Phase 18: Misadventures in the Underground Library and Touta's Circumstances

Library Island. The biggest library in the entire world. It was founded sometime after World War II along with Mahora Academy. Thousands of books from all over the world were stored in this library for the sake of safekeeping. Students from the middle school, high school and the university have free access to the library, but only its first five levels.

The lowest levels of Library Island are something else entirely. The Deep Library. What lays there are the ruins of an ancient library shaped like a large labyrinth. No one knows who were the ones who built it or what purpose it had. One of the most mysterious places at Mahora Academy City, without a doubt.

Despite the attempts to thoroughly explore the place for the past decade and a half, strange events kept intervening with the process. For the past few years, the Deep Library has been a forbidden zone, except for the employees of the Mansion of Youkai, Fairyland Hall.


The top levels of Library Island were a breathtaking sight. The long lines of bookshelves as tall as towers. The waterfalls that fell between them. The trees that grew at the corners. In many ways, the place was closer to a jungle than a regular library.

It would be hard to believe something more amazing could be found in that place. That was until one reached the ruins at the lowest levels.

"Seriously… How is this place real?"

Those were the words that passed through Kuromaru's mind every time she had come to that place with Touta. This was her fourth time, yet she had yet to believe what she was seeing.

The walls of the underground cave were covered by the giant roots of the World Tree which grew up to the rock ceiling. Same as the giant tree in the surface of the academy city, the roots were emitting a red glow. As a result, the entire cave was illuminated by the red light. Motes of soft red light floated up from the ground. Thanks to this, Touta and Kuromaru didn't need to use the headlamps that came with the climbing gear they wore to reach this place.

Touta and Kuromaru were wearing their waiter uniforms and both were carrying something in their back which they needed to deliver. On Touta's back, there were giant meat steaks. On Kuromaru's back, there were three package boxes of cup ramen. Kuromaru's red bird shikigami Asama was resting on top of Touta's head.

Kuromaru was trailing behind Touta as the two young immortals crossed a bridge built over a large lake in the underground cave. Waterfalls streamed down from between the bright red tree roots.

However, the tree roots and the red glow wasn't what made this underground cave special. Every time she had come there, Kuromaru took a moment to carefully observe the surroundings. Despite no student being allowed in that level, that was still officially part of Library Island. Therefore, bookshelves could be found in this cave too. Except these bookshelves were floating above the air. Books were also magically flying around. Whenever one made its way to a bookshelf, more books took off in the air. As if they were exchanging places in the floating bookshelves.

"This still baffles me, Touta-kun," Kuromaru said. "I mean, I have already understood this isn't a normal library, but this is…"

"Kinda bunkers. That's what you're thinking, right?" Touta said without turning back.

"Something like that, yes," Kuromaru affirmed. "Primarily about the levitating bookshelves and books."

Touta looked up to stare at the flying books, but didn't stop walking. "Uh-huh. They told me that happens because the power of the World Tree is always at its peak. Before, those bookshelves were submerged in this lake."

Kuromaru gasped in horror. "They were underwater?! How badly were the books damaged?!"

The bridge guided Touta and Kuromaru to some ruins in the middle of the underground cave. The structure of the buildings bore a striking resemblance to Roman architecture. They were covered in roots and mold, but the architecture was in a remarkably good state overall.

"Just how archaic is this location? Centuries? Not millennia old, perhaps?"

Those were the thoughts that crossed Kuromaru's mind as she walked through the ruins alongside Touta. Unfortunately, Touta had already told her she wouldn't find answers to those questions from him or anyone who was around.

"The Deep Library has been here since always. Waaay before Mahora Academy was a thing. That's all people know. See no reason to question it."

Kuromaru sighed as she remembered Touta's simple explanation.

"Seriously… What is it with this academy city? A World Tree that sustains another dimension in the sky. A giant library with another magical library underground. Is this really all coincidental? How can people accept it as natural?"

"Kurou-rin."

Touta's voice snapped Kuromaru away from her thoughts.

"Ah, yes," Kuromaru replied.

"Those guys will be coming any minute now," Touta gently grabbed Asama from the top of his head and handed the bird shikigami to her owner. "You know, since they have a hard time getting used to strangers…"

"I have to go hide, I understand," Kuromaru nodded as she took Asama into her hand and placed her on her shoulder.

"Yeah, but today, there's the second delivery," Touta pointed at the cup ramen boxes on Kuromaru's back. "The one for the fifth UQ Holder."

"Oh, you are right. Then, should I go give this to them?" Kuromaru adjusted the position on the boxes on her back. "Where do I find them?"

"Sure," Touta pointed to a tunnel in the ruins. "Just follow that path. At the end of the corridor, turn to the right and then to the left. When you some big doors of stone, you'll know you arrived."

"Understood," Kuromaru nodded. She started heading towards the tunnel. "Still, I find it very odd that someone actually lives down here. Is this fifth immortal an eccentric or something?"

"More of a hikikomori if you ask me," Touta shrugged. "From what I heard, this is the second one making a residence here. The former one was a 'loathsome, weirdo mage', or so Eva-baasan said."

Kuromaru sighed. "Well, I already set my expectations to only finding weirdos in this organization with immortals."

"Are you sure you wanna go there alone, Kurou-rin? You always have your tour guide right here."

"Thank you for the offer. But I am capable of making a delivery on my own, Touta-kun."

Kuromaru gave her first steps into the tunnel.

"Beware, Kurou-rin! They say those who get lost in this mysterious labyrinth will be forever lost in a place of no return!"

"Hah?!" Kuromaru got chills down her spine.

"Just kidding!" Touta laughed. "Well, partially," Touta saw Kuromaru was glaring at him. "Anyway, be careful to not get lost. If you do, you don't even have a manaphone for me to find where you are."

"I-I will not get lost!" Kuromaru puffed her cheeks as she swung her arms in the air. "I am not a child! I have a sense of direction!"

Having said that, Kuromaru turned around and hurriedly walking into the tunnel. Soon, she disappeared from Touta's sight.

Touta was a bit concerned whether Kuromaru would be alright on her own in the underground maze. After all, she was more careless than she would ever be willing to admit.

*growl*

A large amount of water rained down Touta's head. No, it was not water.

A giant, winged dragon was standing behind Touta. The saliva streaming down from its snout fell all over Touta.

Soon, five more dragons appeared in the surroundings. Each was of a different size and color. It appeared to be a family of dragons.

Touta looked up at the dragon that was staring down at him with hungry eyes. Strangely, the vampire boy wasn't freaking out nor even appeared surprised by this like a regular person would. Instead, Touta smiled nonchalantly like if he was greeting a friend.

"Hi there! Time for lunch, guys!"

Touta got the giant meat steaks off his back and threw them in the air. The dragons grabbed them with their teeth and began devouring the meat.


