[31] Ever-Twisting Choices

Chapter 31: Ever-Twisting Choices

—

As morning came, the sounds of chirping birds were apparent outside the windows. The hotel room was bathed in soft light, creating a serene atmosphere. The white sheets on top of us were still warm, and the faint sounds of the city slowly filled the air. It was a moment of quiet awakening, where the coziness of the bed lingered and the promise of a new day unfolded.

I woke up when sunlight slipped past the curtains and fell over my eyelids. I didn't get the chance to freshen up. I was sitting on the bed, leaning back on my pillow, and chatting with Mem-Cho on the phone.

I borrowed Mem's name again last night to spend the night out; I texted Ai to let her know that I and Tsubasa met Mem-Cho out of coincidence outside school, and it ended up being a night out. I forgot to text Mem to warn her about this in case Ai reached out to her to confirm, and that's exactly what had happened.

Luckily, the half devil girl had enough wit to cover my back. She told Ai that we were with her. Though now she was curious about what I was really up to.

[M-Chan: Is this a common thing? Do you always disappear and leave innocent people like me with all the blame?]

[A-Kun: No comments. Anyway, I'll treat you to dinner to make up for this, alright?]

[M-Chan: I am not having dinner with you, who knows how it will end up… Instead, I'll just count this as employee service. But if I'm really working for you like this, you need to give me some kind of payment, right?]

[A-Kun: True.]

[M-Chan: You're not even telling me about what you're up to borrowing my name this time– not that I can't guess since it's you and that girlfriend of yours– but at least I want to get something in return. Except for a dinner date.]

[A-Kun: I never said it would be a date. Damn, assuming things? Have you been hoping for me to invite you on a date?]

[M-Chan: …Shut up, Aqua.]

[A-Kun: Hahaha. I'm joking. Anyway, if it's a payment you want, look forward to our next meeting. I promise it won't be anything weird, I'll teach you a Magic Spell.]

That was a deal that she liked and was very happy about. Naturally, every person of this generation liked magic, who wouldn't? As a devil, maybe she knew some magic spells by default, but since she didn't have a teacher and wasn't really connected to the magical side of the world, she shouldn't know anything exceptional. She'll love what I will teach her.

As I put the phone down, I already knew that Tsubasa was up. She was wrapping her arms around my waist the entire night, and she was still doing that now, looking up at me with silent eyes.

"Are you done chatting?" 

She asked, her voice cracked from all the noise she made last night. That realization made her blush as she suddenly forgot how to look me in the eye.

"It was Mem-Cho, looks like mom called her last night to ask about us." I said, my hand reaching out to ruffle her hair. 

"Oh," Tsubasa peeked at me from behind messy hair. "That's fine, then. Did Ai find out?"

"She didn't," I said, and as I did I moved to lay on my side, suddenly a lot closer to her. "Why do you sound so jealous, though? It's not wise to be that paranoid and jealous."

"I- I'm not jealous…? You're crazy." She cleared her throat and pushed her face against my chest, while I laughed and put my hand on her head.

"I guess the Master-Servant deal is off then if you're like this," I leaned down to kiss her head. "That's for the food, I guess. If you were to become my [Incarnation] you'd die if I were to die. It's pretty dangerous to share our life together."

And if I reincarnate, she will too. So yes, it's a big thing. I don't know why I decided to offer such a thing to Tsubasa, when I knew from the beginning that I wouldn't go through with it even if she accepted. I never had an Inarcantion through so many of my lives. Firstly, few met the requirements to be my Incarnation, and the few who did meet them, they were either my enemies or girls whom I didn't want to entangle with me in eternal suffering.

Tsubasa wanted me for herself, girls were obsessive like that, a lot more so in modern worlds. So obviously my joking proposal was not what she'd choose. At least, that's what I thought.

Surprisingly, the moment I mentioned that we could die together, she paused on her spot. She hesitated and then looked up at me, "So it's like 'until death do us apart'? It would make it so that our love is… eternal. That's so romantic. To die together, I mean."

Girls are weird. Hahh. She reminds me of many others in the past. Except the thing is, if she died, I won't die, and she won't be reincarnated either. It only worked one way. 

"Let's do it." She suddenly said, "Make me yours. Mark me as… yours. I think it will feel far more real than being a girlfriend, we will be literally soul mates, after all."

"...." 

After a short silence, I scoffed at myself and smiled. "Sorry if I got your hopes up, I was just joking when I said all that, to tease your mother about the Master-Servant thing she suggested."

"Oh…" Tsubasa's face deflated.

I developed this technique in my 7th life, as the Emperor. I wanted to take my Queen, the Mankind's Empress, along with me to my next life when I realized humanity will fall soon. I wanted her to come with me, but she… didn't accept. 

