The sound of Keima's alarm clock disrupted his pleasant sleep. He yawned, covered his face with the blanket while turning off the aggravating alarm clock.
He would have liked to sleep some more. Five days without much sleep had done him no favors, seeing how the fatigue continued to plague him even after eight hours of sleep.
However, a "mysterious" figure in his room would not allow the tired teenager even one more second of peaceful slumber.
As his eyes adjusted to the light, he recognized the oh-so-enigmatic figure of his doppelganger.
"Good morning, Partner," The God of Love greeted his host with an exaggerated bow.
Rubbing the sleep off of his eyes, the God of Conquests replied with "Morning, Cupid." His voice was still heavy with sleepiness.
Cupid smiled, casually helping his partner out of bed. "It is currently 7:00 A.M. in Japanese time. There are some scattered clouds, but the sun is shining in the sky just fine, and so it will be in the afternoon."
"Sounds perfect for staying in bed," the brown-haired teen stretched his limbs as he spoke, not quite ready to face the day.
"Is there anything you need, Partner? I am at your command. Perhaps some coffee would be appreciated?" Keima thought he was still asleep. "Since when was Cupid so… serviceable?"
"Well, yes. Cupid, no offense, but would you mind getting out while I dress? I don't want you to see me while I change." The young man then proceeded to plod towards his wardrobe.
"Huh?" Cupid seemed puzzled by the request. "We share the same body. I fail to understand what's the problem with me being here." Replied Cupid, being genuinely perplexed by the, to his "common sense," odd request.
Keima froze on the spot. His mouth was wide open as he registered Cupid's words. Only now did he realize this less than pleasant downside to his arrangement with the God of Love. Cupid now shared the physiognomy of his body down to the last inch. This, to put it bluntly, made him quite peeved. "I DON'T CARE!! GET OUT!!"
After one very quick bow, the God of Love made himself vanish from the room, leaving his host alone in the room. A red PFP fell on the spot Cupid had been standing on, a small "thud" was heard as it hit the carpet.
Keima quickly prepared himself for school, unable to shake off the feeling of apprehension to the complete violation of privacy that sharing his body with a God represents. "Really! I can't stand it!" He whispered loudly, his uncomfort palpable as he exited the room. "Neither Cupid nor this situation!"
A few minutes later…
One quick breakfast later, he left his house with Elsie in tow.
He'd almost forgotten what the outside world looked like after being stuck indoors for a week.
It was getting close to winter. The breeze, while gentle, felt cold on his face. The contrast with the warm sunlight only served to make him sleepier, so he couldn't help but to think of heading back home to catch some more sleep.
For once, the PFP was in his pocket as he walked to school. He didn't trust himself not to be hit by some car as he forced himself to school. He was that sleepy. And things were only going to be getting worse as he would be forced to interact with several cute girls today. "Oh, the unfairness of the world!" Thought the bespectacled teenager.
Even though everything seemed to be back to normal, Keima noticed that something was different than usual.
But what? Nothing seemed out of place besides the PFP not being in his hands. The surroundings hadn't changed. He still had the PFP in his pocket (along with several spares in his backpack), and Elsie was next to him, babbling about something he didn't even bother to pay attention to. Not like Elsie seemed to mind or notice as she simply kept the one-sided conversation going. Things weren't quite like before the Mai-High Festival fiasco, but Keima was sure that this odd feeling of "wrongness" didn't sprout from the PFP resting in his pocket rather than in his hands or the God currently residing within his body.
The Katsuragi sister noticed Keima's restlessness when suddenly his eyes sharpened, as if looking for potential danger, "Are you okay, Kami-Nii-Sama?"
"Huh?" Keima shifted his attention to Elsie, the concern in her voice breaking through his thoughts. "Yes, yes. No problem, at least I don't think there's a problem," he answered, though his words wouldn't fool anyone.
Katsuragi didn't really know what kept him so on edge. But soon he would find out what it was. Something that he couldn't foresee and that would once again mess up his normal routine.
"I'm sure everything will be fine!" Elsie smiled at him. It was the usual smile that showed how much trust she had in Keima.
He nodded slowly, soon immersed in his thoughts once again. The rest of the walk to school was spent in silence.
The pair went on completely unaware of the pair of dark eyes following them from just across the street.
———
As if he had never been absent, he returned to his usual place in the classroom. The class was already full, and the students were chatting among themselves, waiting for the teacher to arrive.
Keima's brain was in overdrive, and for once it wasn't just about video games. The sixth sense telling him "something" was coming to change his life, honed by the months he spent being Elsie's Buddy, was screaming at him.
So fully focused on that, he failed to notice the stares he got from three of his classmates.
Now that they knew the truth, once they saw the grim expression on Keima's face, they all had the same thought. "Something must have happened."
This set off alarm bells on Ayumi, Kanon and Chihiro's brains. After all, nothing ever seemed to break Keima's poker face, but, for once, the worry was visible on his face.
And the most alarming thing of all…
"He isn't holding his PFP…" For the girls, this could very well be a sign for dangers unprecedented. They all got paler as several end-of-the-world scenarios played in their heads.
