Editing Shinmai Maou no Keiyakusha:Volume 2 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 3===


Transferring once, the train arrived at their destination after the scheduled forty minutes.

It was just before noon. Yuki suggested to have lunch first and Basara agreed.

It wasn't like Yuki liked fast food. But she thought that there was no place more benefiting than this for a high school couple eating out.

---Nonaka Yuki, living her life so far as a Hero, didn't know what a normal high schooler was like.

The reason she currently attended a high school in Tokyo was that she had the task to observe the daughter of the previous Lord Devil: Naruse Mio. She simply was here for her mission as a Hero.

''…But only for today.''

At least only for today--- she wanted to be a normal girl.

It was a city full of youngsters and moreover a holiday, so the store was already crowded.

Yuki wasn't all too comfortable with crowded and noisy places, but the nearby seats were filled with young couples and above all, Basara was stuffing his cheeks with a hamburger across from her. Amidst this situation,

"…….."

"Mh? Something wrong?"

He might have sensed her restless mood. Basara looked at her puzzled, whereas Yuki shook her head with "No".

She wasn't used to the taste of the hamburger or the fizzing carbonic acid of the cola, but even so Nonaka Yuki tried to savor the taste as an important memory with Basara and her high school self.

When they left the store after their meal, they headed for today's main event--- buying clothes.

Entering a fashion mall that was even famous as a landmark,

"Wow…"

Basara next to her mumbled overwhelmed. Because the mall was filled with girls looking for popular fashions. The loudly playing BGM made it rather lively.

---However, a problem arose. While heading towards the elevators, they briefly passed by the shops, but to be honest, Yuki had no idea where she should go.

''…Careless.''

She had thought for sure that by coming here, she would naturally find some clothes. The first floor technically had an information booth, but to be honest, she didn't even know what to ask for.

Wavering about what to do, Yuki showed a weakness for the first time here.

"Hello~ Are you looking for something~?"

Suddenly the clerk of a nearby shop called out to her.

Mio watched the scene from a distance.

It must have been an unforeseen situation. Yuki was obviously panicking. Towards her,

"Excuse me for suddenly calling out to you~ You looked troubled, so I just wanted to help you."

The female shop clerk said so with a carefree smile.

"What are you here for today? You seem kind of hesitant, so are you just looking around without a special aim? If so, why not take a look at our sales? We have stocked up on our new winter collection."

"Ehm… But"

However, Yuki showed hesitation. Because the one who had called out to her was a clerk from a shop that sold mainly street-style clothes in vivid colors.

It wasn't really the type of brand that Yuki liked. As far as Mio knew, Yuki was more of the docile type. She came to the holy land of fashion for youngsters on her date with Basara, but

''…She must have been taken for an easy target.''

Mio had guessed the aim of the clerk. Yuki obviously gave off an aura that she wasn't used to this place at all.

Like the clerk had said, right now it was the period where the new winter collections started to sell. For the shop it was the most profitable season, so the selling quota got harsher.

Due to that, some clerks wanted to score sales by persistently palming off customers. The female clerk kept talking on and on as to press for an answer.

"It is part of my job to help people dress up, you know? I am sure I can help you. For example, I believe this would suit you perfectly."

Quickly grabbing a hooded jacket from a nearby shelf, she held it up against Yuki's body.

"See~ Totally terrific. It fits with a lot of other clothes, so you can make all kind of arrangements."

Terrific indeed. The shop clerk recommended a shocking pink hooded jacket with lamé.

It was possible that she recommended it, because Yuki was rather meek. Moreover,

"It fits with other clothes, because you want to sell more…"

Starting with the hooded jacket, the clerk likely intended to sell various products as a whole arrangement. Seeing the persistent clerk, Maria next to her said.

"His childhood friend seems troubled, yet Basara-san is not helping her out at all, is he?"

In their field of vision, Basara was scratching his head next to Yuki, not knowing what to do.

"…No, he's trying to offer her help for a while now. But it seems he isn't used to such a place either. The clerk is a woman too, so he doesn't know how to deal with it."

