Dinner with the Nine-Tailed Foxes and Saying Goodbye

Human World, Japan, Kyoto, Youkai Sub-Dimension.

In the evening of the last day of Kuoh Academy's school trip for the second years, James, Rias, Sona, Akeno, Tsubaki, Reya, and Flora were sitting in the dining hall of Yasaka's residence. In front of them was a table full of Kyoto style delicacies.

Throughout the day, Yasaka and Kunou accompanied the group to see the sights of Kyoto. With Kunou bringing liveliness to the trip and Yasaka telling interesting anecdotes about the various locations, the sightseeing tour was quite enjoyable and informative. Rias, Sona, Akeno, and Flora found themselves annoyed at Yasaka's constant teasing/flirting with James, though. As it was mostly harmless like Yasaka occasionally wrapping one of her tails around James' arm when there were no humans around, the girls let it pass without much of a fuss.

Even now, Yasaka was using one of her tails to rub James' back, as he was seated to her left at the dinner table. With Kunou to her right, Yasaka consciously made the illusion that the three of them were a family and the girls, once again, were annoyed by her antics.

"So, today is your last night in Kyoto, huh?" Yasaka said wistfully.

"Yeah." James said with a nod while using his chopsticks to bring some vegetables to his mouth. "I kinda miss the rest of my peerage."

"Oh, I've forgotten to ask, how close to full are your peerages?" This time, Yasaka directed this question to not only James but Rias and Sona as well.

"Well..." Rias said with a finger on her chin while she thought. "I have my [Queen] Akeno here. I also have a [Knight], a [Bishop], a [Rook], and a [Pawn] that used up six [Pieces]."

Sona was the next to answer after Rias.

"My [Queen] and one of my [Bishops] are here." Sona said while gesturing to Tsubaki and Reya. "I also have another [Bishop], a [Knight], and a [Rook]."

Shortly after Sona, James answered Yasaka as well.

"Two of my [Pawns] came with me to Kyoto this time." James said while gesturing to Flora and Ayame. "Back home I have another [Pawn], two [Knights], a [Rook], and a [Bishop]."

"It would seem you've all made great progress in completing your peerages at such a young age." Yasaka said with a smile. "As far as young devils go, you are all very impressive."

"Thank you." x 3

James, Rias, and Sona bowed their heads politely as they accepted Yasaka's praise. Then, Sona's eyes glinted with mischief just before she spoke.

"To be honest, if it wasn't for James, Rias would have one less piece. While James would have another [Bishop] or possibly a [Queen] in his peerage."

"Sona!" Rias shouted in panic.

Noticing Rias reaction, Yasaka and Kunou's curiosity were piqued.

"That sounds like quite the interesting story." Yasaka said with mischief and curiosity swirling in her eyes. "I wonder if it would be all right for me to hear?"

"Sona!" Rias' pitch rose as she found this story quite embarrassing.

Ignoring Rias' protests, Sona looked in Akeno's direction as this story tells of her tragic past. Getting a nod from Akeno, Sona nodded as well and began the story.

"Well, Akeno, Rias [Queen], was born to the Himejima Clan of the Five Principal Clans. I'm sure you've heard of them." Sona began by prefacing the story with that information.

Nodding in acknowledgement, Yasaka gestured for Sona to continue. Then, Sona went on to talk about how Akeno's mother fell in love with one of the Cadre of the Grigori and gave birth to Akeno. Then she briefly mentioned how the Himejima killed Akeno's mother and how Akeno was forced to wander Japan alone for nearly a year. How she grew to hate her father and fallen angel heritage. And finally, how she was found by the Himejima and fought for her life. Throughout the story, Yasaka and Kunou exclaimed sadly because of all that Akeno had to go through as a child. Then Sona shifted the focus of the story to the fact that Rias had schemed to take a vacation with James alone.

Underworld, Satan Territory, Lucifer Estate.

*Sneeze!*

In a magical laboratory, Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa sneezed while seated and looking over the results of an experiment.

"*Sigh* I feel like my existence was forgotten again." Heinrich said to himself. Shaking his head to drive away the thought, he returned to his research.

Human World, Japan, Kyoto, Youkai Sub-Dimension.