On his end, Keima was simply worried about the feeling of something being amiss. His gamer-sense told him that an event was going to take place soon; an unexpected one, he already knew he was going to have at least three events involving Ayumi, Shiori and Tsukiyo later that day. Unexpected events were not what he needed right now. "I'm already playing the most difficult route!" He shouted in his mind, "The last thing I need are surprise events!"
He had enough on his plate as it was. The six Goddesses' hosts were his main worry. The stakes were higher than ever… or were they? No, failure always meant someone's death. If something had gotten higher, it was the difficulty level.
Goddesses were dangerous in more ways than one. They attracted unwanted attention, and were dangerous themselves if they ran out of energy. Or if angered. Or if hungry. Or by simply existing, really.
To be honest, at this point, they didn't seem to be all that different from the Weiss. They could both potentially kill their hosts if he failed to make them fall in love, the only difference Katsuragi could notice was that the Weiss had the decency to freaking leave once the conquest was completed. Goddesses stayed even after the ending credits were rolling.
"This is some galge version of Tamagotchi. That's the only thing I can compare it to."
With a heavy sigh, he decided not to worry about whatever unexpected event was thrown at him. He'd deal with it when it happens. For now, it was better to focus on his current objectives.
Objective A: Talk to Ayumi's as soon as possible. Solve whatever resentment she might have while, if possible, not getting that devious Chun-Li combo.
Objective B: Clear up whatever misunderstanding Shiori might have.
And Objective C: He needed to establish a more stable relationship with Tsukiyo while, if possible, avoiding Vulcanus' Rachel Alucard combos. This was by far the most dangerous one as Blazblue combos can be quite vicious once they pop off. He might need to call the Haqua assist for this one.
And as for the other girls, Keima had no plans. They were all fine, and needed no further concern from him as they were already very in love with him.
Well, Kanon did have those tasers of hers. He was ashamed to admit that he couldn't come up with any fighting game character that uses tasers.
"Nice mess I'm in," Keima thought, already burnt-out as Nikaidou-sensei called for the attention of the whole class.
"Everyone pay attention, please!" The sensei said. "We have a new transfer student joining us today. Please enter..." she gestured for the new arrival to enter the classroom.
"And here it is…" The well-honed instincts of the God of Conquests was proven correct once more, though to be perfectly clear he wished to be wrong
He raised his head to see the new student and was truly surprised by who he saw.
In front of the class, standing shyly next to Nikaidou-sensei, was a girl with raven hair and two pink ribbons decorating her hair. "Tenri?!" Keima couldn't help but scream in surprise when his eyes met Tenri's.
Keima bit his tongue, but the damage was done. "I really walked right into that one, didn't I?" Nikaidou-sensei turned her eyes to the oldest of the Katsuragi siblings and said, "Oh, so you and Ayukawa already know each other, Katsuragi? If so, why don't you show her around the school?"
The sound of a pencil being broken in halves echoed throughout the classroom. All eyes went to the local idol, who was holding her shattered pencil while maintaining her usual smile. Or trying to. Her Yandere was showing. All previous worries seemed to vanish into thin air now that her Keima—in her head, she had already won the competition—was being told to spend time with one of her rivals. "It's not even her time!" she shouted in her mind.
It was at this moment that Keima knew… He fucked up. Keima considered his options. He was trying his hardest to find an exit to this latest predicament when he decided to simply say "I refuse".
...*
Keima's ass was promptly kicked out of the classroom. The force of the blow to his rear sent him flying to the hall. Nikaidou-sensei then gently shoved Tenri out of the classroom.
"Have fun" Nikaidou told the duo as she forcefully closed the door behind the two.
"Hey, hey!" The bespectacled boy shouted as he banged the door with his open palms. "I have a right to choose! You can't do this! This is a clear abuse of power!"
"Um... Are you okay, Keima-Kun?" asked his childhood friend.
"Yes…" Keima sighed, turning his attention to his timid companion. "I'm used to it by now..." Keima said while nonchalantly brushing the dust off of himself. Then
it occurred to him that being used to girls using violence on him was probably a red flag.
"I'm sorry I put you in this situation. I didn't want to cause you any trouble. If this leads to a reduction in my time with you, then I understand..." Tenri said as she bowed her head, which is Japanese for "I'm really sorry."
"No, don't worry. You didn't cause this situation, Nikaodou-sensei did." Keima said, trying to improvise a smile to cheer up Tenri.
"You don't have to smile for me, Keima-Kun." Tenri told him.
Keima's smile disappeared as the usual deadpan took place. "Well then. Let's start this tour." Keima said as he started leading Tenri to the school's "important" places.
Now, being who he is, the school's "important" places for the God of Conquests were not necessarily the same places others would call important.
So, of course, instead of taking her to places she'd need to know the locations of for her day-to-day life in Mai-High, our main character took Tenri to the school's rooftop.
Why, you ask?
Well, it's obviously because the school rooftop is where many of the most important events happen (in games.) The rooftop of Mai-High lived up to the Ideal's standards though, as this place was tightly connected to many of his conquests.
