Chapter 175. End of Chapter 175.

The next day, as expected, Tsukino and Chiya received a notification from Hope's Peak that they didn't need to attend classes.

Hope's Peak... Hyuga Hajime's current priority, or rather, what he's likely already stopped, is probably their clandestine God Throne Project, right? Human experimentation is simply too inhumane. Even without Hyuga Hajime, other students would be willing to participate. Leaving aside the risks of the experiment itself, even if they succeed on other students, the erasure of their personalities...

This is likely the reason Hope's Peak is temporarily suspending classes. Human experimentation is no small matter; once exposed, even a prestigious institution like Hope's Peak...

Therefore, Tsukino and Chiya weren't surprised by Hope's Peak's sudden announcement of class suspensions; Hinata's mention in class yesterday was probably referring to this. They wondered if this temporary suspension was limited to preparatory courses or extended to undergraduate programs as well.

This should be something easily understood, but Tsukino and Chiya were too lazy to investigate for the time being. What good would it do even if they knew? He didn't have time to help Hinata right now; he needed to stay here until Ohma Kokichi's situation truly stabilized.

Hajime Hyuga was aware of this, which is why he said yesterday, "However, Tsukino and you should have plenty of time to take care of Ohma afterward." Moreover, Hyuga seemed quite confident about what was to come.

This is not an excuse by Tsukino and Chiya to avoid helping... Although Ouma Kokichi appears to be recovering quickly, the problem currently surrounding him is not actually related to health, but rather to something else entirely.

Aurora's power did indeed affect Ouma Koki.

That's for sure. After all, this was a consensus reached by Tsukino, Chiya, and Higashigo Miya. For those who didn't know the details or witness the situation at the time, Tsukino, Chiya, and Higashigo Miya's later account was the whole truth. So they also reached a consensus—although Aurora died, the connection she had with Ohma Kokichi, which happened by chance, caused the power to flow to Ohma Kokichi, allowing him to continue living.

This is the truth based on consensus. So, Ouma Shokichi was indeed affected by the power... For now, it's not a big problem; that power hasn't brought any negative effects. However, as someone whose previous contact with supernatural powers was limited, Ouma Shokichi still needs time to fully understand and master this extra power within him.

Fortunately, they all have time now.

However, besides this power, consensus also had another impact on Wang Ma Xiaoji.

That is “memory”.

The current Ohma Shokichi is able to survive thanks to the power of the calamity, thanks to the shared understanding of Tsukino, Chiya, and Higashigo Miya. However, Ohma Shokichi has always kept his past well hidden, and there is no one in this world who is truly involved in his past.

At least, in the consensus of Tsukino, Chiya, and Higashigo Miya, there are no memories deeply related to Ohma Kokichi's past.

Therefore, the memories that Ouma Shokichi currently possesses from his original world are only the things that Tsukino and Chiya had seen and heard about that happened at Saikichi Academy, as well as fragments of Ouma Shokichi's past.

However, perhaps once Wangma Xiaoji fully masters the power he obtained from Aurora, he will be able to regain the lost part of his memories, since Aurora's abilities seem to involve these aspects.

So, after staying at home together for a few days, one morning, Tsukino and Chiya, still wearing aprons, habitually brought their breakfast to the table.

Wang Ma Xiaoji was already sitting in a chair, propping his chin up with his hand, watching Tsukino and Chiya remove the food from the plates and arrange it on the table. He suddenly said, "Oh—I never noticed before, Tsukino looks really virtuous like this! She looks so cute in her apron. I'm a man, after all. Is it really okay for you to always be like this?"

Tsukino and Chiya pulled out chairs and sat down, completely unaffected by Ouma Kokichi's ramblings: "What strange stuff have you been watching lately?"

"Oh dear, is that strange? Actually, it's Nanami... You and Tsukino should remember her, right? Although she's the Ultimate Gamer, she's not very good at dating games. Anyway, to help Nanami beat the game, and for one reason or another, a while ago—well, a little earlier, anyway, our class organized a trip to see a romance movie, and I learned a lot from it!"

At this point, Wangma Xiaoji gulped down a few mouthfuls of juice from the glass beside him, then put it down and continued, "But now, shouldn't I go check out some BL works? I've got nothing better to do lately anyway..."

Tsukino and Chiya: "This..."

He doesn't know if it will help him in his love life, but Wang Ma Xiaoji will definitely make good use of the storylines he saw and have a lot of fun in real life, just like he did just now.

"What's wrong, Kozuki? Are you speechless because I'm so captivating?"

"Wang Ma, haven't you been looking at a lot of strange things lately?"