"Then, just as Akeno was about to be killed, James appeared before her among a cloud of cherry blossom petals." Sona explained excitedly, as this was her favorite part of the story. "After that, James single-handedly defeated nearly half of the Himejima clansmen in under two minutes, bringing an end to the conflict."

"Wow! Onii-Chan is like a superhero!" Kunou shouted excitedly. "Showing up just in the nick of time. Like Ichigo on Sokyoku Hill."

"Yes, that is quite the impressive feat for an eleven-year-old boy." Yasaka said with praise.

"As it turns out, James stepped in as a favor to Rias." Sona said, revealing the secret right away. "However, instead of being grateful for James' favor, Rias ordered James to negotiate for Akeno's release."

Hearing that, Yasaka and Kunou shot skeptical glances in Rias' direction. In response, Rias covered her blushing face with her hands and lowered her head.

"OH, Satan, kill me now." Rias said, wishing a hole would open in the floor so she could jump in it.

"Rias." James said in a gentle tone.

Hearing James gentle tone, Rias raised her head with hope in her eyes. Oh, how she wanted James to comfort her. When she saw the gentle smile on James' face, her hopes began to bloom. Her hopes were crushed immediately, however, when James spoke once again.

"You'd better pray to someone else." James said, still smiling gently at Rias. "Your sis-con brother would never kill you."

*Bang!*

With her hopes crushed, Rias let her head fall to the dining room table, with enough force for all the plates, glasses, and cutlery to tremble for an instant. As Rias was dying inside because of embarrassment, everyone else laughed at her plight. Then, Sona finished her story.

"Lucky for Rias, James replied to the order with: 'If I do it, I'm taking the girl for myself.'" Sona said, doing her best to imitate James' annoyed tone. "Then, James took Akeno back to the Underworld for medical treatment and in the end managed to talk Akeno into using her fallen angel abilities and letting go of her self-loathing."

"Oh my, that truly is impressive." Yasaka said, genuinely impressed by James' actions at the age of eleven. "I wonder how you managed to alleviate the trauma that caused Himejima-San's self-loathing."

Hearing Yasaka's question, all the girls' eyes lit up, even Rias, who still had her face hidden by the table.

"I don't mean to be stingy." James said with a smile. "But I think that should stay a secret between Akeno and I."

Maintaining his smile, James winked at Yasaka, who blushed slightly and turned her head away. Seeing Yasaka's reaction, everyone, excluding Kunou, was shocked.

'It's starting to look like all that teasing was more than just a joke.' Everyone thought simultaneously.

"Ahem. So, I was unable to see your battles against the rebels." Clearing her throat, Yasaka spoke quickly to change the subject. "Would you mind telling me the story."

Seeing Yasaka's embarrassment and her attempt to change the subject, the group smiled wryly. To not embarrass their host any further, they recounted the process of their battles in the order they arrived at James' side. So, Tsubaki was the first to speak, followed by Rias, Flora, Sona, Akeno, Reya and finally Ayame told her story. As she took her opponent away from the main battlefield, this was the first time any of them had known the details of Ayame's battle.

"I've had my doubts ever since I accepted you into my peerage." James said with a wry smile. "But I'm convinced. I got quite the addition to my peerage."

'It's just too bad your personality isn't as impressive as your skill in battle.' James thought to himself.

Even though James kept that last part to himself, Ayame still saw the look of pity in his eyes. Because of that, her cheeks reddened, and she began to squirm with pleasure. Seeing this, Yasaka was confused.

"Sarutobi-San, are you all right?" Yasaka asked with a hint of concern in her voice.

"You don't have to worry..." James began to say as he waved his hand dismissively. However, he was quickly interrupted.

"James, I don't think you should finish that sentence." Tsubaki said while adjusting her glasses.

"Huh? Why not?" James asked in confusion.

"Because you'll just make the situation worse." Reya said with a giggle.

James then shifted his gaze to Ayame, and face palmed immediately after seeing her. Currently, Ayame's breathing was heavy, and she was hugging herself with a sloppy smile on her face. Also noticing Ayame's state, Yasaka's confusion could not be hidden.

"What's wrong with her?" Yasaka asked, concerned about Ayame's well-being.

