Editing Leviathan:Volume 1 Chapter 4 (section)

===Part 5===

Then the next day, Hal and Orihime went to school as usual.

The number of students in the classroom was only half of the usual.

Due to Soth's lurking presence, Tokyo New Town's administration had issued an evacuation order in the area around Shin-Kiba. Many local residents had left New Town temporarily to seek refuge after learning of this news.

Asya was stationed inside the sealed zone, preparing for a duel against the elite dragon.

Soth and the imprisoned witch, Shirasaka Hazumi, stayed in the Mansion the whole time without appearing once.

However, a change was occurring with the mini-Monolith and the leviathan Minadzuki.

&mdash;A change in color. The mini-Monolith where the "serpent" was pinned was originally a transparent equilateral triangular prism.

But this morning, the transparent pillar had turned into a shade of red reminiscent of blood. What did the color change imply?

Hal wanted to ask Hinokagutsuchi but&mdash;

"I've seen neither hide nor hair of her since yesterday... Even though now is the most critical time."

Not long after the lunch break began, Hal was muttering to himself while sitting in his seat in the classroom.

All they could depend on was Asya's "serpent" and nothing else. Apparently, none of the witches capable of supporting her had appeared so far. If the attacking enemies were groups of Raptors, it would be possible to request support from the SDF or the police's urban rescue force, but the opponent this time was an elite dragon.

Elites were able to use hypnosis incantations to plunge entire armies into deep sleep.

They were also capable of spreading death curses, obtaining victory with frightening speed.

When facing such monsters as opponents, commoners would serve as nothing more than sacrifices, being unable to defend against magic. Asya had no choice but to duel the elite dragon alone with her partner&mdash;

"Haruga-kun. Here, take this."

Hal suddenly heard a voice by his ear. Orihime was handing over a small cloth bag from her seat as his neighbor.

She had not spoken the whole time since morning. Given what happened to her cousin, it was probably impossible for her to maintain her usual cheerfulness.

However, Orihime was currently staring at Hal with an intense gaze.

Her expression was full of solemnity, as though she had made some kind of monumental decision.

"A packed lunch?"

"I wanted to give you something with more sincerity than last time's bun."

Inside the bag was a lunchbox. Actually, there were two of them.

Opening one of them, Hal found it filled to the brim with rice.

The other lunchbox contained side dishes. There were what appeared to be frozen food that had been deep-fried, salt roasted mackerel that seemed to have been prepared by hand, burdock stir-fried in kinpira style, Chikuzen style chicken and carrot stew, pickled cucumbers, etc. Quite a wide selection of dishes.

"Although I can't measure the sincerity, the food does look like it's worth a try."

"I made it personally, after all, so I'll have you know that there's six times more sincerity than convenience store buns. I was thinking that boys have bigger appetites, so I prepared a large amount."

As a side note, just at this moment...

The noisy classmates in the room during the lunch break&mdash;They seemed to have quieted down instantly.

But Hal had more important things to do. Unperturbed, he turned to face Orihime and said, "So what are you apologizing for this time?"

"Rather than an apology, I have a request for you this time."

Orihime's eyes conveyed seriousness on a completely different level from the time when she treated him to a bun.

"May I visit your home after school today, Haruga-kun? You see, I was interrupted in the middle of the cleaning, while there are many other matters also..."

Orihime's choice of words was rather subdued.

However, Hal understood what she wanted to convey.

"Could this be related to what that girl said yesterday?"

"Indeed. Thinking over it after the fact, I noticed she had said many things that are quite concerning. It's fine if the answer is no given the current circumstances, but if there's anything I could do to assist&mdash;"

Orihime wanted to contribute. For the sake of rescuing her cousin as well as to avoid shoving all danger upon Asya alone to bear.

Hal could understand her feelings as though they were his own. He nodded deeply.

"Juujouji, I don't think there's any need to wait until school's over."

"Huh?"

"Let's go to my house now. Who knows how the situation has changed on the other side? It's better to act sooner than later."
[[image:Leviathan 01 227.jpg|thumb]]

Saying that, Hal placed the lunchboxes back into the bag.

Orihime immediately nodded in agreement. Her decisiveness in this area was truly breathtaking.

"I understand. Then let's continue our discussion at your house, Haruga-kun!"

Orihime instantly stuffed her belongings into her schoolbag and started preparing to leave.

Hal surveyed the surroundings.

There were roughly ten classmates in the room. Everyone was looking in his direction with shocked expressions on their faces. In particular, some of the boys were glaring at Hal with piercing stares.

Crap, the discussion about skipping school was too loud, right?

Despite feeling regretful, Hal still spoke to the two girls nearby.

"Mutou-san, Juujouji is suddenly feeling unwell, so could you let the teacher know that we're leaving early? I'm sending her home."

"Oh okay, understood. Leave it to me."

Mutou-san, a member of the UFO Research Club, thumped her chest and promised with a snicker.

"After all, I'm indebted to Juujouji-san and you fascinate me, Haruga-kun. I will cheer for you, so do your best. In return&mdash;"

"Put my name on the club entry form. You need a fifth member, right?"

"Fufu, much appreciated!"

"Haruga-kun, I will help too!"

The petite girl next to Mutou-san, Funaki-san, declared.

Staring at Hal and Orihime, her fervent eyes were glimmering brightly.

"Unable to suppress the intense passion in your hearts, the two of you have decided to escape to the ends of the earth, hand in hand! Don't worry, everyone in the class understands!"

"...? Sure, then I'm counting on you two."

After listening to Funaki-san's exaggerated speech, Hal cocked his head then picked up his schoolbag.

Exchanging nods with each other, Hal and Orihime made their way to the classroom's exit together.



Thus, Hal was already home despite the fact that lessons were still in progress.

Arriving at his messy living room together with Orihime, he called out, "You're over here, right? Or have you been sticking to us all along?"

Sweeping his gaze across the living room and the ceiling, Hal raised his voice and yelled at the same time, "I don't care either way, but isn't it time for you to appear? I also brought the girl who caught your eye."

"Fufu. Well done, brat, considering it is you."

Suddenly manifesting, Hinokagutsuchi was smiling.

She was sitting sloppily on an unused table in a corner of the living room.

The hem of her kimono was wide open, exposing a young girl's pale, bare feet.

Hinokagutsuchi slowly reached out and started to play with the black queen piece from the chess set lying on the table.

Witnessing this supernatural entry to the stage, Orihime gasped.

"I knew it, like last time's..."

"O girl who ought to have given birth to a serpent, you have arrived at a good time. Have you resolved yourself to accept my proposal?"

"I can't believe you're making a deal with Juujouji."

Hal scowled.

"A deal?"

Orihime asked in puzzlement after hearing Hal.

"Simply stated, back when Soth was hunting me last time, I was saved thanks to her."

"Then isn't she your savior!?"

"The fact that I cannot assert that is exactly what's subtle about her. Because she cannot be trusted completely, I can hardly recommend her as the counterparty in a deal."

"What are you talking about? At the very least, I used to be an existence known to others as the queen."

Hinokagutsuchi deliberately widened her grin after hearing Hal's comment about her.

"Is it that unreasonable to indulge my naturally mischievous character and toy with the counterparty of a deal every now and then? Perhaps I might suggest flawed ideas to innocent children so as to watch with amusement as they run around all over the place. Nevertheless, I have never gone back on a promise."

"What naturally mischievous character, you're nowhere innocent enough for that description to apply..."

Ignoring the muttering Hal, Orihime faced Hinokagutsuchi squarely and stared at her.

"You... said so yesterday, didn't you? 'If you want your serpent, I shall summon it in exchange for the pain of childbirth' or something to that effect."

"Yes. If you wish, I can lend you my wisdom and power."

In the Old Testament of the Bible, the serpent had tempted Eve to eat the apple&mdash;

Hinokagutsuchi's diabolical tone of voice reminded Hal of that scene.

"The spirit of the ''imitation'' that was born for your sake that night... Even now, it still lingers here. It will certainly hurry forth if I were to summon it. However, what follows is the challenge. If the power, the brat's and mine, were to become depleted, then it is difficult to say whether this ''imitation'' can be born in the present world&mdash;"

"A-Are there conditions...?"

"Yes. Come over here and bring your ear up close."

The sitting Hinokagutsuchi whispered with her lips by the side of Orihime's ear, meanwhile displaying charms beyond her apparent age.

"Eh!?"

Orihime suddenly cried out with her face turned bright red.

"O-Of course Haruga-kun must be asked to leave when the time comes, right!?"

"Do not be silly. If this method is employed to facilitate the new birth, the brat is essential. He must take out the 'child' from your abdomen."

"&mdash;!?"

Orihime was holding her breath as though she was about to faint. Let alone her face, even her neck had turned bright red.

For some reason, Hal could understand why.

It was a response of embarrassment and shock. Hinokagutsuchi was most likely imparting onto Orihime mad words that resembled sexual harassment. Just as Hal decided to say a few words to reprimand her&mdash;

"Please! L-Let me consider for a while."

Saying that, Orihime rushed out into the corridor.

To think she could lose her usual cool&mdash;Hal turned his gaze to glare intensely at Hinokagutsuchi while chastising her, "Don't make excessively weird demands from Juujouji, okay?"

"What are you referring to? To be able to obtain an ''imitation'' in exchange for momentary pain, this deal is certainly favorable for the girl. Also, brat&mdash;"

Hinokagutsuchi spoke to Hal.

"That dragon called Soth apparently intends to seek revenge against you. Invading that whatever Mansion was also for this purpose, yes? That fellow is currently ingesting the blood of the captured ''imitation''."

"Drinking blood, you say?"

"For dragonkind, the blood of female dragons or similar lifeforms are akin to a wonder drug with a multitude of uses. Used as a drastic measure, it can temporarily augment their powers. It can also be used as an elixir to cure the heavy injuries you inflicted."

"..."

"Although I have no idea whether you intend to enter the fray or not, that girl seems to have resolved herself to fight. Isn't it only human nature to want to extend a helping hand?"

Clearly not a human, yet Hinokagutsuchi was talking about "human nature."

A subtle smile surfaced on her lips as though trying to test Hal's mettle.

Damn it. Feeling his sense of oppositional defiance getting provoked, Hal shook his head and decided to forget it.

This kind of thing did not matter. In comparison, what he ought to care about was the girl who was suffering because of him, as well as the childhood friend who was in danger...

"Let me ask a question just for reference. How far can that supernatural resilience endure?"

"What do you mean by how far?"

"For example, being unaffected even if exposed to a death incantation spread by Soth or something like that."

Hinokagutsuchi did not answer the question. Instead, she reached for the dust-covered chessboard.

Picking up the white king, she moved it forward by one square. The square was occupied by the black queen. Putting down the king piece, she picked up the queen instead.

"Achieving something of that level is not a problem. Probably."

"That doesn't count as an answer..."

"Just as you have discerned, although I am full of wisdom, my disposition can hardly be described as that of an instructor. Besides, I have no obligation to guide you with care and diligence. This is enough."

Hinokagutsuchi threw something at him.

Hal caught it reflexively. It was the queen she had just picked up, the most powerful piece in this board game of chess&mdash;

"I don't suppose you know how chess is played, do you?"

"All things considered, I consider myself a studious learner at least. I have accumulated a certain level of contemporary knowledge, you know?"

A dragon's ghost with a young girl's appearance but calling herself the devil.

Was she really centuries or millennia in age? Just as Hal doubted, Orihime returned with her face all red. Then approaching Hal's chest, she said:

"Listen carefully, Haruga-kun. What we are going to do next is the same as a medical procedure, got that!?"

"? What do you mean by that, Juujouji?"

"The details can wait until we start. In any case, I trust you, Haruga-kun. If you get any indecent thoughts, I will absolutely become disillusioned with you, so be careful!"

Acting uncharacteristically, Orihime had become very tyrannical.

This was probably for hiding her embarrassment. Intimidated by her vigor, Hal responded with "O-Okay" in agreement.

Watching this scene with a teasing gaze, Hinokagutsuchi then whispered quietly, "Then let us depart. Towards the location where all destinies began&mdash;"

Her voice sounded slightly sacred and solemn, unlike the tone of a self-styled devil with a malicious mouth.

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