Chapter 12 – "I love you."
Tsumugi didn't understand why the Chairman wanted Tsukune kept around, but she brought his body to a separate room of the infirmary anyway. This was not the first odd request that Mikogami had asked of her, and frankly it was almost sensible. The boy's body would need to be prepared for burial after all, though it was too bad for his human parents that things had turned out this way. She didn't know why the Chairman kept inviting humans to this school since they kept dying before they could graduate, but she didn't care enough to question it.
Then his body had miraculously healed itself, and she knew at once that this time would be different. So, she wasn't surprised when she came in to check up on him early one morning and saw the rise and fall of his chest as he had returned to the land of the living. Though, she had to wonder... what were Kurumu and Mizore doing sleeping in bed with him?
Had they been there the whole night?
"Mmmm..."
Sore.
"...ughhhhh..."
His whole body was sore.
"...hmmm!?"
That meant he had a body.
Tsukune opened his eyes wide to see that he'd been revived in the infirmary. The lights were blaring brightly, and the door had been left ajar. He felt a light pressure on his chest and arms, and glanced down. Kurumu and Mizore were resting in the same bed as him, and...
...they were sharing a bed!?
His face turned bright red. Sure enough, Kurumu was cuddling him, her arms wrapped around his neck and face in his chest. Mizore was slightly off to the side, one arm cradling his shoulder and the other around Kurumu's waist. He was still clothed in the tattered remains of his school uniform, and was grateful that the area around his crotch was still fully covered. Now to adjust...
Kurumu suddenly pressed herself on him, and he froze still, not wanting to wake her. But in the process, he ended up jostling Mizore a bit, and she started to stir.
"Mmm..."
Her ice-blue eyes briefly stared directly into his black ones.
"...mmm..."
Realization flashed suddenly into her eyes.
"...mmm!?"
With a start, she fully awoke, leaning off of Tsukune and Kurumu, and that sudden move was what finally got Kurumu to wake up. She picked her head up and looked directly into Tsukune's black eyes with her purple ones.
Slowly and without hesitation, the two of them drew close and kissed.
...at least, that's what Tsukune thought was going to happen. Instead, when he leaned in, Kurumu put a finger to his lips and held him off. Mizore looked just as surprised as he was, but Kurumu seemed quite calm, and simply greeted him with a 'good morning'.
"Good morning to you too... Kurumu-chan, is something...?"
Kurumu shook her head. "Not now, Tsukune-kun... you just got back after all~!"
She nuzzled her face in his chest, and he flushed. Ah, right... they would have plenty of time for that later, after all. Well, as long as no youkai tried to send him back to the afterlife. Though with his 'miraculous' return, odds were good that people wouldn't bother with trying to kill him. What would be the point if he could just return? Besides, he wasn't anyone important anyway.
Looking around and seeing that the three of them had a private room, he asked where the others were.
"Moka-chan and Yukari-chan are in the next room," was Mizore's reply.
"...huh!? Did something happen?" asked Tsukune.
"...sort of? It's a long story..."
Kurumu giggled. "We don't really get it either, but it looks like Moka-chan's family is even more impressive than we thought! Yukari-chan fainted from the shock when she learned about that. Hmmm... Tsukune-kun, did the Death Goddess happen to tell you anything?"
Tsukune shook his head. "No, sorry..."
"That's fine! We need to explain everything to Araiko-chan too."
"Not to mention the others..." added Mizore. "...I can go get them, if you'd like."
Kurumu and Tsukune turned to face each other, and their faces turned a bright red. Though they didn't answer, Mizore slipped out of bed and sauntered off, making sure to shut the door behind her.
And so, now the two of them were alone.
The two of them lay silent for a moment, Kurumu continuing to lean on Tsukune for support, his arms wrapped around her. Each time one of them glanced at each other's face, they turned away, faces burning hot...
...until Kurumu finally had enough and brought her face directly in front of Tsukune's, pinning him to the bed at the same time.
"Tsukune-kun."
"Kurumu-chan."
Their breath was hot in each other's faces. Slowly, millimeter by millimeter, she brought her face down towards his...
"I love you." "I love you."
...and they kissed for the first time, tender and light. Tsukune felt a surge of energy running down his spine, and with how quickly Kurumu returned for seconds, she must have felt the same. After a few repeats, the two of them started to embrace each other tightly...