"You really don't need to worry about it." Rias said, sounding tired.

"Rias is right." Sona said after taking a sip of her drink. "Ayame is a high-level pervert who enjoys James' abuse."

As she explained, Sona placed a silencing barrier around Kunou that lasted only as long as it took her to explain Ayame's... condition.

"Oh my." Yasaka said in amazement. Then, she looked at James and spoke. "It must be hard on you."

Smiling wryly, James replied weakly, "I'm getting used to it."

After that, the dinner continued. The group chatted in a lively atmosphere until the students' curfew neared. Then, James and the girls bid Yasaka and Kunou goodbye with Yasaka and Kunou promising to see them off at the train station in the morning.

===The next day; 11 a.m.===

At Kyoto Station, the students of Kuoh Academy's second year were gathered on the platform waiting for their train to arrive. With them stood two beautiful blondes. One a fully grown voluptuous woman and the other a young girl whose facial features favored the first. These blondes were, of course, Yasaka and Kunou. And as they promised, they were here to send off James and the girls.

"*Sniff* You have to promise to come and visit." Kunou said tearfully while hugging James around his waist.

"Don't worry, I promise to come visit again." James said with a smile while patting Kunou's head. "I'll come back for winter break. And I'll bring Mom with me, too."

"Ara, Ara, it seems my little fox has grown quite attached." Yasaka said with a smile. "I hope you do bring your mother with you next time you visit. I would love to meet the woman who raised such an outstanding son."

While Yasaka and Kunou continued to talk with James, the other girls were huddled together and whispering as they stole glances at the trio.

"She's got it bad, doesn't she?" Flora asked while looking at the interaction between James and the mother and daughter.

"Looks like it." Reya said in response.

"Yeah, all that teasing was definitely more than just simple teasing." Sona said while adjusting her glasses.

"And now she wants to talk to Auntie Leona." Rias said with a pout. "Is she looking to get permission to pursue James? Like, for real?"

"Fufufu." Akeno giggled with a hand covering her mouth. "This should be interesting. I can only imagine the fun we could have if she joins."

Rias, Sona, Reya, and Flora looked at Akeno with exasperation.

"Why is this train taking so long?" Tsubaki said impatiently.

With that, Rias, Sona, Akeno, Reya, and Flora's conversation paused. They could not help but turn their attention to the love struck, bespectacled beauty standing next to them. Then, in unison, they all spoke.

"Tsubaki, you're so cute." x 5

Immediately, Tsubaki was pulled from her thoughts as she looked at the five girls smiling at her sweetly. Eventually, she noticed that even James and Yasaka were smiling at her the same way as James whispered into Yasaka's ear, undoubtedly telling her about the circumstances around Tsubaki and Cu Chulainn. Seeing all their sweet smiles, Tsubaki blushed all the way to the tips of her ears.

At that moment, a broadcast over the train's PA system notified the passengers that the train to Kuoh would arrive momentarily. This of course, brought more tears to Kunou's eyes. And luckily for Tsubaki, it turned everyone's attention to the coming farewell.

Kunou received a round of hugs from James and the girls with promises to visit again. Then, Yasaka hugged all the girls goodbye. With James as the only one remaining, Yasaka stepped toward him and wrapped her arms around him and squeezed tightly. This, of course, also squeezed Yasaka's enormous breasts against James' chest.

"I'm looking forward to your next visit." Yasaka said coquettishly. "And I would love to host you and your mother, properly."

Then, before releasing James, Yasaka pressed her lips against James' cheek, leaving him stunned. Not only James, but all the girls and a lot of his classmates were stunned. Then, Yasaka released him and stepped back with a shy smile and a blush on her face. She then took Kunou by the hand and spoke.

"You should hurry onto the train; you don't want to miss it." Yasaka smiled as she spoke. "Or maybe you do?"

Winking at the end, Yasaka stunned not just James, but all the boys in the student group as it was a bit too much for a group of high school boys to handle. Then, Rias, Sona, and the girls grabbed James and dragged him into the train while giving Yasaka the stink eye. As the train doors closed and it began to pull off, Yasaka ran a finger across her lips and thought to herself.

'I really hope you come back soon.'