Phase 16: Matters of Body, Clothing and Gender
The time was 5:15 a.m. The sun could be seen in the horizon, but the sky was still dark.
The inn that had the structure of a large Japanese mansion, Fairyland Hall, had the lights out. This was one of the rare moments of the day in which the place was quiet. Or so it should be.
In the shore of the small island surrounded by a lake, the sound of swords clashing filled the air.
Two teenagers were practicing sword fighting together. One was a boy with spiky ebony brown hair and the other was a young girl with long raven black hair in a side ponytail at the right and pure white skin. Both looked around fourteen years old, although the boy was a little short. The boy was wearing a plain red shirt and black pants. The girl was wearing a more professional-looking getup consisting of a white dress shirt, black pants and a black long coat.
As the boy wielded a 160 cm long shirasaya and the girl wielded a double-edged kusanagi sword. Their movements were in perfect sync. The two jumped, swung their swords and blocked at the same time. As if they could read each other with a mere glance. Instead of sparring, they looked like they were dancing with swords.
Finally, the teenagers had their swords pointing at each other's necks. With sweat streaming down their faces, both smirked.
"Your style has become so much better in the past month, Touta-kun."
"You think, Kurou-rin?"
"Yes," Kuromaru affirmed. "While your manipulation of ki was outstanding, your swordsmanship was unpolished and crude. Not unlike you."
"Hey!" Touta reproached.
Kuromaru continued. "Now, your movements are more befitting of a well-trained Shinmei-ryuu swordsman. Although, why weren't you like this from the start? You said you were trained since childhood."
Touta shrugged. "I was a little rusty. I didn't train properly for the past four years."
"Hmm," Kuromaru's eyebrows rose slightly. "Most people take a while longer to get back in form than you have."
"That's just how awesome I am," Touta grinned cockily and sighed through his nose. Kuromaru eye rolled in response. "Besides," Touta winked. "Now that I have such a cool partner, I must work hard so I can live up to her awesomeness!"
Touta felt extremely happy as he saw Kuromaru's face turn bright red. While Kuromaru had still to call him partner back, she didn't protest to Touta doing so ever since the night of the welcome party. To Touta, that was a very good sign.
The brief cute moment ended when Kuromaru made her free left hand into a mudra.
Touta knew what was coming. "Ah-!"
Objects blasted out of the sand in the shore. They were five flying kusanagi colored red and black.
Kuromaru jumped a few meters away from Touta a second before the swords rained down on him.
*WHOOSH* *SLASH*
Touta tried to block the five swords at the same time as much as he could. However, that was very difficult. Each of the three swords moved like they were being wielded by an expert swordsman.
*SLASH* *SLASH*
The swords grazed Touta's left arm and both of his legs. He bled a little, but the cuts immediately healed. The same happened over and over.
Kuromaru observed this as she mentally controlled the swords from the sidelines.
"That's not good enough, Touta-kun! That Asura was capable of fighting off ten times this quantity of swords. If we face him again, you will not stand a chance on your own!"
Touta grinned at Kuromaru using the pronoun 'we'. His movements to fight off the five flying swords got faster. "You could always let me have some of your supremely delicious blood, Kurou-rin! We know I'm unbeatable in that state!"
Kuromaru's face turned apple red again. "I-I told you we shouldn't rely on that too much!"
Touta unleashed ki energy from his blade to blast off the flying swords.
"Are you sure? Because when I drank your blood, I felt like I was some kind of god!"
Kuromaru's face fumed as she made her hand into a new mudra. Her five flying swords fired heat rays at Touta.
*KA-BOOM*
Touta was blasted away and flew several meters into the air. Fortunately, he didn't crash land into the shore. Kuromaru leaped and her left hand grabbed the back of Touta's shirt.
Kuromaru manipulated the weight of her body to float down back to the shore as she pulled down Touta with her. Touta admired how much on the dere side she was now… That was until Kuromaru released Touta's shirt from the grasp of her hand when she was a meter and a half up in the air.
*BAAM*
"Ouch!" Touta exclaimed. "Damn it! Kurou-rin is so rough!"
Touta pretended to complain as he sat up in the sand and rubbed his butt. But his grin said he wasn't that displeased.
Meanwhile, Kuromaru gracefully floated down into the shore and landed on her tiptoes.
"I think we should leave the morning training here for today, Touta-kun. The inn will open soon and you're the one who cooks breakfast today."
"Fine by me," Touta stood up and dusted off the sand from his pants. "But we gotta have breakfast first! What would you like today? I'm thinking omurice."
"You are the 'magnificent cook', are you not?" Kuromaru smirked. "Let me see what you come up with to surprise me today."
The time of the year was the second-to-last week of June.
It had been a little over a month since Kuromaru started living and working at Fairyland Hall. Despite her initial animosity towards being sentenced to work off her twenty-million-yen debt, the welcome party at the end of her first day had successfully made her visibly more at ease with the place. As expected, all the youkai were friendly with Kuromaru and she had quickly become popular with them, even though nowhere near Touta's level yet. She also seemed to be getting along with Gengorou and Ikkuu, even though she still gave Ikkuu a look of disgust when the robot man made a perverted remark.
The most notable of all was the progress of Kuromaru's relationship with Touta. After discussing it with Gengorou, he approved of Touta's idea of making Kuromaru their restaurant's poster girl (not that she liked to be called that). In a little more than a week, they attracted more customers than they ever imagined they could have. Alongside that, Touta had asked Kuromaru to train with him early in the morning every day.
"I need to be prepared to face crazy strong dudes like Bandaged Six Arms since I'm going to be looking for those magic mirror shards too."
That was the reason that Touta gave. To his surprise, Kuromaru agreed without any protest.
"A vampire that wakes up early in the morning is something I never thought I would see."
That was all she said in response.
Touta and Kuromaru had made a habit out of eating their breakfast at one of the open air wooden tables with benches of Fairyland Hall's restaurant. The hour was 5:30 a.m, so the sky was still a little dark, but Touta and Kuromaru both liked the breeze and view the open-air area offered… Besides, it was the only time they could be at the place to eat and talk with no one else around; just the two of them.
Touta cooked omurice as he had said, but he added a personal touch by arranging the food in the shape of cute animals. Touta's notably large omurice looked like a teddy bear made of seasoned rice covered by the egg omelet like a blanket. Kuromaru's more normal-sized omurice had the rice completely enveloped by the omelet and on top, there was a ball of mashed potato that was decorated with vegetables to look like a bird's head; it could be described as a chick omurice. Although, Kuromaru poured an entire bottle of hot and spicy tomato ketchup on top of it, so her omurice ended up looking like a pile of red sauce.
