"Ugh..." Feeling something unusual on his body, Kawaki groaned in his sleep, frowning as he turned over. "What's going on? Let me sleep a little longer, Tsukuyo. I played games too late last night..."
"Of course, you can sleep as long as you want~ Whoo~."
Tsukuyo's voice echoed in Kawaki's ear as he suddenly felt a hand gently placed on his abdomen, slowly and teasingly moving downward...
Kawaki immediately snapped awake, throwing off the covers and jumping to his feet, clutching his chest in alarm. "Hey! Are you finally trying to make a move on me, Tsukuyo?!"
"My, my, I was just thinking of getting intimate with you after so long~" The "Tsukuyo", lying seductively on the futon, propped up on one hand, licked her fingers and sent Kawaki a seductive glance.
Kawaki hesitated and tentatively called out, "Tsukuyo...?"
Breakfast Time.
Seeing "Tsukuyo" clinging closely to Kawaki and constantly feeding him while Kawaki passively accepted it with a blank expression, Seita asked Hinowa with a puzzled look, "Mom, what's going on today? Tsukuyo-neechan seems really off."
"Who knows," Hinowa smiled, "Maybe Tsukuyo has suddenly awakened to something new."
"I'm full," Kawaki pushed "Tsukuyo" away and stood up, heading towards the door.
"So am I~" "Tsukuyo" licked her lips and, displaying an unbelievable allure, stood up and swayed seductively after Kawaki.
As the two left, Hinowa softly murmured, "I hope that child will be alright."
"No, it looks like something big is going on," Seita muttered, shovelling rice into his mouth. "This is too weird."
"No, it'll be fine," Hinowa chuckled, making a cryptic comment, "Because Kawaki-san will surely protect Tsukuyo."
"What are you talking about, Mom?" Seita asked, confused.
At Kawaki's Room Door.
The Hyakka members gathered around and whispered among themselves as they watched "Tsukuyo" cling to Kawaki with an uncharacteristic seductiveness.
"The boss seems a bit off today..."
"Yeah! She's never like this!"
"Maybe she's suddenly awakened?"
"Or maybe she just decided to be honest with her feelings, like we do!"
"That makes sense!"
"Quiet down," Kawaki lazily raised a hand, "Tsukuyo isn't feeling well today, so patrols are on you. If anything unusual happens, come find me. Dismissed."
"Huh? Kawaki-sama isn't joining the patrol?"
"No way! Without Kawaki-sama, I don't have any motivation at all~."
"Exactly!"
"Sorry, I've got to deal with a super annoying person today," Kawaki scratched his head with a smile and then glanced at "Tsukuyo" clinging to his side.
Inside Kawaki's Room.
"Hey, enough already," Kawaki said as he glanced at "Tsukuyo" clinging to him while he played games. "If you want to mess around, find someone else."
"What? You already figured it out?" "Tsukuyo" raised an eyebrow and gave a charming smile.
Kawaki smirked with disdain. "I could smell your stench from halfway across Edo."
"Really?" "Tsukuyo" lifted her arm and sniffed. "No, it's just the normal scent of a woman~ Although it's not as good as my original body, this one's pretty nice. I'll be borrowing it for a while."
"Using someone else's body without their permission isn't borrowing; it's stealing," Kawaki casually reminded. "If you understand, then return the body and move on to the afterlife."
"You're so heartless~" Tsukuyo sighed softly. "Talking about moving on to the afterlife... I'm now the goddess of victory~ A goddess can't move on to the afterlife."
"Goddess of victory?" Kawaki scoffed. "A useless goddess who ruins the taste of alcohol, more like."
"You're as rude as ever~ I'm still a god, you know~" Tsukuyo feigned a pout and leaned closer to Kawaki's ear, breathing softly as she teased, "You know, I got lucky~ When I arrived in Takamagahara, I happened to come across the original b***... I mean, the goddess of victory, who was being punished for messing around with men and women. So naturally, I took over the position. I thought it would be a terrible job~"
"That's great," Kawaki replied indifferently. "I've congratulated you, so can you leave now?"