Having followed Touta's directions, Kuromaru arrived at a curious place of the underground library. It resembled an ancient chamber.

Pillars decorated the sides of the path. The walls were covered by the roots of the World Tree that were glowing red. At the end of the room, there was a large door made of stone with cracks all over it because of the old age.

With Asama on her shoulder, Kuromaru walked until she reached the door made of stone. She stared at it for a minute. The more she saw of this library, the more she wanted to know about its history and mysteries.

Kuromaru almost forgot why she was there for.

"Oh, yes! I am here to deliver the instant ramen to the fifth member of Yukyu Whatever!"

Kuromaru placed the palm of her hand on the door of stone. She wanted to try and find something to open it, maybe a button or a switch somewhere. Unexpectedly…

"Hey, you there!"

Kuromaru heard a voice. It sounded digitally altered, so it was impossible to tell if it belonged to a man or a woman. Somewhat startled, she looked around. However, the chamber was still empty except for her.

"Are you the new employee?"

Kuromaru still saw no one, yet decided to reply.

"Y-Yes. I am… Tokisaka Kuromaru. I started working at Fairyland Hall last month… Am I talking to the fifth immortal of that Yukyu Whatever?"

"Yup, that's me. Glad there's now someone else who can bring me my food. At least, you don't have a moron's face like that Nii-chan."

When she heard 'moron's face', Kuromaru could only think of one person. "Did you have a problem with Touta-kun delivering it?"

"Eh, it's just that seeing that idiotic expression of his gets me sick."

Kuromaru could immediately tell this immortal doesn't have a nice attitude. "From where can you see, though?"

Without Kuromaru noticing, there was a Tecno Magica device placed right above the stone door. It was very small. Like the diminutive eye of a camera.

"By the way newbie, are you a Nii-chan or a Nee-chan?"

Kuromaru felt her hair raising. "Is that the question you ask someone you just met? Where are your manners?"

"Just curious," the modified voice sounded indifferent. "You have a girly face and long hair. However, you're wearing a male waiter uniform… And you got a boy's chest."

Kuromaru was shaking in rage.

"My gender does not concern you, does it?" Kuromaru said in a sharp tone. "I only came all the way here to deliver these instant ramen packages. Will you receive them or not?"

The chamber became silent once again. Kuromaru was thinking that she didn't have to tolerate this. Maybe she should just drop the boxes of cup ramen there and leave.

Just as she was about to do that, something white phased through the large stone door. After the brief surprise, Kuromaru was able to see clearly the form of the white creature. It was a cute cat with snow white fur, one blue right eye, the other eye was closed with a big scar over it and very long ears that looked like they should belong to a rabbit instead of a feline. The most notable feature was that this white cat's tail had a little black ribbon with a skull.

The red bird shikigami Asama flew in circles around the cat in curiosity.

Kuromaru could tell what this cat really was. "A bakeneko?"

"That's Shiro," the altered voice explained. "Give the cup ramen to him."

Without questioning it much, Kuromaru got the two boxes of cup ramen off her back and placed them on the stone floor.

The white bakeneko named Shiro was surrounded by an aura that resembled blue fire. Kind of like a hitodama or onibi. The bakeneko's blue fire extended to the boxes of cup ramen. But the boxes didn't burn. The blue fire made them float along with Shiro.

The white bakeneko phased through the large door of stone and the boxes followed behind him. Apparently, that blue fire also made the boxes intangible since they also phased through the door without problem.

Kuromaru and Asama stared at the scene a bit stunned.

"Your job here is done, newbie. Now, out."

Kuromaru was beyond annoyed. Not even a word of thank you? Just how ill-mannered is this immortal?

In any case, the job was indeed done. Kuromaru could just turn her back and walk away from this rude voice.

"Seriously, can you believe that, Asama?"

Kuromaru spoke to the red and golden bird shikigami on her shoulder.

*caw* *caw*

"I suppose you have a point, Asama. It is meaningless to expect good social skills from someone who lives holed up in an underground cave."

Kuromaru walked down an ancient hall made of stone. The World Tree roots attached to the walls let out their light, making the whole place glow red.

As she continued her path, Kuromaru's mind once again drifted to the edification of the underground library.

"The World Tree and this underground library… This city is so strange, do you not think so Asama? Touta-kun treats all this as natural sights. But ever since we arrived here, I have sensed something about this city that felt different than anywhere else on the mainland… I still have no idea of what it is, though."

When she got out of her train of thought, Kuromaru noticed something was wrong. She must have made a wrong turn somewhere along the way, since she was standing in a place she hasn't been before.

A large, dark room of stone. Dusty bookshelves behind the stone pillars and spider webs everywhere. At center of the room, there was a statue as tall as a two-storey house. It had the appearance of an armored knight that was kneeled down while stabbing a giant sword to the ground.

"Oh no," Kuromaru went wide-eyed. "Do not tell me I got lost!"

"Beware, Kurou-rin! They say those who get lost in this mysterious labyrinth will be forever lost in a place of no return!"

Sweat streamed down Kuromaru's face.

"No! I must not panic!" Kuromaru gave herself a couple of slaps to the face. "A Yata no Karasu should never lose their composure for something as simple as losing their way in an underground maze," she placed her hands on her waist and puffed her ironing board chest. "I know I have nothing to fear, for I am the successor of the great and venerable miko Kuroha-sama! The techniques and spells I learned from her will make finding my way out of here a child's play!"

Kuromaru got some paper birds out of the magic storage in Asama's chest jewel. The papers turned into small black birds wearing cute little hats with a flame atop of them. These were Kuromaru's lesser shikigami. She sent them to find the way back to the ruins. That should take some minutes, so Kuromaru would need to stay alone at that dark and old room of the underground library.

Kuromaru was a little anxious. She didn't mind hanging around ancient places; in fact, she sort of liked it because it reminded her somewhat of her old-fashioned hometown. But at that moment…

"Ghosts appear every now and then around here."

"The boy fell from the top of the building of this very library, no less."

"There are some who swear that boy is still at this library, unable to find eternal rest. If anyone makes too much noise, the boy will appear to silence them… Forever."

The spooky tales Touta told her when they were climbing down the bookshelves still gave her goosebumps.

"No! No!" Kuromaru frantically shook her head. "Even if there were ghosts here, I have no reason to fear them! As a miko, I know purifying techniques that will have ghosts and evil spirits exorcised with a single strike!"

*BAM*

"KYYYAAA!"

Kuromaru subconsciously pulled out her ofuda from her pocket. She put them down when she realized what she heard was just a book that had fallen from a bookshelf. When Kuromaru looked up, she saw Asama was sitting on top of said bookshelf.

Kuromaru let out an exasperated sigh. "Oh, Asama. Do not startle me like that."

The red and golden bird shikigami flew down from the bookshelf. She landed on top of the fallen book. She began pecking it as if trying to draw Kuromaru's attention to it. However, Kuromaru's merely raised an eyebrow.

