Chapter 47

Wednesday, January 18, 2023.

(I have a feeling I won't be sleeping through the night again.)

I turn my head to see on my alarm clock that it's 1am. Yet the soft, reassuring sound of rain and thunder does nothing to lull me to sleep. Tired of lying there staring at my ceiling, I get up, slide open my bedroom door and sit down right in front of the bay windows. A bolt of lightning rips through the black sky, flashing the world, then 2 seconds later, the rumble is heard. A long, powerful rip caused by the power of nature. Some find it terrifying, I find it fascinating and comforting. So I sit, almost glued to the bay window, watching the sky light up from time to time, sometimes I'm lucky enough to see the lightning stay for more than half a second. Plus the sound of rain falling on the roof and ground, giving a magnificent sound and light show.
"Doesn't look like it's going to stop, does it?" I turn to Chiyo's voice, poking her head through the doorway, then smile at me.

"Indeed." I answer simply, watching her sit down next to me.

"Can't sleep?"

"Yeah..." Suddenly, a bolt of lightning powerful enough to illuminate our faces and a rip so powerful that it vibrates our bodies, startling me. "Well, it looks like Raijin is angry."

"Raijin? Is he a god?"

"Yes."

"...Hmpff, a god who keeps Senji-kun awake eh..." I can see that her horns are starting to appear and her hair is waving. "Your girlfriend is going to have a word with him. I'm going to ask him to stop very quickly."

"Hey wait, relax Chiyo-san, it's normally just the opposite, the sound of rain and thunder helps me fall asleep, but even now it's complicated..."

For a brief moment, we say nothing more, and I can see Chiyo's worried gaze on me. I can try to tell her that everything's fine, but that would be a serious lie and she hates that. So I just stare at the sky. Waiting hopefully for sleep to come.

"Senji, who is this Raijin?"

"Hmm? If I remember correctly, she's a rather muscular woman, with long brown hair, stag horns, she has a green ribbon partly covering her chest and forming an arc behind her. She's wearing an orange and blue skirt, with rings around her wrists and ankles. She's said to have an extremely feisty temperament."

"I see... And she looks like this?" While she was clad in a long white robe, here she was in her demonic form, her horns curved, her hands and forearms covered in deep black, and her legs like goats. With the description I gave her. "Ahah! I'm Raijin! You've been a villain boy Senji-kun!" She tries to clumsily imitate a tomboy.

"Um, that's the idea yes... but..." I back away slowly, seeing that she's about to jump on me.

"Hehehe, I'm going to get you!"

I barely have time to take a step back before she jumps on me, grabbing me with her tentacles and sticking her body to mine, preventing me from breathing with her chest.

"Caught! You're mine now!" She said, laughing.

She releases the pressure slightly, allowing me to pull my face away from her cleavage and catch my breath. I turn my head, avoiding her confused gaze.

"You don't like it, or you don't feel comfortable enough yet?" I can feel a little sadness in her voice.

"N...No... It's just that using your chest is cheating!" I pout.

She laughs, then brings her face very close to mine, whispering into my ear in a sweet voice.

"But you like it, don't you?"

My whole body trembles at her words.

"I... I'd be lying if I told you no..."

"Fufufu... What an honest young man!" She said, rubbing her cheek against mine.

We stay like this, a warm hug, while we watch the rain fall. The storm has calmed down, the lightning having stopped several minutes before we started bickering.

"Says Senji-kun, what's the thing you're most afraid of?"

"…"

'Nooo! Please daddy! I didn't do anything! Stop hitting me! Mummy! Daddy's doing it again! Help... No! Don't look away! Mummy! Aaaaah Ahhhh! Uuughh Uhhh...'

"Hmmm... what scares me most... I think it's black holes."

Chiyo steps back and looks at me quizzically.

"Fufu..! Fufufufufu!" Then starts laughing.

"Hey! That's not nice!" I pout.

"Ahh, you're so cute, Senji-kun!" She said, stroking my head.

"I remember the first time I watched a documentary about space. All its planets, suns, emptiness stretching to infinity, and black holes. Invisible, sucking in absolutely everything around it, even light. What's more, it's created after the death of a star, so imagine if one of our stars exploded!" I see I'm getting carried away so I stop, coughing slightly under Chiyo's amused gaze. "Chiyo-chan, you're a goddess so I don't think anything scares you, but..."

"Something that scares me huh?" She turns her head outward, touching her chin with her fingertips. "I wonder..."

Her gaze is lost in the clouds, before dropping, having lost their intensity.

(Having lived for so long, I imagine she's had her share of horrible things...)

I reach out my hand to her, wanting to comfort her as she does, but a huge bolt of lightning rips through the sky, startling me, turning my gaze to the still-lit clouds.

