Hub World, Earth, Japan, Tokyo.
After the [Blink], Tatsuo, Kasumi, and Ayane stealthily slipped into the normal flow of people near the apartment building. Then, before too long, they entered their apartment building before heading up to the penthouse.
In the elevator, they continued to chat about the people they met on the first day of school. However, since Kasumi and Ayane had already mentioned all the interesting people in their classes before the [Blink], that only left Tatsuo to talk about his class.
"Well, most of the people in my class are normal." Tatsuo said while leaning against the back wall of the elevator. "There was only one who gave me a special feeling. She was a really pretty girl with long brown hair named Suzumiya Haruhi."
"Oh, you're gonna make Yakumo jealous." Ayane said with a cheeky smile while nudging Tatsuo with her elbow.
"You know that's not what I mean." Tatsuo replied while rolling his eyes. "Although I'm not sure what her deal is, she's definitely not just a normal kid like the others. Though, from what I can tell, even she doesn't know what's so special about her."
"Interesting." Kasumi said while wearing an expression of consideration. "That could be dangerous, though. What if her abilities get out of control?"
"Yeah, I can only imagine." Tatsuo said while shaking his head. "I mean, just imagine if I lost control of my powers in a populated area."
"With your power, it would be catastrophic." Ayane said solemnly.
*Ding!*
Before the conversation could continue, the elevator dinged, signaling that they had reached their destination. Shortly afterwards, the elevator stopped, and the doors slid open.
"Welcome back, Tatsu-Chan, Kasumi-Chan, and Ayane-Chan." Sumire's cheerful voice traveled through the apartment. "Come to the living room, we've got something to talk about."
Exchanging glances as they stepped out of the elevator, the trio changed shoes before following Sumire's instructions and heading to the living room.
When they arrived, they saw Sumire sitting in a recliner while Mai and Tio sat on the couches on either side of the coffee table. However, Tatsuo quickly detected that Mai's gaze when looking at him was off. While Sumire and Tio were smiling at the trio, Mai only looked at Tatsuo. And her gaze seemed kinda… hungry.
"Tatsu-Kun~~~~~!" Mai squealed as soon as the trio entered the room.
However, before Mai could leap at Tatsuo, Sumire [Blinked] behind her and pressed her hands on the woman's shoulders.
"Slow down, Mai-Chan." Sumire said while smiling wryly. "I know you've been waiting all day. But you can't force Tatsu-Chan to do anything."
Unfortunately, Sumire's words did not calm Mai down. Instead, the pressure on her shoulders only made her struggle even harder to throw herself at Tatsuo. Meanwhile, Tio seemingly ignored the chaos and smiled at the three teenagers.
"How was your first day of school?" Tio asked cheerfully.
"Hey!" Sumire exclaimed while still holding Mai in place. "I was supposed to be the first one to ask Tatsu-Chan about his day, Tio-Chan. Don't cut the line!"
"My apologies, Sumire-Sama." Tio replied politely with a slight bow. "I only asked because it seemed you were preoccupied. I never meant to overstep."
'*Sigh* If she could be this polite and refined all the time, I wouldn't be ashamed to go out in public with her.' Tatsuo thought to himself while shooting a side-eye at Tio. 'Instead, she's usually like… that.'
As if she could tell Tatsuo was thinking something rude about her, Tio's face reddened and her breathing picked up, causing her to pant like an animal in heat. And when Tatsuo saw her changes, he could not help rolling his eyes.
"*Sigh* I understand." Sumire said while completely ignoring Tio's changes. She then shot an exasperated glare at Mai. "And you… Behave yourself. Otherwise, I'm sending you overseas on a mission. Then, you won't be able to see Tatsu-Chan for days, maybe even weeks."
"*Gasp* You wouldn't!" Mai, with her eyes wide open, exclaimed with an aghast expression on her face.
"You can test me if you want to." Sumire replied with her eyes narrowed.
With that, the two stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds. However, Mai, despite how bold and unrestrained she could be, was not willing to test Sumire's patience on this matter. So, she broke eye contact, crossed her arms, and huffed in irritation, a clear sign that she had backed down and would behave herself… for now.
"Good girl." Sumire said as she released Mai's shoulders. Then, she patted Mai on the head before returning to her seat and looking at Tatsuo, Kasumi, and Ayane. "Now, why don't you three sit down. We've got some things to discuss."
Nodding at Sumire's words, the three made their way towards the couches with Kasumi and Ayane sitting next to Tio and Mai, respectively. Meanwhile, Tatsuo looked at the two open spaces which were also next to Tio and Mai. However, with Tio still in one of her masochism induced stupors and Mai looking at him like he was a slab of meat, Tatsuo did not know where he should sit.
