"Hah…"
Standing in front of her apartnt door, Yutsuki did not hurry inside. Instead, she stopped at the entrance, lost in thought.
After parting with Kotori, Yutsuki had left the airship and returned to the Spirits's apartnt building on the ground.
Of course, that did not an her mission was complete, nor that she could return to her room and sleep soundly until morning. Quite the opposite. As the only blind spot that Beelzebub could not currently observe, she had to convey the information she possessed to everyone as secretly, yet as clearly as possible.
(How should I explain all this?)
Yutsuki could not help sinking into thought.
Reine was Phantom, the one who turned everyone into Spirits? She was also the Origin Spirit ? Shido was the reincarnation of Reine's lover from thirty years ago—no, rebirth? A soul vessel? And because of that, Shido had to go on a date with Reine tomorrow and capture her heart?
Telling everyone the facts was not difficult. The real problem was how to make sure everyone could calmly accept the information. They had already agreed on a signal, but even Kotori had been emotionally shaken when she learned the whole truth. Yutsuki really could not guarantee that the others would hear the sa thing without giving anything away.
(Origami should be fine. Nia should barely manage too, I guess? But the others…)
Considering everyone's acting ability, Yutsuki's head started to hurt as she wondered how to phrase things.
Mio's information was simply too crucial. If possible, she wanted to avoid the risk of Westcott learning it.
Honestly, keeping it a secret from everyone for now was not necessarily a bad choice. But unless there was no other way, Yutsuki had no intention of doing that.
(After all, I already promised. If I keep hiding it, that would be lying.)
Yutsuki gave a wry smile. She had known the story of the boy who cried wolf since she was small, and the actions that ca next would indeed require everyone's help and cooperation.
Besides, while hiding sothing was not the sa as lying, sotis it could create even worse consequences than a lie. They were already at a serious disadvantage in terms of information. If that imbalance remained, it could easily create even more trouble.
(Otherwise, when the fight with DEM really starts, if soone asks where Shido went and Westcott suddenly says, "Oh, he's on a date with Murasa Reine right now"…) (TL:fun small fact and small spoiler, in the original story, Shido only know stuff about Mio during the war with DEM when mamamio offed every spirit and resolve in Shido using Vav to loop back and then have a date with her, but in this book, cause of Yutsuki and blah blah, he know Mio's story sooner and now the event of going to date with Reine and war with DEM will happen at the sa ti)
That image was so absurd that Yutsuki felt both amused and exasperated just imagining it.
(Forget it. Standing here like an idiot won't help. I'll go inside first and think about it.)
With that in mind, Yutsuki shrugged, opened the door, took off her shoes, and entered the apartnt.
(Everyone isn't asleep yet… Hm?)
Her gaze swept around the first floor hall, and Yutsuki suddenly noticed Natsumi and Yoshino sneaking around outside the kitchen door, acting suspiciously.
At the sa ti, two other familiar voices could faintly be heard from inside the kitchen.
"Hmm. This is a little difficult. Can it be done like this?"
"Umu! You made a lot, Mukuro! The shape looks pretty good!"
"Tohka, the size you made is quite remarkable."
"Muu? Is that so? Isn't this about the size of my palm?"
"If Muku rembers correctly, when onee-chan demonstrated it, it was only the width of one palm. But yours is big enough to cover both hands."
(Ah~ I see.)
Seeing that scene, Yutsuki seed to understand sothing, and a pleased, mischievous smile rose to her face.
"Hey~ What are you three peeping at?"
Yutsuki lightly patted Natsumi on the shoulder.
"A ghost aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
Natsumi suddenly leapt backward and pressed herself against the wall, letting out a shriek loud enough to disturb the neighbors.
"My, my~ If it isn't Yutsuki-chan. You're done and back already?"
"Yutsuki-san… welco back."
"Mm, I'm back."
Yutsuki rubbed Yoshino and Yoshinon's little heads, revealing a satisfied smile.
"Y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-yu…Yutsuki… you… that habit of walking without making footsteps… can you…gulp…please fix it?"
Natsumi, whose heart and lungs had been scared into overdrive, spoke with her words all jumbled together.
"Haha. Sorry, sorry~ I'll be careful."