"Well, here we go again..." I whisper, listening to the humming.

"Hey Senji..." To my surprise, Chiyo grabs my left hand and runs her slender fingers up my arm. "Where are you looking? Even I can get jealous you know? Especially if you're looking at another goddess..." Her fingers move up to my neck, before caressing my cheek. "There are many gods, but Raijin seems to be one who doesn't give a damn about human beings." She runs her hand through my back hair. "It's just that his existence is considered to be something you can't do anything about, and if you end up coming across her, well, you just hide and wait..." Her gaze seems lost. "By doing that, she probably won't see you and will just pass by."

I find it hard to listen to her, sitting in the hallway, her body on top of mine, I can feel her full weight. But also her warmth, her gentleness. With her left hand caressing the back of my head and her right hand firmly gripping my sensitive left hand, she slides her fingers around to intertwine them with mine. Seeing me weakened by so much stimulation, Chiyo smiles and brings her lips very close to mine.

"Well you know, your girlfriend is here for Senji-kun, isn't she?" She looks at me tenderly, straight into my eyes. "Whatever may happen, let your girlfriend do it! It'll be fine, there's nothing to worry about."

At these words, Chiyo presses her lips to mine, kissing me until we run out of air. We finally break free, my face as red as a tomato and Chiyo's cheeks only slightly flushed, and she smiles at me, satisfied.

"Uh... Chiyo-chan..."

"Hmm?"

"I just remembered, my biggest fear." I look up at the sky, trying to fill my mind with the cloud. "My... my own family..."

Chiyo said nothing. Leaning against my bedroom door, shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand, her head resting on mine, we watch the rain fall together, even louder than before and like the sound of the storm leaving, my head gradually empties, and Chiyo's soft breathing lulls me to sleep.

Thursday, January 19, 2023.

It's nearly one o'clock in the afternoon, we've just finished eating with Kiba and we're heading for a bench to wait for break to end. Today the boys are more excited than usual, because the first class of the afternoon is swimming, and since we won the rider's game ten days ago, it's been decided that the class will be mixed, much to the delight of the most perverse.

What I find curious is the absence of any female presence in the classroom or even in the canteen. I didn't run into Inaho, who left the classroom in a hurry, or Haruko, or any of my female acquaintances.

(Did they go and complain anyway? Yet we won fair and square.)

But the strangest thing is that Kiba hasn't been around girls since this morning, and that's what's got me thinking. He seems a little surprised too, but he takes the opportunity to read his book, so I leave him alone to enjoy his time off.

Suddenly, my phone starts vibrating. I pull it out to see a message from Haruko, asking me to meet her at the pool. I'm dubious about the message, but decide to comply anyway.

"Problem?" Kiba asks, seeing me stand up with a doubtful look on my face.

"...No, someone asking for me. I'll leave you to read your book in peace, enjoy it, see you." I greet him and leave.

He thanks me with an embarrassed expression and resumes his reading. When I arrive in front of the pool building, I see that the door is closed.

(Why do I feel like I'm in trouble?)

I knock first. No answer. I turn down the knob expecting the door to be locked, but it isn't. The door opens, revealing an empty checkroom entrance.

"Haruko-san? Anyone here?" I walk in, taking off my shoes and putting it in a locker.

I walk into the locker room to see a lot of lockers already in use, then laughter, screams, all coming from women's vocal cords.

(I knew it! It's a trap, I've got to get out of here!)

"There you are senji-chan, I thought I was going to wait!" I turn around to come face to face with Haruko, wearing the school swimsuit.

"Haru-nee! I swear I didn't see anything!" I put myself on the defensive directly.

"Don't worry about it, let's just say it's necessary..." Haruko blushed, but immediately pulled herself together. "Anyway, follow me."

"Um, can you at least explain why I'm here?" I ask, following her through the locker room.

"A little patience at last, you'll understand when we're in front of the pool."

"Hey Senji, before you pass, you're obviously going to have to put this on." Yan Min blocks access to the pool, holding a swim short.

"Excuse me?" I ask, one eyebrow raised.

"Yan Min-san?! What are you doing?!" Haruko exclaims.

"Hmmm? I don't see why we should be the only ones in bathing suits." Yan Min approaches and uses my shoulder as an armrest. "Besides, it's not just you who wants to rinse your eyes, if you know what I mean." She slides her finger down my torso.

"Can someone please explain to me what's going on and why you're both already in bathing suits? Class starts in thirty minutes." I ask exasperated.

"You'll know when you put on your swimming shorts." She presses the shorts against me.

I turn my gaze to Haruko, who looks away, embarrassed. I sigh and free myself from Yan Min.

"Well I see I have no choice, but if it's for something stupid, I'll turn back immediately." I turn my gaze to Yan Min. "Is that clear?"

