(11)->FAREWELL & HAREM?

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" " - Dialogue

' ' - Thought

---(Location)---

--(POV)--

-(Time gap)-

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---NAHA AIRPORT, OKINAWA, JAPAN---

--Author-san's POV--

-1 year later-

Seiya: "Onesan, take care of yourself out there and be aware of strangers! If you see a shady person just beat him up! And do not forget to call or text me everyday! Don't just keep studying all the time, make some new friends as well, alright? But make sure to watch out for those sleazy guys who could try to take advantage of your kindness!"

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It was a rare sight to see Seiya rambling, in fact, this may be the first time his family had witnessed him like this. The cause of this rambling was Ryuko, who was leaving for Musutafu City in order to attend the best heroics school in Japan- U.A. High.

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This would be the first time since he was reborn that Seiya would be away from his Onesan for so long. Since U.A. executes a six-day school week, Ryuko would only get a leave on Sunday, leaving no time for Ryuko to return home unless there was a vacation. Though, he too could visit her in Musutafu, he did not want to become a burden in her already hectic school life, after all, she was going to train to become a hero.

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Ryuko, on the other hand, seeing her ototo acting like this let out a sweet smile while her eyes almost turned moist. She was feeling the same as Seiya and did not want to part with him and her family but consoled herself thinking that it was only temporary and she had the rest of her life to spend with them. Not to mention that becoming a hero and saving people like her parents did, was her life-long dream just like countless others. Ever since she was little, she had heard from the people around her that her parents retired just so that they could take care of her. Her parents, of course, denied this but she did not believe them, and now it was her turn to repay the society.

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Ryuko: "Hai Hai, Ototo. But you must make sure to look after Aria and Nejire too, okay? After all, they are your future wives, hu hu hu!"

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Seiya almost groaned at this. During the past year, Nejire, with her cheerful demeanor, had become an integral part of their family, visiting them almost everyday and staying with them for as long as she could, sometimes spending the night as well which has become more often as time passed to the point that she now stayed over the weekends. It was during one such stay that she made a bold declaration.

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==Flashback - 3months ago==

---TATSUMA MANOR, OKINAWA---

--Seiya's POV--

It was another weekend and Nejire was staying over at our place. Late at night, we were placing our futons and making our beds in the back hall of the manor which was used as our hangout in the day and our bedroom at night. My bed was made alongside Aria's while Ryuko-nee and Nejire were alongside opposite to us as per our usual arrangements as only 2 people could sleep on one side given the size of the free space within the hall. However, Nejire seemed to have a thoughtful expression on her face something which went unnoticed by all of us,

Aria: "What happened Nejire-chan? Is there something troubling you?"

Turning her attention towards Aria, Nejire asked in a clueless tone,

Nejire: "Um, Why is it that you and Seiya always sleep next to each other? I, too, want to sleep next to you and Seiya."

Aria: "Okay then you can sleep on my side while Seiya can sleep next to Ryuko-nee."

But Nejire being Nejire, was not done with her questions,

Nejire: "Also you and Seiya seem much closer than friends. Why is that?"

Aria looked towards me as if saying, 'Why don't you answer her?'. Onesan too was looking at me with an amused smile on her face. However if they thought that I would shy away from this question, then the both of them were in for a surprise. Shamelessly, I proclaimed,

Seiya: "He He, that's because Aria is my girlfriend!"

This was what both me and Aria had come up with in order to ease our parents when we announce our relationship to them in the future, that is, being labeled as 'childhood sweethearts' which was technically true and what better way then use our immaturity to shamelessly proclaim so from a young age. However, I had underestimated Nejire-chan's innocence, and her next question almost made me fall backwards,

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Nejire: "And what is a 'girlfriend'? Is it a friend who is a 'girl'? If so, then am I not Seiya's girlfriend as well?"

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Seiya: '*Sigh*, and here I thought that 7-year old kids would know all about being girlfriends and boyfriends. At least they did in my previous world. Are all the kids like this or is it just Nejire again being Nejire again?'

