Hi everyone. It's been another two weeks, and I am back with another chapter. It's also Jun's birthday, so yay! Happy Birthday to her.

As you may have noticed, this story finally has a cover picture! Credit for the drawing goes to ZelgadisGW, who I commissioned this piece from. Seeing that this whole story is about a lesson, it might be fun to draw the characters on the board and just cycle around the characters as I need them.

So we have Jun this time - it's a bit of a coincidence that her birthday fell on the day I was planning to post this picture, but yeah. Call it a happy accident.

So the summary for this time - Haqua picked up a call on Jun's phone, Shiori and Tsukiyo are in this weird place where they're refusing to act out on their feelings for each other, and Diana's bond holding her to Tenri has become weak, so she wants to bring it to the attention of the rest of the hosts.

So yeah. Please enjoy this chapter.

Jun felt a surge of relief entering the class. The energy was high following whatever dance party had been taking place, so it really didn't feel like she was at school or in a classroom at all. Still, she was happy to be around people again.

Well, maybe for five more minutes… then it was back in the dark and on the road again. It was important that Nanaka got home, so she wasn't going to say no.

"Nagase-sensei," she heard her name being called. Of all the people it could have been, it was the blue-haired devil girl. Jun felt her stomach sink. Please let there not be anything wrong with the things she bought from the supermarket.

"Good evening," Jun tried to greet her pleasantly, "is everything alright here?"

Haqua could feel the hairs on her neck bristle. Despite the sweet voice and the smile, the atmosphere around Jun felt very unapproachable.

"Y-yeah," Haqua replied hastily, "most of the preparation is done… all that's left is to heat it for a few minutes and it will be ready."

Just as suddenly, the atmosphere cleared, and Jun pressed her lips together. She felt a little guilty at how she was acting, and she took a breath. She had to try harder at being normal.

The devil and younger teacher had barely spoken today, beyond getting the list of items needed from the shop. Jun didn't even remember her name, now that she thought about it.

"C-can we talk for a bit, Sensei," Haqua asked, motioning to a chair close-by. Jun shook her head.

"I'm sorry," she responded, "I have to drop Haibara-san home. I won't be here for long."

Jun wasn't sure whether to be relieved that she had a quick getaway from this girl she barely knew, or sad that she wouldn't be able to relax and have a conversation with someone…

Actually, wait… she had seen this girl… and not just earlier today.

"Wait, you're… Katsuragi-kun's girlfriend, right?"

"W-what?" Haqua started blushing, and Jun recognised that. She had met this girl before – that single time when Keima had come to her college at Narusawa, "I'm not his g-girlfriend."

"Well, that was how he introduced you previously," Jun smirked, "and with you kissing him today, I don't think you dislike that idea," Haqua's face got darker.

"This is not what I wanted to talk about," Haqua turned away.

"Well, if you can say it quickly, what is it?" the devil hesitated. She wouldn't really keep up a light-hearted mood by bringing up the thing Jun wanted to hide, could she?

"That's your phone, right?" she indicated to the flip-phone which lay on a desk close-by. Jun's face lightened as she leant over to pick it up.

"I'd completely forgotten about this," Jun spoke, "sorry, was it bothering you?"

"O-oh no," Haqua shook her head, "i-it did ring a little."

As Jun opened the phone, Haqua lost more of her nerve. She'd had all those questions in her head, but now she had no clue how to continue.

Obviously, she didn't tell anyone on purpose… but Haqua may be the last person Jun would want to talk to. Maybe she should talk to Nikaidou or Hinoki, who were closer to her age…

Just, there were so many questions. Like what had happened? What extra things did Jun want to charge him which weren't caught on camera?

"Are you okay?" Haqua asked, quite abruptly, "y-you took a long time in the bathroom."

Good save… Jun averted her head… was she embarrassed?

"I'm alright," Jun responded, before turning to face Haqua, "j-just a bit of an upset stomach."

Haqua pressed her lips together as something clicked with her. Jun laughed.

"If that's all, I should get Haibara home," she said softly, "thanks for keeping an eye on my phone."

"No problem," Haqua responded, busying herself in the boiling saucepan which was on a hagoromo mini stove. Jun started walking away, before Haqua piped up again, "take someone with you on your drive… at least have some company."

