Kuoh Town

[Bloodedge]

"Yosh! Onegaishimasu, You-senpai!" Hiroki said when his unspoken - yet open - challenge was taken by Youmu. As the challenger, he stepped aside when Youmu grabbed a stick, gesturing toward the table. "Would you like to break?" he asked, though mostly in rhetoric. Meanwhile, Sairevil finally forged a plate of food for himself. With it, he took a seat in a beanbag next to Eira. "I wanted to play something, but watching the Red Dragon eat like that made me hungry," was his comment upon sitting.

Speaking of Takumi, the boy himself looked around without much interest in many of the activities, if any at all. He did have a certain respect for Miyuki, though, which he'd gained over the course of the two Rating Games they had participated in. As such - and since she had issued an open challenge that was otherwise not being taken right away - he moved toward the table she'd posted up by. "Eto... If no one else is playing, I could play with you."

[Apollymi]

Youmu stood looking at the pool table, she was happy to be of service in this particular game to Hiroki. She looked upon the table and after the balls were set up, was more than content to line up a shot, and push the little white ball into the triangle of others. The speed of this strike was exceedingly high compared to the norm and would cause a loud cracking noise but it would only disturb the balls on the table which rolled out at high velocity, as such their game began.

Meanwhile Sairevil found himself getting a plate and settling in to a seat with Eira who seemed to be happily enjoying cake as everyone moved into their activities. "Hai hai, I wanted a second piece after that too~ Eat first then you can get one of the second rounds," she said in words of encouragement aimed at her nephew. All the while, Takumi, rather strangely took up the open challenge presented by Miyuki who smiled because of this. She'd like to think she'd properly forged a good bond with the lad she'd gotten her first experience in a Rating Game with. "Hai, I won't go easy on you!" she said bouncing the ball on the table with the little paddle and waiting for him to pick up his own. This would be the start of their game as well. Something about the movements of these people in this moment made Eira very happy. She enjoyed the idea that even their newer acquisitions were easily becoming acclimated to this, and as such she'd continue to watch as these games played out. Time would pass and eventually their little party would come to an end. And Eira herself would be seeing out whoever aimed to leave several hours after this party began, at the front door of her apartment.

[Bloodedge]

When the party came to its eventual end, one particular member would certainly not be going anywhere. Izuna found himself incapable of even reaching the front door. The former Youkai was sprawled out atop the beanbag formerly inhabited by Eira, bloated from overeating at some point during the group festivities. He didn't appear to be enjoying the experience very much from the moans and groans escaping him, but a weak smile was present on his face. "Damn Yasukawa... I couldn't eat nearly that much..." Apparently, the ever-competitive Izuna had - at some point - attempted to eat more than what Takumi had been seen eating during the early stages of the party. Obviously, he failed at this.

Eira's open gesture to the outside world was met by Hiroki stepping into the doorway. He did not depart right away, though, choosing to instead turn and seek out Maiko. "Arigatou, Eira. It was fun as always. Maiko, do you have time for a spar before you have to be home?" he asked. Takumi stood behind the blonde male at this time, stepping aside to allow a visual connection between Hiroki and Maiko, whilst waiting for his opportunity to exit.

[Apollymi]

As the festivities wound down, Izuna had managed to overeat, which only made Eira chuckle. "I-zu-na~ Not everything is a competition you know..." she chimed, though she had nothing negative to say to the lad about his behavior nor apparently his inability to leave at present, as having him around late was a rather rare occurance. She appeared to be back to her normal self with no lingering hint of her earlier intoxication. Still it seemed that at least a few of her Peerage would be heading out to their own places of residence. Hiroki would be the first to mention this as he headed for the door he looked for Maiko who had already mostly packed up as well. "Hell yeah, Yui! I'm always down for that..." she agreed stepping outwards she paused at Takumi and handed him an envelop. "I photo-shopped you into some nice pics in case your parents are the type to like that sort of thing," she mentioned. "Later Yasukawa..." she mentioned not bothering with the more formal goodbye. "The rest of you too, your ass is mine next time, Ryuume!~ You too, Gremory!~" she said as she stopped before Eira and smiled. "Hai, you can try Mai-senpai!" Miyuki managed to be happy about it. "Thanks for letting me stay for a while, Eira-sama. If Kaa-san is cool about it, I'll come back for the weekend!" she said which made Eira smile. "Hai hai... That'd be awesome, I love having you here. I'll look forward to it~" Eira said to Maiko specifically as part of her goodbye. "Both of you don't take it too hard out there~" she said to both Hiroki and Maiko knowing they were going to have a bit of a spar before the end of the night. Having heard this goodbye Maiko was ready to leave with only a final wave to the group at large.

[Bloodedge]

"Yosh! Let's go!" Having Maiko's acceptance for the training battle he intended to have, Hiroki turned and made his official exit, also waving to the others present. This was only one of many battles the two had with each other since the previous Rating Games, intended mostly for the development of both parties in their weaker areas of combat. Once the path was clear, Takumi stepped past Eira with the intention of taking his leave as well. Even being as unwilling to socialize as he was, though, Takumi was no rude individual, especially toward those who'd aided him in some way. He paused just outside the door. "A-... Arigatou gozaimasu. Ja ne," he said to the crimson-haired Devil. With that out of the way, he departed. His path took him toward his own small, single apartment about seven blocks west of Kuoh Academy. There, Takumi would store the souvenirs and falsified pictures for his mother. The rest of his night was likely to consist of nothing at all, bar sleep to prepare him for the next school day.

