Alarm

"Your tea, Hyoudou-sama."

I smile politely. "Thank you, Asada-san." I say. The young kitsune smiles as she places a cup of tea down onto the table. She bows and leaves, and the room descends back into silence. I lean back slightly, staring at the steam rising from the cup as I tune out the distant sounds of weeping several rooms away.

Thankfully, Yasaka was still very much awake when I brought Eichi to her. She took one look at him, and a dangerous glint entered her eyes as she asked me to hand him to her. I do, of course. Ever since she learnt of the Five Principal Clans' transgression, she's been eager to drag some answers out herself. That, and pay some retribution.

It's been nearly fifteen minutes since Yasaka slapped Eichi awake. The previously hostile confidence he held is long broken, and my enhanced hearing can catch Eichi's pained sobs, accompanied by the sizzling of fire and the cracks of a whip.

Another snap of the whip sounds, and a smile lifts my lips.

I was…mildly surprised when I first found Yasaka's whip collection. A leftover from her late husband, she calls it. There's a number of connotations there, but I'm not one to judge.

What was horrifying though is the fact that Akeno just happens to share that same fantasy, and Yasaka is more than happy to accommodate. I mean, I don't think I can truly look at Akeno the same after watching her whip a stray dummy on its ass for a good hour or so.

Again, that would probably not fly back in my old world. This world's just built different.

Some time after, the door slides open, and Yasaka comes in. Her walk is graceful and regal, as if she didn't just torture a man seconds ago. She sits next to me, her tails making way, and the satisfaction in her smile is clear to see.

"So, where's our guest?" I ask, taking another sip of tea.

"He is indisposed." She says simply. "He will be kept in the dungeons until a conclusion offers itself."

I frown. "Is that so?" I glance back at the door she came from, possibilities running through my mind. "So what's the verdict? We haven't done anything against them. Will that change?"

Yasaka is quiet for a moment before she eventually smiles. "No. Not yet." She says. "There is no sense for us to begin provocations for now. Let them be content with what they know."

I nod. "That makes sense."

A short silence follows. Yasaka is still deep in thought from what she learnt. She hasn't learnt anything I don't know about; Himejima Eichi knows far less than Suou does. But to someone like her, it'd be important still. So I let her stew as I busy myself with my cup, occasionally sipping the cooling tea as the night rolls on.

Eventually, Yasaka asks, "How did your recent expedition go?"

And immediately annoyance bubbles in my chest. "Oh, it went fine." I say, trying my best not to let my feelings show. "Went fairly alright. I found the stray magicians trying to do some weird blood magic ritual. They were about to kill seven children, but I got them out alright."

Except it didn't go alright! Yes, I got the children out safely, but the head honcho decided to sacrifice his seven colleagues instead and turned semi-immortal. Every time I killed him, he stood back up. Every fracture on his skull healed, every hole in his chest refilled, every limb torn was regrown.

It didn't make him any stronger, just more annoying to kill. I had to spend all my 'Flame' Ofudas and a lot of Senjutsu to burn him completely to ash.

I mean, at the end of the day, I don't mind. The kids are fine and have been returned to their families with their memories removed, the stray magicians are dead, and Kyoto's peace is upheld for another day.

Still, I'll need to spend a good while remaking all those Ofudas.

Clearly, my mask failed, because Yasaka's smile is entirely smug. "Oh, it went alright, I believe." She chuckles. "If you discount the seven traumatized children."

"Their memories are gone." I say. "They won't remember anything."

And they won't. When Shikaku helped me erase the children's memories, I was worried that there'd be some lingering trauma or whatever. But my eyes told me otherwise, and I am infinitely glad.

Yasaka continues to giggle, and I can't help but smile wryly at her amusement.

This has been pretty common for the past year. Occasionally taking jobs to keep Kyoto's peace, dealing with unruly intruders, and breaking up conflicts between various people. It's mostly a way to pull our weight in Youkai society. We may be 'disciples' of the two leaders, but we still need to do something lest distrust begins to breed.

That, and it serves as a good benchmark to test how far we've come.