Chihiro had been the last girl he had taken to this place.
"Bad memory," he violently shook his head in an attempt to shove that particular mess to the deepest crevices of his mind. If there was an equivalent to the Mariana Trench in Keima's mindscape, that's where he wanted that memory to be.
"Memory of my first love…"
The God of Conquests sighed. "The word memory is triggering my Vietnam Flashbacks. I should avoid using it." Having decided to invest some money in a thesaurus, Keima turned to Tenri. "Tell me, Tenri, why did you transfer here to Maijima?"
"It was very sudden," Tenri's eyes found the ground quite interesting as she spoke. "A week ago, my parents decided to enroll me in this school. They said it was better than the one I was in, but I didn't imagine that I would end up in the same class as you, Keima-kun." Tenri explained, fidgeting through it all.
Keima wanted to ask Tenri why she hadn't told him. That, however, would have been stupid to ask.
If Tenri was told of her transfer the day after the Goddess Search ended, then she couldn't have notified Keima because they hadn't met until Sunday. And on Sunday, after the end of the meeting with the Goddesses Hosts, Keima quickly holed up in his room again. In this situation it was obvious that Tenri simply didn't have the chance to speak to him because he was trying very hard to reduce contact with others at the time.
It wasn't that Tenri transferring to Mai-High bothered Keima. In fact, he could now monitor her more closely. Additionally, now all six Goddesses Hosts were in the same school, so if an incident occurred, he could request for their help. The downside to that was that, if desperate enough, whatever remained of Vintage could launch an all-out attack on the school.
But, for now, he focused on more immediate problems.
The fact was that Tenri, whether Keima wanted to admit it or not, was his "childhood friend." And even if Keima refused to recognize her as such, the fact did not change Tenri's "position" in his life in other people's eyes. This could flare up the jealousy of the other girls, which, while potentially useful in its own bothersome right, was still very, well, bothersome.
All you had to do was remember Kanon's yandere reaction. Jealousy can appear for the stupidest reasons, and even due to misunderstandings. And most importantly, jealousy can sometimes be fatal.
However, Keima just had to keep 6 girls at bay and make no mistakes with any of them in order to avoid the bad end.
After remembering how complicated his mission was, Keima wouldn't be surprised if he ended up with his severed head in a bag.
"Ugh, I really shouldn't have watched that…"
Choosing to leave those thoughts behind, he decided to use the opportunity that presented itself to him. In truth, he still hadn't planned for the events with Tenri so he would have to play this by ear.
"There's one thing I'd like to confirm," his eyes focused solely on Tenri. "Are you truly okay with this? The schedule, I mean."
Her reply was almost instantaneous. "Y-Yes…" She was fidgeting. Her whole face turned red the moment the topic of the schedule was brought up. "I-I…" her words seemed to be stuck in her throat as she tried to convey her feelings to the one boy she has been in love with for most of her life. "...I think that, as long as I can spend time with you, I will be happy…"
"Even if I know I can't win…" deep inside her heart, she knew—or rather, she believed—that she couldn't win. Not when the competition was so strong.
"You can win," the God of Conquests' piercing gaze was locked on Tenri's eyes, who opened hers wide in surprise. "You're all my heroines. Though I know how that makes me sound, I care for all of you. That's why," he approached her slowly, as if she was a scared little animal, "you, too, have the chance if you want it."
"It's like he can read my mind…"
She once again turned her eyes to the ground. Her long forelocks shadowed her expression, however Tenri's small smile did not go unnoticed by neither the God of Love nor the God of Conquests.
"Then…" she whispered as she placed her hands over her heart. "I will hope… I will believe in this small chance of… of us being together in the end…" her cheeks were pink as butterflies flew in her stomach. This, however, escaped Keima's notice.
"Her lack of trust in herself is something I will need to change," he thought as the rooftop was suddenly enveloped in comfortable silence. "Won't be easy, though…"
His thoughts then wandered off to Shiori. The two of them were similar in their bashful dispositions. In the world of the Ideal, these kinds of girls required the player to actively pursue them in order to win them over, but being too pushy could result in Bad Ends… They were tricky in that sense.
Failure, however, was not an option. Still, he couldn't help but wonder just why he, of all people, was tasked with something like this. He wasn't sure if he should direct his complaints to New Hell, The God of Love or the God of Fate but one thing was certain: one of those pricks did him dirty.
"Well, to resume the tour," he broke the silence unceremoniously. "This, as you can see, is the school rooftop. A lot of events happen here, so it's quite an important location."
Tenri perked up. "Really?" She then took one moment to look around. The truth is that Mai-High's rooftops were quite different from the norm. Just one look was enough to tell that the place was on the fancy side of the spectrum, seeing how there were trees, as well as bushes carefully located all over. Plenty of benches were available as well, which was pretty odd. A fountain could be seen in the center, so the school really went all out to make this place as nice as they could. "In my previous school, we weren't allowed to go to the rooftop."
