Chapter 360: Parting
"So it really is like this?"
Hikigaya Hachiman stood in his room, shaking his head as he looked at the four people sitting in a straight row on the floor before him.
"You guys aren't sleeping in the middle of the night just to pull an all-nighter playing games?"
Seeing Irisviel on the far right trying her best to duck her head and make herself invisible to him, Hachiman felt a sudden wave of frustration. The other three were one thing, but Irisviel, you're the mother! What are you doing joining in?!
"Sorry..."
The four of them, who had tried to play games all night while Hachiman was out only to be caught red-handed, lowered their heads like defeated roosters, silently enduring Hachiman's lecture.
"Sigh, forget it."
He let out a soft sigh. Since he had to leave for Tokyo immediately, Hachiman could only temporarily suppress the urge to give the four of them a proper scolding.
"I'm going to Tokyo for a few days. Someone will come later to take you to a shrine, do you understand?"
"Onii-chan, you're leaving again?"
Komachi and Sakura, who had been looking down, both raised their heads upon hearing Hachiman's words.
"Yeah, I have things to handle," Hachiman nodded slightly.
"It must be very dangerous, right? Otherwise, Hikigaya-kun wouldn't gather us all in one place..."
"..."
Hachiman gave Irisviel a helpless look. Since she had already blurted out the truth, he could only admit it.
"That's right. If I go to Tokyo this time, I'm afraid the enemy might attack you while I'm gone. That's why I'm placing you in a safe location in advance."
"What about Miko and the others?" Komachi followed up.
"Yotsuya, Yukinoshita, and the rest—I've arranged personnel for them as well. So, you don't need to worry about that. Are there any other questions?"
"Um, Onii-chan..."
Just as Hachiman finished speaking, Sakura raised her right hand.
"Is there something else, Sakura?"
Facing Sakura, who had just recently been led astray, Hachiman's expression was extremely gentle.
"If Onii-chan goes to Tokyo, will you be in danger?"
Unlike the other questions, Sakura's focus was entirely on Hachiman's safety. Hearing this, Hachiman paused for a moment before deciding to tell the truth.
"I don't have a guarantee of absolute victory."
After all, his current strength was at the peak of the Ghost Emperor level, while the Nine-Tailed Fox, even if injured, possessed power above the God-level. Furthermore, the Nine-Tailed Fox had been planning this conspiracy for an unknown amount of time. Fighting on the Nine-Tailed Fox's home turf, Hachiman truly didn't have the confidence to say he would definitely win.
"Sakura believes Onii-chan will win."
Knowing Hachiman's character, Sakura didn't try to persuade him not to go; she knew that since Hachiman was telling them these things, his mind was already made up.
"Thank you, Sakura..."
Seeing Sakura's concern and trust, Hachiman felt a warmth in his heart. He then turned his gaze toward Komachi.
"What are you looking at Komachi for? Do you want Komachi to say something so sappy it makes your skin crawl? Onii-chan, you're way too perverted!"
Sensing Hachiman's gaze, Komachi put on a look of total disgust.
As expected of my actual sister, Hachiman thought, caught between laughter and tears.
After giving a few more instructions and asking Irisviel to look after his two sisters while he was gone, Hachiman stood up, prepared to head for Tokyo.
"Um..."
Just then, Komachi's voice rang out again.
"Is there something else you want to say?"
Hachiman turned back to look at Komachi with a smile on his face.
"Ugh..."
In front of everyone, Komachi's face turned beet red. Although she usually dared to talk boldly about suggestive things with Hachiman, that was strictly limited to when it was just the two of them.
"If there's nothing else, I'm leaving."
"Ah! Fine! I'll say it! Baka Onii-chan!"
Prompted by Hachiman's urging, Komachi closed the distance between them with a look of desperation.
"You absolutely must be careful. Sakura and I are both waiting for you to come back."
She had charged forward aggressively, but when it came time to actually speak, Komachi wilted instantly.
"Don't set that kind of 'flag' for me!"
Hearing the dialogue, Hachiman felt countless black lines descend across his forehead. Wasn't this scene between him and Komachi exactly like the "Onii-chan goes to war, sister waits for his return" trope in games? From a general narrative standpoint, this was a total tragedy setup!
