Lucky Rabbit (Isekai)

Now that the goddess was gone, Pandy discovered that she couldn't speak out loud any longer, so instead she thought, <Kappa?>

…

What?

Didn't she tell you everything?

Was he pouting? He was definitely pouting. And why did he keep putting up the three little dots? Was that the System version of a beleaguered sigh? <Why are you here?> She looked around. <Can you see me? Or…feel my feelings, or what? What's going on?>

I can see through your eyes.

Hear through your ears.

I can only hear your thoughts when you're trying to talk to your System.

And you don't have to yell at me.

So stop doing that.

<And?> she urged.

And…

I messed up.

All right?

Are you happy?

I mean, I just wanted to help you, and look where it got me!

<And where exactly is that?> Pandy demanded. <Are you really in my head? And how did you get there? The last time I saw you, you were chained to a rock. Unless I really did imagine that?>

Snort.

Of course not.

…

Since almost all of my magic is tied up in running your System, this is the only safe place to hide.

The ambient magic hides my presence, since it already feels like me.

And I was being held until my trial.

I may have been considered a flight risk, so they made sure I couldn't leave.

Except Aglaea went to Themis, and Themis filed an appeal, so I was released.

…

Aglaea's probably in trouble because I left after she got me out.

Snort? Had he really just snorted at her? And made certain she knew by typing it out? Or was he using some kind of speech-to-text spell, and forgot it was still running? That sounded more like him, actually. And even though she couldn't hear his voice, she was pretty sure he wasn't happy that his girlfriend had to get him out of god-jail, or that Aglaea might be in hot water for it, so Pandy wasn't going to pour salt on the wound.

Instead, she focused on the part that affected her, which seemed safer. <So you see and hear everything I do, and you plan to stay for, what, the next three-and-a-half years?> she demanded, already feeling embarrassed at the prospect.

I can go anywhere within the area the spell covers.

So I'm not always here-here.

I don't want to see everything you do any more than you want me to!

Why do you get injured so often?

If you're going to be hurt all the time, why haven't you worked on Pain Tolerance more?

<Are you really telling me how to play the game you made? Why did you make getting injured hurt at all? I'm undead! It should just be…uncomfortable or something. Why do I explode when I get near Light magic? Why am I always naked when I change shape?>

…

I don't know.

I didn't make the game.

I just copied it from your memories!

<Well, you managed to make my stat sheet better.> Pandy hesitated. <Um, thank you for that, by the way. But now that you're here, can't you just…fix the rest? Turn pain off, set Shifting Faces so I'm wearing whatever I had on when I used it last, and just give me all of the spells? What's with the Corruption Points, anyway?>

This time the unbroken darkness stretched so long that Pandy wasn't certain he was going to answer at all. Even she hadn't realized how many complaints she had locked up. She'd spent her life just accepting the things she couldn't change, and that was a hard habit to break. But Keros could change them. Probably.

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I don't know.

I told you before, something happened while you were being reincarnated.

Something interfered with my magic.

I might be able to turn off pain, though.

What happens if I

The dim light that filtered into the space beneath Thaniel's bed went out. Pandy tried to jerk in startlement, but suddenly she couldn't feel her body, either. She couldn't feel anything. Everything was silent. Beyond silent. The universe had come to a stop, and Pandy was alone in a place that had once been full of light and noise and friends and…

Oops.

Yeah, that's not good.

Sight returned. The sounds of two boys and a tortoise snoozing were suddenly the loudest, most wonderful thing she'd ever heard. Pandy jerked, finding that she was lying on her side, legs stiff, mouth open, tongue lolling. She blinked dry eyes, rolled to her paws, then hopped out into the open, staring up at the beautiful sight that was Thaniel's sleep-flushed face, one cheek damp with drool, dark lashes fanned out in perfect curves along his cheeks.

<What did you do?> she demanded, wishing that rabbit eyes could overflow, and she could cry from relief and fear and a lingering, visceral horror.

Turns out if I unhook one of your senses, all of them go, and the whole thing starts to unravel.

So pain is unavoidable, unless you want to just go ahead and die.

<No! No, I don't want to die,> Pandy said softly, watching as Thaniel shifted, pulling his blanket up around his face. Was that emptiness what death was really like? It was even worse than that disconnected state she'd been in when she first arrived in this world. She never, ever wanted to go through that again. The good news was that the experience had snapped her out of her initial anger, so she was finally able to ask the most important question. <Where is Ismara?>

If I knew that, I wouldn't be here.

…

… …

I've been looking.

Everywhere.

If she's around, she's hiding, or very, very weak.

Or both.

<So what do we do?>

We?

Huh.

We.

That's…

I guess…we keep looking?

Did she ever show up in the game you played?

