Chapter 152 – Valentine’s Day
<span style="font-weight:400">I woke up a few hours earlier than usual the next morning. As soon as my feet touched the cold floorboards, a frigid chill crept through my body.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Brr… Maybe I''ll just fly down…"
<span style="font-weight:400">Yawning, I floated downstairs to an empty kitchen. It felt weird not seeing Hatsumi first thing in the morning, since she was always an hour up before me to cook breakfast. I should probably handle that for her today, seeing as I was already up.
<span style="font-weight:400">Popping open the fridge revealed a bunch of empty shelves that were in desperate need of stocking. The homemade choctes Mio had made yesterday sat on the topmost shelf, all separated into their own bags to be handed out at school.
<span style="font-weight:400">With the kitchen to myself so early, I began to whip up some choctes to hand out and breakfast on the side. We had some chocte bricks left over from Christmas after making hot chocte, which I started melting on low heat in a pot.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Good morning, Saeko—"
<span style="font-weight:400">"AH?!" I spun around and summoned the de of the First Temptress.
<span style="font-weight:400">Selene stared down the business end of the sword and cleared her throat.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Selene? Geez… Sorry… I wasn''t expecting anyone to be up so early," I hastily apologized, vanishing the sword from my grasp.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I can say the same of you, my queen. I, on the other hand, have good reason to be up, as coach of the kendo club <i><span style="font-weight:400">and</i><span style="font-weight:400"> soon-to-be physical education instructor at Tsukiji High," Selene said, puffing out her chest.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Really? Congrattions!"
<span style="font-weight:400">Words could not express how proud I was of Selene toe this far. She really came a long way since being a thorn in my side during Beatrice''s attempt to take over Earth.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Thank you." Selene ced a hand to her chest and bowed slightly. "The principal acknowledged my hard work and tenured me for the next school year. I shall be off. Once school has ended, I will rmence my search for Tamamo."
<span style="font-weight:400">Selene left to go to school early and was soon reced by Mio, wobbling into the kitchen, her eyes still closed and scratching her belly.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I heard you scream… You okay?" Mio asked, nting her chin on my shoulder and yawning next to my ear.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Here, try this." I lifted a spoonful of melted, silky chocte up to her mouth.
<span style="font-weight:400">Like a venus fly trap, Mio mped her lips down it and snapped awake.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Chocte! You making Valentine''s chocte, too?" Mio asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I make chocte every year! Usually next month on White Day though, since that''s when boys return the favor to girls who gave them choctes on Valentine''s Day. This is going to be my first time making chocte as a girl. Now the question is, who am I making it for… Kana, Koga, Gouda, Sensei, the entire kendo club…?" I continued to list off boys that were any at all deserving.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Heh. Look at you, domesticated and shit." She teased.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Don''t call me domesticated!"
<span style="font-weight:400">Kana''s vision of me with a baby harness shed through my mind and still haunted me to this day. To think, he thought as far as our future together. Having a baby, huh. I would like to one day, but what kind of baby would I have? A subus? A human? Some sort of hybrid?
<span style="font-weight:400">Shaking those thoughts away, I turned my attention back to the pot of melting chocte on the stove.
<span style="font-weight:400">I guess thest one would be Uta, but he was in Takamagahara, and there was no telling what was going on unless we went there. Which would be a problem given who currently runs the ce…
<span style="font-weight:400">Might as well make some for Hatsumi, too, to surprise her when she wakes up. And oh boy, was she surprised.
<span style="font-weight:400">A few hourster, Hatsumi came downstairs and sat at the table with tears in her eyes.
<span style="font-weight:400">"<i><span style="font-weight:400">Sniffle…</i><span style="font-weight:400"> My little Saeko… All grown up. Cooking breakfast for me already…" Hatsumi wept.
<span style="font-weight:400">I rolled my eyes.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Okay, sis. Don''t be a drama queen. You know this isn''t the first time I made you breakfast, lunch, or dinner."
<span style="font-weight:400">After breakfast, Mio and I headed to school. The atmosphere, despite the dreary gloom that lingered over the city because of the swirling maelstrom above, didn''t diminish the upbeat mood of Valentine''s Day.
