Were it not for the fact that the Kiryuu family had an entire hotsprings inn all to themselves, reasons being that the inn was in a lesser-known part of town and just happened to be part of a certain someone's territory in that particular part of town, the other guests would have cried out in shock as the hallways became shredded paper and splinters and the rooms demolished. It was also by astronomical luck that the Kiryuu family themselves were nowhere near the center of that carnage and were instead sleeping blissfully away in another part of the inn, dead to the world and clocked out six ways from the sun. Not even the sound of a demented monster rampaging inside the inn woke them up.
As for a panicking Namikaze Haru and a stark naked Kiryuu Aika, they were fearing for their lives.
"Ohshitohshitohshitohshitohshitohshitohshitohshitohshit!"
"Run! Just keep running!"
"Come back here, ya little shits!"
Haru wondered if he pissed off a god or deity in his past life for this to happen to him. It was bad enough that a bunch of Fallen Angels wanted to kill him for some asinine reason or another, worse yet when he actually did die and come back to life, but what were the odds that he did something to piss off the youkai in Kyoto? Actually, what the hell did he do? He racked his brain for an answer, and yet somehow, it came up blank. The only thing he could think of was that it had something to do with what that Tengu said and Tamamo, but he couldn't be sure.
Every ounce of his being was determined to get out of this mess alive, along with Aika.
"Why is that thing chasing us?!" Aika demanded hysterically. "Is this your fault, Namikaze?!"
"How should I know?!" he snapped. "And shut up and run, woman! Unless you want to—HOLY SHIT!"
An iron club nearly came down upon him, barely missing by a hair's width. He felt the wind generated by the swing against his back, and the shockwave that followed after the swing. Both Haru and Aika found themselves being thrown into the air. They had just reached the bend in the hallway and would have made a turn to avoid the oni chasing them, but now they were thrown out into the streets, smashing through a paper window. The red-haired boy's face paled when he was greeted with a four-story drop below him, concrete waiting down below.
"Son of a biiiiiiIIIIIIIIITCH!"
Aika screamed as they fell, flailing about like a fish. Haru's mind raced for an escape route—any escape route that could save them. Assuming what happened to him when Freed shot him was not a one-time thing, he could come back. Aika couldn't. And he still had no idea how he was even supposed to use this damned Heaven's Feel! As they drew closer, he saw something slowly making its way toward their landing destination and praised whatever god was giving him a break. He snatched Aika's hand, the girl still, flailing, and pulled her into his arms.
Seconds later, the two crashed atop a wooden cart that happened to be right underneath them as they fall. Its contents, green leafy balls, managed to soften their landing. In the process, however, they were crushed and utterly obliterated in the process. The cart also snapped in two from the sudden collision, sitting in halves and housing the ruined vegetables and the two teens, currently groaning and dazed from the fall.
Haru swore he heard somebody cry out "My cabbages!" in despair, but he ignored that. Instead, he focused on what was important. He and Aika were alive.
"H-Hey, Aika. Are you—"
His mouth went dry as he looked down and was promptly reminded that Aika was completely and utterly nude. More than that, her body was pressed against his and still wet from the hotspring. He could feel the fresh drops of water soak into his clothes, making him painfully aware of the soft, fleshy orbs being squished against his chest and her knee against a very specific part of his lower body. Her hair was still wet, clinging to her skin and somehow making her look more attractive than she had any right to be. He also became aware of how utterly sexy she looked without her glasses.
... Her breasts are bigger than they look. a quiet part of his mind said in perversion. His lower half agreed.
Were it not for the fact that they were out in public, and in the middle of danger, Haru was sure he would feel aroused like nothing before.
He was thankful that Tamamo wasn't here to see this, otherwise he was certain he'd either be dead for daring to cheat on her with KIRYUU AIKA of all people or he would never have any children. Or maybe she'd just make it clear that she was the only woman for him and make aggressive love. He sorely hoped for that last one, even though they had actually yet to do the do.
"My everything hurts..." Aika moaned in pain. "What happened? Did we—" Her words caught her in throat as she soon realized their compromising position. Her cheeks began to turn a whole new shade of red, especially when she noticed how close they were. She was pleasantly surprised how long his eyelashes were. "... Um, okay. I know we're both perverts of the highest order, but ah… i-isn't this kind, of you know?"
"... Yeah?"