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Shaking my head, I started to come up some sort of reasoning that she would believe which was easier said than done. In the end, keeping it as simple as possible, I said,

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Seiya: "Umm, you see, a girlfriend is someone whom I will marry in the future."

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All I got in response was Nejire again with a thoughtful expression on her face, Ryuko trying to hold her laughter in for whatever reason she found this conversation funny, and Aria wanting to say something but in the end deciding against it, only shaking her head.

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Seiya: 'Ugh! Somebody give me a break!'

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We went to our beds after this and the next morning, things went back to normal or at least I thought they did.

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-1 week later-

Nejire: "I want to be your girlfriend, Seiya."

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Seiya: "*Pfft**Cough*Cough* Wh-What?"

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It was yet another weekend with Nejire staying over and everything was the same as usual until it was nighttime when this declaration came out of the blue, making me splutter the water I was drinking. I did not see Aria and Ryuko-nee's expressions but I imagined it would not be much different than my own.

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Seiya: "B-But Nejire-chan, didn't I tell you before that Aria is my girlfriend and since I can only marry one girl so I can only have a single girlfriend as well, right?"

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But Nejire only tilted her head in confusion as she said,

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Nejire: "But my Mamma said that I can be your girlfriend too just like Aria."

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Seiya: "Y-your.... Mamma... said...?"

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The nod I got in affirmative did nothing to lessen the absurdity of the situation if not outright increase it instead. But I was not done yet,

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Seiya: "But Nejire, you would have to ask for Aria's permission first. You know, as my girlfriend, sh-"

Nejire: "But I already did and she has given me her approval."

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My head instantly turned towards Aria who was standing behind me with shock and surprise written clearly on my face with Ryuko-nee sharing my expression. Aria, on the contrary, had a calm smile on her face and only gave me a nod in return.

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Seiya: 'Seriously? She is asking me to accept...!'

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It was then that I realized that I had no other option than to accept Nejire as my 'girlfriend' in the first place for any other response, even changing the subject, would not do well with Nejire with any effects that this would have on her psyche unknown, after all, she was but a child of seven years and unlike him and Aria, she did not have enough emotional maturity to understand the implications of what she was asking of him.

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Seiya: '*Sigh* I am too old for this. Well, I hope that she would just grow out of it over time. Meanwhile, I too will enjoy having two girlfriends simultaneously.'

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Making up my mind, I turned towards Nejire who was seemingly waiting for my response. Taking her small hands in mine, I said

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Seiya: "Alright Nejire, if you are willing to accept my relationship with Aria then I too would like to be your boyfriend."

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Though the declaration ended up being a little weird, it did have its desired effect and Nejire's face now had a beautiful smile which was enough to brighten up the earlier somber mood in the room though, I swear, I saw a strange flash in Ryuko-nee's eyes.

==Flashback - Over==

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And thus from that day on, Ryuko would often tease Seiya about this among many 'other' things. However what she did not know was the conversation that Seiya and Aria had the next day.

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==Flashback - The next day after that night==

---SEIYA'S ROOM, TATSUMA MANOR---

--Seiya's POV--

I was still thinking about what happened last night. It might have seemed that the matter last night had already concluded but I knew that there was a chance it wasn't.

*Cough*

A cough broke me out of my thoughts. Even without turning I could tell who the sudden visitor in my room was thanks to my aura sense. In a mock tone, I said,

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Seiya: "Oh! To what do I owe the pleasure of your highness gracing me with her presence!"

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And as usual, Aria did not play along with him and gave him a straightforward reply,

Aria: "Thinking about last night, haven't you?"

And again, as usual, Aria knows me better than I do myself.

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Seiya: "Yeah, the matter has been set aside for now but if, by chance, in the future, Nejire feels that she wants to continue this relationship and becomes serious about it, then what?"

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Aria: "We already had this discussion, remember?"

