Kuoh Academy

[Bloodedge]

While others were also preparing to take their leave, Hiroki took not a magic circle as his method of exit, but the door instead. "I have an escort duty," he said while making his way out on foot. Meanwhile, Shouki was left looking toward Miyuki, who apparently didn't like going to fulfill her contract alone. "Sure, I'll come with you!" he replied with a hop up to where the Yuki-Onna stood. Revil took the time to form a magic circle around himself as well. "I guess I'm off to baa-san's photo shoot, then. I don't know why she wants me to model, but a contract's a contract. Ja!"

Izuna floated about aimlessly. He didn't have any contracts that he needed to deal with today, so he'd have to figure something out. A single glance from Youmu, however, gave him an alternate plan for the day. As such, he gave a single salute to the others before vanishing via his usual method. With this, only Takumi would be left if one were to exclude Eira herself. He didn't seem very keen on leaving just yet, though. He continued to sit atop the right arm of the heiress' throne, throwing his head back with a sigh. He'd come to realize that out of the few contracts he had, he had all of zero signatures from the humans he interacted with. What's more, he now had a much higher capacity for doing the tasks required of him. "Hmm... I haven't gotten any of my contracts signed yet. Maybe it'll be easier now."

[Apollymi]

"Escort... yeah, that sounds about right for you. Ja ne, Hiroki~" Eira said giving the boy a wave on his way off. Sairevil had an entirely different kind of mission to go on, apparently he'd be modeling today. His statements in particular made Eira's left brow raise, as she wasn't sure why the lad didn't know the information he claimed. "Uh-huh, well..." Eira watched the lad take off and simply shook her head. "I'm going to have to get Nii-sama to talk to him properly..." she mused. Moving right along, Miyuki invited Shouki along on her mission which seemed fine with the boy. Before they left together, Eira used magic to create a scarf for the lad around his neck in the same periwinkle color she'd made his pajamas. "Hai hai, you two have fun. Stay warm, Shouki~" she chimed. Miyuki excited by the prospect of having company created a Magic circle beneath the pair of them assuming they'd both disappear to do her contract as well. And just like that, most everyone disappeared, including Izuna who simply went invisible and thus was assume-ably gone.

Alone with Takumi, Eira seemed to relax just a bit. His words about his potential contracts were ones which Eira didn't know about, but she had been missing for quite a while. His claim was that they might be easier to get signed now, than they had been before and given his head was back and he sighed, Eira got up, standing before him and slipping her arms around him. "It will likely be easier now that you are more certain of yourself," she said softly. Admittedly Eira would rather not send him out at all, she wanted to keep him, and his attention all to herself for as long as possible. But in order for that to happen, he needed a name for himself. "But I should tell you failure isn't an option. You need to complete your contracts more than anyone else. The faster you gain a name for yourself, the easier it will be for us to get married. Though even after you do, it still won't be easy, but nothing worth having is..." she said knowing the complexity of Devil politics was looming over the horizon of her happiness.

[Bloodedge]

As Takumi mulled over his list of contracts, Eira ended up in front of the lad with her arms around him. She also understood the difference in how his contracts could/would be completed now, versus how they were likely going for him before. More importantly though, there was the matter of importance regarding his contracts. Apparently, his merit was directly connected to their eventual marriage. Takumi had no information about this at all, but given what he'd learned about Devils and their preference for pure-bloods, he could easily understand. "Sou ka... It's like that, huh? Well, I guess I'll just have to take the Underworld by storm. It doesn't bother me at all," he said with certainty. After all the waiting he'd done to reach this point, he certainly wasn't going to have anything else get in the way.

[Apollymi]

A smile broke across Eira's face as she heard what Takumi had to say. He claimed he would simply take the Underworld by storm if it was necessary for their marriage to take place. Knowing that he was so willing to go along with this and get caught up in the politics of it to make it happen, made her heart thump in her chest. She squeezed the lad a bit tighter and relaxed but still her explanations would continue as she felt the need to make sure he had all the information necessary. "You are a reincarnated Devil. That places you as a Low-Class Devil on the scale. In order for us to get married you have to become a High-Class Devil like me. Between the two is Middle-Class Devil," she explained handing out what was necessary as information for him. "The transition from Low Class to Middle Class requires you to earn the right to raise your ranking. You can do this through Contracting, Military Accomplishment or Rating Game showing. Basically you have to prove that you have the potential to become greater, because of the current state of the world, this is easiest done through contracting or Rating Games. But we don't always have Rating Games to participate in. If you take enough contracts your name will spread around the Underworld in a good way, and you can do it all the time. The added weight to your name will earn you the right to take the test to become a Middle Class Devil," she explained, having not given him this sort of information directly in quite a while, especially not while he was comfortable enough to take it from her.

