“Wow,” Akuto said. Junko blushed and began to walk ahead of the group.
“Well, just understand that that’s how our family works. Our house itself is really normal.”
The three of them followed her down the narrow path. And suddenly she stopped. Hiroshi just seemed confused, but the others tensed up.
—Huh? Huh?
Hiroshi was looking around when suddenly he heard a high-pitched voice.
—What?
He suddenly felt a dull vibration shake the soles of his feat. He looked down and saw a shuriken buried in the ground.
“Uwah!”
He leapt back, even though it was far too late, but the others had of course already noticed the attack. Junko had her dagger out, and Akuto was glaring at a spot on his upper right. Even Korone had moved next to him and had stuck her hand in her purse.
“Huh? What happened?” Hiroshi asked, but instead of answering, Junko yelled out.
“Yuko! That’s going too far!”
A voice replied from somewhere in the forest.
“Ahaha! Sis, your skills are as sharp as ever, huh?”
Hiroshi tried to look towards the voice, but though he could tell she was inside the forest, he couldn’t tell where she was.
“Idiot. What if you hit me?”
“Don’t worry. I aimed for the chainmail you always wear.”
“No, that’s not what I meant. What if it hit someone after I blocked it?”
“Then that would be your problem, not mine.”
Junko was speaking normally. Evidently her sister had come to welcome her, and had suddenly attacked her with a shuriken.
“Come on, come out.”
“Fine,” the voice said reluctantly, and there was a rustling in the trees. A girl leapt out of the branches and did a flip in mid-air. She landed in front of the four of them.
The small girl gave a teasing bow.
“Hello. I’m Yuko, her little sister!”
“Oh!” Hiroshi gasped. It was Yuri Hoshino, the idol he’d met the other day.
Yuko must’ve noticed him, because she waved.
“That’s right. I’m an idol!”
Hiroshi was relieved at the cheerful tone in her voice. She didn’t seem to know he was Brave.
“You’re ridiculous, sister. Being an idol is why you get attacked by demon beasts,” Junko said so that the others could hear.
“It didn’t have anything to do with that. But because of that, I managed to get the famous Brave to save me!”
“Even if you hate demon beasts, it’s pathetic that a member of the Hattori clan was saved by another. What’s all your training been for, then?”
“Who cares? I’m not the clan leader. Dad says I don’t have to do any training as long as I’m an idol. And it’s okay because Brave was really cool, too!”
Yuko stuck out her tongue at Junko. Hiroshi grinned as he watched. It was nice to have someone say he was cool, even if it was when he was wearing a mask.
“Hey, is this your boyfriend?” Yuko suddenly stood in front of Hiroshi.
“Huh? Wait—” Hiroshi stammered, but Junko immediately denied it.
“No!”
“Huh? Why are you so angry? It must be him, then!” Yuko turned towards Akuto.
“Th-That’s not right... either.” This time she mumbled when she spoke.
“Huh? But it must be him from the way you’re talking. Sis, you’re really obvious,” she said. “But I don’t think he’s a good choice for you.” She shot Akuto a look of disgust.
“Hey, don’t be rude!” Junko yelled, but Yuko wasn’t listening.
“He’s scary! His face, but also his aura and stuff. He’s the only person who’s ever come to this village who could tell where I was hiding.” Yuko pointed at him. He didn’t know how to react.
—Come to think of it, the boss never looked away from the upper right.
Hiroshi was surprised when he remembered Akuto’s actions. Before, Akuto would’ve been confused as well, so he could feel that Akuto was truly becoming powerful.
“Why would Sis want a man like this for mar—”
Before she could finish her sentence, Junko attacked. With a speed of a ninja she circled around and put two fingers up to Yuko’s throat to silence her.
“Y-You didn’t say anything. Right?”
There was murder in Junko’s words. Yuko nodded mechanically.
“Th-That’s right. Yes. But Sis, that’s a killing technique...”
“It’s your fault for not being able to dodge it. Now let’s get to the house.” Junko motioned for them to continue.