Was it his imagination, or did her lips look so kissable right about now? They looked so inviting, so perfect and—
No! Wait! Stop! Hold it! Time out! Begone, evil thoughts! Haru's sanity roared with a vengeance. We are NOT thinking about kissing Aika! That is in violation of Namikaze Haru's Standards and Moral Codes, Section 127, Article 9, Paragraph 3! FOCUS LIBIDO!
Thankfully, or unfortunately depending on how you looked at it, the atmosphere was short lived and the two were reminded they were still being chased. They heard the sound of wood being obliterated as a shadow fell over them. They looked above and screamed, scrambling out of the cart and running as fast as possible. Not a second later did the oni come crashing down to street level, obliterating the cart and its contents further. Haru dared to look behind him and saw the oni rise up to full height, searching the crowd of shocked pedestrians before zeroing in on its prey.
"You ain't getting away, asshole!" the oni bellowed.
What the hell is wrong with him?! Haru wanted to scream. I thought anything and everything was supposed to keep themselves a secret from ordinary people, yet this guy is running up at us in broad daylight in a crowded street!
It didn't make any sense. He thought the supernatural world was kept secret from the normal one! Yet the Oni was willing to move actively at a time and place like this?! Either he knew less about the supernatural world than he thought, or the Oni was an idiot. He had a sneaking suspicion it was the latter.
The oni's questionable intelligence aside, now was hardly the time to be idle. He pulled Aika with him as they ran, ducking into an alley. Behind him, he heard the sound of the oni's furious roars and the ground quaking with each step as it gave chase. He had no idea where the alleyway would bring him or if it was leading him to a dead-end, the panic filling his mind fueling his own adrenaline. His body was still burning in pain from the collision with the cart and the cabbages, even if the items in question broke their fall. He needed to stop and take a rest before he burned himself out.
"Ow! Shit!"
Haru looked over his shoulder. "You alright?!"
"I-I sliced my foot on something!" Aika winced. Bloody footprints followed behind her with each step.
That didn't surprise Haru, The alley hardly looked sanitary in the least. While it wasn't grimy and filled with muck and dirt, shards of broken glass were scattered about alongside pieces of discarded garbage, ruined articles of clothing, and things that were better off not being described. Hopefully once they lost the oni, he could give Aika proper medical attention, though this brought about a new problem—if Aika was running around with a bloody foot, the oni could follow them.
Oh, this is going to suck, isn't it? he mentally groaned.
A bend came into view. Haru and Aika dashed further into the alley. Using this brief moment, Haru picked Aika up and threw her onto his back. "E-Eh? Whoa, wait, hang on, Namikaze, what're you—?!"
"Just shut up and trust me!" Haru snapped at his fellow pervert before he took off in a full-powered sprint. As slender and thin as Aika was, what little weight she had begun to settle in his body. His body ached in protest, demanding he put her down and rest.
The oni had other ideas. It quickly caught up with them, smashing into the wall as it skidded to a stop. "There you are!" With a gleeful cackle, it began to charge at them, wildly swinging its club around in anticipation of smashing them into blood paste on the ground. Each swing struck the walls of the alley, either creating small craters or indentures, or just outright smashing a hole through the walls in the process. "Come here, you phony bastard! I'll grind your bones into dust!"
"What the hell did I ever do to you?!" Haru shouted in dismay. The oni gave no response. "Ugh, this sucks! This totally freaking sucks!" How come he was always the one to get into these sorts of messes?! Was he going to be one of those wimpy protagonists in anime that had to be rescued all the time by hot babes?! As much as he appreciated the female body, he still had his pride dammit!
Open street laid in open view of the alley's mouth. He was rapidly approaching the exit, but the oni was proving to be even faster. By the time he did get out of the alley, the oni would have caught up to him and brought its club down on them both.
It's one thing if I die, but it's a whole other thing if Kiryuu dies too! Haru's mind scrambled for answers. Something, anything to save the girl on his back. But there was nothing around him that looked as though it could slow the oni down. And even if there was anything, would he even have the time to grab it and throw it, hoping it'd smash into his eye before it could reduce him to a broken mess?
Something came into view. A small figure stood at the mouth of the alley. He couldn't see them clearly from where he was, but Haru could tell it was a child. His blood ran cold. "H-Hey! You need to get out of here! This thing will—!"
The child moved its arm. Something shot past his face, so fast he couldn't see it. A moment later, he heard an explosion directly behind him, drowning out the oni's screams. Stunned, he momentarily stopped and turned, staring at the oni in shock as it clutched its now bleeding black face, flailing about like a child throwing a tantrum.
