The Devils Are Here

ICDS Universe, Earth, Japan, Tokyo. 

"The broths should be ready soon." Alfonzo said from the kitchen. "How are the ingredients coming along, Sumire?" 

"They're all ready." Violet replied with a smile. "And thank you for letting me be your assistant, Alfonzo-San. I feel like I've really learned a lot from watching you." 

"Don't mention it." Alfonzo said while waving dismissively. "It's no big deal." 

"By the way, when is James supposed to get here?" Elicia asked as she finally put down her pencil. She then continued while looking over her work. "Because if he's late, I'm not saving any for him." 

"He should be here in about fifteen minutes." Tatsuo replied while typing on his laptop. 

"So, just in time for dinner, huh?" Alfonzo said. "Well, I guess his timing is good, at least." 

"By the way, what is shabu-shabu?" Shea asked curiously while she sniffed the air. "Because it smells really good." 

"Shabu-shabu is..." Violet said, beginning an introduction to the meal they would be eating tonight. 

Meanwhile, As Tatsuo worked on the identities, Aletia was sitting on the couch behind him with her arms wrapped around his neck and watching him over his shoulder, despite the fact that she had no idea what he was doing. Luckily, because of her inclusion in the [Dimensional Chat], she was able to read what Tatsuo was writing. 

Unfortunately, neither Shea nor Tio had that luxury. However, they were both extremely fast learners when it came to learning languages, which surprised Violet by quite a bit. Tatsuo, Alfonzo, and Elicia were not surprised, however, as they had seen/read the original Arifureta. So, they knew how quickly the three adapted to life in Japan. 

Like that, time went by peacefully. And just before the food was ready to be served, Tatsuo and Alfonzo moved the furniture in the living room to make enough space for everyone to eat together, as the dining room table was not big enough. Then, Alfonzo created a large low table with his [Metal Magic] before the food was brought out from the kitchen and set up. 

"Alright, now we're just waiting for James and his three guests." Tatsuo said while staring at the pot of spicy broth. "But Lici is right, he better hurry. I don't know how long I can wait." 

As if waiting for Tatsuo to say that, the room was brightened by a flash of light originating from behind him. And when the light dimmed, four people, one man and three women appeared in its place. Naturally, those four were James, Rias, Sona, and Scáthach. 

This also caused all those present to turn and look at the new arrivals while the four new comers stared at the people unfamiliar to them, as well. 

First was James, who was the tallest of the four and standing in the center of the formation. He wore a white t shirt with an open, red button-down shirt over it, and blue jeans. Also, his hair was braided into cornrows that converged into one long, thick, braid that hung over his right shoulder. 

Next, on James' right, Rias stood there wearing a black halter top and a purple skirt, both with red accents and looking around excitedly. It was clear to anyone who knew her character that she was excited to be in another world. 

And to James' left, Sona, wearing a black shirt, a white skirt, a white jacket, and black shoes, looked at everyone with an analytical gaze while her glasses flashed as she adjusted them. 

Lastly, standing to Rias' right, Scáthach, wearing a purple halter top, a pair of tight blue jeans, and a pair of high heeled sandals, looked at everyone present with an assessing gaze. However, instead of trying to get a grasp of everyone's personality like Sona, she was seeing through their potential. 

And Scathach's gaze lingered on Tatsuo, Alfonzo, and Elicia longer than the others. 

"You know, I'm getting a bad feeling from the way she's looking at us." Tatsuo said in a whisper to Alfonzo who was sitting next to him. 

"Yeah, I'm getting the feeling that I'm probably gonna be close to death some time in the near future." Alfonzo replied. 

Not only Tatsuo and Alfonzo were thinking like that, but all the others in the room were having similar thoughts. Well, everyone except for Elicia, who was thinking about making clothes for the four devils. 

"Yo." James said with a casual smile. "Looks like we're just in time for dinner." 

"Yeah." Tatsuo replied, shaking off the feeling he was getting from Scáthach's gaze. "We're having shabu-shabu." 

"Nice!" James said as he quickly moved to take a seat at the table. "Good shabu-shabu is almost as good as sex." 

"Really?" Shea asked in an interested tone while stealing glances at Tatsuo. "Then I really wanna try it." 

*Bang!* 

However, before James could take a seat, a crimson red spear appeared in Scáthach's hand. Then, she hit him in the head with it. 

"I believe you were taught better than that, my disciple." Scáthach said in a dry tone. 

"Yeah, right. I was." James said while rubbing the spot where he was hit. "Let me do the introductions." 

"Hold on, James." Sona said while adjusting her glasses again. She then continued with an almost imperceptible smile on her face. "Make sure you know everyone before you start the introductions. We don't want a repeat of what happened all those years ago, do we?" 

"For real, Sona?" James said while looking at Sona with a betrayed expression on his face. "Do you have to bring up embarrassing points from the past in front of my friends?" 

