Hub World, Earth, Japan, Tokyo.
Time passed quickly after Tatsuo's trip to Restaurant Yukihira. Before he knew it, a week and a half passed, and it was time for the High School Entrance Exams. So, after getting ready and having breakfast, Tatsuo, along with Sumire, Mai, Kasumi, and Tio, made their way to Tatsuo's assigned exam venue.
"Are you sure you have everything you need?" Sumire asked in a worried tone just outside of the gate of the school that served as the exam venue. "Do you have your student ID? What about the exam registration? Or maybe a pencil sharpener?"
"Yeah, I have everything." Tatsuo replied while rolling his eyes. "You're the one who packed everything for me, remember? Besides, nothing has changed since the last time you asked... three minutes ago, Mom."
*Giggle!* x 3
Hearing Mai, Kasumi and Tio giggling at her, Sumire pouted. Even so, she continued to fuss over Tatsuo. However, Tatsuo eventually had to put an end to it when he noticed that the time for the exam to start was drawing near.
"Alright, Mom, I gotta go." Tatsuo said before pulling Sumire into a hug. "I'll see you after the exams are over."
Tatsuo then gave a hug to Mai, who went a little overboard with her return hug and got another hit on the head from Sumire's harisen, and Kasumi. Then, just because he was feeling mischievous while also wanting to give her a reward, Tatsuo pointedly ignored Tio, who started to pant thanks to the cold shoulder she received.
After that, Tatsuo made his way into the exam venue and found his class. Then, he found his assigned seat and prepared for the exams.
'I wish we could do this whole thing in one day.' Tatsuo muttered internally. 'I mean, the written exams will only take a day. But then I have to deal with the interview. I really don't wanna bother. But I gotta do what I gotta do.'
While continuing to wish he was anywhere else, not because of nerves, but because of boredom, Tatsuo waited until the exam started. Then, about half an hour later, an invigilator entered the room and closed the door, signaling that anyone not in the room already had failed because they did not show up.
Shortly afterwards, the first of the five tests, Japanese, Math, English, Science, and Social Studies began, in that order.
Meanwhile, instead of going home, Sumire, Mai, Kasumi, and Tio found a place to wait for Tatsuo to finish. They knew he would not be coming out of the venue for lunch, though. Even so, they decided to have a girl's day around the area.
"Hey, did you notice that we're being watched?" Mai asked casually while she and the other ladies made their way into a store a few blocks away from Tatsuo's exam venue.
"Yes." Kasumi replied. "It should be Ayane. I noticed her while we were sending Tatsuo-Kun off. But I didn't think she noticed me at first. It looks like that was just wishful thinking."
"She won't do anything in public, will she?" Tio asked.
"Usually, she would." Kasumi replied. "If I were alone, she would try to kill me as fast as she could then escape before she could be discovered by someone. But with all four of us together, she'll probably wait."
"Well, just as long as she doesn't follow us home, I won't worry about her." Sumire said. "But if she gets too close to the apartment, I'll just send her somewhere else. I really don't wanna have to deal with someone stalking us at home."
The other three girls nodded in response. Then, they went about their business as if nothing was wrong. Though, they did all keep an eye on their stalker with their various perception abilities.
Meanwhile, the one watching over Sumire's group, Ayane, was gritting her teeth in anger.
"Damn that traitor." Ayane said quietly from a nearby rooftop. "She has the nerve to be out shopping and enjoying herself after betraying the clan. Maybe I should kill those women she's with and make her watch before letting her join them."
Though the thought entered her mind, it left just as quickly. Or rather, she simply did not have the time to dwell on it. Because as soon as her killing intent leaked, a more potent killing intent landed on her, causing her to shiver.
"Who is that?" Ayane asked while scanning her surroundings. "Just who in this city could have such a potent killing intent.
Little did Ayane know, Tatsuo, who was taking his entrance exams, had been monitoring her for a while with his [Perception]. Also, his mother and her group were in his scope of observation. So, when he felt Ayane's killing intent land on them, his own killing intent was released.