Seeing Tatsuo's dilemma, Sumire's eyes lit up. Then, she [Blinked] next to Tatsuo, took his hand, and [Blinked] back to the recliner. However, instead of sitting in the recliner, Sumire was now sitting in Tatsuo's lap, who she had positioned to sit in the recliner during the [Blink].
"Seriously, Mom?" Tatsuo asked while rolling his eyes.
Sumire's only response was to make herself comfortable in Tatsuo's lap before looking at Mai smugly, irritating the Kunoichi to no end.
"Alright." Ayane said while rolling her own eyes in irritation. "Now that we're all sitting down, can we get to what's really important?"
"Yes, we can, Ayane-Chan." Sumire said happily. She then let her gaze roam over everyone present before speaking in a more solemn tone. "There are three thigs I want to tell everyone."
Reaching that point, Sumire once again let her gaze roam over everyone.
"Although not all of what I have to say relates to all of you, I thought you'd wanna know." Sumire said, beginning her explanation. "First, Kurashikku Ensō received a request for Tatsu-Chan to perform."
"Another one? So soon?" Tatsuo asked, curious to know what kind of performance it would be and where it would come from.
"Yes." Tio, Tatsuo's manager, replied in place of Sumire. "It came from Shuchi'in Academy. Apparently, someone on the school's board of directors was at your performance on Friday. And when they saw your skill on the piano, they pitched the idea to have you perform at their school's welcome party."
"Shuchi'in? The most prestigious school in Tokyo?" Kasumi said with mild shock. "Perhaps even the most prestigious school in all of Japan?"
"That's right." Sumire replied with a nod. "I actually wanted Tatsu-Chan to go there when I first brought him back. However, after he became friends with Yakumo-Chan and Chi-Chan, I couldn't bear to separate him from his new friends. So, I let him apply to Yagami High, instead."
"And it worked out that Miyazono-San also applied to Yagami under Sumire-Sama's suggestion." Tio added. "So, he will be able to take care of Miyazono-San during school, as well. At least until she decides to go through with the treatment."
"Why do you keep sending Tatsu-Kun to more thieving cats?" Mai asked with a pout.
"Ignoring the horny idiot, the pay for the job is quite good." Sumire continued. "Which is to be expected. Everyone on Shuchi'in's board of directors is quite wealthy. There's even a member of the Shinomiya Family on the board. So, you can expect to be paid quite well, Tatsu-Chan."
"I actually met the daughter of the Shinomiyas once." Tatsuo said. "She was at that jewelry store when I called you that one time."
"Oh." Sumire said in surprise. "So, does that mean you'll take the job?"
"When is it?" Tatsuo asked curiously while adjusting Sumire's position in his lap to be more comfortable.
"Friday after school." Tio replied. "You'll be expected to play for at least three hours. Also, you'll be allowed to bring one companion other than me, who will attend in the capacity of your manager."
"I see." Tatsuo said while rubbing his chin in contemplation. "And when do I have to make my decision by?"
"Tomorrow at the latest." Sumire replied. "They already have a pianist lined up. So, they'll need at least three days before cancelling. Otherwise, they'll have to pay a cancellation fee."
"Well then, I'll sleep on it and let you know tomorrow." Tatsuo replied with a shrug. "So, what are the other two things you wanted to talk about? I can probably guess one of them, though."
"And your guess is probably correct." Sumire said with a smile. "My Tatsu-Chan is so smart. Plus, Mai-Chan has been pestering me for details about the same thing all day long."
"Of course, I have!" Mai shouted. "Do you know how long I've been waiting for this?"
"About a year?" Sumire asked while tilting her head innocently.
"Exactly! A whole year!" Mai continued to shout. "it's been torture. Especially since Tatsu-Kun and I promised---"
"I didn't promise you a damn thing." Tatsuo said in a deadpan.
"Tch!" Mai only clicked her tongue at Tatsuo's denial.
"Anyway." Sumire said, rolling her eyes at her assistant's persistence. "The second thing is that I've finally got all the materials Alfonzo-Chan listed when he was here. They will be delivered to the site near Mt. Namanica. So, we should be able to set up the house over the weekend if you're up for it."
That piece of news was enough to make everyone excited. Although the penthouse apartment was nice… really nice, having a much larger house would be even better. There would be more room for everyone to relax. And in Kasumi's and Ayane's cases, there would be enough space for everyone to have their own room, too.
"Sounds good to me." Tatsuo replied with a smile. "I should be good to go on Saturday after the performance at Shuchi'in."
"Does that mean you'll be accepting the job?" Tio asked while pulling out a date planner from her kimono's sleeve. "If so, I'll need to mark it down on your schedule."