Everyone started walking, but Yuko kept her distance from Junko and Akuto. This meant she had to walk next to Hiroshi.
“Hey, what’s that guy like?” Yuko jerked her head towards Akuto as she asked Hiroshi.
“That’s a rude thing to ask,” Hiroshi said, but Yuko just pouted and waved like she didn’t care.
“But he’s scary. He’s not normal.”
“That’s because... he’s just so incredible.”
“Incredible?”
“He’s strong. Probably the strongest.”
“Hahaha. What? Boys love saying people are the strongest, don’t they?”
“No, it’s true.”
“It’s not true. You’ve never seen Brave, have you? He’s strong. The way he just slices the air with his hands is so wonderful, and he was so cool when he saved me. He just ripped the demon beasts apart without mercy!” Yuko said, as if in a daze.
“Wasn’t it supposed to be a secret that you saw Brave up close?”
“Huh? But everybody knows he saved me.”
“No, I mean like, how he fights and stuff.”
“Huh? Who cares? I don’t know who he is either. The knights asked me a bunch of questions, but I can’t tell them what I don’t know. Hmm? How do you know about Brave?”
Yuko peered into his eyes.
—Oops...
Hiroshi panicked, but quickly thought of an excuse.
“I saw it on TV. There was a story called ‘Does Yuri Hoshino Know Brave’s Secrets?’ or something.”
“Aww... Brave and I are...” Yuko laughed.
“Huh? What? Do you know something, then?” Hiroshi asked.
Yuko just spread out her hands and ran ahead a little, and said, “That’s a secret!” with her finger on her lips.
—Sh-She’s so cute...
Hiroshi couldn’t help but fall in love. He was showing it on his face, but Yuko must’ve been used to seeing that expression from boys, because she didn’t seem confused. But then she seemed to remember something. She put her face up close to his and stood on her toes.
“Huh?” For a moment Hiroshi didn’t know what to do, but Yuko laughed innocently.
“You’re the same height as Brave, aren’t you?”
“O-Oh... I see.”
But she didn’t seem to mean anything by it, and simply pulled away and started to walk again.
“Come on, stop messing around,” Junko said and pointed to the path ahead.
“We’re almost home. Show everyone inside. I’ll call father.”
The house they saw was cleverly concealed in the forest. Because of that, they couldn’t see how big it was, but just from what they saw it was clear that it was a large Japanese-style mansion. There was no gate, but there was a garden in front of the front door, big enough for a whole class to get a group photo. The roof was covered in black tiles, and the trees around it had been carefully pruned so they would shine in the sun.
Junko went around to the back. Yuko flung open the front door and announced that they had visitors, and a middle-aged woman in a kimono came out and bowed.
“Welcome. You must be tired. Come this way,” The servant let the three of them to the parlor.
Hiroshi was a student at a very wealthy school, so having servants in a house didn’t surprise him, but the way the servants moved did. Akuto seemed to notice it too, because he turned to loo
k at Hiroshi.
“Everybody here moves like a warrior,” he said quietly.
“Yeah, I guess so,” agreed Hiroshi.
Yuko called to one of the servants.
“Hey, is it true that the Teruyas were bugging us again?”
“Mistress, you’re in front of guests,” the servant said, but Yuko didn’t seem to care.
“It’s fine. They’re practically part of the family already. And Sis said that this guy’s met Eiko Teruya once already.” Yuko pointed at Akuto.
Akuto didn’t seem to know what to say, but both he and Hiroshi had, in fact, met Eiko Teruya. He’d heard from her that the Hattori and Teruyas didn’t get along, but it had seemed to him more like a friendly rivalry.
“So your two families really don’t get along?” Hiroshi asked, and Yuko nodded.
“It’s always been that way, but I guess it’s really bad lately. They’ve been wandering around the village, you see.”
“Are they planning something?”
“Who knows? I don’t know what they’re up to. Anyway, come here.” Yuko grabbed Hiroshi’s arm and pulled.
