Between the lines 5

"She's moving out!" Yukie whined, tugging at her friend’s arm like a petulant child. “What do I do?”

Minori simply frowned, marginally. "You don’t know anything. Isn't she like twenty-five or something?"

"She’s twenty-one and that's not the point!” Yukie straightened from her slump position.

"Then what is the point?"

"I'm pretty certain she's moving out because of Izayoi."

"Those two still aren't getting along?" It was something that should have been surprising news given how long the siblings had been living together, but somehow it wasn’t given the personality types present.

"It's even worse now." Yukie drew her brows together, sounding puzzled herself. She pulled another petulant face and whined… "I'm a failure as a mother!"

"If you're looking for your dignity, you dropped while complaining." Minori refused to let her annoyance show. Childish Yukie wasn’t a side that often manifested…thankfully…but when she did…oh boy.

It was adorable, in a thoroughly tiresome sort of way.

"This is serious! It feels like I'm losing them."

"You can't make two people like each other. Izayoi and Akiza just have different personalities."

"Don't you think I know that. But it's been two years!"

"It's been fifteen years and I'm still not used to this place." Minori waved a hand about at their surroundings.

"There has to be some way to make them...friendlier."

Minori coiled a smile. "Love potion?"

Yukie’s mouth tightened with irritation. "Not that friendly."

"Dilute it then."

"Minoriiiiiii!"

"Alright, alright. I might have an idea." Minori being an utter troll could be adorable, in a thoroughly tiresome sort of way.

"You do?" Minori stretched her smile. "No!” Yukie boomed. “Anything but that."

"Come on. You know it'll work. Remember when we had that fight in high school?" Yukie did indeed.

"I recall that story ending on a bad note."

"You're old,” Minori said back quickly. “The mind is the first thing to go."

"I don't want to drag my children into this."

"They're already part of it whether you like it or not. It’s only a matter of time before the Obscenity Institute notices them."

"I know that."

The atmosphere around them tightened to a choking intensity.

"I'm surprised they've gotten this far. When I was their age I——"

"——really don't want to remember you at their age,” Yukie interrupted, “thank you very much."

"Come on. It'll be fun." Minori’s excitement rose sharply, a clear red flag.

"No, it won't."

Confusing? Yes.

Chaotic? Most definitely.

Helpful? Almost certainly not.

If past experiences were anything to go on.

"This will bring them closer for sure. Guaranteed!"

"And if it doesn't?"

"Well, then I suppose you should get used to calling your son 'daughter' and your daughter 'son'." Minori had never been the type to give up. Not until she won, no matter the length of the war or the number of casualties. "You don't even have to do anything! Leave it to me. I'll fix those two right up. And I'll even get a laugh in a process. Win-win."

"I don't know..." Yukie said nervously.

"Or you can learn to live with your only daughter leaving the nest for good." Talk about twisting the knife.

"Fine. Just try not to get carried away."

"Me? Never. Perish the thought.” Minori adjusted her chair and leaned back, her smile becoming even more disquieting. “Oh, this is gonna be so much fun. I'm getting wet just thinking about it."

Sabrina_Valentine

There you have it everyone! We have reached the end of volume 1. I hope it made for some excellent (one-handed) reading. Don't fret, Volume 2 is 10K away from completion. I will probably be taking a short hiatus (1-2months) to get everything ready, but it probably won't be that long either. There are still plenty of burning questions that need answering. Who created the New World, why, do we get back and most importantly, following Izayoi and Akiza's new journey into ero.

Some tidbits for the second volume:

• We will learn a lot more about Minori.
• Akiza's new reality as a practitioner of that which she has been trained is taboo will get explored.
• Kanata's power will get some extra attention
• Don't worry, Izayoi will get to spend more time in each other's bodies.
• And finally, let's just say someone very qualified and dangerous will be sent from the Obscenity Institute to investigate what our leads are up to.

Sabrina_Valentine

This has been the first volume  of my new Light Novel series “My Life as an Ero-Magi Sucks! All Roads Lead to Perversion!!”. It has been a huge joy to work on this series and I’ve been careful to balance all the elements that make up great Light Novels: Fun, interesting characters, a nice-enough mystery and of course an excellent premise. 

If you enjoyed this chapter in Izayoi and Akiza's lives, please go and grab Volume 1 for just $5.99 from

• Smashwords
• Amazon