The red phoenix-like shikigami Asama was also with them, sitting on the table. Instead of food, Kuromaru had given her some of those magatama of the sun to eat. Touta tried hard to not freak out, remembering those rocks can turn into a nuclear weapon when activated.
Both Touta and Kuromaru took the spoons to their mouths. Their faces lighted up.
"Uuuu~~~mmm"
The juicy rice covered in egg melted in their mouths. The two teenagers looked like they were in absolute bliss.
"I'm awesome," Touta said with an exaggeratedly serious expression.
"Hmph. What you have prepared today is acceptable like usual, I suppose," Kuromaru said in a deadpan voice.
Touta rolled his eyes. He knew Kuromaru adored his food more than she was willing to say. But that was part of the tsun-tsun charm that makes her so lovable to him.
"Training in the morning and breakfast with a tsundere heroine with long black hair and wearing a cool black long coat… I feel like a light novel protagonist. This is the greatest!"
As she kept eating her ketchup overloaded omurice, Kuromaru made small talk.
"You know, Touta-kun. I am growing interested in you."
"Oh!" Touta's eyes sparkled.
"In these morning trainings, I have noticed you have an outstanding capacity to memorize the patterns of my regular swordsmanship and my magically controlled swords."
Kuromaru stopped eating when she found Touta staring at her with an expression that practically spelled 'What the hell?'
"W-What is wrong, Touta-kun? I am saying this as a compliment. Did it come out wrong?"
"Nah," Touta continued eating his omurice.
"That ability is quite unusual, Touta-kun," Kuromaru said. "After only one or two times, you can very accurately predict my attacks. I keep needing to come up with new patterns because of that."
Touta let out a "Hmm" and focused on eating his omurice. His eyes seemed displeased for some reason.
Kuromaru blinked. She had no idea why Touta was reacting this way. "I-In any case, those instincts for battle are not caused by your transformation into a vampire nor your Shinmei-ryuu training, right? Then, is it something 'natural'?"
"Oi, Kurou-rin, have you gotten a handle of how this place works?"
"Eh," Kuromaru frowned. Why was Touta redirecting the topic so blatantly? "I suppose I have. Gengorou-dono and some of the youkai explained it to me in our conversations. Because Touta-kun always puts everything in an oversimplified way, I knew I had to get the accurate information out of them."
"My bad for that," Touta paused to swallow. "And what did you hear from them?"
"Gengorou-dono told me this place is just one base of an international organization formed by supernatural beings named Mythica Conjunctio. This is the Japanese branch, therefore the members found here are all youkai representatives. There is a total of twelve bases like this around the world, with the creatures varying according to the mythology of the nation. Furthermore, each national branch has their own version of that Yukyu Whatever."
"UQ Holder," Touta corrected with his mouth full.
Kuromaru didn't care and just continued. "That is a special division conformed by those who aren't merely long-lived creatures, but true immortals. The regular members such as the youkai here look after any conflict caused by their respective races. Meanwhile, the true immortals handle matters related to immortality. Like if someone gets possession over elixir of life or peaches of immortality and tries to distribute them without authorization or if an undying sorcerer tries to bring out a catastrophe."
Touta looked kind of bored as he listened Kuromaru's exposition. "Yeah, that sounds about right. I heard some around here saying things like that the past four years."
"Touta-kun," Kuromaru narrowed her eyes. "How can you seem so uninterested in this?"
"Because I'm just the janitor around here. Not signed up for spectacular things like saving the world from an evil overpowered immortal."
Kuromaru was disconcerted. "How did that happen? You're a vampire. Kin to the True Ancestor Evangeline A.K. McDowell. Anyone would think you are more qualified for that Yukyu Whatever than the machine pervert and the fish-smelling pervert."
Touta merely shrugged. "Let's say there was an entry test for that immortal club and I failed miserably at it. Besides, all immortals in divisions like UQ Holder should have a reason to join… And I didn't have any good one."
Kuromaru slightly tilted her head. "Could it be that you tried saying something like 'You'll all be my immortal pals', they told you 'Such a childish reason' and rejected you?"
Touta stopped eating and placed his hand over his mouth. "Your sense of humor is so wonderful."
Kuromaru was sort of used to that sort of reactions in Touta by now, so she didn't pay attention to it. "There is still something about the Yukyu Whatever here that I have questions about. I heard Gengorou-dono and that Wakasa pervert mention there is a total of five immortal members in this branch, including you Touta-kun... Then, where is the fifth one?"
Touta made an exaggerated head tilt. "Beats me."
"What?" Kuromaru grimaced.
"Sorry. This fifth mystery UQ Holder never shows their face anywhere around here. Their attendance record is even worse than Jinbei's. It seems they were already here since before I started working, but even after four years, nothing. All I know is that they help Ikkuu-san make the dating sims and eroges."
"Oh, fantastic. Another pervert from the sound of it," Kuromaru made an expression of revulsion.
Touta abruptly stood up from the bench and took the two empty plates from the wooden table.
"I'll go wash these, Kurou-rin. Then, I'll mop the floors."
"Alright," Kuromaru hung her head a little. "I am sorry I cannot help with that."
"Don't sweat it," Touta reassured her with a grin. "Remember your job is getting us customers from the city and you're doing great at that! Our number one poster gi-" Touta shut up when Kuromaru threw a terrifying glare at him. "A-Anyway, you still have free time until the restaurant opens. Go take a shower to clean off the sweat from training or something that relaxes you!"
Having said that, Touta headed to the kitchen with the dirty plates in his hands. Kuromaru had been left alone at the open-air area of Fairyland Hall's restaurant. Well, almost alone. Her red bird shikigami Asama was standing on the wooden table and had just finished eating the magatama of the sun.
Without Touta, Kuromaru immediately felt bored. She leaned on the table and let her head rest on top of it. It was then that Asama pecked her in the arm to gain her attention. Kuromaru made a small smile at her shikigami.
"Touta-kun said I have free time… Now that I remember, that machine pervert said he would have my miko clothes fixed today, but it's still a little early to go and pick it up. Maybe I should continue reading one of those books that kind man from the bookstore gave me."
*chirp* *chirp* *caw*
"A bath?" Kuromaru placed a finger in front of her chin. "Yes, Touta-kun suggested something like that too. Then, we should go to Touta-kun's bedroom."
*caw* caw* *tweet*
"What? The hot springs?" Kuromaru raised her eyebrow. "You want to try them?"
*chirp* *chirp*
"Yes, you are right in that we haven't had a hot springs bath in years, but… Ever since I was made live here by that geas, I have only washed myself with the shower at Touta's bedroom and only when he is not there," her eyes looked downwards. "Y-You know why I do not like public baths."
Asama made big puppy eyes at Kuromaru and held her wings together as if she was begging. Seeing her cute bird shikigami like that, Kuromaru couldn't refuse and Asama knew this.
