With the way things were going, Takashi was looking for every opportunity to get some kind of peace of mind and the one place that never failed to provide that was the nurse's office at school. The reason why that was a safe place was because Ren was always a good person for Takashi to talk to whenever he was reaching his limit. She'd be willing to talk and she would Takashi rest on the beds. She just provided a good atmosphere and she always gave pretty decent advice.
Ren: Life has gotten you down again?
Takashi: More like I'm tired of putting up with Lunar all the time.
Ren: She can be a handful.
Takashi: She can get any guy wrapped around her finger yet she is obsessed with me. Why?!
Ren: You might've just answered your own question.
Takashi: I what now?
Ren, who was finishing up some work behind her desk, walked over and took a seat on the bed that Takashi was resting on.
Ren: She can get any man wrapped around her finger. Are you saying that you're not a man?
Takashi: I hope I'm not.
Ren laughed.
Ren: It's because you can resist her that she wants you.
Takashi: Seriously?
Ren: Think about it, any other man would grovel and worship her because they're such a fanboy. You, on the other hand, were able to toss those aspects of her aside and see her for what she truly is.
Takashi: I'm still only making partial sense of this.
Ren: She wants someone who will love her for her. You may not lover Lunar for being Lunar but you see her for being Lunar. You look past the fame, and the accomplishments and you saw Lunar as a person, granted it's an annoying one.
Takashi: One whose jaw I'm constantly itching to break.
Ren: But you understand now. She wants you because you see her for what she truly is. If she can convince you to love her for it then she has what she always wanted but it's hard to do that with competition like Sun and Akeno.
Takashi: When did Sun become competition?
Ren: Any female that isn't a blood relative is competition to Lunar. She probably sees Mawari as a threat as well.
Takashi: Another pain in my ass.
Ren: You are quite popular with women. I've noticed it increasing overtime.
Takashi: Well can I have a day where no girl wants anything to do with me? I miss being a normal guy who had guy friends to hang out with.
Ren: Well......I might be able to work something out.
Takashi: I don't like the sound of this.
Ren walked over to a medicine cabinet where she pulled out a vial containing a blue liquid.
Ren: This can actually fulfill your wish for a whole day.
Takashi: Are you serious? What's the catch?
Ren: No catch, not even any side effects except for drowsiness when the chemicals take effect and when they wear off. You'll be completely unlike by women but men should see you as a lost brother that was finally found.
Takashi: And the only downside is getting a little dizzy? I'll take it.
Ren: Good, let me just-
Takashi quickly got out of bed. He took the vial out of Ren's hands and stalled the liquid inside in a single gulp. It wasn't until Ren slapped the vial out of his hand that Takashi realized he may have been in a hurry.
Takashi: Sorry, was I not supposed to drink it?
Ren: No dammit! I didn't have a chance to confirm it was the right one!
Takashi: WHAT?! Then what else could I have taken?
Ren: Try a potion that does the exact opposite.
Takashi: WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!! Tell me there's an antidote.
Ren: No luck, I didn't buy them since this a temporary potion. We're lucky it didn't take affect yet so I can still talk to you like this.
Takashi: So I'm stuck like this for the whole day once.........
Takashi felt a rush come over him. It took him off balance but he used the bed to keep himself standing. Ren also helped him keep himself up.
Takashi: When you said it was gonna make me drowsy I didn't expect this. Thanks for keeping me up though.
Ren: It's not a problem.
Before Takashi could completely regain his composure he was pushed down onto the bed and he felt a good amount of weight being applied to his back.
Takashi: Ren! What the hell?!!
Ren: Just relax, I'll take care of everything.
Had had her hands locked in Takashi's own and she kept applying pressure so that Takashi couldn't move. Takashi could feel the heat radiating from her body and the tingle as she let out gentle breaths on his neck.
Ren: You don't want to be out there, not while you're like this. So just stay with me and I'll make today one you'll never forget.
Takashi: While that sounds appealing and I'm honestly very turned on right now, you don't survive a zombie attack by locking yourself in a room with one.
With his focus as good as it was going to get, Takashi charged up his neon energy. The heat made Ren back away and Takashi used it as an opportunity to burn a hole through the bed for him to slip through. From that point escaping was easy, he dashed from under the bed and toward the window where he prepared to jump.
Ren: Don't do it Takashi! Out there you'll have no one who you can trust. Everyone will either want your love or your death!
Takashi: That literally describes my life since you guys forced your way in. I think I have some experience to handle it.
Ren: You're making a mistake, just stay with me.
Takashi: Again, very tempting but I'm gonna have to pass.
It was then that Takashi gave a salute before falling out the window. He quickly landed on his back since he forgot that the nurse's office was actually on the first floor.
Takashi: Huh, that moment suddenly became less dramatic.