"Hm. Why is it so noisy outside?"
"Umu?! Natsumi, what happened? Why did you suddenly scream?"
Apparently drawn by the commotion outside, the kitchen door opened, and Tohka and Mukuro asked with puzzled expressions.
Yutsuki secretly glanced into the kitchen. Sure enough, inside was a large rice cooker and all kinds of fillings. On the counter were two freshly ford white rice balls of uneven sizes.
(Well, a beloved misunderstanding trope.)
Yutsuki thought, not particularly surprised. She had also considered whether the two of them had once again been taught so strange common sense by Miku, such as "friends should mutually *beep* each other to show goodwill", but if that were the case, the contents of their conversation should have been the opposite.
"What… are you two doing?"
Looking at the two of them wearing aprons, Natsumi asked in astonishnt.
"Mm, making rice balls", Tohka tilted her head and answered as if it were obvious. "Everyone is busy with all sorts of work, so I wanted to help too. That's why I asked Mukuro to prepare comfort food with ."
"Hm. Tohka's idea is very good. Muku was glad to help."
"…"
Natsumi wordlessly turned pale.
"So you decided to make rice balls?"
Yutsuki asked curiously.
"Umu. But I am not as good at cooking as you are, Yutsuki. After practicing for a long ti, I can only make simple rice balls."
Tohka spoke a little bashfully. In response, Yutsuki smiled and shook her head.
"That's not true. Everyone starts as a beginner when it cos to cooking. The fact that you had the idea and could put it into action is already amazing."
I really wish certain people could learn from you.
Looking at the rice balls on the table that already had a proper shape, and thinking back to the Spirits who had been lazing around in the Itsuka house yesterday, Yutsuki could not help adding that in her heart.
"Hm? Pickled plum and mustard greens? Tohka, Mukuro, don't you two dislike these?"
After glancing over the fillings on the table, Yutsuki looked at the two of them in slight surprise.
"Umu… I do not like this sour taste. But precisely because of that, I must overco it. If I cannot even defeat pickled plum, how can I defeat DEM?!"
"Hm. Tohka's words are correct. Muku also decided to end this battle with spicy flavor. After Onee-chan's training, things of this level are no longer anything to Muku."
(Mukuro, did you just say sothing really rude…?)
Looking at the two of them brimming with fighting spirit, Yutsuki could not help feeling awkward. It felt like they were putting their enthusiasm in completely the wrong place.
"Oh right, if you have ti now, why don't you join us? This is really fun."
Tohka invited them.
"Hm? I don't mind."
Yutsuki nodded. For her, who was worrying about how to convey information, Tohka's invitation was exactly what she needed. However…
"Um… I'll pass… Rice balls are made by using your hands to squeeze rice into shape, right? Hmph… Soone like , whose insides are completely rotten, must definitely have so ominous filth attached to my hands too. I'm sure that even if a beggar were given a rice ball made by , they would rather starve to death in despair on an empty stomach than take a single bite… Mixing rice balls like that into everyone's food would already count as poisoning, and would break the law."
Perhaps because of the misunderstanding just now, Natsumi fell into self loathing mode even faster than usual.
However, before Yutsuki could comfort her, Yoshino acted first. Taking advantage of Natsumi's dejection and carelessness, she grabbed Natsumi's hand and sealed off her escape route. Then—
"Ahm."
Without a word, she put Natsumi's finger in her mouth. (TL:ayo)
"Wha—Y-Yoshino?!"
Caught completely off guard, Natsumi was so shaken that her eyes turned into spirals. Yoshino seed to want to say sothing, but because she had Natsumi's finger in her mouth, she could only make vague, muffled noises.
…The scene instantly beca sowhat seductive.
"My, my~ Since Yoshino-chan is busy right now, I, Yoshinon, will speak for her! Natsumi-chan's hands aren't poisonous at all! They're very clean and very pretty! Yoshino-chan likes them very much!"
"Uwa… mm…"
(…This girl Yoshino. When she grows up, she's definitely going to be a fem fatale. Also, where exactly did she learn this kind of move?)
Yutsuki could not help sighing in her heart. Perhaps, in the future, she should seriously screen the TV dramas Yoshino watched.