"...ah!? H-hello there, everyone!"
...which is when Tsukune noticed that they had an audience standing in the open doorway after briefly opening one eye.
Sure enough, Mizore had returned not only with Moka and Yukari, but also with Araiko, Gin, Aoshiro, and Monokuro. Mizore's face was bright red, and she was glancing back and forth between the two lovers. Moka looked happy for the two of them, while Yukari looked amused. Both Araiko and Gin were nodding in approval. Both Aoshiro and Monokuro seemed stunned.
"Good thing we got here when we did. Who what they might have been up to if we'd waited any longer?" joked Yukari.
Most of that group laughed out loud at their expense...
...though Tuskune was surprised to notice that Mizore's face was just as full of color as his and Kurumu's.
Once a few more jokes were made at the expense of the two lovers and Kurumu (reluctantly) got off of Tsukune so that the two of them could sit up on the bed, the rest of the group huddled together in a circle around them. Mizore, notably, also got on the bed with them, seating herself next to Kurumu. Everyone else pulled in a chair or a bench from elsewhere, and the last one in shut the door behind them for privacy. The full group of the living was as follows:
Tsukune, a human.
Kurumu, a succubus.
Mizore, a yuki-onna.
Moka, a vampire.
Yukari, a witch.
Gin, a werewolf.
Araiko, an inugami.
Aoshiro, a dragon.
Monokuro, an oni.
Moka also had in hand what Tsukune thought was just a normal stuffed doll... until it moved under its own power and introduced itself as Akasha, Moka's mother! Tsukune also noticed that Moka's rosary had changed color, and she confirmed that the two changes were related.
"Allow me to first apologize for dumping my mess on all of you," started Akasha. "If all had gone as I had planned, all of you would have been able to enjoy a normal high school life... well, as normal as it gets when one of you is a human. How did you end up here?"
Tsukune shook his head. "That's what I'd like to know. My dad got the application from some creepy priest, and thought it was fake at first. But once he found out it was real, off I went..."
Akasha blinked. "A... creepy priest...?"
Tsukune nodded.
"...and your dad decided it was safe to send you here after looking the place up?" asked Yukari. "There's no way he got anything close to good information. He must be very trusting."
"That or he's gullible," added Gin. "Poor man almost got his son killed."
"...what on Earth could Mikogami be up to now?" muttered Akasha under her breath.
"Hm?" asked Moka of her mother.
"Ah, nothing, nothing... anyway, I'm glad you're back to being alive, Tsukune-kun. You can go back to your normal life now, and..."
"No way!" interjected Tsukune.
"...eh?"
"I'm way too involved now," he added. "And I'm not going anywhere."
He then drew in Kurumu closer, and she leaned lightly on his shoulder, a warm smile on her face. Mizore, Yukari, Moka, and Aoshiro were also pleased, while Gin gave him a friendly smirk.
"You know you're not gonna get another do over next time, right?" asked the werewolf.
"I know, I know... actually, I was hoping you might be able to help me with that..."
"Hmmm... eh, why not? We could use your help once I get the club re-instated anyway."
Akasha then burst into hearty laughter. "Hahaha~! That's what I like to see! I'll see if I can't help you out either, even stuck like this... but in any case, let me get back to my explanation. This all starts long ago in a distant land with my adopted father, Dracula. He was once the king of a vast territory where humans and youkai lived side by side as equals."
She then glanced at Kurumu and Tsukune. "Why, some of them even became lovers like yourselves~!"
Both of their faces turned red again while the crowd around them either chuckled lightly or remained neutral.
Akasha continued. "But... all was not well. The kingdom was best by many tragedies, and was eventually destroyed by invaders from the surrounding human kingdoms."
Gin raised an eyebrow. "Wait, but how could a bunch of humans defeat a united mix of youkai and humans?"
"Yeah, no offense, but with a powerful youkai like Dracula involved, you'd think those humans would have no chance," added Araiko.
"..."
The two of them glanced at Akasha, expectant.
"...we were... he was betrayed. By both humans and youkai. By the time the invaders came, the kingdom was already falling apart at the seams," was her answer. "I'm not sure exactly how long it's been, but I suspect that no human living there now is even aware that such a kingdom used to exist in those lands."
"...ah." "...oh."
The two of them looked at each other sheepishly, avoiding Akasha's sad gaze.