"It is probably not a good idea to mess around with things here, Asama. We do not know what weird traps might be here."

Kuromaru got closer to the bookshelf and picked up the book from the stone floor. Asama immediately flew to the top of the head of her owner.

Kuromaru used her breath to clean the dust that covered the book. Once it was clean, Kuromaru's eyes widened slightly when she saw the cover of the book. Specifically, the symbol on it surprised her quite a bit.

It was a golden crest made of a circle with large wings on both sides and bellow it, there were three small triangles turned upside down.

"…The emblem of the Yata no Karasu tribe?"

Apparently, Kuromaru completely forgot her own advice to not mess with anything in the room. She opened the book and started eyeing its content. The pages had detailed descriptions and explanations of the Yata no Karasu race. However, what caught Kuromaru's attention was that this book didn't narrate the common legends about Yata no Karasu anyone could find in regular books about mythology.

Kuromaru read a paragraph that told the story of the arrival of the Yata no Karasu to Earth after abandoning the sun. The following pages gave a detailed description of the qualities of the Yata no Karasu's original form. Before they adopted humanlike form, the Yata no Karasu were something closer to solar energy beings shaped like crows. The detailed illustrations of the book made the information even more intriguing.

"This has our tribe's history from the Age of the Gods! How? I thought all knowledge of that time period was lost in the mainland many centuries ago."

Indeed, the Age of the Gods had been long forgotten history. After its end around 2,500 years ago, the deities faded into myth. It was even less known than magic was until a few decades ago.

The generation Kuromaru and her older brother belonged to were those born after the end of the Age of the Gods. In Kuromaru's hometown, the ones with knowledge of that age were the previous generation of Yata no Karasu. Therefore, this was the first time Kuromaru had found a written source of information of that lost time period.

*caw* *caw*

Asama's noises snapped Kuromaru back to reality.

"What is wrong, Asama?"

While sitting on her owner's head, the red bird shikigami used her wings to signal the bookshelf at the right side of her and Kuromaru.

Kuromaru realized there was a label made of stone above the bookshelf, but it was too dark to read it. Getting curious about what it said, Kuromaru used one of the ofuda in her right hand to create a small fireball.

With the fire creating the light needed to read the stone label, Kuromaru saw the letters were written in Latin. However, there were two subtitles; one in English and the other in Japanese. Kuromaru could only read the latter one.

"Japanese mythology?"

Kuromaru walked in front of the all the bookshelves in the dark stone room. She verified each one was labeled with one mythology of every culture in the world. Greek mythology. Norse mythology. Chinese mythology. Hindu mythology. Celtic mythology. African mythology. Mexican mythology… All that and more was there.

Although, there was one section of this library room that left Kuromaru shocked. One of the walls where there should be one more bookshelf was completely wrecked. There was nothing but a lot of debris and burn marks in the floor and walls. As if that section of the library room had been blasted by something… or maybe someone.

The label of the bookshelf that should have been there once did remain, though.

"Mesopotamian mythology," Kuromaru's eyes narrowed as she read the words above the destroyed part of the library room. With observant eyes, she placed her hand on her chin. "If I recall correctly, the deities of Mesopotamia were the first to come to Earth at the beginnings of the Age of the Gods," her eyes went back to staring at the debris that was in the place of a bookshelf. "Who would have wanted to have this information destroyed?"

While that was an intriguing question, finding the answer wasn't a priority in Kuromaru's mind at the moment. The miko in waiter uniform had her eyes sparkling and a dreamy smile on her face.

"Asama, we might have found a goldmine of information here! See if you can find more books which are useful!"

With Asama's assistance, Kuromaru picked out over the half of the books in the bookshelf of Japanese mythology. She also took four to six books from the other bookshelves. While she was interested in the material of the other mythologies, Kuromaru's priority was Japanese mythology. Those were her roots, after all. Out of all the books, there was one Kuromaru knew was of invaluable importance for her personally.

"The Regalia of Amaterasu-oomikami."

Kuromaru's eyes narrowed as she read the title out loud. She had already confirmed it. This book had information of the three regalia once possessed by the Japanese sun goddess. That, of course, included the Yata no Kagami.

"This should be of help for my task," Kuromaru made a hopeful smile.

Kuromaru had all the books absorbed into Asama's chest gemstone. As a result, the bird shikigami looked like a balloon, but she returned to normal after a few minutes.

*chip* *chip*

"Oh! You're back, Bonge and the others!"

Kuromaru smiled at the small black bird shikigami that had returned.

*chip* *tweet*

"You already found the way back. That is great," Kuromaru let Asama fly back to her shoulder. "I should show Touta-kun what I found. It will certainly surprise him."

Imagining the marveled face Touta would make caused Kuromaru to let out a giggle. Touta's childlike traits amused her greatly.

"Touta-kun is sort of cute when he acts like that," she went wide-eyed. "None of you can tell him I said that!"

Sweat drops appeared in Kuromaru's shikigami at seeing the tsundere act of their master.

The little black bird shikigami flew their way out of the old library room. Kuromaru followed behind them so they could guide her back to where Touta was.

Meanwhile, the statue of the armored knight stood in the middle of the dark library room. An ominous light appeared in its eyes.


Back at ruins of the underground library, Touta was standing in front of the six dragons, carefreely observing them as they devoured the steaks of meat.

"Good, good. Eat well. Today you can have a steak each so no need to fight," Touta said with a happy smile. As if he was feeding a group of dogs instead of dragons that ranged from the size of a car to that of a house. His mind soon wandered to something concerning him. "Hmm. Kurou-rin hasn't returned yet. Did she get lost after all?"

Just as he was thinking he should go look for her…

"Touta-kun!"

Touta turned around in direction of the tunnel.

"Kurou-rin! What took you so-"

Touta's usual mellow expression vanished in a second. Kuromaru had exited the tunnel running at full speed straight towards him. Under normal circumstances, that would have made him overwhelmed with joy and he would receive her with open arms so she could jump into his embrace.

He didn't even have the time to fantasize about that now. For behind Kuromaru, there was a giant golem shaped like a knight bursting its way out of the tunnel.

"Touta-kun! There is an emergency!"

"No shit! What did ya do, Kurou-rin?! Ya took some forbidden book or magic item, didn't ya?!"

In moments of shock and stress like this, Touta subconsciously slipped back to the Kansai dialect he learned from Konoka.

"Perhaps I did, but I had my good reasons!"

Before the two teenagers could continue bickering, the golem swung its giant sword down. A voice came out of it.

[Fulgur Gladius]

It must have been generating some form of electricity magic, as it unleashed an attack of blue lighting.

"Kurou-rin!"

Fortunately, Kuromaru was still unharmed. She had used her ofuda to create a barrier around her and her shikigami.

