-]|[-

“Everything is so different!” Ingvild exclaimed as she watched the Japanese landscape race by. She had the window seat on their train next to Izuku.

“Ufufufu.” Aika, recovered and reinvigorated after her first (of many) nights with Izuku, chuckled. “Oh, that’s right, Ingy-” Ingvild mouthed the nickname to herself with visible confusion.

SMACK. “Don’t call my granddaughter ‘Ingy.’” Deila, who had decided to accompany them to Kyoto to see the city for herself, muttered at Aika. She didn’t even bother taking off her sleep mask… though that was partially because she was apparently weak against transportation and was getting a bit nauseous.

“You’re no fun.” Aika pouted from beside the elder Devil, “In any case, when you last rode a train, it was probably one of those old-fashioned choo-choos, huh?”

Ingvild smiled at her, “Oh yes. It looked nothing like this.” She laughed gaily, “We’re going so faaaaaast!” She went back to staring out the window. “It’s all so strange. Back before I went to sleep, everything was still so slow. The cars all looked different too. These new ones Rias-san showed us are crazy to me! I can’t believe how fast they go!”

Rias giggled almost maniacally from her seat across the aisle on Izuku’s other side. “It’s like we have our very own, much cuter Captain America.” She muttered lowly to Akeno, who let out a giggle of her own.

Izuku chuckled beside the time-displaced young lady, “The food is much better too.” He winked at her.

Ingvild giggled, though nervously this time. “We’re ahh… not going to have any more… strange foods, are we?” She had very much not enjoyed the natto and wouldn’t even put the hachinoko in her mouth when she was told what it was.

Izuku chuckled as he remembered her reaction to some of the other Japanese foods they had her try. “Different countries have different tastes.” He said, “You liked that American barbeque I made, right?” Yes, Izuku knew full well how to cook American barbeque. He was an All Might fan. What did you expect?

“It was a bit heavy, but tasty.” Ingvild replied with a happier smile.

“Don’t worry.” Aika called out, a salacious grin on her face. “It all goes to our boobs.” She cupped her own chest, which had gone up a cup size since she had become a Devil.

Ingvild’s face flamed red, as did Lavinia and Asia. Deila chuckled, “Good to know.” To her amusement, her granddaughter was already larger than she was. Hells, she was pretty sure she was a cup size larger than that bitch Katerea too.

Koneko blinked, looking down and grasping her chest. Gasper next to her had a Nintendo Switch in hand and was studiously ignoring absolutely everything in order to not require his box.

Izuku rolled his eyes and reached up, jabbing Aika on the forehead. “Ow!”

“Aren’t you supposed to be meditating?” He asked dryly.

She groaned in response, “Can’t I just su-”

He reached up with two fingers in the ‘okay’ position and pinched her lips shut. “Meditating. Now.”

“Why is she meditating?” Deila asked curiously.

“She’s supposed to be synchronizing better with Ddraig.” Rias chimed in from the left. “I had my onii-sama get me everything he could find on previous Sekiryūtei and there are some dangerous things that they’ve been able to do.”

“Teach your grandmother to suck eggs.” Deila scoffed, rubbing her left hip, “I still have a scar from that bastard Belzard.” Several jaws dropped all around, “So, you’re trying to have her achieve Balance Breaker and, preferably, avoid Juggernaut Drive?”

“That’s the gist of it.” Rias confirmed, before sighing, “I can’t help but feel it’s a waste of time though. She got stronger over the past three days than she has over the past month.” She grumbled.

“…And that’s a bad thing… why?” Deila asked in bemusement.

“Ufufufu, it isn’t that she got stronger. It’s the method .” Akeno laughed from her window seat.

“Dare I ask?” Deila’s raised eyebrow couldn’t be seen but could be heard.

“Ufufufu, she’s been getting to know Izuku in the biblical sense.” Akeno replied as Rias facepalmed and Aika grinned unrepentantly.

There was silence for a moment before Koneko deadpanned, “Hentai Chinporyūtei.”

“PFFFFFTTTTT!” Half the private train car did picture-perfect spittakes at Koneko coining Aika the ‘perverted Dick Dragon Emperor.’

Ddraig himself was not amused. Sobbing was heard from Aika’s right hand, which began to glow green. “ Wahhhhhh! ” He was seriously bawling his eyes out in there. “ I, one of the Two Heavenly Dragons… the Red Dragon Emperor… a being of fear and legend…! ” The dragon sealed inside the gauntlet continued to sob.

“There, there.” Aika said dryly, patting her hand.

“Look what you’ve done to the poor thing.” Izuku said dryly, and the party couldn’t help but laugh as that just made Ddraig sob more.

“I will try to raise Ddraig’s spirits!” Ingvild declared, before closing her eyes and starting to sing  Fields of Hope from Gundam Seed . Perhaps not the best anime to get her feet wet with, but she had been intrigued by the cover of one of the disks when she saw it in Rias’s collection.

She had binged the entire first series in the few days they still had in Tokyo.

“ Konna ni tsumetai tobari no fukaku de. Anata wa hitori de nemutteru. Inori no utagoe sabishii nohara wo. Chiisa na hikari ga terashiteta. ”

Izuku smiled and snapped his fingers quietly, causing piano to fill the train car, syncing with her voice. Almost everyone started to bop as Ingvild absolutely killed the song. She was such a good singer that Akeno felt jealous .

A few minutes passed as they all just enjoyed the sound of her voice, and when it was over, she finally opened her eyes to see if her song had pleased Ddraig and calmed his sorrow over his new name. “WAHHH!” She yelped as she saw Aika and Rias both slumped over, dead asleep. Like, full on, open-mouthed, drooling sleep. Even Aika’s hand was snoring.

Izuku chuckled, “You used Nereid Kyrie again.”

“I’m sorry!” She wailed, covering her face in embarrassment. They all just laughed. It took several minutes to rouse the two dragons, with Ingvild apologizing profusely over her mistake. Aika and Rias just laughed it off, while Rias tried to take advantage and offer her a Rook to make up for it. She got beaned with a wadded-up paper ball conjured by Deila for her trouble.

The time passed quickly on the train, with the only other incident being Ingvild falling asleep almost mid-word. “Ingvild?” Izuku asked, his eyes wide in concern.

“zzzzz…” She snored cutely before her head fell onto his shoulder.

“Deila?” Izuku tried again, “What-?”

