From Idol to Goddess??

I stayed just out of Tenshi's reach all the way back to our current dorm room, stopping as Tenshi caught up to me huffing. I grabbed onto her, wrapping her in a hug. "Well *huff* glad to see *huff* you're feeling better."

I laughed. "Only thanks to you."

She pushed me away weakly before tiredly punching my shoulder. "There... *huff* Don't you ever *huff* mention that idea *huff* again."

"Fine, fine. I'll drop the stripper pole. I have no idea how to use one anyways." I scooped her up, easily carrying her into the room. "For now, though, I want snuggles."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "And what about classes?"

I shrugged. "I'm sure Venness wouldn't mind us skipping half a day of classes after that meeting. Plus, the entire school did kinda follow us to her office, so the rumors are gonna start flying around long before your uniform change. Might as well put that off at least for today."

Tenshi nodded. "A fair point. It's not like we're suffering in our grades either. Well, other than your Japanese reading and writing, but that's kind of a given. Very well." Sitting down, I leaned back against the arm as I curled myself around her slightly. Taking in a deep breath of her hair, I yawned with a smile.

Right as I was on the edge of passing out, however, the door slammed open. I sat bolt upright, hanging onto Tenshi so I didn't accidentally throw her off the couch. "Ok, you two are spilling! What. The hell. Happened!" Maria stormed in with Momo hot on her tail.

I shook the sleep from my head, Tenshi rubbing her eye slightly. "...Short end of it? Talia pulled all financial support, so we're being moved to the other side." I blinked, narrowing my eyes at Maria. She wore the brown uniform. "This does not mean we're joining your crime empire, so don't even ask."

She pouted slightly before it sunk in. "Wait. Tenshi, a high noble, is gonna be treated like a commoner?!" I just nodded while Tenshi resettled herself into a more comfortable position on my lap, giving them a look of indifference as they walked around to sit on the couch opposite us.

Momochi made a face. "Ugh... That uniform is not going to go well with your coat."

Tenshi threw her hands up while I laughed. "I said the same thing."

The fox on my lap folded her arms, turning her head. "To think you don't believe I can make it work is scandalous."

"To hell with the uniform color! How the hell do you intend to deal with being treated so low?!" Maria stood up, a look of annoyance and shock on her face as she pointed at Tenshi.

She also stood, facing Maria straight on. "Unlike some, I am not helpless on my own as most would have you believe. Besides, I have that thing to look out for me." She smirked, pointing her thumb back at me.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, laughing as I pulled her back onto my lap.

"Argh!" Maria let herself fall back onto the couch, leaning back with a hand over her eyes. "It would be one thing if you were just some snobbish noble who was asking for it, but for Tenshi, the High Noble well-known among the lower class as an angel in name AND actions..." I could feel the eyeroll from Tenshi. Maria sat up straight to look at her. "Not to mention my friend. It's just... Hard to wrap my head around the idea that you of all people could be treated so low."

"Well, even amongst the lesser nobles you have a reputation. Your magical abilities alone have started rumors that you're secretly a Holy Paladin." Momo had her hand to her chin, although I could see the cold calculating look in her eye. Just another reminder to keep her close enough to keep a careful eye on.

Tenshi shook her head, her mood darkening instantly. "I'm not one and have no intention of having anything to do with the church. Ever."

I latched onto the new term. "Holy Paladin?"

Tenshi blinked, twisting around to look at me. "It seems I've never explained the Great Church of Mizuki. To be honest though, I don't like talking about them anyways so that's not a surprise."

Maria and Momo gaped for a second. The lizard snapped out of it first though. "you're telling me... You haven't explained the single most prominent religion, one that plays a part in our government I might add, to Raven... Because you don't like talking about it??" My interest was piqued now.

Maria rubbed her temple. "...Wow, ok. Raven, I guess we're giving you a crash course on the Great Church of Mizuki and how they play a part in the Alliance of United Species. So way back at the beginning, long before any nation existed, people would get transported here. Otherworlders. Some died as they had no idea how to survive on their own, while others lived decades or even centuries. But there were so few of them that they almost never saw another intelligent person, only wild animals. And then came Mizuki. There have been many descriptions left behind about her, but the things that remain consistent are these: First, she was a feline. Second, she more closely resembled a domesticated breed from earth. Third, she had wings. Fourth, she lived four centuries. And fifth, there is no record of her death.

"She is believed to be a literal goddess descended from her own plain of existence because, as I'm sure you've noticed by now, no one else in this world has ever been described as a domesticated breed, as well as the fact that cats only have a lifespan of about six decades. Not centuries. First records of her are from the first town made, originally made of otherworlders she had brought together. And as she collected more, they made families. They had children. Those children grew up, had families of their own. Then they grew old as their children grew up. Then someone who knew how to make paper and ink was brought to what was little more than sixty people living in what was described as a camp. Little more than roped together shelters. The first writings start there, probably a hundred years or so after the camp officially got started.

"The writer, known as Suzuki, described his first impression of Mizuki with this. 'She was beautiful, to the eyes of one who hadn't seen another living soul in ten years, descending from the sky on glittery butterfly wings, as if an angel in disguise.'"

Momo pulled out her phone, quickly showing me what seemed to be a picture of an old painting. In it was a black cat with ocean blue hair and grey eyes. On her back were glittery transparent wings. She seemed to be gliding down to a small grey horse. He, as it was clearly a male, was in a simple leather tunic while she was in white robes. "This is the most common depiction, although there are too many to narrow it down." I blinked. Momo seemed to know exactly what I was thinking as she cleared her throat, causing Maria to pause. "Yes, it has already been noted that she does look like Mizuki Inygo, the pop singer from earth. However, we haven't confirmed if she's one and the same."

