Reborn as a Succubus: Time To Live My Best Life!

The sun was already setting by the time Melisa and Raven made their way back to the dorms. After weeks of staying at Javir's manor or Isabella's house, the academy grounds felt both familiar and strange to Melisa, like a favorite shirt that no longer quite fit (which, of course, given her ever-growing chest, was a feeling she knew well).

"Feels weird, doesn't it?" Melisa said as they made their way to their room. "Coming back here after everything?"

Raven glanced at her, expression carefully neutral as always.

"It's just a room."

"Right. Just a room where nothing has happened. Totally normal."

The corner of Raven's mouth twitched. Not quite a smile, but with her it was close enough that Melisa counted it as a win.

When they reached their door, Melisa fumbled with the key, suddenly struck by how ordinary this all was. A month ago, she'd been infiltrating a nim revolutionary cell. Now she was just another student returning to her dorm after classes.

[This second life of mine is fucking weird sometimes.]

The room looked exactly as they'd left it. Two beds, two desks, their belongings neatly arranged (Raven's side) or haphazardly scattered (Melisa's side).

"Home sweet home," Melisa muttered, dropping her bag on the floor with a thud.

"You don't have to stay here if you don't want to," Raven said quietly, setting her own bag on her desk with considerably more care. "I'm sure Javir would let you continue staying at the manor."

"Obviously." Melisa flopped onto her bed, arms spread wide. "But, nah. Gotta get back to normal sometime, right? Besides, I missed our late-night chats."

Raven raised an eyebrow.

"We don't have late-night chats."

"Yeah, we have late-night chats~"

Raven blinked.

"Oh, you mean sex?"

Melisa started cackling.

Raven shook her head and began unpacking her books with that usual methodical precision.

Melisa watched her for a moment, then started stripping off her uniform. She was down to her underwear when she noticed Raven's eyes on her. The human girl quickly looked away, but not before Melisa caught the slight flush spreading across her pale cheeks.

"See something you like?" Melisa teased, stretching deliberately to show off her purple skin.

"Yes," Raven replied bluntly.

Melisa blinked, caught off guard by the direct response. She'd almost forgotten how Raven could be about this sort of thing.

"Well... Good to know you still like me like that."

"Was that in question?"

They locked eyes. Raven asked that rather seriously. Now it was Melisa's turn to blush.

Still, there was always something endearing about Raven's straightforwardness, her inability (or refusal) to play the usual games people played. It was refreshing, in a way.

[Sweet, actually. In a Raven sort of way.]

"I'm going to take a shower," Melisa announced, grabbing her towel and toiletries. "Try not to miss me too much while I'm gone."

In a rare moment, she actually joked:

"I'll manage somehow," but Melisa caught the way her eyes lingered as she walked to the door.

[Wow. She's evolving!]

When she returned to their room, she found Raven already in bed, a book propped open on her knees. The lamplight caught in her dark hair, giving it an almost blue-black sheen.

"Whatcha reading?" Melisa asked, dropping her towel without ceremony and pulling on an oversized shirt that served as her pajamas.

Raven held up the book so Melisa could see the cover: "Advanced Techniques in Battlefield Spellcasting."

"Light bedtime reading, huh?"

"It's interesting."

Melisa climbed into her own bed, settling against the pillows.

"I bet. Find any good ways to stab people while also setting them on fire?"

"Page 147," Raven replied without missing a beat.

Melisa laughed.

"Of course you'd know the exact page."

Silence fell between them, comfortable in the way it can only be between people who've shared enough experiences that words become optional.

"Hey, Raven?" Melisa said after a while.

"Mm?"

"I'm really happy to have met you."

Raven looked over at her, grey eyes studying her face. Then, slowly, she nodded.

"Me too."

It wasn't much, but coming from Raven, it meant a lot.

---

Knocking woke Melisa from a dream about purple skies and ice needles. She blinked blearily, momentarily disoriented by the familiar-unfamiliar surroundings.

[Right. Dorm. Back at the academy.]

The knocking came again, more insistent this time.

"Coming, coming," she muttered, dragging herself out of bed. She glanced at Raven's bed, expecting to find it empty but to her surprise, the other girl was still asleep, curled up with her back to the room.