[Apollymi]

Eira was quite proud of the individual effort put forth by all of her Peerage members. In particular both Hiroki and Maiko were making the most of each other to build on their strengths. It made her happy to know that they could rely on each other, and she could only hope, her other Peerage members would come to relate to each other in the same way, if they weren't already like that. With that as an aside, Takumi too would be taking his leave, and Eira also clearly expected this. The boy was over all unwilling to be social, but he'd put forth a bit of an effort this afternoon after being talked into it, and managed not to look totally uncomfortable the entire time. Soon enough though and much to Eira's surprise the boy stopped before her, offering his thanks as well as his farewell. The crimson-haired lass couldn't stop her eyes from widening an instant before they softened. "Ja ne, Takumi. Have a nice night..." Eira said as the boy left, choosing once again not to address his thanks. At this point she was simply happy the lad didn't look as if he was terribly uncomfortable at his leave.

And after Takumi's leave, Eira wandered back to her original beanbag and collapsed into it. She was happy for the group at large, but still she was quite contemplative about at least one of her Peerage members. Given this she decided a small distraction was necessary. "Revil, did you manage to have a bit of fun?" she asked of her nephew, wondering what he thought of one of the first gatherings he'd been apart of in her Peerage.

[Bloodedge]

The majority of the peerage remained after the leave of Hiroki, Maiko, and Takumi. Sairevil remained present and, unlike Izuna, capable. By the time Eira returned and spoke to him, he had returned to the same beanbag that was previously placed beside Eira's. He was relaxed after spending quite some time experiencing the games played in the human world. "That was pretty fun. I like these human games; they're not much different from ours, if you think about it. Those table games kind of reminded me of Rating Games, but more direct. I'd really like to see that sort of thing play out back home," he said. All in all, he had very thoroughly enjoyed himself this night. He could certainly see himself coming to feel right at home in this environment. "Did you have fun, though? You seemed a little off all night."

[Apollymi]

Eira was content to converse with the remaining members of her Peerage. Her final addition, her nephew Sairevil was now answering her question about his managing to have fun. His words made her smile, because they led down a road of comparison which Eira herself made when she first came to the Human World to experience it. "Hai, they aren't much different. If I am being fair, human sports are more like Rating Games. They draw crowds, create fan favorites, and have people pulling for one side or another," she said knowing her nephew might like to have a gander at those at some point. "I'm glad you had fun~" she chimed at the end of that sentence. When he went on to question whether or not she'd had fun, and pointed out that she'd been behaving a bit strangely all night her eyes widened. 'Kuso, I can't honestly be that easy to read can I?' she wondered mentally. "I had fun... I always do. I uh... took a bit of power off of Takumi earlier so, I didn't feel like I normally do. But I didn't feel bad or anything," she clarified her earlier actions without much thought of them because she had no real way to describe the sort of state she'd found herself in before. She definitely didn't feel bad, it was quite the opposite, but it was harder for her to think, at a time she felt like she needed to and behaving herself always seemed so much harder to accomplish than normal.

[Bloodedge]

"They have something even more like Rating Games?" Sairevil asked. He appeared to perk up a bit more at the mention of these sports, which alone was an act that made Izuna throw a limp arm in the air to grab attention for a response. "Watch Kuoh's Soccer team. We're goin' to Nationals," was all the apparently sleepy brunette had to say before his arm fell back down.

"Sugoi..." Sairevil had no clue what this 'Soccer' thing was, but he was certain to log away the thought that he would have to view a game whenever possible. Eira claimed there was nothing actually wrong with her for the duration of the festivities, making a note that she had absorbed energy from Takumi before the group met up properly.This alone was all Sairevil needed to hear, having some idea what could have been the case. "Sou ka. I get it; Otou-sama said Dragon energy is harder to take in than any other type. He said it was like drinking a lot of alcohol really fast when he did it."

[Apollymi]

"Hai!" Eira commented. Soon enough Izuna was throwing an arm into the air, and chiming in about the Kuoh Academy Soccer Team. His words made Eira smile. "Yes, soccer games have a bit more of the type of atmosphere of Rating Games. They are fun to spectate, even if you don't understand the strategy involved in them," she said nodding. "I planned on going to the next soccer game if you wanted to come with me," she added for Sairevil. As they moved on in conversation, it seemed that the young Rook was at least a little familiar with the kind of response that she'd had to the power she'd taken from Takumi. "Sou ka, that makes sense," she said. Thinking about it now that she wasn't affected, she supposed she could compare her earlier state to a bit of drunkenness. "It hit all at once but I am fine now. I mean, I was fine then too, all warm and happy, but I feel more normal now..." Eira said knowing she felt fine now that the extra power wasn't just causing her head to swim. "So, did you want to go to school with the rest of us, or would you rather hang out here by yourself while we're out during the day?" she asked of her newest member. As it stood, Eira didn't force the activities of any in her Peerage. It was her general preference that they did whatever they wanted to do, and this applied to her nephew just as much as it did everyone else. She enjoyed her time interacting with Humans as it gave her an opportunity to search for talented Peerage members. It also gave her time to help socialize her Peerage members which was important given they all had varied backgrounds.

