Phase 15: Such a Strange, But Warm Place
It was past 6 pm. The sun was going down and the sky was almost completely dark.
After Touta finished helping out at the kitchen, the only thing left to do for the day was cleaning the hot springs.
Jinbei had asked Touta to keep Kuromaru busy until the "operation" was ready. As a result, Touta had taken Kuromaru to clean the hot springs with him.
In the middle of the big outdoor bathroom, the two teenagers were washing the floor with brooms. Also, they were wearing nothing but towels to cover their bodies.
Touta's covered the area of his waist, exposing his torso, arms and legs that were pretty muscular for an eternal fourteen-year-old.
Kuromaru wore the towel around her body as any normal girl would. Her hair was tied into her side ponytail at the right like usual.
Wearing nothing but a towel when cleaning the hot springs was something Touta did because he liked to take a bath after he was done. Why was Kuromaru also in a towel, then? She probably thought it was the normal thing to do and followed suit.
"That is very much like her," Touta thought.
Kuromaru had gotten distracted from cleaning the moment she saw the baby Hot Spring Turtles that hung out at the hot spring bath. She leaned over while holding the broom in front of her knees to watch curiously at the small creatures. From her expression, Touta wasn't entirely sure if Kuromaru thought the turtles were cute or weird. She did freak out a bit when she saw the turtles could fly.
While Kuromaru observed the turtles, Touta discreetly looked her way to check out her figure in a towel. The exposed skin white like porcelain of her face, arms and legs was perfect. She resembled a life-sized doll. Touta's eyes narrowed as they moved to Kuromaru's chest area.
"Up until now, I had considered the probability that Kurou-rin was the type that looks slimmer in clothing. You know, like in those anime where a girl looks flat or average but when she takes off the shirt, she turns out to have a pair of watermelons… Hell, that's not the case for Kurou-rin."
As a matter of fact, Kuromaru's chest somehow looked even flatter with that modest towel. And that's considering that her chest already has the roundness of a pancake when she's properly dressed.
"But I don't care for that," Touta smiled to himself. "I have never been that much of a boobs man anyway. I remember one time my friends at middle school were looking at these porn magazines and the naked big tits there didn't do it for me. When my friends asked me what was my deal, I told them small boobs are cuter in my eyes. For some reason, they looked at me like I was someone they should call the police for."
Touta went back to checking out Kuromaru. This time, his eyes focused on her legs. He had already noticed them when they regenerated after her disastrous fight with Asura Tu. Now that he had the chance to admire them more carefully, he could see just how long, slender and incredibly well-formed they were.
Kuromaru finally noticed Touta's eyes were on her and stopped cleaning. Her cheeks reddened as she embraced her own towel-covered body.
"What are you staring at, Konoe-kun?"
Touta closed his eyes, crossed his arms and nodded.
"The kami of legs does exist, after all."
"What kind of random nonsense are you speaking this time, Konoe-kun?" Kuromaru gave Touta an annoyed look.
Touta glanced at the night sky. His eyes were contemplative and solemn. "I didn't understand the true godly beauty of legs until tonight."
"Oh, I see," Kuromaru simply nodded. "If we were strangers, I would ask you to quickly find a doctor. Unfortunately, I already know there's no medicine in the world that can cure your kind of idiocy."
"Hahaha! It's so great you know me so well after just three days, my Kurou-rin!" Touta put his hands on his waist as he leaned back his head to laugh.
"Did I hear you wrong?" Kuromaru's eye twitched. "It sounded like you put a 'my' in front of that cheesy nickname."
"Because that's how it is," Touta grinned with slightly blushed cheeks. "Kurou-rin belongs to me and I belong to Kurou-rin."
"May I ask when did that happen?" Kuromaru's voice was turning sour.
"Don't play dumb, my Kurou-rin," Touta crossed his arms. "We signed that magic contract with our thumbs," Touta raised his left thumb, which started to glow. Likewise, Kuromaru saw her right thumb was glowing. "This is the string of fate that links us together. It's the proof that we're partners for life."
Kuromaru hit the floor of the bathroom with her broom. "Don't go interpreting things however they suit you best, Konoe-kun! Did you forget I was forced to accept that stupid contract to not escape my sentence for destroying those machines? It has nothing to do with you and me being partners! Which, by the way, I'm still refusing to agree to."
"Huh? Still being stubborn, Kurou-rin?" Touta gave her the pointing finger. "After what we went through together in the city, I think we both know we make an awesome combination."
Kuromaru gritted her teeth. "How many times do I have to tell you that was a onetime thing?! Besides, it's impossible you and I can ever be partners!"
Touta pouted as he tilted his head. "Give me a reason for that."
"That's obvious!" Kuromaru held out her broom towards Touta. "You're a vampire, an undead of the night and I'm a Yatagarasu, a divine messenger of the sun! On top of that, you're kin to the Dark Evangel! In other words, we're like night and day; completely incompatible!"
Touta rested his broom over his bare shoulders. "Whether you like it or not, this contract makes us partners, in a way. We're coworkers until that absurdly high debt of yours is paid off."
"Wait a minute," Kuromaru glared. "Could it be you asked to be bound to me by the contract for that purpose?!"
"In part," Touta smiled carefreely. "You were going about with that 'we can never be partners' bullcrap. So, with this geas contract, I saw the perfect opportunity to make you see we can work together!"
While Touta was happily explaining his motive, he was blissfully ignorant at how Kuromaru was being surrounded by a killer aura. Her arms shook as she strongly held her broom in her hands.
"Konoe-kun," Kuromaru's voice sounded deep. "You are telling me that you bounded me to work at this ludicrous place, forcing me to put my important task on hold… Just for that?! How on heavens did you believe that would make me agree to be your partner?!"
"Because that's how I saw it works on manga," Touta made a thumbs-up. "Beat the crap out of someone and force them into a friendship contract. That guarantees you're buddies for life! You know that well, don't you Kurou-rin?"
