Love And The Russian Winter, Epilogue

The halls of Higan Academy were quiet in the early morning light. Momofuku marched through them with a purpose that made the few early-bird faculty members instinctively step aside, their greetings dying in their throats under her single, sweeping glare.

It was finally over.

The trials, the battles, the lecture from her grandma that had left her ears ringing well into the night... all of it led up to this moment.

From the other end of the corridor, another figure approached with equal purpose. Alyona Rodionova, her back straight, her face a mask of cool composure. She carried a thick, heavy stack of papers and binders in her arms, holding them like a shield.

They reached the polished wooden door of the principal's office at the same time, stopping just short of each other.

"..."

"..."

A tense silence hung in the air between them, thick with the memory of spilled blood and frozen wind.

"Whatever that is," Momofuku said, her voice low and flat, "It won't save you."

Alyona met her gaze. For a fleeting moment, a complicated expression crossed her features. "I know," she replied, her voice even quieter. Then, without another word, she turned the handle and entered the office, leaving a baffled Momofuku in her wake.

Scowling, the sukeban followed her in. The room was spacious and traditional. Behind a large, dark wood desk sat Okomoto-kocho, a kind-faced elderly woman with sharp eyes. Standing beside the desk, beaming as if he’d just won the lottery, was Shujinko. Knowing him, it wasn't that far-fetched.

"Momo! Alyona! Good morning!" he greeted them, his cheerfulness only slightly dampening as his eyes fell upon the formidable stack of papers Alyona placed with a soft thud on the principal's desk.

"Okomoto-kocho. Jinko-kaichou," she greeted, bowing politely at the elderly woman.

"Okomoto-kocho. Shujinko," Momofuku grunted, arms crossed.

The principal stepleed her fingers, gaze shifting from the stack of paper to the new arrivals. "Good morning, girls. Shu-kun has brought me some... very serious allegations to my attention regarding the conduct of your Census Club, Rodionova-san. If they are true," she said, gentle but firm. "Then you have a great deal to answer for."

Shu stepped forward, raising his own, considerably smaller stack of papers. "Indeed. Okomoto-kocho, with your permission," he began formally, awaiting her nod. "The charges against Rodionova Alyona Tarasovna and the Census Club are as follows: systematic academic fraud, coercion of students, and embezzlement of school funds."

Then, he began listing the victims.

"The Basketball Club, the Soccer Club, the Volleyball Club, the Occult Research Club, the Track and Field Club, the Swimming Club, the Table Tennis Club, the Science Club, the Brass Band Club..."

On and on he went before setting the documents down.

"These contain signed testimonies from members of each club, confirming the extortion and the forced labor. Furthermore, we have a detailed diagram of her operational structure, which used the Baseball Club as her primary enforcers, the Ceramics Club to fabricate equipment requests and launder funds, and the Calligraphy Club to forge signatures and documents."

It was all damning evidence, but Momofuku firmly believed in overkill. From the pocket of her modified skirt, she produced her own files, carefully folded. "Here. The real ledgers showing where all the money was actually going." Wisely, she did not explain these were taken and printed from Alyona's private computer.

Then, she sukeban retrieved another piece of the puzzle. Fumiko's bulky camera. "And if all that paperwork ain't enough, we've got a highlight reel."

Placing both on the desk, she pressed play, turning the screen toward the principal. The grainy, slightly dark video showed the teacher's lounge after hours. There was Alyona, standing imperiously as her lackeys traded envelopes for cash. Her voice, slightly tinny from the recorder, was unmistakable as she discussed test answers and prices.

Okomoto-kocho watched in silence for a few seconds, her expression unreadable. Then, she held up a hand. "That's enough, Chikata-san. Please pause it."

Momofuku stopped the video, the frozen image of a smirking Alyona still visible on the screen. The room fell silent again, all the evidence laid bare.

"Rodionova-san," the principal said, her tone even as her gaze penetrated the foreign student. "What do you have to say in response to all of this?"

Alyona stood perfectly straight, her hands clasped in front of her. "I plead guilty to all of it," she stated, tone devoid of its usual haughtiness. "I am prepared to accept any punishment you see fit to impose upon me."

She paused, her hands clenching slightly at her sides. "However, I must ask... no, I must beg that the student records of my associates remain unblemished. Detention, community service, anything but expulsion."

Okomoto-kocho's eyebrows rose slightly. “Rodionova-san, you are not in a position to make demands.”

"I am making an appeal, not a demand," Alyona countered smoothly. "You cannot afford to expel any of the named perpetrators. Not given our status as [Awakened] students of Higan."

The mention of that other world seemed to make the air in the room thicken. "What might you mean with that term, Rodionova-san?"

"Please do not waste our times playing dumb, Okomoto-kocho. I do not believe for a second the Student Council has been using this school as their base of operations with you none the wiser. Renka, Archie, and I are prepared to offer our services. We will willingly assist the Student Council on any and all expeditions into [Bleeding Zones] and the [Idea World]. Our strength and our knowledge will be at your disposal."

