A black, high-class vehicle was approaching the capital of the supernatural ability zone in the middle of the night; no sign of shivering and vehicular noises could be heard from its spacious interior that provided ample room to move in.
The back seat was specially prepared for a particular young man—Kagurazaka Akito, the young charisma responsible for the KSS, the Kagurazaka Synthesized Security organization.
“…”
His left elbow was placed onto an armrest, his hand cushioning his cheek as he concentrated on something; he was watching a series of video clips displayed in the monitor set up in front of his seat.
Having acquired access to a state-of-the-art surveillance satellite from the supernatural synthesized educational institute form a cooperative worker among the KSS’s wide connections, the videos that he was granted access to were collected from such an advanced surveillance system.
These videos were showing scenes that had transpired in a corner of one of the highest points in the capital of the supernatural ability zone—Neo Kichijōji.
The contents on display dated back almost an hour ago—they were the series of events in full of Yui and Seiji’s long-awaited meeting after ten years on the rooftop of the Kichijōji Eight building.
However, Akito was only able to access information up until the appearance of a certain young man from the Hungry Wolf Brigade—following his arrival, Akito had been unable to observe anyone there afterwards.
It was not because the camera on the satellite had malfunctioned, however—the recording mechanisms had continued to operate.
What was unexpected was that…everyone on the rooftop had suddenly disappeared without a trace.
Even traces of the GPS and biological monitoring from the special chip that had been secretly set into Seiji had disappeared.
It was only after some time that such traces had returned, and Seiji was found instead at the building opposite the Kichijōji Eight building divided by the street, and his biological monitor showed only flatlines in all parameters.
His agents then reported back to him saying Seiji had been reduced to dust when they found his location and collected what remained of him. Though extensive analysis was needed back at the research institute to pinpoint the specific details of his demise, it was likely that his restorative abilities had ended up going out of control, such that his flesh had been pushed to the brink and ended up collapsing.
“As I thought, a hastily constructed imitation was a poor choice for this affair…” Akito muttered, altering to another video display on the monitor.
What he was administering now were videos of the high-speed taxi chase used by Yui and the others to escape on Thursday, recorded by an extremely sophisticated driving camera on the truck that had chased them back then; the videos, that had been saved and accessed through an internet server, stopped when the truck was sent flying into the air with a deafening crash.
Akito was examining that exact moment—he could see the presence of two young men before the truck was knocked into the air.
Enlarging the display and reducing the replay speed as much as the system could provide, he replayed that problematic scene yet again.
The recording camera that had been installed on the truck had been specially designed; it was an extreme high-speed camera capable of capturing phenomenal occurrences spanning up to 16 decimal points short of a second—enough to capture even the movement of light and any other phenomenon in his world.
However, something caused Akito’s gaze to narrow at the sight of it, as the young heir was unable to understand what he was seeing.
There was no real issue with the fact that the blonde had knocked the truck into the sky; instead, he was perplexed at the image of the black-haired boy within the vehicle, and the blade he was holding was a blur despite the enhancements.
It suggested that the young man’s sword strikes were extremely fast, such that even a god’s eyes were no match for the speed of his technique.
“So this is the power of the strongest in Neo Kichijōji…the Hungry Wolf Brigade…” Akito muttered, turning off the two videos he had examined.
“…?”
He suddenly realized another abnormality in the video displaying the scuffle on the rooftop, during the moment Yui and the others present had suddenly disappeared from view; the young man with black hair seemed to be staring toward the sky, appearing as if he was staring directly at the camera that was monitoring him from space.
Was it just mere coincidence?
It was absurd to think that someone could manage to detect a satellite camera hundreds of kilometers above the dazzling neon lights of Neo Kichijōji.
As Akito made that conclusion, the vehicle he was in suddenly slowed down as it approached an intersection—they had reached a traffic light signaling red.
Even so, there were no other vehicles in front of or behind his ride; rather than proceed straight ahead onto the road, the vehicle seemed to stop right beside the left guard rail beside the road it was on.
“…What’s wrong?” Akito shifted his attention from the monitor to the driver ahead of him, and it was at that moment that the left door of the back seat opened from the outside.
“Sorry. I’m going to have to take some of your time.”
Akito had to resist gasping in surprise as his eyes widened at the person who had entered the car and sat upon the seat next to him—it was the young man who had appeared across the videos displayed on his monitor.
“Takanashi Sirou…how did you come here…”
It was impossible for him to have discovered him—nevertheless, Akito eyed the young man who had sat next to him with a sharp, composed gaze.
Considering the distance between Neo Kichijōji and their current location, it was not impossible for him to have reached Akito in such a short span of time; however, there was supposed to be no way for anyone to decipher that he would be in such a place.
“Yes, how indeed? And if I recall, even within the Kagurazaka Group, no one seems to have any grasp of your operations—they’re all private, after all.”
The young man—Takanashi Sirou—then proceeded to explain what he knew with a smile on his face.
“No one’s able to know your precise whereabouts at any time as a means for your protection. That being said, not even your secretary is given the precise details for your plans, so the only person that would know where you’re at and planning to go at a given time is your chauffeur. And your chauffeur so happens to be different every day—hand picked at random each morning, correct?”
However—
“Perhaps your own employees and subordinates have utmost loyalty to you. You can’t expect that from people who don’t work for the company or even other companies that you’re merely acquainted with, however. And it’s easy to pick up some fragments of intel here and there from these sources and act accordingly.”
For instance—
“Someone could have put your chauffeur to sleep in the middle of their work and take their place.”
“Hehehe~ that’s exactly right!” The chauffeur behind the wheel suddenly changed their appearance in a flurry of glowing particles to a young girl wearing a maid outfit, a bold smile on her face.
Akito knew who she was—it was Inaba Mikoto, another member of the Hungry Wolf Brigade.
…That explains it.
Akito then understood why the door of the back seat was so easily opened despite the fact that it should have been locked.
“…Why have you come here? Are you going to kill me for what I’ve done to Yui?”
“Geez. You and Antonio Fabbroni really do think alike. Why do all the heirs of great powers have blood on their mind all the time?” Sirou sighed in disappointment at Akito’s question. “Well, that’s actually not a bad idea. Still, if I were to kill you here, I imagine the Chairwoman will get worried out of her mind for it—she’ll end up thinking that we’ve become murderers because of her and whatnot.”
Well—
“Though I suppose that kind heart of hers is the biggest reason why she’s able to awaken her restoration ability, now, isn’t it?” Sirou said, a composed expression on his face. “The Chairwoman…the girl you know as Kōsaki Yui is a girl that’s genuinely kind without room for doubt. She can cry and get angry for just about anyone, and that’s always been more valuable to her—to us—than her restoration ability or the privileges of the Kagurazaka bloodline.”
That being said—
“And given that you’re completely unable to understand that about her at all…I suggest you give up on her.”
After all—
“Kōsaki Yui belongs to me now.”
And as Sirou gave that declaration, an electronic sound began to resound across the interior of the vehicle—Akito’s mobile phone suddenly began ringing from within his breast pocket.
Sirou smiled as he heard the sudden, faint electronic ringing.
“I do suggest you pick up that call. Ignore it in the middle of the night and the folks working for you might declare it an emergency,” Sirou pressed.
“…”
Wordlessly, Akito retrieved his mobile phone from his pocket. His eyes furrowed at what he saw on the display—he clicked on the screen knowing that the call had been made by someone very significant.
“I’m sorry for making you wait…what’s the matter, President?”
The way he addressed the other person at the end of the call meant that said person was Kagurazaka Genshi, Akito’s grandfather, who reigned as the utmost authority of the Kagurazaka Group. Akito wore a hard look as he had a short exchange with him, and his brows knitted once again at what he heard next.
“You’re asking the supernatural research and synthesized security divisions to retreat? But why would you order something like—”
“Turn on the TV, Mikoto,” Sirou said at Akito’s words of disbelief.
“Alrighty~ You got it!” As Mikoto gave her cheerful reply, she altered what was being shown on the monitor in front of Sirou and Akito.
An emergency live broadcast was being shown in the news throughout the supernatural ability zone; the news was reporting about a massive fire caused by an explosion in the Kagurazaka supernatural research facility. The broadcasting studio then shifted its live feed toward a helicopter overseeing the scene of the event, as reporters within the aircraft that had arrived to report the scene of the crime announced the unfortunate news that nothing of the facility had been spared from the destruction.