"Why are you looking at me when you say that?"

"No reason at all, you're not a troublemaker at all, to be stopped at every turn." I say with a touch of irony.

"No! It has nothing to do with any of this, I promise Senji-chan, so please help us!" Haruko steps in between us, bowing her head.

"...Okay, I'll be right there." I lock myself in a changing room and get changed.

"What the hell are you playing at Yan-san! Senji-chan still had time before he had to change!"

"Oh that's okay, good-looking guys like him don't run around this school, and besides, I'm sure you're dying to see him like this."

"What?! No! Not at all! And then you really must stop this mania for being so straightforward!"

"Between you and me, you're the one who should be a little more direct with him, otherwise he'll slip through your fingers."

"...Um... what... what are you talking about?"

"Nothing, if you don't want to understand, that's your problem, but don't be so on Senji's back."

"…"

"That's it I'm good." I walk out of the locker room and stow my stuff in a compartment.

When I arrive in front of them, Haruko turns as red as a tomato, Yan blushes slightly but a big smile appears on her face.

"Ah there, that's much better. Come on we can go, but first to the shower." Yan Min comes up behind me and pushes me into the shower.

"No need to push me, I can go on my own." I let myself go, wanting to get it over with as quickly as possible.

"I know, it's just an excuse to touch you, it's amazing a boy's skin, you're soft and smooth but if I press a little, I can feel the muscle. It doesn't look like it at first, but you're really athletic." Yan Min notes, patting my back.

"Thanks I guess... But it's not enough, I have to keep training."

"That's what I like to hear, but don't overdo it though, you could seriously damage your development, it would be a shame to destroy your body over it."

"I know, Aki-sensei has already warned me, and others for that matter..." I turn to Haruko, who says nothing, content to follow us with her head down.

(I can't say I heard their conversation, but now I wonder what she really thinks of me... Knowing her, I'd probably never know.)

We take a shower, with very cold water, put our feet through the foot bath and finally enter the pool hall, where about thirty girls are already there, having fun in the water. No sooner do I enter than all eyes are on me, scrutinizing me from top to bottom, accompanied by giggles and whispers. I prefer to ignore them and continue following Yan Min and Haruko without complaint.

"Well, are you finally going to explain to me what I'm doing here?" I ask, somewhat annoyed.

"...Oh yes!" Haruko gasped before pulling herself together. "So, you boys won at the rider battle, so we can't change the agreement. But we knew very well that it was just pure perversion on the boys' side so we wanted to find a solution to get them right." She explains.

(Frankly, you girls are no better... Yeah, I'd better keep it to myself...)

"And as a miracle, one of the girls has a friend who possesses an alter capable of making everything he touches invisible!" Haruko turns to someone sitting in a corner. "Usuya-kun! You can come!"

It was the boy from last time who accompanied the perverted trio to the girls' changing room, before they were called out by Kai.

"Hello, Senji-san." He greeted me shyly.

"Hi there, how are you? I hope the perverted trios aren't bothering you too much, your power means gold to those morons."

"No, everything's fine, thanks for your concern."

"Oh, I see you know each other, that's good it simplifies things. So Usuya-kun is here to make us all invisible. The only problem is, he doesn't have enough energy for everyone." Haruko explains.

"...Oh... So that's why I'm here, you want me to strengthen his alter so it can work on everyone. I understand better, why didn't you tell me directly?"

"Um... Look, I know you're one of those boys who doesn't have any bad intentions... but..."

"What Haruko-san is trying to say is that even if you're a good guy who can be trusted, you're still a young man with hormones starting to work on you, you know what I'm talking about..." Yan Min doesn't mince her words.

"So I wanted to check you out too. But as far as I can see at the moment, we're on an equal footing..." I cross my arms, annoyed at being constantly ogled.

"Sorry about that Senji-kun, but you have all the makings of a perfect young man in their eyes." Demitra approaches. "Straight posture, very little or no fat, and marks and scars, that's something to talk about you know."

"Is that an excuse to check me out?" I ask.

"Not really, but at least you put yourself in our shoes." Yan Min says.

"...Anyway. So there's my class, Haru-nee's class and Yan Min's class, right?" I turn towards the pool to try and count the number of girls there.

"Senji-sama!" I notice Inaho waving at me. I greet her too before turning my attention back to those next to me.

"That's right." Haruko looks at the clock before turning to Usuya. " We've got less than twenty minutes, we're going to get everyone in line, you'll just have to make them invisible and that's it, ok?"

"Of course!" Then he turns to me, motivated. "I'm counting on you, Senji-san!"

"Okay, get ready." I charge my magic circuits, which light up through my body, running all over my left arm. "I'm going to do what's called reinforcement, you're going to feel a surge of power."

