Haru stared with slight uncertainty at the amount of guests that were sitting at his kitchen table, his hands shakily holding on to a pair of teacups before he placed them down. Among them were both Taku and Chiyu, Kurohime, and…
"Thank you, Haruyuki." he looked up to see that Fuko bowed slightly in gratitude before she glanced around the room, her posture always straight and polite. Fuko had been the only guest Haru was surprised at, albeit it was far from unpleasant. For him, it indicated that Kurohime had finally managed to look past her dispute with her friend, and her friendship with Fuko could now start to mend again. Thus, with her being here, he also guessed that they now had another new member for their legion, Nega Nebulus.
"You have a very nice home, Haruyuki." Fuko smiled lightly with her eyes closed before she took a small sip from her tea.
"Thanks…" Haru sheepishly scratched the back of his head before he searched for a seat of his own. One seat that was currently unoccupied was situated right next to Kurohime, who was sitting at the end of the table. However, when he glanced around, he noticed that there was a chair missing beside Taku, leaving a convenient gap.
Weird, he was sure that there should have been two chairs left, not just one… where did the other one go-
"Is something the matter, Haru?" he was torn out of his thoughts the moment Kurohime broke the silence, her eyes searching for his own.
"N-no, not at all!" without wasting another thought on it, he quickly sat down beside Kurohime, shoving his previous thoughts into the back of his mind.
And unbeknownst to him, a small but content smile etched itself upon Kurohime's lips.
"Good, now that we are all here then, we can discuss our plans regarding the impending turf wars. Currently, we are holding control over the entire Suginami ward, but we haven't been able to expand our turf yet, despite our attempts. That will change now." a look of fierce determination crossed Kurohime's eyes, only amplifying that her resolve wouldn't falter.
"I've scanned the map a bit in advance. While our master was gone for the school trip, Haru and I made sure that no other legion would lay claim on our turf, but taking the previous battles into consideration, it is likely that especially the Blue Legion will attempt to invade again. They seemed to be very interested in pushing us away the last time." Taku glanced at Haru, giving him a small smile to convey that he had done the most work, which merely caused the latter to look at the ground.
However, that was the first time their legion master had heard about this.
"Did they now…" both Haru and Takumu glanced at Kuroyukihime as she held a pondering expression. Truthfully, she herself had not paid much attention to the results of the last turf wars, especially after everything that had happened to Haru while she had been gone on that cursed school trip. After she heard about everything that happened, the only thing that had mattered to her was that Haru was unharmed and still at her side. If they had lost their turf, she couldn't have cared less…
… but now, now that they had dealt with Nomi and the Accelerated Research Society for now, she could focus on the matter at hand again.
"There are both the Green Legion and the Blue Legion to the east, as well as the Red Legion to the north. If what you say is correct, then we should focus on both the Green and Blue Legion." Kurohime looked up from the table as she spoke, and each of the members nodded in agreement. However, suddenly Fuko perked up with an amused expression.
"Although I do remember the first time I met Silver Crow. I believe that Ash Roller had brought him to me with the intent of… how did he put it? Ah yes, it is all part of my grand scheme of swaying Crow here to join the far superior Green Legion in the end. That was it-"
-the table suddenly shivered when Kurohime's fist impacted upon it.
Haru jerked back slightly with a startle, especially once he witnessed that Kurohime's eyes were covered by her hair as her head was facing the table beneath her. Only at the other end of the table was a small giggle noticeable, since Fuko seemed more than unfazed at her friend's sudden action.
"... perhaps we should pay them a visit first." Haru seemingly froze on the spot the moment Kurohime lifted her head and her eyes slightly settled upon him out of the corner of her vision.
"I don't think Ash Roller meant any harm by that. On the contrary, I think he might have even taken a liking to Haru. To ignore the turf battles in order to help him when Haru had lost his wings speaks of a lot." deciding that she had teased her friend enough for now, Fuko once again smiled lightly before she took another sip of her tea.
"Of course. I never doubt for a second that Haru would ever be tempted to join another legion other than mine… I trust him wholeheartedly." once again, even though she hadn't specifically spoken these words to Haru in particular, her eyes were upon him as she said every single word. Which, once again, caused Haru to evade her eyes with no small amount of both embarrassment and flattery.
"Hey, I, um… I don't really get all of this at the moment, nobody has explained to me yet what all of this is about." the entire time, Chiyu had been sitting at the table with an uncomfortable expression while the rest was talking about something that she had never heard of before. What were these turf wars all about…?
"Apologies, Chiyu. I should have explained it beforehand. Basically, every single legion controls a different section. After certain periods of time, the legions fight each other to gain more turf by pushing away opposing legions from their own territories, while simultaneously trying to maintain what turf they currently possess by defending their territory from other invading legions." Taku explained the situation to her, and while Chiyu got the gist of it, she was still partly confused about who controlled what and how many legions there actually were.
In the end, she merely sighed. Here she was, having thought that by joining both Taku and Haru in this game of Brain Burst, they could finally return to them spending time together like they always used to. But in truth, she had gotten herself into something that was so much more complex and confusing than she could have ever imagined…
"By the way, I think it won't be an issue anymore if Chiyu were to fight alongside us. After everything that happened with Nomi, I'm sure the word has already spread like a wildfire about her healing powers."
"Healing powers…?" Fuko was the first one to perk up at that, now staring at Chiyuri with evident wonder and interest.