<span style="font-weight:400">Gouda was being hounded just past the school gates by a group of girls, as was natural for popr guys, being gifted chocte and confession letters. They were the envy of all the lonely and desperate boys, like myself when I was one.
<span style="font-weight:400">And for some reason, Hitomi was facing the same treatment at the shoe lockers.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Uhh, but I''m not a boy," Hitomi told an underssman as she was handed a bag of chocte.
<span style="font-weight:400">The girl, possibly a first or second year, squealed and ran back to her friends, who patted her on the back for a job well done.
<span style="font-weight:400">"This happens every year," Hitomi said to me as I entered the building. "I appreciate it. But why?"
<span style="font-weight:400">"Because they wanna fuck ya," Mio answered before I did.
<span style="font-weight:400">The student president and I squinted at Mio.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Right… Anyway, enjoy your Valentine''s Day, but keep it in your pants. I already have my hands full with the student council elections." Hitomi sighed.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Oh, how''s that going? It''s got to be getting really busy for you and Rika, right?" I asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">Hitomi took one look at me and lost the shine in her eyes.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Is… Is it something I said?"
<span style="font-weight:400">"Word on the street is Hana''s nning to run for student council president. Good chance of winning, too. Being a subus and a popr cat at school," Mio said.
<span style="font-weight:400">"What…?" I gaped at them, and Hitomi merely nodded silently to confirm it.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Like I said," Hitomi began, slowly and more deliberately. "I refuse to allow <i><span style="font-weight:400">her</i><span style="font-weight:400"> to be my legacy after I''ve graduated. I''m going to pull out all the stops to sabotage her campaign. If it''s thest thing I do…"
<span style="font-weight:400">Leaving us with that cryptic vow, Hitomi left to get to work.
<span style="font-weight:400">Hana as next year''s student council president. That sounded like a disaster. Good thing I wouldn''t be around anymore.
<span style="font-weight:400">Mio and I went upstairs to our ss when we spotted our boyfriend dragging his feet down the hall.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Kana!" I shouted, stopping him in the middle of the hall.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Oh… hey, guys. Can we dial down the volume this morning? I kind of have a massive headache…" Kana groaned and pressed the ointment patch harder to his head.
<span style="font-weight:400">We winced. That was definitely our fault from yesterday.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Well, chin up! It''s Valentine''s Day! Special day in this world, right?" Mio dangled a baggie of chocte in front of him.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Here''s mine, too… It''s… kind of embarrassing, since I''m a girl this year, but… Happy Valentine''s Day…" I mumbled, handing him a bag, too.
<span style="font-weight:400">Immediately, Kana''s face filled with some color.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Aww. Thanks, you two. These are definitely homemade, huh… I can tell by Mio''s vulgar penis and boobs-shaped choctes…" Kana chuckled, lifting both bags to his eyes.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Try ''em! I worked with Hhan all week to perfect it. Also added a special ingredient that''s unique to me." Mio fist-thumped her chest proudly.
<span style="font-weight:400">"You did? Like an ingredient from your world?" I asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">Kana and I opened the chocte Mio gifted us, then popped one into our mouths. It was good. Definitely screamed <i><span style="font-weight:400">amateur</i><span style="font-weight:400">, because she was still new at it.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Mm… I like it. Chewy and with a nice gooey center," Kana reviewed it in real time like we were on a cooking show. "Actually, what <i><span style="font-weight:400">is</i><span style="font-weight:400"> the special ingredient?"
<span style="font-weight:400">"Heh. I used my breast milk!" Mio dered out loud.
<span style="font-weight:400">Both of us spat the chocte out.
<span style="font-weight:400">"You what?!" we cried.
<span style="font-weight:400">Kana lightly backhanded my shoulder. "Why are you surprised?"
<span style="font-weight:400">"What do you mean, why am I surprised? I''m only just learning about this now! I thought she would at least make it normally with Hhan around!" I retorted.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Hey, what gives? I put my liquified love nectar into those sweet suckers," Mio said.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Mio… You can''t just give people chocte with your breast milk in them. That''s grounds for sexual harassment and it''s in weird." Kana sighed.