[Guess she was particularly tired.]

Melisa shuffled to the door, yawning widely. She opened it without checking who was outside, then froze mid-yawn.

Javir stood in the hallway, looking as perfect as always in her professor's robes. Her golden hair was neatly styled, and she smelled faintly of jasmine.

"Morning, sleepyhead," Javir said, a small smile playing on her lips. "May I come in?"

"Uh, sure," Melisa stepped back, suddenly conscious of her messy hair and the fact that she wasn't wearing pants. "Just, um, give me a second to..."

"Don't worry about it," Javir said, stepping inside and closing the door behind her. "You know I've seen worse."

The sound of their voices finally roused Raven, who sat up with the immediate alertness of someone trained to wake up ready for combat. When she saw Javir, she relaxed slightly.

"Professor," she acknowledged with a nod.

"Raven," Javir returned the nod. "Sorry to disturb your rest."

"I should be up anyway," Raven said, already sliding out of bed. Unlike Melisa, she wore practical cotton pajamas that covered her from neck to ankle.

Melisa flopped back onto her bed, patting the spot beside her in invitation to Javir.

"So, what brings you to our humble abode at the crack of dawn?"

"The crack of dawn came and went. It's nearly nine," Javir pointed out, but she sat on the edge of Melisa's bed anyway. "I wanted to check in. See how you're settling back in."

"It's... weird," Melisa admitted. "But good weird, I think. Getting back to normal and all that."

Javir's eyes softened.

"Normal has a way of shifting, doesn't it? What feels strange now will become routine soon enough."

"I'm sure the professor's disappointed glares will feel plenty routine again by the end of the week," Melisa joked. "I've already managed to space out during his entire lecture yesterday."

"Ah, so you're easing back into your scholarly duties with your usual dedication, I see."

"You know me. Always giving 110 percent."

Raven snorted from where she was folding her pajamas with military precision.

"And what about this project I've been hearing about?" Javir asked. "The inter-year research assignment?"

Melisa groaned, falling back against her pillows dramatically.

"Don't remind me. We're getting the full instructions today, but all I know is that it involves a lot of time in the library and partnering with students from other years and yada yada."

"Don't sound too enthusiastic, please," Javir teased. "Research projects are excellent opportunities to expand your knowledge beyond the standard curriculum."

"Said the professor," Melisa replied. "But yeah, I guess I'm curious to see what it's all about. The old librarian said something weird to me yesterday about the library 'giving us what we need' or some cryptic bullshit like that."

"Ms. Milly? She's been saying things like that for as long as I can remember. Pay her no mind. Speaking of giving people what they need," Javir continued, turning to Raven, "I'm still conducting my little... excursions against the remaining Shadow Mage remnants throughout the city. If you'd like to join me sometime, I could always use an extra hand."

To be honest, Melisa doubted that. It seemed more likely Javir was just saying as much to give Raven something to do other than follow Melisa's tail all day or work out.

Raven looked up, genuine interest crossing her usually stoic features.

"I would appreciate that, Professor."

"Excellent. We'll arrange the details later." Javir stood, smoothing her robes. "I should let you both get ready for class. Wouldn't want to be the reason the good professor has another opportunity to disapprove of you, Melisa."

"The sun forbid," Melisa replied with a grin.

Javir moved to the door, then paused, looking back at them both.

"It's good to see you settling back in. Both of you."

After she left, Melisa turned to Raven.

"Well, looks like you've got some Shadow Mage hunting in your future. Jealous."

"You could join us," Raven suggested, pulling her uniform from her closet.

"Nah, I think I've had enough adventure for a little while. Besides," Melisa stretched, reluctantly getting out of bed, "we've got this mysterious project to look forward to. Maybe it'll actually be interesting."

"Maybe," Raven agreed, though she didn't sound convinced.

They dressed in silence, Melisa's mind drifting between thoughts of the upcoming project and the weird new normal she was trying to establish.

"Ready?" Raven asked, picking up her bag.

"As I'll ever be," Melisa replied, grabbing her own bag and following Raven out the door. "Let's go see what fresh academic hell awaits us."