Imdiately afterward, Tohka and Mukuro, both lacking common sense in similar ways, seed to treat this as an everyday emotional exchange and enthusiastically copied Yoshino by putting Natsumi's other fingers in their mouths.
"Eh? Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh?!"
Natsumi, whose face had turned tomato-red, seed to have completely crashed.
(If this were Miku, she'd probably ascend to heaven from happiness on the spot. But Natsumi's reaction… it's surprisingly effective?)
Looking at the scene before her, which resembled so kind of religious ritual, Yutsuki pondered for a mont and tested the waters.
"…Do you need to join in?"
"Hurry up and stop themmmmmmm!"
…
And so, everyone began making rice balls.
However, perhaps moved by Tohka's resolve to challenge a food she disliked, Yoshino also made up her mind and added celery, which she disliked, as a rice ball filling. Natsumi, anwhile, said she hated gazes and was then proposed to add tuna eyes rich in DHA into rice balls. The the gradually shifted toward the direction of dark cuisine.
"Onee-chan, is there anything you are bad at eating? Muku is curious."
"Food I dislike, huh…"
Yutsuki thought for a mont and answered.
"Surströmming, maybe?"
"Pretty much the whole world hates that, okay? Also, making surstromming into rice balls really would be actual poisoning."
Natsumi could not help retorting.
"Mm, then among things I've eaten, there probably isn't anything I particularly hate or fear. If I had to say sothing… it would be unknown things, I guess?"
"Unknown… things?"
Yoshino tilted her head in confusion.
"Well, don't people often say unknown things are the scariest? So I think I may be afraid of things I've never eaten before… for example, foie gras, caviar, truffles, and so on."
"I see… Hm? Why do I feel like I've heard those nas sowhere?"
Tohka first nodded in understanding, then tilted her head in puzzlent.
Natsumi, anwhile, retorted with an embarrassed face.
"The world's three great delicacies… Yutsuki, aren't you just doing the 'I hate tea1' story?"
"No way. It's true that I've never eaten them, and it's true that unknown things make afraid. It's just that after I actually eat them, maybe that fear will turn into liking them."
Yutsuki replied with perfect confidence.
"That concept swap is ridiculous… Well, it's not like I can't understand. Things you haven't eaten before really can make you uneasy."
Natsumi retorted speechlessly, but temporarily expressed agreent with Yutsuki's view.
"For example, Phantom?"
"Hm?"
Why did she suddenly bring up Phantom? Before Natsumi could ask, Yutsuki silently raised a finger to her lips, giving the "do not answer" signal.
"You don't need to ntion 'Phantom.' Just treat it as if I said the na of so food and talk with . I want to know your attitude toward her."
After freezing for a while, Natsumi finally reacted. Yutsuki intended to use this topic as cover to confirm and exchange information with them.
"As for … I wouldn't say I hate it, but I still feel a bit resistant, I guess. After all, I've only heard about it and never actually co into contact with it. I wouldn't dare try it."
(She doesn't hate her, but she doesn't understand the situation, so she's afraid…)
Imdiately afterward, Yutsuki asked Mukuro.
"Mukuro, what do you think of this dish?"
"…If asked whether Muku likes or dislikes it, Muku chooses dislike. This thing caused Muku to suffer greatly. It would be strange if Muku felt nothing. But—"
Perhaps rembering an unpleasant past, Mukuro's expression carried a hint of anger.
"It is the sa as mustard greens. The taste is pungent, but the food itself has done no wrong. Muku does not intend to force Muku's own mistake onto sothing else."
"…Can I understand that as: although you dislike her, you don't hate her?"
"As expected of Sister. You understand Muku's thoughts."
"Haha, thanks for the praise. What about you, Yoshino-chan?"
"Um… I'm a little scared… but I don't… hate her…"
After thinking for a long ti, Yoshino spoke softly.
"Like Yutsuki-san said… maybe after eating it… it might beco sothing I like… If I avoid it because I'm scared… I feel like that would be a sha… So if there's a chance, I'd like to understand and co into contact with the other person more."
"Haha, as expected of Yoshino-chan, a brave child who isn't picky. Good girl, good girl."
