Disclaimer: I own nothing, this is purely a fanfic for enjoyment.
Cross-over from various games, books, anime, manga, and movies.
The familiar characters you see here belong to their respected authors and owners.
"Speech"
Time*
Chapter 47: This IS Crazy
The next day*
I let out a sigh of relief as I cleaned up the ritual materials used to create additional Slumber Charms for emergencies. This time, I had improved the Slumber Charms with the assistance of the Sefirot: River of Eternal Darkness, pushing their effects significantly further, roughly to the power of a Sequence 7. It marked a major quality shift, elevating them to Mid-Sequence strength instead of remaining within the limits of Low-Sequence.
Including the four leftover Slumber Charms I had crafted in the past, which I also upgraded during the process, I now had twelve potent charms at my disposal.
However, I'd have to be extremely cautious when using them; their enhanced potency meant they would affect me as well if I weren't careful.
I coughed into my hand, trying not to recall the embarrassment of last night, when I had tested one out and gotten caught in the blast radius of its effect. It had taken me hours to shake off the unnaturally heavy slumber that followed wholly.
Tearing down the wall of Spirituality and cleaning up the lingering scent of herbal candles, I finished storing the Slumber Charms, not in the City of Calamity, but within the River of Eternal Darkness. These charms fall under the Darkness Pathway, naturally tied to the Sefirot: River of Eternal Darkness. It made far more sense to keep them there, letting the correct Sefirot's aura seep into them and enhance their potency the longer they remained submerged within its domain.
Just as I sealed the last charm inside, the door to the bedroom burst open with a violent crack, kicked clean off its hinges.
Standing in the doorway, naked and radiating fury, was Momoyo.
"Chikao! You bastard!" She screamed, her eyes blazing with unfiltered rage. "I prepared myself—physically and mentally—for our first time. I waited for you, just like you said, after you promised you'd only need a little time to finish your supernatural crap. And then—bam—something invisible hits me from your direction. I don't know what it was, but I sure as hell felt it. I blacked out! Against my will! And just woke up a little while ago! I know you did something, because on the way here, I passed a bunch of people still asleep!"
She looked like she was ready to murder me on the spot, fists clenched and trembling, but instead, she stopped herself, taking several sharp breaths through her nose.
"To be fair." I began calmly. "I also got caught in the blast radius of the Slumber Charm. I only woke up half an hour ago... and I just finished the next batch."
My eyes involuntarily lingered on her naked form.
Right. That's what I forgot. Something very important. Having sex with Momoyo Kawakami. Especially claiming her virginity.
"Good. You're done. Now we can go fuck." Momoyo said through gritted teeth, her right eyebrow twitching. She sighed and slouched a little. "Never mind. The mood's off. And I hate forced sex."
"So… back to your room to get dressed and prepare for us to leave?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. My eyes were still fixed on her naked form, not that she seemed even remotely embarrassed.
Then again, she did rush in here without bothering to put on any clothes.
"Are you coming with me, though?" Momoyo huffed, folding her arms beneath her bare chest. The motion pushed her breasts up, drawing my eyes to them without resistance. "Like what you see?" She teased with a smirk. "Too bad. You don't get to touch until I'm mentally ready again for us to have sex." She turned and walked out the door, hips swaying with purposeful provocation. "Come on. I'm not waiting for you this time."
I didn't say a word. Just followed her, my eyes now on her ass.
And yeah... I was really starting to regret making that extra batch of Slumber Charms—and testing one—when I could've saved it for later. Much later.
A few hours later*
Ishiyama High School looked like a rundown fortress of neglect—broken windows, splintered wooden fences, creaky doors, and graffiti sprayed across almost every surface. It practically oozed delinquency.
"You two have fun now! I'll come back to pick you up after school—if you two decide to come home or not... BYE!" Tesshin shouted from the back seat, his window rolled down. The car sped off before either of us could reply.
"Huh... does this mean my grandfather thinks I'm a delinquent?" Momoyo asked with surprising sincerity.
I stared at her in silence, trying to figure out if she was testing me or if she genuinely didn't realize the chaos she left in her wake on a daily basis.
"Hey, I'm asking you a question. Don't ignore me." She frowned and moved closer, poking me in the cheek.
"Momoyo, you're not even wearing the school uniform." I said dryly. "You're still in that kimono."
"But it's comfortable. And you seem to like me in it more than my other outfits." Momoyo replied, glancing down at herself before looking back at me with an innocent smile.
"Anyway, your grandfather barely told us anything, just that you're a student and I'm a nurse here." I said to Momoyo, irritation slipping into my tone. "He didn't even mention if you needed to check in with the principal or someone to get your class schedule. No directions, no people to meet. Nothing."
"Pretty sure he wants me to rely on you for all that." Momoyo replied with a grin, placing her right hand on her hip.
"It's because I'm a Seer, isn't it?" I let out a slow, loud sigh.