"By the way," I turn to her. "How's Kunou doing? She hasn't been slacking off, has she?"

At that, Yasaka visibly wilts. "Unfortunately, yes." She sighs. "Honestly, that girl. She told me she's been working on her training, but she hasn't." She shakes her head, tails drooping behind her. "It's been three weeks."

I hiss in sympathy. "That's…" I awkwardly pat her back. "That's rough." I say, making a note to see if I can ask Akeno for help. "I don't think I can help either. Your daughter…doesn't seem to like me that much."

And she really doesn't. Kunou's a mature girl, and she's fairly pleasant. But she dislikes me; she's jealous of my status as Yasaka's 'disciple'. She's also jealous of Akeno, though at least to a lesser extent. Thankfully, she's never made these feelings public, but they're clear for me to see with my eyes.

Although I can't completely blame the girl either. She's lazy and spoiled, but that's mainly because Yasaka spoiled her so much. It isn't Yasaka's fault either. Something happened with her late husband, and it scarred her so much she coddled her daughter as much as she could.

It's…a complicated situation all around.

At least Kunou is weak to sweets, and Akeno's one hell of a baker.

"She'll get to it, eventually." I say. Yasaka doesn't seem to quite believe it, but she nods all the same. "And besides, she's still young. She doesn't have to work as much as Akeno and I do." Which is a little ironic for me to say. "She'll get better in time."

"Hopefully." She says with a sigh.

I grimace. Okay, we need to switch gears real quick.

"Actually, I heard something." I begin, still wondering whether or not I should mention it or not. Eventually though, I decide to. "I heard from Nurarihyon that you're planning to build a school for Youkai."

Which I wasn't expecting in the slightest. The old man just randomly mentioned it a day ago, and it surprised me so bad I nearly tripped and smashed my head into a light pole.

"We are." She confirms easily. And my surprise must've shown, because she turns to me with a sly smile. "We're no fools, Issei. You and Akeno have shown us just how much progress you've made in so little time. And all done without a strict curriculum." She shakes her head. "How much stronger can the Youkai become if we teach our young? How different will we be?"

I open my mouth, and then snap it shut. I can see the logic at least, but, "How'll that work?" I say more to myself.

"Teaching you and Akeno has helped create a regular curriculum for teaching Senjutsu to those without the knowledge." She smiles. "And we have many warriors willing to teach the young to fight. It won't be easy, but I know it's possible."

"I'll pitch in if you need help." I offer with a smile, before I grimace. "Just-, don't ask me to teach. I'm already busy as I am."

She laughs, and I laugh along.

We talk for hours. None of us need sleep, to be honest, and it's not like either of us have any work we need to do at the time. This is actually pretty common; whenever we meet, there's a high chance we spend the next few hours talking. It's honestly kind of a problem.

We talk about a lot of things. Complaints about her work, recent frustrations on my training, discussions over Senjutsu and Yojutsu, ideas for the school, plans for the Five Principal Clans, and general everyday happenings.

Before we realize it, the sun's come up, and I need to come home lest my parents realize something's off. That, and it is still exam season. I need to go to school early for my exams.

"Thanks for indulging me, Yasaka-sama." I say politely.

"It's no issue, Issei." She then smiles. "And as I said, there's no need to be so formal with me."

I smile back. "Just priming myself, Yasaka-sama. I'm not too used to honorifics, and I don't want to accidentally-"

Suddenly, I feel an invisible kick to my chest. I know this feeling-, I've only felt it once, but it's a feeling I can't forget.

An 'Alarm' Ofuda has been triggered back in Kuoh.

Someone suspicious has entered Kuoh.

"Issei?"

"Sorry, give me a moment," I say, turning away to avoid the glow around my eyes. Pain strikes me, but I push on as I zoom back towards Kuoh. Immediately, I spot a giant well of Demonic Energy, bursting forth into the air like a giant plume. It's well hidden, I admit, but it's almost blinding to my eyes.

I focus, my sight lowering down towards the source, and there I see-

I blink.

"A magical girl?"