"I see…"
Yutsuki thought for a while, then finally turned her gaze to Tohka.
"Tohka, what do you think?"
"Uh, about that, um…"
Tohka seed to be in trouble. She closed her eyes and sank into deep thought.
That was only natural. For the straightforward and simple Tohka, this roundabout way of speaking was indeed too difficult.
"For example? Is there any food that feels similar to you, Tohka?"
Yutsuki said helplessly.
"A similar food… There is!"
Hearing Yutsuki's words, Tohka seed to suddenly be inspired and clapped her hands excitedly.
"It's like kinako bread!"
"Kinako bread?"
Hearing that, not only Yutsuki, even Natsumi and the others were confused. They all knew that was Tohka's favorite food. What sort of thought process had she gone through to connect the two?
"Tohka… when you say it's like kinako bread, which part do you an exactly? How much you like it?"
"Mm… If you ask whether I like it, it doesn't seem to be to that extent. But… I don't think it's sothing bad."
Tohka seed unable to explain it clearly herself, but she tried her best to express what she ant.
"Before, I always thought everything in the world was my enemy, that everyone wanted to kill . It wasn't until my first date with Shido, when I ate kinako bread, that I learned not everything in the world is bad. There are kind people like Shido, and there are delicious foods like kinako bread. That's why I ca to like eating."
"So… does the mont you beca a big eater have sothing to do with that?"
Natsumi asked speechlessly.
"Mm… that…"
Tohka could not help choking on her words.
However, the speaker had no intention, but the listener had one. Tohka's words made Yutsuki sink into thought.
[In the sa way, although you yourself never noticed it, the past known as Takamiya Shinji must also be an indispensable part of you as Itsuka Shido.]
Those were the words Yutsuki had used to persuade Shido. Now that she thought about it, what would happen if those words were applied to the Spirits as well?
The accumulation of the past would not beco a blank slate just because mories disappeared. Even without her mories, Mukuro, after regaining her emotions, still showed the sa possessiveness she had as a human.
(Yoshino is shy, but she isn't cowardly. It's very possible that she was in an environnt where she couldn't actively go outside. Considering Yoshinon's existence as a second personality who speaks for her, she probably had very little communication with the outside world, especially with people her own age… Long-term hospitalization or sothing like that? Natsumi's self loathing personality would usually only appear after experiencing a serious failure that damaged her confidence, or after being denied and belittled for a long ti. As for Tohka, much of her personality was influenced by Shido. If she says that, then Mio must have left a great positive influence on her past at least once.)
For them, was becoming Spirits truly nothing but misfortune? That question surfaced in Yutsuki's heart.
Yutsuki had to admit that she had subconsciously held a certain prejudice toward Reine—or rather, Takamiya Mio.
She felt disgust toward Mio's thod of destroying other people's lives for the sake of fulfilling her selfish desire. She felt unease at the power Mio possessed and the risk that she could threaten Yutsuki's family.
Because of that, after seeing through Reine's true identity, Yutsuki had not chosen to learn more about the other person. Nor had she wanted to understand. She had simply chosen to remain alert and draw a clear line.
Even now, after learning Mio's past from Shido, her attitude was still to use her rather than cooperate with her.
To put it bluntly, Shido wanted to save Mio. But in Yutsuki's eyes, Takamiya Mio was not worth saving.
(But isn't that also a kind of arrogance?)
Yutsuki silently reflected in her heart.
Information conveyed through prejudiced emotions would also easily carry prejudice. Since Shido and everyone else had chosen to trust her unconditionally, she should not mislead them with that kind of mindset.
"Yutsuki?"
Seeing that Yutsuki had been silent for a long ti, everyone could not help looking puzzled.
"Hah…"
Finally, Yutsuki let out a breath and smiled wryly.
"Sorry, I kept you waiting. The question I asked you all just now wasn't so kind of test. It was simply a ntal warm up for the topic that cos next, and also to confirm whether I was looking at things with prejudice."
After saying that, Yutsuki closed her right eye and crossed the fingers of both hands in front of her lips.
"Next, I'll fulfill my promise and tell you everything I know."
A Japanese folk tale where a man says he is especially afraid of tea, so the villagers keep sending tea to his house
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