The doll sighed. "It's fine. There was no way you could have known. Besides, there's nothing we can do about that now. I have no interest in re-establishing that kingdom, and Father is in no state to do so, especially not after what he did to himself."
"You said he became Alucard, right?" asked Yukari.
"That's right. He sought revenge against both youkai and human, discarding everything in the pursuit of it. Even... even me."
Moka, at this point, hugged her mother tight.
"Oh dear..." murmured Kurumu. "I'm sorry that happened to you."
The rest of the crowd also offered their condolences.
Akasha shook her head. "Thank you, everyone... but I'm not the only one who's suffering. Even now, Father is a twisted mockery of the man he used to be. The Undying Monster King, Alucard... a man who has destroyed himself for the sake of his revenge. I tried for so long to bring him back... but nothing I did worked, not even with the help of the other Dark Lords. Eventually, I had to stop for a while, which is when I met your father, Moka."
Akasha sighed, softly and lightly. "Those were calm and peaceful days... I missed them so much. I missed you so much, my daughter. I'm sorry about what I did to you. It was the only thing I could think of in that moment to keep you safe."
"What exactly did you do?" asked Yukari, now leaning over towards Moka.
"Ah... yes. That."
Akasha took a deep breath.
"I'm sure you've all noticed Moka's rosary."
"Yes. It was silver yesterday, so what's with the color change?" asked Aoshiro. "Err, not that it looks bad on you Moka-san...
Moka chuckled. "No worries. The Death Goddess was the one who did this in the process of reviving Aono-kun and letting me see mama again. This rosary is a bit different from the other one... let me show you."
Moka demonstrated it at once by shifting from her pink-haired self to her silver-haired self without having to remove it.
"Good morning to you all..." said the silver Moka with her typical lazy yet elegant drawl. "As for this rosary... it was made to seal my power... in order to protect me. And another self was made as well... the other me that you all know. Only when I was in great danger... only then was the rosary meant to be removed."
Akasha nodded along, confirming it... but also admitted that there was more to the story. She had already told Moka everything well into the night, and now she wanted to explain it to them.
The truth of Moka's heritage and childhood... and the events leading to Akasha's downfall.
I, Akasha Bloodriver, am a dead woman.
I accepted my fate long ago, before I had my second chance at life. My father – a man who was once Dracula, Lord of the World, and was now Alucard, the Undying Monster King – was rampaging and only myself and two other youkai stood before him. If we fell, there would be nothing standing between Alucard and the end of everything.
And so, I made a choice. I sacrificed myself, letting him consume me, body and soul.
But! It was a trap.
From the inside, I was able to pacify him, and he fell into a deep dreamless slumber from which he still hasn't recovered. The same one that I had fallen into until only a few decades ago.
I'm still not sure what exactly woke me up or why only I awoke, but that's what happened. When I returned to life, I was surrounded by other vampires – the members of the Shuzen Family, including Moka's father, Issa Shuzen. They recovered Alucard from an iceberg not far from Hokkaido and moved him to their compound. You can imagine their surprise when I popped out one day~!
But despite the language and time barriers, they treated me well – especially Issa.
The two of us, we fell in love, and dear Moka was our fruit.
You were so pale and sickly when you were born, dear... I blamed myself. All that time spent inside Alucard must have affected me after all. So, to not lose you, I made a fateful choice.
I injected you with my blood.
The blood of the Shinso lineage, which can only inherited via blood transfusion.
It was Father's gift to me, and so I granted it to you.
You started to recover at once. It was like you were never ill. Though, you changed because of it. Your pink hair turned shiny silver and your green eyes turned blood red. There was no way to hide it, and so we kept the knowledge of you relatively secret, the same as we did with Alucard.
In the end, that wouldn't matter.
After many years passed and you grew up, we would eventually come to know of a young and highly-skilled vampire assassin by the name of Akua. Gyokuro (Issa's other wife), Issa, and myself immediately decided to bring her into the family and finish raising her as one of our own... though it seemed like Akua had her own ideas regarding this, and had been using us as pawns all along. Somehow, she had found out about Alucard and about my Shinso blood. I sent Moka out of the house so that I could confront her by myself... but I should have realized that you would come back, Moka. Even if you hadn't left the rosary behind, I think you still would have. You are my daughter after all, hahaha~!
