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[POV - Yuuki Rito]
[School exit - Late afternoon]
DING-DONG! DING-DONG!
The school bell echoed through the corridors like a song of freedom, announcing the end of another day of classes. Students began pouring through the gates like water escaping from a dam, each one eager to return to the comfort of home.
"Rito-kun, you were so incredible today!" Asia practically floated beside me, her eyes shining like shooting stars. "When you showed those golden wings, I almost fainted from excitement!"
"It's true!" Haruna agreed, her cheeks tinged with a delicate pink. "You looked... you looked like a prince from a fairy tale!"
GIGGLE! GIGGLE!
Lala bounced around me like a personified ray of sunshine, impossible to contain.
"My fiancé is the strongest! The most handsome! The most..." she made a dramatic pause, "the most INCREDIBLE in the entire universe!"
Run, who walked a bit behind, murmured something that sounded suspiciously like "if Ren were here, he'd faint from jealousy."
STEP-STEP-STEP!
My footsteps hit the asphalt in a calm cadence as I listened to the girls' chorus of compliments. Honestly? It was kind of embarrassing. I had only done what anyone would do to protect their family. Well, maybe not anyone. Maybe only someone with infinite cosmic powers.
"Ah, girls," I tried to change the subject, "it was just..."
"ABSOLUTELY EPIC!" Lala completed for me, hopping backward and walking backwards in front of me. "Did you see how those guys flew? WHOOSH! And then BANG! And then..."
THUD!
Lala tripped on a stone, but before she could fall, I caught her by the arm.
"Careful there, princess," I murmured with a smile.
Her eyes lit up even more, if that was possible.
"My hero~," she sang, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek.
BLUSH!
I felt my face heat up like a pan on fire.
"L-Lala..."
But before I could finish the sentence, something caught my attention. There in the park ahead of us, there was a familiar figure. An old bearded man, apparently having a heated discussion with a blonde woman with glasses.
And this old man wasn't just any old man.
"Odin," I murmured quietly, my eyes narrowing.
"...I can't believe I didn't get even a little grope!" the voice of the All-Father reached us, loaded with comic frustration. "Not even a little boob! What a boring trip!"
"ODIN-SAMA!" Rossweisse's voice cut through the air like an indignant siren. "This is completely inappropriate for a god of your stature! You should behave with more dignity!"
"Dignity, dignity," Odin grumbled, adjusting his eye patch. "You only say that because you've never dated. How can you understand the pleasures of life?"
SPLASH!
The sound of falling tears was almost audible when Rossweisse began to cry, her boss's words cutting deeper than any sword.
"What a... strange situation," Asia murmured, clearly uncomfortable with the scene.
"Who are they?" Haruna asked, instinctively moving closer to me.
But before I could answer, Odin saw us approaching. His eyes – well, eye – lit up with a mischievous gleam I knew very well.
"Well, well! If it isn't the famous Yuuki Rito!" he exclaimed, completely abandoning the discussion with Rossweisse and coming toward us like a misdirected rocket.
"Sir..." I began cautiously.
"No formalities, boy!" he gave me a pat on the back that almost threw me to the ground. "I have some important questions for you!"
Uh-oh. I already didn't like where this conversation was heading.
"First," Odin positioned himself in front of me with the seriousness of a general planning war, "do you prefer big breasts or small ones?"
CRASH!
The sound of all the girls' jaws hitting the ground was almost deafening.
"D-DID HE JUST ASK WHAT?!" Asia stammered, her face turning red as a ripe tomato.
"What kind of question is that?!" Haruna protested, covering her face with her hands.
Lala, on the other hand, seemed genuinely curious about the answer.
"It's... an interesting question," she murmured thoughtfully. "Rito, which do you really prefer?"
"LALA!" the other three screamed in unison.
"Second," Odin continued, completely ignoring the chaos around us, "what's your type of woman? Shy? Energetic? Intellectual? Yanderes?"
