chapter 15

Chapter 15: Spaceships and Confessions

– Haru –

I woke up thankful the next morning that I didn't have a hangover. I didn't get as plastered as the first time I threw a party at the Fox Hole, but I was definitely slurring my words by the end of last night. 

I tried to sit up, but something warm was weighing down both my arms. When I glanced to my sides, my heartbeat picked up fast. 

Rias Gremory was asleep on my right, completely naked, holding my arm snugly between her bare breasts and supple body. Aela was on my left, also fully naked for some reason, and one of her bare legs was draped over my own thigh. 

I couldn't remember how we all ended up like this. What happened last night after I closed up the restaurant? 

Wait…did I even close up the place? 

Meh, not like there's much worth stealing in there…except for the hundreds of kilos of priceless dragon bones, scales, and meat. 

My focus quickly snapped back to the present. I had my two beautiful and very naked girlfriends snuggled up to me. Although, I don't think anything happened besides sleeping and some naked cuddling. I couldn't remember how they got into my bed, I'm pretty sure I would have remembered if we all had sex last night.

Eventually, my stirring woke the girls. Rias stretched, letting out a small yawn and raising her arms high above her head, treating me to a front-row view of her large breasts right in my face. 

"Good morning, Haru," Rias said with a smile and a wink when she noticed my staring. "That was a fun party last night! Too bad I was only there for the last few hours."

"It was definitely a party to remember," Aela muttered, sitting up and rubbing her head. I remembered she was throwing back her drinks without holding back, and judging by her expression, she was feeling it this morning. Aela's eyes widened. "Did I…did I wrestle Agnar to the floor last night? Over a piece of cake…?"

I chuckled, watching her cheeks flush pink. "Yup. And it was hilarious," I said with a chuckle.

"Aww, I can't believe I missed that!" Rias pouted, reaching over to grab her phone. She let out a surprised yelp when she saw the time and bolted out of bed, giving Aela and I a perfect view of her ass next, turns out the carpet did match the drapes…

"Come on, you two!" she called, already throwing on her school clothes. "Commander Shepard said she'd show us her spaceship this morning before she leaves on her mission. I can't miss this!"

I scratched my head and my ears. "She did? I…don't really remember that." After the bar fight started last night, everything went a bit hazy. I barely even remember showing up at the end. 

But the chance to see an actual spaceship? That wasn't something I wanted to miss either. I got out of bed, shuffled over to my dresser, and threw on some clothes. I had a small apartment in the back of my restaurant for the nights when I didn't want to go back to the palace. It's where I let Kunou last night after she put herself into a sugar coma.

Aela groaned, ducking back under the covers. "You two go on ahead without me," she mumbled. "I don't think I'll be getting up for another couple hours…"

Her hangover must be pretty bad.

I leaned over, giving Aela a kiss on the forehead, and turned back to see Rias already at the door, tapping her foot impatiently. "So… how did you two end up in my bed last night?" I asked, as we walked down the hallway.

Rias chuckled, nudging me playfully. "You were dead tired last night, Haru. Aela and I could see you were about to keel over, and neither of us wanted you to go to sleep last night alone." 

"And how did you both end up naked?" I asked with a smirk.

Rias winked at me. "I always sleep naked," she told me. "Aela was feeling competitive."

We turned the corner and emerged from the kitchen into my restaurant. I cringed at the sight before me. The place was, once again, a mess after the night's festivities. 

Enri was there already sweeping the floor. She looked up with a bright smile when she saw me. "Good morning, Lord Haru," she greeted, then gave a small, apologetic bow. "I'm sorry I've been away for a few days. My sister Nemu's been a little clingy since our village was attacked!"

I shook my head. "No worries, Enri. Family comes first. Besides, you don't have to worry about cleaning this all up. I'm hiring some pros to get the place back in shape once I'm back from visiting Commander Shepard with Rias."

Enri tilted her head. "Commander who?"

"I'll tell you all about her when we're back," I promised. "Apparently, she's waiting for us right now." Rias's eyes sparkled with excitement, I headed toward the door, motioning for her to follow. I paused and looked back at Enri. "We won't be gone long. Try to relax today, alright?"

With a quick nod of understanding from Enri, I opened the door to… not the bustling streets of Kyoto, but the vast Citadel.

…As Rias and I strolled the Citadel, I couldn't help but notice the stares—everywhere we went, eyes were glued to us. I figured it was partly because of my fox ears and tails, but maybe it was also the sight of Rias, who had a supernatural beauty that people couldn't help but stare at.