Ren: You can let me check your body for injuries.
Takashi: I'm a fast healer so bye!
Takashi instantly became a blur of neon light and dashed away. He wan up the walls of the school to get to the rooftops. He was lucky to find that it was empty so he could be alone but it wasn't long until his phone started ringing. He sat by the edge of the roof and look at who was calling to see that it was Ren. Takashi didn't want to know why she was calling but there was still the slight chance that it could be important so he picked up the phone and kept silent.
Ren: Takashi? I'm assuming you're not talking to me but that's good. Just hearing your voice might put under the influence again. I called to let you know that anyone who is affected by what you drank will lose all memory of what happened while you were near them. You simply need to get out of range. The reason that I'm telling you this is because as long as you keep yourself out of anything recording, your powers are fair game to assist in your survival.
Takashi: ARE YOU SERIOUS?!!
Ren: Shut it! Goddammit, my legs are shaking now.
Takashi: Sorry.
Ren: Don't worry about it but you're helping clean up the mess you made in the office and you owe me a new bed.
Takashi: I'll work off my debt, promise.
Ren: I can think of a few ways you can do that.
Takashi: Hanging up now.
Takashi quickly put his phone away before Ren had an orgasm over the phone. Takashi then pulled out a coin, prepared to flip it.
Takashi: Ok, heads says we find a place to hide for the day. Tails says I try to tough out school as if it was normal.
He flipped the coin and it landed on tails.
Takashi: Best two out of three.
Takashi went back to class a few minutes later. He decided to cover himself up in paper towels which made him look like a glorified mummy but it seemed to help his situation. All eyes were on him during homeroom which Takashi expected but it wasn't because of potion he drank. If he kept this up he would be in the clear. Sadly, there were those that thought Takashi's appearance was a bad sign, specifically Akeno who was sitting next to him.
Akeno: Do I even want to know?
Takashi: You probably don't.
Akeno: What happened? Was it Sun or Lunar?
Takashi: Actually, I'm more or less, the one that messed up here.
Akeno: Tell me everything.
Takashi: I may have drank a potion before Ren could confirm it was the right one and now my popularity is through the roof making me loved by all women but hated by all men.
Akeno: I never knew that was how popularity was defined.
Takashi: Me neither, now that I think about it.
Akeno: So masking your appearance seems to nullify the effects.
Takashi: Because who would be attracted to a man wrapped in paper towels from head to toe.
Akeno: True, how's breathing?
Takashi: Very difficult.
Gozaburo had walked in and class had officially started. Takashi and Akeno started taking their notes like normal but everyone still couldn't take their eyes off how Takashi looked.
Akeno: It must be a pretty strong potion of you're worried about it affecting people this much.
Takashi: This potion made Ren try to have sex with me.
There was silence between them, the only thing they could hear was the drop of Akeno's pen when she let go of her grip.
Akeno: Are you sure you shouldn't just hide out at home?
Takashi: I flipped a coin on it.
Akeno: Something like this shouldn't be decided by a coin toss! TAKASHI LOOK OUT!
Takashi noticed a dark shadow that came over him and when her turned he looked up to see Gozaburo with a bucket full of water.
Gozaburo: I don't know what you're trying to pull maggot but I'm not having any of it in my class!
Without hesitation, Gozaburo dumped the water onto Takashi. The paper absorbed as much water as it could but when it was overwhelmed it ripped and fell off of Takashi's body exposing him to everyone else. Now everyone's eyes were on him in the way he was trying to avoid.
Sun: Takashi......
Lunar: You're looking a lot hotter than usual today.
Soon all the girls were in a frenzy. They started to climb desks and trample each other just to get to Takashi but then Takashi remembered that his powers were fair game and quickly dashed out the room as a neon blur. The girls were quicker than Ren however, and began to give chase. Takashi could outrun them but he couldn't put enough distance as to where they would be out of range from the chemicals so Takashi made a last resort play and ran into the men's bathroom. He hid in one of the stalls and stood on the toilet so that nobody could see his feet. For a few minutes things were quiet until he heard a knocking on his stall door.
Chimp: Takashi, you in there?
Takashi: Chimp, is that you?
Chimp: The one and only.
Takashi: Are you the only though?
Chimp: Well there re a couple other guys out here that want to have a word with you. Myself included.
It wasn't long before the knocking on the stall door escalated to slamming..
Chimp: Now we got a problem here, see? And that problem is all the broads slobbering over you like you're whipped cream on jello, see? So what me and the boys here are gonna do is we're gonna put you ice, ya see? Bing bang boom, problem solved, see?
Takashi: WHY ARE YOU TALKING LIKE A CARTOON MAFIA BOSS?!!!