Jun gave her a small smile and a nod. As Jun went to speak to start some other conversation, Haqua placed the saucepan and heater into her time-defying contraption and turned the dial, giving herself a ten-minute timer on her phone. Jun was off limits for discussion, but there were witnesses where she could get the information she wanted.

"Kanojo-san!" Jun spoke loudly.

Haqua looked up, where Jun was sticking her head through the window. From the other side, she could see Hinoki, Kusunoki and Nanaka waiting around her. She pointed at herself questioningly, and Jun nodded.

"Thanks for getting my phone to me," she waved through the window, "we'll talk properly once I'm back," the devil nodded, "in the meantime, you better make sure you get the rest of your payment for your potion."

She winked, and Haqua's face darkened. Jun laughed and waved though Haqua didn't have much time to be embarrassed at the nickname or the implication of her last sentence.

Rather, she glanced at her phone to see that she had five minutes on her timer, then she walked over to Mio and Sumire, who were playing cards at one of the desks. Haqua scooted a chair over without invitation.

"Hello," Haqua greeted, and both girls turned to her.

"Yo," Sumire spoke, though Mio looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"What is it?" Mio asked abruptly, "you want to join or something?"

"Oh, no thank you," Haqua smiled as she watched them both, "I just wanted to ask you about your trip to the supermarket," both girls were instantly on guard.

"It was normal," Mio responded without stuttering or breaking eye contact. Sumire nodded.

"Great," Haqua agreed, "so nothing happened which would need the police called?"

Panic set in Mio's eyes for a second, but she quickly got a grip.

"Of course," the blonde responded cooly, "we were just getting the things you had on your list," Haqua turned her attention to Sumire, who was looking around the class. She froze when Haqua's eyes met hers, then stopped moving to look less suspicious.

"So are you sticking with your story that nothing happened?" she asked Sumire, who nodded quickly, though the sweat on her face was making it clear that she felt the pressure.

"W-we did have some traffic," she responded, "r-right, Mio?"

"Yes, and that's normal," Mio responded between gritted teeth, "if it's just that, can you leave so we can finish our game?"

"Of course," Haqua scooted away, "so you don't want to know about Kagaichi Tsukamaru then?"

"Who the hell is that?" Sumire asked then wincing as a kick landed on her ankle.

"The perpetrator…" the devil responded, "the person you definitely didn't encounter at the store."

Sumire was about to speak when Mio kicked her again.

"We're not saying a word until Nagase-sensei gets here," Mio insisted, "can you bring her here, Sumire?"

"You're not going to find her," Haqua folded her arms, "she's gone to drop Haibara home, so you're on your own."

"Let's just tell her, Mio," Sumire sighed. If this was how Haqua planned it, there was no way they could hold off.

"Why should we?" the blonde gritted her teeth, "what if she's making up stuff to see how quickly we'll buckle."

"I'm not making anything up," Haqua responded, "Nagase-sensei got a call from the police which I picked up."

"So…"

"If you two don't tell me what happened, I won't tell you what the police said about it."

Mio began to buckle a bit, but she didn't have to say anything. Sumire left Mio's kicking zone and climbed on the table.

"We met a pervert in the parking lot," Sumire explained, "Sensei was paying at the kiosk, and he started following her from there."

Mio stood up and tried to put a hand over Sumire's mouth, but she dodged it.

"And the weapon?"

"It was a knife. Sensei kicked it out of his hand while she was in the carpark."

"Other than threatening her with a knife, did he do something else?"

"Sumire, we have no proof that she knows-" Sumire held up a finger.

"Fucking hell, Mio! Sensei left her phone unattended, and Haqua literally asked us if we knew whose it was. There's no way she'd know this if she hadn't gotten a call," she turned back to Haqua, "we weren't around to watch, but we think that he sexually harassed her."

"What!?" Haqua's eyes widened.

"W-we were both running around trying to find some security, but there wasn't anyone watching the cars… just based on how rattled she was and how she treated him, he definitely had some sexual intentions."

Haqua gritted her teeth angrily.

"Why didn't she tell us?" she hissed. No one had an answer for that, but she didn't intend for that to have an answer. She knew exactly why.

Being sexually harassed was painful and embarrassing, and the chances of getting justice for that was very rare…

And it was looking to be like this in this case too.