"Stay back, Touta-kun! You do not even have your sword with you at this moment!" Kuromaru ordered Touta, who in return frowned in frustration. Kuromaru turned her words at her shikigami. "Bonge and the others, cover for me! Asama, give me my sword!"

The three small bird shikigami saluted and set out to follow their master's command. They flew above the giant golem and took a deep breath, taking the shape of little black balloons. A massive blast of fire came out of their tiny peaks.

*FWOOOSH*

Flames enveloped the golem knight…. And it came out unharmed. Not even a scratch.

Witnessing this, Kuromaru gritted her teeth. "Tsk. That thing must have a magic protective coating or something like that."

Kuromaru decided to try a direct attack. She jumped towards the giant golem knight and swung her tsurugi sword. The golem knight used its own sword to block it, but Kuromaru didn't stop.

"Sun's Cry Style: Heavenly-Fire Sword!"

The blade of Kuromaru's sword was enfolded in flames. She intended to slice through the golem's 200-meter-long sword. The attack appeared effective this time. The golem knight was pushed back by Kuromaru's fire slash. The giant golem knight had used his sword to block Kuromaru's fire slash. A large crack appeared in its blade.

Kuromaru thought she was gaining advantage. But then…

[Identifying type of power – Attacks powered by yang energy. Type of threat – Yata no Karasu. Adjusting magic to counterattack]

The 200-meter sword of the golem generated a magic circle with different types of symbols. It spun until one symbol reached the top. This one had a snowflake symbol in it.

[Frigus Tempestas]

The golem knight swung his sword once again. But this time, it wasn't lightning what came out of it. A small scale snow blizzard was unleashed. It directly hit Kuromaru full force. The small back birds shikigami couldn't take it and immediately turned back into papers, instantly returning to Kuromaru's pockets.

Kuromaru barely had time to question the move the giant golem knight was using. She acted fast and used her ofuda to create a barrier.

The blizzard wasn't the only problem. Large ice spikes were being fired along with the massive cold wind. The spikes were so many and so fast that they flew past their target Kuromaru and crashed into the ruins.

Soon, one of the ice spikes was going to fall on Touta. And Kuromaru couldn't move in time to protect him with a barrier too. Her eyes were filled with panic.

"Touta-kun! Watch out!"

Thankfully, there was someone else to protect Touta there. The six dragons jumped in to cover Touta from the large ice spikes. The biggest one with the size of a house used its body as a shield for the vampire boy. Meanwhile, the five smaller dragons used their breath to destroy the spikes coming their way.

"Thanks, guys," Touta said with a big smile. "Next time, I'll bring you something special along with your lunch."

Kuromaru sighed at seeing Touta was safe. However, her relief didn't last long. The golem knight was creating another blizzard with its sword.

The icy, fierce wing was too strong. Kuromaru's barrier broke within a few seconds.

"This is bad! Yang energy is weak against ice magic of high level!"

Kuromaru couldn't even try to attack like this. Once her barrier broke, Kuromaru was sent flying.

*BAAM*

Kuromaru crashed into one of the edifications of the Roman-like ruins.

"KUROU-RIIIIN!"

Touta rushed to where Kuromaru had crashed. He used instant movement to reach her faster. Still, he was a little too late. The giant golem knight had trapped Kuromaru with the grasp of its hand. She looked somewhat battered, but she was still conscious.

"You bastard made of rock!" Touta yelled at the golem knight in rage. "Let Kurou-rin go! Grrr! If only I had Yunagi with me!"

"No, Touta-kun!" Kuromaru called him out. She was futilely trying to break free from the golem's knight. "You cannot fight against this thing! It would be better if you escape from here and get help! Gengorou-dono and Ameya Ikkuu should be able to do something!"

Touta made his hands into fists. "Don't be stupid! I'm not leaving you behind like this!"

"I will be fine, Touta-kun!" Kuromaru tried to sound as reassuring she could in that situation. "Remember that this thing doesn't have the power to kill me! Go!"

Touta gritted his teeth as his face twisted in a mixture of anger and sadness. "Even then, I-!"

"WAAAAAAHH!"

Kuromaru cried out in pain. The large hand of the golem knight had begun to crush Kuromaru's body.

"Stop that, rock bastard! Kurou-rin!"

"Touta-kun, no!" Kuromaru called him between growls of pain. "Run!"

Run? That was the last word Touta wanted to hear.

"No! I'm not going to run and let anything else be taken from me! Not this time!"

Touta couldn't think straight. Kuromaru was in danger. That was all that he cared about. His instincts drove him to leap towards the golem knight. He concentrated his ki on his hands and legs.

*POW* *POW* *BAAM*

Touta attacked with punches and kicks at the giant golem knight. It had little effect. He barely left cracks on it.

The golem knight did notice Touta's attacks. It had identified Touta as a threat. Therefore, it was targeting Touta as well.

The golem knight swung its sword. It was about to unleash the snow blizzard again.

"TOUTA-KUUUN!"

Touta frowned as he knew what was coming. He didn't have Yunagi and no ki attacks he could use now would save him. He didn't have free access to his vampire powers at the moment either. He was cornered and he knew it. Unless…

"I really didn't want to use this. But I got no choice!"

Touta held out his hands in front of him. Something was gathering between them. It was an energy from the atmosphere.

Watching as she was trapped in the golem knight's hand, Kuromaru's eyes widened in shock.

"Magic?! Is Touta-kun-?!"

The golem knight fired its ice spell.

[Frigus Tempestas]

The immense blizzard was rushing towards Touta. In return, Touta unleashed the magic that he had gathered in his hands.

"Rebound!"

There wasn't only one blizzard anymore. There were two. From Touta's hands, he was generating an ice spell identical to the golem knight's. The power of the icy wind was almost equivalent, at least at first.

It didn't take long before the golem knight began being pushed back. Once it was at the border of the ruins, the golem knight used its 200-meter sword to hold itself in place. One step behind more and it would fall into the underground lake.

The blizzard produced by the knight was ceasing, but it was the complete opposite for Touta. In a matter of seconds, the ice magic produced by Touta increased by immeasurable amount. His hands continued to absord the magic energy in the surrounding nonstop. It didn't take long before it became too much. Touta couldn't handle it.

Touta smirked ironically. "Crap! This is why I hate using magic!"

The ice and wind magic gathered by Touta finally destabilized completely.

*KA-BOOM*

An explosion of ice particles. Touta was blown away by the shockwave he himself had caused. The vampire boy made some acrobatic moves to make a skillful landing at a part of the library ruins.

Meanwhile, the giant golem knight had taken the biggest damage from the explosion. A large portion of its body had been destroyed and it had ice spikes stabbed all over. Its sword had also been shattered.

That was it. The golem knight fell backwards right into the underground lake. In the process, its right arm came off. Kuroumaru was still trapped by its hand.

Touta panicked as he saw Kuromaru sink into the underground lake along with the golem knight's arm.

