Hub World, Earth, Japan, Tokyo.
"Alright, that's the last one." Tatsuo said after making a bed in one of the empty apartments in the building where he and the rest of his family live. "Honestly, I never expected so many people from other worlds to show up at the same time."
"I'm just excited to meet your friends." Kasumi, who was arranging some of the furniture in the room, said with a gentle smile. "You've never introduced us to many of your friends. In fact, other than Yakumo-Chan, her sister and her friends, Chi-Chan, and Maou-San, you've never brought anyone over."
"Well, I don't really have all that many friends." Tatsuo replied with a shrug. "I mean, most of the girls at school only watched me from a distance. And the guys all looked at me with jealousy. Then again, I can't really blame them. I mean, I hung out with the two prettiest girls in school."
Kasumi did not respond verbally. Instead, she only continued to smile while shaking her head gently. A moment later, she and Tatsuo left the bedroom they had been preparing and took a last look around the apartment.
"Okay, looks like we didn't forget anything." Kasumi said. "Let's head up to the training room and you can send the message."
"Got it." Tatsuo replied with another shrug.
Tatsuo and Kasumi then left the apartment and entered the elevator. During the ride to the training room, Tatsuo pulled his smartphone from his pocket and opened the [Dimensional Chat].
{[Dimensional Chat]
Tatsuo (Admin): Alright, all the rooms are ready
Tatsuo (Admin): You guys can come over whenever you're ready
James: Thank God
James: I'm glad I'm strong enough to not worry about saying his name anymore
Akatsuki: What's wrong?
James: Nothing really
James: But Grandma is really impatient
James: Anyway, I'm gonna just go
Tatsuo (Admin): Okay, see you in a minute
Alfonzo: We'll be there soon
Alfonzo: We're just looking for a good place to leave the car
Lici: Yeah, we'll be there soon
Tatsuo (Admin): Alright
Violet: We'll leave in a minute, too
Violet: By the way
Violet: You have an iron, right?
Violet: Shea-San accidentally got her dress wrinkled
Tatsuo (Admin): OH, yeah, we have one
Tatsuo (Admin): By the way, we need to find a way to hide Shea's ears
Violet: Don't worry, I got that taken care of
Violet: I bought something from the shop for that
Tatsuo (Admin): Cool
Aletia: I miss you, Tatsuo
Aletia: I wanna hug and kiss you
Tatsuo (Admin): 😅
Sakura: Zelretch-San and I will be there soon, too
Zelretch: Indeed
Zelretch: I just dropped off Illya and her maids with Rin
Zelretch: We're buying the World Travel Tickets now
Tatsuo (Admin): Alright
Tatsuo (Admin): Then, I'll see you all soon}
Closing the [Dimensional Chat], Tatsuo was just in time for the elevator doors to open. When they did, he and Kasumi saw Sumire, Mai, Tio, and Ayane standing in the training room, just in front of the caged-off sparring ring.
"Tatsu-Chan." Sumire said, the first to notice that the elevator was open. "How long until your friends get here?"
"The first of them should be here soon." Tatsuo replied as he and Kasumi made their way over to the others.
*Flash!* x 3
At that moment, as if they were waiting for Tatsuo to say that, three flashes of light appeared next to the group, causing them all to turn towards the flashes.
Once the light faded, three people, two women and an old man appeared in their places.
"Oh, I was expecting James to be the first one to arrive." Tatsuo said with a smile. "Either way, welcome to our world, Sakura, Rider, and Zelretch. How was your first experience with world travel?"
Unfortunately, neither Sakura nor Zelretch were able to reply immediately, as they were both bent over and supporting themselves with their hands on their knees. As for Medusa, she was standing next to Sakura on high alert. However, when she saw Tatsuo, she relaxed by quite a bit. Still, she kept her guard up, as she could feel hostility coming from one of the women in the room.
*Smack!*
"Cut it out, Mai-Chan." Sumire said in a stern tone as she slapped Mai on the butt. "Stop trying to intimidate Tatsu-Chan's friends."
"Ow~~~~!" Mai cried as she leapt nearly a foot into the air while holding her butt. Then, when she landed, she turned to look at Sumire with teary eyes. "But Sumire-Sama~. I just wanted to let them know that trying to steal my Tatsu-Kun is forbidden."
"Hmph!" Ayane snorted disdainfully. "Yours? You're not even his girlfriend. So, how can you call him yours?"
"Small details." Mai replied nonchalantly. Her tone then turned into something bordering on heroic as she continued. "He'll be mine someday. And that's a fact. It was written in the stars a long time ago."
"Are you serious?" Tatsuo asked with shock written all over his face.
"I know, right?" Ayane added, her disdainful gaze growing in intensity. "That was so cringe, it's almost painful."
"No, that's not what I meant." Tatsuo replied.
Hearing that, Mai's expression brightened, thinking that Tatsuo was on the same page as she was. A moment later, however, her expression fell when Tatsuo continued.