Chimp: I like the way it makes me sound, see? Makes me sound tough like I am the boss, see? And this boss wants your head on a silver platter, see? So just come out quietly and we'll make this quick and painless, see?
Takashi: Well there was one thing you guys all failed to realize.
Chimp: And what would be that, see?
Takashi: That I slipped out of the stall awhile ago.
It was then that Chimp and all his men realized that Takashi was at the entrance to the bathroom but before they could chase after him, the stall that he was in erupted in a massive neon explosion.
Takashi: Suck on that, see?
With that, Takashi made his escape. Meanwhile Akeno visited Ren to get more information about what Takashi drank. When she arrived Ren was cleaning up the remains of the nursing bed that Takashi destroyed.
Akeno: What happened hear?
Ren: Don't remember the specifics but I know why it happened. How's Takashi?
Akeno: Running for his life. He planned to hide the effects of the potion by covering his body so that nobody could see it. It worked until your husband drenched him in water.
Ren: Unfortunate.
Akeno: Then all the girls chased after him like love sick puppies while the boys planned ways to kill him.
Ren: I warned him of the full effects of the potion. He just needs to survive the day.......wait a second, you remember what happened in class clearly even after Takashi was revealed.
Akeno: Yeah....
Ren: Once Takashi is out of range, the people that were in contact with the potion's effects lose their memory. Yet yours is perfectly intact. I could say that the range of the potion has just expanded but then that doesn't explain why you weren't one of the girls chasing after him.
Akeno: So what, I have some kind of immunity?
Ren: There is no immunity to this potion unless the right person drinks it.
Akeno: The right person?
While Akeno continued to gather intel, Takashi was roaming through the school checking every corner to make sure nobody was waiting for him. He managed to keep sticking to empty hallways but then that made Takashi question where everyone else was. Soon the answer became clear as Takashi began to hear music. It was the same music that was used to fight a war and one of Lunar's hit singles,"Gravitation" but something was different about this tune. It wasn't just Lunar's voice singing, it was Sun's as well and as their voices harmonized the combined power created a song so majestic that it had Takashi locked in a trance. Takashi began walking towards the source of the sound while Akeno and Ren were interrupted by the same music.
Ren: Sun and Lunar are singing together?
Akeno: Just how crazy did that potion make them?
Ren: Seems I underestimated the effects of the potion. A song like this isn't meant to lure out any normal man.
Akeno: TAKASHI!!!
Ren: If he's caught by this music he's a dead man. Any idea's to help him?
Akeno: Well, only thing we're ever able to fight music with is music. I need something that can play it loudly though.
Ren: I'll grab some speakers from the auditorium.
Akeno: I need to grab Takashi's MP3 player. There are a few songs we can choose from.
With their plan thought out, the only thing left was to put it in motion before Takashi fell into the hands of the enemy and with where Takashi was at now, they needed to hurry. He was slowly approaching the front entrance to the main building but as he walked the alway he could see the army of women standing in front of a stage that blocked the front gate. The people on that stage were Sun and Lunar putting on their best performance and the one leading the army was Mawari. They stood ready for Takashi's arrival and ready to capture him. Within minutes, Takashi walked out of the front door looking as blank as an unpainted canvas. He walked toward the music until he was halfway between the stage and the building but then, almost immediately, all the men in the school with newfound hatred for Takashi appeared and they came armed with heavy fire power. They were being led by none other than Gozaburo who was flanked by Masa, Fujishiro and Chimp.
Gozaburo: Listen here you tramps! We only want the kid. Hand him over and nobody has to get hurt.
Mawari: Professor, I think I speak for all of us when I say that you'll get him over our dead bodies.
Gozaburo: That can be arranged.
The battle was about to begin until the high pitch of speakers blasted throughout the area forcing everyone to cover their ears and waking Takashi up. The tone was followed by a song that gave Takashi a good feeling inside.
With a sound that got him pumped, Takashi was itching to get the show on the road but the crowd was too big for him to be a solo act. Luckily his saving grace was standing at the top of the school building looking down at the army of men, loaded with heavy weaponry. With her sword drawn, she took a step off the edge and started to free fall while her sword began to vibrate and glow like it did back at Kyoto. With a single swing Akeno fired a sound blast that took out a good number of the students while launching herself back into the air. She landed gracefully behind Takashi and two stood back to back.
Takashi: Have you been listening to my music?
Akeno: You're taste covers a wide range, theres always a perfect song for every situation.
Takashi: I guess this is living proof.
Akeno: I'll take the army and you'll take the fan club. Don't worry about the music, I have it playing on loop.
Takashi: Time to rock and roll.