But because of that... Alucard nearly awakened.
Akua and I were deep into our fight by the time that Moka had returned. I... I pointed out that Akua was holding back, and she used Moka's return as an excuse to finally cut loose. She caught me off guard and sliced me in half. Now, as a Shinso vampire, such an attack was hardly fatal, but Akua didn't know that... and, more importantly, Moka didn't know that either. Thinking that I was dead, Moka went on a rampage, awakening her Shinso abilities for the first time. Alucard, naturally, sensed this and went on the attack, trying to consume all of us. I activated my own Shinso abilities so that I could save Moka and Akua, but with Alucard still rampaging...
It was then I knew what had to be done.
If Moka's ability was still active, then this could happen again at any time. Indeed, someone could even do it on purpose... so then, I had to seal her powers away. With the rosary's might and my wish, those who wished Moka harm would never be able to remove it and unveil her powers. And I even put in a little bit of myself into it, to guide her through the years... though I may have gone a bit overboard there... but I want you all to understand that I did that for a reason. I needed to go back inside Alucard to put him back to sleep.
And with a bit of me inside of Moka and most of me inside of Alucard, it became possible to synchronize the two... and, more importantly, to desynchronize them at will. When that happened, Moka would be able to send Father and I to eternal rest for good, and live the rest of her life in peace.
Unfortunately, that life of peace was not to be.
But at least I can be here by her side until this is resolved.
No one immediately responded when Akasha completed her tale, stunned into silence from all that they had learned. To think that all this tragedy had been lurking in Moka's past, unknown even to her! Moka herself, despite her tough demeanor, was holding her mom's plushy body tight. Akasha was insisting that everything would be fine, but Moka countered that she wouldn't be giving her mom up without a fight... and she wouldn't budge despite what Akasha said.
At that, Akasha couldn't help but laugh.
"...Mama?" asked Moka, pouting.
"Oh, don't worry dear. You've just reminded me of someone, that's all."
"...actually, why are you still here?" asked Aoshiro. "...ah, not that it's a problem that you're still here, but I thought the deal was that your soul was being traded for Tsukune-kun's."
"Let me guess, the Death Goddess wants Alucard too?" asked Araiko.
"That's right," replied Akasha. "She must have been waiting for him to die for centuries... and I wasn't exactly helping her with that, hahaha... the original plan was for me to fix him up from the inside, but that didn't work either... so we might not have any other choice."
Kurumu shook her head. "There has to be something else we can do, right?"
"I'm afraid not. My father is gone now."
She said it with a certain sense of finality. But was that because she knew for certain she was right or because she was afraid of confronting Death itself once more? Regardless, she accepted no counter-arguments, not from Kurumu, nor Tsukune, nor even Moka. And with no progress to be made there, the next question – asked by Yukari – was what they should do next.
"The power of the rosary wasn't meant to fully manifest until Moka was 18. However, the Death Goddess has manifested its full might now... which also means that others could use it for their own purposes if they were to get their hands on it," explained Akasha.
"You mean like Akua," asked Moka.
"Hm? Well... you weren't around for this, but Akua and I had a talk before I died again, so she shouldn't try to stop us."
"I doubt that," interjected Araiko. "She's in league with Fairy Tail now."
Moka frowned, while Akasha looked confused, and said that she had no idea what that meant.
"To keep it short, Fairy Tail are a gang of youkai supremacists. If they get Alucard, they'll use him to cleanse Japan of every human they can get their hands on."
Unsurprisingly, Kurumu latched onto Tsukune tightly.
Akasha sighed deeply. "Oh, Akua, what's become of you... well, we'll just have to avoid her somehow. She's too strong for any of you to fight, and I can't face her like this."
"...I'll face her."
"What!?"
"I'll face her," declared Moka once more. "I'm the reason she's like this... and I'll put a stop to her wicked ways."
Araiko chuckled. "You've got quite a ways to go if that's what you want to do. With her abilities, she would have wiped the floor with all of us, and even Kuyou wouldn't have been a threat to her. But I'll help you get to her level~!"
"So will I," added Gin. "Besides, this will be one hell of a scoop!"
"...Speaking of scoops," said Yukari, "how are we going to explain this to everyone? Everyone heard about Tsukune-kun's death... but, I guess they won't think he's a human now, will they?"
