Here's a little filler chapter. The plot will pick up in the next chapter. Enjoy!
Also, I might try and update 'Furuichi the Lieutenant' sometime soon, but for now, I want to get this story out.
Disclaimer: Beelzebub belongs to Ryuuhei Tamura, not me.
Chapter 3- A Weekend in Ishiyama
"Yumi, why don't you go out and explore Ishiyama?" Dad suggests.
It's a regular Saturday morning, and I've planned to spend it watching anime and reading books. "What's there to do?" I ask.
"Well, there's a local theme park called Ishiyama Land, and there are several arcades and shops in downtown Ishiyama," he tells me. "I don't want you to only sit in the house and watch anime. Go on and explore the city."
"Okay," I say. "But what about you?"
"I have to go to the police station right now," he says, putting his hat on. "Have some fun and loosen up a bit. I'll see you soon."
I change into a yellow long-sleeved shirt, a multi-coloured cardigan, a stylishly frayed jean skirt, some black leggings, and a pair of red high-top sneakers. I brush my hair back into a side ponytail, put my surgical mask around my nose and mouth, and take my purse with me before heading out. "I'm leaving now, Dad!"
"Be safe!" he calls back.
I walk all the way to downtown Ishiyama and look around, admiring the sights. "What can I do?" I murmur to myself. I first see a clothing store and decide to look in the store. However, when I enter the store, I see Oomori Nene, Hanazawa Yuka, Tanimura Chiaki, Asuka Ryoko, and Kunieda Aoi, the members of the Red Tails!
Right then, Yuka looks up and sees me. "Ehhh? Hey guys, Yumi's here!" she exclaims, pointing over to me.
Nene turns to look at me. "Oh, Yumi!" she greets. "I didn't expect to see you here!"
"H-Hi…" I greet, my voice muffled by the surgical mask. Oh well, I guess it won't be too bad to just try and talk to them.
Aoi walks up to me, smiling. "What're you doing here, Yumi?" she asks.
"I was just exploring the city," I say in a polite manner. She seems like a nice girl.
"Cool. Do you want to hang out with us?" Ryoko offers.
I reluctantly nod my head. "I'll hang out with you only in this store," I say. "Afterwards, I'm going back on my own."
I look through the racks of clothes, trying to see if I can find anything cute and nice. I eventually come across a white blouse with flower patterns decorating it, as well as a small tube of holly berry-scented hand cream.
"That's all you're getting?" Nene asks.
I nod. "Yeah, I think this is enough," I say as I pay for it. "Well, see you around!" I call to the Red Tails as I exit the store.
After a while, I find a manga store and I walk inside. I look through the shelves of different series, trying to find one that interests me.
"Need help with anything?" I look up and to my surprise, I see Tojo Hidetora, one of my classmates!
"Tojo-kun?" I ask, surprised. He gives a slight grin at me.
"Hey Tanaka," he grins. "What is it that you need?"
"Can you recommend some good manga for me?" I ask.
"Sure." He shows me through the shelves. "So, our current bestseller is Gohan-kun. It's very popular among everyone: kids, teens, even adults. It's a very good manga, and the anime is a big hit as well. However, another big hit is Shingeki no Kyojin. Have you heard of either?"
"I've heard of Shingeki no Kyojin, but not Gohan-kun," I reply. Tojo hands me the first volume of Gohan-kun.
"You should try Gohan-kun," he tells me. "Here you go."
I smile at him. "Thanks, Tojo-kun," I thank him.
After paying for the manga, I exit the shop, humming to myself. I look at the cover of the book and smile to myself. It looks like a cute manga, especially since Gohan-kun looks rather cute. I place the book back into the bag and I look up to see Hecadoth, Agiel, and Furuichi.
"Yumi, is that you?" Furuichi asks.
I nod. "Yeah, it's me," I reply. "What're you doing here?" I ask.
"I was just showing Hecadoth and Agiel around downtown Ishiyama," he tells me. "You?"
"I'm also looking around downtown Ishiyama," I reply.
