The burst of spiritual pressure lasted only an instant, like the brief flicker of lightning after it tears across the sky.
When the towering, mountain-like golden Buddhist lotus dissipated, the harbor remained the same harbor—a steel jungle draped in darkness—only now with fewer evil spirits and fewer of those who served them.
"Whew~ Job done, time to clock out."
Hanakain Fubuki landed gracefully, stretching his body slightly. He strolled casually over to the Mercedes-Benz, its roof now completely caved in, and picked up two undamaged suitcases from the hood.
He recalled one contained money. As for the other, although he hadn't opened it yet, judging from the earlier conversation between the werewolf and the suited bodyguards, it seemed to hold the item they were trading.
He was a bit curious, but first, he needed to let Rias know—
Chipi-chipi chapa-chapa~
As a catchy rhythm that irresistibly made one want to bob their head started playing, the young man, who had just picked up his phone, raised an eyebrow slightly again.
This time, it was definitely Rias calling.
Good timing.
He answered the call.
"Rias, hello~ I was just about to call you…"
Before he could finish, a somewhat anxious girl's voice came from the other end.
"Hanaki, are you alright over there? Akeno and I just sensed a strong magical fluctuation from your direction. Did you run into the target?"
"Well, sort of. But it's already taken care of," Hanakain Fubuki replied, first calming her down before glancing at the two suitcases by his feet.
"I originally planned to capture them alive, but some people were just uncooperative, so things got a little rough... Anyway, it's handled. I also confiscated the item they were trading."
"The item they were trading? What is it?"
"No idea, haven't opened it yet, but..."
Hanakain Fubuki held the phone between his cheek and shoulder, bent down to lift the suitcase containing the traded item, and gently tapped the casing with his middle knuckle.
"It seems like there's a faint spiritual energy fluctuation coming from inside. It's very slight, but definitely there. And it feels... unnatural, like it's under some kind of seal. Should I open it and see?"
"Under a seal... hmm?"
The girl on the other end seemed to hesitate for a moment before quickly deciding.
"Maybe not just yet. Let's leave it as it is for now. We can deal with it tomorrow at school. We don't know what they were trading; if we carelessly break the seal and it turns out to be some dangerous species from the demon world, it'll be trouble."
"Alright then. I'll bring it to the clubroom tomorrow afternoon. We can unbox and examine it together then."
After saying this, Hanakain Fubuki was about to hang up but paused and added one more thing.
"Oh, right, one more thing. About the money..."
"Yes, yes~ I know. I'll transfer the commission for this job to your account shortly, Hanaki."
As if perfectly accustomed to this, the girl on the other end anticipated his words and answered before he could finish.
At the same time, she grew a little curious.
"We've worked together quite a few times now, though. Why are you in such a hurry for the payment this time? Are you short on cash this month, Hanaki?"
"Well..."
Mentioning this over the phone, the young man couldn't help but press his fingers to his forehead.
"Actually, things were fine until, thanks to a certain mischievous cat at home, the TV connected to my game console in my bedroom got smashed a few days ago. So..."
"Uh... my condolences. Anyway, I'll send the payment for this operation over soon."
"OK. That's all then. See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
...
Ten minutes later, inside an apartment building in Tokyo's Chuo Ward.
Ding-dong~
With the crisp chime indicating the elevator had reached the floor, the doors slid open silently into the hallway. Carrying a suitcase in each hand, the young man stepped out.
Chuo Ward, being the most expensive real estate area in all of Tokyo, meant even tiny studio apartments of only forty or fifty square meters commanded exorbitant prices. Typically, an entire floor might house four, five, six, seven, or even eight units, all sharing a single elevator.
However, the building Hanakain Fubuki lived in had only two doors per floor—meaning two households shared one elevator.
It offered more space and tranquility, but naturally, the price skyrocketed accordingly. It was much like the apartment Yukinoshita Yukino lived in during high school in Oregairu—essentially high-end housing.
Turning right out of the elevator, he arrived at his front door. Since both hands were occupied, Hanakain Fubuki had to place the suitcases on the floor to fish out his keys.