"To become a Middle Class Devil you have to take a three part test. Two written parts, one covering Aim and Greed, and the other covering History and Government of the Underworld. The last part of the test is a practical demonstration, a one on one fight versus someone else taking the test," she explained the process of becoming a Middle Class Devil because this was Takumi's biggest overarching goal. One could note that the system itself was very similar to the school system of humans, this was done on purpose because most reincarnated Devils were human. "But it all starts with your contracts," she finished. "Questions?"

[Bloodedge]

Eira went on to give Takumi an explanation of Devil rankings, what he needed to do if he wished to achieve High-Class status, and what each stepping stone meant to the overall goal. It didn't seem like too big a deal to rise in power within the Underworld, tedious though it may be. The end goal was worth the journey as far as Takumi was concerned, and if he had to, he would make quick work of the journey itself. "I guess it's settled then," he said, clearly having no questions, but taking a moment to kiss Eira while she was in such close quarters. Once that was done, he worked himself free and conjured a magic circle beneath himself. "I'll have a hundred signatures before the Kyoto trip. Ja ne." And with that, he was gone.

[Apollymi]

After she finished her speech it seemed Takumi had no questions at all. The only thing that would take place after he claimed that it was settled as the lad stepping up to place his lips against Eira's again. Soon after though and long before she ever would have wanted to, the lad worked himself free and claimed he would have 100 signatures before their club sponsered trip to Kyoto. A grin came to her face at this news. "Hai hai, gambatte, Takumi~" she mused happily. Though the lad left her presence she still felt the warm tingling sensation in her heart, even as she collapsed back down into her chair. Though this act was graceful she would soon seem greatly annoyed. 'Ugh, I know he can do it, but the wait is so long... and the longer it is... the more likely they are going to become a problem...' she thought knowing that there were quite a few people who would claim to argue with decisions that had no effect on them. Regardless she was steadfast in this, she'd have Takumi. She'd be his wife, and she'd snatch that little piece of happiness from the hands of her dead enemies if she had to. And with this thought there was a fierce burning in those crimson eyes of hers, though her thoughts about Takumi were selfish they were quite pure.

[Bloodedge]

The next evening, neither Eira nor Takumi attended school during the regular day. Something else unusual seemed to be happening this day, as well. Within the Occult Research Club was one individual who sat within the throne normally inhabited by Eira. This was another crimson-haired young Devil, another Gremory even: Sairevil. He sat with a very regal air about him, and the largest of grins upon his face while he awaited the arrival of the other club/peerage members. 'Finally,' he thought. At long last, after many attempts, the young Gremory male seemed to be the first person to arrive in the club room.

[Apollymi]

On the evening where she'd skipped school for reasons unknown to most, but guessable at least by her Peerage, Eira was surprisingly late getting to her own club room. Of course, with this being the case she'd arrive in the middle of a magic circle with wide eyes as she saw the lad currently sitting in her chair. He was recognizable to her, and looked as if he belonged there even. A grin spread across the heiress' face as she imagined this young lad with his own throne sitting among his own Peerage someday. "Revil!~" Eira greeted the lad, of course, she held her arms open for the lad, wearing that black form-fitting dress she seemed to love complete with the thin lace sleeves up each arm and boots that tied up legs. She seemed fairly energetic beyond that whether she was alone or not. "Sugoi, you managed to even beat me here~" she said of the lad who seemed to put in quite a bit of work into trying to get ahead of his peers in reaching this place.

