"It went really smoothly after I got back from that divine realm, I killed Nereszu before he could react, and then I used Devour: Cloak to drill straight through the ceilings.

And probably thanks to the luck boost I got, I ended up right inside Fenelza's room, without running into any of the other Generals.

After that, I knocked her out, took her outside, blasted the castle with nine full-powered bursts of Obliterate, and then used Command to make her warp me back to Earth.

I then killed her and headed straight here. I assumed you'd be asleep, so my plan was to go to sleep and surprise you in the morning, but as it turned out, you were wide awake," I grinned, as I poked and pulled on her cheeks playfully.

"Yeah, I was way too worried to go to sleep. Huh, I guess that means I'm the first person to know that you're back. I doubt there was anyone around when you got back, considering the time."

"Mhm, the streets were totally empty. Well, it's probably only a matter of time before someone else notices, thanks to the surveillance cameras," I pointed out.

"Oh, that's right. Though, considering that your I-Watch isn't blowing up with notifications, I think it's safe to say no one's seen the footage yet," She mused thoughtfully.

"Yeah, probably. I did get an insane amount of notifications right after I got warped back, though. My I-Watch was buzzing like crazy, until about right before I got back home.

Well, given that I was offline for nearly nine months, I suppose I should've expected as much. What's today's date, by the way?" I asked her.

"It's the 22nd of August."

"I see. I got taken to the Monster world on...the 4th of January, if I remember right. Yeah, a bit over eight and a half months...we've got a lot of time to make up for," I remarked, as I took hold of her hand and gave it a soft squeeze.

"Mhm, a whole lot. I'm going to be sticking right by you for a while," She smiled, before adding as she stroked the side of my face, "How come you don't have a super long beard? Your hair is really long, so your facial hair should be too."

"Well, I found it kinda uncomfortable when it got too long, so I used Desecrator to shave every time it got noticeable, which was around once every couple of months or so. Think it's been about...a month and a half since I last shaved?

I didn't cut my hair at all though, I didn't really bother taking care of it, besides washing it, of course. This is easily the longest it's ever been," I replied, as she reached up and twirled a lock of my hair around her fingertip.

It's grown past my shoulders now, I have to push it back since the front fully covers my face if I let it fall over my forehead.

"I think it looks great. I like how wild and messy it is, it looks pretty badass. As for the facial hair, hm...don't get me wrong, it looks good too, it gives you this cool, rugged look, but...I'm not sure if I prefer it over your usual, clean-shaven look," She frowned uncertainly.

"If I'm being honest, I'd say I feel more comfortable without the facial hair. So, how about this? I'll shave, and I'll mostly maintain that, but I'll grow out my facial hair for about a couple months, maybe once or twice a year," I suggested after mulling it over.

"Ooh, sounds good! Yeah, I like that idea, mix things up every now and then to keep it interesting. What about your hair? Are you going to cut it?"

"Yeah, though I don't necessarily have to go back to my old hairstyle. This is just a bit too long, though...at the very least, I'd like to tidy it up a bit. Maybe, just around shoulder-length?"

"Mhm, yeah, that works. I think longer hair really suits you. Keep it at least a little wild and messy though, I think it might look kinda dorky if you make it too neat and tidy, like a straight, silky hairstyle," She giggled teasingly.

"Think I agree, that wouldn't look great," I chuckled wryly, before adding as I ran my fingers through her hair, "You're looking real good with long hair too, by the way."

Hers used to be about as long as mine is now, but she's grown it a bit longer, going a little past her shoulder blades, just above her middle-back.

"I mean, I wasn't planning on growing it out, but it was just the last thing on my mind since all I could think about was how long it would be before I'd get to see you again," She replied, before giving me a warm, tender hug, wrapping her arms around me affectionately as she nuzzled my neck.

"Yeah...it was the same for me. Eight to nine months may not be a super long time in the grand scheme of things...but it felt like an eternity."

"It really did. It's, like, everything felt so monochrome without you, but now that you're back, everything feels so vibrant and colorful, I'm just so...so happy," She smiled, as she placed her hands on either side of my face and squeezed my cheeks.

"Same here," I nodded in agreement, before pulling her closer and rubbing my cheek against hers.

"H-Hey, that tickles," She giggled, before suddenly adding, "Oh, that's right! You said you can summon Ai in a physical form now, right? Do it, I wanna see what she looks like."

<Uh...maybe in a day or two>

<I'm not ready yet>

"You catch that?" I smiled wryly.

"Yeah, I heard...well, that's too bad," She sighed wistfully, before stifling a yawn.

"Looks like your sleepiness is finally starting to catch up with you. I'm feeling kinda drowsy myself. Let's switch off the lights and drift off, we'll have all the time in the world once we wake up," I pointed out, as I kissed her forehead.

"I wanna stay up longer, but I can't deny that I am getting pretty sleepy...yeah, okay. Oh, what will you do about your return after we wake up, as far as the public is concerned, I mean?

You're probably going to have to give a big press conference and answer a ton of questions," She replied, before letting out another yawn.

"Hm...yeah, I'd prefer to avoid that, but that's probably not an option. At the very least, I'm going to have to give a report to the Union on the Monster world.

Eh, fuck it, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. For right now...," I trailed off, as I brought up my I-Watch display and opened social media, adding, "I'll just post a quick message. I'm...back...might as well add a peace sign emoji. There. Alright, let's get some sleep, shall we?"

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