“Huh? What’s going on?” Hiroshi asked. He’d just been led to the parlor.
“Just leave your stuff here. Oh, and you can stay here.” She gestured toward Akuto.
Akuto frowned, but went inside the parlor anyway. Korone followed him. Meanwhile, Hiroshi let Yuko drag him around the hallway.
“Where are we going?”
“It doesn’t matter, but I guess the courtyard? I just don’t want to be near that guy.”
“That’s not a nice thing to say.”
“But...”
Yuko seemed to want to say something, but instead she opened the glass door to the courtyard, put on the shoes that had been prepared for them, and stepped out onto the grass.
“He’s marrying my sister, right?”
“Huh?” This was news to Hiroshi. He stepped out into the courtyard, surprised at what he was hearing. “No, I didn’t hear anything about that.”
“Yeah? Sis is really quiet when it comes to stuff like that, I guess.”
She sat down on a bench in the garden. Hiroshi stood in front of her.
“What do you mean, marriage?” he asked.
“Just what I said. I don’t really understand, but since he’s supposed to be the Demon King, maybe they think marrying him will calm him down?”
“They can’t think it’s that easy...”
“Hmm, maybe this is hard for people from other sects to understand, but we worship Suhara, you know? Orders from the top are absolute. So political marriage is pretty common. Maybe the Teruyas are bugging us because they’re nervous about our clan becoming more powerful.”
“Is that how it works?”
It didn’t seem like that bad a deal at all to Hiroshi. If nothing else, it would solve a lot of Akuto’s problems.
“Anyway, at first I was in favor, but I just don’t like that guy.”
“Why do you say that? He’s a great guy,” Hiroshi protested, but he didn’t expect the answer he got.
“He smells like demon beasts.”
—Huh?
Hiroshi knew better than anyone that she wasn’t lying. That’s why he didn’t know what to say.
“I-Is that something you can sense?”
“That’s right. The way he smells. I think I’m sensitive to that smell. I hate it. I’ve never really told other people, but I was almost killed by a demon beast.”
Her voice was calm when she spoke, but there must have been some kind of psychological resistance to talking, because Hiroshi could see her hands shaking.
“It happened when I was a kid, but I remember it well. It was some kind of transformed insect, and it bit me. That made me really scared of them, but that’s not all. I guess the demon beast’s mana got inside me. I guess it didn’t really hurt me or anything, but when a demon beast gets close... It just makes me feel like I’m about to go crazy.” Yuko smiled as she spoke, but Hiroshi was shocked.
—I’ve heard of this, actually. I read somewhere that since demon beast mana is normal mana that’s fallen victim to some kind of error, if it gets inside your body there’s no telling what could happen...
Then Yuko laughed and waved her hand.
“I’m fine. I’ve got that internal unit that you get when Suhara baptizes you, you know? It keeps a permanent spell on me. And it keeps the demon beast’s mana from expanding. As long as Suhara exists, I’m fine.”
“I see.” Hiroshi relaxed.
Yuko grinned at him mischievously.
“Are you worried about me, or is this just a way to get closer to me?”
“N-No, that’s not it!” He quickly shook his head, but Yuko’s mischievous smile didn’t change.
“I don’t know. It feels like all my fans have this certain image of me. Anybody who says they don’t see me that way probably just wants to see me naked. The real me is just a boring person, who’s no different than anybody else,” she said.
“No, that’s not true. You’re amazing,” Hiroshi said, and Yuko’s eyes narrowed a little.
“A lot of people say that, but only because they want something from me.”
“No, that’s not what I mean!” he said. “You were born to a really rich family, but you keep trying different things to test yourself. That’s what’s amazing.”
For the first time Yuko’s eyes went wide in surprise.
“People have told me I’m a selfish rich girl before, but this is the first time I’ve heard anyone say that. They tell me I’m a girl who can’t settle down, who went from acting to singing, to songwriting, to variety shows. They say I’m selfish.” She grinned. “But I don’t think you really understand my family. It’s the other way around. It’s not that I’m letting them spoil me, or trying not to let them spoil me, but that I have to do something for the family. I don’t know whether I’m doing a good job or not, but that’s what I’m trying to do.”