 That roused the lavender-haired lady’s grandmother, who reached out with her magical senses. “Ah.” She sighed, “Yes, that’s been happening with some regularity. According to Ajuka, there is no need to worry. She’s just ended up a bit narcoleptic after her long sleep. It’s happened to Misla Bael as well, though less frequently. Likely due to the shorter amount of time she spent under the sickness.”

“Hmm.” Izuku put a hand on her forehead and closed his eyes, reaching out with the power of the Ope Ope no mi. But try as he might, he couldn’t locate any trace of that energy that had caused the sickness in the first place. He hoped that this was just a side effect that would go away over time and not something she’d have to deal with for the rest of her incredibly long life.

With there being no apparent reason for concern, Izuku let the young lady sleep. After he put his arm around her and got her comfortable, of course.

-]|[-

Predictably, Ingvild’s face had been in competition with tomatoes once she had woken up. They hadn’t made a big deal out of anything, with Izuku just laughing it off and asking if she had her permit. They were close to Kyoto now, and as Devils, almost all of them needed permission from the Yōkai to be inside the city.

Thankfully, none of them had forgotten the permits, and they were able to make their way out of the gorgeous Kyoto Station (which left Asia and Ingvild in particular in awe) and make their way to their hotel. Asia almost passed out over the sheer opulence on display, though this time Ingvild was inured to the effect, seeing as her grandmother’s castle was bigger and fancier.

Rias’s family owned the hotel, so they were able to get the biggest and best rooms in the entire place, all the way up on the top floor. Once everyone was good on their luggage and met back up in the atrium, she got their attention. “Everyone here? Perfect.” She grinned as she took them in. None of them were in their Kuoh uniforms as this wasn’t a school trip. Instead, they were in more outdoorsy clothes… with Akeno taking advantage of it and using the tiniest spaghetti top she could find. As Izuku stared at her cleavage, he decided that his girls were dangerous weapons. “Let’s go enjoy our first day!”

“It’s a shame the only event we’re going to be able to catch is the pottery festival.” Izuku sighed, “I would have liked to see the Gozan no Okuribi in person.”

Akeno sighed, “I’m more irritated that we missed the Gion Matsuri.” She grumbled, “Even if we hadn’t been in the Underworld, we still would have had school.”

“What’s the Gion Matsuri?” Ingvild asked curiously.

“The annual fireworks festival!” Rias pouted as Akeno reminded her that they had missed it. “Everyone dresses up in their yukata and has a big block party!”

Ingvild and Asia pouted, “Aww, that would have been amazing!”

“No use crying over spilt milk!” Aika kept her cheer up, “There’s still plenty to see here in Kyoto even without big events, and we can still go check out the Gojo-zaka Pottery Festival when we visit Kiyomizu-dera tomorrow.”

“Where are we going, then?” Koneko asked.

Gasper fidgeted. He was outside of his box, and therefore in his perpetually nervous state. “A-And will t-there be a lot of p-p-p-people?”

“We’re starting off with Fushimi Inari Shrine, I believe.” Kiba chimed in with a smile.

“That’s right!” Rias exclaimed, before beginning to pet Gasper, “And sorry Gasper, but there probably will be a lot of guests and tourists.” She said apologetically, “But you’ve been doing much better lately. You can do this. Koneko and Asia-chan will be right with you.”

Ingvild and Deila raised eyebrows. “What’s up with her?” The elder asked Izuku quietly under the veil of a quick privacy charm.

Izuku grinned evilly, “Him.”

“…” Deila looked at him, “Come again?”

“Gasper is a boy.” Ingvild and Deila looked at him and then to Izuku and then back.

Deila turned to Izuku again, “Bullshit.”

“It’s true.” Izuku chuckled, “He’s Rias’s hikikomori Dhampir. Aika and I were pretty surprised too, but…” He shrugged, “He thinks girls’ clothes are cute. He also has Forbidden Balor View and couldn’t control it. Rias wasn’t strong enough at the time to control it either, so he became terrified both of his power and of hurting other people with it. He became a shut in because of it.”

“The poor boy.” Ingvild looked at him sadly.

Izuku grinned, “Like Rias said, he’s doing much better now.”

Deila raised an eyebrow as she looked at the Dhampir. This was better? She had to bite back a snort.

…

“SO CUUUUTE!” Asia, Lavinia, and Ingvild squealed happily as they arrived at the foot of the Inari mountain and saw all of the street shops lining the streets. One of the very first ones they ran into had tiny little keepsakes in the shape of foxes. “They look just like Frost and Flare!” Lavinia was straight up hugging one of them to her bosom.

“If you see anything you like, just let me, Izuku, or Akeno know.” Rias smiled as she sat one of the little mini foxes on her head like a hat and affixed it there with a simple spell.

“You’re the best, Rias!” Lavinia got one red statue and one white, mirroring her two familiars. Everyone ended up getting one, though Akeno made several of them giggle and more to either facepalm or roll their eyes when she placed her new companion between her breasts.

“Best seat in the house.” Izuku murmured, getting a wink from his girl.

They continued on, with Rias fist pumping when she saw that one of the restaurants she was hoping to visit was empty. “I hope everyone is hungry!” She grinned as they went in. They had a large group and ended up having to take two separate tables next to each other, since this was a smaller place.

“Starving.” Aika grumbled, “You did tell us not to eat on the train.”

“Uhh, what are these?” Ingvild asked nervously, holding up the chopsticks at the table. She had taken the seat to Izuku’s right, meaning he was sandwiched between her and Lavinia. Koneko, Gasper, and Kiba were in front of them.

Izuku grinned, “Your utensils.” He said evilly.

A look of mild panic crossed her face, “But how do you…? Where are the forks, spoons, and knives?” Behind them at the other table, Rias was having just as much fun with Deila.

“Don’t worry, we’ll show you.” Izuku nudged her with his shoulder. Soon enough, their Inari sushi and udon arrived, and Izuku would not have been surprised at all to see Koneko’s cat ears poof out as she laid eyes on the sushi. She was utterly adorable with her little fang and very tiny amount of drool. Izuku gently explained to Ingvild how to hold them, demonstrating for her.

She took a few tries to get it right. She had that common issue of the sticks sliding past one another. “Mouuu, this is so hard!” She said with a pout.

“You can do it, Ingvild!” Lavinia cheered her on, “I wasn’t used to them either! First time Rias took me to a restaurant I dropped some really expensive sushi on the floor.”

“Oh yeah.” Koneko turned soulful eyes towards the busty blonde, “How could you, Lavi-senpai?”

Everyone giggled, even Ingvild, as Lavinia pouted at the cat. Behind them, Deila wasn’t having much more luck. “Are you sure I can’t just get some utensils?” She glared at her stupid fingers.

