Failed Experiments and the Long Road Ahead

===December 30th===

Human World, Japan, Kyoto.

Standing outside the torii gate that leads to the Youkai Sub-Dimension are Yasaka and Kunou, both dressed as shrine maidens. With their youkai traits hidden, they look to be no more than a voluptuous, beautiful, blonde shrine maiden and her daughter, a shrine maiden in training. Standing with the mother and daughter are two female oni, also with their youkai traits hidden. Shuna, wearing a white kimono with gorgeous red embroidery and a red kimono skirt that is held up with a red obi, and Shion, dressed in a white button-down shirt with the upper half of the buttons undone, which revealed a good portion of her sizeable breasts, a deep purple blazer, a matching pair of slim women's slacks, and a pair of black high heeled boots, were also waiting for the arrival of James, his mother, Leona, and his peerage.

"Mommy, how much longer till Onii-chan and Oba-Chan get here?" Kunou asked for the umpteenth time while tugging on the sleeve of Yasaka's kimono.

"Easy, Sweetie." Yasaka said with a wry smile.

This Alaverus-Sama and his mother must truly be wonderful people if Miss Kunou's attitude toward them is any indication." Shuna said with a smile.

"I think that remains to be seen." Shion said uneasily. "Don't be fooled by a good first impression, Princess."

"Well, if they are able to fool a child with proficiency at the initial level in the use of Senjutsu for over a year and a half, I doubt there would be much I could do to see through their ruse. Shuna said while smiling wryly. "Then again, keeping up that kind of deception for that long would be virtually impossible would it not, Shion?"

"Indeed, it would." Shion admitted begrudgingly.

Not that Shion has anything against the Alaverus family. It really comes down to her wish to follow Shuna. Although she is honor bound to follow Shuna wherever she may go, just the thought of swearing fealty to another does not sit well with her. So, she attempts to find a way to dissuade her princess from joining the peerage of the young half-devil.

Meanwhile, looking down at her wristwatch, Yasaka replied to Kunou's question. "it's 11:59 so if they aren't running..."

At that moment, a magic circle appeared on the ground to the left of the quartet. As it rose from the ground, seven figures were revealed. When the magic circle reached its zenith and James was revealed fully, the magic circle vanished. After a moment, James, as the leader of their group, greeted Yasaka's group.

"Lady Yasaka, Good afternoon." James nodded with proper noble etiquette. "I'm glad to see you well."

"Alaverus-San." Yasaka said with a smile. "I'm also glad to see you are doing well."

Before the polite greetings could go on any further, Kunou had lost her patience. With a big smile on her face, she dashed toward James and Leona.

"Onii-Chan~, Oba-Chan~, I missed you~." Kunou said as she jumped toward James and Leona.

Wrapping her arms and tails around James and Leona, she pulled them both into a hug. Already bored with the etiquette and decorum, Leona hugged Kunou back. James also hugged her back while smiling wryly and apologizing with his eyes. Yasaka was also smiling wryly at her daughter's behavior. Not that she could blame Kunou. After living with the Alaverus family for more than a year, separation hit her hard.

Shuna and Shion were quite surprised by Kunou's behavior, however. The happy smile on her face was dazzling. Although she always seemed to be smiling happily whenever they had seen her in the past, when she saw James and Leona, her face lit up like festival fireworks.

Eventually, Yasaka decided that she had to finish the pleasantries. That way, they would be free to act more casually.

"Kunou, Alaverus-San." Yasaka began to speak but.

"Yes?" x 2

In response to Yasaka's call of "Alaverus-San," Both mother and son responded. The atmosphere froze in awkwardness for a moment. Then, James and Leona began to laugh simultaneously. Then, once again, simultaneously they said: "Jinx." Then, they both began to laugh once again. With that, the awkward atmosphere was not just broken, it was completely shattered by the playful mother-son duo.

"Sorry, … We have a... weird sense of humor to most people." James said with a smile. "But, Lady Yasaka, I think it would be better if you referred to me as James from now on. Also, I'm sure that my mother would prefer it if you referred to her as 'Leona,' as well. As she is originally from the U.S."

"Yes, I see your point." Yasaka said after a moment of contemplation. "Then James-San, Leona-San, welcome to Kyoto."

"Thank you, Lady Yasaka." James replied with a smile. "It's wonderful to be back."

"Thank you, Lady Yasaka, for the warm welcome." Leona also replied with a smile. Then, with her smile turning slightly mischievous she continued. "I would love the opportunity to get to know you."

For some reason, Yasaka felt a bit uneasy when she saw that bit of mischief swirling in Leona's eyes. A moment later, she shook off the unease she felt then spoke once again.

"I see some new faces in your entourage." Yasaka said while looking over the group of young people behind James and Leona. "Do I finally have the honor of meeting your entire peerage?"

"Unfortunately, there are still two who are back in Kuoh." James said with a slight smile. "I have to keep vigilant over our base of operations after all."

The truth of the matter is that Dante simply did not want to travel to Kyoto. Feeling uneasy about Dante being there alone, James asked Lady to keep an eye on the Tsundere Son of Sparda. James also commissioned her task as a mission.

"I'll do the introductions either way." James said with a smile.

After that, James took care of introducing his peerage. Unlike the introductions from back when he was younger, he did not make the mistake of trying to introduce someone he had never met. Internally, he patted himself on the back.