"Haha, it's nothing, I just read a few novels by Kazuki Kozuki's father."

"He's involved too?"

Neither of them had the habit of eating in silence, and the atmosphere at the table was quite pleasant. However, one of them was very good at changing the atmosphere with words. Tsukino and Chiya had experienced this thoroughly, both in their real-life interactions and in the memories they saw from the Prison Academy.

"There are some things I need to explain beforehand." After a few casual words, Wangma Xiaoji put down his spoon, his two beautiful purple eyes fixed on Tsukino and Chiya. Although his tone was still relaxed, he seemed unusually serious. "I will go back."

This statement sounded a bit too sudden, but Tsukino and Chiya didn't seem surprised.

The black-haired boy simply raised his head to meet his gaze, remaining silent and quietly waiting for Wang Ma Xiaoji to finish speaking.

“That power was able to bring me here from my original world, so I should be able to go back too,” said Wangma Xiaoji. “Once I’m sure I’ve mastered this power, I’ll go back to my original world… After all, you and Xiaoyue saw what happened at Caiqiu Academy, right? It’s really upsetting to end abruptly without letting people see the ending.”

Moreover, there are other people and things in that world that he still cares about. For example, his organization members. Although his memories are not complete now, Wang Ma Xiaoji still has some impressions of them... but there's no need to explain it so clearly.

Tsukino and Chiya nodded, reacting calmly to Ohma Shokichi's sudden announcement that he planned to return to his original world: "I understand. Then remember to take me with you."

“Aurora was able to bring you, Wangma, here by some twist of fate, so Wangma should also try to send me over as well.”

“So,” Tsukino and Chiya said again, “let me go with you.”

He spoke with such conviction that it sounded less like a request and more like a statement of a fact that would definitely come to pass. While it didn't quite reach the level of an order, it was remarkably certain.

“After all, we’re in love,” Tsukino and Chiya said matter-of-factly. “So there’s no need to be so polite. Besides, I’m also very interested in the world Ohma used to live in, and I really want to know what it was like.”

"Oh dear..." Wang Ma Xiaoji poked at the bacon on his plate with his fork. "That's true! It seems the game is about to turn around. How far can you and Xiaoyueye explore this?"

Tsukino and Chiya: "So, you did remember something as you gained control of your abilities?"

Wang Ma Xiaoji: "Hehe, well... who knows~! But compared to this..."

The purple-haired boy seemed to have thought of something interesting, and a smile suddenly appeared on his face... Based on Tsukino and Chiya's understanding of Ohma Kokichi, his smile at this moment was somewhat malicious.

"Speaking of which, wouldn't it be interesting to see what it's like when all those acquaintances from my past world see me with Kozuki?"

*******

It's quite interesting... although the people who heard the news at this time weren't the ones Ohma knew from his original world.

"Hmph, as the saying goes, Stand users are drawn to each other. As contracted beings of fate, it is only by fate that we are drawn to the incarnation of the demon of lies."

"Actually, I was just saying I never expected to run into Ohma here... Seriously, was this really a coincidence?"

"But actually, we met Komaeda and Souda by chance not long ago and that's why we decided to travel together, right?"

"I don't know about Komaeda... but I was walking halfway when I was suddenly hit by a car for no reason! By the way, who is this?... Oh, what? It's my boyfriend."

"...Eh?! What did you say?! Dating?! That Ohma actually dates people?! Oh, I get it, after all, you're Ohma, so you're going to say 'I was just kidding' soon, right? I'm not the same person I used to be. I definitely won't be fooled this time, absolutely not!"

Amidst the somewhat noisy chorus of "Really?" voices, Komaeda Nagi, the only mutual acquaintance of the two, appeared remarkably calm and composed. He smiled and said, "I didn't expect... no, it's normal for a scumbag like me to not expect this development, right? My statement just now was truly presumptuous. Anyway, congratulations to Ohma-kun and Tsukino Kazuki. By the way, are you two... on a date right now?"

No, the first few sentences were unnecessary, but he would accept the congratulations at the end. Tsukino and Chiya nodded. Just now, when he was out with Ohma, they ran into the five classmates who were Ohma's classmates, which was indeed a coincidence.

“It’s for shopping.” Oma Kokichi tilted his head, gesturing for Komaeda to look at the bags on Tsukino and Chiya’s backs. “To stock up on some necessities for the upcoming trip.”

This is true, not a lie. Tsukino and Chiya nodded again to indicate that it was indeed the case... although even if Ohma Kichi was lying, he would still nod in agreement.

