“You’re staining and flooding her fine floor!” Rui yelled.

“Don’t be such a bad guest, Susumu!” She glowered and turned to Natalia-sama. “Let’s just throw him out from the nearest window! Tch, he’s such a… drama queen!” She raised her fists to put an end to my rampant fantasies. “Take your clothes off, idiot! Get naked! I’ll rip them off you if you don't hurry up!”

Telling me to take off my clothes herself should have made things worse, perhaps, but the nosebleed ended, because I saw a shadow of Reiko-chan rushing at me. My heart fluttered. Rui’s face looked just the same way Reiko-chan’s did when she was about to beat some sense into me. I didn’t move, half-convinced by the vision I instead smiled. A fist landed true upon the center of my face and I was bowled over the backrest of the chair. Everything faded to black and I had a pleasant dream for the first time in a long time.

“I’m Susumu!” I smiled, so happy a girl was actually talking to me on the playground. Oh… she’s so beautiful and so brave! I was smitten the moment I saw her beautiful face, but wouldn’t speak to her before now. My smile broadened, but she started to look afraid like everyone did. It was so disappointing. The smile faded. She’s just like everyone else. She’ll run away now. Hope means nothing, it’s just a silly dream...

“What kind of a yakuza kid are you supposed to be?!” the girl asked me, afraid and yet she stood her ground. I had no idea of what I should say in reply, although words came to my mind. Speaking them wouldn’t help. I’m not a yakuza… none of my family are as far as I know. Please don’t call me that… everyone does… I cringed interiorly.

A beautiful leg suddenly drove up into my face. She wore the cutest cutoff shorts I’d ever seen, not that I stared. That always got me in trouble. The girl’s face was flushed and her eyes narrowed in determination. Then her toes connected with my chin. I screamed and went flipping out off the swing seat. The chains rattled musically. Sh-she struck me? W-what? Why? I…

I struck the ground as blood trickled from my nose. Touching it, I confirmed that it wasn’t broken, but I saw blood. I’d never seen blood before, particularly not mine. No one had ever had the courage to attack me. My hands gripped handfuls of sand about me. The girl stared at me, her eyes as wide as they’d go. She flinched and covered her eyes, probably expecting me to throw dirt into her face.

Joy… so much happiness. It had all been chained down within me for my whole life, and yet because of her kick, my heart was freed. I started crying, clutching my face. She stared at me while everyone around us drew away from us, but the girl stood there, so bravely. My heart was hers.

She was anxious and she reached into her pocket to hold a keychain towards me, looking cute and embarrassed. “This is a rare gacha. Do you like Jetman?” she asked.

I smiled joyfully, rubbing my eyes. “I do! Jetman is the best! Can we be friends?” She nodded and placed the keychain in my hand, smiling warmly at me.

I sat up, gasping. I was on a makeshift cot. An IV needle was stuck into my wrist, and connected to it was a tube leading up to a halfway-filled bag of blood which was gradually emptying. I wondered why Natalia had medical equipment. I’d have expected it of Ume, but not of her.

“Ah, I see you’re awake.” Natalia smiled over her shoulder. She was standing at her workbench. “Tsk... you need to be gentler with Susumu. I sense that he has a kind soul. I wouldn’t be so rough with him.”

“I get the feeling that he’s the kind of guy that wouldn’t move his ass unless he was prodded.” Rui shrugged. Those words felt like arrows piercing through me. That was true. She was spot on. “Furthermore, for the task ahead, he’ll need to find more courage than he has. We have to toughen him up!”

“Ah... Noh-face. That’s right.” Natalia hummed as she was running the sewing machine. I stood, but she turned those blue eyes on me. “Just lie there. An infusion of blood will prolong the clarity of your mind. Do your best not to lose any more. I doubt you could hurt anyone if you failed to regain your humanity. Let me reassure you about your condition. It isn’t the end of everything for you. Yes, you’ll lose your memories and your humanity. Sometimes, it’s the beginning of a new life. I have the feeling you’d turn into a well-behaved yokai, an upstanding one,” she murmured.

“T-that doesn’t really make me feel better, but thank you, Natalia-sama… I don’t like this face. I’m a monster.” Natalia smiled and blushed faintly, probably at being called -sama.

“You are, silly.” Rui chuckled. “But, honestly, you look better now. That’s a positive aspect of this, but losing your memory is a huge deal.” She focused on Natalia-sama and smiled. “But he’s right, Natalia. Giving up and becoming a yokai is no answer. For the sake of everyone in the city, we need to deal with Noh-face and keep it from killing anymore. Beyond this huge task, there’s still dealing with its master.”

“Master?” Natalia-sama and I asked simultaneously.

“Hm... yes..." Rui nodded. “It’s a theory of mine. I can’t say more about this yet.”