"Yes, albeit indirectly. Her dual avatar possesses the ability to turn back time for an ally, which returns them to a state in the past. While not a healing skill by name, it serves the same purpose." Kurohime took a small sip from her own cup of tea, all while Fuko regained her composure and began to smile at Chiyu.
"You are very unique then indeed."
The sun was long starting to set outside, and the last rays of sunlight were beginning to disappear. Thus, Taku was the first one to finish his tea and stand up from the table.
"I think we should be heading back home now, it's starting to get late. Once the turf wars start, we'll be ready for it."
"Yes, I'd like for us to meet here once again when the time comes. As of now, I believe that this is the best place for us all to meet up whenever we need to discuss something, thus, I'll deem it as our headquarters." Kurohime calmly took another last sip from her tea before she set the cup down, wearing a content smile even as Haru visibly squirmed at the fact that she gave his home such importance.
Fuko chuckled slightly as she herself stood up from the table while both Taku and Chiyu said their goodbyes before they left.
"At least allow me to clean this up for you for your hospitality today, Haruyuki." Haru grew slightly nervous when Fuko merely collected the cups on the table with a smile.
"Oh, y-you don't need to, really-"
"Please, I insist." with her smile never fading, Haru relented in the end.
"... thanks. Then I'll go and get changed for the night." with that, Haru left the kitchen to walk over into his bedroom to collect his sleepwear before he entered the bathroom to get changed, the door gently closing behind him.
However, with him out of hearing range, Fuko glanced at her friend with no small amount of curiosity when she witnessed that Kurohime made no attempt to leave as of now.
"Are you not heading home as well?"
"Hm?" seemingly torn out of her thoughts, Kurohime merely shook her head in response.
"I am staying here for the next few days." to say that Fuko was surprised would have been an understatement, but in the end, she said nothing further and her previous smile merely began to return, a content hum escaping her along with a chuckle.
"... Fuko? Can I talk to you for a moment?" her smile faded when Fuko witnessed the strong shift in tone, and she knew her friend well enough that it was something deep that was troubling her. Thus, she slowly set the teacups back down on the table before she took a seat once again, silently nodding.
Silence reigned inside the kitchen for a small moment, and once Kurohime was sure that Haru was currently occupied and out of hearing range, she continued more quietly.
"... say, Fuko… am I really that controlling…?"
Once again, Fuko's eyes widened slightly when her friend looked at her, hoping for an honest answer.
"It is about Haruyuki, correct?" however, even though Fuko could already answer it for herself, she needed to clarify this. And with a small nod from her friend, she continued.
"From everything I have gathered in the time I have spent around him, he is truly devoted to you. That is probably one of the things you cherish about him if I were to guess." Fuko smiled slightly at the memories, but for the next part, she chose her words more carefully.
"Albeit, knowing you, you are most likely having a hard time distinguishing between your role as legion master and wanting for him to be a lot closer to you than the rest of your legion. Judging from your previous reaction, I think you are trying to hold him as close to you as possible, but at the same time, you…" Fuko trailed off near the end while her eyes glanced over the table, prompting Kuroyukihime to gain a more desperate edge as she poked further.
"Yes…?"
"... you can be quite harsh." Kurohime internally clenched at that, her expression faltering slightly.
"On one hand, you convey to him that he is more important to you than anything else, that you want him to be at your side forever, but on the other hand, you sometimes shift between that side of you and another where you are more focused, more… authoritative. I'd say whenever you take a step forth and convey to him how much he means to you, you take two steps back by focusing too much on Brain Burst and taking on the role as the iron leader." for a long moment, these words seeped into Kurohime's mind as her eyes faced down towards the table, her expression more than solemn.
'... you will only betray… drop me like a tool… use me like a toy for your amusement…!'
And her hand clenched ever so slightly beneath the table.
"You don't view him as a mere subordinate to you, right?"
"Of course not!" her head perked upwards immediately and these words escaped Kurohime in the blink of an eye.
"Then where is the harm in treating him as more than that? You want him to stay by your side at all costs, don't you? That is why you are jealously guarding him. But on the other side, he, too, is fearing that you might abandon him. You know that he sees himself as unworthy compared to you, so why don't you do the same that you want from him and show him more consistently that you will stay with him? If you always revert back to your role as iron leader at times, how should he know how to act around you other than to act how a subordinate would? Especially if you consider that he is already viewing himself as less than you?" once again, an inaudible gasp escaped Kurohime before her eyes glanced back at the table.
At least, until suddenly, she perked up slightly when a hand gently closed around her own.
"I guess all I am saying is that you should be more gentle with him far more often. You are his legion master and guardian, but you love him all the same, do you not? So make sure that he knows this as well. In a way, I'm sure he will feel a lot more special when you do." and with that, Fuko gently let go of her hand before she stood up from the table and placed the teacups into the sink.
And with a last wink, she left the apartment, the door gently closing behind her.
Thus, Kurohime all but sank into her chair with a defeated sigh, every single word replaying time and time again in her mind.
At least, until suddenly, she could hear in the back that Haru cheerfully came out from the bathroom, now wearing a fitting pair of sleepwear before he walked over towards his room. However, while doing so, he noticed out of the corner of his eyes that a chair from his kitchen was standing at the back end of his bedroom, completely out of place as if somebody had placed it there on purpose before.
As he wondered what it was doing there, a small but genuine smile began to form upon her lips.
Showing him that he was the only one to stand directly beside her, the Black King…
"... thank you, Fuko…"