“For your family?”
“If I wasn’t part of this family, I’d be dead. Normally you can’t get special protection from Suhara. So I’m grateful to my family. Not to my parents exactly, but to my good luck. I’m kind of embarrassed, this is all stuff I’ve never told anyone.” Yuko scratched her head and blushed.
“No, I think that’s amazing.”
For some reason, Hiroshi scratched his head in embarrassment too. And then suddenly Yuko’s face turned serious.
“Hey, do you believe in God?”
“Huh?”
“I mean a real God.”
“That’s kind of a tough question, isn’t it?” Hiroshi didn’t know what to say.
“Yeah. But I think believing in Suhara means believing in the bonds behind him, in other words, the bonds of family and stuff. But family, and the people you meet, aren’t something you get because of Suhara. I think it’s the real God who determines where you’re born, or who you meet. That’s why I believe in the real God, and the reason I’m an idol is so that I can connect a lot of different people. That’s why what’s most important to me is my home, and my family. So I serve Suhara as best I can, and I do what the family tells me to.”
“I’ve never really thought of things that way. I respect that.”
Hiroshi sighed a little, and Yuko laughed and blushed.
“Flattery will get you nowhere.”
“I wasn’t expecting it to.” Hiroshi laughed too.
After she’d finish laughing, though, she looked up at him and spoke.
“But it wouldn’t bother me too much if this was an excuse to get to know me better, I think.”
—What?
For a moment, Hiroshi thought about what she meant.
—Does that mean...
For a moment he got his hopes up, and leaned forward, but then she grinned.
“Because whenever somebody tries to get close to me, the servants here try to test them.”
“Huh? The servants?” Hiroshi asked, but then he realize
d that he was surrounded.
He looked around and saw people in black, ninja-like clothing with their hoods up, leaving only their eyes exposed. They were ready to attack him. He wanted to ask where they’d come from, but a single glance told him. There were hidden doors in the bushes and next to the benches, and he could see the heads and feet of several ninjas poking out of them.
“Uwaah!” Hiroshi panicked, but Yuko smiled.
“This happens to anybody who tries to be my friend, or my fans, anybody who gets close to me.”
“Wh-What’s going on here?” Hiroshi almost collapsed.
“Being close to me means being a part of the family, so they all want to test if you can be my friend.”
“T-Test?”
“You both use your killing techniques on one another, and if you accept each other’s strength, you become best friends.”
“W-Wait! I don’t have any killing techniques! And these people clearly have no intention of friendship! They just want to hurt any man who gets close to you!” Hiroshi screamed.
The ninjas all shook their heads at once, and spoke in unison as they advanced on Hiroshi.
“You want to be friends with us, right?”
“That’s right. We want to be friends with you, too. Friendly enough that we can test our techniques on one another.”
“You’ve got guts, going after the mistress.”
“Hey! That last one! That was just a threat! That was just a threat!” Hiroshi said, but Yuko just chuckled and sat on the bench, resting her head on her elbow.
“You think?”
“I do!”
“I see... All the boys I bring home run away. I guess you need to be strong like Brave, huh?” Yuko sighed, disappointed.
“F-F-Fine! I won’t do anything!” Hiroshi backed away from Yuko as the ninjas approached, waving brass knuckle-clad fists and swords.
“Ahh... Well, I guess my dad’s the worst of them all, though. Things might be rough for that other boy right now,” she whispered.
“The boss, you mean?”
“Yeah. He wants to be my sister’s husband. That means he’ll really be part of the family.”
“Then is your father attacking him with a weapon?”
“He’s not attacking, he’s testing his skills, and his bravery. Something like that.”
“No, I think that’s the same thing just said a different way...” Hiroshi muttered, but he heard the sounds of blades leaving their sheaths, and decided not to say anything more.
Demon King Daimaou: Volume 4 Page 5