Was she imagining it, or did that last question actually sound a little excited? Unfortunately, she didn't have a good answer for him. <No,> Pandy admitted. <She supposedly gave Clara extra power sometimes, but that was it. I mean, you had to pray at various shrines and stuff to get things like the Inventory, but that's really it. And when I tried that in this world, I exploded. So…maybe she doesn't want me here, either?>

In which case we're both in trouble.

Pandy let that sink in for a moment, then asked, <Did you hear what Augustus told me yesterday? About Ismara being silent for the last two years or so?>

I did.

That's not very long for a god.

Sometimes World Gods go on vacation for a millenium or two.

But it sounds like this Ismara is much more interested in her people than most gods.

It gets boring when you're always watching the same world, you know.

That's why I prefer working with heroes.

Every situation is different.

Aglaea wants me to apply for a promotion to World God.

She says it'll be more stable, so we can start a family.

A family!

Not that I don't want a family.

But, like, isn't it too soon?

We've only been dating for a few centuries.

Whoa. There was a lot there to unpack. First off, World God was a promotion? Did that mean Keros was like a door-to-door salesman, or maybe one of those people who called to talk to you about your car's extended warranty? And Ismara was what, middle management? And Keros and Aglaea had been dating for centuries? Even for gods, that seemed like a long time. No wonder Aglaea had told him she wanted to take a break. Time to fish or cut bait, Keros!

But Pandy had had a single two-month 'relationship' with a guy who accidentally asked her out and was too embarrassed to admit his mistake. That probably didn't qualify her to give dating advice. Still, when all of this was over, she really hoped Keros figured out what he really wanted, because no one deserved to be left hanging for several hundred years.

<If you're hiding in your own magic, isn't it possible she's doing the same thing for some reason?> she asked. <Could you even tell if we got close?>

That's how I got the idea.

I was looking for her, and realized that I couldn't find her because her magic is everywhere.

But my magic is all wrapped up in hers, since I, uh, kind of messed up when I reincarnated you.

If I push, her power will push back, and if that happens a few times, we can narrow her location down.

Maybe.

'Maybe' wasn't what Pandy wanted to hear, especially since she had a bad feeling that Ismara's power pushing back resulted in Pandy going 'pop'. But as far as she could tell, she had three options: First, ignore it all and let Keros deal with it. That seemed…risky. Second, she could turn Keros in, somehow, and hope that this new god would decide he – or she? had Aglaea specified? – was grateful enough to leave her and Thaniel alone. Unlikely, and she felt kind of icky just considering it. Third, she could go to all the places where Ismara had ever been mentioned in Gacha Love, and try not to explode in a more permanent way.

Honestly, none of those sounded good to her, but if there was a fourth option, she didn't know what it was. And unfortunately, she already knew which she was going to do, which meant she definitely needed to raise her Pain Tolerance.

<All right. But Kappa?>

Yes?

<Do you know anything about this god who's got their undies in a twist about me?> She hesitated, then decided it couldn't hurt to ask. <And, uh, can you let me know when you're around? And maybe work on the clothing thing?>

Sigh.

I wish I did.

This all came out of nowhere, though.

Just all of a sudden, BAM, chains and rocks.

As far as I knew, Ismara was the only local god with any real claim on this area.

And she wasn't available, so…

But their name should be on the complaint they filed, so someone could look it up.

If someone thinks about it.

And isn't so mad at me that she's already back with Hephaestus.

I guarantee that guy is making his move.

…

…

I'll see what I can do about the rest.

Is that all?

Because I still need to drink a Fish Oil Fudge Flex and do some plank jacks.

She wasn't going to ask. Nope. And she really wished she could reassure him about Aglaea, because Pandy definitely hadn't gotten the 'I'm done with this' vibe from the goddess. In fact, she suspected that Keros' girlfriend was genuinely worried about him, and, in spite of what she'd said, didn't want him to get caught or turn himself in. But again, Pandy wasn't exactly a relationship expert, so she didn't want to encourage Keros when Aglaea had already washed him out of her perfectly coiffed hair.

<Yeah, that's all…but hey, Kappa?>

…

What?

<Thanks for not letting them kill me. Or Thaniel.> This time, there was no answer, but she was sure he'd heard her.

So, that was it. In order to save herself, a moderately annoying god, and an innocent little boy who'd been sucked into this mess through no fault of his own, Pandy just needed to find a missing goddess. And she needed to do it in spite of her own miserable luck, and a distinct tendency to explode when she got too close to that same missing goddess. Sure, this should be easy.

Pandy hopped up onto Thaniel's bed, curling up beside him with her head on her paws. She had a lot to think about, and a lot to plan. But nobody said she had to do it alone.