Kuromaru huffed. "That scenario could only work for a lackey with no drive or purpose other than following a happy-go-lucky idiot," she glared at Touta again. "I, on the other hand, am not acknowledging a vampire as a companion. Have you any idea of how my fellow Yatagarasu would react if they heard you talking about this gibberish you blurt out about you and I being partners?!"
"Don't know and don't care. I don't get why you're complaining so much," Touta shrugged. "At least this way you don't have to be on the run from the law. You already saw how Gengorou-san is when chasing fugitives. I don't even want to imagine the state you would have been left in if I haven't shielded you back then."
For some reason, something in Kuromaru seemed to snap when she heard that last sentence.
Kuromaru swung her broom to hit Touta. The boy skillfully blocked it with his own broom.
"Woah there! Kurou-rin!?"
Without explaining herself, Kuromaru continued attacking him. Like in their duel the day before, her movements were very fast. Since he had memorized her pattern the first time, Touta did a better job at blocking this time.
Finally, Touta managed to hold off Kuromaru's broom with his own. The two teenagers looked at each other eye-to-eye. Their faces were mere centimeters apart.
"This wasn't supposed to turn out like this!" Kuromaru shouted. "Take responsibility, Konoe-kun!"
"Responsibility? What the hell do you mean?" Touta made a confused frown.
The brooms couldn't take the pressure of the clashing strength of two trained swordsman. The items broke. Touta thought the fight was over, but he was immediately proved wrong.
Kuromaru jumped back and disappeared. She reappeared behind Touta.
"You caused this disaster!"
Kuromaru kicked Touta in the back. The vampire boy fell on the water of the hot springs.
"Wow! Didn't know you could do Instant Movement too!" Touta sounded very surprised as he stood back up on the hot water.
In the blink of the eye, he disappeared with instant movement and reappeared in front of Kuromaru. He performed a palm strike straight to Kuromaru's abdomen.
Touta got his payback. The girl in a towel fell into the water of the hot springs.
"You shouldn't be blaming me for this," Touta ran his left hand across his wet hair. "You were the one who destroyed those robots at the city. That debt is what you get for trying to solve all your problems with violence."
Kuromaru remerged from the water of the hot spring. Seeing her soaking wet while wearing nothing but a towel was extremely sexy, but neither she or Touta were in the mood to notice this.
"I recognize my error in that matter," Kuromaru said seriously. "However, Konoe-kun, I wouldn't have been captured if you haven't brought me here!"
"You were unconscious, goddammit!" Touta swung his arm to make emphasis. "What did you expect me to do?! Leave you passed out in the middle of the city?!"
"You might as well have," Kuromaru looked away and crossed her arms.
"Don't be crazy!" Touta snapped.
"My physical condition would have been fixed as soon as dawn arrived. It was unneeded for you to take me here, Konoe-kun. Therefore, you are responsible for me being trapped here both by that debt and magic binding contract," she glared at Touta as she walked through the hot spring. "How many years will my task as the miko be delayed because of this?" her fists her shaking. "How am I supposed to prove my worth to Ani-sama now?!"
"Ani-sama?" Touta blinked. "Do you have a big brother?"
Kuromaru ignored Touta's question. Her glare was still fixated on Touta as she stood on the border of the hot spring.
"I was supposed to come to this city, accomplish my task by myself and then leave as soon as I finished it," Kuromaru gritted her teeth in frustration. "Ever since I met you, Konoe-kun, everything has turned into a mess!"
Kuromaru stepped out of the hot spring. Distracted by the current conversation, she forgot the area of the bathroom floor where she placed her wet feet had just been cleaned it.
*slip*
"Kya!"
Kuromaru was about to fall over. Touta hurried to catch her in time. However, his feet slipped on the floor too. The two teenagers ended up falling over together.
Several wooden buckets scattered everywhere from the impact.
It took Touta and Kuromaru several seconds to fully process the position they were in. Kuromaru was lying on her back on the bathroom floor. Touta was right on top of her. For additional awkwardness, both were wearing nothing but bathroom towels and their bodies were wet from falling into the hot springs. Oh, and Kuromaru's towel had moved out of place from the fall. The left side of her body was completely exposed.
Kuromaru's face was red like an apple as she scowled. "Our first encounter and now this… How many times will you fall on an embarrassing position with me, Konoe-kun?"
"As many as the romcom cliché is demanded here," Touta joked to distract himself from the embarrassment. "Normally this sort of scenario would include your hand feeling up the heroine's boob… Guess that's a no can do with Kurou-rin."
"Would you get off me now?" Kuromaru said a bit forcefully.
"My bad," Touta did as commanded.
Kuromaru quickly sat up and put her towel back in place. She and Touta avoided looking at each other, but both knew their faces were still beet red.
Touta was the first to stand up and offered his hand to Kuromaru. But Kuromaru didn't accept it. She stood up by herself and kept looking away from him.
Touta sighed through his nose at Kuromaru's attitude. He then noticed Kuromaru was rubbing the back of her head.
"Are you hurt anywhere, Kurou-rin?"
"It's a mere bump," Kuromaru hmphed. "My body can take this sort of wound," she continued rubbing her head. "Although, it will take a while for it to stop hurting," she added in her mind.
"ACHOO!" Touta held himself and began shaking a bit. "I'm getting cold…"
"Well, of course," Kuromaru said drily. "You're practically naked and soaked in an open-air bath."
"And whose fault is it that I'm wet?!" Touta reproached. "You're lucky we're restricting the ecchi quite a bit here. Otherwise, my sneeze would have made you naked!"
"ACHOO!" Kuromaru sneezed too.
"Oh! Crow kami are vulnerable to cold too?" Touta commented curiously.
"We're solar beings. It's natural we do not like cold," Kuromaru embraced herself as she began shaking. "We should dry off and get dressed."
"Actually," Touta began taking off the wet towel around his waist. "I want to take a bath now."
Kuromaru once again kicked Touta into the hot spring.
After those hot spring hijinks, Kuromaru headed to the changing room where both she and Touta had left their clothes. For some reason, Kuromaru had chosen to use the mixed changing room. Although, Touta didn't bother to question why.