Luckily, because of Scáthach's training, after he lost control and flooded the living room of the Alaverus Mansion, he was able to direct his aura more precisely. Otherwise, everyone in the school would have more than likely lost consciousness thanks to the overwhelming killing intent. Unfortunately, his control was still not perfect, as all of the students and the invigilator in the classroom stopped to look around when they felt a sudden chill.
After a while, Ayane gave up on trying to find the source of the killing intent shortly after it was retracted. She then looked back at the store where Sumire, Mai, Kasumi, and Tio were shopping, only to see that they were no longer inside.
"I lost her!" Ayane hissed out through gritted teeth.
Ayane then leapt from the rooftop where she had been observing the group of ladies to try and find Kasumi again. Little did she know, however, the four were still in the store.
The reason Ayane could not find Sumire's group was because of an application of [Space Manipulation] on Sumire's part. All she did was put the four in a sub-space when she felt Ayane's attention slip. That way, they could continue to look at the items on display. Though they would not be able to touch them. Then, once Sumire no longer felt Ayane's presence, she dispelled her technique.
"Tatsu-Chan is so protective, isn't he?" Sumire asked with a smile on her face.
"Even if he doesn't need to be." Kasumi replied, a smile also blossoming on her face. "Defeating Ayane would have been difficult for me before I met you, Sumire-Sama. Especially since I did not want to hurt her. But with all of your training, I do not believe that I would have any issue defeating her while leaving her unharmed."
"Still, I really wanna give Tatsu-Kun a hug and a kiss right now." Mai said with hearts in her eyes. "The way he tried to protect me was so cute~!"
"He wasn't just trying to protect you." Sumire said while rolling her eyes. "But I must admit, it was quite cute. Tatsu-Chan really loves his mommy."
The only one not to speak, Tio, stood by with a smile on her face as well. On top of that, she could feel her heart beating a bit faster thanks to Tatsuo's care.
Meanwhile, back in the exam venue, Tatsuo was flying through the test on his desk. In the meantime, he was chatting with the members of the [Dimensional Chat].
{[Dimensional Chat]
Tatsuo (Admin): This feels pointless
Tatsuo (Admin): Why aren't grades alone enough to get into a high school
James: Ah!
James: Entrance exams
James: The biggest waste of time ever
James: Especially since Rias' dad owned the damn school
Akatsuki: Why do you guys make it sound like it was so easy?
Akatsuki: I was so nervous when I took those tests
Violet: I agree with Akatsuki-San
Violet: It was nerve racking
Alfonzo: I'm glad I didn't have to go through that shit
Alfonzo: I mean, it would have felt like a waste of time to me, to
Lici: Well, you're really smart, Fonzie
Lici: So, it makes sense
Tatsuo (Admin): So am I
Tatsuo (Admin): I already have a bachelor's degree level education in several fields
Tatsuo (Admin): And I have to sit here and take high school level tests
Tatsuo (Admin): This sucks
James: I feel you, man
James: And don't get me started on high school
James: Ugh!
James: Scaring the piss outta that one P.E. teacher was fun, though
Akatsuki: What did you do to that teacher?
James: Well, he said he was a better fit for the P.E. teacher role than Master
James: So, she asked me, Sona, Rias, Flora, Reya, and Tsubaki to put the fear of Satan in him
Alfonzo: Damn...
Alfonzo: That sounds like fun
Lici: Yeah, and your AP Lit teacher really deserved something like that, too
Alfonzo: Lici!
Lici: Huh?
Lici: Oops...
Lici: Forget what I just said, kay? Tee-hee
James: Yeah, that's not gonna work
Violet: Yeah, I thought you were from a medieval world
Violet: Why would there be AP classes?
Alfonzo: Seriously, don't worry about it}
Metal and Threads Universe, Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
"Master Alfonzo, are you all right?" Miyuki Kujo, a beautiful young woman in her late teens wearing a maid uniform with short black hair, blue eyes, and a mole under her left eye, asked when she noticed Alfonzo stop his work on the training ground. "Are you getting tired. Would you like to take a break and have a drink?"
As she asked her question, Miyuki held up a thermos with chilled tea inside.
"No, don't worry about it, Miyuki." Alfonzo said, turning to his personal maid with a smile. "I just thought about something. But it's no big deal."
