Nobunaga was in a tight spot, it seemed. Moments after another successful mission with Sona, Namikaze Haru tripped and fell on a branch on the way back to school just as they were about to transform back into their original outfits. The green light enveloped her body, but as she lacked the physical willpower to transfer her consciousness to the front and center due to being out like a light, she transformed into her regular uniform once again with Oda Nobunaga accidentally given the reins.
Which, as you would imagine, was the bulk of the problem already. As her presence in Haru's body has been a closely guarded secret that not even the Leviathan was allowed to know about, thus not even made aware that they'd swap places sometimes, it made it very clear that if Nobu was unable to act like Haru normally would, then the secret could come out in flames. As she slowly stood up, trying her best to acclimate to the physique of her Avenger form's second stage, she realized that Sona was approaching her from behind. She turned around, awkwardly, to meet her honest confusion.
Sona Sitri tilted her head, puzzled. "Is there something wrong, Haru? Did Emerald tell you something irritating again?" The Student Council president-to-be had long since outgrown the concept of magical girl cosplays and roleplaying, but out of habit she still went out on the operations with Haru for old time's sake. Her limited knowledge on the specialized equipment that Haru had only extended to knowing that it greatly amplified her powers and allowed her to fight like a regular magical girl.
Emerald was well aware of their agreement to speak not a word of Nobu's presence as well, awkwardly shifting around Haru's belt pocket. She replied, quaintly, "Oh nonono, Miss Sitri, nothing happened! Nothing happened at all!" Nobunaga concurred. "Y-Yeah, it just hurt a little bit, don't-don't mind me." A bead of sweat fell of her brow, and Sona sighed.
"Just remember to go to your class this time, Haru." Sona admonished the younger girl, still mildly surprised that she actually found out a way to retain her old plumbing. "We had enough trouble with Miss Taro complaining about your tardiness. Our special operations do not qualify as an excuse for people who are unaware of the supernatural, understand? Good." She started walking away, and Nobunaga released a deep sigh she didn't know she was holding in.
The Demon King wasn't particularly familiar with Haru's daily routines at her school, being that she mostly focused on the more auxiliary and supplemental aspects of school life such as the extracurricular activities, sports and of course, Modern Japanese History. As a result, there were a few moments that Nobu could've used in preparing for Haru's next class, but ultimately wasted by her indecisiveness and lack of awareness towards those daily activities. In fact, just ten minutes before the time hit one, the teacher meant for her next class passed by, reminding them both of the test on Mathematics that was supposed to be covered that day.
Nobu froze, realizing that for the last 2 hours before Haru went to bed she studiously read textbook after textbook, numbers too complex for her to understand were pasted on the wall of the shared bedroom as she recited on it over and over again. Haru may not always be the greatest in Mathematics, but that time, that evening? She poured her heart out, telling Nobu over and over again how this time, she'll pass, that this time, she'll have a high score.
Too bad she wasn't able to see it through this time, that crazy girl. Nobunaga faced the classroom floor in an OTL position, silently muttering "I have failed you, I have failed you!" over and over again. Her classmates looked at her worryingly, viewing the boy as the best in their class overall despite his otherwise average markings in the Mathematical end of the spectrum. If even he has began to keel over, what could they possible do to tide the pain over?
But Nobunaga had a plan in store. From the perspective of the entire room, she stood up and walked back to the arm chair with a determined look on her face. Yet just as much on the inside, they had a plan to consider.
Kaleido Emerald was a work of magical art. A mystic code devised by the Kaleidescope and based of its sister models, Ruby and Sapphire, Kaleido Emerald was unique among all of them for featuring all of their utilities, including the usage of class cards as the battery and power source of a lot of its strengths and its direct connection to the Multiverse as a whole, and also by featuring a full fledged scientific calculator and various other doodads within its programming.
Yes, Kaleido Emerald was one of the unique mystic codes in existence. Despite being powered by magical powers, it also held an entire microcomputer within its circuits despite the clear contrast between machinery and magecaft. As Kaleido Emerald would put it just a few moments before it began, "I am what you may call an anathema. Despite being magical, I am also technologically superior. And despite being technologically superior, I do not curtail the development of magic as a whole by my entire existence for I do not exist to simplify life."