Before she went in to the room, she threw a threatening glance at Touta.
"You better don't peep while I get dressed, Konoe-kun. Unless you want your eyes to have the need to regenerate."
"Ooookay," Touta stretched his arms while he relaxed at the hot spring. "Why don't you join in here? The bath is phenomenal!"
"You're a pervert, Konoe-kun. Now I'm sure of it."
Kuromaru stepped into the changing room and stood in front of the basket that contained her underwear and waiter uniform neatly folded. In contrast, the basket nearby which contained Touta's clothes looked like they had been carelessly dropped there.
After checking that Touta was still relaxing at the hot spring, Kuromaru took off the wet towel she had around her body. She took a dry towel in the room and started to dry off the water in her pure white skin.
Her figure was very beautiful. Leaving aside the table board chest, Kuromaru's nude body was practically the living image of a goddess of beauty, as Ikku would call it.
For some reason, Kuromaru looked at the holographic clock that was hanging on the room. It was near 6:35 pm. She placed her hand in the area a little below her navel. Without a warning, her body felt cold. It was an overwhelming chill that made her weak on the knees. The sensation was over after a minute, but Kuromaru didn't feel at ease.
"The sunset is over…"
Kuromaru took a deep breath as her cheeks reddened. Her eyes had a look of great discomfort.
"Na, Kurou-rin!"
"Kya!" Kuromaru unconsciously held the towel in front of her to hide her nakedness. But she soon verified Touta was still in the open-air bath. "W-What is it, Konoe-kun?"
"Why is it that you're so obsessed with completing this task of yours on your own?"
Kuromaru considered the option of ignoring Touta, but she knew he would keep asking her anyway. She took her fundoshi from the basket as she continued the conversation.
"You must already know, Konoe-kun. The chief of the Yatagarasu tribe sent me alone to find the Yata no Kagami. If I cannot complete this task by my own power, the people of my tribe will not ever accept me as the miko Kuroha."
"Does your clan have such high standards?" Touta asked.
Kuromaru finished putting on the fundoshi. She processed to wrap the sarashi around her chest.
"Yes. A Yatagarasu unable to properly perform their occupation is a failure to the entire clan. Something unneeded. If I cannot retrieve the Yata no Kagami, I might as well never return to the clan and rot somewhere. Those were the words of the head of the clan."
"What?!" Touta nearly jumped out of the water. "That's a dick move! Why would you even want to return to a place where they treat you like that?!"
Kuromaru was done with wrapping the sarashi. She began putting on the dress shirt.
"The head only spoke the truth. The problem isn't my tribe; it's me," Kuromaru said matter-of-factly. "The me before I was sent on this mission was a burden to my tribe. I could not do anything without ruining it. My spiritual power was never even near the level the miko should have. I was born to be the miko, yet no one in the Yatagarasu sees me fit for it. I didn't have a purpose… But Ani-sama gave me one with this task."
Touta was surprised at Kuromaru mentioning this older brother again. "So… You want to do this just because this Onii-san told you so?"
While buttoning up her shirt, Kuromaru made a pause to think her answer. "Not exactly…. I want to do this for the sake of my mentor too."
"Your mentor?"
Kuromaru started putting on her pants. "Currently, the only one who can carry on the name of the miko is me. I should become Kuroha and continue to serve the Yatagarasu tribe as my predecessor did. Ani-sama made me see that is the only good thing for me to do for the Yatagarasu. This task is my one and only opportunity to prove to my tribe that I am the worthy successor of the name Kuroha."
Surprisingly, Touta stayed silent after hearing Kuromaru's speech. After she was done with the pants, Kuromaru put on the waiter vest and then the apron.
"I hope this makes you understand, Konoe-kun. There is only one path for me. I need to be acknowledged as the miko Kuroha by Ani-sama so the rest of the Yatagarasu accept my place in the tribe. For that purpose, I cannot receive help from outsiders. I cannot become partners with you or anyone."
Kuromaru was expecting even Touta would give in to her argument. However…
"You're wrong."
"Eh?"
Kuromaru turned back. She found Touta standing in the changing room, fully dressed in his waiter uniform. How did he get ready without her even noticing him? That's something Kuromaru didn't even bother to question by now.
"You and I can be partners, Kurou-rin," Touta said with a confident smile. "Because I'm gonna be looking for those reality-warping mirror shards too."
"Wha-? Didn't you hear everything I just said, Konoe-kun? Getting help from people outside the tribe is-"
"Who says I'm gonna help you?" Touta said bluntly. "I said I want us to do this together like a unit. I'm not helping you and you're not helping me. We're both just happening to aim for the same."
Kuromaru wasn't following. "I do not understand, Konoe-kun. Why on heavens would you want to find all the shards of the Yata no Kagami?"
"That's a good question," Touta nodded. "I admit that, at first, I sort of got dragged in because I met this super clumsy and hard-headed miko who I just couldn't leave on her own," he chuckled when he saw Kuromaru pouting. "But now it's different. After learning that Ala Alba… that Setsuna-ma and Konoka-mama are involved in this, I can't help but want to see it through. For the last four years, I was told I couldn't do anything to help my parents return, yet I have a hunch I'll find something I can do if I find more of those mirror shards with you, Kurou-rin."
Kuromaru had no idea how to react. It was the first time she ever saw Touta being this serious. "Konoe-kun, you-"
"Besides," Touta winked. "When we fought together against Bandaged Six Arms, I felt like one of the strongest people in the two worlds! You and I will make a duo as great as Setsuna-ma and Konoka-mama! I'm sure of that!"
Kuromaru's expression turned sour again. She sighed and rested her hands on her waist. "If you also want to find the shards of the Yata no Kagami, I will not stop you as long as you do not get in my way. However, accepting becoming partners with a vampire is a completely different matter."
"Again with that?!" Touta threw his arms in the air.
Kuromaru crossed her arms. "While I understand a little better why you want to search the Yata no Kagami, I fail to see why you insist on calling yourself partners with me."
Touta made a few steps towards Kuromaru to look her in the eye. "That is, of course-!"