"KUROU-RIN! I'M COMING RIGHT THERE!"

Touta ran at high speed and jumped into the lake with hesitation.


*cough* *cough*

"Are you alright? Hey, Kurou-rin!"

Once the coughing stopped, Kuromaru looked up at Touta who was carrying her princess style. Both teenager in waiter uniforms were soaking wet, having just gotten out of the underground lake.

"Yes… Touta-kun. You can put me down now."

Touta slowly kneeled down and gently lowered Kuromaru to let her sit on her lap. By no means, he would ever put her on the cold stone floor of the ruins.

To Kuromaru's surprised, Touta quickly began patting the sides of her arms, legs and waist.

"Are you hurt?! That rock bastard! How it dared to try crushing Kurou-rin's nice body?! You must have some broken bones! Grrr!"

Kuromaru sighed through her nose as a small smile formed on her lips.

"You are worrying over nothing again, Touta-kun. My regeneration is not as strong as yours, but it can handle this level of damage. I am all healed now."

"Really? That's a big relief," Touta said happily.

Still, his mind couldn't help to flash back to hearing Kuromaru's cries of pain when the golem knight was crushing her. Then, he recalled holding her body after she was maimed by Asura Tu. Touta's expression darkened. A mixture of terror, sadness and anger filled his chest.

"Even if Kurou-rin is immortal… I really can't stand watching her like that."

"Touta-kun?"

As she stood back up, Kuromaru stared at Touta with the ends of her eyebrows lowered. Touta didn't want to make her worried. He went back to smiling like he always does.

"Ah, it's nothing, Kurou-rin. I'm just super glad that you're okay."

Kuromaru smiled back at Touta. Somehow, her expression looked quite sad and lonely.

*growl* *snarl*

Some noises grew the attention of Touta and Kuromaru. It was the dragons that resided in the ruins. The smaller dragons were gathered around the biggest dragon; the one that had used its body to shield Touta from the ice storm of the golem knight.

The biggest dragon was bleeding from one of its front legs.

"Oh, damn it;" Tputa exclaimed. "Did it get hurt while protecting me?"

Kuromaru's lips tightened at the sight of the hurt dragon. She quickly ran to the part of the ruins where she had crashed during the battle against the golem knight. There she picked her tsurugi sword which she had dropped back then.

The origami crane hanging from the sword's pommel turned back into the red and gold bird shikigami.

"Asama, give me some of my ofuda."

Asama did as her master ordered. Several ofuda came out of Asama's chest jewel and flew their way to that palm of Kuromaru's hand.

As he followed Kuromaru closely behind, Touta frowned in confusion.

"Kurou-rin, what are you?" Touta's eyes widened as he watched Kuromaru walk in direction where the dragons were. "Kurou-rin, wait! Remember that they don't like strangers!"

Kuromaru didn't seem to pay attention to Touta's warning. She kept steadily heading to the place of the ruins where the dragons gathered. As they noticed Kuromaru getting close, the dragons turned hostile. They clearly didn't want her close to them, especially the injured biggest dragon.

But Kuroumaru didn't waver. She continued closing their distance with a cool expression on her face.

The dragons tried to attack Kuromaru. Touta got worried for a second. But he soon realized he didn't need to be. Kuroumaru made some impressive and graceful leaps in the air to dodge the dragons without hurting them.

Touta whistled in admiration. "Ikkuu-san told me that Jinbei-jiisan said the Yatagarasu can control gravity of their bodies. That must be it."

Whenever Kuromaru moved like that, she gave off the image of a delicate feather dancing in the wind.

Absolutely beautiful. That was the only way Touta could describe it. Well, everything about Kuromaru fit that description in Touta's perspective, but she looked especially beautiful when she moved like that.

Finally, Kuromaru made her way to the injured large dragon. As she extended her hand at its injured leg, the dragon roared at her. However, Kuromatu wasn't scared. Instead, she smiled comfortably at the dragon.

"It is alright, dragon. Your leg hurts, right? Allow me to heal you."

Kuromaru threw her ofuda at the dragon's injured front leg. Once they were in place, Kuromaru's hands formed a mudra. Then, she began to chant something.

The ofuda vanished into sparkles of soft light. The dragon's front leg had completely healed.

Having witnessed the scene, Touta clapped in excitement.

"Wooooh! Amazing, Kurou-rin! I had no idea you were a healer! That's awesome!"

Kuromaru did her best to hold back the blush in her cheeks. She was about to walk away from the dragons before they attacked her again. But something completely unexpected happened.

The biggest dragon softly used its large nose to poke Kuromaru's back. All the other smaller dragons took turns in doing the same. Their tails were wagging like crazy. If someone got too close, they would be blown away by the wind like if it was a tornado.

Touta crossed his arms and grinned at the scene.

"Isn't that great, Kurou-rin? They like you now!"

"I-Is that so?"

Kuromaru squeaked when one of the dragons passed its large tongue all over her body.


The giant golem knight now was half submerged into the lake with most of its body destroyed.

Touta was staring at it to make sure it had stopped moving for certain. His body and hair were still wet from jumping into the water to save Kuromaru. Oh, and he was butt naked. Touta's waiter uniform along with his underwear along with Kuromaru's were left to dry on top of some rocks nearby.

Meanwhile, Kuromaru was hiding behind said rocks. Her hands held a small towel in front of her body to retain some her modesty.

"Looks like the golem won't cause any more trouble, Kurou-rin."

Touta spoke to Kuromaru while still standing meters away from the rocks. Behind them, Kuromaru sank her face between her knees.

"I am so sorry, Touta-kun…"

"Come on. Stop apologizing already."

"But I was too careless," Kuromaru still sounded gloomy. "I should have known this place would have weird trap and safety mechanisms against thieves… Yet I…"

"We're both okay; that's what matters," Touta said in a reassuring voice. "ACHOO!"

"Touta-kun," Kuromaru furrowed her brows in concern. "You should not be standing out in the open completely nude like that. You are still wet from head to toe, on top of it. This is why I told you to keep your towel-"

"I'm fine, Kurou-rin," Touta scratched his nose. "About the golem, there's something throwing me off. How could it cast spells that strong without incantations? It only called the name of the spell. From what I learned in middle school, that's not how it works. And hold on. I never heard of golems using magic before."

Behind the rocks, Kuromaru tilted her head. "Hmm. That is probably because that golem was incorporated with those spells."

"Uh? What's that about?"

Kuromaru lean back her head as she thought over. "It is just a theory. Whoever made that golem, they must have known or even developed those spells and integrated them into the golems guarding this place so they could use them against intruders. That can only be the work of a magic genius, though."

"Is that so?" Touta passed his hand through his wet hair. "Wonder who that genius was, then. I never saw anyone or anything skip incantations for using magic," he placed his hands on his waist. "Besides myself, of course."

