The World Only the Girls Know: A Moonflower's Wish

Chapter 50: Similarities

Note: Characters from the Light Novel will be Included as well.

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Original Title: The World Only God Knows / 神のみぞ知るセカイ

Original Concept by Tamiki Wakaki

Written by: wrathie

Author's Notes: This Story contains OCs and is on the same time-line as Blue Rose Paradox.


Author's Notes: This chapter was brought to you with the help of AKAAkira!

Ugh, perhaps I should re think the summary of this fic.. I squirm whenever I read it myself too...


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'…'

Back in the relative safety of his own room, Keima hadn't responded to Mari's call for dinner till Elsi barged in to drag him down for dinner.

He was very surprised that Elsi had not tried to continue the earlier conversation that she tried to touch on after school but he had left before she could gather her thoughts together.

Still, it really could be worse as Elsi didn't comment on the argument he had with Chihiro at all during dinner. That brought to mind the fact that he would have to meet up with at least some of the girls tomorrow. That would surely be awkward... especially if it created some sort of rift between all the girls.

Right now the 'truce' and 'ceasefire' agreed by all of them was only in place due to Aoba and it was also thanks to her effort that he had gone on for so long.

He... had wronged her today but his pride was a stubborn thing. He had the right to ask her of that favour, hadn't he? If that information was not given to him, what would have happened if there was yet another capture...?

'Keima-kun?'

Mari's voice broke him out of his contemplation and he looked down at his bowl of rice before starting to eat again.

Once again he had almost fallen into the trap of looking at the girls as capture targets instead of them... being them. Was it wrong? Wasn't this what he wanted in the first place? He couldn't get attached to them, it wouldn't be fitting as he was God. If he could choose... this problem wouldn't surface in the first place!

But he couldn't ignore them, not when this was a balancing act... that was the dilemma.

And when Fuse Aoba, his student of all things, tried to question that firm belief that they were not just 'capturing targets' it had made him snap for he didn't have a ready answer for her.

At this point, when all the dust had settled and when everything was accepted as the norm, the realization that he had become accustomed to this made it all the more difficult for him to deny that he could, in all of likelihood, fall prey to his own human side.

Yet, if he stopped listening to his human side... what would that mean for him or the girls? They deserved more than this as they were heroines for him, no, he was the one who gave them that title.

If he had not treated them as heroines, they would not have fallen in love with him. However, to save them he had to make them heroines.

He couldn't have left them alone, could he in the end?

No, that wasn't right. He successfully chased away a Weiss without using love; to be exact, Kureha Haruka was 'captured' that way. Love might be a factor involved but it wasn't the only factor involved like the other girls.

Could it be that Kureha Haruka's capture had finally tipped the balance?

..

There were no excuses left for him, were there? He had successfully captured a girl without using love. The sky was the limit now as he proved that it was possible to do so without using 'love' as his only weapon.

Did that mean he could finally retreat back to the world/ideal that he for so long cherished? To do that, he had to give up the girls who were still looking at him, and would not let him just walk away without any repercussions or perhaps regrets.

Was that the way he wanted all this to end? For him to return to what he was like before? He would not have hesitated, or even wavered a few days ago. However after she met that woman, Miyabi Eru, and her outlook on life, her betrayal by her companions yet, unlike him, her ability to still stay rooted in Real made him hesitate on just going for his ideals once again.

He could save, continue saving the lost sheep that he wandered across in different ways, in ways that might not affect him so adversely and yet continue his preferred lifestyle. Even Elsi wouldn't complain about anything if he got his job done, would she?

Somehow, Keima doubted that and he sighed again, putting his bowl of rice down before turning to look at Elsi, who was in the midst of dinner, laughing with Mari as they chatted over school.

If only life was as simple as Elsi thought it would be. It was far more complex than one could imagine after all.

Just like her, keeping others at a distance, yet who still manages to keep who she treasured close... was that what he wanted as well?

Katsuragi Keima, the Capturing God really didn't know but he was determined to find out.


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'Ah, morning, Keima-kun~"

Smiling as she passed by Keima along with another girl, Yoshino Asami, a junior that she only met the day before, Miyabi Eru was reminded of what had transpired between her and her junior, Aoba. Their confession made Eru feel a little jealous of him but at the same time, happy that she was right.

Although, she felt disappointed that Keima didn't immediately respond to her greeting, but in retrospect it really wasn't that surprising at all seeing how laconic he had been the day before. She also smiled and nodded at Asami, who seemed a little apprehensive.