She met the requirements. She was lab-created, created by an alien federation who had captured me out of pure luck and used me to make a female clone out of myself. If only they knew that and she and I would later simply fall in love, sticking together for the thousands of years to come. Naturally as my clone, even though she didn't have any of my memories, she met the requirements to be my Incarnation. Yet, she chose to die for good, while wishing me good luck for my next life. 

After our 48,000 years of life together, ruling over humanity and expanding it throughout the cosmos, she couldn't see herself living a new life in a new world. She said I could do it since I have prior experience with reincarnation, but she wanted to die for her people as it was.

I regret it till this day, for being unable to convince her. And since then I decided I'll never choose a partner to be my Incarnation if I didn't love them as much as I loved my Empress. It wouldn't be worth it to entangle them in the eternal suffering of unlimited deaths if I didn't love them at least that much.

Tsubasa was cute, but she was nowhere near the elegance that was the Empress. I'm not supposed to linger on my past lives, but for the Empress, it would hurt my heart if I gave a girl I just slept with today the thing that she didn't accept.

"...Your eyes look hollow."

I closed my eyes and reopened them. "My bad, I was just reminiscing."

"About what?"

"Nothing you need to worry about."

"..." Tsubasa sighed. She looked down, and then her eyes rose back up to look at me. "It won't be a healthy dating relationship if you act like this. Sadly, I doubt you'll stop doing that ever. So many secrets, Aqua…"

"Aqua," Her hand curled up in frustration as she stared at me. "We shouldn't date."

"I understand," My unhesitant reply made her lips quiver. Slightly unexpected, but it's understandable. I tried to get away from her, such an intimate position wasn't good for us since she just rejected me. Yet, she held onto me tightly when I tried to leave, her brows furrowed as she glared. "What?"

"I don't mean let's be strangers, bastard," She lightly hit me on the chest; if it was a normal human they might have received a few broken ribs. "Don't give me those quick and cold replies. A girlfriend and boyfriend are equals, they deserve to know each other's secrets, but since you will never reveal them to me, it's unwise to commit ourselves to that concept. So instead, I am saying that… let us do that Master Servant thing, except there is no need for you to do that Incarnation process with me. Just take me in as your… servant.  I knew I loved calling you 'Master' after what we did in the hotel last night. So I want to be yours. I want to be… owned. For eternity. Then… as someone beneath you, you don't owe me any explanation."

"...."

These oppressed Japanese girls really were crazy. I couldn't understand why she was so obsessed with me. I listened to her beating heart, the increasing pace as she hugged me and looked into my eyes. She was so scared that I'd reject her; it said something that she's proposing the offer that I already said isn't possible; she is going far enough to cut that impossible Incarnation part and just begging me to accept the concept.

Man, I tried so much in the first half of last night to give her passionate partner sex, yet she fell for the second half's rough side. She really was a masochist, a cute one at that.

"You shouldn't say such things like you want to be owned," I couldn't help it when I heard words like that. My hand reached out to grab her face, squeezing the side of her cheeks to make her mouth part. Her eyes shook a little at that, and I saw her gulp as she looked at me in expectation. "Bad men might take advantage of you, you know? It's all good that you're so kinky, but you have to have some control."

"I… don't mind if it's you," Despite her face being squeezed, she said. "I trust you, Aqua. More than you'll ever understand."

It was quite arrogant to use the word 'ever' against me, as I laughed briefly before sealing her lips with mine. My hands grabbed her as I moved on top of her. Her massive boobs jiggled over her body and she struggled just a little before giving in, her body relaxing under my pressure as she kissed me back.

"W-wait," she complained amidst the kiss. "Let's stop here. We can't possibly skip another day at school- ahhn~"

When my hand slapped her thighs, she was interrupted with her own moan. "Should have thought that over before you decided to give your freedom to me. You've been 'owned' now, why do you think any of your choices will matter from now on?"

"School is important, too. Ugh, mm, ahn… M-master, please…"

She gave me a pleading look mixed with irritation, but she couldn't move as I had her arms locked over her head. 

"I'll make one thing clear. I can't see you as my 'servant' or 'slave'. You're too good of a girl for that." I paused in what I was doing to let her know. "But since you like calling me Master so much, I'll take you in as my disciple. That doesn't include your mother, though. You, Tsubasa, are my #3rd Disciple, while I am your Master. This means I'll do a lot more than just fuck your brains out, look forward to some power upgrades soon." 

Before she could respond, I spread her legs and pushed my pleasure shaft inside her, her expression twisted to fit my desires as she let out a slut-like moan. 

Fuck school.

* * *

A two day long date was a good date. I did have to use a lot of excuses to shut up both Ai and uncle Ichigo who called. Instead, I took my lovely disciple out to buy her some new clothes, and then take her to Starbucks for some morning coffee.