Kuromaru's eyebrows tightened. "Speaking of that, Touta-kun… What was that you used before? You used the exact same spell as the golem, but you didn't even call the spell's name. Not only that, the way you collected magic energy from the atmosphere, that was…"

Kuroumaru was going to say something like 'strange' or 'abnormal'. However, she sensed it would be wrong saying it to Touta.

Touta tilted his head from one side to the other. "Ah, you mean my Rebound?"

"Yes. What kind of magic was that? I do not know much about Western magic, but you did not even cast an incantation. You yourself said that should not be possible. It was, um, odd."

"Odd, huh," Touta made an ironic smirk. "That's a good way to describe it. You're right, Kurou-rin. That's not a 'normal' way to use magic. You could call it a simulation or a copy."

"What does that mean?" Kuromaru asked.

"Hmm. How do I explain it?" the naked Touta crouched down as he kept staring at the lake of the underground cave. "Simply put, I don't learn magic like normal people do. My brain and my body are programmed to instantly analyze and replicate every spell and techniques I see once. Sort of like a scanner."

"Programmed?" Kuromaru frowned. That was the wording one uses when describing a machine or a tool. She greatly disliked Touta using it on himself. "No, wait. Before that, why are you speaking like if you're different from 'normal people'. Well, I know you're a vampire, but as far as I know, magic can be learnt and used the same by all species."

"That's because I'm not like those normal people. Even before being turned into a vampire, I wasn't," Touta kept staring at the lake. His expression was serene, but it somehow looked blank. Hollow. He wasn't smiling like he usually does. "You see, I'm a designer baby."

What followed was a long minute of silence. Touta assumed his revelation had surprised Kuromaru and she was processing how to react. But…

"What is a designer baby?"

Touta fell over face first.

Behind the rock, Kuromaru scratched her cheek with her finger. "Sorry, Touta-kun. I understand you said it as it was something important, but…"

"Nah, this one is on me. I already knew how sheltered Kurou-rin is."

"Excuse me for being sheltered," Kuromaru pouted.

Touta sat back up and crossed his legs, which was the one thing covering his private parts at the moment. "That's fine. So that you understand, a designer baby is one that had their genetic material meddled with from before their birth. So that they turn out the way those who made them want them to be."

"What?" Kuromaru sounded quite shocked. "There is such a thing? T-That just sounds…"

"Wrong?" Touta once again smiled ironically. "I guess anyone with good morale would say that."

"I-I don't understand, Touta-kun… From what you have told me, your parents are good people. Why would they-?"

"Konoka-mama and Setsuna-ma had nothing to do with it," Touta intercepted a little too quickly. "That's right, I didn't tell you before. Konoka-mama and Setsuna-ma are my parents, but neither of them gave birth to me. They found me."

"Found you," Kuromaru's eyebrows raised slightly.

"I don' really know the details. Neither do I want to know them," Touta hung his wet head as his left hand scratched it. "The ones who… made me were some very bad people. They were trying to create super soldiers with bodies that could generate and manipulate magic and ki like no regular human can. I heard I was a failure, though."

"Failure?" Kuromaru was feeling more and more uneasy.

"It's how you saw it," Touta stared at his own hands. "I can cast spells without using incantations after seeing someone else using it. But I drain way too much magic from my surroundings; I can't keep it together. The result is that even if I try casting a simple spell, it blows up in my face. My body is also overflowing with ki only a martial arts expert should have. When I was a brat, I constantly broke stuff and hurt myself because I couldn't control my strength and unleashed ki by accident. I got a better handle on it now thanks to the training I got from Setsuna-ma and Grandpa Eishun."

Kuromaru couldn't sit still. She stood up while still hiding behind the rocks.

"Touta-kun, you," she hesitated, but pressed on. "How… do you feel about that?"

"Uh? What's with that question?" Touta said in a carefree tone. However, Kuromaru could notice it was much more forced than usual. "It's not like I mind that much. That the ones who made me screwed up big time isn't my fault."

For a full minute, Kuromaru kept silent as she frowned and twisted her lip.

"Why do you keep saying they made you?" Kuromaru asked. "As if you were a thing," she added in her mind.

Touta put his hands behind his head. His eyes were still set on the underground lake.

"Because I wasn't born the natural way. Instead of growing inside a woman's belly, I grow up inside a tube in a laboratory. I didn't even have biological parents in the real sense."

"You didn't? How?" Kuromaru's lips were trembling.

Touta stood up because his legs were getting numb. Talking about this topic also made it difficult for him to stay sitting still.

"Again, I don't know much about it. Apparently, there was a powerful necromancer involved in the project that made me. That necromancer revived some of the most powerful mages and warriors in history. The mad scientists extracted, um, what they needed from those. The result is me and the other designer babies from that project. I'm the only one left, though."

Kuromaru wasn't sure of what expression she was making. However, she was sure she wasn't calm. Unlike Touta, who was nonchalantly speaking like in any of their casual conversations. Kuromaru felt a sensation of unrest hard to explain.

Kuromaru seemed like she was having great trouble finding the words she wanted to say.

"Are you seriously.… calm about that? You speak as if I didn't concern you. Like… you are pretending it happened to someone else."

Touta's eyes turned blank. He placed one hand on his waist while he placed his left hand over his face.

"To tell the truth, this isn't something I like talking about much. Remembering that you're a failed experiment conceived from zombies… It's disgusting, don'tcha think?"

"Touta-kun!"

Something took over Kuromaru. Completely subconsciously, she came out from behind the rocks and ran towards Touta. Once she reached his side, she grabbed his left arm and pulled it away from his face. For some reason, Kuromaru wanted to see the face Touta was making no matter what.

It was worse than she had expected. There was no trace of Touta's usual likely cheerfulness. He wasn't smiling. His eyes looked lifeless.

Since that expression in Touta, the ends of Kuromaru's eyebrows lowered.

"I knew it. You are not fine."

In return, Touta forced a smile. His eyes still lacked shine, though. "Dammit, Kurou-rin. You caught me off-guard. I didn't want you to see me in such an uncool state."

Kuromaru bit her lip. "Touta-kun… I don't know what I should say to you right now. I never imagined you had such a past. I…"

"What should I say to cheer you up like you do it for me?" those were the words that went through her mind, but didn't have the courage to say out loud.

Unexpectedly, Touta's hands grabbed the sides of Kuromaru's head. He rubbed her wet raven black hair. When Kuromaru was forced to look up at him, she saw Touta's bright smile; the one she had gotten used to seeing every day.

"Stop it with the gloomy face, Kurou-rin! Whenever you look like that, I feel like getting depressed too and that's not my thing!"

Kuromaru furrowed her brows. "But your past…"

"Ah, my bad. I just don't like dwelling over the past, you know?" Touta's hands let go of Kuromaru's head. "I'm fine, I swear. No matter how I was born, I was adopted by the Konoe family and they gave me a good life. That's enough reason to be grateful that I'm alive even if my origins are quite freaky."