Momofuku couldn't hold back a scoff. "You've got to be kidding me. After what you pulled yesterday? How do you expect anyone to trust you with their back in a fight?"

Alyona turned to face her directly. Without a word, her fingers went to the buttons of her pristine white blouse. Momofuku felt a flush of heat rise to her cheeks, ready to snap at her for the random, provocative stunt. But the protest died in her throat as Alyona revealed back a large, square adhesive bandage marked with kanji.

She pulled on the bandage, and just above her collarbone, was a brand. It was not a tattoo, but something that seemed burned into her very soul.
A black, intricate mark in the shape of a butterfly, wings pulsing with a faint, sickly light.

"That's..." Shujinko whispered, instinctively reaching towards his chest.

Momofuku's breath hitched. She knew that mark. She'd seen it during that home visit to the Student Council president. And as she stared, she felt it again. A faint, psychic resonance, the cold thread connecting the mark on Alyona’s skin to something deep within her own spirit.

"You can trust me," Alyona whispered, "For the most basic of motivations: self-preservation. This is the mark of [Fushihara], the Fourth of [Nurarihyon]'s Hundred Demons. A Shinigami-possessed [Yokai] that preys on the spiritually potent."

Her eyes, hard and serious, locked with Momofuku's.

"And one who has already begun infiltrating the [Awakened] student body. I can see it in your expression."

Reapplying her bandage and covering her skin, she gestured to the towering stack of papers she'd brought.

"Those are my findings. Everything I ordered the Occult Research Club to gather on our collective enemy."

Alyona then carefully separated the massive stack of papers into two. One pile remained formidably large, the other was significantly smaller. She gestured to the smaller one. "This," she stated, her voice crisp and efficient, "Is a complete list detailing my financial dealings with the faculty members I paid off. It includes transaction dates, amounts, and their reasons for compliance. Information the council could not present in their case, as the teachers involved would never confess."

She then turned her full attention back to Okomoto-kocho, her posture softening into something that almost looked like genuine. "I am willing to cooperate in any way you deem necessary. All I ask is the chance to continue my studies here. To keep the school life at Higan that I... that I have come to cherish."

A heavy silence fell over the office, broken only by the soft tick of a clock. Momofuku glared at Alyona, her mind reeling from the whiplash of accusations, supernatural brands, and now this... whatever this was.

The sheer audacity was staggering.

"That's not enough," Momofuku bit out lowly. "Fine, you can tag along on expeditions to save your own skin. But you shouldn't be able to buy your way out of suspension by handing over a list of your own crimes!"

"Chikata-chan."

Okomoto-kocho's voice cut through the room, bringing their attention.

"I can decide what is, and is not, enough." She turned her placid yet unyielding gaze to Momofuku. "You may leave my office now. I need to discuss Rodionova's specific situation and punishment with Shu-kun. Unless you have another breakthrough in this case to share?"

Momofuku sent the principal a glare that had made hardened gang members flinch. The older woman met it with a cool, unwavering stare, utterly unfazed. Swallowing a torrent of curses that burned the back of her throat, Momofuku spun on her heel and stomped out of the office, ignoring Shujinko's attempt to reach out to her.

"Damn spineless hag..."

"Fucking Russian brat..."

She paced the hallway outside, releasing all her curses while her hard-earned victory was being ripped away in another room. Every second that ticked by felt like a personal insult, and rage simmered under her skin, a low boil waiting to erupt.

Several agonizing minutes later, the office door opened and Alyona stepped out. In a flash, Momofuku was upon her. She slammed her palm against the wall beside the blonde's head, forcefully caging her in.

"Well?" Momofuku snarled, her face inches from Alyona's. "What's the verdict?"

Alyona met her furious gaze, her blue eyes surprisingly soft. "The Census Club has been officially disbanded. All its responsibilities are being transferred to the Student Council. Renka, Archie, and I have detention for the remainder of the month. And I... I have been assigned public service duties on top of it."

Momofuku's jaw tightened, the words 'not enough' already forming on her lips. But Alyona continued before she could speak.

"You gave me a great deal to think about after our fight," she said, pursing her lips. "About what's really important in my life here in Japan. I am serious about paying the price for my defeat. But I also cannot stand by and let my friends be destroyed for following me."

A faint, challenging gleam entered her eyes.

"Tell me, Chikata, would you not do the same if it were your gang on the line?"

Momofuku stared back, the heat of her anger slowly banked by cool sincerity. She could sense no falsehood in the other girl's words, only a raw stubbornness that reminded the sukeban... of herself. There was no hidden agenda to lick her wounds and strike at the school again. Only the calm acceptance of the loss of control, and an earnest desire to protect her people.

"Well, I'll be damned... you've changed..." she grumbled, the admission feeling foreign on her tongue. With a deflating sigh, Momofuku finally lowered her arm from the wall.

"And... yeah. I'd fight tooth and nail for my friends, too." She crossed her arms, looking away. "But it still feels like you got off too freely after all that. Pisses me off."

Alyona's lips curled into a small, childish pout.

"What else could you possibly want? My club is demolished. I am consigned to public service and playing errand girl for the Student Council. What more is there?"

Momofuku almost mirrored her expression before holding herself back. "Well you haven't done anything for the Fujiwara Senki. We were the ones who busted your operation wide open. We fought you in that frozen shithole too. If you're so serious about paying everything back, then my gang should get something."

Suddenly, a truly devious idea sprouted in Momo's head, inspired by the ultimate humiliation she'd suffered.

"As a matter of fact... I have the perfect job for you."

Alyona, seeing the dark, triumphant smirk spreading across the sukeban's face, felt a wave of primal dread and took a half-step left. "I... have to break the news to Renka and Archie..."

"Not so fast." The sukeban's arm snapped to block her escape route. "The school can have you tomorrow... but today, you answer to me."

"You can't mean..."

Momofuku only smiled.

Hours later, justice was served on a silver platter. Specifically, a platter of curry rice that Alyona, with a stiff bow, placed on Fumiko's grease-stained workbench in the corner of the warehouse.

"Thanks," Fumiko said, not looking up from her tinkering, though a faint smirk played on her lips.

In the Fujiwara Senki's hideout, the transfer student strutted around in a french maid outfit just as frilly, gaudy, and ridiculous as the one Momofuku had to wear in Renka's [Dream]. Well, obviously it was a perfect match. The eyepatched girl had already seen many girls from the school's sports clubs wearing it.

From a dirty beanbag chair that served as her throne, Momofuku pointed a lazy finger at a spot on the concrete floor near her feet. "You missed a spot."

Alyona's eye twitched. "I already cleaned there. It is only dirty again because this entire place is unsalvageable."

"Less talking, more cleaning," the sukeban drawled. "Chop-chop."

Gritting her teeth, Alyona grabbed a rag, knelt, and bent over to scrub the offending patch of floor.

THWACK!

A sharp yelp escaped her as Momofuku's bokken swatted her backside. "And arch that back more."

Seething, her face a brilliant shade of crimson, Alyona adjusted her posture. Momofuku reclined in her beanbag, slowly coming to terms with the appeal of maids. In her other hand, she held her old bokken, [Tsuzumi Masamune]. In the one that had punished Alyona, she held a new one, its wood unnaturally balanced and warm to the touch. Okomoto-kocho had given it to her after leaving the room with Shujinko.

"A reward for your... spirited defense of the school."

It was supposedly crafted from a branch of a blessed, ancient tree.

"[Kagutsuchi Masamune]..." she tentatively decided, comparing her swords.

"Your refreshment, Momofuu-ki-sama."

The sukeban turned to Renka, who navigated the cluttered space with a serene grace that matched her own frilly maid outfit.

She accepted the glass of fruit milk, taking a satisfying sip.

Renka bowed, then knelt next to Alyona, helping her with the stubborn stain on the floor even as the other girl stared at her with horror and confusion. Noticing her friend's distress, the white-haired maid offered a small, encouraging smile. "Do not be so troubled, Alyona. Is this not just like that one anime we watched? The one where the proud ojou-sama has to work part-time to understand the common people?"

Alyona’s face, if possible, turned an even deeper shade of red, the comparison only multiplying her humiliation.

As she moved to clean another spot, her heel caught on a greasy metal component Fumiko had discarded moments prior. With a startled gasp, she stumbled forward, collapsing directly across Momofuku's legs and sending the newly christened [Kagutsuchi Masamune] clattering to the floor.

Before Alyona could scramble away, Momofuku's hand shot out, grabbing her by the cheek and forcing her to look up. "So clumsy," she mocked with a smirk. "... Isn't there something you should be saying?"

Alyona's shoulders slumped in utter defeat. "...I humbly apologize for my clumsiness, Momofuu-ki-sama," she muttered.

"Good girl," Momofuku praised, grip softening to a condescending pat on the cheek.

In that moment, she felt as if she understood the Russian a little bit better. The power, the control, the sheer, unadulterated satisfaction of seeing a proud rival brought so low... it was, admittedly, intoxicatingly fun.

"Heh... hehehehe..."

From her bench, Fumiko still didn't look up. "Boss, you're laughing like a pervy old man. Cut it out."

The chuckle died instantly, and she stopped rubbing Alyona's cheeks, snatching her hand back as if burned. "A-AM NOT!"

Although the corruption in her mind had been halted, the petty taste of victory lingered, a fitting end to their war.

Edit

Pub: 18 Oct 2025 22:08 UTC

Edit: 20 Oct 2025 13:11 UTC

Views: 51