"What's the problem, James?" Rias, adopting a similar smile to Sona's, asked playfully. "It's all in good fun. Besides, you would do the same to us." 

"Yeah, but it's okay because I'm the one doing it." James countered. "It's not so much fun when I'm the butt of the joke." 

"Although I've heard this story several times before, I would enjoy hearing it again, as well." Scáthach said as she rested her spear over her shoulder. "But before that, perhaps we should introduce ourselves." 

After that, the introductions went on smoothly. Then, everyone sat around the low table to eat, and the devils were surprised to see how eager everyone was to do so. 

"Well, I'm looking forward to this." James said with a smile. "Lici never stops talking about how good your cooking is, Alfonzo. So, I hope you don't disappoint me." 

In response, Tatsuo, Alfonzo, and Elicia all sneered at James, causing him to raise an eyebrow. Meanwhile, everyone else prepared to eat. And when they put the food in their mouths, the reactions were just as expected. 

"Mmm~~~~~~~~!" 

"Ahn~~~~~~~~!" 

"Oh~~~~ yes~~~~~!" 

Violet, Aletia, Shea, Tio, Rias, and Sona all moaned uncontrollably. And when they noticed what they had done, Violet, Aletia, Shea, Rias, and Sona all blushed in embarrassment. However, they did not slow down eating, at all. James and Scáthach, on the other hand, did not let out a sound, showing just how strong their wills were. However, James did have tears forming in the corners of his eyes, showing that he was not completely unaffected. Yet, Scáthach showed no outward signs of being affected by Alfonzo's cooking, at all. 

However, everyone with high enough sensitivity to magic, mana, and other forms of [Energy] raised an eyebrow in her direction. Scáthach had flared her demonic power for some reason. And the womanly scent that was quickly dissipating from around her let them know what that reason was. 

Even so, no one was foolish enough to point it out. Since this Scáthach looked like the TYPE-MOON version of Scáthach, they all determined that it was the wisest course of action. 

After dinner, with both pots of broth eaten to the last drop and no ingredients remaining, everyone sat around the low table patting their slightly swollen bellies and wearing satisfied expressions. 

"Damn, Dude." James said while laying his head on Sona's lap, causing her to blush at the public display of affection. "That was good as hell." 

"Coming from a devil, I should take that as a compliment, right?" Alfonzo asked with a smile. 

"Of course, you should." Rias said happily. "Your cooking is even better than Grayfia's." 

"Indeed, your cooking skills are impressive, young man." Scáthach added. "It would seem you have spent many years honing your craft." 

"Yup! Fonzie's cooking is the best in all the worlds." Elicia added with a proud smile on her face. "He's even better than our world's Grayfia, too. He even out cooked Erina Nakiri." 

"Your world has a Grayfia, too?" Sona asked, latching on to that point. 

"Oh, James didn't tell you?" Elicia asked while tilting her head cutely. 

In response, Rias, Sona, and Scáthach all turned to stare at James. 

In response, James rolled his eyes while glaring at Sona and Scáthach in return. 

"You two don't get to look at me like that." James said pointedly. "You didn't even believe me when I told you about the [Chat]. So, would it have made a difference?" 

While Scáthach continued to stare at James, Sona at least had the decency to look away in embarrassment. Rias, on the other hand, looked at James with a pout. 

"But why didn't you tell me, James?" Rias asked. 

"Honestly, I just forgot. James replied casually. 

"Hey, I don't get it." Tatsuo said, cutting into the conversation. "Until today, no one believed you about the [Chat], right?" 

"That's right." James replied. 

"Then, what did they say when you brought Yaegashi-San back with you after the [Mission] in Arifureta?" 

When Shizuku was mentioned, Scáthach's eyes lit up briefly. 

"You mean the Japanese swordswoman, I suppose?" Scáthach asked. 

"Yes, her." Tatsuo replied with a nod. 

"Well, since James was alone when he left for that [Mission] as you called it, we thought he had left for the human world and convinced a girl to come join Ravel's peerage." Scathach continued. "And as mischievous as James can be, we thought he had convinced her to go along with his prank." 

"Master, you say that like I have the courage to play a prank on you." James grumbled. "I found out why that was a bad idea when I was twelve. And although it was funny, it wasn't worth the dislocated jaw, three broken ribs, fractured tibia, and multiple cuts and bruises I received for it." 

Hearing the consequences of James prank, everyone in the room realized just how dangerous it was to mess with the woman in front of them. And the fact that James was still afraid to play pranks on her, despite the fact that he was stronger than her at the moment was quite telling. 

"A leopard cannot change its spots, my disciple." Scáthach said calmly. "So, I can never be so sure." 

"Anyway, I wanna hear about this Grayfia you mentioned." Rias said. "Is she like the one in our world? Does that mean devils exist in your world?" 

