Tears prick from the corners of her eyes, and for the first time in her life, she prays before standing up, facing her worst nightmare.

"Oh? Teehee..Watanuki-kun, you did not mention how popular you are among girls." - the voice's pitch is uncomfortable up close. But the voice is the least important right now. Kira's mind is engulfed in the terror that she encountered when she was 7. The figure has a horrendous, disfigured…visual. There are four pairs of eyes: those that belong to the spider, dark, cold, and soulless. Its mouth is nowhere to be found, but then she notices tiny movements beneath its chin while it speaks. But that is not the most horrible detail after all. The contrast between the corpse-like complexion and its shiny golden hair creates a frightful image that Kira doesn't want to know where the hair is from.

To make matters worse, holes are everywhere, scattered across its body, where bugs and worms crawl in and out comfortably as if the body is their home. If visuals alone can kill, she would probably be dead by now, and the stench would be a cherry on top, increasing the torture of her dying process. She is choking; the air is rapidly drained from her lungs as the dense, foul smell settles. The lack of clean air makes her head spin and her sight out of focus. Everything blurs before her, which can be a good thing because the figure is now just a black blob.

Despite her tremendous effort to hold herself in place, she falls apart.

"Hold yourself together, Kira. Hold it. I command you…to…to…stay awake…and…fight…I cannot…" - everything goes black as she falls backward - "Ah. So weak, just as Father has said."

"Eh? Hey, kid. I have not even done anything?" - she can hear the creature's confused voice.

"Hyuuga-chan, Hyuuga-chan…" - a distant voice at the edge of her consciousness slowly creeps closer, louder, until it is direct and Watanuki's figure comes into focus.

"Watanuki-kun?" - she mutters. Her head is spinning uncontrollably. When she tries to sit up to assess the situation, a wave of nausea and vertigo hits her hard, forcing her back on the ground. She lets out a small groan out of irritation. However, even though she cannot sit up, something is burning, emitting an unpleasant smell. Regardless, nothing can be worse than the stench from earlier - "What happened?"

"They got away." - He exhales out of relief to see Kira is awake and functional. Once the dizziness subsides, she shifts her focus to Watanuki again, closer this time. The eye patch is still firmly situated on his right eye, which means they failed the damn mission. She exhales heavily, looking away from Watanuki out of shame and guilt. Her eyes then land on a black-haired girl wearing a pink Sakura kimono behind him. Her breath hitches after one glance at the girl, whom Kira assumes to be Zashiki Warashi, considering those crows hovering closely to her side.

Without lingering for long, Kira shifts her sight again, more slowly, to the building they were in a moment ago. It's on fire, creating a huge column of black smoke that definitely can be noticed from more than 100 miles away, meaning: "We should leave. People will see this smoke, police and firefighters probably already were dispatched." - She informs the team.

"Yes. I think it's a good idea." - Watanuki agrees. He looks at Zashiki Warashi and the crows - "Would it be possible for you guys to give us a lift home?"

"Um…Sure. Watanuki-kun." - Zashiki Warashi gazes at the ground, blushing hard. Kira raises an eyebrow, "Damn, this boy is a girl magnet."

Within 1 minute of travel by winds, they get dropped again, but fortunately this time, on a patch of soft and slightly damp grass. A familiar building appears in front of them. They are at Yuuko's shop, whose owner is currently comfortably leaning against one of the front pillars of the shop, arms crossing. It looks like she has been waiting for them to return. She smiles, her voice fills with amusement as she nods at Zashiki Warashi and the crows. "I assume you did not get his eye back."

No one says anything.

"Come on. Let's go inside." - Yuuko signals for them to enter the shop - "I will get something refreshing for you all."

"I can go get it. Hyuuga-chan, you should go inside." - With that, Watanuki disappears into the back of the shop. He moves so quickly, as if he knows this place like the back of his hands. Yuuko nods and looks at the Zashiki Warashi group, silently asking if they would like to come inside.

"I need to leave. Thank you for the invite, though, Yuuko-san." - Zashiki Warashi denies the invitation with a formal bow, spending another second at where Watanuki disappears and vanishes into thin air.

"Here! The payment as promised, Dimensional Witch." - One of the crows hands her their fan, the one they used to create winds at school. Yuuko accepts, and they, too, vanish into thin air.

"Come on, unless you want to sit here all night." - Yuuko takes another look at Kira, still sitting on the ground before going inside - "You can take a shower too if you want, your clothes are wet and dirty."

"It's okay. It's more acceptable to my family if I told them I was fighting and that's how my clothes looked like this." - She scoffs. In the next sentence, her voice reduces as she speaks to herself - "Maybe that will make me less useless."

Yuuko does not seem to hear the last bit. But she does, she pretends she did not hear it and sits back in her chair like the first time Kira met her, examining the prize she just obtained - "Do you know what this is?"

She shakes her head, and Yuuko explains, "This is the Tengu's fan, a very powerful weapon from legend."

