Chapter 127: The Doll's Heart Stirs
The fact that the other sorcerers preferred jumping out of a window to taking the stairs spoke volumes about the state of the lower floors. Thanks to Hikigaya Hachiman's technique, those levels had been turned into a nightmare of severed limbs and shattered bone. The surveillance monitors were submerged in sprayed plasma, their screens blinded by red.
Even through the holes Hachiman had punched with his Blood Manipulation, a thick, cloying scent of iron wafted up from below. One didn't need to look to know the interior had been transformed into a charnel house.
"Just what grade of sorcerer possesses this kind of destructive power?"
Yukinoshita Yukino was genuinely shaken. Hachiman had never explicitly stated his rank, and seeing him go all out for the first time, she realized his previous claim of being "unranked" was nothing more than extreme modesty. The Grade 1 sorcerers earlier had been timid and subservient in his presence; that said it all.
"Who knows?" the Nine-Tailed Fox replied languidly. "His performance is at least Grade 1."
'In reality, he's well beyond Special Grade' the Fox thought, feeling a twinge of annoyance. Because they were in a busy district, the brat had clearly held back significantly.
His area-of-effect cleanup of the corpse-worms wasn't nearly as absurd as the single sword strike he had leveled at her and Yukino previously.
Under these circumstances, Hachiman turned to Yukino and Mutsumi. "Let's head down directly."
The goal of joining the Association was complete; staying any longer was pointless. While Hachiman could walk through a literal hell of flesh without blinking—having experienced far more brutal battlefields in his time—he had to consider his precious student and Yukino.
He felt a slight pang of guilt regarding the branch office's current state. He had brought them here to join a reliable official organization, but seeing it get raided in broad daylight might make them doubt its credibility. Thus, he had used thunderous means to execute the intruder, salvaging a bit of face for the Association.
"Who's first?" Hachiman asked.
He didn't trust either of them to jump down on their own. The Tokyo branch was a prestige building with exceptionally high ceilings; the third floor was nearly thirty to forty meters above the ground. A normal human would die from such a fall, and even a Grade 4 or 3 sorcerer would end up with shattered bones. The Grade 1s could do it with impunity, but for the girls, it was a different story.
Moreover, while he could use his blood tendrils to lower them, the imagery of his technique—the "meat grinder" that had just pulverized monsters into paste—might be unsettling. He figured carrying them down one by one was the gentler option.
"I don't mind," Mutsumi replied simply.
Though she didn't fear heights, she had seen the hallways covered in gore. Avoiding that "crime scene" by going out the window was the better choice. Mutsumi didn't even notice she had "stolen" the first turn, her heart fluttering with a tiny, hidden joy.
For Yukino, however, this wasn't just a simple logistical question.
'Isn't this just like last time?'
Yukino, her face flushing with bashfulness, felt "despicable." When Hachiman reached out his hands, her heart panicked. She immediately recalled the previous night—how she hadn't intended to fake being drunk but ended up being carried to her room in his arms anyway.
Her heart had been "drunk," but her consciousness was clear; she remembered every detail.
Ah... A deeper crimson spread across her cheeks as her heart rate accelerated. She found herself unable to maintain her usual composure.
'Yukino, Yukino, how did you become like this?'
She felt her stance regarding Hachiman was becoming increasingly flimsy. She was too easily embarrassed.
"What is going on?" she wondered. Ever since this Fox took up residence in her body, she seemed to suffer from constant, baseless adolescent restlessness.
The Nine-Tailed Fox: "?"
'You're blaming this on me?'
Yukino couldn't suppress the desire to be close to him. She hadn't even realized when her reliance on Hachiman—initially born from him being the "ideal" version of herself—had shifted. It had turned into a craving, a desire to act spoiled toward him more often. For the "serious" Yukinoshita Yukino, this was an incredibly difficult thing to admit.
"Yukino?" Hachiman asked curiously, seeing her prolonged silence and the slightly dazed, flushed look in her eyes.
"It's nothing," Yukino snapped out of her thoughts, taking a deep breath to force herself to stay calm. "Let Wakaba-san go first."
She was being "magnanimous," giving the opportunity to Mutsumi since the younger girl was supposedly weaker. "It doesn't matter who goes first, since you've already cleared the area, Hikigaya-kun."
Apart from the carnage on the first and second floors, the third floor was currently devoid of other living beings. It was safe. Actually, at this height, Yukino could have landed safely by reinforcing her body with the Fox's cursed energy, but she was playing the role of a "weak and helpless Grade 3," so she had to accept his kindness.