“I see you’re even equipped to fight against potential terrorist attacks…now that’s pretty scary, actually. I suppose this truly is the era for synthesized security.”
“…This is your doing, isn’t it…” Akito said through gritted teeth, glaring at Sirou.
“Oh, my. Please don’t make such baseless accusations like that,” Sirou shrugged his shoulders, laughing foolishly. “Still, the two culprits responsible for this only really destroyed the facilities and equipment of the institute. You’d be glad to know that all your researchers and other employees have been evacuated safe and sound. Still, I imagine they’re also quite confused, and their memory should also be lacking as such that they won’t be able to remember who did all that as well as other information related to the research that’s been conducted on them. Goodness me, now that’s quite the pickle, now, isn’t it?”
“You think such a loss matters to us? Even if the facility and our research employees are no longer useful, the data we have—”
“Will be retained because you have backup data, despite how large the files themselves are, I take it?”
However—
“Well, if you’re assuming that I’m the culprit, I’ll have you know that I would’ve gotten information about the backup clouds and servers that the folks over at your research institute use to store their data. And I would’ve used a virus to destroy every last bit of data once I’d figured out the location of that storage.”
“…!” Akito gritted his teeth at the possibility Sirou just proposed.
“If you have the time to give me that look, I suggest you use it wisely and think about how you’re going to handle this situation instead. The world has its full attention on the supernatural ability zone these days, after all, and this incident might even become international news at this rate.”
And that meant—
“I imagine your organization has many significant connections it needs to maintain, what with it doing business all over the world and even to supernatural ability users and whatnot. I imagine your reputation won’t be pretty should this incident happen to be leaked, though I suppose you could justify yourselves by saying an unknown external force happened to destroy your entire facility and even went as far as to eliminate all your backup data.”
There was a pause, and Sirou then continued.
“Unfortunately, the culprits actually happened to copy all of your organization’s data, and if they were to reveal very sensitive information to the public on the web or something like that, the Kagurazaka Group will end up making enemies of the military and various underworld organizations around the world. I very much suggest you be obedient and remain in the culprits’ good graces, especially if you don’t want to end up having everything gone—this includes your group’s stock prices, the very positions you and your president possess, as well as your good connections with various heads around the world.”
That being said, however—
“Or perhaps the arrogant Kagurazaka family intends to use their bloodline of frost abilities and the remaining agents of the KSS to defend what little remains of their pride and life?”
“…”
Akito finally went silent. That was his only answer—and Sirou smiled in response.
“I’m glad we’ve reached an understanding. That concludes our little chat, then. Let’s get going, Mikoto.”
“Gotcha~♪” Mikoto went out of the vehicle from the driver’s seat, and Sirou followed as he went out himself from the left door he had first entered from.
“If you’re going to repent for what you’ve done from now on, I suppose the least you lot can do is spend the rest of your lives living—in fear.”
There was one more thing he needed to say—and Takanashi Sirou looked at Akito directly in the eyes as he did so.
His gaze was colder than the chilling powers of the Kagurazaka bloodline.
“Heed my words for the rest of your life—do not get involved with Kōsaki Yui again.”
2
With that, Kōsaki Yui’s extremely eventful night had finally come to an end.
As Yui opened her eyes following the night of the kiss she exchanged with Sirou at the entrance of his apartment, she found herself on Sirou’s bed in his room.
Having had her mind driven to an extremely dire state from the threatening call from her father for a large portion of the previous day, she had fallen asleep before she realized it, perhaps due to the peace she found from the solace she had obtained from Sirou’s embrace.
She awoke to discover that she wasn’t fully clothed, but there was no concern at that realization despite her surprise.
Sirou was right in front of her, after all—it was likely that he had simply taken off her clothes because she had found it uncomfortable to sleep in them.
Despite what happened during their initial days of knowing one another, Sirou was not someone who would do odd things to a young woman in her sleep.
And this was especially true for Yui—whom he had claimed he valued more than even she valued herself.
It was for that reason that she could accept the idea of belonging to him—why she was comfortable with the fact that Sirou was now snuggling her with his arms around her as they slept in the same bed together.
“…”
Despite her embarrassment, Yui did not force herself away from Sirou.