Tsukune paled, realizing something. "Did anyone tell my parents what happened!?"
No one knew for sure, though the older students doubted it. This wasn't the first time a student had vanished and then re-appeared later, so the parents wouldn't be informed until they were supposed to return home for a break like the upcoming Summer one.
The one where Tsukune had no hope of going home anyway since he hadn't been in for classes.
But, Kurumu declared that she would stay with him, and that cheered him up a bit. After all, she had been skipping class too, and so her already poor grades had plummeted. The rest of the News Club was technically free to take the break off, though the club was still not re-established. Gin grumbled about it, having received a hot tip that he wanted to follow up on – there were rumors of a hostile Witch attacking human developments in her territory in a nearby major city. It'd be a good experience for the club-members... and maybe they could even get lucky and recruit her as an ally. At the very least, they could stop Fairy Tail from recruiting her.
"...What'll happen when I return to classes?" asked Tsukune of everyone. "Moka's rosary isn't something that most people will notice, but I was declared dead, right?"
"...that's right, yeah," noted Monokuro. "...do you even count as a student anymore?"
"Of course he does!" exclaimed Aoshiro, fired up. "And even if he doesn't, if we can just talk to the Chairman, he'll fix it! And if he doesn't, then I'll make him fix it when I'm Student Council President!"
"...okay, but the election isn't until September. That doesn't help Tsukune-kun now," replied the oni.
"...well... he can... uhhhh..."
Out of steam, Aoshiro sulked in her seat as Monokuro chuckled at her expense.
"She does have a point though. We should talk to the Chairman at some point," agreed Araiko.
"You think he's busy now?" asked Kurumu.
The group then descended into chatter regarding the creepy priest that acted as the school's Chairman and what he might be up to at that moment. Not too long into this, there was a knock upon the door, and Yukari got up to open it. And on the other side of the door...
"C-Chairman!?"
...was the youkai in question, clad in his usual white robes, eyes gleaming as usual. He carried on his person a small briefcase. Letting himself in, he greeted everyone and pointedly ignored the evil glares coming from Moka and Akasha. The cloaked man stopped in front of the bed, looking curiously at Tsukune.
"And how might you be doing, Aono-san? You seem much livelier now, hohoho~!"
Kurumu growled at the man under her breath, and Mizore looked about ready to attack.
Tsukune, however, just frowned at him. "I am doing better... and I think you owe me an explanation."
"Oh~? For what, exactly?"
"Cut out the act, Mikogami!" shouted Akasha. "What the hell are you planning, and why did you drag this random human into it!?"
"...good to see you too, Akasha," was his reply, not turning to face her. Keeping his attention on the trio sitting on the bed, he addressed them instead. "And I'm afraid the explanation will have to come later. I have instead come to give Kurono-san a warning.
Kurumu flinched, and both Tsukune and Mizore drew close to her.
"A warning...? Regarding what?" asked Tsukune.
Instead of answering immediately, the man filtered through his briefcase and pulled out a form.
"A warning regarding her future," said the Chairman as he handed the form to the trio on the bed. As they read it, Kurumu screamed and started to cry on Tsukune's shoulder, while he grew numb and Mizore covered her hands in icy claws. This form... it was...
"...a marriage form...?"
The rest of the crowd looked at them with confusion.
"That's right," replied the Chairman, ignoring them. "Aono-kun, you weren't around for this, so I'll explain it briefly. Kuyou was killed by Kurono-san's hands after your untimely death. Kuyou's father – Akatenno Youta – agreed to spare Kurono-san's life as long as she pledged to serve his family. This is how he intends to make her do that. He does still have one child remaining, after all."
"W-well, I knew about that first part but... this is..."
"It is quite a lot to take in, I know," said the Chairman. "But you don't have to do anything right now. Both parties are still underage. There's time to fix things."
"I... I see," replied Tsukune, not looking at the Chairman, instead staring intensely at the form, hands shaking, mind racing.
"Ah, good. Then I'll..."
Tsukune then ripped the form apart in his hands.
"...oh?" asked the Chairman, amused.
"Tsukune-kun...?" asked Kurumu, glancing up to watch his act.
"You can tell him that no one's allowed to marry Kurumu-chan other than me! I won't let him get away with this! I'll do whatever it takes to stop him!" shouted Tsukune to the Chairman.
The crowd was silent at first...
