Rare Male Psychic
Unless it was a world where boy-meets-girl happened nonstop, it was hard to realize we'd landed in an eroge universe. Sure, even if the game took its sweet time unfolding, the relationships escalated so quickly that some heroines' chastity seemed a bit questionable—but that was just speculation.
"I'm Sendo Yuuki."
From that perspective, seeing the protagonist right in front of me was a pretty stimulating experience. This guy, who called himself "just average," was on another level: a sword prodigy, gifted with spiritual powers, and blessed with a special constitution. No wonder he inevitably bedded every route's heroine before the semester ended. And from the story's descriptions, he had a great personality too. Typical fictional hero.
There was also the shrine maiden I'd recently gotten acquainted with in our class, and a werewolf girl I was seeing for the first time at school.
"Inuyama Shino... that's me."
She was a werewolf, but it didn't show much in her appearance—only her animal ears and tail popped out when she willed it or during a full moon, as I recalled. Japanese eroge devs back then apparently weren't into full furry stuff. Just ears and a tail made her more like a lite beastkin. Anyway, her traits included hypersensitive senses compared to humans, and she was built like a checklist of fetish fuel: heat cycles and dog-like loyalty. Great design on a character sheet, but meeting her in the flesh? Tricky.
For starters, the fact that her personality shifted with the moon phases was scary enough—add in intense heats, and it was straight-up terrifying. Mess with her at the wrong time, and those superhuman werewolf stats would rip you apart like a chew toy. The game wrote her off as "weak," but I had spiritual powers too. In our class, the ability users were me, the shrine maiden Hanasaki, protagonist Sendo, and werewolf Inuyama. I figured Hanasaki—who oversaw this area's spiritual management—had called us together or something, so I was on edge, but nothing happened.
The non-issue came from the protagonist. At lunch, he approached me and suggested heading to the rooftop.
"Tsukino, right?"
"Yeah. What's up so suddenly?"
"You're one of the few male psychics around. Wanna be friends?"
What. The protagonist extending the hand of friendship first. If I'd devoted my youth to this game, I'd be bawling right now. My brain blanked for a second, but I snapped back.
I didn't know the fine details, but psychics were mostly women? Excluding the protagonist and his master, everyone in the cast was female. Had to dip into other races for more guys.
"Quick question: are most psychics women?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"Spiritual energy clings more easily to women, or so they say. No one knows the exact reason."
So if word got out that I was a male psychic, I'd be marked as some rare, weird specimen. What a shitty situation.
"Mine came from a near-death experience, so I'm clueless about the scene."
"Gotcha. Ask me if you need info—I'm from an exorcist family, so I know a bit."
"...Sure."
Good guy, as expected. The type who saves and protects heroines burdened with tough, sometimes dangerous issues. I brushed it off with "nothing comes to mind right now," then sat on the stairs right before the rooftop door and unpacked my bento.
"Not going up?"
"Voices. Gotta respect whoever's already there."
Probably the vampire heroine and the ghost duking it out again. With Sendo and Inuyama already giving me a headache, I decided to skip seeing their faces.
He nodded at my words and spoke up again.
"Ever done anything with your powers?"
"Exorcised some evil spirits back when I was young and dumb...?"
"Whoa."
"Just purified weak wandering souls in the end."
"And from your build and walk, looks like you train. Martial arts or something?"
"Just basic fitness."
Not like you, with your inherited techniques and genetically rich spiritual energy... I tamped down the bubbling inferiority and changed the subject.
"You chat with Hanasaki like me, so you seem like an outsider to Kanemachi City too. Where's home base?"
"Secret."
Damn. Even the unrevealed stuff in the story stays secret? Probably some hidden exorcist clan. That raised questions about why he was out in the normal world, though.
"Anyway, I live alone now. Here's my address."
"Ah, opposite side from my place."
"Only child?"
"Nah. Got a little sister going through her stormy puberty."
"A sister, huh."
"Don't even think about hitting on her."
"I'm not that desperate for girls."
Shut your mouth, guy who bangs a heroine per semester.
After some back-and-forth like that, we finished eating. On the way back, we grabbed vending machine drinks.
"Welcome back."
As I crumpled my empty can toward the classroom trash bin, Hanasaki's voice rang out. Turning, I saw tense-faced Inuyama and Hanasaki's usual blank expression.
"Were you waiting?"
"Yes. I figured some guy time would speed up bonding."
"...Thanks."
I poked oblivious Sendo's side to make him bow in greeting.
"You seem more versed in social dynamics, Tsukino."
"Experience in society."
"What kind?"
"The kind where salary tops 700,000 yen but overtime and weekend work are mandatory, averaging 100 hours a week, half of it client meetings—then you drop dead from overwork."
A faint crack appeared in Hanasaki's stoic mask. She almost cracked a smile. Yeah. There was a reason for that blank face.
Hanasaki's Shinamori Shrine sealed the Menrei-ki—a mask yokai. More precisely, the seal passed into the shrine maiden's body. Every time she expressed an emotion, the yokai spawned a matching mask, growing stronger with each one. Those expressions fed the yokai, dulling her own feelings over time. Dating the protagonist eventually broke her defenses, letting her show varied expressions—culminating in a loving smile during their final intimate moment, reviving the Menrei-ki. The powered-up protagonist defeats it for the ending.
"Don't make me laugh."
"Roger."
"Sigh. Fine. Among Kanemachi City's high school first-years with spiritual powers, there are five. One skips school a lot, so treat this as all of them."
"Got it. Do we team up?"
"Depending on the situation. But not often."
Inuyama looked like she wanted to say something but hesitated, fidgeting. Hmm.
"Hanasaki, mind if I hit the bathroom quick?"
"Go ahead."
I signaled Inuyama with my eyes: I'll step out—talk to her or come tell me. Three minutes after I left, she bolted out.
"What's up?"
"Can't do it."
"Then just say no."
"It's not that. Werewolves can't survive without Hanasaki's help, so we repay the favor like this."
"Tricky. What's the real reason?"
"Me. No confidence in controlling transformations or instincts."
Ah. The original story issue. Full moon night, walking streets with the protagonist, she fully manifests and pounces. If it were me, I'd be dismembered—but protag survives on looks alone and gets reverse-railed. Then the main plot is rebuilding her shattered mental with her.
"So what do you want?"
"Dunno."
Think mode. An idea hit, and I pitched it to Inuyama. She flustered but eventually gave the OK.
"Aigoo. Ran into her coming back from the bathroom and chatted."
"Yes."
Don't look at me like you know everything.
"Pair me and Inuyama as a team for now. We're both half-baked—together we're one full person."
"...Logical. Approved."
"And I'm too weak to stop her rampages, so excuse us around full moons."
She stared piercingly, then nodded. A tug at my sleeve from behind—I turned to see Inuyama murmuring softly.
"Thanks."
Pure pup energy.
Lunch ended, and school let out. Exhaustion weighed under my eyes like it might spill tears at a poke. At the gate, a middle schooler in uniform bounced over waving, flanked by my mom and little sis—familiar sight from home.
"We're classmates now!"
She wasn't as wrecked as me, but disaster had struck my sister too, it seemed.