"Do we even know where we're going?" I asked, glancing at her as we stopped to get our bearings. We'd just started walking in a random direction after stepping out of my restaurant.

Rias paused, a small blush creeping onto her cheeks. "Shepard's ship is docked directly above a place called C-Sec," she said, looking a bit sheepish. "Though… I'm not really sure what or where that is."

I chuckled. "Well, that makes two of us. Do we know how long we have until she departs?"

"We've got a little over an hour," she said.

"Alright, let's see if we can ask for directions. Tevos is probably up in that tower over there," I said, nodding toward the imposing structure in the distance. "But I'd hate to disturb her while she's working..." I mumbled. Just then, I noticed a small business nearby that I'd somehow missed before. It was tucked right next to my restaurant. Rias and I exchanged a glance and decided to double back to check it out, hoping someone inside could give us directions.

As we approached, an Asari woman standing in front of a kiosk looked up and smiled, her attention settling specifically on me and my unusual features. "Welcome," she greeted, her voice was almost as smooth as silk. "Are you both here to see the Consort?"

Consort?

I felt a blush creep up my face as I realized my restaurant was apparently located right next to an alien brothel. Rias snickered beside me, clearly amused at my reaction.

"Actually, we're just looking for directions," I managed to say, regaining my composure. I peeked inside the place, relieved to see it was at least a clean high end brothel. I supposed that there were worse things my restaurant could have been located next too. "We're trying to get to C-Sec. We're friends with Commander Shepard and she's leaving soon."

The Asari introduced herself as Neylina and gave us a small nod. "Ah, Commander Shepard—she's certainly well-known around here…" She then proceeded to give us the directions we desperately needed. 

As we turned to leave, Neylina suddenly raised her hand, holding up a small communicator as she read something on the screen. "Oh!" she exclaimed, looking up at me with a new sparkle of interest in her eyes. "It appears the Consort is very interested in meeting both of you. You're a… very unique visitor in this galaxy," she added, looking over my ears and tails with an almost curious fascination.

"We're in a bit of a hurry. The Consort will have to wait," I replied, not really that interested in talking to some random alien prostitute. I wondered if Space Aids was a thing?

Neylina let out a soft giggle, clearly amused by my immediate dismissal. "It's not every day that people say no to the Consort," she replied, still chuckling. "Usually, others are forced to wait on her."

Just then, her communicator buzzed again. She gave it a quick glance. "You're both welcome to return anytime you like. That's a rare honor, you know," she added.

Rias pouted slightly and tugged on my arm. As we stepped outside, Rias spun around to stick her tongue out at one of the alien security cameras! "Back off! Haru isn't interested in some space slut!"

She wasn't exactly wrong. "I'm sure she only wanted to talk—seeing as we're neighbors and all," I said.

Rias shook her head and muttered about me "underestimating my own handsomeness or something."

We kept going and followed Neylina's directions through the winding corridors of the Citadel until we reached an elevator with a strange, holographic panel. Alien symbols glowed across the display, we didn't have any idea what they meant.

Rias gave me a questioning look. "Think one of these buttons says 'C-Sec'?"

I shrugged. "Only one way to find out."

We took turns pressing random buttons, hoping for the best. After a moment, the elevator hummed to life as it began its slow ascent. Rias and I shared a relieved look—guess we'd hit the right button. 

As soon as Rias and I stepped out of the elevator, I knew we'd found the right place. The C-Sec headquarters was packed with humans and aliens in full tactical gear. We were looking for the Citadel's police force and this was definitely the place. 

Of course, all eyes zeroed in on us the second we entered—my ears and tails tend to have that effect. Most of the people nearby exchanged curious or suspicious glances, but the most intense stare came from a woman with a floating drone camera hovering over her shoulder. She looked like a reporter, and her eyes practically sparkled when she spotted us. She was mid-conversation with two men in military uniforms, when she left them behind and dashed over to Rias and I.

"Hello there! I'm Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani, with Westerlund News." 

Yep, I'm never going to remember that name… I nodded and waited for her to continue. 

Her eyes darted over my ears and tails. "Those are the most incredible and realistic augmentations I've ever seen!" She barely paused before turning to Rias with a wide-eyed look. "And that cosmetic work you had done is absolutely stunning! Are you two promoting a movie or something?"

I folded my arms, amused but a little irritated at the same time. "My ears and tails are natural," I said firmly. "I'm not human."

