Happy New Year Guys!
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Hi guys, author here! Please share your thoughts in the comments and reviews. And if you like it, don't forget to drop some stones — they're a great motivator!
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Back to Naoya:
After Miyuki and Naoya were done with their shopping, where even Naoya contributed a bit since he felt bad seeing Miyuki buy extra food to take care of Naoya's appetite.
She saw him eat back at the ramen shop, and judging by that, she would need quite a few ingredients to satisfy her little brother-in-law.
Knowing that Naoya decided to pay for his portion of the ingredient but being the responsible adult she was, Miyuki vehemently refused.
Truly a wonder, how such a wonderful lady got entangled with Toji.
Still, Naoya was stubborn as well and eventually won by using the legendary "Look, a UFO is flying there" technique to distract the gullible sister and pay before she could do anything.
By the time she realised that she had been bamboozled, it was already too late.
She complained a lot and tried to pay him back, but Naoya refused to take the money.
She was already being nice to make food for him. He didn't want to be more of a burden to her.
The two of them continued to bicker on their way back, both slightly enjoying the pointless banter as well.
Miyuki looked at the little kid carrying more than double the amount of stuff as her and wondered if everyone from Toji's family was a monster.
Still, she felt glad that Naoya was finally not mulling over thoughts that she felt were sad.
She slowly placed her hand on Naoya's head and ruffled his hair.
"Since you are refusing to take back your money, I will put in double the effort to make today's feast! It will be the best food you will ever have," said Miyuki with a smile.
Naoya looked at his older sister, who was smiling warmly at him. Somehow, he felt that her smile was infectious, and a second later, he too was smiling.
The two soon reached her apartment complex. Once they climbed the stairs and Miyuki opened the door to her apartment, a pair of arms appeared for a moment before they moved towards Miyuki.
Without wasting even a second, Naoya dropped the groceries and pulled Miyuki away from the danger that came out of nowhere.
His shadow darkened, and the wolves were about to emerge and tear through the enemies.
"Get away from Miy-....Oh, it's you. What the f*ck are you doing here?" asked Toji as he almost pulled out the gun he had hidden behind him.
"It was just you..... don't surprise me like that nii-san," replied Naoya and sighed in relief. He thought they were under attack from someone after his life.
Miyuki, who was still behind Naoya, blinked in surprise. She was not even able to register what just happened. A moment ago, she was opening the door, and saw a pair of arms, and a moment later, she was standing behind Naoya, who seemed to be standing in front of her protectively.
"...Wait wait wait wait wait!!!! What happened just now?!" asked Miyuki.
Toji looked at her with a confused look and replied.
"I heard your voice, so I opened the door," said the older Zenin. The lie came way too naturally.
"What the hell do you mean by that?! I was the one who opened the door!! I was just standing there a second ago!!!"
"You sure, Miyuki? You were behind the brat all along. Are you tired?" asked Toji worriedly.
Naoya blinked in surprise. How the hell is this man lying without any shift in expression?
"Huh? No, I wasn't! Was I? Naoya-kun! You tell me!" asked Miyuki and turned towards the kid.
Toji looked at Naoya as well, but signalled a death threat to him.
Naoya didn't need to be told twice and looked towards Miyuki.
"You were there from the start. You were stopped all of a sudden when Nii-san opened the door....Maybe you got lightheaded because of the sun. Rest up for a bit," said Naoya.
Miyuki looked a bit surprised. Was she really that lightheaded?
She pondered for a bit longer before she accepted the boys' words, successfully getting gaslighted by the two of them.
Toji took the groceries from Miyuki and led her inside to rest. Naoya soon followed, and as the older Zenin closed the door behind them.
Once inside, Miyuki lay down to rest a bit. Toji placed a glass of water for her before going away to put away the groceries, and pulled Naoya by the collar alongside him.
"What the hell are you doing here, you brat?" asked Toji.
"Hello," replied Naoya and waved at Toji.
The older Zenin glared at Naoya before dropping him on the floor.
Landing perfectly on his feet, Naoya helped Toji place the groceries.
"Pretty mean of you to lie to nee-chan back there. On that note, congratulations on the engagement," muttered Naoya.
"Thank you. It's better for her if she doesn't know about this stuff," replied Toji.
"Then, why did you act like that in front of the door? Almost got her involved."
"Your fault, brat. I smelled someone with blood and gunpowder on them near her. Almost gave me a heart attack. Why the hell are you smelling like blood and gunpowder?"
Naoya's eyes widened in surprise. He knew that Toji's heavenly restrictions enhanced his senses, but to think that he could even smell blood on him after he changed his clothes.
"Stuff happened back home...." replied Naoya.
"...And? What's that supposed to tell me? Speak clearly."
"....Forget it," said Naoya and continued to place the groceries on the counter for Toji to keep them in place.
Toji looked at the kid for a bit, deciding if he should knock some sense into the disrespectful brat, but held back, seeing that the kid was not in the mood.
The two Zenins slowly worked in silence without uttering even a word.
Miyuki, who was resting, looked at the two brothers and wanted to smack Toji for making all the progress she made with Naoya go down the drain.
Once Naoya was done placing all the groceries on the counter, he walked back to the living room and sat down.
"Thank you for the help, Naoya-kun. You should be thirsty, right? Toji. Get something for him to drink!" said Miyuki.
"Glass there, tap there. Drink water," ordered Toji and kept working with the groceries.
Naoya snorted at the overconsiderate hospitality.
Miyuki popped a vein seeing Toji act like that after she boasted about him to Naoya earlier.
"You want more water, nee-chan?" asked Naoya and picked up her glass from the table.
"Eh? Ah, okay. Thank you, Naoya-kun," replied Miyuki with a helpless smile.
Naoya nodded, brought water for both of them, and sat back.
Once Toji finished placing the groceries, he came back and sat down beside Miyuki, who punched Toji the moment he sat near her.
Toji felt a slight itch and scratched the spot where he was hit, making the lady even more pissed at the tactless man.
"So? What are you doing here? Any reason?" asked Toji.
"Don't be rude! He is a guest! I invited him!" scolded Miyuki and sat straight as well.
Naoya was seriously wondering if this man had the tact to propose.
'Whatever, not my place to question their relationship,' thought Naoya.
"Guest? What for?"
"I called him over to celebrate our engagement. I promised to make a feast for him!" declared Miyuki.
Toji looked at Miyuki with a deadpan expression. He needed to warn her more about Naoya and his family background. If a random Zenin bastard were to get a whiff of their place, then it would be bad.
"Are you so free that you follow her?" asked Toji and turned towards Naoya.
"Sorry for the random intrusion. She told me she wanted to celebrate. I would leave if you want me to," replied Naoya with a 'smile'.
Honestly, right now, his situation was probably as bad as Toji's, and he wouldn't be surprised if some of the more zealous people from the clan came after him. He felt happy when Miyuki invited him over warmly, but he would be sad if she were to face danger because of him.
Naoya started to stand up when suddenly the table and the floor shook.
Both Toji and Naoya looked up and saw Miyuki, with bangs covering her eyes. Both could feel a very distinct feeling of intimidation from her.
"You both hateful bastards. You sit. You shut up," ordered Miyuki.
Naoya didn't waste a second and sat back down.
Toji followed suit and covered his mouth with his hand.
"I called him over. You have a problem?"
Toji shook his head obediently.
"You need to go somewhere?"
Naoya shook his head vigorously.
"Good. Now sit tight and wait. Toji. Entertain him. One more hateful comment and you are sleeping out for a week."
Both the Zenin men nodded without complaints, making Miyuki give them one last glare before walking away to the kitchen.
"...That was something," muttered Naoya.
"... Yes.... ain't she hot..." muttered Toji.
Naoya looked at his brother and wondered if he heard him correctly.
Soon, Toji brought a deck of cards to pass the time with Naoya while Miyuki started cooking.
Soon, the smell of food started to waft out of the kitchen and reached Naoya, making the kid excited.
He had not eaten anything since morning, which for him was too much of a sacrifice.
Miyuki's soft humming came also soothed the atmosphere, making him feel even more relaxed.
"Here! Show me your cards!!!" yelled Toji.
'...If only he weren't here,' thought Naoya, feeling annoyed by the brute.
To him, Toji seemed like a black spot on an otherwise beautiful white blank canvas, disturbing his calm with his constant complaining.
"Here. I win," said Naoya and showed his cards and raked in his winnings.
"Damn it!!!! How the hell do you keep winning!!! You cheating?!" asked Toji, annoyed.
He proposed they play for money, thinking that it would make things more interesting. But to his annoyance, Naoya kept winning. He suspected him of cheating, but Naoya wasn't able to prove it.
Naoya wasn't cheating at all. His luck was just too good while Toji's was bad.
Suddenly, both his and Toji's senses perked up.
Toji stopped his complaints and looked around before his gaze landed on Naoya.
Naoya caught his gaze and noticed Toji gesturing towards Miyuki.
Naoya gave him the ok making the older Zenin stand up and walk towards the door.
"Miyuki, I am going to get something to drink. Want something?" asked Toji and put on his shoes.
"At this hour? Dinner is almost done."
"Just felt like it. Want to cool my head off after losing so much," replied Toji.
"Hmm. Then get a bottle of Cola. Naoya-kun, you are fine with that, right?"
"Hmm. Yes. Here, nii-san. After losing that much, you won't have much money, right? Take this," said Naoya and threw something towards Toji
"What the hell are you talking about. I have en- Oh. Thanks. I was short."
Toji was about to complain, thinking that the brat was making fun of him for being broke, but seeing a gun with a silencer being thrown at him made him stop and accept the weapon with gratitude.
Toji pocketed the gun and walked out to deal with the trouble.
Naoya wondered who the people who were gathering outside were, and was hoping that they were not here trying to find him.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the trouble wasn't there because of Naoya but because of Toji.
Because of his dealings with the shady side of society, many were dissatisfied with him and had a grudge against him. Similar episodes had happened in the past, and today was one such episode as well. The only change was that now they somehow had found where he lived.
'Am I getting dull?' thought Toji and punched yet another bastard who tried to kill him.
These were regular people, something not even worth it for him to use his gun on.
The group was unalived quite easily by him, and after he made sure that no one else was nearby, he vomited a cursed spirit out of him and stored the dead bodies inside.
After storing the spirit back and hiding the traces of the fight, Toji walked away to get the cola like he was told.
A few minutes later, two people arrived on bicycles.
"I told you to have the tank filled. Because of you, we are late. The others will yell at us now!!" yelled the one at the back.
"Would you shut up. Look around! We are here first! No one in sight!" retorted the other one.
They parked the bike and looked around, trying to find their friends, but didn't spot a single soul.
"Man, talk about being late. They don't know what punctuality is."
"...Are we sure that we aren't just too late?"
The two stared at each other and blinked in surprise.
The two remained silent for a while before each of them took out a dagger and headed towards Toji's and Misaki's apartment complex.
"Only one way to find if we are too late or not," said one of them and kicked open the flimsy door.
*BANG!!*
Hearing the door snap open, Miyuki, who was just finishing her dish, jumped up in surprise and came out with a knife and ladle in hand for self-defence.
"What happened? Who the hell are you two?" asked Miyuki with wariness and moved towards Naoya, trying to hide the kid behind her.
"The girl's still here. The man's not in sight, though."
"They got a kid as well?... Well, let's get them first. If they don't have the man, then we've got hostages. If they do...well, the woman ain-"
Suddenly, Naoya's figure blurred into existence as he appeared above the two of them and gave a neck chop to both of them, knocking both of them out cold.
*THUD**THUD*
"So much for not getting nee-chan involved," muttered Naoya in annoyance, wanting to smack Toji.