Chapter Thirty-One: Onishang and the First Encounter

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The miracle... did not appear. The hope in the two girls' eyes gradually dimmed, as if they were about to sink into true despair.

Just past noon, a terrible crime was unfolding in a quiet corner of the park. Four thuggish-looking men were menacingly surrounding two bright and beautiful young girls.

Fallen leaves drifted down, sighing for this display of humanity's darker side. One leaf danced through the air and landed on Ayase’s hand. As if by magic, the miscreants around them instantly froze mid-action.

Ayase and Kirino noticed the change in their predicament and hope flickered once more, but scanning their surroundings, they were disappointed not to see the figure they longed for. It wasn’t that they liked him; only that, in situations like these, his presence alone could put them at ease.

With Ki not showing up, they were left wondering why the thugs had all stopped so suddenly.

“Sato, if I remember correctly, the boss told us not to mess with someone, and that someone should be...”

“I heard that guy single-handedly put all the bosses in the hospital, even when they had guns.”

“They say he’s the infamous devil everyone’s been talking about online. I think his name is...”

“Ki.”

“No way… It can’t be that much of a coincidence, can it? Are these two… his women?”

“Of course not!” they both shouted in unison. “We’re just friends, that’s all! Ayase just happens to… live with him, right, Ayase?” Kirino’s voice trailed off at the end.

“Kirino, don’t make it sound so ambiguous! That perverted freak is just temporarily staying at my place. Anyway… he already has a girlfriend,” Ayase quickly explained, hoping Kirino would clear up the misunderstanding.

“He’s staying in your room, isn’t he? Though, that guy really is a pervert. When he left… I’ve decided not to return that pair of glasses,” Kirino said through clenched teeth.

“When he gets back, I’ll kill him for daring to lay a finger on you, Kirino.”

The four forgotten thugs grew increasingly anxious. Was what the girls said true? Had they really provoked someone they shouldn’t have?

“Don’t be fooled, everyone! They’re just lying after hearing us mention that guy, trying to get away with it. Don’t fall for it—let’s grab them first and talk later,” the blond tried to steady his voice.

“Hmph, a bunch of losers with barely any fighting ability. Ki only has two friends in this world, and that’s us. Isn’t he fifteen or sixteen, long black hair, kind of handsome in a sunny way—though a pervert. Oh, and he’s always glued to his laptop, browsing online, even walking while playing on his computer, not afraid of getting hit by a car,” Kirino said proudly, puffing out her chest as she described Ki, still a bit indignant over that day’s events.

“They really seem to know him. What she said matches what I heard. What now? Are we going to be killed by that devil?”

“We should be fine, right? He doesn’t know who we are, besides… we haven’t actually done anything, have we?”

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“Hmph, better apologize quickly, or I’ll tell him you tried to assault Ayase, and then—”

“Kirino, don’t say such things. There’s nothing between me and that perverted idiot, and I wasn’t assaulted,” Ayase muttered softly, her head lowered, voice almost broken.

“Sorry, I apologize,” Kirino hurriedly said.

“We’re truly sorry, please forgive us, and please don’t tell… Lord Ki about this,” the four thugs, now certain, fell to their knees and begged for forgiveness. “You can hit us or scold us however you like, just please forgive us.”

“Uh—” The scene caught the girls off guard, but Kirino quickly recovered, put her hands on her hips, and scolded, “You still have the nerve to ask for forgiveness? If you hadn’t learned about our connection to Ki, our lives would’ve been ruined by you today—you’d have dragged us off to… Bastard perverts, even worse than that weird freak!” The thought of what could have happened made Kirino’s face pale, her voice trembling with anger.

“We… we know we were wrong. We won’t dare do it again, please have mercy and let us go,” the blond pleaded. He had considered silencing them for good, but remembering the devil’s power and unpredictability, he thought better of it. Evidence or not, someone like that could always find a clue, and who knows if he didn’t possess some bizarre magic that’d lead him straight to them.

“Well, well, Kirino, you’ve become quite the boss in just a few days, even making people kneel before you?”

From around the corner of the park, a light breeze lifted some dust and blew a few leaves aside. A footstep sounded, and a figure emerged, head down, fiddling with a laptop, face hidden from view. His long hair swung gracefully as he turned, enough to make any girl envious. He wore clothing reminiscent of an ancient swordsman, yet it suited him perfectly.

