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Volume Nine, Epilogue:

  The Twilight Ravens’ HQ lies within Kuma No Atama (Bear’s Head), and it’s just a few kilometres away from North Hill. We just finished giving our report to Commissioner Satoda, who’s clearly chuffed to bits at the news.

  “Ahahahahahaha! That’ll show ‘em that the Enigmatic Society is not to be trifled with! Good work all of you!”

  Commissioner Satoda’s gaunt, sickly countenance paired with his boisterous personality is a wee bit jarring, I’ll admit. Nonetheless, he seems like a good person.

  “Especially you, Leader Colen! You might get a promotion for this!”

  “That’s fttering sir, but I don’t think I deserve one.”, I say politely. “After all, if it weren’t for the Twilight Ravens, the Enigmatic Society would be down one Squadron Leader and without the possession of the weapon.”

  Yuutaro quickly rebuffs my statement while loudly cracking his neck.

  “Yeah, that might be true, but what if you weren’t on the scene? Not only would we not have the weapon, but that tempr bastard would have killed hundreds of innocent people.”

  “That’s right.”, Koji nods. “Modesty is good and all, but it goes to waste when you’re an idiot about it.”

  Commissioner Satoda bursts into a peal of raucous ughter. As I said, it really doesn’t suit his appearance.

  “It’s been a while since there’s been such camaraderie between Enigma Squadrons! Why don’t all get some R&R while I turn in the Cursed Weapon! Remember: Work hard, rest well and stay alive!”

  “Wait, you can tell the difference, Commissioner Satoda?”, Shion asks.

  “Of course!”

  “Really?! How?!”, Hanabi asks excitedly.

  “It’s simple!”, he beams. “Just look at it.”

  Sure sounds simple to me.

  “I shoulda known that he would give an expnation like that…”, Osamu sighs. “What a disappointment.”

  “Your Commissioner seems pretty interesting.”, I say. “Commissioner Watanabe is always so serious.”

  “Sounds rough.”, Yuutaro exhales. “Being like that all the time sounds like a hard time to me.”

  Hanabi twirls around to face me, peering up at me. At least I think she is, it’s hard to tell with that mask she’s wearing.

  “Eh? Aren't you the serious-type yourself, Daisuke?”

  Me? A little, maybe.

  “Kind of, I suppose. But that’s just because I’m naturally moody.”

  Whilst we’re on the subject, I might as well ask them about what Fanatic was calling me.

  “Say, do any of you happen to know what a Blighted One is?”

  To no surprise, my comrades are absolutely lost on the subject.

  “I’ve never heard about that before in my entire life.”, Osamu says, folding his arms. “Where did you hear about that?”

  “Well, the tempr brought it up during our duel. When I told him that my eyes have been like this since the day I was born, he called me that and said that of all people, I can’t be allowed to leave in the future they have pnned.”

  Yuutaro taps on the beak of his mask thoughtfully.

  “That’s really weird…What could that even mean?”

  “And why would it be such a problem for them?”, Hanabi adds. “It sounds super, super sketchy.”

  “Well, there’s no point in wasting grey cells on something we have no info on.”, Koji interrupts.

  Shion nods in agreement.

  “Koji’s right. Do you want to use our circle to get to your HQ, Daisuke?”

  “I appreciate the offer, but I have a little errand to run first. See you lot ter.”

  With that, I bid them goodbye and head out. The others are probably already aware of the news, so now will be the perfect time to kill two birds with one stone.

  I open the door to Commissioner Watanabe's office, where he, my seniors and my squadron are waiting. With consideration never before seen, they allow me to get my foot an eighth of a way through the door before strafing me with questions and reprimands that I can barely understand.

  I put my hands up in a plea for them to stop, which they graciously comply with. Taking advantage of their silence, I start the story from the beginning.

  After I complete my retelling of events, Commissioner Watanabe is the first to comment.

  “Well, while I’m gd that you were able not only save innocents, but also retrieve a Cursed weapon, I have to give you a few demerits along with merits for acting alone and not informing your squadron.”

  That’s a fair punishment. I’ll admit that I got caught up in the situation.

  “Yeah, who cares about that.”, Yonaguni says brustically. “What’s really important is that those crazies have a Light magic user on their side!”

  “The most powerful element of all…”, Shirogane-senpai mutters. “And it’s with a faction of super-terrorists.”

  “He’s definitely someone who will make it to the top of the Hunt List.”, Ninomiya-senpai sighs.

  “No doubt. He can’t be allowed to escape next time.”, Miyamura-senpai says, his eyes serious.

  Seeing how gravely they’re taking the news makes me aware of how lucky I am that Fanatic decided to withhold from using it.

  That begs the question, why did he not use it from the start?

  “Govvy. You do realise how stupid you were, right?”

  “Hmm?”

  My fellow members of the Dawn Wolves don’t seem to be as concerned with Roald Ashencroft’s abilities as the others are. Especially not my girlfriends, who have yet to say a word.

  “Don’t act stupid.”, Naoya says crossly. “The moment something happens, you’re supposed to let everyone know.”

  “I’m sorry. But after he tried to kill innocent people, my focus was on him entirely. As your leader, I won’t make the same mistake twice.”

  Naoya sighs loudly.

  “Geez, man. What if Yuutaro’s squadron didn’t show up? How would I expin that to everyone?”

  “I understand that every time we go on a mission, we could d-die.”, Akai stammers strongly. “But that’s different from reckless endangerment, Daisuke.”

  “Exactly.”, Gege nods affirmatively. “You’re our important friend before you’re our Squadron Leader, so you need to be extra careful with your actions.”