"Well, that is the case for most schools." He nodded. The reason why most schools did not allow students on the rooftop was rather grim, so he quickly opted to switch the direction of the conversation. "You could say this is part of the school's uniqueness. Now, moving on…"
From there, the two of them visited several other places in the school. Like the back of the school's gym, where confession events took place (in games). "Though I will always personally prefer the rooftop for those events, this place is perfect for certain character types. For example, Sakurazawa Fuuka's confession scene in Fruits ! 3: Eternal My Melody was quite good. I rate it 7 out of 10. Sadly, even though the scene was well-made, the game's soundtrack was pure garbage; which kind of ruined the whole experience. I never bought games from that developer after that."
Tenri smiled as she nodded. Though she knew this information was not going to be helpful to her, seeing Keima talk about the things he likes made her happy.
In the end, the only helpful place he ended up showing her was the school's cafeteria. "This place isn't as noteworthy as the rest, but I guess some events do take place here. You can ignore it if you want."
"Keima-kun, lunch is not something you should ignore…" Tenri thought to herself as she wondered if she could muster up the courage to give him an obento.
———
At the sound of the bell signaling lunch time, Keima ran away from the classroom, heading to the roof of the school once more. Ayumi had arranged to meet him there.
"Truly, all events always seem to happen in this place," Keima noted as he walked towards his fate.
Now, there was only one thing to do... Bullshit his way through this with all his might!
For the Harem Route, it was necessary to satisfy every heroine. This meant that he had to take several things into account, turning his bullshiting skill into an art form to successfully pull it off for an undetermined amount of time.
After all, he'd handled plenty of these events... in video games. But dealing with a 3D girl, in the real world, with this situation, and with Ayumi's trigger-happy character... Oh boy! What a disaster to make even one wrong move!
Keima could, at best, end up hospitalized. At worst, he could set himself up for the Bad Ending for the heroine—Ayumi. Was it too late to ask Cupid if he knew how to turn back time?
Yes, since Keima found himself in front of the roof door after finishing thinking about this absurd option.
The gamer took a deep breath and, after some slight hesitation, opened the door to the rooftop.
The rooftop was, as usual, deserted. It didn't take long for him to spot the "Human Missile" sitting in one of the many benches available.
Not for the first time, he wondered why the place was usually empty. The school went the extra mile to make the place as nice as possible and yet, the only ones who seemed to frequent the rooftop were Elsie, Tsukiyo and himself.
Ayumi locked eyes with Keima.
She didn't look happy.
Keima restrained himself from his urge to instantly flee from that suicidal route, but he abstained. After all, the protagonists of video games always rushed straight towards possible (honestly, pretty much guaranteed) ass beatings for the sake of conquering the heroine.
Although that was more of an overused "comedy" routine (it had stopped being funny about 5 years ago) than anything else.
Maybe Keima should stop doing things that make Ayumi angry if the outcome is going to be a 50 piece combo.
Keima approached Ayumi, "May I?" Keima asked, pointing to the empty space next to the girl.
Ayumi snorted, as if saying "Do what you want."
Keima understood the mood, so he decided to be as cautious as possible.
A few moments passed, filled with an incredibly awkward silence. Neither of them dared to take the first step.
(What is he thinking of doing?) Ayumi was wondering, now expecting anything from Keima.
(Now what do I make up?) Keima thought, examining his options.
"I…" they both said to each other, attempting to start the conversation, but effectively ending it immediately.
"You first, Ayumi." Keima told her.
"No, you first." said Ayumi, who for once didn't want to be first.
"Very well," Keima then shoved a present box into Ayumi's hands.
"Huh?" Ayumi looked mystified by the sudden action. She hadn't noticed the box when he walked up to her, so where did it come from?
"Thanks for the assist."
Cupid gave a thumbs up inside of Keima's mind.
"Open it," urged Keima.
She had questions, but for now she simply opened the box. Inside, she could see a pair of brand new running shoes.
"For you," he told her.
"And do you think I will forgive you with just these?" Ayumi asked, her eyes dull as she looked at the bespectacled boy sitting next to her.
"Usually," Keima fixed his glasses as he smiled. "When you select the wrong choice in games, the affection level of the heroine can be restored by giving her a gift." The young God of Conquests seemed pleased with himself as he imparted some wisdom of the Ideal upon Ayumi.
"Jeez… I guess I'll forgive you." Ayumi blushed slightly as she twirled her hair with her index finger, only for her maiden in love behavior to take a 130 and shoving the box into Keima's mouth. "Did you really think I'd say that, you idiot?"
"I guess that one didn't work, huh…" Keima mused as he tasted brand new Nikes. To be honest, the taste wasn't terrible. "Also, judging by the level of strength she used, she isn't all that mad," he judged based on the fact he still had front teeth.
"Well, the success rate of the plan wasn't zero," he replied as if the blow had done nothing to him. In truth, it didn't hurt that bad. Haqua's scythe was much worse.
"Moving to plan B," Keima thought as he decided on his next course of action.
"I understand that I have disappointed you. If you can't forgive me, then I think parting ways is best for both of us." He stood up, turning his back to Ayumi.
Ayumi froze, "What?"
