24 Falling Cherry Blossoms Under the Full Moon

The rest of the events for the promotion were quite uneventful. Although the kids were looking forward to the promotion ceremony, Leona and Cassiel knew what to expect. As a matter of fact, the ceremony turned out exactly as they expected. A bunch of the Devil World's higher ups gave grandiose speeches about the supremacy of devils, how those born of low birth should be grateful for the opportunity to advance, and blah blah blah. And to add insult to injury, so to speak, there were a total of eight speakers who managed to speak for more than four hours.

By the end of the first hour, James had pulled out a sketch book and began to draw. Where that sketch book came from is anyone's guess, though. Mizore and Moka each had their head resting on James' shoulder, trying their best not to fall asleep. Cu Chulainn was sitting with his arms crossed and an expression that stated, "Killing all the politicians seems like a great idea right now. While Cassiel kept his attention on him, to make sure he never tried to make that idea a reality. Leona on the other hand, was sleeping peacefully, drawing dirty looks from the pure-blooded devils who looked down on reincarnated devils.

There were only two speeches the group found worthy of their attention. The first came from Sirzechs Lucifer. Though his speech was not what one would call riveting, it did cover what would be expected of each devil, according to their new social classes. A point that the other high-born devils had somehow forgotten. The other speaker that drew their attention was Serafall. Not to say that her speech was particularly interesting or insightful, either. But watching Serafall be Serafall is always entertaining. Seeing her strut around energetically in her frilly, pink magical girl uniform is always entertaining. Even more so when the T.P.O. really does not call for it.

After all the speeches were over, each of the newly promoted devils, new High-Class and Ultimate-Class devils alike, were called onto the stage and given a certificate that proves their new status, as well as to take a photo with the upper echelons. After that song and dance ended, the newly promoted devils were invited to a banquet. One not open to those below High-Class. Needless to say, the Alaverus group chose not to attend. James and Cassiel felt that leaving their friends and family behind to spend time with those bigoted high-born fossils, as James had decided was the most appropriate title for their type, was foolish.

Underworld, Satan Territory, Capital City Lilith.

Instead of attending the banquet, they chose to return to the hotel and rest. Although they did nothing strenuous, it felt like those speeches were laced with low level sleep magic. Once they were back in the suite, James and Cu Chulainn were the first to relax. With James flopping down on the sofa and Cu Chulainn rushing into their shared bedroom and diving into his bed. Following the two, Mizore and Moka took their places on either side of James on the sofa. Lastly, Cassiel sat in the room's recliner, with Leona making herself comfortable on his lap.

With her gaze swapping between Leona and James lap, Mizore asked the question that had been on her mind since they decided to return to the hotel.

"So, why did we come back here instead of going home?"

Seeing through Mizore's thoughts, James began patting her head as he replied. "I have to pick up my new sword. Muramasa said it would be ready tomorrow."

'Neither am I ready to have Mizore sitting in my lap nor am I willing to deal with Mom's teasing if it happened.' James thought to himself, thinking he had dodged a bullet.

As if to let him know that some things are inevitable, Moka, utterly fatigued, lay her head on James' lap while rubbing her eyes and making herself comfortable.

James froze.

Mizore looked on in envy.

Cassiel was shocked.

And Leona smirked, mischief swirling in the depth of her eyes.

Seeing his mother's expression, James' body reacted before his mind could process the situation.

Picking Moka up in a princess carry, James began moving toward the room she shared with Mizore as he said, "Well, it looks like Moka reached her limit. I'll put her to bed then head to bed myself."

Leona's smirk froze on her face.

The envy in Mizore's gaze intensified.

Cassiel was impressed by his son's fight or flight instinct.

In the brief time it took James to get from the sofa to her bed, Moka, somehow, fell asleep in James' arms.

After tucking Moka into bed, James, without looking in Leona, Cassiel, and Mizore's direction, rushed into the room he shared with Cu Chulainn and closed the door. Not coming out again until morning.

