KamiKowa: That Time I Got Transmigrated With A Broken Goddess-Chapter 36: [] Control Issues

Xavier could barely keep his eyes open watching Professor Rousseau wave his arms around like he was conducting an invisible orchestra. Something about gate formation theory and regulatory protocols.

This is what I died for? Xavier thought, rolling his shoulders to work out the tension building there. To sit through lectures about paperwork with a migrane?

He let his gaze drift across the classroom. Sayuri hunched over her notebook, green hair creating a curtain around her face as she sketched detailed diagrams in the margins. Her pen moved in quick, precise strokes—not just taking notes, but capturing the essence of what Rousseau was explaining through visual interpretation.

To his right, Luka had given up all pretense of paying attention. The broad-shouldered Russian sketched what looked like weapon designs, his thick fingers surprisingly delicate as he added measurements and balance calculations to each drawing.

"Questions? Comments? Existential crises?" Professor Rousseau clapped his hands together, startling half the class awake.

Silence.

"Marvelous! Read Chapter three on the Jakarta Event. Don’t just skim it—absorb it, digest it, become one with it! Class dismissed!"

Xavier gathered his tablet, muscles protesting from sitting still too long. The familiar restlessness was setting in—the need to move, to act, to do something other than accumulate theoretical knowledge he might never use.

"Luka! Xavier!" Beppo appeared beside his desk, phone already in hand. "What’s the plan for after school? I’m thinking we could grab some food, maybe check out that gaming lounge in Midtown?"

"Can’t." Xavier slung his bag over one shoulder, scanning the room for Calypso. "Prior commitments."

"Come on, man. It’s our first day. We should celebrate surviving Professor Valdez without getting frozen solid."

Xavier spotted Calypso near the front of the classroom, surrounded by three other girls. Margaret Richardson stood closest to her, midnight-blue hair falling in waves past her shoulders, turquoise eyes bright as she gestured animatedly. Selena Miller nodded along, her blonde-to-blue gradient hair catching the afternoon light streaming through the windows.

The third girl was new—tall, with straight blonde hair that looked like it had been styled in a salon that morning. Her face belonged on magazine covers, but her eyes held Xavier’s attention. Pink-purple irises that seemed to shift color depending on the angle, currently narrowed in what looked like calculation.

"Rain check," Xavier told Beppo, already moving toward the group.

As he approached, he caught fragments of conversation.

"—tradition for all the girls since high school," Margaret was saying. "Shopping, dinner, getting to know each other properly."

"I don’t know, Xavier and I had plans—"

"Xavier can spare you for one evening," the blonde interrupted. Her voice carried the kind of authority that came from never being told ’no.’ "Unless he’s one of those boyfriends who needs to know where you are every second."

"Cousin," Calypso corrected quickly. "Xavier’s my cousin."

The three girls exchanged glances. Margaret’s eyebrow arched. Selena’s lips pressed into a thin line. The blonde’s pink-purple eyes shifted to Xavier as he joined their circle.

"Speak of the devil," she said. "We were just inviting Calypso to join us for some girl time."

Xavier let his gaze move slowly across each face, reading micro-expressions. Margaret’s interest seemed genuine, but guarded. Selena watched him like she was solving a puzzle. The blonde stood with her weight slightly forward, chin raised—classic dominance posturing.

"Sounds fun," he said, keeping his voice neutral. "When were you thinking?"

"Tonight, unless that’s a problem?"

Is... is she trying to press me?

Calypso looked between them, pink eyes wide. She wanted to go—he could see it in the way she shifted her weight from foot to foot, the slight forward lean of her body. But she was waiting for his permission, which was exactly what these girls were watching for.

"Actually," Xavier said, pulling out his phone and checking the time, "we promised my mom we’d video call her tonight. She’s got a rare evening off from the hospital."

Calypso’s face fell, just slightly. "Oh. Right. Aunt Elaine."

"Your mom checks in every day?" Margaret asked.

"She works double shifts in the ER." Xavier slipped the phone back into his pocket. "When she gets a free evening, family comes first. Plus, it’s the first day."

The blonde’s stance relaxed a fraction. Still evaluating, but no longer openly hostile.

"What about Saturday?" Xavier continued. "We should be settled in by then."

Calypso brightened immediately. "Saturday would be perfect!"

"Saturday works." The blonde pulled out her phone. "I’m Ashley, by the way. Ashley Martin." She handed the device to Calypso. "Put your number in. I’ll text you details."

"Well," Ashley said, saving Calypso’s contact with a few quick taps, "Saturday it is. We’ll pick you up around noon?"

"Sounds good," Calypso beamed.

The girls gathered their things and headed for the door, but Xavier caught Ashley’s final words to Selena: "Protective, but not possessive. Interesting."

"Popular guy," Beppo commented, appearing at Xavier’s elbow again. "Ashley Martin just gave you her personal number?"

"She gave it to Calypso," Xavier corrected.

"Same difference. That family owns half the pharmaceutical companies in North America." Beppo rubbed his hands together. "I should introduce myself. Networking, you know?"

"Good luck with that."

"You coming?" Calypso asked. She’d gathered her things and was waiting by the door.

Xavier shouldered his bag and followed her out into the hallway. Students streamed past them toward the exits, voices echoing off polished marble walls.

"Thank you," Calypso said once they were alone. "For saying we could go Saturday instead of making me cancel completely."

"You wanted to go."

"I did. But I know we have other important stuff to worry about." She adjusted her bag strap, silver-blue hair catching the light from the tall windows. "She’s going to figure out we’re not really cousins eventually."

"Probably." Xavier pushed open the main doors, stepping out into the late afternoon sun. "But not tonight."

Xavier pushed open the door, stepping out into the late afternoon sun. The campus grounds were filled with students heading home or to after-school activities, their voices creating a steady background hum.

"Those girls," Calypso said as they walked, "they were protecting me from you."

"I noticed."

"Does that bother you?"

Xavier considered the question. A year ago—hell even a month ago, he would have been planning how to neutralize potential threats to his mission. Now? "No. It means they’re good friends. The kind worth having."

Calypso was quiet for a moment, pink eyes focused on the path ahead. "I’ve never had friends before. Not real ones."

"Divine beings don’t socialize?"

"We don’t really... connect. Not the way mortals do." She paused at the edge of the pier, watching students board the ferry. "Everything was always about hierarchy, duty, function. Not about actually knowing each other."

The ferry’s engines hummed to life as they found seats on the upper deck.

"So," Xavier said, settling back in his seat, "about those Soul Bonds you keep mentioning."

Calypso turned to face him fully, her expression shifting to something more serious. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything. How they work, what they mean, why my power depends on them." He met her gaze directly. "And why you keep deflecting when I ask about the details."

She was quiet for a long moment, watching the academy grow smaller behind them. When she finally spoke, her voice was softer than usual.

"Because some things are easier to experience than explain. And because..." She traced patterns on the armrest between them. "Because I’m not sure you’re ready to hear all of it yet."

"Try me."

Calypso looked at him then, really looked at him. Her pink eyes seemed to see past his careful facade to something deeper.

"Soul Bonds aren’t just about power, Xavier. They’re about becoming someone worth being connected to. And that means letting people see who you really are, not just who you think they want you to be."

The ferry cut through the water toward the city, carrying them away from the academy and toward whatever came next. But for the first time since arriving in this world, Xavier felt like he was moving toward something instead of just running from his past.

"So teach me," he said. "Help me figure out who that person is supposed to be."

"Fine.... when we get home."