As the chorus of the song hit, the spectacle truly began. Takashi rushed at the army of female students and fired a beam at the ground to launch himself in the air. He positioned himself right above the stage and when his target was in sight, he dived toward it building up more neon as he fell faster. On impact the stage shattered in a neon explosion that send some students flying until a neon field formed around the explosion area. Anything that was airborne started to levitate and Takashi used the rubble to bounce around the battlefield, taking out every student one by one with lightning speed. While Takashi handled the girls, Akeno was wreaking havoc for the boys. She put her long sword away and chose her katana for a quicker assault. She sliced through their weapons weapons faster than they could pull the triggers and delivered swift strikes to knock them unconscious. Then the music shifted to it's second verse so Takashi and Akeno decided to switch. Takashi used his neon speed to reach Akeno who pulled out her long sword again. When Takashi reached her, he took her hand and began spinning her around rapidly until he threw Akeno like a speeding bullet towards the front gate and what remained of the female students. Akeno blasted through to the center where Sun, Lunar and Mawari were recovering. There she struck the ground with her blade and a sound blast erupted outward which sent all the girls crashing and knocking them out on impact. As the guys watched the destruction, Takashi had a surprise for them as he quickly started running up the side of the school. He then jumped off and let a rain of neon missiles fall on Gozaburo and all his men. When the dust settled there was nobody left standing except for Takashi and Akeno but Gozaburo had one more trick up his sleeve as he pulled out radio from his pocket.
Gozaburo: Initiate last resort protocol.
Soon the ground started the shake so Akeno and Takashi got back together.
Akeno: Any ideas?
Takashi: None.
The ground beneath them started to crack until huge chunk of metal erupted from beneath them and launched the two of them into the air. As they looked down they saw that it was a submarine and Kai stood on top of it.
Kai: It's about time you both met your downfall by the hands of one who is truly superior.
Akeno: I have an idea.
Takashi: I'm listening.
Akeno: Let's make him regret showing up to school today.
Takashi: I like that idea
Takashi took hold of Akeno's sword and the two of them dived toward the submarine together. The blade began to glow but this time it was glowing the same color as Takashi's neon. The two of them then swung the blade, sending a neon blast that ripped the submarine in half causing it to explode. Takashi and Akeno landed safely and watched as the submarine burned.
Takashi: I'm hungry.
Akeno: Grab something on the way home?
Takashi: It's like you can read my mind.
The two of them did just that and since everyone was still beaten from the brawl at school, Takashi and Akeno had his house to himself. While his parents slept, the two of them relaxed in the living room with food and a glasses of tea.
Takashi: Well today was definitely a wild day.
Akeno: You can say that again.
Takashi: So did you have some kind of immunity to the potion? How come you weren't as crazy as everyone else.
Akeno started to turn a bit red.
Akeno: Well let me ask you something first. Do I seem different to you?
Takashi: No, not really.
It was then that Akeno pulled out an empty vial that looked just like the one that Takashi had drank out of.
Takashi: Is that what I think it is?
Akeno: Same kind of potion that you drank. It didn't grant me any immunity if that's what you're wondering.
Takashi: So.......why drink it?
Akeno: When I talked to Ren she told me that the way this potion works is that it makes the person look like what another person of the opposite sex desires the most. You become their ideal partner and the worst nightmare of those that are the same sex as you.
Takashi: Ok......
Akeno: So......the only way to nullify the effects are if.....
Akeno started to shake. Takashi began to wonder if she couldn't find the words or if she was just scared to say them. At this point, it seemed like it was both.
Akeno: The only way for someone to not be affect by the potion is if the person who drank it is already what the other person sees as an ideal partner.
Once Takashi understood he also got nervous and red. Akeno couldn't bare to look at him anymore because she was so embarrassed and there were so many thoughts running through Takashi's mind that he couldn't think of what to do. But Takashi didn't want to leave things the way they were so he took a deep breath to recollect his thoughts. He then put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to her. Akeno was flustered and she turned so red that she could've passed for having a fever but then Takashi wrapped his arms around her tighter.
Takashi: Thanks for always having my back.
Akeno: I tend to get you into most of these situations just by living here.
Takashi: True
Akeno: You don't need to confirm it.
Takashi: Also true but you know what's crazy?
Akeno: What?
Takashi: I may complain about all the trouble that happens but if I had the opportunity to change how we got here, the only thing I would want to change is that you were the one who pulled me out of the water just so I could've met you sooner.
Akeno: Are you sure things would've played out they way they have now?
Takashi: I don't know, all I would care about is that you'd be with me for every step like you are now.
Akeno: I'd find a way to get to you.
Takashi: That's good to hear.
For a while they cuddled with each other enjoying being locked in each others arms and just being able to appreciate each others company.
Takashi: So when did you drink that potion?
Akeno: I slipped it in on our way back.
Takashi: You do know that thing lasts 24 hours right?
Akeno: Call in sick?
Takashi: Guess so.