"Goodbye, Ayumi. This is the end of our route." Then he started walking, his pace even as he left an astonished Ayumi behind.
Ayumi stood still for a few seconds as the world slowed down from her perspective. All she could see was Keima Katsuragi's back as he walked out of her life.
She felt incredibly dizzy. It was as if all her strength was suddenly sapped out of her.
But, even then, she managed to run up to him.
Keima felt a weak grab on his shoulder. A fiendish crescent-shaped smile wormed its way into the God of Conquests' face. "Secret Sigma Technique: Break up…" This move was pretty much a gamble. If you misjudged the affection level of the heroine, it could lead to losing the Harem Route. But if performed successfully, then the roles would reverse. You would no longer have to pursue the heroine. The heroine will from that point on pursue you!
"I had backup plans if this failed, but this was definitely risky nonetheless." He then proceeded to school his features into a mask of nonchalance as he turned his eyes in Ayumi's direction.
"Listen to me, idiot!" Ayumi said, turning red in the face. "I am the one who decides if our route or whatever ends!" A teary-eyed Ayumi shouted in Keima's face.
Seeing her on the verge of tears had the immediate effect of making him feel like an absolute jerk, but he brushed it off as just another day in the office.
"So that means…"
"Yes. I haven't given up on you. Especially after everything we've been through. You know... We also got... married, you know?"
"That marriage was fake." Keima said, before getting a light kick from Ayumi. "And what was that for?"
"For downplaying it!" Ayumi said.
"Okay, fine. By the way... what did you tell your parents after you went back home?"
"You couldn't have asked me that a week ago?!" Ayumi asked.
"You know where I live. If you wanted to talk about it then you could've visited," was Keima's simple answer.
"Huh? I-I… huh? T-That's…" the truth? She hadn't thought about it. Yet the solution was so simple... Why didn't she think of it before?!
"Seems like you didn't even think about it," the God of Conquests stated, surprising Ayumi. It was as if he was reading her mind. "A good wife would've shown some concern when her husband suddenly disappears for days, but it seems like you didn't care all that much, huh?"
Another secret technique. Guilt Trip.
Ayumi visibly flinched. "Okay, I'm sorry. But my situation hasn't been easy."
"And mine was?" replied Keima.
Now that one stung. Now that she knew the truth—or at least part of it—she couldn't help but to wonder what had happened to Keima in the days following the Mai-High Festival.
"Okay. Okay. I understand! I'm sorry... If I wasn't there for you…"
"I'm sorry, too," he said. He had to give her some breathing room. This is thin ice, after all. "So? What did you tell your parents?" He decided to switch the topic to lessen the strain on the situation while simultaneously showing some concern for her.
"He's good," Cupid thought as he saw the whole scene play out from his partner's eyes. "Kind of evil, but he sure knows how to talk the talk and walk the walk."
"That we were playing a kind of truth or dare game with other friends. And they didn't like it at all." Ayumi explained.
"I understand." Keima said, hoping to have closed the uncomfortable discussion.
"Good. Now, are you hungry?" Ayumi asked Keima.
"Actually, yes,"—I didn't have the opportunity to play games at all today so I really haven't "eaten" anything—"so would you still like to eat together?"
"O-Of course!"
Ayumi sat down on the bench, and invited Keima to sit next to her, as she pulled out a pink bento box "Here, you can have some."
Keima glanced at the bento. Judging by the contents it was clear that it was made up of foods suitable for those who burn lots of calories.
"So, how is the track-and-field club going?"
"Pretty good. After the first victory the Senpai have been a lot nicer to me. I haven't let my guard down though. Plus, I know I can still do better."
"Well, your dedication is your one good quality."
"What?!" Ayumi asked, slightly offended.
"What?" He replied with fake confusion on his face, a small smirk pulling on his lips. "I'm complimenting you."
"I have many other good qualities, you know?" Ayumi said.
"I'll be looking forward to seeing them."
"You'll see them soon enough. Just wait and see. I had enough quality to take you to the altar, didn't I?"
The God of Conquest smiled gently towards Ayumi, though on the inside, the whole incident was still a sore topic for him. "I can assume you'll be accepting the schedule, then?"
"Of course. You can be sure that I won't let any of the other girls beat me. I will win this race and become number one in your heart."
"You are so good, Partner."
"I know."
"So…" Ayumi began, fidgeting as she spoke. "Are you going to tell me where you were after the Mai-High… incident?" This was somewhat strange to Ayumi. The once festive… Well, the festival had always been one of the fun events in school, but now here she was referring to it as an "incident".
Keima froze on the spot. He hadn't expected this question from Ayumi, or anyone else for that matter. It made him somewhat uncomfortable. After all, there was no way he was opening up to Ayumi. Not now. Maybe not ever. "Let's just say I was recovering."
"Recovering?"
"Yes".
Ayumi swallowed hard. She could feel her heartbeat drumming against her chest, however this was all still so surreal to her. Had Keima gotten hurt once the two of them had separated? If so, how bad? Was he still hurting?