"Freaky, you say?! Touta-kun-"

"More importantly, Kurou-rin," Touta's face turned to the side; his eyes once again focusing on the underground lake. "Are you fine with not covering up?"

After Touta said that, Kuromaru took a moment to look at themselves. Somehow, their current conversation made her completely forget that she and Touta were still stark naked. While she still had Touta's small towel in one hand, the front of her body was completely exposed to Touta.

"KYYYYAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

Kuromaru's girly scream echoed throughout the underground cave. The young girl crouched down, holding her knees closely to her body in a desperate attempt to conceal her nudeness. Her face looked like a cherry for how red it was.

"D-D-Don't look at me! Arg! I can't believe we were having a serious talk while completely naked! I feel so stupid right now!"

Still looking away from Kuromaru, Touta made a cocky smile. "You think? I would say that we can bare our thoughts and bodies in front of each other is proof our bond as inseparable eternal partners."

"Ugh! That you're always so carefree when we have moments like this only makes me more annoyed!"

"Our clothes should have dried by now. Let's get dressed and return to the inn."

With the most relaxed attitude in the world, Touta walked towards the rocks behind him and Kuromaru to pick up their clothes.

Kuromaru ran and circled around the rocks. Now back on the opposite side from Touta, Kuromaru grabbed her clothes from the top of the rocks. After confirming they were dry enough, she began to redress.

Once she had put on her fundoshi and her dress shirt, Kuromaru spoke up.

"Um… Touta-kun… Ignoring the embarrassing moment just now… Well…"

"What is it, Kurou-rin?"

Kuromaru took a deep breath. She really felt she needed to ask this. "Are you… fine to talk about your past with me?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Touta said as he was putting his pants back on. "Kurou-rin is my partner who I trust. I saw no reason to hide this from you. I was planning to tell you one of these days. What happened today with the golem just gave me a reason to do it sooner."

Kuromaru felt a strange warmth in her chest. Yet, she also felt an uncomfortable feeling.

"Touta-kun calls me his trusted partner. He is always so open and honest with me… But in return, I…"

Once they finished dressing, Touta and Kuromaru were ready to go back to the inn. If they got more delayed for their tight schedule, Gengorou would put them through hell. Thankfully, they didn't need to take the time to climb up the bookshelves; they could simply use the elevator that connected the surface to the lowest level of Library Island.

Why didn't they use that elevator to reach the underground cave? Turns out it has a strict weight limit and the thing hasn't been given maintenance in years. Therefore, it was impossible for Touta and Kuromaru to use the elevator while they carried the food supplies.

"ACHOO!"

"Touta-kun, you haven't stopped sneezing in a while. This is what you earn for standing naked and wet for a long while. You must have caught a cold."

"No way," Touta had a stuffy nose and his voice sounded a little funny. He placed his hands on his waist and puffed out his chest. "Idiots don't catch colds! Everyone knows that!"

"Amazing how you boast about being an idiot like you're proud of it…"


The morning of the next day…

"ACHOO!"

Touta was resting on the bottom bunk of his bedroom. He had a runny nose and his throat was sore. The slight fever made his head feel heavy.

"This sucks…" the boy lamented his sick condition.

Touta couldn't believe he had actually caught a cold. He was sure idiots like himself are immune to cold, as the saying says. He hasn't gotten sick since he was in elementary school. He hates this because he couldn't be his lively usual self, but most of all, being in this condition made him miss someone badly. The one who took care of him at times like this in his childhood.

"Konoka-mama…"

As he whispered that name, Touta's ears heard the door opening. Wondering who could it be, Touta used his bit of strength to lift his head. Even though they were a little reddened, his eyes lit up.

"Kurou-rin."

Kuromaru was walking towards Touta's bunk bed. Instead of her work uniform, she was wearing her dress shirt with the red tie and black pants. Her red and golden bird shikigami Asama was sitting atop her head. In her right hand, she was carrying a plate while her over hand was holding a bowl with a towel on it. The food must have been just made because of the steam coming out of the plate.

"I had to see it with my own eyes to believe it," Kuromaru said. "You really caught a cold, Touta-kun."

Touta coughed. "Yeah, I know. I guess I'm living proof that idiots aren't immune to colds."

"I am frankly more impressed for the vampire part than the idiot one," Kuromaru commented.

"It's not that weird. I heard Eva-baasan can catch colds too."

Elsewhere in the world, Evangeline sneezed. She guessed someone was talking about her.

Kuromaru smirked ironically. "The True Blood Vampire Dark Evangel and her kin catching colds. I do wonder what the other Yata no Karasu would say about that." Kuromaru kneeled down and settled next to Touta's bottom bunk bed. "How the mighty have fallen."

Just as Kuromaru said that, she placed a cool wet towel on Touta's forehead. Touta's eyes became dazed. The cold was probably causing him to hallucinate. For a second, Touta could swear he saw his mother Konoka. When he opened his eyes again, he confirmed the one in front of him was still Kuromaru.

"Is something the matter, Touta-kun?"

"Ah," Touta smiled pleasantly. "Nothing. This just reminded me of something from a long time ago."

Touta took a look at the dish Kuromaru was carrying in her right hand. It was rice porridge with umeboshi, but something was off. Instead of white, the rice was of a burning red color. The rice was also bubbling up as if it was boiling.

"Kurou-rin, is that…?"

Kuromaru was shyly looking away with blushed cheeks. "I-I made this. It is a recipe I learned from my mentor."

"For real?" Touta asked.

"My mentor made this for me whenever my health deteriorated. Therefore, I…"

Kuromaru appeared to be trying to say something, but failed at finding the right words. Instead, she let her actions speak for her. Her delicate white fingers took the Chinese spoon from the plate. As her left hand nervously ran across her tied black hair, Kuromaru's right hand was holding the Chinese spoon towards Touta.

The sick vampire boy immediately understood what Kuromaru was trying to do. Seeing Kuromaru's flushed cheeks and tight frown, anyone would need to be crazy or an asshole to refuse this adorable gesture.

Despite his cold, Touta had a rush of adrenaline that made him sit up on his bed in the blink of an eye. His head hit the top bunk, but he ignored the pain. Kuromaru did look a bit startled, but she knew Touta could take small damage like that.

Without further ado, Touta opened his mouth wide. Kuromaru felt her heart race; she had never spoon-fed anyone before.

"Don't be ridiculous. This isn't anything to be embarrassed about."

Having said those words in her heart to calm her nerves, Kuromaru got down to business. She carried the Chinese spoon with the red rice porridge to Touta's mouth. Even though she swore to not get embarrassed, Touta's sparkling eyes and reddened cheeks still got her heart racing again.

