Later that day, Haru decided it was time to deal with yet another matter in his house. Namely, the matter that had been in his room for most of the day, decompressing after everything that happened. Rias had been pretty adamant about settling the matter herself, but he insisted that it was his responsibility.
"... You know, I half expected to find porn everywhere." Aika remarked as she looked around the room. Off to the side, Asia was sitting on the bed, looking rather anxious and unsure. "And yet all I see is a room with no porn in sight. What gives, Namikaze? Your girlfriend tosses your stash?"
Haru sighed, hanging his head low. "Y-Yeah, she did..." he confirmed. He was still mourning the loss of his precious fap material. Especially since he just got Eiyuu Senki! He had been waiting for months to get that! "So... How're you guys doing?"
"You want an honest answer?" Aika said, her face falling apart and showing just how tired she was. "Pretty shitty. A few hours ago, I was nearly killed by a bunch of people with black feathery wings behind their backs. Not to mention I just found out that the most popular people in Kuoh are actually Devils. As in, literal demons from anime. To top it off, your girlfriend is apparently freaking Tamamo-no-Mae. So, yeah... I'm not okay."
"Right. Sorry about that..." Haru lowered his head. "Didn't really want to get anyone else involved. Not with this craziness."
"It's fine. If I were to be honest, things got exciting… but perhaps too exciting for my taste."
He could understand that. While a radical change was often appreciated, things like this were just too extreme. Haru sighed, running a hand through his hair. To think that things could become so hectic. When did his life turn crazy? Oh, right. When he met Raynare when she tried to kill him. Even though it had only been a few days, it felt like it had been so much longer.
"... How're you holding up, Asia-chan?"
"I am well. I apologize that you had to get caught up in everything. It's my fault..."
"What?" The two Japanese students looked at her sharply. Aika frowned and kneeled in front of Asia, putting a hand over hers. "Look, I don't know why you think this is your fault, but it isn't. I mean, there's no way you could have known what would have happened at that church. All you knew was that you were supposed to supervise it, right?"
Asia bit her lip. "B-But..."
"Aika's right on this one." Haru said firmly, holding the same opinion as Aika. "What happened today wasn't your fault."
"B-But..."
"And don't try to convince us otherwise." Aika pressed. "We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I mean, did you know that those freaks were going to kill us?"
"What? No!"
"Then that's that."
"So no more of this I'm at fault talk." She paused briefly, as if thinking on something before she tilted her head over at Haru. "If anything, blame him."
The oppai baka balked. "What?! Why me?!"
"For not telling me about this shit, for starters!"
"What was I supposed to say?! 'Oh, hey guys! Guess what? Turns out the girl I fell in love with at first sight turns out to be a homicidal bitch and a Fallen Angel and I just so happened to summon a freaking sun goddess who also wants me to be her husband!' You think anyone would believe that crap?!"
"...Okay, you made your point." Aika conceded. She had no retort to that. Hearing it out loud, it sounded too unbelievable if it didn't happen to her not just a couple hours ago. "But my point still stands. A little warning about your psycho ex-girlfriend would have been nice!"
Haru frowned. "I tried! But for some reason, whenever I tried to mention her, especially to my buds, they said they don't remember anyone named Amano Yuuma! It's like they're memory got totally wiped or something..."
"Seriously? You sure you didn't just forget to tell them in the first place?"
"Of course I did! I even showed her to them! But now they don't even know her name! And that isn't even the weirdest part! Her contact number was gone from my phone, along with any pictures I had of her."
Aika quirked an eyebrow. "What? Like pantie shots?"
"H-How'd you know about this?!"
"Haru, this is you we're talking about here."
[CRITICAL HIT!]
The red haired youth crumpled down to the ground, emotionally and mentally wounded.
"Uh… is Mr. Namikaze alright?"
"Oh, he's fine." Aika assured her. Asia looked unconvinced, clearly looking worried and wondering if she should use her "gift". "In the meantime..." The girl sat next to the nun, concern washing over her features. "I suppose the church is out of the question. Do you have any idea where you can stay?" Asia shook her head. "Hm... I think I can set you up at my house. My parents are out of town for the rest of the week, so they shouldn't mind you using the guest room until we can find you a place."
