Natsuya Yoruhana didn"t understand this feeling... or perhaps she didn"t have the time to consider it.She was currently preoccupied and lacked the time to pay her emotions a large amount of attention.
After instantly regaining her senses, she turned around, took out her cell phone, and began dialing as she walked to the window.
Seiji looked at her back silently.
With this, he figured that the situation wouldn"t develop like last time.
The memory of s.h.i.+ka"s death and Hitaka"s crazed appearance after losing control of herself flashed through his mind.
Now, Natsuya would instruct Hitaka to carefully ensure that she was pursuing the correct "Snow Girl" in addition to tracking s.h.i.+ka Kagura"s movements. This would confirm that his so-called "guess" was actually correct!
The enemy Yin Yang Master utilized such a vicious, underhanded plot... If the ploy succeeded, it meant that he or she was willing to sacrifice s.h.i.+ka, their own retainer, in order to destroy Natsuya"s spell formation. They were unconcerned about the ripple effect, which would cause calamities to befall every single ordinary student at Genhana High School. Someone who would go so far to achieve victory could only be described as evil.
Seiji felt a sense of rage towards this unknown person.
He wasn"t very knowledgeable about Yin Yang Masters and their morals, but judging from Natsuya"s reaction, this probably counted as something contemptible even by their standards.
At any rate, Seiji believed that if an incident huge enough to affect the safety of all the students in Genhana High School was still considered "normal," then Yin Yang Masters would never be able to hide their existence on Sakura Island in the first place!
In summary, the enemy Yin Yang Master"s plan was far from "ordinary."
Just why, and for what, was that b.a.s.t.a.r.d going to such a degree for?
Seiji didn"t know, nor did he want to know, nor did he need to know.
He was a student at Genhana, and all his friends studied here as well.
The moment that this b.a.s.t.a.r.d decided on such a malicious plot, he or she became Seiji"s enemy.
Besides, he personally witnessed the result of this malicious plot"s successful outcome.
The way s.h.i.+ka"s body was sapped of all warmth as she died, and her final words which were so pure...
Hitaka Shuho, who single-mindedly fought for Natsuya"s sake, but ended up going crazy in such an unseemly fas.h.i.+on...
If it weren"t for the fact that he had the ability to save and load, the continuance of this plot would only result in him being forced to personally slay Hitaka, then watch as he and the entire school"s students had terrible catastrophes come for them one after the other; a tragic ending, so to speak.
The cause behind all this was that... currently still-unknown Yin Yang Master!
For himself, and for his friends, he... Seiji Haruta was definitely going to kill off that b.a.s.t.a.r.d!!
No, he should say instead that he needed to a.s.sist Natsuya Yoruhana in killing off that b.a.s.t.a.r.d.
Very good; target locked on.
At this moment, Seiji"s eyes were burning with fervor.
Outside the school.
Hitaka Shuho received a phone call from her young missus.
They were still able to use cell phones as they hadn"t deployed the anti-communication spell yet. Although they had more effective and reliable communication methods available to them, they wouldn"t use such a method unless it was a special time such as in the midst of battle in order to save spiritual energy.
After hearing what Natsuya had to tell her, she felt chills running down her spine as she considered it for herself.
"If this is really the situation, then this plot is truly a malicious one!" Hitaka concluded.
Hitaka attempted to imagine the consequences of her falling for such a plot. In the end, the spell formation would... and the entire school"s teachers and students would be affected as well, and even her young missus...
She couldn"t help but s.h.i.+ver.
This was far too frightening.
Thankfully, her missus thought about this possibility and warned her.
Otherwise, she might have really fallen for such a trap... if this trap was real.
Even though she wasn"t certain yet, Hitaka instinctively perceived that "Natsuya"s" guess was on the mark!
That was what her intuition told her.
She definitely needed to be cautious about stopping that Snow Girl retainer!
The red-haired girl who had been so full of battle spirit calmed down significantly due to receiving this phone call.