"What would you like?" I asked her, standing in front of the counter.

"Anything that you'll take, I'll take that, Master… Hmm?" Tsubasa paused, realizing what she just called me in public. Her face flushed and her eyes shifted to look at the lady behind the counter, who looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "I meant… Aqua."

Unbelievable.

I shook my head and casually ordered two glasses of Iced Matcha Tea, pretending I didn't hear anything. Soon, we took a seat in one corner of the café, sitting facing each other with our cups in our hands.

"Can I talk to your mom for a bit?" I asked, causing the still flustered Tsubasa to grow more worried. Her eyes seemed to spin behind her round glasses as she smiled meekly. "No, I am not going to complain to her or anything. Just call her out."

When Tsubasa nodded with a sigh, it's as if the weather changed in a matter of moments. Her shy and meek expression vanished, a strong and cold expression took over. Her purplish-brown eyes changed with golden ones as the lady in front of me crossed her legs, lifting the cup of coffee to her mouth as she took a sip.

"What do you want?" The woman who was clearly irritated that I had tamed her own daughter, said.

"Just wanted to see you in a choker," I said as I took a sip of my own, my eyes locking on the thin black fabric around her neck.

Her eyes twitched as she chuckled, and she smirked. "You're lucky she didn't let me out last night, or even during this morning. Or else I'd have shown you what domination really feels like. Little brat, don't let your head get too big just because you tamed a masochistic little girl like her."

I held back a laugh. It was funny seeing her mad because of this. But I didn't call her here to mock her. "Look, I need your help with something. Teach Tsubasa how that Bouchujutsu thing works, mainly teach her how to control Touki. I want to experiment with something."

Initially the plan was to ask Tsubasa to take her mother use her body for a while so that we could fuck, but now that I think about it that would be absurd for her to agree with. So it's better for her to learn the technique herself, and then I can study it to modify it to work as a Dual Cultivation Art.

To my annoyance, the woman smirked and I knew this would be a hard nut to crack. "Oh? And why should I help you? Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful you let me stay in my daughter's body, but I am sure I paid you back for that. Unless you're the type to betray your benefactors? I'm not saying I won't help you, but what do I gain in return for helping you?"

After I spent a minute wondering, I quickly realized there was no need to plot for this. If what I know about her is correct, she will agree to help me just because of the benefits she will receive from Dual Cultivation. As the name suggests, it's a "Dual" art, I'm not the only one who'll be benefiting from this.

So, all I had to do was to tell her about this. She was skeptical if I could actually make such an art, but she had seen me do wilder stuff so she trusted quickly.

"I have actually heard rumors that in the distant past, techniques like this did exist. These days they are just legends, though. Fine, I'll trust you. I'll teach her. Since I'm in her head she should be able to perform it relatively well in no time." The woman said, nodding to me in agreement.

"Then with this, you'd be an official part of my sect too." I told her. "Let us see. I am the Sect Leader, you're the Elder. Ruby is the #1st disciple, Mem-Cho is the #2nd, and Tsubasa is #3rd. Not bad, we have five members already."

The woman laughed as if she found this funny. Did it appear a joke to her that a 15-year-old was making his own magical organization?

"Boy, what are your ambitions?" She asked in a curious yet serious tone. "You are a really special individual, it does make me wonder what you really want."

"Hey, that's too big of a question." I told her with a smile that didn't reach my eye, she took the hint and scoffed.

"Fine. What is the Sect's name, then? The name often goes along with the ambition." She leaned over, putting her chin on her hand as she did.

"The name huh," I wondered. I already had one in mind, but the reason I never said the name on my own was because a similar name had failed in the past. So I wondered if this new, corrected name will follow that footprint, or if I will succeed my Sorcerer self. 

"The Nexus of Eternity. That's the name." I said as I stood up, watching her pause on her spot for a moment, wondering if I was just being a chuunibyou or if the name went as deep as it meant.

Staring from my 5th life, after I got stuck in the time loop, I pursued Eternity. In the lives afterwards, except for my 8th life, I wanted my lives to never end. That's why all my lives were progressively older after the 5th, excluding the 8th life. I was just a suicidal maniac in my 8th life, after losing my all in my 7th, so it's understandable.

Now though, in my 11th life, after I died as a normal doctor in my 10th, I wanted this to last an eternity. But not just me, no, I want everyone near me to form a nexus that would last as long as me. Like my most, I don't want this life of mine to end.

So. Eternity it is.

**

**

**

Editor @Shortmotor Note: Blud Thinks She's Kimi

Author @Master4thWall Note: Fr

Editor @MagnuS Note: Both short motor and 4th are shameless. Unlike me, the epitome of masculinity

Author @Master4thWall Note: Mad coping happening here