<span style="font-weight:400">I plucked another chocte out of the bag to lick.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Oi. You''re going to encourage her…" He scolded.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I can''t help it. My subus senses also makes me extra sensitive to… these kinds of vors," I replied, clearing my throat.
<span style="font-weight:400">"See, she likes it. I bet the whole school wants some, too." Mio cupped both hands over her mouth. "Who wants Valentine''s chocte made with my tiddy milk in them? Come and get it!"
<span style="font-weight:400">"MIO, NO!" we yelled.
<span style="font-weight:400">It was toote.
<span style="font-weight:400">"BREAST MILK FROM A SUCCUBUS?"
<span style="font-weight:400">"ME!"
<span style="font-weight:400">"ME, TOO!"
<span style="font-weight:400">"CAN I HAVE EXTRA?"
<span style="font-weight:400">The stampede wasing. Kana and I were mobbed by a group of horny and lonely boys, desperate for any sort of affection on a lonesome Valentine''s Day, rushing in to get some of Mio''s super special choctes.
<span style="font-weight:400">I managed to drag Kana out and into our ssroom.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I saw my life sh before my eyes…" Kana gasped for air.
<span style="font-weight:400">Within the safety of our ssroom, girls were in the process of handing choctes out. A microclimate of what was going on in the rest of the school. Even our sensei had a small stack on his desk.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Saeko, I made you chocte!" Rika beamed, holding out a pretty stic bag containing what looked like homemade choctes.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Wait, for me?" I stared at her confused.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I couldn''t help it. When I was making chocte yesterday, you were one of the first that came to mind. I guess a part of me still thinks of you as a boy." She scratched her nose out of embarrassment.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Aww. Thanks, Rika—"
<span style="font-weight:400">"Saeko!" Kaede came skidding to a stop in front of the ssroom.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Let me guess: chocte?" I asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">"How did you know?" Kaede gasped. "Is it your subus powers?"
<span style="font-weight:400">Kaede wasn''t the only one. Before the bell rang for school to begin, more female students stopped by my ss to give me chocte.
<span style="font-weight:400">Before I realized it, my desk was stacked with a pyramid of homemade and store-bought choctes from girls who I knew, were barely friends with, and many of which were strangers that I didn''t know existed until now. The pile was so high that I couldn''t see the board at the front of ss.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Thest thing I expecteding to school with chocte… was that I''d end up going home with more chocte… How did this happen?" I groaned.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Aha… Maybe a lot of girls still think the same way as I do?" Rika wondered aloud.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Nah," Mio chimed in, plucking a random baggie of chocte from my pile to eat. "Betcha some of ''em just wanna fuck ya."
<span style="font-weight:400">Rika and I narrowed our eyes on her.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Why is that always your first answer? Unlike you, not everyone always has sex on their minds," I scolded her.
<span style="font-weight:400">"We can prove that! I dive into a random dude''s mind right now, what do you think they''re thinking? Like that guy right there!" Mio pointed at a male ssmate, startling him from his quick breakfast and making him choke.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Uh, n-no! I''m not…" His stammering was cut off by the bell.
<span style="font-weight:400">Sensei entered ss, shouting for everyone to get into their seats and those who didn''t belong to hurry to their own ss.
<span style="font-weight:400">A strange, gremlin-like man clung to sensei''s back and gnawed on his head. My eyes must be deceiving me. I rubbed them and shook my head. The monster was gone when I opened my eyes.
<span style="font-weight:400">I thought to ask Mio, but she was distracted chatting up another student. Maybe it was nothing.
<span style="font-weight:400">Later, when lunch began, I got up to go to the girl''s bathroom but felt a strange chill the moment I stepped in.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Saeko, were you thinking about using that bathroom?" Hitomi asked,ing up from behind.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Yeah, why?" I returned the question.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Lately, we''ve received reports from female students about this bathroom being haunted. Quite frankly, I initially passed it off as one of Hana''s pranks, but she vehemently denied any wrongdoings this time. It''s gotten to the point where girls are avoiding this bathroompletely and going to the others," she exined.