“You’re back at just the right moment, aren’t you? Don’t tell me this whole scene was your set-up? Targeting Ayase now? What about your little black cat at home?” Kirino narrowed her eyes, suspicion in her gaze.

“Huh? What nonsense are you talking about? I just came to say goodbye. If all goes well, I should see Black Cat today, so I wanted to let you know,” Ki said, still absorbed in his computer.

“Is that so?” Ayase responded flatly.

A heavy silence hung in the air. The four thugs, still kneeling, were now shaking with fear. They finally realized who the youth before them was, and couldn’t believe he had just appeared like that. Relief mingled with terror—at least they hadn’t managed to do anything yet, or the consequences would be beyond negotiation. But if the girls snitched, the outcome would be just as bad. In the end, all they could do was play ostrich.

“Hey, what kind of attitude is that? Ayase has been—”

“Kirino.”

“On the day you passed out, Ayase took such good care of you, and now you’re just leaving with a word? And I still have a score to settle with you, you perverted maniac!” Kirino put her hands on her hips, brows arched, cheeks flushed as she glared at Ki.

“It’s only a temporary farewell. If you need anything or just want to hang out, you can contact me, but I might not have much free time. Oh, and I got a new phone today—here’s my email address.”

“Hmph, changing the subject won’t work. I’ll keep this in mind: if you ever refuse to help when I need you, I’ll go to your girlfriend’s house and tattle,” Kirino shot him a sideways glance, arms crossed, snorting coldly.

With a sigh, Ayase said, “It’s for the best that you’re moving out—I’ll finally be able to sleep soundly. I was a bit too harsh on you these past few days, so I apologize. It was a special situation, after all. We’re still friends.”

“Since we’re friends, could you call me by my name at least once? I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say it,” Ki said with a rare smile, looking up at Ayase.

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“Ki… Ki… Ki...” The name seemed to have some kind of magic; Ayase blushed, unable to say it out loud.

Almost against his will, Ki reached out and patted her on the head. “Forget it, if you can’t say it, that’s fine. A name is just a code, anyway. I’ll be going now. See you next time.”

“Ki… brother...” the word suddenly popped into Ayase’s mind, and she blurted it out, surprising even herself. It dawned on her that the image Ki had left her over the past days overlapped with her fantasy of an older brother: someone she could bicker with, act spoiled around, not worry too much about etiquette or being ladylike. Someone she could get mad at, throw a tantrum with—a feeling she had never known before.

Ki froze for a moment, then ruffled her hair again. “That’s an unusual way to address me. If you like it, call me that. I don’t even know if I have any siblings. I heard Kirino has an older brother—what’s that like?”

“Hmph, trashy, that’s what. Aren’t you leaving? Hurry up and go.”

“Well then, ‘Onee-sama’—which do you dislike more, a punch or a spinning kick? I’ll choose the way you hate most,” Ayase smiled warmly, though her eyes were cold and dark.

“You’re actually letting me choose the method I hate most? That’s not very considerate—wait, why am I getting hit all of a sudden? You just called me so gently, O-ne-e-sa-ma…”

“I just remembered that you saw Kirino’s panties the other day. So, do you have any comments about me, since I was there too?”

“…Blue and white stripes are very traditional. Onee-sama seems to prefer them. …I haven’t even said which I dislike more yet.”

Ayase withdrew her right fist from an uppercut and her right leg from a spinning kick, watching as Ki, making a face at her, waved and took off into the sky, not coming back down. She snorted coldly, then turned to the four thugs still kneeling on the ground. “If I catch you doing evil again, I’ll toss you into the sea.”

...

After flying for a while, Ki realized he had nowhere to go, so he landed and wandered aimlessly, still fiddling with his computer, wondering if the madwoman’s prediction would come true and if he would meet Black Cat today.

“Ki, is that you? You’ve finally come back!” As he walked along the street, a mature woman’s voice called out to him.

Ki looked up in confusion. He didn’t remember knowing any mature women. In the distance, a pretty young wife was waving at him excitedly, nearly falling in her rush, sending her bag of fruits and vegetables flying.

Though puzzled, he stepped forward and caught the bag before its contents spilled everywhere. The woman steadied herself, then hurried over and hugged him tightly.

The gesture stunned Ki. No one had ever hugged him like this before—not even Black Cat, who only clung to his neck when he carried her on his back.

(Black Cat is about to appear—everyone, look forward to it! Oh, and a mysterious person will also soon make a rather awkward entrance into the story.)