The moment Yoruichi's finger touched my face, something in my exhausted brain finally clicked into place.
*Wait. What the hell am I doing?*
I caught her wrist gently but firmly, stopping her mid-motion. The heart-shaped pupils in her golden eyes were still there, and the way she was looking at me—like I was the most fascinating thing in the universe—made it clear that whatever attraction might have existed before, the Charisma ability was amplifying it to insane levels.
"Hold up," I said, forcing myself to think clearly despite feeling like I'd been hit by a magical freight train. "This is seriously messed up."
"What?" Yoruichi blinked, some confusion creeping into her expression. The dreamy quality in her voice flickered slightly.
I looked around at the three of them—really looked this time, past the exhaustion and the part of my brain that was screaming about being seventeen and having three attractive women all focused on me.
Grayfia, who was normally the epitome of strict professionalism with perfect etiquette, was standing there with her silver hair slightly disheveled and her breathing uneven. Her usual composed mask had completely cracked, replaced by something raw and wanting that looked completely wrong on her face.
Yoruichi, who typically maintained that lazy confidence and enjoyed teasing people just to see their reactions, was acting like she wanted to pin me against the wall and forget the rest of the world existed. The calculating intelligence in her golden eyes had been replaced by pure, primal focus.
And Lavinia, who I barely knew beyond a few professional collaborations, was looking at me like I'd personally invented fire and handed it to her as a gift. The reserved, scholarly demeanor had vanished entirely.
*This isn't real. This is magical influence screwing with their heads, and I'm sitting here like an idiot ready to take advantage of it.*
"Look, this ability of mine—it doesn't create feelings out of nothing, but it amplifies whatever's already there way beyond normal levels," I explained, pulling myself into a more upright position against the wall. "You're not thinking clearly right now. None of you are."
"I'm thinking perfectly clearly," Yoruichi protested, though her voice still had that affected, husky quality that was nothing like her usual tone.
"No, you're not," I said firmly, meeting her gaze directly. "You're one of the smartest people I know. Intelligent, witty, always three steps ahead of everyone else in the conversation. But right now? Right now you're acting on pure impulse and instinct. That's not you, Yoruichi. That's the magical influence talking."
That seemed to give her pause. I could see her trying to process what I was saying, fighting through the haze of artificial attraction that was clouding her judgment. Her brow furrowed slightly as she attempted to think past the effect.
"And Grayfia," I continued, turning to look at the silver-haired Queen, "you're married. You have a kid. You have a husband who trusts you completely and a professional reputation that you've spent decades building. You really think Sirzechs would be okay with this? You think Millicas would understand if he found out his mother threw away her marriage for some teenager she barely knows?"
The mention of her family hit like a physical blow. Her eyes went wide and she took several steps back, one hand flying to her mouth as if she'd just realized she'd been about to say something horrible. Some of the fog cleared from her expression, replaced by growing horror at her own behavior.
"I... this is highly inappropriate conduct," she said, her voice shaking as her professional training started reasserting itself. "I cannot... I should not..."
"And Lavinia," I said, turning to the blonde witch, though I kept my voice gentler since she looked like she might start crying, "I barely know you beyond work stuff. We've collaborated on a few projects, sure, but we've never even had a real personal conversation. Whatever you're feeling right now, it's not based on anything real between us. It's magical influence making you think you want something that doesn't actually exist."
The silence that followed was heavy and uncomfortable. I could see all three of them fighting against the artificial attraction, trying to think through the haze that had been clouding their judgment. The heart-shaped pupils were starting to fade slightly, returning to their normal appearances.
Grayfia was the first to fully snap out of it. Her professional composure reasserted itself like armor sliding back into place, though I could see her hands trembling slightly. "This is... this is completely unacceptable behavior on my part," she said, her voice returning to its normal controlled tone. "I must apologize for my conduct. The magical influence is no excuse for such a breach of professional standards."
"There's nothing to apologize for," I said quickly. "It's not your fault. The ability leaked for an entire week while we were all in close proximity. Of course it affected you."
Yoruichi shook her head, looking disgusted with herself. "Damn it. I hate having my head messed with." The lazy confidence was returning to her voice, replacing the artificial breathiness. "And I especially hate not realizing it was happening."
"You couldn't have known," I said. "I didn't realize it was leaking until just now. When you're completely drained of mana, you lose control over abilities like that."
Lavinia wrapped her arms around herself, looking mortified. "I feel so embarrassed. The things I was thinking..." She trailed off, her cheeks burning red.
"Don't," I said firmly. "All of you, stop blaming yourselves. This is on me. I'm the one with the dangerous ability that I didn't properly control. I'm the one who put you all in this situation."
The workshop had fallen into an awkward silence, broken only by the quiet humming of Lavinia's containment systems and the distant sound of wind outside. The magical charge that had been filling the air for the past week was finally starting to dissipate as my control over the Charisma ability reasserted itself.
"So what do we do now?" Lavinia asked quietly, still not quite meeting my eyes.
I went through every ability that I had in possession hastily, as the women around me tried hard to ward off the effects of my charm. Using Shadow Exchange was quick and efficient to go out from here but I didn't want to risk going back to Kuoh Town or back to Underworld, as I wasn't sure how far the aura will emerge out of me.
Then my gaze swept to empty Vial of Holy water of Life and something flickered in my mind, as I pulled out another fully filled vial and chugged it down without wasting a moment. The effect was instantaneous, leading to the women to gain their formal composure gradually as I got hold of my aura as well as mana got recovered almost instantaneously.