[Bloodedge]

The next person to enter the room was the heiress Eira herself. Sairevil looked unto his aunt without his grin wavering. "Heh!" he chuckled, making no moves to extricate himself from the throne and instead opening his arms to allow Eira in. In that moment though, a cheeky grin without a body appeared atop the back of Eira's throne. Following this was the appearance of aquamarine eyes that could only belong to one person... with slit pupils, even. These eyes looked toward Eira, and just then, Sairevil's nose began to ruffle as if it were itchy. Suddenly thereafter, he sneezed. Izuna appeared only after Sairevil managed to sneeze himself off the throne entirely, and the former was in his Youkai state and had used his singular tail to tickle Sairevil's nose. "Hahahaha! He actually believed it the whole time! Fool! You've once again fallen before the power of Izuna-sama!" he teased in an interesting moment which unveiled the jovial nature he once had prior to being reincarnated as a Devil.

[Apollymi]

Eira started to approach the lad's open arms, but in the moment she would have moved towards him something strange occurred over his head. A cheeky and very recognizable grin and an equally recognizable pair of aquamarine eyes. What came next was about what Eira expected as the lad in the chair soon made a strange face and sneezed himself out of Eira's throne. "Ufufufufufu~" Eira giggled at such a display. Beyond this the words of Izuna struck a strange cord within Eira's mind, and brought her back to a much simpler time in her life, where Izuna had been a very fun-loving small fox child, albeit with a different name. "Kawaii!~ Izuna-sama in fox form and everything~ I thought you'd stopped doing that~" she said with light in her eyes as she headed for her throne but not before reaching out to offer a hand up to her nephew. "Sou ka, maybe next time Revil~" she said encouraging the lad in his endeavors. Before moving to take her seat within her throne. She'd missed this chair over the course of her day and found herself able to relax in it, while reaching up to pet Izuna's head.

Youmu would soon appear via her normal method with a strange light in her eyes witnessing at least the back end of this scene. "Sou ka, Ohayou Buchou, Izzun, Revil-kun...." she said greeting all who were present. "Mai-chan and Miyu-chan will be along shortly..." she mentioned as a matter of her normal report as she sat on the left hand side of Eira's throne. "Also there is a strange group at the front of the school... they are headed this way though it's taking them a while," she said. This made Eira nod her understanding. "Arigatou, Youmu. I know about them, it's why I'm here. Izuna you may want to hide those adorable canine features, an old 'friend' wants to meet with us..." Eira said as she withdrew her hand from him.

[Bloodedge]

"Chikushou... every... time..." Sairevil muttered against the floor. These losses to Izuna were more demoralizing each time, but Sairevil would persist. Whatever this meant to him, he would eventually have his day. Eventually. After a few moments of wallowing in his defeat, he reached up to accept Eira's offered hand, using the leverage to both rise and embrace the woman before she seated herself. Meanwhile, Izuna - who had been laughing all along - finally quieted himself enough to speak while wiping a tear from his eye. "Oh man, that one was the best yet! I can't get enough of this. Wait, you thought I stopped doing what? And what friend? Am I finally allowed to fight Leishi?" he asked of Eira.

Following Youmu, Hiroki made an entrance via very standard means as usual. "Ohayou gozaimasu, minna," he said. After a quick glance around the room at those present, he realized something. Even without seeing or hearing a single thing which happened prior to his arrival, the expressions worn by Sairevil and Izuna told him everything he needed to know. As such, he said something which had become a very common phrase for him in recent times. "Next time, Revil-kun."

[Apollymi]

Her outstretched hand was taken and Eira was embraced by Revil as she expected and seemed to be quite amused by this. A grin spread across her face as she fully acknowledged this lad was probably going to be working for a long time at his goal, but she figured if and when he managed it, it would be worthwhile to him. Moving right along the words spoken by Izuna made Eira chuckle just a tad. "I thought you'd stopped referring to yourself in the third person... but I guess centuries old habits are pretty hard to break~" mentioned Eira, the rest of his questions would be answered in reverse order. "Absolutely... not allowed to fight Leishi... that is why you're allowed all your other forms of competition. Lucaro agrees and as long as that's the case, no fights between you two..." she commented absently. "As for the friend. Apparently Roxanna Phenex wants to see me..." she said that evil smirk on her face the likes which could have killed. This didn't stop her from greeting Hiroki. "Hiro!~ Ohayou!!~" she chimed as the lad came in. "More official places are needed today, we have visitors coming," Eira mentioned as Maiko hit the door at full speed dragging Miyuki along behind her. "Buchou!!!~" she said as she dived through Youmu to wrap herself around Eira's torso. "Maiko!~ It's nice to see you too!~" she said to the girl. Miyuki caught up too doing the same a blue tint to her face as running alongside Maiko had tired her out a bit. "Eira-nee... oops. Buchou... ohayou!" she said slipping herself in as well, before tucking herself in beside Eira's legs because apparently official places were needed. "Uh, who is Roxanna Phenex?" asked Maiko who'd heard what Eira had to say but was too excited about her entrance, even as Youmu pushed the lass out of her body.