“All of us went through this unless we were born in Japan, like Izuku.” Rias patted her knee, “Come on, a great Leviathan isn’t going to be beaten by two sticks, right?” She grinned evilly as that ignited the elder Devil’s competitive spirit.

Deila tried again and again to grab the sushi, before finally just stabbing the fish with them and shoving them in her mouth as fast as she could to avoid losing too much of the rice.

Akeno started to giggle, “How adorable.” She teased Deila as the woman valiantly refused to blush, “You did the same thing Rias did the first time we went out to eat.”

“Oh, what’s this?” Izuku chimed in from behind Rias, “Our great Japanophile ojou-sama had difficulties with her chopsticks?” He grinned, though obviously his girlfriend couldn’t see it.

“Oh hush.” Rias pouted, “I grew up with forks, knives, and spoons in too many annoying configurations, just like Deila.” She grabbed some of her udon and shoveled it into her mouth with a ‘hmph.’

“Oh, I did it!” Ingvild cried out, smiling at her hand, which was holding onto a sushi.

“Good job!” They all praised her as she took a bite. “You’ll be a pro in no time.” Lavinia grinned at her.

“Just like Asia!” Aika chuckled, nudging the young blonde next to her.

Asia blushed, “Mugyuu… I dropped a lot of food too.” She pouted at Deila.

“How do kids even learn this?” Deila asked as she finally managed to get a good hold on another piece of sushi and carefully brought it up to her mouth.

Akeno smirked, “Like you did. Stabbing and shoveling.” They all laughed as Deila deadpanned. They continued to eat and chat for about thirty minutes before making their way back to the streets. Aika continued taking pictures of all of them as well as all of the attractions on the way to the actual temple.

“Wow, it’s really different from the buildings we have in Norway.” Ingvild commented as she took in the sights, a wide smile on her face. “It looks a lot more like our home.”

“Mhm, I love Japanese architecture.” Rias commented, “So I made sure our home here in the human world would reflect that.”

They made their way up some steps and got to the main shrine. “Oh, so these are the Devil-Repelling statues.” Lavinia commented before taking her pass out of her bag. “I guess that’s what these are for.”

“Not Devil-repelling.” Akeno shook her head, “ Evil -repelling.” She smiled sardonically, “Though with how regularly the two are synonymous…” She trailed off.

“Hmm…” She looked around, seeing how many people were there. She eyed Gasper, who had Koneko’s hand in a death grip. He was… shaken but not in a panic. He had yet to activate his Sacred Gear, which was excellent. She went over and patted him on the shoulder. “You’re doing great, Gasper.”

“Rias-sama…” He whined piteously, eyes flicking this way and that every time someone new came into view.

“You haven’t had a misfire with Forbidden Balor View in weeks. Don’t worry.” Koneko said gently, “Relax.” She said slowly, her golden eyes beginning to glow as she used a gentle spell with what little Senjutsu she knew to calm his nerves.

Rias smiled as she saw him relax, but only a little. She eyed the rest of the populace and got an idea for later when it was less packed. “Want to do our fortunes?” She asked Izuku.

“Sure.” They all walked over to the left of the main hall. Each of them paid a hundred yen before shaking a stick out of the cylinders. They quickly gathered their fortunes but didn’t actually look at them. They then gathered together and began reading their fortunes, helping Deila and Ingvild who could not read the language.

“…” They all sat there. “Okay, how did more than half of us get bad fortunes?” Rias glared at her paper. Usually she had excellent luck!

Deila snorted, “It’s not like these really mean anything. I sense no magic around here for actual fortune telling.”

Some of them eyed her glumly, before most of them proceeded to tie up their fortunes. After that, they made their way to the Torii Gate and began to walk, the fortunes forgotten. “There’s so many of them!” Ingvild gasped as they started making their way up the mountain. Quickly, the throngs of people thinned out. This was an actual hike up the mountain, and many people didn’t go the full five kilometers. For them it was simple, since none of them were weak.

“What are all the characters?” Deila asked.

“The Torii Gates are usually donated. On the left side is the name of the person or company that made the donation.” Kiba responded this time. “On the right side is the date it was donated.”

“Maybe we should donate one.” Rias grinned, lacing her fingers with his. “Gremory Rias and Midoriya Izuku.”

He chuckled, “I’m down if you are.” He smirked impishly, “You’re the one with the cash, after all.”

“Let’s do it then.” She grinned, adding that to the list of things for them to do before they left. She wanted a big one up on the top of the mountain! Several members of her Peerage were just holding their heads in amusement.

Slowly the gates started to thin out, and Asia began getting tired. “Ooof, this is longer than I thought.” She pouted, slightly winded. She wasn’t used to exercise like this.

“Looks like we need to get you swimming more, Asia-chan.” Izuku plopped his hand on her head and started rubbing it gently. “Want a piggy-back ride?” He grinned at the younger girl.

She went red before nodding bashfully and looking away. He laughed and picked her up. She wrapped her arms around him and continued to blush as he walked as easily as he had without her weight on top. They quickly arrived at a rest stop partway up the mountain.

The view was utterly gorgeous with it being a bright, sunny day. Asia was near tears as she prayed a little bit away from her friends to avoid hitting them with psychic damage. Aika was taking pictures with her camera, both of the scenery as well as of the group. She caught pictures of Izuku kissing Rias, Izuku holding Akeno in a bridal carry, Koneko with the best seat in the house on his shoulders… She even sneakily snapped a picture of him making out with Lavinia. She grinned when she saw the duo again, with Lavinia’s clothes slightly messed up and her lips a little swollen. She had a light blush on her face.

They even floated the camera to get some group pictures, seeing as there were far fewer people even this far up. They still had plenty of trail to go, but most climbers had already tossed in the towel and turned around.

With their rest stop taken care of, they continued to climb until eventually, they reached the top of Mount Inari at the Kami-no-Yashiro shrine. It was deserted up here, with most of the day’s visitors having either already come by or given up. “We made it!” Ingvild cheered as she looked down the mountain. “Maō, it’s beautiful.”

“Some of the mountains in the underworld next to our land are similar, aren’t they?” Rias asked Izuku as they continued to take in the sights.

“The land we chose?” Izuku clarified and she nodded, “Yeah, I think at least one of them is comparable in size, though there are a couple bigger ones.” He eyed her drolly, “Replica?”

“You know me so well.” She purred in his ear. “Would be nice to have our very own nature trail.”

“Wouldn’t be the same without all the history and pilgrims though.” He mumbled. She pouted as she realized he was right.