"Well then, you want to come with us as well?" Furuichi offers.
"Uh, sure," I say.
We walk through the streets of downtown Ishiyama, looking around as we pass by a group of maid cosplayers from a nearby maid cafe. Hecadoth and Agiel look at them in confusion as they hand out flyers and food samples.
"Why are there so many demon maidservants here?" Agiel asks in confusion.
"Which demon do they serve?" Hecadoth asks, raising an eyebrow. "If that demon catches them neglecting their duties, then they'll receive a very hefty punishment."
Furuichi laughs. "They're not demon maidservants," he says. "They're maid cosplayers who work at maid cafes." He then turns to me. "So, Tanaka, what's Canada like?"
I think for a moment. "It's a nice country," I say. "Vancouver, which is the city I'm from, it's one of the most diverse cities in Canada. It has a huge Japanese community and there's a lot of people of many different cultures. I get along with the Japanese community in Vancouver and my own group of friends is pretty diverse as well. One is Japanese, one is from France, one is Irish, one is Jewish, and another is South Indian."
"How cold does it get there?" Agiel asks.
"It depends," I reply. "Some areas, especially the prairie provinces and the maritime provinces, can get pretty cold in the winter. However, some areas have very pleasant winters. In fact, this kind of cold weather is nothing." I turn to look at the Pillar Generals. "What's it like where you came from?"
I've decided to not reveal that I know about demons yet, just in case.
"Where I come from?" Hecadoth asks. "I was born near the coast in a cooler area. While summers are pleasant there, it's winters that are quite chilling to the bone."
"I was born inland in a tropical area," Agiel says. "It's summer all-year round over there!"
"How do you two like Japan so far?" I ask.
Agiel shrugs. "It's a nice place," she replies. "If anything, Furuichi's family is so welcoming and friendly. Especially his sister."
"I agree," Hecadoth adds. "His family has treated us very well when we first introduced ourselves and moved in."
"Huh? Yumi-chan?" To our surprise, we see the Red Tail girls in front of a cafe. Right then, Agiel's eyes light up in excitement.
"Aoi-chan!" she exclaims happily, running up to her. Kunieda simply stands there, looking awkward as Agiel asks her lots of questions. Nene looks at Furuichi in surprise.
"Oi, Creepichi," she calls. "How do you know the guys from Macau?"
"Oh, they've moved into my place," he replies. A bead of sweat rolls down his forehead, right then. "However, now my sister thinks I'm in an open relationship with the both of them because of the slight innuendos they've dropped!"
"How were we supposed to know that your sister liked the Boys' Love genre?" Agiel asks. "It was only Hecadoth who made the comments that sounded like innuendos, I don't see why I'm being dragged into this. My comments only sounded flirty." A small pout forms on her face.
I raise an eyebrow. "Uh… am I missing out on something?" I ask.
Furuichi sighs. "Yesterday, Hecadoth had made a few comments to me, like 'call me again, lieutenant', and 'you should let me have control of your body'. And it just so happened that my sister was nearby and now she thinks I'm bi and in an open relationship because Agiel makes flirtatious comments towards me as well."
I chuckle slightly, glad that no one can see me smile through my mask.
"Yo, Furuichi!" We turn and see Oga and Hilda-san walking through the streets, holding hands.
"Hey, Oga," Furuichi greets. "You two on a date?"
"Dabuh!" Right then, Baby Beel peers over Oga's back.
"What're you doing here?" Hilda-san asks, glaring at Hecadoth and Agiel.
"The same could be said to you," Hecadoth retorts.
"I'm just showing them around," Furuichi replies, trying to calm down the atmosphere. He then starts to lead us away from Oga, Hilda, Beel-chan, and the Red Tails. "How about we get going now?"
For the rest of the day, the four of us just wander around the city, looking around and talking about random things. However, a thought quickly occurs to me. Do they know about what I am? I feel like Hecadoth and Agiel have been suspicious of me. I try and brush this aside as I tell Dad about my day. I'll cross that bridge when I get there.