"Are you sure, Alfonzo?" Yamato, a shinobi from the Village Hidden in the leaves, asked in a concerned tone. "It is pretty hot out here. Maybe you should take a short break."
In response, Alfonzo only shook his head with a smile. Then, he restarted his work.
'Seriously, Lici really needs to think more before she speaks.' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'Pretty much everyone thinks something is up with us. Which is true. But our reincarnations were supposed to be our secret. *chuckle* I bet Scylla is really chewing her out right now, though.'
Metal and Threads Universe, Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
["What are you thinking!?"] A beautiful, brown-skinned woman with spiky blonde hair, brilliant blue eyes, a voluptuous figure, golden dragon scales around her eyes and on her hands and forearms and a pair of dragon horns on her head wearing a blue Cheongsam, shouted from Elicia's inner world. ["Are you trying to let everyone know you and Fonzie's secret? Because if you are, you should have just told them: 'Hey, guys! Just wanted to let you know that the two of us are reincarnators.'"]
This woman with draconic features was the Scylla Alfonzo mentioned. She is an [Armament Spirit] of a type of [Soul Weapon] Alfonzo developed after raiding a base where the Mayuri Kurotsuchi of this world, a mad scientist who defected from the Kingdom of Fiore, was conducting all kinds of illegal experiments.
And after adding his own touches to the schematics he got from Mayuri, Alfonzo added his own twist and created the [Soul Armaments]. And with the birth of each [Soul armament], an [Armament Spirit] was born from the wielder's soul. On top of that, each [Armament Spirit] is born with one aspect of the wielder's personality ramped up to another level.
And in Elicia's case, Scylla was born with the part of Elicia that wished she thought more before she acted. Unfortunately, instead of stopping Elicia from saying or doing something she would regret in the future, Scylla only ever ended up scolding Elicia for such actions.
'I know, I know, I'm sorry." Elicia replied internally. 'I wasn't thinking.'
["And that's the problem!"] Scylla shouted back. ["You never think! You're just lucky that everyone will probably let this go because they like the two of you. But if things like this happen again, they'll want answers."]
'I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I won't do it again.' Elicia said in a whiny tone. 'Please, stop yelling. You're gonna scare Mar'e if he sees me wincing like this.'
["*Sigh* Fine."] Scylla relented. ["But you better not let this happen again."]
Usually, Scylla's lectures lasted much longer than this. However, as Elicia said, every time Scylla shouted in her inner world, it was like Elicia was hearing it right next to her ear. Though, inside of her head would be a more appropriate term. Either way, Scylla's voice sounded extra loud to Elicia.
And as Elicia said, every time Scylla shouted, she would flinch and wince. However, because she was feeding hers and Alfonzo's son, Amar'e, at the moment, it might scare him if she continued to flinch as she had been. So, because Amar'e is basically Scylla's son, as well, she agreed to stop.
Hub World, Earth, Japan, Tokyo.
{[Dimensional Chat]
James: Well, I doubt we'll get anything out of them
James: So, let's just drop it
Akatsuki: This is really suspicious, though
Akatsuki: But everyone has their own secrets, I guess
Akatsuki: So, I'll let it go
Violet: Me, too
Violet: I really didn't mean to make anyone uncomfortable
Lici: Haha...
Lici: Don't worry about it
Alfonzo: Yeah
Alfonzo: It's really not that big a deal
Violet: Anyway, should you really be chatting with us, Tatsuo-Kun
Violet: Even if the test is easy for you, you should concentrate on it
Violet: You don't wanna make any avoidable mistakes, do you?
Tatsuo (Admin): Don't worry
Tatsuo (Admin): I could answer these questions in my sleep
Tatsuo (Admin): The only wrong answers will be the ones I get wrong on purpose
Akatsuki: Why would you do that?
James: Because a perfect score would gain too much attention
Tatsuo (Admin): That's right
Tatsuo (Admin): Although I plan to get the best score in the country
Tatsuo (Admin): I still don't want a perfect score
Akatsuki: I see
Akatsuki: Genius problems, I guess
Akatsuki: I wonder if Shiroe had to worry about stuff like that}