Chapter 348: Joy Turns to Sorrow
"Our mission is only to seize the spiritual beasts held by those families; there is no need to kill too many people."
Isayama Yomi had no intention of refuting Isayama Mei's viewpoint. Although she was quite curious as to why Mei's persona had shifted so drastically, they were now both serving the Nine-Tailed Fox; she wasn't going to court death by prying into things she shouldn't know.
"Speaking of spiritual beasts, how is the situation on your end? You should have killed your father, the head of the Isayama family, with your own hands, right?"
Isayama Mei, also not wishing to argue with Yomi, swept her gaze over the blade Shishio in Yomi's hand before shifting the topic to Isayama Naraku. Although they possessed a great deal of freedom as puppets, they were essentially controlled by the Nine-Tailed Fox. Since the Fox's orders were shared between them, Mei had clearly received the command the Fox gave Yomi while she was dealing with the Isuna family: to kill Isayama Naraku personally.
"I moved against him, but I didn't kill him..."
"Didn't kill him? Could it be that you went soft?"
Mei was stunned by Yomi's statement. For a Special Grade to fail an assassination of a cripple with only one arm—she could think of no other reason besides holding back.
"Of course not. It was the Inari God who intervened from the shadows."
Being suspected of having a soft heart made Yomi extremely dissatisfied. After all, for Mei to say such a thing was undoubtedly questioning her loyalty to Lord Nine-Tails!
"If a deity intervened, then there was nothing to be done," Mei said after a long silence.
"And you? I have Shishio in my hands. Did you capture the Isuna family's spiritual beast, Kudagune (Pipe Fox)?"
"Naturally. Although that thing has gained sentience and is quite cunning, I still caught it."
As she spoke, Mei pulled out a transparent cage about the size of a palm from behind her. Inside, a tiny snow-white fox, half the size of a hand, was scurrying about frantically, looking quite pitiful and endearing.
"In that case, regarding the three spiritual beasts, we are only missing the Tsuchimiya family's Byakuei."
Looking at the white fox in Mei's hand, a relaxed expression appeared on Yomi's face.
"Don't be careless. Although Tsuchimiya Garaku's body is already being dragged down to the point of collapse by Byakuei, he is still not someone the two of us can handle."
"I know that, of course."
Mei's well-intentioned reminder earned her a roll of the eyes from Yomi. While the two had been in a state of silent competition before becoming puppets, now that they both served the Nine-Tailed Fox, their relationship had become as harmonious as that of old friends.
"Lord Nine-Tails, after obtaining that life force, will personally capture the spiritual beast Byakuei—which was converted from the most Sessho-seki. We only need to muddy the waters in Tokyo during this time."
"Then where do you plan to start?" Mei asked curiously, seeing Yomi's confidence. Even though they had attacked two psychic families, that was far from enough to plunge Tokyo into chaos.
"Naturally, it's the department where I used to work."
Thinking of the comrades in the Ministry of Environment with whom she once fought side-by-side, a gorgeous smile bloomed on Yomi's face.
"I really want to see it soon. The look of disbelief on their faces when they are stabbed in the back by a trusted companion..."
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"Ah, it's so hot! Miko, I'm hot and bored!"
In Yotsuya Miko's room.
Since her mother and younger brother were both away on business and wouldn't be back, Miko had invited Yurikawa Hana over to spend the long night with her. Unfortunately, the power grid in her community had malfunctioned; even with electricians working overnight, power wouldn't be restored until the latter half of the night. It was the height of summer. Even at night, the stifling heat seeped through the windows into the room.
"Well, how about we go spend the night at an internet cafe?"
Miko glanced at the time on her phone. It was only around eight o'clock, but because of the blackout, everything was pitch black. Her father, who had been a benevolent spirit, had already passed on to the afterlife after seeking out Hikigaya Hachiman. Now, accompanied only by a single white candle and the noisy Hana, Miko felt an eerie chill in her heart.
"An internet cafe?"
Hearing Miko's suggestion, Hana stopped rolling around on the bed. Using her flexible waist to sit straight up, she rested her chin in her hand and began considering the feasibility of Miko's proposal.
"An internet cafe should have a generator. The price for an overnight stay isn't too expensive, plus there are free ice drinks to have..."
"Free ice drinks?!"
Hana, the glutton, felt her eyes light up at the mention of free beverages.
"I want to go, I want to go! Miko, let's go to the internet cafe right now!"
As she spoke, Hana jumped off the bed and ran toward the door.
"Hey, wait! we need to bring some spare clothes!"
Miko grabbed the excited Hana and pulled her back. Her reason for suggesting the cafe was because they had air conditioning and shower rooms, not for a few paltry free ice drinks!
Ten minutes later, on the road near Miko's community.
Hana was humming a song, skipping along while holding Miko's hand.
"Hana, you could easily twist your ankle doing that."
Despite only having the phone's flashlight for a light source, Hana dared to walk like that on an unfamiliar road. Miko was deeply worried that this optimist would soon be clutching her leg in tears, seeking comfort.
"Hehe, don't worry, Miko. My balance is excellent!"
Hana gestured a "strong" pose for herself. Then, three minutes later...
"Waaaah, Miko, my foot hurts so much!"
"...Didn't I just warn you not to walk like that?"
Miko looked with a dark expression at Hana, who was now sitting on the ground, pitiably hugging Miko's thigh and sobbing.
"Who knew a big rock would suddenly appear on the road!"
Hana pouted as she defended herself, but the sharp pain from her right ankle made her shut up instantly, and she went back to crying against Miko's leg.
"Ah, honestly!"
Frustratedly rubbing her long hair, Miko looked at the "tragic" Hana on the ground. She let out a long sigh and then crouched down with her back to her friend.
"Get on. I'll carry you to a clinic to have it looked at..."
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