[Bloodedge]

"Huh?" Izuna uttered. Only after Eira brought attention to this speech pattern of his did he even realize it was something he'd done. "Oh. I guess I did," he said, managing to seem upset by the mention that he still wasn't allowed his battle with the former Onmyouji, Leishi. Upon hearing Eira's follow-up, which involved the 'old friend' coming to visit, Izuna's eyes widened. He reverted to his human form quicker than any had ever seen him do so, and dropped into the space behind Eira's throne. There he sat, pressed against the throne's back and out of sight from those who would enter through the door. In response to Maiko's question as to who this Roxanna Phenex person was, he spoke in a hushed voice. "Freaky fire bird. She wants to rape me and make me her weird, sexy, overly masculine slave."

[Apollymi]

According to the fox youkai, he hadn't noticed his change in behavior. That as an aside, of course... he rather quickly abandoned his fox form at the mention of one Roxanna Phenex. The amount of discomfort he showed by slipping behind the throne Eira occupied, out of the line of sight of doorway even. His words about the lass who was coming made Maiko's left brow raise as she sank to the floor in front of Eira taking up the space in front of the legs of Youmu. "Kagimi... I don't think I've ever seen you switch that fast... are you gonna be alright for this?" she asked him seeming to take a bit of concern by his reaction. It would be Youmu who responded having had a fair bit of understanding of this situation. "Izzun isn't fond of Roxanna. And she has tried getting Eira to trade him to her since she found out that he existed. She wants him as part of her collection of canines. She likes subservient animals..." she mentioned as if this was the most normal thing in the world. "Hai hai, that's about right. But Izuna is mine as are all of you... she can't have you, she rubs me the wrong way... besides at this point, I doubt Izuna will be at the very top of her list..." Eira mentioned having thought about this situation logically and come to the conclusion that Revil would likely be her next target. Maybe even Takumi depending on how he entered. And it would be obvious to all that Eira had no intention of handing over either individual before then. "Look sharp everyone..." Eira mentioned knowing they had arrived.

Meanwhile, a new group as indeed making their way into this meeting room. A young woman in a red hood with brown hair atop her head and violet eyes entered this space. She was wearing a get-up that was covered in leather strips making her look a bit like a dominatrix, but she had the body of a girl in early puberty with just a bit more definition than one like Miyuki maintained. She'd enter accompanied by trio of equally skinny young women. One with a whip attached to her hip and two curved horns and pigtails, and one in long robes with pale blonde hair and no visible emotion in her eyes. Beyond this was a small girl who was walking with both of her fore paws held together. Literal paws even as they were actually dog paws on her front and back with one brightly shining mark on her leg which she kept her paws away from even as they moved together. Her clothes also seemed to be little strips of nothingness and she had the body of a child of 10 and no older. She seemed obviously nervous, her nose up in the air taking in new smells with all the excitement expected of a pup."The Heiress of the Gremory sitting in a throne... I expected a big bed and maybe some red lights or something..." was the first words out of this young woman's mouth.

[Bloodedge]

"Hai. I'm fine, but... that chick creeps me out," Izuna said when asked by Maiko if he would be alright. He knew there was no chance at all that he'd end up in this woman's servitude, but that hadn't stopped her advances to date. Half of the time, Izuna wasn't certain whether she wanted to add him to her peerage, or throw him on the list of some strange canine harem she was working on. Either way, he was content to sit behind the throne as Roxanna and some of her members entered the room, even though he doubted he'd get to avoid her for as long as he wished to. He was in a bit of a huff when she entered. He could smell the others that came with her. One of them was newer than any other he remembered, and according to Izuna's senses... he really had a distaste for the situation they'd been put in. 'Kisama. That doesn't even make any sense...'