Not the best quality, due to changes of plans. Still, enjoy everyone!

"Ah, that hit the spot! Thanks Suzu!" Kuro thanks the girl who made the dinner. They (Kuro, Suzu and Ikuto) have returned to the later's house to rest, after telling a bit of the former's story... and they just finished the meal.

Ikuto: "I can't still believe that. Three wives when you're this young?"

Kuro: "Didn't I tell you all that I have lived longer than I am looking now?"

Suzu: "But you looked nowhere as old as Obaba..."

Kuro immediately pouts: "Hey, what was that supposed to mean? Anyway, is there any special day coming up, or there was already one?"

Ikuto grunts: "If not counting the first day I was here... then no."

Kuro nods at his answer... then he asks: "Hey Suzu, do you mind if I build a house right next to yours?"

Suzu asks back in surprise: "Why? Is my house..."

Kuro: "Well... wherever I go, my girls would have found me easily. And I will need a new place, rather than staying in yours, considering it will be chaos later on."

Suzu thinks about it... then says: "Wait, you said before you could get out of here, right? Could Ikuto...?

Ikuto interrupts: "I'm not going to leave soon, Suzu. Kuro and I have talked about it while you girls were 'hunting' him, and he gave out some pretty good points."

Suzu then sighs in relief. Then, she says: "Sure, you can do so, no one will stop you. Though, we're going to have to ask the..."

Kuro suddenly stands up. "Knowing you allow it is good enough. If you two want to see me 'build' the house, then be my guest." Then he walks out of the house and reaches a fairly big ground near Suzu's house. Ikuto and Suzu are clearly confused, as they follow the other male...

And see a massive circle on the ground glowing blue lights. Then slowly, a wooden house, bigger than the girl's just a bit, raises up from it. The witnessed being Suzu, Ikuto, Tonketsu and the Chicken family have O.O face as the house keeps rising until the whole house are fully off the circle. Then, the light vanishes, leaving everyone in shock. Kuro chuckles and gestures them to follow him: "Come inside. You might be able to do something here, Ikuto."

Two days later

"Stuffs here are oversize for sure, huh?" Kuro jokingly says, as he and Ikuto pull out a huge carrot. "And heavy as well. No wonder you girls are strong."

"Well, not as strong as you though." Chikage replies. "You outran us even before we noticed it."

"It's no big deal, really?" He then turns to the younger miko. "May I ask what god you follow, Ayane?"

"Huh? It's the Master of the island, his name is Kairyuu. Why?"

"Just curious. I have worked with a few mikos before, some even have their gods or goddesses living in the shrine, while the others have different purposes." Getting a bucket of water, he explains.

"We have a lot here. But there's the Sea Dragon God..."

"And a lot more, and I can show you around if you want." Machi appears from a bush, startles everyone but Kuro.

"Hm? Then maybe we can do so later. Thank you." Kuro smiles at the girl, causing her to smile happily. Though, with the ones knowing her, that's a smile of 'I have a plan for him, and he falls for it'.

"Then I will take my leave. I will see you later." And with that the girl disappears.

"Are you sure about that, Kuro?" Ayane asks, clearly suspected of her sister. "She could have planned something devious..."

"Don't want to turn down her offer." Kuro answers. "Besides, I already knew she's planning something, but I decided to follow it. A little fun for a while won't hurt..."

"You should be careful around her." He turns to Yukino, who's lying on Kuma-Kuma's back. "She planned to try and get Ikuto once, but luckily he escaped."

Turning to the victim, as he sighs: "Just, be careful. With how old you are, she might pull out even more dangerous stuffs."

"Now that sounds like an invitation for a party crash." Kuro grins, and pulls out a cabbage by himself. "Let's see if I could make her plans fire back."

"Hello mister Kuro." Machi bows respectfully at the man as he appears in her view.

"Sorry Machi, the errands lasted longer than I thought."

"I can see... shall we begin?"

"Sure, lead the way."

...

"Why are we stalking them again?" Ikuto asks, feeling a little hot because they're hiding inside a bush, and Suzu and Ayane are sitting right next to him.

"I don't trust her to have a genuine motive towards Kuro. She could have forced him to do something for her..."

"But, he's an adult." Suzu says. "I think he could handle it."