"Well... She is like the one in your world, at least that's what James told us." Elicia said, not sure how to explain it. "And we do have devils in our world. But they aren't like the ones from yours. And Grayfia isn't a devil in our world. She's a human. In her thirties. But she doesn't look a day over twenty-three." 

"*Sigh* Other worlds really are mysterious." Sona said while adjusting her glasses. "To think someone like Grayfia could be a human. Simply inconceivable." 

"Either way, she's the best damn head maid anyone could ask for." Alfonzo said with a smile. 

"Maria is pretty close, though." Elicia added. 

"Maria?" James asked. "Hayate the Combat Butler?" 

"Yup." Alfonzo replied. 

"Hey, isn't that the manga you're working on now?" Rias asked curiously. 

"Yeah." James replied nonchalantly. "I told you, didn't I? All these people and worlds in media exist somewhere in the multiverse. They just make it into people's heads through dreams or inspiration and end up on the pages or screens of other worlds." 

"I guess." Rias said. "It's just weird that people from different worlds can end up in one world." 

Hearing that, Tatsuo, Alfonzo, and Elicia all smiled. Then, they looked around at all the characters from different worlds who had gathered in the living room of the apartment. 

"Um... Rias-San..." Violet said cautiously. "We have people from five different worlds in this room, you know?" 

Rias' eyes opened wide in realization. Then, she smiled brightly once again at the thought of being in another world. 

"Anyway, now that we've finished dinner, how 'bout telling us about that story you all mentioned before the introductions?" Alfonzo asked with a grin. 

"Ugh!" James groaned while turning over in Sona's lap. "Why do you have to do this?" 

"Oh, I'll tell it!" Rias said happily after seeing James distress. "It was really funny. Both times." 

"Both?" Shea asked while tilting her head and causing her ears to flop to one side. 

"So cute..." Rias said absent-mindedly after seeing Shea's ears move with her actions. 

"Yes, James did it twice." Sona replied. "First when he met my [Queen], Tsubaki. And second when he met Rias' [Rook], Koneko. The first time happened after a training trip where he found his [Bishop], Mizore. And the second time was when he came back from training with Master Scáthach with is [Knight] and best friend, Lancer. You see, both times, James wanted to introduce everyone to each other. But he got carried away and forgot that he didn't know everyone in the room. So, the introductions ended on a rather... awkward note. He did, however, end up getting along very well with those two, as he seemed more approachable after making a mistake like that. Koneko even wants to join his harem." 

"Hey! I said I'd tell them, Sona." Rias complained after coming back to her senses. 

"Then, you shouldn't have spaced out." Sona shot back. "Besides, we have embarrassing stories about you, too." 

Rias' tirade came to an end immediately upon hearing that. 

"Sona, you wouldn't?" Rias said in a horrified tone. 

"Oh, are you talking about the time she slapped me when I told her about herself?" James asked in a playful tone. "Or maybe when she found Akeno and I in bed together after you all barged into my hotel room?" 

"Yes." Sona replied with a nod. 

"UH... Anyway..." Rias said in a flustered tone while everyone looked at the group of devils with interest. She then turned to Alfonzo and Elicia. "So, how did your world's Grayfia end up working for you two? Was there no Gremory or Lucifer family in your world?" 

"Actually, there was a Gremory family." Alfonzo said while smiling wryly. "But I don't think you want to hear about them." 

"Oh, now I definitely want to hear about them." Sona said while smiling mischievously at Rias. 

"As would I." Scáthach said, a hint of teasing in her tone, as well. 

"Hey, wait!" Rias shouted. 

"Don't worry about her, just tell us." James added, putting the final nail in the coffin. 

Like that, the rest of the evening passed harmoniously. However, when it came to bed time, they had a bit of an issue. Though, it was not as bad as it seemed at first. 

The penthouse only had five bedrooms. Yet, there were eleven people who would be staying there overnight. Luckily, there were two free rooms, even though one of them was Violet's. But ever since Tatsuo left for his home world, she had been sleeping in his room while Aletia and Shea each had their own rooms. So, Alfonzo and Elicia took violet's room while James, Rias, Sona, and Scáthach slept in the master bedroom that belonged to Tatsuo's parents from his identity in this world. 

Meanwhile, Violet, Aletia, Shea, and Tio all crammed into Tatsuo's bedroom with him, just like they did when they were staying together in the Arifureta Universe. And before they went to sleep, Elicia pestered Tatsuo to play the piano for everyone after hearing how good he was from Violet, James, Aletia, Shea, and Tio while they sat around and talked after dinner. 

The next morning, everyone woke up early, Alfonzo, with Violet's assistance, made breakfast, then they called a taxi to take them all to Narita before boarding the plane to America so they could see just what the Wyvern Nest Field Dungeon was all about.