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Indeed we did and all I could think of after that was how lucky I was to have Aria.

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=Flashback within Flashback - The night before the fight with Demon General=

---DEMON REALM, IXPHORIA---

--Author-san's POV--

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Seiya and Aria were having what could be called their final rest in Ixphoria. Tomorrow they would fight against the Demon General himself which would be deciding the fate of Ixphoria. Seiya's restlessness made him unable to get any sleep and Aria in a bid to unnerve him started talking about casual things like what he would like to try once he returned home and such. After a while, Aria asked,

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Aria: "Seiya, did you have some sort of dream back when you were in your home world?"

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Seiya did not really know how to answer her question. He wanted to lie for once but did not want to break the trust that he shared with her. Taking a deep breathe, he answered,

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Seiya: "Well, you know, I was kind of geeky back then and spent most of my time surfing the net and playing games. Now, the games that I loved were visual novels which generally featured a hero who had his own harem. I guess, I always wanted to have a life like that with my own harem and all. Of course that was all before I met you so please don't think anything about it."

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He expected her to laugh or frown but what he did not expect was her response,

Aria: "Why? Don't you know that polygamy is allowed in Olympus? You can always have your harem if you find suitable girls willing to join in."

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Seiya just re-winded her words again and again until he was sure that he comprehended her words correctly. This was followed by thinking of a possible rational explanation for her response. The only reasons that he could think of were that either she wanted to have a harem of her own (made up of guys) or that she did not want to be with him anymore and so told him to search for others. He could think of one other reason but it was too good to be true. With anime tears flowing out of his eyes, he said,

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Seiya: "Aria, are you going to leave me? Or do you want to have a harem as well?"

Aria: "Wh-Wh-Whaaaaaat?"

Aria stood there speechless for a moment after which she closed her eyes, took a deep breathe and calmed herself down and then thought about Seiya's question. It did not take long for her to figure out the reason behind his sudden question. Giving him a shake of her head, she said,

Aria: "You really have a wild imagination, don't you? To answer your first question, my answer is simply a 'No', unless you are the one who wants to leave me..."

Seiya: "NOO!!!"

She was pleased with the frantic shaking of Seiya's head, showing his disapproval. Continuing on, she said,

Aria: "Before I answer your other question, let me ask you something. Do you know my age?"

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Seiya: "Umm-a..., I...don't...know?"

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And he truly didn't because he did not care about it, after all, he very well knew how long the lifespan of a God could be and comparing it with the standards of ordinary mortals was just plain foolish. Not to mention, he would not care even if she was older than the progenitor of humanity himself.

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Aria: "Then all you need to know that I have been getting proposals for more than 1500 years. They range from becoming my boyfriends to even slaves. If I truly wanted to have a harem, don't you think I would already have it by now?"

Realization finally dawned on Seiya's face as he recalled all those times when all those male gods tried to propose to Aria. Many a times, Seiya himself was subjected to the death glares directed at him by those men.

Seiya: "B-But then that would mean...?"

Aria's smile answered his question well enough. It was hard for him to believe that Aria had given him the okay to have a harem and yet at the same time he did not want to take advantage of her kindness.

Seiya: "You really are too kind Aria but I don't need any one else as I long as I have you by my side. Moreover, even if, by a small chance, a girl wants to be with me, having harems can be considered to be illegal in my world so it's a lost cause anyway."

Aria: "You always overthink things, don't you? Seiya, please, don't try to rationalize emotions because you will always get them wrong. I don't feel anything wrong with you having a harem because I know that your love for me would remain the same no matter what happens. Moreover, I am not forcing you to find new girls. All I am saying is that I would have no problem if in the future you find a suitable girl willing to join in. As for the law of your world, you could always wait till you ascend to Olympus."

Her words filled Seiya's heart with gratitude and his appreciation for Aria increased even further, something which he thought wasn't possible until now. He went up to her and hugged her as tightly as he could without hurting while he silently made a vow that he would do everything in his power to keep Aria always happy.