'Good morning, sempai.'

Bowing to her formally, it seemed that the younger girl didn't know what to do about her. She had broken the ice with her the day before, her interaction with Aoba was purely inspired and she doubted that she would ever do that again in her presence.

Still, Aoba was fun to tease when it was possible. Knowing that the girl genius held her in a positive and respectful light was touching and it made her regret a little that she couldn't allow Aoba to get closer to her.

On hindsight, perhaps Aoba herself was holding back some of her cards and it suited her fine. Humans were human after all, and they had their own self preservation techniques and priorities that they have to take care of as well.

She wouldn't fault Aoba for that. In fact, if she could she would want to congratulate her for doing that.

To her, to Miyabi Eru, that was the right way to go. To keep one's friends close, but at the same time, to use them to keep her enemies further away from her.

It might be sad, but that was the best way to ensure that everything was fine and dandy.

'Morning, Asami-chan~ I hope you're well~'

Eru wondered if there were any communication between the girls who were after Keima. If so, it might be likely that Asami knew of the conversation she had with Aoba and Kosaka the day before.

It was not that she was being mean or anything, but she couldn't help herself now. Not when she could find someone so alike her in the first place!

She'd been there, she knew what it was like and what the worst case scenario was. So if... they were to ask her why she is doing this, the answer to that would be to save him as well.

To make sure he didn't go down the same path as she did. The regrets would haunt him forever, just like how it haunted her now.

But there was no going back for her, neither was he when he was at this stage. Would he regret it later on when looking upon this time in his life? She couldn't say, no, no one could say as it was not a foregone conclusion.

'I'm being pessimistic.'

Eru told herself and for a moment, wondered Keima heard her as he echoed her wistful tone. Had he been eavesdropping on her all this time? If so, she wanted to congratulate him as well for being overcautious, especially towards a girl! One could never be too careful after all!

'Pessimistic... huh?'

But he fell silent after that, going back to his games while Asami smiled apologetically at her, knowing full well that it was in his own nature to do this and he meant no offence.

Most of the time, anyway.

'Oh, I've something to show you today, Keima-kun, would you be free this afternoon?'

If Asami expected him to say no, she was in for a surprise as after a brief pause, Keima nodded his head in agreement.

'Great! It'll be a date then! After school, we'll meet at the shoe lockers, kay?'

Rushing off after securing that important appointment with him, Eru gave a small smile to the shocked Asami even as the two of them continued on their way to school together.


..

'He said yes! Yes... he just... just agreed to meet up with her for a date!'

It was hard for the other girls to console Asami, who was currently biting her own collar in frustration at how easy it was for Eru to ask him out. It showed how much interest the two of them had for each other and how difficult it would be to keep her from him.

It was strange how difficult it was for the 'captured' girls to ask him out and so easy for a 'capturing target' or anyone else to do that that they began to wonder if Keima had gotten tired of them.

That irrational fear was put to rest by Aoba, who said that it was a ridiculous notion and no one challenged her since.

A very good thing as she herself was a little unsure about that.

The strategy session she had with Chihiro earlier paid off in spades and she was able to come to better terms and understanding of Keima.

Looking back at the situation from his point of view, it wasn't really difficult to see that he had the right to do what he had done so far. Not that she would ever, ever tell him that.

Asami was a little too loud for comfort though and Aoba thanked the stars that Elsi was able to pull Keima away to eat lunch with her and Haqua instead.

The other demon girl hadn't been very helpful this time around. Neither was Elsi, but Aoba knew that first and foremost, the two of them were the 'partners' of Keima and they had their own little mission to take care of.

Aoba didn't blame the two of them as they still agreed to render assistance to their cause, deciding to take Keima's attention while they held a strategy meeting to decide whether they should interfere in this new development or not.

The alliance and truce they had fought so hard for was dissolving in front of her eyes as she could see that although Keima really didn't quite mind what happened, and his treatment and attitude towards the girls were the same, the girls themselves were a little disillusioned at the current state of affairs.

No one was in front and neither one had significant advantage over the other; that was one of the side effects of the truce and the agreement they all had.

It worked both ways as in the end, no one was benefiting openly at all. Something that the girls would eventually grouse about; Aoba didn't think it would come so soon though and she scratched her head slightly.

..