Because of James' quick escape, an awkward silence fell over the room. Cassiel was the one to break that silence.

"In a way," Cassiel said with confusion in his tone, "that was kind of impressive."

Leona giggled, while thinking, 'My baby is so cute. But if he thinks that's the end of this, he's got another thing coming.'

Hearing the mischief in Leona's giggle, Cassiel wanted to step back instinctively. However, sitting in the recliner with Leona seated in his lap made that impossible.

Meanwhile, Mizore had her sight locked on the door James just went through as she muttered to herself.

"Moka is so lucky."

Eventually, the three of them decided to get up and return to their own rooms for the night.

The next morning, after bathing, brushing their teeth, and getting dressed, James, Mizore, Cu Chulainn, and Moka were having their last breakfast on this trip in the hotel. During the entirety of the meal, Mizore kept sneaking envious glances at Moka.

"Mizore, why do you keep looking at me like that?" Moka asked in confusion, as she had noticed Mizore's not so discreet glances.

"You're so lucky, Moka." was all Mizore said in reply.

With that, Moka's confusion only grew. But before she could ask anything else, Cassiel and Leona made their way to the table.

"Good morning." Cassiel said with a nod. "Are you all ready to go?"

Continuing to eat, they all nodded in response.

Cassiel also nodded in response. Leona, however, had that same mischief swirling in the depth of her eyes.

"James, you and Moka looked so cute last night." Leona said in a teasing tone.

Noticing Leona's tone, Cu Chulainn was the first to react. He thought it would be an opportunity for some payback.

"Auntie Leona, what did I miss last night?" Cu Chulainn asked excitedly.

Deciding that letting his mother have the initiative in the story telling was a horrible idea, James cut in before his mother could answer.

"After you went to bed," James began to explain. After taking a sip of his orange juice, he continued. "While Mizore, Moka, and I were sitting on the sofa, Moka fell asleep, and her head fell on my lap. So, I picked her up and princess carried her to her room."

Having had time to prepare himself for his mother's onslaught, James was able to tell the whole story as if it were no big deal.

Moka's confusion morphed into embarrassment after James' retelling of the event. While Mizore's envy reached a new height. At the same time, Leona clicked her tongue.

"My James isn't cute anymore." Leona said with mock sadness on her face.

Feigning confusion, James looked to Mizore and Moka and asked, "Am I not cute anymore?"

In response.

"Of course, you are!" Mizore said with enthusiasm.

"Mhmm." Moka wasted no time agreeing with Mizore.

The other four stared at the two girls in shock. Even James, who asked the question did not expect the fervor with which they answered.

When they realized how eager they were to respond to James' question, they both flushed to the tips of their ears in embarrassment.

After a lively breakfast, the group broke into two once again. This time, James and Cu Chulainn were going to travel to Muramasa's shop to pick up James' new sword. While Cassiel, Leona, Mizore, and Moka would head home first.

Before the quartet triggered the teleportation circle, James spoke to his parents.

"Like I said before, I have something that I want to train with Master Scathach." James said, reminding his parents that he would be away from home for a while. "At the most, I'll be gone for three months. I promise to be back at least a month before my birthday."

"So, we should expect you by the first of February, at the latest." Leona said. "Okay, I hope your training bears fruit."

"Thanks, Mom." James said with a smile. "I'll see you all later."

As he waved his hand, he turned around and led Cu Chulainn toward Muramasa's shop.

As the teleportation magic circle appeared beneath the quartet, Mizore muttered.

"I should have given him a goodbye hug."

Although she did not speak her thoughts aloud, it was obvious that Moka was thinking something similar.

As the magic circle reached its apex and vanished, the sound of Leona's giggles vanished along with it.

Meanwhile, James and Cu Chulainn chatted while walking.

I'm gonna need you to take care of Mizore and Moka's training while I'm gone, Lancer." Said James as he patted Cu Chulainn on his shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it." Cu Chulainn replied dismissively. "You know I would have taken care of it, even if you didn't say anything."

"I know." James said with a nod, then continued. "But talking to you about it is how I show my respect."