Resigned, Kuromaru sighed. "I suppose it should not be a problem at this time of the day. No one should be using the hot springs this early in the morning. And to be honest, I have been wanting to try those hot springs ever since I got stuck in this place. Getting pushed into the water by Touta-kun in the middle of cleaning doesn't exactly count as a bath."
Having succeeded in getting Kuromaru to agree going to the hot springs, Asama flew in circles to celebrate. Kuromaru rested her head on her hand and smiled softly.
Kuromaru made her way to the entrance of the hot springs. However, there was one dilemma she needed to face first.
"The boys' bathroom or the girls' bathroom?" As she pondered that question to herself, Kuromaru meditatively stood in front of the two doors. "There is no way I want to go to the men's side…. But the women's side… still doesn't feel right."
Kuromaru was about to back out and comfort herself with the shower at the Touta's bedroom. Just when she was turning back, Asama on her shoulder used her beak to softly pull at Kuromaru's long sidelock of hair. Kuromaru saw Asama was using her wings to point at the western end of the room. It was then that Kuromaru remembered there was a third entrance.
"The mixed bath, huh?"
Kuromaru considered the option well for one long minute. She carefully looked around to check no one else was going into the hot springs. After all, it was still around 5:50 a.m.
"Fine. It would say it is safe," Kuromaru nodded. "Let's go, Asama."
Kuromaru entered the changing room. She placed Asama in one of the wooden benches in the middle of the room and then, she began to undress. First the black long coat, then the white dress shirt and black pants. She neatly folded her clothes in a basket of the cabinet. She took a pause when she was in her underwear. After double checking only Asama was with her in the changing room, she took off her sarashi and her fundoshi, revealing the slender and well-formed body with pure white skin. She finished by fixing her side ponytail into a knot of hair.
Standing naked in a room, even if all alone, made her feel anxious. She placed one hand over her flat chest and the other in her crotch. The ends of her eyebrows lowered.
"So, it's still not the time…. Of course, it's still a little dark outside."
As Kuromaru seemed concerned about something, Asama appeared flying in front of her. Asama used her head to signal at the door to the hot springs.
Kuromaru made a small smile and nodded. "At the very least, I am relieved I have no fear of my body being like this in front of you, Asama."
Asama settled herself in Kuromaru's shoulder as usual. On the way, she picked up a towel and a bucket. After that, she opened the door and made her first steps into the outdoors hot springs. This wasn't the first time she was here; she had been there to clean with Touta several times before. But this was the first time she was using it to take a bath by herself.
Kuromaru washed her body with soap. After that was done, Kuromaru submerged into the water of the hot spring. So that Asama could enjoy the water too, Kuromaru filled the bucket she brought with her with water from the hot spring and Asama happily jumped into it. Kuromaru then left the bucket floating in the hot spring.
The hot spring was so large and there was no one but her and Asama. Kuromaru felt free to relax.
"This is so nice," she said while stretching her arms. "How many years has it been since I could feel so at peace?"
Kuromaru couldn't remember the last time she could enjoy a hot bath like this. Her mind soon thought back about the times she took baths at the hot springs found at the island her hometown was located.
Back then, the ones who accompanied her in the bath were her mentor and her older brother. Those were some of her fondest memories. But neither of them could be with her here…
Kuromaru stopped stretching and submerged her arms into the water. Her expression got a little lonely, but she felt more at ease when she saw Asama playing at the bucket with water.
Kuromaru looked up at the sky. The sun had risen and the day had officially arrived. This was something important for Kuromaru who comes from a race that draws their power from the sun. That was for most Yatagarasu, but there was another reason sunrise marked something important to her.
Kuromaru's body felt hot, especially below the waist. The sensation was over quickly, but knowing what it meant made her flustered. A strong blush appeared in her cheeks as she submerged into the hot spring water up to below her eyes. Her breath formed bubbles in the water.
"It has been over four years since it began, but still… I just can't get used to this."
"Why are you so dark? Hot springs are a place to relax, not to sulk."
"Leave me be. This is the way I am," Kuromaru got her face out of the water.
"Hey, try putting a towel over your eyes. It'll help you chill out!"
Kuromaru felt a small wet towel falling on top of her face. She adjusted its position and leaned back her head.
"Hmm," Kuromaru smiled slightly. "It does produce a good feeling."
"Right?"
Kuromaru heard the other voice say cheerfully. She then heard water moving and what sounded like someone sitting.
Two young voices sighed in unison as they enjoyed the hot spring bath.
After a minute, Kuromaru finally grasped there was something seriously wrong happening. She took off the towel from her eyes and turned her head to her right. There, she saw Touta submerged at the hot spring with a towel covering his eyes and idiot's smile on his face.
Kuromaru slowly stood up from the water. She used her left arm to cover her chest and her other arm was extended with its hand open.
"Asama, my sword."
Asama's playtime at the bucket was abruptly interrupted when Kuromaru's tsurugi sword came out of the jewel in her chest. Asama immediately turned into her paper crane form, which was attached to the sword's pommel. The sword quickly flew into the palm of Kuromaru's hand.
Touta was still clueless to all this. He nonchalantly took the towel off his eyes and turned to his left. There, he saw a stark naked, red-faced Kuromaru staring down at him with a glare that would befit an enraged demon.
"Sun's Cry Style: Burst of Daylight!"
*KA-BOOM*
The mixed section of the hot spring was blown up by a destructive blast of heat.
"So, would you mind explaining what happened?"
The one who asked that question was Gengorou. Touta and Kuromaru, now fully dressed, were sitting in seiza position in front of Gengorou. His glasses were hiding his expression, but somehow, anyone could tell he was beyond pissed.
The three were currently in the changing room of the mixed hot springs bathroom. Or at least, what used to be that. The attack caused by Kuromaru's outburst had evaporated all the water of the hot spring. The fences were also destroyed. All that was left was an empty hole where the hot spring water used to be.
As Gengorou stared down at them, Touta and Kuromaru desperately tried to think of what to say in their defense. The first to speak was Kuromaru.
"Touta-kun is to blame for this!"
"Huh?!" Touta exclaimed in indignation.
"It is," Kuromaru folded her arms. "I got into the bath first because there was no one else around. Then, Touta-kun barged in, looked at my naked body and sat naked beside me like it was nothing! So, I reacted as it's due in that sort of situation and delivered divine punishment to the pervert."
"You were the one who got into the mixed bath!" Touta talked back. "When I saw your clothes in the changing room, I thought it was sort of an invitation!"
"How?!" Kuromaru countered.
"You know, like two training partners taking a dip to get rid of the sweat. That's totally normal," Touta said matter-of-factly.