"Yup. He's always saying all kinds of old man Seer wisdom, but the most important ones are: Always take what a Seer says as truth, but how you perceive it determines the outcome. And—" She held up a finger dramatically "—never rely on a Seer for gambling advice, because they'll just tell you you're going to lose either way. Why ask something so obvious when anyone can see if you're losing or not?" Momoyo giggled at the end, clearly amused by her grandfather's advice. "Anyway, how about you lead the way?" She added, leaning in to plant a soft kiss on my cheek.
"Right…" I rolled my eyes.
Without thinking about it further, I switched over to the Fool Pathway, aligning it alongside the Chaos Primogenitor Pathway.
My Spirituality hadn't raised any alarms, which was a good sign as I walked with Momoyo onto the school campus. Then again, being a Dual-Pathways Beyonder, especially one currently in the Chaos Primogenitor Pathway, meant my body wasn't exactly ordinary.
Reaching into my left pocket, I pulled out a coin and flipped it, entering Cogitation as my fingers released it into the air. My question: Should I just walk aimlessly to lead me to the principal?
The coin spun, shimmered faintly in the light, then landed in my palm—heads.
A positive result.
"Guess we're trusting my ability as a Seer today, then." I muttered, slipping the coin back into my pocket.
I led Momoyo aimlessly through the school grounds, still relying on the result of my coin toss and my general lack of a better plan. We didn't make it far before a group of male students blocked our path, their expressions ranging from angry to… oddly enthusiastic.
Before I could even open my mouth, one of them gasped, eyes widening in recognition.
"It's her! The Warrior Goddess!" He shouted, pointing at Momoyo in awe. "She's come back to finish what she started!"
"Oh, sweet merciful pain, step on me!" Another yelled with gleeful abandon, launching himself at Momoyo like an overly excited fanboy.
He didn't get far—one of his own comrades punched him square in the jaw mid-leap, sending him tumbling across the pavement.
"You dare disgrace the Warrior Goddess with such filth?" The attacker snarled, thumping his chest. "She's a divine being! If anyone is worthy of being stepped on, it's me!"
Then he leapt.
And he got punched too—this time by someone else.
Within seconds, the group of delinquents devolved into a full-blown melee. Fists flew, battle cries echoed across the courtyard, and all of it centered around the divine right to be stepped on by the unamused woman beside me.
Momoyo just blinked, clearly unimpressed. "...Did I do something to cause a cult while I wasn't looking?"
"Pretty sure these guys heard about your past beatdowns." I said, casually watching another student get clotheslined in the chaos. "And your grandfather did mention something last night about people still searching for you…"
Momoyo blinked slowly, then snapped her fingers as realization hit. "Oh yeah!" A beat passed before her face soured into a scowl. "Wait… does that mean I've gotta deal with this until I graduate?"
"Seems like it." I said, already turning away. "Come on. Let them sort out their hierarchy of masochism without us."
She walked beside me without hesitation, perfectly unfazed by the insanity behind us. Mercifully, the delinquents were too busy pummeling each other over the right to be stepped on to notice we were leaving.
That's good. Otherwise, I might've had to deal with them personally, sooner rather than later. After I find the infirmary, that is.
Not far from the brawl, we came across an old man tending to a small garden near the edge of the school building. He wore a peaceful smile as he carefully trimmed a bush, his movements unhurried. When he noticed us, his eyes lit up, and he waved us over.
We approached.
The man looked like he'd stepped right off a countryside postcard. A long-sleeved white shirt under green overalls, a straw hat with a red ribbon around the brim, and a towel draped across his neck. Gray hair, matching mustache, round glasses—he radiated the sort of calm that seemed at odds with the school's neglected chaos.
"Hello." He greeted warmly. "You must be Miss Kawakami. Your grandfather is an old friend of mine." His eyes softened further when he smiled at Momoyo. "I hope you don't mind the condition of the place. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask. I'm the principal here." Then he turned his attention to me. "And you look like a fine man. Please, don't take the students' behavior too seriously. They fight all the time, but I trust you'll be the type to patch them up and help them return to class with most of their bones intact."
"Yeah, don't worry about that. I'll make sure they can attend class, no matter what." I said firmly, though my mind was already turning over methods of... persuasion that didn't involve breaking bones. Probably.
I quickly drop that line of thought and refocus.
"Do you need anything from us? And what do we need to do to be officially part of the school? Or is that already taken care of? If so, where should we go?"
The principal tilted his head slightly, looking like he was genuinely considering whether such formalities were necessary. "Hm. Yes, if you could check the infirmary and see if we need to restock any medicine, that would be helpful. As for putting you into the school system… that's all taken care of." He looked at Momoyo, then added with a chuckle. "She can go to any classroom she likes. Or wander, honestly. It's a bit hard to track which teachers are even available most days. You'll usually know class is supposed to start when the students start complaining."
I sweatdrop at that.
"Alright, will do." Momoyo gave the principal a thumbs-up before grabbing my arm and pulling me away. "Looks like I won't have to worry about staying awake during class!" She beamed, absolutely thrilled.