=Flashback within Flashback - Over=

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Seiya: "But that was for after we settled in Olympus!"

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Aria: "Just because it was not possible in your home world doesn't mean that it would not be possible in this one. See this."

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Saying this, she gestured towards the phone she was holding in her hands and passed it to me. On it, a webpage had been loaded which looked like an article titled 'Marriage Laws'. Scrolling down, I started reading through it but the more I read the more amazed I grew. All of it basically came down to this:

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Ever since the 'quirks' first manifested, humanity has suffered from a decline in birth rates and as a result, in population growth. Some people believe the increase in difficulty for a couple with 'quirks' in conceiving to be the cause behind this while others believe the accidents and cases due to the usage of quirks to be a possible explanation though with the rise of Allmight as the World's Symbol of Peace and the rapid decline in such cases, it is no longer seen as such. Nonetheless, with such decline, the rate of population growth has entered into the negatives with the world population decreasing every year. Additionally, due to the appeal of several families, polygamy has been legalized in the world.

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Seiya: "Wow! I guess I still have many prejudices regarding this world. But how did you find out about this?"

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Aria: "Don't you remember what Nejire said last night? She told us that her mother said that you could be with her as well. That's what got me wondering about it and then I found out about this. Even so, I think it's too soon to be thinking about such things. For all we know, she might break-up with you tomorrow so there is no need for you to overthink about this issue just like you always do."

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Seiya: "Yeah, I do have to do something about this habit of overthinking things. But what can I do Aria, all of this is new for me and I don't have any experience regarding these things but thankfully I have you with me."

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Saying this I wrapped her in a hug, whiffing the scent of her fragrant hair. Giggling Aria replied,

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Aria: "That you do."

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==Flashback - Over==

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After talking with Seiya, Ryuko went over to say her farewell to Aria and Nejire while Seiya's parents walked over to him. In order to ensure Ryuko's safe arrival and help her get settled in, the two of them were going with her.

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Kyoko: "Seiya, while we are gone, you will have to take care of Aria and yourself, okay?"

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Seiya: "Hai Okaa-san!"

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Seiya replied enthusiastically even though he knew that it wasn't really the case. Aria's parents would be there to take care of them so he really did not have to do anything. Still, for his parent's sake, Seiya replied just as a child would have.

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Ryoma: "Also enjoy as much as you can while we are away cause once we are back, you too are going to start your training, alright?"

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In return, Seiya gave his response in the form of a serious nod.

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\\Author-san's Thoughts//

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I know I know, I was quite late in publishing this chapter but you know the saying- man proposes god disposes. My college classes started again last week and I had to get back into them cutting away large portion of my time that I could have spent writing. Additionally, I decided to add one more chapter to my ever increasing list of chapters but once again for a good reason. After the last chapter, someone asked me about how I was going to add the harem and all and so I decided to make a chapter just for that.

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This chapter is mostly for fun (including the last one) yet important at the same time for this introduced the harem element in the story. For those who found Aria's for accepting the harem to be a bit lacking, let's just say there was is one more reason which will be revealed in the canon. This would be the last 'relationships' chapter for at least the next 2-3 chapters. We would meet new characters for sure but we won't be exploring any 'romantic' or other angles with training and time skips being the main focus.

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Also, I would like to personally assure you that I would not be abandoning this story (unless you all want me to) so please try not to remove this story from your collections except when you think that this story is not to your liking.

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As for the next chapter, it's half done and if everything goes smoothly (though it rarely does) I will try to release it within this week. My Naruto fanfic is also moving along quite well and I have already completed the first chapter. But I need your opinion regarding something.

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DO YOU WANT THE MC TO BE AN ORPHAN OR NOT? (He belongs to a clan)(For Naruto fic)

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>[YES]

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>[NO]

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Your opinions matter a lot so please comment.

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Until next time! Adjo!

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