Yet, just as he reached into his pocket, the security door, tightly shut a second ago, was suddenly pulled open from the inside.
Immediately after, a slender figure with alluring curves practically launched herself out, colliding softy yet fully against the young man outside the door.
"Welcome home~"
"Thanks for opening the door, but Kuroka, could you let me come inside first? If the neighbors see us like this out here, it's a bit..."
Hanakain Fubuki seemed completely unsurprised by this, merely patting the back of the kimono-clad girl who was nuzzling against him, sniffing him all over.
Well, calling her a "girl" wasn't entirely accurate. Although her skin and features were undeniably youthful and beautiful, like a girl in her prime, her... frontal development had long surpassed the bounds of a normal "girl."
Combined with the pair of twitching cat ears atop her head and the cat tail swishing restlessly from beneath her kimono, she easily brought to mind the legendary Nekomata.
"Neighbors? Do we even have neighbors? I don't think I've ever seen any."
Like a young wife who had waited long hours for her husband's late return, Kuroka sniffed him thoroughly at point-blank range. Confirming the absence of any other woman's scent, she licked her lips contentedly, stepped back barefoot, and released her embrace.
"Oh well. Since you're back, will you eat first? Or take a bath? Or..."
"Already ate. I'm going to take a bath first."
Answering without hesitation, Hanakain Fubuki picked up the suitcases, entered, changed his shoes, and placed the cases on the dining table as he passed through the living room. He then ignored the expectant cat-eared girl behind him and headed straight for the bathroom.
Ah, he really is just going to take a bath...
Her plan thwarted, Kuroka blinked but wasn't discouraged. Her gaze shifted to the two suitcases on the dining table.
The cat-eared girl tapped her index finger against her lips, leaned in curiously to observe, and called out casually.
"Hana~ What's in these cases?"
"Tonight's unexpected haul. One's full of money. The other seems to contain some kind of sealed item. Haven't opened it yet, so don't touch it."
Hanakain Fubuki's voice drifted from the bathroom along with the sound of the bathtub filling.
"Oh..."
Hearing this, Kuroka's eyes darted around.
"Oh right, Hana, that new TV you mentioned in your text – I helped move it into the bedroom for you."
"Thanks. I'll be bringing it back out later."
"Eh? Why? Didn't you always keep the TV in the bedroom before?"
"Yes. And then you managed to short-circuit it with... a spray."
The bathroom door was open, allowing their voices to travel back and forth clearly.
Kuroka pouted defiantly. "It wasn't entirely my fault last time! Who told you to insist on playing that horror game while we were... you know. With the screen so close, a monster's ugly face suddenly popped out and scared me! Plus, you gave me a particularly deep thrust right then... It's perfectly normal that I couldn't hold back for a second, right?"
Seeing the water level in the tub was about right, Hanakain Fubuki turned off the tap, stepped into the bath, and leaned back.
The warm water enveloped him up to his chest, the comforting temperature making his voice noticeably more relaxed.
"I'm not blaming you. I just realized the bed and the TV stand were still too close. So, I decided to move it to the living room. This way, the distance from the sofa to the TV stand should be enough that it won't... spray directly into the socket and short-circuit."
"Is that so, is that so?"
The cat-eared girl hummed twice.
Although she'd been told she was forgiven and should have been happy, for some reason, she felt a strange sense of a new challenge being issued.
So what if it's just two or three extra meters compared to the bedroom? Just watch her bravely go for the direct hit next time!
Just as Kuroka's mind filled with bold ambitions, her gaze unintentionally returned to the two suitcases on the table.
Speaking of which, did Hana say one of them contained a sealed item?
Even though he told her not to mess with it... she was a Nekomata!
Could a cat's curiosity be stopped by mere words?
And so, the cat-eared girl pondered for a moment, cautiously checked for any danger, and then carefully undid the latches and opened the case.
Inside, nestled in a central groove on red silk lining, lay a shriveled, purplish-black finger tightly wrapped in numerous paper talismans.
...What on earth did he bring back?
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