“What are you talking about?!” Suzu cried, stabbing a finger at Kikyou. “Hana and Lord Ichinomiya found their way to each other despite opposition from their families. They’re Romeo and Juliet! As her real best friend, I won’t let you interfere with their love!”
It seemed that Suzu was still laboring under a few misunderstandings.
“Do you even hear yourself? He may look like a gentleman, but he’s got ulterior motives written all over him!”
“That’s the mark of love.”
“You’re way off.”
Hana stood beside her bickering friends, flabbergasted. “This is chaos…”
The two seemed content to amuse themselves without Hana.
“Hazuki, let’s go see what’s over there,” she suggested.
“They won’t mind if we leave them?”
“They’re fine. They do this all the time.”
Suzu and Kikyou argued day in and day out. It was unclear if they were enemies or amazing friends. In any case, their fights had never turned into anything dangerous.
Hana used to try breaking up their arguments, but they seemed to enjoy their quarrels, so recently, she had started leaving them alone.
While she was showing Hazuki her favorite arcade machines, she asked, “Are you going to join the Association after we graduate?”
“It’ll probably end up that way. Like I said before, they’ve already approached me, and I’ll be able to make the best use of Hiragi if I become a practitioner,” Hazuki replied. “Besides, it seems like it would be difficult for me to live in ordinary society.”
Hazuki had been made to walk the path of practitioners from the start. She didn’t know anything about what was considered ordinary. No one had ever taught her. It would require immense courage to leap into a completely unfamiliar world.
In any case, there was no way the Association would ignore a practitioner with a human shikigami like Hazuki, so the answer was obvious from the get-go.
“I thought they would have tried to persuade you to join, too,” Hazuki said. “You played a crucial role in resolving the attack on our school, you have two human shikigami—not to mention your inugami turned shikigami—so I was positive they would try to headhunt you.”
“Not yet, they haven’t. Anyway, as part of the deal I made with Saku, I requested to work at a regular company. He might be helping me keep them away.”
Otherwise, considering the way Hana had brandished her power during the incident, there was no way she hadn’t attracted the Association’s attention. The Class A teacher had even tried to persuade her to join his class. In fact, it was downright bizarre that the Association had left her alone all this time. The natural conclusion was that someone was pulling strings in the background.
“I don’t want to deal with them. It sounds like a pain. Do you think Saku will handle it for me if I ask?”
“You’re really that staunchly against joining?”
“It’ll happen when hell freezes over.”
“But you’re so strong.”
What a waste, she seemed to want to say.
But it didn’t matter what Hazuki said. Hana was determined to become a run-of-the-mill office drone. Perhaps it was time she reminded Saku of that fact. She wanted the Association to stay far away from her.
As Hana and Hazuki were talking, a man appeared in front of them out of nowhere. “Hey, you two,” he called to them.
Hana looked at him with suspicion. “Us?”
The man had white hair and a face like a model. He wore a long coat that complemented his figure. With his earrings and jewelry, he looked a bit like a playboy, but his gaze was humorless and intense.
For a stranger, the way he was staring at them was downright rude.
His eyes darted between Hana and Hazuki. He lifted a hand to his chin as if he were mulling something over.
Then he asked, “Which of you is married to Saku?”
Hana was the first to respond to his question. “What?” She glared at him with distrust. What an outrageous thing to ask before even introducing himself. “Who the hell are you?” she demanded.
He turned to her and his eyes flicked up to where Azuha was resting on her hair. Struck by a thought, he snatched Azuha from her head.
Hana was greatly disturbed seeing her precious Azuha ripped violently away from her. “Stop! What are you doing?!” she yelled.
She reached out a hand to take the shikigami back, but the difference in their height was too large, so she couldn’t reach.
He scoffed as if to incense her further.
Hana was quivering with rage. “Dammit. Give her back!”
“And if I refuse?” he drawled.
She gnashed her teeth in frustration. He was clearly making fun of her.
That was when Azuha released the restraints on her abilities and blasted the man with her full power.
“Shit!” he cried, shielding his eyes from the piercing light Azuha was emitting.
The shikigami took advantage of the opening to flit away, returning safely to Hana’s side.
“Are you okay, Azuha?” Hana asked.
“Yes.”
Relieved, Hana turned a furious glower on the rude interloper.
“Aaah. Judging from that display, you must be Saku’s bride,” he remarked. “The younger of the twins was rumored to be a washout, but I suppose that info is outdated?”
“It’s none of your business!” Hana exploded.
Next to Hana, Hazuki found her eyes drawn to the man’s chest where a familiar pendant was dangling from a cord around his neck. She grabbed Hana’s arm in a panic. “Wait a minute, Hana. He has an obsidian pendant.”
“Your other half seems much more composed,” the man said scornfully, holding the pendant aloft as if to say, Take a good look. “I’m Yukizasa Sankourou. I obtained the Obsidian rank just recently.”
Hazuki reacted to the name with shock. “What?!”