This whole thing was making her feel like she was a character in one of those stories about battles between the forces of good and evil… like, 99% of all stories ever made. But…
"This is… real, huh?" Ayumi looked down at her hands, suddenly nervous. She never expected her high school life to involve Devils and Gods. Much less fighting them.
"Umm…?" Keima looked at her, puzzled over her words. He didn't quite understand what she meant, or how he should respond. So, he waited for Ayumi to keep going.
"Hey, Keima... I've been wondering about this for a while, but... Do you know anything about the Goddesses that I don't?"
"Huh…?" Alarm bells went off inside of Keima's mind, though he managed to keep his poker face on the outside. It took some effort, but he nonchalantly asked "Why do you ask?"
"I mean… I don't know much about Mercuris… Or the Goddesses… One day, she simply appeared." Ayumi said, almost remembering the feeling of discovering the sleepy goddess replacing her reflection in the mirror. "And I don't know anything about her, except that restoring her powers depends on the love I receive."
"Oh…" he internally released a sigh of relief. At the very least, it doesn't seem like she figured out the big con to having one of these Goddesses residing within her. "Well, to be perfectly honest with you," he fixed his glasses as he said "I don't know much more than you do."
"...Really? Are you sure?" Ayumi asked, squinting her eyes slightly. "What about Cupid, then? Is it the same method for him too?"
This made Keima pause. To be completely honest, he wasn't too sure of how or where Cupid got his energy from. All Cupid ever told him was that his method was different from the Goddesses'. So, in all truth, he sincerely didn't know how this symbiotic relationship with the God of Love worked. This is something he's going to have to fix sooner rather than later. "I actually don't know. Cupid and I haven't talked about it."
"So... If Cupid is inside you..." Ayumi asked, finally. "Does that mean you're in love with a girl?"
"No, I am not," and this was something he truly did believe. His infatuation with Chihiro was not love, but just… something else. He didn't know exactly what that was, but it sure as hell wasn't love.
"It seems then that your way of acquiring powers is different." Ayumi understood that this would be all Keima would say to her. If Keima really only knew as much as she knew, then she had no reason to continue this complicated topic any further.
Ayumi's stomach chose that moment to growl like an unholy beast, as if reminding the both of them that they were yet to touch the bentō she had brought.
Ayumi blushed violently the moment her need for nutrients made itself known. "Let's start eating, Katsuragi. Lunch break won't last forever." Ayumi took some rice with her chopsticks, and carefully tried to feed Keima. "C-C-Come on, s-s-say aah."
"Eh….Sure, I guess. Thank you." Keima was pretty sure she was way more hungry than he was, judging by that loud growl. But, the quicker he takes a bite, the quicker she gets to have one, right? No use arguing when food is on the line. "Aah…"
"How is it?" Ayumi hurriedly picked up some food for herself and shoved it into her mouth before he could answer.
He swallowed. "Well… can't go wrong with Karaage," and that's fact. Some good karaage was always appreciated. And it was some very good karaage, too. "Did you make it?"
"No… My mom made it." Ayumi said, shaking her head slightly. Then, with something that could only be described as an atomic blush coloring her face a deep crimson, she asked, "...Would you like it... I-If I tried to make one for you, next time?" Ayumi looked up to Keima's brown eyes, thinking about the possibility he might have been expecting her handmade bentō.
"No, that's fine. Can I have another?" He requested, oblivious of the girl's feelings.
Ayumi was slightly surprised, and offended, about the serial player's coldness: "Do you really not care about it?!" Ayumi asked, kind of mad, and almost about to argue again.
"I know you're busy," he told her, still waiting for the next piece of food. "I know you wake up early for practice. There's school, the band, the track-and-field club…" Keima shrugged. "I don't want to bother you. And I wouldn't want you to go out of your way for me like that when you're already doing so much."
"...I decide what to do, and I know I can do it! Also... If it made you happy, I-I-I'd gladly do it." Ayumi said, blushing again. "It's the duty of a good wife to be able to prepare a bento for her husband." Ayumi still thought about her "wedding" with Keima. Her blush could no longer be called "atomic". Now it was a cosmic force not unlike the sun itself. Though she was only using the "wife and husband" thing as a joke between them, the embarrassment was getting to her quite bad.
Keima still had his mouth open, waiting for more food.
Ayumi sighed as she took some rice for Keima. "Here," said Ayumi, giving him more. "Actually, doesn't Elsie prepare your bentō every day? Why are you eating mine?" Though she said this sounding mildly annoyed, the truth is that she was secretly hoping he wanted to try out her cooking. Well, in this case, it wasn't hers, but her mother's. Still, she would fix that later.
When he finished chewing, he replied with "Oh, right. I wonder if you can see it now…"
"...See what?" Ayumi asked, genuinely perplexed. She couldn't see anything, except Keima, at the moment.
"Before I go through with this, I should let you know that this is probably dangerous and we're going to need both Mercuris and Cupid's help if we're planning to walk out of this unscathed". The absolute seriousness in Keima's voice spoke volumes of how dangerous the situation had gotten. "Are you with me?" In spite of his best efforts, some fear could be seen in Keima's eyes.