"It's not normal to me!" Kuromaru slammed the floor. "In my hometown, we only cleanse our bodies along with very close associates. Therefore, what you did makes you a pervert in the eyes of my tribe! You pervert!"
"Enough of that," Gengorou said forcefully. "In short, you are both responsible for this disaster. So, the repair bill for the hot spring will come from eighty-five percent of your salaries until it's fixed."
"What?!" Kuromaru stood up. "B-But I already have that over twenty-million-yen debt!"
"Kuromaru-kun," Gengorou adjusted his glasses. "This happened because you entered the mixed bath, but when a boy entered, you blew up part of our property. Then, I ask you. Why didn't you simply go to the girl's bathroom?"
Kuromaru frowned and gritted her teeth. She looked away before answering. "Because only girls should go to the girl's bathroom."
Gengorou slightly frowned. "What are you trying to say? Are you not a girl?"
Kuromaru's facial expression said she didn't want to answer the question. Instead, Touta opened his mouth.
"Nah, Gengorou-san. Kurou-rin is a girl; I can guarantee it now. Her chest is a savanna, though."
Touta's head was smashed through the wooden floor by Kuromaru's foot.
As the two teenagers continued their romantic comedy routine, Gengorou observed them with an expressionless face.
"By the way, you will be in charge of the reparations for the bathroom too. Good luck accommodating it with other responsibilities at the inn."
After the incident at the hot springs, Kuromaru had gone to Ikkuu's workshop. The robot man was working on one of his Tecno Magica devices that displayed a holographic keyboard and several screens that depicted clothes, mostly female cosplays and accessories.
Kuromaru stood at the workshop with Asama on her shoulder and observed Ikkuu do whatever he was doing with the device.
"So," Kuromaru tapped her foot impatiently. "This item of yours can really have my miko clothes fixed?"
"Yes," Ikkuu nodded. "It's my personal Cosplay Maker! It's a Tecno Magica device I'm in the process of perfecting. Its purpose is to design and manufacture cosplay of high quality. A miko cosplay is a piece of cake for this baby!"
Kuromaru groaned. "Why does everyone call my miko clothes cosplay?"
A magic circle was projected by the main holographic screen of Ikkuu's Cosplay Maker that was displaying a 3D Kuromaru model. A small card emerged from it. Ikkuu grabbed it and tossed it to Kuromaru.
"Here. Now say 'Vestio', Kuromaru-kyun."
Kuromaru caught the card in reflex and frowned. "Vestio…?"
Kuromaru's professional clothes with the long coat were wrapped in bubbles of light. Before she could even question what was happening, Kuromaru realized her clothes had changed. She was now wearing her traditional miko clothes that she had when she first arrived at Mahora Magicus City. They were back in perfect condition as if they had never been torn off in her fight against Asura Tu.
"Incredible," Kuromaru said as she looked over her long kimono sleeves and touched her hakama pants. "You indeed fixed them. Not only that, they feel like brand-new clothes."
"Hehe. You're welcome," Ikkuu puffed his chest. He felt happy whenever someone gave him an honest compliment, especially when that someone was a cute girl. Ikkuu then approached Kuromaru and got uncomfortably close to her face. She made a step back to gain back space. "I kept my part of the deal. Will you keep yours, Kuromaru-kyun?"
Kuromaru grimaced. She hesitated for a moment before she hung her head. "Yes. Just please, get it done quickly."
"Yay!" Ikkuu threw his fist in the air triumphantly. Confetti came out of his fingers for effect. "Let's start with the photo shoot right away!"
In one part of Ikkuu's workshop, he had used Tecno Magica projectors to create a stage with holographic scenery. It emulated one of the Shinto shrines in Kumano.
In the middle of the holographic shrine, Kuromaru was standing in a stiff position while wearing her traditional miko clothes and holding a gohei in her right hand. Asama was half-asleep on her shoulder.
Kuromaru's expression was sullen, practically yelling that she hated every second of this.
Ikkuu was taking pictures with the camera installed in his eyes. With a wink, he captured the images he wanted. His eye camera had a resolution hundreds of times better than any normal camera.
"Come on, Kuromaru-kyun! You're too tense. Relax a bit for the camera. And smile! You have such a gorgeous face and you're losing moe points with that sour face!"
Kuromaru groaned and looked away. "I only agreed to let you take your pictures. I never said I would go along with your photographic demands. If my tribe knew I am using the image of the miko for something frivolous like this, it would cause extreme shame."
The ends of Ikkuu's eyebrows lowered. "Having appeal is important for attracting customers, Kuromaru-kyun."
"What the hell are you talking about, Ikkuu-san? Everyone knows Kurou-rin's appeal is her tsundere-ness."
"You might be right, Touta-kun. I could emphasize Kuromaru-kyun's angry and embarrassed faces in the shots for that!"
Kuromaru just noticed the spiky-haired boy in waiter uniform standing behind Ikkuu.
"Touta-kun, since when have you been here?"
"I finished breakfast for the youkai early today, so I came to hang out for a bit," Touta explained. "Besides, there's no way I'm missing a photo shoot of Kurou-rin!" he added in his mind.
Ikkuu placed a hand on his chin as he thought something over. "Since we're going for a specific archetype here, I think the moe of the costume needs to be amplified."
Ikkuu took out Kuromaru's Cosplay Card from his lab coat. He pressed the cat ear headband design it had in the back.
The Cosplay Card turned into a holographic screen shaped like a magic circle. It was displaying a 3D model of Kuromaru in her miko clothes, which had her measurements perfectly replicated thanks to Ikkuu's 'analysis'. Beside the model, there were diverse cosplay items. It resembled a dress up videogame.
"Oooh," Touta stared at the holographic screen curiously. "What's this, Ikkuu-san?"
"A special feature that I'm working on in the Cosplay Card," Ikkuu started selecting items from the cosplay gallery and putting them in Kuromaru's 3D model. "Walah!"
Kuromaru's miko clothes were surrounded by bubbles of light like before. Once again, her outfit changed. She was now wearing a costume that one could tell was supposed to be a miko. Unlike her habitual get-up from her tribe, this one was quite… extravagant.
Kuromaru found herself wearing a backless white top with a red necktie, a red frilly skirt with a big ribbon tied at the waist, long detached white sleeves with floral patterns, thigh-high white stockings also decorated with red ribbons and frills, and classy red Mary Jane shoes. Kuromaru's ponytail at the right side was now being held up by a cute red hair ribbon decorated with a large pair of jingle bells. As a cute bonus, a pair of adorable fox ears had appeared on top of her head.
Kuromaru was dumbfounded. "W-What is the meaning of this…?!"