Aika gaped. "W-What in the—"
"Hey!" the child called out. "This way! Hurry!"
Haru was not about to question who the child was or why they saved them. Instead, he took off in a run and quickly followed after them as they fled the mouth of the alley and left the screaming oni behind. Once more, the perverse teen was back out into a crowded street and chasing after a small child, cutting through the crowds of people and towards an unknown destination. Some people stopped and gaped at him, no doubt because he was carrying a naked woman on his back, but they weren't his concern.
That said, he did hope he wouldn't see any videos being posted online about some boy carrying a naked girl on his back, running through the streets of Kyoto.
"Haa... Haa... Haa..."
Haru finally allowed his body to rest. His chest rose and fell rapidly while he sucked in huge gulps of air, sitting on the ground with his back pressed up against the wall behind him. He, Aika and the child who saved them were in another alley, albeit smaller and with a dead-end in the form of a brick wall towards his right. If anything, the alley was little more than a back entrance to the building he was leaning up against.
"We… finally got away..." Haru panted, swallowing the lump in his throat before he looked at Aika. The poor girl was shivering, seeing as how the only article of clothing she now had on was his jacket. "How's… how's your foot...?"
"Stinging like a bitch," Aika hissed. She tried touching the bleeding cut on her heel, but immediately pulled back when it flared in pain as if in protest. "I don't think it's too deep, though. A-Anyways, what the hell was that back there? Why was an honest-to-god oni chasing after us?!" Her eyes narrowed at him. "Is this because of you, Namikaze?"
"Wha-why're you blaming me?!"
"Oh, I dunno. How about the fact that it was asking us if one of us just so happened to have revived Tamamo-no- fucking-Mae?!"
He cringed. Okay, when she put it like that...
At any rate, though, it seemed like they were in the clear. Haru shook his in relief before he turned to the child responsible for saving them. "So, um... Thanks for saving—"
He stopped and stared. Aika promptly did the same before she started to gush.
If Haru were to describe the child in a word, it would be "adorable."
It was a young girl, seeming to be in her early teens, if not not approaching them. Her hair was as golden as the gleaming sunlight and tied up. She wore an ornate white kimono that one would expect nobility would wear. But the most prominent features of all were the fox-like ears on her head and the swishing golden tail.
If it weren't for the hair color, he would've mistaken her for a child Tamamo.
It took everything in Haru's power to not rush up to the girl and envelop her in a bone-crushing hug. Aika was visibly trembling and desperately holding off the urge herself.
"Whew..." the fox girl breathed a sigh as she dusted off her clothes. "Kunou is very sorry about that. Kunou didn't think she'd have to go up and find you herself!" She puffed her cheeks and put her hands on her hips. She looked annoyed, but to Haru and Aika, she only became a thousand times more adorable and sweet. "Why are you humans so much trouble?!"
Oh my god, she speaks in third person. I am going to die of sugar and spice! Haru gushed in his head.
Aika was the first to snap out of her stupor. "Um, sorry, but who are you?"
"Kunou," the fox girl introduced herself politely. "She is here to greet Namikaze, Haru-sama to Kyoto to meet with Okaa-sama and Amaterasu-sama."
Haru blinked. "Okaa-sama?" His first thought went to this Yasaka woman that was mentioned by the Tengu that carted him off in the first place. When that train of thought crossed his mind, he couldn't help but feel indignant and angry. Would it kill these people to just send a messenger to his front door and instead of kidnapping him out in the middle of a grocery run, and in broad daylight no less? How hard was it to act so civil? He was about to voice his protest, telling her that if this Yasaka woman wanted to meet him and Tamamo so badly, she could come down to meet with him herself instead of kidnapping him and bringing him over to her.
The only thing that stopped him from making such rude remarks was what Kunou said at the end. One that gave him plenty of reason to pause, as had Aika who looked gobsmacked.
"... I'm sorry. Did you just say Amaterasu wants to meet with me?" he asked. Kunou nodded. "As in, the Amaterasu-sama? Amaterasu-no-Ookami-sama? Goddess of the Sun and all that?"
Kunou nodded again. "Yes, that is correct. She wishes to speak with you, in regards to the supposed revival of Tamamo-no-Mae-sama." The fox girl stared at Haru curiously. "If Kunou might ask… is it true you revived Tamamo-no-Mae-sama? She means no offense, but you don't look like much."
Haru didn't hear her jab. He was too busy dying on the inside.
Was it too late to return to a normal life...?