"Okay, I'm ready!" He said.

Seeing this, Haruko nods and calls everyone in with the help of Yan and Demitra, lining up opposite us and the first to pass is Asia, looking at me with great hesitation.

"Um... Senji-san..." She approaches slowly.

"Oh, that reminds me, Asia, can you swim?" I place my hand on Usuya's shoulder, strengthening him. Which surprises him.

"Um, no, actually... So, as soon as you've finished, will you... will you help me learn?" She asks, playing with her hair.

"Yes... yes of course no problem..." I'm quite surprised by the request.

(Wait, is this getting dangerous? If we don't see her, how do we know if she's drowning?)

"You know that if you strengthen your eyes, the invisibility effect will still be there, but you'll see clearly better than the others."

(I know, but if it can be avoided...)

"Um... Can I start?" Usuya asks.

"Yes, sorry for the wait!" Asia advances her forearm. Usuya touches it and she begins to disappear, until she's no longer visible at all.

"Wow, that's a really strange feeling!" We can hear Asia still ahead of us.

"You sound like you're talking from behind a shower curtain." I notice her voice has changed.

"Hihi! That's really amazing power!" Asia is amazed.

"Perfect, it works! So wait for Senji-chan by the pool, okay?" Haruko points to a bench for Asia.

"All right, see you in a bit, Senji-san!" Her footsteps can be heard moving away.

"Reassure me Usuya, will they still be able to see each other?" I ask him in a whisper.

"Yes, like they're holographic." He said, trying to reassure me.

Then it's everyone's turn, and everyone gives in and jumps into the water. Everyone stays pretty serious, but some of them can't stop ogling me. I take the time to chat with the girls I know, Shiki, Anzu, Sakura etc... Strangely enough, Shiria hasn't said anything to me, just a big smile, which seems quite suspicious, but I'd rather not think about it. As for Yan Min, when she became invisible, she took advantage of the situation to come up behind me and surprised me by putting her arms around my neck, climbing onto my back, only to be quickly reprimanded by Demitra. When everyone has passed, Usuya sits down, exhausted by the effort required.

"Good work, both of you, we owe you a debt of gratitude." I can hear Haruko next to us. "Normally there's still a few minutes left before the class starts, do you want to dive in too?"

"No... ah... not now... I can't feel my body..." Usuya is exhausted. "Senji-san, are these the side effects you suffer every time you use them?"

"At first, yes, but not anymore."

"I see..."

"And you Senji-chan, you might want to start with Asia-chan... Hey Shiria-san What are you doing?!"

I barely have time to turn around when someone grabs me and throws me into the water. I come up and run my hand over my face, before being embraced by Shiria.

"What are you doing Shiria?! Don't sneak up on me like that, that's cheating!" Despite the fact that she's invisible, the touch and feel of her is well felt... especially her breasts firmly pressed against me.

"Sorry about that, but class doesn't start right away, so let's spend some time together... I know a lot of techniques for bonding in a pool..." She whispers into my ears, I can feel her breath on my shoulder.

"Hahahahahahaha!" In the corridors, Usui can be heard laughing at the top of his lungs...

(Please Shiria, have mercy on a young man...)

"Oh... The boys are coming." Shiria peels away from me, relieving me. Even though now I have to... calm down.

"Shiria-san... Will you please release Senji-chan!" Haruko grabs Shiria.

"Well, we owe you big time for this one!" Motohama makes himself heard in turn, approaching the showers.

"Nah, that's normal! Besides, a little recognition never hurt anyone!" Usui is in for quite a surprise when he arrives.

The guys go through the foot bath and enter... to see nothing. Their faces are contorted with incomprehension, disgust and surprise. Which makes laugh some girls, while others ignore them completely, swimming and passing the ball back and forth.

"What's that?" Usui is probably the most confused of all.

"It's noisy and splashy but..." Jonouchi is disappointed.

"You can't tell anyone apart!" Youta exclaims.

"Ah, guys." Usuya turns to them. "Actually the girls used my alter, so with Senji-san's help, we made their bodies invisible! It's the first time such a request has been made, so I wanted to make myself useful!

"You... What have you done?!" The despair on their faces is palpable. "Wait, what do you mean with Senji's help..."

Their eyes turn away from Usuya to see me already in the water, and noticing the waves of water close to me, coming from Inaho, Shiria and Haruko, they fall to the tiles, defeated.

"Serves you right!" Azuki's voice taunts, throwing a ball into the face of one of them. "You shouldn't have won just to stare at us, you perverts!"

As I watch the guys get excited and the girls laugh at each other, I feel like I'm detaching myself from what's going on. I feel like my weight has just doubled, forcing me to lean against the pool wall.

(It's no good, I feel like I'm going to collapse...)