<span style="font-weight:400">Hana would have been my first guess for anything suspicious, too. Though ording to Hitomi, that pink-haired helion had nothing to do with it this time.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Well, it''s just a bathroom, right? I''m… I''m going to go in," I said, taking a step further.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I''ll be here. I''ve been meaning to investigate it myself but haven''t had the time. Could have just been a prank from another student," Hitomi said.
<span style="font-weight:400">So Hitomi says, but it was as though I had walked into another world entirely. The atmosphere had be slightly suffocating. But so far so good.
<span style="font-weight:400">I took the first stall to relieve myself in. As I finished and pulled my underwear back up, d that there was nothing out of the ordinary, I found that the stall lock wouldn''t budge.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Eh?" I twisted harder.
<span style="font-weight:400">My subus strength should have broken it at this point.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Hitomi, are you still there?" I shouted.
<span style="font-weight:400">No answer. But she should have been right by the door. Unless she was messing with me?
<span style="font-weight:400">The toilet behind me suddenly flushed on its own. Goosebumps formed all over my body. It wouldn''t stop flushing. Water just continued draining and draining.
<span style="font-weight:400">Slowly, I nced over my shoulder— and was met with a pale face, eyeless sockets, and a gaping mouth of darkness.
<span style="font-weight:400">"G-G-Ghost?!" I cried, pressing my back to the door.
<span style="font-weight:400">It was a short girl with a drenched ck bob, dressed in a white shirt and red skirt with suspenders.
<span style="font-weight:400">All my bravery went down the toilet. I threw my shoulder against the door to break out, but it still wouldn''t budge. The girl took a step forward, croaking and with a hand extended towards me.
<span style="font-weight:400">"No, don''t touch me!" I yelled, constricting my aura around it as ast resort.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Iiiee!"
<span style="font-weight:400">The ghost keeled over. She was red in the face, both hands between her thighs squeezed shut, and shuddering all over.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Did… Did I just make a ghost horny? Wait a minute…" I quietly asked myself.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Saeko?"
<span style="font-weight:400">I turned around just as Hitomi opened the stall door. ncing back into the toilet, the ghost girl was gone.
<span style="font-weight:400">"What happened?" Hitomi asked with worry.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I… This is going to sound weird, but I just saw a ghost. I-It had to have been Hanako, the toilet ghost!" I exined.
<span style="font-weight:400">She furrowed her brows, seemingly unconvinced.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Subi are one thing, but ghosts? Come on now. Someone must have put something into your Valentine''s chocte," Hitomi insisted.
<span style="font-weight:400">"But—"
<span style="font-weight:400">"Lunch is almost over. Hurry back to ss," she said, leaving the bathroom.
<span style="font-weight:400">Strange things were happening at school. No, maybe not just at school. But it was where I started noticing it. I knew for sure I saw a ghost. Spirit? Yokai? Whatever it was, none of it was normal, and I had a feeling it''s got something to do with Tamamo.
<span style="font-weight:400">As Mio and I were flying home to drop off our stuff to begin our search again, we bumped into a familiar aura.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Look! Who''s that tall dommy mommy that Yumi''s with?" Mio asked, pointing to a tall woman dressed in a white dress and white hat.
<span style="font-weight:400">"That… it couldn''t be…" I muttered.
<span style="font-weight:400">We flew down to confront them, but an existential dread filled my being as Inded and stood underneath the eight-foot tall woman.
<span style="font-weight:400">"<i><span style="font-weight:400">Po…</i><span style="font-weight:400">"
<span style="font-weight:400">"IT REALLY IS HACHISHAKU?!" I cried and nearly fainted.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Holy shit, step on me, mommy." Mio gasped.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Ara, Saeko? Are you also acquainted with her?" Yumi asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">"More like what are <i><span style="font-weight:400">you</i><span style="font-weight:400"> doing with this ghost?" I fired back.