"Yokado doesn't have very good cameras… only criminal charge that fucker got was attempted assault with a weapon."

"Are you serious?" Mio asked,

"That's so unfair!" Sumire responded, "what if he touched Nagase-sensei? He was definitely close enough."

"She is allowed to press charges on that, but she's going to need to bring proof…"

There was a long moment of dejection as they realised how hard this would be to take to court…

"A-at least we know that Nagase-sensei is safe," Mio spoke, trying to be positive. Haqua snapped out of it a bit.

"I'm guessing that Nagase asked you two to keep this a secret from the rest of the class," they both nodded, "while I don't like it, I understand – this is why I'll keep quiet about this until I have a plan to help."

"Thank you," Sumire said, "I thought if anyone could help us, it's someone with superhuman powers," she sighed, "Nagase found my loophole so I couldn't tell you."

"Thank you for telling me now," she gave Sumire a grateful smile, "so would you mind keeping it a secret from Nagase-sensei that I do know… at least until I can do something better to help."

Sumire nodded. Mio hesitated but ultimately agreed.

Haqua left as her alarm went off and she dashed to the potion, which now was an emerald-green colour, seemingly after cooking it for five days. She pulled out her tablet and checked the recipe, glad to see that it resembled the final product.

It was done.

As for what she could do with Jun, the cogs were turning in her head. Sumire was right in saying that she had the advantage, magically speaking. She could almost certainly plan to give Jun the advantage and possibly win her the case if she were to go the whole legal route…

But more importantly, she needed to see that Jun was alright, and not hurting by herself.

Haqua remembered Jun's eyes, faintly bloodshot and puffy, though almost unnoticeable. She'd been crying alone inside the bathroom during the time she was gone.

Haqua would never let her do that again.

"S-so…" Shiori nervously tucked a lock behind her hair, "how was that?" Tsukiyo just glared.

"Whoever thought to have a dance party is a bloody idiot," the shorter girl turned away, arms crossed and seething.

Now, with the lights back on and the music at a bearable volume, all Tsukiyo could feel is shame on herself… and anger for whoever put her in this damn situation. Just thinking about what had happened minutes before was fucking embarrassing.

For real, who thought it was a good idea? Turning the lights out and letting that gorgeous kohai girl strip down in front of everyone… this lesson really was plotting to drive her crazy.

After metaphorically drooling over Minami for a hot minute, even turning away to watch Shiori dancing didn't help, even though she could tell that the librarian hadn't danced in front of a person in her life. Head bopping and waving her arms and jumping was worlds away from what Minami was doing, but the image was burnt into her brain.

She could see Shiori's skirt ripple as she landed, revealing her thin thighs… she could see her chest move as she jumped.

It wasn't enough. Tsukiyo wanted more.

She wanted to see what colour underwear Shiori would be wearing under her oversized uniform.

She wanted to know how her body would feel under her hands… what faces – what sounds she'd make with other people touching her.

Seriously, fuck this lesson!

This was the last thing Tsukiyo wanted to feel… least of all, towards her innocent best friend, who was just dancing to some loud party music.

She hated this fever… this rush of hormones and the wetness that was emanating out of her downstairs area.

It was at this time that Shiori spotted her, sitting on a desk with her legs pressed together and a sour expression on her face. She approached, but Tsukiyo couldn't hear a single word she was saying. She was just moving slightly to the music with her mouth moving. Then she took Tsukiyo's hands. The moon girl couldn't help blushing at how warm and nice her hands felt.

"Dance with me," she saw Shiori mouth before she pulled Tsukiyo off the desk. Clearly not with enough warning, as Tsukiyo fell on her, nearly knocking her to the ground. She luckily braced herself to the point where Tsukiyo was flush against her body.

For a moment, neither girl breathed, both painfully aware of the body pressed against them. Shiori's hands on Tsukiyo's shoulders, and Tsukiyo's hugging Shiori's waist.

The flashing lights in the dark revealed wide eyes and pink cheeks. Tsukiyo's eyes flitted to Shiori's lips. This time, Shiori put her foot down.

She didn't wait to ask. Tsukiyo would lie to her anyway.

So Shiori did it. Bracing herself, she leant down and closed her eyes, she captured Tsukiyo's lips for herself. The shorter girl gasped in surprise, but she didn't resist.