[Bloodedge]

The tie for Sairevil to observe one of these Soccer games would be sooner than he thought. He nodded his head to agree that he would accompany Eira when she viewed the next game, which would apparently involve at least Izuna as a participant. "I'll be there for sure!" he said for clarity. Speaking of clarification, there was a matter Eira sought a solid answer for. The question rose pertaining to Sairevil's intentions, or lack thereof, for joining herself and the others in Kuoh Academy. Sairevil had only ever experienced schooling of a certain sort, related to the Underworld, and he had enjoyed that experience. He didn't know what to expect of human schools, but it was just another experience that would add a notch to his proverbial belt, as it were. "Sure! I'd like to see what kind of things humans learn about, especially if I'm going to be staying in their world from now on."

[Apollymi]

"Hai hai, it's good to support our friends in their endeavors. Izuna has good teamwork with Leishi, so the games are super exciting to watch," Eira mentioned. She apparently enjoyed watching the soccer games, and thought it gave Izuna a proper outlet for his competitive nature. As they moved along in conversation her nephew mentioned that he'd enjoy going to school. He both thought the experience would be nice and felt an obligation to learn a bit about humans while he was in the human world. "Sugoi!~ I knew you'd say that... I definitely signed you up already~" Eira said. Her nephew was agreeable enough that she figured he'd enjoy going to school with the others. Given this around the same time she'd gone to spy on Takumi's school record, she'd also signed up Sairevil for school too. "You start tomorrow~ It'll be fun for you~" she said to the young man, happy he'd gone along with it. It wouldn't have taken much to pull him from the school, but getting the paperwork out of the way earlier would help him have a smooth transition.

With this information out in the open, Eira was more than satisfied to let the conversation progress until it eventually wavered and she retired for the night to settle until the next school day.

[Bloodedge]

Takumi had spent the majority of the day in school, followed by a slightly smaller chunk of time learning the ins-and-outs of Underworld history, amongst a few other things. Following his leave of the Occult Research Club's meeting place, he returned to his own home just long enough to gather the package of souvenirs and edited images for his mother. He was graced my a moonlit sky by the time he crossed the city to reach the house he grew up in. A deep breath escaped the boy when he reached the front door. With the package in his left hand, he raised his right hand to knock on the door. He expected his mother to be the one who answered first, and he was mentally preparing himself to meet her. As such, his resolve showed in his facial features as he looked toward the door and awaited its opening.

[Apollymi]

The knock at the door to Takumi's parents house would not be answered by his mother. Strangely the action of knocking at the door wouldn't be greeted by anything other than the door opening. Though the lights were on within the house, everything else seemed to be dark, and though nothing appeared to be out of place, the quiet of the home was unsettling. If Takumi entered and moved through the house, the kitchen would be unoccupied, but the fridge would be full of the necessary ingredients for the lads favorite meals. The living room would be in its normal amount of disarray but the lights wouldn't be working. The silence of this house would only be further disturbed if he made it all the way back to the study, where he'd find a womanly body sitting atop the desk facing away towards the night sky, and a pair of large feathered black wings. "Okaerinasai, Red Dragon Emperor~" the voice which occupied this space would be strangely familiar. It was the same woman, who'd interrupted the first Rating Game he'd participated in.

It might have seemed strange that she hadn't showed up to the lad's apartment. But she'd known about his existence for quite some time before she watched him in action. She'd seen the mess he'd made of a middle school boy in a fight and thus, when she couldn't find him at school, she'd come to his childhood home to wait for his return. What happened while she awaited him, in her boredom, she couldn't even take responsibility for.

[Bloodedge]

As he knocked, Takumi witnessed the opening of the door for reasons other than someone pulling it open. It seemed to become ajar simply due to the pressure he'd put on it. Not knowing what to make of this, he stepped inside and began wandering. Never in his life had he experienced such silence throughout this building, bar moments when he was alone inside. Even so, there was a certain ambiance that made this experience different. It was as if he was alone at home again, but... he felt like he certainly wasn't. The lighting of the house led him to wonder if a bill or two had gone unpaid... but that wasn't possible; his parents were quite well off in that department. Moving felt almost unnatural, as if he were subconsciously guiding himself toward something.

Perhaps his mother wasn't home, and his father sought solitude and a good atmosphere for progressing his works. Surely this had to be the case. It was this mentality which led Takumi, eventually, to the study he often found the man in. There, he found no one at all... At least, that's what he would have preferred. Takumi was instead greeted by the appearance of two black feathered wings that seemed to encompass the entire room. The voice which spoke to him was all too familiar, as it was the very same one which accosted him during his first Rating Game. "You..." he said as his resolve to speak with his parents slipped away, replacing itself with more worry than he'd previously known. "What are you doing here? Where are my parents?"