"Phew...Almost dodged a bullet there" I got up as they got dressed up with a blush aside from Yoruichi who didnt bother to put on clothes but stared at me for answers "I guess not"
"Don't tell me this is the power of this sword you just created?" Yoruichi crossed her arms as she sat down with her legs crossed. Grayfia recovered her composure though there was still the look of embarassment from her side while Lavinia minded nothing at all, as if she was ok with other man seeing her naked.
I coughed as I had their attention upon me "Come on, Yoruichi. You know me well enough that I won't go through such lengths for these kinda stuff. Besides, don't you wanna know what I just created? Lavinia? Grayfia-san?"
"I'm more inclined to know how you made us act like this? Or is it true what Yoruichi-san just said.." Before Lavinia could go in the wrong direction because of this whole ordeal, I stopped her in mid with a raise of my hand and with a sigh I briefed them upon what Skill I got my hands on, aside with this blacksmith skill.
After a few moments.
Yoruichi stretched, some of her usual lazy grace returning "That's... probably something Urahara would do, if he gets bored" she admitted, though there was reluctance in her voice. "Much as I hate admitting I got played by such shitty power of yours. You should've just asked me instead of resorting to these methods to get into my pants"
"I told you, it wasn't in my control" I tried my best to not jump at her and keep her mouth close. The look on Grayfia's face told me very well, that she wasn't going to forget this at all, and on the other hand Lavinia was already moved on, and was busy taking in the glory of the newly created sword.
"I should contact Sirzechs-sama," Grayfia said, though she looked mortified at the prospect "This breach of my professional conduct requires reporting along with..."
"No," I said quickly. "Nothing actually happened. We recognized the problem and dealt with it before anyone did something they'd regret. There's no need to make this more complicated than it already is, Grayfia san"
I leaned back against the wall, feeling the exhaustion hitting me again now that the immediate crisis had passed "Look, We can handle being in the same room without doing something stupid while we wait for the magical influence to completely fade."
"So should I report to Azazel sama about this as well in my report?" Lavinia asked hesitantly.
"Knowing him, he would become the second Yoruichi and would tease me about it until I get to hell, so let's keep this a secret, shall we?" I replied with a sigh "Unless any of you have a better idea?"
None of them seemed to disagree with that plan.
The next several hours were some of the most awkward of my life. I was still in workshop, giving notes to Lavinia who seemed to enjoy more than I was. Giving my knowledge was just an exchange of services between us, afterall she helped Asia, so as a team leader, I had to repay.
Grayfia busied herself with repairing the workshop's containment systems, her professional efficiency a stark contrast to how she'd been acting earlier. She avoided looking directly at me, though I caught her glancing my way when she thought I wasn't paying attention.
Lavinia continued on documenting the sword I'd created, taking detailed notes about the crafting process and the materials used. She seemed grateful to have something academic to focus on, though her usual enthusiasm for magical theory was notably subdued.
Yoruichi handled the situation the best, probably because she was used to dealing with awkward interpersonal dynamics. She found a comfortable spot and proceeded to nap, which was honestly probably the smartest approach any of us could have taken.
As for me, I spent the time trying to rebuild my magical reserves and reflecting on just how badly this whole situation could have gone. If I hadn't snapped out of it when I did...
*Don't think about it. It didn't happen, and that's what matters.*
Around the four-hour mark, I felt my mana finally stabilize at something approaching normal levels. Not full strength—that would take another day or two of rest—but enough for basic abilities and safe teleportation.
"Right," I said, standing up and stretching muscles that had been protesting for hours. "I think we're good to go."
The others looked up at me with obvious relief. The awkwardness had been getting thicker by the hour.
"The sword," Grayfia said, gesturing to where the divine weapon lay on Lavinia's workbench. "You should test its capabilities before we depart. After such an extensive crafting process..."
I picked up the weapon I'd forged, feeling the perfect balance and the power thrumming through the divine metal. The engravings from my Sage's Eye pulsed with contained energy, and I could sense the deeper connection between the blade and myself—like it was an extension of my will rather than just a tool.
"Later," I said, though I was curious about what exactly I'd created. "Right now, I just want to get back to my normal life and try to process what happened here."
"Understandable," Yoruichi said, stretching as she got to her feet. Some of her usual humor was returning. "Though I have to say, your magical experiments certainly have some interesting side effects. Don't forget to invite us next time again, right maid san?"
"Don't push her, Yoruichi. She isn't someone you can joke around with" I muttered, as Grayfia coughed and brought a magic circle for us to return to the underworld.
"Before you go," Lavinia said hesitantly, "I want you to know that the workshop is always available if you need it again. For legitimate magical research, of course"
"Thanks," I said. "I appreciate it. And Lavinia? You did good work setting all this up. The containment systems, the forge setup—it was all perfect."
She smiled slightly, the first genuine expression I'd seen from her in hours. "Thank you. That means a lot."
As we stepped into it, I made several mental notes for the future. First: be much more careful with abilities that could affect other people's minds. Second: always maintain proper magical control, even during exhausting projects. Third: maybe warn people about potential side effects before starting week-long collaborative efforts.
Some lessons you only needed to learn once. At least, I hoped this was one of them.
We were back in the Gremory mansion, and I was grateful when Grayfia immediately excused herself to return to her duties. Yoruichi gave me a knowing look but didn't comment, instead transforming back into her cat form and settling onto my shoulder.
She said quietly, "You left some charm on the maid san"
"You know who she is, right?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"Why should I care?" she replied with amusement "You said you would protect me from any harm afterall"
And that's why I love dogs more than Ca- Ouch!
. . .
Read upto 20 chapters at pa-tr-eon /opeler
Check out my pa-tr-eon, if you find it interesting do join or support me
Enjoy!