The mood of the scene abruptly changed as soon as Touta got to taste the rice porridge. The inside of his mouth felt like it was on fire. His entire face was dyed red, sweated like crazy and smoke came out of it.

Kuromaru noticed this and got the spoon out of Touta's mouth.

"T-Touta-kun! Are you-?!"

Fire came out of Touta's mouth. He gave himself some pats to the chest to help the food get through.

"Sorry, Touta-kun!" Kuromaru moved her arms in a panic. "It's bad, isn't it?! I should have known! I have always been a terrible cook! I was a moron for thinking it would be eatable just because I helped my mentor prepare it so many times!"

"N-Not at all, Kurou-rin," Touta gasped for air. "It was much, much, much hotter than I expected. Once it gets through, it's yummy!"

Kuromaru gritted her teeth. "You don't have to lie. You can just say it's disgusting."

"It's not," Touta reassured. "At first, it hits you full force with its spiciness and makes you feel like you're burning from the inside. Then, once you swallow it, it leaves a sweet and delicate taste in the mouth. Your food is very much like you, Kurou-rin," Touta added with a wink.

"That isn't a compliment," Kuromaru pouted with a frown.

"When it comes from me, any comparison to Kurou-rin is praise of the highest level," Touta said with a straight face.

Kuromaru puffed her cheeks in irritation, yet she didn't say anything to complain. She merely grabbed the Chinese spoon and held it out towards Touta like if she was pointing her sword at him instead.

Touta smiled cockily as he accepted Kuromaru's challenge and let her spoon-feed him her super hot rice porridge with umeboshi. In the end, Touta did eat it all. His mouth was so hot that it felt like he had eaten campfire and he sweated like if had traveled through the desert. However, he didn't regret it. Because Kuromaru's food did taste good to him. Besides, he was starting to feel like his cold had gone down.

Touta rested on his bed with a satisfied smile on his face.

"Thanks, Kurou-rin! To think you would feed me your homemade food. Now I'm happy I got sick."

Meanwhile, Kuromaru was sitting on the side of the bed. Her back was resting against the wall and her arms were tightly hugging her knees. She sank her face between her face before speaking up.

"I am merely returning the favor... You got sick because you jumped into the water to pull me out. Before that, you looked after me while my body was in weak condition."

Touta's eyes shined like stars. "Oh! In that case, nurse me to your heart's content! Take my temperature forehead to forehead. Change my clothes. Wipe off the sweat of my body."

"Do not get carried away, please," Kuromaru said in deadpan.

Touta tapped his fist against his palm. "Hey, since you're a healer, can't you make my fever go away?"

"No, Touta-kun. First, my healing spells only work with wounds, not diseases. Second, remember I draw my power from yang energy of the sun. To a Blood Moon vampire like you, my healing spells are more like poison instead."

"O-Okay," Touta smiled nervously.

Her face was still hidden between her knees. "I do not like this. Why have you not asked about my condition from the other night?"

"Huh," Touta blinked. Soon, he simply smiled. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"…."

"Thought so," Touta closed his eyes. "That's why I won't-"

"It is not fair to not tell you," Kuromaru spoke up without warning. "Not after what you told me about yourself yesterday," she added in her mind. "I will not go into details, Touta-kun. But to make you understand… My body had a very weak and sickly condition from my birth. That is a direct result of my low spiritual energy, which is what maintains the physical form of the Yata no Karasu," she touched the red left eye under her bangs. "My gemstone eye is meant to help establish my health by supplementing me with a reserve of spiritual energy, among other things. However, its power decreases considerably during the night. Normally, I only get slight headaches and stomachaches at night, unless I use a lot of spiritual power during the day."

Touta had a look of realization. "Then, the reason why you passed out after we got out of that otakuland…"

"It was because I had used up practically all my spiritual energy. That is right. However, even without that, there are one or two nights every month where my gemstone eye fails completely. The result is what you saw the other night."

"You go through that every month?!" Touta looked very concerned.

"It is not a big problem," Kuromaru said with indifference. "Once morning arrives, my gemstone eye starts functioning again."

"But," Touta sat up on the bed. "You're in pain like that! You looked like you were about to die that night!"

"Yet I cannot die easily, Touta-kun. Being able to withstand pain like that and survive it is a natural part of people like us," Kuromaru said that as if stating a normal fact.

Touta got off the bed and kneeled down besides Kuromaru.

"Being immortal doesn't mean you should act like pain doesn't matter. Take better care of yourself."

Kuromaru's eyes became filled with rage. "That is the last thing I want to hear from you, Touta-kun! How many times have you used your vampiric regeneration as excuse for being reckless and getting hurt?!"

Touta was taken aback. "I-It's different for me. My injuries heal in a few seconds. In your case, you spend several hours in agony!"

"Hmph. There is no difference between seconds and hours for those who live to the end of time," Kuromaru looked away.

"But you have no reason to endure that alone! ACHOO!"

Touta's sneezes came back. The current argument almost made him forget he was sick. His nose was running again. Pretty embarrassing to look like that in front of Kuromaru.

Touta felt as a tissue paper was pressed against his red nose. Kuromaru was the one holding it. Touta blew his nose and Kuromaru threw away the tissue.

"This is way too familiar," Touta thought.

Indeed, being with Kuromaru like this reminded him a lot of Konoka. Normally, Kuromaru made him think more of Setsuna because of the whole bird tribe swordswoman with the black side ponytail thing they share. Yet, learning Kuromaru has healing powers and being nursed by her like this made him recall the times Konoka nursed him in his childhood. Not unlike Kuromaru, Touta was a sickly child too, but for different reasons…

Kuromaru grabbed Touta by the arm and dragged him back to the bottom bunk bed. She gently pushed him down towards the cushion and placed the blanket over him.

"Sleep, Touta-kun. I need to get back to help at the inn anyway."

Kuromaru gently placed her hand over Touta's forehead to put a new wet towel. Being so close to Kuromaru's beautiful white face with that big reddish-brown eye made Touta's face heat up. Luckily, Kuromaru brushed it off as part of his cold.

Kuromaru stood up and walked towards the door.

"Hey, Kurou-rin. I respect it if you prefer sleeping on the roof instead of here. But… On the nights you get sick, rest on your bed here where I can keep an eye on you."

Kuromaru kept standing still in front of the door. Finally, she opened the door. Without looking back, she spoke to Touta.

"You do not need to trouble yourself with me, Touta-kun."

"I want to!" Touta replied without hesitation.

Kuromaru still had her back turned on Touta, so he couldn't see her expression. She gave her first step out of the room.

"Do not misunderstand, Touta-kun. I only explained what happens to my body at night because I felt I owed it to you," her shoulders dropped slightly. "I ask you to not bring up the topic we just talked about again, please. I cannot allow anyone to be inconvenienced by my health again."

"Kurou-rin…?"

"Go rest, Touta-kun."

Without saying another word, Kuromaru left Touta's bedroom.