"No way~" Tsukuyo stood and sat on the table behind Kawaki, placing a foot on his back. "I finally got a chance to come down and have some fun. It hurts my feelings when you chase me away so soon~"
"If you want to have fun, find someone else. That's not your body; it's just one you stole..." Kawaki calmly replied without looking back.
"Who said that? That's just what you think," Tsukuyo smiled with interest as she watched Kawaki. "Didn't I tell you? It's just borrowed..."
"Don't be ridiculous," Kawaki retorted casually. "That woman would never willingly lend her body to someone. Either you tricked her, or you took advantage when she wasn't paying attention..."
"No, it's neither." Tsukuyo cut him off and pressed her body against Kawaki's back again, whispering seductively in his ear, "I did borrow it with her consent~"
"Impossible!"
"There's nothing impossible about it," Tsukuyo, who had somehow moved to the room's altar, fiddled with a golden nine-tailed fox statue. "A god can't possess someone who doesn't want to be possessed, no matter how powerful the god is. If I'm using her body, it means a lot of things..."
"No!" Kawaki dropped his game controller, stood up, and argued passionately. "That woman would never do something like this! She has more important things to protect! She just wants to protect..."
"This underground city, Yoshiwara, and its sun..." Tsukuyo interrupted him, suddenly appearing behind him. "That's true, but now it seems she has something else she wants to protect~."
Kawaki only huffed in response, not saying anything.
"In the end, it's your fault," Tsukuyo wrapped her arms around Kawaki's waist from behind, resting her head on his back. "You created a gap in her heart—doubt, confusion, curiosity, even infatuation. Those are the feelings you brought her. The reason she agreed to let me possess her was because she wanted to know more about you..."
"Kyu-chan..." Kawaki turned slowly, hesitating as he wrapped his arms around Tsukuyo's waist, gazing tenderly into her eyes. "Actually, I've always wanted to see you again, but... not like this. I want to see you in your original form."
"Re... really?" Kyu-chan's face turned red as she stared blankly at Kawaki.
"Yes," Kawaki replied softly. "So, please leave this body and show yourself to me as you truly are. Then we can do something fun together, okay, Kyu-chan?"
"A... alright," Kyu-chan, who had never been treated like this by Kawaki, was momentarily enchanted and nodded without thinking. "Even if I'm punished by Takamagahara and can no longer be a god, I'll still..."
Before she could finish, Kyu-chan realised what was happening, pushed Kawaki away, and said in frustration, "Seriously, I almost fell for that! That's not your true feelings..."
"What are you talking about, Kyu-chan..." Kawaki took two steps forward and gently held Kyu-chan's hand. "It was my mistake before for not noticing your charm, but I regret it now. Come on, go back. I'll be here waiting for you to appear before me in your true form..."
"Kawaki, do you think I'll believe those words?" Kyu-chan turned her head with a small huff, but her face turned even redder as she thought, Damn it, this man's natural ability to lie so sweetly is so charming... I almost fell for it...
Seriously, I ended up getting involved with such a troublesome person... Kawaki thought, glancing at Kyu-chan and mentally complaining, Tsukuyo, you lent your body to such a dangerous person...
"And..." Kyu-chan seemed to remember something and leaned close to Kawaki's ear, whispering, "Here's a secret~ Right now, I can't leave this body~ Because as a god, my wish hasn't been fulfilled yet~ And if I forcibly leave, this girl might be in danger~"
"What do you mean?"
"This girl... she's still sleeping soundly. Very deeply~ Probably because her dream is better than reality. She can't be woken up with normal means~."
"What should I do?" Kawaki asked, pulling his arm away from Kyu-chan's embrace, his tone calm.
"Help me fulfill my wish, and I'll tell you," Tsukuyo smiled sweetly.
"What's your wish?"
"Don't you think it's pitiful?" Kyu-chan looked towards the room's corner where the altar was, her eyes resting on the small nine-tailed fox statue. "The goddess of victory with just a few tiny shrines, not even a proper shrine to be admired... It makes me want to have countless shrines built in her honor~."