That said, there were naturally two camps split between the two decisions. Asami, Mio, Tsukiyo, Kanon and Minami were all in favor of interfering and trying to persuade Miyabi sempai to back off from Keima, for a lack of better word to describe the situation.

The other girls, who were a lot more passive (Minami was a surprise though), disagreed and wanted to simply observe the situation further before making any rash moves.

Right now though, all of them were caught up in trying to console Asami, who had related the happenings in the morning to all of them after that brief discussion. All of the girls, with the exception of Kanon and Minami knew of that pain and disbelief and were trying to console Asami.

Even Aoba flinched a little when she heard that, knowing that signified a big change in the way that Keima was thinking and behaving. The behavioural changes were unexpected and this would affect her assessment on things. It seemed that both parties were willing to interact, this was bad and good at the same time.

'There, there, Asami...'

Holding her hand and petting her shoulders, Kusonoki was feeling and looking very awkward as she tried to console Asami with the other girls' help.

Chihiro, her partner in this endeavour had been split on what to do after the end of their discussion. Whatever that Keima was afraid of, and what he wanted to do, was not far from his mind. He himself must have realized the fallacy of his own actions and was trying to sort it all out inside him as well; that was what the girls themselves decided and they were loathe to interfere.

On the other hand, Aoba and Chihiro both knew that it was possibly the best opportunity they had to break their way into Keima's heart. If they were right, Keima was feeling the effects of his own unwritten rule, the rule that he must treat everyone equally and not as individuals.

It was an easy to understand rule that Aoba had figured out on day one before writing and making clear the rules that the girls themselves must follow as well. It had been hard bargaining and there were many arguments between the girls before the truce was finally decided on... in the end however it had been worth it.

Or had it really? Aoba herself wasn't sure now after looking and sensing the end of the 'truce' that the girls had enjoyed so far.

All of them had been able to spend time with Keima, but were they and Keima enjoying themselves and each other's company? Aoba couldn't really give a definite answer to that even by her own experience.

..

Yes, she had enjoyed her time with Keima and she was sure that Keima appreciated and welcomed her company but at the back of her mind, yes, nagging at the back of her mind was the thought that she would have to give Keima up to the 'next' girl who was going to meet Keima.

It wasn't exactly 'sharing' Keima, it was something similar to 'loaning' and as such, broke one of the criteria of the 'harem' route. None of the girls wanted this situation, Aoba was right to say, as although some of the girls would be satisfied with 'sharing' Keima, as ridiculous as it sounded, all of the girls were unhappy with this arrangement.

Yes, they were able to have Keima's attention when they were able to spend time with him but at the same time, were constrained by the same rules that gave them that chance.

They couldn't 'cheat' or try to gain an unfair advantage in any means and any information gleaned about Keima has to be shared equally amongst all of them. At least that's what they agreed on and each and every one of them knew that there was the distinct possibility that each one of them were holding out on each other. All of them could have that one advantage that would turn the tide the moment the 'truce' ended.

If Aoba had to be blunt, the main issue with the 'truce', as discovered by everyone of them by now, was on Keima himself. It was not that he was distancing himself, all of them were clear that he was closer to them than every before.

He was truthful in his words on everything but that secret which he kept with his partners, was more or less considerate of their actions and most importantly, never actively tried to shrug them off when they got close to him, both figuratively and literally.

Katsuragi Keima, the Capturing God was simply keeping them at arm's length. Yes, some of the girls were able to get close to him, to even partially peel back the mask that he was wearing most of the time but they were not able to truly understand him.

The one who had the best chance as well as the least chance, Aoba and Chihiro respectively knew that.

Being a genius, Aoba should be able to relate to his quirks, mindset and attitude to others but in the end, she could only guess the rules that Keima abided by.

Being the most normal of the normal girls, Chihiro should be able to understand his insecurities, fears and desires for everyday life but in the end, she could only figure out why he did everything.

And even with both of that, it wasn't enough.

They were lacking something that Miyabi Eru was able to provide. Something that only the both of them shared and had in common.

That was why they called to each other, could accept each other and could understand each other.

It was that simple.

'Excuse me everyone… I... have an announcement to make.'

Making up her mind, Fuse Aoba smiled a little sadly as she got the attention of everyone that was present. Almost all of them were there and there could be no better time or opportunity to say this.

But Aoba felt that if she did not say this, or announce this right now... she might never have the courage to do so in the future and so, after taking a deep breath, she told the girls of her intention.


Author's Notes: Oh right, back to your usual schedule~