I want to stay like this for just a little longer…
Wanting to be honest with herself for that very moment, she allowed herself to continue savoring the happiness that came with the comfortable warmth of remaining in his embrace—a happiness that could drive her to the brink of tears.
It was after a while that Sirou’s eyes fluttered open from his slumber, and the two shared coffee in bed once again as they discussed how the two would live out their lives from now on. Apart from talking about how Yui would be an official member of the Hungry Wolf Brigade from now on, Yui did not want to becoming a burden to Sirou and the others with that decision, and so she knew she had to awaken her supernatural ability of sin—to that, she had to get used to the frequent stimulations of the mark of Lust.
Yui knew that she needed to work hard to overcome her new situation. Nevertheless—
“…Please, Takanashi-kun…show me the way from now on.”
She had asked Sirou to help her soothe the effects of the mark of Lust whenever it was stimulated, and she knew full well what that entailed; nevertheless, she knew that she would feel worse wasting time and inconveniencing Sirou and his comrades over the embarrassment of what needed to be done.
Naturally, Sirou accepted her request—and the two would continue to live together since that day.
Presently, noon had arrived, and Yui was making her first visit to a place covered in a vivid pink—Inokashira Park.
“Amazing…”
Yui gasped in amazement at the wondrous scene she was introduced to; cherry blossoms were in full bloom around the park, so densely that their vividly pink petals aligned to form a rug that decorated the surface of the park’s large pond.
“What do you think, Yui-san? Great view, isn’t it?”
“Yeah…so Inokashira Park looks like this even at this time of year…”
As Mikoto sat down on the ground, Yui allowed herself to revel in the wonder of the sight before her as she expressed her admiration.
The Inokashira Park, which was situated near the outskirts of the developing Neo Kichijōji and its various linked stations, had also undergone a large-scale transformation.
This was because the park was the very reason why Neo Kichijōji became designated as the supernatural ability zone—Inokashira Park was the very spot that the seraphim once descended upon in the past.
The large building that had been built in an attempt to communicate with the seraphim had been built in place of the zoo that was once one of the park’s highlights; and the aquarium had since been replaced by what was the world’s largest sakura god tree.
Its trunk was a phenomenal 50 meters in diameter; that being said, the tree was in full bloom not only when spring befell Inokashira Park, but all throughout the year—such that the city folk dubbed the tree “the Eternal Sakura.”
“Still, is it okay? For us to be doing this, I mean…” Yui said, surveying her surroundings.
No one else seemed to be around them; it was perhaps more apt to say that Yui and Mikoto were currently the only ones in the park.
This was because a special barrier had been built with the power of the marks of Sin, much like what Sirou had used during his fight against Seiji last night.
“There’s really no problem for us to do this, really,” “It’s nice that we won’t have to get into trouble given that no one’s capable of noticing us, but I suppose we won’t get to keep an eye on any rowdy gangs who can’t see us or any potential idiots that enjoy fooling around while watching the cherry blossoms either.”
True enough, frequent incidents occurred involving drunkards visiting the park to enjoy the cherry blossoms, especially those who possessed supernatural abilities—that was part of the reason why Yui had never come to such a place after the large transformation of the supernatural ability zone.
“Still, I suppose you’re right that we shouldn’t be setting up barriers like these unnecessarily. Though do feel free to ask me any questions you have about this,” It was Rin, who was pouring cherry blossom tea into cups beside Renya.
After all—
“—You’re now a member of the Hungry Wolf Brigade too, Yui-san.”
“Yeah,” Yui nodded deeply.
Yui had become a member of the Hungry Wolf Brigade the very moment she accepted Sirou’s words the previous night, and they had arranged to bring her to witness this special cherry blossom scene to welcome her.
The issue concerning the Kagurazaka Group, which had been Yui’s biggest impediment throughout her time making her decision to join the brigade, had been dealt with—Yui had heard everything from Sirou the moment she woke up that day.
Sirou had confronted the Kagurazaka Group while Yui had fallen asleep last night; their negotiations with the group had been successful, such that the Kagurazaka Group had promised to never go after Yui again and to officially disband their supernatural ability research branch, and Sirou had told her that there was no longer anything for her to worry about. The news had been sudden and almost unbelievable, but Yui had felt no doubt when she first heard of that—she knew that she could trust anything Sirou said.