Cu Chulainn just grunted in response.

Continuing their trip, they chatted and laughed until they reached the shop.

*Ring!*

With the sound of a bell, James and Cu Chulainn stepped inside the shop.

"Mr. Muramasa, James Alaverus has come to pick up his new sword!" James shouted, as Muramasa was not currently at the counter.

From the back room, James and Cu Chulainn could hear Muramasa's response.

"Your time is impeccable!" Muramasa shouted back. "I just finished it. If you want to test it, come on back. I got a training dummy back here."

Following Muramasa's instructions, James and Cu Chulainn made their way into the shop's interior. When they found Muramasa, he was standing next to a work bench. On the bench, lay a sheathed katana that was nearly identical to James' beloved blade, Ochiru Sakura.

As James made his way to the bench, he asked Muramasa, "May I?"

Muramasa nodded in response and James picked up the sword and unsheathed it. Looking it over with a discerning eye, James commented. "Other than the inverted color scheme, I can neither feel nor see any differences with Ochiru Sakura."

"Naturally, that's the job you commissioned from me." Muramasa said with pride. Pointing at a training dummy off to the side, he continued. "Why not give it a try."

Nodding his head, James made his way to the training dummy. Once at his desired distance, he came to a stop and dropped into an iaido stance. Then drew the blade

*Shing!*

*Click.*

In one swift motion, James unsheathed the blade, cut through the dummy horizontally without causing it to move, and sheathed the blade again. He then turned to Muramasa and said. "It's perfect."

"Glad to hear it." Muramasa replied simply.

After that, they made their way back to the store front. After James paid Muramasa for his work, the swordsmith asked a question.

"Got a name for this one already?"

James nodded then answered. "Mangetsu no Shita de."

"Hmm..." Muramasa rolled the name around in his head for a moment, then said, "I like it. Combining the two swords you getFalling Cherry Blossoms Under the Full Moon, poetic."

After a bit more small talk, James and Cu Chulainn said their goodbyes and left the shop. Not long after that, the boys chatted a bit longer as well. Then, James teleported Cu Chulainn back to the Alaverus Estate.

"Well, time to take a trip to see Master." James said as he created a teleportation circle.

Land of Shadows, Dun Scaith.

Walking through the Halls of Dun Scaith, James made his way to Scathach's throne room with his soul sight active. As there are many kinds of imprisoned spirits in the Land of Shadows, Scathach said it would serve as training for distinguishing souls from one another.

As he made his way through the castle, James could feel his excitement rising. Once he mastered the skill he thought of, he would truly be able to fight above his current rank. While imagining what could be, James arrived outside of the throne room. Reigning in his excitement, James knocked on the door.

*Knock!* *Knock!* *Knock!*

"Master, It's me, James." Said James as he announced himself, then he explained the reason for his visit. "I come seeking your guidance and assistance."

After a moment Scathach's majestic voice was heard

"Enter."

Receiving his master's permission, James pushed the door open and made his way into the throne room. However, after a few steps past the threshold, he came to a sudden stop.

"The hell?" James questioned in bewilderment.

With his soul sight active, What James saw was that Scathach's soul is bound to the Land of Shadows.

Knowing exactly what it is that James is seeing, Scathach sighed.

"You have grown much faster than I expected, my student."

"So, when you said you couldn't leave the Land of Shadows until you were defeated, it was a geass that bound you to the Land of Shadows itself, huh? James said as his mood dropped. "I wanted to grow enough to defeat you so I could take you away from here to see how civilization has advanced in the last 1500 years. But the meaning of defeat is a little more permanent than I was thinking."

"Yes, but with those [Evil Pieces] of yours, the chance still remains." Scathach replied with no fluctuations in her emotions.

James had also considered that possibility. The thought of killing his master did not sit well with him, though.

"That's enough of that." Said Scathach, breaking James out of his thoughts. "You are far from the level to consider defeating me, let alone killing me, as a realistic option. Now tell me, why have you come to find me?"