Though she was surprised by the sudden mood shift, she knew that there was only one answer she could give to him.right then and there. Earlier, Keima had seemed worried about something. That something probably chose this moment to act up (she was completely wrong). "...Until death do us apart." Ayumi said, determined, without thinking too much. But somewhere inside her mind she knew she was just milking this husband/wife thing for all it was worth. Still, with Mercuris and Keima on her side, she could kick any Devils back to hell, or whatever other menace the world had in store for them.
"Alright then," Keima stood up, looking solemn. He almost looked like an innocent man walking to the guillotine.
He picked up his bentō—his Elsie-made bentō—then he took some careful steps towards the center of the rooftop, ready to unveil the horrors contained within the Devil's lunch box. He turned to Ayumi one last time. "Are you truly sure?"
Ayumi didn't understand what that bentō box could contain that was so dangerous as to put her own life at risk. A part of her said to stop while she could, and the other wanted to go through with it. But she already knew which side would win: "...I have never been more sure." Ayumi confirmed to Keima. Although, perhaps, she was trying to reassure herself. Only God knows what will happen now.
Swallowing hard, Keima uncovered the Pandora Box. Today's menu was… "FUCK! It's the tentacle box! AYUMI, RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN!"
Ayumi froze for a second. That thing was just horrible. However, she began to run away like a flash, hiding behind a column: "The hell is that?!" asked the Human Missile, as soon as she regained some mental clarity.
"That's Elsie's handmade bentō!" Yelled The God of Conquests as he made a beeline for cover, only barely dodging the powerful strikes of Elsie's "bentō". Notice how the quotation signs are in bold? That's intentional.
Pieces of concrete went flying off behind Keima as he considered jumping off the building. Death by fall damage seemed a lot better than whatever that thing was probably going to do to him.
On the other hand, Ayumi could only shout "That's Elsie's bentō?!" as she looked absolutely mortified. Elsie had offered her some of her bentō before and Ayumi had freaking eaten it! That thing was in her mouth at one point! She couldn't spend more time being utterly horrified or reconsidering her friendship with the Devil girl because the moment she shouted, the evil bentō—or whatever you call that thing—took notice of her.
Soon enough, tentacles went flying in Ayumi's direction. Don't worry though, this isn't that kind of story. The Human Missile was quick to get the hell out of dodge before the monster could grab her.
"Katsuragi?!"
"Yes?!"
"I want a divorce!"
"Understand—" the monster swung one of its many tentacles in the direction of Keima's face, almost ruining what more than one person would refer to as "his one good feature," effectively ending this story in chapter three. Luckily though, man had just recently become weave nation certified, narrowly escaping the bentō's vicious strike. Bro was so flabbergasted, he dead ass stopped to stare at Ayumi for two whole seconds just to make sure she saw that. "—able."
Keima quickly took the PFP in his pocket and threw it towards the mid-boss that is Elsie's bentō. "Cupid! Help!" The handheld console spun in the air as it shone in golden light; soon turning into The God of Love, Cupid.
"Hold on! My level is too low for—" he couldn't even finish his joke before one of the tentacles hit him square in the face, sending him flying across the map. He literally ended up in another building after one tap. "—this…" was the last thing the God of Love said before returning to the PFP.
Famous last words.
Seeing all of this, Mercuris decided to take the driver's seat real quick. In record time, she took to the sky, leaving Keima alone with Elsie's unholy bentō.
"Hey!" Swoosh! Keima was still barely dodging the monster's attacks in an attempt to impress the weave nation, but his stamina was running low.
"Haqua! I call for the Haqua assist!" And guess what? The moment she heard the distress call, Shortie came flying down like God's wrath and slashed the bentō to absolute oblivion with her scythe. The mid-boss could only shriek in horror as the Valedictorian ended its whole career in seconds.
Once she was done, she turned to Keima, looking absolutely disappointed. "You can't even handle that? Not even with a God on your side? You know I eat these things for breakfast, don't you?"
"Well, sorry. Here on earth, usually, the food doesn't fight back." Though he was slightly miffed over Haqua's attitude, he sure as hell was happy to have requested her help. Haqua had been around the school all this time as per Keima's request. She was supposed to intervene if something went south.
She pulled through with efficiency.
"So, Ayumi ditched you," she said, arms crossed. "Was that the plan?"
Keima shook his head. "I was hoping for Cupid to kill it, so that I could play the hero-saves-the-girl trope. Cliché, I know, but it usually works," in games. "Didn't think he'd get folded like an omelet."
"And you couldn't have informed me of your plan beforehand? So I could have told you how terrible of a plan that was?" Cupid asked from inside Keima's mind, very annoyed by what happened a few seconds ago.
"I didn't realize you were THAT trash and underpowered. How was I supposed to know you were built like a level 1 Wurmple?" Keima replied honestly. He had truly believed that Cupid could kill something that Elsie usually cooked.
"Excuse me?" Haqua raised her voice, and her scythe, at Keima's words.