Kira nods. She could not care less about the fan. She cannot care about anything besides the fact that they failed the mission. Just like how she failed her first mission for the same reason. How pathetic. Kira sits down near the doorway, coiling her legs close to her chest and holding them with her arms. This posture makes her look so small, which probably suits her. Small and useless.

The atmosphere remains silent and heavy, and the only sound in the room is Yuuko's breathing in and out of her smoking pipe. Despite being uncomfortable with the deadly silence and Yuuko's gaze, Kira is somewhat appreciative that Yuuko does not ask about what happened in Rikuzentakata because she wouldn't know how to explain.

The silence, thankfully, is short-lived as the paper doors slide open, and Watanuki steps in with a small wooden tray carrying a tea set and a few sweet treats. He wears a white apron and a white cleaning hat, looking exactly like a middle-aged cleaning lady at their school. Kira tries to contain her laugh because it's highly inappropriate to laugh in such a dire situation: They just failed their mission and Watanuki may just have lost his right eyesight forever.

"Hyuuga-channnnn, don't laugh, pleaseeeee." - When he realizes what he looks like and that he has never shown this side of himself to anyone, Watanuki keeps his head down, his ears turning bright red with embarrassment. Kira cannot contain her laugh anymore and just laughs out loud until tears brick from her eyes. But it helps brighten up the mood inside the room.

"I'm sorry. I should not have laughed." - She wipes away the tears.

"Well, you are my cleaning boy, so it's normal for you to dress like this, Watanuki-kun! You shouldn't be ashamed." - Yuuko jokes and laughs out loud as well.

"Heh? He works for you?" - She recalls hearing Doumeki mention that Watanuki works part-time at the shop. So he is cleaning as a part-time job. No wonder he knows this place so well.

"Ah, only until he pays his dues. Then I can fulfill his wish, and we can part ways." - Yuuko releases a smoke, eyeing Watanuki this time - "So, what happened?"

"Isn't it obvious?" - he exhales, sitting down, legs crossing, and grabbing a small biscuit. But instead of eating, he puts the small biscuit close to his neck, where a small, thin, white string emerges and takes a bite. Kira's eyes widen. The creature reminds her of the bookworm they faced yesterday. She immediately stands on her feet and jumps toward Watanuki. She yelps as she tries to get a hold of the thing, but it's already pulled itself back under Watanuki's shirt - "No, no, Hyuuga-chan, he is Kudakitsune, and he is friendly."

"Kida..Kidakitsune? What the heck is it? It definitely does not look like a fox?" - As if the creature understands the insult, it jumps from Watanuki's sleeve and turns itself from a tiny, white string into a majestic 9-tailed fox. At its full form, its height is at Watanuki's waist, and its magnificent, fluffy tails make it look much bigger. Specks of fire radiated from its body, bringing her back to the burning building. So this fox must have fought with the spiders and set the building on fire, or at least that is what she can gather.

"Hey, calm down. She is my friend, too." - Watanuki throws himself in between Kira and Kudakitsune - "And Hyuuga-chan, it's Kudakitsune, and please forgive him, he does have a bad temper."

"Alright, settle down, everyone. Let's drink some tea, hm?" - Yuuko is enjoying this conversation, which shows in her bright smile and relaxed expression. Once everyone has settled, and the Kudakitsune goes back to its long pipe-like form, Yuuko asks again, blunter this time - "How come Kira here is safe if she fainted?"

Kira feels Yuuko's gaze on her this time. However, she is not pleased with how Yuuko addresses her already so casually despite this being their second encounter. But what can she do, this is the almighty Dimensional Witch after all. Not to mention, Yuuko may be centuries old.

"I don't know either," - Watanuki exhales and starts recalling the string of events - "Back at the time, I thought the Spider Queen would go for Hyuuga-chan, so we were ready to act. But then, the Spider Queen just stopped midway. She paused for some time and then just retreated to us. Then, I offered my remaining eye and even my body in exchange for Zashiki Warashi's freedom, but she did not agree. And we fought and failed, and we came back here. That's the whole story."

Watanuki eyes Kira again like he wants to say or ask something inappropriately. Not just him, but both Yuuko and Kudakitsune also eye her cautiously. She cannot take it anymore.

"Okay, stop beating around the bushes. Why are you guys looking at me like that? And you too Kudakitsune!"

"Because, because… Um…Hyuuga-chan, I think the Spider Queen was…was..." - Watanuki hesitates - "Both Kudakitsune and I felt the presence of something when the Spider Queen stopped near where you fainted. We think it may be the reason you were untouched."

POV

I did not stay long at Yuuko's shop after the conversation. After fetching my bag at school and finishing the rest of the cleaning duties, I went straight home and was welcomed by non-stop yellings from Mother about where I had been to get myself so dirty. As planned, I told her I got into a few fights after finishing cleaning duties. And as expected, Father did not spare me a single glance.

