“Kaori, I have to go.”
Kyubey stood on the windowsill and said goodbye to Kaori.
“Eh?
Why?
We just reunited!” Kaori was reluctant to let Kyubey leave.
“I can’t stay with you for long right now.
It will only harm you.
Satou will think you stole me away, and she will kill you without hesitation.”
Kyubey explained the reason to Kaori.
“I’m not afraid of her!
By what right does she restrict Kyubey’s freedom?
I’ll make her retreat in the face of difficulty.” Kaori clearly hadn’t encountered a freak of nature and still thought the problem could be solved through communication.
Kyubey sighed and patiently explained to her: “Don’t try to understand her with normal human logic.
She won’t listen.
She really will kill you; you are no match for her.”
The tone became urgent towards the end, and it was precisely this tone that let Kaori know that what Kyubey was saying was true.
However, she still held onto a glimmer of hope: “You will come back to see me in the future, right?
Kyubey?”
“Of course.”
“As long as I am still alive and not being tracked by Satou, I will come back to see you.”
After Kyubey gave Kaori this assurance, it jumped off the windowsill:
“See you next time, Kaori, take care of yourself.”
“Kyubey!”
Kaori walked to the window and looked at the white figure that had already begun to sprint away with a sorrowful gaze: “You left so quickly…”
“It’s all because I’m too weak to protect Kyubey.”
Kaori clenched her fists and made up her mind: “I must become stronger!
Strong enough to protect Kyubey!”
…
“Kyubey?
You’re finally willing to appear?”
At noon, at Shuchiin Academy, Sakayanagi Arisu found a spot under a large tree and sat down, holding Kyubey in her arms, her tone filled with amusement.
“It’s not that I didn’t want to appear.
I’ve been in a state of having no freedom for the past week.”
“Oh?
Tell me about it?” Hearing this, Sakayanagi Arisu realized that something might have actually happened to Kyubey and put away her smile.
Kyubey briefly recounted what happened from the moment it met Satou, up until it was rescued by Hiiragi Utena.
“Heh…”
Sakayanagi Arisu covered her mouth and chuckled upon hearing this.
Kyubey felt annoyed: “What’s so funny?”
“So, even you, Kyubey, can crash and burn.
I really didn’t expect such yandere literary tropes to happen in reality, and with a non-human target at that.
If this were written into a book and published, it would probably be a huge hit.”
This isn’t funny at all.
In reality, I just want to stay as far away from yanderes as possible.”
This was Kyubey’s honest sentiment after spending a week with Satou.
“In other words, she will kill everyone she considers a threat to her being with you, right?” Sakayanagi Arisu stopped smiling, her face turning serious.
“Yes, that’s why I came here to warn you to be careful lately.
If you encounter her, absolutely do not worry about me.
You are a smart person; I shouldn’t need to tell you what to do.” Kyubey intentionally reminded her.
Sakayanagi Arisu looked displeased: “What?
Do you think I’m no match for that lunatic?
I am still capable of protecting you.”
Sakayanagi Arisu was confident that she had mastered her ability, and the wish she had made was for the simplest, purest power.
It was impossible that she wouldn’t be able to beat a love-starved yandere, right?
It would be best if she could confirm her strength in this tier by battling other Magical Girls.
“That’s hard to say.
Strength doesn’t guarantee victory; ability counters are also very critical.
I haven’t seen your true strength yet, so I can’t be sure you can handle her.”
“In that case, I’ll let you see my true strength.” Sakayanagi Arisu seemed determined to protect Kyubey, so she asked it:
“You’ve always been good at gathering intelligence.
Those monsters that bully the weak and fear the strong aren’t challenging for me anymore.
Are there any beings that are evenly matched with me?”
Sakayanagi Arisu hadn’t been idle during the week Kyubey lost its freedom; she had cleared out quite a few Parasytes and some Ghouls on her own.
Some special departments in Neon Province had already started paying attention to her and had even sent people to negotiate with her father.
But even her father couldn’t influence her future now.
All these successes greatly satisfied Sakayanagi Arisu’s competitive spirit, but she knew she hadn’t encountered a true expert yet and didn’t indulge in the false sense of being the best in the world.
“There are, but I can’t take you to find them.”
“It’s time for you to meet them.