"I'm glad you asked!" Ikkuu raised his finger. "You see, I studied the functions of the Pactio cards that are created from contracts between Magister and Ministra. These normally give the Ministra a special costume along with the magic Artifact. Additionally, the Pactio cards allow the Ministra to store any outfits they like into the set of the card. Therefore, I developed my Cosplay Maker based on those functions of the Pactio cards and gave birth to this new invention; Cosplay Cards!"
"Wooow!" Touta clapped in amazement. "That's so, so awesome, Ikkuu-san! You're a real genius!"
Ikkuu chuckled in satisfaction at being praised.
"I didn't ask for an explanation for that!" Kuromaru tightly embraced herself. Her face was red like a tomato and her eyes were spinning from the embarrassment. "The photo shoot was one thing. I never said yes to being put in a ridiculous costume like this one!"
"Oh, great!" Ikkuu excitedly winked to take the photos. "That's it, Kurou-rin! The moody frown and beet red cheeks are what I need!"
Meanwhile, Touta was playing around with the holographic screen made from the Cosplay Card.
"Not bad at all with the kitsune miko, Ikkuu-san. But there's no doubt that the best cosplay for Kurou-rin would be this!"
Touta selected his preferred cosplay items on the holographic screens. The result of his creation was shown when Kuromaru's clothes magically changed once again.
A black maid kimono with a short skirt. Platform zori sandals. Cat ears. For extra cuteness, Kuromaru's long black hair was down instead of the usual side ponytail.
"A cat maid Japanese style! You have good taste Touta-kun!" Ikkuu tilted his head slightly. "But why does this outfit look familiar somehow?"
*POW* *POW*
Two powerful fists hit Touta and Ikkuu in the head.
"How long are do you intend to play dress up with me?!" Kuromaru was seriously pissed.
Afterwards, Kuromaru forced Ikkuu to get her fixed miko clothes of the Cosplay Card system.
- Afternoon -
The restaurant of Fairyland Hall was open. And all the tables were occupied by both humans and demihumans. All this was thanks to the instant popularity Kuromaru had as the place's poster girl the past month.
At first, Kuromaru was extremely nervous when attending the clients, but with a little help from Touta, she quickly got how to greet them and take orders without being on verge of an anxiety attack. Of course, being a special package of bokukko-tsundere-dojikko made all customers, male and female, instantly smitten with Kuromaru. As a matter of fact, none of the clients were sure if Kuromaru is a boy or a girl. Not that it mattered; the boys like Kuromaru as a slightly boyish girl and the girls find Kuromaru attractive in a pretty long-haired boy sort of way. Since asking Kuromaru directly about her gender was considered rude, all the clients made a silent agreement that Kuromaru's androgyny is part of the appeal.
"Kuromaru-kun! We're ready to order!"
"Coming," Kuromaru said to the table of schoolgirls. Right now, she was busy carrying two plates with parfaits, pies and omelets.
"Kuromaru-san! We have been waiting nearly twenty minutes for our food."
Kuromaru bowed her head to the table of college students. "I am terribly sorry! I will bring your orders in a few minutes. Please wait a little longer!"
Kuromaru fastened her pace and headed to deliver the order she was carrying. The clients of this table were high school students judging by their uniforms all which had a different design. They all gave sympathetic smiles at Kuromaru as they watched her getting near.
"Seriously," one of the male students commented. "The food here is amazing and Kuromaru-san is super hot… But the service is way too slow."
"Is it any surprise?" said the female student sitting next to him while playing with her manaphone. "The place is clearly understaffed."
That critic hit the nail on the head. The only one filling the position of waiter at the time was Kuromaru. She and Touta had discussed the day before how to bring in some help for attending the tables. Touta said he had a good idea, but didn't say what it was. Kuromaru wanted to give him some complaints, but she knew Touta's work as the chef wasn't any easier in these circumstances.
"Sorry for the wait!" Kuromaru hurried to the table. But she failed to watch her step. She tripped over and the plates fell from her hands. "No!"
Just when the food was falling down, something happened. Like a dash, someone caught the dishes with the food, not letting even a fruit from the parfaits touch the floor. In the blink of the eye, the dishes were served to the clients in perfect conditions.
The high school students and the other customers around clapped and cheered.
Kuromaru had fallen to her knees after tripping. She sighed in relief at seeing the food was fine. It was then that she saw a hand being held out in front of her. Knowing who had just helped her, she closed her eyes as she accepted the hand and used it as support to get up.
"I am in your debt yet again, Touta-kun."
"No mind," Touta's voice responded. "But right now, I'm not Touta."
"Wha-?"
Just as she wondered what that meant, Kuromaru opened her eyes. What she saw was indeed not the spiky-haired boy she knew. Instead, in front of Kuromaru was a 'girl' with long ebony brown hair stylized in a hime cut. This 'girl' looked suspiciously identical to a young version of one of Touta's mothers, Konoka. The 'girl' was wearing a maid kimono made of a dark blue kosode and dark red hakama pants, along with an apron and skates.
The 'girl' winked with her tongue sticking out. That face was one Kuromaru would recognize anywhere no matter the clothes. Yet, Kuromaru's brain had temporarily shut down at the unbelievable stupidity she was witnessing. She would need several seconds to even figure out how to react.
"Wooow!" one of the male students admired the maid. "They got a new waitress?"
"And a very cute one too!" another male student said with a pleased smile.
"Hello there!" the maid saluted as she made a spin with her skates. "Name is Touko! I'll be attending tables with Kuromaru here!"
"And me too!" a cute girl, looking only a couple of years older than Touta's eternal fourteen years, with long blonde hair and green eyes appeared wearing the same maid kimono as Touta, but with boots instead of skates. Her breasts were E cup. "You can call me Ikkuko-chan. A pleasure to be serving you all," she said with a wink and blowing a kiss.
"Ooooh!" all the male customers were cheering. "An onee-san type!?"
Meanwhile, the female customers were disappointed at the new employees being both girls, supposedly.
*POW* *POW*
Powerful fists fell on top of the heads of the two new maids. A fuming Kuromaru dragged "Touko" and "Ikkuko" by the collar to the kitchen while all the customers just stared.
Once in the kitchen, Kuromaru finally gave her reaction.
"What in the name of the heavens are you two doing?!"
"Don't you see?" asked "Touko" while making a cute head tilt and placing a hand on the cheek. "I'm going to help you with the tables, Kurou-rin. We talked about it yesterday, did you forget?"
Kuromaru facepalmed. Her ensuing migraine made her feel as if her head was splitting open. "To think your 'good idea' was this… I do not even know where to start pointing out the problems here…"
"Oh, I know what you mean," said "Touko" while giving a nod. "It's a bit hard to believe I can handle the kitchen and waiting tables at the same time, I know. But with the speed I get from using ki, I'm sure I can make it work out!" added "Touko" with a thumbs-up.