And as far as computers go, he was pretty good. He came with a built-in clock, an MP3 player, a small holographic screen to watch movies in and even a USB port that Haru sometimes uses to charge her phone. But that wasn't the reason why Nobu was so excited, oh no. Rather, it was Emerald's ability to connect to the Internet through a micro copy of Mozilla Firefox on her storage units that came so handy. And through Mozilla Firefox came multiple online calculators that were more than willing to supplement Nobu's lacking knowledge in Basic Calculus.
The stage was set, and all that was left now was for Nobunaga to wait for the papers to be passed over to her. On the teacher's table were stacks of paper that almost reached the top of the blackboard. Any of Nobunaga's pride left over after such a spectacle burned out in an instance, but she held on for as long as possible. It couldn't be that bad, she thought, but looking through her copy, her meek smiles turned into deeper frowns and an open mouth when she realized she might have swallowed more than she could chew.
Even with Nobunaga's ace in a hole, there was no chance for her to legitimately win like this at stake. But she realized a solution just as quickly. She opened up Haru's belt pocket, asking the magical stick as discretely as possible. "You think you could wander around and tell me the answers of some of the smarter looking kids when you're invisible." The look of realization on both of them widened happily as they set this plan in motion alongside their original plans.
The test went on and on for the next 30 minutes, but despite that it didn't feel as exhausting as it could have been. Oda Nobunaga stared blankly at the test sheet as the answers came in soft whispers, just barely heard by the muggle population of the classroom. She wrote them down as accurately as she possibly could, making sure to include the equations as requested by the instructions given. A cold sweat gathered in her brow, as she tried her best to write them down as they went.
As the test drew to a close, Nobunaga rested her head on the armchair with no cushioning. She was just about to sleep it off, until...
*SLAM!* The teacher's desk was slammed by the teacher in charge with a loud "Silence!" The teacher gathered in the miffed looks on all of the students faces and so they thought to themselves, oh boy what is it this time. "I've been hearing loud whispers gathering around here this entire time, and I know that they're the answers to the quiz! Who could possibly be audacious enough to help someone during the middle of a major exam?"
Her buttons decided that at that point, it was the best time to split. POP goes the buttons, and the sound of a pen rolling over a desk rattled through from the front columns, and they all looked there. The teacher looked to the general direction of the transparent wand, and both Haru and the teacher gasped.
"Matsuda-kun, how could you!" The boy sputtered uncontrollably as his scheme unravelled itself, letting the cheat sheets fall off his clothes one by one. His seatmate, Motohama, palmed his face as he muttered how he should've taught the boy right, until he realized that he was also right next to the teacher. The teacher took the boy's paper and ripped it in half, solidifying their current position as the boy began crying into his seat, while glaring holes into the glasses wearing otaku.
A girl next to Haru spoke up, referring to Haru in particular. "Gee, what did he do this time to go out of their way to do that, huh? Don't you agree?"
Nobunaga blinked. Looking to her left, she asked. "To what?"
"Well, you know. Desperation forcing their hand and stuff, could've done more to study and stuff... He wasted more time ogling at girls instead of actually studying."
"Yeah... I guess." Kiryuu turned to face him,
"You think he could've done better?" Nobunaga thought about it, and realized yeah. Yeah, she probably did. It wasn't the most positive of opinions, not at all, but their antics really soured her opinions of them tenfold.
"I guess he could've. I don't remember too much about him, but I could tell that the guy did all of that as some sort of twisted coping mechanism." She sighs. "Don't you think so too? There's no way any normal human being would be so obsessed with a pair of fat in such a short span of time. I get that kids get perverted in puberty, but look at me! I'm not salivating over every new episode of Kamen Rider like a loon."