"That was a just in case." Tatsuo replied while holding up his right hand in Tio's direction. "I was just saying if I did take the job, I'd be fine to use [Alchemy] to build the house."
"I see." Tio replied while stuffing the planner back into her sleeve.
"So, you'll be explaining what you meant last night as the last topic, correct, Sumire-Sama?" Kasumi asked softly.
"Ara, ara. Kasumi-Chan I didn't think you'd be so interested in that topic." Sumire said in a teasing tone. "I should have realized that you were interested in my Tatsu-Chan, too. Looks like I should really get the ball rolling on that harem plan, huh?"
The speed at which Kasumi's face reddened was impressive. And the fact that she did not speak to defend herself made everyone suspicious of her motives. Naturally, the one who looked at her with the most suspicion was Mai. Yet, to everyone surprise, Mai did not kick up a fuss about it.
"If I have to share, Kasumi-Chan is acceptable." Mai muttered under her breath.
"But yes, you are correct." Sumire said, her tone turning solemn. "The reason I said that is because Tatsu-Chan's dragon aspect has completely integrated with his human side. Though, I'm not sure what caused it to happen so quickly."
"Do you have any ideas?" Tio asked curiously.
"If I had to guess…" Sumire said while tapping her chin with an index finger and looking up at the ceiling. "It probably had something to do with the last time he left our world."
"I could have told you that." Ayane said while rolling her eyes.
"Ehehe." Sumire giggled in response. "But on a serious note..."
Reaching that point, Sumire twisted in Tatsuo's lap so she could look him in his eyes.
"Tatsu-Chan, did something happen on your last mission that caused you to turn into your [Half-Dragon Form]?"
"Yes." Tatsuo replied with a nod.
"But you didn't lose control of your emotions this time, did you?" Sumire continued.
"Hmm…. Now that you mention it…" Tatsuo replied while thinking back on the fight with All for One. "No, I didn't. I was a lot more aggressive, though."
"That's natural. And with you taking on draconic traits, it's natural that your brain would change to accommodate the changes, as well.' Sumire said with a smile. "Dragons are naturally aggressive. In fact, you should have noticed some bleed over in that regard when you're in your human form, too. But if you haven't been angered in this form, it may not be so noticeable."
"That sounds like it could be a problem." Ayane pointed out. "Tatsuo was already stronger than most people on this planet. And now he's gonna be even more aggressive? He could actually end up killing someone if he's not careful."
"Tatsuo-Kun wouldn't do that." Kasumi replied with affirm shake of her head. "If you knew what kind of torture he'd been put through while under DOATEC's control, then you'd know that his mental fortitude is stronger than just about anyone's."
"I hope you're right." Ayane muttered.
"Aww… I didn't know you cared so much, Ayane-Oneesan." Tatsuo said with a sickeningly sweet smile on his face. "I'm so touched."
"Go screw yourself." Ayane said disdainfully. Though, the blush on her cheeks could not be hidden by her sharp words.
"Anyway, because Tatsu-Chan's human and draconic aspects have finished merging, there is no danger of his essence being damaged should he have sex." Sumire said, interrupting the back and forth between Tatsuo and Ayane. "So, should he want to start having sex, I won't be stopping him anymore."
"Yes~~~~~~~~~~!" Mai cried, her volume enough to shake the apartment's windows. She then jumped up to her feet and stared at Tatsuo with raw desire. "I'm coming to your room tonight, Tatsu-Kun."
"Sure." Tatsuo replied nonchalantly.
Hearing that, the first emotion to show up on Mai's face was confusion. But that was quickly replaced with elation and euphoria. However, before either of those emotions could set in, Tatsuo's following words turned her expression completely blank.
"Tonight is movie night, anyway." Tatsuo said with a perfectly innocent smile. "So, you were all gonna be in my room tonight, anyway, right?"
The giggles that filled the room after Tatsuo's comment made Mai's expression turn even more blank. Then, she fell to the floor and…
"Wahh~~~~~~~~~~! Tatsu-Kun, you're such a dummy!"
… started crying at the top of her lungs.
"Once again, ignoring the idiot." Sumire said with a smile. "Have you tested your strength since you came back, Tatsu-Chan? And I don't' mean the little workout you did this morning. I'm talking about testing your limits."
"No, I haven't." Tatsuo replied while shaking his head.
'Actually, now that Mom mentioned it, I haven't checked my [Status] in a while, either.' Tatsuo thought to himself. 'But I don't' remember any [Notifications] popping up on my way back. So, I kinda ignored it, thinking that nothing had changed I probably should check back through the [Notification] log to see if I missed anything.'