I cocked my head to the side. "I doubt picking up and finishing a show for a popstar who got shot on-stage makes her one, but I could see it. That girl could sing."

I blinked twice when I realized all eyes were on me. "Raven..." I brought my eyes down to Tenshi's. "How long after that performance did you die?"

I thought back. "Probably an hour after Mizuki left the stage? I grabbed merch for Yui on my way out the door, just to do my part to help, y'know? Getting shot isn't fun. Anyways, I had parked a few streets over. On my way to my truck, a large semitruck blew a tire, lost control. Last thing I saw was Mizuki, bless her soul, mid-air as she vaulted a car. It's safe to say she didn't make it." I finished to stunned silence.

Tenshi twisted in my lap to wrap her arms around me. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news... Yui died due to the gunshot on the way to the hospital. The bullet had poison from Hell on it, which is why Mizuki couldn't heal her right there on-stage. Mizuki, following the last words spoken to anyone from the popstar continued to sing and became an idol to give Hell a great big 'fuck you'. She was rather popular. Well, that is till the world ended due to some rampant virus."

Maria locked eyes with me. "It caused the zombie apocalypse. There were a few other things that happened as well, such as Lantrayis' sudden reappearance breaking some magical spell that had been over the entire world, keeping all kinds of magical beings hidden, ect... Point is, Mizuki Inygo was an idol for around one hundred and fifty years or so. After that, she possibly got transported to this dimension through some unknown factor, becoming the single most revered religious figure in this world.

"ANYWAYS, that's all speculation. Getting back on track here, Mizuki was around for a good estimated four hundred and thirty odd years. Although rumor has it she'd been trying for at least that long to get the camp up in the first place. Once that first town turned into a city, she just faded out of records, other than the church's own, but those they keep close that only those higher up have access. There is no record of her death, where she went, or what she did after that city no longer needed her to keep it stable. All this happened over two thousand years ago. All in BA."

I nodded. BA, Before the Alliance is bast compared to BC. Starting at year zero, the farther into the past you dig, the higher the BA year is. AA, or After the Alliance started that same year of zero and counts up to the present, year two thousand three hundred and fifty-three. "I see."

Maria leaned back in on the couch. "It doesn't end there. The church may not hammer down on any other religions as they believe every person must chose for themselves what they believe, but they do have control over part of our government. They're actually the ones who officially started the alliance in the first place, as the Goddess herself had wished for a country where all are equal. Because of that, they ended up running the government for several years before they could get non-church officials to pitch in and help. As such, there are certain powerful magics they train certain members as Paladins. Strong warriors whose main purpose is to protect the peace. Although, these days they mostly perform religious rituals and travel to the different wings of the church and county." She glanced at Tenshi. "The Tengoku family line is actually a long line of Paladins almost as old as the church itself."

Tenshi folded her arms. "They keep asking me to become a Paladin."

Maria raised an eyebrow. "And... You declined? Why?"

"Because I'm not a fighter. I absolutely will NOT lay harm to another if I do not absolutely need to. Due to how strongly I resisted that, my mo-" She coughed into her paw. "Talia arranged for me to marry the crown prince-" Her mouth closed with a click as she shrank back into me realizing just what she'd let slip.

I chuckled at the shocked looks on the other's faces. "It's supposed to be announced as soon as Tenshi graduates." My paw turned Tenshi to look at me as my smile took on a firm but concerned edge. "Tenshi. Are you ok? It's not like you to let something like that slip."

She turned her head away again. "I... I don't know. I mean, I expected her to do something like that. But for her to actually do it... I guess it's just a little hard to wrap my head around."

I wrapped my arms around her pulling her close. "You two basically disowned each other, that's a lot to get past. For anyone."

"Wait, hold it!" I was starting to feel bad for Momo and Maria. We were dumping a lot of heavier stuff on them all at once. "She fucking disowned you?!?"

Tenshi shrugged. "To be fair though, I did it first. She wanted to pull me from the Academy, and I won't be separated from Raven. It's... It happened right before she left."

I rested my chin on her head as she let me pull her against my chest. "It happened when Talia got mad at me for defending her. Tenshi took offense to that, and made it clear-cut where we stood in relation to her."

Once Maria got over her shock, she stood and walked around the table. "I can't deny this... Tenshi, you got some real guts. Not only have you turned down the church asking you to be a Paladin, one of the greatest honors short of being the High Priestess herself... But you've told your own mother, who is the widowed wife of one of the most legendary Paladins in recent history to basically fuck-off." She took Tenshi's paw in her own, giving it a firm shake, her expression full of respect.

Tenshi blinked in surprise. "...Well, okay, I guess. Though Raven here said she wouldn't have put her life in the way she did for me for anyone else. Not even the King himself." Maria slugged me in the shoulder.

I dodged just enough to avoid the brunt of the force and not have Tenshi get jostled. "...Raven, you are a literal mad woman."

I nodded with a smile, rubbing my shoulder slightly. "Why thank you kindly for noticing!"

Tenshi sighed. "Momochi, Maria. I've had a bit of a long day." She glanced back at me. "We both have, really. Would you two make yourselves scarce so we can unwind and rest?"

Maria nodded. "As you wish, miss-not-a-Paladin."

Momochi slowly wandered for the door, seemingly in a slight daze. "Is she going to be ok?" Tenshi asked.

Maria pointed a thumb at herself. "I'll make sure she gets back to her room safe and sound."

Tenshi nodded as the door closed. We laid back down on the couch, and I felt her shiver before tucking into me. And like that, she was out. I thought about the church for a while before letting the world go blank.