Your Girlfriend Calls Me Daddy

Chapter 106 - 107 | An Audit of Miracles

He moved. Faster than before. Anger made him sloppy but also more dangerous. His fist connected with my ribs and pain exploded through my side.

Rubber Body absorbed most of it. But most wasn’t all.

I slid backward. Caught myself against the wall. Tasted copper.

Kaito didn’t give me time to recover. He was already coming again. Three hits in rapid succession that I couldn’t fully block. Each one harder than the last.

My vision blurred. Body screamed. The gravity effect on him was draining my stamina faster than I expected.

I needed to end this.

Now.

I let the gravity drop. Kaito’s speed returned full force. He grinned like he’d won.

Then I grabbed one of the hostage dummies. Compressed my legs. Launched myself straight through the wall.

Kaito followed. Of course he did.

We tumbled into the street together. Me clutching the dummy. Him trying to stop me.

Usagi was waiting.

Her gum shot caught Kaito mid-stride. Wrapped around both his legs and stuck him to the ground face first.

He struggled. Swore. Tried to rip free.

The gum held.

I stood up. Brushed concrete dust off my uniform. Looked down at him.

"Thanks for the dance."

Then I walked back inside. Grabbed the other two hostages. Stretched my arms to carry all three at once. Made my way to the extraction point while Kaito shouted threats behind me.

Noel’s astral form appeared next to me. Pointed toward the exit. Gave me a thumbs up.

We had seven minutes left.

Marcus was still down. Hana was still blind. Kaito was trapped.

This was over.

I crossed the extraction line with all three hostages. The horn blared. Screens lit up.

TEAM TWO VICTORY

TIME REMAINING: 06:47

I set the dummies down. My entire body hurt. Ribs ached. Arms trembled from overextension. Eyes burned from the gravity use.

But we won.

Noel’s astral form snapped back into her body. She gasped. Sat up. Looked at me with wide eyes.

"Did we actually win?"

"Yeah."

"How?"

"You scouted. Usagi trapped. I extracted. Just like we planned."

"That wasn’t the plan at all."

"Close enough."

Usagi ran over. Tackled me with a hug that made my ribs scream. "We won! We actually won!"

"Can’t breathe."

"Sorry!" She let go. "That was amazing though! Did you see when I hit Hana in the face?"

"Perfect shot."

"And when you threw Kaito off the roof?"

"He deserved it."

Noel stood slowly. Adjusted her dress. Picked up her portfolio. "We need to debrief. Analyze what went wrong."

"Wrong? We won."

"We got lucky. Kaito should have killed you on that rooftop."

"But he didn’t."

"Because you used an ability that’s not in your file. Two abilities actually. Spatial manipulation and gravity control."

"Adaptive-type. It adapts."

Her eyes narrowed. "That’s not how adaptive-types work."

"Sure it is."

"No. It’s not. Adaptive-types shift their output based on external stimuli. They don’t copy other people’s abilities."

"Mine does."

"That’s not adaptive. That’s something else."

"Good thing I’m not registered as something else then."

She stared at me for a long moment. Like she was trying to solve an equation that didn’t balance.

Then she closed her portfolio. "We’ll discuss this later."

"Can’t wait."

Solana’s voice came through the speakers. "Team Two advances to semifinals. Team Three is eliminated. Medical support is available at station seven for anyone requiring assistance. Good work everyone."

I checked my phone. The quest notification was already there.

QUEST COMPLETE: ORCHESTRA OF ANIMOSITY

OBJECTIVE MET: ACHIEVE TOTAL VICTORY

REWARD CLAIMED: PLATINUM GACHA TICKET

REWARD CLAIMED: TEAM SYNERGY UNLOCK

New notification appeared.