"Anyway, you just have to come back in one piece!"
Komachi suddenly became defensive again. She pushed Hachiman, shooing him out of the room, then shut the door with a loud thud and locked it.
"I'll be back."
After speaking softly to the door, Hachiman turned and walked downstairs.
.
.
.
"Everyone, what do you think?"
In the Tsuchimiyaka meeting hall in Tokyo, Tsuchimiyaka Gaku looked at the heads of the various spirit-user families in Tokyo and asked with a heavy expression.
"Head Tsuchimiyaka, before discussing the Isayama matter, I want to confirm: Have you already passed the Ga-Rei, Byakuei, to your daughter?"
As the head of the Isayama branch family, Isayama Naraku was the first to speak.
"Byakuei is still within my body. You need not worry for now."
As Gaku spoke, he summoned Byakuei, who was sealed within him. Instantly, a massive dog's head appeared before everyone, drawing gasps of shock.
"In that case, the situation isn't at its worst yet."
Confirming that Byakuei wasn't lost, Isayama Naraku breathed a sigh of relief. Among the spiritual beasts of the three great families, Tsuchimiyaka's Byakuei was undoubtedly the
strongest. If the mastermind behind this incident had even obtained Byakuei, the various spirit-user families in Tokyo would truly have no power to resist!
"Now that we've confirmed the status of Byakuei, let us continue discussing the extermination of the Isayama main house."
Gaku silently retracted Byakuei back into his body and brought up the previous topic.
"The Isayama family is one of the three great families; the strength of their main house is not to be underestimated," Isayama Naraku continued.
It couldn't be helped. Since the incident involved the massacre of the Isayama main house—one of the three families—the words of anyone other than the heads of the remaining two great families carried little weight. Everyone present understood this clearly.
"Indeed. Although the Isayama family hasn't had any Special Grade masters in recent years, the combination of their inherited spirit spears and Kudagitsune possesses incredible power."
Gaku nodded in agreement with Naraku's words.
"The culprit is likely the other member of the Isayama family who disappeared, the one who was qualified to inherit the family—I believe her name was Isayama Mei, correct?"
"I am truly sorry. Under my management, two such clansmen appeared in the family..."
The moment Isayama Mei's name was mentioned by Tsuchimiyaka Gaku, Isayama Naraku bowed deeply to apologize to the crowd. Although they had heard from Tsuchimiyaka Kagura that Isayama Yomi and Isayama Mei had been turned into puppets, who would care if those two were forced? The Isayama main house, which had been wiped out, only knew the culprit was Isayama Mei, and the other families in Tokyo only saw that people from the Isayama clan had triggered this disaster!
Announcement
Hello everyone!
As always Thank you for your support!
I'm happy to announce a new Fanfiction! There are already 40 chapters!
You can find it in my secondary account: VarieTL02
COTE: I've become a substitute
Mikage Touji transmigrated in the world of Classroom of the Elite with no explanation and entered the class 1-A, well at least he as a cool power even if a bit weak for now.
Until Ayanokouji Atsuomi asked him: "Is this you?" referring to a photo of Kyotaka.
"How could I possibly be that gloomy guy in there?!"
"Drop these useless excuses, Kiyotaka. Did you think that by changing your name and getting plastic surgery, you could escape my control?
Your enrollment materials are completely fabricated; not a single person can prove you ever existed. Furthermore, the timing of your appearance completely coincides with the time and place of Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's disappearance. And you're still saying you aren't Ayanokouji Kiyotaka?"
"Pfft..." It turns out that when people are truly speechless, they really do laugh.
"If you're looking to cause trouble, take a left out the door and find a police station. And another thing..." Mikage Toji helplessly spread his hands. "The one you are looking for is Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. What does that have to do with me, Mikage Toji?"
[Harem - No Ayanokouji - Sakayanagi Arisu in class D.
I really recommend it even if it doesn't have Hikigaya XD it's very funny and the first girls are not the usual ones (Spoiler: Morishita Ai, Yamamura Miki and Shiraishi Asuka)
Read ahead and finish this fanfiction by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting