make sense. One example that I don't know if you noticed was how Tatseyo didn't know about the other Gods in chapter 14, after I edited it, he just didn't know they were involved with the Alliance. After I make these editions I'll explain on an afterword, but I wish to explain here that I"ll do it so you won't find it strange when it happens. Also, I'll make future chapters explaining how the Esper Community works in more depth and that should help clear things up