TEAM SYNERGY UNLOCKED: TRINITY FORMATION

EFFECT: WHEN ALL THREE TEAM MEMBERS COORDINATE PERFECTLY, ESSENTIA OUTPUT INCREASES BY 25% FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS

REQUIREMENT: TRUST, COORDINATION, SHARED OBJECTIVE

That was actually useful.

If we could ever coordinate perfectly.

Which seemed unlikely given Noel’s control issues and Usagi’s confidence problems and my general existence.

But we’d figure it out.

Or die trying.

Probably the second one.

We left the arena together. Walked through the corridor back toward the prep area. Other students were finishing their matches. Some celebrating. Some sitting in silence processing their losses.

Mera appeared out of nowhere. Threw herself at me. Wrapped her legs around my waist and kissed me hard enough to make my already bruised ribs scream.

"You won!" she said when she finally came up for air.

"Yeah. We won."

"I knew you would."

"You had way more faith than me."

Cheon walked over at a slower pace. Her grey eyes swept over me. Taking inventory of every visible injury. "You’re hurt."

"I’m fine."

"Your ribs are broken."

"Bruised. Not broken."

"That distinction doesn’t matter. You need medical attention."

"After I shower."

"Rome."

"Panda."

Her eye twitched. Then she grabbed my hand and started dragging me toward medical. Mera followed still grinning.

The medic was an older woman with kind eyes and zero patience. She made me remove my shirt. Examined my ribs with hands that were gentle but firm. Made disapproving noises the entire time.

"Three fractured ribs. Extensive bruising across your entire torso. Strained muscles in both arms. And your eyes are showing signs of Essentia overuse."

"So I’m fine."

"No. You’re injured. There’s a difference."

"Can you fix it?"

"I can stabilize it. Full healing takes time."

She wrapped my ribs. Gave me painkillers. Told me to rest for at least forty-eight hours.

I nodded and ignored everything after the first sentence.

Noel was waiting outside medical when we finished. Her arms crossed. Portfolio clutched tight.

"We need to talk," she said.

"About what?"

"About what you are."

"I’m a student. Same as you."

"No. You’re not. Students don’t copy multiple abilities. Students don’t have drain effects. Students don’t walk around with two girlfriends and bite marks covering their neck."

Mera laughed. "She’s got a point about the bite marks."

"Whose side are you on?"

"Mine."

Noel stepped closer. "I want answers. Real ones. Not deflections or jokes or whatever you think passes for honesty."

I looked at her. Really looked. Past the perfect posture and the portfolio and the attitude.

She was scared.

Not of me specifically. But of what I represented. An unknown variable she couldn’t account for. Something that didn’t fit in her carefully organized world.

And she’d just spent the last two days trusting me anyway.

"Conference room," I said. "Monday. After classes. I’ll tell you everything."

"Promise?"

"Yeah. I promise."

She studied my face. Looking for the lie.

Found nothing.

"Fine."

She left without another word. Portfolio tucked under her arm. Posture perfect even in retreat.

Usagi appeared next. Bouncing with energy. "Rome! We won! We’re going to semifinals!"

"Yeah we are."

"I can’t believe it worked. When you threw Kaito off the roof I thought we were going to lose for sure."

"Had faith in the plan."

"What plan? You made it up as you went."

"Best kind of plan."

She laughed. Hugged me again. This time remembered my ribs and was gentler.

"Thank you," she said quietly. "For believing I could hit that shot."

"You did all the work. I just pointed."

"Still. Nobody ever really lets me try. They always assume I’ll mess up."

"Then they’re idiots."

She pulled back. Smiled. "Yeah. I guess they are."

Cheon’s hand found mine. Squeezed once. "We should go home. You need rest."

"I need food."

"Food then rest."

"Deal."

Marco was already waiting with the car. He opened the door without comment. Professional as always.

The drive back was quiet. Mera leaned against me. Cheon held my hand. Both of them processing the day in their own way.

My phone buzzed.

Message from Aurora.

I saw your fight. You were incredible.

Followed by another.

Can we talk?