They all just talked or otherwise enjoyed the calm and quiet of the mountainside for a few minutes more. All of them went up to the shrine to say their prayers (with Asia expressing confusion, before Akeno laughed and told her they weren’t praying to Big G.) They all had their eyes shut and their hands pressed together when a voice rang out, “You all aren’t from Kyoto, are you?”

They all looked around but saw no one. They sensed plenty of beings around them though, all of a sudden. What appeared to be humans wearing fox masks came out of the trees and surrounded them.

Then, a young lady jumped from the trees, flipping in the air and landing atop the stone Torii Gate. She looked to be quite a bit younger than them, maybe nine or ten at best. But her appearance was more than unusual. She had shining blonde hair with pinkish tips and golden eyes. She wore a miko uniform not unlike Akeno always did… albeit appropriately and matching her apparent age. Finally, she had nine golden tails behind her as well as fox ears on her head. She was also flanked by two karasu tengu.

“Yasaka-sama?!” Rias gasped as she looked at the young fox. “You’re… younger than I thought.”

“Is this supposed to be a joke?” The young girl growled out, showing off her cute little fangs. She glared furiously as she commanded, “Get them!”

And with that, all of the surrounding Yōkai attacked. “Don’t hurt any of them!” Izuku and Rias barked out as one. All of them dodged as best they could, with Delia getting Ingvild out of the way. Aika made sure to scoop Asia up and get her to safety as well.

“What’s going on?! We’re here legally!” Rias protested as she landed and dodged another swipe from the masked men.

“Don’t play dumb!” The young girl yelled furiously. “I’ll never forgive you for defiling this holy space, Devils!” She pointed at them as everything stopped for a moment. “You will bring back my mother!”

“Eh?” The Devils (and Asia) all blinked and looked at one another. Izuku stepped forward, “There’s a misunderstanding here, little one.” He said gently. “We don-”

“Don’t make me laugh!” The fox Yōkai called out, “Capture them!” She yelled and everyone attacked again.

“Ugh.” Rias groaned as they leapt into the trees. The karasu tengu were following them but the humans weren’t keeping up. They all dodged the attacks as the bird Yōkai sped in front of them and tried to cut them off. “We can’t even retaliate. I don’t want to hurt anyone over a misunderstanding.”

“Especially not that young girl.” Akeno said grimly, “There’s only one Kitsune with nine tails unless we count that little one.”

“Which means Yasaka is missing and they’re mistaking us for the culprits.” Deila said in a similar tone. “Can’t Gasper freeze them for us to make our escape?”

Izuku shook his head, “He’ll probably catch some of us in the crossfire.” The Dhampir had turned into bats, spreading out amongst the trees in an attempt to hide. He growled as he realized they needed to do something. He could just use Haōshoku here, but he really  didn’t want to scare the poor girl, who was already  handling this traumatic event poorly, shitless. He was well aware of how a girl that young would take her loyal retainers all falling unconscious, foaming at the mouth. He turned around and ducked under a swipe from a karasu tengu, grabbing his monk staff. He ripped it from the bird Yōkai’s hands. The bird-headed man squawked in shock as Izuku snapped the staff in half and threw the pieces to the ground. “Disarm only!”

“Right.” Kiba raced forward, cutting through several swords and nothing else as the masked men caught up.

Koneko also barreled forward and smashed a couple swords bare-handed. Rias aimed her fingers like a gun and shot the tiniest balls of her Power of Destruction that she could. She nailed a few more swords and watched as they dissolved. Deila and Ingvild cast water whips which wrapped around more swords and another karasu tengu’s staff respectively, ripping them out of their hands. Akeno blitzed forward, slapping her hand on the chests of some of the attackers. Each time, she left a character on their robes, and they froze, unable to move a muscle. Aika summoned her Boosted Gear and leapt forward, using her own staff to smack swords out of her opponent’s hands. Her strength had grown massively since she first became a Devil. Lavinia then finished drawing a few runes on the ground. All of the enemies hissed, letting go of their weapons. They stared at their unburned hands in confusion.

The young fox girl bit her lip as she realized they were outclassed badly. “R-Retreat! We can’t beat them with our current strength.” A whirlwind started whipping around her as she pointed at them tearfully. “I’ll get my mother back from you, Devils! Do you hear me?!” Her voice echoed for a moment as all the attackers vanished.

They all let out sighs of relief. “Now what?” Asia asked timidly. “A-Are we going to go home early?”

“No way.” Rias hissed, “This is NOT ruining my Kyoto trip! I’m calling Serafall-sama!”

“Good idea. This is absolutely the time for diplomacy.” Izuku agreed. “Hopefully she’ll be able to clear things up quickly.”

“And help us find out what’s going on.” Akeno had a hard expression on her face. He pulled her in for a side-hug, knowing full well how this situation must be hitting her in particular.

“Izuku, portal please.” Rias said, “The sooner this is resolved, the sooner we can get back to enjoying ourselves.”

Izuku nodded and held out a hand. He had been syncing more and more with his Homies since his transformation, and now he could do this . A gaping portal opened directly into their room at the hotel. The whole group stepped through. “Akeno, please go contact Serafall-sama and let us know when we have her on the line.”

“Got it.” Akeno hurried to do her duty.

“Why this week?” Rias rubbed her temples, trying to ward off a headache. She turned a glare to Deila, “Not real fortunes, huh?” She said with some mocking in her tone.

The elder devil grumbled as she went back to her own room.

-]|[-

Izuku and Rias stood before a pentagram, waiting for Serafall’s call. Neither of them were in a good mood, seeing as their very first real vacation was being threatened. Even with Akeno letting Serafall’s secretary know that it was very important that they speak to the Maō Leviathan, it was still half the day before Serafall would be able to reach them. Finally, the pentagram lit up and a large projection of Serafall’s head, arms, and torso appeared in front of them. “Hey, hey! Ria-tan! Izu-kun!” She threw them a smile, a wink, and a sideways peace sign.

“Serafall-sama.” Rias greeted.

“How are you, Levi-tan?” Izuku smiled at her.

She beamed at him, “Oh, you’re definitely my favorite.” She winked again, “Sorry I took so long! We’ve got some hush-hush things going on right now that I can’t reveal much of, so I was actually busy and not just filming.” The most powerful woman in the Underworld giggled sheepishly. “How are you guys doing? Are you guys enjoying Kyoto?”

“That’s actually why we’re calling, Levi-tan.” Izuku said.