Khalisah's eyes widened as a wave of murmurs swept through C-Sec. From the corner of my eye, I noticed a couple of agents glancing our way, whispering about whether or not they should "quarantine" us as unknown aliens. No one made any moves thankfully. 

She stared at me for a moment, clearly processing this revelation. "Not human?" Her voice grew even more intrigued. "Then what exactly are you?"

Before I could answer, Rias stepped forward. "Actually, we don't have time for this." She gave Khalisah a sharp look. "And for the record, my appearance is perfectly natural too! I'm not human either."

The reporter gave Rias a skeptical look, clearly assuming she was lying. Rias smirked, then let her bat-like wings unfurl briefly, causing a gasp to ripple through the surrounding crowd. Khalisah's jaw dropped, eyes wide with shock as she stared at Rias, who simply tossed her hair over her shoulder and took my hand again.

"Come on, Haru," Rias said, her fingers lacing through mine. I grinned, following her as we walked past the reporter, Khalisah, who was still frozen in disbelief. We headed toward the large central elevator Neylina had told us would take us straight to Shepard's ship. Just as we were about to reach it, a voice called out behind us.

"Hold up a second." We both turned to see one of the men Khalisah had been speaking to as he walked towards us. "I'm Captain Anderson," he introduced himself, extending a hand with a polite but curious smile. "Seems like you've stirred up quite a bit of attention here." he gestured to all the people nearby who were gaping at Rias and I.

"It wasn't our plan to make a scene. We're just here to see a friend before her mission."

Captain Anderson raised an eyebrow when he heard we were here to see Commander Shepard. He shook his head with an exasperated huff, muttering to himself, "Shepard conveniently forgot to mention that she'd invited two never-before-seen aliens for a meet-and-greet. Especially aliens who could pass for humans! This is massive news!"

Rias and I couldn't help but giggle at the irony that we were the aliens here.

Before we could say much, the other man hurried over. "Now, wait just a minute!" He introduced himself with a stiff nod. "I am Ambassador Udina, representing humanity and the Systems Alliance here on the Citadel." He eyed us with a look that could only be described as paranoid. "Why exactly are you trying to meet Commander Shepard? And if you're both really not human—which I'm still not convinced of—what are your intentions with humanity's first Spectre!?" The ambassador then launched into a paranoid monologue, rambling on about security protocols, classified technologies, and the risk of exposing military assets to unknown entities. I let him go on for a solid thirty seconds before he finally paused, looking for an answer.

"Commander Shepard's a friend of ours," I said simply. "She offered to show us her ship. My girlfriend here is excited to see it before Shepard takes off on her mission… something about tracking down an evil Turian?" I scratched my head, trying to remember what Shepard had mentioned last night. The details from last night's party began coming back to me, especially the part where Shepard had to practically drag half of her squad out of my restaurant. The drunken Krogan, Wrex, had put up a ridiculous struggle, slurring on about how much he loved my drinks. A grin crept across my face as I remembered how Shepard had finally resorted to using her biotics to lift the big guy off the ground, floating him away like an overgrown, very inebriated child.

Udina looked unimpressed by my answer, narrowing his eyes as he turned to Anderson. "Please remind Shepard that the Normandy is a top-of-the-line military secret. It's not meant to be shown off to random aliens! Especially new species that we've never heard of before!" 

"Don't worry," I cut in, trying not to laugh at his frustration. "The most complicated piece of technology I know how to use is my phone."

Rias laughed and nodded. "For me, it's my collection of gaming consoles," she added. "Besides, Haru runs a restaurant. He doesn't have time to play space spy… no matter how hot that would be." She glanced up at me with a mischievous glint in her eye. "But," she added thoughtfully, "now that I think about it, I'm definitely ordering some space-themed cosplay for you to try on…" she said while licking her lips.

Anderson coughed awkwardly, bringing Rias and me back to the present moment. He gestured to the large elevator nearby and offered to take us up to the Normandy. Since neither of us had a clue how to work the controls—and had probably just gotten lucky the first time—we gladly accepted his help.

As we entered the elevator, I couldn't help but sigh. "Why are all the elevators here so slow?" I asked, leaning against the glass wall.

Anderson shrugged, a small smile playing on his lips. "No one really knows. Every time we try to adjust the speeds, the Keepers immediately come and fiddle with the settings, changing them right back. It's one of those Citadel mysteries you just learn to live with."