…Mmm…
Kōsaki Yui let it sink into her mind that she was definitely alright now—there was no longer anything out to harm her.
“Still, Sirou and the brigade leader are really late. And here we actually went out of our way to set this up to celebrate for you!” Mikoto pouted.
Sirou and Mika had yet to arrive; Mika had yet to return to Neo Kichijōji after leaving to settle what remained of the Pinky Promise Case; and from what Yui had heard, it was Sirou and Mika who had made contact with the Kagurazaka Group yesterday to settle things related to her. Sirou had reached out to Akito while Mika had contacted Genshi, and the two had ensured that the Kagurazaka family would not lay their hands on Yui ever again.
The rest of the members had also helped out—Mikoto had been responsible for helping out Sirou, while Renya and Rin were in charge of destroying all the data they had related to Yui’s restoration ability.
Despite the ease of doing that, however, they also needed to officially strip the rights of the Kagurazaka family as Yui’s official guardian, and the necessary procedures and documentation had taken quite some time.
That being said, Mika needed a little more time before she could come back to the city, though she had already sent Mikoto a message telling her that she was on her way home.
Yui knew that she needed to properly thank Mika upon return—as well as a certain other person who was not present among them.
Sirou appeared to have other matters to attend to before he could arrive at the park to celebrate with him.
3
Takanashi Sirou had visited Neo Kichijōji’s local police station—having been asked to confirm something extremely important by an acquaintance, he had just finished his business and was walking out of the building.
And someone was waiting for him outside the main entrance—someone who Sirou could recognize even from afar.
“So how did things go?” The extremely beautiful woman gave that question as she noticed Sirou approaching her.
It was Ogami Mika, who knew Sirou better than anyone else, and thus had a good idea where he had been; having just returned to the supernatural ability zone herself, she had decided to meet up with Sirou before the two headed over to the park together.
“Kisaragi Miyako’s family refused to accept her corpse. It would appear that they severed their relationship with their daughter long ago, given that she ran away from home to associate herself with the societal underworld.”
“I see…” Mika muttered quietly, “Well, what are you going to do now?”
“Nothing, really—there’s really nothing I can do. She never wanted us to do anything for her, after all.”
Up to the very end, Miyako had refused Sirou and his comrades’ many offers to help her; and perhaps the inability to have helped her had heavily affected Sirou’s hubris. It was too late for them to do anything for her in death, except to only deceive themselves with such sentimental thoughts, and nothing more.
Sirou and Mika then went on their way—toward Inokashira Park, where they’d arranged to celebrate Yui becoming their new member along with the other members. They felt that it was something that they should do for her.
Nevertheless, Sirou had left Yui and the others waiting for him because he felt that he needed to confront the issue at the police station as well. There was actually no need for him to take such responsibility; no one could mind if he’d actually forgotten about the case concerning Miyako.
However, Sirou did not neglect that nonetheless—despite the fact that he had rescued a girl who willingly took his hand and was about to welcome her as a new comrade, the fact remained that another who had refused their aid ended up losing her life.
Arrogant as it may for him to think in such a way, Sirou willingly took responsibility for that tragedy.
“Sorry about that, Mika. I didn’t mean to bother you with the Chairwoman after asking you to settle things about Fabbroni as well,” He then addressed the otherworldly goddess beside him that had always been there whenever he needed her.
“I am here to satisfy any desire you have. There’s no need to apologize,” Mika smiled, leaning in close to him. “It’s just…you’ll have to satisfy my hunger later.”
She stared at him with seductive, desiring eyes, wanting to be spoiled by him; Sirou then proceeded to wordlessly wrap his arm around her waist, holding her tightly. Delighted by his response, Mika tried to sidle even closer to him.
“Though what were you up to? Did you go out of your way to meet Yui’s cousin?”
“Oh, about Kagurazaka Akito? Well…for someone so young, his reputation as the next commander-in-chief of his organization isn’t just for show. I imagine the Kagurazaka Group would have continued to be quite secure under his leadership.”
“Is that so…well, if you believe that, I’m sure that would be the case. Although,” A mischievous smile surfaced on her face. “why would a man like him willingly surrender? Was the destruction of the research institute along with the advice from his grandfather Kenshi enough to make him comply obediently?”