It surely was too much to expect Basara, a boy, to do something that he couldn't even do with Yuki, a girl.

''…Well,''

Even if Yuki was troubled, it was nothing of Mio's concern. Basara wasn't any better. He was all over Yuki in the train earlier, so… a bit of trouble for him now was just fine.

Mio just watched them from a distance and had no plans to help them. However,

"……."

"---Mio-sama?"

Mio heard Maria's question, who was supposed to be next to her, from behind.

Before she noticed it, she had moved forward. Briskly getting in-between Yuki and the clerk,

"Sorry for the wait, Nonaka~!"

She linked arms with Yuki and pulled her away.

"Okay, let's go."

"---Eh?"

Yuki was surprised on her sudden appearance. Same for Basara next to her. However, Mio didn't care about that. Pulling on Yuki's arm, she tried to leave the place--- but her supposedly forward moving legs were stopped against her will. The clerk was grabbing Yuki's sleeve,

"Oh, are you her friend? How about you come in together? Your friend just took a liking to her new collection."

The shop clerk certainly was experienced. She wouldn't let go of her prey so easily. Even while her mouth formed a friendly smile, she pinned down Mio with her sharp look. However, Mio showed a friendly smile as well,

"No thanks."

"But this"

"No thanks"

"Hey, at least take a closer look"

"No thanks"

When she repeated the same words to the persistent clerk, the clerk let go off Yuki before long. She must have accepted that no matter what she said, she wouldn't sell anything.

How she sent them off with a smile and "Please come by again~" in the end, showed how much of a professional she was.

As soon as Mio got to the elevator area without any shops by still dragging Yuki on her arm,

"---Just to tell you, it's only a coincidence!"

She declared so shouting, after turning around to Basara, who leisurely followed after Yuki.

"Ehm… Mio?"

"It's just by chance! I was shopping with Maria, when I saw you guys by chance. And since you were troubled, I had no choice… Really! It's nothing else but that!"

"Please calm down, Mio-sama. If you get too ruffled, you will dig your own grave."

"---I, I'm not ruffled."

Mio shouted while turning bright red. Not good. Forcing her way in on the spur of the moment was all fine, but she had moved without thinking up an excuse, so she was saying nonsense now.

''…But, I mean…''

It couldn't be helped. Because her body moved on reflex.

---She probably didn't want to lose to Yuki.

During the battle in the park the other day, Yuki had helped Mio, even though she actually had no obligation to do so. That was the undoubted truth, even if she couldn't forgive that Basara could've been killed. Mio got the feeling that she would lose to her, if she were to ignore the troubled Yuki there despite that.

Yes, it surely was her nature. Naruse Mio didn't want to lose to Nonaka Yuki--- That was all.

"Anyway, thanks. At this rate we would have been persuading into buying… Right, Yuki?"

"……."

Next to Basara, who said so with a sigh, Yuki nodded wordless. Her slightly frustrated expression probably originated more from the negligence of needing help rather than from displeasure of being helped by Mio.

"So, how's it, Yuki? Did any shop catch your eye?"

When Yuki gave no clear answer, Basara softened his expression.

"I see… Then what do you want to do, Yuki? Look around a bit longer?"

Yuki stayed silent on Basara's question. It most likely was a silence of inner conflict, instead of pondering. Upon that,

"Uhm… May we accompany you?"

"Hey, Maria!?"

Mio raised a flustered voice on the sudden proposal, whereas Maria stayed calm.

"No, I mean, you two are not used to this kind of place, correct? So with Mio-sama with you, you could easily get out of situation like the one earlier."

"Well, yeah, but…"

But Yuki would never give her consent to this, which would interfere with her date.

"What do you say, Yuki…?"

Asked for her opinion by Basara, Yuki stayed silent for a while, then closed her eyes.

"………….Okay."

Before long, she agreed with Maria's proposal like giving up on something.

And when Yuki peacefully opened her eyes, she said by staring at Mio.

"Naruse-san--- if you like, please help me find some clothes."

Mio accepted Yuki's request.

She wasn't all that opposed to helping Yuki. If she were, she wouldn't have saved Yuki from the female clerk earlier.

---Due to that, the shopping went relatively smooth after that.

After hearing her concept, Mio guided Yuki through shops with clothes in the design that matched Yuki's concept.

Skilfully handling the shop clerks, they chose Yuki's clothes together. In the end,

"…Here, what do you say about this?"

Since Yuki didn't know how to put on the clothes properly, Mio had come into the changing room with her and helped her try on the clothes.

Normally that would be the job of a shop clerk, but Yuki asked Mio to help her, probably still affected from the earlier incident with the persistent clerk.

"Yeah… Looks good, really."

While looking at her refined self, Yuki nodded. That her cheeks were lightly flushed was proof that she was satisfied with Mio's choice.

"---Basara, look."

Opening the curtains, Yuki got outside and spun in front of Basara.

"Mh? Hoo… Nice. These kind of clothes suit you too."

Basara inadvertently raised an admiring voice, whereas Yuki softened her expression with an happy "Mm". It was Yuki's expression as a normal girl, which she would never show to Mio.

Upon that, Maria approached Mio and whispered into her ear.

"Are you sure you should be so kind to your enemy, Mio-sama?"

"…Now look here, it was you, who suggested this."

"Well, yes, but… even so, why are you helping her so seriously? She will use these clothes to seduce Basara-san."

"Still, it's against my principle to be shoddy and recommend something ugly then."

A promise among girls. She didn't want to do a half-hearted job. And above all, if she were to make a cowardly move, it would mean she accepted being inferior to Yuki. There was no way she could do that.

[[Image:Shinmai v02 107.jpg|thumb]]

After Yuki finishing showing the clothes Mio chose to Basara, she returned to the changing room satisfied.

When she took off her clothes and was only in her underwear, the great style of Yuki's tall figure was rather prominent. Mio stood next to that graceful body and looked at it through the mirror.

''…She's really pretty after all.''

Mio once again became aware of Yuki's charm. Yuki's clear complexion was something Mio didn't have. Her body line drew different feminine curves than Mio's and while they were of the same gender, Mio was a bit captivated.

She also comprehended why she had a fan club at school like herself.

That said, she wasn't envious. Each person had their own charm--- same for clothes. Mio had her own charm and believed she didn't lose to Yuki in that regard.

''…More importantly.''

What she was surprised about was that Yuki had asked Maria and her to accompany her. Yuki was supposed to be on a special date with Basara.

The persistent clerk had stolen her thunder, but actually Yuki should have wanted to go around some more with Basara on this occasion.

Even so she should have been opposed to ask Mio. Yet, Yuki honestly spoke out words of gratitude.

"Thank you, Naruse-san."

"It's fine… I only helped you find some clothes with a shop clerk. It's nothing special."

When Mio answered brusquely, Yuki shook her head with "No". Dropping her gaze,

"That's not true. I never came to a place like this before… and only trained when I was in the village. So, I don't know what a real date is like."

"……I see."

"I'm just happy to be with Basara… But I think it's boring for him, since he's used to an ordinary life."

Being told that by Yuki in quiet voice, Mio once again realized that she was a Hero.

And--- that she herself had inherited the power and blood of the previous Devil Lord.

---However, the timing at which they found out about their own situation had decisively been different for Mio and Yuki.

Mio got to know about her own lineage half a year ago--- On the day her foster parents, which she thought were her parents, were killed.

Until then, Mio had lived as a normal girl with a normal happiness.

However, Yuki on the other hand had known about her existence ever since she could remember and was trained for it.

Of course it would be insolent to call that misfortune. The Hero Tribe had the mission to fight to protect the world, but obviously they should have happiness in their life as well.

''…But.''

Even so, they surely experienced yearning for the natural happiness of average people.

When Mio inadvertently fell silent, Yuki said with a cold voice, as Mio's thoughts were showing on her face.

"It's not something for you to worry about. Thanks to you, I could buy clothes to seduce Basara."

"Seduce… Now you."

"I also learned about dates. Making use of today's experience, I'll go on a better date with Basara next time, with just the two of us."

Yuki said nonchalant. Mio certainly couldn't overlook this.

"Hey--- You plan to go on another date with Basara?"

"Of course. Now then, guide me to the next shop and choose some clothes for me."

This girl… for asking a favor, she was having a rather haughty attitude. However,

"Fine--- Let's do this."

Accepting Yuki's challenge at once, Mio smiled fearless.

Once promised, she would go through with it until the end. And she wouldn't be half-hearted.

But Yuki would do better not to forget.

Buying new clothes--- prettying up, that wasn't something exclusive to Yuki.

Going around various shops then, Yuki borrowed the help of Mio and clerks.

Finally she decided what she would buy next.

When Mio and Maria started to choose clothes for themselves too, they tried on clothes in a competition and all three showed their new selves to Basara one after another.

All kind of new fashion terms and unthinkable arrangements. All of it had a novelty--- But Yuki surely didn't even understand half of it.

Even so, she had fun, since she could spend a holiday together with Basara. And regarding Mio and Maria, she hardly considered them a bother, since they faced her upfront instead of interrupting her date.

Of course she would have preferred to be all alone with Basara, but it was a fact that the two helped her on numerous occasions. Therefore--- Yuki believed it was fine like this.

"…Okay, I'll go buy this."

"Yeah. We'll wait outside."

Nodding to Basara, who replied so, Yuki lined up at the register. As they went around a lot of shops, the time had already changed from afternoon to evening upon a look on the wristwatch.

It was hard to tell, since they had been in an illuminated building the whole time, but it would surely be dark when they got outside.

''…Oh right.''

Before going home with the train, she should go eat something with Basara. She wouldn't mind inviting Mio and Maria too, since they helped her with the shopping.

Showing a small smile, Yuki glanced behind her--- turning around to Basara and the others outside the shop.

"----"

The scene in her field of vision made her look inadvertently turn bitter. She couldn't hear their conversation due to the distance. But judging from their expression, she could clearly tell that Maria most likely teased Mio, who then got angry, and Basara watched these two with a wry smile.

Above all, Basara's side profile while looking at Mio and Maria was gentle.

Nonaka Yuki saw the happiness that she wanted at a place that she couldn't reach.

---Basara, no longer a Hero, lived with a new family in a new place and was fighting for the girls' sake. That was Basara's present and desired future.

And--- Yuki was merely a symbol of his past to Basara.

Yuki went through the tragedy at the <village> five years ago together with Basara and she embodied the very past that still kept hurting him, so she was nothing but a bother to the future with Mio, which Basara was envisioning.

"…………."

So Yuki averted her eyes and turned her back to them. Because she could no longer look at it. Then she kept waiting in the line at the register for her turn with her eyes cast down.

"Next one please~"

"….."

It was her turn now and Yuki was about to move forward--- when her arm was suddenly grabbed from the side.

She didn't sense anything until her arm was touched. She looked at the other party in surprise.

"---?"

Yuki's breath was inadvertently taken away. It was a familiar face.

A girl--- with the same cold eyes as herself.

"Kurumi…"

When she dumbfoundedly called her name, the girl said with an indifferent voice.

"The <village> made an official decision. I came to tell you--- your new mission."

One breath.

"Enough with playing house… Big Sis."

"……Mh?"

Basara had been talking with Mio and Maria, but suddenly he felt something amiss and frowned.

The presence of Yuki, whom they were waiting for, had disappeared.

"Yuki…?"

He quickly shifted his gaze to the line at the register, but Yuki, who was supposed to be there, wasn't to be seen.

No matter how much he searched the shop. No matter how much he searched the surroundings.

Nonaka Yuki had unexpectedly disappeared from their sight, even though she was with them moments ago.