"I wasn't too concerned about that, Touta-kun," Kuromaru took off Touta's hime cut wig. Now, seeing the spiky-haired boy in a maid kimono was beyond ridiculous. "How in the world did this crossdressing thing occur to you?"
Touta showed off his maid uniform a bit. "Since Ikkuu-san made these maid uniforms and you still refused to wear them, I thought we could make some use out of them."
Kuromaru clicked her tongue. "And the worst part is that those uniforms look so good in you two that it's infuriating me, for some reason."
"Besides," Ikkuko intercepted. "Three lovely girls are better than just one to satisfy our clients. Variety is important!"
Kuromaru's eye was twitching. "No one present here counts as a true girl," she commented in her mind. Kuromaru observed Ikkuko's female form. "And what is this? One of your spare bodies, I assume?"
"That's right," Ikkuko made a twirl to let her maid getup be better appreciated. "My prime keeps different types of robotic bodies for special occasions. How is this one? A hottie, right?"
Touta just let out a 'Uh-huh'. This wasn't the first time he was seeing Ikkuu using a female body.
Meanwhile, Kuromaru made a disdainful frown. "Your perversion has yet to stop amazing me, Ameya Ikkuu."
"Oh my," Ikkuko said in a very girly voice. "I completely understand what you must be feeling, Kuromaru-kyun. That's why I doubted to let you see me like this," Ikkuko pressed her E cup breasts together with her upper arms. "It must be driving you insane that an old guy in a teenage girl body is this much sexier than you, Pettanmaru-kyun."
A minute after that, the pieces of metal that used to be Ikkuko were scattered all over the kitchen. Ikkuu's memory database would immediately activate another robot body after one was destroyed, so there was no reason to panic. Still, Touta sensed it was better to stay a couple of meters away from Kuromaru at least until the temperature around her decreased.
In the end, Touta did end up acting as chef and waiter at the same time, although dressed in his waiter uniform. As for Ikkuu, he placed copies of his memory in several of his spare bodies so they could help at the restaurant too. Frankly, Ikkuu had thought of that a while ago, but he couldn't resist messing with Kuromaru for a bit first. Too bad it costed him one of his best female bodies. Ikkuu sobbed at that.
- At night -
After a day of taking care of the inn and working at the restaurant, Touta and Kuromaru had another training session before cleaning the hot springs. At least, that was what was accustomed to for the past month. That day, Kuromaru had been avoiding being alone with Touta ever since the morning training.
At the moment, the spiky-haired boy in waiter uniform was swinging his Yunagi by himself at the shore of the small island.
"Is Kurou-rin angry at me?" Touta wondered. "Why could that be? I can't think of anything I did that could have turned her off."
These were the words of the boy that entered the mixed bathroom while Kuromaru was there and later showed up wearing a maid kimono in front of her. Was he really not considering that had something to do with her avoiding him now?
*SLASH* *SLASH*
Touta released a couple of ki blasts from his sword. His attacks created small gaps in the water of the lake. Seeing his Shinmei-ryuu skills weren't as rusty as he had thought, Touta smirked. He had almost forgotten the good sensation he got from training.
Gaining a rush of excitement, Touta started jumping around the shore, swinging his sword and unleashing his ki energy. The sand was being blown off by his techniques. Holes were being made all over the shore.
This was it. The rush of adrenaline. The release of the energy of his body. It was when he made use of his strength and combat skills that Touta felt the liveliest. Like if he was setting free something that was locked up inside him.
However, getting carried away by using of strength caused him to forget about his surroundings.
"Touta-kun?!"
A soft-spoken, feminine voice called out. That sound reminded Touta of his mothers. It was the one sound that made him remember himself.
When Touta got back his sense of reality, he found two palm trees from the shore had been cut down. The trunks were messily and unskillfully cut in pieces. Touta had his sword still piercing through the wood.
Touta turned around and found the white-skinned girl with long black hair and wearing a waiter uniform. She was staring at him with visible concern.
"I knew you were likely training here even though I didn't join you… I heard a lot of noise and came to check," the ends of her eyebrows lowered as she observed all the destruction in the shore. It was like a small-scale war had just happened there. "What happened here, Touta-kun?"
Touta just stood paralyzed in front of the destroyed palm trees for several seconds. His lips trembled and he placed his hands on the back of his head before he finally opened his mouth to speak up.
"Hahaha," Touta laughed with energy. Maybe a bit too much. "Nothing, Kurou-rin! I just got a bit carried away with Shinmei-ryuu training! Man, it's been years since I got so much into it! I went a little overboard, that's all."
Kuromaru frowned. "A little? Touta-kun, you…"
"This often happens when I train alone. That's why I only ever trained with Setsuna-ma or my Shinmei-ryuu instructor at Mahora Academy."
"Happens often, you say?!"
"Leaving that aside," Touta made an instant movement and appeared in front of Kuromaru. Their faces were mere centimeters away from each other. "Did you come all the way here because you were worried about me? That makes me so happy, Kurou-rin!"
Kuromaru could feel her face burning from the blush. "N-N-No. I-I knew you would be fine. But with the ruckus you were making, it is not strange anyone would be curious to see what is happening."
"Aww," Touta playfully poked Kuromaru's nose. "It's so damn cute when you make excuses to hide your sweet side."
Kuromaru gritted her teeth and slapped Touta's hand away in annoyance. "Hmph. From what I see, you're the same as always."
"Of course! I'm always me!" Touta made a V sign with his right hand. Yet, his smile and tone didn't have the same confidence he usually has. Kuromaru somehow sensed that.
"But seriously," Kuromaru shook her head. "You are supposed to be a fencer of the Kyoto Shinmeiryuu and without supervision, your sword fighting creates a disastrous scene like this."
"That's why we should always train together, Kurou-rin," Touta clapped his hands together as if he was praying. "Oh, great Yatagarasu kami, don't let this amazingly strong yet uncoordinated Shinmei-ryuu swordsman potentially destroy part of the island by accident."
"You sure like exaggerating," Kuromaru eye rolled. "Fine. I will not ever let you train on your own again, for the sake of preventing property damage."
"Yay!" Touta celebrated by throwing his arms in the air. "And why is it you didn't want to join me today?"
Kuromaru stared at the vampire boy with an incredulous expression. "Touta-kun, you really do not have the intuition necessary to identify an awkward situation, do you?"
"What do you mean?" Touta placed his index on his head in confusion.
"Y-You know," Kuromaru's cheeks turned hot red. "This morning, you s-s-saw me at the hot springs."
"Ah," Touta's lips formed a pleased smile. "Oh yeah, it was a beautiful sight! Kurou-rin's body is a masterpiece," he gave a double thumbs-up.