Asia gasped. "Y-You don't have to do that! I wouldn't want to impose!"
"Girl, if there is one thing I refuse to let you do, it is sleeping out in the street." the brown-haired girl huffed, folding her arms. "And if Namikaze over there wasn't already dealing with girl trouble, I'd have him take you in." Aika pursed her lips, tilting her head. "Then again, I don't think Tamamo-san would appreciate having another girl in the house." A thought struck her, followed by a grin as she leered at the still hurt Haru. "I guess this means you can kiss your dreams of becoming a harem king goodbye, huh?"
[CRITICAL HIT!]
Haru whimpered. "Please… stop..."
Speaking of Tamamo, the Goddess Avatar in question was deep in her own thoughts on the matter. Specifically of how her presence in this world was much different than the others she had been in previously.
She was sitting on the sofa of the Namikaze family's living room, legs crossed while her arms were crossed, head tilted and left deep in thought. Had anyone seen her, they would have found her all by her little lonesome. But to Tamamo, she was far from alone.
"... Where's the rest of you?" the Caster inquired.
She referred to the Tamamo Nine that materialized as astral projections only she could perceive. Or rather, only three of the Nine. Sitting at the kitchen table was the "Lancer" —wearing quite the revealing two-piece swimsuit with a straw hat atop her head and a blue-and-white short sleeved hoodie. On the lounge chair in the living room was the "Berserker"
—who was more or less identical to the dominant Caster persona, albeit wearing a red kimono instead of a blue one, and with sharper claws. On the other side of the couch was the "Assassin"—wearing a skin-tight black suit that revealed an ample amount of cleavage with a pair of glasses sitting atop her nose, a book held in her hand.
"Snoozing away, unfortunately." the Assassin said, her voice low and seductive and laced with venomous honey. "We did expend a bit of power. We're still trying to wake up fully after being completely resurrected, after all."
The Caster nodded. "I suppose that makes sense." she said, understanding the reason why only the four of them were present. "Still, at least that damned harpy who dared break our husband's heart is out of commission."
"About that..." the Lancer said, her voice chipper yet also with a sharp edge in her tone, coupled with her accusing glare. "Why did you allow that bitch to live, anyway? We should have killed her when we had the chance!"
"I'm with her on this one!" the Berserker raised her hand, her voice possessing a slightly higher pitch. "She tried to hurt hubby! Twice! We were waaay too nice to her."
The Assassin adjusted her spectacles, giving the Caster a questioning glance. "I'm curious of this as well. As the Dominant Persona, why did you allow her to live?"
"The answer is quite simple, my fellow incarnations..." the Caster chirped. "Killing the tramp would be too easy. Too swift. She would not feel the full folly of her actions. As a result, why give her a fate worse than Death and force her to live it for her extended lifespan? I believed removing her wings, her symbol of her arrogance and superiority, was the best way to deliver retribution."
The three stared at her before they nodded slowly in understanding. "I suppose it makes sense." the Assassin hummed. "Still perhaps a bit risky, should she return for revenge."
"She can try." the Caster snarled. "I'll burn her to cinders."
"Here, here!" the Berserker cheered in agreement.
"I saw we skewer her first!" the Lancer chirped.
The Assassin sighed, shaking her head. "You lot have no sense of elegance." she said before smiling sheepishly, shrugging her shoulders. "Well, I suppose our meeting is over. For now, at any rate." The Lancer and the Berserker nodded before they disappeared from sight. As the Assassin also began to disappear, however, she leveled a minuscule glare at the Caster, a gleam running through her eyes while a smirk touched upon her lips. "Just remember this, however. While you may be the Dominant Persona... You can be topped from your throne."
"Just try it." the Caster shot back with a grin. "After all, Tamamo-no-Mae does not give in so easily. Now, off with you, Tamamo-vitch!"
"Fine, fine. Until we meet again." With a mock curtsy, she vanished from her sight.
With the fragments that made up the true godly avatar now rejoining together, Tamamo opened her eyes and rolled her neck. "That went on for longer than it should have..." she complained. Conversing with her fragments was always so tiring! Still, at least they settled the matter, even if her "Assassin" self was still vying for the chance to take the driver's seat. Not just her, either: all the fragments wanted to become the Dominant Persona. Her "Caster" self was her primary core. The closest there was to the original Tamamo-no-Mae. Therefore, it was she who was given the reigns of their complete form. While she may have gotten the rest of the Tamamo Nine to agree, there was still some lingering tension.