"Well, I'm following you girls. If heARGH!"

...

"? What's that sound?" Kuro turns back, 'confused' at the noise he just heard.

"Oh, probably some wild animals." Machi assures him.

"Could be. Anyways, where should we head first?"

"Maybe the Southern Forest. It's safer than any locations."

"Well, I'm the follower here. Lead the way, Machi."

...

"What... the... heck?" Ayane says, clearly not expecting the snare traps they just stepped in. "How did we not notice it? Machi never made this well-hidden traps before..."

"She might have held back..." Ikuto says, as he tries to free himself. "Until the right moment..."

"You're here for weeks. It's not possible she improved them after just two days." Ayane says, referencing the amount of time the second male has appeared in the island. "Let's get out of this quickly! We're losing sights of them!"

In the end, the group ends up being in troubles multiple times. And yet Machi doesn't do anything, other than showing Kuro the landmark. In the end, the duo has headed back to the shrine of the maidens. Ikuto sighs while massaging his sore places. "I think we have overthought too much."

"I don't trust her in this matter." Pulling out a branch of tree that caught in her sleeve, Ayane counters. "Since when have you seen her not having any motives for her actions?"

"When she's eating?" Suzu suggests, with Tonkatsu nodding in agreement.

"One. Still, I can't believe she could put traps like this..."

"That's because those were mine, not hers." Yelping in surprise, everyone turns to see Kuro and Machi standing behind them, each has a smile of their faces. "I know you're a bit paranoid at your sister, but I'm years older than her. Even she didn't know I placed traps there."

"Wait, when did you... you already knew we're going to follow you?" Ikuto asks in surprise, though part of him already expects that.

"After hearing rumors of the mikos, I could tell something is off. Also..." Kuro points towards his own ears. "You might be able to hide steps from the others, but not me."

Suzu nervously laughs. "So we're busted from the beginning... How is your day with Machi?"

"Surprisingly good." Knowing that being an attempt to change subject, Kuro follows. "I mean, legends after legends. Airantou sure has a lot of stuffs to discover for sure."

Ikuto scratches his head while saying: "They're just rumors. I don't think you could find many things interesting here."

The other male shrugs. "The thrill of the adventure should be enough. Anyway, I think it's time for us to rest and get something to eat. I will cook to compensate for the traps I created, okay?"

...

Kuro watches as the others enjoy the dishes he served for them. Compliments start raising up, as he waves them off: "It's not a big deal. I'm not that good."

"For someone who claimed to not know how to cook much, I beg to differ." Ikuto shoves the food into his mouth before continuing: "By the way, I saw you flinched a bit when Machi and Ayane introduced their mother. Why is that?"

"Well... there was a time when I worked as a teacher assistant..."

That makes Suzu shiver. "D...Do you always have that... scary thing on you?"

"...What scary thing?"

Ayane explains: "She doesn't like to study. And Chikage always scared her with some 'questionable objects' like ropes or whips."

Kuro facepalms. "Did she even know how to educate? Anyway, no, I don't bother using any of them." That makes the girl smile in relief. "Returning back a bit..." Kuro focuses on the older maiden. "Your name is the same with one of my students, who's happened to be described as the 'Mama Bear' of the class. And because of that, she's both loved and feared by everyone. And I really mean everyone."

"So she's basically our mother, except the 'feared' part."

"Hey Machi! That's a bit mean!" The mother whines at her daughter's remark, but doesn't oppose against the idea.

"Aside from her being a mother bear, I didn't see how she could be so scary." Ikuto just has to ask.

"... I think you already know what a Negi is, right?" Earning looks of obvious knowledge from the others, he continues: "Imagine that Negi, with the green part spreading into the head of a scepter. She used THAT to stab people."

That makes everyone shiver a bit, except the other Chizuru. "But a Negi is not very that sturdy..."

"Where do you think she would stab it?" Kuro raises his right eyebrow up, a signal that makes the woman to rethink... then shudder in fear. "That's why."

Everyone then notices Suzu not being in the table, but instead she's hiding in a basket. Kuro sighs and apologizes: "Sorry for scaring you."

"Chizuru is scary..." You should know who she's referring to.

"Let's change the topic a bit." Kuro speaks up. "May I ask if you know the most advanced place here?"