"T-T-TOUTA-KUN!" Kuromaru's face was smoking from how hot it was. "This is exactly the problem. Obviously, I have no idea of how to act around a boy who has seen my naked body. How have I not supposed to be super embarrassed whenever I talk to you now?"
"Oh, come on, Kurou-rin. That was just a standard ecchi event. Something like that was bound to happen between us. In fact, I'm surprised we weren't both butt naked when we first met in this version."
Kuromaru sunk her face into her hands. "And worst of all, you are so nonchalant about it that I feel even more mortified."
"Well, well," Touta patted Kuromaru in the shoulder. "You also took a look at my manhood. That makes us even, right?"
Touta expected Kuromaru to get more flustered. Instead, she gazed at him with blank eyes.
"You call that you have in your lower half 'manhood'? I think 'boyhood' is a more appropriate term."
Touta gasped. He felt like the 'boyhood' Kuromaru just said stabbed right through him tons of times. All color left Touta and he went to sit in fetal position while staring at the lake. His eyes looked dead.
Kuromaru was seriously shocked at Touta's reaction. She had thought he would be the type to just make a stupid joke and keep teasing her.
"T-Touta-kun…?" Kuromaru made a few steps towards the boy in state of depression.
"Boyhood… Boyhood," Touta whispered over and over again. "…Yeah, that's right… After all, I'm forever fourteen… Not gonna get any bigger…"
"Wow. Touta-kun is sensitive about being turned into a vampire before he reached adulthood. I did not expect that."
Kuromaru frowned deeply as she saw a dark aura emanating from Touta. She couldn't help to feel guilty about this. She cleared her throat and gave a soft pat at Touta's back.
"Um… Do not take it so badly, Touta-kun," was all Kuromaru could come up with to comfort him.
Touta still stared lifelessly at the lake. "…No, no. You're right, Kurou-rin. My dick isn't anything impressive…"
"Do not say dick," Kuromaru yelled flustered.
Touta sighed sadly. "I often thought that when bathing with Jinbei-jiisan, Gengorou-san and Ikkuu-san… They're so lucky to be immortals with adult bodies. And Ikkuu even can increase his size all he wants. Kurou-rin would laugh at my junk if she checked out the junk of those three."
"I do NOT wish to see that and I wouldn't laugh at you," Kuromaru rubbed her own head in frustration. "Listen, Touta-kun. I have only taken baths with Ani-sama before you, but… I suppose your male private part is above average by standards of pubescent boys."
"You mean that?" Touta finally looked up at Kuromaru with hopeful eyes.
"Y-Yes," Kuromaru forced a smile. "I do not show much of a reaction because the Yatagarasu do not have much interest in human anatomy in a sexual sense. However, a normal girl could be impressed by what you have."
"Really?!" Touta jumped up. His face was back to his usual cheerful expression. "Thanks, Kurou-rin! I'm so glad the first girl out of my family who saw me stark naked was you!"
Kuromaru's eye twitched at Touta calling her a 'girl'. She wanted to protest, but since he already saw her naked body, she couldn't say otherwise now. It would make things needlessly complicated to tell him why she doesn't count as a true girl.
"But, this is serious, Kurou-rin. Now that we have seen each other's naked bodies, we're both ruined for marriage. That is, you know, unless you and I-"
*snort*
Touta and Kuromaru herself were surprised to hear Kuromaru holding back some laughter. Soon, both began laughing together.
"Really, Touta-kun," Kuromaru took a deep breath and placed a palm over her forehead. "I never imagined anyone would be able to make me talk about male sexual organs this casually. You are one of a kind, indeed."
Touta smiled from ear to ear at seeing Kuromaru laugh. Her happy face was like a shining sun to him. "You're laughing, Kurou-rin. Does that mean we're cool now?"
Kuromaru looked sideways and scratched her cheek. "I was merely worried that our relationship would turn weird because of the incident this morning. But now I am talking to you like we always do."
"You really thought that, Kurou-rin? Nothing will change between us just because we know how the other looks naked! That's totally normal in shonen stories."
"Yep. That overly carefree attitude assures me we can keep everything like always without difficulty," Kuromaru's eyes looked down. "I suppose I doubted if our dynamic would change because you saw that… Well."
Kuromaru nervously played with her side ponytail. Touta tilted his head in confusion while also thinking how cute Kuromaru looked when she was nervous.
"What?" Touta asked.
Kuromaru pouted. "You now know for sure that I am not a boy. You sometimes brought up the possibility that I was a feminine-looking boy, so I wondered if you would treat me different because that possibility is eliminated."
"Ah," Touta blinked. He thought he was starting to understand. "Welp. I was just joking when I asked if you were a boy. Because you hate being called a girl," he scratched the back of his head. "To be honest, I have never seen you as a boy, Kurou-rin. You're too feminine."
"You think so?" Kuromaru's eye widened in disbelief. "How can that be? I'm ungraceful, inelegant, irritable and not even nearly as pretty as a girl should be."
Touta gave Kuromaru a playful finger snap at the forehead.
"Damn it, Kurou-rin. You really think all that? You're beautiful; I'm always saying so. It's that fierce temper and clumsiness what make you charming!"
Kuromaru's face turned burning red. "Beautiful?! Charming?!"
"Yeah, so no matter what you say, Kurou-rin is womanly enough in my eyes," Touta affirmed with a flirtatious wink.
Kuromaru's mood abruptly changed. She bit her lip and made her hands into fists. "I don't want that," she said in a forceful tone. Touta was a bit taken aback. "I do not wish to be a woman in your eyes nor those of anyone. Nor I wish to be seen as a boy."
"Man, Kurou-rin sure makes this hard," Touta sighed in his mind. "Alright, so what do you want to be?"
Kuromaru placed her hands over her chest as if embracing herself. "I… am not sure. But do you remember what you told me at that rooftop the day we met, Touta-kun?"
"Eh," Touta frowned in confusion.
"You told me gender has nothing to do with who I am."
Touta's expression changed to realization. "Yeah, yeah. Of course, I remember that, Kurou-rin." That smile she showed him in response to his statement back then is one he will never forget.
"That… was what I always wanted to hear from someone," Kuromaru's eyes became soft. "My entire life I had always been told how inadequate I am as the successor of the miko, who should be the epitome of perfect femininity in my tribe. I am no good at any feminine tasks like dancing, singing, cooking or sewing. My one strength is swordsmanship. And in my tribe, only men practice that since the females only do spiritual rituals and dances."
"For real?" Touta commented. He was both surprised and happy that Kuromaru was opening up and telling him more about herself.