I glanced at Rias, who was barely containing her excitement, practically bouncing on her toes as we ascended toward the spaceship docks. After what felt like two painfully long minutes, the elevator finally came to a stop, and the doors slid open. We stepped out, and there she was—Commander Shepard, waiting for us with a knowing smile. Anderson must have contacted her on our ride up the slow elevator. 

She turned towards us, giving me a nod first and then a warm smile at Rias. It was obvious she remembered last night's events all too well. "Good to see you again, Haru. That was some party you threw last night."

I rubbed the back of my head, chuckling. "I'm hoping it doesn't turn into a weekly thing. The place is kind of a mess now. Maybe a monthly party…"

Shepard smirked. "I'll have to remember to stop by at least once a month then. At the very least, Wrex will try his best."

Rias, who was not in the mood for any more small talk, stepped forward eagerly. "Can we please have a tour of your spaceship now!?" Her eyes sparkled with excitement. "I can't wait!"

Shepard smiled. "Sure thing. Follow me."

We stepped through the airlock doors, and a robotic voice echoed from the speakers surrounding us. "Equalizing interior pressure with external atmosphere."

The process was brief, and once it was done, we followed Shepard into the main hallway of the ship. My eyes widened as I took in the polished metal walls, and the rows of control panels and stations. It was like something straight out of a video game…

"This," Shepard said, her voice carrying a hint of pride, "is the Normandy SR-1. One of the most advanced ships in the Alliance fleet…"

…

Rias and I returned to my restaurant about an hour later. Rias practically skipped through the door, grinning from ear to ear. "That ship was so awesome!" she said, almost twirling in excitement. "I wish we could just go flying through space like that! It sucks that Jane has to go hunt down an evil alien bent on wiping out humanity, though!"

When she put it like that, Shepard's mission did sound pretty intense. Also, we'd finally learned that Jane was the commander's first name, but Shepard preferred to go by her last name. She was pretty adamant about that.

Rias looked around my still-messy restaurant and sighed, telling me that she wished she could stick around a bit longer, but after being out all night, she knew her peerage was probably wondering where she was. Especially since she might've been… skipping her classes at the moment. Not that it really mattered to her when she pretty much went to Kuoh Academy for fun.

"Last night was a lot of fun, Haru." She flashed me a warm smile before leaning up on her toes to press a soft kiss to my cheek. "I'll see you later," she whispered, her eyes sparkling as she pulled back and gave a small wave before heading across the street to a building the Devil's rented out to hide their teleportation circle.

Once she was gone, I finally figured it was time to clean the place up. It seemed Enri had taken my advice and headed back home for the day. With a sigh, I pulled out my phone, scrolling through a list of local Yokai cleaning companies. Just as I was about to hit "call," the front door creaked open behind me, and I turned to see Mob walk in, glancing nervously around the disaster zone that was my restaurant.

"Uh… what happened in here, Haru-san?" he asked, his eyes wide as he took in the mess.

I let out a laugh, slipping my phone back into my pocket. "We had a party last night. I guess things got a little… out of hand."

Mob nodded slowly. "Looks like a lot of people were here. Was it… fun?"

The party was a blast. I would've invited you and Reigen, but it got a bit…wild." I scratched the back of my head sheepishly.

Mob smiled. "It's fine, Haru-san. My parents wouldn't have let me go out that late anyway." He looked down, fidgeting a bit.

"Can I get you anything to eat?" I offered. "I can whip something up real quick."

He shook his head. "Actually… I was wondering if you could give me some advice."

"Advice?" I raised an eyebrow. "Sure thing, kid. What's on your mind?"

Mob glanced around, as if checking if anyone else was listening, then leaned forward. "It's… about girls." Mob scratched his cheek, looking a bit embarrassed. "I just thought… Well, you're cool, Haru-san. You're handsome, confident, and… you already have two girlfriends," he mumbled, his voice barely above a whisper.

I couldn't stop the mischievous grin that spread across my face. Here was the shy, quiet Mob, asking me about girls. "Oh, girls, huh? You've come to the right guy! Speaking of girls… Tanya-chan was here last night. She wouldn't happen to have anything to do with this, would she?"

At the mention of her name, Mob turned as red as a tomato, nodding silently.

Oh, this poor kid… 

What Mob still didn't know was that Tanya-chan was a reincarnator who had been a man in her past life and… was not into guys at all as far as anyone knew. But was I about to tell this kid all that?

Absolutely not! This was way too funny!