<span style="font-weight:400">Hachishaku''s demeanor softened, and the ghost brushed her hair back to reveal a pretty woman with a normal face, unlike the one back at school.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I couldn''t rightly exin even if I tried. However, I came across Yumi here when I was stalking the most adorable little boy and we quickly became friends," Hachishaku said.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Eh…?"
<span style="font-weight:400">To the yokai''s side, Yumi nodded.
<span style="font-weight:400">My mind was about to explode. I was actually conversing with a malevolent ghost.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Ufufu~ We bonded over our… shared interests. Care to join us, Saeko? We''re going to have a sleepover with a boy named Takuo. I assure you he will not be harmed while I''m there," Yumi assured me with a scious smile.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Well, we shouldn''t keep Takuo waiting. I''m <b><i>dying</i></b><span style="font-weight:400"> to meet him. Ufufu~" Hachishaku shed a wide and terrifying smile, all the while breathing heavily like a bitch in heat.
<span style="font-weight:400">Like two peas in a pod, both Hachishaku and Yumi pressed a hand to their mouths,ughing as they continued bonding on their way to the boy named Takuo.
<span style="font-weight:400">Rather, it was less about the kid''s physical safety I was worried about and more for his innocence. As they left, I saluted in the direction they were headed and prayed for Takuo''s survival.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Still…" I whispered to myself. "Yokai are bing more of amon sighttely. This can''t be good."
<span style="font-weight:400">We got home atst and found Hatsumi outside the house.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Closer, closer!" Hatsumi was guiding and beckoning a semi-truck through the narrow street.
<span style="font-weight:400">"What''s going on?" I asked as we flew in.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Oh, Saeko! You''re home already?" My sister panicked, swapping nces between me and the truck.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Whaddya mean already? It''s like four in the afternoon," Mio retorted.
<span style="font-weight:400">The truck pulled to a stop just slightly ahead of the house, and two drivers exited to throw open the back hatch.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Where do you want your chocte?" a gruff driver asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Chocte?" I raised an eyebrow.
<span style="font-weight:400">We watched as the second driver entered the back, then carted out a gigantic chocte heart.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Uhm… Happy Valentine''s Day!" Hatsumi eximed.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Sis, this won''t even fit through the door!" I gaped at the eight-foot tall chocte sculpture.
<span style="font-weight:400">She pressed her index fingers together.
<span style="font-weight:400">"But I wanted to get you something cute…"
<span style="font-weight:400">"Holy shit," Mio muttered. "Look at this thing! There''s even a hole in the back. Were you nning to stuff things into it? Or maybe yourself? Kahaha!"
<span style="font-weight:400">I turned to Hatsumi, and she looked the other way to avoid eye-contact with me. Only as I put both hands on my hips did she finally fess up.
<span style="font-weight:400">"I-I was going to surprise you when you came home… but the order had traffic dys." Hatsumi sighed.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Well, it certainly is still a surprise. I guess if you—"
<span style="font-weight:400">The words caught in my throat.
<span style="font-weight:400">If someone wanted to stay hidden, then in a ce where no one would expect would be their best bet. Like a shrine.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Tamamo," I told Mio, grabbing her by the shoulder.
<span style="font-weight:400">"What?" Mio blinked and clearly wasn''t following.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Tamamo must be hiding in a shrine. There''s no other exnation as to why we can''t find her!"
<span style="font-weight:400">"Be careful!" Hatsumi warned us.
<span style="font-weight:400">Wasting no time, Mio and I flew straight to Kon''s shrine. In the meantime, Mio made calls to redirect subi efforts into searching for shrines instead. But there had to be hundreds, small andrge, across a region like this. Tamamo could be anywhere. One ce we could go to, however, was Takamagahara and ask the kami for help there.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Kon, open up! I know you''re in there!" I called, knocking on the shrine doors as soon as Inded.
<span style="font-weight:400">No answer. There better not be a ghost or haunting like in the school bathroom again…
<span style="font-weight:400">"Yo. I think something''s wrong. The door''s already open." Mio hooked her fingers through a small gap in the door and threw it open.
<span style="font-weight:400">There, lying unconscious and weakly in the middle of his chamber, was Kon in his kitsune form.