«Our perfect plan... totally failed! I can't believe it!» Yuzu slumps forward, her head hitting the table.
She looks absolutely crushed.
«Our plan...? This was your plan! You did everything yourself!» Hakuto fires back.
«And yet, the hand that grabbed her butt was yours!»
«You forced me with that stupid spell!»
Yuzu shakes her head.
«No no. I just turned off your brakes. You did the rest, you little perv.»
It's dinner time.
Yuzu and Hakuto sit at the table, eating.
Rika sits with them, silent.
«I hope you're not seriously believing your pervert little sister's nonsense!» Hakuto blurts, turning to Rika. «She even used a spell to give you dirty dreams!»
Rika, who had been ignoring them all evening, suddenly turns bright red.
She glares at Yuzu.
«S-So...» Rika stammers, flustered. «I-It was you who made me dream those dirty things with Hakuto...?!»
«Ooh... dirty things with Hakuto?» Yuzu repeats, biting her lip with a smirk.
«D-Don't play dumb! I know exactly what a succubus can do!»
«Oh yeah? Then tell us. What exactly did you dream?» Yuzu teases.
«That dream where that idiot Hakuto... saved us... looked at me with his serious face... came closer... touched me... started undressing me—» Rika cuts off, her cheeks burning. «You know exactly what I dreamed! You made it happen!»
«You're right, big sis. I'm the one who gave you that dream. But there's something you should know...» Yuzu smiles uncontrollably, nearly bouncing in her seat. «...My powers aren't strong enough to create a specific dream. They just awaken your deepest desires...»
As Yuzu talks, Rika's eyes widen.
Her face turns pale, like she just saw death itself.
«...I didn't choose to make you dream about Hakuto. I just triggered the thing you desire most!»
Yuzu turns to Hakuto with a big grin. «Looks like that brave, noble side of yours made my frigid big sis wet. We should get attacked more often!»
«Y-You're talking nonsense!» Rika snaps, jumping up from her chair.
Her face burns with embarrassment, and she doesn't dare look at Hakuto. «I-I'm going to take a bath! And you better not do anything weird!»
Rika is about to leave when her phone lights up and chimes.
A message.
«Mom and Shin just landed in Osaka. They'll be here in less than an hour,» Rika mutters after reading it.
A wicked smile creeps across Hakuto's face. «Perfect.»
♡♡♡
«By the God of Light, did a bomb go off here or what—?!» Shin exclaims as he opens the front door.
The garden is still a disaster, full of craters and uprooted trees from Hakuto and Itzu's fight.
But as soon as he steps inside, with Kagura right behind him, Shin freezes.
Hakuto stands in the middle of the living room, gripping the diamond sword tightly.
His right arm is coated in the same crystal.
Rika and Yuzu lie face down in a pool of blood.
Even Hakuto's blade drips with it.
«H-Hakuto...!» Shin stammers, stunned. Kagura drops to her knees, sobbing desperately.
Hakuto turns to his father, his eyes serious.
«They're demons. I just found out. As members of the Tendo family, it's our duty to kill them—even if HESPARC cut us off.»
His voice is cold, distant.
But Shin doesn't answer.
He turns to Kagura, and a wicked smile spreads across his face.
«I think you're right, Hakuto. They're demons. They must be wiped from this world.»
Shin stretches his arm to the side.
White flames swirl around it, gathering in his hand. They form a long sword—pure fire, solid and glowing.
He raises it high.
Kagura is still on the floor, staring up at him in terror.
~What the hell is he doing?!~
Hakuto's eyes widen.
SWISH!
The flaming sword comes slashing down at Kagura.
«NO, STOP!»
Rika's desperate scream echoes through the room.
Shin freezes, stopping the blade a second before it hits Kagura's neck.
Then, Shin and Kagura burst into laughter.
Their three kids stare at them, completely stunned.
«W-What... what the hell is going on...?» Hakuto mutters. His heart is still pounding after his father's sudden move.
«We were born thirty years before you. Did you really think we'd fall for a trick like that?» Shin says with a smug grin and a shrug.
«We knew it was a setup from the start, so we improvised a counterattack. In the end, you were the ones who got fooled,» Kagura says, laughing so hard she nearly cries. «We hoped this moment would come later, but I guess now it's time to explain,» she adds, motioning for them to sit.
She and Shin stay standing.
«Why did you keep it from us?» Hakuto interrupts before they can even speak. «Just a few nights ago, a vampire attacked us and tried to kidnap Rika and Yuzu! What if I hadn't been home? They wouldn't be here now!»
«Oh, so that's what the mess in the garden was,» Shin says casually. Kagura's face turns serious.
«You're right, Hakuto. But if I had told you the truth from the start, you probably wouldn't have seen my daughters in a good light—because they're demons. My wish, like your father's, was for the three of you to live a normal youth. No magic. No battles. And if you ever found out the truth, your bond would be strong enough to survive it.»
«You must think really low of me if you believe something like that would make me hate them. I cared about them before I knew—and I still care now!» Hakuto says firmly, his eyes steady.
It's the kind of look Rika can never ignore.
«Hakuto is right!» Rika shouts, jumping to her feet. «But now we want the truth! The WHOLE truth!»
Kagura is about to speak, but Shin cuts her off before she says a word.
«I'll handle it.»
Shin's face turns serious too.
It's rare for him—so rare it leaves all three kids speechless.
Especially Hakuto.
His father is never serious.
But when he is, Hakuto knows it means something big.
«It all goes back to fourteen years ago...» Shin begins. «That number means something to you two, doesn't it?» he says, looking at Yuzu and Rika.
«The death of our father...» Yuzu whispers.
Shin nods and continues. «After your father died, your mom was left alone with you two—just newborns. My job, as the former director of HESPARC Japan, was to kill you. Finding you was easy. But when I pointed my sword at you...» He sighs. «...you were the same age as my Hakuto. I saw his chubby face in yours. You smiled at me—Rika, you were two. Yuzu, just one. You had no idea. I couldn't go through with it. I helped you escape. I turned against my own men. The only reason I wasn't executed was my reputation—a thank you for all I'd done. It cost me everything... but I'd do it all again. Especially now, seeing what bombshells you've become.» He grins, killing the mood in one shot.
Hakuto sighs.
The miracle of his dad acting serious lasted ten seconds.
He knows this story by heart, but it still hits hard.
And yet, something still bugs him.
«The marriage. Us living together... Why now?» Hakuto asks.
Kagura answers. «I'm the one who asked him. My daughters have reached the age where their powers are waking up. Powers hard to control, even harder to hide. One mistake, and HESPARC would find us. They still think we ran to N'raeth. Or worse, someone else might come—someone who wants their powers. Yuzu and Rika inherited rare gifts from their hybrid blood. That's why I asked your father to move in. Your protection, in exchange for my support.»
«So... in the end, we're just mercenaries?» Hakuto asks, his face darkening with melancholy.
«No.» Kagura softly brushes Hakuto's hair back with her hand. «We're a family.»
«Oh, almost forgot...» Shin says, turning to Hakuto. «I've got a surprise for you! A really good one!»
«A surprise...? What is it...?»
Shin grins wide. «You'll find out tomorrow morning.»