Natsume is coming home tomorrow, maybe that will excite him a little, no, a lot.

The rest of the night is more peaceful. After complaining a bit more, Mother finally released me to shower while she reheated dinners. Ah, it's nice to have Mother (and clean clothes). I don't know how to cop without her. When I finally lay my back on my comfortable bed, thinking I would faint from exhaustion, sleep refuses to come. I keep tossing and turning nonstop as the conversation at Yuuko's shop plays in my mind.

Flashback

"…We think it may be the reason you were untouched." - Watanuki looks at me but I cannot make out of his emotions. Is he pitied me? Is he scared of me?

"What…what do you mean by "something"? - I can hear my voice tremble.

"We don't know. I could not make out what it was. Kudakitsune also could not tell. We just know that it's something powerful. Powerful enough to make the Spider Queen stop coming for you."

My eyes avert to Yuuko, "Do you know?"

"I'm at no place to tell you." - Yuuko speaks after a short pause, her face blank of all expressions as she inhales a long smoke.

"I will pay the price if that's what you need. So tell me."

"Sorry, kiddo, I cannot. Not this time." - She shakes her head - "Unfortunately, they are someone that is beyond my ability. They already give me a warning."

So it's someone, not something. I reckon, head in my hands, frustrating. Why do things keep happening to me? Why, Kami-sama?

"I'm sorry, Hyuuga-chan. I wish I could give you more information." - Watanuki taps gently on my shoulder, trying to offer comfort. But I don't need his comfort or apologies; I need answers! - "It's getting late. I will clean this up, and we can leave Hyuuga-chan."

Once the room is only the two of us, I make my wish.

"Take away this vision. I need…I need this gone so I can resume my life and my duty to my clan. Can you please, please take it away?" - my voice breaks as I beg the Dimensional Witch. I cannot take this anymore. I want a normal life. I want to be a normal assassin.

"I can take your vision away. However, your price will be higher than that of Watanuki," - I cough as she releases another smoke cloud. The air in the room now becomes so dense with white smoke, but I don't care, as long as she is capable of taking this away - "because your sight is more…special, and it will take so much more energy to take it away. I would say as much as the energy used to create Gods."

"How come mine and his visions are different?" - now I'm confused.

"Tell me, what did you see in the building? What did you see, enough to scare you to death? I know you are not a coward. I know you have been in worse situations in the human realm." - I did not realize how close her face had become.

"I…I…" - I don't want to remember. I don't want the image to stir and capture my mind once again. So, I refuse to respond.

"You see those creatures for what they truly are. You see hell in its bare form, without its veil. While Watanuki, to him, everything is put behind a veil. To him, the Spider Queen just looks like a normal girl, with a normal mouth, a full lip, a normal pair of beautiful big round eyes, and golden locks." - Yuuko maintains her stare - "But to you, everything is much worse. That's the difference. Even the Zashiki Warashi looks different to you, am I right?"

I looked at Yuuko, unbelievable in what she just said. "So, in short, Watanuki saw the Spider Queen as a normal human girl when I saw a horrendous walking corpse? And the faceless Zashiki Warashi also looks like a normal girl in a pink kimono to him?"

"Ah" - she nods, driving me speechless.

My life…how much worse can it get? - "I will pay the price. So, name it."

End flashback

Fuck…What have I done?

End POV

Undisclosed location, Tokyo

"Ya, you ungrateful kid, where were you? You can't just disappear like this. I have a family to raise." - Suguru tosses his arm. His brows are so close together as if they are fussing into one.

"Hn. From what I recall, you don't have a family to raise." - Satoru scoffs, walking past Suguru toward his room.

"Why do you smell like smoke? What have you done? What did you burn? Why didn't you tell me to come?" - Suguru sniffs, following Satoru like a tail into the shower with a million questions.

"Are you a dog? Do you want to shower together?" - Satoru grumbles annoyingly without looking at his bodyguard, who he often abandons due to his chattiness, continuing to take off his dirty clothes.

"Eh, if I'm a dog, I wouldn't lose track of you. Also, I have a girlfriend, so no thanks. I would rather go home and shower with her."

"Imaginary girlfriend?" - Satoru steps into the shower as casually as if Suguru is invisible.

Suguru rocks back and forth, contemplating whether to teach Satoru a lesson. He can win. But in the end, he decides to step outside. Before the door closes behind him, he shouts: "The Autumn Festival is tomorrow night. You are expected."

"Hn." - Satoru grunts loud enough for Suguru to hear it as usual. But this time, an unexpected sentence follows - "Get me the attendee list."

As impeccable and outstanding as Satoru's personal bodyguard/childhood friend, Suguru almost trips and falls on his face at Satoru's request.

"Did he hit his head somewhere? Ohhh, did someone drug him while he was out? I need to find and thank them." - Suguru peeks back inside the bathroom at Satoru, who is still showering nonchalantly, hoping to find something different but there is none.