Chapter 121: Taming Pokemon Amano Hina, The Natural Enemy of Evil Spirits: "Mask"
"That's the spirit."
Yoru smiled with satisfaction, stood up, walked to Amano Hina, and patted her shoulder.
"As the saying goes: Good birds choose trees to nest in; good ministers choose masters to serve."
"Amano-san, you are a capable good minister."
Hearing this praise, Amano Hina was about to smile, but noticed Yui sitting opposite showing a very complex expression mixed with helplessness.
She then thought carefully.
Why does this sentence sound a bit weird?
I am a good minister?
Then what is he? My master?
Isn't it joining a club? How did it become acknowledging a master?
Before Amano Hina could speak, she heard Yoru muttering to himself.
"OK, Pokemon Amano Hina, captured."
Amano Hina: ...
What kind of person did I meet exactly?
....
Under Yoru's request, Amano Hina quit her job at McDonald's.
She made an appointment with him.
Tomorrow, Tuesday at noon, she would come to Sobu High to prepare for her first day of school.
The members of the Super-Quant Club suddenly expanded from the original five people and one spirit to ten people and one spirit.
While feeling happy, Yui also felt a bit at a loss.
Must awaken the ability of Soul Manifestation as soon as possible.
Otherwise, I will be left behind by everyone.
"Eh... you two... also go this way?"
Seeing Yoru and Yui still following her after leaving McDonald's, Amano Hina was somewhat at a loss.
"Of course, we will leave after sending you back."
Amano Hina nodded, then smiled and said.
"By the way, you haven't eaten yet, right? Although I don't have much at home, cooking two bowls of noodles for you is no problem."
"Okay, okay."
Yui was a typical familiar type (gets along easily).
She agreed immediately and added with a smile.
"Next time, come to my house and taste my cooking too."
Amano Hina nodded slightly.
"Mmhmm, it's a deal then."
Hearing this sentence, Yoru, who had been silent, gave Amano Hina a thumbs up. Under her puzzled gaze, he showed heartfelt admiration and gave the highest praise he could think of.
"You are brave (awesome)."
...
Amano Hina's residence was the same as in Yoru's memory.
A dilapidated two-story apartment building, a small single room inside, next to the train tracks.
The living environment could be called harsh.
Yui felt miserable for Amano Hina just by looking at it.
As the person involved, Amano Hina maintained a lively smile, took out the key, and opened the door.
"Please come in."
"Excuse me."
Yui stepped into the room lightly and found that although the apartment building where Amano Hina lived looked very old from the outside.
The inside, although small, was very tidy and clean.
The sparrow is small, but it has all the vital organs.
However...
This room of about thirty square meters was indeed a bit too small.
"Please sit."
Such a small residence naturally didn't have a dining room or anything.
Yoru and Yui could only sit on the floor around a small table.
Amano Hina took off her shoes, stepped on the floor with her small white feet, and smiled at the two.
"I'll go cook noodles for you; it will be ready soon."
She first ran to the windowsill, picked up scissors, frowned, and muttered to herself.
"Strange, why is the survival rate of the green onions planted recently so low..."
Amano Hina selected carefully, found a green onion growing relatively well, cut a section with the scissors in her hand, held it in her palm, and then ran into the small kitchen to get busy.
Looking at her busy back, Yui's expression was somewhat complicated, sighing.
"Hina looks younger than me, but she is mature enough to support the life of herself and her brother alone. It's really not easy."
Speaking of this, Yui was about to stand up.
"I'll go help her."
"Just sit obediently."
Yoru pressed Yui's hand down.
"Please, Great Sage Yui (Tuanzi Dasheng), retract your magical powers."
Good grief.
Amano Hina cooked quite well.
If you get involved, can these noodles still be eaten?
Just as a Saint Seiya won't be defeated by the same move twice.
Yoru couldn't eat Yui's cooking twice either.
How terrifying was Yui's cooking?
Kyoto's Number One Exorcist, the dignified Butter Shooter, Wolf of Sobu High, Yoru—there weren't many things in this world that could break his defense.
Yui's cooking was one of them.
"Eh, Yoru, you..."
Feeling the touch on the back of her hand, Yui looked down and saw Yoru's hand on hers. She froze for a moment, then blushed slightly.
She didn't choose to break free. Instead, not knowing why, she turned her hand gently and interlaced her fingers with his.
This move confused Yoru.
The originally very normal atmosphere instantly became ambiguous and silent.
A few seconds later, Yui reacted, hurriedly withdrew her hand, flustered.
"No, sorry! Sorry... I..."
"It's okay."
Yoru waved his hand, not minding at all.
"Touch if you want; touching other places is fine too."
"You, you, what are you saying!"
Yui's face flushed red, wondering what other places meant.
However...
She stole a glance at Yoru, thinking he has such a good figure, showing obvious muscle lines even wearing short sleeves.
Should have... abs, right?
Yui was curious, what would abs feel like to touch?
Just pure curiosity.
No other meaning.
"However..."
Yoru glanced at this small room and said softly.
"Don't you feel something wrong here?"
"Eh, now that you mention it..."
Yui observed carefully and found it indeed a bit strange.
The withered yellow green onions in the small pot on the windowsill exuded a lifeless aura.
Other places were clean, but there were several black marks on the wall that looked like mold left by dampness, shaped like slightly shrunk human figures. Just looking at them made people's hair stand on end.
Most importantly.
Since entering this room, Yui had a feeling of breathlessness.
She originally thought it was because she was nervous acting alone with Yoru for the first time.
Hearing him say so... could it be?
"Just as you thought."
Yoru looked at Amano Hina humming while busy in the kitchen and said faintly.
"People with powerful spiritual abilities, like Miko before awakening, Yurikawa Hana in our class, and current Amano Hina."
"In the eyes of evil spirits and ghosts, they are like delicious food."
"This temptation is irresistible to evil spirits and ghosts."
"Let alone them, even I occasionally encounter blind evil spirits trying to devour me."
Hearing the last sentence, Yui looked worried.
"Even you encounter evil spirit attacks? What happened then?"
Yoru looked speechless.
"What else could happen? Of course, I won. Otherwise, would it be a ghost talking to you now?"
Hearing the word "ghost," Yui's shoulders trembled in fear, and she said timidly.
"Yoru... Yoru, don't... don't suddenly talk about such scary topics."
"This is scary too?"
Yoru pouted and complained.
"Your cooking is what can be called scary."
"Back to business."
Yoru spoke slowly.
"Amano Hina is probably targeted by an evil spirit."
"I have retracted my aura to see if that evil spirit will come to the door actively later."
"Solve it by the way."
Yui nodded obediently.
"Okay."
Anyway, she couldn't help at all.
Strange events should naturally be left to professionals.
....
"Noodles are ready; eat while hot."
Amano Hina brought two bowls of steaming soup noodles, although not rich in ingredients but looking very appetizing, to the table and smiled.
"Eat quickly, Yui, Yoru... Yoru-san."
Yui picked up a strand of noodles with chopsticks, blew gently near her lips, held her hair with her left hand, and put it in her mouth.
"Mmm... so hot, but so delicious!"
Hearing Yui's praise, Amano Hina said happily.
"Glad it tastes good."
"Mmhmm."
Yui muttered to herself while eating noodles.
"In this case, there are three people in our club who can cook."
Yoru questioned from the side.
"Three?"
"Yes."
Yui was confident.
"Me, Mai-senpai, and Hina."
Yoru looked speechless.
"You really have no self-awareness."
He suddenly thought of a way to make Yui realize how tragically terrible the taste of her cooking was.
As long as he took a bite first, then kissed Yui, she would have nowhere to escape!
Thinking carefully...
The sacrifice of this method was too great.
Unnecessary.
Seeing Yoru sitting there without moving chopsticks, Amano Hina wondered.
"Yoru-san, why aren't you eating?"
"Oh, I want to eat something else later."
"Something else?"
Amano Hina didn't think much, just thought her noodles were too plain and didn't suit his taste.
She held her chin, didn't mind, just asked curiously.
"Yoru-san, I want to ask you a question."
"Speak."
"Is your ability creating things out of thin air?"
Yoru shook his head and chuckled.
"No, that was just something I showed you casually."
"Is that so..."
Amano Hina responded noncommittally, then suddenly spoke as if remembering something.
"By the way, have you heard the story of that, what... right, 'Mask' that has been very popular online recently?"
"Cough cough."
Hearing the word "Mask" from Amano Hina's mouth, Yui, who was eating noodles, choked.
Seeing her breathless appearance, Amano Hina immediately went up to pat her back, then poured a cup of warm water, handed it to Yui, and said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"Yui, eat slowly; why rush?"
Yui took the water cup, drank a mouthful, and looked complicated.
"Mmhmm... I know."
Yoru's expression remained indifferent, just nodding slightly.
"Mmhmm, I've heard this name a bit, but it should just be a legend, right?"
"Eh, this isn't a legend."
Amano Hina paused, put on a mysterious look, covered her mouth with her hand, and lowered her voice.
"My younger brother has a playmate who is a student of Kyoto Municipal Kindergarten. That child said that in that incident, he really saw a mysterious person with a tall figure, wearing a black mask, and dressed strangely."
"Hmm..."
Speaking of this, Amano Hina looked at Yoru and smiled.
"That mysterious person's height seems to be about the same as yours."
"Is that so."
Seeing Yoru looking uninterested, Amano Hina didn't stop there but murmured.
"Since... special people like you and me exist in Kyoto, do you think that 'Mask' might also be our kind?"
"Maybe."
Yoru responded noncommittally, looking at Amano Hina with a half-smile.
"Then what do you think of this 'Mask'?"
"Hmm...."
Amano Hina frowned slightly, resting her chin on one hand. After thinking for a while, she replied.
"If it is really like the rumors that the intrusion into the Kyoto City Museum was also done by 'Mask'..."
"Uh... but he saved the teachers and students of the Kyoto Municipal Kindergarten; this is a fact."
"Considered... an anti-hero who is both good and evil? Anyway, definitely a hero."
"As for invading the Kyoto City Museum, he should have his own considerations."
Hearing Amano Hina's remarks, Yoru's expression didn't change much, but Yui breathed a sigh of relief as if a heavy burden was lifted.
She thought the opponent didn't know.
The protagonist of the so-called urban legend is sitting opposite her.
"Mask"?
Yui recalled a sentence Yoru said back then.
"The police will give me a code name."
So this is the way of naming code names?
Just then, the lights in the room suddenly began to flicker.
"Eek!"
Hearing Yui's exclamation, Amano Hina sighed at Yui's small courage while comforting her.
"It's okay. Probably just circuit renovation somewhere. This situation happens often recently; it will be fine in about half an hour."
Looking at the smiling Amano Hina, Yui's face had turned pale.
The opponent didn't know.
But she knew clearly.
Since Yoru said an evil spirit targeted Amano Hina, then there must be one.
Originally, Yui wasn't afraid.
However, the lights in the room actually flickered!?
What did this mean?
It meant the evil spirit was approaching, and like Hachishaku, this evil spirit had fused with a "Door" in its body, an existence capable of affecting things in the real world!
Don't look at Yui usually being carefree.
In fact, the psychological shadow left that time hadn't healed until now.
Not every girl possessed Miko's psychological quality different from ordinary people.
Whoosh...
A sound like a breeze blowing, but also somewhat like breathing, sounded outside the window.
"Hiss... why is it suddenly a bit cold?"
Amano Hina rubbed her shoulders, shivered, stood up, and walked to the window, preparing to close the half-open window.
But the moment she opened the opaque curtains, she was stunned by the scene in front of her.
Hanging in the sky was a scarlet moon.
Outside was still the train track, but further away, there were bursts of rolling viscous black mist.
"Th... what is going on?"
Before Amano Hina had time to look carefully, a huge pupil covered with bloodshot streaks suddenly appeared in front of her.
The sudden huge horror made Amano Hina's body stiffen completely.
She couldn't even make a scream.
This huge pupil like a hellish evil ghost was only a window away from her.
Immediately after, the bloodshot huge pupil retreated a distance.
Before Amano Hina had time to breathe a sigh of relief, an object looking like a sharp nail, but many times larger than ordinary people, stabbed straight towards her standing in front of the window.
"Hina!"
Yui exclaimed, wanting to stand up and pull Hina, but her legs went weak, failing to stand up.
Just at this critical moment.
"Shield."
As Yoru uttered two words, a heavy black shield almost reaching the ceiling of the room blocked in front of Hina.
Bang!
The sharp nail tip broke through the wall directly, colliding with the heavy black shield, making the whole room tremble.
Amano Hina retreated a few steps, sat on the ground paralyzed, almost losing her mind from fear.
"Th... that exactly... what is that thing..."
"Hina-san."
Hearing Yoru's voice, Amano Hina turned her head with difficulty.
She saw him stand up from the table and stretch lazily.
Not sure if it was an illusion or what.
Amano Hina looked at Yoru's expression and felt he was a bit...
Inexplicably excited?
Having a joy of harvest?
"The thing you saw is the existence our club has to fight against."
Yoru walked forward step by step, stood directly behind the black shield, waved his hand to disperse it.
He stood by the window like that, looking at the huge pupil covered with bloodshot streaks outside, his voice even carrying a smile.
"We call them Evil Spirits."
"Evil spirits are monsters harboring twisted hostility towards humans, dominated by slaughter and madness."
"And I..."
Speaking of this, Yoru was covered with a layer of black flames.
Under Amano Hina's incredulous gaze, his casual clothes gradually transformed into a strange black outfit.
And a pure black mask revealing only eyes covered his face.
Just like...
That protagonist in the urban legend story, "Mask."
Yoru extended his right hand, took Onimaru Kunitsuna from the Pale Ghost Hand, looked at the huge bloodshot pupil outside the window, and spoke faintly.
"I am their Natural Enemy."