Rewinding the clock to not long ago.
At the festival grounds, a bright and adorable girl moved with steps lighter than usual, smiling as she looked left and right.
On both sides of the street, the stalls were busier than ever, bursting with noise and life. Breathing in the delicious scents drifting through the air, Izuna felt both excited and troubled.
Excitement needed no explanation. What troubled her was that there were so many tasty things at the festival, and if she wanted to try them all, her stomach would never hold it.
After a long struggle, Izuna steeled herself and made a decision. At a time like this, she could only rely on ninja perseverance to push through.
Besides, she could always share with someone later.
Thinking of that, Izuna's smile grew even brighter.
Before long, her hands were piled with several servings of delicious festival snacks, and she continued strolling as she ate.
As a native of Hyakkiyako, Izuna had seen countless festivals since childhood, yet every year brought something new.
Her own mindset changed, the people and things she encountered differed, and naturally she found brand new impressions each time.
The only constant, perhaps, was the genuine smiles of the people who took part and immersed themselves in the festival.
However, unlike previous years, Izuna could not completely melt into the crowd and enjoy the festival with her whole heart.
It was not that she did not want to. It was simply that whenever she remembered how she had believed Masamune's deception not long ago, how she had helped a cat commit mischief and almost become an accomplice to that frightening scheme, Izuna felt terribly ashamed, followed by immense relief and a tender sweetness deep in her heart.
Thankfully, she had met the person destined for her and avoided making a terrible mistake.
Someone gentle and handsome, someone who supported her dreams, who tolerated her immaturity, who quietly shouldered the consequences of her mistakes.
He was exactly the Aruji-dono Izuna had long dreamed of serving.
As for the unpleasant feelings of being tricked or betrayed.
Izuna believed all of it was her own fault for falling into a villain's trap, and that Sensei had acted only out of necessity.
Thinking back to the events of the past two days, Izuna suddenly felt dazed, as if everything had been a sweet dream.
Fortunately, it was reality.
Even though she had done wrong and still felt embarrassed to face Sensei, because he had been kind to her and promised to watch the fireworks with her tonight, Izuna felt she had gained the courage to try.
Izuna planned to use the festival's atmosphere to gather her resolve and offer her loyalty to Sensei.
Since he was neither a master nor a legendary ninja, someone like her was needed to protect him.
When the fireworks ended, she would confess her true feelings. Endure, endure.
Though Izuna was still an inexperienced ninja and needed intense training before she could become worthy of Sensei, because it was Sensei, he would surely say yes.
From now on, she would have to trouble Sensei no, her Aruji-dono (Lord-dono) a great deal.
Thinking that, Izuna took a bite of her cherry blossom red bean taiyaki, savoring the sweet flavor with her eyes half closed in bliss.
In her heart, she wished more than anything that time would move faster, so she could meet the person she longed to see.
Just imagining how happy she would be once they met made Izuna feel hot and restless, as if the festival's fervor had seeped into her body.
And in the next moment, as though the sacred tree had answered her prayer, Izuna caught a glimpse of a familiar figure not far away.
But just as she began to smile in delight, the instant she focused with a ninja's keen dynamic vision, her heart lurched and her expression froze in shock.
Standing beside the person she had promised to watch the fireworks with, there was a woman Izuna had never seen before.
The problem was that the two of them were laughing warmly, their gestures intimate, like lovers in the midst of romance.
Izuna cried out in disbelief.
"Sensei?"
She still clung to a sliver of hope.
Because it was only a side view, perhaps it was someone who merely looked like him. But Sensei was the most handsome person she had ever met, the only one of his kind in all of Kivotos, so…
Maybe it was an evil organization's remote-controlled ninja android made to look exactly like him.
However, the moment he turned around and looked at her with a familiar, gentle smile tinged with surprise, Izuna's last hope shattered completely.
How could this happen?
"Izuna, what a coincidence."
I greeted Izuna, who seemed a little stunned.
Meeting her before the appointed time and outside the appointed place was not particularly surprising.
After all, Izuna coming to the festival on her own was perfectly normal, and as the only human in Kivotos, I was like the moon hanging high in the night sky. It was only natural that she would find me.
What truly surprised me was that Izuna did not respond. Instead, she puffed out her cheeks and walked up to Wakamo, inspecting her from head to toe.
I could not help feeling excited.
Could it be that I had finally triggered an event for the legendary battle of jealousy?
Ever since I realized that by steadily winning over all sorts of girls some of whom were quite incompatible with one another I was destined to face multiple lovestruck maidens clashing before me, leaving me caught between them in sweet agony, I had been preparing myself.
Now was the moment to test the results of my countless rehearsals.
And with reliable Wakamo and innocent Izuna, the difficulty level was practically zero. It was the perfect beginner tutorial.
At that moment, unseen sparks were already flying between Izuna and Wakamo.
Izuna glared at the stranger who had stolen her Sensei, but the longer she looked, the more intimidated she felt.
First, the woman was strikingly beautiful. Second, she radiated a cold and elegant air. Third, her eyes were terrifying.
And most importantly.
Izuna realized she had no right to be angry.
Under Wakamo's icy, watchful gaze, Izuna's bravado quickly melted away, and she timidly offered a greeting.
"Hello, it is nice to meet you. Please take care of me."
Wakamo's eyes flickered as she tightened her grip on her paper umbrella. She asked in a cold and wary tone.
"What do you want? Are you here to cause trouble for Sensei again?"
"Not at all!" Izuna protested. "Who are you anyway? Why are you with Sensei?"
Wakamo's voice grew sharper.
"Shouldn't I be asking what you want with Sensei? Can't you see he is busy strolling the festival with me?"
Seeing tension rise, I cleared my throat and patted Wakamo's shoulder.
"Wakamo, Izuna is no longer an enemy."
At my words, Wakamo who only moments ago exuded the aura of a fox of calamity, lowered her gaze obediently.
She smiled gently. "Yes, I understand. Izuna, since it is Sensei's wish, let us get along."
The contrast was so drastic that Izuna could only gape.
I nodded inwardly. It was clear Wakamo was being polite solely for my sake, but it was still a good start.
Someday, even without my presence, Wakamo would surely get along with everyone like sisters.
After thinking a moment, I introduced them properly.
"Izuna, this is Wakamo. You two met yesterday."
Wakamo? Could it be that vixen was Wakamo from yesterday?
Izuna felt a phantom pain race across the back of her head and shivered instinctively.
But then, struck by a terrifying thought, she grabbed my hand in panic.
"Sensei, why is she here? Did she force you to come with her because of what happened yesterday?"
Izuna, please do not let your imagination run wild.
"What nonsense are you spouting, you little fox?"
Wakamo's friendly smile shattered instantly.
Izuna's expression became one of I knew it, and she wedged herself between me and Wakamo, spreading her arms protectively in front of me.
"So you finally reveal your true nature. Do not worry, Sensei. I, Izuna, will make sure you are safe from this villain."
"You little brat, stirring up trouble between me and Sensei."
Wakamo's face darkened, her golden beastlike eyes narrowing to slits as killing intent spilled out.
Izuna, still carrying the trauma of yesterday's righteous backstab, shrank her neck, then mustered her courage.
"I-I am not afraid of you. You only won yesterday because you caught me off guard. A-anyway, I will not let you lay a hand on Sensei."
"You have some nerve. I think you are the one plotting something against Sensei. Using such noble sounding excuses. Sensei, surely you have been deceived by this little fox. I will drive her away at once."
"You two need to calm down first."
I had to admit, I had been far too optimistic.
Even the simplest cat....err, fox fight was still a fox fight. No, perhaps I had been wrong from the beginning.
I had only considered Izuna and Wakamo's bonds, without thinking about something far more important.
What on earth was their thought process? And why were they both so quick to lose control?
Perhaps it was also proof that they cared about me. I could not tell whether that should make me happy or uneasy.
In the end, I could only sigh inwardly, feeling that the road ahead would be long and difficult. All I could do was move forward with determination and do my best to maintain harmony among my students.
There was no helping it. This was the price I had to pay for my survival along with satisfying my own desires.
But there was no need to think too far ahead. I chose to trust the wisdom of my future self and focus on the present for now.
Even though the two fox eared girls had quieted down and were waiting for me to speak, sparks of hostility still flashed whenever their gazes crossed.
I turned to Izuna, who had been the first to start the quarrel.
"Izuna, you misunderstood. I was the one who asked Wakamo to come out with me."
"Eh?"
Izuna's mind went completely blank the moment she heard this.
What was happening?
Had Sensei not promised to meet her first? Why would he invite someone else?
"Izuna… Izuna…?"
Her ears buzzed. Izuna did not want to hear anything.
She looked at Wakamo, beautiful and composed like a refined noble lady, and her heart tightened.
Sensei already had a prettier, more graceful, stronger, and more obedient fox at his side.
And Izuna?
She was nothing more than a problem student who abused Sensei's kindness, caused him trouble again and again, and spent every day shouting about becoming a ninja.
Not to mention she was nowhere near qualified to be a real ninja yet.
Could someone like her truly serve Sensei? And with the Fox of Calamity already beside him, did Sensei even need her service?
Maybe, from the very beginning, she had only been deluding herself.
With that thought, sorrow welled up inside her, and she felt an urge to run away.
"Izuna, are you alright?"
I held her shoulders and gently shook her. She looked lost, hollow, and on the verge of tears.
Izuna finally came back to herself, but she lightly slipped out of my grasp. Forcing a tiny smile, she spoke with clear dejection.
"I am sorry. Maybe I came at the wrong time…"
With that, Izuna turned away, shoulders slumped.
A bad feeling rose in me.
If I let her walk off like this, I knew I would regret my inaction for the rest of my life. I was completely certain of it.
All the scenarios I had rehearsed in advance were now useless.
In my panic, and ignoring the fact that Wakamo was right beside me, I grabbed Izuna's hand and pulled her into my arms before she could react.
"No, you came at exactly the right time."
"Eh? Se-Sensei?"
While Izuna lay frozen in my arms, unsure what to do, I glanced toward Wakamo. Even her face showed a faint trace of loneliness.
Guilt pricked my heart, and I rebuked myself. How could I show favoritism?
So I looked straight at Wakamo and reached out my hand.
Wakamo seemed startled by my gesture, but after a brief pause, she smiled softly. She placed her delicate hand in mine, then naturally leaned into my embrace.
This must have been the correct answer. Actions spoke louder than any empty words.
However, there was a price.
We were on a main street in the heart of the festival, surrounded by thick crowds. Doing something like this made me the center of attention at once.
Under countless watching eyes and murmuring voices, I tried to ignore my embarrassment by pretending everyone else was invisible, refusing to think about the damage to my reputation. I focused only on the two girls in my arms and said gently:
"Let's all go watch the fireworks together."
Izuna and Wakamo exchanged a look, then nodded in unison.
And so, by a simple and somewhat forceful method, the conflict was resolved. I walked side by side with the two girls, who were feeling better though not fully cheerful, toward the site where the fireworks display would soon begin.
Once I calmed down enough to think, I realized my method might have been too blunt.
Wakamo's wholehearted devotion to me was one thing, but Izuna had not even been won over yet. Grabbing her like that really was too forward. What if it made her angry?
But if Izuna felt nothing for me, she would not have reacted so intensely to my closeness with Wakamo.
I supposed the conditions behind these relationship flags were still a mystery.
In any case, the lessons learned from this event would surely help me in the future.
Following the flow of the crowd, we reached an observation deck. From the high vantage point, we could clearly see the great sacred tree in the distance, the neon below it, and the fireworks that would soon bloom.
The only issue was that the deck was packed with tourists and noise. But looked at differently, the bustling energy made the festive atmosphere even more vivid.
I soothed Izuna, who was upset that the perfect viewing spot we had found had filled with people within moments. I also stopped Wakamo, who politely asked if she should remove the unnecessary obstacles around us to create a better view for me. In the end, I chose to stay in the crowd with them and watch the fireworks together.
The three of us admired the blossoms of light that bloomed and vanished in the night sky. The beauty felt dreamlike, impossible to tell it was only a hologram.
No, perhaps it was precisely because it was a hologram that it felt so unreal.
The climax of the fireworks seemed to end in an instant, yet also lingered for a long time.
Before we realized it, the cherry blossom festival was nearing its true finale. The frequency of the fireworks began to drop, and more than half of the crowd had already left the observation deck.
I wondered if it was time to end the day and head back.
I still had unfinished work waiting. If I returned now, I might squeeze out a bit more time.
Just as I considered whether I should say something, Izuna hesitated and called out to me.
"Sensei…"
"I'm right here. What is it?"
Izuna looked ashamed.
"Um, Izuna caused everyone a lot of trouble today. I am truly sorry."
Still worrying about that.
It showed what a genuinely kind child she was.
"It's fine. It is already in the past," I said gently. "You were deceived, that is all. No one will blame you."
"Mm… Sensei, Izuna… no, the Izuna of now still needs more training…"
Izuna seemed to be working up her courage, staring at the dazzling yet fleeting fireworks.
"As long as I keep working hard, someday I will become a student Sensei can be proud of… and when that time comes, Izuna will finally achieve her dream…"
Something about the order of her words felt wrong.
Why did I have to be proud of her first before she could fulfill her dream of becoming Kivotos's strongest ninja?
No, that was not the full picture. Izuna's dream was not just that.
Could it be that her hesitations, her attitude toward me, the way she acted, all pointed to her other dream?
If so, then the only one who could fulfill that dream was indeed me.
I looked at the ninja girl beside me. Despite being surrounded by the lively crowd and standing right next to me, she still carried a faint loneliness in her expression. I spoke quietly.
"Izuna, I have a question."
Izuna straightened at once.
"Yes, Sensei, please ask. Izuna will do her best to answer."
"I remember you once said," I said slowly, "you were searching for a Aruji-dono worthy of your lifelong loyalty."
"Yes, but…"
"Looking at me," I asked earnestly, "do you think I could be that Aruji-dono?"
Izuna froze for a moment. Then her eyes widened in disbelief, before bursting into bright, radiant light.
"Sensei… no, my Aruji-dono!"
Switching directly to the new form of address, she charged into my arms with such force it nearly knocked me over.
"My Aruji-dono… my Aruji-dono, my Aruji-dono!"
The ninja girl rubbed against my chest, and from my shirt pocket came a heat so intense it felt like it could burn, though she seemed not to notice at all.
I mentally noted it, then pushed the thought aside. It hardly mattered in this moment. All my attention was on Izuna.
"I'm right here."
"Hehehe, so my Aruji-dono thought that way too. I was so worried you might reject me, or think Izuna was troublesome, or that you did not need me at all…"
She poured out every worry she had been holding in her heart.
I patted her back and listened silently, warmth swelling inside me.
"Izuna will swear her loyalty to you here and now."
Her voice was muffled against my chest, but the joy and resolve in it were unmistakable.
"In that case, I will accept it with all my heart."
I brushed my hand over her silky hair and answered her pledge. In that moment, I resolved that from now on, I would cherish Izuna with everything I could.
Just as I did for everyone else.
Finally, the fox eared girl who dreamed of becoming the strongest ninja reluctantly released her new Aruji-dono, her cheeks tinged pink.
"Am I dreaming?" Izuna patted her face, looking adorably flustered.
"Hmm… perhaps," I mused. "And if you are, then let us never wake up."
"Alright! Izuna understands!"
Energy returned to her in full. She clasped her hands behind her back, took a small step backward, and smiled with shy joy overflowing.
"Please take care of Izuna forever from now on."
Fireworks blossomed behind her, making the moment feel timeless.
Then, a hand suddenly landed on Izuna's shoulder, startling her.
"I have felt your sincerity toward Sensei as well."
Having watched everything in silence, Wakamo now showed approval in her eyes. With genuine kindness, she said, "Hehe, Izuna, let us get along from now on."
But the next instant, Wakamo's expression soured.
Because Izuna, acting on instinct, asked:
"Why are you still here?"
Where else did she think Wakamo would be?
Izuna was wonderful in many ways, but sometimes her thoughts skipped a beat and she did things that left people speechless.
Of course, Wakamo was similar, perhaps even more destructive.
Among the three little foxes I had tamed at home, Yukino was still the most obedient and worry free.
If I ignored the unpleasantness of our first meeting.
Wakamo closed her eyes, inhaling deeply as if calming herself.
Then, the infamous Fox of Calamity Wakamo gave a chilling smile to the trembling Izuna.
"Get along, for dear Sensei's sake. Understand?"
"Ah, i-if it is for protecting my Aruji-dono!"
Izuna hesitated, then reached out and gave Wakamo's hand a timid, fleeting shake.
It seemed the two foxes had become friends, at least in spirit.
I smiled quietly and said nothing. For the moment, I forgot my earlier intention to leave and turned my gaze toward the fireworks rising in the distance.
For now, I let go of every worry and simply looked at the beauty before me.
And in my heart, I wished for the arrival of a bright new tomorrow.
===
Volume Epilogue
===
A/N:
After nearly two hundred seventy thousand words, this volume has finally come to an end. It has already far surpassed the combined length of the previous two, and looking back, it truly was a long journey.
Although the heroine of this volume was the little fox, she did not officially appear until more than sixty chapters in. As expected of a ninja. (laughs)
That said, the length of this volume did exceed my expectations. I originally thought it would finish around one hundred fifty thousand words, yet it ended up stretching by another hundred thousand without any filler at all. I can only say that slice of life content is surprisingly easy to write.
At this point, if I were to write out the current main story and all the events, reaching two or three million words would probably be effortless. I hope I can stick with it until then, and I also hope my ability to write long form stories will be enough to keep the plot from collapsing.
In any case, thank you to all my readers for your support. I will continue doing my best to create higher quality content and provide as pleasant a reading experience as I can.
Next Volume Preview:
Facing the crisis of being disbanded, in order to protect their final sanctuary, the girls will bravely step into the unknown and create a masterpiece that will shake the heart!
Act Two Game Development Club and Lost Limbus
Thank you for your support, and please look forward to it!
I will get to writing after I wake up. It will be posted tonight. (meaning before six in the morning)