She didn't want to resist.

It was only with that light touch where Tsukiyo realised how much of a losing battle she was fighting in her head. Why was she fighting against this warmth and comfort? Why didn't she want Shiori to make her heart skip?

Her brain began screaming profanities as Shiori tested the waters and licked her lips. Logic had long since left her brain, but she only knew that she wanted more.

Why was she so damn short?

Shiori let out a disappointed sigh as Tsukiyo pulled away, but the shorter girl climbed onto the table and pulled Shiori to her by the collar.

They met eyes for a moment before the moon enthusiast pulled her into another kiss, not wasting time to taste Shiori's mouth… hear her gasps and moans, feel her lips and weave her hands through her straight hair.

If you're going to open the floodgates, prepare for a fucking flood!

With her brain completely out of the window, Tsukiyo forgot everything which would normally be important to her… like not doing something this messed up around her friends and classmates… or how she'd been worried about messing her friendship with Shiori by doing something as rash at this… or how gross it was supposed to be, having someone's tongue in your mouth.

Newsflash! It is not! This was no sweet and tidy kiss from Keima, and somehow, this was worlds better.

It was only when the light turned on again that Tsukiyo shoved Shiori away, but if anyone was paying attention to them, it was pretty damn obvious what they'd been doing – even beyond the scarlet which was staining their cheeks, Shiori had her tongue sticking out from when it was licking Tsukiyo's. Tsukiyo frantically rubbed her mouth, which probably had more saliva around it than she'd had at any point in her life.

It was messy… but fucking hell, that felt good.

Which now brought her here. Tsukiyo was sitting on a table, an utter mess of emotions masked by anger, as the source of her unrest stood in front of her, a shy smile on her face.

"I wasn't asking about the dance party, Tsukiyo-chan."

"Shut up," Tsukiyo grumbled and turned away. Shiori laughed and pulled a desk over on her other side, seating herself by the moon girl's back, thankfully not touching her. Tsukiyo sighed but didn't say anything to the happily humming Shiori.

Tsukiyo didn't know whether it was a good or bad thing that she was pulled into a group conversation very soon after that. Well, with Shiori just next to her, she was still a bit panicked.

She'd really done it… that is, play tonsil hockey with her friend and probably wreck any chance of a normal friendship with her.

She couldn't even pretend that she was straight – straight girls didn't make out with other girls for the last three minutes of a song, for fucks sake!

"A-are you okay, Tsukiyo-chan?" Shiori asked. The moon enthusiast hesitated but nodded. She didn't have time for this now – not while she was sitting in a conversation about the Goddesses.

Or at least, that's what she assumed, with the five other girls who she was sitting with. Tenri, the one who had called her and Shiori over, seemed to be the one with something to say.

"S-soo…" Tenri asked, trying to make the group more comfortable, "what did you girls think of the dance party?"

"Fun," Ayumi responded, "unexpectedly so, actually."

"I totally get you," Tenri responded, "it almost felt like a bonding experience, because usually everyone is just talking in groups. It really brought the class together."

"It brought the class together in agreeing that Minami-chan has no right to be that sexy!" Yui retorted. That got a laugh out of them.

"To be honest, I wasn't around for most of it," Kanon scratched her head, cheeks becoming a bit pink, "Nanaka-chan started feeling sick so I stayed with her outside."

"As good friends do," Yui added.

"That's a shame though," Ayumi frowned, "did you find out what happened?"

"She wasn't feeling the greatest beforehand, but it seemed that the loud music and the flashing lights took her over the edge…" Kanon looked a little sad, "Nagase-sensei is taking her home now, so…"

"That's a relief," Tenri looked a bit awkward, "she was looking pretty down before, but she seemed in a much better mood when she said bye to me now," she smiled at Kanon, "thanks for being a good friend for her."

Yui had to suppress the chortle which came out of her throat.

"And what about you two," she asked Shiori and Tsukiyo.

"I-I really liked the song," Shiori admitted, "I wish I knew the title of it… so I can search for the lyrics."

"I don't care about it," Tsukiyo responded coolly, "I have better things to involve myself than music and dancing."

Don't blush don't blush don't blush don't blush don't blush… okay, she was good. Still, she could see Shiori looking at her from the corner of her eye.