"I mean, take a look at the guy. He's a sputtering mess." Nobunaga sighed deeper, letting her disappointment at their wasted potentials known. "Despite having an elaborate plan to cheat in the exams, all it took was looking at our teacher's pair of boobs to leave him open to counterattack. Honestly, you'd think that they'd be doing much better if they didn't let their libido control themselves all the time. What a waste..." And that, to be honest, was her take on the truth here.
For once in Kiryuu Aika's life, she was at a loss. Certainly, her grades were better than most, but she went through most of her life thinking that her talent was something that she could use to get out of any situation without worry in any way. Now though, she wasn't so sure if it was either the morally right or smart thing to do. She blushed, and coughed.
"I... Oh, I don't know. I didn't honestly expect a response that intelligent from you, pretty boy. Thanks for that." Nobunaga blinked once again, confused who she was referring to. "Well," She stood up. "Guess this is my time to leave. See you next time, then."
"The same to you." She took her bags, and left the room, leaving behind a teared up Motohama and Matsuda, and a really incensed teacher. The Kaleidostick followed quickly after, inserting herself into the belt pocket without needing to be notified.
Just as Nobu prepared to leave the school, Haru regained control, a fuzzy feeling in her vision. Haru had to ask, "What did I miss this time?"
Nobunaga answered excitedly, "Oh, I answered your exam for you, Haru! I might have cheated a little bit, but it shouldn't be too bad. They'd be the same answers anyway, right."
Haru nervously agreed, but she still had a great sense of foreboding coming after her for the next day. She could worry about it next time. And worry she did.
The next day, the test results were released. That day, Haru screamed, as though his score was not bad in any way—it was 70% of the exam—, a very laconic "Remember to add in your justifications and solutions, Haru." A little addendum after that read "And make sure the equations are correct to begin with!"
Meanwhile…
Raynare went inside her safehouse, tired after a day of doing menial labour to pay off her rent and working on the side to get on her boss's good side again. Plopping down on her couch, feeling tired, she would just about fall unconscious if it wasn't for her feeling a rough piece of metal poking her arse immediately afterwards. Rubbing her sore arse, she picks up the offending material and realizes that it's a communicator of some sort. Just after, however, it rings, making her reel after hearing the voice on the other line.
"Raynare."
"Sir?"
A few explanations later... Midway through, she finds the box in question. She raises her eyebrows and her pupils turn into pinpricks as she realizes what kind of contract she's being asked to do.
"I don't get what you mean that, Azazel-sama, I am not going to go out in that reprehensible attire!"
"What? What do you mean it's the only way to mend our relations? That Gremory girl hasn't talked to you in years? Doesn't she actively avoid you to begin with!?"
"I could give a rat's ass about that brat's opinion about it, what I'm asking is why you felt the need to stuff me in this thing just to make amends!"
"I think you're acting nerdier than you've ever been, if I'm being quite honest."
"Wha—Azazel-sama, that's totally uncalled for! Y-Yes, I called you that in the first place, but... Haah...!?"
From the other end, the Governor-General only smirked. "It's either befriend the kid or don't, Raynare. Either way, I'll let you be if your presence has made a positive effect. Your punishment would be lightened, as a direct result. And don't you think that's so good? Just start as soon as you can. I expect results." The sound of a phone being slammed down, and the beeps of a dial tone afterwards.
Raynare dropped the communicator to the ground, realizing the implications. She gulps deeply, and looks at the box full of clothing. Blinking twice, she approaches it.
"A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do..."
She awkwardly takes the school uniform up and shivers, taking in the smell of the morning sun. It was evidently and very recently ironed. Looking at her windows, she realizes that the morning sun had penetrated through, and on a Monday at that so she had to act quickly. Taking a quick shower, she started by putting on her socks.
"Alright then, Haru... I hope you're going to enjoy me, because there's no way I'm going to try and pay off all my debts in another decade." She sighs, and puts it all on. Walking out of the door with all her identification papers, Yuuma Amano stepped out of the door wearing the Kuoh Academy uniform with a frown on her face.
Locking the door behind her, she breathes in deeply. Moments after, she marches towards the school with a fire in her eyes.