"Not you. I'm talking to Cupid," the bespectacled boy quickly put his hands up in surrender. Haqua's eyes widened. She had forgotten that Keima and Cupid were a pack now.
"Newsflash!" Cupid yelled inside Keima's head, causing the boy's attention to go back to his level 1 Wumple. "Thanks to you, I have no energy to fight with! Zero! Zilch! Nada!" Cupid pointed at his partner, from within Keima's own mind, with an accusatory index finger.
"Huh?" Keima couldn't help but to feel confused by Cupid's words. He narrowed his eyes as he began to think of several different reasons why the God of Love's lack of power was his fault. In the end, nothing came to mind other than one simple thing. "There's something you haven't told me," his voice was even, but there was an accusatory undertone to it that made Cupid nervous.
"Uh…" Inside of Keima's mindscape, Cupid could be seen fidgeting nervously as he struggled to come up with an answer. "Well… you see…"
"Yes?" With his arms crossed, Keima began tapping his foot on the (still broken by the way) concrete floor.
The metaphorical light bulb lit up in Cupid's mind. "You see, Partner. I… AM NOT A POKÉMON!"
It took Keima a few seconds to process what Cupid had said, "...What... What does that have to do with my question?" the God of Conquest asked, now slightly confused.
"No... I mean... What I wanted to say..." Cupid began to stammer nervously.
"I repeat, Cupid. Is there something you haven't told me that I should know?" Keima tried to stay calm, even though inside he had a mix of slight fear and anger.
"Well… Uh…" Cupid, visibly nervous, caused a pregnant silence to descend for a whole minute.
"...Hey Cupid, did your Wi-Fi connection go down, or what? You sound like a broken record player." Keima said, not understanding if Cupid really had a problem or not.
"I'm okay! I'm okay! Just… I-I…" - and again with the nervous stuttering.
"I... I..." Keima said, repeating the God of Love's stuttering attitude. "Are you stoned because there's something you're hiding from me?" the God of Conquest asked, realizing something was wrong.
"...There are things you still can't know." Cupid said, hoping to escape Keima's question.
"...If your powers depend on this secret of yours, and if there's something big at stake, I need to know." Keima said simply. "Or the two of us are done." Keima threatened him.
"No Partner, please, no such threats." Cupid told him, shuddering at the thought of the separation spell, forced or not.
"Then spit it out." said Keima, for whom the situation was now tight.
"Ugh... Okay, okay, fine, I'll tell you everything..." Cupid gave in to his Partner's request. "You see... The reason I'm not getting any energy is…"
The roof door opened, saving Cupid from the exploit, as Ayumi entered, followed by Yui.
"Where is the monster you told me about, Ayumi?" Yui asked her, visibly confused by the lack of the monstrous tentacled creature the runner described.
"It was here, alive and fighting, a few minutes ago." Ayumi told her in response. "I wonder where it went."
"It's gone and dead." said Keima, who got a cold shiver down his spine seeing the hereditary girl in disguise. (And no thanks to the goddesses.) he wanted to add.
Ayumi saw the devil girl not present a few minutes ago, and said: "And what are you doing here?"
"Nothing special" Haqua replied with a perfect poker face. "I was passing by... And I saw a monstrous creature that was creating chaos... And Katsuragi was screaming like a damsel in distress."
"Yeah, Yeah, it all worked out anyway." Keima concluded simply. He really hoped to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, while also getting rid of unwanted guests.
Although Yui was normally louder and more energetic, this time she just nodded. There was something… odd, about the Devil girl that didn't quite sit well with her. She wasn't sure what it was, but something told her that she was going to be a problem.
"You have something to say to me?" Haqua asked out loud, her tone severe. She didn't appreciate the way the host of Mars was looking at her at all.
Yui simply smiled diplomatically. "Nope. But I do want to thank you for helping my darling." Yui bowed to the Valedictorian, which caught the aforementioned somewhat off-guard. "So, if everything is resolved here, I guess I'm no longer needed." Yui concluded, beginning to walk towards the exit. "See ya, Darling."
Yui winked at Keima, who pretended not to see it, and was out of the scene just like that.
"I will be leaving too," Haqua announced as she flew out of the scene with efficiency. In all honesty, she would have liked to stay and clear some things out with Katsuragi, but she knew that right now was Ayumi's time with him. And he, in layman terms, had fucked up big time. So she silently wished him luck.
"Well…" Keima scratched the back of his head. "That was eventful".
"Yeah," Ayumi began. "This was a disastrous start".
Keima could only sigh at that. "Want to see if there's something left in the cafeteria?"
"Your treat." Ayumi then turned to the exit with Keima following her. He made a mental note to tell Elsie to fix the mess that had become the rooftop later.
Author Notes:
Kyotō Yasuri: Next chapter is scheduled to come out on December 24, 2026.
Ricky06: Hello everyone, and thanks for reading this chapter! As usual, follow the story, leave a comment, which always makes me happy. Thank you to everyone who commented previously, I appreciated all the comments. If you want to have a chat with me we can talk on Discord, and we'll see you in the next chapter! P.S. Ahaha... Very funny, Kyo-Senpai…