"You cannot call yourself a man or a woman. Many Yatagarasu, the head of the tribe included, told me that so many times," Kuromaru squeezed her eyes closed. "I think I accepted that as the truth. I came to hate being associated with either gender. Because I do not have the qualifications for being a proper male or female."
Touta looked at Kuromaru with sympathy. "Sounds like you had it rough back at your tribe, huh."
"That is why, Touta-kun," Kuromaru faced him with a serious face. "You are the first person who I feel I can be around and not be worried about how feminine or masculine I am. I-I do not want that to ever change… So, please…" she hung her head, worried that she might be asking something impossible.
To her surprise, Touta took her hands into his own. He made her look at him as he smiled warmly at her.
"Kurou-rin, do you remember what I told you the day you started working here?"
"?" Kuromaru tilted her head slightly.
"I like you," Touta repeatedly the words to remind her.
Kuromaru gasped. She felt the exact same embarrassment as the first time she heard it. She hated herself for that.
"That you're a Yatagarasu doesn't affect that. Same goes for this. I like Kurou-rin, no matter the gender."
Kuromaru's face was filled with immense relief. Her lips formed a small smile. "Touta-kun…"
Touta let go of one of Kuromaru's hands and lifted his index finger. "In addition, even if I had seen you had a dick, I would still think you're the cutest thing on the planet. Without a doubt."
"Don't go and ruin the moment by saying dick!" Kuromaru let go of Touta's hand and pulled away. She turned her back at Touta and crossed her arms. After a brief moment of silence, she spoke up again. "Really, I do thank you, Touta-kun."
Touta smiled gently at hearing Kuromaru thanking him honestly. He sensed the closeness between them had progressed a lot.
"The event at the hot springs was indeed essential for raising a new flag, I see," Touta thought to himself.
Out of nowhere, Kuromaru bent forward. Her arms were tightly holding her belly. Her face appeared to be twisting in pain.
"Wah," Touta carefully placed his hands on Kuromaru's shoulder. "You okay, Kurou-rin?"
"Yes. Do not worry," Kuromaru forced a smile while rubbing her abdomen. "There are some days in which I get stomachaches."
Touta's eyes were filled with concern. "You sure you're fine?"
"This is normal for me, I swear. It only gets this bad once every month," Kuromaru reassured.
"Hmm," Touta placed a hand on his chin. "Tell me, is this your period?"
Kuromaru responded with a punch at Touta's head.
"No, it is not. I don't even menstruate!"
"Eh, you don't?" Touta made an exaggerated head tilt.
"Ah," Kuromaru realized she said more than needed. "F-Forget it, okay? In any case, this stomachache should disappear tomorrow morning. I merely need to rest for the night."
"Alright, I'll take you to our room," Touta took Kuromaru by the arm and started guiding her along.
Kuromaru's eyes widened. "T-Touta-kun, don't get mad, but sleeping in the same room as you is still-"
"Then, I'll sleep outside tonight," Touta said without hesitation.
"What?! No, I will not allow that, Touta-kun," Kuromaru pulled away. "I am telling you; this isn't serious."
Touta doubted what Kuromaru said about her condition. However, he decided to not argue against it. "Fine. I'll go and clean the hot springs. You have a good night sleep."
"Yes," Kuromaru made a timid smile. "I will see you tomorrow, Touta-kun."
Kuromaru had made her way to hers and Touta's room. While she had no intention of sleeping there, she thought that a hot shower would help alleviate the pain in her body.
Of course, she had majorly downplayed her bad state when talking to Touta. It wasn't a mere stomachache; her entire body was stinging. It felt like she was being stabbed by sharp objects all over.
It was just getting worse. She soon got a headache that was almost killing her. Kuromaru rested her arm on the wall of the shower as she felt the hot water pouring down on her white-skinned body.
"This too… I cannot get used," Kuromaru said between gasps. "…This cursed body."
Kuromaru covered her mouth as she started coughing violently. Once she stopped, she stared at the palm of her hand. She merely frowned at the sight of the blood she just vomited.
Once out of the shower, Kuromaru put on a pair of slippers and stepped back into the bedroom. She took a towel from Touta's dresser and began to dry off. However, it was way more difficult than it should be when every single movement made her body cry out in pain.
"Curse it. How much longer do I have to wait for morning to arrive? I know it's only a few hours, but every single month, this is an unbearable torture."
Kuromaru turned to the side and noticed there was a free standing full-length mirror next to the desk in the room. Why in the world would there be something like that in a room for a vampire, a creature with no reflection, was out of her comprehension.
However, there was a personal reason why she didn't like having a mirror in the room. She could see the reflection of her entire body, which was completely nude except for the slippers. At night, she especially hated seeing her body.
The Yatagarasu called Kuromaru neither a man or a woman. That had yet another meaning than the one she had told Touta. And being reminded of it made her blood boil.
In a fit of anger, Kuromaru threw the towel at the mirror. She didn't want to see what it was showing her.
It was probably the release of energy or maybe the emotional turmoil. Whatever was the cause, Kuromaru's headache got a hundred times worse in the matter of a second. Her vision became blurry and everything in the room was spinning in her eyes.
Her legs weakened and trembled. She felt like she couldn't keep standing up. Kuromaru tried to use the chair of Touta's desk for support. It was no use. Kuromaru fell over, taking the chair down to the floor along with her.
"Why…? It normally takes a few more hours before it gets this bad…"
Kuromaru wanted to stand up, but none of the parts of her body were answering her. Her body temperature was insanely high. She felt like if she was burning in flames. Even though she was just out of the shower, she was already bathed in her own sweat.
"Am I going to pass out here until morning….? At least let me put some clothes on."
Kuromaru's eyes were failing her. Darkness enclosed her surroundings.
"Kurou-rin?!"
Kuromaru heard the familiar voice of a boy. But because of her current state, it sounded more far away than it was.
"Oi! Hang in there, Kurou-rin! Shit, I knew I shouldn't have let you go alone!"
Still hearing the voice of Touta at the distance, Kuromaru felt that her body was being lifted from the floor.
With what little her eyes let her see, Kuromaru could make out Touta's face looking down at her. Even though he was blurry, Kuromaru had never seen him with such a panicked expression.
"I'll go get Gengorou-san and Ikkuu-san!"
That alone Kuromaru couldn't let happen.
"No…" Kuromaru used all her remaining strength to speak up. "Only that, no… Tou-"
The violent coughs returned. Kuromaru vomited alarming amounts of blood. Both her naked body and Touta's waiter uniform were stained in red.
That was her limit. Her consciousness was fading.
"Kurou-rin?! KUROU-RIN!"
Kuromaru kept hearing the voice of the boy desperately calling her out. But she couldn't answer him; her voice didn't come out anymore.
Everything turned to black.