"Snow Girl... The "Reaper"s Curse...""
In the student council room.
After calling Hitaka Shuho, Natsuya Yoruhana immediately sent someone to check on s.h.i.+ka Kagura"s whereabouts.
After making the appropriate arrangements, she finally hung up her call and turned around to face Seiji once more.
As she observed his face, her heart surged with emotions, but she instantly quelled the complicated feelings which rose up within her.
She smiled at him.
"I"ve finished the preparations."
Seiji nodded and smiled in return.
"That"s good then... No matter what the result is, please inform me on s.h.i.+ka Kagura"s activities."
"Sure thing, if you"d like to know."
"Yep... I"m leaving now, then."
Everything was finished here. Seiji turned around to leave.
Natsuya blinked and slowly rubbed her chest as she watched him walk out of the room.
"Harutkun..."
...
Later that night.
Just like the previous iteration, it was raining.
Just like the previous time, Seiji had brought an umbrella to the park.
He was filled with worry as he stared at the thick, dark rainclouds.
"I hope... it won"t be like that again."
Before cla.s.ses had ended, Natsuya called him and told him of her attempt at establis.h.i.+ng s.h.i.+ka"s whereabouts.
Unsurprisingly, she was unable to locate the middle school girl who was pretending to be on sick leave anywhere.
Oh, more accurately, Seiji was the one who wasn"t surprised.
In Natsuya"s mind, this increased the probability that Seiji"s "theory" was correct, but it wasn"t 100% confirmed yet.
But by now, she should be able to confirm it... if Hitaka was able to do a good job.
Seiji could only put his trust in the red-haired girl now.
He silently stood by the swings and waited.
The rain kept up its torrential downpour.
And then, finally...
*Boom!!*
Just like last time... no; this time, the sound wasn"t as loud as before!
The silvery-gray figure descended from the sky and caused the ground to crack.
She was half kneeling.
She hadn"t collapsed.
And...
She wasn"t wearing a mask!
"s.h.i.+ka Kagura!"
Seiji shouted out her name as he clearly saw who she was.
That white mask from last time was missing, and her beautiful face could clearly be seen!
What did this mean?
It meant that Hitaka must have removed her mask while fighting with her!
After Natsuya"s warning, Hitaka must have aimed for s.h.i.+ka"s mask first in order to confirm her ident.i.ty; that way she wouldn"t go all-out from the start!
Then, s.h.i.+ka was now...
The girl, who was still slightly dazed from her recent battle, turned around as she heard someone shout her name.
She saw Seiji"s tall figure standing there.
His handsome face didn"t display astonishment or fear, like she"d expected.
His emotions were more complex than that; he showed worry and relief...
Why was that?
s.h.i.+ka couldn"t help but wonder, even though her mind had not yet regained full function.
But in the next few moments, all her doubts were washed away.
That was because he instantly ran to her side, chucking away his umbrella as he kneeled on one knee and pulled her into his embrace!
She was being hugged.
To s.h.i.+ka Kagura, this was something she hadn"t experienced in far too long... Not since her hazy childhood memories.
Those hazy memories suddenly became a lot clearer.
Hugs felt so firm, so warm, this concrete feeling...
"This is wonderful..."
A gentle voice sounded by her ears.
The sound of rainwater seemed to diminish somehow as the entire world grew quiet. This gentle voice was all she could hear.
"You... came..."
His voice was filled with relief and satisfaction as she"d come here, was standing here, and existed here.
"Wonderful. You were here."
Her distant memories overlapped with this moment.
s.h.i.+ka felt like both her entire body and soul were being warmed up.
Her eyes started tearing up as she was unable to control herself anymore.
Within the depths of her body and soul, something black and white, icy, and lonely; something which had been sealed for so long was finally released.
Together with her tears.
A voice that she had sealed away for so long spoke out from within her innermost soul.
"I-I"m right here. I"m so happy... that you found me..."
"Big brother..."