"You can head to Chikage's house. It's the only Western-like mansion in this place." Ikuto answers, remembering some 'unpleasant' events there, involving nose-bleeding. "Be careful for her to do some 'unorthodox' works."

"That's what's written in my job." Kuro laughs it off. "How about some rests before we head there?"

"Actually, we're planning to visit Mei Mei and Tohno." Suzu replies.

"The other stranded girl?" Kuro asks, remembering what he and Ikuto talked before the girls returned back from the 'contest'.

"Yeah. She's a little meek though, so please try to lower your tone." Ikuto gives a little warning.

"I see. Well, I think I could handle that."

"... Worse than I thought." Kuro sweatdrops as he sees Mei Mei hiding in an animal outfit.

"S...Sorry..." The girl apologizes for her reaction, as the head of the bear bows down.

"It's okay." Kuro speaks slowly and more gently. Even the bookworms from before didn't react this bad. "I'm here to visit you... MAYBE on behalf of Ayane as well..." He says that as he looks at the Kappa.

"We brought some gifts for you!" Suzu gives them to Kappa who happily receives them. "Can we head inside?"

"Ah right! Please!" The 'bear' gestures the group to enter the duo's 'house', which only has one room with clinking sounds of gadgets inside.

Upon sitting comfortable, the group waits a bit as Mei Mei starts serving teas for everyone. Once the girl sits down with the tea all ready, Kuro asks: "I heard from Ikuto that you got stranded here just a few days ago, right?" Earning a nod, he continues: "Wouldn't it be inconvenient for you to live here? The sounds of gadgets are really annoying..."

"N...Not really, mister Kuro." The shy girl assures him. "We have been camping at worse situations, so..."

"She was actually stranded here with Tohno for more than a few days." Suzu explains. "But before we found here, she was in the North of Airantou, where nobody really lived there."

"Ah... yeah, I saw that big lion when I jumped around the island..." Kuro strokes his chin, remembering what he saw while 'running away' from the girls in that contest.

Ikuto then asks: "If I remember right what you told us before, you and the Kappa traveled as you're trying to find his kinds. They could be in this island, right?"

"Ayana said that she saw one before, but that's just..." Suzu says, before stopping herself and looking at Ikuto in disbelief. "What did you just call Tohno?"

"A Kappa, why?" Ikuto nonchalantly replies back... then realizes and turns back to Tohno, who's also surprised at the development. "When did I start to accept..."

"Kinda my work, sorry for not telling you." All turn to Kuro, who decides to speak up before taking a sip from his teacup. "Nice tea by the way, Mei Mei." Earning a quick thank from her, he continues: "When I met you, I felt some kind of spell being applied on you. Though, I felt no dangerous backlash, but in case it's something that could cause harm, I decided to lock it down first to see what changed. And when I heard from the rooster guy about your disbelief in supernatural, I suspected that spell has a part in it..."

"Wait, that means you know magic?" Mei Mei interrupts.

"...Do you honestly believe I could do all of the things I did with raw strength?" And to prove it, Kuro closes his right arm and then opens it, and a small lotus appears in his hand, causing everyone to widen their eyes in awe. "This island holds many mysteries that revolve around Japan old folks. Maybe it's a good idea to be dropped here actually..." Then he notices Mei Mei staring at him hopefully. "What is it?"

"Do... do you have anything... that could help with my nervousness?"

"...Technically, yes. But I would have to control your mind in a degree, and I'm sure nobody here like that." That drops her joyfulness. "But at least I could try to help you some ways. I did deal with a few students like you."

"A little sidetrack..." Kuro turns to the other male. "Did you know any other Kappas like her?"

"Yeah, but wait..." Kuro immediately stops Tohno from jumping at him. "We can't get to these ones. They're different from normal Kappas, and the access is not able to normal people. HOWEVER, I did feel some presences of Kappas around, though it's not very clear. You could try to find them around or so."

"Thank you so much!" Tohno bows down to Kuro gratefully.

"Can you show us more magic?" Suzu claps her hands, looking at Kuro expectingly.

"Well... maybe next time. For now..."

Chapter 2 end!

Seven months for a chapter. Still didn't beat that other story of mine though XD.

That's it for now. Hope you enjoy this chapter!