Come with me after school.”
“Oh?
Could it be a senior?”
Sakayanagi Arisu vaguely started looking forward to the meeting.
…
Because she didn’t participate in any club activities, Sakayanagi Arisu finished school after four o’clock.
This time, she didn’t even bother with pretense; she didn’t call her father, and there was no chauffeur to pick her up.
“Kyubey, lead the way.”
After confirming that the girls with potential had left, Kyubey appeared, and Sakayanagi Arisu called out.
“Arisu-chan, aren’t you being too high-profile right now?” After chatting with Sakayanagi Arisu and understanding her recent actions, Kyubey felt that this girl might have gotten a bit carried away lately.
“Keeping a low profile is for those lacking strength.
With my current strength combined with my father’s influence, it’s enough to establish a foothold here.”
This was the result Sakayanagi Arisu obtained after easily defeating a Special Class Investigator in a CCG test.
She didn’t use her most powerful ability; she simply relied on her own absolute strength to completely suppress that Special Class Investigator.
As for the Jujutsu Sorcerer side, they were busy for some unknown reason recently.
“As for the Reverse Transformation you mentioned, does it require the soul gem to be completely corrupted to confirm what exactly will happen?
“It’s a pity I can’t verify it myself.
The only thing that could make me despair or feel negative emotions would probably be if the world were about to end, right?”
Sakayanagi Arisu was still quite confident in her own mental resilience.
Being able to stroll around freely without needing a cane, like she was now, was the life Sakayanagi Arisu had once dreamed of.
…
20th Ward, Anteiku
At 7:30 PM, there were very few customers left in the cafe, and at this moment, three people appeared at the entrance.
Leading them was a white-haired man wearing a red mask that covered half his face, next to him was a young man with short blue hair, and behind them was a rather large man.
They were Tatara, Kirishima Ayato, and Ōmori Yakumo.
“How may I help you?” Irimi Kaya recognized the three of them, but she wasn’t nervous at all; instead, she treated them like normal customers.
“Serve us each a bowl of miso ramen and a slice of strawberry cake.”
Tatara took the lead in ordering; this was also one of his tasks.
“Very well, please wait a moment.”
Seeing that it was Irimi Kaya and not his sister, Kirishima Ayato felt confused beneath his mask, but because he was here on a mission, he could only follow Tatara’s instructions and sat at the table to wait for the food.
The strawberry cake was served quickly, one portion for each.
This scent?
So fragrant?
The faces of Tatara and Kirishima Ayato beneath their masks twitched slightly.
Even the most twisted sadist, Ōmori Yakumo, stared at the strawberry cake with some obsession, the RC cells in his body trembling.
The three of them lifted their masks and picked up their spoons to tentatively take a bite.
!!!
It was no longer the usual difficult-to-swallow, nauseating feeling; the sweetness of the cream and the fragrance of the strawberry were tickling their taste buds.
Then, the three of them devoured the cake, ignoring their image.
So…
this is what strawberry and cake taste like?
No wonder humans love sweets!
“How much longer for the ramen?” Ōmori Yakumo rubbed his stomach with a satisfied look; thinking about the bowl of ramen still to come, he couldn’t help but urge.
“Your ramen is ready.”
Irimi Kaya came out from the kitchen and brought out three bowls of miso ramen one after another.
Although it was just the most ordinary, common ramen found outside, Tatara, Ōmori Yakumo, and Kirishima Ayato ate it with great relish.
They finished every noodle, every topping, drank all the broth inside, and still unsatisfied, slurped a couple more times.
“Another bowl!” Ōmori Yakumo rubbed his belly, feeling like he could eat more.
“Idiot.” Tatara cursed.
Ōmori Yakumo thought he was being blamed for acting on his own, but then he heard Tatara call out:
“Are you just going to eat ramen?
Look at how pathetic you are.”
Tatara rarely spoke, and even more rarely cursed.
Ōmori Yakumo and Kirishima Ayato, who knew him well, were both surprised by this.
“Serve us each a bowl of rice, and stir-fry three dishes: one meat and two vegetable.”
“Very well.”
The Aogiri Tree trio, who had originally come to test the waters, temporarily forgot about their mission because they had eaten delicious human food.
They were still eating when Anteiku closed.
“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!”