“It seems we're not going our separate ways.” Komaeda Nagito looked somewhat regretful. “Ohma-kun and Tsukino Kazuki’s trip… Ah, just imagining it makes me know it will be a journey full of hope! How wonderful…”

This person is hopeless.

A week has passed since they last talked about returning to Ouma Shokichi's original world at breakfast. Just yesterday, Ouma Shokichi said he would take Tsukino and Chiya on a spontaneous trip, so Tsukino and Chiya knew that he had probably mastered that power.

Does this mean his memories have returned? Tsukino and Chiya didn't ask, because even if they did, they wouldn't get the real answer from someone who had been hiding their past.

But that's okay, because the answers are more interesting when you find them yourself.

Because they were going in different directions, the two quickly said goodbye to Ouma Kokichi's classmates. However, after buying their things, they didn't go home immediately, but instead went to an abandoned shrine.

It was once a shrine belonging to the Sakuraba family. After Ouma Kokichi's condition was confirmed to be fine, the two of them took the time to bury the only remaining hairpin from the nameless doll.

Although the doll's strangeness should have been completely devoured by Aurora, after they had buried the hairpin completely, they seemed to faintly sense a sigh that sounded like a sigh of relief.

“Kozuki,” Ohma Kokichi said, gazing at the spot where they had buried the hairpin together, “is it still not too late to leave now?”

Just like when they faced Aurora, Tsukino and Chiya weren't entirely certain things would go as planned. Similarly, Ohma Kokichi's attempt to use this newly acquired power to successfully send both of them into the corresponding timeline also carries a certain degree of risk.

“If I were to back down now,” Tsukino and Chiya said, “I wouldn’t have picked you up when I met Ohma that day.”

He is never the type of person who would choose to avoid danger or potential danger first.

"That's true. You and I keep saying we're just ordinary people, but when we encounter strange things, we actually become very proactive in getting involved."

Wang Ma Xiaoji glanced at the hands that Tsukino and Chiya had naturally extended towards him while they were talking, and then placed his own hand on them without hesitation.

"I don't think there's any contradiction between 'I'm an ordinary person' and 'I'm interested in extraordinary things,' right?"

"That's it! That's why Kozuki Kazumi seems so cunning! But since that's the case, how about cunning Kozuki Kazumi team up with me to scam people after we get there? I've thought of a few good ideas, and things will definitely get more interesting then!"

The two walked hand in hand, side by side. There was no one else in the abandoned shrine, so even if the wind carried the purple-haired boy's laughter far, it wouldn't matter.

Since no one else has such a reason, they don't need to worry about using their power here.

Suddenly, a door appeared where the torii gate had been, the result of Ouma Shokichi's mastery of power over the past few days. Stepping through it should allow him to reach another world.

Logically, such a situation should create some tension. However, these two simply walked side by side naturally and openly, even having the leisure to continue discussing the pranks they might be planning together.

"For example?"

"Hehe, for example..."

They walked steadily toward the gate beneath the torii gate, without the slightest hesitation between them, just as they would walk into their homes or classrooms every day without a second thought.

There was nothing to hesitate about in the first place.

After all, even something like time travel might just be an ordinary interlude in their daily lives.

It's just the beginning of a new story.

For them, there are many more fun days like now, where they hold hands and swindle each other...

"First of all, I could be a ghost who has been resurrected! But being an immortal being is kind of fun, isn't it? Or maybe I've made a pact with a demon? Or... wait, what are you and Kozuki thinking about?"

"I'm thinking about whether to change my name. I've been using the name Tsukino and Chiya for a little too long."

"Hehe, I'm really good at naming things, you know? Why don't you leave it to me! I have a few really interesting names here!"

"...Shouldn't I have the right to refuse later?"

"You were already thinking of rejecting me before I even said my name? It seems feelings fade over time. Believing in feelings is as foolish as believing a small dog will grow into a large one. Kozuki is such a terrible person..."

"Wang Ma, it's a little too obvious that you're deliberately trying to cause trouble."

"Eh—what do you mean? On the contrary, it was Kozuki and what she just said that sounded dangerous."

...Is that so?

—End of text—

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Author's Note: The main story ends here! There are still some plot holes to fill, which I plan to address in the side stories. I intend to make all the side stories fan service, but they won't be available until after the story is completed and the final settlement is reached, which will take another week... I'm so sorry!

Thank you to every reader who made it this far, sob sob QAQ

The side stories probably won't delve too much into V3's plot. After all, V3 is quite open-ended with many unresolved plot points, and I feel like I'd be proven wrong if I wrote about it... If there's ever a sequel to V3 in my lifetime, I'll add it to the side stories then qwq