“I suppose. Though I wonder if they’re going to accumulate their power and find an opportunity to strike back at us if we leave them alone for too long.”
That being said, Sirou had not been satisfied despite having spared them.
“That’s why I placed the brand of Sloth onto him to manipulate him. His consciousness and memory, that is.”
Sirou knew that the Kagurazaka Group would stop at nothing to recover and pay the Hungry Wolf Brigade back for this incident; that being said, Sirou decided that there was no need to be choosy with the option he had at his disposal to eliminate such a future risk either.
Addressing his consciousness alone would not eliminate the chance that he would become a greedy and ambitious person yet again; at the same time, addressing his memories would also not eliminate the possibility that he would simply venture out into new ambitions down the line.
That was why Sirou had branded Akito with one of the Seven Deadly Sins—Sloth—before they had parted that night. Unlike the marks of Sin which allowed their bearers to share the supernatural abilities bound to their original host, these brands instead imbued their new hosts with the respective curses brought about by the respective Sin they were marked with—in this case, the brand of Sloth ate away at its host’s instincts.
It was a form of mind control that was far superior to the ability Antonio Fabbroni used—and it would ensure that Kagurazaka Akito would no longer be a threat to them or the world.
“What a horrible man you are,” Despite her words, Mika secretly implied that she approved of the course of action Sirou took with a smile.
Naturally, she approved because the Kagurazaka family had hurt Yui far more gravely than anyone else could—and Yui was now their precious comrade, a member of the Hungry Wolf Brigade.
It was also likely that Mika had done something similar against Kagurazaka Genshi as well—she wouldn’t have been able to retrieve the rights to take custody of Yui from the Kagurazaka family so easily otherwise.
“Well, now that Antonio Fabbroni’s been dealt with, all that’s left is for us to have a discussion with the remaining relevant parties to come to an agreement on how to conclude the Pinky Promise Case,” Mika said. “Though I’d ask that you come along to the discussion this time. You really shouldn’t ask me to take care of everything while you skip out on these things all the time.”
As Mika finished her reminder, her surroundings appeared to bend and twist as if they were sucked into a vortex—the moment that peculiar occurrence ended, Mika and Sirou were already within the Inokashira Park, where the Eternal Sakura was famed for its long-lasting bloom throughout the year.
Mika had used her magic to transport the two of them to a special space—she seemed well aware that a barrier had been set due to the absence of any other visitors in the park.
And their entrance was immediately welcomed by a certain young maid running straight at them with full force—it was Mikoto.
“Ah, it’s you, brigade leader! And Sirou too!”
She was running so fast that she came to a screeching halt before him before Sirou and Mika knew it, prompting the two to rush up to her.
“You’re both really late! What were you two even up to?”
“Sorry. I had some minor business to attend to,” Mika apologized with a smile, and it was then Sirou’s turn to ask a question.
“Well, what were you up to, Mikoto? You seemed to be having a race all by yourself.”
“Oh, I had something really important that prompted me to run, hahaha…” Mikoto laughed, scratching the back of her head. “You know, today’s supposed to be a really auspicious day, what with Yui being our new member and all, right? I figured I’d liven the mood until the two of you came back, so I figured I’d go with a little one-liner to provide some excitement.”
“As one would expect of you, Mikoto. How very thoughtful.”
“Well, you can count on me, after all! And before I knew it, Yui and I ended up being caught in a game of tag!”
“How peculiar…and who exactly was it (as in Tag, you’re it!)”
“Yui was. That being said, it was kinda tough to keep on running like that, so I figured I’d buy us all some dessert. It seems Yui-san’s easy to appease, what with dessert being enough to cheer her up after an actual game of tag,” Mikoto then looked as though she was taken aback, having remembered something. “Ah, if I remember, there’s a cake house that you like to go to sometimes around these parts, right, brigade leader?”
“Yeah. It’s just a few minutes away from here if you walk.”
“Could you just please take me there? I promise we’ll be back ASAP!” Mikoto said in a rather reprimanding tone, seemingly itching to go at a moment’s notice.
“I guess I can’t say no,” Mika said with a wry smile. “Well, I suppose we’ll see you in a bit.” With that, Mika took Mikoto by the hand and left the park.