  “Right, I promise not to do it again.”

  After that, the girls round on me.

  “Do you really intend to keep that promise?”, Sunni presses.

  “I-”

  “How badly did he hurt you? I want to know, right now.”, Red demands.

  “Well-”

  “Why aren’t you saying anything, Aniki? Do you not trust us? Is that why you didn’t contact us?”

  “How am I supposed to-”

  “Daisuke-san! How could you do a mission without informing your Adjutants, huh?”

  Not Haruhi-chan too..Bloody Nora.

  “Listen.”, I say firmly. “Yes, I intend to keep my word. And he id me out like a bathmat, Red.”

  Yonaguni snorts loudly, which earns him a piercing gre from her. Hastily he dons a somber expression.

  “We’ll discuss that ter, but now I have an announcement to make.”

  Everyone's rapt attention is now on me, even Yonaguni is listening earnestly. Suddenly, I’m getting stage fright.

  “First things first, introductions are in order. You can enter now.”

  The door opens, revealing-

  “Hisakawa Shizuku?!”

  My squadron, excluding Haruhi-chan, loudly expresses their shock. My seniors and Commissioner Watanabe collectively raise an eyebrow.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”, Shizu bows politely.

  “Uhh, Govvy? What’s she doing here?”

  She stands close to me and I put my arm around her shoulders. As I do so, a small, dignified smile appears on her face.

  “Shizu will be taking up the st spot on the Dawn Wolves roster.”, I say pinly. “Let’s make sure to teach her well.”

  “WHAT?!”

  What a muted reaction.

  “Shizu…? Did I hear that right?”, Red murmurs.

  Her irises a deep, hypnotic shade of crimson, Red stares daggers at Shizu as an eerie smile breaks out on her face.

  “I’m gd that you brought her here, Aniki. We can finally teach her a lesson.”

  “Of course, you’ll have to face punishment yourself, but it won’t be too bad.”, Sunni says with her usual fake smile. “Just be locked away for a week or so.”

  “Leave the Nekobaba to me, girls.”, Red drawls. “I’m going to rip her fingernails out while she begs for mercy.”

  As I expected, Shizu is receiving a warm welcome. I’d better stop them before things go to hell in a handbasket.

  “Listen you three, don’t be so aggressive.”, I soothe. “You should know that I’m not going to be unfaithful.”

  That elicits a moment of hesitation from them, but their shadowed gazes and empty eyes let me know that they’re still in yandere mode.

  “And don’t call Shizu that, Red. That’s probably really offensive to her.”

  “Hmph, that’s what she is to me.”, she huffs.

  “Agreed.”, Sunni and Yokie say in unison.

  Looking over at the others, they all seem too afraid to interject. I don’t see why though. As long as your name’s not Yonaguni, you should be fine.

  “Shizu, go ahead.”

  “Of course.”

  Bck dog ears perk up from the top of Shizu’s head, and a furry tail pops out behind her.

  “EHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!”

  That did a good job of breaking up the tension, didn’t it? Even the girls are too taken aback to be angry.

  “A dog-girl?!”, Yonaguni screeches uncontrolbly. “THE GLOOMY BASTARD BAGGED A DOG-GIRL?!”

  I’ll ignore him.

  “Shizu is a very special hybrid. One half human, one quarter hinnagami, one quarter inugami.”

  “Hinnagami?”, Commissioner Watanabe echoes. “I see..”

  Everyone else is too stunned to speak, everyone except Haruhi-chan.

  “Uhm, Hisakawa-san, may I ask you a question?”

  “Of course.”, Shizu nods. “And please, refer to me with Shizuku instead.”

  “Right, Shizuku-san. What’s your retionship with Daisuke-san?”

  Everyone’s attention is fixated on her, mimicking the situation with me just a few minutes ago.

  I, knowing full well what she’s about to say, prepare myself for the oncoming storm.

  “I am Dai-sama’s future wife and eternal servant.”

  The room falls deathly silent. Shizu doesn’t seem to be bothered by it, though. Thankfully, Red breaks it for everybody.

  “I’m going to fucking kill you, you mangy bitch.”

  “Wait for me, Akane. I need to get Petaled Sky so we can dice her up and feed her to her fellow dogs.”

  “I wonder just which form of torture will get her to scream the loudest. Too bad poor Govvy will have to watch his homewrecker suffer such a horrible fate.”

  Shizu’s face splits into a wide, ear to ear grin as her eyes go from silver-grey to bck-grey. Her ears and tail are standing up straight..

  “If you all try to keep me away from Dai-sama, you’ll live to regret it.”

  “Oh my, what a braggadocious mutt.”, Sunni faux smiles. “Let’s see how long you can keep barking for.”

  “Can the four of you bloody rex?!”, I shout. “I didn’t do this just so you all can fight each other, got it?!”

  Shizu is the first to relent, followed shortly by Yokie and Sunni.

  Red, however, is still vehemently angry.

  “Did you think that you can stop me from murdering her by-Ita!”

  I flick her sharply on the nose, causing her to recoil. How unyielding she is.

  “Stop it, or you’re sleeping in another room.”

  She blows a weak, but still slightly defiant raspberry at me. However, I choose to ignore her.

  Well, looks like my so-called yandere taming skill will have to be working overtime. You’d think I would be more frightened or trepid, but I’m certain that we can all manage to get along. I definitely want to be with all of them, because I love all of them, craziness and all.

  I’ve accepted the fact that I’m a yandere magnet, and honestly, I’m quite happy about it.

  Huh, maybe something is wrong with me after all.

  MisterEnigmatic

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