“We’ve got a problem over here.” Rias huffed, “Of the potential diplomatic incident variety.”

All of the levity instantly melted off Serafall’s face, and she became serious in an instant. “Report.” Izuku and Rias began to explain what had happened. The second that the explained who they assumed the little girl’s mother was, Serafall abruptly cut off the connection. Izuku and Rias blinked and looked at the dim pentagram in befuddlement before looking at one another.

Suddenly, the pentagram lit up again and then Serafall appeared before them in the flesh this time. “If something like this happens again, please let my secretary know it’s an emergency.” She told them.

“Serafall-sama!” Rias gasped, “But you don’t have a permit!”

Serafall winked at her, before smugly declaring that, “being me has its advantages.” She got serious again in a hurry, “So, the little Kyūbi attacked your group?”

“Yes.” Izuku nodded. “We made sure not to hurt any of them. I didn’t even use my Haōshoku to avoid scaring her.”

“Good job.” Serafall said, “Under the circumstances, you did the best you could. Kunou is really young and definitely not ready to step into her mother’s shoes. I should be able to clear this up quickly but will let you know if I need you for anything.” She sighed, “What a disaster. And so soon after the Nekoshō debacle on our end.” Izuku and Rias both winced as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Kunou? You know her?” Izuku blinked in confusion, “She never gave us a name.”

“Ahahaha!” Serafall laughed, “Oh yes! I got to know her and her mother Yasaka after the disaster that was the Nekoshō incident, I had to smooth over a lot of ruffled feathers.” For the first time, Rias and Izuku witnessed a cruel glint in the happy-go-lucky woman’s eye, “Some of which involved giving Yasaka some of the absolute idiots who decided to go purge-happy after Kuroka killed her master. They were… tenderized before she got them for her own punishments.”

“I see.” Rias fought the urge to shiver. It was very rare to see any of the Maō angry or actually willing to use their strength, but when it happened…

“Speaking of Kuroka.” Izuku threw in, before quickly going over what had happened a few days ago.

“Hmmm.” Serafall rubbed her chin, “Well, it wouldn’t be the first time a King pulled off something absolutely brain-dead and got killed for it.” She smirked lightly at Izuku, “You want her in your Peerage, huh? Well, she’s more than strong enough to be a valuable asset once more, if she will accept a pardon and you as her master.” Devil society truly embraced ‘might makes right’ more than was probably healthy.

Izuku chortled, “Honestly, her strength is incredible compared to most of the others I’ve met so far, so obviously I’d welcome her into my Peerage. Honestly though, I just wanted a way to let Koneko-chan have her sister back.” Rias beamed at him and pecked him on the cheek.

Serafall smiled as well. “Well, we can make it happen without much effort.” She shrugged, “Not like her master was very important in the grand scheme of things. He was only a Baron and not from a big-name family either.” She put on her serious face again, “Now,” Her clothes began to glow before they exploded off of her in flashes of light, giving Izuku and Rias a completely nude full-frontal. A second later (it might as well have been an hour to their eyes) she was clothed in a pretty, red and purple yukata with flowers on it. A golden obi held her outfit together. She had also done up her hair in that same spell, with some loose bangs framing the right side of her face, and a three-flowered hairpin holding up her locks in a coifed, loose, low bun. “How do I look?”

Izuku abruptly decided that ‘oppai loli’ was the only descriptor that really fit her despite her being of average height. Her boobs certainly weren’t an average size. “As good as you look in anything, Levi-tan.” He shot her a wink of his own. “Or out of anything.”

“Teehee.” Serafall smiled at him with her eyes slightly lidded, “Alright. You guys are ordered to enjoy your vacation no matter what.” She put her hands on her hips, “Honestly, I’m a little jealous! You guys are going to get to see the Kameoka Heiwasai Hozugawa Fireworks Festival! I might be gone before it starts!”

Rias’s eyes bulged, “Wait, but doesn’t it usually happen next week?! I thought we’d miss it!”

“Nope!” Serafall laughed, “It’ll be on your last day here this year. Next week is supposed to rain and this week is a scorcher!”

“YES!” Rias immediately got fired up, “Thank you so much, Serafall-sama! I thought the only major event was the pottery festival!”

“You’re welcome!” Serafall put on a teasing grin, “Honestly, you’re usually more on top of things than that, Ria-tan!” Rias blushed and looked away, whistling. “Anyway, I need to go get this sorted. I’ll see you later!” And with a spell so seamless it left Izuku and Rias a little off-balance, she teleported away.

Rias pinched his ear with an amused smile, “You know you can’t add her to your Peerage, right?”

“No, but she’s fun.” He chuckled as he reached down and squeezed her ass, earning a moan. He murmured into her ear, “And we both know you’d have fun riding her face.” She blushed again as he pulled her into his embrace as they began to kiss. He took a step forward and a warp gate opened seamlessly in front of them, dropping them right at the foot of their bed.

-]|[-

The next day, they got up bright and early to make their way to Gojōzaka. Their plan for the day was to buy plenty of pottery over at the festival before all the best pieces vanished, teleport it home, and then go enjoy Kiyomizu-dera. Akeno was the one most excited for it, seeing as she loved her tea ceremonies. Thankfully, they were some of the first ones there as they began making their way through the streets, looking through the stalls for anything that caught their eyes. Their home could always use more personal furnishings to replace the generic (if incredibly well-made) stuff it came with.

Most of them found at least one piece they liked, whether that was a decorative plate, a tea set, there was even a small ceramic aquarium at one of the stalls. To their amusement, Asia grabbed that one so she could get a pet fish. Akeno managed to find three different tea sets that she liked: one that had been glazed in such a way that it looked like jade, one that had a dragon on it that reminded her of Rias, and one that looked suitably gothic and devil-like. Most of them even found little figurines that they could use to decorate their rooms. They all had a good chuckle over Deila falling in love with a cute ceramic kitty statue.

Once they sent all of their purchases home, they were ready to head over to Kiyomizu-dera and so made their way to Sannen-zaka, where Aika decided to have some fun. “This place is called the Three-Year Hill. Apparently, if you trip, you’ll be dead in three years.” She put on a spooky voice. “So be careful, got it?”

“How scary!” Asia seemed legitimately terrified from that and hugged Izuku’s left arm. He almost chuckled when he saw that Gasper had actually hopped into Koneko’s arms. The deadpan expression on her face had him close to busting a gut.

Deila looked nervous, “I’d call bullshit, but the fortunes.” She muttered, watching her own feet closely.

And then Lavinia grabbed Izuku’s right arm and held on tight. “That’s awful! Who would place a curse like that on a hill?”

… That was way too cute.

…

“What a nice view!” Asia, Ingvild, and Lavinia exclaimed as they stood on the wooden stage of Kiyomizu-dera. Asia was almost tearing up, “It’s so beautiful!”

“It’s really high up too.” Deila commented.

Aika grinned as she looked down, “Don’t worry. Even regular people have survived the fall.”

Deila chuckled, “Maybe it’s not that high then. This place must be gorgeous in the Fall.” She leaned up against the railing.

“It is. Especially with all the maple trees around.” Rias told them.

“It’s gorgeous in the spring too, with the sakura trees in bloom.” Akeno smiled as her hair waved in the breeze. “At night, they illuminate the temple too during those seasons.”

“Well, maybe we should make a trip here in the Fall as well.” Ingvild said happily as she gazed at the pristine hillside.

They just hung out there and chatted for a few minutes more, before moving onto the Otowa Waterfall. “The water is split into three streams, and we use these cups to drink from them.” Aika explained as she held up a cup on a long pole.

Akeno smiled, “Each stream is said to have a different benefit: longevity, success at school, and a fortunate love life.”

“Drinking from all three is considered greedy though, so you usually only choose one.” Izuku had a teasing grin on his face. Deila snorted at the description. She didn’t think she needed any of the three. “Any takers?”

With a small blush, Asia took the pole from Aika. To their surprise, she chose the ‘romantic success’ stream and drank. The girls around her giggled, with Aika hugging her from behind. “Oho? That was interesting Asia-chan.”

“A-Aika-chan! My-my breasts!” Asia mewled with a dark blush as the brunette groped her from behind.

“Anyone we know?” Aika had an evil grin on her face as she pinched the blonde gently. Asia shook her head rapidly, making the bespectacled girl laugh ominously.

Lavinia was the next to go and also chose the romantic success stream with a blush. Izuku smirked as he discretely palmed her ass. “We’ll have to make that come true, won’t we?” He murmured in her ear. Lavinia, face beet red, nodded rapidly.

Ingvild went next and drank from the ‘success at school’ stream, knowing she’d need it. Language wouldn’t be a problem other than writing, but she was a hundred years out of date on everything else. She felt like a fish out of water most times. Ingvild hesitated as Koneko held her hand out for the rod and then reached over and took water from the ‘romantic success’ steam as well.

“Ooooh!” The girls made her blush. “Greedy, greedy.” Rias muttered to her with a knowing glint in her eye.

And then Koneko drank from the ‘romantic success’ stream as well and had a happy glint in her eye as Izuku immediately began to pet her head. She couldn’t bring her ears out right now, but she damn well wanted to.

With Kiyomizu-dera done with, they then went over to Ginkaku-ji. “It’s not really silver?” Asia asked with a look of slight disappointment on her face. A look that was mirrored on Lavinia and Ingvild.

“There are a lot of theories for that.” Aika said, “Some say that the work was constantly delayed due to the Ōnin War, and despite Ashikaga Yoshimasa having plans to cover it in silver foil, it was never done before his death. The temple was left the way it was when he last saw it, rather than finishing it posthumously.” She grinned, “Personally, I think they just gave up when the finances dried out after his death.”

Rias chuckled, “There was a renovation which finished in 2008, but it was decided not to redo the finish then either.”

Lavinia pouted. “Awww, I was really hoping to see it.”

“Next you’ll tell us Kinkaku-ji isn’t gold either.” Ingvild grumbled to much amusement. They went around and purchased more souvenirs before going to a nearby restaurant to eat lunch.

…

“IT’S GOLD! IT’S REALLY GOOOOOOLD!” Lavinia and Ingvild cheered as they saw Kinkaku-ji for the first time. The two girls hugged it out and were quickly joined by Asia. Aika quickly snapped pictures with the temple in the background as the rest of them chuckled.

“I’m surprised it hasn’t been desecrated.” Deila muttered. “THAT much gold foil should be expensive, but nowhere near as much as they would think.”

“Oh, it’s been burned down twice.” Aika told her, getting aghast gasps from the three girls with gold fever. “Once during the Ōnin war, which destroyed much of Kyoto, and again in July 1950 by a monk with severe mental illnesses.”

“How awful!” Asia exclaimed, before closing her eyes and thinking up a quick prayer for the man, not knowing he was long dead. They continued walking around all the areas allowed to the public and, despite some of them evilly suggesting they go invisible to check out the off-limit areas, simply went on their way when Rias put her foot down.

They sat down at the tea garden after loading up on more souvenirs to chat and see if any pictures needed to be retaken. They had been there for about ten minutes enjoying (…or not, in some cases) their tea when Koneko went stiff. Immediately, all of the normal humans there fell asleep. “Oh, not again.” Ingvild moaned as they all stood.

A bunch of fox Yōkai surrounded them. Rias and Izuku stood, “We don’t want any trouble.” Rias said, eyeing them carefully.

The one who looked like the eldest female strode forward and bowed, “And we wish offer our apologies for the trouble yesterday.” Several of them let out sighs of relief as she straightened up. “I am in service of our honored leader. We’ve asked the Princess to make amends as well. We would be honored if you join us.” She offered them a pleasant smile, “Please accompany us to the secret capital where we Yōkai dwell.”

-]|[-

It was like stepping into another world the second they stepped through a secluded Torii Gate near Kinkaku-ji. Where there had been forests before, now there were homes. An entire hidden city . The streets were lined with homes that seemed to be straight out of the Edo period, and the residents who came out to greet them were clearly all Yōkai.

Most of them looked vaguely humanoid, but they were all aware they were just assuming forms that were more welcoming. Izuku saw a one-eyed Oni, a couple Karasu tengu, an upright-standing tanuki, and even a kappa. There was very little light too, and Asia let out a frightened squeak when one of the few lanterns sprouted a mouth and eyes and started laughing.

“Please do not be alarmed. The Yōkai here love causing mischief. They will not harm you.” Their guide stated. “This is where most of the Yōkai and spirits of Kyoto prefer to reside. I believe you Devils also make use of Spatial Magic in your Rating Games. This area was created through similar means. While most prefer the Undercity, there are those who prefer the other side as well.”

As they walked, they could hear the Yōkai chatting about them. “Humans?”

“No, Devils.”

“No, that cute blonde is definitely human.”

“That one with the glasses is a dragon. I can sense it.”

They quickly left the residential area behind and crossed a small river. When they arrived at a small grove, they saw another red Torii Gate. As they stepped through it, their eyes widened at the sight of a huge, elegant Japanese mansion. It was even grander than their castle back in Kuoh! “Yoo-hoo!” Serafall waved at them, a pleased smile on her face.

‘ Looks like nothing can put her down for long. ’ Izuku grinned as he waved back.

Standing next to Serafall was their tiny, fierce assailant: Kunou. She was dressed in a gorgeous kimono and definitely looked the part of a Princess. Their guide bowed to Kunou. “I have brought them, Lady Kunou.” She then bowed to the group, and without a word, vanished in a flash of blue fire.

Kunou stepped forward, “Thank you for coming. This one is Kunou. My mother Yasaka governs all of the Yōkai in Kyoto.” She bowed deeply with her introduction finished. She was trying incredibly hard to be proper and it put a smile on most of their faces. “Please accept my deepest apologies for yesterday. I should not have attacked your group on assumptions. Incorrect assumptions at that.”

Izuku immediately kneeled in front of her, “Please, don’t hang your head like that, Lady Kunou. We know you’re going through a tough time right now. We don’t blame you for anything.”

She looked up at him with suspiciously shiny eyes, and he got the nearly-overwhelming urge to pet her.

Rias smiled at her and leaned over, “Izuku is right. We know you’re just worried about your mother, and a group of Devils arriving in the same time frame, legally or not, was rather suspicious. Things could have gotten out of hand, but no one was hurt, we worked out the issue, and you apologized when you realized your mistake. That’s all that matters.”

Izuku patted her shoulder, “Don’t worry. We won’t hold it against you.” He smiled gently at her, and she blushed bright red.

“Thank you.” She murmured before turning her shiny eyes back to them. “I know it is embarrassing to ask for aid… but please… help me save my mother!”

Hero time.

“Tell us everything you know.” Izuku took command once they were seated inside the mansion. Serafall raised an eyebrow but, knowing his background from Sirzechs, leaned back with a small smile to watch him work.

“Yasaka-sama left the mansion a few days ago to meet with a messenger from the Hindu Gods. However, she never arrived at the meeting site.” An older kitsune told him.

Kunou’s other advisor was a tengu, who looked like a mountain man with an extremely large and long nose. Their people had enjoyed good relations with Yasaka’s family for a long time and looked just as worried about her as Kunou did. “We investigated, of course, but all we found was one of our karasu tengu minutes away from death. Before he breathed his last, he managed to tell us that they had been attacked. Lady Yasaka had been caught completely by surprise and taken away by a purple mist that ate all her attacks before engulfing her. The others were slaughtered mercilessly, even though the assailants already had their prize.”

Kunou growled at the description.

“Purple mist?” Serafall asked sharply.

“Yes.” Kunou nodded, a hopeful look on her face, “Do you know who it could be?”

“No.” Serafall shook her head, hiding a wince at how Kunou’s face fell. “Point of fact, we have absolutely no clue who could have done this. The brazenness is one thing but pulling it off so flawlessly is another. It’s that description worries me. There’s only one thing I know of that fits that description.”

“Dimension Lost.” Deila muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose. “One of the Thirteen Longinus, and one of the stronger ones at that.”

“Which one is that again?” Izuku really needed to do more research on Sacred Gears. In his defense, he had been extremely busy for almost all of his time in this world.

Rias sighed, “It’s like your Warp Gates from Ace, Izu, but on a whole other level. It’s considered a High-Tier Longinus whereas the Boosted Gear is only a Mid-Tier. They call it the ultimate barrier-type Sacred Gear.”

“Warp Gate?” Kunou looked confused.

“I have an ability that is similar to this purple mist.” Izuku raised a hand and formed a portal into their room at the hotel. All of them could see into the room and their large bed. “This is about all I can do with it though. At least without my sword. It holds the majority of that power.”

“I see.” The older fox Yōkai looked more suspicious of him now, though Kunou had been entirely charmed by him.

“As much as I hate to say it, if she vanished without a trace, it would be incredibly difficult to track her.” Deila sighed as she crossed her arms. “With that damned Dimension Lost, she could be anywhere in the world now. Or even in a different world.”

“No.” The tengu shook his head, “In that, at least, we are fortunate. Lady Yasaka must still be in Kyoto.”

“How do you know?” Asia asked, before blushing as they looked at her.

“Because the flow of energy around the city hasn’t been disturbed.” The older Kitsune said.

Kunou spoke up, “Mama is directly connected to and maintains the leyline beneath Kyoto.” She said quietly.

“That’s right.” Serafall said, “Yasaka-chan can’t leave Kyoto for long even if she wants to. It’s like leaving behind part of her soul. If she had been taken from Kyoto, or worse , this entire city would have been in danger. Like a pressure cooker that can’t let out steam.”

“Then that tells us that the kidnappers want something.” Izuku said, “We can likely expect them to make demands or at least show their faces soon.” He looked at Kunou, “Perhaps Lady Yasaka is resisting them. If that is the case, they may come for Kunou next to… speed things along. ” The two older Yōkais’ eyes widened in alarm.

The tengu looked grim, “If they were able to take Lady Yasaka, then I cannot say for sure that we would be able to protect Lady Kunou.”

“This is an opportunity then.” Deila said, looking strategically at the little Kyūbi. “Serafall, what are we going to be doing?” She looked over at their leader.

“I’ve already called over hordes of Devils to help with the investigation.” Serafall replied immediately. “All of my staff who are familiar with Kyoto have been mobilized. Unfortunately, we’re short on manpower here, and more importantly on strong combatants. Which means I will have to rely on you guys a lot for this.” She said seriously. “I hate to ruin your vacation but-”

“There is no need for them to put their enjoyment of Kyoto on hold.” Kunou interrupted her, “If you’re potentially going to rely on them for combat, then they’re strong, right?” She smiled with a small blush as she looked at Izuku, “I would be happy to join their group as their guide around the city to make up for my foolishness.”

Deila grinned as some of their group protested, “You’re a brave little Kyūbi, huh? I was just about to suggest you stay with us.”

Kunou lowered her head bashfully. Izuku smiled at her, “Don’t worry, Kunou. We’ll do everything we can to save your mother.” He said with the weight of his dreams burning in his soul. This girl needed a Hero right now and he’d be damned if he didn’t save her.

“We do need to know what Lady Yasaka looks like.” Akeno chimed in, “That way we can keep an eye out for her as well.”