And as their presence disappeared from the barrier, someone else was approaching her along the path where Mikoto had run up to them.
The way the young woman was walking up to him in the flurry of pink cherry blossom petals made her resemble a fairy, and Sirou smiled at the admirable scene before him.
“Hey there, Chairwoman,” Sirou greeted her.
“Takanashi-kun…um…” Yui abruptly stopped in her tracks as she noticed him, leaving a short distance between the two.
“Hmm? What’s wrong?”
“…No, it’s nothing.” Yui shook her head lightly, before she finally walked up to him.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. I hear you were playing a game of tag with Mikoto to excite yourselves?”
“Um…well, I suppose we were, yes,” Yui’s response was rather vague, “What about you, Takanashi-kun? Have you settled things on your end?”
“Thankfully, yes,” Sirou nodded, making no specific mention that he was dealing with that remained of Miyako’s murder.
He alone would carry the burden of the fact that her father had murdered someone—the burden of the fact that Miyako had died because of him.
There was also the fact that Yui had been peacefully spared of any relation or chains to the Kagurazaka family from that day forward; that being said, however, there was now also an empty void in her life—a void brought about that she had no lost connections to her only relatives and family in her life, a void that perhaps brought her sadness and suffering despite the circumstances surrounding such a loss.
At the same time, Sirou and the others would fill in that void for her, little by little.
There’s no need for me to say it.
Sirou had made himself clear—Yui now belonged to him. And he had no intention of making that clear again, but neither did he have the intention of taking those words back.
Even after everything, Yui still possessed the restoration ability sleeping within her.
If this information were to become public, she would become a target to people all over the supernatural ability zone, and possibly even across the globe.
Fate remained far too cruel to Kōsaki Yui, who had already lost all of what remained of her family.
He intended to take whatever measures he could to prevent that, of course, but there may come a time where even his efforts would be for naught.
…Though I suppose when such a time comes…
He wouldn’t mind it—he would make an enemy of the whole world if he needed to, and he would break any Taboo he needed to if he must.
And perhaps he would become someone far worse than Antonio Fabbroni or Kagurazaka Akito could ever claim to be.
He could be unmatched in terms of his Pride, Greed, Wrath, Gluttony, Envy, Sloth and Lust—these Seven Deadly Sins, powers that once reigned over another world, were sleeping within him.
“…Takanashi-kun?”
Sirou’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Yui calling out to him; he looked up to see that Yui was within range of his arm amidst the blooming cherry blossoms. Eyeing her, he reached his arm out to brush away some pink petals that had been caught up in her hair, and he then made his thoughts clear.
“I don’t know why, but…you do happen to look more erotic than usual today, you know, Chairwoman?”
“You know, Takanashi-kun, as much of a good person as you are, I don’t know where your sense of delicacy goes to during times like this,” Yui’s eyes narrowed at Sirou’s comment, and it was at that moment that Sirou gave another inconsiderate reply.
“As I thought, it’s quite refreshing to look under your skirt.”
Yui immediately became flustered as she frantically pressed down on the hem of her skirt, her face turning bright red.
“! Did Mikoto-chan tell you?”
“No, I didn’t really hear any details. You just happen to have quite odd reactions whenever you find me, Chairwoman. The way you were walking also happened to look rather awkward a while ago.” Sirou laughed.
“I wonder why I ever agreed to belong to someone like you,” She muttered. She appeared to be somewhat vexed behind her embarrassed, flushed face, and it made for a rather adorable spectacle.
No longer was she the doomed, unfortunate little girl trapped in the clutches of the Kagurazaka Group; she was now someone who had chosen to live on with Sirou and his comrades in the Hungry Wolf Brigade.
Tenderly raising her chin, Sirou then pulled her in for a kiss—there was no particular reason behind it, and he had stolen her lips in the heat of the moment. The only reason he could forcibly muster was that the mood was right—the mix of her adorable expression along with the beauty of the surrounding pink scenery made for what he could reason with.
“———”
Yui went stiff at the sudden gesture—but not for long, as she slowly relaxed and melted into the kiss, accepting his lips onto hers completely.