At the very least, however, they all agreed that they loved Namikaze Haru unconditionally. So she had no need to worry for one of her personas to try and kill her hubby when she's not looking. They all shared the same wish: to be loved by their summoner and to be the best wife they possibly could. It also helped that he was as healthy as he was perverse! While she most definitely did not appreciate the lewd material she found in her room, it did serve as excellent research for when they would finally be able to consummate their marriage. Whenever that was.
"Hey, Tama-chan? Are you down here?" Ah, speak of the Devil! Tamamo looked over, finding Haru descending down the stairs, his school jacket long since discarded and leaving him only in his red shirt. "I'm going to get dinner started. Do you think you can help me?"
At this, Tamamo's eyes lit up. A chance to make dinner? With Haru?! She would be a fool to pass it up! "Of course!" she cried in joy, leaping up to her feet. "Though I would like to know why. Usually, you let me handle cooking! Not that I'm complaining!"
"Well, since Aika and Asia are staying over for the night, I figured the least I could do was make them something." Haru told her. Tamamo stopped dead in her tracks before she pouted. The nun and that girl were going to be staying over? Drat. And just when she had bought that sexy lingerie earlier today! She wanted to show it off to him in the hopes that they would finally become an actual married couple, but it looked like it would have to wait for tomorrow. "And before you ask, they're staying in the guest room."
She huffed. "I would certainly hope so!" she said, tail flicking about at the mere idea of another woman sleeping in the same room as her darling. "Our love nest is reserved for the two of us!"
"Y-Yeah..." Haru scratched his head in embarrassment. Even now, hearing those words makes him giddy. "So...what should we make?"
"Hm... the Nun is from Italy, right? So perhaps an Italian dish?"
"In that case, I'll see if kaa-chan's cook book is around here somewhere."
The two eventually settled on Lasagne and Ciceri e Tria, along with a side dish of spaghetti. It had taken roughly around an hour for the food to be done, though around thirty minutes in, Aika and Asia had been drawn by the smell and were already seated in the kitchen. Once the food was prepared and settled on plates and bowls, they sat down at the dinner table with a quick "Itadakimasu" and Asia offering a ten second prayer.
It was already a hit for Asia, who found herself shoveling the food into her mouth while remaining proper. Aika had been vocal in her awe of how delicious the food tasted. "Holy shit, Namikaze! Where'd you learn to cook?! More importantly, can I mooch off of you?!"
"Like hell you can!" Haru snapped. "And to answer your first question, Tama-chan helped me. At best, I can make curry well enough. Plus, I was just following the instruction on kaa-chan's cook book."
"You still did wonderfully, Haru-kun~!" Tamamo praised her husband's skill. He was underestimating his own talents in the kitchen. She likened them to a diamond in the rough. "Give it a few years, and you could open your own restaurant!"
"W-well, I don't think I'm THAT good..." He rubbed his neck sheepishly. "It's only because of you that we were able to even make all of this. You're better than I am at cooking."
"Don't sell yourself short, Namikaze. You know what they say about a man in the kitchen." Aika said with a teasing grin. "So, how's being married to a total bombshell? More importantly, does she know what your packing?"
Haru felt his eyebrow twitch in tandem with his cheeks burning pink. "Are you-?! Is not even my home safe from your lecherous ways, Kiryu Aika?!"
"Hello, kettle. My name is pot. Have we met?" she shot back cheekily. Tamamo looked back and forth between the two, not quite understanding what was going on. Thankfully, Asia was more focused on the food than anything else. "Say, Tamamo-chan? Do you want to know how big his—?"
"Don't you effin' dare! And Asia is right there next to you!" Haru cried. Seriously, why was she picking on him so relentlessly?! Was this her way of getting back at him after what happened today?! He couldn't have possibly have been this bad, could he? "Just-just eat your food!"
Aika grinned as she giggled. "You are so easy~" she said before she took a bite out of her food. "... I do mean it, though. You're an awesome cook, Namikaze."