"[That's kind of pathetic, Partner.]" Ddraig commented.

'Shut up!'

On the other hand, Yasaka and Shuna were surprised by the lineup. To think James had the last known yuki-onna, the reincarnation of Ireland's Son of Light, a fabled Shinso Vampire, if the rumors from Europe are true, a martial arts genius, and the heiress of the Sarutobi Clan of the Satori Ninjas. His quality as a leader must be something special if all these people obey him harmoniously.

"Lady Yasaka, if you wouldn't mind, how about introducing the two lovely ladies next to you as well?" James said, trying to shake off the embarrassment he was feeling from his short conversation with Ddraig.

"Oh dear, where are my manners." Yasaka said with a wry smile. "Allow me to introduce you to Shuna, princess of the oni, and her personal guard, Shion."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Princess Shuna and Dame Shion." James said while bowing with the proper etiquette of a noble. "As I'm sure you have heard, my name is James Alaverus. But I would appreciate it if you would just call me James."

"Very well, as you wish." Shuna said with a graceful smile. "And I assure you, the pleasure is all mine."

"Pleased to meet you." Shion said in a neutral tone.

"Now that the introductions are out of the way, why don't we go inside and take a break." Yasaka suggested. "Perhaps we could speak over a cup of tea to get to know each other."

"No objections on our side." James replied with a jovial smile.

Then, Yasaka opened the gate to the Youkai Sub-Dimension. After which, everyone followed her through.

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

As it turns out, when war is not being waged, the scenery in the Youkai Sub-Dimension is really quite a sight to see. The night sky filled with stars, the houses lit up with a combination of candlelight, lanterns, and soft electric light, the street vendors hawking food and magical items, and the well-lit area around Yasaka's palace made for a beautiful combination of ancient and modern culture.

Seated around two tables in Yasaka's reception room James, Leona, and James' peerage were enjoying a few cups of tea with the nine-tailed foxes and oni ladies. Seated at the smaller of the two tables were Yasaka, Leona, and Shuna. Yasaka and Shuna wanted to hear more about James from the perspective that only a mother could have. At the other table, all the others were seated. The most eye-catching thing about this table, however, was that James was currently covering his face and trying to block out the stories that could be heard from the first table.

"I remember when he brought back his first potential peerage member." Leona said with a nostalgic smile on her face. "He was only eleven and he brought Mizore back with him. And boy did he get carried away. He introduced Mizore with no issue, then he went around introducing everyone in the room. At the end, he gets to Tsubaki. Lady Yasaka, you met her while they were here on the school trip. Anyway, so, James starts his introduction to Tsubaki... Then he realizes he had never met her before."

"The laughter of everyone except James rang out. James on the other hand was looking for a crack in the floor that he might be able to slip into. Then, Cu Chulainn, who was enjoying this the most, chimed in.

"Didn't the same thing happen when I was introduced, too." Cu Chulainn asked with a shit eating grin on his face.

"Oh, that's right." Leona said as if she had just remembered that incident. "Instead of Tsubaki, though, it was Koneko he didn't know, that time. Ha, good times, good times."

Seeing James suffer, Cu Chulainn loved every second of this. Mizore, Moka, and Flora tried not to, however, they could not help but laugh along with everyone else. Ayame, on the other hand, was looking at James enviously.

"Oh, how I would love to be humiliated like that in front of James-Sama." Ayame muttered to herself as she blushed from the thought.

Eventually everyone noticed the strange atmosphere around Ayame. When they did, Shuna and Shion were the most confused. James, on the other hand, thought now would be the perfect time to try something new. So, James stood from his seat and began to walk toward Ayame, who by now was writhing around while hugging herself. Before James could perform his little experiment, Shuna asked the question that was on her mind.

"Is Sarutobi-San all right?"

"Oh, Princess." Leona said as she began to explain about the perverted satori. "That girl is a super high-level pervert. A masochist the like of which you have never seen."

"*Gasp!* Is that true?" Shuna asked in disbelief. "To think the well-respected heiress of the Sarutobi Clan was such a deviant."

At that moment, James had reached Ayame's side. Ayame, so far into her own fantasies of humiliation, did not even notice James' approach. Then, James gently wrapped his arms around the writhing Ayame. And in a caring tone he spoke.

"Ayame, are you all right? Do you need help?"

Suddenly feeling James' warm embrace and hearing his gentle tone, Ayame froze. With her eyes wide open and mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water, after a moment or two, she fainted. Ayame's mind had overloaded from all the new stimulations and sensations.

"Damn..." James muttered. "I guess that experiment was a failure."

"Experiment? Failure?" Shion asked confusedly.

"Yeah." James said with depression in his tone. "You heard my mom mention that Ayame is a pervert, right?"

Shion nodded in response, but she still asked. "But what does that have to do with an experiment."

"Well, I've been experimenting on how to calm Ayame down from her masochism induced... um... how do I put this." James began to explain, then stopped as he could not think of the proper term for Ayame's condition.

"I think the word 'stupor' would be appropriate, James." Flora said with a smile.

"Yes, she definitely goes into a stupor." James said with realization. "Thanks Flora. Anyway, I've been experimenting ever since she joined my peerage. To date I've failed ninety-three times."

'Looks like you've got a long road ahead of you, James.' Everyone in the room thought simultaneously.