“Nnn…mmph…haah…mmph…chuu…ah…”
Yui was now imbued with the mark of Lust, one belonging to an ancient deity from another world; apart from being a member of the Hungry Wolf Brigade, Yui had to harness its powers by activating the potential of the mark she had attained, thereby acquiring its supernatural abilities.
That being said, Sirou wrapped his arm around her slender waist, preparing to do what was needed, to do beyond what kissing alone could not achieve.
He inserted his tongue into her mouth to taste hers, exchanging their saliva; Yui only obediently complied in response as she wrapped her arms around his neck, embracing him tightly as she swirled her own tongue against his willingly. The two continued kissing each other in lots of different ways, creating a noisy, wet mess with their tongues, saliva and lips.
“Mmph…nn…aah, Takanashi-kun…ahh…!”
She let out sweet, warm breaths at the momentary space she had between their intertwined mouths; her lower body was already swaying obscenely, and she could already feel a suffocating pleasure rubbing against near her inner thigh.
It was then that Sirou slowly parted his lips from hers.
“…Nnn…” Sirou could feel her breath from the distance they were at; her gaze was already wet with pleasure.
The mark of Lust had been stimulated.
Well, I suppose there’s no helping it.
He knew that it was a bad idea, but he had found himself unable to resist.
He would have to take responsibility and appease the young woman whom he had already made his; after all, he had also promised Yui that he would guide her as she became used to this.
That being said, he did not reach his hand into her skirt to fondle what was beneath her panties; he simply caressed her soft butt gently.
“Ah…” Her body was already quivering, having become highly sensitive after their short exchange.
“Let’s go back to our room for now, then. There’ll be no one to watch us there, and we’ll get to change your underwear afterwards, right?” He said as he eyed her, who stared back with her with a gaze that signified that Lust had already overtaken her. “…You have no issue with that now, do you, Chairwoman?” He asked quietly.
“…Mhm.”
Embarrassing as it was, she buried her cheek into Sirou’s chest; she nodded slightly as her face went red while remaining in Sirou’s arms.
As Sirou was on his way back to his apartment from the park with Yui in his arms, something inevitably landed within his view.
It was a building that was far taller than even the Kichijōji Eight building, one that had been built in place of the zoo of Inokashira Park; Sirou had looked up toward it as he was walking halfway through the Nanai Bridge.
It was the building that had been erected many years ago for the seraphim who had descended upon the city, and it had become the symbol of the supernatural ability zone ever since.
By the way, the Hungry Wolf Brigade is an organization that you’ve established alongside Mika-san, right, Takanashi-kun?
I was just wondering if you had a particular goal in mind when you decided to make such an organization.
The questions that Yui had asked Sirou back at the entrance of the Heaven’s Ocean Club suddenly resurfaced in his mind again.
“————”
Sirou’s gaze held a sharp glint in his eyes, appearing to have noticed something.
“Wait for me—”
Saying that at a volume that only he could hear, Sirou then left the park, taking Yui with him.
However, there was no change in the tower that had been built to honor the seraphim—only a shower of pink cherry blossom petals remained as the Eternal Sakura danced against the wind.
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The descent of the seraphim upon Neo Kichijōji marked the birth of supernatural abilities among the people living in the heart of the city.
Ever since, the people had sought to bring their abilities to practical use. This led to the establishment of the synthesized educational institutes and research institutes, and this attempt to master the phenomenon of supernatural abilities was still being continued to this day.
There was only one issue—many mysteries still remained regarding the reason why supernatural abilities had been bestowed to the people there. It was a primordial topic of much discussion that many sought the answer to.
Why did the seraphim descend upon their world?
Why did the seraphim choose to descend upon Neo Kichijōji of all places?
And why had the seraphim not appeared again after that incident?
The people of that world were still unable to reach the answer—with the exception of a single person, the one person who had not attained any supernatural abilities despite being present to witness the seraphims’ descent.
It was Sirou who knew all the answers.
The number of seraphim that had descended upon Neo Kichijōji matched the number of the Seven Deadly Sins of which he became their vessel…and it had all been no more coincidence.
Such was the story of those who possessed the power of the Seven Deadly Sins within them—those who lived more freely than anyone else in Neo Kichijōji, the supernatural ability zone.
It was the story of the wolves—wolves that would eventually come to kill the gods of the world they lived in.