...until Araiko started clapping.
"Hahaha~! That's what I like to hear!" she exclaimed. "I'll be right there by your side!"
"...as will I," added the silver-haired Moka. "And so will my other self."
"That's right! We won't let anyone take Kurumu-chan away from us!" declared Mizore.
The rest of the crowd made similar declarations, one by one.
And as for Kurumu herself...
"M-m-m-marriage... t-to Tsukune-kun... I... I..."
...her face was flushed and her mind was racing with thoughts of a hopeful future.
"Kurumu-chan?" asked Tsukune.
...but she was too far gone in her fantasies and promptly swooned, falling unconscious into his arms.
"Kurumu-chan!?"
Kurumu awoke in a dark room... her room. She yawned and stretched in her bed. The room was still a mess, but that was fine. She could... wait, why was she here?
And then she remembered. Tsukune's revival. Moka's mother. The form. The form!
"You can tell him that no one's allowed to marry Kurumu-chan other than me!"
She almost fainted again. Tsukune promised to marry her! Tsukune promised to marry her!
She squealed with delight, leaping from the bed and flying around her room, loudly cheering. She'd done it! She'd found her Destined One! They were bound to be married!
She then paused in midflight, panic striking her, leading her to crash on the floor.
"Oh no! I didn't respond to him!"
She fretted and fretted. How did he react? Did he take that as a yes (because it was!)? Did he think that she changed her mind (she would never!)? She needed to know! So, she opened the blinds and window, and flew outside into a bright sunny day...
"Hey, no transformations! Get down to the ground, you damn succubus!"
...only to be yelled at by an Enforcer (Akeno seems to be doing well these days) and forced to walk towards the infirmary. Ugh! This was an emergency! She needed to talk to her Tsukune immediately! But Akeno didn't care, and so Kurumu was forced to take the long way. Other students were staring at her, but she ignored them. She was wearing one of her casual outfits, so it wasn't like she'd flown outside naked or something.
Unsurprisingly, he was still there.
Surprisingly, he was now alone.
"Ah, Kurumu-chan! Good to see you're up again already."
He was sitting on the bed, surrounded by papers and open books. Kurumu, naturally, ignored this and flew over towards him, shouting his name at the top of her lungs and proclaiming her eternal love for her Destined One! She crashed into him, sending the papers flying everywhere.
"K-Kurumu-chan!?"
"Hehehe..."
She nuzzled into his chest, her arms wrapped around him.
"...I love you, Tsukune-kun."
"...Love you too, Kurumu-chan. I do need to study though..."
Kumuru responded to that by hugging him tighter, blocking him from reaching for any papers. He lied down on the bed, and she continued to rest on top of him. After a few moments of silence, Kurumu spoke up again.
"Tsukune-kun... you... you do want to marry me, right? Or... were you... were you just saying that because you don't want me in the hands of Kuyou's father? I am grateful for that if so, but well... I'd just like to know."
She wasn't expecting Tsukune to answer immediately, and he didn't. But he also didn't reject her immediately, which she was more concerned about. She knew that she shouldn't be – there was no way that he would reject her, not at this point – but since when did worries need to be rational? After a while, Tsukune finally spoke up.
"I... I admit that I wasn't actually thinking through what I was saying, or how you would take it," he said.
She frowned. "So, that's a no, then?"
"It's more like... I wasn't thinking that far ahead. Ask me again later."
Kurumu responded to that by pouting at Tsukune and gently flicking his nose.
"Ah!? Kurumu-chan!?"
"Hmph. Ruuuude... I'm opening my heart here to you, you know?"
Kurumu then started to giggle, breaking the façade. Tsukune sighed and got back up, with Kurumu letting him go. "I know, I know..." he said. "But marriage is a big deal. I'd rather do things properly, you know? Wouldn't you?"
"Hmmmmm... I guess. Fine, I'll wait, but only because it's you. You should consider yourself lucky~!"
She then started giggling again, and Tsukune agreed that he was indeed lucky.
And speaking of luck, the two of them would need it to not flunk out of high school if they didn't raise their grades, so with a little convincing Tsukune managed to get Kurumu to spend the day studying with him. Not romantic at all, but not all the time they spent together needed to be.
He just needed to make sure that he could look back upon these moments later with a smile on his face, and make sure that Kurumu could do the same.