"Mr. Odin..." I tried to interrupt, but he was on a mission.
"Third and most important," his eyes gleamed dangerously, "do you have any special technique for conquering female hearts? Because, as you can see," he gestured toward Rossweisse, who was still crying, "my social skills need some adjustments."
The girls exchanged glances and, in a surprising demonstration of female solidarity, surrounded Rossweisse like a protective wall.
"We'll take care of her," Asia declared with maternal determination.
"Leave it to us," Haruna added, already pulling tissues from her bag.
"Men!" Run sighed dramatically. "Always making women cry!"
As they moved away, taking Rossweisse for an intensive consolation operation, Odin turned to me again. But this time, his expression had completely changed. The clown had disappeared, revealing the ancient god behind the mask.
"Now that we're alone..." his voice carried centuries of wisdom and power. "Are you Yahweh?"
There was no reason to hide. Not anymore.
"Yes," I replied simply.
"DAMN!" he cursed quietly, running his hand through his beard. "I knew it! That presence... that power... it could only be you."
"So the reform in Heaven? The creation of new angels? The Brave Saints?" it was more of a statement than a question. "All your work."
I nodded.
Odin remained silent for a few seconds, his single eye studying me as if he could see through my soul. Then, surprisingly, he smiled.
"Good to see you again, old friend," he said, his voice heavy with nostalgia. "I just hope you don't plan to start a new war. The cosmos is still recovering from the last one."
"I don't plan anything of the sort," I assured him. "I just want to live in peace."
"Peace," he laughed, but there was no bitterness in the sound. "You were always too optimistic."
WHOOSH!
Rossweisse came running back, her eyes still red from crying, but clearly feeling better after the girls' care.
"Odin-sama, it's time to..." she began, but stopped when she saw the expression on her boss's face.
Odin looked at her, then at me, and a mischievous smile spread across his face like butter melting on warm bread.
"Ah, yes! I almost forgot," he hit his forehead theatrically. "Rossweisse, you're fired!"
"WHAT?!" she screamed, the sound echoing through the entire park.
"That's right! No job, no home, no future!" Odin declared cheerfully, as if he were announcing the weather. "Good luck!"
POOF!
He disappeared in a cloud of golden smoke, but not before giving me a complicit wink.
"HE ABANDONED ME!" Rossweisse collapsed, tears flowing like a waterfall. "I have nowhere to go! I'll be considered a total failure!"
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
The girls came running back like a rescue squad, but they all stopped and looked at me with that expression I knew very well. The one that said: "You ARE going to do something about this."
GULP!
I swallowed hard, feeling sweat trickle down my forehead.
"Seriously?" I thought to myself. "Do you think I don't know exactly what Odin just did?"
The old fox had orchestrated the entire situation. Leaving an "orphaned" valkyrie right in front of me, knowing I couldn't simply ignore it.
I sighed heavily, accepting my fate.
"Rossweisse," I approached her and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "How about you stay with me? I can hire you as... well, as my personal assistant. Until you find another job."
Her eyes widened like plates.
"You... you would do that? For a failure like me?"
"You're not a failure," I replied firmly. "You're a talented valkyrie who had the misfortune of working for a... peculiar boss."
BOING!
Lala launched herself at Rossweisse like a pink missile, hugging her with enough force to break ribs.
"HOW WONDERFUL!" she screamed, her eyes shining like fireworks. "We're going to be much closer and happier together with Rito! It'll be like one big family!"
"F-family?" Rossweisse repeated, as if the word were foreign.
"Of course!" Asia joined the group hug. "We all take care of each other!"
"That's how it works," Haruna added with a shy smile.
"Welcome to the chaos," Run murmured, but there was affection in her voice.
Watching the scene – five girls hugging in the middle of the park, all smiling and crying at the same time – I couldn't help but smile too.
"Another one for the collection," I thought, remembering Lala's words about our "big family."
And honestly? I didn't mind one bit.
After all, what would a god be without his angels?