"I'm not saying you're wrong, though." Tatsuo continued. "I mean, that really was cringe. But I'm more surprised that she finally came up with something new. I was expecting to hear something about that promise under the cherry blossom tree that never happened."
*Thud!*
"Ugh! I've traveled between thousands of parallel worlds." Zelretch said, barely able to process the words from Tatsuo and his family due to nausea and a headache. "But I've never felt like this before... Huh?"
The sound of something falling to the ground finally drew Zelretch's attention. And he was not alone, as Sakura also turned to look in the direction the sound came from. As for Medusa, she was already paying attention to what was happening around her from the moment she arrived. More than likely, her state as a spiritual body was what kept her from feeling the same unpleasant feelings of dizziness and nausea as the other two.
When Sakura and Zelretch looked towards the sound, they saw a beautiful young woman with long brown hair and an ample amount of cleavage on display kneeling on both knees with a lifeless expression on her face while using her right index finger to draw circles on the floor.
"Um... Is she okay?" Sakura asked, her kind heart making her feel concern for the young woman, Mai.
"Maybe she was caught off guard by our arrival?" Zelretch asked in an uncertain tone.
"Oh, you two don't have to worry about Mai-Chan." Sumire said in a cheerful tone.
"That's right." Tio added with a smile. "Mai-San is just being Mai-San. If you're here long enough, you'll see that's she's just a drama queen."
"I... see..." Sakura and Zelretch said, both sounding rather confused.
"Anyway, I heard Tatsu-Chan say your names were Sakura-Chan, Zelretch-Chan, and Rider-Chan, right?" Sumire asked with a welcoming smile on her face. "Though, that last one sounds more like a title than a name. Anyway, like Tatsu-Chan said, welcome to our world. I'm Soramoto Sumire, Tatsu-Chan's mother. It's so nice to meet some of my baby's friends."
With Sumire's introduction, Sakura snapped to attention immediately. Medusa's reaction was somewhat similar. Though, because her eyes were hidden by her blindfold, it was harder to tell exactly what she was thinking. Even so, meeting the mother of the boy they were interested in made them focus. As for Zelretch, he looked at Sumire calmly. However, when he really took a good look at her, his expression turned to one filled with shock.
"You... You're not---" Zelretch started to say.
However, before he could finish, Sumire [Blinked] from where she stood, reappearing in front of him with her hand placed gentle over his mouth.
"Now~, now~, Zel-Chan, looking into a ladies age, weight, and secrets is a big no-no." Sumire said in a sugary sweet tone.
Though Sumire's tone was sweet, and being referred to with the Chan suffix made him feel uncomfortable, the pressure she was releasing, which was completely focused on him, was so overwhelming that Zelretch's robes were all most instantly soaked with his sweat, making him not even feel like objecting to the form of address. On top of that, the glint in Sumire's eyes, one promising death if he were to expose something that he shouldn't, was so intense that Zelretch could only nod his head in agreement.
"Good boy." Sumire said, her smile turning cheerful as she removed her hand from Zelretch's mouth, stood up on the tips of her toes, and started patting him on the head like a well-behaved child.
Meanwhile, Sakura and Medusa could only watch this scene with confused expressions on their faces. As for Tatsuo, Mai, Kasumi, Tio, and Ayane, they had all gotten used to Sumire acting strangely over the months and years they knew her. So, they did not react too much to what they just saw.
Even so, even if they did not react too much, they all knew that Sumire had secrets. But they also trusted her enough to not try to dig into them, feeling that if they needed to know, Sumire would tell them.
*Flash!* x 5
Before the awkward atmosphere could pass, five more flashes lit up the training room. When the lights faded, a man and four women appeared in the room. However, unlike Sakura and Zelretch, they were not too bothered by the dimensional travel.
"Oh, this is a pretty nice training room." James, the man among the new arrivals, said in an impressed tone as he looked around. "Master, what do you think about getting our sparring ring caged like this one?"
"That's not a bad idea, my disciple." Scáthach replied. "It would stop those like the Shadow Dragon King's host from allowing himself to be knocked out of the ring during spars. In turn, I would not have to spend so much time intensifying his training after he does so."
"I'm sure Ize will appreciate it." James said with a mischievous smile on his face. "I know how much he hates the hard training. He'll probably come to us with tears in his eyes when he finds out."
"Indeed." Scáthach said while nodding in agreement with a barely perceptible smile on her face.
Meanwhile, the other three women, Venelana, Grayfia, and Lilith spent a little more time looking around. Then, they turned their attention to the other people in the room, only two of which were familiar to them.
Eventually, their eyes landed on Tatsuo. When they did, both Venelana's and Lilith's eyes lit up. At the same time, Lilith, who was still in her younger form, began to grow in height while her hair turned white, her eyes turned violet, and her proportions changed to those fitting of the progenitor of the Succubus race.
*Growl!*
Yet, as soon as Mai noticed the stares directed at Tatsuo from Venelana and Lilith, she could not hold herself back, growling at the two women like a beast protecting its territory. She then shot to her feet and lunged at Tatsuo before wrapping her arms around him possessively.
"I don't' know who you two are, but Tatsu-Kun is mine." Mai said aggressively.
Hearing that, Lilith did not react much. Instead, she only started walking towards Tatsuo, her hips swaying seductively with every step. Meanwhile, Venelana, finding Mai's attitude amusing, raised her right hand and covered her smile elegantly.
As for Grayfia, she watched everything with a stoic expression.
"I think you're misunderstanding something, Dear." Venelana said with a giggle. "Although I must admit that Tatsuo is one of the most handsome men I've ever seen... Maybe even the most handsome, I already have my eye on someone."
As she spoke her last sentence, Venelana glanced at James, who was still looking over the training room for things that could be adopted into his own training room and discussing it with Scáthach. And when James felt the brief glance, he turned and smiled at Venelana before returning to his discussion with Scáthach.
Hearing Venelana's words and seeing her actions, Mai's gaze softened when she looked at the older Devil woman. However, the way she looked at Lilith became more hostile with every step she took towards Tatsuo. Though, because of Lilith's strength, Mai's gaze did not affect her in the slightest.
"Hey Lilith." Tatsuo said while he reached up to pat Mai's head in an attempt to calm her down. "How have you been?"
"Not very good." Lilith said with a pout, her seductive aura making Mai's, Kasumi's, Tio's, and Ayane's hearts flutter. A moment later, however, her expression turned both playful and predatory as she continued. "But I'm feeling a lot better now that I can see you again, Tatsuo."
With her last word, Lilith arrived within an arm's reach. She then reached up and placed her right hand on Tatsuo's left cheek while staring into his eyes without trying to hide her desire.
"Damn, Grandma, you're going hard as fuck, huh?" James said in a teasing tone from where the rest of the group from the Scattered Cherry Blossoms Universe arrived in the training room. You're not even gonna introduce yourself to everyone before starting to seduce your target?"
As soon as James finished speaking, he ducked his head, though the mischievous smile on his face never disappeared. And the reason for that was simple, Lilith had shot an extremely disapproving glare in his direction.
Meanwhile, Scáthach only shook her head. She expected nothing less from James, as he would troll even his family without hesitation.
Yet, before Lilith could say anything to James, Sumire, in a burst of speed, appeared in front of her, looking up at her with a curious gaze.
"You're his grandma, huh?" Sumire asked with a smile. "If I didn't know any better, I would have never guessed. And they said your name was Lilith. Well, I'm Sumire, Tatsu-Chan's mother. It's nice to meet you."
Seeing Sumire appear in front of her far faster than she could perceive, Lilith's eyes widened. However, she was not the only one to react to Sumire's instantaneous speed, as Sumire did not use [Blink] this time. James, Scáthach, Venelana, and Grayfia were also surprised. Especially since Sumire did not give off an aura that would suggest that she was strong enough to move so quickly.
"Is she faster than me...?" James asked himself in a tone filled with disbelief.
"So, it would seem." Scáthach replied with her eyes narrowed. "This is quite interesting."
"Hmm... So that's how Mom always managed to get videos of me playing the piano..." Tatsuo muttered to himself, this being the first time he's seen Sumire move so quickly. A moment later, however, his expression fell. "Wait! If she can move that fast without making any ripples, just what other kinds of pictures and videos does she have of me?"
When James heard Tatsuo, he finally turned to pay attention to him. And unlike what anyone who knew him would expect, he was not wearing a mischievous smile. Nor did he have any taunts or mockery on the tip of his tongue. Instead, he looked at Tatsuo with an empathetic gaze, as he knew what it feels like to have embarrassing blackmail material in the hands of his mother. Unfortunately, the only thing he could do was pray that Sumire was not as chaotic as Leona.
"Don't worry, Tatsu-Kun." Mai said, wanting to console Tatsuo and show off her good side. "Sumire-Sama has a sense of propriety. She would never post anything online that might make you hate her."
Hearing that, Tatsuo turned to look at Mai. He then spent a few seconds looking deep into her eyes, looking for any signs of deception. All the while, Mai's face began to redden as her breath became uneven.
Eventually, Tatsuo looked away, satisfied with what he saw. Then, he let out a sigh of relief.
Unfortunately, Tatsuo's deep gaze excited Mai too much. And that led to her saying something that was supposed to be a secret that she was supposed to take to her grave.
"Hehehe.... She only uses them as rewards for Kasumi-Chan, Tio-Chan, and me." Mai said in a blissful tone. "The better we do with our assignments, the more pictures and videos we get."
*Thud!*
And with that, Tatsuo fell to his knees with a lifeless expression on his face. Meanwhile, James looked off into the distance, remembering that his mother, Leona, had distributed pictures of him in embarrassing situations to the members of his harem in the past, as well.