Chapter 10: Chapter 9

As she recounted the events of Yuuji’s rescue, the classmates before her remained captivated. Various emotions lined their expressions after hearing of such a tragedy that affected the person before them.

Yuuji himself bore a dark expression at first, but towards the end as he was described to a growing crowd as some gallant hero straight from a storybook his ears began to burn red and he evaded passing gazes.

“And here I am today.”

She ended her story with a bright smile as she lived her own happy ending, though most of the others struggled to match her cheerful demeanour.

Certainly, some more than others.

“BWAAAAA! HIBIKIIII!”

Hema, snot-nosed and bawling, nearly leapt over the table to give her a huge hug, squeezing her tightly and burying her face in Hibiki’s chest.

“You went through so much! It must have been so painful!”
“E-Ehh??”

Flustered by the sudden love missile aimed directly at her, she gave a familiar ‘Wawawawa!’ waving her hands around, unsure of what exactly she should be doing in this situation.

“I-It’s so sad..!”

Siblings to the very end, even Mitra’s good looks were contorted into a pitiful crying face as he wiped his eyes with his sleeves, his back being patted gently by Wang Bao beside him.

Beside them, some of the girls they weren’t familiar with yet were hugging each other, many still feeling teary-eyed after the heartbreaking tale. Despite being a key part of the ending, Yuuji couldn’t help but want to slip away from the commotion but knew he couldn’t leave Hibiki to deal with this alone.

“A-Ahem.”

He cleared his throat softly in hopes to get the situation somewhat under control again.

“That’s how it is. Hopefully this clears up any misunderstandings about us.”
“Misunderstandings!? You’ve not talked about yourself at all! If anything, hearing this makes me even more curious about what you were doing there!”

Somehow, his genius plan backfired entirely, and the growing crowd of eyes shifted their gaze towards him in unison from Mitra’s direction. Cursing his inability to read the room when it mattered, Yuuji felt a cold sweat wet his brow as he desperately sought a way out.

“A moment, Lady Utsunomiya. If your story is accurate, may I be correct in saying you would be 15 years old?”

Silence spread once more as Hibiki made a quizzical expression, Akil pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose once more.

“Mmm, no, I counted at least 16 summers, so I should be around 18 I think?”
“Indeed, my intention is not to cast doubt on your words, but the Cataclysm is an event from 15 years past, is it not? Humanity was not aware of demons until that time.”
“U-Umm, I’m not too familiar, I have only ever lived in that room until now.”

Yuuji himself had also been bugged by this question, as even from when he first saw Hibiki, she didn’t seem much younger than he was. If she was truly the same age at 18, then was she not a demon after all?

Words of the spiteful shrine Guji circled in his head as he pondered.

‘She is an omen of destruction! Evil child of darkness, no prayers will save you!’

‘From the day she was born to the day she dies she shall never leave this mountain!’

‘...That girl is a harbinger of death and pain.’

Harbinger.

Omen.

They weren’t scared of Hibiki herself, but instead of what they believed she would bring.

“She was born before the Cataclysm…”

Deep in his thoughts, he hadn’t yet realised that he spoke the words aloud until he found the others staring at him as if he was crazy.

“Her mother… a demon was already living on Earth.”
“...”

A stunned and uneasy silence fell over the group. What started as harmless curiosity had unveiled a secret that would shake the world to its core, and cause unimaginable ripples should it be revealed.

If there could have been demons roaming the planet before their existence was known, what did that mean for the Cataclysm? What did that mean for the survivors who rebuilt and lived in fear to this day?

Yuuji stood up swiftly, his face solemn.

“Hibiki, I need you to come with me.”

She tilted her head slightly with a frown, but seeing his expression she soon nodded and peeled herself away from Hema, following swiftly after Yuuji. They’d hardly touched their food in the end, but there was time for that later.

“Mr Pierce, please excuse us for some time. We may be back late.”
“...I’ll allow it.”

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The faculty table was gossiping quietly, as they had been in earshot of the students at the time. Ayumi kept her head down and hadn’t even looked up to see her brother as he exited the room, Hibiki close behind him, leaving the canteen in awkward silence while everyone struggled to contain their curiosity with the information they’d just taken in.

“...Yuuji? Where are we going?”

He marched ahead of her with determination as she struggled to keep up.

“To see my grandfather.”

******

“...So you believe you can simply visit me on such a whim?”

Ishitake Shinichiro stared at them from behind his large mahogany desk, laden with expensive trinkets and arrangements of gleaming awards. His office was at the highest point of the academy, with two large windows on either side showing both the open sea and an overlook of the island they were situated on.

“Hibiki was born before the Cataclysm. Demons existed on Earth before humanity was aware.”
“...Is that all?”

He scoffed and slowly rose from his luxurious armchair, cold eyes unblinking as they tore at Yuuji’s spirit, belittling and mocking him.

“You only just realised? Humanity has had stories of demons for millennia. And now, we simply have proof they arrived before we knew.”

His bony finger pointed at Hibiki but he kept his gaze fixed forward without acknowledging her.

“Stupid boy. What was this all for? I had at least believed you realised the gravity of the situation before you came to me, but you understood nothing.”

Venom tipped his words as his hands tightened into fists.

“You mounted the tiger’s back without a second thought, and here you are again expecting me to pull you off to safety.”
“...”
“You could have killed her when you had the chance, but you chose this path. I have already shown you the way forward, whether you choose to accept it or not is no longer of my concern.”
“...Can we trust the people here?”

Shinichiro sneered and walked past them to the window overlooking the academy.

“Heliopolis is my city. Every person here lives or dies by my orders, and should any country try to lay hands on my people they will sorely regret it.”
“If the people of the world find out about this-”
“Let them come.”

Unflinching, the old man remained stoic as he gazed onward towards the horizon - his stance was clear.

A moment of silence passed as Yuuji bit his lip and collected his thoughts.

“Grandfather.”
“...Are you not finished?”
“Why didn’t you tell me Ayumi was here?”
“Her whereabouts and well-being have nothing to do with you.”

Yuuji stared at him silently, then shook his head in dissatisfaction. Knowing his grandfather was done talking, he turned to leave.

“...What is it with you two..?”
“..?”
“...”

From beside him, Hibiki’s voice quivered slightly, but she remained firm.

“Aren’t you family? How could you talk to each other so coldly? And speaking about killing me like it was nothing…”

Her lilac eyes grew misty with tears as she stared at the old man’s back.

“You helped save me. I owe you so much… but I am not just some thorn in your side to dispose of when it suits you. I’m a living person - we are people.”

Her dewy eyes caught Yuuji briefly.

“...And I thought you knew that too.”

With that, she burst out the door, her footsteps pattering off into the distance.

Yuuji felt like a bucket of freezing cold water had been dumped over him. Blood dripped from his hand as his grip tightened past the breaking point, and he could hold his emotions back no more.

“She’s right.”

A long-dormant fire burned brightly in his eyes.

“I’m not your slave, and I’m going to do what I think is right whether or not you permit me. For my sake, and for the sake of those I care for.”
“...I own this place. Nothing here happens without my say-so.”
“For once, I’ll forge my own path. And whether you choose to accept that or not is no longer of my concern.”

Yuuji curled his lip as he parroted his grandfather’s cold words before spinning on his heels and chasing after Hibiki through the open door.

Ishitake Shinichiro remained at the window, motionless as he stood alone with his thoughts.

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