"Touta-kun, Kuromaru-kun."
A male voice called the two teenagers, interrupting their argument. Touta and Kuromaru turned at the entrance of the mixed bath's changing room.
"Gengorou-san!" Touta called at the spiky-haired man with glasses and a dead serious expression.
"Are you two done with cleaning the bathroom?" Gengorou saw both teenagers nod. "Good. Then, follow me. Both are required at the garden."
Kuromaru noticed Touta was grinning excitedly like a little kid about to get candy. She wondered why that was.
"Um," Kuromaru timidly raised her hand. "Are you sure you want me to go Gengorou-dono? After what happened in the kitchen today, I-"
"It is of prime importance for you to come, Kuromaru-kun. It's direct orders from the head of the establishment, Jinbei-san."
"I-Is that so?" The ends of Kuromaru's eyebrows lowered. "Why would they call me to work at the garden? I have shown to be utterly useless. Although, from what I have seen of this Jinbei man, he isn't exactly a sober-headed and responsible chief."
Kuromaru was the new employee at the inn. Since she didn't know the place well yet, she only followed Touta and Gengorou while they made their way to the garden. While keeping several steps away from the two guys, Kuromaru noticed Touta and Gengorou were whispering some words at each other. Not that she was particularly curious of what they were talking about outside her hearing range.
Every once in a while, Touta's eyes turned to glimpse at Kuromaru and he started to giggle. All this lead Kuromaru to only one conclusion.
"They must be speculating how I am going to ruin this job too. These two have been the ones cleaning after my disasters all day, after all."
While letting out a heavy sigh, Kuromaru hung her head and made her arms go limb. She didn't even know what wat she supposed to do at the garden, yet she already decided she was going to fail at it.
Touta and Gengorou stopped walking once they reached a large Japanese style door. Touta opened the right side and Gengorou opened the left side. Kuromaru was the first to enter the garden. And then…
*POP* *POP* *POP*
Confetti and streamers fell on Kuromaru's head. Just has she wondered what had happened, her eyes widened as she looked at the scene.
Paper lanterns were illuminating the garden. The flowers of the trees and bushes were in full bloom. Three very long tables were standing over the glass. Hundreds of plates with delicious-looking food were lying there.
Sitting on the Zabuton cushions that were in place of chair, the dozens of youkais that resided in Fairyland Hall were cheering.
This resembled a festival. Kuromaru could tell this was a big celebration, but…
"What is the meaning of this?" Kuromaru asked.
"Don't you get it?" Touta rushed to Kuromaru's side to see her expression. "This is your welcome party!"
Kuromaru's face was dumbfounded. Only her mouth slightly opened. "Welcome party… For me?"
It was then that Kuromaru noticed a big sign floating over the tress of the garden. It was made of sparkles and floating lights, so it was clearly produced by a spell. Letter by letter, the phrase 'Welcome, New Staff Member' appeared.
Yet, Kuromaru had yet to show a big reaction.
"Come on!" Touta started pushing Kuromaru's back. "Today I made a special gourmet for the big celebration!"
However, Kuromaru was showing some reluctance.
"I-I…"
"AAH!" Touta yelled. "What are you doing, Gasha?!"
The vampire boy freaked at the sight of the gasha dokuro picking up two of the tables to swallow down all the food, plates and all.
"I told you that you can only have one table!"
Touta rushed towards the giant skeleton in order to stop it from leaving everyone without food.
"Sorry," Gasha put one of the tables back down. "But I'm literally made of starved souls… And Touta-bouzu's food is just so damn good."
"I know that," Touta said without any modesty. "You still must learn to control yourself when you join us at the feast. Everyone here helped prepare this party! This is why I usually feed you separately from the others! You're fifty times the bottomless pit they are!"
"Hahaha!" a Raijuu laughed while its fur generated electricity. "Touta-bouzu's meals are really the best there are! They empower my lightning!"
"Yes! Touta-bouzu's food is my favorite thing about being part of their organization!" a kama itachi commented.
"By the way," Touta addressed the youkai. "I owe you guys a big one. Because Jinbei-san came up with this party out of nowhere, Gengorou-san and I weren't enough to have everything ready on time. We ended up having you help make the preparations even though we're supposed to treat you as guests when out of missions."
"What are you saying, Touta-bouzu?" an oni said. "That isn't any problem."
A tengu agreed. "This organization does so much for us youkai that this is the least we can do."
"That's great, guys!" Touta smiled happily.
Because he had his guard down, Touta was trapped in the arms of several female youkai. They included a hari onago, nure onna, hone onna, yuki onna, futakuchi onna, and rokurokubi.
"And of course, we would do any favor for you, our lovable favorite cook!"
"You always take such good care of us! It's natural we do favors in return every once in a while."
The youkai ladies were snuggling and caressing Touta like if he was a plushie they all wanted to hug. Actually, that was basically how they all saw him. Soon, they started to fight over who got to hold him and it turned into a small-scale fight among youkai ladies.
All the youkai laughed as they were having a good time at the celebration.
However, there was something wrong. At least, for someone in the scene there was.
The magic floating sign had let out some fireworks without warning and you can guess what happened to the trees nearby. Gengorou and Ikkuu were taking care of it by using the firehoses that were equipped in Ikkuu.
Therefore, Kuromaru had been left standing alone at the entrance of the garden. She watched Touta and the youkai several meters away. She could tell they got along very well.
"Well, I suppose that is natural. Konoe-kun has been working here for four years… And he does have the sort of personality that should make it easy for him to make many friends…"
Kuromaru felt a very cold, hollow feeling in her chest. She placed her hand over it as the unpleasantness overcame her.
"What is this?"
This was Kuromaru's welcome party. But to her, it didn't feel that way. She only felt out of place… That was a feeling she was very much familiar with. Even though she couldn't understand it, she did know this emptiness in her heart. She hated it.
Without her even realizing, Kuromaru's feet started to move. And when she finally noticed, she was running.
"Eh…? What is happening? Why am I getting away?"
She kept clutching tightly at shirt. As if trying to squeeze her own heart. The image of Touta laughing with the youkai made her inner hollowness grow bigger.
"Why does that scene make me so irritated?!"
Kuromaru kept aimlessly running around the grounds of the inn. Finally, she reached the shore of the large lake that surrounded the small island where Fairyland Hall was located.
The girl in the waiter uniform stood all alone as she stared at the lights of the city on the other side of the lake. At moments like this, she wished she had wings so she could fly away from that place, but this was as far as she could get from that scene that made her so upset.
"It's a nice view from here, isn't it? Just between us, this is my favorite place to take a nap while I'm hidin' from Gengorou."
A deep male voice spoke at the shore. Startled, Kuromaru, who thought she was alone, looked around her surroundings.
It was then that she noticed there was a sofa set placed beside a bunch of trees at the shore. Sitting on one of them, there was a man with reddish brown hair and wearing a yukata. He relaxed on the sofa in a lazy position while he smoked from his kiseru pipe.
Kuromaru's eyes turned hostile once she recognized the man.
"The fundoshi-stealing pervert!"
"The name is Shishido Jinbei. Doncha waste it."
Jinbei didn't show much of a reaction. He just leaned back on the sofa as he relaxed and released smoke from his mouth.
"Whatcha doin' here, kiddo? The guest of honor should be at the party."
Kuromaru placed a hand on her waist and turned her face to the side. "I did not feel at ease at that place. Before I knew it, I just happened to wander here."
"What about the party bother ya?" Jinbei asked in his sluggish voice.
Kuromaru's expression grew irritated as she crossed her arms. "It was just… too noisy. I wanted to go to a quiet place. Unfortunately, you happened to be here."
"That's too bad," Jinbei said while bedding down on the sofa. "Because this place is always noisy. Thought the party would make ya used to it."
"Then, this was your idea?" Kuromaru walked towards the sofa. She stood in front of it as she looked down at the man in the yukata laying on top of it. "What was your intention with throwing that party?"
Jinbei placed both his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. "Intention…? I wonder that too."
"Do not make a fool out of me!" Kuromaru exclaimed. "I still think you are suspicious. You keep popping out of nowhere. You were the one who forced me to have that duel with Konoe-kun. On top of that, you seem to know something about the Yata no Kagami," her eyes narrowed. "Just who are you and what are you after making arrangements for me to work here?"
Despite Kuromaru's suspicious, Jinbei was chill as always. "Would ya relax? Since ya work at this place, I'm not yar enemy; I can tell ya that. Yar one of my subordinates now."
Kuromaru kept looking at Jinbei with distrust. "Hmm. Still hard to believe someone like you is the head of this establishment."
"Welp, I didn't exactly become it because I wanted," Jinbei waved his hand.
"In any case, even if I am being forced to work here, I do not acknowledge you as my boss and refuse to trust you. I want you to have that clear."
In response to Kuromaru's words, Jinbei smirked mockingly. "I think yar just mad at me for stealin' yar fundoshi."
In Jinbei's hand, Kuromaru saw her stolen fundoshi hanging from the man's fingers. Her face turned burning red.
"KYAAA! GIVE ME BACK THAT!"
Kuromaru tried to snatch her fundoshi from Jinbei hand. But the man reacted fast. He jumped from the sofa. Kuromaru tried to follow him, but Jinbei kept making acrobatic moves to evade her.
"Oho," Jinbei's eyes narrowed as he observed Kuromaru's movements. "Yar a bit slow tonight, lil lady."
Once she heard that last word, Kuromaru's cheeks reddened. Fury took her over.
"Don't…."
Kuromaru made a jump backwards and disappeared. She had used instant movement.
"…Call me that!"
Kuromaru reappeared in front of Jinbei. She landed a flying kick to the side of Jinbei's head.
Or so she thought. Jinbei had effortlessly blocked her leg with his bare hand.
This only made Kuromaru want to kick him more. She made a swing in the air and threw a storm of flying kicks at Jinbei.
The result was still the same. Jinbei kept blocking and dodging her kicks. He wasn't even sweating. To him, Kuromaru's physical assault was like a kid roughhousing, even.
"He!" Jinbei smirked. "Aren't ya energetic?"
That smile made Kuromaru aim her kicks to Jinbei's face even more. "I'm not playing here, you disgusting pervert!"
"Alright then," Jinbei said nonchalantly. "I'll treat this a bit more like a fight."
Jinbei had stopped holding back. He wasn't merely blocking anymore. He went in to attack.
Kuromaru didn't even see it coming. When she realized, Jinbei's fist had hit her face. And it happened five more times under a minute. She didn't even have the time to think how to counterattack. It all happened too fast for her mind to process it.
Before Kuromaru could try anything, Jinbei landed a punch on her guts and sent her flying in the air.
Kuromaru would crash against the sand of the shore. But she didn't. Once she opened her eyes again, she found Jinbei looking at her with his usual suave gaze. Soon, she understood he was carrying her in his arms princess style.
"Are ya calm down now, lil lady?"
Kuromaru scowled. Taking advantage of the princess carry position, she lifted her leg and wrapped it around Jinbei's neck. Kuromaru had successfully trapped Jinbei in a leg lock.
Not that Jinbei seemed troubled by this. Instead, he smiled casually.
"Ya don't know when to quit, do ya?"
Kuromaru's eyes were filled with anger. "And at this moment, I have a lot of frustration accumulated. I will keep attacking you until I discharge it all!"
Jinbei smiled while his head was trapped by Kuromaru's leg. Her butt was pressed against the back of his head.
"That doesn't sound bad. Being in this position is surprisingly erotic."
"Y-Y-YOU SHAMELESS PERVERT!"
The sexual harassment comment caused Kuromaru to release Jinbei from her leg. The movement caused part of Jinbei's yukata to fall off.
Kuromaru landed on the sand and was perplexed by the exposure of Jinbei's upper body. He was a very muscular and well-built man, but that wasn't what caught her attention. It was the scars in his skin. They were several long and ragged scars in Jinbei's chest, abdomen and back. It was the sort of thing you would expect to see in a war veteran that spent his whole life in a deadly battlefield.
While kneeled down, Kuromaru stared in disconcert for a moment. "Those are…?"
"Ah, these?" Jinbei calmly fixed his yukata. "Ya see, I'm not as immortal as the others around here. The scars are a side effect of that."
"Oh, I understand now," Kuromaru said. "The Wakasa dialect. I also noticed you smell like a fish… I had been told about those like you. Still, it is the first time I am seeing a human who ate mermaid flesh."
"Congrats! Ya guessed it right!" Jinbei made a sarcastic hand clapping. He then made a 'come on' hand signal at Kuromaru. "So, ya said ya wanna attack me until ya feel better. Or are ya gonna hold back just because I can have my bones broken and actually die?"
Kuromaru stood back up from the ground.
"No way. I'm barely starting to let my stress out."
Kuromaru ran towards Jinbei. She kept throwing punches and kicks. Jinbei occasionally gave landed a punch, but he focused mainly on blocking. Anyone could see this and easily tell Jinbei was going super easy on Kuromaru. It was like a sparring session more than anything.
In the middle of the violence, Jinbei started talking again.
"Yar in a very bad mood, aren't ya Kuromaru?"
Kuromaru tried to hit Jinbei's face, but he kept dodging.
"Of course, I am! All of you are so infuriating!"
"All of us?" Jinbei pretended to question. "Ya mean Fairland Hall? UQ Holder?"
"Yes!" Kuromaru yelled. "Everything about this place puts me on edge! Especially the perverts like you, that machine man… and Konoe-kun!"
"Touta?" Jinbei raised an eyebrow. At the same time, he punched Kuromaru in the jaw, although not hard enough to made her bleed or anything.
Still, Kuromaru paused to rub her chin. "I… I cannot stand being near Konoe-kun. It gets me agitated. I don't like that… I hate it! And am I supposed to be stuck here working with him?! My mental health will not take it!"
Jinbei used the pause to the fight and got in a relaxed position. "And how come he makes ya 'agitated'?"
"Why?" Kuromaru shook in anger. "Because… Because he's an irksome boy!"
"Irksome?" Jinbei couldn't help but snort at the choice of word.
"That's it!" Kuromaru affirmed. "Konoe-kun has been disturbing my pace ever since we first met! He insists on meddling with me and makes up ridiculous associations such as calling me his 'tour buddy' (whatever that is) and 'partner' without my input! He says random stuff I do not understand and I often feel he's just making fun of me. Now, he starts saying he will look for the Yata no Kagami too for his own reasons, but still persists in trying to make me form this 'duo' with him. On top of all that, he's a pervert who has groped my b-behind and put me in embarrassing positions twice by now! I also suspect he might be a masochist and then there is his weird obsession with this 'Chundere' he keeps talking about!"
Jinbei only kept listening to Kuromaru's rant in silence. She was clearly talking to herself before anything by now.
Kuromaru made a small pause to gasp for air. Not that it succeeded in making her much calmer.
"It is because I get so worked up with Konoe-kun around that I had to be away from that party."
"What happened there?" Jinbei simply asked.
"I-I don't know," Kuromaru strongly grabbed her arm. "I saw Konoe-kun with the youkai… And before I knew it, I was running from that place."
Jinbei had a feeling he understood what was going on. But he decided to just give Kuromaru a little push.
"Did something about that scene bother ya?"
Kuromaru made a pause to think. After that, she nodded.
"Seeing that… Reminded me of that thing about Konoe-kun that irks me the most."
"And what's that?" Jinbei pretended to not know already.
Kuromaru took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes closed. "Konoe-kun is always… so bright. He can smile even when the moment is bleak and just like that, everything seems to light up around him. If I had to compare his disposition to something, that would be the moon that brings light in the dark night sky," As she said that, Kuromaru looked up at the waxing gibbous moon that could be admired at the center of the black night. "And just like the moon is surrounded by stars, it is only natural that Touta can attract people to him like he does. He alone can create that strange atmosphere… That gets on my nerves so much."
"Um-hum," Jinbei muttered as he listened. "Say, Kuromaru. What's about that atmosphere ya find so strange?"
The image of Touta and the youkai flashed back in Kuromaru's mind. They were energetic and looked like they were having so much fun. Seeing it caused a mysterious warmth to manifest in Kuromaru's chest.
Immediately afterwards, her mind showed her a very different image appeared. One of her most prevalent memories. The large wooden room with a shrine and a fireplace. And a little black-haired miko sitting there, all alone. The warmth in Kuromaru's chest became an unbearable cold that extended to her whole body.
Kuromaru's body shook. She clutched at her chest. Like if she wanted to rip out that terribly cold feeling.
"It's just weird!" Kuromaru snapped. "All that noise. That lack of order. How they all look so carefree… There's nothing like that where I come from!"
"Oh-ho," Jinbei's eyebrows raised slightly and placed a hand on his chin. "Did ya see there somethin' ya wished your tribe had?"
With that simple question, Kuromaru felt like something inside her exploded.
"NO!" Kuromaru jumped towards Jinbei. She intended to punch him in the face.
As expected, Jinbei easily blocked her fist with his bare hand. Jinbei then trapped the fist within his grasp and dropped backwards, falling on his back while taking Kuromaru with him.
Kuromaru groaned as her back hit the ground. Thankfully, the sand of the shore made the impact much softer. She immediately turned around and tried to get up. But she couldn't. Jinbei had pinned her down by sitting on top of her back, forcing her to stay with her face buried on the sand.
"Arg!" Kuromaru exclaimed after spitting out some sand. "What are you doing? Get your behind off me!"
While sitting on Kuromaru's back, Jinbei rested his head on his hand and sighed. "Man, yar a handful, lil lady."
"DON'T CALL ME LADY!"
Kuromaru desperately tried to punch Jinbei, but her fist didn't reach him in the position she was in. In her frustration, she could only punch and kick the sand below her pinned down body. Like a kid throwing a tantrum.
