Chapter 9: Happy Birthday

"Psst," Issei whispered to me as I came back in, "Why is She here?" He pointed at Aika, currently talking with Mom, being thanked for being a friend and all that.

"Mom Invited her," I whispered back to him, rearranging my glasses as I leaned closer to him, "Try and act natural around her, Mom thinks we're all friends here,"

He nodded and looked over at the small pile of snacks on the table, currently in the process of being devoured by the Monkey-like appetite of the Matsuda boy.

"And Nimura-san?" He quickly changed the topic, Looking away from our best friend and at the final guest of the party. Currently holding a large bowl of Popcorn and sitting on the couch, waiting for the movie to start.

"Mom really likes her, And Her parents do technically pay for most of my stuff," I explained to him, "She's also my super cute Kohai," I lifted my glasses slightly with a grin, the light from the bulb above the snack table reflecting off of them, causing an Anime-like spark.

"What kind of awesome and dependable Senpai would I be if I didn't invite the source of my income- I mean my super cute friend to my birthday party!" I corrected myself mid-sentence when I spotted Ruruko turn her head and look at me with half-lidded eyes, only looking back to the menu screen of the DVD when I complimented her.

Girls are dangerous... Ruruko and her Delinquent-like speech combined with her cheery and bubbly personality? Aika and her cool-and-competitive School Persona mixed with her teasing yet somewhat wholesome private persona?

I'm lucky I haven't gone through puberty yet, because is it just me? Or do all the girls in Kuoh look super cute? I don't think I've seen a single girl who looked ugly, there were some average-looking girls, sure, but nobody that was just repulsive to look at...

Wait a minute...

Super Attractive Teens... A weird group in Kyoto that wants me dead... A Mysterious corporation that for some reason wants me to join them...

Did I actually Isekai into an Ecchi-Battle-Harem Anime? Is the Sekirei going to show up outside my door now?

"Ken? Everything okay?" Issei asked me as he noticed me spacing out.

How come I haven't noticed it earlier?! The changes to company names, the late 2000's early 2010's being my new Teenage years, Koto Sano and the Shin-Corp apprenticeship?!

No... I must be overthinking things... Ecchi-Harem world? Hah!

Maybe remembering the Kyoto Incident is just messing with my head, I'm just overthinking things.

"Mom?" I call out to her, ignoring Issei's worried look, "Can we start the movie?"

"Of Course," She smiles and everyone collectively gathers on the couch in the living room.

The movie wasn't anything to write about, just some Action Comedy about a guy saving the White House from terrorists, Hollywood Schlop. But it was still fun!

Aika pointed out any of the small errors in the movie, like how a gun switched hands between scenes, The insignificant stuff that something like Cinema Sins would point out.

Issei and Oki were both sitting on the carpet in order to get closer to the television, leaving the Couch for the girls and me. Although it was more like for Ruruko, Aika and I had to sit on either side of the petite girl and that was a chore and a half.

Do you know those people who always jump while they are excited? Ruruko is one of those people. Any time something cool happened, she started to jump in her spot, shaking the couch as a result.

I also learned something new today, Issei is a sucker for tragic romances! When the soldier guy in the movie held the body of his bleeding wife, and she kissed him one last time? He had to leave to go to the bathroom, and he came back with tear-stained eyes and a red nose. Oki and I are definitely going to make fun of him for it later!

And after the movie ended? It was time for cake!

It was Chocolate cake with apple and strawberry pieces, covered in a layer of cream and sprinkles. 

It was a sugary mess, but Mom made it, so I'm going to eat it anyways.

"Yo Ken, wanna' go to my place tomorrow?" Oki asked after taking a bite of his own slice of cake.

"Sorry, I can't," I told him, "I have an apprenticeship with some company starting tomorrow,"

"Oh? And what company is it? No wait! Let me guess," Ruruko then threw out a bunch of different companies she knows of.

No Ruruko, I'm not going to work for Google or Amazun.

"So, what is it?" Aika then asked after a minute of Ruruko guessing wrong, I blinked when I noticed that she wasn't teasing, just asking a simple question.

"Who are you and what did you do with Kiryuu-san?" That question resulted in me getting a plastic cup thrown at me.

"Baka, Can't a girl just be curious?" She rolled her eyes and returned back to her cake.

I rubbed my forehead, glad that the cup was empty, before actually answering her question.

"Well, If you really wanna' know," I paused for dramatic affect, only to answer when I spotted Aika reach for another empty cup, "It's Shin-corp!"

A Spit-take was heard, and we all turned to look at none other than Oki Matsuda, coughing out juice as he looked at me like I just said something impossible.

Issei quickly hit him in the back, causing the food that was stuck in his throat to go back into his mouth, only for Oki to swallow it back down with an uncomfortable face.

"Did you say, Shin-Corp?" He asked after he finished swallowing.

"Yeah, Do you know them?" I ask, confused as to why everybody quieted down, except for Issei, who like me was looking around in confusion.

"I can't believe you don't," Aika said, getting the attention of the table on her, "Shin-Corp is widely considered to be the richest Japanese corporation, they're a big deal... a very big deal..." Then she smirked at me, "It's actually amazing you don't know that, Is being second-place really rotting your brain this quickly?"

I lifted an eyebrow at her and leaned back in my chair, "First of all, I'm not a big shopping guy, I don't know all the big companies, Second of all, I'm still first place, we both got the same results on the last test, so don't get your hopes up, Kiryuu, At the end of the year, Everybody will still see my name at the top of the finals leader-board."

The tense standoff between middle-schoolers was cut off when Mom walked into the room carrying the presents, a huge smile on her face.

Aika silently pointed two fingers at her eyes, before turning her hand to point them at me, her smirk not leaving her face.

But it's time to open presents now, I'll deal with Aika at school.

....

Stepping out of the old car that was driven by Koto Sano, I looked at the towering building in front of me, taking up a chunk of the Tokyo Skyline.

The building looked just like any other skyscraper, it was large and tall, covered in windows and glass, and it was as nondescript as they could come.

The man who exited the car with me smiled up at the building before he turned to look at me, his blue eyes glinting under his bamboo hat and the morning sunrise, the now familiar smell of saltwater filling the parking lot.

"Well then Kiddo, Welcome to Shin-Corp," he waved his hand in front of the door to the building, the motion detectors opening the door as he walked in with me following close behind him.

Only to pause when I saw a giant wall of fur running towards us, a business suit covering its hairy body as it slid on the clean floor and stopped right in front of Sano-san in a perfect display of a Dogeza.

"I'm Sorry Susanoo-Sama!" The Sasquatch-looking person cried as its head struck the floor.

Wait a moment...

I turned to look at Sano Koto, the weird man I met in Kyoto.

Sano... Koto... it can't be!

Susanoo-No-Mikoto!

"Holy shit..." I whispered, and the god of the seas and storms smirked at me.

"Heh," He chuckled, turning to face me, slowly lifting the bamboo hat off his head, "Took ya long enough, Little Hero," He said with a grin, sparks of lightning dancing around his eyes.

I fell unconscious.