"So did you want to talk about something, Tenri-san?" Kanon asked. Tenri nodded.

"So something has come to my attention today," all five girls tensed slightly, "about the goddesses… my goddess in particular."

There were silent breaths of relief all around.

"Is everything alright with Diana?" Shiori asked. Tenri had to think.

"I would say that things are okay," Tenri played with a looped pigtail, "but this has a lot of possibility for things changing for us."

The girls paused expectantly.

"Basically… Diana is in my body currently, but whatever bond which was keeping her there has been broken."

"What happened?"

"Wait, how did that happen?"

"Why?"

Tenri held up a hand, stopping the questions before they became too much.

"Basically, when I look into the mirror, I don't see Diana in my form… she's back to being the ethereal form from when I met her ten years ago. She was also able to fly out of the mirror and keep her own form outside of my body as well."

"Wow…"

"Wait, how did you get her back inside?" Yui asked.

"I just… willed her back, like I did the first time," Tenri answered, "although I don't know if that was how you all accepted your Goddess…"

"I don't think I did," Kanon spoke, "I think I saw Apollo in my dressing room mirror just before a concert… I scared Okada half to death with my screaming."

"I didn't either," Yui agreed, "Mars also appeared to me inside a mirror."

"Same here," Ayumi responded, "it was when I was changing after practice."

All the girls turned to Shiori and Tsukiyo.

"I-I didn't have to accept her," Shiori spoke, "but I didn't see her in a mirror… Minerva was just in the library, reading."

"Can we just get to it?" Tsukiyo snapped, "I'd rather we get to the point then sit around telling stories." She leant away as Shiori put a hand on her shoulder, although she never pushed it off.

"I guess Kujyou-san does have a point," Tenri nodded, "so basically, Diana is split from me – that's what happened… how it happened… Do-cha- or rather, Nikaidou-sensei and I could only speculate… and that is, we think it's because of sex."

"Sex?"

"Yeah… because I had sex with Keima-kun, she believes that I've provided Diana with a new kind of love which has powered her more strongly than I ever did… and that was enough to release her."

Ayumi smirked, and Tenri turned to her.

"What is it?"

"You slept with Katsuragi," she teased, and Tenri took the bait, her cheeks flushing.

"I-isn't that what we all want to do!?" Tenri retorted, but Ayumi elbowed her.

"Just messing with you."

"Anyway," Tenri cleared her throat, "I thought I'd just let you know… it's possible after all our bonds are broken, the goddesses will return to heaven."

"That's good, wouldn't you say?" Kanon responded, "if the world is at peace, they don't really have to stay with us…"

"I'd agree," Ayumi responded, "whether we like it or not, the Goddesses are trapped inside us, and they can't do anything other than taking control of us or talking whenever we have a mirror to look at."

"T-though… don't you get advice from your goddesses? Or help or anything?" Tenri asked. They were being very blasé about the whole thing. Didn't they know what they were losing?

"D-definitely," Shiori responded, "I really enjoy reading stories with Minerva… she sometimes gives me advice on writing too."

"I can't say much about Mel… she's like my inner voice, except sassier and sleepier… though most of her advice ends up insulting humans for being difficult."

"Can relate," Tsukiyo responded, surprisingly without prompting, "Vulcan likes judging the decisions I make."

She couldn't wait to hear what thoughts Vulcan would have on kissing Shiori… she shivered.

"That's interesting," Tenri smiled, "we've never really talked about what it's like having a goddess companion."

"That's because we never talk at all," Tsukiyo answered, "this is the first time we've ever been in the same room without any eminent distruction looming."

"Fair enough," Tenri agreed, "but as I take it, you all would be alright… saying goodbye to the Goddesses."

"I'd miss Mars, but it's probably for the best…" Yui spoke excitedly, "I did want to fuck Keima-kun."

"A-actually," Kanon spoke up, "t-this thing you mention about splitting… do you think it's about sex in general… or is it just about Keima-kun?"

"That's… actually a good question," Tenri thought about it, "I don't think that I know enough yet to answer."

"Oh, okay."

"Why do you ask?" Tenri asked innocently, and Kanon blanched.

"What if she doesn't want to have sex today?" Ayumi quickly interjected.