But she needed a moment to breathe. The last time they were this close was a huge stimulus for a romantic novice like her; she needed to prepare herself mentally. Without the excuse of alcohol this time, she was afraid she would lose her composure even more.
"Look at you, pathetic," the Fox grumbled, rolling her eyes at the "hopeless" girl.
'To think this pure-hearted thing is my host. One little hug and she's like this. If he kissed her or did something more intimate, would she just faint from shame?'
"Be quiet!" Yukino barked internally. She was a pure maiden, not a "seasoned veteran" like the Fox. Only someone with a dirty mind sees everything through a tainted lens.
"Fine, fine, you're always right," the Fox teased. She was ready to reveal Hachiman's true identity to Yukino soon, as the timing felt ripe. "If you can leave your own 'mark' on that brat's lips or neck, I'll truly be impressed."
"What are you saying?!" Yukino's heart, which had finally begun to settle, flared up again at the Fox's suggestive words. "Leaving marks" was a concept that far exceeded the girl's imagination.
"Alright, I understand." Hachiman nodded as he looked at Yukino.
'Why is she gritting her teeth all of a sudden?'
Since she said she could wait, he turned to Mutsumi. "Ready?"
"Mm." Mutsumi nodded softly.
Hachiman moved with practiced ease. He leaned in and put an arm around her shoulders. Her slender, seemingly boneless frame leaned into his chest. Once she was adjusted, he slid his other arm under her knees, lifting her in a bridal carry.
"We're jumping." Hachiman stood at the edge and gave a fair warning.
Mutsumi thought she could stay calm, but the moment she lay in Hachiman's arms, her brain almost ceased to function. So warm. It was different from Soyo's or Saki's hugs. A faint blush crept onto her cold features as she compared him to the two girls who had held her before. Soyo and Sakiko were her world, but Hachiman was different. His embrace was powerful, filling her with an immense sense of security.
She felt weightless. For a moment, as they defied gravity, she felt no fear. The wind whistled gently past her ears, and her heart felt incredibly peaceful. She even ignored the parakeet hiding in her hair—the stupid bird was screaming in terror. It could fly, yet it was afraid of heights. It had hidden in her hair to escape the "Great Demon King" (Hachiman), and now the Demon King was holding its master. There was nowhere left to hide.
Mutsumi felt no resistance toward Hachiman; in fact, she felt that this intimate contact allowed a certain suppressed emotion within her to find release. Mutsumi lived under immense pressure; it was why Hachiman's "stress relief" had triggered her awakening in the
first place. For the first time, she felt what it was like to be "alive"—perhaps it was to capture the beauty of moments like this.
'My heart is beating so fast.'
She realized many of her first "human" feelings were gifts from Hachiman. The doll felt like a human for the first time. The doll's heart was thumping.
If only this feeling could last. But like a performance on stage, the thrill was fleeting. They reached the ground.
"We're here, Mutsumi."
"Mm," she whispered. She didn't let go immediately, her hands still clutching Hachiman's collar.
"Hachiman.
Can you... hug me more often in the future?"
Her question was strange, almost an ambiguous confession, but Hachiman knew this "problem child" struggled to express her emotions directly. He replied with a trace of helplessness.
"Just because I'm carrying you?"
"Mm. It's very... relaxing," Mutsumi answered, feeling a rare wave of shyness. Her personality dictated that she would never actively act spoiled, so being this frank was like the sun rising in the west.
"If you like it," Hachiman conceded. "As long as it doesn't interfere with your training, I can use 'hugs' as a reward."
Hachiman was a bit of a "villain" himself—faced with something that sounded like a confession, his first thought was to use it as leverage to increase her training motivation.
"Can we do it without the training condition?" Mutsumi felt he was being a bit mischievous.
"No." Hachiman shook his head.
"Mean," Mutsumi protested. But as she said it, a quiet, beautiful smile graced her face.
.
.
.
Upstairs, the Fox and the girl were discussing the "cleanup" work. Yukino was trying to fill her head with anything other than the "indecent thoughts" the Fox had planted.
The Fox shook her head. Dealing with the bone fragments and meat paste downstairs was going to be a hassle. She could see that the debris was still infested with parasitic eggs. They were tiny; even crushed to powder, they stayed alive and toxic. If she used her original technique, Frost Moon, she could just freeze everything, killing the virus and the eggs instantly.
"If it were you, you could probably clear those things out easily," Yukino murmured. She wanted to help Hachiman with the aftermath.
The Fox's breath hitched.
'This little lady never stops trying to bait me into making a mistake and exposing myself, does she?'
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