"Listen up, Kuromaru," Jinbei said in a more serious voice than usual. This caused Kuromaru to stop moving and pay attention to him. "What do ya think about teamin' up with Touta, seriously?"
"Wha-?" Kuromaru didn't get how they jumped into that topic. "I will not do that, of course! Konoe-kun and I are polar opposites! We could not possibly work together!"
"Ya sure about that?" Jinbei yawned. "Cause ya seem to have a good effect in that brat."
"What do you mean?" Kuromaru asked, annoyed.
"Ah, nothing really," Jinbei got off Kuromaru and stood up. "It's just that in my 1,350 years I have never seen a Yatagarasu and vampire being palsy-walsy like ya two. Ya can make one curious duo."
"K-Konoe-kun and I aren't 'palsy-walsy'!" Kuromaru protested with a flush. "And wait! Did you just say 1,350 years?!"
"Kurou-rin! There you are! What are you doing there on your own?"
Kuromaru heard the voice of a boy she recognized instantly by now. However, she didn't answer.
"What does he mean on my own? That underwear pervert is-"
Kuromaru looked around, but she saw no one. She was sitting all alone at the shore of the lake. Jinbei had disappeared. By this point, Kuromaru just sighed at this.
Kuromaru stood up and dusted the sand off her waiter uniform. Meanwhile, Touta ran towards where she was. In his hands, he was carrying a plate, so he was careful to not drop it.
Kuromaru had her back turned, apparently refusing to acknowledge the presence of the boy. That didn't stop Touta from talking to her.
"I have been looking all over for you," Touta smiled. "You left the garden without saying anything. Come on, your welcome party is over there! Why are you doing brooding over here?"
"….."
"I brought you some food! If I didn't save it, I'm sure the gluttonous youkai would have eaten it when you got back," he happily held the plate towards Kuromaru, who kept ignoring him. "Everything I cook is super delicious, but you seriously need to try this one! I'm sure you'll love it!"
"…."
"Aren't you cold out here?" Touta asked. "You should get back inside. After all, what's a welcome party without the guest of honor?"
"Stop that," Kuromaru finally spoke up.
"Huh?" Touta said honestly confused.
"You're too pushy, Konoe-kun."
"You think so?" Touta exaggeratedly tilted his head.
"Yes," Kuromaru firmly said as she clenched her fist. "It has been this way since we first met. Whenever I try to get away, you come chasing after me. Even though you know nothing about me, you familiarly talk to me as if we were close… It's so irritating."
Touta raised an eye and scratched the back of his head. "Well, my bad for being irritating. But I wouldn't have to run after you if you stopped running away."
"No one has ever asked you to chase after me."
Touta's eyes turned sideways and his cheek scratched his cheek. "Yeah and I admit it's a bit annoying… But I still feel I got to do it. After all, I still want us to become partners."
"Why?!" Kuromaru finally turned around. Her eyes looked at Touta with anger, yet it looked like she was about to cry. "You have absolutely no reason for this! There is no need for you to have me as your partner! I'm completely different from you… A Yatagarasu; the one meant to become the miko Kuroha! And… you're a vampire," No. That was a bluff. The kind of different that bothered her was another one. "You are not like me! You have a place like this to return and I… I don't!"
Kuromaru hung her head. She gasped for air and her face was sweating quite a bit. She felt her body was starting to heat up. This was a side effect of letting her emotions go awry. There was a need for her to calm down.
While Kuromaru was still looking down and tried to regain a bit of control, she heard something completely unexpected.
"I like you," Touta said with a straight face.
Touta and Kuromaru blankly stared at each other. Finally, Kuromaru processed what she heard.
"EH?!" Kuromaru stepped back from the surprise. Her cheeks were burning red.
"I told you, remember? I think you're interesting," Touta gave a step to get closer to Kuromaru. He looked at Kuromaru with oddly serious eyes. "That's why I want to know you better. Vampire and Yatagarasu has nothing to do with that," he went back to smiling brightly as usual. "I just like you, Kurou-rin!"
Kuromaru was stunned. No one had ever said something like that to her. How was she supposed to react?
"And what about you?" Touta asked.
"Huh?" Kuromaru failed to understand.
"I'm asking if you like me back," Touta made it clear for her.
"Am I supposed to say it?!" Kuromaru waved her arms in a panic.
"That's common sense. Although, I can get your social ineptitude won't let you know that," Touta teased with a smirk.
Kuromaru glared and was about to reproach like usual. However, when she saw Touta's eyes, her expression softened. She sensed Touta seriously wanted to hear her answer.
Kuromaru took a minute to think what she should say. As she did, she remembered all she has been through with Touta up to that point. What were her thoughts about him? The first thing that came to mind was pushy. A cocky, excitable, and loud kid who kept meddling with her despite her protests. However, his heart was in the right place and his stubbornness made them overcome big obstacles.
Kuromaru took a deep breath and spoke up.
"You are… nothing like what I was taught a vampire should be," Kuromaru made a brief pause. "I always imagined you as depraved blood-drinking creatures with black eyes and hunched backs."
"Like an old movie in black and white?" Touta commented.
"If my people knew I am having a conversation with the kin of the Dark Evangel like this…. It would be inconceivable. I might even lose more of my chances to be accepted as the miko," she looked at Touta in the eye and put a hand over her chest. "But Touta-kun isn't the sort of person I dislike. From the moment I met you…. I hoped we could get along."
Having heard her words, Touta smiled from ear to ear.
Meanwhile, Kuromaru was shyly looking away. She wasn't used to talking about her feelings this openly. It made her embarrassed.
Out of nowhere, she felt something was being shoved inside her mouth. It was then that she realized that Touta was feeding her the food in the dish with a Chinese spoon.
"This is-?!"
"It's mapo tofu!" Touta stated as he showed off his dish. "You said your race only eat spicy food. So, I decided to try this out as the main dish of your welcome party. How is it? Ultra delicious, right?"
Kuromaru didn't say anything to confirm or deny. But she was making a face Touta had never seen in her before. Her eyes were sparkling like stars. Her facial expression was that of someone relaxing at a hot spring.
Kuromaru forcibly took the dish with the mapo tofu from Touta's hands. She started digging it in like if she was starving.
Touta felt surprised, but also happy. Kuromaru did really seem to love his mapo tofu. And she looked so cute while eating so enthusiastically.
In a little more than a minute, Kuromaru had left the plate clean. Her face was in absolute bliss as if she had made a brief trip to dreamland.
"How many years has it been since I last ate mapo tofu?" Kuromaru wondered as she stared at her now empty plate.
"Oh? You tasted it before?" Touta was legitimately surprised.
"My mentor knew recipes of the mainland," the end of Kuromaru's eyebrows lowered. "Her mapo tofu was the most delicious of all."
"Is that so?" Touta could only say.
"This is one is… good too," Kuromaru averted her eyes. "But it isn't hot enough."
"Got it," Touta smirked. "I'll make a note so it's better the next time," he signaled the inn complex. "Should we return now?"
Kuromaru looked hesitant for a second, but she finally nodded. She started heading towards the inn and Touta followed suit. The two teenagers walked side by side in the shore beneath the night sky.
Meanwhile, Jinbei was standing behind a tree near the shore. Having overheard the entire conversation between the teenagers, the immortal man's lips formed a smile.
Touta and Kuromaru made their way back to the garden. Once they arrived at the door, they could see the youkai loudly parting it up and devouring the food. Ikkuu and Gengorou were focused on fixing some the decorations after the fireworks incident.
Touta was ready to run back to the garden, but he stopped when he saw Kuromaru. She looked like she was paralyzed.
"Hey, what's up now?"
Kuromaru was sweating slightly and her eyes were practically spinning. "O-On second thought, I…"
"Don't tell me you want to run away again!" Touta snapped.
"I-It's just the I'm not fit for this sort of thing! I-In my tribe, we do not have festivities like this. And the Yatagarasu are not supposed to join activities of non-divine beings!"
"We're not on your tribe right now!" Touta used instant movement to appear behind Kuromaru. "And I don't know if you already noticed, but we're all unaging monsters here. Having a crow kami join us makes no difference!"
Touta gave Kuromaru a push, forcing her to step into the garden. As usual, he was rougher than he intended, which got him a glare from Kuromaru. In response, Touta gave a double thumbs-ups and a wink to Kuromaru.
Knowing there was no turning back now, Kuromaru took a deep breath and walked towards the tables where everyone was. Touta followed behind her with a smile.
As Kuromaru approached, she was intercepted by Gengorou and Ikkuu.
"You came back, Kuromaru-kyun," Ikkuu smiled.
In contrast, Gengorou stared down with a stern expression. "Everyone here get through a lot of trouble to prepare this welcome party. It isn't very nice for the guest of honor to run off somewhere."
Kuromaru began sweating again and gulped.
"I-I apologize…"
Gengorou raised his hand and reached for Kuromaru. She braced herself for some rough 'discipline'… Instead, Gengorou and Ikkuu placed a hand on one of Kuromaru's shoulders each. The two men had a glass with beverage on the other hand.
*RIIIIIING*
Ikkuu let out an alarm from his body to catch the attention of the youkai. He then let out the big announcement.
"Everyone, the new staff member has finally arrived!"
All the youkai set their eyes on Kuromaru. Her nerves took over once more and started to sweat like crazy. She had no idea what to do next.
Then, someone broke the silence: Touta.
"Hey, there everyone. You all kind of already met my new kohai! After all, she ran all over the inn in a skimpy hospital gown and then you all saw her falling into the pond with no pants on!"
"AND WHO'S FAULT IS THAT?!"
Kuromaru grabbed Touta by the neck and began strangling him.
"Oh, yeah!" a karakasa commented. "We all saw the new one's moves! It was awesome!"
"That fight between Touta-bouzu and the new one was one of the most entertaining I have seen in a while!" commented the inugami.
"Indeed," an ittan momen agreed. "And those beautiful legs and fundoshi were a delight to see!"
Nearly all the male youkai nodded.
"Banzai to Fundoshi-gozen!"
"I ENDED UP BEING CALLED THAT!?" Kuromaru's face was fuming from embarrassment. Her hands were still strangling Touta who somehow managed to laugh despite his face turning blue from suffocation.
"Well, we don't know your name yet, new one," said a female kitsune.
"Oh, right," Kuromaru released Touta's throat and let him drop on the grass.
Touta immediately got back up and energetically lifted his left arm. "Then, it's time you introduce yourself to our members, my kohai."
"Oh, umm," Kuromaru averted her eyes in doubt. "I cannot tell them my true family name," after half a minute, Kuromaru came up with a new name. She took a breath and looked directly at the youkai crowd. "I am Tokisaka Kuromaru. Because of some complicated circumstances, I will be working here for a while… I hope to not cause much trouble."
After saying that, Kuromaru immediately beat herself up in her mind. That didn't sound like a good introduction at all. However, before she lost herself in her self-criticism, voices spoke in a warm and happy tone.
"A pleasure to have you here, Kuromaru-gozen!"
All the youkai looked at Kuromaru with big smile. Well, those who could smile anyway. The point is everyone was giving a warm welcome.
"Let's not waste any more time," Gengorou said. His expression was softer than usual and his lips looked like they almost formed a smirk. "We already spent so much preparing this, we need to enjoy to the fullest."
"Well said!" Ikkuu agreed. "This is also the celebration for the new dating sim I'm coming up thanks to being inspired by Kuromaru-kyun's moe!"
Kuromaru was about to say something in reproach at Ikkuu, but…
"Come on, Kurou-rin!"
Touta locked his left arm with Kuromaru's right arm. Both blushed slightly because of this, but neither pushed away. As she let Touta drag her to the long table, Kuromaru once again felt that strange, but warm feeling in her chest. However, this time she didn't want to run away. Instead, she wanted to feel that warmth a little longer.
Kuromaru's lips bent into a shy smile. She was too embarrassed to answer to the youkai's welcome from before out loud. She only muttered her answer hoping no one else could hear it.
"Thank you for having me."