"What if there are other people she's interested in?" Yui spoke up at the same time.

While Kanon really appreciated their attempts at a save, that brought about some other issues.

"Other people, huh?" Tenri wondered, and Ayumi stood up.

"Y-yeah, there's all these amazing girls here today… I'd be lucky to have sex with any one of them!"

Kanon could feel herself want to sink into the floor again… they were being too loud. She really appreciated it, but please… have mercy.

"I get you, I get you!" Yui stood up as well, "you got any girls in mind, Ayumi?"

Ayumi started sweating, and everyone facepalmed. What the hell was with this change of mood?

"C-Chihiro…" Ayumi responded.

"Really?" Tsukiyo wondered.

"You called?" a voice further from the group responded. Speak of the devil.

"C'mere Chihiro," Yui motioned Chihiro over, "Ayumi was saying that she'd be lucky to have sex with you."

Chihiro and Eri walked over casually.

"M-me?" Chihiro pointed to herself, confused, and Ayumi nodded, "I'm not sure why… you literally watched me projectile vomit on that one field trip in third grade… there's no coming back from that."

Everyone there laughed, though Eri, not as well versed in that kind of humour, came to her defense.

"I-I think Chihiro-san is great," Eri pouted. Chihiro laughed.

"You're great too, Eri," she paused to give Eri a kiss on the cheek, "which is why you get that."

"Aww…" everyone cooed at that, and Tsukiyo rolled her eyes.

"In any case," Chihiro lifted a finger, "I think I know a person every one of us here would get with."

"Who?" Kanon asked. It had to be Keima, right?

"Minami-chan," Chihiro responded. There was almost unanimous nodding at that.

"Minami-chan really knows how to move," Yui agreed.

"Minami-chan is a really kind person as well…" Kanon added, nodding.

"Minami-chan is surprisingly mature for her age too…" Tenri agreed, "I forget that she's actually fifteen."

"Minami-chan has a great body…" Ayumi laughed, "though that's pretty normal for people in sports clubs."

"I like that Minami-chan is so humble," Shiori answered, "that's one of the best traits someone can have."

"That's unanimous if you ask me," Chihiro grinned, "Minami-chan is the best girlfriend anyone could want."

"I don't think that's what unanimous means, Chihiro-san," Tenri reminded her, "Kujyou-san didn't say anything."

"Oh, I didn't expect her to," Chihiro grinned, "she's only got eyes on librarian-chan here."

Tsukiyo looked up with alarm for the first time, her moodiness falling away.

"W-what?"

"Oh c'mon," Chihiro scoffed, "you're not going to pretend that you didn't have your tongue in her mouth when it was dark, are you?"

All the girls turned to Tsukiyo in surprise, who started blushing. Shiori had gone beyond blushing, where she was just a tomato in a Maijima uniform.

"Oh, you guys didn't know?" Chihiro looked guilty for a moment, "it was in public and everything."

"They didn't," Tsukiyo facepalmed.

"I'm sorry…" Chihiro whispered.

"I thought the talk about crushes was going to wait till the sleepover, but I guess we can talk now," Yui laughed and grabbed Chihiro's jacket before she could escape, "you better dish on Katsuragi too, seeing that you started it."

"Yes ma'am…" Chihiro sighed. She definitely deserved that.

Meanwhile:

"Minami!" the swimmer's father turned to her in the passenger seat, where she was having a small sneezing fit, "are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine," Minami struggled to breathe for a moment.

"You spent too long in the pool today," he mussed her slightly wet hair, "you better get into the bath as soon as you get home."

"I will, papa," Minami sunk deeper into her seat… she really hoped that her senpais in class weren't gossiping about her… that would be so embarrassing.

And there you have it! Jun is off on her next adventure, Haqua gets to have a little talk with the two girls keeping secrets, Shiori and Tsukiyo have their first kiss and then get exposed by Chihiro just a few minutes later (goddammit, Chihiro), and the rest of the goddess hosts now know what's up with Tenri.

Basically, little progresses everywhere.

No review responses today, but thank you for all your guys' support. One thing I was pleasantly surprised about was how excited everyone was for Haqua's time in the room. It's still two chapters away, but I think I'll post a chapter next weekend so it'll come sooner.

So yeah, everyone stay well and be safe. Check you guys next week.