"So, you're sweet on Tanya-chan, huh?" I teased gently, crossing my arms. 

Mob hesitated, then gave me a determined nod. "I… I want to confess to her. What should I do?"

I spent the next ten minutes giving Mob advice and instructions. I then told him to come back to the restaurant in a couple hours and told him that Tanya would be here waiting for him. 

Was it kind of a dick move giving all that advice when I knew this would crash and burn? 

Kind of, but then again I was a Kitsune and I needed some mischief in my life!

As soon as Mob slipped out the door, I couldn't hold it in. I whipped out my phone, fingers tapping on my Yasaka's contact faster than I thought possible. After a couple of rings, I heard her warm voice.

"Hello, son!" 

"Mom! MOB IS GOING TO CONFESS TO TANYA-CHAN!" I practically shouted into the phone, unable to contain the excitement. 

There was a pause, a stillness on the other end, and then she spoke. "...I'm canceling my schedule for the rest of the day. WHEN AND WHERE!?" Yep, she didn't want to miss out on this either.

"At my restaurant later today," I answered, grinning. "But I have to get this place cleaned up first. I was just about to call some people to help clean up–"

She interrupted me! "They might not get there fast enough! We can't miss out on this beautiful trainwreck! I'll send all the palace maids over immediately to help clean up! Also, how many hidden cameras do you think we can place in your restaurant without it being too obvious…?"

…

A couple hours later, Yasaka, Kunou and Tanya-chan were all eating dinner at the bar counter. There was a "closed" sign hanging in the front door since we didn't want anyone to interrupt what was about to happen. Reigen was sitting nearby in a booth with a hidden camera. He flashed us a thumbs up and Yasaka and I both gave him knowing grins in return.

The door to The Fox Hole swung open, and in walked Mob, dressed in an oversized little suit, looking as if he'd raided his dad's closet for the occasion. His shoes clicked awkwardly on the floor, and in his hands, he held a giant bouquet of flowers. All pink flowers. 

Of course, I might have slightly exaggerated when I told him Tanya-chan adored the color pink. 

I knew for a fact she didn't.

Tanya and Kunou were sitting at a table near the back, busy eating and chatting. They didn't even notice Mob as he crossed the room, until he stood right beside them.

"Tanya-chan," Mob said, his voice a little louder than normal, catching her attention. She turned, and the next second, Mob practically shoved the bouquet right in her face.

Tanya froze, looking like she was stuck between utter shock and something dangerously close to horror. Slowly, she glanced around, her gaze meeting mine. I gave her my best knowing grin, which only made her narrow her ice-blue eyes at me in a way that promised retribution.

But was it worth it? Oh, absolutely.

"Tanya-chan, I have something important to tell you," Mob began, his voice filled with nervous excitement.

Myself, Kunou, Yasaka, and Reigen all leaned in, grinning with anticipation.

Tanya's expression softened a bit, and she looked as if she was trying to let Mob down easy. "Er…listen, Mob. Um…you're a nice kid and all, but I'm not really–"

The door creaked open again, despite the "closed" sign I'd put up earlier. A teenage girl, probably a few years older than Mob, stood at the entrance. She had long brown hair, blue eyes, and was wearing a military-style uniform identical to the one Tanya had on when she'd first walked into my restaurant. 

Tanya's eyes widened in shock. "Viktoriya…?" she murmured quietly.

"Excuse me?" the girl called out. "I'm looking for a little girl who went missing in this area a free weeks ago. Her name is Tanya, and she's a soldier like me…"

Before anyone could react, Mob, oblivious to the new arrival, clutched the bouquet tighter and blurted out, "I love you, Tanya-chan! Please be my girlfriend!"

The entire room went silent. I watched Tanya, who, for a moment, looked like she was battling every internal demon she'd ever faced at once. Her face went pale, her expression a mix of horror and disbelief. Then, without a word, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted…

"Huh… Wasn't expecting that kind of reaction," I said, mostly to myself.

Mob's face fell, and he stared down at her, confused. "Did… did I say something wrong?"

Reigen walked over and pat Mob on the shoulder. "She's probably just not ready for romance yet, Mob," he comforted the kid but we could all see that internally he was doing his best not to immediately burst out laughing. We all were…

"Oh, that's okay then..." Mob shrugged, he and Reigan then walked past the very confused soldier, still standing at the front door, and left the Fox Hole.

She watched them leave before turning back to me and my sister and mother. "What the hell is going on here! What have you done to Tanya!?"

XXX

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