“Of course.” The tengu replied, “This is a portrait of our Lady Yasaka.” He unfurled a large scroll and revealed the image of one of the most beautiful women they had ever seen. Gold of eyes, hair, and dress, she was a picturesque beauty with adorable fox ears on her head. She managed to pull off ultra cute and ultra sexy with the kind of casual ease that made regular women seethe in envy.

About half of the women in the room looked at Izuku with deadpan expressions. The others not in the know blinked in confusion, and, when he realized something was off, Izuku looked around as well. “What?” His eyes widened and then he began glaring, completely unamused. “No.”

“Ten thousand yen.” Akeno smirked.

“Not happening. Shut up.” Izuku looked away with a ‘hmph.’

“…Did we miss something?” The older kitsune asked in confusion. Giggles were her response.

-]|[-

Serafall remained at Yasaka’s home as extra security since Kunou wouldn’t be joining them for the rest of the day. It wasn’t even work, since she would certainly enjoy spoiling a ‘little sister’ type and cuddling with Kunou’s fluffy tails! The rest of them went back to the hotel to prepare for potential battle. There wasn’t much they could do there, but there was plenty they could do back home, which they could easily access through Izuku.

They trained for the rest of the day just to make sure everyone was sharp. They planned on continuing their tour of Kyoto the next day, albeit with everyone having emergency magical transportation circles in case Serafall summoned them. Said Leviathan had praised them for their actions and was really hopeful that this debacle would lead to an actual alliance between the Yōkai and Devils. Izuku and Rias’s stocks would rise rapidly if they could pull that out of this disaster.

“Today we’ll be visiting Arashiyama!” Rias said excitedly, “And then as of tomorrow, we’re free to do whatever we want! Lake Biwa is close by, so that should be a great for a beach day!”

“The chance to see you girls in bikinis?” Izuku grinned, “How could I possibly resist?”

“Hopefully this will all be settled by then.” Serafall said as she arrived with Kunou. “You keep this little lady safe, you hear?” She grinned at them.

“Of course.” Izuku put a hand on Kunou’s shoulder, “You can count on us.” She smiled bashfully as well.

“Then I’m off.” Serafall winked, “Be careful and if you need to, kick some butt!” She sparkled and was gone. Literally. A huge, star-shaped sparkle replaced the Leviathan as she stood there and posed, before popping and revealing empty air.

“Oooh!” Kunou clapped at the sight, a girlish smile on her face. They all chuckled at how extra their Maō was. “We’re starting with Tenryū-ji, right?”

“You got it, Kunou-chan.” Rias told her.

“Then follow me! No place in Kyoto will be off limits so long as I am with you.” Kunou declared imperiously as they made their way through the station and onto the train. The ride wasn’t long, and they made their way to the first temple.

“So, this is the temple of the Heavenly Dragons, huh?” Deila commented, “Any relation to Ddraig and Albion?”

“ Beats me. ” Ddraig chimed in. It sounded like he had recovered from his bout of depression! “ We might have done battle in Kyoto in the past, but I can’t really remember. ”

With their dragon clueless, they made their way towards the grounds, where they got to see the gardens without paying a single yen. Kunou certainly hadn’t been lying! They were also able to see the Cloud Dragon painting inside the temple, which was as gorgeous as they had thought it would be. It brought Rias’s transformation to mind for many of them.

After that, they made their way through the Bamboo Groves, which were swaying slightly in the light breeze. After that, they made their way to Nison-in, where some of them prayed near the big bell. Kunou especially, who stayed close to Rias and Izuku, was praying for the safe return of her mother.

They had started getting hungry by then, so Kunou took them to a restaurant that served boiled tofu. It was a traditional restaurant where they sat or kneeled at a low table, though the party was so big that they were occupying two of them. Izuku was in full dad mode with Kunou, who was regaling them over how her mom cooked the best boiled tofu around. He did not notice several of the girls staring at him dreamily.

The day went by, with them visiting more and more places. The group had definitely come to the conclusion that a second Kyoto trip would definitely be in the cards, though probably a less touristy one. For most of them, this was their first time in the city, so they really were rushing from place to place.

But all good things have to come to an end, and for them that day, it was as they were crossing Togetsukyo Bridge. Aika was being even more of a tour guide than Kunou and was teasing them. “They say if you look back when crossing Togetsukyo Bridge, all the knowledge you possess will be drained away.”

Kiba chimed in, “Oh, it’s a good thing this wasn’t a class trip then. I hardly think the Pervert Duo have the brain cells to lose.” He said with a bit of a sly expression, getting laughs from everyone who knew the two idiots.

“Pervert Duo?” Kunou blinked, “Why can I hear the capital letters?”

“Don’t worry about them, Kunou-chan. As stated, they’re idiots you want nothing to do with.” Lavinia said firmly. Even she knew the two, seeing as one of them had tried to grope her when she had arrived for a rune session with Izuku one day. It had been the first time Izuku had actually laid one of them out.

Aika was about to say that ‘couples would break up’ too, but then it happened. Between one moment and the next, a barrier appeared around them so seamlessly that even Kuroka and Sirzechs would have been jealous. Around them, every single regular human and even Yōkai had simply vanished. They had instantaneously been transported into a whole other dimension. Even the color of the city around them seemed to have been muted. And then that ominous purple fog Kunou’s advisors had described started to roll in.

“Th-this is…” Kunou looked scared and frustrated in equal measure.

“Dimension Lost.” Rias said, staring into the distance.

At the other end of the bridge, a group coming out of the fog. It was only about a dozen members, and they all appeared to be human, or at least human-sized. One of them, however, specifically the one in the center of the formation, had something quite large and skinny in their hand. They raised it before pointing it at Izuku and his group.

A blindingly fast beam of light shot at them with enough power to gut lesser fighters. A Low-Class Devil would be skewered no matter how strong they were. And even for Izuku, Rias, or Deila, it was a dangerous attack.

Izuku raised his hand, summoning a portal in front of him. The attack went in and then blazed up into the sky harmlessly from a second portal opened beside the bridge.

“Oh?” Despite the distance, it was quite easy to hear the person who spoke. “Well, isn’t that interesting?” The fog cleared, revealing the enemy group, headed up by a young man wearing what looked like a regular old school gakuran. He was a rather handsome man with messy blackish/bluish hair and gleaming blue eyes. “You’ve got more surprises than we expected, Midoriya Izuku. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He was lightly tapping the giant, elaborate spear he was holding against his shoulder.

-]|[-

Hello everyone! Hope you like chapter 12! I’ve already finished 13 for next week and I definitely need to get cracking on 14. Kinda falling behind at this point. In any case, we got some wild shit coming. :EvilMiko: